Thursday, May 28, 2009

BAUAW NEWSLETTER - THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009

Prop. 8 MUST GO! EQUAL RIGHTS AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

Dear all,

So now, not only is JROTC deemed NOT a military recruiting tool; that it does not discriminate against lgbt youth, [even though the military still does]; but it has been declared by the San Francisco Board of Education to be a benign character-building institution! And now it is ruled that same sex marriages are now illegal--all because the politicians cave into the war machine every time; and bigotry still exists among the voters of California!

Because our politicians support the current and past U.S. war governments, and a majority of voters [or a majority of those who voted this time] are bigoted, does not make the U.S. wars or the voters' bigotry any less criminal, unjust and unconstitutional!

These are terrible set-backs that underscore the need for a strong, independent and united antiwar/human rights movement that can respond to these attacks and appeal to what I really think IS the majorities' opinions, i.e., opposition to the wars, to JROTC and military recruiting in our schools, and opposition to the banning of gay marriage and to the withholding of equal rights to the lgbt community.

Solidarity against these backslides into blatant injustice will rally our majority to speak out and take action in the streets against these things and express to the world that we are, indeed, the majority.

It's time to get together!

U.S. Out Now! From Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and all U.S. bases around the world; End all U.S. Aid to Israel; Get the military out of our schools and our communities; Demand Equal Rights and Justice for ALL!

TAX THE RICH NOT THE POOR! MONEY FOR HUMAN NEEDS NOT WAR!

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Bay Area United Against War Newsletter
Table of Contents:
A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS
B. SPECIAL APPEALS, VIDEOS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
C. ARTICLES IN FULL

(If you would like to be added to the BAUAW list-serve and receive this newsletter via email, send your name (opitional) and email address to: bonnieweinstein@yahoo.com -- it's free. Please put "Add me to the list" in the subject line.)

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A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS

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Thursday, 5/28: Protest the $7 Fee at the Aboretum (inner sunset / UCSF)
Hall of Flowers (County Fair Building) next to the entrance to San Francisco Botanical Gardens at Strybing Arboretum (9th/Lincoln) Time: 6:30-8:00 PM

Reply to: event-nefjc-1183747345@craigslist.org
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/eve/1183747345.html

The Park and Recreation Department, in conjunction with the Botanical Garden at
Strybing Arboretum management, are planning to charge those, who can not show a San Francisco ID at the gate, $7 to enter the gardens. This means many visitors will have to pay to sit on the grass, sit on the benches, or watch the ducks. All except two of the five entrances are will be closed. This is outrageous!

Download a poster here:
http://www.savethemanatee.com/Community%20Meeting_5.28.09.pdf

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SF Single Payer Rally - Friday, Noon, May 29
Put Single Payer on the Table for Discussion
Support HR 676
List of 32 national rallies plus Healthcare Now news.

Dear Single Payer Healthcare Activist,
We invite you to help build and attend our May 29 rally at the SF Federal Building. The noon rally will be at 450 Golden Gate. We will be demanding that Congress Member Nancy Pelosi foster a discussion on the single payer legislation, HR 676, the US National Healthcare Act. Our rally will be one of over 30 national rallies. See list below.
We also need help calling our phone tree and sending out a mailing for this event. The mailing party will be held at the home of Susan Cieutat at 531 Grove St. in San Francisco. We will send out the mail on Thursday, May 21 between 2pm and 10pm, and on Friday, May 22 from 11am to 9pm.
Below is the latest alert from Healthcare Now. It contains information on national single payer events. I encourage you to join their action alert list at http://www.healthcare-now.org/campaigns/may-30th-day-of-action/
Please let us know if you can attend the rally, help with our mailing party, or help call our phone tree.

___ I plan to attend the May 29th noon rally in San Francisco.
___ I can help call our phone tree.
___ I can attend the mailing party on Thurs., May 21 between 2pm and 10pm.
___ I can attend the mailing party on Friday, May 22 between 11 and 9pm.
___ I have forwarded this message.

Thank you.
Don Bechler
415-695-7891
www.singlepayernow.net

Rally for Healthcare Minus the Insurance Companies
Tell Congress Member Nancy Pelosi to:
Put Single Payer Healthcare on the Table.
Support HR 676, the US National Healthcare Act
Fri. Noon, May 29
450 Golden Gate - SF
( The Federal Building )

Sponsored by Senior Action Network, the California Alliance for Retired Americans, San Francisco Gray Panthers, and Single Payer Now.
For more information, call 415-695-7891 or email dbechler@value.net labor donated

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MEETING TO DISCUSS THE CASE OF KEVIN COOPER
AND THE ONGOING FIGHT AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 7:00pm at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, Oakland

SPECIAL APPEAL FROM KEVIN COOPER:

"I, Kevin Cooper, am asking you to get involved in a life and death struggle. This struggle is not just about me. Even though the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just denied my petition, if you read the 101 page dissent you will see that many of the judges acknowledged my innocence. They write that the evidence was tampered with, and that my constitutional rights were violated. I have been fighting, and will continue to fight. And I am asking you to fight, too.

You best believe that this state is now working very, very hard to have the legal obstacles to starting executions again removed. By the time this brief moratorium is over, there may be close to 20 inmates in here without any appeals left. Just think how many more men, and maybe women, will have their appeals denied by the court, and will be sitting here waiting to be tortured and murdered by this state?! This state will become 'Texas West' if they restart this killing machine in California! So what are we going to do about it? Are we ready for it, because it's coming?!"

INTRODUCTION:

Dear Friends,

Kevin Cooper, an innocent man on death row, was denied by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on May 11th. His case will next go to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kevin got support from a substantial minority of justices who voted against the denial. Judge Fletcher, who wrote the dissenting opinion, began his dissent: "The State of California may be about to execute an innocent man." The dissent describes in detail the case for Kevin's innocence, the tampering, planting, and mishandling of evidence, police and prosecution misconduct, and the constitutional violations.

At the same time, a public comment period on the lethal injection process for the state of California has begun, and will end June 30th with a public hearing in Sacramento. The wrangling over the issue of lethal injection has stopped the State from executing anyone. If the courts approve the latest method, executions will restart.

Kevin, his friends and allies would like to invite you to a meeting to discuss Kevin's case and the state of the death penalty in California, and plan a course of action.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 7:00pm at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, Oakland.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling and dissent: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/05/11/05-99004o.pdf

May 18, 2009 interview with Kevin Cooper on Flashpoints radio show:
http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/50927

Kevin Cooper's website: www.savekevincooper.org

Contact:

Campaign to End the Death Penalty
phone: 510-394-8625
e-mail: california@nodeathpenalty.org

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End the Siege of Gaza! Rally in San Francisco on June 6
Solidarity Day on the 42nd Anniversary of Israel's seizure of Gaza
Support the Palestinian Right of Return! Stop U.S. Aid to Israel!
Saturday, June 6
12:00 noon
UN Plaza (7th and Market Sts.)

Saturday, June 6 marks the 42nd anniversary of the Israeli seizure of Gaza. Organizations and individuals in solidarity with the people of Palestine will be taking to the streets once again to demand: End the Siege of Gaza!

The world looked on in horror this past winter as Israel mercilessly starved and bombed the people of Gaza, killing around 1,200 Palestinians (at least a third of whom were children). The Arab world now refers to the dark days from the end of December to mid-January "The Gaza Massacre." Although the mainstream media no longer focuses on Gaza, the suffering continues there nonetheless. Using the pretext of combating terrorism, Israel has refused to allow in even one truckload of cement into Gaza. In other words, the city that was reduced to rubble still lies in rubble today. All these months later, people are still living in tents and are scarcely able to secure the necessities of life.

People of conscience around the world continue to raise their voices in outrage at this crime against humanity, and in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Gaza. We will also stand for all Palestinian people's inalienable right to return to their homes from which they were evicted. Let your voice be heard -- join us Saturday, June 6, at 12 noon at UN Plaza in San Francisco (7th and Market Sts.). There will be a joint action in Washington DC on June 6.

Sponsoring organizations include ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism), Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom, National Council of Arab Americans (NCA), Free Palestine Alliance (FPA), Al-Awda - Palestine Right of Return Coalition, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and more!

Contact us at 415-821-6545 or answer@answersf.org to endorse or volunteer!

The June 6 demonstration is a major undertaking and we can't do it without the support of the large number of people who are standing with Palestine. Please click this link right now to make a generous donation:

https://secure2.convio.net/pep/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1443&JServSessionIdr010=5e0ldsoh91.app6a

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Appeals court to hear Pinkney defense June 9, 2009
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
The Michigan Citizen
http://www.michigancitizen.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=7344&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1070&hn=michigancitizen&he=.com

To sign a petition in support of Pinkney:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/624471377

On June 9, the State Appeals Court of Michigan will hear defense arguments in the case of Rev. Edward Pinkney. Pinkney, who is the leader of the Benton Harbor Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers (BANCO), was convicted by a Berrien County, all-white jury in March 2007 on trumped-up charges related to false allegations of voter fraud.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan has taken Pinkney's case and was successful in winning his release on bond in December 2008, pending the outcome of the appeal.

Pinkney was convicted of four felony counts and one misdemeanor after heading a successful recall campaign against a City Commissioner.

As a result of the recall, the courts in Berrien County overturned the election results citing irregularities. The first trial against Pinkney ended in a hung jury in 2006. The charges were reinstated leading to Pinkney's conviction and subsequent house arrest. He was initially sentenced to one year in jail and four years probation by Berrien County Judge Alfred Butzbaugh.

Pinkney was placed on a tether and not allowed to step outside of his home. His phone calls were monitored and he was prohibited from engaging in community or church activities in Berrien County.

When Pinkney published an article in the Chicago-based People's Tribune newspaper criticizing Judge Butzbaugh's actions in his case, Berrien County hauled Pinkney into courtroom in December of 2007. He was charged with threatening the life of the trial judge and sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison because in the article he had quoted the Book of Deuteronomy 28:14-22.

Over the next year Pinkney was transferred to over six correctional facilities throughout the state.

A nationwide campaign in his defense drew worldwide attention to the pastor's plight as a political prisoner. Even though Pinkney was released on appeal bond on December 24, 2008, his conditions of probation are draconian.

Rev. Pinkney's bond hearing was held in the same Berrien County court system. Under his appeal bond he is denied the right to preach, grant interviews, write articles, address crowds or engage in politics.

Support Builds for Appeals Hearing

In March three friend-of the court briefs were filed in support of overturning the conviction of Rev. Pinkney. A broad-based group of religious organizations, law professors and free speech advocates submitted the legal documents.

"We are thrilled with the overwhelming support from the religious community, constitutional scholars and free speech organizations," said Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan Legal Director. "The groups persuasively argue for the fundamental American principle that a preacher cannot be thrown in prison for his religious speech even if some find it offensive."

The religious freedom brief encompasses the views of numerous faith-based organizations.

Another brief was submitted by 18 law professors from various universities including Wayne State Law School, University of Detroit Law School and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The brief states that "In this country, under this Constitution, and on this Court's watch, he must not be imprisoned for speaking his conscience."

Also the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression argued in its brief that "In finding that Rev. Pinkney's newspaper editorial violated his conditions of probation, the lower court punished speech at the core of First Amendment protection: public criticism of the judiciary."

Berrien County and American Apartheid

This southwest Michigan county is a stark representation of racism and national oppression in the United States. Benton Harbor, which is over 90 percent African American, is one of the most underdeveloped cities in the state of Michigan. In neighboring St. Joseph, a nearly all-white city, the standard of living is much higher and it is the seat of the county where the court is located.

Over the last several years a so-called development project, Harbor Shores, has unveiled plans to take control of large sections of Benton Harbor to construct a golf course and residential enclave for the wealthy. These plans, along with astronomical foreclosure and unemployment rates, are forcing many residents of Benton Harbor to leave the area.

According to an article published by Dorothy Pinkney, the wife of the persecuted minister, the presiding trial Judge Butzbaugh has interests in the Harbor Shores development project. The Whirlpool Corporation, which is highly-influential in the region, is major promoter of the Harbor Shores scheme.

"My husband was denied due process and the right under state law to an impartial decision maker because the trial judge, Alfred Butzbaugh, had a financial interest in the development of Harbor Shores. This huge development project is what motivated my husband to seek the recall of the corrupt Benton Harbor City Commissioner Glen Yarbrough," Dorothy Pinkney wrote.

She continues by pointing out that "The trial court's financial interest in the Harbor Shores project was not known to my husband until after the trial. The Harbor Shores project which has been primarily pressed by Cornerstone Alliance on behalf of Whirlpool Corporation began in 1998 when the community economic development corporation was formed by John Dewane of the law firm Butzbaugh and Ryan." (BANCO website, April 2009)

The Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice (MECAWI), the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO) and the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) are mobilizing people to attend the appeals hearing for Rev. Pinkney on June 9.

The hearing will take place in Grand Rapids at the Court of Appeals Building, 350 Ottawa St at 9:00 a.m.

For information on transportation from the Detroit area please call MECAWI at 313.680.5508. [For other Michigan transportation, contact
lynnmeadows@provide.net]

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Urgent News
Hearing on Death Penalty June 30, Sacramento
Please: SIGN-UP TO ATTEND!
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1265/t/5820/signUp.jsp?key=4279

On May 1st, the State of California announced that it is moving forward with developing execution procedures in order to comply with a recent legal ruling and resume executions, which have been on hold for more than three years.

The State will be holding a hearing on Tuesday, June 30th from 9am to 3pm in Sacramento to hear public comments about the proposed execution procedures.

Death Penalty Focus, along with our allies, will be organizing a critical Day of Action to End the Death Penalty on June 30th.

What You Can Do to Help:

1. Please plan to attend the hearing on June 30th in Sacramento. We will be organizing buses from the SF Bay Area (more details to be announced very soon).

Please: SIGN-UP TO ATTEND!
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1265/t/5820/signUp.jsp?key=4279

We need to pack the room with more than 300 hundred supporters. More than one hundred individuals will be needed to give public comment. If they cannot accommodate everyone who signs up to speak, it is possible they will have to schedule another hearing.

After the hearing, we will head to the Capitol to share ours views with elected officials.

2. Please plan to submit a written comment to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). In just a few days we will be sending out suggestions for your comments and instructions on how to submit your comments. The CDCR is required by law to review and respond to every written comment. We need to generate thousands of comments from across the state, country and globe. We need to flood them with paperwork.

Please help us make this Day of Action a success!

Legislative Successes

Colorado
Colorado came very close to ending the death penalty this month when their State Senate voted 17-18 in favor of replacing the death penalty with life without parole and redirecting funding to solve murders. The State House has already passed the bill by a vote of 33-32.

Connecticut
On May 13, the Connecticut House voted 90-56 in favor of ending the death penalty. The bill now moves on to the Senate.

Several abolition bills are still active in other states, including New Hampshire, Illinois, Washington, and also in the U.S. Senate.

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ATTEND THE JULY 10 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CONFERENCE IN PITTSBURGH!
REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE and DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE BROCHURE (8.5 X 14) at:
https://natassembly.org/Home_Page.html
Dear Brothers and Sisters:

On behalf of the National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations, we are writing to invite you and members of your organization to attend a national antiwar conference to be held July 10-12, 2009 at La Roche College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The purpose of this conference is to bring together antiwar and social justice activists from across the country to discuss and decide what we can do together to end the wars, occupations, bombing attacks, threats and interventions that are taking place in the Middle East and beyond, which the U.S. government is conducting and promoting.

We believe that such a conference will be welcomed by the peoples of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine and Iran, who are the victims of these policies. It will also be welcomed by victims of the depression-type conditions in this country, with tens of millions losing jobs, homes, health care coverage and pensions, while trillions of dollars are spent bailing out Wall Street and the banks, waging expansionist wars and occupations, and funding the Pentagon's insatiable appetite.

This will be the National Assembly's second conference. The first was held in Cleveland last June and it was attended by over 400 people, including top leaders of the antiwar movement and activists from many states. After discussion and debate, attendees voted - on the basis of one person, one vote - to urge the movement to join together for united spring actions. The National Assembly endorsed and helped build the March actions in Washington D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the April actions in New York City.

We are all aware of the developments since our last conference - the election of a new administration in the U.S., the ongoing occupation of Iraq, the escalation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the horrific Israeli bombing of Gaza, and the extreme peril of an additional war in the Middle East, this time against Iran. Given all this, it is crystal clear that a strong, united, independent antiwar movement is needed now more than ever. We urge you to help build such a movement by attending the July conference and sharing your ideas and proposals with other attendees regarding where the antiwar movement goes from here.

For more information, please visit the National Assembly's website at natassembly.org, email us at natassembly@aol.com, or call 216-736-4704. We will be glad to send you upon request brochures announcing the July conference (a copy is attached) and you can also register for the conference online. [Please be aware that La Roche College is making available private rooms with baths at a very reasonable rate, but will only guarantee them if reserved by June 25.]

Yours for peace, justice and unity,
National Assembly Administrative Body

Zaineb Alani, Author of The Words of an Iraqi War Survivor & More; Colia Clark, Chair, Richard Wright Centennial Committee, Grandmothers for Mumia Abu-Jamal; Greg Coleridge, Coordinator, Northeast Ohio Anti-War Coalition (NOAC) and Economic Justice and Empowerment Program Director, Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); Alan Dale, Iraq Peace Action Coalition (MN); Donna Dewitt, President, South Carolina AFL-CIO; Mike Ferner, President, Veterans for Peace; Jerry Gordon, Former National Co-Coordinator of the Vietnam-Era National Peace Action Coalition (NPAC) and Member, U.S. Labor Against the War Steering Committee; Jonathan Hutto, Navy Petty Officer, Author of Anti-War Soldier; Co-Founder of Appeal for Redress; Marilyn Levin, Coordinating Committee, Greater Boston United for Justice with Peace, Middle East Crisis Coalition; Jeff Mackler, Founder, San Francisco Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice; Fred Mason, President, Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO and Co-Convenor, U.S. Labor Against the War; Mary Nichols-Rhodes, Progressive Democrats of America/Ohio Branch; Lynne Stewart, Lynne Stewart Organization/Long Time Attorney and Defender of Constitutional Rights [Bay Area United Against War also was represented at the founding conference and will be there again this year. Carole Seligman and I initiated the motion to include adding opposition to the War in Afghanistan to the demands and title of the National Assembly.

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B. SPECIAL APPEALS, VIDEOS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS

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KEVIN COOPER IS INNOCENT!
FLASHPOINTS Interview with Innocent San Quentin Death Row Inmate
Kevin Cooper -- Aired Monday, May 18,2009
http://www.flashpoints.net/#GOOGLE_SEARCH_ENGINE
To learn more about Kevin Cooper go to:
savekevincooper.org
LINKS
San Francisco Chronicle article on the recent ruling:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/13/BAM517J8T3.DTL
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling and dissent:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/05/11/05-99004o.pdf

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Don't let them kill Troy Davis

The case of Troy Davis highlights the need for criminal justice reform in the United States.

Please help us fight for the rights -- and life -- of Troy Davis today by signing the petition below, asking Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to act on behalf of justice and commute Troy Davis's death sentence to ensure that Georgia does not put to death a man who may well be innocent.

Mr. Davis has a strong claim to innocence, but he could be executed without a court ever holding a hearing on his claims. Because of this, I urge you to act in the interests of justice and support clemency for Troy Davis. An execution without a proper hearing on significant evidence of innocence would compromise the integrity of Georgia's justice system.

As you may know, Mr. Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail, a conviction based solely on witness testimony. Seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their trial testimony.

The courts, citing procedural rules and time limits, have so far refused to hold an evidentiary hearing to examine these witnesses. Executive clemency exists, and executive action - and your leadership - is required to preserve justice when the protections afforded by our appeals process fail to do so.

Thank you for your attention.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/2446/t/4676/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=369

See also:

In the Absence of Proof
By BOB HERBERT
Op-Ed Columnist
May 23, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/opinion/23herbert.html?_r=1

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COURAGE TO RESIST!
Support the troops who refuse to fight!
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/
Donate:
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/21/57/

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PETITION IN SUPPORT OF PAROLE OF LEONARD PELTIER
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/parole2008/

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C. ARTICLES IN FULL

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1) France Opens First Military Bases in the Gulf
By MATTHEW SALTMARSH
May 27, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/world/europe/27france.html?ref=world

2) French Repression after General Strike Victory in Guadeloupe
The UGTG (General Union of Workers of Guadeloupe) issues call to the democratic and workers' movement internationally:
Elie Domota
Secretary General
General Union of Workers of Guadeloupe (UGTG)
ugtg@wanadoo.fr
http www.ugt.org

3) Antitrust Laws a Hurdle to Health Care Overhaul
"Antitrust lawyers say doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and drug makers will be running huge legal risks if they get together and agree on a strategy to hold down prices and reduce the growth of health spending." [Wouldn't you know? It's illegal to cut healthcare costs!...bw]
By ROBERT PEAR
May 27, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/health/policy/27health.html?ref=health

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1) France Opens First Military Bases in the Gulf
By MATTHEW SALTMARSH
May 27, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/world/europe/27france.html?ref=world

PARIS - President Nicolas Sarkozy opened France's first military facilities in the Gulf on Tuesday, deepening the government's alliance with the United Arab Emirates and highlighting its shifting foreign policy priorities.

Mr. Sarkozy attended a ceremony to open French naval, air and army facilities in Abu Dhabi. The bases are the first permanent French military installations to be built outside of French territory since the process of decolonization began more than half a century ago.

The Gulf is of geopolitical importance both because of its gas and oil resources and because of its proximity to Iran. Abu Dhabi sits just 225 kilometers, or 140 miles, directly across the Gulf from Iran.

"The permanent French military installation in Abu Dhabi shows the responsibility that France, as a global power, agrees to assume with its closest partners, in a region that is a fault line for the whole world," Mr. Sarkozy said in the text of a speech delivered in the Emirate.

The new military presence comprises a French facility at the Emirate's Al Dhafra air base, which can accommodate Mirage and Rafale jets; a naval base of eight hectares, or about 20 acres, at the port of Mina Zayed, which can handle any French naval vessels except aircraft carriers, though these can berth in a nearby port; and an army camp at Zayed, specializing in urban combat training. There are also intelligence-gathering facilities.

Eventually, about 500 French military personnel will be permanently stationed at the sites.

France's main military base serving the Gulf region is in Djibouti, a former colony on the mouth of the Red Sea, which serves as a hub for its operations against pirates. Mr. Sarkozy said the new facilities would not affect the French presence in Djibouti.

France signaled a strategic policy shift last summer with a government "White Paper," which sought to better prepare the country for a world in which conventional military threats are being replaced by a multitude of complex, global risks. The paper also identified a strategic geographical axis of priorities from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

This was a rejection of the policies set under former President Charles de Gaulle, which stressed the independence of French foreign policy.

Under Mr. Sarkozy, France has rejoined the military command of NATO, has sent troops to Afghanistan and has joined the international effort at protecting vital shipping lanes in the Gulf.

"This initiative continues a longstanding cooperation between France and the Emirate, while also allowing France to extend its reach in a very strategic region," said Denis Bauchard, a senior fellow at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris.

The former presidents François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac deepened cooperation with Abu Dhabi through arms sales. Paris and Abu Dhabi also signed bilateral defense accords in 1991 and 1995, which were updated Tuesday.

Mr. Sarkozy also hopes that his trip will help secure the sale of Dassault Rafale jet fighters to replace Mirage 2000s in the Emirates Air Force, as well as satellite equipment and a civilian nuclear contract. France has been unable to sell the Rafale abroad, due in part to fierce international competition, especially from Lockheed Martin's F-16 Falcon.

The new French facilities were originally agreed upon in mid-2007 after an approach by the Emirate. The project has been managed by the Élysée Palace. Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest and most influential of the Emirates, paid for the installations.

The United States remains the major foreign military presence in the Gulf with strategic air bases, logistics operations and the headquarters of the 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

The agreement with France represents an insurance policy while the United States scales back in the region as the conflict in Iraq winds down, analysts said.

Last week, Tehran said that it had successfully tested a "Sajil" missile, a surface-to-surface weapon with a range of 2,000 kilometers. The reported launching followed efforts by the Obama administration to seek a new relationship with Tehran to forestall a nuclear program that Western countries allege is designed to build a nuclear bomb.

Separately, Mr. Sarkozy also used the two-day trip to press for talks between oil producers and consumers to find "a satisfactory level" for crude to avoid the "erratic movements" of prices seen last year. Such talks could cover stocks, transport, technology, the organization of markets and speculation.

Mr. Sarkozy said he planned to propose a mechanism at a summit of the Group of 8 leaders in Italy in July.

"Why don't we agree, producer countries and consumers, on general price guidelines to give to the market, I would say even a price range which would guarantee investments over the long term but which would not overwhelm consumer economies," he said during the speech.

His trip also included a visit to the future site of a branch of the Louvre Museum in the Emirate.

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2) French Repression after General Strike Victory in Guadeloupe
The UGTG (General Union of Workers of Guadeloupe) issues call to the democratic and workers' movement internationally:
Elie Domota
Secretary General
General Union of Workers of Guadeloupe (UGTG)
ugtg@wanadoo.fr
http www.ugt.org

Dear comrades, dear friends,

Again the French State, with the complicity of key elected officials from Guadeloupe, has used its repressive apparatus against the youth, workers, and people of Guadeloupe.

Failing to push back the movement underway for five months against pwofitasyon-the mass movement led by Guadeloupan organizations, especially the trade unions-the French State has now decided to use its judicial repressive apparatus toward this same goal. It is important to remember that this movement led to the signing of the Bino Agreement on February 26, 2009-an agreement that won a 200-euro increase in the monthly minimum wage-and of a Memorandum of Understanding on March 4, 2009, which lifted the general strike that began on January 20.

Now, as a backlash, we are witnessing a series of criminal investigations and trials against leaders of this movement, particularly against leaders of the UGTG trade union federation:

• March 8: opening of a judicial inquiry against Elie Domota, Secretary General of the UGTG and spokesperson of the LKP (The Collective Against Exploitation) coalition;

• May 15: Trial against youth from Gourbeyre;

• May 19: For having denounced the illegal wiretapping against them, Sarah Masters and Patrice Aristide Tacit were summoned to the court of Pointe à Pitre by a judge of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris; the Attorney General of the Lower Court requested the removal of the case by the magistrate court of Pointe à Pitre;

• May 20: Summons to the judicial authorities issued for Michel Madassamy and Gabriel Bourguinion, leaders of the UGTG;

• May 26: Trial of Raymond Gautherot, former Secretary General of the UGTG; sentenced to three months in prison.

• May 29: Trial of Jocelyn Leborgne, member of the Union Council of UGTG;

• June 4: Trial of Comrade Max Delourneau for his participation in the mobilizations of the LKP.

• June 9: Trial of Brother Christopher, a member of Union Council of the UGTG.

Why this pattern of repression against the workers, youth, people of Guadeloupe?

Because the workers, with their unions, are refusing to capitulate to the attacks that are coming down from all sides: they have continued to organize strikes and mass demonstrations of striking employees to enforce the Bino agreement-against threats of all sorts and the blackmail or layoffs.

Because on May 1, 2009 there were more than 30,000 demonstrators in Petit Canal. Because the LKP continues to make gains in the negotiations on the platform of 146 points that are ongoing with the support of the population. Because thousands of youth, unemployed, workers, retirees, continue to participate in meetings in the municipalities in response to the call of LKP.

It is thanks to the determination of the workers and people of Guadeloupe, through the general strike of 44 days and the mobilization of the entire population, including a mass protest with 100,000 demonstrators, that we were able to obtain satisfaction of our demands. It is also thanks to your international solidarity.

On behalf of the rights of the workers and people of Guadeloupe to fight for their legitimate demands and against repression, we again call for your international solidarity.

Signed,

Elie Domota

Secretary General

General Union of Workers of Guadeloupe (UGTG)

Messages of protest should be sent to:

Prefect of Guadeloupe

Lardenoy Street, 97100 Basse-Terre.

Fax: International: 00 335 90 81 58 32, or: 00 590 590 8158 32

From France: 05 90 81 58 32



Yves Jego, Secretary of State for Overseas Department

27, rue Oudinot, 75007 Paris

Fax: International: 00 331 53 69 28 04

From France: 01 53 69 28 04



Tribunal de Grande Instance de Pointe à P itre Guadeloupe

Fax - International: 00 33 590 8361 04, or: 00 590 590 8361 04

From France: 05 90 83 61 04

Tribunal de Grande Instance de Basse-Terre Guadeloupe

Fax: International: 00 33 590 8063 61 or: 00 590 590 8063 61

From France: 05 90 80 63 61



Please send copies to:

UGTG, rue Paul-Lacavé, 97110 Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Fax: International: 00 335 90 89 08 70, or: 00 590 89 08 70

From France 05 90 806361

http www.ugt.org

ugtg@wanadoo.fr

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3) Antitrust Laws a Hurdle to Health Care Overhaul
"Antitrust lawyers say doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and drug makers will be running huge legal risks if they get together and agree on a strategy to hold down prices and reduce the growth of health spending." [Wouldn't you know? It's illegal to cut healthcare costs!...bw]
By ROBERT PEAR
May 27, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/health/policy/27health.html?ref=health

WASHINGTON - President Obama's campaign to cut health costs by $2 trillion over the next decade, announced with fanfare two weeks ago, may have hit another snag: the nation's antitrust laws.

Antitrust lawyers say doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and drug makers will be running huge legal risks if they get together and agree on a strategy to hold down prices and reduce the growth of health spending.

Robert F. Leibenluft, a former official at the Federal Trade Commission, said, "Any agreement among competitors with regard to prices or price increases - even if they set a maximum - would raise legal concerns."

Already, some leaders of the health care industry who appeared at the White House on May 11 say the president may have overstated their cost-control commitment. Three days after the gathering, hospital executives said that they had agreed to help save $2 trillion by gradually slowing the growth of health spending, but that they did not commit to cutting the growth rate by 1.5 percentage points each year for 10 years.

White House officials say even the more limited commitment is significant. Under current law, federal officials predict that health spending will grow an average of 6.2 percent a year, to $4.4 trillion in 2018.

Mr. Obama is asking the industry for detailed proposals to control costs. But so far the administration has not offered the industry any relief from antitrust laws and has, in fact, vowed to step up enforcement.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama said consumers had suffered because of "lax enforcement" of antitrust laws in many health insurance markets.

In 1993, when President Bill Clinton made the last major effort to overhaul the health care system, the lobby for the drug industry, then known as the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, devised a voluntary cost-control plan. Under it, each drug company offered to limit the annual increase in the average price of its prescription drug products to the increase in the Consumer Price Index.

The Justice Department rejected the proposal, saying it would violate antitrust laws. In blocking the proposal, the department said the Supreme Court had made clear that agreements setting maximum prices were just as illegal as agreements that set minimum ones.

"Such maximum price-fixing agreements create the risk that the maximum prices will become minimum or uniform prices," the department said in a business review letter signed Oct. 1, 1993, by Anne K. Bingaman, then the assistant attorney general in charge of the antitrust division.

In 1978, hospitals also asked the Justice Department for an assurance they would not be charged with antitrust violations when they undertook a "voluntary effort" to curb costs as an alternative to legislation proposed by President Jimmy Carter. The department would not provide such an assurance.

Many savings now envisioned by the health care industry would require much closer cooperation by independent doctors and hospitals, taking them into a gray area of the law where federal agencies have not provided clear guidance.

In a recent letter to the Senate Finance Committee, the American Hospital Association said uncertainty about enforcement of the antitrust laws "makes it difficult for a hospital and doctors to collaborate to improve care" and lower costs.

Doctors often want to collaborate and share information about prices without sharing financial risk or fully merging their office practices. The American Medical Association has asked Congress to revise antitrust laws so doctors can collectively negotiate with insurers over fees and other issues.

The Federal Trade Commission has repeatedly challenged such collective action as illegal price-fixing, even though doctors say they are at a severe disadvantage in trying to negotiate with giant insurance companies.

A new study by an economist at Northwestern University, Leemore S. Dafny, finds that a growing number of geographic markets are dominated by a handful of insurance companies, and that the decline in competition may contribute to higher prices.

Among the groups that say they have joined together to rein in health costs, besides the hospital and medical associations, are America's Health Insurance Plans and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Jamie Court, the president of Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group, said he was wary of such joint efforts.

"When companies that control the health care system get together to change it, there is a serious risk that they are doing it to stifle competition at the expense of consumers," Mr. Court said.

The Federal Trade Commission says that while cooperation among health care providers can benefit consumers, it can also increase the bargaining power of hospitals and doctors, making it easier for them to set prices and eliminate competition.

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