1) STOP THE WAR ON IRAQ! BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!
ALL OUT JANUARY 20TH,
5:00 P.M., CIVIC CENTER, S.F.
Permit granted Pennsylvania Ave.
Plus: Washington Post [Washington, DC]
Friday, January 7, 2005; Page B1
A Security Blanket for Pennsylvania Avenue
Partygoers, Parade Watchers and Hotel Guests Will Face Multiple
Screenings
By Spencer S. Hsu and Manny Fernandez, Washington Post Staff Writers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54566-2005Jan6.html
2) Let's Hit the Streets
On the 32nd Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
To Defend Abortion Rights!
Saturday, January 22
10 am Rally at Powell & Market Streets, San Francisco
11 am March to the Embarcadero
www.indybay.org/womyn
Driving? Need a ride? Visit http://drivingvotes.org/rides/sfprochoice.php
ALSO: Join the WomenÂ’s Rights Contingent in the San Francisco
Counter-Inaugural Protest on January 20th. Meet at 5 pm at the
corner of Grove and Polk in Civic Center Plaza.
3) PICTURES OF WAR
4) ITALIAN.QUEER.DANGEROUS
a one-man show featuring Tommi Avicolli Mecca
directed by Francesca Prada, Jan. 14-19, 8:00pm,
JON SIMS CENTER
1519 Mission, Between Van Ness and 11th Sts., SF
5) *****URGENT*****
Please Help Us Demand Clemency for Donald Beardslee
by Attending These Important Events!
Beardslee is scheduled to be executed by the State of
California on January 19th.
Urgent Press Conference & Rally
Tuesday, January 11th
4:00-5:00 PM
California State Building
505 Van Ness Ave. (Corner of Van Ness & McAllister)
Death Penalty Focus
870 Market St. Ste. 859
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel. 415-243-0143
Fax 415-243-0994
stefanie@deathpenalty.org
www.deathpenalty.org
www.californiamoratorium.org
http://www.californiamoratorium.org/
6) You are invited To Celebrate and claim victory on
James Yee's case and his Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army
Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday
JOIN THOUSANDS in the Freedom March
When: Monday, January 17, 2005
11:30 A.M. TO 12:30 p.m.
Where:J4NA members will meet at
3rd & Mission at 11:30 a.m and join the parade.
The big march will start at the San Francisco Caltrain Station (
4th St. and Townsend St., ) proceeding to Mission Street @
Third Street, continuing to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
7) Journalists told to keep quiet on Aceh skirmish
Martin Chulov
January 07, 2005
http://tinyurl.com/4hz37 [The Australian]
8) TORTURE, DETENTION, and DENYING DUE PROCESS?
This message is originated by FaithAmerica.org and
forwarded to you by Justice for New Americans
J4na@justicefornewamericans.org
http://justicefornewamericans.org/mailman/listinfo/j4na
9) ADC Update:
ADC Expresses Concern About Gonzales Nomination
10) Iraq: The Devastation
(links only-article very long but important)
** Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches **
** http://dahrjamailiraq.com **
TomDispatch.com
(A project of The Nation Institute)
7 January 2004
http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/newscommentary/000162.php#m
ore
11) HANDS OFF SOCIAL SECURITY!
Social Security for Our Future,
Not for Wall Street Profits!
Join us in a March on
Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005 at 11:30 AM
To The Pacific Stock Exchange,
115 Sansome (at Bush Street)
Near the Montgomery Street BART Station
Then on to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
235 Montgomery Street (Between Bush and Pine)
Then to Senator Dianne Feinstein's Office
1 Post Street (Corner of Market
We'll be there with banners, signs, costumes, skits, music!
12) IN THE WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI:
** Demand increased U.S. aid
** Demand immediate debt cancellation
** Donate to grassroots relief efforts (details below)
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
>> please forward >>
13) The Class Warfare on Education and those wishing to
escape poverty!
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B4F64501F-9182-48AB-97FD-BF
B7F302F5EB%7D&siteid=google&dist=google
14) Critics: Corporate donors eye inaugural party favors
By Andrew Miga
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=59833
15) CELEBRATE THE BIRTHDAY OF "THE ANTI-WAR" KING!
Fourth Annual Party and Collective Reading of one of
the greatest anti-war speeches ever made (from April 4, 1967)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 15
7;30 to 10:00 p.m.
"The Kitchen", 225 Potrero Ave. @16th St.;
near the Potrero Center (MUNI: 9, 22, 33, 53, 19, 27)
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
1) STOP THE WAR ON IRAQ! BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!
ALL OUT JANUARY 20TH, 5:00 P.M., CIVIC CENTER, S.F.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kkk1928.jpg
This link brings you to a photo of the KKK marching down Pennsylvania
Avenue in Washington, DC in 1928. Evidently they were able to get
a permit.
(With many thanks to Kwame Somburu for supplying the link. This site
has a plethora of information about the KKK.... Bonnie Weinstein, Bay
Area United Against War)
Momentum Grows for
January 20 CounterInaugural demonstration
Converge at 4th St. & Pennsylvania Ave.
on the north side of the parade route
- Find buses from your city -
- Funds are urgently needed for the January 20th mobilization -
- View a short documentary (5 min.) for the demonstration -
- Access updated logistical information, including bus parking and maps -
Converge at 4th St. & Pennsylvania Ave.
on the north side of the parade route
A permit has been obtained for a mass convergence at 4th St. and
Pennsylvania Ave. along the north side of the parade route. You can
bring your own signs or pick up signs, banners and other materials
at this location. Any sign that is made of cardboard, posterboard
or cloth and that is no larger than 3 feet by 20 feet and 1/4 inch in
thickness can be brought to the parade route. We will provide
additional logistical information in the coming days.
The Bush administration has done everything to try to prevent mass
assembly protest along Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20. We are
involved in an ongoing legal and political challenge, asserting the
right of the people to line the inaugural route. The whole world will
be watching Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20, 2005, just as they
were at the inauguration on January 20, 2001.
At the same time as we are continuing to fight to stop the
government from creating large exclusive use sections lining the
public parade route solely for Bush supporters and donors, we want
to make it clear to everyone that we have obtained permitted space
and that under all circumstances you have the lawful right to come
to Pennsylvania Avenue and to make your views known, seen, and
heard. Pennsylvania Avenue does not belong to Corporate America
and the ultra-right.
The government is glad to give antiwar organizations a permit to
go anywhere but Pennsylvania Avenue. They have been attempting
the same tactic they used during the Republican National Convention
when they tried to banish mass protest from midtown Manhattan,
the site of the RNC. Don't be diverted.
The only way to maintain our right to demonstrate at the site of the
inauguration is to come to Pennsylvania Avenue in large numbers
as close to 9 am as possible on January 20. The Bush/Cheney
Presidential Inaugural Committee and the National Park Service know
full well that unless people arrive at Pennsylvania Avenue as close to
9 am as possible it is unlikely they will gain access to the area.
To reiterate: We have obtained a permit for an antiwar convergence
at 4th St. and Pennsylvania Avenue. Those organizing bus
transportation, vans, car caravans, or planning individual transportation
should do everything in their power to be at 4th St. and Pennsylvania
Avenue, and along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route, as close to
9 am as possible. The Bush government is using national security as
a pretext to avoid the political embarrassment of thousands of people
holding up antiwar signs and banners as the presidential caravan
travels, first to the Capitol and later to the White House along
Pennsylvania Avenue.
FUNDS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED FOR THE JANUARY 20 MOBILIZATION
Funds are urgently needed for the January 20th mobilization. If you
cannot personally attend but would like to help cover the costs of
transportation, printing banners, signs and literature you can make
a contribution through a secure server by clicking here, where you
can also find information on how to contribute by check.
BUSES FROM ACROSS THE U.S.
A.N.S.W.E.R. organizers are in touch with people organizing buses,
vans and car caravans that are coming to be on Pennsylvania Avenue
from across the East Coast, Midwest, South and West. In a tremendous
display of the vast opposition that exists to the Bush administration's
criminal war against Iraq and the other elements of their reactionary
program here and abroad, a massive number of people are coming
to DC from every region of the country.
Cities organizing transportation to Washington DC include:
- Altoona, Pennsylvania
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- Chicago, Illinois
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Elkins, West Virginia
- Emporium, Kansas
- Hackensack, New Jersey
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Linwood, New Jersey
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Miami, Florida
- New Paltz, New York
- New York City, New York
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Orange, New Jersey
- Parksburg, West Virginia
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Reading, Pennsylvania
- Reno, Nevada
- Richmond, Virginia
- Rochester, New York
- Saint Helena Island, South Carolina
- Savannah, Georgia
- Syracuse, New York
- West Chester, New York
- Youngstown, Ohio
& many more!
For details about transportation and contact information,
click here.
If you are organizing transportation from your city but are
not yet listed, fill out the Transportation Form.
Demonstrations on January 20 are also taking place in San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and other cities.
SHORT DOCUMENTARY (5 MIN.) FOR THE DEMONSTRATION
Dissent in the Age of Empire
A short documentary by Kaan Cuhaci & Imre Balanli
in collaboration with the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Watch the film
duration: 4 minutes, 53 seconds
Please contact local public access television stations,
independent film theaters, community groups and others
who may wish to screen this piece as a way to spread the
word about the January 20 CounterInaugural demonstration.
Copies of the DVD are available free of charge.
Call 202-544-3389 for details.
Thanks to CircularMovement.org for this important contribution.
ACCESS UPDATED LOGISTICAL INFORMATION
For all those who are coming to the demonstration, the A.N.S.W.E.R.
Coalition National Office in Washington DC is providing all of the
information people need where the protest is, how to get there,
where to eat, what the weather will be like, and more.
Click here to view the January 20 CounterInaugural Logistics
Page for
- Maps
- Bus drop off and parking
- Van/car parking
- Directions
- Public transportation in DC
- Airports, train and bus station in DC
- Housing in DC
- Volunteering
& more.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org
info@internationalanswer.org
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389
New York City: 212-533-0417
Los Angeles: 323-464-1636
San Francisco: 415-821-6545
For media inquiries, call 202-544-3389.
Washington Post [Washington, DC]
Friday, January 7, 2005; Page B1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54566-2005Jan6.html
A Security Blanket for Pennsylvania Avenue
Partygoers, Parade Watchers and Hotel Guests Will Face
Multiple Screenings
By Spencer S. Hsu and Manny Fernandez, Washington
Post Staff Writers
The Secret Service and D.C. police plan to erect roadblocks and screen
pedestrians as far as three blocks from Pennsylvania Avenue in the tightest
security cordon ever for a presidential inauguration, downtown
businesspeople say.
Property owners, building tenants and private security officials said they
have been told that vehicles will be barred from the blocks surrounding the
historic avenue, which President Bush's motorcade will travel before he is
sworn in at noon Jan. 20 at the U.S. Capitol and afterward when he leads a
parade back to the White House.
The Secret Service, which is overseeing inauguration security, declined to
comment yesterday. An announcement on the restrictions is expected next
week. Privately, officials have met with those who do business along
Pennsylvania Avenue as they prepare for the event. The plans are fluid and
could change depending on the government's threat assessments.
Access to buildings in the area will be limited. Employees will have to
present government-issued identification cards, hotel guests will be
required to show their room keys, and others attending private inauguration
parties must have their names submitted ahead of time to the Secret Service,
several business owners and executives said.
Tens of thousands of paradegoers also will be screened and directed
separately to viewing spots.
"Clearly, this is the first inauguration after September 11, 2001, and there
have been significant changes in how we do things," said Harold F. Nelson,
president of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan
Washington. He praised security agencies for imposing unprecedented
safeguards in cooperation with hotels, property managers and businesses.
"To make this as palatable and comfortable for everyone, the Secret Service
truly did reach out early," said Nelson, vice president of CarrAmerica,
which owns 10 buildings near the parade route.
The pomp and pageantry of Inauguration Day has long been accompanied by
tight security, such as the posting of snipers on rooftops and the sealing
of windows on buildings facing Pennsylvania Avenue. Yet preparations this
time far exceed those for George W. Bush's first inauguration four years
ago.
Security officials have refined practices used to defend against car or
truck bombs and have improved their ability to screen people as they
ratcheted up security at a series of major events since the 2001 terrorist
attacks, such as the funeral last year for former president Ronald Reagan,
meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and the
presidential nominating conventions in New York City and Boston.
Dozens of high-rise owners in the downtown area have been contacted by the
Secret Service since November and asked to complete security surveys,
prepare contingency plans and meet specific requirements for their
entrances, garages and roof decks.
Caterers have been ordered to truck supplies into place the night before the
inauguration because all vehicles will be prohibited Jan. 20.
Two Secret Service and police perimeters will be set up to move people out
of their vehicles and on foot where they can be screened, sometimes more
than once. Two Metro stations, Archives-Navy Memorial on the Yellow and
Green lines and Smithsonian on the Blue Line, will be shut on inauguration
day until after the parade. Federal buildings will be closed, most private
deliveries halted and garages facing the avenue sealed.
Organizers of private parties expecting more than 100 guests -- of which
there are scores among the law firms, consultancies and trade groups in the
pricey real estate that lines the avenue -- must submit guest lists for
special checks, and those attending the posh events will be inconvenienced.
.
At least one law firm said it would scale back plans because of the
heightened security. Washington-based Crowell & Moring LLP has hosted four
inaugural parties at its 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW offices. The parties,
with a balcony view of the parade route, have been formal, catered affairs
with up to 600 guests from around the country and the world.
But this time, the firm is throwing a smaller, more subdued party for about
250 guests, many of them local. The heightened security is "perhaps the
determining factor in why we're scaling back," said Jose Cunningham, chief
marketing and business development officer.
The firm sent out invitations to its previous inaugural parties but this
year is asking lawyers to invite clients personally. Only one entrance to
the building on E Street NW will be accessible to guests, the building
garage will be sealed the night before, and Secret Service agents will be at
the party, Cunningham said.
The Department of Homeland Security has scheduled a public announcement
about inauguration security for Tuesday, with briefings for businesses to
follow Wednesday and Thursday.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who has condemned the fortification of
Washington over the past three years and unilateral street closures by
federal agencies, said inaugural preparations should not be excessive.
"I am concerned that we are unnecessarily closing large parts of the city,"
said Norton, who will meet with federal planners today. "I want to go down
each and every one of these issues, to see if we can get the greatest amount
of openness . . . [and] an ironclad security reason for each and every
closing."
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
2) Let's Hit the Streets
On the 32nd Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
To Defend Abortion Rights!
Saturday, January 22
10 am Rally at Powell & Market Streets, San Francisco
11 am March to the Embarcadero
Jan. 22 is the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court
decision that established the constitutional right to reproductive freedom.
On the same day, anti-choice extremists plan to march in San Francisco
against womenÂ’s health and rights. The anti-choice minority might be
emboldened by the climate in Washington, DC but they are not
welcome here!
Join the San Francisco Area Pro-Choice Coalition to Stand Up for
Reproductive Freedom and Demonstrate that San Francisco is PRO-CHOICE!
Sponsored by the San Francisco Area Pro-Choice Coalition. For more
information or to get involved, visit www.indybay.org/womyn
Driving? Need a ride? Visit http://drivingvotes.org/rides/sfprochoice.php
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
3) PICTURES OF WAR
PLEASE ACCESS:
** Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches **
** http://dahrjamailiraq.com **
I have obtained the originals of the photos I recently posted which were
taken from inside Fallujah.
These are of much higher quality.
Some of the comments have been updated, and there are some additional
pictures added which I did not have before.
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album28&page=
1
More writing, photos and commentary at http://dahrjamailiraq.com
You can visit http://dahrjamailiraq.com/email_list/ to subscribe or
unsubscribe to the email list.
(c)2004 Dahr Jamail.
All images and text are protected by United States and
international copyright law. If you would like to reprint Dahr's
Dispatches on the web, you need to include this copyright notice
and a prominent link to the DahrJamailIraq.com website. Any
other use of images and text including, but not limited to,
reproduction, use on another website, copying and printing
requires the permission of Dahr Jamail. Of course, feel free
to forward Dahr's dispatches via email.
Iraq_Dispatches mailing list
http://lists.dahrjamailiraq.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq_dispatches
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/
view_album.php?set_albumName=album28&page=1
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/message/26138
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/message/26138
Virginion Pilot via AP - Photos - click here
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=79598&ran=187050
TSUNAMI PHOTOS:
A Community Labor News E-Zine
Hi, folks -
I thought this group would be interested in seeing how
different places are using a lot of different technologies
to display various aspects of the tsunami.
I belong to another list for map librarians as a result of
my background with them when I was working at the
Library of Congress.
The two best references are one that shows before
and after pictures of several areas and a comprehensive
site put together at the University of Buffalo website.
In the first one the button immediately above the picture
indicates whether you are looking at a before or an after.
If you click the button, you'll shortly be looking at the opposite
picture of the same area, approximately georeferenced as
best as possible in the short time they had to put these
pages together.
http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/2.html
This one has a BUNCH of different sources. I liked the
CTV site and the maps on the Washington Post site.
ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/indian-ocean-disaster.html
virginia
Readers may email your article submissions
or your comments to ListAdmin@CLNews.org
You may Subscribe or Un-Subscribe through a
Confirmed Opt-In or Opt-out Automatic Process at
http://www.clnews.org/MailList/subscribtion.htm
"Freedom is always and exclusively
freedom for the one who thinks differently"
--Rosa Luxemburg
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
4) ITALIAN.QUEER.DANGEROUS
a one-man show featuring Tommi Avicolli Mecca
directed by Francesca Prada, Jan. 14-19, 8:00pm,
JON SIMS CENTER
1519 Mission, Between Van Ness and 11th Sts., SF
(The most important thing is for folks to make reservations ASAP.
Seating is limited. Please take a moment to call 554-0402 if you plan
to come to the show.)
JANUARY 14-29 (Friday and Saturday nights only: 14, 15; 21, 22; 28, 29)
JON SIMS CENTER, 1519 Mission/between Van Ness and 11th
8pm, $5-10 sliding scale (no one turned away)
seating is limited, for reservations: 415-554-0402
to volunteer to help with the show, call 415-552-6031
Through monologue and spoken word, well-known San Francisco
queer activist and writer Tommi Avicolli Mecca tells his story of growing
up in South Philly's working-class Little Italy. At age 19, fired up with
new pride in being gay, he came out to the world--and his traditional
Roman Catholic southern Italian famiglia--on a TV talk show.
The rest is history, and the subject of this performance.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
5) *****URGENT*****
Please Help Us Demand Clemency for Donald Beardslee
by Attending These Important Events!
Beardslee is scheduled to be executed by the State of
California on January 19th.
Urgent Press Conference & Rally
Tuesday, January 11th
4:00-5:00 PM
California State Building
505 Van Ness Ave. (Corner of Van Ness & McAllister)
We need a huge crowd to rally on the steps!!!
Feel free to bring signs and banners.
We need to show the Governor that the public is demanding
clemency for Donald Beardslee.
Clemency Hearing
January 14, 2005 - 10 AM
Auditorium - Capitol East End Facility
1500 Capitol Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95814
This event is open to the public and members of the public
may have an opportunity to give a short comment.
It is extremely important that we pack the room.
No signs or banners will be allowed but you may wear buttons
or stickers.
Please continue flooding the Governor's office with letters
and calls!
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
To send an Email, please visit: http://www.govmail.ca.gov
For sample letters, event information, and more information on Donald
Beardslee: http://www.deathpenalty.org/index.php?pid=Executions
Stefanie L. Faucher
Program Director
Death Penalty Focus
870 Market St. Ste. 859
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel. 415-243-0143
Fax 415-243-0994
stefanie@deathpenalty.org
www.deathpenalty.org
www.californiamoratorium.org
http://www.californiamoratorium.org/
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
6) You are invited to Celebrate and claim victory on
James Yee's case and his Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army
Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday
JOIN THOUSANDS in the Freedom March
When: Monday, January 17, 2005
11:30 A.M. TO 12:30 p.m.
Where:J4NA members will meet at
3rd & Mission at 11:30 a.m and join the parade.
The big march will start at the San Francisco Caltrain Station
(4th St. and Townsend St., )proceeding to Mission Street
@ Third Street, continuing to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
BART FREEDOM TRAINS
For free flash passes go to the transportation page
call (510) 268-3777
We encourage you to take home made signs to celebrate honorable
discharge of Chaplain James Yee
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
7) Journalists told to keep quiet on Aceh skirmish
Martin Chulov
January 07, 2005
http://tinyurl.com/4hz37 [The Australian]
[At 5:36 PM -1000 1/6/05, Viviane Lerner wrote:
There are many exceptional articles at DissidentVoice.org...
Forwarded from Barbara Deutsch undone@lmi.net...bw]
AUSTRALIAN journalists who witnessed a confrontation between
Indonesian soldiers and alleged separatists in tsunami-ravaged
Sumatra yesterday were ordered to leave the area and warned not to
report on the incident.
The clash occurred just 40km from the provincial capital Banda
Aceh, the centre of the relief operation spearheaded by US and
Australian forces in Aceh, where some 100,000 people died from the
Boxing Day earthquake and tsunamis.
After being the apparent target of rebel snipers, government
soldiers fired into the air and roughed up Indonesians they
suspected were Free Aceh Movement (GAM) sympathisers.
The incident prompted special forces (Kopassus) soldiers to
confront The Australian's representatives in the area.
"Your duties here are to observe the disaster, not the conflict
between TNI (the Indonesian army) and GAM," a Kopassus commander
told The Australian's journalist and photographer before ordering
them to leave.
==============
***NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving the included information for research
and educational purposes.***
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
8) TORTURE, DETENTION, and DENYING DUE PROCESS?
This message is originated by FaithAmerica.org and
forwarded to you by Justice for New Americans
J4na@justicefornewamericans.org
http://justicefornewamericans.org/mailman/listinfo/j4na
So tell me.
What Are YOUR Thoughts on
TORTURE, DETENTION, and DENYING DUE PROCESS?
Confirmation hearings begin Thursday in the U.S. Senate for Alberto
Gonzales, President Bush's pick for the next Attorney General, succeeding
John Ashcroft.
The Attorney General is the chief enforcer of the laws of our land. As
people of faith, we believe the American people and the world deserve a U.S.
Attorney General who has a proven record of upholding human rights here and
abroad. Every major faith tradition honors justice and places supreme
value on the treatment of others. Mr. Gonzales record while serving as
White House Counsel raises serious issues that must be addressed. Among
them:
Torture: As White House Counsel, Mr. Gonzales oversaw policies that
enabled the U.S. military and the CIA to ignore laws and practices designed
to prevent torture. Outcome of policy: Abu Ghraib Prison
Detention: As White House Counsel, Mr. Gonzales oversaw legal wording
that enabled the U.S. to disregard the Geneva Conventions in the treatment
of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq. Outcome of policy: Abu Ghraib
Prison
Due Process: As White House Counsel, Mr. Gonzales forged policies that
enabled the U.S. to claim that detainees could be held indefinitely and
without charge, and without legal due process.
Outcome of policy: The U.S. Prison Camp in Guantanamo, Cuba.
Additionally, we believe the Senate Judiciary Committee MUST examine the
record of any nominee for Attorney General in the areas of civil rights,
including:
Voting Rights
Racial Profiling
Enforcement of Sex Discrimination laws
Click HERE to send an email to your Senators urging that these issues be
addressed completely and forthrightly during the confirmation hearings.
Further, we are joining other groups calling on Mr. Gonzales and members of
the U.S. Senate to sign a Declaration Against Torture, which is detailed in
the email we created for you to send to your Senators.
The Hebrew scriptures challenge us to "DO justice, love mercy, and walk
humbly." As a nation dedicated to the rule of law, we believe the
scriptures from the prophet Micah offer good advice for guiding the chief
enforcer of those laws. Your letter will help insure that these crucial
questions are asked when they matter most - before confirmation.
One more thing - please forward this email to your friends and colleagues
and give them the opportunity to take action too. Thank you for stepping up
to participate in this important event in our national life. Blessings to
you as always,
J4na mailing list
J4na@justicefornewamericans.org
http://justicefornewamericans.org/mailman/listinfo/j4na
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
9) ADC Update:
ADC Expresses Concern About Gonzales Nomination
As the 109th Congress convenes this week, the Senate Judiciary
Committee will be holding a nomination hearing for Alberto Gonzales,
the nominee for Attorney General. If Gonzales is confirmed he will
replace John Ashcroft as the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The date for the hearing has been scheduled for Thursday,
January 6, 2005. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
(ADC) calls on the Committee to carefully review his record before
and during the hearing. ADC also asks our members, supporters,
and friends to address their concerns to their Senators as they
review the Gonzales nomination.
When Gonzales was Legal Counsel to the President, he wrote memos
allowing American and foreign combatants to be held indefinitely at
Guantanamo, Afghanistan and Iraq, reversing the American military
tradition of 'rule of law.' The memos also noted that US obligations
under the Geneva Convention were "quaint" and "antiquated." The
dangers of relaxing our detention and torture standards and, failure
to uphold the Geneva Conventions were evident during the torture
scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. To date, none of the senior
officials involved have been held accountable for their actions.
ADC asks members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to use their
authority to ask Gonzales to clarify his position on civil rights during
the hearing. ADC hopes the Senators will ask Gonzales's opinion on
the use of secret evidence, the DOJ racial profiling guidelines, and
his views on the relationship between DOJ and the Department of
Homeland Security with regards to immigration law enforcement
efforts, the role of local law enforcement in immigration matters,
and his views on supporting the FBI in counting hate crimes
committed specifically against Arab Americans.
ADC supports and encourages the nomination of qualified minorities
to cabinet level positions as it is the diversity of our nation's peoples
that makes our democracy truly unique. Accordingly, this diversity
should be reflected in the nomination of our national leaders; however,
ADC feels our great country deserves nothing less than those candidates
who are truly qualified to represent and protect America's tradition
of rule of law, civil liberties and civil rights.
ADC: 25 Years of Dedicated Service to Civil and Human Rights
1980 - 2005
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Legal Department
4201 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202-244-2990
Fax: 202-244-3196
http://www.adc.org
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
10) Iraq: The Devastation
(links only-article very long but important)
** Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches **
** http://dahrjamailiraq.com **
TomDispatch.com
(A project of The Nation Institute)
7 January 2004
The devastation of Iraq? Where do I start? After working 7 of the last
12 months in Iraq, I'm still overwhelmed by even the thought of trying
to describe this.
Continue reading "Iraq: The Devastation"
Or to read it from Tom's site with the prelude, click here:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2109
More writing, photos and commentary at http://dahrjamailiraq.com
Iraq_Dispatches mailing list
http://lists.dahrjamailiraq.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq_dispatches
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
11) HANDS OFF SOCIAL SECURITY!
Social Security for Our Future,
Not for Wall Street Profits!
Join us in a March on
Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005 at 11:30 AM
To The Pacific Stock Exchange,
115 Sansome (at Bush Street)
Near the Montgomery Street BART Station
Then on to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
235 Montgomery Street (Between Bush and Pine)
Then to Senator Dianne Feinstein's Office
1 Post Street (Corner of Market
We'll be there with banners, signs, costumes, skits, music!
HANDS OFF SOCIAL SECURITY!
President Bush is trying to cut back on our Social Security and line the
pockets of his Wall Street friends. We must stop him now!
Our Social Security is really not in danger, but Wall Street wants to tell
us
that it is doomed. Wall Street wants use our money to build corporations,
slash our retirement benefits, and slash our kids' retirement benefits.
Wall
Street would pocket almost a trillion dollars in fees they would charge you
in
this private pension system. This would not be Social Security!
More than 47 million retired workers, disabled workers, worker's families,
widows, and their children depend on Social Security to keep them from
poverty.
For the last 70 years, our social insurance has operated efficiently and
reliably. It is based on the idea that we want to help take care of each
other
and protect each other from the risks of living and dying.
Right now, Social Security is there for us and our children. It has more
than 1.5 trillion dollars in its reserve that is growing every year. Most
economists believe that Social Security can pay out today's benefits until
at least
the year 2042, but only 73% of benefits after that. But today's benefits
could
be continued by having those with more than $88,000 a year paying their fair
share.
If Wall Street has its way, tomorrow's workers will be cheated four ways:
1. Workers would get less pension in the future--workers retiring 50 years
from now would have their retirement income cut by 40%. OUR CHILDREN would
have to repay 1 to 2 trillion dollars that BUSH borrowed for transition
costs.
ThIS EXTRA MONEY would be needed for the next ten years, because
2. Social Security would be paying out today's full benefit payments, but
would only take in 2/3 of its payroll taxes: 1/3 would go into A PERSON'S
PRIVATE retirEment account.
3. The fees that financial managers would POCKET from PRIVATE retirement
accounts ARE 20-30 times Social Security's operating costs. THE fees would
BE
PAID OUT OF our SOCIAL SECURITY income. Wall Street's stock brokers and
financial managers would CLEAN UP more than $900 billion in fees over the
next 75
years.
4. .The safety of private pension accounts is very uncertain. From 1999 to
2003, the value of 401(k) accounts owned by people near retirement dropped
by
an average of 25%.
Now Wall Street wants our money to solve problems it created. The
government
has a high budget deficit because of corporate tax cuts, and the Iraq war.
The US imports 5 billion dollars more in goods each month than it exports,
because it moved manufacturing to countries with cheap labor. Our dollar's
value
is falling. Wall Street's policies threaten to collapse the economy, and
they want to use Social Security to bail themselves out. No way!
Social Security began in 1935 because of strikes and street demonstrations
by millions of working people who lost everything after the 1929 stock
market
crash, which triggered the Great Depression. Many older people were left in
poverty because their stock market funds were lost. This is the very system
that
Wall Street and the Bush administration wants us to return to. We won't go
back there!
Contacts:
SF: 415-215-7575, mlyon01@comcast.net
East Bay: 510-548-9696, GrayPanthersBerk@aol.com
See: http://graypantherssf.igc.org/socsec1-18.htm
Margot Smith
Gray Panthers of the East Bay
1403 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-548-9696
FAX 510-548-9697
GrayPanthersBerk@aol.com
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
12) IN THE WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI:
** Demand increased U.S. aid
** Demand immediate debt cancellation
** Donate to grassroots relief efforts (details below)
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
>> please forward >>
The damage wrought by the December 26 tsunami is so epic and
heartbreaking in its scope that words can hardly convey the sense
of loss and grief we feel. United for Peace and Justice joins with
people all around the world in mourning the devastation, and in
seeking ways to help the survivors.
We do so with an acute awareness of the role that global inequality
and widespread poverty plays in intensifying “natural” disasters,
and of the repressive conditions that defined ordinary life for many
in the region – particularly in the hardest hit area, the Indonesian
province of Aceh -- even before the tsunami hit. We are
recommending several action steps intended not just to respond
to this immediate crisis but to promote lasting social justice in
the region.
INCREASE U.S. AID. Contact your Congressional representatives
to demand that the U.S. government dramatically increase its aid
to the affected countries. After considerable pressure, the Bush
Administration has upped its pledge of support to $350 million
– but that figure is still insultingly small, less than the amount that
is wasted every two days on the disastrous and unnecessary war
in Iraq. Find contact information for your representatives at
http://www.house.gov/ and http://www.senate.gov/
CANCEL THE DEBT. Like much of the Global South, the countries
most affected by the tsunami have been crippled for years by
staggering debt. Indonesia alone pays more than $7 billion each
year in debt service to the International Monetary Fund and World
Bank – a figure that dwarfs the total aid pledged so far to the
entire region. UFPJ strongly supports the call by Jubilee South
(http://www.jubileesouth.org) and groups all around the world in
calling for the unconditional cancellation of all the debt owed by
countries hit by the tsunami. Support this demand by joining
Jubilee USA Network in sending a letter to President Bush and
Treasury Secretary Snow calling for immediate debt relief. Click here:
http://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee.cgi?path=/take_action&page=tsunamiletter.h
tml
SUPPORT GRASSROOTS RELIEF EFFORTS. Private giving is not a
substitute for government aid or debt cancellation. That said, there
are many grassroots nongovernmental organizations in the region
that are not only doing key relief work but are also empowering
local communities and providing a crucial counterweight to the
often corrupt and brutal governments of the most affected countries.
Below are several groups that we especially encourage you to support:
East Timor Action Network
http://www.etan.org/action/action2/23alert.htm
The East Timor Action Network is collecting contributions from
people in the United States who want to give direct aid to local
grassroots and humanitarian organizations in Aceh, the remote
and war-torn Indonesian province that has been most devastated
by the tsunami. Direct donations to grassroots organizations in
Aceh circumvent the inevitable siphoning off of resources - both
monetary and material - to the Indonesian government and military,
which has a long and brutal record of human rights violations in
Aceh. Big international NGOs will be obliged to work through the
Indonesian government, while donations via the ETAN relief fund
will go towards developing local capacity and will help sustain
groups that have been doing important humanitarian and social
justice work for years.
Via Campesina
http://www.viacampesina.org/art_english.php3?id_article=500
Via Campesina is global alliance of peasant, family farmer, farm
worker, indigenous and landless peoples organizations, and other
rural movements; they have numerous active member organizations
in the region affected by the tsunami. The relief philosophy of Via
Campesina is that local communities – particularly, in this case,
fisherfolk and peasant organizations -- should participate actively
and be the key actors in the reconstruction process. By donating
to Via CampesinaÂ’s relief fund, you can help those in need at this
time in ways that help build self-sufficiency, grassroots organization,
and peopleÂ’s power for the future.
American Friends Service Committee
http://www.afsc.org/give/asia-relief.htm
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a member group of
United for Peace and Justice, is mounting an important relief effort in
hard-hit Aceh. AFSC has had a presence and contacts in Indonesia for
more than 35 years, through its peace-building efforts and international
conferences and seminars, and is working to offer pragmatic,
immediate help that builds longer-term recovery so that communities
can rebuild long after the media attention and compassionate
responses for aid have diminished. AFSCÂ’s longstanding expertise
in relief work, peace-building, and grassroots empowerment make
it especially well-suited to provide effective support to communities
in Aceh.
MADRE
http://www.madre.org/programs/appeal/tsunami.html
The human rights group MADRE, which is a member group of United
for Peace and Justice, has partnered with a Sri Lankan womenÂ’s
organization, INFORM, to help establish and equip emergency
health centers in areas affected by the tsunami. Through these
centers, survivors will receive the emergency medical attention and
clean drinking water they so desperately require and displaced women
and families will receive crucial trauma counseling, which will help
them cope with the deaths of their children and other loved ones,
gradually heal from their trauma, and begin to rebuild.
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
13) The Class Warfare on Education and those wishing to
escape poverty!
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B4F64501F-9182-48AB-97FD-BF
B7F302F5EB%7D&siteid=google&dist=google
Sallie Mae, the student loan company, completed privatization at the
very end of 2004. Then as a form of thank you to Mr. Bush for
speeding up the process gave $250,000 (money made off of indebt
students and former students) to Bush's Inaugural party (as many
suffer from the tragedy of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean) on January
20th 2005. The day that the electoral college proclaimed Mr. Bush
winner in the 2004 presidential election Sallae Mae has began its
campaign to collect money owed by students even if that former student
is terminal and on a deathbed. This begins the new front in class
warfare that the corporate media will ignore as soldiers (who joined
the "volunteer" military to pay for school) loose veteran benefits.
Below are articles with URLs documenting this new front in the class
warfare that the Corporate run regime has begun. Please copy and
paste this in every Blog and listserve that is appropriate and/or
e-mail to friends and/or print it out and literally post it in public
places. The war on the people has just reach a deeper assault.
Sallie Mae completes privatization
Educational lender cuts ties with U.S. government
By Robert Schroeder, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:21 PM ET Dec. 29, 2004
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Educational lender SLM Corp., commonly known as
Sallie Mae, completed its makeover from a government-sponsored
enterprise into a private company Wednesday.
Reston, Va.-based Sallie Mae (SLM: news, chart, profile) owns or
manages student loans for more than 7 million borrowers, and is the
nation's premier student lender.
"We're very happy and very proud" to complete the privatization
process, Chief Executive Albert L. Lord told reporters at a signing
ceremony at the Treasury Department.
Congress chartered Sallie Mae in 1972 to create a secondary market for
student loans. Lawmakers authorized the company to begin going private
in 1996, and the company has been managed as a private entity since
1997, Lord said. Sallie Mae owes the government no money.
Sallie Mae's stock rose modestly on the news, up 17 cents to $53.67.
Lord predicted the company's loan business would not change following
Wednesday's announcement.
Sallie's stock price will probably continue to grow by 15 percent to
20 percent per year, at least for the next five years, Lord added
after the ceremony.
Assistant Treasury Secretary Wayne Abernathy joined the executive in
signing documents severing the company from the government.
Sallie Mae completed its privatization plan almost four years ahead of
schedule, Abernathy said.
Lord also reconfirmed Sallie's pursuit of a combination with the
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which the agency has
rejected.
He projected optimism that the deal would go through when its merits
are considered by authorities.
"We're just getting started" negotiating with the agency, he said
Wednesday. "It's a question of who speaks for the taxpayer up there."
In a Dec. 14 letter to the organization's president, Lord proposed
that Sallie Mae assume operating control of the agency, while the
board would retain control over policy. Student benefit programs would
remain unchanged under Sallie's control, he asserted, and student
discounts and grants could be increased "very significantly."
"A Sallie Mae transaction would significantly improve the
commonwealth's higher education financial picture," Lord wrote,
referring to Pennsylvania.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
14) Critics: Corporate donors eye inaugural party favors
By Andrew Miga
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=59833
WASHINGTON - Two dozen wealthy corporations and businessmen each wrote
whopping six-figure checks for President Bush's inaugural - donations
that a Washington watchdog group charges are meant to win favor with
the White House.
``It's to curry favor with the Bush administration,'' said Steven
Weiss of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. ``It takes a
hefty contribution to get noticed among this group of big donors.''
Among the 14 big-ticket donors who wrote $250,000 checks were
energy giants Occidental Petroleum Corp., Exxon Mobil and former Enron
president Richard Kinder, according to the latest listing yesterday on
the Presidential Inaugural Committee's Web site. Major donors will be
granted special access to many of the Jan. 20 inaugural balls and
other VIP events. Inaugural officials stress they publicly disclose
large donations to avoid any suspicions of special influence for
contributors.
``The president believes in full transparency and full
disclosure,'' said committee spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt, who noted
such contributions help many Americans who otherwise could not afford
it to attend inaugural festivities.
The roster of $250,000 donors also includes Dell computer founder
Michael S. Dell, Texas financier T. Boone Pickens, the giant education
loan company, Sallie Mae; and United Technologies, a Pentagon
contractor that makes Black Hawk helicopters for the military. Another
defense firm, Northrop Grumman Corp., gave $100,000. A nuclear
industry trade group, the Nuclear Energy Institute, also wrote a
$100,000 check. In all, 26 donors have given more than $4.5 million
for the inaugural, which is expected to cost upward of $40 million.
ABC News
Energy Firms Lavish Funds on Inauguration
Energy Companies Step Up With Major Donations for President Bush's
Inauguration
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Dec 18, 2004 — More than $4.5 million from the corporate
world has flowed to President Bush's inauguration fund, much of it
from the energy industry and some of its executives in contributions
of $250,000 each.
Outside the energy sector, New Orleans Saints football team owner Tom
Benson gave $50,000 and his companies gave $200,000, the fund reported
Friday.
Northrop Grumman Corp., the world's largest shipbuilder and
second-largest U.S. defense contractor, donated $100,000.
Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Inc., the world's largest personal
computer maker, gave $250,000. So did United Technologies, maker
products ranging from escalators to aircraft engines.
Investment banking firm Stephens Group Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., gave
$250,000. And the education loan firm Sallie Mae gave $250,000.
Occidental Petroleum Corp., whose business stands to benefit from the
president's actions concerning Libya, donated $250,000, as did Exxon
Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company. Exxon Mobil
reported record third-quarter profits, thanks to higher prices for oil
and natural gas.
In April, Bush took steps to restore normal trade and investment ties
with Libya, enabling four American oil companies, including
Occidental, to resume commercial activities there after an 18-year
absence.
Bush's action was a reward to Moammar Gadhafi for eliminating his most
destructive weapons programs.
Other donors from the energy sector included Texas oilman T. Boone
Pickens, who gave $250,000; and former Enron President Richard Kinder,
who left the firm five years before it collapsed and now is CEO of one
of the largest energy transportation and storage companies in the
country. Kinder also gave $250,000.
Energy provider Southern Co., which owns utility companies in Alabama,
Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, gave $250,000.
The Nuclear Energy Institute, the policy organization of the nuclear
industry, gave $100,000.
On the Web:
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
__________
Jan. 6, 2005
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
15) CELEBRATE THE BIRTHDAY OF "THE ANTI-WAR" KING!
Fourth Annual Party and Collective Reading of one of
the greatest anti-war speeches ever made (from April 4, 1967)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 15
7;30 to 10:00 p.m.
"The Kitchen", 225 Potrero Ave. @16th St.;
near the Potrero Center (MUNI: 9, 22, 33, 53, 19, 27)
The space is beautiful, wheelchair accessible, and alcohol-free.
$5 to $15 donation requested, but all are welcome regardless.
This is a fun event for our less political friends too.
Take part in a dynamic, shared reading of one of King's most
provocative talks. Taking turns, we create a mosaic of voices, feeling
how King's power and clarity speak directly to the problems of today.
Then move to the reggae, rock and revolution of the band SANDFLY, and
special guest tba. For info on Sandfly, go to www.sandflycentral.com.
Snacks and refreshments (non-alcoholic) served too.
We remember his entire great legacy, but in particular, as is the won't
of the War Resisters League, we will focus on how anti-war Martin
Luther King Jr. was, and specifically, his coming out against the
Vietnam war speech he gave on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in
Manhattan.
Check out some of these gems from that address:
"Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, people do not easily
assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in
time of war."
"We will be marching and attending rallies without end unless there is
a significant and profound change in American life and policy."
"...I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence
of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to
the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today - my own
government."
Sponsored by War Resisters League West.
http://wrlwest.org/; wrlwest@riseup.net
And on Friday, January 14, all afternoon, in front of the Oakland
Fedreral Building (Clay and 13th St., near City Center BART) join the
People's Nonviolent Response Coalition (PNVRC) for their third annual
marathon reading of the same, inspiring, prophetic talk. It really is
amazing! For more information contact Western States Legal Foundation
at 510-839-5877.
Since 1923 the War Resisters League has affirmed that war is a crime
against humanity. We therefore are determined not to support any kind
of war, international or civil, and to strive nonviolently for the
removal of all the causes of war.
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