Resource:
MONEY FOR HUMAN NEEDS NOT WAR!
FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF SOCIAL SERVICES
UNDER THE KNIFE RIGHT NOW GO TO:
http://www.bauaw.org/2005/02/programs-eliminated-or-cut-in-2006.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
1) LAST CHANCE TO GET ON THE BD. OF ED. SPEAKERS LIST!
CALL 415-241-6427, 241-6493 or 241-6000
TUESDAY, FEB.22, BETWEEN 8:00 AM AND 3:00PM
HELP STOP MILITARY RECRUITMENT IN OUR SCHOOLS!
SPEAK OUT AT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING!
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 7:00 p.m
555 Franklin St., 2nd floor (near Golden Gate).
(Each speaker will get only 60 seconds to address
the board-so keep it short and to the point.)
We are asking that this issue be put on the agenda of
the March 8th meeting and that this be the only point on
the agenda so that we have ample time to discuss this
very important issue!)
2) WE ALL STAND WITH LYNNE STEWART!
NO JAIL TIME FOR LYNNE!
PLEASE WRITE LETTERS TODAY
3) The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
Presents: Conscientious Objectors Discuss War
Sunday, February 27 at the Humanist Hall, 390
27th St. @ Broadway, Oakland 3pm-6:30pm
Join CCCO and Conscientious Objector panelists;
Aimee Allison, Dale Bartlett, David Harris, Rev.
Dr. Dorsey Blake and Jeff Paterson, in a
discussion on war, draft and conscience,
moderated by Steve Morse, CCCO GI Rights Program
Coordinator.
Also, film maker Mark Manning, independent
reporter Dahr Jamail and military mom Nadia
McCaffrey offer reports about their recent trips
to Iraq and Jordan.
Refreshments.
4) March 19, 2005 Global Day of Action
No to War Occupation ˆ Iraq, Palestine, Haiti,
Afghanistan, Cuba Everywhere!
Bring the Troops Home Now!
Money for People‚s Needs, Not War!
San Francisco: March Assembles: 11 a.m. Dolores Park
Rally: 1 p.m. Civic Center
5) COMING TO THE BAY AREA SOON!
TWO POWERFUL ANTIWAR MOVIES:
"Mission Accomplished" is a a brutally vivid documentary
filmed entirely on the ground in Iraq. The reality of this
war for American troops is contrasted to the
overwhelming reality of the devastation felt and experienced
by the people of Iraq.
"Mission Accomplished" will open March 18th:
4 Star
2200 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA 94121
415.666.3488
"Voices In Wartime" is a compelling portrayal of human
experience with war through poetry, both from the point
of view of those who were in combat and those who are left
behind.
"Voices In Wartime" will play in S.F. on April 15th at:
Landmark Lumiere 3
1572 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
[This poem by fourth-grader Cameron Penny was read
by Marie Howe in this very beautiful film
directed by Rick King.
"If you are lucky in this life
A window will appear on a battlefield between two armies
And when the soldiers look into the window
They don't see their enemies
They see themselves as children
And they stop fighting
And go home and go to sleep
When they wake up, the land is well again."
By Cameron Penny]
To learn more about these film visit
Cinema Libre Studio
http://www.cinemalibrestudio.com/
6) PROTEST the Anniversary of the U.S.-led COUP in HAITI
Monday, Feb. 28, 4:30 p.m. Rally in UN Plaza,
San Francisco (under the Simon Bolivar statue at Hyde Street)
- proceeding at 5 p.m. March stops at sites representing
attempts to destroy democracy in Haiti, including SF Chronicle,
the Chilean, Brazilian and French consulates, and U.S.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office.
7) Supervisor Chris Daly introduces Resolution Against Torture
From School of the Americas Watch West February 18 bulletin -
BREAKING NEWS:
Supervisor Chris Daly introduces Resolution Against Torture
to the SF Board of Supervisors "Resolution Urging the
US Government to Abide by International Treaties and
Geneva Conventions..."
8) Venezuela shuts down Maccas and Coca Cola (link only)
By Stuart Munckton
From Green Left Weekly, February 23, 2005
http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/616/616p14c.htm
9) Following in the Footsteps of MLK: Education is a Civil Right
By Douglas MacDonald, Community-Labor Alliance
Dmacdonald94591@yahoo.com
10) Global Eye (link only)
Sword Play
By Chris Floyd
Published: February 18, 2005
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/02/18/120.html
11) "VIETNAM ALL OVER AGAIN"
Words and Music by
Barry David Butler
12) "U.S. is Preparing New Aggressions" (link only)
Venezuela's Chavez Accuses U.S. Government of
Considering his Assassination
Sunday, Feb 20, 2005
By: Cleto A. Sojo - Venezuelanalysis.com
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1514
13) Week of Campus and High School Resistance
Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 18
Students & Youth Mobilize Against War & Racism
Initiated by: The Global Resistance Network and
Youth & Student A.N.S.W.E.R.
14) US Declares that Iraqis must destroy (link only)
their own seeds
Forwarded from: sfsapo@msn.com
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/KHA501A.html
15) Why Go to College, When You Can be Cannon Fodder? (link only)
Do You Know What Your Kids Are Watching on
"Educational" TV at School?
By Dr. TERESA WHITEHURST
February 17, 2005
http://counterpunch.org/whitehurst02172005.html
16) UN Warns of New Chaos if
Afghan Grievances Not Met
By David Brunnstrom
KABUL (Reuters)
Mon Feb 21, 2005 07:41 AM ET
http://www.reuters.com/
newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7688493&src=eDialog/
GetContent§ion=news
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
1) LAST CHANCE TO GET ON THE BD. OF ED. SPEAKERS LIST!
CALL 415-241-6427, 241-6493 or 241-6000
TUESDAY, FEB.22, BETWEEN 8:00 AM AND 3:00PM
HELP STOP MILITARY RECRUITMENT IN OUR SCHOOLS!
SPEAK OUT AT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING!
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 7:00 p.m
555 Franklin St., 2nd floor (near Golden Gate).
(Each speaker will get only 60 seconds to address
the board-so keep it short and to the point.)
We are asking that this issue be put on the agenda of
the March 8th meeting and that this be the only point on
the agenda so that we have ample time to discuss this
very important issue!)
Draft Resolution for San Francisco Board of Education
Cut Ties with the Military:
WHEREAS, the United States military is actively recruiting high
school students into the military to fight in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, many young San Francisco high school alumni are
presently serving in military units fighting in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, it is San Francisco City policy by virtue of
Proposition N, to bring all U.S. troops home from Iraq now; and
WHEREAS, over 1,448 U.S. soldiers and approximately 100,000
Iraqis have been killed in this war and over 10,000 U.S. soldiers
and unknown thousands of Iraqis have been wounded; and
WHEREAS, the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on the war
have robbed our children of resources that should be spent on
education and other human needs; and
WHEREAS, military presence in our schools legitimizes the
message that violence is acceptable; THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED THAT:
It shall be the policy of the San Francisco Board of Education
to support cutting all ties with the United States military,
including, but not limited to: Ending military recruitment
on campuses; ending the Junior Reserved Officer Training
Corps (JROTC); and guaranteeing that all students and
parents are informed of their right to deny military recruiters
access to their names, addresses and telephone numbers.
Bay Area United Against War (BAUAW) • www.bauaw.org •
P.O. Box 318021, San Francisco, CA 94131-8021 • 414-824-8730
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
2) WE ALL STAND WITH LYNNE STEWART!
NO JAIL TIME FOR LYNNE!
PLEASE WRITE LETTERS TODAY:
SUGGESTION AS TO FORMAT OF LETTERS
TO BE WRITTEN ON BEHALF OF LYNNE STEWART
MARGIN: Please leave at least a one-inch left-hand margin to
allow us to bind the letter into the appendix to the sentencing
memorandum that is being filed on
Lynne's behalf.
INSIDE ADDRESS: Honorable John G. Koeltl
United States District Judge
Southern District of New York
United States Courthouse
500 Pearl Street
New York, New York 10007
GREETING: Honorable Sir or Dear Judge Koeltl:
BODY: Briefly introduce yourself and set forth your relationship
to Lynne.
Briefly discuss yourself - your position in work and in society.
State that you are aware that Lynne is to be sentenced following
a jury verdict of guilty on serious charges: The remainder of
your letter should discuss whatever you believe to weigh in
favor of no jail time. If possible, you should tell of an incident
where she helped you out or engaged in commendable
community service. Do not try to argue that she is not guilty
or was unfairly conviction. Focus on the unfairness of the
government's actions in bringing the charges; the way in
which the government portrayed her, etc.
* Typewritten letters if possible are preferred.
*
WHEN LETTER IS COMPLETED: Please mail the final product
to the following address:
Jill R. Shellow-Lavine, Esq.
2537 Post Road
Southport, CT 06890
Do not send your letters to the judge. We ask that you
forward your letter me so that the lawyers can present it to
Judge Koeltl with the other letters being written for this purpose.
This is the manner in which letters will have the greatest impact.
If they are sent directly to the Judge's chambers, they may have
less of an impact and could cause the judge a substantial
inconvenience (and annoyance).
Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact the defense committee at
www.lynnestewart.org.
Sincerely,
Jill R. Shellow-Lavine
Attorney for Lynne Stewart
For more information go to:
www.LynneStewart.org
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
3) The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
Presents: Conscientious Objectors Discuss War
Sunday, February 27 at the Humanist Hall, 390
27th St. @ Broadway, Oakland 3pm-6:30pm
Join CCCO and Conscientious Objector panelists;
Aimee Allison, Dale Bartlett, David Harris, Rev.
Dr. Dorsey Blake and Jeff Paterson, in a
discussion on war, draft and conscience,
moderated by Steve Morse, CCCO GI Rights Program
Coordinator.
Also, film maker Mark Manning, independent
reporter Dahr Jamail and military mom Nadia
McCaffrey offer reports about their recent trips
to Iraq and Jordan.
Refreshments.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
4) March 19, 2005 Global Day of Action
No to War Occupation ˆ Iraq, Palestine, Haiti,
Afghanistan, Cuba Everywhere!
Bring the Troops Home Now!
Money for People‚s Needs, Not War!
San Francisco: March Assembles: 11 a.m. Dolores Park
Rally: 1 p.m. Civic Center
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
5) COMING TO THE BAY AREA SOON
ARE TWO POWERFUL ANTIWAR MOVIES
"Mission Accomplished" is a a brutally vivid documentary
filmed entirely on the ground in Iraq. The reality of this
war for American troops is contrasted to the
overwhelming reality of the devastation felt and experienced
by the people of Iraq.
"Mission Accomplished" will open March 18th:
4 Star
2200 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA 94121
415.666.3488
"Voices In Wartime" is a compelling portrayal of human
experience with war through poetry, both from the point
of view of those who were in combat and those who are left
behind.
"Voices In Wartime" will play in S.F. on April 15th at:
Landmark Lumiere 3
1572 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
[This poem by fourth-grader Cameron Penny was read
by Marie Howe in this very beautiful film
directed by Rick King.
"If you are lucky in this life
A window will appear on a battlefield between two armies
And when the soldiers look into the window
They don't see their enemies
They see themselves as children
And they stop fighting
And go home and go to sleep
When they wake up, the land is well again."
By Cameron Penny]
To learn more about these film visit
Cinema Libre Studio
http://www.cinemalibrestudio.com/
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
6) PROTEST the Anniversary of the U.S.-led COUP in HAITI
Monday, Feb. 28, 4:30 p.m. Rally in UN Plaza,
San Francisco (under the Simon Bolivar statue at Hyde Street)
- proceeding at 5 p.m. March stops at sites representing
attempts to destroy democracy in Haiti, including SF Chronicle,
the Chilean, Brazilian and French consulates, and U.S.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office.
One year after democratically-elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
was forced out of his country by the U.S., protesters are calling for the
restoration of constitutional government in Haiti. The protest is
sponsored by the Haiti Action Committee, East Bay Sanctuary
Covenant and the ANSWER Coalition.
Contact: 510-483-7481 or 415-821-6545
FACES OF HAITI 2005 . . . a slide presentation and discussion
scheduled for 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 23, 2005, at the
First United Methodist Church, 9 Ross Valley Drive (at Fourth Street),
San Rafael.
Two members of the Let Haiti Live Women;s Delegation . . .
January 13-22 [to] Port au Prince women's cooperatives and
highly successful village community-based health clinic also
their experience at the World Social Forum [where] MITF
sponsored participation of Haitian nationals
A $5-10 donation is requested. No one turned away for lack
of funds. For more information, please call 415/924-3227.
This venue is wheelchair accessible.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
7) Supervisor Chris Daly introduces Resolution Against Torture
From School of the Americas Watch West February 18 bulletin -
BREAKING NEWS:
Supervisor Chris Daly introduces Resolution Against Torture
to the SF Board of Supervisors "Resolution Urging the
US Government to Abide by International Treaties and
Geneva Conventions..."
Authored by Ruth Goode. (Ruth's husband, Carlos Mauricio, is
a Salvadoran torture survivor, an activist with SOA Watch and
founder of Stop Impunity!) Ruth states: "Like many of you, I have
been horrified by the news from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo,
incensed by the Bush administration justifications for torture, and
disgusted by the spectacle of them trying to weasel their way out
of the Geneva Convention. As a result, I drafted a resolution for
the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to urge the government to
renounce the use of torture and abide by both the constitution and
international law. The resolution was introduced by Chris Daly, and
co-sponsored by Ross Mirkarimi."
Please consider emailing or calling your SF supervisor in support
of the resolution, particularly if you live in a more conservative part
of town. Below is a list of contact information for the various
supervisors. And at the end of this email (*) is wording of the
SF Resolution, which will be voted on next Tuesday, 22nd February .
Please ask other San Franciscans to call their supervisors regarding
this resolution. Contrary to what some may think is "NOT the
business of our local Board of Supervisors" this Resolution is also
an educational effort to reach our children who are being approached
in public schools by military personnel hoping to enlist students
into the armed forces. It is important that our community take
a stand against torture and that the children of San Francisco
become aware of these principles of decency and international law.
Jake McGoldrick - District 1
Jake.McGoldrick@sfgov.org
(415) 554-7410 - voice
Michela Alioto-Pier - District 2
Michela.Alioto-Pier@sfgov.org
(415) 554-7752 - voice
Aaron Peskin - District 3
Aaron.Peskin@sfgov.org
(415) 554-7450 - voice
Fiona Ma - District 4
Fiona.Ma@sfgov.org
(415) 554-7460 - voice
Ross Mirkarimi - District 5
Ross.Mirkarimi@sfgov.org
(415) 554-7630 - voice
Chris Daly - District 6
Chris.Daly@sfgov.org
(415) 554-7970 - voice
Sean Elsbernd - District 7
Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org
(415) 554-6516 - voice
Bevan Dufty - District 8
Bevan.Dufty@sfgov.org
(415) 554-6968 - voice
Tom Ammiano - District 9
Tom.Ammiano@sfgov.org
(415) 554-5144 - voice
Sophie Maxwell - District 10
Sophie.Maxwell@sfgov.org
(415) 554-7670 - voice
Gerardo Sandoval - District 11
Gerardo.Sandoval@sfgov.org
(415) 554-6975 - voice
DRAFT OF THE SF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' RESOLUTION
AGAINST TORTURE:
Whereas San Francisco is proud to have been the birthplace
of the United Nations; and
Whereas San Francisco remains dedicated to the principles
articulated in the United Nations founding charter, including
the pledge "to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in
the dignity and worth of the human person" and "to establish
conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations
arising from treaties and other sources of international law can
be maintained"; and
WHEREAS members of the United States armed forces and
their affiliates have used torture, as documented in two reports,
by an Army panel chaired by Major Gen. George Fay and by
a commission headed by former Defense Secretary James
Schlesinger; and
WHEREAS the torture has been conducted openly and on
a widespread scale, suggesting a serious failure of governmental
policy if not actual official acceptance;
WHEREAS official government statements have authorized or
permitted the use of interrogation techniques that clearly violate
the common sense meaning of the word "torture" as well as the
interpretations given the term by the courts of the United States
and by authoritative international tribunals; ; and
WHEREAS the use of torture is inhumane, illegal and destructive
of the democratic sensibilities of a free society, to which we,
as the Board of Supervisors of the City of San Francisco, are
committed; and
WHEREAS the threat or use of torture is universally condemned
under international law, and admits of no exceptions or
derogations [see, e.g., the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949
and the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment] ]; and
WHEREAS the use of torture places the United States Government
in violation of international treaties to which it is a party [e.g. the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the U.N.
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949], and
WHEREAS the use of torture violates the US Constitution in
(a) the Fourth Amendment's right to be free of unreasonable
search or seizure (which encompasses the right not to be abused
by the police), (b) the Fifth Amendment's right against
self-incrimination (which encompasses the right to remain
silent during interrogations), (c) the Fifth and the Fourteenth
Amendments' guarantees of due process (ensuring fundamental
fairness in criminal justice system) and (d) the Eighth Amendment's
right to be free of cruel or unusual punishment];
WHEREAS the use of torture violates our commitment to the rule
of law as a protector of the integrity and dignity of the human
person; and
WHEREAS the secrecy which attends the use of torture violates
our commitment to open government and the dissemination of
true and accurate information of our government's actions; and
WHEREAS the use of torture dehumanizes and debases not only
the victim but also the torturer, to the detriment of civil society; and
WHEREAS it is well documented that torture is a wholly ineffective
means of obtaining reliable information; and
WHEREAS the use of torture by the United States armed forces or
its affiliates undermines the moral authority of United States'
endeavors to improve international human rights; and
WHEREAS the use of torture increases the likelihood that members
of the United States armed forces will be subjected to torture in
the future.
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors hereby urges the
United States government to renounce forevermore the covert or
public use or threat of torture, for any purpose whatsoever.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors hereby condemns
the use or threat of torture by the United States government as
a barbarous violation of human rights, intellectual freedom and
the rule of law.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors urges the United
States government to (a) comply fully with the four Geneva Conventions
of August 12, 1949, including timely compliance with all provisions
that require access to protected persons by the International
Committee of the Red Cross; (b) observe the minimum protections
of their common Article 3 and related customary international
law; and (c) enforce such compliance through all applicable laws,
including the War Crimes Act and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors urges the
United States government to take all measures necessary to ensure
that all foreign persons captured, detained, interned or otherwise
held within the custody or under the physical control of the United
States are treated in accordance with standards that the United
States would consider lawful if employed with respect to a captive
American;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors urges the
United States government to take all measures necessary to
ensure that no person within the custody or under the physical
control of the United States is turned over to another government
when the United States has substantial grounds to believe that
such person will be in danger of being subjected to torture or
other cruel or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors urges the
President and Congress to establish an independent, bipartisan
commission with subpoena power to prepare a full account of
detention and interrogation practices carried out by the United
States, to make public findings, and to provide recommendations
designed to ensure that such practices adhere faithfully to the
Constitution and laws of the United States and treaties to which
the United States is a signatory, including the Geneva Conventions,
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, and related customary international law,
including Article 75 of the 1977 Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors urges the
United States government to comply fully and in a timely manner
with its reporting obligations as a State Party to the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors urges that, in
establishing and executing national policy regarding the treatment
of persons within the custody or under the physical control of the
United States government, Congress and the Executive Branch
should consider how United States practices may affect (a) the
treatment of United States persons who may be captured and
detained by other nations and (b) the credibility of objections by
the United States to the use of torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment against United States persons.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be widely publicized,
including the press, the President of the United States, the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and members of
the United States Congress.
SOAWW CONTACTS :
SOAWW - East Bay: Robert Nixon - 510-533-3120 -
robertnixon@mindspring.com
SOAWW - Contra Costa: Natalie Russell - 925-934-0759 -
russell1626@juno.com
SOAWW - Sacramento: Janice Freeman - 916-812-7680 -
janice@compudigital.com
SOAWW - Placer: Denise Sewart - 916-300-0482 -
sewart@quiknet.com
SOAWW - San Jose: William O'Connell - 408-286-9341 -
wocdoc@earthlink.net
SOAWW - San Francisco: Dolores Perez Priem - 415-387-2287 -
doloresmp@aol.com
Prepared by School of the Americas Watch West
National: www.soaw.org
Bay Area websites: www.PeaceHost.net/soaw-w/ and
http://www.uusf.org/Committees/SOAW/
San Jose: http://teachers.bcp.org/llauro or wocdoc@earthlink.net
Los Angeles: www.soaw-la.org
Other News From School of the Americas Watch West
February 18 bulletin:
John Negroponte's nomination to be our nation's first
"Intelligence Director"
Yesterday, John Negroponte was nominated by President
Bush to be Director of national intelligence (overseeing 15 spy
agencies). Negroponte served as Ambassador to Honduras during
the 1980s, and despite denying any knowledge of death squads
operating in Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, declassified
documents from the National Security Archives clearly implicate
his knowledge of and support for massive human rights abuses,
disappearances and murder during the this time. Peter Kornluth,
senior analyst of the National Security Archives in Washington,
states that "Someone who is a career diplomat...on paper doesn't
seem to have the intelligence background needed" for this job...,
adding "The fact that he certainly departed from his diplomatic
role and was involved in paramilitary operations against Nicaragua...
means he has had a relationship with covert operations in the past."
Please read Sr. Laetitia Bordes account of her face-to-face meetings
in 1982 with Ambassador Negroponte, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras,
where she went to search for missing friends from El Salvador.
Sr. Bordes is an member of the Society of Helpers and active with
our SOA Watch movement.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/47/385.html
Senator Dianne Feinstein is on the Senate Intelligence Committee
which Mr. Negroponte will appear before for confirmation. She
can be reached locally at 415-393-0707, or in Washington, DC
at 202-224-3841. The hearings will be held sometime "..in
early March..."
NEW EVENTS:
"Fighting for Our Schools, Fighting Against Imperialism"
Thursday, March 3, 2005 - 6:30 pm
OAKLANDISH GALLERY
411 2nd Street (between Broadway & Franklin, down from
Everett & Jones' barbecue)
Oakland, CA
Contact: Aaron Shuman 510-917-1931 or www.oaklandish.org
$5-$25 sliding scale
To benefit SOA Watch and the Attica 2 Abu Ghraib conference
A panel discussion and cultural event to link the movements against
the military, the prison-industrial complex, and school closures.
The panel includes Carlos Mauricio, Salvadoran torture survivor and
recently returned from visiting in South America; Aaron Shuman,
journalist and SOA Watch activist and Prisoner of
Conscience; and Kali Akuno-Williams, founder of Oakland's School
for Social Justice and Community Development.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
8) Venezuela shuts down Maccas and Coca Cola (link only)
By Stuart Munckton
From Green Left Weekly, February 23, 2005
http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/616/616p14c.htm
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
9) Following in the Footsteps of MLK: Education is a Civil Right
By Douglas MacDonald, Community-Labor Alliance
Dmacdonald94591@yahoo.com
I am the son and a grandson of high school English teachers. My family
has over 35 years of public school teaching to their credit. My daughter
is a 2004 Benicia High School Graduate and I am the product of public
schools.
I, like many others moved to Benicia ,CA not just for its fine weather
and water views but for her schools. In fact, my wife and I invited her
sister and two children to come live with us while her husband, who
joined the army out of economic desperation, endures his tour of duty
in occupied Afghanistan .
You see, the schools in Hawaii , where they are based, are so bad, that
we urged her to come live with us, save some money and enjoy our
schools. Little did any of us realize the magnitude of not only Benicia 's
scholastic crisis, but of Vallejo 's, Oakland 's and scores of other
communities across California and this Nation. The Benicia School
Board just decided this past Friday to close the school my niece
attends.
Our schools funding crises is simply a reflection of the larger
economic crises that defunds our critical social infrastructure while
at the same time implementing massive corporate tax cuts and
bloating military budgets. In the face of these attacks, our local
officials offer us nothing but hand wringing at best and hatchet
wielding at worse.
To focus merely just on ones own district or city's educational
crises and pretend that the crises is not national in scope and
deserves a national solution is dangerous and self-defeating.
We will never be able to adequately address this crises without
brining in the larger regional, state and national perspective.
Yes, we must confront problems in our own backyard, but when
the neighborhood is burning down, it would be wiser to work
with ALL of your neighbors to put out the fire.
There are few short term solutions other than raising local taxes
via ballot initiatives. Yet, these ballot initiative beyond stealing
precious recourses and time, rarely pass and when they do, they
are regressive property taxes on the citizenry rather then
progressive taxation of corporate wealth. Local parcel taxes
are a false promise as they ameliorate only local conditions at
best leaving the larger and poorer population in the lurch.
Yes, I supported the last parcel tax in my home town as its
passing would have prevented the closure of my niece's school,
the funding of dozens of programs and the saving of teachers
pay and healthcare. Yet, I could never again support a parcel
tax because of their fundamentally regressive and provincial
nature. There is more than enough wealth not only in Benicia ,
but California and this Nation to fund free quality education and
healthcare for every single person.
Our hands are tied via prop 13 which requires any new taxes not
implemented by the legislature to be passed with a 66.7% super-
majority. So even when a majority of the population chooses to
tax either themselves or corporate wealth, they cannot. Moreover,
state government and ballot initiatives are largely manipulated
and controlled by corporate interests. We have seen several
populist initiatives both on the local and statewide level on issues
like healthcare and the environment, defeated by money pouring
in from Wall Street and local big business.
Yet, we still have the capacity to achieve stunning victories like:
integration, the 40 hour week, employer paid healthcare, the lunch
break, etc. None of these victories were gained simply through
parliamentary politics or disconnected local actions. These victories
were forged through struggle by the efforts of thousands of parents,
students and workers joining together to demand justice.
Our local school districts operate like little serfdoms with each
community tilling its own soil trying to grow an educated population.
But we know that some serfs had better soil and others have poorer
soil simply because of where they were born. As long as serfs fought
among themselves over their landlords crumbs they continued to
live in servitude, alienated from their natural ally, their neighbor.
The serfs only became free when they realized that when they
worked together, planting and harvesting the entire field, together,
they produced a better and larger bounty with less effort. Together
they achieved more than working separately. They achieved their
very freedom.
In summary, the defunding of education and healthcare should
be answered with defiance, not cuts. To insist on working solely
within the system of local school board meetings, lobbying and
initiatives is to accept defeat as the system is rigged to the favor
of the status quo - - the status quo which says schools should be
closed, oil refineries should earn billions in excess profits and wars
should be paid for on the backs of our children.
Martin Luther King Jr. would have never integrated the Montgomery,
Alabama bus system through ballot initiatives or meeting with area
politicians or founding private foundations. King and the thousands
of other parents, teachers and workers, who took part in the Civil
Rights struggle, knew that the racist and bigoted system that
controlled local, state and national governments would never be
opened via traditional parliamentary procedures. Hence, marches,
pickets, strikes and sit-ins were used and successfully pressured the
status-quo from the outside, to change. The institutional opposition
King faced to integration is similar in nature to the ax-wielding and
school closing efforts of local and national politicians and school
boards. Remember sometimes the best defense turns out to be
the best offense. We must organize to stop all closures and
demand more funding locally, state-wide and nationally.
We can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the suffering of our
neighbors and their children. Our strength and the solution to this
crises rests upon us working together. Specifically, I ask you to
consider joining with members of the Vallejo Teachers Association,
Oakland Education Association, the California School Employees
Association (CSEA-Vallejo), Service Employees International Union
(SEIU 250), parents, students and the Community-Labor Alliance
in organizing a regional "Unity Rally to Stop Attacks on Education
and Healthcare."
Any support committee or foundation must focus resources on
supporting our teachers and students from attacks by Sacramento
and Washington . Funds provide should be used to support local
participation in a coordinated regional, state and national campaign
to fully fund education and healthcare and fight back. The idea of
creating foundations simply to solve local problems will only create
worse problems for us all by polarizing and fragmenting our
neighborhoods and society and sapping the collective strength
we must bring to bear to end these attacks once and for all.
There are solutions. The money to fund our educational system
exists, the will to claim that wealth, as of yet, does not. Parents,
teachers, students and workers must join together not only for
support and solidarity but to work together to fight back. We need
look no further than the mirror upon which we gaze each morning
to see our solution. We are the ones we have been waiting for!
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
10) Global Eye (link only)
Sword Play
By Chris Floyd
Published: February 18, 2005
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/02/18/120.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
11) "VIETNAM ALL OVER AGAIN"
Words and Music by
Barry David Butler
Woke up the other morning
Couldn't stand it any more
Eight more soldiers killed
In this God forsaken war
We sent our troops to battle
Without the proper tools
Killed and maimed beyond repair
They must take us all for fools
There was a time long ago
Mislead into a war
They lied about the facts back then
It happened once before
It was a mistake to fight that war
Killed over 50,000 men
The country's never gotten over it
Vietnam All Over Again
The chicken hawks in Washington
Never fought when they were called
Now they send their neighbors' kids
We should all be appalled
Fossilized, hyocrites
Politician fraud
They tell us crap...disgusting lies
While our troops get killed abroad
Chorus
They fudged and massaged the message
Can't seem to admit a mistake
They're leading us over a cliff
A delusion, a horrible fake
They live in a parallel universe
Left is right, and up is down
They go on smiling right to our face
While we lose our breath and drown
Chours
(c)2004 All Rights Reserved
Barry David Butler
954-455-9883
MUZIQUE@webtv.net
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
12) "U.S. is Preparing New Aggressions" (link only)
Venezuela's Chavez Accuses U.S. Government of
Considering his Assassination
Sunday, Feb 20, 2005
By: Cleto A. Sojo - Venezuelanalysis.com
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1514
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
13) Week of Campus and High School Resistance
Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 18
Students & Youth Mobilize Against War & Racism
Initiated by: The Global Resistance Network and
Youth & Student A.N.S.W.E.R.
On Saturday, March 19, people in the U.S. and all over the world will
march against the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and colonial occupation
everywhere. During the week of the second anniversary of the "shock
and awe" invasion of Iraq, our generation will make its presence felt.
Help build the militant and vibrant youth and student movement that
has grown continuously over the past three years. We have opposed
the Bush administration's cynical manipulation of the events of
September 11 to carry out wars and occupations abroad, and attacks
on people's rights at home. Tens of thousands of young people have
mobilized for mass antiwar demonstrations, and have organized
walkouts, sit-ins and more at their schools and on their campuses.
The recent January 20th, CounterInaugural student walkouts were
a big step in the reconsolidation of the Student and Youth Movement.
Students walked out of class in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle,
Boston, Tucson, Boulder, Philadelphia and many other cities in
resistance to Bush's right-wing policies of war and repression.
Let's continue to take the youth and student struggle to a new
level. We, as students and youth, need a future with jobs, healthcare,
housing, and education, not war and occupation.
Organize a protest against military recruiters, a teach-in, a campus
demonstration, an educational forum, a walkout, a sit-in, a rally or
other antiwar activity at your school the week of March 14 to
March 18. Join students all over the U.S. for a week of campus
resistance to war, racism, greed and all forms of injustice. Then,
on March 19, mobilize for local and regional demonstrations
taking place across the country.
Let other students and everyone else around the globe know
about a scheduled antiwar event at your high school or college
campus the week of March 14 to March 18. To connect with
other students and youth fill out the action form by clicking here.
By filling out this form your local event will be posted so that
other youth and students, as well as other activists, in your
area can support the activity
Funds are Urgently Needed
A.N.S.W.E.R. organizers and affiliates are busy organizing local
actions on March 19 all over the country. Funds are urgently
needed to help the anti-war movement continue to get stronger.
We can't do it without your help. You can make a contribution
through a secure server by clicking here, where you can also
find information on how to contribute by check.
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.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
14) US Declares that Iraqis must destroy (link only)
their own seeds
Forwarded from: sfsapo@msn.com
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/KHA501A.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
15) Why Go to College, When You Can be Cannon Fodder? (link only)
Do You Know What Your Kids Are Watching on
"Educational" TV at School?
By Dr. TERESA WHITEHURST
February 17, 2005
http://counterpunch.org/whitehurst02172005.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
16) UN Warns of New Chaos if
Afghan Grievances Not Met
By David Brunnstrom
KABUL (Reuters)
Mon Feb 21, 2005 07:41 AM ET
http://www.reuters.com/
newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7688493&src=eDialog/
GetContent§ion=news
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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