GET THE MILITARY OUR OF OUR SCHOOLS!
VOTE YES ON I!
***********************************
COLLEGE NOT COMBAT HIGH SCHOOL
LEAFLETING FOR PROP. I
MONDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 7:30 A.M.-9:00 A.M.
College Not Combat is organizing leafleting for
Proposition I at Mission and George Washington
High Schools on the first day of school in San Francisco,
Monday, August 29 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
We need volunteers who can show up at 7:30 a.m. at either
school on that day for no more than an hour.
So far we need more people for Washington H.S.
If you can help with either school contact:
Jeremy, 609-610-2332, jtully@riseup.net
Bonnie, 415-824-8730, giobon@sbcglobal.net
Mission High School
3750 18th Street
(Entrance on 18th Street between Dolores and Church)
Washington High School
600 32nd Ave.
(Entrance on 32nd avenue in the middle
of the block between Geary and Balboa)
A press release has been sent out and
we want to make a good showing.
Hopefully many of you can make the next
CNC meeting this Saturday, Aug. 27, 2:00 p.m.,
110 Capp Street (Buzz #202)
San Francisco
The first of the printed material will be ready by then.
In solidarity,
Bonnie, outreach committee, CNC
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BAUAW NEWSLETTER-WEDNESDAY-AUGUST 24, 2003
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
1) LETTER OF OUTRAGE AGAINST OP-ED PIECE IN S.F.
CHRONICLE, by Bonnie Weinstein
The Op-Ed piece:
OPINION: San Francisco Declares Itself a Military-Free Zone
By Cinnamon Stillwell
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2005/08/24/cstillwell.DTL&type=printable
2) Stand Up and Be Counted: No to War and Occupation
The George Galloway US Tour
September 13-24:
Boston, New York, Toronto, Madison, Chicago,
Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C.
San Francisco:
Wednesday, September 21 at 7pm
Mission High School
3750 18th Street (at the corner of Dolores)
3 Blocks from 16th Street BART stop
Tickets are $10-20 at the door
Call 415-607-1924 or email galloway2005@comcast.net
3) PITTSBURGH POLICE ATTACK NON-VIOLENT PROTESTORS WITH TASERS,
PEPPER SPRAY AND K-9 UNITS
Counter-Recruitment Demonstration Ends in Five Arrests and Two
Hospitalizations
For Immediate Release August 21, 2005
Contact: David Meieran, 412-996-4986
Nathan Shaffer, 412-720-9276
4) Sixty-five years since Trotsky's Death
By Rob Sewell
http://www.marxist.com/History/anniversary-death-trotsky082205.html
5) "The Morality of an unjust occupation" Daniel J. Smiechowski
SmiechowskiD@aol.com
Mon, 22 Aug 2005 21:57:46 EDT
6) Bush Defends Iraq Policy, Saying Crawford
Protesters Are Wrong
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 23, 2005
Filed at 12:16 p.m. ET
DONNELLY, Idaho (AP) -- President Bush suggested Tuesday
that anti-war protesters such as Cindy Sheehan, who want
the troops brought home immediately, do not represent the
views of most U.S. military families and are ''advocating
a policy that would weaken the United States.''
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Bush.html?hp&ex=1124856000&en=7d7a2c5ef9642ece&ei=5094&partner=homepage
7) Scientists Speak Up on Mix
of God and Science
By CORNELIA DEAN
Published: August 23, 2005
At a recent scientific conference at City College of New York,
a student in the audience rose to ask the panelists an
unexpected question: "Can you be a good scientist and
believe in God?"
Reaction from one of the panelists, all Nobel laureates,
was quick and sharp. "No!" declared Herbert A. Hauptman,
who shared the chemistry prize in 1985 for his work on
the structure of crystals.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/national/23believers.html
8) EMERGENCY: STOP THE TEXAS EXECUTION OF FRANCES NEWTON
ON SEPTEMBER 14!
FRANCES IS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN
SCHEDULED TO BE EXECUTED BY TEXAS IN MODERN HISTORY.
NEW EVIDENCE AFFIRMS HER INNOCENCE.
Please join the online campaign to STOP THE EXECUTION OF
FRANCES NEWTON! She is scheduled to be executed by the state
of Texas on September 14.
YOUR EMERGENCY ACTION IS NEEDED NOW!
Send emails to Texas Governor Rick Perry, Attorney General
Greg Abbott, President Bush, Congressional leaders and
Senators and Representatives from Texas and the Texas
State Legislature, the Mayor of Houston and Houston City
Councilors, The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, U.N.
Secy General Kofi Anan and your senators and representative,
DEMANDING that Frances' execution be stopped IMMEDIATELY!
Go to
http://www.iacenter.org/francesnewtoncampaign.shtml
For more information and to order DVD's of Frances or
postcards to the Texas Governor, go to
http://www.freefrances.org
STOP THE EXECUTION OF FRANCES NEWTON CAMPAIGN
International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, Room 206
New York, NY 10011
1-212-633-6646
email: francesnewtoncampaign@iacenter.org
http://www.iacenter.org
action.news
9) The Sacred and the Profane
Suicide Bombers
By JAMES PETRAS
One of the least discussed but most important aspect of the 'suicide bombers' (SB) attacks is the Anglo-American (AA) systematic and profound degradation of that which the Islamic religion holds most sacred: its code of ethics, its mode of spiritual practice, its religious rituals, its sacred texts and its respect for the observant believer.
http://www.counterpunch.org/petras08202005.html
10) GLOBAL MILITARY SPENDING THIS YEAR:
$650,096,400,001 AND COUNTING
http://www.milspend.org/
11) FOCUS | New Abu Ghraib Images Far Worse Than Originals
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305Z.shtml
12) The Newest Indians
By JACK HITT
Published: August 21, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/magazine/21NATIVE.html
13) Here is a reminder about a great show this Saturday.
Please come out and enjoy Dave Lippman, support WRL and the
conference, ON THE FRONTLINES: Options for Youth in Times of
War, Oct. 22 & 23 at UC Berkeley that we're co-sponsoring.
The show is going to be much more hilarious than this simple
message. Dave is great! Please send the following message
out NOW! Thanks.
-Jim
War Resisters League West Presents
Dave Lippman, Political Satirist
featuring George Shrub, the only known singing C.I.A. agent
plus "Star of Goliath": songs and slides encapsulating modern
Holy Land history and imperial machinations based on his
trip there last year.
Saturday
27 August 2005
8:00 pm
"The Kitchen" 225 Potrero
[in SF bet. 15th & 16th Sts]
Suggested Donation: $10 to $20; N.O.T.A.
Benefits the upcoming counter-military recruitment
conference for youth and allies:
ON THE FRONTLINES: Options for Youth in Times of War,
Oct. 22 & 23 at UC Berkeley
Just a few comments garnered over Dave Lippman's
illustrious 35 year career:
"Viciously funny"
-Guardian (England)
"An expert shredder of today's news"
-S.F. Weekly
"The dean felt that more harm than
good would come from your visit."
-student, Skidmore College, NY
more info about:
THE GIG and War Resisters League West: wrlwest.org
DAVE: davelippman.com (incl. audio and video samples!)
ON THE FRONTLINES conference: www.objector.org/moos-bay.html
Jim Haber says Dave Lippman is a serious joy to see and hear,
and he means it! Come out and support a very important
conference at the same time.
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.
14) DOCTORS FOR IRAQ WARNS OF URGENT HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
AS US/IRAQI MILITARY ATTACKS CONTINUE IN THE WEST OF
IRAQ
15) October 8th & 9th Blue Angels above town for Fleet Week
Stephen McNeil
American Friends Service Committee
Assistant Regional Director for Peacebuilding & Relief
65 Ninth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 565-0201 x 12
fax: (415) 565-0204
16) The U.S. in Iraq
Bringing Freedom and Democracy
or Occupation?
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.
Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church,
55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek
Speakers:
STEPHEN ZUNES is a professor of politics and chair of the
Peace and Justice Studies program at the University of San
Francisco, and the author of
Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism.
SEAN O'NEILL is a decorated Marine who served twice in Iraq
and now speaks out against the war.
Learn more about the historical and political context of the
conflict and the reality of current conditions in Iraq.
Suggested Donation: $5.00-$20.00
Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center, 55 Eckley Lane,
Walnut Creek, CA
925-933-7850
17) Celebrate Women's Rights Day with Radical Women and
friends at an event titled,
"Hasta la Vista, Schwarzenegger! Women Resist
Rightwing Attacks"on Saturday, August 27, at 7:30pm
in San Francisco.
18) Suffer the Little Muslims
A look at the appalling discrimination against Middle
Eastern students countenanced by Bay Area public schools
By Cristi Hegranes
Published: Wednesday, August 17, 2005
http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/current/news/feature.html
19) Support group forms for NWA strikers
By Barb Kucera, Workday Minnesota editor - August 22, 2005
The group, modeled after a similar solidarity organization
that operated during the Hormel strike, kicked off its efforts
Monday night at a program commemorating the 20th anniversary
of the struggle by members of United Food & Commercial Workers
Local P-9.
http://www.workdayminnesota.org/view_article.php?print=y&id=5a9e3b4a12ce5cb4e93149110dcd7a7c
20) Whitewash for blue: Misunderstanding
the Santa Clara County DA
by Junya
In Santa Clara County, the District Attorney's Office has
been ruthlessly effective in accommodating the police state's
ever-widening dragnet - while ensuring that the police
themselves continue to kill, brutalize and terrorize with
impunity. But Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Sinunu
consistently cloaks the scams in a wrapper that is
brazenly transparent.
http://www.sfbayview.com/081705/whitewash081705.shtml
21) ACTION: OPPOSE SHARON'S ADDRESS TO THE UN GENERAL
ASSEMBLY! DEMAND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF UN RESOLUTION 194!
DEMAND THE RIGHT TO RETURN OF PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
TO THEIR HOMELAND!
22) Police Chief Sees Drug Toll
With Father's Eyes
By JAMES DAO and GARY GATELY
August 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/national/24baltimore.html?hp&ex=1124942400&en=ebcccb42a9f2b542&ei=5094&partner=homepage#
23) Op-Ed Columnist
My Private Idaho
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: August 24, 2005
W. vacationed so hard in Texas he got bushed. He needed
a vacation from his vacation
W. didn't go alone, of course. Just as he took his beloved
feather pillow on the road during his 2000 campaign, now
he takes his beloved bike. An Air Force One steward tenderly
unloaded W.'s $3,000 Trek Fuel mountain bike when they
landed in Boise.
Gas is guzzling toward $3 a gallon. U.S. troop casualties
in Iraq are at their highest levels since the invasion.
As Donald Rumsfeld conceded yesterday, "The lethality,
however, is up." Afghanistan's getting more dangerous,
too. The defense secretary says he's raising troop levels
in both places for coming elections.
So our overextended troops must prepare for more forced
rotations, while the president hangs loose.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/opinion/24dowd.html
24) Israel Finishes Gaza Border Security Deal
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 24, 2005
Filed at 12:45 p.m. ET
But the government also issued orders to seize Palestinian
land to build a separation barrier that would in effect
annex the West Bank's largest settlement to Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said that in exchange for
the Gaza pullout, Israel expects to strengthen its hold
on major West Bank settlement blocs.
Palestinians condemned the construction of the barrier
around the Maaleh Adumim settlement, home to 30,000 Jews,
and accused Israel of quietly issuing the land-confiscation
order while the world's attention was focused on the Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html
25) US to Send More Troops to Iraq
The United States plans to send more troops to Iraq in
advance of an Oct. 15 referendum on a new Iraqi constitution,
which is considered unlikely to halt the country's violence,
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405I.shtml
26) COLLEGE NOT COMBAT PLANNING MEETING
Saturday, August 27, 2 PM; 110 Capp Street (Buzz #202)
www.collegenotcombat.org
27) Reuters calls for release of Iraqi cameraman
Wed Aug 24, 2005 08:20 AM ET
By Alastair Macdonald
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Reuters called on the U.S. military on
Wednesday to explain the detention of an Iraqi journalist
working for the agency, who has been held incommunicado for two
weeks, or release him immediately.
U.S. military spokesmen have refused to say why they are
holding Ali Omar Abrahem al-Mashhadani, a 36-year-old freelance
cameraman and photographer who has worked for the international
news organization for a year in Ramadi, capital of Anbar region.
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9461770&src=eDialog/GetContent
28) CCCO will be holding a GI Rights volunteer training on
A crucial element to slowing the military machine is helping
individual GIs get out of the military! As CCCO has done since
1948, we are supporting individuals in their resistance and
opposition to war. In particular, we are standing with
a group of people -GI's whose questioning and resistance
are increasing and becoming better known
29) The Climax of Humanity
By George Musser
Scientific American
September 2005 Issue
Demographically and economically, our era is unique in human
history. Depending on how we manage the next few decades,
we could usher in environmental sustainability - or collapse.
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=00031010-F7DA-1304-B72683414B7F0000
30) Op-Ed Columnist
Truth-Telling on Race? Not in Bush's Fantasyland
By BOB HERBERT
Published: August 25, 2005
The Bush administration has punished a Justice Department
official who dared to tell even a mild truth about racial
profiling by law enforcement officers in this country.
In 2001 President Bush selected Lawrence Greenfeld to head
the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which tracks crime patterns
and police tactics, among other things. But as Eric Lichtblau
of The Times reported in a front-page article yesterday,
Mr. Greenfeld is being demoted because he complained that
senior political officials were seeking to play down newly
compiled data about the aggressive treatment of black and
Hispanic drivers by police officers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/25/opinion/25herbert.html
31) Chavez Offers Cheap Gas to Poor in U.S.
By David Pace
Published on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 by Reuters
HAVANA, Cuba - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, popular
with the poor at home, offered on Tuesday to help needy
Americans with cheap supplies of gasoline.
Venezuela could supply gasoline to Americans at half the
price they now pay if intermediaries who "speculated ...
and exploited consumers" were cut out. "We want to sell
gasoline and heating fuel directly to poor communities
in the United States," the populist leader told reporters
at the end of a visit to Communist-run Cuba.
Chavez did not say how Venezuela would go about providing
gasoline to poor communities. Venezuelan state oil company
PDVSA owns Citgo, which has 14,000 gas stations in the
United States.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0824-06.htm
32) Military Families May Once Again
Lead Us Out of War
Casualties in the Heartland, 1968/2005
by Christian Appy
Published on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 by TomDispatch.com
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0824-28.htm
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
1) LETTER OF OUTRAGE AGAINST OP-ED PIECE IN S.F.
CHRONICLE, by Bonnie Weinstein
The Op-Ed piece:
OPINION: San Francisco Declares Itself a Military-Free Zone
By Cinnamon Stillwell
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2005/08/24/cstillwell.DTL&type=printable
Dear Editor,
The op-ed piece that appeared in the
Chronicle August 24, 2005 entitled,
"OPINION: San Francisco Declares Itself
a Military-Free Zone," by Cinnamon
Stillwell is libelous and filled with
the most rapacious red-bating I have
read since the McCarthy period in the
1950's. I take special exception to the
trashing of Al-Awda as a group that
"supports terrorism." The United Nations
--and the majority of everyone in the
world besides the U.S. and its partners
in crime support the Palestinian right
of return.
This article is outrageous and must be
rescinded. The American antiwar movement
isn't anti-American, we are anti-this
corrupt government! A government that
has and is committing mass murder in
Iraq and Afghanistan and supporting mass
murder in the part of Palestine they call
Israel--all of it based on lies that
benefit the wealthy elite and their
insatiable appetite for oil and power.
The terrorists live in the White House,
Senate and Congress for approving this
war, voting for the funds for this war,
and voting for the billions of dollars
worth of funds for Israel to continue
it's "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians
from their own land. And for allowing
and insisting that the military be
stationed in the schools to entice those
who have no other means for survival and
success in the world. They lie to them
outright. Convincing them that it's their
duty to defend their own enslavement!
Nothing about the antiwar movement in San
Francisco or elsewhere in this country is
"un-American." The war is un-American.
Our children are expected to give their
lives for a war based on a bunch of lies
--that's not only un-American it's inhuman!
The people of San Francisco have expressed
their opinion against the war in
November, 2004 by over a 63 percent
majority. This past spring a clear
majority of the citizens in Vermont
voted overwhelmingly in their "Town
Hall Meetings" held across their state
to "bring the troops home now." The
compulsion to register opposition to the
war electoraly is spreading. And we will
do it again this year in San Francisco,
with a yes vote on Proposition I, which
demands that the military keep it's hands
off our schools and away from our children
and grandchildren.
A yes vote on Prop. I will let the world
know that we in San Francisco say NO to
the military and NO to the war. And that
we will take every opportunity to express
it including referendums, vigils, teach-ins
and massive demonstrations against the war.
Prop I also calls for finding more funds
for low-income kids to go to college or
get job training as civilians, instead
of having to risk life and limb to do so.
The fact is, the existing funding is not
enough to enable most low-income students,
many of whom are parents themselves, to
go to college. That's why the military
is filled with the poor and underprivileged,
many of whom are parents. Now their children
will also have to live without one or both
parents. What will that do to those children?
And why should the innocent children of the
poor suffer--pay the price?
Where are Bush's daughters? Choosing
between Armani and Gucci. Where are all
the children of the wealthy? Their world
is an oyster at their fingertips--trips
to France and Italy to see the artistic
wonders of humanity--workers who created
in spite of their enslavement; who
scraped the pennies together to buy
paint or canvas.
The world, for our children, is poverty,
hunger, jail and a future as a drug
dealer to augment their jobs at Starbucks
and Wallmart. If they are lucky and,
after they have "served" in the military,
and if they are alive and able to work
productively after that experience, only
then have they earned the right to live.
Evidently being born into poverty in
the U.S. also demands that you risk your
life so that the children of the wealthy
can enjoy the fruits of wealth in peace.
And the economically conscripted? If,
after risking life and limb, they come
home damaged? Well, it's out into the
streets with them!
Yes, the American people are a melting
pot of ethnic, racial, religious,
political and sexual diversity as is
the American antiwar movement; as
is the world-wide antiwar movement
--the overwhelming number of whom are
poor and underprivileged, i.e.,
eligible cannon fodder for the army
of the wealthy elite who rule.
We live on one earth, we all have
the same basic needs. We will not
stand by silently as all that our
planet has to offer is being wasted,
poisoned, destroyed used up on the
materials, both human and non human,
for war--and a war based on lies,
at that! What does that say about humanity?
This is not us, the multitudes.
We, in the antiwar movement, socialist
or otherwise, wish to see our resources
--our earthly wealth--used for human needs
and wants not for war that benefits the
tiny few who are already the holders of
great wealth and power and who refuse to
share it. This fact is evidenced by two-
thirds of the Fortune 500 becoming multi
-billionaires instead of multi-millionaires;
and while oil companies are raking in
record profits.
At the same time, our schools are
deteriorating and closing down across
the country; there is no more welfare
as we knew it. An overwhelming majority
of Americans are without healthcare
services. A growing number are becoming
homeless; and there is a growing number
of the working poor who can't make ends
meet even when working 70 or more hours
a week--the list is endless and so is
the list of wars that our government
intends to get us into.
The plan evidently is to create a massive
pool of youth who are unable to make ends
meet who will be forced to join the
military taking another chance on survival
while carrying out the bloodshed for
the minions of the wealthy elite.
To the rulers of this wealth and power
this is a big game like buying and
selling football players. To us it is
life or death.
I know whose side I am on. I demand
a better world for my children and
grandchildren--money for human needs
not war. Get the military out of our
schools! Vote YES on I.
And if it means we have to get rid of
the whole government to live in
a democratic, humane, just and peaceful
world where the majority get to decide
on questions like war and control of
the wealth of the world and what to
do with it, then I'm all for it! It's
our right if we are the majority!
That's democracy in action!
And yes, the antiwar movement is filled
with socialists too, along with Democrats,
Greens, liberals--a broad range of people.
Hundreds of thousands--millions have
demonstrated across this country against
this war. Every day more folks whose
kids were killed in this war are joining
Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas--and
this is only the beginning.
Millions more will demonstrate against
the war September 24th here in San Francisco
beginning at 11:00 a.m. In Dolores Park.
Friends of active duty service personnel
will be marching in Washington, DC and in
cities across this country and the world
along with hundreds and thousands—millions
world-wide--to ask why these children--why
all these people, American and countless
more Iraqi and Afghani people--were sacrificed?
And to tell them hell no, our kids won't go!
And we want the troops home now!
And in November 2005, tens of thousands of
San Francisco voters will be able to express
publicly--through our electoral system--just
how they feel about the war and the military
recruitment in our schools. Why shouldn't the
people be allowed to vote on war if this is
really a democracy? Referendums such as these
should be happening across the country and
on the war and on many issues facing our world,
and they should be binding!
Yours for true democracy and a peaceful
and humane world,
Bonnie Weinstein
P.S.
The following are the main quotes I take offense
to the most. The whole piece is a diatribe of innuendoes
and slander. I take offense to almost everything in this
hideous op-ed piece. You have to read it to believe it
and I encourage everyone to read the full article. The
link is provided below as well as quoted material from
the article. It even accuses Global Exchange of aiding
terrorists in Falluja by supplying food and medicine
to the wounded and dying in hospitals in Falluja as
a result of a war based entirely on lies. Who's the
terrorist? --BW
OPINION: San Francisco Declares Itself a Military-
Free Zone
Cinnamon Stillwell
August 24, 2005
"When it comes to the College Not Combat initiative,
the list of endorsers is a veritable Who's Who of
moderate to radical leftist groups. Beyond the
predictable backing of Green Party luminaries such
as Supervisor Chris Daly and former Board of Supervisors
president Matt Gonzalez, endorsers largely consist of
anti-war, socialist and pro-Palestinian organizations.
Anti-Israel -- and anti-American
Groups like Al-Awda (The Palestine Right to Return
Coalition) and The Middle East Children's Alliance ,
while having seemingly nothing to do with this debate,
are in fact organizations whose opposition to Israel's
existence also includes a fair amount of anti-American
sentiment. Then there's the American Arab Anti-
Discrimination Committee , which has opposed every
effort of the U.S. government to combat Islamic terrorism,
whether at home or abroad.
While it's obvious what socialist groups would stand to
gain from undermining the U.S. military and by extension
the capitalist system it defends, one might wonder at
the motivations of the other groups backing the measure.
Could it be they have some interest in weakening the
U.S. military?"
Radical Pink
This attitude becomes less surprising when its source
is considered. At the helm of the usual leftist suspects
is San Francisco's Global Exchange and its subsidiary,
Code Pink Women for Peace . The antics of Code Pink members,
which mostly consist of members parading around in silly
pink costumes, disguise a political purpose that is far
more radical than the surface would suggest.
The group is headed by Medea Benjamin, who, beyond defending
various dictatorial regimes against "U.S. aggression" and
famously disrupting press conferences, is best known for
spearheading the drive to deliver $600,000 in cash and
supplies to "the other side" in Fallujah. In other words,
her organization may have funded the Islamic terrorists who
had taken over the town, imposed a Taliban-like state on
its inhabitants, tortured and beheaded hostages (both
Iraqi and otherwise) and killed American soldiers and
civilians (remember the lynched contractors?). More
recently, Code Pink has jumped on the Cindy Sheehan
bandwagon, along with the rest of the anti-war movement.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/08/24/cstillwell.DTL
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
2) Stand Up and Be Counted: No to War and Occupation
The George Galloway US Tour
September 13-24:
Boston, New York, Toronto, Madison, Chicago,
Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C.
San Francisco:
Wednesday, September 21 at 7pm
Mission High School
3750 18th Street (at the corner of Dolores)
3 Blocks from 16th Street BART stop
Tickets are $10-20 at the door
Call 415-607-1924 or email galloway2005@comcast.net for info
George Galloway is Respect party MP for Bethnal Green
and Bow in East London. He recently electrified the
United States with his appearance at a Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on May 17, when
he turned the proceedings into a condemnation of the war
in Iraq. CNN's Wolf Blitzer described Galloway's speech
in the Senate as "a blistering attack on US senators
rarely heard" in Washington.
Also appearing in San Francisco:
-- Dr. Jess Ghannam, National Council of Arab Americans
and the Justice in Palestine Coalition
-- Aimee Allison, Conscientious Objector in the First
Gulf War, Green Party candidate for Oakland City Council
District 2, leading counter recruitment GI counselor
-- Todd Chretien, College Not Combat - Yes on Proposition I,
writer for ISR
Galloway's new book is Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington
(The New Press) and will be published and timed for national
release in bookstores in conjunction with the tour.
Mr. Galloway will be available to sign books after the event.
National Tour sponsored by: The New Press, International
Socialist Review, Center for Economic Research and Social
Change, the National Council of Arab Americans
San Francisco Co-sponsors: Justice in Palestine Coalition,
Flashpoints Radio, College Not Combat รบ Yes on Proposition I,
Campus Anti-War Network
**To become a local sponsor or request table space at the
event, email srsndln@pacbell.net**
For National Tour information, call Todd Chretien at
510-590-6073 or email ToddChretien@comcast.net
To arrange interviews with Mr. Galloway, contact Ina
Howard at The New Press, 212-564-4406 or email:
ihoward@thenewpress.com
For a full list of cities and local sponsors,
please see the website:
http://www.mrgallowaygoestowashington.com
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
3) PITTSBURGH POLICE ATTACK NON-VIOLENT PROTESTORS WITH TASERS,
PEPPER SPRAY AND K-9 UNITS
Counter-Recruitment Demonstration Ends in Five Arrests and Two
Hospitalizations
For Immediate Release August 21, 2005
Contact: David Meieran, 412-996-4986
Nathan Shaffer, 412-720-9276
Pittsburgh, PA--The Pittsburgh Police Department displayed
an excessive use of force at a demonstration yesterday outside
a military recruitment station located near the University of
Pittsburgh. Five were arrested, two were hospitalized and
several others received injuries as a result of police
unwarranted use of Tasers, pepper spray, retracting batons
and K-9 units. Two others were issued citations when they
complained about police misconduct.
Yesterday's protest marks the first time in the city's history
that police used Tasers on demonstrators. Dramatic Indymedia
video shows police dragging a young woman off the sidewalk
and Tasering her mercilessly as she lay on the street screaming
--and this after she was pepper-sprayed directly in the face.
The video clearly demonstrates that she posed no threat to the
police or anyone else when she was Tasered, marking a clear
violation of the city's official guidelines for the use of
these controversial weapons. The activist was taken to UPMC
Presbyterian Hospital for treatment and remains in police
custody.
Police also used K-9 units to chase away protestors on the
sidewalk. A 68-year old grandmother was bitten from behind
by a police dog and then arrested and placed in an
unventilated police van in the hot sun where she remained
for 45 minutes before she, too, was finally taken to UPMC
Presbyterian Hospital for treatment.
In addition, police pepper sprayed a four year-old girl,
toppled a man with Multiple Sclerosis in his motorized
wheel chair and clubbed a number of protestors with
retracting metal batons.
At the time of the police attacks activists were peacefully
assembled on the sidewalk in front of the recruiting station,
which had opted to remain closed for the day in response to
yesterday's call for non-violent direct action by Pittsburgh
Organizing Group (POG). It marked the second time this month
that POG had pre-emptively shut down military recruitment at
that station, which is the headquarters for military recruitment
in the city. (For more information Pittsburgh Organizing Group's
counter-recruitment campaign, visit www.OrganizePittsburgh.org .)
POG is alarmed by yesterday's events. In the past two years,
more than 150 people have been killed by Tasers. Amnesty
International, the ACLU and other groups have called for
a moratorium on their use. In response to a public outcry
to police abuse of Tasers, a number of cities have imposed
restrictions on Taser use, cancelled orders or pulled them
from circulation. The manufacturer, Taser International,
is facing multiple lawsuits.
POG is demanding an official investigation into the police
conduct at yesterday's demonstration and an immediate halt
to the use of Tasers by the Pittsburgh Police Department.
Copies of video documentation of yesterday's police abuses
can be obtained by calling David or Nathan at the numbers
listed above or by emailing pog@mutualaid.org http://us.f335.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pog@mutualaid.org&YY=89377&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b
This listserve acts as a common ground
for national CAN organizational
discussion; please reserve this list
for important organizing
annoucements, reports, or questions
that are intended for a national audience.
The CAN listserve is not a posting
place for articles or announcements
of local events that do not directly
effect the network nationally... [
www.campusantiwar.net ]
Yahoo! Groups Links
Visit your group "college_not_combat
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/college_not_combat
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
4) Sixty-five years since Trotsky's Death
By Rob Sewell
http://www.marxist.com/History/anniversary-death-trotsky082205.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
5) "The Morality of an unjust occupation" Daniel J. Smiechowski
SmiechowskiD@aol.com
Mon, 22 Aug 2005 21:57:46 EDT
[An opinion from our reader…BW]
The U.S. occupation of Iraq has called in question a wide range
of moral sources in legitimizing actions of the Bush Administration.
There exists a broad consensus of public opinion outside the United
States, depicting the Iraq quagmire as morally illegitimate.
Forces inside the United States, such as the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops, are equally critical of the Bush doctrine's
policy of preemptive strike. Importantly, however, in evaluating
the moral import of the Iraq war, both secular and non-secular
sources are considered as wholly plausible. Public opinion in
many foreign capitals runs counter to U.S. public opinion polls.
According to Madame Faury, Adjointe au Maire du Havre in Le Havre,
France, an overwhelming number of French citizens remain highly
critical of the U.S.-led war effort. The same can be said of the
entire European Union in criticizing the validity of invading Iraq.
While outside our borders much of the world condemns the actions
of Washington, the comfort and warmth of nationalism pacifies
America's heartland. This pacification, according to Freud, is
to be expected. Nationalism like one's mother is nurturing.
A baby is weak and dependent upon delivery as a nation's moral
strength is weak and diminished upon threat. Without question,
our culture's falsification of personal control and the
concomitant myth of control drain our personal morality like
sap from a tree. This philosophy of control was extraordinarily
depicted in the French film "King of Hearts," where the
perceived insane were victimized by the vagaries of war.
The concept of moral consequentialism cannot be overstated.
This concept remains basic to the moral view of the Catholic
Church with consideration to U.S. policy toward Iraq. The carpet
bombings of Germany by U.S. fliers toward the end of World War
Two has, in large measure, been reconciled by Catholic theologians.
But, America's role in Iraq has not met this conceptual moral
threshold, according to some Catholic clergy. Arguably, the
Vatican remains mostly consistent with regard to life and death
issues. It is most perplexing, then, to witness such moral
uncertainty and inconsistency within the Catholic faithful,
especially with regard to the war in Iraq. Again, deaf, dumb
and blind nationalism trumps Catholic doctrine.
Catholicism's chief antagonist, Judaism, has within the moral
framework altering rules with concern over the Iraq situation.
Obviously, the stakes are higher and closer to home for most
Jews. Witness the U.S. 2004 presidential election, where an
unprecedented Jewish vote went for George W. Bush.
Within the confines of international law there must exist
some conceptual moral framework in foreign policy decision
making, something akin to the Kholberg stratification of moral
development theory ought to predicate the morality of nations.
For example, what exactly was the threat by Iraq to America's
vital interests? Was the American response morally justified?
Why was this military response found acceptable by a majority
in Congress? Were these questions analyzed by American citizens?
If not, why not?
According to Dewey, every situation ought to be judged on the
uniqueness of the situation itself. There are no moral absolutes
as with religious dogma. Dr. Dewey was a pragmatist,
a democratic humanist who ironically saw a need for religious
faith as a control for the masses. With the war in Iraq,
however, these opposing and seemingly contradictory statements
seem to clash. What solves this moral paradox is the "intention
result model" so common in philosophy. What was the intention
of President Bush in ordering the invasion of Iraq? Now, what
is the result of that intention?
Man is often corrupted by social forces, according to Reinhold
Niebuhr. An infant sees light without absolutes in regard to
moral reasoning. But after years of existence, the light turns
dark as a shroud of social and cultural opinion arrest moral
growth. Politicians by nature seek compromise whereas morality
is uncompromising. Therefore, politicians are immoral. With
regard to Iraq, perhaps the lowest level of moral stratification
is reserved for those who seek only to democratize a sovereign
state or prostitute its economy. Is this the morality of Christ?
In conclusion, there have been horrific moral falsehoods
perpetrated upon the American people by an administration
many rank lower than that of President Warren Harding. But,
just like sex, Christ sells in our great land. Christ is
absolute and his teachings have been used as weaponry against
perception. We have bankrupted our nation in a moral sense
since liquid seeks its own level. As French President Jacques
Chirac has said, "Iraq is the biggest mistake in the two
hundred plus year history of the United States." And to
that I say, oui, Monsieur le President.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
6) Bush Defends Iraq Policy, Saying Crawford
Protesters Are Wrong
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 23, 2005
Filed at 12:16 p.m. ET
DONNELLY, Idaho (AP) -- President Bush suggested Tuesday
that anti-war protesters such as Cindy Sheehan, who want
the troops brought home immediately, do not represent the
views of most U.S. military families and are ''advocating
a policy that would weaken the United States.''
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Bush.html?hp&ex=1124856000&en=7d7a2c5ef9642ece&ei=5094&partner=homepage
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
7) Scientists Speak Up on Mix
of God and Science
By CORNELIA DEAN
Published: August 23, 2005
At a recent scientific conference at City College of New York,
a student in the audience rose to ask the panelists an
unexpected question: "Can you be a good scientist and
believe in God?"
Reaction from one of the panelists, all Nobel laureates,
was quick and sharp. "No!" declared Herbert A. Hauptman,
who shared the chemistry prize in 1985 for his work on
the structure of crystals.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/national/23believers.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
8) EMERGENCY: STOP THE TEXAS EXECUTION OF FRANCES NEWTON
ON SEPTEMBER 14!
FRANCES IS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN
SCHEDULED TO BE EXECUTED BY TEXAS IN MODERN HISTORY.
NEW EVIDENCE AFFIRMS HER INNOCENCE.
Please join the online campaign to STOP THE EXECUTION OF
FRANCES NEWTON! She is scheduled to be executed by the state
of Texas on September 14.
YOUR EMERGENCY ACTION IS NEEDED NOW!
Send emails to Texas Governor Rick Perry, Attorney General
Greg Abbott, President Bush, Congressional leaders and
Senators and Representatives from Texas and the Texas
State Legislature, the Mayor of Houston and Houston City
Councilors, The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, U.N.
Secy General Kofi Anan and your senators and representative,
DEMANDING that Frances' execution be stopped IMMEDIATELY!
Go to
http://www.iacenter.org/francesnewtoncampaign.shtml
For more information and to order DVD's of Frances or
postcards to the Texas Governor, go to
http://www.freefrances.org
STOP THE EXECUTION OF FRANCES NEWTON CAMPAIGN
International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, Room 206
New York, NY 10011
1-212-633-6646
email: francesnewtoncampaign@iacenter.org
http://www.iacenter.org
action.news
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
9) The Sacred and the Profane
Suicide Bombers
By JAMES PETRAS
One of the least discussed but most important aspect of the 'suicide bombers' (SB) attacks is the Anglo-American (AA) systematic and profound degradation of that which the Islamic religion holds most sacred: its code of ethics, its mode of spiritual practice, its religious rituals, its sacred texts and its respect for the observant believer.
http://www.counterpunch.org/petras08202005.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
10) GLOBAL MILITARY SPENDING THIS YEAR:
$650,096,400,001 AND COUNTING
http://www.milspend.org/
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
11) FOCUS | New Abu Ghraib Images Far Worse Than Originals
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305Z.shtml
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
12) The Newest Indians
By JACK HITT
Published: August 21, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/magazine/21NATIVE.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
13) Here is a reminder about a great show this Saturday.
Please come out and enjoy Dave Lippman, support WRL and the
conference, ON THE FRONTLINES: Options for Youth in Times of
War, Oct. 22 & 23 at UC Berkeley that we're co-sponsoring.
The show is going to be much more hilarious than this simple
message. Dave is great! Please send the following message
out NOW! Thanks.
-Jim
War Resisters League West Presents
Dave Lippman, Political Satirist
featuring George Shrub, the only known singing C.I.A. agent
plus "Star of Goliath": songs and slides encapsulating modern
Holy Land history and imperial machinations based on his
trip there last year.
Saturday
27 August 2005
8:00 pm
"The Kitchen" 225 Potrero
[in SF bet. 15th & 16th Sts]
Suggested Donation: $10 to $20; N.O.T.A.
Benefits the upcoming counter-military recruitment
conference for youth and allies:
ON THE FRONTLINES: Options for Youth in Times of War,
Oct. 22 & 23 at UC Berkeley
Just a few comments garnered over Dave Lippman's
illustrious 35 year career:
"Viciously funny"
-Guardian (England)
"An expert shredder of today's news"
-S.F. Weekly
"The dean felt that more harm than
good would come from your visit."
-student, Skidmore College, NY
more info about:
THE GIG and War Resisters League West: wrlwest.org
DAVE: davelippman.com (incl. audio and video samples!)
ON THE FRONTLINES conference: www.objector.org/moos-bay.html
Jim Haber says Dave Lippman is a serious joy to see and hear,
and he means it! Come out and support a very important
conference at the same time.
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.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
14) DOCTORS FOR IRAQ WARNS OF URGENT HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
AS US/IRAQI MILITARY ATTACKS CONTINUE IN THE WEST OF
IRAQ
--- iraq_dispatches@dahrjamailiraq.com wrote:
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 17:52:22 -0800 To:
** Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches **
** http://dahrjamailiraq.com **
*This is an appeal written by Iraqi Doctors concerning
what is happening in western Iraq. It is both
extremely informative as well as an important appeal.
Operations in many of these areas are ongoing today,
despite the fact that this press release is a week
old:
DOCTORS FOR IRAQ WARNS OF URGENT HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
AS US/IRAQI MILITARY ATTACKS CONTINUE IN THE WEST OF
IRAQ
*As US/ Iraqi military attacks continue in Haditha,
Rawa, Parwana and Heet in the West of Iraq, Doctors
for Iraq is warning of an urgent health and
humanitarian crisis unfolding on the ground.
Haditha, Rawa and Parwana have been under attack for
the past three weeks with US/ Iraqi military
activities intensifying over the past few days. The
main hospitals in the area are reporting shortages of
medicine oxygen, sugerical kits, anti-biotics and
other basic medicines.
Civilians have fled to neighbouring towns and villages
such as Ana and are in need of basic foods, water and
shelter. Shop keepers are unable to open their
premises because of the US/ Iraqi operation, and
trucks with urgent food supplies are facing serious
difficulties entering the seiged areas.
Eyewitnesses and medical personal have told Doctors
For Iraq that snipers are operating inside some of the
seiged cities. Haditha hospital estimates that at
least eleven civilians were killed during the attack
and 15 injured. The US military prevented ambulances
from entering the areas and medics from working
freely. The area remains under siege.
Local people say that US marines invaded the town of
Rawa and carried out air strikes bombing many
buildings and homes. It unclear how many civilians
have been killed or injured in the areas where the
military is carrying out operations A school building
in Parwana was bombed with people inside the school.
It is unclear how many people were inside the school
and who they were.
Doctors for Iraq has organised for medical aid to
reach some of the hospitals and a medical team has
been sent to the affected areas.
The military operations in the West of Iraq have left
the healthcare system paralysed. Hospitals in the area
are unable to provide sufficient medical services for
the population. The new military attacks are further
compounding the suffering of people in the area.
Doctors for Iraq is calling for the *_immediate_*
*_end_* of US/ Iraqi military attacks in the area.
Doctors for Iraqi is calling for an independent
investigation into the serious breaches of the Geneva
Convention, the alleged killing of civilians and
obstructing medical personal from carrying out there
work.
We need urgent medical supplies to be delivered to the
hospitals in the area.
For more information or to find out how you can send
medical aid to the areas contact:
Dr. Salam Ismael _Salam.obaidi@doctorsforiraq.org _Or
Aisha Ismael _Press.officer@doctorsforiraq.org_
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.
Iraq_Dispatches mailing list
http://lists.dahrjamailiraq.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq_dispatches
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
15) October 8th & 9th Blue Angels above town for Fleet Week
Stephen McNeil
American Friends Service Committee
Assistant Regional Director for Peacebuilding & Relief
65 Ninth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 565-0201 x 12
fax: (415) 565-0204
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
16) The U.S. in Iraq
Bringing Freedom and Democracy
or Occupation?
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.
Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church,
55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek
Speakers:
STEPHEN ZUNES is a professor of politics and chair of the
Peace and Justice Studies program at the University of San
Francisco, and the author of
Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism.
SEAN O'NEILL is a decorated Marine who served twice in Iraq
and now speaks out against the war.
Learn more about the historical and political context of the
conflict and the reality of current conditions in Iraq.
Suggested Donation: $5.00-$20.00
Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center, 55 Eckley Lane,
Walnut Creek, CA
925-933-7850
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
17) Celebrate Women's Rights Day with Radical Women and
friends at an event titled,
"Hasta la Vista, Schwarzenegger! Women Resist
Rightwing Attacks"on Saturday, August 27, at 7:30pm
in San Francisco.
Dear Friend,
Women's Rights Day commemorates the courageous,
multi-racial U.S. suffragist movement, which won women
the right to vote in 1920. Eighty-five years later, a
similarly bold groundswell is growing in California to
counter the surge in rightwing attacks backed by
Governor Schwarzenegger, prominent Democrats, and
corporate businesses. Hear from feisty street-level
activist women in the leadership of defending union
workers, students, immigrants and abortion rights --
and come add your voice to the discussion!
The program features:
Deborah Burger
President, California Nurses Association
Maria Poblet
Organizer, Deporten a la Migra/Deport the INS/ICE
Nellie Wong, Former Affirmative Action Analyst and
delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council
Anita O'Shea
UC Santa Cruz student activist and reproductive rights
defender
Chair: Nancy Reiko Kato, UPTE CWA 9119 delegate to
the Alameda County Central Labor Council
Poetry by Alice Rogoff
The event is sponsored by Radical Women and takes
place on Saturday, August 27, 7:30pm, at New Valencia
Hall, 1908 Mission Street (at 15th St.), near 16th
Street BART and Muni lines #14 and #49. $3-5 door
donation. A delicious Mexican dinner will be served
for an $8.50 donation at 6:00pm (child's plate $4.00).
For more information or to arrange for childcare or a
work exchange (three days advance notice), please call
415-864-1278 or email rwbayarea@yahoo.com.
Volunteers needed!
If you are interested in helping with the organizing
of this event, please let us know! We will have a
work party on Thursday, August 25 from 7:00-9:30pm
(hearty snacks at 6:30pm for a $4.00 donation) and
also need help on the day of the event. Call Becky or
Amy at 415-864-1278 or respond to this email. Thank
you!
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
18) Suffer the Little Muslims
A look at the appalling discrimination against Middle
Eastern students countenanced by Bay Area public schools
By Cristi Hegranes
Published: Wednesday, August 17, 2005
http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/current/news/feature.html
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19) Support group forms for NWA strikers
By Barb Kucera, Workday Minnesota editor - August 22, 2005
The group, modeled after a similar solidarity organization
that operated during the Hormel strike, kicked off its efforts
Monday night at a program commemorating the 20th anniversary
of the struggle by members of United Food & Commercial Workers
Local P-9.
http://www.workdayminnesota.org/view_article.php?print=y&id=5a9e3b4a12ce5cb4e93149110dcd7a7c
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
20) Whitewash for blue: Misunderstanding
the Santa Clara County DA
by Junya
In Santa Clara County, the District Attorney's Office has
been ruthlessly effective in accommodating the police state's
ever-widening dragnet - while ensuring that the police
themselves continue to kill, brutalize and terrorize with
impunity. But Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Sinunu
consistently cloaks the scams in a wrapper that is
brazenly transparent.
http://www.sfbayview.com/081705/whitewash081705.shtml
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
21) ACTION: OPPOSE SHARON'S ADDRESS TO THE UN GENERAL
ASSEMBLY! DEMAND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF UN RESOLUTION 194!
DEMAND THE RIGHT TO RETURN OF PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
TO THEIR HOMELAND!
[Please Read, Respond and Forward]
August 23, 2005
For Immediate Release
Between September 12 and 15, 2005 war criminal Ariel Sharon
will address the U.N. General Assembly's sixtieth regular
session. September 15 marks the twenty-third anniversary of
the deliberate and systematic massacre of more than 2000
Arab civilians, mostly Palestinian and Lebanese, in the
Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Then Defense Minister
Ariel Sharon, the chief architect of Israel's invasion of
Lebanon, was found by an Israeli commission of inquiry to
have been personally responsible for the massacre.
On September 10, 2005 the statement below calling for the
boycott of Sharon's upcoming address, as well as the
implementation of UNGA Resolution 194, will be sent to
members of the General Assembly and other relevant parties.
Our goal is to show a broad international consensus in
support of Palestinian national rights.
The victims of Sabra and Shatila -- those who perished,
as well as those who continue to be saddled with the
memories and horrors of the massacre on a daily basis,
would never forgive us if we were not to do our utmost
against Sharon's visit to the UN.
Please join in this important campaign.
We encourage institutional, organizational and individual
endorsements.
We also request that you circulate this statement
as widely as possible.
Please email your endorsements to: opposesharon@yahoo.com
WE, the undersigned, DEMAND that Ariel Sharon not be
permitted to address the sixtieth regular session of
the General Assembly. Sharon's refusal to abide by
international law, particularly as it pertains to the
right of return for Palestinian refugees, is matched
only by his long career as a war criminal:
* In 1952 Ariel Sharon was appointed commander of
special 101 Commando Unit which carried out raids on West
Bank village of Qibya in which 69 civilians were murdered,
many of them women and children.
* The massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps
occurred between September 16 and 18, 1982, after the
Israeli invading army, then occupying Beirut and under
Sharon's overall command as Israel's Defense Minister,
permitted members of the Phalange and local allied
militias into the camps. The over 2000 civilian victims
of the massacre included infants, children, women, and
elderly.
* In February 1983, a three-member official Israeli
commission of inquiry charged with investigating the
events, known as the Kahan Commission, named former
Defense Minister Sharon as one of the individuals who
"bears personal responsibility" for the Sabra and
Shatila massacre.
* The Al-Aqsa Intifada started after Sharon visited
the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem under
heavy Israeli military and police guard. The visit was
a calculated step that sparked the expected resistance
from the oppressed Palestinian people.
Ariel Sharon continues his utter disregard for international
law. His refusal to abide by scores of United Nations'
resolutions addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict is legendary.
Only recently, Sharon reiterated his rejection of the right
of the Palestinian refugees to return to their original homes
and lands. Such outright disregard for the will of the
international community constitutes a grave violation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, the European, the American and the African
Conventions on Human Rights, and the Fourth Geneva
Convention of 1949.
It also reflects Sharon's refusal to implement UN
resolution 194, which has been reaffirmed practically
every year since 1948. Generally, the same position has
been affirmed by the Treaty-Based UN Committees, the
regional conventions on human rights and practically
all human rights NGOs.
We find it peculiar that the General Assembly would permit
a war criminal like Ariel Sharon to address it, especially
considering his explicit loathing of the UN and the
collective will of the vast majority of its member states.
We also DEMAND that the General Assembly embark on enforcing
its resolution No. 194. The right of the Palestinian refugees
and uprooted to return to their homeland is a historical right
that is guaranteed by international law. It is an individual
and collective right which cannot be relegated, diminished,
reduced or forfeited by any representation on behalf of the
Palestinian people in any agreement or treaty. As such, the
Right of Return is not substituted or affected in any way
by the establishment of a Palestinian state in any form.
According to international law, agreements that purport to
trade away the right of refugees to return to their homes,
or any other inalienable right, are illegal.
The right of refugees to return has been exercised, with
the support of the international community, in Kosovo,
Bosnia, East Timor, Rwanda, Guatemala and many other places.
Yet, it continues to be ignored and neglected in Palestine.
This selective enforcement of international law and UN
resolutions serves to undermine rather than strengthen
efforts to build a peaceful and just world. _______
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
PO Box 131352 Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA Tel: 760-685-3243
Fax: 360-933-3568 E-mail:
info@al-awda.org WWW: http://al-awda.org
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC)
is the largest network of grassroots activists dedicated
to Palestinian human rights. We are a not for profit tax-
exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization
as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the
United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your
donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. To make a donation,
please go to http://www.al-awda.org/donatenow
http://al-awda.org
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
22) Police Chief Sees Drug Toll
With Father's Eyes
By JAMES DAO and GARY GATELY
August 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/national/24baltimore.html?hp&ex=1124942400&en=ebcccb42a9f2b542&ei=5094&partner=homepage#
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
23) Op-Ed Columnist
My Private Idaho
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: August 24, 2005
W. vacationed so hard in Texas he got bushed. He needed
a vacation from his vacation
W. didn't go alone, of course. Just as he took his beloved
feather pillow on the road during his 2000 campaign, now
he takes his beloved bike. An Air Force One steward tenderly
unloaded W.'s $3,000 Trek Fuel mountain bike when they
landed in Boise.
Gas is guzzling toward $3 a gallon. U.S. troop casualties
in Iraq are at their highest levels since the invasion.
As Donald Rumsfeld conceded yesterday, "The lethality,
however, is up." Afghanistan's getting more dangerous,
too. The defense secretary says he's raising troop levels
in both places for coming elections.
So our overextended troops must prepare for more forced
rotations, while the president hangs loose.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/opinion/24dowd.html
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24) Israel Finishes Gaza Border Security Deal
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 24, 2005
Filed at 12:45 p.m. ET
But the government also issued orders to seize Palestinian
land to build a separation barrier that would in effect
annex the West Bank's largest settlement to Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said that in exchange for
the Gaza pullout, Israel expects to strengthen its hold
on major West Bank settlement blocs.
Palestinians condemned the construction of the barrier
around the Maaleh Adumim settlement, home to 30,000 Jews,
and accused Israel of quietly issuing the land-confiscation
order while the world's attention was focused on the Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html
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25) US to Send More Troops to Iraq
The United States plans to send more troops to Iraq in
advance of an Oct. 15 referendum on a new Iraqi constitution,
which is considered unlikely to halt the country's violence,
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405I.shtml
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26) COLLEGE NOT COMBAT PLANNING MEETING
Saturday, August 27, 2 PM; 110 Capp Street (Buzz #202)
www.collegenotcombat.org
This Saturday, College Not Combat will have its second
planning meeting since making the November ballot
(vote YES on Proposition 'i'). The coming week is
the first week of school, and we will use the occasion
to talk to parents, students, and teachers about the
dangers of military enlistment. This will put a wrench
in the military's plans to send more young people to
kill and die in Iraq, and will also help us pass
Proposition i in November. Our high school launch begins
on Monday, August 29, at 7:30 AM outside Mission HS and
George Washington HS.
Come to 110 Capp Street (Buzz #202 at the door) to
help us plan the final details of this week of high
school outreach. We will also be discussing future
events, including fundraisers, a contingent at the
September 24th demonstration against the war, and a
presence at George Galloway's tour.
STEERING COMMITTEE ELECTED
At the previous meeting on August 13, College Not
Combat elected a steering committee to represent the
campaign and, if necessary, make decisions between
meetings. It includes the following individuals:
Jess Ghannam (Arab-American Anti-Discrimination
Committee)
Aimee Allison (Green Party)
Sylvio Lopes (ANSWER Coalition)
Carole Seligman (Bay Area Unitd Against War)
Kristin Anderson (Campus Antiwar Network, SF State)
Vicki Leidner (Code Pink)
Carlos Villareal (National Lawyers Guild)
Jeremy Tully (International Socialist Organization)
Cindy Sheehan (Gold Star Families for Peace)
Tom Lacey (Peace and Freedom Party)
Adrienne Johnstone (United Educators of San Francisco)
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27) Reuters calls for release of Iraqi cameraman
Wed Aug 24, 2005 08:20 AM ET
By Alastair Macdonald
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Reuters called on the U.S. military on
Wednesday to explain the detention of an Iraqi journalist
working for the agency, who has been held incommunicado for two
weeks, or release him immediately.
U.S. military spokesmen have refused to say why they are
holding Ali Omar Abrahem al-Mashhadani, a 36-year-old freelance
cameraman and photographer who has worked for the international
news organization for a year in Ramadi, capital of Anbar region.
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9461770&src=eDialog/GetContent
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28) CCCO will be holding a GI Rights volunteer training on
A crucial element to slowing the military machine is helping
individual GIs get out of the military! As CCCO has done
since 1948, we are supporting individuals in their resistance
and opposition to war. In particular, we are standing with
a group of people -GI's whose questioning and resistance are
increasing and becoming better known
The GI Rights hotline is staffed by a network of organizations
throughout the United States and in Germany. In 2004 we
received 32,000 calls from people who needed help obtaining
discharge from the military. Increasingly, people are also
using email to contact us and we sent about 3,000 emails
in response to email queries.
The hotline provides accurate, comprehensive, and objective
information on draft registration, military discharges, civil
rights in the military, and involuntary activation and
deployment of military personnel. The work we do and the
information we disseminate are known to enlisted people
in numbers far greater then the thousands with whom we
communicate personally.
We are seeking additional military counselors to volunteer
on the Hotline. Tasks include answering live phone calls,
returning phone messages, responding to email inquiries,
and making referrals to relevant organizations and individuals.
Volunteers make an initial one- year commitment of at least
2 hours of service per week.
CCCO will be holding a GI Rights volunteer training on
Saturday, October 15, 2005
9am - 5pm
405 14th St., Suite #205
Oakland, CA
Pr-registration required by September 26
For more information or to register for the training, call
510-465-1617 or
888-231-2226
Or email steve@objector.org
More information at http://www.objector.org/gitraining.html
The training will provide an overview of all the discharges,
AWOL practices and regulations, and legal and ethical issues
in hotline counseling.
* Visit your group "MOOS-BAY" on the web.
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29) The Climax of Humanity
By George Musser
Scientific American
September 2005 Issue
Demographically and economically, our era is unique in human
history. Depending on how we manage the next few decades,
we could usher in environmental sustainability - or collapse.
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=00031010-F7DA-1304-B72683414B7F0000
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30) Op-Ed Columnist
Truth-Telling on Race? Not in Bush's Fantasyland
By BOB HERBERT
Published: August 25, 2005
The Bush administration has punished a Justice Department
official who dared to tell even a mild truth about racial
profiling by law enforcement officers in this country.
In 2001 President Bush selected Lawrence Greenfeld to head
the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which tracks crime patterns
and police tactics, among other things. But as Eric Lichtblau
of The Times reported in a front-page article yesterday,
Mr. Greenfeld is being demoted because he complained that
senior political officials were seeking to play down newly
compiled data about the aggressive treatment of black and
Hispanic drivers by police officers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/25/opinion/25herbert.html
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31) Chavez Offers Cheap Gas to Poor in U.S.
By David Pace
Published on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 by Reuters
HAVANA, Cuba - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, popular
with the poor at home, offered on Tuesday to help needy
Americans with cheap supplies of gasoline.
Venezuela could supply gasoline to Americans at half the
price they now pay if intermediaries who "speculated ...
and exploited consumers" were cut out. "We want to sell
gasoline and heating fuel directly to poor communities
in the United States," the populist leader told reporters
at the end of a visit to Communist-run Cuba.
Chavez did not say how Venezuela would go about providing
gasoline to poor communities. Venezuelan state oil company
PDVSA owns Citgo, which has 14,000 gas stations in the
United States.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0824-06.htm
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32) Military Families May Once Again
Lead Us Out of War
Casualties in the Heartland, 1968/2005
by Christian Appy
Published on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 by TomDispatch.com
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0824-28.htm
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