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TOMORROW NIGHT! THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 7 P.M.
THE TRUTH ABOUT US POLICY IN COLOMBIA:
A Firsthand Account
Thursday, February 15, 7:00 P.M.
522 Valencia Street, 3rd Floor, Auditorium
(Sorry, not wheelchair accessible.)
Cost: $5 ($3 students, seniors, unemployed)
Sponsored by Colombia Solidarity Committee
Cell 424-6029
email: companeros98@ hotmail.com
What if you were on trial and you couldn't choose your own
lawyer or call witnesses in your own defense?
Patriots not Terrorists!
Two cases are going on right now in Washington , D.C. where
this is the case. The trial of Ricardo Palmera (Simon
Trinidad), and Anayibe Rojas Valderrama (Sonia). Both are
Colombian citizens and members of the FARC, an organization
that has been fighting for 40 years against the most
violent repressive regime in Latin America .
Come and hear the witness who was not allowed to testify.
Imelda Daza Cotes was an activist and a member of the
Patriotic Union (UP) in Colombia . The UP was a leftist
third party created through peace accords. Four thousand UP
members, candidates, and elected officials, were
assassinated by the right-wing government supported
military forces. Daza Cotes fled Colombia to protect her
life. She will speak about the US intervention in Plan
Colombia , the repression of the Colombian government, and
the injustice of Palemera's and Anayibe Rojas Valderrama's
cases.
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MARCH ON THE PENTAGON
SATURDAY, MARCH 17
WASHINGTON, D.C .
Free Speech Victory! Permits Secured for Pentagon Demonstration
http://www.internationalanswer.org/
MARCH AND RALLY IN SAN FRANCISCO
SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2007
(The annual St. Patrick's Day Parade is taking
place on Sat., March 17 in SF.)
ASSEMBLE 12:00 NOON
JUSTIN HERMAN PLAZA -
MARCH TO CIVIC CENTER
For more information:
http://www.actionsf.org/#local4
answer@actionsf.org
Phone: 415-821-6545
Fax: 415-821-5782
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Iran
http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html
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Another view of the war. A link from Amer Jubran
http://d3130.servadmin.com/~leeflash/
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Petition: Halt the Blue Angels
http://action.globalexchange.org/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=458
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/289327
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A Girl Like Me
7:08 min
Youth Documentary
Kiri Davis, Director, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking, Producer
Winner of the Diversity Award
Sponsored by Third Millennium Foundation
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1091431409617440489
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Film/Song about Angola
http://www.prisonactivist.org/angola/
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"200 million children in the world sleep in the streets today.
Not one of them is Cuban."
(A sign in Havana)
Venceremos
View sign at bottom of page at:
http://www.cubasolidarity.net/index.html
[Thanks to Norma Harrison for sending this...bw]
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ARTICLES IN FULL:
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1) ANTIWAR UNITY REQUIRED AT THIS STAGE
Hudson Valley (NY) Activist Newsletter, Feb. 5, 2007
VIA Email from:
JacDon
jacdon@earthlink.net
2) US MARCHERS SENT MESSAGE - AND DESERVED BETTER
By Charles Jenks
January 31, 2007
http://www.consumersforpeace.org/news_marchers_send_message.html
See march photos at
http://www.traprockpeace.org/antiwar_march_012707/
See videos of Unified Youth and Student Contingent and march at
http://www.traprockpeace.org/traprock_video/
3) Latino Gang Study Finds Few Links To Overseas Groups
By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 8, 2007; B01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/07/AR2007020702167.html?nav=hcmodule
4) The Build-a-War Workshop
Editorial
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/opinion/10sat1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
5) U.S. Gives Tour of Family Detention Center That Critics Liken to a Prison
"The facility, the T. Don Hutto Family Detention Center, is operated
for the government by the Corrections Corporation of America,
under a $2.8-million-a-month contract with Williamson County.
It is named for a founder of the company, which runs 64 facilities
in 19 states."
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/us/10detain.html?ref=us
6) U.S. Troops Lock Down Much of East Baghdad
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
February 11, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/world/middleeast/11cnd-iraq.html?hp&ex=1171256400&en=025f74927f34f2c4&ei=5094&partner=homepage
7) U.S. Presents Evidence of Iranian Weapons in Iraq
By JAMES GLANZ
February 11, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/world/middleeast/11cnd-weapons.html?ref=world
Related:
'NYT' Reporter Who Got Iraqi WMDs Wrong Now Highlights Iran Claims
By Greg Mitchell
Published: February 10, 2007 10:30 PM ET Friday updated Saturday
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003544369
8) Iran 'Fooling' U.S. Military
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily
Dahr Jamail's MidEast Dispatches
http://dahrjamailiraq.com
http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/iraq/000536.php#more
9) Scary Movie 2
Op-Ed Columnist
By PAUL KRUGMAN
February 12, 2007
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/opinion/12krugman.html?hp
10) Passing the Buck on Health Care
Editorial
February 12, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/opinion/12mon1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
11) Mystery Disease Is Threat to Bee Colonies
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 12, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/us/12bees.html
12) Patenting Life
By Michael Crichton
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/opinion/13crichton.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
13) Iran and the Nameless Briefers
Editorial
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/opinion/13tue1.html?hp
14) Martial Law Declared in Guinea
By LYDIA POLGREEN
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/world/africa/13guinea.html?ref=world
15) Skeptics Doubt U.S. Evidence on Iran Action in Iraq
By HELENE COOPER and MARK MAZZETTI
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/world/middleeast/13weapons.html?ref=world
16) Sharing of Bison Range Management Breaks Down
By JIM ROBBINS
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/us/13bison.html?ref=us
17) Dolphins and Sea Lions May Get the Call to Defend Northwest Base
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/us/13puget.html
18) Chrysler to Announce Job Cuts and Plant Closings
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
February 14, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/business/14chrysler.html?ref=business
19) More Troops, And More Violence
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily
http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/iraq/000537.php#more
20) AN APPEAL TO CONSCIENCE
TO THOSE WHO WOULD BOMB IRAN
By U.S. Army Reserves
Colonel (Retired) Ann Wright
Truthout February 13, 2007
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021307B.shtml
21) RONALD REAGAN STRIKE GROUP ENTERS 7th FLEET
Student Operated Press Feburary 12, 2007
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=4309
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1) ANTIWAR UNITY REQUIRED AT THIS STAGE
Hudson Valley (NY) Activist Newsletter, Feb. 5, 2007
VIA Email from:
JacDon
jacdon@earthlink.net
The U.S. antiwar movement is gearing up for a major march on the Pentagon
demanding an immediate end to the war against Iraq — a war by now that has
completely blown apart Iraqi society, killing hundreds of thousands of
civilians and unleashing bitter sectarian and secessionist tendencies.
The March 17 demonstration will take place as the Bush Administration’s
latest increase in American troops is reaching its height. Simultaneously,
the Pentagon is preparing for a possible attack on Iran. The White House
initiated these moves after the antiwar vote in November but the new
majority Democratic Congress appears disinclined to take decisive action
against them.
In addition, the U.S. antiwar movement itself is split, which has weakened
the struggle for peace.
The Pentagon protest will be the second in Washington to take place this
winter, the first being the 150,000-strong march and rally Jan. 27 organized
by the United For Peace and Justice (UFPJ), focusing on influencing the new
Congress. Some demonstrators remained in the nation’s capital over the
weekend to take part in congressional lobbying.
The political reconfiguration of both legislative chambers as a result of
the peace vote is hardly leading to the outcome envisioned by many in the
antiwar movement. Some activists report that a number of peace candidates
elected in November do not appear inclined to risk going beyond the
Democratic Party leadership’s conservative, timid and opportunist approach
to the war.
Party leaders oppose cutting off future funding for continuing the war, or
initiating impeachment proceedings against one of the most dangerous
presidencies in American history, or even passing a binding resolution
calling for a swift ending to the unjust, illegal and immoral war.
The march and rally at the Pentagon is being organized by the ANSWER
Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), which represents the left
wing of the peace movement. Acting together, ANSWER and UFPJ brought some
300,000 demonstrators to Washington in September 2005, but UFPJ split the
movement a few weeks later by publicly declaring it would no longer
cooperate with ANSWER, the other nationwide antiwar coalition.
The main reason for the split, beyond the fog of obfuscation, was the matter
of orientation toward the Democratic Party, to which UFPJ is close, not that
such proximity is necessarily reciprocated by party leaders. ANSWER, which
pursues an openly anti-imperialist stance toward President George W. Bush’s
“pre-emptive” wars, is far more critical of the Democratic Party’s role in
supporting the war and unconvinced it will change.
In addition, ANSWER’s antiwar rallies always include some criticism of
Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people — a topic that was omitted
from UFPJ’s Jan. 27 event, much to the relief of a Democratic Party utterly
committed to the status quo in the region, including the occupation of
Palestinian lands after the 1967 war.
ANSWER brought a half-million people to the January 2003 rally in Washington
and over 100,000 to each of a half-dozen other protests in the capital in
recent years, but it is difficult to predict the size of the March 17 event.
UFPJ has now called for regional protests on March 17 to commemorate the
fourth anniversary of the war, as opposed to supporting the Pentagon action.
This probably will drain potential participants away from the Washington
action. ANSWER at least supported and promoted the Jan. 27 rally.
The split in the movement occurred just as U.S. public opinion began a
dramatic turn away from the war. But while antiwar sentiment put the
Democrats back in charge of Congress, its electoral attachment did not
result a significant increase in demonstrations or numbers of protestors in
the streets — precisely the factors required to push legislators into taking
real action.
In all probability, the Iraq war will continue for years as Bush escalates
and Congress equivocates with nonbinding resolutions, delayed and partial
“withdrawal” plans and the refusal on the part of the “opposition” party to
stand up to the warmakers.
The problem with Congress is that its political composition, despite the
antiwar vote, is center, center-right, and right, with a weak center-left
and no genuine left at all. Congress will act to end the war only in the
face of a swiftly impending military defeat combined with ever-growing mass
opposition in the streets putting forward demands for immediate withdrawal.
Vibrant peace movements and militant antiwar protests can and do contribute
toward ending wars; the Vietnam War proved that. And they can end the Iraq
War, and prevent an Iran War as well. But in addition to taking a harder
stance on the war, it is necessary for our movement to unite in action. UFPJ
has its critique of ANSWER, and ANSWER has its critique of UFPJ. But both
agree on the main political demand, “Bring the U.S. troops home now,” an
uncompromising polarity against which all other half-way proposals must be
measured.
Differences between these two organizations are not greater than their
essential agreement. Our movement — and thus the chances of finally ending
U.S. aggression in the Middle East — will be much stronger if UFPJ and
ANSWER worked together in terms of occasional mass actions, and not at
cross-purposes.
If UFPJ is not yet ready to join with ANSWER at the Pentagon March 17,
perhaps some of its coalition partners and members of groups within the UFPJ
coalition will act in unity in Washington on that day to tell the warmakers
in the White House, in the Congress and in the headquarters of the war
machine itself that they are united in the demand that this horrific war be
brought to an end now.
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2) US MARCHERS SENT MESSAGE - AND DESERVED BETTER
By Charles Jenks
January 31, 2007
http://www.consumersforpeace.org/news_marchers_send_message.html
See march photos at
http://www.traprockpeace.org/antiwar_march_012707/
See videos of Unified Youth and Student Contingent and march at
http://www.traprockpeace.org/traprock_video/
On January 27th, the people sent a clear message to Washington - “Get
U.S. Troops Out of Iraq Now!” Hundreds of thousands of people
marched, and they completely - for the first time in history it is
reported - surrounded the Capitol Building. When the first marchers
came to the end of the loop there were people still waiting to start
marching.
Unfortunately, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) - the primary
sponsor - didn’t live up to the standards set by the marchers. Its
continuing refusal to work with some other national coalitions, and
its focus on celebrities and politicians, was reflected in its
botching the start of the march and in the focus given by media.
The great news though, from my perspective, is that this march drew
such a broad range of people. Look at the people marching -
www.traprockpeace.org has over 200 march photos - and you’ll see a
cross-section of America. This - as much as the numbers - is what
should worry the Bush Administration and Congress.
I saw the entire march, as I was assigned to photograph it for
Traprock Peace Center (which has covered every national march since
the historic gathering in Washington on October 26, 2002). This was
as large as any march that I have seen in D.C. The 500,000 estimate
given by organizers seems reasonable.
This was a huge outpouring of people, despite it being January, and
despite Weather Channel reports that there would be a wind-chill in
the 30’s with 15 mile per hour winds. As it turned out, it was almost
balmy, with little wind and temperatures in the 40’s. If the weather
forecast had been accurate, surely the march would have been even
larger. (No, I’m not blaming Bush for messing with the weather
report, though it did occur to me!)
This writer saw not one instance of violence. An eyewitness told me
that at one point about 80 people (AP said 150 people - funny what
the media exaggerates and what it downplays) rushed down a sidewalk
at the Capitol as though they were going to storm up the Capitol
steps. This sent the police scurrying to head them off, with police
running down the steps. The rush was obviously choreographed and done
in jest, as protestors came to a sudden halt, apparently acting
merely to tease the police and get a reaction. This kind of behavior
- juvenile in my opinion - was the marked exception on this day.
The mainstream media, of course, grossly under-reported the size of
the march (AP called it tens of thousands, and cited police sources
as saying it was less than 100,000). So what else is new? Organizers
obviously need to take media tendencies into account ahead of time.
Was that done here? It didn’t seem so.
So how did UFPJ manage to screw up the beginning of the march? Here’s
my eye-witness account of what happened.
As the speeches from the main stage were winding down, march marshals
patrolled a large taped-off square area on 3rd Street, directly
behind the stage, where celebrities were gathering in preparation for
stepping off. The march route was to go down to Constitution Avenue
and then take a right turn on Constitution toward Capitol Hill. The
squared-off area, marked by yellow plastic ribbon, was about 100 feet
along 3rd street on one side and the width of the street on the
other. This squared-off area was in the middle of throngs of people.
Marshals were inside and outside the square telling people to get up
on the sidewalks to keep the street clear to let the celebrities who
were supposed to head the march pass through and get in front of the
marchers. About 100 reporters, with march supporters mixed in,
gathered in a tight group jostling for good camera positions on the
side the squared-off area closest to Constitution Ave. Opposite this
gaggle of press were celebrities, liberal Democrat politicians and
organizers selected by UFPJ, taking up their positions behind the big
UFPJ banner.
More and more people gathered as organizing the march took more and
more time. There was a huge crush of people - very tightly formed -
behind the celebrity formation. And there was the crush of press
hugging onto the yellow ribbon opposite the celebs. People were now
surrounding the square, and people were ignoring marshals’ pleas to
clear the street along the beginning of the march route.
This unstable situation blew apart when media people - bristling with
their video and still cameras - noticed that some of their number had
managed to get up close and personal to the celebs and were getting
great shots. Photographers next to this writer (and including this
writer) yelled to one guy with a video camera to get out of the way
of the banner. (He was facing it, camera in hand.) We were trying to
get long-range shots.
Then, another photographer got in front of the banner. Enough was
enough for the crush of photographers behind the yellow ribbon. One
lifted the ribbon and sprinted for the banner to get her own great
shot of celebrities. This led to an avalanche of photographers,
trying to get close-ups (I got a few myself).
The celebrity formation was now confronted by a mass of photographers
acting like paparazzi. (And truly, they were just that, as many, if
not most, were there to take pics of the famous.) The celebs started
moving forward, taking baby steps, as the reporters inched backwards,
clicking away. Meanwhile, marshals were yelling to the now hundreds
of people in the street to get off the street and to “fall in behind”
the group of celebrities who were supposed to be heading the march
and who were still inching along.
There was no place to fall in behind the celebrity “head” as there
was a crush of people behind it and masses of people on the sides.
Finally, the police in front of the entire mass of people in the
street - where the head of the march should have been - started up
their motorcycles and started to move. The marshals were still
pleading with people to get off the street to allow the celebrities
to get in front of the marchers, but instead people already massed in
front of them began marching. One guy yelled out: “Hey, we’re
marching!” The celebs were now hundreds of people behind the real
head - the people.
Is there a lesson here? I think there are several.
First, where’s the A.N.S.W.E.R. organization when you need it? UFPJ
famously (notoriously) refused to work with A.N.S.W.E.R. after
refusing to endorse national actions by World Can’t Wait and refusing
to follow the global call for mass demonstrations last March.
A.N.S.W.E.R. surely wouldn’t have set up the march to begin in the
middle of masses of people. Stupid they’re not.
Second, with the focus of the “head” of the march so much on
celebrities and liberal politicians (where was Iraq Veterans Against
the War, for example?), it was inevitable that the crush of people
would be exacerbated, and that the media that came would largely be
there to photograph and quote the celebs. This was reflected in the
media coverage, as on CNN. I’ll be impressed with the celebrity who
gives up a movie career - as so many dedicated organizers have given
up or suspended their careers - at least until the U.S. is out of
Iraq. Until then, I see people who have bought their place at the
head of the march with their fame, their money or both. No wonder
that people did not obey orders to “fall in behind.”
Which brings us to a third point. The organizers were out of touch
with the people. How could they have thought that people would just
obey them and fall in behind when there was no place to fall in? Or
that the people would clear a path, like drops in the Red Sea, for
UFPJ’s hand-chosen “head” to pass?
This march was about the people who came to protest the war and
occupation. It wasn’t about the celebrities and politicians who gave
a glamorous face and allowed march organizers to rub elbows with
them. Please understand me - I am glad that celebrities and pols
participate. Yet media coverage would lead one to believe that it was
all about the celebrities leading “10’s of thousands.” The huge
masses of people were the real story, but these people weren’t in the
story.
UFPJ needs to get off its high horse about being THE coalition of
antiwar forces in the U.S., as it represented itself before the
London International Peace Conference in December 2005. (In the next
breath, UFPJ told international organizers that it was not going to
participate in global mass demos in March 2006, preferring instead a
mass demo in April as a way to have influence on the November
elections.) If UFPJ wants to end this war and occupation now, it
needs to become a willing and cooperative partner with other national
groups - including A.N.S.W.E.R. - and get over its fixation on
celebrities and liberal politicians.
Bits and Pieces
Biggest and most energetic contingents: International Socialist
Organization, Campus Antiwar Network/SDS/WCW’s Unified Youth and
Student Contingent, Service Employees International Union (SEIU),
U.S. Labor Against the War and Iraq Veterans Against the War. (Why
does UFPJ keep competing with the real energies of the student
movement? It keeps promoting its NYSPC, whereas the most effective
organizational energy since early 2003 has come from other student
groups, such as CAN?)
Troops Out Now Coalition also took up a prime spot at 3rd and
Constitution to lead chants via their bullhorn. And people wearing
A.N.S.W.E.R. patches were all over the place. Though they’ve been
shunned by UFPJ, they showed up.
Worst sign?
The ubiquitous Move-On sign that read “Iraq Escalation? Wrong Way.”
Hey, Move-On, this was a protest against the war and occupation, not
merely against the escalation. This is the same Move-On that refused
pleas to take a stand against attacking Iran. Instead, its petition
merely calls for not nuking Iran. “President Bush and Congress should
rule out attacking Iran with nuclear weapons.” Is that helpful, Move-On?
Post-March Disappointment?
Another profile in courage/integrity by Sen. John Kerry.
With his history of having refused many times to meet with his
antiwar constituents before he voted for the war resolution in
October, 2002, and his dismissing 500 faxed hand-written pleas to
call Scott Ritter as a witness for the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee hearings on that resolution, and his having locked his
constituents out of his office on the day he voted for war, one would
think that Senator Kerry might actually meet with the 70 constituents
who assembled in his D.C. office on January 28th. Not to disappoint
those who appreciate consistency, he again sent an aide. He was “out
of the country.” I’m sure he was, and I’m sure he could, if he
wished, arrange his schedule to meet with his constituents of peace.
See details on the above-cited history at http://traprockpeace.org/
hewasmisled.html
Post March Triumph?
The incredible program on ending the Iraq occupation held at Busboys
and Poets with speakers Kelly Dougherty, co-founder and Executive
Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Anthony Arnove, author
of “Iraq: the Logic of Withdrawal”. Son of Nun, the hip-hop poet/
activist, performed three amazing pieces. See full coverage of this
event at http://www.traprockpeace.org/arnove_dougherty_012707.html
***
Charles Jenks, is Chair of the Advisory Board and Past President of
Traprock Peace Center, and he serves as its web manager. He writes
and consults for ConsumersforPeace.org and the ExxonMobil War
Boycott. A licensed attorney since 1980, he has practiced human
rights law for over 20 years.
Charles Jenks
Chair of Advisory Board
Traprock Peace Center
103 Keets Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
http://www.traprockpeace.org
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3) Latino Gang Study Finds Few Links To Overseas Groups
By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 8, 2007; B01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/07/AR2007020702167.html?nav=hcmodule
A study of Latino gangs in the Washington area and five Central American
nations debunks the popular belief that the gangs are engaged in a
systematic, organized effort to spread their influence.
Although the gangs have significant membership, the study found that
their crimes are largely limited to petty theft and neighborhood
extortion rather than some of those traditionally associated with
organized crime -- drug trafficking, prostitution, human smuggling and
arms sales.
The report, conducted by Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico
and the nonprofit advocacy group Washington Office on Latin America,
comes as U.S. and Central American authorities are coordinating
intelligence in the belief that the gangs have a networked structure.
"Yet this idea that gangs are like an infection spreading from country
to country through a process where the leaders send out missionaries to
colonize new areas is fundamentally untrue," said Geoff Thale, one of
the researchers from the Washington Office on Latin America.
For instance, in interviews with 316 gang members in a major Salvadoran
prison conducted as part of the study, although a little more than half
said they knew fellow gang members in North America, the vast majority
said they had no contact with them, and few had traveled to the United
States or Mexico.
Recent testimony in Washington area courtrooms has pointed to occasional
cooperation between local gang members and counterparts in other
regions. A 19-year-old Hyattsville man pleaded guilty in federal court
last week to collecting dues and sending wire transfers to members in
Los Angeles as treasurer of a cell of Mara Salvatrucha. And in an
earlier trial, a Salvadoran police officer testified that gang leaders
in El Salvador instructed Maryland gang members on how their
organization should be run.
But Connie McGuire, who conducted the Washington area component of the
study, said her interviews with law enforcement, community groups and 15
former gang members found no sign of transnational coordination among
gang members.
"We shouldn't pretend that gangs aren't a big, scary problem," Thale
said. "But we shouldn't misunderstand what the problem is and misdirect
resources for solving it."
Researchers said the current misconceptions may stem from the
transnational nature of the gangs' origins. The two most powerful
Central American gangs, 18th Street, also know as Eighteen, and Mara
Salvatrucha, or MS-13, emerged in Los Angeles in the 1980s when
Salvadoran, Honduran and Guatemalan immigrants fleeing their region's
various civil wars joined Chicano gangs or started gangs to protect
themselves from African American gangs in the same neighborhoods.
After the wars ended in the mid-1990s, many gang members chose to return
or were deported to their home countries, where they fueled the rise of
sister gangs modeled after the Los Angeles groups that now have 30,000
to 60,000 members, according to Central American government and FBI
estimates.
Then, as those members began migrating back to the United States, MS-13
and Eighteen were in turn exported to new regions of the United States
-- including the Washington area, where a law enforcement task force
estimates there are now at least 3,600 Latino gang members.
MS-13, in particular, has garnered headlines in the Washington area for
dozens of killings and attacks in recent years, including the gang rape
of two teenage girls in Prince George's County in 2003 and the shooting
by an MS-13 member of an 18-year-old member of a rival Latino gang in
Arlington last spring.
But McGuire concluded that Central American gangs are a relatively minor
problem in the D.C. area compared with other threats. The principal
danger they pose is to people living in the particular communities where
gang members live and "especially . . . the youth themselves who get
drawn into the gang life."
By contrast, gang violence is a major political issue in El Salvador,
Guatemala and Honduras, where violent shootouts between rival gangs have
driven up national homicide rates, and extortion is common in many urban
neighborhoods.
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4) The Build-a-War Workshop
Editorial
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/opinion/10sat1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
It took far too long, but a report by the Pentagon inspector general
has finally confirmed that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s
do-it-yourself intelligence office cooked up a link between Iraq
and Al Qaeda to help justify an unjustifiable war.
The report said the team headed by Douglas Feith, under
secretary of defense for policy, developed “alternative” assessments
of intelligence on Iraq that contradicted the intelligence community
and drew conclusions “that were not supported by the available
intelligence.” Mr. Feith certainly knew the Central Intelligence
Agency would cry foul, so he hid his findings from the C.I.A.
Then Vice President Dick Cheney used them as proof of cloak-
and-dagger meetings that never happened, long-term conspiracies
between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden that didn’t exist,
and — most unforgivable — “possible Iraqi coordination” on
the 9/11 attacks, which no serious intelligence analyst believed.
The inspector general did not recommend criminal charges against
Mr. Feith because Mr. Rumsfeld or his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz,
approved their subordinate’s “inappropriate” operations.
The renegade intelligence buff said he was relieved.
We’re sure he was. But there is no comfort in knowing that his
dirty work was approved by his bosses. All that does is add
to evidence that the Bush administration knowingly and
repeatedly misled Americans about the intelligence on Iraq.
To understand this twisted tale, it is important to recall how
Mr. Feith got into the creative writing business. Top administration
officials, especially Mr. Cheney, had long been furious at the C.I.A.
for refusing to confirm the delusion about a grand Iraqi terrorist
conspiracy, something the Republican right had nursed for years.
Their frustration only grew after 9/11 and the C.I.A. still refused
to buy these theories.
Mr. Wolfowitz would feverishly sketch out charts showing how this
Iraqi knew that Iraqi, who was connected through six more degrees
of separation to terrorist attacks, all the way back to the
1993 World Trade Center bombing.
But the C.I.A. kept saying there was no reliable intelligence about
an Iraq-Qaeda link. So Mr. Feith was sent to review the reports
and come back with the answers Mr. Cheney wanted. The inspector
general’s report said Mr. Feith’ s team gave a September 2002 briefing
at the White House on the alleged Iraq-Qaeda connection that had
not been vetted by the intelligence community (the director
of central intelligence was pointedly not told it was happening)
and “was not fully supported by the available intelligence.”
The false information included a meeting in Prague in April 2001
between an Iraqi official and Mohamed Atta, one of the 9/11 pilots.
It never happened. But Mr. Feith’s report said it did, and Mr. Cheney
will still not admit that the story is false.
In a statement released yesterday, Senator Carl Levin, the new
chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who has been
dogged in pursuit of the truth about the Iraqi intelligence, noted
that the cooked-up Feith briefing had been leaked to the conservative
Weekly Standard magazine so Mr. Cheney could quote it as the
“best source” of information about the supposed Iraq-Qaeda link.
The Pentagon report is one step in a long-delayed effort to figure
out how the intelligence on Iraq was so badly twisted — and by
whom. That work should have been finished before the 2004 elections,
and it would have been if Pat Roberts, the obedient Republican who
ran the Senate Intelligence Committee, had not helped the White
House drag it out and load it in ways that would obscure the truth.
It is now up to Mr. Levin and Senator Jay Rockefeller [great-grandson
of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller...bw], the current
head of the intelligence panel, to give Americans the answers.
Mr. Levin’s desire to have the entire inspector general’s report
on the Feith scheme declassified is a good place to start. But it
will be up to Mr. Rockefeller to finally determine how old,
inconclusive, unsubstantiated and false intelligence was
transformed into fresh, reliable and definitive reports —
and then used by Mr. Bush and other top officials to drag
the country into a disastrous and unnecessary war.
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5) U.S. Gives Tour of Family Detention Center That Critics Liken to a Prison
"The facility, the T. Don Hutto Family Detention Center, is operated
for the government by the Corrections Corporation of America,
under a $2.8-million-a-month contract with Williamson County.
It is named for a founder of the company, which runs 64 facilities
in 19 states."
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/us/10detain.html?ref=us
TAYLOR, Tex., Feb. 9 — Responding to complaints about conditions
at the nation’s main family detention center for illegal immigrants,
officials threw open the gates on Friday for a first news media tour.
They portrayed the privately run converted prison, open since May,
as a model facility “primarily focused on the safety of the children.”
Once all the barbed wire comes down, Gary Mead, an Immigration
and Customs Enforcement official, said, “it’s going to look more
like a community college with a very high chain-link fence.”
Among other things, critics have complained about the prisonlike
conditions, the food and the limited amount of schooling and
recreation provided for children.
Inside the fluorescent-lighted corridors, plastic plants had been
hurriedly installed and some areas repainted, lawyers for some
detainees said, and officials acknowledged that pizza was on the
lunch menu for the first time. The detainees could not be interviewed.
The facility, the T. Don Hutto Family Detention Center, is operated
for the government by the Corrections Corporation of America,
under a $2.8-million-a-month contract with Williamson County.
It is named for a founder of the company, which runs 64 facilities
in 19 states.
It now holds about 400 illegal immigrants, including 170 children,
in family groups from nearly 30 countries, Mr. Mead said. He called
it a humane alternative to splitting up families while insuring
their presence at legal proceedings.
There is only one other family detention center in the country,
the smaller Berks Family Shelter Care Facility, a former nursing
home, in Leesport, Pa.
Critics said the picture presented on Friday conflicted with what
they had observed.
“At Hutto, we found prisonlike conditions imposed on families
with no criminal background, including asylum seekers,” said
Michelle Brané, a lawyer for the Women’s Commission for Refugee
Women and Children and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee
Service who co-authored a report on family detention to be
released on Feb. 22.
Barbara Hines, clinical professor of law at the University of Texas
at Austin who runs an immigration clinic and has visited clients
inside, said Friday that “I don’t think children should be
incarcerated at all.”
The law required the government to hold families in the least
restrictive conditions possible, Ms. Hines said, adding,
“I was shocked, and I have been doing this 30 years.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has also been studying
conditions as it considers filing a lawsuit contending that the
government was violating a 1997 settlement on the treatment
of detained juveniles.
“To call it a family residential center is to mask what’s going on,”
said Vanita Gupta, a lawyer with the A.C.L.U. “They may be cleaning
up conditions, but at the end of the day it still begs the question
of why they are using such a Draconian system.”
Another A.C.L.U. lawyer, Lisa Graybill, legal director, said after
visiting, “I can’t describe how depressed people are in there.”
Outside the blocky buildings with thin slit windows, protesters
from a local group called Texans United for Families held up
signs saying, “Don’t Jail Children for Profit.”
“If they can put an ankle bracelet on Martha Stewart so she
doesn’t run off to Jamaica,” said a protester, Jose Ortan, a computer
technician, “they can find ways to do it for immigrant families.”
Some of the harshest criticism of the center came last week
from members of a Palestinian family held there for three months
for overstaying a visa. They were released after an immigration
appeals board unexpectedly reopened their plea for amnesty
based on new conditions — danger from the Hamas takeover
in the Palestinian territories.
Hamzeh Ibrahim, 15, said his father was sent to a facility in
West Texas while his pregnant mother shared a cell-like room
with the family’s 5-year-old girl; two other girls, 7 and 13, shared
another room. He said they had to clean their rooms and the
communal shower. “I cleaned for me and my mom because she
is pregnant and her back hurt,” he said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials who traveled
from Washington to lead the tour with company staff members
showed off one of the 11 dormitory areas, or pods, lined
by bare pastel-tinted detainee rooms, each with a metal
bunk bed, a sink and a toilet.
The rooms are not locked at night, but a laser beam alerts guards
if anyone leaves a room after bedtime — 9 p.m. for children and
10 for adults. The detainees wear outfits of green and blue,
which Danny Coronado, a spokesman for the corrections company,
likened to scrubs but critics described as prison garb.
Officials say stays at the center are now averaging a little
more than a month.
In the dining area, which has plastic tables with stools attached,
Mr. Mead said, “All of our meals are planned by dietitians with
calories of 3,200 a day, 3,500 for children.”
Disputing claims by some lawyers that many detainees had lost
weight there, Dr. Leroy T. Soto, the chief physician on duty, said
a study had actually documented weight gains. There is a medical
staff of 20.
Lawyers said detainees were rushed through meals in 15 or
20 minutes. Mr. Mead acknowledged “they can’t linger,” but
said it was because of classes or other activities.
Showing off a classroom with computers, Jean Bellinger, assistant
administrator for programs, said children were divided into three
age groups comparable to elementary, middle and high school
for four hours’ a day of instruction plus an hour’s recreation and
lunch. But she acknowledged that for several months a staff
shortage limited class time to an hour a day.
That was far too little, said Scott Medlock, a prison rights lawyer
for the Texas Civil Rights Project.
Gretel C. Kovach contributed reporting from Dallas.
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6) U.S. Troops Lock Down Much of East Baghdad
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
February 11, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/world/middleeast/11cnd-iraq.html?hp&ex=1171256400&en=025f74927f34f2c4&ei=5094&partner=homepage
BAGHDAD, Feb. 11 — American troops locked down a large industrialized
area of eastern Baghdad all day today, while Prime Minister Nuri Kamal
al-Maliki of Iraq, without indicating how he would do it, vowed to speed
the deployment of Iraqi forces throughout the war-ravaged capital.
American commanders described the operation today as an early
taste of large-scale weeklong sweeps through eastern Baghdad
intended to take back some measure of control from militias. Troops
from the Third Stryker Brigade Combat Team took automatic rifle fire
from insurgents as they searched for a car-bomb manufacturing
site on a violent sectarian fault line between a Shiite enclave and the
bleak and insurgent-ridden Sunni Arab neighborhood of Fadhil.
Six months ago, American forces began a major operation to curb
rampant sectarian killings across the city. But that failed, and commanders
said efforts to conduct meaningful operations in Sadr City were stymied.
Sadr City is the eastern Baghdad home base of the Mahdi Army, the
militia controlled by the militant Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr,
Mr. Maliki’s most powerful and important backer.
Now, the looming operations in eastern Baghdad are a centerpiece
of the Bush administration’s new security plan that adds 21,000
combat troops to Iraq, a move viewed by some as a last-ditch effort
to keep the country from deteriorating into a full-scale civil war.
Eastern Baghdad “is a focal point for us right now,” said Brig. Gen.
John Campbell, deputy commander of coalition troops in Baghdad.
American-led forces said they had conducted 3,400 patrols and
detained 140 suspects in the past week.
Under immense pressure from his Shiite backers who say their
neighborhoods are becoming increasingly vulnerable to attacks
by Sunni insurgents, Mr. Maliki announced today that he had
ordered the deployment of Iraqi soldiers and the police accelerated
so they can surround and search areas considered sanctuaries
for insurgents and militias. “It will not start in just one area, but
in all areas at the same time,” he said.
But it remains unclear just how fast that will take place, as only
a fraction of the Iraqi forces called for under the new Baghdad
security plan have arrived in position to fulfill their roles. And
if the Iraqis who clamored around American troops during the
14-hour mission today were a persuasive barometer, most Iraqis
appeared very skeptical the latest plan will make much difference.
“The government is tired, and we are tired too,” one middle-aged
Iraqi told troops who had stopped in a Shiite neighborhood close
to Fadhil. The man explained that people were reluctant to identify
possible insurgents because “they go and kill them after that.”
As he spoke, the crackle of automatic gunfire erupted to the
southwest and American troops and Iraqis dove behind nearby
vehicles. Taking cover behind his 19-ton Stryker armored vehicle,
the brigade commander, Col. Steve Townsend, looked through
the sight of his M-4 rifle and drew a bead on several suspicious
men a few hundred yards away.
“See the radio antenna?” he asked one of his soldiers, as they both
looked through their sights. “Two fingers from that. A cluster of
heads.” No one returned fire, as it did not become clear who had
fired the shots.
Nearby, the Iraqis were unruffled. “They always fire from over
there,” one of the onlookers said.
“Over there” was in the direction of Fadhil, a few blocks away. Again
and again, residents in the largely Shiite districts around Fadhil
described the densely packed Sunni Arab neighborhood as
a place that most of them never would go, where those who
do are sometimes never heard from again, and where snipers
operate from mosques and Sunni killers bring their kidnap victims.
“They drive their cars out from there, kidnap their victims, and
return back to Fadhil,” said Brig. Gen. Latif Muhammed, a police
commander who oversees the area surrounding Fadhil.
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7) U.S. Presents Evidence of Iranian Weapons in Iraq
By JAMES GLANZ
February 11, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/world/middleeast/11cnd-weapons.html?ref=world
BAGHDAD, Feb. 11 — After weeks of internal debate, senior United
States military officials today literally put on the table their first public
evidence for the contentious assertion that Iran is supplying Shiite
extremist groups in Iraq with deadly weaponry, including a roadside
bomb that pierces American armor.
Those officials spread out on two small tables during a news
briefing an array of mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades
with visible serial numbers that the officials said link the weapons
directly to Iranian arms factories. But by far the most potent item
on display was a squat canister designed to explode and spit out
a molten ball of copper that cuts through armor. That bomb
is perhaps the most feared weapon faced by American and
Iraqi troops here.
Never before displayed in public, the canister, called an
explosively formed penetrator, or E.F.P., arrives in Iraq in what
the officials described as a “kit” containing high-grade metals
and highly machined parts, like a strangely shaped, concave
lid that folds into the ball while hurtling toward its target.
The officials, who insisted on anonymity as a condition of the
briefing, also disclosed that since June 2004, when the first
member of the American-led forces here was killed by an E.F.P.,
the toll had reached more than 170 dead and 620 wounded.
The pace of the attacks with those weapons nearly doubled
in 2006 compared with the previous year and a half, the
officials said.
They said that at least one shipment of E.F.P.’s was captured
as it was being smuggled across the border from Iran into
southern Iraq in 2005. The precise machining, the officials
said, is another feature that links the weapons to Iran. “We
have no evidence that this has ever been done in Iraq,”
a senior United States military official said.
The officials also gave fresh details on recent American raids
in Baghdad and the northern city of Erbil in which they said
members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, or the Qods
Force, were picked up and accused of working with extremist
groups to plan attacks on American and Iraqi forces.
Because the elite Qods Force is involved, a senior military
analyst said, the American intelligence community believes
that the weapons shipments have been approved at “the
highest levels of the Iranian government.” Still, no direct
evidence was presented of how the intelligence community
has made that link.
There was also new information on the routes through which
the smuggling is believed to take place and where American-led
forces in Iraq have been finding caches of weapons thought
to originate in Iran.
Today’s presentation of evidence is bound to generate skepticism
among those suspicious that the Bush administration is trying
to find a scapegoat for its problems in Iraq and, some political
analysts and White House critics believe, is looking for an excuse
to attack Iran. Tensions between the countries have been ratcheted
up by disagreements over Tehran’s nuclear program, which Iranian
officials say is focused on such peaceful uses as generating power,
but which Washington asserts is being used to develop nuclear
weapons.
During the briefing, the senior United States military officials were
repeatedly pressed on why they insisted on anonymity in such an
important matter affecting the security of American and Iraqi troops.
A senior military official said that without anonymity, for example,
the military analyst could not have contributed to the briefing.
The official also criticized recent news reports, saying they overstated
the importance of today’s presentation, which had been previously
announced and then delayed. The delay came about in part because
officials in Washington had not been as persuaded as those
in Baghdad that the original presentation was sufficiently strong.
Officials here did not address that element of the internal debate.
“The reason we’re talking about this right now is the vast increase
in the number of E.F.P.’s being found,” the official said. The
American-led military forces, the official said, “are not trying
to hype this up to be more than it is.”
The official did make it clear that declassifying the material took
place only after several weeks of analysis on what information
could be useful to insurgent forces — information that has mostly
been kept out of the public eye since the E.F.P.’s began turning
up in Iraq.
“We publicly have not acknowledged E.F.P.’s for the past two years,”
the senior military official said.
Related:
'NYT' Reporter Who Got Iraqi WMDs Wrong Now Highlights Iran Claims
By Greg Mitchell
Published: February 10, 2007 10:30 PM ET Friday updated Saturday
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003544369
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8) Iran 'Fooling' U.S. Military
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily
Dahr Jamail's MidEast Dispatches
http://dahrjamailiraq.com
http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/iraq/000536.php#more
*NAJAF, Feb 12 (IPS) - New evidence is emerging on the ground of an
Iranian hand in growing violence within Iraq.*
As the United States heads for a confrontation with Iran over
allegations of Iranian involvement in bombings, the massacre in Najaf
last month indicates that Iran could be working also through the Iraqi
government, local leaders in Najaf say.
The slaughter of 263 people in Najaf by Iraqi and U.S. forces Jan. 29
provoked outrage and vows of revenge among residents in and around the
sacred Shia city in the south. The killings have deepened a split among
Shias.
Iran is predominantly Shia, one of the two main groupings within Islam
along with the Sunnis. Iraq has for the first time a Shia-dominated
government, comprising groups that have been openly supportive of Iran.
The people killed were mostly Shias from the Hawatim tribe that opposes
the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq as well as the Dawa
Party. These two pro-Iranian groups control the local government in
Najaf and the government in Baghdad.
The Najaf attack has provoked strong reactions among members of the
Hawatim tribe and among other Shia groups who are not loyal to Iran -
and who became the target in those killings.
An attack on a local tribal leader led to an assault on members of the
tribe by U.S., British and Iraqi forces. The tribe was described by
government officials as a "messianic cult."
Abid Ali who witnessed the Najaf fighting told IPS that a procession of
roughly 200 pilgrims from the Hawatim tribe had arrived in the Zarqa
area near Najaf to celebrate the Ashura festival. Following a
confrontation over the procession, Iraqi army soldiers at a checkpoint
shot dead Hajj Sa'ad Sa'ad Nayif al-Hatemi, chief of the tribe, as he
and his wife sat in their car.
Members of the tribe then attacked the checkpoint to avenge the death of
their chief.
"It was after this that the Iraqi army called in the Americans, and the
planes began bombing civilians," Ali said. "It was a massacre. Now I
believe the internal Shia fighting has entered a very dangerous phase."
Ali added that most people in the area believe the U.S. military was
told by Iraqi security forces loyal to the pro-Iranian government in
Baghdad that "terrorists" or the "messianic cult" was attacking Najaf.
They say the misinformation was intended to mislead occupation forces
into attacking the tribe.
Many Shias in the southern parts of the country and in Baghdad now say
they had been fooled earlier by U.S. promises to help them, but that the
Najaf massacre has dramatically changed their views.
Significantly, the Association of Muslim Scholars, a group of Sunni
Muslims headed by Dr. Harith al-Dhari, issued a statement condemning the
Iraqi-U.S. military attack in Najaf against the Hawatim tribe. The
statement, which seeks to bridge a Shia-Sunni divide, denounced the
killing of dozens of women and children and added, "It was an act of
vengeance and political termination."
"They (the United States) were misled, and their last move in Najaf
shows how the smart Iranians are leading the Americans deeper into Iraqi
sands," Jaafar al-Jawadi, a political analyst from Baghdad told IPS.
"I really admire the way Iranians are dealing with the situation in a
professional way while the Americans are walking with their eyes closed.
They are losing the last Iraqi fort they were hiding behind, and that
was the peaceful way Arab Shias were dealing with occupation."
Jawadi who is also a former Shia politician says he once believed in
U.S. promises of liberation for Iraqis, particularly the Shia
population. Like many other Iraqis, he now believes that the United
States has been used by the pro-Iranian government in Baghdad to carry
out attacks against Shia tribes in southern Iraq who have recently
become more and more anti-occupation.
"I do not really understand what those Americans are doing because now
they are just like an elephant in a china shop, and everything they do
is terribly wrong as if they are committing suicide," Talib Ahmad, a
lawyer and human rights activist in Najaf told IPS.
"Iran is benefiting from that for sure. Americans are simply fighting
for Iran who appears to be the winner in Iraq after all."
Many Iraqis are amazed at the unlimited support the U.S. administration
has been presenting to what many now call an Iranian-Iraqi government.
The new U.S. condemnation of Iran could be a first sign that the United
States is getting wise to the fact that it is being fooled by Iran.
The U.S. administration is, however, pointing the finger at Iran, and
not at the government in Baghdad that it props up.
(Ali al-Fadhily is our Baghdad correspondent. Dahr Jamail is our
specialist writer who has spent eight months reporting from inside Iraq
and has been covering the Middle East for several years.)
Think Dahr's work is vital? We need your help. It's easy!
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/donate/
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9) Scary Movie 2
Op-Ed Columnist
By PAUL KRUGMAN
February 12, 2007
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/opinion/12krugman.html?hp
Attacking Iran would be a catastrophic mistake, even if all the
allegations now being made about Iranian actions in Iraq are true.
But it wouldn’t be the first catastrophic mistake this administration
has made, and there are indications that, at the very least,
a powerful faction in the administration is spoiling for a fight.
Before we get to the apparent war-mongering, let’s talk about
the basics. Are there people in Iran providing aid to factions
in Iraq, factions that sometimes kill Americans as well as other
Iraqis? Yes, probably. But you can say the same about Saudi
Arabia, which is believed to be a major source of financial
support for Sunni insurgents — and Sunnis, not Iranian-backed
Shiites, are still responsible for most American combat deaths.
The Bush administration, however, with its close personal
and financial ties to the Saudis, has always downplayed Saudi
connections to America’s enemies. Iran, on the other hand,
which had no connection to 9/11, and was actually quite
helpful to the United States in the months after the terrorist
attack, somehow found itself linked with its bitter enemy
Saddam Hussein as part of the “axis of evil.”
So the administration has always had it in for the Iranian
regime. Now, let’s do an O. J. Simpson: if you were determined
to start a war with Iran, how would you do it?
First, you’d set up a special intelligence unit to cook up
rationales for war. A good model would be the Pentagon’s
now-infamous Office of Special Plans, led by Abram Shulsky,
that helped sell the Iraq war with false claims about links
to Al Qaeda.
Sure enough, last year Donald Rumsfeld set up a new “Iranian
directorate” inside the Pentagon’s policy shop. And last
September Warren Strobel and John Walcott of McClatchy
Newspapers — who were among the few journalists to warn
that the administration was hyping evidence on Iraqi W.M.D.
— reported that “current and former officials said the
Pentagon’s Iranian directorate has been headed by Abram Shulsky.”
Next, you’d go for a repeat of the highly successful strategy
by which scare stories about the Iraqi threat were disseminated
to the public.
This time, however, the assertions wouldn’t be about W.M.D.;
they’d be that Iranian actions are endangering U.S. forces in Iraq.
Why? Because there’s no way Congress will approve another
war resolution. But if you can claim that Iran is doing evil in Iraq,
you can assert that you don’t need authorization to attack
— that Congress has already empowered the administration
to do whatever is necessary to stabilize Iraq. And by the time
the lawyers are finished arguing — well, the war would be in
full swing.
Finally, you’d build up forces in the area, both to prepare for
the strike and, if necessary, to provoke a casus belli. There’s
precedent for the idea of provocation: in a January 2003
meeting with Prime Minster Tony Blair, The New York Times
reported last year, President Bush “talked about several ways
to provoke a confrontation, including a proposal to paint
a United States surveillance plane in the colors of the United
Nations in hopes of drawing fire.”
In the end, Mr. Bush decided that he didn’t need a confrontation
to start that particular war. But war with Iran is a harder sell,
so sending several aircraft carrier groups into the narrow waters
of the Persian Gulf, where a Gulf of Tonkin-type incident could
all too easily happen, might be just the thing.
O.K., I hope I’m worrying too much. Those carrier groups could
be going to the Persian Gulf just as a warning.
But you have to wonder about the other stuff. Why would the
Pentagon put someone who got everything wrong on Iraq
in charge of intelligence on Iran? Why wasn’t any official willing
to take personal responsibility for the reliability of alleged
evidence of Iranian mischief, as opposed to being an anonymous
source? If the evidence is solid enough to bear close scrutiny,
why were all cameras and recording devices, including cellphones,
banned from yesterday’s Baghdad briefing?
It’s still hard to believe that they’re really planning to attack Iran,
when it’s so obvious that another war would be a recipe for even
bigger disaster. But remember who’s calling the shots: Dick Cheney
thinks we’ve had “enormous successes” in Iraq.
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10) Passing the Buck on Health Care
Editorial
February 12, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/opinion/12mon1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
President Bush’s new budget would extend the administration’s
warped priorities deep into the realm of federally supported health
care programs. The administration long ago sacrificed any meaningful
domestic agenda to finance tax cuts for the wealthy and its reckless
war in Iraq. The White House’s reckless determination to make the
tax cuts permanent is now driving it to slash domestic spending
in health and other vital programs.
Instead of trying to address the underlying problems of escalating
health care costs, Mr. Bush’s strategy is to cut services or shift
more of the bill to states, health care providers and individuals.
In the Medicare program, which covers health care for Americans
aged 65 and over, the administration would find most of its
savings by slowing the annual increase in reimbursements
for services, forcing hospitals and other providers to absorb
the burden. Given Medicare’s precarious financial straits,
the package appears broadly acceptable.
The real outrage is that the administration has not proposed
comparable reductions in the large overpayments — roughly
12 percent more per patient — made to private managed care
plans that enroll Medicare beneficiaries. The budget would also
phase out Medicare bad-debt payments, forcing hospitals
to swallow beneficiaries’ unpaid bills.
The budget also looks to save money by eliminating inflation
indexing so that as incomes rise, so would the number
of people required to pay higher premiums. Although this
is a sneaky way to raise premiums, it is hard to argue with
the notion that better-off beneficiaries should pay more
to help rescue a financially strained program.
What seems counterproductive is Mr. Bush’s plan to lower
federal matching funds for Medicaid administration —
forcing the states to find more of their own funds or sacrifice
good management and oversight. More worrisome is his
plan to cut back on state programs that insure the young.
The most shortsighted restrictions would come in the highly
acclaimed State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which
uses federal matching funds to provide coverage for low-
and moderate-income children who are not quite poor enough
to qualify for Medicaid. The program has been enormously
successful in reducing the number of uninsured children. Yet now
the administration wants to reduce its matching rate and limit
enrollment to children in households earning no more than twice
the federal poverty level. That would undercut programs in
16 states that have expanded coverage to children above that level.
Although the administration’s budget would grant the children’s
program a small $5 billion increase spread over five years, that’s less
than half, and possibly only a third, of the amount needed just
to maintain current enrollments and participation rates. This is too
high a price to pay for more tax cuts and Mr. Bush’s ill-managed
presidency.
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11) Mystery Disease Is Threat to Bee Colonies
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 12, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/us/12bees.html
STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Feb. 11 (AP) — A mysterious illness is killing
tens of thousands of honeybee colonies across the country,
threatening honey production, the livelihood of beekeepers
and possibly crops that need bees for pollination.
Researchers are scrambling to find the cause of the ailment,
called colony collapse disorder.
Reports of unusual colony deaths have come from at least 22 states.
Some commercial beekeepers have reported losing more than
50 percent of their bees.
A colony can have roughly 20,000 bees in the winter and up
to 60,000 in the summer. Commercial beekeepers often
have thousands of colonies.
The country’s bee population had already been hurt in recent
years by a tiny parasitic bug called the varroa mite, which had
destroyed more than half of some beekeepers’ hives and
devastated most wild honeybee populations.
Commercial bee colonies are also important pollinators, along
with some birds, bats and other insects. A recent report by the
National Research Council noted that three-quarters of all flowering
plants, including most food crops and some that provide fiber,
drugs and fuel, rely on pollinators for fertilization.
Dave Hackenberg, of Hackenberg Apiaries in Lewisburg, Pa., was
the first to report the disorder to bee researchers at Pennsylvania
State University. He notified them in November when he was down
to about 1,000 colonies after having started the fall with 2,900.
“We are going to take bees we got and make more bees, but
it’s costly,” Mr. Hackenberg said.
Daniel Weaver, president of the American Beekeeping Federation,
said the situation was serious. “Whether it threatens the apiculture
industry in the United States or not, that’s up in the air,” he said.
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12) Patenting Life
By Michael Crichton
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/opinion/13crichton.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
You, or someone you love, may die because of a gene patent that
should never have been granted in the first place. Sound far-fetched?
Unfortunately, it’s only too real.
Gene patents are now used to halt research, prevent medical testing
and keep vital information from you and your doctor. Gene patents
slow the pace of medical advance on deadly diseases. And they
raise costs exorbitantly: a test for breast cancer that could
be done for $1,000 now costs $3,000.
Why? Because the holder of the gene patent can charge whatever
he wants, and does. Couldn’t somebody make a cheaper test?
Sure, but the patent holder blocks any competitor’s test. He owns
the gene. Nobody else can test for it. In fact, you can’t even donate
your own breast cancer gene to another scientist without permission.
The gene may exist in your body, but it’s now private property.
This bizarre situation has come to pass because of a mistake by
an underfinanced and understaffed government agency. The United
States Patent Office misinterpreted previous Supreme Court rulings
and some years ago began—to the surprise of everyone, including
scientists decoding the genome—to issue patents on genes.
Humans share mostly the same genes. The same genes are found
in other animals as well. Our genetic makeup represents the
common heritage of all life on earth. You can’t patent snow,
eagles or gravity, and you shouldn’t be able to patent genes,
either. Yet by now one-fifth of the genes in your body are
privately owned.
The results have been disastrous. Ordinarily, we imagine patents
promote innovation, but that’s because most patents are granted
for human inventions. Genes aren’t human inventions; they are
features of the natural world. As a result these patents can be
used to block innovation, and hurt patient care.
For example, Canavan disease is an inherited disorder that affects
children starting at 3 months; they cannot crawl or walk, they
suffer seizures and eventually become paralyzed and die by
adolescence. Formerly there was no test to tell parents if they
were at risk. Families enduring the heartbreak of caring for
these children engaged a researcher to identify the gene and
produce a test. Canavan families around the world donated
tissue and money to help this cause.
When the gene was identified in 1993, the families got the
commitment of a New York hospital to offer a free test to
anyone who wanted it. But the researcher’s employer, Miami
Children’s Hospital Research Institute, patented the gene and
refused to allow any health care provider to offer the test
without paying a royalty. The parents did not believe genes
should be patented and so did not put their names on the
patent. Consequently, they had no control over the outcome.
In addition, a gene’s owner can in some instances also own
the mutations of that gene, and these mutations can be markers
for disease. Countries that don’t have gene patents actually offer
better gene testing than we do, because when multiple labs
are allowed to do testing, more mutations are discovered,
leading to higher-quality tests.
Apologists for gene patents argue that the issue is a tempest
in a teapot, that patent licenses are readily available at minimal
cost. That’s simply untrue. The owner of the genome for
Hepatitis C is paid millions by researchers to study this disease.
Not surprisingly, many other researchers choose to study
something less expensive.
But forget the costs: why should people or companies own
a disease in the first place? They didn’t invent it. Yet today,
more than 20 human pathogens are privately owned, including
haemophilus influenza and Hepatitis C. And we’ve already
mentioned that tests for the BRCA genes for breast cancer
cost $3,000. Oh, one more thing: if you undergo the test,
the company that owns the patent on the gene can keep your
tissue and do research on it without asking your permission.
Don’t like it? Too bad.
The plain truth is that gene patents aren’t benign and never
will be. When SARS was spreading across the globe, medical
researchers hesitated to study it—because of patent concerns.
There is no clearer indication that gene patents block innovation,
inhibit research and put us all at risk.
Even your doctor can’t get relevant information. An asthma
medication only works in certain patients. Yet its manufacturer
has squelched efforts by others to develop genetic tests that
would determine on whom it will and will not work. Such
commercial considerations interfere with a great dream.
For years we’ve been promised the coming era of personalized
medicine—medicine suited to our particular body makeup.
Gene patents destroy that dream.
Fortunately, two congressmen want to make the full benefit
of the decoded genome available to us all. Last Friday, Xavier
Becerra, a Democrat of California, and Dave Weldon, a Republican
of Florida, sponsored the Genomic Research and Accessibility Act,
to ban the practice of patenting genes found in nature. Mr. Becerra
has been careful to say the bill does not hamper invention, but
rather promotes it. He’s right. This bill will fuel innovation, and
return our common genetic heritage to us. It deserves our support.
Michael Crichton is the author, most recently, of the novel “Next.”
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13) Iran and the Nameless Briefers
Editorial
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/opinion/13tue1.html?hp
Before things get any more out of hand, President Bush needs to make
his intentions toward Iran clear. And Congress needs to make it clear
that this time it will be neither tricked nor bullied into supporting
another disastrous war.
How little this administration has learned from its failures is a constant
source of amazement. It seems the bigger the failure, the less it learns.
Consider last weekend’s supersecret briefing in Baghdad by a group
of American military officials whose names could not be revealed
to the voters who are paying for this war with their taxes and their
children’s blood. The briefers tried to prove the White House’s
case that Iran is shipping deadly weapons, including armor-piercing
explosives, to Shiite militias in Iraq.
Unlike Colin Powell’s infamous prewar presentation on Iraq at the
United Nations, this briefing had actual weapons to look at. And
perhaps in time, the administration will be able to prove conclusively
that the weapons came from arms factories in Iran.
But the officials offered no evidence to support their charge that
“the highest levels of the Iranian government” had authorized
smuggling these weapons into Iraq for use against American forces.
Nor could they adequately explain why they had been sitting on this
urgent evidence since 2004. The only thing that was not surprising
was the refusal of any of the briefers to allow their names to be
published. Mr. Powell is probably wondering why he didn’t
insist on the same deal.
We have no doubt about Iran’s malign intent. Iran is defying the
Security Council’s order to halt its nuclear activities, and it is certainly
meddling inside Iraq. But we are also certain that the Iraq war has
so strained the American military and so shattered this president’s
credibility that shrill accusations and saber rattling are far more likely
to frighten the allies America needs to contain Iran’s nuclear
ambitions than to change Tehran’s behavior.
If Mr. Bush is truly worried about Shiite militias killing Americans
in Iraq — and he should be — he needs to start showing this evidence
to Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. He needs to demand
that Mr. Maliki stop protecting the militias and make it clear that
here will be serious consequences if he continues to refuse.
If Mr. Bush is truly worried about Iran fanning Iraq’s ever more bloody
civil war — and he should be — he needs to stop fantasizing about
regime change and start trying to find a way to persuade Iran’s leaders
to help rein in the chaos in Iraq.
And if Mr. Bush is worried that Americans no longer believe him when
he warns of mortal threats to the country — and he should be —
he needs to start proving that he really understands who is most
responsible for the Iraq disaster. And he needs to explain how he
plans to extricate American troops without setting off an even
bigger war.
That’s the briefing the American people need to hear. And they
need to hear it from the most senior American official of all,
George Walker Bush.
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14) Martial Law Declared in Guinea
By LYDIA POLGREEN
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/world/africa/13guinea.html?ref=world
DAKAR, Senegal, Feb. 12 — Guinea’s embattled and ailing president
declared martial law on Monday, hoping to stop a wave of violent street
demonstrations and a general strike that have crippled the country
and brought it to the brink of insurrection.
Speaking on state-owned radio, President Lansana Conté said, “Orders
have been given to the heads of the armed forces to take all
appropriate measures to defend the people of Guinea from the
risk of civil war,” according to Reuters.
The declaration followed a vow by labor unions to resume a general
strike on Monday, demanding that Mr. Conté step down. He has
ruled Guinea with an authoritarian hand since he seized power
in 1984.
Dozens of people have been killed in demonstrations across
Guinea in the past month, including eight people on Monday.
In an effort to end an 18-day strike started by labor unions last
month, Mr. Conté had agreed to cede some of his powers to
a prime minister. But when he announced Saturday that he would
appoint a close ally, Eugène Camara, to the job, demonstrations
broke out across the country, leading to violent clashes with
government forces.
The unions, which viewed Mr. Camara as too close to the
president to be an effective counterweight, escalated their
demands, saying they would settle for nothing less than
Mr. Conté’s departure.
“We don’t recognize this prime minister, and anyway, it is no
longer a question of the prime minister,” Ibrahima Fofana,
the secretary general of the Guinea Workers’ Union, one
of two groups that led the strike last month, told The
Associated Press. “We are asking for the departure, pure
and simple, of President Lansana Conté.”
That demand appeared to set up a showdown between
Mr. Conté and a population that is increasingly fed up
with corruption and willing to take to the streets to
demand change.
Government forces opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators
on a bridge in the capital, Conakry, during the strike last month.
Riots, looting and political demonstrations across the country
over the weekend killed more than a dozen people. Mobs
burned police stations and attacked the homes of several
government officials. In all, more than 60 people have been
killed since the first strike began in January.
Shops, businesses and government offices were shuttered
Monday and government security forces blocked roads leading
into the center of Conakry. Gunfire rang through several
suburbs of the capital.
The strike and a series of antigovernment demonstrations were
among the biggest challenges yet to the rule of Mr. Conté, one
of West Africa’s last remaining strongmen. Guinea, a former
French colony that is rich in minerals but poor in just about
every other sense, has remained a stubborn bastion of autocracy.
It holds regular elections, but a mixture of fear, repression
and state control of the news media have compromised
democratic rule.
Mr. Conté is believed to be in his 70s and in poor health.
In the past two years he has repeatedly traveled to Europe
for medical treatment.
Guinea sits in the middle of a fragile region. Two of its
neighbors, Sierra Leone and Liberia, are still struggling to
recover from brutal civil wars, and Ivory Coast is split in
two after a brief civil war.
Analysts say sustained unrest in Guinea could lead to another
civil war in the region and reignite conflicts in its neighbors,
drawing in mercenaries across a region that is awash in weapons.
Related:
USAID BUDGET
"An unstable Guinea could create massive disruption throughout
the entire sub-region, impair progress made to date in Liberia
and Sierra Leone, and exacerbate the situation in Cote d'Ivoire,
requiring significant investments in humanitarian assistance.
The U.S. Government (USG) has already invested heavily in
bringing peace to both Sierra Leone and Liberia. USAID's
continued presence and activities in Guinea will further
reinforce U.S. investments in the Mano River Union. In
addition, as the Fouta Djallon highlands in Guinea are an
important watershed for three major West African rivers
that serve over ten countries in the sub-region, instability
or civil conflict in Guinea could result in serious
environmental damage to the region.
The US maintains close relations with Guinea and operates
the 9th largest U.S. Mission in Africa, with representatives
from USAID, the Department of State, the Department of
Defense, Peace Corps, and the Department of Treasury.
Guinea is a moderate Muslim country that maintains a secular
orientation in its foreign policy, and has supported U.S.
anti-terrorism initiatives through ratification of numerous
United Nations conventions on terrorism. The United States
also seeks to promote increased U.S. private investment in
Guinea's emerging economy. There are several large U.S.
corporate operations in Guinea. The principal strategic goals
of the U.S. Mission in Guinea are to promote, in priority: regional
stability; democracy and human rights; economic prosperity
and security; social and environmental issues; and humanitarian
response. Within these goal areas, U.S. policy seeks to bolster
Guinea's stability, promote sustainable economic and social
development, and encourage Guinea to reach international
norms of transparency. Progress in the implementation of
sound economic, social, political, and environmental policies
will enable Guinea to further contribute to regional
integration and stability.
The USAID Program: The USAID/Guinea program currently
has four strategic objectives. They include: (1) improving
natural resources management and incomes in rural areas;
(2) improving voluntary family planning and the health and
welfare of women and children, and preventing the transmission
of HIV/AIDS; (3) providing quality basic education to a larger
percentage of Guinean children, with emphasis on girls and
rural children; and (4) fostering continued democratic progress
by strengthening civil society and promoting good governance.
FY 2005 and FY 2006 funds will be used to implement the
ongoing efforts under these four objectives. In addition,
FY 2006 funds will be used to fund close-out activities under
these objectives as a new USAID/Guinea Strategy Statement
will be implemented in FY 2007."
http://www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/cbj2006/afr/gn.html
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15) Skeptics Doubt U.S. Evidence on Iran Action in Iraq
By HELENE COOPER and MARK MAZZETTI
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/world/middleeast/13weapons.html?ref=world
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 — Three weeks after promising it would show
proof of Iranian meddling in Iraq, the Bush administration has laid
out its evidence — and received in return a healthy dose of skepticism.
The response from Congressional and other critics speaks volumes
about the current state of American credibility, four years after the
intelligence controversy leading up to the Iraq war. To pre-empt
accusations that the charges against Iran were politically motivated,
the administration rejected the idea of a high-level presentation,
relying instead on military and intelligence officers to make its
case in a background briefing in Baghdad.
Even so, critics have been quick to voice doubts. Representative
Silvestre Reyes of Texas, the Democratic chairman of the House
Intelligence Committee, suggested that the White House was
more interested in sending a message to Tehran than in backing
up serious allegations with proof. And David Kay, who once led
the hunt for illicit weapons in Iraq, said the grave situation
in Iraq should have taught the Bush administration to put more
of a premium on transparency when it comes to intelligence.
“If you want to avoid the perception that you’ve cooked the
books, you come out and make the charges publicly,”
Mr. Kay said.
Administration officials say their approach was carefully
calibrated to focus on concerns that Iran is providing potent
weapons used against American troops in Iraq, not to ignite
a wider war. “We’re trying to strike the right tone here,” a senior
administration official said Monday. “It would have raised the
rhetoric to major decibel levels if we had had a briefing
in Washington.”
At the State Department, the Pentagon and the Office of the
Director of National Intelligence, officials had anticipated
resistance to their claims. They settled on an approach that
sidelined senior officials including Zalmay Khalilzad, the
American ambassador to Iraq, and John D. Negroponte,
who until last week was the director of national intelligence.
By doing so, they avoided the inevitable comparisons to the
since-discredited presentation that Secretary of State Colin
L. Powell made to the United Nations Security Council in 2003
asserting that Iraq had illicit weapons.
The White House and the State Department both made clear
on Monday that they endorsed the findings presented in Baghdad.
Asked for direct evidence linking Iran’s leadership to the weapons,
Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, said: “Let me put it this
way. There’s not a whole lot of freelancing in the Iranian government,
especially when its comes to something like that.”
Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, said: “While
they presented a circumstantial case, I would put to you that it
was a very strong circumstantial case. The Iranians are up to their
eyeballs in this activity, I think, very clearly based on the information
that was provided over the weekend in Baghdad.”
In Australia, however, Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that he “would not say” that Iran’s
leadership was aware of or condoned the attacks. “It is clear that
Iranians are involved, and it’s clear that materials from Iran are
involved, but I would not say by what I know that the Iranian
government clearly knows or is complicit,” according to an
account posted on the Voice of America Web site.
An Iranian government spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini,
has sought in denying the charges to exploit the lingering doubts
about American credibility. “The United States has a long history
of fabricating evidence,” Mr. Hosseini, a Foreign Ministry official,
told reporters in Tehran.
The administration’s scramble over how to present its evidence
started in January, after President Bush accused Iran of meddling
in Iraq. Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi Qumi,
demanded that the United States present its evidence, and
Mr. Khalilzad, the American ambassador in Baghdad, responded
that America would “oblige him by having something done
in the coming days.”
That set Bush administration officials racing to produce a briefing
that would hold up to scrutiny. Military officials in Baghdad developed
the first briefing, a wide-ranging dossier that contained dozens
of slides about Iranian activities inside Iraq, which was then sent
to Washington for review, administration officials said.
But after a careful vetting by intelligence officials, senior
administration officials, including National Security Adviser
Stephen J. Hadley and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates,
concluded that there were aspects of the briefing that could not
be supported by solid intelligence. They sent the briefing back
to Baghdad to be shored up, a senior official said.
The evidence that military officials presented Sunday was
a stripped-down version of the original presentation, focusing
almost entirely on the weapons, known as explosively formed
penetrators, and the evidence that Iran is supplying the
weapons to Shiite groups.
Both Democratic and Republican officials on Capitol Hill
said that while they do not doubt that the weapons are being
used to attack American troops, and that some of those weapons
are being shipped into Iraq from Iran, they are still uncertain
whether the weapons were being shipped into Iraq on the
orders of Iran’s leaders.
Several experts agreed. “I’m not doubting the provenance
of the weapons, but rather, the issue of what it says about
Iranian policy and whether Iran’s leaders are aware of it,” said
George Perkovich, a nonproliferation specialist at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace in Washington.
Philip D. Zelikow, who until December was the top aide to
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said American politics
and the increased unpopularity of the war in Iraq is obscuring
the larger issue of the Iran evidence, which he described as
“abundant and so multifaceted.”
“People have lost their moorings,” Mr. Zelikow said. He said the
administration was trying to overcome public distrust by asking,
in essence, “Don’t you trust our soldiers?”
Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Tehran.
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16) Sharing of Bison Range Management Breaks Down
By JIM ROBBINS
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/us/13bison.html?ref=us
MOIESE, Mont. — An effort to have two Indian tribes assist government
officials in operating a federal wildlife refuge that is surrounded
by their reservation has collapsed amid accusations of racism,
harassment, intimidation and poor performance. But top federal
officials say they are determined to resurrect it.
The plan for the tribes and the government to jointly run the National
Bison Range in western Montana, just north of Missoula, had long
been viewed as unworkable by the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Department of Interior branch that manages wildlife
refuges.
But top Interior Department officials say that despite the objections,
they are committed to transferring some responsibility for the range
from the wildlife service to a tribal government.
“There’s a shared sense of mission between the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the tribes,” said Shane Wolf, a department
spokesman.
Representative Denny Rehberg, Republican of Montana, asked
the Government Accountability Office and the House Resources
Committee in late January to investigate the disagreement and
the problems plaguing the range. Among them is whether
political appointees at the Interior Department pressured the
wildlife service into the pact. The department’s inspector
general and its Office of Equal Opportunity are also
investigating.
The Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 allows tribal
involvement in the management of federal lands, and the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, which have strong
cultural links to bison, wanted the authority to manage the refuge.
The Fish and Wildlife Service opposed ceding control over the
bison range, and the Interior Department and tribal officials
decided to split the mission. The federal government maintained
management authority but hired members of the tribes to feed
and care for the bison. Federal managers, who did not have
authority over the tribal workers, had to ask a tribal manager
to relay orders.
The project leader at the range, Steve Kallin of the wildlife
service, said tribal employees failed to do their assigned tasks
and that this led to the cancellation of the agreement.
For example, Mr. Kallin said, tribe members failed to feed
the bison properly in preparation for their transfer to another
refuge, at which point, he said, the wildlife service resumed
responsibility for feeding.
Tribal employees also did not maintain fences, Mr. Kallin said,
allowing bison to wander into pastures that were being rested
from grazing.
Wildlife agency employees also said that relations grew strained
and that tribal employees started to threaten them. They also
said they felt excluded because tribal employees prayed together
during work hours. The wildlife agency hired a retired special
agent-in-charge of the National Park Service for the Rocky
Mountain region, Jim Reilly, to look into the situation.
Mr. Reilly’s findings, which were not made public but appeared
on a Web site run by a group opposed to tribal management,
supported many of the federal employees’ accusations. Mr. Reilly
wrote that work conditions at the range “were as bad as he had
ever seen in his career,” according to a letter from the service’s
deputy regional director, Jay Slack, to the regional director that
cited the investigation.
Tribal officials denied many of the accusations and said they were
surprised by the list of complaints. Cancellation of the agreement
“came completely out of the blue,” said the chairman of the tribal
confederation, James Steele Jr. “We didn’t know until the day that
they did it.”
While he was aware of some problems, Mr. Steele said, he thought
they were being dealt with.
A lawyer for the tribe, Brian Upton, said tribal officials did not
allow Mr. Reilly to interview members who worked at the range
“because they never told us why they were investigating us.”
“We do not have any corroborating details for any of the complaints,”
Mr. Upton said.
Tribal officials said that the Fish and Wildlife Service never liked
the arrangement because it meant that the agency had to cede
some control over the range, so the agency always wanted
it to fail.
“It was a decision looking for an excuse,” said Clayton Matt, head
of the tribal confederation’s natural resources department.
“We work with almost every federal agency you can think of and
we have a great relationship with all of them,” he said. State and
federal officials have also publicly praised the tribe’s management
of natural resources, including the grizzly bears and other wildlife
on the reservation.
Regarding praying at work, the tribe’s bison range coordinator,
Sheila Matt (no relation to Mr. Matt) said, “When we rode through
the bison, I asked the volunteers to pray for our safety and the
safety of the bison.”
Critics say the decision to allow tribal management was a political
one made by Interior Department appointees who favor reducing
the federal role in management of parks and other properties.
Such an agreement, they say, leaves no one accountable because
authority for the workers lies with a tribe, which is a sovereign
nation.
“The evidence of incompetency is overwhelming,” said Susan
Reneau, a member of the Blue Goose Alliance, which advocates
for wildlife refuges. “They did not perform their duties; they did
not do their work. Yet they are not accountable.”
The federal government took control of much of the reservation
land from some tribes around the turn of the century and allocated
each tribal member 160 acres. The rest was open to settlement,
and white settlers moved in. As a result, 30 percent of the
reservation is owned by people who are not tribal members
and there is longstanding enmity between the tribe and some
nontribal residents.
“There’s a deep-rooted fear of tribal control,” a tribal spokesman,
Rob McDonald, said.
But Mr. Kallin said he saw the matter from the opposite perspective.
“At what point,” he said, “does the Fish and Wildlife Service retain
the ability to manage, according to Congressional mandate?”
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17) Dolphins and Sea Lions May Get the Call to Defend Northwest Base
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/us/13puget.html
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 12 (AP) — Dozens of dolphins and sea lions trained
to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers may be sent to patrol
a military base in Washington State, the Navy said Monday.
In a notice published in this week’s Federal Register, the Navy said
it needed to bolster security at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, on the
Puget Sound close to Seattle.
The base is home to submarines, ships and laboratories and
is vulnerable to attack by swimmers and scuba divers, the notice
states.
Several options are under consideration, but the preferred plan
would be to send up to 30 California sea lions and Atlantic
bottlenose dolphins from the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program,
based in San Diego.
“These animals have the capabilities for what needs to be done
for this particular mission,” said Tom LaPuzza, a spokesman
for the Marine Mammal Program.
Mr. LaPuzza said that because of their astonishing sonar abilities,
dolphins were excellent at patrolling for swimmers and divers.
When a Navy dolphin detects a person in the water, it drops
a beacon. This tells a human interception team where to find
the suspicious swimmer.
Dolphins are also trained to detect underwater mines; they
were sent to do this in the Iraqi harbor of Umm Qasr in 2003.
The last time the animals were used operationally in San Diego
was in 1996, when they patrolled the bay during the Republican
National Convention.
Sea lions can carry in their mouths special cuffs attached
to long ropes. If the animal finds a rogue swimmer, it can
clamp the cuff around the person’s leg. The individual can
then be reeled in for questioning.
The Navy is seeking public comment for an environmental
impact statement on the proposal.
The Navy wanted to deploy marine animals to the Northwest
in 1989, but a federal judge sided with animal rights activists
concerned about the effects of cooler water and about how
the creatures would affect the environment. Water in the
Puget Sound is about 10 degrees cooler than water in San
Diego Harbor, which has an average temperature
of 58 degrees, Mr. LaPuzza said.
Since then, the Navy has taken the dolphins and sea lions
to cold-water places like Alaska and Scandinavia to see
how they cope.
“They did very well,” Mr. LaPuzza said.
If sent to Washington, the dolphins would be housed in
heated enclosures and would patrol the bay only for periods
of about two hours.
Stephanie Boyles, a marine biologist and spokeswoman
for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said that
sea mammals did not provide a reliable defense system,
and that they should not be kept in small enclosures.
“We believe the United States’ citizens deserve the very
best defense possible, and this just isn’t it,” Ms. Boyles said.
Dolphins can live as long as 30 years. Mr. LaPuzza said the
Navy occasionally gave its retired animals to marine parks
but generally kept them until they died of old age.
The Navy has been training marine mammals since the 1960s
and keeps about 100 dolphins and sea lions. Most are in San
Diego, but about 20 are deployed at Naval Submarine Base
Kings Bay, Ga.
The Navy hopes to reduce its marine mammal program and
replace the animals with machines, Mr. LaPuzza said,
“but the technology just isn’t there yet.”
“The value of the marine mammals is we’ve been doing
this for 35 years, and we’ve ironed out all the kinks,” he said.
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18) Chrysler to Announce Job Cuts and Plant Closings
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
February 14, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/business/14chrysler.html?ref=business
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 13 — The Chrysler Group is set to announce
a restructuring plan Wednesday aimed at securing its place in the
crowded American car market — and within DaimlerChrysler.
The plan is expected to include the elimination of about 11,000 blue-
and white-collar jobs along with the closing of one and possibly two
assembly plants — in Delaware and Missouri — people with direct
knowledge of the plan said this week. Chrysler may shut smaller
plants elsewhere and announce other cost-cutting measures
to meet its stated goal of reducing costs by about $1,000 per
vehicle.
Along with those steps, Chrysler may announce a project to share
more parts and engineering technology with Mercedes-Benz.
It has largely avoided doing so since the DaimlerChrysler merger
in 1998, even though other car companies routinely use the same
underpinnings for their different brands.
The Chrysler restructuring marks yet another attempt by the auto
company to remake itself in the face of stiff competition from
foreign brands and a shift in taste among American buyers. Chrysler
has already had two overhauls this decade — one major and one
of more limited scope — both under the guidance of Dieter Zetsche,
who ran the Chrysler Group from 2000 until 2006, when he became
DaimlerChrysler’s chief executive.
Throughout the 1990s, and while Mr. Zetsche was in charge, Chrysler
kept its hold on third place in the American market, with a vehicle
lineup weighted heavily to sport utilities, minivans and pickups.
Indeed, until last fall, three-quarters of Chrysler’s models were
light trucks, even though its American and Asian rivals were shifting
to build smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles that buyers sought
when gasoline prices spiked above $3 a gallon.
Last year, DaimlerChrysler, including Chrysler and Mercedes, was
unseated by Toyota of Japan as the third-biggest carmaker in the
American market behind General Motors and the Ford Motor Company.
DaimlerChrysler could reclaim third place this year simply because
of shifts by its rivals. Ford, which lost $12.7 billion last year,
is giving up its unprofitable sales to rental car companies,
a move that will accelerate its market share drop.
Chrysler’s restructuring plan is being unveiled on the same day
that its parent announces results for 2006. Analysts expect
DaimlerChrysler to be profitable. But they predict Chrysler,
which lost $1.5 billion on an operating basis during the third
quarter after a profitable first half, will post an operating loss
of at least $1 billion for the year.
Adam Jonas, who follows European automakers for Morgan
Stanley, said he expects Chrysler’s operating losses to continue
through 2007, given the costs it will incur from its restructuring
plan.
Another challenge facing Chrysler is its reputation in the
marketplace. Even though it has rolled out more fuel-efficient
models in the past year, like the small Dodge Caliber and the
Sebring sedan, Chrysler’s image is still that of a company
that relies on Jeeps and trucks.
Indeed, at last week’s auto show in Chicago, Chrysler’s
presentation focused on three new versions of its big pickup
trucks, with actors playing construction workers. By contrast,
G.M. showed off its new Saturn Astra hatchback and the
Pontiac G8 sedan, and Ford touted its decision to bring
back the Taurus name after retiring it late last year.
To be sure, Chrysler and the other Detroit companies are
fending off a challenge from Toyota, whose big new Tundra
pickup went on sale Monday.
But it will be tough for Chrysler, whose marketing strategy
gives it the most masculine appeal of the Detroit auto companies,
to convince buyers it has more than big vehicles, said Ron Pinelli,
president of Autodata Incorporated, a company that tracks industry
statistics.
“If the company keeps doing what they’re doing, they’re going
to become much less relevant,” Mr. Pinelli said.
Chrysler’s mission includes removing any doubts at its parent
company about whether to keep Chrysler in the fold. Last fall,
DaimlerChrysler’s chief financial officer, Bodo Uebber, refused
to rule out a spin off, although company officials including Mr. Zetsche
subsequently insisted the idea was not under consideration.
DaimlerChrysler shares closed up 79 cents, to $64.45, yesterday
on the New York stock exchange.
This week, a German investment company, DWS, which holds
a small stake in the company, said Mr. Zetsche should sell Chrysler,
not try to fix it again.
Chrysler dealers, for their part, are eager for the company
to regain momentum.
Last year, dealers complained when their inventories soared
50 percent higher than the norm, on top of as many as 100,000
vehicles that Chrysler built and parked in lots around metropolitan
Detroit because it did not have orders for them.
Those vehicles that were built on spec are largely gone, and
dealers will soon get shipments of the latest version of Chrysler’s
minivans, still the leading player in a market where Japanese and
Korean companies have gained a strong foothold.
Scott Stone, general manager of Doug Lewis and Sons, a Chrysler
dealership in Henderson, Tenn., said he would like Chrysler to trim
its lineup of vehicles that are too similar, like the Dodge Nitro, Dodge
Durango and Chrysler Aspen, all S.U.V.s that he sells alongside Jeeps.
“They could drop a few lines,” Mr. Stone said. “There’s so many that
are so close to each other, I think what you end up doing is confusing
the consumer."
Nick Bunkley contributed reporting.
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19) More Troops, And More Violence
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily
http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/iraq/000537.php#more
*BAGHDAD, Feb 13 (IPS) - Violence and bombings have only increased after
the proposed "surge" of 21,500 U.S. troops in Iraq.*
U.S. troops presence has averaged 142,000 soldiers a month since the
occupation began nearly four years ago. Through this period, violence
has increased against both them and the Iraqi civilian population.
Despite promises of freedom, democracy and liberation, Iraqis have
suffered severe deterioration in security, services, infrastructure and
social unity since the U.S.-led occupation began.
Many Iraqis believe that an increased number of troops will actually
make the situation worse.
"To increase the number of troops will definitely improve the situation
for the troops already on the ground, but a lot more than 20,000
soldiers will be needed to change the situation from defeat to victory,"
retired Iraqi general Ahmed al-Issa told IPS.
"There is no argument that U.S. troops have lost the Iraqi war all over
the country, and the only two solutions left are either an increase of
200,000 soldiers or a scheduled withdrawal after certain arrangements
with local fighters in order to avoid casualties and tremendous chaos in
the country."
According to the Washington-based Brookings Institution's Feb. 5 report
'Tracking Variables of Reconstruction and Security in Post-Saddam Iraq',
as of January 2007 there were 132,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Adding 21,500
still does not bring the total to a previous high of 160,000 during
December 2005.
The same report records 14,650 troops from other countries in Iraq, the
lowest number ever.
Some Iraqi military strategists believe that the recent troop increase
will be of no value if the goal is security and prosperity for all Iraqis.
"Their goal is to crush as many oppositionists as possible," Duraid
Aziz, a 46-year-old lawyer and military analyst from Mosul in the north
who was visiting Baghdad told IPS. "The first step of their security
plan was to raid the Adhamiya Sunni area (of Baghdad) while Mehdi (Shia
militia of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr) death squads continue to kill Iraqis
under the eyes of the U.S. army."
Aziz believes that the U.S. military plans to hand the country over to
militias such as the Badr organisation which is the armed wing of the
Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq – a leading Shia party in
government that is supportive of Iran.
"This increase in American troops is only meant to kill anyone who
resists the occupiers," added Aziz.
Over recent days U.S. troops raided several Sunni areas of Baghdad,
including the Adhamiya district.
On Feb. 7 the chief spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq told
reporters that the plan to secure Baghdad using U.S. and Iraqi forces
had begun. "The plan is being fully implemented as we speak," Major
General William B. Caldwell told reporters.
Many Iraqis remain unconvinced that this will work, and agree with
Duraid Aziz.
"This is genocide, and anyone with eyes can see it," Muhammad Haddad, a
human rights activist from Baghdad told IPS.
Kamil Abbas, a high school teacher from Iskandariya, south of Baghdad,
told IPS that U.S. and Iraqi forces "committed another massacre after
the slaughter in Najaf recently" and that it took place "in Samra just
south of Baghdad."
"They (U.S. and Iraqi forces) will keep doing this because they do not
accept for any Iraqi to feel like a free human being," he added.
The Brookings Institution report listed 185 attacks a day against U.S.
and Iraqi security forces during the month of December 2006. That is the
highest ever, according to the institution.
More U.S. troops have been killed in the last four months in Iraq than
in any comparable period since the occupation began in April 2003.
Iraqi authorities announced Feb. 5 that at least 1,000 Iraqis had been
killed in the previous week in political violence.
"The increase in U.S. troops only means an increase in the agonies of
the Iraqi people," Dr. Salam al-Dulaimy, an academic who studied at
Baghdad University told IPS.
"President Bush is just running forward while waiting for a miracle to
take place regardless of the great number of war victims. I see this
increase to be another factor of disturbance in Iraq and another way of
buying time with Iraqi people's blood."
Sunni areas are facing hard times with the launch of the new Iraqi and
U.S. security plans. People all over Sunni areas believe that the troops
increase and the security crackdown are both working against them.
The increased military presence does not seem to have unnerved the
resistance. "Let Bush bring more morons to Iraq," a young man from
Fallujah who was visiting Baghdad told IPS. "We will send them all to
hellfire. These people seem to have not learned enough from previous
lessons, and our school is still open."
But Iraqis are paying a heavy price for the unrest. One in seven has
left home, according to UN officials. This is the largest movement of
people in the Middle East since the war that followed the creation of
the state of Israel in 1948.
Violence displaces an estimated 1,300 Iraqis every day. More than 1.7
million have been internally displaced so far, with over 1.5 million
having fled the country altogether.
Think Dahr's work is vital? We need your help. It's easy!
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/donate/
(c)2007 Dahr Jamail.
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20) AN APPEAL TO CONSCIENCE
TO THOSE WHO WOULD BOMB IRAN
By U.S. Army Reserves
Colonel (Retired) Ann Wright
Truthout February 13, 2007
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021307B.shtml
George Bush is going to war again. We see it in the Bush administration's
rhetoric about Iran's nuclear program. We see it in the Bush
administration's commentary on Iran's reported role in training and
equipping Iraqis who are fighting U.S. forces that have invaded and occupied
that country. We see it in the Bush administration's criticism of Iran's
role in funding and equipping Hezbollah in Lebanon. We see it in the Bush
administration's direction to the U.S. military to detain Iranian diplomats
in Iraq, breach diplomatic facilities, and capture or kill Iranian
operatives in Iraq. We see it in the deployment of the third U.S. Naval
carrier group (twenty more ships) to the Gulf. [See #2 below.]
These actions indicate a very high probability of a U.S. military attack on
Iran within the next month. The Bush administration will attempt to argue
that any of these triggers are so vital to the national security of the
United States that military action is required.
Since January 2002, the Bush administration has listed Iran as one of the
"Axis of Evil" nations. Iran is now surrounded by the United States
military. Iran's neighbors have been invaded and occupied by the Bush
administration: Iraq to the west, and Afghanistan to the east. One hundred
U.S. naval ships control access to the Persian Gulf to the south.
Iran is a country with a remarkable 2,500-year history. Iran has a
population of 68 million people, 80,000 of whom still suffer from Iraq's use
of U.S., French, German, and U.K. chemical weapons on them (20,000 more were
killed outright). This was the largest use of weapons of mass destruction
since the U.S. atomic bombing of two cities in Japan at the end of World War
II. Iran has a land mass three times the size of Iraq. Iran has a large
military, unconstrained by twelve years of sanctions. Iran has a modern
infrastructure. And Iran has a democracy in which the Parliament reportedly
is within ten votes of impeaching the country's abrasive president.
Unless we de-rail Bush's next war, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy pilots will
be ordered to drop bunker busting, "smart" bombs on facilities of the
Iranian nuclear program. U.S. Navy submarine and ship missile operators
will be ordered to push the buttons to release $1 million dollar Cruise
missiles that will demolish nuclear and military facilities. The military
will claim limited collateral damage, but, no doubt as in every military
operation, many innocent civilians will be killed by these attacks.
Many in the Bush administration believe in retribution. Fifty-two US
diplomats were held for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981,
by Iranian revolutionary guards and eight U.S. military personnel were
killed in the unsuccessful, April 25, 1980, rescue attempt. To those in the
Bush administration who may believe in the retribution principle, one should
remind them of the 1988 shooting down of an Iranian civilian passenger
aircraft by a U.S. Navy missile that killed 290 civilian passengers. The
1979 U.S. Embassy takeover score has been settled.
Bombing Iranian facilities by the U.S. military will cause the cycle of
violence to begin again. If the U.S. attacks Iran, by international law
Iran has the legal right to defend itself from aggressive action by another
country. The world will be watching carefully to see if the U.S. provokes
an incident whereby the Iranian military is forced into action against U.S.
forces. The Gulf is filled with U.S. military ships which may, by the
actions of the Bush administration, become legitimate targets.
While we are on the topic of history and aggression, after World War II, the
United States executed German and Japanese military officers who were
convicted of crimes against peace (wars of aggression) and for violations of
the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg Principles.
The Nuremberg Principles provide for accountability for war crimes committed
by military and civilian officials.
Principle IV of the Nuremberg Principles states: "The fact that a person
acted pursuant to an order of his Government or of a superior does not
relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral
choice was in fact possible to him."
Principle VI of the Nuremberg Principles: "The following crimes are
punishable as crimes under international law:
"a. Crimes against peace: i. Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of
a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties,
agreements or assurances; ii. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy
for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).
"b. War Crimes: Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but
are not limited to murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave-labor or
for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory,
murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war, of persons on the seas, killing
of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of
cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military
necessity.
"c. Crimes against humanity: Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation
and other inhuman acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions
on political, racial or religious grounds, when such acts are done, or such
persecutions are carried on in execution of, or in connection with any crime
against peace, or any war crime."
Attacking Iran will be a crime against peace, a war crime. Those conducting
military operations will be violating the Nuremberg Principles, the Geneva
Conventions, and the Laws of Land Warfare. Prosecution for commission of
war crimes is possible.
I appeal to the conscience of U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy pilots and
military personnel who command cruise missiles and pilot bombers and those
who plan the missions for the pilots and missile commanders. I ask that
they refuse what I believe will be unlawful orders to attack Iran.
Accountability for one's actions is finally becoming possible under the new
Congress. While refusal to drop bombs may initially draw punishment and the
loss of one's military career, those who refuse will save their soul, their
conscience and will prevent another criminal action in the name of our
country by the Bush administration.
A Reminder: The oath for commissioned officers is to support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic
and not to a particular person or political party.
--------
--Ann Wright retired from the US Army Reserves as a Colonel after 29 years.
Ms. Wright served in Grenada, Panama, Greece, the Netherlands, Somalia,
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia. She was on
the small team that reopened the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, in
December 2001. She resigned from the US diplomatic corps in March 2003 in
opposition to the Iraq war.
2.
21) RONALD REAGAN STRIKE GROUP ENTERS 7th FLEET
Student Operated Press Feburary 12, 2007
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=4309
USS RONALD REAGAN, At sea (NNS) -- The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Carrier
Strike Group (RRSG) entered the U.S. 7th Fleet's area of responsibility
(AOR) Feb. 9, as part of a surge deployment to promote peace, cooperation
and stability in the region.
Led by Rear Adm. Charles W. Martoglio, the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike
Group will be filling the role of USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), the Navy's only
permanently forward deployed aircraft carrier, which is undergoing scheduled
maintenance in Yokuska, Japan.
"Our friends and allies in the region can be assured of continued, robust
interaction with our Navy in the form of mutual training opportunities,
exchanges, and port visits," said Martoglio, commander, Carrier Strike Group
Seven (CCSG 7). "We are committed to the maintenance of peace and stability
in the Pacific region."
The RRSG completed its maiden combat deployment in July, 2006, following six
months of supporting Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, as well as
conducting maritime security operations.
"Our mission during this surge deployment is to support our nation's defense
and our cooperative security commitments overseas," said Capt. Terry B.
Kraft, Ronald Reagan's commanding officer. "We are ready and able to rapidly
respond to a range of situations on very short notice."
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is comprised of CCSG 7, Carrier Air
Wing (CVW) 14, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, the nuclear-powered aircraft
carrier Ronald Reagan, the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG
57), the guided-missile destroyers USS Russell (DDG 59) and USS Paul
Hamilton (DDG 60), and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 11, Det. 15. More
than 6,000 Sailors are currently assigned to RRSG.
The squadrons of CVW-14 include the "Redcocks" of Strike Fighter Squadron
(VFA) 22, the "Fist of the Fleet" of VFA-25, the "Stingers" of VFA-113, the
"Eagles" of VFA-115, the "Black Eagles" of Airborne Early Warning Squadron
(VAW) 113, the "Cougars" of Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron
(VAQ) 139, the "Providers" of Carrier Logistics Support (VRC) 30, and the
"Black Knights" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 4.
Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet is permanently embarked aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC
19), which is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. The 7th Fleet AOR
includes more than 52 million square miles of the Pacific and Indian oceans
-- stretching from the international date line to the east coast of Africa,
and from the Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic in the south.
More than half of the world's population lives within the 7th Fleet AOR. In
addition, more than 80 percent of that population lives within 500 miles of
the oceans, which means this is an inherently maritime region.
Ronald Reagan was commissioned in July 2003, making it the ninth and newest
Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier. The ship is named after the
40th U.S. president, and carries the motto of "Peace through Strength," a
recurrent theme.
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LINKS AND VERY SHORT STORIES
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Chrysler to Cut 13,000 Jobs in North America
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021407A.shtml
In Gaza, Circles of Hell
Jen Marlowe
February 12, 2007
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070226/marlowe
How Gaza Offends Us All
By Jennifer Loewenstein
"What a terrible shame it is that Gazans have not yet attained the status of
human in the eyes of the Western powers, for the resistance there will
continue to be an enigma until this changes. For now, however, the slaughter will
continue unabated."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17050.htm
Just like life under Pinochet:
"The Palestinians' lives under the occupation are reminiscent of the lives
of Chile's citizens under the dictatorship," says Chilean Judge Juan Guzman,
who is visiting Israel, last week. "
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824148.html
Norman Finkelstein on the Tehran Holocaust Conference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YemOW3lVoAI
Robert Fisk: Lebanon slides towards civil war as anniversary
of Hariri's murder looms
Published: 14 February 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2268090.ece
Preserving perches for wild parrots
City would take responsibility for favored aging
cypresses under S.F. supervisor's plan
Charlie Goodyear, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/02/14/MNGEVO4DQJ1.DTL
Freedom Rider: Medical Apartheid
by Black Agenda Report Editor and Senior Columnist Margaret Kimberley
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75
Public Housing Residents Take Back Their Homes
February 10 was a historic day in New Orleans. Residents of the
C.J. Pete public housing development moved back into their homes,
which the government had slated for demolition.
February 11, 2007
http://www.peoplesorganizing.org/breaking_news.html
Target Tehran: Washington Sets Stage for a New Confrontation
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0212-02.htm
Monsanto Dumped Toxic Waste in UK
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0212-03.htm
US Baiting Iran Retaliation
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0212-05.htm
Texans Rally against New Coal Plants
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0212-01.htm
West Adds to Strains on Iran’s Lifeline
By JAD MOUAWAD
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/business/13energy.html?ref=business
States and U.S. at Odds on Aid for Uninsured
By ROBERT PEAR and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/us/13insure.html?ref=us
Zimbabwe: Inflation Rate Nears 1,600%
By MICHAEL WINES
Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation rose to a record annual rate of 1,593 percent
in January, the government said, a rate at which the average cost
of goods would increase seventeenfold in a single year. The new
figure eclipsed December’s rate of 1,281 percent and cast fresh
doubt on the government’s forecast that inflation would decline
to 400 percent by year’s end. Most economists say that hyperinflation
is doomed to continue unless Zimbabwe abandons government control
of most markets and adopts other reforms, but the government said
last month that it would tame inflation by making wage and price
increases illegal and building a national consensus against rising
wages and costs.
February 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/world/africa/13briefs-zimbabweinflation.html
Long Treated as Volunteers, Tips-Only Supermarket Baggers
Take Up Fight for Hourly Wage
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
"They are a fixture across New York City, giving shoppers
a welcoming smile and a helping hand as they assist cashiers
in packing everything from apples to zucchinis.
In many supermarkets, managers treat these baggers
as volunteers, not paying them wages and making them rely on tips."
February 11, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/nyregion/11baggers.html?ref=nyregion
Putin Says U.S. Is Undermining Global Stability
By THOM SHANKER and MARK LANDLER
MUNICH, Feb. 10 — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia accused
the United States on Saturday of provoking a new nuclear arms race
by developing ballistic missile defenses, undermining international
institutions and making the Middle East more unstable through
its clumsy handling of the Iraq war.
February 11, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/world/europe/11munich.html?hp&ex=1171170000&en=1420e557ab8f6041&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Arizona: Immigrant Injured in Attack Is Charged With Smuggling
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
An illegal immigrant injured in an ambush on a group of people
crossing the border on Thursday has been charged with smuggling,
the federal customs agency said. The immigrant, Pedro Luis Beltran-
Camargo, 21, was shot in the hand in the attack. He was arrested
by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after survivors
of the attack identified him as their smuggler, said Lauren Mack,
a spokeswoman for the agency. Mr. Beltran-Camargo, who is from
Mexico, sought help from the authorities and was treated at a hospital;
he was then taken into custody, Ms. Mack said. Another person injured
in the attack, which left three immigrants dead, is still in a hospital,
and several others in the group, which numbered about 30, appear
to have escaped from the gunmen and fled, Ms. Mack said.
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/us/10brfs-immigrant.html
Peru: President Questioned in 1986 Massacre
By SIMON ROMERO
President Alan García was questioned by a judge about his actions
during the killing of more than 100 suspected Maoist guerrillas
during his first presidency in the 1980s. Peru’s Congress declined
to bring criminal charges for the deaths against Mr. García in 1990
for the incident, in which Peruvian soldiers suppressed a rebellion
at El Frontón prison in 1986 and then transferred the bodies of
prisoners to anonymous graves on Lima’s outskirts. Reuters reported
that Mr. García was not a target of the judge’s investigation. The
questioning of Mr. García raises uneasy memories of his first term,
which was haunted by political and economic chaos.
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/world/americas/10briefs-garciaquestioned.html
Hundreds Protest U.S. Jets in Japan
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:26 a.m. ET
KADENA, Japan (AP) -- Several hundred protesters gathered outside
a U.S. air base Saturday to oppose the arrival of a dozen F-22 stealth
fighters, the aircraft's first deployment outside of the United States.
The demonstration was held outside the gate of Kadena Air Base,
one of the largest U.S. airfields in the Pacific, on the southern Japanese
island of Okinawa. About 500 protesters joined in, police said.
The protest was peaceful, and no arrests were reported.
The stealth fighters, the newest and most expensive in the U.S. Air
Force, were due to arrive from their base in Langley, Va., on Saturday.
Bad weather forced a delay, however, and officials said they were
rescheduled to arrive Sunday.
About 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan under a mutual
security pact. Most of them are based on this small, crowded island,
and tensions over potential accidents, land use and troop-related
crimes are endemic.
Tokyo and Washington agreed on the deployment, which is to last
three months, as a means of boosting the U.S. military's readiness
and deterrent abilities, and because they say it provides a valuable
training experience for the fighter pilots and their support teams.
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Japan-US-Military.html
Chevron Said to Be Interested in Buying Assets of Yukos of Russia
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
"MOSCOW, Feb. 8 — Chevron intends to bid for assets of Yukos,
the bankrupt oil producer, Russian officials said Friday. If Chevron
succeeds, such an acquisition could help close the final chapter
on the downfall of Russia’s largest oil company.
Chevron, based in San Ramon, Calif., declined to comment on
the assertion by two Russian officials — including the chief
executive of Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas monopoly — that
American companies were interested in participating in an
auction of Yukos assets. The second official, a bankruptcy
receiver, identified Chevron as one of those companies."
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/business/worldbusiness/10oil.ready.html
Marine Withdraws a Plea
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Feb. 9 (AP) — Military prosecutors must
restart their case against a Marine corporal who decided to withdraw
his guilty plea for the murder of an unarmed Iraqi civilian.
The marine, Cpl. Trent Thomas, 25, told a judge on Thursday that
he no longer believed he was guilty and that he had been following
a lawful order given by his squad leader. Corporal Thomas had earlier
pleaded guilty to several charges, including kidnapping and murder.
The charges stem from the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52,
in Hamdania last year.
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/us/10marine.html
Deadliest Bomb in Iraq Is Made by Iran, U.S. Says
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
"WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 — The most lethal weapon directed against
American troops in Iraq is an explosive-packed cylinder that United
States intelligence asserts is being supplied by Iran.
The assertion of an Iranian role in supplying the device to Shiite
militias reflects broad agreement among American intelligence
agencies, although officials acknowledge that the picture
is not entirely complete." [And we know how much we can trust
U.S. intelligence reports...bw]
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/world/middleeast/10weapons.html?ref=world
Castro Is Protected ‘By Socialist Saints’
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/world/americas/10Castro.html
U.N. Troops Fight Haiti Gangs One Street at a Time
By MARC LACEY
February 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/world/americas/10haiti.html?hp&ex=1171170000&en=4fd1d1e82e3f691a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Prewar Intelligence Unit at Pentagon Is Criticized
By DAVID S. CLOUD and MARK MAZZETTI
"WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 — A Pentagon investigation into the handling
of prewar intelligence has criticized civilian Pentagon officials
for conducting their own intelligence analysis to find links between
Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, but said the officials did not violate
any laws or mislead Congress, according to Congressional officials
who have read the report."
February 9, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/washington/09feith.html?hp&ex=1171083600&en=4eabd30f5f83ce6a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Mistrial Could Be End of Watada Case
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020807J.shtml
Brooklyn: Woman’s Death Attributed to Cold
By JENNIFER 8. LEE
An 84-year-old Brooklyn woman was the city’s first victim of the
recent cold snap, the medical examiner’s office announced yesterday.
The woman, whose identity was not released, was found in her
apartment on Sunday afternoon and taken to Interfaith Medical
Center where she died later that day, according to Ellen Borakove,
a spokeswoman for the medical examiner. An autopsy, which was
completed yesterday, found that the woman died of hypothermia,
Ms. Borakove said. The autopsy also showed that the woman had
a heart ailment and diabetes. Ms. Borakove said she had
no information about whether the woman’s apartment had heat..
February 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/nyregion/08mbrfs-frozen.html
Records Show Extra Scrutiny of Detainees in ’04 Protests
By JIM DWYER
"At the height of the mass arrests, on Aug. 31, 2004, demonstrators
— and some people who said they were bystanders just swept
up by the police — were held for an average of 32.7 hours before
they saw a judge, according to city statistics. For people charged
with crimes that the police decided were not related to the
convention, the wait to see a judge was just under five hours."
February 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/nyregion/08convention.html
2 French Police Officers Face Charges
in Electrocutions That Sparked ’05 Riots
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:13 a.m. ET
February 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-France-Suburban-Violence.html
Gates Seeks Troops for Afghanistan Offensive
By THOM SHANKER
SEVILLE, Spain, Feb. 8 — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, attending
his first conference of NATO defense ministers, will tell America’s
allies that they must fulfill their commitments to provide troops
for Afghanistan in time for a spring offensive against the Taliban,
senior American officials said.
February 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/world/europe/08cnd-nato.html?ref=world
Few Veteran Diplomats Accept Mission to Iraq
By HELENE COOPER
February 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/washington/08diplo.html?ref=world
Chris Floyd | Slaughter and Spin in Najaf
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020607R.shtml
US Sent Billions in Cash on Pallets to Baghdad
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020707J.shtml
An Open Letter to America's Soldiers from the Ranks
The Looming Shadow of Nuremberg
By TONY SWINDELL
February 7, 2007
http://www.counterpunch.com/swindell02072007.html
A Small Part of the Brain, and Its Profound Effects
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE
February 6, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/health/psychology/06brain.html?ref=science
No Action From Gallaudet Against Arrested Students
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Gallaudet University said it would not take disciplinary action against
students arrested in protests that forced the ouster in October of its
chosen president. “No student who was arrested will receive additional
punishment,” Robert R. Davila, the interim president, said in a video
on the university’s Web site. But arrested students may face job-related
consequences if they work at the Clerc Center, where Gallaudet helps
develop teaching strategies for deaf children, said Mercy Coogan,
a university spokeswoman. And Mr. Davila’s statement did not preclude
the possibility of university sanctions against students involved
in the protests but not arrested, Ms. Coogan said.
February 7, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/us/07brfs-gallaudet.html
Norman Solomon | Making an Example of Ehren Watada
The people running the Iraq War are eager to make an example of Ehren
Watada. They've convened a kangaroo court-martial. But the man on trial
is setting a profound example of conscience - helping to undermine the
war that the Pentagon's top officials are so eager to protect.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020607A.shtml
Friendly Fire — Seen and Heard On Tape
By Tom Zeller Jr.
February 6, 2007, 12:04 pm
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/friendly-fire-seen-and-heard-on-tape/
California: Mayor Seeks Alcohol Treatment
By JESSE MCKINLEY
Less than a week after admitting to an affair with his campaign
manager’s wife, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco announced
he had stopped drinking and would seek counseling for alcohol abuse.
Mr. Newsom said in a statement that he accepted responsibility for
his mistakes and that his problems with alcohol were “not an excuse.”
He said he would begin outpatient treatment at a local rehabilitation
program. On Thursday, Mr. Newsom acknowledged having had
a brief affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, the wife of Alex Tourk,
a former deputy chief of staff who had been running the mayor’s
campaign for a second term. Mr. Tourk learned of the affair after
Ms. Rippey-Tourk confessed as part of her own substance-abuse
rehabilitation.
February 6, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/us/06brfs-mayor.html
Cockpit shock dispels Top Gun myth
By Peter Walker 01:01pm
"It is the silence that is most telling. After 11 minutes of near-
constant chat, the two US pilots learn that the convoy they have
just attacked was most likely a line of British light tanks.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2007/02/06/cockpit_shock_dispels_top_gun_myth.html
Immigrant Entrepreneurs Shape a New Economy
By NINA BERNSTEIN
February 6, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/nyregion/06entrepreneurs.html?ref=nyregion
Orbiting Junk, Once a Nuisance, Is Now a Threat
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
February 6, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/science/space/06orbi.html?ei=5094&en=ec2e59140da81fee&hp=&ex=1170824400&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1170773398-g20USUIhZiSEab1m1XQ09g
Settlement in Terror Scare Is $2 Million
By KATIE ZEZIMA
February 6, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/us/06hoax.html
Main Anti-war Group Plans Rally Against Israeli Policies
Daniel Treiman | Fri. Feb 02, 2007
http://www.forward.com/articles/main-anti-war-group-plans-rally-against/
Exclusive Interview With Ehren Watada
Army First Lt. Ehren Watada was called an exemplary soldier. But then
he decided to face court-martial rather than join a war he says is
illegal.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020507A.shtml
American Takes Over Command of NATO Force in Afghanistan
By CARLOTTA GALL
February 5, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/world/asia/05afghan.html?ref=world
Iraqis Fault Pace of U.S. Plan in Attack
By DAMIEN CAVE and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
February 5, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/world/middleeast/05iraq.html?ref=world
Senator Feinstein's Iraq Conflict
January 24-30, 2007
http://www.metrosantacruz.com/feinstein
Robert Fisk: Please spare me the word 'terrorist'
Lebanon is a good place to find out what tosh the 'terror' merchants talk
Published: 03 February 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2211576.ece
The Netherlands, the New Tax Shelter Hot Spot
By LYNNLEY BROWNING
February 4, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/business/yourmoney/04amster.html?ref=business
Smokestacks in a White Wilderness Divide Iceland
By SARAH LYALL
February 4, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/world/europe/04iceland.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
FOCUS | In DC, Contractors Are the "Fourth Branch of Govt."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020407Z.shtml
Dissent of an Officer
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020307A.shtml
Oil Giants Offer Scientists Cash to Undermine Climate Study
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0202-05.htm
Dems Indicate They Will Do Little to Stop Bush Troop Surge
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0202-04.htm
18 Years on, Exxon Valdez Oil Still Pours into Alaskan Waters
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0202-01.htm
FOCUS | Bush Seeks $250 Billion to Continue Fighting Iraq War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020307Z.shtml
Push to Resolve Fading Killings of Rights Era
By SHAILA DEWAN
February 3, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/03/us/03civil.html?ref=us
Lawmakers Appeal for Guantánamo Release
By RAYMOND BONNER
Almost half of Parliament’s lawmakers signed a letter to House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking for the return of David Hicks, an
Australian who has been detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba,
for more than five years after being picked up in Afghanistan.
It was the strongest political support to date for a growing
movement in Australia to have him sent home.
February 3, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/03/world/asia/03briefs-australianatguantanamo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Number of People Stopped by Police Soars in New York
By AL BAKER and EMILY VASQUEZ
"The New York Police Department released new information yesterday
showing that police officers stopped 508,540 individuals on New
York City streets last year — an average of 1,393 stops per day
— often searching them for illegal weapons. The number was
up from 97,296 in 2002, the last time the department divulged
12 months’ worth of data."
February 3, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/03/nyregion/03frisk.html?hp&ex=1170565200&en=da4dae3f9209560f&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Iraq Surge Could Total 50,000
A new Congressional report says the increase of 21,500 combat troops
for Iraq proposed by the Bush administration could result in up to 50,000
troops actually being deployed to the region.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020207J.shtml
Factsheet: Palestinian Refugees in Iraq*
Last Update: January 30, 2007
http://al-awdacal.org/iraq-facts.html
Rosa Luxemburg: an example of revolutionary struggle
By Ana María Ramírez
http://socialismandliberation.org/mag/index.php?aid=743
House Panel Probing Bush's Record on Signing Statements
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0201-03.htm
Official Lies Over Najaf Battle Exposed
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0201-02.htm
Molly Ivins, 1944-2007
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0131-08.htm
Grieving Dad Takes War Protest to Times Square
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0201-04.htm
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SCROLL DOWN TO READ:
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS (IN FULL DETAIL)
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
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EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
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LYNNE STEWART AND MICHAEL RATNER IN BAY AREA
FEBRUARY 23-25 (Lynne and her husband Ralph will
stay on several more days. Stay tuned for complete
schedule of events.)
Dear Friends of Lynne Stewart,
I am pleased to announce that Lynne Stewart and Michael Ratner have
just accepted our invitation to tour the Bay Area. The confirmed
dates are February 23-25, 2007. Lynne, accompanied by her husband
Ralph Poynter, will stay on several more days for additional meetings.
In solidarity,
Jeff Mackler,
West Coast Coordinator, Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
Co-Coordinator, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
O: 415-255-1080
Cell: 510-387-7714
H: 510-268-9429
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May Day 2007
National Mobilization to Support Immigrant Workers!
Web: http://www.MayDay2007.net
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights!
webpage: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org
e-mail: info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org
New York: (212)330-8172
Los Angeles: (213)403-0131
Washington D.C.: (202)595-8990
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
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A NEW LOOK AT U.S. RADIOACTIVE WEAPONS
Join us in a campaign to expose and stop the use of these illegal weapons
http://poisondust.org/
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You may enjoy watching these.
In struggle
Che:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqcezl9dD2c
Leon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukkFVV5X0p4
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FIGHTBACK! A Collection of Socialist Essays
By Sylvia Weinstein
http://www.walterlippmann.com/sylvia-weinstein-fightback-intro.html
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URGENT APPEAL TO SAVE IRAQ'S ACADEMICS.
Call for action to save Iraq's Academics
A little known aspect of the tragedy engulfing Iraq is the systematic
liquidation of the country's academics. Even according to conservative
estimates, over 250 educators have been assassinated, and many
hundreds more have disappeared. With thousands fleeing the country
in fear for their lives, not only is Iraq undergoing a major brain drain,
the secular middle class - which has refused to be co-opted by the
US occupation - is being decimated, with far-reaching consequences
for the future of Iraq.
http://www.brussellstribunal.org/
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END ALL U.S. AID TO ISRAEL!
Stop funding Israel's war against Palestine
Complete the form at the website listed below with your information.
https://secure2.convio.net/pep/site/Advocacy?
JServSessionIdr003=cga2p2o6x1.app2a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=177
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ENDORSE THE A.N.S.W.E.R. CALL TO ACTION
March 17-18, 2007
GLOBAL DAYS OF ACTION ON THE
4TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR!
http://answer.pephost.org/site/Survey?
SURVEY_ID=3400&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&JServSessionIdr011=
k7a3443r73.app8a
http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_homepage
Please circulate widely
www.answercoalition.org
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Sand Creek Massacre
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FEATURED AT NATIVE AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL:
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/local/16035305.htm
(scroll down when you get there])
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING
WRITER/FILMMAKER DONALD L. VASICEK REPORT:
http://www.digitalcinemareport.com/sandcreekmassacre.html
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FINALIST IN DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL COMPETITION (VIEW HERE):
http://www.docupyx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=41
VIEW "THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FILM MOVIE OF THE WEEK FOR FREE HERE:
http://twymancreative.com/twymanc.html
On November 29, 1864, 700 Colorado troops savagely slaughtered
over 450 Cheyenne children, disabled, elders, and women in the
southeastern Colorado Territory under its protection. This act
became known as the Sand Creek Massacre. This film project
("The Sand Creek Massacre" documentary film project) is an
examination of an open wound in the souls of the Cheyenne
people as told from their perspective. This project chronicles
that horrific 19th century event and its affect on the 21st century
struggle for respectful coexistence between white and native
plains cultures in the United States of America.
Listed below are links on which you can click to get the latest news,
products, and view, free, "THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" award-
winning documentary short. In order to create more native
awareness, particularly to save the roots of America's history,
please read the following:
Some people in America are trying to save the world. Bless
them. In the meantime, the roots of America are dying.
What happens to a plant when the roots die? The plant dies
according to my biology teacher in high school. American's
roots are its native people. Many of America's native people
are dying from drug and alcohol abuse, poverty, hunger,
and disease, which was introduced to them by the Caucasian
male. Tribal elders are dying. When they die, their oral
histories go with them. Our native's oral histories are the
essence of the roots of America, what took place before
our ancestors came over to America, what is taking place,
and what will be taking place. It is time we replenish
America's roots with native awareness, else America
continues its decaying, and ultimately, its death.
You can help. The 22-MINUTE SAND CREEK MASSACRE
DOCUMENTARY PRESENTATION/EDUCATIONAL DVD IS
READY FOR PURCHASE! (pass the word about this powerful
educational tool to friends, family, schools, parents, teachers,
and other related people and organizations to contact
me (dvasicek@earthlink.net, 303-903-2103) for information
about how they can purchase the DVD and have me come
to their children's school to show the film and to interact
in a questions and answers discussion about the Sand
Creek Massacre.
Happy Holidays!
Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Vasicek,+Don
http://www.donvasicek.com
dvasicek@earthlink.net
303-903-2103
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FEATURED AT NATIVE AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL:
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/local/16035305.htm
(scroll down when you get there])
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING
WRITER/FILMMAKER DONALD L. VASICEK REPORT:
http://www.digitalcinemareport.com/sandcreekmassacre.html
"THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FINALIST IN DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL COMPETITION (VIEW HERE):
http://www.docupyx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=4
1
VIEW "THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE" AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
SHORT FILM MOVIE OF THE WEEK FOR FREE HERE:
http://twymancreative.com/twymanc.html
SHOP:
http://www.manataka.org/page633.html
BuyIndies.com
donvasicek.com.
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MUST SEE: PBS VIDEO NOTEBOOK: A DAY AT THE PLANT
NOW's Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa takes us inside the
world's largest pork processing plant, located in Tar Heel, North
Carolina. As the first TV journalist ever allowed to film inside the
plant, owned by The Smithfield Packing Company, Hinojosa gives
us an insider's view of what conditions are like in a plant that
slaughters over 33,000 hogs per day.
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/250/smithfield.html
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Rights activist held in Oaxaca prison
Three students arrested and held incommunicado in Oaxaca
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/11/80142.html
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TAX THE RICH! FEED THE POOR! MONEY FOR HUMAN NEEDS, NOT WAR!
www.bauaw.org
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The following quote is from the 1918 anti-war speech delivered
in Canton, Ohio, by Eugene Debs. The address, protesting World War I,
resulted in Debs being arrested and imprisoned on charges of espionage.
The speech remains one of the great expressions of the militancy and
internationalism of the US working class.
His appeal, before sentencing, included one of his best-known quotes:
"...while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal
element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."
Read the complete speech at:
http://douglassarchives.org/debs_a78.htm
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!VIVA FIDEL! LONG LIVE FIDEL! LONG LIVE THE CUBAN REVOLUTION!
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My Name is Roland Sheppard
This Is My `Blog'
I am is a retired Business Representative of Painters District
Council #8 in San Francisco. I have been a life long social activist
and socialist. Roland Sheppard is a retired Business Representative
of Painters District Council #8 in San Francisco. I have been
a life long social activist and socialist.
Prior to my being elected as a union official, I had worked
for 31 years as a house painter and have been a lifelong socialist.
I have led a unique life. In my retire age, I am interested in writing
about my experiences as a socialist, as a participant in the Black
Liberation Movement, the Union Movement, and almost all social
movements.
I became especially interested in the environment when I was
diagnosed with cancer due to my work environment. I learned
how to write essays, when I first got a computer in order to put
together all the medical legal arguments on my breakthrough
workers' compensation case in California, proving that my work
environment as a painter had caused my cancer. After a five-year
struggle, I won a $300,000 settlement on his case.
The following essays are based upon my involvement in the
struggle for freedom for all humanity. I hope the history
of my life's experiences will help future generations
of Freedom Fighters.
For this purpose, this website is dedicated.
web.mac.com/rolandgarret/iWeb/Site/RolandSheppardsBlog.html
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
The Corporate Looting of the Gulf Coast
Robin Hood in Reverse
http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley11132006.html
More Info:
www.justiceforneworleans.org
For a detailed report:
Big, Easy Money: Disaster Profiteering on the American Gulf Coast
by Rita J. King, Special to CorpWatch
August 15th, 2006
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14004
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
TAX FACT SHEET
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/901006_taxpolicy.pdf
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Communist Manifesto illustrated by Disney [and other cartoons) with
words by K. Marx and F. Engels--absolutely wonderful!...bw]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1oGIffyVVk&NR
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Asylum Street Spankers-Magnetic Yellow Ribbon
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=bfMgRHRJ- tc
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Homer Simpson Joins the Army
Another morale-booster from Groening and company. [If you get
a chance to see the whole thing, it's worth it...bw]
http://hotair.com/archives/2006/11/12/video-the-simpsons-salute-the-lazy-and
-uneducated/
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
A Look at the Numbers: How the Rich Get Richer
Clara Jeffery (May/June 2006 Issue
IN 1985, THE FORBES 400 were worth $221 billion combined.
Today, they re worth $1.13 trillion more than the GDP of Canada.
THERE'VE BEEN FEW new additions to the Forbes 400.
The median household income
has also stagnated at around $44,000.
AMONG THE FORBES 400 who gave to a 2004 presidential
campaign, 72% gave to Bush.
IN 2005, there were 9 million American millionaires,
a 62% increase since 2002.
IN 2005, 25.7 million Americans received food stamps,
a 49% increase since 2000.
ONLY ESTATES worth more than $1.5 million are taxed.
That's less than 1% of all estates
http://www.motherjones.com/cgi-bin/print_article.pl?url=http://www.motherjon
es.com/news/exhibit/2006/05/perks_of_privilege.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Do You Want to Stop PREVENT War with Iran?
Dear Friend,
Every day, pundits and military experts debate on TV when, how and where
war with Iran will occur. Can the nuclear program be destroyed? Will the
Iranian government retaliate in Iraq or use the oil weapon? Will it take
three or five days of bombing? Will the US bomb Iran with "tactical"
nuclear weapons?
Few discuss the human suffering that yet another war in the Middle East
will bring about. Few discuss the thousands and thousands of innocent
Iranian and American lives that will be lost. Few think ahead and ask
themselves what war will do to the cause of democracy in Iran or to
America's global standing.
Some dismiss the entire discussion and choose to believe that war simply
cannot happen. The US is overstretched, the task is too difficult, and
the world is against it, they say.
They are probably right, but these factors don't make war unlikely. They
just make a successful war unlikely.
At the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), we are not going to
wait and see what happens.
We are actively working to stop the war and we need your help!
Working with a coalition of peace and security organizations in
Washington DC, NIAC is adding a crucial dimension to this debate - the
voice of the Iranian-American community.
Through our US-Iran Media Resource Program
http://niacouncil.c.topica.com/maafjioabumkFbIfQs8eafpLV5/
http://niacouncil.c.topica.com/maafjioabumkFbIfQs8eafpLV5/ , we help
the media ask the right questions and bring attention to the human side
of this issue.
Through the LegWatch program
http://niacouncil.c.topica.com/maafjioabummRbIfQs8eafpLV5/
http://niacouncil.c.topica.com/maafjioabummRbIfQs8eafpLV5/ ,
we are building opposition to the war on Capitol Hill. We spell out the
likely
consequences of war and the concerns of the Iranian-American community
on Hill panels
http://niacouncil.c.topica.com/maafjioabumkGbIfQs8eafpLV5/
http://niacouncil.c.topica.com/maafjioabumkGbIfQs8eafpLV5/
and in direct meetings with lawmakers. We recently helped more than a dozen
Members of Congress - both Republican and Democrats - send a strong
message against war to the White House
http://niacouncil.c.topica.com/maafjioabumkHbIfQs8eafpLV5/
http://niacouncil.c.topica.com/maafjioabumkHbIfQs8eafpLV5/
But more is needed, and we need your help!
If you don't wish to see Iran turn into yet another Iraq, please make a
contribution online or send in a check to:
NIAC
2801 M St NW
Washington DC 20007
Make the check out to NIAC and mark it "NO WAR."
ALL donations are welcome, both big and small. And just so you know,
your donations make a huge difference. Before you leave the office
today, please make a contribution to stop the war.
Sincerely,
Trita Parsi
President of NIAC
U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)
www.uslaboragainstwar.org
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/
Email: info@uslaboragainstwar.org
PMB 153
1718 "M" Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Voicemail: 202/521-5265
Co-convenors: Gene Bruskin, Maria Guillen, Fred Mason,
Bob Muehlenkamp, and Nancy Wohlforth
Michael Eisenscher, National Organizer & Website Coordinator
Virginia Rodino, Organizer
Adrienne Nicosia, Administrative Staff
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Immigration video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tacK8MAfuAs
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Enforce the Roadless Rule for National Forests
Target: Michael Johanns, Secretary, USDA
Sponsor: Earthjustice
We, the Undersigned, endorse the following petition:
This past September, Earthjustice scored a huge victory for our roadless
national forests when a federal district court ordered the reinstatement
of the Roadless Rule.
The Roadless Rule protects roadless forest areas from road-building
and most logging. This is bad news for the timber, mining, and oil
& gas industries ... And so they're putting pressure on their friends
in the Bush Administration to challenge the victory.
Roadless area logging tends to target irreplaceable old growth forests.
Many of these majestic trees have stood for hundreds of years.
By targeting old-growth, the timber companies are destroying
natural treasures that cannot be replaced in our lifetime.
The future of nearly 50 million acres of wild, national forests
and grasslands hangs in the balance. Tell the secretary of the
USDA, Michael Johanns, to protect our roadless areas by enforcing
the Roadless Rule. The minute a road is cut through a forest, that
forest is precluded from being considered a "wilderness area," and
thus will not be covered by any of the Wilderness Area protections
afforded by Congress.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/112283692?z00m=6687205&z00m=668720
5<l=1162406255
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Mumia Abu-Jamal - Reply brief, U.S. Court of Appeals (Please Circulate)
Dear Friends:
On October 23, 2006, the Fourth-Step Reply Brief of Appellee and
Cross-Appellant, Mumia Abu-Jamal was submitted to the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia. (Abu-Jamal v. Horn,
U.S. Ct. of Appeals Nos. 01-9014, 02-9001.)
Oral argument will likely be scheduled during the coming months.
I will advise when a hearing date is set.
The attached brief is of enormous consequence since it goes
to the essence of our client's right to a fair trial, due process
of law, and equal protection of the law, guaranteed by the Fifth,
Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The issues include:
Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied the right to due process
of law and a fair trial because of the prosecutor's "appeal-after
-appeal" argument which encouraged the jury to disregard the
presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt, and err
on the side of guilt.
Whether the prosecution's exclusion of African Americans
from sitting on the jury violated Mr. Abu-Jamal's right
to due process and equal protection of the law,
in contravention of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).
Whether Mr. Abu-Jamal was denied due process and equal
protection of the law during a post-conviction hearing
because of the bias and racism of Judge Albert F. Sabo,
who was overheard during the trial commenting that
he was "going to help'em fry the nigger."
That the federal court is hearing issues which concern
Mr. Abu-Jamal's right to a fair trial is a great milestone
in this struggle for human rights. This is the first time
that any court has made a ruling in nearly a quarter
of a century that could lead to a new trial and freedom.
Nevertheless, our client remains on Pennsylvania's death
row and in great danger.
Mr. Abu-Jamal, the "voice of the voiceless," is a powerful
symbol in the international campaign against the death
penalty and for political prisoners everywhere. The goal
of Professor Judith L. Ritter, associate counsel, and
I is to see that the many wrongs which have occurred
in this case are righted, and that at the conclusion
of a new trial our client is freed.
Your concern is appreciated
With best wishes,
Robert R. Bryan
Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4
San Francisco, California 94123
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *---------*---------*
Antiwar Web Site Created by Troops
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A small group of active-duty military members opposed to the war
have created a Web site intended to collect thousands of signatures
of other service members. People can submit their name, rank and
duty station if they support statements denouncing the American
invasion. "Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price,"
the Web site, appealforredress.org, says. "It is time for U.S. troops
to come home." The electronic grievances will be passed along
to members of Congress, according to the Web site. Jonathan
Hutto, a Navy seaman based in Norfolk, Va., who set up the Web
site a month ago, said the group had collected 118 names and
was trying to verify that they were legitimate service members.
October 25, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/25/washington/25brfs-005.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Judge Orders Release of Abu Ghraib Child Rape Photos
Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2006-10-23 20:54. Evidence
By Greg Mitchell, http://www.editorandpublisher.com
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/14864
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Profound new assault on freedom of speech and assembly:
Manhattan: New Rules for Parade Permits
By AL BAKER
After recent court rulings found the Police Department's
parade regulations too vague, the department is moving
to require parade permits for groups of 10 or more
bicyclists or pedestrians who plan to travel more than
two city blocks without complying with traffic laws.
It is also pushing to require permits for groups of 30
or more bicyclists or pedestrians who obey traffic laws.
The new rules are expected to be unveiled in a public
notice today. The department will discuss them at
a hearing on Nov. 27. Norman Siegel, a lawyer whose
clients include bicyclists, said the new rules
"raise serious civil liberties issues."
October 18, 2006
http://www.nytimes. com/2006/ 10/18/nyregion/ 18mbrfs-002. html
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Soul-Sick Nation: An Astrologer's View of America
Jessica Murray
Format: Paperback (6x9)
ISBN 1425971253
Price: $ 13.95
About the Book
Astrology and geopolitics may seem strange bedfellows, but
Soul-Sick Nation puts the two together to provide a perspective
as extraordinary as the times we are living in. Using the principles
of ancient wisdom to make sense of the current global situation,
this book invites us to look at the USA from the biggest possible
picture: that of cosmic meaning. With a rare blend of compassion,
humor and fearless taboo-busting, Soul-Sick Nation reveals
America's noble potential without sentiment and diagnoses
its neuroses without delusion, shedding new light on troubling
issues that the pundits and culture wars inflame but leave
painfully unresolved: the WTC bombings, the war in Iraq,
Islamic jihad, media propaganda, consumerism and the
American Dream.
In her interpretation of the birth chart of the entity born
July 4, 1776, Murray offers an in-depth analysis of America's
essential destiny--uncovering , chapter by chapter, the greater
purpose motivating this group soul. She shows how this
purpose has been distorted, and how it can be re-embraced
in the decades to come. She decodes current astrological
transits that express the key themes the USA must learn
in this period of millennial crisis-including that of the
responsibility of power-spelling out the profound lessons
the nation will face in the next few years.
Combining the rigor of a political theorist with the vision
of a master astrologer, this keenly intelligent book elucidates
the meaning of an epoch in distress, and proposes a path
towards healing-of the country and of its individual citizens.
Murray explains how each of us can come to terms with this
moment in history and arrive at a response that is unique
and creative. This book will leave you revitalized, shorn
of illusions and full of hope.
About the Author
"Jessica Murray's Soul-Sick Nation raises the symbol-system
of astrology to the level of a finely-honed tool for the critical
work of social insight and commentary. Her unflinching,
in-depth analysis answers a crying need of our time. Murray's
application of laser beam-lucid common sense analysis
to the mire of illusions we've sunken into as a nation is
a courageous step in the right direction... Just breathtaking! "
--Raye Robertson, author of Culture, Media and the Collective Mind
" Jessica Murray,..a choice-centered, psychospiritually- oriented
astrologer.. . has quietly made a real difference in the lives of her
clients, one at a time. In "Soul Sick Nation," she applies exactly those
same skills to understanding America as a whole. Starting from
the premise that the United States is currently a troubled adolescent,
she applies an unflinching gaze to reach an ultimately compassionate
conclusion about how we can heal ourselves and grow up."
- Steven Forrest, author of The Inner Sky and The Changing Sky
http://www.authorho use.com/BookStor e/ItemDetail~ bookid~41780. aspx
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Shop for a Donation at Al-Awda!
Interested in furthering your knowledge about Palestine
and its people?
Want to help make the Palestinian Right to Return a reality?
Looking for ways to show your support for Palestine and
Palestinian refugees?
Why not shop for a donation at Al-Awda
http://al-awda. org/shop. html
and help support a great organization and cause!!
Al-Awda offers a variety of educational materials including interesting
and unique books on everything from oral histories, photo books
on Palestinian refugees, to autobiographies, narratives, political
analysis, and culture. We also have historical maps of Palestine
(in Arabic and English), educational films, flags of various sizes,
and colorful greeting cards created by Palestinian children.
You can also show your support for a Free Palestine, and wear with
pride, great looking T-shirts, pendants, and a variety of Palestine pins.
Shop for a Donation at Al-Awda!
Visit http://al-awda. org/shop. html for these great items, and more!
The Educational Supplies Division
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 a broad-
based, non-partisan, democratic, and charitable organization of
grassroots activists and students committed to comprehensive public
education about the rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their
homes and lands of origin, and to full restitution for all their confiscated
and destroyed property in accordance with the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, International law and the numerous United Nations
Resolutions upholding such rights (see FactSheet). Al-Awda, PRRC
is 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 Al-Awda, PRRC are tax-deductible.
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Before You Enlist
Excellent flash film that should be shown to all students.
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=ZFsaGv6cefw
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
In an interview in March 1995 entitled, "Jesse Helms: Setting the
Record Straight" that appeared in the Middle East Quarterly, Helms
said, "I have long believed that if the United States is going to give
money to Israel, it should be paid out of the Department of Defense
budget. My question is this: If Israel did not exist, what would
U.S. defense costs in the Middle East be? Israel is at least the
equivalent of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Middle East. Without
Israel promoting its and America's common interests, we would
be badly off indeed."
(Jesse Helms was the senior senator from North Carolina and the
chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time.)
http://www.meforum. org/article/ 244
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
TWO AMICUS BRIEFS FILED FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL WITH
THE 3RD CIRCUIT FEDERAL APPEALS COURT IN JULY 2006
These pdf files can be found on Michael Schiffmann's web site at:
http://againstthecr imeofsilence. de/english/ copy_of_mumia/ legalarchive/
The first brief is from the National Lawyers Guild.
The second brief is from the NAACP Legal Defense
and Educational Fund, Inc.
Howard Keylor
For the Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
www.laboractionmumi a.org.
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Asylum Street Spankers-Magnetic Yellow Ribbon
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=bfMgRHRJ- tc
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
SIR! NO SIR!
I urge everyone to get a copy of "Sir! No Sir!" at:
http://www.sirnosir .com/
It is an extremely informative and powerful film
of utmost importance today. I was a participant
in the anti-Vietnam war movement. What a
powerful thing it was to see troops in uniform
leading the march against the war! If you would
like to read more here are two very good
publications:
Out Now!: A Participant' s Account of the Movement
in the United States Against the Vietnam War
by Fred Halstead (Hardcover - Jun 1978)
and:
GIs speak out against the war;: The case of the
Ft. Jackson 8; by Fred Halstead (Unknown Binding - 1970).
Both available at:
http://www.amazon. com/gp/search/ 103-1123166- 0136605?search- alias=books&
rank=
+availability, -proj-total- margin&field- author=Fred% 20Halstead
In solidarity,
Bonnie Weinstein
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Endorse the following petition:
Don't Let Idaho Kill Endangered Wolves
Target: Fish and Wildlife Service
Sponsor: Defenders of Wildlife
http://www.thepetit ionsite.com/ takeaction/ 664280276?
z00m=99090&z00m= 99090<l= 1155834550
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
END ALL U.S. AID TO ISRAEL!
Stop funding Israel's war against Palestine
Complete the form at the website listed below with your information.
Personalize the message text on the right with
your own words, if you wish.
Click the Next Step button to send your letter
to these decision makers:
President George W. Bush
Vice President Richard 'Dick' B. Cheney
Your Senators
Your Representative
Go here to register your outrage:
https://secure2. convio.net/ pep/site/ Advocacy?
JServSessionIdr003= cga2p2o6x1. app2a&cmd= display&page= UserAction& id=177
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Idriss Stelley Foundation is in critical financial crisis, please help !
ISF is in critical financial crisis, and might be forced to close
its doors in a couple of months due to lack of funds to cover
DSL, SBC and utilities, which is a disaster for our numerous
clients, since the are the only CBO providing direct services
to Victims (as well as extended failies) of police misconduct
for the whole city of SF. Any donation, big or small will help
us stay alive until we obtain our 501-c3 nonprofit Federal
Status! Checks can me made out to
ISF, ( 4921 3rd St , SF CA 94124 ). Please consider to volunteer
or apply for internship to help covering our 24HR Crisis line,
provide one on one couseling and co facilitate our support
groups, M.C a show on SF Village Voice, insure a 2hr block
of time at ISF, moderate one of our 26 websites for ISF clients !
http://mysite. verizon.net/ vzeo9ewi/ idrissstelleyfou ndation/
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/isf23/
Report Police Brutality
24HR Bilingual hotline
(415) 595-8251
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/Justice4As a/
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Appeal for funds:
Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
Visit the Dahr Jamail Iraq website http://dahrjamailir aq.com
Request for Support
Dahr Jamail will soon return to the Middle East to continue his
independent reporting. As usual, reporting independently is a costly
enterprise; for example, an average hotel room is $50, a fixer runs $50
per day, and phone/food average $25 per day. Dahr will report from the
Middle East for one month, and thus needs to raise $5,750 in order to
cover his plane ticket and daily operating expenses.
A rare opportunity has arisen for Dahr to cover several stories
regarding the occupation of Iraq, as well as U.S. policy in the region,
which have been entirely absent from mainstream media.
With the need for independent, unfiltered information greater than ever,
your financial support is deeply appreciated. Without donations from
readers, ongoing independent reports from Dahr are simply not possible.
All donations go directly towards covering Dahr's on the ground
operating expenses.
(c)2006 Dahr Jamail.
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Legal update on Mumia Abu-Jamal's case
Excerpts from a letter written by Robert R. Bryan, the lead attorney
for death row political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal.
...On July 20, 2006, we filed the Brief of Appellee and Cross
Appellant, Mumia Abu-Jamal, in the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia.
http://www.workers. org/2006/ us/mumia- 0810/
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nick Mottern, Consumers for Peace
nickmottern@earthlink.net
Howard Zinn joins Kathy Kelly, Dahr Jamail, Ann Wright and Neil MacKay in
endorsing "War Crimes Committed by the United States in Iraq and
Mechanisms for Accountability."
The report was published internationally by 10 organizations in October.
"This report on the war crimes of the current administration is an
invaluable resource, with a meticulous presentation of the
evidence and an astute examination of international law.
- Howard Zinn.
The 37 page report, written by Consumers for Peace with the
consultation of international humanitarian law expert Karen
Parker, JD, is available for free download at
http://www.consumersforpeace.org/pdf/war_crimes_iraq_101006.pdf
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Today in Palestine!
For up to date information on Israeli's brutal attack on
human rights and freedom in Palestine and Lebanon go to:
http://www.theheadl ines.org
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Oklahoma U's First African-American Speaker
Dear Representative Johnson:
Congratulations on your bill for creating an
African-American Centennial Plaza near the
Capitol.
I have a suggestion for including an important
moment in Oklahoma African-American
history in the displays.
The first African-American speaker at the
University of Oklahoma was Paul Boutelle,
in 1967.
He is still alive but has changed his name
to Kwame Somburu. I believe it would be
very appropriate also to invite Mr. Somburu
to attend the dedication ceremony for
this plaza. I correspond with him by email.
Here is a 1967 Sooner magazine article about his appearance:
http://digital.libraries.ou.edu/sooner/articles/p25-27_1967v40n2_OCR.pdf
Sincerely,
Mike Wright
Norman
329-6688
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Interesting web site with many flash films. The site is managed
by veteran James Starowicz, USN '67-'71 GMG3 Vietnam In-Country
'70-'71 Member: Veterans For Peace as well as other Veterans
and Pro-Peace Groups. Also Activist in other Area's, Questioning
Policies that only Benefit the Few, supporting Policies that Benefit
the Many and Move Us Forward as a Better Nation and World!
Politics: Registered Independent
http://imagineaworldof.blogspot.com/
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Taking Aim with Ralph Schoenman and Mya Shone has a new Internet
address: http://www.takingaimradio.com
THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF ZIONISM
BY RALPH SCHOENMAN
Essential reading for understanding the development of Zionism
and Israel in the service of British and USA imperialism.
The full text of the book can be found for free at the
new Taking Aim web address:
http://www.takingaimradio.com
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
JOIN THE LYNNE STEWAR DEFENSE - THE CASE IS NOT OVER!
For those of you who don't know who Lynne Stewart is, go to
www.lynnestewart. org and get acquainted with Lynne and her
cause. Lynne is a criminal defense attorney who is being persecuted
for representing people charged with heinous crimes. It is a bedrock
of our legal system that every criminal defendant has a right to a
lawyer. Persecuting Lynne is an attempt to terrorize and intimidate
all criminal defense attorneys in this country so they will stop
representing unpopular people. If this happens, the fascist takeover
of this nation will be complete. We urge you all to go the website,
familiarize yourselves with Lynne and her battle for justice
www.lynnestewart. org
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Visit the Traprock Peace Center Video Archive at:
http://www.youtube.com/TraprockPeaceTV
Visit the Traprock Peace Center
Deerfield, MA
http://www.traprockpeace.org/
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO FREE THE CUBAN FIVE
Comité Nacional por la Libertad de los Cinco Cubanos
Who are the Cuban Five?
The Cuban Five are five Cuban men who are in U.S. prison, serving
four life sentences and 75 years collectively, after being wrongly
convicted in U.S. federal court in Miami, on June 8, 2001.
They are Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero,
Fernando González and René González.
The Five were falsely accused by the U.S. government of committing
espionage conspiracy against the United States, and other related
charges.
But the Five pointed out vigorously in their defense that they were
involved in monitoring the actions of Miami-based terrorist groups,
in order to prevent terrorist attacks on their country of Cuba.
The Five's actions were never directed at the U.S. government.
They never harmed anyone nor ever possessed nor used any
weapons while in the United States.
The Cuban Five's mission was to stop terrorism
For more than 40 years, anti-Cuba terrorist organizations based
in Miami have engaged in countless terrorist activities against
Cuba, and against anyone who advocates a normalization
of relations between the U.S. and Cuba. More than 3,000 Cubans
have died as a result of these terrorists' attacks.
Gerardo Hernández, 2 Life Sentences
Antonio Guerrero, Life Sentence
Ramon Labañino, Life Sentence
Fernando González, 19 Years
René González, 15 Years
Free The Cuban Five Held Unjustly In The U.S.!
http://www.freethef ive.org/
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
Eyewitness Account from Oaxaca
A website is now being circulated that has up-to-date info
and video that can be downloaded of the police action and
developments in Oaxaca. For those who have not seen it
elsewhere, the website is:
www.mexico.indymedi a.org/oaxaca
http://www.mexico. indymedia. org/oaxaca
---------*-- -------*- --------* --------- *-------- -*------- -
REMINDER TO ALL GROUPS: BE SURE AND POST ALL ACTIONS AND
EVENTS TO WWW.INDYBAY. ORG TO REACH THE MOST PEOPLE
AGAINST THE WAR IN THE BAY AREA!
http://www.indybay. org
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Iraq Body Count
For current totals, see our database page.
http://www.iraqbody count.net/ press/pr13. php
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The Cost of War
[Over three-hundred- billion so far...bw]
http://nationalprio rities.org/ index.php? optionfiltered=com_
wrapper&Itemid= 182
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"The Democrats always promise to help workers, and the don't!
The Republicans always promise to help business, and the do!"
- Mort Sahl
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"It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."
- Emilano Zapata
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Join the Campaign to
Shut Down the Guantanamo Torture Center
Go to:
http://www.shutitdo wn.org/
to send a letter to Congress and the White House:
Shut Down Guantanamo and all torture centers and prisons.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
http://www.ANSWERco alition.org http://www.actionsf .org
sf@internationalans wer.org
2489 Mission St. Rm. 24
San Francisco: 415-821-6545
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"It is reasonable and honorable to abhor violence and preach
against it while there is a visible and rational means of obtaining,
without violence, the indispensable justice for the welfare of man.
But, if convinced by the inevitable differences of character, by the
irreconcilable and different interests, because of the deep diversity
in the sea of the political mind and aspirations, there is not a peaceful
way to obtain the minimum rights of a people (...) or it is the blind
who against the boiling truth sustain peaceful means, or it is those
who doesn't see and insist on proclaiming it that are untrue
to their people."[2]
[2] José Martí " Ciegos y desleales Obras Escogidas in III volumes;
Editorial Política 1981 Volume III p182
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Great Counter-Recruitment Website
http://notyoursoldi er.org/article. php?list= type&type= 14
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DEFEND IMMIGRANT RIGHTS AND
CIVIL RIGHTS!
Last summer the U.S. Border Patrol arrested Shanti Sellz and
Daniel Strauss, both 23-year-old volunteers assisting immigrants
on the border, for medically evacuating 3 people in critical
condition from the Arizona desert.
Criminalization for aiding undocumented immigrants already
exists on the books in the state of Arizona. Daniel and Shanti
are targeted to be its first victims. Their arrest and subsequent
prosecution for providing humanitarian aid could result in
a 15-year prison sentence. Any Congressional compromise
with the Sensenbrenner bill (HR 4437) may include these
harmful criminalization provisions. Fight back NOW!
Help stop the criminalization of undocumented immigrants
and those who support them!
For more information call 415-821- 9683.
For information on the Daniel and Shanti Defense Campaign,
visit www.nomoredeaths. org.
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FYI
According to "Minimum Wage History" at
http://oregonstate. edu/instruct/ anth484/minwage. html "
"Calculated in real 2005 dollars, the 1968 minimum wage was the
highest at $9.12. "The 8 dollar per hour Whole Foods employees
are being paid $1.12 less than the 1968 minimum wage.
"A federal minimum wage was first set in 1938. The graph shows
both nominal (red) and real (blue) minimum wage values. Nominal
values range from 25 cents per hour in 1938 to the current $5.15/hr.
The greatest percentage jump in the minimum wage was in 1950,
when it nearly doubled. The graph adjusts these wages to 2005
dollars (blue line) to show the real value of the minimum wage.
Calculated in real 2005 dollars, the 1968 minimum wage was the
highest at $9.12. Note how the real dollar minimum wage rises and
falls. This is because it gets periodically adjusted by Congress.
The period 1997-2006, is the longest period during which the
minimum wage has not been adjusted. States have departed from
the federal minimum wage. Washington has the highest minimum
wage in the country at $7.63 as of January 1, 2006. Oregon is next
at $7.50. Cities, too, have set minimum wages. Santa Fe, New
Mexico has a minimum wage of $9.50, which is more than double
the state minimum wage at $4.35."
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NO BORDERS! NO WALLS! NO FENCES! GENERAL AMNESTY FOR ALL!
OUR HOMELAND IS WHERE WE LIVE!
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REPEAL THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT IN 2007!
Check out: 10 EXCELLENT REASONS NOT TO JOIN THE MILITARY
http://www.10reason sbook.com/
Public Law print of PL 107-110, the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 [1.8 MB]
http://www.ed. gov/policy/ elsec/leg/ esea02/index. html
Also, the law is up before Congress again in 2007.
See this article from USA Today:
Bipartisan panel to study No Child Left Behind
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
February 13, 2006
http://www.usatoday .com/news/ education/ 2006-02-13- education- panel_x.htm
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The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
http://www.law. indiana.edu/ uslawdocs/ declaration. html
http://www.law. ou.edu/hist/ decind.html
http://www.usconsti tution.net/ declar.html
http://www.indybay. org/news/ 2006/02/1805195. php
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Bill of Rights
http://www.law. cornell.edu/ constitution/ constitution. billofrights. html
http://www.indybay. org/news/ 2006/02/1805182. php
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"The International"
Lots of good information over at Wikipedia, as often the case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Internationale
What I've always found fascinating is the wide variety of translations (or
perhaps it would be better to call them "interpretations" or "variations")
that exist, even in English. It's also fascinating to read all the different
verses of the song.
One thing I learned at Wikipedia is that the original intention was that the
song would be sung to the tune of the Marseillaise, but that shortly
thereafter different music was written. Good thing, in my opinion, I'd hate
to see the identities of two stirring songs be confused. Each deserves their
own place in history.
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