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THE TRUTH ABOUT US POLICY IN COLOMBIA:
A Firsthand Account
Thursday, February 15, 7:00 P.M.
522 Valencia Street, 3rd Floor, Auditorium
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 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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Residents of Public Housing in New Orleans Ask for Your Support
A Request to Amnesty International to Accept Bottom-up Leadership
http://www.peoplesorganizing.org/breaking_news.html#req
http://www.peoplesorganizing.org/
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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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Defend Former Panthers Arrested on 30-year Old Charges
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights
Murder Charges Against Former Black Panthers Based
on Confessions Extracted by Torture
http://www.cdhrsupport.org/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreeThe8/
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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) A Request to Amnesty International to Accept Bottom-up Leadership
February 5, 2007
http://www.peoplesorganizing.org/breaking_news.html#req
3) It’s the War, Senators
New York Times Editorial
February 7, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/opinion/07wed1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
4) As Inflation Soars, Zimbabwe Economy Plunges
By MICHAEL WINES
February 7, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/world/africa/07zimbabwe.html?hp&ex=1170910800&en=ed4c068a350ed2d8&ei=5094&partner=homepage
5) Senator Strongarm
How Al D'Amato threatened African AIDS funding
to help a big campaign contributor.
BY WILLIAM KISTNER
AND MURRAY WAAS
SALON | Oct. 29, 1998
[Related to previous article...U.S. doing business in the world...bw]
http://www.salon.com/news/1998/10/cov_29newsa.html
6) U.S. to Create a Single Command for Military Operations in Africa
By DAVID STOUT
February 7, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/washington/07africa.html?ref=world
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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) A Request to Amnesty International to Accept Bottom-up Leadership
February 5, 2007
http://www.peoplesorganizing.org/breaking_news.html#req
Dear Friends,
This letter is coming to you from the New Orleans Survivor Council
and its organizers, the People’s Organizing Committee. We have been
involved in organizing for the return of those displaced by Hurricane
Katrina in New Orleans since days after the flood. The letter below
will give you some insight into what we do, and we also invite you
to visit our website at www.peoplesorganizing.org.
Recently, Amnesty International contacted us as part of its hiring
search for an organizer in New Orleans. By listening to residents,
Amnesty points out, it has learned that the effort to prevent the
demolition of public housing is a major issue, and Amnesty came
to us because we have played a significant role in helping public
housing residents organize themselves to lead their own efforts
to return to their homes. In its project organizer description,
Amnesty says, in part,
Amnesty will employ a project organizer to work in New Orleans
over a two-year period with a steering committee for local
accountability and support. Building on a foundation of organizing
and systematic legislative campaigning, the organizer will help
create local, regional, national and international support through
Amnesty’s diverse structures. Pressure will be directed to the
Housing Authority of New Orleans, the Louisiana State Legislature
and the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The project will develop educational materials, events and
advocacy campaigns, and a guide to assist future advocacy
efforts based on the Guiding Principles for Internally Displaced
Persons.
While we welcome Amnesty to support the residents’ struggle
and bring its resources to bear on the travesty that is happening
here, we are also concerned about making sure that their efforts
follow the mandate and leadership of the residents themselves.
Too many organizations, while probably well meaning, have
assumed that they know best what the people need, and set up
their own “steering committee for local accountability,” and planned
their own “materials, events and advocacy campaigns.” The people
want the support and resources of these organizations, but need
to have the respect that comes with recognizing that they themselves
can and must lead all efforts to restore their communities.
POC sent the following letter to Amnesty International asking that
they submit to the leadership of the residents for whom they purport
to advocate. We ask that you lend your voice to the concept of
leadership from the “bottom” by sending a letter of support for
POC and the New Orleans Survivor Council to Amnesty yourself.
Please send letters to: admin-us@aiusa.org and aali@aiusa.org,
and copy them to neworleanssurvivorcouncil@gmail.com.
Thank you for support.
* * *
The Peoples Organizing Committee is a committee of the New Orleans
Survivor Council. We are committed to “bottom-up” organizing in the
tradition of Ella Baker and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee. This is a model where the most impacted in a given
situation are the leaders of the activities and campaigns to deal
with that situation. We provide safe space for folk to talk; we
provide space for “technology transfer,” whereby those of us who
have had the privilege to attend the academy, travel, read, etc.,
can share their gifts, skills, talents and resources with that on-the-
ground leadership. We believe that progress is retarded in New
Orleans because this process has been avoided by all, including
the progressive movement.
In New Orleans, the group most impacted is the poor, black working
class people who took the brunt of the natural and human-induced
disasters following Hurricane Katrina. POC organizers initiated the
formation of the New Orleans Survivor Council and have since
followed its direction and instructions. POC had also been
instrumental in providing organizing support for the Residents
of Public Housing organization, and has been active from the start
around the issue of residents reclaiming their homes in public
housing.
We will commit to working with all who will submit to the
leadership of the people. We would very much like to support
your presence here as you represent a long standing human rights
group that is international and has positively impacted many issues
of great importance to the poor and oppressed of the world.
The project description you have outlined appears to promote
“top-down” organizing, which we oppose aggressively. We hope
that in this case of organizing in New Orleans, you will be willing
to submit to “bottom-up” leadership by the residents themselves.
If you are willing to commit to taking direction from the residents,
in the form of the New Orleans Survivor Council and the Residents
of Public Housing, we are ready to create the space in which you
can share your gifts, skills, talents and resources to help our people
return home. But the agenda must come from the most impacted
sector of the people.
We have attached a working document that we hope will help you
understand fully our concerns. We ask that you share our concerns
with your international governing body, because if your organization
would adopt “bottom-up” as a principal we think the poor and darker
hued laboring people of the world would be very grateful. It is time
that we all learn to respect the genius of the poor struggling masses.
All of the candidates we recommend to you for this job are being
trained in “bottom-up” organizing and if you should hire one of them,
we hope they will continue their training and following the direction
of the Survivor Council and produce that type of organization
wherever they go.
Unfortunately, most national organizations and most activists subscribe
to “top-down” methods and demonstrate severe disrespect for
grassroots poor people. The coalitions we develop are made up
of grassroots led and directed organizations. We hope to hear
from you soon, and to develop a working relationship based
on these principles.
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3) It’s the War, Senators
New York Times Editorial
February 7, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/opinion/07wed1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
It is not an inspiring sight to watch the United States Senate turn the
most important issue facing America into a political football, and then
fumble it. Yet that is what now seems to have come from a once-
promising bipartisan effort to finally have the debate about the Iraq
war that Americans have been denied for four years.
The Democrats’ ultimate goal was to express the Senate’s opposition
to President Bush’s latest escalation. But the Democrats’ leaders have
made that more difficult — allowing the Republicans to maneuver
them into the embarrassing position of blocking a vote on
a counterproposal that they feared too many Democrats might
vote for.
We oppose that resolution, which is essentially a promise never to cut
off funds for this or any future military operation Mr. Bush might undertake
in Iraq. But the right way for the Senate to debate Iraq is to debate Iraq,
not to bar proposals from the floor because they might be passed.
The majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, needs to call a timeout and
regroup. By changing the issue from Iraq to partisan parliamentary tactics,
his leadership team threatens to muddy the message of any anti-escalation
resolution the Senate may eventually pass.
As it happens, the blocked Republican alternative, proposed by Judd Gregg
of New Hampshire, itself represents an end run around the Senate’s
constitutional responsibilities. The rational way to oppose cuts in funds
is to vote against them, if and when any ever come before the Senate.
Mr. Reid should not be shy about urging fellow Democrats to vote
against this hollow gimmick, which tries to make it look as if the
senators support Mr. Bush’s failed Iraq policies by playing on their
fears of being accused of not supporting the troops.
America went to war without nearly enough public discussion, and it
needs more Senate debate about Iraq this time around, not less.
The voters who overturned Republican majorities in both houses last
November expect, among other things, to see energized Congressional
scrutiny of the entire war — not just of the plan for an additional
21,500 troops but also of the future of the 130,000 plus who are
already there.
Another Republican resolution, proposed by Sen. John McCain, gives
the appearance of moving in that more promising direction by ticking
off a series of policy benchmarks and then urging the Iraqi government
to meet them. But listing benchmarks is one thing. It is another
to spell out real consequences for not meeting them, like the
withdrawal of American military support. Instead of doing that,
the McCain resolution hands an unwarranted blank check to Mr. Bush’s
new Iraq commander, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus. It breathtakingly
declares that he “should receive from Congress the full support
necessary” to carry out America’s mission.
Frustrated by the Senate’s fumbles, the House plans to move ahead
next week with its own resolution on Mr. Bush’s troop plan. When the
Senate is ready to turn its attention back to substance again, it should
go further.
Senators need to acknowledge the reality of four years of failed
presidential leadership on Iraq and enact a set of binding benchmarks.
These should require the hard steps toward national reconciliation
that the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki continues to evade
and that the White House refuses to insist on.
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4) As Inflation Soars, Zimbabwe Economy Plunges
By MICHAEL WINES
February 7, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/world/africa/07zimbabwe.html?hp&ex=1170910800&en=ed4c068a350ed2d8&ei=5094&partner=homepage
JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 6 — For close to seven years, Zimbabwe’s
economy and quality of life have been in slow, uninterrupted decline.
They are still declining this year, people there say, with one notable
difference: the pace is no longer so slow.
Indeed, Zimbabwe’s economic descent has picked up so much speed
that President Robert G. Mugabe, the nation’s leader for 27 years,
is starting to lose support from parts of his own party.
In recent weeks, the national power authority has warned of a collapse
of electrical service. A breakdown in water treatment has set off
a new outbreak of cholera in the capital, Harare. All public services
were cut off in Marondera, a regional capital of 50,000 in eastern
Zimbabwe, after the city ran out of money to fix broken equipment.
In Chitungwiza, just south of Harare, electricity is supplied only
four days a week.
The government awarded all civil servants a 300 percent raise two
weeks ago. But the increase is only a fraction of the inflation rate,
so the nation’s 110,000 teachers are staging a work slowdown
for more money. Measured by the black-market value of Zimbabwe’s
ragtag currency, even their new salaries total less than 60 American
dollars a month.
Doctors and nurses have been on strike for five weeks, seeking
a pay increase of nearly 9,000 percent, and health care is all but
nonexistent. Harare’s police chief warned in a recently leaked
memo that if rank-and-file officers did not get a substantial
raise, they might riot.
In the past eight months, “there’s been a huge collapse in living
standards,” Iden Wetherell, the editor of the weekly newspaper
Zimbabwe Independent said in a telephone interview, “and also
a deterioration in the infrastructure — in standards of health
care, in education. There’s a sort of sense that things are plunging.”
Mr. Mugabe’s fortunes appear to have dimmed as well. In December,
the ruling party that has traditionally bowed to his will, the Zimbabwe
African National Union-Patriotic Front, balked at supporting
a constitutional amendment that would have extended his term
of office by two years, to 2010. The rebuff exposed a fissure
in the party, known as ZANU-PF, between Mr. Mugabe’s hard-line
backers and others who fear he has brought their nation to the
brink of collapse.
The trigger of this crisis — hyperinflation — reached an annual
rate of 1,281 percent this month, and has been near or over 1,000
percent since last April. Hyperinflation has bankrupted the government,
left 8 in 10 citizens destitute and decimated the country’s factories
and farms.
Pay increases have so utterly failed to keep pace with price increases
that some Harare workers now complain that bus fare to and from
work consumes their entire salaries.
Citing a leaked central bank document, Reuters reported Tuesday
that prices of basic items like meat, cooking oil and clothes had
risen 223 percent in the past week alone.
Soaring costs have made it impossible for both national and local
governments to meet budgets and for businesses to afford raw
materials, while subsidies for basic commodities have drained the
government treasury and promoted corruption.
Seeking to revive farm production, for example, the government
sells gasoline to farmers at a bargain rate of 330 Zimbabwe dollars
per liter — and farmers promptly resell it on the black market for
10 times that, leaving their fields idle.
Mr. Mugabe, who blames a Western plot against him for Zimbabwe’s
problems, has rejected all calls for economic reform. The government
refuses to devalue Zimbabwe’s dollar, which fetches only 5 to
10 percent of its official value on the thriving black market.
As a result, foreign exchange to buy crucial imported goods like
spare parts and fertilizer has effectively dried up.
Despite acceptable rains, one international aid official said,
Zimbabwe’s corn crop is currently lagging behind last year’s —
and that harvest was among the worst in history. The official
spoke on condition of anonymity because the assessment had
not been made public.
The central bank’s latest response to these problems, announced
this week, was to declare inflation illegal. From March 1 to June 30,
anyone who raises prices or wages will be arrested and punished.
Only a “firm social contract” to end corruption and restructure
the economy will bring an end to the crisis, said the reserve
bank governor, Gideon Gono.
The speech by Mr. Gono, a favorite of Mr. Mugabe, was broadcast
nationally. In downtown Harare, the last half was blacked out
by a power failure.
Eighty-two years old, wily and physically robust, Mr. Mugabe has
survived both international condemnation and domestic upheaval
before.
Efforts to suppress dissent are rising: in recent weeks, trade
union officials were seriously injured in police beatings, arsonists
burned the home of a leading pro-democracy activist and church
leaders were arrested while meeting to discuss the economic crisis.
Foreign journalists remain barred from the country under threat
of imprisonment, and harassment of Zimbabwean journalists
has sharply increased.
But hyperinflation is eroding the government’s control over every
aspect of public life and, by extension, over its own future.
“It’s out of control now, and they have to bring it back in control,”
said John Robertson, a Harare-based economist and a frequent critic
of government policies. “We’re reaching the steepest slopes of the process.
They say they can fix prices, but the things that cause price increases
come from so many different directions that the government can’t
control them all.”
That growing loss of control is apparent. The black market, which
already flourishes beyond the reach of tax collectors and regulators,
is likely to grab an even larger share of the economy when the
government freezes prices in March, because stores will be unable
to make a profit selling products at government-fixed prices.
Problems with water and power supplies have become acute because
of a lack of foreign exchange and salaries for workers; a wave
of blackouts hit the nation early last month when 100 electrical
workers walked out to protest low pay.
Zimbabwe’s political opposition has failed for years to mount an
effective work stoppage to protest living conditions. But public
workers, the bedrock of government support, this year have begun
to walk off the job because there is no longer enough money
to pay them a living wage.
The average teacher, for example, earns barely one-fourth of the
salary needed to keep a family of six out of poverty. The military,
unhappy with January’s 300 percent pay hike, is seeking 1,000
percent.
The growing number of strikes also has emboldened the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions, a center of opposition to Mr. Mugabe,
to make its own plans for a general work stoppage.
“People in Zimbabwe tend to be resilient,” said Jamal Jafari, an
analyst for the Washington-based International Crisis Group,
which monitors political risks worldwide. “But that having been
said, what has to be the scariest statistic for the government
is the fact that large sectors of the civil service and the military
are far below the poverty line. They simply can’t raise salaries
fast enough.”
Mr. Jafari and some political and economic analysts in southern
Africa say they now believe that Zimbabwe faces a political
showdown within months, as the governing bodies of ZANU-PF
wrangle over whether to grant Mr. Mugabe an extended term
or to put less radical members of the ruling party in power.
Few expect a democratic revolution; the one rival party, the
Movement for Democratic Change, is riven by splits, systematically
suppressed by the government and without an effective leader.
Regardless, these experts say, by failing to arrest this accelerating
decline, Zimbabwe is edging toward a day of political reckoning
that years of diplomatic jawboning and political jockeying have
failed to produce.
For the government, “the big problem about Zimbabwe is that
the one thing you can’t rig is the economy,” said one Harare
political analyst, who refused to be identified for fear of being
persecuted. “When it fails, it fails. And that can have
unpredictable effects.”
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5) Senator Strongarm
How Al D'Amato threatened African AIDS funding
to help a big campaign contributor.
BY WILLIAM KISTNER
AND MURRAY WAAS
SALON | Oct. 29, 1998
[Related to previous article...U.S. doing business in the world...bw]
http://www.salon.com/news/1998/10/cov_29newsa.html
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When the nation's largest and most influential
gay rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), last week
endorsed Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., in New York's closely contested
Senate race, it stunned the gay rights community. It also led one
HRC board member, Marylouise Oates, to resign in protest, citing
Sen. D'Amato's "long record of hostility and indifference to women's
issues and to the fundamental issues of civil rights to African-
Americans and other minorities."
But HRC officials didn't know the whole story about D'Amato's record
on AIDS. Salon has uncovered new details about the New York senator's
role in carrying water for a major corporate campaign contributor,
a maneuver that jeopardized thousands of AIDS victims in Zimbabwe,
a country that suffers from one of the world's worst HIV infection rates.
At the behest of the New York-based multinational insurance conglomerate
the American International Group (AIG), D'Amato threatened to introduce
an amendment to the Senate foreign operations appropriations bill
in 1996 that would have dramatically reduced U.S. aid for Zimbabwe,
over a dispute between the Zimbabwe government and an AIG subsidiary.
Both the State Department and the Agency for International Development
(AID) opposed D'Amato's move. The tale is described in confidential
AIG documents.
In the spring of 1996, AIG executives were concerned that its subsidiary
in Zimbabwe, Unity Insurance Co., would be forced to sell a majority
of its stake to local owners if it wanted to continue to do business there.
AIG, which is one of the top 100 political party contributors in the
United States, turned to its influential friends in Washington to press
the Zimbabwean government to drop its plan. According to the Center
for Responsive Politics, AIG, its subsidiaries and its officers gave nearly
$160,000 to Republican and Democratic candidates during the 1995-96
election cycle, as well as $428,000 in so-called soft money contributions
to both parties. In January 1996, AIG gave $25,000 to the Republican
Senatorial Campaign Committee, which D'Amato chaired. The New York
senator also has received more than $20,000 in PAC and individual
contributions from AIG since 1991.
AIG's largesse was to be rewarded. On May 30, 1996, Rep. Charles
Rangel, D-N.Y., the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means
Committee, wrote a letter of protest to Zimbabwe Ambassador Amos
Bernard Muvengwa Midzi: "As I and other members of Congress
continue to promote U.S. investments and trade in Africa, I encourage
you to reconsider this policy that may effectively discourage
investors," wrote Rangel.
Shortly thereafter, Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., chairman of the
House International Relations Committee, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
R-Fla., chair of its subcommittee on Africa, followed up with their own
letter of protest to the Zimbabwe ambassador: "A free and open
insurance market is a key component to any successful financial
system and builds confidence among foreign investors," they wrote
on June 3, 1996. "We believe that the Zimbabwean Government should
reconsider this policy and encourage reinvestment instead of
disinvestment in its economy."
Despite such pressure, President Robert Mugabe's government stood
its ground, informing AIG that he would not grant preferential treatment
to AIG over other insurance companies wanting to do business
in Zimbabwe. It was then that AIG decided to play hardball, turning
to its friends on Capitol Hill.
"Based on our experience in this region, this situation is a form
of expropriation," stated one AIG memo dated July 9, 1996. It continued,
"After 23 years of investing substantial human and capital resources
to build a profitable company, we do not want to be forced to sell our
operations and lose management control."
Only three days later, on July 12, 1996, AIG made a $10,000 donation
to an obscure campaign committee called New York Salute 1996, the
sponsor of major fund-raising events hosted by D'Amato and New
York Gov. George Pataki. The fund-raisers also were attended by
then-Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, whose campaign
was co-chaired by D'Amato.
Shortly after making this contribution, AIG executives discussed
the Zimbabwe problem with aides to Sen. Mitch McConnell, chairman
of the Senate Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee,
which oversees the funding of U.S. foreign aid to Zimbabwe.
Edmund Lee, AIG's director of international and corporate affairs,
wrote to Robin Cleveland, staff director of the Foreign Operations
Subcommittee on July 17, 1996:
"Dear Robin, I want to thank you again for taking time out of your
schedule to meet with us yesterday afternoon on an extremely
important issue to AIG. Attached for your review and consideration,
is draft language of the amendment we discussed during our
meeting. It would cap AID funding to Zimbabwe in FY 1997
at $10 million, roughly a 50% cut from 1996 expenditures,
unless Zimbabwe waives the localization requirement for U.S.
insurance companies."
In an interview, Cleveland said, "I don't remember anything
about it," adding, "I don't know anyone from AIG." (Both AIG
and Lee declined to respond to inquiries from Salon.) Cleveland
insisted that her committee does not accept amendments
from corporations and that such amendments are never used
in drafting legislation. "I have the same rule I do about having
lunch with them," she said. "It never happens."
But documents obtained by Salon clearly contradict those claims.
They show that AIG's corporate affairs staff even drafted its own
proposed amendment for McConnell and D'Amato. It read:
"To amend H.R. 3540, as reported on June 27, 1996, by the
Committee on Appropriations of the United States Senate, by
inserting at Title II a new subheading, entitled 'Zimbabwe'
that reads:
"Of the funds appropriated by this Act, the amount available
to Zimbabwe or to support activities in that country shall not
exceed $10,000,000 unless and until the government of
Zimbabwe has repealed or permanently waived the application
of any and all measures requiring the sale of equity in subsidiaries
of US financial services companies located in Zimbabwe
to nationals of that country."
In Lee's letter to Cleveland, he downplayed the impact this aid
cut would have on the African country. "It is not our intention
to deny humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe or jeopardize
US-Zimbabwe bilateral relations. Under our amendment, AID
would still have the ability to finance high-priority humanitarian
projects with the remaining $10 million, while Zimbabwe would
know it cannot expect more US assistance until such time as
it waived the localization requirement. "
But U.S. State Department and Agency for International Development
officials were concerned about cutting the level of aid to Zimbabwe,
which they had proposed at about $26 million for fiscal year 1997.
Zimbabwe has stagnant infant and child mortality rates, and
immunization rates have fallen significantly in recent years. The State
Department was particularly concerned about the AIDS problem
in Zimbabwe:
"USAID is just beginning to play a larger role in helping Zimbabweans
face and fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic," U.S. officials wrote in
a confidential "talking points" memo prepared by the State Department
for congressional staff. "Over 25% of Zimbabwean adults are now HIV
seropositive and AID efforts will help motivate other donors to play
supporting roles in fighting an epidemic that is out of control and
has global implications."
Zimbabwe's skyrocketing incidence of HIV infection is one of the
world's highest. According to a working group of the United Nations
and the World Health Organization, 90 percent of the 16,000 new
HIV infections worldwide occur in developing countries. Zimbabwe
has one of the worst rates: More than a quarter of the adult population
is infected with HIV and life expectancy is expected to plummet
soon to the 40s.
In the talking points memo, State Department and AID officials
praised the USAID assistance program to Zimbabwe as "one of
the most impressive on the continent, achieving successes in
agricultural markets liberalization, advancing low cost housing
development, enhancing wildlife conservation, and decreasing
population pressures. Cuts to the program proposed by [the]
amendment will have a negative impact on the sectors in which
USAID works." The memo also suggested that "reliance on US
diplomatic channels offers a more reasoned approach to solving
this problem than cutting US assistance to Zimbabwe which has
been beneficial to the US, Zimbabwe and the region as a whole."
Disregarding the objections of AID and the State Department,
congressional sources say, D'Amato played the leading role on
behalf of AIG, threatening to insert the amendment restricting
aid to Zimbabwe into the final appropriations bill. The government
of Zimbabwe received the message. "After the threat of reduction
in aid, the government looked at the issue more critically and changed
its mind," says Lloyd Sithole, counsel for the Zimbabwe Embassy
in Washington. "Our government later agreed it made sense based
on a cost-benefit analysis."
McConnell acknowledged Zimbabwe's change of mind on the Senate
floor on July 25, 1996. "We congratulate the government of Zimbabwe
for its constructive actions and hope there will be no further need for
this committee to review this matter nor contemplate action to remedy
complaints by U.S. citizens," he said in a floor speech. In this case,
of course, the "citizens" were big-time contributors to political
war chests.
Sithole defends Zimbabwe's change of mind, but added, "When Congress
pushes our government directly, it tends to instill a sense of urgency.
American companies are very effective at pushing their representatives."
Sithole acknowledges that a greater than 50 percent cut in aid to
Zimbabwe would have had drastic repercussions. "It would have had
a very serious impact on women and children and AIDs," he says.
"The threat worked."
USAID officials agree such a reduction would have had dire
consequences. "Certainly a 50 percent cut in funding would have
reduced the impact and reduced the effectiveness of these programs,"
says Maureen Dugan, deputy director of AID's Office of Southern
Africa Affairs. "The AIDS problem in Zimbabwe is enormous and
one of the fastest growing in the world."
Others in the AIDS community say U.S. assistance is crucial to
countries battling HIV infection. "We need to do more, not less,
to support programs in African countries, especially in places like
Zimbabwe," says Daniel Zingale, executive director of AIDS Action
in Washington. "We can't just fight AIDS within our own borders."
D'Amato's office has not returned repeated phone calls from Salon
about this matter. When Time magazine disclosed portions of this
story in the fall of 1996, a D'Amato spokeswoman told the publication
he was proud to have assisted a New York company "unfairly treated
by a foreign country." Les Munson, a legislative aide to Rep. Gilman's
International Relations Committee, said "I'm not going to help you
with this story," and then abruptly hung up on a Salon reporter.
But Jeanean Mann, a retired State Department legislative officer,
remembers when D'Amato raised the threat of cutting aid to Zimbabwe.
"The State Department and AID agreed the funding shouldn't be cut,"
she says. "The issue wasn't that clear-cut." Mann adds that the State
Department never took it that seriously since the Zimbabwe government
backed down anyway. These kinds of political tactics "are more common
than we like," she says. "But the threat occurs more often than the fact."
For D'Amato and his political allies, the political threats had their intended
effect. Fortunately, say AIDS experts, they were never put to the test.
William Kistner is a freelance journalist in Washington, D.C. Murray
Waas is Salon's investigative reporter.
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6) U.S. to Create a Single Command for Military Operations in Africa
By DAVID STOUT
February 7, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/washington/07africa.html?ref=world
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — The Pentagon will establish a new military
command to oversee its operations in Africa, President Bush and
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced Tuesday.
Creation of the United States Africa Command, which had been
expected, will “strengthen our security cooperation with Africa and
create new opportunities to bolster the capabilities of our partners
in Africa,” Mr. Bush said.
The president said he had directed Mr. Gates to establish the
command by Sept. 30, 2008. The location of the command will
be determined after discussions with Congress and officials
of countries on the continent, Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Gates, testifying Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services
Committee, said creation of the command would eliminate an
“outdated arrangement left over from the cold war.”
Three commands now divide responsibility for operations in
Africa: the European Command, which oversees most countries
on the continent, except those in the Horn of Africa; the Central
Command, which has responsibility for Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya; and the Pacific Command,
which has responsibility for Madagascar, the Seychelles and the
Indian Ocean.
The man who is about to become the head of the Central Command,
Adm. William J. Fallon, told the Senate Armed Services Committee
on Jan. 30 that he favored establishment of an Africa Command,
in light of the humanitarian crises and instability across much of
the continent and its strategic importance.
“The Horn of Africa sits astride one of the most critical sea lines
of communication in the world,” Admiral Fallon said. On Tuesday,
the committee endorsed him to succeed Gen. John P. Abizaid
to lead the Central Command and sent the nomination to the
full Senate for confirmation.
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LINKS AND VERY SHORT STORIES
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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 MarÃa RamÃrez
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!
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
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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
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TAX FACT SHEET
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/901006_taxpolicy.pdf
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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
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Asylum Street Spankers-Magnetic Yellow Ribbon
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=bfMgRHRJ- tc
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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/
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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
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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
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Immigration video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tacK8MAfuAs
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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
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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/
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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
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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
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Visit the Traprock Peace Center Video Archive at:
http://www.youtube.com/TraprockPeaceTV
Visit the Traprock Peace Center
Deerfield, MA
http://www.traprockpeace.org/
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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/
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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
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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 Martà " Ciegos y desleales Obras Escogidas in III volumes;
Editorial PolÃtica 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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