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FREE BRADLEY MANNING! HANDS OFF JULIAN ASSANGE!
Soldier in Leaks Case Will Be Made to Sleep Naked Nightly
[Bradley is being stripped of his clothing every night and forced to wait at attention, naked, every morning before getting his clothing back...this is torture to try to get him to implicate Jullian Assange so the U.S. can do the same to him. ...bw]
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
March 4, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/world/05manning.html?ref=world
Should Army pfc Bradley Manning face charges for allegedly stealing classified documents and providing them for WikiLeaks?
New York Daily News Poll Results
Thank you for voting.
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/03/05/2011-03-05_wikileaks_private_loses_his_underwear.html?r=news
Yes, he's a traitor for selling out his country! ...... 28%
No, he's a hero for standing up for what's right! ..... 62%
We need to see more evidence before passing judgement.. 10%
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Saturday, March 19, 2011: Resist the War Machine!
8th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq
In San Francisco, people will gather at 12 noon for a rally at UN Plaza (7th & Market Sts.) followed by a march to Lo. 2 boycotted hotels. The theme of the March 19 march and rally will be "No to War & Colonial Occupation - Fund Jobs, Healthcare & Education - Solidarity with SF Hotel Workers!" 12,000 SF hotel workers, members of UNITE-HERE Local 2, have been fighting for a new contract that protects their healthcare, wages and working conditions.
http://www.answercoalition.org/sf/index.html
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U.S./NATO HANDS OFF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA! END ALL AID TO ISRAEL! STOP FUNDING DICTATORS ACROSS THE GLOBE! MONEY FOR HUMAN NEEDS NOT FOR WAR AND OCCUPATION! LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE HERE AND EVERYWHERE!
TAX THE RICH! LEAVE WORKERS AND THEIR UNIONS ALONE! DON'T AGONIZE, ORGANIZE!...BW
RALLY AGAINST THE WARS AGAINST WORKING PEOPLE AT HOME AND ABROAD! BACK TO THE STREETS! BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2011
ASSEMBLE AT DOLORES PARK AT 11:00 A.M.
NOON RALLY
MARCH AT 1:30 P.M.
THEY are the government, corporate, and financial powers that wage war, ravage the environment and the economy and trample on our democratic rights and liberties.
WE are the vast majority of humanity who want peace, a healty planet and a society that prioritizes human needs, democracy and civil liberties for all.
WE DEMAND Bring U.S. Troops, Mercenaries and War Contractors Home Now: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan! End the sanctions and stop the threats of war against the people of Iran, North Korea and Yemen. No to war and plunder of the people of Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa! End U.S. Aid to Israel! End U.S. Support to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and the Siege of Gaza! End support of dictators in North Africa!
WE DEMAND an end to FBI raids on antiwar, social justice, and international solidarity activists, an end to the racist persecution and prosecutions that ravage Muslim communities, an end to police terror in Black and Latino communities, full rights and legality for immigrants and an end to all efforts to repress and punish Wikileaks and its contributors and founders.
WE DEMAND the immediate end to torture, rendition, secret trials, drone bombings and death squads.
WE DEMAND trillions for jobs, education, social services, an end to all foreclosures, quality single-payer healthcare for ail, a massive conversion to sustainable and planet-saving energy systems and public transportation and reparations to the victims of U.S. terror at home and abroad.
Sponsored by the United National Antiwar Committee (UNAC)
www.unacpeace.org
unacnortherncalifornia@gmail.com
415-49-NO-WAR
Facebook.com/EndTheWars
Twitter.com/UNACPeace
TRADUCCION:
Marcha en contra de las guerras: en casa y en el exterior
Ellos son el gobierno y las corporaciones que financian las guerras, destruyen el medio ambiente, la economía y pisotean nuestras libertades y derechos democráticos.
Nosotros, somos la gran mayoría de la humanidad y queremos paz. Un planeta saludable y una sociedad que priorice en las necesidades humanas, la democracia y las libertades civiles para todos.
Nosotros, demandamos que las tropas militares, los mercenarios y los contratistas de guerra que enviaron a Irak, Afganistán, y Paquistán sean traídas de regreso a los Estados Unidos ¡Ahora! Que paren con las sanciones y las amenazas de guerra en contra de los pueblos de Irán, Corea del Norte y Yemen; y que los Estados Unidos deje de colaborar con Israel en la invasión y acoso a Palestina y Gaza. No al saqueo de los pueblos de América Latina, el Caribe y África; que paren la persecución racista que amenaza las comunidades musulmanas y que paren el terror policiaco en contra de las comunidades negras y latinas; derechos totales y legalización para los emigrantes.
Nosotros, demandamos que el FBI pare de inmediato la persecución a los luchadores por la justicia social y la solidaridad internacional; como también pongan un alto a todos los esfuerzos que reprimen y castigan a los contribuidores y fundadores de Wikileaks.
Nosotros, demandamos trillones de dólares para trabajos, educación y servicios sociales; que cesen todos los embargos de viviendas y desalojos; un programa de salud gratuito y de calidad para todos; un programa energético de conversión masiva que salve al planeta y buen el sistema de transporte público. Y reparaciones para las víctimas del terror de estados unidos aquí en casa y en el exterior.
VICTORY IN EGYPT!
U.S. Hands off the Ongoing Egyptian Revolution!
End US Military Aid to Egypt and Israel!
A Statement by the United National Antiwar Committee
On Friday, February 11th, the heroic Egyptian people won a historic victory with the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Now they are proceeding to secure this victory by moving on to eliminate the rest of this hated regime, and to win the freedom, jobs, equality and dignity which has motivated their revolution from the start.
The announcement of Mubarak's resignation was coupled with news that the officers of the Armed Forces are now running the country. This comes as more and more rank and file soldiers and lower-level officers were joining the protests, and as others stood by as protesters blockaded the state TV, parliament and other government facilities.
We can be sure that the military hierarchy in alliance with what's left of the old regime will do everything in their power to stop the blossoming revolution in its tracks, to tell the protesters they must go home now and wait for gifts from on high.
AND THE DANGER IS REAL THAT WHEN THE MASSES SAY NO THAT THE MILITARY WILL DO WHAT IT DOES BEST.
We can be equally sure that Washington will give its full blessing and backing to these efforts of the remnants of the old regime and the military. Obama has made clear that he is solidly committed to the new face of the Egyptian regime, Omar Suleiman, who has proven over the years that he will collaborate with Washington in its torture and rendition policies. Meanwhile Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was quoted in the New York Times saying that Washington would help organize political parties for future elections in Egypt - a typical maneuver used to subvert revolutions.
The United National Antiwar Committee has repeatedly urged supporters to mobilize for demonstrations called by Egyptian organizations in the US in solidarity with the revolution in Egypt and against US military and diplomatic intervention. UNAC hails the call for today's march in Washington, DC by Egyptian groups, and takes this opportunity to point out the special obligations of antiwar activists in the US given Washington's multifaceted efforts to obstruct the wishes of the majority of the Egyptian people.
The $1.3 billion a year in military aid which the US gives to Egypt must be cut off immediately. All US soldiers serving in Egypt, such as those in the Multinational Force in the Sinai, must be immediately withdrawn. And the US warships headed for Egypt must be immediately turned around.
UNAC has from its founding opposed all US aid to Israel. That position takes on particular importance given the real danger that as the Egyptian revolution advances, Israel will intervene to derail it - or launch new attacks against Lebanon, Gaza, or elsewhere, as a diversionary tactic.
Amidst the euphoria in Cairo, Al Jazeera interviewed a young woman in the crowd, who said:
"Its not just about Mubarak stepping down. It is about the process of bringing the people to power... The issue of women, the issue of Palestine, now everything seems possible."
WE MUST ENSURE THOSE POSSIBILITIES STAY ALIVE! UNAC ENCOURAGES ALL ANTIWAR ACTIVISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO STEP UP SUPPORT FOR RALLIES PLANNED BY THE EGYPTIAN COMMUNITY, AND TO INITIATE THEM WHERE NONE ARE PLANNED.
Finally, we urge all supporters of the Egyptian people to redouble efforts to build the national antiwar marches called by UNAC for April 9th in New York and April 10th in San Francisco. These marches, called to demand an end to US wars and occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, an end to support for Israeli occupation, and in favor of social justice and jobs, take on ever more importance with the revolts in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere throughout the Arab world and Washington's attempts to crush or derail them.
SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY AND AGAINST EXPLOITATION AND OPPRESSION THROUGHOUT THE ARAB WORLD!
BUILD THE NATIONAL ANTIWAR MARCHES ON APRIL 9TH AND 10TH!
For more information: In SF: UNACNorthernCalifornia@gmail.com; (415) 49 NO War; www.unacpeace.org, unacpeace@gmail.com. For NYC information: unac-nyc@juno.com
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VERY IMPORTANT ANTIWAR MEETING SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 1 P.M.: Next UNAC Organizing Meeting to build April 10 March and Rally Against the War: Sunday March 13, at 1 PM, Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia Street, (between 15th and 16th Streets second floor in the rear) SF
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SAVE THE DATE: Sunday, APRIL 10, Mass antiwar/social justice march and rally, Assemble: 11 AM Dolores Park, 19th and Dolores; Rally Noon; March at 1:30 pm.
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Bay Area United Against War Newsletter
Table of Contents:
A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS
B. VIDEO, FILM, AUDIO. ART, POETRY, ETC.
C. SPECIAL APPEALS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
D. ARTICLES IN FULL
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A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS
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Nationwide Student Walkout
Friday, March 11 at 2:00pm
Location: High schools nationwide!
To see more details, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=141162765948861&mid=3e27980G4004f31eG22d317bG7&bcode=RknW6anE&n_m=giobon%40comcast.net
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BUILD APRIL 10 MARCH AND RALLY AGAINST THE WARS
SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 12:00 NOON
474 VALENCIA STREET (AT THE CHILDCARE CENTER)
(PLEASE BRING TAPE, PUSHPINS AND STAPLES IF YOU CAN. THANKS )
BEGINNING SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 19, 26 AND SATURDAY APRIL 6, AND 9
AT 12 O'CLOCK NOON WE WILL MEET IN FRONT OF 474 VALENCIA AT THE CHILD CARE OFFICES AND GO ON DISTRIBUTION TEAMS FROM 12:30 TO 2:00 P.M.
These bloody wars not only costs the invaluable lives of those who are the targets of U.S. guns, bombs and torture and those who were coerced by economic necessity to become the cannon fodder for these wars--but they are costing trillions of dollars--dollars direct from the pockets of working people who are also paying trillions for corporate bailouts and bonuses!
Enough is enough! Help build a real, independent, democratic movement to fight these wars on working people everywhere!
HELP BUILD APRIL 10 MARCH AND RALLY AGAINST THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S WARS AT HOME AND ABROAD!
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Please forward widely
Dear UNAC Friends and Antiwar Activists,
Don't miss this Sunday's UNAC general meeting. Bring your friends! Everyone welcome!
Sunday, March 13 at 1:00 PM, Centro del Pueblo 474 Valencia Street (between 15th and 16th Streets), San Francisco (upstairs in the rear of the bldg.)
[Special note: Save the dates: Everyone is needed for our first general mobilization on Saturday, March 12 at 12 NOON. We meet at Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia Street. Bring tape and staplers. We will be postering in teams all over the city and elsewhere. We have set the following four Saturdays at the same time for general April 10 mobilizations. These will include street soap boxing, door to door neighborhood visits and more. Join us!]
Proposed agenda:
1) Political discussion/Libya, where yet another U.S. war/intervention is contemplated! National UNAC has called for "day after" mobilizations against any U.S. war/intervention/"no fly" zones etc. U.S. Hands off Libya!
2) Proposed Outreach Days/Mobilizations: Next five Saturdays beginning March 12
3) Logistics: review of route, and logistical needs
Brief break for committee meetings
4) Finances/fundraising
5) Media outreach
6) Leafleting centers
7) Rally program
8) Regional outreach
9) Next meeting
10) Other
Special note: Everyone is needed for our first general mobilization on Saturday, March 12 at 12 NOON. We meet at Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia Street. Bring tape and staplers. We will be postering all over the city.
In solidarity,
Jeff
510-268-9429
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Saturday, March 19, 2011: Resist the War Machine!
8th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq
In San Francisco, people will gather at 12 noon for a rally at UN Plaza (7th & Market Sts.) followed by a march to Lo. 2 boycotted hotels. The theme of the March 19 march and rally will be "No to War & Colonial Occupation - Fund Jobs, Healthcare & Education - Solidarity with SF Hotel Workers!" 12,000 SF hotel workers, members of UNITE-HERE Local 2, have been fighting for a new contract that protects their healthcare, wages and working conditions.
Come to Washington, D.C., on March 19 for veterans-led civil resistance at the White House
March 19 is the 8th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Iraq today remains occupied by nearly 50,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of foreign mercenaries.
Saturday, March 19, 2011, the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, will be an international day of action against the war machine.
The war in Afghanistan is raging. The U.S. is invading and bombing Pakistan. The U.S. is financing endless atrocities against the people of Palestine, relentlessly threatening Iran and bringing Korea to the brink of a new war.
While the United States will spend $1 trillion for war, occupation and weapons in 2011, 30 million people in the United States remain unemployed or severely underemployed, and cuts in education, housing and healthcare are imposing a huge toll on the people.
Actions of civil resistance are spreading.
Last Dec. 16, a veterans-led civil resistance at the White House played an important role in bringing the anti-war movement from protest to resistance. Enduring hours of heavy snow, 131 veterans and other anti-war activists lined the White House fence and were arrested.
In Washington, D.C., on March 19 there will be an even larger veterans-led civil resistance at the White House initiated by Veterans for Peace. People from all over the country are joining together for a Noon Rally at Lafayette Park, followed by a march on the White House where the veterans-led civil resistance will take place.
Many people coming to Washington, D.C., will be also participating in the Sunday, March 20 demonstration at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia to support PFC Bradley Manning. Quantico is one hour from D.C. Manning is suspected of leaking Iraq and Afghan war logs to Wikileaks. For the last eight months, he has been held in solitary confinement, pre-trial punishment, rather than pre-trial detention.
The ANSWER Coalition is fully mobilizing its east coast and near mid-west chapters and activist networks to be at the White House.
In Los Angeles, the March 19 rally and march will gather at 12 noon at Hollywood and Vine.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.AnswerCoalition.org/
info@AnswerCoalition.org
National Office in Washington DC: 202-265-1948
Boston: 857-334-5084 | New York City: 212-694-8720 | Chicago: 773-463-0311
San Francisco: 415-821-6545| Los Angeles: 213-251-1025 | Albuquerque: 505-268-2488
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CWA ANNOUNCES NATIONWIDE DAY OF ACTION APRIL 4
http://www.cwa-union.org/news/entry/cohen_announces_nationwide_day_of_action_april_4
'We Have the Opportunity to Plan and Build Something Enormous'
The voice of the labor movement and its allies will roar louder than ever on April 4, the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., when "it will not be business as usual at workplaces and communities across this nation," CWA President Larry Cohen said Wednesday.
Speaking to 10,000 CWA members on a nationwide phone call, Cohen said the AFL-CIO Executive Board had adopted his proposal for "movement-wide dramatic action" to honor King and the workers fighting for their rights today.
King was shot to death while he was in Memphis to support 1,300 striking city sanitation workers. "Their fight was about recognition, respect and dignity," Cohen said. "Dr. King called it a moral struggle for an economic outcome, much like the fights in the states and at the bargaining table and in every one of our organizing drives."
Cohen urged CWA locals and members to begin brainstorming ideas and making plans for April 4, challenging them and all Americans to "create events at every workplace in America."
It could be as simple as everyone wearing red that day, having workers meet outside and march into work together or standing up at noon and shouting, "Workers rights are human rights!" Cohen said.
Other ideas include candlelight vigils in parks, meetings of church congregations, rallies at statehouses and protests in front of corporate offices. Cohen said CWA locals and activists will receive an e-mail shortly asking them to submit their ideas and plans, and another town hall-style phone call will be held in advance of the events.
King's murder while fighting for city workers spurred public organizing drives across the United States. Cohen said there is no better way to honor that and King than by doing what he would do, "create a new movement for economic justice."
"We need to combine offense and defense," Cohen said. "We need to take it to every workplace, union and non union, private and public sector. We have an opportunity to plan and build something enormous."
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Are you joining us on April 8 at the Pentagon in a climate chaos protest codenamed "Operation Disarmageddon?" It has been decided that affinity groups will engage in nonviolent autonomous actions. Do you have an affinity group? Do you have an idea for an action?
So far these are some of the suggested actions:
Send a letter to Sec. of War Robert Gates demanding a meeting to disclose the Pentagon's role in destroying the planet. He will ignore the letter, so a delegation would then go to the Metro Entrance to demand a meeting.
Use crime tape around some area of the Pentagon. The idea of crime/danger taping off the building could be done just outside the main Pentagon reservation entrance (intersection of Army/Navy) making the Alexandria PD the arresting authority (if needed) and where there is no ban on photography. Hazmat suits, a 'converted' truck (or other vehicle) could be part of the street theater. The area where I am thinking is also almost directly below I-95 and there is a bridge over the intersection - making a banner drop possible. Perhaps with the hazmat/street closure at ground level with a banner from above. If possible a coordinated action could be done at other Pentagon entrances and / or other war making institutions.
A procession onto the Pentagon reservation, without reservations, and set up a camp on one of the lawns surrounding The Pentagon. This contingent would reclaim the space in the name of peace and Mother Earth. This contingent would plan to stay there until The Pentagon is turned into a 100% green building using sustainable energy employing people who work for peace and the abolishment of war and life-affirming endeavors.
Bring a potted tree to be placed on the Pentagon's property to symbolize the need to radically reduce its environmental destructiveness.
Since the Pentagon is failing to return to the taxpayers the money it has misappropriated, "Foreclose on the Pentagon."
Banner hanging from a bridge.
Hand out copies of David Swanson's book WAR IS A LIE. Try to deliver a copy to Secretary of War Robert Gates.
Have short speeches in park between Pentagon and river; nice photo with Pentagon in background.
Die-in and chalk or paint outlines of victim's bodies everywhere that remain after the arrest to point to where real crimes are really being committed.
Establish command center, Peacecom? Paxcom? Put several people in white shirts and ties plus a few generals directing their armies for "Operation Disarmageddon."
Make the linkage between the tax dollars going to the Pentagon and war tax resistance. Use the WRL pie chart and carry banners "foreclose on war" and "money for green jobs not war jobs."
Hold a rally with representative speakers before going to the Pentagon Reservation. This would be an opportunity to speak out against warmongering and the Pentagon's role in destroying the environment.
As part of "Operation Disarmageddon," we will take a tree and plant it on the reservation. Our sign reads, "Plant trees not landmines."
Use crime tape on Army/Navy Drive to declare the Pentagon a crime scene. Do street theater there as well. Other affinity groups could go to selected entrances.
Establish a Peace Command Center at the Pentagon. Hold solidarity actions at federal buildings and corporate offices.
What groups have you contacted to suggest joining us at the Pentagon? See below for those who plan to be at the Pentagon on April 8 and for what groups have been contacted.
Kagiso,
Max
April 8, 2011 participants
Beth Adams
Ellen Barfield
Tim Chadwick
Joy First
Jeffrey Halperin
Malachy Kilbride
Max Obuszewski
David Swanson
April 8 Outreach
Beth Adams -- Earth First, Puppet Underground, Emma's Revolution, Joe Gerson-AFSC Cambridge, Code Pink(national via Lisa Savage in Maine), Vets for Peace, FOR, UCC Justice & Witness Ministries, Traprock, Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order, (National-INt'l) Vets for Peace and WILPF, Pace e Bene, Christian Peace Witness & UCC Justice & Witness (Cleveland).
Tim Chadwick -- Brandywine, Lepoco, Witness against Torture, Vets for Peace (Thomas Paine Chapter Lehigh Valley PA), and Witness for Peace DC.
Jeffrey Halperin -- peace groups in Saratoga Spring, NY
Jack Lombardo - UNAC will add April 8 2011 to the Future Actions page on our blog, and make note in upcoming E-bulletins, but would appreciate a bit of descriptive text from the organizers and contact point to include when we do - so please advise ASAP! Also, we'll want to have such an announcement for our next print newsletter, which will be coming out in mid-December.
Max Obuszewski - Jonah House & Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore
Bonnie Urfer notified 351 individuals and groups on the Nukewatch list
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RALLY AGAINST THE WARS AGAINST WORKING PEOPLE AT HOME AND ABROAD! BACK TO THE STREETS! BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2011
ASSEMBLE AT DOLORES PARK AT 11:00 A.M.
NOON RALLY
MARCH AT 1:30 P.M.
THEY are the government, corporate, and financial powers that wage war, ravage the environment and the economy and trample on our democratic rights and liberties.
WE are the vast majority of humanity who want peace, a healty planet and a society that prioritizes human needs, democracy and civil liberties for all.
WE DEMAND Bring U.S. Troops, Mercenaries and War Contractors Home Now: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan! End the sanctions and stop the threats of war against the people of Iran, North Korea and Yemen. No to war and plunder of the people of Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa! End U.S. Aid to Israel! End U.S. Support to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and the Siege of Gaza! End support of dictators in North Africa!
WE DEMAND an end to FBI raids on antiwar, social justice, and international solidarity activists, an end to the racist persecution and prosecutions that ravage Muslim communities, an end to police terror in Black and Latino communities, full rights and legality for immigrants and an end to all efforts to repress and punish Wikileaks and its contributors and founders.
WE DEMAND the immediate end to torture, rendition, secret trials, drone bombings and death squads.
WE DEMAND trillions for jobs, education, social services, an end to all foreclosures, quality single-payer healthcare for ail, a massive conversion to sustainable and planet-saving energy systems and public transportation and reparations to the victims of U.S. terror at home and abroad.
Next organizing meeting Sunday, February 20, 1:00 P.M., Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia Street (between 15th and 16th Streets, San Francisco)
Sponsored by the United National Antiwar Committee (UNAC)
www.unacpeace.org
unacnortherncalifornia@gmail.com
415-49-NO-WAR
Facebook.com/EndTheWars
Twitter.com/UNACPeace
TRADUCCION:
Marcha en contra de las guerras: en casa y en el exterior
Ellos son el gobierno y las corporaciones que financian las guerras, destruyen el medio ambiente, la economía y pisotean nuestras libertades y derechos democráticos.
Nosotros, somos la gran mayoría de la humanidad y queremos paz. Un planeta saludable y una sociedad que priorice en las necesidades humanas, la democracia y las libertades civiles para todos.
Nosotros, demandamos que las tropas militares, los mercenarios y los contratistas de guerra que enviaron a Irak, Afganistán, y Paquistán sean traídas de regreso a los Estados Unidos ¡Ahora! Que paren con las sanciones y las amenazas de guerra en contra de los pueblos de Irán, Corea del Norte y Yemen; y que los Estados Unidos deje de colaborar con Israel en la invasión y acoso a Palestina y Gaza. No al saqueo de los pueblos de América Latina, el Caribe y África; que paren la persecución racista que amenaza las comunidades musulmanas y que paren el terror policiaco en contra de las comunidades negras y latinas; derechos totales y legalización para los emigrantes.
Nosotros, demandamos que el FBI pare de inmediato la persecución a los luchadores por la justicia social y la solidaridad internacional; como también pongan un alto a todos los esfuerzos que reprimen y castigan a los contribuidores y fundadores de Wikileaks.
Nosotros, demandamos trillones de dólares para trabajos, educación y servicios sociales; que cesen todos los embargos de viviendas y desalojos; un programa de salud gratuito y de calidad para todos; un programa energético de conversión masiva que salve al planeta y buen el sistema de transporte público. Y reparaciones para las víctimas del terror de estados unidos aquí en casa y en el exterior.
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B. VIDEO, FILM, AUDIO. ART, POETRY, ETC.:
[Some of these videos are embeded on the BAUAW website:
http://bauaw.blogspot.com/ or bauaw.org ...bw]
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Dropkick Murphys - Worker's Song (with lyrics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTafZRecy2k&feature=email&tracker=False
Which Side Are You On - Dropkick Murphys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKWfnO7fhQM&feature=email&tracker=False
Lyrics :
Our father was a union man
some day i'll be one too.
The bosses fired daddy
what's our family gonna do?
Come all you good workers,
Good news to you I'll tell
Of how the good old union
Has come in here to dwell.
CHORUS:
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on? (x2)
My dady was a miner,
And I'm a miner's son,
And I'll stick with the union
'Til every battle's won.
They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there.
You'll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Blair.
Oh workers can you stand it?
Oh tell me how you can?
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?
Don't scab for the bosses,
Don't listen to their lies.
Us poor folks haven't got a chance
Unless we organize !
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Stephen King at Awake the State Rally in Sarasota 3.8.11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpn305Y7ToA&feature=player_embedded
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Lifting the Veil
http://metanoia-films.org/compilations.php
"Lifting the Veil is the long overdue film that powerfully, definitively, and finally exposes the deadly 21st century hypocrisy of U.S. internal and external policies, even as it imbues the viewer with a sense of urgency and an actualized hope to bring about real systemic change while there is yet time for humanity and this planet. See this film!"
Larry Pinkney
Editorial Board Member & Columnist
The Black Commentator
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'America Is NOT Broke': Michael Moore Speaks in Madison, WI -- March 5, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgNuSEZ8CDw&feature=player_embedded
Answer to Michael Moore: We ain't Gonna Play the Game No More!
By Bonnie Weinstein
info@socialistviewpoint.org
socialistviewpoint.org
The problem with Michael Moore's speech in Wisconsin March 5, 2011 is that the 14 Democratic emigres have already given away the economic security of the workers--their pay; their benefits; their vacations; their sick-days; their overtime. They have even convinced organized labor to accept the pay cuts, shorter hours--anything but unemployment, starvation and homelessness!
What noble choices the good Democrats have given to the masses of struggling working people in Wisconsin and everywhere!
In the prelude to his speech, Moore lauds those "heroic 14 Democratic" émigrés that have already given away the workers hard-won benefits and conditions for holding firm and staying away--"not one has come back!" he cheers.
Where are the rest of the Democratic politicians around the country? Where's Obama when masses of workers are being sold down the river? What about all the Democratic governors and mayors who are doing the same thing in their respective states and cities across the country. There isn't one state or city that's lavishing more on social services; on schools; on community medical centers; on healthcare--everyone everywhere EXCEPT THE TOP ONE PERCENT is being asked to give back and give up and surrender to the new middle ages--with the Democrats pretending and promising to steal a little less from workers than the Republicans! Workers can't depend upon any party that claims to represent both workers and the bosses. The jig is up!
Working people need to make democratic decisions based upon our own needs and wants and what is good for us and our families; like whether to spend trillions of OUR dollars on wars based upon lies; or on massive bailouts to corporations who have stolen and hoarded the wealth for themselves; or whether to use the fruits of our labor to pay for healthcare; schools; housing; all the things people need to live healthy, free and happy lives.
Working people produce the wealth; working people should have democratic control over that wealth and the means of production they operate to produce it.
The game of voting for one capitalist liar over another is over. It's like plea-bargaining when you are innocent. It's a lose/lose situation and certainly, the workers of the world are losing the game!
No, America is not broke. But telling workers to depend upon the capitalist electoral process, which only allows workers to vote for one capitalist representative over another, is preposterous and makes workers broke!
We workers must take that wealth that we, and we alone create, into our own hands. We can. We are the majority. And it's the only hope for creating a happy and healthy future for all of us, our children and the world. As Rosa Luxemburg said, the only choice for workers is Socialism; or else, we will continue the plunge into Barbarism!
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Michael Moore: People Still Have the Power
http://www.readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/63-63/5157-michael-moore-people-still-have-the-power
More GRITtv
"This is a movement that is not going to stop," says filmmaker Michael Moore of the uprising in Madison, Wisconsin (and across the country--all 50 states held solidarity rallies this weekend). "I knew sooner or later people would say they've had enough."
Michael joins Laura in studio for part one of a two-part conversation about the war on working people in America. He notes that it started in 1981 with Reagan's attack on the air traffic controllers, and it's mostly targeted the poor, as with Clinton's welfare reform. But the attacks on middle class families have finally reached a point where people aren't going to take it anymore.
Watch out for part two tomorrow!
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BP Oil Spill Scientist Bob Naman: Seafood Still Not Safe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3VdxvMnDls
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Exclusive: Flow Rate Scientist : How Much Oil Is Really Out There?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsHl3kn63ZA&NR=1
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Labor Beat: No Concessions Emergency Meeting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaFrWNi2gM0
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Iraq Veterans Against the War in Occupied Capitol, Madison, WI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7K0wn73uJU
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A joke:
A unionized public employee, a member of the Tea Party, and a CEO are
sitting at a table. In the middle of the table there is a plate with a
dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies,
looks at the tea partier and says,"watch out for that union guy, he
wants a piece of your cookie."
Marc Luzietti
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Charlie Sheen on 9/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PviXgj-yS5Y
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18th dead baby dolphin washes ashore in Northern Gulf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybFeuSNszSg&feature=player_embedded
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[This is a great video. Kipp Dawson, the school teacher in the video, is an old friend...bw]
Middle Class Revolution
Hundreds packed USW headquarters Feb. 24. 2011, to rally for the middle class and stand up against attacks on workers in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere. Check out highlights here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_UmZYlSyC5U
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Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TmSNPpzkWc
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solidarity
'We Stand With You as You Stood With Us': Statement to Workers of Wisconsin by Kamal Abbas of Egypt's Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services
February 20th, 2011 3:45 PM
About Kamal Abbas and the Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services:
Kamal Abbas is General Coordinator of the CTUWS, an umbrella advocacy organization for independent unions in Egypt. The CTUWS, which was awarded the 1999 French Republic's Human Rights Prize, suffered repeated harassment and attack by the Mubarak regime, and played a leading role in its overthrow. Abbas, who witnessed friends killed by the regime during the 1989 Helwan steel strike and was himself arrested and threatened numerous times, has received extensive international recognition for his union and civil society leadership.
KAMAL ABBAS: I am speaking to you from a place very close to Tahrir Square in Cairo, "Liberation Square", which was the heart of the Revolution in Egypt. This is the place were many of our youth paid with their lives and blood in the struggle for our just rights.
From this place, I want you to know that we stand with you as you stood with us.
I want you to know that no power can challenge the will of the people when they believe in their rights. When they raise their voices loud and clear and struggle against exploitation.
No one believed that our revolution could succeed against the strongest dictatorship in the region. But in 18 days the revolution achieved the victory of the people. When the working class of Egypt joined the revolution on 9 and 10 February, the dictatorship was doomed and the victory of the people became inevitable.
We want you to know that we stand on your side. Stand firm and don't waiver. Don't give up on your rights. Victory always belongs to the people who stand firm and demand their just rights.
We and all the people of the world stand on your side and give you our full support.
As our just struggle for freedom, democracy and justice succeeded, your struggle will succeed. Victory belongs to you when you stand firm and remain steadfast in demanding your just rights.
We support you. we support the struggle of the peoples of Libya, Bahrain and Algeria, who are fighting for their just rights and falling martyrs in the face of the autocratic regimes. The peoples are determined to succeed no matter the sacrifices and they will be victorious.
Today is the day of the American workers. We salute you American workers! You will be victorious. Victory belongs to all the people of the world, who are fighting against exploitation, and for their just rights.
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Stop LAPD Stealing of Immigrant's Cars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0lf4kENkxo
On Februrary 19, 2011 Members of the Southern California Immigration Coalition (SCIC) organized and engaged in direct action to defend the people of Los Angeles, CA from the racist LAPD "Sobriety" Checkpoints that are a poorly disguised trap to legally steal the cars from working class people in general and undocumented people in particular. Please disseminate this link widely.
Venceremos,
SCIC
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Protesters weather major snowstorm in Wausau, Wisconsin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7enVDAr1IY&feature=player_embedded
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[For subtitles, press the little red cc at the bottom, right of the screen.]
Sout Al Horeya Amir Eid - Hany Adel - Hawary On Guitar & Sherif On Keyboards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgw_zfLLvh8
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Hymn of Egyptian revolution on Youtube with EN subtitels "Saut al Hurria" (Voice of the revolution)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ5CqhL5X4o
First Responders
Wednesday, February 16th, in the State Capitol, Madison, Wisconsin, well over ten thousand citizens representing many others (teachers and students, nurses, custodial workers, firefighters, parents, families, community members and staunch union supporters) gathered to say NO! to Governor Scott Walker's so-called "Repair Bill"
The message was unequivocal and clear: no rolling back workers collective bargaining rights and to NEGOTIATE not LEGISLATE our way toward a better future.
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WikiLeaks Mirrors
Wikileaks is currently under heavy attack.
In order to make it impossible to ever fully remove Wikileaks from the Internet, you will find below a list of mirrors of Wikileaks website and CableGate pages.
Go to
http://wikileaks.ch/Mirrors.html
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Labor Beat: Labor Stands with Subpoenaed Activists Against FBI Raids and Grand Jury Investigation of antiwar and social justice activists.
"If trouble is not at your door. It's on it's way, or it just left."
"Investigate the Billionaires...Full investigation into Wall Street..." Jesse Sharkey, Vice President, Chicago Teachers Union
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSNUSIGZCMQ
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Oil Spill Commission Final Report: Catfish Responds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ZRdsccMsM
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The Most Heroic Word in All Languages is Revolution
By Eugene Debs
Eugene Debs, that greatest son of the Middle American west, wrote this in 1907 in celebration of that year's May Day events. It retains all of its vibrancy and vitality as events breathe new life into the global struggle for emancipation. "Revolution" remains the most heroic word in every language. -The Rustbelt Radical
Today the slaves of all the world are taking a fresh breath in the long and weary march; pausing a moment to clear their lungs and shout for joy; celebrating in festal fellowship their coming Freedom.
All hail the Labor Day of May!
The day of the proletarian protest;
The day of stern resolve;
The day of noble aspiration.
Raise high this day the blood-red Standard of the Revolution!
The banner of the Workingman;
The flag, the only flag, of Freedom.
Slavery, even the most abject-dumb and despairing as it may seem-has yet its inspiration. Crushed it may be, but extinguished never. Chain the slave as you will, O Masters, brutalize him as you may, yet in his soul, though dead, he yearns for freedom still.
The great discovery the modern slaves have made is that they themselves must achieve. This is the secret of their solidarity; the heart of their hope; the inspiration that nerves them all with sinews of steel.
They are still in bondage, but no longer cower;
No longer grovel in the dust,
But stand erect like men.
Conscious of their growing power the future holds up to them her outstretched hands.
As the slavery of the working class is international, so the movement for its emancipation.
The salutation of slave to slave this day is repeated in every human tongue as it goes ringing round the world.
The many millions are at last awakening. For countless ages they have suffered; drained to the dregs the bitter cup of misery and woe.
At last, at last the historic limitation has been reached, and soon a new sun will light the world.
Red is the life-tide of our common humanity and red our symbol of universal kinship.
Tyrants deny it; fear it; tremble with rage and terror when they behold it.
We reaffirm it and on this day pledge anew our fidelity-come life or death-to the blood-red Banner of the Revolution.
Socialist greetings this day to all our fellow-workers! To the god-like souls in Russia marching grimly, sublimely into the jaws of hell with the Song of the Revolution in their death-rattle; to the Orient, the Occident and all the Isles of the Sea!
VIVA LA REVOLUTION!
The most heroic word in all languages is REVOLUTION.
It thrills and vibrates; cheers and inspires. Tyrants and time-servers fear it, but the oppressed hail it with joy.
The throne trembles when this throbbing word is lisped, but to the hovel it is food for the famishing and hope for the victims of despair.
Let us glorify today the revolutions of the past and hail the Greater Revolution yet to come before Emancipation shall make all the days of the year May Days of peace and plenty for the sons and daughters of toil.
It was with Revolution as his theme that Mark Twain's soul drank deep from the fount of inspiration. His immortality will rest at last upon this royal tribute to the French Revolution:
"The ever memorable and blessed revolution, which swept a thousand years of villainy away in one swift tidal wave of blood-one: a settlement of that hoary debt in the proportion of half a drop of blood for each hogshead of it that had been pressed by slow tortures out of that people in the weary stretch of ten centuries of wrong and shame and misery the like of which was not to be mated but in hell. There were two Reigns of Terror, if we would but remember it and consider it: the one wrought murder in hot passion, the other in heartless cold blood; the one lasted mere months, the other lasted a thousand years; the one inflicted death on ten thousand persons, the other upon a hundred millions; but our shudders are all for the horrors of the minor Terror, so to speak; whereas, what is the horror of swift death by the axe compared with lifelong death from hunger, cold, insult, cruelty and heartbreak? What is swift death by lightning compared with death by slow fire at the stake? A city cemetery could contain the coffins filled by that brief Terror, which we have all been so diligently taught to shiver at and mourn over, but all France could hardly contain the coffins filled by that older and real Terror which none of us has been taught to see in its vastness or pity as it deserves."
-The Rustbelt Radical, February 25, 2011
http://rustbeltradical.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/the-most-heroic-word-in-all-languages-is-revolution/
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New music video by tommi avicolli mecca of the song "stick and stones," which is about bullying in high school, is finished and up on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of_twpu3-Nw
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New antiwar song that's bound to be a classic:
box
http://www.youtube.com/user/avimecca
by tommi avicolli mecca
(c) 2009
Credits are:
Tommi Avicolli Mecca, guitar/vocals
John Radogno, lead guitar
Diana Hartman, vocals, kazoo
Chris Weir, upright bass
Produced and recorded by Khalil Sullivan
I'm the recruiter and if truth be told/ I can lure the young and old
what I do you won't see/ til your kid's in JROTC
CHO ooh, put them in a box drape it with a flag and send them off to mom and dad
send them with a card from good ol' uncle sam, gee it's really just so sad
I'm the general and what I do/ is to teach them to be true
to god and country flag and oil/ by shedding their blood on foreign soil
CHO
I'm the corporate boss and well I know/ war is lots of dough dough dough
you won't find me over there/ they just ship the money right back here
CHO
last of all it's me the holy priest/ my part is not the least
I assure them it's god's will/ to go on out and kill kill kill
CHO
it's really just so sad
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Free Bradley Manning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4eNzokgRIw&feature=player_embedded
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Supermax Prison Cell Extraction - Maine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jUfK5i_lQs&feature=player_embedded
Warning, this is an extremely brutal video. What do you think? Is this torture?
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Did You Know?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY
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These videos refer to what happened at the G-20 Summit in Toronto June 26-27 of this year. The importance of this is that police were caught on tape and later confirmed that they sent police into the demonstration dressed as "rioting" protesters. One cop was caught with a large rock in his hand. Clearly, this is proof of police acting as agent provocatours. And we should expect this to continue and escalate. That's why everyone should be aware of these facts...bw
police accused of attempting to incite violence at G20 summ
Protestors at Montebello are accusing police of trying to incite violence. Video on YouTube shows union officials confronting three men that were police officers dressing up as demonstrators. The union is demanding to know if the Prime Minister's Office was involved in trying to discredit the demonstrators.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWbgnyUCC7M
quebec police admit going undercover at montebello protests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAfzUOx53Rg&feature=related
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Domestic Espionage Alert - Houston PD to use surveillance drone in America!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpstrc15Ogg
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15 year old Tells Establishment to Stick-it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U_gHUiL4P8&feature=player_embedded#
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Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVGqE726OAo&feature=player_embedded
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LOWKEY - TERRORIST? (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmBnvajSfWU
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Coal Ash: One Valley's Tale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E7h-DNvwx4&feature=player_embedded
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Flashmob: Cape Town Opera say NO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wElyrFOnKPk
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"Don't F*** With Our Activists" - Mobilizing Against FBI Raid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyG3dIUGQvQ
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C. SPECIAL APPEALS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
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Committee to Stop FBI Repression
NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY -- ANY DAY
to Fitzgerald, Holder and Obama
The Grand Jury is still on its witch hunt and the FBI is still
harassing activists. This must stop.
Please make these calls:
1. Call U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald at 312-353-5300 . Then dial 0
(zero) for operator and ask to leave a message with the Duty Clerk.
2. Call U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder 202-353-1555
3. Call President Obama at 202-456-1111
Suggested text: "My name is __________, I am from _______(city), in
______(state). I am calling _____ to demand he call off the Grand Jury
and stop FBI repression against the anti-war and Palestine solidarity
movements. I oppose U.S. government political repression and support
the right to free speech and the right to assembly of the 23 activists
subpoenaed. We will not be criminalized. Tell him to stop this
McCarthy-type witch hunt against international solidarity activists!"
If your call doesn't go through, try again later.
Update: 800 anti-war and international solidarity activists
participated in four regional conferences, in Chicago, IL; Oakland,
CA; Chapel Hill, NC and New York City to stop U.S. Attorney Patrick
Fitzgerald's Grand Jury repression.
Still, in the last few weeks, the FBI has continued to call and harass
anti-war organizers, repressing free speech and the right to organize.
However, all of their intimidation tactics are bringing a movement
closer together to stop war and demand peace.
We demand:
-- Call Off the Grand Jury Witch-hunt Against International Solidarity
Activists!
-- Support Free Speech!
-- Support the Right to Organize!
-- Stop FBI Repression!
-- International Solidarity Is Not a Crime!
-- Stop the Criminalization of Arab and Muslim Communities!
Background: Fitzgerald ordered FBI raids on anti-war and solidarity
activists' homes and subpoenaed fourteen activists in Chicago,
Minneapolis, and Michigan on September 24, 2010. All 14 refused to
speak before the Grand Jury in October. Then, 9 more Palestine
solidarity activists, most Arab-Americans, were subpoenaed to appear
at the Grand Jury on January 25, 2011, launching renewed protests.
There are now 23 who assert their right to not participate in
Fitzgerald's witch-hunt.
The Grand Jury is a secret and closed inquisition, with no judge, and
no press. The U.S. Attorney controls the entire proceedings and hand
picks the jurors, and the solidarity activists are not allowed a
lawyer. Even the date when the Grand Jury ends is a secret.
So please make these calls to those in charge of the repression aimed
against anti-war leaders and the growing Palestine solidarity
movement.
Email us to let us know your results. Send to info@StopFBI.net
**Please sign and circulate our 2011 petition at http://www.stopfbi.net/petition
In Struggle,
Tom Burke,
for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression
FFI: Visit www.StopFBI.net or email info@StopFBI.net or call
612-379-3585 .
Copyright (c) 2011 Committee to Stop FBI Repression, All rights
reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Committee to Stop FBI Repression
PO Box 14183
Minneapolis, MN 55415
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MECA Middle East Children's Alliance
Howard & Roslyn Zinn Presente! Honor Their Legacy By Providing Clean Water for Children in Gaza
http://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=13
Howard Zinn supported the work of the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) from the beginning. Over the years, he lent his name and his time countless times to support our work. Howard and Roz were both personal friends of mine and Howard helped MECA raise funds for our projects for children in Palestine by coming to the Bay Area and doing events for us.
On the first anniversary of Howard's passing, I hope you will join MECA in celebrating these two extraordinary individuals.
- Barbara Lubin, Executive Director
YES! I want to help MECA build a water purification and desalination unit at the Khan Younis Co-ed Elementary School for 1,400 students in Gaza in honor of Howard & Roslyn Zinn.
http://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=13
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Call for EMERGENCY RESPONSE Action if Assange Indicted,
Dear Friends:
We write in haste, trying to reach as many of you as possible although the holiday break has begun.......This plan for an urgent "The Day After" demonstration is one we hope you and many, many more organizations will take up as your own, and mobilize for. World Can't Wait asks you to do all you can to spread it through list serves, Facebook, twitter, holiday gatherings.
Our proposal is very very simple, and you can use the following announcement to mobilize - or write your own....
ANY DAY NOW . . . IN THE EVENT THAT THE U.S. INDICTS JULIAN ASSANGE
An emergency public demonstration THE DAY AFTER any U.S. criminal indictment is announced against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Spread the word and call people to come out, across the whole range of movements and groups: anti-war, human rights, freedom of information/freedom of the press, peace, anti-torture, environmental, students and youth, radicals and revolutionaries, religious, civil liberties, teachers and educators, journalists, anti-imperialists, anti-censorship, anti-police state......
At the Federal Building in San Francisco, we'll form ourselves into a human chain "surrounding" the government that meets the Wikileaked truth with repression and wants to imprison and silence leakers, whistleblowers and truthtellers - when, in fact, these people are heroes. We'll say:
HANDS OFF WIKILEAKS! FREE JULIAN ASSANGE! FREE BRADLEY MANNING!
Join the HUMAN CHAIN AROUND THE FEDERAL BUILDING!
New Federal Building, 7th and Mission, San Francisco (nearest BART: Civic Center)
4:00-6:00 PM on The Day FOLLOWING U.S. indictment of Assange
Bring all your friends - signs and banners - bullhorns.
Those who dare at great risk to themselves to put the truth in the hands of the people - and others who might at this moment be thinking about doing more of this themselves -- need to see how much they are supported, and that despite harsh repression from the government and total spin by the mainstream media, the people do want the truth told.
Brad Manning's Christmas Eve statement was just released by his lawyer: "Pvt. Bradley Manning, the lone soldier who stands accused of stealing millions of pages secret US government documents and handing them over to secrets outlet WikiLeaks, wants his supporters to know that they've meant a lot to him. 'I greatly appreciate everyone's support and well wishes during this time,' he said in a Christmas Eve statement released by his lawyer...." Read more here:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/mannings-message-christmas-eve-i-gr/
Demonstrations defending Wikileaks and Assange, and Brad Manning, have already been flowering around the world. Make it happen here too.
Especially here . . .
To join into this action plan, or with questions, contact World Can't Wait or whichever organization or listserve you received this message from.
World Can't Wait, SF Bay
415-864-5153
sf@worldcantwait.org
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Email received from Lynne Stewart:
12/19/10; 12:03pm
Dear Folks:
Some nuts and bolts and trivia,
1. New Address
Lynne Stewart #53504 - 054
Unit 2N
Federal Medical Center, Carswell
P.O. Box 27137
Fort Worth, TEXAS 76127
2. Visiting is very liberal but first I have to get people on my visiting list Wait til I or the lawyers let you know. The visits are FRI, SAT, SUN AND MON for 4 hours and on weekends 8 to 3. Bring clear plastic change purse with lots of change to buy from the machines. Brief Kiss upon arrival and departure, no touching or holding during visit (!!) On visiting forms it may be required that you knew me before I came to prison. Not a problem for most of you.
3. One hour time difference
4. Commissary Money is always welcome It is how I pay for the phone and for email. Also need it for a lot that prison doesn't supply in terms of food and "sundries" (pens!) A very big list that includes Raisins, Salad Dressing , ankle sox, mozzarella (definitely not from Antonys--more like a white cheddar, Sanitas Corn Chips but no Salsa etc. To add money, you do this by using Western Union and a credit card by phone or you can send a USPO money order or Business or Govt Check. The negotiable instruments (PAPER!) need to be sent to Federal Bureau of Prisons , 53504-054, Lynne Stewart, PO Box 474701, Des Moines Iowa 50947-001 (Payable to Lynne Stewart, 53504-054) They hold the mo or checks for 15 days. Western Union costs $10 but is within 2 hours. If you mail, your return address must be on the envelope. Unnecessarily complicated ? Of course, it's the BOP !)
5. Food is vastly improved. Just had Sunday Brunch real scrambled eggs, PORK sausage, Baked or home fried potatoes, Butter(sweet whipped M'God !!) Grapefruit juice Toast , orange. I will probably regain the weight I lost at MCC! Weighing against that is the fact that to eat we need to walk to another building (about at far as from my house to the F Train) Also included is 3 flights of stairs up and down. May try to get an elevator pass and try NOT to use it.
6. In a room with 4 bunks(small) about two tiers of rooms with same with "atrium" in middle with tv sets and tables and chairs. Estimate about 500 on Unit 2N and there are 4 units. Population Black, Mexicano and other spanish speaking (all of whom iron their underwear, Marta), White, Native Americans (few), no orientals or foreign speaking caucasians--lots are doing long bits, victims of drugs (meth etc) and boyfriends. We wear army style (khaki) pants with pockets tee shirts and dress shirts long sleeved and short sleeved. When one of the women heard that I hadn't ironed in 40 years, they offered to do the shirts for me. (This is typical of the help I get--escorted to meals and every other protection, explanations, supplies, etc. Mostly from white women.) One drawback is not having a bathroom in the room---have to go about 75 yards at all hours of the day and night --clean though.
7. Final Note--the sunsets and sunrises are gorgeous, the place is very open and outdoors there are pecan trees and birds galore (I need books for trees and birds (west) The full moon last night gladdened my heart as I realized it was shining on all of you I hold dear.
Love Struggle
Lynne
The address of her Defense Committee is:
Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
1070 Dean Street
Brooklyn, New York 11216
For further information:
718-789-0558 or 917-853-9759
Please make a generous contribution to her defense.
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Help end the inhumane treatment of Bradley Manning!
Bradley Manning Support Network. December 22, 2010
The Marine Brig at Quantico, Virginia is using "injury prevention" as a vehicle to inflict extreme pre-trial punishment on accused Wikileaks whistleblower Army PFC Bradley Manning (photo right). These "maximum conditions" are not unheard-of during an inmate's first week at a military confinement facility, but when applied continuously for months and with no end in sight they amount to a form of torture. Bradley, who just turned 23-years-old last week, has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest in late May. We're now turning to Bradley's supporters worldwide to directly protest, and help bring a halt to, the extremely punitive conditions of Bradley's pre-trial detention.
We need your help in pressing the following demands:
End the inhumane, degrading conditions of pre-trial confinement and respect Bradley's human rights. Specifically, lift the "Prevention of Injury (POI) watch order". This would allow Bradley meaningful physical exercise, uninterrupted sleep during the night, and a release from isolation. We are not asking for "special treatment". In fact, we are demanding an immediate end to the special treatment.
Quantico Base Commander
Colonel Daniel Choike
3250 Catlin Ave, Quantico VA 22134
+1-703-784-2707 (phone)
Quantico Brig Commanding Officer
CWO4 James Averhart
3247 Elrod Ave, Quantico VA 22134
+1-703-784-4242 (fax)
Background
In the wake of an investigative report last week by Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com giving evidence that Bradley Manning was subject to "detention conditions likely to create long-term psychological injuries", Bradley's attorney, David Coombs, published an article at his website on Saturday entitled "A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning". Mr. Coombs details the maximum custody conditions that Bradley is subject to at the Quantico Confinement Facility and highlights an additional set of restrictions imposed upon him under a Prevention of Injury (POI) watch order.
Usually enforced only through a detainee's first week at a confinement facility, or in cases of violent and/or suicidal inmates, the standing POI order has severely limited Manning's access to exercise, daylight and human contact for the past five months. The military's own psychologists assigned to Quantico have recommended that the POI order and the extra restrictions imposed on Bradley be lifted.
Despite not having been convicted of any crime or even yet formally indicted, the confinement regime Bradley lives under includes pronounced social isolation and a complete lack of opportunities for meaningful exercise. Additionally, Bradley's sleep is regularly interrupted. Coombs writes: "The guards are required to check on Manning every five minutes [...] At night, if the guards cannot see PFC Manning clearly, because he has a blanket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him in order to ensure he is okay."
Denver Nicks writes in The Daily Beast that "[Bradley Manning's] attorney [...] says the extended isolation - now more than seven months of solitary confinement - is weighing on his client's psyche. [...] Both Coombs and Manning's psychologist, Coombs says, are sure Manning is mentally healthy, that there is no evidence he's a threat to himself, and shouldn't be held in such severe conditions under the artifice of his own protection."
In an article to be published at Firedoglake.com later today, David House, a friend of Bradley's who visits him regularly at Quantico, says that Bradley "has not been outside or into the brig yard for either recreation or exercise in four full weeks. He related that visits to the outdoors have been infrequent and sporadic for the past several months."
In an average military court martial situation, a defense attorney would be able to bring these issues of pre-trial punishment to the military judge assigned to the case (known as an Article 13 hearing). However, the military is unlikely to assign a judge to Bradley's case until the pre-trial Article 32 hearing is held (similar to an arraignment in civilian court), and that is not expected until February, March, or later-followed by the actual court martial trial months after that. In short, you are Bradley's best and most immediate hope.
What can you do?
Contact the Marine Corps officers above and respectfully, but firmly, ask that they lift the extreme pre-trial confinement conditions against Army PFC Bradley Manning.
Forward this urgent appeal for action widely.
Sign the "Stand with Brad" public petition and letter campaign at www.standwithbrad.org - Sign online, and we'll mail out two letters on your behalf to Army officials.
Donate to Bradley's defense fund at www.couragetoresist.org/bradley
References:
"The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention", by Glenn Greenwald for Salon.com, 15 December 2010
"A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning", by attorney David E. Coombs, 18 December 2010
"Bradley Manning's Life Behind Bars", by Denver Nicks for the Daily Beast, 17 December 2010
Bradley Manning Support Network
Courage To Resist
484 Lake Park Ave. #41
Oakland, CA 94610
510-488-3559
couragetoresist.org
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KOREA: Emergency Response Actions Needed
The United National Antiwar Committee urges the antiwar movement to begin to plan now for Emergency 5pm Day-of or Day-after demonstrations, should fighting break out on the Korean Peninsula or its surrounding waters.
As in past war crisis and U.S. attacks we propose:
NYC -- Times Square, Washington, D.C. -- the White House
In Many Cities - Federal Buildings
Many tens of thousands of U.S., Japanese and South Korean troops are mobilized on land and on hundreds of warships and aircraft carriers. The danger of a general war in Asia is acute.
China and Russia have made it clear that the scheduled military maneuvers and live-fire war "exercises" from an island right off the coast of north Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) by South Korea are very dangerous. The DPRK has made it clear that they consider these live-fire war exercises to be an act of war and they will again respond if they are again fired on.
The U.S. deployment of thousands of troops, ships, and aircraft in the area while South Korea is firing thousands of rounds of live ammunition and missiles is an enormously dangerous provocation, not only to the DPRK but to China. The Yellow Sea also borders China. The island and the waters where the war maneuvers are taking place are north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone and only eight miles from the coast of the DPRK.
On Sunday, December 19 in a day-long emergency session, the U.S. blocked in the UN Security Council any actions to resolve the crisis.
UNAC action program passed in Albany at the United National Antiwar Conference, July 2010 of over 800 antiwar, social justice and community organizations included the following Resolution on Korea:
15. In solidarity with the antiwar movements of Japan and Korea, each calling for U.S. Troops to Get Out Now, and given the great increase in U.S. military preparations against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, National Peace Conference participants will organize immediate protests following any attack by the U.S. on Korea. U.S. war preparations include stockpiling hundreds of bunker-busters and conducting major war games near the territorial waters of China and Korea. In keeping with our stand for the right of self-determination and our demand of Out Now, the National Peace Conference calls for Bringing All U.S. Troops Home Now!
UNAC urges the whole antiwar movement to begin to circulate messages alerts now in preparation. Together let's join together and demand: Bring all U.S. Troops Home Now! Stop the Wars and the Threats of War.
The United National Antiwar Committee, www.UNACpeace.org
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In earnest support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange:
http://readersupportednews.org/julian-assange-petition
rsn:Petition
We here undersigned express our support for the work and integrity of Julian Assange. We express concern that the charges against the WikiLeaks founder appear too convenient both in terms of timing and the novelty of their nature.
We call for this modern media innovator, and fighter for human rights extraordinaire, to be afforded the same rights to defend himself before Swedish justice that all others similarly charged might expect, and that his liberty not be compromised as a courtesy to those governments whose truths he has revealed have embarrassed.
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GAP Inc: End Your Relationship with Supplier that Allows Workers to be Burned Alive
http://humanrights.change.org/blog/view/workers_burned_alive_making_clothes_for_the_gap
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KEVIN COOPER IS INNOCENT! FREE KEVIN COOPER!
Reasonable doubts about executing Kevin Cooper
Chronicle Editorial
Monday, December 13, 2010
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/13/EDG81GP0I7.DTL
Death penalty -- Kevin Cooper is Innocent! Help save his life from San Quentin's death row!
http://www.savekevincooper.org/
http://www.savekevincooper.org/pages/essays_content.html?ID=255
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
17 December 2010
Click here to take action online:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=15084
To learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa25910.pdf
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Free the Children of Palestine!
Sign Petition:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41467.html
Published by Al-Awda, Palestine Right to Return Coalition on Dec 16, 2010
Category: Children's Rights
Region: GLOBAL
Target: President Obama
Web site: http://www.al-awda.org
Background (Preamble):
According to Israeli police, 1200 Palestinian children have been arrested, interrogated and imprisoned in the occupied city of Jerusalem alone this year. The youngest of these children was seven-years old.
Children and teen-agers were often dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night, taken in handcuffs for questioning, threatened, humiliated and many were subjected to physical violence while under arrest as part of an ongoing campaign against the children of Palestine. Since the year 2000, more than 8000 have been arrested by Israel, and reports of mistreatment are commonplace.
Further, based on sworn affidavits collected in 2009 from 100 of these children, lawyers working in the occupied West Bank with Defense Children International, a Geneva-based non governmental organization, found that 69% were beaten and kicked, 49% were threatened, 14% were held in solitary confinement, 12% were threatened with sexual assault, including rape, and 32% were forced to sign confessions written in Hebrew, a language they do not understand.
Minors were often asked to give names and incriminate friends and relatives as a condition of their release. Such institutionalized and systematic mistreatment of Palestinian children by the state of Israel is a violation international law and specifically contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Israel is supposedly a signatory.
Petition:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41467.html
We, the undersigned call on US President Obama to direct Israel to
1. Stop all the night raids and arrests of Palestinian Children forthwith.
2. Immediately release all Palestinian children detained in its prisons and detention centers.
3. End all forms of systematic and institutionalized abuse against all Palestinian children.
4. Implement the full restoration of Palestinian children's rights in accordance with international law including, but not limited to, their right to return to their homes of origin, to education, to medical and psychological care, and to freedom of movement and expression.
The US government, which supports Israel to the tune of billions of taxpayer dollars a year while most ordinary Americans are suffering in a very bad economy, is bound by its laws and international conventions to cut off all aid to Israel until it ends all of its violations of human rights and basic freedoms in a verifiable manner.
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"Secret diplomacy is a necessary tool for a propertied minority, which is compelled to deceive the majority in order to subject it to its interests."..."Publishing State Secrets" By Leon Trotsky
Documents on Soviet Policy, Trotsky, iii, 2 p. 64
November 22, 1917
http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/government/foreign-relations/1917/November/22.htm
FREE JULIAN ASSANGE! FREE BRADLEY MANNING! STOP THE FBI RAIDS NOW!
MONEY FOR HUMAN NEEDS NOT WAR!
To understand how much a trillion dollars is, consider looking at it in terms of time:
A million seconds would be about eleven-and-one-half days; a billion seconds would be 31 years; and a trillion seconds would be 31,000 years!
From the novel "A Dark Tide," by Andrew Gross
Now think of it in terms of U.S. war dollars and bankster bailouts!
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For Immediate Release
Antiwar movement supports Wikileaks and calls for and independent, international investigation of the crimes that have been exposed. We call for the release of Bradley Manning and the end to the harassment of Julian Assange.
12/2/2010
For more information: Joe Lombardo, 518-281-1968,
UNACpeace@gmail.org, NationalPeaceConference.org
Antiwar movement supports Wikileaks and calls for and independent, international investigation of the crimes that have been exposed. We call for the release of Bradley Manning and the end to the harassment of Julian Assange.
The United National Antiwar Committee (UNAC) calls for the release of Bradley Manning who is awaiting trial accused of leaking the material to Wikileaks that has been released over the past several months. We also call for an end to the harassment of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks and we call for an independent, international investigation of the illegal activity exposed through the material released by Wikileaks.
Before sending the material to Wikileaks, Bradley Manning tried to get his superiors in the military to do something about what he understood to be clear violations of international law. His superiors told him to keep quiet so Manning did the right thing; he exposed the illegal activity to the world.
The Afghan material leaked earlier shows military higher-ups telling soldiers to kill enemy combatants who were trying to surrender. The Iraq Wikileaks video from 2007 shows the US military killing civilians and news reporters from a helicopter while laughing about it. The widespread corruption among U.S. allies has been exposed by the most recent leaks of diplomatic cables. Yet, instead of calling for change in these policies, we hear only a call to suppress further leaks.
At the national antiwar conference held in Albany in July, 2010, at which UNAC was founded, we heard from Ethan McCord, one of the soldiers on the ground during the helicopter attack on the civilians in Iraq exposed by Wikileaks (see: http://www.mediasanctuary.org/movie/1810 ). He talked about removing wounded children from a civilian vehicle that the US military had shot up. It affected him so powerfully that he and another soldier who witnessed the massacre wrote a letter of apology to the families of the civilians who were killed.
We ask why this material was classified in the first place. There were no state secrets in the material, only evidence of illegal and immoral activity by the US military, the US government and its allies. To try to cover this up by classifying the material is a violation of our right to know the truth about these wars. In this respect, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange should be held up as heroes, not hounded for exposing the truth.
UNAC calls for an end to the illegal and immoral policies exposed by Wikileaks and an immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and an end to threats against Iran and North Korea.
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Courage to Resist needs your support
By Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist.
It's been quite a ride the last four months since we took up the defense of accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning. Since then, we helped form the Bradley Manning Support Network, established a defense fund, and have already paid over half of Bradley's total $100,000 in estimated legal expenses.
Now, I'm asking for your support of Courage to Resist so that we can continue to support not only Bradley, but the scores of other troops who are coming into conflict with military authorities due to reasons of conscience.
Please donate today:
https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=38590
"Soldiers sworn oath is to defend and support the Constitution. Bradley Manning has been defending and supporting our Constitution."
-Dan Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower
Iraq War over? Afghanistan occupation winding down? Not from what we see. Please take a look at, "Soldier Jeff Hanks refuses deployment, seeks PTSD help" in our December newsletter. Jeff's situation is not isolated. Actually, his story is only unique in that he has chosen to share it with us in the hopes that it may result in some change. Jeff's case also illustrates the importance of Iraq Veterans Against the War's new "Operation Recovery" campaign which calls for an end to the deployment of traumatized troops.
Most of the folks who call us for help continue to be effected by Stoploss, a program that involuntarily extends enlistments (despite Army promises of its demise), or the Individual Ready Reserve which recalls thousands of former Soldiers and Marines quarterly from civilian life.
Another example of our efforts is Kyle Wesolowski. After returning from Iraq, Kyle submitted an application for a conscientious objector discharge based on his Buddhist faith. Kyle explains, "My experience of physical threats, religious persecution, and general abuse seems to speak of a system that appears to be broken.... It appears that I have no other recourse but to now refuse all duties that prepare myself for war or aid in any way shape or form to other soldiers in conditioning them to go to war." We believe he shouldn't have to walk this path alone.
Sincerely,
Jeff Paterson
Project Director, Courage to Resist
First US military service member to refuse to fight in Iraq
Please donate today.
https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=38590
P.S. I'm asking that you consider a contribution of $50 or more, or possibly becoming a sustainer at $15 a month. Of course, now is also a perfect time to make a end of year tax-deductible donation. Thanks again for your support!
Please click here to forward this to a friend who might
also be interested in supporting GI resisters.
http://ymlp.com/forward.php?id=lS3tR&e=bonnieweinstein@yahoo.com
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Add your name! We stand with Bradley Manning.
"We stand for truth, for government transparency, and for an end to our tax-dollars funding endless occupation abroad... We stand with accused whistle-blower US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning."
Dear All,
The Bradley Manning Support Network and Courage to Resist are launching a new campaign, and we wanted to give you a chance to be among the first to add your name to this international effort. If you sign the letter online, we'll print out and mail two letters to Army officials on your behalf. With your permission, we may also use your name on the online petition and in upcoming media ads.
Read the complete public letter and add your name at:
http://standwithbrad.org/
Courage to Resist (http://couragetoresist.org)
on behalf of the Bradley Manning Support Network (http://bradleymanning.org)
484 Lake Park Ave #41, Oakland CA 94610
510-488-3559
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Committee to Stop FBI Repression
P.O. Box 14183
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Dear Friend,
On Friday, September 24th, the FBI raided homes in Chicago and Minneapolis, and turned the Anti-War Committee office upside down. We were shocked. Our response was strong however and we jumped into action holding emergency protests. When the FBI seized activists' personal computers, cell phones, and papers claiming they were investigating "material support for terrorism", they had no idea there would be such an outpouring of support from the anti-war movement across this country! Over 61 cities protested, with crowds of 500 in Minneapolis and Chicago. Activists distributed 12,000 leaflets at the One Nation Rally in Washington D.C. Supporters made thousands of calls to President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder. Solidarity statements from community organizations, unions, and other groups come in every day. By organizing against the attacks, the movement grows stronger.
At the same time, trusted lawyers stepped up to form a legal team and mount a defense. All fourteen activists signed letters refusing to testify. So Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Fox withdrew the subpoenas, but this is far from over. In fact, the repression is just starting. The FBI continues to question activists at their homes and work places. The U.S. government is trying to put people in jail for anti-war and international solidarity activism and there is no indication they are backing off. The U.S. Attorney has many options and a lot of power-he may re-issue subpoenas, attempt to force people to testify under threat of imprisonment, or make arrests.
To be successful in pushing back this attack, we need your donation. We need you to make substantial contributions like $1000, $500, and $200. We understand many of you are like us, and can only afford $50, $20, or $10, but we ask you to dig deep. The legal bills can easily run into the hundreds of thousands. We are all united to defend a movement for peace and justice that seeks friendship with people in other countries. These fourteen anti-war activists have done nothing wrong, yet their freedom is at stake.
It is essential that we defend our sisters and brothers who are facing FBI repression and the Grand Jury process. With each of your contributions, the movement grows stronger.
Please make a donation today at stopfbi.net (PayPal) on the right side of your screen. Also you can write to:
Committee to Stop FBI Repression
P.O. Box 14183
Minneapolis, MN 55414
This is a critical time for us to stand together, defend free speech, and defend those who help to organize for peace and justice, both at home and abroad!
Thank you for your generosity! Tom Burke
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Please sign the petition to stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal and
and forward it to all your lists.
"Mumia Abu-Jamal and The Global Abolition of the Death Penalty"
http://www.petitiononline.com/Mumialaw/petition.html
(A Life In the Balance - The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, at 34, Amnesty Int'l, 2000; www. Amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/001/2000.)
[Note: This petition is approved by Mumia Abu-Jamal and his lead attorney, Robert R. Bryan, San Francisco (E-mail: MumiaLegalDefense@gmail.com; Website: www.MumiaLegalDefense.org).]
Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal
P.O. Box 2012
New York, NY 10159-2012
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Short Video About Al-Awda's Work
The following link is to a short video which provides an overview of Al-Awda's work since the founding of our organization in 2000. This video was first shown on Saturday May 23, 2009 at the fundraising banquet of the 7th Annual Int'l Al-Awda Convention in Anaheim California. It was produced from footage collected over the past nine years.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTiAkbB5uC0&eurl
Support Al-Awda, a Great Organization and Cause!
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, depends on your financial support to carry out its work.
To submit your tax-deductible donation to support our work, go to
http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and follow the simple instructions.
Thank you for your generosity!
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COURAGE TO RESIST!
Support the troops who refuse to fight!
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/
Donate:
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/21/57/
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D. ARTICLES IN FULL (Unless otherwise noted)
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1) Open Letter on the Humiliating Treatment, Including Forced Nudity, of PFC Bradley Manning
By Psychologists for Social Responsibility
Stephen Soldz, Ph.D.
Trudy Bond, Ph.D.
March 9, 2011
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Open-Letter-on-the-Humilia-by-Psychologists-for-110309-479.html
2) MARX VERSUS THE "MARXISTS"
THE FOLLOWING ESSAY WAS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO A DEAR FRIEND WHO ASKED, "WAS MARX RADICAL ENOUGH IN HIS CRITIQUE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY?"
By Chris Kinder
(Oakland activist, revolutionary socialist, coordinator of the Labor Action Commiittee To Free Mumia abu-Jamal)
CStephenKinder@aol.com
3) Compassionate Capitalism
By Michael Perelman
Posted March 10, 2011
http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/compassionate-capitalism/
4) "This is a Class War": Michael Moore Calls for Renewed Pro-Democracy Movement as Anti-Union Bills Approved in Wisconsin and Michigan
March 10, 2011
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/10/this_is_a_class_war_michael
5) Wisconsin Assembly Vote Is Delayed as Protests Jam Capitol
By MONICA DAVEY
March 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/us/11wisconsin.html?_r=1&hp
6) Frozen Wages and the Curtailment of Collective Bargaining
My "two cents" by Bonnie Weinstein
bauaw.org
7) Wisc. Conservatives Trample Democracy: State Troopers Dragging Protesters Out; Wisc. Dems Head Home After GOP Union-Busting Measure Rammed Through
By , AlterNet
Posted on March 9, 2011, Printed on March 10, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/150192/
8) Author Stephen King: Why Aren't the Rich Like Me Paying More Taxes?
by James Parks
March 9, 2011
http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/03/09/author-stephen-king-why-arent-the-rich-like-me-paying-more-taxes/
9) Disappointing Economic News Pushes Wall Street Lower
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
March 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/business/11markets.html?hp
10) Egyptians Get View of Extent of Spying
"Like so many other milestones, the sacking of the security headquarters has left Egyptians both exhilarated and apprehensive about where the country is heading. Stern warnings from the interim military council about preserving sensitive information have slowed the release of documents. But just enough of the random trove has been published online or in the newspapers to set Egyptians buzzing, adding to the collective anxiety and the sense that the secret police could still be busy compiling files. 'This is a moment exposing what was hidden, but how this will be used is the problem,' said Ibrahim Issa, a veteran journalist and founder of a new television station called Tahrir. 'What is happening is too much for people to absorb and endure.' Egyptians want an accounting for years of arrest and torture, and a way to prevent any organization from gaining such powers in the future. They were transfixed by pictures of the cramped underground cells and torture implements in the files. ...'They gave the order to start burning their files to prevent prosecution,' said Hani Shakrallah, the editor of Al-Ahram Online, the Web version of a semiofficial daily. 'The crimes are just enormous, and these guys documented everything.'"
By LIAM STACK and NEIL MacFARQUHAR
March 9, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/world/middleeast/10cairo.html?ref=world
11) Dozens of Cases to Be Dropped in San Francisco Police Scandal
By JESSE McKINLEY
March 9, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/us/10narcs.html?ref=us
12) Illinois Governor Signs Capital Punishment Ban
By JOHN SCHWARTZ and EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS
March 9, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/us/10illinois.html?ref=us
13) Women Lead in Unpaid Work
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
March 10, 2011, 2:29 pm
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/women-lead-in-unpaid-work/?src=busln
14) Indefensible Detention
NYT Editorial
March 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/opinion/11fri1.html?hp
15) Wisconsin Governor Rescinds Layoff Notices
"'From a policy perspective, this is terrible,' said Mike Tate, the leader of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. 'But from a political perspective, he could not have handed us a bigger gift,' Mr. Tate said of the governor. In the last 24 hours, he added, the state party had received $360,000 in contributions and volunteers have streamed into offices where signatures were being collected for recall bids." [And so the shell game between the Democrats and Republicans continues and the workers lose...bw]
By MONICA DAVEY and A. G. SULZBERGER
March 11, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/us/12wisconsin.html?hp
16) Pentagon Places Its Bet On a General in Egypt
"At the Pentagon, General Enan is known as self-effacing, deferential, humorous and conservative. He also is said to have a fondness for American consumer goods. During his trips to Washington, officials always scheduled a day of shopping for him and his wife, as they did for other Egyptian officers, at the Tysons Corner mall in suburban Virginia, where the Egyptians liked to buy electronics, jeans and other clothing. The couple has three children. The trips, yearly exchanges between the Egyptian and American armed forces, alternated between Washington and Cairo and were meant as centerpieces of a close 30-year relationship between the countries' militaries. The visits focused largely on the annual $1.3 billion in military aid that the United States gives Egypt and what type of American-made arms and equipment - typically F-16 fighter jets and M1A1 Abrams tanks - that the Egyptians wanted to buy with the money. (Since the 1978 Camp David accords, the United States has given Egypt $35 billion in military aid, making it the largest recipient of conventional American military and economic aid after Israel.)"
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
March 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world/middleeast/11enan.html?ref=world
17) Student Douses Classmate With Acid in Chemistry Class
"Ms. Eshimbaeva said she once counted Ms. Smsarian, a fellow Junior R.O.T.C. participant, among her friends and had attended her Sweet 16 gathering. But about a month ago, Ms. Smsarian accused her of stealing her boyfriend. Ms. Eshimbaeva denied doing so." [I reprint this article because this was a spat between two JROTC students and, this happens to be the High School I attended...bw]
By KAREN ZRAICK and NOAH ROSENBERG
March 10, 2011, 4:49 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/nyregion/index.html
18) Israel seeks $20 billion in US military aid
Defense Minister sees no immediate threat in Egypt but fears repercussions of Mideast unrest. In Wall Street Journal interview, he says military upgrade can turn Israel into regional stabilizer
Ynet
March 8, 2011
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4039147,00.html
19) SOA Watch News & Updates
Leaked U.S. Embassy Cables Document Efforts to Counter SOA Watch
WikiLeaks, the whistle-blower website that has published thousands of classified diplomatic cables, has posted two cables from the U.S. embassy in Costa Rica, that offer insight into the U.S. pressure tactics to keep the SOA/ WHINSEC in business.
http://www.soaw.org/
Read the cables here:
Cable 1: http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/11/07SANJOSE1999.html
Cable 2:http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/12/07SANJOSE2073.html
20) The Arab Revolutions:
Guiding Principles for Peace and Justice Organizations in the US
Please email endorsement to ekishawi@yahoo.com
21) IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) HANDS OFF THE MIDDLE EAST - NO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN LIBYA - TROOPS OUT
OF AFGHANISTAN
2) JOIN THE WELFARE NOT WARFARE BLOC ON MARCH 26TH
http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2241/242/
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1) Open Letter on the Humiliating Treatment, Including Forced Nudity, of PFC Bradley Manning
By Psychologists for Social Responsibility
Stephen Soldz, Ph.D.
Trudy Bond, Ph.D.
March 9, 2011
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Open-Letter-on-the-Humilia-by-Psychologists-for-110309-479.html
March 9, 2011
The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary
100 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301
Dear Mr. Secretary:
Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR) remains deeply concerned about the solitary confinement conditions under which PFC Bradley Manning is being held at the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia. When we wrote you on January 3, 2011, we warned of the severely deleterious effects on the psychological wellbeing of those subjected to solitary confinement. We also expressed alarm over PFC Manning's subjection to cruel and potentially harmful treatment during this lengthy pre-trial period when he has not been convicted of any crime and is presumed innocent by our Constitution and justice system.
We write you again today because news reports, including those in the New York Times, indicate that PFC Manning's conditions of confinement have recently become even more severe. According to these reports, which quote officials in charge of PFC Manning's care, PFC Manning is now being deprived of his clothes at night and is forced to stand naked for inspection in the morning. This is apparently being justified as a "precautionary measure" to prevent PFC Manning from injuring himself.
As an organization of psychologists and other mental health practitioners -- many of whose members have worked in mental hospitals, the criminal justice system, and with veterans -- PsySR can state unequivocally that removal of clothing is not an accepted or reasonable procedure for avoiding self-injury.
There is no publicly available information suggesting that PFC Manning is at heightened risk of self-harm. However, if this is a real concern of the military officials, it is imperative to recognize that forced nakedness (and solitary confinement) is designed to induce helplessness, humiliation, and shame -- all of which are potential risk factors that increase the possibility of self-harm. We note that forced nakedness is so disturbing that it is banned for use by military interrogators in the 2006 Army Field Manual.
We are also concerned that the confinement conditions and treatment experienced by PFC Manning may interfere with the right to a fair trial. Literature on the harmful psychological consequences associated with the abuse to which PFC Manning is being subjected suggests that his ability to assist in his own defense may be compromised.
Our country and the entire world were shocked by the pictures of Iraqi detainees being kept naked at Abu Ghraib. PFC Manning's treatment, because of its needless and destructive cruelty, also shocks the conscience. Mr. Secretary, Psychologists for Social Responsibility calls upon you to rectify the inhumane and harmful treatment of PFC Bradley Manning immediately. Given your purported concern regarding PFC Manning's suicidality, we also urge you to release him from solitary confinement as soon as possible as a first step in addressing his mental health needs.
We are also providing a copy of this letter to President Obama, as he and his administration bear the ultimate responsibility for PFC Manning's treatment.
Sincerely,
by Stephen Soldz, Ph.D.
President, Psychologists for Social Responsibility
by Trudy Bond, Ph.D.
Psychologists for Social Responsibility Steering Committee
For the Psychologists for Social Responsibility Steering Committee
Author's Website: http://www.psysr.org
Author's Bio: Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR) is an independent, non-profit organization that applies psychological knowledge and expertise to promote peace, social justice, human rights, and sustainability. Our members are psychologists, students, and other advocates for social change in the United States and around the world. PsySR is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization, funded primarily through dues and contributions. Although we have no official ties to the American Psychological Association, we have appreciated our collaborations on many projects over the years with Division 48 (Peace Psychology) and other APA divisions.
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2) MARX VERSUS THE "MARXISTS"
THE FOLLOWING ESSAY WAS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO A DEAR FRIEND WHO ASKED, "WAS MARX RADICAL ENOUGH IN HIS CRITIQUE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY?"
By Chris Kinder
(Oakland activist, revolutionary socialist, coordinator of the Labor Action Commiittee To Free Mumia abu-Jamal)
CStephenKinder@aol.com
While I appreciate your negative experiences with so-called "Marxists," I have to say there's much confusion here. Since 1923-24, what passes for Marxism has virtually nothing to do with what Marx actually was for. So, to ask, "was Marx radical enough in his critique of science and technology," causes tremendous frustration, since it seems to misrepresent Marx himself, as opposed to his "Marxist" followers.
Marx's concept of a "metabolic" connection of man and nature permeates his entire philosophy, including the labor theory of value. Marx emphasized that both labor and nature were central to the creation of value and "wealth," not just labor alone, as some so-called Marxists, intellectual and otherwise, assume. And Marx was clear that capitalist "technology" was designed not to advance humanity, but to chain us and nature itself to enslavement and degradation.
Marx was clear that capitalism not only creates alienation of the worker from the product of his/her labor, but also of the working people from nature itself. Most remarkable from today's standpoint, Marx railed against both the separation of the city from the countryside, and against the negative effects on the environment derived from industrialized agriculture. And Marx raised anti-capitalist demands, pointing out for instance that only working-class collective revolutionizing of the system could solve the agricultural problems.
And about those present-day "Marxists?" Fuhgeddaboudit. [Brooklyn/US slang for "forget about it"] Actually existing "Marxism" has been massively corrupted since the degeneration of the Russian Revolution in the 1920's under Stalinism. When considering "Marxists," it is essential to realize that the Russian Revolution of 1917 was a great achievement--the world's first workers state--and also a great turning point for Marxists. The Russian Revolution split the Marxist movement for and against it world-wide, and then, a few short years later, it split it again, as a result of the Stalinist degeneration of the revolution, and the Trotskyist struggle to adhere to the original Bolshevik-Leninist principles.
To make a long story short, let's just focus in one aspect for now: the environment. We all know the the USSR/Eastern Europe has a horrific record. But the Soviet Union of Lenin and Trotsky had a different--and largely unknown--record. Despite a raging civil war, in which imperialist interventions and white armies sought to overturn the revolution, Lenin's government promoted conservation of the environment. Lenin also appointed V.I. Vernadsky, a non-communist scientist, to lead the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Vernadsky was the originator of the concept of the "biosphere," well before the weaker "Gaia" theory of Lovelock. Soviet scientists in the 1920s took note of Vernadsky's work, and attempted to apply it locally.
Then came Stalinism. Because of the failure of the revolution to spread (which had been considered essential to its survival by Lenin's Bolsheviks), a bureaucratic caste essentially took over the running of the workers state, now headed by Stalin, with a delusional rubric of "socialism in one country." (In an international world, socialism in one country is essentially impossible as was proven in the late 20th century, when the USSR and associated deformed workers states collapsed.)
Stalin totally reversed the conservationist course of the early bolsheviks, and promoted the idea that what is good for man is, well, good for man: environment, take a back seat! Furthermore, Western Marxism, following Luckac's History and Class Consciousness, dropped Marx's understanding of the centrality of nature in the creation of wealth, and opted for a "dialectical" analysis limited to human society, not society and nature, as Marx and Engels had intended.
Furthermore, and most importantly, we must be clear that the "Marxism" that emanated from the Soviet Union from the late 1920s onward was corrupted in many ways. Stalinist leadership of the world's Communist Parties actively betrayed revolutionary movements in China (1927), Germany (early 1930s) and Spain (late 1930s) among others. But since the Soviet Union still ostensibly (for most communists) carried the great banner of the October Revolution, the essential revolutionary nature of Marxism was distorted, right down to the philosophical concepts of Marx having to do with man and nature.
Trotsky fought against Stalinist betrayals, but Trotskyists today have been reduced to sects, many of which have degenerated into futile debates, some to reformism, and some to a kind of centrist desperation. And many have also lost the original ideas of Marx and Engels on the real meaning of the labor theory of value, as it relates to nature, and the environment. What we need now is a Marxist-Trotskyist renewal, which reestablishes the true version of Marxism as the basis for a mass revolutionary movement and party.
And as to the tasks of the revolution? Science and technology have always served the ruling class, and technological "fixes" to capitalist-caused environmental crises are nothing new. Today's scientific/technological "solutions" are designed to preserve capitalism, not working people or the planet.
The job of revolutionaries is to put the working class in power so that it can direct science and technology to serve the real needs of humanity and the natural world. The determination of the best scientists today, such as (US NASA scientist) James Hansen, to swim against the stream, shows that this can be done. To reject science and technology per se, because of its warped and corrupted nature under imperialist capitalism, would be idiotic to say the least. The revolution that we seek must put the accumulated knowledge of humanity and history to use to save the world for future generations.
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3) Compassionate Capitalism
By Michael Perelman
Posted March 10, 2011
http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/compassionate-capitalism/
One must admire the extent of compassion expressed by the captains of capitalism. Some people unfairly snickered when George Bush declared himself a compassionate conservative, but he is a passionate advocate of business and his description may have been accurate.
Despite all the talk about greed being the fuel that drives capitalism, profits are virtually irrelevant. As an act of philanthropy, corporations scatter much of their profits in less developed areas, such as the Grand Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
As further evidence, I read today that the Bank of America is reluctant to lower the value of its own loans out of compassion for the people who stayed up-to-date with their payments. After all, one of the motives for subprime loans was to meet the desires for people who wanted enjoy homeownership.
Similarly, business opposes minimum wages out of compassion for workers who might lose their jobs. For the same reason, business reluctantly accepts tax breaks only because it allows them to help unfortunate workers who might find themselves without a boss. The same motives explain why business fights so heroically against regulation.
Cutting welfare or publicly provided health care does a service to the poor almost certainly as a university education. Finding themselves without a social safety net, people receive an education, allowing them to navigate the complexities of the marketplace, assuming that they survive the experience. Should such people meet their maker, their demise will represent a charitable gift to the poor-oppressed taxpayers, who already shoulder excessive burdens.
Taxpayers, in fact, are the most admired agents in capitalism. If corporate leaders were more egotistical, they would be paying more taxes. As an act of modesty, they refrain from showing off in that way, allowing others to win the glory of paying taxes.
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4) "This is a Class War": Michael Moore Calls for Renewed Pro-Democracy Movement as Anti-Union Bills Approved in Wisconsin and Michigan
March 10, 2011
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/10/this_is_a_class_war_michael
As Wisconsin Republicans passed Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union bill in the State Senate, a bill in Michigan goes even further. In the measure, emergency financial managers would be allowed to break union contracts, dismiss elected officials, and even disincorporate entire municipalities. Michigan Senate Republicans approved the bill yesterday, and protests are expected in the Lansing State Capitol building today. We speak to filmmaker Michael Moore. "[This] is a class war on the people," Moore says. "I think that the whole world has been inspired by what happened in Tunisia and in Egypt and throughout the Middle East. And while their problems are different than ours, the spirit is the same. And we need a pro-democracy movement in this country, badly, right now."
AMY GOODMAN: Last night, filmmaker and activist Michael Moore joined us here in the studio just about an hour after the Wisconsin State Senate Republicans voted on the anti-union legislation. I asked Michael Moore for his reaction.
MICHAEL MOORE: It has come as a real shock to everyone. I've been talking to people in Madison for the last few hours. People are still pouring out of their homes into the streets. I just went on MSNBC on Rachel's show and encouraged anybody within driving distance of Madison to get in a car right now, go to the State Capitol, and take that place over.
This is just such a travesty. And for it to happen on the same day, because just a couple hours before that, the state of Michigan, my state, the Senate voted-the House already passed this bill-the Senate voted on a bill that gives the governor the so-called "emergency powers," where he can essentially fire the elected mayor or city council or school board of any town in Michigan and turn it over to a corporation-I'm not making this up-turn it over to a corporation to run the town, or appoint a corporate manager to run the town-not the elected people, but this individual or this company can run the town. I mean, it's just-these two things in just the last few hours.
If people don't understand by now the level of this war-and it is a war, it is a class war on the people of this country by those in power and the tools that they have bought and paid for, who now serve in these legislatures-well, I'll tell you this much: by the time this is airing here in a few hours on your show, people will already have been to Lansing. They're going to pack that rotunda tomorrow at the Lansing-today, the Lansing State Capitol, Thursday. Also, later today at noon in Indianapolis, there's going to be a huge demonstration there. Their Democrats have skipped out of town, in order so that they don't have a quorum. And the people are already there on the grounds of the Capitol building right now tonight, as we stand here. And I think that's going to continue. It'd going to go further.
And I just got word from high school students in Madison. They're calling for a student strike, a walkout, on Friday afternoon at 2:00. And they've now invited students across Wisconsin and the country to have a mass student walkout-high school students-at 2:00, your last hour of class on Friday. Everybody march out and pick a place where you're going to meet and have your rally. And have your voice be heard about what these adults are doing to your education, because they are purposely setting it up so that you will be screwed for the rest of your life.
AMY GOODMAN: The talk of a general strike?
MICHAEL MOORE: If it comes down to that, that's what's going to happen. Believe me, if they keep pushing like this-I saw it in Madison. I listened to what the firefighters were saying there, the Teamsters. People are going to shut the country down. Unions themselves are not going to be able to organize that, because they'd be violating the Taft-Hartley Act, but it doesn't matter, because the unions haven't really organized this, to begin with. This really came from students and other people that just got mad and said, "I can't take it anymore." I think that's what's going to happen. I think that's-I hope it doesn't get to that, but if it does, it does, and that's what's going to happen. And people are going to do it. And I'm going to be right there. I'm going to be right there with everybody. If we have to shut it down, we're going to shut it down.
It really is a new day. And I think that the whole world has been inspired by what happened in Tunisia and in Egypt and throughout the Middle East. And while their problems are different than ours, the spirit is the same. And we need a pro-democracy movement in this country, badly, right now. Not next week, now.
AMY GOODMAN: Are you going back to Madison?
MICHAEL MOORE: I'll be-I'm going to go-yes, but I think, first, I have to go to Lansing at some point, because I'm-I mean, I'm here in New York now. I'm working on my next project. But I went to Madison last Saturday. But I've been in contact with everybody back home in Michigan. And really, if you look at this Michigan bill, it's actually-if you can say, if anything can be worse than Wisconsin, it's actually worse, because it literally is a corporate takeover and a nullification of the democratic rights of the people of the state of Michigan. It's just the most horrendous thing. I never thought I would see this in my day.
Once the Republicans and the corporate power structure saw that they could get away with the looting of the federal Treasury and taking millions of homes from people, they got away with that, and there was no revolt, there was no uprising, there was nothing. And Obama comes in there, and he appoints one of them as our Treasury secretary. Nothing, silence. Well, if you were a big shot on Wall Street, Amy, and you saw that-"Oh, my god! We just like got billions of bailout money. We now are getting the Fed to print what will eventually be trillions for us. We've thrown a million families out on the curb, foreclosing on them. And they just don't do anything. They don't do anything"-as with any criminal, what does that tell the criminal, if the criminal is not stopped, caught, punished for the crime that they've committed? They will keep committing the crime.
And the crime of today, of these last 24 hours, of what they've done in Michigan, in Wisconsin, and what they're going to try to do in all these other states, they think they can get away with it. But I think they're wrong. I think they've overplayed their hand. I think that people are going to come out in droves over the next 24 to 48 hours. I think they're going to have the largest demonstration ever in Madison on Saturday; at least a quarter-million people, I wouldn't be surprised, show up on Saturday in Madison. This is going to happen all over the country. These high school students are doing their thing.
AMY GOODMAN: Thank you, Michael Moore.
MICHAEL MOORE: Well, thank you, and thanks staying on top of this and for everything you've done about this issue. This is a turning point. I feel it, feel it deep in my heart right now. And the protests are so random and so not organized by the old-school power structure of these sorts of things. And I think that they're going to get their comeuppance, those who did this and who are continuing to do it. And I encourage everybody who's listening or watching, this is our moment. This truly is our moment. Everybody, up off the couch right now, please. Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore. He said he wasn't going to make any more films until people started doing something in this country. I don't know, this may be the moment.
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5) Wisconsin Assembly Vote Is Delayed as Protests Jam Capitol
By MONICA DAVEY
March 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/us/11wisconsin.html?_r=1&hp
MADISON, Wis. - As thousands of demonstrators converged on the Capitol, the police cut off access to the building on Thursday, creating a taut atmosphere in which Republican State Assembly members were seeking to maintain order long enough to vote on a bill that sharply curtails bargaining rights for government workers.
The State Assembly had been scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday morning. Though it is virtually certain to pass, it was now unclear when that vote might take place.
The State Senate approved similar legislation Wednesday with only Republican members casting votes; the chamber's Democratic minority, who fiercely oppose the measure, remain out of the state.
On Thursday, some of the missing Democrats indicated that they would likely be returning to Wisconsin from Illinois soon, given that there was no longer a need to prevent a quorum. But State Senator Fred Risser, said he and at least a few of the other 14 Democrats planned to remain away from Wisconsin for the time being to prevent Republicans from attempting additional legislative maneuverings that could be used to prevent a Democratic legal challenge in the future to Wednesday's vote.
By preventing people from entering the capitol building Thursday morning, the police also denied entry to legislators, including at least two Democratic Assembly members - David Cullen and Elizabeth Coggs.
Mr. Cullen was turned away even after displaying his Assembly identification.
Asked why the officers did not allow him inside, Mr. Cullen said: "I don't know. And they won't answer why."
Later, Mr. Cullen and Ms. Coggs could be seen climbing into the building through a first-floor window.
The police said hundreds of people had entered the building overnight and that for the moment, no one would be allowed to enter or leave the building.
"We don't know if the vote will take place" on Thursday morning, said Andrew Welhouse, a spokesman for Scott Fitzgerald, the Republican Senate majority leader.
The main provisions of the legislation, which increases health care and pension costs for public sector employees in the state as well as limits their bargaining rights, were part of a larger budget bill passed by the Assembly last month, so final passage of this separate bill in the chamber is considered a foregone conclusion.
The legislation was separated from the budget measure on Wednesday to break a three-week stalemate created when the Democratic senators all went to Illinois to deny the chamber the 20-member quorum required to take up bills that appropriate funds.
The quorum requirement for other kinds of legislation is smaller, and the Republicans' 19 seats are enough for those measures. In the Assembly, the Republican majority is large enough to achieve a quorum for any kind of bill.
Once the bill was separated, the Republicans pushed the measure through the Senate in less than half an hour by a vote of 18-1, without any debate on the floor or a single Democrat in the room.
Democrats in the State Assembly complained bitterly, and protesters, who had spent many days at the Capitol, continued their chants and jeers.
Within hours of the Senate vote, union leaders from Wisconsin and across the nation condemned the action.
"Senate Republicans have exercised the nuclear option to ram through their bill attacking Wisconsin's working families in the dark of night," said Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin State A.F.L.-C.I.O.
Mr. Neuenfeldt asserted that the Republicans had also violated Wisconsin's open meetings laws. "Tonight's events have demonstrated they will do or say anything to pass their extreme agenda," he said.
Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican whose efforts to diminish collective bargaining rights have placed him firmly in the national spotlight though he has been in office less than three months, applauded the Senate's move on Wednesday night, and said it brought the state a step closer to balancing its budget.
"The action today will help ensure Wisconsin has a business climate that allows the private sector to create 250,000 new jobs," Mr. Walker said in a statement released minutes after the Senate action, which was not widely expected.
Democrats, meanwhile, condemned the move as an attack on working families, a violation of open-meetings requirements (because most of them were not aware that the vote was to be held until shortly before it happened), and a virtual firebomb in a state already polarized and consumed with recall efforts, large-scale protests and fury from public workers.
"In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin," said Mark Miller, the leader of the Senate Democrats who fled to Illinois on Feb. 17 to block just such a vote from occurring. "Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten."
But Mr. Fitzgerald was unapologetic on Thursday, saying Democrats had behaved unprofessionally.
"Don't let their complete absence fool you; the Senate Democrats forced that vote yesterday," Mr. Fitzgerald said in a statement. "They forced it three weeks ago, when they abandoned their jobs and fled to Illinois for a long-term vacation."
He added: "And today, they're 'shocked' that a decision was made without them in the room. Yesterday's actions shouldn't surprise anyone, much less any parent in Wisconsin. We know that sometimes, throwing a fit doesn't get you what you want."The Democrats however complained angrily that the manner of the move directly contradicted what the Republicans had contended all along: that collective bargaining rights had to be cut not for philosophical reasons but merely for financial ones, to fix the state's budget gap.
"To pass this the way they did - without 20 senators - is to say that it has no fiscal effect," said Timothy Cullen, another of the Democratic senators. "It's admitting that this is simply to destroy public unions."
The bill makes significant changes to most public-sector union rules, limiting collective bargaining to matters of wages and limiting raises to changes in the Consumer Price Index unless the public approves higher raises in a referendum. It requires most unions to hold votes annually to determine whether most workers still wish to be members. And it ends the state's collection of union dues from paychecks.
Wisconsin's battle has been the leading edge of a wider fight over public workers and collective bargaining across the country. Similar, if somewhat less dramatic, fights have played out in statehouses in places like Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Indiana, and more are expected.
In Wisconsin, Republicans and Democrats had been at an impasse over Mr. Walker's bill for weeks. As the Democrats camped out in Illinois, there had been negotiations, angry news conferences, breakdowns in negotiations, and talk of more negotiations. Senate Republicans had voted to fine each of the missing Democrats $100 a day. The Senate Democrats had talked almost every day, sometimes disagreeing over whether it was time to give up and go home or to keep demanding that the Republicans lessen the cuts to collective bargaining rights.
As the impasse dragged on, senators from both parties found themselves the focus of recall efforts - efforts that all involved now said were certain to grow still more intense. Late Wednesday, hundreds of demonstrators crammed into the Capitol as news of the vote trickled out. And Mike Tate, the leader of the state's Democratic Party, pledged to put "total focus" on "recalling the eligible Republican senators who voted for this heinous bill," adding, "and we also begin counting the days remaining before Scott Walker is himself eligible for recall."
Even as recently as Sunday evening, a possible deal seemed in sight. In private e-mail exchanges with the Democrats, Mr. Walker's representatives appeared willing to agree to some limited changes.
But by Wednesday afternoon, after talks had clearly broken apart, Republican senators met privately for hours, and eventually called a conference committee meeting of the leaders in the Senate and Assembly for 6 p.m. Peter Barca, a Democratic leader in the Assembly, protested vehemently as Mr. Fitzgerald, the Senate Republicans' leader, called the meeting to order, announced that a new bill - without specific mentions of appropriations - was being considered, and called for a vote.
"This is a violation of open meetings laws!" Mr. Barca cried out repeatedly, demanding to hear a summary of the bill and what had changed. Mr. Fitzgerald swiftly moved to the Senate chamber, calling his Republicans to order, and called for another vote in a matter of minutes.
"Enough is enough," Mr. Fitzgerald said, in a statement he issued minutes later. "The people of Wisconsin elected us to do a job. They elected us to stand up to the broken status quo, stop the constant expansion of government, balance the budget, create jobs and improve the economy. The longer the Democrats keep up this childish stunt, the longer the majority can't act on our agenda."
Emma G. Fitzsimmons contributed reporting from Chicago, and Steven Greenhouse and Timothy Williams from New York.
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6) Frozen Wages and the 'Curtailment' of Collective Bargaining
My "two cents" by Bonnie Weinstein
bauaw.org
President Obama and the Democrats freeze the wages of public employees, in essence, freezing collective bargaining. Governor Walker and the Republicans "sharply curtail" bargaining rights for public workers. What the hell's the difference?
The only rights we working people have are those that we fight for ourselves.
With friends like the warmongering Democrats and Republicans and their "multi-class" parties pretending to represent "everyone" while representing only capitals' elite, who needs enemies?
There can be no democracy when the wealthy minority rule by war, torture, police occupation and economic slavery of the masses of working people.
Democracy is the expression of solidarity of the masses of working people in independent action and organization dedicated to the common interests and common good of working people; and opposed to the interests of the wealthy elite.
We have no interests in common with them! Their sole interest is to rule over us and collect the profits we create with our labor for themselves. We have no democracy! Democracy is not the right to vote for one wealthy liar over another! Democracy is not voting for some person; it's the right to vote for the things we, the majority, want and need and what is our basic human right to have. It is our right to decide how the bounty of our labor should be spent by democratic, majority rule of working people.
True democracy will reign when working people turn the pyramid of capitals' wealth and despotic rule on its head, disarm them, and take control of the wealth we create with our labor and use it for the good of all of us and to preserve the planet we share.
Democracy is majority rule and we working people ARE the majority across the globe! Our power is in our numbers. Our strength is rooted in our independent, class interests and class solidarity! We have nothing to lose but our chains and a world to gain. We are only as strong as our weakest link. An injury to one, is an injury to all!
WE HAVE THE POWER! SOLIDARITY FOREVER! DEMOCRACY IS WORKERS CONTROL!
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7) Wisc. Conservatives Trample Democracy: State Troopers Dragging Protesters Out; Wisc. Dems Head Home After GOP Union-Busting Measure Rammed Through
By , AlterNet
Posted on March 9, 2011, Printed on March 10, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/150192/
SCROLL DOWN FOR LATEST UPDATES
Late Wednesday, Wisconsin Republicans rammed a measure through the Senate stripping collective bargaining rights from most public workers in the state. Although the 14 Democrats who fled the state to block Governor Walker's union-busting bill remain in Illinois, Republicans were able to push through the measure anyway by separating the collective bargaining provision from the other elements of Governor Scott Walker's "budget repair bill." (This, after claiming for months that killing public workers' right to negotiate was all about reining in the state's debt.) The measure passed 18-1, with Republican Sen. Dale Schultz voting against. Critics say the rushed legislative session -- with only one Democrat in attendance -- may have violated the state's open meetings law. Democratic Senators from the street (the "fourteen") are beginning to trickle back home and start the next round of the fight.
So what's next? AlterNet has the latest updates and analysis:
Update: According to videos, and multiple gripping pictures being posted on Twitter, arrests are beginning right now at the Wisconsin State Capitol. These reports and pictures strongly appear to indicate that State Troopers are doing what police have refused to do, forcibly escorting protesters out of the building to shouts of "shame!" More tweets from locals and journalist Mike Elk suggest that walkouts and "wildcat strikes" are beginning afresh throughout the state.
Update: The first of the "Wisconsin 14" is heading home, according to "WisPolitics Budget blog." It's a "bittersweet" return for State Senator Jim Holperin, who is glad the flight of the 14 Senators called public attention to the bill, but wishes a compromise could have been reached to protect bargaining rights instead of a Republican maneuver as we saw Wednesday. Holperin admitted that he was unsure what the mood would be when he and the other senators returned to session:
Holperin said most of the Dem caucus met last night and agreed to return once the Assembly finished its work on the legislation to strip away most collective bargaining rights for public employees. He said he may have left a little earlier than the others, but he believed the Assembly action was a foregone conclusion and there would be no Senate floor session today or tomorrow. He said he would return to the Capitol if that changed.
Holperin headed back three weeks to the day after the Dems went into their self-imposed exile. He said in the end, the action achieved the short-term goal of bringing attention to details of the budget repair bill and proving its true intent was ending collective bargaining rights.
Update: Politico reports that in the less than 24 hours since the bill was jammed through, "liberal groups" Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America have raised "over $200,000".
Update: Former Senator Russ Feingold has released a damning statement reacting to Wednesday night's actions on the part of the Republicans and Governor Walker (via Progressives United):
"Last night will be remembered as a black mark on the history of Wisconsin government. The actions by 18 Republican state senators leave no doubt that Governor Walker's attack on Wisconsin workers has nothing to do with the budget and everything to do with advancing a national corporate agenda. Sadly, these actions further drive divisions within our state and threaten the future economic recovery of Wisconsin. Proponents of this plan should remember: Wisconsin's citizens will hold their elected officials accountable."
Update: In our Hot News and Views section, we have gathered important analysis and next steps for the battle in Wisconsin. Chris Bowers outlines concrete steps readers can take to help the cause on the ground in Wisconsin: "But even in midst of the wreckage falling around us, never forget that we have recourse to overturn this bill and restore workers' rights"
Meanwhile, Digby weighs in thoughtfully on the intra-middle-class warfare that she hopes will end in the face of Wisconsin, and Steve Benen talks about how the same Republicans who have previously claimed to hate closed-door meetings are applauding the push-through and procedural tricks that their colleagues have resorted to in Wisconsin.
Update: Here's two stories that are quite upsetting. Mother Jones reports that embedded within the bill passed last night is a provision that makes it okay for the state to fire protesting workers: "The bill authorizes state officials to fire any state employee who joins a strike, walk-out, sit-in, or coordinated effort to call in sick." Truly draconian.
Furthermore, as if it weren't obvious who's on their side, TPM has the story that a "major DC Lobby Firm" is throwing a big fundraising reception for the very same GOP state senators in Wisconsin who rammed this bill through against the will of the people.
Update: As Democrats begin to consider legal challenges and intensify their recalls efforts this morning, watch footage of state Assembly minority leader Peter Barca making a last-ditch attempt to forestall the vote which he says is immoral and possibly illegal. His arguments will likely be echoed in days to come as Democrats try to challenge the move in courts and at the ballot box.
Update: Within hours of the vote, the Capitol was flooded with thousands of furious protesters: "The whole world is watching!" they shouted as they pressed up against the heavily guarded entrance to the Senate chamber," ABC reports.
Update: Watch a livestream of protests in the Capitol at the Uptake.
Update: Read Adele Stan's article for AlterNet, Union-Busting Goons: How the Wisc. GOP Trampled Democracy to Appease Their Wealthy Backers
Update: Push for recall:
State Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate released a statement pledging to pursue recall of all Republican lawmakers that are eligible:
Using tactics that trample on the traditions of our Legislature, the Republican leadership has betrayed our state. Republicans have rubber-stamped the desire of the Koch Brothers and their godshead Scott Walker to cripple Wisconsin's middle class and lower benefits and wages for every single wage-earner in our state. The vote does nothing to create jobs, does nothing to strengthen our state, and shows finally and utterly that this never was about anything but raw political power. We now put our total focus on recalling the eligible Republican senators who voted for this heinous bill. And we also begin counting the days remaining before Scott Walker is himself eligible for recall.
Update: State Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller in a statement released Wednesday:
In thirty minutes, 18 State Senators undid fifty years of civil rights in Wisconsin.
Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten.
Tonight, 18 Senate Republicans conspired to take government away from the people.
Tomorrow we will join the people of Wisconsin in taking back their government.
Update: David Dayen at FireDogLake points out that bill will likely pass the state assembly. After that, there are a couple of ways it could go:
• Legal challenges. There are going to be a number of legal challenges to this bill. It will not be implemented right away. There's the near-term challenge of how the bill got passed tonight. It was done in a way that may have violated open meetings laws, by not allowing 24 hours notice for a public meeting of the conference committee. There are other statutes about collective bargaining that may be brought up in court and fought. And there's the issue of the bill having a fiscal impact. Scott Walker spent three weeks claiming that collective bargaining was a fiscal issue, and then the legislature just passed the bill as "non-fiscal." Courts will have to wade through a lot of this, and it's sure to go up to the state Supreme Court. Which brings us to...
• Supreme Court fight. The matchup between David Prosser (R) and JoAnn Kloppenberg (D) for the state Supreme Court on April 5 just got very interesting. It's a statewide vote, and the balance of power on the state Supreme Court is at stake. Right now there are 4 Republicans and 3 Democrats on the court, but one of those Republicans is Prosser. Expect lots of organizing and millions of dollars poured into this election, which is much like a political election, with debates and everything. If Democrats win, the legality of what took place tonight may be put in greater question.
• General strike. Union leaders are reportedly discussing a general strike, and the mood of the protesters, who stormed the Capitol upon word of the bill, echoes that. You could see some kind of near-term labor walkout, at least in Madison and possibly throughout the state.
• Recalls. This will only energize progressives and labor to get the required signatures for recalls. All 8 Republicans eligible for recall voted to strip public employee unions of their rights, despite clear public opposition. Many of these Republicans, frankly, are going to recall as early as this summer, and if just three of them lose, the balance of power will switch to Democrats in the state Senate. There are also races for three open seats in the state Assembly coming up in May, so even more movement could occur.
Watch: Protesters chant "Shame on you!" right after the vote:
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8) Author Stephen King: Why Aren't the Rich Like Me Paying More Taxes?
by James Parks
March 9, 2011
http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/03/09/author-stephen-king-why-arent-the-rich-like-me-paying-more-taxes/
As 15,500 people rallied in 30 cities across Florida yesterday to protest Gov. Rick Scott's budget, author Stephen King made a surprise appearance at the rally in Sarasota. A resident of Sarasota, King said maybe he should write his next horror novel about Rick Scott. He told the crowd the rich ought to pay more taxes (see video).
You might say, "Hey, what are you doing up there, aren't you rich?" The answer is, "Thank God, yes." And you know what, as a rich person, I pay 28 percent tax. What I want to ask you is why am I not paying 50 [percent]. Why is everybody in my bracket not paying 50?
Working people rallying in the "Awake The State" events said they would not stand for Scott giving tax breaks to the rich and corporations while he sticks it to teachers, public employees and other middle-class citizens.
In Fort Lauderdale, Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) President James Williams joined more than 1,000 protesters who encircled the federal courthouse downtown. They carried signs proclaiming "Support Your City, County and State Workers," "United We Stand" and "Don't Balance the Budget on Our Backs." Passers-by honked their horns in support.
In Tampa, a crowd of 2,000 rallied in a city park and another 1,000 marched in Jacksonville.
Damien Filer, a spokesman for Progress Florida, which hosts the "Awake the State" website, told Sunshine News that the rallies have energized working people across Florida.
We heard from a lot of people who said they had never been to a protest rally before. The more civic engagement, the better for everyone.
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9) Disappointing Economic News Pushes Wall Street Lower
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
March 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/business/11markets.html?hp
Jitters about the oil market and a series of economic data from three continents reminded traders on Thursday of the fragile nature of the global economic recovery.
Shares were down almost 2 percent on Wall Street, following markets in Asia and Europe lower against a backdrop of continued turmoil in Arab oil-producing countries.
Oil prices were down 87 cents, to $103.51, well below their Monday highs. But the markets remained volatile as The Associated Press reported that Saudi forces had opened fire on protestors and violence escalated in Libya, where rebel fighters fled the strategic refinery town of Ras Lanuf under ferocious rocket attacks and airstrikes by forces loyal to the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
Though the Energy Information Administration reported earlier this week that crude inventories in the United States rose 2.52 million barrels, traders seemed concerned about possible disruptions in supply, given the volatile nature of the region.
In addition, traders were assessing the latest trade reports from China and the United States - both countries reported a deficit - as well as a downgrade of Spain's debt rating .
Economic data in the United States included a reported rise in jobless filings last week in the United States, although some analysts said that the average claims over a longer period were more benign.
Some analysts said the market's decline was probably less the result of the economic news and more the concern about oil.
"My guess would be that it is jitters about oil prices," Brian Gendreau, market strategist with Financial Network, said. "The market has had a really good run, and it was due for a little but of a pullback and maybe this is it."
"The market was looking for reasons to go down," Mr. Gendreau said. "For several months now we have been talking about how the market was getting ahead of itself."
Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist of Key Private Bank, said that the market was probably undergoing a correction in which the Spain downgrade acted as the "final nail in the coffin" after the economic data showed the potential for reduced growth.
"It has been a long time that we have corrected back," Mr. McCain said, "and the downgrade of Spanish debt is reminding investors that sovereign debt problems have not been solved."
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 205.82 points, or 1.69 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 22.06, or 1.67 percent. The Nasdaq fell 46.11, or 1.67 percent.
The FTSE in London settled 1.5 percent lower. The DAX in Frankfurt lost 0.96 percent and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.75 percent. Asia markets closed lower.
Bond prices were higher and rates were at 3.42 percent, down from 3.47 percent late Wednesday.
In the United States, the Labor Department said that the applications for jobless benefits rose last week by 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted total of 397,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 392,250.
"The market is getting jittery about economic momentum globally," Alan Gayle, a senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management, said.
"That and the oil price basically made this market very nervous," Mr. Gayle said, "so what we are seeing is a renewed rush to Treasuries and better dollar strength."
The news that AOL would layoff workers did not help, he added. AOL announced that it would layoff about 900 people - about 200 in the United States and about 700 in India.
In Europe, Moody's downgraded Spain's debt rating by one notch to Aa2 from Aa1, with a negative outlook. Moody's cited worries about the cost of the banking sector's restructuring, the government's ability to achieve its goals for reduced borrowing and the country's grim growth prospects.
Mr. Gendreau said the downgrade of Spain should not have surprised traders. Indeed, early this week, Moody's cut its credit rating on Greece's government debt by three notches, taking the securities deeper into junk territory, and said the outlook was negative.
Moody's announcements put pressure on Portugal, which was able to sell $1.39 billion in bonds this week, but at a sharply higher rate. The country's Treasury secretary, Carlos Pina, also warned that the rates were not sustainable in the longer term.
The downgrades come ahead of a crucial meeting Friday of the 17 euro zone nations. Traders are concerned that European leaders will not move to significantly increase in the size and scope of the bailout fund for struggling countries.
Both China and the United States reported trade deficits in the latest data released on Thursday.
The United States trade deficit increased in January as imports of industrial and automobile goods expanded, and American exports to China shrank.
The Commerce Department said the trade gap was $46.3 billion in January, compared with a $40.3 billion gap in December, a figure that was revised down slightly. Economists had forecast a deficit of $41.5 billion.
Imports increased by $10.5 billion in the month to $214.1 billion, reflecting a rise in industrial supplies and materials, automotive parts, vehicles and engines and capital goods.
At the same time, exports expanded in January by $4.4 billion to $167.7 billion, mostly in the industrial and automotive sectors. Service exports also increased.
Trade with China again dominated the report as the $23.3 billion deficit with the Asian country continued to be the largest of any with the United States. The goods deficit with China increased as American exports to China fell by $2 billion to $8.1 billion, and imports rose to $31.4 billion in January.
Steven Blitz, a senior economist for ITG Investment Research, said American exports could have been affected by seasonal factors, as winter weather affected rail and road traffic, making it difficult for goods to reach ports.
"The unusual thing about the January number was that it was not an oil driven increase," he said. "There was no growth in exports, effectively."
But as shipping bottlenecks start to move through, he said, "we should see a nice pick up in exports in February."
China reported a $7.3 billion monthly trade deficit in February, its largest in seven years, after imports climbed sharply but exports lagged.
Analysts said the figures Thursday had most likely been distorted by the effects of Lunar New Year holiday, because many exporters had to ship in January.
Imports in February had risen 19.4 percent from February 2010, but exports rose just 2.4 percent. China had reported a $6.45 billion trade surplus for January.
Still, the strong growth in imports in February is part of a pattern that has been under way for more than a year, and the figures suggest that China's huge trade surplus will moderate again this year.
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10) Egyptians Get View of Extent of Spying
"Like so many other milestones, the sacking of the security headquarters has left Egyptians both exhilarated and apprehensive about where the country is heading. Stern warnings from the interim military council about preserving sensitive information have slowed the release of documents. But just enough of the random trove has been published online or in the newspapers to set Egyptians buzzing, adding to the collective anxiety and the sense that the secret police could still be busy compiling files. 'This is a moment exposing what was hidden, but how this will be used is the problem,' said Ibrahim Issa, a veteran journalist and founder of a new television station called Tahrir. 'What is happening is too much for people to absorb and endure.' Egyptians want an accounting for years of arrest and torture, and a way to prevent any organization from gaining such powers in the future. They were transfixed by pictures of the cramped underground cells and torture implements in the files. ...'They gave the order to start burning their files to prevent prosecution,' said Hani Shakrallah, the editor of Al-Ahram Online, the Web version of a semiofficial daily. 'The crimes are just enormous, and these guys documented everything.'"
By LIAM STACK and NEIL MacFARQUHAR
March 9, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/world/middleeast/10cairo.html?ref=world
CAIRO - The files have started flowing out of Egypt's dreaded state security headquarters, part of the post-uprising rush to excavate some of the state's darkest corners.
There are lists of informants from inside the Muslim Brotherhood and the names of judges who helped rig local elections. Even for young activists who knew they were being monitored, the level of detail has been sobering: one found a picture of herself at a party; another discovered transcripts of text messages exchanged with her husband; a third leafed through a biography of his famous grandfather, a former Brotherhood leader.
"It was overwhelming," said Salma Said, 26, who was part of a mob that stormed the headquarters on Saturday night, seeking to preserve incriminating documents that they were sure the security agents were destroying.
Rifling through shelves neatly stacked with files in an underground archive, Ms. Said came across seven party photos lifted off a friend's camera, which showed her and her husband seated at a table full of beer bottles.
"It was unbelievable to be in this room full of files and see a photograph of me and my husband on a friend's balcony," she said.
For many, storming the bastion of the secret police was cathartic.
After visiting the cell where he had been imprisoned, Hossam el-Hamalawy, an activist, wrote on his Twitter feed that he could not stop crying. Another online video gleefully documented the luxurious suite belonging to Habib el-Adly, the now-imprisoned interior minister, including his-and-her cream and pink bathrobes in his private bedroom.
Like so many other milestones, the sacking of the security headquarters has left Egyptians both exhilarated and apprehensive about where the country is heading. Stern warnings from the interim military council about preserving sensitive information have slowed the release of documents. But just enough of the random trove has been published online or in the newspapers to set Egyptians buzzing, adding to the collective anxiety and the sense that the secret police could still be busy compiling files.
"This is a moment exposing what was hidden, but how this will be used is the problem," said Ibrahim Issa, a veteran journalist and founder of a new television station called Tahrir. "What is happening is too much for people to absorb and endure."
Egyptians want an accounting for years of arrest and torture, and a way to prevent any organization from gaining such powers in the future. They were transfixed by pictures of the cramped underground cells and torture implements in the files.
There are believed to be around 100,000 state security officers, but the files that have emerged so far do not name many individuals. One identifies local judges who helped rig the 2005 parliamentary election; another names a local treasurer for the Muslim Brotherhood who provided information; a third listed 38 people who spied for the police, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Coptic Church.
Naming names prompted debate. "This document puts the lives of many people in danger," Abdurrahman Khalid wrote on a Facebook page publishing the documents. "But should we protect the spies?"
It is not clear who will be held to account; few believe that an interim military government will have appetite for a truth-and-reconciliation commission. Egyptians have pressed to try the head of the security service and dismantle the organization.
"State security in its current form, with all its officers, has to be dissolved immediately," wrote Mohammed Esmat, a columnist for the newspaper Shorouk, "and a new security structure built that knows how to protect the security of citizens and recognizes the value of human rights. It cannot be transformed into a tool of oppression as happened in Mubarak's era."
Charred pages blowing around the grounds of state security buildings underscored fears that much information was already being lost. On Saturday night, the sight of a dump truck emerging from the Cairo compound laden with shredded paper sent protesters into a fury, creating the momentum that drove the crowd past the army soldiers outside and into the hastily abandoned main building.
"They gave the order to start burning their files to prevent prosecution," said Hani Shakrallah, the editor of Al-Ahram Online, the Web version of a semiofficial daily. "The crimes are just enormous, and these guys documented everything."
The documents are impossible to verify, and some may well be forgeries, including those that implicate state security in fomenting violent attacks inside Egypt.
To underscore how easy it is to create false files, someone photo-shopped the state security logo onto a document and then burned it along the edges before slapping it up online. The file started out avowing how the former president, Hosni Mubarak, was still running Egypt from his seaside villa in Sharm el Sheik and then mentioned the discovery that he was actually Mina, the ancient pharaoh who unified upper and lower Egypt.
The military has urged citizens to turn in all the raided documents, and not to post them.
There was nothing in the posted documents about the fight against Al Qaeda or accusations that the Egyptian security service tortured terrorism suspects in the rendition program run by the United States. Nor was there mention of Mr. Mubarak or his son Gamal, a senior figure in the ruling party, nor, aside from the detail about judges, any hint of how the government rigged elections.
Given that the documents mostly detailed salacious personal and financial details about the lives of senior political and media figures, suspicion was fueled that state security destroyed incriminating documents and left other files meant to embarrass the subjects.
The files suggested that state security worked frenetically through the recent uprising centered in Tahrir Square, monitoring the e-mail of the main organizers and all those coordinating the delivery of food, medical supplies and legal aid to the protesters. One recent document discussed personal affairs between the young members of the committee that organized the Tahrir Square protests. Others suggested that state security officers had influenced important television talk-show hosts in their choice of guests.
The breadth of the documents underscored the omnipresence of the security service and its obsession with surveillance. There was a recording that purported to be of a sexual encounter between a princess and a businessman in a storied Alexandria hotel; another hinted at family problems of the grand mufti, the highest Muslim religious authority in Egypt.
Ibrahim Houdeiby, a political activist, found files that dissected the biography and personality of his grandfather, who led the Muslim Brotherhood from 2002 to 2004.
Those were hardly surprising, but Mr. Houdeiby said he was disturbed to leaf through records detailing the arrest of young men suspected of "extremist beliefs." One man, a Mauritanian student, died in custody on March 2.
"The documents said it was a normal death," Mr. Houdeiby said. "It didn't mention any torture, but we don't believe anything they say."
A file for Isra'a Abdel Fattah, once dubbed Facebook Girl for her online activism, contained 10 pages of documents detailing three years of wiretaps and hacked e-mail, including some focused on her divorce.
The secret police printed out all the e-mail regarding her work for the political campaign of Mohamed ElBaradei, the opposition politician who was previously head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. They had a list of every company to which Ms. Abdel Fattah had sent a résumé when applying for a job. One note in the margin, documenting her participation in an American democracy seminar via Skype, suggested that state security cut off her Internet access.
There were also transcripts of text messages, including one from Ms. Abdel Fattah's husband at the time when he told her not to give any more news media interviews.
Discovering even part of her file infuriated Ms. Abdel Fattah, but also filled her with a new sense of power
"I feel like my private life is wide open and everyone can see it," she said, "but I also feel happy because we destroyed this building so that they cannot spy on us again."
Amr Emam contributed reporting.
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11) Dozens of Cases to Be Dropped in San Francisco Police Scandal
By JESSE McKINLEY
March 9, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/us/10narcs.html?ref=us
SAN FRANCISCO - With a group of undercover police officers under suspicion of perjury and conducting illegal searches, the San Francisco district attorney said Wednesday that his office would drop dozens of drug and robbery cases and continue to investigate scores more for possible dismissal.
District Attorney George Gascón, himself a former chief of police, said that 57 cases would be dropped initially and that his office was "getting deeply into this process" of examining others, perhaps dating several years back.
The investigation has been prompted by a series of surveillance videotapes - released by Jeff Adachi, the city's public defender, and private defense lawyers - showing officers suspected of falsifying reports, illegally entering residences and, in one instance, making a purposefully flawed arrest for drug possession.
"This is not a game," Mr. Gascón said. "This is real, this involves people's lives, not only for those who have been incarcerated, but for victims."
Mr. Gascón made his announcement even as federal agents continued to investigate the actions of a group of officers based in the city's Southern Station, a downtown precinct that includes pockets of residential hotels.
It was in two of these hotels, notorious for drug use and sales, where officers were videotaped using questionable methods. In one case involving a heroin arrest in January, an officer covers the lens of a surveillance camera while three other officers approach a room and order the resident to open the door before pushing their way in, allegedly without a warrant, according to the public defender's office. A police report stated that the woman had voluntarily let the officers into her home.
All told, seven plainclothes officers and their supervisor are under suspicion, and Chief Jeff Godown said Wednesday that he would "audit every operation in the city" and had ordered the city's undercover officers to be retrained on issues of search and seizure. "It doesn't make a difference to me if there's a hundred or a thousand, they're all going to get retrained," he said.
Mr. Adachi, the public defender, has been outspoken in his criticism of the police and requested a wide review - dating back as far as seven years - of cases involving the officers, as well as any drug arrests made at the two hotels.
Mr. Adachi said thousands of cases could possibly be in jeopardy. "These officers made two, three arrests a day," he said. Of the 57 cases dropped, most involved narcotics, according to the district attorney's office. In one case, a 52-year-old man charged with multiple counts involving heroin and cocaine faced a possible sentence of 35 years.
The scandal comes just a year after hundreds of drug cases were dismissed by prosecutors when it was discovered that a technician in the police crime laboratory was stealing cocaine.
Mr. Gascón left the Police Department in January to take over the district attorney's office, but acknowledged Wednesday that much of the suspected misbehavior had occurred on his watch. He said that while "the majority of the people in the San Francisco Police Department are moral, ethical people," everyone - including the police - had flaws. "The reality," he said, "is that the Police Department recruits from the human race."
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12) Illinois Governor Signs Capital Punishment Ban
By JOHN SCHWARTZ and EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS
March 9, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/us/10illinois.html?ref=us
Illinois became the 16th state to ban capital punishment as Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday signed an abolition bill that the state legislature passed in January.
"Since our experience has shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment, I have concluded that the proper course of action is to abolish it," Mr. Quinn said in a statement.
At a news conference at the Capitol in Springfield, Mr. Quinn said that signing the bill was the most difficult decision he had made as governor. "I have concluded, after looking at all the information that I have received, that it is impossible to create a perfect system - one that is free of all mistakes," he said.
Mr. Quinn, a Democrat who became governor in 2009 and was elected to a full term in November, said during the 2010 campaign that he supported the death penalty when applied "carefully and fairly," but added, "I am deeply concerned by the possibility of an innocent person being executed." He had kept the question of whether he would sign the bill unanswered since it passed on Jan. 11.
Those on death row will have their sentences commuted to life without the possibility of parole. The law also dedicates funds to law enforcement and services for victims' families.
The heated debate over the bill had focused on more than a dozen death row prisoners who were found to have been wrongfully convicted - including one man who came within 50 hours of execution. Lawmakers also debated the costs of imposing the death penalty.
As Mr. Quinn approached his announcement, he was lobbied by death penalty supporters, including family members of some victims, and by opponents, including the South African anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu, the death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean and the actor Martin Sheen.
The state's death penalty machinery had been halted since 2000, when the governor at the time, George Ryan, called the system "broken" and declared a moratorium on executions. Before leaving office in 2003, Mr. Ryan, a Republican, commuted the sentences of 167 death row prisoners to life and pardoned four inmates.
Fifteen prisoners have been placed on the state's death row since then. The state has formed commissions to study the death penalty and has made some changes, but those favoring abolition argued that the system could not be tweaked into fairness.
"Illinois' experience of trying to fix the death penalty, and finding it can't be done, sends a real message to other states that are also grappling with the same problems," said Shari Silberstein, executive director of Equal Justice USA, a group that opposes capital punishment. "It's a real turning point in the conversation about the death penalty in the United States."
But Kent S. Scheidegger, legal director for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a group that supports the death penalty, called the governor's action "a double-cross of the voters of Illinois." "If he had honestly told the voters he would sign a repeal bill" during the campaign, Mr. Scheidegger said, "he would not be governor now."
Some Democrats in the state had disagreed with a ban, including Lisa Madigan, the state's attorney general, who argued that the death penalty should be available as a punishment for the worst crimes. Anita Alvarez, the Cook County state's attorney and a Democrat, said she was disappointed by the governor's decision, and called it "a tremendously disappointing day for murder victims and their families."
Dozens of family members of victims had signed a letter to the legislature supporting the bill, arguing that capital trials and appeals "drag victims' loved ones through an agonizing and lengthy process, which often does not result in the intended punishment."
The current and future mayors of Chicago took different sides, with Mayor Richard M. Daley supporting capital punishment, and Rahm Emanuel, who will became mayor this spring, saying the ban was the right thing to do.
Illinois joins a wave of states that have reconsidered capital punishment. New Jersey abolished the practice in 2007. The New Mexico Legislature ended the death penalty in 2009. New Mexico's newly elected governor, Susana Martinez, a Republican, has asked the Legislature to reinstate it, though bills to do so have stalled. The Connecticut legislature voted to abolish the penalty last year, but the governor at the time, M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, vetoed the measure.
Ronald J. Tabak, a lawyer in New York who has argued death penalty cases, said that legislators were coming to understand that they could vote to abolish the death penalty without losing their next election, so long as they avoided moralistic arguments and focused instead on factors like accuracy, fairness and cost.
"At least outside of the South, it is not the political death sentence, as often perceived by politicians, to be willing to vote for or be willing to sign into law an abolition bill," Mr. Tabak said.
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13) Women Lead in Unpaid Work
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
March 10, 2011, 2:29 pm
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/women-lead-in-unpaid-work/?src=busln
Not only do women earn less for similar work, they also do more work for no pay at all.
Here's a look at how much more unpaid work women do than men, around the developed world:
The chart is from an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development working paper titled "Cooking, Caring and Volunteering: Unpaid Work Around the World." As you can see, in every country for which the organization had data, women spent much more time than men on unpaid work like child care and household chores like cooking and cleaning. Across the O.E.C.D., the average gap between time spent by women and by men on unpaid work is about two and a half hours.
On child care in particular, mothers spend more than twice as much time per day as fathers do: 1 hour 40 minutes for mothers, on average, compared to 42 minutes for fathers.
The numbers vary, of course, depending on whether each parent also has a paid job, but perhaps not by as much as you'd think, especially for the men. On average, working fathers spend only 10 minutes more per day on child care when they are not working, whereas working mothers spend nearly twice as much time (144 minutes vs. 74) when not working.
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14) Indefensible Detention
NYT Editorial
March 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/opinion/11fri1.html?hp
Should a former attorney general be held personally liable for brazenly misusing the material witness statute when he was in office to hold an American man in brutal conditions on the pretext that he was a witness in a case in which he was never called to testify?
At last week's Supreme Court argument in Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, which turns on that question, the justices' silence suggested they are reluctant to do that - and, in addition, would prefer to avert their eyes from the misuse of the statute.
Before letting John Ashcroft, a former attorney general, off the hook and giving the Justice Department a pass to continue misusing that law, the justices should read an amicus brief in support of Abdullah al-Kidd by 31 former federal prosecutors, including former United States attorneys in New York, Illinois and California.
The brief makes clear that the argument presented to the court by the acting solicitor general, contending that Mr. Ashcroft is immune from prosecution and all but ignoring the disgraceful conduct from which he seeks immunity, is hardly Justice Department gospel.
The former prosecutors' brief underscores why the justices should uphold the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that Mr. Ashcroft forfeited immunity when he devised the strategy that led to the statute's misuse.
It emphasizes why they should rule that the material witness statute, letting the government keep a witness from fleeing before testifying about an alleged crime by somebody else, can never be used as a pretext to hold someone for investigation or building a case against him.
Because Mr. Ashcroft chose to appeal before a full record could be developed in this case, the justices must accept as true the facts that Mr. Kidd's complaint alleges and draw reasonable inferences about them in his favor.
The facts are that, without a claim he had broken any law and as one of four seized as part of the F.B.I.'s wider "Idaho probe," Mr. Kidd was arrested, strip-searched, shackled and jailed for 15 days - handled like a suspect, not a witness. Against him and others, the Justice Department used the statute, Mr. Kidd's lawyers inferred and others must as well, "to detain and investigate suspects for whom the government lacked probable cause of wrongdoing, and not to secure testimony."
The government contends that Mr. Ashcroft didn't have to intend to use Mr. Kidd as a witness to detain him because the then-attorney general's motivation was irrelevant. But to the former prosecutors, it is "settled understanding" that the statute has "no other legitimate purpose" except to hold a witness for testimony.
It can't be used to detain someone because it simply doesn't grant that power. The Non-Detention Act says clearly: "No citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress." After Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Ashcroft asked Congress for that authority. Congress said no - and the Justice Department's misuse of the material witness statute was a ruse to get around that rebuff.
Despite the "settled understanding" to the contrary, the department got away with that ruse until this case. The Supreme Court should say it has no power to do so.
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15) Wisconsin Governor Rescinds Layoff Notices
"'From a policy perspective, this is terrible,' said Mike Tate, the leader of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. 'But from a political perspective, he could not have handed us a bigger gift,' Mr. Tate said of the governor. In the last 24 hours, he added, the state party had received $360,000 in contributions and volunteers have streamed into offices where signatures were being collected for recall bids." [And so the shell game between the Democrats and Republicans continues...bw]
By MONICA DAVEY and A. G. SULZBERGER
March 11, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/us/12wisconsin.html?hp
MADISON, Wis. - Gov. Scott Walker announced on Friday that he was rescinding layoff notices for 1,500 state workers after Wisconsin lawmakers approved his plan to cut collective bargaining rights and benefits for public employees. The approval, after nearly a month of angry demonstrations and procedural maneuvering, will create enough budget savings, Mr. Walker said, that layoffs will not be needed now.
"While tough budget choices certainly still lie ahead, both state and local units of government will not have to do any mass layoffs or direct service reductions because of the reforms contained in the budget repair bill," Mr. Walker said in a statement Friday morning. "Moving forward, the hardworking, professional public sector employees who show up to work every day and do an excellent job will help ensure Wisconsin has a business climate that allows the private sector to create 250,000 new jobs."
The threat of layoffs had been just one in a series of chapters in the battle Mr. Walker had waged, and, on Thursday, won.
But his victory, after the State Assembly passed the bill, also carries risks for the state's Republicans who swept into power in November.
Democratic-leaning voters appeared energized by the battle over collective bargaining on a national stage. The fight has already spurred a list of potential recall elections for state lawmakers this spring. Protesters are planning more large demonstrations this weekend.
"From a policy perspective, this is terrible," said Mike Tate, the leader of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
"But from a political perspective, he could not have handed us a bigger gift," Mr. Tate said of the governor.
In the last 24 hours, he added, the state party had received $360,000 in contributions and volunteers have streamed into offices where signatures were being collected for recall bids.
The Republican-dominated Assembly voted mainly along party lines, 53 to 42 in favor of the bill, during a tense and bitter proceeding punctuated by shouts of "No!" from angry lawmakers, cries of "Shame, shame!" from protesters in the gallery, and chants from thousands outside the locked-down chamber.
The vote had been delayed after law enforcement completely closed the Capitol for a time, when protesters filled a section near the Assembly hall and refused to leave. Some demonstrators were carried out.
Some lawmakers were locked out, and the police ignored their pleas to let them in so they could vote. They resorted to climbing in through first-floor windows.
The tenor of the debate took an angrier edge this week because of the legislative brinkmanship that helped get the bill passed.
Republicans complained that Senate Democrats had brought state business to a halt for nearly three weeks by fleeing the state and preventing a quorum.
The Democrats fumed that the Republicans had ended the episode in less than a day, with the Democrats still out of town, by forcing a rewritten bill that needed no quorum through the Senate on Wednesday night and the Assembly on Thursday. Though the outcome of the vote was all but certain, each side made its case one more time in the final hours of debate.
On the floor of the Assembly, Jeff Fitzgerald, the Republican speaker, said the state's finances were on a "crash course" if collective bargaining remained the status quo. "We ran on this," Mr. Fitzgerald said. "We were going to get the fiscal place in order. This is the first piece of the puzzle. We're broke."
Democrats, who noted that public-sector union leaders had already agreed to pay more for their pensions and health care costs, argued that slashing collective bargaining rights was no budget-saving measure, but a way to break unions in a state with deep labor roots.
Peter Barca, the Democrats' Assembly leader, railed against the Republicans' tactics. "Our democracy is out of control in Wisconsin," Mr. Barca said. "And you all know it - you can feel it."
Political analysts said they would watch for the fallout of the Wisconsin vote, and whether it would affect similar battles now playing out over collective bargaining issues in statehouses elsewhere, including Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Indiana.
Republicans here, including Governor Walker, contend that Wisconsin residents were seeking change in the election last fall - when the state made one of the starkest flips in the nation from blue to red - and that this was just the sort of bold move they would ultimately embrace.
Mark Jefferson, the executive director of the state Republican Party, said he felt Democrats had been particularly loud in their protests to send a warning shot to the other states considering such measures.
But Democrats say the collective bargaining fight may lead to a political shakeup in the Capitol, where more than a dozen senators, Republicans and Democrats, are now the subjects of heated recall efforts. That in turn could shift political equations, since Wisconsin has long been a presidential battleground, for the 2012 election.
"The voters absolutely sent a message that they wanted fiscal conservatism," said Michael B. Wittenwyler, a lawyer who once served as a campaign strategist for Democrats like Russ Feingold, the senator who lost his seat last fall. "Now they learned what that really means and I think they're saying, 'Hmmm, maybe that's not what we really want.' "
Others, though, wondered whether the protests might fade.
"If things go back to normal and Wisconsin continues to improve economically, balances its budgets, bring jobs, there probably won't be a lot of pain for Republicans down the road," said Bill McCoshen, a lobbyist who used to be a campaign manager for Republicans like Tommy Thompson, the former governor, and is a supporter of Governor Walker. "I think things will get back to normal for the average Wisconsin citizen, but it's going to take some time, though, before government employees get over this," he added.
For the moment, the wounds remained raw and personal in a Capitol where politics have long been more polite than intensely partisan.
A number of legislators told law enforcement authorities that they had received death threats, an Assembly spokesman said. And Democrats in the Assembly tried, briefly, to have Mr. Fitzgerald removed as speaker for what they said was his "incredibly impaired" judgment.
Democrats said they planned to seek legal recourse for what they viewed as violations of the state's open meetings rules. Republicans had announced a meeting to present their rewritten bill (the one that would not require a quorum) less than two hours before the meeting took place on Wednesday evening.
Democrats said 24 hours was required, except in cases of emergencies. But Republicans said that amount of time was not needed during special legislative sessions and that they needed to provide only enough time to, say, post a scheduled meeting on a legislative bulletin board.
At least some of the Senate Democrats - who have been gone from Wisconsin since Feb. 17 and have become known to some here, admiringly, as the "Wisconsin 14" - refused to even return to the state on Thursday.
Senators like Fred Risser, who was first elected to the Legislature in 1956, said he was concerned that the Republicans might have some other legislative trick in mind if the Democrats came back to the Capitol right away. "Why would I trust them now?" Mr. Risser asked.
Outside the Capitol Building itself, though, many teachers, state workers and others were taking stock of what the entire episode would now mean for their lives.
The bill, which Mr. Walker said he would sign soon, significantly alters most public-sector union rules, limiting bargaining to matters of wages and limiting raises to changes in the Consumer Price Index unless the public approves higher raises in a referendum.
It ends the state's collection of union dues from paychecks, and requires most unions to hold votes annually to determine whether most workers still wish to be members. Firefighters and law enforcement personnel will be exempt from those changes.
As the sun set, a crowd again gathered for yet another rally.
Peggy Coyne, a middle school teacher, predicted more big crowds, more rallies, more protest. "We'll keep our presence known here," she said. "I think they felt there would be a little fuss and we'd go away. But this continues to get bigger and bigger."
Emma G. Fitzsimmons contributed reporting from Chicago, and Steven Greenhouse and Timothy Williams from New York.
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16) Pentagon Places Its Bet On a General in Egypt
"At the Pentagon, General Enan is known as self-effacing, deferential, humorous and conservative. He also is said to have a fondness for American consumer goods. During his trips to Washington, officials always scheduled a day of shopping for him and his wife, as they did for other Egyptian officers, at the Tysons Corner mall in suburban Virginia, where the Egyptians liked to buy electronics, jeans and other clothing. The couple has three children. The trips, yearly exchanges between the Egyptian and American armed forces, alternated between Washington and Cairo and were meant as centerpieces of a close 30-year relationship between the countries' militaries. The visits focused largely on the annual $1.3 billion in military aid that the United States gives Egypt and what type of American-made arms and equipment - typically F-16 fighter jets and M1A1 Abrams tanks - that the Egyptians wanted to buy with the money. (Since the 1978 Camp David accords, the United States has given Egypt $35 billion in military aid, making it the largest recipient of conventional American military and economic aid after Israel.)"
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
March 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world/middleeast/11enan.html?ref=world
WASHINGTON - The chief of staff of the Egyptian armed forces, Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Enan, had just finished breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City with two old American friends - one a former head of Central Command, the other a top defense official - when he got a call that the Egyptian Army was going into the streets of Cairo to manage the revolution.
Within hours on that late January day, General Enan was on a plane home - after telling Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that he would have to skip their dinner the following week.
Today General Enan, a favorite of the American military, is the second in command among the group of generals moving toward some form of democracy in Egypt. In meetings of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, he sits to the right of its leader, the 75-year-old defense minister, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and is considered his potential successor. In the meantime, American officials say, General Enan, 63, has become a crucial link for the United States as it navigates the rocky course ahead with Cairo.
If he is not yet the Pentagon's man in Egypt, many hope he will be.
"He's a sharp guy," said Adm. William J. Fallon, the retired head of the United States Central Command, who oversaw American military operations in the Middle East, including Egypt. "He's thoughtful, astute and competent professionally. And I believe he will try to do the right thing." Admiral Fallon, along with Mary Beth Long, a former high-ranking Pentagon official, was among those at the January breakfast.
The central question about General Enan and the military rulers of Egypt is whether they will, in fact, "do the right thing" and move as they have promised toward the democratic election of a new president, scheduled for August.
General Enan and the military government have been in power since a youth movement toppled President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, but their reforms have so far been mostly cosmetic. Protesters continue to demand change even as the military on Friday appointed a new prime minister acceptable to the demonstrators.
Pentagon officials remain in daily contact with the new military rulers, who are described as overwhelmed and alarmed that no potential candidate for president, including Amr Moussa, the departing secretary general of the Arab League, has the ability, at least in their view, to unite the country.
Some experts on the Egyptian military have suggested that General Enan could be a candidate, a proposal swiftly dismissed by Pentagon officials and the Egyptian military. "The Supreme Council will not field a candidate from one of their own," an Egyptian military official said in a rare interview on Friday in Washington. The official requested anonymity under ground rules imposed by the Egyptian government.
No one disputes, though, that General Enan will play a central role in Egypt's future government, more likely from behind the scenes, where the country's powerful and traditionally secretive armed forces are still most comfortable. There, out of sight of most Egyptians, they run national security policy and operate lucrative businesses as part of a parallel "Military Inc." economy that produces electronics, household appliances, clothing and food.
In contrast to Field Marshal Tantawi, a government loyalist whom junior military officers referred to as "Mubarak's poodle" - and who is seen by the United States as mired in Military Inc. and resistant to economic reform - General Enan is considered more of a traditional military man focused on Army operations and modernization. Like other Egyptian officers of his generation, he has studied in Russia, and has taken courses in France. He drinks occasionally, according to two Egyptians close to the military, and speaks some English and a little French.
He was born in Mansoura in the Nile Delta in northern Egypt and came up through the military's Air Defense branch, where he commanded battalions responsible for launching Egypt's missiles. Unlike a younger generation of Egyptian officers, he has not studied or trained in the United States, the Egyptian military official said.
At the Pentagon, General Enan is known as self-effacing, deferential, humorous and conservative. He also is said to have a fondness for American consumer goods.
During his trips to Washington, officials always scheduled a day of shopping for him and his wife, as they did for other Egyptian officers, at the Tysons Corner mall in suburban Virginia, where the Egyptians liked to buy electronics, jeans and other clothing. The couple has three children.
The trips, yearly exchanges between the Egyptian and American armed forces, alternated between Washington and Cairo and were meant as centerpieces of a close 30-year relationship between the countries' militaries.
The visits focused largely on the annual $1.3 billion in military aid that the United States gives Egypt and what type of American-made arms and equipment - typically F-16 fighter jets and M1A1 Abrams tanks - that the Egyptians wanted to buy with the money. (Since the 1978 Camp David accords, the United States has given Egypt $35 billion in military aid, making it the largest recipient of conventional American military and economic aid after Israel.)
General Enan led the delegations of some two dozen senior Egyptian military officers to Washington in odd-numbered years, and was here for the 2011 meetings when his trip was cut short by the crisis at home. United States military officers who were part of previous meetings describe them as a steady diet of formal lunches and dinners at Washington's best restaurants, with the Egyptians put up by the United States military at the Ritz-Carlton, near the Pentagon.
Despite the meetings' pleasant surroundings, tension often lurked below the surface because of what United States officers described as the Egyptians' unrealistic shopping list of the most technologically advanced American weapons, which the Pentagon intended to keep for itself.
"What I always tried to get them to do," said James Beatty, a retired Navy commander and the former Navy Sea Forces chief in Cairo, "was tell me in the year 2020 what you want your military to look like, so we have a gradual, phased buy of using your money in an intelligent way instead of coming up every year with a new list." In the end, he said, "they always felt like, 'You're having these meetings, you're telling us how important we are, but you're not giving us the stuff we want.' "
On those same trips, General Enan was flown for visits to the Central Command headquarters in Tampa or to a Coast Guard base in Miami, or taken to meet with an emergency response team in Fairfax, Va.
These days, he remains in close contact with Pentagon officials by phone, including Admiral Mullen; the two spoke most recently on Thursday. A United States military official would not provide specifics about the call other than to say that General Enan and the military rulers had "no illusions about the difficult job they face."
On Friday, the Egyptian military official cautioned that much confusion remained in Cairo and that no assumptions should be made in Washington about General Enan. The official said that the previous armed forces chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Hamdy Wheba, did not become defense minister but was appointed head of the Arab Organization for Industrialization, the military's main commercial industry.
After the elections, the military official promised, "we will go back to our bases and do our normal jobs."
Neil MacFarquhar contributed reporting from Cairo.
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17) Student Douses Classmate With Acid in Chemistry Class
"Ms. Eshimbaeva said she once counted Ms. Smsarian, a fellow Junior R.O.T.C. participant, among her friends and had attended her Sweet 16 gathering. But about a month ago, Ms. Smsarian accused her of stealing her boyfriend. Ms. Eshimbaeva denied doing so." [I reprint this article because this was a spat between two JROTC students and, this happens to be the High School I attended...bw]
By KAREN ZRAICK and NOAH ROSENBERG
March 10, 2011, 4:49 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/nyregion/index.html
Updated 6:57 p.m. | A Brooklyn high school student attacked a classmate with hydrochloric acid Wednesday morning during a chemistry lesson, telling the authorities that she was trying to burn the classmate's eyes out, officials said.
Zhanna Smsarian, 16, was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Thursday on charges that include first-degree attempted assault. Prosecutors said that she poured acid on Albina Eshimbaeva's head during a class at Fort Hamilton High School in Bay Ridge. Ms. Eshimbaeva, 15, was taken to Staten Island University Hospital, where she was treated and released from the burn unit.
Ms. Eshimbaeva returned to school on Thursday, and as she left an after-school Junior R.O.T.C. program, her face bore no signs of the attack. She said that doctors told her there would be no long-lasting effects.
Ms. Eshimbaeva said she was sitting in front of Ms. Smsarian at about 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday when she felt a liquid falling onto her head. When she turned around, she saw a bottle of hydrochloric acid in Ms. Smsarian's hand, she said. Her face and eyes began to burn and sting.
"Thank God my hair protected me from getting hurt even more," Ms. Eshimbaeva said. "It was burning, it was red. I felt very hot."
The classroom teacher, Janet Kennedy, had been leading a laboratory experiment that involved the acid, which was diluted to 10 percent strength. The students had been wearing goggles, but the experiment was over and class was ending when the attack occurred, she said.
Ms. Kennedy rinsed Ms. Eshimbaeva's eyes while Ms. Smsarian grabbed her bookbag and sprinted down the hall. Adding to the confusion, the fire alarm went off for a drill at the same time.
Once the police arrived, Ms. Smsarian admitted she had poured the acid onto Ms. Eshimbaeva "and was trying to burn Eshimbaeva's eyes out," according to the criminal complaint.
Ms. Eshimbaeva said she once counted Ms. Smsarian, a fellow Junior R.O.T.C. participant, among her friends and had attended her Sweet 16 gathering. But about a month ago, Ms. Smsarian accused her of stealing her boyfriend. Ms. Eshimbaeva denied doing so.
"The whole school was worried," Ms. Eshimbaeva said. "They're relieved by the fact that I'm okay."
Had the acid not been diluted, the victim could have been blinded, said Sandy Silverstein, a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney.
Marge Feinberg, a spokeswoman from the Department of Education, said the school had taken disciplinary action. But she said she could not disclose whether Ms. Smsarian had been suspended or expelled, citing departmental policy.
Igor Vaysberg, a lawyer for Ms. Smsarian, said in court that she was an honor-roll student and had never been in trouble. He declined to comment further. The police said Ms. Smsarian had no record of prior arrests. She was released on $7,500 bail following her arraignment.
Ms. Smsarian was charged as an adult and could face up to 15 years if convicted of the most serious charge against her, Mr. Silverstein said.
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18) Israel seeks $20 billion in US military aid
Defense Minister sees no immediate threat in Egypt but fears repercussions of Mideast unrest. In Wall Street Journal interview, he says military upgrade can turn Israel into regional stabilizer
Ynet
March 8, 2011
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4039147,00.html
Defense Minister Barak said Israel might request an additional $20 billion in military assistance from the United States in order to prepare for possible threats, given the recent unrest in the Middle East.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Tuesday, Barak said that Israel should not fear regional changes or the risk of offering valiant concessions to the Palestinians.
"It's a historic earthquake...a movement in the right direction, quite inspired," Barak said, referring to revolts in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and the Gulf. "It's a movement of the Arab societies toward modernity."
He nevertheless stressed that the Egyptian public might influence the new leadership in such a way which could cause it to distance itself from the peace treaty with Israel.
"The issue of qualitative military aid for Israel becomes more essential for us, and I believe also more essential for you," Barak stressed. "It might be wise to invest another $20 billion to upgrade the security of Israel for the next generation or so....A strong, responsible Israel can become a stabilizer in such a turbulent region."
Current US military aid to Israel stands at more than $3 billion a year. Israel will have to increase its defense expenses in the long run despite there being no immediate threat, Barak said.
He believes it is too early to tell whether Iran is taking advantage of regional unrest to expand its influence. Barak also noted that prior to the wave of Arab protests "You could see Arab leaders starting to hedge their bets on who is the strongest leader here, Iran or the United States."
A 'daring' peace offer?
The defense minister did not question Egypt's commitment to the peace treaty "for the time being" and noted he had already spoken to his Egyptian counterpart, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi - the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces.
In the interview Barak said that according to a senior Egyptian official, whose name he did not mention, Israel should expect "the cold shoulder" from Cairo if it fails to advance the Palestinian peace process.
"He told me: 'We're going to have a really open election....Civic parties will hire advisers from the US and Europe and find immediately that what can bring them voters is hostility to America and Israel."
At a time when the US government continues to pressure Israel and the Palestinians to renew their talks, Barak knows one cannot request military aid without making a "daring" peace offer. The defense minister said that current discussions among Israeli officials revolve around this issue, adding that Netanyahu is expected to present his initiative soon.
The proposal will most likely include, according to Barak, a Palestinian state with provisional borders - prior to talks on other core issues.
The Palestinians have already announced they will reject such an offer, but Barak believes Israel and the US must promise Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that a full-fledged agreement is on the agenda.
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19) SOA Watch News & Updates
Leaked U.S. Embassy Cables Document Efforts to Counter SOA Watch
WikiLeaks, the whistle-blower website that has published thousands of classified diplomatic cables, has posted two cables from the U.S. embassy in Costa Rica, that offer insight into the U.S. pressure tactics to keep the SOA/ WHINSEC in business.
http://www.soaw.org/
Read the cables here:
Cable 1: http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/11/07SANJOSE1999.html
Cable 2:http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/12/07SANJOSE2073.html
A message from Lisa Sullivan:
When we join together as small grassroots groups from around the Americas to resist militarization and promote a culture of peace we are, quite simply, very powerful. So much so, that the world's largest military giant not only takes notice, but sometimes has to scramble to keep up as we take the lead.
Just days ago, Wikileaks revealed cables from the US embassy in Costa Rica that unveil an all-out six-month campaign by the embassy, in conjunction with the Pentagon's Southcom and SOA/WHINSEC to subvert one of SOA Watch's major strategies: the appeal to governments to withdraw their troops and police from SOA/WHINSEC.
Specifically, the target was the government of Costa Rica and their decision to withdraw from the SOA in 2007. Coming on the heels of similar announcements by the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Venezuela, this announcement by President Oscar Arias, a Nobel Peace Laureate, was too much for the Pentagon to ignore.
Arias's announcement was the result of a meeting with Fr. Roy Bourgeois and myself, along with members of the Costa Rican Quaker Peace Center who had arranged the meeting. The cable describes our meeting as "the Problem." Arias' decision stunned officials, as the cable indicates.
These three entities worked together for six months, together with Costa Rica's Security Minister Fernando Berrocal, who they lobbied with ample resources, to find what they called "the Solution." U.S. ambassador Langdale was tasked with informing Arias that his decision would result in a loss of $1.2 million in cooperation agreements. Not wanting his image as international peacemaker to be tarnished, Arias finally bowed to six months of pressure from the U.S. and agreed to allow Costa Rican police to return to SOA/WHINSEC, but under the condition that Berrocal take responsibility for the decision and that no public announcements by Arias be made. The cable made it clear that they feared a major SOA Watch-led pressure campaign against Arias if the overturn of his decision were made public.
I will always remember how he Arias' eyes watered when I spontaneously jumped up to hug him - breaking protocol - upon hearing his consent to our proposal to withdraw from the SOA. I thanked him "in the name of the tens of thousands who had lost their lives because of this school." It was clear that this was a decision that touched the fibers of his commitment to peace. It is shameful that the U.S. government enlisted so many people and funds to appeal to his lesser interests to change his mind.
However, our minds will not be changed nor our direction detoured. We are clear that the real problem continues to be militarization and the real solution is to work together for justice and peace. In just a few weeks Father Roy and I will continue our journey to meet with our Latin American partners to find ways to work together to close this School of Assassins and resist other forms of US militarization. We will be visiting Honduras from April 30 to May 9, to bring the solidarity of the SOA Watch movement to the Honduran Resistance that is struggling to return dignity to a country ravaged by an SOA-led coup. We invite you to consider joining us.
And, if Honduras is too far to travel , please consider joining Father Roy and I in Washington, DC from April 4-11, 2011 for the Days of Action to take our demands to the White House, the halls of Congress, and other places where military and foreign policy decisions are made. The mobilization will include a 7-day-fast, an Anti-Militarization conference, a march to the White House, nonviolent direct action, a concert, lobbying and more. Visit www.SOAW.org for more information.
Somos Una America! Working together as one America to resist militarization and promote a culture of peace, we are powerful and we will be heard.
Abrazos! Lisa Sullivan
SOA Watch
See you in DC in April!
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20) The Arab Revolutions:
Guiding Principles for Peace and Justice Organizations in the US
Please email endorsement to ekishawi@yahoo.com
We, the undersigned, support the guiding principles and demands listed in this statement. We call on groups who want to express solidarity with the Arab revolutions to join our growing movement by signing this statement or keeping with the demands put forward herewith.
Background
The long-awaited Arab revolution has come. Like a geologic event with the reverberations of an earthquake, the timing and circumstances were unpredictable. In one Arab country after another, people are taking to the street demanding the fall of monarchies established during European colonial times. They are also calling to bring down dictatorships supported and manifested by neo-colonial policies. Although some of these autocratic regimes rose to power with popular support, the subsequent division and subjugation of the Arab World led to a uniform repressive political order across the region. The Arab masses in different Arab countries are therefore raising a uniform demand: "The People Want to Topple the Regimes!"
For the past two decades, the Arab people witnessed the invasion and occupation of Iraq with millions killed under blockade and occupation, Palestinians massacred with the aim to crush the anti-Zionist resistance, and Lebanon repeatedly invaded with the purposeful targeting of civilians. These actions all served to crush resistance movements longing for freedom, development, and self-determination. Meanwhile, despotic dictatorships, some going back 50 years, entrenched themselves by building police states, or fighting wars on behalf of imperialist interests.
Most Arab regimes systematically destroyed the social fabric of civil society, stifled social development, repressed all forms of political dissent and democratic expression, mortgaged their countries' wealth to foreign interests and enriched themselves and their cronies at the expense of impoverishing their populations. After pushing the Arab people to the brink, populations erupted.
The spark began in Tunisia where a police officer slapped and spat on Mohammad Bou Azizi, flipping over his produce cart for not delivering a bribe on time. . Unable to have his complaint heard, he self-immolated in protest, igniting the conscience of the Tunisian people and that of 300 million Arabs. In less than a month, the dictator, Zine El Abedine Ben Ali, was forced into exile by a Tunisian revolution. On its way out, the regime sealed its legacy by shooting at unarmed protestors and burning detention centers filled with political prisoners. Ben Ali was supported by the US and Europe in the fight against Islamic forces and organized labor.
Hosni Mubarak's brutal dictatorship fell less than a month after Tunisia's. The revolution erupted at a time when one half of the Egyptian population was living on less than $2/day while Mubarak's family amassed billions of dollars. The largest population recorded in Egyptian history was living in graveyards and raising their children among the dead while transportation and residential infrastructure was crumbling. Natural gas was supplied to Israel at 15% of the market price while the Rafah border was closed with an underground steel wall to complete the suffocation of the Palestinians in Gaza. Those who were deemed a threat swiftly met the fate of Khalid Said. 350 martyrs fell and 2,000 people were injured.
After Egypt and Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan exploded in protest. Some governments quickly reshuffled faces and ranks without any tangible change. Some, like Bahrain and Yemen, sent out their security forces to massacre civilians. Oman and Yemen represent strategic assets for the US as they are situated on the straits of Hormuz and Aden, respectively. Bahrain is an oil country that hosts a US military base, situated in the Persian Gulf. A new round of US funded blood-letting of Arab civilians has begun!
Libyan dictator Qaddafi did not prove to be an exception. He historically took anti-imperialist positions for a united Arab World and worked for an African Union. He later transformed his regime to a subservient state and opened Libya to British Petroleum and Italian interests, working diligently on privatization and political repression. He amassed more wealth than that of Mubarak. In the face of the Libyan revolution, Qaddafi exceeded the brutality of Ben Ali and Mubarak blind-folding and executing opponents, surrounding cities with tanks, and bombing his own country. Death toll is expected to be in the thousands.
Qaddafi's history makes Libya an easy target for imperialist interests. The Obama administration followed the Iraq cookbook by freezing Libyan assets amounting to 30% of the annual GDP. The White House, with the help of European governments, rapidly implemented sanctions and called for no-fly zones. These positions were precipitated shortly after the US vetoed a resolution condemning the illegal Israeli colonization of the West Bank. Special operations personnel from the UK were captured by the revolutionary commanders in Ben Ghazi and sent back. The Libyan revolutionary leadership, the National Council clearly stated: "We are completely against foreign intervention. The rest of Libya will be liberated by the people ... and Gaddafi's security forces will be eliminated by the people of Libya."
Demands of the Solidarity Movement with Arab Revolutions
1. We demand a stop to US support, financing and trade with Arab dictatorships. We oppose US policy that has favored Israeli expansionism, war, US oil interest and strategic shipping routes at the expense of Arab people's freedom and dignified living.
2. We support the people of Tunisia and Egypt as well as soon-to-be liberated nations to rid themselves of lingering remnants of the deposed dictatorships.
3. We support the Arab people's right to sovereignty and self-determination. We demand that the US government stop its interference in the internal affairs of all Arab countries and end subsidies to wars and occupation.
4. We support the Arab people's demands for political, civil and economic rights. The Arab people's movement is calling for:
a. Deposing the unelected regimes and all of its institutional remnants
b. Constitutional reform guaranteeing freedom of organizing, speech and press
c. Free and fair elections
d. Independent judiciary
e. National self-determination.
5. We oppose all forms of US and European military intervention with or without the legitimacy of the UN. Standing in solidarity with the revolution against Qaddafi, or any other dictator, does not equate to supporting direct or indirect colonization of an Arab country, its oil or its people. We therefore call for:
a. Absolute rejection of military blockades, no-fly zones and interventions.
b. Lifting all economic sanctions placed against Libya and allowing for the formation of an independent judiciary to prosecute Qaddafi and deposed dictators for their crimes.
c. Immediately withdrawing the US and NATO troops from the Arab region.
6. We support Iraq's right to sovereignty and self determination and call on the US to immediately withdraw all occupation personnel from Iraq.
7. We recognize that the borders separating Arab nations were imposed on the Arab people by the colonial agreements of Sykes-Picot and the Berlin Conference on Africa. As such, we support the anti-Zionist nature of this revolution in its call for:
a. Ending the siege and starvation of the Palestinian people in Gaza
b. Supporting the right of the Palestinian people to choose their own representation, independent of Israeli and US dictates
c. Supporting the right of the Lebanese people to defend their country from Israeli violations and their call to end vestiges of the colonial constitution constructed on the basis of sectarian representation
d. Supporting the right of the Jordanian people to rid themselves of their repressive monarchy
e. Ending all US aid to Israel.
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21) IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) HANDS OFF THE MIDDLE EAST - NO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN LIBYA - TROOPS OUT
OF AFGHANISTAN
2) JOIN THE WELFARE NOT WARFARE BLOC ON MARCH 26TH
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1) HANDS OFF THE MIDDLE EAST - NO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN LIBYA - TROOPS OUT
OF AFGHANISTAN
Join the day of action this Saturday March 12th - Downing Street 2pm in
London
Check website for out of London details
http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2241/242/
This Saturday Stop the War activists around the country will be out campaigning
against western military intervention - against the occupation of Afghanistan
and against possible intervention in Libya.
Soaring civilian casualties in Afghanistan are causing growing anger there. On
Sunday hundreds of people chanting against NATO protested in Kabul against a
spate of civilian casualties caused by international forces. Recent UN figures
show that civilian deaths were up 20% in 2010. Violence is due to increase
again as the spring fighting season starts.
Meanwhile the British government is pushing for military intervention in Libya.
As even some Pentagon chiefs are saying, setting up a no fly zone would
effectively involve a Western attack on Libya, almost certainly strengthening
Gadaffi's hand.
Any such operation would be driven by the same cynical self interest that has
led the West to back dictators - including Gadaffi - across the region for
generations.
Gadaffi's attempt to repress the uprising is sickening, but the best way to
support the democracy movement is to demand that Western governments recognise
the Interim National Council, stop paying Gadaffi for oil and drop any plans
for intervention.
See Stop the War's statement on Libya
http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2241/242/
The letter in today's Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/10/libya-no-fly-zone
And John Rees's interview on BBC 24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W50HsJbCp-8&feature=player_embedded
Stalls, petitioning sessions and protests are taking place in many towns and
cities this weekend, check the website for details.
In London Stop the War, CND and the British Muslim Initiative have called a
protest outside Downing Street at 2pm. Make sure you are there.
http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2241/242/
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2) JOIN THE WELFARE NOT WARFARE BLOC ON MARCH 26TH
Stop the War, CND and the British Muslim Initiative are organising an antiwar
contingent on the TUC anti-cuts March in a fortnight's time. The march
promises to be huge. The government continues to pretend there is no
alternative to its austerity plan, so it's vital we get across our demands
for a different set of priorities. If we brought the troops home from
Afghanistan and cut Trident we would have enough to spend on education, health
and housing.
Stop the War has produced special postcards publicising the demonstration and
outlining the difference cutting war and Trident could make. You can order them
from the office - 0207 801 2768, office@stopwar.org.uk
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