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  • BAUAW NEWSLETTER
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    Saturday, December 18, 2004
     

    BAUAW NEWSLETTER-SATURDAY, DEC. 18, 2004

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    STOP THE WAR ON IRAQ! BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!
    ALL OUT JANUARY 20TH, 5:00 P.M., CIVIC CENTER, S.F.

    ************BREAKING NEWS**************

    According to the A.N.S.W.E.R. Washington, DC news conference
    covered live on CSPAN on Friday, Dec. 17, (the news conference
    will be re-broadcast-see item following this) the U.S. government
    is not allowing antiwar/anti-Bush protestors onto Pennsylvania Ave.
    along the inauguration route.

    A.N.S.W.E.R. reported, there are three types of tickets available for
    the inauguration, Group A, is for personally invited guests; Group B,
    is for contributors to the Bush campaign (for both of these groups
    a list is carefully checked before tickets are sold;) tickets for Group C,
    for the general public, are not available. None. They are simply not sold.

    The Government, in a stalling move, has not denied permits to ANSWER
    for space for counter demonstrators, rather they are delaying as long
    as possible with the knowledge that the longer the permits are denied,
    the harder it will be for people to make arrangements to come to DC
    to protest. If and when permits are officially denied, A.N.S.W.E.R.
    declared they would challenge the government legally as they did
    in the last presidential inauguration "celebration."

    We have a constitutional right to protest the inauguration. BAUAW
    encourages all to show up in DC and come to Pennsylvania Avenue
    with your signs and banners and express your opposition to Bush
    and to the War.

    We demand, along with A.N.S.W.E.R., equal access along the rout
    for all. We have a right to protest our government or any of its official
    representatives. Nothing gives the government the right to disallow
    legal and peaceful protest. We say all out to Washington, DC if you
    can make it.

    If you can't go to DC, come out Jan. 20, 5pm, Civic Center, SF. in
    solidarity with all protestors in Washington and everywhere who
    oppose this war.

    We are encouraging everyone to participate somehow by wearing
    buttons and signs at work, at school and on the bus; hold banners
    at freeway entrances, and crowded shopping areas etc. on Jan. 20.
    Students should hold rallies and march to the Civic Center.

    Come to our next meeting and pick a place to flyer or table for
    Jan. 20 or hold a sign during the day, on Jan. 20 if you can.

    NEXT BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR MEETING:

    SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 11AM
    CENTRO DEL PUEBLO
    474 VALENCIA STREET
    (NEAR 16TH STREET IN SAN FRANCISCO)

    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    A.N.S.W.E.R. January 20 Press Conference to be rebroadcast on C-Span

    Friday, December 17
    8:13 pm ET on C-Span 1
    11:45 pm ET on C-Span 1

    Saturday, December 18
    5:15 am ET on C-Span 1

    Check the C-Span schedule for additional times and changes.

    Leaders from the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition and others involved in
    the January 20 Counter-Inaugural Protest in Washington DC held
    a press conference today (December 17). The press conference
    was broadcast live on C-Span 1 at 1 pm ET.

    At this time, the press conference is scheduled to be rebroadcast
    on C-Span 1 at 8:13 pm ET and 11:45 pm ET on Friday, December 17,
    and at 5:15 am ET on Saturday, December 18. Additional broadcast
    times are likely and can be found on the C-Span website schedule.
    Please note that all times are subject to change - so please check
    the schedule regularly. The program is called "Inaugural Parade
    Protests - Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.)".

    Programs can also be viewed on the C-Span website and heard
    on the radio.

    Show your support for this free speech fight and to help build
    the January 20 CounterInaugural demonstration along Pennsylvania
    Avenue. We cannot carry out this huge effort without the generous
    donations from those in the United States who believe in justice.
    You can make an urgently needed contribution for the January
    20 mobilization through a secure server by clicking here, where
    you can also find information on how to contribute by check.

    Pledge now to support the January 20 demonstration. To
    endorse, click here.

    The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition will send out an email update in
    the next few days regarding logistics, bus drop off and other
    transportation information. If you are organizing transportation
    from your city, fill out the Transportation Form to list your
    information on the A.N.S.W.E.R. website and help spread the
    word.

    For downloadable flyers, click here.

    A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
    Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
    http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org
    info@internationalanswer.org
    National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389
    New York City: 212-533-0417
    Los Angeles: 323-464-1636
    San Francisco: 415-821-6545
    For media inquiries, call 202-544-3389.

    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    Hello All,

    Lynne Stewart will be on Court TV tonight (a segment filmed
    earlier this month). The show begins at 5 pm goes until 6 pm.
    Interviewed by Joe Hamill we expect her segment to be in the
    latter part of the show.

    And another reminder - we have a wonderful Holiday Party
    planned for Saturday, Dec. 18th. Please be there!!!!

    From: "Larry Felson"
    Subject: Lynne Stewart case

    Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2004 07:56:15 +0000

    [From Pat in New York]

    The trial portion of the case has concluded. We now face summations
    and charge. Govt. summations begin on December 29th and may
    go into December 30th. There will be a 4 day break for New Years
    until Monday, January 3rd. The Order of Summations : Summation
    in Chief by Mr. Dember, AUSA for the Government; followed by
    David Stern, Esq. for Mr. Yousry, and either Barry Fallick, Esq.
    or Kenneth Paul, Esq. for Ahmed Sattar; followed by Michael Tigar
    for Lynne Stewart. Then the Government will have rebuttal
    summation by Robin Baker, AUSA. Followed by Judge Koeltl's
    charge to the jury. To hear Michael Tigar it is probably best to
    be in court on January 3rd and 4th. Check the website for further
    updates and don't forget to come to The People's Holiday Party
    on Saturday, December 18th.
    COME TO THE PEOPLE'S HOLIDAY PARTY!!!

    JOIN US
    TO BENEFIT

    THE LYNNE STEWART DEFENSE COMMITTEE
    (LYNNE STEWART, ATTORNEY NOW ON TRIAL IN FEDERAL
    COURT NEW YORK)

    THE BRECHT FORUM
    (WORKING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE & RAISING MONEY FOR
    MOVING EXPENSES)

    SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18TH - 7:30 P.M. TIL

    FEATURING:
    MICHAEL SMITH - MASTER OF CEREMONIES
    LYNNE STEWART
    VINIE BURROWS - ACTRESS CULTURAL WORKER
    SPARLHA SWA - SINGER
    RANDY CREDICO - COMEDIAN AND ACTIVIST
    KHALIL JOHNSON - POET
    NORMAN MARSHALL - PORTRAYER OF JOHN BROWN
    LORCAN OTWAY OF SORCHA DORCHA, WITH DICK
    CHENEY AND THE QUAKERS
    DJ GRINGO LOCO - DANCING

    AN EVENING OF SOLIDARITY, FUN, MUSIC, DRINKS
    AND FOOD - SPEECHES AND SCHMOOZING
    SLIDING SCALE $10 - $20 & up appreciated
    PLACE: THE BRECHT FORUM
    122 W27TH. ST.,10TH FLOOR, NEW YORK CITY
    (Between 6TH & 7TH Aves.)
    STOP BY ON YOUR WAY TO AND FROM OTHER
    EVENTS OR FOR THE WHOLE EVENING - SEE YOU THERE
    212-625-9696

    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    1) Art & Resistance in Occupied Palestine
    Recent murals and Palestinian & Israeli Civil Disobedience

    2) Nearly Half in U.S. Say Restrict Muslims
    By WILLIAM KATES
    ITHACA, N.Y. (AP)
    Associated Press Writer
    Dec 18, 9:43 AM EST
    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MUSLIMS_CIVIL_LIBERTIES?SITE=NYSTA&SE
    CTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

    3) Bush looking at freezing domestic spending
    WASHINGTON (AP)
    http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/17/bush.spending.ap/index.html

    4) U.S. Presses Co-Defendant Near Close of Terror Trial
    By JULIA PRESTON
    December 17, 2004
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/nyregion/17stewart.html

    5) Arab media reports on US plan to attack Iran
    AzerNews (Azerbaijan)
    December 17, 2004
    http://www.azernews.net/view.php?d=5536

    6) Pentagon Seeks to Expand Role in Intelligence
    By DOUGLAS JEHL and ERIC SCHMITT
    WASHINGTON
    December 19, 2004
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/politics/19military.html?hp&ex=1103432400&
    en=0623190e8121e407&ei=5094&partner=homepage

    7) In Congo War, Even Peacekeepers Add to Horror
    By MARC LACEY
    December 18, 2004
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/18/international/africa/18congo.html?hp&ex=11
    03432400&en=962ad452438e18ef&ei=5094&partner=homepage

    8) AARP Poll Shows Most Support Legalizing Medicinal Marijuana
    By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
    December 19, 2004
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/national/19marijuana.html

    9) PICTURES OF WAR
    Here are two sets of pictures.
    First set---
    PLEASE ACCESS:
    http://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album28&page=
    1
    page=1>
    Second Set--
    PLEASE ACCESS:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/message/26138



    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    1) Art & Resistance in Occupied Palestine
    Recent murals and Palestinian & Israeli Civil Disobedience

    Susan Greene, Eric Drooker, Dalit Baum, members of Jews for a Free
    Palestine recently returned from the West Bank, Monadel Herzallah and
    Special Guests

    A slide and video lecture, art auction, food, and raffle fundraiser


    Saturday, December 18th 7:00

    New College of California, 777 Valencia Street
    $10-$100 no one turned away for lack of funds

    Proceeds go to medical aid for Gaza, victims of home demolition and Break
    the Silence Mural Project

    Sponsored by Break the Silence Mural Project and Jews for a Free Palestine,
    Middle East Children’s Alliance, Justice in Palestine Coalition, Anarchists
    Against the Wall

    The Slide and Video Lecture:
    In 2004 Break the Silence SF muralist and psychologist Susan Greene and
    renowned illustrator Eric Drooker traveled to the West Bank and Gaza to
    paint community murals with Palestinians.

    Dalit Baum is a member of Anarchists Against the Wall and Black Laundry,
    and will show video documentation of Israeli and Palestinian joint actions
    and civil disobedience protesting the Wall.

    The following murals were completed:

    1) Hani Amer Family Mural: on the Israeli built wall that encircles the
    Hani Amer home in the West Bank that has been the site of many protests and
    Palestinian and Israeli peace camps. This mural was painted with the
    children and extended family and represented an act of creative control over
    their environment.

    2) Memorial mural in Qadura refugee camp in Ramallah that honors an Italian
    journalist killed by the Israeli military and eleven young people who were
    killed during the first and second uprising or Intifada,

    3) In the town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza strip, several hundred thousand
    citrus trees were destroyed leaving the town unemployed and devasted. On a
    cultural center for youth Greene, Drooker and the center's staff painted a
    three story orange tree. The Center's director wanted the children to
    remember what the orange trees looked like.

    The Art Auction:
    A silent auction for works by some of the Bay Area's finest artists.

    Cheap Arts and Crafts:
    By some of the Bay Area's most crafty

    Raffle:
    For a wide range of exciting offerings

    Refreshments and delectable foods.

    Brief History of Break the Silence

    Starting in 1989 when a group of Jewish Women Artists travelled to Palestine
    to paint community murals in solidarity with Palestinian refugees, Break
    the Silence has worked to use art to raise awareness about what life is like
    for Palestinians in Israel. Our ultimate goal is to contribute to the
    struggle to end the occupation of Palestine.

    BTS has painted murals in refugee camps and cultural centers in the West
    Bank and Gaza, and to reach our aim has painted murals in San Francisco
    about Palestine, published articles, created videos and presented scores of
    slide shows across the country.

    Bay_Area_Activist list info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bay_area_activist
    Archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bay_area_activist/messages
    Calendar: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bay_area_activist/calendar
    List-Unsubscribe:
    <mailto:bay_area_activist-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
    List-Subscribe: List subscription is by invitation only -
    Send an email to: <mailto:bay_area_activist-owner@yahoogroups.com>
    to request an invitation.

    WHEN SPIDERS UNITE, THEY CAN TIE DOWN A LION -- Ethiopian Proverb

    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    2) Nearly Half in U.S. Say Restrict Muslims
    By WILLIAM KATES
    ITHACA, N.Y. (AP)
    Associated Press Writer
    Dec 18, 9:43 AM EST
    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MUSLIMS_CIVIL_LIBERTIES?SITE=NYSTA&SE
    CTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

    ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) -- Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S.
    government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans,
    according to a nationwide poll.

    The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that
    Republicans and people who described themselves as highly
    religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil
    liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.

    Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention
    to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and
    support limiting the rights of Muslim Americans.

    "It's sad news. It's disturbing news. But it's not unpredictable,"
    said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American
    Society. "The nation is at war, even if it's not a traditional war.
    We just have to remain vigilant and continue to interface."

    The survey found 44 percent favored at least some restrictions
    on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent
    said liberties should not be restricted in any way.

    The survey showed that 27 percent of respondents supported
    requiring all Muslim Americans to register where they lived with
    the federal government. Twenty-two percent favored racial
    profiling to identify potential terrorist threats. And 29 percent
    thought undercover agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and
    volunteer organizations to keep tabs on their activities and
    fund-raising.

    Cornell student researchers questioned 715 people in the
    nationwide telephone poll conducted this fall. The margin of
    error was 3.6 percentage points.

    James Shanahan, an associate professor of communications
    who helped organize the survey, said the results indicate

    "the need for continued dialogue about issues of civil liberties"
    in a time of war.

    While researchers said they were not surprised by the overall
    level of support for curtailing civil liberties, they were startled
    by the correlation with religion and exposure to television news.

    "We need to explore why these two very important channels
    of discourse may nurture fear rather than understanding,"
    Shanahan said.

    According to the survey, 37 percent believe a terrorist attack
    in the United States is still likely within the next 12 months.
    In a similar poll conducted by Cornell in November 2002,
    that number stood at 90 percent.

    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    3) Bush looking at freezing domestic spending
    WASHINGTON (AP)
    http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/17/bush.spending.ap/index.html

    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House is telling federal agencies
    to expect lean budgets next year, with congressional aides and
    lobbyists saying President Bush appears ready to propose freezing
    or even slightly cutting overall domestic spending.

    Targeted would be all annually approved programs except for
    defense and domestic security.

    Excluding those two would leave a part of the budget the
    administration estimates will total $388 billion for the fiscal
    year that began October 1. Also excluded are automatically
    made payments like Social Security and interest on the federal
    debt.

    Bush's stringent approach comes as record federal deficits
    that hit $413 billion last year hinder his ability to pay for
    overhauling Social Security and extending his tax cuts. He
    also has tied the budget shortfalls to the weakening dollar,
    and pledged to reduce red ink to help prop up the currency.

    At his White House economic conference on Thursday, Bush
    said he made "good progress" in holding the growth of non-
    defense, non-homeland-security programs this year to about
    1 percent.

    "What I'm saying is we're going to submit a tough budget," he
    said. "And I look forward to working with Congress on the
    tough budget."

    The president is still making final decisions about the $2.5
    trillion budget for 2006 he will propose in February.

    But House and Senate aides, speaking on condition of anonymity,
    said cuts appeared destined for such programs as housing, grants
    for community development, purchases of new equipment for
    the Federal Aviation Administration, and Army Corps of Engineers
    water projects.

    Even the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, an
    administration favorite, was facing an increase of just 1 percent,
    pending appeals to the White House by outgoing NASA
    Administrator Sean O'Keefe, a lobbyist said.

    The zero-sum game that is federal budgeting means that if
    spending for next year is held flat, for every dollar increase that
    administration favorites like education or veterans receive,
    another dollar must be cut elsewhere.

    Even a program receiving the same as this year would lose
    purchasing power due to inflation, now running about
    3 percent annually.

    Bush's spending blueprint would be among the toughest for
    domestic programs since President Reagan's budgets of the 1980s.

    Overall domestic spending has grown every year but three
    since 1987 -- in 1995 and 1996, when Republicans first
    recaptured Congress, and in 2000, immediately after a one-
    time influx of U.S. aid to help poor and debtor countries.

    Even as domestic spending growth has slowed, overall
    expenditures including defense and domestic security
    continue to climb, largely due to the costs of wars in Iraq
    and Afghanistan.

    Congress approved $87.5 billion for those wars in fall 2003
    and $25 billion more last spring, and Bush is expected to
    request another $75 billion to $100 billion early in 2005.

    As word of Bush's still-evolving plans for domestic spending
    has seeped out, it has cheered conservative Republicans.
    They spent much of Bush's first term criticizing him for
    letting spending grow too rapidly and pressuring
    congressional leaders to try clamping down on spending.

    Excluding homeland security and emergencies like hurricanes,
    domestic spending has grown by 27 percent since Bush took
    office in 2001.

    "I really do believe that this White House gets it," said Rep.
    Mike Pence, R-Indiana, a leading House conservative.

    Last February, Bush proposed a 0.5 percent increase for
    domestic programs, which Congress eventually doubled.
    Advocates of cutting spending are hoping for better results
    next year, since November's elections will bring more
    conservatives to the House and Senate for the new Congress.

    "They've run out of excuses," said Stephen Slivinski, budget
    director of the conservative-leaning Cato Institute. "They
    can't blame anyone else."

    Still, Democrats and many moderate Republicans are certain
    to fight for their priorities when Congress begins translating
    Bush' budget proposal to actual spending legislation next year.

    "This tells you the administration's priority is tax cuts over
    fiscal responsibility and providing central services to the
    American people," said Thomas Kahn, Democratic staff
    director of the House Budget Committee.

    Last May, the White House budget office distributed a memo
    to federal agencies warning them to anticipate an overall
    domestic spending cut of about 0.7 percent next year. At
    the time, White House officials called the document an early
    step in the budget process.

    "The budget process is still under way," White House budget
    office spokesman Chad Kolton said Thursday. He said the
    administration still intends to cut the deficit in half in five
    years, and the next budget "will reflect our commitment
    to stay on that path."

    Copyright 2004 The Associated Press

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    4) U.S. Presses Co-Defendant Near Close of Terror Trial
    By JULIA PRESTON
    December 17, 2004
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/nyregion/17stewart.html

    A federal prosecutor in the terror trial of Lynne F. Stewart,
    a New York defense lawyer, battered one of her co-defendants
    yesterday with fierce questions, and then concluded a cross-
    examination with an outburst of indignation about the crimes
    alleged in the case.

    The rush of emotion came on the final day of testimony in the
    trial, which has lasted nearly six months. The prosecutor,
    Christopher Morvillo, bore down on the co-defendant, Ahmed
    Abdel Sattar, a postal worker from Staten Island who has worked
    as a paralegal with Ms. Stewart. Suddenly accelerating the pace
    of the testimony, Mr. Morvillo drew together many strands of
    evidence that the government has been weaving week after
    week in Federal District Court in Manhattan. He grilled Mr. Sattar
    about his state of mind in October 2000, when he helped write
    and release an Islamic edict "to mandate the killing of Jews
    wherever they are found."

    Mr. Sattar has testified that he wrote the edict, or fatwa, with
    Rifai Taha, a fugitive Egyptian militant who was then hiding in
    Afghanistan, probably in Al Qaeda training camps, and who
    had been named by the United States as one of the world's
    most dangerous terrorists. "It is a fact, is it not, Mr. Sattar,
    that you drafted this statement with the leader of a terrorist
    network?" Mr. Morvillo asked.

    "Yes, it is a fact," Mr. Sattar replied.

    "A person you knew was in Afghanistan with Osama bin
    Laden?" Mr. Morvillo fired back.

    "Yes."

    "A person that you knew was considered by the United
    States to be a threat to national security?"

    "Yes."

    "And a person who you knew had signed Osama bin
    Laden's fatwa calling for the murder of Americans, right?"

    "Yes."

    Mr. Morvillo was referring to a separate edict issued by
    Mr. bin Laden in February 1998, in which he called for
    the killing and kidnapping of Americans. Mr. Taha was
    one signer of Mr. bin Laden's fatwa.

    Mr. Sattar released the edict he had written Mr. Taha under
    the name of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, a fundamentalist
    Islamic cleric. The sheik, a client of Ms. Stewart's, is serving
    a life sentence in federal prison for conspiring in a failed
    1993 plot to bomb tunnels and landmark buildings in New
    York. But the sheik, who was in solitary confinement at the
    time, did not find out about the fatwa until some time later,
    evidence in the trial has shown.

    Mr. Sattar is charged with soliciting violence and conspiracy
    to kidnap and kill in a foreign country. Ms. Stewart is accused
    of participating in a terrorist conspiracy by violating prison
    restrictions imposed on Mr. Abdel Rahman in order to pass
    him letters from Mr. Sattar, which contained messages
    discussing violence from the sheik's militant followers in
    Egypt.

    Visibly shaken by Mr. Morvillo's questions, Mr. Sattar sought
    to distance himself from his own words, saying they were
    "ugly and hateful." He said again that he was "outraged" by
    the violence in Israel after a September 2000 visit by Ariel
    Sharon to the site of Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. He was
    especially troubled, he said, by the shooting of a Palestinian
    boy by Israeli troops, which had been shown repeatedly on
    the news.

    He said he had only wanted to gain publicity for the sheik,
    and added, pounding his fist on the stand: "I did not mean
    to kill anybody. I was crying out loud, Mr. Morvillo."

    Mr. Morvillo concluded his cross-examination of Mr. Sattar
    by inquiring about phrases that the defendant edited out
    of the fatwa calling explicitly for attacks on Americans
    in the United States.

    "Mr. Sattar, is that what you were referring to last week
    when you told us that you defend the Constitution of
    the United States?" the prosecutor asked.

    "Yes," answered Mr. Sattar, who was born in Egypt but
    became a naturalized American citizen in 1989.

    "You are quite a patriot," Mr. Morvillo retorted.

    Judge John G. Koeltl struck the comment from the record
    and ordered the jury to disregard it. But Ms. Stewart's
    chief lawyer, Michael E. Tigar, denounced it as improper
    and asked the judge to declare a mistrial. The judge
    denied that motion but, in an unusual step, criticized
    Mr. Morvillo's remark to the jurors.

    The jury is to return on Dec. 29 for closing arguments
    and for instructions from the judge.

    Copyright 2004 The New York Times

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    5) Arab media reports on US plan to attack Iran
    AzerNews (Azerbaijan)
    December 17, 2004
    http://www.azernews.net/view.php?d=5536

    US forces will infiltrate Iran's territory through Azerbaijan, Iraq,
    and Georgia. The US ground troops plan to complete the invasion
    in two weeks, the London-based ash-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported.

    The publication said that the US National Security Council is
    currently developing the plan for the occupation of Iran.
    The White House plans to overthrow the Islamic regime in this
    country and destroy its nuclear resources.

    A Central Intelligence Agency employee David Cay, who headed the
    commission engaged in searching for nuclear weapons in Iraq,
    has been instructed to develop the plan for the operation.

    The occupation of Iran will be carried out in three stages. The first
    envisions destroying Iranian armed forces through an air attack.

    Afterwards, the country's military units producing nuclear weapons
    will be attacked. The number of such facilities is 125.

    After the nuclear facilities are destroyed, the ground operation will
    Be launched. The US plans to send a part of its contingent to Iran
    through Azerbaijan.

    According to the Pentagon, US troops will not attack Iran's capital,
    Tehran, but surround it. US military experts say that several commando
    Detachments will suffice to subdue the Iranian authorities. Arab media have
    Reported that such forces are training in Florida, USA.

    The ash-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper issued a similar report 18 months
    Before the US attack on Iraq.

    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    6) Pentagon Seeks to Expand Role in Intelligence
    By DOUGLAS JEHL and ERIC SCHMITT
    WASHINGTON
    December 19, 2004
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/politics/19military.html?hp&ex=1103432400&
    en=0623190e8121e407&ei=5094&partner=homepage

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 - The Pentagon is drawing up a plan that
    would give the military a more prominent role in intelligence-
    collection operations that have traditionally been the province
    of the Central Intelligence Agency, including missions aimed at
    terrorist groups and those involved in weapons proliferation,
    Defense Department officials say.

    The proposal is being described by some intelligence officials
    as an effort by the Pentagon to expand its role in intelligence
    gathering at a time when legislation signed by President Bush
    on Friday sets in motion sweeping changes in the intelligence
    community, including the creation of a national intelligence
    director. The main purpose of that overhaul is to improve
    coordination among the country's 15 intelligence agencies,
    including those controlled by the Pentagon.

    The details of the plan remain secret and are evolving, but
    indications of its scope and significance have begun to emerge
    in recent weeks. One part of the overall proposal is being drafted
    by a team led by Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, a deputy under
    secretary of defense.

    Among the ideas cited by Defense Department officials is the
    idea of "fighting for intelligence," or commencing combat
    operations chiefly to obtain intelligence.

    The proposal also calls for a major expansion of human-
    intelligence collection efforts under the Pentagon's auspices,
    both within the military services and the Defense Intelligence
    Agency, including more aggressive, offensive missions aimed
    at acquiring specific intelligence sought by policy makers.
    (The term human intelligence refers to information gathered
    directly by spies rather than by technological means.)

    The proposal marks the latest chapter in the fierce and long-
    running rivalry between the Pentagon and the C.I.A. for
    dominance over intelligence collection.

    White House officials are monitoring the Pentagon's planning,
    as is the C.I.A. The proposal has not yet won White House
    approval, according to administration officials. It is unclear
    to what extent American military forces have already been
    given additional authority to carry out intelligence-gathering
    missions.

    Until now, intelligence operations run by the Pentagon have
    focused primarily on gathering information about enemy
    forces, the main preoccupation of military commanders. But
    the overarching proposal being drafted in the Pentagon, which
    encompasses General Boykin's efforts, would focus military
    intelligence operations increasingly on counterterrorism and
    counterproliferation, areas in which the C.I.A.'s directorate
    of operations has always played the leading role.

    "Right now, we're looking at providing Special Operations
    forces some of the flexibility the C.I.A. has had for years,"
    said a Defense Department official who spoke on the condition
    of anonymity because the plan has not yet been approved.
    "It would be used judiciously, and with all appropriate oversight
    controls."

    General Boykin's proposal would revamp military commands
    to ensure that senior officers planning and fighting wars work
    more closely with the intelligence analysts tracking threats like
    terrorists and insurgency cells. Another part of the Pentagon's
    plan was articulated in a recent directive by Defense Secretary
    Donald H. Rumsfeld that instructed regional commanders to
    expand the military's role in intelligence gathering, particularly
    in tracking terrorist and insurgent leaders.

    "What we're talking about with the combatant commanders is
    using their military forces in the field in a more thoughtful way,
    and having a level of awareness to gather information that's
    important," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.

    In public allusions to the plan, both General Boykin and Vice
    Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, the director of the Defense Intelligence
    Agency, have stuck to generalities that have left unclear exactly
    what is being proposed. But some intelligence officials say they
    believe those remarks open the way to more clandestine military
    operations intended to gather intelligence on terrorists and
    weapons proliferators.

    One former intelligence official questioned the utility of the
    military's putting more resources into intelligence collection
    at a time when it is already stretched thin in dealing with the
    counterinsurgency in Iraq and addressing threats elsewhere.

    "If you're a shooter, go do that job," said the former intelligence
    official, who has opposed efforts by the Pentagon to expand its
    intelligence gathering role. "But don't put the shooter in a pinstripe
    suit and send him to Beirut to chase bad guys." He said he regarded
    the military's initiative as an attempt to make inroads into turf
    controlled by intelligence agencies.

    A current intelligence official who works outside the Pentagon
    described the relationship between the Pentagon and the C.I.A. as
    "closer than ever," but he added that "cooperation is strongest in
    the places where it counts most, like Iraq and Afghanistan." The
    official said, "There's a real sense that there's plenty of work for
    everyone, and the key for both agencies is close coordination
    and insisting that all of us apply the best possible tradecraft in
    human intelligence operations."

    General Boykin was traveling abroad and not available for
    comment this week. Over the last two weeks, he and his top
    aides have declined repeated interview requests on this subject.

    The general provided an overview of the plan in an address in
    October to the Association of the United States Army,
    a nonprofit educational organization, and copies of his
    briefing slides are posted on the group's Web site.

    A brief synopsis of General Boykin's plan was provided by
    Defense Department officials, as were remarks prepared for
    delivery in a Nov. 15 address by Admiral Jacoby.

    "Our present intelligence collection architecture - optimized
    to identify and track large conventional forces - is inadequate
    to warn against these new challenges for terrorists, provide
    sufficient information on insurgent groups, determine the
    status of discrete W.M.D. production capabilities, learn the
    intentions of leaderships from rogue states, or determine
    friend from foe when intermingled in a foreign country,"
    Admiral Jacoby said in that speech.

    The admiral said intelligence agencies needed to put a new
    premium on acquiring "persistent surveillance" through "
    close-in and continuous collection against broader problem
    sets."

    General Boykin, who attracted controversy last year for saying
    in remarks to Christian groups that Muslims worship "an idol"
    and describing the battle against Muslim radicals as a fight
    against Satan, has been the prime architect of the proposal,
    which has been under review at the Pentagon since January
    2004. The general reports to Stephen A. Cambone, who since
    2003 has used his newly created post as under secretary of
    intelligence to assert a role in which he has competed with
    George J. Tenet, the former director of central intelligence,
    and his successors for dominance over American intelligence
    agencies.

    Among the proposals described by Defense Department
    officials is a plan to create a Joint Intelligence Operational
    Command within the Pentagon, which would elevate intelligence
    to much more power and prominence. The command being
    proposed could replace the Defense Intelligence Agency,
    Defense Department officials say.

    If approved, General Boykin's proposal would allow the
    Pentagon to be less reliant on other intelligence agencies,
    including the Central Intelligence Agency, for its operations,
    senior defense officials said.

    "It will give more options to the military for how they gather
    the intelligence, instead of having to depend on other agencies,"
    said one senior military officer who has received a preliminary
    briefing on the proposal and spoke on condition of anonymity
    because the plan has not yet been approved.

    Maj. Gen. Charles W. Thomas, a retired senior Army intelligence
    officer who has worked as a consultant for General Boykin on
    his project, said he broadly supported the general's goals.

    But General Thomas warned that one possible danger in
    bringing battle commanders and intelligence officials so close
    together to fight a common enemy was the risk that the
    intelligence could be skewed to fit the commander's war plan
    and not the reality on the ground.

    A spokesman for the Special Operations Command in Tampa,
    Fla., Col. Samuel Taylor, said on Friday that the command had
    been briefed on an early draft of General Boykin's remodeling
    initiative, but that staff officers and senior commanders had
    not yet reviewed it in depth.

    President Bush last month ordered the C.I.A. and the Defense
    Department to review a plan that could expand the Pentagon's
    role in covert operations, perhaps replacing the C.I.A. in providing
    paramilitary forces for such missions. Mr. Bush's directive set
    a 90-day deadline for the review.

    The idea of transferring paramilitary authority from the intelligence
    agency to the military's Special Operations Forces was among
    several prominent recommendations made by the
    Sept. 11 commission.

    The proposal remains under review. But in public testimony in
    August, Mr. Rumsfeld and John E. McLaughlin, who was then the
    acting intelligence chief, expressed reservations about the idea,
    and it was not included in the measure Mr. Bush approved on Friday.

    Copyright 2004 The New York Times

    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    7) In Congo War, Even Peacekeepers Add to Horror
    By MARC LACEY
    December 18, 2004
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/18/international/africa/18congo.html?hp&ex=11
    03432400&en=962ad452438e18ef&ei=5094&partner=homepage

    BUNIA, Congo, Dec. 16 - In the corner of the tent where she says
    a soldier forced himself on her, Helen, a frail fifth grader with big
    eyes and skinny legs, remembers seeing a blue helmet.

    The United Nations peacekeeper who tore off her clothes had used
    a cup of milk to lure her close, she said in her high-pitched voice,
    fidgeting as she spoke. It was her favorite drink, she said, but one
    her family could rarely afford. "I was so happy," she said.

    After she gulped it down, the foreign soldier pulled Helen,
    a 12-year-old, into bed, she said. About an hour later, he gave
    her a dollar, put a finger to his lips and pushed her out of his
    tent, she said.

    In this same eastern outpost, another United Nations
    peacekeeper, unable to communicate with a 13-year-old
    Swahili-speaking girl who walked past him, held up a cookie
    and gestured for her to draw near. As the girl, Solange, who
    recounted the incident with tears in her eyes the other day,
    reached for the cookie, the soldier reached for her. She, too,
    said she was raped.

    The United Nations said recently that it had uncovered
    150 allegations of sexual abuse committed by United Nations
    peacekeepers stationed in Congo, many of them here in Bunia
    where the population has already suffered horrendous atrocities
    committed by local fighters. The raping of women and girls is
    an all-too-common tactic in the war raging in Congo's eastern
    jungles involving numerous militia groups. In Bunia, a program
    run by Unicef has treated 2,000 victims of sexual violence in recent
    months. But it is not just the militia members who have been preying
    on the women. So, too, local women say, have some of the soldiers
    brought in to keep the peace.

    The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, said recently that
    there was "clear evidence that acts of gross misconduct have taken
    place" in the United Nations mission in Congo, which began in
    early 2000 and is known by its French acronym, Monuc. Mr. Annan
    added, "This is a shameful thing for the United Nations to have
    to say, and I am absolutely outraged by it."

    The number of cases may be impossible for United Nations
    investigators to determine precisely. Helen and Solange said
    in recent interviews that they had not told their stories even
    to their parents, never mind to United Nations officials. Rape
    carries a heavy stigma here, both girls made clear. They told
    their stories when approached by a reporter.

    "I didn't tell my mother because she would beat me," said
    a grim-faced Solange, starring at the ground. Solange, a sixth-
    grade dropout, said she had no interest in visiting a health clinic
    or seeing one of the psychologists that Unicef has paid for to
    counsel the many rape victims in and around Bunia. If she seeks
    help, the girl said, her mother might find out.

    Helen's mother is dead, and Helen did not dare tell her father for
    fear of a beating. She said she knew he would blame her for going
    near the soldiers in the first place and might even throw her out
    of the house.

    Helen did go on her own to a health clinic soon after the assault
    because she said she hurt between her legs. The health worker
    gave her something to drink, which she paid for with the same
    dollar that the soldier had given her, she said.

    "I was so afraid when he took my clothes off," Helen said, fidgeting
    with her dirty T-shirt. "I was quiet. I didn't say anything."

    The allegations leveled against United Nations personnel in Congo
    include sex with underage partners, sex with prostitutes and rape,
    an internal United Nations investigation has found. Investigators
    said they found evidence that United Nations peacekeepers and
    civilian workers paid $1 to $3 for sex or bartered sexual relations
    for food or promises of employment. A confidential report prepared
    by Prince Zeid Raad al-Hussein, Jordan's ambassador to the United
    Nations, and dated Nov. 8, says the exploitation "appears to be
    significant, widespread and ongoing."

    Violators described in the investigation, which continues, appear
    to come from around the globe. Fifty countries are represented
    among the 1,000 civilian employees and 10,800 soldiers who
    make up the United Nations mission in Congo. Already, a French
    civilian has been accused of having sex with a girl, though it is
    unclear where that case stands, and two Tunisian peacekeepers
    have been sent home, where the local authorities will decide
    whether to punish them.

    The United Nations report details allegations of sexual misconduct
    by peacekeepers from Nepal, Pakistan, Morocco, Tunisia, South
    Africa and Uruguay, and lists incidents in which some soldiers
    tried to obstruct investigators.

    When they arrive for duty, peacekeepers are presented with the
    United Nations code of conduct, which forbids "any exchange
    of money, employment, goods or services for sex."

    The home countries are responsible for punishing any of their
    military personnel who violate the code while taking part in
    a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

    The United Nations, which has had previous scandals in
    missions in Cambodia and Bosnia, also warns the soldiers
    against sexual contact with girls under 18, even though the
    law in Congo permits sex with girls as young as 14.

    The United Nations policy says that mistakenly believing
    someone is older "cannot be considered a defense." The
    youth of Helen and Solange cannot be mistaken. They said
    they were abused while selling bananas and avocados to
    soldiers. Each girl said she was among the girls and women
    who have flocked to the camps that peacekeepers have set
    up around Bunia. These two girls walked from tent to tent with
    fruit balanced on their heads, using gestures to make deals.

    Helen would sell her fruit for 10 francs apiece, or a few cents,
    and would earn about $1 a day. She would give the money to
    her older sister.

    Solange would trade her fruit for the small containers of
    milk issued to soldiers. She would then sell the milk in
    town, making about $1.50 a day. She used the money
    to help her family buy food.

    Some of the girls and women who have entered the
    peacekeepers' camps concede that they had less-than-
    innocent intentions.

    Judith and Saidati, both 15 and sexually experienced
    with Congolese boys, acknowledged that they were looking
    for foreign boyfriends as they sold their fruit.

    The girls, who have the same father, said in a recent
    interview that they both found French boyfriends first,
    when the French Army controlled Bunia last year. Then
    they each found soldiers from Nepal, one of the countries
    supplying peacekeepers to the United Nations mission.
    After that, the girls spent time with soldiers from Morocco,
    who make up the bulk of the force now patrolling Bunia.

    The girls said they each stuck to one soldier apiece and
    switched to new ones only when their boyfriends were
    transferred out. Each time they had sex, the soldiers gave
    them $5, they said. Sometimes, they got other gifts, too,
    they said.

    One day, however, after their latest boyfriends had gone,
    a social worker visited them and told them of the dangers
    of having sex with soldiers. The woman sat them down
    and told them about AIDS and the other sexually transmitted
    diseases they might get. "She told us not to go anywhere near
    the soldiers," said Judith, who like the other girls agreed to be
    identified only by her first name. "She said we're still young and
    they might make our lives short."

    The two half sisters said the social worker's words frightened
    them, and they said they had not had any boyfriends for the
    last few months. But they also acknowledged that fewer
    Moroccan soldiers were propositioning them, reducing their
    temptation. The soldiers' new commander is keeping a closer
    eye on them, the girls said. "They want to come to us but their
    chief is watching them," Judith said.

    Judith and Saidati said they wanted the soldiers to remain in
    Bunia for many years. The girls said the United Nations troops
    had succeeded in stabilizing the town, which was a war zone
    just over a year ago. The foreigners also have much more money
    to spend than local boys, the girls said.

    "I like them," said Judith, smiling coyly.

    "They treat us so nice," added Saidati, who was beaming.

    But the two younger girls, Helen and Solange, were far more
    sober when they spoke of the foreign troops. They said they
    stopped selling fruit at the military camp immediately after
    they were attacked and had never been back. They said
    they had trouble sleeping at night and could not forget
    what the soldiers did to them.

    "Whenever I see one of them, I remember what happened,"
    said Helen, who lives near a military checkpoint operated by
    soldiers wearing blue helmets just like the one she remembers
    seeing in the tent. "I'm afraid of them."

    Copyright 2004 The New York Times

    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

    8) AARP Poll Shows Most Support Legalizing Medicinal Marijuana
    By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
    December 19, 2004
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/national/19marijuana.html

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (AP) - Nearly three-fourths of Americans
    middle age and older support legalizing marijuana for medical use,
    according to a poll taken for AARP.

    More than half of those questioned said they believed marijuana has
    medical benefits, while a larger majority agreed the drug is addictive.

    AARP, whose 35 million members are all at least 50 years old, says
    it has no political position on medical marijuana and that its local
    branches have not chosen sides in the scores of state ballot initiatives
    on the issue in recent elections.

    But with medical marijuana at the center of a Supreme Court case
    to be decided next year, and nearly a dozen states with medical
    marijuana laws on their books, AARP said, it decided to study the
    issue.

    "The use of medical marijuana applies to many older Americans who
    may benefit from cannabis," said Ed Dwyer, an editor at AARP The
    Magazine, which will report on the issue in its March-April issue,
    scheduled to appear in late January.

    Among the 1,706 adults age 45 and older who were polled in
    November, opinions varied along regional and generational lines
    and among the 30 percent of respondents who said they had smoked
    marijuana. AARP members represented 37 percent of the respondents.

    Over all, 72 percent of respondents agreed "adults should be
    allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician
    recommends it." Those in the Northeast (79 percent) and West
    (82 percent) were more receptive to the idea than in the Midwest
    (67 percent) and Southwest (65 percent). In Southern states,
    70 percent agreed with the statement.

    Seventy-four percent of all those surveyed thought marijuana
    is addictive.

    Copyright 2004 The New York Times

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    9) PICTURES OF WAR
    Here are two sets of pictures.
    First set---
    PLEASE ACCESS:
    http://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album28&page=
    1
    page=1>
    Second Set--
    PLEASE ACCESS:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/message/26138


    Now this is what I want you to do:

    First, sit down and make sure there is nothing near you that can
    be thrown at anyone, hurled at anything, smashed into pieces.

    I would assume that by now these have all been used up heaving
    them at the TV screen, but ya never know.

    Then, turn off everything, and make the room silent.

    Look at both sets. All of it. Very slowly.
    As slowly as it takes to bleed to death.
    As painfully as it takes to breath with a hole ripped in your lungs.
    With all the focused minute concentration of a USMC sniper
    narrowing a famished 12 year old in his sights.

    As the tears burn ineradicable traces down your face, and
    grief and rage shred your insides, and as you turn your face
    to the sky in voiceless open mouthed horror and shame,
    consumed by the truth of our complicity and cowardliness-
    I want you to sit there in it.
    Sit in it and don’t move.
    Try to keep breathing.

    Now, we can decide What Is To Be Done.

    1. STOP THE PARADE
    We must STOP the forward motion of what is going on.
    Not complain, not protest, no investigations, hearings,
    lawsuits, demonstrations, marches with signs.
    We must make this murderous machine STOP DEAD.
    We must make it all come to a complete and utter HALT.
    If even for an hour, a day.
    It is not enough to march, or to make some symbolic gesture,
    or to carry a placard with a pithy message, or to chant,
    or goddnoes change the Democratic Party Leadership.
    It is not enough to be Right.
    This is all very nice I’m sure.
    None of this has done a goddam thing, and you know it.
    Nothing.

    On January 20, 2005, every blood-sucking bastard in the
    US Government will be in one place-- in Washington DC.
    Every no soldier’s father, lobbyist’s best boy, AIPAC Hooker.
    Every Connected Pseudo-Christian Crusading Son of Jesus,
    pension-robbing CEO, NRA sucking, air fouling, grandchild
    sodomizing profit monger maniac MF still breathing will be there.
    And all of the world’s so-called press, just flown in business
    class from Kiev and hunkered down in their 500 a night hotels
    will be there, with their million dollar cameras, and 100 dollar
    haircuts, and thousand dollar botox jobs, and their big salaries
    and big expense accounts, and even bigger egos- all
    slobbering over the Status Quo- they will be there and
    the World will be Watching.

    And we better be there too.
    And we better put a STOP to the Parade. Right there,
    for everyone to see.
    This is our Tiananmen Square –
    This is our Tiananmen Square
    Pennsylvania Avenue is our Tiananmen Square.
    One man standing in front of a tank, unafraid to die-can
    stop the Parade in its tracks. Bring the Government to its
    knees, with the world in witness.

    We have to show up. Show up at the route down
    Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the
    Capitol, and STOP the goddam Parade.
    With our bodies.
    We must lie down in the road, and not move.
    Tens and hundreds and thousands and tens of
    thousands of us.
    BEFORE the parade can get to The Capitol.
    We have this one chance to stop the goddam
    Parade, and we better take it.
    Peacefully. Non-violently. Passively. Assertively.
    This is our Tiananmen Square.

    2. Walk OUT

    We have GOT to try to get to DC somehow.
    But if we cannot-
    Tiananmen Square can be wherever you are.
    We have to STOP everything everywhere at noon on
    January 20, 2005.
    The Parade must come to a complete and utter halt,
    wherever it is, wherever we are, whatever we’re doing.
    We must walk off the job, walk out of school, stop our
    cars, our busses, our cabs, our bicycyles. Put down
    that sandwich, log off the chat room.
    Noon on Jan 20.
    Lie down in the street. And not get up.
    The Parade has to stop.
    We must say- NO. You go no further.

    This time there is only ONE Evil.
    And it has to be stopped.
    For an hour or a day, for ten minutes --
    with the World watching.
    In a way that is undeniable-
    That the press cannot stash somewhere
    behind the potted plant of some celebrity
    catastrophe or bogus epidemic.
    In broad daylight, in every village and town.
    Walk OUT.
    Lie down.
    Do not get up.

    Look, we walked into the voting booths with full
    knowledge that we had no real choice, our humanity
    and citizenship made brutally vestigial waaaay before
    any votes were counted, our rights stolen before our
    votes were.
    We walked into the booths like Jews walking into
    the ovens.
    Because it was easier to believe that something
    acceptable was inside than to face the utter horror
    of the truth.
    We KNEW – and now we’re whining.
    Time’s up.

    There has been a Radical Regime Change in the WORLD-
    and you cannot ever say you didn’t know. If that’s OK
    with you, then do nothing.
    If not-
    January 20,2005.
    See you in Tiananmen Square.

    CALL TO ACTION: ONE-DAY PROTEST STRIKE AND
    DEMONSTRATIONS ON INAUGURATION DAY, JANUARY 20
    http://www.counter-
    inaugural.org for up-to-date
    counter-inauguration planning.
    We call for a one-day protest strike and demonstrations
    across the United States and for marches on US embassies
    in as many other countries as possible. We know that for
    most people January 20 is a workday, and that work conditions
    can vary drastically. We suggest people reach out to others
    in their workplaces, campuses and neighborhoods and either
    call in sick or walk out at noon on January 20. College and
    university students can easily take a day off from classes.
    Whether you then choose to join an organized protest action
    or form a local affinity group of friends to organize an action
    of your own, join us and others in the streets to reclaim our
    power. We don’t consent, and we won’t obey! In the streets
    for real democracy! Act together for real alternatives!

    A Call for decentralized, local actions around the world on J20
    DC Anti-War Network Working Group,
    Counter-Inauguration actions
    http://www.dawndc.net/events/j20_05 )

    The Call
    http://www.dawndc.net
    "DAWN calls for people all over the nation and world to converge
    on Washington, DC, on the day of George W. Bush's Inauguration,
    January 20, 2005, for peaceful anti-war actions. While DAWN
    is coordinating with many groups for a day of actions, DAWN
    calls additionally for these specific actions:
    (1) A permitted nonviolent anti-war rally followed by a march
    to Bush's inaugural parade route;
    (2) A nonviolent civil disobedience die-in, following the rally,
    in memorial to the dead at the hands of Bush and his Administration."
    For more information, visit http://www.dawndc.net

    DAWN also calls for organizations, affinity groups, and individuals to
    partner with us in organizing these two actions.
    If you or your group or organization wants to endorse DAWN's call to
    action, please send an e-mail to info@dawndc.net. Write also if you wish
    to collaborate in the planning or offer financial donations or other
    material support.



    http://www.j20walkout.tsx.org
    Organizing is underway in several cities and in numerous schools for a
    massive walkut on January 20th against the Inauguration. Please visit the
    website and spread the word to students and youth (and everyone else!).
    Post updates or announcements of your walkouts and events in
    the forum and read up on others!

    Build, Organize, Walkout!
    -J20 Walkout! group

    What Will J20 Look Like?

    We call on the people of the empire to use their privilege of living
    within the empire to stop it from functioning on January 20th, 2005,
    the day that George W. Bush is to be inaugurated the next president of
    the U.S. Together, we can stop the gears of global capitalism from
    turning. We call for actions across the U.S. and around the world
    which are focused on stopping the machinery of war and global
    capitalism. These actions include both mass mobilizations, street
    parties, Civil Disobedience and Direct Action as well as Assembleas
    Populares, Encuentros and other forms of real, direct democracy.

    Alongside the bodies in the streets, we also call for networks of
    electronic civil disobedience, hacktivism, and tactical media to join
    in the struggle. Against the bio-electronic forms of empire dominating
    the conduits of capital, media, and everyday life, we make this call in
    the spirit of the Critical Art Ensemble, Conglomco, RTMArk, and all the
    radio pirates and Indymedia centers worldwide.

    The ORGANIC collective
    Opposing Repression Globally and Nurturing Independent Communities
    http://ORGANICcollective.org

    dc justice and solidarity legal collective:
    info@justiceandsolidarity.org: http://www.justiceandsolidarity.org

    working with lawyer's guild
    on legal support of the week jan. 20 legal office, street teams,
    training for affinity groups to do own legal support, what do to
    if you get arrested….

    Disgusted by Bush's election? Get active!
    * Visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org for links to
    events and groups
    * New "Bring the Troops Home Now" car magnets at
    http://www.unitedforpeace.org/merchandise
    * Donate at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/donate
    to enable us to keep fighting back
    ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
    http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
    To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email

    From Turn Your Back on Bush:
    "Turn Your Back on Bush is a new kind of event in an old tradition:
    direct nonviolent action. In the past four years, Bush has made it
    clear that dissent is unwelcome in his America, and his policies
    have created an atmosphere where demonstrators are corralled
    and their messages marginalized. Polls show that the majority
    of Americans disagree with Bush on numerous issues, but by
    refusing to talk to anyone but the most subservient press
    outlets and appearing only in highly staged events, he has cut
    himself off from all but his most ardent supporters. We want
    our audience with our President.

    "On inauguration day, we will gather as citizens for the public
    events of the day and join the rest of the crowd. At a given
    signal, we will turn our backs. Until the moment we turn around,
    there will be nothing to distinguish us from the rest of the
    crowd. By leaving our signs and buttons at home, we will
    avoid all of the obstacles that Bush and his supporters have
    used to keep anyone who disagrees with him out of sight.
    For this one moment we will speak as one and show Bush
    that winning an election does not mean he has the support
    of all Americans."

    For more information, visit
    http://www.turnyourbackonbush.org
    A Text Mob Group for the Counter-Inauguration:

    https://www.txtmob.com/group_info.php?listID=940
    &


    Subscribe to --- DRANT
    http://drrant.blogspot.com · POB 411197 · San
    Francisco · CA · 94141 1197
    Thanks.

    David Rubinson
    Back in The USA !
    POB 411197
    SF CA 94141-1197

    LINKS AND INFORMATION RE: COUNTER INAUGURATION
    ACTIONS
    JANUARY 20, 2005:

    http://www.counter-inaugural.org <<<<<
    for up-to-date counter-inauguration planning.
    http://www.dawndc.net DC actions
    http://www.dawndc.net/events/j20_05 Die In
    http://www.j20walkout.tsx.org walkout
    actions
    http://www.inaugural05.com/
    http://www.turnyourbackonbush.org
    http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org

    www.newyork.notinourname.net
    www.notinourname.net

    http://www.unitedforpeace.org
    http://www.unitedforpeace.org/events
    http://www.unitedforpeace.org/events

    http://mywebpages.comcast.net/pythian/billionaires/

    http://www.afic.army.mil/events.htm

    http://www.velocitynyc.com/inaugural-balls.shtml
    http://www.scinauguralball.com/
    http://www.freerepublic.com/w2ball/
    http://www.enaugural.com/
    http://sandiego.indymedia.org
    www.counter-inaugural2005.org

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/counterinaugural_tc/
    info@justiceandsolidarity.org
    http://www.justiceandsolidarity.org
    http://www.inaugurationmedia.org
    eve.lyman@bostonmobilization.org
    http://ORGANICcollective.org
    www.notinournmame-seattle.net
    https://www.txtmob.com/group_info.php?listID=940&
    text mob
    http://www.contro-inaugurazione.it

    QUOTE OF THE DAY:
    Find out just what the people will submit to and you have found
    out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed
    upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with
    either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are
    prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress:
    Frederick Douglass


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