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

BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR (BAUAW) CONTINUES!

After meeting last evening, BAUAW has decided to continue our
organizing efforts and our work. While we are, admittedly, a small
group we have achieved much and, have made an impact and, we
are all dedicated activists anyway. So, we continue...

Our next meeting is Monday, January 15, 2007, 7:00 P.M.
Centro del Pueblo
474 Valencia Street (near 16th Street, SF)
(In the conference room--first floor, left and then
to the right at the end of the hall.)
All are welcome!

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

Note to Newsletter Readers:

Upon suggestion, I have reorganized the newsletter to put the
news articles and links first and detailed and general announcements
at the end. I hope you find this more helpfull....bw

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
ARTICLES IN FULL:
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

1) Waiting for Answers
By BOB HERBERT
December 7, 2006
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/opinion/07herbert.html?hp

2) Welcome Political Cover
New York Times Editorial
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/opinion/07thu1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

3) Senate Confirms Gates as Secretary of Defense
By DAVID S. CLOUD
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/washington/07gates.html

4) If Castro Had a Talk Show, It Might Sound a Bit Like This
By ANDY NEWMAN
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/us/07cuba.html?ref=us

5) Altoona, With No Immigrant Problem, Decides to Solve It
By SEAN D. HAMILL
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/us/07altoona.html?ref=us

6) Report Says Oil Royalties Go Unpaid
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/washington/07royalty.html?ref=us

7) Sitcom’s Precarious Premise: Being Muslim Over Here
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/arts/television/07mosq.html

8) Widows Become the Silent Tragedy
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali Al-Fadhily
http://dahrjamailiraq.com

9) Israel demolishes entire Bedouin village in the Negev
Press Release, Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages,
6 December 2006

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

1) Waiting for Answers
By BOB HERBERT
December 7, 2006
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/opinion/07herbert.html?hp

I don’t know whether the undercover cops who shot and killed Sean Bell
and wounded his two friends should be criminally indicted. I wasn’t
there and not enough information has emerged publicly to make
a determination.

What I do know is that the investigation of this shooting in Jamaica,
Queens, in which the victims were unarmed and seemed to have
no intention of threatening the police, is not being conducted
in a timely or effective fashion.

While the local community is seething with anger over the shooting,
there are investigators scrambling like mad to find dirt to throw
on the victims and locate any evidence that might, however
remotely, tend to justify the shooting. But the authorities have
not even asked the cops, who fired 50 bullets at the car with
the three men inside, what happened. That is insane.

The office of the Queens district attorney, Richard Brown,
is leading the investigation into the shooting. For procedural
reasons that have to do with concerns about inadvertently
conferring some degree of immunity on the officers, the D.A.
has asked the Police Department not to interview the officers
who shot at the car.

But the D.A.’s office has been moving in super-slow motion
on the case, and no one from that office has interviewed the
cops, either. Mr. Brown told me yesterday that he has
a tremendous amount of additional information to gather
before his office attempts to speak to the cops. “I’ve got
no business talking to these cops,” he said, “until I know,
or am reasonably satisfied, as to what the facts are.”

He said he hopes to speak to the officers next week, but
he does not know when the matter might be presented
to a grand jury. “You never go before a grand jury with
a case,” said Mr. Brown, “unless you’ve got all the T’s
crossed and the I’s dotted.”

A veteran investigator told me yesterday that there have
been several meetings in the D.A.’s office about the Sean
Bell case but that Mr. Brown and his top aides are not
yet sure how to proceed.

The truth is that neither the Police Department nor the
district attorneys in New York are equipped to properly
investigate controversial police shootings. The prosecutors
and the cops have a special, co-dependent relationship
that exists around-the-clock, year-in and year-out.
They work together all the time on criminal cases and
other matters. They view one another as members
of a close-knit criminal justice family. They watch
each other’s backs.

When cops are involved in shootings that may not seem
justified, there is an instinctive institutional response
from other cops and prosecutors to close ranks around
the accused officers. The instinct is to protect them,
not to indict them.

(Tugging against those instincts in this case, as in the
Amadou Diallo killing in 1999, is the sensational nature
of the shooting and the tremendous public outcry and
press coverage it has generated.)

The interests of the larger community can be served only
when problematic police shootings are thoroughly and fairly
investigated by objective, impartial and independent investigators.
The police have shown over many years that they are not up
to this important task, and neither are the district attorneys.
This is why so few cops have been brought to justice over
the years in cases of blatant police misconduct and brutality.

There is an inherent and apparently insurmountable conflict
of interest at work when district attorneys investigate cases
of alleged police brutality. It’s time for New York to face
up to this. It’s time to establish a truly independent office —
perhaps a special state prosecutor, or a permanent, fully
staffed independent office at the district attorney’s level —
to investigate this type of police misconduct.

The victims of unjustifiable police killings are most often
(but not always) black, and in most cases they are black
men. It’s time to recognize that racial stereotyping and race
prejudice are still big problems in New York, and that the
police often behave differently when confronting people
who are black.

A special investigative office, which could look at these
incidents and encounters only after the fact, is not enough.
There is also a need for Mayor Bloomberg and Police
Commissioner Ray Kelly to become proactive, to acknowledge
that racism is still an issue in the Police Department
and to overhaul police training and address poisonous
police attitudes in an effort to prevent these senseless tragedies.

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

2) Welcome Political Cover
New York Times Editorial
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/opinion/07thu1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

When President Bush insisted that the Iraq Study Group would
not provide cover for the White House to chart a “graceful exit” of
American troops, he was missing the whole point. The much-anticipated
report from the bipartisan panel is precisely about political cover.
That is a good thing, if only Mr. Bush has the sense to embrace it.

Iraq is so far gone that nobody expected the panel to come up with
a breakthrough solution. As the co-chairmen — former Secretary
of State James Baker and former Representative Lee Hamilton —
began their letter accompanying yesterday’s report, “there is no
magic formula to solve the problems of Iraq.” And the study was
never going to change the basic facts: there is no victory to be
had in Iraq, and however American troops withdraw, they will
leave behind a deadly mess.

Its real mission was to avert the worst scenario, in which a stubborn
George W. Bush spends the next two years blindly insisting
he will accept nothing short of victory, while Iraq keeps spiraling
out of control and the Iraqis get no closer to being able
to contain the chaos after the Americans leave.

That is a recipe for years more of savagery, a spillover
of terrorism and instability across the Middle East, more
sacrifice of American soldiers and more cynicism and division
among the American people. Avoiding it is not the same
as winning the war, but it is a way to cut one’s losses.

If Mr. Bush has the capacity to seriously reassess his Iraq
strategy, he will need exactly the kind of political cover that
the Baker-Hamilton group was meant to provide. The central
point of the group’s 79 unanimous recommendations is that
Washington should focus far more aggressively on training
Iraqi forces and prepare for a withdrawal of American troops.
The report says all combat brigades could be out by early
2008, but that would still leave tens of thousands of soldiers
behind to hold the Iraqi Army together.

That is to be combined with a lot more pressure on the
Iraqis to make political compromises and take responsibility
for their own security (the report lays out clear milestones
and says the United States should reduce its military and
economic support if the Iraqis resist) and more aggressive
regional diplomacy, including talks with Iran and Syria that
Mr. Bush has ruled out.

Make no mistake, the report is a stunning indictment of
Mr. Bush’s failure — in Iraq and no less in Washington. But
its recommendations are still couched in language vague
enough to allow the president to pretend it is the “new way
forward” his aides are now talking up, rather than a timetable
for withdrawal, which is on Mr. Bush’s no-go list. Predictably,
the first reaction of Tony Snow, the White House spokesman,
was to insist that “there is nothing in here about pulling back
militarily.”

The world has watched as Mr. Bush painted himself into
a corner and then insisted it was a strategic decision. Even
the Iraqis are trying to provide cover to for him to come
tiptoeing back to the real world. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal
al-Maliki’s call for a regional conference on Iraq would allow
the administration to get past its refusal to talk to Tehran
and Damascus, by saying that ban was never meant
to include Iraqi initiatives.

The Iraq report is a deeply diplomatic document, stuffed
with “coulds” and “mights.” It is, all in all, exactly the kind
of shades-of-gray thinking that Mr. Bush despises, and
exactly what he needs to get the country out of the hole he has dug.

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

3) Senate Confirms Gates as Secretary of Defense
By DAVID S. CLOUD
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/washington/07gates.html

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 — The Senate voted overwhelmingly on
Wednesday to confirm Robert M. Gates as defense secretary
in a 95-to-2 vote.

The decision came after a confirmation hearing and floor debate
that unfolded in less than 48 hours, reflecting the bipartisan
sentiment that a course change in Iraq is vital as well as
a strong desire to quickly replace Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld, who announced his intention to resign last month.

Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, said Mr. Gates
would be sworn in and formally begin work on Dec. 18, more
than a week after his confirmation, because he wanted to
participate in fall commencement at Texas A&M University
before resigning as the school’s president.

With the White House expected to be discussing strategy changes
in Iraq over the next week, Ms. Perino said that Mr. Gates would
be involved in meetings and conference calls until his formal
swearing-in, “so he can hit the ground running.”

Mr. Gates, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency,
said during his confirmation hearing Tuesday that one of his
first acts would be to travel to Iraq to consult with American
ground commanders.

A Texas A&M spokesman, Lane Stephenson, said he could
not confirm Mr. Gates’s plans regarding the university’s
commencement ceremonies, but he said the event was
scheduled for Dec. 15 and 16 and it was customary for
the university president to preside.

The nomination was approved hours after the public release
of a report by the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel
headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III
and a retired congressman, Lee H. Hamilton, which urged
direct negotiations with Syria and Iran as well as a clear
declaration that the United States would reduce its support
to Iraq unless that government made “substantial progress”
on security in coming months.

Mr. Gates has not endorsed any specific strategy shift in Iraq,
and several senators warned against overestimating his
ability or desire to make sweeping and rapid changes in Iraq.

“We see the possibilities of a new chapter,” said Senator
Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, but he added,
“It is up to the commander in chief to structure a change
in policy.”

The two senators who voted against Mr. Gates were both
Republicans, Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Rick Santorum
of Pennsylvania, who lost his re-election bid in November.

In a floor statement after the vote, Mr. Santorum said he
opposed the nomination because he believed that Mr. Gates
was in favor of engagement with Iran, a country the lawmaker
blamed for contributing to the conflict in Iraq. “We should
confront them,” Mr. Santorum said.

Mr. Bunning gave a similar explanation. Mr. Gates, he said,
“believes in directly engaging rogue nations such as Iran and
Syria that are known sponsors of terrorist groups in Iraq,
Lebanon and the West Bank and Gaza. I do not support
inviting terrorists to the negotiating table.”

President Bush telephoned Mr. Gates to congratulate him
during the Senate vote after it became clear he would be
approved by an overwhelming margin, Ms. Perino said.

In a statement issued by the White House, President Bush
thanked the Senate and called Mr. Gates “an experienced,
qualified and thoughtful man who is well respected by
members of both parties and is committed to winning
the war on terror.”

Though the statement did not mention Iraq or the White
House strategy review that is under way, Mr. Bush said
Mr. Gates “will help our country meet its current military
challenges and prepare for emerging threats.”

During a perfunctory Senate floor debate on his nomination,
the handful of senators who spoke endorsed Mr. Gates and
said he represented the possibility of a strategy change
in Iraq, which lawmakers from both parties said was necessary.

“I do not believe he is invested in the decisions, many of
them bad, made in the Department of Defense over the last
five years,” said Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island.
“He is a good listener, and I think he will draw on a cross
section of views in making decisions.”

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

4) If Castro Had a Talk Show, It Might Sound a Bit Like This
By ANDY NEWMAN
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/us/07cuba.html?ref=us

MIAMI, Dec. 6 — At the far right end of the AM radio dial, a broadcast
from a parallel universe emerges from the static:

Come-hither advertisements from Cuba’s state travel agency. Reportage
from last weekend’s Fidel Castro birthday parade in Havana, complete
with an admiring assessment of Soviet-era tanks. Excerpts from
speeches by whichever Castro brother is running the country.

It is not a signal-jamming effort beamed from the Cuban coast like
some kind of reverse Radio Martí. It is not, compadre, a joke of any sort.

It is Francisco Aruca, onetime Cuban political prisoner turned
Castro admirer, speaking out from a little radio station on the
industrial north side of Miami or, more often these days, from
the comfort of his home office in the lush suburb of Pinecrest.

For 15 years, Mr. Aruca, founder of the first American company
to run charter flights to Cuba, has doubled as on-air apologist
for a man whom the vast majority of Cuban-Americans in Miami
consider a despicable and murderous dictator.

In doing so, Mr. Aruca speaks to — and for — a tiny community
of committed Cuban-American leftists who have endured years
of public scorn, threats and, in the not-too-distant past, violence.

“I listen every day; it’s the only way you can keep fairly informed
in the Banana Republic of Miami,” said Eddie Levy, chairman of the
Cuban American Defense League, a civil rights group. “I consider
him a hero. We come and go, but Aruca’s there every day.”

Mr. Aruca’s legions of critics dismiss his show, “Ayer en Miami
(Yesterday in Miami),” as a glorified infomercial for his business,
Marazul Tours, which depends on good relations with the Cuban
government and would benefit handsomely from the lifting
of travel restrictions to Cuba, one of Mr. Aruca’s many causes.
Mr. Aruca buys his time slot, an hour every weekday morning,
on the station, WOCN-AM (1450).

Whatever its means of support, the very persistence of the show
has made it into something of an institution, however widely
ridiculed. While it is anyone’s guess how many of Miami-Dade
County’s 700,000 Cubans actually listen to the program,
Mr. Aruca remains a perennial target on mainstream Spanish-
language radio, the dominant medium of Cuban-American
political discourse here. A popular song these days has
a character impersonating Mr. Castro and discarding his
customary fatigues in favor of “the Adidas outfit that Aruca
bought me at Dolphin Mall,” where much of Miami shops.

During the call-in segment of Mr. Aruca’s show on Monday,
all four phone lines were constantly busy. On the other end
were at least as many foes as fans, which is how Mr. Aruca, 66,
says he likes it.

“I really believe that what I’m doing is useful for the Cubans
in Cuba, for the Cuban-American community in Miami, that
it is useful in the U.S., which has wrong relations with Cuba,”
said Mr. Aruca, a cheerful, box-shaped man with a face like
a friendly bulldog. “And given the mediocrity and lack of freedom
of expression and diversity that is in Miami, I have found that
doing something I’ve always enjoyed, which is talking,
I can be useful.”

Mr. Aruca, born 60 miles west of Havana, was a student at
a Jesuit school when Mr. Castro took power in 1959, and he
became part of the counterrevolution soon after. He said he
organized student strikes against the government’s crackdown
on free speech and was promptly arrested and sentenced
to 30 years in jail. He escaped a few weeks later.

Mr. Aruca rethought his politics after he made his way to
Georgetown University, where he earned degrees in economics.
“I was in Washington during the Vietnam War and the civil rights
movement, and came to realize that anti-Communism was
not enough reason to go to war,” he said. He now identifies
himself as a “Christian socialist, not a Marxist,” though he
said he considered Mr. Castro a “political genius.”

Mr. Aruca started Marazul Tours in 1979, soon after the American
government began allowing family visits to Cuba. When he
opened an office in Miami in 1986, he said, his windows were
routinely smashed. His office was later firebombed, and
a Human Rights Watch report on right-wing intimidation
in South Florida singled out Mr. Aruca as a leading victim.

Joe Garcia, the former executive director of the Cuban
American National Foundation, the leading voice of the Cuban
exile community, said Mr. Aruca was first and foremost “a man
who does business with a loathsome regime.” As for his on-air
opinions, Mr. Garcia said, “He calls things as he says he sees
it and as he benefits from seeing it.”

Mr. Aruca’s company and a few other tour operators are his
show’s only sponsors other than the Cuban travel agency.
He said most businesses dared not advertise with him for
fear of boycotts.

One segment on Monday was a report that Mr. Aruca recorded
after birthday parade in Havana, which the ailing honoree
did not attend. “Somebody sitting next to me said that the
Cuban infantry is not supposed to be able to march,”
Mr. Aruca says on the tape. “Looks to me like they’re
marching pretty well.”

After playing (and praising) an excerpt from a speech at the
parade by Mr. Castro’s brother, Raúl, inviting the United
States to begin diplomatic discussions, Mr. Aruca opened
the phones.

“Did Fidel give you sneakers, the sneakers he used there?”
a man asked.

“If you’re going to joke around, go to other shows,”
Mr. Aruca said, hanging up on the caller. “Besides, Fidel
doesn’t know my shoe size.”

Terry Aguayo contributed reporting.

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

5) Altoona, With No Immigrant Problem, Decides to Solve It
By SEAN D. HAMILL
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/us/07altoona.html?ref=us

ALTOONA, Pa., Nov. 30 — By now the pattern is familiar. New
businesses move to town, creating low-paying, low-skill jobs
that are quickly filled by immigrants. Most are Hispanics who
speak little English. Some may be in the country illegally. After
a few years, local leaders fume that school enrollment has surged,
social services are stretched and crime has increased, and they
blame the illegal immigrants.

Since June, when Hazleton, Pa., some 130 miles east of here,
began debating what to do about illegal immigrants, more than
60 local governments in 21 states have followed its lead and
considered new ordinances to drive them away. At least 15
have approved the measures, typically intended to punish
landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and business owners
who employ them.

Altoona, an old railroad town nestled in an Appalachian
Mountain valley about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, is one
of those 15. It approved its ordinance, which threatens
to withdraw the business licenses of employers and rental
licenses of landlords who hire or rent to illegal immigrants,
in October. But it does not fit the same pattern.

“If you were to look for the area for the fewest immigrant
settlements in the country, you would look to south central
Pennsylvania,” said Steven A. Camarota, director of research
for the Center for Immigration Studies, a research organization
in Washington that favors tougher immigration policies.
“There just aren’t many immigrants — legal or illegal —
around Altoona because there aren’t many jobs.”

If Hazleton, where the immigrant population grew sharply
in just a few years, started the current trend for dealing with
a surge in illegal immigrants, Altoona may be the beginning
of the next wave: trying to prevent a situation from
developing in the first place.

“We don’t have a problem here with immigrants,” said
Joe Rieker, 40, one of five members of the Altoona City
Council who voted in favor of the new ordinance. “But we
want to stay ahead of the curve.” One member voted against.

When places like Altoona pass such laws, it is a sign of
a growing frustration with the federal government’s lack
of immigration enforcement, said Ira Mehlman, spokesman
for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The
group’s legal arm, the Immigration Reform Law Institute,
has aided several towns, including Altoona, in writing
similar laws.

“We certainly hope we see more towns like Altoona” approving
ordinances restricting illegal immigrants, Mr. Mehlman said.
“And as the message gets out that there aren’t a lot of
communities that are welcoming, it will be a deterrent.”

But the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union
in Pennsylvania, Vic Walczak, worries that a different
message is being sent.

“When you have towns like Altoona enacting a solution
in search of a problem, you worry if there’s a nativist impulse
there,” Mr. Walczak said. “There’s a fair bit of politics involved
here, and illegal immigrants are an easy and effective
scapegoat for a small town’s problems.”

Founded in 1849 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, Altoona
grew as waves of German, Irish and Italian immigrants
moved here. But immigrants have long since bypassed
Altoona as the city’s economic fortunes dwindled along
with those of the railroad business. In the 2000 census,
the city had just 295 foreign-born residents, about one-
half of 1 percent of its 49,523 residents, and no one thinks
that figure has changed much over the past six years.

“You see a car here with four Mexicans in it, I do feel bad
about it, but they do stand out in an area that’s mostly
white and of European descent,” said Mr. Rieker, whose
wife, Vanessa, is a Peruvian immigrant going through
the lengthy and complex process of becoming a United
States citizen.

But Altoona does have at least one factor in common
with Hazleton: both ordinances were passed after local
killings that have been attributed to illegal immigrants.

In Hazleton, a local man was shot and killed in May.
Two illegal immigrants from the Dominican Republic
have been charged in his death.

In Altoona, Miguel Padilla, 27, was convicted in September
in the killings of three men outside a nightclub on Aug. 28, 2005.
Though he had moved to a nearby town as a boy and graduated
from a high school there, Mr. Padilla was an illegal immigrant
from Mexico. He had previously been arrested and his illegal
status had been reported to the federal government.

Mayor Wayne Hippo and other members of the Council have s
aid the Padilla case had nothing to do with the city’s ordinance.

But for local residents who support the ordinance, the murders
were the biggest reason Altoona needed the ordinance.

“We just had three murders here,” Sandy Serbello, 64, a lifelong
resident said in explaining her support of the measure.
“We look at everybody differently now.”

Ms. Serbello said she avoided talking to anyone she suspected
of being an illegal immigrant, “because we don’t want to be
one of their victims.”

That is the kind of sentiment that worries the Rev. Luke
Robertson, executive director of Catholic Charities in Altoona,
which along with the local Roman Catholic diocese strongly
opposed the ordinance.

“I don’t think they thought through the unintended
consequences,” said Father Robertson, 49, a Franciscan
priest. “It promotes bigotry.”

Moreover, said Bishop Joseph V. Adamec of the diocese,
the ordinance could discourage businesses from opening
in or relocating to Altoona when Interstate 99, which runs
through town, is completed, connecting Interstates 80 and 76.

“They’re not going to build here if we aren’t welcoming,”
said Bishop Adamec, who has overseen the diocese for 19 years.

He is not swayed by those who say that the three murders might
have been prevented if the ordinance had been in effect in 2005.

“The one who did it, he came here when he was a boy and went
to our schools,” Bishop Adamec said. “He didn’t come here already
formed. He’s one of us.”

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

6) Report Says Oil Royalties Go Unpaid
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/washington/07royalty.html?ref=us

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 — An eight-month investigation by the
Interior Department’s chief watchdog has found pervasive problems
in the government’s program for ensuring that companies pay
the royalties they owe on billions of dollars of oil and gas pumped
on federal land and in coastal waters.

In a scathing report to Congress, the Interior Department’s inspector
general says the agency’s data are often inaccurate, that its officials
rely too heavily on statements by oil companies rather than actual
records and that only about 9 percent of all oil and gas leases
are being reviewed.

The report undermines claims by top Interior officials that the
department is aggressively pursuing underpayments and outright
cheating by companies that drill on property owned by the
American public.

And though investigators did not attempt to estimate the amount
of money that the government might be losing, they cited a host
of weaknesses that make the government vulnerable to being
short-changed.

Interior officials defended the program on Wednesday, but
announced that they would develop “an action plan” to
address the inspector general’s recommendations.

The report comes as lawmakers in both parties have been
attacking the Interior Department for failing to correct
blunders that department officials now concede could
cost the government as much as $10 billion over the
next five years.

It also reinforces complaints by critics, from auditors within
the agency to lawmakers in both parties, who have said
that enforcement has become superficial, prone to errors
and overly deferential to oil companies.

These are among the inspector general’s findings:

-Since 2000, the number of audits has declined by 22 percent
and the number of auditors has been reduced by 15 percent,
even though soaring energy prices have doubled the total
amount of money at stake, to about $10 billion a year.

-Though the Interior Department says it has “reviewed”
about 72 percent of all revenues from federal leases, it actually
examined only 9 percent of all properties and 20 percent
of all companies.

-The department’s “compliance review” system, a computerized
form of fact-checking that has increasingly replaced audits,
essentially relies on the word of the oil companies being monitored.
Officials conducting such reviews do not ask companies
for their actual records.

-Government data are incomplete and often inaccurate, making
it almost impossible for enforcement officials to develop strategies
for selecting companies for special scrutiny.

The report said the agency’s follow-up efforts were often sketchy,
because officials who identified underpayments by companies did
not have a procedure for verifying that the agency actually billed
the companies or collected the money.

It also said the agency’s statistics about recovering money were
incomplete, inaccurate and sometimes misleading. The investigators
said they could not even determine how many audits the government
completed each year or whether the government recovered as much
it had identified in underpayments.

In response to the report, the Interior Department said it was
preparing a “comprehensive plan” to act on many of the
recommendations. In a written statement, the department’s
Minerals Management Service, which oversees the royalty
collection program, said it would deliver the plan to the inspector
general within 30 days.

“We appreciate the work of the Inspector General’s office,” Johnnie
M. Burton, director of the department’s Minerals Management
Service, said in a written statement.

Last month, the Interior Department said that it had created an
independent advisory panel to review complaints about the
royalty program. But at the time, officials said they did not
believe there were serious problems.

“While I think there’s a lot of room for improvement, I’ve not
been able to find anything that’s drastically wrong,” C. Stephen
Allred, assistant secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals
Management, said in an interview last month.

The new panel will be led by a man with close ties to the oil
industry, David T. Deal, a former assistant general counsel
for the American Petroleum Institute.

Democratic lawmakers said the new report amounted to a broad
indictment of the Interior Department’s unwillingness to
scrutinize oil companies and protect the interests of taxpayers.

“This report is a blistering, scalding indictment of the Minerals
Management Service,” said Representative Edward J. Markey,
Democrat of Massachusetts and a longtime critic of the
Interior Department’s handling of the royalty program.
“It says that, rather than being a cop on the beat, they
were turning a blind eye to obvious flaws in the auditing
system.”

Representative Carolyn Maloney, Democrat of New York
and a member of the House Government Reform Committee,
said the report would lead to broader investigations of the
oil and gas leasing program when Democrats take control
of the House and Senate in January.

“That gushing sound you hear is our government leaking
royalties owed to American taxpayers from the oil and gas
companies,” Ms. Maloney said Wednesday. “They are going
to have some explaining to do next year when there’s new
leadership in Congress.”

Since President Bush took office, the Interior Department
has shifted as much enforcement effort as possible from
traditional audits of oil companies to the computerized
“compliance review” system.

The new report is the result of an investigation that began
in March, in response to questions posed by the Senate
Energy Committee after The New York Times reported that
royalties for natural gas had climbed far more slowly than
market prices and that both federal and state auditors were
complaining that the new system was inadequate.

Earl E. Devaney, the Interior Department’s inspector general,
has sharply criticized the department on numerous occasions.
In 2004, his office described the royalty auditing program
as frequently unprofessional, with auditors who were often
unqualified and supervisors who were often ineffective.

In September, Mr. Devaney told the House Government
Reform Committee that the Interior Department had tolerated
cronyism, ethical breaches and cover-ups of major
management blunders.

The new report does not condemn the department’s growing
use of “compliance review,” noting that the Internal Revenue
Service has long used computerized systems to spot signs
of cheating.

“Compliance reviews are a legitimate tool for evaluating the
reasonableness of company-reported royalties,” the report said.

But the investigators warned that the reviews “do not provide
the same level of assurance as an audit, and should only be
used in conjunction with audits.”

When asked by the Senate Energy Committee whether the
agency was spending enough money to do its job properly,
the investigators said they could not answer because the agency
“lacked reliable information to allow us to conduct such an analysis.”

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

7) Sitcom’s Precarious Premise: Being Muslim Over Here
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/arts/television/07mosq.html

TORONTO — The handsome, clean-cut young man of evidently
Pakistani or Indian origin is standing in an airport line, gesticulating
emphatically as he says into his cellphone, “If Dad thinks that’s
suicide, so be it,” adding after a pause, “This is Allah’s plan for me.”

As might be expected, a cop materializes almost instantly and drags
the man off, telling him that his appointment in paradise will have
to wait, even though the suicide he is referring to is of the career
kind; he’s giving up the law to pursue a more spiritual occupation.

The scene unrolls early in the pilot of a new Canadian comedy
series called “Little Mosque on the Prairie.”

Yet that fictional moment is an all-too-possible occurrence,
as witnessed when six imams were hauled off a US Airways plane
in Minnesota in November after apparently spooking at least
one fellow passenger by murmuring prayers that included
the word Allah.

“Little Mosque on the Prairie” ventures into new and perhaps
treacherous terrain: trying to explore the funny side of being
a Muslim and adapting to life in post 9/11 North America.
Its creators admit to uneasiness as to whether Canadians
and Americans can laugh about the daily travails of those
who many consider a looming menace.

“It’s a question we ask ourselves all the time,” said Mary Darling,
one of the show’s three executive producers and an American
who has lived in Canada for the last decade. “If 9/11 is still
too raw, it might not work,” she said.

There is the other side of that coin too — what will Muslims
think? — which the show’s creators usually summarize in one
long sentence that mentions the uproar prompted by Salman
Rushdie as well as the Danish cartoons about the Prophet
Muhammad.

This concern stems from the almost automatic presumption
that “to look at Muslims in an entertaining way is going
to be controversial because they will riot in the streets,”
said Al Rae, one of the show’s writers, who noted that he
does research by bouncing potential scenarios off cab drivers
here. Or as Amaar, the young man detained in the opening
airport scene, puts it sardonically, “Muslims all over the
world are known for their sense of humor.”

The strongest insurance against outrage from the faithful
is that “Little Mosque” is the brainchild of Zarqa Nawaz,
a Canadian Muslim of Pakistani origin whose own assimilation,
particularly after she left Toronto for Regina, Saskatchewan,
10 years ago, provides much of the comic fodder.

“It rests on my shoulders to get the balance right between
entertainment and representing the community in a reasonable
way,” Ms. Nawaz, a 39-year-old mother of four, said
in an interview here. “You have to push the boundaries
so you can grow and evolve as a community.”

During one recent episode being filmed at a neighborhood
swimming pool, two Muslim characters who are normally
veiled leave the changing room to discover that a man has
replaced their usual female instructor. The horrified women
lunge for bath towels to use as temporary hijabs, or veils,
to cover their hair.

Ms. Nawaz, veiled since she was in ninth grade, coached
both actresses to be less relaxed. “I didn’t feel that they
were panicked enough,” she said. “It’s a big deal for
a hijab-wearing woman to be seen without one.”

Ultimately the solution is found when, as the script describes,
“Fatima comes out dressed in the Haz-Mat Islamic swimsuit.”
The costume designer unearthed a swimsuit on the Internet
from Jordan that covers her from scalp to ankle and had
it shipped to Canada.

The struggle over what constitutes modest dress is central
to the show. When a Muslim girl flounces into her immigrant
father’s presence with her navel showing, he recoils in horror,
saying, “You look like a Protestant.”

She counters, “Dad, you mean a prostitute?”

He responds, “No, I meant a Protestant.”

Ms. Nawaz’s humor also emerges in the pool episode.
Johnny, the male water aerobics instructor, is gay, and
he pointedly says that the sight of the women’s hair would
not be the least bit arousing.

“I always try to start these debates in my community like:
Does gay count? Do you have to cover your hair in front of
a gay man?” Ms. Nawaz said with a chuckle. (It is not the kind
of question that arises in Muslim countries, where being openly
gay is virtually out of the question; such behavior is punishable
by a death sentence in some places.)

Fellow Muslims often dismiss her thoughts and questions
as too outrageous, she admitted. “But now I have a whole
series to express them.”

Amaar, for example, is abandoning a law career to become
the new imam, or prayer leader, in the small town of Mercy.
His predecessor as imam preaches sermons like, “First there
was ‘American Idol,’ and now there is ‘Canadian Idol.’ All idols
must be smashed.”

Ms. Nawaz wanted the show to look at how a native-born imam,
exceedingly rare at the moment, might deal with issues differently
from the standard imported imams. The actor who plays
the young imam, Zaib Shaikh, is the only Muslim in the cast,
although the creators said they had hoped more would audition.

Another episode focuses on the anguished debate among
strict Muslim families about allowing their children to dress
up and collect candy on Halloween, a Christian affair built atop
a pagan festival. Most North American Muslims eventually
compromise because the day has been drained of religion.
“Little Mosque on the Prairie” turns it into “Halal-oween,” halal
being the Arabic word for anything religiously permissible.

The sitcom grew out of the battle in Ms. Nawaz’s mosque
in Regina over whether women had to pray behind a partition,
a heated controversy across the United States and Canada. She
vehemently opposed the idea, ultimately making a documentary
released this year called “Me and the Mosque” about the
tug-of-war with her own imam as well as similar segregation
battles in Chicago and West Virginia.

The documentary sparked her idea that all manner of tension
between moderate and conservative Muslims — one episode
focuses on the partition issue — would make both Muslims
and non-Muslims laugh. There were 600,000 Muslims in
Canada in the 2001 census, with the number now estimated
around 800,000. Estimates for the American population are
around six million.

In an earnest manner not atypical of Canadians, one goal
of the show is to explain Muslim behavior, or at least make
Muslims seem less peculiar, much as humor about Jews,
Italians or gays helped those groups assimilate.

“On the news all you ever hear are voices from the extreme
end of the spectrum,” Ms. Darling said. “This gives voice
to ordinary people who look just like other ordinary people.”

With its small-town setting and affable cast of characters —
even a talk radio host who labels Muslims as terrorists comes
across as rather lighthearted — the show unrolls a bit like
“Mary Tyler Moore” or some other 1970s sitcom. It is scheduled
to start on CBC on Jan. 9, with eight episodes. More are under
negotiation. Pitches will be made to networks in the United
States in December, so at first only Americans in border states
will be likeley to have access to it.

Test audiences have been somewhat divided, the producers
said. Younger viewers, especially Muslims, tend to laugh
openly with recognition. Others, particularly the older
generation — whether Muslim or not — hesitate.

“Nobody has done a comedy about Muslims before, so they
are not sure how to take it,” Ms. Nawaz said. “Some non-Muslims
wonder, ‘Are we allowed to laugh?’ ”

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

8) Widows Become the Silent Tragedy
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali Al-Fadhily
http://dahrjamailiraq.com

*BAGHDAD, Dec. 7 (IPS) - Hundreds of thousands of widows are becoming
the silent tragedy of a country sliding deeper into chaos by the day.*

Widows are the flip side of violence that has meant more than a million
men dead, detained or disabled, Iraqi NGOs estimate. These men's wives
or mothers now carry the burden of running the families.

"The total figure of men who have been killed, disabled or detained for
long periods of time adds up to more than one and a half million,"
Khalid Hameed, chief of the Iraqi al-Raya human rights organisation told
IPS. "The average number of Iraqi family members is seven, so about ten
million Iraqis are facing the worst living circumstances."

In these circumstances, he said, women have had to "search for ways to
survive and support their families at a time when not much help comes
from the international community."

Most international NGOs left the country by last year apparently on the
advice of governments of their countries pointing to growing violence
and dangers to NGO members.

"International NGOs were conducting support projects for Iraqi women
before they suddenly quit and left the country in a rush in October
2005," Faris Daghistani, who was project manager at the Baghdad mission
for the Italian humanitarian aid organisation in Iraq INTERSOS told IPS.

"There was a wide focus on working women and how to support them by
training and providing them with necessary tools to raise income on
their own," he said. "It is a pity that most of our productive projects
have stopped, and we had to leave women to face their fate on their own."

The violence since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 is not the first to have
taken its toll. Hundreds of thousands of men were killed, taken prisoner
or disabled during the 1980-1988 war between Iran and Iraq.

"We have never lived our lives as human beings should live," 42-year-old
Dr Shatha Ahmed told IPS at her home in Baghdad. "The Iraq-Iran war took
our fathers, and now the Bush war is taking our husbands and sons."

Women now face a long struggle surviving and bringing up families on
their own, she said. "We could not even dream of developing our own skills."

Dr. Shatha's husband, also a doctor, was killed by Muqtada al-Sadr's
Mehdi Army in September this year when he was leaving the Ministry of
Health offices in Baghdad. She now has to support her family, and her
husband's parents as well.

Some help is on offer to widows through groups such as the Iraqi Red
Crescent, the Islamic Party, the Muslim Scholars Association and
non-governmental organisations. But this support is not well organised,
and is insufficient to help the growing number of widows.

The Social Affairs Office of the government has started paying the
equivalent of about 100 dollars monthly to widows. But this payment
cannot support whole families, given particularly the shooting inflation.

And the payment is not easy to get. "I had to pay a lot of money as
bribes to government officials in order to get the monthly support
payment, and that is not enough to support my big family," 47-year-old
widow Haja Saadiya Hussein from Baghdad told IPS.

"Americans killed my husband last year near a checkpoint, and now I have
to work as a servant in government officials' houses to earn a living
for my six children. I have stopped them going to school, to cut my
expenses."

Some widows have attempted to remarry in order to find support. Some
second husbands, who are usually older, offer to take care of their new
sons for religious reasons.

"There can be no compensation for losing a husband," a spokesperson from
the Iraqi Red Crescent's social support department told IPS. "The world
is responsible for these women who lost their spouses in the name of the
international community."

(c)2006 Dahr Jamail.

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

9) Israel demolishes entire Bedouin village in the Negev
Press Release, Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages,
6 December 2006

At 5:00am hundreds of police accompanied six bulldozers and
demolished 17 homes and three animal shacks in the village
of Twail Abu-Jarwal. The entire village is demolished. People
are sitting by the piles of tin that were their modest dwellings
and wondering what to do, where to go - even their family
cannot host them, as no one has a house standing.

This is the fourth time this year that the government demolished
in this village. This time they got it "right" - no house
is left standing.

But the villagers have nowhere to go to. They lived on the
outskirts of the Bedouin town of Laqia, the old folk paid for
plots of land to build homes in the 1970s, they still hold on the
receipt, hoping someday to receive the plots. For the last
30 years they have been living on land belonging to others,
in shacks, the housing becoming ever more crowded, until
there was no room left for another baby. They turned to the
government for a solution - the option for joining the rest
of the residents of Laqia, in a regular house, on a regular
plot of land. But the authorities had no options for them.
The owners of the land on which they were living requested
that they leave - 30 years is enough. So eventually they left
back to their own ancestral land - only a couple of miles
south of Laqia - by the old ruined school, by their old cemetery.
The adult sons built their old mother a modest brick home.
The rest built tin shacks.

A year ago the government came and destroyed several houses -
including the brick home. Some of the people of Twail Abu Jarwal
rebuilt, some moved into more crowded homes with their adult
siblings. The government came nine months later and demolished
seven more homes. Again, some rebuilt their shacks, some moved
in with family. The government came back last month and just
to harass, uprooted fences, holding the sheep. And now they
came in order to make sure the work is complete.

Israel's Minister of Interior, Roni Bar-On, two days ago was
invited to give answers to the Internal Affairs Committee in the
Knesset, as to what solutions the government is advancing
in order to solve the issue of the unrecognized Bedouin villages
in the Negev, and why the government is demolishing homes
while these people have no "legal" options for building homes.
Bar-On claimed that everything is just fine, he is doing all he
can to deal with this issue, but a criminal must be punished,
and therefore all the "illegal" Bedouin homes in the Negev must
be demolished. He claimed that as far as he is concerned, there
are not enough demolitions in the Negev. And now he has
proved that he is a man of his word - 17 homes demolished
in one foul swoop.

Of the 150,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel living in the Negev,
over 50% live in villages that the government as policy has left
"unrecognized", meaning that there are no options for building
permits, as well as running water, electricity, roads, sewer
systems and trash removal, additionally there are very minimal
education and health facilities. This policy's aim is to force the
Bedouins off their ancestral lands and to concentrate the Bedouins
in urban townships, regardless of their wishes or their culture.
However, there are also no options for living in the concentration
towns the government has built, as there are no available plots
of land for homes, as in the case of the families of the Twail abu-
Jarwal village. Therefore the government can "legally" demolish
the homes of 80,000 members of this community, while they
cannot build one "legal" home.

We need help! Both financial and political.

Please donate to help the people of the village re-build their
homes (tin shacks that stand as homes...) Checks can be sent
to RCUV - al Awna Fund (the Regional Council for the
Unrecognized Villages), POBox 10002, Beer Sheva,
zipcode 84105, ISRAEL.

Please write to your representatives! And tell of the quiet
and brutal demolitions of homes and lives in the Israeli Negev,
demand that they do something about it.

The Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages is an NGO
and was created in 1997 as the representative body for the
residents of the 45 Bedouin unrecognized villages in the Israeli
Negev. Hssein al-Rafaia is the elected head of the RCUV.
For more information, please contact Yeela Raanan, 054 7487005,
or via email at yallylivnat@ gmail.com, Civil Society Activities
Coordinator, Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages.

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

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
LINKS AND VERY SHORT STORIES
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

From Diallo to Sean Bell
NYPD's Death Squads
By JARED RODRIGUEZ
and BRIAN JONE
http://www.counterpunch.org/rodriguez12072006.html

Prosecutor Admits Mumia Had No "True Defense"
Mumia Abu-Jamal Case Goes to Third Circuit
By DAVE LINDORFF
December 7, 2006
http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff12072006.html

Dwindling Docket Mystifies Supreme Court
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/washington/07scotus.html?hp&ex=1165554000&en=63c9951e3052ec75&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Strongest Proof Yet of Water Flow on Mars
By WARREN E. LEARY
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/science/space/07mars.html?ref=us

Bakiyev Wants to Revoke Troops' Immunity
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:25 a.m. ET
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) -- President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
on Thursday called for U.S. troops deployed in the former
Soviet nation to be stripped of diplomatic immunity after
a U.S. serviceman fatally shot a Kyrgyz civilian.
December 7, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Kyrgyzstan-US-Man-Shot.html

Panel Calls for New Approach to Iraq
By DAVID E. SANGER
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 — A bipartisan commission warned
on Wednesday that “the situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating,”
and handed President Bush both a rebuke of his current strategy
and a detailed blueprint for a fundamentally different approach,
including the pullback of all American combat brigades over the
next 15 months.
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/world/middleeast/06cnd-iraq.html?hp&ex=1165467600&en=4781220ebb343863&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Recommendations of the Iraq Study Group
A bipartisan commission today urged stepped-up diplomatic and
political efforts to stabilize that country, coupled with a shift
in the mission of U.S. forces to allow the United States to
“begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/world/middleeast/06report_summary.html

Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish
by Daniel Zwerdling
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6576505

Army bulldozes farmlands and stops school
students from going home near Bethlehem
Israeli army bulldozers started on Monday
morning to bulldoze farmlands, and barred
school students from leaving their school in
Al Khader village south of the West Bank city
of Bethlehem. Troops and army bulldozers
stormed the village on Monday morning, around
10:00, and started to bulldoze and uproot farmlands
in the village to build a road and underground tunnel
to separate the Palestinian used roads from the
Jewish only roads, villagers reported.
http://www.imemc. org/content/ view/23054/ 1/

Settlers uproot Olive trees in Hebron
The sources stated that armed extremist settlers
of the Hagai illegal settlement, uprooted and cut
more than 70 olive trees that belong to Mohammad
Abdul-Hamid Al Tubassi, and Rateb Al Tubassi,
while (JEWISH) soldiers did not attempt to stop them.
http://www.imemc. org/content/ view/23060/ 1/

Manhattan: Raises for Elected Officials Approved
By SEWELL CHAN
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
signed a bill yesterday raising elected
city officials’ salaries for the first
time since 1999. The measure
increases salaries to $225,000 from
$195,000 for the mayor;
to $190,000 from $150,000 for the
district attorneys; to $185,000
from $160,000 for the comptroller;
to $165,000 from $150,000
for the public advocate; to $160,000
from $135,000 for the borough
presidents; and to $112,500 from
$90,000 for City Council members.
The mayor noted that the pay raises
were recommended by an advisory
commission he appointed and were
in line with inflation and raises
for other city workers.
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/nyregion/06mbrfs-RAISE.html

Manhattan: Trial Begins for War Protesters
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS
Cindy Sheehan, who set up
a vigil outside President Bush’s ranch
in Crawford, Tex., last year
after her son, a soldier, was killed
in Iraq, went on trial in Manhattan
Criminal Court yesterday
for sitting down outside
a United Nations office on East 45th
Street last March. Ms. Sheehan
and three co-defendants were
charged with trespassing, resisting
arrest and disorderly conduct.
Ms. Sheehan’s lawyer, Robert Gottlieb,
told the jury that videotapes
would show that Ms. Sheehan
and the other women were simply
trying to deliver an antiwar petition,
and sat down in self-defense,
when they were mobbed by police
officers in riot gear. Her
son Casey, was killed in 2004.
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/nyregion/06mbrfs-trial.html

Court Rejects Interpretation of Immigration Drug Law
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 — The Supreme
Court rejected the government’s
interpretation of immigration law
on Tuesday, ruling that a noncitizen
is not subject to mandatory deportation
for a drug crime that, while
a felony in the state where the
crime was prosecuted, is only
a misdemeanor under federal law.
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/washington/06scotus.html?ref=us

Storm Evacuees Remain in Grip of Uncertainty
By SHAILA DEWAN
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/us/06fema.html?ref=us

Cuba: An Abrazo for Chávez, Signed Fidel Castro
By MARC LACEY
The Communist newspaper Granma published a note from the ailing
leader Fidel Castro in which he congratulates his ally Hugo Chávez
on his re-election as Venezuela’s president. “Your victory was
conclusive, crushing and without parallel in the history of our
Americas,” said the note, which featured the signature of Mr. Castro,
who has not been seen by the public since the government issued
a videotape of him on Oct. 28.
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/world/americas/06briefs-cubacastro.html

Mexico: Oaxaca Protest Leader Arrested
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Federal agents have arrested one of the main leaders of the violent
protests in Oaxaca State in a signal that the new administration
of President Felipe Calderón will take a firmer hand in dealing
with civil unrest than his predecessor, Vicente Fox. The arrest
of Flavio Sosa Villavicencio, left, the leader of the New Left
movement and a key player in the Oaxaca People’s Popular
Assembly, came after he held a news conference in Mexico City
late Monday evening. It capped a week in which the federal
authorities had detained more than 130 of the protesters
in Oaxaca and shipped them to maximum-security prisons
around the country. The federal police also imposed a ban
on marches. Since then, an uneasy peace has settled on the
southern colonial city, after months of civil strife between the
government and leftists calling for the governor to resign.
At least 13 people have been killed, dozens have been injured
in protests and colonial landmarks have been defaced or burned.
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/world/americas/06briefs-mexicoprotest.html

At Least 5 Marines Are Expected to Be Charged in Haditha Deaths
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/washington/06haditha.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

What Statistics on Home Sales Aren’t Saying
By DAVID LEONHARDT
December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/business/06leonhardt.html?hp&ex=1165467600&en=13e309a543ffe184&ei=5094&partner=homepage

None Dare Call It Reason
Pro-War Talk Media Continues to Tell It Like It Isn't
By Mark T. Harris
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mark_har_061205_none_dare_call_it_re.htm

Near-Total Isolation Sought for Guantanamo Detainees
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1205-04.htm

Nonstick Chemicals Likely Cancer-Causing Agent
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1205-05.htm

Extra Checks on Voting Machines Rejected
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1205-06.htm

US Predicts Bumper Year in Arms Sales
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1205-07.htm

War Protestor Will be Retried
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1205-01.htm

Nearly as Many Contractors as Soldiers in Iraq
There are about 100,000 government contractors operating
in Iraq, not counting subcontractors, a total that is
approaching the size of the US military force there,
according to the military's first census of the growing
population of civilians operating in the battlefield.

The New York Times | Losing the Good War
The editors of the New York Times write: "Afghanistan was
supposed to be the good war - and the war America was
winning. But because of the Bush administration's
inattention and mismanagement, even the good war
is going wrong."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506B.shtml

Old forest sucks up greenhouse gas, study says
By Jeff Barnard AP Environmental Writer
GRANTS PASS - Researchers have found soils in an old-growth
forest in southern China are storing carbon at a rapid rate.
Friday, December 1, 2006 1:44 PM PST
http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2006/12/01/news/news09120106.txt

Brad Will's Alleged Killers Released from Jail
By Sarah Ferguson | December 1, 2006
http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/powerplays/archives/003144.php

The House of Death
When 12 bodies were found buried in the garden of a Mexican house,
it seemed like a case of drug-linked killings. But the trail led
to Washington and a cover-up that went right to the top.
David Rose reports from El Paso
David Rose
Sunday December 3, 2006
Observer
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1962643,00.html

Pediatricians Urge Restrictions on Ads for Sex-Related Products
By REUTERS
December 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/business/media/05food.html
CHICAGO, Dec. 4 ( Reuters) — Children should be exposed to fewer
television ads for anti-impotence drugs and more for birth control,
and need to be shielded from an advertising onslaught in general,
the leading United States pediatricians' group said on Monday.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, in a new policy statement,
also urged limits to children's television viewing and access to the
Internet, as well as restrictions on how alcoholic beverage makers
promote their products.
"If we taught kids media literacy, you can essentially immunize
kids against advertising," said Dr. Victor C. Strasburger,
a pediatrician at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque
and the lead author of the statement.
The pediatricians group urged that erectile dysfunction drug
ads not be shown until after 10 p.m., when fewer children
are watching television.
Children who watch more television — presumably exposing
them to ads for fast food, snacks, soft drinks and candy —
are more likely to be obese, although no studies show
a direct correlation between advertising and obesity, he said.
Jim Davidson, a spokesman for the Advertising Coalition,
said that food companies and advertisers had already
responded to the obesity epidemic by promoting healthier
products and by following recently revised guidelines
for commercials directed at children.
Makers of tobacco and hard liquor have long been restricted
from advertising on television, and Mr. Davidson noted that
brewers had pledged not to advertise on TV shows where
children make up more than half of viewers.
The statement, published in the academy's journal, Pediatrics,
also sought to limit televised ads for alcoholic beverages
to show just the product and not bikini-clad women
or cartoon characters, and to ban tobacco advertising of any kind.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/business/media/05food.html

As Auto Prosperity Shifts South, Two Towns Offer a Study in Contrasts
By MICHELINE MAYNARD and NICK BUNKLEY
[There is a map at the site of this link in the Times online. It shows
four things: auto plant employees; auto plants built before 1986;
auto plants built after 1986; and the change in employment figures.
The map shows the change in auto manufacturing from a concentration
of plants within a geographical area of the country—Michigan and
surrounding states—manufacturing primarily domestic automobiles.
To a predominance of foreign car manufacturing, and both domestic
and foreign, spread out geographically across the country. It also
shows a one-quarter to over one-half decrease of automotive
manufacturing jobs in the Detroit and surrounding states region,
leaving huge increase in unemployment, under-employmentand crime
rates in its wake….bw]
December 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/business/05cities.html?ref=business

Comedy on the Hot Seat
Mr. [Dick] Gregory said his son told him a joke the other day: "What
is worse than a white man calling a black man a nigger?" Mr. Gregory
said, quoting his son. "Calling a white man Michael Richards."
By ALLEN SALKIN
LOS ANGELES
December 3, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/fashion/03comedy.html?
_r=1&ref=fashion&oref=slogin

Bridegroom's Legacy Remembered at His Funeral
By ALAN FEUER
December 2, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/02/nyregion/02funeral.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

After a Shooting, a Rapper Stages a Protest in Rhyme
By KELEFA SANNEH
December 2, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/02/nyregion/02papoose.html

A NEW LOOK AT U.S. RADIOACTIVE WEAPONS
http://www.iacenter.org/poison-dust.htm

Foe of Birth Control to Head US Family Planning Department
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1201-07.htm

FOCUS | Widespread Corruption in Iraq Costs Taxpayers $4 Billion a Year
The Iraqi government is in danger of being brought down by the
wholesale smuggling of the nation's oil and other forms of corruption that
together represent a "second insurgency", according to a senior US
official. Stuart Bowen, who has been in charge of auditing Iraq's faltering
reconstruction since 2004, said corruption had reached such levels that it
threatened the survival of the state.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120206Z.shtml

Would HRW Have Attacked Martin Luther King, Too?
Palestinians Are Being Denied the Right of Non-Violent Resistance?
By JONATHAN COOK
in Nazareth
November 30, 2006
http://www.counterpunch.org/cook11302006.html


An Ancient Computer Surprises Scientists
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
November 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/science/30computecnd.html?
hp&ex=1164862800&en=d7d28d698786f28d&ei=5094&partner=homepage

California: Toddler's Shooting Called Accident
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The district attorney's office in Los Angeles will not file charges
against 11 police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a toddler
during a gun battle with her father last year. The toddler,
19-month-old Suzie Pena, was being used as a human shield
by her father, District Attorney Steve Cooley said in a memorandum.
Prosecutors found the SWAT officers were trying to defend themselves
and others when they accidentally killed the child, Mr. Cooley said.
The father, Jose Raul Pena, exchanged gunfire with the police during
the hourslong July 2005 standoff before he was fatally shot. There
were illegal drugs in his system and traces of cocaine in the toddler's
system, officials said.
November 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/us/29brfs-TODDLER8217S_BRF.html

Nurse and 7 Guards Are Charged in Teenager's Death at Boot Camp
By ANDY NEWMAN
November 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/us/29boot.html

Ruling Lets Women Share Rights Custody Fight
By ADAM LIPTAK
November 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/us/29mothers.html?ref=us

Anger Spills Over in Atlanta at Killing of Aged Woman
By SHAILA DEWAN and BRENDA GOODMAN
November 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/us/29atlanta.html?ref=us

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

SCROLL DOWN TO READ:
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS (IN FULL DETAIL)
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

please circulate:

Leonard Peltier Court Hearing December 7, 2006
From: abeltranjurisdr @ aol.com
Subject: Dec 7th Peltier argument Second Circuit, Manhattan
Date: Nov 30, 2006 12:24 PM
To: Leonard Peltier Supporters

From: Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
Subject: Court hearing on December 7, 2006

Location: U.S. Court of Appeals 500 Pearl Street, 9th Floor,
Ceremonial Courtroom, Manhattan.

On December 7, 2006 at 10:00 a.m., Buffalo attorney Michael Kuzma will
be arguing before a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit for the full release of all documents maintained
by the Buffalo field office of the FBI relating to Leonard Peltier and RESMURS.

As a result of this lawsuit, and a similar case brought against the FBI in
Minnesota under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), we have learned
that the *FBI actually possesses 142,579 pages* of material pertaining
to Leonard Peltier and RESMURS. Although these documents are over
30 years old, the Government continues to block release of this
information on the basis that disclosure would, among other things,
hamper the "war on transnational terrorism" and reveal the identities
of confidential sources.

Come out on December 7, 2006 to show your solidarity and support
in our struggle to pry loose these secret FBI files and, in the process,
come one step closer to liberating Leonard from federal prison!

Thank you,

Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
http://www.leonardpeltier.net/

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

Protest unionbusting Hornblower
Next Saturday morning, December 9, 10:00 A.M.,
there will be another show of public support at the
picket line at Pier 33, SF.

From: gata@infinex.com [mailto:gata@infinex.com]
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 10:38 AM
To: perryadams@clearchannel.com; bobagnew@clearchannel.com
Subject: Letter to Quake Radio re Hornblower ads

Kudos for bringing back Mike Malloy, and for allowing Bob Linden to buy
airtime. Those two shows are the only reason I tune to your station anymore.
(If you were to bring back Marc Maron, I'd listen to that too). Shame on
you, though, for taking money from unionbusting Hornblower, who are defying
a federal court order to abide by the MMP/IBU's Service Contract negotiated
with Hornblower's predecessor.
See today's Chronicle story:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/04/

Next Saturday morning there will be another show of public support at the
picket line at Pier 33 at 10am (Dec. 9). Will you send someone from your
news dep't. to cover it? Have you already, or will you interview IBU
regional director Marina Secchitano about what Hornblower's refusal to abide
by the Contract means to those workers?
I urge you not to take anymore advertising from Hornblower, until they agree
to abide by the Contract completely.
I also am appalled that you carry advertising from Working Assets, who have
participated in a smear campaign against Cynthia McKinney, by publishing an
attack article on her from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution by a rightwing
writer. After years of service with WA, I cancelled my account, and have
urged all my friends to do the same. I'm also urging them to write to you
and to not listen to your station anymore until you stop carrying Hornblower
ads.

I am sending this letter to my contacts and asking them to write and call
the station (advertising director Perry Adams: 415.972.1119; comments line
415.273.5754).

Janice Rothstein
AFSCME 3299; SF Chapter California Peace and Freedom Party

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

Please forward widely:

Join military resisters, their families, veterans and concerned
community members taking public action!

National Days of Action to:
SUPPORT GI RESISTANCE & GI RIGHTS
END WAR & EMPIRE

RALLY & PROCESSION
SAT DEC. 9, 1pm

War Memorial Veterans Building
401 Van Ness Ave at McAllister St
(Civic Center BART)

Featuring:
Iraq War Resisters:
Darrell Anderson, Iraq War Veteran and War Resister
Kyle Snyder, AWOL Iraq Veteran and War Resister
Anita Dennis, mother of Darrell Anderson
Bob Watada & Rosa Sakanishi, father and stepmother of Lt. Ehren Watada
Jeff Paterson, Gulf War 1 Marine resister
Also joining us will be members of IVAW and their cross-country bus!
more TBA

Plus:
Performance and word by:
Local High School Student activists with AWE Youth Action Team

Also join us earlier for a

PUBLIC FORUM 11am:
GI Rights, GI Resistance and Ending the War
War Memorial Veterans Building
401 Van Ness Ave at McAllister St
(Civic Center BART)

In-depth stories and discussion with:
Maxine Hong Kingston, author,poet and co-author of
the new book, "Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace"
Darrell Anderson, Iraq War Veteran and War Resister
Anita Dennis, mother of Darrell Anderson
Kyle Snyder, AWOL Iraq Veteran and War Resister
Bob Watada & Rosa Sakanishi, father and stepmother of Lt. Ehren Watada
more TBA!

It's time for us to escalate public pressure and action in support of
the growing movement of thousands of courageous men and women GI's who have
in many different ways followed the their conscience, upholding
international law, taking a principled stand against unjust, illegal war and
occupation and stood up for their rights. Widespread public support and pressure
will help create true support for courageous troops facing isolation and
repression, and help protect their civil liberties and human rights. We
call for the following: 1) Support for War Objectors 2) Protect the
Right to Conscientious Objection 3) Protect the Liberties & Human Rights of
GI's 4) Sanctuary for War Objectors.

Your participation in these days of action—and beyond-- is crucial to
realizing these goals: together, we do have the power to end this war
and prevent the next one. As the antiwar movement builds its support for
these brave people and their important actions, we hope more will take a
stand if we show them they won't be alone.

Sponsored by: Courage to Resist, Watada Support Group (San Francisco),
Veterans for Peace-Chapter 69, AWE Youth Action Team

Days of Action Sponsored by (partial list):
Iraq Veterans Against the War, War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada),
Gold Star Families for Peace, and the Central Commitee for
Conscientious Objectors

Other Bay Area Events:

Fri Dec 8, 7:30pm:
College of Marin, Student Center
College Avenue, Kentfield, California, $5-10
Iraq Combat Veteran, turned war resister, Darrell Anderson
Plus segments of the new film "The Ground Truth"
Sponsored by Courage to Resist; College of Marin, Students for Social
Responsibility; and Marin Peace & Justice Coalition
Info: green-girl@comcast.net 415-454-5470 http://www.mpjc.org
Campus map: http://www.marin.cc.ca.us/com/files/COM-MAP06.pdf

Fri Dec 8, 7:30pm:
Buena Vista United Methodist Church
2311 Buena Vista Ave., Alameda, CA 94501
7:30 Film, "The Ground Truth"
8:30 Panel, Rev. Michael Yoshii moderator, with Bob Watada and Rosa
Sakanishi

Sat Dec 9, NOON - 4pm:
San Jose
Peace Vigil to Support Lt. Watada!
Gather in front of MLK, Jr. Library
150 E. San Fernando St.
San Jose, CA
Sponsors: South Bay Mobilization, UFPJ in San Jose

For more info about the "National Days of Action to Support GI
Resistance and GI Rights" and an updated list of participating events nationwide
visit: http://www.CouragetoResist.org or contact: courage@riseup.net

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

"Ode to Joy and Struggle"
Event for Lynne Stewart and co-defendants
Saturday, December 9th ,
6:30 or 7:00 pm [I'm looking into that. -t.]
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South
From: PatLevasseurP @ aol.com
Subject: Govt. seeking authorization to appeal Lynne Stewart‚s
sentence
Govt. seeking authorization from Solicitor General to appeal
Lynne Stewart's sentence (and that of her co-defendants)

Hello All,

I am writing to update you on that status of Lynne Stewart's
case after her sentencing on October 16th. While we were all
relieved that Lynne did not get 30 years, the Government has
announced that it has gone to the Solicitor General of the
United States Justice Department for authorization to appeal
her sentence and that of her co-defendants. They are not
challenging the bail pending appeal but state that they will
only agree to one 30 day adjournment of the filing of the
appeal because they want everyone serving their sentences
as soon as possible. What does all this mean for Lynne?
Lynne's attorneys are not surprised that the government wants
to appeal her sentence. Although sentences are not usually
appealed it does happen and case law in the 2nd Circuit
which governs Lynne's case shows that although rare, when
a sentence is appealed and the Circuit sends the case back
for resentencing the result is a far longer sentence. We are
hopeful that Judge Koeltl‚s meticulous sentencing decision
will carry the day but we have no guarantees and must
continue our vigilance in the face of this latest move
by the government. Of course Lynne's attorneys
will be filing the appeal of her conviction within the year.

Remember to save the date and join us in an
"Ode to Joy and Struggle
December 9th 6:30 to ?

The evening will be held at the beautifully renovated Judson
Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South
(near Thompson St.) in the West Village, New York City.
The event is mostly one of joy but of course the struggle
continues. We will also be commemorating Mumia Abu Jamal's
25 years behind bars and to that end we will hear from:

Lynne Stewart - her case and current legal status

Pam Africa
Chair of International Concerned Family
and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is currently
determining whether Abu-Jamal will be granted a new trial
or sent back to death row, which is the district attorney's
preference. Speaking about this at our event is Pam Africa,
who will be joining us after the annual rally in Philadelphia,
which recognizes the day Mumia Abu Jamal was shot and framed.

and

Robert Meeropol
Executive Director, Rosenberg Fund for Children

ABOUT ROBERT MEEROPOL

Robert Meeropol is the founder and Executive Director of the
Rosenberg Fund for Children (RFC). For the last 30 years he
has been an activist, writer and public speaker. He has
successfully sued the federal government and through the
RFC, has assisted hundreds of children whose parents also
have been attacked for their social activism. Robert is also
the author of AN EXECUTION IN THE FAMILY (now available
in paperback from St. Martin's Press.) This political memoir
chronicles Meeropol's journey from childhood victim of
McCarthy-era repression; to 1960's militant activist; to politically
engaged parent and law student; to founder and leader of the
Rosenberg Fund for Children. ODE TO JOY AND STRUGGLE

Join Lynne Stewart and the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee in

THANKING YOU !

for your support over these last 4+ years
and uniting for the struggle ahead

Saturday, December 9th , 7pm till .......
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South
New York, NY

Speakers:

Lynne Stewart
Pam Africa, International Concerned
Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Robert Meeropol. Executive Director,
Rosenberg Fund for Children

Music by:

Selah Eric Spruiell and The Fort Greene Project
Urbano Sanchez, Latin Jazz
Professor Louie and Fast Eddy
Professor Irwin Corey and Randy Credico
and MUCH more
(comedy, Latin jazz, rap)

Great Food & Drink provided

Judson Memorial Church resides on the southern edge
of Washington Square Park between Thompson
and Sullivan Streets. Accessible by subway.

Trains: A, C, E, F to West 4th; R to 8th St.; 1 to
Christopher St.-Sheridan Sq.

Mobility Handicapped please enter through
Thompson Street entrance.

Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
350 Broadway, Suite 700
New York, NY 10013
212-625-9696
www.lynnestewart.org

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

12/16 Solidarity Sleigh To Support UAW364 Conn Selmer Elkhart,
Indiana Strikers
Solidarity Sleigh On Beethoven's Birthday
Good Union brothers, sisters and concerned activists,
UAW Local 364 has been on strike for eight months.
LET'S JOIN TOGETHER TO BRING SOLIDARITY SUPPORT TO ELKHART!!

Join Solidarity Caravan!!!

WHEN

SATURDAY DECEMBER 16TH 2006 1:00 P.M. TO 4:00 P.M.

WHERE

North Side Church of the Nazarene
Fellowship Hall
53569 County Rd. 7
ELKHART, IN. 46514


Members have worked together in unprecidented ways
to galvanize support for our brothers and sisters. Join
together for an old fashioned Solidarity revival that made
the Union strong. Sponsors have contributed to purchase
gifts for the children. Bring support for food bank,
contributions, etc. or just bring a heart filled with
Solidarity and Holiday cheer!!!!

UAW Local 364 struggle information
http://www.soldiersofsolidarity.com/files/relatednewsandreports/MakeMusicWithSolidarityCaravanOn1216.html

Make Music With
Solidarity Caravan On 12/16 to Elkhart, Indiana To Support
UAW364 Conn-Selmer Strikers
"They'll Never Break Us Down"

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The 230 members and their families of UAW 364 of Conn-Selmer's
Vincent Bach musical instrument factory in Elkhart, Indiana
have been on strike for over 7 months. It is time to rally to their
support and help them with food, funds and solidarity.

On Saturday December 16, 2006 there will be caravans
from throughout the mid-west going to Elkhart, Indiana
to join the picket line and rally for their struggle.

Picketing will take place before 3:00 PM when a rally
will be held.

Collections are being taken to purchase toys for the kids
so they can have a happy holiday and efforts are also being
made to expand the struggle to all musicians in the US
and internationally. Please contact the AFM musicians
union in your area and ask that they boycott all Steinway Inc.
products until the striking workers return to their jobs and
the 120 scabs are removed from the plant. You can also call
these phone numbers and ask why this union busting
company continues to seek to break the union with scabs.
It has also been reported that the Sheriff is now using
prisoners to do the work of some of the strikers.
Contact: GOT QUESTIONS CALL DENEEN SEIGLER 574-389-8391
OR ROB WILSON 309-224-7840
E-MAIL ME AT soldier4him2003@yahoo.com
BRING FRIENDS

Steinway Inc has total sales of $375 million a year and is the
largest seller of professional trumpets and horns in the world.
Steinway PI Long IL, NY 718-721-2600
Steinway Piano 305-774-9878
Steinway, DM News 212-344-8759
Steinway and Sons 617-426-1900
Owner Messina Irish Stock

Send Contributions of food or money to the Food Bank at

Food 4 Strikers
58558 Ardmore Dr.
Elkhart, IN 46517

Endorsed by UAW364 Strike Support Committee, Labor Action
Coalition and other unionists.

Bach says it'll keep substitutes--South Bend Tribune

Bach Strike: Real Marketplace Facts

Bach workers picket outside courthouse after judge's
ruling--South Bend Tribune

Bach plant gets order restraining strikers--South
Bend Tribune

Striking union members in Elkhart reject 'last, best
offer'--Bach workers will stay on strike into 7th month
--SouthBend Tribune

Steinway LABOR CONTRACTS TO EXPIRE

Phone- a- con for Solidarity

6 months later, still on strike at UAW Local 364
--South Bend Tribune

Labor activists to picket Bach--Chance encounter
bringing LAWS founder to Elkhart. UAW Local 364

Thanks from UAW Local 364

On Strike at Local 364--Steinway is trying to take our
horns to China--Deneen Seigler

Phone- a- con for Solidarity

Workers of UAW Local 364 in Elkhart Indiana have been
on strike for seven months. There is no information about
this strike on the UAW web site but the company's product
is advertised on the International Web Site. Conn-Selmer
is the parent company of Steinway where these workers
make musical instruments. There has been no gate
collections to assist these workers no food banking,
the most basic of survival skills for striking workers.
There are 230 workers on strike they ask us to call
these numbers at let them know we support them.


UAW Local Officers UAW 364
313-962-5000 Jerry Stayton
574-536-1364
AFLCIO
317-632-9147 Bill Buzzard
574-266-5945
UAW Officers Region #3
Connie Thurman- CAP Bob Allen
317-547-0614 574-295-4266

Mo Davison - Director
317-547-0614

Brenda Upchurch
317-547-0614

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

Drums Across America for Peace
December 16, 2006 simultaneously across
the country at 11:00 to 11:30 A.M. PST
For More Information contact:
Marilyn Sjaastad
541-344-8088
Jade Screen Clinic

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

Dear Defenders of Women's Rights,

While California voters rejected Proposition 85, the
parental notification act in last month‚s elections,
the fight for reproductive rights continues and your
help is needed.

The rightwing remains on the offensive and for the
third year running will be coming to San Francisco on
Saturday, January 20 for their annual „Walk for
Life˜West Coast‰. But, as in previous years, Bay Area
Coalition for Our Reproductive Rights (BACORR)
activists will be organizing a multi-issue response to
the anti-abortionists. We are initiating a January
20th Coalition to bring together local and national
community groups and activists to organize a counter
demonstration with one united voice. We need you to
join this important effort and to send the message
that the San Francisco Bay Area stands for
reproductive rights and that Roe v. Wade must be
defended and expanded.

In past years our efforts were endorsed by the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors, San Francisco Labor
Council, ACCESS, East Bay NOW, Watsonville Brown
Berets, California Coalition for Women Prisoners,
Radical Women, Code Pink, Women of Color Resource
Center, GABNet, the Women‚s International League for
Peace and Freedom, and many more. This year‚s theme is
„Forward, Not Back˜Reproductive Justice for All!‰

Here‚s what we need you to do:

1. If in the Bay Area: Attend the upcoming January
20th Coalition meetings: Wednesday, December 13 from
6:30-8:30 p.m. at 1908 Mission Street, San Francisco
(at 15th Street), Wednesday, December 20, 6:30-8:30
p.m. at 369 15th Street, Oakland (near 12th
St./Downtown Oakland BART) and at these addresses on
January 3 (San Francisco), January 10 (Oakland) and
January 17 (San Francisco)

Contact BACORR for subcommittee meetings or to arrange
meetings in other locations.

2. Endorse the counterprotest of the „Walk for
Life˜West Coast‰. We ask for a $25 donation, but any
amount is appreciated. Please make checks out to:
Women‚s Choice Clinic and mail to 570 14th Street,
Suite 3, Oakland, CA 94612-1080 with Jan. 20th
endorsement in the memo line.

3. Commit to bringing folks to the counterprotest on
Saturday, January 20, 2007. Meet at 10:30 a.m., Pier
#5 on the Embarcadero (to the left of the Ferry
Building at Embarcadero and Market Streets) in San
Francisco. Wear green, bring signs, and defend women‚s
right to choose!

Please call 415-864-1278, email bacorrinfo@riseup.net,
or visit www.BACORR.org for more information.

BACORR stands for: free, accessible abortion on
demand; no forced sterilizations; universal
healthcare; pre- and post-natal care and childcare for
all; safe and accessible contraceptives; an end to
discrimination against people of color, queer,
immigrant, and youth communities; embracing (not
controlling or denying) sexuality; providing
reality-based sex education in our public schools, and
more. Fight back with BACORR!

In solidarity,

Anita O‚Shea
Bay Area Coalition for Our Reproductive Rights
(BACORR)

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

ACT NOW TO END THE WAR!
SATURDAY JANUARY 27, 2007
Washington, D.C.
VOLUNTEER Live in NYC or DC? We need your help
before and during the protest. Call 212-868-5545
STAYINFORMED Visit www.unitedforpeace.org for
updated information and to sign up for our action alerts
DONATE Whether you can contribute $10, $100, or
$1000, we need your support to help end the war!
Call 212-866-5545 or visit www.unitedforpeace.org/donate
Join us for a massive
march on Washington
to tell the new Congress:
unitedforpeace&justice
www.unitedforpeace.org (212)868-5545
On Election Day the voters delivered a dramatic,
unmistakable mandate for peace. Now it's time for action.
On Jan. 27, 2007, help send a strong, clear message to
Congress and the Bush Administration:
Bring the troops home now!

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

UFPJ calls for march on DC Sat, Jan. 27, local
actions on March 17
www.unitedforpeace. org
212-868-5545
Please forward widely!
Tell the New Congress:
Act NOW to Bring the Troops Home!
Join United for Peace and Justice in a massive march on Washington ,
D.C. , on Sat., January 27, to call on Congress to take immediate
action to end the war.
On Election Day the voters delivered a dramatic, unmistakable mandate
for peace. Now it's time for action. On January 27, 2007, we will
converge from all around the country in Washington , D.C. to send a
strong, clear message to Congress and the Bush Administration: The
people of this country want the war and occupation in Iraq to end and
we want the troops brought home now!
Congress has the power to end this war through legislation. We call on
people from every congressional district in the country to gather in
Washington, DC -- to express support for those members of Congress who
are prepared to take immediate action against the war; to pressure
those who are hesitant to act; and to speak out against those who
remain tied to a failed policy.
The peace and justice movement helped make ending the war in Iraq the
primary issue in this last election. The actions we take do make a
difference, and now there is a new opportunity for us to move our work
forward. On Election Day people took individual action by voting. On
January 27 we will take collective action, as we march in Washington ,
DC , to make sure Congress understands the urgency of this moment.
Join United for Peace and Justice in this crucial push for peace!
1) Make a donation right now to support the January 27 mobilization and
help give us the funds we need to make this a truly massive outpouring
for peace.
2) Pass this email along to everyone you know, post it on blogs and
websites -- do everything you can to help us get the word out about
January 27th.
3) Make sure your organization endorses the January 27th mobilization.
Click here to add your endorsement.
4) Start making plans to bring people from your congressional district
to Washington on January 27. We will soon have a form on our website,
where you or your group can sign up to be the coordinator for people
coming to DC from your area, so you can meet up, coordinate
transportation, housing, etc.
5) Keep checking the UFPJ website for more details in the coming weeks!
You might have also heard that United for Peace and Justice was calling
for a demonstration in Washington to commemorate the 4th anniversary of
the war in Iraq on March 17. Because of the new developments and our
decision to organize the January 27th mobilization, we are now calling
for local and regional antiwar actions that weekend instead. We will
soon be issuing more information about the plans for the 4th
anniversary.
Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ
today.
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
www.unitedforpeace. org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit www.unitedforpeace. org/email

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

LYNNE STEWART AND MICHAEL RATNER IN BAY AREA
FEBRUARY 23-25 (Lynne and her husband Ralph will
stay on several more days. Stay tuned for complete
schedule of events.)
Dear Friends of Lynne Stewart,
I am pleased to announce that Lynne Stewart and Michael Ratner have
just accepted our invitation to tour the Bay Area. The confirmed
dates are February 23-25, 2007. Lynne, accompanied by her husband
Ralph Poynter, will stay on several more days for additional meetings.
In solidarity,
Jeff Mackler,
West Coast Coordinator, Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
Co-Coordinator, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
O: 415-255-1080
Cell: 510-387-7714
H: 510-268-9429

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

MARCH 17, 2007 GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION ON THE 4TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE WAR!
DEMONSTRATIONS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.; LOS ANGELES;
SAN FRANCISCO; SEATTLE; CHICAGO AND OTHER CITIES AND
TOWNS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD. THE
A.N.S.W.E.R. COALITION URGES EVERYONE IN THE ANTIWAR
MOVEMENT TO COME TOGETHER IN UNITY AGAINST THE
CRIMINAL ACTIONS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
http://www.pephost. org/site/ PageServer? pagename= ANS_homepage

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

May Day 2007
National Mobilization to Support Immigrant Workers!
Web: http://www.MayDay2007.net
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights!
webpage: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org
e-mail: info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org
New York: (212)330-8172
Los Angeles: (213)403-0131
Washington D.C.: (202)595-8990

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

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

A NEW LOOK AT U.S. RADIOACTIVE WEAPONS
Join us in a campaign to expose and stop the use of these illegal weapons
http://poisondust.org/

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

URGENT APPEAL TO SAVE IRAQ'S ACADEMICS.
Call for action to save Iraq's Academics
A little known aspect of the tragedy engulfing Iraq is the systematic
liquidation of the country's academics. Even according to conservative
estimates, over 250 educators have been assassinated, and many
hundreds more have disappeared. With thousands fleeing the country
in fear for their lives, not only is Iraq undergoing a major brain drain,
the secular middle class - which has refused to be co-opted by the
US occupation - is being decimated, with far-reaching consequences
for the future of Iraq.
http://www.brussellstribunal.org/

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

END ALL U.S. AID TO ISRAEL!
Stop funding Israel's war against Palestine
Complete the form at the website listed below with your information.
https://secure2.convio.net/pep/site/Advocacy?
JServSessionIdr003=cga2p2o6x1.app2a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=177

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

ENDORSE THE A.N.S.W.E.R. CALL TO ACTION
March 17-18, 2007
GLOBAL DAYS OF ACTION ON THE
4TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR!
http://answer.pephost.org/site/Survey?
SURVEY_ID=3400&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&JServSessionIdr011=
k7a3443r73.app8a

http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_homepage

Please circulate widely
www.answercoalition.org

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

Sand Creek Massacre
On November 29, 1864, 700 Colorado troops savagely slaughtered
over 450 Cheyenne children, disabled, elders, and women in the
southeastern Colorado Territory under its protection. This act
became known as the Sand Creek Massacre. This film project
("The Sand Creek Massacre" documentary film project) is an
examination of an open wound in the souls of the Cheyenne
people as told from their perspective. This project chronicles
that horrific 19th century event and its affect on the 21st century
struggle for respectful coexistence between white and native
plains cultures in the United States of America. Purchase the
DVD of the film and watch the trailer at:
http://www.donvasicek.com/
There is also curriculum, lesson plans and an educational video
available for school classrooms.

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

Rights activist held in Oaxaca prison
Three students arrested and held incommunicado in Oaxaca
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/11/80142.html

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

TAX THE RICH! FEED THE POOR! MONEY FOR HUMAN NEEDS, NOT WAR!
www.bauaw.org
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
!VIVA FIDEL! LONG LIVE FIDEL! LONG LIVE THE CUBAN REVOLUTION!
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

My Name is Roland Sheppard
This Is My `Blog'
I am is a retired Business Representative of Painters District
Council #8 in San Francisco. I have been a life long social activist
and socialist. Roland Sheppard is a retired Business Representative
of Painters District Council #8 in San Francisco. I have been
a life long social activist and socialist.
Prior to my being elected as a union official, I had worked
for 31 years as a house painter and have been a lifelong socialist.
I have led a unique life. In my retire age, I am interested in writing
about my experiences as a socialist, as a participant in the Black
Liberation Movement, the Union Movement, and almost all social
movements.
I became especially interested in the environment when I was
diagnosed with cancer due to my work environment. I learned
how to write essays, when I first got a computer in order to put
together all the medical legal arguments on my breakthrough
workers' compensation case in California, proving that my work
environment as a painter had caused my cancer. After a five-year
struggle, I won a $300,000 settleme