Counter-recruitment materials for educators, parents
and people concerned about our youth. check out:
http://www.papertiger.org/index.php?name=Military-Myths-Curriculum-Download-Page

*******************************************************

Hey Everyone!
This is Roger and Bob from College Not Combat.

I'm sure that most everyone reading this was out at the
demonstration this past weekend. By my estimate there were
about 10,000 people gathered out there on Saturday to show
their opposition to the war, as there were people gathered in
other places around the Bay Area, the country and the world.
And not only is there an abundance of anti-war sentiment in
general, but there's a lot of anger and fighting spirit around
getting military recruiters out of our schools specifically.
With just a handful of people on Saturday, we were able to
gather about 100 names and numbers from people who would
like to get involved with anti-recruitment organizing and with
College Not Combat.

So where do we go from here? At a previous meeting of CNC
we discussed the possibility of raising a ballot initiative here
in San Francisco aimed at getting recruiters out of our schools,
and of raising money for education by taxing the rich! It's an
idea whose time has come, and an idea and a course of action
around which we can engage very large numbers of people,
and build a base of action within the anti-war movement. We
should see this Saturday's meeting as the first step in getting
this fight going.

So whether you were at the first CNC meeting a month ago,
or just heard about us for the first time on the 19th, please
join us for the next meeting this Saturday (March 26) at 2pm
at the office of Haymarket Books at 110 Capp St. in the Mission
District (call (415)248-1701 for directions). See you there!

*******************************************************

THE NEXT BAUAW MEETING:
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 11:30AM
474 VALENCIA STREET, SF
(FIRST FLOOR, TO THE LEFT AND ALL THE WAY BACK
TO THE COMPAÑEROS DEL BARRIO CHILDREN'S CENTER)

*******************************************************

MILITARY RECRUITERS WILL BE AT THE CAREER FAIR AT
GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
600 32nd Avenue between Geary and Balboa Sts.
TUESDAY, APRIL 5TH, 9:50AM-12:20PM
Come to the BAUAW meeting April 2 and help plan ways to
keep the military out all the career fairs and out
of our schools!
SAT. APRIL 2, 11:30 a.m.
474 VALENCIA STREET, SF
(FIRST FLOOR, TO THE LEFT AND ALL THE WAY BACK
TO THE COMPAÑEROS DEL BARRIO CHILDREN'S CENTER)

************************************************************

EYES WIDE OPEN EXHIBIT
STILL NEEDS SHOES:
* Tie each pair together, or, if no laces, securely attach them
together.
* Count the pairs of shoes and place in heavy-duty garbage bags.
Attach a tag with the count on it.
* Shoes will be donated at the end of the exhibit. Children's
and men's shoes are especially needed.
* Call Nabil at 415-565-0201 ext. 14 or email
shoes@peacefultomorrows.org
* Drop off shoes 9 am to 5 pm at AFSC, 65 Ninth St.
(between Mission and Market) until Thursday, March 24.
Last minute shoes may be brought to Civic Center Plaza
Friday, March 25. No shoes accepted after Friday.
* Collect phone cards for military personnel
We are also collecting telephone calling cards to donate to
military personnel and to returning Iraq war veterans in
a Bay Area hospital and the USOs at local airports. Please
purchase phone cards to donate with your shoes or bring
to the exhibit.

* To volunteer with the shoe project, call Nabil at
415-565-0201 ext. 14 or email
shoes@peacefultomorrows.org
* To volunteer to help with the exhibit call AFSC at
415-565-0201 ext. 15 or email sleeds@afsc.org

SAN FRANCISCO DATES:
March 25 (Friday), 11:00 am with all night vigil
Civic Center between Polk and Larkin
March 26 (Saturday), 10:00 am to 5 pm
Civic Center Voices and Requiem - 2 pm
March 27 (Easter Sunday), 10:00 am to dusk
Union Square (Powell and Geary)

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

1) World Water Day: Private Sector Still (LINK ONLY)
Eyeing to Own Every Drop
Selling water rights to private institutions and then having
people buy them back again is an issue that keeps rearing its
ugly head at every World Water Day, which falls on Mar. 22
by Anil Netto
Published on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 by the Inter-Press Service
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0322-06.htm

2) Journalists tell of US Falluja killings (LINK ONLY)
Thursday 17 March 2005 10:41 AM GMT
Journalists accuse US soldiers of targeting children
All is quiet in Falluja, or at least that is how it seems, given that
the mainstream media has largely forgotten about the Iraqi city.
But independent journalists are risking life and limb to bring
out a very different story.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6890A8DA-AF79-45AD-BB4F-42C060978A07.htm

3) U.S. Consumer Prices Jump, (LINK ONLY)
Spark Inflation Worry
WASHINGTON (Reuters)
Wed Mar 23, 2005 09:07 AM ET
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7984972&src=eDialog/GetContent

4) Joe Bageant: 'Finding Jesus at the Cracker Barrel' (LINK ONLY)
Date: Wednesday, March 23 @ 09:44:08 EST
Topic: Church and State
Sunday in a red state
By Joe Bageant
If Jesus reappeared on earth tomorrow it would probably be at
Daytona or a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. -- Punk Wilson,
local wiseass
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=20412

5) Attica to Abu Ghraib
An organizing conference on human rights, torture, and
resistance Sponsored by the International Human Rights
Initiative
Spoken Word, Music and More
Friday, April 22
6:00ˆ9:00 pm
St. Joseph the Worker Church
1640 Addison St., Berkeley, CA
Working Conference
Saturday, April 23
8:30 amˆ9:00 pm
U.C. Berkeley, Dwinelle Hall

6) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (LINK ONLY)
By Mary Beaudoin,
W A M M (Women Against Military Madness)
worldwideWAMM February 2005
"School Ownership is the Goal"
http://www.worldwidewamm.org/newsletters/2005/0205/invasion.html

7) PLEDGE OF RESOLVE
http://www.actionsf.org/ansst050217.htm

8) Women in Struggle
a film about Palestinian women ex-detainees
Saturday, March 26th
7:00 PM
The Women's Bldg.,
San Francisco

9) George W. to George W. (LINK ONLY)
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
OP-ED COLUMNIST
March 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/opinion/24friedman.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1111680006-TItm5IwsR71gCM9UHW4PHw

10) States Worry About (LINK ONLY)
Meeting Requirements
of Education Law
By GREG WINTER
ON EDUCATION
March 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/education/24educ.html

11) G.M. to Seek Cuts in (LINK ONLY)
Union Health Benefits
By DANNY HAKIM
March 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/business/24auto.html

12) Tuesday, March 29, 7pm
S.F. Women's Building 3543 18th St.
(btwn Valencia and Guerrero)
ANSWER Educational Forum
Iran, Lebanon & Syria:
Myths, Realities and the U.S. Drive for
Domination of the Gulf Region

13) Israel to build thousands more (LINK ONLY)
settler homes in West Bank
By Rick Kelly
World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
24 March 2005
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/mar2005/isra-m24.shtml

14) Go Making Tracks, a musical written by an
Asian American with an all Asian American cast
about the lives of Asian Americans in America.
please forward

15) March 19 Rally in Fayetteville, (LINK ONLY)
NC, a Resounding Success!
Pictures from Fayeteville : By Charles Jenks
Report by North Carolina Peace and Justice Org.:
http://www.ncpeacejustice.org/
"At least 20 active duty GIs defied orders from Ft Bragg
to come to listen."
http://www.lefthook.org/Ground/March20032305.html

16) Tell Congress to Stop Hurting Your Healthcare (LINK ONLY)
WARNING: Association Health Plans (AHPs) mean no protection,
no guarantee and no limits on price.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/590261171?z00m=22478&z00m=22478<l=1111688716

17) REFINERIES APPEAL TO (LINK ONLY)
COUNTY FOR TAX RELIEF
Up to $33 million at stake if properties reassessed
By Peter Felsenfeld
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Posted on Thu, Mar. 24, 2005
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/counties/contra_costa_county/11217797.htm

18) Graduation rates lower than stated (LINK ONLY)
By Jackie Burrell
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Posted on Thu, Mar. 24, 2005
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/education/11217823.htm

19) Chess legend Fischer heads for Iceland (LINK ONLY)
JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press
COPENHAGEN, Denmark
Posted on Thu, Mar. 24, 2005
http://www.contracostatimes.com:80/mld/cctimes/news/11219735.htm

20) U.S. war deserter loses bid for refugee status (LINK ONLY)
24/BNStory/National/
Thursday, March 24, 2005 Updated at 2:18 PM EST
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050324.whinzman03

21) 3861 Palestinian women lost their sons or
daughters during the Intifadah
To you mothers behind bars: Happy
Mother's day!!!

22) Pentagon Sees Aggressive (LINK ONLY)
Antidrug Effort in Afghanistan
By THOM SHANKER
March 25, 2005
"To support the new effort, the Defense Department is requesting
$257 million, more than four times the amount last year, in
emergency financing for military assistance to the
counternarcotics campaign, in addition to the $15.4 million
in the Pentagon's budget for fiscal 2005, which began last Oct. 1."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/politics/25military.html?hp&ex=1111813200&en=10e5667ddab7d14f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

23) The Era of Exploitation (LINK ONLY)
By BOB HERBERT
OP-ED COLUMNIST
March 25, 2005
"President Bush believes in an "ownership" society, which
means that except for the wealthy, you're on your own. The
president's budget would cut funding for Medicaid, food stamps,
education, transportation, health care for veterans, law
enforcement, medical research and safety inspections for
food and drugs. And, of course, it contains big new tax cuts
for the wealthy."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/opinion/herbert25.1.html?hp

24) Minnesota Killer Chafed (LINK ONLY)
at Life On Reservation
Teen Faced Cultural Obstacles And Troubled Family History
By Blaine Harden and Dana Hedgpeth
Washington Post Staff Writers
washingtonpost.com
RED LAKE, Minn.
Friday, March 25, 2005; Page A01
"Indian youths commit suicide at twice the rate of other young
people, according to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
The overall death rate of Indians younger than 25 is three
times that of the total population in that age group.
Compared with other groups, the commission found, Indians
of all ages are 670 percent more likely to die from alcoholism,
650 percent more likely to die from tuberculosis, 318 percent
more likely to die from diabetes and 204 percent more likely
to suffer accidental death."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64315-2005Mar24.html

25) Army to use patriotic appeal (LINK ONLY)
after missing recruiting goals again
By Dogen Hannah
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON
Posted on Wed, Mar. 23, 2005
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11212455.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0324-08.htm

26) President Bush's Proposed FY 2006 (LINK ONLY)
Federal Budget for Education
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc.asp?CID=892&DID=35292

27) HR 551: "OPT-IN" IF YOU WANT YOUR KID'S NAME AND
PERSONAL INFORMATION TO GO TO THE MILITARY, OTHERWISE IT WILL
BE WITHHELD FROM THE MILITARY.

28) Report on Conclusion of Preliminary (LINK ONLY)
Review in the Matter of Professor Ward Churchill
http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/churchill/report.html

29) March 19, 2005, San Francisco
Rally talk by Jackie Cabasso, representing UFPJ

30) War Resisters Support Campaign
Campagne d'appui aux objecteurs de conscience
http://www.resisters.ca

31) United for Peace of Pierce County, WA -
We nonviolently oppose the
reliance on unilateral military
actions rather than cooper..
Please spread this far and wide
(link to full text below)....
THE NATIONAL DEFENSE STRATEGY OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Department of Defense
March 2005
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/dod/nds-usa_mar2005.htm

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

1) World Water Day: Private Sector Still (LINK ONLY)
Eyeing to Own Every Drop
Selling water rights to private institutions and then having
people buy them back again is an issue that keeps rearing its
ugly head at every World Water Day, which falls on Mar. 22
by Anil Netto
Published on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 by the Inter-Press Service
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0322-06.htm

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

2) Journalists tell of US Falluja killings (LINK ONLY)
Thursday 17 March 2005 10:41 AM GMT
Journalists accuse US soldiers of targeting children
All is quiet in Falluja, or at least that is how it seems, given that
the mainstream media has largely forgotten about the Iraqi city.
But independent journalists are risking life and limb to bring out
a very different story.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6890A8DA-AF79-45AD-BB4F-42C060978A07.htm

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

3) U.S. Consumer Prices Jump, (LINK ONLY)
Spark Inflation Worry
WASHINGTON (Reuters)
Wed Mar 23, 2005 09:07 AM ET
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7984972&src=eDialog/GetContent

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

4) Joe Bageant: 'Finding Jesus at the Cracker Barrel' (LINK ONLY)
Date: Wednesday, March 23 @ 09:44:08 EST
Topic: Church and State
Sunday in a red state
By Joe Bageant
If Jesus reappeared on earth tomorrow it would probably be at
Daytona or a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. -- Punk Wilson,
local wiseass
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=20412

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

5) Attica to Abu Ghraib
An organizing conference on human rights, torture, and
resistance Sponsored by the International Human Rights
Initiative
Spoken Word, Music and More
Friday, April 22
6:00ˆ9:00 pm
St. Joseph the Worker Church
1640 Addison St., Berkeley, CA
Working Conference
Saturday, April 23
8:30 amˆ9:00 pm
U.C. Berkeley, Dwinelle Hall

Opening Event
featuring
Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney
Georgia congresswoman recently
returned to office in a ringing vindication
of her outspoken opposition to U.S. torture
and human rights abuses

Rima Chaudry and Others

Spoken Word, Music and More
Friday, April 22
6:00ˆ9:00 pm
St. Joseph the Worker Church
1640 Addison St., Berkeley, CA

Working Conference
Saturday, April 23
8:30 amˆ9:00 pm
U.C. Berkeley, Dwinelle Hall

Torture, illegal detention and other human rights
abuses have always been weapons used by the
United States government to crush dissent and
social justice movements. Today, the criminalization
of people of color in the US, mass detention and
deportation of Arabs, Muslims and immigrants, and ongoing
torture in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, and in US
prisons are evidence of a terrifying escalation in US
repression both at home and abroad.

What can we do? Our strength lies in building on the experiences
of those who resist: here in the US, in Latin America,
Palestine, the Philippines, Haiti, Cuba, and in countless
communities throughout the world. The International
Human Rights Initiative was conceived by a strong diverse
coalition, including US political prisoners, to help unite the
emerging global resistance movement.

Conference Goals

This is a conference for organizers,
activists and members of the community
to strategize and coordinate resistance
to U.S. Government policies that violate
human rights and international law.
Activists will share their current work,
experiences and strategies, and interactive
working sessions will develop proposals
for joint work which will be refined into
a campaign plan.

The priorities of the conference are:
1. Develop strategic plans and launch
an international campaign to stop the U.S.
and its agents‚ use of torture, detention,
grand juries, immigration raids, and other
human rights abuses. 2. Document these
violations of human rights, domestic and
international law in order to pursue redress
in domestic and international forums.
3. Organize an International Day of
Solidarity to demand freedom for political
prisoners, within and outside the U.S.
4. Share resources and strengthen relationships
among local, national and international organizations.

Focus Areas

The conference program is divided
into three broad areas of focus
and analysis. Each is a key component
of the workings of U.S. empire
and provides a focus for linking
movements within and outside the
U.S. Our aim is to use the analysis
of these focus areas to formulate
concrete plans to unite domestic and
international organizations in a
successful anti-imperialist campaign.

1. The Criminalization of Resistance:
Political Prisoners, Prisoners of War,
and Systematic Torture 2. The Repression
of Dissent: COINTELPRO, The Patriot Act,
and Grand Juries 3. U.S.-sponsored Terrorism:
Occupation, Colonization, Racial and
Religious Oppression, Attacks on Arabs,
Muslims, and Immigrants, and the
globalization of repression.

How You Can Participate

We want you (and your group, if you
are part of one) to join in planning,
publicizing, financing and putting on
the conference, as well as
building campaigns and networks
growing out of the conference. Get
in touch with us at the email address
and phone number on the front.

Tax deductible contributions can be
made to International Human
Rights Initiative (IHRI)/Agape, and
mailed to IHRI, P. O. Box 3585,
Oakland CA 94609.
Contact: for list of sponsors:
info@attica2abughraib.com
www.attica2abughraib.com
415 273-4608

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

6) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (LINK ONLY)
By Mary Beaudoin,
W A M M (Women Against Military Madness)
worldwideWAMM February 2005
"School Ownership is the Goal"
http://www.worldwidewamm.org/newsletters/2005/0205/invasion.html

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

7) PLEDGE OF RESOLVE
http://www.actionsf.org/ansst050217.htm

We, the undersigned members of the legal community, express
our outrage at the recent verdict that found attorney Lynne
Stewart guilty on all counts against her. We see the prosecution
of Lynne Stewart as an attack not only on a cherished colleague
but also on all members of the legal community who represent
unpopular clients and causes. The U.S. Justice Department has
singled out Lynne Stewart in an effort to have a "chilling effect"
on lawyers who take on controversial cases. We will not be
intimidated and this prosecution has only strengthened our
resolve to oppose the repressive attacks this government has
made on the civil liberties of everyone in this country. In
particular, we resolve to continue our zealous legal and political
support to those unfairly targeted by the government as possible
terrorists solely because of their skin color, country of origin,
or religion.

The National Lawyers Guild, SF is asking all organizations
and prominent individuals to sign on this pledge. Please
respond back to "nlgsf@nlg.org" with your organizations name
and contact info.

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

8) Women in Struggle
a film about Palestinian women ex-detainees
Saturday, March 26th
7:00 PM
The Women's Bldg.,
San Francisco

Film and Discussion with Director and Producer,
Buthina Canaan Khoury.

A film about Palestinian women whom are
ex-political prisoners demonstrating
their struggle during their years of
imprisonment in Israeli jails exploring
the affects and influence on their present
life and their future outlook.

www.womeninstruggle.com

For more information contact ADC-SF at:
415/861.7444; adcsf@hotmail.com

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

9) George W. to George W. (LINK ONLY)
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
OP-ED COLUMNIST
March 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/opinion/24friedman.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1111680006-TItm5IwsR71gCM9UHW4PHw

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

10) States Worry About (LINK ONLY)
Meeting Requirements
of Education Law
By GREG WINTER
ON EDUCATION
March 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/education/24educ.html

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

11) G.M. to Seek Cuts in (LINK ONLY)
Union Health Benefits
By DANNY HAKIM
March 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/business/24auto.html

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

12) Tuesday, March 29, 7pm
S.F. Women's Building 3543 18th St.
(btwn Valencia and Guerrero)
ANSWER Educational Forum
Iran, Lebanon & Syria:
Myths, Realities and the U.S. Drive for
Domination of the Gulf Region

Historical perspectives on Iran, Lebanon and Syria.
What is really behind the U.S. targeting of these countries?
How can we build an effective movement to resist the U.S. war drive?

$3-10 donation (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Wheelchair accessible. For more information or to reserve
free childcare, call 415-821-6545.

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

13) Israel to build thousands more (LINK ONLY)
settler homes in West Bank
By Rick Kelly
World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
24 March 2005
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/mar2005/isra-m24.shtml

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

14) Go Making Tracks, a musical written by an
Asian American with an all Asian American cast
about the lives of Asian Americans in America.
please forward

Dear Friend,

I would like to call your attention to a new theatrical
experience: Making Tracks, a musical written by an Asian
American with an all Asian American cast about the lives of
Asian Americans in America. This is being staged at the
award winning San Jose Repertory theatre, a major theatrical
venue on the West Coast.

The Repertory company has asked for our help in publicizing
this production. It will formally open this Friday, March 25.
Previews of performances from last week-end garnered excellent
reviews. Please show you support by attending with your
family and friends and please pass this notice on to others
you know.

Secondly, you'll notice that the producers have added an extra
performance on Sunday afternoon, April 17. The organization for
Justice for New Americans (J4NA) is holding a fund raiser in
conjunction and in celebration of this event as described in
the attached enclosure. J4NA got its initial start coming
to the defense of Dr. Wen Ho Lee and has continued to come
to the defense of those whose civil rights are in jeopardy.
If you wish to support the ideal of equal protection for every
American, I hope you and your family and friends would choose
to attend this closing performance and/or make a contribution.

Thank you for your attention and best regards,

J4na mailing list
J4na@justicefornewamericans.org
http://justicefornewamericans.org/mailman/listinfo/j4na

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

15) March 19 Rally in Fayetteville, (LINK ONLY)
NC, a Resounding Success!
Pictures from Fayeteville : By Charles Jenks
Report by North Carolina Peace and Justice Org.:
http://www.ncpeacejustice.org/
"At least 20 active duty GIs defied orders from
Ft Bragg to come to listen."
http://www.lefthook.org/Ground/March20032305.html

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

16) Tell Congress to Stop Hurting Your Healthcare (LINK ONLY)
WARNING: Association Health Plans (AHPs) mean no protection,
no guarantee and no limits on price.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/590261171?z00m=22478&z00m=22478<l=1111688716

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

17) REFINERIES APPEAL TO (LINK ONLY)
COUNTY FOR TAX RELIEF
Up to $33 million at stake if properties reassessed
By Peter Felsenfeld
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Posted on Thu, Mar. 24, 2005
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/counties/contra_costa_county/11217797.htm

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

18) Graduation rates lower than stated (LINK ONLY)
By Jackie Burrell
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Posted on Thu, Mar. 24, 2005
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/education/11217823.htm

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

19) Chess legend Fischer heads for Iceland (LINK ONLY)
JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press
COPENHAGEN, Denmark
Posted on Thu, Mar. 24, 2005
http://www.contracostatimes.com:80/mld/cctimes/news/11219735.htm

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

20) U.S. war deserter loses bid for refugee status (LINK ONLY)
24/BNStory/National/
Thursday, March 24, 2005 Updated at 2:18 PM EST
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050324.whinzman03

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

21) 3861 Palestinian women lost their sons or
daughters during the Intifadah
To you mothers behind bars: Happy
Mother's day!!!

We suggest organizing an international campaign for
release Manal and her son from their Israeli prison .
Reuters AFP March 22nd 2005

Mother's Day shall not be celebrated by the children of
Palestinian woman, Manal Ghanem, who is behind Zionist
prison bars. Her 7 years old son stood at the platform in
Ramallah and said: "Mama happy mother's day inshalah you
will be with us next year."

Manal a 29 years old mother was convicted in 2003 by an
Israeli court for a 50 months sentence term of which she
still have left 18 months. She was pregnant when she was
arrested at her house in Toulkarem while pregnant with her
fourth child. She delivered in prison and up till now the
father was not given the permission to see his newly born son.

Her husband took his three children Ehab, Nevin and Majed
to Ramallah to launch a campaign to free their mother and
brother from prison. Nevin 9 stood at the platform and said:
"We miss you much and miss your hug, we want you with us
with our little captive brother, the little children of
the world are enjoying their mothers arms, and you are far
away from us in prison". Nevin dreams to bet met at the
door of their house when she returns home from school.
She added: "I want her back at home". Since the mother's
arrest Nevin and her two brothers stay at their grand
parents house. Manal was accused for helping resistance
men and women.

The Ghanem family case is one of the most outstanding of
women prisoners cases that is being discussed between
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in the prisoner's
file. The "Dhamir" (Conscience) establishment that is
taking care of Palestinian prisoners announced that
there are 128 women in Israeli detention camps including
20 mothers, they are mothers of 60 sons and daughters.

Khaledah Jarrar, manager of "Dhamir" said: "Palestinian
mothers live a unique life, especially those in prison,
They suffer tragic and unbearable conditions".

The central Palestinian Bureau of Statistics said in
a study published in the occasion of Mother's Day that
3861 mothers lost a son or a daughter during the Intifadah.
The ministry of health said that 66 mothers were forced
to deliver at Israeli military check points, which resulted
in the death of 38 newly born babies, due to lack of
permission to cross the check points or delay in crossing
them and reach hospitals in good time. Manal's lawyer
declared that the detained baby ,Nour, "Is suffering
from physical and psychological problems", he noted:
"Every time I come near him he gets afraid, he is not
used to see men as he lives in a women's prison". Manal
is worried about her son: "Especially during acts of
suppression against the women prisoners by Israeli
guards, the child was not inoculated as other children
of his age".

Manal like her three children is suffering anemia.
"Dhamir" organized the campaign to release Manal and
her son for human purposes in the occasion of Mothers' Day.

We suggest organizing an international campaign to
release Manal and her son from their Israeli prison.

Inside Israel's Jails

Israel's jails are at bursting point. There are seven
times as many Palestinians behind bars now than at the
start of the second intifada in 2000.

The main wings at Be'er Sheva house eight men to every
cell

This World gained unprecedented and unrestricted access
inside two of the country's highest security prisons,
Be'er Sheva and Hasheron.

The team talk to both male and female prisoners, as well
as their Israeli prison guards.

Locked up together for 24 hours a day, guards and inmates
are forced into a complex dialogue unlike any other
between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Palestinian prisoners describe themselves as
"freedom fighters" and now "prisoners of war", but
the Israeli guards regard them as the most dangerous
terrorists in their country.

Among the prisoners in Be'er Sheva is Abdullah Barghouti,
a man Israeli's regard as their most dangerous prisoner.
As the chief bomb maker for the military wing of Hamas,
he is currently serving 67 life sentences.

The 61 female prisoners at Hasheron range from failed
suicide bombers to those who supplied weapons or prepared
explosives. Maintaining a dialogue between these Muslim
women and the predominantly male guards creates a unique
challenge for both sides.

Side by side

But as well as learning to live with the Israeli
administration, the Palestinian prisoners must also
find compromises with their fellow inmates.

Members of Fatah, the majority Nationalist Party, must
live side by side with militant fundamentalists from
Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Outside, these factions are bitterly divided about
whether to negotiate with the Israelis at all, but in
jail they must present a united front.

In prison, Israelis and Palestinians maintain a dialogue
born of necessity. It often falters and frequently
breaks down.

But most of the time they do achieve conciliation.

Outside the prison the leaders of both sides try
and do the same.

Among the new Palestinian leadership are men who
spent time within these very walls, where they learnt
the craft of negotiating with the enemy.

Some of Be'er Sheva's current inmates could be the
next generation of leaders... if they are ever released.

Directed and filmed by: Nick Read
Editor: Jay Taylor
Producer:Israel Goldvicht
Executive Producer: Dimitri Doganis for Raw Films
Editor: Karen O'Connor

http://al-awda.org

Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-SF/

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

22) Pentagon Sees Aggressive (LINK ONLY)
Antidrug Effort in Afghanistan
By THOM SHANKER
March 25, 2005
"To support the new effort, the Defense Department is requesting
$257 million, more than four times the amount last year, in
emergency financing for military assistance to the counternarcotics
campaign, in addition to the $15.4 million in the Pentagon's budget
for fiscal 2005, which began last Oct. 1."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/politics/25military.html?hp&ex=1111813200&en=10e5667ddab7d14f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

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

23) The Era of Exploitation (LINK ONLY)
By BOB HERBERT
OP-ED COLUMNIST
March 25, 2005
"President Bush believes in an "ownership" society, which means
that except for the wealthy, you're on your own. The president's
budget would cut funding for Medicaid, food stamps, education,
transportation, health care for veterans, law enforcement, medical
research and safety inspections for food and drugs. And, of course,
it contains big new tax cuts for the wealthy."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/opinion/herbert25.1.html?hp

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

24) Minnesota Killer Chafed (LINK ONLY)
at Life On Reservation
Teen Faced Cultural Obstacles And Troubled Family History
By Blaine Harden and Dana Hedgpeth
Washington Post Staff Writers
washingtonpost.com
RED LAKE, Minn.
Friday, March 25, 2005; Page A01
"Indian youths commit suicide at twice the rate of other young
people, according to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The
overall death rate of Indians younger than 25 is three times that
of the total population in that age group.
Compared with other groups, the commission found, Indians
of all ages are 670 percent more likely to die from alcoholism,
650 percent more likely to die from tuberculosis, 318 percent
more likely to die from diabetes and 204 percent more likely
to suffer accidental death."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64315-2005Mar24.html

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

25) Army to use patriotic appeal (LINK ONLY)
after missing recruiting goals again
By Dogen Hannah
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON
Posted on Wed, Mar. 23, 2005
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11212455.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0324-08.htm

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

26) President Bush's Proposed FY 2006 (LINK ONLY)
Federal Budget for Education
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc.asp?CID=892&DID=35292

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

27) HR 551: "OPT-IN" IF YOU WANT YOUR KID'S NAME AND
PERSONAL INFORMATION TO GO TO THE MILITARY, OTHERWISE IT WILL
BE WITHHELD FROM THE MILITARY.

(HR 551 would change our "opt-out" program, where parents
have to sign an "opt-out" form to prevent the school from
giving their child's name, address and phone number to the
military for recruitment purposes. HR551 would adopt an
"opt-in" policy that would allow the school to give out this
information to the military or other body only if the parents
"opt-in".

The difference is, under "opt-out," parents who do not
respond to the letter sent home with their child, by default,
automatically allows the school to give the child's information
to the military upon request.

Under the HR551 the names of children whose parents do not
respond are automatically withheld from the military.)

HR 551 cosponsors:

Title: To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 to direct local educational agencies to release secondary
school student information to military recruiters if the student's
parent provides written consent for the release, and for other
purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] (introduced 2/2/2005)
Cosponsors (23)
Latest Major Action: 2/2/2005 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and
the Workforce.

COSPONSORS(23),
ALPHABETICAL
[followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)

Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 2/17/2005
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] - 3/16/2005
Rep Green, Gene [TX-29] - 3/16/2005
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 2/17/2005
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] - 3/16/2005
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] - 3/16/2005
Rep Jones, Stephanie Tubbs [OH-11] - 3/16/2005
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] - 2/17/2005
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 2/17/2005
Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] - 2/17/2005
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 2/17/2005
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 3/16/2005
Rep McKinney, Cynthia A. [GA-4] - 3/14/2005
Rep Meeks, Gregory W. [NY-6] - 3/16/2005
Rep Nadler, Jerrold [NY-8] - 2/17/2005
Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8] - 3/16/2005
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] - 3/16/2005
Rep Rush, Bobby L. [IL-1] - 3/16/2005
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] - 3/14/2005
Rep Solis, Hilda L. [CA-32] - 3/14/2005
Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33] - 2/17/2005
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 2/17/2005
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 3/14/2005

Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 23:53:18 -0800 (PST)
From: Elizabeth Milos

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

28) Report on Conclusion of Preliminary (LINK ONLY)
Review in the Matter of Professor Ward Churchill
http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/churchill/report.html


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

29) March 19, 2005, San Francisco
Rally talk by Jackie Cabasso, representing UFPJ

Since October 2002, United for Peace and Justice, the largest
anti-war coalition in the country, has worked from an understanding
that the crisis in Iraq is the linchpin of a dangerous and much broader
reordering of U.S. foreign and domestic policies. The Bush administration
has cynically manipulated the "war on terror" to further an empire-
building agenda designed to expand U.S. military and economic power
worldwide and to undermine rights, liberties, and social programs
here at home.

UFPJ's immediate goal is to force an end to the U.S. war
in Iraq and bring the troops home now as the only possible basis
for peace and reconstruction. We believe that withdrawal would
constitute a victory against U.S. global empire, deal a blow to U.S.
efforts to dominate the Middle East, and undermine corporate-
military power.

UFPJ will also resist, as an urgent priority, any move by the
United States to bomb, invade, or wage war against Iran, North
Korea, Syria, Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba or any other country.

UFPJ understands the war in Iraq as a centerpiece of current
domestic policies. It distorts our nation's priorities and is inseparable
from the "war at home": the undermining of democracy, and the
attacks on immigrants, youth, people of color, poor and working
people in this country. UFPJ is also working to protect the rights of
immigrants and dissenters; end the targeting of youth for military
recruitment, particularly from low-income communities and
communities of color; and reverse the militarization of the economy
and the educational system.

The Bush administration fraudulently accused Iraq of having
weapons of mass destruction to justify its illegal and immoral war -
while at the same time modernizing its own nuclear arsenal and
drawing up contingency plans to use nuclear weapons against Iraq!
Who will be next? Iran? North Korea? In this 60th anniversary year
of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, UFPJ will
challenge U.S. nuclear hegemony and demand a plan for the
elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide. With Abolition 2000
we are organizing a mass demonstration on May 1 in New York
City to demand: No More Nuclear Excuses for War! No Nukes! No
Wars! August 6th, come to our local nuclear weapons lab in
Livermore to plant Seeds of Change! Nuclear disarmament begins
at home; it‚s time to disarm America!

United for Peace and Justice works for peace and justice through
nonviolent means. We strive to embody in our day-to-day work
the values we espouse and the world we seek to build. Join us!

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming
attractions." - Albert Einstein
*****
Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director
Western States Legal Foundation
1504 Franklin Street, Suite #202
Oakland, California USA 94612
Tel: (510) 839-5877 Fax: (510) 839-5397
E-mail: wslf@earthlink.net
Web site: www.wslfweb.org
part of the Abolition 2000
Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons

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

30) War Resisters Support Campaign
Campagne d'appui aux objecteurs de conscience
http://www.resisters.ca

LET THEM STAY!

Phone, fax or email the Prime Minister and the Minister of Citizenship &
Immigration

Jeremy Hinzman's hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board is now
over. A decision is expected any day. It is urgent that everyone who
supports the right of US war resisters to stay in Canada immediately
contact both Prime Minister Paul Martin and Minister of Citizenship &
Immigration Joe Volpe.

- Prime Minister Paul Martin
Phone 613-941-6888 (between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.)
Fax 613-941-6900
Email pm@pm.gc.ca

- Minister of Citizenship & Immigration Joe Volpe
Phone 613-954-1064 (between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.)
Fax 613-957-2688
Email Minister@cic.gc.ca

The War Resisters Support Campaign, a broad-based coalition of community
organizations, has launched a petition aimed at Canada's federal
government to allow US war resisters who refuse to fight in Iraq to have
refuge in Canada.

Initial signatories include June Callwood, David Suzuki, Maude Barlow,
Shirley Douglas, Naomi Klein, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Amir Khadir, Paul
Cliche and M.G. Vassanji. Please read our Declaration.

http://www.resisters.ca/declaration.html

You can add your name at
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/resister/petition.html.

For more information, contact us at resisters@sympatico.ca.

La Campagne d'appui aux objecteurs de conscience, une coalition
d'organismes communautaires, a initié une pétition destinée au
gouvernement fédéral canadien pour qu'il donne refuge aux objecteurs de
conscience américains qui refusent de se battre en Irak.

Parmi les signataires : June Callwood, David Suzuki, Maude Barlow, Shirley
Douglas, Naomi Klein, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Amir Khadir, Paul Cliche et
M.G. Vassanji. Veuillez lire notre Déclaration.

http://www.resisters.ca/declaration_fr.html

Vous pouvez signer la pétition (en anglais) à
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/resister/petition.html.

Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez nous contacter à
resisters@sympatico.ca.

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

31) United for Peace of Pierce County, WA -
We nonviolently oppose the
reliance on unilateral military
actions rather than cooper..
Please spread this far and wide
(link to full text below)....
THE NATIONAL DEFENSE STRATEGY OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Department of Defense
March 2005
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/dod/nds-usa_mar2005.htm

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

posted 1:57 PM  1 comments

*******************************************************

THE NEXT BAUAW MEETING:
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 11:30AM
474 VALENCIA STREET, SF
(FIRST FLOOR, TO THE LEFT AND ALL THE WAY BACK
TO THE COMPAÑEROS DEL BARRIO CHILDREN'S CENTER)

[The following is the speech delivered March 19th
by Bonnie Weinstein for Bay Area United Against War
(BAUAW) Bonnie was the very last speaker of the day.]

"The U.S. government, failing to meet its military
recruitment quotas for two months in a row, needs
cannon fodder to continue its war and occupation
of Iraq and steal its oil.

"The San Francisco Unified School District is helping
to subsidize military recruitment in our schools. At the
last board meeting, March 17th, the Junior Reserve Officer
Training Corps (JROTC) organized two busloads of boys
and girls to come and cheer the military science program.

"JROTC officers repeatedly claimed they did not recruit
students to the military.

"But let me tell you what they are teaching these kids.
I want to quote from a letter one of these students sent
to our group. This student says, "All we are doing in Iraq
is bringing democracy...we fought back because of nine-eleven."
(At the board meeting, military instructors claimed they
were helping the kids academically yet this kid thought
Iraq had something to do with nine-eleven.) He goes on
to say, "P.S. I am joining the Marine Corps...One thing
I do admit...the JROTC did make me braver on my decision
for joining the Marines."

Of course JROTC is for recruiting. It takes good, honest
kids and teaches them that if you want to be a better
citizen, then you should serve your country and not be
afraid to fight, kill and die for it. In fact, according to
the United States Army's own School Recruiting Handbook,
chapter 1.1 states, "The purpose of this handbook is to
maintain an effective School Recruiting Program and ensure
an Army presence in all secondary schools. School ownership
is the goal."

Clearly the purpose of JROTC is to encourage these kids to
"do their duty as good citizens" and sign-up. Even though
they don't collect the signatures themselves, they sell the
military to these kids like a box of cereal.

The Army routinely spends millions of dollars gloriously
advertising military service to the general public. The school
JROTC program gets them up close and personal with our kids.

The School District is donating slightly more than one million
dollars to keep the program alive. The way it works is the
military pays a million dollars and the schools match that fund.
But all the money goes to pay for "military science teachers"
appointed by the military!

And look at all the wonderful, fresh, new cannon fodder it gives
them! Half the kids who complete the JROTC program join the
military or officer training programs.

Military recruiters will be at George Washington High School
On Tuesday, April 5th. Come to our next meeting, Saturday, April 2,
11:30 a.m. at 474 Valencia Street and help us organize to get
them out of all of our schools!"

*******************************************************

CINEMA LIBRE STUDIO -
www.VOICESINWARTIME.org -
LANDMARK THEATRES -
GLOBAL EXCHANGE -
THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN -
CORPWATCH -
BAY.AREA.UNITED.AGAINST.WAR

Invite you to join us for a special sneak preview of the
film "Voices in Wartime."

Wednesday, March 30, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Landmark Lumiere Theatre
1572 California St (near Polk)
San Francisco, CA 94109

Please RSVP via e-mail to VIWSF@ebcoms.com by March 26, 2005.
Include your name and number of guests in the subject line e.g.
"Your Name + 1."

Please note: Screening is FREE. Seating is limited, based
on RSVPs received. If we are not able to accommodate you,
we will let you know by return email. Please bring a copy
of this invitation with you.

************************************************************

MILITARY RECRUITERS WILL BE AT THE CAREER FAIR AT
GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
600 32nd Avenue between Geary and Balboa Sts.
TUESDAY, APRIL 5TH, 9:50AM-12:20PM
Come to the BAUAW meeting April 2 and help plan ways to
keep the military out all the career fairs and out
of our schools!
SAT. APRIL 2, 11:30 a.m.
474 VALENCIA STREET, SF
(FIRST FLOOR, TO THE LEFT AND ALL THE WAY BACK
TO THE COMPAÑEROS DEL BARRIO CHILDREN'S CENTER)

************************************************************

EYES WIDE OPEN EXHIBIT
STILL NEEDS SHOES:
* Tie each pair together, or, if no laces, securely attach them
together.
* Count the pairs of shoes and place in heavy-duty garbage bags.
Attach a tag with the count on it.
* Shoes will be donated at the end of the exhibit. Children's
and men's shoes are especially needed.
* Call Nabil at 415-565-0201 ext. 14 or email
shoes@peacefultomorrows.org
* Drop off shoes 9 am to 5 pm at AFSC, 65 Ninth St.
(between Mission and Market) until Thursday, March 24.
Last minute shoes may be brought to Civic Center Plaza
Friday, March 25. No shoes accepted after Friday.
* Collect phone cards for military personnel
We are also collecting telephone calling cards to donate to
military personnel and to returning Iraq war veterans in
a Bay Area hospital and the USOs at local airports. Please
purchase phone cards to donate with your shoes or bring
to the exhibit.

* To volunteer with the shoe project, call Nabil at
415-565-0201 ext. 14 or email
shoes@peacefultomorrows.org
* To volunteer to help with the exhibit call AFSC at
415-565-0201 ext. 15 or email sleeds@afsc.org

SAN FRANCISCO DATES:
March 25 (Friday), 11:00 am with all night vigil
Civic Center between Polk and Larkin
March 26 (Saturday), 10:00 am to 5 pm
Civic Center Voices and Requiem - 2 pm
March 27 (Easter Sunday), 10:00 am to dusk
Union Square (Powell and Geary)

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

1) Protests Stop Military Recruiting as Antiwar Demonstrators
Protest on Second Anniversary of Iraq War; 30 Arrested
WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE
339 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012
nycwrl@att.net
www.warresisters.org

2) Counter-Recruitment Calendar for the
San Francisco Bay Area
Compiled by MOOS-Bay

3) Why Question the Military's JROTC Program?
(This is also a link to a great website, www.objector.org, that
Has ample material exposing the JROTC programs.
Check it out!...bw)
http://www.objector.org/jrotc/why.html

4) Hundreds of Thousands Demonstrate in Cities
Across the Country and Around the World on
2nd Anniversary of Iraq Invasion

5) Keeping Sgt. Lazo Out of Cuba (LINK ONLY)
By BOB HERBERT
OP-ED COLUMNIST
Washington
Sometimes you just have to pray." - Carlos Lazo
March 21, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/opinion/21herbert.html?hp

6) MESSAGE FOR PEACE MARCHERS IN NEW YORK AND BOSTON
Greetings to all the peace marchers and US citizens from the
people of Venezuela on this important day!

7) The Loyal Opposition: March 19 US Antiwar Protests
March 20, 2005
by Amer Jubran

8) Former Marine stands strong against the war (LINK ONLY)
By John A. Zukowski / Express-Times
Latest News
MichaelMoore.com
March 20th, 2005 6:36 pm
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=1887
http://michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1887

9) REPORT OF THE MARCH 5, 2005
EDUCATORS TO STOP THE WAR CONFERENCE

10) ACTION ALERT: Evict P.G.&E. Wed. March 23rd
"Coalition to Shut Down P.G.&E."
< shutdownpge@riseup.net >
Please forward widely:
IF the Government Won't...the People Will!!
Help Deliver Eviction Notice to P.G.&E.
demanding the closure of the Hunters Point
Power Plant Now!
WED. March 23rd
12 Noon
P.G.&E. Corporate Headquarters
77 Beale St.
San Francisco

11) Venezuela's president threatens oil cutoff (LINK ONLY)
By Kevin Sullivan, The Washington Post
CARACAS, Venezuela
Sunday, March 20, 2005
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/05079/473808.stm

12) Value of Redemption? From 5¢ to Priceless (LINK ONLY)
By DAVID GONZALEZ
March 22, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/nyregion/22wide.html?hp

13) The dysfunctional society: (LINK ONLY-GREAT STASTICS)
US billionaires on the rise-
roads, bridges in decay
By Jamie Chapman and Kate Randall
World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
22 March 2004
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/mar2005/forb-m22.shtml
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

1) Protests Stop Military Recruiting as Antiwar Demonstrators
Protest on Second Anniversary of Iraq War; 30 Arrested
WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE
339 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012
nycwrl@att.net
www.warresisters.org

contacts:
Luke Nephew, 978-501-0810 (Bronx)
Eric Laursen, 917-806-6452 (Manhattan)
John M. Miller, 718-596-7668 (Brooklyn)
Ruth Benn 917-975-8230 (Brooklyn)

For immediate release

Protests Stop Military Recruiting as Antiwar
Demonstrators Protest on
Second Anniversary of Iraq War; 30 Arrested

March 19, 2005 - Armed Forces
recruiting centers in Brooklyn, Manhattan and
the Bronx were transformed
into centers of protest today as scores of
antiwar protesters set life-
size coffins at their entrances or blocked
their doors.

At about 11:00 this morning, when
the Bronx Army-Navy-Air Force-Marine
Corps center would ordinarily have
been conducting business at Fordham Road
and the Grand Concourse, six life-
sized coffins representing U.S. and Iraqi
casualties of the Iraq war were lined
up next to the entrance to the
center. About 60 demonstrators
held a vigil in front of the building,
handing out antiwar leaflets to
passers by in the busy Bronx shopping area.

A little later, in Brooklyn and Manhattan,
some 300 protesters converged on
each of the recruiting centers on
Flatbush Avenue and at Times Square. Some
two dozen conducted a symbolic
die-in in the street in front of the Times
Square station, where 24 were arrested.
Another eight people were arrested
in Brooklyn for blocking the doors
of the Flatbush Avenue recruiting
center. No one was arrested in the
Bronx because, with the center closed
for business, there was no one to
sk the protesters to leave. They stood
peacefully in front of the building,
handing out leaflets and reading out
the names of U.S. armed forces
members from the Bronx who have died in Iraq.

The demonstrations in New York
City were three of hundreds of protests at
recruiting centers across the nation
called by peace and justice groups to
mark the second anniversary of the
U.S. invasion of Iraq. Each
demonstration was preceded by
a solemn procession carrying the coffins to
the recruiting site.

Shortly before the demonstrations,
Frida Berrigan, an organizer with WRL
later arrested in Times Square,
explained the significance of the coffins:
"We carry coffins representing the
more than 1,500 American soldiers who
have died and. Some coffins are
draped in black fabric to represent the
more than 100,000 Iraqis who
have been killed and others are draped with
the American flag to represent
the 1,512 American soldiers killed so far.
The White House has tried to hide
these deaths from the American people,
but the sorrow will not be silent."

Long-time War Resisters League
activist Ruth Benn, arrested in Brooklyn,
added, "We march to military
recruiting stations throughout the city today
to demand an end to the wasting
of young lives in war. We counsel young
people to consider alternative paths
to jobs and education." She predicted
that "many of us will put our bodies
between the recruiting stations and
the young people they want to use as
war fodder. We will shut them down."

Organized by the New York City War
Resisters League, these events were just
a few of the more than 750 actions
taking place in all 50 states today.
Sponsoring organizations include
United for Peace and Justice, Veterans
for Peace, Socialist Party USA, Voices
in the Wilderness, Brooklyn Parents
for Peace, Park Slope Greens, Catholic
Worker, Code Pink, Not in Our
Name, Ya-Ya Network, Socialist Party
of NYC, Industrial Workers of the
World (NYC GMB), One Thousand
Coffins, Grandmothers Against the War,
Progressive Programmers League,
Kairos Community, World War III Arts in
Action, among other organizations.

The War Resisters League is an 81-year-
old secular pacifist
organization, headquartered in New York
City, and is affiliated with the
War Resisters' International, which is
based in London. WRL believes war
to be a crime against humanity, and
advocates Gandhian nonviolence as the
method for creating a democratic
society free of war, racism, sexism, and
human exploitation.

More details of this event can be found on the web site,
www.warresisters.org/counter-recruitMar05.htm.

-30-

War Resisters League
339 Lafayette St.
New York, NY 10012
212-228-0450
www.warresisters.org
wrl@warresisters.org

To engage in online discussion of UFPJ
matters, join our discussion list by
sending a blank email to
ufpj-disc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ufpj-news/

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

2) Counter-Recruitment Calendar for the
San Francisco Bay Area
Compiled by MOOS-Bay

This calendar will by updated weekly. Please submit your entries
week by Wednesday noon. Also, please notify us at
awe@objector.org if you do not want to receive this calendar.

March 24, Thursday, 7 pm - San Francisco - National Teach-In
On Iraq, Mission High School, 3750 18th St. (at Dolores), $5
requested; Free for students; No one turned away for lack of
funds. Teach-ins also going on in Washington, DC, and Ann
Arbor, marking the 40th anniversary of the first Vietnam War
teach-in in 1965. Is the US troop presence in Iraq helping
stabilize the country, or is it at the root of Iraq's deadly violence?
What are the true costs of the war? Many guest speakers.
Sponsored by Global Exchange & Code Pink: Women For Peace.
For more information, http://www.globalexchange.org or call
415-255-7296.

March 25, 26, and 27 - San Francisco - Civic Center and Union
Square (27th) EYES WIDE OPEN outdoor exhibition presented
by AFSC. The exhibit highlights the human cost of war.
More information about the exhibit at
http://www.afsc.org/eyes/default.htm. Volunteers to publicize
the event and to set it up are needed: Steve Leeds, Volunteer
Coordinator at 415-565-0201 ext. 15 or sleeds@afsc.org

March 27, Sunday (Easter), 2-4 pm - Berkeley - Town Hall Forum,
Counter-Recruitment & Conscientious Objection, Sponsored by
the Social Justice Committee Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian
Universalist, 1924 Cedar@ Bonita. Join with students, Veterans
of Iraq & Vietnam Wars, Gold Star Mothers for Peace, Central
Committee of Conscientious Objectors, Alternatives to War
through Education & others. There will be a panel on the issues
and concerns surrounding military service and recruitment.
Come find out: What life in the military is really like; what will
happen if there is a draft; options, rights and alternatives to the
military. Young people, parents, all citizens are encouraged to
attend. Information tables & dialogue after panel. Press
Conference at 1 pm. Morning service at 10:30 am is "Evolution
of a Decision". Info: Hal Carlstad@510-524-6064.

April 2, Saturday, 11:30 am - San Francisco - Bay Area United
Against War (BAUAW) Military Out of our schools, 474 Valencia St.,
(First floor, to the left and all the way back to the Companeros
del Barrio Children's Center). carolseligman@aol.com or
415-824-8730 for more information.

April 6 Wednesday 7pm - San Francisco - Meeting to Organize
MOOS-Bay Regional Counter Recruitment Conference. Youth
are invited to take the lead in shaping this
conference! AFSC office in SF, 65 9th St. Between Mission and
Market, near Civic Center BART. For more info:
awe@objector.org or 510-468-1617 x 4.
April 9, Saturday - San Francisco - West Coast Campus
Anti-War Network Conference for student activists and
anti-war groups in the West coast region. The general theme
is CR and campus demilitarization. Suggestions for workshops
and questions are welcome. We hope to gain a better
understanding of how the military operates within our
schools and contribute to a stronger network of students
who can fuel the advancement of the anti-war movement.
Location tentatively set for City College. To register for the
conference or if you want your school to host a workshop,
please contact: Ellie Houston (Students Against War - SFSU)
Campus Anti-War Network, elliehou@hotmail.com.

* To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MOOS-BAY/

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3) Why Question the Military's JROTC Program?
(This is also a link to a great website, www.objector.org, that
Has ample material exposing the JROTC programs.
Check it out!...bw)
http://www.objector.org/jrotc/why.html

School boards across the country, from Richmond, CA to Roane
County, WV, are saying no to the Junior Reserve Officers Training
Program (JROTC). They're finding JROTC too controversial, too
likely to promote violence, too expensive, too controlled by
Washington, too discriminatory, and too much at odds with the
goal of creating critically-thinking students in gun-free schools.
Have you looked at JROTC lately?
Find out if a JROTC unit is coming to your community

JROTC Promotes Violence, Gangs, & Guns

Instead of an alternative to violence, JROTC brings guns into the
schools. Often, JROTC teaches students to use them. Students in
a JROTC unit in Long Beach formed a military-style gang and
murdered one of their members. In Detroit, a student shot
another student in the hall of the school on the orders of the
student gang (and JROTC) leader. In Arizona, a camouflage-
clad JROTC student murdered 9 Buddhist monks. In SF, CA,
a student's eardrum was broken in a hazing ritual that had
gone on, with JROTC instructors' knowledge, for years.

This doesn't happen in math classes, so why here? Military
training glorifies war. Ninety percent of all JROTC programs
train students to fire rifles or pistols. All of them drill with guns
and teach military history, customs, traditions, and beliefs.
In JROTC, too many kids learn, from example, that violence is
acceptable.

JROTC Costs Districts Tens of Thousands of Dollars

While most school districts face budget shortfalls and cutbacks,
JROTC drains resources from constructive programs. JROTC units
cost districts about $50,000 per school and often require
expensive modifications to school facilities. In the 1995-1996
school year, the New York City Board of Education spent
$398,000; San Francisco spent $570,000; and Atlanta spent
$1.5 million to subsidize the Pentagon.

JROTC Teaches Passivity, Not Leadership or Critical Thought

Learning to march and obey without thought is not preparation
for a high-tech future. Yet that's what JROTC emphasizes.
The Army JROTC text, LET 1(Leadership, Education, and Training),
p. 87, states, "When troops react to command rather than thought,
the result is more than just a good-looking ceremony or parade.
Drill has been and will continue to be the backbone of military
discipline." Almost all schools feel that one of their primary
missions is to teach critical thinking. Yet JROTC promotes
unquestioning, amoral obedience. The Navy JROTC text,
Naval Science 1, p. 24, calls for "...Loyalty to those above
us in the chain of command, whether or not we agree with
them." This is authoritarianism, not democratic leadership.

JROTC Violates the Principle of Local Control

The Pentagon dictates JROTC curriculum, textbooks, and
course content. JROTC instructors are often paid higher net
salaries despite not having to meet District qualification
standards. JROTC instructors aren't required to have college
degrees. They are not credentialed in the academic subjects
that JROTC claims to teach.

JROTC Targets Low Income Communities

Fifty-four percent of JROTC participants nationwide are students
of color. JROTC graduates are recruited directly into the lowest
military ranks. The military targets low-income schools in the
same way tobacco & alcohol companies target low-income
communities. The results are equally deadly. Half the military's
front-line troops are people of color.

JROTC Textbooks are Biased and Bigoted

The Army JROTC textbook LET 3, p. 185, trumpets, "Fortunately
for the Army, the government policy of pushing the Indians
farther west then wiping them out was carried out successfully."
In addition to this celebration of brutal racism, women are
almost invisible in JROTC textbooks. Veterans with disabilities
and gay veterans are excluded from receiving the Pentagon
authorization required to become a JROTC instructor.

JROTC Discriminates

JROTC discriminates against students and instructors who are
gay, lesbian or bisexual, people with disabilities and immigrants.

JROTC Is a Military Recruiting Program, Not a "Way Out"

According to Lt. Commander Ray Kempisty, Public Affairs
Officer, national headquarters of NJROTC, "Approximately 50%
of all NJROTC program graduates enter military service." Army
JROTC figures are similar.

The military is not a "way out" for low-income youth. The DoD
advertises financial aid for college. However, between 1986 and
1993, the military actually took $720 million more from GIs in
non-refundable deposits than they paid out in college benefits,
according to a report in Army Times. Military job training is
also a myth. Only 12% of male veterans and 6% of female
veterans report using skills learned in the military in their
current jobs. In fact, according to the Veterans Administration,
veterans overall earn less than non-veterans, 1/3 of homeless
men are veterans, and at least 20% of Federal and state prisoners
are veterans.

Even former Secretary of Defense Cheney admitted, "The reason
to have a military is to be prepared to fight and win wars. That
is our basic fundamental mission. The military is not a social
welfare agency, it's not a jobs program." JROTC is a program
of the military, by the military, and for the military. Disguised
as an education program, JROTC is a Trojan Horse the military
uses to gain access to schools and potential recruits.

Before You Enlist
Military Out of Our Schools
Who We Are
Donations

GI Rights Hotline
The Draft
Publications
Home

Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
info@objector.org

405 14th Street #205
Oakland, CA 94612 510-465-1617 Fax 510 465-2459
1515 Cherry St Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-563-8787
Fax 215-567-2096

http://www.objector.org

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4) Hundreds of Thousands Demonstrate in Cities
Across the Country and Around the World on
2nd Anniversary of Iraq Invasion

More than 25,000 March in San Francisco, 20,000 in Los Angeles,
tens of thousands more in 700 cities from New York to Fayetteville,
NC to Seattle

Send in a report on the demonstration in your area

In more than 1000 cities across the country and around the world,
demonstrations today protested on the second anniversary of the U.S.
invasion of Iraq. In San Francisco, 25,000 marched, and 20,000
marched in Los Angeles. Both demonstrations were sponsored by
the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)
which supported and helped to organize many of the other protests
around the U.S.

The crowd in San Francisco swelled as the rain subsided in the late
morning. It took more than 45 minutes for the entire demonstration,
marching on very wide streets, to enter the Civic Center plaza.
The S.F. march included contingents from the labor movement,
Glide Memorial Church, the Palestinian and Arab American
community, students, immigrant rights movement and many other
organizations and communities.

Many thousands marched from Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem to
Central Park in New York City in an event sponsored by the Troops
Out Now Coalition. 6,000 people marched in Chicago in an event
sponsored by the Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism, and
5,000 people rallied outside Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina,
in an event sponsored by Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for
Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, NC Peace & Justice Coalition
and other organizations. 2,000 demonstrated and rallied in
New Paltz, NY.

People mobilized around the world on March 19 coming out in
a united voice demanding an end to the war and occupation of
Iraq. More than 100,000 marched in London, tens of thousands
in Rome, and large protests in Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, Sao Paulo,
Madrid, Seoul, Manila, Sydney, Stockholm, Mexico City, Tokyo,
and all over the world. In the United States, antiwar actions were
organized in more than 735 cities and towns -- twice the number
as last year's March 19 protests.

We are asking organizers and participants in the many, many
rallies and marches across the country and around the world
to send us a short report on the activity in your city. We will
collect this information and post it on our website. We will
also be sending out a more complete report on the March 19
demonstrations in the next few days. Send reports to
info@internationalanswer.org.

Let's keep building this movement. Come to the National
People's Speak-Out in San Francisco on Saturday, April 30
at 7 p.m. with Ramsey Clark and others to demand "Hands
Off Our Social Security! Stop the Budget Cuts! Fund People's
Needs, Not War in Iraq!" Join us. The indoor regional rally
will take place at Mission High School, 3750 18th St. Hundreds
of organizations have already endorsed in the last few days.
Start mobilizing now. Click here to download a flyer.

Email answer@actionsf.org to endorse, request an organizer
to speak in your area, or to help spread the word about your
car caravan, van or bus coming to San Francisco on
April 30th for the rally.

A week later the Washington, DC National People's Speak out
will be held on Saturday, May 7. We will stand together at the
doorstep of Bush and Congress to protest Bush's "Destroy
Social Security Tour." Click here to fill out the Transportation
Form about your car caravan, van or bus coming to DC on May 7.

Funds are urgently needed to help the antiwar movement continue
to get stronger. We can't do it without your help. You can make
a contribution through a secure server by clicking here, where
you can also find information on how to contribute by check.

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

Click here to subscribe to the ANSWER SF e-mail list,
click log in, register and manage your preferences.

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

5) Keeping Sgt. Lazo Out of Cuba (LINK ONLY)
By BOB HERBERT
OP-ED COLUMNIST
Washington
Sometimes you just have to pray." - Carlos Lazo
March 21, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/opinion/21herbert.html?hp

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6) MESSAGE FOR PEACE MARCHERS IN NEW YORK AND BOSTON
Greetings to all the peace marchers and US citizens from the
people of Venezuela on this important day!

We congratulate you on your commitment to stopping the war
in Iraq and the occupation of Afghanistan. The great
majority of the Venezuelan people are also in complete
disagreement with the use of US military force to dominate
the peoples of the Middle East and other countries,
classified arbitrarily as the ?Axis of Evil?. This march is
vital to pressure the current Administration from desisting
in its plans to invade other countries in search of oil or
other primary materials, which will serve the pretensions
and domination of the global corporate empire.

These countries threatened include Syria, Iran and our
country?the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

One month ago, the US Navy sent an aircraft carrier and
marines to the island of Cura?ao, 46 miles from the
Venezuelan coast. Our government was not notified of this
maneuver, which is contrary to international laws and
conventions. It was said that the marines were on Cura?ao
for Rest and Recreation! Blatant lies! This was outright
intimidation!

There is written proof that the Bush administration was
involved in the coup d?etat in Venezuela of April 2002, the
sabotage of our oil industry and lock out of workers in the
so called general strike and economic sabotage of our
economy in December 2002 ? February 2003. The Washington
based National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) and US Agency for
International Development (USAID) have all been financing
subversive, non-democratic groups of the traitorous
Venezuelan opposition. to discredit our President, Hugo
Chavez, with the aim of fomenting chaos and overthrowing the
democratically elected government. They are using your tax
dollars to do this? were you ever asked about the use of
your money to subvert other nations?

You must be told the truth now??today??at this precise
moment? President Chavez has faced 9 electoral or referendum
contests from December 1998 to end October 2004, and has
wiped the floor each time with the fascist opposition of our
country.

What other world leader has gone to the polls 9 times in 6
years? No one!

Chavez is the world?s leading democrat, and these processes
have been overseen by the Carter Center and the Organization
of American States (OAS). However, the Bush administration
and the corporate global press refuse to accept the truth,
the reality of Venezuela, and continue with their
disinformation campaigns in CNN, Fox News and in
influential, opinion forming newspapers of your country.
Paid hacks are used to write these lies ? using tax payers
dollars. The CIA is behind this dirty campaign, as they were
in Nicaragua in the 1980?s.

What you read in the US press or see on the TV in the United
States, does not reflect what is happening in Venezuela. An
analysis made of US media this year indicates that 87% of
all information broadcast or printed about our country and
our President, Hugo Chavez, is DISINFORMATION. Bear this in
mind when you next hear the news.

On Channel 22 in Miami, the Cuban-American journalist, Maria
Elvira Salazar, has allowed guests on her program to call
for the assassination of President Chavez and the invasion
of Venezuela by the marines. This has now occurred twice so
far this year. This is media terrorism ? yes, media
terrorism- against an independent nation, with a democratic
system in place and a Constitution approved in national
referendum by 73% of the voters in December 1999.

In Florida, there is not only media terrorism at work
against the Venezuelan people, but there are also Venezuelan
and Cuban mercenaries training in Homestead and in the
Everglades, getting ready for the invasion of either Cuba or
Venezuela. How is it possible that the Governor of Florida,
President Bush?s brother Jeb, allows these groups and these
terrorist minded journalists to operate with impunity in
Florida? Is this still the Wild West? Is there no rule of
law?

And what about the Bush doctrine of ?combating terrorism,
worldwide, at any cost?? Does this not apply to Florida?
There are double standards and hypocrisy at work here. We,
the Venezuelan people, make a call to you, the People of the
United States, to exercise public pressure and opinion on
the impunity of these terrorists training in Florida, in the
United States, as well as the use of TV channels to call for
the assassination of our beloved President.

As part of its war mongering mentality, the Administration
is preparing the ground for some sort of action in
Venezuela. It is a question of oil, energy??exactly as it
was in Afghanistan and Iraq. Venezuela supplies 15% of the
oil the US uses and will continue to do so. However, this
intimidation and interference in Venezuelan sovereign
affairs must stop. We want to be left in peace to decide the
destiny of our country, our children and our grand children.
We have the right to self-determination as laid out in
international law. And we will also defend ourselves?.make
no mistake about that.

Venezuela is an oil rich country and has been exporting oil
and asphalt to the US for almost one hundred years. Where
you are standing now is probably on asphalt sent from
Venezuela. The oil revenues never reached the common people,
and the result was 80% poverty in our country for decades.
The money was sent offshore and rich, corrupt Venezuelans
have almost US$200 billion ? yes US$200 billion in offshore
bank accounts, most of which was stolen form our nation with
the connivance of the US oil multinationals. US$200 billion
is 6 or 7 years national budget in Venezuela. Can you
believe this? This is much worse than the WorldCom or Enron
scandals.

President Chavez was elected by the people to change all
this. And he is doing so, in the framework of a ?democratic,
peaceful revolution?. Yes revolution. Not reforms. Reforms
leave the corrupt socio-economic structure in place, and
this has to be changed as well. Our aim is zero poverty by
the year 2021. This is no threat to either the US
Administration, or to you, the People of the United States.
We just want to vindicate basic human rights in our
country?..nothing more, nothing less.

To this end, nationwide health, educational, housing and
social programs have been instituted as parallel strategies
to the old corrupt state apparatus. For the first time in
Venezuelan history, a free health service is available to
all and will continue to be developed. Things are not
perfect by any means, but we are progressing??combating
corruption and inefficiency. We are in this for the long
haul.

The Bolivarian Revolution is not built on models such as the
French, Russian or Cuban revolutions, which were launched in
a sea of death, violence and blood. Our revolution is
peaceful and democratic since we, as humanists, respect all
life, even those who oppose the changes. There has been no
revolutionary altar of fire and brimstone in Venezuela. Just
popular votes?.and this is an example to the whole planet
Earth??and even more so to nations such as Colombia, Peru,
Bolivia and Ecuador, where the spirit of the Liberator,
Simon Bolivar is alive and kicking in the collective memory
of the historically oppressed in these impoverished nations.
They will eventually follow Venezuela?s example?in peace and
democracy. Patience.

This will be the true liberation of South America - first
from Spanish imperialism, then from British neocolonialism
and now from US inspired neo liberalism and imperialism.

In Venezuela we do not have representative democracy any
more. Our democratically approved Constitution allows for
?Participative democracy with the Venezuelan people as the
protagonist?. In other words, elected officials cannot just
do what they want. The people participate in decisions at
community level to re-build Venezuela from the bottom up.
Any elected officials not measuring up, from the President
of the Republic down to local parish leaders, can have their
mandate revoked by popular vote half way through their
mandate. This is real democracy and brings inefficient,
corrupt and bureaucratic officials to book, in the
democratic court of the people. The masses.

We are only 25 million, but we are leading the way not only
in Latin America, but in the world with our peaceful,
reconstruction process. It is totally democratic. We will
not allow ourselves to be exploited anymore by the global
corporate empire, which feeds the machines of death in all
parts of the globe. Peace. Humanism. Self-determination.
Participative democracy. Social justice. These are the
corner stones of the Bolivarian Revolution, led by Hugo
Chavez.

These are also our banners and we once again send this
message of peace and non interventionism, out to you, People
of the United States, gathered here today, defending the
rights of our brothers in Iraq, and let us pray for the
souls of those unnecessarily killed by unbridled corporate
greed in the quest for oil and world domination.

On behalf of the Venezuelan people, and our President Hugo
Chavez, we fully support your efforts and ask you to help us
in terms of public opinion in your country.

We never want you to march in the future asking for ?troops
out of Venezuela?. Let?s stop it before it starts.

Peace. Love. Solidarity to you all, and our oppressed
brothers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Long live the People of the United States. Long live the
Venezuelan people. Long live peace and solidarity and no
more war!!

Bolivarian Circles of Aragua State
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
March 17, 2005

For more information, please visit us at
www.handsoffvenezuela.org.

Donate to the Hands Off Venezuela campaign! We rely entirely
on our supporters and sympathizers in the labor, anti-war,
solidarity, and other progressive movements in order to
build this campaign.
You can make a donation and buy stickers and DVDs at:

http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/wrapper/

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"Freedom is always and exclusively
freedom for the one who thinks differently"
--Rosa Luxemburg

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7) The Loyal Opposition: March 19 US Antiwar Protests
March 20, 2005
by Amer Jubran

Against all odds, George W. Bush secured a victory in the US
presidential elections in November, 2004. Bad news about the US
economy, the military situation in Iraq, the greater-than- ever
worldwide resentment of America, atrocious human rights abuses in
Abu-Ghraib and Guantanamo, and the debut of the US as an emerging
police state - all of that did not prevent Bush winning his second
term in the White House. Bush was not even obliged to put on the
usual campaign of deception empty promises to defeat his opponents.
He spoke clearly and without reservation about going further to the
right of his current agenda of murder for profit.

So why did George Bush win? The simple answer is that the influence
of longstanding indoctrination about what the US is and what its
standing is in the world outweighed opposition to Bush himself. The
"opposition" in the US rejected Bush on the surface but gave his
racist, exceptionalist underlying policies vital support. They
rejected the liar, but accepted the lie.

On the weekend of March 19, to mark the second anniversary of the
beginning of the US war against Iraq, many well-meaning Americans
responded to various calls, by various groups, for various reasons,
to show opposition to Bush by protesting the war. The organizing and
the protest followed a familiar pattern: battles to win permits to
assemble, the drama of permits being finally granted at the last
minute, mobilization for a "march" (implying militancy and
aggressiveness), fiery speeches of support for the oppressed, songs
about revolution, confrontations with pro-government supporters,
possible voluntary arrests, zero media coverage, food vendors
capitalizing on the crowds, police capitalizing on donuts and
overtime pay, a pathetic number of protesters, and everyone going
home with an feeling of self righteousness.

None of this has succeeded in moving the world's mightiest war
machine a single centimeter.

The effect of such demonstrations is to send a statement about how
insignificant the US antiwar movement actually is. If anything, these
protests present Bush and the US system as democratic, as having
tolerance and room for dissent. And afterward, how does the
leadership follow up? It announces that the powerful have had a good
thrashing and rolls out plans for another national demonstration to
thrash them again two months down the road.

When the protest ended that day and the protesters went home, Bush
and his henchmen, the members of Congress, the bankers and corporate
heads, were just easing into leather chairs at the golf club for
cocktails. If they heard of the demonstrations at all they did so
with the confidence that they and the war they created will have the
next day and every day of the rest of the year to carry on. In fact,
the day itself wasn't a loss either - the world had seen democracy in
action, General Motors would sell more buses to transport more
demonstrators.

War Machine
The military machine in the US, despite disagreeing with Bush as to
who takes the blame for the war's toll of US soldiers, understands
what's at stake if it loses. It is not possible to quit when the
whole world, including competing military machines in Russia and
China, is waiting for the news of the US - the high-tech,
undefeatable power - being humiliated by "insurgents" wearing sandals
and head scarves. The US military has decided that the thousands of
US soldiers killed is an acceptable sacrifice, even to achieve
nothing. They are, after all, in the business of death, and their
losses are not as large when compared to losses in other business
ventures in the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII,
Vietnam, and Korea. It is not time to "wimp out."

A lack of proper opposition actions similar to protests in the 60's
against the war in Vietnam, such as blocking military recruitment
centers, or entrances to military bases, strengthened the image and
recruitment efforts of the US military machine. The movement failed
in demonstrating alternatives to enlistment by providing widespread
political education and support for potential recruits - the same
people the Army pays people for full time to entice into careers as
killers. Enlistment in the US only began to suffer as a result of the
efforts of members of the resistance in Iraq thousands of miles away.
It was they who provided US high school students evidence of enough
damage and injury that prospective recruits among them are now aware
of what might come with the package they're signing up for. And that
evidence had to be strong enough to get past many barriers in how the
news is told in the US.

Usually, oppositions publicize and support soldiers and their
families in order to influence a change in the military and public
opinion. This helps to undermine the government system by encouraging
other soldiers and their families to defect. But, the US antiwar
movement has used parents of soldiers who were killed in Iraq to
advertise their own personal loss and the injustice of the harsh
economic system which led their sons to join the military in the
first place, not the crime of the war itself, and certainly not the
crime their sons were involved in perpetrating.

Bush and his war generals could not have asked for a better slogan
from the antiwar movement than "Bring the troops home now." The
message here is "end the war, but support the soldier, " as if a war
could be wrong and the people fighting it somehow innocent. This is a
political slogan that has confused a long list of people, including
Iraqis, worldwide political onlookers, Americans on the fence about
the war, and even US soldiers torn between loyalty to the machine
versus loyalty their own humanity. No doubt the Pentagon appreciated
this ambiguous message and used it effectively to make it look like,
yes, there might be political disagreement over the war in Iraq, but
patriotic support for "the troops" was universal, even on the left.

The "opposition" in the US helped Bush by making personal dislike for
the man more important than disagreement with his policies. Weaker
elements of the opposition were thus siphoned off to support John
Kerry, whose policies were no different. A large constituency who
were undecided about who they should vote for were provided with no
options - another accomplishment. Although many were not comfortable
with Bush as a person or as President, Kerry, the undertaker, was but
the other face of the same coin. Liberals in the US knew that Kerry
agreed with Bush on issues such as Iraq, Afghanistan, the war on
terrorism, the Israeli war on Palestine, the domestic targeting of
Arabs and immigrants, the gutting of the US economy, general
corporate rule, and the Patriot Act, but they nevertheless stuck to
their message of "anybody but Bush." The trick that Bush's handlers
pulled of is that they got so many people to focus on the puppet that
they weren't aware of the deception of the ventriloquist. The message
went neatly under the table.

The failure of the US antiwar movement to make a political campaign
in support, not of the troops, but of the Iraqi people, also helped
to strengthen the position of Bush. Iraqis fighting for their
survival are confused about why this wealthy movement failed to
provide them with funds, volunteers, medicine, food, and political
support for their right to resist. The pacifist majority of the
movement limited its recognition of the Iraqis to their being
"victims of violence." The Iraqi resistance should have been
considered an ally of the US antiwar movement, but it is almost never
mentioned or praised. Loud cries condemning the violence of both
sides - both the US occupation and the Iraqi resistance, unthinkingly
using the words "terrorist" or "insurgent" or "suicide bomber" for
people in the resistance, and remaining quiet about mainstream media
propaganda denying that the Iraqi resistance even exists, has all
been very helpful to Bush. What leader in the US antiwar movement is
willing to be photographed in Iraq about to fire a loaded RPG at a US
Abrams tank as it spreads terror on the streets of Fallujah? No, at
this point the opposition is too busy apologizing and mincing words
about outright murder to actually do anything to stop it.

Bush had behind him in the 2004 elections the most organized,
powerful, and disciplined political group in the US: the Christian
Zionists. Operating quietly and with high efficiency, right wing
fundamentalists in the US have a solid infrastructure and a huge,
dedicated membership. Bush and the Republicans are only a front for
them. There are three reasons behind their strength - they are
politically ambitious, they have no opposition to work against them
or to warn others of their control of the political will in
Washington DC, and they are out of their minds, believing that they
have been personally chosen to implement Biblical prophecy and be
saved.

Targeting this bloc should be the role of any grassroots movement
that is serious about changing the policies of global destruction now
reigning in Washington. A force is needed with a clear political
agenda to represent growing sectors of US society who oppose the
ongoing imperialist and Zionist rampage. This force should have been
the antiwar movement, but it is not so. People who claim to be
working for peace and justice in the US don't even use the words
"imperialist" and "Zionist" - a symptom not only of their inability
to do anything about the causes of the war, but of their own very
unseemly involvement in those causes.

Instead of working to build and lead a serious political force, the
antiwar movement sits back as if in a state of paralysis.
Occasionally, for a single day, it reacts. Its function in US society
is to serve the master by arguing with him in a great show of
objection while tacitly accepting the premise behind his brutality -
that he is right, and the proof that he is right is that he has the
power. Indeed, the more audacious his use of power, the more the
movement cowers. Its function is also to air out the dissident
community by providing a pageant of marches and speeches every few
months, making sure not to displease the master by choosing a
business day to take to the streets, lest business and car traffic be
disrupted in any way. It also does a good job at policing itself,
both to keep the permits coming in, to aggrandize its own power, and
to prevent manifestations of rage commensurate with the crimes of the
master's horrible apparatus - crimes such as the recent gassing and
genocide in Fallujah.

When Iraqis and Arabs look at the US, they see an opposition that
plays into the hands of the hated Bush and makes him appear to
represent the whole spectrum of US public opinion. The protests of
March 19th show that practically nothing is being done in the one
place that the rest of the world knows it is needed most, and where
resistance carries the least risk. Instead the burden lies on the
shoulders of the Iraqi, the Palestinian, the indigent resister who
has already spent a lifetime under US punishment and torture.

Announce mailing list
Announce@onepalestine.org
http://mail.onepalestine.org/mailman/listinfo/announce_onepalestine.org

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8) Former Marine stands strong against the war (LINK ONLY)
By John A. Zukowski / Express-Times
Latest News
MichaelMoore.com
March 20th, 2005 6:36 pm
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=1887
http://michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1887

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9) REPORT OF THE MARCH 5, 2005
EDUCATORS TO STOP THE WAR CONFERENCE

On Saturday, March 5, over 750 anti-war activists gathered for the
Educators to Stop the War conference in NYC, including 260 high
school and college students. This highly successful conference was
initiatied by US Labor Against the War and was spurred by USLAW
members organizing in both the AFT and NEA conventions last
summer. The conference brought together activists and local
unions in AFT, AAUP, CWA, NEA, and UAW, all the major education
unions, from K-12 and higher ed.

There was an exciting opening plenary with Fred Mason (USLAW
co-convener), Mike Hoffman (Iraq Veterans Against the War co-
founder), Medea Benjamin (Global Exchange, Code Pink and
Occupation Watch co-founder), and Rahul Mahajan (Empirenotes.
org, author) and a closing plenary of speakers representing the
various constitutencies of the conference. There were 42 workshops
evoking exciting conversations throughout on topics related to
organizing in unions, schools and colleges, peace and anti-war
curricula, roots of the war, and critiques of theories of the war.
New networks arose in "working lunches" organized by union
affiliation. High school and college students attended their own
working lunch and founded a student network primarily to
counter military recruitment in their schools and colleges.
These working lunches and workshops created new alliances
and brought people together to continue the work of bringing
the anti-war movement to our scholls, colleges, and unions
and the unions to the broader anti-war movement.

We got a tremendous amount of support from US Labor Against
the War throughout and from the many union locals that co-
sponsored the conference. While it was conceived as an East
Coast Regional conference, and people did come as far away
as Maine, Tennessee, and Iowa, the great majority of participants
came from the New York metropolitan area. We highly recommend
that educators in other cities take up this format as a way of
re-energizing the anti-war movement and bringing our union
sisters and brothers into the struggle. The presence of members
of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out,
Veterans for Peace, and other veterans groups served to
strengthen the strategic focus on alliances between these
groups, unions and teachers.

The steering committee of Educators to Stop the War would
be happy to exchange ideas with groups interested in pursuing
similar kinds of conferences, workshops, and events in the future
as a way to spread the movement. Please check out our
beautiful website, www.educatorstostopthewar.org
to get much
more information, particularly on related organizations and
activities and on peace curricula for kindergarden through
graduate school courses.

We expect this to be the beginning of an ongoing organization
that will continue to contribute to our collective work and plan
for future anti-war activism. We look forward to hearing from
unionists and activists and moving forward together.

Yours in peace and solidarity,

Nancy Romer, Professional Staff Congress of the City University
of New York, American Federation of
Teachers Local 2334
Michael Zweig, United University Professions, State University
of New York, American Federation of Teachers
Local 2190
U.S. Labor Against War (USLAW)
www.uslaboragainstwar.org
Email:

PMB 153
1718 "M" Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036

Co-convenors: Gene Bruskin, Maria Guillen, Fred Mason,
Bob Muehlenkamp, and Nancy Wohlforth Michael Eisenscher,
National Organizer & Website Coordinator Adrienne Nicosia,
Administrative Staff

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10) ACTION ALERT: Evict P.G.&E. Wed. March 23rd
"Coalition to Shut Down P.G.&E."
< shutdownpge@riseup.net >
Please forward widely:
IF the Government Won't...the People Will!!
Help Deliver Eviction Notice to P.G.&E.
demanding the closure of the Hunters Point
Power Plant Now!
WED. March 23rd
12 Noon
P.G.&E. Corporate Headquarters
77 Beale St.
San Francisco

Join residents and community members, mothers and children,
as they serve P.G.&E. with an eviction notice to vacant their
community immediately.

"Over 50 percent of our children have asthma. This plant is
killing us in the community. Every day, these kids are
getting sicker and sicker.'' -Tessie Esther,
Huntersview Tenants Association.

P.G.&E. MUST be evicted from the community it has poisoned for
over 75 years burning fossil fuels.

We demand justice NOW!

We demand an end to environmental racism!

We demand clean,renewable energy!

We demand a future where wars will not be fought for oil,
and oil will not be used to choke our children and poison
our communities.

Shut Down Hunters Point Power Plant Now!!

For more info contact: Marie Harrison (415)248-5010 x107
or e-mail: jessica@greenaction.org shutdownpge@riseup.net
To receive future action alerts subscribe to our alerts list:
https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/shutdownpge Sponsored by
the Coalition to Shut Down P.G.&E,
Huntersview Tenants Association, All Hallows Garden
Residents Association, Greenaction for Health and
Environmental Justice, Code Blue, and Community First
Coalition.

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11) Venezuela's president threatens oil cutoff (LINK ONLY)
By Kevin Sullivan, The Washington Post
CARACAS, Venezuela
Sunday, March 20, 2005
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/05079/473808.stm

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12) Value of Redemption? From 5¢ to Priceless (LINK ONLY)
By DAVID GONZALEZ
March 22, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/nyregion/22wide.html?hp

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13) The dysfunctional society: (LINK ONLY-GREAT STASTICS)
US billionaires on the rise-
roads, bridges in decay
By Jamie Chapman and Kate Randall
World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
22 March 2004
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/mar2005/forb-m22.shtml

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