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BAUAW NEWSLETTER Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Saturday, July 16, 2005
BAUAW NEWSLETTER-SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2005
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1) Bay Area United Against War has a new meeting schedule: We will meet every third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. beginning: Tuesday, July 19, 2005,7:00 p.m. 474 Valencia Street, near 16th Stree Agenda will include Board of Education picketing update, September 24, Marx in Soho performances, Campus Not Combat petition update and publicity campaign, and new business. All are welcome. Bring your ideas and help Organize against this war! 2) SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS: "DOING GOOD" A play based loosely on the book, "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins. JULY 16, PRECITA PARK MUSIC: 1:30 P.M. SHOW: 2:00 P.M. (This play is fresh, new, brilliantly performed, insightful, full of content, and the music is the icing on the cake!...BW) SPONSORED BY BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR Help get the word out about the ballot proposition and upcoming antiwar events. Free antiwar posters! FREE! 3) BAUAW Benefit Presentation of Howard Zinn's one man show, MARX IN SOHO Starring Jerry Levy as Karl Marx Directed by Michael Fox Kennedy. Thursday, August 4, 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 5, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, August 6, 2:00 p.m. Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts 1519 Mission Street between 11th Street and South Van Ness* Advance tickets: $10 Door: $20.00 Call:415-824-8730 or email: giobon@sbcglobal.net for Advance tickets. 4) Cut all Public School Ties to the Military! Speak up and Picket the S.F. Board of Education the Fourth Tuesday of Each Month. Next picket line: Tuesday, July 27, 6:30 P.M.-7:30 P.M. (The July Board of Ed. meetings have been cancelled. But we will still hold a picket July 27 at 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. in front of the Board of Education building.) The next picket line after July 27 is August 23, 6:30 P.M. -7:30 P.M. (just before school starts back.) August 23, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 P.M. 555 Franklin St., S.F, To get on the speakers list call: 415-241-6427, 241-6493 or 241-6000 (For more info call: 415-824-8730) 5) Convicted, Executed, Not Guilty By BOB HERBERT Published: July 14, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/opinion/14herbert.html?hp 6) Lawmakers Agree to Renew Patriot Act By ERIC LICHTBLAU and CARL HULSE Published: July 14, 2005 WASHINGTON, July 13 - Lawmakers on three separate Congressional committees moved Wednesday to impose restrictions on some of the more controversial elements of the law known as the USA Patriot Act, suggesting continued resistance in Congress to the idea of giving the government unchecked authority to fight terrorism. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/politics/14patriot.html 7) Homeland Security Chief Announces Overhaul By ERIC LIPTON Published: July 14, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/politics/14homeland.html 8) Yasser Salihee is dead. from the black commentator - 7/14/05- www.blackcommentator.com 9) Karl Marx-Winner of the Greatest Philosopher Vote BBC RADIO 4 - UK RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR "Workers of the World Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains", "Religion is the opium of the people", and "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs". That should be enough for most of you to work out whom Radio 4 listeners have voted as their favorite philosopher: the winner of the In Our Time Greatest Philosopher Vote, chosen from 20 philosophers nominated by listeners and carried through on an electoral tidal wave of 28% of our 'first-past-the-post' vote is the communist theoretician, Karl Marx. So, when you strip away the Marxist-Leninism, the Soviet era and later Marxist theory, who was Karl Marx? Where does he stand in the history of philosophy? He wrote in his Theses on Feuerbach, "Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point, however, is to change it"-which begs the question, is he really a philosopher at all? Contributors Anthony Grayling, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London Francis Wheen, journalist and author of a biography of Karl Marx Gareth Stedman Jones, Professor of Political Science at Cambridge University July 14, 2005 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime.shtml 10) The Battle after the Battle By Les Blumenthal The News Tribune Sunday 10 July 2005 Soldiers say military pushes them to discharge before medical needs are met http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/071105X.shtml 11) Defend a Woman's Right to Choose! Stop the anti-abortion "Crusade for Life" Saturday, July 16th and Friday, July 23rd 8am- noon 815 Eddy St. (at Franklin), SF "Crusade for Life" will be in San Francisco from July 15-24, protesting against reproductive rights. Planned Parenthood is collecting names and phone numbers of anyone interested in being on an "on-call" list in the event of problems or harrassment by protesters. We are invited to join Planned Parenthood, Radical Women, Code Pink, and various others to defend a woman's right to choose. The "Crusade for Life" plans to disrupt our community by harassing women at health clinics from July 15-27. We need your help to defend our clinics and to send the message that the Bay Area is pro-choice and stands up for reproductive rights! Saturday, July 16 and 23: Meet at Planned Parenthood to be a visible pro-choice force. 12) G.E. Profit Increases 24 Percent in 2d Quarter By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 15, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Earns-General-Electric.html? 13) UFPJ MEMO TO EXPLAIN THE DISUNITY ON SEPT. 24 IN D.C. www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545 | Click to subscribe 14) American Soldiers Charged With Abuse By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 16, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP- Iraq.html?hp&ex=1121572800&en=163cdddfd9b064f4&ei=5094&partner=homepag e 15) Ruling Lets U.S. Restart Trials at Guantánamo By NEIL A. LEWIS Published: July 16, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/16/politics/ 16gitmo.html?hp&ex=1121572800&en=63f317612f1e5198&ei=5094&partner=hom epage 16) San Francisco State Sued For Violating Students' Rights From: Katrina Yeaw Date: July 15, 2005 1:32:39 PM EDT Reply-To: CampusAntiwarNetwork@yahoogroups.com 17) Hello all, This is not good news, it shows how we have to unite together and stand strong against this evil system. Please read the entire article. Below is a call to participate in a rally Wednesday 20th July from 5:00pm -6:00pm in support of Sheila Detoy and Cammerin Boyd. Please spread the word and attend the rally if you can. in solidarity, Donna (more below) 18) Venezuela Discovers More Oil - Bush Plans Invasion Clif Ross 07/11/05 /Epicenter News Service/ http://www.eastbaynews.org/stages/word_stage1.php?EBN= 0711_1_word 19) George Galloway - Battle cry for radical change What do sweatshop workers in Bangladesh have in common with the people who work in your local supermarket? More than you might think, writes George Galloway, Respect MP The only way to make poverty history is to make the G8 history. I don't mean simply the annual jamboree for the leaders of the world's richest and most powerful states. I mean the whole nexus of exploitation and privilege that the G8 and its attendant institutions represent. http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=6889 20) ANSWER UPCOMING EVENTS: In this message: * Postering for Sept. 24 Anti-War March in SF * Statement on Racism in the LGBT Community * Weekly Badlands Boycott Picket * ANSWER Activist Meeting - Get Involved! * ANSWER Speaker and Venezuela Film Screening in San Bruno * ANSWER ANTI-WAR TEACH-IN: The U.S. War Drive & the Anti-War Movement For more info on the following events, call 415-821-6545. 21) Army Guard Misses Recruiting Goal Again By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, July 12, 2005 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/07/12/national/ w053441D69.DTL 22) Army study: U.S. facing hard choices Lack of GIs may force cut in mission goals By Michael Kilian Washington Bureau Published July 12, 2005 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi- 0507120251jul12,1,6312103.story?ctrack=1&cset=true 23) President and Prime Minister Sharon Discuss Economy, Middle East Prairie Chapel Ranch Crawford, Texas http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050411-2.html 24) Defend a Woman‚s Right to Choose! Stop the anti-abortion „Crusade for Life‰ 25) Peace and Justice News from FPIF http://www.fpif.org/ July 15, 2005 Introducing the latest policy analysis from Foreign Policy In Focus A Strategy for Ending the Iraq War By Tom Hayden 26) FREE HIP HOP SHOW AND RALLY TO CLOSE CYA YOUTH PRISONS Join us as we bring the community together with amazing Bay Area talent to speak out against the California Youth Authority and the prison industrial complex! WHAT: 4th Annual "Not Down with the Lockdown" Hip Hop Show and Rally to Close the CYA Youth Prisons WHERE: Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th St. and Broadway (Downtown Oakland) WHEN: Saturday, July 16, noon-2pm FREE! All ages! WITH SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMERS: -Mista F.A.B. -Boogie Shack -Company of Prophets -Fiyawata -Dream Dance Company and many more Sponsored by Books Not Bars and Let's Get Free ( http://www.booksnotbars.org ) and The Beat Within. Contact Books Not Bars: e-mail: bnb@ellabakercenter.org phone: 510.428.3939 Get more information about the Books Not Bars "Alternatives for Youth" Campaign: http://ellabakercenter.org/bnb/campaign We can't survive without the support of individuals like you. Please take a moment to support us today. Donate here: http://www.ellabakercenter.org/donate * Not on our list-serve yet? (Maybe this message was forwarded to you.) Sign up to get e-mail updates directly by going this web page: http://ellabakercenter.org/subscribe 27) Please forward widely Please forward widely JUSTICE FOR Sheila detoy and cammerin boyd COMMUNITY RALLY 5:00-6:00 PM WEDNESDAY JULY 20, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO CITY PLAZA DR. GOODLETT DR. ( ACROSS FROM S.F. CITY HALL) For ten years San Francisco Police Offices have killed with impunity. We say no more We call on the San Francisco Police Commission to end this reign of terror. Sheila Detoy: On May 13, 1998 san Francisco Police Officers Shot Up A Car full of Unarmed Teenagers and killed 17 year Old Sheila Detoy. SFPD then tried to blame her friends for her death. Cammerin Boyd: On Wednesday, May 5, 2004, San Francisco police officers shot and killed 29 year-old Cammerin Boyd in front of dozens of witnesses. Cammerin, who was disabled, was clearly and vocally surrendering. He had his hands above his head. But the police shot him anyway. In the coming weeks the San Francisco Police Commission will begin holding hearings on both of these cases, come out and let them know we will accept nothing less than justice. For more information call (510)428-3939 x, 242 or e-mail malaika@ellabakercenter.org 28) CUBA-A REVOLUTION IN MOTION MARIN INTERFAITH TASK FORCE ON THE AMERICAS PRESS RELEASE Contact: Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas 29) Recruiters OUT of our schools! From: "No Draft No Way!" Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 14:27:35 -0400 To: swosfo@pacbell.net Cc: action.news@organizerweb.com Subject: "College Not Combat" - Recruiters OUT of our schools ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 1) Bay Area United Against War has a new meeting schedule: We will meet every third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. beginning: Tuesday, July 19, 2005,7:00 p.m. 474 Valencia Street, near 16th Street Agenda will include Board of Education picketing update, September 24, Marx in Soho performances, Campus Not Combat petition update and publicity campaign, and new business. All are welcome. Bring your ideas and help Organize against this war! ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 2) SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS: "DOING GOOD" A play based loosely on the book, "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins. JULY 16, PRECITA PARK MUSIC: 1:30 P.M. SHOW: 2:00 P.M. (This play is fresh, new, brilliantly performed, insightful, full of content, and the music is the icing on the cake!...BW) SPONSORED BY BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR Help get the word out about the ballot proposition and upcoming antiwar events. Free antiwar posters! FREE! ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 3) BAUAW Benefit Presentation of Howard Zinn's one man show, MARX IN SOHO Starring Jerry Levy as Karl Marx Directed by Michael Fox Kennedy. Thursday, August 4, 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 5, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, August 6, 2:00 p.m. Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts 1519 Mission Street between 11th Street and South Van Ness* Advance tickets: $10 Door: $20.00 Call:415-824-8730 or email: giobon@sbcglobal.net for Advance tickets. The premise of the play is that Marx dies yet he is able to see what's happening on earth for 100 years since his death in 1883. He is supposed to go back to Soho in London but, by mistake, is sent to Soho in New York and finds himself on stage before an audience. Imagine all Karl Marx would have to say after one hundred years of just being able to watch... The single actor in this one-man play is Jerry Levy, who has been teaching sociology at Marlboro College and been acting with the Actors' Theater of Brattleboro since he moved there from Chicago in 1975. Originally directed by Michael Fox Kennedy of the Actors' Theater, Levy has been on the road with Zinn's version of Karl Marx for a year, performing at benefits, colleges, small theaters and other venues around the state. At Middle Earth he was sponsored by the Bradford-based Coos Peace and Justice Alliance and performed free of charge but charged with mighty talent and a bottomless love of the play. WWW.BAUAW.ORG Contact person: Bonnie Weinstein 415-824-8730-office/home 415-990-4237-cell *The Jon Sims Center is located at 1519 Mission Street (between 11th Street and South Van Ness), South of Market, San Francisco, CA 94103 BY CAR: From the East Bay: Take 80 North then 101 North to the Mission Street exit. Stay on the right hand side of the exit. Turn right off the exit, and stay on Mission Street. The Jon Sims Center is two blocks past Van Ness, next to Firestone. From the South Bay: Take 101 North to the Mission Street Exit. Stay on the right hand side of the exit. Turn right off the exit, and stay on Mission Street. The Jon Sims Center is two blocks past Van Ness, next to Firestone. From the North Bay: Take 101 South to Lombard, make a right on Van Ness and then a left onto Mission. Jon Sims Center is two blocks past Van Ness, next to Firestone. Parking: Daytime parking is very difficult. We encourage day users to take public transportation. In the evening, street parking along Mission Street, Minna Street and 11th Street is not horrible (in San Francisco terms) after 6:00 PM, but the closer you are to 6:00 PM, the better your chances of finding parking. There is no parking along Mission between 4-6 PM, and you will be promptly towed. VIA BART/MUNI/SAMTRANS: Go to http://www.transitinfo.org for more information about Bay Area public transportation. BART: Take BART to the Civic Center station, then transfer to the outbound Muni J,K,L,M or N train. Exit at the next stop (Van Ness Station). Walk 1 block south, cross Mission, and the Jon Sims Center is next to Firestone. MUNI: The Jon Sims Center is 1 block south of the Van Ness Muni underground station, accessible from any Muni streetcar. Additionally, the 14 Mission, 42 Loop 49 and 47 Van Ness bus stop at Mission and 11th Street, only 1/2 block from the Jon Sims Center. Current Muni fare is $1.25. SamTrans: The SamTrans DX, KX, MX, NX, PX, RX and TX buses stops at Mission and 9th Streets. Walk three blocks west (towards Sutro tower) to reach the Jon Sims Center. Current SamTrans fare is $1.10. Please note that SamTrans buses to the City only run during rush hours. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 4) Cut all Public School Ties to the Military! Speak up and Picket the S.F. Board of Education the Fourth Tuesday of Each Month. Next picket line: Tuesday, July 27, 6:30 P.M.-7:30 P.M. (The July Board of Ed. meetings have been cancelled. But we will still hold a picket July 27 at 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. in front of the Board of Education building.) The next picket line after July 27 is August 23, 6:30 P.M. -7:30 P.M. (just before school starts back.) August 23, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 P.M. 555 Franklin St., S.F, To get on the speakers list call: 415-241-6427, 241-6493 or 241-6000 (For more info call: 415-824-8730) ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 5) Convicted, Executed, Not Guilty By BOB HERBERT Published: July 14, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/opinion/14herbert.html?hp ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 6) Lawmakers Agree to Renew Patriot Act By ERIC LICHTBLAU and CARL HULSE Published: July 14, 2005 WASHINGTON, July 13 - Lawmakers on three separate Congressional committees moved Wednesday to impose restrictions on some of the more controversial elements of the law known as the USA Patriot Act, suggesting continued resistance in Congress to the idea of giving the government unchecked authority to fight terrorism. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/politics/14patriot.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 7) Homeland Security Chief Announces Overhaul By ERIC LIPTON Published: July 14, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/politics/14homeland.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 8) Yasser Salihee is dead. from the black commentator - 7/14/05- www.blackcommentator.com He was on his way to drive his family to a swimming pool in western Baghdad when he was struck by a single bullet to head - he died instantly. Some say he was an unintentional casualty of war. Some whisper "the wolves got him." You see, since May, Dr. Salihee, had been reporting on the similarities between the death squads used in El Salvador to obliterate their "insurgency" and the US military's creation of the "Wolf Brigade" that has been unleashed to eliminate the Iraqi "insurgency." Our government calls it Operation Lightening. To be clear, there is no shame in the game of the US military - they make no secret that the Wolf Brigade is modeled after the death squads in El Salvador. In fact, up until April 2005, the main advisor to the Wolf Brigade was a man named James Steele. According to New York Times Magazine, Jim Steele was in charge of a team of 55 Special Forces advisers in El Salvador who "trained front-line battalions that were accused of significant human rights abuses." In fact while Jim Steele was in charge, "whole villages were targeted by the armed forces and their inhabitants massacred.'' When battered and methodically beaten dead bodies started showing up in Iraq, Dr Salihee started reporting. Dr Salihee wrote about bodies in the morgue with their hands tied or handcuffed behind their backs. Bodies with their eyes blindfolded appearing to have been tortured, whipped with cords and subjected to electric shocks. Bodies beaten with blunt objects and shot to death, often with a single bullet. Bodies found in mass graves and bodies floating in rivers. Dr Salihee also reported that many of the members of the Wolf Brigade came from Saddam Hussein's Special Forces and Republican Guards. Indeed, these men were decorated veterans of homicide, genocide and torture. On June 28th 2005, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran Dr Salihee's last article. The very first sentence read: "Days after Iraq's new Shiite-led government was announced on April 28, the director of Baghdad's central morgue began noticing that the bodies of Sunni Muslim men were turning up after the men had been detained by people wearing Iraqi police uniforms." Dr Salihee, along with reporter Tom Lasseter, went on to state: "further evidence that a police force created, trained and funded by the United States has been abusing human rights ...would complicate the Bush administration's efforts to muster greater domestic support for its Iraq policy." The most chilling words however, were the words from the mouth of a young man who was abducted by men in police uniforms. "The commandos told me to keep the body outside of the refrigerator so that the dogs could eat it because he's a terrorist and he deserves it." Yasser Salihee, translator, physician, special correspondent, husband, father to two-year-old Danya, was killed 4 days before his story ran. The Wolf Brigade says that they are patriots. They utilize television to depict the insurgency's humiliation. In fact, "Terrorist in the Grip of Justice" is the most watched TV program in the country. They wear snappy red berets and ride around in white $55,000 vehicles. When children get too out of hand their parents threaten them with "calling the wolves." One young man was quoted as saying "when I see them I feel safe. I feel we have a country with a government." It appears Operation Lightning has quite a fan base. I remember a time in the United States when bodies with their hands tied behind their backs were found floating in rivers. Bodies never identified by loved ones. Bodies buried in mass graves. The organization that put them there has quite a fan base too. A few weeks ago, during the trial of the Klansman that helped kill and then bury the bodies of three young men, former Mayor Harlan Majure, testified that Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was a good man and the Klan "did a lot of good up here". Three young men, civil rights workers, were shot and killed forty years ago because "the law" in the land of Mississippi branded them trouble makers. In 1892, Fredrick Douglas said "Crime has a power to reproduce itself and create conditions favorable to its own existence." Yasser Salihee is dead. Lizz Brown is host of the Morning Wake Up Call, WGNU Radio, St. Louis. She can be reached through her website: http://www.lizzbrown.com/ Marxism mailing list Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 9) Karl Marx-Winner of the Greatest Philosopher Vote BBC RADIO 4 - UK RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR "Workers of the World Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains", "Religion is the opium of the people", and "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs". That should be enough for most of you to work out whom Radio 4 listeners have voted as their favorite philosopher: the winner of the In Our Time Greatest Philosopher Vote, chosen from 20 philosophers nominated by listeners and carried through on an electoral tidal wave of 28% of our 'first-past-the-post' vote is the communist theoretician, Karl Marx. So, when you strip away the Marxist-Leninism, the Soviet era and later Marxist theory, who was Karl Marx? Where does he stand in the history of philosophy? He wrote in his Theses on Feuerbach, "Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point, however, is to change it"-which begs the question, is he really a philosopher at all? Contributors Anthony Grayling, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London Francis Wheen, journalist and author of a biography of Karl Marx Gareth Stedman Jones, Professor of Political Science at Cambridge University July 14, 2005 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime.shtml --------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 10) The Battle after the Battle By Les Blumenthal The News Tribune Sunday 10 July 2005 Soldiers say military pushes them to discharge before medical needs are met http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/071105X.shtml ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 11) Defend a Woman's Right to Choose! Stop the anti-abortion "Crusade for Life" Saturday, July 16th and Friday, July 23rd 8am- noon 815 Eddy St. (at Franklin), SF "Crusade for Life" will be in San Francisco from July 15-24, protesting against reproductive rights. Planned Parenthood is collecting names and phone numbers of anyone interested in being on an "on-call" list in the event of problems or harrassment by protesters. We are invited to join Planned Parenthood, Radical Women, Code Pink, and various others to defend a woman's right to choose. The "Crusade for Life" plans to disrupt our community by harassing women at health clinics from July 15-27. We need your help to defend our clinics and to send the message that the Bay Area is pro-choice and stands up for reproductive rights! Saturday, July 16 and 23: Meet at Planned Parenthood to be a visible pro-choice force. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 12) G.E. Profit Increases 24 Percent in 2d Quarter By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 15, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Earns-General-Electric.html? ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 13) UFPJ MEMO TO EXPLAIN THE DISUNITY ON SEPT. 24 IN D.C. www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545 | Click to subscribe United for Peace and Justice is circulating this memo to explain the political reasoning behind our organizing approach for the September 24-26 mobilization , and to respond to concerns about our decision not to merge our September 24 demonstration with a separate anti-war event being organized that same day. We have reached a real turning point in the Iraq War. The Bush Administration is experiencing incredible pressure to change course as a result of declining U.S. popular support, growing calls within Congress and the media for military withdrawal, and continued chaos and bloodshed within Iraq. UFPJ is organizing our three-day mobilization in Washington, D.C. from September 24-26 to increase the pressure at this strategic time. This mobilization is different from the large anti-war demonstrations we have organized in the past in several key respects, and these differences have shaped the organizing decisions that UFPJ's leadership -- a national steering committee elected by our member groups -- has made about the mobilization. END THE WAR ON IRAQ! Visit the Fall Mobilization Section of the UFPJ website to download leaflets, endorse the Sept. 24-26 events, and/or make a much-needed financial contribution to our work. The September mobilization comes as anti-war sentiment is dramatically growing throughout the United States. New polls indicate that up to 60% of people in this country oppose the war and believe some or all U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq. If we organize in an inclusive way, with broad demands, accessible language, and an inviting style, we have the potential to organize the largest and most diverse demonstration against the war to date , with people from all walks of life coming together in a clear call to bring our troops home now. If we are willing to go outside our comfort zones and speak to people our movements don't typically reach, we have the potential to mobilize large numbers of people from outside the usual activist circles, people from a wide range of communities who are fed up with the carnage in Iraq and ready to stand up publicly for peace and justice. A truly massive turn-out for our September 24 march against the war rep color and ethnicity, every economic status, and resenting communities large and small, of every religious creed -- will dramatize to the Bush administration and Congress how unpopular and politically untenable this war has become. The September mobilization also comes as years of intense anti-war organizing are beginning to pay off in the legislative realm , with movement in both houses of Congress to call for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. To build on this crucial new political momentum, our three-day September mobilization against the war will focus not just on the White House but also on Congress; it will include not just the major protest march on Saturday, September 24, but also, on Monday, September 26, large-scale grassroots lobbying and a mass nonviolent civil disobedience action. Finally, the September mobilization comes as the anti-war movement is organizing more strategically than ever , pursuing a series of grassroots campaigns that target the most vulnerable aspects of the Bush administration's war drive. These include the increasingly effective nationwide efforts to counter military recruitment, a rapidly growing campaign of anti-war organizing in faith-based communities, and the multi-state campaign against the use of the National Guard in Iraq. As part of our three-day mobilization, we will be providing a range of ways for people to plug into these campaigns, including an interfaith religious service, grassroots training sessions, and "interactive stations" at the anti-war festival following our Saturday march. As part of our effort to build the most inclusive and diverse possible mobilization, UFPJ has chosen two simple, broad demands for the weekend: End the War on Iraq, Bring the Troops Home Now! These main slogans are accompanied by five additional demands that link to specific campaigns: Leave no military bases behind; End the looting of Iraq; Stop bankrupting our communities; Stop the torture; No military recruitment in our schools. We have chosen these overarching demands for the mobilization because we believe it is politically imperative to bring the largest number of people together right now in opposition to the war on Iraq. This September, we are seeking to mobilize all opponents of the war, no matter what their positions are on other political matters, and so we have kept our demands broad and simple. At the same time, United for Peace and Justice, as a coalition, has taken strong stances on an array of issues related to the Iraq War: opposing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and U.S. support for that occupation; stopping torture and illegal detentions; preventing future "pre-emptive" wars against Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba or other countries; supporting the democratic struggles of the Haitian people; and challenging U.S. nuclear hegemony by demanding the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide. For the September mobilization, UFPJ warmly welcomes our allies in the wide array of peace and justice movements to participate in the mobilization in ways that highlight the links between their struggles and issues and the absolute necessity to end the war on Iraq. We invite all those struggling for peace and justice abroad or at home to organize contingents in our march or feeder marches to the demonstration. The September 24 march is a powerful opportunity for labor, women, communities of color, lesbian/gay/ bisexual/transgender people, immigrants, youth and students, and many other communities to stand together and say, "We cannot make headway on any of our issues without ending the war and bringing the troops home." Some people have urged UFPJ to consider a joint demonstration with the Sept. 24 National Coalition, initiated by A.N.S.W.E.R., which is also organizing an anti-war protest on September 24. We take seriously the concerns from local organizers about the potential for confusion if there are two separate marches on September 24. Therefore, we have agreed to US Labor Against the War's proposal to convene a meeting with A.N.S.W.E.R. to work through logistical issues about the day, including the possibility of bringing the marches together. We are committed to working in good faith on this process. But because of our different approaches to organizing and how demands are articulated, we are not proposing a "unified" program that day. (See our May 23 memo to our member groups for a more detailed explanation.) We urge all those who seek to bring this war to an end -- from national groups to local organizations to concerned individuals -- to put maximum effort into bringing new people and organizations into the nation's capital for September 24-26. The streets of Washington, D.C. are big enough to contain all of our events and movements that weekend. The important thing is that the streets be filled with as many people as possible, all holding the Bush Administration and Congress accountable for the continuing devastation of this illegal and unjustified war. END THE WAR ON IRAQ! BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW! Massive 3-day mobilization in Washington, D.C. September 24-26, 2005 Visit our website today to download leaflets, endorse the mobilization, and learn more about the plans for this powerful weekend of action http://www.unitedforpeace.org/fallmobe ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545 To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 14) American Soldiers Charged With Abuse By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 16, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP- Iraq.html?hp&ex=1121572800&en=163cdddfd9b064f4&ei=5094&partner=homepag e ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 15) Ruling Lets U.S. Restart Trials at Guantánamo By NEIL A. LEWIS Published: July 16, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/16/politics/ 16gitmo.html?hp&ex=1121572800&en=63f317612f1e5198&ei=5094&partner=hom epage ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 16) San Francisco State Sued For Violating Students' Rights From: Katrina Yeaw Date: July 15, 2005 1:32:39 PM EDT Reply-To: CampusAntiwarNetwork@yahoogroups.com For Immediate Release Friday, July 15, 2005 San Francisco State Sued For Violating Students' Rights Free Speech, Military Recruiting, Discrimination Against Gays At Issue Contact Sharon Adams at 925.906.9026, Kent Klaudt at 415.652.9254 or Carlos Villarreal at 512.507.7700 San Francisco - Attorneys filed suit Friday against San Francisco State University (SFSU) in the name of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and on behalf of two student groups, Students Against War (SAW) and the International Socialist Organization (ISO). The suit arises from a protest against military recruiters on March 9th of this year that took place on the SFSU campus. The NLG accuses SFSU administrators of violating their own policies against discrimination based on sexual orientation by allowing recruiters on campus, and of violating the due process rights of the student organizations by punishing them at the end of an unfair disciplinary process. "It was clear from the evidence we've collected that certain individuals at SFSU were bent on punishing these student groups and didn't seem to care about ensuring the student groups had a fair hearing," said Sharon Adams, an attorney member of the NLG who filed the papers in the Superior Court for the City and County of San Francisco . "It is appalling that the University would choose to punish students for basic free speech activity, while allowing military recruiters on their campus in violation of their own anti-discrimination policy." The SFSU policy on nondiscrimination states in part: "No person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, or age be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination, including harassment, in any program of the California State University." "In this case, SFSU decided it wouldn't or couldn't honor its own policy and allowed the military, which discriminates against gays and lesbians, to practice their homophobic policy on campus," said Carlos Villarreal, Executive Director of the NLG San Francisco. "These student groups were both opposing the war in Iraq and enforcing SFSU's own policies, and now they are being punished through a sloppy and biased process that again has SFSU administrators violating their own processes." Recruiters eventually left the March 9th job fair when they realized they would not be able to recruit students - an enormous victory for these student groups. The National Lawyers Guild was founded in 1937 and includes thousands of members across the country, including hundreds of lawyers, law students and legal workers in the Bay Area. # # # Students Against War (SAW) is a member of the Campus Antiwar Network http://www.campusantiwar.net Charlie Jenks Website Manager; Chair of Advisory Board Traprock Peace Center http://www.traprockpeace.org UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545 <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ufpj-news/ ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 17) Hello all, This is not good news, it shows how we have to unite together and stand strong against this evil system. Please read the entire article. Below is a call to participate in a rally Wednesday 20th July from 5:00pm -6:00pm in support of Sheila Detoy and Cammerin Boyd. Please spread the word and attend the rally if you can. in solidarity, Donna Forwarded from PRISONACT email list: From: mcleod9@gmail.com Subject: [PRISONACT] Justice delayed yet again in Sheila Detoy case (San Francisco) Date: July 14, 2005 5:02:06 PM PDT 7/13/05: Tonight, I received a call from Sgt. Reilly, the secretary of the San Francisco Police Commission. He informed me that late this afternoon Superior Court Judge, James L. Warren, granted a stay in my friend Sheila Detoy's Case. The motion for a stay was filed by the attorneys for Sgt. Greg Breslin, the cop who killed my 17 year old friend, Sheila Detoy. Full article: http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2005/07/1717168.php Judge delays hearing to discipline killer cop by Shannon Altamirano, special to SFIMC Thursday, Jul. 14, 2005 at 9:24 AM Stay ordered, which stalls disciplinary action against cop who killed Sheila Detoy over seven years ago. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 18) Venezuela Discovers More Oil - Bush Plans Invasion Clif Ross 07/11/05 /Epicenter News Service/ http://www.eastbaynews.org/stages/word_stage1.php?EBN= 0711_1_word ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 19) George Galloway - Battle cry for radical change What do sweatshop workers in Bangladesh have in common with the people who work in your local supermarket? More than you might think, writes George Galloway, Respect MP The only way to make poverty history is to make the G8 history. I don't mean simply the annual jamboree for the leaders of the world's richest and most powerful states. I mean the whole nexus of exploitation and privilege that the G8 and its attendant institutions represent. http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=6889 ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 20) ANSWER UPCOMING EVENTS: In this message: * Postering for Sept. 24 Anti-War March in SF * Statement on Racism in the LGBT Community * Weekly Badlands Boycott Picket * ANSWER Activist Meeting - Get Involved! * ANSWER Speaker and Venezuela Film Screening in San Bruno * ANSWER ANTI-WAR TEACH-IN: The U.S. War Drive & the Anti-War Movement For more info on the following events, call 415-821-6545. Postering for the Sept. 24 Anti-War March in San Francisco This weekend, we will be doing neighborhood postering in SF and the East Bay. Get involved! Help spread the word about the next mass action against the war September 24. POSTERING * Friday, July 15, Postering in SF, meet at Polk and Turk, 6pm * Saturday, July 16, Postering in the East Bay, meet at Telegraph and Alcatraz, 2pm * Saturday, July 16, Postering in SF, meet at 24th and Dolores, 2pm Call if you would like to be paired up with someone in your neighborhood to do postering at another time. Speak to Nati or Silvio, 415-821-6545. New posters and bilingual flyers are available to download at http:// www.actionsf.org/ or pick some up anytime at the ANSWER office, 2489 Mission St. Room 24 (at 21st St.) San Francisco. ---------- Racism in the LGBT Community The Fight in San Francisco Continues!!! A statement from Lesbians and Gays of African Descent for Democratic Action (LGADDA) and LGBT Black Rap: Standing for Civil Rights & Social Justice for Black LGBT & Allies, on behalf of a coalition of African American LGBT leaders and organizations. Click here to view the statement on Racism in the LGBT Community ---------- Saturday, July 16, 10pm-12 midnight Weekly Boycott Picket at SF Badlands In front of S.F. Badlands on 18th Street between Castro and Collingwood Stand against racism and demand accountability for widespread racial discrimination and create inclusion in the Castro. Join the ANSWER Coalition and other community and labor groups on the picket line. For more info, visit http://www.andcastroforall.org/ Tuesday, July 19, 7pm Weekly ANSWER Activist Meeting 2489 Mission St. Room 30 at 21st St., San Francisco Join us for a political update and discussion by Mario Santos from Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines. Also, a report on the union struggle at the SF Chronicle for a fair contract. Get involved - join in our weekly outreach planning for the Sept. 24 Anti-War March. Wed. July 20, 6:30pm-9pm Film Showing and ANSWER Speaker: "Chavez, Venezuela and the New Latin America" Panaderia Eduardo, 617 San Mateo Ave., San Bruno (2blks west of Huntington) 6:30pm - Pastries/coffee 50 cents and up 7pm-8pm - Video screening 8pm-9pm - Discussion with Gloria La Riva of the ANSWER Coalition. Gloria has participated in several delegations to Venezuela. This groundbreaking new documentary by Aleida Guevara (Che Guevara's daughter), "Chávez, Venezuela and the New Latin America," explores Venezuela's explosive revolutionary terrain post-April 2002-when Hugo Chávez survived a coup attempt instigated by the United States. Featuring interviews with Hugo Chávez, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and Jorge García Carneiro, newly appointed head of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, along with others who are involved in the country's many social programs. This film affords a rare opportunity to glimpse through the blockade of information imposed by the United States into a country rich with hope, dreams and... oil. 2004, 55min. Spanish with English subtitles. This is a bilingual event co-sponsored by the San Bruno Greens and ANSWER. ---------- SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, July 30, 2-5pm San Francisco Women's Building 3543 18th St. (btwn Valencia & Guerrero) ANSWER ANTI-WAR TEACH-IN: The U.S. War Drive & the Anti-War Movement A discussion on the war and how we can continue to build a powerful anti-war movement here. Join us for a unique discussion assessing the state of the U.S. war, including the crisis in the Middle East, the expansion to other parts of the globe, and the turning tide of U.S. public opinion against the war. We will discuss: what are the points of unity and controversy within the anti-war movement? What are the implications of different political tactics and demands? Find out more about the next major national anti-war mobilization on September 24 and what you can do to get involved. $3-10 donation (no one turned away for lack of funds). Wheelchair accessible. Call 415-821-6545 to reserve free childcare. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 21) Army Guard Misses Recruiting Goal Again By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, July 12, 2005 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/07/12/national/ w053441D69.DTL ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 22) Army study: U.S. facing hard choices Lack of GIs may force cut in mission goals By Michael Kilian Washington Bureau Published July 12, 2005 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi- 0507120251jul12,1,6312103.story?ctrack=1&cset=true ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 23) President and Prime Minister Sharon Discuss Economy, Middle East Prairie Chapel Ranch Crawford, Texas http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050411-2.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 24) Defend a Woman‚s Right to Choose! Stop the anti-abortion „Crusade for Life‰ The „Crusade for Life‰ plans to disrupt our community by harassing women at health clinics from July 15-27. We need your help to defend our clinics and to send the message that the Bay Area is pro-choice and stands up for reproductive rights! Please join Radical Women at the following actions: Saturday, July 16 and 23: Meet at Planned Parenthood to be a visible pro-choice force. 8am-noon, 815 Eddy Street (at Franklin), San Francisco Monday, July 25: Clinic Defense and pro-choice presence at Women‚s Choice Clinic, 570 14th St., Oakland starting at 8am. Wear reproductive rights t-shirts. Call 510-836-5676 for more information. What Else You Can Do Call your local Bay Area clinic and let them know you are willing to help. Sign up for escort or clinic defense training. The anti-abortionists will be in San Francisco from July 15-24. They are planning to be in Oakland on July 25, Berkeley on July 26, and Richmond on July 27. Drive by local reproductive health centers on a regular basis (especially at night) to ensure the safety of the facility. Support the Abortion Rights and Reproductive Justice Network by sending tax-deductible donations payable to Women‚s Choice Clinic, 570 14th St. #3 Oakland, CA 94612. Call 415-864-1278 for information on Network meetings. Issued by Radical Women 415.864.1278 rwbayarea@yahoo.com www.radicalwomen.org ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 25) Peace and Justice News from FPIF http://www.fpif.org/ July 15, 2005 Introducing the latest policy analysis from Foreign Policy In Focus A Strategy for Ending the Iraq War By Tom Hayden In January 2005, a group of fifty peace activists from the Vietnam and Iraq eras issued a global appeal to end the war (online at http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/20996/). The appeal proposed undermining the pillars of war (public opinion, funding, troop recruitment, international allies) and building the pillars of peace and justice (an independent anti-war movement linked to justice issues, a progressive Democratic opposition, soldiers and families against the war, a global network to stop the US empire). This is an update on implementation of the strategy. Among friends and local activists, practice discussion of these multiple scenarios with plans for responding to each: 1. Status Quo/Quagmire. How do we expand local anti-war coalitions, and double membership of local groups, going into the 2006 elections? 2. Bush escalates (e.g. sends more troops, invades Syrian border, bombs Iran, resumes draft). In any of these cases, is more radical action called for? How will it impose a cost on Bush, how will it expand the movement? 3. Bush mimics Nixon, promises peace, withdraws 10,000 troops as Iraq adopts constitution and elects new government. Would this defuse the anti-war movement going into 2006? Or will we be in a mode to keep on the offense? How will we argue that the strategy will not bring peace? 4. What do you need to respond? In each scenario, what resources or adaptations does your local group need to respond? Tom Hayden was a leader of the student, civil rights, peace and environmental movements of the 1960s. He served 18 years in the California legislature, where he chaired labor, higher education and natural resources committees. He is a professor at Occidental College, Los Angeles and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus (http://www.fpif.org). See new FPIF paper online at: http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/155 With printer-friendly pdf version at: http://www.fpif.org./pdf/papers/0507endwar.pdf The Left and the Iraq War By Clive Hamilton The left has been snookered by the U.S. invasion of Iraq, for it is deeply opposed to the war yet supports the spread of democracy and civil freedoms. It is in the interests of the world that democracy should succeed in Iraq but that the U.S. has its nose bloodied in the process. For anyone with an appreciation of the history of U.S. foreign policy, the Bush administration's dewy-eyed homilies in praise of democracy in the Middle East are nauseating. If he were serious he would act against regimes in those countries that could most easily be converted to democracy; those where autocrats rule only by dint of U.S. support. He could begin with the U.S. client regime in Saudi Arabia. The decision to go to war in Iraq was wrong, not because Saddam was not a monstrous tyrant, but because it violated the first principle of international relations: respect for sovereignty. Without respect for sovereignty, international relations are reduced to the will of the powerful. Dr. Clive Hamilton is Executive Director of The Australia Institute, a public interest think tank and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus (http://www.fpif.org). See new FPIF commentary online at: http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/154 With printer-friendly pdf version at http://www.fpif.org/pdf/gac/0507left.pdf General Abizaid, I'm Glad You Asked By Col. Daniel Smith (Ret.) In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 23, General John Abizaid, head of Central Command, told the committee: "Maybe it's something we're not doing right in the field. But I can tell you that when my soldiers ... ask me the question whether or not they've got support from the American people or not, that worries me. And they're starting to do that. So I would say we better have a frank discussion with ourselves. I am not against the debate." Combined with Abizaid's acknowledgement that the insurgent and resistance fighters in Iraq are as strong as they were six months ago, this statement is a remarkably candid warning to U.S. politicians that the present course of U.S. policy in Iraq is in trouble. I would expect nothing less than absolute candor from Abizaid - and the public should accept nothing less from everyone in the Bush administration. Dan Smith is a military affairs analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus (online at http://www.fpif.org), a retired U.S. Army colonel, and a senior fellow on military affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. See new FPIF report online at: http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/158 With printer-friendly pdf version at http://www.fpif.org/pdf/reports/PR0507abizaid.pdf For Related Analysis from Foreign Policy In Focus How the World Can Help Americans Halt Bush Administration War Crimes By Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith (June 2005) http://www.fpif.org/papers/0506haltbush.html Ending the U.S. War in Iraq: How to Bring the Troops Home and Internationalize the Peace By Phyllis Bennis and Erik Leaver (January 2005) http://www.fpif.org/papers/0501occupation.html An "Affirmative Measure" to Help Prevent the Commission of War Crimes by the Bush Administration By Jeremy Brecher (December 2004) http://www.fpif.org/papers/0412affmeasure.html The Peace Movement One Year Later By Mark Engler (March 2004) http://www.fpif.org/papers/2004peace.html Produced and distributed by FPIF:"A Think Tank Without Walls," a joint program of International Relations Center (IRC) and Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). For more information, visit http://www.fpif.org. If you would like to add a name to the "What's New At FPIF" specific region or topic list, please email: communications@irc-online.org with "subscribe" and giving your area of interest. To manage your subscription to the Peace & Justice listserv: http://www.irc-online.org/lists/ You can join the IRC and make a secure donation by visiting http://www.irc-online.org/donate.php Thank. you International Relations Center (IRC) http://www.irc-online.org/ Siri D. Khalsa Outreach Coordinator Email: communications@irc-online.org P.O. Box 2178 Silver City, NM 88062 ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 26) FREE HIP HOP SHOW AND RALLY TO CLOSE CYA YOUTH PRISONS Join us as we bring the community together with amazing Bay Area talent to speak out against the California Youth Authority and the prison industrial complex! WHAT: 4th Annual "Not Down with the Lockdown" Hip Hop Show and Rally to Close the CYA Youth Prisons WHERE: Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th St. and Broadway (Downtown Oakland) WHEN: Saturday, July 16, noon-2pm FREE! All ages! WITH SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMERS: -Mista F.A.B. -Boogie Shack -Company of Prophets -Fiyawata -Dream Dance Company and many more Sponsored by Books Not Bars and Let's Get Free ( http://www.booksnotbars.org ) and The Beat Within. Contact Books Not Bars: e-mail: bnb@ellabakercenter.org phone: 510.428.3939 Get more information about the Books Not Bars "Alternatives for Youth" Campaign: http://ellabakercenter.org/bnb/campaign We can't survive without the support of individuals like you. Please take a moment to support us today. Donate here: http://www.ellabakercenter.org/donate * Not on our list-serve yet? (Maybe this message was forwarded to you.) Sign up to get e-mail updates directly by going this web page: http://ellabakercenter.org/subscribe ) ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 27) Please forward widely Please forward widely JUSTICE FOR Sheila detoy and cammerin boyd COMMUNITY RALLY 5:00-6:00 PM WEDNESDAY JULY 20, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO CITY PLAZA DR. GOODLETT DR. ( ACROSS FROM S.F. CITY HALL) For ten years San Francisco Police Offices have killed with impunity. We say no more We call on the San Francisco Police Commission to end this reign of terror. Sheila Detoy: On May 13, 1998 san Francisco Police Officers Shot Up A Car full of Unarmed Teenagers and killed 17 year Old Sheila Detoy. SFPD then tried to blame her friends for her death. Cammerin Boyd: On Wednesday, May 5, 2004, San Francisco police officers shot and killed 29 year-old Cammerin Boyd in front of dozens of witnesses. Cammerin, who was disabled, was clearly and vocally surrendering. He had his hands above his head. But the police shot him anyway. In the coming weeks the San Francisco Police Commission will begin holding hearings on both of these cases, come out and let them know we will accept nothing less than justice. For more information call (510)428-3939 x, 242 or e-mail malaika@ellabakercenter.org ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 28) CUBA-A REVOLUTION IN MOTION MARIN INTERFAITH TASK FORCE ON THE AMERICAS PRESS RELEASE Contact: Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas Colleen Rose ∆ 415/924-3227 ∆ mitf@igc.org CUBA-A REVOLUTION IN MOTION Author discusses new book Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas presents author Isaac Saney on Sunday, April 24, 3:00 PM at the Mill Valley Community Center, Forest Room, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley. In his book Saney writes, "The central contention of this book is that the Cuban experience offers significant insights into not only a different paradigm, but a paradigm that has been largely successful-especially given the objective limitations of a small, poor, underdeveloped island nation-in utilizing the country‚s resources and wealth for the public good. This book, intended as an introduction for students and the general reader, explores Cuba as it enters the twenty-first century, a lone island of anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism and socialism in the so-called Œage of globalization.‚ This work seeks to explain what some have called the Œmiracle‚ of the Cuban Revolution‚s survival in the face of an unprecedented economic contraction." Isaac Saney is a member of the faculty at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and regularly lectures on, writes about and conducts research in Cuba. For more information, please contact 415/924-3227, mitf@igc.org, or www.mitfamericas.org. A $5-10 donation is requested. No one turned away for lack of funds. Refreshments. Wheelchair accessible. Proceeds to benefit Pastors for Peace Cuba Caravan, July 2005. ### ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 29) Recruiters OUT of our schools! From: "No Draft No Way!" Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 14:27:35 -0400 To: swosfo@pacbell.net Cc: action.news@organizerweb.com Subject: "College Not Combat" - Recruiters OUT of our schools Recruiters OUT of our schools! Donate to help build a national movement against military recruiting and the draft. Across the country, parents, teachers, and activists are taking action to protect students from the lies, manipulation, and abusive tactics of military recruiters. In School Board meetings, Parent Teacher Associations, Student Governments, and other meetings across the U.S., parents and students are taking action--concerned parents have become such an obstacle that recruiters have identified them as the biggest obstacle to meeting their quotas. We need to continue to build on our success and drive military recruiters out of our schools. Recruiters have no place in public schools--they are predators, who lie to young people and manipulate their economic situation in order to drag them away to fight wars of occupation. We have a right and an obligation to demand that they not be allowed to use schools to recruit cannon fodder for their illegal wars. San Francisco - "College Not Combat!" In San Franciso, parents and antiwar activists submitted a local ballot measure on Monday, July 11, that will, if passed, put the city on record opposing the presence of military recruiters in public high schools and colleges. Organizers are working to gather enough signatures to place the initiative, called "College Not Combat," on the November ballot. It would encourage school officials to deny access to recruiters, even if that means the loss of Federal money. The initiative also encourages the creation of scholarships and training programs to challenge the military's appeal to disadvantaged youth. One of the organizers, Ragina Johnson said, "We do not see George Bush's daughters signing up. It is poor and working-class people who need a job and education at the same time billions are being spent on this war." Seattle - "School is no place for recruiters!" The Parent Teacher Student Association of Garfield High School took a decisive step in May, voting 25 to 5 to adopt a resolution that says "public schools are not a place for military recruiters." "The mission of the PTA is to protect and defend kids," said Amy Hagopian, a mother of three whose son is a Garfield senior. "It's not just limited to education issues - which explains why the PTA takes positions on kids' health, violence, and other serious issues." She added, ""They're spending $4 billion a month in Iraq, but we have to cut our race relations class, which costs $12,500. That's an important class for our kids." Steve Ludwig, whose son is a senior at Garfield, made a point shared by many in the PTSA: Garfield does not allow organizations that promote illegal activities to recruit students to perform those activities, nor does it allow organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation to recruit on campus. Ludwig told the Christian Science Monitor, "Planned Parenthood, as far as I know, does not advocate or perform illegal acts. The US military does. He said he would not object if Army representatives came to Garfield to debate their ideas on torture or aggressive war. "What I object to is their coming here to recruit students to perform those acts," he said. "It's not about free speech." Help Remove Military Recruiters from your schools! The Army Recruiting Handbook for High Schools (available on the No Draft, No Way website) says that their goal is "school ownership." Our goal is to deny them that ownership. The schools belong to the people, not to the Pentagon. Join the national movement against military recruiting. No Draft No Way is calling on parents, students, and local activists to work with your PTA, union, school board, city council, or student government to pass a resolution barring recruiters from your local schools. We are currently compiling a list of all such local initiatives -- if you are organizing a local initiative, you can list it here Or contact us http://nodraftnoway.org/ndnwcomments.shtml for information and help to organize a local campaign. Help Equip Local Counter-Recruiting Activists! Activists across the country are joining the struggle to shut down military recruiting. No Draft No Way now has hundreds of local activists in all 50 states mobilizing to challenge recruiters and organize against the draft. It is imperative that we provide information and tools to these local organizers. We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting and Draft Resistance will be an important contribution to this effort. This pocket-sized, 120-page book will be full of useful information and organizing tools for local activists. This bood will include chapters on: Military Recruiters' Lies - the truth behind the promises of easy college money and high-tech job training. Invasion of the Body Snatchers - the No Child Left Behind Act, JROTC, and the new Pentagon Database Challenging Recruiters on Campus - including a section on students rights on campus, leaflets, petitions Opting Out - how to organize a Opt Out campaign in your school so that students' personal information is not released to military recruiters Information about organizing a local resolution opposing military recruiting. and much more The book will be released with an accompanying CD which will contain: Recrutiers Lies - leaflets and posters exposing the recruiting sales pitch point by point with space for local contact information. Petitions against ROTC and JROTC Opt Out forms with an explanation of the No Child Left Behind Act We are rushing to get We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting and Draft Resistance to publication so that thousands of activists can use this material a part of a national campaign to educate and mobilize youth against militarism and the war. This book must be at the printers by July 31 in order for us to have it ready for the start of the new school year. Can you help us with this urgent effort to publish We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting and Draft Resistance? We will include a special acknowledgement section in the book, showing appreciation for those who make a contribution to this effort. Your name can be listed there, or you can donate anonymously. (You can donate online at http://nodraftnoway.org/donate-new.shtml ) Please join us in this national campaign by helping to organize, do outreach, distribute educational materials, and donate to help with all aspects of organizing, especially the immediate publication of this book, which will be an invaluable resource for young people all over the country who want to oppose the very real dangers of militarization and war. Donate to help build a national movement against military recruiting and the draft. Organize a local No Draft No Way chapter. Sign up Anyone can subscribe. Send an email request to Action.News-subscribe@organizerweb.com To unsubscribe Action.News-unsubscribe@organizerweb.com Subscribing and unsubscribing can also be done on the Web at http://www.organizerweb.com/mailman/listinfo/action.news ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
BAUAW NEWSLETTER-WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2005
Manish Vaidya wrote: folks from the NLG asked that the following be passed on to activist listservs and organizations: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS - DONT TALK - GET LEGAL ADVICE! If you are contacted by the FBI or other law enforcement officers, or subpoenaed to a grand jury, or if you are not a citizen and have a question about the impact of your political activity on your immigration status, call the National Lawyers Guild Post-9/11 Hotline, 415 285-1041. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- BAUAW Benefit Presentation of Howard Zinn's one man show, MARX IN SOHO Starring Jerry Levy as Karl Marx Directed by Michael Fox Kennedy. Thursday, August 4, 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 5, 7:00 p.m. Saturday,August 6, 2:00 p.m. Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts 1519 Mission Street between 11th Street and South Van Ness* Advance tickets: $10 Door: $20.00 Call:415-824-8730 or email: giobon@sbcglobal.net for Advance tickets. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- CONGRATULATIONS TO COLLEGE NOT COMBAT! CAN’T WAIT FOR THE CAMPAIGN TO BEGIN! Press Conference to Submit College Not Combat Petitions for November Election Took Place Monday, July 11th; noon East steps of City Hall, San Francisco CONTACT: Ragina Johnson at 415-412-4540 or college_not_combat@yahoo.com http://us.f335.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ Compose?To=college_not_combat@yahoo.com&YY=45579&order=down&a mp;sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b On July 11th 2005, College Not Combat activists delivered a remarkable 15,000 signatures to the Department of Elections at San Francisco's City Hall. These signatures, gathered by volunteers in just six weeks, represent public disapproval of military recruitment in the facilities of San Francisco's public high schools, colleges, and universities. With the death toll of American soldiers in Iraq almost 1800, the US military is struggling to meet its recruitment goals. Consistently falling well below its monthly quotas, military recruiters are using a number of tactics to persuade young people to join their ranks. Among these tactics is the presentation of economic incentives, used to make military service an appealing prospect to low-income youth. Acknowledging the passing of last November's Proposition N, in which the people of San Francisco voted by 63% to "bring the troops safely home now", the College Not Combat petition also represents opposition to the policy that is driving the war in Iraq. Speakers included: Aimee Allison - Green party member who is running for Oakland City Council. Cindy Sheehan, lost her son Casey, a soldier in Iraq, in April of 2004 and is the founder of Gold Star Families for Peace. Supervisor Chris Daly Ragina Johnson, campaign director of the College Not Combat campaign And Others. For more info, call 415-248-1701, or go to www.CollegeNotCombat.org ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 1) HANDS OFF VENEZUELA SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA FILM SHOWING: 7:00 PM, FRIDAY JULY 15 Center for Political Education 522 Valencia, Third Floor, Near 16th Street, SF (not wheelchair accessible) Close the 16th Street BART $5/$3 Students, Seniors, Unemployed 2) SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS: "DOING GOOD" A play based loosely on the book, "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins. JULY 16, PRECITA PARK MUSIC: 1:30 P.M. SHOW: 2:00 P.M. (This play is fresh, new, brilliantly performed, insightful, full of content, and the music is the icing on the cake!...BW) SPONSORED BY BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR Help get the word out about the ballot proposition and upcoming antiwar events. Free antiwar posters! FREE! 3) BAUAW Benefit Presentation of Howard Zinn's one man show, MARX IN SOHO Starring Jerry Levy as Karl Marx Directed by Michael Fox Kennedy. Thursday, August 4, 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 5, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, August 6, 2:00 p.m. Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts 1519 Mission Street between 11th Street and South Van Ness* Advance tickets: $10 Door: $20.00 Call:415-824-8730 or email: giobon@sbcglobal.net for Advance tickets. 4) Cut all Public School Ties to the Military! Speak up and Picket the S.F. Board of Education the Fourth Tuesday of Each Month. Next picket line: Tuesday, July 27, 6:30 P.M.-7:30 P.M. (The July Board of Ed. meetings have been cancelled. But we will still hold a picket July 27 at 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. in front of the Board of Education building.) The next picket line after July 27 is August 23, 6:30 P.M. -7:30 P.M. (just before school starts back.) August 23, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 P.M. 555 Franklin St., S.F, To get on the speakers list call: 415-241-6427, 241-6493 or 241-6000 (For more info call: 415-824-8730) 5) Op-Ed Columnist It Just Gets Worse By BOB HERBERT Published: July 11, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/opinion/11herbert.html?hp 6) Part-Time Forces on Active Duty Decline Steeply By ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID S. CLOUD Published: July 11, 2005 "Eventually, the Pentagon could be forced to remobilize units that have already been deployed especially if recruiting problems persist, General Libby and other Guard officials said. That would require changing the 24-month limit, something the Pentagon says now it has no need to do. Military personnel experts say such a move would only worsen recruiting for the Guard and Reserve, which are both lagging behind their quotas for the year, although strong re-enlistments have offset some of the recruiting slump....For Pentagon planners, the main focus of concern is the Army National Guard and Reserve, which currently have 115,645 troops mobilized, or about 84 percent of all reserve forces activated worldwide." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/politics/ 11reserves.html?ei=5094&en=bdef14b7f08346e6&hp=&ex=1121140800&adxnnl=1 &partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1121100417-4gI5MgdvJcxq7ckIztz9mw 7) Israeli Barrier in Jerusalem Will Cut Off 55,000 Arabs By GREG MYRE Published: July 11, 2005 "JERUSALEM, July 10 - Israel's separation barrier in Jerusalem will cut off 55,000 Palestinian residents from the rest of the city, Israeli officials acknowledged Sunday. Palestinians responded sharply, saying they will face daily complications in reaching jobs, schools and hospitals." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/international/middleeast/11mideast.html 8) Cancer Drugs Offer Hope, but at a Huge Expense By ALEX BERENSON Published: July 12, 2005 "Ten thousand dollars once seemed a lot to pay for a few months' supply of a drug... But they are all highly expensive, up to $100,000 for a course of treatment that lasts a few months. That is hundreds of times the cost of older, more toxic cancer drugs, and several times the annual cost of AIDS drugs, whose prices caused widespread anger during the 1990's." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/business/ 12cancer.html?hp&ex=1121227200&en=7c40d71f337a6617&ei=5094&partner=ho mepage 9) Man and Young Daughter Die in Shootout With Police By JOHN M. BRODER Published: July 12, 2005 The child's mother, Lorena Lopez, said she had no doubt who fired the fatal shots. "The police killed my daughter," Ms. Lopez said, tearfully and in Spanish, in the driveway of her green frame house on the corner of Avalon Boulevard and 104th Street. She said she had told the police during the crisis that Mr. Pena, from whom she is separated, was depressed about his failing business. "I told them he needed to be helped," she said. Ms. Lopez said that no one from the police department had contacted her to explain how her daughter died. "I want the police to pay for this," she said. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/national/12shooting.html 10) From No Man's Land to Displacement Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches http://dahrjamailiraq.com by Dahr Jamail from Left Turn Magazine 11) The Battle after the Battle By Les Blumenthal The News Tribune Sunday 10 July 2005 Soldiers say military pushes them to discharge before medical needs are met. The day before his 22nd birthday, a bomb hanging from a tree along a road near Fallujah exploded above Rory Dunn's Humvee. Dunn's forehead was crushed from ear to ear, leaving his brain exposed. His right eye was destroyed by shrapnel; the left eye nearly so. His hearing was severely damaged. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/071105X.shtml 12) WHEN THEY SAY "AID", THEY MEAN "RAID" [Col. Writ. 6/13/05] Copyright 2005 Mumia Abu-Jamal 13) UN Occupation Forces Carry Out Massacre of Poor in Port-au-Prince On Wednesday morning, July 6th, at approximately 3:00 AM, UN occupation forces in Haiti carried out a major military operation in the working-class neighborhood of Cite Soleil, one of the poorest in Port-au-Prince and also a stronghold of support for Haiti's majority political party Lavalas and President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Presumably, the purpose of the operation was to crack down on illegal "gang activity", in particular on "gang" leader Dread Wilme. In actuality, a US trade union and human rights delegation in Port-au-Prince discovered evidence of a massacre conducted by the UN forces, targeting the larger community itself. 14) Indiana Hunger Strike Alert ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 1) HANDS OFF VENEZUELA SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA FILM SHOWING: 7:00 PM, FRIDAY JULY 15 Center for Political Education 522 Valencia, Third Floor, Near 16th Street, SF (not wheelchair accessible) Close the 16th Street BART $5/$3 Students, Seniors, Unemployed ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 2) SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS: "DOING GOOD" A play based loosely on the book, "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins. JULY 16, PRECITA PARK MUSIC: 1:30 P.M. SHOW: 2:00 P.M. (This play is fresh, new, brilliantly performed, insightful, full of content, and the music is the icing on the cake!...BW) SPONSORED BY BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR Help get the word out about the ballot proposition and upcoming antiwar events. Free antiwar posters! FREE! ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 3) BAUAW Benefit Presentation of Howard Zinn's one man show, MARX IN SOHO Starring Jerry Levy as Karl Marx Directed by Michael Fox Kennedy. Thursday, August 4, 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 5, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, August 6, 2:00 p.m. Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts 1519 Mission Street between 11th Street and South Van Ness* Advance tickets: $10 Door: $20.00 Call:415-824-8730 or email: giobon@sbcglobal.net for Advance tickets. The premise of the play is that Marx dies yet he is able to see what's happening on earth for 100 years since his death in 1883. He is supposed to go back to Soho in London but, by mistake, is sent to Soho in New York and finds himself on stage before an audience. Imagine all Karl Marx would have to say after one hundred years of just being able to watch... The single actor in this one-man play is Jerry Levy, who has been teaching sociology at Marlboro College and been acting with the Actors' Theater of Brattleboro since he moved there from Chicago in 1975. Originally directed by Michael Fox Kennedy of the Actors' Theater, Levy has been on the road with Zinn's version of Karl Marx for a year, performing at benefits, colleges, small theaters and other venues around the state. At Middle Earth he was sponsored by the Bradford-based Coos Peace and Justice Alliance and performed free of charge but charged with mighty talent and a bottomless love of the play. WWW.BAUAW.ORG Contact person: Bonnie Weinstein 415-824-8730-office/home 415-990-4237-cell *The Jon Sims Center is located at 1519 Mission Street (between 11th Street and South Van Ness), South of Market, San Francisco, CA 94103 BY CAR: From the East Bay: Take 80 North then 101 North to the Mission Street exit. Stay on the right hand side of the exit. Turn right off the exit, and stay on Mission Street. The Jon Sims Center is two blocks past Van Ness, next to Firestone. From the South Bay: Take 101 North to the Mission Street Exit. Stay on the right hand side of the exit. Turn right off the exit, and stay on Mission Street. The Jon Sims Center is two blocks past Van Ness, next to Firestone. From the North Bay: Take 101 South to Lombard, make a right on Van Ness and then a left onto Mission. Jon Sims Center is two blocks past Van Ness, next to Firestone. Parking: Daytime parking is very difficult. We encourage day users to take public transportation. In the evening, street parking along Mission Street, Minna Street and 11th Street is not horrible (in San Francisco terms) after 6:00 PM, but the closer you are to 6:00 PM, the better your chances of finding parking. There is no parking along Mission between 4-6 PM, and you will be promptly towed. VIA BART/MUNI/SAMTRANS: Go to http://www.transitinfo.org for more information about Bay Area public transportation. BART: Take BART to the Civic Center station, then transfer to the outbound Muni J,K,L,M or N train. Exit at the next stop (Van Ness Station). Walk 1 block south, cross Mission, and the Jon Sims Center is next to Firestone. MUNI: The Jon Sims Center is 1 block south of the Van Ness Muni underground station, accessible from any Muni streetcar. Additionally, the 14 Mission, 42 Loop 49 and 47 Van Ness bus stop at Mission and 11th Street, only 1/2 block from the Jon Sims Center. Current Muni fare is $1.25. SamTrans: The SamTrans DX, KX, MX, NX, PX, RX and TX buses stops at Mission and 9th Streets. Walk three blocks west (towards Sutro tower) to reach the Jon Sims Center. Current SamTrans fare is $1.10. Please note that SamTrans buses to the City only run during rush hours. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 4) Cut all Public School Ties to the Military! Speak up and Picket the S.F. Board of Education the Fourth Tuesday of Each Month. Next picket line: Tuesday, July 27, 6:30 P.M.-7:30 P.M. (The July Board of Ed. meetings have been cancelled. But we will still hold a picket July 27 at 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. in front of the Board of Education building.) The next picket line after July 27 is August 23, 6:30 P.M. -7:30 P.M. (just before school starts back.) August 23, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 P.M. 555 Franklin St., S.F, To get on the speakers list call: 415-241-6427, 241-6493 or 241-6000 (For more info call: 415-824-8730) ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 5) Op-Ed Columnist It Just Gets Worse By BOB HERBERT Published: July 11, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/opinion/11herbert.html?hp ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 6) Part-Time Forces on Active Duty Decline Steeply By ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID S. CLOUD Published: July 11, 2005 "Eventually, the Pentagon could be forced to remobilize units that have already been deployed especially if recruiting problems persist, General Libby and other Guard officials said. That would require changing the 24-month limit, something the Pentagon says now it has no need to do. Military personnel experts say such a move would only worsen recruiting for the Guard and Reserve, which are both lagging behind their quotas for the year, although strong re-enlistments have offset some of the recruiting slump....For Pentagon planners, the main focus of concern is the Army National Guard and Reserve, which currently have 115,645 troops mobilized, or about 84 percent of all reserve forces activated worldwide." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/politics/ 11reserves.html?ei=5094&en=bdef14b7f08346e6&hp=&ex=1121140800&adxnnl=1 &partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1121100417-4gI5MgdvJcxq7ckIztz9mw ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 7) Israeli Barrier in Jerusalem Will Cut Off 55,000 Arabs By GREG MYRE Published: July 11, 2005 "JERUSALEM, July 10 - Israel's separation barrier in Jerusalem will cut off 55,000 Palestinian residents from the rest of the city, Israeli officials acknowledged Sunday. Palestinians responded sharply, saying they will face daily complications in reaching jobs, schools and hospitals." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/international/middleeast/11mideast.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 8) Cancer Drugs Offer Hope, but at a Huge Expense By ALEX BERENSON Published: July 12, 2005 "Ten thousand dollars once seemed a lot to pay for a few months' supply of a drug... But they are all highly expensive, up to $100,000 for a course of treatment that lasts a few months. That is hundreds of times the cost of older, more toxic cancer drugs, and several times the annual cost of AIDS drugs, whose prices caused widespread anger during the 1990's." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/business/ 12cancer.html?hp&ex=1121227200&en=7c40d71f337a6617&ei=5094&partner=ho mepage ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 9) Man and Young Daughter Die in Shootout With Police By JOHN M. BRODER Published: July 12, 2005 The child's mother, Lorena Lopez, said she had no doubt who fired the fatal shots. "The police killed my daughter," Ms. Lopez said, tearfully and in Spanish, in the driveway of her green frame house on the corner of Avalon Boulevard and 104th Street. She said she had told the police during the crisis that Mr. Pena, from whom she is separated, was depressed about his failing business. "I told them he needed to be helped," she said. Ms. Lopez said that no one from the police department had contacted her to explain how her daughter died. "I want the police to pay for this," she said. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/national/12shooting.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 10) From No Man's Land to Displacement Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches http://dahrjamailiraq.com by Dahr Jamail from Left Turn Magazine The Iraqi/Jordanian border is a land of desolation. Coils of razor wire stretch into the desert whilst sun-grayed plastic bags caught in their sharpness flap in the hot, dry winds. In No Man's Land, Jamail exposes yet another face of the human consequences of the US occupation of Iraq - the suffering and resistance of displaced Kurdish-Iranian and Palestinian refugees. Long columns of trucks wait at the Jordanian border to carry their loads of supplies into war-torn Iraq. When Iraqi drivers wish to enter Jordan, they now wait up to 18 days to be allowed in. The al-Karama border is a land of waiting, but not just for the truck drivers. There have been others waiting to enter Jordan for far longer. The refugee camp situated in this bleak area is called No Man's Land camp because it literally is just that: an area of land caught between the borders of two countries with nowhere else to go. "If you leave me here I will die," said the elderly Merza Shahawaz as he was groaning from the pain in his kidneys, "Please help me." In his tent covered with plastic sheeting inside the camp, his wife was helping him sit up. He cannot sit without her holding him up. "I ask you to help me. I plead for humanitarian people to help us now," mumbled the 66 year-old man in dire need of dialysis. His family sitting nearby shed tears as they brushed flies away from their faces. His 42 year-old son pleaded, "We are all dying slowly here. You see us with your eyes, I ask for help. He is dying in front of his family's eyes but nobody is doing anything for him. We don't want our children's fate to be this. Death is better than this life. If our children grow up like this it means they are dead." It is one example of the suffering of so many in the camp of over 700 people. *Hunger strike* Kurdish-Iranian refugees have a long history of suffering. Initially having left Iran under persecution from the government over 20 years ago, some of them were members of the Kurdish peshmerga militia who fought against fundamentalist Islamic rule and were lucky enough to escape with their lives. Many of them fled to Iraq, where the regime of Saddam Hussein placed them in the al-Tash refugee camp, located 80 miles west of Baghdad, which held over 12,000 Iranian Kurds. Many of these refugees, after the US-led invasion of Iraq in spring of 2003, said they were threatened by armed groups and told they had to leave. Several refugees I interviewed in No Man's Land camp said they were instructed to leave Al-Tash by the US-backed Iraqi government. Palestinians, Iraqis, Jordanians and Syrian refugees were also in the mix. At the time of the invasion the Jordanian government agreed to provide temporary protection for Iraqis fleeing the fighting and chaos in their country. But when the Iranian-Kurds from Al-Tash camp reached the Jordanian border, they were denied access. Others were denied access because they lacked valid passports. Already burgeoning with refugees from Palestine and Iraq, the government of Jordan felt it had reached its limits and denied access to future refugees. While the local Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization - with help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), CARE International and other organizations - has been working to assist the refugees, it appears as though it is not enough. A tattered sheet tied to a chain-link fence which surrounds No Man's Land camp flittered in the wind. It read: "We Iranian Kurd refugees have gone on hunger strike because we have been paid no attention from UNHCR and they use demagogy policy towards our just issue and have not tended to our demand which is resettlement in third countries. Dying once is better than daily death." On the other side of the fence a tarp provides shade for 21 men who were on hunger strike, demanding more assistance from UNHCR. Omar Abdul Aziz, is 39 years old. He was living in Al-Anbar at Al-Tash camp near Ramadi before he came here. "We used to live 23 years at Al-Tash camp," he explained, "After the war the horrible security came. Due to the fact that the occupation forces didn't control the borders, Iranian intelligence came into Iraq and began raiding Al-Tash, so we had to leave." The soft spoken man, weak with hunger nine days into the strike, sat on a mat while he talked. "I am on hunger strike because UNHCR didn't do anything for us. This is not the right place for women and kids to live in, and we have an unknown future. We have no solution here, only moving from camp to camp, from desert to desert." Flies buzzed languidly about the faces of the downtrodden men in the tent as Aziz continued. "We don't want to go to Iraq because it is unstable and it is not our country. What has happened to us is due to the illegal American invasion of Iraq. We ask the American people, appealing to their humanity, to evacuate us from this horrible situation. We are the orphans of the international community. The international community has kept their mouths closed about us, and especially the Americans." Others spoke of spending over two years in the horrible conditions of the camp where snakes, sandstorms and scorpions are a daily reality as they languish in tents seeking shelter from the scorching desert sun. "We are depressed and we are dying here," Zaman Shakary told me. The frustration of the 45 year-old man was vented in anger towards UNHCR. "Condoleeza Rice goes and shakes hands with Barzani, but does nothing for us here. I have given an order that if I lose consciousness 10 times I will continue my hunger strike if UNHCR does not respond and help us. Humans cannot live this way." Most of the refugees were asking for resettlement, but not necessarily to another refugee camp. "We are asking for resettlement in another country. I have been on hunger strike for 9 days, and my demands are that if I die it is for life, I do not live for death," said Suwady Rashat. The 43 year-old added, "I want to tell the American people that the Iraqi government deprived us of what we need, and it is because of the invasion which has not truly benefited Iraqis." Nearby sat a 6 year-old boy with a lost, sad look on his face, antagonized by flies. "I am here because my father is on hunger strike for 9 days now," he told me, "Please, someone needs to help us here." Another man in the camp, Hassan Sadiq, lived in the US for a year before the recent invasion. He returned to Iraq just before the invasion, then fled to No Man's Land Camp as chaos engulfed Iraq. Prior to his time in America, Sadiq had fled Iran because of his Human Rights advocacy against the regime there. He had initially spent time in the nearby Ruwaished camp - another refugee camp an hours drive into Jordan - where he went on hunger strike for 36 days in protest of UNHCR, who according to him, were not doing enough to assist him from being extradited back to Iran. "Now UNHCR wants to close this camp and put us back in Ruwaished. When I was there I was under constant threat of being extradited back to Iraq. Now I'm concerned they will transfer us back to Ruwaished, which is nothing but a jail in the desert." His situation is reflective of many others in the camp. "I would like to say to the American government that I remember George Bush says he is fighting for freedom. But by God, here I need freedom and they have forgotten us. The US has been ignoring us since 1974. The American government is responsible for us being here, because we are displaced because of the war." The camp was fraught with health problems - without enough clean water or medical care, diarrhea, minor respiratory problems, sore eyes, and dehydration abound. Many people tell me they have trouble breathing when sandstorms hit, which is several times each week. In another tent a man told me his 13 year old son was killed on the road by a passing truck. His wife aborted her fetus when fighting broke out near the Iraqi border several months ago. There have been problems in the camp, aside from the aforementioned health and depression symptoms. The hunger strike was aimed at UNHCR for not doing enough to help them; however, UNHCR recently managed to move the entire camp into Jordan. * Dismal Place* On May 29, with the assistance of the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization and CARE International, UNHCR moved the 743 residents of No Man's Land camp to the Ruwaished refugee camp. The long struggle to obtain permission from the Jordanian government ended with the agreement that UNHCR would vigorously pursue further solutions for the refugees, who were moved in three convoys. Jaqueline Parleviet is the Senior Protections Officer for UNHCR in Amman, Jordan. "The hunger strike ended because of the move," Parleviet noted. "All of the refugees I spoke with were happy to be moved. The problems and resistance we encountered inside the camp went away when we moved them." UNHCR is now pursuing the solutions of either voluntary return or resettlement to another country for each refugee in the Ruwaished camp, which is now filled with about 880 refugees. Yet Ruwaished camp, while at least sitting inside a country, still remains a dismal place. There are no trees in sight of the wire fence enclosed spot in the middle of the desert. While there are some improvements - residents can leave for short shopping trips in nearby Ruwaished, CARE international is providing some vocational training and schooling, and the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization is providing food, stoves, water and other necessities - the mood remains quite bleak. Rahma Shaban left Palestine in 1948. Under the intense midday sun, she told me of having to leave Iraq because of the horrible security situation after the invasion. "Baghdad is a great place," she added, "But I must have security for my children." Other refugees blame the new Iraqi government for there difficulties. "I can't blame Iraqis for our problems," said Donia Baltergy, "I blame these Iraqis who came with the invaders." She began to cry as she continued to discuss her situation in the camp. "It's difficult for us to live in this harsh place," she said while holding her hands out while she pleads, "We've been sitting here for two years. They don't let us go out, they don't like for us to talk to the press, they don't give us rights to do anything." Like the former No Man's Land camp, the Ruwaished camp is plagued with sandstorms and scorpions, and the residents continue to endure health problems and cope with ongoing depression. There was little hope for change when I visited, and many refugees expressed discontent towards UNHCR and other organizations for not doing more to assist them. According to Parleviet, some of the Somali and Sundanese refugees were resettled in the US and Australia, along with 387 Iranian Kurds previously moved to Sweden. "We have cases pending now for the UK and Ireland," she added. Yet despite small instances of success, the refugees recently relocated from No Man's Land are now united with 133 other displaced people in the middle of the desert, close to one of the worst conflict zones on the planet today. Discontent towards what has become of Iraq, the country most of these people love and had to leave, continues to be vented at the US. Standing in front of a small brown tent used to teach women health classes, Rahma Shaban exclaimed through tears, "The Americans said they were coming to help Iraqis. Now we see their lies, proven by the fact that they have done nothing but cause us pain, suffering, and erased our future and the futures of our children." And until their situation is changed, these feelings will most likely persist. More writing, photos and commentary at http://dahrjamailiraq.com You can visit http://dahrjamailiraq.com/email_list/ to subscribe or unsubscribe to the email list. Iraq_Dispatches mailing list http://lists.dahrjamailiraq.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq_dispatches ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 11) The Battle after the Battle By Les Blumenthal The News Tribune Sunday 10 July 2005 Soldiers say military pushes them to discharge before medical needs are met. The day before his 22nd birthday, a bomb hanging from a tree along a road near Fallujah exploded above Rory Dunn's Humvee. Dunn's forehead was crushed from ear to ear, leaving his brain exposed. His right eye was destroyed by shrapnel; the left eye nearly so. His hearing was severely damaged. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/071105X.shtml ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 12) WHEN THEY SAY "AID", THEY MEAN "RAID" [Col. Writ. 6/13/05] Copyright 2005 Mumia Abu-Jamal Recently, the news columns were full of a supposed dispute between the Americans and the British about foreign aid relief to Africa. If the news reports are to be believed, the British wish to push the Americans further, to provide more debt relief for countries staggering under their economic burdens. The media image that arises is one of the rich, Western, White nations caring about the lives and conditions of starving Black Africa. And like many media images, it simply isn't true. What is often lost in this angelic imagery is the truth behind the so-called aid. That 'aid' that was given years ago, was given to military dictatorships, and it was often military aid meant to strengthen dictatorships, against, not foreign attacks, but popular resistance, from their own people! Indeed, in a 1960 meeting of the U.S. National Security Council, American spies and diplomats spoke rather openly about U.S. support for military regimes. The minutes of the meeting record them saying: We must recognize, although we cannot say it publicly, that we need the strong men of Africa on our side. It is important to understand that most of Africa will soon be independent and that it would be naive of the U.S. to hope that Africa will be democratic ... Since we must have the strong men of Africa on our side, perhaps we should in some cases develop military strong men as an offset to Communist development of the labor unions. The President agreed that it might be desirable for us to try to 'reach' the strong men of Africa ... [Fr. NSA mtg., 1/14/60 as published in *Foreign Relations, 1958-1960, Vol. XIV*, pp. 73-78.] From meetings such as this, came US 'aid' to such dictators as Zaire's late Mobutu, who was among one of the wealthiest men in Africa, if not the world. Through 'African strong men' such as he, the U.S. ran many countries as neocolonies, through which they could further exploit the people of the continent. The late U.S. President, Richard Nixon, spoke a powerful political truth when he said: "Let us remember that the main purpose of aid is *not to help other nations* but to help ourselves." [Fr. Graham Hancock, *Lords of Poverty* (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989, p. 71]. Think about it this way: when millions of dollars in military aid is given to a dictatorship, where does the money go? To the receiving country, or to the arms dealers and defense contractors which makes the weapons? So, how is this 'aid'? It's aid to ourselves to arm forces that keep their own people in line. Also, since at least the 1970s, U.S. food aid has been tied to the myth of population control. In order to receive 'aid' from the nice, White, West -- African, Latin American and Asian countries have had to pledge they would reduce their populations. Why would countries that are agricultural gardens of Eden even need foo | |