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    Friday, July 29, 2005
     

    BAUAW NEWSLETTER-FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2005

    Dear Friends,

    Yesterday Iraq War veteran Sgt.
    Kevin Benderman was sentenced to 15 months
    in a military brig for refusing to return to Iraq.

    At Fort Stewart, Georgia, Iraq
    Veterans Against the War members Camilo Mejia
    and Aidan Delgado attended his court
    martial to lend their support. In
    Oakland, California, Not in Our Name
    activists joined Courage to Resist for
    a solidarity rally and poetry speak
    out in front of the downtown military
    recruiting center.

    Usually open until 8 pm, the military
    closed the center early due to the
    late afternoon protest. About three
    dozen folks gathered to declare that the
    real heroes of illegal war and
    occupation were those that refuse to fight
    it.

    Here are a few photos from Oakland I took:
    http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/07/1756754.php

    For news links, including photos from Georgia:
    http://www.bendermandefense.org

    I'm sure that Kevin's wife Monica
    will have his mailing address in the brig
    posted as soon as it is available.

    Free Kevin Benderman Now!

    -Jeff Paterson

    A Note From Monica Benderman

    "A note to all those who supported Kevin Bendermam,
    the soldier who refused to deploy to Iraq and has been
    given 15 months jailtime, from his wife Monica Benderman."
    By Monica Benderman
    July 29, 2005

    THANK YOU -- to everyone for supporting Kevin and me.

    Kevin is currently in a local county jail -- but he is being treated
    well. We are waiting to see where he will be going next, and what
    will be happening.

    The appeals process has been initiated - BUT -- Kevin has not
    actually been convicted as yet. He is in prison, but the conviction
    will not be official until the Convening Authority, Col. John Kidd,
    has signed off on it. He cannot make the sentence any greater, but
    he can reduce it. It's doubtful that he will do that, he has an
    inordinate amount of disdain for me. The entire prosecution team,
    including witnesses, all stood outside the doorway and laughed while
    Kevin was walking to the van. They wanted to put him in shackles and
    chains "so that the media could take pictures of him that way" but
    his supervisor, the man they had placed in charge of that, refused to
    do that, so Kevin walked freely. This supervisor has been very
    supportive of Kevin from the start - and continues to be very upset
    about what is happening, as he knows the truth.

    Kevin could serve his entire sentence without Col. Kidd approving the
    sentence, which means that he will have the potential to serve
    without being convicted. The reason this is a possibility is that
    until the sentence is confirmed, they cannot officially process the
    appeal, and until the conviction is official, the defense team cannot
    receive the full transcripts from the trial. Without these, they
    cannot begin to create the brief to file for the appeal.

    People need to be aware of this. Please... let people know just
    what they are capable of.

    Kevin is fine, and says THANK YOU for staying with him.

    Love, Monica


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

    1) Pastors for Peace Friendshipment
    Caravan to Cuba being held up at
    US-Mexico Border!
    EMERGENCY NETWORKS AND PRESS CONTACTS:

    2) Order your advance tickets to
    Howard Zinn's Marx in Soho
    Send check for $10.00 for each advance ticket to:
    Bay Area United Against War
    P.O. Box 318021
    San Francisco, CA 94131-8021
    Please indicate which show:
    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

    3) Palestine, the Anti-War Movement and the Quest
    for Genuine Unity
    A Response to Ted Glick
    BY TOUFIC HADDAD

    4) Building Unity at a Time of Possibility
    BY TED GLICK

    5) Did Greenspan Know About the London Bombings
    Two Days Before?
    by Mike Whitney
    www.dissidentvoice.org
    July 21, 2005
    http://www.dissidentvoice.org/July05/Whitney0721.htm

    6) Subject: [Al-Awda-SF] Breaking News Correction Note:
    36,000 Trees of Land Set Ablaze in Occupied Qaffin and Akkaba
    To: al-awda-sf@yahoogroups.com, bayareapalestine@yahoogroups.com
    From: "Jess Ghannam"
    Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 08:29:14 –0700

    7) Plan to Shift Army Units Is Complete, Officials Say
    By THOM SHANKER
    Published: July 27, 2005\
    In one of the most significant shifts of troops since the
    end of the cold war, the restationing program finds new
    homes for not only the 50,000 troops returning from abroad,
    but also for 30,000 new soldiers financed temporarily
    by Congress. Those increases are to help the Army add
    10 brigades to its current 33 under a program to convert
    all of its combat units into more deployable modular
    units....Units will be relocated for better access to
    the service's two major training centers, Fort Polk, La.,
    for lighter forces, and Fort Irwin, Calif., for armor.
    The locations were also chosen for access to airports
    and seaports for easier deployment abroad, which for
    most soldiers today means Afghanistan or Iraq.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/politics/
    27army.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1122487217-HS2flQfv5nap8aV1YfYjOw

    8) For immediate release: July 27, 2005, 5:15 p.m. CDT
    Please distribute widely!
    AFL-CIO Calls for
    Rapid Return of U.S. Troops

    9) The death of Pierre Broué, an irreparable loss to Marxism
    By Alan Woods
    Wednesday, 27 July 2005
    http://www.marxist.com/pierre-broue-death270705.htm

    10) Don't miss this exciting opportunity to hear
    Dennis Banks, Ojibwa Warrior, Indian Rights Activist,
    Co-founder of the American Indian Movement
    (AIM), led the occupation of Wounded Knee, S.D.
    in 1973, Author, Teacher, Lecturer.
    When: Wednesday, August 3, 2005, 7:00 PM
    Where: Muggs Coffee at the Vallejo Ferry Terminal
    289 Mare Island Way
    Vallejo, CA
    Sponsor: Vallejo

    11) CASUALTY OF WAR: THE U.S. ECONOMY
    James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer
    Sunday, July 17, 2005
    The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already cost taxpayers
    $314 billion, and the Congressional Budget Office projects
    additional expenses of perhaps $450 billion over
    the next 10 years.
    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/17/
    MNG5GDPEK31.DTL


    12) Lance Armstrong criticizes cost of Iraq war
    Wed, 27 Jul 2005 17:21:23 -0700
    From: "Patty Mote"
    The item below comes from "Democracy Now" July 27, 2005,
    excerpted from a Time Magazine interview. Lance Armstrong,
    right now, is probably one of THE major figures in sports,
    his name recognition, internationally, is right up there
    with Tiger Woods and Barry Bonds. He is also known to be
    extremely careful about all public statements. He doesn't
    actually say anything all that radical, but the fact that
    he is critical of the war at all is significant. Recent
    history shows us that any time a major sports figure makes
    a political statement in a major media venue, the
    reverberations can be substantial. - Tom Lacey
    Lance Armstrong Criticizes Cost of Iraq War
    Cycling champion Lance Armstrong - who just won his seventh
    Tour de France --has publicly criticized the war in Iraq
    because it has prevented the country from spending more
    on cancer research. He told Time Magazine, "'Funding
    [for cancer research] is tough to come by these days. The
    biggest downside to a war in Iraq is what you could do
    with that money. What does a war in Iraq cost a week?
    A billion? Maybe a billion a day?" He went on to say " The
    budget for the National Cancer Institute is four billion.
    That has to change. It needs to become a priority again.
    Polls say people are much more afraid of cancer than of
    a plane flying into their house or a bomb or any other
    form of terrorism. It is a priority for the American public."

    13) Brazilian did not wear bulky jacket
    Relatives say Met admits that, contrary to reports,
    electrician did
    not leap tube station barrier
    Mark Honigsbaum
    Thursday July 28, 2005
    The Guardian
    Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian shot dead in the head,
    was not wearing a heavy jacket that might have concealed
    a bomb, and did not jump the ticket barrier when challenged
    by armed plainclothes police, his cousin said yesterday...Flanked
    by the de Menezes family's solicitor, Gareth Peirce, and by Bianca
    Jagger, the anti-Iraq war campaigner, she condemned the shoot-
    to-kill policy which had led to her cousin's death and vowed that
    what she called the "crime" would not go unpunished....Mr de
    Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the
    shoulder at 10am last Friday after being followed from Tulse Hill.
    Scotland Yard initially claimed he wore a bulky jacket and jumped
    the barrier when police identified themselves and ordered him
    to stop. The same day the Met commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, said
    the shooting was "directly linked" to the unprecedented anti-terror
    operation on London's streets.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1537457,00.html

    14) OpEd
    Oil and Blood
    By BOB HERBERT
    Published: July 28, 2005
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/opinion/28herbert.html?hp

    15) Editorial
    Energy Shortage
    Published: July 28, 2005
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/opinion/28thu1.html?hp

    16) Shots to the Heart of Iraq
    Innocent civilians, including people who are considered
    vital to building democracy, are increasingly being
    killed by U.S. troops.
    By Richard C. Paddock, Times Staff Writer
    BAGHDAD - Three men in an unmarked sedan pulled up near
    the headquarters of the national police major crimes unit.
    The two passengers, wearing traditional Arab dishdasha
    gowns, stepped from the car.
    At the same moment, a U.S. military convoy emerged from
    an underpass. Apparently believing the men were staging
    an ambush, the Americans fired, killing one passenger and
    wounding the other. The sedan's driver was hit in the
    head by two bullet fragments.
    The soldiers drove on without stopping.
    This kind of shooting is far from rare in Baghdad, but
    the driver of the car was no ordinary casualty. He was
    Iraqi police Brig. Gen. Majeed Farraji, chief of the major
    crimes unit. His passengers were unarmed hitchhikers whom
    he was dropping off on his way to work.
    http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-civilians25jul25,1,693664.story

    17) $1.5 Billion Giveaway Secretly Slipped into Energy Bill, Waxman Says
    By: Rep. Henry Waxman
    Published: July 27, 2005 at 15:40
    http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_23241.shtml

    18) STAFF SALARIES: WHO'S MAKING WHAT
    By Alexis Simendinger
    National Journal
    July 26, 2005
    http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2005/0726nj_wh_dollar.htm

    19) Op-Ed Contributor
    When You Have to Shoot First
    By HAIM WATZMAN
    Published: July 28, 2005
    Jerusalem
    (When reading this article please note the article above,
    'Brazilian did not wear bulky jacket' in which it is pointed
    out that this man wasn't wearing a bulky jacket and didn't
    jump the turnstile...BW)
    "...A terrible thing happened in London last Friday. On his
    way to work, Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian
    electrician, was chased down by suspicious police officers.
    When he tripped and fell, the officers asked no questions and
    gave him no warning.
    One of them fired eight bullets point-blank into his head and
    shoulder and that was that. At first sight, it was an act much
    more severe than Eldad's, because Eldad had been under attack
    and shot a man he had good reason to think was armed.
    Mr. Menezes had hurt no one.
    On the other hand, it was an easier call. The police saw
    a man wearing a long coat out of place on a hot summer day
    jumping over a turnstile and running for a crowded subway
    train. He did not stop when he had been ordered to do so.
    Just two weeks before the killing, four suicide bombers had
    blown themselves up on subway trains and buses in London.
    Just days before, there were all the signs of another coordinated
    attack - and the police had reason to believe that bombers
    were still at large. The long coat on a summer day was just
    the sort of telltale clue that the police had been told to
    look out for. A number of suicide bombers in recent years
    have used such coats to conceal the belt of explosives
    strapped around their waists. What's more, the police
    acted under express orders to shoot in the head someone
    they thought was about to commit a suicide bombing.
    Suicide charges are usually built to be set off with
    the flick of the bomber's finger. The terrorist can be
    disabled, flat on the ground, and surrounded by heavily
    armed men and still blow up everything around him.
    So the officer who killed Mr. Menezes did a horrible
    thing. But he also did the right thing. One of the
    tragedies of this age of suicide bombers - indeed of
    any war - is that the right thing to do is sometimes
    a horrible thing. Remember: there's an essential distinction
    between us and the suicide bombers. The suicide bombers
    perpetrate gratuitous horrors. We do terrible things only
    when it is necessary to prevent something even worse
    from happening...."
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/opinion/28watzman.html

    20) Anti-war groups call for massive September mobilization
    By Askia Muhammad
    White House Correspondent
    Updated Jun 16, 2005, 09:17 am
    http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2057.shtml

    21) This article is a short summary of one of the main elements
    in Fidel's July 26th speech. You can see the full talk here:
    http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/2005/ing/f260705i.html
    Fidel Castro Says History Will Absolve Him and Chavez
    http://www.ain.cubaweb.cu/idioma/ingles/2005/jul26fidel-26juliopart3.htm

    22) And from Jon Snow (Channel 4 news, UK) last evening:
    Sign of the times?

    23) PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE THEATER: 2575 BANCROFT WAY
    @ BOWDITCH, BERKELEY
    WWW.BAMPFA.BERKELEY.EDU / $4-$8
    TUESDAY AUGUST 9
    7:30 The Forest for the Trees: Judi Bari vs. the FBI
    Bernadine Mellis (U.S., 2005)
    Artist in Person

    24) Gaza Will Be 'Vacated But Still Occupied'
    by Ushani Agalawatta
    JERUSALEM - A growing number of Palestinians are beginning
    to believe that Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip
    will not mean the end of occupation
    "The Gaza Strip will still be occupied territory under
    international law," says Renad Qubbaj of the Palestinian
    NGO Network based in Ramallah in the West Bank. "After
    implementation of the disengagement plan, the Israeli
    army will remain in effective control of all border
    crossings."
    Published on Thursday, July 28, 2005 by the Inter Press Service
    http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0728-04.htm

    25) Friends
    There are three important events coming up in the next
    few days. Hope to see all of you at all of them!
    thanks.
    en la lucha
    tommi
    "tommi avicolli mecca" avimecca@yahoo.com

    26) Scientists Warn Fewer Kinds of Fish Are Swimming the Oceans
    By CORNELIA DEAN
    Published: July 29, 2005
    Researchers who studied decades of catch records from Japanese
    fishing fleets say fishing has greatly reduced the diversity
    of fish in the world's open oceans, leaving ocean ecosystems
    less resilient against environmental changes like global warming.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/29/science/29fishing.html

    27) US energy bill funnels billions to oil,
    utility corporations
    By Patrick Martin
    29 July 2005
    http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jul2005/ener-j29.shtml

    28) JAMES CONNOLLY FILM
    The second of 2 films on Irish Themes.
    Connolly was born in Scotland and
    was alos an activist in the USA so
    he has a relevance broader than
    Ireland. Interesting that up to 1917
    these isalands were more influenced
    by American radicalism than anything
    towards the East.
    The other film is on the post
    Connolly War of Independence by Ken Loach.
    Jim Monaghan
    From: "Library SIPTU College"
    http://www.rascal-films.com
    http://www.connolly-thefilm.com

    29) Communist Party,
    Russia
    Referendum Appeal Fails
    The Supreme Court's appeals board
    on Thursday upheld the court's earlier
    rejection of a nationwide referendum
    proposed by the Communist Party,
    Russian news agencies reported.
    The Communists had sought to put
    a series of social, economic and
    political questions to Russians for
    a vote. The questions included
    issues such as guarantees of free
    education and salaries above the
    subsistence level, free television
    airtime for political parties and a
    progressive tax for the wealthy.
    But the Central Elections Commission
    refused to allow the vote, saying
    the questions were vague and had legal
    problems that could result in
    additional expenditures for the state budget.
    The Supreme Court upheld that ruling
    last month and on Thursday, the
    court's appeals board turned down
    the communists' appeal.
    Communist Party leaders said they
    might appeal further to the
    Constitutional Court and also to
    the European Court for Human Rights.
    Several dozen Communist demonstrators
    picketed outside the court
    building. (AP)
    Marxism mailing list
    Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu
    http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism
    http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/07/29/031.html

    30) Unravelling of the US Military
    Newspapers describe the US army as facing one of the
    greatest recruiting challenges in its history, despite
    the enormous incentives now being offered to join the
    military. A study commissioned by the army found that
    resistance to recruitment was due to popular objection
    to the war in Iraq, the casualties and media coverage
    of the torture at Abu Ghraib. Solutions include a bill
    that was introduced in the Senate but that has not yet
    been voted on: offering legal status and eligibility
    for citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants
    residing in the US. The nightmare of war is offered as
    the prelude to the 'American dream'.
    Zia Mian
    http://www.epw.org.in/
    showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=07&filename=8893&filetype=html

    31) Air Force Plans To Invade: 48 High Schools
    Set to Start AF JROTC

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

    1) Pastors for Peace Friendshipment
    Caravan to Cuba being held up at
    US-Mexico Border!
    EMERGENCY NETWORKS AND PRESS CONTACTS:

    SPREAD THE WORD FAR AND WIDE!

    http://www.commerce.gov

    202-482-2000

    Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez
    cgutierrez@doc.gov

    As of 1:30 pm EDT, The Pastors for Peace
    Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba is
    being held up at the US-Mexico border
    by US Commerce Department officials.
    They are threatening to search every
    vehicle and every item of humanitarian
    aid. They are telling us that "only
    licensable goods will be allowed to
    cross into Mexico."

    Pastors for Peace does not accept
    or apply for a license to deliver
    humanitarian aid to Cuba.

    There are 130 US citizens
    traveling with the caravan. They and the
    humanitarian aid are traveling
    in eight busses, a box truck and two small
    cars. It will take days to inspect
    the 140 tons of aid. We are prepared to
    do whatever we need to do to
    deliver our humanitarian aid to Cuba. Stay
    posted...

    Marxism mailing list
    Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu
    http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism

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

    2) In honor of Karl Marx, the BBC Radio 4's "In Our Time
    Greatest Philosopher Vote" winner, Bay Area United Against
    War is presenting a Benefit Presentation of Howard Zinn's
    one man play, 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
    For advance tickets: Send a check to:
    Bay Area United Against War
    P.O. Box 318021
    San Francisco, CA 94131-8021
    Please indicate which performance.
    Call: 415-824-8730

    The premise of the play is that after Marx dies in 1883, he
    is able to see what's happening on earth for next 100 years
    and comes back to talk about it. 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.

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

    3) Palestine, the Anti-War Movement and the Quest
    for Genuine Unity
    A Response to Ted Glick
    BY TOUFIC HADDAD

    Ted Glick's article "Building Unity at a Time of
    Possibility" (Znet July 20, 2005) provides a window into
    the thinking of the UFPJ leadership and its vocal supporters
    regarding how best to build a broad and effective anti-war
    movement capable of bringing about the end of the brutal
    U.S. occupation of Iraq. The thrust of the article attempts
    to tackle the division within the U.S. anti-war movement
    organizers largely surrounding the question of Palestine,
    while providing a rationalization for why the UFPJ leadership
    has chosen to keep Palestine and particularly the question
    of the right of return out of the agenda of the anti-war
    movement.

    The basis for Glick and presumably the UFPJ leadership
    reaching this conclusion rests upon his opening argument:
    "Narrow approaches are a dead-end for our movement . . .
    What is needed is an approach that can appeal to millions
    of people, that connects with and draws strength from the
    deep-seated traditions of struggle for justice among the
    peoples who make up this country."

    He then argues that although he "personally understand[s]
    and support[s] the right of Palestinian organizations to
    put this demand forward" and importantly recognizes that
    "no one can legitimately deny this just demand of the
    Palestinians", he nonetheless concludes that "to put this
    particular demand forward rather than, say, a demand to
    end U.S. support for the Israeli occupation, can only
    have the effect of confusing, alienating or turning away
    potential participants in and organizers of September 24th,
    and not just in the white community."

    He further argues that tactically "It is not a demand
    broadly understood or supported within the United States,
    even within the U.S. progressive movement", and that
    within "the context of the movement to force the United
    States to pull its military troops and military bases
    out of Iraq and end its neo-colonial plans to control
    Iraqi oil, this is a demand that will weaken
    and narrow that movement."

    Glick's concerns should not be taken lightly, or for
    that matter immediately eschewed out of implicit purist
    idealism. Nonetheless, as I will argue in this article,
    he is wrong both with regards to the pre-assumptions to
    his argument, as well as with regards to the conclusions
    he draws, which I believe can only lead the anti-war
    movement down a dangerous path, built upon an untenable
    footing. This is made all the more serious and damaging
    within the context of the enormous human costs borne by
    the people of Iraq and Palestine, not to mention the
    lives of U.S. soldiers, and the draining financial costs
    these policies are having domestically. I hereby put
    forth my arguments within the spirit of constructive
    debate and the desire to set the necessary political
    and methodological parameters for actualizing the
    long deterred goals of our movements.

    Why is Glick wrong?

    First it is important to clarify the severity and hence
    urgency of the political situation in Palestine, and
    the direct culpability of the U.S. government,
    historically and into the present, for bringing this
    situation about. On this there should be no debate:
    U.S. government support for Israel (spanning both
    Democrat and Republican legislators) in the form of
    virtually unlimited political, financial and military
    aid, forms the basis for allowing Israel to do what
    it does throughout Palestine. In its more 'favorable'
    interpretation Israeli policies are leading to the
    erecting of a brutal form of apartheid across
    historical Palestine, while in its more 'critical'
    interpretation, these policies aim toward transferring
    the Palestinians from their historical homeland be it
    in 'slow motion' (through walls, settlements and the
    making of the most elementary function of daily life
    intolerable), or in 'fast motion', if sufficient
    historical conditions arise (such as regional war).

    Without U.S. governmental support for these policies,
    Israel truly would be a pariah state. Here it is important
    to emphasize that the extent of Israeli policies is not
    limited to the brutality of its illegal 38-year
    occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, whose abuses are
    so numerous it would be impossible to cover in an article
    of this length. Rather, Israeli policies flow from its
    Apartheid-like structure, which defines itself as "the
    state of the Jews throughout the world", and not as the
    state of its citizens. This definition necessitates the
    structural discrimination of the Palestinian citizens
    of Israel (who number more than one million people-one
    fifth of the populace) and is incomparable to any other
    political regime around the world. It should be
    categorically rejected by progressive's world wide,
    not only because it is fundamentally racist against
    the indigenous Palestinian population, but also because
    the way this ideology is activated on the ground both
    historically and in the present necessitates the
    exclusion, and indeed transfer of Palestinians to
    maintain a "Jewish majority".

    If one fifth of the citizens of the United States
    were excluded on religious bases from elementary
    rights such as access to land, (93 percent of which
    in Israel cannot be sold to non-Jews), or the ability
    to give their spouses citizenship (as is the case of
    Israeli citizens who marry Palestinians from the West
    Bank or Gaza), it would elicit justified domestic
    and international opprobrium. Wasn't this similar
    to the basis for the Civil Rights movement, which
    fought against racial discrimination and segregation
    in the form of Jim Crow Laws? Wasn't this also the
    basis of the movement against apartheid South Africa?
    It is the nature of the Israeli state, embodied in
    the Zionist conception of an exclusive Jewish state
    which guides Israel's policies in the 1967 occupied
    territories, against its Palestinian citizenry, and
    which likewise prevents the legitimate return of
    Palestinian refugees to their lands and homes-a
    right which needless to say has been acknowledged
    in the UN General Assembly more than 110 times.

    Here lies the importance of the inclusion of the
    latter demand (the right of return) within the
    agenda of the anti-war movement. Unlike the demand
    to merely call for the end of the 1967 occupation,
    which Glick seems more amenable to, the question of
    the right of return goes to the heart of exposing the
    nature and extent of the issues faced in the
    "Palestinian-Israeli conflict." The Palestinian
    people categorically reject conceding their individual
    and collective right to return to their land and homes,
    as they justly should. After bearing witness in
    recent years to the return of Afghan and Kosovar
    refugees, and after it is acknowledged quite openly
    among Israeli historians that Palestinians were
    intentionally driven off their land in 1948 to
    create "the Jewish state" in the first place,
    support for such a demand is an elementary human
    right which no reasonable person committed to
    progressive values can deny. The right of return
    has the tactical significance of being able to
    combine the pre-1967 historical oppression of
    Palestinians (yet to be recognized or amended
    by Israel), and the current racist nature of
    the Israeli state, which prevents their return
    because they are simply not Jews.

    The point is that given the historical culpability
    of the U.S. government in supporting Israeli policies,
    the U.S. anti-war movement cannot pretend that it
    is blind to these abuses, nor that it does not have
    a role to play in their resolution. That is why
    the inclusion of a systematic and holistic
    critique of Israel, and more importantly
    Zionism-embodied in the demand for the right of
    return-is so important. Israel cannot remain Zionist
    and accept the right of return. An entirely new
    arrangement would have to be brought about if
    Palestinian refugees were accorded their long
    denied rights. Furthermore, the right of return
    does not allow for the question of Palestine to
    be reduced, as many have attempted, to the question
    of the oppression and occupation of the West Bank
    and Gaza Strip alone. Many have forgotten that the
    PLO was formed in 1964-three years before the 1967
    occupation even began-and was founded as a movement
    of return for the 800,000 Palestinian refugees who
    were driven from their land, and the wholesale
    destruction of 532 of their towns and villages.

    This issue is an open wound not just in Palestine
    but across the Arab world, and has consistently been
    at the forefront of Arabs and Muslims internationally,
    including within the U.S. Attempts made at de-linking
    the right of return from the question of the 1967
    occupation will end in failure as this right represents
    the heart and soul of the Palestinian national
    movement, without which there is no basis for a
    “solution" to the "Israeli Palestinian conflict"
    in the first place-whoever may negotiate on the
    Palestinian side.

    Unfortunately that is exactly what Glick suggests,
    when he says that these issues "must be dealt with
    as part of the process of serious negotiations
    between the Palestinian and Israeli government
    representatives, leading to an end to the Israeli
    occupation." Since when is the anti-war movement
    limited in the setting of its agenda, to the actions
    and policies of various elites, rather than setting
    the principles for what must be the basis of human
    rights and historical justice? By the same logic,
    the anti-war movement is in no position to call for
    ending the occupation of Iraq and for "Troops out
    Now", given that this is not something raised by
    the governments of Iraq and the U.S.. Abstaining
    from setting the principles for what constitutes
    the basis for a genuine anti-occupation position
    based upon respect for human rights, the end of an
    unjust and illegal war and occupation, and the end
    to a dehumanizing and intolerable dispossession of
    an entire nation, means abdicating the responsibility
    of leadership to the agendas of organized power-the
    very same powers which brought about the occupations
    of Iraq and Palestine in the first place.

    The anti-war movement must clarify whether it wishes
    to set principles for what constitutes genuine anti-war,
    anti-occupation, and anti-racist positions, or whether
    these are in fact negotiable issues. If these principles
    are non-negotiable, then there should be no reticence
    in including these demands as part of the anti-war
    movement agenda. If they are in fact negotiable then
    the anti-war movement is attempting to erect itself upon
    a footing, which by necessity concedes its principles and
    power to elites. There can be no middle ground on these
    questions (though certainly tactical considerations are
    another question, once this has been determined.) This is
    also why Glick's implicit description of such demands as
    "narrow approaches" that will "weaken" the movement is
    a mischaracterization. On the contrary, failing to
    establish principles of what constitutes the rights
    that we are fighting for is a recipe for building
    a movement which does not truly know what it is fighting
    for, resulting in an ambiguity which can only confuse
    the movement, making it subject to disorientation by
    the spectacle of "Iraqi elections", the "writing of the
    Iraqi constitution" or the next "Palestinian-Israeli
    peace summit" etc. Over time this can only result in
    the movement's ineffectuality, demoralization and the
    depleting of its ranks.

    Once this principled question is answered by the anti-war
    movement-a question which is actually independent of the
    particular context of Iraq or Palestine, but which is
    actualized through it-only then can an effective movement
    be built. The lack of political clarity around the
    reasons for this war; the feeling amongst many in the
    anti-war movement that the UN could stop it; that the
    problem was the Bush administration (and not U.S. imperial
    policies in the region), and hence the need to back
    a pro-war Democratic party candidate (who could 'do
    the job better') are indeed the reasons for the splintered,
    ineffectual state of the U.S. anti-war movement today.
    The movement simply cannot repeat these mistakes again,
    or the consequences for Iraq, Palestine, and the
    American people will be devastating.

    Determining the need for erecting the anti-war
    movement upon a sound political basis whose values
    it sets, is the best way to rebuild the movement upon
    an effective footing. Doing so also necessitates that
    the anti-war movement not be in the pocket of the
    Democratic Party, which cynically takes its support
    for granted while functionally supporting the war in
    Iraq, the "war against terror", the occupation of
    Palestine, and the Zionist nature of Israel.

    Only once this fundamental question is resolved can
    the question of raising tactical considerations be
    addressed. Here, Glick indeed does have a point that
    we must not be ashamed to concede. The question of
    Palestine overall, the right of return, and all
    aspects surrounding it, are indeed impeded by the
    fact that there is not sufficient political clarity
    in the U.S. in general, and within the anti-war movement
    overall, regarding these issues. Additionally it
    should be clearly noted that there is also a vocal
    minority within the anti-war movement that is pro-Zionist
    and which strives to perennially scuttle addressing the
    issue of Palestine in a just way as part of its agenda.

    But if clarity around the need for a principled anti-war
    movement is determined, the politics and orientation of
    the anti-war movement will naturally flow. Rather than
    making attempts to force out Palestine as an organic
    element of anti-war movement organizing, the anti-war
    movement must move towards forcing out the Zionist
    elements within it, as a corrupting and contradictory
    force, which sews ideological confusion within its ranks.
    Hereafter the anti-war movement can begin to take up
    the issue of addressing the need for a broad based
    educational campaign around the issue of Palestine,
    in order to clarify the outstanding questions which
    remain and are in need of clarification: the difference
    between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism; demythologizing
    the "peace process"; understanding the exclusivist
    racist nature of Zionism etc.

    The need for such a campaign will also have important
    theoretical contributions to the movement for ending
    the occupation of Iraq and for bringing the troops
    home. This is because the occupation of Iraq is not
    an isolated byproduct of a deranged American president,
    but the aggressive expansion of U.S. imperial policies
    in the region-policies it is worth pointing out which
    are supported by both Democrats and Republicans in
    Congress and the Senate. U.S. support for Israel
    represents a core axis of U.S. policies in the region,
    of which the direct U.S. occupation of Iraq is merely
    an extension. While Israel has worked furiously since
    its inception defending the interests of it imperial
    backers (including ensuring access through the Suez
    canal, destroying pan-Arab nationalist regimes and
    leftist movements, defending pro-American Arab
    dictatorships, ensuring that no counter-hegemonic
    anti-U.S. imperialist project emerges to 'threaten'
    access to this crucial geo-strategic region etc.),
    the U.S. now works to secure control of the oil spigot
    itself, so as to be able to leverage control over this
    crucial resource against its economic competitors,
    particularly the EU, Japan and China. Iraq and Palestine
    thus represents two wings of one U.S. imperial strategy,
    and the sooner the anti-war movement internalizes this,
    the sooner it can begin to develop effect counter
    strategies and movements.

    The de-linking of Iraq and Palestine within the U.S.
    anti-war movement is illogical when viewed in this light.
    Furthermore, the pre-assumption that anti-war activists
    don't sufficiently understand the question of Palestine
    and hence would leave its ranks if it were to be included
    in its agenda, is also illogical. On the contrary, including
    Palestine within the anti-war movement's agenda necessitates
    having a holistic critique of the causes of this war
    (U.S. imperial ambitions, and U.S. capitalist competition
    against its competitors), and can only serve to galvanize,
    orient and engage anti-war movement actors for the long
    haul. In this we must have no pretensions: the occupation
    of Palestine has already lasted 57 years, and despite the
    enormous human costs witnessed so far, the U.S. occupation
    of Iraq is merely in its infancy. If we look to the
    historical experience of Vietnam, the U.S. ruling classes
    showed that they were willing to kill 2-3 million Vietnamese,
    Cambodians and Laotians, and 60,000 U.S. troops in its failed
    effort to ensure that this region did not fall beyond its
    bounds of control. How then will these same forces act to
    defend their interests when 60 percent of the world oil
    reserves are at stake? The anti-war movement must soberly
    pose the question of how many Iraqis, Palestinians and U.S.
    soldiers the U.S. and Israel are willing to let die to
    ensure that the U.S. maintains control of Arab oil.

    I believe all genuine anti-war forces in the U.S. can achieve
    and internalize this understanding, without serious dissention.
    The problem with anti-war movement organizers is that both
    UFPJ and ANSWER/ TONC do not trust their own constituencies-as
    though only the leaders can understand these supposedly complex
    issues. Both coalitions act as though their agendas, with or
    without the inclusion of Palestine, is a fait accompli,
    without seeing the need to address and dialogue with their
    constituencies about the need to set firm principles upon
    which the anti-war movement is to be based, and then to work
    to develop and educate the movement as a whole to address
    their respective educational insufficiencies-be it regarding
    Palestine or Iraq. Needless to say, let there be no illusions
    as to the fact that plenty of educational work also needs to
    be taken up around the issue of Iraq, given the gross
    misunderstandings and indeed dehumanization that exist
    within the anti-war movement surrounding issues like the
    right of Iraqis to resist, their right to self-determination etc.

    UFPJ drew the conclusion after the last U.S. presidential
    campaign that their movement needs "to reach potential new
    allies and expand our base . . . An education working group
    will be created to develop the long-term educational
    strategy to reach new constituencies." What new constituencies
    is UFPJ talking about? The increasingly organized Right wing?
    As Glick himself acknowledges, the statistic polls already
    show that the majority of Americans are against the war
    in Iraq. This is the anti-war movement's constituency-a
    constituency which proved its forces even before the war
    in Iraq began in the largest demonstrations witnessed in
    the history of the planet. UFPJ's strategy mirrors the
    policies of the Democratic party which believes it must
    "reach out" to "red staters"-as though there is a middle
    ground on issues like the war in Iraq, or a woman's right
    to an abortion. The role of the Left must be to organize
    its real and potential constituency around its principles,
    trusting that its values and interpretation of reality are
    applicable and necessary for the American people to live
    in freedom, equality and at peace with other people around
    the world. It must not see its role as organizing the Right.
    The problem with the anti-war movement was not that it wasn't
    big enough, but that it was not organized around a set of
    politics which could tackle the reasons for this war,
    and what it would take to stop it.

    Is it is any wonder then, that while UFPJ heads off in
    search of "new constituencies", Arab and Muslims in
    America-representing a constituency severely effected
    by the wars in Iraq and Palestine, the bogus "war against
    terror", and domestically targeted and scapegoated by
    everyone from "homeland security" to the Columbia
    University administration-are distancing themselves as
    far as possible from this wing of the anti-war movement?
    Is it any wonder that Arab and Muslim representation
    at the UFPJ conference was virtually non-existent, when
    beneath the banner of "inclusiveness" UFPJ bumps out
    Palestine, so as not to alienate open Zionists? Is it
    any wonder why Arab and Muslim organizations like the
    National Council of Arab Americans and the Muslim
    American Society are calling the UFPJ demonstration
    on September 24th "segregated", when advocates like
    Glick characterize the inclusion of Palestine and
    the right of return in the agenda for the anti war
    movement as "troubling"? Tragically I am sure that
    the great majority of the UFPJ constituency would
    side with Palestinian rights if given a fair chance
    to hear and learn about the necessity to have Palestine
    within its agenda for the health of the anti-war movement
    as a whole, and for its ability to build an effective
    struggle. But when they are precisely prevented from
    doing so by the leadership of UFPJ beneath the bogus
    concern that it will "narrow and weaken" the anti-war
    movement, the result can only be further splintering of
    anti-war movement ranks, and deeper confusion over the
    anti-war movement's trajectory. All this indeed during
    "a time of possibility" when the everyday scandals, lies
    and incessant blood-letting of the war in Iraq provides
    the anti-war movement with more than enough fodder to
    expose and demythologize the U.S. campaign in Iraq for
    the savagery and colonialism that it is.

    As for ANSWER and TONC, both coalitions should indeed
    be credited for their principled and courageous stand,
    and for seeing the political and organizational
    importance of the inclusion of Palestine at the forefront
    of the anti-war movement's agenda. Acknowledging this
    however does not excuse their anti-democratic methods
    of organizing, which have also tragically shown themselves
    to be incredibly destructive for movement building as
    a whole. Each demonstration they organize is like
    a carbon copy of those organized years ago, as though
    history is static and new circumstances and questions
    have not arisen that need to be addressed. Although
    in name ANSWER says it is a coalition, in reality the
    decisions it makes are done behind closed doors and
    are not accountable to needs and demands of what should
    be anti-war movement priorities. I know this from
    experience, after having attended one such meeting
    in which I attempted to raise a political disagreement
    regarding the question of whether the anti-war movement
    has achieved an anti-imperialist consciousness. The next
    day I received word from one of ANSWER's main national
    organizers that "The ANSWER meetings have brief political
    updates/orientations, followed by short discussions on
    the various points, and then breakdown into working groups.
    They are organizing meetings and are not meant to be
    forums for carrying out political debates..."


    If ANSWER were a genuine democratic coalition made of
    groups and individuals committed to building an antiwar
    movement, why would it eschew political debate? In fact
    without political debate, the movement remains constipated
    and insular, unable to process and adapt to the changing
    reality on the ground, thereby aborting its ability to
    undertake the challenges a changing reality poses to
    movement organizers in building effective struggle.
    If the methods of ANSWER organizing are not seriously
    reformed they will over time (if they haven't already)
    lead the movement and its constituency in ANSWER-organized
    cities, into political obscurity.

    Needless to say, as the anti-war movement experience
    throughout the course of the past few years has shown,
    the process and methods of organizing cannot be separated
    from the goals we are trying to attain. Likewise the goals
    we strive for cannot be separated from defining the movement's
    independent elementary principles and values, which must
    uphold the categorical rejection of occupation, colonialism,
    and racism while defending the right of self-determination,
    the right to resist an illegal occupation and the need for
    historical justice. Without having all these elements
    combined within democratic structures that encourage
    political debate, the unity we all strive for to once and
    for all put an end to the inhuman occupation of Iraq and
    Palestine, will never materialize.

    Needless to say the urgency of immediately and
    comprehensively addressing these issues is made all
    the more stark in the context of the destruction Israel
    is preparing to inflict upon the Gaza Strip as part of
    its unilateral disengagement from Gaza-a plan which aims
    at nothing less than permanently transforming Gaza into
    an open air prison, expanding and annexing Israeli
    settlement blocs in the West Bank, and dealing a crushing
    blow to the Palestinian national movement in the process.
    As Israeli Gen. Eival Giladi recently stated, "Israel
    will act in a very resolute manner in order to prevent
    terror attacks and [militant] fire while the disengagement
    is being implemented" and that "If pinpoint response
    proves insufficient, we may have to use weaponry that
    causes major collateral damage, including helicopters
    and planes, with mounting danger to surrounding people."
    It would be a genuine catastrophe for the people of
    Palestine and for the U.S. anti-war movement as a whole
    if on September 24th, the anti-war movement cannot
    formulate a united position on this impending blood
    bath. Worse yet, if UFPJ led demonstrations entirely
    ignore the issue of Palestine like an ostrich putting
    its head in the sand. Without a radical transformation
    of the approaches and agendas of the anti-war movement,
    the blood flowing from Iraqis, Palestinians, and U.S.
    soldiers will be so plentiful and mixed together that
    it threatens to soak into every hole, where every
    ostrich burrows its head.
    26 July 2005
    http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=8392§ionID=1

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    4) Building Unity at a Time of Possibility
    BY TED GLICK
    "Narrow approaches are a dead-end for our movement . . .
    What is needed is an approach that can appeal to millions
    of people, that connects with and draws strength from the
    deep-seated traditions of struggle for justice among the
    peoples who make up this country. This is what we need to
    fight against the sham 'war on terrorism,' U.S. support of
    Israeli occupation, attacks on our civil liberties and civil
    rights, racism in all its forms, and the economic terrorism
    experienced by people from Watts to the Mississippi Delta to
    Harlem to Colombia, Africa, Argentina, Afghanistan and
    elsewhere in the world."

    I wrote these words in a column, "On Leftist Parties,"
    in January of 2003. They're still very relevant.
    Since that time there have been a number of changes
    as far as the make-up of the national peace and justice
    movement. Back then United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
    was just getting off the ground, and International ANSWER
    was the predominant national coalition mobilizing anti-war
    demonstrations. But today, following a split about a year
    ago within the Workers World Party-a group with significant
    influence within ANSWER-there is now a Workers World
    Party-less ANSWER, and there is a newly formed Troops Out
    Now Coalition (TONC) within which WWP and its International
    Action Center play a major role. Both coalitions are
    significantly weaker, even taken together, than they
    used to be before the WWP split.

    UFPJ, on the other hand, has become the major national
    peace and justice coalition. It has more than 1,000
    member groups and a million dollar budget. 10 months
    ago it organized a demonstration of [a] million people
    outside the Republican National Convention, and on
    May 1st of this year it organized an anti-nuke, anti-war
    demonstration in New York City of approximately 30,000.
    On the same day in NYC, the Troops Out Now Coalition
    organized a demonstration of around 1,000.

    UFPJ is also undergoing some qualitative changes. One
    example is the election a couple of months of ago of
    three national co-chairs of color, George Friday, George
    Martin and Judith LeBlanc. At its national assembly in
    St. Louis in February, it adopted as one of its top
    priorities a Grassroots Education Campaign "to reach
    potential new allies and expand our base. . . An education
    working group will be created to develop the long-term
    educational strategy to reach new constituencies." This
    decision was made, and there has been follow-up since,
    in response to internal criticism that UFPJ was not taking
    seriously enough the importance of outreach to communities
    of color and a linking of international and domestic
    issues as they are experienced by people at the grassroots.

    It is within this context that, once again, there is
    contention over UFPJ and ANSWER/TONC calls for a massive
    demonstration on September 24th in Washington, D.C.
    and elsewhere.

    There's a lot of "déjà vu all over again" to this
    contention. It reminds me of an extremely difficult
    and problematic political process in the first part
    of 2002 as various groups struggled to organize
    a united mass action on April 20th of that year. We
    ended up doing so, with great difficulty, but two
    aspects to the way ANSWER, supported by TONC, are
    attempting to build support for their approach are
    very similar to what they did then.

    It is troubling that ANSWER/TONC is, ostensibly,
    conducting what it calls a quest for "unity" via
    the Internet. So far this spring I've received at
    least five emails from one or the other group
    trumpeting how committed they are to achieving "unity"
    with UFPJ as they put forward the correctness of
    their approach to making it happen. Three and
    a half years ago, following some initial contact
    between reps of ANSWER and reps of the April 20th
    Mobilization coalition (the predecessor of UFPJ),
    ANSWER sent out an email announcing that a "unity
    statement" had been adopted. This false email was
    issued rather than ANSWER responding to the April 20th
    Mobilization's putting forward of several ideas on
    a possible way to have a unified day of action on
    April 20th. These ideas were given with an explicit
    request/understanding that ANSWER would respond to
    them so that we could further process this question
    within our coalition. And up until two weeks before
    April 20th, ANSWER continued to use the Internet to
    attempt to force a "unity" on terms most favorable to them.

    This is most definitely not the way to build principled
    and effective unity, if that is truly the objective.

    It is also troubling that ANSWER has put forward the
    demand, "Support the Palestinian People's Right of
    Return" as a major demand. TONC held a conference
    earlier this month on the topic, "Building a United
    Front to Stop the War," and the first bulleted point
    that they made in their website report of that
    conference was that "Support for the Right of all
    Palestinian refugees and their descendants to return
    to their original homes and property in all of
    historic Palestine is not negotiable."

    I personally understand and support the right of
    Palestinian organizations to put this demand forward
    as they struggle to end the Israeli occupation of Gaza,
    the West Bank and East Jerusalem. When the state of
    Israel has been aggressively acting upon the position
    that any Jew anywhere in the world has the right to
    emigrate to Israel and take up residence there, creating
    "facts on the ground" that lead to more land grabs and
    building of settlements to accommodate these immigrants,
    no one can legitimately deny this just demand of the
    Palestinians. It must be dealt with as part of the process
    of serious negotiations between the Palestinian and
    Israeli government representatives, leading to an end
    to the Israeli occupation.

    But to put this particular demand forward rather than,
    say, a demand to end U.S. support for Israeli occupation,
    can only have the effect of confusing, alienating or
    turning away potential participants in and organizers
    of September 24th, and not just in the white community.
    It is not a demand broadly understood or supported within
    the United States, even within the U.S. progressive movement.
    In the context of the movement to force the United States
    to pull its military troops and military bases out of
    Iraq and end its neo-colonial plans to control Iraqi oil,
    this is a demand that will weaken and narrow that movement.
    It is just plain strategically wrong for ANSWER/TONC to
    put this forward in the way that they are.

    This is a very key political moment for our movement to
    get the U.S. out of Iraq. The conservative North Carolina
    Republican Congressman Walter Jones, who got "French fries"
    in the Congressional cafeteria changed to "freedom fries,"
    has joined with another Republican and two Democrats to
    put forward a bill calling for a plan to begin withdrawing
    U.S. troops next year. John Conyers has just convened
    a very successful public hearing in Congress calling
    attention to the Downing Street memo which has led to
    widespread media coverage about that memo and has helped
    to strengthen the peace movement. Public opinion polls
    report that almost 60% of the U.S. American people are
    against the war and want to begin bringing troops home.
    Amnesty International is standing up to Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld
    and their ilk and calling them out for the systematic torture
    and abuse in their gulag of prisons at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib
    and elsewhere. The Bush/Cheney gang is on the defensive.

    The last thing any group on the left which purports to
    be against the war should be doing right now is conducting
    itself in such a way that it divides, not unites, the broad
    range of people of all colors and cultures who are prepared
    to come out in massive numbers to demand an end to this war.
    July 5, 2005

    http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-07/05glick.cfm
    Ted Glick works with the Independent Progressive Politics
    Network (www.ippn.org ) and the Climate Crisis Coalition
    (www.climatecrisiscoalition.org ), although these ideas are
    solely his own. He can be reached at indpol@igc.org or
    P.O. Box 1132, Bloomfield, N.J. 07003.

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

    5) Did Greenspan Know About the London Bombings
    Two Days Before?
    by Mike Whitney
    www.dissidentvoice.org
    July 21, 2005
    http://www.dissidentvoice.org/July05/Whitney0721.htm

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

    6) Subject: [Al-Awda-SF] Breaking News Correction Note:
    36,000 Trees of Land Set Ablaze in Occupied Qaffin and Akkaba
    To: al-awda-sf@yahoogroups.com, bayareapalestine@yahoogroups.com
    From: "Jess Ghannam"
    Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 08:29:14 -0700

    July 26th , 2005

    Steering The Vision of Expulsion:
    36,000 Trees of Land Set Ablaze in Occupied
    Qaffin and Akkaba

    Thousands of dunums of agricultural lands have been
    scorched in a series of devastating fires ignited by
    Occupation Forces and their settlers in the most fertile
    areas of Palestine. In the villages of Qaffin and Akkaba
    in Tulkarem District in the northwest region of the West
    Bank, over 36,000 trees in 4000 dunums have been burnt
    through five separate attacks since May 2005. Over the
    past three days alone, as fires continue to blaze through
    strong winds, 65% of Qaffin's lands and 80% of Akkaba's
    have been burnt, destroying collectively 80% of their
    ancient olive trees, 15% of their almond trees, and 2%
    of their carob trees. Villagers and Palestinian firemen
    have been prevented by Occupation Forces and the Apartheid
    Wall from putting out the fires, unable to protect areas
    that remain tenuously unaffected. On July 7th, agricultural
    lands in Ain Yaboos, Nablus, were also torched in this
    same manner, destroying 130 dunums.

    The lands set ablaze have been confiscated and isolated
    behind the Apartheid Wall since 2002, and declared a
    "closed military zone" accessible only to Occupation
    Forces and the few farmers who have recently been allowed
    to cross. On July 24th at eleven am, villagers noticed
    their fields on fire directly after Occupation Forces
    left the area. Palestinian firemen attempting to access
    the burning fields were denied entry through the gate of
    the Wall, as Occupation firemen on the scene stood by
    watching the fires intensifying. Farmers have had
    tremendous difficulty caring for their lands since
    the Apartheid Wall was erected, yet their determination
    to fight for their land has been unbreakable.

    Qaffin and Akkaba are situated in an area known as the
    breadbasket of Palestine, the heartbeat of economic and
    agricultural activity for Palestinians that is rapidly
    being appropriated and destroyed. The burning of already
    expropriated Palestinian land builds upon a long and
    elaborate racist structural system of Zionist Occupation
    designed to expel Palestinians from their ancestral
    lands. The Apartheid Wall is an integral element of
    this broader scheme that has unfolded in progressive
    stages: its construction, the annexing of Palestinian
    land, isolating Palestinians from these lands, and now,
    burning any "evidence" of Palestinian ties to the land.
    In doing so-as the legacy of the Occupation supports-
    territorial expansion can continue to be legitimated
    through the manipulation of old Ottoman Law that
    stipulates land uncultivated for three years may be
    confiscated and declared "state land".

    Destruction of land through its isolation began
    immediately after the first phase of the wall was
    completed in October 2003, whereby the isolated areas
    were declared a military zone. Hundreds of farmers have,
    subsequently, been unable to cross to their lands, or
    those who have been "lucky' enough to obtain permission
    to do so have been subjected to humiliating procedures
    of control at the gate. In Jayyous and Falamya alone,
    20,000 citrus trees dried out last year, as well as

    60 dunums of greenhouses because farmers were denied
    access. This policy continues now through the burning
    of Qaffin and Akkaba's trees, to isolate and,
    ultimately, transform once fertile agricultural lands
    into deserts that leave no reason for farmers to cross
    to their land. As Rushdi Tumeh, one of the farmers
    watching his land burning behind the gate in Qaffin
    stated, "this is proof of Zionist plans to expel us
    from our lands", to burn us out of the history and
    future of Palestine. But this will remain an illusive
    Zionist dream, for despite the struggle and humiliation,
    the long term Zionist vision of the Wall will never
    succeed to sever us. The roots of the olive tree,
    like the will of Palestinian people, run deep into
    the landscape and continue to feed our resistance.

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

    7) Plan to Shift Army Units Is Complete, Officials Say
    By THOM SHANKER
    Published: July 27, 2005\
    In one of the most significant shifts of troops since the
    end of the cold war, the restationing program finds new
    homes for not only the 50,000 troops returning from abroad,
    but also for 30,000 new soldiers financed temporarily
    by Congress. Those increases are to help the Army add
    10 brigades to its current 33 under a program to convert
    all of its combat units into more deployable modular
    units....Units will be relocated for better access to
    the service's two major training centers, Fort Polk, La.,
    for lighter forces, and Fort Irwin, Calif., for armor.
    The locations were also chosen for access to airports
    and seaports for easier deployment abroad, which for
    most soldiers today means Afghanistan or Iraq.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/politics/
    27army.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1122487217-HS2flQfv5nap8aV1YfYjOw

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

    8) For immediate release: July 27, 2005, 5:15 p.m. CDT
    Please distribute widely!
    AFL-CIO Calls for
    Rapid Return of U.S. Troops

    Chicago: In a major change of course, the AFL-CIO Convention
    delegates voted this afternoon in favor of a resolution
    calling for a "rapid" return of all U.S. troops from Iraq.

    Eighteen AFL-CIO state federations, central labor councils
    and unions had submitted resolutions to the convention
    calling for an immediate or rapid end to the occupation
    and return of the troops. The General Executive Council,
    meeting on the eve of the convention, submitted a resolution
    that borrowed heavily from elements of those eighteen but
    failed to clearly call for a prompt end to the occupation.

    When it came time for the convention to act on the resolution
    Tuesday afternoon, Fred Mason, President of the Maryland/District
    of Columbia AFL-CIO, offered a "friendly" amendment that clarified and strengthened
    opposition to continued occupation of Iraq.
    The amendment was accepted by the leadership and the modified
    Resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority of delegates
    following a parade of delegates who spoke in favor of its
    adoption (none spoke in opposition).

    (This action occurred after delegates of four unions - SEIU,
    Teamsters, UFCW, and UNITE HERE had already departed the
    convention after announcing their decision to boycott the
    proceedings. The SEIU and Teamsters subsequently also
    announced their disaffiliation.)

    Rising to speak in favor of the resolution, Henry Nicholas,
    President of District 1199 of American Federation of State,
    County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) of Pennsylvania,
    told the delegates that his son had been deployed to Iraq
    four times and was about to be sent again. He said, "In
    my forty-five years in the labor movement, this is my
    proudest moment in being a union member, because it is
    the first time we had the courage to say 'enough is enough.'"

    USLAW Co-Convenor Gene Bruskin observed, "The action taken
    by this convention puts the AFL-CIO on record for a rapid
    end to the Iraq occupation - a stand squarely in the mainstream
    of American public opinion." Polls taken in late June show
    more than half of the American people feel the war was
    a mistake and similarly that it has made the U.S. less,
    not more safe. A majority of Americans also say the
    administration "intentionally misled" the public in going to war.

    U.S. Labor Against the War had rallied its affiliates
    and supporters to press for the AFL-CIO to take an
    unambiguous stand for an end to the occupation and
    return of all U.S. troops. Widespread antiwar and
    anti-occupation sentiment among the delegates became even
    more evident when USLAW and Pride at Work, the AFL-CIO
    constituency group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-
    gendered union members (also affiliated with USLAW)
    hosted a reception for Iraqi union leaders attending
    the convention as guests. The reception, which took
    place after the plenary on Monday, drew more than 150
    delegates and guests, including top officials of
    a number of unions.

    The convention action comes on the heels of a 26-city U.S.
    tour by six Iraqi trade union leaders from three of Iraq's
    major labor federations organized by U.S. Labor Against
    the War in mid-June. The Iraqi union leaders were unanimous
    in their call for an immediate end to the U.S. occupation,
    describing it as a source of instability, violence and
    terrorism in Iraq. (For more about the tour, visit the
    USLAW website at www.uslaboragainstwar.org
    .)

    The resolution pays tribute to the troops in Iraq and
    says, ". . . they deserve a commitment from our country's
    leaders to bring them home rapidly. . . ." It accuses the
    Bush administration of misinforming the American people
    about the reasons for going to war and about the reality
    on the ground since it launched the invasion. It calls
    for expanded benefits for veterans and protection for
    workers affected by military base closings. The resolution
    also heralds the courage demonstrated by Iraqi workers and
    unions. It calls for full respect for the right of Iraqi
    workers to freely organize and bargain in unions of their
    choice and unconditional cancellation of the foreign debt
    and reparations accumulated by Iraq during the Hussein
    regime. It pledges continuing solidarity in concert with
    the international trade union movement with the workers
    of Iraq ". . . as they lead the struggle for an end to
    the violence and a more just and democratic nation."

    Adoption of this resolution represents the first time in
    its 50 year history that the federation has taken
    a position squarely in opposition to a major U.S.
    foreign policy or military action.

    Resolution #53 The War in Iraq

    Submitted by the Executive Council, as amended from the
    floor and adopted by the delegates to the AFL-CIO
    Convention in Chicago, July 26, 2005

    The AFL-CIO supports the brave men and women deployed
    in Iraq, which include our members in all branches of
    the armed services.

    Our soldiers˜the men and women risking their lives in
    Iraq˜come from America's working families. They are our
    sons and daughters, our sisters and brothers, our
    husbands and wives. They deserve to be properly equipped
    with protective body gear and up-armored vehicles. And
    they deserve leadership that fully values their courage
    and sacrifice. Most importantly, they deserve
    a commitment from our country's leaders to bring
    them home rapidly. An unending military presence
    will waste lives and resources, undermine our nation's
    security and weaken our military.

    We have lost more than 1,700 brave Americans in Iraq
    to date, and Iraqi civilian casualties are in the
    thousands. In recent months, the insurgency increasingly
    has focused its terror on the Iraqi people, engaging
    in a deliberate campaign to frustrate their aspirations
    to take control of their own destiny. These aspirations
    were clearly demonstrated earlier this year when Iraqis
    defied widespread intimidation and escalating violence
    by turning out in the millions to elect a new Iraqi
    interim government tasked with writing a constitution.
    The AFL-CIO applauds the courage of the Iraqi people
    and unequivocally condemns the use of terror in Iraq
    and indeed anywhere in the world.

    No foreign policy can be sustained without the informed
    consent of the American people. The American people
    were misinformed before the war began and have not
    been informed about the reality on the ground and
    the very difficult challenges that lie ahead.

    It is long past time for the Bush administration to
    level with the American people and for Congress to
    fulfill its constitutionally mandated oversight
    responsibilities. The AFL-CIO supports the call from
    members of Congress for the establishment of benchmarks
    in the key areas of security, governance, reconstruction
    and internationalization.

    Since the beginning of the war almost two-and-a-half
    years ago, the AFL-CIO has emphasized the support and
    participation of a broad coalition of nations and the
    United Nations is vital to building a democratic Iraq.
    Greater security on the ground remains an unmet
    precondition for such efforts to succeed. The AFL-CIO
    calls on the international community to help the Iraqi
    people build its capacity to maintain law and order
    through a concerted international effort to train
    Iraqi security and police forces.

    Future efforts to rebuild the country are hampered by
    the weight of the massive foreign debt accumulated
    under the Saddam Hussein regime. The AFL-CIO calls
    for cancellation of Saddam's foreign debt without any
    conditions imposed upon the people of Iraq, who
    suffered under the regime that was supported by
    these loans. Further, the AFL-CIO calls for the
    cancellation of reparations imposed as a result
    of wars waged by Saddam Hussein's regime and the
    return of all Iraqi property and antiquities taken
    during the war and occupation.

    The bedrock of any democracy is a strong, free,
    democratic labor movement.

    That is true in the United States and Iraq.

    Our returning troops should be afforded all
    resources and services available to meet their
    needs. Our members should return to their jobs,
    with seniority and benefits.

    The AFL-CIO calls on Congress and President Bush
    to expand benefits for veterans and assist those
    affected by military base closings, including
    a G.I. Bill for returning Iraq veterans and
    a Veterans Administration housing program that
    meets current needs.

    The AFL-CIO supports the efforts of Iraqi workers
    to form independent labor unions. In the absence
    of an adequate labor law, the AFL-CIO calls on the
    Iraqi government, as well as domestic and
    international companies operating in Iraq, to
    respect internationally recognized International
    Labor Organization standards that call for
    protecting the right of workers to organize free
    from all government and employer interference and
    the right to organize and bargain collectively in
    both the public and private sectors. These rights
    must be extended to include full equality for
    working women.

    The AFL-CIO condemns the fact that Saddam's decree
    No. 150 issued in 1987 that abolished union rights
    for workers in the extensive Iraqi public sector
    has not been repealed. Under current laws, payroll
    deductions for union dues are not even permitted.
    The AFL-CIO calls on the Iraqi government to place
    as a top priority the adoption of a new labor law
    that conforms to international labor standards to
    replace the old anti-worker laws and decrees.

    Despite legal obstacles, Iraq's workers and their
    institutions are already leaders in the struggle
    for democracy. Trade unionists are being targeted
    for their activism, and some have paid for their
    valor with their lives. The AFL-CIO condemns these
    brutal acts of intimidation.

    The AFL-CIO has a proud history of solidarity with
    worker movements around the world in their opposition
    to tyranny. In concert with the international trade
    union movement, the AFL-CIO will continue to provide
    our full solidarity to Iraq's workers as they lead
    the struggle for an end to the violence and a more
    just and democratic nation.

    U.S. Labor Against War (USLAW)

    www.uslaboragainstwar.org
    Email:


    PMB 153
    1718 "M" Street, NW
    Washington, D.C. 20036
    Messages: 202-521-5265
    Co-convenors: Gene Bruskin, Maria Guillen,
    Fred Mason, Bob Muehlenkamp, and Nancy Wohlforth
    Michael Eisenscher, National Organizer & Website
    Coordinator Adrienne Nicosia, Administrative Staff

    U.S. Labor Against the War –
    www.uslaboragainstwar.org - 1718 M St.,
    NW #153, Washington, DC 20036.

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

    9) The death of Pierre Broué, an irreparable loss to Marxism
    By Alan Woods
    Wednesday, 27 July 2005
    http://www.marxist.com/pierre-broue-death270705.htm

    With profound sadness we learned of the death of comrade
    Pierre Broué, the outstanding Trotskyist historian and
    veteran revolutionary militant. After a long and painful
    battle against cancer, Pierre passed away at 03h04 on
    Wednesday July 27, at the age of 79.

    Pierre Broué will be remembered for his marvellous books
    which trace the history of the international revolutionary
    movement and particularly the life and work of Leon Trotsky
    and his followers. Among these are the History of the
    Bolshevik Party ,Communists against Stalin , Trotsky,
    and many books on the Spanish and German revolution

    He was a man who dedicated his entire life to the cause
    of revolutionary communism. As a young man, he fought in
    the ranks of the French resistance against Nazi occupation.
    He joined the Young Communists, and soon adopted the
    standpoint of Trotskyism, which he has consistently
    defended ever since.

    In the last years of his life, Pierre moved close to the
    political positions of the International Marxist Tendency,
    the public expression of which is Marxist.com.

    Pierre Broué enthusiastically supported the Leon Trotsky
    publishing project, which we launched two years ago.
    He recently wrote a preface to our edition of Not Guilty ,
    the conclusion of the Dewey Commission on the Moscow Trials,
    which have been out of print for many years.

    The death of Pierre Broué represents an irreparable loss
    for international Marxism. Had he lived, we have no doubt
    that he would have produced even more works of lasting
    importance for our movement.

    We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Pierre's family,
    friends and comrades, in particular Jean-Pierre, his
    close collaborator, comrade and friend.

    Marxist.com will be publishing tributes to
    Pierre Broué next week.


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

    10) Don't miss this exciting opportunity to hear
    Dennis Banks, Ojibwa Warrior, Indian Rights Activist,
    Co-founder of the American Indian Movement
    (AIM), led the occupation of Wounded Knee, S.D.
    in 1973, Author, Teacher, Lecturer.
    When: Wednesday, August 3, 2005, 7:00 PM
    Where: Muggs Coffee at the Vallejo Ferry Terminal
    289 Mare Island Way
    Vallejo, CA
    Sponsor: Vallejo

    Dennis Banks will be in Vallejo speaking about
    plans for a massive cross-country walk/run early
    2006. This event will focus on World Peace. All
    Peace & Justice groups, activists, churches, synagogues,
    environmental groups and individuals are encouraged
    to attend and take part in this historic effort.

    Inter-tribal Council

    FREE

    http://www.vallejointertribalcouncil.org/

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

    11) CASUALTY OF WAR: THE U.S. ECONOMY
    James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer
    Sunday, July 17, 2005
    The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already cost taxpayers
    $314 billion, and the Congressional Budget Office projects
    additional expenses of perhaps $450 billion over
    the next 10 years.
    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/17/
    MNG5GDPEK31.DTL

    $313.9 BILLION
    . . . is the U.S. cost for operations
    in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.
    The following shows a breakdown of that
    total by year and by type of costs:

    IRAQ
    Fiscal year 2003 2004 2005
    Military 48.9 77.9 62.9
    Reconstruction, foreign 6.6 20.1 1.8
    assistance and training.

    AFGHANISTAN
    Fiscal year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
    Military 13.0 17.5 27.1 18.0 13.0
    Reconstruction, foreign 0.5 0.6 1.4 1.9 2.7
    assistance and training.

    IRAQ
    Military $189.7 billion
    Reconstruction, foreign +28.5 billion
    assistance and training
    TOTAL: $218.2 billion.
    AFGHANISTAN
    Military $88.6 billion
    Reconstruction, foreign +7.1 billion
    assistance and training
    TOTAL: $95.7 billion
    GRAND TOTAL: $313.9 billion
    Sources: Office of Management and Budget;
    Defense Department; Congressional Research Service;
    House Budget Committee Democratic Caucus
    Todd Trumbull / The Chronicle


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

    12) Lance Armstrong criticizes cost of Iraq war
    Wed, 27 Jul 2005 17:21:23 -0700
    From: "Patty Mote"
    The item below comes from "Democracy Now" July 27, 2005,
    excerpted from a Time Magazine interview. Lance Armstrong,
    right now, is probably one of THE major figures in sports,
    his name recognition, internationally, is right up there
    with Tiger Woods and Barry Bonds. He is also known to be
    extremely careful about all public statements. He doesn't
    actually say anything all that radical, but the fact that
    he is critical of the war at all is significant. Recent
    history shows us that any time a major sports figure makes
    a political statement in a major media venue, the
    reverberations can be substantial. - Tom Lacey
    Lance Armstrong Criticizes Cost of Iraq War
    Cycling champion Lance Armstrong - who just won his seventh
    Tour de France --has publicly criticized the war in Iraq
    because it has prevented the country from spending more
    on cancer research. He told Time Magazine, "'Funding
    [for cancer research] is tough to come by these days. The
    biggest downside to a war in Iraq is what you could do
    with that money. What does a war in Iraq cost a week?
    A billion? Maybe a billion a day?" He went on to say " The
    budget for the National Cancer Institute is four billion.
    That has to change. It needs to become a priority again.
    Polls say people are much more afraid of cancer than of
    a plane flying into their house or a bomb or any other
    form of terrorism. It is a priority for the American public."

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

    13) Brazilian did not wear bulky jacket
    Relatives say Met admits that, contrary to reports,
    electrician did
    not leap tube station barrier
    Mark Honigsbaum
    Thursday July 28, 2005
    The Guardian
    Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian shot dead in the head,
    was not wearing a heavy jacket that might have concealed
    a bomb, and did not jump the ticket barrier when challenged
    by armed plainclothes police, his cousin said yesterday...Flanked
    by the de Menezes family's solicitor, Gareth Peirce, and by Bianca
    Jagger, the anti-Iraq war campaigner, she condemned the shoot-
    to-kill policy which had led to her cousin's death and vowed that
    what she called the "crime" would not go unpunished....Mr de
    Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the
    shoulder at 10am last Friday after being followed from Tulse Hill.
    Scotland Yard initially claimed he wore a bulky jacket and jumped
    the barrier when police identified themselves and ordered him
    to stop. The same day the Met commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, said
    the shooting was "directly linked" to the unprecedented anti-terror
    operation on London's streets.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1537457,00.html

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

    14) OpEd
    Oil and Blood
    By BOB HERBERT
    Published: July 28, 2005
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/opinion/28herbert.html?hp

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

    15) Editorial
    Energy Shortage
    Published: July 28, 2005
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/opinion/28thu1.html?hp

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

    16) Shots to the Heart of Iraq
    Innocent civilians, including people who are considered
    vital to building democracy, are increasingly being
    killed by U.S. troops.
    By Richard C. Paddock, Times Staff Writer
    BAGHDAD - Three men in an unmarked sedan pulled up near
    the headquarters of the national police major crimes unit.
    The two passengers, wearing traditional Arab dishdasha
    gowns, stepped from the car.
    At the same moment, a U.S. military convoy emerged from
    an underpass. Apparently believing the men were staging
    an ambush, the Americans fired, killing one passenger and
    wounding the other. The sedan's driver was hit in the
    head by two bullet fragments.
    The soldiers drove on without stopping.
    This kind of shooting is far from rare in Baghdad, but
    the driver of the car was no ordinary casualty. He was
    Iraqi police Brig. Gen. Majeed Farraji, chief of the major
    crimes unit. His passengers were unarmed hitchhikers whom
    he was dropping off on his way to work.
    http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-civilians25jul25,1,693664.story

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

    17) $1.5 Billion Giveaway Secretly Slipped into Energy Bill, Waxman Says
    By: Rep. Henry Waxman
    Published: July 27, 2005 at 15:40
    http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_23241.shtml

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

    18) STAFF SALARIES: WHO'S MAKING WHAT
    By Alexis Simendinger
    National Journal
    July 26, 2005
    http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2005/0726nj_wh_dollar.htm

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

    19) Op-Ed Contributor
    When You Have to Shoot First
    By HAIM WATZMAN
    Published: July 28, 2005
    Jerusalem
    (When reading this article please note the article above,
    'Brazilian did not wear bulky jacket' in which it is pointed
    out that this man wasn't wearing a bulky jacket and didn't
    jump the turnstile...BW)
    "...A terrible thing happened in London last Friday. On his
    way to work, Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian
    electrician, was chased down by suspicious police officers.
    When he tripped and fell, the officers asked no questions and
    gave him no warning.
    One of them fired eight bullets point-blank into his head and
    shoulder and that was that. At first sight, it was an act much
    more severe than Eldad's, because Eldad had been under attack
    and shot a man he had good reason to think was armed.
    Mr. Menezes had hurt no one.
    On the other hand, it was an easier call. The police saw
    a man wearing a long coat out of place on a hot summer day
    jumping over a turnstile and running for a crowded subway
    train. He did not stop when he had been ordered to do so.
    Just two weeks before the killing, four suicide bombers had
    blown themselves up on subway trains and buses in London.
    Just days before, there were all the signs of another coordinated
    attack - and the police had reason to believe that bombers
    were still at large. The long coat on a summer day was just
    the sort of telltale clue that the police had been told to
    look out for. A number of suicide bombers in recent years
    have used such coats to conceal the belt of explosives
    strapped around their waists. What's more, the police
    acted under express orders to shoot in the head someone
    they thought was about to commit a suicide bombing.
    Suicide charges are usually built to be set off with
    the flick of the bomber's finger. The terrorist can be
    disabled, flat on the ground, and surrounded by heavily
    armed men and still blow up everything around him.
    So the officer who killed Mr. Menezes did a horrible
    thing. But he also did the right thing. One of the
    tragedies of this age of suicide bombers - indeed of
    any war - is that the right thing to do is sometimes
    a horrible thing. Remember: there's an essential distinction
    between us and the suicide bombers. The suicide bombers
    perpetrate gratuitous horrors. We do terrible things only
    when it is necessary to prevent something even worse
    from happening...."
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/opinion/28watzman.html

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

    20) Anti-war groups call for massive September mobilization
    By Askia Muhammad
    White House Correspondent
    Updated Jun 16, 2005, 09:17 am
    http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2057.shtml

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

    21) This article is a short summary of one of the main elements
    in Fidel's July 26th speech. You can see the full talk here:
    http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/2005/ing/f260705i.html
    Fidel Castro Says History Will Absolve Him and Chavez
    http://www.ain.cubaweb.cu/idioma/ingles/2005/jul26fidel-26juliopart3.htm

    Havana, July 26 (AIN) In the face of relentless attacks by
    the US government against Cuba, Venezuela, and their
    leaders, Fidel Castro responded Tuesday by saying:
    "Condemn us, it doesn't matter, history will absolve us."

    In the main function commemorating National Rebellion Day
    the leader of the Cuban Revolution elaborated on what he
    called the noble, constructive and peaceful efforts of the
    two countries to achieve true integration, something the
    Bush administration calls spreading subversion in the
    region.

    Nonetheless, Fidel assured that the agreements signed with
    Hugo Chavez to make the Bolivarian Alternative for the
    Americas a reality constitutes an important step towards
    the unity and integration of the Latin American and
    Caribbean nations.

    He added that Venezuela's Petrocaribe energy initiative is
    an extraordinary example of brotherhood and solidarity
    between peoples.

    The Cuban leader said the growing trade between Venezuela
    and the island is expected to reach 3 billion dollars in
    2005.

    He said the two countries will undoubtedly have this year's
    highest growth figures in the hemisphere.

    If President Chavez would be in agreement, one day like
    today would be a perfect occasion to respond to the US
    government's hostility with: "Condemn us, it doesn't
    matter, history will absolve us."


    Fidel was thus referring to the historic phrase with which
    he ended his self-defense during the trial following the
    attack on the Moncada and Cespedes garrisons on July 26,
    1953, which sparked the Cuban Revolution.

    During his speech, the Cuban leader strongly criticized the
    US government's politics, marked by dirty wars and plans
    for world domination. He said through such politics
    Washington not only threatens Venezuela but seeks to
    install military bases in other parts of the continent, in
    the belief that arms would be able to stop the emergence of
    revolutionary movements.

    In that respect, Fidel Castro denounced the arrival in
    Paraguay a few days ago of hundreds of US soldiers; he
    asked what the purpose of installing a US military base
    there would be other than seeking to stop the winds of
    change in Latin America.

    The US knows that conditions in the continent are becoming
    unbearable, that the system they have put in place has
    failed, said President Castro, stressing that Washington
    wants to have a military capacity to intervene in Bolivia
    or Brazil if radical political movements were to emerge
    there.

    Fidel Castro said the Free Trade Area of the Americas
    (FTAA), aimed at the annexation of Latin America to the US,
    has proved to be a failure. Faced with growing protests,
    unrest and desperation, he said Washington has begun to
    deploy an advanced military force in Central America and
    other countries of the hemisphere, scared by the
    integration process occurring.

    President Castro insisted on the need to stage protests
    against US destabilization maneuvers that threaten the
    survival of humanity. He noted that Washington is already
    talking about beaming hostile radio broadcasts to
    Venezuela.

    However, he appeared optimistic about the creation of the
    Telesur regional satellite TV channel and the end of the
    information monopolies. He added that Telesur will not be
    stopped from becoming an instrument to develop culture and
    knowledge.

    Fidel Castro gave the closing speech at the main ceremony
    marking National Rebellion Day at Havana's Karl Marx
    Theater. The event was attended by Communist Party leaders,
    government officials, representatives of grassroots
    organizations and visiting solidarity delegations from the
    US and Puerto Rico.

    Marxism mailing list
    Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu
    http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism

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

    22) And from Jon Snow (Channel 4 news, UK) last evening:
    Sign of the times?

    A day in the life of London, maybe even a commonplace day in the life
    of a Muslim. I am cycling back from Channel 4 at ten thirty seven
    this morning past the back of Horse guards parade in line of sight of
    the back of number 10 Downing Street - suddenly on the edge of the
    park I notice armed police, four of them, their guns raised
    surrounding a tall Muslim man with a dark beard.

    He is smartly dressed and has a brand new silver coloured camera bag
    on the ground at his feet. The voices are raised with the guns, in
    the time that I take to pass the guns lower, the bag is searched, the
    incident passes, no one seems to notice. Up on the mall a small knot
    of tourists are looking from a distance. One now normal unreported,
    maybe unreportable incident and a searing experience for one innocent
    Muslim man. Which isn't to say that the level of anxiety and tension
    which prompts such a scene isn't all too understandable.

    I am white, crazy-looking on a bike, with a shoulder bag across my
    back, yet I am not stopped in line of sight of number 10: here lies
    tonight's central dilemma - do only bag carrying bearded Muslims need
    to worry about passing public buildings? Soon they will begin to keep
    away from them and what is shared, what is all of ours, will become
    places they no longer come to. Not just the pubs where they never
    might have drank anyway, but now the places that are central to our
    democracy and our identity...

    Something we are addressing at seven with John Denham chair of the
    commons Home affairs select committee. He's arguing Mr Blair has got
    some of it wrong and must make amends.

    Paddy
    http://apling.freeservers.com

    Marxism mailing list
    Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu
    http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism

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

    23) PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE THEATER: 2575 BANCROFT WAY
    @ BOWDITCH, BERKELEY
    WWW.BAMPFA.BERKELEY.EDU / $4-$8
    TUESDAY AUGUST 9
    7:30 The Forest for the Trees: Judi Bari vs. the FBI
    Bernadine Mellis (U.S., 2005)
    Artist in Person
    Tonight we present two very different portraits of activism
    that detail visionary citizens' efforts to preserve the natural
    world. The Forest for the Trees documents Earth First! organizer
    Judi Bari's case against the FBI and Oakland police. Following
    her passionate and effective efforts to create alliances between
    environmental activists and loggers and mill workers, in 1990,
    the car she was driving in Oakland was bombed, and within hours
    she was accused of transporting the explosives and labeled
    a terrorist. The filmmaker's father was one of Bari's lawyers,
    giving inside access to the intricacies of the legal battle,
    which continued to be waged in Oakland courtrooms after Bari's
    death from cancer in 1997. * (2005, 54 mins, Video)
    Preceded by:
    Under Foot and Overstory
    Jason Livingston (U.S., 2004)
    Under Foot and Overstory is a playful and poetic portrait of
    an Iowa City-based group of environmentalists who work together
    to protect 200 acres of urban parkland...but first they must
    write their mission statement. Revealing a love of nature,
    group dynamics, and wordplay, Underfoot and Overstory
    explores "an aesthetics of ecology" (JL). * (2004, 35 mins, 16mm)
    * (Total running time: 89 mins, Color, From the artists)

    Laura Deutch
    Outreach Coordinator
    Pacific Film Archive
    2625 Durant Avenue
    Berkeley, CA 94720-2250
    510/642-6883
    www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/pfa

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

    24) Gaza Will Be 'Vacated But Still Occupied'
    by Ushani Agalawatta
    JERUSALEM - A growing number of Palestinians are beginning
    to believe that Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip
    will not mean the end of occupation
    "The Gaza Strip will still be occupied territory under
    international law," says Renad Qubbaj of the Palestinian
    NGO Network based in Ramallah in the West Bank. "After
    implementation of the disengagement plan, the Israeli
    army will remain in effective control of all border
    crossings."
    Published on Thursday, July 28, 2005 by the Inter Press Service
    http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0728-04.htm

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

    25) Friends
    There are three important events coming up in the next
    few days. Hope to see all of you at all of them!
    thanks.
    en la lucha
    tommi
    "tommi avicolli mecca"

    SAT. JULY 30: BADLANDS RALLY -- 9PM @ LYRIC (127
    Collingwood): Join guest speakers Rev. Penny Nixon
    from the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC),
    Roberto Ordenana from the SF LGBT Community Center,
    and civil rights staff attorney Malcolm Yeung from our
    newest co-sponsor, the Asian Law Caucus! Special star
    MC: community activist/leader and writer Tommi
    Avicolli Mecca.

    SAT. JULY 30 @ 10PM, picket @ Badlands (18th &
    Castro)!

    SUN. JULY 31: Close down TIC sales: meet at noon at
    the Tenants Union, 558 Capp/21st. Picketers will be
    car-pooled out to various sites. Help inform potential
    buyers that tenants have been evicted for TICs and
    that they will not be able to condo-convert because of
    those evictions.

    TUES. AUG. 2: Entertainment Commission Hearing on
    Badlands--5PM at City Hall (Room TBD)! Please let the
    City know that discrimination won't be tolerated in
    our City: not at Badlands, not anywhere, not ever. If
    you'd like to speak before the Commission, please
    contact Julie Carlson at julieecarlson@yahoo.com .
    Otherwise, please just show up, and bring your friends.

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

    26) Scientists Warn Fewer Kinds of Fish Are Swimming the Oceans
    By CORNELIA DEAN
    Published: July 29, 2005
    Researchers who studied decades of catch records from Japanese
    fishing fleets say fishing has greatly reduced the diversity
    of fish in the world's open oceans, leaving ocean ecosystems
    less resilient against environmental changes like global warming.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/29/science/29fishing.html

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

    27) US energy bill funnels billions to oil,
    utility corporations
    By Patrick Martin
    29 July 2005
    http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jul2005/ener-j29.shtml
    ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------

    28) JAMES CONNOLLY FILM
    The second of 2 films on Irish Themes.
    Connolly was born in Scotland and
    was alos an activist in the USA so
    he has a relevance broader than
    Ireland. Interesting that up to 1917
    these isalands were more influenced
    by American radicalism than anything
    towards the East.
    The other film is on the post
    Connolly War of Independence by Ken Loach.
    Jim Monaghan
    From: "Library SIPTU College"
    http://www.rascal-films.com
    http://www.connolly-thefilm.com

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

    29) Communist Party,
    Russia
    Referendum Appeal Fails
    The Supreme Court's appeals board
    on Thursday upheld the court's earlier
    rejection of a nationwide referendum
    proposed by the Communist Party,
    Russian news agencies reported.
    The Communists had sought to put
    a series of social, economic and
    political questions to Russians for
    a vote. The questions included
    issues such as guarantees of free
    education and salaries above the
    subsistence level, free television
    airtime for political parties and a
    progressive tax for the wealthy.
    But the Central Elections Commission
    refused to allow the vote, saying
    the questions were vague and had legal
    problems that could result in
    additional expenditures for the state budget.
    The Supreme Court upheld that ruling
    last month and on Thursday, the
    court's appeals board turned down
    the communists' appeal.
    Communist Party leaders said they
    might appeal further to the
    Constitutional Court and also to
    the European Court for Human Rights.
    Several dozen Communist demonstrators
    picketed outside the court
    building. (AP)
    Marxism mailing list
    Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu
    http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism
    http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/07/29/031.html

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

    30) Unravelling of the US Military
    Newspapers describe the US army as facing one of the
    greatest recruiting challenges in its history, despite
    the enormous incentives now being offered to join the
    military. A study commissioned by the army found that
    resistance to recruitment was due to popular objection
    to the war in Iraq, the casualties and media coverage
    of the torture at Abu Ghraib. Solutions include a bill
    that was introduced in the Senate but that has not yet
    been voted on: offering legal status and eligibility
    for citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants
    residing in the US. The nightmare of war is offered as
    the prelude to the 'American dream'.
    Zia Mian
    http://www.epw.org.in/
    showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=07&filename=8893&filetype=html

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    31) Air Force Plans To Invade: 48 High Schools
    Set to Start AF JROTC

    Based on research by Peacework intern Jamie Munro and
    materials on JROTC from the Central Committee for
    Conscientious Objectors and the American Friends
    Service Committee Youth and Militarism Program.
    Compiled by Sam Diener .

    The Air Force currently has 746 high school Junior
    Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) units militarizing
    106,000 students across the country. In the fall of 2005,
    the Air Force plans to open 48 more units.

    Peacework Magazine has obtained the list of these schools
    (please see the list on-line or call the numbers listed
    below for the list). The AF JROTC Cadet Command plans to
    open an additional 75 units each year through the fall of
    2007, which would bring the total number of invaded
    schools to 945.

    In the 1990