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BAUAW NEWSLETTER Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
BAUAW NEWSLETTER-WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2005
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GEORGE GALLOWAY - MISSION HIGH SCHOOL TONIGHT, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21, 7:00 P.M. The Pentagon has been compiling sensitive data on 30 million youth ages 16-to-25 using a private marketing firm, without the knowledge or consent of individuals or their families. You can opt-out of this database by following instructions at www.LeaveMyChildAlone.org. SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT OPT-OUT FORM: The San Francisco USD version of the opt-out form is simply a sentence on the school enrollment form with a yes or no checkbox as follows: "High school applicants: Do you want SFUSD to release your child's name, address and telephone number to military recruiters? YES NO" (The sentence appears in the first part of the actual Application-after the explanation of how to fill the form out. It is a sentence in boldface type.) You can locate the form at: http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/default.cfm?page=policy.placement.appforms It appears on the right hand side of the screen under the heading: SERVICES, then click on EPC FORMS. Obviously this sentence doesn't explain what the ramifications are for those who check the YES box. It also doesn't explain that by taking the ASVAB (Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery) your NO choice on the Opt-Out question is voided and the Military can contact your child and call them at Home. And, you can't stop them from calling by blocking the caller's number-the U.S. Government can't be "blocked". Picket the San Francisco Board of Education! CUT ALL SCHOOL TIES TO THE MILITARY! TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 6:30-7:30 P.M. 555 FRANKLIN ST. (Near Van Ness and McAllister) If you wish to speak at the Board meeting Call: 241-6427 Monday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ************************************************* FROM IRAQ TO NEW ORLEANS FUND PEOPLE'S NEEDS-NOT THE WAR MACHINE! BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW! STOP THE WAR AND OCCUPATION! IRAQ, PALESTINE, HAITI.... MARCH AND RALLY SEPTEMBER 24 11:00 A.M. DOLORES PARK, S.F. COLLEGE NOT COMBAT CONTINGENT 10:00 A.M. 16TH AND MISSION BART PLAZA, S.F. QUEER CONTINGENT Dolores Park, steps near 19th & Dolores 11am, Saturday, September 24. Palestine Contingent: Assemble at Tennis courts across from Mission High At 18th and Dolores 11 a.m., Saturday, September 24 Assemble for a Labor Rally at 10:30 a.m. prior to the general rally in Dolores Park at Cumberland & Dolores (between 19th and 20th Sts.), then will march as a labor contingent at noon. Mourn the Dead. Resist Bush's War Bring U.S. troops home, now MASS PROTEST RALLY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2005 WALNUT CREEK, CA Gather for the march at 11:00 a.m. at Walnut Creek BART station or Meet for the rally at 12:00 noon at Heather Farms Park Picnic area off Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek Alternatives to War Through Education A project of Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors home: (510)649-1696 Friday: SEPT 23 Counter Recruitment Action in Oakland 4pm: Speak Out & Performances Chevron Gas Station Telegraph Ave and Grand Ave, Oakland (19th St. BART) 5pm: March, Demonstrate and Nonviolent Direct Action Armed Forces Recruiting Center 2116 Broadway, btwn 21/22nd Sts Saturday: SEPT 24 Counter Recruitment Contingent at the National Day of Protest in San Francisco We will have FRONTLINES palm cards to hand out at the Sept 24th March, so meet up with the College Not Combat contingent at 10am at 16th & Mission (BART) to get a stack. Monday: SEPT 26 Our next Frontlines coordinating committee meeting will be on Monday the 26th at UC Berkeley: 6:30-7:30 MOOS/CAN meeting 330 Wheeler Hall 6:30-7:30 MOOS-Bay meeting to review workshop particulars, outreach, etc. Anyone who wants is invited to meet at 5:30 at 330 Wheeler Hall to get a map of the rooms we have reserved to check them out before the meeting Check out our webpage for directions: http://www.objector.org/awol/frontlines/location.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- BAUAW NEWSLETTER-WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2005 ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 1) NYPD Stops Cindy Sheehan Speech, Cuts Mic, Disperses Enraged Crowd NYPD were nearly chased out of Union Square Park after cutting Cindy Sheehan's mic today. September 19, 2005 06:11PM EDT http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2005/09/57276.html 2) World has slim chance to stop flu pandemic Tue Sep 20, 2005 08:11 AM ET http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9702137&src=eDialog/GetContent 3) Reply to Greg Palast by George Galloway September 20, 2005 http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=1&ItemID=8776 4) British Smash Into Iraqi Jail To Free 2 Detained Soldiers By Ellen Knickmeyer and Jonathan Finer Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, September 20, 2005; Page A01 BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 -- British armored vehicles backed by helicopter gunships burst through the walls of an Iraqi jail Monday in the southern city of Basra to free two British commandos detained earlier in the day by Iraqi police, witnesses and Iraqi officials said. The incident climaxed a confrontation between the two nominal allies that had sparked hours of gun battles and rioting in Basra's streets. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091900572.html?referrer=email&referrer=email 5) Katrina shines spotlight on realities for Black people in the United States GRANMA INTERNATIONAL Havana. September 6, 2005 http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/septiembre/mart6/37victims-i.html 6) KATRINA'S AFTERMATH Like We're Invisible' Katrina cut off an already isolated rural Mississippi, so residents helped one another. By Elizabeth Mehren Times Staff Writer September 19, 2005 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rural19sep19,0,4319997.story?coll=la-home-headlines 7) "It's Not That the Government Isn't Responding, They are Obstructing the Response" Real Reports of Katrina Relief By NAOMI ARCHER It's not so much that the government is not responding [with storm relief], they are obstructing the response. They are telling us we can't bring people the basic necessities of life because that would give them hope. It is a question of oppression vs. mutual aid. That is the revolution. September 16, 2005 http://www.counterpunch.org/archer09162005.html 8) Dismay Over Sliding Turnout for Afghan Poll http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-04.htm 9) An Antiwar Speech in Union Square Is Stopped by Police Citing Paperwork Rules http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-02.htm 10) Hundreds of Tons of British Aid Donated to Help Hurricane Katrina Victims to be Burned by Americans http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-08.htm 11) Federal Govt Diverting Truckloads of Ice from Hurricane-Relief Effort to Cold Storage http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-09.htm 12) Iraqi Anger Explodes in the Face of British Occupiers http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-05.htm 13) Outpouring of Relief Cash Raises Fear of Corruption and Cronyism http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-03.htm 14) California Wants to Serve a Warning With Fries By MELANIE WARNER Published: September 21, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/business/21chips.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=c916134e8adc7054&hp&ex=1127361600&partner=homepage 15) Editorial Sleight of Budgeting Published: September 21, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/opinion/21wed1.html?hp 16) Iraqis Rally to Denounce British Rescue By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The demonstrators in Basra, which included police and civilians waving pistols and AK47s, shouted ''No to occupation!'' and carried banners condemning ''British aggression'' and demanding the freed soldiers be tried in an Iraqi court as ''terrorists.'' Published: September 21, 2005 Filed at 11:11 a.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?hp 17) Protest Over Metal Detectors Gains Legs as Students Walk Out George M. Gutierrez for The New York Times By FERNANDA SANTOS Published: September 21, 2005 The protest started to gather steam on Sept. 14, six days after the school year began. That morning, at each of the 10 periods of gym class, school safety officers explained to the students how the process would work: Line up, remove metal from your pockets, take off your belt and walk through the metal detector. Book bags would be searched, too, scanned by X-ray machines like those at airports, and, starting Monday, no one would be allowed to leave the building at lunchtime. The safety officers said it would be too hard to screen all the returning students. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/nyregion/21walkout.html 18) Unswayed by Storm, Fed Raises Key Rate By EDMUND L. ANDREWS Published: September 21, 2005 WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 - Saying that Hurricane Katrina was unlikely to pose a "persistent threat" to the economy, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Tuesday for the 11th time in a row and signaled that more increases were on the way. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/business/21fed.html 19) Challenged by Creationists, Museums Answer Back By CORNELIA DEAN Published: September 20, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/20doce.html 20) GEDs no longer required By Joseph R. Chenelly Times staff writer September 20, 2005 Army recruiters now have a wider pool to find future soldiers in. The Army is reaching out to a slice of America's youth long ineligible to serve: non-high school graduates who don't have a General Equivalency Diploma http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1115623.php 21) Cuba appears to escape Rita's wrath Island nation took precautions, experienced rains, power outages By Mary Murray Producer NBC News Updated: 8:36 p.m. ET Sept. 20, 2005 MSNBC.com A solid 24 hours before the storm hit, Cuban Civil Defense began evacuating people living in flood areas and in houses too weak to withstand hurricane conditions. By noon Tuesday, more than 136,000 people had been moved to higher ground, with close to 14,000 opting to stay in government shelters. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9402098/ 22) This is from: [NOLA_C3_Discussion] FW: A letter from a Doctor This was sent to my friend Cindy Sheehan from a doctor trying to help with our relief effort...forwarded to me via Dennis K....peace from Ward 23) Cindy Sheehan Takes on the Democrats, Hillary Clinton The anti-war activist has plenty to say-and it's not all about Bush by Kristen Lombardi September 20th, 2005 2:27 PM http://villagevoice.com/news/0538,lombardiweb,68015,2.html 24) Katrina, the Mississippi River and the Risks of the Coming Harvest By VERLYN KLINKENBORG September 21, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/opinion/21wed4.html?pagewanted=print 25) W Marks the Spot Bait and Switch in the Bitterroot By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR September 21, 2005 Like Rumsfeld's Pentagon, the Forest Service under George W. Bush runs on pr, corporate cronyism, an obsession with secrecy and the rapid-fire deployment of fabricated justifications for cutting down old-growth forests. In Bush's war on the wild, the trees themselves are portrayed as standing weapons of mass destruction, which must be leveled by chainsaws before they ignite into raging wildfires that threaten to incinerate the towns of the rural West. Such is the tale of the spin, any way. http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair09212005.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 1) NYPD Stops Cindy Sheehan Speech, Cuts Mic, Disperses Enraged Crowd NYPD were nearly chased out of Union Square Park after cutting Cindy Sheehan's mic today. September 19, 2005 06:11PM EDT http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2005/09/57276.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 2) World has slim chance to stop flu pandemic Tue Sep 20, 2005 08:11 AM ET http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9702137&src=eDialog/GetContent ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 3) Reply to Greg Palast by George Galloway September 20, 2005 http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=1&ItemID=8776 ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 4) British Smash Into Iraqi Jail To Free 2 Detained Soldiers By Ellen Knickmeyer and Jonathan Finer Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, September 20, 2005; Page A01 BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 -- British armored vehicles backed by helicopter gunships burst through the walls of an Iraqi jail Monday in the southern city of Basra to free two British commandos detained earlier in the day by Iraqi police, witnesses and Iraqi officials said. The incident climaxed a confrontation between the two nominal allies that had sparked hours of gun battles and rioting in Basra's streets. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091900572.html?referrer=email&referrer=email ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 5) Katrina shines spotlight on realities for Black people in the United States GRANMA INTERNATIONAL Havana. September 6, 2005 http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/septiembre/mart6/37victims-i.html IT soon became obvious: in New Orleans, a city where Black people are the majority of the population and make up the great majority of the working class, they also comprised nearly all of the people stranded by the hurricane. "In two days at the Superdome, I saw four white people among the estimated 23,000 there," comments Los Angeles Times reporter Scott Gold in a September 2 article. Black politicians, especially Democrats, began to ask whether the lack of preparation and response to the disaster had anything to do with the fact that victims were Black and low-income. Rapper Kanye West made headlines when he said "George Bush doesn't care about Black people" at a televised benefit concert in New York on September 2. However, there's no particular conspiracy against African-Americans in New Orleans, even if many of the victims who were left abandoned for days may feel that way. The simple fact is that in the United States, even with the abolishment of legal segregation and the growth of a Black middle class - and even some Black ruling-class figures - following the successful civil rights struggles of the 50s and 60s, African-Americans still suffer from the effects of hundreds of years of slavery, economic discrimination and racism. That continues to be especially true in the South, where institutional racism was mostly deeply entrenched. In New Orleans, where almost 70% of its half million inhabitants are Black, 27% of the city's population lives below the poverty line. Jason DeParle notes in a September 4 New York Times article that "divides in (New Orleans) were evident in things as simple as access to a car. The 35 percent of black households that didn't have one, compared with just 15 percent among whites." ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION According to census figures cited in The Economist, there were 26,000 Black corporate chief executive officers in 2003, including for companies such as American Express and AOL-Times Warner. At the same time, Black men in the United States on average earn only 72% of what white men earn. That economic differentiation carries over into other areas of life: African-Americans in that city are three times more likely than whites, Latinos or Asians to die from homicide or HIV/AIDS and twice as likely to be victims of violent crime, according to a study published in July by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the LA Urban League. Affirmative action measures - guaranteeing Black people jobs and schooling that they were routinely kept out of because of discrimination - are under attack now, a generation after many of them were put into place, with some people, even Blacks, claiming they are not "fair," because the individuals who benefit from them might not "deserve" them. African-Americans are still being deprived of their right to vote 40 years after the federal government passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act as a result of the massive civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. This was most evident during the 2000 presidential elections, when tens of thousands of Black people were deprived of their right to vote in Florida. Some 20,000 people marched in Atlanta, Georgia this past August 6 to demand that key provisions of that law be upheld. Elvee Green, a Detroit auto worker and member of the United Auto Workers union, told The Militant newspaper that her local organized a bus to get her and co-workers to Atlanta. "I had to be here. They are attacking our unions, they're sending us to crazy wars, we have to at least keep our right to vote," she said. Black men are routinely deprived of that right because in many states, ex-convicts are not allowed to vote, and Black men are much more likely than white men to have spent time in jail: 32% of them in Los Angeles, according to the Urban League study, compared to 6% of whites and 17% of Latinos. Those statistics are similar to national ones. Those figures go hand-in-hand with the fact that Black people are the most frequent victims of police brutality and killings. In Los Angeles, only 21% of Blacks believe the police act fairly most of the time, compared with 46% of Latinos and 60% of whites and Asians, the study notes. Police officers who kill or beat Black people, including minors, often go unpunished. Black farmers are disappearing faster than white farmers as gigantic monopolies take over food production in the United States. Black farmers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Texas are fighting racial discrimination in government loans and other services, and struggling to keep their land; more than 500 Black farmers are under extreme threat of foreclosures that will result in the loss of 100,000 acres of farmland, according to Ralph Paige, of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives at a recent organizing meeting. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 6) KATRINA'S AFTERMATH Like We're Invisible' Katrina cut off an already isolated rural Mississippi, so residents helped one another. By Elizabeth Mehren Times Staff Writer September 19, 2005 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rural19sep19,0,4319997.story?coll=la-home-headlines ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 7) "It's Not That the Government Isn't Responding, They are Obstructing the Response" Real Reports of Katrina Relief By NAOMI ARCHER It's not so much that the government is not responding [with storm relief], they are obstructing the response. They are telling us we can't bring people the basic necessities of life because that would give them hope. It is a question of oppression vs. mutual aid. That is the revolution. September 16, 2005 http://www.counterpunch.org/archer09162005.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 8) Dismay Over Sliding Turnout for Afghan Poll http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-04.htm ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 9) An Antiwar Speech in Union Square Is Stopped by Police Citing Paperwork Rules http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-02.htm ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 10) Hundreds of Tons of British Aid Donated to Help Hurricane Katrina Victims to be Burned by Americans http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-08.htm ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 11) Federal Govt Diverting Truckloads of Ice from Hurricane-Relief Effort to Cold Storage http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-09.htm ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 12) Iraqi Anger Explodes in the Face of British Occupiers http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-05.htm ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 13) Outpouring of Relief Cash Raises Fear of Corruption and Cronyism http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0920-03.htm ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 14) California Wants to Serve a Warning With Fries By MELANIE WARNER Published: September 21, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/business/21chips.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=c916134e8adc7054&hp&ex=1127361600&partner=homepage ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 15) Editorial Sleight of Budgeting Published: September 21, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/opinion/21wed1.html?hp ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 16) Iraqis Rally to Denounce British Rescue By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The demonstrators in Basra, which included police and civilians waving pistols and AK47s, shouted ''No to occupation!'' and carried banners condemning ''British aggression'' and demanding the freed soldiers be tried in an Iraqi court as ''terrorists.'' Published: September 21, 2005 Filed at 11:11 a.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?hp ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 17) Protest Over Metal Detectors Gains Legs as Students Walk Out George M. Gutierrez for The New York Times By FERNANDA SANTOS Published: September 21, 2005 The protest started to gather steam on Sept. 14, six days after the school year began. That morning, at each of the 10 periods of gym class, school safety officers explained to the students how the process would work: Line up, remove metal from your pockets, take off your belt and walk through the metal detector. Book bags would be searched, too, scanned by X-ray machines like those at airports, and, starting Monday, no one would be allowed to leave the building at lunchtime. The safety officers said it would be too hard to screen all the returning students. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/nyregion/21walkout.html The first rumors started swirling last spring, in hushed talks in the classroom, amid hallway banter, in lunchtime chats at pizza parlors along Jerome Avenue. Metal detectors were coming to DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. By the time the summer school term began, students were noticing the newly installed surveillance cameras along DeWitt Clinton's stairwells and the shell of a metal detector perched beyond a side door. "The school is on lockdown," one student wrote on an Internet message board, Sconex.com . Soon, instead of their usual postings about classmates turned couples, prom king contenders and unbearably hot days of boredom at home, students were complaining about the changes that awaited them - and, eventually, organizing a protest. Two days ago, all the planning became a reality. For the first time in recent memory, 1,500 New York City high school students skipped classes, marched for two miles and got what they wanted: a sit-down meeting with school administrators, who have agreed to meet with students again and listen to their demands. How they got to this point is a lesson in modern-day democracy that blends teenage angst and the Internet; a show of force borne out of disagreement and frustration among the students of one of the city's most traditional and toughest high schools. The Education Department installed the metal detectors because of DeWitt Clinton's high crime rate, one that is 60 percent higher than the citywide average for schools of the same size. But the protest was not violent, said Edward Jackson, 17, a senior and a tight end on the high school's football team. "It was a good protest, the way protests should be," he said. "We got a chance to show that we care about what goes on in our school. We were able to express our point of view." The DeWitt Clinton of today, which had 13 major crimes during the 2003-4 school year, counts many celebrities among its graduates. It is the alma mater of the actor Burt Lancaster, the fashion designer Ralph Lauren and the cartoonist Stan Lee. It opened its doors in 1935 as an all-boys' school and stayed that way until the mid-1980's, when it began to enroll girls. The protest started to gather steam on Sept. 14, six days after the school year began. That morning, at each of the 10 periods of gym class, school safety officers explained to the students how the process would work: Line up, remove metal from your pockets, take off your belt and walk through the metal detector. Book bags would be searched, too, scanned by X-ray machines like those at airports, and, starting Monday, no one would be allowed to leave the building at lunchtime. The safety officers said it would be too hard to screen all the returning students. It did not sit well with José David, 17, a senior. Last Thursday, he circulated a petition against the lunchtime confinement and the metal detectors. "In 46 minutes, I got 266 signatures," he said. On Friday, Mr. David posted a message on the Sconex.com site and invited students to join him in a protest on Monday. The plan was to gather south of the school and stand there, silently, until the end of the first period of classes. At 7 a.m., Mr. David said, he found himself standing alone on the lawn outside the high school while other students queued up around the block, waiting for the security clearance to get in. "Nobody stood with me, not even my friends at first," Mr. David said. "A lot of people were like, 'Don't even waste your time.' I felt like an idiot." A cameraman and reporter for a local cable news station arrived (Mr. David had sent them an e-mail message last Friday). But as the time passed and the line into the school grew, clusters of frustrated students decided to join Mr. David. By 11:30 a.m., they numbered 1,500, said Mr. David and other students outside the school yesterday. "People got so excited that we were all coming together," said Héctor Garcia, 18, a senior. "I honestly didn't think that we would get that many people marching for one cause." Three hours later, the protesters arrived at the Department of Education's office at Fordham Plaza, two miles away, carrying banners and demanding to be heard. Four students were eventually invited in. They asked that the metal detectors and security cameras be removed, that they be allowed to have lunch outside the school, and that an earlier ban on cellphones be lifted. None of the new rules were eliminated, but officials agreed to keep listening. Guidance counselors are to meet today to select a team of student representatives who will present the student demands and negotiate with the administration. But in the meantime, there has been a change: the line to get into the school yesterday morning moved faster because school safety officers used three of the four metal detectors at the school, instead of two, as they did on Monday. Keith Kalb, a Department of Education spokesman, said that yesterday, "no student was late for any period due to scanning." He said students and parents had been told earlier that DeWitt Clinton would have metal detectors, but students said that all they knew was that the school would undergo a security upgrade. "This is just the beginning," said Anthony Stafford, a student. "The protest was just to get the word out that we're serious about being heard." Janon Fisher contributed reporting for this article. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 18) Unswayed by Storm, Fed Raises Key Rate By EDMUND L. ANDREWS Published: September 21, 2005 WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 - Saying that Hurricane Katrina was unlikely to pose a "persistent threat" to the economy, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Tuesday for the 11th time in a row and signaled that more increases were on the way. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/business/21fed.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 19) Challenged by Creationists, Museums Answer Back By CORNELIA DEAN Published: September 20, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/20doce.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 20) GEDs no longer required By Joseph R. Chenelly Times staff writer September 20, 2005 Army recruiters now have a wider pool to find future soldiers in. The Army is reaching out to a slice of America's youth long ineligible to serve: non-high school graduates who don't have a General Equivalency Diploma http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1115623.php ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 21) Cuba appears to escape Rita's wrath Island nation took precautions, experienced rains, power outages By Mary Murray Producer NBC News Updated: 8:36 p.m. ET Sept. 20, 2005 MSNBC.com A solid 24 hours before the storm hit, Cuban Civil Defense began evacuating people living in flood areas and in houses too weak to withstand hurricane conditions. By noon Tuesday, more than 136,000 people had been moved to higher ground, with close to 14,000 opting to stay in government shelters. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9402098/ HAVANA - Hurricane Rita turned day into night, blackening the skies over Havana on Tuesday as the Category 2 storm scraped across Cuba's northern coast before moving farther into the warm waters of the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane's outer bands brought heavy rain and wind but only for a few short hours. Early reports indicated that Rita dumped just about five inches of rain over the city of Havana. The Cuban Meteorological Institute said that Rita's eye passed 54 miles north of the capital at 4 p.m. EDT, sparing the island the brunt of its force. Preliminary reports indicate that the storm triggered minor coastal flooding and caused some damage to Cuba's aging power grid. Parts of downtown Havana experienced flash flooding when blocked drains and city sewers could not handle the quick downpour. By early afternoon, the lights went out along the northern seaboard and in five major Havana neighborhoods. In Havana alone, about a quarter of a million people had lost power. 'Slight' damage to grid However, a spokesman for Cuba's national electric company described the overall damage as "slight" and promised to have crews working to restore power as soon as weather conditions improved. A solid 24 hours before the storm hit, Cuban Civil Defense began evacuating people living in flood areas and in houses too weak to withstand hurricane conditions. By noon Tuesday, more than 136,000 people had been moved to higher ground, with close to 14,000 opting to stay in government shelters. Stores and government offices closed by morning, some boarded up with hard-to-find plywood. Although grade schools were officially kept open, few students were at their desks. Taking no chances So far, there have been no reports in Cuba of death or injuries associated with Hurricane Rita. Still, the island's Civil Defense was taking no chances, executing emergency evacuation plans in case Rita changed direction. Authorities issued a hurricane warning for the island's central and western provinces and mandatory evacuation for some people living in low-lying coastal regions and isolated mountain communities. Also, about 3,000 head of cattle were moved to higher ground. Residents were encouraged to stay tuned to local television and radio broadcasts for the latest on weather and civil defense plans. Dr. Jose Rubiera, who leads Cuba's forecast center, predicted earlier that Rita would just skim the island's northern coast, dumping between 4 and 5 inches of rain, and he appears to have been proved right. 'We won't let down our guard' With Rita's southern rain bands being much weaker than those on her northern flank, Rubiera expected nothing close to the strong winds and sea surge normally associated with a direct hit. Hurricanes, though, are tricky to predict and the gulf's present warm temperatures added an extra element of unpredictability. "This is not a danger for Cuba but we won't let down our guard. We're watching Rita in case the storm shifts south," Rubiera said earlier. Hurricane Dennis - a Category 4 that battered the island's southeastern ridge on July 9 - caused $1.2 billion in structural damage and left 16 people dead. The majority of those killed were people who did not heed Civil Defense mandatory evacuation orders. Mary Murray is an NBC News producer based in Havana, Cuba. (c) 2005 MSNBC.com URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9402098/ ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 22) This is from: [NOLA_C3_Discussion] FW: A letter from a Doctor This was sent to my friend Cindy Sheehan from a doctor trying to help with our relief effort...forwarded to me via Dennis K....peace from Ward Dear Cindy, My name is Stuart Leeds - I'm the family practice MD that you met at the storage facility shortly before we all caravanned to Algiers today. It was a great honor and delight to meet you! I'm also pleased and somewhat relieved to have the opportunity to give you a *brief* report on the state of affairs visa vi the medical relief effort in the afflicted areas. In short strokes: people are not getting the help they need, because our government, through the agency of FEMA, has totally politicized the relief effort. I'm sure you've already gotten wind of the reports that the Bush Administration is handing out huge contracts to favored vendors, much as they have done in Iraq. But what is not widely known is - and I can verify this personally - that FEMA is *preventing* certain groups and individuals from participating in the relief efforts. Here's a quick synopsis of the experience I and my companions (my wife, and two respiratory therapists) had today, in our attempts to offer our services to the Red Cross operation in Covington, LA. We got a call from an official at the Red Cross that the Vets for Peace were being invited to send doctors to Abita Springs, a nearby community. When we got there around 9 AM, some of director Dr Rachel Murphy's assistants welcomed us, and started making lists of materials we would need. Suddenly, a man wearing a Homeland Security shirt came over and rudely asked us to leave. He brought a local cop with him, and their body language was pretty threatening. We explained that we were coming at the request of both Dr. Murphy and the mayor of Covington, Candace Watkins. He (whose name was Rodney Hart) would hear none of it from us; he forced us to leave immediately. We went to Mayor Watkins, who called Dr. Murphy and arranged for us to be allowed into the Red Cross center. We decided that only my wife and I would go - realizing that the other gentlemen, who were wearing VFP T-shirts, would be less than welcome at the center. We met Dr. Murphy a little after noon, and she was very friendly. She told us she would find a place for us to work - I as a physician, and my wife as an organizational specialist. However, midway through our tour of the facility, she stepped into the office of Mr. Hart, the Homeland security rep, and there were some tense words exchanged between them. She repeatedly exclaimed that we were not representing VFP, and finally there was a long period of silence. Mr. Hart apparently made some gestures we couldn't see. She sighed, and turned to us, and abruptly suggested we get some lunch in the basement. As we ate, she started talking about how the Red Cross was pulling out of her parish within a week, how there were already an excess of docs, and that our services wouldn't be needed. She also explained that the reason that VFP was not welcome with the Red Cross (or indeed, within the entire parish) was because of a series of allegations that we had already heard from others in the center. We had heard several conflicting versions of these stories: that someone with VFP had stolen $15,000 worth of medical supplies, and that he turned out to be a child molester; that the Vets for Peace had come to one center and were taking over, and bringing cameras into clinics; that VFP was illegally collecting Red Cross donations on the Internet. We could not substantiate any of these rumors, and indeed, I think it's unlikely that there was truth to any of them. Clearly, FEMA and/or Homeland Security is trying to keep "political undesirables" from lending a hand during this catastrophe. Perhaps they are marching to orders from Bush's political hacks to preventing peace groups from upstaging the administration in the relief effort - which would hardly be difficult to do, on anything like a level playing field. It is so sad to think that the Bush machine would put politics in front of the safety and security of human beings, even in a the wake of a natural disaster of Katrina's magnitude. But in the eyes of this physician, I believe that is exactly what is happening. And it will continue, as long as the responsible government agencies can get away with it.. We must hold them accountable. But more importantly, we must let people know this is happening, and thus bring such pressure to bear on these obstructionist agencies that they can no longer keep VFP, or indeed any group of caring citizens from pitching in. Thanks, Cindy. And keep up the great work. F.Stuart (Skip) Leeds, MS, MD I am ready to keep fighting for humanity. I thank you all for joining me in the struggle: the fight of our lives. ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 23) Cindy Sheehan Takes on the Democrats, Hillary Clinton The anti-war activist has plenty to say-and it's not all about Bush by Kristen Lombardi September 20th, 2005 2:27 PM http://villagevoice.com/news/0538,lombardiweb,68015,2.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 24) Katrina, the Mississippi River and the Risks of the Coming Harvest By VERLYN KLINKENBORG September 21, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/opinion/21wed4.html?pagewanted=print ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 25) W Marks the Spot Bait and Switch in the Bitterroot By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR September 21, 2005 Like Rumsfeld's Pentagon, the Forest Service under George W. Bush runs on pr, corporate cronyism, an obsession with secrecy and the rapid-fire deployment of fabricated justifications for cutting down old-growth forests. In Bush's war on the wild, the trees themselves are portrayed as standing weapons of mass destruction, which must be leveled by chainsaws before they ignite into raging wildfires that threaten to incinerate the towns of the rural West. Such is the tale of the spin, any way. http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair09212005.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
Monday, September 19, 2005
BAUAW NEWSLETTER-TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2005
*************************************************
SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT OPT-OUT FORM: The San Francisco USD version of the opt-out form is simply a sentence on the school enrollment form with a yes or no checkbox as follows: "High school applicants: Do you want SFUSD to release your child's name, address and telephone number to military recruiters? YES NO" (The sentence appears in the first part of the actual Application-after the explanation of how to fill the form out. It is a sentence in boldface type.) You can locate the form at: http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/default.cfm?page=policy.placement.appforms It appears on the right hand side of the screen under the heading: SERVICES, then click on EPC FORMS. Obviously this sentence doesn't explain what the ramifications are for those who check the YES box. It also doesn't explain that by taking the ASVAB (Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery) your NO choice on the Opt-Out question is voided and the Military can contact your child and call them at Home. And, you can't stop them from calling by blocking the caller's number-the U.S. Government can't be "blocked". Picket the San Francisco Board of Education! CUT ALL SCHOOL TIES TO THE MILITARY! TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 6:30-7:30 P.M. 555 FRANKLIN ST. (Near Van Ness and McAllister) If you wish to speak at the Board meeting Call: 241-6427 Monday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ************************************************* NEXT BAUAW MEETING: TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 20, 7:00 P.M. 474 VALENCIA STREET, S.F. NEAR 16TH STREET SEPTEMBER 24 ANSWER Organizing Meetings: Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. 2489 Mission St., suite 24 (at 21st St., S.F.) STOP THE WAR AND OCCUPATION! IRAQ, PALESTINE, HAITI.... MARCH AND RALLY SEPTEMBER 24 11:00 A.M. DOLORES PARK, S.F. COLLEGE NOT COMBAT CONTINGENT 10:00 A.M. 16TH AND MISSION BART PLAZA, S.F. QUEER CONTINGENT Dolores Park, steps near 19th & Dolores 11am, Saturday, September 24. Palestine Contingent: Assemble at Tennis courts across from Mission High At 18th and Dolores 11 a.m., Saturday, September 24 Mourn the Dead. Resist Bush's War Bring U.S. troops home, now MASS PROTEST RALLY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2005 WALNUT CREEK, CA Gather for the march at 11:00 a.m. at Walnut Creek BART station – or – Meet for the rally at 12:00 noon at Heather Farms Park Picnic area off Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- BAUAW NEWSLETTER-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 1) Press Release Source: Hasbro, Inc. G.I. JOE Returns to TV With New Animated Show! SIGMA 6 Debuts on 4Kids TV on FOX Friday September 9, 9:49 am ET PAWTUCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2005--The world's first action figure, Hasbro, Inc.'s (NYSE: HAS -News ) G.I. JOE, returns to television with an all-new animated series, G.I. JOE: SIGMA 6 set to premiere this Saturday, September 10 on 4Kids on FOX affiliates nationwide at 11:00 a.m. The weekly G.I. JOE: SIGMA 6 series will be based on a new storyline, with "SIGMA 6" being the code name for a new group of G.I. JOE heroes with highly specialized capabilities that they use to protect the world from COBRA COMMANDER and his evil forces. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050909/95307.html?.v=1 Check out the "Sigma 6 Team": http://www.hasbro.com/gijoe/default.cfm?page=team EMAIL HASBRO AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF G.I. JOE http://hasbro.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/hasbro.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?p_sid=LrNHiZPh&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD03NzYmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x 2) washingtonpost.com FEMA's City of Anxiety in Florida Many Hurricane Charley Victims Still Unsure of Next Step By Marc Kaufman Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, September 17, 2005; A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091601922.html 3) Israel to Disrupt Palestinian Vote if Hamas Runs By JOEL BRINKLEY Published: September 17, 2005 Mr. Sharon said Israel could choose not to remove roadblocks and checkpoints that would block Palestinians from the polls and make it hard for Palestinians in Jerusalem to vote, among other steps, if Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, takes part. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/international/middleeast/17nations.html 4) New Trial Sought for Lawyer in Terror Case (Lynne Stewart) By JULIA PRESTON, New York Times Published: August 13, 2005 [NOTE: NEW SENTENCING DATE IS SET FOR OCTOBER 21ST] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/13/nyregion/13stewart.html 5) The Recovery FEMA, Slow to the Rescue, Now Stumbles in Aid Effort By JENNIFER STEINHAUER and ERIC LIPTON Published: September 17, 2005 "I expressed to the president that it would take a new partnership between the military and private sector," Mr. Taylor said. "Because there will be another one and I don't think the federal government is going to be able to help." Indeed, Mr. Bush said in his address to the nation from New Orleans on Thursday night that the military would play a new role in federal disaster relief... "Today is 18 days past the storm, and FEMA has not even put a location for people who are displaced," he said. "They are walking around the damn streets. The system's broke. ... In Tangipahoa Parish, the parish president, Gordon Burgess, said he called FEMA officials daily to ask when they would arrive to assist residents with housing. Mr. Burgess said the federal workers say, " 'I'll get to you next week,' and then the next week and then you'd never hear from them again."... "It is a sad experience," said Frank Link,, who was sent from to Missouri , then to Mississippi, then to Alabama and then to Tennessee - all with the same load of 41,580 pounds of ice that he had loaded in Chicago. "I went down there to help. All I did was get the runaround from FEMA." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/national/nationalspecial/17fema.html 6) In New York Cribs, Jeff and Lisa Give Way to Ahmed and Chaya By JENNIFER 8. LEE Published: September 17, 2005 In the last several years, New York City has had more baby girls named Fatoumata than Lisa, more Aaliyahs than Melissas, more Chayas than Christinas. There have been more baby boys named Moshe than Peter, more Miguels than Jeffreys, more Ahmeds than Stanleys. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/nyregion/17baby.html 7) Study Attributes Stronger Storms to Warmer Seas By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: September 16, 2005 WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (AP) - Storms with the power of Hurricane Katrina are becoming more common, in part because of global warming, according to a report from a team of researchers that will be published Friday. The number of storms in the two most powerful categories, 4 and 5, rose to an average of 18 a year worldwide since 1990, up from 11 in the 1970's, according to the report, which will be published in the journal Science. The researchers were led by Peter J. Webster of the Georgia Institute of Technology. There was no increase in storms over all, the researchers said, just in their intensity. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/science/16climate.html 8) What Noble Cause? By Cindy Sheehan t r u t h o u t | Perspective Saturday 17 September 2005 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091705Y.shtml 9) Sugar for Sugar, Salt For Salt Go Down In The Flood Gonna Be Your Own Fault by Christopher Cooper Published on Thursday, September 15, 2005 by the Wiscasset Newspaper (Maine) http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0915-28.htm 10) Analysis New Orleans: Dress rehearsal for lockdown of America By Carolyn Baker Online Journal Contributing Writer http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/091305Baker/091305baker.html 11) Military Recruiters' Access to Seattle Schools Restricted Ramy Khalil http://www.lefthook.org/Ground/Khalil091605.html 12) Hurricane Katrina: The Black Nation's 9/11! Statement by Saladin Muhammad of Black Workers for Justice Via NY Transfer News Collective *All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by The Freedom Archives - Sep 15, 2005 http://freedomarchives.org/mailman/listinfo/news_freedomarchives.org 13) The High Price of Standing Up to Putin By STEVEN LEE MYERS September 18, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/weekinreview/18myers.html?pagewanted=print 14) Op-Ed Contributor Dangling Particles By LISA RANDALL Published: September 18, 2005 Cambridge, Mass. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/opinion/18randall.html?pagewanted=all 15) Guantánamo Prisoners Go on Hunger Strike By NEIL A. LEWIS Published: September 18, 2005 WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 - A hunger strike at the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba , has unsettled senior commanders there and produced the most serious challenge yet to the military's effort to manage the detention of hundreds of terrorism suspects, lawyers and officials say. As many as 200 prisoners - more than a third of the camp – have refused food in recent weeks to protest conditions and prolonged confinement without trial, according to the accounts of lawyers who represent them. While military officials put the number of those participating at 105, they acknowledge that 20 of them, whose health and survival are being threatened, are being kept at the camp's hospital and fed through nasal tubes and sometimes given fluids intravenously. The military authorities were so concerned about ending a previous strike this summer that they allowed the establishment of a six-member prisoners' grievance committee, lawyers said. The committee, a sharp departure from past practice in which camp authorities refused to cede any control or role to the detainees, was quickly ended, the lawyers say. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/politics/18gitmo.html?hp&ex=1127102400&en=0e1376365dbc6773&ei=5094&partner=homepage 16) The Rescues Aging, Frail, and Refugees From the Hurricane By JANE GROSS Published: September 18, 2005 COLUMBIA, La., Sept. 15 - The frail residents of the Wynhoven Health Care Center fled New Orleans and the havoc of Hurricane Katrina for a high school gymnasium, where they spent four nights sleeping on the floor with just inches between them. Then they endured a 10-hour bus ride to this rural outpost in northeastern Louisiana more than 200 miles from home that might as well have been the far side of the moon. They subsisted on bag lunches, did without their insulin or blood-pressure medicine, risked infection from catheters that were necessary when no toilets were available, and finally arrived here at the Haven Nursing Center with no medical records and only the clothes on their backs. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/national/nationalspecial/18frail.html?hp&ex=1127102400&en=477d062beda215df&ei=5094&partner=homepage 17) Dec 1 NATIONWIDE STRIKE AGAINST POVERTY, RACISM & WAR! WE MUST TURN OUR OUTRAGE OVER KATRINA INTO A MOVEMENT On the 50TH Anniversary of Dec.1,1955 - the day in Montgomery Alabama that Rosa Parks sparked the modern Civil Rights Movement A CALL FOR A NATIONWIDE STRIKE AGAINST POVERTY, RACISM AND WAR No School - No Shopping - No Work local protests and teach-ins through December 2 and 3 Mass March on Wall Street, NYC SHUT THE WAR DOWN The People of New Orleans and the Gulf Must Control the Rebuilding, not Bush's Rich Friends! Solidarity with Katrina Survivors - We demand an Independent Investigation A JOB AT A LIVING WAGE is a human right Healthcare, Housing and Education, not war and occupation BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW! 18) Lack of Cohesion Bedevils Recovery Red Tape, Lapses in Planning Stall Relief By Shankar Vedantam and Dean Starkman Washington Post Staff Writers washingtonpost.com Sunday, September 18, 2005; A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/17/AR2005091701392.html?referrer=email&referrer=email 19) Storm Prompts Evacuation Order in Florida Keys By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 1:26 p.m. ET September 19, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Tropical-Weather.html?hp&ex=1127188800&en=de23fe7bd0e4e772&ei=5094&partner=homepage 20) Three weeks after Katrina, South shows resilience Mon Sep 19, 2005 08:29 AM ET By Carey Gillam and Andy Sullivan http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9690046&src=eDialog/GetContent 21) Student antiwar activists from Madison and Chicago will be leaving Wednesday September 21st for the Gulf States to bring solidarity and relief to those who need it. They are collecting donations at Monday evening's speaking tour with George Galloway in Chicago. http:// www.mrgallowaygoestowashington.com 22) STOP THE EXECUTION OF FRANCES NEWTON![Col. Writ. 9/13/05] Copyright '05 Mumia Abu-Jamal 23) Frances Newton Executed http://www.texasmoratorium.org/ 24) Please forward this email Mourn the Dead. Resist Bush's War Bring U.S. troops home, now MASS PROTEST RALLY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2005 WALNUT CREEK, CA Gather for the march at 11:00 a.m. at Walnut Creek BART station – or – Meet for the rally at 12:00 noon at Heather Farms Park Picnic area off Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 1) Press Release Source: Hasbro, Inc. G.I. JOE Returns to TV With New Animated Show! SIGMA 6 Debuts on 4Kids TV on FOX Friday September 9, 9:49 am ET PAWTUCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2005--The world's first action figure, Hasbro, Inc.'s (NYSE: HAS -News ) G.I. JOE, returns to television with an all-new animated series, G.I. JOE: SIGMA 6 set to premiere this Saturday, September 10 on 4Kids on FOX affiliates nationwide at 11:00 a.m. The weekly G.I. JOE: SIGMA 6 series will be based on a new storyline, with "SIGMA 6" being the code name for a new group of G.I. JOE heroes with highly specialized capabilities that they use to protect the world from COBRA COMMANDER and his evil forces. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050909/95307.html?.v=1 Check out the "Sigma 6 Team": http://www.hasbro.com/gijoe/default.cfm?page=team EMAIL HASBRO AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF G.I. JOE http://hasbro.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/hasbro.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?p_sid=LrNHiZPh&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD03NzYmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 2) washingtonpost.com FEMA's City of Anxiety in Florida Many Hurricane Charley Victims Still Unsure of Next Step By Marc Kaufman Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, September 17, 2005; A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091601922.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 3) Israel to Disrupt Palestinian Vote if Hamas Runs By JOEL BRINKLEY Published: September 17, 2005 Mr. Sharon said Israel could choose not to remove roadblocks and checkpoints that would block Palestinians from the polls and make it hard for Palestinians in Jerusalem to vote, among other steps, if Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, takes part. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/international/middleeast/17nations.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 4) New Trial Sought for Lawyer in Terror Case (Lynne Stewart) By JULIA PRESTON, New York Times Published: August 13, 2005 [NOTE: NEW SENTENCING DATE IS SET FOR OCTOBER 21ST] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/13/nyregion/13stewart.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 5) The Recovery FEMA, Slow to the Rescue, Now Stumbles in Aid Effort By JENNIFER STEINHAUER and ERIC LIPTON Published: September 17, 2005 "I expressed to the president that it would take a new partnership between the military and private sector," Mr. Taylor said. "Because there will be another one and I don't think the federal government is going to be able to help." Indeed, Mr. Bush said in his address to the nation from New Orleans on Thursday night that the military would play a new role in federal disaster relief... "Today is 18 days past the storm, and FEMA has not even put a location for people who are displaced," he said. "They are walking around the damn streets. The system's broke. ... In Tangipahoa Parish, the parish president, Gordon Burgess, said he called FEMA officials daily to ask when they would arrive to assist residents with housing. Mr. Burgess said the federal workers say, " 'I'll get to you next week,' and then the next week and then you'd never hear from them again."... "It is a sad experience," said Frank Link,, who was sent from to Missouri , then to Mississippi, then to Alabama and then to Tennessee - all with the same load of 41,580 pounds of ice that he had loaded in Chicago. "I went down there to help. All I did was get the runaround from FEMA." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/national/nationalspecial/17fema.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 6) In New York Cribs, Jeff and Lisa Give Way to Ahmed and Chaya By JENNIFER 8. LEE Published: September 17, 2005 In the last several years, New York City has had more baby girls named Fatoumata than Lisa, more Aaliyahs than Melissas, more Chayas than Christinas. There have been more baby boys named Moshe than Peter, more Miguels than Jeffreys, more Ahmeds than Stanleys. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/nyregion/17baby.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 7) Study Attributes Stronger Storms to Warmer Seas By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: September 16, 2005 WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (AP) - Storms with the power of Hurricane Katrina are becoming more common, in part because of global warming, according to a report from a team of researchers that will be published Friday. The number of storms in the two most powerful categories, 4 and 5, rose to an average of 18 a year worldwide since 1990, up from 11 in the 1970's, according to the report, which will be published in the journal Science. The researchers were led by Peter J. Webster of the Georgia Institute of Technology. There was no increase in storms over all, the researchers said, just in their intensity. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/science/16climate.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 8) What Noble Cause? By Cindy Sheehan t r u t h o u t | Perspective Saturday 17 September 2005 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091705Y.shtml ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 9) Sugar for Sugar, Salt For Salt Go Down In The Flood Gonna Be Your Own Fault by Christopher Cooper Published on Thursday, September 15, 2005 by the Wiscasset Newspaper (Maine) http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0915-28.htm ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 10) Analysis New Orleans: Dress rehearsal for lockdown of America By Carolyn Baker Online Journal Contributing Writer http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/091305Baker/091305baker.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 11) Military Recruiters' Access to Seattle Schools Restricted Ramy Khalil http://www.lefthook.org/Ground/Khalil091605.html ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 12) Hurricane Katrina: The Black Nation's 9/11! Statement by Saladin Muhammad of Black Workers for Justice Via NY Transfer News Collective *All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by The Freedom Archives - Sep 15, 2005 http://freedomarchives.org/mailman/listinfo/news_freedomarchives.org ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 13) The High Price of Standing Up to Putin By STEVEN LEE MYERS September 18, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/weekinreview/18myers.html?pagewanted=print ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 14) Op-Ed Contributor Dangling Particles By LISA RANDALL Published: September 18, 2005 Cambridge, Mass. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/opinion/18randall.html?pagewanted=all ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 15) Guantánamo Prisoners Go on Hunger Strike By NEIL A. LEWIS Published: September 18, 2005 WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 - A hunger strike at the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba , has unsettled senior commanders there and produced the most serious challenge yet to the military's effort to manage the detention of hundreds of terrorism suspects, lawyers and officials say. As many as 200 prisoners - more than a third of the camp – have refused food in recent weeks to protest conditions and prolonged confinement without trial, according to the accounts of lawyers who represent them. While military officials put the number of those participating at 105, they acknowledge that 20 of them, whose health and survival are being threatened, are being kept at the camp's hospital and fed through nasal tubes and sometimes given fluids intravenously. The military authorities were so concerned about ending a previous strike this summer that they allowed the establishment of a six-member prisoners' grievance committee, lawyers said. The committee, a sharp departure from past practice in which camp authorities refused to cede any control or role to the detainees, was quickly ended, the lawyers say. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/politics/18gitmo.html?hp&ex=1127102400&en=0e1376365dbc6773&ei=5094&partner=homepage ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 16) The Rescues Aging, Frail, and Refugees From the Hurricane By JANE GROSS Published: September 18, 2005 COLUMBIA, La., Sept. 15 - The frail residents of the Wynhoven Health Care Center fled New Orleans and the havoc of Hurricane Katrina for a high school gymnasium, where they spent four nights sleeping on the floor with just inches between them. Then they endured a 10-hour bus ride to this rural outpost in northeastern Louisiana more than 200 miles from home that might as well have been the far side of the moon. They subsisted on bag lunches, did without their insulin or blood-pressure medicine, risked infection from catheters that were necessary when no toilets were available, and finally arrived here at the Haven Nursing Center with no medical records and only the clothes on their backs. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/national/nationalspecial/18frail.html?hp&ex=1127102400&en=477d062beda215df&ei=5094&partner=homepage ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 17) Dec 1 NATIONWIDE STRIKE AGAINST POVERTY, RACISM & WAR! WE MUST TURN OUR OUTRAGE OVER KATRINA INTO A MOVEMENT On the 50TH Anniversary of Dec.1,1955 - the day in Montgomery Alabama that Rosa Parks sparked the modern Civil Rights Movement A CALL FOR A NATIONWIDE STRIKE AGAINST POVERTY, RACISM AND WAR No School - No Shopping - No Work local protests and teach-ins through December 2 and 3 Mass March on Wall Street, NYC SHUT THE WAR DOWN The People of New Orleans and the Gulf Must Control the Rebuilding, not Bush's Rich Friends! Solidarity with Katrina Survivors - We demand an Independent Investigation A JOB AT A LIVING WAGE is a human right Healthcare, Housing and Education, not war and occupation BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW! The Outrage in New Orleans is a clarion call to the Antiwar and grassroots movement: The time has arrived to take our struggle to a higher level. Let us work together and organize a nationwide strike against Poverty, Racism and War on Dec. 1, 2005, the 50th anniversary of the day that Rosa Parks helped launch the modern civil rights movement.No School - No Shopping - No Work --local protests and teachins through December 2 and 3 -- A Mass March on Wall Street, NYC. It is time for the people to demonstrate that they can stop business as usual coast-to- coast when justice requires it. The war and occupation of Iraq, coupled with the Katrina Outrage, have demonstrated to the world the urgent necessity shut for fundamental change, and a movement that is big enough and determined enough to achieve the goal. Katrina has exposed the ugly truths about class and race, poverty, war and militarism. Our demand to end the war in Iraq and to bring the the troops home now must be backed up by the kind of mass tactics that signal we mean business. Fifty years ago, Black people in Montgomery, Al. were forced by law to sit in the back of public buses, and give their seats to any white person who demanded it. When Rosa Parks, a garment worker and civil rights activist, refused to give up her seat to a white man, she sparked the Montgomery bus boycott against segregation on public buses, one of the most successful and truly mass boycotts in history. The Montgomery bus boycott also introduced to the world a young reverend named Martin Luther King Jr., who became the boycott's principal public leader. Dec. 1 Nationwide strike against poverty, racism and war- Initiating organizations: Troops Out Now Coalition, Million Worker March Movement, Teamsters National Black Caucus, Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice. ENDORSE the call today or volunteer to ORGANIZE AN ACTIVITY IN YOUR AREA for the December 1 NATIONAL STRIKE AGAINST POVERTY, RACISM AND WAR! For more information: Troops Out Now Coalition 39 W 14th St Suite 206 New York, NY 10011 212-633-6646 info@troopsoutnow.org www.troopsoutnow.org ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 18) Lack of Cohesion Bedevils Recovery Red Tape, Lapses in Planning Stall Relief By Shankar Vedantam and Dean Starkman Washington Post Staff Writers washingtonpost.com Sunday, September 18, 2005; A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/17/AR2005091701392.html?referrer=email&referrer=email ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 19) Storm Prompts Evacuation Order in Florida Keys By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 1:26 p.m. ET September 19, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Tropical-Weather.html?hp&ex=1127188800&en=de23fe7bd0e4e772&ei=5094&partner=homepage ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 20) Three weeks after Katrina, South shows resilience Mon Sep 19, 2005 08:29 AM ET By Carey Gillam and Andy Sullivan http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9690046&src=eDialog/GetContent ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 21) Student antiwar activists from Madison and Chicago will be leaving Wednesday September 21st for the Gulf States to bring solidarity and relief to those who need it. They are collecting donations at Monday evening's speaking tour with George Galloway in Chicago. http:// www.mrgallowaygoestowashington.com These students are following in the footsteps of a first contingent of NYC CAN students who are in the Gulf States now. They have been filing their reports at http://www.campusantiwar.net http://www.counterpunch.org http://www.traprockpeace.org/relief_not_war/ They will travel from the Gulf States to join the "College Not Combat - Relief Not War" contingent that will march in Washington, DC on September 24th. A sister contingent is marching in San Francisco that day. Learn more on the contingents at http://www.campusantiwar.net/ ** September 19, 2005 New York - Madison - Chicago to New Orleans and then to Washington DC Campus Antiwar Network: Money for Relief, Not for War! By Dennis Kosuth: While Hurricane Katrina itself was a natural disaster, there was nothing "natural" about the government's disgusting lack of response to this catastrophe. How can we trust that a government, which began by ignoring this crisis, is even interested in - let alone capable of - rebuilding the lives of the affected people? This is the very same government, which has not only destroyed Iraq, but has also proven unable to rebuild it, despite the billions of dollars spent on the war. It is clear that from Baghdad to New Orleans, profit comes before people. It is no surprise that Bush denies that racism had anything to do with the fact that African-American disproportionately suffered in the Gulf Coast disaster. This same person is conducting a racist, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim war abroad. We are asking people to make donations for us to bring down to those who need it. The simplest way to help is with a cash donation, which we will use to either purchase products that people can use, or give directly to organizations in the area. We will also accept cleaning supplies, toiletrys, and medical related items. For those attending the George Galloway event on 9/19 at Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University Law School (375 E. Chicago near Lake Shore Drive) at 7pm, we will have a table to accept donations. Please stop by. If you are interested in traveling with us, please contact Dennis through the information below. In solidarity, Alex, Harper Community College Bob, University of Illinois - Chicago Dennis, Malcolm X College Erika, University of Illinois - Chicago Lauren, Harold Washington College Sabah, University of Illinois - Chicago For more information about the Madison/Chicago mission, contact Dennis Kosuth at dkosut1@yahoo.com or 312-316-2634 Students on the NYC mission include: Joanna Bove, John Burns, Manijeh Moradian, Vinay Patel, Tiffany Paul, Francisco Pereyra, Jena Smith, Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, and Zach ZillJoanna Bove, John Burns, Manijeh Moradian, Vinay Patel, Tiffany Paul, Francisco Pereyra, Jena Smith, Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, and Zach Zill See the Campus Antiwar Network site for updates from CAN students already in the Gulf states, and for information on the "College Not Combat - Relief Not War" contingents in the Washington, DC and San Francisco marches on September 24th. http://www.campusantiwar.net For a look at CAN's history since October 26, 2002, see http://www.traprockpeace.org/campus_antiwar.html ### Forwarded with introduction by: Charles Jenks Chair of Advisory Board and Web Manager Traprock Peace Center 103A Keets Road Deerfield, MA 01342 413-773-7427 fax 413-773-7507 http://www.traprockpeace.org ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 22) STOP THE EXECUTION OF FRANCES NEWTON! [Col. Writ. 9/13/05] Copyright '05 Mumia Abu-Jamal If the state of Texas has its way, Frances Newton will be dead within hours of these words being written; killed by Texas during a legalized lynching. If this execution goes forward, it'll be the first time an African-American woman was executed in Texas since 1854, when an enslaved Black woman named Lucy was hanged in the coastal port city of Galveston. Her family and supporters are raising her case to try to stay the execution, and hopefully, regain her freedom. Frances Newton was convicted in the 1988 killings of her husband and two children. According to published reports, a Houston D.A. admitted that another weapon was involved in the killings. Her family and supporters hope this new evidence will open up the case. Newton, because of insufficient funds, was assigned a court-appointed attorney named Ron Mock, a man who has had so many clients sent to death row, that an entire wing of the unit was known as 'Mock Wing', for the sixteen souls he represented at capital trials. Among his clientele was Black nationalist, Shaka Sankofa, who was executed by Texas in 2000. Of that number, only four are alive today. When Newton's family raised funds for private counsel, the court refused to allow Mr. Mock to withdraw, and Frances Newton was stuck with a lawyer considered among the least competent in the Houston region. An impressive group of supporters for her commutation, release or retrial has assembled in the last few weeks. Among them are the Texas and Austin NAACP, the ACLU, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the President of the American Bar Association, the Texas Civil Rights Project, the Texas Publishers Assn., and other groups and prominent individuals, have spoken out in her support. Michael Greco, President of the American Bar Association, wrote (in part): "...[S]ignificant and compelling new evidence ... has not yet been evaluated by the Texas courts ... This evidence was not discovered earlier because of the negligence of her appointed lawyer ... He *did no investigation whatsoever*, and therefore, did not place before the jury the evidence that now casts doubt on Ms. Newton's involvement in this crime ..." Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, in a letter to the U.S. President, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and the state's Pardon's Board, wrote (in part): "Evidence not presented at trial, but now known to have existed, would have caused an acquittal. Her trial attorney was not competent and can no longer appear in death cases, but too late for her. A person of financial means would never have been convicted and probably never even tried in such a case." Former comedian and present civil rights activist, Dick Gregory, didn't speak of legality, but of morality when he said: "They're going to kill her, and you so-called righteous people are going to sit back and let it happen!" Her spirited supporters have assembled a website (www.freefrances.org all over the nation. As of this writing, a two-part commutation petition is before the Governor of Texas and the Board of Pardons and Parole. The struggle for her life, and her freedom continues, as the clock chimes down. A review of documents from the case, and affidavits attached point strongly towards her innocence of the crimes which sent her to the Mock Wing of Death Row in Texas. As the struggle gains steam, we hope she and her family will prevail. Copyright 2005 Mumia Abu-Jamal ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 23) Frances Newton Executed http://www.texasmoratorium.org/ ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- 24) Please forward this email Mourn the Dead. Resist Bush's War Bring U.S. troops home, now MASS PROTEST RALLY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2005 WALNUT CREEK, CA Gather for the march at 11:00 a.m. at Walnut Creek BART station – or – Meet for the rally at 12:00 noon at Heather Farms Park Picnic area off Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek PLEASE join thousands of Patriotic Americans on Saturday, Sept 24 to demonstrate your desire to set America Back on the Course of True Democracy and to bring home our troops Democracy is not a spectator sport. It is a participatory process. In order for democracy to work the people must get up off their couches and actively participate in making it work. If you’re happy about the war in Iraq and you think the Bush Administration is doing a good job, then perhaps this leaflet isn’t for you. Perhaps you don’t need to do anything - you can stay home, tuned in to FOXNews’ “Fair and Balanced” coverage of the great things Bush is doing for our economy and the safety of our nation. But for those who have had enough of this Administration’s bad judgment, regressive policies, and lack of leadership, there IS something you can do: join the hundreds of thousands across the nation in a MASS PROTEST RALLY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2005 WALNUT CREEK, CA Gather for the march at 11:00 a.m. at Walnut Creek BART station – or – Meet for the rally at 12:00 noon at Heather Farms Park Picnic area off Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek Why is this important? It sends a message to President Bush that we don’t want to “stay the course”. It sends a message to our Senators and Congresspersons that we’ve had enough and they must start representing us - the people - not the special interests that finance their campaigns. It is - aside from voting - the most basic and essential form of democracy … where we tell our elected representative what “WE THE PEOPLE” want them to do. Your role in this process is vital. If you stay home, if you say nothing, the message to the elected officials is clear: “the people are not interested and therefore we will make decisions for them.” Think about these issues over the next few days: Iraq War & Terrorism: Our nation was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. In the days that followed, we once again became a “united” nation, supporting each other and denouncing the violence of those who executed the attacks. The world reached out to us with offers of help and condolences. But instead of ending terrorism, the Bush Administration began and, in 2003, expanded, a unilateral rampage through the Middle East, despite worldwide cries to end the violence. And now, years later, under the direction of that Administration, we are in another Vietnam-like protracted war that can’t be won, the mastermind of the attacks – Osama bin Laden - is still free, terrorism is on the rise worldwide, and the world’s people have come to hate us. Homeland In-security: Now we are also seeing more of the effects of this Administration’s harmful preoccupation. Funds and other resources that should have gone to securing our own nation’s land and people in the Gulf Coast area were unavailable because of outrageous spending cuts and diversions to war. Our own people were abandoned. Record deficits: The Bush Administration inherited a record surplus of $8 trillion upon taking office. In just six short years he has turned that surplus into a $4 trillion dollar deficit. You, your children, and your grandchildren will pay for these poor judgments, for the squandering of our wealth, well-being and lifestyle we’ve worked so hard to obtain. Jobs and the Economy: The Bush Administration is the first administration since Hoover’s (in 1944) to actually reduce the number of jobs available to American workers. His policies reward America’s large corporations for outsourcing American’s jobs to cheap foreign labor markets. Join us on Saturday, September 24th in telling President Bush “Enough is enough, we do not want to ‘stay the course’”: ### ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------- ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*--------
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