Friday Time Capsule 02.29.08

I RuN SmAck InTo a TrEE!

Free Speech Advocates Brave Winter Storm To Save Bill Of Rights

posted 12:15pm 02.26.08
by EF Swagee

The bone-chilling bluster that accompanied Chicagoland's latest winter storm did not keep dedicated free speech advocates from exercising the First Amendment outside the DuPage County criminal court building this morning.

The group of eight demonstrators included members of Dupage Peace Through Justice Coalition, DuPage Against War Now, and Women In Black.

Some held signs reading, "Dissent Is Patriotic", "Resist Illegitimate Authority", and "This Is Free Speech". Others distributed leaflets with information about an ongoing legal battle between DuPage County law enforcement officials and local peace activists; Jeff Zurawski of Downers Grove and Sarah Hartfield of Naperville, aka "The DuPage Two", who were arrested weeks after they displayed an IMPEACH Bush & Cheney banner while standing on a public walkway above Interstate 355 in un-incorporated Lombard.

News about the DuPage Two case has been reported in mainstream publications like the The Daily Herald, Chicago Suburban News, and The Chicago Tribune. It’s made its way around the internet, too, at: ChicagoFreeSpeechZone, The Progressive, Crooks & Liars, Freeway Blogger, MichaelMoore.com, News With Views, After Downing Street, and other sites.

The activists who braved the arctic tundra-like wind chill say the case, which is up for a hearing this Thursday on the defendants' motion to quash the arrest warrants, is very important because it strikes at the 1st Amendment’s core.

Kevin Lindemann, co-chair of the DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition said, "I try to follow these cases, and I must say, I have never heard of one quite like this. Peace activists are bannering over expressways all across the country, and generally there are no problems with the police,as long as the banners are held and not attached to public property andnot dangled in a way that they could fall on to the expressway."

Some heated verbal exchanges between demonstrators and passersby provided warmth for the participants, no doubt. Paul Kreft of Downers Grove was holding an anti-war placard when a sharply dressed, middle-aged man, a lawyer perhaps, questioned his support for our troops in Iraq. Kreft told the court-goer that he wants the troops home now. With crude eloquence, the man replied, "Shut your fucking pie hole!"

The Collins Law Firm in Naperville, IL is representing the DuPage Two pro-bono. Attorney Julie Anderson said today that Jeff and Sarah will not be put on the stand to testify at the hearing. She also mentioned that the Sheriff's Deputy who filed the charges is a witness for the prosecutors and the truck driver who called 911 is a witness for the DuPage Two. Hmmmmm?

Those who would like to express their opinions regarding this case may wish to contact the DuPage County State's Attorney:

Joseph Birkett, State's Attorney
503 N County Farm Rd
Wheaton, IL 60187
(630) 407-8000
(630) 407-8151 (fax)
stsattn@dupageco.org

UPDATE (02/28):
The case has been continued. Again.

Although today's hearing was scheduled back in mid-December, the state claimed it was not prepared to proceed.

Their witness, the irate Sheriff's Deputy who filed charges against the DuPage Two, was a no show, despite having been subpoenaed. The assistant state's attorney said he retired recently and is currently somewhere in Florida.

The next hearing is scheduled for April 10.

UPDATE (03/05/08):

Hearing postponed for protesters

By Dan Petrella, dpetrella@mysuburbanlife.com
GateHouse News Service
Mon Mar 03, 2008, 12:17 PM CST

DuPage County, IL -
A pair of anti-war protesters facing disorderly conduct charges will have to wait until at least April to find out if a DuPage County judge will dismiss the charges against them.

Jeff Zurawski, 39, of Downers Grove and Sarah Hartfield, 45, of Naperville were arrested in May, a few weeks after displaying a sign reading “Impeach Bush and Cheney — Liars” and an upside-down U.S. flag on the Great Western Trail bridge over Interstate 355. It is alleged that either Zurawski or Hartfield made a throwing motion toward the highway while standing on the bridge.

The two defendants deny the allegations and are seeking to have the charges against them dismissed. They appeared Thursday in DuPage County Circuit Court, accompanied by about a dozen supporters. Their attorney, Shawn Collins, was prepared to argue a motion to quash their arrest and dismiss the charges.

Judge Michael Burke and the state’s attorney’s office were unclear on the wording of Collins’ motion and its intent. After clarifying that Collins was seeking to have the charges dismissed, Burke continued the case to April 10.

Had a hearing on the motion occurred, Collins would have argued that his clients were arrested without probable cause.

The prosecution’s key witness, former DuPage sheriff’s deputy Dennis Rogers, was summoned to appear Thursday but was not present in court. Rogers has retired and moved to Florida.
Without his testimony, Collins argued that the prosecution had no case and charges should be dismissed.
Due to the lack of clarity in the defense’s motion, Burke decided to give the state’s attorney’s office time to contact Rogers and ensure his presence at the April court date.

“If officer Rogers doesn’t show up, the state can’t prove that the arrest was made with probable cause, and the case should be thrown out,” Collins said after the hearing. “Our belief remains that this case never should have been prosecuted.”

UPDATE (03/06/08):

EDITORIAL: Continuing case against protesters is futile

GateHouse Media News Service
Wed Mar 05, 2008, 01:05 PM CST

ELMHURST, Ill. -
A criminal case that should have never been brought will now be continued until next month.

The DuPage County state’s attorney’s office charged Sarah Hartfield, 45, of Naperville and Jeff Zurawski, 39, of Downers Grove with disorderly conduct last year. In May, they displayed a banner on a pedestrian bridge across the Great Western Trail that read, “Impeach Bush and Cheney — Liars” along with an upside-down U.S. flag; they were both arrested a few weeks later.

One of the accusations against them was that rocks were thrown from the bridge at cars traveling on I-355 below. This charge morphed into a claim that while on the bridge, one of the defendants made a throwing gesture, as reported by a motorist.

Shawn Collins, the attorney representing both Hartfield and Zurawski, filed a motion to have the case dismissed during a Feb. 28 court appearance. Judge Michael Burke said the wording of the motion was unclear, so he continued the case until April 10 to allow the state’s attorney’s office to see if its key witness would make it to court.

While the proposal to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney has little merit, Hartfield and Zurawski were within their right to express their views. Once they were asked by law enforcement officials to remove the display, they complied.

The task that the state’s attorney’s office has set for itself, proving that one or both defendants intended to put motorists in fear for their safety, is an incredibly tall order.

Perhaps one of the defendants was reaching out to remove the display when the motorist passed by. Or maybe one of them was waving an arm while speaking with someone else at the scene.

Clearing the hurdle of reasonable doubt on this case seems highly unlikely. Given that there are more pressing matters for prosecutors to pursue, the state’s attorney’s office has an obligation to end this matter immediately. Charging forward would be an exercise in futility.

Suburban Life Publications

Report Critical Of Army In Iraq Suppressed

In Tatters Beneath a Surge of Claims

Inter Press Service
Analysis by Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail*

BAGHDAD, Feb 22 (IPS) - What the U.S. has been calling the success of a "surge", many Iraqis see as evidence of catastrophe. Where U.S. forces point to peace and calm, local Iraqis find an eerie silence.

And when U.S. forces speak of a reduction in violence, many Iraqis simply do not know what they are talking about.

Hundreds died in a series of explosions in Baghdad last month. This was despite the strongest ever security measures taken by the U.S. military, riding the "surge" in security forces and their activities.

The death toll is high, according to the website icasualties.org, which provides reliable numbers of Iraqi civilian and security deaths.

In January this year 485 civilians were killed, according to the website. It says the number is based on news reports, and that "actual totals for Iraqi deaths are higher than the numbers recorded on this site."

The average month in 2005, before the "surge" was launched, saw 568 civilian deaths. In January 2006, the month before the "surge" began, 590 civilians died.

Many of the killings have taken place in the most well guarded areas of Baghdad. And they have continued this month.

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Where's The Iraqi Voice?

By Noam Chomsky

23/02/08 "ICH" -- -- THE US occupying army in Iraq (euphemistically called the Multi-National Force-Iraq) carries out extensive studies of popular attitudes. Its December 2007 report of a study of focus groups was uncharacteristically upbeat.

The report concluded that the survey "provides very strong evidence" to refute the common view that "national reconciliation is neither anticipated nor possible". On the contrary, the survey found that a sense of "optimistic possibility permeated all focus groups ... and far more commonalities than differences are found among these seemingly diverse groups of Iraqis."

This discovery of "shared beliefs" among Iraqis throughout the country is "good news, according to a military analysis of the results", Karen deYoung reports in The Washington Post.

The "shared beliefs" were identified in the report. To quote deYoung, "Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of 'occupying forces' as the key to national reconciliation."

So, according to Iraqis, there is hope of national reconciliation if the invaders, responsible for the internal violence, withdraw and leave Iraq to Iraqis.

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OVER 200 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS, FAMILY MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS RALLY AT CAPITOL HILL IN CALL FOR NATIONWIDE ATTENTION TO ISSUE

WASHINGTON DC - 02.21.08 - Over 200 9/11 First Responders, family members and supporters will be rallying on Capitol Hill this Tuesday, February 26th.

From 10:00am to 12:00pm, First Responders will rally on the West Lawn of Capitol Hill.

Scheduled speakers include Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY), Congressman Jerry Nadler (NY), Congressman Tim Bishop (NY) Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH) and other Congressional leaders. Advocates of several 9/11 health organizations as well as family members and first responders from September 11, 2001 will also be discussing the health issues they currently face.

The rally is aimed to address the following issues:

* The federal government just cut 9/11 Health Care funding by 77%. A paltry $25 million was designated for fiscal year 2009, down from $108 million in 2008. This means every program in existence (including Mt. Sinai) will be operating on a severely reduced budget.

* This past December 2007, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt canceled plans for the World Trade Center Business Process Center. This center was designed to provide treatment for the 10,000-plus First Responders who reside outside the New York metropolitan area, many of whom are seriously ill.

* The 9/11 Health & Compensation Act (aka the James Zadroga bill) has still not been passed. This very important piece of legislation that would help all 9/11 families has been ignored within Congress up until now--it is time to speak up to to get it passed!

After the event, 9/11 health leaders have several scheduled meetings, including with the offices of Congressmembers Eliot Engel, Jim Moran, Chris Smith, Albio Sires, John Conyers, Kristen Gillibrand, Gary Ackerman, Chris Murphy, Joe Donnelly, Lois Capps, David Drier, Duncan Hunter, John Murtha, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Gregory Meeks, Dennis Kucinich, John Conyers, John Hall and Chris Shays and meetings with the offices of Senators John McCain, Judd Gregg, Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Dole, Chuck Schumer and John Warner.

The event is being organized and hosted by John Feal and the Fealgood Foundation (www.fealgoodfoundation.com)

Friday Time Capsule 02.22.08

Group claims Newark still charging for free speech

By JEFFREY GOLD Associated Press Writer
8:49 PM EST, February 21, 2008

NEWARK, N.J. - A three-year-old court order has failed to stop Newark from charging people who wish to engage in free speech, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday against the city.

The lawsuit charged that Newark is violating an order that bars it from requiring demonstrators to obtain a $1 million insurance policy before being issued a permit. The city consented to the order, issued in December 2004.

"We just want people to have the right to protest in Newark without facing unconstitutional barriers," said Bennet D. Zurofsky, a volunteer lawyer for the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of an activist group, the Peoples Organization for Progress.

"We're tired of going round and round on this; the city needs to take free speech rights seriously, fix their forms and train their staff," Zurofsky said.

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Oregon ACLU files free speech suit against TriMet

02/21/2008
By WILLIAM McCALL / Associated Press

A decision by the city transit agency to reject an advertisement about saving Klamath River salmon has drawn a free speech lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of conservation groups and a Northern California Indian tribe.

The proposed ad rejected by TriMet shows three salmon blocked by an underwater wall of electrical outlets and says: "Salmon shouldn't run up your electric bill. They should run up the Klamath River."

The ACLU claims TriMet violated the federal and state constitutions by rejecting an ad it says is too political.

"TriMet's job is to transport riders, not to override free speech protections," said Dave Fidanque, executive director of the ACLU's Oregon chapter.

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Hundreds Walking From Alcatraz to D.C. in the "Second Longest Walk"

All Life Is Sacred, Save Mother Earth

On February 11, 2008, more than two hundred participants of the Longest Walk 2 embarked on a five-month journey on foot from San Francisco. They plan on arriving arriving in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008.

Native American tribal leaders, religious groups, environmentalists, teachers, students, and people from throughout the world are joining the walk with its "peaceful and spiritual call to action to protect Mother Earth and defend human rights."

The mission of the walk is to raise awareness about the planetary crisis by walking to reconnect with the land, increase respect for cultural diversity, stimulate dialogue about connections between nature and culture, and protect sacred lands and diverse spiritual practices.

2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the original Longest Walk of 1978 that resulted in historic changes for Native America. "In 1978, our communities faced many hardships such as non-existing religious rights and criminalization of our people who fought for cultural survival. This is why the Longest Walk was necessary," states Jimbo Simmons of the International Indian Treaty Council. "As Indigenous Peoples in the United States our environment and our cultural survival are directly correlated and are still imperiled today. This is why we must walk once again."

Thousands converged on the Nation's Capitol in 1978 to join efforts that defeated 11 pieces of legislation in Congress that would have abrogated Native American treaties. In addition to this success, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) of 1978 was also passed.

Veterans of the original walk and younger generations alike have been clear that the 2008 Longest Walk is more than a commemoration. Open to people of all nations and cultures, the Longest Walk 2 is being organized by original walkers as well as the next generation of Native American activists. Walkers will be documenting issues impacting the communities they visit.

Longest Walk 2 Website

Dying Under the Army's Care

"The same Army that spends $160 billion on tomorrow's fighting machines is shortchanging the shell-shocked troops coming home from war in need of healing."

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008
By MARK THOMPSON TIME

Iraqi insurgents wounded Gerald Cassidy in the deafening blast of a roadside bomb just outside Baghdad on Aug. 28, 2006. But it took more than a year for him to die from neglect by the Army that had sent him off to war. When Cassidy returned to the U.S. last April, the Army shipped him to a hospital in Fort Knox, Ky., to get treatment for the excruciating headaches that had accompanied him home. For five months, he made the rounds of Army medical personnel, who couldn't cure a pain that grew steadily worse. Unable to make room for him in a pain-management clinic, the Army increasingly plied him with drugs to dull the torment.

At summer's end, the headaches had grown so intense that Cassidy pleaded once more for help, and his doctor prescribed methadone, a powerful narcotic. The next day, calls to Cassidy's cell phone from his wife Melissa went unanswered. After two more days without word from her husband, she frantically called the Army and urged that someone check on him. Nine hours later, two soldiers finally unlocked the door to his room. They found Cassidy slumped in his chair, dead, his laptop and cold takeout chicken wings on his desk.

The "manner of death" was summed up at the end of the 12-page autopsy: "Accident." But when he died, Cassidy had the contents of a locked medicine cabinet coursing through his body, powerful narcotics and other drugs like citalopram, hydromorphine, morphine and oxycodone, as well as methadone. The drugs--both the levels that Cassidy took and "their combined, synergistic actions," in the medical examiner's words--killed him.

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Crisis in the Deep Blue: The State of Earth's Largest Natural Resource

Soon, Nemo won't be the only fish we can't find
By Ridwan Hossain

A crisis is slowly looming deep underneath more than 139 million square miles of the Earth's surface, a crisis so serious that it could affect food supplies around the globe and lead to the extinction of many of the world's species. However, it is not a crisis that most people would even notice, as it takes place in the great vastness of the ocean. Despite consumers' unfettered access to Fish-o-Filet sandwiches and sushi restaurants, many fish species are in danger of extinction due to excessive harvesting, threatening the biodiversity of the ocean environment. Entire underwater ecological systems are at risk because of dangerous human activities in the oceans, including the destruction of coral reefs in many parts of the world.

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California salmon collapse roils West Coast fishing industry

By TERENCE CHEA Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 02/02/2008 08:52:19 AM PST

SAN FRANCISCO—Humboldt County fisherman Dave Bitts is bracing for another lean year after the sudden collapse of California's most important salmon run.

Like many West Coast fisherman, Bitts depends on wild "king" salmon for up to two-thirds of his income. Now, he doesn't know how he's going to pay his bills.

"We've never been in this situation before," said the 59-year-old Bitts. "It's my bread-and-butter, as it is for all my pals. And this year, it appears our bread-and-butter is not there."

Federal fishery regulators said this past week that the number of chinook salmon returning to the Sacramento River and its tributaries last fall was astonishingly low. That could trigger severe fishing restrictions and economic hardship for fishermen and related businesses from Central California to the Canadian border.

Restaurants and consumers will have to pay high prices or do without the prized wild salmon, and the crash could force the state to change the way it manages its increasingly precious water.

"This is an economic rumbling that will go right through every coastal community," said Rep. Mike Thompson of California's North Coast. "It's not just the commercial fishermen that are economically harmed; there are all kinds of businesses that depend on the fishery."

Experts are unclear about what caused the collapse, but many fishermen are blaming an increase in the amount of water being pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
to drought-stricken farms and cities to the south.

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Bluefin Tuna: Going, Going, Gone

By Jim Motavalli

emagazine.com

Atlantic Bluefin tuna, rigorously pursued because of the high prices they command as sushi on the Japanese market, are being pushed to near-extinction from Holland to northern Norway, according to a new report in the journal Fisheries Research (see “Saving the Seas,” feature, July/August 2005).

The research, conducted by Dr. Brian MacKenzie of the Technical University of Denmark and the late Dr. Ransom Myers of Canada’s Dalhousie University, found that the waters of northern Europe teemed with bluefin tuna in the summer season from at least 1912 until 1950. But increases in the number of fishing boats and more technologically sophisticated fishing gear led to a crash in the 1960s. There has been no recovery in the 40 years since.

“High fishing pressure preceded the species’ virtual disappearance from the area, and that apparently played a key role,” says Dr. MacKenzie, who also cites the targeting of juvenile tuna, and the introduction of many foreign fishing fleets. “We hope our work will inspire a more precautionary approach to the management of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic,” he says.

Sharks disappearing as fin chopping rises

Sun Feb 17, 2008 11:54am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Populations of tiger, bull, dusky and other sea sharks have plummeted by more than 95 percent since the 1970s as fisherman kill the animals for their fins or when they scoop other fish from the ocean, according to an expert from the World Conservation Union, or IUCN.


At particular risk is the scalloped hammerhead shark, whose young swim mostly in shallow waters along shores all over the world to avoid predators.

The scalloped hammerhead will be listed on the 2008 IUCN Red List as globally "endangered" due to overfishing and high demand for its valuable fins in the shark fin trade, said Julia Baum, a member of the IUCN's shark specialist group.

"As a result of high and mostly unrestricted fishing pressure, many sharks are now considered to be at risk of extinction," Baum said in a statement.

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Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

Iraq Veterans Against the War

In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

In 1971, a courageous group of veterans exposed the criminal nature of the Vietnam War in an event called Winter Soldier. Once again, we will demand that the voices of veterans are heard.

Once again, we are fighting for the soul of our country. We will demonstrate our patriotism by speaking out with honor and integrity instead of blindly following failed policy. Winter Soldier is a difficult but essential service to our country.

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground.

The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.

When: Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16

For those interested in watching or organizing around the proceedings at Winter Soldier, there will be a number of ways to watch and listen to the event.

Live television broadcast via satellite tv, accessible through Dish Network as well as public access stations that choose to carry our broadcast - Friday and Saturday only

Live video stream on the web - Thursday through Sunday

Live radio broadcast via KPFA in Berkley California and other Pacifica member stations - Friday through Sunday

Live audio stream via KPFA's website - Friday through Sunday

Want to help make Winter Soldier a success? Find how how you can help.

Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

Help us spread the word: forward this page to a friend.

Friday Time Capsule 02.15.08

DontchaLetThatDealGoDown!

‘Pacifying’ Mosul

Middle East Online
First Published 2008-02-15, Last Updated 2008-02-15 11:59:08

Having ‘pacified’ Iraqis in to the grave, from Abu Ghraib to Fallujah, from Ramadi to Tel Afar, with numerous other murderous stop offs across the land of Abraham, the crusading Christian soldiers are moving onwards to ‘cleanse’ Mosul, says Felicity Arbuthnot.

“When I hear anyone talk of Culture, I reach for my revolver.” Hermann Goering (1893-1946.)

In the Orwellian world of the United States military, when a killing spree in Mesapotamia is embarked upon, it is called an “Iraq Pacification Operation'”. There have been hundreds of these (I abandoned counting at three hundred and eighty, with numerous more to go.)

Each 'pacification' has a name which brings a glimpse into a very strange mindset: “Operation Devil Thrust”, “Operation Terminator”, “Operation Scorpion Sting”, “Operation Sidewinder”, “Operation Roaring Tiger”, “Operation All American Tiger”, “Operation Panther Squeeze”, “Operation Warhorse Whirlwind”, “Operation Resolute Sword”, “Operation Wolverine Feast”, “Operation Arrowhead Ripper”, “Operations 'Geronimo Strike', 'Rat Trap' and 'Grizzly Forced Entry'”. And from a porn show near you: Operations “Squeeze Play”, “Triple Play”, “Therapist” and “Tombstone Thrust”. (http://www.globalsecurity.org )

Seemingly there are even “insurgent” cows, if “Operation Cowpens” lived up to its name. Al Cow-aeda, maybe?

Perhaps the oddest is: '”Operation Suicide Kings”. Suicide bombers of course, were unheard of in Iraq until the invasion. The title is no doubt a coincidence in macho “bring 'em on”, bragging.

None however are titles which conjure up the joyously liberated, revelling gratefully, savouring their freedom and democracy.
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Disfiguring and potentially fatal skin disease strikes Iraqi children

The Associated Press
Published: February 14, 2008

More than 200 children in southern Iraq have been infected with a disfiguring skin disease in an outbreak that some health officials are blaming on the war's devastating effect on the nation's public health system.

According to local officials in Iraq's southern province of Qadissiyah, who reported the outbreak to the United Nations, about 275 children have been struck with leishmaniasis, a disfiguring disease spread by sandflies.

"This is a killer disease and we are trying to stop its spread as soon as possible," said Dr. Omer Mekki, an epidemiologist at the World Health Organization's Iraq office.

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Agent Orange Deforming a Third Generation in Vietnam

By Tom Fawthrop
Posted February 13, 2008.

Long after the last bullet has been fired in a war, unexploded bombs, landmines and toxic chemicals continue to maim and kill civilians. This is particularly true of the Vietnam war. Three decades after US soldiers and diplomats scrambled aboard the last planes out of Saigon in April 1975, the toxins they left behind still poison Vietnam. Relations with the United States have been normalized since the 1990s, but the denial of justice to the victims of Agent Orange remains a major bone of contention.

Not only are Vietnamese still maimed from treading on unexploded bombs, they are also victims of this insidious scourge that poisons water and food supplies, causing various cancers and crippling deformities. Eighty million liters of Agent Orange were sprayed on the jungles of Vietnam, destroying swathes of irreplaceable rainforest through massive defoliation and leaving a toxic trail of dioxin contamination in the soil for decades. The legacy of this chemical warfare can even be inflicted on the unborn, with Agent Orange birth deformities now being passed on to a third generation.

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Iraq to bring legal action against US soldiers

Baghdad - The Iraqi government set up a committee to decide how to bring legal action in the United States against American soldiers for causing "unjustified" deaths of Iraqis, cabinet spokesman said Wednesday. The cabinet set up a committee Tuesday to decide on ways to bring civil and criminal legal action against soldiers from the multinational forces in US courts for the "excessive use of force" and "unjustified killing" of Iraqis, cabinet spokesman, Ali al-Dabagh told the Voices of Iraq VOI news agency.

The committee - made up of representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Human Rights, Interior, the high judiciary council and the cabinet office - will also set mechanisms to file compensation claims in US courts.

"We are legally entitled to defend Iraqis' rights. When unjustified aggressions occur, there should be punishment for such acts," al-Dabagh said.

"Our aim is not really to get compensation but to make soldiers and people know that they are held accountable if they commit such violations," he said.

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Book Excerpt Tagging Meme Thing

A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Howard Zinn

"The war in Mexico intensified the bitter controversy already simmering in the United States over slavery. Ralph Waldo Emerson had predicted that, 'The United States will conquer Mexico but it will be as the man swallows the arsenic, which brings him down in turn. Mexico will poison us.' Commenting on Emerson's warning, the civil war historian James MacPherson has written: 'He was right, the poison was slavery.' "

U.S. veterans face more stress and slow care

By Lisa W. Foderaro
Published: February 13, 2008

WATERTOWN, New York: The four tours in Iraq served by the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which is based here at Fort Drum, have created an unusual level of stress, especially after the standard Iraq tour was increased to 15 months from 12. Yet according to a new report on the shortcomings of mental health care at the base, a soldier's wait for psychological help can take more than a month.

The draft report, "Fort Drum: A Great Burden, Inadequate Assistance," which was given to The New York Times last week, was done by Veterans for America, a nonprofit advocacy organization for wounded members of the armed forces. It also uncovered several other problems with the mental health services on the post, which is north of Syracuse.

Based on interviews with a dozen soldiers and the mental health providers on the base, the report describes problems with understaffing, a reliance on questionnaires to identify soldiers in need of treatment and a sometimes dismissive view at the company level of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"The system is very much overburdened," said Jason Forrester, director of policy for Veterans for America, in an interview by telephone last week. "These problems are going to continue as long as we have units, such as the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, that have seen high-intensity combat, extended deployments and inadequate time between deployments."

Seymour Hersh Speaks On Impeachment

Police State Rising

Woman Calls Police For Help, Gets Violently Strip Searched



Ohio Woman Hospitalized After Tasered Repeatedly By Police



Democracy Now's Coverage Of LAPD May Day Police Brutality



University of Florida Student Tasered At John Kerry Forum







Now police are told they can use Taser guns on children

By JASON LEWIS
Last updated at 15:27pm on 2nd September 2007

Police have been given the go-ahead to use Taser stun guns against children.

The relaxing of restrictions on the use of the weapons comes despite warnings that they could trigger a heart attack in youngsters.

Until now, Tasers - which emit a 50,000-volt electric shock - have been used only by specialist officers as a "non lethal" alternative to firearms.
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This is What A Police State Looks Like

The Chicken Doves

Elected to end the war, Democrats have surrendered to Bush on Iraq and betrayed the peace movement for their own political ends

Rolling Stone
MATT TAIBBI
Posted Feb 12, 2008 12:00 AM

Quietly, while Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been inspiring Democrats everywhere with their rolling bitchfest, congressional superduo Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have completed one of the most awesome political collapses since Neville Chamberlain. At long last, the Democratic leaders of Congress have publicly surrendered on the Iraq War, just one year after being swept into power with a firm mandate to end it.

Solidifying his reputation as one of the biggest pussies in U.S. political history, Reid explained his decision to refocus his party's energies on topics other than ending the war by saying he just couldn't fit Iraq into his busy schedule. "We have the presidential election," Reid said recently. "Our time is really squeezed."

There was much public shedding of tears among the Democratic leadership, as Reid, Pelosi and other congressional heavyweights expressed deep sadness that their valiant charge up the hill of change had been thwarted by circumstances beyond their control — that, as much as they would love to continue trying to end the catastrophic Iraq deal, they would now have to wait until, oh, 2009 to try again. "We'll have a new president," said Pelosi. "And I do think at that time we'll take a fresh look at it."

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Neil Young: Let's Impeach The President For Lying

Soldier, After Bipolar Treatment and Suicide Attempts, Sent Back to War Zone

Published: February 11, 2008 7:30 AM ET

FORT CARSON A Fort Carson soldier who says he was in treatment at Cedar Springs Hospital for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse was released early and ordered to deploy to the Middle East with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

The 28-year-old specialist spent 31 days in Kuwait and was returned to Fort Carson on Dec. 31 after health care professionals in Kuwait concurred that his symptoms met criteria for bipolar disorder and “some paranoia and possible homicidal tendencies,” according to e-mails obtained by a Denver newspaper.

The soldier, who asked not to be identified because of the stigma surrounding mental illness and because he will seek employment when he leaves the Army, said he checked himself into Cedar Springs on Nov. 9 or Nov. 10 after he attempted suicide while under the influence of alcohol. He said his treatment was supposed to end Dec. 10, but his commanding officers showed up at the hospital Nov. 29 and ordered him to leave.“I was pulled out to deploy,” said the soldier, who has three years in the Army and has served a tour in Iraq.

Soldiers from Fort Carson and across the country have complained they were sent to combat zones despite medical conditions that should have prevented their deployment.

read on

Exiled Iraqis too scared to return home despite propaganda push

By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad

Monday, 11 February 2008

To show that Iraq was safe enough for the two million Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan to return, the Iraqi government organised a bus convoy last November from Damascus to Baghdad carrying 800 Iraqis home for free.

As a propaganda exercise designed to show that the Iraqi government was restoring peace, it never quite worked. The majority of the returnees said they were returning to Baghdad, not because it was safer, but because they had run out of money in Syria or their visas had expired.

click here to read on

Iraq's Tidal Wave of Misery

The First History of the Planet's Worst Refugee Crisis
By Michael Schwartz
TomDispatch.com

A tidal wave of misery is engulfing Iraq -- and it isn't the usual violence that Americans are accustomed to hearing about and tuning out. To be sure, it's rooted in that violence, but this tsunami of misery is social and economic in nature. It dislodges people from their jobs, sweeps them from their homes, tears them from their material possessions, and carries them off from families and communities. It leaves them stranded in hostile towns or foreign countries, with no anchor to resist the moment when the next wave of displacement sweeps over them.

The victims of this human tsunami are called refugees if they wash ashore outside the country or IDPs ("internally displaced persons") if their landing place is within Iraq's borders. Either way, they are normally left with no permanent housing, no reliable livelihood, no community support, and no government aid. All the normal social props that support human lives are removed, replaced with…nothing.

read on: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174892/michael_schwartz_the_iraqi_brain_drain

The Iraqi Refugee Crisis

Since November 2006, Refugees International has led the call for increased assistance to Iraqis forced from their homes by the violence in their country.

One in five Iraqis is now displaced.
The UN estimates that almost 5 million Iraqis have been displaced by violence in their country, the vast majority of which have fled since 2003. Over 2.4 million have vacated their homes for safer areas within Iraq, 1.5 million are now living in Syria, and over 1 million refugees inhabit Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Gulf States.

Most Iraqis are determined to be resettled to Europe or North America, and few consider return to Iraq an option. Iraqis have no legal work options in most host countries and are increasingly desperate and in need of humanitarian assistance.

They face challenges in finding housing, obtaining food, and have trouble accessing host countries’ health and education systems. Their resources depleted, small numbers of Iraqis have returned to Iraq in the past few months – between 28,000-60,000 people – but Iraq’s struggling government recently warned that it can’t accommodate large numbers of returns. Most of those who returned were subsequently displaced again.

read on: http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/9679

Bush's version of Iraq surge success misleading

Great Lakes Danger Zones?

By Sheila Kaplan

For more than seven months, the nation’s top public health agency has blocked the publication of an exhaustive federal study of environmental hazards in the eight Great Lakes states, reportedly because it contains such potentially “alarming information” as evidence of elevated infant mortality and cancer rates.

The 400-plus-page study, Public Health Implications of Hazardous Substances in the Twenty-Six U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern, was undertaken by a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the request of the International Joint Commission, an independent bilateral organization that advises the U.S. and Canadian governments on the use and quality of boundary waters between the two countries. The study was originally scheduled for release in July 2007 by the IJC and the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

The Center for Public Integrity has obtained the study, which warns that more than nine million people who live in the more than two dozen “areas of concern”—including such major metropolitan areas as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee—may face elevated health risks from being exposed to dioxin, PCBs, pesticides, lead, mercury, or six other hazardous pollutants.

read on http://www.publicintegrity.org/GreatLakes/index.htm

Polar Bears and First Amendment: Two Endangered Species on Thin Ice

Day 6 of "Polar Bear 7" Trial Continues Monday Feb 11,12:00 Noon in Room 211 at Washington DC Superior Court, 500 Indiana Avenue

WASHINGTON, DC – It is not looking good for polar bears. The ice is disappearing in the Arctic. In Washington, DC, the US Congress just delayed designating polar bears an endangered species. Now people dressed as polar bears who lobbied Congress are battling in court for their first amendment rights.

On Monday Oct. 22, 2007, during the "No War, No Warming" demonstration, people dressed up as polar bears sang and danced their way on sidewalks outside of the Cannon House Office building to remind Congress of the connection between war and global warming. Instead of being greeted with open ears, the US Capitol police insisted they disperse, but members of the group that has come to be known as the "Polar Bear 7" were seized as they attempted to leave, less than 30 seconds after the first warning to disperse.

“Our right of lawful assembly is at stake when citizens who do not engage in acts of civil disobedience are held liable to the same penalties as those who do,” said “Polar Bear 7” co-defendant Paul “zool” Zulkowitz (who was not dressed in a polar bear costume).

Mr. Zulkowitz is being tried with co-defendants Alexis Baden-Mayer, Adam Eidinger, Robert Levitt and Cesar Maxit. Journalist William Jordan and fellow global warming activist Anna Duncun had their charges dropped at the being of the trial. Ann Wilcox is an attorney in the case. Adam Eidinger and Robert Levitt are pro-se defendants.

“The assault on our constitutional rights is snowballing,” said "Polar Bear 7" arrestee Ariel Vegosen (whose charges were dropped ahead of trial). “We did not do anything illegal and I spent a night in jail. We have a right to attest what is happening in the Arctic to polar bears dressed as polar bears. All we were trying to do is make it clear that Congress needs to stop this war and take action on global warming.”

Adding insult to injury, the prosecuting attorney for the government, Jeffrey Shapiro, is also a conservative, pro-war journalist. He has a history of prosecuting peaceful protesters and organizers. In his most recent case, on January 17, Shapiro prosecuted 31 peace activists who were found guilty of unlawful assembly. Mr. Shapiro pushed for lengthy prison sentences. Co-defendants asked the Court to recuse Mr. Shapiro, however, the self proclaimed “Protestor Prosecutor” was allowed to proceed.

Fellow activists, alarmed by the threat to their right of lawful assembly in the nation’s capital, are expected to attend the trial on Monday, February 11 at 12:00 Noon, in Room 211 at Washington DC Superior Court before Judge Raphael Diaz, in support of the "Polar Bear 7".
A verdict could come as early as Monday afternoon.
###
http://www.nowarnowarming.org/

Outsourcing Torture

CIA Likely Let Contractors Perform Waterboarding
By Siobhan Gorman The Wall Street Journal
Friday 08 February 2008
(as covered by truthout.org here)

Interrogation work outsourced heavily; legality uncertain.

Washington - The CIA's secret interrogation program has made extensive use of outside contractors, whose role likely included the waterboarding of terrorist suspects, according to testimony yesterday from the CIA director and two other people familiar with the program.

Many of the contractors involved aren't large corporate entities but rather individuals who are often former agency or military officers. However, large corporations also are involved, current and former officials said. Their identities couldn't be learned.

The broader involvement of contractors, and the likelihood they partook in waterboarding, raises new legal questions about the Central Intelligence Agency's use of the practice, which is designed to simulate drowning. It also will fuel the contentious debate over the administration's use of harsh interrogation techniques.

1,173,769

Saturday: 26 Iraqis Killed, Five Wounded
Compiled by Margaret Griffis at Antiwar.com

At least 26 Iraqis were killed or found dead and five more were wounded in the latest violence. Mass graves continue to be discovered in Diyala province, and Mosul prepares for a major security operation. No Coalition casualties were reported.

1,173,743

Here Is A Complete Explanation

3957

3,957 US soldiers killed in Iraq since March 2003


Five American soldiers killed in Iraq

Roadside bombs target US soldiers in two separate attacks, one in Baghdad, other in Tamim province.

BAGHDAD - Five US soldiers were killed Friday in Iraq in two separate attacks, including one in Baghdad, the US military said in statements on Saturday.

"Four (US) soldiers were killed when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while the soldiers were conducting a combat patrol northwest of Baghdad" on Friday, said the US military.

Another soldier was killed and three wounded by a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in the At Tamim province north of Baghdad on Friday, said another statement.

The latest deaths brings to 3,957 the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, according to a tally based on independent website http://www.icasualties.org/.

The frequency of attacks on US troops in Baghdad has picked up noticeably in the past weeks.
Since the beginning of January, coalition soldiers have been targeted in attacks with improvised explosive devices (IEDS) once every three days on average, according to US military commanders.

Explosive devices are the main cause of US deaths in Iraq.

Neil Young: What Is Wrong With George Bush?

Canadian folk rock legend slams US war against Iraq


Neil Young: ‘Americans were deluded if they thought they were liberating Iraq’


By Emsie Ferreira - BERLIN

Canadian folk rock legend Neil Young said he has lost all hope that music can change the world, as he presented a documentary about his 2006 anti-war concert tour at the Berlin film festival on Friday.

"I know that the time when music could change the world is past. I really doubt that a single song can make a difference. It is a reality," Young told reporters.

"I don't think the tour had any impact on voters."

But the silver-haired frontman of the sixties supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young nonetheless dealt US President George W. Bush a stinging, back-handed insult and said his own "naive" urge to make people think remains intact.

"What is wrong with George Bush? That would take a really long time. Let's talk about what is right with him, it is a much shorter answer.

from the article: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=24258

Hey Now! Friday Time Capsule 02.08.08

Peaceable Assembly, A Look Back At 2007

Started off with a bus ride to DC and a march to the Capitol.




In an effort to prevent our government from escalating war in Iraq, we protested outside Congressperson Judy Biggert's office then delivered a petition urging her to vote against the troop surge.

Back to DC for March On The Pentagon.


Easter in Crawford, TX in a ditch on the side of the road in front of President Bush's ranch .

Some freeway blogging.......

It was about that time a free speech battle with DuPage County law enforcement officials brewed. Local activists joined together to protest the assault on our civil liberties.

In Solidarity with the LGBT Movement

On The Streets of Chicago Oct27

Bring The Troops Home, Now!

Planned troop withdrawals won't bring much relief to U.S. military
By Nancy A. Youssef McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Wednesday, February 6, 2008

WASHINGTON — Top Defense Department officials testified Wednesday that the Bush administration's plan to withdraw some 20,000 U.S. troops from Iraq this summer will do little to relieve the stress on the Army and Marine Corps.

Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the military was exhausted by the repeated deployments to Iraq.

from the article: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/26903.html

U.S. Troop Suicide Rate Increasing

Concern mounts over rising troop suicides
February 3, 2008 -- Updated 1334 GMT (2134 HKT)


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day.

The dramatic increase is revealed in new U.S. Army figures, which show 2,100 soldiers tried to commit suicide in 2007.

"Suicide attempts are rising and have risen over the last five years," said Col. Elspeth Cameron-Ritchie, an Army psychiatrist.





from the article: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/02/01/military.suicides/index.html

9/11 Widows Call For New Investigation, Questions Still Unanswered

9/11 widows call for new investigation after revelations of White House, commission ties

by Nick Juliano
Global Research, February 5, 2008

The widows whose political activism was largely responsible for the establishment of a commission to investigate the September 11 attacks say a new book revealing the backstory of the 9/11 Commission proves that their initial concerns about its executive director were correct and demonstrate the need for another investigation.

Philip Shenon, who covered the proceedings for the New York Times, has written a new book, The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation, which was released Tuesday. The book reveals the close ties between commission executive director Philip Zelikow and White House advisers Karl Rove and Condoleezza Rice.

The Commission also reveals that aside from one staff member, no one on the 9/11 investigative panel reviewed what was perhaps the most robust treasure trove of pre-9/11 intelligence on al Qaeda -- records from the National Security Agency, which conducts electronic surveillance and codebreaking for the US Intelligence Community.

"General Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA at the time, was eager to cooperate and share what his organization had with the 9/11 Commission, but Executive Director Zelikow was not interested," 9/11 widows Patty Casazza, Monica Gabriellle, Mindy Kleinberg and Lorie Van Auken said in a statement reacting to the book .

"Why didnt Phil Zelikow make reviewing these vital NSA documents a Commission priority?" they ask. "It seems clear that not every fact and lead was followed in this investigation compromising the validity of the Commission's final report and its findings."

The 9/11 widows called for Zelikow to resign or be fired from the Commission back in 2004, when his ties with Rice and Rove were first revealed. Shenon's book, they say, proves their concerns were right all along.

"It is abundantly clear that Philip Zelikow should have immediately been replaced when the first rumblings of his impropriety and conflicts of interest surfaced," they said. "When all of this information became clear, the Commissioners and the press should have called for Zelikows resignation. We did. Shamefully, most were silent."

As washingtonpost.com columnist Dan Froomkin notes, "This isn't the first time it's turned out that the 9/11 Commission wasn't getting the full picture. It's not even the second."

Bob Woodward revealed in his book State of Denial, that 9/11 Commission members were not told of a July 10, 2001, meeting in which then-CIA Director George Tenet tried to warn Rice and Bush about the need to focus on al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, while the president and his confidant were distracted by their pursuit of a missile defense system.

In another Bush administration exposй, investigative reporter Ron Suskind revealed the president's brush-off of the ominous memo warning "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.":
"All right," Bush told the panicked CIA briefer who interrupted the president's vacation to deliver the warning in person. "You've covered your ass, now."

The 9/11 widows also fault the Commission for relying too much on information gained from "second and third hand knowledge of interrogations of tortured individuals, detainees that were being held in secret locations."

They say Shenon's book reveals information that "only scratches the surface" of what happened within the government before the 9/11 attacks.

"The bottom line is that the most deadly attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor remains dangerously unexamined," they write. "This can only be remedied with an investigation guided by the facts and conducted outside the reach of those with a vested interest in suppressing the truth."

CIA Admits Water-Boarding

CIA says used waterboarding on three suspects
Tue Feb 5, 2008 6:59pm EST

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The CIA used a widely condemned interrogation technique known as waterboarding on three suspects captured after the Sept. 11 attacks, CIA Director Michael Hayden told Congress on Tuesday.

"Waterboarding has been used on only three detainees," Hayden told the Senate Intelligence Committee. It was the first time a U.S. official publicly specified the number of people subjected to waterboarding and named them.

Congress is considering banning the simulated drowning technique. A Democratic senator and a human rights advocacy group urged a criminal investigation after Hayden made his remarks.

"Waterboarding is torture, and torture is a crime," Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

from the article: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN05191813

Water-Boarding Is Torture: Former Navy Interrogation Instructor

Keep The Faith!

Humanity In Distress! Stop The Massacre In Mosul!

An Emergency Statement of Intellectuals and Activists - 05 February 2008.

Bush’s failure in Iraq requires a new “success”. While the blood-soaked US occupation in Iraq declares one victory after another since nearly five years, it stages massacre after massacre of the people of Iraq.

Now the occupation declares a new “decisive” success is imminent, this time against the population of Mosul, the third largest city in Iraq. Its pretext is always the same: to eradicate “Al-Qaeda”, while Al-Qaeda from its mouth means Sunnis, Baathists, Arabs and all patriotic Iraqis.

Although the occupation has on many occasions declared its victory, the fact that it needs to attack yet again an entire city and its population proves that it couldn’t and cannot eradicate the legal resistance of the Iraqi people. The only thing decisive is that the occupation by its tactics announces its defeat.

The occupation has escalated its air bombing campaigns by 400 per cent [1] in the past year and openly promises more indiscriminate attacks on populated urban areas. It uses disproportionate force indiscriminately against civilian populations in a pattern of actions that constitutes genocide under international law.

The imminent attack on Mosul — another urbicide following the ones of holy Najaf, martyred Fallujah, Al-Qaim, Tel Afar, Haditha, and whole neighbourhoods of Baghdad, among others — will only result, as with its precedents, in horrific killings, destruction and mass population displacement, thereby changing the historical, sociological and demographic makeup of the city.

This imminent attack is a pre-announced genocide. It is blood, death and destruction for oil. As the spreading of the resistance to Southern and Northern provinces proves, this new attack is in vain. The Iraqi people rejects — and will always reject — the criminal US occupation.

This imminent attack should raise condemnation, disgust and protest from peace loving people and human rights defenders worldwide. Five years of destruction and death should have taught the Bush administration that its litany of killing serves no purpose and leads only to moral suicide for the United States.

Humanity is in distress in Iraq. Our role and duty is to save it.

Act to stop the massacre in Mosul!

5 February 2008

Abdul Ilah Albayaty, member of the BRussells Tribunal Executive Committee – Iraq / France.
Hana Al Bayaty, coordinator, Iraqi International Initiative on refugees – Iraq / Egypt.
Margarita Papandreou, Former First Lady of Greece, Peace activist and honorary president of Center for Research and Action on Peace - Greece.
Dr. Saadallah Al-Fathi, former head of the Energy Studies Department at OPEC - Iraq.
Prof. Em. François Houtart, Director of the Tricontinental Center - Cetri, co-founder of the World Social Forum.
Sr. Anne Montgomery RSCJ, Christan Peacemaker Teams - USA
Sara Flounders, Co-Director, International Action Center.
Dr. James E. Jennings, PhD, President Conscience International – USA.
David Swanson, Co-Founder AfterDowningStreet coalition - USA.
Dr. Gerri Haynes, past president, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, Kirkland, Washington.
Dr. Hassan Aydinli, President, Committee for the Defence of the Iraqi Turkmens’ Rights.
Niloufer Bhagwat, Vice President of Indian Lawyers Association - Mumbai / India.
Dr. Curtis F.J. Doebbler, International Human Rights Lawyer - USA.
Karen Parker, Attorney, Association of Humanitarian Lawyers - USA.
Jennifer Van Bergen, journalist, author writing about civil liberties, human rights and international law - USA
Prof. Kazashi Nobuo, Faculty of Letters, Kobe University, NO DU Hiroshima Project - Japan.
Carlos Varea, Coordinator of CEOSI - Spanish Campaign against Occupation and for the Sovereignty of Iraq – Spain.
Marion Küpker, International Coordinator against nuclear-and uranium weapons for GAAA and DFG-VK, Germany.
Dr. Ian Douglas, editor and correspondent for the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Weekly and visiting professor in the Department of Political Science at An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine.
Dr. Imad Khadduri, former nuclear scientist - Iraq.
Dirk Adriaensens, member of the BRussells Tribunal Executive Committee, Coordinator SOS Iraq.
John Catalinotto, International Action Center - USA.
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, M.D., Anti-war activist, speaker, Global Exchange - Iraq / USA.
Merry Fitzgerald, Committee for the Defence of the Iraqi Turkmens’ Rights.
Nermeen Al-Mufti, member of the BRussells Tribunal Advisory Committee - Journalist.
Michael Parenti, Author and scholar – USA.
Prof. Em. Edward S. Herman, writer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Prof. Stephen Soldz, Director, Center for Research, Evaluation, and Program Development
Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalysts for Peace and Justice - USA.
Prof. Em. Gideon Polya, retired senior biochemist, author: biochemical scientific publications and global avoidable mortality – Australia.
Prof. David Miller, Professor of Sociology at Strathclyde University, co-founder of Spinwatch – UK.
Prof. Paola Manduca, Geneticist, University of Genoa, Newweapons working group - Italy.
Prof. Glen D. Lawrence, Long Island University, USA.
Prof. Dr. Jean Bricmont, scientist, specialist in theoretical physics, U.C. Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium.
Prof. Stephen Eric Bronner, Professor of political science, Rutgers University - USA.
Dr. Thomas M. Fasy, MD PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine – USA.
Dr. Pol De Vos, Public Health Researcher, chair, Stop USA – Peace movement, Belgium.
Anne Burns, U.S. Academics For Peace / Conscience International - USA.
David Peterson, writer and researcher, Chicago, USA.
Comaguer, Anti-war Committee Marseille - France.
Sigyn Meder, Iraq Solidarity Association in Stockholm - Sweden
Sarah Meyer, Independent researcher living in Sussex – UK.
Cynthia Banas, Iraq Peace Team member, 2002-2003.
Ludo De Brabander, chair, Vrede – Peace Movement, Belgium.
Hans Lammerant, chair, Vredesactie - Peace movement, Belgium.
Frank Vercruyssen, Actor, TG Stan - Belgium.
Karen Hoover, USA.
Frans Dumortier / Charles Ducal, Poet - Belgium.
David Hungerford, Iraq support activist - USA.
Suror Merza
Zuhair Alkadiri
Othman Al-Rawi

A Case Against The Current Election Process

Super Tuesday: Where's the Candidate That Represents Me?
By Tad Daley, AlterNet. Posted February 5, 2008.


Disenfranchised voters in more than 40 states lose the chance to not only influence the 2008 presidential election but also the course of history.

"I'd rather vote for what I want and not get it," said Eugene Debs, who ran for president five times in the first two decades of the 20th century, "than vote for what I don't want, and get it."

Read the Whole Piece Here: http://alternet.org/election08/75841/

More Truth About U.S. Torture and War Crimes Exposed

Check out writer/director Alex Gibney's Academy Award-nominated documentary film Taxi To The Dark Side.

* * * * -EF Swagee





UPDATE: This film opens at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago Friday February 8th. The Music Box is located 4 blocks east of Ashland between Irving Park and Addison. Check the website for showtimes, tix prices, and directions.

Grateful Dissident Endorses Cynthia McKinney For POTUS

11 Sacrifice Personal Freedom To Shut Down U.S. Torture School

Our government has waged a so-called "global war on terror" and there's a school in Ft. Benning, Georgia teaching people how to terrorize? Obscene hypocrisy!




The SOAW 11January 28, 2008 - Trial
http://www.soaw.org/

“I crossed the line at WHINSEC and prayed on the grounds to bring attention to the teaching of torture and assassination. When enough people learn the truth about this school and act to end these practices, the healing can begin.” – Diane Lopez-Hughes, one of the SOAW 11The Eleven courageous souls that willingly put their freedom and bodies at risk to stand in witness against the SOA/WHINSEC during the November 2007 Vigil were sentenced on January 28 to federal prison on charges of “trespassing on a military base”.

The trial took place in a courthouse located just a few miles from Fort Benning, the current site of the SOA/WHINSEC. An institute known around the world for its ties to brutal dictatorships and human rights abuses, which continues to operate, unchallenged by our government but not by the people.

The SOAW 11, ranging in ages from 25 to 78 and from very diverse walks of life, testified before magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth. Ed Lewinson, a 78-year old History professor who in November crossed the line for the fourth time, was sentenced to 90 days in federal prison and a $500 fine. This is his first conviction since in previous years the government refused to prosecute due to his blindness. Tiel Rainelli, a 25 year old activist from Canton, OH who was arrested this past November after climbing over the barbed wire fence blocking the main gate of Fort Benning, announced that in spite of the court's decision to sentence her to 90 days in prison, she would return to protest at the gates of Fort Benning in November.

The SOAW 11 are:-
Joan Anderson, 65, Casper, WY - 30 days and a $500 fine-
Ozone Bhaguan, 33, Duluth, MN - 90 days-
Le Anne Clausen, 29, Chicago, IL - 30 days-
Art Landis, 74, Perkasie, PA - 30 days-
Ed Lewinson, 78, Newark NJ - 90 days and a $500 fine-
Chris Lieberman, 54, Albuquerque, NM - 60 days-
Diane Lopez Hughes, 58, Springfield, IL - 45 days and a $500 fine-
Tiel Rainelli, 25, Canton, OH. – 90 days and a $500 fine-
Gus Roddy, 45, Chicago, IL – 30 days and a $500 fine-
Stephen Schweitzer, 45, Binghamtom, NY – 60 days and a $500 fine-
Michelle Yipé, 45, of Argonia, KS - 30 days and a $500 fine

Before entering the court, the SOAW 11 held a press conference for the media on the courthouse steps at 8:00 AM with Diane Lopez Hughes and Ed Lewinson speaking on behalf of the group. On the night of Sunday, January 27 – The SOAW 11 were honored with a Festival of Hope.

Surrounded by supporters, friends and family from around the country, we sang, danced, and listened to poetry and compelling stories. Father Roy addressed the attendants and updated us on the next steps in the campaign to shut down the SOA/WHINSEC and some of the challenges that we face for 2008. - Read the chronology of past SOA Watch Prisoners of Conscience- Read about the SOA 16 (2006-2007)- Please consider making a contribution to support the Trial, Festival of Hope and campaign to Shut Down the SOA/WHINSEC!