whitebeard

Don't curse the darkness, light a candle.

Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman, award winning independent journalist
and host of Democracy Now was arrested along with two of her producers at the  Rupublican Convention.

See details below.

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:            "Democracy Now!" <outreach@democracynow.org>
To:              steph@webfabbrica.com
Subject:         DN!: Action Alert: Update on Arrest Of Amy
Goodman and DN! Producers
Date sent:       Tue, 2 Sep 2008 00:10:02 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 1, 2008

Contact:
Mike Burke: mike@democracynow.org

**UPDATE**

Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole
Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC 

Goodman Charged with Obstruction; Felony Riot Charges Pending Against
Kouddous and Salazar 

ST. PAUL--Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif
Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police
custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on
Monday afternoon. 

All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel
Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms
scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back.
Salazar's violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was
slammed to the ground while yelling, "I'm Press! Press!," resulted in her
nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman's arm was violently
yanked by police as she was arrested. 

On Tuesday, Democracy Now! will broadcast video of these arrests, as well
as the broader police action. These will also be available on:
www.democracynow.org 

Goodman was arrested while questioning police about the unlawful
detention of Kouddous and Salazar who were arrested while they carried
out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the
Republican National Convention. Goodman's crime appears to have been
defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press. 

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous
and Salazar were arrested on suspicion of rioting, a felony. While the three
have been released, they all still face charges stemming from their unlawful
arrest. Kouddous and Salazar face pending charges of suspicion of felony
riot, while Goodman has been officially charged with obstruction of a legal
process and interference with a "peace officer." 

Democracy Now! forcefully rejects all of these charges as false and an
attempt at intimidation of these journalists. We demand that the charges be
immediately and completely dropped. 

Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and
condemns this action by Twin Cities' law enforcement as a clear violation of
the freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of these
journalists. 

During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested,
law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion
grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists. Several
dozen demonstrators were also arrested during this action, including a
photographer for the Associated Press. 

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists
in the United States. She has received journalism's top honors for her
reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The
arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and the subsequent criminal
charges and threat of charges are a transparent attempt to intimidate
journalists.

Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program
that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe. 

Video of Amy Goodman's Arrest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

= = = = = = = = =
ABOUT DEMOCRACY NOW!
Democracy Now! airs on over 650 radio and TV stations, including
Pacifica, NPR, community, and college radio stations; on public
access, PBS, satellite TV stations (DISH network: Free Speech TV
ch. 9415 and Link TV ch. 9410; DIRECTV: Link TV ch. 375); on the World
Radio Network's European Service and on the Community Broacasting
Association of Australia service; as a "podcast", automatically
downloaded to your computer or portable audio player; and streams live
M-F at 8am EST at www.democracynow.org
= = = = = = = = =
Now real-time CLOSED CAPTIONED on TV!
You can also view/listen/read all Democracy Now! shows online:
http://www.democracynow.org
To bring Democracy Now! to your community, go to:
http://www.democracynow.org/get_involved/bring_to_station
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posted by: Whitebeard at 11:03 | link | comments |
us , civil rights, democracy, censored news, resisters

The Cuban Five

The Cuban Five are five Cuban men serving four life sentences and 75 years collectively, after being falsely accused and wrongfully convicted in U.S. federal court in Miami, on June 8, 2001 of committing espionage conspiracy against the United States, and other related charges.
 
We have received an email from COMITATO ITALIANO GIUSTIZIA PER I CINQUE who are putting together a demonstration to be held on Saturday, the 13th of September to protest the wrongful imprisonment of these five men.  Our Italian friends, in their appeal for support and solidarity from the Italian community, have written: "In particolare ci darebbe davvero grande soddisfazione la presenza di amiche e amici della colonia statunitense che vivono e lavorano in Italia."  (It would give us great satisfaction to have the presence of our friends from the United States who live and work in Italy.)
 
http://www.freethefive.org/whoarethefive.htm
 
http://embacu.cubaminrex.cu/Default.aspx?tabid=7634
 
http://www.liberenlos5.cult.cu/index.php?lang=2
 
http://www.giustiziapericinque.org/
 
Please let us know as soon as possible what you think about endorsing and participating in this demonstration.  info@peaceandjustice.it
 
Thanks.
 
Anna, Becky, Gene, Maria Chiara, Rose and Stephanie

posted by: Whitebeard at 17:38 | link | comments |
us , cuba

Trouble the Water

Two of Michael's producers from "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- Tia Lessin and Carl Deal -- have made an incredible documentary that's opening tomorrow in New York and L.A. (and the rest of the country over the coming weeks). It's called "Trouble the Water" and it won the Grand Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Click here for more info ( http://troublethewaterfilm.com/ ) -- and go see it!

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:46 | link | comments |
us , civil rights, democracy, censored news, resisters

SOS Italia

Fascist state censors Pirate Bay

We're quite used to fascist countries not allowing freedom of speech. A lot of smaller nations that have dictators decide to block our site since we can help spread information that could be harmful to the dictators.

This time it's Italy. They suffer from a really bad background as one of the IFPIs was formed in Italy during the fascist years and now they have a fascist leader in the country, Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi is also the most powerful person in Italian media owning a lot of companies that compete with The Pirate Bay and he would like to stay that way - so one of his lackeys, Giancarlo Mancusi, ordered a shutdown of our domain name and IP in Italy to make it hard to not support Berlusconis empire.

We have had fights previously in Italy, recently with our successful art installation where we had to storm Fortezza in order to get our art done. And as usual, we won. We will also win this time.

We have already changed IP for the website - that makes it work for half the ISPs again. And we want you all to inform your italian friends to switch their DNS to OpenDNS so they can bypass their ISPs filters.
This will also let them bypass the other filters installed by the Italian government, as a bonus. And for the meanwhile - http://labaia.org works (La Baia means The Bay in Italian).
And please, everybody should also contact their ISP and tell them that this is not OK and that the ISPs should appeal. We don't want a censored internet! And the war starts here...<P><HR></P>_______________________________________________
USC4P&J Members mailing list
this from http://thepiratebay.org

posted by: Whitebeard at 18:10 | link | comments |
democracy, italy

Palestinian families

Susiya Village – Fifth Demolition Looming
In the 1830’s, poverty-stricken Palestinian families left their villages in the South Hebron region and purchased land up to 20km on the outskirts. The families lived in the numerous and spacious caves spread throughout the area and made their living from the surrounding hills and fields (today the southernmost part of the West Bank). In the generations that followed, these families developed a unique culture and way of life based on their sheep herding, agriculture and cave dwelling. The Israeli occupation led to expropriate the Palestinian farmers’ land due to the establishment of military bases, the declaration of certain areas as “firing zones‿ and closed military zones. From the early 1980’s the Israeli government confiscated more land as it began building settlements in the area.

In the early 1980’s, the cave-dwelling Palestinian community of Susiya (about 60 families) was concentrated next to an archaeological site containing Byzantine, Roman and Hellenistic ruins and an ancient Jewish synagogue from the second temple period.

http://www.operationdove.org/

http://www.operationdove.org/?p=146

A video

OPERAZIONE COLOMBA
Corpo Nonviolento di Pacedella Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII
NONVIOLENT PEACE CORPS
www.operationdove.org
 SEGRETERIA - OFFICEVia Mameli, 547900 Rimini, Italia
Tel./Fax  +39 0541 29005
operazione.colomba@apg23.org
www.operazionecolomba.it

COMUNICATO STAMPA
4 agosto 2008

Successo della marcia nonviolenta dei bambini palestinesi
in risposta  alle violenze dei coloni
nonostante gli arresti di attivisti israeliani e internazionali

Nella giornata di sabato 2 agosto 2008 si è svolta con successo la marcia nonviolenta indetta per chiedere la fine dell’espansione degli insediamenti e delle aggressioni dei coloni dell'area a sud di Hebron, violenze che si protraggono nonostante ormai da tempo la Commissione per i Diritti dei Bambini del Parlamento Israeliano abbia deliberato l’obbligo di scorta da parte dell’Esercito Israeliano per proteggere i bambini palestinesi dai continui attacchi dei coloni.
Più di un centinaio di bambini palestinesi, accompagnati dai propri genitori e supportati da decine di attivisti israeliani e internazionali, tra cui i volontari di Operazione Colomba (Corpo Nonviolento di Pace della Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII) e del Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT - ONG Statunitense), hanno pacificamente percorso la via che congiunge il villaggio di at-Tuwani al villaggio di Tuba.
Tale strada è interdetta per i palestinesi dell'area a causa delle continue aggressioni da parte dei coloni israeliani del vicino avamposto illegale di Havat Ma'on (Hill 833).
Intorno alle 10:30 la marcia, appena iniziata, è stata però fermata con la forza dall'esercito israeliano che, dichiarando l'intera area "zona militare chiusa", ha tentato di arrestare un palestinese e ha aggredito, cercando di strozzarlo, un attivista del CPT accorso per impedire l'arresto.
La marcia è stata quindi sospesa ma, alcune ore più tardi, mentre i militari impedivano il passaggio ai volontari internazionali aggredendo e arrestando una volontaria dell’Operazione Colomba, i bambini, accompagnati dagli adulti, sono finalmente riusciti ad incamminarsi verso Tuba.
La volontaria di Operazione Colomba è stata aggredita da un ufficiale israeliano, quando poi si è recata dalla polizia per sporgere denuncia, è stata a sua volta accusata di aver aggredito l’ufficiale e dunque arrestata.
Nonostante un video mostri che l’aggressione è avvenuta esclusivamente da parte del soldato, la volontaria di Operazione Colomba è stata rilasciata soltanto a tarda notte e su di lei pendono ancora accuse ingiustificate.

Per contattare i volontari dell’Operazione Colomba in Palestina e Israele
Tel: 00972 – 548.130.634 / 548.052.843

Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII
    Il responsabile Generale
   Giovanni Paolo Ramonda

             Animatore Generale Operazione Colomba
       Antonio De Filippis

http://www.operazionecolomba.com/

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:22 | link | comments |
israel, peace, palestine, resisters

Sami Al-Alian

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:58 | link | comments |
us , democracy

AMERICAN FEUD

AMERICAN FEUD
http://www.americanfeud.org/Home.html

An entire political science course in 90 minutes, AMERICAN FEUD is the first documentary to trace the history of Liberalism and Conservatism in the United States.

Designed to appeal to a general audience as well as students and political activists, AMERICAN FEUD explores the back story of a political system seemingly in crisis.

Interviews and appearances

   ★   NOAM CHOMSKY:  Linguist & Philosophy Professor

★  G. GORDON LIDDY:  Radio Talk Show Host & Watergate conspirator

★   HOWARD ZINN:  Historian & Author

★   THOMAS FRANK:  Author, “What’s the Matter With Kansas?

★   KEVIN PHILLIPS:  Former Republican Strategist & Author

★   MICHAEL BARONE:  Co-author, “The Almanac of American Politics”

★   DAVID BOAZ:  Libertarian Scholar

★   MICHAEL KAZIN:  Historian & Author, former 1960's Leftist

★   MONA CHAREN:  Syndicated Columnist & Author 

★   LEE EDWARDS:  Goldwater Campaign Aide & Scholar of Conservatism

★   DONNA BRAZILE:  Democratic Strategist & Author

★   ADRIAN WOOLDRIDGE:  Co-author, “The Right Nation”

posted by: Whitebeard at 11:02 | link | comments |
us , civil rights, democracy, resisters

Open letter to Obama

Dear Senator Obama

We write to congratulate you on the tremendous achievements of your campaign for the presidency of the United States.

Your candidacy has inspired a wave of political enthusiasm like nothing seen in this country for decades. In your speeches, you have sketched out a vision of a better future--in which the United States sheds its warlike stance around the globe and focuses on diplomacy abroad and greater equality and freedom for its citizens at home--that has thrilled voters across the political spectrum. Hundreds of thousands of young people have entered the political process for the first time, African-American voters have rallied behind you, and many of those alienated from politics-as-usual have been re-engaged.

Here are key positions you have embraced that we believe are essential to sustaining this movement:

§ Withdrawal from Iraq on a fixed timetable.

§ A response to the current economic crisis that reduces the gap between the rich and the rest of us through a more progressive financial and welfare system; public investment to create jobs and repair the country's collapsing infrastructure; fair trade policies; restoration of the freedom to organize unions; and meaningful government enforcement of labor laws and regulation of industry.

§ Universal healthcare.

§ An environmental policy that transforms the economy by shifting billions of dollars from the consumption of fossil fuels to alternative energy sources, creating millions of green jobs.

§ An end to the regime of torture, abuse of civil liberties and unchecked executive power that has flourished in the Bush era.

§ A commitment to the rights of women, including the right to choose abortion and improved access to abortion and reproductive health services.

§ A commitment to improving conditions in urban communities and ending racial inequality, including disparities in education through reform of the No Child Left Behind Act and other measures.

§ An immigration system that treats humanely those attempting to enter the country and provides a path to citizenship for those already here.

§ Reform of the drug laws that incarcerate hundreds of thousands who need help, not jail.

§ Reform of the political process that reduces the influence of money and corporate lobbyists and amplifies the voices of ordinary people.

Howard Zinn

Read the entire letter

posted by: Whitebeard at 01:15 | link | comments |
iraq, us , democracy, peace, war , world trade, elections, resisters

Dante into the Casentino

 

Quando si guarda al Casentino, laggiù in basso, la Valle Chiusa stessa diviene pensiero, memoria.  Il passato emerge più vivido del presente ed il corso stesso del fiume diviene il simbolo,  l'immagine delle possenti correnti di vita e di passione che un giorno fluirono attraverso la Valle.  In giorni di un remoto passato il piccolo spazio circoscritto dai verdi colli, ora così pieno di  pace, rinserrò in sé alcune delle più strenue forze della storia d'Italia. La catena di alture irte  di castelli, lungo il corso del fiume e le torri di pietra che scrutano dalle balze ogni valle  laterale sottostante, rammentano il sistema feudale che in passato dominò l'Italia quando, nel diluvio generale, in cui rimasero sommerse legge ed ordine, dopo la caduta dell'Impero e le  successive invasioni del paese, il potere si ritirò sulla cima dei monti e fu impersonato dal  braccio armato del barone indipendente.   Il Casentino, tenuto da grandi Conti Palatini, i Guidi che, colla forza delle armi avevano esteso il loro dominio su tutte le vallate più alte dell'Appennino in entrambi i versanti e fino al cuore della Romagna, fu nell'Undicesimo e Dodicesimo secolo la sede di un potere al quale gli ancora deboli e insignificanti comuni confinanti prestavano omaggio ed obbedienza. Fu questo il periodo in cui la Vallata fu più strettamente collegata con il mondo esterno. Mercanti e viaggiatori frequentavano le montagne e i villaggi, oggi piccoli e modesti, quasi inaccessibili sulle cime pietrose, che erano allora importanti luoghi di passaggio e sui monti si ergevano numerose e grandi abbazie, ridotte oggi a mucchi di rovine perse nella foresta, sui più alti pendii visitati oggi solo da cacciatori, abbazie che furono un tempo centri di rapporti umani e di attività politiche. La Vallata era probabilmente più popolata allora di oggi: dove il principe aveva la sua sede gli uomini si sentivano sicuri e si riunivano.

And as one looks down into the Casentino, far beneath, the Valley Enclosed itself becomes a thought, a memory. The past grows more vivid than the present, and the course of the river below symbolises itself into an image of the strong currents of life and passion which once coursed through the Valley. In days long gone by, that little space circumscribed by the green hills, and now so peaceful, contained within it some of the most strenuous forces of Italian history. The chain of castled heights along the course of the river, and the rock-built towers that watch from their crags down each lateral valley, recall the feudal system which once dominated Italy, when in the general deluge, in which law and order were submerged after the downfall of the Empire and the successive invasions of the country, authority retreated to the hill-tops and lodged itself in the strong arm of the independent baron. The Casentino, held by the great Counts Palatine, the Guidi, who sword in hand had stretched their dominion over all the upper Apennine valleys on either side of the mountains and far into the Romagna, was in the eleventh and twelfth centuries the seat of a power to which the yet weak and insignificant communes around gave homage and obedience. This was the period when the Valley was most closely connected with the outer world. The traffic of life had not yet beaten out broad tracks and easy roundabout ways, but men on mule-back went straight over the face of the hills to their destination. Merchants and travellers frequented the mountains, and villages now mean and dwindled and almost inaccessible upon their rocks were then quite in the world's path, and there was many a great abbey, now but a heap of ruins lost in the forest far up the higher slopes, where only the hunter goes by, which was then a centre of human intercourse and political activity. The Valley was probably more populous at that time than now; where princes inhabited, men were sure to gather together.

27 gennaio 1302 In nome di Dio, amen. Io Messer Cante dei Gabrielli da Gubbio, onorevole Potestà della Città di Firenze … nell’anno del Signore 1302, al tempo del Santissimo Padre Papa Bonifazio VIII…   OMISSIS Essendomi venuto alle orecchie sulla base di pubbliche dicerie che Dante Alighieri, durante il tempo del suo Priorato o dopo, 1 -aveva commesso per sé o per altri Baratterie, illeciti lucri, inique estorsioni in denaro o altre cose 2 – che lui o chi per lui aveva ricevuto denaro o altra utilità per far eleggere Priori o Gonfalonieri, ufficiali di distretto, per stanziamenti a favore di rettori e ufficiali del comune di Firenze; 3 – che aveva fatto spendere denari contro il Sommo Pontefice e per impedire la venuta di re Carlo D’Angiò; 4 – che aveva commesso o fatto commettere frode, falsità, dolo, malizia, baratteria e grave estorsione e aveva operato per dividere la città di Pistoia causando l’espulsione da detta città dei Neri fedeli alla Chiesa Romana, staccandola dall’alleanza con Firenze, dalla soggezione alla Chiesa romana e a re Carlo, paciaro in Toscana;   ordino che detto messer Dante, insieme a Palmerio, Orlanduccio e Lippo,… venga multato di 5.000 fiorini piccoli, che restituisca quello che ha illegittimamente estorto. Se non obbedisca alla condanna entro il terzo giorno da oggi  che tutti i suoi beni siano confiscati, devastati e distrutti; e devastati e distrutti restino di proprietà comunale; che, anche se pagante, resti fuori della provincia di Toscana a confino per due anni; che sia escluso per sempre dai pubblici uffici come falsario e barattiere, che paghi la condanna o no. Tale è la nostra sentenza.         Condanna a morte                 p.47 del libro 10 marzo 1302 In nome di Dio, amen. noi Cante, predetto Podestà, diamo e proferiamo la sotto indicata Condanna: Messer Andrea de Gherardini Messer Lapo Saltarelli … Dante Allighieri … contro i quali si è proceduto a seguito della inquisizione del nostro ufficio e della nostra Curia per il fatto pervenuto alle orecchie nostre e della stessa nostra Corte sulla base delle pubbliche dicerie …che se qualcuno dei predetti in qualsiasi tempo cadrà in potere del detto comune, sia bruciato col fuoco finché muoia.

27 January 1302 In the name of God, amen. I, the undersigned Messere Cante dei Gabrielli from Gubbio, honorable Podestà of the city of Florence....in the year of our Lord 1302, at the time of our most Holy Father Pope Boniface VIII …   OMISSIS It having come to my ear from public rumours that Dante Alighieri, during his mandate as Priore or after 1 – had indulged, to his own or to other parties' benefit, in barter, illicit gains, iniquitous extortions of money or of other goods. 2 – that he, or others on his behalf, had received monies or other benefits to the effect that district officers should be elected as Priors or Gonfalonieri to make monies available to the rectors and officials of the commune of Florence. 3 – that he had caused the spending of monies against the Pope and in trying to prevent the coming of King Charles of Anjou; 4 – that he had committed, or caused to commit, fraud , falsehood, deceit, malice, barter and serious extortion and had endeavoured to divide the city of Pistoia, causing the expulsion of the Black Guelfs who were faithful to the Roman Church from the city, breaking its alliance with Florence, from its subjection to the Roman Church and King Charles, peacemaker in Tuscany; I rule that the above mentioned Messer Dante, along with Palmiero, Orlanduccio and Lippo..... be fined the sum of 5.000 small florins, and that he shall return whatever he has illegitimately extorted.  Should he not obey to the ruling within the third day from this, I order that all his assets shall be confiscated, devastated and destroyed; that thus devastated and destroyed they shall remain in the property of the commune; that even if he should pay the above mentioned fine, that he shall remain outside the province of Tuscany in confinement for two years; that he shall be barred from public offices as a forger and barterer, whether he pays the fines or not. Such is our ruling    Second ruling 10 March 1302 In the name of God, Amen. I, Cante, above said Podestà, pronounce and proffer the following Sentence: Messer Andrea de Gherardini Messer Lapo Saltarelli … Dante Allighieri … against whom we have proceeded following the inquisition by our Office and of our Jurisdiction concerning the fact reaching our ears and the “referred public knowledge” which has reached our Court; ... that if any of the above listed at any time should fall within the power of the said commune, be burned by fire till they do die.

posted by: Whitebeard at 01:05 | link | comments |
dante, noyes, casentino

No one wins in a war

Howard Zinn
 
Memo to Obama, McCain: No one wins in a war
Email|Print|Single Page| Text size – + By Howard Zinn
July 17, 2008
BARACK OBAMA and John McCain continue to argue about war. McCain says to keep the troops in Iraq until we "win" and supports sending more troops to Afghanistan. Obama says to withdraw some (not all) troops from Iraq and send them to fight and "win" in Afghanistan.

For someone like myself, who fought in World War II, and since then has protested against war, I must ask: Have our political leaders gone mad? Have they learned nothing from recent history? Have they not learned that no one "wins" in a war, but that hundreds of thousands of humans die, most of them civilians, many of them children?

Did we "win" by going to war in Korea? The result was a stalemate, leaving things as they were before with a dictatorship in South Korea and a dictatorship in North Korea. Still, more than 2 million people - mostly civilians - died, the United States dropped napalm on children, and 50,000 American soldiers lost their lives.

Did we "win" in Vietnam? We were forced to withdraw, but only after 2 million Vietnamese died, again mostly civilians, again leaving children burned or armless or legless, and 58,000 American soldiers dead.

Did we win in the first Gulf War? Not really. Yes, we pushed Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, with only a few hundred US casualties, but perhaps 100,000 Iraqis died. And the consequences were deadly for the United States: Saddam was still in power, which led the United States to enforce economic sanctions. That move led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, according to UN officials, and set the stage for another war.

In Afghanistan, the United States declared "victory" over the Taliban. Now the Taliban is back, and attacks are increasing. The recent US military death count in Afghanistan exceeds that in Iraq. What makes Obama think that sending more troops to Afghanistan will produce "victory"? And if it did, in an immediate military sense, how long would that last, and at what cost to human life on both sides?

The resurgence of fighting in Afghanistan is a good moment to reflect on the beginning of US involvement there. There should be sobering thoughts to those who say that attacking Iraq was wrong, but attacking Afghanistan was right.

Go back to Sept. 11, 2001. Hijackers direct jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing close to 3,000 A terrorist act, inexcusable by any moral code. The nation is aroused. President Bush orders the invasion and bombing of Afghanistan, and the American public is swept into approval by a wave of fear and anger. Bush announces a "war on terror."

Except for terrorists, we are all against terror. So a war on terror sounded right. But there was a problem, which most Americans did not consider in the heat of the moment: President Bush, despite his confident bravado, had no idea how to make war against terror.

Yes, Al Qaeda - a relatively small but ruthless group of fanatics - was apparently responsible for the attacks. And, yes, there was evidence that Osama bin Laden and others were based in Afghanistan. But the United States did not know exactly where they were, so it invaded and bombed the whole country. That made many people feel righteous. "We had to do something," you heard people say.

Yes, we had to do something. But not thoughtlessly, not recklessly. Would we approve of a police chief, knowing there was a vicious criminal somewhere in a neighborhood, ordering that the entire neighborhood be bombed? There was soon a civilian death toll in Afghanistan of more than 3,000 - exceeding the number of deaths in the Sept. 11 attacks. Hundreds of Afghans were driven from their homes and turned into wandering refugees.

Two months after the invasion of Afghanistan, a Boston Globe story described a 10-year-old in a hospital bed: "He lost his eyes and hands to the bomb that hit his house after Sunday dinner." The doctor attending him said: "The United States must be thinking he is Osama. If he is not Osama, then why would they do this?"

We should be asking the presidential candidates: Is our war in Afghanistan ending terrorism, or provoking it? And is not war itself terrorism?

Howard Zinn is author of "A People's History of the United States."

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

posted by: Whitebeard at 23:29 | link | comments |
us , war

Everybody is somebody's Jew

" And today the Palestinians are the Jews of the Israelis."

-- Primo Levi, cited in A Hard Case: The Life and Death of Primo Levi; The New Yorker, 17 Jun 2002.

But the more Levi shouldered his responsibilities as a Jew the more he got caught in the toils of the Holocaust culture. Like most Italian Jews, he believed in assimilation. And he did not consider the Jews to be heroes because Hitler had tried to exterminate them. As he saw it, they were merely human—Fascism's crime was to have deprived them of that status—and humanity was what we had to understand if we harbored any hope of a just world. Accordingly, he gave Israel no breaks. "Everybody is somebody's Jew," he told an Italian newspaper in 1982, "and today the Palestinians are the Jews of the Israelis." After the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, and the massacres at Sabra and Shatila, he said that Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon were bringing down shame on the name of the Jews, and he called for their resignation. This brought a flood of letters accusing him of giving comfort to the enemy. In sum, Levi, the greatest soul, the greatest artist, of the "witness" writers, was not usable the way the others were. It was not Levi but his friend Elie Wiesel who got a Nobel Prize.

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 12:54 | link | comments |
israel, palestine

Mass Killings

U.S. Perpetuates Mass Killings In Iraq

By Peter Phillips

The United States is directly responsible for over one million Iraqi 
deaths since the invasion five and half years ago.  In a January 2008 
report, a British polling group Opinion Research Business (ORB) 
reports that,  “survey work confirms our earlier estimate that over 
1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which 
started in 2003…. We now estimate that the death toll between March 
2003 and August 2007 is likely to have been of the order of 
1,033,000. If one takes into account the margin of error associated 
with survey data of this nature then the estimated range is between 
946,000 and 1,120,000”.

This report comes on the heels of two earlier studies conducted by 
Johns Hopkins University published in the Lancet medical journal that 
confirmed the continuing numbers of mass deaths in Iraq.  A study 
done by Dr. Les Roberts from January 1, 2002 to March 18 2003 put the 
civilian deaths at that time at over 100,000. A second study 
published in the Lancet in October 2006 documented over 650,000 
civilian deaths in Iraq since the start of the US invasion.  The 2006 
study confirms that US aerial bombing in civilian neighborhoods 
caused over a third of these deaths and that over half the deaths are 
directly attributable to US forces.

             The now estimated 1.2 million dead, as of July 2008, 
includes children, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, cab 
drivers, clerics, schoolteachers, factory workers, policemen, poets, 
healthcare workers, day care providers, construction workers, 
babysitters, musicians, bakers, restaurant workers and many more. All 
manner of ordinary people in Iraq have died because the United States 
decided to invade their country. These are deaths in excess of the 
normal civilian death rate under the prior government.

The magnitude of these deaths is undeniable. The continuing 
occupation by US forces guarantees a mass death rate in excess of 
10,000 people per month with half that number dying at the hands of 
US forces— a carnage so severe and so concentrated at to equate it 
with the most heinous mass killings in world history. This act has 
not gone unnoticed.

Recently, Dennis Kucinich introduced a single impeachment article 
against George W. Bush for lying to Congress and the American people 
about the reasons for invading Iraq. On July 15 The House forwarded 
the resolution to the Judiciary Committee with a 238 to 180 vote.  
That Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction and Iraq’s threat to 
the US is now beyond doubt. Former US federal prosecutor Elizabeth De 
La Vega documents the lies most thoroughly in her book U.S. Vs Bush, 
and numerous other researchers have verified Bush’s untrue statements.

The American people are faced with a serious moral dilemma. Murder 
and war crimes have been conducted in our name. We have allowed the 
war/occupation to continue in Iraq and offered ourselves little 
choice within the top two presidential candidates for immediate 
cessation of the mass killings. McCain would undoubtedly accept the 
deaths of another million Iraqi civilians in order to save face for 
America, and Obama’s 18-month timetable for withdrawal would likely 
result in another 250,000 civilian deaths or more.

We owe our children and ourselves a future without the shame of mass 
murder on our collective conscience. The only resolution of this 
dilemma is the immediate withdrawal of all US troops in Iraq and the 
prosecution and imprisonment of those responsible. Anything less 
creates a permanent original sin on the soul of the nation for that 
we will forever suffer.

Peter Phillips is a Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University 
and director of Project Censored a media research group.  He is the 
co-editor with Dennnis Loo of the book Impeach the President: The 
Case Against Bush and Cheney.
 

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:18 | link | comments |
iraq, us , war , censored news

Voices of a People’s History

July 4th Special: Readings From Howard Zinn’s “Voices of a People’s History of the United States”

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/4/july_4th_special_readings_from_howard

posted by: Whitebeard at 00:31 | link | comments |
us , culture, democracy, resisters

No to Star Wars

Say No to Star Wars

Sunday, June 22, 11am to ...
(USC4P&J meeting at 4:30pm)
Piazza Navona

Dear peace activists,

This Sunday, June 22, there will be a one-day global hunger strike to
protest the proposed U.S. military base in the Czech Republic, and what is
seen as the first step in creation of the U.S. Missile Defense System in
Europe, aka the new Star Wars. The Missile Defense System is destined to
antagonize Russia (and other countries suspicious of U.S. motives) and
ultimately create a dangerous new arms race. Its only beneficiaries will be
defense contractors such as Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, as
well as European weapons manufacturers. In February 2007, under the
Prodi government, Italy secretly signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with the U.S. to participate in the program.

In Rome, Italian activists of Mondo senza guerre are supporting the
struggle in the Czech Republic, where there is tremendous opposition to
the new base, with an all day event in Piazza Navona, starting at 11am.
They'll make use of everything they can -- from street theatre to flyers -- to
inform Italians and tourists of the dangers of this multi-billion dollar program
described as "a solution that technically does not work being applied to a
problem that does not actually exist."

They will be collecting signatures for a petition against the new base, with
the aim of reaching the goal of 200,000 signatures before Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Prague on July 10 to sign an agreement
between the U.S. and the Czech Republic. Over 120,000 signatures have
already been collected (http://petice.nenasili.cz/?lang=en).

USC4P&J fully supports this initiative, and we plan to show our solidarity
and lend a hand by joining them in the afternoon, from 4:30 on. Please do
try to join us, even if only for a short while, and if only to add your name to
the signatories of this important petition, in person!

Please note: You don´t have to participate in the hunger strike to take part
in the activities! However, if you would like to join the hunger strike, you can
sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/5mvqyn

**Join us on June 22, 4:30pm to say NO to Star Wars!

For more information, contact us at: info@peaceandjustice.it

For more information on the Missile Defense System, see:

US Pushes Pie-in-the-Sky Missile Defense in Europe
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=10593

US taps Lithuania as alternative to Poland for missile shield plan
http://tinyurl.com/5jygs7

Priceless propaganda video from the US Missile Defense Agency
http://tinyurl.com/3ova44

Anna, Gene, Maria, Maria Chiara and Stephanie
---
U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome
info@peaceandjustice.it
http://www.peaceandjustice.it

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:51 | link | comments |
us , europe, italy, war , resisters

Rules against heroes

"I will never in my life recommend any person join our armed services."

– 24-year Navy veteran, Michael Baranik

Found here

"When you discover that your heroes have all broken the rules, do you follow the rules, or do you follow your heroes?"

posted by: Whitebeard at 12:09 | link | comments |