CONTENTS:
PHILLY & PA ACTION:
Next One Philly meeting
Premier of "FORWARD MARCH TO PEACE"
MLK Day of Resistance is JAN. 16, 2006 AT LOCKHEED MARTIN
ENCOURAGE YOUR COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES TO BE VOTER VERIFIED PAPER BALLOT
COMPLAINT
Tell AAA to Support Clean Air for cars and trucks in Pennsylvania
EVENTS OCCURING EVERY WEEK:
-----------
NATIONAL ACTION:
New Years Resolution: Write a letter or op-ed column on Iraq
withdrawal
Help Senator Obama Stop Voter Intimidation
Hang up on tax for Iraq war
What Are Young People For?
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION! THE THIRD ANNUAL NEW YORK CITY GRASSROOTS MEDIA
CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 11, 2006
New Advocacy Tool for the Reform of Family Law in Muslim-Majority
Societies
Prescription Assistance
HEALTH TIP: Save Your Stomach - Skip the Juice!
---------------------------------------------
COMMENTARY:
* This Isn't The Real America by Jimmy Carter
* Bolivian leader to cut own salary By Simon Watts
* The Eastern Wall - Closing the Circle of Our Ghettoization by Jamal
Juma
* Note to Health Care Reform Activists: Public Employee Health Benefits
to Evaporate by Andy Coates
* MOST VALUABLE PROGRESSIVES OF 2005 John Nichols, The Nation
* ALTERNET'S 2005 EDITOR'S PICKS
* ABORTION: TROUBLE IN NUMBERS? Jennifer Baumgardner
* HATE CRIMES IN PRISON David Holthouse (and more)
==================
PHILLY & PA ACTION:
Next One Philly meeting: From: Stanley Shapiro [mailto:shapsj@comcast.net]
The next One Philly meeting will be next Wednesday, January 4 at AFSCME
D.C. 47, 1606 Walnut Street, 3rd Floor Boardroom. From 12-2
PM. As
usual, everyone is invited to bring a brown bag lunch, and coffee will
be available.
So that's the where and what
Here's the who and why:
ANYONE WHO CARES ABOUT THE FY '07 CITY BUDGET THAT IS ABOUT TO BE
SUBMITTED BY MAYOR STREET TO CITY COUNCIL SHOULD ATTEND THIS MEETING.
As frankly, should anyone interested in any future City budget.
Because the drive to enact sharp BPT cuts will be renewed when City
Council returns from recess to consider the Mayor's budget and Five
Year plan. If enacted, these tax cuts will reduce revenue and
prevent
reorienting city priorities to the needs of working class and poor city
home owners and tenants. According to the City's Tax Reform
Commission, BPT cuts will further increase upward pressure on real
estate assessments. That means larger increases in real estate
taxes
(and rents.) BPT cuts will also preclude, or make more difficult,
any
efforts to help those facing homelessness due to escalating energy
prices or gentrification. They will indicate that the priorities
of
the City of Philadelphia are much like that of the Republican General
Assembly, and the Republican Congress, which also believe in tax cuts
at any cost.
AND NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THIS ISSUE IS ABOUT TO BE BROUGHT INTO A
MAYORAL CAMPAIGN. The Chamber of Commerce has already been heavily
advertising in favor of a BPT(Business Tax) cut. Today's
Inquirer strongly
suggests that the Chamber intends to make their idea of tax
"reform" a major
campaign issue in 2007. So to the extent that we've been relying
on
Mayor Street's vetoes to preserve the City's revenue base, that
reliance will be defunct by 2008. And if we're not able to
counter the
Chamber's efforts, we will have a pro-tax cutting Mayor ready to sign a
tax cutting bill very soon.
One Philadelphia intends to
propose an alternative that would provide
true tax "reform", by redirecting taxes on those best able to pay --
both on the business and personal sides. Local taxes are
now quite
regressive, so if you're a small business, or low wage worker, or
modest home owner, you get hit particularly hard. Let's all
figure out
a better way to raise, and spend, the City's revenue.
____________________________________________________
Sunday, January 8 - Area premier of
"FORWARD MARCH TO PEACE"
History of GI resistance from theVietnam War to today's opposition to
the war in Iraq.
Brandywine Peace Community Monthly Potluck Supper* & Program,
4:30PM, University Lutheran
Church, 3637 Chestnut St., Phila., PA. (*bring main dish, salad, or
dessert to share),
Program at 5:30PM/ Info: 610-544-1818,
brandywine@juno.com www.brandywinepeace.com
---------------
MLK Day of Resistance is JAN. 16,
2006 AT LOCKHEED MARTIN Mall & Goddard
Boulevards,Valley Forge, PA.
Brandywine Peace Community,
brandywine@juno.com www.brandywinepeace.com
___________________________________________________________________
ENCOURAGE YOUR COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES TO BE VOTER
VERIFIED PAPER BALLOT COMPLAINT
ACTION PAGE: http://www.usalone.com/pa_vvpb.htm
Our own federal
government (GAO) issued a report on Elections in September 2005, noting
that "significant concerns about the security and reliability of
electronic voting systems" have been raised (p. 22). GAO indicated that
"some of these concerns have been realized and have caused problems
with recent elections, resulting in the loss and miscount of votes" (p.
23). Yet our counties are being forced to procure new voting
equipment (either all machines or just one handicapped access per
precinct).
There are presently two
bills in our legislature that address this need--Conti's Senate Bill
977 and Frankel's House Bill 2000, requiring voter-verified paper
ballots and random manual audits. We ask you to call and/or email
each of your county commissioners/council members, using the form
below, and demand that any voting machines purchased or rented meet the
standards of these two bills by providing voter-verified paper ballots,
which can be used for recounts and manual audits.
The state has ruled that
counties need only pass a resolution to commit funds for new machines
by Dec. 31. This allows more time to explore alternatives as the
state continues to examine different machines. Then tell 10 friends to
call too. We want voter-verified paper ballots as in SB 977 and
HB 2000.
* If you would like to
get alerts like these, you can do so at http://www.usalone.com/in.htm
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tell AAA to Support Clean Air for cars and
trucks in Pennsylvania
Unfortunately, AAA's response thus far has been filled with more
misinformation and misleading statements. For example, AAA's form
letter response states that they support clean air since they support
current federal standards, but neglects to say that those standards are
dramatically weaker than the Pennsylvania Clean Vehicles Program.
To get the facts about clean cars in PA and the holes in AAA's
arguments, click on this link: http://www.pennenvironment.org/PEair.asp?id2=21113
To take action,
click on the link below or paste it into your web browser:
http://www.pennenvironment.org/PE.asp?id=640&id4=ES
=====================
EVENTS OCCURING EVERY WEEK:
* Every Tuesday
Books Through Bars Packing Cafe at 7:30 p.m.
The A Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave., Philadelphia, PA
Help pack books to send to prisoners. Email info@booksthroughbars.org
* Every Wednesday
Peace Vigil at 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Federal Building, 601 Market St., Philadelphia, PA
Sponsored by House of Grace Catholic Worker For info, email
brandywine@juno.com
* Every Thursday
Workshop: "Build Your Own Computer" at 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Nonprofit Technology Resources, 1524 Brandywine St., Philadelphia, Pa
$25 per session To register, call 215-564-6686.
International Concerned Friends & Family of Mumia Weekly
Meeting at 7:00-9:00 p.m.
4601 Market St., 5th floor, Philadelphia, PA For info, call
215-476-5416.
* Every Friday
Anti-war leafleting and picket at 4:30 p.m.
Market & 11th Sts., Philadelphia, PA
For info, email pawf@critpath.org
Vigil--Women in Black at 5:00 p.m.
Swarthmore Train Station, Park Ave. & Chester Rd., Swarthmore, PA
For info, email wibswarthmore@hotmail.com.
Vigil -- Across from the Israeli Consulate. ====
S. 15th Street between Walnut & Sansom St.
every noon on Fridays.
Cy & Lois Swart, Grandparents for Peace in the Middle
East email cswartz@pil.net
* Every Saturday :
Protest at Ferber Furs at 1:00-2:00 p.m.
1708 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA For info, email
phillyar@yahoogroups.com.
Peace Vigil at noon-1:00 p.m.
Rte. 38 & Cherry Hill Mall Dr., Cherry Hill, NJ For
info, email greatercamdenunitycoalition@yahoo.com
================
NATIONAL ACTION:
Write a letter or op-ed column on Iraq withdrawal
You and I can assert some political leadership as the party of
opposition to bipartisan war policies, and stress the failure of Dems
to provide antiwar leadership. We need to do so publicly and as
soon as possible. Flood newspapers and other media with letters to the
editor and op-ed column submissions.
Below are a list of bullet points for this purpose, and two sample
letters to the editor. If you use the bullet points or samples,
rewrite and reword them according to your own style and
preference. If you can, make your letter or column personal, if,
for instance, the war has touched you because of the loss of someone
you know or if you've undertaken a specific action in opposition to the
war.
These bullet points focus on
the invasion itself, but there are other points that can also be
discussed, such as support for Cindy Sheehan, the US's dependency on
oil and dedication to oil company profits as a motivating factor, and
the role of Israel.
Keep your letter as concise
as possible and avoid passionate denunciations. Eight paragraph
letters and tirades that begin with "The New York Times has deceived
and betrayed the American people..." don't get published.
Guest op-ed columns can be
longer and can employ more of the bullet points. Check the
targeted newspaper's web site for specifications.
BULLET POINTS:
. (Important!) The only rational action is an end to the
occupation and immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The
demand by some Democrats for a withdrawal plan by the end of 2006 will
only result in more US troop
and Iraqi civilian deaths.
. (Important!) President Bush and the Republicans have shamed the
US, breached international and US constitutional law, and weakened our
security. They did so with permission from the Democratic leadership
and the major media. We need to hold them all accountable, and we
need new political leadership.
. Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) and other Congress members who have
condemned the Iraq War deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so
long to speak out? In early 2003, at the beginning of the
invasion, it was already evident that the Bush Administration's
motivations were based on deception.
. While Democrats and the media fell for the White House's fraudulent
claims, millions of Americans were skeptical. Many of us spoke
out publicly against the invasion.
. When Republicans and many Democrats voted to transfer Congress's
constitutionally mandated war power to the White House in October 2002,
they undermined the balance of power and created the scenario for the
deceit and massive abuse of power by the Bush Administration's radical
ideologues.
. There was plenty of intelligence by early 2003 to show that Saddam
Hussein had no WMDs, although CIA analysts were pressured to show
otherwise. The inspectors' search for WMDs in Iraq had turned up
nothing when President Bush interrupted them by launching the
invasion. The accusation that Saddam Hussein had conspired with
al-Qaeda was never plausible, and Bush officials already knew that the
nuclear weapons charge was based on a forgery. President Bush, in
his 2003 State of Union address, and Secretary of State Colin Powell,
in his February 2003 speech before the UN, misled the US and the world
-- and we should have known it. [Excellent source for more
information: "Libby Indictment May Open Door to Broader Iraq War
Deceptions" by Stephen Zunes, in Foreign Policy In Focus, November 14,
2005 <http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/2925>]
. President Bush still insists that the invasion of Iraq was a
necessary part of his 'War on Terror', even though no one believes Iraq
played a role in the 9/11 attacks. Instead, the invasion has
created more animosity against the US and its allies and further
inflamed violent extremists.
. Ever since the Project for a New American Century (whose leaders now
hold positions in the Bush Administration) tried to persuade President
Clinton to invade Iraq in 1989, it has been clear that an extreme
Republican faction wanted to remove Saddam Hussein and gain control
over Iraq's oil resources. This faction has reintroduced the
concept of invasion for 'preemptive' purposes, which had been outlawed
after World War II by international laws, including the UN Charter, to
which the US was signatory.
. Ahmed Chalabi recently visited Washington and met with Vice President
Cheney and other leaders. This is the same Ahmed Chalabi who fed
the US misinformation about Iraqi WMDs, who allegedly passed US secrets
to Iran, who was convicted of embezzlement in Jordan -- and was named
Interim Oil Minister in Iraq, with the Bush Administration's blessing.
. The news about the war gets worse and worse: 2,000-plus dead American
service members; tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians; mounting
evidence of torture in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other sites;
alleged wartime profiteering by firms like Halliburton that hold
multi-billion-dollar contracts; the use of depleted uranium and
outlawed chemical weapons (white phosphorus). Meanwhile, White
House officials try to smear war critics as unpatriotic, and Vice
President Cheney lobbies for legalization of torture. Worst of
all, we have to endure three more years of Mr. Bush's lawless,
rock-bottom presidency.
. The position of Democratic warhawks like Sen. Hillary Clinton that we
need to send more troops is equally appalling.
* * * * *
SAMPLE LETTER #1
To the Editor,
Rep. John Murtha and other Congress members who have condemned the Iraq
War
deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so long to speak
out? In early
2003, at the beginning of the invasion, it was already evident that the
Bush
Administration's motivations were based on deception. While
Democrats and
the media fell for the White House's fraudulent claims, many of us,
including the Green Party, protested the invasion.
The news about the war gets worse and worse: 2,000-plus dead American
service members; tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians; mounting
evidence
of torture in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other sites; alleged
wartime
profiteering by firms like Halliburton that hold multi-billion-dollar
contracts; the use of depleted uranium and outlawed chemical weapons
(white
phosphorus). Meanwhile, White House officials try to smear war
critics as
unpatriotic, and Vice President Cheney lobbies for legalization of
torture.
Worst of all, we have to endure three more years of Mr. Bush's lawless,
rock-bottom presidency.
The position of Democratic warhawks like Sen. Hillary Clinton that we
need
to send more troops is equally appalling. The only rational
action is
immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The demand by some
Democrats
for a withdrawal plan by the end of 2006 will only result in more US
troop
and Iraqi civilian deaths.
President Bush, indulged by the Democratic leadership and major media,
has
shamed the US, breached international and US constitutional law, and
weakened our security. We need to hold them all accountable, and
we need
new political leadership.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
* * * * *
SAMPLE LETTER #2
To the Editor,
Rep. John Murtha and other Congress members who have condemned the Iraq
War
deserve our thanks, but why did it take them so long to speak
out? In 2003,
it was already evident that the White House's reasons for going to war
were
fraudulent, and many of us, including the Green Party, protested the
invasion.
When Republicans and many Democrats voted to transfer Congress's
constitutionally mandated war power to the White House in October 2002,
they
undermined the balance of power and created the scenario for the massive
abuse of power by the Bush Administration's radical ideologues.
There was plenty of intelligence by early 2003 to show that Saddam
Hussein
had no WMDs, although CIA analysts were pressured to show
otherwise. The
inspectors' search for WMDs in Iraq had turned up nothing when President
Bush interrupted them by launching the invasion. The accusation
that Saddam
had conspired with al-Qaeda was never plausible, and Bush officials
already
knew that the nuclear weapons charge was based on a forgery.
The only rational action now is immediate withdrawal of US troops from
Iraq.
The demand by some Democrats for a withdrawal plan by the end of
2006 will
only result in more US troop and Iraqi civilian deaths.
President Bush, indulged by the Democratic leadership and major media,
has
shamed the US, breached international and US constitutional law, and
weakened our security. We need to hold them all accountable, and
we need
new political leadership.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
________________________________________
Help Senator Obama Stop Voter Intimidation
Voters have been told that traffic violations made it illegal for them
to vote and that all parking tickets and overdue rent had to be paid
before voting. Voters have received mailings claiming that anyone
registered by the NAACP was not allowed to vote.
Now, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is working to eliminate this
significant problem (voters waiting in long lines have been arbitrarily
told that there was no point in waiting and that they should just go
home, even though polls wouldn't close for hours. Fliers have
been distributed listing the wrong day for the election, or saying
Republicans should vote on Tuesday and Democrats should vote on
Wednesday.) He has introduced a bill, S. 1975, The Deceptive
Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2005. The bill
would create a criminal penalty for deceptive practices, with penalties
of up to $100,000, one year imprisonment, or both. Here's the
letter he sent to his colleagues about the bill. The legislation
would also require the attorney general, in conjunction with the
federal Election Assistance Commission, to provide accurate election
information when allegations of deceptive practices are confirmed.
Please call your Senator today and urge them to cosponsor S. 1975. We
need your help. So does Senator Obama.
* Click here to find your
representative: www.commoncause.org/FindElectedOfficials
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Protesters : (We Can, We Must) Hang up on tax for Iraq war By Beth Potter,
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3348908
Peace activist Bill Sulzman in Colorado
Springs protests the war in Iraq by refusing to pay the federal excise
tax of about 50 cents on his monthly phone bill. Sulzman also recruits
others who are against U.S. military involvement in Iraq to stop paying
the tax, which was first adopted in 1898 to pay for the
Spanish-American War.
The tax raises about $5 billion a year, which
activists say goes to fund war efforts. The Internal Revenue Service
won't confirm that the money goes exclusively to the military but
instead says it goes for general fund expenditures, including military
spending. "It's kind of entry-level active resistance," Sulzman
said. "Phone companies don't cut off the phones. They don't have the
leverage." Nationally, an estimated 10,000 phone customers don't pay
the tax, said Ruth Benn, a spokeswoman for the National War Tax
Resistance Coordinating Committee in New York. Erb said tax resisters
should let their phone company know why they are not paying the tax.
Including a note with their phone payments is one way of doing that.
The tax was made permanent in 1990 as part of
Federal Communications Act legislation.
"I'm not afraid of being identified as a tax
resister," Sulzman said. "I'm not doing this as a scofflaw, or because
I need the money or for other things. I do it because I oppose what the
money is going for."
Staff writer Beth Potter can be reached at 303-820-1503 or
bpotter@denverpost.com.
____________________________________________________________________________________
What Are Young People For? PEOPLE FOR THE
AMERICAN WAY, Invest in the Progressive Future of America-
When Norman Lear founded People For the American Way Foundation almost
25 years ago to stand up to the Radical Right, we never thought the
Right's narrow message of intolerance, inequality, and moral
superiority would find a place among younger Americans. We were wrong.
Last year alone, the Radical Right poured $43 million into a
comprehensive and coordinated leadership development strategy that
hones political skills and encourages long-term political commitment
among right-wing young people.
We must now do better. Last
year we launched Young People For, a program that identifies, engages,
and empowers young progressive activists and leaders from community
colleges, historically black colleges and universities, state
universities, and liberal arts colleges across the nation - and equips
them to create positive social change in their communities.
Invest in future progressive
leaders of America!
Your tax-deductible gift will be matched dollar for dollar through the
Online Challenge!
Click: http://www.pfaw.org/go/yp4_fellow_sponsorship
Sincerely, Ralph G. Neas, President, People For the American
Way Foundation
_______________________________________________________________________________________
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION! THE THIRD ANNUAL NEW YORK
CITY GRASSROOTS MEDIA CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 11, 2006
Brought to you by the NYC Grassroots Media Coalition A
project of Paper Tiger Television Hosted by the
Department of Media Studies and Film New School University
The fight for media
democracy will not be won by
academics, or lobbyists, or people representing one
race, class or gender working separately.
Since 2004 the Grassroots
Media Conferences have
convened thousands for a weekend of workshops,
skills-sharing, dialogue, debate and strategizing
sessions about media making, media policy and how to
use media to support grassroots organizing efforts.
This year we are looking for
innovative and
collaborative panels as well as action oriented
projects to keep attendees motivated and active long after the
conference.
The Third Annual New York
City Grassroots Media
Conference is now accepting workshop proposals: http://nycgrassrootsmedia.org/proposals
advertising requests and table reservations: http://nycgrassrootsmedia.org/2006promotions
endorsements and more: http://nycgrassrootsmedia.org/2006endorse
Please visit our NEW web portal at http://nycgrassrootsmedia.org
to get involve
Nan Rubin, Community Media
Services
________________________________________________________________________________________
Launch of Translation Series: New Advocacy Tool
for the Reform of Family Law in Muslim-Majority Societies
Guide to Equality in the Family in the Maghreb is the first volume in a
new Translation Series launched by WLP to increase the availability of
feminist works produced in the Global South, especially those that
lucidly define women's issues, identify fields of opportunity, and map
out strategies to empower women and to promote women's human rights.
Family law in
Muslim-majority societies governs every aspect of a woman's life - from
minimum age and conditions of marriage, to divorce, child custody, and
the right to work, travel, or decide on a place of residence. The
reform of family law is therefore crucial to women's ability to
participate on equal terms in both family life and public life. In each
thematic module, the Guide presents the current state of the law, then
proposes religious, human rights, sociological, and domestic legal
arguments for reform, well-supported by relevant data.
To purchase a copy of the
Guide, go to: http://www.store.yahoo.com/learningpartnership/otpub.html
________________________
Prescription Assistance:
Most pharmaceutical companies have programs for low-income and
underinsured individuals, whereby they ship free prescription drugs
either right to your door or to your doctor's office. To qualify, most
require a maximum income of $16,000 to $18,000 for single households
and $24,000 for multiple-person households. Simply ask your pharmacist
for the name of the manufacturer for your prescription medications.
Then call the toll-free number for that company and ask for that
company's patient assistance program. You'll get right through. Usually
a recorded message will tell you the basic requirements and give you
the option of talking with a live representative. They will tell you
how to apply for the program. The companies are courteous and seem
eager to provide assistance... For two years I've been getting four
free prescriptions with a retail price of $365 per month. Without this
program, I simply could not afford them. -- Nancy B
_______________________________________________
HEALTH TIP: Save Your Stomach - Skip the Juice!
Acidic foods, such as citrus fruits, can be real trouble-makers when it
comes to the state of your stomach. Some of us simply cannot tolerate
citrus, and we suffer from stomach pain and indigestion after eating
just one glass of juice. But don't give up on citrus completely - it's
possible that the problem involves only juices. Whole fruits can be a
whole lot easier on your stomach.
So try skipping the juice, and go straight to the source! Apart
from being gentler on the stomach, whole fruits are also higher in
fiber - and lower in calories - than their juices.
If you find that citrus still disagrees with you, make sure you don't
miss out on the large doses of vitamin C these fruits provide. Make up
for it with other vitamin C - -rich foods, such as broccoli, brussels
sprouts, red cabbage, and snow peas, to ensure you're getting all the
nutrients you need.
==========
COMMENTARY:
* This Isn't The Real America by Jimmy Carter, Los Angeles Times
In recent years, I have become increasingly concerned by a host of
radical government policies that now threaten many basic principles
espoused by all previous administrations, Democratic and
Republican.These include the rudimentary American commitment to peace,
economic and social justice, civil liberties, our environment and human
rights. Also endangered are our historic commitments to providing
citizens with truthful information, treating dissenting voices and
beliefs with respect, state and local autonomy and fiscal
responsibility.
At the same time, our
political leaders have declared independence from the restraints of
international organizations and have disavowed long-standing global
agreements including agreements on nuclear arms, control of biological
weapons and the international system of justice. Instead of our
tradition of espousing peace as a national priority unless our security
is directly threatened, we have proclaimed a policy of "preemptive
war," an unabridged right to attack other nations unilaterally to
change an unsavory regime or for other purposes. When there are serious
differences with other nations, we brand them as international pariahs
and refuse to permit direct discussions to resolve disputes.
Regardless of the costs, there are determined efforts by top U.S.
leaders to exert American imperial dominance throughout the world.These
revolutionary policies have been orchestrated by those who believe that
our nation's tremendous power and influence should not be
internationally constrained. Even with our troops involved in combat
and America facing the threat of additional terrorist attacks, our
declaration of "You are either with us or against us!" has replaced the
forming of alliances based on a clear comprehension of mutual
interests, including the threat of terrorism.
Another disturbing
realization is that, unlike during other times of national crisis,
the burden of conflict is now concentrated exclusively on the few
heroic men and women sent back repeatedly to fight in the quagmire of
Iraq. The rest of our nation has not been asked to make any sacrifice,
and every effort has been made to conceal or minimize public awareness
of casualties. Instead of cherishing our role as the great champion of
human rights, we now find civil liberties and personal privacy
grossly violated under some extreme provisions of the Patriot Act. Of
even greater concern is that the U.S. has repudiated the Geneva accords
and espoused the use of torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo
Bay, and secretly through proxy regimes elsewhere with the so-called
extraordinary rendition program.
It is embarrassing to see the president and vice president insisting
that the CIA should be free to perpetrate "cruel, inhumane or degrading
treatment or punishment" on people in U.S. custody. Instead of reducing
America's reliance on nuclear weapons and their further proliferation,
we have insisted on our right (and that of others) to retain our
arsenals, expand them, and therefore abrogate or derogate almost all
nuclear arms control agreements negotiated during the last 50 years. We
have now become a prime culprit in global nuclear proliferation.
America also has abandoned
the prohibition of "first use" of nuclear weapons against
nonnuclear nations, and is contemplating the previously condemned
deployment of weapons in space.Protection of the environment has fallen
by the wayside because of government subservience to political pressure
from the oil industry and other powerful lobbying groups. The last five
years have brought continued lowering of pollution standards at home
and almost universal condemnation of our nation's global environmental
policies.
Our government has abandoned fiscal responsibility by unprecedented
favors to the
rich, while neglecting America's working families. Members of Congress
have increased their own pay by $30,000 per year since freezing the
minimum wage at $5.15 per hour (the lowest among industrialized
nations). I am extremely concerned by a fundamentalist shift in many
houses of worship and in government, as church and state have
become increasingly intertwined in ways previously thought unimaginable.
As the world's only
superpower, America should be seen as the unswerving champion of peace,
freedom and human rights. Our country should be the focal point around
which other nations can gather to combat threats to international
security and to enhance the quality of our common environment. We
should be in the forefront of providing human assistance to people in
need. It is time for the deep and disturbing political divisions within
our country to be substantially healed, with Americans united in a
common commitment to revive and nourish the historic political and
moral values that we have espoused during the last 230 years.
Jimmy Carter was the 39th president of the United States. His newest
book is "Our
Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis," published this month by
Simon & Schuster.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Bolivian leader to cut own salary By Simon
Watts, BBC News
The socialist president-elect of Bolivia, Evo Morales, has said he will
cut
his salary by half when he takes office next month.
Mr Morales said his cabinet would follow suit and that members of
Bolivia's
parliament would be expected to cut their allowances.
He also reaffirmed his
commitment to change Bolivia's economic system.
At the moment, Mr Morales, an Aymara Indian born into poverty, rents a
single room in a shared house. When he moves into the presidential
palace next month, Mr Morales is not
planning to switch to a jet-set lifestyle.
Wealth tax
Announcing the salary cut, he said that in a country as poor as
Bolivia, the
president and his cabinet should share the burden. The money saved will
go on social programmes,
particularly in the field of education. Mr Morales also confirmed
that his government plans to
introduce a new tax on the wealthy as soon as possible.
His advisors say they are
planning to revoke a decree from 1985 which
switched Bolivia to the sort of free-market economy recommended by
Washington. These announcements will go down well with the poor voters
who gave Mr
Morales a resounding election victory.
Huge expectations
The real task for the president-elect, however, is to manage the huge
expectations he has generated in Bolivia.
Mr Morales will be able to
point to the sort of measures unveiled on Tuesday
if, as seems likely, he moves more slowly on other pledges such as
nationalisation of the gas industry or easing restrictions on growing
the
coca plant. Mr Morales also announced that his first foreign trip as
president-elect
would be to Cuba, a country he has long admired.
This visit will be closely
watched in Washington, which fears the potential
influence in Latin America of an alliance between Cuba, Bolivia and
oil-rich Venezuela.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
* The Eastern Wall - Closing the Circle of Our
Ghettoization by Jamal Juma; December 24, 2005
More than a year has passed since the Occupation Forces declared
the completion of the first section of the Apartheid Wall - running
from Jenin to Qalqiliya. Rapid construction around Jerusalem, Ramallah,
Bethlehem and Hebron marks the second phase of the project. Meanwhile,
away from public attention, the Occupation has begun the third phase of
the Wall, which will annex and ethnically cleanse the Jordan Valley.
Under the rubric of "development," the Valley has become a "Major
Governmental Project" for settlement expansion. The result has been the
destruction of Palestinian land, increased house demolitions, and the
expulsion of Palestinian Bedouins. Last week, two of the four
"terminals" controlling Palestinian movement in and out of the area
were closed to all Palestinians not residing there, thus completely
isolating the northern areas of the Jordan Valley. In the south,
"flying checkpoints" exclude Palestinians without residency permits
recognized by the Occupation - including land owners.
The final step in the annexation of the Valley has begun.
Judaizing the Jordan Valley
The Jordan Valley has always been a key target of Zionist
expansionism. The Valley comprises over 28% of the West Bank territory
and provides access to the water reserves of the River Jordan. The
hilltops yield control over a significant portion of the West Bank,
providing strategic locations for the effective siege of Palestinians.
Today the Jordan Valley, site of the first West Bank settlements,
contains 21 colonies held by around 6300 settlers. Recently, they were
reinforced by the arrival of a group of colonizers redeployed from Gaza.
In order to finalize the annexation of the Valley, Zionists have
invested $24 million for "development" over the last two years, with a
further $19 million slated for 2006 to 2008. Extensive land theft forms
the backbone of the ethnic cleansing project in the Jordan Valley. Of
the 2,400 km2 of land in the Valley, 455.7 km2 is considered "closed
military areas," 1655.5 km2 will be controlled by settlements, and 243
km2 has been confiscated along the border with Jordan, This leaves only
45 km2 for Palestinians.
The 2% of the Jordan Valley that remains will consist of a
ghetto around Jericho and a cluster of small, isolated villages without
land - in other words, the conditions for a catastrophic Palestinian
exile.
The Expulsion of the Palestinian population
Because they dwell on large areas of land, Palestinian Bedouins
have been a central target of the Occupation since 1948, when 50,000
Bedouins were expelled from the Negev (Naqab) desert. Today, the
remaining Bedouins in the Negev and the Jordan Valley face an imminent
threat of definitive expulsion.
Recently, the Occupation issued a series of military orders for
the expulsion of Bedouins, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the
confiscation of Palestinian land, and the expansion of Jewish
settlements.
In April 2005, Occupation Forces expelled 300 Palestinian
families (1500 persons) from east of Tubas and stole 10,000 dunums of
land. Southeast of Bethlehem, the Occupation expelled 6 families, stole
20 water wells, and destroyed 20 shelters used for around 22,000 sheep
and 500 camels. Later, hundreds of Bedouins in Sawahreh Al-Sharkiya,
near the center of the Valley, were ordered to abandon 25,000 dunums of
land. The Apartheid Wall will now isolate them from an area extending
from Sawahreh at the outskirts of Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and up to
the north of Jericho.
For months, sheep
grazing on confiscated land have been regularly "detained" by the
Occupation and the owners penalized with massive fines, This week,
Palestinian shepherds reported the outright theft of sheep.
The confiscation of land and isolation of the Jordan Valley,
along with the harassment of shepherds, is systematically destroying
the Palestinian livestock industry and depriving our people of yet
another source of income.
House destruction is another element of the Zionist plan. Dozens
of houses have already been demolished in the Jordan Valley. Four
family homes have been demolished in both Jeftlik and Fasayel. For
years, all construction has been forbidden for the 1500 inhabitants of
Fasayel and the village has been denied access to infrastructure for
water and electricity. In addition, villagers resist regular harassment
and attacks from nearby settlements.
A total disaster threatens to engulf Al-Akaba village. 700 of
its 1000 inhabitants were expelled after the 1967 war. The Occupation
arbitrarily detains the remaining population in the nearby military
camp and confiscates livestock and ID cards. Now, the village council
has received 16 demolition orders covering most buildings in the
village, including the kindergarten, health center, mosque and power
station.
Meanwhile, settlement construction and expansion is colonizing
the newly confiscated areas. Three months ago, settlers from Rotam
fenced-off 1000 dunums of land. Miskyot colony is expanding and
bulldozers are working relentlessly to prepare land and infrastructure
for a new colony in the northwest of the Valley.
Settlement activity was recently bolstered when the Occupation
ministry of Housing published tenders for 700 new units in two major
settlements. Furthermore, the Occupation has approved a huge
agricultural project, including access to wide tracts of land, free
water, and $22 million of subsidies to seduce new settlers.
The third phase of the Apartheid Wall project
Racist occupation laws and a "development" scheme for the
colonization of the Jordan Valley create a horrible reality of
expulsion and ghettoization, known all too well throughout the West
Bank. Fenced-in roads, military zones, settlements, checkpoints,
trenches and roadblocks are contiguously deployed in a form that
mirrors the cement walls enclosing Palestinians from the west.
While Palestinians in the Jordan Valley are forced to live in
shacks and host entire schools in tents, Zionist settlers are building
a new era of racist dispossession, oppression and expulsion. The final
aim is to ensure that the region, once emptied of its Palestinian
population, becomes a major Zionist strategic asset and provides
large-scale agricultural and natural resources to sustain their economy
and expansion. In the south, construction of the eastern Wall has begun
near Eizzariya and will soon encircle Bethlehem and Hebron from the
east and cut the West Bank in two.
While Palestinian governmental representatives are invited to
the tables of global diplomacy, the Palestinian people are
systematically being ghettoized. Physical isolation is part of the plan
to fragment the Palestinian struggle and build walls between our
struggle and the struggle for Arab self-determination.
The noose around the neck of the Palestinian people is rapidly
tightening.
While the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem destroys the urban
center of Palestine, the annexation and isolation of the Jordan Valley
is depriving Palestinians of their land, water resources, agricultural
and livestock production.
In the face of this reality, the frenzied debates about whether
new Labor leader Peretz is a "peace dove" within the Zionist camp to
promise a "Palestinian state" seem outlandish. These debates aim merely
to silence the urgent Palestinian call to isolate Apartheid Israel and
avert the world's attention from the ongoing colonization of
Palestinian land, a process that has always been fervently carried out
by both Labor and Likud administrations. At this stage, a two state
solution might be theoretically controversial; but it has become
practically impossible. Negotiations for statehood without borders, a
capital, or land merely deceive our people and the rest of the world.
... Jamal Juma`- Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall
Campaign - For Maps go to: www.stopthewall.org
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=9398
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
* Note to Health Care Reform Activists: Public
Employee Health Benefits to Evaporate by Andy Coates
MRZine http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/coates251205.html
According to two recent articles, one in the New York
Times and one in the Wall Street Journal, the federal
Governmental Accounting Standards Board has begun to
require municipalities -- states, counties, cities --
to account for how much it will cost them to provide
all the health care promised to present and retired
public employees. This process, to be completed over
the next 3 years, has already started in states like
Alaska, Delaware, and Maryland and cities like Duluth,
Minnesota and Arlington, Texas.
In response, public employers have begun slashing the
benefits offered to new hires. Retirees' and current
employees' health benefits will be next. A union
struggle will be enjoined, as public employee unions
face an ever more defensive struggle to hold on to
health benefits.
As of 2006, new hires in Arlington, Texas will have no
retirement health benefits.
* MOST VALUABLE PROGRESSIVES OF 2005 John
Nichols, The Nation
The year is ending on a much better note than it began, thanks to the
courage and conviction of elected officials,
activists and organizations. http://www.alternet.org/story/30176/
* ALTERNET'S 2005 EDITOR'S PICKS
Our editors' favorite stories from 2005, from our Hurricane Katrina
coverage to the best articles by our
staff writers. http://www.alternet.org/story/30137/
* BIG BROTHER BUSH Molly Ivins, AlterNet
I don't mean to scare you silly -- but there's a reason we have never
given our government this kind of power.
http://www.alternet.org/story/30175/
* DR. GERM AND MRS. ANTHRAX Robert
Scheer, AlterNet
The U.S. media vilified two Iraqi female scientists. So why isn't the
press protesting their quiet release from prison?
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/30168/
* A 'LOYAL OPPOSITION' WON'T END THE WAR
Jeremy Scahill, AlterNet
Until the Democrats admit their complicity -- going back 15 years or
more -- in the war on Iraq, there's no chance for
withdrawal. http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/28491/
* ABORTION: TROUBLE IN NUMBERS? Jennifer
Baumgardner, Nerve.com
Even among pro-choice activists, why does having more than one abortion
imply a woman has been 'careless'?
http://www.alternet.org/rights/28366/
* JESUS, MEET EVOLUTION Bryan
Collinsworth, Campus Progress
Despite recent rants from fundamentalist leaders, it's okay for
Christians to believe in Darwin.
http://www.alternet.org/story/28483/
* COME HOME AGAIN, AMERICA Terrence
McNally, AlterNet
George McGovern, subject of a new documentary, discusses the bright and
shining moments of his 1972 presidential campaign
and how it changed politics forever. http://www.alternet.org/story/28472/
* HATE CRIMES IN PRISON David Holthouse,
Intelligence Report
Aryan Brotherhood members make up less than one percent of the nation's
inmate population, yet the
white power gang is responsible for 18% of all prison murders. http://www.alternet.org/rights/27726/
* RESISTING MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL IN
TENNESSEE Kari Lydersen, The New Standard
A revival of the controversial strip-mining practice is stirring ire
and protest from locals in the North
Cumberland Mountains. http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/28489/