CONTENTS:
PHILLY & PA NEWS:
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A GRANNY TO JOIN OUR IRAQ WAR PROTESTS
Volunteer Now to Beat Santorum
Voter Registration Trainings on Tuesdays
White Dog Café is hosting an event, "Veterans and Young
Activists Speak"
Asian Arts Initiative films: Confronting Change and Shaping the Future
NW Greens will meet on August 3 & on August 8
Health Peace Event, August 20
Philly Beyond Oil 2006 Conference- Building a Just Society Beyond Peak
Oil and Global Warming
----------------
NATIONAL ACTION:
Quick Report & Request from the Israeli Peace Front
Contact your Reps- Sign on as a cosponsor to H.Con.Res.450, Immediate
cease-fire in the Middle East.
WAYS TO SAVE THE LIVES OF ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN (In the Middle East)-
Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Protest Nike's Anti-Union Sourcing Practices on July 29
-------------------
Mix It Up Youth Grants & job Opportunities
-------------------
COMMENTARY:
Conyers v. Bush
Specter v. Bush
"LABOR LEADING THE FIGHT FOR A SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE SYSTEM" -
Healthcare-NOW:
U.S. Could Take Lessons from Mexican Voting Process by Norman Stockwell
NAACP Chairman Julian Bond's Address to 97th NAACP Convention By Julian
Bond
WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM 1325 PEACEWOMEN
E-NEWS
================
PHILLY & PA NEWS:
GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE: Join us
1. SUNDAY, JULY 30TH 1-2:30 pm
CARPENTER & GREENE (near Weaver's Way Co-op)
MUSIC, PETITION SIGNING, FLYERS
* * * * *
Philadelphia Grannies for Peace:
Gloria Hoffman - 215-843-2939, hoffman1@comcast.net
Marlene Santoyo - 215-247-4385, marlsan@cavtel.net
END WAR IN IRAQ
We are the Grannies who were arrested when we tried to enlist. We have
been charged with "defiant trespass" to be tried Dec. 1st. Support our
continuing protest against this needless trillion $ WAR!
&
2. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2nd AT RITTENHOUSE SQUARE PARK
5:6:30P.M. 18TH AND WALNUT STREETS
____________________________________________________
Volunteer Now to Beat Santorum
1- Sign up to be a Block
Captain
2- Register voters and
recruit members
The best way to turn out all of Philadelphians who won't vote in the
fall is if neighbors, friends, and family, like you, knock on the doors
of new, infrequent, and young voters and give them a reason to vote.
We're getting started early by recruiting block captains all over the
city.
If you would like to serve
as a block captain in your neighborhood, and help us begin to build
relationships with voters and also recruit new members, click : http://www.phillyagainstsantorum.org/go/volunteer
In addition to recruiting
block captains from the current membership of Philadelphians Against
Santorum, we also need to bring more people into the fold. Help
us recruit new members at concerts, movies and events now and in the
coming months, sign-up to be an outreach volunteer below, and we'll
contact you weekly with opportunities to help:
PS- If you want to get started helping us right away, there is an
outreach opportunity this Friday night.
We'll be recruiting new
members this Friday night, July 28th at the Jaguar Wright concert at
Penn's Landing. You'll have a chance to meet lots of new people, help
in the effort to beat Rick Santorum in Philadelphia and hear a great
performance from the Jaguar Wright, a native Philadelphian who has
released 2 albums and performed with the Roots and Jay-Z. * To
sign up to help on Friday from 6:00-9:00 PM, click below: http://www.phillyagainstsantorum.org/go/RSVP
____________________________________________________________
1- Three Voter Registration Trainings on
Tuesdays. (choose one)
Tuesday, July 25th from 4pm to 6pm or
Tuesday, August 8th from 6pm to 8pm or
Sunday, September 10th from 2pm to 4pm.
Please choose one date and RSVP with the date you wish to attend.
All training sessions will be held at 1515 Fairmount Avenue. Snacks
will also be provided.
Please RSVP to Stevia Baldwin or Jennine Miller at
advocacy@projecthome.org or 215-232-7272, x3106 or x3042.
2- Election Activity for Nonprofits- Free Workshop
Dou have questions about the IRS rules that impact your nonprofit's
involvement in the Vote for Homes! coalition or other election-related
activities? Please join Vote for Homes! for a web-based workshop
that we will participate in together at Project H.O.M.E.'s Honickman
Learning Center Comcast Technology Labs.
July 27,
2006 Online Web Workshop Sponsored by Alliance for
Justice 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM, workshop and discussion
Honickman Learning Center
Comcast Technology Labs , 1936 N. Judson Street (located between
Berks and Montgomery Streets &
23rd and 24th Streets)
RSVP to Stevia Baldwin at advocacy@projecthome.org or
215-232-7272, x3106
________________________________________________________________________
Monday, July 31, the White Dog Café
is hosting an event, "Veterans and Young Activists Speak"
T wo young activists who will have just returned from a gathering
at the Highlander Center in Tennessee to bring Iraq Veterans and youth
anti-war leaders together to strategize about ending the Iraq
war. They will speak at 7:30 and you can
have dinner at 6, however, dinner is not required.
Reservations are required, however, for either dinner or just the
talk, at 215-386-9224.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Asian Arts Initiative presents our films at
the Atwater Kent Museum: Confronting Change and Shaping the Future
Wednesday, July 26,- Doors open at 5pm, film program 6-8pm. Free
with AKMP admission.
Gayle Isa, Executive Director, Asian Arts Initiative, introduces three
short films documenting PHiladelphia Chinatown community history. "Look
forward and carry on the past": Stories from Chinatown InvAsian
Chinatown Life Stories
Wednesday, August 2
Miriam Camitta, Ph.D., filmaker and folklorist, introduces a film about
South Street. Crosstown
Monday, August 7
Anula Shetty, Philadelphia-based independent filmmaker, introduces two
films about North Philadelphia's American Street corridor African
Gardens- Life Stories from American Street
* * * * *
The Asian Arts Initiative is grounded in the belief that the arts can
provide an important political and cultural voice for the Asian
American community in Philadelphia. We serve as a community arts center
where artists and everyday people are developing means to express our
diverse experiences as Asian Americans.
Asian Arts Initiative
1315 Cherry Street, 2nd
Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215)557-0455 | http://www.asianartsinitiative.org
________________________________________
NW Greens will meet on August 3
Interested in single payer health care, casino-free Northwest, paper
records at your polling place, Recycle NOW Philadelphia, join Northwest
Greens at 7:00 pm on Thursday, August 3, in the Weavers' Way Meeting
Room, 610 Carpenter Lane in West Mount Airy. More information from
215-843-4256 and <nwgreens@yahoo.com>.
___________________
NW Peace & Justice will meet on August 8
It is time to pressure Rep. Chaka Fattah to sign the Declaration of
Peace in Iraq. Northwest Peace and Justice Movement will meet at 7:00
pm on Tuesday, July 11, in the Parish Center behind Saint Vincent's
Church, 109 East Price Street in Germantown. For more information:
215-843-4256 or <nwgreens@yahoo.com>.
___________________
Health Peace Event, August 20
On August 20, 1998, the Pentagon, under orders from President William
Jefferson Clinton, used cruise missiles to attack a long-deserted camp
in Afghanistan and the al-Shifa (Health) aspirin factory in Khartoum,
Sudan. Join us on the anniversary of this futile exercise in military
diplomacy to ask Senator Arlen Specter to cut off funding for the
occupation of Iraq. Northwest Peace and Justice Movement (and 18 other
peace groups) will hold a Trinity Peace Event from 2:00 until 4:00 pm
on Sunday, August 20, near Senator Specter's home, on Schoolhouse Lane
(between Henry Avenue and Gypsy Lane) in East Falls. For more
information: 215-843-4256 or <nwgreens@yahoo.com>.
________________________________________
Philadelphia Area Nonviolent Peaceforce
Next meeting August 22 (Tuesday) 7PM Friends Center, Room 21, 1501
Cherry St.,
from Clarkson Palmer Ctpalmer@aol.com (610-388-2625)
_____________________________________________________
Philly Beyond Oil 2006 Conference- Building a
Just Society Beyond Peak Oil and Global Warming
October 14, 2006
Friends Meeting House, 4th
& Arch, Philadelphia - participants welcome-
info@fossilfreephilly.org
================================================================================
NATIONAL ACTION:
Quick Report & Request from the Israeli Peace Front
The peace movement in Israel has pulled out all stops to end this mad
war. Lots of groups are active, and we had a big joint
demonstration last night - at least 5,000 people (though the media
reported 2,500). Marching through the streets of Tel Aviv with
signs, "End the War", "End the Occupation" felt like a relief after the
roar of pro-war-talk on all the media.
Women in Black held vigils last Friday throughout Israel. The
reactions from the street were quite violent and the police were out in
numbers keeping onlookers (and on-shouters) at bay. After our
vigil, we read the list of 55 (!) locations [see list below] that held
solidarity events this weekend. Some were Women in Black and
others organized by allied groups. We felt greatly encouraged by
this international solidarity.
I end with a short note from Hannah Safran of the Haifa vigil of Women
in Black. The women were shelled during the vigil, but they
returned to complete it. Later that day, under the newly formed
"Women Against War", they again left their homes to protest.
* Please continue to voice your protest throughout the
world.
Gila Svirsky www.coalitionofwomen.org
-------------------------------------
Tel Aviv: Thousands Rally Against War
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0724-05.htm
-------------------------------------
- TAKE ACTION: Contact your
Representative and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor to H.Con.Res.450,
calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East. If your
Representative has already co-sponsored this resolution, thank him/her.
- Call the Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121
Demonstrations and Vigils held this weekend (or just before)
Albuquerque, NM, US Amsterdam, Netherlands, Armidale, Australia,
Asheville, NC, US, Baltimore, MD, US, Bay Area, CA, US ,Belgrade,
Serbia, Bellevue, WA, US, Berlin, Germany, Bonn, Germany, Burlington,
VT, US, Calgary, Canada, Canberra, Australia, Cologne, Germany,
Concord, MA, US, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK,MA, Farmington, MA, US,
Göteborg, Sweden, Greece, Halmsted, Sweden, Kitchener, Canada,
Lancaster, PA, US, London, UK, London, Ontario, Canada Los Angeles, CA,
US, Malmö, Sweden, Marseille, France, Melbourne, Australia,
Minneapolis, MN, US Montreal, Canada, Naples, Italy, New Orleans, LA,
US, New Paltz, NY, US (near Woodstock) New York, NY, US, Oslo, Norway,
Ottawa, Canada , Oxford, UK, Padova, Italy , Piteå, Sweden
Paris, France , Pune, Marashtra, India , Rome, Italy, San Luis Obispo,
CA, US, Seattle, WA, US South Dakota, US, Stockholm, Sweden,
Strasbourg, France, Toronto, Canada, Tucson, AZ, US, Switzerland,
Turin, Italy Valencia, Spain , Vienna, Austria,
Washington, DC, US
__________________________________________
WAYS TO SAVE THE LIVES OF ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN (In
the Middle East)
1. Ask your US Senator to urge an immediate cease-fire and the creation
of a strong UN force guarding against attacks in either direction
across the Lebanese-Israeli boundary. For convenient
letter-writing, go to --
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/tsc/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=4668
2. Send money to support Physicians for Human Rights in Israel in
their work to take medical supplies to Palestinian hospitals in crisis.
You can click to -- http://www/shalomctr.org.
Click on the blue Donate Now button and be sure to write "Hospitals" in
the "On behalf of" box.
3. Send money to two trustworthy Lebanese relief organizations
struggling to deal with the disaster:
A -- Beneficiary: Lebanese Red Cross (Lebanon)
Bank name: Audi Bank, Bab Idriss, Account number:
841500 Website: http://www.saveleb.org/
B -- Beneficiary: Hariri Foundation Lebanon Relief Fund (the money will
be wired from the US to Lebanon; the foundation honors the Lebanese
statesman who opposed Syrian domination and was assassinated.)
Bank Name: Citibank, 8001 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD
20814
Account #: 240 70249 ABA#: 254070116
4. Donate to Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross,
to heal those wounded in attacks on Israeli cities. Go to
--- www.magendavidadom.org/
5. Start receiving information from at least one of the American
Jewish organizations dedicated to seeking peace through achieving a
secure Israel, a viable Palestine, and an independent Lebanon.
This list represents a wide spectrum of approaches within that
understanding. Even if one disagrees with some aspects of their
policy positions (and The Shalom Center often does), they carry
valuable information.
Brit Tzedek v'Shalom (Jewish Alliance for Justice &
Peace) http://www.btvshalom.org/
Tikkun Community / Network of Spiritual Activists http://www.tikkun.org/
Americans for Peace Now http://www.peacenow.org/
Israel Policy Forum http://www.ipforum.org/
Meretz USA (affiliated with a peace-oriented Israeli political party,
Meretz). http://www.meretzusa.org/
The Shalom Center - subscribe to the free on-line SHALOM REPORT: click
to --http://www.shalomctr.org/subscribe
Jewish Peace News - On-line reports sent by Jewish Voice for
Peace, more critical of Israel than those groups listed above, but
conduit for useful news reports. http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/jpn.shtml
6. Read two quite different Israeli news sources: One is the Israeli
newspaper Haaretz on-line in English. It has a mildly dovish view
of Israeli policy, and often carries reports of life in the occupied
Palestinian territories. Check it out on -
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/. Second:
Subscribe (free) to Uri Avnery's vigorous English-language on-line
commentary on Israeli-Palestinian relationships. www.gush-shalom.org
<http://www.gush-shalom.org> ,
uri-avnery@list.avnery-news.co.il
7. Subscribe (free) to the on-line news service of Israeli-Palestinian
Center for Research & Information (IPCRI), a Jerusalem-based source
for a wide variety of news, analysis, and ideas. IPCRI is rooted in
concern for both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.
Go to -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPCRI-News-Service/
Click on "sign up."
- Rabbi Arthur
Waskow [shalomctr@aol.com]
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Protest Nike's Anti-Union Sourcing
Practices on July 29
United Students Against Sweatshops [mailto:organize@usasnet.org]
Three years ago, workers at the BJ&B factory, which produces
hats for Nike, won a collective bargaining agreement that
included a ten percent pay increase over and above the legal
minimum. Nike, as well as other licensees, responded not only by
refusing to pay the extra money necessary to cover the pay
increase, but by shifting their orders to factories in which
workers were not able to exercise their right to form a union.
This has meant that the BJ&B factory, which three years ago
employed over 1600 workers, currently only employs 250. Just
last month, two hundred more workers were laid off due to a lack
of orders, and it appears that, if Nike is not forced to stop
its practice of cutting and running, BJ&B will be forced to
close its doors.
Students, workers, and community members around the country have
decided to take a stand and to tell Nike that a true commitment
to workers' rights does not include closing down their few
unionized factories.
Saturday July 29, at 3PM,
Protests will be held at
Niketowns in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York,
Portland, Seattle, Boston,
and San Francisco.
If you are near any of these areas, and would like to get involved,
please
contact the following individuals:
Los Angeles: Esther Rodriguez 951-551-2240 esufusu@gmail.com
Chicago: Camila Leiva 518-366-8503 camilalei@gmail.com
Denver: Timmers Hillman 303-817-3325 ctimmycc9@yahoo.com
New York: Karina Garcia 917-843-7503 ogkarina@gmail.com
Portland: Lila 503-267-0387 little_ducky@vpservices.com
Seattle: Erica Irby 206-265-9649 ericairby@hotmail.com
Boston: Jamila Martin 617-549-6833 jrmartin@fas.harvard.edu
San Francisco: Nina Rizzo 510-517-6855 narizzo@gmail.com
Together we can force Nike to live up to its supposed commitment
to social justice and reward factories like BJ&B in which
workers have won recognition of some of their most basic rights.
----
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
http://www.unionvoice.org/join-forward.html?domain=studentsagainstsweat&r=f1zhItM1DcOW
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for United
Students Against Sweatshops at:
http://www.unionvoice.org/studentsagainstsweat/join.html?r=f1zhItM1DcOWE
=================
* Mix It Up Youth Grants
Have a great idea about how to challenge social boundaries and bring
down the walls that divide your school? We want to help, and, to prove
it, we give $500 grants to support youth-directed programs and projects
that address social boundaries in schools or communities. (Keep in
mind: we can't give you one for hosting a Mix It Up at Lunch Day.) Our
guidelines are simple:
* Youth must serve as decision-makers in the project. Ideally, the
project is created and implemented by youth.
* Projects must promote collaboration across social boundaries -
different youth groups, clubs or community groups working together.
* The project or program should be a part of an ongoing effort, or an
effort that's just getting started, but will continue.
* Grants are non-renewable.
Be creative. We're definitely open to new ideas! http://www.tolerance.org/teens/grants.jsp
___________________________________________________
Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program
(Sep 22)
Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program Accepting Letters of Intent
From New Applicants
Deadline: September 22, 2006 (Letters of Intent)
A program of the Pew Charitable Trusts (http://pewtrusts.org/), the
Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program seeks to stimulate leadership
and best practices within the cultural community by providing
multi-year operating support to organizations that meet high standards
of programmatic, fiscal, and management performance. All PCLP grants
are for three years, and the use of the funds is unrestricted.
Since the program's inception, fifty-five organizations have been
awarded PCLP grants, with the average award totaling 5 percent of the
grantee's prior-year expenses. All grant awards are based on the budget
size evident from the most recent audit. Applicants should base their
requested amount on that audit.
All PCLP grants are for operating support and may not be used for
endowment, capital projects, or debt reduction.
New applicants are strongly encouraged to speak with Culture program
staff in advance of submitting an application to the Philadelphia
Cultural Leadership Program. See the Pew Charitable Trusts Web site for
complete program information as well as guidelines for renewing
organizations (those currently receiving PCLP funding).
RFP Link: http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10003519/pewtrusts
For additional RFPs in Arts and Culture, visit: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml
_______________________________________
Promote Arts in Healing Grants (Aug 16)
Johnson & Johnson/Society for the Arts in Healthcare Partnership to
Promote Arts in Healing Grants
Deadline: August 16, 2006 (Letters of Intent)
Johnson & Johnson (http://www.jnj.com/), working in conjunction
with the Society for the Arts in Healthcare (http://thesah.org/),
seeks to promote the use of the arts to enhance the healthcare
experience for patients, their families, and caregivers.
Proposals are being sought from healthcare organizations and/or arts
agencies working in partnership to produce innovative projects to serve
patients, their families, and caregivers in healthcare settings to
promote healing and preventative health. J&J/SAH projects may be
located in a variety of settings, including clinics, hospitals,
hospices, medical schools, public health services, or other community
health programs.
The range of grant projects is intended to be broad and highly
innovative. Preference will be given to projects that are new
initiatives and have the potential to be replicated. In addition to
projects serving broad patient populations and healthcare providers, a
portion of grant funds will be reserved for arts programs serving those
living with HIV/AIDS, their families, and/or caregivers.
Visit the Society for the Arts in Healthcare Web site for complete
guidelines, application forms, and an FAQ.
RFP Link: http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10003529/thesah
For additional RFPs in Health, visit: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_health.jhtml
_________________________________________________
Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards (Nov 99)
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Invites Nominations for Camille
Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards
Deadline: November 9, 2006
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation (http://dreyfus.org/)
established the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program to
support the teaching and research careers of talented young faculty in
the chemical sciences. The program is focused primarily on individual
research accomplishments and promise, but evidence of excellence in
teaching is also expected.
Institutions in the states, districts, and territories of the United
States that grant a bachelor's or higher degree in chemistry, chemical
engineering, or biochemistry may submit nominations to the program.
Nominees must hold a full-time tenure-track academic appointment and
are normally expected to be within the first five years of their
independent academic careers.
The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award provides an unrestricted
$75,000 research grant. Of that total, $7,500 is earmarked for
departmental expenses associated with research and education. Funds are
normally expended over a period of five years.
Institutions may make only one nomination annually for the Dreyfus
Teacher-Scholar Awards Program. Visit the foundation's Web site for
complete program information.
RFP Link: http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10003526/dreyfus
For additional RFPs in Science/Technology, visit: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_science.jhtml
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Opportunities/AmeriCorps
Opportunities/ City Year Greater Philadelphia
City Year Greater Philadelphia now has full time AmeriCorps positions
available-if you or someone you know is looking for a challenging
position working for a dynamic social change agency, visit
www.whyiserve.com to learn more and apply on-line today!
City Year unites 17-24 year olds, from diverse backgrounds, for 10
months of community service and leadership development. City Year
Greater Philadelphia is the fastest growing City Year site and our 183
corps members serve throughout the city of Philadelphia engaged in a
variety of activities that meet critical needs in the communities.
Corps members work on teams and are primarily focused on the education
and development of youth, serving as tutors and mentors for children in
partnership with public schools, running after-school programs and
curricula on issues including violence prevention, environment, and
diversity, and organizing community service projects.
The City Year Greater Philadelphia corps embodies the ideals and the
power of young people. Corps members represent their generation with
pride as they work to affect positive, lasting social change for
children living in the communities they serve. Every day, corps members
work with the spirit of idealism, the discipline of hard work, and the
purpose of shared goals. City Year is great preparation for future
careers and education, and for the third consecutive year, has been
featured in the Princeton Review's "Best Entry-Level Jobs" as one of
112 companies recommended as great places for new grads to work.
For their service, City Year corps members receive a living stipend of
$175 per week and a $4,725 Educational Award to put towards their
higher education or pay off student loans, as well as the opportunity
to develop leadership and teamwork skills that are applicable to any
future endeavor upon completion of their City Year.
Position responsibilities:
Specific responsibilities include:
§ Perform challenging full-time service on a dive! rse team of
peers, 5 days per week, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
§ Engage community leaders in City Year's service through
presentations and events
§ Participate in a comprehensive leadership development program
§ Help design innovative service projects and special events
Position requirements:
City Year corps members are required to demonstrate a commitment to
improving communities through service accompanied by a commitment to
personal growth and leadership development. Additional requirements
include:
§ Being between the ages of 17 and 24
§ Committing to 10 months of full-time community service
§ Passion for working on a diverse team of young adults
§ Previous team, volunteer, and experience working with youth
highly preferred
Position Start & End Dates: Late August 2006 - Late June 2007
For more information please contact Stephanie Tipton at 267-386-7024 or
stipton01@cityyear.org , or visit http://www.whyiserve.com.
==========
COMMENTARY:
Conyers v. Bush
I wanted to update you on the lawsuit I have filed against George W.
Bush and members of his administration, referred to in legal parlance
as Conyers v. Bush.
I decided to file suit against the President in Federal Court in
Michigan, along with 11 Senior Democratic Members of Congress.
This suit was necessary because of a clear violation of the
constitution. When the President signed the Deficit Reduction Act
(which "reduced" the deficit by cutting taxes, health care benefits,
and student loans), he signed into law a bill that had not passed the
House and Senate. A different version of the bill passed each
house of Congress with a multi-billion dollar difference in funding for
life-saving medical equipment.
Anyone who ever watched
Schoolhouse Rock knows this to be a problem.
Given the stakes involved I felt it was imperative to aggressively take
this fight to the courts. The President's lawyers tried to get the bill
dismissed, but late last week I responded with legal filings that stand
up for the rule of law and the Constitution and hope to bring the
President, and our United States government, back under the rule of law.
.. Sincerely, John
Conyers, Jr. website: http://www.johnconyers.com/
Phone: 313-438-2004
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sen. Specter prepping bill to sue Bush By LAURIE
KELLMAN, Associated Press
>A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight
against
>President Bush's signing statements said Monday he would have a
bill ready
>by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal
court.
"We will submit legislation
to the United States Senate which
>will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those
>signing statements with the view to having the president's acts
declared
>unconstitutional," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter,
R-Pa., said on the Senate floor.
Specter's announcement came
the same day that an American Bar Association
>task force concluded that by attaching conditions to legislation,
the
>president has sidestepped his constitutional duty to either sign a
bill,
>veto it, or take no action.
>Bush has issued at least 750 signing statements during his
presidency,
>reserving the right to revise, interpret or disregard laws on
national
>security and constitutional grounds.
"That non-veto hamstrings
Congress because Congress cannot respond to a
>signing statement," said ABA president Michael Greco. The practice,
he
>added "is harming the separation of powers."
____________________________________________________
"LABOR LEADING THE FIGHT FOR A SINGLE PAYER
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM" - Healthcare-NOW: July 24, 2006
Continuing their historic role in support of social justice, labor
unions and workers from 161 unions across all divisions are in the
forefront of the national single payer healthcare coalition movement.
They are calling for a single payer system that would cover everybody
in the United States with quality and affordable healthcare.
As a part of HEALTHCARE-NOW and its partner ALL UNIONS COMMITTEE for
SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE.., over 161 labor endorsements have been voted
for H.R. 676, the single payer national healthcare legislation,
by unions, Central Labor Councils of the AFL-CIO and
Internationals. H.R. 676, the Conyers bill, would assure quality,
comprehensive and affordable healthcare for every resident of the
United States, Healthcare-NOW, the national coalition dedicated
to this healthcare advance is headed by a team of three national
co-chairs representing labor, faith and the medical profession.
They are now launching their new "Elect a Healthy Congress" campaign
calling on politicians to support single payer national healthcare for
all and to commit to refuse contributions from insurance and
pharmaceutical drug companies.
This coalition is determined to defeat the corporations that want to
keep healthcare as a profit-making industry rather than a guaranteed
right for all. They are challenging the Healthcare Industrial
Complex: the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical drug
corporations, the for-profit hospitals and lobbyists and calling for
public control of the financing of the healthcare system.
The Single Payer leaders who co-chair Healthcare-NOW are Leo Gerard,
President of the United Steelworkers, Jim Winkler, head of the United
Methodist Board of Church and Society, and Dr. Quentin Young, National
Coordinator of the fastest growing and most progressive group of
doctors in the nation, Physicians for a National Health Program.
Explains Gerard: "The news about healthcare is worse every day.
The costs are going up. Employer contributions are going down or
becoming non-existent. Quality of care is questionable, and corporate
fraud is rampant. Every contract is about negotiating healthcare
benefits rather than for better salaries and working
conditions. But there is a solution and it is a
single-payer system. What would a single payer system do
for us? According to Jim Winkler, "We would get a lot more than
we do now. All medical, dental, optical, mental health coverage,
all hospitals, medical equipment, pharmaceutical drugs, long term care,
drug and alcohol treatment and more would be a part of the new system.
Attention to and control over the corporate fraud that now takes away
hundreds of billions of dollars would help us pay for this kind of
healthcare for everybody.
How much would we pay? Surprisingly, noted Marilyn Clement,
National Coordinator of Healthcare NOW, we would pay less than we are
paying now considering premiums, co-pays, deductibles, and uncovered
costs such as dental, pharmaceutical drugs and long-term care. An
average family of three that pays more than $10,000 a year now -
including all of the above costs, would now pay about $1,200 a year- or
$100 per month. Employers would contribute equally - the same
amount per employee based on their income. How would
this work? We would all be paying a small amount into the system.
The big corporate insurance and HMO entities would no longer be
handling the money and reaping huge profits, paying for advertising and
lobbying and denying our needs. Instead we would have a single
payer and we would have an entitlement to healthcare.
NEW CAMPAIGN Healthcare-NOW is launching a new campaign to
ELECT A HEALTHY CONGRESS. Unless we change the Congress in the
2006 election, we will not be able to push forward the ambitious agenda
we have for getting national healthcare or any other progressive
legislation.
New indicators of the extreme healthcare and leadership crisis in this
country appear every day. Today, the crisis involves two
additional concerns:
1. The Bush- appointed National Labor Relations
Board is voting this week on a new rule that would cut the numbers of
union members by the hundreds of thousands -turning worker categories
into supervisors - particularly nurses - but also people in every type
of work, eliminating their right to be members of a union. The
NLRB has refused to hear testimony, and a fight is being launched to
stop this blatant anti-worker strategy.
2. Insurance companies are refusing to provide
coverage for patients who use particular hospitals. For example,
the weekend Atlanta Constitution reports that Blue Cross/Blue Shield,
the largest insurer in George is refusing to pay Piedmont Hospital for
patient services. And a similar crisis faces Jamaica Hospital in
New York City, denied payment by Oxford Health.
Go to the website of Healthcare-NOW. www.healthcare-now.org
Get more information about this struggle and how we can win it together
as we build a huge coalition! Join Healthcare-NOW ($30) - or get
your union to join and get the free 10 minute video "Don't be a
Chicken" and copies of "What is Single Payer Universal Healthcare?"
-Join hundreds of other unions endorsing H.R. 676, the United States
Universal Health Care Bill. Contact nursenpo@aol.com. For more
information on how to get involved, contact Healthcare-NOW, 1-800
453-1305 or info@healthcare-now.org
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
U.S. Could Take Lessons from Mexican Voting
Process by Norman Stockwell- July 22, 2006 by the Madison
Capital Times (Wisconsin) http://www.madison.com/
Last Sunday's rally of up to 1.5 million Mexicans in
the main square of the capital city is only the latest
stage in a series of lessons in democracy that our
neighbors to the south are teaching us here in the United States.
In Mexico, campaigning must cease several days before
voting takes place; on election day and the day before,
no alcohol can be sold (or used to buy votes); and
election day itself is always held on a Sunday so
people will be sure to have time off from work to get
to the polls. A nationwide electoral law and system of
voter IDs guarantees uniformity, and hand-marked paper
ballots stuffed into clear boxes give the process a
sense of "transparency" fast disappearing in our country.
__________________________________________________
NAACP Chairman Julian Bond's Address to 97th
NAACP Convention By Julian Bond
Last week I wrote a letter to MT Airy Express & referred to the war
at
home, the penal system that incarcerates people of color.- Read Julian
Bond's
comments. ..
Marlene Santoyo
---------------
"Although blacks are roughly 13 percent of monthly users
of illegal drugs, blacks are 30 percent of drug arrests,
53 percent of drug convictions, and a staggering 67
percent of the people imprisoned for drug offenses.
"Because of the explosion of incarceration driven by
drug prohibition, more than 5 million people are now barred from
voting."
We are the only industrial democracy that does this. As
a result, in the states of the Deep South, almost one-
third of all black men are barred from voting because of
felony convictions, some of them permanently.
It is our job, as the nation's oldest and largest civil
rights organization, to agitate, associate, and advocate
for equal treatment of all citizens of the United
States. Our history shows we are ready for the challenge.
Chairman, NAACP National Board of Directors
<http://www.naacp.org/news/chairman/2006-07-16.html>
(Julian Bond is a Distinguished Professor in the School
of Government at the American University in Washington,
DC, and a Professor in History at the University of
Virginia. In February l998, he was elected Chairman of
the NAACP Board of Directors.)
_____________________________________________________
WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND
FREEDOM 325 PEACEWOMEN E-NEWS , sue #79, July 2006
WILPF DENOUNCES ESCALATION
OF MILITARY AGGRESSION IN LEBANON, ISRAEL AND GAZA
The Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on women,
peace and security, 31 October 2000.
For the text of the resolution, visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/sc/1325.html
For the printer-friendly version of this newsletter and for past
issues, visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/news/1325News/1325ENewsindex.html
To subscribe to 1325 PeaceWomen E-News, email
1325news-owner@peacewomen.org with "subscribe" as the subject heading.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As always we welcome your contributions to the newsletter's content.
The newsletter is sent out at the end of each month. We will feature
the deadline for submissions for the next edition in each newsletter.
Contributions for the August edition should be sent to
enewssubmissions@peacewomen.org by Thursday 17 August 2006.
2. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS
AU COMMISSION ASSURES ON GENDER DECLARATION IMPLEMENTATION
June 27, 2006 - (Angola Press) The first reports on the status of
implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa
(SDGEA) are to be submitted for consideration by the African Union
summit in January 2007, an AU Commission official said Monday. http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/June06/AU_genderdeclaration.html
UGANDA: WOMEN MISSING IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION
July 6, 2006 - (The Monitor) Despite successful efforts to bring peace
to conflict areas, women have not been active participants in the
process, a report by the International Crisis Group indicates. ICG is a
Brussels-based non-governmental organisation working towards preventing
and resolving conflict worldwide. The report says women are often
times excluded from peace agreements and conflict resolution processes
and under-represented in the security sector as a whole.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Uganda/July06/conflict_resolution.html
PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION OPENS: UN REFORM PROCESS ROLLS ON: WILL
WOMEN'S VOICE BE HEARD?
July 10, 2006 - (IWTC Women's GlobalNet) The UN reform process moved a
step forward on Friday, June 23rd, 2006 at UN Headquarters in New York,
with the inaugural meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), a new
31 member intergovernmental advisory committee. The role of the
Commission is to facilitate collaboration and coordination among
political, military, humanitarian, development and UN actors to help
countries during the fragile transitional period between war and
lasting peace. http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/July06/PBC_womensvoices.html
AFGHANISTAN: VICE AND VIRTUE DEPARTMENT COULD RETURN, WOMEN AND GIRLS
AGAIN AT RISK
July 18, 2006 - (Human Rights Watch) Proposal to reestablish the
Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in
Afghanistan raises serious concerns about potential abuse of the rights
of women and vulnerable groups, Human Rights Watch said today. http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Afghanistan/July06/Vice_and_virtue_department.html
WOMEN PRESS U.S. VIOLATIONS AT U.N. RIGHTS REVIEW
July 5, 2006- (Geneva) Today, the Women's International League for
Peace and Freedom (WILPF) joined a coalition of 142 U.S.-based
non-profits and organizations and 32 individuals to release the most
comprehensive review of human rights violations in the United States
ever compiled. The 465-page "shadow report" was assembled for the
United Nation's Human Rights Committee as part of its review of U.S.
human rights abuses later this month.
http://www.wilpf.org/issues/humanrights/humanrightsabuses.html
OSCE OFFICE CO-HOSTS MEETING ON WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS IN
ARMENIA
July 11 2006 - The role of women in the electoral process and their
participation in politics is the focus of a meeting that opened today
in the Armenian capital. http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/July06/Armenia_women_election.html
WOMEN'S VIEWS ON DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES
July 5, 2006 - (The Georgian Times) An International Conference called
'Increasing Women's Participation in Democratic Processes', held
recently in Tbilisi, has been acknowledged as an important milestone in
the history of women's work in NGOs in Georgia, as well as a great leap
towards the development of democratic processes and gender equality.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/July06/Georgia_demprocesses.html
KUWAITI WOMEN OPTIMISTIC DESPITE SETBACKS
July 2, 2006 - (Taipei Times) Kuwaiti women view their first-ever
participation in legislative polls in the oil-rich emirate as a victory
despite the failure of female candidates to win any seats. "We have not
won, but it was without any doubt a victory for the Kuwaiti woman. We
have lost in votes, but won an experience," said Fatima al-Abdali, who
ran as a candidate in Thursday's election. http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/July06/Kuwaitiwomen_optimistic.html
WORLD'S WOMEN HAVE AN ADVOCATE: MORE THAN HALF THE GLOBE'S PEOPLE NEED
THEIR OWN UN AGENCY: STEPHEN LEWIS
July 1, 2006 - (Toronto Star) When Stephen Lewis visited the central
Kenyan town of Thika last month, he heard a disturbing fact. Rapes of
women and girls were escalating every month, and half the girls
sexually assaulted were under 12. Even more startling was a new
pattern; "a significant number of women aged 65 to 80 were also raped.
The men who did it were confident they could have unprotected sex with
them without getting AIDS," Lewis said.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/July06/womenUNagency.html
http://www.peacewomen.org/un/women_reform/PDF/LewisRemarks.pdf
TOWARDS A PLAN OF ACTION ON STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY
June 30, 2006 - (EurofundingMag) The Preparatory Conference "Towards a
Plan of Action on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society" which
took place on 14-16 June in Rabat, Morocco, brought together 130 civil
society organisations, governments, parliaments and donors'
representatives of the Euromed partner countries. The objective of the
conference was to review key aspects of women's and gender issues under
three major themes: women's human rights as an essential component of
democracy, women's economic status and participation and social and
cultural issues impacting upon women and gender relations in the
region. http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/June06/planofaction_roleofwomen.html
ROOT CAUSES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN SWEDEN REMAIN: UN EXPERT
June 22, 2006 - (UN News Service) Describing the "gender equality
experience" in Sweden as being a "contradictory process," a United
Nations rights expert has said that the root causes of violence against
women in the country have remain unchallenged and become
normalized despite an impressive amount of legislation aimed at
stamping out the problem.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/June06/Sweden_causesofviolence.html
RAPE IN WAR 'A GROWING PROBLEM'
June 22, 2006 - (BBC) Rape and sexual violence in conflict appear to be
worsening and very little is being done to tackle the problem, a major
UN conference has heard. The conference organiser, the UN Population
Fund (UNFPA), wants a UN declaration and extra funding. http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/June06/RapeInWar.html
POST-WAR PEACE BUILDING STILL A BOYS CLUB
June 22, 2006 - (IPS) When the 15-member U.N. Security Council
unanimously adopted its landmark "Resolution 1325" in October 2000, it
conveyed a strong political message to the international community:
that there can be no lasting peace in post-war rebuilding without
active participation of women.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/June06/peacebuilding_boysclub.html
RIGHTS-IRAN: PREDICTED ROLLBACK HASN'T YET HAPPENED, SAY WOMEN ACTIVISTS
June 28, 2006 - (IPS) Some women's rights activists in Iran say they
are not optimistic that women's rights will make much progress under
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But they also say they have not seen the
deterioration of women's status they expected when the conservative
politician took office last August.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Iran/June06/rights_Iran_no_rollback.htm
WOMEN'S MINISTRY LACKS SUPPORT
July 12, 2006 - (IWPR) Two years after the ministry was formed, its
scope to bring about change is severely constrained by its miniscule
budget. The Iraqi government is not giving the moral and financial
support the women's affairs ministry needs to make real changes in
Iraq, women's advocates say.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Iraq/July06/Wom_ministry_lacks_support.html
IRAQIS PUSH TO PROSECUTE RAPE IN WAR CRIME TRIALS
June 26, 2006 - (WOMENSENEWS) A prominent women's group in Iraq, along
with advocates of international law in the United States, are beginning
to demand justice for thousands of Iraqi women who suffered under the
regime of Saddam Hussein. They are working with and lobbying the Iraqi
High Tribunal--the temporary court now trying the crimes of Hussein's
Baathist regime--to prosecute and punish perpetrators of gender-based
violence, including allegations of women being raped in prison and
politically motivated public beheadings.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Iraq/June06/prosecuterape_trials.html
NEPAL: UN CALLS FOR INCREASED WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN PEACE PROCESS
July 3, 2006 - (Kantipur Report) United Nations has called the
government, the political parties and the Maoists to increase women's
representation in the ongoing peace process. "Clearly the active
participation of women was crucial to the success of the recent
people's movement. For the peace process to also succeed, women's
participation is absolutely necessary," a statement issued by the UN on
Monday quoted Junko Sazaki, the UN acting resident co-ordinator, as
saying.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Nepal/Jul06/UNWomenParticipation.html
FIJI: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CAN NARROW THE GENDER GAP IN THE LEGAL SECTOR,
SAYS RRRT'S JALAL
June 22, 2006 - (PR) Low numbers of women in the judiciary and
magistracy in the region should be addressed by affirmative action,
according to Imrana Jalal, Human Rights Adviser at the Pacific Regional
Rights Resource Team (RRRT).
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Fiji/Jul06/AffirmativeActionGender.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
For more country-specific women, peace and security news, please visit:
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/countryindex.html
For more international women, peace and security news, please visit:
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Questions, concerns and comments and other submissions should be
directed to enewssubmissions@peacewomen.org.
Best Wishes, PeaceWomen Team
Sam Cook, Milkah Kihunah and Susi Snyder,Women's International League
for Peace and Freedom
United Nations Office
777 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: 1.212.682.1265 Fax: 1.212.286.8211 Email:
1325news@peacewomen.org Web: www.peacewomen.org