CONTENTS:

PHILLY AREA ACTION:

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL ACTION:

COMMENTARY:

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PHILLY AREA ACTION:

 

 

Call to a Moratorium:

United for Peace and Justice, Delaware Valley Network

 

Wednesday, March 19/ Fifth Anniversary of the War in Iraq:

No Business as Usual!

 

We urge peace supporters to change their usual weekday activities.  Take a full or half-day-off from your work, school or other activities.  Instead, make a clear statement. 

Five Years Too Many

Not One More Death, Not One More Dollar

Each day the war and occupation are funded and allowed to continue is another day that:

 

•     Costs Lives:

Nearly 4,000 US soldiers and over 500,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed; and another 50,000 American soldiers and untold numbers of Iraqis—many of them children—have been wounded or disabled.  

 

•     Ruins Our Economy

The US is falling into an Iraq Recession. The War costs $8,300 per second, $1,500 per US household per year. This drains our economy of billions of dollars that are desperately needed to fund health care, education, job creation, clean energy, and other vital needs

 

Demand that President Bush really support the troops.  Every year, we can send Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to college for less than 3% of the proposed stimulus package, and for a tiny fraction of the costs to continue the War in Iraq.

 

We CAN do something about this.  See the reverse for specific activities and contact this office for information about what YOU can do.

 

                        GO TO: http://www.ufpj-dvn.org

                  ** Suggestions for observing the Moratorium **

 

We call on peace supporters to spend the March 19 Moratorium Day

in one of more of the following ways:

^           ^           ^           ^           ^           ^           ^            ^

The Coalition for Peace Action's planning for the Bucks County and E. Montco observance of the March 19th 5th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War

 

Here are the main points:

 

We are calling on you to observe-- so far as you are able-- a Moratorium on work, or going to school or college-- so you are free to participate in this mid-week event. We will have armbands to mark the day's emphasis as it is being observed nationally: "5 YEARS TOO MANY"

 

HERE ARE OUR PLANNED EVENTS:

 

Vigil at 9:30 A.M. at Murphy's Bristol office is ccordinated by Bill

Deckhart   215.380.6804

 

7:30-9 A.M. Morning Rush Hour Rally on "Trenton Makes" Bridge

 

we hope to reach the minds of many, many people by being present at the entrance to the bridge  with signs that

 

(a)  make them aware of the fact that the war started 5 years ago today; and

(b) inform them of CFPA's noontime rally on the steps of the N.J. Statehouse

 

We have much to be grateful for in Rep. Murphy having consistently voted to stop funding for the war, and we want (a) to express our appreciation for his votes and (b) to call on him to take equally far-seeing positions on funding efforts for peace and challenging the gross imbalance of the military budget

 

Noontime: Joining Philadelphia area activists at

 

•        Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia demo of "clothes-washing" at "The Clothespin"

         at 15th & Market, across from City Hall

 

•         Rally at Federal Building to protest continued funding of the war and to call Sen.                Arlen Specter on his continual votes to keep the Senate from true and fair debate on             war-related issues

 

3:00 Newtown "teach-in" on corporate profiteering from the war

    in this educational event-- in the Fireside Lounge of Rollins hall at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, we will hear a panel of informed activists discuss how our corporations are making obscene profits from war making. We will learn how the corporate giants lobby Congress  and how they brought it to commit itself to fund the kind of war the corporations want us to fight. We will talk about how this has led the country to incur enormous deficits, helping to bring on the recession, and how it's forced the government to cut needed programs for health, education, and other social needs. We will learn how to challenge their promotion of war making, and how it was done in the previous generation by some strong Bucks County women

 

4:30-6 P.M.    5th Anniversary Anti-War Protest at Lockheed-Martin on the Newtown Bypass    As the evening rush hour traffic passes by, we will raise our voices-- and our signs-- to protest how corporations such as Lockheed are making billions of dollars, in seen and unseen ways, on this war,  and how they promote the U.S.'s continuing decisions to wage this kind of war.

 

6:30 Evening Candlelight vigil at Rep. Murphy's Doylestown office-- our Central Bucks Chapter, working with the Doylestown Friends' Tuesday Peace Vigil, will mount a vigil at Patrick Murphy's office at 60 N. Main St.

 

6:30 P.M. Interfaith Service and Candlelight Vigil at Ambler Church of the Brethren

 

The Interfaith Service, consisting of words from interfaith clergy, as well as instrumental music, poetry and song from local artists and musicians.

will mourn the loss of lives on all sides of this conflict and encourage those attending to work for peace.

 

The service will be followed by a silent candlelight vigil lining the street outside the church. Luminaria will be placed along the vigil path. This vigil will be a silent, reverential event, not an occasion for expressions of anger, but a time of reflection on this sad anniversary.

 

Ambler Church of the Brethren is located at 351 East Butler Ave.,  at the intersection of Butler and Rosemont Avenues, one block from Bethlehem Pike.

Contact Liz West at cfpa08@yahoo.com for more information.

 

Evening candlelight vigil in Quakertown-- as the sun goes down, our Upper Bucks CFPA chapter will assemble across Rt. 309 from the Richland Friends' Meeting for a candlelight vigil for peace

 For further info:  cfpabuxmont@verizon.net or check out the website: www.ufpj-dvn.org

^           ^           ^           ^           ^           ^           ^            ^    

Engage in a Teach-Out

 

•     Use materials developed by the Coalition for Peace Action on their web site,

•     Use materials on the United for Peace and Justice, Delaware Valley Network Website,

•     Prepare ahead.  Make leaflets, stickers, and signs. 

•     Contact the media.  Call radio talk shows, write letters to the editor, go on cable TV,       write in blogs and on the Internet

 

*** Organize and participate in Vigils at the Congressional Office near you

 

•     Most vigils will be between 6:30 and 7:30 PM.  Everyone can do this, whether or not they     have taken the day off work.  Check the web site for up-to-date information.

•     Bring posters appropriate to the Representative in your District—praise the ones who have      opposed the war; criticize the ones who have supported the war.  Demand that they give no    more blank check funding.

•     Close the Vigils at 7:00 p.m. with candlelight.

•     Meet with your Representatives.  But have a vigil, too, for public witness.

 

Participate in Nonviolent Civil Disobedience in Washington DC

•        To learn more or to sign up, contact the office.

•        Check the National Office of United for Peace and Justice at their web site:                     www.unitedforpeace.org

•         Have a send off for those going to DC.  Invite the press.

 

We can/MUST end this war before thousands more die needlessly!

www.ufpj-dvn.org

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Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition VIGIL

 

Wednesday, March 19, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Intersection of Bryn Mawr and Lancaster Avenues in Bryn Mawr. 

 

Posters specific to the event which is titled "Five Years Too Many" will be

especially effective. The group holds meetings at the Ludington Library,

preceded by a half hour vigil, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on the first Monday of

each month.  All are welcome to join the vigil and attend the meetings. 

 

 After the vigil participants are encouraged to attend a gathering in

the large meeting room of the nearby Ludington Library.  The

gathering, sponsored by Penn Action, will feature speakers with direct

knowledge of the conflict such as Iraq War veterans.

Email Robin Stelly <rstelly@pennaction.org> for more information.

=================

 March 27 seminar/ Peace Coalition to Hold Seminar

 on the Role of the Media in Promoting the Invasion of Iran

            7 to 9 p.m. in Bartley Hall, Room 1011,

            Villanova University, Ithan and Lancaster Avenues, Villanova, PA.

"Media Service in War Propaganda:  It's Roots and Effects

Iraq, Iran and Beyond," the program will include excerpts from

Bill Moyers' Buying the War, a presentation by Edward S. Herman, PhD.,

and a "questions from  the audience" session.

 

 The acclaimed PBS video Buying the War describes how the media failed

to challenge government liars and served as cheerleaders for a

fraudulent war.

      Dr. Herman is Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School of the

University of PA and has written extensively on media analysis.  He is

the author of 22 books including Manufacturing Consent with Noam

Chomsky. 

      There is free parking available in the main University lot on the

South side of Lancaster Avenue, just across the street from Bartley Hall.

 

 The Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition holds meetings at the Ludington Library in Bryn Mawr,

Preceded by a half hour vigil, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on the first Monday of

each month.  All are welcome to join the vigil and attend the meetings. 

      ~ CONTACT: Karen Barton at (610) 525-3784 or email <astrique@aol.com>

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BENEFIT TO HELP THE WOMEN OF DARFUR

Germantown Jewish Center on 400 Ellet St in the Maslow Auditorium

Sunday, March 2 at 9:30 am

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On Wednesday March 5 the Anti-Apartheid Palestinian Non-violence Speaking Tour

 

 Mansour Mansour is a Palestinian from Biddo. His movie "Bil'in Habibti" won the Wolgin Award for Full Length Documentary Film at the Jerusalem International Film Festival 2006.

      Temple University, Philadelphia,

      Student Faculty Center room B7, 3340 North Broad Street, 6-8:30 p.m.

http://www.temple.edu/studentaffairs/studentcenters/sfc/about/directions.html

Also, there has been a website set up for the tour here - http://stopapartheid.org/.

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Sex, Lies and Constitutional Issues:  HIV Prevention at Home and Abroad

An educational forum

      sponsored by the ACLU Greater Philadelphia Chapter

      co-sponsored by Phila NOW, BEBASHI, Phila. FIGHT and Phila Chapter NAACP

 

      March 5, 2008:  6:30-8:30 p.m.

      Temple University, Ritter Hall, Walk Auditorium,

      13th St between Montgomery & Cecil B. Moore Avenues

 Presenters:  Dr. Marla Gold, Drexel U School of Public Health

                      Monica Ruiz, PhD., M.P.H., Acting Dir. Public Policy of amfAR

                      Ronda B. Goldfein, Esq., E.D. AIDS Law Project

contact:  scoburn@aclupa.org; 215-592-1513x117

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Join Philadelphians on March 8 - Celebrating International Women's Day

       -- 100 Years of Women & Girls Fighting for Justice --

 

This day long event starts at 10:30 AM with a Rally at City Hall, a March to UNITE/HERE.  Please see the attached leaflet with the details and invite your friends and neighbors to participate.  For more information call 215-242-5047 email:  PhillyIWS@gmail.com

____________

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS: (Always call or email to confirm that the event is still scheduled.)

 

      Every Wednesday, two vigils for peace: #1) at 5:00-6:00 pm

(only in fair weather) on Lincoln Drive outside of the Unitarian Society of

Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive in West Mount Airy; and #2) at 7:00-8:00 pm

(in any and all weather) at the intersection of Germantown Avenue and

Bethlehem Pike in Chestnut Hill. More information from 215-843-4256 and

<nwgreens@yahoo.com>.

 

      March 5, 12, 19, 26. Every Wednesday, two vigils for peace: #1) at

5:00-6:00 pm (only in fair weather) on Lincoln Drive outside of the

Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive in West Mount Airy; and

#2) at 7:00-8:00 pm (in any and all weather) at the intersection of

Germantown Avenue and Bethlehem Pike in Chestnut Hill. More information from

215-843-4256 and <nwgreens@yahoo.com>.

 

      March 6. Northwest Greens monthly meeting, 7:00 pm, in the Weaver's Way

Meeting Room, 610 Carpenter Lane (near Greene Street) in West Mount Airy.

More information from 215-843-4256 and nwgreens@yahoo.com.

 

      March 9. Anti-war Fest: music, poetry, theater, and voices of peace and

hope. Pot-luck supper at 4:30 pm, program at 5:30 pm, University Lutheran

Church, 3637 Chestnut Street, University City, Philadelphia. More

information from Brandywine Peace Community, <brandywine@craftech.com> and

610-544-1818.

 

      March 13. There will be nine days of resistance around the fifth

anniversary of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. You can find the details on two

websites: www.5yearstoomany.org and www.resistinmarch.org.

 

      March 15. Demonstrate with Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice: noon

rally with procession to County Office and town-hall meeting to voice

opposition to U.S. occupation of Iraq. Speakers at the town-hall meeting

include: Andy Hoover, American Civil Liberties Union, and live-feed of  the

Winter Soldier testimony by Iraq Veterans Against the War. More information

from 631-512-3018 and info@lancastervoice.org.

 

      March 16. Fifth Anniversary Peace Event. To kick off a week of resistance

in Philadelphia, 24 peace groups (including Northwest Greens) will

demonstrate from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. near Senator Arlen Specter's home on

West Schoolhouse Lane (between Henry Avenue and Gypsy Lane) in East Falls.

They want Specter to cut off funding for the U.S. occupation of Iraq and to

bring the troops home now. For more information, please contact

<nwgreens@yahoo.com> and 215-843-4256.

 

      March 19. Fifth Anniversary Peace Vigils. Our weekly vigils on Wednesday

evening will be very well attended because they fall on the 5th anniversary

of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Please join us if you oppose the occupation

and what it is doing to the U.S. -- i.e. the Iraq Recession. Details of the

two vigils can be found above.

 

      March 19. Fifth Anniversary Congressional Vigils. Stake out your

Congressperson's office and demand that they oppose the U.S. occupation of

Iraq. For information on the time and place, please contact United for Peace

and Justice Delaware Valley Network, www.ufpj-dvn.org.

 

      March 21. Good Friday: A Trail of Mourning and Truth, noon, at Lockheed

Martin (#1 war profiteer), Mall and Goddard Boulevards, (behind the King of

Prussia Mall), Valley Forge, PA. More information from Brandywine Peace

Community, <brandywine@craftech.com> and 610-544-1818.

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Free Income Tax Filing Assistance

 

United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Solutions for Progress, in partnership with the Campaign for Working Families, are offering free income tax filing to residents of Southeastern Pennsylvania whose annual household income is less than $54,000.

      Residents can file both their federal and Pennsylvania state taxes through our website  (http://www.uwsepa.org/freetaxfiling/uwff_splash.html), as well as claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, Child & Dependent Care Credit, Hope Education Credit, Life Time Learning Credit, Student Loan Interest Deduction and more.  The online tax program is part of The Benefit Bank, the only online system available that can process federal and state tax returns as well as a range of federal and public sponsored health and social service benefits. 

      The Campaign is part of a national movement to promote EITC, to provide free or low cost tax services, and to protect taxpayers from rip-offs, including Holiday, Pay Stub and Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs), sometime called “Instant Money” or “Rapid” Loans.

For more information, call the Campaign for Working Families Help Line at 215-851-1886.

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Time to volunteer for the Primary Election!

 

Looking for volunteers for a very exciting Primary Election, for the Presidency and especially for the State Senate and Representative races. By volunteering just a few hours of your time, you can help safeguard the integrity of the election and ensure that all eligible citizens can freely exercise their right to VOTE! Please see below for details about volunteer opportunities for the April 22, 2008 Primary Election.

 

Volunteer Opportunities on Election Day: 

Citizen Field Volunteer:

Work on a team of 2-3 members (including one driver) and will be assigned to a specific geographic area in Philadelphia. The team travels between polling places, monitoring activity, answering voters' questions, helping to settle minor disputes and directing more complicated problems to the proper authorities.

 

Office Volunteer:

Work in Seventy's office, answering calls from voters, poll officials and Seventy Volunteers. Office Volunteers will be helping voters find their polling places, giving basic assistance with Election Day rules, directing problems to the correct authorities, and documenting problems that will be responded to by field teams.

 

Legal Volunteer:

This opportunity is for legal professionals and law students. Legal team volunteers will work on a team of 2-3 members (including one driver) and will be assigned to back up Citizen Teams in a specific geographic area (3 - 4 wards) in Philadelphia. In addition to traveling between polling places monitoring activity, and answering voters' questions,  Legal Teams are assigned to more complicated problems that may require the assistance of a legal professional.

 

All volunteers are required to attend a one-hour training session prior to Election Day. At training, volunteers will receive necessary materials and information for their assignment. We will begin scheduling trainings during the second week of March. Trainings will be held at our Center City office, unless otherwise noted. If you have a group of 15 or more people, we can schedule a time and location convenient to you!

 

For more information on these volunteer opportunities, or to register go to www.seventy.org/volunteer. If you have any questions about these opportunities please call Nina Bloch at Committee of Seventy at (215) 557-3600, ext. 124 or e-mail at nbloch@seventy.org.

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NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL ACTION:

 

 

Current Legislation To Promote

 

#1.  New Diplomatic Offensive for Iraq Act / House Resolution: HR 3797

 

To require the  President to seek to institute a regional diplomatic plan for the Middle East

This bill has 42 co-sponsors.

Could bolster the efforts of those in the Bush administration who argue in favor of diplomacy and against an attack on Iran.

Action suggested:

Write or call your congress person and ask them to cosponsor the New Diplomatic Offensive For Iraq Act

 (PA Co-sponsors: Brady, English, Altmire, Gerlach, Sestak, Murtha, Schwartz, Dent)  We need to get Fattah to do the same. - Referred to House Committee on Foreign Affairs (10/07)

----------------------

#2 Senate Bill S. 2426 Require Congressional Oversight of US Basing Agreement in Iraq

 

Requires President to bring any base agreements before Congress for approval.

This bill would require the President to seek congressional approval for any agreement that would extend the US occupation of Iraq. This bill asserts that Bush has announced a "Declaration of Principles" for a long term US military presence without consulting Congress, and would require the administration to "report for justification for denying congressional role". It also would assert that no funds may be used for any military basing agreement not approved by Congress.

Sponsored by: Hillary Clinton

9 Co-sponsors-include Bob Casey and Barak Obama- Referred to Committee on Foreign Relations

(Committee on For Relations has Dems and Reps; Chair is Biden.

Other Dems on this committee: Dodd, Feingold, Boxer, Nelson, Obama, Menendez, Casey, Webb, Carden) Richard Lugar heads the Republicans on the committee.

ACTION SUGGESTED

Urge Senator Specter to co-sponsor this bill.  Senator Casey already does.  Urge members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee To put the bill up for a vote.

----------------------------

#3 “Diplomatic Surge in Iraq” Bill S 2130 

 

(10/07) non-binding sense of Senate.Referred to Foreign Relations Committee

Casey is original sponsor .

---------------------------

#4 Military Budget The 2009 military budget proposed by the president will surpass one trillion dollars.

 

Action Suggested:

Write your congresspersonS today and urge them to write a letter to the chairs and minority leader of the budget committee urging them to make room in the budget for programs that will prevent future wars and address poverty and human needs at home.

-----------

#5  HR 4959, Iraq Strategic Agreement Review Act of 2008

 

To provide for congressional consultation with respect to any long-term security, economic, or political agreement with the Government of Iraq and to ensure that any such agreement is in the form of a treaty with respect to which the Senate has given its advice and consent to ratification under Article II of the Constitution of the United States

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Common Cause is cosponsoring the event, "The Folly of Attacking Iran"

 

  Please RSVP today at www.commoncause.org/IranDiplomacyPanel.  Here are all the details:

      When: Thursday, February 28th at 7:00pm

      Where: Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, Faculty Room 1501,         420 West 118th Street

The event is part of a national tour featuring Stephen Kinzer, a longtime New York Times correspondent and author of the book, "All the Shah's Men." It also features Christopher Hedges, award winning New York Times foreign correspondent and noted author; Professor Ervand Abrahamian, renowned scholar of Iranian history and author; and Bill Berkeley of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism

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Please Friends,

Must See Kucinich Fight Back TV Spot, Will Knock Your Socks Off, Please Link Widely

 

In this last week before the primary election in Ohio, Kucinich is

putting out a TV ad that will absolutely knock your socks off, and

you can see it on this page.

 

      Kucinich Fight Back Video:

      http://www.usalone.com/thank_you_dennis.php

This is the Dennis we will always remember. This is the Dennis we

love. This is the Dennis we must KEEP in the U.S. House of Representatives.

There are only six days left, and your contribution right now can

shine the light of truth on just what Dennis stands for, and blow

away all obfuscation like it was so much the smoke that it is.

 

Dennis has consistently been the strongest voice in all of

Congress for every progressive policy initiative. And that is why the

corporate special interests are so desperate to knock him out.

 

Please send the link above to absolutely everyone who cares

about saving out democracy.

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Sign the petition to steer Whole Foods in the right direction

 

Thousands responded when we wrote you about the Country Natural Beef sold at Whole Foods Supermarket. Unfortunately Whole Foods has not taken action. We need you to take the next step and sign a petition. Beef North West workers will turn in the signatures to Whole Foods headquarters in Austin TX on the week of March 17.

 

Workers at the feedlots that include Country Natural Beef cows have been demanding UFW representation for the past eight months. Beef North West is on the same Oregon compound as Threemile Canyon Farms and Willow Creek Dairy. The Beef North West workers have seen the power a union contract has on their friends and want the same things: Dignity and respect in the workplace, a family medical plan and a voice on the job without repercussions.

 

However, Beef North West is no closer to agreeing to recognize the UFW as the workers' union than they were when this campaign began. This is despite Oregon's governor asking that both sides sit down and resolve the dispute--which the union has been willing to do from the beginning.

 

Whole Foods reportedly sells 60% of all Country Natural Beef.

This retailer--the largest chain of "natural food" stores in the US--has refused to take any action to resolve this situation. We would hope that when Whole Foods sees the groundswell of support for the workers at the feedlot where Country Natural Beef cows are fattened, they'll use their influence to ensure a just resolution of this dispute and a boycott will not be necessary.

 

We need to increase the pressure on Whole Foods to do the right thing.

Sign the petition today! Go to: http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/wholefoodspetition/5gggws9a8ixwmm?

 

Tell-A-Friend: Please forward this petition to as many friends as possible and encourage them to sign ASAP. Go to: http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/wholefoodspetition/forward/5gggws9a8ixwmm?

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On April 4-6, 2008, the Second Continental Conference Against "Free Trade" and Privatizations will be held in Mexico City at the hall of the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME).

 

 Delegations from throughout the continent will be gathering to organize the fightback against the corporate "free trade" agenda, which is destroying the rights and gains of working people and the oppressed throughout the continent -- from north to south. Please contact us at the OWC Continuations Committee if you are interested in participating in this important conference.--- Alan Benjamin and Ed Rosario, OWC Co-Coordinators

 

      OWC CAMPAIGN NEWS - distributed by the Open World Conference in

Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights, c/o S.F. Labor

Council, 1188 Franklin St., #203, San Francisco, CA 94109.

Visit our website at www.owcinfo.org

___________________________________________________

 

•     The "(IRAQ) Recession" is going to force states to cut back their budgets. Most likely, the cuts are going to affect the services that working families need and depend on.3

•     Meanwhile, the war is costing Americans more than $338 million a day. 4 That money could be spent to help out the folks who're hurting most now. For less than what we're spending on the war, we could pay for affordable housing for hundreds of thousands of families, health care for children, or scholarships to help folks pay for education. 5

•     Gas prices are close to double what they were before the war began. The cost of oil is still hovering around $100 barrel. 6

•     We're borrowing $343 million every day to finance the war in Iraq. 7 Our skyrocketing debt will be a bigger and bigger drag on the economy—slowing recovery and burdening future generations.

The truth is that economic forecasts are going to continue to be grim as long as we continue to dump billions into a reckless war that has no end in sight. Please write a letter to the editor of your local paper today:

http://pol.moveon.org/lte?campaign_id=88&id=12164-8786124-.copvC&t=84

                         ... Thanks for all you do, The Move-On Folks

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Letter To John Conyers (send yours to him & the editor of local newspaper)

Send to: http://www.johnconyers.com/contact, or

Conyers for Congress

1831 Bay Street, SE

Washington, DC 20003

 

Representative Conyers:

      I have trusted and respected you over these many, many decades for your principled stands on behalf of common people. I have respected your stand against state and corporate oppression and abuse of power which harms all of us.  And now, I am told, you refuse in your role as head of Judiciary, to begin impeachment proceedings against Cheney, who would be considered a criminal in any system of justice and in any country which lived by the rule of law, rather than one-man rule. Please begin impeachment hearings, now, against Cheney and I would beg, against Bush for his absolutely treasonous betrayal of the American people, for his evisceration of the US Constitution and the liberties it embodies, for his flagrant disregard of international treaties signed by the United States, for criminal malfeasance in office, and for his total contempt for the will of the US Congress when it has chosen to exercise that will against Bush’s one man rule.

 

If, in sum, aggressive and unfounded wars against nation-states is a crime, if the aggressive evisceration of the US Constitution is a crime, if the abandonment of the “rule of law” is a crime, then surely the Judiciary Committee must begin its inquiry with due speed.  Absent impeachment proceedings, Bush and Cheney will continue to escape the people’s appropriate demand for public accountability and the US Congress will have failed in its duty to the US Constitution and in its duty to protect the American people against authoritarian rule.

 

Representative Conyers.  At this late stage of life, after all these years of steadfast and principled work, why would you betray us now? Please begin impeachment proceedings on behalf of the American people against Cheney and against Bush. Thank you.

 

Rita Addessa. Philadelphia. PA. USA

Addessa@verizon.net  215-817-1100

27 February 2008

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American Water & Energy Savers, of Florida, a list of 10 of 49 ways to save water.

 

1. Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it, such as watering a plant      or garden, or cleaning.

2. Verify that your home is leak-free, because many homes have hidden water leaks. Here’s how to    test: Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.

3. Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers. If your faucet is dripping at the rate of one   drop per second, you can expect to waste 2,700 gallons per year which will add to the cost     of water and sewer utilities, or strain your septic system.

4. Check for toilet tank leaks by adding food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking,      color will appear in the toilet bowl within 30 minutes. Check the toilet for worn out,   corroded or bent parts. Most replacement parts are inexpensive, readily available and    easily installed. (Flush as soon as test is done, since food coloring may stain the tank.)

5. Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insects and other such waste in       the trash rather than the toilet.

6. Take shorter showers. Replace you showerhead with an ultra-low-flow version. Some units are         

      available that allow you to cut off the flow without adjusting the water temperature       knobs.

7. Use the minimum amount of water needed for a bath by filling the tub only one-third full.    Stopper the tub before turning on the water. The initial burst of cold water can be warmed       by adding hot water later.

8. Don’t let water run while shaving or washing your face. Brush your teeth first while waiting     for water to get hot, then wash or shave after filling the basin.

9. Operate automatic dishwashers and clothes washers only when they are fully loaded, or properly set the water level for the size of load you are using.

10. Store drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run every time you want       a cool glass of water.

                  ... Go to www.americanwater.com to read the other 39 ways to save water.

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IMPORTANT  INVITATION TO  ALL GRANDMOTHERS

From Grandmothers Peace Groups in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.

 

-     Please Join Us for the Republican National Convention

-     Held in  St. Paul & Minneapolis LABOR DAY September 1st through 4th – 2007

-     Planned Events (more to come)

-     Monday Sept 1st:            12:00 Mass Demonstration & March from

o     State Capital to Convention Center                                                                               .

-     *Tuesday Wednesday     Peace Island Conference

•     Hope In A Time Of Crisis

•     A Solutions Driven Conference

•     Concordia College Campus, St. Paul, MN. Thursday                         Active Resistance

-     *includes time for Grandmothers to come together for hospitality and the opportunity to discuss future events. Our housing committee is working hard to find host beds, so far we have 300 available and it is only February.

-     Our  theme as part  of the mass march is Grieving Grandmothers

              are welcome)(Grandfathers 

-     We will wear Black and have signs available to wear on our backs.

o     Grandmothers we need you, your creativity, your voice, yourselves.

Please pass this on to your friends and peace groups you are in touch with. 

~Mary Lou Ott   mlott1923@comcast.net Home: 952-922-5636,Work   612-871-0005

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COMMENTARY

 

* MEXICO - No to NAFTA-ASPAN!  Half a Million Peasants and Workers, with their Organizations, Demonstrate for a Break with NAFTA

 

Last January 31, close to half a million Mexican peasants and workers came from all parts of the country to demonstrate in the capital of Mexico City. They gathered together in the immense plaza, the Zócalo, facing the governmental palace, and demanded the immediate break with NAFTA.

      This treaty literally strangles Mexican agriculture and industry, opening the whole country to the U.S. multinationals, while, on the other side of the border, in the United Sates, the same multinationals do everything possible to make U.S. workers pay for the survival of a system in crisis, which the subprime crisis has just deepened.

      The Mexican media reported that the main demands of the demonstration. called by all the Mexican peasants organizations, as well as most of the workers' unions, were: "Break with the Agricultural Chapter of NAFTA!", "No to the Privatization of the Energy Sectors!", "Repeal the New Law on Social Security!", and "Without Corn, there is No Country!"

The peasants are fighting against a policy that is liquidating the production of corn, the main food staple of millions of Mexicans, for the benefit of the big U.S. companies interested in the production of ethanol from corn.

                                                -- Democratic Independent Workers Party

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* United Nations experts welcome Australia's apology to indigenous peoples

18 February 2008

 

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people; the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;  the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the rights to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued the following statement today:

 

We warmly welcome the speech delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the Federal Parliament on 13 February 2008, offering an apology to Australia's indigenous peoples for the pain and indignity they have endured as a consequence of past laws and policies. We are specially moved by the apology offered to the members of the Stolen Generation and their families, victims of a deliberate policy of assimilation of the Aboriginal culture that contradicted the basic human rights principles of equality and dignity. We welcome the Australian Government's commitment to build a common future with the indigenous peoples of the country based on mutual respect. Australia's efforts to acknowledge historical injustices and to promote reconciliation set an example of how to enhance harmonious and cooperative relationships between indigenous peoples and States, in the spirit of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This apology will strengthen the moral fabric of the country and reinforce the Aboriginal contribution to Australian society.

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The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;  the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the rights to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have made official visits to Australia in recent years. The Government of Australia is encouraged to benefit from the analysis and recommendations of these mandate holders in taking forward practical measures to protect and promote the rights of Aboriginal peoples.  The reports of special procedures can be found at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/

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Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights-Media Unit

Rupert Colville, Spokesperson, +41.22.917.9767

Praveen Randhawa, Information Officer: + 41.22.917.9602

Yvon Edoumou, Information Officer, + 41 22.917.9383/ +41.78.826.3552

For inquiries and media requests: press-info@ohchr.org

_______________________________________________________

 

* Ex-Israeli Generals Denounce Checkpoints By AP/LAURIE COPANS

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1712838,00.html

(JERUSALEM) — A group of retired Israeli generals has launched a campaign urging the army to remove West Bank roadblocks, warning on Wednesday that the travel restrictions sow Palestinian hatred of Israel and stymie the peace process.

The 12 top former commanders say the hundreds of checkpoints dotting the West Bank are excessive and other military means can be used to prevent suicide bombings in Israel.

 

* Poultry series exposes a new, silent subclass Neglect of workers has ugly precedent in Carolinas history The Charlotte Observer

http://www.charlotte.com/poultry/

 

* From NAFTA to the SPP, Katherine Sciacchitano

Here Comes The Security And Prosperity Partnership, But What Security? Whose Prosperity?

January/February 2008 issue of Dollars & Sense: The Magazine of Economic Justice http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2008/0108sciacchitano.html

 

* Cuba Changed History Fidel Steps Aside By Saul Landau, Counterpunch

http://www.counterpunch.org/landau02212008.html

 

* Nader Runs, Obama Responds Wisely, John Nichols, The Nation

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=289744