Selves and Others

Washington, D.C. - In a pre-dawn civil disobedience action Monday morning, 41 War Resisters League members and others sat down and were arrested at a pedestrian entrance to the Pentagon, slowing foot traffic at that location and prompting officials to close the U.S. military headquarters’ sole stop on Washington’s Metro line for a period.

Protesters, including Elizabeth McAllister and her daughter, Frieda Berrigan, Susan Crane, Ken Crowley, Jeff Leys, Farah Mokhtareizadeh, Joel Gulledge and others with a long history of peace activism and arrests for civil disobedience, leafleted or sat down to block people from entering Entrance Three of the sprawling U.S. military command. (...)

A quarter of a million people jammed the streets of the capital this past weekend, as Mr. Bush conveniently found himself visiting the US Northern Command’s HQ in Colorado Springs.

While veterans from the current debacle in Iraq and scores of military families who oppose the Bush Junta joined the throngs of protestors in Washington DC to express their dissent, there were other goings-on related to Iraq while Bush had his photo-op in Colorado. (...)

We are a nation at war-globally-against terrorism. But here at home, except for extra security at travel terminals, one could hardly guess it.

There is no war footing to be seen. Washington has not mobilized Americans on the home front. President Bush has made it clear that he wants it that way.

Yet the war is real. And the sacrifices are being borne solely by the roughly 160,000 men and women in uniform who are risking-and losing-their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. And by their grieving and worried families. National politicians, though they lavish the country’s military population with warm rhetoric in public, privately do not regard them as a voting bloc to worry about. (...)

Where do American religious leaders stand on torture? Their deafening silence evokes memories of the unconscionable behavior of German church leaders in the 1930s and early 1940s.

Despite the hate whipped up by administration propagandists against those it brands "terrorists," most Americans agree that torture should not be permitted. Few seem aware, though, that although President George W. Bush says he is against torture, he has openly declared that our military and other interrogators may engage in torture "consistent with military necessity."

For far too long, we have been acting like "obedient Germans." Shall we continue to avert our eyes—even as our mainstream media begin to expose the "routine" torture conducted by U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo? (...)

The United States yesterday backed Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, even though a Hamas leader has pledged to halt rocket attacks on Israel.

Clearly disbelieving the promise and denouncing Hamas as a terrorist group, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Hamas launched attacks on Israel after Hamas issued the statement.

"We understand the situation in which Israel finds itself," McCormack said. "And we fully understand Israel’s right to defend itself."

The Israel Air Force yesterday continued with the strikes in the Gaza Strip it started following the Qassam rocket barrage on Sderot on Saturday. (...)

Karen Hughes, the public face of the Bush Presidential Campaign (in 2000), was sworn in as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy recently. The president explained during the swearing in ceremony that Hughes is being appointed to explain "our policies and fundamental values" to people around the world, specifically to the Arab and Muslim world (Bush names aide to sell US image). Before embarking on this huge task, Ms. Hughes would do well to begin at home. Recent polls suggest that not only are people around the world weary of the policies pursued by this American administration, its own citizens are beginning to show discontent and are questioning its "values and policies". (...)

A review of the GOP’s economic aspirations for the "New" New Orleans

NOFTA is not a real trade agreement but a description of elitist economic policy for New Orleans

(...)

Don’t be fooled by appearance.

Hurricane Katrina was as much a victory for the current regime in Washington as the ongoing war in Iraq. The private sector of the United States is poised to reap profits from the largest rebuilding effort undertaken in this country and the profits they will accrue will be mightier than the profits realized from the stealing of Iraq. (...)

It was hyped as a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity but has failed miserably. Yes you guess it right! We are talking about sweeping reforms sought by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in UN council.

As a result, the 60th annual session of the UN General Assembly ended with just a 35-page ’tame’ declaration by the world leaders committing their governments to tackling poverty, genocide and other key issues. It is worth mentioning that the meet was meant to spell out the political and economic agenda for the 21st century. Instead what we got in return was the 35- page garbage whose implementation will require herculean effort from the leaders who attended the summit. (...)

Next month, Congress will consider an immigration reform bill requiring employers to provide health insurance to all workers who are registered immigrants. But employers are not required to provide health insurance to citizens. This will result in an increase in American workers without insurance. (...)

“The White House and the Pentagon look so innocuous, yet behind their innocent facades lurk sinister forces which have unleashed much misery and suffering upon the world,” I thought as I scrutinized each of them armed with an insight gleaned from many hours of study.

I arrived home on Sunday from the peace and social justice rally in Washington DC and began reflecting. As my mind sifted through the barrage of information which came at me over the course of the weekend, and the information I absorbed while reading on the plane, I began to reach some conclusions and to connect some dots.

Your Master is Calling... (...)

In the first federal conspiracy trial against anti-war activists since the Vietnam War, defendants are claiming victory over government intimidation despite convictions on lesser counts, and severe restrictions on their testimony throughout the trial.

Sep 27 - After seven hours of deliberation, a jury found four Upstate New York anti-war activists not guilty on federal conspiracy charges for pouring their own blood inside a military recruitment station more than two years ago, but convicted them of other, lesser charges.

"I call it a defeat for the government to try and put down dissent," defendant Daniel Burns told The NewStandard. "As far as a victory [for us], we’ll have to wait and see, but it certainly hurt [the prosecution]."

After leaving the courthouse today, defendant Peter DeMott said citizens should be able to demand that the US government heed international law. "The real crime, as we’ve always stated, is that our government conspired against the American people and lied us into an illegal and immoral war," he said in a press statement. (...)

Just a few weeks ago, a highly significant judicial decision was handed down by the German Federal Administrative Court but barely mentioned in the German media. With careful reasoning, the judges ruled that the assault launched by the United States and its allies against Iraq was a clear war of aggression that violated international law.

Further, they meticulously demonstrated that the German government, in contrast to its public protestations, had assisted in the aggression against Iraq without having any legal right to do so. Although the decision was made three months ago, the judgement and its legal arguments have only just been made available in written form, comprising more than 130 pages. (...)

Whoever said there is no law and order in Judea and that in Samaria everyone does as he sees fit? Ask the Palestinian woman who arrived at the checkpoint on her way to the market, carrying her modest wares on her head, a large bunch of hyssop, (za’atar) which she had gathered from a field in the heat of the day. The Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INNPPA) ranger’s sharp eyes followed the woman. Arguments and explanations were to no avail. Even the old woman’s tears did not distract the Israeli agent of the law from his mission. The merchandise was confiscated and the offender was sent home. Perhaps she thought, silly woman, that the checkpoints were intended only for security inspections, to stop terrorists carrying explosive belts on their way to the Carmel market, not women carrying herbs. (...)

in Baghdad

Surveying an abandoned, night-time street in Baghdad, Nadum Ali Jawad is one of the many Iraqis who are fed up with being left in the dark.

"I don’t believe sabotage is the main reason for the electricity blackout, I think officials just steal the money meant for new power stations," was the student’s verdict on yet another power cut. (...)