Two Events This Week of February!!
The Dolores Huerta Labor Institute & LACCD Presents
International Solidarity: Why Does It Matter?
featuring Bill Fletcher and David Bacon
(co-sponsorship with Los Angeles US Labor Against the War)
Wed Feb 27, 2008 7pm at the UTLA Building, Room 815, 3303 Wilshire Blvd. LA
David Bacon is a writer & photojournalist on issues of labor, immigration, & international trade. His recently published photo-documentary boom The Children of NAFTA and Communities Without Borders, highlights the realities of immigrants here in the US & of Mexicans still living in Mexico.
Bill Fletcher is a longtime labor and international activist. He is executive editor of the Black Commentator, immediate past president of the TransAfrica Forum, and Senior Scholar with the Policy Institute Forum in Washington DC.
&
Embracing and Facing the Challenges of African American Community
Featuring Bill Fletcher
(co-sponsorship with LA City College for African American Heritage Month)
Feb 28, 2008 Thursday 11am
Camino Theatre, LA City College, 855 N. Vermont Ave. LA
Bill Fletcher will be asking “what happened after Civil Rights?†and will focus on the reasons for the underlying oppression that African American face and what it means today.
For more information, contact (213) 763-7070
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Iraq's Civil Resistance: The Secular Left Opposition Stands Up
by Bill Weinberg
Thursday, 10 January 2008
Source: World War 4 Report
July 4, 2007 saw the Fred Hampton-style execution of the leader of a popular citizen's self-defense force in Baghdad. According to the Iraq Freedom Congress, the group Abdelhussein Saddam was associated with, a unit of US Special Forces troops and Iraqi National Guards raided his home in Baghdad's Alattiba neighborhood at 3:00 AM, throwing grenades in before them Âand opening fire without warning at him and his young daughter. The attackers took Saddam, leaving the girl bleeding on the floor. Two days later, his body was found in the morgue at Yarmouk Hospital.
Abdelhussein had been the leader of the Safety Force, a civil patrol organized by the IFC civil resistance coalition to protect their communities. Like many IFC leaders, he had been an opponent of the Saddam Hussein regime, and was imprisoned for two years in the '90s. Head of the Safety Force since late last year, his death went unnoted by the world media.
But on Aug. 3, some 100 activists from the Japanese anti-war group ZenkoÂan acronym for National Assembly for Peace and DemocracyÂgathered near the US embassy in Tokyo to protest the slaying. One banner read: "Do US-Iraqi security forces promote civil rights or Big Brother thuggery? Abdelhussein found out!"
Among those speaking were two IFC leaders who had flown in for the 37th annual Zenko conference. IFC president Samir Adil addressed the rally: "Because he said 'no Sunni, no Shi'ite, yes to human identity,' because he wanted to build a civil society in Iraq without occupation, without sectarian militiasÂfor that they killed Abdelhussein. They think they can defeat the IFC, the only voice in Iraq that says yes to a free society, yes to a nonviolent society; no to occupation, no to sectarian gangsters. But contrary to that, after the assassination, many people joined the IFC, we received messages of solidarity from around the world. As long as have the support of people like you, we will never give up."
The IFC was formed in 2005, bringing together trade unions, women's organizations, neighborhood assemblies and student groups around two demands: an end to the occupation, and a secular state for Iraq. Zenko's most significant achievement over the past year has been the raising of $400,000 which allowed the IFC to establish a satellite station, Sana TV.
Nadia Mahmood, an exile from Basra who is the chief presenter at Sana TV's London studio, told the protesters: "We established the IFC to oppose occupation or rule by Sunni or Shi'ite militias. That is why the US, which says it came to Iraq to bring democracy, assassinates our leaders and raids our offices. And that is why we must demand an end to the occupation."
Sana TV: Voice of Progressive Iraq
The protest was given extra urgency by news that another IFC figure, Prof. Mohammed Jasam, had been killed the previous day in an ambush on the road from Baghdad to Siwera. The killers were this time presumably members of an as yet unidentified sectarian militia. Jasam had been a reporter and commentator on labor issues for Sana TV, which began broadcasting in this spring in Arabic, Kurdish and English, with studios in Baghdad and London.
Mahmood says Sana TV regularly produces programming on labor struggles, women's concerns, and the impact of the occupation on Iraqi society. Its Baghdad studio continues to face material challengesÂsuch as unreliable electricity, necessitating on-site generators. Mahmood says Sana TV hopes to build "mobile studios" for Iraq, citing the threat of attack from either occupation forces or sectarian militias.
The US supports its own TV networks in Iraq, while Iran and the Gulf states have satellite stations operating in the country that promote Shi'ite and Sunni political Islam, respectively. Yet it is Sana TV which has been singled out for attack.
The Baghdad office which serves as Sana TV's studio and the IFC headquarters was raided by US troops on June 7. The premises were damaged when the soldiers forced down the door, and five of the office's guards were arrested and their weapons confiscated. Documents were also seized. September 2006 saw a more violent raid, in which a mixed force of US and Iraqi troops ransacked the office, destroying furniture and equipment and confiscating records and documents, according to the IFC.
Mahmood and Adil say the IFC is becoming more of a threat because of its growing successesÂuniting with organized labor to oppose the pending privatization of Iraq's oil, bringing together secular anti-occupation forces in a common front, and liberating space in Baghdad and other cities from rule by sectarian militias.
Autonomous Zones of Co-Existence
While Adil says the Safety Force does bear armsÂ"every home has a rifle in Iraq, it is just a question of how they are used"Âhe emphasizes that they are not insurgents, and the IFC is pursuing a civil struggle. "In principle, we believe in the right of armed resistance," says Adil. "But we believe a civil resistance is needed in Iraq now. Armed resistance has only brought terrorism to Iraq, turned the country into an international battlefield."
He also cites the human costÂand the potential to build solidarity with the American citizenry. "In four years of occupation, there are 3,500 US troops dead and perhaps a quarter of a million Iraqis. There is no difference between the pain of Cindy Sheehan and mothers in Iraq." And finally a tactical consideration: "It is not so easy to attack the civil resistance."
Adil is a veteran of political struggle against the Saddam Hussein dictatorship and a follower of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq, founded after Operation Desert Storm to oppose both the regime and US designs on the Persian Gulf region. Born in Baghdad in 1964, he was imprisoned for six months in 1992 for labor activities in the construction trade. He was tortured in prisonÂhe never removes his cap, but a long scar can be seen extending down his scalp to his temple. Supporters in Canada launched an international campaign which finally won his release. Realizing he was no longer safe in Saddam's Iraq, he fled first to the Kurdish zone, then Turkey, and finally Canada. He returned to Iraq in December 2005 to help revive an independent political opposition.
Adil is clear that this opposition faces two enemies: the occupation and what he calls "political Islam"Âa Sunni wing linked to al-Qaeda and supported by Saudi Arabia, and Shi'ite militias with varying degrees of support from Iran. These have turned Baghdad into a patchwork of ethnically cleansed, hostile camps. The IFC includes secular Muslims (and non-believers) of both Sunni and Shi'ite background in its leadership, as well as Kurds and people of mixed heritage. Adil claims the IFC now has a presence in 20 cities, including Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk and Tikrit. "We have thousands of followers," he says, "and we are growing every day." The IFC's first national convention, held Oct. 21 in Kirkuk, was attended by elected delegates from all of Iraq's major cities.
The IFC's self-governing zone of some 5,000 in Baghdad, established in the district of Husseinia last September, is an island of co-existence in a city torn by sectarian cleansing, says Adil. Thanks to the Safety Force, the district has become a no-go zone for the sectarian militias. "There has been no sectarian killing in Husseinia since September 2006," Adil boasts. Despite the slaying of Abdelhussein Saddam, the Safety Force is continuing to grow, he says, with new training sessions underway.
The IFC is now establishing a second self-governing zone in Baghdad's al-Awaithia, also a mixed Sunni-Shi'ite district that militias on either side are trying to cleanse. The IFC's first autonomous zone was established in late 2005 in a community they dubbed al-Tzaman (Solidarity) in the northern city of Kirkuk. Al-Tzaman has a mixed population of 5,000 Sunni Arabs, Christians, Turcomans and Kurds.
Adil is clear on where he places the blame for the crisis of violent sectarianism in Iraq. "The occupation and the US-imposed constitution have divided Iraq, Sunni against Shiite. The IFC is the only force to oppose this division of society." He calls the IFC's success in carving out zones of co-existence a testament to "the power of the people."
In addition to securing the IFC's self-governing zones, the Safety Force is active throughout Baghdad. In April, a sniper started shooting at children attempting to flee a school in Alatba'a suburb when fighting between US troops and insurgents was closing in on the district; the Safety Force arrived, calmed the students and teachers, promised to defend them, and established a perimeter around the school until the danger passed. When residents in Babalmuadham district sought to prevent the Shi'ite Mahdi militia from establishing a camp there, they called on the Safety Force, which secured the area and confronted the militiamen, who retreated. The Safety Force has worked to protect residents from looters who take advantage of the chaos when fighting breaks out.
A related effort, IFC Doctors, has started to provide free health services from the IFC headquarters in Baghdad, as well as forming traveling teams to provide treatment off-site for people who cannot reach the office.
The Safety Force is increasingly made up of trade unionists, a growing pillar of support for the IFC. In November 2006, the General Federation of Trade Unions-Iraq (GFTU-I) merged with the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI), already an IFC member organization. Workers from both groups have volunteered for the SF. And more unions are joining with the IFC's new campaign against Iraq's pending US-written oil law, which would grant unprecedentedly free access to foreign multinationals.
Struggle for the Oil
In a Sept. 8 press conference in Basra, representatives of the IFC's Anti-Oil Law Front joined with leaders of Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) to warn the Iraqi parliament against passing the draft oil law. IFOU president Hassan Jumaa, also a member of the IFC's central council, announced that the union will shut down the pipeline leading from Iraq's southern oilfields if the law is approved, and is prepared to halt operations entirely if the Anti-Oil Law Front calls for a strike. Five days earlier, the Front staged a protest in Baghdad's Liberation Square. US forces surrounded the rally, blocking access to the square, and took pictures of the protesters who carried banners reading "The oil law is the law of occupation."
An IFOU march against the oil law in Basra on July 16 brought out thousands, with simultaneous protests in Amara and Nassiryya. Local governate officials made statements in support of their demands. The 26,000-strong IFOU calls for immediate and complete withdrawal of all occupation forces from Iraq, and has already demonstrated its muscle. On June 4, it went on strike for four days to protest the oil law and demand the release of delayed benefits due workers, paralyzing the Basra-Baghdad pipeline.
Four IFOU leaders, including Hassan Jumaa, were ordered arrested for "sabotaging the Iraqi economy." Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who had averted a strike in May by promising dialogue in a meeting with IFOU leaders, now warned he would meet threats to oil production "with an iron fist." The arrest orders, never formally dropped, hadn't been carried out when the strike ended. But a heavy presence of Iraqi army troops remained in Basra, surrounding and blocking marches by the oil workers. The government recently threatened to carry out the arrest orders if the unions go ahead with a new strike to protest the oil law.
"The oil law does not represent the aspirations of the Iraqi people," Hassan Jumaa said at a May press conference. "It will let the foreign oil companies into the oil sector and enact privatization under so-called production-sharing agreements. The federation calls on all unions in the world to support our demands and to put pressure on governments and the oil companies not to enter the Iraqi oil fields."
The IFOU, which is demanding the resignation of the general manager of the Southern Oil Company for corruption, also went on strike over these demands in September 2006. It has carried out its own reconstruction work on rigs, ports, pipelines and refineries since the invasion with minimal, mostly local resources.
Iraq's labor leaders are, of course, targeted for repression and death.
On Sept. 18Âjust two days after the notorious Blackwater massacre in BaghdadÂIFOU announced that an engineer and leading union member, Talib Naji Abboud, was killed in an "unprovoked attack" by US forces on Basra's Rumaila oilfields. Sabah Jawad of the IFOU's support committee in the UK says the troops opened fire on his car without warning while he was on his way to workÂadmitting that it could have just been a case of "trigger-happy" soldiers rather than a targeted assassination.
In al-Aadhamiya, outside Baghdad, municipal workers started a strike August 30 to protest the raid of their offices by US troops. The soldiers broke doors and windows and smashed the employees' desks, under the pretext of a general search for arms in the municipality.
In February, US-led forces twice raided the Baghdad offices of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW), destroying office equipment and arresting a member of the union's security staff. Also that month, the Iraq Syndicate of Journalists was raided, and computers and membership records were confiscated.
In January, militia gunmen abducted eight Oil Ministry engineers on their way to a FWCUI press conference on fuel price increases. Four were released, but one engineer, Abdukareem Mahdi, was later found dead, with signs of torture. The other three remain missing and are presumed dead. Days later, FWCUI organizer Mohammed Hameed was among a group of 15 civilians who were randomly gunned down in a marketplace in southern Baghdad.
In July 2006, Kurdish security forces in Suleimanyia opened fire on striking workers at a cement factory, leaving three dead and more wounded. A month later, sectarian militias in Mahmoodya, near Baghdad, assassinated the local secretary of the health workers union and IFC member Tariq Mahdi. Ali Hassan Abd (better known as Abu Fahad), a leader at the Southern Oil Company's refinery, was gunned down while walking home with his young children in February 2005. That same month, Ahmed Adris Abbas, a leader in Baghdad's transport union, was assassinated by a hit squad in the city's Martyrs' Square.
Yet despite danger and intimidation, the effort against the oil law is building. A second rally at Baghdad's Liberation Square called by the Anti-Oil Law Front Sept. 22 brought out hundredsÂa significant achievement in an atmosphere of terror.
For a Secular State
An incident which helped spark the IFC's founding came in March 2005, when a Christian female student was physically attacked by Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia at a campus picnic at Basra University, and a male student who came to her defense was shot and killed. Thousands of students marched in protest, a solidarity march was held by students in Suleimanyia, and the Mahdi militia was driven from the campus. These struggles led to the establishment of the National Federation of Student Councils, another IFC member organization.
Another of the IFC's founding organizations, the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), led a campaign against Iraq's new constitution. Article 41 of the new constitution overturned the more secular 1959 Personal Status Law, enshrined as Article 118 of the old constitution, which barred gender discrimination. The new measure instead refers family disputes to sharia courtsÂShi'ite or Sunni depending on the affiliation of the litigants. In 2004, a campaign by OWFI and allied groupsÂincluding street protestsÂsucceeded in keeping the sharia measure out of the draft constitution, by a narrow vote of the then-Governing Council. However, a basically identical measure is in the permanent constitution approved by referendum the following year. OWFI believes the sharia courts will mean denial of divorce, inheritance and child custody rights to women.
OWFI leader Yanar Mohammed says the new constitution is encouraging an atmosphere in which acid attacks are on the rise even in once-secular Baghdad against "immodest" women who refuse to take the abaya (Iraq's version of the veil). The Mahdi Army as well as its rival Sunni militias publicly flog and even hang women accused of "adultery" (which can include having been raped). Last year, OWFI sent teams to Baghdad's morgue under cover of searching for missing relatives to reveal the horrific nature of Iraq's reality. They found that hundreds of unclaimed women's corpses turning up monthly at the morgueÂmany beheaded, disfigured or bearing signs of extreme torture.
OWFI runs a shelter in Baghdad for women fleeing "honor killings," which have surged under the occupation. Mohammed, of course, has received numerous death threats.
The draft constitution for the Kurdish region also includes a measure recognizing sharia law as a foundation for legislation. OWFI's spokesperson for the Kurdish region, Houzan Mahmoud, has also received e-mailed death threatsÂeven as she pursues her education at the University of London.
Samir Adil says sectarian militias and US troops alike tear down IFC posters reading "No Sunni, no Shi'ite, occupation is the enemy."
Appeal for Solidarity
In addition to Zenko, IFC solidarity groups have been established in the UK, France and South Korea. In America, US Labor Against the War has brought Iraqi union leaders on speaking tours. IFOU general-secretary Faleh Abood Umara was in Ohio on tour with USLAW when the arrest order was issued against him in the summer. The American Friends Service Committee also brought Samir Adil on a tour of the Northeast in 2006.
But there is still little awareness in the US about Iraq's civil resistance. The dichotomized vision of occupation-vs-Islamist insurgents infects the mainstream as well as the anti-war forces. In its efforts to groom proxies, as with the Sunni "Guardians" in Anbar, the US is exacerbating the civil warÂco-opting one gang of tribal reactionaries to fight against another. Meanwhile, when a progressive and secular self-defense force emergesÂin opposition to the occupation, rather than collaboration, giving it real legitimacyÂthe US executes its leader. And the anti-war movement remains largely oblivious.
When asked about secular civil resistance movements in Iraq, Middle East scholar Juan Cole, publisher of the popular Informed Comment blog, says: "I don't know of any significant such groups; they don't show up in the Arabic language newspapers I read, and nobody votes secular when they vote... I think they are by now mostly in exile. The religious groups are better organized, get outside money, and have paramilitaries."
Gilbert Achcar, author of The Clash of Barbarisms: September 11 and the Making of the New World Disorder, largely concurs. "What is tragic is that in the whole area actually, left-wing, progressive, emancipatory forces are quite marginal. As a product of historical defeatÂor even bankruptcy, because of very wrong policies in some casesÂthe overwhelming forces in the mass movement have been of a very different nature, mainly Islamic fundamentalist forces. Iraq is a country where you have had historically a very powerful communist party with a tradition of building workers' movements and all that, and one would have hoped that this would at least lead to the survival of a progressive currentÂbut the problem is that the communist party joined the governing council set up by Bremer and ruined its credibility as an anti-imperialist force by doing so."
Achcar also takes a dim view of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq. The WCPI was founded in 1991 in response to Desert Storm, the demise of the Soviet Union and emergence of the US as the single superpower, viewing these developments as mandating a return to militant workers' self-organization in the Persian Gulf region. Samir Adil and other IFC leaders are followers of the Worker-Communist Party, which views the Iraqi regime as illegitimate and collaborationist. But in Achcar's view, the Worker-Communist Party's anti-clericalism is too dogmatic. "They have a discourse which is very violently opposed to all IslamÂnot only Islamic fundamentalism," he says. "They have formulas that would be provocative for ordinary Muslim believers, I would say. They denounce Islamic fundamentalist forces, but they don't take the necessary precaution of clearly making a distinction between these currents and the religion of Islam."
The IFC, however, insist that they also have secular and progressive Muslims in their leadership. Recently, the IFC has held meetings with traditional tribal leaders in Basra province, issuing joint statements of unity against the occupation and Oil Law. In any case, the decision to launch the IFC has prompted a split in the WCPI, with the hard-liners who reject coalition politics leaving to form a "Left-Worker Communist Party of Iraq."
Achcar does acknowledge worthwhile work by WCPI followers. "They organized activities on the women issue, and a trade union movement," he says. "I mean, when you look at the landscape in Iraq, they are much more progressive than most of what you've got."
And Achcar urges support for the oil workers, with whom the IFC are now allied. "What I think would be worth support in Iraq is the oil and gas workers union in Basra," he says. "This is a genuine union, a genuinely autonomous union, not the off-shoot of any party. And they are in a very sensitive position because the oil industry is the main resource of Iraq, and that's the main target of the occupation, of course. Therefore I think they deserve strong support in their fight, which is presently concentrated on opposing the privatization plans or designs concerning the oil industry..."
Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies articulates the dilemma: "There has been a huge problem since the beginning of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, that the only resistance we hear about is the military resistance. Certainly Iraqis have the right under international law to fight against an illegal military occupation, including through use of military forceÂbut that has never been the only kind of resistance. Key sectoral organizationsÂoil workers, women, human rights defenders and many others-have all continued their work to oppose the occupation, at great risk to their own safety. Many of them operate in local areas, and almost all function outside the US-controlled 'green zone,' so few western journalists, and almost no mainstream US journalists, have access to their work."
She too sees hope in the struggle of the oil workers. "The oil workers union has provided one of the extraordinary models of local/national mobilization in defense of workers rights as well as defense of Iraqi sovereignty and unity (through the unions' opposition to the US-drafted oil law which would privatize a huge part of Iraq's oil industry). The international solidarity mobilized by the oil workers unions, particularly among trade unionists in Europe and the US, has provided an important model of how that kind of cross-border collaboration can take shape. The work of US Labor Against the War, in mobilizing labor opposition to the Iraq occupation and simultaneously building support for the Iraqi oil workers, also provides a model for international solidarity from the other side."
That the work of the IFC goes largely unnoticed outside Iraq is particularly ironic in light of Bush's recent statement that there can be no "instant democracy in Iraq" because "Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas." As the death of Abdelhussein Saddam indicates, Bush is continuing the work of Saddam Hussein in eliminating progressive Iraqis who support co-existence. However, despite the best of his efforts, they are not all dead yet.
"The occupation and puppet government in Iraq created this conflict," says Nadia Mahmood. "They supported the militias and opened the door to terrorist networks to come and function in Iraq. Before the war, George Bush said he had to invade Iraq because of al-QaedaÂbut what happened was al-Qaeda came after the occupation. They control many cities in Iraq and are imposing the most reactionary practices on the civil population. Before, Iran had no role in Iraq, but now we see the Iranian government empowering militias in many cities in Iraq, especially in Basra. The US is not supporting political freedom in Iraq. They just seek to loot our resources, and its time to go."
But she emphasizes that if the US exit is to lead to peace and a secular order, the civil resistance will also need support from friends abroad. "The victory against US forces in Iraq will not be a local victory Âit will be an international victory."
11/20: UN Security Council: re-authorization of occupation in Iraq
A Call for Action put out by Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, UFPJ
Anytime between now and the end of this year the UN Security Council will be asked to consider a re-authorization of the U.S.led occupation in Iraq. The background and details about this is included in the memo below, which is being sent to antiwar organizations around the world. United for Peace and Justice has signed on to this letter because we believe it is important to keep the pressure on the U.S. government from all angles.
We are asking that folks here in the U.S. take part of this effort by making two calls:
1) Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The phone number at the U.S. Mission to the UN is 212-415-4000. (If you prefer to send a fax, that number is 212-415-4443. (Khalilzad was the United States Ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2007.)
2) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The phone number for her office is 202-647-5290, and the switchboard at the U.S. Dept of State: 202-647-4000.
Let them know that you do not support a re-authorization of the occupation of Iraq. It is time to end this war and occupation, it is time to bring all of the troops and contractors home!
peace,
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A Possible Outcome of the Writers' Strike
"The Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Council of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), acting upon the authority granted them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 AM, Monday, November 5." This is what it read on the WGA-West webpage when the WGA made its strike announcement last week.
Now I'm not a big TV watcher. To be candid, I don't even have one. But, the prospect of Saturday Night Live, Letterman and perhaps even John Stewart and the recent Presidential hopeful Stephen Colbert loosing their writers next week is really terrifying me. Oh man, is Harry Shearer a member? I'm sure he is. What am I going to do?
What will the Country do with its pent up frustration when the people can't laugh at professionally written jokes about this quagmire we're in? This strike has real potential to stifle one of the greatest satirical moments in history. As writers pens fall eerily silent to the table, what will fill the void?
Practically, not since 1729, when the amazing Jonathan Swift penned the following lines has humanity enjoyed such rich subject matter for satire: "I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout." Swift sardonically proposed eating children as a means of railing against the British occupiers of Ireland who were systematically crushing the Irish economy to pacify dissidence. Sound familiar? Remembered as ushing in an age of satire at one of the forms finest moments, Swift, and fellow members of the Scriblerus Club, formed a literary, cultural resistance dedicated to exposing corruption of authority in their time.
Now, we find ourselves in another wave of rich satire. One in which official US policy forges hopelessly on in a bloody, baseless, immoral and deceitful war that rages in contradistinction to the general will of the American people. In our time, so many have soothed the pains of the day with the wit, humor and satire offered regularly in doses on television, podcasts, online videos, etc. There are more ways to receive media now than there are flavors at an ice cream parlor, and that's what striking Writers demand a piece of.
I found this classic clip of Stephen Colbert at the 2006 White House Correspondents dinner on the internet. This one goes in the history books. There, with the president sitting sheepishly beside the podium and the full spectrum of American media before him, Colbert roasted the President's foreign policy and shamed a room of journalists for not waking up. At one point he farcically posited, “But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know fiction.†Colbert, currently at the helm of a new satiric revolution, has a fully swag-loaded presidential campaign. He and other practitioners of this comedic revolution shed light on deep governmental corruption in a way that a broad number of people digest by laughing through it.
Again, what will we do tonight and through the duration of the Writer’s strike without the instructional catharsis of political satire on the television set? There is one group of ladies, frequently dressed in pink, who are not in the writers union and offer us an alternative approach. Such actions like those taken by Code Pink activist Desiree Fairooz on October 24, 2007 provide an alternative form of catharsis for the participant as well as the millions of viewers. Images like Desiree’s bloody hands carefully held visibly around Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice’s hair helment offer brilliant glimpses of democracy still kicking and screaming inside our Nation’s public hearing rooms.
I think while the writers make their stand for fair compensation in a diversified entertainment market, and as more workers take up the fight for preserving middle class living standards during a war hemorrhaging trillions of tax dollars, some of us will devise our own new strategies for relieving the tension of our current predicament. Any creative antagonism that releases the pressure compounded when the thin, delicate film of democracy is stretched to the breaking point by the hot wind of corrupt leaders, I belive will receive widespread recognition along the intersections of this new interconnected world.
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PROTEST THE WAR!
On Saturday, October 27 there will be eleven regional demonstrations across the country calling for an end to the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home now. A demonstration is planned for Los Angeles beginning at noon at Olympic and Broadway downtown.
Over the next few months, Congress will be deciding on whether or not to approve President Bush’s request for another year of funding for the war in Iraq. This is a critical time, and the voices of protesters as well as many military families will echo across this nation, telling Congress and all in our communities that funding this war is killing our troops.
Protest demands will echo the sentiment that it is past time for all our troops to be brought home. It’s time American aggression in Iraq ceases. It’s time troops commence their return and receive care when they get home! All of our voices are needed, now more than ever!
Sat. Oct. 27, at Noon. March begins at the intersection of Olympic and Broadway downtown and ends at the Federal Building at 300 N. Los Angeles St. www.oct27.org/los_angeles and/or www.answerla.org
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Thank you IVAW...
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US CONGRESS PASSES RAMADAN BILL
This is HISTORIC for American- Muslims and Muslims around the world. This is the first time in history that the United States Congress will commemorate and recognize the month of Ramadan as the Islamic holy month. The language from the bill text is below for your viewing.
110th CONGRESS
1st Session - H. RES. 635
Recognizing the commencement of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and commending Muslims in the United States and throughout the world for their faith.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 5, 2007
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Mr. MEEKS of New York, and Mr. KEITH ELLISON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the commencement of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and commending Muslims in the United States and throughout the world for their faith.
Whereas since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, threats and incidents of violence have been directed at law-abiding, patriotic Americans of African, Arab, and South Asian descent, particularly members of the Islamic faith;
Whereas, on September 14, 2001, the House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution condemning bigotry and violence against Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Americans from South Asia in the wake of the terrorist attacks;
Whereas it is estimated that there are approximately 1,500,000,000 Muslims worldwide;
Whereas Ramadan is the holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal for Muslims worldwide, and is the 9th month of the Muslim calendar year; and
Whereas the observance of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan commences at dusk on September 13, 2007, and continues for one lunar month: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) during this time of conflict, in order to demonstrate solidarity with and support for members of the community of Islam in the United States and throughout the world, the House of Representatives recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great religions of the world; and
(2) in observance of and out of respect for the commencement of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, the House of Representatives acknowledges the onset of Ramadan and expresses its deepest respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world on this significant occasion.
The Congress passed the resolution unanimously 376-0 on October 2,2007.
Head of Iraq Oil Union Responds to Senate Efforts to Divide Iraq
OCTOBER 2, 2007
USLAW has received the following communication from Hassan Juma'a A'wad, President of the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions/General Union of Oil Employees in Basra. He responds to the recent vote by the Senate in favor of a form of partition of Iraq into Kurd, Sunni and Shia'a regions, with a weak central government:
I would like to convey to you the opinion of Union of Gas and Oil in Iraq on the latest statement of the US Congress regarding the partitioning of Iraq. The General Union of Oil and Gas denounces the statements from the US Congress that suggest the partitioning of Iraq into different parts. At the same time that we are denouncing such statements, we also reject this cowardly act that is aimed at the security and stability of our country, Iraq. Such a statement on the part of the US Congress demonstrates clearly that US occupation forces have failed to control Iraq.
Iraq will be united in spite of what the US says. We are calling on the Iraqi government and Iraqi Parliament to reject such statements that signify the US government's hatred and meanness toward the people of Iraq - the people who managed to confront all sorts of conspiracies and ill-fated schemes during the past period.
We will send you our official statement on the US congress statement soon,
Hassan Juma'a A'wad- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Today is Gold Star Mother's Day Sunday, September 30, 2007
September 30, 2007
To the Honorable President George W. Bush:
The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936, has designated the last Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother's Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in its observance.
This is stated on the back of the medal given to me due to Alex being killed during combat.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton proclaimed that we should "honor women whose sons and daughters have pledged their lives to securing for all Americans the blessings of liberty. These mothers have made tremendous sacrifices, the most painful being the loss of their children, and deserve the respect and recognition of the nation."
Why do we not honor the fathers and siblings as well? I am but a stepmother, yet due to my gender and not my blood, I am given this honor. I had to request the medals for both my husband and son because they were never considered to be honorable enough.
My husband and stepson Brian continue bereft and much more impacted than the females of my family. As a gender, feelings stew inside of you all causing deep harm either to yourselves or by directing agression outward (i.e. by starting meaningless and purposeless wars).
In 2007, George W. Bush proclaimed "The gift of liberty is secured by heroes who have answered the call to serve when America needed them most. On Gold Star Mother's Day, we honor the mothers of the service men and women who have given their lives in the defense of our great Nation.
President Bush, you goad all Mothers with this supplemental day of honor. This day has been given to us due to having our sons killed during combat. I feel no joy at this recollection. I feel no honor in knowing that this nation thrives on wars to move the wheels of its economy, where young men and women are seduced by honor to spill blood.
The President continues his proclamation stating, "America's Gold Star Mothers are remarkable patriots who serve their communities by demonstrating good citizenship, providing support and services to our troops and veterans, and helping comfort the families whose loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice. Their sense of duty and deep devotion to our country inspire our Nation, and we thank them for their compassion, determination, and strength. Though they carry a great burden of grief, these courageous mothers help ensure that the legacy of our fallen heroes will be forever remembered. On this day, we offer our deep gratitude and respect to our Nation's Gold Star Mothers; we honor the sons and daughters who died while wearing the uniform of the United States; and we pray for God's blessings on them, their mothers, and their families."
For your information, I pray for the day not just for the occupation of Iraq to end, I pray for the day when no more of these pins are ever needed again. I pray for an end to this oddly named and misunderstood club of females: Gold Star Mothers. I hope that these misanthropic Gold Star Mothers soon go into extinction due to an end to war. The grief is not golden. The pain at knowing that another Gold Star Mother comes into being every half day or so is heartbreaking and maddening.
President Bush, I am a Gold Star Stepmother for peace. The DoD gave me the little gold star pin with the purple border too. Yet, those in defense of justice, peace and the constitution are constantly called traitors. Which is it President Bush? Am I a patriot or not? This Catholic Sunday school teacher, this volunteer for the Veteran's Administration, this community activist, and stepmother who believes you have committed impeachable offenses wants to know.
Sincerely, I urge justice and peace for all,Melida Sharon Arredondo
Gold Star Stepmother to
Lcpl. Alexander Scott Arredondo, USMC,
08/04/84 - 08/25/04
Born: Boston, MA
KIA: An Najaf, Iraq
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Encampment Protest to Occupy the Occupiers September 22-29
A week-long encampment directly in front of LA Federal Buildings (Westwood 9/22-9/26 & Downtown 9/27-9/29).
A giant billboard and round-the-clock political challenge to Legislators to STOP funding the war in LA and DC.
Actions every day and resistance music and culture every evening.
LABOR ACTIVITIES DURING THE 8-DAY ENCAMPMENT TO OCCUPY THE OCCUPIERS (SEPT. 22-29)
Saturday, September 22nd at the Westwood Federal Building (11000 Wilshire Blvd.)
* 3PM - LA-USLAW - Iraq Moratorium Workshop: Workers Put Their Shoulders To The Wheel Over The War In Iraq. www.iraqmoratorium.org
* 7PM - LA-USLAW screens the Robert Greenwald/Brave New Films documentary "Iraq For Sale". www.iraqforsale.org
* 8:30 - LA-USLAW screens "Meeting Face To Face" the documentary about the 2005 Iraq Labor Tour. www.meetingfacetoface.org
Tuesday, September 25
* Beginning at 10AM - Move the tent city. March from Westwood to Downtown. (Transportation provided for gear and for those not marching the entire 15 miles.)
Thursday, September 27 at the Downtown Federal Building (300 N. Los Angeles St.)
* David Bacon Photo Exhibit of Iraqi Workers in Basra and Baghdad. www.dbacon.igc.org
* 4PM - LA-USLAW presents a panel discussion/workshop on the controversy surrounding Iraq's proposed Oil Law (aka "Hydrocarbon Law"). www.iraqoillaw.com
* 6:30PM - LA-USLAW presents "Meeting Face To Face" (the documentary about the 2005 Iraq Labor Tour. www.meetingfacetoface.org
* 7PM - Garment Workers Center presents "Made In LA" - a documentary about garment workers in LA. www.madeinla.com
* 9PM - "Salt of the Earth" - www.organa.com/salt.html
Saturday, September 29
* March & Rally beginning at noon at Broadway and Olympic. Look for the LA-USLAW banner & wear union shirts, buttons and labels.
Click Here for more local information.
Click Here for more National information.
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New Estimate Puts Iraqi Death Toll Since US Invasion Above 1,000,000
The number is shocking and sobering.
It is at least 10 times greater than most estimates cited in the US media, yet it is based on the only scientifically valid study of violent Iraqi deaths caused by the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003.
That study, published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, estimated that over 600,000 Iraqis had been killed as a result of the invasion as of July 2006. Iraqis have continued to be killed since then.
See the complete explanation.
This devastating human toll demands greater recognition. It eclipses the Rwandan genocide and our leaders are directly responsible. Little wonder they do not publicly cite it.
Here is simple HTML code to post the counter to your website and help spread the word.
Actions you can take right now
Sign the petition telling Congress that about a million Iraqis have likely been killed and urging them to end this war now. A large number of signatures on this and other petitions is a compelling way to keep pressure on Congress as there are more votes on the war.
Add your name to the petition.
Begin organizing in your community by hosting or attending a showing of the new documentary narrated by Sean Penn and based on interviews with Norman Solomon, "War Made Easy". If you host, Just Foreign Policy will help out with the cost of the DVD by sending you $5 if you're one of the first 50 to send us a picture of the folks who attend. Hold up a sign with your hometown and a message against the war.
Sign up for a screening.
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Basra residents rise up to protest the Oil Law pending in Iraq.
On July 16, 2007 thousands of protesters marched the streets in Basra in what may have been the largest demonstration since the beginning of the occupation. The demonstration was sparked by increased pressure by the Bush Administration on the Iraqi Parliament to pass the Oil Law. Protesters say that this proposed legislation would open two thirds of Iraq’s oil to foreign control through contracts that could last as long as 30 years. Adoption of the law is one the benchmarks imposed on Iraq by the U.S. as a condition of continued reconstruction aid and support for the Maliki government.
Hasan Juma'a Awad al Asade, head of the oil workers union, described the potential harmful effect of such legislation on Iraq and working families by saying, "we will lose control over Iraqi oil. Therefore, the social progress in Iraq will be curtailed substantially, because the oil companies want huge profits; they are not concerned about the environment, wages, or living conditions..." (Guardian UK. 7/15/07. "Fight for Control: Iraq Oil Under Pressure" by Heather Stewart)
Additionally, Usama al-Nujefi parliamentarian with the Iraq National List has resigned in protest over the proposed new Oil Law. "I call on my lawmaker brothers and sisters to confront this law which will ruin the country's future and will be in the interest of large global companies at the expense of Iraqis," (Reuters. 7/7/07. "Iraq Lawmaker Quits Energy Panel Over Oil Law")
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Military Families Speak Out combat the Neo-Con spin Machine
More info available at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/29/231715/192
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In June, two Iraqi labor leaders are came to Los Angeles as part of a nation-wide tour.
Public Events:
LABOR RECEPTION AND FORUM FRIDAY, June 8, 2007, 5 PM UCLA Downtown Labor Center 675 S Park View. LA 90057
COMMUNITY LABOR SOLIDARITY FORUM SATURDAY, June 9, 2007, 7:30 PM United Teachers Los Angeles 3303 Wilshire Blvd. 2nd floor. LA 90010
Hashimia Mohsen al Hussein, President Electrical Utility Workers Union—IFTU, Basrah
Ms. Hashimia Mohsen al Hussein is the first woman to head a major national union in Iraq. In January 2004, workers in the Najibeeya, Haartha and Al Zubeir electrical generating stations in Basrah, mounted a wildcat strike, stormed the administration buildings, declared an earlier-established lower September wage schedule void, and vowed to shut off power if salaries were not raised. The ministry agreed to return to the old scale. Last June the union organized large demonstrations to protest government decisions to hire private contractors to do reconstruction work, replacing the industry’s own employees.
Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary,Southern Oil Company Union, Iraqi Federation of Oil Workers
Mr. Faleh Abood Umara is a founding member of the oil workers union and worked for the Southern Oil Company in Basra for 28 years. In 1998, he was detained by the Hussein regime for his activities on behalf of his coworkers. He has served on the union’s negotiating team with both the Oil Ministry and British occupation authorities to defend the rights and interests of oil industry workers in the post-Saddam era. The Southern Oil Workers Union has conducted strikes against outsourcing to foreign workers and schemes to privatize the oil sector.
The LA leg of the tour is part of the US Labor Against the War sponsored US tour. Leaders of two of the most important labor organizations in Iraq will be sharing their experiences face to face with Angelenos.
Besides LA, the tour also include stops in the following cities: San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Their visit will provide an opportunity for people to hear directly from Iraqi trade unionists and learn about the role that the labor movement is playing in creating a secular, progressive Iraq.&