Catholic peace activists fined after protest at military base

Independent Catholic News
November 10, 2009

Six peace campaigners were fined at Watford Magistrates Court, on 5 November, for causing 'serious disruption to the life of the local community', during a protest to commemorate the second anniversary of the killing of 47 Afghan civilians at a wedding party by NATO.

Katrina Alton of the London Catholic Worker, with five co-defendants, all pleaded 'not guilty', After the verdict they told the court they would not pay the imposed £50 fine, or the £280 court costs for reasons of conscience.

read the rest here

Trial of the Wellmark of Iowa 7 now 6 went to jury deliberations - to be resumed on Monday

Frank Cordaro
November 20 2009

The trial of the Wellmark of Iowa 7 now 6 went to jury deliberation at the end of the third day of trial on Friday Nov 20 to be resumed on Monday Nov 23 at 10 a.m.

In an effort to derail the defendants defense the Polk Co prosecutor dropped the charges right before trial against DMCW'er Renee Espeland. Renee was the only one of the seven defendants who had an insurance policy with Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, which gave her a legal right to seek financial information from Wellmark. The prosecutors maneuver did not keep Renee and her 12 year old daughter Frankie from being the first two witness for the defense which helped lay the foundation for a justification defense, The remaining six defendants all got to testify. All were given a chance to explain why they were on the scene last July 27th in the Wellmark headquarters lobby. There were many moving moments of testimony. The jury was visibly move at times.

Thank-you's go out the Professor Sally Frank from the Drake University Legal Clinic and her three Drake Law Students helpers. Mona Shaw did a superb job of representing herself. Closing statements by Sally and Mona were moving and convincing.

As it looks going into jury deliberation, the defense case for justification looks very strong. We got six good people on our jury and a set of jury instructions from Judge William Price that if the
jurors wanted to rule favorably for the defenses they could easily acquit! (It could happen..)

I must confuse I often feel we are going to win at this junction of a civil disobedience case. I pray my optimism is not unfounded... we will see. Stay tone for a full report when jury returns with verdict on Monday.

Helen Oster RIP - long time Des Moines Catholic Worker friend and activist.

Dear Friends and Supporters:

It is with the greatest of sorrow that I must inform you that our dear friend Helen Oster passed away early this morning. She would have been 93 on November 23rd. Helen had gone into Mercy hospital for open heart surgery that was performed yesterday, November 19th. She never awakened after surgery.

Helen's son George Oster, and his wife Vicky live at 505 Cedar Crest Drive, WDM 50265. Cards can be sent there.

The Visitation is schedule for Friday, November 27th, the day after Thanksgiving, from 5-8 pm at Brooks Funeral Home, 7975 University Ave., Clive, IA.

The Memorial Service is scheduled for Saturday, November 28th from 1-3pm at St. Catherine of Sienna Catholic Church on University Ave in Des Moines, across from Drake University.

I known Helen for many years and we have worked on many projects and campaigns together. Through the years she has been an inspiration for so many of us youngster in the Iowa peace and justice community. She was also a great personal friend and mentor. I will miss her terribly....

Frank Cordaro - DM Catholic Worker

San Diego CW opening new house - needs 2 to 3 new community members

Denys Horgan
November 20 2009

The San Diego Catholic Worker, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is growing and about to open a House of Hospitality. They are looking for two or three people (a couple would be ideal) to live in the house as a focal point for the activities of the membership at large. They are hoping to find people who are dedicated to the Catholic Worker way of serving the poor and building a more just society, and who have lived in a House of Hospitality or have been attached to a Catholic Worker community for some time. The members of this core community should realize the importance of prayer, especially the communal liturgical prayer of the Eucharist. They should also be energetic and, in partnership with the San Diego Catholic Worker community, be willing to develop the House in whatever direction the Holy Spirit takes it. Ideally, volunteers should have a good working knowledge of Spanish and be available to make a commitment for at least one year. Room and board and a stipend, if necessary, will be provided.

You can read about the history of the San Diego Catholic Worker and see past copies of its newspaper by referring to its Website: catholicworkersd.org

People who are interested should address their inquiries to:
Denys Horgan denyshorgan@att.net

All Afghan detainees likely tortured: diplomat

CBC News
November 18, 2009

All detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured by Afghan officials and many of the prisoners were innocent, says a former senior diplomat with Canada's mission in Afghanistan.

Appearing before a House of Commons committee Wednesday, Richard Colvin blasted the detainees policies of Canada and compared them with the policies of the British and the Netherlands.

The detainees were captured by Canadian soldiers then handed over to the Afghan intelligence service, called the NDS.

read the rest here

God, the Army, and PTSD

Is religion an obstacle to treatment?

Tara McKelvey
Boston Review
November/December 2009

When Roger Benimoff arrived at the psychiatric building of the Coatesville, Pennsylvania veterans’ hospital, he was greeted by a message carved into a nearby tree stump: “Welcome Home.” It was a reminder that things had not turned out as he had expected.

In Faith Under Fire, a memoir about Benimoff’s life as an Army chaplain in Iraq, Benimoff and co-author Eve Conant describe his return from Iraq to his family in Colorado and subsequent assignment to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He retreated deep into himself, spending hours on the computer and racking up ten thousand dollars in debt on eBay. Above all, he was angry and jittery, scared even of his young sons, and barely able to make it through the day. He was eventually admitted to Coatesville’s “Psych Ward.” For a while the lock-down facility was his home. He wondered where God was in all of this, and was not alone in that bewilderment and pain.

read the rest here

On 20th Anniversary of Killings of 6 Jesuit Priests by US-Backed Salvadoran Forces, Thousands to Protest “School of the Assassins” at Ft. Benning

Thousands are gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia this weekend for the annual protest to shut down the US Army training center dubbed by critics as the “School of the Assassins” for having trained some of the worst human rights violators in Latin America. This year’s protest will mark the twentieth anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. It comes days after the priests were posthumously bestowed El Salvador’s highest civilian award, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. To talk about the priests and the overall state of Latin American affairs, we’re joined by Blase Bonpane, director of the Office of the Americas. A former Maryknoll priest, he has worked for more than four decades to promote human rights in Latin America.

Transcript Here

The Secret Global Empire(s)

Arraignment for Civil Resistance at Trident Submarine Base

Leonard Eiger
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
November 19 2009

Lynne Greenwald will be arraigned in United States District Court, Western District of Washington at Tacoma on December 2, 2009 at 8:30am on charges of trespassing/entering a restricted area (violation of 18 USC 1382) during a vigil and nonviolent action at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Washington on August 10, 2009. A trial date will be set at this hearing.

Ms. Greenwald received an initial barment letter following a Mother's Day action at Bangor on May 15, 2006. She was charged with trespass on federal property for a subsequent Mother's Day Action at Bangor on May 10, 2008. (...)

Regarding the charges in the current case, Ms. Greenwald will plead not guilty, and will represent herself at this initial hearing.

Ms. Greenwald made the following statement regarding the basis for her actions: "It is our responsibility to acknowledge criminal actions by our government. The existence of Trident violates international law and the U.S. Constitution. Trident is illegal and prioritizes death over life. It's time to change our priorities and fund health care, education, housing, clean water and other life-giving needs for the future of all children."

Ms. Greenwald is also a member of the Disarm Now Plowshares (see: http://www.jonahhouse.org/) group of five that entered the Bangor submarine base in the early morning hours of November 2, 2009, All Souls Day, with the intention of calling attention to the illegality and immorality of the existence of the Trident weapons system. All five made their way to and entered the Strategic Weapons Facility-Pacific (SWFPAC) where U.S. strategic nuclear weapons are stored. Before being arrested they held a banner saying, “Disarm Now Plowshares: Trident: Illegal + Immoral”, left a trail of blood and hammered on the roadway (Trigger Ave and Sturgeon), and hammered on the fences around SWFPAC. They also scattered sunflower seeds throughout the base. No arraignment date has been set for the November act of Civil Resistance.

Ms. Greenwald is a member of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, Poulsbo, Washington. For over thirty two years Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action has engaged in education, training in nonviolence, community-building, resistance against Trident and action toward a world without nuclear weapons.

Opinion Criticizing Israel Isn't Antisemitism

But a new coalition of MPs seems to say the two are one and the same.

Murray Dobbin
The Tyee
November 19 2009

Ever since the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip last December, the global debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified with both sides upping the ante, and the stakes of the framing battle increasing almost daily. One of the most recent -- but almost totally unreported -- developments in Canada is something called the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA). It is not an official parliamentary body but is a multi-party, voluntary association of 13 MPs. It is currently holding an inquiry into anti-Semitism because, it says, "The extent and severity of antisemitism is widely regarded as at its worst level since the end of the Second World War."

read the rest here

Welcome to the 'Burbs, Meet the New Homeless

Their ranks are growing in cities like Surrey, as the working poor slip their grip.

Monte Paulsen
The Tyee
November 19 2009

Sherry and Chris spent the past few years "just getting by." The couple paid $420 a month to share a house in Surrey. The rent cost more than half their income. And yet, as Sherry put it, they got by.

Until they didn't.

Sherry, Chris and their many cats were evicted in September. Since then, they've camped out behind an abandoned strip mall a short distance from their former home.

read the rest here

Frank Cordaro & DM Catholic Worker Home + Mission, More

Max Knauer
Mac's World
November 13, 2009

Frank Cordaro called in as guest during the first hour of Chatauqua50309 on Wednesday, November 11th. What he shared with the Des Moines Local Live audience included the service and mission of Des Moines Catholic Worker Home, meeting needs of many homeless men and women in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Des Moines Catholic Worker Community, said Mr. Cordaro, serves a complex set of needs combined with a social justice ministry reaching well beyond Des Moines’ inner city.

read the rest here

Inmate Timothy L. Redman Tortured to Death at Ely State Prison

Make The Walls Transparent
November 19, 2009

“They pumped can after can of pepper spray into the cell; they came back every 20 minutes and emptied another can …a big can, maybe half the size of a hairspray can. Then an officer looked in the cell, turned to the lieutenant and said, Hey, This guy hung himself.”

The lieutenant answered,”Spray him again!”

Yesterday morning, Timothy Redman, a death row inmate at Ely State Prison hung himself in his cell after being tortured for 2-2 1/2 hours, sprayed repeatedly with mace, until he couldn’t take it anymore and hung himself. The unit was immediately locked down.

read the rest here

Justice Delayed, Justice Denied

Witness Against Torture Responds to Obama’s Statement that Guantanamo Will Not Close by January 2010.

Join us: Fast and Vigil to Shut Down Guantanamo, End Torture and Build Justice, http://www.witnesstorture.org/2010

Wednesday, November 18. President Barack Obama conceded today that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba will not close within the one year mandated by the Executive Order he signed on January 22, 2009. This is a disappointment but not a surprise.

For months, the administration has been sending signals that it over-reached in its timetable. The given reasons for the delay are likewise familiar: that the Bush administration left a legal mess, requiring painstaking work to determine the ideal means for handling the remaining detainees; that it has been hard to find countries to admit detainees who cannot be resettled in their countries of origin due to fears of ill-treatment; and that unanticipated domestic resistance to Guantanamo’s closure, much of it fueled by fear-mongering and partisan politics, has slowed the process. These impediments, while real wrenches in the grinding wheels of policy, cannot excuse the moral and constitutional disaster that Guantanamo's continuing operation represents. (...)

Since coming to office, the Obama administration has presented Guantanamo as an administrative problem, a cause of embarrassment, and a foreign policy liability. It has never faced Guantanamo for what it truly is: a grave injustice which the United States is duty bound, by the best of its traditions and basic standards of fairness and decency, to immediately set right.

"Justice Delayed is Justice Denied" — the great maxim of the Civil Rights Movement that made Barack Obama's political ascent possible — has been forgotten. Martin Luther King Jr.'s talk of "The Fierce Urgency of Now," repeatedly invoked by President Obama to push ahead with domestic reforms, has been replaced, for the Guantanamo detainees and anyone who cares about the rule of law, with "the fickle hope of eventually" and “the self-serving pledge of maybe."

All the while, the Obama administration proclaims its intent to put U.S. policies and practices in accordance with our laws and values. Yet the United States continues to detain dozens of men at Guantanamo who have been cleared for release. In the case of the remaining Uighurs, the administration has advanced the Orwellian conclusion that they are no longer prisoners — they just have nowhere to go, and must therefore remain on the dusty gulag.

Echoing the policies of Bush, Obama proposes the indefinite detention, without charge or trial, of detainees against whom no case has been built or from whom "evidence" was obtained through torture. The Obama Justice Department repeatedly invokes the "state secrets" defense to beat back legal efforts of those kidnapped and tortured to receive acknowledgment of their injury and compensation for it. And it has steadfastly refused to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute those who designed and ordered torture policies, choosing instead a limited inquiry into the most egregious cases of "unauthorized" detainee abuse.

Finally, it has allowed obsessive attention with the truly dangerous men in U.S. detention — such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other Al Qaeda leaders — to obscure the fact the great majority of detainees held at Guantanamo have been falsely imprisoned.

How is it tolerable within the framework of American laws and values to hold for even one day longer men who, innocent of any crime, have been stolen from their families, tortured, and dehumanized?

How is it tolerable to knowingly imprison innocent men while failing to indict officials who — a preponderance of public evidence suggests — are guilty of heinous political crimes and violations of human rights? How can the rule of law be restored when U.S. laws are not even enforced?

And how can the wreckage of the past be cleared when the key monument of that wreckage, the detention facility at Guantanamo, remains intact.

The Obama administration will continue to face enormous hostility — much of it paranoid, opportunistic, and vicious — to even its inadequate efforts to undo the worst of the Bush era policies. Those efforts must be supported, for the real good they will bring and to beat back domestic forces ready to plunge the United States into a new nightmare of lawlessness and wanton cruelty in the name of "national security."

But the administration must also be held to its words and promises. Its failures cannot be masked with rationalizations and false deference to the constraints of partisan bickering and legal complexities. The inability to fulfill the mandate of the Executive Order to close Guantanamo within a year is just such a failure, making still more urgent the demand for true justice.

Witness Against Torture is a grassroots organization committed to closing Guantanamo, Bagram and ending torture. The group will hold a fast and vigil in Washington, DC from January 11, 2010—the date marking eight years since Guantanamo’s beginning as a “war on terror” prison through January 22, 2010, the date by which the Obama administration committed to closing the facility. To learn more about the fast and vigil to Shut Down Guantanamo, End Torture and Build Justice visit http://www.witnesstorture.org/2010

Nasa to irradiate monkeys to study effects of long space trips on humans

Nasa is to expose squirrel monkeys to daily radiation doses to help them understand the effects of long space trips on humans.

Tom Chivers
London Telegraph
November 2 2009

It will be Nasa’s first experiment on primates in decades.

If a manned mission to Mars ever takes place, the human pilots will be outside Earth’s protective magnetic field for several months, unprotected from solar radiation. Little research has been done on this sort of long-term exposure to low doses of radiation.

read the rest here

Did You Know 2.0

An official update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, this June 2007 update includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design. For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/. Content by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, design and development by XPLANE.

BE A CATHOLIC WORKER SNOW BUNNY IN TEXAS!

invite from Austin TX CW to Northern CWers "You all come visit us..."

Lynn Goodman-Strauss
Mary House Catholic Worker

This is a serious invitation to any Catholic Worker from the northern climes where winter actually happens! Come on down to Texas for all or part of the messy, cold winters in your city! People who come to Texas for the winter usually come in RV's, dragging a car behind them. We call them "Snow Bunnies"! Mary House offers the Catholic Worker version of Snow Bunny Life.

Mary House CW in Austin is in serious need of community and assistance in our House of Hospitality for dying and critically ill/injured homeless men and women. We are NOT a medical facility, but we do provide special diets, advocacy, and a beautiful, safe home for up to 11 people to rest and recuperate. If you come to visit, we would like you to offer 10 hours/week labor at laundry, cooking, transportation to clinics, and/or floor washing. If you cannot do that, come anyway! Mary House needs volunteers to be present to our guests and resident catholic worker.

Write me at: theegglady@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in visiting beautiful, sunny Texas this winter! Go swimming in February! Laze in the sun in January! (Sometimes it gets into the 30's and 40's.) We can visit beautiful parks and scenic areas! Blessings and peace to each and all of you,

Lynn Goodman-Strauss
Mary House Catholic Worker
P.O. Box 684185
Austin, TX 78768
http://www.mary-house.org/index.html

The Our Father, ribs and a biker

Linda LeTendre
Daily Gazette.com
November 17 2009

This past Sunday, myself and about 225 to 250 people went to the Handcock Air National Guard base in Syracuse to witness against the drones (unmanned bombers that are remote controlled), the human cost of war and the evils of war in general.

read the rest here

Why Can't We Do to DC What We Did to Seattle?

David Swanson
After Downing Street
November 18 2009

I've been reading a brand new book called "The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle," which is in large part an analysis of what worked in the protesting of the World Trade Organization 10 years ago. Why is it, I wonder, that activists were able to shut down the center of this major city in Washington state, but for years we have been unable to shut down the center of Washington, D.C., in opposition to wars.

read the rest here

Beck uses blatant distortions to smear SEIU as violent organization of "thugs"

Media Matters
November 17, 2009

During the November 16 edition of his Fox News program, Glenn Beck repeatedly launched false, misleading, or unfounded attacks against the Service Employees International Union, its president Andy Stern, and President Obama to claim that SEIU members are "thugs" who "beat down" opponents and command elected officials.



read the rest here

C Street House Loses Tax Exemption

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Peace activists say beaten by settlers

Two foreigners accompany Palestinian family to village in South Mount Hebron as part of Christian Peace Group, claim they were assaulted by settlers near outpost

Tal Rabinovsky
Ynet News
November 18 2009

Two foreign peace activists say they were assaulted by settlers Tuesday in South Mount Hebron while accompanying a Palestinian family to the village of Tuba. One of the activists was reportedly kicked in the stomach and needed medical attention. The two women, who filed a complaint with the police, had their cameras stolen as well.

"My colleague and I were with a family that was on its way home when we were harassed and assaulted by settlers," Sarah MacDonald, one of the activists, told Ynet.

read the rest here

Sawasya: Israel uses Palestinian prisoners as guinea pigs to test drugs

Palestinian Information Centre
November 16 2009

GAZA, (PIC)-- Sawasya center for human rights stated Monday that Israel uses Palestinian prisoners as guinea pigs without their consent to test the efficacy of new drugs manufactured by its health ministry on their bodies, calling for an immediate investigation into this violation.

The center cited as evidence that Israeli interrogators gave prisoner Zuhair Al-Iskafi an injection he never saw before which resulted in losing his hair all over his body permanently, adding that similar incidents happened to other prisoners.

read the rest here

The Ground Truth Trailer

The trailer for the feature documentary THE GROUND TRUTH, directed by Focus Features and presented by Focus Features

I'm A Democrat, And I'm A Republican

Speak out for REAL health care reform at http://millionfaxmarch.com, to send a fax to all your members of Congress calling for them to forget about any other bill and pass economical and efficient Medicare for All (HR 676) NOW!!

Handling of Afghan prisoners covered up: report

James Cudmore,
CBC News
November 17 2009

The testimony of a Canadian diplomat before a parliamentary committee Wednesday is likely to provide disturbing information about the government's handling of Afghan detainees, CBC News has learned.

The testimony of diplomat Richard Colvin is expected to provide details of what sources describe as an "unusual system" that saw Afghan detainees transferred to Afghan prisons, with little care about the conditions there.

read the rest here

They Should Get a Union

David Swanson
After Downing Street
November 17 2009

"If a majority of workers want a union, they should get a union. It's that simple. We need to stand up to the business lobby and pass the Employee Free Choice Act. That's why I've been fighting for it in the Senate and that's why I'll make it the law of the land when I'm president of the United States." --Barack Obama

Nobody is making it the law of the land. Nobody is fighting for it. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) has drifted down to the bottom of the AFL-CIO's website, buried beneath good economic proposals which, however, do nothing to build a labor movement. EFCA is not to be found anywhere on the front page of Change to Win's website at all. The media's not smearing EFCA with U.S. Chamber of Commerce lies anymore. Congress and the White House are silent. Any escalation of pressure on senators from union members has never materialized, the polite letter-writing campaigns having drifted away rather than ramping up into pickets or sit-ins.

read the rest here

Support mom still facing Afghanistan deployment, court martial

Jeff Paterson,
Courage to Resist
November 16, 2009

“I currently don’t have a family care plan, but they told me they did not care and for me to get ready to go to Afghanistan,” explained Oakland, California native Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, a 21-year-old soldier based at Hunter Army Airfield outside of Savannah, Georgia.

As I spoke to Alexis on the phone, I believed if I found her a civilian lawyer to work with the military, a reasonable resolution would be quickly found. Unlike most service members Courage to Resist assists, Alexis was not refusing to deploy. She was not looking to speak out against war. She was simply asking for more time to find someone to care for her 11-month old son Kamani. Within a few days, however, the Army had tossed Alexis in the stockade and turned Kamani over to the Chatham County (Georgia) foster care system.

read the rest here

KSM and MSM

David Swanson
After Downing Street
November 17 2009

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the corporate "mainstream" media make quite a pair. We're hearing a very "balanced" debate over whether KSM should be tried in New York City, and whether the most insane objections to that proposal are really insane or not. But what are we not hearing?

We're not hearing that trying criminals for the crime of 9-11 ought to have been what we did years ago, rather than waging wars in response to a crime. We're not discussing the possibility that had alleged 9-11 criminals been tried years ago rather than being imprisoned and tortured together with hundreds of innocents depicted as subhuman monsters, the "war on terror" might have been replaced with simply the wars on Iraqis and Afghans and Pakistanis. What effect might that have had on Americans' willingness to surrender their Bill of Rights? We aren't hearing about that.

read the rest here

Is Obama a Man of Peace?

Intervew with Motufumi Asai, Hiroshima Peace Institute

by James Corbett

‘Modern Warfare 3’—We Can Hardly Wait

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks

The new “Call of Duty” video game took in a cool $310 million on the day it launched, thanks partly to “heart-racing action,” as the developer put it. According to the satire masters at the Onion, the next version—yawn—is already in the works.

Catholic Bishops Put Sex Obsession Ahead of Mission to the Sick and the Poor

Adele M. Stan
Alternet
November 16 2009

They lead a church that claims to stand on the side of the sick and the poor, the meek who shall inherit the earth. But in the course of a single week, the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church proclaimed themselves willing to see health-care denied to millions of uninsured Americans, and to yank the social-service rug out from under the feet of tens of thousands of urban poor in the nation's capital -- all to serve the bishops' obsession with the sex lives and reproductive organs of others.

read the rest here

Why Is the US Paying Off the Taliban?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Nation's Jeremy Scahill appears on MSNBC to discuss his colleague Aram Roston's new investigation into how the US funds the Taliban. Roston reported that 10 percent of Pentagon logistics funds go directly to bribe the Taliban not to attack supply chains. "We fund them to fight with us once we've staged the theatre," says host Dylan Ratigan. On MSNBC, Scahill outlines the scope of the issue, and adds he has heard reports that intelligence services are also hiring members of the Taliban to provide translation services. "We're funding warlords, thugs," says Scahill.

Check out more great Nation videos on our YouTube channel.

Protest targets Goldman's billions

A crowd of protesters have gathered outside the Washington DC headquarters of banking giant Goldman Sachs.

The protesters were angry at the more than $20bn in bonuses paid to Goldman Sachs executives.

Now the company is spending millions more lobbying the US congress against legislation giving the government the authority to break up big financial institutions.

Al Jazeera's John Terrett reports.

Naomi Klein on Climate Debt

Part 1


Part 2


While industrialized countries like the United States, China, and India continue to argue over the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, small, underdeveloped countries are already starting to feel the effects of global climate change. The worst part is that these countries have done very little to contribute to the problem, yet they're the ones who are paying the price. Ring of Fire's next guest says that the US and other carbon emitting countries need to be footing the bill to protect these areas, by what's known as climate debt. Mike Papantonio talks about this concept with Naomi Klein, author of the best-selling book "The Shock Doctrine."

STATEMENT CARRIED INTO FORT HUACHUCA

November 15, 2009

We return to Fort Huachuca to call for an end to torture.

We are here because we desire dialogue with soldiers and commanders engaged in interrogation training.

We are here because we still question whether soldiers are provided with adequate training about international human rights law so they would know to refuse illegal orders and other pressure to torture captives (including a guarantee that speaking out would not lead to retaliation or punishment).

We are here in the hope that healing can take place - healing for the victims of torture, as well as the men and women who have been involved in carrying out torture.

Because the Obama administration has failed to close Guantanamo and the U.S. continues to imprison and interrogate thousands of captives at military prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq and places unknown, we renew our call for civilian, human-rights centered oversight of all interrogation training and practice.

Ft. Huachuca is also implicated in the rapidly expanding, legally questionable and morally reprehensible use of remotely-piloted aircraft, or drones, as a weapon of war. We're told that currently the Army only trains for the operation and maintenance of reconnaissance and surveillance drones at Ft. Huachuca. But we also know that the Army plans to weaponize some of these same drones.

Drone attacks have killed many more innocent civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere, than alleged terrorists. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions has asked whether the use of drones in targeting terrorists to be killed constitutes "arbitrary extrajudicial executions", or rogue assassinations in violation of international law.

We are here today to call for an end to the use of armed drones in warfare. We believe this terrorizing and killing generates deep resentment in the region that incites hatred for the U.S., boosts recruitment for Taliban, Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, and may spawn decades of retaliation.

We act in solidarity with the campaign to close the School of the Americas/Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where the testimony of torture survivors has informed our outrage and moved us to action. We also act in solidarity with people in New York protesting the presence of Reaper drones at a NY Air National Guard base outside of Syracuse today.

Rogue assassinations and torture have damaged the soul of our nation and tarnished our image around the world. We know that a world without torture, without violence and without war is possible.

We invite you to help us create that world.

FIVE ARRESTED AT FORT HUACHUCA DRONE AND TORTURE PROTEST

Mary Lou Pedersen
November 16, 2009

More than 150 people rallied against torture on Sunday, November 15, at Len Roberts Park in Sierra Vista, Arizona. After listening to speakers and music, the group carried signs and candles remembering the victims of torture in a one mile procession to the main gate of Ft. Huachuca, home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center where interrogators are trained. Along the way, names of people killed as a result of torture were called out, and the group responded with "Presente!". The procession stopped at the office of CACI, a private military contractor implicated in the abuse of Iraqi detainees.

Soon after the protesters arrived at the gate, five people, including two Roman Catholic priests, crossed the street and entered the base with a message for military personnel and civilian employees. They carried a statement (below) opposing the cruel treatment and abuse of detainees from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and calling for the civilian oversight of all military interrogation practices. The statement also condemned the use of armed drones in warfare.

Arrested were Joshua Harris, 33, Santa Barbara, California; Mariah Klusmire, 20, Albuquerque, New Mexico; John Heid, 54, Fr. Jerry Zawada, 72, and Fr. Bob Carney, 66, all of Tucson, Arizona. The five received a formal letter barring them from entering the base for one year. Four were released within an hour. Joshua Harris initially refused to identify himself, instead saying he was there representing a victim of torture. He was released that evening and charged under Arizona law with trespass and refusing to provide a truthful name.

Three people arrested at last year's Ft. Huachuca protest were given ban and bar letters but never prosecuted, because "the Ft. Huachuca Commander does not want the potential negative publicity", according to a May 15, 2009 letter to the FBI from Robert Fellrath, Assistant U.S. Attorney for Arizona.

Thousands of people will gather at Ft. Benning this coming weekend, November 20-22, for the annual vigil to close the School of the Americas. Human rights abuses in Latin America, including torture and murder, have been carried out by graduates of the school. The torture manual that was used at the School of the Americas came from Ft. Huachuca.

Photos may be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/FtHuachuca11-15-09
Photo credit: TortureOnTrial.org

An extensive report featuring audio and video from the protest can be found at http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Indianapolis Schools Ban Atheism Websites

Jesse Galef
Unreasonable Faith
November 14 2009

The Indianapolis Public School system has a policy to ban certain websites from being viewed at school. I certainly hated it when I was in high school (we found ways to bypass it if course) but it’s a reasonable idea. And the list of subjects banned is pretty straightforward: Pornography, Social Networking, Atheism and “Alternative Spirituality”, Games –

Wait, what?

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Secretary Gates Signs Order Barring Release of Torture Photos

Stephen C. Webster
Common Dreams and Raw Story
November 15 2009

Pursuant to new powers delegated to him by Congress, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has executed an order blocking the release of photos depicting the torture of detainees. In doing so, it becomes highly unlikely that the Supreme Court will further consider making the photos public, as a lower court had ordered.

In a new supplemental brief [PDF link] filed with the high court, the administration's attorneys argue that the new law Congress passed to allow Gates this authority effectively exempts the photos from the Freedom of Information Act, therefore invalidating an earlier lawsuit.

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$680 billion military budget an affront to God, the poor

Art Laffin
National Catholic Reporter
November 12 2009

President Obama signed into law Oct. 28 the $680 billion 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, the largest military spending bill of its kind. The bill includes $130 billion in funding for the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and only modifies the military commissions system at Guantánamo Bay, rather than abolish it.

The bill included several military spending projects Obama had previously opposed, including $560 million for a new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine the Pentagon had rejected. Then there is the approximately $16 billion tucked away in the Energy Department's budget, money dedicated to maintaining the huge U.S. nuclear arsenal. Overall, the bill increases military spending $24 billion from the last fiscal year.

However the president or members of Congress may try to justify this military budget, it is an affront to God and constitutes a direct theft from the poor. This budget is more than a bailout for the weapons industries; it is a massive giveaway to the war profiteers.

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Israeli Jews and the one-state solution

Ali Abunimah,
The Electronic Intifada,
November 10 2009

One of the most commonly voiced objections to a one-state solution for Palestine/Israel stems from the accurate observation that the vast majority of Israeli Jews reject it, and fear being "swamped" by a Palestinian majority. Across the political spectrum, Israeli Jews insist on maintaining a separate Jewish-majority state.

But with the total collapse of the Obama Administration's peace efforts, and relentless Israeli colonization of the occupied West Bank, the reality is dawning rapidly that the two-state solution is no more than a slogan that has no chance of being implemented or altering the reality of a de facto binational state in Palestine/Israel.

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Asking Republicans for a Favor

David Swanson
After Downing Street
November 15 2009

My dear Republicans friends, it's probably not my place to ask. I'm not one of you, but I'm not your enemy either. I'm not an apologist for the other party or a third party. I'm an advocate for replacing the two parties with three branches. We still teach our children about the three branches of our government, but I'm afraid most adults have forgotten what that was supposed to mean.

Like you, I'd like us to be able to unelect people as well as elect them in fair and verifiable elections. Like many of you, I oppose massive bailouts for Wall Street, bipartisan gerrymandering, corporate control of government, warrantless spying, ballot access restrictions, budget deficits, lying politicians, and the so-called mainstream media.

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Will We Ever Stop The Killings?

Sherwood Ross
November 15 2009

Every time the young stick-up man tugged at my companion’s purse with his left hand, she would pull back, causing the muzzle of the pistol he held in his right hand to swing back and forth. Its line of fire each time was directed across my chest and if he accidentally or deliberately squeezed the trigger this piece might never have been written. (...)

“Give him your purse!” I insisted, meaning that hanging on to it wasn’t worth our lives. Still, she refused and the tug-of-war in the parking lot of my apartment building continued.

“Here!” I said to the gunman, pitching my wallet to him, “take this!” He caught the wallet, turned and fled across a wide, deserted ballpark. Even in the darkness, we could follow him running for a long way, silhouetted in the lights of the U.S. Capitol, lit up at night ahead of him like a giant white cake.

A few days later I received a call from a Maryland department store inquiring if I had sent a young man to buy a TV set on my credit card. A store detective arrested the youth and I dutifully showed up in court on the day of the trial only to learn he had skipped.

Not long afterwards, a judge who lived in my building made page one of the Washington Star for resisting the gunmen who jumped him in the same parking lot. From his hospital bed he told reporters we Americans had to “stand up” to armed robbers, a noble sentiment spoken through his pain, considering all the bullets they pumped into his body.

We were lucky, my friend and I. We could have been killed, as so many others are being killed each day. As Jill Lepore writes in the November 9th “The New Yorker,” the U.S. “has the highest homicide rate of any affluent democracy, nearly four times that of France and the United Kingdom and six times that of Germany.” UK averages about 60 gun homicides annually and Germany averages fewer than 200. More Americans are being murdered on our city streets than in all our foreign wars.

New York Times columnist Bob Herbert last April 24th estimated 12,000 Americans are shot dead each year, 2,000 of them children, and 70,000 more are wounded but, like the D.C. judge, survive. Do the math: the total number of Americans shot dead each year is three times that of all U.S. troops killed in Iraq in six years of fighting. There is rage in our hearts; there is war in our streets.

A big factor in the homicide rate is the availability of guns. In a typical year, guns are responsible for two of every three murders. There are 238 million privately-owned firearms in USA. Big city mayors and police chiefs favoring curbs on hand guns and automatic weapons seem unable to overcome the clout of the gun lobby in Congress. Americans have modified or ignored much of the U.S. Constitution over the years yet the National Rifle Association insists that the 2nd Amendment phrase “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” is sacrosanct, even as innocent people are mowed down by the thousands.

Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, writes, “One of the ugly truths about many gun-control advocates is that they're more concerned about pushing for gun control than they are about reducing violence.” Note how LaPierre disparages their motives, when, in fact, some people become gun-control advocates only after the murder or wounding of a family member or friend. It’s quite likely that if homicidal waves of handgun violence did not occur nearly every day, as they do, nobody would bother chalking the slogan “Gun Control Now!” on the NRA wall.

“A vastly disproportionate number of murders and murder victims are young adult men,” writes The New Yorker’s Lepore. “When baby boomers reached that age bracket, the homicide rate soared. Now that they’ve aged out of their most lethal years, the rate has fallen.” Fallen, yet still unacceptable. Marcus Baram of ABC News reported last April 23 that teenagers in Chicago are 10 times more likely to be the victims of gun violence than their counterparts outside the city limits. Between 2002 and 2006, more than 650 Chicago teens were shot and killed! This is nearly as many as all U.S. troop deaths since the start of the war in Afghanistan. Are defenders of “gun rights” blind to the fact we have a war raging in our city streets?

Surely, one factor contributing to the homicide rate is poverty. How many times have you read about youths from affluent suburbs arrested for armed robbery? Can you think of one? Not only are children in blighted cityscapes---where supermarkets and chain retail outlets fear to tread-- deprived of legitimate job opportunities but if they commit crime, do time and are set free, their criminal past makes it tough for them to find gainful work. It’s not uncommon for six or seven out of every ten ex-cons to be returned to the Big House within three years of their release, the Justice Department reports. Worse, as “economy measures,” legislators right now are closing down prison drug rehab, educational, and vocational programs that would give ex-cons a fighting chance to succeed. There’s money for wars in three countries in the Middle East and money to operate a thousand military bases around the world but we short-change our own.

Another contributing factor to the high homicide rate may be the stiff sentences politicians’ mandate, enacting laws that limit the sentencing discretion of judges. In his treatise “On Crimes and Punishments,” published in 1764, Italian nobleman Cesare Beccaria wrote, “The countries and times most notorious for severity of punishment have always been those in which the bloodiest and most inhumane of deeds were committed.”

Famed Chicago lawyer Clarence Darrow argued harsh laws did zero to deter crime. In 18th Century England, he noted, pickpockets worked the crowds at public hangings even though picking pockets was punishable by hanging. Today, stiff sentences have contributed to putting a record 2.3 million Americans behind bars, so many that judges from Alabama to California are ordering governors to make their prisons livable. Legislators are considering paroling oldsters rather than building more lock-ups.

In Congress, bills are being debated (1) to require criminal background checks for all would-be buyers at gun shows, reversing the no-questions-asked practice; (2) to limit bulk sales of handguns; and (3) to ferret out that small minority of reckless licensed gun dealers whose sales account for 60% of crime scene weapons. Such laws can work. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D.-N.J.) claims since enactment of his bill preventing domestic abusers from buying a gun, more than 150,000 attempted gun purchases have been blocked.

In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger recently signed a law obligating sellers of handgun ammunition to record the names of buyers and other information about their purchase. A similar law in Sacramento from mid-January, 2008, through August, 2009, helped police find 229 prohibited people who had illegally bought ammunition---173 of them with previous felony convictions. And by matching ammo purchases with names on the state’s prohibited persons file, the Sacramento D.A. could charge 181 illegal ammunition buyers with felonies, according to an article on the Huffington Post.

Californians are reacting to a series of horrific shooting murders. For one, there was the Los Angeles city worker on Feb. 25, 2005, who sprayed his boss and another employee with AK-47 bullets after being reprimanded for showing up late for work. For another, there was the murder at a traffic stop of four Oakland police officers last March 21 by a shooter with a long criminal record. Other states need to follow California’s initiative.

Another anti-violence step would be to pay children to stay in school. This could put money into the pockets of young males who might otherwise pull stick-ups, such as the one in Washington referred to above. One organization, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, (NIF-ty for short) advises public school children on how to earn money buying and selling, and many trained kids open their own retail outlets. NFTE founder Steve Mariotti, a former Ford auto executive, got the idea after he was mugged jogging in Manhattan by some youths for the few bucks he was carrying. His outfit reports it has helped 230,000 young people run businesses in 22 states and 13 countries.

Beyond these steps, educators need to press for courses to teach non-violence in our public schools. After all, American children are deluged with violence-filled Hollywood movies and video games where killing is trivialized. The Non-Violence Project USA Inc., whose symbol is a handgun with a knotted barrel, is one non-profit that engages teens in pro-social activities, recognizing the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi’s observation, “If we are to achieve real peace, we shall have to begin with children.”

Executive Director Diane Landsberg of the Miami chapter in Coral Gables, Fla., says, “We have become a very rude and impatient society. We are taught to rush but not to wait. Courtesy and politeness matters. In order to get respect you’ve got to give respect.” One positive action might be for the NRA’s LaPierre to show his critics some respect, to give their ideas a chance, as in Sacramento, to make a difference.

Catholic Worker Clasifides

The Oakland CW currently has openings for live-in volunteers

Michael Gayman
Nov 14, 2009

The Oakland Catholic Worker currently has openings for live-in volunteers. The Catholic Worker house is looking for volunteers who are self-motivated, enthusiastic, and community oriented. Volunteers should also have solid knowledge of the Catholic Worker movement, goals and mission. The Worker house, located in East Oakland, is in an ethnically diverse and economically struggling area. The house ministers to a primarily Latino immigrant population. Ministries include: serving hot meals to the homeless, food distribution, donation pick up, cultural events, and community building. Community events are held weekly to stimulate and maintain a community oriented house.

Interested applicants must participate in an interview process and a site visit which will enable the Catholic Worker Community and the applicant to mutually discern acceptance into the Catholic Worker community. Spanish competency is not a requirement, but would be extremely helpful. Applicants must be willing to cook, clean, and maintain the house in good order.

Benefits include: Free room and board, and a small monthly stipend. Schedules for availability will be discussed through inquiry.

All interested persons should contact the Oakland Catholic Worker at (510) 533-7375, and ask for Michael or Alex.

Please send resumes to: oaklandcatholicworker@yahoo.com.

Anatomy of casino capitalism

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

Obama to Retain ‘Safe, Secure, Effective’ Nuclear Overkill Capacity

John LaForge,
Anti War.com
October 15, 2009

The U.S. and Russia, which together possess 95 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, announced this summer an agreement to someday reduce their nuclear arsenals by up to one-third.

The proposed treaty could cut each state’s long-range thermonuclear weapons – known in military jargon as "strategic" weapons – to between 1,500 and 1,675. Mainstream news reports said this was down from the limit of 2,200 slated to take effect in 2012."

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Army Sends Infant to Protective Services, Mom to Afghanistan

Dahr Jamail
Common Dreams
November 13 2009

VENTURA, California - U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas.

Hutchinson, of Oakland, California, is currently being confined at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia, after being arrested. Her son was placed into a county foster care system.

Hutchinson has been threatened with a court martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan on Sunday, Nov. 15. She has been attempting to find someone to take care of her child, Kamani, while she is deployed overseas, but to no avail.

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Bush torture ‘architect’ sits on court that will rule on another torture ‘architect’

Daniel Tencer
The Raw Story
November 11 2009

John Yoo, the former Bush administration lawyer who gained notoriety for penning a number of the so-called "torture memos" justifying the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" on terrorism suspects, has filed an appeal of a lawsuit against him with a court on whose bench sits another torture "architect" from the Bush administration.

Yoo's lawyers have filed an appeal against a lawsuit by convicted terrorist supporter Jose Padilla to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. One of the judges on that bench is Jay Bybee, who served early on in the Bush administration in the same Office of Legal Counsel where Yoo wrote the torture memos.

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Montage documenting the genocide commited by Isreal in "Operation Cast Lead".

more videos here

Authoritative Rejection of Afghanistan War

David Swanson
After Downing Street
November 13 2009

The last time I was on Laura Flanders's GRIT tv I argued that the American public opposed the occupation of Afghanistan, but another guest -- some Washington, D.C., "progressive" -- argued that this had no relevance, since the American public didn't know anything about Afghanistan.

When the RAND Corporation held a forum on Afghanistan recently on Capitol Hill, Zbigniew Brzezinski claimed that it was uncontroversial that US troops had to stay in Afghanistan. I pointed him to polls of Americans, and he replied that Americans get fatigued and don't know any better.

When I spoke to a philosophy department at a university this month, a number of the professors objected to my advocacy of majority-rule on the grounds that experts often know best.

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Jury Trial for the Wellmark of Iowa 7 starts Wed Nov 18 in Des Moines

Mona Shaw
Des Moines Catholic Worker
November 13 2009

What: Jury Trial for the Wellmark of Iowa 7
Date: Beginning on Wed. Nov 18th - expected to last 3 days
Starting Time: 9:00 a.m.
Place: Polk Co Court House, 500 Mulberry St. DM IA

Seven of the nine people arrested last July 27 in the lobby of the Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield demanding financial transparency http://www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/healthcarearrests1.html are scheduled to go to a jury trial Wed., Nov. 18 at the Polk Co Court
House.

The seven going to trail are:

Ed Bloomer, 62, Des Moines Catholic Worker
Kirk Brown, 29, former Catholic Worker of Waukee, Iowa
Rev. Robert Cook, 66, Des Moines, Iowa
Frank Cordaro, 58, Des Moines Catholic Worker
Renee Espeland, 48, Des Moines Catholic Worker
Mona Shaw, 58, Des Moines Catholic Worker
Leonard Simons, 67, Athol, MA

Six of the defendants are being represented by Professor Sally Frank from the Drake Legal Clinic with help from three Drake Law Students. And Mona Shaw is representing herself.

The defendants welcome any and all supporters to join them in the court room during the trial. The trial is expected to last three days. The first days will be primarily devoted to jury selection. Come spend an hour, a day or sit through the whole trial. Your presence would be most appreciated.

Anyone coming from out of town and need hospitality - feel free to contact the Des Moines Catholic Worker!

For more info contact:
Mona Shaw MonaShaw@aol.com
Phil Berrigan CW House
713 Indiana Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50314
http://www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/healthcare.html

**The other two arrested were Chris Gaunt and Franike Hughes. Chris Gaunt plead guilty and was given a $150 fine http://groups.google.com/group/iowa-peace-list/browse_frm/thread/04877d1b57467fcf# and 11 yr old Frankie Hughes who is awaiting her day in the Juvenal Court system

OLYMPIC TORCH HISTORY

Taking a look at the very roots of the Olympics, and the Olympic Torch Relay in contrast with our traditional backgrounds.

Come Together Right Now

David Swanson
After Downing Street
November 12 2009

If you have an interest in grassroots organizing, international alliance building, the peace movement, the labor movement, the conversion of the U.S. economy from weapons to human needs, the preservation of life on earth (come on, admit it), the weaponization of space, or the autobiographical insights of smart and determined people, then I cannot more strongly recommend that you get a copy of "Come Together Right Now: Organizing Stories from a Fading Empire," by my friend and ally Bruce Gagnon.

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Jim Loney to speak about Afghanistan

SCOTT DUNN
The Sun Times
November 13 2009

A nationally known anti-violence advocate held hostage for 118 days in Iraq before being rescued by troops four years ago will talk about Afghanistan Nov. 17 in Owen Sound.

James Loney was known locally before he and two other Christian Peacemaker Teams workers were freed in Iraq. A fourth worker was killed.

Loney once lived in the Durham area and his partner, Dan Hunt, hails from Owen Sound.

Three years before his capture, Loney was in a truck rollover in Iraq that killed a fellow team member, retired Chesley High School teacher George Weber. Loney brought Weber's remains back home.

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Arms Control is Not Enough

Paul Magno
In These Times
November 12 2009

Early on a Friday morning, I switched on my radio to listen to the news as I slowly woke up. What a peculiar dream … President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Then I realized. I was awake. He actually was this year’s recipient for his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.”

I’m acquainted with folks who have labored for such a vision for quite a while. Twenty-five years ago, several friends and I entered a weapons factory in Orlando, Fla., on Easter morning. We disarmed elements of a Pershing II missile, then being deployed in Europe and became known as the Pershing Plowshares. By midsummer the eight of us were on our way to federal prison, sentenced to three years.

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