Subject: ON EMPIRE vs. DEMOCRACY : FROM THE
CENTER FOR THE ADVANCED
STUDIES OF
Dear Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,
In the first Item (A), we are offering you a taste of "ruling-class
chatter" from across the
Item B. is the first of two eyewitness reports of
yesterday's
In Item D. we witness another phenomenon, i.e. the
wheels of democracy turning slowly (very slowly!) as supporters of Ralph Nader rally to do an audit of the entire
Meanwhile, item E. offers an illustration of how human
relationships are re-produced throughout American society by commercial
outlets, such as
In Item F., we return to the Ralph Nader report from
And finally, in Item G., we hear from the Council for the
National Interest explaining criteria for the divestment campaign which is
targeting companies that benefit from Israel's occupation of the West bank and
Gaza Strip This campaign has been led by the Presbyterian Church, along with
other non-government organizations.
Sincerely,
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies
Director of Research
Université Grenoble 3
http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE/
A recent conversation between W and World
I happened to overhear this conversation between the world and
President George w Bush and thought it worth passing along:
WORLD: We weren't exactly rooting for your re-election, but now that
you're back in the white House for four more years, how do we move to a better
footing?
BUSH: I appreciate that. The first thing for you folks to realize
is tat over 59 million Americans voted for me - that's 8.7 million more than in
2000 - because faith, family, strength, steadfastness and freedom are values
they appreciate. Just because your values are different, especially over in
Americans also appreciate that we got hit and we had to hit back. We had to
wage an aggressive war on terror to keep
WORLD: Iraqi elections? Come on, Mr. President, how can you hold an
election in a country where driving from
BUSH: I appreciate that, too. I know you're skeptical
about Iraqis' voting for their own government, but take a look at the Afghan
election and put some faith in freedom. Remember 1989: miracles happen after
hard work.
You know, it did occur to me that until our election this week, some of you
guys were not exactly rooting for an American success in
But, see, I won with more votes than any American president ever got.' So it's
a whole new ballgame now. The old arguments are history. The worse it gets in
You want oil at over $50 a barrel? Nope. You want Terrorism Central in
WORLD: O.K- But if we help in
BUSH: I know my good friend Tony probably has an election coming
next year, and I owe him one.
It's also true changes in the Palestinian leadership may be imminent and may
open up some avenues.
But you need to understand a couple of things. First, Ariel Sharon is a
personal friend, and I place a high value on loyalty.
Second, it's political suicide here not to be a strong supporter of
I'll work with
WORLD: That sounds promising. But how are you going to stop
BUSH: I thought I told you: one question at a time. Still
I’ll let you in on another secret:
“See, I won with more votes than any
If you accept that, I'll take a look at possible carrots. Dick Cheney
won’t like me saying this, but we know
WORLD: You sound like a changed man. What's going on?
BUSH: Well, the six-party talks on
WORLD: Speaking of which, what about the dollar? It's heading south.
You're importing far more than you're exporting. You're running huge fiscal
deficits. You're paying for those extra imports by selling Treasury bills and
stocks and property to the rest of the world. But what if Asian central banks
lose interest in Treasury securities and decide the euro's
a better bet? Aren't you afraid
BUSH: I appreciate that. But that was three questions in
one, which is two too many.
E-mail: rcohen@iht.com
____________________
B.
from Dahr Jamail :
** Dahr Jamail's
As
At
Everyone was there for Friday prayers, when five Humvees
and several trucks carrying INGs entered, Abu Talat told IPS on phone from within the mosque while the
raid was in progress. Everyone starting yelling 'Allahu
Akbar' (God is the greatest) because they were
frightened. Then the soldiers started shooting the people praying!
Talat said he was among a crowd of worshippers being
held back at gunpoint by
They have just shot and killed at least four of the people praying, he said in
a panicked voice. At least 10 other people are wounded now. We are on our
bellies and in a very bad situation.
Talat gave his account over short phone calls. He
said he was witnessing a horrific scene.
We were here praying and now there are 50 here with their guns on us, he said.
They are holding our heads to the ground, and everyone is in chaos. This is the
worst situation possible. They cannot see me talking to you. They are roughing
up a blind man now. He evidently could talk no further then.
The soldiers later released women and children along with men who were related
to them. Abu Talat was released because a boy told
him to pretend to be his father.
Other witnesses gave similar accounts outside the mosque. People were praying
and the Americans invaded the mosque, Abdulla Ra'ad Aziz from the al-Adhamiya district of Baghdad told IPS. He had been released
along with his wife and children. Why are they killing people for praying? He
said that after the forces entered they went to the back doors and we heard so
many bullets of the guns -- it was a gun bigger than a Kalashnikov. There were
wounded and dead, I saw them myself.
Some of the people who had been at prayer were ordered by soldiers to carry the
dead and wounded out of the mosque, he said.
One Iraqi National Guardsmen held his gun on people and yelled, 'I will kill
you if you don't shut up', said Rana Aziz, a mother who had been trapped in the mosque.. So they made everyone lie down, then people got quiet,
and they took the women and children out.
She said someone asked the soldiers if they would be made hostages. A soldier
used foul language and asked everyone to shut up, she said. Suddenly, she
laughed amid her tears. The Americans have learnt how to say shut up in Arabic,
'Inchev'.
Soldiers denied
About 30 men were led out with hoods over their heads and their hands tied
behind them. Soldiers loaded them into a military vehicle and took them away
around
A doctor with the Iraqi Red Crescent confirmed four dead and nine wounded
worshippers. Pieces of brain were splattered on one of the walls inside the
mosque while large blood stains covered carpets at several places.
A
http://lists.dahrjamailiraq.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq_dispatches
____________________
C.
from Dahr Jamail :
Date:
From: iraq_dispatches@dahrjamailiraq.com
Subject:
** Dahr Jamail's
Terrorizing those who are
praying
(This story is also being
run Friday afternoon/evening on Free Speech Radio News, with exclusive tape
taken from inside the mosque during the slaughter. You can listen to it on the
radio, or on their website, and I highly recommend it.)
Abu Talat calls me frantic. The deafening
roar of hundreds of people in a confined area yelling, Allahu
Akbar (God is Greatest) reverberate behind his
panicked voice.
I am being held at gunpoint by American soldiers inside Abu Hanifa
mosque Dahr, he yells, Everyone
is praying to God because the Americans are raiding our mosque during Friday
prayer!
He makes short calls, updating me on the atrocity. After a few sentences of
information he hangs up because he is trapped inside the mosque and trying to
let me know what is happening. Being Friday, the day of prayer and holiday,
this was supposed to be an off day for us.
I just finish typing what he told me before he calls back.
They have shot and killed at least 4 of the people while they were praying, and
at least 20 are wounded now! I cannot believe this! I can t let them see me
calling you. I am on my stomach now and they have our guns on everyone, there
are at least 1,500 people inside the mosque and it is sealed. We are on our bellies
and in a very bad situation.
Several Humvees and Iraqi National Guard (ING)
vehicles showed up and 50 soldiers and well over 50 ING sealed and entered the
mosque with the goal of detaining the Imam, Shaikh Muayid al-Adhami.
Abu Talat calls back, We
were here praying and now there are over 50 here with their guns on us, he
said. They are holding our heads to the ground, and everyone is in chaos. This
is the worst situation possible. They cannot see me talking to you. They are
roughing up a blind man now.
The soldiers eventually released women and children along with men who were
related to them. Abu Talat was only released because
a boy approached him and told him to pretend to be his father.
Shortly thereafter he phones me from his home in tears.
Dahr I cannot believe what has happened, pausing to
collect himself, I will go back to see what is happening now.
I urge him not to go, but he insists.
This is my mosque and my people. I must go see what is happening to them.
It is now
People were praying and the Americans invaded the mosque, Abdulla
Ra'ad Aziz said, who had
been released along with his wife and children. Why are they killing people for
praying? After the forces entered they went to the back doors and we heard so
many bullets of the guns. There were wounded and dead, I saw them myself.
Some of the people who had been at prayer were ordered by soldiers to carry the
dead and wounded out of the mosque.
One Iraqi National Guardsmen held his gun on people and yelled, I will kill you
if you don't shut up , said Rana
Aziz, a mother who had been trapped in the mosque.
She was now waiting outside for her brother, who was still inside.
She said someone asked the soldiers if they would were hostages. A soldier
yelled at everyone to Shut the Fuck Up, she said.
Suddenly, she laughed amid her tears. The Americans have learned how to say
shut up in Arabic, Inchev .
Hammad Mohammed, a 20 year-old man, said, My uncle s coffin was taken inside the mosque to be prayed
on, and the Americans raided the mosque and went to the Imams room. Then they
went to the back doors and we heard so many bullets of the guns-it was a gun
bigger than a Kalashnikov. There were wounded and dead, as I saw them myself. I
saw 4 killed and 9 wounded.
Abu Talat then breaks the interview and tells me,
Doctors and staff are standing outside but the Americans refuse to let them
inside. They can do nothing, and the Americans are not letting them inside
while there are wounded people inside the mosque.
Just like in Fallujah, soldiers denied
About 30 men were led out with hoods over their heads and their hands tied
behind them. Soldiers loaded them into a military vehicle and took them away
around
A doctor with the Iraqi Red Crescent confirmed four dead and nine wounded
worshippers. Pieces of brain were splattered on one of the walls inside the
mosque while large blood stains covered carpets in several places.
Later Abu Talat comes to my hotel to see me. He is
distraught, crying while he recounts the story. After listening to the tape he
recorded inside the mosque during the atrocity, he says.
I am in a very sad position. I do not see any freedom or any democracy. If this
could lead into a freedom, it is a freedom with blood. It is a freedom of
emotions of sadness. It is a freedom of killing. You cannot gain democracy
through blood or killing. You do not find the freedom that way. People are
going to pray to God and they were killed and wounded. There were 1,500 people
praying to God and they went on a holiday were people go every Friday for
prayers. And they were shot and killed. There were so many women and kids lying
on the ground. This is not democracy, neither freedom.
After several weeks of relative calm in Adhamiya, the
detention of the Imam of Abu Hanifa and killing of
worshippers inside their mosque is sure to ignite the fires of revenge in this
area, which is already known as the Fallujah of
Baghdad.
_______________________________________________
http://lists.dahrjamailiraq.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq_dispatches
___________________
D.
from Nader for President 2004 General Election
Campaign Committee :
Dear Friends,
Message
from New Hampshire
Hi, this is Kevin Zeese,
I'm here in Concord, New Hampshire with Rob Cirincione
and Virginia Rodino and we're here for the New
Hampshire recount of the Nader/Kerry/Bush race and
it's just getting under way. There's a room full of people here.
There's a lot of positive energy in the room. We've brought together more
than twice the number of volunteers we need to manage the recount, to observe
and make sure that the recount is done accurately. People feel very
confident that we're going to make our democracy better and stronger. The
media has started covering this. We've seen a lot of reports here in
I want to make it clear what the goal is in this recount. We're not here
trying to overturn the election. We're doing basic democracy
activism. We're trying to protect our democracy. This is more like
an audit of the vote. We're seeking a recount in wards in
So, we're here, fighting for democracy and would love to have your support and
best wishes for our success in it. Please visit our website [votenader.org]
to get actively involved. This will be the first stage of the recount so
we'll need more help as this goes forward. So, send your
money, or call if you live in
Thanks a lot.
Kevin Zeese
Campaign Spokesperson
(202) 265-4000
Contributions are not tax deductible.
Paid for by Nader for President 2004
General Election Committee
202.265.4000
_____________________
E.
from Price Works.Com
You National Toy Manufacturer :
Date:
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Reply-To: rc@victor21.com
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___________________
F.
From: "Ralph Nader"
<naderteam@votenader.org>
Reply-To: <naderteam@votenader.org>
Date:
Subject: Civic Arousal
Dear Friend,
We're looking for 5,000 'Angels'
who will give $100 each.
Click Here to also receive a signed copy of Civic Arousal.
One
of the first calls we took after the election was from a friend in
He was despondent. Do you want to know the first thing he said? Kerry is going
to be the new Nader.
Among Democrats, 'Nader' apparently has come to mean:
the person to blame when the Democrats lose.
In 2000, Democrats blamed me for costing Gore the election not Gore, who lost
his own state, nor the 250,000 Democrats in
Is there any question now who is responsible for the
2004 debacle?
Senator Kerry waffled his way to defeat.
Instead of standing with us for a Medicare-for-all plan that is the model for
most western countries in the world, he proposed another cockamamie,
step-by-step complexity that will dig us deeper into the health care quagmire.
Instead of standing with us for a living wage, he proposed a microscopic
minimum wage increase to $7-an-hour by 2007. (In
Instead of saying we need to reexamine corporate-controlled trade agreements
while blue and white collar jobs and industries are outsourced daily, Kerry
stood by his votes for the job-wasting NAFTA and WTO.
Instead of standing with us against the war in
Instead of standing with us against the invasive Patriot Act, he stood by his
vote for it.
Compare Kerry s spinelessness to his colleague Russ Feingold in the Senate.
Feingold stood against the war in
As Ruth Coniff pointed out recently in the
Progressive,
Instead of standing with the American people on issues that would win a
majority of the voters, Kerry condoned attack-dogs against our campaign around
the country who sought to intimidate our volunteers and our supporters and to
lie to reporters covering our campaign.
The Democrats spent millions on lawyers who successfully knocked us off the
ballot in key states like
While our committed staff fought back winning in eight of 11 state
Supreme Courts the Democrats managed to divert our limited resources into the
legal arena and away from issues that matter.
Ours was a model, clean campaign. We fought the good fight. We feel great about
keeping the progressive agenda alive.
People keep asking how are we doing? as if the corrupt parties and their corporate paymasters
would ever discourage us. They have not and they will not.
I predicted before the campaign that liberal Democrats who supported us in 2000
would abandon us in droves this year; sadly, they did.
But in our travels to all 50 states, we have met thousands of active citizens,
young and old alike, who don t give a hoot for corporate politics and are
working with us in the ongoing campaign to break up the corporate-controlled
two-party duopoly.
The picture you see here is me with one of the many Nader/Camejo
supporters we met in
So, I m ready to join with you to go after Bush on his illegal war in Iraq that
Kerry voted for which has, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health, claimed 100,000 Iraqi lives through October and thousands of US
casualties.
Bush s war is an illegal war, each one of those deaths is a crime. This should
be the number-one issue in the upcoming year.
Here s the rub: In 2004, because of the Democratic Party s multimillion dollar
counterattack, and despite our frugal ways, we were driven into debt.
We have to make up our shortfall quickly about $500,000 for both debts and
winding down the campaign.
So, let s make a deal: to the first 5,000 "Angels" who send in $100 or
more to Nader for President 2004, I will
personally sign my new little paperback, Civic Arousal,
addressed to the younger generation, and get it in the mail to you promptly.
We are looking for 5,000 donors to help us wrap up this campaign on a happy
fiscal note.
Please go to our web site, www.votenader.org,
press the contribute button, and give as generously as you can. If you
want to give $100 or more and receive a signed copy of Civic Arousal,
click here.
Thank you for your ongoing support and bright horizons.
R.N.
Contributions are not tax
deductible.
Paid for by Nader
for President 2004 General Election Committee
202.265.4000
___________________
G.
From: Council for the National Interest <count@igc.org>
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 13:24:25 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Israel Divestment Update
There has been a flurry of activity on the
divestment front since the Presbyterian Church (USA) decided on July 2nd to
begin investigating selective divestment from companies that benefit from
Israel's occupation of the West bank and Gaza Strip. The following is a summary
of recent developments.
After
meeting on November 4th through the 6th, the Presbyterian Church (USA) Mission
Responsibility Through Investment committee compiled a
list with six criteria to identify companies that promote
See: http://www.christianpost.com/dbase/church/1601/section/1.htm
The
Presbyterian Church (USA)'s move toward divestment has provoked numerous
charges of anti-Semitism and even a threat of physical violence. An anonymous
letter, postmarked from
See: http://www.christianpost.com/dbase/church/1610/section/1.htm
After
consulting with a coalition of Jewish groups, the Episcopal Church has decided
to not divest, but rather to address obstacles to peace on both the Palestinian
and Israeli side in a way that promotes "dialogue." In recent
statements, the director of the Episcopal Church's Peace and Justice
Ministries, Brian J. Grieves, has stressed the importance of a continued
dialogue with those companies that further the occupation of the
See: http://www.jewishtimes.com/scripts/edition.pl?now=11/10/2004&SubSectionID=31&ID=4313
The
city of
During the last 18 months, the Somerville Divestment Project has concentrated
on educating citizens about the occupation, hosting parties, visiting homes,
and distributing information in busy areas. Nearly 1,200 signatures were
collected in support of the resolution. Despite these efforts, the mayor
declared that he would veto any resolution about divestment, saying the issue
is "too complex" and "went back centuries."
A follow-up meeting on November 8th was more heated than the first, as the
Israeli Consul General to
See: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3332.shtml
The
National Lawyers Guild, a left-of-center association of lawyers with a long
record of human rights interest, passed a powerful resolution on October 24th
committing the group to divestment. Under the resolution, the Guild supports
divestment from Israel and companies working there as
long as the Israeli government refuses to comply with the following demands:
compliance with Resolution 242, as well as the UN Convention Against Torture
and the Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid,
the right of return of refugees as UN resolution 194 lays out, the
discontinuation of settlement building and the end of torture of Palestinians
and home demolition. The resolution is not yet on the Guild's website ( http://www.nlg.org/
), but you can find it here: http://www.mengos.net/articles/specialdocuments/nlg-resolution.htm
The
PSM provides a model of a grassroots campaign working to encourage universities
and churches to divest from
See: http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/psm/
We encourage our CNI members
to consider ways in which they can investigate the investments of their
churches, city councils, universities, personal and state pension funds, or
places of work. Below is a list of ways you can make a difference:
To make a tax-deductible
contribution to the Council for the National Interest Foundation click here:
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=2836
Council for the National Interest
1250 4th St SW Ste WG-1
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
United States
http://www.cnionline.org
************************
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies/
Director of Research at CEIMSA-IN-EXILE
http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE/