Bulletin 153
 

 

Subject: ON EMPIRE vs. DEMOCRACY : FROM THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCED
  STUDIES OF
AMERICA INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, GRENOBLE, FRANCE.

20 November 2004
Grenoble, France


Dear Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,

In the first Item (
A), we are offering you a taste of "ruling-class chatter" from across the Atlantic which was recorded in the International Herald Tribune after the elections, so we can regain an ontological perspective of the neo-conservative landscape confronting us after these electoral victories.

Item
B. is the first of two eyewitness reports of yesterday's U.S. military attack in the Abu Hanifa mosque. Dahr Jamail's first report, "As U.S. Forces Raided a Mosque," was filed at 5:30 p.m. The second report, Item C. below, is the subsequent description of the attack which let to the massacre of religious worshipers in the Republican Party's most recent "clash with civilizations." This report, "Terrorizing Those Who are Praying," was sent to us six hours later, shortly before midnight, and describes civilians being murdered in the mosque while praying.

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 New Hampshire election.

Meanwhile, item
E. offers an illustration of how human relationships are re-produced throughout American society by commercial outlets, such as U.S. toy manufacturer, Price Works.Com located in Golden Valley, Minnesota, and which is advertising a new generation of Christmas gifts this season, for young children "made in the U.S.A."

In Item
F., we return to the Ralph Nader report from New Hampshire, where the question, "Was there election fraud in New Hampshire?" has not yet been definitively answered. . . .

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.
from Roger Cohen :
International Herald Tribune (Saturday-Sunday)
copyright November 6-7, 2004

Globalist

A recent conversation between W and World

NEW YORK
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 Europe, doesn't mean that we're dumb to have tern or tat you and I can't work together.

Americans also appreciate that we got hit and we had to hit back. We had to wage an aggressive war on terror to keep America safe. Now, you and I have had our disagreements over how that was done, in Iraq above all. But I want to secure a stable Iraq and bring the troops home soon with honor, so we share some common goals. I'll let you in on a secret: the sacrifices, of lives and treasure, in this struggle are painful. I'd like to broaden the coalition in Iraq just as much as my defeated opponent John Kerry. Once Iraqi elections are held in January, let's have some quiet conversations on a phased exit strategy that you could support in practical ways.

WORLD: Iraqi elections? Come on, Mr. President, how can you hold an election in a country where driving from Baghdad to Basra is an invitation to a beheading?

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 Iraq. The worse it was, you figured, the more likely I would lose.

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 Iraq, the worse it gets for all of us. Nothing to be gained by letting things fester: I'll be gone in four years, one way or another.

You want oil at over $50 a barrel? Nope. You want Terrorism Central in Baghdad? Nope. You want a new tyranny? Nope. So let's get the job done. I promise to listen a little better, even to my friends Jacques and Gerhard, and mention the EU from time to time, like T did ill my press conference this week.

WORLD: O.K- But if we help in Iraq, what can you do for us? What about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which Tony Blair just called "the single most pressing political challenge in our world today"?

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 Israel because terrorism and our growing evangelical movement have reinforced bipartisan backing for our Israeli friends. You say the conflict feeds terrorism. I say Palestinian terror must stop because it feeds the conflict. But I'm ready to make some gestures. If Yasser Arafat goes, the new Palestinian leadership will need legitimacy. I'll work to make Palestinian elections happen in 2005. Our m4n objection to a new vote was that An-fat would get re-elected.

I'll work with Egypt to make sure the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza does not lead to chaos. I'll explain to my friend Ariel that America needs him to come through now by engaging in the quest for a two-state settlement that would curb the forces that feed terrorism. I may even suggest to him that the release of Marwan Barghouti could help because he's a Palestinian nationalist with a real belief in the possibility of peace.

WORLD: That sounds promising. But how are you going to stop Iran from going nuclear? Is that the next preventive war?

BUSH: I thought I told you: one question at a time. Still I’ll let you in on another secret: Iraq's been a sobering experience. We can't accept nuclearized mullahs. But we're going to work with our British, French and German friends to try to resolve this by diplomatic means. For that to work, we need a clear red line: no more enrichment-related programs. We need to be ready to follow through with sanctions if Iran fudges.

“See, I won with more votes than any U.S. president ever got!”

If you accept that, I'll take a look at possible carrots. Dick Cheney won’t like me saying this, but we know Iran can help us in Iraq and we know there could be other benefits in an Iranian-American thaw.

WORLD: You sound like a changed man. What's going on?

BUSH: Well, the six-party talks on North Korea have cost me a lot less than Iraq, and as you know, we've been spending more money than we have in the bank.

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 China may black-mail you someday by saying it's switching out of those Treasury notes unless you do them a favor on Taiwan?

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 :
November 19, 2004 at 17:19

** Dahr Jamail's
Iraq Dispatches **

As U.S. Forces Raided a Mosque

BAGHDAD, Nov 19 (IPS) - An eyewitness commentary to IPS through a U.S. raid on a Baghdad mosque Friday gives a vivid picture of what a 'successful raid' can be like.

U.S. soldiers raided the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad during Friday prayers, killing at least four and wounding up to 20 worshippers.

At 12:30 pm local time, just after Imam Shaikh Muayid al-Adhami concluded his talk, about 50 U.S. soldiers with 20 Iraqi National Guardsmen (ING) entered the mosque, a witness reported.

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 U.S. soldiers. Loud chanting of 'Allahu Akbar' could be heard in the background during his call. Women and children were sobbing, he said.

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 Iraqi Red Crescent ambulances and medical teams access to the mosque. As doctors negotiated with U.S. soldiers outside, more gunfire was heard from inside.

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 3.15 pm.

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 U.S. military spokesperson in Baghdad did not respond to requests for information on the raid.


http://lists.dahrjamailiraq.com/mailman/listinfo/iraq_dispatches

____________________
C.
from Dahr Jamail :
Date:
Fri, 19 Nov 2004 at 23:30
From: iraq_dispatches@dahrjamailiraq.com
Subject:
Iraq Dispatches: Terrorizing those who are praying...

** Dahr Jamail's
Iraq Dispatches **

     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 2:15pm and the mosque is still sealed. We begin to interview people he is with via the mobile as he describes the scene.

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 Iraqi Red Crescent ambulances and medical teams access to the mosque. As doctors negotiated with U.S. soldiers outside, more gunfire was heard from inside the mosque.

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 3.15 pm.

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 New Hampshire and even The Nation magazine, on their website, has an article about this New Hampshire recount.  The Boston Globe was here, so I'm sure we'll see some coverage of this no matter how it turns out.

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
New Hampshire where there have been mathematical anomalies, where people expected more votes for Kerry than Bush, and Bush got anywhere from 5 to 15% more votes than expected.  When we look at those numbers it turns out that most of those anomalies occurred in wards where the vote was counted on the Diebold AccuVote Machine, in fact 78% of those unusual votes were on those machines.  This is the first audit in a Presidential Election of an electronic voting count system so it's an historic moment.  Either way it turns out it will be good for our democracy.  If it turns out that there was no problem, it will show that these machines were reliable in this race, it will show that there's a positive role for audits and it will make the Democrats question further why they keep losing support-and I think there's good reason they're losing support.  If it turns out there's a problem, well then we have a major national story involving electronic voting and raising questions that really need to be evaluated, as more and more of the country goes to electronic vote count.

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
New Hampshire and would like to volunteer.

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 P.O. Box 18002,Washington, DC 20036

_____________________
E.
from Price Works.Com
You National Toy Manufacturer :
Date:
Fri, 19 Nov 2004
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___________________
F.

From: "Ralph Nader" <naderteam@votenader.org>
Reply-To: <naderteam@votenader.org>
Date:
Fri, 19 Nov 2004 07:09:25 -0800
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 West Virginia, who was a Kerry supporter. George W. Bush had been unofficially re-elected.

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
Florida who voted for Bush.

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
Florida, while the Bush boys were bashing a one dollar an hour increase in the minimum wage that was on the ballot, Kerry said nothing. The initiative won on November 2, by 72-28, while Bush beat Kerry in Florida 51% to 47%.)

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
Iraq, he out-hawked George W. Bush in the first debate.

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
Iraq, against the Patriot Act, against the major free trade agreements, and for a universal health care system. Feingold s supporters wore a backbone on their t-shirts.

As Ruth Coniff pointed out recently in the Progressive,
Wisconsin voters even Republicans re-elected Feingold by a much larger margin than they gave to Kerry.

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
Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

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
Minneapolis. She represents the new young generation that will carry us forward into a brighter and more confident future.

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
P.O. Box 18002,Washington, DC 20036

___________________
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.

Presbyterian Church Develops Six Criteria for Divestment

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 Israel's occupation of the West Bank. If a company meets any of the church's six criteria, the General Assembly will vote to begin divesting from that company. The first four criteria address the occupation itself and single out those companies that (1) provide the Israeli police or military with support to remain an occupying power, (2) manufacture products or technology or services that maintain occupation, (3) produce goods or services that either expand or maintain the settlements, or (4) have established their own facilities on occupied land. The Church is also targeting corporations that facilitate violence, whether Palestinian or Israeli, and companies that aid in the construction of the separation wall.

See: http://www.christianpost.com/dbase/church/1601/section/1.htm

Presbyterian Church Threatened with Violence

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 Queens, NY, was sent to the Church headquarters on November 12th threatening to set churches on fire while members were attending services. The writer stated in the letter that his/her threat was in response to the Church's "anti-Israel and anti-Jewish attitudes." The PC (USA) Stated Clerk of the General Assembly Clifton Kirkpatrick assured the Church that threats like these are rarely carried out.

See: http://www.christianpost.com/dbase/church/1610/section/1.htm


Episcopal Church Backs Down

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 West Bank, arguing that "shareholder activism" is more effective than divesting. "There's no dialogue or likely change if you divest. Once you sell the stock, you have no leverage" Grieves wrote in an e-mail to The Forward ("Feeling Heat, Episcopal Church Backs Away From Divestment," Nov. 12) . The Church has also stated that they will not take any further action without first speaking with domestic and international Jewish groups.

See: http://www.jewishtimes.com/scripts/edition.pl?now=11/10/2004&SubSectionID=31&ID=4313


Somerville, Mass., Considers Divestment

The city of Somerville, Massachusetts, is contemplating divestment from Israel. If successful, this would be the first city in the world to divest from Israel. Under the resolution that was passed on to the city council's Legislative Committee on November 2nd, the city's pension fund would divest $1.2 million from "companies involved with Israel's human rights violations" and $250,000 from Israeli bonds. The businesses discussed by the city council include Caterpillar, General Electric, United Technologies, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Boeing.

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
New England and those individuals whose company stock would be sold were invited to the discussion. After a two-hour long discussion, the board decided to postpone the vote until December 9th. Their website is http://www.divestmentproject.org/ and the group can be contacted at: info@divestmentproject.org

See: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3332.shtml


National Lawyers Guild Divestment

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 Palestine Solidarity Movement

The PSM provides a model of a grassroots campaign working to encourage universities and churches to divest from Israel. This group has 560 participants and met at Duke University last month to form a strategy for the coming year.

See: http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/psm/


What Can I Do?

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/