Bulletin N°319
23 September 2007
Grenoble, France
Dear Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,
The famous German Marxist and psychoanalyst, Wilhelm Reich once wrote --I think it was at the time he was running free store-front psychiatric services in a working-class neighborhood of Berlin before the Nazi seizure of power in 1933-- that a healthy life might be organized into three essential realms of activity: affective relationships, bringing love, empathy, and understanding into individual organisms and into the social collective, political activities trying to maintain and improve beneficial social institutions, and scientific work which might contribute to the development of new knowledge and new technology that ultimately could serve the interests of mankind. Together these three domains, he suggested, include the kinds of activities that produce good health for the individual organism, while at the same time producing positive results in the social and natural environment of which the individual organism is an integral part, of course.
The Nazi seizure of power in fascist Germany disrupted Reich's scientific work, as it did his affective relationships and his political activities. He called the affective impoverishment he found around him "the emotional plague" and was forced to abandon his project of promoting psychoanalytical awareness and social class consciousness within the German working classes. He fled the rampant nationalism of Germany in 1933 to save his life, by going first to Denmark, then to Norway and on to England. He finally ending up in the United States, where he attempted to continue his scientific work in the context of the Cold War. In 1956, he was arrested for violation of American Food and Drug Commission legislation by suggesting a cure for cancer. He died in prison of unknown causes on 3 November 1957.
The mental illness of modern man was a taboo subject in most industrial societies during the decades before the Second World War. During the Cold War in the United States, it was a subversive view that threatened to undermine the rules of the game: American Capitalism vs. Soviet Communism.
Recognizing the symptoms of "the emotional plague" within the institutions of contemporary society remains almost a taboo topic in the carefully engineered authoritarian consumer society we inhabit today. Corporate governance requires unquestioned loyalty to institutional hierarchies, while any serious discussions of human needs and political justice are perceived as unwelcome intrusions into the peace of mind of the capitalist ideologues and the owners to whom they try to be faithful.
Irrational violence and easily manipulated hatreds between individuals and groups characterize life within most institutions in contemporary industrial society. According to Wilhelm Reich's analysis, this is the bedrock of capitalist class authority. The producers/consumers are disoriented and divided among themselves by this relentless violence, and the owners/managers have every reason to perpetuate this state of confusion for as long as they are able. The alienation, the impoverishment of feelings, the fear and timidity that is experienced daily, accumulate to successfully maintain the institutions in a political economy that exploits most people and which allows a small minority of people to rule over the large majority, controlling popular behavior by drastically reducing choices and getting people to forfeit their rights.
The consequences in the 1930s were foreseeable, as a vicious cycle was produced and reproduced to save the political economy from a genuine democratic takeover by class-conscious working families. The Nazi Party protected the authority of the German industrial leaders against democratic challenges, and this new political elite joined the forces of the illegitimate authorities in industrial Germany and were included in the benefits derived from this system, as it careened out of control to become an unapologetic death machine, serviced by ideologues and interchangeable spare parts, the same population that Reich had attempted to help transform into genuine German citizens.
The 9 items below reflect the contemporary state of this "emotional plague" which Reich so carefully identified in his scientific work and political activites after the 1920s. The senseless mass killings, the glib rhetoric which attempts to cover up the sentient reality (and thereby anesthetize the legitimate feelings this reality might produce), the banal routine of living a life of resignation, of collaborating in silence with the criminal activities of political leaders --these are some of the concerns that hundreds of thousands of academics and activists in Europe and America have expressed. Many have committed themselves to an attempt to educate world citizens and to empower them to actively participate in the creation a better society. Among these authors and CEIMSA supports, who send us articles almost daily, are the individuals listed below whose recommended readings we are proud to share with you.
Item A. is an article by Amy Goodman, host on the pod cast, Democracy Now!, in which she interviewed former President Jimmy Carter on US. relations with Israel and U.S. military support against the Palestinian nation.
Item B. is from Dr. Katherine Shamas sharing with us communications which the express the concerns of women film makers meeting in San Diego, California who have voted to respect the Israeli Boycott in solidarity with the Palestinian victims of the Israeli policy of Apartheid.
Item C. is an article by Professor Edward Herman describing the counter-offensive by Israeli nationalists on U.S. campuses this fall, to rally student support for Israeli policies in the Middle East and in Washington, D.C.
Item D. is the 14 September pod cast from Democracy Now! interviewing participants in the three day teach-in this weekend titled "Confronting the Global Triple Crisis: Climate Change, Peak Oil (The End of Cheap Energy) and Global Resource Depletion & Extinction," sponsored by The International Forum on Globalization and The Institute for Policy Studies.
Item E. is an invitation from The Council for the National Interest Foundation to join "citizen diplomats" in an effort to witness Israeli-style diplomacy at the Peace Talks with Palestinians. organized by President Bush between 26 October and 12 November.
Item F., from Edward Herman, is an article by Israeli peace activist Victoria Buch on Israel's escalating drive toward ethnic cleansing in Palestine.
Item G., form Information Clearing House is an article and pod cast by Greg Palest on the new American alliance with Al Quad terrorists in Iraq.
Item H. is an announcement by Mara Dodge, representing "historians against the war," in which she invites applicants to attend the Historians Against the War Conference, in Atlanta, Georgia to be held on April 11-13, 2008.
Item I., is a call from Historians Against War to students, historians and other scholars to join in the IRAQ MORATORIUM this fall.
Finally, we offer an historic lesson from the Disinformation Wars: this 2004 CounterPunch article is a reminder of the perversities within the information revolution that we are now experiencing, where information can be created and destroyed with significant social consequences, in this case by the Conservative American sociologist, Seymour Lipset, allegedly hearing Martin Luther King speak at Harvard University : The Use and Abuse of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Israel's apologists.
Sincerely,
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies
Director of Research
Université Stendhal Grenoble 3
http://www.ceimsa.org/
_____________
A.
from Information Clearing House :
14 September 2007
Subject: Debate is Essential.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
by Amy Goodman
After more than three decades of work on the Middle East, Carter released a book titled Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. The books title alone has created a furor. But Carter is undeterred:
The word apartheid is exactly accurate. This is an area thats occupied by two powers. They are now completely separated. Palestinians cant even ride on the same roads that the Israelis have created or built in Palestinian territory. The Israelis never see a Palestinian, except the Israeli soldiers. The Palestinians never see an Israeli, except at a distance, except the Israeli soldiers. So within Palestinian territory, they are absolutely and totally separated, much worse than they were in South Africa, by the way. And the other thing is, the other definition of apartheid is, one side dominates the other. And the Israelis completely dominate the life of the Palestinian people.
Carter lays much of the blame for the lack of momentum toward a solution on the absence of debate in the U.S.: Its a terrible human-rights persecution that far transcends what any outsider would imagine. And there are powerful political forces in America that prevent any objective analysis of the problem in the Holy Land. I think its accurate to say that not a single member of Congress with whom Im familiar would possibly speak out and call for Israel to withdraw to their legal boundaries or to publicize the plight of the Palestinians or even to call publicly and repeatedly for good faith peace talks.
As president, Carter brokered the 1978 Camp David Peace Accords, creating a lasting peace between Israel and Egypt. President Clinton, who officiated over the failed 2000 Camp David Summit between Israel and the Palestinians, has been highly critical of Carters perspective. Clinton blames the Palestinian leadership for rejecting Israels generous offer. Its interesting that Israels chief negotiator, former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, told me in 2006, If I were a Palestinian, I would have rejected Camp David as well.
While we were in Atlanta, DePaul University in Chicago reached a settlement with professor Norman Finkelstein. Despite hailing him as a prolific scholar and an outstanding teacher, DePaul denied him tenure, many believe because of his outspoken criticism of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. The son of Holocaust survivors himself, Finkelstein has been praised by leading scholars.
Just months before he died, Raul Hilberg, revered founder of the field of Holocaust studies, praised Finkelsteins work: That takes a great amount of courage. His place in the whole history of writing history is assured and that those who in the end are proven right triumph, and he will be among those who will have triumphed, albeit, it so seems, at great cost.
Open debate on Israel-Palestine should not come at such a high cost. It is essential to Middle East peace. The Iraq Study Group, in its bipartisan Baker-Hamilton Report, stated, The United States will not be able to achieve its goals in the Middle East unless the United States deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Carters book cover has a picture of the Separation Barrier. Israel originally designed the wall to run along the internationally recognized 1967 border. Carter noted that Israel decided to move the wall from the Israeli border to intrude deeply within Palestine to carve out some of that precious land for the Israeli settlers to occupy. The International Court of Justice has ruled it illegal. It is more than half completed, with plans to snake more than 400 miles, mainly through the West Bank. In places the wall is more than 25 feet high and made of concrete.
Carter describes it as much worse than the Berlin Wall. Elder Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery writes:
When my friends fall prey to despair, I show them a piece of painted concrete, which I bought in Berlin. It is one of the remnants of the Berlin Wall, which are on sale in the city. I tell them that I intend, when the time comes, to apply for a franchise to sell pieces of the Separation Wall.
That barrier stands in the United States as well metaphorically around any kind of rational debate for a fair and just solution in the Middle East. My suggestion: Tear down that wall.
________________
Amy Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on 500 stations in North America.
___________
B.
from Cathrine Shamas :
10 September 2007
Subject: San Diego Women's Film Festival director under attack from Israeli Lobby.
www.pacbi.org
Dear All,
My good friend Bassemah Darwish, who is a member of the jury of the San
Diego Women's Film Festival sent me the following appeal:
She and fellow jury members, but in particular the Film Festival director,
Jennifer Hsu (also a personal friend) are under severe pressure and attack
by Israeli lobby groups and supporters in the US because they voted to
observe an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel within the festival.
We could help them if we send short letters to the Festival's board of
directors (listed below with contact details)
explaining why the Boycott of Israeli films in the festival is justified
(give links to supporting documentation) and why they should reconsider
their position of firing Jennifer as the Film Festival director.
If anyone of you know Israeli activists who support the Boycott campaign,
please pass on this message and ask them to do the same
Thanks,
Leigh
(see email below for more details)
Dear Pro Peace Community,
The San Diego Women's Film Festival jury selection committee and festival
director, Jennifer Hsu, have fallen under attack for deciding to observe the
Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. The Israeli community, spearheaded
by the Jewish American Association and General Consulate of Israel,
contacted the highest levels of the festival's corporate sponsors to apply
pressure on the board and staff to rescind the boycott statement and to fire
the festival director. The San Diego Women Film Foundation Board of
Directors panicked and buckled to the crushing and antagonistic outcry by
posting a public apology and declaration of being "embarrassed and
horrified" of the festival director and jury's position (
sdwff.org/home.html). They then issued an ultimatum to the Festival
Director demanding humiliating stipulations of apology and inclusion of an
Israeli film, or termination of contract.
We join the global community of artists and cultural leaders who act in the
wake of the Anti-Apartheid boycott movement of South Africa 20 years ago.
Although that pioneering boycott was against an apartheid of racism, this
boycott is against the forced separation of two peoples for the acquisition
of land. We firmly believe that we are standing in the Peace camp with other
people of conscience.
As judges of artistic films serving a festival that provides a platform for
women's films to be screened, it was a difficult decision to exclude some
artists based on their nationalist affiliations and source of funding.
However, as conscientious members of the world, we found this festival to be
an opportunity to bring awareness to an issue too easily hidden from the
public. Jennifer, more than anyone on the judging committee, has risked her
name, professional career, and even a sense of safety by confronting these
extremists who continue to harass her. These risks have been taken to serve
justice on behalf of the Palestinian people living under occupation and in
exile.
Jennifer continues to be attacked on all fronts. Besides the Board's
statement on the festival website, there are already several articles on
blogs and in publications (mostly Jewish) that attack her and continue to
criticize the board for not having fired her immediately. These articles
will continue to flood the internet and possibly mainstream media. There is
already a strong campaign against us and we realize that this is the time to
stand as a community or allow our already faint voices to be drowned out in
false accusations and blatant lies.
We are prepared to stand by our convictions, rather than cower, knowing that
our silence would be the greatest risk. But, we cannot do this alone.
We'd like to call the community to action: please mount a media response
that is at least equal to, if not larger than, the coverage that has already
been organized that slanders, distorts and muzzles the discussion around the
boycott and also the larger Israeli Palestinian conflict. Reach out to all
your media contacts, write to local papers, call the board, the festival
sponsors, and news sources and express your support of the festival director
and jury's right to observe the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
Contact information is listed below.
Let us rally around this cause to continue what the San Diego Women's Film
Festival director and jury have begun- to shed light on an unmitigated
humanitarian crisis and on non-violent methods of resistance.
Thank you,
Jennifer Hsu & Bassemah Darwish
"A boycott is directed against a policy and the institutions which support
that policy either actively or tacitly. Its aim is not to reject, but to
bring about change."- John Berger, art critic, novelist and painter
San Diego Women Film Foundation Board of Directors:
Yvonne Silva
Multicultural Events Coordinator for The San Diego Union-Tribune
(619) 293-2605
yvonne.silva@uniontrib.com
Amy Berry
Community Relations Manager for Cox Communications
(619) 266-5286
amy.berry@cox.net
Renee Herrell
Founder of San Diego Women Film Foundation, Nonprofit Fundraising Consultant
(619) 688-9498
renee@reneeherrell.com
Carrie Shields
Public relations manager for Bailey Gardiner (BG)
(619-295-8232 x108)
carrie@baileygardiner.com
Shannon O'Connor
shannon720@gmail.com
Festival Sponsors:
Cox Communications
Sony Electronics
Fox6
Signonsandiego.com < http://signonsandiego.com/>
San Diego Daily Transcript
Channel 933
Museum of Photographic Arts
Chipotle
Pick Up Stix
Karl Strauss
and another message:
I would like to echo Leigh's call about writing to the San Deigo Women's
Film Festival and supporting Jennifer Hsu's very courageous stand which she
has put her career on the line for. Compared to what she is doing, writing
a note is a very small effort and hopefully the least we could do. If you
feel like doing more, making phone calls would be great too (e.g. to Amy
Berry, who represents the main sponsor, Cox, on the board, at 1
619 266 5238 and to Yvonne Silva, representing the Union Tribune, at 1
619 293 2605).
Below is my letter. Of course, if you don't have time, even a one or two
line e-mail is helpful and MUCH better than nothing. Every voice counts!
Please forward Leigh's and Bassemah's alert to your networks and let's
bombard them with e-mails and calls.
Here are the Board of Directors' e-mails again:
Yvonne Silva yvonne.silva@ uniontrib. com <yvonne.silva@+uniontrib.+com+>
Amy Berry amy.berry@cox. net <amy.berry@cox.+net+>
Renee Herrell renee@reneeherrell. com <renee@reneeherrell.+com>
Carrie Shields carrie@baileygardin er.com <carrie@baileygardin+er.com>
Shannon O'Connor shannon720@gmail. com <shannon720@gmail.+com>
Best,
Haithem.
Dear SDWFF Board members,
Let me start by congratulating you on your fine work in empowering women
filmmakers and highlighting positive messages about relevant social issues.
In this vein, I believe you would also stand for social justice in
Palestine/Israel. The captive population in Occupied Palestine is exposed
to consistent and systematic violations of their human rights, including
land confiscations, home demolitions, assassinations, executions, arrest and
detainment, restrictions of movement, violence against peaceful civilian
protests, and much more. In fact, Israel is in violation of international
law on a daily basis and numerous resolutions and press releases have been
issued about this by the United Nations as well as international, Israeli,
and Palestinian human rights organizations (including Amnesty Int'l, Human
Rights Watch, B'tselem, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and
others). These injustices need to be stopped, as does Israel's illegal
occupation of Palestinian territories and it's systematic violation of
international law and human rights.
We need the world community's support in confronting this through
non-violent resistance. Boycotts are an essential tool that have proven
effective in South Africa and have brought about the demise of racist
practices. Boycotting Israeli academic and cultural institutions is an
urgently needed form of pressure against Israel that can bring about its
compliance with international law and the requirements for a just peace,*
which would benefit both the Palestinians and the Israelis, as well as the
world community. We applaud Ms. Jennifer Hsu's and the film selection
jury's high ethics and courage in observing this boycott, and call on you to
respect and support that decision.
We understand that the pro-Israeli lobby is powerful and intimidating, and
that it has often succeeded in silencing the voices of justice and reason.
We hope you will not allow them to succeed again in this. To be neutral or
passive in situations of injustice is to effectively side with the
aggressor, and we trust that you will reconsider your position.
Sincerely,
Haithem El-Zabri
Director, PalestineOnlineStore.com
* Note: For more information about the academic and cultural boycott of
Israel, please see www.pacbi.org
__________________
C.
from Edward Herman :
3 September 2007
Subject: "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week."
http://academicsforjustice.org
Francis:
This country has regressed to a point where ultra-rightwinger David
Horowitz's campaign attacking the left and any opposition to U.S. foreign
policy can find a place on 110 or more U.S. campuses. This nicely parallels
the willingness of scores of college presidents to sign a NYT ad denouncing
any discussion of a boycott of Israeli universities (none of these
officials have participated in any protest at the much more brutal Israel
treatment of Palestinian students and schools).
Ed
A Student's Guide to Hosting Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week
October 22-26, 2007
During the week of October 22-26, 2007, the nation will be rocked by
the biggest conservative campus protest ever - Islamo-Fascism
Awareness Week, a wake-up call for Americans on 200 university and
college campuses.
The purpose of this protest is as simple as it is crucial: to confront
the two Big Lies of the political left: that George Bush created the
war on terror and that Global Warming is a greater danger to Americans
than the terrorist threat. Nothing could be more politically incorrect
than to point this out. But nothing could be more important for
American students to hear. In the face of the greatest danger
Americans have ever confronted, the academic left has mobilized to
create sympathy for the enemy and to fight anyone who rallies
Americans to defend themselves. According to the academic left, anyone
who links Islamic radicalism to the war on terror is an "Islamophobe."
According to the academic left, the Islamo-fascists hate us not
because we are tolerant and free, but because we are "oppressors."
Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is a national effort to oppose these
lies and to rally American students to defend their country.
Download Complete Guide:
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/islamo-fascism/49/a-students-guide-to/
Schools to date at which the David Horowitz Freedom Center will be
organizing Islamo-Fascism Awareness Weeks
Penn State
Temple University
Pace University
Arizona State University
UC Berkeley
George Mason University
Columbia University
Emory University
Georgia Tech University
UCLA
Dartmouth University
University of Rhode Island
American University
Northeastern University
Columbus State Community College
Depaul University
Bates College University of Miami
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
University of New Haven
George Washington University
University of Virginia
USC
Harvard University
Yale University
Cornell University
Princeton University
University of Pennsylvania
Brown University
Georgetown University
Stanford University
University of Washington
Ohio State University
Purdue University
Notre Dame University
University of Michigan - Dearborn
Wellesley
University of Pittsburgh
Dennison
Cal State Northridge
Duke University
University of Colorado, Boulder
Santa Ana College
Regent University
Bradley University
Drury University
Washington University in St. Louis
Indiana State University
SUNY New Paltz
University of Texas, Austin
Unity College
Roger Williams University
Lawrence University
University of Delaware
Loras College
The College of New Jersey
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Broward Community College
Hampden-Sydney College
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
King's College
Bloomsburg University
UNC Chapel Hill
UC Irvine
University of Arizona
Florida State University
BYU - Idaho
Liberty University
Clemson University
University of Maine - Farmington
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee
University of Alabama
Saint Francis University
Ohio State University
Drexel University
Dickinson College
Messiah College
Western New Mexico
University of Toledo
Furman University
UNC Greensboro
Franciscan University of Steubenville
UNC Charlotte
Rice University
Hillsdale College
Evangel University
Northern Arizona University
UNC Wilmington
Saint Anselm College
North Carolina State
Huntington University
Boise State University
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
Kansas Wesleyan
Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Hanover College
University of Iowa
University of Texas - San Antonio
Williams College
Texas A&M
Palomar College
Trinity University
Brooklyn College
East Tennessee State University
Skyline College
Tulane University
Bucknell University
Southern Maine Community College
Washington State University
Cal State Fullerton
St. Mary's College of California
St. Louis University
Visit http://academicsforjustice.org
Contact your representatives and elected officials: use
http://cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm
For other ways to help, see http://BoycottIsraeliGoods.org
____________
D.
from Democracy Now ! :
Subject: International Forum on Globalization
Date: 14 September 2007
http://www.ips-dc.org/
The International Forum on Globalization and Institute for Policy Studies is hosting a three day teach-in this weekend titled "Confronting the Global Triple Crisis: Climate Change, Peak Oil (The End of Cheap Energy) and Global Resource Depletion & Extinction." We speak with, among others, David Korten- publisher of the magazine YES! A Journal of Positive Futures and author of "The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community."
David Korten
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/14/1421257
Vandana Shiva (author of "Outsourcing of Pollution to the Third World")
"India is one of the preferred spots for outsourcing of all the pollution and energy-intensive production of the world. We hear of outsourcing of jobs and informational
technology sector. We don't often enough hear about the outsourcing of pollution to the third world."
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/14/1422203
Michael Klare (author of "Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum.")
"There's a second war underway in Iraq that's a war for the control of the oil wealth. That's a war that is pitting Kurds against the Arabs of the country, Shiites against Sunnis, and Shiite against Shiite. Because eventually the Americans are going to leave and the people of Iraq know this."
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/14/1422209
Simon Retallack (British climate expert discussing "Climate Porn: the Dangers of Using Alarmist Language to Talk About Climate Change")
"It's a phrase that's certainly not used to undermine the science...But if we talk about climate change in a way that makes it appear that there's nothing we can do anymore about it, that it's too late, that it's going to be devastating on a global scale...I think we're going to turn people off."
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/14/1422224
______________
E.
from Council for the National Interest Foundation <cnif@democracyinaction.org>
Subject: Reminder: Deadline Approaching for Fall 2007 Political Pilgrimage
Date: S13 September 2007
Reminder: Deadline Approaching for Fall 2007 Political Pilgrimage
Now is your chance to be a "citizen diplomat" to the Middle East and conduct interviews with the political leaders of the area. (October 26-November 12)
REMINDER: The deadline is September 15, 2007.A remarkable opportunity to tour Israel and her neighbors this fall from October 26th through November 12th is still open for applications for members of CNI and supporters of the CNI Foundation until September 15. This tour will come only weeks or possibly days before the projected peace conference called by President Bush. It will be a unique opportunity to see the preparations and reactions to the conference in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Don’t miss this unique chance to represent your country as a "citizen diplomat," meeting with and interviewing both government and opposition leaders in these countries.
The delegation members will meet in Washington DC on the morning of October 26 for a briefing at the DACOR Bacon House and members will depart for Tel Aviv on October 27. Former Ambassador Robert Keeley, a 34-year career in the Foreign Service of the United States from 1956 to 1989, will lead the delegation through the region. The trip will cost $6,000, which includes all airfare, ground transportation, hotel accommodations and meals.
Again, registration for the trip will close September 15. Please send us your application as soon as possible. More information about the trip and the application forms are available on our website www.cnifoundation.org.
To apply:
1. Click here to be transferred to the CNI Foundation website
2. Print out and complete the general application form
3. Include a copy of an updated resume or CV with the application form
4. Print out and complete the Medical Release Form
5. Send all documents to:
Shannon O'Hara
CNI Foundation
1250 4th St. SW
Suite WG-1
Washington, DC 20024
6. Or you can fax the documents to: (202) 863-2952
7. Applicants will be contacted to schedule a brief phone interview no more than one week after his or her completed application has been received.
If you are interested in joining us this fall and would like more information, please contact Shannon O'Hara at 202-863-2951 x301 or by email at Shannon@cnionline.org. We look forward to your applications!
Council for the National Interest Foundation
1250 4th Street SW, Suite WG-1 Washington, DC 20024
800.296.6958 202.863.2951 Fax: 202.863.2952
http://cnifoundation.org/
__________________
F.
from Edward Herman :
Subject: "The advancing ethnic cleansing", by V. Buch
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=22236
Francis,
Read this piece by Israeli activist Victoria Buch and then read the article in the NY Sun on Hillary Clintons groveling on Israel and de facto support of advancing ethnic cleansing. The contrast is revealing and revolting.
Ed
_____
Ed,
This excellent piece is by a talented and courageous Israeli activist. Viki is one of the leaders of Machsom Watch, the group of Israeli women who monitor the checkpoints for human rights violations, and she is the editor of Occupation Magazine. This piece puts it all together, pulls no punches This is an Israeli who, in great pain and in great distress, is watching her beloved country being led over a cliff. Highly recommended.
Mark
Mark Braverman , Ph.D.
6819 Selkirk Drive
Bethesda, MD 20817
Office: (301) 320 0049
Mobile: (443) 995 7882
Home: (301) 320 2177
www.bravermangroup.com
by Victoria Buch
T he stage for ethnic cleansing of Palestinians has been set in the occupied Territories, and ethnic cleansing is in progress. At present, this is the major project of the State of Israel. For an impartial person of medium intelligence, a tour of the Occupied Territories may be sufficient to understand this fact. The prime ethnic cleansing tool is, forever, Palestinian land grab in conjunction with settlement expansion. Various stages of annexation process are in evidence in the originally rural part of the West Bank, constituting 60% of its area. By now, nine percent of the West Bank land has been transferred to the direct control of the settlements [1]. A recent Peace Now investigation revealed that only 12 percent of this land is being used at all. "The state earmarks huge tracts for the settlements, out of all proportion to their size, in order to prevent Palestinian construction in those areas. Yet once an area is closed to Palestinians, the settlers begin seizing adjacent Palestinian lands, often privately owned, that lie outside their jurisdiction" [1,2]. According to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, already in 2002, 41.9% of the West Bank was assigned to the Israeli regional councils [3]. And for years, the entire rural Area C has been under administrative control of the so called "Civil Administration", which, in close cooperation with the Israeli army and the settlers, toils to make the life of its Palestinian residents as miserable as possible; the obvious objective being to make them leave [4,5].
In the remaining West Bank, Palestinians became virtual prisoners in their own towns and villages. Every aspect of normal Palestinian life - economy, health, education, is being crushed by a well organized and deliberate military-bureaucratic machine, masquerading as a security establishment [5]. Every now and then, the strangulation noose around the Palestinian existence is being tightened, inexorably, by one more notch. Ethnic cleansing, by means of home and field demolitions, is also pursued diligently by the State of Israel towards its Bedouin citizens residing in the Negev desert [6].
All of the above scarcely registers in minds of my compatriots. No wonder, since it is covered by a monumental but eagerly believed hoax [7] of "negotiations with Abu-Mazen", diplomatic efforts, and promises of good will gestures towards Palestinians (which are forever un-implemented, or implemented marginally for short periods). For reasons of their own, some Palestinian politicians including President Abbas chose to participate in this farce.
An average Jewish-Israeli does not know - or does not want to know - about the ethnic cleansing program executed by their state - she or he prefers to think of it as "fight against terror". Jewish-Israeli citizens live in virtual reality, thoughtfully provided for them by the leaders, the media, and the education system. In this reality, the Israelis figure as good guys, fighting for their existence, rather than as colonizers and occupiers. In this virtual world, it is believed that our government has worked hard to achieve a peace agreement with the Palestinians; and if this goal was not achieved, it was because of the Palestinian intransigence. Impediment of negotiations by settlers is admitted, but (Sasson report notwithstanding [8]) settlers are viewed as troublesome extremists, rather than as an offshoot of deliberate and consistent annexationist policy of the Israeli government [9].
But the key Israeli politicians KNOW - the ethnic cleansing project could not possibly proceed otherwise. I have been wondering if every new minister in Israeli government gets a manual spelling the facts of life, written in the past by somebody like Golda Meir or Arik Sharon . Otherwise, how would you explain the remarkable continuity of Israeli policies in the Occupied Territories during the long years of the Occupation? How come the current maps of the Jewish settlements and the Palestinian enclaves match the Drobles and Sharon's blueprints for colonizing the West Bank, prepared tens of years ago [10]? However I rather think that no such manual exists, and every minister is expected to figure it out by himself/herself. Yitzhak Rabin paid with his life for what then appeared to be a sincere effort to break away from the ethnic cleansing program (although Rabin never even tried to remove the settlements; and his was the idea of the infamous “bypass roads for settlers; in the end, the Oslo years turned out to be a golden opportunity for settlement expansion under the cover of the bogus “peace process ; see Ref. [5](c)). Barak, promoter of large scale colonization projects in the West Bank, seems to have made the last failed effort to set a (very limited) form of coexistence with Palestinians. But he must have finally decided that "if you cannot fight it, join it", as indicated by his current activities as a new Minister of Defense [11].
It was Sharon, a brilliant politician, who, under the cover of the "disengagement from Gaza", converted the ethnic cleansing program to the "only game in town" in the Israeli politics. By now, the entire Zionist establishment has been enlisted, from the Hebron settlers to the Shomer Hatzair (socialist youth movement), who, as army conscripts, provide those same settlers with security cover [12]. The current policies of the State of Israel are determined by the collusion of settlers' insatiable appetite for land, and generals' insatiable appetite for "action". The elected leaders who execute these policies range from whole-hearted supporters to more or less willing accomplices, mindful of their careers. Presently, none of the leaders opposes actively the ethnic cleansing program. In the background, there is the ever-intensifying humming of propaganda which designates Palestinians - both citizens and non-citizens - as DEMOGRAPHIC DANGER WHICH SHOULD BE ADDRESSED [13].
The Israeli policy towards Palestinians can be summarized briefly - "inflict all the damage you can get away with". But how do the Israeli leaders envisage the end of this game? The hard core nationalists spell it loudly - "transfer", i.e. expulsion of Palestinians. But what do the main-stream leaders think - the ones who actually carry out the expulsion (presently - the internal one, to the Palestinian ghettos and the enclaves)? The operation is too well organized for one to believe that the end-game was never considered.
I believe that the final objective of our rulers is to set the stage for the second Naqba. Otherwise what is the point of the endless goading of Palestinians into violence? Any minimally thoughtful person understands that the Israeli policies in the Occupied Territories will lead to an eventual paroxysm of violence. Do not tell me that our leaders never thought about it. Granted, amongst them there are total opportunists who do not care about anything except staying in power. But somebody is pushing the ethnic cleansing forward - Sharon was the foremost among them, but judging from the well organized continuation - his associates are fully operational and in business. I think that these people are actually looking forward to the violence. They have the eyes on the real-estate prize - the West Bank. A paroxysm of violence would enable the State of Israel to annex the West Bank - the entire West Bank , that is, while getting rid of most of Palestinian inhabitants. Just like in 1948. This is, in my view, the envisaged end-game. Where do they propose to expel the Palestinians? Jordan? The Gaza Strip? Syria? I do not know.
Will the ethnic cleansing succeed? The authors of these policies obviously count on it. The opening is there, with the present US administration backing Israel whatever it does, and the EU and the Arab countries unable or unwilling to stand up to the US. It is likely that the forthcoming outburst of violence will be initiated by the desperate and destitute Palestinians; and then, for umptieth time, our propaganda machine will be able to present us to the world as victims, and Palestinians as victimizers. Israeli responses will be presented as legitimate defensive actions. Later, the history may judge otherwise, but meanwhile (if the present political constellation persists for a while), who cares about the Palestinians.
But in the long run, disaster looms for Israel . This is since we are a small nation, and Palestinians are a similarly sized nation which is moreover a part of the vast Moslem world. The experience of South Africa suggests that the apartheid-type system imposed on Palestinians is not viable in the long run, even if it seems invincible at the beginning. As exemplified by the last year invasion to Lebanon, the performance of the Israeli army is deteriorating, corrupted by years of operating as a colonial militia. At the same time, the generals are becoming increasingly unbridled and reckless [14]. The Israeli economy rests on support of the similarly reckless US corporate-political establishment, but this very expensive support is unlikely to last forever. The ability of US to dictate the world is also likely to wane as Russia and China are coming to their own. And perhaps most importantly - the Dome of the Rock - the third holiest place of Islam - is at stake.
In my view, my country Israel has embarked on suicidal policies. Something like that already happened in the Jewish history, some 1940 years ago - see the "The Jewish War", by Josephus Flavius. And just like in those days, most of Israeli public does not realize, that they are being dragged to disaster by their own leaders.
The author is an Israeli academic, anti-occupation activist, and a member of the editorial board of the Occupation Magazine www.kibush.co.il. She is available at vvbb542yahoo.com
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[1] "Construction and development of settlements beyond the official limits of jurisdiction - July 2007". A special report presented by the Peace Now Settlement Watch
http://www.peacenow .org.il/data/SIP_STORAGE/files/1/3201.pdf
[2] "Peace Now report:
Settlements build on just 9 percent of state-allocated land",
by Amos Harel, Haaretz,
http://www.haaretz .com/hasen/spages/878925.html
[3] "Land grab - Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank" - B'Tselem ,
http://www.btselem .org/Download/200205_Land_grab_Eng.doc
[4] For recent glimpses into mechanisms of oppression and Palestinian land grab, and lives of Palestinians living under the occupation see, e.g., the following recent reports of anti-occupation activists:
http://www.kibush . co.il/show_file.asp?num=22133
http://www.kibush . co.il/show_file.asp?num=19718
http://www.kibush . co.il/show_file.asp?num=22023
On the Civil Administration, see article by by Ahiya Raved, YnetNews, 26 December, 2005
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/0,7340,L-3190569, 00.html
Quotation from the article "Sasson said Israel`s Civil Administration in the West Bank, which was meant to take care of Palestinians and was established in accordance with international law, has in fact turned into the main body that handles all matters related to Israeli settlement activity."
[5] Comprehensive information on mechanisms of oppression and of Palestinian land grab, and on life under the occupation can be found, for example, in the following website sources:
a) Occupation Magazine - compilation of reports, news articles and
commentary from various sources - Israeli, Palestinian and international
media, and human rights and anti-occupation organizations, updated daily
http://www.kibush . co.il
b) Weekly reports of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
http://www.pchrgaza.org/
c) Peace Now website, settlement section; see in particular subsections "Settlements in Focus" , "Reports", and "Special Reports"
http://www.peacenow .org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=62
http://www.peacenow .org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=61
http://www.peacenow .org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=61&fld=495
d) Palestinian media in English e.g. IMEMC http://www.imemc .org or Ma'an News http://www.maannews.net/en/
e) BTselem The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
http://www.btselem.org
f) The Electronic Intifada
http://www.electron icintifada.net/
g) MahsanMilim - Reports from the West Bank (Hebrew website run by anti-occupation activists, English translation of many articles can be found at the bottom of each report)
http://www.mahsanmi lim.com/
h) UN/OCHA (Office for Coordination of Human Rights Affairs in the Palestinian Occupied Territories) http://www.ochaopt.org/
f) Reports of Israeli women's human rights organization MachsomWatch (checkpoint watch)
http://www.machsomw atch.org
[6] "Unrecognized" - a tutorial movie by Adalah - the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights
http://www.adalah.org/flv/eng.html
See also recent reports of Bedouin home demolitions in the Negev http://www.kibush . co.il/show_file.asp?num=22078
http://www.kibush . co.il/show_file.asp?num=20783
[7] "The Middle East Peace Process Scam" by Henry Siegman London Review Bookshop ( London Review of Books) Aug. 16 2007. (Henry Siegman, the director of the US/ Middle East Project, served as a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 1994 to 2006, and was head of the American Jewish Congress from 1978 to 1994.)
http://www.lrb. co.uk/v29/n16/sieg01_.html
[8] "What is the Sasson Report?"
http://www.peacenow .org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=61&fld=343&docid=2012&pos=0
Download summary of the Sasson Report from
http://www.peacenow .org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=61&fld=343&docid=1454&pos=1
Additional articles on the Report can be found in the Occupation Magazine www.kibush.co.il
[9] In support of the above beliefs, psychology kicks in, in addition to propaganda. Most people are blinded by the overwhelming need to believe in their collective righteousness. As the high school citizenship teacher of my daughter used to preach "Whatever happens, kids, remember, that WE ARE RIGHT".
[10] "1967", by Gadi Algazi, Mitzad Sheni, June 2007; English translation can be found at
http://www.kibush . co.il/show_file.asp?num=20936
[11] One recent example can be found in the article "Hamastan as a challenge", by Shlomo Gazit, NRG, June 25, 2007 http://www.nrg . co.il/online/1/ART1/599/882.html:
"Simultaneously with its total takeover of the Gaza Strip, the Hamas leadership implemented a unilateral ceasefire with Israel . For a whole week, not a single Qassam was fired at Sderot and the surrounding district. But then, after only one day as Defence Minister, the new Minister [ Ehud Barak ] authorized a new operation to seek out people on the wanted list in the Khan Younis region. Five Palestinians were killed while others were injured. As if by magic, the firing of Qassams towards Sderot resumed the very next day." At present, maintaining low grade violence appears necessary for the Israeli policies of presenting Palestinians as terrorists, and presenting Israeli colonization projects and military operations to crush Palestinians (both in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip) as “fight against terror .
[12] A telling if minor example is the well publicized pre-election breakfast of Yossi Beilin - the leader of the left-most Zionist party - with the right-winger Lieberman, promoter of "transfer" of Palestinians. Beilin was signaling - "I would also like to join the ruling club, I am flexible, and oh-so-decorative". But the "decorative" slot was already taken by the unbeatable Shimon Peres, the Nobel Prize Winner for Peace. So Beilin was left behind, to linger in the unwanted opposition.
[13] See, e.g.,
"Jerusalem mayor: Israel may lose capital", YNETnews, August 5, 2007 ,
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/0,7340,L-3397293, 00.html;
"Arab population in Jerusalem growing, study says", Lilach Shoval, YNETnews, August 5, 2007,
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/0,7340,L-3397174, 00.html;
"On the conference on "demography" in the Haifa University" - Avraham Oz - Occupation Magazine -
http://www.kibush . co.il/show_file.asp?num=3217;
"It's ideology, not demography", by Avraham Tal, Haaretz, Oct 23, 2006
http://www.haaretz .com/hasen/spages/776636.html
"New proposal: Transfer-for-cash plan", by Mathew Wagner, The Jerusalem Post, January 21, 2007
http://www.jpost .com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467783009&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
"The threat of the `demographic threat`", by Gideon Levy, Haaretz, July 21, 2007,
http://www.haaretz .com/hasen/spages/884512.html;
"Little Ahmadinejads" - by Gideon Levy, Haaretz, June 8, 2007 ;
http://www.haaretz .com/hasen/spages/868829.html;
"Poll: 68% of Jews would refuse to live in same building as an Arab", by Eli Ashkenazi and Jack Khoury, March 22, 2006, Haaretz,
http://www.kibush . co.il/show_file.asp?num=12824;
see also the Adalah movie "Unrecognized", ref. [6], on treatment of the Bedouin citizens of Israel
[14] There is a possibility of use of nuclear weapons by the state of Israel but it is unlikely that such use will bring a stable geopolitical future for the country.
____________
G.
from Information Clearing House :
Date: 18 September 2007
Subject: Bushs Fake Sheik
Bushs Fake Sheik Whacked:
(The Surge and the Al Qaeda Bunny)
A special investigative report from inside Iraq
by Greg Palast
09/17/07 "ICH" -- -- Monday, September 17, 2007- Did you see George all choked up? In his surreal TV talk on Thursday, he got all emotional over the killing by Al Qaeda of Sheik Abu Risha, the leader of the new Sunni alliance with the US against the insurgents in Anbar Province, Iraq.
Bush shook Abu Risha's hand two weeks ago for the cameras. Bush can shake his hand again, but not the rest of him: Abu Risha was blown away just hours before Bush was to go on the air to praise his new friend.
Here's what you need to know that NPR won't tell you.
1. Sheik Abu Risha wasn't a sheik.
2. He wasn't killed by Al Qaeda.
3. The new alliance with former insurgents in Anbar is as fake as the sheik - and a murderous deceit.
How do I know this? You can see the film - of "Sheik" Abu Risha, of the guys who likely whacked him and of their other victims.
Just in case you think I've lost my mind and put my butt in insane danger to get this footage, don't worry. I was safe and dry in Budapest. It was my brilliant new cameraman, Rick Rowley, who went to Iraq to get the story on his own.
Rick's "the future of TV news," says BBC. He's also completely out of control. Despite our pleas, Rick and his partner Dave Enders went to Anbar and filmed where no cameraman had dared tread.
Why was "sheik" Abu Risha so important? As the New York Times put it this morning, "Abu Risha had become a charismatic symbol of the security gains in Sunni areas that have become a cornerstone of American plans to keep large numbers of troops in Iraq though much of next year."
In other words, Abu Risha was the PR hook used to sell the "success" of the surge.
The sheik wasn't a sheik. He was a fake. While proclaiming to Rick that he was "the leader of all the Iraqi tribes," Abu lead no one. But for a reported sum in the millions in cash for so-called, "reconstruction contracts," Abu Risha was willing to say he was Napoleon and Julius Caesar and do the hand-shakie thing with Bush on camera.
Notably, Rowley and his camera caught up with Abu Risha on his way to a "business trip" to Dubai, money laundering capital of the Middle East.
There are some real sheiks in Anbar, like Ali Hathem of the dominant Dulaimi tribe, who told Rick Abu Risha was a con man. Where was his tribe, this tribal leader? "The Americans like to create characters like Disney cartoon heros." Then Ali Hathem added, "Abu Risha is no longer welcome" in Anbar.
"Not welcome" from a sheik in Anbar is roughly the same as a kiss on both cheeks from the capo di capi. Within days, when Abu Risha returned from Dubai to Dulaimi turf in Ramadi, Bush's hand-sheik was whacked.
On Thursday, Bush said Abu Risha was killed, "fighting Al Qaeda" - and the White House issued a statement that the sheik was "killed by al Qaeda."
Bullshit.
There ain't no Easter Bunny and "Al Qaeda" ain't in Iraq, Mr. Bush. It was very cute, on the week of the September 11 memorials, to tie the death of your Anbar toy-boy to bin Laden's Saudi hijackers. But it's a lie. Yes, there is a group of berserkers who call themselves "Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia." But they have as much to do with the real Qaeda of bin Laden as a Rolling Stones "tribute" band has to do with Mick Jagger.
Who got Abu Risha? Nothing - NOTHING - moves in Ramadi without the approval of the REAL tribal sheiks. They were none-too-happy, as Hathem noted, about the millions the US handed to Risha. The sheiks either ordered the hit - or simply gave the bomber free passage to do the deed.
So who are these guys, the sheiks who lead the Sunni tribes of Anbar - the potentates of the Tamimi, Fallaji, Obeidi, Zobal and Jumaili tribes? Think of them as the Sopranos of Arabia. They are also members of the so-called "Awakening Council" - getting their slice of the millions handed out - which they had no interest in sharing with Risha.
But creepy and deadly or not, these capi of the desert were effective in eliminating "Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia." Indeed, as US military so proudly pointed out to Rick, the moment the sheiks declared their opposition to Al Qaeda - i.e. got the payments from the US taxpayers - Al Qaeda instantly diappeared.
This miraculous military change, where the enemy just evaporates, has one explanation: the sheiks ARE al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Just like the Sopranos extract "protection" payments from New Jersey businesses, the mobsters of Anbar joined our side when we laid down the loot.
What's wrong with that? After all, I'd rather send a check than send our kids from Columbus to fight them.
But there's something deeply, horribly wrong with dealing with these killers. They still kill. With new US protection, weapons and cash, they have turned on the Shia of Anbar. Fifteen thousand Shia families from a single district were forced at gunpoint to leave Anbar. Those moving too slowly were shot. Kids and moms too.
Do the Americans know about the ethnic cleansing of Anbar by our erstwhile "allies"? Rick's film shows US commanders placing their headquarters in the homes abandoned by terrorized Shia.
Rick's craziest move was to go and find these Shia refugees from Anbar. They were dumped, over a hundred thousand of them, in a cinder block slum with no running water in Baghdad. They are under the "protection" of the Mahdi Army, another group of cutthroats. But at least these are Shia cutthroats.
So the great "success" of the surge is our arming and providing cover for ethnic cleansing in Anbar. Nice, Mr. Bush. And with the US press "embedded," we won't get the real story. Even Democrats are buying into the Anbar "awakening" fairy tale.
An Iraqi government official frets that giving guns and cover to the Anbar gang is like adopting a baby crocodile. "A crocodile is not a pet," he told Rick. It will soon grow to devour you. But what could the puppet do but complain about his strings?
This Iraqi got it right: the surge is a crock.
Greg Palast is the author of " Armed Madhouse: from Baghdad to New Orleans - Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild." See Palast's reports for BBC Television's Newsnight, now filmed by Rick Rowley and partners, at www.GregPalast.com
On his departure from Iraq, Al Jazeera's English language network agreed to broadcast the Rowley/Enders film. I urge you to see it: click here. Palast will update the report today on Air America's Randi Rhodes show.
_____________________
H.
from Mara Dodge :
Subject: Historians Against the War Conference, April 11-13, 2008 in Atlanta Georga.
Date: 14 September 2007
www.historiansagainstwar.org
[Looking for panel/ roundtable participants: Historians Against the War National Conference, April 11-13, 2008 Atlanta GA]
Roundtable Proposal: Pedagogical Reflections and Strategies: Teaching about Empire and War in the U.S. History Survey Course
For many high school teachers and college history professors, the standard U.S. History survey course is the most frequently taught class. In many schools it remains a required course and reaches the broadest range of students, both history and non-history majors. Students typically take the course in their freshman year and bring with them little background in radical history and frequently even less enthusiasm for the subject. Often they enter our classrooms expecting the ultra-nationalist approach to history which remains the dominant approach to U.S. Foreign Policy in High School history textbooks.
How do we address issues of war and empire while covering 150+ years of U.S. history in the standard 15 week semester? How do we provide students with a strong enough foundation in contemporary history (1960-present) to make sense of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while doing justice to earlier eras? Come hear panelists reflect and discuss their strategies for integrating critical perspectives on U.S. foreign policy and incorporating the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars more fully into the survey course.
If you would be interested in participating in this roundtable, contact Mara Dodge, Westfield State College, Westfield, MA mdodge@wsc.ma.edu (Tel) 413-572-5620
For more info, see: www.historiansagainstwar.org
____________
I.
from David Applebaum :
Subject: Iraq Moratorium
Date: 10 September 2007
mailto:haw-info-request@stopthewars.org?subject=subscribe
T he Steering Committee of Historians Against the War has joined with the New Students for a Democratic Society, United for Peace and Justice, War Times, United States Labor Against the War, CodePink and a broad coalition of organizations and individuals in calling for a moratorium on campus and in the community, every third Friday from now until the US withdraws from the disastrous occupation of Iraq. We encourage other professional academic groups to join with us on September 21 and subsequent third Fridays. The Moratorium website is at http://iraqmoratorium.org.
The Iraq Moratorium recalls the 1969 Moratorium to End the war in Vietnam, and earlier successful global peace initiatives. On October 15 of that year, millions of people in thousands of cities, campuses and towns across the country joined in rallies, marches, and religious services. At some universities, peace moratoria continued on the fifteenth of each month. Meanwhile, the Moratorium spread to the UK, Australia, Western Europe and elsewhere, demonstrating peace solidarity against the war machine and in support of Vietnamese civilians punished by bombs, chemical attacks of Agent Orange, and other outrages. Our goal is to make this mobilization broader, wider and deeper so that we can accelerate the end of this war.
We urge all scholars, students and others to join us in rallies, teach-ins and other activities, and hope to provide speakers as requested.
We urge all moratorium supporters to call members of Congress before the end of September and convince them to cast their votes against spending another $147-$197 billion dollars for occupation and war.
Contact Paul Buhle (paul-buhle@brown.edu) or David Applebaum ( applebaum@rowan.edu) for additional information and to share news of the mobilization. We hope you will join in our moratorium discussion group.