8/14/2019 2007 July Aug

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Because People MaterProgressive News and Views July / August 2007

Inside this issue:Editorial. 2Change and conict in Venezuela. 3Collective.action.at.CSUS 4Local.folks.go.PINK.in.DC. 5Single.Payer.Health.Care. 6Police.State. 6What you need to know about 9/11. 7

A Vets moral opposition to War. 8A Vet walks to end the War. 8Vets speech at the end of the walk. 9Book Review: ........If Olaya Street Could Talk. 10Disillusion unto death. 10

Media Clipped. 11Book Review: Broken Promises,

Broken Dreams. 11Peace.Action. 12Internet.Radio.in.danger. 13

Africa Channel project. 13Book Review: Armed Madhouse.14Calendar. 15Progressive.Media. 16

By Tom King

It was puzzling. How could Leuren Moret, uncoverero secrets as dark and breathstopping as the coll ec-tive body counts in all the killing elds, make her

entrance at the 19th convocation o Sacramentos PeacePyramid beaming so beatically? She had returned onlya ew hours previously rom a our-month tour o Asia,concluded in Hawaii, where this wonderul thing hadhappened. What happenedwell, well come to that.But meanwhile her introductory sum-up will give you ahint. I love empowering citizens. I light the match andI walk away and it turns into abonre!

In 1968, the rst woman

graduating in geology rom UCDavis, Moret took an MA atBerkeley in Near Eastern studies,and commenced a career as geo-scientist. Eventually this took herto Caliornias Livermore Nation-al Lab, where disgusted by whatshe learned about the unconscio-nable agendas o the microscope brigade around her, shebecame a whistleblower and eventually ew the coop.Her resignation kicked o a decade o intense research,untiring public edication (16 to 18 hour workdays),and continual harassment by her enemiesnon-stoptrashing her home, wrecking her computers, stealing herdocuments, and worst o all, assisted by her ex-husband,the ve-year kidnapping o her daughter. (In the covertworld this is called mobbing, which aims to push the

object to suicide.)Her message is without a doubt as righteningly

sinister as hell in its deepest, darkest circles. oward theend o WWII an element o nuclear allout was deter-mined to be so noxious that it was banned internation-ally in 1945. Aer a moratorium o 46 years, however,the poison was put to prodigious use in the rst GulWar because it makes munitions that cut through heavyarmor and is a cheaper way to dispose o toxic trash. Tisis DUalsely called depleted uranium.

DU is nuclear trash rom nuclear weapons andpower projects. It contaminates air, water, ood, soil.Inhaled it behaves like gas in the lungs, dispersingthroughout the body and, according to Morets research,producing such malaises as mental derangement, autism,

diabetes, and cancer.Although the Bush administra-

tion systematically denies the medicalclaims o returning Iraq veterans,research tells a literally killing story.For instance, while medical disabilityamong soldiers aer WWII was5%, and 10% aer the Vietnam War(with its Agent Orange), it reachesa paralyzing 55% aer Gul War I.

Our soldiers are com-ing home with braintumors the size o gol

balls. Military physi-cians now regularlycounsel, Dont havechildren! Tose whodoalas!oenpay an unthinkableprice. In a VeteransAdministration study

o 251 Gul War I veterans, severebirth deects and diseases in 67% othe children born aer the war wereound born without eyes, brains,organs, legs, arms, hands or eet(Flanders, Gul War Syndrome: Malde Guerre, Te Nation 03-07-94.) Weare used to calculating the cost o warsolely in terms o those who come

home in body bags, but in LeurenMorets grim summary, or anyonewho enters radioactive zones such asIraq, lie is over.

I discovered something else thatwas too horrible to imagine, testiesLeuren. I ound proo o the real and deeper purpose orthe US using DU weapons beginning in 1991: to deliber-ately and strategically contaminate entire regions wherethe worlds oil supplies are located[guaranteeing] theannihilation o populations in those regions . I beganto cry the day that bombing started in Aghanistan in2001. I cried or the mothers, the athers, the children,the babies, the grandparents and the uture generationswho will not be born because o this radioactive poison-ing o their genetic uture.

I you think DU is merely a mideast problem,however, think again. Uranium has a hal-lie o bil-lions o years. Once released, the lethal particulatesnever leave the soil or the air. Te winds carry themcontinents awaybringing them, dear reader, a gi tous all. People do not understand or realize the globalimpact o DU and other radioactive weapons .Tere isnowhere on Earth that will escape some orm or level ocontamination.

Well, thencarrying such a woeul weight o theworldhow to explain Leurens entrance at the PeacePyramid, all but whistling like one o the Seven Dwarsheading o to work?

Answer: its a warriors story o a great battle won.When she arrived in Hawaii she ound hardly anyonehad even heard o DU, and despite numerous interviewssubsequently, neither DU nor her own name appeared in

newsprint. But she was undeterred, and proceeded withscientic investigation, nding with monitored readingsthat 850 Hawaiian sites were contaminated. AroundKona, which was plagued with widespread illnesses andhighest cancer rates, came the worst readings, producing93 as opposed to a normal o 5-20. With her character-istic eloquence she planted the seeds in the minds o theHawaiian citizenryand led a complaint against thePentagons scurrilous cover-up. When she returned toHawaii at the end o her Asian tour this spring she oundthe seeds she had planted had blossomed in awarenessand wrath. Hawaii had become a volcano o anger. ILeuren is r ight, its about to erupt with dire consequencesor the Pentagon.

I dont want to close without telling you more thathelps explain buoyant spirits despite unimaginable

enormities and Leurens own personal persecution. By

her own testimony, she is like those Holocaust survivors,stripped o everything, no longer araid because nothingelse can be taken rom her. Tough she has lost certainpersons rom her lie, she has come to nd wherevershe goes generous, grateul hearts and a multitude ohugs. Hersel a passionate people-lover, she nds loveeverywhere. Perhaps most signicantly, she has oundthe sacred work or which she was intended, and sodoing, ound hersel. Her risks are the risks o a warrior;but ear has long since been slain, and courage outacingwhole battalions o ocial tormentors has become as

natural as breathing.Hear and see her: www.youtube.com/v/L94IUSw54pQ.

Check out these websites:www.news-journalonline.com/special/uranium/index.

htm

www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042007B.shtml

www.globalresearch.ca/index.

php?context=va&aid=5864

om King is the leader of the Peace Pyramid, asuburban grassroots group promoting a cabinet-levelDepartment of Peace.

I love empowering

citizens. I light the

match and I walk

away and it turns

into a bonre!

Leuren Moret on the let with Dar King, co-ounder o the Peace PyramidPhoto by Tom King

Depleted Uranium, Death and Destruction

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2 Because People Matter July / August 2007 www.bpmnews.org

People MaerVlume 16, Numbe 4Published Bi-Monthly by theSacramento Community forPeace & JusticeP.O. Box 162998, Sacramento,CA 95816(Use addresses below forcorrespondence)

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It reminded me o the rst days o the newversion o BPM 15 years ago, when we desper-ately needed subscriptions to replace the organi-zations that had sponsored the paper. Ten, eachdays mail brought handuls o new subs, and thesmall group o people who had decided to keepthe paper going elt we had done the right thing.It was a kind oi you build itmoment.

Te same thing is happening since our lastissueand especially aer Christine Cra wasso good as to let us make a plea on her show on1240am(2-6pm).

Wonderully many o you longtime BPMsupporters are adding $10 to $200 extra to yoursub renewals. With your generous, much appreci-ated support, weve now covered the cost o thenext two issuesa not insubstantial sum.

And we have 55 nw bcipin. Tis isgreat! What a thrill to see the bunch o envelopesin the mailbox. Especially those with dierenthandwritten addresses (instead o our labeledrenewal envelopes)nwsubscribers! Manyincluding notes like Oh gooda more newsnewspaper!

And o course, its not just the money. Its thetangible proo that what were doing in BPM hasenough value to you to warrant your nancialsupporteven in what may be hard times ormany (we have so ew Wall Street readers).

Its tangible proo as well that our readershiphas grown beyond the activist communitywhich has always been one o our main goals.

I you didnt subscribe last issue, I hope youwill consider adding your $20 (or more) to thebunch in the mailbox. I dont need to remindyou, Im sure, that $20 is now a movie and alarge popcorn, since that erosion is a depress-ing part o our daily consciousness. But I cantell you that your subscription will mean a greatdealnancially and psychologicallyto the 50or so writers, photographers, editors, bookkeep-ers, distributors, stand xers, and mailers whowork or ree so that ino we think important willget out. W ill aimin fand ly n way 300 nw b! And were more than 1/6

o the way there! Please show your support andsubscribe today.Look around in the papers and popular

mags. You wont nd this issues stories anywherein the commercial media: depleted uranium,the burgeoning resistance at all levels o the mili-tary to the Iraq occupation, Venezuelas shi o

national resources to benet the majority,the stolen elections o 2000 and 2004, thegrowing numbers o experts challengingthe ocial 9-11 story. Tese are not trivialstories and their non-appearance in the

corporate media suggests the magnitude othe deception by our amed ree press.

Te job o the corporate commercialmedia has long been, as Noam Chomskyand Ed Herman proved numerically tomanuacture consent among the popu-lace to government policies.

Our job, as the independent press, isto inorm and conrm dissentand toinspire action.

Sicko bringsthe cure

One topic rom this issue has madeTe Bee (nally)Sheila Kuehls SB 840,Health Care or All Caliornians Act. Backed up bythe ery Caliornia Nurses Association, MichaelMoore spoke at the Capitol June 12, presentinghis brilliant movie, Sicko. Beore Moores appear-ance, SB 840 only rated a tiny mention at theend o long columns about the otherunwork-ablehealth care plans circulating in the legis-lature (unworkable because they dont eliminatethe chie source o the horrendous health careemergency: the or-prot health care/insuranceindustry). Even aer Moores appearance, Te Beecovered Kuehls plan only to debunk it.

It will take a huge outcry romthe people to balance out the nancial

power o the or-prot health/insur-ance/care/pharmaceutical corporations,the power to control not only out-comesbut with their inuence overthe media, the debate itsel!

Sicko is going to generate thatoutcry and will make a crucial dierencein the struggle to get the universal single payerhealth care all other industrialized nations have.

Sicko has the emotional power to movepeople to change and to make change. In his side-ways comic way, Moore ignites our moral outrageat the callous insertion o the prot motive intomoments o sickness and distress.At the sametime this anger ignites our moral imagination,our compassion or this human being struggling

painully against a large uncaring and oen evilsystem.No moment was more touching in testimony

which oen brought tears as well as laughter thanMoores lamentation o the loss o the sense owe in our high pressure cutthroat Ill get mineeconomy. Moore asks an obviously well set up

Canadian i he minded that some o his tax pay-ments went to care or poorer people: Well thatswhat we do, the man says, we take care o eachother.

What can we do to cultivate that desperatelyneeded sentiment in our own society? So thatpeople dont die on emergency room oors withjanitors mopping around them?

Goodbye, KenFinally, what or me is a sad

announcement, though or the

person himsel, its a door intoanother segment o an alreadyrich lie. One o the best o politi-cal compaeros and my cohostand coproducer or several yearson Soapbox is on his way to the

cooler climes o Oregon. And Sac-ramentos public lie will be much poorer or it.

Ken Adams is a true citizenand takes civicparticipation as a way o lie. Whether it was aCity Council hearing on a local environmentalor human rights issue, a Green Party meeting,on the set oSoapbox, orwhat or me would bethe highest civic sacrice o alla school boardmeeting, Kens insight and easy humor has sooen smoothed out the rough spots o group

dynamics and kept all eyes on the prize. Manyolks in many groups around town will ndthey have more work to do without Ken on thecommittee.

Ken takes things seriously, but hes the rst tosee the unny side, and his wisdom and receptiv-ity have been so important to our Soapbox con-versations. And our Soapbox outros have beenimmeasurably enriched by Kens large col lectiono music; whatever the evenings topic, Kenseclectic collection was certain to have an apt andenjoyable tune to round the discussion out with.

It was a true pleasure teaming up with Kenor our years oSoapbox and other endeavors.Iand his communitywill miss him more thanhe can know!

Tey took a stand!Actually many stands. They cleaned them

up and painted them, and put beautifulnew plastic in the windows. Big thanksto Brian Lambert and Dan Harrimanfor their hard work. Theyve improvedBPMs imageand circulation at thosestandsby at least 100%.

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www.bpmnews.org July / August 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER

By Susan Scott

Because People really do Matter, andbecause Hugo Chavez has been so suc-

cessul at mobilizing the excluded masseso Venezuela, and because oil is at a premium(and Venezuela is among the top ve oil regions),Venezuelans are nally able to use their 8 year oldBolivarian Revolu-tion to make somebig changes in theuse o their countrysresources. Aer yearso neoliberal policiesthat subsidized cor-porations, privatizednational resources,and eliminated socialservices, now the oilindustry, the steel

industry, and themain telecommunica-tions company are being de-privatized, and atleast SOME o the underused oreign-ownedgiant land holdings and at least SOME o the pri-vately controlled public airwaves are nally beingcommitted to public use.

Co-ops, community councils, and commu-nity radio are sprouting up all over the country.Tere is not a barrio or village in the countrythat isnt seeing the results o the redirection oresources and that isnt involved in making deci-sions on how to do it.

Venezuelas Socialism o the 21st Century isa ar cry rom the socialism o the 20th century.Capital is still king in Venezuela, aer decadeso corporate globalization have urther enriched

an entrenched ruling elite. Most o the nationalV stations and all but one o the national news-papers are controlled by that oligarchy, and theirinvolvement in the 2002 coup causes many toreer to it as the media coup.

But Chavez landslide victory in Decemberover the well-unded candidate o a united oppo-sition is speeding up the pace o change. Unortu-nately, Sacramento missed out on the recent BayArea visits o Charlie Hardy and Eva Golingerwho didnt have time to make the trip up I-80.

Charlie, an ex-priest rom Wyoming whosewonderul new bookCowboy in Caracas was justpublished by the New Press, has spent the last 22years in Caracas. His rst 8 years in the countrywere spent living in a casa de carton (cardboard)

serving as priest to a barrio on the ringes oCaracas. Derocked when he married a Venezu-elan woman, he turned his ministry to journal-ism, and is well known by North Americans whovisit Venezuela. I you want to know how lie haschanged or the better or the poor in Venezuela,read Charlies book.

Eva is a Venezuelan-American lawyer whogrew up in New York City and practiced lawthere until Hugo Chavez election inspired her toreturn to her Andean roots. Aer the 2002 coupattempt against Chavez, Eva put her legal skillsto work using the Freedom o inormation Act todig up documents regarding the US governmentsrole in the coup. Her powerul book, Te ChavezCode: Cracking US Intervention in Venezuela,was recently published in English by Te Olive

Press. Its chock ull o actual documentation ocommunications between CIA and State Depart-ment ocials showing their knowledge o and

complicity with the local coupmeisters.Lately, shes been struggling to overcome

the Bush administrations hyper-secrecy andchallenging their reusal to turn over docu-ments relating to more recent US nancial sup-port o Venezuelas anti-democratic oligarchy

through the NationalEndowment orDemocracy and theUS Agency or Inter-national Development(USAID).

On my lasttrip to Venezuela,two months beoreChavez landslide vic-tory in the Decemberpresidential elec-

tion, I observed theopposition marchesand watched the relentless V coverage o themain opposition candidate, Manual Rosales, andwondered i there was any way Chavez couldwin, despite his popularity in the polls and whatI expected to be an incredibly clean election pro-cess. Ten I attended the pro-Chavez march andrally and got real. Tere was no way the mediacould deeat this guy.

Aer the march I had dinner with Eva andCharlie and 5-6 others at a restaurant that Evasaid was a place everyone wentpro or contraChavez. I was talking with an Argentine LawProessor at the University in Caracas who joinedus to talk about his planned visit to the US. Awoman rom a table nearby apparently recog-

nized him rom his V appearance at a LatinAmerican Labor Law conerence in Cuba. Shecame over, obviously quite drunk, and startedyelling at him, calling him rst a Cuban, thenanArgentine, and nally an assassin. Ten shesaw Eva and started screaming even louder. Hertable o 10-12 people joined in. Charlie and a guyrom a neighboring table gently tried to calmthem down and one o the people rom her tablekicked the neighbor guy in the shins. Te waitersand owner were standing by, seemingly para-lyzed. I wondered i we would get out alive.

At one point, Eva turned to me and said,We call them esculidos [squalid: oul, repulsive,wretched, sordid]. Tis is what we have to dealwith. Im ashamed or our people. Ultimately the

waiters literally dragged the woman out o therestaurant and her riends ollowed, screaminginvective all the way. We learned she was a lawyerrom the Attorney Generals oce, a civil servantwho had the right to stay in her job even thoughshe despised her boss, a Chavista appointed notby Chavez, but by the National Assembly.

Te next day she reported to the police thatshe had been assaulted by Eva Golingers body-guards! Te waiters had to go to court the dayaer we le. Te charges were dropped, but thewoman apparently kept her job.

I had to wonder i Alberto Gonzales wouldallow such a virulent opponent to stay on hissta.

(Check out http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/742/1/)

Susan Scott led a tour to Venezuela for theNational Lawyers Guild.

El Pueblo y Los EsculidosChange and conict in Venezuela

There is not a barrio or

village in the country

that isnt seeing the

results o the redirection

o resources and that

isnt involved in making

decisions on how to do it.

Venezuelan-American lawyer Eva Golingerdocumented communications between CIAand State Department ocials showing their

knowledge o and complicity in the antiChavezcoup o 2002.Photo: www.vheadline.com

Charlie Hardy, The Cowboy in Caracas, holds the cardboard the poorestpeople used to use to make their houses. Now most are constructed ocement blocks.Photo: Roger Lippman

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4 Because People Matter July / August 2007 www.bpmnews.org

by Kevin Wehr

he aculty union o the Caliornia State

University system has won a huge battle inthe war against corporatization o publiceducation. Te Caliornia Faculty Association(CFA) this month ratied a new contract thatpreserves all protections rom past contracts,oers major gains in compensation and somenew benets, and increases protections or ourmost vulnerable members. Te CSU system is thelargest public education system in the world, with23,000 aculty on 23 campuses, serving nearlyhal a million students, so this historic precedentmay have ar-reaching implications.

Hw h bal wa wnAer two years o bargaining, contract nego-

tiations stalled and the aculty voted to authorizea strikethe rst ever in Caliornia public higher

education. Frenzied strike preparation ollowedas negotiations moved to non-binding neutralthird-party arbitration. Te resulting act-nd-ing report overwhelmingly supported the acultyunions position. Legislative lobbying producedpolitical pressure on Chancellor Reed, who thenacceded to most o the unions demands. As ever,the lesson is that collective action with a crediblestrike threat gets the goods!

Wha w wnTe aculty have had only one raise in 4

years, and the average aculty member is paid19% less than their public education peersnationwidethis in a state with higher thanaverage cost o living, and some o the highesthousing prices in the nation. Te new contract

brings CSU aculty closer to (but not past) thenationwide average. As Chris Witko, Proessor oGovernment said, It is a well earned but mod-est raise. It is sad that we had to ght so hardor it. Te contract also addresses the experi-

ence penalty or assistant and associate aculty.Importantly, arbitrary merit pay was rejected.

Te contract also expands the rights o lecturers,preserves the acultyearly retirement pro-gram and also agree-ments on librarian andcounselor workloads.

Speaking aboutthe very real eects othe contract, Proessoro Sociology ManuelBarajas said it willcertainly make a di-erence in helping withthe cost o living (Ivebeen living on creditsince I started working here), but more importantit has aected my amilys sense o empowerment

seeing that people working together or a aircontract can get justice.

T fTe CFAs next steps must be directed against

the corporatization o the public university. Telast decade stands as a monument to the damagethat misplaced priorities can do, and in the com-ing years o potential shrink ing budgets we mustmake every eort to protect the core o the CSU:instruction and accessibility.

Te attacks on public higher educationcome rom many sides and have undermined thepromise made by and or Caliornians with theestablishment o the CSU system 50 years agoo an accessible high quality public education.

Tis promise is undone by continual student eeincreases, which have nearly doubled in the lastour years. Te aculty must unite with studentsto oppose these new taxes on students. Tispromise is threatened by exclusive contracts with

so drink makers and athletic apparel compa-nies, by endowed proessorships rom oil com-

panies and pharmaceutical giants. Advertisershave oered to installbillboards, wall-sizedmurals, and at-screenVs all over campus.

All o this muststop: Public educationcannot run on a busi-ness model. Studentsare not clients; theyhave minds to beopened. Proessorsare not assembly-lineworkers monotonouslychurning out young

men and women with diplomas; we are research-ers, mentors, and teachers. As Pro. Barajas said,

Simply put, we cannot have quality educationunder a corporate model that narrowly reducesteaching/learning into canned instruction ormass consumption with harmul consequenc-esinerior education, low graduation rates, andan unhealthy learning/teaching environment.Privatization o the Peoples University will cor-rode the spirit o ree inquiry that is at the hearto higher education. Te CSU system must neveraccede to these attacks, and the CFA shouldstand along with students and sta to maintainan aordable, accessible, diverse and high qualitypublic higher education in Caliornia.

Kevin Wehr is assistant professor of sociol-ogy, CSUS

Collective Action Gets the Goods!Proessors win contract

It didnt come to this in the end, but the threat o a strike helped aculty win their demands.

we cannot have

quality education under

a corporate model

that narrowly reduces

teaching/learning into

canned instruction or

mass consumption.

Sacramento

ProgressiveEventsCalendar onthe Web

Labor, Peace,Environment, HumanRights, Solidarity

Send calendar itemsto Gail Ryall,gryall@cwnet.com.

www.sacleft.org

Best Burgerth b and fi a dcibd a lndayBiting into this east, therst thing you notice is thatyou can taste the bee. TeFrench Ground Steak Burgerw/cheese is the thing to order.Tat is a mouthul to say,and its denitely more thana mouthul to eat. Featuring

Harris Ranch Steak reshlyground and ormed into a1/3 lb. patty. Stop by soon.Nainwid Fz Ma1930 H Street, Sacramento(H and 20th Streets) 444-3286.Just remember H20 stands orH and 20th Street

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www.bpmnews.org July / August 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 5

CAAC Goesto the Movies

ALMoSt EVEryMoNthte Cenal Ameica

Acin Cmmieesws ineesingand infmaive

vides n scialjusice, labsuggles, and smuc me! Call see was plaingis mnWE ALSO HAVE AVIDEO LIBRARY YOUCAN CHECK OUT.1640 9 Ave (easff Land Pak D)INFo: 446-3304

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someone to update thelocal group meetings and

radio programs listed inour paper. Call Ellen at

369-5510 or details.

by Maggie Coulter

Aer marching on the Pentagon in Marchthis year, Sacramento activists Candy and Paul

Anderson tried to visit their Congress members.Unable to get an appointment, they connectedwith CODEPINK. Tis group o dedicatedwomen (and men) are always on the move inDC, says Candy Anderson. And they are theunnest people tohang out with. Ihighly recommend alobbying excursionwith them when youtravel to Washington.

One o the high-lights was lobbyingthe sel-labeled BlueDog Democrats, whopurport to be concerned about the ederal decit

(though not necessarily about the cost o the Iraqwar). CODEPINK tied pink ribbons around dogbiscuits and oered them to delighted Blue Dog-gers & sta while singing a special song to tune oTis Old Man:

Tese blue dogs theyre upset,Tey dont want a bigger debtSo CODEPINK is here to give this dog abone...Stop unding war, bring our troops home!

Aer working on the 11-week sit-in at DorisMatsuis Sacramento oce to try to get her tostop unding the war on Iraq and hearing aboutPaul and Candys Blue-Dog serenade, I decidedto check out the national scene by spending aweek at the CODEPINK House in DC. Conve-

niently located walking distance rom UnionStation and the Capitol (and thanks to a riendsrequent yer ticket), it was easy to get there.

My rst morning with CODEPINK wasspent playing Alberto Gonzales, handcued bythe Pink Police (who sang to the tune o Ivebeen working on the railroad:

We deend the constitution,Were the pink police,We deend the constitution,And we deend ree speech!Cant you hear the people shoutingIts become a roar!Cant you hear the people shoutingIts time to end this warime to end the war

ime to end the war right n - o - w )

We sat and watched Gonzales evade the Sen-ate committees questions (to the apparent delight

o his boss, GW). Sporting a Gonzales mask, mypicture was all over the internet. Te cover o theWashington Post highlighted: Te Senate Judi-ciary Committee goes CODEPINK on Gonzales.

Still in my orange jumpsuit, I made my wayto Nancy Pelosis oce, where I joined militarymom ina Richards as she and others read poi-gnant letters rom military amilies imploringPelosi to stop unding more war and to bring

the troops home now. A ewweeks earlier, Pelosi hadRichards arrested or readingthe names o the dead in heroce, but had become moretolerant since then. Richardsis one o many anti-warcitizen activists who haverelocated to Washington DCuntil the war is ended.

Tat same day, John McCain joked (?) about

bombing Iran. Tat evening CODEPINKers cameup with the now-popular Dont Bomb Iransong (check Youube). Te next day we sang itat Congressional oce buildings until a newbieCapitol police ocer threatened to arrest us. Tiswas rare, as CODEPINK is actually on very goodterms with the Capitol police. Not surprisingsince the CODEPINKers are quite entertainingand even sing We love you Capitol police tothem.

Back on the street, my next gig was to playGeorge Bush in ront o a White House-hosteddinner or the media. (Hearing about this castingdecision, my partner said that by playing Bush, Ihad hit rock bottom and should consider comingcome.) Leaving the suits at the demonstration,I rode the Metro back to my CodePink home and

I chatted with other riders, mostly young people.When I explained that I was in DC or the weekto lobby with CODEPINK, they exclaimed: Farout, we love CODEPINK.

One day, dressed in my CODEPINK shirt, Iwas having lunch with a then-depressed riendat the World Bank (a recent resignation hascheered her up considerably until she saw thereplacement). A woman came rushing acrossthe caeteria oor and said to me: Are you withCODEPINK?? Tey are so wonderul. Te Pink-ers had been at the bank recently with luggagebearing the sign: Wol, pack your bags.

CODEPINK goes non-stop, writing lyrics,coming up with skits, and planning creativeactions. On the day that the conerence com-

mittee announced their weakened version o the(already weak) supplemental to continue undingthe war on Iraq, we dressed as doctors and rushedinto the Conerees oces, announcing: We have

received an emergency call that hearts are miss-ing rom Congress! We oered a prescription orsaving lives: stand up to Bush, und only the sae,orderly and complete withdrawal o US troops byDec 31, 2007; no permanent US bases in Iraq

At least three more local activists will bepacking everything pink they own and headingto the CODEPINK house in June. Many skits,songs, shenanigans, and serious work to end thewar lies ahead or Heather Woodord, with Sac-ramento-CODEPINK, ina Wong with Mil itaryFamilies Speak Out, and Davis Peace Coalitionmember, Mikos Fabersunne.

My thanks to Davis CODEPINKer NatalieWormeli who sent me the original inormationabout the CODEPINK house, which you cannd at www.codepinkalert.org, www.dontbuy-bushswar.org. And be sure to check out CODE-PINK on Youube!

o nd out about getting involved withCODEPINK locally: 530-756-1900 or emailcodepinksacramento@yahoo.com.

Maggie Coulter is president of SacramentoArea Peace Action

Local Folks Go Pink in DCAntiwar protest in a diferent key

My rst morning

with CODEPINK was

spent playing Alberto

Gonzales, handcufed

by the Pink Police.

Place an ad or your business

or nonprot group: Business

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This may look like Attorney General Gonzalez, fttingly attired in a

Guantanamo orange jump suit, but its really Maggie Coulter acting up withCode Pink in the Senate Chambers in Washington DC.Photo Reuters

8/14/2019 2007 July Aug

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6 Because People Matter July / August 2007 www.bpmnews.org

Because Peoples Healthcare MattersWe do what we do...

Primary Care by providers who look at the wholeperson

Non-drug treatment for ADD and ADHDMDs and FNP, trained and experiencedNatural options (homeopathy, herbs, vitamins) in

treating acute and chronic illnessIscador (Mistletoe) for CancerTherapies: spirit and art for healing

Raphael HouseMultidisciplinary Complementary Medicine7953 California AvenueFair Oaks CA 95628(916) 967 8250 raphaelassociation@earthlink.net

The health care industry hasa death grip on our societybecause the insurance compa-nies put profits before patients,

which is why we as a countryspend considerably more onhealth care than other developedcountries and get back far less.In recognizing that for profitinsurance is incompatible with acaring, a moral and a high qualityhealth care system that providescoverage for all, Senator Kuehlis leading the fight to break theindustrys death grip.

Michael MooreJune 6, 2007

Police State! Police State?We dont need no stinkingPolice State

By Michael Monasky

I recently received an e-mail solicitationrom Jan Scully, Sacramento County DistrictAttorney, to participate in a Citizens Academy.It had two goals: to inorm the community about

the role o law enorcement, and to elicit inputrom the community about racial proling, thePatriot Act, three-strikes and 10-20-lie sentenc-ing laws.

Aer 5 o the 10 Academy sessions, thesupervising District Attorney expelled me orasking questions, pointing out contradictions,and challenging law enorcement dogma. I askedhow sentencing laws are air when most prison-ers are people o color. I pointed out that a recentFederal Department o Justice study revealed,

once stopped by police, people o color were 2to 3 times more likely to be searched, arrested,and/or beaten. In response, the police and DAmaintained that I disrupted the class with rudeand irrelevant interruptions.

Checks and balances against abuse by lawenorcement are weak. Police Internal Aairs,the Oce o Public Accountability, the Sheri sInspector-general, and this Citizens Academyall require background security clearance, andare immersed in police culture. Te scope o theCity o Sacramento Community Racial ProlingCommission is limited to surveying trac stops,not search, arrest, and use o orce by police. DAand Public Deender sta are underpaid and

overworked with gargantuan caseloads, prompt-ing plea bargains, not justice.

According to the Sacramento CountyDepartment o Health and Human Services, in2005 there were 475 Child Protective ServicesSocial Workers. Sacramento Police DepartmentChie Albert Najera admitted that he cannotarrest and imprison social ills. Yet there are about3,000 sworn peace ocers in Sacramento County,including Sheris, Highway Patrol, State Police,and municipal police departments. Economically,the Pentagon dominates our Federal spending.With six times as many cops as social workers,Sacramento Countys priorities are clear.

Michael Monasky works in the city of Sacra-

mento, and lives in Sacramento County.

By Monica Krauth

A

sea o red and blue ooded the State Cap-itol grounds May 8th, and noit was notto show patriotism. A couple thousand

people spanning many generations and occupa-tions gathered insupport o TeHealth Care orAll CaliorniansAct (SB840). Youwouldnt be oyour rocker i youthought you werehaving a momentodj vu.

In 2006,the Caliornia

legislature passed SB 840, a single payer healthcare system, but Governor Arnold Schwarze-negger vetoed the bill. State Senator Sheila Kuehl

(D-Santa Monica) has recentlyreintroduced it.As many as 7 million people

are uninsured in the state, andrising costs have put pressureon business and consumers.Schwarzenegger has an alterna-tive plan or xing the stateshealth care problems, requiringmost Caliornians to buy medi-cal insurance with state subsi-dies or the poorest.

Calling Schwarzeneggersplan mandatory substandardinsurance, because o its highco-pays and huge deductibles,Kuehl says SB 840, on the other

hand, ts allCaliornians verywell. Universal health caredoesnt mean some, it doesntmean most, it certainly doesntmean some o the time, it doesnot mean you gotta buy it whether you can aordit or not. Tat is not universal health care.

According to Kuehl, health care costs arehurting middle class working amilies the most.Te cost o health insurance, says Kuehl, hasincreased our times as ast as wages over the lastsix years and is bankrupting the state, is bank-rupting businesses, and sure as hell is bankrupt-ing us.

Kuehl says that plenty o money is beingspent on healthcareone out o six dollars spent

in the USbut just not to cover everyone. Mean-while costs are getting shied to patients.So how does this legislation work? SB 840

is the only proposal that establishes universal,aordable, comprehensive health insurance orall Caliornians and that guarantees the right opatients to choose their doctors. Hospitals anddoctors would remain private entities. SB 840

simply replaces insurancecompanieswhich have anancial interest in denyingas much medical care as pos-

siblewith a state-wide trustund that collects premiumspaid by employers and indi-viduals, sharing the responsi-bility or unding. It would beunder the control o a healthinsurance commissionerappointed by the governor.But to Schwarzenegger, thisplan would create a vast newbureaucracy and would betoo expensive.

Clearly he hasnt read the bill.Because according to the careully worked

out nancing aspect o the bill itsel, the planinvolves no new spending on health care. Rath-

er, the system will be paid or by ederal, stateand county money already being spent on healthcare and by aordable insurance premiums thatreplace all premiums, deductibles, out-o-pocketpayments and co-pays now paid by employersand consumers.

According to a poll conducted in Januaryby NBC News/Wall Street Journalthat surveyed1,007 adults nationwide with a margin o error oplus or minus 3%, 53% agreed that single-payerhealth care is a good idea or the entire country,

40% disagreed and 7% were unsure.To those who say single-payer will neverhappen, Kuehl says, theyre just fat out wrong.

It will become a reality because the people have

to have it, want it, and they will keep bringing it

up until they get what they want and need.

Monica Krauth is an unemployed welfaremama who interns at the Yolo County PublicDefenders investigators unit.

Calling Schwarzeneggers

plan mandatory

substandard insurance,

Kuehl says SB 840, on

the other hand, ts allCaliornians very well.

Checks and balances

against abuse by law

enorcement are weak.

Single-Payer Health CareCoverage for everyone, for everything, forever, for less

Michael Moore (above) and State Senator

Sheila Kuehl (below let) joined members o the

Caliornia Nurses Association at the state capitol

on June 12 to promote SB 840.

Photo: Dick Wood

8/14/2019 2007 July Aug

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www.bpmnews.org July / August 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 7

The 9/11 truth movement, havinglargely transcended the artificialand obsolete left-right divide, willcontinue to work for the convergenceof leftists, progressives, conservatives,greens, libertarians, and all personsof good will on the basis of a programof rejection war and dictatorship, andpromoting economic recovery. Thisis a vital contribution to the ongoingparty realignment and crisis of thepolitical system.

rom Boston ea Party or 9/11 ruth: www.boston911truth.org/teaparty/memo.html

Architects, EngineersQuestion 9/11

Te newly ormed group AE 9/11 ruthis a non-partisan association o architects,engineers, and aliates dedicated to expos-ing alsehoods and revealing truths about

the collapses o the WC North and Southtowers and WC Building 7 on 9/11. Blue-prints o the towers or research purposesare available at the web site: http://www.ae911truth.org/

Tis is the third proessional group o9/11 ruth proessionals to orm. Pilots or9/11 ruth is an organization o aviationproessionals and pilots. http://pilotsfor-911truth.org/

Scholars or 9/11 ruth (S9/11) is anassociation o aculty, students, and scholars.http://911scholars.org/

From the Sacramento for 9-11 ruthnewsletter

By Johnny Orlowskawitz

Beore you go throwing around the words, wack-os, wingbats, nutjobs and conspiracy theorists,learn a little about the people who call themselves

the 9/11 ruth and Justice Movement:1. Te 9/11 truth movement is diverse,

democratic, and non-partisan, not a ar right-wing or ar le-wing movement. Tere are Jews,Christians, Muslims, Hispanics, Whites, AricanAmericans, rich, poor, PhD proessors, collegestudents, truck drivers, teachers, lawyers, doc-tors, architects, Reverends, atheists, democrats,republicans, and independents. Tere is no typeo truther, because the truth knows neither reli-gious, ethnic, social nor ideological boundaries.

2. Te 9/11 ruth movement is not a con-spiracy movement. Te majority o peoplecriticizing the governments ocial story (theocial conspiracy theory one could call it)admit they do not know what really happened

on 9/11. However, they demand that we a llshould and moreover must know the truth aboutwhat did happen. Most agree that whatever thegovernments story, it does not hold up to chargeso at the very least, omission and distortion i notoutright lying. Te majority o people in the 9/11ruth movement have ar more questions thantheories, and almost everyone will acknowledgethat no conclusions are possible until a thorough,transparent, citizen-led investigation occurswithout the obstructionist tactics and top-secretclassications our government has become all toogood at deploying.

3. Te people in this movement are notbeyond critical thinking; they are deeply indebtedto it. Te orums on 9/11 truth have been l ledwith discussion and debate, much evidence, and

many questions. In the past years and monthsmany bad ideas and alse leads have been weededthrough. We are also clearer about what ques-tions remain and what evidence best supports thenotion that the governments story is incomplete,sel-contradictory, and oen simply alse. Tisprocess o reaching consensus has been dynamic,and is ongoing. It has been aided rather thanhindered by the attempts o many scientistsand even sel-appointed debunkers who haveoen presented compelling inormation whichwas acknowledged, digested, and incorporatedinto an ever-growing and changing body oknowledge.

4. Te people in this movement believe thatknowing the truth about 9/11 is essential to the

health and uture o our country not tangentialto it. Most agree that the bloodshed o the 21stcentury has been inaugurated on the back o 9/11and or that reason it is in no way beyond oursincere, patriotic doubt and dissent.

5. Te people in this movement hold thatit is possible or both a) George W. Bush to beclose-minded, parochial, and incompetent andb) or people within the government, besides, orin addition to Bush to have sucient resourcesand technological know-how to conduct amajor covert operation. While some believe ourgovernment was either inadvertently or directlyinvolved the 9/11 attacks, most believe that themassive cover-up surrounding these events was

ar rom successul, as evidenced by thehundreds o thousands o people ques-tioning that very story.

6. Te people in this movementpromote the understanding that State-

sponsored or condoned acts o ter-rorism, even against a countrys owncitizens, are not only plausible but havelikely happened repeatedly throughouthistory. Te Reichstag Fire in WeimarGermany, the sinking o the Maineand the Lusitania, Pearl Harbor, andthe Gul o onkin incident were allconspicuous national tragedies whichbecame platorms or launching majormilitary campaigns. Staged, allowed,or merely taken advantage othereis no doubt that 20th century historywas marked by many moments inwhich national catastrophes turned intonational battlecries. It is more than air,

in an attempt to prevent the 21st cen-tury rom bealling the same ate, to aski these have been merely coincidencesollowed by patriotic ervor or some-thing ar more sinister.

7. Te people in this movementacknowledge that much o the evidencegathered through their 9/11 truthresearch is circumstantial and specula-tive, but that this is reason to continuesearching rather than to stop askingquestions. Te War Games on 9/11, putoptions placed on United and Ameri-can Airlines, Larry Silversteins asbestosproblem, ISI unding, extremely closeinteractions between FBI ocials and namedhijackers, the apparent conusion o identities

surrounding hijackers who are still alive, BinLadens dual denial and conession, the loss(destruction) o thousands o les relating to SECinvestigations in WC7s destruction, the rapiddestruction o evidence rom the WC crimescene, the bafing inepitude o our nationalair deenses, the pools o molten metal oundbeneath the rubble, and the general improbabilityo the WC collapsesall o these and manymore are grounds or serious concern. Peoplein this movement wonder i the oense takenby others when reacting to suggestions that theGovernments story simply cannot account orthese anomalies is a sign that they are sueringrom willul ignorance, denial, or worse.

8. Te people in this movement acknowledge

that while the burden o proo is on those askingquestions, the burden o truth is on every citizen,American, and human not only in this countrybut on this planet. Tey acknowledge that neitherthe government nor the media can be relied on

to nd that truth. And they proclaim that it is theduty o every citizen to supportnot the ocials

o their government or even their own countrysarmybut the values that both their institutionsand their military were created to protect. Teyacknowledge that the lives lost on 9/11, the liveslost deending reedom and real democracythroughout history, and the lives that will nodoubt be lost while ollowing the orders o acorrupt administration in the uture, all deservenothing less than that truth.

9. Lastly, they believe that truth in duetime cannot be suppressed and that justiceindue coursecannot be contained.

Johnny Orlowskawitz is a 911 blogger.Tis article was edited from www.911blogger.com/node/8655

Place an ad or your business

or nonprot group: Business

card size ads only $40 (or

$30 i run in multiple issues).

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Active duty Marine Johnny Wave dares to stand in uniorm or 911 truth atan LA demonstration.Photographer unknown

What You Need to Know About the 9/11 ruth Movement(For the uninitiated, the unsure, and even the disgusted)

8/14/2019 2007 July Aug

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8 Because People Matter July / August 2007 www.bpmnews.org

By Dan Bacher

Agustin Aguayo, an Iraq combat veteran whoreused to load his weapon in Iraq because o hismoral opposition to the war, chose Sacramento

or his rst public appearance ollowing his release rommilitary prison in Germany.

Aguayo addressed ellow vet-erans and other war opponents onTursday, May 10 at the NewmanCenter. On the ollowing day, he helda press conerence in ront o theederal building in Sacramento wherethe historic 52-day Peace-in washeld in Representative Doris Matsuisoce earlier this year.

Aguayo rst applied or CO

status in February 2004, but while hisapplication was being processed hewas sent to Iraq as a medic.

When I rst entered themilitary, I was ready to do anything,said Aguayo. I elt that I had nevergiven to the country beore and thatmilitary service was a positive thingto do. Aer basic training, he went to a 16-week medictraining. However, early in my training I began to ques-tion the violence and elt uncomortable with some othe marching chants the military used. Soldiers wereorced to chant, Im a beast, not a human, Im going tostab between the second and third ribs and twist.

Aer deployment to Iraq, he realized that warbrings out the worst in everyone. I saw comrades, oth-

erwise wonderul people, go through a great change.One o the things that most disturbed him was his cap-tain telling medics one day, You need to tell the inantrythat when you use your weapons, you have to nish thejob. Otherwise its more work or you.

Tats the mentality that changes in people duringwar, Aguayo stated. Tat captain was a devout reli-gious man and it shows how war brings the worst out inpeople. I believe that we, as human beings, can do muchbetter than that. I saw harassment o civilians, henoted, but no specic war crimes. However, war itsel isa violation and crime.

Aguayo based his CO claim on a moral personalbelie opposing war based on his lie experience. I waslistening to my inner voice, but the army denied me COstatus based on the act that I had no religious ounda-tion, he said. I eel the military is saying that i youre

not a Mennonite or a Jehovahs Witness or other religionknown or being opposed to war that you cant havethese eelings, he said.

His 8 months in prison were initially very painul. Iwas reduced rom a soldier to a criminal or practicingmy moral belies, he said. I missed my amily a greatdeal, although my wie, Helga, came to see me oen.Aguayo had a lot o time to read and reect on his lie.I learned about mysel while in isolation, he stated.Somehow I always ound inspiration in books. I alsoreceived hundreds o letters rom supporters in the anti-war movement.

During the battle or his CO claim, Helga helpedmobilize support. Te Army denied his 2004 CO claim,and when his unit was to be sent back to Iraq in 2006,Aguayo missed the deployment and turned himsel in,

One day aer he turned himsel in, the military

brought him back to the house and said, Grab your gear,youre leaving or Iraq, said Helga. He pretended tocooperate and then was gone or 26 days beore turninghimsel in again.

He was taken to Germany tothe Mannheim Military Prison.When he went AWOL, the mili-tary thought Agustin and I were incahoots, so they wouldnt let meleave the country. Tey stopped hispaycheck. We had no money. Temilitary police searched their houseon base without a warrant and inter-rogated Helga in ront o her two12-year-old daughters.

Its been hell, and I wish itcould be over, she explained. Myhusband is now a convicted elon,he cant vote in some states, and hesbeen stripped o his veteran status.We are continuing to pursue thecase with a team o lawyers so hecan be recognized as a Conscien-

tious Objector.Te case sets a threatening precedent or other sol-

diers experiencing moral crises about killing. Te heavypunishment shows the desperation o a military acedwith resistance that increases daily among the troops inthis illegal war based on lies.

For more inormation, www.aguayo-defense.org/ or www.couragetoresist.

org/x/content/blogcategory/24/6/

Dan Bacher is a journalist, activist and satiricalsongwriter living in Sacramento.

Walkingto End the War

Iaq Wa Van mach and

Capil daw hndd f ppBy Dan Bacher

An Iraq War veteran dressed in desert atigues drewhundreds to the State Capitol starting on Memorial Dayto support his march to remember US troops killed inIraq and the utility o the war itsel.

Te Navy veteran, who preers to remain anonymousto concentrate peoples attention upon the over 3,500 USsoldiers killed in the Iraq War, and his supporters made3500 laps around the capitol. He did laps or Caliornias362 allen in three 24-hour days without a night in bed.

Te veteran carried a yellow ribbon and read thename and brie personal ino in memory o each allensoldier on every lap around the capitol. Marchers accom-

panying him, in addition, carried white strips o paperwith the names o Iraqi civilians killed to rememberthe more than 685,000 Iraqis that have perished sinceG.W. Bush invaded the country in March 2003. MaggieCoulter o Sacramento Area Peace Action said, For eacho those 3500 names o Iraqi men, women and children,there are another 200 people killed in this war that wedont have names or.

I decided to do this march to mobilize the com-munity to become more active against the war and tosend a strong signal to the Bush administration that wewont put up any longer with this war, said the veteran,a member o Iraq Veterans or Peace and Veterans orPeace. We want to show the public how many soldiershave died so ar and the need or the war to end nowbeore more people die.

Te march has been great in the sense that we have

received a lot o community involvement. I have spokenwith strangers who havent been active in any other, waybut decided to march with me, he said.

Te veteran, a ull-time coll ege student who worksand has a amily, became opposed to the war when hewas stationed as a medic in Iraq in March 2003, aerhaving been in Kuwait and Aghanistan.

One incident stands out in his mind. He and twoother soldiers were dispatched to retrieve the body o aallen solider. However, when they arrived, the Iraqis hadalready buried the solider to prevent the dogs rom eed-ing on it. We didnt bring any shovels with us and wetried to dig up the body with our handsand we oundone o his nger bones, he said. Our ocer orderedus to abandon the body. Tis was a really signicantmoment in my military career. We had a chance to get

the body back home and yet we were told to abandonour ellow soldiers body.Te civilian casualties also increased his questions

A Vets Moral Opposition to WarAgustin Aguayo pays a price

Ater deployment

to Iraq, he realized

that war brings

out the worst

in everyone. I

saw comrades,

otherwisewonderul people,

go through a great

change.

see Walk to End the War, page 9

Agustin Aguayo (rear center) welcomed in Stockton, Caliornia 5/11/07.Photo Jef Paterson, Courage to Resist

A small part o the display o ribbons carried during the Walk to End the War.

Photo: Barbara Brown

8/14/2019 2007 July Aug

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www.bpmnews.org July / August 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 9

From the vetsspeech on the lastday o the Walk to

End the WarSometimes it may eel like there is no end in

sight, that this war is an out-o-control re that con-tinues to rage on and erociously consume lives nomatter how hard we try to extinguish it. It is so easyto be discouraged when our voices are continuallyignored by the leaders we elected to represent us. Itis so easy to be discouraged when an unnecessarywar carries on into its h year and our leaderstalk not about ending it but about invading othercountries. But there is hope when a community canpull together or a common cause and voluntarilycomplete a dicult yet memorable task.

Tere is hope when our soldiers reuse to ghtdespite the consequences and generals threaten torevolt i these troop surges persist. Tere is hopewhen children willingly join the peace movementand even more hope when they comprehend themistakes our generations leaders are making. Tereis hope every time our rights are violated and everytime they attempt to obstruct our demonstrations,or we know they are getting nervous about ourgrowing numbers and it is just a matter o timebeore we become so large that change is inevi-table. Tere is hope, because we hold the majorityo Americans on our side: it is only a matter omobilizing them into active members o the peacemovement.

I urge you that when you leave here today, you

reect on those whose lives have been lost in thiswar. Tink about all the pain and suering eachindividual went through as their lie was taken romthem and the emotional anguish that his or her par-ents or children went through when they receivedthe news o their loved ones passing. And then sayto yoursel, Not one more. You have the ability tosave the lives o many people with the decisions youmake today. Never give up the ght or peace andnever stop demanding an end to this war.

Websites or military resistance:www.couragetoresist.org

www.vfp87.com

www.mfsocap.org

www.sacendwar.com

about the war. I saw Iraqi kids and teenagers badly hurt byUS weapons, he stated.

When he arrived home, he was angered when he heardreports o ellow soldiers let go rom the military or theirwar injuries who received only partial disability benets.He also was dismayed by the many soldiers that were notgetting proper treatment or post traumatic stress syndrome

rom the Veterans Administration. I met one veteran whokept having seizures aer being orced out o the militarywithout ull compensation, he reected. Yet he couldnthold down a normal job because o his disability.

Te veterans march began Memorial Day with a pressconerence attended by representatives o Veterans orPeace, Military Families Speak Out, Sacramento Area PeaceAction, and Sacramento or Democracy, Courage to Resistand Gold Star Families or Peace. Since then, hundredshave walked lapssome just passersby who were movedby the vets actionsand have staed a literature table andprovided rereshments or the walkers.

ina Wong rom Military Families Speak out empha-sized that the veterans action helped put a human ace onthe costs o war. Each soldier was a son or daughter, aather or mother, a wie or husband, she stated. Each lie

was precious and each allen soldier was loved by someone.We continue to proclaim that the best way to support thetroops is by withdrawing unds or this war and unding thecare needed or them when they come home.

Zohreh Whittaker, whose son is currently deployedin Iraq, added, Te US has killed hundreds o thousandso Iraqis and destroyed Iraqs inrastructure. It is time topull our troops out o Iraq and to pay the cost o rebuildingIraq.

Tree marchers rom a Nationwide March or Peace,Ashley Casales, Michael Israel and Susan Liu, also walkedlaps around the capitol on Memorial Day in support o theveteran. Tey had began their march to Washington DC inSan Francisco the week beore.

Members o Sacramentos Iraq American communityalso demonstrated their solidarity with the veterans desireto make the war real to the American people and politi-

cians. I hope that he will get the attention o the public aswell as the media, said Ayad Al-Qazzaz, sociology proes-sor at Sacramento State. Hopeully, Democrats who votedto und George Bushs war will soon get the point, since alot o them arent getting the point now. US orces createdthe problem and encouraged the sectarian tendencies nowaring up. By removing US occupying orces, you removethe most important cause o Iraqs current problem.

Pat Sheehan, the ather o Casey Sheehan and ormerhusband o peace mom Cindy Sheehan, spent many hourswalking with the veteran. oday is Caseys birthday, saidSheehan, on May 29. He is 28 years old todayhis spiritlives on. I walked with the veteran or my son and all o theother soldiers that have died in this war.

He added, the veteran made a dierence beore hestarted walking when he made a conscious decision to not

disclose his own identity. By doing this, he is shining thelight on the al len in Iraq.

Walk to End the War, from page 8

Above: This basket held the names o Iraqi civilianskilled in the war.Photo: Dan Bacher.

The anonymous Iraq Veteran,shown here beore walking hisfrst lap, fnished his historicmarch around the State Capitolon Thursday, June 7.Photo: Dan Bacher

Above: Local members o Veterans or Peace, including George Main (onright) walk with the veteran on his frst series o laps around the capitol.Photo: Dan Bacher

Right: A group gathers around the State Seal to read names o American soldiersand Iraqis who have been killed.Photo: Barbara Brown

Above:

8/14/2019 2007 July Aug

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10 Because People Matter July / August 2007 www.bpmnews.org

Book Review

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Where would you like tosee BPM?Let Paulette Cuilla know,422-1787.

by Jenn WalkerImages o exploding cars, suicide bomb-

ers detonating themselves in marketplaces andon street corners, and death tolls hover on Vsand ront pages o newspapers, and the Westernworld in turn lumps yet another region, theMiddle East, with other socially agitated placesaround the world as just another bloodymay-hem. Its one more exotic place to cross o o thevacation list.

However, this picture is very oreign toAmerican writer John Paul Jones, who wroteI Olaya Street Could alk: Saudi Arabia: TeHeartland o Oil & Islam, a rsthand account ohis positive experiences living as a Saudi Arabianresident over a span o 25 years.

His title originated rom James Baldwins IBeale Street Could alk; Jones book is instead

named aer Olaya Street, the street he lived onwhen he rst arrived in Saudi Arabias capital,Riyadh, as a young man in 1978.

Little did he know that he would spend aquarter o a century as a Western expatriate ina country he initially intended to stay in onlyor a two-year contract working in health careadministration.

Yet, early in the book, Jones enchantmentwith his new surroundings and riends growsobvious, and shortly thereaer he nds himselmarried and happily raising a amily in SaudiArabia. Jones vivid storytelling unveils it as a

beautiul, vast country untouched by tourism.Saudi Arabia is one o the very ew places on

earth where you can really run ree and clearparadoxically in a country that one does notimmediately associate with the wordreedom.

Jones repeatedly analyzes Western stereo-types o Saudis and the Middle East, oen dis-proving them with his own personal experiences.

Over the time he was employed there, Jonessaw the hospitals administration replaced onmany occasions. Contrary to stereotype, Jonesarticulates that when the Saudi Ministry oInterior took charge o the hospital, they didnot impose their religious expectations or lie-styles upon the non-Muslim Western majorityemployed there. Nor did the ocials conductsearches or alcohol, Bibles, and uncensoredime magazines in the housing units, as some

o the Western hospital workers inaccuratelypredicted.It was the Saudis who were respectul

o ones private dwelling, treated the hospitalemployees with a undamental respect, and madeallowances or ones liestyle i one exhibiteddiscretion in public and reciprocated the respect,Jones writes.

Shortly aer the televised broadcasts o air-planes colliding into the Pentagon and the Worldrade Center towers on September 11, 2001,US news sources reported thousands o revelersin the West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon publicly

rejoicing in the streets with gunshots and cheers.Less than a year later, Jones stumbles upon

NY imes columnist Tomas Friedman at aparty at the US Embassy-Riyadh. Tey engagein a discussion regarding September 11 and itsaermath, including how numerous Saudis hadoered their condolences and how the Saudihospital administration took action to dispel anycelebration o the attacks within the hospital.Jones later ound that Friedman sourced Jones asa US hospital worker who was appalled to see

Saudi doctors and nurses around him celebratingon 9/11.Suddenly, Jones ound himsel involuntarily

manipulated to contribute to yet another mediaexploitation o the Middle East.

Jones book shows that there is much more toSaudi Arabia than what the NY imes oers.

I Olaya Street Could alk is a recommendedread or those interested in gaining a realisticperception o the country, its people, and its his-tory. Tis is a book that can help to make Ameri-cans more insightul instead o ignorant, andmore aware instead o araid.

wo years ago in June, Col. ed Westhusingput a bullet in his brain in his trailer atan Army camp in Baghdad, the highest-

ranking US ocer to die in the Iraq war at thetime. Asked what kil led the West Point ethicist,his widow replied Iraq.

Westhusing, 44, had been deeply troubledby abuses carried out by US contractors in Iraq,including allegations that they had witnessed oreven participated in the murder o Iraqis.

In a suicide note addressed to and harshlycritical o his commanders, Maj. Gen. JosephFil and Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, Westhusingwrote: I cannot support a mission that leads to

corruption, human right abuses and liars. I amsulliedno more.Te letter ends: I didnt volunteer to support

corrupt, money grubbing contractors, nor workor commanders only interested in themselves. Icame to serve honorably and eel dishonored. Itrust no Iraqi. I cannot live this way. All my loveto my amily, my wie and my precious children.I love you and trust you only. Death beore beingdishonored any more.

rust is essentialI dont know whotrust anymore. Why serve when you cannotaccomplish the mission, when you no longer

believe in the cause, when your every eortand breath to succeed meets with lies, lack osupport, and selshness? No more. Reevaluateyourselves,commanders. You are not what youthink you are and I know it.

From an item at www.editorandpub-lisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.

jsp?vnu_content_id=100594048.

If Olaya Street Could Talk: Saudi Arabia: The Heartland of Oil & Islam , by JohnPaul Jones. (New Mexico: Taza Press, 2007)

Jones book shows that

there is much more to

Saudi Arabia than what

the NY Times ofers.

Disillusion unto death

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www.bpmnews.org July / August 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 11

Media ClippedSeth Sandronsky

Time Tested Booksis now buying

Political posters, handbills & pamphlets

Books on history, labor, & politcs

Records of blues, jazz, rock, punk, world, R&B, & spoken word.

And, of course, we are selling books & records, too!

We are located at 1114 21st Street, Sacramento.

Our hours are 11 5:30 M-Sat. (but please call for appt. if selling).

916-447-5696.

www.timetestedbooks.com

by Ellen Broms

Alice Rothchild, a practicing OB-GYN,Assistant Proessor o Obstetrics, Gynecologyand Reproductive Biologyat Harvard Medical School,and president o the AllianceBoard to Deend Health Care,has since 1997 written andlectured on womens health

care and the Israel/Palestineconict. Broken Promises,Broken Dreams is a rivetingpersonal account rom theterrain o that conict. Espe-cially helpul or novices onMiddle East issues is the glossary, timeline, map,and notes.

Rothchilds interest in understanding theIsraeli/Palestinian conict and its relationship toUS oreign policy and American Jewry evolvedover the past ten years. She co-ounded and co-chairs Visions or Peace with Justice in Israel/Pal-estine, now called Jewish Voice or Peace, Boston.Tis book grew out o a journal Rothchild keptduring our health and human rights delegationsto Israel and the Occupied erritories in 2004

and 2005. Te Jewish Voice or Peace Health andHuman Rights Project will be leading anotherdelegation in the all.

Te conict is given a human dimension bythe stories o health care providers and othersin Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Dr. Izzeldin

Abuelaish, a Palestinian doc-tor is described as a believerin health care as a bridgein times o conict and thedoctor as a messenger orpeace. She includes reports

o the lack o medical accessdue to check points. Limitson movement results in pre-cious hours wasted in transitto medical acilities by bothdoctors and patients. A Pal-

estinian colleague tells Rothchild o a pregnantwoman in labor in the West Bank denied passageat a checkpoint who delivered premature twins.Tey died shortly thereaer.

Rothchild also shares the voices o Israelis,including Dr. Ruchama Marton, a psychiatrist,and Gila Svirsky, an activist who went rom alie as an Orthodox Jew to working or socialjustice and peace in Israel. Marton has written onthe psychological impact o the second intiada(Palestinian uprising) on Israeli society : We

see ourselves as victims, even though we are ora very long time, not victims anymore. Its veryuseul, Im araid, because being a victim gives

you a lot o license to do awulthings and still you are right,at least in your own eyes. GilaSvirsky is active in the Coali-tion o Women or Peace andBselem where she ocusedon documenting human rightsviolations in the Occupiederritories while working inan organization dedicated tochanging Israeli governmentalpolicy.

Te last chapter o the book

is aptly titled Te Implications

o Knowing: Complicity and Dissent, Rothchild

eels that [i]t is important to look at the envi-ronment in which we as Jews and US citizensattempt to have this troubled conversation.Despite all the emotional anguish, it is imperativeto explore the marketing o pro-Israel messages,the challenges o having a critical dialogue in thisenvironment, and the social and political conse-quences and possibilities as we look towards theuture.

Te Sacramento Chapter o JVP and Physi-cians or Social Responsibility will sponsor a talkby Alice Rothchild in the Sacramento region inearly December.

Ellen Broms is a peace activist and JVP

member.

Radio talk show host Don Imus verbal misogynyand bigotry against the women basketball playerso Rutgers University, call ing them nappy-head-

ed hos this April 4, distracts some black adultsin the US rom the gangster culture o AricanAmerican youth. So writes Jason Whitlock. He isa columnist with the Kansas City Star.

Whitlock scolds readers away rom Imushate speech. Tus, Whitlock blasts black leaderssuch as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson or ocus-ing on Imus trash talk and avoiding the realmenace to society. We have allowed our youthsto buy into a culture (hip hop) that has beenperverted, corrupted and overtaken by prisonculture, Whitlock writes.

Note the use o the passive voice. Tere is noactive agent that imprisons black people. Appar-ently, the process o being locked down requiresno urther explanation than this.

Let us take a step back rom the Imus aairto look at some simple acts. Between 1980 and2005, the number o US prisoners quadrupledrom 502,000 to just over 2 million.

Consider incarceration data rom theInternational Centre or Prison Studies at KingsCollege, London or 2003-4. Te US rate oincarceration per 100,000 people is 726 prisoners.Compare that rate o incarceration per 100,000people with other nations: New Zealand, 166;United Kingdom, 145, Spain, 142; Portugal, 124;

Netherlands, 123; Australia, 121; Canada, 116;Austria, 106; Italy, 97; Germany, 96; France, 91;Belgium, 88; Ireland, 85; Greece, 82; Sweden,

81; Denmark, 70; Finland, 66, Norway, 65; andJapan, 60.

No other nation in the world imprisons asmany people as the US. Te American govern-ment, ederal, state and local,is simply o the charts whenit comes to incarcerating itspopulace.

Why? Asking the ques-tion is an important step tounderstanding the role thatthe prison system plays in theUS o locking up people who are the last hiredand the rst red.

ake blacks, who are 12 percent o the USpopulation and hal o the nations prisoners.

What is it in American li e since 1980 thataccounts or this eature o mass incarceration?Te political silence on this question reveals itsimportance.

Meanwhile, Whitlock aults the culturalshortcomings o some black youth who likehip-hop. Presumably, too many black adultschoose ight instead o ght against this harmulculture.

Speaking o choice, working or wages isa central part o daily lie in a modern society.

Without enough income rom employment onegoes hungry, and lives on the sidewalk or at theriver. Tis is the ree market in action. One is

ree to nd employment, or not.Recently, I read this data about the US. Te

unemployment rate or Arican Americans is onaverage approximately twice as high as the overall

unemployment rate, and theunemployment rate or Ari-can American teens averagesapproximately six times theoverall unemployment rateor workers with a collegedegree, writes economistDean Baker in Te United

States Since 1980 (Cambridge University Press,2007).

Are these trends o imprisonment and unem-ployment signs o a personal ailure? Or are there

other reasons? Whitlock does not ask such ques-tions. o do so would shine some light on thepolicy priorities o the US government, ederal,state and local. Readers might wait a while orWhitlock to go there.

In the meantime, the ederal jobless rate doesnot count those behind bars, only people whohave been looking or work and are in the labororce now. So the rate o imprisonment could goup and the unemployment rate could go down.

Seth Sandronsky is a BPM co-editor.

Book Review

Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and PalestinianTrauma and Resilience by Alice Rothchild (Pluto Press, 2007)

Whitlock scolds

readers away

rom Imus hate

speech.

Don Imus and Jason Whitlock

We see ourselves

as victims, even

though we are

or a very longtime, not victims

anymore.

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The arm stand will op-erate EVERY TUESDAYEVENING rom 47pmrom July 10 throughOctober. We hope youwill come join the un.There will be produce,arts & crats, and com-munity building.

A project o the non-proft Alchemist Com-munity DevelopmentCorporation. Want tovolunteer or learn more?email armstand@alche-mistcdc.org.

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12 Because People Matter July / August 2007 www.bpmnews.org

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On May 24, Congress handed President Bushanother blank check to continue the war on Iraq,

in direct contradiction to the expressed desire othe American people, who want the US war onIraq ended.

Although rep-resentatives DorisMatsui (Sacramento)and Mike Tompson(Davis / Woodland),voted against theMay 24 blank check,they had previouslyvoted or two earlierwar supplementalunding versionsthat would have con-tinued the war until

at least all 2008 andwould have le anunspecied numbero troops in Iraqindenitely.

Matsui and Tompson also joined most otheir ellow representatives May 17 in ailing tochallenge the war by passing HR 1585, the FiscalYear 2008 Deense Authorization Act. Tis Actprovides the legal authorization and recom-mended unding levels or the continuation obaseline programs o the Deense Department,including the wars on Iraq and Aghanistan. HR1585 includes Bushs request or another $142

billion or these wars. It also contains munitionsand equipment which would not be delivered to

Iraq until at least 2009, a harbinger o an unend-ing war and occupation. As o this writing, theSenate has not taken action on HR 1585. Senator

Carl Levin has said thathe will introduce anamendment to requirethat withdrawal o troopsbegin within 120 days othe passage o the autho-rization bill.

At this juncture, it iscritical that both Matsuiand Tompson committo voting against ANYmore unding, otherthan to bring ALL the

troops home. I theyare in act serious aboutending the war, and notjust engaging in political

game playing, then they must say NOW that theywill vote against the FY 2008 war appropriationsbill. Te vote on this unding may come up inJuly, beore Congress recesses or the month oAugust, or it may be in September, beore 2008Fiscal Year starts on October 1.

Te Bush administration is clear about want-ing a semi-colonial Iraq, as recently evidenced bythe open discussion o a South Korea-style occu-pation o Iraq and continued US attempts to orce

Iraq to pass an oil law that would give US cor-porations control and huge prots (disguised as

one o the benchmarks). Unortunately, too manyin Congress have this same agenda. Not one othe convoluted supplemental versions, promotedby the Democratic leadership and supported byMatsui and Tompson, would have ended theoccupation or brought the troops home.

Why didnt Congress just use its Consti-tutional powers to reuse to und more war?Perhaps because too many in Congress are theservants o weapons sellers, oil companies, andthe pro-war Israeli lobby.

But even i Congress members seek to servecorporate masters, we the people still have a LOo power, and we need to use it. ParaphrasingCindy Sheehan when asked about singing to thechoir, i all the choir were singing, we would not

be in this war.Every week, call and conront Congress(202-224-3121): ask what they are doing to reallyend this war and occupation by bringing ALL oour troops home now and restoring Iraq to itspeople. ell them you want US veterans to get allthe benets they need and you want the US topay or the damage it has done to Iraq. Get yourriends and amily to call. Go to demonstrations.alk to everyone you meet about the war on Iraq.Educate yoursel about the history o US oreignpolicy, about who prots rom war. Tink o newways to put pressure on Congress: we can and wemust make them end this war.

Not one o the

convoluted supplemental

versions, promoted

by the Democratic

leadership and supported

by Matsui and Thompson,

would have ended the

occupation or brought

the troops home.

By Brigitte Jaensch

Te international community stands by silentlyas Somalia is under attack. Attacked by cruisemissiles launched rom US warships patrollingthe east Arican coast. So ar civilians and notmilitants or terrorists have been hit. Attackedby Ethiopian soldiers who invaded Somalia inDecember 2006, encouraged and blessed by theUS. Attacked by Arican Union peacekeeperswho too oen menace the Somali people, teardown their makeshi businesses and destroy

their homes.Hundred o thousands ed Mogadishu eventhough there was no reuge or them outside thecity. Tus many o these men, women and chil-dren have had to return to the capital city eventhough the situation there gets ever worse.

For almost two decades, Somalis have beensubjected to violence as competing warlord clansought or supremacy. In 2004, a transitionalgovernment consisting o some o these warlordswas cobbled together at a meeting in Kenya. Aertwo years o trying to establish itsel, Mogadi-shu still remained o limits to the government,which was sidelined in a town called Baidoa. In2006, business interests urged the Islamic CourtsUnion, a loose conederation o Islamic entities,to try to bring some stability to the country. And

they succeeded without resorting to orce andSomalis hoped normalcy was nally returning toSomalia.

Te US government, phobic about anythingIslamic, pro-transitional government, anddismissive about the on-going territorial disputebetween predominately Christian Ethiopiaand Muslim Somalia, encouraged Ethiopia toinvade Somalia to buttress the transitionalgovernment.

Tis neighboring-country-intercession isin direct violation o a UN resolution. Sendingweapons to Somalia violates a UN arms embargo.Ethiopias march into Somalia was not onlypatently illegal, it was rightening, and inuri-ated the Somali people. And it has essentially

torpedoed any chance or the transition govern-

Congress: What part o End the War Now dont you Understand?

Somalia: Africas Iraq?Worse than Darurmentthis puppet o Ethiopia and the UStoever gain the condence o the people.

Te stability broughtby the Islamic CourtsUnion was quicklyundone and the resultantchaos and humanitariancrisis has been describedas worse than Darurby newly-appointed UNUndersecretary-Generalor Humanitarian Aairsand Emergency Relie Coordinator, John Holmes.

Te US has long supplied weapons to oppos-ing warlords in Somalia, playing them o againstone another. More recently, the US has a lso sentin small groups o Special Operations soldiers(called A-teams) and mercenaries, politelytermed private security contractors (e.g, Vir-ginia-based Select Armor and Florida-based ASWorldwide).

What is happening in Somaliaa newly

oil-rich countryis a oretaste o what will berepeated elsewhere in Arica, a continent rich notonly in oil and natural gas, but all variety o otherresourcese.g., gold, diamonds, cobalt, uranium

and tantalum (knownas coltan) which amongother uses maintains theelectrical charge in com-puter chips.

With more than 730military bases world-wide and a militarypresence in more than140 countries (out o

+/- 200 countries worldwide), the US is adding

AFRICOM to its existing commandsCEN-COM, EUCOM, PACOM. Likely to be basedin Djibouti, AFRICOM will not only enable USmilitary control o Arica, but also the Red Sea,the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, Saudi Arabia,Egypt.

Brigitte Jaensch is a human rights and civilrights advocate.

The US government,

phobic about anything

Islamicencouraged

Ethiopia to invade

Somalia.

8/14/2019 2007 July Aug

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www.bpmnews.org July / August 2007 BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER 1

Peace Actionon the WebKeep up to dateon peace activismin Sacramento.Check outwww.sacpeace.org.

CapitolOutreach for a

Moratoriumon the

Death Penalty.

Third Mondays,11:30am to 1:30pm.

L Street at 11th.

We bring petitions,literature and banners.

You bring yourselves.

Cae nearby or coeeater the vigil.

INFO: 447-7754

By Judith Poxon

O

ne o the latest threats to locally pro-duced independent media is the moveby the Copyright Review Board (CRB)

to increase royalties paid by operators o Internetradio stations to pro-hibitive levels. Acting inMarch, the CRB decidedto scrap the existing eestructure, based on a rea-sonable annual ee plusa percentage o prots,in avor o a at ee oreach song on a per-user basis, with a minimumee o $500 per station per year. Even more trou-bling are the acts that the proposed new rate isscheduled to double over the next ve years, andthe new ees would be charged retroactively tothe beginning o 2006, resulting in large one-timeassessments. Clearly, while the old, prot-based

ee structure made it possible or small indepen-dent webcasters to survive on essentially no rev-enue, the new structure will charge the same rateto all webcasters, whether or not they operate ata prot, meaning that many small webcasters willbe put out o business.

In making this change, whic