Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 05.22.06

[David Shove (shove001]

            P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R    05.22.06

1. White privilege   5.22 11:30am/7pm
2. MetroIBA/health   5.22 6:30pm
3. Central transit   5.22 6:30pm
4. Labor stories     5.22 7pm
5. Immigration       5.22 7pm
6. Resistence/films  5.22 7pm

7. IRV vote/Mpls CC  5.23 9:30am
8. Cam/meet/greet    5.23 9:30am
9. Hakeem campaign   5.23 9:30am
10. Cavlan/KFAI      5.23 11am
11. Women vets forum 5.23 4pm
12. Retirement/CTV   5.23 5pm
13. Minds pried open 5.23 6:30pm
14. Women/HarlemRen  5.23 7pm
15. Crime/safety/Cam 5.23 7pm

16. Justin Raimondo - War prelude: House passes 'Iran Freedom Support Act'
17. JewishVoicePeace - Thank Rep Betty McCollum for standing up to AIPAC
18. Mike Whitney     - Viva Chavez
19. ed               - There once was a fake President George (poem)

--------1 of 19--------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: White privilege 5.22 11:30am/7pm

Invitation to Meet Peggy McIntosh, author of White Privilege: Unpacking
the Invisible Knapsack.  Join us for two exciting opportunities to meet
Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D. on Monday, May 22 at the College of St. Catherine s
St. Paul campus.

1. Luncheon: St. Catherine Forum On Women In Leadership
Leadership in a Multicultural World: Finding Our Development Through the
Development of Others: 11:30am-1pm.

2. Evening Lecture at The O Shaughnessy: Rethinking Diversity: Five Ways
of Looking at the World: 7-8pm.

For more information on Peggy McIntosh s visit, contact Jennifer Foth
Leadership Institute s webpage at: http://www.stkate.edu/leadership.
Location: College of Saint Catherine, St. Paul, MN


--------2 of 19--------

From: <merritt [at] metroiba.com>
Subject: MetroIBA/health 5.22 6:30pm

Dear Metro Independent Business Alliance Friends,

Please come and bring a friend(s) to our next event.  It's a great topic
and a chance to mingle and hear updates on MetroIBA...

Escalating health care costs are a key concern for businesses, and small,
independent businesses feel this pressure acutely. What can be done to fix
our broken health care system and ensure that small business people and
their employees have access to good, affordable health care? Come hear
what the high paid health insurance lobbyists aren't telling you or your
legislator. These are solutions that might interest you.

"Healing Our Broken Health Care System"

Introductory Speaker: John Kolstad, Mill City Music and MetroIBA Board member
John Kolstad will share what he has learned in 12 years researching
this topic as a small business person.
"Papa John" is active in local civic and political efforts, and a
recognized musician.

Key Speaker: Kip Sullivan, MN Universal Health Care Coalition
Kip Sullivan is nationally known and highly respected in health care research
circles.  He has published over 100 articles and written 2 books.

Monday, May 22
6:30-8:30pm
Mill City Cafe, 2205 California Street NE, Northeast Mpls.
(In the California Bldg between University Ave and Marshall.)
Plentiful parking.
Cash bar for beer, wine and snacks.

For more information, visit www.metroiba.org, write info [at] metroiba.org,
or call the Metro Independent Business Alliance at 651.399.9847

info [at] metroiba.org www.metroiba.org

--
From: Tom Taylor <tom [at] organicconsumers.org>

The Metro Independent Business Alliance (MetroIBA)is having a get
togeather on Monday May 22nd at Nill City Cafe in Lovely Lower NE MPLS.

This is a great opportunity for all you small business types (and YES,
this includes you arty types too!) to get togeather and learn what you can
do to help tip the scales your way - can you csay afordable heatlth care?

---
From: John Kolstad <jkolstad [at] millcitymusic.com>

MetroIBA is an organization exclusively for small business.  We are to
small business what the Chamber of Commerce is for Big Business. We have a
number of focus areas;  Educating consumers on the value of shopping
local, giving small inde business a real voice at the Legislature and
lobbying on small business issues, Marketing its member businesses, and
Networking & Group purchasing goods and services.

In order to accomplish these goals we need members to give us political
clout and money to pay for running a good, effective organization.  Thus
we urge small business people to come to our general meeting Monday, May
22, and find out about our organization and hopefully join us.

The first half hour of the meeting (6:30 to 7:00)  is a time for new or
potential members to find out about the organization or to just socialize.
We will have current members there to meet one on one with new people to
greet them and answer questions.

One of the other purposes of the organization is to present topics and
information that business will probably never see or hear in the media,
including the Strib and the St Paul Pioneer Press.

Example, this Monday May 22, after the meet and greet, we will have a
presentation on health care.  What will be unique is that we will be
presenting how this problem can actually be solved.  At shortly after 7 PM
I will do a short presentation regarding what I have found out in my 12
years researching this as a business person who pays for health care.
After examining research reports, talking to experts of many kinds and
studying the solutions of the entire industrialized world, it is crystal
clear to me that there is a solution that will give us (1) Better
outcomes, (2) Choice of Doctor and Hospital (3) Every one is covered (4)
The Burden of health care is lifted from the backs of business (5)  And we
collectively actually save considerable amounts of money.

My point will not be to ask people to believe me, instead I will urge that
each individual look at what I have looked at and draw their own
conclusions.  They can begin their inquiry with the speaker who will
follow me.

The public is snow jobbed by the media, drug and the insurance industry
regarding health care.  There certainly are many complexities to the
issue.  However, I think for the public and small business the issue can
be very simple;  There is a Solution, It will cover everyone, Choice of
Doc and Hospital, and it will Save us Money!  And we can have it if we
demand it.

Then our Featured Speaker:  Kip Sullivan is a recognized expert in the
health care field.  He has had about 100 articles published in many highly
regarded publications, and has authored several books.  Not only is the
topic current and relevant, Mr Sullivan is also an excellent presenter and
of course a little humor along the way.

Mr Sullivan will present and outline of the three main proposed solutions
to the health care crises, and show why two of these (supported by the
insurance industry) will not solve the problem and why.  Then he will show
how the problem can be solved.  However, the solution will require that we
in small business demand that our elected officials start to work for the
public good and not allow the insurance industry to run the legislature.

I have known Mr Sullivan for 11 years and have worked with him intensely
during the last four.  I can tell you that Mr Sullivan will not present
any information that he can not thoroughly document either by highly
credible studies or the actual experience of the rest of the
industrialized world.

This will be a fascinating program and I guarantee there will be a lively
Question and Answer Period afterward. Once again, this is a discussion you
will not see in the main stream media.  The insurance industry has too
much power.  This will be a powerful tool for small business people and a
fascinating evening.

No only can small business find out about solving the health care mess,
but they can also become part of an organization that is devoted
exclusively to small business.

John Kolstad / President, Mill City Music- Mpls

--
Kip Sullivan's new book, The Health Care Mess, available at this meeting
From: Kip Sullivan <kiprs [at] usinternet.com>

The quickest way to decribe my book, The Health Care Mess, is to say that
I wrote it for people who want to understand the health care reform
debate. In the course of explaining the debate, I explain why a
single-payer system (or a Medicare-for-all system) is the only solution to
the crisis.

I've pasted in a longer description of my book from the back cover. You
can find this description, along with the opening pages of the book, at
authorhouse.com.

I'll have copies with me at the MIBA event.

==
The rapid deterioration of the American health care system, and the debate
about what to do about it, is generating a maelstrom of news stories,
magazine articles, and books. But the average person finds it difficult to
make sense of this blizzard of information. Because the health care system
is large and complex, and because the symptoms of its decline are
numerous, comprehensive reports about the health care crisis are extremely
rare. Comprehensive reports in everyday language are nonexistent.

The Health Care Mess was written to fill that void. It assumes the reader
knows nothing about health policy. As Kip Sullivan puts it, The Health
Care Mess is the book he wishes someone had given to him in 1986 when he,
a community organizer, jumped into the cold, choppy waters of the health
care reform debate. At that time, he had no training in health policy. But
in the course of studying the health care system and explaining its
problems to thousands of people, he discovered that health policy is not
only accessible but fascinating.

The book resembles a textbook in that it treats a complex subject
comprehensively, and it is meticulously documented. But it doesn't read
like a textbook. The author speaks in an informal, conversational style,
he makes minimal use of jargon, and explains what jargon he has to use.
And he is not coy about expressing his opinions. He believes the health
care reform debate has been unduly influenced by big corporations,
especially those in the insurance and drug industries. He concludes that
the health care crisis will be solved only when America adopts a
"Medicare-for-all" system, a system in which universal coverage is
implemented by expanding a reformed Medicare program to all Americans.


--------3 of 19--------

From: Gena Berglund <genab61 [at] mindspring.com>
Subject: Central transit 5.22 6:30pm

The Central Corridor Coordinating Committee has added a fourth public
hearing on the draft environmental impact statement for the Central
Corridor transit project linking downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis. A
45-day public comment period on the DEIS ends June 5. At the conclusion of
the commentary period, the CCCC will recommend a locally preferred
alternative ­- light rail, enhanced bus service or status quo - to the
Metropolitan Council.

 Public hearings will be held:

    * Monday, May 22, 6:30 p.m., Radisson Metrodome, 615  Washington
      Ave. SE, Minneapolis. An open house for questions and answers will
      precede the hearing from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
    * *NEW* Tuesday, May 23, 5:00 p.m., Lao Family Community of
      Minnesota, 320 W. University Ave., St. Paul. An open house for
      questions and answers will precede the hearing from 4 to 5 p.m.
    * Wednesday, May 24, 8 a.m., Minnesota History Center, 345 W.
      Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. An open house for questions and answers
      will precede the hearing at 7:30 a.m.
    * Wednesday, May 24, 6:30 p.m., Central High School,  275 N.
      Lexington Pkwy., St. Paul. An open house for questions and answers
      will precede the hearing from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Written comments may also be made to the Ramsey County Regional Railroad
Authority during the 45-day public comment period. Written comments on the
Draft EIS should be addressed to:

Stephen L. Morris, Project Manager Suite 665, RCGC-West, 50 W. Kellogg
Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102 email: deiscomments [at] co.ramsey.mn.us.

Request for copies of the Draft EIS may be made to the same address.
Copies of the Draft EIS may also be viewed at the above address or at
libraries along the corridor.

Additional information on the project can be obtained on the project
website at www.centralcorridor.org <http://www.centralcorridor.org/>.

Citizens may also sign up for regular email updates on the project at the
Regional Rail Authority Web site:  www.co.ramsey.mn.us/rail/


--------4 of 19--------

From: Carol Walsh <bycarolwalsh [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Labor stories 5.22 7pm

The Untold Stories series concludes with an evening in celebration of
stone workers in Minnesota and around the world on Monday, May 22 at 7pm
at the Saint Paul Labor Centre, 411 Mahoney (aka Main) Street, Saint Paul.

Historian Dave Riehle talks about the decade-long struggle by Minnesota
unions with Cass Gilbert and the Capitol Commission over the construction
of the State Capitol building, and Randy Croce presents "A Terrible Price
for Beauty," a short documentary film on silicosis in the stone workers of
Barre, Vermont.  In addition, representatives from "Minnesota Rocks!" talk
about the international stone carving symposium.  For more information on
"Minnesota Rocks!," visit www.minnesotarocks.org.


--------5 of 19--------

From: "[iso-8859-1] katherine" <katherine [at] deltove.com>
Subject: Immigration 5.22 7pm

IMMIGRATION AND US/MEXICO BORDER ISSUES
Ciudad Juarez and El Paso are twin cities, a single community in many
respects - divided by an international border. With over 2,000,000 people
sharing the same valley, this is the largest community on any
international border in the world. It is a unique border reality, the only
place in the world where the so-called first world and third world meet.

Hear about issues facing people in this region, including poverty and the
push and pull of migration. A group from St. John Neumann Catholic Church
will share what they heard and saw on a recent trip to the area, and
immigration attorney Rose Grengs will share basics on immigration issues.

May 22 at 7pm
ST JOHN NEUMANN CATHOLIC CHURCH 4030 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan, MN
For additional information contact Bridget at (651) 688-8359 or Katherine
at 952-432-3654.


--------6 of 19--------

From: wamm <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Resistence/films 5.22 7pm

Through Their Own Eyes: New Films of Resistance Shot of the People, by the
People: Ambazonia, Palestine and the Indigenous Americas.

Monday, May 22, 7pm. Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis.
Presented by: Sin Fronteras Video Productions. FFI: Call 612-226-9607.

Ambazonia: On April 27, 2005, students of the University of Buea in
Ambazonia went on strike to protest a 100% increase in tuition and a
12-year ban on the constitution of a student union. The incidents that
ensued epitomize the struggle for social justice in Africa. By May, 27
2005, the police had shot dead three students, beaten one to death and
injured dozens. By the end, the students' persistence and international
solidarity forced the Cameroon government to sign an agreement accepting
all the demands of the students. Unfortunately, the government has refused
to fully follow through, but rather is persecuting the students' leaders.
They have further refused to bring those who shot the students to justice.

Palestine: The Balata Film Collective was initiated to enable young
Palestinians from Balata Refugee Camp to break their isolation, challenge
their oppression and represent their lives to the world. Three members of
the Balata Film Collective, Ruby Said, Mohammed Farraj Al-Urduni, and
Mohammad Hajhamad-Abu Hakim , will be in the Twin Cities sharing their
films, including Nour's Dream, An-nakba and Revolution Birds, highlighting
issues such as the relationship between Palestinian youth and the stones
they use to resist the Israeli occupation, interviews with elders who
experienced the catastrophe of 1948 and the reality of children in the
Balata refugee camp who have nowhere to play save the camp's alleyways and
under the eye of Israeli tanks.

Indigenous Americas: "In the Eye of the Hurricane/People of Color
Resisting Corporate Globalization" focuses on the FTAA protests in
November of 2003 as a springboard to look at how paternalism and white
privilege effects the global justice movement in the United States.


--------7 of 19--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: IRV vote/Mpls CC 5.23 9:30am

The Better Ballot Campaign for Instant Runoff Voting in Minneapolis has
made tremendous advancement and recently won TakeAction Minnesota and
Minneapolis DFL endorsements.

The next step is to win Minneapolis City Council support to put the
Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) charter amendment proposal on the ballot this
November.

The proposal begins with a vote in the Intergovernmental Relations
Committee (IGR) on Tuesday and then moves to the Committee of the Whole on
Thursday and, finally, to the full Council for consideration on Friday.

The meeting dates and times are as follows:
**
 Intergovernmental Relations (IGR), May 23 at 9:30 am
 Committee of the Whole, May 25 at 10:00 am
 City Council, May 26, 9:30 am
**
Contact your council members, including our supporters, and ask them to
vote "yes" to put IRV on the November ballot. We also urge you to attend
the council meetings next week to show your support for this critical
vote.

Nine of the 13 council members have endorsed IRV for Minneapolis,
including Council Members Ostrow, Gordon, Samuels, Lilligren, Glidden,
Schiff, Remington, Benson and Hodges.

For city council contact information, see
www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/

For a summary of IRV benefits, see www.betterballotcampaign.org/node/209

The petition drive is still underway and is an alternative way to put IRV
on the ballot if the City Council does not do so. There are several
petition gathering events this weekend, including the NE Art-A-Whirl,
Downtown Library Opening and AIDS walk. For a full listing of events, see
http://www.betterballotcampaign.org/BBC/petition_events.

If you've already been collecting petition signatures and plan to or can
attend any of these events, please take your clipboard.  If you haven't
collected signatures before and can help this weekend, contact
info [at] betterballotcampaign.org or download the petition with instructions
at http://www.betterballotcampaign.org/node/208.


--------8 of 19--------

From: Cam Gordon <CamGordon333 [at] msn.com>
Subject: Cam/meet/greet 5.23 9:30am

Cam Gordon, Council Member, Second Ward 612-673-2202 (w) 612-296-0579 (c)
Office hours every Tuesday morning in the Second Ward from 9:30-11am.
SECIA office, 837 15th Ave SE

Fourth Tuesdays:
Seward / Cooper neighborhoods
Seward Tower East Advantage Center, 2910 E Franklin Ave

[You can tell Cam the stuff you wouldn't even tell your shrink. You'll be
glad you did. -ed]


--------9 of 19--------

From: farheen [at] farheenhakeem.org
Subject: Hakeem campaign 5.23 9:30am

Farheen Hakeem declares candidacy for Hennepin County Commissioner -
District 4.

PRESS CONFERENCE
Tuesday May 23 9:30amM
Brian Coyle Center
420 15th Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55454

Farheen Hakeem will be officially declaring her candidacy for Hennepin
County Commissioner, in County District 4, on Tuesday May 23rd, 9:30am at
the Brian Coyle Center, located in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood.  She
will be there to answer all media inquires.

Hakeem's experience as a community organizer and advocate for social
justice brings a fresh perspective that truly represents the needs of
people in the 4th county district. "The typical resident may not be aware
of the power of this position, and how important it is to have someone
elected that represents their priorities. This discrepancy between
residents and the current leadership has been clearly illustrated in this
recent stadium proposal, in which public funds would be used to build a
new stadium without community input" Hakeem says. "This campaign will
focus on child protection, affordable housing, and holding the county
board accountable to the community."

Last year, Hakeem ran for Mayor of Minneapolis. She was the first Mayoral
candidate endorsed by the Green Party and secured 14% of the primary vote.
Although she was not voted into office, the campaign launched her from a
political no-name to a viable political leader in a few short months.
Hakeem believes that securing 14% as a "third-party" candidate also
demonstrated the power of her grassroots organizing, as citizens put their
support behind the candidate who offered a message of community
participation and government accountability.

Fifth Congressional District Green Party (5CDGP) voted to endorse Farheen
Hakeem for Hennepin County Commissioner at its Endorsing Convention held a
week ago.

For more information about Farheen Hakeem, please visit
www.farheenhakeem.org.
Contacts: Gail (612) 229-6947


--------10 of 19--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Cavlan/KFAI 5.23 11am

Tue May 23, 11am, Green for Senate, KFAI Radio
Hear MICHAEL CAVLAN, running for U.S. Senate on the GREEN PARTY ticket
talk about the crisis in the American electoral system (purged voters
lists, suspect Diebold voting machines, etc), war on Iraq, and more.
Cavlan is a nurse in his day job and has a special perspective on making
healthcare available for all.

Plus: hear songs from NEIL YOUNG's new album LIVING WITH WAR, as stark and
inspring as Young's 1970 song "Ohio", his response to the National Guard
shooting of students at Kent State.

On "Catalyst:politics & culture" host/producer, Lydia Howell, Tues, 11am,
KFAI Radio, 90.3fm Mpls 106.7fm St. Paul all shows archived for 2 weeks
after broadcast http://www.kfai.org (You can go to the site, click on
program grid,go to 'Catalyst' & see the show's page w/secitons on TC
events, independent media, upcoming show schedule).


--------11 of 19--------

From: Guy Gambill <gambillgt1 [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Women vets forum 5.23 4pm

A Forum for Women Veterans:
Tuesday May 23
Fort Snelling Club
4-7pm
Fort Snelling Light Rail Stop at Henry Whipple Federal Building

Special Guest Speaker: Elizabeth Strohfus- WWII aviator and author of
"Love at First Flight", Minneapolis Aviation Hall of Fame inductee.

Program Highlights:
4:00-5:30 Exhibits and Social Hour with refreshments
5:30-6:30 Presentations
6:30-7:00 Exhibits

Topics and Exhibits:
Women Veteran's Programs
Sexual Assault Advocacy Program
Drug and Alcohol Abuse/Dependency Programs
Female combat veterans perspectives
"Coming Home: soldier to citizen" and much more.

Event Coordinators
88th Regional Readiness Command/934th US Air Force Reserve
Sexual Assault Prevention and Advocacy Teams, MN Army National
Guard, VA Women's Programs/Clinic, Vet Center-St. Paul, DVA
Women Veterans Coordinators.


--------12 of 19--------

From: Eric Angell <eric-angell [at] riseup.net>
Subject: Retirement/CTV 5.23 5pm

Folks w/access to St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN):
Tune in weekly to the public access channel (15) of SPNN for "Our World In
Depth/Our World Today".  The show times are 5 pm and midnight on Tuesday
evenings and 10 am on Wednesday mornings.

"Our World In Depth/Our World Today" features analysis of public affairs
with consideration of and participation from Twin Cities area activists.
The show is local and not corporately influenced.

**5/23 and 5/24**
(tentative) "Retirement at Risk" w/David Bergstom of Minnesota State
Retirement System and Eric Angell, former Retirement Plan Adminstrator.
Hosted by Karen Redleaf.


--------13 of 19--------

From: Patty Guerrero <pattypax [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Minds pried open 5.23 6:30pm

The Salon this Tuesday, May 23, will be an Open Discussion.  These are for
you that are ready to have your minds stretched, and then opened. [Then
put on display, critiqued, rated; gold and silver stars awarded to the
best in each category; best of show will be stuffed and mounted. -ed]

Pax Salons ( http://justcomm.org/pax-salon )
are held (unless otherwise noted in advance):
Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Mad Hatter's Tea House,
943 W 7th, St Paul, MN

Salons are free but donations encouraged for program and treats.
Call 651-227-3228 or 651-227-2511 for information.


--------14 of 19--------

From: Sarah Caflisch <scaflisch [at] loft.org>
Subject: Women/HarlemRen 5.23 7pm

Tuesday, May 23, 7 p.m.
WOMEN OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

The Loft Literary Center and the Givens Collection of African American
Literature will present a talk focused on the women of the Harlem
Renaissance by Dr. Michelle Wright, Professor of African American Studies
at the University of Minnesota. The talk will take place at the Givens
Collection located in Anderson Library on the West Bank of the University
of Minnesota campus. Free*


--------15 of 19--------

From: Cam Gordon <CamGordon333 [at] msn.com>
Subject: Crime/safety/Cam 5.23 7pm

News from Ward 2 Council Member, Cam Gordon

I will host a Crime and Safety roundtable discussion Tuesday, May 23, 7-9
pm at Van Cleve Recreation Center, 901 - 15th Ave SE as part of my ongoing
series of community forums on issues important to the Second Ward.

In the months ahead the City will likely name a permanent replacement for
Chief McManus, develop a new model of Community Policing and implement the
Safe City initiative to address increasing crime in our neighborhoods. At
the same time neighborhoods are getting more organized and are working to
activate public safety efforts of their own. Come share your ideas with
your neighbors, your police and your Council Member, and explore ways we
can make this a safer City for everyone.

Cam Gordon Minneapolis City Council Member, Second Ward 673-2202, 296-0579
cam [at] camgordon.org http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward2/
http://secondward.blogspot.com/


--------16 of 19--------

[AIPAC runs amok]
Steppingstone to War
House passes 'Iran Freedom Support Act'
by Justin Raimondo

ANTI.war.com
http://www.antiwar.com/Justin/?articleid=8914

It is "a steppingstone to war," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, during the
debate over the so-called Iran Freedom Support Act, and if this vote is
any measure of the degree of congressional opposition to the looming
prospect of war with Tehran, then we have a lot to worry about.

Only 21 members of the House stood up against the overwhelming bipartisan
wave of support for the bill, which would impose economic sanctions on the
Iranians - and openly proclaims the goal of effecting "regime change."
Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, said the bill reminds him of a 1998
congressional resolution - the Iraq Liberation Act - that paved the way
for the Iraqi debacle. Yet most of the "antiwar" contingent in the House
of Representatives caved and voted in favor, including Democrats John
Conyers, Maxine Waters, Jack Murtha, Bernie Sanders, Barbara Lee, and Lynn
Woolsey.

The bill was opposed by the Bush administration, which officially holds
that diplomacy is the way to go on the Iranian nukes issue. Thus it was
supported by many Democrats, including the voluble Tom Lantos (D-Calif.),
a co-author of the bill along with Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Passage is a major goal of AIPAC, Israel's premier lobbying organization
in the U.S., which for the past two years has featured the alleged Iranian
threat to America as its convention theme: this year's conclave featured a
multimedia exhibit supposedly dramatizing how Iran is "pursuing nuclear
weapons and how it can be stopped." As Middle East expert Trita Parsi, of
the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, put it: "I
don't see any other major groups behind this legislation that have had any
impact on it."

The Israelis have made no secret of their efforts to get Uncle Sam to
launch an attack. If you guys don't, a number of Israeli officials have
implied, then we will. This last, however, is an empty threat, as the
Israelis don't have the military capacity to wipe out Iran's widely
dispersed nuclear research facilities in a single blow, and, in any case,
are more than likely to wait until the last possible moment before they
take the unusual step of fighting their own war. After all, why should
they, when the U.S. is perfectly willing to sacrifice American troops and
treasure on the altar of Israel's alleged national security interests?

Iran represents a threat to nothing and no one but Israel, and everybody
knows it. It is likewise universally acknowledged that the one Middle
Eastern power we definitely know to be in possession of a substantial
nuclear stockpile is Israel. The Iranians, then, could be seen as engaging
in a defensive policy of deterrence: after all, Israel has never even
acknowledged its nukes, let alone declared a policy of "no first strike."
Unlike the Israelis, the Iranians are signatories of the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty. But of course we aren't allowed to mention that,
because depicting the government of Israel as a gang of duplicitous
scheming aggressors intent on holding a nuclear sword of Damocles over the
entire Middle East would be "anti-Semitic," according to the latest
definition of anti-Semitism, albeit all too true.

The timing on this vote is significant on two counts. Coming as it did at
a time when the debate about Israel's inordinate influence over U.S.
foreign policy is getting heated, this vote demonstrates that, as John J.
Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt point out in "The Israel Lobby":

"AIPAC, which is a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a
stranglehold on the U.S. Congress. Open debate about U.S. policy towards
Israel does not occur there, even though that policy has important
consequences for the entire world."

The sheer power of what Mearsheimer and Walt call "the Lobby" is further
demonstrated by the general public revulsion against the consequences of
our very similar policy in Iraq. The unpopularity of our military presence
in the Middle East has not deterred politicians from jumping on the
war-with-Tehran bandwagon. Even as (some) Democratic lawmakers decry the
occupation of Iraq and call for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal,
they join in the war whoops of the neoconservatives who are pushing to
ignite a new war with Tehran. So much for the Democratic Party as a
vehicle for antiwar sentiment.

While the Iran Freedom Support Act contains language explicitly disavowing
the charge that it represents a blank check for war with Iran, that is
precisely what it does. It sets the stage for isolating Iran economically
and paves the way for the creation of an Iranian version of Ahmed Chalabi
and his "heroes in error." We will, once again, pay for the privilege of
being lied to. As that old Peter, Paul, and Mary song goes: "When will
they ever learn? When will they ever learn?"

In the Senate, the primary proponents of this bill are likely to be
Hillary Clinton and the rabidly neocon wing of the Republican Party.
Hillary came out for sanctions long ago, and, in a fiery speech to AIPAC,
stopped just short of calling for war with Iran if the mullahs did not
cease and desist. Go here for an entirely plausible "future history"
account of "the tragedy that followed Hillary Clinton's bombing of Iran in
2009." The matter-of-fact opening of Timothy Garton Ash's near-future
scenario is frighteningly plausible:

"May 7, 2009, will surely go down in history alongside September 11, 2001.
'5/7,' as it inevitably became known, saw massive suicide bombings in Tel
Aviv, London, and New York, as well as simultaneous attacks on the
remaining Western troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Total casualties were
estimated at around 10,000 dead and many more wounded. The attacks, which
included the explosion of a so-called dirty bomb in London, were
orchestrated by a Tehran-based organization for 'martyrdom-seeking
operations' established in 2004. '5/7' was the Islamic Republic of Iran's
response to the bombing of its nuclear facilities, which President Hillary
Clinton had ordered in March 2009."

Seymour Hersh and others seem to think the Bush administration will beat
President Hillary to it, and that military operations involving both the
Americans and the Israelis have already commenced. The Iran Freedom
Support Act would merely drag these covert activities up into the
sunlight, although their roots would stay submerged in the murky
underworld of shadowy exile groups and Pentagon subcontractors. Passage of
the Act would give rise to a whole new sector of the democracy-export
business. Iranian exile groups - including monarchists, Marxists, and a
motley collection of alleged "democrats" - would vie for funds and the
American imprimatur. A new gold rush for the democracy exporters would
commence, shifting the scene of the action from Iraq to Iran, even as the
War Party sets its sights on the latter.

Let no one say they were against this war with Iran, when it comes, if
they didn't vote with the heroic 21 naysayers. These sanctions against
Iran are but a prelude to war, just as sanctions were the first step in
the long run-up to the invasion of Iraq. However, we may not enjoy such a
lengthy interval between cause and effect this time around. Events are
proceeding at an ever accelerating pace, with Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice now saying the time for talking is over and the time for
action has begun - not military action (at least not yet), but action by
the Security Council of the United Nations, whose "credibility is at
stake." I wonder if that same standard applies to the many UN resolutions
that Israel continues to defy. Hasn't the UN already lost all credibility
when such brazen defiance has gone unnoticed by the Security Council?

Let no one say they weren't warned. Using Iraq as a "model" for the
methodology of the War Party, we can see, when it comes to Iran, that all
the elements are falling neatly into place. Once again, we have the
specter of WMD and their possible existence or nonexistence: a mirage
projected by the credulous Western "mainstream" media, one that is sure to
dissipate only after we're waist-deep in an Iranian quagmire. Another
familiar phenomenon: dubious exile groups, along the lines of the infamous
Iraqi National Congress, only this time even wackier, wilder, and woolier.

The Bush administration is going too slow for the Lobby's taste, and the
House vote is a good indication of their displeasure. In spite of
widespread antiwar sentiment and a general disgust with the notion of
meddling in the affairs of other nations, the War Party has effectively
seized control not only of major policymaking bodies of the U.S.
government, but also both major political parties. Mearsheimer and Walt
describe the campaign by Israel's amen corner to rush us into another war:

"The Bush administration has responded to the Lobby's pressure by working
overtime to shut down Iran's nuclear program. But Washington has had
little success, and Iran seems determined to get a nuclear arsenal. As a
result, the Lobby has intensified its pressure on the U.S. government,
using all of the strategies in its playbook."

One new strategy is to be prepared to abandon the Republicans if a
sufficiently warlike Democrat - such as Hillary Clinton - wins the nod for
a White House run. As for this White House, while it may have developed
plans for an attack on Iran, the current administration seems eager to
draw out the diplomatic dance as long as possible, even in the face of
what Mearsheimer and Walt depict as a Katrina-like storm of propaganda and
political pressure:

"Op-eds and articles now warn of imminent dangers from a nuclear Iran,
caution against any appeasement of a 'terrorist' regime, and hint darkly
of preventive action should diplomacy fail. The Lobby is also pushing
Congress to approve the Iran Freedom Support Act, which would expand
existing sanctions on Iran. Israeli officials also warn they may take
preemptive action should Iran continue down the nuclear road, hints partly
intended to keep Washington focused on this issue."

The Lobby is on the march, and war is in the wind. The cries of the
banshee pundits and the sonorous resolutions coming out of
Israeli-occupied Capitol Hill, are portents of the coming storm.
Mearsheimer and Walt, two distinguished professors from two of our
nation's most prestigious universities, have been vilified by the Amen
Corner and have had their thesis twisted and willfully misunderstood by
ultra-Zionists and anti-Semites alike. They have admirably refused to get
down in the gutter with such dishonest, agenda-driven scribblers, and
instead have let their work speak for itself as a predictor and critic of
U.S. policy in the Middle East:

"One might argue that Israel and the Lobby have not had much influence on
U.S. policy toward Iran, because the United States has its own reasons to
keep Iran from going nuclear. This is partly true, but Iran's nuclear
ambitions do not pose an existential threat to the United States. If
Washington could live with a nuclear Soviet Union, a nuclear China, or
even a nuclear North Korea, then it can live with a nuclear Iran. And that
is why the Lobby must keep constant pressure on U.S. politicians to
confront Tehran. Iran and the United States would hardly be allies if the
Lobby did not exist, but U.S. policy would be more temperate and
preventive war would not be a serious option."

As for this essay's predictive value: in light of the knowledge that it
was commissioned by The Atlantic magazine and written sometime last year,
the section on the Iran nuke issue seems prescient, an ample demonstration
of the paper's thesis - that the Israel lobby has hijacked American
foreign policy, especially when it comes to the Middle East.

Mearsheimer and Walt's critique of U.S. policy, as distorted by
neoconservative fealty to Israel, is more than borne out by the Iran nuke
brouhaha. Iranian missiles trained on Tel Aviv, or even London, do not a
threat to the U.S. make. It is doubtful they represent a plausible threat
even to the targeted cities, as the threat of massive retaliation in kind
would successfully deter such a heinous act, just as it deterred Stalin
and his successors for half a century.

It is both alarming and baffling that we have any number of lobbies
operating out of Washington on behalf of dozens of foreign countries: not
only Israel, but all sorts of overseas potentates and unsavory dictators
of one sort or another have their bought-and-paid-for Amen Corners in the
form of at least one pricey public relations firm. But I have yet to hear
of a foreign policy lobby that operates on behalf of Americans - that
looks out for exclusively American interests. Why isn't there a countering
force arrayed against all these foreign agents and their domestic allies
who push for the narrow interests of the "homeland" - usually at Uncle
Sam's expense? Who will lobby Congress to start putting America first?


--------17 of 19--------

[AIPAC runs amok]
Date: Sat, 20 May 2006 05:17:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jewish Voice for Peace <mitchell [at] jewishvoiceforpeace.org>
Subject: Thank Rep. Betty McCollum for standing up to AIPAC

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-4th District) has banned the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) from her office until she receives a
formal, written apology from AIPAC for equating her vote in the House
International Relations Committee against HR4681, the Palestinian
Anti-Terrorism Act, with "support for terrorists". Please take a moment to
thank Rep. McCollum for her stance against HR4681 and for her courage to
stand up to AIPAC's mischaracterization of her. You can call her office
directly at 202-225-6631 or call the Capitol switchboard toll-free at
1-888-355-3588 and ask to be transferred to her office.

If no one is able to take your call, please leave a brief message of
thanks along with your name and address so that Rep. McCollum can get in
touch with you. Please call as soon as possible!! If you're Jewish, make
sure to note that in your message to Rep. McCollum. She needs to know that
Jews oppose AIPAC's bullying tactics as much as anyone.

New York Review of Books

Volume 53, Number 10 June 8, 2006
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19063

A LETTER TO AIPAC
By Betty McCollum

The letter below was sent by Representative Betty McCollum, a Democrat
from Minnesota, to the executive director of AIPAC. The bill mentioned,
H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, would place so many
restraints on aid to the Palestinian people, and so many restrictions on
the administration's ability to deal with the Palestinians, that even the
State Department has opposed it. AIPAC has strongly backed it. The Senate
version of the bill, S. 2237, would allow the administration far more
flexibility. On April 6, the House International Relations Committee
passed H.R. 4681 by a vote of 36 to 2; McCollum was one of the two nays.
As of May 11, AIPAC has yet to respond to her demand for an apology.

-Michael Massing

April 10, 2006

Mr. Howard Kohr
Executive Director
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
440 First Street, NW; Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20001

Dear Mr. Kohr:

During my nineteen years serving in elected office, including the past
five years as a Member of Congress, never has my name and reputation been
maligned or smeared as it was last week by a representative of AIPAC. Last
Friday, during a call with my chief of staff, an AIPAC representative from
Minnesota who has frequently lobbied me on behalf of your organization
stated, "on behalf of herself, the Jewish community, AIPAC, and the voters
of the Fourth District, Congresswoman McCollum's support for terrorists
will not be tolerated." Ironically, this individual, who does not even
live in my congressional district, feels free to speak for my
constituents.

This response may have been the result of extreme emotion or irrational
passion, but regardless, it is a hateful attack that is vile and offensive
to me and the families I represent. I call on AIPAC to immediately condemn
this un-American attack and disavow any attempt to use this type of threat
and intimidation to stifle legitimate policy differences. I will not stand
to be labeled or threatened in a manner that questions my patriotism or my
oath of office.

Last week, I did vote against H.R. 4681 during mark-up of the bill in the
House International Relations Committee. As a Member of Congress sworn to
uphold the Constitution, and ensure the security of the US and represent
the values and beliefs of the constituents who I serve, it was my view
that H.R. 4681 goes beyond the State Department's current policies toward
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority and potentially undermines the US
position vis-à-vis the coordinated international pressure on Hamas. The
language contained in S. 2237 accurately reflects my position.

Keeping diplomatic pressure on Hamas to renounce terrorism, recognize the
State of Israel, dismantle terrorist infrastructure, and honor past
agreements and treaty obligations, while preventing a humanitarian crisis
among the Palestinian people, are all policy goals already strongly
supported by myself, the Bush administration, Congress and the American
people. But, if the purpose of H.R. 4681 was to send another strong
message to Hamas and the Palestinian people, as Congress already has sent
with the passage of S. Con. Res. 79, then I disagree with the vehicle for
that message. In my opinion, Congress should be articulating clear support
for the Secretary of State's present course of action; not creating a new
law which likely diminishes the diplomatic tools needed to advance US
policy goals with regard to the Palestinian people, potentially cuts US
funding to the United Nations, and largely restates current law while
creating on-going and burdensome unfunded reporting requirements.

As you well know, in Congress we do not shy away from condemning the vile
words of despots and dictators who use anti-Semitism as a weapon to incite
hatred, fear and violence. AIPAC should not have a lower standard for
persons affiliated and representing its organization when they label a
Member of Congress who thinks for herself and always puts the interest of
our nation and people first a supporter of terrorists.

You and your colleagues at AIPAC have the right to disagree with my
position on any piece of legislation, but for an AIPAC representative to
say that I would ever vote to support Middle East terrorists over the
interests of my country will never be tolerated by me or the families I
serve. This incident rises to a level in which a formal, written apology
is required.

Mr. Kohr, I am a supporter of a strong US-Israeli relationship and my
voting record speaks for itself. This will not change. But until I receive
a formal, written apology from your organization I must inform you that
AIPAC representatives are not welcome in my offices or for meetings with
my staff.

Betty McCollum Member of Congress 4th District, Minnesota Washington, D.C.


--------18 of 19--------

Viva Chavez
By Mike Whitney

"We are facing the threat of global challenges stemming from the
genocidal, immoral, sick, and corrupt elite currently governing the United
States, which appear to have no limits" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

05/19/06 "Information Clearing House" -- -- Hugo Chavez is a self-made
man. He wasn't piggy-backed into Harvard on a legacy grant (Affirmative
Action for plutocrats) or shoehorned into the White House by corporate
gangsters. He grew up in a two-room thatched palm-leaf house with his five
siblings and dreamt of moving to New York to play baseball for the
Yankees. At age 18 he chose to make the most of his meager opportunities
by enlisting in the military.

For 17 years, Chavez served his country; gradually moving up the chain of
command to lieutenant colonel. Unlike his American counterpart, GW Bush,
Chavez never went AWOL during wartime or stumbled through years of idle
profligacy peering at the world through beer-goggles.

While Bush was busy driving three consecutive companies into insolvency
and fattening his bank account with the loot from insider-trading scams,
Chavez was putting together the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement; a
leftist political organization which promoted redistribution and civil
rights.

Chavez was lifted to the presidency on the backs of peasants and
working-class people while Bush was selected by 5 venal judges who
repealed the democratic process and suspended the counting of ballots.

The differences between the two men go on and on. It is an interesting
study in contrasts and one that is particularly relevant to the
deteriorating state of world affairs. So far, Bush's views have carried
the day; the global superpower is free to act unilaterally and without
concern for either international law or basic standards of decency.

Chavez, however, has presented a competing vision of global integration,
collective action, and participatory democracy. His world-view is clearly
ascendant.

"Capitalism is barbarism," Chavez says; a point that is persuasively
driven home in the daily accounts of butchery in Iraq, Afghanistan or
Haiti. In Bush-world the mounting death toll is simply the price of
opening new markets like the cheerful ringing of a cash register. It's no
wonder the system is collapsing all around him.

Chavez has taken the lead in denouncing Bush and the system that supports
him:

"For the horror it has created around the world in the last century, the
United States' war machine should be dismantled. It is a threat against
all of mankind, particularly against our children."

He has wisely taken aim at Bush, an indigent patrician without any
identifiable qualifications, as the foremost symbol of a system run amok:

"The worst genocidal leader in the history of humanity is the President of
the United States. Hitler would be like a suckling baby next to George W
Bush. He is a terrorist, a drunkard, and a donkey".

The stark contrast of the two men's personalities has been a boon to
Chavez. Even the feeble attacks by the media have only enhanced his
popularity and strengthened his case for socialism:

"This model, the so called American way of life, the extreme capitalism,
is not sustainable, life on this planet will come to an end if we continue
down this road, that is why we are motivated to seek socialism and abandon
capitalism, the individualism, the selfish consumerism, the so called
destructive development that is destroying this planet, we are all in
danger, and not so much us, our children and grandchildren."

Chavez has been a thumb in the eye of the Bush Empire. His criticism of
America's duplicitous foreign policy resonates with poor and working class
people alike.

Presently, he is meeting with leaders of Libya and Algeria (supposedly) to
discuss "increased cooperation on oil production" and to develop "social
programs for the poor based on oil revenues". Chavez has initiated similar
programs at home, but he is using his increased visibility to publicly
denounce Bush and American foreign policy:

"We are against America, the imperialist. We don't accept its hegemony.
The whole world should unite against America."

Chavez's trip comes at a time when there are renewed fears of an attack on
Iran. Could it be that the Venezuelan president is actually working behind
the scenes to stem the flow of oil if Iran is bombed? Or, maybe he is
orchestrating a "run on the dollar" (transfer to euros) which Russia and
Venezuela have already threatened? Whatever the plan, he has vehemently
condemned the administration's hostility to Iran while other nations
continue to cringe.

"The world needs to do everything possible to avoid the madness of a
military attack against Iran. We call upon the government of the United
States to halt its warmongering, which will throw the world into an abyss
of more wars, more terrorism, more death, and more desolation. Europe has
a very important role to play in this, and instead of supporting this war,
it should help to stop it."

Chavez has been equally blunt in his criticism of the war in Iraq. In an
interview with British Channel 4 he was asked what he would do if he was
living in occupied Iraq. Chavez answered:

"If I was an Iraqi I would be resisting. I would be in the trenches; I
would have a rocket-launcher; I would be defending the holy sovereignty of
my country against the abuses and oppression of the empire."

His sense of moral clarity is a reprieve from the evasive gibberish of
other world leaders who try to soften their rhetoric so they don't offend
Washington. [Up Washington's butt. -ed]

In the same interview Chavez was asked (disdainfully) why people outside
of his country "think he is crazy"?

Chavez responded, "If those people think I'm crazy, well, God forgive
them, because they are victims of a media campaign. I am just a human
being like you; no more, no less. But, I am totally devoted to this cause
of equality and justice to see if we can save this planet..The great crazy
guy is I Washington, not here."

Chavez is slowly transforming Venezuelan politics and making significant
headway in areas of redistribution and social welfare. The country's 25
million people now have full access to free health care and illiteracy has
been eliminated. Government programs now provide 15 million people with
subsidized food, medicine and other essentials. Medical clinics have
sprung up in every barrio in Caracas and college enrollment has increased
exponentially.

Chavez has created a model of governance that is based on human needs
rather than rigid ideology. This has made it more difficult to discredit
him as dogmatic or authoritarian. His policies of income redistribution
have created a burgeoning Venezuelan middle class which is changing the
political dynamic throughout Latin America. He has become Washington's
"biggest nightmare" and a threat to America's economic dominance in the
region.

"Let's consider socialism," Chavez said. "Let's debate it and build it. I
believe that mistakes were in the economic analysis, and there should be
social praxis. 21st century socialism should be based on solid human
values."

No one has done more to reenergize the Left than Hugo Chavez. He has
become the face of anti-imperialism and the champion of progressive
socialism. His views on education, poverty-reduction, social justice, and
the equitable distribution of oil revenues are sweeping the hemisphere;
brushing aside centuries of colonialism.

The politics of personal accumulation and perennial war are on the
decline. Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. As Chavez says, "We
must embrace a new type of socialism, a humanist one, which puts humans,
not machines and not the state, above everything".

This century's Enlightenment is coming from south of the border.

Viva Chavez.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13116.htm

[And, from the US, Endarkenment. -ed]


--------19 of 19--------

 There once was a fake President George
 From him to the facts was a gorge
 The truth, though needed
 Each day, receded
 Till they put gorgeous George in self-storge.


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