Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 02.11.09

[David Shove (shove001]

            P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R    02.11.09

1. Obamarama/ttt       2.11 11am
2. Election organizing 2.11 12noon
3. Rally v killer cops 2.11 4:30pm
4. Crooks tour/StP     2.11 7pm
5. Women's rights      2.11 7pm
6. Amnesty Intl        2.11 7:30pm

7. Court watch         2.12 9:30am
8. Vs MN NatGuard/Iraq 2.12 4:30pm
9. Eagan peace vigil   2.12 4:30pm
10. Northtown vigil    2.12 5pm
11. RNC court watch    2.12 6pm
12. New Broom forum    2.12 7pm
13. Green scare        2.12 7pm
14. StP PS Bd listens  2.12 7pm
15. AntiWarMN          2.12 7pm
16. Somalia            2.12 7pm
17. People's bailout   2.12

18. AWC          - Boycott Israeli event at UofM
19. WAMM         - Remove "Homeland Security USA" from ABC
20. Kathy Kelly  - What Americans can't see about Gaza
21. Rannie Amiri - Implications of recognizing Israel's "Right to Exist"
22. ed           - Ja, ubermenschen  (poem)


-------1 of 22--------

From: Andy Driscoll <andy [at] driscollgroup.com>
Subject: Obamarama/ttt 2.11 11am

TRUTH TO TELL
FM 90.3/Minneapolis-106.7/St. Paul and STREAMING LIVE AT KFAI.org
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 - 11:00AM

THE OBAMA ERA: LOCAL PERCEPTIONS, EXPECTATIONS AND POLICIES
Just what does this sea change in America's governance mean to us at home
in Minnesota especially in communities suffering under the twin sieges of
economic disparity and discrimination - joblessness, homelessness,
foreclosure, and debt that lead to community instability? Do we have a
right and responsibility to cheer Barack Obama's election as a sign of
progress and hope while holding this new president, his administration,
and the new majorities in Congress as well elected officials in our own
backyards responsible and accountable for real change and common
prosperity?

What signs indicate things are really changing? What signs point to
business as usual as the Obama agenda plays out in the coming economic
stimulus, job creation and long-awaited equity in policies directing
resources to education, health and health care, the environment, consumer
protection, and financial gaps?

TTT's ANDY DRISCOLL and LYNNELL MICKELSEN talk with community activists,
scholars and political operatives from the many Twin Cities and Minnesota
communities dealing with economic depression in the midst of optimism
generated by President Obama's election to get their perceptions,
expectations and policy analyses.

GUESTS:
  IRMA McCLAURIN, PhD - Associate VP, UofM, and Executive Director,
Urban Research & Outreach/Engagement Center
 PROF. TOM O'CONNELL - Political Scientist, Metropolitan State
University; Chair, CivicMedia/Minnesota
 NICK AL'AZIZ MUHAMMAD - St. Paul Coordinator, Obama Campaign; Hip
Hop Artist (Gardens of Balance) - Hip Hop Get-Out-the-Vote
 DAI THAO - Organizer, TakeAction Minnesota; Obama Campaign Hmong Get-
Out-The-Vote
 plus SEVERAL CALL-IN COMMENTATORS
AND YOU! COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? CALL IN: 612-341-0980
Can't get us on the radio? Stream TTT live from KFAI's Home Page - 
<http://www.kfai.org/


--------2 of 22--------

From: Joan Vanhala <joan [at] metrostability.org>
Subject: Election organizing 2.11 12noon

The Alliance for Metropolitan Stability is pleased to announce our first
Organizer Roundtable of 2009:

The Intersection Between Electoral and Issue Organizing
Noon - 1:30 pm
Wednesday, February 11
Alliance for Metropolitan Stability
2525 E Franklin Avenue, Suite 200, Minneapolis

Come join in the dialogue about incorporating lessons from recent
electoral organizing efforts into planning for issue-based campaigns.
Regional leaders will engage organizers in a discussion about their get
out the vote efforts in the last election and how they are using the
connections they made with community members to develop new organizing
strategies and campaigns.

The discussion will be led by:
Amalia Anderson, Mainstreet Project Director
Hashi Shafi, Somali Action Alliance Executive Director
Dai Thao, TakeAction Minnesota Community Activist

Organizer Roundtables are free but registration is required. Please bring
your lunch! to register go to
https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/322/personalopt1.asp?formid=event&c=9606219

We hope to see you there! Please contact me with any questions.

Joan Vanhala Coalition Organizer Alliance for Metropolitan Stability 2525
E Franklin Avenue, Suite 200 Minneapolis, MN 55406 612-332-4471
joan [at] metrostability.org


--------3 of 22--------

From: Michelle Gross <mgresist [at] visi.com>
Subject: Rally v killer cops 2.11 4:30pm

Communities United Against Police Brutality

ANOTHER TRAGIC DEATH AT THE HANDS OF THE MPD
TIME TO TAKE THE STREETS AND SAY "NO MORE"!
Rally and Memorial
Wednesday, February 11
4:30 p.m.
Corner of Morgan Ave S and Golden Valley Road, Minneapolis
(next to North Commons Park)

Early on Thursday, February 5, Minneapolis police killed Ahmed Guled, 23,
as he drove down Morgan Avenue in the area where police were arresting
three other people.  One of the arrestees witnessed the incident and
states that reports by police that they were somehow "in danger" and had
to shoot were lies.  He states that Guled was driving no more than 20
miles an hour and was just trying to get through the narrow lane police
created by blocking the road with their vehicles when police opened fire,
shooting at least 20 times.  He referred to the killing as "an execution."

Guled's tragic death follows closely on the heels of the December 9th
death by Taser of Quincy Smith, a well-known radio personality on People's
Radio Station KMOJ.  Smith was Tased by five police officers, killing him.
One of the officers involved is the same cop who Tased Smith in a previous
incident and who Smith had an active lawsuit against at the time of his
death.  Witnesses have stated that Smith was not doing anything to justify
cops electrocuting him to death.

There are a number of factors at play in these latest deaths, which both
occurred to men of color on the Northside.  The current police chief, Tim
Dolan, is a cops' cop who fails to take seriously complaints against his
cops and uses discipline not to reign in misconduct but as a political
tool against officers of color and others he doesn't like.  He was
inspector of the Fourth precinct during several high profile police
brutality incidents including the shootings of Terrell Oliver and Julius
Powell.  As chief, he's made sure all major incidents of brutality get
swept under the rug.

Another factor is a lack of policies.  The MPD was supposed to have a
stringent Taser policy.  The city council ordered them to adopt a
relatively strong policy.  However, that policy has disappeared.  Police
administration claims the policy was moved to training - to make the
policy manual shorter - but at a CRA board meeting a few months ago, MPD
Taser trainer Adam Grobove stated that the only policy they train about is
that cops are supposed to holster their Taser on the side opposite their
firearm and they aren't supposed to use it around flammable vapors.  In
other words, it's a no-rules free-for-all.

Finally, the community has not stepped up as it should to show our outrage
over these deaths at the hands of police.  That lack of response shows the
cops they can get away with these actions.  Yes, it's winter and yes, it's
cold outside but that hasn't stopped cops from killing our brothers and
sisters and they must not get a free pass on these outrages!  We need a
real response from the community.  That's where you come in.  Join us for
a rally and memorial at the site of Ahmed Guled's death.  We will follow
this action with a community meeting (information to follow) to plan
actions that will bring about real change.  Be there!

COPS LIE, PEOPLE DIE, FAMILIES CRY.  WE SAY "NO MORE!"


--------4 of 22--------

From: Jeanne Weigum <JW [at] ansrmn.org>
Subject: Crooks tour/StP 2.11 7pm

We invite you to join us for the Annual Carl H. Chrislock Memorial History
Lecture on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Marshall Room,
Christensen Center. The Carl H. Chrislock Memorial History Lecture
sponsored by the Augsburg History Society, honors the memory of Carl H.
Chrislock, former professor of history at Augsburg College.

This year's lecture will feature crime historian Paul Maccabee speaking
about "Gun Molls, Gangsters, and G-Men: Probing the Secret Criminal
History of Minnesota's Public Enemies."

Maccabee spent 13 years fighting the FBI to obtain more than 100,000
Justice Department files on the notorious Public Enemies era of St. Paul -
resulting in the publication of his book, John Dillinger Slept Here: A
Crooks' Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936 (Minnesota
Historical Society Press, 1995).


--------5 of 22--------

From: Erin Parrish <erin [at] mnwomen.org>
Subject: Women's rights 2.11 7pm

February 11:  Women's Human Rights Program, Advocates for Human Rights and
the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library Film Series: "To See if I'm
Smiling." 7 PM at Merriam Park Branch Library, 1831 Marshall Avenue, St.
Paul. More information.


--------6 of 22--------

From: Gabe Ormsby <gabeo [at] bitstream.net>
Subject: Amnesty Intl 2.11 7:30pm

AIUSA Group 640 (Saint Paul) meets Wednesday, February 11th, at 7:30 p.m.
Mad Hatter Teahouse, 943 West 7th Street, Saint Paul.


--------7 of 22--------

From: Michelle Gross <mgresist [at] visi.com>
Subject: Court watch 2.12 9:30am

Communities United Against Police Brutality
COURT WATCH URGENTLY NEEDED!
SUPPORT RAID RESPONSE TEAM MEMBER EDUARDO CARDENAS
Thursday, February 12
9:30 a.m.
Hennepin County Government Center
300 S 6th Street, Minneapolis

Our good friend, Eduardo Cardenas, goes to court on Thursday and he needs
a packed court room to ensure justice.

Eduardo is part of a raid response team through Minnesota Immigrant Rights
Action Coalition (MIRAC), a kind of copwatch team that arrives on the
scene anytime there is a raid by BICE (federal anti-immigrant agency). He
was responding to a call on July 29th when he found Minneapolis cops
harassing three Somali men.  Eduardo took photos from a safe distance.
When it was clear that the men would not be arrested and cops were leaving
the area, Eduardo approached the men to ask why they had been stopped.
Cops then attacked Eduardo, slamming him into a wall and seizing his
wallet and phone against his will.  One of the cops erased the pictures he
had taken.  Eduardo was charged with obstructing legal process and
disorderly conduct, some of the same charges Darryl Robinson was slapped
with when he was brutalized during a shelter copwatch.  Clearly these
attacks are aimed at discouraging people from capturing police conduct on
film.

To everyone's amazement, the prosecution still has not dropped the charges
against Eduardo.  Perhaps they need to understand that many people in this
community stand with Eduardo and will not let him go down on these bogus
charges.  Please do your best to be there with Eduardo on Thursday.


--------8 of 22-------

From: Women Against Military Madness <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Vs MN NatGuard/Iraq 2.12 4:30pm

Protest Sending Minnesota National Guard to Iraq!
KEEP 'EM HOME, BRING 'EM HOME!

1. ACTION: Protest U of MN Asked to Cheerlead Sending Minnesota National
Guard to Iraq

An Associated Press report about 2-1/2" long in the "Daily Briefing" area
of the local section of the Pioneer Press appeared on Monday, February 8,
2009: "Minneapolis/U sends banner with Guard unit"

The University of Minnesota is asking its students and employees to sign a
huge banner that will be sent to the National Guard unit being deployed in
Iraq...It will be presented to the National Guard's 'Red Bull' 34th
Infantry Division at a departure ceremony on Tuesday...."

A photo on the front page of the U of MN web site Tuesday, February 10
shows the signing: http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.php

CAPTION READS: "President Bob Bruininks and scores of others on campus
signed a banner thanking and wishing good luck to the Minnesota National
Guard's Red Bull Infantry Division. The soldiers will take it to Iraq with
them in mid-February" And it links to the web site of the National Guard.

If you want to protest the U of MN cheerleading sending the National Guard
to Iraq, contact the U of M President's office now. (If you are a U of MN
student, faculty member or alumni, you may want to say so!)  Tell him that
the Minnesota National Guard belongs in Minnesota and should not be
fighting foreign wars in which they risk death and endangerment to
themselves and the people of Iraq. Cheerleading the sending of our state
Guard off to war and occupation of a foreign nation is totally
inappropriate for a taxpayer financed academic institution.

Call President Bruininks at 612-626-1616 or email upres [at] umn.edu.

[Prez B needs a liberal education - does the U still do that? Or does
pimping for war take all its time? Perhaps they should put up red lights
all over campus. -ed]

2. ACTION: "Keep 'em Home, Bring 'em Home!" Rally and Protest

Thursday, February 12, 4:30 p.m. Governor's Mansion, 1006 Summit Avenue,
St. Paul. On February 13th, 1000 Minnesota National Guard troops will be
mobilized to go to Iraq. This deployment occurs even as there are plans
for the U.S. military to start drawing down the number of U.S. troops in
Iraq. These National Guard deployments prolong an unpopular war and
occupation, cost millions of dollars and cause great hardships to the
families involved. The people of Minnesota, the people of the U.S. and the
people of Iraq want an end to the U.S. war and occupation, not an endless
continuation of U.S. military involvement. Join in giving Governor
Pawlenty the message to immediately pursue and exhaust every avenue to
stop the February deployment of Minnesota National Guard troops to Iraq
and to bring those currently there home without delay. Sponsored by: Iraq
Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Veterans for Peace (VFP), Military
Families Speak Out (MFSO), the Anti-War Committee (AWC), the Twin Cities
Peace Campaign-Focus on Iraq (TCPC), and WAMM. FFI: Call 612-522-1861.


--------9 of 22--------

From: Greg and Sue Skog <family4peace [at] msn.com>
Subject: Eagan peace vigil 2.12 4:30pm

CANDLELIGHT PEACE VIGIL EVERY THURSDAY from 4:30-5:30pm on the Northwest
corner of Pilot Knob Road and Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan. We have signs
and candles. Say "NO to war!" The weekly vigil is sponsored by: Friends
south of the river speaking out against war.


--------10 of 22--------

From: EKalamboki [at] aol.com
Subject: Northtown vigil 2.12 5pm

NORTHTOWN Peace Vigil every Thursday 5-6pm, at the intersection of Co. Hwy
10 and University Ave NE (SE corner across from Denny's), in Blaine.

Communities situated near the Northtown Mall include: Blaine, Mounds View,
New Brighton, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, Spring Lake Park,
Fridley, and Coon Rapids.  We'll have extra signs.

For more information people can contact Evangelos Kalambokidis by phone or
email: (763)574-9615, ekalamboki [at] aol.com.


--------11 of 22--------

From: Do'ii <syncopatingrhythmsabyss [at] gmail.com>
Subject: RNC court watch 2.12 6pm

RNC Court Watchers are in need of participants to help with organizing
court information, documentation and etc.  RNC Court Watchers Meetings are
every Tuesday, 6 P.M. at Caffeto's. Below is announcement for our
meetings.

Preemptive raids, over 800 people arrested, police brutality on the
streets and torture in Ramsey County Jail. Police have indiscriminately
used rubber bullets, concussion grenades, tasers and chemical irritants to
disperse crowds and incapacitate peaceful, nonviolent protesters. The
RNC-8 and others are facing felonies and years in jail. We must fight this
intimidation, harassment and abuse!

Join the RNC Court Solidarity Meeting this coming Tuesday at Caffetto's to
find out how you can make a difference in the lives of many innocent
people.

Caffetto's Coffeehouse and Gallery (612)872-0911 708 W 22nd Street,
Minneapolis, MN 55405
Every Tuesday @ 6:00 P.M to 7:00 P.M
participate and help organize RNC court solidarity.
For more information, please contact: rnccourtwatch [at] gmail.com
THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!


--------12 of 22--------

From: greenpartymike <ollamhfaery [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: New Broom forum 2.12 7pm

Community Discussion and Forum
Ward 6
Philips West-Stevens Square
Ventura Village- Whittier Alliance

Thursday, February 12th from 7-9 p.m.
All Nations Church
1515 East 23rd Street (corner of Bloomington and 23rd)
SPEAKERS: Martha Fasthorse, Dean Zimmerman and Michelle Gross

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
 * Police Brutality and Accountability
 * Sustainable Jobs
 * Environmental Racism
 * Urban Transportation
 * Elected Officials Response To Community

Organized by The New Broom Coalition
www.newbroomcoalition.net

Martha Fast Horse is a great great granddaughter of Chief Stranger Horse
of the Sicangu Lakota Nation from Rosebud, South Dakota. She is a well
known and respected political activist and community organizer for Indian
Country. She is President/CEO/Executive Producer of Fast Horse
Productions, Inc. She produces and hosts "Wolf Spirit," a weekly Native
American television talk show airing on MTN channel 17 in Minneapolis
(cable access). Martha also hosts a weekly Public & Cultural Affairs
Program that airs every Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. on KQRS - 92.5 FM,
KXXR (93X) - 93.7 FM, & WGVX (Love 105) 105 FM in the Twin Cities.  She is
a strong social justice advocate for American Indian youth and elders. She
serves on the board of directors for the Indian Child Welfare Law Center.

Dean Zimmerman is a former Minneapolis City Council Member. A well known
and respected member of the local progressive peace and justice
communities, Dean is considered a hero by many people and has always been
a champion of poor and oppressed people.

Michelle Gross is another respected activist in progressive circles in
Minnesota and is the president of Communities United Against Police
Brutality

>From the web site (www.newbroomcoalition.net):
The New Broom Coalition is a group of engaged citizens concerned with the
quality of local government.  Our goal is to identify and support
candidates for local office who are dedicated to transparency,
accountability and serving the interests of the general public.  We will
also identify and challenge those who have failed us in the performance of
their public trust, holding them accountable for their failures.


--------13 of 22--------

From: Lydia Howell <lydiahowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Green scare 2.12 7pm

RC Speaker Series Presents:
Will Potter on "The Green Scare: Using Terrorism Laws to Silence Political
Activists" Thursday, February 12, 7pm, Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey
Institute, 301 19th Avenue South, on the West Bank of the University of
Minnesota's Minneapolis campus

You won't want to miss hearing about The Green Scare from Will Potter, an
award-winning independent journalist based in Washington, D.C., who has
become a leading authority on the erosion of civil liberties post 9/11 and
the use of terrorism laws to silence political activists. Think
red-baiting, with a green twist. Potter's blog GreenIsTheNewRed.com
features his original reporting and analysis of the Green Scare and
history repeating itself.

The Animal Rights Coalition is thrilled to be able to bring Will Potter to
the Twin Cities to talk about these critical issues and shed light on a
story that has been rated as one of the top twenty censored stories by
Project Censored since 2006.

Sincerely, Donna Marzolf ARC Volunteer for Dallas Rising Program Director
Animal Rights Coalition 612-822-6161


--------14 of 22--------

From: Anne R. Carroll <carrfran [at] qwest.net>
Subject: StP PS Bd listens 2.12 7pm

SPPS Board of Education invites community to Listening Session February 12

The Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education will hold the first of
three Listening Sessions to be held the remainder of this school year on
Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Hubbs Literacy
Center, 1030 University Ave, W.

The Listening Sessions, part of the Board of Education's community
engagement, are designed to allow participants the opportunity to speak
with board members in an open forum with no pre-determined topics.  The
sessions are similar to town hall meetings held by state legislators to
connect with constituents.

At least two Board of Education members will participate in each session
to listen and talk about topics and issues participants choose to address.
The Listening Sessions are in addition to, and less formal than, public
comment during regular Board of Education meetings held each month.  They
are not Board meetings, but will be hosted and facilitated by Board
members who are looking forward to hearing what people have to say.

Board members participating in the Listening Session will share discussion
from the session with Board colleagues at the earliest opportunity
following the listening session.

For more information about the Listening Sessions, contact the Board of
Education Office at 651-767-8149.  To request a Hmong, Spanish, or Somali
interpreter for the session, please call 651-767-8320 by Monday, February
9.


--------15 of 22--------

From: Jess Sundin <jess [at] antiwarcommittee.org>
Subject: AntiWarMN 2.12 7pm

ORGANIZE WITH THE A.W.C.: The Anti-War Committee always need help
organizing protests and educational events. Join us at our weekly meetings
(Thursdays at 7pm, 1313 5th St SE #112C, Minneapolis).


--------16 of 22--------

From: Women Against Military Madness <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Somalia 2.12 7pm

"Are We Fighting the Terrorists in Somalia?" Ramla Bile
Thursday, February 12, 7:00 p.m. Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church,
7600 Harold Avenue North (at Highway 55 and Winnetka), Golden Valley.

Ramla Bile received her Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies and Political
Science from the University of Minnesota. She recently worked for the
Advocates for Human Rights and previously served on the editorial board of
the Minnesota Daily. Her family emigrated from Somalia in 1989 and she
continues to monitor and speak on the social, political and humanitarian
situation in the Horn of Africa. Sponsored by: Northwest Neighbors for
Peace. Endorsed by: WAMM. FFI: Call Lois, 612-588-5572 or email
nwn4p [at] yahoo.com.


--------17 of 22--------

From: Meredith Aby <awcmere [at] gmail.com>
Subject: People's bailout 2.12

Call-in Day for People's Bailout Bill - Thursday, February 12

WHAT TO SAY: "Support the People's Bailout Bill. In this recession, it's
time to back legislation that focuses on the job, income and housing needs
for the people of Minnesota." --In the House, the bill number is House
File 626 --In the Senate, the bill number is Senate File 542

SIX KEY CALLS 1. Call your Representative 2. Call your Senator If you
don't know who they are: For your Representative, CALL 651-296-2146, For
your Senator, CALL 651-296-0504 --Or go to
leg.state.mn.us/leg/Districtfinder.asp

Call House Leadership 3. Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher: 651-296-0171
- Tell her sign the bill, too! 4. Majority Leader Tony Sertich:
651-296-0172 - Tell him sign the bill, too!

Call Senate Leadership 5. Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller: (651) 296-7809
6. Assistant Majority Leader Taryl Clark: (651) 296-6455

MORE INFO ON THE BILL: Jobs or income now - Extend and expand eligibility
for unemployment benefits - Create a public works program to put people to
work now - Put a moratorium on 5 year limit for public assistance - No
layoffs for state or UM workers Housing is a Right - Moratorium on home
foreclosures - Moratorium on evictions of renters from foreclosed
buildings.

BILL TEXT House File 626:
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF0626&ssn=0&y=2009

Senate File 542
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=Senate&f=SF0542&ssn=0&y=2009


--------18 of 22--------

From: Meredith Aby <awcmere [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Boycott Israeli event

BOYCOTT & PROTEST THE BATSHEVA DANCE COMPANY 7:30 PM Wednesday February
18, 2009 Northrop Auditorium, 84 Church St. SE, University of Minnesota*

The University of Minnesota is bringing the Batsheva Dance Company of Tel
Aviv to Minneapolis for one performance. This is a violation of the 2004
Palestinian call to "comprehensively and consistently boycott all Israeli
academic and cultural institutions"and the 2005 call of 171 Palestinian
civil society organizations for broad boycott, divestment and sanctions
(BDS) against Israel. This Dance Company is funded by the Israeli
government and is considered a "leading ambassador" of the Israeli
government. Particularly in the aftermath of the recent invasion of the
Gaza Strip, and the ongoing occupation of Palestinian land, it is time to
honor the call for a boycott of Israel called for by Palestinian civil
society and solidarity groups around the world, including South Africa.
The challenge posed to us today in ending the apartheid like policies of
the State of Israel is no different than the challenge that people of good
faith faced in the 1980s in responding to calls to boycott the white
supremacist government in South Africa. We urge you to join us as we
nonviolently oppose this performance as part of building a sustained BDS
campaign.

"The latest Palestinian Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) -
supported by a large majority of Palestinian civil society - does not
target Jews or Israelis qua Jews; on the contrary, it actually addresses
conscientious Israeli Jews, urging them to support efforts to bring about
Israel's compliance with international law and fundamental human rights,
both necessary elements in reaching true peace based on justice. Many
around the world recognize the extent of Israel's breach of international
law. The real challenge now is to do something about it. Only by applying
effective international pressure against Israel similar in scope and
comprehensiveness to that successfully used to end apartheid in South
Africa will intellectuals and academics be fulfilling their moral
obligation to stand up for right, for justice, for equality and for a
chance to validate the prevalence of universal ethical principles. By
doing so, they will also serve in the most effective manner the cause of
coexistence and real peace." by Omar Barghouti (a founding member of the
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel)

What you can do:
 1. Call, write, or send an e-letter to Ben Johnson, Director of Concerts
and Lectures, asking him to cancel the show and honor the boycott against
Israel: phone 612-624-4473, fax 612-626-1750, email benjohn [at] umn.edu,
Department of Concerts and Lectures, 109 Northrop, 84 Church St. SE,
Minneapolis, MN 55455
 2. Write letters to the editor of the Minnesota Daily and local media
 3. Don't buy tickets to the Batsheva performance. If you already have
tickets then exchange them for another show
 4. Please join us in nonviolently protesting the Batsheva perform

The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee's
call to boycott is supported by The Middle East Committee of WAMM,
Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Middle East Peace Now, Jewish
anti-Zionist Network-Twin Cities (IJAN-TC), the Palestinian Institute of
Minnesota, the Anti-War Committee and other people of conscience who are
taking a moral stand against Israel's oppressive policies More info:
http://www.pacbi.org/ http://www.bdsmovement.net/

[UofM - The War College. "Education" red in tooth and claw. How about
retiring Bruininks?  -ed]


--------19 of 22--------

From: Erin Parrish <erin [at] mnwomen.org>
Subject: Remove "Homeland Security USA" from ABC

Women Against Military Madness asks you to demand that ABC take their new
reality show "Homeland Security USA" off the air. WAMM reports that the
show depicts Latino and Middle Eastern people in a negative light.
Furthermore, they report it glamorizes Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they break up families, imprison
workers, and treat people in a degrading manner. This show perpetuates
stereotypes, creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in immigrant
communities, and emboldens racist nativist groups. Contact ABC/Disney
Headquarters by writing ABC/Disney Headquarters, 2400 West Riverside
Drive, Burbank, CA 91521.


--------20 of 22--------

What Americans Can't See About Gaza
How Do People Keep Going?
By KATHY KELLY
CounterPunch
February 10, 2009

People have asked me, since I returned from Gaza, how people manage? How
do they keep going after being traumatized by bombing and punished by a
comprehensive state of siege? I wonder myself. I know that whether the
loss of life is on the Gazan or the Israeli side of the border, bereaved
survivors feel the same pain and misery. On both sides of the border, I
think children pull people through horrendous and horrifying nightmares.
Adults squelch their panic, cry in private, and strive to regain
semblances of normal life, wanting to carry their children through a
precarious ordeal.

And the children want to help their parents. In Rafah, the morning of
January 18th, when it appeared there would be at least a lull in the
bombing, I watched children heap pieces of wood on plastic tarps and then
haul their piles toward their homes. The little ones seemed proud to be
helping their parents recover from the bombing. I'd seen just this happy
resilience among Iraqi children, after the 2003 Shock and Awe bombing, as
they found bricks for their parents to use for a makeshift shelter in a
bombed military base.

Children who survive bombing are eager to rebuild. They don't know how
jeopardized their lives are, how ready adults are to bomb them again.

In Rafah, that morning, an older man stood next to me, watching the
children at work. "You see," he said, looking upward as an Israeli
military surveillance drone flew past, "if I pick up a piece of wood, if
they see me carrying just a piece of wood, they might mistake it for a
weapon, and I will be a target. So these children collect the wood."

While the high-tech drone collected information, - "intelligence" that
helps determine targets for more bombing, - toddlers collected wood. Their
parents, whose homes were partially destroyed, needed the wood for warmth
at night and for cooking. Because of the Israeli blockade against Gaza,
there wasn't any gas.

With the border crossing at Rafah now sealed again, people who want to
obtain food, fuel, water, construction supplies and goods needed for
everyday life will have to rely, increasingly, on the damaged tunnel
industry to import these items from the Egyptian side of the border.
Israel's government says that Hamas could use the tunnels to import
weapons, and weapons could kill innocent civilians, so the Israeli
military has no choice but to bomb the neighborhood built up along the
border, as they have been doing.

Suppose that the U.S. weapon makers had to use a tunnel to deliver weapons
to Israel. The U.S. would have to build a mighty big tunnel to accommodate
the weapons that Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Caterpillar have
supplied to Israel. The size of such a tunnel would be an eighth wonder of
the world, a Grand Canyon of a tunnel, an engineering feat of the ages.

Think of what would have to come through.

Imagine Boeing's shipments to Israel traveling through an enormous
underground tunnel, large enough to accommodate the wingspans of planes,
sturdy enough to allow passage of trucks laden with missiles. According to
UK's Indymedia Corporate Watch, 2009, Boeing has sent Israel 18 AH-64D
Apache Longbow fighter helicopters, 63 Boeing F15 Eagle fighter planes,
102 Boeing F16 Eagle fighter planes, 42 Boeing AH-64 Apache fighter
helicopters, F-16 Peace Marble II & III Aircraft, 4 Boeing 777s, and Arrow
II interceptors, plus IAI-developed arrow missiles, and Boeing AGM-114 D
Longbow Hellfire missiles,

In September of last year, the U.S. government approved the sale of 1,000
Boeing GBU-9 small diameter bombs to Israel, in a deal valued at up to 77
million.

Now that Israel has dropped so many of those bombs on Gaza, Boeing
shareholders can count on more sales, more profits, if Israel buys new
bombs from them from them. Perhaps there are more massacres in store. It
would be important to maintain the tunnel carefully.

Raytheon, one of the largest U.S. arms manufacturers, with annual revenues
of around $20 billion, is one of Israel's main suppliers of weapons. In
September last year, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved
the sale of Raytheon kits to upgrade Israel's Patriot missile system at a
cost of $164 million. Raytheon would also use the tunnel to bring in
Bunker Buster bombs as well as Tomahawk and Patriot missiles.

Lockheed Martin is the world's largest defense contractor by revenue, with
reported sales, in 2008, of $42.7 billion. Lockheed Martin's products
include the Hellfire precision-guided missile system, which has reportedly
been used in the recent Gaza attacks. Israel also possesses 350 F-16 jets,
some purchased from Lockheed Martin.

Think of them coming through the largest tunnel in the world.

Maybe Caterpillar Inc. could help build such a tunnel. Caterpillar Inc.,
the world's largest manufacturer of construction (and destruction)
equipment, with more than $30 billion in assets, holds Israel's sole
contract for the production of the D9 military bulldozer, specifically
designed for use in invasions of built-up areas. The U.S. government buys
Caterpillar bulldozers and sends them to the Israeli army as part of its
annual foreign military assistance package. Such sales are governed by the
US Arms Export Control Act, which limits the use of U.S. military aid to
"internal security" and "legitimate self defense" and prohibits its use
against civilians.

Israel topples family houses with these bulldozers to make room for
settlements. All too often, they topple them on the families inside.
American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death standing
between one of these bulldozers and a Palestinian doctor's house.

In truth, there's no actual tunnel bringing U.S. made weapons to Israel.
But the transfers of weapons and the U.S. complicity in Israel's war
crimes are completely invisible to many U.S. people.

The United States is the primary source of Israel's arsenal. For more than
30 years, Israel has been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign assistance
and since 1985 Israel has received about 3 billion dollars, each year, in
military and economic aid from the U.S. ("U.S. and Israel Up in Arms,"
Frida Berrigan, Foreign Policy in Focus, January 17, 2009)

So many Americans can't even see this flood of weapons, and what it means,
for us, for Gaza's and Israel's children, for the world's children.

And so, people in Gaza have a right to ask us, how do you manage? How do
you keep going? How can you sit back and watch while your taxes pay to
massacre us? If it would be wrong to send rifles and bullets and primitive
rockets into Gaza, weapons that could kill innocent Israelis, then isn't
it also wrong to send Israelis the massive arsenal that has been used
against us, killing over 400 of our children, in the past six weeks,
maiming and wounding thousands more?

But, standing over the tunnels in Rafah, that morning, under a sunny Gazan
sky, hearing the constant droning buzz of mechanical spies waiting to call
in an aerial bombardment, no one asked me, an American, those hard
questions. The man standing next to me pointed to a small shed where he
and others had built a fire in an ash can. They wanted me to come inside,
warm up, and receive a cup of tea.

Kathy Kelly, a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, is
writing from Arish, a town near the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza.
Bill Quigley, a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola New
Orleans and Audrey Stewart are also in Egypt and contributed to this
article. Kathy Kelly is the author of Other Lands Have Dreams (published
by CounterPunch/AK Press). Her email is kathy [at] vcnv.org


--------21 of 22--------

The Two-Way Street
The Implications of Recognizing Israel's "Right to Exist"
By RANNIE AMIRI
February 10, 2009
CounterPunch

"There was no such thing as Palestinians - They did not exist."
- Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (The Sunday Times, 15 June
1969)

Israel and Gaza are abuzz with activity.

Humanitarian groups and relief agencies are trying to squeeze through
Israeli and Egyptian bottlenecks to deliver their much-needed supplies;
fighter jets bomb tunnels and kill "militants" as Ehud Olmert maintains he
is abiding by the ceasefire; Palestinians are returning to their destroyed
homes to sift through rubble and mourn their dead; international human
rights lawyers are busy recording eyewitness testimony and gathering
evidence for future war crimes tribunals; intense negotiations underway in
Cairo hope to broker an extended truce between Israel and Hamas, likely
involving the exchange of prisoners (apparently negating any real purpose
of the war); and candidates jockeying for frontrunner status in Israeli
elections spend an inordinate amount of time making trivial distinctions
from each other.

Netanyahu, Lieberman, Barak, and Livni all claim to know how to properly
put "the Arabs" in their place, albeit with dreadfully fascist overtones
in the case of some contenders, and best control the situation in Gaza.
But even if all outstanding issues were miraculously resolved to Tel
Aviv's satisfaction, Israel's next prime minister will still find pretext
to continue agitating against Hamas and the people of Gaza.

Why?

Because they have yet to recognize Israel's "right to exist".

Acceptance of this abstruse concept has been a longstanding and immutable
demand of both the United States and Israel before substantive talks with
Hamas, or any other self-described resistance group, can take place.

I submit however, that nearly all Palestinians have de facto accepted
Israel's "existence".

Indeed, they will contend:

Have we not recognized Israel's "existence" when we know it was they who
prevented food, medicine, fuel, electricity and clean water from reaching
Gaza for 18 months, causing a humanitarian crisis? Then afterward, bombed
and invaded a defenseless population, killing over 1,300 and wounding
thousands more - the vast majority of whom were civilians?

Have we not recognized Israel's "existence" when we know it was they who
fired white phosphorus at our people, causing burns so severe they
penetrate through skin and muscle to the bone?

Have the Samounis of the Zeitoun district of Gaza City not recognized
Israel's "existence" when 110 members of their extended family were herded
by Israeli soldiers into a warehouse without any food, water or heat for
24 hours, then the building they were placed in shelled the next day,
massacring 30? When ambulances were prevented for four days from reaching
those inside because the soldiers, a mere 100 yards away, had erected
earthen barriers to deliberately obstruct them? What about the four infant
children found huddled and starving next to the bodies of their dead
mothers, or the injured, who had to be removed by donkey carts because
ambulances were still not allowed to approach? Did they not all bear
witness to Israel's "existence"?

Has Khaled Abed Raboo not acknowledged Israel's "existence" when he stood
outside what remained of his home in Jabaliya and a tank with Israeli
soldiers ordered him, his mother, his wife and their three children to
evacuate? And when they did so waving white flags, all three of his
children shot? Had Mr. Abed Raboo not recognized Israel "existence" when
he saw Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, only 15 meters away, shoot
dead two of his daughters, age two and seven, and critically injure the
third? Does witnessing one's defenseless children being gunned down at
close range, before one's very eyes, not meet the standard of having
accepted that Israel "exists"?

Have the residents of Khuzaa not recognized Israel's "existence" when
their village came under a 12-hour assault by Israeli forces, killing 14
people?  Was the bulldozing of homes with civilians inside, the killing of
those carrying white flags, the firing on an ambulance attempting to
evacuate the wounded, and the shelling of homes with white phosphorus not
enough to say yes, we acknowledge you "exist"?

What about the refugees taking shelter in the Al-Fakhoura school in
Jabaliya? When the area just outside the school was shelled by the IDF and
43 displaced Gazans killed as they were heading to the market for food?
Have their surviving relatives not adequately recognized the cause of
their untold grief is Israel's "existence"?

Has Israel's "existence" not been confirmed by the A'aiedy family, whose
home was hit by an IDF shell, wounding two 80-year old women and three of
their grandchildren? Who waited 86 hours to be rescued because the army
did not permit ambulances to evacuate them to hospital, and anyone who
attempted to leave the courtyard in order to get water shot at?

Has Israel's "existence" not been recognized by those in the West Bank
forced to travel on different roads than Israeli citizens? And negotiate a
maze of checkpoints where they undergo humiliating searches and delays,
just so they can travel a few miles? Are the women who have been forced to
give birth at checkpoints, and often miscarry at them, oblivious to
Israel's "existence"? Or how about those who have been cut off from their
farms and livelihood by Israel's "security fence"?

In fact, isn't the hardship and suffering endured by all Palestinians who
have lived, or are living, under Israeli occupation enough proof that
Israel "exists"?

But, if acknowledging Israel's "right to exist" means accepting that
anyone who is Jewish can automatically become a citizen of Israel and then
live on the very land, and in some cases, in the very home, of a
Palestinian family who has lived there for generations; if it means
relinquishing the right to say "this was my land and my home before you
took it away from me"; if it means forsaking the right to return to
Palestine with deed and keys in hand, demanding to know what entitled the
families from England, Russia, Morocco or Ethiopia to live on the property
of those 700,000 who were forcibly expelled in 1948; if it means denying
the very existence of Palestine and Palestinians - as Golda Meir tried to
do - by erasing their history, culture, and collective memory - then no -
Israel has no "right to exist".

Rannie Amiri is an independent Middle East commentator. He may be reached
at: rbamiri at yahoo dot com.


--------22 of 22--------

 Ja, ubermenschen,
 the Third Reich is alive and
 well in Israel.


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