NEWS ADVISORY: ACLU holds Tuesday briefing on habeas corpus issue

The ACLU of Northern California/Sacramento Chapter will hold a news briefing this morning as part of a nationwide campaign demanding a restoration of fundamental freedoms in the U.S., including habeas corpus and due process, and an end to torture.

By Dan Bacher

Two San Joaquin Valley Representatives, Dennis Cardoza of Merced and Jim Costa of Fresno, were among 42 Democrats that voted to keep the world's foremost torture school, the School of the Americas, open during a House vote on June 21. The vote was 203 yes, 214 no, 1 voting "present" and 19 not voting.

Unfortunately for all of those who want to see the School of the Assassins closed, Congress defeated the McGovern/Lewis amendment to cut the funding for the SOA/WHINSEC by a margin of six votes.

School of the Americas Watch
http://www.SOAW.org | 202-234-3440
SOA/WHINSEC Vote in Congress

203:214 = SOA/WHINSEC Survives Vote in Congress by a 6 Vote Margin

Last night at 11:52 PM, Congress defeated the McGovern/Lewis amendment to cut the funding for the SOA/WHINSEC by a margin of six votes.

The grassroots mobilizing effort was tremendous: Tens of thousands of emails, faxes and calls flooded the halls of Congress over the past three days. Students, clergy, union members and veterans travelled to DC and visited with hundreds of Congressional offices to communicate clearly that there is no room for institutions like the SOA/WHINSEC in our future. Despite this, 214 Members of Congress missed the chance to stand up for human rights, justice and democracy, and voted to keep the funding for the SOA/WHINSEC flowing.

This is the latest update from SOA Watch. The vote to defund the School of the Americas has been postponed until today. More calls to close the school are needed today!

School of the Americas Watch
http://www.SOAW.org | 202-234-3440
June 21, 2007
SOA/WHINSEC Vote Update

SOA Watch has received NEW information, that WHINSEC has a secret weapon and that the Pentagon's public relations campaign has won some influence with the Representatives who have already told you they will vote YES.

Yesterday was a busy day in Congress and they were not able to finish the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, so we have bought more time to counteract the Pentagon campaign and persuade Congress to vote YES to cut funding for the SOA/ WHINSEC.

Beginning at 10:00am on Thursday, June 21, the amendments to the Foreign Operations Appropriations for fiscal year 2008 will be debated, including the McGovern - Lewis (GA) amendment to prohibit funding for the SOA/ WHINSEC.

I urge everybody to IMMEDIATELY make a phone call or send a fax to support Representative McGovern's amendment to cut funding for the School of the Americas (SOA), an institution responsible for the murder and torture of hundreds of thousands of people throughout Latin America. Whether you've called in the past or have never called on this issue, the important thing is to call your representative RIGHT NOW and ask them to defund the SOA!

Thanks!

Dan

You can find your Representative's contact info here:
http://sacramentofordemocracy.org/?q=node/view/3130

or just call the D.C. switchboard: 202-224-3121 (Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant)

School of the Americas Watch
www.SOAW.org
Urgent Action Alert!

June 20, 2007

Congress Votes on a Funding Cut to the SOA/WHINSEC Today and We are Close to Winning!

Take Action - Call your Representative to ask her/him to Vote YES on the SOA/WHINSEC Amendment Now!

As early as this afternoon, Representatives Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and John Lewis of Georgia will introduce an amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill to cut funding for the School of the Americas, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHINSEC)!

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/06/19/18428565.php

In this breaking news article from Aaron Dykes, a reporter from Alex Jones' Prison Planet website (http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2007/190607Moore.htm), Michael Moore says that 9/11 could be an inside job. Moore was in Sacramento last week to support health care legislation backed by the California Nurses Association (CNA) and to show a preview of his new documentary, "SICKO."

Michael Moore: 9/11 Could Be Inside Job

Discusses Explosions in Buildings, Demands '100 Angles' of Pentagon Video, and Calls for a New Investigation-- "They Haven't Even Told Us Half the Truth."

Aaron Dykes
Jones Report

Tuesday June 19, 2007

Academy Award winner Michael Moore answered questions on 9/11 truth during a sneak peak of his new documentary, SICKO, in New York.

Our reporters were initially avoided by Moore, but he subsequently decided to approach We Are Change.org/ Infowars.com reporters for a discussion.

Moore brought up his lingering questions on 9/11, which are a clear departure from the 'government negligence' picture he painted in his film Fahrenheit 9/11, released some three years ago.

Raiders of the Lost Art

In Iraq's four-year looting frenzy, the allies have become the vandals

British and American collusion in the pillaging of Iraq's heritage is a scandal that will outlive any passing conflict

Simon Jenkins
Friday June 8, 2007
The Guardian

Fly into the American air base of Tallil outside Nasiriya in central Iraq and the flight path is over the great ziggurat of Ur, reputedly the earliest city on earth. Seen from the base in the desert haze or the sand-filled gloom of dusk, the structure is indistinguishable from the mounds of fuel dumps, stores and hangars. Ur is safe within the base compound. But its walls are pockmarked with wartime shrapnel and a blockhouse is being built over an adjacent archaeological site. When the head of Iraq's supposedly sovereign board of antiquities and heritage, Abbas al-Hussaini, tried to inspect the site recently, the Americans refused him access to his own most important monument.

Yesterday Hussaini reported to the British Museum on his struggles to protect his work in a state of anarchy. It was a heart breaking presentation. Under Saddam you were likely to be tortured and shot if you let someone steal an antiquity; in today's Iraq you are likely to be tortured and shot if you don't. The tragic fate of the national museum in Baghdad in April 2003 was as if federal troops had invaded New York city, sacked the police and told the criminal community that the Metropolitan was at their disposal. The local tank commander was told specifically not to protect the museum for a full two weeks after the invasion. Even the Nazis protected the Louvre.

For immediate release: June 11, 2007

Contact: Faye Kennedy, fayek [at] springmail.com, (916) 484-5025

Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba Will Arrive in Sacramento on July 4

The Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba is coming to Sacramento on Wednesday, July 4, 2007, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Black United Fund of Sacramento Valley, 4104 44th Street. Join us for an afternoon of friendship and to welcome the Caravan to Sacramento.

By Dan Bacher

A Iraq War veteran dressed in desert fatigues has been marching around the State Capitol in Sacramento 24 hours a day since 8 a.m. on Memorial Day to remember U.S. troops killed in Iraq and the futility of the war itself, spurring hundreds of supporters to walk with him and offer him support.

The veteran, who prefers to remain anonymous to concentrate people’s attention upon the nearly 3,500 U.S. soldiers that have been killed in the Iraq War, plans to take one lap around the capitol for all U.S. troops killed in Iraq, including about 362 from California. He expects to reach the 362 milestone sometime Wednesday evening.

The veteran is carrying a yellow ribbon in memory of each fallen soldier, as well as reading the name and brief biography of each soldier on every lap he makes around the capitol. Marchers accompanying him are carrying white sheets of paper with the names of Iraqi civilians killed in Iraq since 2003 to remember the estimated 685,000 Iraqis that have perished since G.W. Bush invaded the country in March 2003.

At this very moment as you read this, a courageous and dedicated Iraq War veteran who insists on remaining anonymous is walking around the State Capitol in Sacramento in the memory of his fallen comrades and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed by George Bush in an illegal war based on lies.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A NEW CONFERENCE to update the news media on the progress will be
held at 9:30 a.m. TUESDAY MORNING on the North Side of the Capitol.
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MEMORIAL DAY MARCH BY IRAQ VETERAN
Scores, including Casey Sheehan's Dad, greet Iraq Vet
in his quest to walk around Capitol for every CA,
US trooper killed in Iraq, and protest the war

SACRAMENTO (3:41 p.m., Monday) – An Iraq veteran was greeted early this
morning by nearly one hundred fellow veterans, parents of US troops in Iraq
supporters – including the father of Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq
– and other as he began a round-the-clock effort to march around the State
Capitol for all U.S. troopers killed in Iraq.

May 28, 2007

An Open Letter to the Democratic Congress
Why I Am Leaving the Democratic Party
By CINDY SHEEHAN
Dublin, Ireland

Dear Democratic Congress,

Hello, my name is Cindy Sheehan and my son Casey Sheehan was killed on April 04, 2004 in Sadr City , Baghdad , Iraq . He was killed when the Republicans still were in control of Congress. Naively, I set off on my tireless campaign calling on Congress to rescind George's authority to wage his war of terror while asking him "for what noble cause" did Casey and thousands of other have to die. Now, with Democrats in control of Congress, I have lost my optimistic naiveté and have become cynically pessimistic as I see you all caving into "Mr. 28%"

There is absolutely no sane or defensible reason for you to hand Bloody King George more money to condemn more of our brave, tired, and damaged soldiers and the people of Iraq to more death and carnage. You think giving him more money is politically expedient, but it is a moral abomination and every second the occupation of Iraq endures, you all have more blood on your hands.

Why do I have sense of foreboding? I'll point it out below

ABC News: Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran

This evening, ABC’s World News Tonight reported that the “United States has opened a new front in its showdown with Iran.” According to the report, President Bush has directed the CIA to carry out covert operations both inside and outside Iran “aimed directly at weakening the Iranian regime.”

ABC’s investigative correspondent Brian Ross said the CIA’s “non-lethal” program had received “secret presidential approval.” Officials told ABC the CIA plan “takes the place of proposed U.S. military action against Iran, reportedly advocated by Vice President Cheney.”

The Blotter has more coverage:

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a “nonlethal presidential finding” that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran’s currency and international financial transactions.

[…]

“Vice President Cheney helped to lead the side favoring a military strike,”

This is a great, hilarious interview with subcomandante marcos in the U.K. Guardian.
Dan

"The mask will come off when a subcomandante Marcos is no longer necessary," he says. "I hope it's soon so that I can finally become a fireman like I've always wanted. Firemen get the prettiest girls."

Man in the mask returns to change world with new coalition and his own sexy novel

In a rare interview, Zapatista rebel chief Marcos warns US efforts to secure its southern border are pushing his poor compatriots over the edge
Jo Tuckman in Mexico City : Saturday May 12, 2007 : The Guardian

A bead of sweat is visible through the eyehole of his famous black balaclava. Latin America's most celebrated living rebel must be feeling the heat, but a glass of water would mean taking off the mask and that is out of the question. He makes do with a puff on his pipe, and a subject that is close to his heart.

"My new book's coming out in June," Subcomandante Marcos announces with relish during the first interview he has given to a British paper in years. "There's no politics in the text this time. Just sex. Pure pornography."

Here is today's press release from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance about their lawsuit against DFG to protect endangered Delta Smelt, spring run chinook and winter run chinook. A hearing on the litigation is starting in Oakland in several minutes. I will post an update regarding what happens at the hearing.

This is an urgent action alert from Restore the Delta (www.restorethedelta.org), California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and the Planning and Conservation League about the dire state of the Delta Smelt and other Delta fish. Please forward this to everybody that you know! Call the Governor on Monday morning to let him know that he must save the Delta smelt before it is too late.

Phone: 916-445-2841 : Fax: 916-445-4633 : To send an Email please visit: http://www.govmail.ca.gov

If the Delta smelt, an indicator species, goes extinct, spring run chinook, winter run chinook, San Joaquin fall chinook, steelhead, striped bass, longfin smelt are expected to follow them over the abyss.

Dan

ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS IN THE DELTA – Time to Call the Governor (See Below for Phone Number)

DELTA SMELT on BRINK of EXTINCTION!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR DELTA RESIDENTS?

§ The Delta Smelt is the canary in the coal mine.
§ As the Smelt goes, so do other fish populations.
§ If the ecosystem collapses, so does the Delta economy.
§ And if water quality and quantity are this bad in the present, how does this bode for agriculture and recreation (the cornerstones of our economy) and public health (our lives)?

A just completed survey by the Department of Fish & Game found:

Lost world warning from North Sea

By Sean Coughlan
BBC News education

Archaeologists are uncovering a huge prehistoric "lost country" hidden below the North Sea.

This lost landscape, where hunter-gatherer communities once lived, was swallowed by rising water levels at the end of the last ice age.

University of Birmingham researchers are heralding "stunning" findings as they map the "best-preserved prehistoric landscape in Europe".

This large plain disappeared below the water more than 8,000 years ago.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the worst ever governor in California history for California's fish and environment, has proclaimed May 18 as California Endangered Species Day as he does everything he can to drive the Delta smelt over the abyss into extinction! Here's an excellent analysis of the situation by Bill Jennings:

Where is the Fifth Estate as the Delta Smelt nears extinction?

by Bill Jennings

I must admit to some morbid fascination in watching virtually every environmental beat writer cover the efforts to save two visiting whales in the estuary while ignoring the fact that native Delta smelt are tumbling ever closer to the brink of extinction while DWR and DFG sign a pact to evade compliance with CESA for another year. It is especially ironic and unfortunate that Governor Schwarzenegger’s proclamation of May 18 as California Endangered Species Day coincides with his actions that could very well send Delta smelt into a final oblivion.

Cathy Webster, after serving a 60 day sentence for a simple trespassing charge in a protest at the U.S. Army School of the Assassins, will be released from jail in Elk Grove early tomorrow morning.

Chico grandmother to be released from jail Friday after 60 day sentence for trespassing at Army torture school

Cathy Webster, a grandmother from Chico, CA., will be released from the Sacramento County Jail on Friday, May 18, after completing her 60 day sentence for crossing onto the U.S. Army Base at Ft. Benning, Georgia, as part of a protest against the U.S. Army School of the Americas.

She expects to be released at 5:00 a.m. and will join friends for lunch at 12:30 p.m. at the Elk Grove Brewery & Restaurant, 9085 Elk Grove Blvd, Elk Grove. The restaurant is where she enjoyed her final meal in freedom with her friends immediately before turning herself in at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center on March 21.

Webster trespassed on the base to protest the teaching of counter-insurgency techniques and torture to Latin American soldiers that return to their home countries and commit atrocities, including massacres of women and children. In the same spirit as the civil rights movement, she used non-violent civil disobedience to shine a spotlight on the teachings of the school, renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) in 2000.

After lunch, Cathy will return home to Chico, where her first stop will be at her Congressman's office to urge him to vote in support of H.R. 1707, which would suspend operations at the School of Americas until an investigation is completed into the crimes alleged to have been committed by SOA graduates.

“I'll be glad to regain my freedom and see my friends and family,” said Webster from jail on Thursday. “It was all worth it and I call on everybody to call your Congressman and tell him or her to vote yes on HR 1707."

Terminator kill-bots to be run by system called 'Skynet'

By Lewis Page
Published Friday 11th May 2007 14:34 GMT

Following the announcement of the new Flying-HK-style "Reaper" death machines for the British forces, the prophetic nature of the Terminator movies has been further confirmed.

Not only will the UK MoD deploy airborne cyber-gunships remarkably similar to those in the films, the flying robot assassins will be controlled by an IT project named "Skynet".

This latest case of life imitating art (well, kind of art) was revealed this morning

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla of Restore the Delta shares her insights into the recent migration of whales into the Delta - and its possible "impact" on the Governor's Delta Vision process!

Delta Flows – Weekly Highlights from Restore the Delta
For the Week of May 14, 2007

Moving a community to take action shouldn’t be too serious all the time. Thus, Restore the Delta staff would like to share with you some random comments from some close supporters regarding the whales sojourning presently in the Delta near Rio Vista…

“Is anyone asking the question, if the salinity is too high in the Delta? It might be fun to toss that ball around.”

Restore the Delta staff notes that it is usually sea lions rather than whales who toss the ball around in famous California tourist acts.

“Are these freshwater whales - or is the Delta saltier?”

Restore the Delta staff is curious as to whether the intrusion of whales will figure into the salinity debate that will be taken up the State Water Resources Board this week.

“Oh man, they are going to eat all the remaining Smelt!”