An Open Letter from Your Regional Director

(originally posted 11/23/2007)

Dear Midwest P&J members,

Our P&J Executive Board met for its annual fall meeting over Veterans Day Weekend and decided to focus on just two issues from now through next summer's RA. They are ending the war fast and radically improving or eliminating the NCLB language from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. I urge everyone to concentrate your efforts on those items this year.

We have also decided to concentrate our Chiapas efforts on the soon to be built Paul Mann Teacher Training Center. For those who don't know, Paul Mann was a tireless teacher peace advocate, and P&J member from Des Moines who died suddenly in September of '06, leaving a host of friends and acquaintances missing him greatly.

Tom Wolfe
Midwest P&J Director

Brazil: Prison rape exposes increasing abuse of women

Women in Brazil are the hidden victims of a crumbling detention system that exposes them to rape and other ill treatment, said Tim Cahill, Amnesty International's researcher on Brazil.

The statement came as reports emerged of the case of a young woman in the state of Pará -- northern Brazil -- who was left in a police cell with 20 men for a month and repeatedly sexually abused.

"We receive extensive reports of women in detention who suffer sexual abuse, torture, substandard healthcare and inhuman conditions, showing that this case is far from isolated but continues to be hidden from the public," said Tim Cahill.

Even though women in Brazil make up a small percentage of the overall prison population, their numbers in detention are rising. There is a desperate need for the Government to address their needs, which are rarely if ever met.

The case also highlights concerns around the treatment of juveniles illegally held with adults around Brazil.

"At a time when some authorities and the media are consistently calling for a reduction of the age of criminal responsibility, this case shows how far Brazil is from ensuring the necessary minimum protections for its youth," said Tim Cahill.

While Amnesty International recognises that the federal and state authorities have responded rapidly to this case, many others go unreported or uninvestigated. It is essential that the authorities act in all such cases - not only those which receive extensive national and international media coverage.

Amnesty International calls on State Governor Ana Julia Carepa and on the federal authorities to:
• investigate the allegations and bring those responsible to justice, ensuring that the victim and her family receive effective protection
• urgently review the whole of the detention system to ensure women are not exposed to human rights abuses and that juveniles are not illegally held with adults.

Take Part in the Iraq Moratorium TODAY!November 16th, 2007

November 16th, 2007

Today, as part of the third Iraq Moratorium Day, thousands of concerned individuals like you, from Auburn, Alabama, to Madison, Wisconsin, from Mesa, Arizona, to Boston, Massachusetts, are taking action in their communities to make opposition to the war and occupation in Iraq visible, and to say no to a new war in Iran. We urge you to participate in this simple yet powerful initiative. It's not too late to take part. Here are some things you can do today:

(1) Wear an anti-war button, armband, or t-shirt -- something visible expressing your opposition to the war. Encourage others to do so as well.

(2) Check to see if there is an activity happening in your city. If there is, join in and bring a friend.

(3) Put an anti-war sign in your house or apartment window, on your lawn, or in your car window.

(4) Call into radio talk shows. Talk about why you oppose the war in Iraq, why you want to stop a new war in Iran, and why you want all of the troops to be brought home now.

(5) Download and distribute our ­"Want to Do More?" flyer in your community, where you work, at the school you attend, or anyplace where people gather.

(6) Sign the Iraq Moratorium pledge: "I hereby make a commitment that on the Third Friday of each and every month, I will break my daily routine and take some action, by myself or with others, to end the War in Iraq." Then forward it to others and encourage them to sign and take action as well.

(7) Click here to find other ways you can take action as an individual, and help build this effort.At the end of the day, check the Iraq Moratorium blog to read reports from actions around the country, and be sure to post a report on what you did as well. (You must register for an account and login at www.iraqmoratorium.org.) It's got to stop -- we've got to stop it.

A REQUEST FOR YOUR HELP Iowa Marches for Peace

In less than a week, on Saturday, October 27, Iowans will have opportunity to join in a significant rally for peace and for ending the Iraq war that will take place in downtown Des Moines. A lot of people have already said they'll be there.

Many people have committed themselves to helping out with specific tasks in conducting the rally, but we still need more volunteers. Would you please consider helping in one or more of the following ways next Saturday? If so, please email me soon to let me know which item or items you can give us a hand with.

1. Help to arrange caskets around the Nollen Plaza perimeter at 3:00 p.m.

2. Help to attach flags to the caskets at approximately 3:15 p.m.

3. Serve as ushers at Nollen Plaza from 4 to 5:15 p.m. to distribute song sheets and circulate decorated collection boxes for donations. All ushers will wear identification arm bands. (Free will, voluntary donations will be collected in order to help defray the financial costs of the rally).

4. Help carry a very light weight symbolic casket in the eleven block procession. We need 200 casket carriers all together. Many people have already volunteered. We need many more. There will be parade marshals directing the procession, and we will have police escort.

5. Be one of a team of two carrying the lead banner in the parade.

6. Be one of a team of two carrying a banner at the rear of the casket procession.

7. Be a flag bearer in the procession (carrying a 4' x 6' flag on flag pole). We need five people for this.

8. Serve as ushers at the capitol west terrace from about 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. to assist people and circulate small, decorated collection boxes for donations. Some of you who help in this way during the Nollen Plaza portion of the rally might be willingto do this also at the west terrace. Ushers will wear identification arm bands.

9. Be a candle lighter at the start of the candle lighting ceremony on the west terrace. The ceremony will start at about 6:45 p.m. Again, some who serve as ushers might be willing to serve as candle lighters as well.

10. For some of the physically stronger, help load the caskets into a truck following the conclusion of the candle lighting ceremony at about 7:15 p.m.

YOUR HELP IS MUCH APPRECIATED. Email me at joycevernhn@juno.com or phone at (515) 964-1353 . THANK YOU.


ANTI-WAR NIGHT AT UPTOWN BILL’S
FEATURING MUSIC BY:

PIGS AND CLOVER
GREG AND JEAN
MARV HAIN JR
JESUS DON’T LIKE KILLIN’
(with Iowa NEA P & J Caucus menber JP Claussen)

NO COVER!
But donations are welcome!

November 3rd
7:00 – 10:00
at Uptown Bill’s Small Mall
401 S Gilbert St, Iowa City
(319) 339-0401

For More
Information
Call Marv at
319-356-6533

Parts of the PATRIOT ACT Ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Provisions allow search warrants issued without probable cause, she says

PORTLAND, Ore. - Two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they allow search warrants to be issued without a showing of probable cause, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as amended by the Patriot Act, "now permits the executive branch of government to conduct surveillance and searches of American citizens without satisfying the probable cause requirements of the Fourth Amendment."

Portland attorney Brandon Mayfield sought the ruling in a lawsuit against the federal government after he was mistakenly linked by the FBI to the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people in 2004.

The federal government apologized and settled part of the lawsuit for $2 million after admitting a fingerprint was misread. But as part of the settlement, Mayfield retained the right to challenge parts of the Patriot Act, which greatly expanded the authority of law enforcers to investigate suspected acts of terrorism.

Mayfield claimed that secret searches of his house and office under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act violated the Fourth Amendment's guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure. Aiken agreed with Mayfield, repeatedly criticizing the government.

"For over 200 years, this Nation has adhered to the rule of law — with unparalleled success. A shift to a Nation based on extra-constitutional authority is prohibited, as well as ill-advised," she wrote.

By asking her to dismiss Mayfield's lawsuit, the judge said, the U.S. attorney general's office was "asking this court to, in essence, amend the Bill of Rights, by giving it an interpretation that would deprive it of any real meaning. This court declines to do so."

Elden Rosenthal, an attorney for Mayfield, issued a statement on his behalf praising the judge, saying she "has upheld both the tradition of judicial independence, and our nation's most cherished principle of the right to be secure in one's own home."

Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said the agency was reviewing the decision, and he declined to comment further.

Received apology from FBI

Mayfield, a Muslim convert, was taken into custody on May 6, 2004, because of a fingerprint found on a detonator at the scene of the Madrid bombing. The FBI said the print matched Mayfield's. He was released about two weeks later, and the FBI admitted it had erred in saying the fingerprints were his and later apologized to him.

Before his arrest, the FBI put Mayfield under 24-hour surveillance, listened to his phone calls and surreptitiously searched his home and law office.

The Mayfield case has been an embarrassment for the federal government. Last year, the Justice Department's internal watchdog faulted the FBI for sloppy work in mistakenly linking Mayfield to the Madrid bombings. That report said federal prosecutors and FBI agents had made inaccurate and ambiguous statements to a federal judge to get arrest and criminal search warrants against Mayfield.

Iran’s Ahmadinejad arrives in U.S.

President to talk at Columbia University; denied visit to WTC site

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in New York to protests Sunday and said in a television interview that Iran was neither building a nuclear bomb nor headed to war with the United States.

The president’s motorcade pulled up to the midtown hotel where he will be staying while he appears at a series of events including the U.N. General Assembly and a forum at Columbia University, where about 40 elected officials and civic leaders decried his visit.

Ahmadinejad’s public-relations push appears aimed at presenting his views directly to a U.S. audience amid rising strains and talk of war between the two nations.

VIEW AN NBC ESSAY Mystical populist: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Watch an in-depth profile of the Iranian president: firebrand, soccer fan and true believer in Khomeini's Islamic Revolution.

Tensions are high between Washington and Tehran over U.S. accusations that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, as well as helping Shiite militias in Iraq that target U.S. troops — claims Iran denies.

“Well, you have to appreciate we don’t need a nuclear bomb. We don’t need that. What need do we have for a bomb?” Ahmadinejad said in the “60 Minutes” interview taped in Iran on Thursday. “In political relations right now, the nuclear bomb is of no use. If it was useful it would have prevented the downfall of the Soviet Union.”

‘There is no war in the offing’

He also said that: “It’s wrong to think that Iran and the U.S. are walking toward war. Who says so? Why should we go to war? There is no war in the offing.”

Before leaving Iran, Ahmadinejad said the American people have been denied “correct information,” and his visit will give them a chance to hear a different voice, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Washington has said it is addressing the Iran situation diplomatically, rather than militarily, but U.S. officials also say that all options are open. The commander of the U.S. military forces in the Middle East said he did not believe tensions will lead to war.

“This constant drum beat of conflict is what strikes me, which is not helpful and not useful,” Adm. William Fallon, head of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television, which made a partial transcript available Sunday.

Controversial visit
VIEW A VIDEO NBC ESSAY Sept. 23: President Amadinejad’s visit to New York has generated a wave of controversy. NBC’s Lester Holt reports

Ahmadinejad’s scheduled address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday will be his third time attending the New York meeting in three years.

But his request to lay a wreath at ground zero was denied by city officials and condemned by politicians who said a visit to the site of the 2001 terror attacks would violate sacred ground.

Police cited construction and security concerns in denying Ahmadinejad’s request. Ahmadinejad told 60 Minutes he would not press the issue but expressed disbelief that the visit would offend Americans.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, hundreds of young Iranians held a series of candlelight vigils in Tehran.

“Usually you go to these sites to pay your respects. And also to perhaps air your views about the root causes of such incidents,” Ahmadinejad told the network.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini also appeared dismayed that the request was rejected.

“What kind of damage will the U.S. face (by Ahmadinejad visiting the site)?” Hosseini said at his weekly press conference Sunday.

Columbia canceled a planned visit by the Iranian president last year, also citing security and logistical reasons.

Tough questions

University President Lee Bollinger has resisted requests to cancel Ahmadinejad’s speech this year but promised to introduce the talk himself with a series of tough questions on topics including the Iranian leader’s views on the Holocaust, his call for the destruction of the state of Israel and his government’s alleged support of terrorism.

Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust “a myth” and called for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”

At the protests, New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind said Ahmadinejad “should be arrested when he comes to Columbia University, not invited to speak for God’s sake.”

Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York is also being debated back home. Some in Iran think his trip is a publicity stunt that hurts Iran’s image in the world.


Click for related content
U.S. military chief foresees 'no war' with Iran
Israel's raid on Syria: Prelude to nuke crisis?

Political analyst Iraj Jamshidi said Ahmadinejad looks at the General Assembly as a publicity forum simply to surprise world leaders with his harsh rhetoric.

“The world has not welcomed Ahmadinejad’s hardline approach. His previous address to the assembly didn’t resolve any of Iran’s foreign policy issues. And no one expects anything better this time,” he said.

But conservative lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said it was a good chance for Iran to air its position.

“This trip gives the president a good chance to meet world leaders and inform them of Iran’s rightful position,” IRNA quoted Boroujerdi as saying.

Keith Olbermann Special Commentary on the MOVEON.ORG Advertisement and President Bush's Response

On September 20, 2007, Keith Olbermann makes a rare commentary on the hypocrisy of George W. Bush.



It looks like Reagan had Bush's number back in 1986!

Ronald Reagan writing about Dubya:

"A moment I've been dreading. George brought his
ne'er-do-well son around
this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not
the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all
the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40
and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New
Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That
looks like easy work."

From the just published REAGAN DIARIES. The entry is
dated May 17, 1986.

THE JENA 6

Spidelblog: Back to the Future - Race Relations In America

September 23rd, 2007

A few days ago we saw in the news a white college student being escorted out of a political event being eventually tasered. This man (Andrew Meyer) was simply asking questions to Senator John Kerry. He was escorted out. He (to some accounts) resisted and was subsequently tasered. For the sake of this blog post, let’s not get to into the details of this case. Free speech, resisting or not resisting, soap box speech versus a question during a Q & A session, abuse of force, etc. - there are many aspects of this case to discuss. But let’s just simply focus on one thing: the media’s response. Read More

Support the Jena 6

September 20th, 2007

A major injustice is unfolding in Jena, LA as six black young men are railroaded in a case that reads like one straight from the era of Jim Crow. Read up and take action, now.

National Day of Action: Sept. 20th

This Thursday, as thousands descend on Jena to press for justice, you can take action in your own community to support the Jena 6. You can attend a vigil or rally near you, start one of your own, pass out flyers to spread the word, or make a few phone calls to increase pressure on public officials.

Sign the Petition at http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/main.html
Read the article ” Racism and Resistance:The Struggle to Free The Jena Six”,
http://leftturn.mayfirst.org/?q=node/747

The ACLU Urges Congress to Be Skeptical of Administration Claims on FISA

McConnell Tries to Scare America in to Giving Up Fourth Amendment

WASHINGTON – Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and President George W. Bush have launched their version of a charm offensive to try to get controversial wiretapping legislation passed. Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the Washington Legislative Office of the ACLU said, “As part of the PR effort to gut the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act the Bush Administration has pulled out every scare tactic in the book including exaggeration and outright fibbing. This goes hand-in-hand with the usual fear-mongering, all designed to get Congress to vote to suspend the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans.”

The ACLU offers this guide to myths and facts around the administration’s efforts to undermine the civil liberties protections in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Myth: FISA needs to be expanded based on new technology.

Reality: FISA was specifically written to be technology neutral. There is absolutely no new technology that cannot be intercepted with a warrant under FISA. None. Even the man responsible for prepping and filing all FISA applications, James Baker, head of the Justice Department’s Office of Intelligence Policy and Review, has said that, “There’s no type of collection that’s prohibited by the statute.”

Myth: The so-called “Protect America Act” permits the collection of foreign-to-foreign calls and doesn’t implicate Americans.

Reality: No. What McConnell isn’t saying, is that the new law also allows the government to collect foreign to domestic calls and, quite possibly, domestic to domestic calls. Any communications that are “directed at” or even “concerning” someone overseas may be collected, even when one party to the communication is an American. That means that Americans will have our calls and emails swept up in this newly legalized dragnet.

Myth: McConnell said that it takes 200 “man” hours to get a court order to access a telephone number.

Reality: The math, courtesy of Wired.com. “In 2006, the government filed 2,181 such applications with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court. The court approved 2,176 2006 FISA Warrant Applications. That means government employees spent 436,200 hours writing out foreign intelligence wiretaps in 2006. That's 53,275 workdays.” The numbers have been greatly exaggerated. Also, in a June 2007 article in the Washington Post, Royce C. Lamberth, the presiding judge of FISC on 9-11 said he approved FISA warrants in minutes with only an oral briefing.

Even if it is merely a resource issue, there were and are bipartisan bills that would streamline the application process and grant more resources.

Besides, there is no “too-much-paperwork” exception to the Fourth Amendment.

Myth: Only 100 people in the U.S. are being surveilled.

Reality: Before this program was in place, maybe, but we don’t know. However, after passage of the “Protect America Act,” intelligence authorities are allowed to pick up all communications as long as one party is outside of the U.S. It’s a game of semantics – they may not technically be the “target” but it doesn’t matter because Americans’ phone calls are monitored and American’s emails are collected.

Myth: The “Protect America Act” requires a warrant for U.S. persons.

Reality: Again – not really. The government only needs a warrant if it is intentionally targeting a specific U.S. individual. It can, however, conduct mass untargeted surveillance of all communications coming into or out of the U.S. In other words, the Fourth Amendment has been turned on its head and suspected terrorists will have more protections than innocent Americans.
Myth: Retroactive amnesty for telecommunications companies’ involvement must be addressed.

Reality: These companies broke the law, and now they want Congress to completely absolve them of any accountability. The only thing more disturbing than the phone companies violating our rights is that members of Congress are now discussing whether to foot the bill for the fines with your tax dollars. They want to absolve the telecoms from pending lawsuits filed by citizens who have had their privacy violated, and instead have the government stand on trial in place of the companies.

What incentive will companies have to protect our information in the future if there are absolutely no consequences for violating our privacy?

Myth: Americans will die because of the public debate.

Reality: Years before the NSA’s wiretapping program was disclosed in the pages of the New York Times, the Bush Administration had been making it quite clear that terrorism suspects were being monitored. Terrorists are well aware that their communications are being scrutinized – that’s why they use code words. Having a frank and open discussion in the public square about the rights of Americans is the very essence of our democracy. To suggest that having a public debate about surveillance would cost American lives is one of the most sinister and manipulative claims to come out of this dialogue.

Myth: The so called “Protect America Act” helped thwart a terror attack in Germany.

Reality: No. That’s not true. In fact, after making this statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, McConnell had to retract it.

Coalition Sign-On Letter to Democratic Congressional Leaders Outlining Basic Privacy Principles Needed in the Wake of Changes to FISA http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/31587leg20070904.html

What's Wrong with the Military Commissions Act & findhabeas.com

UNDERMINES THE CONSTITUTION AND THE RULE OF LAW,
MAKES THE PRESIDENT BOTH JUDGE AND JURY,
REJECTS CORE AMERICAN VALUES


You've heard of Where's Waldo? How about FIND HABEAS? CLICK HERE join the ACLU in protecting our Civil Liberties."

What you can do:

GET THE FACTS ON HABEAS CORPUS AND THE MILITARY COMMISSIONS ACT
LEARN HOW CONGRESS CAN FIX THE MCA
HELP FIND HABEAS

THE FACTS

About Habeas Corpus
About the Military Commissions Act
Bills to Restore Habeas and Fix the MCA

RESOURCES

AUDIO: Poets Steve Connell and Sekou (tha misfit) on the absence of Habeas Corpus

BLOG: The Road to Closure (Ben Wizner on Guantánamo:)

PHOTOS: Messages of Support for Habeas, On Flickr

AD CAMPAIGN: Restore the Constitution

LETTER: Urging Opposition to the Military Commissions Act of 2006

LEARN MORE: The ACLU's Work Against Torture

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Harvard Memo Reviewing the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 (2/19/2007)

ACLU Letter to Congress Outlining Priorities for 110th Congress (1/25/2007)

The 2007 State of Civil Liberties in America (1/22/2007)

MORE RESOURCES

AUDIO: Rory Kennedy and the ACLU Discuss "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib"

LEARN MORE: Ali v. Rumsfeld and the Fight Against Unlawful Detention

AUDIO: ACLU's Legal Director on Guantanamo's Fifth Anniversary (1/10/2007)

LETTER: Urging Opposition to the Military Commissions Act of 2006

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Memo Reviewing the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 by the Harvard Law School National Security Research Group (2/19/2007)

ACLU Letter to Congress Outlining Priorities for 110th Congress (1/25/2007)

The 2007 State of Civil Liberties in America (1/22/2007)

ACLU Letter to Congress Outlining Its Legislative Priorities for the 110th Congress (1/9/2007)

Washington Legislative Director, Caroline Fredrickson's Remarks Regarding the ACLU's Priorities for the 110th Congress (1/9/2007)

Executive Director Anthony D. Romero's Remarks Regarding the ACLU's Priorities for the 110th Congress (1/9/2007)

ACLU Letter to the Senate Strongly Urging Senators to Block the Construction of a Courthouse on Guantanamo Bay (12/5/2006)

ACLU Washington Post Advertisement on Military Commissions Act (10/17/2006)

Coalition Letter to the House or Representatives Strongly Urging Rejection of the Military
Commissions Act of 2006 Compromise (9/27/2006)

ACLU Letter to the Senate Strongly Urging Opposition to S. 3930, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (9/25/2006)

Coalition Letter to the Senate Opposing Bush Military Commissions Bill (9/11/2006)

Coalition Letter to the House of Representatives Opposing Bush Military Commissions Bill (9/11/2006)