DemocracyAware begins with seeing the facade of U.S. democracy. Trace the financing and you find corporations, not people elect presidents. DemocracyAware action means reclaiming democracy for 'We the People.' Our focus is to get the Bush corporate plutocracy-cartel of greed out of power, and work to elect grassroots people. Our Peace Vigils protest President Bush's NeoCon regime continuing assault on the United States Constitution by the U.S.A. PATRIOT act. Please reject Bush/Blair for nobel peace prize. PeaceAware PRIORITIES: Get Las Cruces & Dona Ana County to PROTECT Civil Liberties against PATRIOT act
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URGENT ACTION NEEDED:
Did you know that banks and mortgage companies are collecting your ID to see if you are on a Terrorist List More ...
Did you know - Congress in Nov 2003 extended the U.S.A. PATRIOT act - The list now includes casinos, travel agents, car dealers, the U.S. Post Office, and others. As is the case with Section 215, the FBI may impose a gag order on the person from whom it requests the information.
Nov 24 - 2003 - "Under the Patriot Act, the FBI can acquire bank records and Internet or phone logs simply by issuing itself a so-called national security letter saying the records are relevant to an investigation into terrorism. The FBI doesn't need to show probable cause or consult a judge. What's more, the target institution is issued a gag order and kept from revealing the subpoena's existence to anyone, including the subject of the investigation. "
"The new provision in the spending bill redefines the meaning of "financial institution" and "financial transaction." The wider definition explicitly includes insurance companies, real estate agents, the U.S. Postal Service, travel agencies, casinos, pawn shops, ISPs, car dealers and any other business whose 'cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax or regulatory matters.'"More...
Did you know that our local libraries can take legal steps to PROTECT your confidential information like what books you check out and what email you send while at the library More On the PeaceAware survey of local libraries and what they can do to protect our civil liberties... Read the PeaceAware analysis of the U.S.A. PATRIOT act dangers, a press release about what our Mayor thinks, and please, SIGN the PETITION to PROTECT our CIVIL LIBERTIES from this attack on democracy. Sign Petition Now.
These are the cities and counties in New Mexico that have Civil Liberties SAFE ZONES:
Albuquerque
Aztec
Bayard
Farmington
Grant County
Las Vegas
Los Alamos County
Rio Arriba County
Santa Fe
Silver City
Socorro
Taos
Here is the preliminary results of the survey taken at NMSU libraries. At NMSU, patron records of book check outs are expunged after books are returned and any late fees paid. Library workers endorse a Code of ethics about protecting patron record confidentiality, but do not sign confidentiality agreements. Library workers report that have received training in the implications of the U.S.A. PATRIOT act. The library, according to surveyed workers, does cooperate voluntarily with FBI, INS, and Police, voluntarily letting them see patron records. When patrons use library web sites, once a user logs off, there is no more records kept of which sites are visited. However emails sent from library computers are being kept for a period of six months (and can therefore be reviewed by the government). We thank the libary staff and the students of NMSU for their fine work More.. on the results.. Also See the library survey - More...
Latest Developments in U.S.A. PATRIOT act-
4 Dec 03 - ACLU Says Patriot Act Unconstitutional -The Associated Press DETROIT - The USA Patriot Act gives federal agents unlimited and unconstitutional authority to secretly seize library reading lists and other personal records, civil liberties advocates told a judge. A U.S. district judge in Detroit heard arguments Wednesday in the first legal challenge to the part of the Patriot Act that lets agents obtain such things as library lists and medical information. More...
4 Dec 03 - Common Dreams - U.S.A. PATRIOT act continues long line of state surveillance and expulsion of students and faculty More..
3 Dec 03 - Meet Viet D. Dinh, the Architect of the ''U.S.A. PATRIOT
Act.'' Mr. Dinh, is Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice.
He served as Associate Special Counsel to the U.S. Senate Whitewater Committee,
as Special Counsel to Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico,
for the Impeachment Trial of President Clinton. More...
21 Nov 03 - WASHINGTON -- Going Backwards Patriot Act Expansion Moves
Through Congress
by Jim Lobe - Congress is poised to approve new legislation that amounts to
the first substantive expansion of the controversial U.S.A. PATRIOT act.
"Acting at the Bush administration's behest, a joint House-Senate conference
committee has approved a provision in the 2004 Intelligence Authorization bill
that will permit the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to demand records
from a number of businesses--without the approval of a judge or grand jury--if
it deems them relevant to a counter-terrorism investigation. The measure would
extend the FBI's power to seize records from banks and credit unions to securities
dealers, currency exchanges, travel agencies, car dealers, post offices, casinos,
pawnbrokers and any other business that, according to the government, has a
"high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax or regulatory matters."
Such seizures could be carried out with the approval of the judicial branch
of government." More...
"On November 21, Congress passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004. It expands the types of businesses from which the FBI can demand records using national security letters without judicial oversight. Most details of the bill are secret, including the total costs of the programs, estimated to be about $40 billion" More on the act itself...
Authorizes agencies to continue research on computerized terrorism surveillance
projects formerly operated by the Defense Department. Those projects were widely
criticized on civil liberties grounds, prompting Congress to remove them from
the Pentagon. source
Did you know that Free Speech Zones are back? "As president,
Bush has widened his restrictions on demonstrations against his policies. Anti-Bush
protesters are now relegated to what are euphemistically called Free Speech
Zones. These areas are cordoned off as far as a mile away from the president
and the main thoroughfares, so that Bush cannot see the demonstrators, or their
signs of protest, nor hear their chants.The free speech enclosures are only
for those who disagree with the administration's current policies. Those citizens
who carry pro-Bush signs are allowed to line the street where the president's
motorcade passes. Free speech zone- Members of the Secret Service or local law
enforcement officers under orders of the Secret Service demand protesters move
into a free speech area." More...
9 Oct 2003 - Muslim Americans say have also suffered targeting under the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act.... "Without a warrant and without probable cause, the FBI now has the power to access your most private medical records, your library records, and your student records...and can prevent anyone from telling you it was done," says the ACLU in its description of the Patriot Act. ... Muslims say they also witnessed a surge in hate crimes and endured continued stereotyping in the popular media--and even at times Islamophobic rhetoric by high-ranking officials and by evangelical leaders such as Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. ... A recent incident that sent reverberations through the Islamic community in the Washington, D.C. area was the stabbing from behind of a Muslim woman who was wearing an Islamic headscarf in a K-Mart parking lot in Springfield, Virginia. The white male teenage attacker allegedly shouted, "you terrorist pig," before running away. Miller wrote The Crucible in response to one of America's most famous "witch hunts" that took place in the 1950s--McCarthyism--which hunted down so-called communists and their sympathizers. But now the decades-old novel is resonating with Muslims..."The novel shows two main sources for hysteria," said Allaa Baioumi of CAIR. "One of them is fundamentalists in the village. These are the right wing and neo-conservatives now. The other section was people who benefited from the crisis, like the rich folks who wanted to punish their opponents. Now, these are the pro-Israel lobbyists." More...
23 July 2003 - Congress Takes Aim At U.S.A. PATRIOT; ACLU Calls Move Giant Win for Civil Liberties "Congress agreed – by an extraordinary margin – to an amendment to this year’s Commerce, Justice and State funding bill that would bar federal law enforcement from implementing “sneak and peek” delayed notification search warrants, pursuant to a provision in the USA PATRIOT Act. Conservative Rep. C.L. “Butch” Otter (R-ID) offered the amendment, which passed by a vote of 309 to 118, with 113 Republicans voting in favor. The amendment still has to clear the Senate and the President before it becomes law." More...
22 July 2003 - Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General today publicly released a report outlining allegations of civil rights and civil liberties abuses by Justice Department personnel under the USA PATRIOT Act. "The Inspector General’s report provided an overview of the 34 cases that the office determined to constitute a "credible PATRIOT Act complaint." The office said initially received close to 2,000 reports of abuses, though many fell outside the purview of the Inspector General or were not PATRIOT Act related. The Inspector General’s office said that 272 complaints fell within its jurisdiction. Most of the investigations remain open and ongoing." More...
TROOP ACTION NEEDED: Tell Congress to Vote NO! on $87 billion,
and to BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!!!! Right now polls show that 51% of
America opposes additional money for Iraq, and 41% supports. This means the
administration is weak on this. Now is the time to FLOOD Congress with the demand,
NO money for continuing the occupation, and bring the troops home now. A loss
of this money can not only lead to the end of the occupation a d return of troops.
“Representative Steve Pearce, I am calling to register my most emphatic
opposition to any additional money for the war in Iraq. I oppose $87 billion,
and I also oppose any smaller amount. This war is a military, social, and political
disaster, and it needs to simply end. We want Iraq to go back to the Iraqis,
and for our troops to be sent home NOW." Go to http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/stand/pressure.html
to get the correct contact information for your Reps and Senators (even though
Senators aren’t voting yet, they need to know how you feel).
PRESS RELEASE by PeaceAware 23 Oct 2003 - Meeting with Mayor Mattiace - Maoyor and head of ACLU agree to put on Las Cruces Town Hall meeting. Mayor says PeaceAware's 400 signatures not enough to put item on agenda of City Council' only petitions with 4,000 signatures are discussed in this sity. Press here for Press Release.
Civil Liberties Safe Zone resolutions that have passed in NEW MEXICO (there is also a draft state resolution). 200 cities, towns, and counties that have already passed resolutions and four ordinances to protect the civil liberties of their citizens. These have passed in New Mexico, but Las Cruces City Council, will not even agree to entertain a discussion and dialog about the resolution.
Note: PeaceAware does not endorse political candidates, we do endorse getting candidates out of office that destroy U.S. democracy and we invite you to become DemocracyAware by getting to know alternative candidates.
Alternative Candidates - The Dennis Kucinish campaign web is at http://kucinich.us/ There is also Howard Dean web site. The question is who is going to reclaim democracy from the megacorporate influence that dominates the Bush administration? 24 Sept 03 - "Howard Dean invoked Boston's revolutionary legacy on Tuesday as he urged Americans to dump their latter-day 'king' - George W. Bush - whom he accused of threatening democracy and caring only for the very rich. In a speech to thousands of supporters, Dean said next year's election was about protecting American democracy from 'a narrow band of right-wing ideologues' who were trampling the U.S. Constitution.... ' Dean drew parallels between his own grass-roots campaign and the Boston Tea Party... He said that like King George III, the British monarch against whom American colonists rebelled, Bush had 'forgotten his own people' and was listening only to special interests." More ...
Kucinich's new bill, "the 'Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act', would
repeal sections of the USA PATRIOT Act that authorize sneak and peak searches,
warrentless library, medical, and financial record searches, and the detention
and deportation of non-citizens without meaningful judicial review ... More
...
Bush Approval Drops to Term Low - Published on Tuesday, September 23, 2003 by the Gallup News Service Americans Grow More Doubtful About Iraq War by Lydia Saad and Frank Newport. The poll finds continuing erosion of public support for the U.S. intervention in Iraq, to the point that Americans are now about evenly divided over whether the Iraq situation was worth going to war over. Americans are also divided in their evaluations of the job George W. Bush is doing as president. According to the Sept. 19-21 survey, just 50% of Americans today believe that the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over; 48% disagree. Just 50% approve of the Bush's overall job performance; 47% disapprove. More ...
Ruy Teixeira writes, "The just-released NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has
Bush's approval rating at just 49%,
with 45% disapproval. This is the first major public poll to
break the 50% barrier. The poll also shows that more people now believe the
policies of the Bush administration (25%) are responsible for the recession
and economic downturn we are experiencing than believe the effects of 9/11 and
the war on terrorism (22%) are responsible. That's a huge turnaround from October
of 2002 when 34% blamed 9/11 for economic problems and only 12% blamed Bush
administration policies." More
...
TAKE ACTION - Get out the Latino Vote - It's a known fact that out of 100% of Hispanic register voters in Doña Ana County alone, only 27% actually vote!
TAKE ACTION - Post this sign adapted from 1 ... and 2 ...
WARNING: Under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT act (Public Law 107-56) records of books you borrow from the Library may be handed to federal agents. Library workers are prohibited from informing you if federal agents have obtained records about you. Questions about this policy should be directed to: Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
"Across the nation, FBI investigators are visiting libraries and checking
the reading records of people they suspect of being in league with terrorists,
library officials say. The FBI effort, authorized by the anti-terrorism law
enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks, is the first broad government check of library
records since the 1970s, when prosecutors reined in the practice for fear of
abuses... Judith Krug, the American Library [Assoc. Dir.] for intellectual freedom,
tells worried librarians who call that they should keep only the records they
need and should discard records that would show which patron checked out a book...
'People are scared and they think that by giving up their rights, especially
their right to privacy, they will be safe,' Krug said. 'But it wasn't the right
to privacy that let terrorists into our nation. It had nothing to do with libraries
or library records.'" Ashcroft claimed last week that the library provision
of the Patriot Act has never been used. He lied!
More ...
Take Back America from the NeoCons - Ashcroft's barnstorming tour across the US to trump up support for his Orwellian attack on America's civil liberties was a total failure. Everywhere he went, he was greeted by far, far more protesters than supporters. Meanwhile, the number of bills being proposed to overturn or limit the totalitarian powers Ashcroft seeks to give himself is growing weekly. As you scroll through this list, notice how many are sponsored by Democrats - about 9/10! This is the type of concrete action on behalf of America that will help the Dems take back the Senate and House!! More ...
CREATE A DEPARTMENT OF PEACE - Participate in an historic citizen lobbying effort to create a U.S. Department of Peace (HR 1673), sponsored in the House of Representatives by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. This bill establishes nonviolence as an organizing principle of American society, providing the U.S. President with an array of peace-building policy options for domestic and international use.
Just as the passage of the thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery took years to pass; just as the nineteenth amendment providing women's suffrage took years to pass; just as the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960's took years to pass, this legislation provides substance and meaning to the political yearnings of our generation. It systematically applies the power of peace to the eradication of root causes of violence. More...
"I was arrested for Peace" - David M. Boje, co-organizer, PeaceAware
On April 12th PeaceAware co-organizer David Boje was handcuffed and leg-shackled
and confined at New Mexico State Police Headquarters for over an hour without
charge, without Miranda rights being read to him, and without a call to an attorney
(Click image for caption from the Sun-News photo). The university apologized,
and the Sun-News printed its first favorable editorial.
POINTS TO CONSIDER IN THIS AND OTHER FREE SPEECH ARRESTS (this is not legal advice, please consult an attorney for that).
Police may argue, an investigation at request of the Resident House Manager
was underway. Still, the clear intent of the law seems to be to prosecute
"obstructions of justice", which, would imply not merely complaints
but at least suspicion of criminal activity. Since no New Mexico law or
University policy was broken, request for ID is an alleged arbitrary abuse
of legitimate police power and false arrest. (See
LexisNexis
website containg the NM Criminal Code).
(this is not legal advice, please consult an attorney for that).
Please KNOW YOUR RIGHTS - (See Flyer).
Protect our Civil Liberties - Sign the CIVIL LIBERTIES RESOLUTION for LAS CRUCES & New Mexico
Hawaii Legislature Becomes Nation's First to Pass Pro-Civil Liberties Bill
"The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii today applauded the state legislature for being the first in the nation to stand up for the rights of individuals by passing a joint resolution affirming and protecting the individual liberties of all the people of Hawaii and calling for the repeal of the most egregious provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. 'The actions of the legislature truly represent the Aloha state - we are a diverse people, and we have a long, proud tradition of respecting human rights and upholding civil liberties,' said Vanessa Y. Chong, Executive Director of the ACLU of Hawaii. 'We are proud to be the first state, hopefully of many, to recognize that our safety need not come at the expense of our individual rights and freedoms. This resolution sends a clear message to America - Hawaii want to remain both safe and free.'" See the Story.
Did you know that in cities across America, peace activists are being arrested and harassed by police?
According to the ACLU report, "Freedom Under Fire: Dissent in
Post-9/11 America," some government officials, including local police,
have gone to extraordinary lengths to squelch dissent wherever it has sprung
up, drawing on a breathtaking array of tactics - from censorship and surveillance
to detention, denial of due process and excessive force.
Question: We know the the Las Cruces police is video-taping PeaceAware Marches
and Rallies. Question: Are they also sending names of peaceful activists and
rights groups, such as PeaceAware, to the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force?
Bush launched his re-election campaign with a spectacular "Top Gun" landing on a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Dear PeaceAware,
Enough Spectacle. Bush's stage managers have elevated the photo-op to pure cinema. They have morphed his AWOL military career into Top Gun. Bush's media team had the carrier stop to catch just the right tone of sunlight and to keep lan out of view of the photographer's lens.
There is a window of opportunity to trip up and topple George Bush and his
administration. Please read over the attachment, make any changes you feel
are appropriate and send it on to any Peace Organizations you know. If we
can focus demonstrations world wide on George Bush’s failings in diplomacy
and errors in planning, time, cost and acceptance by the Iraqi people, we
can force the U.S out of Iraq, open the door for the United Nations to take
over and send Bush back to Texas.
READ: A NEEDED
FOCUS OF POST WAR
Arundhati Roy | Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy. An excerpt:
The battle to reclaim democracy is going to be a difficult one. Our freedoms were not granted to us by any governments. They were wrested from them by us. And once we surrender them, the battle to retrieve them is called a revolution. It is a battle that must range across continents and countries. It must not acknowledge national boundaries but, if it is to succeed, it has to begin here. In America. The only institution more powerful than the U.S. government is American civil society. The rest of us are subjects of slave nations. We are by no means powerless, but you have the power of proximity. You have access to the Imperial Palace and the Emperor's chambers. Empire's conquests are being carried out in your name, and you have the right to refuse. You could refuse to fight. Refuse to move those missiles from the warehouse to the dock. Refuse to wave that flag. Refuse the victory parade. Read more by Arundhati Roy | Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy.
CARE
TO COMMENT?
Read Howard Zinn's "A Gentler Patriotism"
Written with sense of Humor, The Bush Resume
Here is something less humorous, Believe it or not, Bush and Blair have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for their fight against terrorism. You can sign to reject the nomination PRESS HERE
Time to turn on alternative media and turn off TV.
TIME TO PLAN FOR THE REGIME CHANGE AT HOMEd I
Are we better off in terms of unemployment, stock market or budget surplus? Compare Bush Sr., Clinton and Bush Jr. economic results
Print this flyer on - How Congress Plans to Welcome Home Our Troops with the Bush "Economic Disaster Plan:"
MoveOn has asked us to support a national campaign to elect Peace People in 2004:
The war in Iraq is over; the U.S. occupation of Iraq has now begun.
In an unnecessary war, victory is never sweet: American soldiers,
Iraqi civilians, and Iraqi soldiers lost their lives in a conflict
that never should have happened. That's not victory, that's tragedy.
The hawks in the Bush Administration see this as a vindication of
their belligerent world view. Never mind that we haven't found any
weapons of mass destruction; never mind that Iraqi democracy (or even
security) is nowhere in sight. The hotter heads have prevailed: pre-
emptive unilateralism is now the official policy of the U.S.. Vice
President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard
Perle are now thinking even bigger about the "projection of American
power." In the chilling words of a senior official close to the Bush
administration, "Anyone can go to Baghdad. Real men go to Tehran."
Folks, we just have to stop this madness, and there's really only one
way to do that: We need to throw these bums out. The good news is that
over the last few months, we've built a base that just may be large
enough to succeed. MoveOn's total membership is now over 1.3 million.
We've taken out ads, written letters, delivered mountains of petition
signatures, and taken action in hundreds of cities. And now we need to
turn our attention toward one goal: regime change in the USA, the best
way to repudiate Bush's policy of war.
Are you in? If you're willing to help show Bush the door in 2004,
just click below. We'll count you among the participants in this next
phase of the peace movement.
http://www.moveon.org/pac/newpres
We'll throw out Bush and the Republicans using every means available:
by registering a wave of new voters, by organizing to make sure they
get to the polls on election day, by raising enough money to compete
with the President's mountain of special interest money, and by
volunteering for political campaigns. We'll make it easy for you to
play a part.
President Bush believes he doesn't have to listen to the American
public -- which, even during war, has overwhelmingly been skeptical or
strongly resistant to the idea of an American empire. He has decided
that his faith in the military takes precedence over his faith in
democracy. The election in 2004 is our chance to take our democracy
back.
Polls show overwhelmingly that American's do not trust President Bush
to revive the failing economy. They're just as concerned with the
Administration's assault on civil rights, civil liberties and the
environment. Last week in New Orleans, Presidential Advisor Karl Rove
said that this will be a "close, competitive" race. If all of us get
involved, it won't just be tight. We'll win.
And that will go down in history. It will demonstrate that we mean
what we say -- that we have the passion and the commitment to see our
approach to foreign policy through. It will demonstrate that
politicians who seek to curry favor through belligerence face
political consequences, and that those who advocate a reasonable,
multilateral foreign policy will be rewarded. And it will set the
stage for an American policy that leads the world into a cooperative
and safe future.
Let's elect a new President in 2004, and put an end to the politics of
unnecessary war.
Dean's list of Bush lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Ask congress for an investigation about the Bush administration's distortion of the evidence for war in Iraq. Press here to go to MoveOn form.
A second option is Impeachment
Missing Weapons Of
Mass Destruction: Is Lying About The Reason For War An Impeachable Offense?
By JOHN W. DEAN - June 6 2003
Impeachment proceedings begin? Article
1(8) of the U.S. Constriction says that only Congress, and not the President,
has the authority to declare war. All of the above is
Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who also calls for Bush Impeachment
- Click
here to read the Articles of Impeachment. and Then
VOTE HERE to IMPEACH G. W. BUSH for
war crimes. Draft Impeachment Resolution Against President George
W. Bush
by FRANCIS A. BOYLE • Saturday January 18, 2003
see set of impeachment articles
In New Mexico, the PeaceAware
community is asking some tough questions to Congressman Steve Pearce.
See Sun-News "Unlike most of his other recent town hall appearances,
Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., faced a sometimes confrontational crowd Monday night,
who asked a list of questions concerning the environment, the Otero Mesa and
the effects of the 2001 PATRIOT Act"
PeaceAware does not endorse political parties. There are some party movements that are reclaiming democracy.
OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES ARE BEING THREATENED
Simple Acts of Free Speech result in arrests and leg-shackling of faculty. I should know, it happened to me on April 12, 2003.
Photo: Seba, Boje, & Taba at March 21 Peace Vigil in Las Cruces. These young ladies from Iraq are subject to constant FBI surveillance.
READ Steve Best's Article "Son of U.S.A. PATRIOT Act" on our new PeaceAware.com DISCUSSION BOARD - Put in a comment? Then Print out PeaceAware's U.S.A. PATRIOT act factsheet to share with a friend.
WANT TO REALLY BE PEACE AWARE, then JOIN THE PeaceAware Daily PeaceAware List Serve (or DIGEST) option. To get on or off list, PRESS HERE. The Digest goes to over 375 New Mexico people who are PeaceAware. To Click to Contact Peace@nmsu.edu listserve manager.
Click here for a once-a-week email about local events; This option takes you off the daily email list.
Should the PeaceAware community be Silent during times of war? Our Peace Vigils began six months before the war, and as part of worldwide movement, PeaceAware helped to put U.S. rush to war on the UN agenda, called attention to toxic human and environmental effects of Enriched (depleted) Uranium, and began an Interfaith search for peace. Now that war has started, the media demands that peace people be silent while U.S. troops are in Iraq. This is not a time for silence. U.S. men and women, as well as Iraqi civilians and soldiers are dying because the U.S. government refused to work with the UN inspection program, and sought unilateral aggression instead of abiding by International laws such as the Geneva Convention. Unprovoked war is a war crime. As a Vietnam Veteran, I support our troops, but ask that they be brought home Now. The Pope, the Catholic Bishops to the National Council of Churches all oppose this war. The fact that war has begun and our U.S. troops are at danger does not change a war crime into a justification for war. I grieve for the senseless loss of lives of our U.S. troops and I grieve for loss of Iraqi lives wrought by U.S. invasion of their homeland. I call for a boycott of U.S. corporations profiteering from war, a ban on depeleted uranium weaponry, endorsement of international treaties against preemptive war, and call upon the U.S. to endorse the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto Protocol. I call for cease fire, withdrawal of all U.S. & U. K. troops, and the commission of war crimes trials and impeachment proceedings. As the world peace movement unites in its call for international laws about war crimes be enforced and as regime change happens in UK and U.S. then there will be a foundation for world peace. It is not time to be silent. It is time to pray and meditate for the lives lost needlessly due to the U.S. new NeoCon foreign policy. We can end this war -Dennis Kucinich recently offered an amendment to bring the troops home immediately. The Kucinich amendment would cut $19.3 billion from Operation Iraqi Freedom Fund. The amendment would leave $30.3 billion to fund the war to date, plus $10 billion to get the troops out of Iraq. .- Sincerely David Boje, Ph.D. PeaceAware co-organizer.
Did you know in some cities it is a crime to protest? State monitored war protesters Intelligence agency does not distinguish between terrorism and peace activism By Ian Hoffman, Sean Holstege and Josh Richman, STAFF WRITERS Days before firing wooden slugs at anti-war protesters, Oakland police were warned of potential violence at the Port of Oakland by California's anti-terrorism intelligence center, which admits blurring the line between terrorism and political dissent. The April 2 bulletin from the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center (CATIC) arguably offered more innuendo than actual evidence of protesters' intent to "shut down" the port and possibly act violently. See rest of story.
Did you know, according to the Domestic Security Enhancement Act, Ashcoft has the "power" to declare you a terrorist? A terrorist is any individual, foreign or domestic that engages in any action meant to influence (coerce) the US, including the gathering of any information, even if that information gathering is not a crime, for use by the individual. (Section 101: Individual Terrorists as Foreign Powers. This provision would expand FISA's definition of "foreign power" to include all persons, regardless of whether they are affiliated with an international terrorist group, who engage in international terrorism.....Section 102: Clandestine Intelligence Activities Requiring the additional showing that the intelligence gathering violates the laws of the United States is both unnecessary and
counterproductive, as such activities threaten the national security regardless of whether they are illegal. This provision would expand the definitions contained in 50 U.S.C. § 1801(b)(2)(A) & (B). Any person who
engages in clandestine intelligence gathering activities for a foreign power would qualify as an "agent of a foreign power," regardless of whether those activities are federal crimes.) Did you know we can then be stripped of citizenship and then denied the right to counsel and, theoretically shipped to Guantanimo and tortured, or even tortured right here at home (See DOJs brief in the Chavez v. Martinez case
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1202-08.htmDid You Know? Newly released documents from the Denver Police Department reveal that University of Colorado police officers gathered and forwarded to Denver information on local activists such as RMAD. full story These documents were released under the terms of a settlement between Denver and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. ... Citizens' exercising of their right to speak, write and associate should not land in a police file. That's the promise of the First Amendment. If police have legitimate reasons to believe that individuals or groups are committing crimes, surveillance may be justified. But when the cops monitor people for expressing unpopular views, they discourage people of conscience from using their God-given right to free expression. If any institution should understand this, it should be the university. full story.
Did you know that the U.S.A. PATRIOT act is about to be expanded and made permanent law? National Desk | April 9, 2003, Wednesday
A NATION AT WAR: LIBERTY AND SECURITY; Republicans Want Terrorism Law Made Permanent - By ERIC LICHTBLAU (NYT) 959 words Late Edition - Final , Section B , Page 1 , Column 1 ABSTRACT - Congressional Republicans are maneuvering to make permanent sweeping antiterrorism powers granted to federal law enforcement agents after attacks of Sept 11, 2001, in so-called Patriot Act; move is likely to touch off strong objections from many Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress who believe law has already given government too much power to spy on Americans; provisions are set to expire at end of 2005 unless Congress re-authorizes them (M) Working with the Bush administration, Congressional Republicans are maneuvering to make permanent the sweeping antiterrorism powers granted to federal law enforcement agents after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, officials said today. The move is likely to touch off strong objections from many Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress who believe that the Patriot Act, as the legislation that grew out of the attacks is known, has already given the government too much power to spy on Americans. Read Story.
Please Support Our Troops - Bring Them Home Now!
Who in U.S. Government - Served in the Military?
New piece by PeaceAware's Tom Wark is featured on DISCUSSION. See We the Undersigned - Love our Country and call for International law modeled on the Constitution.
It begins a new dialog format for PeaceAware (and does not use email)
You can add a comment and post your signature that way. Or suggest changes and additions. The final result will be part of our 4 page insert to the Bulletin. Or course we will need to raise $1,500 to get it in. But, I figure if we rerun the Not in Our Name ad (we paid $2,500 for that) -- that people will contribute and we will raise the money quickly. We can put in fact sheets about U.S.A. PATRIOT act, Civilian Casualties of war, maybe a few reality photos.
PeaceAware is collecting money to put ads in local papers. Please send $45 will pay for an ad in a local New Mexico paper. Donate Money now to Next PeaceAware fund raising campaign by CLICKING HERE
Support Congressman Dennis Kucinich's Department of Peace (DOP) legislation in the House of Representatives. PRINT FLYERS, Hand them out at Peace Vigils and post them in co-ops, coffee houses, universities, churches, etc. Department of Peace.
Research the Oil connections of Congressman Steve Pearce
WHAT NEXT?
IT IS TIME TO RECLAIM OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. This is where students learn militarism. Instead of free speech, they are learning militarism. It is time to take the Junior ROTC and military recruiting out of schools. Learn how to OPT-OUT.
Click here for info on Militarism in New Mexico's Public Middle Schools and High Schools -
We are also beginning to assemble information on reports we are receiving of the growing presence of military recruiting in New Mexico Middle Schools, and how impressionable young minds are recruited to militarism. If you have any personal experience with this, please contact David Boje dboje@nmsu.edu At this point we are collecting stories for a study of Middle School involvement with military recruiters. We plan to issue a report to school boards and parents. For more information see (CLICK HERE).
Please print the PeaceAware Tax Resistance Flyer and Distribute before April 15th
See STORIES YOU WON'T READ in SUN-NEWS!
IT IS TIME TO RECLAIM DEMOCRACY - IT IS WE THE PEOPLE
Thank you - Every volunteer minute you spend, helps the World Wide Peace Movement
