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Laurent Nkunda's "Arrest:" Rwanda's Latest Shell Game in Response to International Pressure

Friends Of The Congo, Jan. 30, 2009

Over the past week, events have unfolded at a dizzying pace in the Central Africa region; hence Friends of Congo thought it would be useful to add some context to the situation based on questions posed to us.

Is Laurent Nkunda’s arrest a positive development?


We have reasons to doubt that Laurent Nkunda has been arrested. Rwandan Maj. Jill Rutaremara said that Nkunda was in Rwanda but "not in jail." If Nkunda has in fact been arrested it would be a positive development but not a massive change as some analysts would like you to believe. A true marker of the veracity of Rwanda’s claims of arresting Nkunda will be the extradition of Nkunda to the Congo where he committed the crimes against the Congolese people. If Nkunda is not extradited to Congo in short order then that will be a clear sign that this is part of the shell game that Rwanda has been playing for the past 12 years, a period during which they replaced one proxy leader with another while they continued to occupy Eastern Congo. Even if Nkunda were to be arrested, it would be a fundamental flaw in one’s reasoning to believe that Nkunda was the primary cause of the conflict in the east. In essence, what has happened is that Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defense of the People has been replaced by thousands of Rwandan troops. The problem is Rwanda’s and Uganda’s aggression against the Congo backed primarily by the United States and British governments and corporate interests since 1996.

If Rwanda did in fact arrest Nkunda, doesn’t this mean that they never supported him as the December 12th UN Report documented?

No, to the contrary, over the past twelve years Rwanda has shuffled different rebel leaders according to its interests. It is in part for this reason there were so many versions of the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD, former rebel militia backed by Rwanda), which Nkunda was a part of in 1998 – 2002 war. Nkunda’s apparent replacement, Jean-Bosco Ntaganda, also has an arrest warrant out for him issued by the International Criminal Court; one human rights offender has been replaced by another as Bosco now proclaims to head the CNDP.

A systemic and historical analysis is warranted in order to demystify current events in the Congo and arrive at prescriptions that will lead to lasting peace and stability. Unfortunately, the majority of Great Lakes analysts offer Rwanda-friendly analysis and prescriptions as Rwanda represents the US and British foreign policy interests in Central Africa. These analysts’ job is to provide intellectual and advocacy cover for an otherwise disastrous policy across now two US and British administrations that have led to the deaths of millions of Congolese and the systematic looting of Congo’s wealth to the benefit of U.S. allies Rwanda and Uganda as well as Western corporations.

Isn’t the new collaboration between Congo and Rwanda a good sign on the road to peace and stability in the region?

On December 5th, Rwanda and Congo signed a secret pact in Goma that the Congolese people know nothing about (President Kabila is scheduled to speak to his nation on this issue on Saturday, January 31, 2009). James Kabarebe, Chief of General Staff of the Rwandan Defense Forces and former private secretary and aide-de-camp of Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame was later dispatched to Kinshasa to consummate a deal with President Kabila. Thus, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, James Kabarebe, and President Kabila worked out a deal that resulted in over 5,000 Rwandan soldiers entering Congo. These are the same characters that collaborated in 1996 when Congo was first invaded by Rwanda during the Clinton administration. During that period they traversed the Congo slaughtering Hutu man, woman and child and anyone else who was in the way. The United Nations says that the killings were so massive and systematic that they can be considered crimes against humanity and possibly genocide. The United Nations investigation into these crimes against humanity by the Rwandan army, Kabarebe and Kabila was blocked and still remains to be resolved (see the UN investigations: http://www.inshuti.org/onua.htm). Once a responsible and credible government is in place in Congo all these crimes must be investigated and justice must be delivered so that the Congolese people can be made whole. Find out more about the Kagame, Kabarebe, Kabila connection in our January 20th Blog. In the final analysis, more troops and further militarization of the region is not the answer. A robust political path must be established in order to lead to peace and stability in the Great Lakes region.

So are you saying that President Kabila allowing Rwandan troops on Congolese soil to hunt down those responsible for the 1994 genocide is not a good thing?


The logic that allowing Rwandan soldiers on Congolese territory to hunt down Hutu rebels will bring about peace is fundamentally flawed. Below are some factors to consider:

1. The deal allowing Rwandan soldiers on Congolese soil was not between the Congolese government and the Rwandan government. It was between the Congolese president Joseph Kabila, whom many suspect is not even Congolese and the Kagame regime in Kigali. Neither the Congolese parliament nor the Congolese people were either consulted or addressed regarding Rwandan troops entering Congolese territory. In fact some Congolese are calling for the impeachment of Kabila. When it comes to matters in Africa, we tend to drop all critical faculties and common sense. Can you imagine troops entering US territory without the US Congress knowing about it and the president not even addressing the population to explain why? What is even more farcical is that some Congolese government officials are trying to convince the world that thousands of Rwandan soldiers are coming into the Congo as advisers to the Congolese troops. It has even been stated that the Rwandan troops will be under Congolese command. Will they be under the same compromised command that Nkunda chased out of North Kivu?

2. It is beyond imagination that Rwanda is going to do in a few weeks what it was not able to do or interested in doing when it occupied the Congo from 1996 – 2002. During this period of the occupation of eastern Congo they did not wipe out the so-called Hutu militia. In fact, the biggest battle they had was with their ally Uganda over mining concessions. Also, during this time they systematically looted Congo of its wealth. (See UN Reports from 2001 – 2003). It is this looting of Congo’s wealth that spurred the economic miracle that President Clinton and other Western officials wax eloquently about in Rwanda. You will notice that they never mention the degree to which ill-gotten wealth from the Congo contributed to Rwanda’s “economic miracle”. Former Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen says it best when he notes “Having controlled the Kivu provinces for 12 years, Rwanda will not relinquish access to resources that constitute a significant percentage of its gross national product”.

3. What is almost certain is that Rwandan troops on Congolese soil will lead to more suffering of the people of the Congo. Analysts in the West have not fully appreciated the enmity that the average Congolese holds toward Rwanda. Remember, it was the US and British backed Rwandan and Ugandan invasions of 1996 and 1998 that unleashed the deaths of estimated millions of Congolese. So, for one to say that Rwandan soldiers are now going to make things better for the people of the Congo does not take history into account. One merely has to look at the Congo-Ugandan action against Ugandan rebels inside Congolese territory to see where this latest action is heading. Over 600 Congolese civilians lost their lives as a result of military action against the Lord’s Resistance Army in Congo, which began over a month ago. Moreover, that operation was supposed to take a few weeks and now Uganda is requesting more time on Congo’s soil, while Congo’s gold and timber continue to find its way into Uganda.

What role are great powers playing in what is unfolding in the Congo?

It is key to understand how the game is played to keep Africa dependent and impoverished. Because the West is more powerful than the divided and weak African nations, they have been able to assassinate or systematically sideline leaders who truly serve the interest of the people. They facilitate the ascension to power of those who demonstrate a proclivity for killing their fellow Africans. Once these feckless leaders are in power and predictably incapable of governing, western diplomats condescendingly intervene on the premise that those they have assisted in acquiring power either through elections or otherwise cannot in fact justly govern. This narrative is buttressed by superficial media coverage of African society, intellectuals for hire by Western powers and the humanitarian industry. It is in this context that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen, have proposed the balkanization and economic neutering of the Congo. They have made proposals to reward Rwanda and their Western support structure for the systematic looting of Congo, which has resulted in unmatched death and terror for the Congolese people. Nearly 125 years since Europe gave Congo to King Leopold II of Belgium as his own personal property, the situation is fundamentally the same whereby the affairs of the Congolese people are not determined by themselves; but rather by external forces.

So what can be positively drawn from recent events?

Several things can be looked at positively:

1. It is clear that international pressure works. It has moved Rwanda to at least announce the arrest of Nkunda. As was said, the litmus test for whether Nkunda has actually been arrested is his extradition to Kinshasa, otherwise for all intents and purposes he is vacationing in Rwanda at the behest of Kagame while Rwandan troops roam the hillsides of Eastern Congo with the blessing of Joseph Kabila. The U.S. is finding it increasingly difficult to defend its proxy, Rwanda, as both French and Spanish courts (the same Spanish court that ruled against Pinochet of Chile ) have arrest warrants out on President Kagame’s top officials for commission of war crimes, one of whom, Rose Kabuye, was arrested in Germany in November 2008. Despite such repeated damning evidence against the Kagame regime, under the auspices of Donald Rumsfeld’s AFRICOM program, the US sent a shipment of military equipment to Rwanda for peace keeping purposes in Western Sudan in early January 2009, coinciding with Rwandan troops intervention in Congo. The military shipment is supposed to be used for peace keeping in Western Sudan. Both Sweden and the Netherlands suspended aid to Rwanda and of course the damning December 12th UN Report have made it difficult for anyone to defend Rwanda except for some ideologically-driven humanitarian institutions. Even the New York Times editorial board continues to call for international pressure on Rwanda.

2. Kagame felt a necessity to adjust to the new realities in Washington. He could not necessarily count on President Obama to give him carte blanche as he has received from Presidents Clinton and Bush. Rwanda is certainly still a staunch ally of the U.S. However, Kagame cannot be certain that President Obama will fully support him in spite of some of the old guards (Susan Rice at the UN and Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State) being in the administration. The Obama administration can hardly present itself as an administration of change with an old policy for the Great Lakes in particular and Africa in general. The new administration would be best served to implement policies that serve the people and not strongmen like Kagame and Kabila.

3. The US and British baked resource war of aggression is being disrobed on a daily basis. The hunt for the Hutu rebels is an attempt to recast the conflict in an ethnic context. The Hutu rebels, otherwise know as the Interahamwe or Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR in French) need to be dealt with, but not in the manner currently underway. Remember, it has been the Congolese people who have been the primary victims of the presence of the Hutu rebels in the Congo. Nonetheless, what is happening in Central Africa is a high stakes geo-political battle for precious and strategic resources that are vital to the world’s military, aeronautics, electronics and technology industries. This interview with British Foreign Minister David Miliband provides some insight and perspective on the vital corporate interests in Central Africa.

4. The average person is becoming better informed and more engaged about the root causes of the deadliest conflict in the world since World War Two. They are better equipped to demand action from their elected officials and challenge humanitarian institutions that come to their communities peddling warmed over ethnic explanations for the suffering of the people of Congo.

We are confident that with persistent education, organization and mobilization, the people of Congo will be free from the forces that have her sons and daughters living in absolute misery while we in the West benefit from her riches.

Join the global movement in support of the people of the Congo and strike a blow for justice and human dignity.

Produced by the FOTC Team

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Israel to carry out attacks against Hamas and other targets in Gaza

Saed Bannoura, IMEMC & Agencies, Jan. 30, 2009

Israeli online daily Haaretz reported on Friday morning that Israel has decided to carry out what has been described as pinpoint attacks against Hamas and other factions in the Gaza Strip in retaliation to an attack carried out against Israeli soldiers at the Kissufim crossing on Tuesday.

One officer was killed and three soldiers were wounded in the attack, which came in response to Israeli military strikes in Gaza, carried out after the unilateral ceasefire was declared by Israel on January 17th.

Haaretz stated that Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, held a meeting on Thursday night with Israel Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, and Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, where they agreed upon “limited attacks” in the Gaza Strip.

The convening leaders also decided to carry out further offensives at the “right time”, based on what Haaretz refers to as practical considerations and facts on the ground.

Haaretz furthered that intelligence reports received by Barak and Livni reveal that Hamas is interested in the continuation of a truce with Israel, and is even trying to stop other factions, described as ‘more radical’, from carrying out any attacks against Israel.

A senior Israeli security official said that Hamas is delaying its retaliation to recent Israeli strikes, because of Hamas' interest in the continuation of the current ceasefire.

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Israel plans more pinpoint strikes against Hamas in Gaza
By Haaretz Staff Haaretz.com Jan. 30 2009


Decision-makers in Jerusalem said Israel would continue to launch pinpoint strikes against Hamas and other Palestinian militant organizations in the Gaza Strip, Haaretz has learned.

Israeli aircraft on Thursday wounded 10 Palestinians in the attempted killing of a Hamas operative in southern Gaza. Palestinian militants launched two Qassam rockets and one mortar round into Israel, resulting in no casualties or damage.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, has vowed to strike Israeli targets, and Cypriot authorities Wednesday detained an Iranian arms ship that Israel believes may have been en route to Hezbollah. The decision to carry out further pinpoint strikes against Hamas emerged after consultations between the security cabinet and top Israeli defense officials. The hostilities were necessary to let Hamas know that strikes against Israel would not go unanswered, one source said.

During the deliberations, intelligence officers said Hamas was trying to contain its radical elements because it was interested in cementing a cease-fire agreement. This, the intelligence officers said, was why the organization is delaying its response to recent strikes by the Israel Defense Forces.

The first IDF strike against Hamas after Operation Cast Lead came on Tuesday, after the death of one Israeli soldier in an explosion near the border with Gaza. Since then, the Israel Air Force carried out several retaliatory raids.

The latest, which wounded 10 Palestinians, was aimed at Mohammed Samiri, whom the IDF believes was involved in planning and carrying out the attack on the IDF patrol on Tuesday. According to reports from the Strip, Samiri was riding a motorcycle in Khan Yunis when a missile exploded near him, wounding him and several others.

Another IAF raid took out what the army believed to be a weapons production shop in Rafah.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Hamas' prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said reconciliation was Hamas' "main aim."

"I think it is not in America's interest to stay in conflict with the Arab and Muslim worlds, considering its interests in the region," he said. "We hope that the new American president revises all the policies of his predecessor."

Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, also spoke to the media yesterday, saying the organization had "an open score" with Israel." These statements, according to defense sources, sit well with Hezbollah's reported intention of carrying out a major attack as the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyeh approaches.

Mughniyeh, the organization's number two, died in a car blast in Damascus on February 14 a year ago. Hezbollah officials say they hold Israel responsible.

Although Hezbollah was mentioned as a likely recipient of the arms on board the Iranian ship the Cypriot customs services detained yesterday, Israeli sources said the cargo may have been meant for Hamas. The Cypriot customs service began unloading some of the cargo Wednesday, a diplomat from the European Union told Haaretz.

The move apparently came after Israel and the United States requested that Cyprus stop the ship, which was carrying a large amount of weapons, including artillery rounds and rockets.

The vessel left the Persian Gulf a few weeks ago and reached about 60 miles from Cyprus' port city of Limassol on Wednesday.

Since the ship was flying Cyprus' flag, the Cypriot authorities were the only ones authorized to confiscate its cargo.

According to the diplomat, Cypriot customs officials had contacted the Iranian boat and demanded that it sail to Limassol for inspection.

The U.S. Navy had earlier detained the ship in the Red Sea, but was forced to release it Tuesday when it became apparent that there was no legal basis for holding it. Cyprus' embassy in Tel Aviv declined to comment on the matter.

Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Anshel Pfeffer, Yoav Stern and Barak Ravid contributed to this article.

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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Stop Israel's Attacks on Gaza & Open The Border Crossings
Rally & March
12 Noon
in front of Starbucks
7th St & Pecan Ave
Charlotte NC

Join us to call for an end to Israel's repeated viWe will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.olations of the ceasefire & an end to the criminal blockade that is preventing desperately needed humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza.

Boycott Starbucks and all businesses that support Israeli Apartheid!

We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.

*******************
We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.vWe will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.vvvvWe will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.vvvvvvvvvvWe will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.vvvvvvvvWe will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.vvvvvvvWe will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.vWe will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.vWe will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.vvvvvvSat., Jan. 31: Forum & Film on Gaza, Palestine

5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Mas Community Center
4301 Shamrock Dr, Charlotte NC

Some of our families in Charlotte from GAZA were directly affected by the current events by loss of immediate relatives and property. You are invited to spend an evening of solidarity & support this Saturday the 31st of Jan at MAS Community Center 4301 Shamrock Dr. at 5:00PM. We need to support our brothers/sisters in Palestine.

Program will include a documentary session on the Palestinian crisis and a parallel children program.
Potluck dishes are encouraged.

5:00pm - 6:00pm Documentary about the Palestinian crises
6:00pm - 6:30pm Question/Answer about Palesine (rewards for the youth)
6:30pm - 7:00pm A Palestinian brother/sister sharing their experience about the Palestinian crises
7:00pm Dinner

5:00pm - 7:00pm children's program ages from 3-10

Info: Hala Zaghari at 704-293-2243

*************************
More events posted on our website:

Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

President Obama, Don't Become Complicit in Their Crimes!

Cynthia McKinney, Jan. 30, 2009

On Thursday, January 29th, I sent President Obama this message:

"Mr. President: The Bush Administration lied to the people in pursuit of war. As a result, at least one million Iraqis and thousands of U.S. soldiers are dead. Thousands more are maimed. The stature of the U.S. is severely damaged. The U.S. Constitution is in shreds after signing statements, wiretaps, and torture. Your obligation is to investigate and bring to justice those who violated U.S. and international law, such as the torture treaty. Failure to do so makes you complicit in their crimes."

On Wednesday, January 28th, I sat in front of the television and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Exactly what I've been saying, myself. But it was coming from an unexpected source: the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak. I wrote down every word. He said that the United Nations has proof that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld knowingly approved of torture as a policy for the United States. He said that President Barack Obama has a responsibility to investigate and prosecute those who condoned, conducted, or approved of torture.

Further, Jonathan Turley, in an MSNBC interview stated that if Obama fails to investigate or prosecute that he would be an "accessory."

This is significant. It means that all of us, sadly, were right to pursue impeachment of the key figures in the Bush Administration. Impeachment was the Constitutional imperative; but the Constitution didn't mean anything to either the Republican or Democratic national leadership.

And to think, on this day filled with impeachment news, Nancy Pelosi took impeachment "off the table" for this cast of villainous characters. I never will forget watching Rocky Anderson, former Mayor of Salt Lake City, say on national television that Nancy Pelosi should be impeached for impeding impeachment. But Nancy Pelosi isn't the only one who obstructed justice.

In fact, how could Dick Durbin and Harry Reid, so voluble in standing up to Roland Burris because he was Governor Blagojevich's pick for Obama's vacated Senate seat, sit as quiet as church mice in the face of repeated calls for impeachment because of the reckless criminality of the Bush Administration?

And now, we have the United Nations tell us the equivalent of "Houston, we have a problem."

Some of us knew all along, from the very beginning, that the Bush Administration was the quintessence of election theft, graft, corruption, and war criminality. Some of us recognized early on that our struggle was "against principalities, against powers, . . . against spiritual wickedness in high places." It is impossible to "go along and get along" with illegal and immoral acts. But that is exactly what the national leadership of this country asked us all to do, and that is exactly what they did.

Dr. King was confronted with the expediency of staying on the civil rights track, remaining with his friends in the civil rights movement, or doing what his conscience impelled him to do. That's when he made his famous statement, that popular chroniclers of Dr. King seem to have forgotten:

"When I first decided to take a firm stand against the war in Vietnam, I was subjected to the most bitter criticism, by the press, by individuals, and even by some fellow civil rights leaders. There were those who said that I should stay in my place, that these two issues did not mix and I should stick with civil rights. Well I had only one answer for that and it was simply the fact that I have struggled too long and too hard now to get rid of segregation in public accommodations to end up at this point in my life segregating my moral concerns."

Dr. King had to leave behind some of his best friends in the movement when he decided to speak out against the Vietnam War. Dr. King could have bowed to the pressure and stayed in his "civil rights" lane. But he knew that the war was wrong and he had to use every fiber in his being to stop it. Even his life, itself.

One of the first underreported acts of President Obama was to sign an order continuing the drone airstrikes, resulting in at least 22 killed so far. For the dead children of Afghanistan or Pakistan or Gaza, it doesn't matter to their parents if the bomb was dropped by Bush or Obama or the client state they support. And President Obama has made it clear that the bombs will continue to drop; it is up to us--the people of the United States--to stop them. That's why it was on my birthday, in front of the Pentagon in 2007, that I declared my independence from every bomb dropped, every child killed, every veteran maimed in the name of U.S. wars. I said it, and I meant it, and I knew I was going to have to do something I'd never done before if I was ever going to have something I'd never had before. So I left the Democratic Party.

I don't regret my decision one minute. I draw my strength from Dr. King, who in his own way, did the same thing when he refused to segregate his moral concerns.

My neighborhood in Los Angeles, Watts and South Central, is already a police state. Tonight, 25 to 30 young black men, standing handcuffed, outside the barber shop. Every night, routine dehumanization is carried out in black and brown neighborhoods by LAPD. I see it. I never miss it. It's all around me.

Oscar Grant murdered in cold blood by law enforcement. Robert Tolan, murdered in cold blood by law enforcement, for driving his father's car, mistaken for stolen.

Filiberto Ojeda Rios assassinated by the U.S. government; I met his wife and heard the entire story of what happened as he was shot by the FBI and then bled to death.

Innocent black and brown and poor white men on death row. How many Troy Davises and Mumia Abu Jamals will we allow to exist in our country?

Native Americans trying to survive despite genocide and ethnic cleansing, struggle against drug and alcohol abuse and poverty, and try to keep their culture alive.

And yet the likes of Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Nancy Pelosi, and now Barack Obama say nothing about the pain I see on the mean streets and reservations across our country, and the miscarriages of justice that are its regular feature, but they allow Bush and company to get away with the highest of crimes, involving millions of deaths.

In each of these writings, I ask you, too, to write to the White House and let them know that you exist. We didn't recruit President Obama to run, so I am clear on the limitations of a White House letter writing campaign. But trust me, our collective efforts will congeal into the movement for dignity, real peace, and true justice that we so desperately need for ourselves and the rest of the world.

Sat., Feb. 14 NC Statewide March For Progress & Unity - HKonJ: Historic Thousands On Jones St

9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Chavis Park
505 MLK Jr. Blvd, Raleigh, NC

With the nation's economic crisis and across-the-board budget cuts, it's more important than ever to show your support for a progressive agenda for the state of NC and the nation. We'll gather again in Chavis Park and march to the General Assembly building on Jones Street. So far, we have more than 80 partner organizations. Our 14-point agenda is here:

http://www.hkonj.com/2007/03/14_points_a_sum.html

For more information about this "movement, not a moment," go to www.hkonj.com or naacpnc@gmail.com

To carpool from Charlotte and/or join the Free Palestine contingent in the march contact David at charlotte4palestine@gmail.com or 704.492.5226.

Sun., Feb 1 Speech "A New Beginning" by Minister Yusuf Muhammad

11:00 am
Muhammad Mosque No. 36
203 N Cloudman St.
Charlotte, NC 28212

I recently had a meeting with Jibril Hough and Minister Yusuf Muhammad
from Muhammad Mosque No. 36 (203 N Cloudman St. Charlotte, NC 28212).
For those of us who attended the Rally for Peace in Gaza, on Jan.
3rd , will most likely remember Minister Mohammad's inspirational and
insightful speech.

Our meeting today was to discuss the need to create a relationship based on unity and solidarity between the African American Community and the Palestinian/ Arab and Muslim
community of Charlotte.

I was greatly impressed by Minister Muhammad's sincere calling for a unity between our two communities. Minister Mohammad had been to occupied Palestine and had seen firsthand the miserable conditions of the besieged people of Palestine. Therefore, Minister Mohammad had already taken the initiative to learn about our struggle by traveling to Palestine and observing real facts on the ground.

It is time for our community to reach out to our sisters and brothers from the African American Community and learn about their history of struggle, from the Transatlantic Trade, to chattel slavery, to Jim Crow rules of complete separation to the Civil Rights movements and to their continuing struggle at present. For this reason, Brother Minister Mohammad has agreed to invite us to his Mosque this Sunday as he will be delivering a special speech on the importance of our unity. The title of his speech will be "A New Beginning." I urge all of us to attend this event as we are hoping for it to be a true beginning for both of our communities to learn from and help each other.

In Solidarity with peace and Justice,
Khalid Hijazi, Al-Awda - Charlotte

www.mosque36.com

CODEPINK Weekly Peace Vigil Every Wed.

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
7th St & Hawthorne Ln, Charlotte, NC

Bring The Troops Home Now! We call on our Government to create peace by using our tax dollars to address basic human needs around the world. Funds for Food, Housing, Health Care, Jobs, Education, Clear Air and Water, and Renewable Energy.

Info:
CODEPINK

Venezuela's Citgo resumes heating oil donations

By RACHEL JONES, AP, Jan. 29, 2009

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's Citgo Petroleum Corp. resumed deliveries of free heating oil to poor Americans on Thursday, making its first delivery since the program's rumored end.

Together with Boston-based partner Citizen's Energy Corp., Citgo delivered more than 200 gallons of heating oil to the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House, a transitional shelter in Washington, D.C.

"It's so cold, apartment rents are so high, and people are out of work," said volunteer and resident Kathy Boylan, 65, in a telephone interview from Washington about the 4-year-old program. "People need this help tremendously."

Citgo announced Jan. 7 that the free fuel shipments would continue - two days after Citizen's Energy said they were suspended in the world economic crisis.

President Hugo Chavez said the program had never been halted.

"There was a misunderstanding," said Alejandro Granado, Citgo's chief executive officer in a telephone interview.

Oil is the financial engine behind Chavez's socialist government. He has used it to bankroll an international aid bonanza, showering allies with cheap fuel, refining projects and cash donations.

The American heating oil program has been viewed as a jab at Chavez's nemesis, former President George W. Bush, by helping needy Americans in their own country. Last winter, the program provided free fuel to more than 200,000 households in 23 states.

Chavez "has sort of a ready-made constituency" in the U.S. poor, said Michael Shifter, an analyst for the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington.

But Venezuela, which relies on oil for 94 percent of exports and nearly half the government's budget, has seen prices plunge more than 70 percent from last year's record high of more than $147 a barrel. Chavez has vowed to maintain broad social spending despite falling oil prices.

Nevertheless, Citgo decided to evaluate the program and to delay shipments until now to reach low-income residents when it was coldest, Granado said.

The program's continuation "represents a compromise on our part, a sacrifice," he added.

Shifter said while cutting the program may have been economically wise, Chavez may have new political reasons for keeping it - improving strained U.S. relations under President Barack Obama.

"It certainly would not be the best advertisement for the Bolivarian Revolution to sort of pull the plug," Shifter said.

Brian O'Connor, a spokesman for Citizen's Energy, said the nonprofit was told around Christmas that the program was under evaluation and decided to go public when nothing happened on the scheduled Jan. 5 start date.

"There was a lot of concern," said O'Connor, whose group had been taking phone calls from individuals seeking assistance since last summer.

But O'Connor said Citgo finished its evaluation and agreed to donate $100 million worth of heating oil this year - the same amount as in 2008.

Boylan, for one, is grateful. Since the shelter began taking part in 2006, she says it has saved roughly $5,000 a year - money it has used to fix its van and replace its roof.

"There were leaks and holes," she said. "The heat was probably going right through the roof."

Jan 31: Rally & March to Stop Israel's Attacks on Gaza & Open The Border Crossings

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Stop Israel's Attacks on Gaza & Open The Border Crossings
Rally & March
12 Noon
in front of Starbucks
7th St & Pecan Ave

Charlotte NC

Join us to call for an end to Israel's repeated violations of the ceasefire & an end to the criminal blockade that is preventing desperately needed humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza.

Boycott Starbucks and all businesses that support Israeli Apartheid!

Israel has refused to abide by the ceasefire once again. This past week, Israeli troops & the Israeli Navy have repeatedly attacked Gaza, killing & wounding several civilians, and Israeli troops raided Gaza on Jan. 27.

This is being done with U.S. weapons, funding, & diplomatic support. A headline in Israel's Haaretz today read "Clinton: Israel has right to respond to Gaza rocket attacks" referring to the U.S. condoning of Israel's recent assault on the unarmed civilian population of Gaza.

There have also been continued Israeli invasions into towns & villages in the occupied Palestinian West Bank where they have wounded, kidnapped, & detained people, including children. This is in addition to the daily humiliations & hardships caused by Israeli military checkpoints & occupation.

Haaretz also reported today, Jan. 27, about the Israeli military raid into Gaza that,
"The Israel Air Force attacked targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon, hours after an Israeli soldier was killed and three others were wounded in a Palestinian-rigged bomb attack near the border. Palestinian witnesses also said by late Tuesday afternoon that Israeli tanks could be seen rolling into the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian was reportedly killed in ensuing clashes between IDF soldiers and Gaza militants in the area. Heavy gunfire was audible along the border in central Gaza and Israeli helicopters hovered in the air, firing bursts from their machine guns, Palestinian witnesses said.

Gaza medical workers identified the Palestinian killed as a farmer.

Later Tuesday, the Israel Air Force targeted a motorcycle in the southern Gaza Strip, critically wounding two people, Hamas and Palestinian medical officials said. One of those wounded was a Hamas militant, said group sources."

We will also condemn the U.S. air strikes that took place over the weekend that killed civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

For more info:
Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Sponsored by Charlotte Free Palestine Movement; Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition; Muslim American Society-Freedom, Charlotte; Islamic Political Party Of America; Action Center For Justice; Students For A Democratic Society-UNCC; Jibril Hough, Spokesperson, Islamic Center Of Charlotte (listed for id purposes); & others.

Gaza Humanitarian Appeal BBC Refuses To Air

Emergency jobs program needed

By Fred Goldstein, Workers World, Jan 25, 2009
There is a less publicized but also official figure called “total” unemployment—and it has reached 13.4 percent. The first thing to remember about this figure is that it amounts to 20 million workers. It includes people who couldn’t get anything but part-time work when they need to work full time, plus the millions who have stopped looking altogether, termed “discouraged” workers.

The 20 million workers already considered unemployed or underemployed—and this December figure is sure to rise in the new year—will have to wait for the stimulus package to go into effect. When it does, they will then have to compete for an estimated 1.5 million jobs to be created this year while the government bureaucracies at the local, state and federal levels negotiate contracts with competing capitalist interests and their lobbyists seeking to get a piece of the pie.
The record wave of layoffs that seemed to peak in December is continuing into 2009.

At the same time, hundreds of billions of dollars in aid are flowing from Washington to the banks and corporations, not to the unemployed. Reviving corporate profits has taken precedence over providing desperately needed jobs or calling for an immediate end to foreclosures and evictions.

Circuit City announced it is laying off 34,000 workers by the end of March—the largest mass firing since the current crisis began. This second-largest electronic retailer in the U.S. is closing 557 stores.

Just in the first two weeks of this year a series of other layoffs has been announced.

Motorola, which laid off 3,000 workers last October, has announced another 4,000 jobs will be cut. Hertz announced 4,000 jobs will go worldwide. ConocoPhillips will lay off 1,350, Pfizer 2,400, WellPoint 1,500, Saks 1,000 and Neiman Marcus 375. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Blue Cross/Blue Shield and other large companies are also scheduled to announce new rounds of layoffs.

These are only the most publicized firings.

The official unemployment rate, which was 7.2 percent at the end of 2008, is expected to shoot up rapidly in the coming months as the bosses continue the onslaught without mercy.

However, there is a less publicized but also official figure called “total” unemployment—and it has reached 13.4 percent. The first thing to remember about this figure is that it amounts to 20 million workers. It includes people who couldn’t get anything but part-time work when they need to work full time, plus the millions who have stopped looking altogether, termed “discouraged” workers.

At the present rate, millions more will lose their jobs in the coming months. Last year 2.6 million lost their jobs—a huge number but still deceptively low when trying to project what will happen this year because, of the 2.6 million, 2 million lost their jobs just in the last four months of 2008.

There is no question that an emergency jobs program, which would involve the immediate direct hiring of millions of workers at living wages, with benefits, and a freeze on layoffs, is urgently needed to stave off the growing crisis of the working class and the oppressed people.

However, instead of reaching out directly to assist the workers who are suffering from the capitalist crisis, Washington and Wall Street are reaching out to bolster the capitalist system and aid the capitalists who caused the crisis in the first place.

Why ‘stimulus’ can’t work

Wall Street told the incoming Obama administration to get hold of the $350 billion fund Congress passed to bail out the banks and use it to clean up their bad loans. In addition, the Democrats have submitted an $825 billion “stimulus” package.

There are many progressive features to the package, such as increases in Pell grants, reduction of payroll taxes for workers, rural assistance, additional food stamp aid and unemployment insurance. But these features, including the declared goal of creating 3 million jobs in the next two years, are utterly inadequate to meet the massive crisis that is unfolding at a rapid rate.

The package calls for $550 billion in direct spending over two years. Some 90 percent of this spending will go through private capitalists. The bill sets up contract procedures and deadlines that range from one year to more than two years for fulfillment. It has no mandatory hiring or wage requirements, save a nebulous “prevailing wage” stipulation. There is no requirement to stabilize employment by requiring that workers be retained for any period of time, nor any funds to provide such stability.

The 20 million workers already considered unemployed or underemployed—and this December figure is sure to rise in the new year—will have to wait for the stimulus package to go into effect. When it does, they will then have to compete for an estimated 1.5 million jobs to be created this year while the government bureaucracies at the local, state and federal levels negotiate contracts with competing capitalist interests and their lobbyists seeking to get a piece of the pie.

None of these bosses has the goal of providing good jobs at living wages with benefits. To them, the goal is to revive and maximize profits.

The entire process is corrupt, agonizingly slow, and totally uncertain as far as the workers are concerned. Furthermore, whatever hiring these bosses do could be cancelled out within a year or less by the drying up of funds or shrinking of the market.

The working class and the communities have no other recourse but to begin organizing on a mass basis to demand jobs now—at living wages.

Need for a direct jobs program

Millions are already unemployed. Millions more face layoffs unless an immediate, direct jobs program is put in place. It can be done. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, government jobs were put in place within two weeks after job programs were set up.

It won’t happen automatically. “Jobs or income” must become a mass demand, backed up by mobilizations, jobs marches and organizing the unemployed, in unity with the employed, who also need the security of jobs or income.

Regarding the bank bailout fund, $20 billion in cash and $100 billion in government-absorbed losses have been promised to Bank of America, which had already received $25 billion earlier. Citicorp is expected to announce $10 billion in new losses, which the government will absorb. Citigroup has already received $45 billion in bailout money and the government has given it a guaranteed backup of $300 billion to cover problematic loans.

The $350 billion bailout doesn’t include these huge new backup commitments. Its goal is to make the banks solvent by dealing with hundreds of billions—the investment bank Goldman Sachs says it’s more like $1 trillion—of remaining bad loans.

The fact is that these bad loans on the books of the banks are for the most part a mirror image of the suffering of the masses. Why are the loans of Citicorp, Bank of America and other banks going bad? Because of credit card defaults, auto loan defaults, student loan defaults, mortgage loan defaults and every other kind of unpayable debt. As people lose their jobs, have their wages and salaries cut, lose their health care, etc., they sink deeper and deeper into debt.

The bankers and the rich investors behind them are losing paper wealth, but their “balance sheet” problems arise from the direct material suffering of the masses. The working class and the middle class are unable to pay their bills, are losing their homes, their cars, their electricity and gas, their health coverage and every other means of survival.

Banks don’t lend when markets are glutted

The handout to the banks is being justified as an attempt to get them to start lending to companies and consumers, which will then get the economy rolling again. But this is a complete fiction. The problem of lending arises not from arbitrary stubbornness by the bankers. It arises from the lack of opportunity of the banks and the corporations to make profit once a crisis of capitalist overproduction hits, with its rising inventories and falling sales leading to falling production. After all, the bankers are in business to make profit.

The term “overproduction” has nothing to do with whether people need goods. It is when more commodities have been produced than can be marketed—i.e., sold at a profit.

The crude facts of capitalist overproduction are obvious. The U.S. auto industry has gone from producing 16 million cars annually to 13.2 million last year, and is expected to drop to 12 million or less this year. Steel production, which is a barometer of the economy, dropped from 2 million tons in November to 1 million tons in December. In recent decades, hundreds of thousands of steel workers were laid off as the industry consolidated and shrunk itself. Now, overproduction has hit again. It is estimated that 20,000 steel workers will be laid off in the coming period.

The overproduction of housing and the consequent crisis in the construction industry and all its ancillary industries is getting worse with each foreclosure.

Giant technology companies like Motorola, Nortel, AMD and Intel are suffering losses due to overproduction and hence executing layoffs. Under those conditions, the banks see no profit in lending, no matter how much money the government hands them.

In fact, they are using their bailout money not for lending but to strengthen themselves financially. According to a New York Times survey of two dozen banks, “The overwhelming majority saw the bailout program as a no-strings-attached windfall that could be used to pay down debt, acquire other businesses or invest for the future.”

At a recent conference at the Palm Beach Ritz-Carlton, “Bankers mingled with investment analysts at an ocean-front luxury hotel, where the agenda featured evening cocktails by the pool and a golf outing at a nearby country club.” They were there to discuss the bailout funds. Referring to the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, conference organizer John C. Hope III, chairperson of the Whitney National Bank of New Orleans, said, “We see TARP as an insurance policy.” Hope figures that, “No matter how bad it gets, we’re going to be one of the remaining banks.” (New York Times, Jan. 18)

So much for lending, job creation and recovery.

The “crisis” of the bankers and bosses is calmly discussed at luxury watering holes, while the workers are suffering the greatest attack in three generations.

The only way to get a real working-class recovery program is to organize to shake up the entire capitalist system until the bosses are forced to provide jobs and/or a livable income.

Goldstein is author of the recently published book, “Low-Wage Capitalism: Colossus with Feet of Clay,” which can be ordered through www.lowwagecapitalism.com.

Statement on Obama Actions Thus Far re: Gaza

Cynthia McKinney, 2008 Green Party Presidential Candidate & former U.S. Congressperson, Jan. 26, 2009

"Mr. President: Give Us a Clean Break from War"

In a message to President Obama today, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney wrote:

"It is time that the United States negotiate in good faith with Hamas, the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It is also time that the U.S. government tell Israel to release the Hamas Parliamentarians it illegally arrested. President Obama, please say something about Gaza. You have been roundly condemned for your continued silence in the face of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel in Gaza. Silence is complicity. Not one more bomb for Israel."

Israeli action in Gaza has outraged the world. Starting with Israel's inhumane blockade of Gaza when it didn't like the 2006 election results that put Hamas officially into power. In September 2007, Israel declared Gaza an "enemy entity." Of course, Israeli efforts to isolate the Gaza Strip can be traced back to Ariel Sharon as early as 2005. In carrying out its military Operation Cast Lead, Israel not only committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, it also carried out a long-standing goal of Gaza isolation. The President's continued silence on Gaza and the Palestinian right of self-determination is unacceptable.

I would like to commend President Obama for recognizing that peace is the imperative and that the United States can play a constructive role in its attainment. However, placing a phone call to an irrelevant "leader" in an attempt to revive his political standing is not a route to peace: it is a journey down the same road that we're already on, that is massacres, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture--all with U.S. weapons, paid for by U.S. taxpayers.

The President must call the elected representatives of the Palestinian people and that means dealing with Hamas.

President Obama has already spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. George Mitchell, the President's Middle East Envoy, is reportedly scheduled to visit the region, but is expected to meet only with Egyptian, Israeli, Saudi, and Jordanian leaders, and the West Bank's Abbas. Unfortunately, despite worldwide revulsion and United Nations outrage at Israeli actions in Gaza, Gaza has not been reported to be one of the Presidential Envoy's destinations.

Even worse, one of the first officials that Obama called on his first day in office was Palestinian Mahmood Abbas. Abbas, however, is no longer President, heading a government that has no opportunity to govern, from a state that exists only as a construct not made by the Palestinian people. For the United States to embark upon the path of peace, it must recognize and act on the fact that Mahmood Abbas is now irrelevant.

I believe that the call to Abbas occurred because of pressure on President Obama from outraged activists around the country and around the world calling for him to do something. But Abbas is irrelevant if the goal is peace.

If the goal, however, is to appear to be doing something while all the time doing nothing but allowing the violence of U.S.-sponsored military action to spread including saber rattling against Syria and Iran, then the President is on the right path.

The American people voted for change and peace. President Obama's current path will produce neither.

I have implored President Obama to say something about Gaza. He has been roundly condemned for his continued silence in the face of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel in Gaza. Silence in the face of such criminal behavior is complicity.

President Obama must urgently place a call to the elected government of the Palestinian people.

President Obama can send a strong message to the warmongers inside his own party and present them "a clean break" from war. I encourage him to do so. We will not be fooled by actions that have the appearance of putting us on a path for peace, but that are public relations projects that buy time for more war.

To activists and human rights lawyers around the world I say: Now is not the time to let up. We must be unrelenting in our pressure for justice and recognition of the rights of all peoples embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Those rights include the right not to be occupied. And the right to resist occupation. This is the embodiment of self-determination. And the Palestinian people are holders of these rights.

It is time that the United States negotiate in good faith with Hamas, because it is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It is also time that the U.S. government tell Israel to release the Hamas Parliamentarians it illegally arrested.

While the United States Government spends precious resources to imprison Palestinians in the United States who attempted to ameliorate the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, I will attempt another trip to Gaza to assess the depth of the worsened humanitarian catastrophe now there.

I have repeatedly called on the President to ask for and the Congress to vote not one more bomb, not one more dime for the Israeli war machine.

Four U.S. soldiers killed in aircraft crash in Iraq

Ned Parker and Caesar Ahmed, LA Times, Jan. 26, 2009

Reporting from Baghdad -- Four U.S. soldiers were killed early today when at least one U.S. military aircraft crashed near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, according to the U.S. military and Iraqi officials.

The crash was believed to have been an accident, according to a U.S. military press statement.

Initial reports from the U.S. military said two aircraft were involved, but later reports said it was only one aircaft that went down in the incident, which occured around 2:15 a.m.

The crash happened in Multaquia, a district 18 miles west of Kirkuk, an Iraqi police official said on condition of anonymity. The officer described the aircraft as a helicopter and also said it did not appear to have been combat-related.

Before the crash, 11 U.S. soldiers had died this month, according to icasualties.org website, which tracks U.S. military fatalities in Iraq. U.S. military casualties in Iraq have leveled off in the last year. The deadliest month for U.S. soldiers in the last six months was September, when 25 U.S. soldiers died.

U.S. Airstrikes Kill Civilians in Afghanistan & Pakistan

Obama administration warns public to expect rise in US casualties
Vice-president Biden reveals US forces will step up operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Saeed Shah in Islamabad
guardian.co.uk, Jan. 25 2009

The Obama administration warned the US public yesterday to brace itself for an increase in American casualties as it prepares to step up the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan.

Against a background of widespread protests in Pakistan and Afghanistan over US operations since Obama became president, the vice-president, Joe Biden, said yesterday that US forces would be engaged in many more operations as it takes the fight to its enemies in the region.

The Obama administration is to double the number of US troops in Afghanistan to 60,000 and when asked in a television interview if the US public should expect more American casualties, Biden said: "I hate to say it, but yes, I think there will be. There will be an uptick."

Greater US involvement in Afghanistan is a political risk for Obama, with the danger that mounting American casualties could make the war as unpopular as Iraq. Obama, in his first military action as president, sanctioned two missile attacks inside Pakistan on Friday, killing 22 people, reportedly women and children among them. The attacks drew criticism from Pakistani officials at the weekend.

Pakistani president, Asif Zardari, told the US ambassador to Islamabad, Anne Patterson, that the strikes "do not help the war on terror". According to reports, he also warned her that "these attacks can affect Pakistan's cooperation in the war on terror".

A foreign ministry spokesman, Mohammad Sadiq, said: "With the advent of the new US administration, it is Pakistan's sincere hope that the United States will review its policy and adopt a more holistic and integrated approach towards dealing with the issue of terrorism and extremism. We maintain that these [missile] attacks are counter-productive and should be discontinued."

Biden, in an interview with CBS news, defended the strikes, saying that Obama had repeatedly said on the campaign trail he would not hesitate to strike against any high-level al-Qaida targets. He suggested cooperation between the US and Pakistani counter-terrorist agencies would increase, with more US training for their Pakistani counterparts.

Over the last year, there have been at least 30 US missile attacks on Pakistan's wild tribal area, which is used as a haven for insurgents fighting international troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.

On Sunday, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, condemned a separate US operation within Afghanistan that he said killed 16 Afghan civilians, prompting hundreds of villagers to demonstrate against the American military.

The US said the raid, on Saturday in Laghman province, killed 15 armed militants, including a woman with an RPG. But Afghan officials said they killed civilians, including two women and three children. In Laghman's capital, hundreds of protesters demanded an end to overnight raids.

Karzai warned the killing of innocent Afghans during US military operations "is strengthening the terrorists". He also announced that his government had sent Washington a draft agreement that seeks to give Afghanistan more oversight over US military operations. The document has also been sent to Nato headquarters.

The death toll on both the Pakistan borders and within Afghanistan has caused widespread public anger, with resentment directed at the US, as well as the Afghanistan and Pakistan governments.

"It undermines the position of the government, its ability to negotiate [a peace deal] with the militants when the Taliban can say: 'You're not even master in your own house,'" said Ayaz Amir, a newspaper columnist and an opposition member of Pakistan's parliament. "It undercuts the credibility of a government, whose credibility is already low."

Some of the strikes in Pakistan have killed senior al-Qaida militants but they tend to live with local families in the tribal area, making civilian casualties inevitable - which are then used by the Taliban as a recruitment tool.

Rustam Shah Mohmand, an analyst who was formerly Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, said that Pakistan had leverage it could use, by stopping supplies to Nato troops in Afghanistan to pass through its territory or threatening to withdraw the Pakistani forces deployed along the Afghan border."

"If anything, the policy [of missile strikes] is going to be more focused, more aggressive, under Obama. There is going to be a 'surge' in Afghanistan," said Mohmand. "The Americans can't wage this war without Pakistan's assistance."

Take Action: Pres. Obama Calls for Lifting Gaza Siege; Rep. Olver for Gaza Aid

Note from Charlotte Free Palestine Movement (referencing appointments at State Dept mentioned below):

While some of Obama's pronouncements & appointments concerning the Middle East may seem like a progressive step those of seeking true peace & justice must keep in mind: U.S. policy supporting Israel against Palestine has so far not changed at all contrary to the spin.

The Obama Administration only wants to support the PA & Mahmoud Abbas (who's term was supposed to end Jan. 9, 2009) just like before. Any discussion of U.S. aid & assistance references only supporting the PA & Abbas ("our partners in peace").

The weapons monitoring regime referred to is an attempt to station "international troops" and/or NATO troops in The Gaza Strip.

Unequivocal support is given to Israel, and the over 1400 Palestinians killed (& still dying from wounds suffered from banned weapons) & over 5400 wounded in Gaza recently are made to seem equal to the 13 Israelis' killed, 10 of whom were soldiers.

Some of Obama Administration key positions are held by neocon war hawks or their "close friends", ie signers and/or members of Project For A New American Century.

There is also no talk of enforcing the Arms Export Control Act and sanctioning Israel and holding them accountable for their most recent war crimes in Gaza nor the daily crimes in The West Bank.

Take Action: Pres. Obama Calls for Lifting Gaza Siege; Rep. Olver for Gaza Aid

Can you feel the change in the air? We can.

Last Thursday, at the State Department, President Obama introduced former Sen. George Mitchell as his Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, and stated:

"Our hearts go out to Palestinian civilians who are in need of immediate food, clean water, and basic medical care, and who've faced suffocating poverty for far too long. Now we must extend a hand of opportunity to those who seek peace. As part of a lasting cease-fire, Gaza's border crossings should be open to allow the flow of aid and commerce."

In other words, President Obama agrees with one of our key post-ceasefire demands: Israel must comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which calls for "unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment," and Israel must end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, an illegal form of collective punishment of the 1.5 million Palestinian residents who live there.

To watch the video of President Obama's remarks (fast-forward to 32:00), http://www.state.gov/video/?videoid=8794088001. To read the transcript, click here http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/01/115297.htm.

Also, on Friday, Rep. John Olver and six other Representatives circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter addressed to Secretary of State Clinton expressing their "deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to request immediate action by the United States to address this crisis. With the ceasefire now in effect, it is critical that the United States play a leading role in alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza and we respectfully urge your assistance in this task." (The full text of the letter is below.)

TAKE ACTION

1. Contact President Obama at 202-456-1111 or send him an email by clicking here (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/opl/) to thank him for his support for unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip and for lifting Israel's siege.

However, all of our demands have not yet been met.

Also, be sure to tell President Obama that Israel must pay reparations for killing more than 1,300 Palestinians and injuring more than 5,000 during its three week war on the occupied Gaza Strip. Israel also must be held accountable for destroying an estimated 4,000 buildings (actually 4,000 homes completely destroyed & 21,000 other buildings destroyed -Al Jazeera, Jan. 23) and should pay for the estimated $2 billion in damages.

And tell President Obama that Israel must be held accountable for its misuse of U.S. weapons (http://endtheoccupation.org/downloads/gaza_us_weapons.pdf) to kill and injure Palestinian civilians and to target Palestinian civilian infrastructure. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=108151) already has requested the State Department to investigate Israel's violations of the Arms Export Control Act. Ask President Obama to make sure this investigation is complete and accurate and that Israel is sanctioned by ending U.S. military aid as a consequence of its violations of this law.

2. Contact your Representative before noon on Tuesday at 202-224-3121 and ask her/him to "sign on" to Rep. Olver's "Dear Colleague" letter on U.S. humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

It's important that you contact your Representative as soon as possible because the letter is closing for signatures by the deadline mentioned above. Call your Representative, identify yourself as a concerned constituent, ask her/him to "sign on" to the letter, and state why you feel it is the responsibility of the United States to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.

And for more take action ideas:

3. Sign our open letter to President Obama, "We Need a Change in Israel/Palestine Policy" at http://endtheoccupation.org/form.php?modin=137


4. Organize in your community to tell President Obama, "Yes We Can…End Military Aid to Israel." Israel's war and siege on the occupied Gaza Strip would not have been possible without the military and diplomatic support of the United States. We need to have sustained, long-term organizing to end military aid to Israel to prevent future massacres from taking place. Sign up today as a volunteer organizer and we'll send you an organizing packet with postcards, petitions, and fact sheets. To receive your organizing packet, click here http://endtheoccupation.org/modinput4.php?modin=114.

5. Register for our Feb. 1-2 Grassroots Advocacy Training/Lobby Day in Washington, DC before noon Eastern on Tuesday. http://www.interfaithpeacebuilders.org/grassroots/


Rep. Olver "Dear Colleague" Letter

Support Humanitarian Assistance for Gaza

Urge Secretary of State Clinton to support immediate humanitarian assistance for Gaza


Dear Colleague,

With the rest of the world, we gladly welcomed the news of a ceasefire in Gaza on January 18. However, there remains a dire humanitarian situation that must be immediately addressed. We believe that it is in the United States' interest to play a leading role in alleviating the human suffering in Gaza.

The armed conflict in Gaza resulted in widespread destruction to homes and to public and commercial infrastructure across Gaza. Fuel shortages have cut electricity, limiting the ability of Gaza's hospitals to operate. Medical supplies are in short supply and hospitals are understaffed. The humanitarian supplies and food that do reach civilians only meet a small percentage of the real need. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates financial needs of nearly $350 million just to rebuild their own infrastructure and continue providing essential public services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza.

Please join us in writing to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to request that the United States lead the international effort to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The United States has long been a leader on humanitarian issues and we should seize this opportunity to alleviate the suffering of civilians and restore our historic moral standing among the community of nations.

Sincerely,

LOIS CAPPS DAVID PRICE
Member of Congress Member of Congress

JOHN W. OLVER KEITH ELLISON
Member of Congress Member of Congress

SAM FARR MAURICE HINCHEY
Member of Congress Member of Congress

BARBARA LEE
Member of Congress

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Dear Secretary Clinton:

First, we would like to congratulate you on being sworn in as our nation's 67th Secretary of State. We are very hopeful that this new era in American foreign policy upon which we embark can advance the cause of peace in the Middle East and beyond.

As strong supporters of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, we are writing to express our deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to request immediate action by the United States to address this crisis. With the ceasefire now in effect, it is critical that the United States play a leading role in alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza and we respectfully urge your assistance in this task.

As you know, the situation on the ground is dire. The flow of humanitarian goods into the Gaza Strip is limited to food and medicine. Yet there exists a real need to allow for the importation of construction materials and fuel, which require the opening of crossings into Gaza. For example, only the Karni Crossing has the capacity for transporting large cargo, such as cement, but it remains closed.

In addition, in order to rebuild civilian infrastructure in Gaza the international community is going to have to make significant monetary contributions. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates financial needs of nearly $350 million just to rebuild their own infrastructure and continue providing essential services to the Palestinians in Gaza.

We also remain especially concerned about the desperate condition of medical services in Gaza. Although Israel has begun to allow limited medical supplies into Gaza, the need far outweighs the availability while hospitals remain understaffed and ill-supplied. One of the most crucial steps that needs to be taken is for Israel to allow critically ill patients to be transported out of Gaza and into Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, where they may receive necessary medical care. We therefore urge you to express this concern directly to Israeli government officials.

In addition to the several thousand individuals who were physically injured during the recent military operations, we can expect to see a dramatic increase in the number of individuals suffering from psychological trauma. In order to help the population to begin rebuilding, we will need to further ensure that funds are used to provide adequate mental health services in Gaza.

Failure to address this humanitarian emergency has the potential to produce a crisis of even more unspeakable proportions. We therefore respectfully request that the State Department release emergency funds to UNRWA for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. We believe the State Department can make funds available through accounts such as Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) and urge you to facilitate the transfer of funds as soon as possible.

We look forward to maintaining a productive and ongoing dialogue with the State Department and the Obama Administration regarding the United States response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Toward that end we respectfully request that you or your staff share with us the actions taken to date and the strategy you will pursue to address the humanitarian crisis within14 days.

Finally, we know that addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a whole is a top priority of the Obama Administration and we applaud President Obama and you for your early and public commitment to meet this challenge. We also believe that the naming of former Senator George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East is commendable.

We believe the security interests of both Israel and the United States will be greatly enhanced by the establishment of a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and that United States involvement is indispensable in achieving that goal. We stand ready to work with you as the Administration furthers these efforts.

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Feb. 1 - 2: Grassroots Advocacy Training and Lobby Day in Washington, DC
February 1, 2009 at 9am to February 2, 2009 at 7:30pm – American University REGISTER TODAY TO GAIN IMPORTANT SKILLS FOR YOUR ACTIVISM & MAKE AN IMPACT IN THE NEW CONGRESS! The United States has long been the most dominant international player in the Israeli-Palestinia...

Feb 5: Peace and Human Rights in the Gaza Strip
February 5, 2009 from 6pm to 8pm – Myers Park High School Auditorium A panel discussion. Want to learn more about the human rights of the Gaza Strip crisis? Want to discuss the crisis in a safe, collaborative, inter-faith environment? Come to "Peace and Human Righ...

March 19: Demonstrate to Free Palestine - Oppose Lies of Journalist Thomas Friedman
March 19, 2009 at 6:30pm – Queens University On the 6th 'Anniversary' of the War on Iraq: End The Occupations Of Palestine & Iraq! Support Palestinian Right To Return! Stop Spreading Lies & Misinformation in the Media! New York Time...

March 28: One State for Palestine / Israel: A Country for All Its Citizens?
March 28, 2009 at 8:45am to March 29, 2009 at 2pm – University of Massachusetts Announcement and Invitation to an International Conference Trans Arab Research Institute (TARI), an independent American think tank registered in the state of Massachusetts, and the Joiner Center ...

For full events info see http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com/events

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DONATE - Support our work by sending donations to Charlotte Free Palestine Movement, 7100 Mapleridge Dr, Charlotte, NC 28210

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Charlotte Free Palestine Movement
http://charlotte4palestine.ning.com
704.492.5226

Jan. 29 HOPE Meeting for Supporters of Public Employee Bargaining Rights

Charlotte area supporters of public employee collective bargaining!

We will be having the first Charlotte area HOPE meeting this coming Thursday (January 29) at 6pm at the Charlotte Fire Fighters' Association building (the Palmer Building, 2601 E. 7th St. Charlotte, 28204).

Snacks will be provided.

Please join us and invite everyone you know who is interested in working locally for bargaining rights. We will discuss what can be done in Charlotte to move this statewide struggle forward.

Please RSVP and invite others in your organizations. We would like to have a good representation of groups on board for the first meeting. If you can't come Thursday but would like to be involved let me know.

Thanks for all you do.

Chelsea Earles
HOPE Organizer/Administrator
919-491-6936

Hear Our Public Employees Coalition
PO Box 12133
Raleigh, NC 27605

Sign our letter to legislators at www.nchope.org!

Israel accused of executing parents in front of children in Gaza

Israel has refuted allegations of war atrocities in Gaza after Palestinian children described how their parents had been "executed" by Israeli troops.
By Murray Wardrop, Telegraph.co.uk, Jan. 21, 2009

One nine-year-old boy said his father had been shot dead in front of him despite surrendering to Israeli soldiers with his hands in the air.

Another youngster described witnessing the deaths of his mother, three brothers and uncle after the house they were in was shelled.

He said his mother and one of his siblings had been killed instantly, while the others bled to death over a period of days.

A psychiatrist treating children in the village of Zeitoun on the outskirts of Gaza City, where the alleged incidents took place, described the deaths as a "massacre".

Rawya Borno, a Jordanian doctor, said civilians, including children, were rounded up and killed by Israeli troops.

Israel has denied the claims, dismissing them as Hamas propaganda, but said that an investigation is being conducted into soldiers' conduct in the area.

In interviews with ITV News, Palestinians claimed that Israeli forces knowingly killed civilians in Zeitoun on the morning of Jan 14.

Abdullah Samouni, nine, described the moment his father was allegedly "executed" by Israeli soldiers.

Holding his arms in the air, he said: "He was surrendering like this. My father came out and they shot him right away."

A boy named Ahmed said he was trapped for days in the wreckage of the shelled Samouni family's house.

He said: "My mother was dead beside me, she was clutching my brother Nasser and they were dead. My brother Itzaq was bleeding for two days and then he died. My brother Izmael bled to death in one day. My uncle Talal was bleeding for two hours and he died. God bless them."

Dr Borno said: "It's a massacre. They collected them from their houses. They knew that they were civilians. They were children."

When asked if Hamas had been in Zeitoun, Dr Borno replied: "Suppose that there is one of the fighters around, what is it to do with all these? Is the price to kill the family as a whole? Is this baby carrying a machine gun?"

Israeli spokesman Mark Regev suggested the claims could be Hamas propaganda and said an investigation was under way. However, he said that Israeli troops had reported that Zeitoun was "full of Hamas" militants and that soldiers encountered booby traps in "every house" in the village.

He said: "When people live in an authoritarian regime, when it's clear there is an official message and the message is to give out atrocity propaganda, [then] at least I think we should ask questions.

"Hamas has an interest in sending out this sort of atrocity propaganda.

"What happened in that village is under investigation. I know from speaking to IDF officers that there was very serious combat in that village, that every house was booby-trapped, there were guns. Very difficult military operation.

"If there is any Israeli solder that has done something inappropriate of course that will be discovered and there will be law, but I am very concerned about a situation where children are manipulated, where everyone is on the same message.

"We know that village was full of Hamas fighters. It's against the rules of engagement of the Israeli army to shoot innocent civilians."