Not In Our Name Newsletter 16DEC05: Makua, UARC, MLK

[Dharma_Bum]

Not In Our Name Newsletter
December 16, 2005
1. Bush Crimes Commission Schedules 2nd Session
2. Not In Our Name Postcard Campaign
3. Army goes to Court to resume Live-Fire Training in Makua
4. Stop UARC Coalition News
5. Full Page Ad in NY Times Calls for Bush to Step Down!
6. Join us at the MLK Day Parade on January 16th

Bush Crimes Commission Schedules 2nd Session
On October 21 and 22 the First Session of an historic hearing on whether, or not, the administration of George W. Bush is guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other high crimes was held. Keynote addresses were made by Howard Zinn, Ann Wright, Marcus Raskin (Institute of Policy Studies and Nation editorial board), and Michael Ratner (President of the Center for Constitutional Rights). A special evidentiary hearing on Hurricane Katrina, featuring Gulf Coast survivors, was held on the afternoon of October 22nd. Check out the keynote addresses as well as statements by witnesses and prosecutors at: Commission.
The 2nd Session of the Bush Crimes Commission will be held on January 20-22 in NYC. It will be a three-day session to present all the witnesses, experts, and documentary evidence on each of the indictments, with the comprehensiveness and standards required to prosecute the case and to fulfill the mission of the Charter. The jury of conscience will then consider the evidence and deliver its opinion on each count of the indictments.

The Bush Crimes Commission was initiated by the Not In Our Name statement of conscience group, with the support of the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Lawyers Guild, the Mission and Social Justice Commission of The Riverside Church, and many other individuals and organizations. The first session of the Commission was broadcast on Democracy Now.

Donations are urgently needed for the success of this Commission. Checks should be made out to "Not In Our Name SOC" and mailed to Not In Our Name, 305 West Broadway, #199, New York, NY 10013. Contributions can be made on line at donate.

Not In Our Name postcard campaign
The Not In Our Name National Office has initiated a postcard campaign for the month of January. Postcards addressed to George W. Bush, and with room for you to state your reasons demanding that he step down, are being printed centrally and will soon be available. The postcards will be collected and delivered during the week following Bush's State of the Union address in solidarity with the World Can't Wait Campaign to "drown out" Bush's State of the Union speech. If you're willing to take a bundle of postcards to your church, class, family or friends, send us an e-mail right away ([e-mail]). Give us an estimate of how many you think you can get out and we'll make sure you receive them as soon as they arrive.

Army Goes to Court to Resume Live-Fire Training in Makua
In early December the Army filed a motion to modify an agreement between the Army and Malama Makua to allow live-fire training (including mortars, rockets and helicopters) to train 7,000+ soldiers scheduled to deploy to Iraq this summer.
In 2001 the Army and Malama Makua entered into an agreement requiring the Army to provide an Environmental Impact study (EIS)on damage caused by 50 years of military live-fire training. An EIS usually takes 18-24 months. Four years later the Army hasn't done the EIS but now the Army asserts that it needs to train soldiers in Makua because Schofield live-fire ranges are being closed because they will be used for Stryker training! (Coincidentally, the Army's EIS for the Stryker training, which involved a much larger area, was rammed through in less than 24 months.) Malama Makua and other community organizations, along with lawyers from EarthJustice, are continuing to oppose the Army's motion.

Malama Makua has been fighting for the return of Makua for decades. They will be holding their 12th Annual Christmas Vigil for Peace and Restoration of the 'Aina at the gate of Makua Valley on Monday, December 26, 2005 at 4PM. Pot luck will follow. All are welcome to join them at this non-denominational get-together. If you can't make the vigil, messages of solidarity can be sent to Malama Makua at: [e-mail]. Accesses into Makua will be Jan 14, Mar 4 & 12, and April 1 & 9. If you would like to be included contact Malama Makua to see what's involved.

Stop UARC Coalition News
It was a tremendous victory when the Faculty Senate voted against UARC. Then when UH-Manoa Chancellor Konan recommended against UARC, most thought UARC was being sent to the trashbin. After all, the Faculty Senate, ASUH, the Kuali`i Council, UHPA and then the Chancellor weighed in against it! In fact, only an unofficial group of researchers that stands to benefit financially is continuing to fight for UARC. UARC should be dead.
However, Interim President McClain has now announced that he wants to hold yet another hearing before sending his recommendation to the Board of Regents. This is ludicrous. The Faculty Senate convened a special committee to study UARC. They got lawyers to examine the contract. They made an informed decision that followed numerous public "consultations" with the administration. Proponents of UARC have had years to make their case for UARC, and now that the tide is against them they are calling for yet more deliberations.

UARC is expected to come up for vote at the January 19-20 Board of Regents Meeting. The Stop UARC coalition is calling for actions before the vote and needs our support to counter McClain's maneuvers, and to exert pressure on the BOR to vote against UARC. Check the Coalition's website regularly at UARC. If you haven't signed up for their action alerts you can do it online (they send very few - only when an action is being called).

The World Can't Wait publishes full-page ad in NY Times
Check out the full-page ad calling for Bush to Step Down that appeared in the New York Times this week at NYT ad. And check out the debate and controversy it has created at ad controversy. Bill O'Reilly, William Buckley, and theocrat Louis Sheldon have predictably launched a barrage of attacks against the ad; signatories are courageously stepping forward to defend it.
All this is leading up to the Call for millions to raise their voices and "drown out" Bush's State of the Union speech in late January, and it's driving Bush's supporters wild! For continuing news check out the World Can't Wait website regularly at WCW homepage. You can also receive the local newsletter that will keep you informed about the World Can't Wait campaign in Hawai`i by e-mailing [e-mail] and asking to be added.


MLK Day Parade
Each year since 9/11 Not In Our Name has had a contingent in the MLK Day Parade. This year we'll be joining the World Can't Wait movement in an attempt to build a big, noisy, colorful and energetic contingent that can't be missed! There will be a band on a flatbed and another "float" is in the idea-stage. Make plans to be with us! January 16, 9 am, Ala Moana Park. Invite your friends, your family and your organization. Shouldn't we be hundreds?
Just consider what's happened in the last few weeks:

** The secret torture centers in Europe have been revealed, yet Bush (after claiming that the U.S. does not torture) has threatened to veto the bill passed overwhelmingly by the Senate to prohibit the use of torture.

** In Baghdad, death squads and torture chambers run by the new "democratic" government have been exposed.

** In Europe, Condi Rice was harassed on these issues everywhere she went.

** In Montreal, the U.S. delegation walked out of a UN session where the rest of the world was negotiating new limits on global warming gases.

** In Kenya, it came out that a "gag rule" against abortion information is once again a prerequisite for receiving U.S. AIDS prevention funding in Africa.

** In a major editorial, the New York Times charged that Bush is simply letting the city of New Orleans die.

** In London, Tony Benn, the former Labor MP, and others signed on to 28 charges against the Blair and Bush administrations over the decision to wage war on Iraq.

** In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in literature, Harold Pinter blasted the whole trajectory of U.S. foreign policy since World War II.

Step up! Step Out!
NOT IN OUR NAME!
UNITE TO DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME!

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