Not In Our Name Newsletter: 12JAN06

[Dharma_Bum]

Not In Our Name Newsletter

1. Talk by Cindy Sheehan
2. Join the NION contingent at the MLK march
3. Art in the Park on Sunday, Jan 15!
4. UH-Manoa Students and Faculty: Get on Board!
5. Urgent! Testify against UARC - in writing or in person!
6. Bush Crimes Commission
7. Get ready for January 31st!
8. Depleted Uranium found at Schofield
9. Other events

Cindy Sheehan
On Jan 4th about 750 people came out to hear Cindy Sheehan and Ann Wright speak at Church of the Crossroads! (Contrary to the Advertiser's report of 200.) It was the top story on all of the major TV stations and was covered in both the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser. But the real excitement was the message! Both speakers challenged us all to get off our butts and Stop the War and Stop Bush. The message was urgent. Both spoke to how the country is moving to fascism, why we can't rely on elections to stop the criminals, and challenged us to hit the streets NOW! If you haven't already done so, we urge you to read Cindy's blog message: "The Opposite of Good is Apathy!" at Sheehan. Cindy's book, "Not One More Mother's Child" is also available for sale at Revolution Books.
We have so many people to thank for making this event possible on such short notice! First, The Church of the Crossroads. It took courage to allow their facilities to be used for this event. To Ann Wright, for convincing Cindy to cut short her much needed rest and fly to Honolulu. To the Olelo crew that taped the entire talk, helped set up the live video feed, and will get it on TV for thousands more to see. To the sound and video crew. To Laulani for flowers. And to everyone who showed up to help set up, and then break down. To organizations who had tables. And to everyone who made such generous contributions to cover the cost of the event and give Cindy an honorarium as well. To everyone - thanks for your support!

Now to step up to the challenge Cindy and Ann threw down! Stop the War! Impeachment, resignation, eviction, whatever! Bush Step Down - and take your whole program with you!

MLK Day Parade: Monday, Jan 16, 9am
Join the Not In Our Name/World Can't Wait Contingent in the MLK Day Parade! Be at Magic Island well before 9 am. We're going to make the streets echo with the demand that Bush Step Down! Chants of "Stop the War" will bounce off the buildings! We'll have a flat-bed truck with a live band, agitators, leaflets, and the Evict Bush postcards to pass out along the route. Spread the word wherever you go and challenge your friends and co-workers who've never taken to the streets to stand up and be counted on MLK Day. History demands it!
In April 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at New York's Riverside Church about what Vietnam meant for the United States. Today the truth of MLK's powerful indictment of the US rings truer than ever, which is why this speech has been largely erased from history. These are words that need to be remembered:

"...I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.
"...I knew I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today - my own government.
"... as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. When machines and computers, profit and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. "...A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies... A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

The march will begin at Magic Island at 9 (or soon after) and will go down Kalakaua Ave. It'll be easy to find us at the Magic Island parking lot when we're lining up; just look for the bright green banners and blue world flags. Thousands will be marching, and there will be thousands more along the route. There will be a rally at Kapiolani Park after the march, and NION will have a table. There are lots of buses to get you back to Magic Island if you leave your car there, so remember your bus fare.

Art in the Park
Join us at Art in the Park at Old Stadium Park (King and Isenberg) from noon to 4 on Sunday, January 15 to make banners and props for the parade. We'll bring materials. Just be ready to pick up a brush.
A Challenge to UH-Manoa Students and Faculty:
College campuses have historically been vibrant centers of debate and struggle for social change and it's way past time to bring that back. Academia is under attack by the Bush Regime as it never has been before. Critical spirit is being snuffed out by right-wing attacks and an atmosphere of despair. Tuition is rising, buildings are crumbling. UH is attempting to partner with the Navy to do classified military research. The university is run more like a corporation than a place of learning. And in the midst of all this, a few students and faculty are fighting to break through the apathy. Support them. Join them. Build the movement of resistance! Here's some of what's happening at UH-Manoa:
Friday, Jan 13, 11-1. Rally at the Sustainability Courtyard. Speak-Out against the Bush Regime.

Friday, Jan 20: Mobilization for the Board of Regents hearing on UARC at 1 pm at Campus Center Ballroom. (see below)

Monday, Jan 23: Rally at the UH-Manoa Campus Center Steps. Bush Step Down! Mobilize for January 31st

NION-UH Political Film Series, Jan 24, 7 pm "The World According to Bush." Info on the film at: http://liberationvideo.com/.

Students and faculty: you can do much more! Put up your own posters. Speak out in classes. Make announcements. Mobilize your friends. Make UH a REAL place of learning! If you'd like to connect with the NION-UH activists, send an e-mail to [e-mail] and they'll contact you.

Urgent: Your Testimony Against UARC is Needed Now!
The Faculty Senate, ASUH, the Kuali`i Council, UHPA, and then Chancellor Konan herself have all taken positions against UARC. UARC SHOULD BE DEAD! But now Interim President McClain is pulling off an end-run in an attempt to resurrect it.
McClain has called a "hearing" saying the Board of Regents needs to hear from "the community", as though the long and deliberate process engaged in by the Faculty Senate counts for nothing. While the Stop UARC Coalition believes that there's no need for such a meeting, it's nonetheless imperative that OUR community speak out. Otherwise the BOR will only hear pro-UARC scientists and businesses with an interest in military expansion. Don't let McClain get away with reversing the decision to Stop UARC. Testify!

Send your written testimony in to [e-mail]. And/or sign up to speak by calling the BOR at 956-8213 to secure a 3 minute speaking spot two days before the hearing. Or just come to the hearing and sign up there.

Bush Crimes Commission: January 20-22, NYC
The 2nd Session of the Bush Crimes Commission will be held in NYC Friday through Sunday, January 20-22. Check out the new indictments, the witnesses (including Scott Ritter and Janet Kapinsky, Dahr Jamail, and Michael Ratner). Other participants include Dennis Brutus, Ann Wright, Chokwe Lumumba, Craig Murray, Ray McGovern, Marjorie Cohn and many more. For information: Bush Crimes. If you know people living in or near NYC, let them know about this important event initiated by the Not In Our Name Statement of Conscience Group. And be sure to check out the testimony on the website from the last session.
Get Ready for January 31st!
The national World Can't Wait movement has issued a call to drown Bush's State of the Union speech out with noise! See WCW Not In Our Name has endorsed this Call and NION-Hawai`i is working with local World Can't Wait organizers to bring hundreds of people to the streets. High school organizers are working in the high schools; college student teams are hitting the college campuses, and word is getting out to organizations.
There will be a rally at the State Capitol on January 31st at 3 pm, where representatives of different organizations will speak out aganst the Bush Regime. Bush will begin delivering his State of the Union speech at 4 pm (9 pm EST). At that moment we'll pick up our whistles, our drums, our trumpets and pans, and march to the Federal Building.

Begin mobilizing now. Leaflets are available at Revolution Books, or from any World Can't Wait organizer.

Depleted Uranium Found at Schofield
On Friday, Jan 5, a coalition of anti-militarization and environmental groups held a press conference to announce that documents had recently been uncovered that revealed that depleted uranium was found in the dirt at Schofield when the area was being prepared for the Strykers. This after the Army had issued repeated assurances that depleted uranium had never been used in Hawai`i! For more information on depleted uranium go to the National NION website and search for depleted uranium: nion. For coverage of the press conference in the local media go to: Advertiser or StarBulletin.
At this point the extent of the contamination is not known. However, this news underscores some important lessons. (1) That the military cannot be trusted. They have consistently lied and deceived us. (2) We must rely on ourselves. This was not announced by some whistleblower within the military or disclosed because we asked the military the right questions. It was discovered because Kyle Kajihiro (AFSC) made repeated FOIA requests and dredged through endless stacks of documents. And in all that he discovered a single paragraph revealing that DU was present in the ground at Schofield. Our community activists must be supported. Without them we're not going to force out the truth.

Some up-coming events:
Thursday, Jan 12: Not In Our Name-Hawai`i Working Meeting
Friends Meeting House, 7 pm
Friday, Jan 13: Rally: Speak Out Against the Bush Regime.
Sustainability Courtyard, UH-Manoa, 11-1
Sponsored by NION-UH and World Can't Wait

Friday, Jan 13: Anti-War Vigil at the Federal Building from 4-6
Every friday there is a vigil against the war in Iraq and Bush's so-called "war on terrorism". This Friday there will also be a rally to support widespread resistance in Korea to U.S. miltary base expansion there.

Sunday, Jan 15: Sovereign Sunday, Iolani Palace 10am through the afternoon
With the theme, "Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou, All Hawai'i Come Together," Native Hawaiians and supporters for the 113th observance of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation will come together for a rally with speakers, information tables, music and hula.

Monday, Jan 16, 9 am: MLK Parade. Meet at Magic Island, Ala Moana Park
Bring drums, pans, or signs with your personal message
We'll have blue earth flags, a selection of placards, leaflets to distribute, etc.
Stop by our table at Kapiolani Park afterwards.

Friday, Jan 20, 1 pm: Board of Regent's hearing on UARC
UH-Manoa, Campus Center Ballroom
The BOR is meeting Jan 19 and 20 at KCC. At this time the word is that they won't be voting on UARC before 1 pm on Friday. For action alerts be sure to check the Stop UARC website at http://www.stopuarc.info.

Sunday, Jan 22, 3 pm, Revolution Books
"Christian Fascism, the Bush Regime, And Why We Have to Drive Them Out"
A talk by Carolyn Hadfield, Hawai`i spokesperson for the RCP

Monday, Jan 23, Rally at UH-Manoa Campus Center Steps, 11-1
Speak-Out Against the Bush Regime sponsored by NION-UH/WCW

Tuesday, Jan 31: 3 pm Rally at the State Capitol
4 pm: March to the Federal Building
At the moment Bush begins to deliver his State of the Union speech in Washington D.C. we will bring on the noise, and drown out the lies!

Saturday, February 4: Bush Step Down Demonstration in Washington, D.C.

[oasis]

1. Exciting slate of events. I'll try to make the march at the Federal bldg.