Still No Room—Ultra-Orthodox Jews Want “Jews for Jesus” Evicted

Ultra-Orthodox Jews accused of fight to keep ‘Jews for Jesus’ out

Sheera Frenkel and Yonit Farrago in Jerusalem

• Israel is using an ultra-Orthodox group to crack down on Messianic Jews — who believe that Jesus is the Messiah — and prevent them from staying in the country, officials have told The Times.

The Messianic Jews have been accused of Christian missionary activities and complain of harassment and intimidation by the state.

An official at the Interior Ministry said that an anti-assimilation group called Yad L’Achim was working with the ministry to prevent Messianic Jews — known as Jews for Jesus — from being allowed to live in Israel, which they consider their spiritual home.

“There is a known history of Yad L’Achim working directly with the ministry. They play a distinct role in the ministry’s decision about citizenry,” the official said.

Jews have an automatic legal right to settle in Israel. Yad L’Achim, which opposes any form of assimilation between Jews and other faiths, said that it was defending the faithful from missionary efforts by what it terms a Christian organisation.

A doctoral student of German-Jewish heritage known as B, said that she had been discriminated against and denied visas after she became involved with the Messianic Jewish movement at an Israeli university. She has been studying in Israel for the past eight years without a visa, making it impossible for her to leave the country.

“I understood that people were intentionally trying to make problems for me from the start,” she said. “There were strange encounters, someone would approach me and tell me who I am and where I lived and try to intimidate me. And another incident where they approached a friend of mine.”

She added: “I have Jewish roots in my family, it was part of the reason I came here. I wanted to connect to my national identity.”

A report to be published today in the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz suggests that dozens of such cases of harassment exist. Under Israeli citizenship laws, any person with Jewish grandparents is eligible to move to Israel and qualify for citizenship.

The case of Messianic Jews has raised doubts in the minds of some ultra-Orthodox, who see them as a threat to the Jewish identity.

“The title Messianic Jews is a false statement,” Rabbi Dov Lifschitz, the chairman of Yad L’Achim, said. “There is no such thing. These people are 100 per cent Christians … They are trying to present themselves as a stream in the Jewish nation, so they can stay here and carry out their mission to convert as many Jews as possible into Christianity.”

The US State Department has accused Yad L’Achim of using violence against those who go to Israel seeking to persuade Jews to abandon Judaism. Yad L’Achim accused the State Department of publishing the report without a proper investigation of the claims.

Pak. Human Rights Commission Stands for Inalienable Rights

Propaganda for war should be prohibited by law: HRCP

By Shahid Husain

Karachi

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has suggested that propaganda for war should be prohibited by law, and that the injunctions of the Charter of Democracy into legal statutes as these measures enjoy the near consensus of political parties, The News has learnt.

In a set of recommendations forwarded to the Senator Raza Rabbani-led parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms, the HRCP has argued that barring a few articles, the Seventeenth Amendment must be repealed, and that the parliament needed to consider rationalising the membership of FATA to the National Assembly as well as the Senate.

Welcoming consultations on constitutional reforms, the HRCP suggested that access to religious places on the basis of race, sex, caste or residence or place of birth should not be restricted, while Article 140-A for the establishment of local governments should be retained and supported with the establishment of a federal constitutional court, as proposed in the Charter of Democracy.

HRCP has also recommended that an addition needed to be made to Article 8 of the Constitution, which explicitly stated that all provisions of the Constitution shall also be interpreted so as to accord with fundamental rights guaranteed by the Pakistani constitution. HRCP pointed out that an exception is made in Article 8(3) in respect of conformity to fundamental rights of laws relating to the armed forces and the police and of laws in the First Schedule.

It also suggested that the proviso should be repealed so that actions of the armed forces and the police also conform to fundamental rights. HRCP said that Pakistan has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). As such, a new article, 28-A, needed to be added to recognise the right to food, education, health, clean environment and shelter, subject to the availability of resources.

HRCP also suggested the abolishment of the concurrent list, and said that there should be no distinction between cantonments and non-cantonment areas in respect of local self-government. HRCP recommended that except for an emergency, such as war, the power to issue ordinances should be ended while the Federal Shariat Court needed to be abolished.

Referring to freedom of expression, HRCP recommended that all citizens should have the right to freedom of expression. This right should include freedom to seek, receive and impart information, as well as ideas of all kinds, which may be transmitted through any media of the citizen’s choice.

HRCP suggested that a line needs to be added in Article 9, saying that no law shall be made which accords capital punishment. Similarly, in Article 10 (preventive detention), the word “integrity” appearing in sub-clause (4) needed to be deleted, as the term is vague and can be interpreted widely impinging upon freedom of expression.

The human rights organisation further suggested that Article 11(3) needed to be brought in conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by Pakistan. It should say: “every child below the age of eighteen has a right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or interferes with the child’s education, or physical, spiritual, moral or social development.”

HRCP said that prohibition against slavery and forced labour etc in Article 11 should include specific bar on all forms of sexual exploitation and prostitution of women. It said Article 14(2) deals with torture but prohibition to torture is not sufficiently strong. It should read: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under any circumstances.”

It recommended replacing the proviso at the end of the Article 17 with the following wording: “no political party shall incite violence or promote sectarian, ethnic, regional or gender hostility or be titled or constituted as a militant group or sect.”

Iran To Allow Nuclear Inspections, What About Dimona?

[It is beyond bizarre that Israeli nukes can ignite fears of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, to the point where international nuke inspectors are only brought-in to investigate imaginary weapons facilities, in states that have already signed the NPT (nuclear non-proliferation treaty).  The one state in the region that refuses to sign the treaty and is known for certain to possess at least 200 or more illegally constructed nuclear weapons, has never been inspected, not even by its sponsor, the United States.  Israeli nuclear weapons are the contradiction that drives the Middle East arms race and stands clearly in the way of world peace.]

Iran to allow nuclear inspections: EU envoy

United States, Iranian officials also meet for 1st time in 30 years

CBC News

Officials from six world powers meet with Iran in Switzerland on Thursday for nuclear talks. (Dominic Favre/Reuters)

Iran has pledged to open its recently revealed uranium enrichment plant to UN inspectors, possibly in the next few weeks, according to a senior EU envoy involved in the negotiations.

Javier Solana, who formally headed the negotiations Thursday in Switzerland, said Iran and six world powers also agreed to a second round of talks regarding Tehran’s contentious nuclear program.

Iranian officials met with permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany in Genthod, northeast of Geneva, in an attempt to persuade Tehran to freeze its uranium enrichment program.

And in a surprise development, American and Iranian delegates reportedly held their first known one-on-one meeting in years.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, attends a meeting in Switzerland on Thursday on Iran’s nuclear power program. (Dominic Favre/Reuters)

U.S. President Barack Obama called the meetings a “constructive beginning.”

However, he stressed again that Iran must grant inspectors open access within two weeks to a recently disclosed uranium enrichment facility.

“Talk is no substitute for action,” Obama said in Washington. “Our patience is not unlimited.”

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that the talks had “opened the door” to potential progress on clarifying Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

But she was cautious in her assessment.

“It was a productive day but the proof of that has not yet come to fruition, so we’ll wait and continue to press our point of view and see what Iran decides to do,” Clinton said.

The U.S.-Iran meeting, the Iranian pledge to open the plant to inspectors, and the round of talks are seen as encouraging signs that the discussions might be more fruitful than originally believed.

Western officials were discussing the imposition of new sanctions on Iran after learning last week of a second uranium enrichment plant under construction.

Concerns about Iran nuclear program

Iran insists the program is peaceful and for energy purposes. The West fears the program may be geared toward producing weapons and has demanded the doors be open to the UN nuclear inspectors.

Uranium processing is a key aspect of any nuclear power program. The mineral needs to be enriched, whether to fuel a nuclear reactor producing electricity or to be turned into bomb-making material.

Solana was upbeat before Western delegates, a three-man Iranian negotiating team and representatives from Russia and China began the one-day closed talks.

Iran was expected to bring a broad range of geopolitical issues to the table, while the six powers were seeking to soften Iran’s resistance to freezing its uranium enrichment program.

Pressure on Iran increases

There has been a spike in international pressure on Iran since the leaders of the United States, France and Britain announced last week they have disclosed intelligence information to the International Atomic Energy Agency that confirms an underground nuclear facility in Iran and have demanded an in-depth investigation.

The U.S.-Iran meeting was a positive sign for negotiators.

U.S. spokesman Robert Wood said U.S. Under Secretary of State William Burns met with Saeed Jalili, Tehran’s chief negotiator, during a lunch break at Thursday’s seven-nation talks in Geneva.

Two other Western diplomats were also briefed on the discussion, Wood said. He declined to elaborate on what was discussed.

The U.S. has signalled it is already contemplating new and tighter sanctions on Tehran, reflecting expectations that the talks may end in failure. But diplomats at UN headquarters in New York said there has been no discussion of a new sanctions resolution.

The sidebar meeting is the first known direct meeting between Washington and Tehran in about 30 years. Washington severed relations with Tehran in 1980 during a hostage crisis in the wake of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

Previous sanctions

The UN has imposed three previous sets of sanctions on Iran for pursuing its uranium enrichment program, which the Islamic country says is for civilian reactors but the international community worries could be used to make fuel for nuclear weapons.

The first sanctions in 2006 focused on banning trade in materials, equipment, goods and technology that could contribute to the nuclear program.

The sanctions were expanded in 2007 to include arms exports from Iran. In 2008, Iran was restricted from importing technologies that could be used for both civilian and military purposes

US Recruiting Retired Pakistani Military Officers

	Ahmed Quraishi
01 Oct 2009
Who Protected Ali Zaidi, A Frontman For American Mercenaries In Pakistan? Despite denials by the US Embassy in Islamabad, this incident exposes the presence of American private security operations similar to Blackwater in Pakistan.  The embassy and US citizens working for either the US government or the US military are recruiting retired and well connected Pakistani military officers in order to build a network of informants and special operations agents inside Pakistan.  This is tantamount to creating a US military presence in Pakistani cities without sending the US army into Pakistan.  To counter reports the growing reports of how the US is raising private security militias armed with heavy weapons to supplement the existing information-gathering network and the coming expansion in the US diplomatic presence in Pakistan; the mainstream US media is churning out stories that seek to discredit these reports as ‘conspiracy theories’. A secret facility outside Pakistani federal capital Islamabad that was being used by DynCorp to impart military training to Pakistani recruits. In March, US Ambassador sought personal intervention of Pakistani officials to get a lincense for the US defense contractor to import weapons and guards to protect diplomats.  In September, Pakistani authroties discovered how the Americans were raising private militias inside Pakistani cities. By AHMED QURAISHI Friday, 1 October 2009. WWW.AHMEDQIURAISHI.COM ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Washington is invading Pakistan without the need to order the US military in Afghanistan to invade Pakistani territory. Some influential lobbies within the US government, military and intelligence have been advocating a direct invasion of Pakistan for quite some time.  It was impossible to achieve because of Washington would not prefer a direct confrontation with a nuclear-armed Pakistan. But the Americans have achieved several breakthroughs in Pakistan recently without putting a single boot on the ground. CIA-manned drones have so far killed less than 20 al-Qaeda terrorists at the cost of murdering more than 700 innocent men, women and children, Pakistani citizens, who have unfortunately been abandoned by the power elite in Islamabad. Now evidence confirms that the United States has launched a massive program of recruitment of retired Pakistani military officers to create information-gathering networks and private militias tasked with special operations inside Pakistan. Part of this expansion is the introduction of private American security firms, or American mercenaries, contracted by the US military and working on their behalf.  The US embassy is being used as a cover.  US diplomats often tell Pakistani authorities that the private security militias are tasked with the protection of US diplomats and five diplomatic missions in five major Pakistani cities. This is correct in many cases but not in all cases.  The US program of recruitment of retired Pakistani military officers and bolstering the presence of private security firms is far larger than just the task of protection of US buildings in Pakistan. Since the Pakistani military and Pakistan’s intelligence agencies remain on Washington’s target list, retired military officers can provide a valuable insight and access into the inner side of the Pakistani military.  US diplomats and others directly seeking this type of insight would alert Pakistani security authorities. But not if the same is done using retired Pakistani officers. The case of a former Pakistani special operations officer Captain Ali Zaidi must send alarm bells ringing within the Pakistani national security community. Capt. Zaidi’s Inter-Risk security firm was the Pakistani face for US defense contractor DynCorp, which provides defense-related maintenance and supply services to US military bases worldwide. But in Pakistan, as in Iraq and Afghanistan, DynCorp was helping Washington create private security militias, or mercenaries in real terms, with proper military training and access to advanced weapons. This is tantamount to creating an indirect US military presence inside Pakistani cities.  The alarming part is the Zaidi and DynCorp had created an elaborate physical setup right in the heart of Pakistan to train recruited Pakistanis.  Using his connections within the Pakistani civilian and military bureaucracy, Mr. Zaidi is suspected of smuggling advanced weapons into the country to be used by the Americans and their hired recruits. As a legal, cover, the US Embassy in Islamabad told Pakistani authorities that Zaidi/DynCorp were providing security services to US diplomats. Pakistani newspaper The Nation broke the story on Sept. 29, with hard evidence, including photographs of an elaborate building on the outskirts of the Pakistani federal capital that was acting as a military training facility for the Pakistani recruits.  The facility was camouflaged as a car repair workshop. The activities of Mr. Zaidi and the US defense contractor DynCorp were obviously being protected by individuals at high levels of the Pakistani government. In fact, US Ambassador Anne Patterson personally intervened earlier this year with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik seeking licenses for Mr. Zaidi and DynCorp to operate in entire territory of Pakistan. This is why Mr. Zaidi managed to stay away from Pakistani investigators thanks to a bail. But The Nation reports today that the court has cancelled his bail and that he has been arrested yesterday, which is an indication of how seriously Pakistani authorities are taking this case. [continued below] [On Sept. 30, Mr. Ansar Abbasi of The News published the full content of a letter written by Ambassador Patterson to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, dated March 30, seeking his "intervention" to grant Inter-Risk and DynCorp "the requisite prohibited bore arms licenses to operate in the territorial limits of Pakistan and as soon as possible." The letter creates a new dent in the US embassy's counteroffensive that seeks to downplay the presence of private US security firms in the country.  A Web news portal, PakNationalists/AhmedQuraishi.com released fresh evidence this month showing the infamous US security firm formerly known as Blackwater recruiting military-trained agents fluent in Urdu and Punjabi.] [The Americans are looking for ambitious risk-takers such as Mr. Zaidi.  For more information on how this retired officer describes himself, see his own brief biography posted at a Pakistani news website that introduces him as an 'investigative editor'.] HIRING ACADEMICS/MEDIA COMMENTATORS Retired Pakistani military officers are not the only people being hired by the Americans in Pakistan to spy on their own country. Washington’s military and intelligence has also hired the services of a handful of Pakistani academics and media commentators. These civilian recruits are longtime critics of their own country and its national interest.  The Americans are using them to present a Pakistani face to what essentially are American plans for Pakistan.  These academics/commentators also provide occasional input into US plans and Washington uses them to sell these ideas and plans to the US public as something that the Pakistanis people themselves are demanding. © 2007-2009. All rights reserved. AhmedQuraishi.com & PakNationalists

Experts Caution Senators Against US Military Surge in Afghanistan

By Cindy Saine Capitol Hill 01 October 2009

Experts at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday advocated a U.S. strategy in Afghanistan that focuses more on political and economic initiatives than on a military surge. The hearing comes as President Barack Obama is meeting with his top advisers to help him formulate a new strategy for the region.

Senator John Kerry (file photo)

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry began the hearing by highlighting what he called “a landmark change” in the relationship between the United States and Pakistan, as new legislation – co-sponsored by Senator Richard Lugar and approved by both houses of Congress – would triple non-military U.S. assistance to Pakistan.

“The Kerry-Lugar initiative signals our determination to put the relationship on a new foundation, with the aspirations of the people of Pakistan front and center,” said Senator Kerry.

The three experts invited to testify before the committee welcomed the increased aid to Pakistan.

But in considering how the United States should move forward in Afghanistan, all three warned of the failure of other countries’ attempts to deal with Afghanistan in the past – including occupations by the Soviet Union and Britain.

Milt Bearden is a former Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Islamabad.

“The Soviets spent 10 years, with an average troop strength of 120,000,” said Milt Bearden. “This was always enough to fuel an insurgency that matched every effort that they put out to quell the insurgency. But it never, ever was enough to defeat that insurgency.”

Bearden said there will always be enough ethnic Pashtuns in Afghanistan who view any foreign force as an occupation and who will engage U.S. troops on the battlefield.

The former CIA officer spelled out his view of how likely a surge in U.S. military forces would be to succeed.

“There is no, in my opinion, there is no possibility for the United States to provide enough troops in Afghanistan to pacify the situation,” he said.

Another expert at the hearing, Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, also said that a U.S. military escalation would be unlikely to succeed and would intensify rivalries in the region, such as the one between India and Pakistan.

Lodhi warned of other negative consequences of a military surge in Afghanistan on Pakistan.

“It will lead to an influx of militant and al-Qaida fighters into Pakistan,” said Maleeha Lodhi.

Lodhi warned that a surge in U.S. troops would enhance the vulnerability of U.S. and NATO ground supply routes throughout Pakistan, and would likely mean more Afghan refugees pouring into Pakistan.

She said, most importantly:

“It could endanger, erode and unravel the key public consensus that has been achieved in the past one year to fight the militancy,” she said.

Lodhi said a fragile consensus has been formed among the general public in Pakistan to fight against the Pakistani Taliban.

Steve Coll, President and CEO of The New America Foundation, a Washington-based public policy institute, agreed with the other panelists at the hearing that neither an abrupt withdrawal of all U.S. forces nor a troop surge is the answer.

Coll said there is a more sustainable solution, and he hopes it is the one President Obama will choose.

“It would make clear that the Taliban will never be permitted to take power by force in Kabul or major cities,” said Steve Coll. “It would seek and enforce stability in Afghan population centers, but emphasize politics over combat, urban stability over rural patrolling, Afghan solutions over Western ones. And it would incorporate Pakistan more directly into creative, persistent diplomatic efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and the region.”

Senior members of the Obama administration are reported to be divided over whether to scale back U.S military involvement in Afghanistan or to add thousands of additional troops as part of a request made by the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Army General Stanley McChrystal.

National March on Washington on Saturday, March 20

National March on Washington on Saturday, March 20 Fri., March 19 Day of Action & Outreach in D.C.

Please make a donation today to support the National March on Washington

People from all over the country are organizing to converge on Washington, D.C., to demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Saturday, March 20, 2010, there will be a massive National March & Rally in D.C. A day of action and outreach in Washington, D.C., will take place on Friday, March 19, preceding the Saturday march.

There will be coinciding mass marches on March 20 in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Click here to become an endorser.

We will march together to say “No Colonial-type Wars and Occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine!” We will march together to say “No War Against Iran!” We will march together to say “No War for Empire Anywhere!”

Instead of war, we will demand funds so that every person can have a job, free and universal health care, decent schools, and affordable housing.

March 20 is the seventh anniversary of the criminal war of aggression launched by Bush and Cheney against Iraq. One million or more Iraqis have died. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops have lost their lives or been maimed, and continue to suffer a whole host of enduring problems from this terrible war.

This is the time for united action. The slogans on banners may differ, but all those who carry them should be marching shoulder to shoulder.

Click here to become an endorser.

The initiators of the March 20 National March on Washington (preceded by the March 19 Day of Action and Outreach in D.C.) include: the ANSWER Coalition; Muslim American Society Freedom; National Council of Arab Americans; Cynthia McKinney; Malik Rahim, co-founder of Common Ground Collective; Ramsey Clark; Cindy Sheehan; Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK; Deborah Sweet, Director, World Can’t Wait; Mike Ferner, President, Veterans for Peace; Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition; Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild; Ron Kovic, author of “Born on the 4th of July”; Juan Jose Gutierrez, Director, Latino Movement USA; Col. Ann Wright (ret.); March Forward!; Partnership for Civil Justice; Palestinian American Women Association; Alliance for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines; Alliance for Global Justice; Claudia de la Cruz, Pastor, Iglesia San Romero de Las Americas-UCC; Phil Portluck, Social Justice Ministry, Covenant Baptist Church, D.C.; Michael Berg; Blase & Theresa Bonpane, Office of the Americas; Coalition for Peace and Democracy in Honduras; Comite Pro-Democracia en Mexico; Frente Unido de los Pueblos Americanos; Comites de Base FMLN, Los Angeles; Free Palestine Alliance; GABRIELA Network; Justice for Filipino American Veterans; KmB Pro-People Youth; Students Fight Back; Jim Lafferty, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild – LA Chapter; LEF Foundation; National Coalition to Free the Angola 3; Community Futures Collective; Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival; Companeros del Barrio; Barrio Unido for Full and Unconditional Amnesty.

Click here to become an endorser.

October 2009 demonstrations – 8th anniversary of war on Afghanistan

Friday, September 4, 2009

Check back regularly for additional events!

The following is a list of actions taking place in October 2009 on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of the war on Afghanistan. If you or an organization in your area is planning an event as part of the October call to action, please click here to submit an event listing.

Check this page regularly for new event listings.
CALIFORNIA

Davis, California
War is Not the Answer
When: Saturday, October 17 at 11 a.m. (until 12 noon)
Where: G Street Plaza
Contact: 530-756-6881
The Davis Friends Meeting and members of the Davis community sponsor this peace vigil the first and third Saturday of every month. The quiet vigil carries the message: War is not the ANSWER.

Los Angeles, California
Protest and rally on the 8th Anniversary of the War on Afghanistan
When: Wednesday, October 7 at 6 p.m.
Where: Westwood Federal Building at 11000 Wilshire Blvd. (map and directions – public transit)
Sponsor(s): ANSWER LA (Endorse and/or volunteer – Be an organizing / transportation center)
Contact: answerla@answerla.org or 213-251-1025

Los Angeles, California
Teach-in on the Afghanistan war
When: Saturday, October 17 at 2 p.m.
Where: Los Angeles City College – Chemistry Bldg., Room 3 at 855 N. Vermont Ave. (map and directions – public transit)
Sponsor(s): ANSWER LA (Endorse and/or volunteer – Be an organizing / transportation center)
Contact: answerla@answerla.org or 213-251-1025

San Francisco, California
Protest on the 8th Anniversary of the War on Afghanistan
When: Wednesday, October 7 at 5 p.m.
Where: New Federal Building at 7th St and Mission St (near Civic Center BART)
Sponsor(s): San Francisco Bay Area ANSWER
Contact: answer@answersf.org or 415-821-6545

San Francisco, California (click here for flyer)
Mass antiwar march and rally
When: Saturday, October 17 at 11 a.m. (March begins at 12 noon)
Where: UN Plaza (Market St. between 7th and 8th Streets)
Sponsor(s): October 17 Antiwar Coalition.
Contact: 510-268-9429. The ANSWER Coalition is participating in this event; if you’d like to march with ANSWER, contact answer@answersf.org or 415-821-6545.

Ventura County, California
ANSWER Ventura County Anti-War Vigil
When: Friday, October 2 at 5 p.m.
Where: Ventura County Government Center (corner of Victoria and Telephone)
Sponsor(s): ANSWER Ventura Country
Contact: answervc@riseup.net or (805) 744-8142
Anti-war vigil. Placards available or bring your own. Note: This November our vigil will hit its 5-year mark and relocate to the U.S. Armed Forces Career Center in Ventura. U.S. Out of the Middle East!
COLORADO

Arvada, Colorado
Peace Vigil – Stop the Wars – Out of Afghanistan & Iraq
When: Saturday, October 17, 12 noon (until 1 p.m.)
Where: Intersection of Wadsworth Blvd. and 52nd Ave.
Sponsor(s): Colorado Citizens for Peace
Contact: Visit www.coloradocitizensforpeace.info for more information.
The October 17 event will mark the national day of local and regional anti-war actions. Colorado Citizens for Peace holds a vigil every Saturday at the same time and location. All are welcome to join on the 17th or any Saturday to be part of this very visible peace action.
CONNECTICUT

Connecticut
Transportation to Boston
When: Saturday, October 17.
Where: Connecticut coalitions and organizations are mobilizing to attend the New England regional protest on Saturday, October 17 in Boston.
Check back for details.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington, D.C.
No Good War protest
When: Monday, October 5 at 8:30 a.m. (until 1 p.m.)
Where: McPherson Square and in front of the White House
Sponsor(s): National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, The Black is Back Coalition, CodePink, Peace Action, Veterans for Peace.
Contact: Dave Kunes at dlkunes@gmail.com
We will gather the afternoon before the Oct. 5 event at the Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road). On Oct. 5th, we will begin gathering at McPherson Sqaure at 10 a.m. Lifelong war resister and widow of Phil Berrigan Liz McAlister will be a featured speaker.

FLORIDA

Daytona Beach, Florida
When: Wednesday, October 7. Time to be announced.
Where: To be announced.
Sponsor(s): ANSWER Florida
Contact: organize@answerfl.org

Dunedin, Florida
Back To The Streets
When: Wednesday, October 7 at 4:30 p.m. (until 6 p.m.)
Where: At the corners of Edgewater Dr & Main St.in front of Dunedin Marina
Sponsor(s): RiseUpTampaBay.com
Contact: info@RiseUpTampaBay.com or 727.320.4502
Demonstration against the escalation of War in Afghanistan. Antiwar Activists have had a presence at this site for 5 yrs. Bring Signs.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida
When: Wednesday, October 7 at 6 p.m.
Where: Federal Building (299 East Broward Boulevard)
Sponsor(s): ANSWER Florida
Contact: organize@answerfl.org

Orlando, Florida
When: Wednesday, October 7. Time to be announced.
Where: To be announced.
Sponsor(s): ANSWER Florida
Contact: organize@answerfl.org

Orlando, Florida
Mass March on the Weapons Makers End the War Economy -  Healthcare Not Warfare
When: Saturday, October 17 at 12 noon.
Where: Southeast corner of Alafaya Blvd. (SR 434) and University Blvd (main entrance to the University of Central Florida).
Sponsor(s): Florida Peace Congress
Contact: 321-368-5093 or Sabletide@yahoo.com. The ANSWER Coalition will be participating in this event; if you’d like to march with ANSWER, contact organize@answerfl.org.
Following the rally, participants will march 1/4 mile south along Alfaya Blvd. to the Central Florida Research Park entrance to demand an end to the war economy.

GEORGIA

Decatur, Georgia
Kill Colonialism
When: Tuesday, October 6 at 9 p.m.
Where: 4211 Mercer Rd.
Sponsor(s): New Black Panther Party
Contact: 404-587-0737
The event will be a movie showing on the war.

ILLINOIS

Chicago, Illinois
Protest: U.S./NATO Out! Bring the Troops Home Now! End Colonial Occupation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Haiti… Money for Healthcare, Jobs, Housing, Education, Not for War!
When: Wednesday, October 7 at 5 p.m.
Where: Chicago Water Tower (Michigan Ave. at Pearson St., One block North of Chicago Ave.)
Sponsor(s): ANSWER Chicago
Contact: 773-463-0311

Moline, Illinois
Peace Vigil to End the Wars
When: Saturday, October 17 at 11 a.m. (until noon)
Where: Corner of John Deere Rd. & 16th St. Parking in the Best Buy/Ashley Furniture parking lot.
Sponsor(s): Quad Cities Progressive Action for the Common Good
Contact: Visit http://www.qcprogressiveaction.org/ for more information.

Peoria, Illinois
Protest to End the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars & Occupations
When: Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 12 noon (until 1 p.m.)
Where: Main and University
Sponsor(s): Peoria Area Peace Network (PAPN).
Contact: Visit http://www.peoriapeace.org/ for more information.
PAPN sponsors a weekly anti-war presence at this location. All are welcome to join every Saturday. PAPN will be making an extra effort to turnout people to mark October 17 as a national day of anti-war actions.
KANSAS

Kansas City, Kansas
Public forum
When: Saturday, October 17. Time to be announced.
Where: To be announced.
Sponsor(s): Kansas City Labor Against the War
Contact: kclaw@kclabor.org, 816-753-1672 (or visit http://www.kclabor.org/kcuslaw.htm)
Forum opposing the U.S. wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Check back for more info.

Lawrence, Kansas
Peace Vigil to End the Wars
When: Saturday, October 17 at 12 noon (until 1 p.m.)
Where: 9th & Massachusetts
Sponsor(s): Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice
Contact: lcpjinfo@lcpj.org
The October 17 Lawrence event will mark the call for a national day of anti-war actions, the vigil has been ongoing for eight years and will continue every Saturday.
LOUISIANA

Lafayette, Lousiana
U.S. Out of Afghanistan
When: Monday, October 5, all day.
Where: University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the quad.
Sponsor(s): Party for Socialism and Liberation
Contact: Andrew Cheramie at apcheramie@gmail.com or 985-414-1753

New Orleans, Lousiana
Exorcism of the Spirit of War
When: Sunday, October 18 at 5 p.m.
Where: At the fountain by the entrance to Audubon Park on St Charles Avenue across from Loyola University
Sponsor(s): First United Unitarian Church and Pax Christi of New Orleans
Contact: aiglefort@hotmail.com
Half hour of singing Sixties anti-Vietnam War songs; choral prayer for peace; ritual of exorcism; songs, music, and spoken words; conversation over bring-your-own coffee and desserts.

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston, Massachusetts (click here for flyer)
From Afghanistan to Mattapan: Money for Jobs, Housing, Health care and Education, Not for War, Gentrification, Racism, and Occupation!
When: Wednesday, October 7 (Press conference at 5:30 p.m., Speak out from 6 to 7 p.m.)
Where: Dudley Station (2343 Washington St., Roxbury)
Sponsor(s): Boston ANSWER Coalition
Contact: Boston@ANSWERcoalition.org or 857-334-5084

Boston, Massachusetts (click here for flyer)
New England Regional March & Rally Eight Years of War How Many More? Troops Home Now from Afghanistan & Iraq!
When: Saturday, October 17 at 1 p.m. (music starts at 11 a.m.)
Where: Copley Square.
Sponsor(s): A coalition of Boston & New England regional organizations has come together to organize for this regional protest. For complete list see oct17boston.org.
Contact: info@Oct17Boston.org. The ANSWER Coalition is participating in this event; if you’d like to march with ANSWER, contact Boston@ANSWERcoalition.org or 857-334-5084.
Opening rally will be followed by a march.
MINNESOTA

Duluth, Minnesota
Human Needs, Not War Cut the $13 trillion pipeline to the Pentagon! March & rally for human needs.
When: Saturday, October 17 at 12 noon.
Where: Gather at Clayton, Jackson & McGhie Memorial (corner of Second Ave. E. & Fist St.). March to the Federal Building for a closing rally.
Sponsor(s): Northland Anti-War Coalition.
Contact: Email wainosunrise@yahoo.com or visit www.northlandantiwar.blogspot.com for more info.

Minneapolis, Minnesota (click here for flyer)
Foreclose the War, Not People’s Homes.
When: Saturday, October 17 at 1 p.m.
Where: Hennepin & Lagoon Ave. March at 1:30 p.m. to closing rally at Loring Park.
Sponsor(s): Iraq Peace Action Coalition
Contact: (612) 522-1861 or (612) 827-5364, e-mail to iraqpeaceactioncoalition@yahoo.com
Out of Iraq & Afghanistan, Troops Home Now, Funds for Human Needs, Not War & Occupation.

MISSISSIPPI

Oxford, Mississippi
When: Friday, October 16. Time to be announced.
Where: Ole Miss Campus, Oxford, Mississippi (from the Circle to the Town Hall)
Sponsor(s): Campus Antiwar Network | Ole Miss  (rebels4peace.com)
Contact: olemissCAN@gmail.com
“Not Coming Home” Parade, a float demonstration/funeral procession by student activists of the Campus Antiwar Network, commemorating the fallen soldiers of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
NEW YORK

Albany, New York
Rally US out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan Now! Bring the Troops Home Now!
When: Saturday, October 17 at 12 noon
Where: Rally at State Capital Building (West Capital Park)
Sponsor(s): Northeast Peace and Justice Action Coalition
Contact: (518) 439-1968 or BethlehemNeighborsForPeace@yahoo.com (or visit http://www.nepajac.org/)
Following the opening rally there will be a march from the capital building along Washington Ave., to Lark Street, to Madison, returning to the starting point at West Capital Park. US out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan Now! Bring the Troops Home Now!

Kingston, New York
Rally for ending Afghanistan and Iraq wars
When: Saturday, October 17 at 1 p.m. (until 3:30 p.m.)
Where: Academy Green Park, 5 minutes from NY Thruway exit #19. Academy Green Park is in the Uptown section of Kingston. From the traffic circle at NY Thruway Exit 19, go around the circle and emerge via the Chandler Drive outlet. At the first traffic light, turn right on Albany Ave. for about a block and you’re there. Park in the lot of a small shopping center or on area streets.
Sponsor(s): Peace and Social Progress Now!, Middle East Crisis Response, Mid-Hudson ANSWER, Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter, Caribbean and Latin America Support Project.
Contact: jacdon@earthlink.net or (845) 255-5779
Speakers will analyze the wars and call for immediate U.S. withdrawal of troops.

Rockland County, New York
Vigil to End the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars & Occupations Troops Out Now!
When: Saturday, October 17 at 1 p.m. (until 3 p.m.)
Where: Route 59 and Middletown Road (northwest corner) Nanuet, N.Y.
Contact: Visit rocklandaction.org for more information.
The vigil is held weekly at the same time and location, however the participants are taking steps to organize an extra large turnout for the October 17 event as part of the national day of actions.
Car Pool to Albany: The Rockland Coalition is also organizing a car pool to attend the October 17 protest in Albany NY. Those interested should contact pkt650@gmail.com.
NORTH CAROLINA

Charlotte, North Carolina
When: Saturday, October 17. Time to be announced.
Sponsor(s): Action Center for Justice
Contact: (704) 759-6529 or charlotteaction@gmail.com
Planning is underway for an event to mark October 17 as a national day of local and regional anti-war protests. Check http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com/ for more information.
OHIO

Cincinnati, Ohio
When: Saturday, October 17. Time to be announced.
Where: To be announced.
Check back for more info.

Cleveland, Ohio
Troops Out Now – Rally & March followed by Kites for Peace
When: Saturday, October 17, at 12:30 p.m.
Where: Market Square Park, Lorain and W. 25th St. Rally and Kite decorating at Market Square Park. March on W. 25th St and through Ohio City.
Sponsor(s): Northeast Ohio Antiwar Coalition (NOAC)
Contact: 216-736-4716 or noacinfo@aol.com (or visit http://www.noacinfo.org/)

Columbus, Ohio
Health Care Not Warfare Out of Iraq & Afghanistan – Bring the Troops Home Now!
When: Saturday, October 17 at 12 noon (until 1 p.m.)
Where: Two locations: (1) North Broadway and  High St. (2) Route 161 and North High St.
Sponsor(s): Progressive Peace Coalition.
Contact: chammon@columbus.rr.com or visit http://www.columbuspeacenetwork.org/.
These vigils are a weekly anti-war presence. The October 17th vigils will mark the call for a national day of local anti-war actions. Plans are being made for a city-wide event following the vigils later in the afternoon.

Dayton, Ohio
When: Saturday, October 17.
Sponsor(s): Dayton Peace Action September 11 Coalition
Contact: Visit september11coalition.org for more information.
Groups will be holding street-corner demonstrations to protest United States participation in war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The date will also commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Moratorium which brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to protest that war.

PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March & Rally – U.S. Out of Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan NOW!  Money for Jobs and Human needs, not for wars and corporate greed!
When: Saturday, October 17 at 11 a.m.
Where: Gather at Philadelphia City Hall, march starts at 12 Noon.
Sponsor(s): Philadelphia October 17 Mobilization Committee
Contact: philly.october17.mobilization@gmail.com or visit http://www.prawnworks.net/

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Protest U.S. wars
When: Saturday, October 17 at 12 noon (until 1 p.m.)
Where: 3rd & Market Street (Post Office corner).
A group of Lewisburg area people gather at this location every Saturday to make a public statement against the wars. Join them October 17 or any Saturday.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Columbia, South Carolina
When: Saturday, October 17. Time to be announced.
Where: To be announced.
Sponsor(s): South Carolina Progressive Network.
Contact: Visit http://www.scpronet.com/ for more information.
Planning is underway to have an event in Columbia, SC to mark October 17 as a national day of local anti-war protests. Details to be announced. Check back for more information.
SOUTH DAKOTA

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Rally and March: U.S./NATO Out! Bring the Troops Home Now! End Colonial Occupation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Haiti … Money for Healthcare, Jobs, Housing, Education, Not for War!
When: Wednesday, October 7 at 1 p.m.
Where: 41st and Louise Avenue.
Sponsor(s): South Dakota ANSWER
Contact: sodak@answercoalition.org

TEXAS

Austin, Texas
When: Wednesday, October 7 at 6 p.m.
Where: State Capitol (112 East 11th Street)

Austin, Texas
On the 8th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan/Iraq – Healthcare Not Warfare
When: Saturday, October 17 at 3 p.m. (until 6 p.m.)
Where: Austin City Hall (301 W. Cesar Chavez St.)
Sponsor(s): Texans for Peace, Women in Black, CodePink, VFP, International ANSWER, CAMEO, Austin Center for Peace and Justice, IVAW, and more
Contact: Visit www.texansforpeace.org/HealthcareNotWarfare or www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=74986729956&ref=mf

Dallas, Texas
When: Saturday, October 17 at 10 a.m.
Where: Outside the offices of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, 10440 North Central Expressway
Sponsor(s): Dallas Peace Center.
Contact: admin@dallaspeacecenter.org or 214-823-7793.
Join Medea Benjamin at the Dallas Peace Center demonstration against war in Afghanistan. At 11 a.m., a caravan will leave to drive to Austin for the 3 p.m. rally there.

McAllen, Texas
Say No to the Border Wall & the Wars! Say Yes to Amnesty, Health Care & Peace! Out of Iraq & Afghanistan – Bring the Troops Home Now!
When: Sunday, October 18 at 4 p.m.
Where: Assemble in Archer Park. March to the Federal Building.
Sponsor(s): People for Peace and Justice; Amnesty International, STC Chapter; ARISE, Inc.; Rev. Robert Clark; Holy Spirit Peace & Justice Committee; Islamic Society of South Texas; LUPE (La Union del Pueblo Enteros); Military Families Speak Out; Proyecto Azteca; Southwest Workers Union; Students for Peace;
Contact: 956-239-7015
VIRGINIA

Richmond, Virginia
When: To be announced.
Where: To be announced.
Contact: DefendersFJE@hotmail.com or (804) 644-5834
WASHINGTON

Seattle, Washington
End the War in Afghanistan
When: Wednesday, October 7 at 5 p.m.
Where: Intersection of 23rd and Jackson
Sponsor(s): ANSWER Coalition Seattle
Contact: answer@answerseattle.org or 206-568-1661
Gather with signs and banners to create community visibility against the US occupation of Afghanistan.

Seattle, Washington
Demonstration
When: Saturday, October 17 at 1 p.m.
Where: SCCC (Broadway & Pine)
Contact: october17antiwar@gmail.com or visit october17antiwarseattle.blogspot.com
March thru So. Capitol Hill, the International District, and up First Ave. U.S. out of Afghanistan Now! End at Westlake Center (4th and Pine).
WISCONSIN

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
When: Saturday, October 17. Time to be announced.
Where: To be announced.
Check back for more info.

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism

Obama Backs-Up from the People’s Resistance

[Once again, the people react negatively and the White House backs off previous policy.]

 

White House Eyeing Narrower War Effort

Top Officials Challenge General’s Assessment

to make the case for a policy shift in Afghanistan that would send few, if any, new combat troops to the country and instead focus on faster military training of Afghan forces, continued assassinations of al-Qaeda leaders and support for the government of neighboring Pakistan in its fight against the Taliban.

In a three-hour meeting Wednesday at the White House, senior advisers challenged some of the key assumptions in Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s blunt assessment of the nearly eight-year-old war, which President Obama has said is being fought to destroy al-Qaeda and its allies in Afghanistan and the ungoverned border areas of Pakistan.

McChrystal, commander of the 100,000 NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, has asked Obama to quickly endorse his call for a change in military strategy and approve the additional resources he needs to retake the initiative from the resurgent Taliban.

Obama summoned McChrystal early Friday to a meeting in Copenhagen aboard Air Force One before Obama left the Danish capital, where he addressed the International Olympic Committee to back Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Games. McChrystal had been in London and flew to Copenhagen specifically to meet face-to-face with the president. The White House said the meeting in Obama’s forward cabin on Air Force One lasted 25 minutes, after which McChrystal left the plane.

"The president wanted to take the opportunity to get together with General McChrystal," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. He did not immediately provide any details of the discussion.

White House officials are resisting McChrystal’s call for urgent U.S. action on Afghanistan, which he underscored Thursday during a speech in London. Officials also are questioning important elements of the general’s assessment, which calls for a vast expansion of an increasingly unpopular war. One senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting, said, "A lot of assumptions — and I don’t want to say myths, but a lot of assumptions — were exposed to the light of day."

Among them, according to three senior administration officials who attended Wednesday’s meeting at the White House, is McChrystal’s contention that the Taliban and al-Qaeda share the same strategic interests and that the return to power of the Taliban would automatically mean a new sanctuary for al-Qaeda.

Leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Taliban government provided much of al-Qaeda’s leadership with a safe haven before being toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces later that year. Since then, some White House officials say, al-Qaeda has not regained its foothold even as the Taliban insurgency has strengthened.

The deliberations over McChrystal’s assessment are expected to last several weeks, and officials who participated in Wednesday’s meeting say it is too early to discern what direction Obama intends to take.

Although participants described the discussions as fluid, divisions are becoming clearer between those in the administration who want to broaden the U.S. effort, including sending in additional combat forces, and those who want to adopt a narrower anti-terrorism effort focused primarily on al-Qaeda.

Senior White House officials asked some of the sharpest questions, according to participants and others who have been briefed on the meeting, while the uniformed military, including Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, did not take issue with McChrystal’s assessment.

According to White House officials involved in the meeting, Vice President Biden offered some of the more pointed challenges to McChrystal, who attended the session by video link from Kabul. One official said Biden played the role of "skeptic in chief," while other top officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, were muted in their comments.

CONTINUED 1 22 NextNext >

Levin Blocks McCain, From Sending McChrystal, To Block Obama

Senate blocks commander’s testimony before new Afghan strategy

Posted: 02 October 2009 1005 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1 John McCain

WASHINGTON : The US Senate on Thursday rejected an attempt by Republican Senator John McCain to have the top US commander in Afghanistan testify before President Barack Obama announces his decision on a new Afghan war strategy.

Lawmakers voted 59 to 40 to reject the McCain amendment, which called for General Stanley McChrystal and others to testify before Congress about the direction of the war in Afghanistan by November 15.

“Unfortunately, now Congress must rely on news outlets for access to our military leaders,” McCain said in a statement.

Besides McChrystal, the McCain measure called for testimony by General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command; Admiral James Stavridis, the head of US European Command; and US ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry.

But lawmakers voted against the measure, opting instead for an amendment introduced by Democratic Senator Carl Levin, chair of the Armed Services Committee, that would postpone the testimony until after a White House strategy announcement.

“Appropriate committees of Congress shall hold hearings, in open and closed session, relating to the strategy and resources of the United States with respect to Afghanistan and Pakistan promptly after the decision by the president on those matters is announced,” the Levin text said.

Levin told reporters that he opposed the McCain amendment because it sought testimony on the war effort in Afghanistan before Obama had reached a decision.

“In 2006, when president (George W.) Bush was considering a surge in Iraq, there was no effort to put General Casey in that position,” he said, referring to General George Casey — then the top US commander in Iraq.

The Levin measure, which passed in a 60-39 vote, calls for the military commanders and the US ambassador to testify along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Gates said he was opposed to McChrystal testifying before Obama had completed his strategy review.

“Until the president makes his decision on the way forward in Afghanistan, it would be inappropriate for me — or our military commanders — to openly discuss the advice being provided or the nature of the discussions being carried out with the president,” he wrote.

“However, once the president acts, I will be happy to testify before the appropriate committees of the Congress and to facilitate similar testimony by commanders and other senior Department leaders.”

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