Saturday, October 31, 2009

CREW LAWSUIT RESULTS IN RELEASE OF NOTES OF CHENEY'S FBI INTERVIEW IN WILSON LEAK CASE

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Published on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (http://www.citizensforethics.org)

CREW LAWSUIT RESULTS IN RELEASE OF NOTES OF CHENEY'S FBI INTERVIEW IN WILSON LEAK CASE

October 30, 2009

Contact: Naomi Seligman // 202.408.5565

30 Oct 2009 // Washington, D.C. - Today, after successfully winning a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, under court order, CREW received documents related to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s interview with the FBI in the investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert CIA identity. The transcript reveals that Mr. Cheney – generally credited with razor sharp intellect and recall – demonstrated an astonishing inability to recollect even simple facts much less the numerous conversations others have testified to regarding his involvement in the administration’s efforts to discredit former Ambassador Joe Wilson. Mr. Cheney’s memory frequently failed to improve, even when confronted with his own hand-written notes. The transcript does indicate however, that Mr. Cheney held Mr. Wilson in low regard and called the CIA’s decision to send Mr. Wilson to Niger “amateur-hour.”

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said, “For years the American people have wondered what role Vice President Cheney played in outing former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson. While we may never know the whole story, with the release of these documents we are one step closer.” Sloan continued, “In his closing statement at Scooter Libby’s trial, Special Counsel Fitzgerald said a cloud remained over the vice-president. Mr. Cheney’s near total amnesia regarding his role in this monumental Washington scandal – resulting in the conviction of his top aide – shows why.”

Consistent with President Obama’s promise of transparency, the administration did not appeal the court’s order.

Click here [1] to read the interview transcript, and read leak investigation notes here [2] and here [3].


Source URL:
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/43169

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

 

The Generals' Revolt

The Generals' Revolt

 

     As Obama rethinks America's failed strategy in

     Afghanistan, he faces two insurgencies: the Taliban

     and the Pentagon

 

ROBERT DREYFUSS

Posted Oct 28, 2009 1:51 PM

Rollingstone.com

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/30493567/the_generals_revolt

 

In early October, as President Obama huddled with top

administration officials in the White House situation

room to rethink America's failing strategy in

Afghanistan, the Pentagon and top military brass were

trying to make the president an offer he couldn't

refuse. They wanted the president to escalate the war -

go all in by committing 40,000 more troops and another

trillion dollars to a Vietnam-like quagmire - or face a

full-scale mutiny by his generals.

 

Obama knew that if he rebuffed the military's pressure,

several senior officers - including Gen. David Petraeus,

the ambitious head of U.S. Central Command, who is

rumored to be eyeing a presidential bid of his own in

2012 - could break ranks and join forces with hawks in

the Republican Party. GOP leaders and conservative media

outlets wasted no time in warning Obama that if he

refused to back the troop escalation being demanded by

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander overseeing the

eight-year-old war, he'd be putting U.S. soldiers' lives

at risk and inviting Al Qaeda to launch new assaults on

the homeland. The president, it seems, is battling two

insurgencies: one in Afghanistan and one cooked up by

his own generals.

 

"I don't understand why the military is putting so much

pressure on the White House now over Afghanistan," says

a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan. "Unless it has

something to do with the presidential ambitions of a

certain Centcom commander."

 

The military's campaign to force Obama's hand started in

earnest in September, when the Commander's Initial

Assessment of the war - a highly classified report

prepared by McChrystal - was leaked to The Washington

Post. According to insiders, the leak was coordinated by

someone close to Petraeus, McChrystal's boss and ally.

Speculation has centered on Gen. Jack Keane, a retired

Army vice chief of staff and Petraeus confidant, who

helped convince George W. Bush to get behind the "surge"

in Iraq. In the report, McChrystal paints a dire picture

of the American effort in Afghanistan, concluding that a

massive increase in troop levels is the only way to

prevent a humiliating failure.

 

On Capitol Hill, hawkish GOP congressmen seized the

opening to turn up the heat on Obama by demanding that

he allow McChrystal and Petraeus to come to Washington

to testify at high-profile hearings to ask for more

troops. "It is time to listen to our commanders on the

ground, not the ever-changing political winds whispering

defeat in Washington," declared Sen. Kit Bond, a

Republican from Missouri. Attempting to usurp Obama's

authority as commander in chief, Sen. John McCain

introduced an amendment to compel the two generals to

come before Congress, but the measure was voted down by

the Democratic majority.

 

As the pressure from the military and the right built,

McChrystal went on 60 Minutes to complain that he had

only talked to Obama once since his appointment in June.

Then, upping the ante, the general flew to London for a

speech, where he was asked if de-escalating the war,

along the lines reportedly suggested by Vice President

Joe Biden, might work. "The short answer is: no," said

McChrystal, dismissing the idea as "shortsighted." His

comment - which bluntly defied the American tradition

that a military officer's job is to carry out policy,

not make it - shocked political observers in Washington

and reportedly angered the White House.

 

"Petraeus and McChrystal have put Obama in a trick bag,"

says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a former top aide to

Secretary of State Colin Powell. "We had this happen one

time before, with Douglas MacArthur" - the right-wing

general who was fired after he defied President Truman

over the Korean War in 1951.

 

It isn't clear how far McChrystal and his boss,

Petraeus, are willing to go. There have been rumors

around the Pentagon that McChrystal might quit if Obama

doesn't give him what he wants - a move that would fuel

Republican criticism of Obama. "He'll be a good soldier,

but he will only go so far," a senior U.S. military

officer in Kabul told reporters.

 

For his part, Obama moved quickly to handle the

insurrection. One day after McChrystal's defiant London

speech, the president unexpectedly summoned the general

to a one-on-one meeting aboard an idling Air Force One

in Copenhagen. No details of the discussion were

released, but two days later Jim Jones, the retired

Marine general who now serves as Obama's national-

security adviser, publicly rebuked McChrystal, declaring

that it is "better for military advice to come up

through the chain of command."

 

The struggle between the White House and the Pentagon is

an important test of whether the president can take

command in a political storm that could tear his

administration apart. Obama himself is partly to blame

for the position he finds himself in. During the

presidential campaign last year, Obama praised the

Afghan conflict as "the right war," in contrast to the

bungled and unnecessary invasion of Iraq. Once in

office, he ordered 21,000 additional troops to Kabul,

painting the war as vital to America's national

security. "If the Afghan government falls to the Taliban

or allows Al Qaeda to go unchallenged," the president

declared, "that country will again be a base for

terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as

they possibly can." He also fired the commanding general

in Afghanistan, David McKiernan, and replaced him with

McChrystal, a close Petraeus ally and an advocate of the

doctrine of counterinsurgency.

 

When it comes to COIN, as it's known in military jargon,

Petraeus literally wrote the book: the Counterinsurgency

Field Manual, which has become the bible for proponents

of COIN. In its essence, counterinsurgency demands an

extremely troop-intensive, village-by-village effort to

win hearts and minds among the population of an occupied

country, supported by a lethal killing machine and an

expensive "clear, hold and build" program to eliminate

the enemy from an area and consolidate those gains.

Within the military, COIN has developed a cult

following. "It has become almost a religion for some

people," says Paul Pillar, a former top intelligence

official with wide expertise in terrorism and the Middle East.

 

Supporters of Petraeus and McChrystal acknowledge that

applying COIN to Afghanistan means a heavy U.S.

commitment to war, in both blood and treasure. Even if

Obama dispatches 40,000 additional troops, on top of the

68,000 Americans already committed, we won't even know

if it's working for at least a year. "That is something

that will certainly take 12 to 18 months to assess,"

said Kim Kagan, the president of the Institute for the

Study of War, who helped write McChrystal's request for

more troops. Bruce Riedel, a COIN advocate and veteran

CIA officer who led Obama's review of the war last

March, is even more blunt. "Anyone who thinks that in 12

to 18 months we're going to be anywhere close to

victory," he said, "is living in a fantasyland."

 

In addition, the doctrine of counterinsurgency virtually

assures long-running military campaigns in other hot

spots, even as we're engaged in combat and rebuilding

operations in Afghanistan. "We're going to be involved

in this type of activity in a number of countries for

the next 15 to 20 years," said Lt. Gen. David Barno, a

COIN advocate who served as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

 

So far, though, COIN hasn't exactly delivered on its

promises. Despite the addition of 21,000 troops in

March, the Taliban have continued to make gains across

Afghanistan, establishing control or significantly

disrupting at least 40 percent of the country. According

to McChrystal's own report, Taliban leaders "appoint

shadow governors for most provinces," set up courts,

levy taxes, conscript fighters and boast about providing

"security against a corrupt government." What's more,

U.S. casualties have skyrocketed: In the four months

since McChrystal took over, 165 Americans have died in

Afghanistan - nearly one-fifth of those killed during the entire war.

 

By late summer, some in the Obama administration began

to have doubts about the efficacy of McChrystal's

counterinsurgency strategy - doubts that greatly

increased in the wake of Afghanistan's disastrous

presidential election in August. Hamid Karzai,

Washington's hand-picked president, was accused of

widespread fraud, including ballot-box stuffing and

"ghost" polling stations. Without a credible Afghan

government, COIN can't succeed, since its core idea is

to build support for the Afghan government.

 

Even before the election fiasco, Obama had sent Jones,

his national-security adviser, to Kabul to deliver a

message to his military commander: The White House

wouldn't look favorably on sending more soldiers to

Afghanistan. If the Pentagon asked for more troops,

Jones told McChrystal's top generals, the president

would have "a Whisky Tango Foxtrot moment" - that is,

What the fuck? According to The Washington Post, which

reported the encounter, the generals present "seemed to

blanch at the unambiguous message that this might be all

the troops they were going to get."

 

Not long after the Afghan elections, Obama began a top-

to-bottom strategy review of the war. Among those who

started to question the basic assumptions of McChrystal

and his COIN allies were Jones, many of his colleagues

on the National Security Council, and Vice President

Biden. By contrast, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remained

remarkably quiet during the assessment, seeming to defer

to the White House when it came to challenging the Pentagon brass.

 

The issue has presented the most difficult political

decision of Obama's presidency thus far. The White House

knew that if Obama were to "fully resource" the military

campaign, he would be going to war without his own

political base, which has turned strongly against the

Afghan war. For the first time since 2001, according to

polls, a majority of Americans believe that the war in

Afghanistan is "not worth fighting." Fifty-seven percent

of independents and nearly three-quarters of Democrats

oppose the war - and overall, only 26 percent of

Americans support the idea of adding more troops.

Indeed, if Obama were to escalate the war, his only

allies would be the Pentagon, Congressional Republicans,

an ultraconservative think tank called the Foreign

Policy Initiative, whose supporters include Karl Rove,

Sarah Palin and a passel of neoconservatives and former

aides to George W. Bush.

 

On the other hand, rejecting McChrystal's demands for

more troops would make Obama vulnerable to GOP

accusations that he was embracing defeat, and give

congressional Republicans another angle of attack during

midterm elections next year. Even worse, the

administration has to take into account the possibility

of a terrorist attack, which would allow the GOP to put

the blame on the White House. "All it would take is one

terrorist attack, vaguely linked to Afghanistan, for the

military and his opponents to pounce all over him," says Pillar.

 

Within the administration, Biden has emerged as the

leading opponent of McChrystal's approach to never-

ending war. "He's proposing that we stop doing large-

scale counterinsurgency, that we rely on drones, U.S.

Special Forces and other tools to combat Al Qaeda," says

Stephen Biddle, an expert at the Council on Foreign

Relations who served on McChrystal's advisory team.

Biden's view, which has support among a significant

number of officials and analysts in and out of

government, is that rather than trying to defeat the

Taliban, the United States ought to focus on targeting

Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups that want to strike

at American targets.

 

That Biden took the lead, says one former national-

security official, may be a sign that he has the

president's support. "Biden is playing a very inside

game," says the official. "He's in every meeting." In

early October, the vice president held a private session

to discuss war strategy with two members of the

administration who are considered among the more hawkish

members of Obama's team: Hillary Clinton and Richard

Holbrooke, the State Department's special adviser on

Afghanistan and Pakistan. In addition, Biden and Obama,

both former senators, are said to be relying on the

counsel of a pair of relatively dovish former

colleagues, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Sen. John

Kerry of Massachusetts. Kerry, the chairman of the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has recently made

comparisons between Afghanistan and Vietnam. Also

weighing in, apparently to advise against sending more

troops, has been Colin Powell, who met quietly with

Obama in mid-September.

 

Supporters of Biden's view argue that adding more troops

would actually make the problem worse, not better,

because the Taliban draw support from the fiercely

nationalist Pashtun ethnic group in Afghanistan and

Pakistan, who will mobilize to resist a long-term

occupation. "The real fact is, the more people we put

in, the more opposition there will be," says Selig

Harrison, a longtime observer of Afghanistan at the

Center for International Policy, a think tank formed in

the wake of the Vietnam War by former diplomats and

peace activists. The only exit strategy that might work,

say Harrison and others, is dramatically reducing the

U.S. military role in Afghanistan, shifting the focus

from the Taliban to Al Qaeda, and stepping up political

and diplomatic efforts. Such an initiative would also

require an intensive push to secure support from

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - which maintain links to the

Taliban - as well as Iran, Russia, India and China.

 

"There's only one mission there that we can accomplish,"

says Michael Scheuer, who led the CIA's anti-Osama bin

Laden unit for years. "To go into Afghanistan, kill Al

Qaeda, do as much damage to the Taliban as possible and leave."

 

Opponents of that approach insist that it would allow Al

Qaeda to re-establish a safe haven in Afghanistan and

resume plotting attacks. But many terrorism experts

point out that Al Qaeda doesn't need Afghanistan as a

base of operations, since it can plan actions from

Pakistan or, for that matter, from a mosque in London or

Hamburg. "We deal with Al Qaeda in every country in the

world without invading the country," says Sen. Russ

Feingold, a Democrat who serves on both the Senate

foreign-relations and intelligence committees. "We deal

with them in Indonesia, the Philippines, Yemen, Somalia,

in European countries, in our own country, with various

means that range from law enforcement to military action

to other kinds of actions."

 

Feingold, who has proposed setting a flexible timetable

for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, says that the

administration must listen to advisers like Biden who

favor shifting course in Afghanistan. "If they do not,

if they refuse to, then we in Congress have to start

proposing our own timetables, just as we did when we

were stonewalled by the Bush administration," Feingold

says. "I'm prepared to take whatever steps I need to, in

consultation with other members of Congress, to make

those proposals if necessary."

 

Other Democrats have also expressed doubts about

appropriating more money for the conflict. Monthly

spending on the war is rising rapidly - from $2 billion

in October 2008 to $6.7 billion in June 2009 - and Obama

has requested a total of $65 billion for 2010, even

without another troop surge. "I don't think there is a

great deal of support for sending more troops to

Afghanistan in the country or in Congress," said House

Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the

Senate Armed Services Committee, has declared his

preference for sending trainers to Afghanistan to build

that country's armed forces, instead of U.S. combat

troops. And Rep. Jim McGovern recently got 138 votes for

an amendment that would have required the administration

to declare its exit strategy. "The further we get sucked

into this war, the harder it will be to get out of it,"

McGovern says. "What the hell is the objective? Tell me

how this has a happy ending. Tell me how we win this.

How do we measure success?"

 

Given the political pressure from both sides, Obama

appears to favor sidestepping the issue. At a meeting

with congressional leaders from both parties at the

White House on October 6th, the president said he won't

significantly reduce the number of troops in

Afghanistan, as many Democrats had hoped - but he also

seemed unlikely to endorse the major troop buildup

proposed by McChrystal. While that approach may quell

the Pentagon's insurrection for now, it only prolongs

the conflict in Afghanistan, postponing what many see as

an inevitable withdrawal. Wilkerson, the former aide to

Colin Powell, hopes Obama will follow the example of

President Kennedy, who faced down his generals during

the Cuban Missile Crisis. "It's going to take John

Kennedy-type courage to turn to his Curtis LeMay and

say, 'No, we're not going to bomb Cuba,'" Wilkerson

says. "It took a lot of courage on Kennedy's part to

defy the Pentagon, defy the military - and do the right thing."

 

[From Issue 1090 - October 29, 2009]

 

_____________________________________________

 

Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 2

27] African service – Nov. 1   

28] Bridge vigil – Nov. 1                                   

29] Quaker Peace Vigil – Nov. 1

30] Film MOTORCYCLE DIARIES -- Nov. 1

31] Speaker from Afghanistan – Nov. 1

32] Experimental music at 2640 – Nov. 1

33] Pentagon vigil – Nov. 2

34] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Nov. 2 — Nov. 5

35] Protest the death penalty – Nov. 2                      

36] Dial for Equality – Nov. 2

37] Help Shape Transportation Policy – Nov. 2

38] Discussion on race – Nov. 2

39] Coup in Honduras talk – Nov. 2

40] Pledge of Resistance meeting – Nov. 2

41] Witness Against Torture vigil – Nov. 3

42] Tuesday peace vigil – Nov. 3

43] Michael Hardt at 2640 – Nov. 3

44] Ecolocity DC meeting – Nov. 3

45] Immigration reform – Nov. 3

46] Afghan speaker – Nov. 3

47] Peace vigil in Philadelphia – Nov. 4

48] FOIA workshop – Nov. 4

49] Barbara Berg at Red Emma’s – Nov. 4

50] Chestnut Hill, PA vigil – Nov. 4

51] Taylor Branch at Pratt – Nov. 4

52] WIB peace vigil -- Nov. 5

53] Israel/Palestine roundtable – Nov. 5

54] First Thursday demo – Nov. 5

55] Peace Action meeting – Nov. 5

56] Crabshell Alliance meeting — Nov. 5

57] WIB Frederick vigil – Nov. 6

58] Monday Night Masters art exhibit – Nov. 6 & 7

59] Chicken Little at Red Emma’s – Nov. 6

60] Film GODS OF METAL – Nov. 6

61] Benefit for shelter – Nov. 6

62] Station North Flea Market – Nov. 7

63] Meeting at Red Emma’s – Nov. 8                                  

64] BUPJ meeting – Nov. 9

65] Film AMERICAN CA$INO – Nov. 12

66] Write Carl Kabat

68] Call Carefirst

69] Get Howard Ehrlich’s book HATE CRIMES AND ETHNOVIOLENCE

70] Buy a red maple tree

71] Help available in buying a house 

72] Contribute to the Georgia Four defense fund

73] Join Global Zero campaign

74] War Is Not the Answer signs for sale

75] Publish your peace article

76] Click on The Hunger Site  

77] Join Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

-------

 

27] – On Sun., Nov. 1, the KALAFONG AME CHURCH invites you to a Prayer for Africa at 11 AM at the HISPANIC SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST DAY CHUCH, 5100 Edmondson Ave., Baltimore 21229.   Contact Rev. Dr. Duane Rawlings at realministr@aol.com.  Go to www.orgsites.com\md\kalafong-ame-mission-church/index.html.

 

28] – Maryland Bridges for Peace welcomes you to stand for peace Sundays from noon (or thereabouts) to 1 PM on the Spa Creek Bridge in Annapolis.  Contact Lucy at 410-263-7271 or mdbridgesforpeace@toadmail.com. Signs are not allowed to be on a stick or pole.   If there is interest, people will be standing on the Stoney Creek Bridge on Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena [410-437-5379 or magicalgodmom@aol.com]. Go to http://BridgePeace.blogspot.com/.

 

29] – Every Sunday, 4 to 5 PM, there is a Quaker Peace Vigil at Independence Mall, N. side of Market between 5th and 6th Sts., Philadelphia. Call 215-421-5811.

 

30] – On Sun., Nov. 1 at 5:30 PM, the film MOTORCYCLE DIARIES will be shown at 4217 East West Hwy, Bethesda MD 20814. Use the Re Line and get off the Metro at the Bethesda stop. RSVP to shantiyoga2@earthlink.net. Go to www.schooloflife.org,

 

31] – Malalai Joya, the Bravest Woman in Afghanistan, will speak on Sun.,  Nov. 1 from 7 to 8:30 PM at Busboys & Poets, 14th & V Sts.,  in the Langston Room. Her biography is "Raising My Voice,” and it details how she survived three assassination attempts and countless other barriers.  Go to http://www.malalaijoya.com/.

32] – Baltimore experimental favorites SEJAYNO and MELISSA MOORE join DC improviser LAYNE GARRETT for an evening of sonic merriment and wonderment. Working with a menagerie of homemade electronic instruments, field recordings, and perhaps a strange assembly of strings and electronics known colloquially as a "guitar,” they promise an evening of time travel facilitated by light-sensitive oscillators, touch-sensitive circuits, aura-sensitive biospheres.  A $5-$10 sliding scale donation is asked to hear them on Sun., Nov. 1 at 7 PM at 2640 St. Paul StGo to http://redemmas.org/event/1719

33] – There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop.  The next vigil is Mon., Nov. 2, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  Call 202-882-9649.

34] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 PM on WEAA 88.9 FM, The Voice of the Community.  The call-in number is 410-319-8888, and comments can also be sent by email steinershow@gmail.com.  You can listen to interviews by Steiner through his Center for Emerging Media podcasts. Go to http://www.centerforemergingmedia.org.

35] – There is usually a vigil to abolish the death penalty every Monday from 5 to 6 PM, outside the prison complex and across the street from Maryland’s death row, at the corner of Madison Ave. and Fallsway in Baltimore.  The next vigil is scheduled for Mon., Nov. 2.  Call 410-233-0488.

 

36] – On Mon., Nov. 2 from 6 to 9 PM, Dial for Equality is an effort to get volunteers to contact voters in Maine and support marriage equality. On Tues., Nov. 3, the voters of Maine will decide whether to repeal the state's marriage equality bill. Help HRC make a final push to get supporters out to the polls!  To volunteer for Dial for Equality, email communityevents@hrc.org.

 

37] – How should Congress allocate a possible $400 - 500 billion in transportation funds over six years?  Will public transit and other transportation choices receive enough funding?  Get involved in a new coalition Transportation for Maryland.  On Mon., Nov. 2 at 6:30 PM Citizens Planning and Housing Association will host a forum at the Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation, 4 E. University Pkwy. at N. Charles St., called Help Shape National Transportation Policy with speakers Otis Rolley and Brian O'Malley, Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, Dru Perkins-Schmidt, 1000 Friends of Maryland, Rev. David Casey, BRIDGE, Dan Pontious, CPHA Transportation for America.  RSVP to info@cphabaltimore.org or 410-539-1369 x100.  For more information, contact Calvin Peete at calvinp@cphabaltimore.org or 410-539-1369 x112.

 

38] – “Can We Talk About How Race Affects Our Classrooms” will be lead by Beverly Daniel Tatum and David Hornbeck at 7 PM on Mon., Nov. 2 at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Wheeler Auditorium, 400 Cathedral St..  Call 410-396-5430.  Go to www.prattlibrary.org/locations/central.

 

39] – The Military Coup in Honduras will feature Ben Beachy from Witness for Peace on Mon., Nov. 2 from 7 to 9 PM at the Howard County Central Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia, MD 21045.  Start with refreshments, as the program will begin at 7:30 PM.  Ben traveled to Honduras two weeks after the June 28 coup as part of a Hemispheric Social Alliance delegation to expose human rights violations, express solidarity with the pro-democracy movement, and push the U.S. Embassy to revoke support for the coup regime.  Prior to his current position in Washington D. C., Ben worked in Nicaragua for three years with Witness for Peace’s International Team.  The event is sponsored by Howard County Friends of Latin America, Go to www.friendsoflatinamerica.org. Call 410-381-4899.

 

40] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM at the AFSC, 4806 York Road [three blocks north of Coldspring Lane].  The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 2, and the agenda will include a report on a D.C. jury trial of three protesters, feedback on the Oct. 5 action at the White House and news about the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

41] – On Tues., Nov. 3 at 5:30 PM, Witness Against Torture will continue its weekly vigil, each Tuesday, in Lafayette Park, H and 16th Sts., NW. Contact Helen Schietinger at h.schietinger at verizon.net.

 

42] – There is a vigil to say "War Is Not the Answer" each Tuesday since September 11, 2001 at 4806 York Road. Join this ongoing vigil.  The next vigil is Nov. 3 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

43] – On Tues., Nov. 3 at 7 PM, Michael Hardt will speak at 2640 St. Paul St. He is co-author with Antonio Negri of EMPIRE.  He will discuss COMMONWEALTH, the final volume in the trilogy, co-authored with Negri.  The other book is 2004’s MULTITUDE. There will be a reception afterwards. Go to http://redemmas.org/event/1590.

 

44] – There is a meeting of Ecolocity DC every Tuesday from 7 to 9 PM at the EMERGENCE COMMUNITY ARTS COLLECTIVE, 733 Euclid St. NW, WDC 20001.  It is for people who live in, or are interested in making D.C. a transition town starting with an intentional community that will encompass clean energy, freecycle, natural building, organic farming, community salvage, new urbanism, etc. The next meeting will be on Nov. 3. Go to http://ecolocity.ning.com.

 

45] –  On Tues,, Nov. 3 at 7:30 PM in Gaston Hall (located on the third floor of Healy Hall), Georgetown U., WDC, attend a forum Honoring Human Dignity and the Common Good: A Catholic Approach to Immigration Reform.  A number of speakers, including Cardinal Theodore McCarrick (consultant to the Committee on Migration of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops), will speak.  

 

46] – Malalai Joya is speaking on Tues., Nov. 3 at 7:15 PM at The Junior League of Baltimore, 5902 York Road. There is a reception at 6:30 PM.  The admission is $5 to hear the youngest member of the Afghan Parliament, and a fierce advocate for women's rights, democracy and economic justice in Afghanistan. Her biography is "Raising My Voice,” and it details how she survived three assassination attempts and countless other barriers.  Go to http://www.malalaijoya.com/.

 

47] – Each Wednesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the House of Grace Catholic Worker holds a weekly vigil for peace in Iraq outside the Phila. Federal Building, 6th & Market Sts. The next vigil is Nov. 4. Call 215-426-0364.

 

48] – On Wed., Nov. 4, from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, the DC Bill of Rights Coalition is sponsoring a nuts-and-bolts workshop to help you file one or many Freedom of Information Act requests.  Learn how to file FOIA requests with state and local government agencies, appeal denials of information, and other follow-up issues. It will take place at Public Citizen, 1500 - 20th St., NW, (Dupont Metro). Contact Sue Udry at sue.u...@defendingdissent.org. 

 

49] – Barbara Berg will discuss her new book SEXISM IN AMERICA: ALIVE, WELL, AND RUINING OUR FUTURE at Red Emma’s 800 St. Paul St. at 7 PM on Wed., Nov. 4. Call 410-230-0450 or go to www.redemmas.org.

 

50] – Each Wednesday, there is a peace vigil from 7 to 8 PM outside the Borders Book Store, Germantown Ave. at Bethlehem Pike in Chestnut Hill, PA. The next vigil is Nov. 4. Call 215-843-4256 or email nwgreens@yahoo.com.

 

51] – On Wed., Nov. 4 at 7:30 PM, Taylor Branch will talk about his new book  THE CLINTON TAPES: WRESTLING HISTORY WITH THE NEW PRESIDENT, at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Main Hall, 400 Cathedral St.  Call 410-396-5430.

 

52] – There is a WIB peace stand on Thurs., Nov. 5, noon-1PM in Towson at northwest corner of Washington & Chesapeake Aves., across the street from the post office, near the courthouse. Contact mbrainzo@aol.com. This vigil takes place on the first Thursday of the month. Go to http://www.peacepath911.com.

 

53] – On Thurs., Nov. 5, the WEEKLY ROUNDTABLE SEEKING A JUST PEACE IN PALESTINE/ISRAEL takes place from 12:30 - 1:30 PM at Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Road NW, WDC.  Join a civil discourse which explores the history, issues, myths, realities, and truth of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Contact Alice Azzouzi at 202-232-5483.

 

54] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore hosts an End the War! End the Occupation! rally on Thurs., Nov. 5 from 5 to 6:30 PM in Mount Vernon at Centre & Charles Sts.  The Pledge gathers in Mount Vernon on the first Thursday of the month to protest the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

55] – PeaceAction Montgomery, meets every first Thursday, next on Nov. 5, at 7 PM at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Church, Room 16 in the basement, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4099.

56] – The Crabshell Alliance will meet on Thurs., Nov. 5 at 7:30 PM in a private home.  Call Max at 410-366-1637 for directions.  Meetings will take place the first Thursday of the month.  The mission of the Crabshell Alliance is to stop the construction of new nuclear power plants in Maryland, promote clean, safe, sustainable, and affordable energy, and educate the public about the hazards of nuclear power.

 

57] – WIB holds a silent vigil mourning all violence, the first Friday of the month.  The next vigil is Nov. 6 from 12 noon to 12:30 PM, War Memorial Park, intersection of W. 2nd & N. Bentz Sts. in Frederick.  Please dress in black; no additional signs.  Contact:  301-834-7581 or wibfrederick@mizmail.com.

 

58] – The 6th Annual Art Exhibit of the Monday Night Masters will be held at the Viva House, 26 S. Mount St., Baltimore 21223 on Fri., Nov. 6 from 6 to 9 PM and Sat., Nov. 7 from 7 to 9 PM.  Call 410-233-0488.

 

59] – On Fri., Nov. 6 at 7 PM, catch Chicken Little at Red Emma's! This will be an evening of Tennessee half-pint folk-punk, with a guitar and accordion. Go to http://www.myspace.com/chickenlittlemusic.  The performance is free.

 

60] – On Fri., Nov. 6 at 7:30 PM, Tom Siemer and the “Gods of Metal” is at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW, WDC  20010. In 2010, all the nations of the world will gather at the U.N. to recommit to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty = nuclear abolition. To prepare for that meeting, see “Gods of Metal,” a 1982 documentary on the nuclear arms race and people of faith who were trying to stop it.  Tom Siemer, a 23-year employee of Rockwell’s nuclear weapons division, is one individual in the film who converted from war to peace.  Call Colleen at 202-360-2131.

 

61] – Gimmie Shelter Productions continues to do consciousness/fund-raising events about the problem of homelessness and for the shelters that serve them. The next event will be Sat., Nov. 7 at 7:30 PM at the Hamilton Arts Collective, 2927 Hamilton Rd. Featured poets and musicians will be Ron Williams, Suzette Jones, Alan Barysh and others. This is a benefit for Sarah¹s Hope shelter. Admission is $5.00. Donations of children¹s hats/socks and gloves would be welcomed. Call 410-627 8774.

   

62] – On Sat., Nov. 7, the Station North Flea Market will be located on North Ave. between Maryland Ave. and Howard St., and will run from 9 AM to 2 PM. Email Davis at infofleamarket@loadoffun.net to reserve your space at a cost for $10.  Visit http://www.loadoffun.net.

 

63] – Red Emma’s needs volunteers.  Stop in to the weekly Sunday meeting at 7 PM at 800 St. Paul St. or email info@redemmas.org.  The next meeting is Nov. 8. There is no meeting on the first Sunday of the month.  Call 410-230-0450. If you would be interested in volunteering or becoming a collective member of 2640, send an email to 2640@redemmas.org.

 

64] – Baltimore United for Peace and Justice will meet at 7 PM on Mon., Nov. 9 at the AFSC, 4806 York Road. The BUPJ agenda will focus on planning two events, a town hall meeting on Thurs., Nov. 19 at Goucher College where Phyllis Bennis will speak and Rep. Donna Edwards will be invited and a forum on Sun., Nov. 22 in Howard County to get ready for the legislative session in Annapolis.  As this meeting ends, the Pledge meeting will begin. 

 

65] – THE SENATOR [The People's Theatre], 5904 York Road, Baltimore, MD 21212, is hosting on Thurs., Nov. 12 a special screening of a Leslie Cockburn film AMERICAN CA$INO to benefit the Community Law Center.  The compelling documentary, filmed in Baltimore, examines how the Wall Street meltdown has affected the working class. The benefit screening will take place at 7:30 PM, and the admission is $10. The film will begin its regular run at The Senator on Fri., Nov. 13, for one week only. Go to www.senator.com.

 

66] – Carl Kabat will return to court for a jury trial on Dec. 21-22. If convicted, he could face from three to 12 months in the Weld County Jail. Send mail to Carl Kabat, OMI, Weld County Jail, 2110 O St., Greeley, CO 80631.

 

67] – On Oct. 29, four people were arrested sitting-in at the CareFirst building in Canton: Dr. Margaret Flowers, Dr. Eric Naumberg, Patty Courtney and Charles Loubert.  You can help by calling CareFirst and demanding that CEO Chet Burrell meet with them in public.  The number to call is 410-528-2222. 

 

68] – Get a copy of Howard Ehrlich’s HATE CRIMES AND ETHNOVIOLENCE [Westview Press, 2009, ISBN – 13: 978-08133-4445-4].  Go to www.westviewpress.com.

 

69] – I bought two red maple trees for $10 each as part of the Trees for Baltimore program.  Buy a tree, plant it and contribute to saving the planet.  Call Max at 410-366-1637

 

71] – A progressive-thinking realtor is indicating that people of modest incomes can get assistance from both the state and federal governments in purchasing a home.  If you are interested in speaking with him about available programs, call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

72] – Larry Egbert and Nick Sheridan are in Baltimore awaiting further legal developments, and the "Georgia Four" is seeking contributions to a legal defense fund.  Go to www.finalexitlibertyfund.org to make a contribution.   Larry fell off his bike and has fractured his pelvis.  He is home for some months of recuperation. 

73] – Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.  

74] – WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER signs from Friends Committee on National Legislation are again for sale at $5.  To purchase a sign, call Max at 410-366-1637.

75] – Publish Your Peace Article. Daniel Frasier is soliciting peace articles for the biweekly series of commentaries Paths to Peace in the Frederick News Post Religion and Ethics section. For details, email path2peace07@yahoo.com.

 

76] – The Hunger Site was initiated by Mercy Corps and Second Harvest, and is funded entirely by advertisers.  You can go there every day and click the big yellow "Give Food for Free" button near the top of the page; you do not have to look at the ads. Each click generates funding for about 1.1 cups of food.  So consider clicking.  

 

77] – Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981.  Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282.

 

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net

 

"One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan