The following is an archived copy of a message sent to the CASI Analysis List run by Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq (CASI).
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [CASI Homepage]
[ This message has been sent to you via the CASI-analysis mailing list ] This is an automated compilation of submissions to newsclippings@casi.org.uk Articles for inclusion in this daily news mailing should be sent to newsclippings@casi.org.uk. Please include a full reference to the source of the article. Today's Topics: 1. [Peace&Justice] Taking Stock of 100,000 Iraqi Deaths (IRC Communications) 2. Uranium pollution in Iraq damaging (Mark Parkinson) 3. Naomi Klein talk in London on 24th November (Voices in the Wilderness (UK)) 4. Fallujah demo. this Sunday, contingency plans for action etc... (Voices in the Wilderness (UK)) 5. [Peace&Justice] J'accuse: War Crimes & Iraq (IRC Communications) 6. Fallujah -US marines Turn to God (ppg) --__--__-- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 10:44:57 -0700 To: peaceandjustice@lists.riseup.net From: IRC Communications <communications@DELETETHISirc-online.org> Subject: [Peace&Justice] Taking Stock of 100,000 Iraqi Deaths [ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Justice News from FPIF http://www.fpif.org/ November 1, 2004 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introducing a new commentary from Foreign Policy In Focus Taking Stock of 100,000 Iraqi Deaths By Amy Quinn Anne Arbor, MI, Bellevue, WA; Cape Coral, FL; Stamford, CT; Green Bay, WI; Manchester, NH; Allentown, PA; Portsmouth, VA; Cambridge, MA. These are just a few U.S. cities whose populations hover around 100,000 people. In late October, public health experts calculated that an equal number of Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Amy Quinn is a research associate with the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., co-author of "A Failed 'Transition': The Mounting Costs of The Iraq War", and contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus (online at http://www.fpif.org). See new FPIF commentary online at: http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2004/0410deaths.html With printer friendly PDF version at: http://www.fpif.org/pdf/gac/0410deaths.pdf ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Produced and distributed by FPIF:"A Think Tank Without Walls," a joint program of Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC) and Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). For more information, visit www.fpif.org. If you would like to add a name to the "What's New At FPIF" specific region or topic list, please email: communications@irc-online.org with "subscribe" and giving your area of interest. To add your name to this list, send a blank email to: peaceandjustice-subscribe@lists.riseup.net To unsubscribe, send a blank email to: peaceandjustice-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC) http://www.irc-online.org/ Siri D. Khalsa Outreach Coordinator Email: communications@irc-online.org --__--__-- Message: 2 From: "Mark Parkinson" <mark44@DELETETHISmyrealbox.com> To: newsclippings@casi.org.uk Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 06:53:03 -0000 Subject: Uranium pollution in Iraq damaging http://www.idsnews.com/story.php?id=3D25921 Uranium pollution in Iraq damaging By: Hina Alam Published Tuesday, November 2, 2004 If you thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, then consider this: the ongoing conflict in Iraq will leave behind a legacy of depleted uranium, which will affect not just the U.S. troops, but also the Iraqi people, maybe over generations, said Diane Henshel, associate professor of public and environmental affairs. "Isn't that paradoxical? We went there to 'free' those people and we ended up imprisoning them in a lifetime of ill health. And for generations to come," said sophomore Lauren Lindsay, as she examined the evidence of pollution that Henshel put together. Iraq's pollution levels are beginning to be examined, and Henshel, who studies environmental pollutants, added her expertise to the study in an article published in September's issue of Nature. Examining the overall pollution damage will be the first step on a long road to cleaning up the contaminated country, the article said. The damage to the environment, and therefore human beings, began in the 1970s, according to the article. This was when the country underwent rapid industrialization with little attention paid to toxic wastes and fumes. The conflict in Iraq has only compounded the problem and one of the most pressing issues is that of depleted uranium. It is a dense material used to blow holes in heavily armored vehicles. And depleted uranium was used in Iraq most extensively by the United States. "If you go on the Internet and look at depleted uranium and who generates it, we are by far the largest generators of depleted uranium in the world," Henshel said. "Nobody is even close to us. We are close to 90 percent of the depleted uranium that's generated in the world ... United States activity or U.S. companies, I guess. Maybe it is not 90 percent, but we are at, like, 800 tons and the next country down is below a 100. We are ten-fold of the next country down." Depleted uranium is mainly in two places, she said. "There are some Abrams tanks which use depleted uranium, and depleted uranium is in the penetrators (the warheads of missiles), which are some of the weapons used out there =97 a number of them actually," Henshel explained. As penetrators, depleted uranium is the lead point. The whole purpose of these weapons, she said, was to be harder and denser than other metals so they penetrate through other metals. "As they penetrate through the other metals, the description is that they get sharpened," she said. Think of what happens when sharpening a pencil," she said. "You lose all the fragments that are being pulled away to sharpen it. It's not just that it is being pushed into a sharper point." The pencil-like shape of the penetrator causes the depleted uranium to scatter, Henshel said. "When penetrator hits the hard top, a hard surface especially like another metal ... you get some fragmentation and some disintegration at the tip of the penetrator and again some release of depleted uranium into fragments that then essentially becomes the dust in the air," she said. Heavy metals in general have the potential to interact with and disrupt calcium processes, and calcium helps control signaling in the brain and signaling between the cells and release of hormones and nerve transmitters, she said. "If you disrupt calcium control signaling, which can happen in a high dose or even moderate dose situations ... tests have shown changes in learning, changes in the ability to remember and changes in reflexes, so there are a host of different things that can happen," Henshel said. A small cohort from Desert Storm have depleted uranium shrapnel in their bodies, and they've been tracked over time with publications coming out about them every two years or so. The amount of uranium in their bodies has made a difference. "Behavior in terms of response, based on computer tests, was the first thing to show up," she said. Within a number of years the amount of depleted uranium was leaking out from shrapnel in their bodies and moving around in their systems. There is depleted uranium showing up, for example, in their urine, Henshel said. Henshel said she believes that over time, people in Iraq are going to be exposed to increasing concentration in their bodies. "They will have increased problems with changes in behavior, (and) increasing problems with their kidneys. And at high enough levels you will start to see effects on their sperm count," she said. Another problem is women who are pregnant or are going to be pregnant in a situation where they are exposed to depleted uranium in the dust on a daily basis. Daily exposure to depleted uranium in the dust means that what is circulating in their blood streams at any given time includes some radioactive uranium, she said, and uranium is a heavy metal that can affect a fetus. "There are studies that indicate that birth defects are increasing in the areas of high depleted uranium concentration of the Gulf War," Henshel said. Uranium is part of the environment, but what happens with depleted uranium is that it is being used in such high intensity in one area that there is an increased concentration. "And that gives rise to a situation where it ends up in dust and can get into people through air and water," she said. The real concern is that depleted uranium is not intensely radioactive as uranium is used in reactors, Henshel said. "There is an assumption that A: there is no radioactivity going on which is not true, and B: there is an assumption that this is not the only concern." The other problem, she said, is that it is not going to be just uranium that is a problem in the war torn area, because it is not just uranium that disintegrates. "There are other heavy metals that disintegrate =97 some of the other heavy metals we have very little toxic information about," she explained. While a lot is known about titanium and cadmium, there is whole host of heavy metals that are used in weapons in small concentrations, of which not much is know, but they are going to end up in the soil, in the air, in water of the people in any war torn area in Iraq, Henshel said. As far as the troops are concerned, some of them might have depleted uranium showing up in their bodies =97 some show less and some show more. If some of them have high intakes of milk or other sources of calcium, they will be able to eliminate it quickly from their bodies. High calcium levels limit how much uranium replaces calcium in certain parts of the bodies. Other people that, for whatever reasons =97 economic or otherwise =97 do not consume enough calcium or milk may harbor depleted uranium. As the knowledge of depleted uranium and its effects on Iraqi people gets out in the world, Lindsay said, it could make the United States look worse. Political science Professor Michael McGinnis said, "it looks bad in terms of environmental effects, but again, this is nothing new." World opinion of the U.S. is already at an all-time low, said Dina Spechler, associate professor of political science. "In the end, people who live in Iraq will manifest the greatest problems. The chemicals accumulate and they stay in people's bodies all the time and increase in concentration over time- and we don't know what we are dealing with," Henshel said. Mark Parkinson Bodmin Cornwall --__--__-- Message: 3 Reply-To: <voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk> From: "Voices in the Wilderness \(UK\)" <voices@DELETETHISviwuk.freeserve.co.uk> To: "Voices UK" <voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk> Subject: Naomi Klein talk in London on 24th November Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 12:59:22 -0000 Making a Killing: The Corporate Invasion of Iraq with NAOMI KLEIN, author of 'No Logo' and 'Fences and Windows.' First major UK talk for 2 years. One night only! Wednesday 24 November. Doors open 6.30pm. Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London (opposite Euston station) =A35 waged / =A33 unwaged (all proceeds to civil society groups in Iraq) Arrive early to ensure a seat or register in advance at: www.waronwant.org/naomiklein Sponsored by: Iraq Occupation Focus; Jubilee Iraq; Voices in the Wilderness UK; War on Want In her first formal speaking engagement in the UK for two years, award-winning journalist and activist Naomi Klein will be exposing how American bombs have paved the way for free-market fundamentalism in occupie= d Iraq. She will also be tackling the wider neo-con agenda and the future of the anti-war movement after the US election. For the past 18 months Klein's dispatches from occupied Iraq - and the business conferences where US ideologues and corporations have been organising the corporate assault on the country - have been must-read material for the anti-war movement. She recently cost the Carlyle Group (closely linked to Bush) over $1bn worth of investments when she exposed an influence-peddling scam involving Iraq's debts. Attendance is expected to be high so, to ensure a place, register in advanc= e at: www.waronwwant.org/naomiklein or e-mail globaljustice@waronwant.org. Proceeds from the meeting will go to the Fallujah Centre for the Study of Democracy and Human Rights, an Iraqi humanitarian group, and the Southern Oil Company Union. The SOCU, the largest member of the Basra Oil Union, is an anti-privatisation union who are fighting the poverty wages imposed on the oil industry by the authorities and who stopped oil production during the siege of Fallujah in protest at the occupiers' actions. Sponsored by: Iraq Occupation Focus (www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk); Jubilee Iraq (www.jubileeiraq.org); Voices in the Wilderness UK (www.voicesuk.org); War on Want (www.waronwant.org). --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.779 / Virus Database: 526 - Release Date: 19/10/2004 --__--__-- Message: 4 Reply-To: <voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk> From: "Voices in the Wilderness \(UK\)" <voices@DELETETHISviwuk.freeserve.co.uk> To: "Voices UK" <voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk> Subject: Fallujah demo. this Sunday, contingency plans for action etc... Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 15:35:34 -0000 [A] Flowers for Fallujah: Emergency Demo, Sunday 7th November, London [B] Contingency plans for action if the massive attack starts [C] Global Funeral March following the US election: this evening, London [D] Recent inspirational actions from around the country [E] Nonviolent direct action training workshop: Sunday 14th November, Londo= n [F] Making a Killing: the corporate invasion of Iraq, talk in London with Naomi Klein, 24 November [G] Iraq Occupation Focus Organising Meeting, Tuesday 9th November, London [H] Iraq Occupation Focus / Red Pepper Poetry Competition (fundraiser for the International Teach-in on 'Occupation and Resistance in Iraq' on 5th December) ********************************* [A] FLOWERS FOR FALLUJAH: Emergency Demonstration Against the Looming Attacks on Iraq's Cities. SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER, LONDON Meet 2pm, Parliament Square Bring white flowers & come and make your protest in your own way! 'In the name of recapturing Iraqi cities so that polling can take place, US forces have already started =96 and are planning to widen =96 a campaign of air strikes which will probably cause more civilian casualties than last year's invasion' (Guardian, 9 Oct). Bush's re-election makes immediate and sustained opposition to the escalation more urgent than ever. A massive attack on Fallujah, where US forces massacred hundreds of Iraqis in April, is now imminent and will, in the words of one US official, be =93very bloody and nasty=94 (Washington Post on-line edition, 16 Oct). IT'S TIME =93Iraqis are resisting desperately for their lives and for their country and so far we in the anti-war movement have responded to their courage with deafening silence. Millions of us marched against the war on February 15th, but where were those voices when US tanks rolled into Najaf? I know we tell ourselves we have this power, that when the right moment comes we will really be able to mobilise. But that moment of truth is always deferred. If we have these weapons let us use them now. It's time.=94 (Naomi Klein, 20 Aug) BLAIR WAVERED When the US attacked Fallujah in April, more than 600 Iraqis were killed in the first week and 'the vast majority of the dead were women, children and the elderly,' according to local medical sources (Guardian, 12 Apr). Publicly Tony Blair stood lock-step with the US Government 'den[ying] =85 heavy-handedness by US forces' (Guardian, 20 Apr) and asserting that it was 'perfectly right and proper that [the US] take action' (BBC, 28 Apr). Privately, however, he 'appealed to Washington to halt the offensive.' Why? 'The Prime Minister had been under pressure for more than a year from an antiwar majority in his ruling Labour Party,' and civilian casualties were 'causing opposition to flare' (LA Times, 24 Oct). WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Popular protest here in the UK could help derail the planned attacks on Fallujah and other Iraqi towns. No US assault is inevitable. If an attack does take place, protests before, during and after the assaults can limit the damage and help to deter further attacks. Please join us on the 7th November! Called by Stop the Attacks =96 an ad hoc collection of anti-war activists old and new. tel. 07818 651 124. e-mail: stoptheattacks@fastmail.fm ********************************************* [B] CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR ACTION IF THE MASSIVE ATTACK ON FALLUJAH STARTS * LONDON: - Stop The War vigil on the night of the major onslaught (or the night after), 5pm-7pm, opposite Downing Street. Organised by the Stop the War Coalition: www.stopwar.org.uk. - Nonviolent Direct Action. Meet 7pm at the statue of Edith Cavell (opposit= e the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery, north-east of Trafalgar Square). Called by an ad hoc collection of nonviolent activists. * OUTSIDE LONDON. On day of onslaught (next day depending on timing): - CARDIFF: 5.30pm- at Nye Bevan Statue, Queen Street. - CREWKERNE, S SOMERSET: 12pm, front of Victoria Hall. Black clothes preferably, banners. Coordination Pat Read, 01460 74043. - EDINBURGH: 5pm, Parliament Square (off the Royal Mile). - EXETER: 5.30pm, Exe Bridges. - LEEDS: 5-6pm, Dortmond Square, Headrow, Leeds town centre. - MANCHESTER: 5pm-, Picadilly Gardens, City centre, Manchester. - SOUTHAMPTON: 6pm, Outside the Civic Centre, opposite the Marlands. - SHEFFIELD: 4.30pm, Outside Sheffield Town Hall. - SWINDON: 6pm, Cenotaph, Regent Circus. - YEOVIL: 11am following Saturday, Millenium Clock Tower, High St. If you are organising an action then please make make sure to send info. to the following e-mails when you publicise your event: office@stopwar.org.uk, iraqfocus@riseup.net and voices@voicesuk.org. ********************************************* [C] GLOBAL FUNERAL MARCH FOLLOWING THE US ELECTION Organised by the Campaign against Climate Change Let them know what we think about the Bush victory! Straight away! 6.00 pm, Thursday evening (November 4th). Assemble Lincoln's Inn Fields (Holborn tube) for march to US embassy We need to remind everyone just how damaging Bush's policies are and to mak= e the point that we here in the UK deplore his re-election, and see it as a disaster for the whole world. The fight against Bush and his oil-soaked profit-before-the-global-environment buddies goes on ! Route : via Kingsway & the Exxonmobil offices, the Strand, Trafalgar Square= , St James's, Piccadilly, Berkley Square to the US embassy, Grosvenor Square (estimated arrival time 8.30 pm). ExxonMobil are at the head of the corporate lobby that determines Bush's climate/environmental policy. They have waged a cynical war of disinformation on climate change for the last ten years (see further www.stopesso.com). Speakers will include Jean Lambert MEP (Green Party); Murad Qureshi, GLA member (Labour) and representative of the Bangladeshi community; Bryony Worthington, Senior Climate Campaigner, Friends of the Earth; Dave Timms, World Development Movement. More info www.campaigncc.org 02088553327, 07903 316 331 ******************************************** [D] RECENT INSPIRING ACTIONS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY DIRECT ACTION IN LONDON Last Sunday a group of five enterprising anti-war activists took to the streets to protest against the looming assault on Fallujah. They started b= y blocking the traffic at Oxford Circus, drawing crowds of 400+ and receiving lots of support from interested people who were keen to know what was going on - some of whom even wanted to join in blocking the road! They then went to Downing Street where one of them managed to scale the gates and stood, perched above the gates for about 45mins attracting the attention of passer= s by. According to one of the demonstrators all the police they encountered a= t D. Street were against the war and the new attacks! The intrepid climber wa= s arrested and released the following day. Pics from this action will be available on-line shortly at www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/recentactions NAMING THE DEAD At least 30 'Naming the Dead' events took place around the country on Tuesday night (see http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ntd.asp). In Hastings activist= s chalked the names of those killed in the invasion and occupation onto the ground in a large public area attracting a lot of attention, while in Londo= n hundreds of people including Professor Stephen Hawking gathered for an even= t in Trafalgar Square. If you have any pictures from these events - or accounts of how they went - please e-mail copies to Voices: www.voicesuk.org. The national organisers would probably also be grateful for copies: 7days@stopwar.org.uk. There are now contingency plans for actio= n at at least 12 locations around the country if the massive attack on Fallujah starts (see [B] above). MORE DIRECT ACTION AT DOWNING STREET! Yesterday a lone anti-war demonstrator staged a dramatic visual protest against the imminent attacks on Fallujah, climbing onto the side of the Foreign Office building next to the gates of Downing Street, spashing it with fake blood and stencilling it wit= h the words =93Don=92t Attack Fallujah, Black Watch Out=94 and "No More War." The protestor - who's handiwork appeared on yesterday's Channel 4 News - ha= s been charged with criminal damage and bailed to appear at Bow Street Magistrates Court next Wednesday at 10am. Support welcome! Again, some pics from this action will be available on-line shortly at www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/recentactions HANDS OFF FALLUJAH Meanwhile activists also got inside RAF Welford in Berkshire, one of the largest bomb-stores in Europe, hanging banners saying "No War" and "Stop Bombing Kids" and chalking the words "Hands off Fallujah on the munitions." Again, pictures are available on-line at www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/recentactions. IF YOU HAVE INSPIRING PICTURES OR STORIES FROM A RECENT ACTION PLEASE SEND THEM TO US AT voices@voicesuk.org. You can also send photographs through th= e post to us at Voices UK, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX. ******************************************** [E] NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION TRAINING WORKSHOP: NOVEMBER 14, LONDON Sunday 14th November, London: Nonviolent Direct Action Training Workshop. 11am - 4pm, 7a Rampart Street (nearest tubes Whitechapel and Shadwell), E1. Equip yourself with the skills and knowledge you need to take part in - an= d organise - civil disobedience and direct action. Includes legal briefing. Workshop by Seeds for Change (see below). Organised by voices uk. 0845 458 2564. If your group is interested in organising direct action but feels it lacks the necessary skills, Seeds for Change (www.seedsforchange.org.uk, 0845 45= 8 4776 ) run excellent workshops on these and other topics and - provided you can cover their travel expenses - are prepared to travel the length and breadth of the country to come to you. Use them! ********************************************* [F] MAKING A KILING: THE CORPORATE INVASION OF IRAQ with NAOMI KLEIN, author of 'No Logo' and 'Fences and Windows.' First major UK talk for 2 years. One night only! Wednesday 24 November. Doors open 6.30pm. Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London (opposite Euston station) =A35 waged / =A33 unwaged (all proceeds to civil society groups in Iraq) Arrive early to ensure a seat or register in advance at: www.waronwant.org/naomiklein Sponsored by: Iraq Occupation Focus; Jubilee Iraq; Voices in the Wilderness UK; War on Want In her first formal speaking engagement in the UK for two years, award-winning journalist and activist Naomi Klein will be exposing how American bombs have paved the way for free-market fundamentalism in occupie= d Iraq. She will also be tackling the wider neo-con agenda and the future of the anti-war movement after the US election. For the past 18 months Klein's dispatches from occupied Iraq - and the business conferences where US ideologues and corporations have been organising the corporate assault on the country - have been must-read material for the anti-war movement. She recently cost the Carlyle Group (closely linked to Bush) over $1bn worth of investments when she exposed an influence-peddling scam involving Iraq's debts. Attendance is expected to be high so, to ensure a place, register in advanc= e at: www.waronwwant.org/naomiklein or e-mail globaljustice@waronwant.org. Proceeds from the meeting will go to the Fallujah Centre for the Study of Democracy and Human Rights, an Iraqi humanitarian group, and the Southern Oil Company Union. The SOCU, the largest member of the Basra Oil Union, is an anti-privatisation union who are fighting the poverty wages imposed on the oil industry by the authorities and who stopped oil production during the siege of Fallujah in protest at the occupiers' actions. Sponsored by: Iraq Occupation Focus (www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk); Jubilee Iraq (www.jubileeiraq.org); Voices in the Wilderness UK (www.voicesuk.org); War on Want (www.waronwant.org). ******************************************* [G] IRAQ OCCUPATION FOCUS ORGANISING MEETING: 9 NOVEMBER Tuesday, 9th November, 7:15pm SOAS, Room G50, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1 Discussion: Trade unionism in occupied Iraq With Sami Ramadani and Ewa Jasiewicz Followed by work on practical initiatives, including upcoming IOF teach-in (see http://www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk/teachin.htm). All welcome. For more information contact: iraqfocus@riseup.net ******************************************* [H] IRAQ OCCUPATION FOCUS / RED PEPPER POETRY COMPETITION For poems on the theme of war and occupation NB. Closing date for submissions: 13 November, 2004 Judge: Adrian Mitchell- "Shadow Poet Laureate" First prize: =A3100 Second prize:=A350 Third prizes (two): =A325 each Winning poems will be published in Red Pepper and Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletter Entry fee: =A33 for the first entry; =A32 for each subsequent entry. Closing date for submissions: 13 November, 2004 Entry fees will be used to help defray the costs of organising the Day Conference on the Occupation of Iraq on 5th December in central London (for information see www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk). Prizes will be presented and winning entries read out at the Day Conference. Entry form: http://www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk/resources/IOF_poetrycomp_form.pdf Cheques or POs should be made payable to =91Iraq Occupation Focus=92 and se= nt with poems and entry form to IOF Poetry Competition. c/o Red Pepper Magazine, 1B Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ. Queries: iraqfocus@riseup.net RULES 1. Poems must be original and unpublished, written in English and not excee= d 50 lines. 2. To enter you must be at least 18 years old and a UK resident. 3. Each poem must be typed single-space on one side of A4 paper. The author= =92 s name must NOT appear on the poems, which will be judged anonymously. Titles of all poems submitted plus the name and street address (and if possible, email address) of the author should be clearly printed on the separate entry form (available at www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk) or on a separate sheet of A4 paper. 4. No author can win more than one prize. 5. The entry fee is =A33 for the first poem and =A32 for each subsequent po= em; i.e. one poet may submit 5 poems for a total of =A311. 6. Poems will not be returned so please do not send your only copy. Receipt of entries will NOT be acknowledged. 7. Copyright remains with the author but the organisers reserve the right t= o publish the winning poems in Red Pepper and the Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletter. 8. Awards will be announced at the Iraq Occupation Focus Day Conference on 5th December. Winners will be notified in advance. 9. All money raised from entry fees will go towards the costs of organizing the conference on the occupation of Iraq on 5th December 2004, organized by Iraq Occupation Focus. Any remainder will fund further campaigning to end the occupation of Iraq. 10. The judge=92s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered i= nto regarding the results. 11. The organisers reserve the right to return poems and entry fees if the need arises. 12. No one employed by Red Pepper or involved in the organisation of the Iraq Occupation Focus Day Conference is eligible to enter. 13. All entries will be read. 14. Cheques or POs should be made payable to =91Iraq Occupation Focus=92 an= d sent with poems and entry form to IOF Poetry Competition. c/o Red Pepper Magazine, 1B Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ. For more information: www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk; www.redpepper.org.uk --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.779 / Virus Database: 526 - Release Date: 19/10/2004 --__--__-- Message: 5 Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 15:18:15 -0700 To: peaceandjustice@lists.riseup.net From: IRC Communications <communications@DELETETHISirc-online.org> Subject: [Peace&Justice] J'accuse: War Crimes & Iraq [ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Justice News from FPIF http://www.fpif.org/ November 4, 2004 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introducing a new commentary from Foreign Policy In Focus J'accuse: War Crimes & Iraq By Conn Hallinan "=85.The Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives." Article 48, 1977 addition to the Geneva Conventions, Part IV The above "Basic Rule" is at the heart of the Geneva Conventions, the international treaty that tries to be the thin line that separates civilization from savagery. It is not something the Bush Administration has paid much attention to as it goes about the "pacification" of Iraqi cities where local insurgents are resisting the American occupation. If we are cavalier or dismissive about international law, it will encourage others to be so as well. The most likely victims of that policy will be we civilians, as well as our own uniformed forces. If we torture prisoners and hide them from the eyes of organizations like the Red Cross, why shouldn't others do the same to our soldiers and civilians? In a recent commentary in the Financial Times, Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, wrote: "The struggle against terrorism cannot be legitimate if it undermines basic values shared by humanity. The right to life and protection against murder, torture and degrading treatment must be at the heart of the actions of those engaged in this struggle. The struggle will lose credibility if it is used to justify acts otherwise considered unacceptable, such as the killing of people not participating in hostilities." Apart from the inhumanity our actions engender, as an entirely practical matter, to do anything less than Kellenberger suggests is to place our own people in harm's way. Conn Hallinan is a foreign policy analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus, online at http://www.fpif.org, and a Lecturer in Journalism at the University of California, Santa Cruz. See new FPIF commentary online at: http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2004/0411warcrimes.html With printer friendly PDF version at: http://www.fpif.org/pdf/gac/0411warcrimes.pdf For more analysis from FPIF: Indonesia: U.S. Underwriting Terrorism? By Conn Hallinan (September 15, 2004) http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2004/0409indonesia.html Rumsfeld's New Model Army By Conn Hallinan (November 4, 2003) http://www.presentdanger.org/commentary/2003/0311transf.html "Coin of Empire" Too Costly for Israelis, Palestinians, and U.S. Taxpayers By Conn Hallinan (July 9, 2003) http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2003/0307coin.html Road Map: Sharon & The Record By Conn Hallinan (June 20, 2003) http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2003/0306sharon.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Produced and distributed by FPIF:"A Think Tank Without Walls," a joint program of Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC) and Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). For more information, visit http://www.fpif.org. If you would like to add a name to the "What's New At FPIF" specific region or topic list, please email: communications@irc-online.org with "subscribe" and giving your area of interest. To add your name to this list, send a blank email to: peaceandjustice-subscribe@lists.riseup.net To unsubscribe, send a blank email to: peaceandjustice-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC) http://www.irc-online.org/ Siri D. Khalsa Outreach Coordinator Email: communications@irc-online.org --__--__-- Message: 6 From: "ppg" <ppg@DELETETHISnyc.rr.com> To: <newsclippings@casi.org.uk> Cc: "ppg" <ppg@nyc.rr.com> Subject: Fallujah -US marines Turn to God Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 02:11:30 -0500 http://tinyurl.com/5btpk Marines turn to God 06/11/2004 16:25 - (SA) Near Fallujah - With US forces massing outside Fallujah, 35 marines swayed to Christian rock music and asked Jesus Christ to protect them in what could be the biggest battle since American troops invaded Iraq last year. Men with buzzcuts and clad in their camouflage waved their hands in the air, M-16 assault rifles beside them, and chanted heavy metal-flavoured lyrics in praise of Christ late on Friday in a yellow-brick chapel. They counted among thousands of troops surrounding the city of Fallujah, seeking solace as they awaited Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's decision on whether or not to invade Fallujah. "You are the sovereign. You're name is holy. You are the pure spotless lamb," a female voice cried out on the loudspeakers as the marines clapped their hands and closed their eyes, reflecting on what lay ahead for them. The US military, with many soldiers coming from the conservative American south and midwest, has deep Christian roots. Comforting In times that fighting looms, many soldiers draw on their evangelical or born-again heritage to help them face the battle. "It's always comforting. Church attendance is always up before the big push," said first sergeant Miles Thatford. "Sometimes, all you've got is God." Between the service's electric guitar religious tunes, marines stepped up on the chapel's small stage and recited a verse of scripture, meant to fortify them for war. One spoke of their Old Testament hero, a shepherd who would become Israel's king, battling the Philistines 3 000 years ago. "Thus David prevailed over the Philistines," the marine said, reading from scripture, and the marines shouted back "Hoorah, King David," using their signature grunt of approval. The marines drew parallels from the verse with their present situation, where they perceive themselves as warriors fighting barbaric men opposed to all that is good in the world. "Victory belongs to the Lord," another young marine read. Their chaplain, named Horne, told the worshippers they were stationed outside Fallujah to bring the Iraqis "freedom from oppression, rape, torture and murder ... We ask you God to bless us in that effort." Holy oil The marines then lined up and their chaplain blessed them with holy oil to protect them. "God's people would be anointed with oil," the chaplain said, as he lightly dabbed oil on the marines' foreheads. The crowd then followed him outside their small auditorium for a baptism of about a half-dozen marines who had just found Christ. The young men lined up and at least three of them stripped down to their shorts. The three laid down in a rubber dinghy filled with water and the chaplain's assistant, navy corpsman Richard Vaughn, plunged their heads beneath the surface. Smiling, Vaughn baptised them "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." Dripping wet, corporal Keith Arguelles beamed after his baptism. "I just wanted to make sure I did this before I headed into the fight," he said on the military base not far from the city of Fallujah. End of casi-news Digest _______________________________________ Sent via the CASI-analysis mailing list To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-analysis All postings are archived on CASI's website at http://www.casi.org.uk