Report from Activist Arrested at Rumsfeld's House
By Pete Perry
It was a long and exhausting 24 hours in the D.C. prison system. I will probably share a lot more soon. I was honored to have done this action at Rumsfeld's with David Barrows and two very strong, intelligent and courageous women from Code Pink -- Toby and Katie. Remarkably Katie actually made it to the door and slipped a letter through the mail slot!
I was often worn down and stressed about losing employment. But I took joy in the fact that the action seemed meaningful, and that many people knew about it. We do face unlawful entry, which is a fairly serious charge. Our court date is June 1st at 9 a.m. Solidarity would be greatly appreciated!
The Negroponte action sounded great! And if I wasn't basically required to go into work, I would have went. Believe it -- DAWN is having an impact!
Oh, one uplifting moment -- as I was lead into the second courtroom (for the lesser D.C. charge) the marshall said: "You guys are the protestors?" He asked reading David's Chickenhawk t-shirt. I simply responded "yes." He replied: "I should be thanking you for what you've done. I came back from Iraq, and I don't believe in anything we are doing over there."
In peace and resistance,
Pete
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www.VelvetRevolution.us
I got a reply letter to one of many Iran petitions
I will keep it anonymous, but I will put every awful word of it here. He is a Repub. His words just make me cringe. You'll see:
"Dear "Yank" ,
Thank you for recently contacting my office. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
I understand your concern about military action against Iran. While we have no reason to believe military action in Iran is imminent, we also cannot take foreign policy tools off of America's list of options.
The rhetoric of Iran's leadership deeply concerns me. I was proud to vote for H.R. 282, the Iran Freedom Support Act. This bill, introduced by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, directs the President to assist groups working to spread democracy in Iran. The bill would also continue the economic sanctions against Iran which are meant to coerce Iran into ending its weapons of mass destruction program. This bill passed the House on April 26, 2006.
Again, thank you for contacting my office . I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
Sincerely,
Member of Congress"
The letter on the surface of course is so short & mamby-pamby, who would take offense? But I know the folks on this forum can read between the lines on so many levels:
1) which foreign policy "tools"? Diplomatic? Conventional weapons? NUKES?
2) The rhetoric of MY leadership deeply concerns me!
3) Assist WHICH groups ? (notice he doesn't say!)Neocons ? AIPAC? Military? Halliburton & contractors?
4)"Spread democracy"!!! oh come on>we know that's buzz word to bomb Iranian folks.
5) then there's the name of the act > Iran FREEDOM SUPPORT ... argghhhhh
IMPEACH PNAC> "OUT" THE CABAL !
http://tinyurl.com/a8uz9
"read between the lines on so many levels"
There's so much garbage it's hard to know where to start.
You already know what "foreign policy tools" they're talking about. They're the same ones that have found their way from PNAC into the official "defence" strategies of the U.S.
As for "ending [Iran's] weapons of mass destruction program", we've all heard that before and the lack of evidence of any such program (in Iran just as in Iraq) has been discussed many times here and elsewhere.
Perhaps the least well known aspect is the one you question yourself about assisting "groups working to spread democracy in Iran". We all know that the current U.S. administration has some very strange ideas about what spreading "freedom and democracy" means, but this case may be the strangest of all. It seems very doubtful that forays by the PKK (Kurdish guerrillas) and MEK (Mujahedin-e Khalq) will spread much real democracy. They have, however, got NATO ally Turkey very worried along with some of Iran's own progressive groups.
Iran just had an election BTW, but, as with the Palestinians and Venezuelans, we don't like the winners. So that means they're not "democratic" according to U.S. newspeak definitions.
__
The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the party that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections. – Lord Acton
Thanks ARVY, for info on "groups" reference in form letter
"...Iran just had an election BTW, but, as with the Palestinians and Venezuelans, we don't like the winners. So that means they're not "democratic" according to U.S. newspeak definitions...."
So Bushco/PNAC don't like Iran's new democracy, huh? I wonder what talking points Snow will snow us with.
IMPEACH PNAC> "OUT" THE CABAL !
http://tinyurl.com/a8uz9
Oops! Forgot a few other foreign policy efforts.
Ecuador accuses US of 'blackmail' as oil dispute worsens. Oil wealth bypasses ordinary Chadians. Collapse of the Petrodollar Looming.
But, no matter how it may appear, none of those geopolitical issues are actually about oil, of course. They're really all about "freedom and democracy". Honest.
American Newspeak Dictionary
freedom: the absence of any national, international or local law or other constraint upon the pursuit of profit by USA Incorporated.
democracy: a form of governance wherein the interests of citizens of any nationality defer to those of USA Incorporated.
So unless it will "defer to those of USA Incorporated",
then the form of governance is in dire need of a fascist transplant, or as Bushco calls it , "spreadin' democracy". By any other name, it's still regime change.
IMPEACH PNAC> "OUT" THE CABAL !
http://tinyurl.com/a8uz9
Now you've got it.
The notion that "freedom and democracy" have something to do with "governement of the people, by the people, for the people" is just silly and must be eradicated from the face of the earth along with all those other quaint ideas about adherence to the norms of civilized international behavior -- except, of course, insofar as they may sometimes serve to protect and advance the interests of USA Incorporated.
Adapting to the new imperial realities sometimes takes a little doublethink, but you'll get used to it in time.
__
The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the party that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections. – Lord Acton