Colombia solidarity, from Duluth to Ft Benning

Area students and human rights activists are gearing up to join a major international protest against the School of the Americas in just three weeks! Carpools are leaving the Twin Ports for Ft Benning, Georgia on Nov 18th and 19th, most returning the evening of the 22nd. If you're interested, check out one of these carpool info sessions:

* CSS students only: Tuesday, Nov 2, 6pm at the Center for Just Living (T25)
* UMD students only: Wednesday, Nov. 3, 6pm K323
* Everyone else: Thursday, Nov 4, 6pm at the Center for Just Living (College of St Scholastica, Tower 25. Enter by Mitchell Auditorium parking lot)

If you can't make the trip, you can still hear one of the protest's keynote speakers, Father Jesus Alberto Franco, right here in the Twin Ports. This courageous Colombian human rights defender is defying threats of death to speak to us about the effect of US meddling in his country:

We Reap What We Sow:
Understanding the Impact of US Involvement in Colombia

with Padre Jesus Alberto Franco
Wednesday, Nov 3
3pm, UW Superior Old Main 316
7pm, College of St Scholastica Science Auditorium
Thursday, Nov 4
noon, UMD Library Rotunda
7pm, Peace United Church of Christ (1111 N 11th Av E)
Free and open to the public. Sponsored by Witness for Peace--Upper Midwest

Iraq war logs: torture, "body counts" and what our government knew but refused to tell

Photo: Fallujah, 2003, by Christan Peacemaker Teams

Last week, the whistleblower website Wikileaks released nearly 400,000 previously secret US military field reports from Iraq, dated from 2004 to early 2010. Reporters at the UK-based Guardian and the German Der Spiegel are only beginning to sift through the mountainous files, but already a disturbing picture has emerged of torture, deception and a much larger civilian death toll than the US government previously admitted.

Some of the chilling details:

• ** US commanders ordered troops to ignore reports of torture by Iraqi security forces, and knowingly turned captives over to torture squads;
• ** Despite Gen. Tommy Franks' insistence that "we don't do body counts," the Pentagon in fact cataloged at least 100,000 violent deaths of Iraqis between 2004 and 2009, including 66,000 civilians;
• ** Apache helicopter pilots killed insurgents they knew were trying to surrender;
• ** Frightened and trigger-happy US troops routinely gunned down civilians at checkpoints, and deaths and injury by "friendly fire" were far more common than reported.
  

This information comes as little surprise to anti-war activists, but provides concrete evidence of torture and lies by US and Iraqi forces. The leaks have sent shock waves across the world, and both UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and the UN's chief investigator on torture have called for investigations of possible war crimes.

But the US media have been largely quiet about the details of the documents, preferring to regurgitate the Pentagon's Orwellian claim that Wikileaks, and not the US military, has "blood on its hands." The Obama Administration, led by a man who once campaigned on an anti-war and transparency platform, has likewise attacked the messenger, calling for prosecution not of US war criminals but of Wikileaks volunteers and brave whistleblowers within the military. Already in May of this year, military police arrested 23-year old Private Bradley Manning for allegedly leaking secret military data. Commanders who okayed torture walk freely, but Pvt. Manning faces 52 years in prison for exposing their crimes.

What you can do:

1. Read the war logs. You can check out wikileaks.org or read synopses as they become available at the Guardian or Der Spiegel.
2. Support Bradley Manning. Sign the online petition and make a donation to his legal defense at bradleymanning.org.
3. Get organizing! The times demand a people's movement for accountability and an end to the bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. NAWC's next monthly meeting is November 7, 2pm at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Duluth (835 W College). All are welcome.
   

"We Like War" by George Carlin

Central Labor Body, Duluth DFL condemn government attacks on anti-war movement

On Thursday, October 14, delegates to the 17,000-member Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body unanimously adopted a resolution of support for Midwest anti-war activists facing FBI and Department of Justice harassment. The resolution calls for a congressional inquiry into government spying and grand jury investigations of US social movements, and will be hand-delivered to US Senators Klobuchar and Franken by DCLB president Dan O'Neill today.

Delegates noted that a large number of the people targeted are longtime labor organizers, among them three members of AFSCME local 3800 and a member of Teamsters local 320 at the UofM and a member of Education Minnesota.

UPDATE: On Tuesday, October 19, the Executive Committee of the Duluth Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party adopted a similar resolution which was forwarded to other DFL party units in the state.

For more information about the case, visit the Anti-War Committee or the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. The National Lawyer's Guild also provides helpful Know Your Rights materials for activists.

Duluth Central Labor Body resolution
in support of Midwest anti-war activists

Whereas on September 24, 2010, the FBI carried out coordinated raids on the homes and offices of anti-war and trade union activists in Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan, during which agents confiscated computers, mailing lists, cell phones, passports, political literature, correspondence and children’s drawings; and served subpoenas to 14 people to testify before a federal grand jury about alleged material support for foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs); and

Whereas from the Palmer Raids to J Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO, the FBI and Department of Justice have long histories of exploiting public fears in order to disrupt trade union, civil rights and anti-war organizing; and

Whereas four days prior to the September 24 raids, the Office of the Inspector General of the United States revealed that the FBI has systematically and illegally spied on political activists; that FBI director Robert Mueller lied to Congress about details of the surveillance; and that agents frequently confuse civil disobedience with “domestic terrorism”; and

Whereas on June 20, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Holder v Humanitarian Law Project to uphold a provision of the USA Patriot Act that defines material support for FTOs so broadly as to include legitimate humanitarian work, journalism and international solidarity;

Therefore be it resolved that the Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body denounce the September 24 FBI raids and grand jury investigation of Midwest anti-war and trade union activists as a dangerous assault on free speech and association; and

Be it further resolved that the DCLB call on Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken to request a full and transparent Senate investigation of post-9/11 FBI surveillance of social movements and the use of expansive anti-terror laws to criminalize dissent; and

Be it finally resolved that the DCLB forward this resolution to Midwest-area labor councils and the AFL-CIO and urge these organizations to similarly condemn FBI and DOJ attempts to intimidate and disrupt grassroots social movements.

Report on the Oct. 11 Antiwar Protest

On Monday, October 11, about 60 people gathered for an evening march and rally in Duluth, MN. The theme of the protest was "Bring Our Troops & War Dollars Home NOW!" It was sponsored by the Northland Anti-War Coalition, and held as part of the nation-wide week of actions called by the United National Antiwar Conference for Oct. 7-16.


The event began with a 5 to 6pm "Books Not Bombs" picket in front of the Duluth School District's office at Lake Ave. & 2nd Street. From there the protesters marched down 2nd Street, led by the Twin Ports new radical cheerleader group - the Rah Rah Revolutionaries. The march culminated at a rally on the steps of City Hall. At the rally the Rah Rah Revolutionaries led us in several cheers, we had an awesome series of local poets read war related poems, as well as a performance of the skit, "War Pigs" - where if it weren't for the timely intervention of the audience, Uncle Sam and the War Pigs would have auctioned off Duluth's City Hall to pay for the wars!


All in all it was a VERY lively and spirited event! The level of chanting and cheering, and the overall energy level, was more than we've seen at a Twin Ports protest in quite some time. And we had a lot of new people at the event, both in the program, and in attendance, which is always a good thing!

I'd like to conclude this report with some special thanks to the folks who helped make the event possible. A big thank you to Fatima and Zaynab Alwan for MCing the event! A big thanks also to the Rah Rah Revolutionaries for leading our march, providing the awesome chants, and helping to distribute hundreds of handbills in downtown Duluth the day of the event! Thanks to all the actors in the "War Pigs" skit (Carl, Marcelle, Rose, Heather, Ira, Amanda, Jenny and Joe)! Thanks to Mike Solon for the sound system and Carl Sack for the press work. And of course special thanks to our brave and talented poets - Amanda, Marcelle, Jenny and Ira! And finally, last, but by no means least, thanks to everyone who turned out tonight! It'll probably take a lot more protests, and with much bigger numbers than we had tonight - but if we keep putting our collective shoulder to the wheel, we can and will end these wars! -Adam Ritscher

Terrorism and Human Rights at CSS

Tonight, the Alworth Center for Peace and Justice at the College of St Scholastica launches its 2010-2011 lecture series. The theme is "Terrorism and Human Rights" and features an incredible lineup of intelligence experts, journalists and authors, including Good Muslim, Bad Muslim author Mahmood Mamdani. NAWC is working with the Center to co-host the final event of the lecture series on March 21 with FBI whistle-blower Coleen Rowley.

	Combating Terror with Intelligence with Michael Sheehan Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Mitchell Auditorium Free admission
	The Roots of Mideast Terror with Mahmood Mamdani Thursday, October 28, 2010, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Mitchell Auditorium Free admission
	Dying to Drive Foreigners Out with Robert Pape Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Mitchell Auditorium Free admission
	The War on American Ideals with Jane Mayer Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Mitchell Auditorium Free admission
	Obama’s Response to Terrorism with Coleen Rowley Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Mitchell Auditorium Free admission