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Sharon Grimes, W A M M
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Israeli Attorney General Rules Against New Palestinian Land Seizures
On February 7, 2005 Israel’s attorney general canceled a June 2004 governmental decision to impose a land-seizure law that would have confiscated property in east Jerusalem owned by Palestinians who live in the West Bank. Hundreds of Palestinians were considered absentee owners because the separation barrier would cut them off from their land in east Jerusalem. Last summer the government had secretly decided to implement the 1950s Absentee Property Law, originally enacted to seize property of Palestinians who fled to neighboring countries when Israel was created in 1948.
Ruling Favors Guantanamo Bay Detainees
A federal judge ruled January 31 that Guantanamo Bay detainees from other countries may challenge their confinement in U.S. courts because military tribunals do not protect their rights. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Joyce Hens Green conflicts with an earlier ruling by Judge Richard Leon who heard a case by a different group of detainees. This makes it likely that the appeals court or the Supreme Court will take up the ruling. Green says that a June Supreme Court ruling makes it clear that prisoners have constitutional rights and that lower courts must enforce them.
Marine Corps Recruitment Slides
The Marine Corps missed its monthly recruiting goal in January, falling 84 short of the 3,270 goal. Senior officers acknowledge that the risks in Iraq may be linked to January’s drop and to close calls in November and December. The Marines usually have to turn away recruits.
Funding Increased for International Efforts to Reduce Violence Against Women
Thanks to Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) staff and supporters, 53 members of Congress signed a bipartisan letter urging the Colombian government to take specific steps to reduce violence against women. In addition, AIUSA’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign succeeded in getting Congress to double U.S. funding to $2 million for UNIFEM, the UN women’s fund that provides financial support and technical assistance to innovative programs promoting women’s basic human rights and equality in more than 100 countries. Amnesty also joined Women’s Edge and the Family Violence Prevention Fund to spearhead an NGO letter with more than 50 sign-ons, addressed to the Appropriations Committee.
Film by Naomi Klein Highlights - Workers Collectives
Author Naomi Klein has written and produced (with director/producer Avi Lewis) The Take, a movie about global worker cooperative efforts in Argentina. Argentina’s 2001 economic collapse led to mass unemployment and abandonment of factories. The film follows 30 unemployed auto parts workers who, by refusing to leave their factory, attempt to “reclaim their work, their dignity, and their democracy—turning the globalization debate on its head.” A worker cooperative is a business in which the workers are all equal owners, and have democratic control of decisions. Profits are distributed based on proportion of hours worked.
Cuba and the European Union Restore Diplomatic Ties
The European Union (EU) agreed to restore normal diplomatic relations with Cuba. The 25-nation EU imposed a freeze on high-level contacts when Fidel Castro’s government cracked down on dissidents in March 2003. They said they will increase contacts with critics of Castro, will continue to raise human rights issues, and are demanding unconditional release of all dissidents.
Victims of Civil Rights Killings Honored in Mississippi
The Mississippi Senate unanimously approved a bill that would rename stretches of highways in three counties to honor victims of civil rights killings. One section of Mississippi 19 near Philadelphia is believed to be the site where voting rights volunteers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were killed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1964. A part of U.S. 49 would be renamed Emmett Till Memorial Highway, after the 14-year-old who was beaten in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. The bill will need to be passed by the house and signed by the governor.
More Good News . . .
Over 13,000 people from 50 states and the District of Columbia signed a letter (translated into Arabic) to the Iraqi people, expressing sorrow over our government’s invasion and occupation. It was given to media outlets in Iraq on December 15, 2004.
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Meridel Le Sueur
Photo by Tom Foley |
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Now Available on DVD!
My People Are My Home
Meridel Le Sueur’s vision of hope...
LeSueur reads her own words in this 50 minute film and the images flow—textures of the prairie, the snow and the cornfields, poverty in the cities, and the abomination of wars.
To order, send $22 to:
Neala Schleuning, 505 Orleans St., St. Paul MN 55107
Also Available:
America: Song We Sang without Knowing—The Life and Ideas of Meridel Le Sueur
by Neala Schleuning; $10.00. Order at same address. |
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© 2005 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete March 2005 Index - click here
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