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by Sharon Grimes, W A M M
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Entire University Stages Antiwar Walk Out
According to a March 9, 2006, posting on Democratic Underground, the entire university, including faculty, at Central Connecticut State University walked out to protest the Iraq war. Media covered the event, which was held in advance of the nationwide campus events protesting the war later in March. (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x617619)
IMF “Drop the Debt” Campaign a Success
Because of pressure from several groups, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) kept its promise to cancel the debt of six nations whose status was in doubt. IMF had originally said it would cancel the debts of 19 countries, but then recommended not including Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Rwanda, and Senegal unless they met additional criteria. Jubilee USA Network, Africa Action, and the 50 Years Is Enough Network organized rallies, press conferences, and an e-mail campaign to urge the IMF to stick to their promise to cancel the debts. (Drop the Debt, News and Action from Jubilee USA Network, Spring 2006)
AlliantACTION Stars in New Film
AlliantACTION, the group of Minnesotans who have been protesting outside Alliant Techsystems for the past 10 years, will be featured in a documentary film. A Spanish film crew spent two weeks in the United States on the project, which will cover the story of depleted uranium and weapons production. (March 3, 2006, Star Tribune)
Let the Public Decide!
A poll by the Northwest Area Foundation of St. Paul found that the public is ahead of policy makers when it comes to dealing with poverty. The poll found that 85 percent of U.S. adults feel that a family of four needs $30,000 a year to get out of poverty; 64 percent say it takes at least $40,000. The federal government puts the poverty level at $19,806. In addition, the poll found that 36 percent of Americans say they would “very likely pay $50 a year more in taxes to help people struggling to make ends meet in their own communities.” The Northwest Area Foundation plans to spend $150 million in the next decade to fight poverty. (March 7, 2006, Star Tribune)
Quakers Removed from Terrorist List
The Department of Defense (DOD) says it has removed the names of peaceful demonstrators who were wrongly added to a database of potential domestic terrorist threats. In 2003, the DOD began a counterintelligence program to “maintain a domestic law enforcement database that includes information related to potential terrorist threats directed against the Department of Defense.” A secret 400-page Defense Department document listed more than 1,500 “suspicious incidents” in a 10-month period, including a small group of activists meeting in a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Florida, who were planning a protest against military recruiting at local high schools. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) had demanded answers about the process for identifying domestic protesters as suspicious and removing their names when they are wrongly listed. (MSNBC and NBC News, March 9, 2006, http://msnbc.msn.com/ id/11751418/) |
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© 2006 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete April 2006 Index - click here
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