WARS ABROAD, WARS AT HOME

 

Tuesday, June 9

Justice Reinvestment Act: Rally and Public Hearing
12:30pm, At the State House in Boston

The Justice Reinvestment Act will improve justice and safety, reduce incarceration and invest millions of $ to create jobs for struggling families. A key component of the Justice Reinvestment Act is to end mandatory minimum sentencing for drugs, the topic of the June 9 hearing. Massachusetts is struggling with two diseases: drug addiction and economic exclusion.  It’s time we stand up for healing!  Download a Justice Reinvestment Fact Sheet Here

For more info please contact: Steve O’Neill of EPOCA
(508) 410-7676 steve@exprisoners.org

 

The State Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on Tuesday, June 9, 1pm, at the State House (Gardner Auditorium) , on two important bills - (1) An Act eliminating mandatory minimum sentences related to drug offenses [H.1620, S.786] and (2) An Act reforming pre-trial Process (Pre-trial and bail reform) [H.1584, S.802].  This is the first step in moving these bills forward to a floor vote.

 

The Fire This Time: Black Youth and the Spectacle of Postracial Violence

As the traditional social welfare state is transformed into the corporate state, those democratic public spheres that support public goods are under attack. As the social contract and the democratic values and ideals that uphold it are replaced by a regime of neoliberalism that celebrates privatization, commodification and self-interest, inequality in wealth and power grows exponentially, destroying the healthy social structures necessary for a democracy and the requisites for embracing citizenship as a matter of political, ethical and social responsibility. Citizenship is now reduced to consumerism and politics is emptied of any wider sense of community and respect for the common good… While the killing of unarmed Black people may represent this violence in one of its most lethal forms, this killing is part of a larger structure of violence aimed at destroying the promise of a democracy in the "postracial" era, which includes a mass incarceration system in which even young children are now arrested for minor infractions.  More

 

Cleveland cops shot at 2 unarmed black people 137 times. No one is going to prison

The high-speed chase at times reached more than 100 miles per hour and spanned 22 miles, more than 100 officers, and more than 60 police vehicles. It ended when the fleeing pair's car rammed into a police vehicle at a middle school parking lot, where police then fired 137 shots into the car, hitting Russell and Williams each more than 20 times. The prosecution in the case argued only 15 shots allegedly fired by Brelo weren't justified, CNN's Jason Hanna, Ralph Ellis and Greg Botelho reported. After Brelo's colleagues stopped firing, he purportedly stood on the hood of the car and fired the last shots downward into the windshield, inflicting fatal wounds, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGlinty said. Brelo said he thought the couple was armed, posing a danger to him and his partner. Judge John O'Donnell ruled that Brelo's actions were justified because it wasn't clear that any perceived threat was over when Brelo fired the final shots.  More

 

16 states have more people in prisons and jails than college housing

In 16 states, there are more people in prisons and jails than college housing.  This map by MetricMaps shows which states (blue) have more people in college housing and which states (red) have more people in correctional facilities… . Mass incarceration in the US long ago hit diminishing returns that make it an ineffective crime-fighting tool; an analysis by the Pew Public Safety Performance Project found that the 10 states that shrunk incarceration rates the most over the past five years saw bigger drops in crime than the 10 states where incarceration rates most grew.  More

 

See the map above: not surprisingly, most of the states (in red) are in the South, with the notable exception of California, which has a politically powerful prison-industrial complex

 

How the prison-industrial complex is corrupting American elections

Today, literacy tests and poll taxes are banned (though voter ID laws are often essentially poll taxes), but states can still disenfranchise felons. Because of race and class disparities in the criminal justice system, the impact of disenfranchisement hits communities of color and low-income communities the hardest… Many disenfranchised felons face a second blow: prison-based gerrymandering. In this practice, prisoners (who can’t vote) count toward the population of the area where they are incarcerated which affects how districts are drawn.  More

 

Senate could take up $612 billion defense policy bill in June

The Senate could take up its version of the fiscal defense policy bill as soon as next month. “Schedule permitting, the committee is ready to go to the floor in June,” a Senate Armed Services Committee aide told The Hill on Monday. The panel unveiled its draft of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last week. The $612 billion policy blueprint sets spending limits for all Defense Department programs and initiatives.  More

 

All the Mass House members voted against the bill, but pressure is needed for a vote against the final version that comes back from the Senate. Help us put a an end to outrageous Pentagon waste.  Click here to send a note to your congressional representatives today! (Good talking points and background here) Sign a petition here

 

 

 

 

If U.S. Military Spending Returned to 2001 Level

In 2001, U.S. military spending was $397 billion, from which it soared to a peak of $720 billion in 2010, and is now at $610 billion in 2015…  If U.S. military spending were merely returned to 2001 levels, the savings of $213 billion per year could meet the following needs:

End hunger and starvation worldwide — $30 billion per year.
Provide clean drinking water worldwide — $11 billion per year.
Provide free college in the United States — $70 billion per year (according to Senate legislation).
Double U.S. foreign aid — $23 billion per year.
Build and maintain a high-speed rail system in the U.S. — $30 billion per year.
Invest in solar and renewable energy as never before — $20 billion per year.
Fund peace initiatives as never before — $10 billion per year.

That would leave $19 billion left over per year with which to pay down debt.   More

 

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Bomb, Bomb Iran, Ignore, Ignore Israel. . .

GIVE WAR A CHANCE?

 

US rejects nuclear disarmament document over Israel concerns

The United States on Friday blocked a global document aimed at ridding the world of nuclear weapons, saying Egypt and other states tried to “cynically manipulate” the process by setting a deadline for Israel and its neighbors to meet within months on a Middle East zone free of such weapons… Since adopting a final document requires consensus, the rejection by the United States, backed by Britain and Canada, means the entire blueprint for global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation for the next five years has been blocked after four weeks of negotiations. The next treaty review conference is in 2020. That has alarmed countries without nuclear weapons, who are increasingly frustrated by what they see as the slow pace of nuclear-armed countries to disarm.  More

 

Netanyahu thanks US for blocking UN measure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday for preventing a U.N. measure that could have forced full disclosure of Israel’s nuclear arms capabilities.  Had the treaty passed, according to The Times of Israel, it would have convened a U.N. conference by March and appointed a special emissary for ensuring the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.  That official may have forced Israel into revealing its full nuclear abilities.The U.S. rejected the measure late Friday, as did Canada and the U.K.  More

 

Blocking a Nuclear-Free Mideast

The more fundamental roadblock was the same one that has been decisive every time the subject of a MENWFZ has come up. Israel doesn’t like the idea, and the United States, acting as Israel’s lawyer (Israel itself, not being a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, was only an observer and not a full participant in the review conference), blocked approval of the draft statement that was on the table… Israel’s official position regarding a conference is that discussion of nuclear weapons can only take place amid a discussion of “the broad range of security challenges in the region,” and it says it would consider joining the NPT only if Israel were at peace with the Arab states and Iran. That position is, of course, a formula for putting off the subject of a MENWFZ indefinitely, given that the Israeli government has sworn eternal hostility toward Iran and is determined — all the more so in the Israeli government’s latest post-election configuration — not to settle its conflict with the Palestinians and therefore will not be at peace with most Arab states either.   More

 

What Israel's Chief of Staff Is Worried About — No, It's Not Iran

Two members of Congress from New York, a Democrat and a Republican, are calling on President Obama to provide Israel with massive, 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, capable of penetrating Iran’s fortified underground nuclear facilities. They also want to send B-52 long-range bombers that can carry the huge devices… Though the lawmakers seem unaware of it, their proposal comes immediately on the heels of a weeklong media blitz by heads of the Israel Defense Forces, detailing in speeches and interviews the military’s view of the main strategic threats facing Israel in the foreseeable future and its plans to meet them. Oh — in case you’re wondering: No, Iran isn’t on the list.   More

 

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NEW WARS / OLD WARS – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

 

Friend of DPP Lou Pierro writes from over the Milton Line:

Dear friends from Milton and surrounding communities.  I hope you will join me at what promises to be a very exciting and interesting forum with top quality speakers about the Guantanamo Detention Center.  And please forward this and the attached flyer along to anyone who might be interested.

 

Milton High School Amnesty International Club together with Milton for Peace will be presenting a forum on Wed evening June 10^th at Keyes Community Room at Milton Public Library entitled “Guantanamo - What is the Truth?  Detention, Interrogation and Judicial Practices of the US Government” with speakers Terry Rockefeller documentary film producer of September 11^th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows; Matthew Allen, Public Advocacy Coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts; Margaret Ashur of International Law Journal at Boston University; and Peace and Justice Activist Susan McLucas.  There will be time for questions and answers after the presentation.  Snacks will be provided by Bent’s Cookie Factory.  The event starts at 6:45.

 

Pentagon Report Predicted West's Support for Islamist Rebels Would Create ISIS

The newly declassified DIA document from 2012 confirms that the main component of the anti-Assad rebel forces by this time comprised Islamist insurgents affiliated to groups that would lead to the emergence of ISIS. Despite this, these groups were to continue receiving support from Western militaries and their regional allies… The revelation from an internal US intelligence document that the very US-led coalition supposedly fighting 'Islamic State' today, knowingly created ISIS in the first place, raises troubling questions about recent government efforts to justify the expansion of state anti-terror powers… Yet the new Pentagon report reveals that, contrary to Western government claims, the primary cause of the threat comes from their own deeply misguided policies of secretly sponsoring Islamist terrorism for dubious geopolitical purposes.  More

 

NYT Trumpets US Restraint against ISIS, Ignores Hundreds of Civilian Deaths

The article claims that “the campaign has killed an estimated 12,500 fighters” and “has achieved several successes in conducting about 4,200 strikes that have dropped about 14,000 bombs and other weapons.” But an anonymous American pilot nonetheless complains that “we have not taken the fight to these guys,” and says he “cannot get authority” to drone-bomb targets without excessive proof that no civilians will be endangered. Despite the criticisms, Schmitt writes, “administration officials stand by their overriding objective to prevent civilian casualties.” But there’s one rather glaring omission in this article: the many hundreds of civilian deaths likely caused by the U.S.-led bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria.  More

 

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ISRAEL, PALESTINE AND THE US

 

TAKE ACTION:

Urge Congressional Offices to Attend an Important Briefing on Capitol Hill (June 2)

Every year, hundreds of Palestinian children - some as young as 7 years old - are detained and arrested in an Israeli military detention system where ill treatment and abuse is widespread.  Many are taken from their families in night raids, held without charges or due process, and subjected to abuse or poor conditions while in custody.  

The "No Way to Treat a Child" campaign, organized by the Chicago Faith Coalition, is aimed at bringing attention to Israel's routine mistreatment of Palestinian children. Now, the coalition needs your help to make sure these important voices are heard by Members of Congress and their staff. Please click here to read a description of the upcoming briefing.

When we ask Congressional staff why they come to these Congressional briefings, they frequently respond "because constituents asked us to attend." Your calls and emails are critical to ensuring these important voices are heard on Capitol Hill, so please take action today. 

 

Israel asking US for 50% increase in next defense package

Israel reportedly wants the US to increase its annual defense assistance package by half, to an average $4.5 billion. Defense News reported this weekend that Israel and US officials have in recent months begun negotiations on the next 10-year aid package…  Defense News quoted “US and Israeli experts” as saying that the amount would be separate from any package the United States offered Israel as compensation for the Iran nuclear deal now being negotiated between Iran and the major powers.Like the defense assistance package currently in place, it is also separate from the $1.2 billion in materiel the United States stores in Israel and which under certain conditions is available for Israeli use, and from the approximately $500 million in US funds provided to Israeli anti-missile development each year.  More

 

 

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OTHER EVENTS

 

Thursday, May 28: Harvard Graduation Day Demo for Palestine,  4:00 – 6:00 pm, (Holyoke Center/Harvard Square)
JOIN US!  People from all around the US and world attend the graduation.   We will ask them to oppose Israel’s accelerated settlement drive and demand freedom for Palestinians. Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights

 

Tuesday, June 2: The Olympics: More Than a Game -- with Dave Zirin and Kade Crockford, 7:00pm, Hope Central in JP in Jamaica Plain. Surveillance, Displacement, and the Other Olympic 'Legacies' That Boston 2024 Won't Tell You About.  Dave Zirin, sports editor at The Nation Magazine and author of "Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, The Olympics, and the Struggle for Democracy," and Kade Crockford, Director for the Technology for Liberty Project at the ACLU Massachusetts, will discuss the Olympic legacies of displacement, surveillance, militarization, and more.

 

Tuesday, June 2: CHRIS HEDGES:  The Moral Imperative of Revolt, 7-8:30pm, First Church JP. The Jamaica Plain Forum <http://www.jamaicaplainforum.org> welcomes back Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges, as he discusses what it takes to be a rebel in modern times. Popular uprisings in the United States and around the world are inevitable in the face of environmental destruction and wealth polarization. From South African activists who dedicated their lives to ending apartheid, to contemporary anti-fracking protests in Alberta, Canada, to whistleblowers in pursuit of transparency, Wages of Rebellion shows the cost of a life committed to speaking the truth and demanding justice. <https://www.facebook.com/events/799158853526466/>

 

Wednesday, June 3: Benefit for Palestinian House of Friendship, 6:30-8:30pm, First Parish in Cambridge, Unitarian Universalist 3 Church Street, Harvard Square.  Mohammed Sawalha, Director of the Palestinian House of Friendship, is persistent in his creative resistance to the occupation and in finding ways to bring learning and joy to the lives of young people.  He has a visa this year and will be with us along with his son, Majed, a college student and rapper.  Come and hear about the new playground in Asira al Shamaliya and the development of distance learning programs.  Find details on Facebook. Directions.  Please RSVP by May 29th (see poster).  Co-sponsored by the Middle East Eduction Group at First Parish in Cambridge, Unitarian Universalist, the Palestine Israel Task Team of First Church in Cambridge, Congregational UCC

 

Thursday, June 4: What Next for the Nuclear Abolition Movement?  7:30 pm

First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St - Hastings Room.  Report from the NPT Review Conference and Discussion on the Way Forward with Joseph Gerson, Peace & Disarmament Coordinator, American Friends Service Committee

John Loretz, Program Director, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

Moderator: Elaine Scarry, Professor, Harvard University

 

Wednesday June 10: Guantanamo - What Is the Truth? Detention, Interrogation and Judicial Practices of the US Government, 6:45-8:30 PM, Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave. ( Keyes Community Room). A forum presented by Milton High School Amnesty International Club and Milton for Peace about Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility and the Detention and Interrogation Practices of the US Government - with speakers  •  Terry Rockefeller – September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and documentary film producer;   Matthew Allen - Public Advocacy Coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts;   Margaret Ashur - International Law Journal at Boston University;  Susan McLucas - Peace and Justice Activist

 

Monday, June 15: Risky Business or Economic Boost?: The Real Cost of the Boston Olympics, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm, First Church JP, 6 Eliot St, Jamaica Plain. Papercuts JP and the Jamaica Plain Forum welcome Andrew Zimbalist, author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup. Zimbalist will discuss his new book in relation to Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games.  Andrew Zimbalist is an international expert on the financing of big-league and global sports events. His latest book explores the economic impact of hosting the Olympics and the World Cup.