Thursday, April 11, 2019

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has received death threats in the wake of right-wing media lies.

RootsAction Norman Solomon<info@rootsaction.org>
To  alfredjohnson34@comcast.net  
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has received death threats in the wake of right-wing media lies. Last month, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro suggested that Omar's hijab may well mean that she opposed the U.S. Constitution. A few days later, New York resident Patrick Carlineo allegedly phoned Omar’s office and threatened to “put a bullet in her f------ skull.”

Carlineo has been arrested. According to the criminal complaint, he told the FBI that "he was a patriot, that he loves the President, and that he hates radical Muslims in our government."

Please click here to support Rep. Omar’s outspoken courage.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has made the connection between the outlandish media comments and the death threats, tweeting:
"Understand when Jeanine Pirro goes on Fox + rallies people to think hijabs are threatening, it leads to this. Folks who imply we’re ‘bad’ for politics, the party, the country, etc. have no idea the threats we deal w/ because of that kind of language. Talk policy, not personal.” 

The man who phoned Congresswoman Omar’s office sounded scarily similar to some right-wing TV and radio hosts.

Support Ilhan Omar as well as RootsAction’s work for open non-violent debate of the issues.

It's worth recalling how all of this started. It did not involve opposition to the U.S. Constitution. It did not involve anti-Semitism. It started with Congresswoman Omar’s support for the human rights of Palestinians, and her criticizing the power of the Israel-right-or-wrong lobby. To understand the gist of the case against Omar, consider this statement that came from Rep. Juan Vargas, a Democrat:  “Questioning support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is unacceptable.”

At RootsAction, we fundamentally disagree. Questioning support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is not only acceptable – from the standpoint of human rights, it is essential.

RootsAction has long opposed Israel’s policies toward Palestinian people, including the illegal occupation and ever-expanding settlements. We do not support the “U.S.-Israel relationship” that has provided many billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to arming the Israeli military – routinely and often lethally violating human rights in the process.

Please click here to support Rep. Omar’s bravery.

Already, the USA’s leading Israel-right-or-wrong group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), is gearing up to oust Ilhan Omar from Congress. The New York Times reported last month on AIPAC’s hopes to “punish Ms. Omar, a freshman Democrat from Minnesota, with a primary challenge in 2020.”

AIPAC has a long history of defeating the few members of Congress willing to speak out against Israel’s occupation policies. As more of them speak out, AIPAC is even more determined to silence Israel’s critics.

To support open debate about the “U.S.-Israel relationship,” please make a donation of whatever you can afford.

The New York Times recently quoted a former Democratic Congressman from Washington State, Brian Baird, who said: “It is so disingenuous of some of these members of Congress who are lining up to condemn these questioning voices as if they have no campaign finance interest in the outcome.” Baird added: “If one dares to criticize Israel or dares to criticize AIPAC, one gets branded anti-Semitic, and that’s a danger to a democratic republic.”

It’s crucial to push back against that danger by stepping up support for real and open debate on these issues. You can help Ilhan Omar and RootsAction to do that.



Thank you!

—Norman Solomon, Jeff Cohen, and the RootsAction Team

Background:
>>  Slate: Ocasio-Cortez Links Fox News' Jeanine Pirro to Death Threat Against Ilhan Omar
>>  Daily Beast: Pro-Trump Man Charged With Threatening to Kill Rep. Ilhan Omar
>>  New York Times: “Ilhan Omar’s Criticism Raises Question: Is AIPAC Too Powerful?”
>>  M.J. Rosenberg, The Nation: “This Is How AIPAC Really Works”
>>  Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss: “'I am told I am anti-American if I am not pro-Israel' and that’s problematic -- Ilhan Omar stands strong against blizzard of attacks”

  
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4/13 Peña: Social Justice and Liberation Movements

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Popular Resistance Action Alert - Assange Arrested, Take Action Now Global Network

Global Network<globalnet@mindspring.com>
To  Peaceworks  
Subject: Popular Resistance Action Alert - Assange Arrested, Take Action Now
 
This newsletter is also available
on the web here.
April 11, 2019 – Today, Wikileaks publisher, Julian Assange, was expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he was granted asylum almost seven years ago, and arrested by British police. He is being held for extradition to the United States. Assange is a journalist who should not be prosecuted for publishing the truth.

Popular Resistance calls for the immediate release of Julian Assange and is organizing a protest today at 5:00 pm at the British embassy in Washington, DC. Please attend and urge others to attend. Share this Facebook page.
If you cannot attend, protest at a British embassy near you or email or call them. Here is a list of British embassies in the U.S.: Washington, DC 3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008 Phone: +1-202-5886500  +1-202-588-7800 Email: britishembassyenquiries@gmail.com Atlanta, GA Georgia Pa…
We urge people in the UK, US, Australia and around the world to protest the extradition and prosecution of Julian Assange at every step of legal proceedings. Popular Resistance will be doing all it can to build a broad movement for freedom for Julian Assange so he can continue his important work as a publisher and journalist. Assange has committed no crime and has had his political asylum, which has been recognized by the UN, taken away from him for no legitimate reason.
The prosecution of Julian Assange is an attack on Freedom of the Press in the 21st Century. WikiLeaks is democratizing journalism, redistributing power and increasing transparency. Publishing the truth is not a crime. The attack on Assange is a threat not only to journalism but opposition to war and empire. People need to stand up for Assange, our right to know and build a movement against US imperialism.
Wikileaks’ breakthrough journalism has been a public service that exposed US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, human rights violations at the Guantanamo Bay prison and showed corporate corruption of US foreign policy in State Department cables. Wikileaks has published documents concerning governments and corporations throughout the world.
Wikileaks has democratized the media by creating the ability for people to expose crimes of governments and corporations by anonymously leaking documents that show their activities. This innovation gives power to people to be the media. Such power is essential at this time of corporate concentration of media, where six companies control 90 percent of the news.
Wikileaks documents have been covered in major news outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post and have had an impact on the development of public policies.
The US and international courts should be prosecuting those who committed crimes exposed in the documents published by Wikileaks, not the media outlet who exposed the crimes.
Chelsea Manning, who leaked documents to Wikileaks, is being held for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Alexandria, VA. She refuses to testify in secret against Julian Assange. Manning should be released. Manning and Assange are sacrificing their freedom for our right to know
Yesterday, was the 30th Anniversary of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). Beginning under President Obama and continuing under President Trump, whistleblowers are being arrested and charged with the Espionage Act at increasing levels. From the time the Espionage Act was passed in 1917 until the Obama administration took office, it was used against one person. Eight people were prosecuted by the Obama Department of Justice. The number of investigations of leaked information has tripled under the Trump administration.

Our mailing address is:
PopularResistance.org
402 East Lake Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21212

CLICK HERE TO DONATE.
"Because a sustainable future depends on the people willing to see the truth for what it is, and for those to stand up in unison in order to make a difference." — Jake Edwards Keli'i Eakin
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Maj. Danny Sjursen: West Point Grad Turns AntiWar Activist Massachusetts Peace Action Brian Garvey

Massachusetts Peace Action Brian Garvey<info@masspeaceaction.org>
To  Al Johnson  
Dear Al,
Just retired from the U.S. Army, 35 year old Major Danny Sjursen is an outspoken, dissident soldier now entering a new life as a promising peace activist. From his most recent article "The Forever Wars Go On Without Me" (Apr. 3, 2019): "I think of this as my last piece authored as an active military dissenter — a clearing of the air — before moving on to a life of activism, as well as an unarmed life of words." Join us on Thursday April 25th from 7-9PM at 11 Garden Street ,Cambridge. Then attend a conference at MIT, the "Social and Economic Costs of Endless Wars," from 2-5 PM on Friday April 26th. Major Sjursen will be the keynote speaker.

Is The U.S. a Force for Good in the Mid-East? Major Danny Sjursen

Thursday April 25 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, UCC, 11 Garden St
Cambridge, MA 02138

Still Trapped in a Greater Middle Eastern Quagmire, the U.S. Military Prepares for Global Combat

Danny Sjursen
Major Danny Sjursen (U.S. Army -ret.) will survey U.S. regional interventions since 9/11 and intersperse his analysis of the counterproductiveness and criminality of these actions with his own personal journey from a promising military career to a life of dissent while on active duty.
Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army Major and regular contributor to Antiwar .com, Truthdig, The Nation, Tom Dispatch, The Huffington Post, and The Hill.  His work has also appeared in Harper’s, The LA Times, and Buzz Feed. He served combat tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at his alma mater, West Point. He is the author of a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge (2015).  He co-hosts the progressive veterans’ podcast “Fortress on a Hill.”  Follow him on Twitter at @SkepticalVet.
Recent articles:  “The Israel Liability: Moral and Strategic Hazards of an Ill-Advised Alliance” (March 12, 2019); “Planet of War” (Nov. 20, 2018) ; “The World According to the ‘Adults in the Room’: A Year of Forever War in Review" (Dec. 23, 2018); “An Officer’s Path to Dissent” (Jan. 3, 2018); “I was an Army grunt at the pointy end of the American spear. But no longer” (Mar. 31, 2019).  Video: “US Hegemony in the Middle East” (July 5, 2018)
This event is part of the Distinguished Peacebuilder Series.   Tickets $10 for members, $20 for non-members, $5 for students, $75 for supporters.  Reserve tickets online.

Social and Economic Costs of Endless Wars

Friday April 26 @ 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

MIT Room 34-101 50 Vassar Street Cambridge, MA 02139

Conference on the social and economic costs of endless wars, Friday afternoon April 26th at MIT
Pre-Register at cost-war-apr19.bpt.me/: Students and low income FREE, General Admission $12, Supporter $75 (thanked at event and in program)
2:00 pm: Welcome: Jonathan King, MIT
2:15 pm: Opening Panel
–  The Costs of War – Prof. Neta Crawford (Boston University)
–  The Bloated Pentagon Budget – William Hartung (Center for International Policy)
 –  Saudi Military Aggression in Yemen – Michael Page (Human Rights Watch)
 –  Endless War in the Middle East – Danny Sjursen, Major, US Army (ret.)
3:00 pm: Emerging Responses:
Chair Cole Harrison (Mass Peace Action)
–       Build Bridges not Bombs; Bringing Nuclear Disarmament into the State Legislature – Rep Nika Elugardo, Mass State Legislature (invited)
–       Don’t Bank on the Bomb – Divesting from Nuclear Weapons Manufacture – Rep. Mike Connolly (Mass State Legislature)
–       Bringing the Moral Revival to Massachusetts– Savina Martin (Poor Peoples Campaign) 
–       The Intensifying Struggle for Affordable Housing – Chuck Collins (Institute for Policy Studies)
–       Massachusetts  Battles to Protect and Promote Public Education – Andrew King (UMass Boston) .
3:45 – Workshops: 
–       A) Organizing on Campuses: Facilitator, Brian Garvey, MAPA; Zac Bears (PHENOM); Alice Pote (MIT/anti-Saudi Coalition); Gabby Ballard (MIT Students Against War); Paul Shannon (AFSC).     
–       B) Nuclear Disarmament Initiatives: Facilitators, Joseph Gerson and Michelle Cunha; Jerrold Ross (MAPA); Prof. Aron Bernstein (MIT).-        
–       C) Moral and People’s Budget: Connecting battles for Economic Justice with Reducing Pentagon Spending: Facilitator, Jared Hicks (Our Revolution); Andrea Burns (MAPA); Andrew King (UMass Boston); John Ratliff (Mass. Senior Action); William Hartung (Center for International Policy).
–       D) The Continuing Links between Militarism and Racism:Facilitator, Rosemary Kean (MAPA); Savina Martin (Poor People’s Campaign); Ceasar Mc Dowell (MIT) (invited));
–       E) Mobilizing Communities of Faith (Facilitator, Keith Harvey (AFSC) (invited); Rev. Vernon Walker (invited);  Rev. Herb Taylor (Harvard-Epworth) (invited); Rev. Leslie Sterling (St. Bartholomew’s) (invited). 
5:00: Report backs from Workshops
5:30 Adjourn
Yours for Peace,
Brian Garvey
Organizer



Visit our website to learn more about joining the organization or donating to Massachusetts Peace Action!
We thank you for the financial support that makes this work possible. 
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Yet Again On Bond, James Bond-Will The Real 007 Please Stand Up- Daniel Craig’s “Skyfall” (2012)-A Film Review

Yet Again On Bond, James Bond-Will The Real 007 Please Stand Up- Daniel Craig’s “Skyfall” (2012)-A Film Review



DVD Review

By Seth Garth

Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig, Judith Dench, Javier Bardem, 2012

You really have to know how serious the back-biting and jockeying for position is which drives the film review, the film criticism business if you want to get high-blown about the matter, drives film reviewers as a lot, to understand why this reviewer is not regaling you from word one about some aspect of the film under review Skyfall, another in the continuing saga of one 007 James Bond a creature of the mad monk pen of Ian Fleming way back when (in the days when he allegedly was playing footsie with Queen Elizabeth, no not the monarch, not as far as I know although I wouldn’t put it pass the bugger thinking he could get a free ride off of his fake service to her majesty, fake since it was full of holes just ask Kim Philby or his memoirs now that he has gone to the shades,  but the stately queen of England, the drag queen Malcolm Marcy). The latest “civil war” involves two critics who are also working this series longtime critic Phil Larkin and relative newcomer Will Bradley (or have worked on it since both have now finished their respective sections Phil on original 007 Sean Connery’s seven works and Will on Pierce Brosnan’s four). The “controversy” -which of the two Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan is the real Bond, James Bond by temperament and style (they have eliminated the other four who have played the role out of hand as a bunch of sissy boys and drunken sots who couldn’t shoot straight if they tried except getting a lot of civilians killed in the cross-fire which makes the legendary Sherlock Holmes seem a sniper by comparison).        

How does this humble non-partisan reviewer get embroiled in this thicket? Aside from doing the Daniel Craig version of 007 part of the series I made the momentous mortal error of stating in public that I thought picking either of those two candidates seemed to be the best representatives of the character. That started a firestorm on both parts that my non-committal statement meant I “really” sided with one or the other. Hence the donnybrook. The real reason though for their fire and brimstone, and here they take a page from the academy’s handbook for stirring up a hornet’s nest over trifles, was, is to take me down a peg for being “wishy-washy,” for not coming up with some pearls of wisdom to fortify my position. In short to run the sword through my work as so much vanilla, so much getting paid by the word flutter a dirty remark in the industry these days. All to enhance their  slight little junkie and boozehound insights into whatever it is they are arguing about. Jesus.

Laura Perkins, also a film reviewer here, may have put her finger on exactly what is going on of late in the industry among “the boys” as she called us. She was assigned to review a film Dangerous by Bette Davis from 1935. She had watched the film one night with her companion Sam Lowell another long-time film critic who since retirement had become an occasional contributor when he out of the blue belted out that he hated Bette Davis, hated that she always played the untamed shrew, the schoolgirl with the heart of stone, the vampish destroyer of everything around her. This outburst after Sam had almost always given Ms. Davis high marks in his previous work. (Laura had combed the archives to confront him with this truth.) She speculated that the usually placid, even-handed Sam had been bitten by the 007 bug and felt he had to assert himself in some outlandish way to keep his place in the pecking order. Maybe so.           

Certainly Phil and Will still have the bug. In my last review I mentioned that since I couldn’t win against one or the other or both in the one-ups-man-ship contest that I would just tell what I wanted to tell and be done with. Whatever drugs or other dangerous substances they are into they couldn’t let me just go at that. Phil clamored that I had nothing to say about any film which he declared had been true for a long time and Will, younger and maybe not quite as jaded, felt that my not saying anything out of the ordinary meant that I at least realized that Sean Connery was not all he was cracked up to be. By inference Pierce was. So be it although I am sorely tempted to really go after that pair with my razor wit and let them hope they get work out in Utah someplace with the Mormons like Allan Jackson tried to do. And he got nothing but a big laugh from those guys, those guys with the white underwear for crying out loud.   

Back to the film reviewing business. I mentioned in passing
in my last Daniel Craig-etched Bond film Quantum of Solace that it was heavy on action, almost nonstop, and light on plot except for the inevitable beating down of whatever bad guys he was after for M, for MI6, for England and the Queen whatever. (Once again it is not clear whether 007, this 007 was having an affair with Queen Elizabeth, the real queen not the drag queen previously mentioned who strangely enough performed in a statelier manner than Liz ever could. Don’t make light of this charge since it is well known that even a heavy duty rock star like Mick Jagger had entered her chambers in the old days when he was into older women. How do you think he got that freaking knighthood if not for dedicating Sister Morphine to her from their junkie days so don’t think a slick guy like 007 couldn’t take the tumble either on his way up the MI6 bureaucracy).

This Skyfall (named for the estate in Scotland where Bond grew up before his parents were killed and he was left an orphan and to the winds) has much more of a plot aside from the usual ration of mind-numbing action which would put the average human in the hospital for maybe a year-or more. This one gets more personal since it involves the fate of M’s career (played by Dame Judith Dench in this Craig series so far). Involves her maybe needing some retirement time since on her watch an important list of agents who have infiltrated terrorist organizations internationally has been compromised.

By whom? By a former hotshot 00 agent Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem last seen here playing a consummate bureaucrat either for the Inquisition in Spain or for the French when they occupied Spain in the wake of the French Revolution in the 1790s in Goya’s Ghosts, who she had to make a split decision to send over to the enemy for the greater good of saving a slew of others. Tough decision and one which Brother Silva holds a very big grudge over since they worked him over something fierce and that was on the good days. So much so that he has made it his main goal in life to do her harm, slowly, in her profession and in the end physically as well since she winds up dying in Bond’s arms after the usual all hell breaking loose final confrontation. Needless to say after a long period of mayhem and destruction including that final blast from hell that rogue agent goes down, goes down hard. Thems the facts Jack.         

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