Premiering in Philadelphia...

When We Go upon the Sea by Lee Blessing
April 9 - May 9, 2010

Code Pink rips AIPAC

"Rahm Emanuel: Obama's Chief of Sabotage"

By Dan Froomkin, Huffingtonpost, March 2, 2010: ". . . To Emanuel, victory is the only thing, and rather than recognize the error of his ways and recalibrate, he is publicly declaring that the now widely-recognized enfeeblement of his boss's presidency is not his failure, but his vindication. Hail Emanuel triumphant."

How Europe does it better

Europe's Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age by Steven Hill, interviewed on Radio Times, March 2, 2010.

"Justice’s Vendetta against a Whistleblower: Six Questions for Jesselyn Radack"

By Scott Horton, Harper's, February 23, 2010.

"Torture under Obama"

By Nat Hentoff, Jamestown Sun, February 17, 2010.

"Does the Patriot Act Violate Free Speech?"

Nina Totenberg, NPR/WHYY, February 23, 2010.

"Andrew Kreig on Bernie Kerik and Don Siegelman: What They Have in Common and Why We Should Care"

By Joan Brunwasser, opednews.com, February 22, 2010. This is a must-read. See also Andrew Kreig's Justice Integrity Project.

Glenn Greenwald re Obama health care plan

Glenn Greenwald, New York Times "Room for Debate," February 22, 2010:

President Obama, in introducing his own health care proposal, exposed a transparent, year-long sham. White House loyalists insisted for months that the president genuinely supported a public option, but they told progressives that there could be no public option in the final bill even though more than 50 Democratic Senators supported it and even though the public option consistently polled as being very popular with Americans.

Why not? Because, they argued, the public option lacked the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, and there was simply nothing the White House could do to change that.

But the plan President Obama unveiled does not include a public option. If he were truly in favor of it, why would he exclude it from his own plan? . . .

"Defending Moazzam Begg and Amnesty International"

By Andy Worthington, The Public Record, February 10, 2010.

Jane Mayer re "The Trial"

Jane Mayer, author of the February 15 New Yorker article "The Trial: Eric Holder and the Battle over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," is interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air, February 9, 2010.

Amnesty International and Cageprisoners

Sunday Times, February 7, 2010: "Amnesty International is ‘damaged’ by Taliban link: An official at the human rights charity deplores its work with a ‘jihadist.’"

Amnesty's response.

Cageprisoners' response.

BBC World Service Newshour discussion, February 9, 2010.

"The Terror-Industrial Complex"

By Chris Hedges, truthdig.com, February 8, 2010.

"Terrorism Derangement Syndrome"

By Dahlia Lithwick, Slate, February 3, 2010.

"On the claimed 'war exception' to the Constitution"

By Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, February 4, 2010.

Re Aafia Siddiqui

"The intelligence factory: How America makes its enemies disappear," by Petra Bartosiewicz, Harper's, November 2009.

"The Guantánamo 'Suicides': A Camp Delta sergeant blows the whistle"

By Scott Horton, Harper's, January 18, 2010.
Scott Horton discussed this as a guest on NPR/Here&Now on January 28, 2010.

"Murders at Guantanamo: Exposing the Truth about the 2006 'Suicides'"

By Andy Worthington, The Public Record, January 18, 2010.

"Protest aims to shut down Army Center"

By Joan Hellyer, Bucks County Courier Times, January 17, 2010.

"Tortured Law"

"Yes, it was torture, and illegal"

New York Times editorial, January 3, 2010.

"One Day We'll All Be Terrorists"

By Chris Hedges, opednews.com, December 28, 2009.

"White House as helpless victim on healthcare"

By Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, December 16, 2009.

Gathering for Gaza in Doylestown, Dec. 27, 2009

Isaac Luria of JStreet.org, a mainstream pro-Israel lobby, writes:

Gaza is in crisis, and without addressing the urgent humanitarian needs there, the prospects for long-term peace and real security for Israel will grow dimmer. We must act.

A year following Israel's military action in Gaza, rockets and mortars continue to land in southern Israel and residents still do not yet have true security. Israel's international standing continues to sink as a result of fallout from the war. Hamas's grip on the Strip remains strong.

A blockade on Gaza meant to weaken Hamas continues to deepen civilian suffering and anger there by preventing basic necessities and building materials from reaching the population. . . .

Tell Your Rep: Improve the Desperate Situation in Gaza

We must address the urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza to enhance the prospects for real peace and security in the region. . . .

[Suggested message:]

Subject: Please sign the McDermott-Ellison and Moran-Inglis Gaza letters

Your Letter: I believe it is in the interests of the United States, Israel and the Palestinian people for the U.S. to take action to improve the lives of the people of Gaza.

Please sign two letters – first, the McDermott-Ellison letter to President Obama urging him to press for immediate relief for the citizens of Gaza and, second, the Moran-Inglis letter to Secretary of State Clinton, urging her to press the Israeli government to end the ban on student travel from Gaza to the West Bank.

Bucks County peace activist/Vietnam vet Bill Perry traveled to Egypt to join the Gaza Freedom March and had this to say about it. Here are Bill's photos from Egypt.
Locally, we . . .

Gathered for Gaza

December 27, 2009, 3-4 p.m.
Bucks County Courthouse
55 E. Court Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
Support freedom and justice for Gaza
Commemorate the anniversary of the invasion and bombardment
inflicted on Gaza from December 27, 2008, to January 17, 2009
Support the Gaza Freedom March
Signs: Be positive, e.g., Freedom for Gaza!
Palestinian flags welcome!
Parking: Lot/garage directly across No. Main St. from Courthouse
Information: seeing.for.myself@gmail.com or 215-340-9747

The gathering's organizer, longtime Doylestown resident Susan Johnson, visited Gaza in May 2009. Her blog, "Palestine: Seeing for Myself," chronicles her trip. She has also given public presentations, as reported in the Intelligencer.

"Appellate Court Overturns Paul Minor Conviction"

By Emily Levy, BradBlog.com, December 11, 2009: "Powerful Democratic donor, attorney from Mississippi, others, said to have been targeted for political prosecution by the Bush Administration's Dept. of Justice. . . ."