Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

The Washington Peace Center presents... To Know The Other: The Human Face of Palestine Thursday, November 29th, 2007 7:00pm Martin Luther King Memorial Library 901 G Street, NW Washington, D.C. Nora Buch , a local DC teacher, returned to Washington, DC from Palestine where she taught English at Al Quds University in the West Bank. She lived with Palestinians in the village of Abu Dees where the university is located. Abu Dees was a part of Jerusalem before the construction of the Separation (Apartheid) Wall. During her time in Palestine her understanding of this region deepened. Nora will share her experiences living and working with Palestinians through an interactive presentation with the audience. This event will mark the commitment by The Washington Peace Center for at least one year, November 29, 2007 to November 29, 2008, to commemorate Al-Nakba, the catastrophe of Palestinian ethnic cleansing and dispossession. This commitment will also involve organizing and supporting e...

Today a great Go-go and Hip-hop concert was held on the National Mall. It was organized by the HipHop Caucus and drew attention to the racially-motivated hate crimes happening across the nation. Yes, racism is alive and well in America. It's sad that these heinous and violent hate crimes seem to be happening more frequently. Mentioned were 14-year-old Deonte Rawlings' murder at the hands of police here in D.C., the Jena 6 (Louisiana) injustice and the abominable torture and rape of Megan Williams in West Virginia. Rev. Lennox Yearwood did a great job as emcee, and there were some excellent D.C. Go-go acts, including TCB. Marine mom Tina Richards was working hard, as she often does and it's good to see her as such a solid working partner with Rev. Yearwood. The speakers were eloquent, and expressed truly justified outrage at how messed up things are when it comes to how black citizens are viewed by the prevailing power structure. I enjoyed listening to the New Black Panther ...

By John Nichols, The Nation When it comes to the question of impeachment, the difference between Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Joe Biden and Department of Peace champion Dennis Kucinich is merely a matter of timing. Biden says that if George Bush attacks Iran without a formal declaration of war by Congress, the president must be impeached. Kucinich thinks it would be smarter to act before the bombs start flying. The distinction was illustrated during Thursday night's Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas when Catherine Jackson, the mother of an Iraq War veteran – Marine Christopher Jackson, who told the audience, "Our troops need to come home now" -- expressed her fear that "members of the Bush administration and neoconservative members of Congress are beating the drums of war again." Ms. Jackson asked what the candidates what they would do to prevent an attack on Iran. Biden was especially pointed in his response, saying of the president: ...

Nov. 15, 2007, 8:31AM © 2007 The Associated Press YANGON, Myanmar — A U.N. human rights investigator said he was able to meet with several prominent political prisoners Thursday before ending his five-day mission to Myanmar. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was sent by the U.N. to investigate allegations of widespread abuse in connection with the ruling junta's bloody September crackdown on pro-democracy protests. He went to Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, where he was able to talk with several political detainees, including labor activist Su Su Nway, who was arrested Tuesday, he said at a news conference at Yangon's airport. Pinheiro also met with 77-year-old journalist Win Tin, held since 1989, and members of the 88 Generation Students group, who have been especially active in nonviolent anti-government protests in recent years. Pinheiro did not reveal details of their conversations. He said he had requested a meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is ...

A well-written piece, and maybe Obama will listen. Hayden is clearly more hopeful about the Dems than I am! I don't think I'll be returning to the party in this lifetime. In addition, I am not convinced that the polarities are false; other progressive Dems should also be abandoning the corporately-controlled party. An Appeal to Barack Obama By Tom Hayden "The Democrats have been stuck in the arguments of Vietnam, which means that either you're a Scoop Jackson Democrat or you're a Tom Hayden Democrat and you're suspicious of any military action. And that's just not my framework." - Sen. Barack Obama. Barack, I thought Hillary Clinton was known as the Great Triangulator, but you are learning well. The problem with setting up false polarities to position yourself in the "center", however, is that it's unproductive both politically and intellectually. Politically, it is a mistake because there last time I looked there were a whole lot more ...

I visited Eve yesterday afternoon -- at her apartment! She got out of the D.C. Correctional Treatment Facility at 1:30 PM. Her sister Ann was there to pick her up. Although physically tired, she is in very high spirits. She said she befriended prisoners and guards alike inside. She said that she is more convinced than ever that violence never accomplishes anything. She listened and shared with all the women inside CTF whom she met. Her first cell mate was a young woman who was apparently in for drugs. She immediately helped Eve make her bed, and was very friendly to her. Eve was able to get a Bible, but not until Wednesday. She said she did not see any physical violence, but there were many violent words thrown about. She said the guards were kind of like mamas to the the overall young and overwhelmingly black prisoner population. "My sisters in chains" is how Eve described the inmates. No one treated Eve poorly, although the intake guard gave her a hard time about protesting...

By Mike Ferner DES MOINES -- A new campaign to place the Iraq war in the center of Iowa's presidential caucus races kicked off in Des Moines yesterday. But as often happens, it wasn't so much the protest that made the story as the reaction to it. "Seasons Of Discontent--A Presidential Occupation Campaign," or SODAPOP as its organizers dubbed it, targeted the campaigns of Rudolph Giuliani and Hillary Clinton, taking over their offices in the Iowa state capital and disrupting both campaigns for several hours before a total of 19 people were arrested. The "law and order" Giuliani campaign waited only about two hours to call on the suburban Clive, Iowa police to arrest 10 activists. The Clinton campaign appeared more reluctant to remove the protesters, waiting almost eight hours before requesting the Des Moines Police Department remove nine activists. The last two hours of the Clinton occupation generated reactions from young staffers that typically send a candi...

First appeared on OpEd News on Nov. 5th By Pete Perry I first met Eve Tetaz over a year ago on September 26, 2006. On that day, we were both being detained by the Capitol Hill Police after nonviolent direct actions on Capitol Hill against the illegal and immoral war and occupation of Iraq. Three groups were arrested that day on Capitol Hill as we attempted to meet with our senators, and deliver a coffin with pictures of those killed in Iraq to the steps of the Capitol Building. Eve was with the group who attempted to deliver the coffin to the steps of the west side of the Capitol, the side facing the mall. The police repeatedly stopped her group that day. The first police line they encountered was when they crossed Constitution Avenue, and were warned that they were violating a permit by crossing the street from where a morning rally had been held. Then her somber and mournful group was stopped twice more on the west lawn. During the third attempt by the police to turn back a group of ...

From Eve's sister Ann: Thanks, everybody for your concern and good wishes. Here's what I know at4:15 PM on Tues Nov 6. Jack Barringer, one of her lawyers, visited Eve a few hours ago. She was very tired but in good spirits. She didn't get to the jail until 5 PM and the "processing" (like a meat grinder) wasn't over until 4 AM. Her cell mate helped her make up her bunk and has been very nice to her. Eve told Jack : "I'm more committed now than I was when I got here." Remarkable! Her visiting day is (was) yesterday. That means those of us who are not lawyers can't visit. She CAN make collect phone calls, so if you get a collect call from CTF (the privately run correctional facility that's holding her) it's Eve. I will let you know if I hear more details. Jack thinks she won't be released until the weekend or perhaps Monday. He's going to visit her again later in the week.

By Eve Tetaz Dear Friends, As I begin my 7 day sentence in DC Jail for peacefully and non- violently protesting the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, I wish to appeal to the American people to join together as one voice in opposing the illegal and immoral actions of our leaders whom we have elected to act in our name. We are a nation of law governed by the Constitution that begins with the words “We the people…” When our leaders betray our trust by committing crimes against humanity in the waging of a war that has been condemned by international law, the highest religious authorities, and members of our own military, I believe that we must declare before the world, NOT IN MY NAME. When the government advocates the use of such tactics as rendition and torture to further their ends, we must shout, NOT IN MY NAME. As a nation made up of responsible individuals capable of making moral choices, we are obliged to admit our wrong doings in order that justice be serve...

Contact: Malachy Kilbride, 202-841-2230 Eve Tetaz, 202-332-0599 November 2, 2007 WASHINGTON – Eve Tetaz, a retired D.C. public schoolteacher, was sentenced Friday to seven days in jail, because of her continuing protests and nonviolent resistance against the war and occupation of Iraq. Shortly before 5 p.m., D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Marisa Demeo sentenced the peace activist and Adams Morgan resident to seven days in D.C. Jail, but delayed the beginning of the sentencing period until Monday. Tetaz, 76, could not begin her sentence Friday because the court was already beginning to close at 5, and there were no longer any U.S. Marshals available to begin processing her. “As a former teacher, I believe that a picture or simple action is worth more than a thousand words,” Tetaz said in her sentencing statement, explaining her protests on Capitol Hill and the White House. “I will continue to do what I am doing.” Tetaz faced four charges stemming from two different protests, ...

WASHINGTON – Three prominent peace activists will offer their support to a 76-year-old woman this Friday, November 2, when she appears before a senior Judge of the DC Superior Court for a status hearing as a result of her engaging in civil disobedience to nonviolently protest the continued war and occupation of Iraq. Gael Murphy of Code Pink, Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip-Hop Caucus and Adam Kokesh of Iraq Veterans Against the War, will speak to the press supporting the retired D.C. schoolteacher Eve Tetaz. The Adams Morgan resident has a hearing Friday morning in D.C. Superior Court. The three prominent anti-war activists will speak to the media on behalf of their friend at 11 a.m. in front of the courthouse at 500 Indiana Avenue, N.W. "This courageous woman has been an inspiration to us," said Rev. Yearwood. "In order to stop continued illegal and immoral warfare, more will need to follow in her steps." Yearwood has been arrested a few times for protesting the I...