Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

Street Address of headquarters: 4420 Fairfax Drive N., Arlington, VA WASHINGTON -- On January 2, 2008, one day before the Iowa caucus, citizens will go to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign headquarters, at 4 p.m., to follow up on a letter requesting the Senator's pledge to affirm the points put forth by Voices for Creative Nonviolence. A small delegation of peace activists, representing the Washington Peace Center, Code Pink, Grassroots America and Northern Virginians for Peace and Justice will attempt to persuade Ms. Clinton to take measurable steps to end the Iraq War, which is entering its fifth year. Previously, Ms. Clinton has made remarks indicating her position to keep troops in Iraq through 2013, in spite of the fact that more than 70% of Americans favor a more immediate withdrawal of troops. Voices for Creative Nonviolence www.vcnv.org, the initiator of the SODaPOP "Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project" has made visits to the of

Washington -- During the Atlantic Life Community's faith and resistance winter retreat, a 76 year-old D.C. peace and justice activist was arrested Saturday for the 11th time this year during a protest against the U.S. government's warmongering policies and commemorating the 117th year since the Wounded Knee massacre. Tetaz, and Patrick O'Brien, a member of a Catholic Worker community in North Carolina, were arrested shortly after 12 p.m. in the picture post card zone directly in front of the White House. They refused to leave the space, declared by the Secret Service and the Park Police as an area with unconstitutional limits on the exercise of free speech. Tourists appeared puzzled as the two peaceful and solemn protesters were placed in plastic handcuffs and lead to waiting Park Police cars. "The killing and bloodshed must end," Tetaz said. "Every life is sacred." A retired D.C. public schoolteacher, Tetaz has been a regular feature of nonviolent civil

This is truly disturbing, but it's apparent racism is alive and well in the good old USA. This is nothing less than ethnic cleansing in New Orleans!

Sen. Hillary Clinton 4420 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203 Re: Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project Dear Senator Clinton: I am writing to announce a new initiative of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and several peace and justice groups in the earliest races of the presidential campaign, SODaPOP, or "Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project." We at the Washington Peace Center are joining VCNV in this campaign, and are inviting activists to come to Iowa and New Hampshire from around the nation "to bring nonviolent civil resistance and civil disobedience to the campaign offices and headquarters of Presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat, who do not publicly declare that they will take the necessary concrete steps to end the Iraq war, to rebuild Iraq, to forswear military attacks on other countries such as Iran, and to fully fund the Common Good in the U.S." Please sign the enclosed promise and return it to our of

A US judge has overruled Bush administration objections and ordered a hearing into The tapes are believed to have shown interrogation methods that included simulated drowning known as waterboarding, which has been condemned as torture. The CIA said it destroyed the tapes lawfully and did so out of concern for the safety of agents involved if the recordings were ever made public. The White House has repeatedly denied that the US uses torture. The justice department declined to comment on the judge's hearing order but the department last week urged Kennedy not to investigate the videotapes. It also said that in light of other government probes into the tapes, a judicial inquiry into the destruction was inappropriate. The government has also sought delays in congressional attempts to investigate the tapes' destruction, saying they would hamper a joint investigation by the justice department itself and the CIA. "Plainly the government wants only foxes guarding this henhou

U.S. Accedes on Aid Pledges, Wins Fight to Drop Specific Targets for Emissions Cuts By Juliet Eilperin Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 16, 2007; A01 NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec. 15 -- Delegates from nearly 190 countries emerged from a final 24 hours of bruising negotiations Saturday with an agreement on a new framework for tackling global warming, one that for the first time calls on both the industrialized world and rapidly developing nations to commit to measurable, verifiable steps. The deal, which will form the basis for a two-year, U.N.-sponsored process aimed at forging a binding international climate pact by the end of 2009, could transform the way rich and poor nations work together to preserve a rapidly warming Earth, observers said. But it also postpones many tough decisions and provides more incentives than penalties when it comes to addressing global warming. The consensus document was accepted by acclamation following an acrimonious confrontation between the U.

Upon completing the course Information and Libraries in Society, I believe I have a richer understanding and appreciation for the information professional’s role within American society. In an increasingly interconnected world where rapid access to information is more easily attainable than at any other point in human history, the need to organize such an enormous amount of data is critically important. Civilizations will continue to need those trained in organizing data and helping researchers obtain information through the most effective means. This class helped me realize that in addition to learning about metadata tags and the finer points of Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs), and which references are the best when studying a great author or learning more about a particular nation, that it is important that an information professional understand his or her role within modern society. The librarian, or information professional, of today will need to be competent in the services

Americans often need their memories refreshed. This is an old report, but apparently this came out within a month of when the now infamous CIA interrogation tapes were destroyed... Retired agent John Kiriakou is now making major headlines, finally admitting that yes the CIA used water-boarding, and yes it is in fact a form of torture. Anyhow, it's helpful to see what was going on regarding the agency and torture at the time. ASIL Insight Alleged CIA Kidnapping of Muslim Cleric in Italy By Frederic L. Kirgis July 7, 2005 Introduction In late June 2005, it was reported that an Italian judge had issued arrest warrants for 13 U.S. CIA agents accused of kidnapping imam Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr in Italy in 2003, and sending him to Egypt for questioning regarding possible terrorist activities. Nasr apparently is an Egyptian national, although he was living in Italy when he was abducted. Allegedly, when he arrived in Egypt he was imprisoned and tortured during interrogations. The Ital

1. An End to All Funding for U.S. Military Operations in Iraq 2. Safe and Rapid Withdrawal of All U.S. Troops and Coalition Forces from Iraq, With No Future Deployments 3. No Permanent U.S. Military Bases or Installations in Iraq 4. Support for an Iraqi-led Peace Process, Including a Peace Conference to Shape a Post-occupation Transition 5. Return Control of Iraqi Oil to the People of Iraq, as Well as Complete Sovereignty in their Economic and Political Affairs 6. Support for Reparations and Reconstruction to Address the Destruction Caused by the U.S. Invasion, Military Occupation, and Thirteen Years of Economic Sanctions 7. Establish a U.S. “Peace Dividend” fo

ANN WRIGHT SENTENCED TO 3 DAYS INCARCERATION IN PROTEST OF AMB RYAN CROCKER TESTIMONY IN SEPT 2007 Dec. 5, 2007 Former US State Department official and retired Army Colonel Ann Wright was sentenced today to three days in jail, for her role in a protest of testimony by US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, at hearings on Sept. 11, 2007. Col. Wright was tried by a jury in DC Superior Court on the charge of “Unlawful Conduct in Congress” (disorderly and disruptive conduct) in connection with hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee. At that hearing, Col. Wright spoke out at the conclusion of Amb. Crocker’s testimony, saying “I am a diplomat, a diplomat for peace. No peace through occupation!” Following her brief statement (which did not interrupt any speaker) she was placed under arrest and charged with unlawful conduct on US Capitol Grounds. At a jury trial today, Col. Wright was found guilty, following a spirited defense focusing on her personal acquaintanceship with Amb

Tonight, the Constitution Died Wed Nov 28, 2007 There was a moment in tonight's YouTube Republican debate that terrified me. No, it wasn't Romney's chilling equivocation on waterboarding: that was expected, and at least for this electoral cycle, thank God, the party still has John McCain's awesome moral clarity on that issue. Nor was it Tom Tancredo's conflation of the U.S. armed forces with medieval Christian crusaders; after all, the guy doesn't have a chance, any more than does Ron Paul, whose views on the Trilateral Commission reveal him to be only one missed day of meds shy of the reeking lunatics with hand-lettered signs who prowl Lafayette Square. No, what had me shaking with anger and fear tonight was the moment when the Constitution slipped into the abyss for good, and nobody--but nobody--in that auditorium appeared to notice that it has. Did you? I'm talking about the moment when an ordinary American--an all too typical American-- --held up a Bib