Letters to the Editor, May 24, 2004

In reference to an editorial on your website by Charles A. Beers posted the 15th of May, "DON'T BUY GAS ON MAY 19TH": I was wondering if Mr. Beers had any measurable feedback as to the May 19 action he proposed. I forwarded his suggestion to all that I know, and the response was overwhelmingly positive in support. Irrespective if the economic effect is measurable, I feel such demonstration is quite symbolic, and is something very many seem to be willing to participate in. I go on to propose that that this demonstration of not buying gas on Wednesday should be extended to every Wednesday as long as gas prices remain high and the United States remains at war with the Middle-East.

I also like to remark, I find your website without a doubt the most exciting one on the entire internet, and many of my friends tell me the same. I only wish one day the wars will one day settle to allow more intriguing cultural discussions.

Fast for Peace

Please join us in a monthly action. The last Sunday of each month is designated as a day of fasting, prayer, and meditation to end the violence in the Middle East. Peace,

Kathleen Russell,

Member of West Michigan Justice and Peace Coalition and Fountain Street Church

PLEASE MAKE MY COUNTRY WAKE UP!

The Palestinian people know the same thing we Americans do. A day under occupation is worse than ten suicide bombings. Whether Israeli, Palestinian, or American, messing with freedom means a war to the death. America must withhold all support of Israel until every settlement is dismantled. Until this basic action is taken, the cycle of violence can never end.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE CALLED 'THE MATRIX'?

Neo was freed from the illusion of the Matrix... But how can today's American neocons escape their Fox News/Hannity-induced Matrix? How about a peek outside the cocoon? Here are some of today's images from the real world. Please pass this along to your conservative buddies. Who knows? Perhaps enough visits to sites like these will pry open some eyes.

http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20Photos/Today's%20News%20Photos.htm

Michael Foulks San Diego, CA USA

Jack Dalton in a Persian Website

Hello and thank you for publishing the articles I write. I need your help with something...can you tell me what this is and about? It has my name all over it and I really would like to know something about this site and what is being said. I do not mind who reprints what I write, that's why I refuse to copy-write anything. However, when I see something in a language I do not know I ask those that do. Any help you are willing to be would be extremely appreciated. Peace be unto you.

Jack Dalton

This is the link.

http://jackdalton.persianblog.com/

Editor: I don’t know Persian but I’ll publish it in the letters section hoping that somebody may be able to tell us about it. Anyway, I congratulate you for being translated to other languages.

:Iraqis killed at wedding.

The US general said there were men of military age at the wedding, well obviously there are men of military age (maybe 18 upwards) at the wedding. There are men of military age at all weddings the groom and best man and various adult male relatives obviously. Can't Iraqis celebrate a wedding without being slaughtered? And I should think they could have it wherever they like too, that includes the desert. Was that little boy who was decapitated an insurgent? No way he was just a little boy at his relatives wedding now he is dead the US army are the only terrorists and insurgents in this situation.

Janice Keenan

To The Editor, Aljazeerah.info

I breathe a sigh of relief to have accessed your site at last.

I have felt the pain of Palestinian people for years. When will UN get involved to stop the Israeli government attacking her neighbours, especially Palestine in agony over what appears to be genocide and a land grab by Israel.

How can Israel claim be a religious country with incursions into Palestine since 01?

Where is commonsense and decency in the Iraqi attacks where 11,000 civilians have been killed as a Sovereign country invaded and devastated? People of the world have been and will continue to be hawk-eyed - watching in dismay and horror, wondering when and how the tragedy can end...

Desperately need to know if a member of discussion group About.com named Amir, if he has survived attacks or Israeli jail - I realize a well-nigh impossible task. I was known as Strikealight. Is there any way you can help me find information on Amir?.

Now I have your site on Browser, am able to read your current news.

Thanking You, take Courage to continue your service,

Delia Skinner, Australia.

Editor: If any readers know about Amir, please let us know.

Mass Rally & March on June 5
Thousands at the White House will say:
"Bush and Rumsfeld - Guilty of War Crimes"

Michael Berg, the father of Nicholas Berg who was murdered in Iraq, will be a speaker at the June 5th Speak Truth to Power mass demonstration and speak-out in front of the White House. This rally will reflect the grassroots voices of those who have suffered and are suffering because of the Bush administration's war in Iraq, Palestine, Haiti and right here against working people in the United States.

The Speak Truth to Power rally will feature the voices of the mothers and fathers of soldiers who oppose the war; those in the Muslim and Arab communities whose families have been ripped apart through raids, detentions, and secret hearings; representatives of the working class communities in Washington, DC and elsewhere who are suffering because of the destruction of social programs; we will hear the voices of the people of Haiti and the Philippines and Korea who are living under U.S. military intervention and occupation. June 5 is the anniversary of the Israeli seizure of the West Bank and Gaza and we will hear the voice of the embattled Palestinian people who to this moment are having their children shot and their homes razed as the U.S.-backed violence escalates.

Following the People's Speak-Out, thousands of people will march through working class neighborhoods and arrive at the home - the mansion - of Donald Rumsfeld. Coming as it does just three and a half weeks before the June 30 phony "transfer of sovereignty," the June 5 rally and march will be a powerful challenge by the people to the administration and its plans for continued occupation. The people of the world and the world media will be looking on June 5th to see if the people stand against the Bush administration's wars of aggression.

Abu Ghraib and Vietnam

The scope and systematic practice of torture, savage beatings, sexual assault and sick humiliation of prisoners in U.S. custody in Iraq and elsewhere burst again into the front pages of newspapers around the world after the publication of statements from detainees and new pictures in the Washington Post (May 21), and the broadcast of new videos documenting a few of the horrors inflicted on an occupied people. No one should doubt for a moment that the people of the region are seething - they and the whole world now know for a fact that the torture and cruelty visited upon mass arrest detainees in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and now Iraq was an approved operation by Bush and Rumsfeld.

On the same day as the Washington Post released the new horrifying photos, U.S. aircraft dropped bombs on a wedding party in northern Iraq killing more than 40 people, including the bride and groom and a large number of children. The U.S. military followed up on the ground shooting those that lived one by one. In response to world outrage at this massacre and the images of wounded, dead and decapitated children, Maj. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division, told reporters in Fallujah, "Bad things happen in wars. I don't have to apologize for the conduct of my men."

With all the obvious differences, it is clear that in its essence the Iraq occupation is George W. Bush's Vietnam. The Bush and Rumsfeld fantasy will be defeated, in many ways it is defeated. That's what makes it their "Vietnam." Unless the people of the United States act now, however, the killing in Iraq will continue for years. In Vietnam the killing and carnage continued for years after U.S. policy makers knew full well that they could not militarily defeat the Vietnamese.

U.S. political and military leaders became convinced that the war in Vietnam was not winnable as early as 1968 and yet the war dragged on for another five bloody years. The bombing continued on, the CIA assassinations of opponents in south Vietnam escalated (the Operation Phoenix Program) into the tens of thousands between 1968-1973, another 30,000 soldiers went to their graves during those years, and the number of Vietnamese civilians killed could be counted in the thousands each week. What a waste, what a crime, and it will be repeated in Iraq unless the people unite to demand: End the Occupation, Bring the Troops Home Now!

The stakes are high and the June 5 mobilization will open the next stage of the antiwar movement - utilizing new tactics to begin mass organizing on the grassroots level in every community.

Please see the below links to find out how you can get more involved:

Get on the bus to DC! Click here to see a listing of transportation centers from around the country. Please check back frequently, as this list is updated daily. If you are organizing a bus, van or car caravan to be in DC, SF or LA, fill out the Transportation Form.

Help spread the word! Multiple versions of flyers for Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles can be found on the Downloads page. These versions include:

Washington DC:
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Washington DC:
black and white version

Washington DC:
Spanish language,
two color version

Washington DC:
Spanish language,
black and white version

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A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
www.ANSWERcoalition.org
info@internationalanswer.org
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