Hi. For those not in LA, Culver City, site of last night's vigil success, is an oddly shaped city that might have been designed by Gerry Mander, likely hired by MGM, it's most famous institution and whose finances are underpinned by diligent enforcement of traffic violations. It was one of many LA area vigils and over 1500, nationwide. Thanks to Mike Novick for the prompt reporting. I hope it's inspiring. Si, se puede! Ed
Robert Fisk : Iraqis extend deadline for new constitution "The Independent" -- -- 08/16/05 AS usual in Iraq, a grotesque political failure was being dressed up as a semi-victory last night by an Iraqi government that controls little more than a few square miles of Baghdad. For inside the infamous Green Zone - the castellated, concrete-barricaded pseudo-castle in which most of Iraq's principal politicians are now forced to live - the almost equally infamous constitution, which was supposed to have completed its drafting yesterday, appeared to be falling to pieces. Infamous, of course, to the Sunnis who are appalled that the country's Shia Muslim and Kurdish representatives want their own federal states included in the nation and - more to the point - in the constitution, which was supposed to be going before the Iraqi parliament last night. US President George W Bush said the deadline would be met. Britain's Tony Blair said the deadline would be met. So did Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the elected Iraqi prime minister. But last night, Mr Jaafari's officials were talking of a second interim constitution that would allow delegates from the constitutional committees to have at least another two weeks to decide if they would allow virtual independence to the Shia south and centre of Iraq and the Kurdish north - oil-rich areas, unlike the Sunni central provinces. If all this seems a clever piece of political artwork, it is also probably illegal. Under the first interim constitution, the Jaafari government was supposed to resign if the constitutional deadline was not met and dissolve the parliament. Elections - like those of 30 January - would then have to be held all over again and parliament would then have to take yet another turn at grinding out a constitution. The reality, of course, is that while Western governments have been watching the process of constitution writing with academic interest, most Iraqis have been regarding the whole thing as a distraction from the daily grind of killings, robbery, energy shortages and corruption. The world of political structures and "democracy" here are thus separated from the world of political action and armed insurgency by walls - real and symbolic - and the West largely, and through a process of imagination, lives within those same walls. Iraq exists outside. The Americans are perhaps most fearful of the results of any federal constitution. If Kurdistan declares itself a virtual state - which, in reality, it already is - then Turkey is likely to deploy troops along its border with Iraq to make sure that Kurdish "statehood" never materialises. And if the Shias have their federal state in the south, President Bush will have to explain why Iran has so big a hand in influencing the wealthiest of Iraq's oil regions. Those in the know said that large amounts of dollars may soon have to be used to ensure a federal-free constitution. But for that, the committees in the Green Zone will need several more weeks to work out the price. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9801.htm *** If you missed the candlelight vigil in Culver City Wednesday evening in support oof Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey outside the "summer White House" in Crawford TX, you missed a great turnout -- 200 people at least -- and a great response, non-stop honking from cars going by. A bunch of us agreed to come back this Friday at 5:00 PM and revive the Culver City anti-war vigil, hopefully in an on-going way. Even if only 10% or so of the people who turned out Wednesday come back, it would be a respectable rush hour crowd. People are hungry for signs of movement and opposition to Bush's "endless war." So I hope you can make it this Friday, August 19 at 5:00 PM, outside Culver City City Hall, on the corner of Culver Blvd and Duquesne (across from the post office, where there is plenty of free parking). I will bring some placards and feel free to bring your own. This one is not candle-light, but daylight rush hour. There's always a slew of people leaving the post office and the government buildings there and if it gets too big (hopefully) and Culver City wants a permit for over 50, we can just split up to additional nearby corners. Traffic up the block on Venice, for example, is always non-stop bumper to bumper at that hour on a Friday. If you can't make it this Friday, look for us the Friday after that, 5 PM at CC City Hall. Maybe we can get our group going again and do some educationals. I have the 16 half hour DVDs on the war in Iraq that KPFK offered as a premium, and there's lots of other worthwhile videos or speakers. Another possibility is doing some local leafletting, say at the Farmers' Market or the music events for the September 24 peace rally in LA. Stop the War, End the Occupation! --Michael *** Meditations on Capital Punishment Recent Works by Malaquías Montoya and Posters by the Center for the Study of Political Graphics. WHEN: Saturday, August 20, 7 pm WHERE: Track 16 Gallery Bergamot Station 2525 Michigan Ave. - Bldg. C Santa Monica, CA 90404 WHAT: Panel Discussion: Activism Through Art: The Death Penalty: presented by The L.A. Chapter of Death Penalty Focus with the L.A. Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Malaquías Montoya, co-author Barbara Becnel (Tookie Williams), actors Mike Farrell (President of Death Penalty Focus) and Shelley Fabares. As Montoya states, "We have perfected the art of institutional killing to the degree that it has deadened our national, quintessentially human, response to death. I wanted to produce a body of work depicting the horror of this act." In these works, Montoya illuminates the inhumanity of the horrendous act of premeditated murder committed by the state--a situation where the use of punishment to discourage crime encourages criminality. Malaquías Montoya is a leading figure in the West Coast political Chicano graphic arts movement, a political and socially conscious movement that expresses itself primarily through the mass production of silk-screened posters. Montoya's works include acrylic paintings, murals, washes, and drawings, but he is primarily known for his silkscreen prints, which have been exhibited nationally as well as internationally. He is credited by historians as being one of the founders of the "social serigraphy"' movement in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid - 1960s. His visual expressions, art of protest, depict the struggle and strength of humanity and the necessity to unite behind that struggle. Montoya's work uses powerful images, which are combined with text to create his socially critical messages. In conjunction with the exhibition, Track 16 will host an evening of discussion with the LA Coalition Against the Death Penalty (includes Death Penalty Focus, Amnesty International, Families Against Three Strikes, and other organizations) on Saturday, August 20th at 7:00. ### RADIO INTIFADA Voices of struggle, Voices for change Voices from Kolkata to Casablanca Thursday, August 18th, 2005, 3-4pm KPFK 90.7 fm; and streaming live @ www.kpfk.org The Gaza Disengagement: What Does It Mean? Disengagement . . . deployment . . . withdrawal - all terms being used to characterize the evacuation of the Israeli "settlers" from Gaza. Seldom, however, do we hear the terms or references to occupation and international law. This week's Radio Intifada examines the meaning of the Gaza "disengagement:" What is the plan that Sharon outlined at the beginning of the year and how does this "disengagement" fit in with his broader goal/vision? How will life change for Palestinians in Gaza, particularly those living in the refugee camps? And - what are the larger implications of the Gaza "disengagement" for the future of the Palestinians? Radio Intifada will discuss these issues with our guests from the US, Gaza and the West Bank: Naseer Aruri, Chancellor Professor (Emeritus) of political science, U Mass, Dartmouth Sami Abdel Shafi, Senior Partner at Emerge Consultant Group in Gaza Sam Bahour, El Bireh (West Bank) businessman and regular contributor to Electronic Intifada Produced by Sherna Gluck and co-hosted by Sherna Gluck and Hamoud Salhi from SWANA (South and West Asia and North Africa) collective of KPFK ------------------------ Yahoo! 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