Blackwater Rapes Self-Determination

That these scum suckers consider themselves Christians is the most amazing thing. Eric Prince wants to ram his "vocational" school down the throat of San Diego, no matter what the residents think, then he'll preach "values." I guess Prince & Co think they are good citizens, too!

ACTION ALERT! Tue, 27 May 2008

Do Not Allow Blackwater to Bully the City of San Diego
On May 20 2008 in response to the City of San Diego denying the Blackwater mercenary company occupancy of their proposed new training center in Otay Mesa, Blackwater told the San Diego City Council "If we do not hear from you by close of business Friday, we will be forced to consider taking other steps to enforce and protect Blackwater’s rights" after stating that it was their right to train people in counter insurgency operations whether the city and the people want them here or not.
Now we know, on May 27 Blackwater filed suit against the City of San Diego.
BLACKWATER WORLDWIDE SUES CITY OF SAN DIEGO

Council Member Ben Hueso alerted us at today's City Council meeting that Blackwater Worldwide has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego. They want to restrain the City from withholding their occupancy permit on a permanent basis, so they can open their "vocational school" on June 2. In an interview with KPBS' Amitra Sharma, Blackwater representative Brian Bonfiglio charged that the city is "trying to curry favor with activists." WE NEED YOU TO PLEASE WRITE TO THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY ATTORNEY MIKE AGUIRRE AND MAYOR SANDERS IMMEDIATELY asking them to stand firm and not let Blackwater bully its way into San Diego!
Please go to http://www.prcsd.org/ and Click on the Red Action alert; this will take you to our No Mercenaries page where you can:
1. Read Blackwater's complaint against the City (in the Potrero/San Diego column)
2. Link to Amitra Sharma's story on KPBS Radio (in the Electronic Media column)
3. Link to the e-mail addresses of city officials (in the Potrero/San Diego column)
4. Read about the Grand Jury probe into Blackwater shootings today in Washington, D.C. where at least 3 Iraqis testified about the September 17, 2007 shooting in Bagdad's Nisour Square (Mercenary News column) The lawsuit demonstrates just what Blackwater is really about--profiting from war, social unrest and suffering at any cost. It is outrageous that Blackwater is using taxpayer dollars--i.e., their ill-gained profits--to force itself on San Diego. Citizens in San Diego and the City are already suffering from hard economic times and suing the city is another theft of taxpayer money. Blackwater also says that denying them their occupancy is a violation of their Constitutional rights and that they are being treated unfairly! Since when does Blackwater play by the rules?

Let the City know that we don't want Blackwater here under any circumstances.

Blackwater's suit will be heard some time this week in Federal Court; when we find out details--day, time--we'll let you know.
Carol Jahnkow, Director, Peace Resource Center of San Diego http://www.prcsd.org/
For the really wonky & lawyers, go here to read the complaint in pdf format: http://www.prcsd.org/mercs.html

Iraqi Workers Want Unions

Statement by

Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions

to 2008 Chevron and ExxonMobil Shareholder Meetings
by Hassan Juma'a Awad, President, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions

c/o USLAW

On May 28, 2008, Chevron and ExxonMobil Corporations will each conduct their annual shareholder meetings. Chevron will convene its meeting at its world headquarters in San Ramon, CA. ExxonMobil will conduct its meeting in Dallas, Texas. Antiwar, environmental and other social justice organizations will conduct protests at each event.
The following statement from the Federation of Oil Unions in Iraq to the shareholders of each corporation will be presented at press conferences conducted in conjunction with these protests. The statement was transmitted by Hassan Juma'a Awad, President of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, to U.S. Labor Against the War for presentation at these events.

To: The Shareholders of ExxonMobil and Chevron Corporations and All Peace Loving People of the World

From: Hassan Juma'a Awad, President, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)

We call upon the governments, corporations and other institutions behind the ongoing occupation of Iraq to respond to our demands for real democracy, true sovereignty and self-determination, free of all foreign interference.

Five years of invasion, war and occupation have brought nothing but death, destruction, misery and suffering to our people. In the name of our "liberation," more than a million of our citizens have been killed or wounded, our nation's schools, hospitals and other infrastructure have been destroyed, our neighbourhoods have been bombed, our homes have been broken into, our children have been traumatized, many of our family members and neighbours have been assaulted and arrested, our national treasures have been looted, and nearly twenty percent of our people have been turned into refugees.

The continued occupation fuels the violence in Iraq rather than alleviating it. The occupation has helped to foment and then exploit sectarian divisions and terror attacks where there had been none.

The Ba'athist legislation of 1987, which banned trade unions in the public sector and public enterprises (80% of all workers), is still in effect and continues to be enforced against us. Our union offices have been raided. Union property has been seized and destroyed. Our bank accounts have been frozen. Our leaders have been beaten, arrested, abducted and assassinated. Our rights as workers are routinely violated. This is an attack on our rights and the basic precepts of a democratic society. It is a grim reminder of the shadow of dictatorship still stalking our country.

We call upon you and all the world's peace-loving peoples to help us to end the nightmare of occupation and restore our sovereignty and national independence so that we can chart our own course to the future.

1. We demand an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from our country, and utterly reject the agreement being negotiated with the USA for long-term bases and a military presence. Iraq must be returned to full sovereignty.
2. We demand the passage of a labour law promised by our Constitution, that adheres to ILO principles to protect the rights of workers to organize, bargain and strike, independent of state control and interference and on which Iraqi trade unionists have been fully consulted.
3. We demand an end to meddling in our sovereign economic affairs by the International Monetary Fund, the USA and UK, and multinational energy corporations, and recognition that no major economic decisions concerning our services and resources can be made while foreign troops occupy our country.
4. We demand that the US government, oil companies and others immediately cease lobbying for the oil law which would fracture the country and hand control over our oil to multinational companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron. We demand that all oil companies be prevented from entering into any long-term agreement concerning oil while Iraq remains occupied. The Iraqi government must tear up the current draft of the oil law, and begin to develop a legitimate oil policy based on full and genuine consultation with the Iraqi people. Only after all occupation forces are gone should a long term plan for the development of our oil resources be adopted.

We seek your support and solidarity to help us end the military and economic occupation of our country.

We look forward to the day when we have a world based on co-operation and solidarity. We look forward to a world free from war, sectarianism, competition and exploitation.

May 28, 2008

http://uslaboragainstwar.org/

An Appeal from the Dalai Lama

An Appeal
I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the world leaders, Parliamentarians, NGOs and members of the public who have expressed their concern over the recent deeply saddening and tragic events in Tibet. I am also grateful for their efforts to persuade the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with the peaceful protesters, while at the same time calling for meaningful dialogue to resolve the issue.
I believe the recent demonstrations and protests are a manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment not only of the Tibetan people in the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), but also in the outlying traditional Tibetan areas now incorporated into Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, where there exist substantial communities of ethnic Tibetans.
According to reliable sources, the Chinese authorities have deployed large contingents of troops in these traditional Tibetan regions and have not only started to crack down heavily on the Tibetans allegedly involved in the unrest, but also sealed off the areas where protests have taken place.
I therefore appeal for your continued support in calling for an immediate end to the current crackdown, the release of all those who have been arrested and detained, and the provision of proper medical treatment to the injured. We are particularly concerned about the lack of adequate medical facilities, as there are reports of many injured Tibetans being afraid to go to Chinese-run hospitals and clinics.
I would also request you to encourage the sending of an independent international body, to investigate the unrest and its underlying causes, as well as allowing the media and international medical teams to visit the affected areas. Their presence will not only instill a sense of reassurance in the Tibetan people, but will also exercise a restraining influence on the Chinese authorities.
THE DALAI LAMA
April 2, 2008
Contact: Chhime Rigzing Chhoekyapa, Secretary Cell: +91 (0)9816021879
Tenzin Taklha, Joint Secretary Cell: +91 (0)9816021813
http://dalailama.com/news.221.htm
If you haven't signed the Avaaz petition, please do so now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/