Yes, I agree totally with Loraine. I got the same impression --- this is the same as the neo-con... you wish for "elections" but if people elect someone you don't like... well then you go about wishing for "regime change" --- How is that really , when it comes down to it, any different than the neo-con imperialists? Well the left better start get used to seeing this happen all over the mid-east... or, remain totally irrelevant other than Saturday afternoon marches... -----Original Message----- >From: "L. Mirza" <haq4u@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >Sent: May 25, 2006 11:31 AM >To: NewPacifica@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >Subject: Re: [NewPacifica] FW: [LAAMN] Neither U.S. Aggression Nor Theocratic >Repression > >This is bullshit, big time. How dare others who do not >live in Iran tell the Iranis what form of government >they should have. > >I applaud the majority of the Irani working class, and >working poor for their good judgement in chosing the >government. I wonder how many on that list of >signatories has actually been in Iran, has actually >met thousands of those "theocrats" label them. > >Sure like the priviliged classes in Cuba and >Venueseula, the wealthy Iranians don't support the >Islamic government. But the working class and the poor >know exactly what they want! In the elections before >this one they tried a so-called moderate (Khatamie) >and after being neglected, burned and watching their >society turn into greedy western style consumerism, >70% of the people of Iran came out and voted, and the >majority voted for the most religious of the >candidates. > >You know the left/progressive intelligencia is not so >superior as they claim. They just as ignorant and >prejudice and the neo-cons. > >--- Richard <rsierra7@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: laamn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >> [mailto:laamn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of >> Ed Pearl >> Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 6:03 AM >> To: Ed Pearl >> Subject: [LAAMN] Neither U.S. Aggression Nor >> Theocratic Repression >> >> >> >> Iran: Neither U.S. Aggression Nor Theocratic >> Repression >> - A call for a new, democratic U.S. foreign policy >> in >> the Middle East >> >> Dear Friend, >> >> As the Administration escalates its threats against >> Iran, we are writing to invite you to sign the >> Campaign >> for Peace and Democracy statement "Iran: Neither >> U.S. >> Aggression Nor Theocratic Repression - A call for a >> new, democratic U.S. foreign policy in the Middle >> East." The text is below. If you would like to add >> your >> name or donate to publicize the statement, please go >> to >> our website www.cpdweb.org (if for any reason you >> have >> difficulty at the website, just send us an email at >> cpd@xxxxxxx) >> >> Please join Michael Albert, Tom Ammiano, Stanley >> Aronowitz, Rosalyn Baxandall, Eileen Boris, Jeremy >> Brecher, Noam Chomsky, Ariel Dorfman, Martin >> Duberman, >> Rusti Eisenberg, Carlos R. Espinosa, Samuel Farber, >> Mansour Farhang, Barbara Garson, Larry Gross, Mina >> Hamilton, Thomas Harrison, Howie Hawkins, Adam >> Hochschild, Nancy Holmstrom, Doug Ireland, Joy >> Kallio, >> Larry Kramer, Joanne Landy, Jesse Lemisch, John >> Leonard, Sue Leonard, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Nelson >> Lichtenstein, Norman MacAfee, Marvin & Betty >> Mandell, >> David McReynolds, David Oakford, Barbara Watson >> Pillsbury, Henry Pillsbury, Frances Fox Piven, Nancy >> Romer, Ruth Rosen, Peter Rothberg, Matthew >> Rothschild, >> Jennifer Scarlott, Jay Schaffner, Sydney Schanberg, >> Stephen R. Shalom, Wallace Shawn, Meredith Tax, >> Cornel >> West, Cora Weiss, Peter Weiss, Edmund White, >> Reginald >> Wilson, and Howard Zinn in signing this statement. >> >> Signers names and affiliations (for identification >> only) will be listed on the Campaign for Peace and >> Democracy website and in other public venues. >> >> In peace and solidarity, >> >> Joanne Landy, Thomas Harrison, and Jennifer Scarlott >> Co-Directors, Campaign for Peace and Democracy >> Please >> go to the CPD website at www.cpdweb.org to sign, >> donate, or see the full list of signers. >> >> IRAN: NEITHER U.S. AGGRESSION NOR THEOCRATIC >> REPRESSION >> >> Just as it did before its invasion of Iraq, the Bush >> administration is manufacturing a climate of fear in >> order to prepare public opinion for another act of >> aggression -- this time against Iran. Three years >> ago >> it was the specter of Saddam Hussein's alleged >> weapons >> of mass destruction; today it's the threat of a >> possible Iranian nuclear bomb. Washington's >> immediate >> goal is to get the U.N. Security Council to impose >> sanctions on Iran and, in all probability, to >> justify a >> military attack on Tehran's nuclear facilities -- a >> job >> that may be outsourced to Israel. The White House >> even >> insists on keeping the catastrophic "nuclear option" >> on >> the table -- that is, using tactical nuclear weapons >> to >> strike Iranian nuclear facilities, many of which are >> located in or near civilian population centers. >> Although a full-scale invasion of Iran is highly >> unlikely at the moment, there can be little doubt >> that >> the neoconservatives in the Bush administration have >> a >> grand strategy that includes, eventually, "regime >> change" in Tehran as a way of further enlarging U.S. >> imperial power. >> >> We strongly oppose the U.S. occupation of Iraq: it >> has >> brought appalling suffering to the Iraqi people with >> fatalities in the tens of thousands, descent into >> civil >> war and the strengthening of the most authoritarian >> elements in Iraqi society -- as well as more than >> 2,400 >> U.S. soldiers dead and thousands more wounded. >> Likewise, the U.S. government's attempts to bully >> Iran >> are succeeding mainly in terrorizing the Iranian >> people >> and weakening internal opposition to the mullahs. >> The >> Bush administration's claim that it is promoting >> democracy in these two countries is the grossest >> hypocrisy; its only interest is power and control of >> oil resources. We, on the other hand, care very much >> about the ability of the Iraqi and Iranian people to >> control their own societies, about civil liberties >> and >> the rights of women, gays, workers, and ethnic >> minorities there. That is why we raise our voices >> against the current threats to Iran and call for >> immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq. >> >> We too would like to see a regime change in Tehran, >> but >> one brought about by the Iranian people themselves, >> not >> by Washington. For 26 years Iran has been ruled by a >> repressive theocracy. Behind the formal trappings of >> democracy, real power is held by an un-elected >> oligarchy of clerics; all electoral candidates must >> receive their approval, and their authority is >> enforced >> by gangs of religious thugs. President Ahmadinejad >> is a >> Holocaust denier who has called for the elimination >> of >> Israel. >> >> Iranian women lack some of the most basic human >> rights. >> They cannot dress, work, travel or choose spouses >> freely. "Honor killing" is legal, and by law women >> can >> be hanged or stoned to death for "unchaste >> behavior." >> Millions of Iranian women find ways to at least >> partly >> circumvent these restrictions, and relatively few >> suffer the most extreme penalties. Women vote and >> sit >> in parliament, and there are significant numbers of >> women both in university and at the workplace.But >> the >> fact remains that there are few countries in the >> world >> where women face legal handicaps as severe as those >> in >> Iran. >> >> Workers who try to strike or form independent trade >> unions are often violently put down. Large numbers >> of >> workers have not been paid for months and in some >> cases >> for years. Attempts to organize are frequently >> attacked >> by club- and knife-wielding mercenaries, security >> forces and the military. Despite this repression, >> workers are continuing to organize, however, and >> independent unions are gaining a foothold. >> >> As in many countries, homosexuality is outlawed, but >> Tehran has gone further than most by making >> homosexual >> conduct by men or women punishable by death and >> unleashing a vicious pogrom against Iranian gays, >> many >> of whom have been tortured, beaten, and publicly >> executed. The government is carrying on a massive >> campaign of entrapment through the Internet; victims >> are subjected to constant surveillance, loss of >> employment, arrest, and violent blackmail that >> forces >> them to reveal the names of other homosexuals. >> Torture >> is used to make gay people confess to crimes they >> never >> committed. The basiji and other religious parapolice >> forces kidnap gay people, who are sequestered and >> tortured until they name names. Gays on the >> government's lists are forbidden to leave the >> country. >> And now Iran has exported its violent anti-gay >> crusade >> to Iraq. >> >> In recent years there has been growing resistance >> within Iranian society, particularly from workers >> fighting privatization and unemployment and young >> people chafing against social and political >> repression. >> This resistance holds the promise of bringing >> grassroots democratic change to Iran. The threat of >> military action or broader and harsher sanctions >> from >> outside -- and especially the horrifying menace of >> nuclear strikes --only serve to rally people around >> the >> regime and to give it another excuse to clamp down >> on >> dissent, inhibiting a potentially revolutionary >> process >> and strengthening the right-wing clerics. U.S. >> threats >> have already served to legitimize nuclear weapons to >> the Iranian people. >> >> Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has >> the right to develop civilian nuclear power, though >> the >> Bush administration has tried to obscure this fact. >> Many of us oppose the use of nuclear power by any >> country, both for environmental reasons and because >> of >> its link to nuclear weapons -- but that is not the >> issue in the present U.S.-Iran confrontation. While >> there is reason to doubt Tehran's assurances that it >> only wants to develop civilian nuclear energy, Iran >> is >> probably still several years away from being able to >> produce nuclear weapons. And if Tehran acquires the >> bomb, it is unlikely that the ayatollahs, who hold >> decisive power, would use it since it would be >> suicidal >> to do so. Israel alone has between 200 and 300 >> nuclear >> warheads capable of striking Iran, and this is not >> counting the thousands of warheads the U.S. can >> launch >> at Iran. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that >> Iran, >> or any other state armed with nuclear weapons, won't >> use them or make them available to others. As long >> as >> these barbaric weapons exist, they can be used, and >> the >> more countries that possess them the more likely it >> is >> over time that they will be used. >> >> We therefore strongly oppose any effort by Tehran to >> acquire nuclear weapons. But as long as a handful of >> nations arrogate to themselves the exclusive right >> to >> possess nuclear weapons, the have-nots will always >> be >> able to point to the threat posed by the nuclear >> powers >> and will constantly seek to acquire such weapons for >> themselves -- as North Korea has already done, >> withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty >> regime. >> Likewise, Iran, which has been menaced by the U.S. >> for >> more than two decades and was a charter member of >> Bush's "axis of evil," may opt out of the NPT. >> >> An end to Washington's belligerence is a crucial >> step >> in preventing Tehran from joining the nuclear >> "club." >> Beyond that, the only way to stop proliferation is >> for >> those countries that have nuclear weapons to begin >> disarming -- something the Bush administration and >> previous administrations of both parties have >> refused >> to do, despite the fact that the U.S. is a signatory >> to >> the Non-Proliferation Treaty which commits it to >> "pursue negotiations in good faith on effective >> measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms >> race >> at an early date and to nuclear disarmament." At the >> same time the nuclear powers must work toward >> nuclear- >> free zones around the world, but especially in the >> Middle East, a particularly volatile and dangerous >> region. >> >> We call for a new democratic U.S. foreign policy >> that >> would deal with the threat posed to all of us by >> terrorist networks, and by weapons of mass >> destruction, >> and promote real democracy in the Middle East and >> elsewhere, by: >> >> Renouncing the use of military intervention to >> extend >> and consolidate U.S. imperial power, and withdrawing >> U.S. troops and bases from the Middle East. >> >> Ending U.S. support for authoritarian and corrupt >> regimes, e.g. Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and >> Egypt. >> >> Opposing all forms of terrorism worldwide -- by Al >> Qaeda, Iraqi death squads, and Palestinian suicide >> bombers, and by U.S.-backed forces like the >> Colombian >> paramilitaries and the Israeli military in the >> Occupied >> Territories -- as well as the brutality and >> humiliation >> inflicted on Iraqis every day by U.S. occupation >> forces >> and Washington's ominous threats against Iran. >> >> Supporting the right of national self-determination >> for >> all peoples in the Middle East, including the Kurds, >> Palestinians and Israeli Jews. Ending support for >> Israeli occupation of the West Bank and oppression >> of >> the Palestinian people. >> >> Taking unilateral steps toward renouncing weapons of >> mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, and >> vigorously promoting international disarmament >> treaties, instead of obstructing even minimal >> efforts >> to end the arms race. >> >> Abandoning the effort to impose, through the >> IMF/World >> Bank or unilaterally, neoliberal economic policies >> of >> privatization and austerity that bring mass misery >> to >> people in large parts of the world. Initiating a >> major >> foreign aid program directed at popular rather than >> corporate needs. >> >> The majority of people in this country now believe >> that >> the invasion of Iraq was disastrously wrong and that >> they were systematically lied to by the Bush >> Administration about the reasons for going to war, >> and >> they are wary of new U.S. military intervention in >> the >> Middle East. At the same time, the administration's >> scare tactics may succeed in generating popular >> support >> for aerial attacks on Iran. It is therefore >> imperative >> to speak out now against Washington's threats, to >> educate public opinion, and to build organized >> opposition to aggression against Iran, as well as >> support for immediate, complete withdrawal from >> Iraq. >> It is time to demand a new democratic U.S. foreign >> policy that genuinely expresses solidarity with the >> aspirations of people for liberty everywhere, >> renounces >> once and for all imperial intervention, and is >> committed to real disarmament. >> >> [CPD's previous statements, including "We Oppose >> Both >> Saddam Hussein and The War Against Iraq: A call for >> a >> new, democratic U.S. foreign policy," have appeared >> in >> The New York Times, The Nation, and The Progressive, >> as >> well as on many websites and listserves in this >> country >> and abroad. Your tax deductible donation will enable >> us >> to publicize this declaration of opposition to war >> and >> repression in these dangerous times.] >> >> >_______________________________________________________ >> >> portside (the left side in nautical parlance) is a >> news, >> discussion and debate service of the Committees of >> Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. It aims >> to >> provide varied material of interest to people on the >> left. >> >> To subscribe: >> http://lists.portside.org/mailman/listinfo/portside >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx> >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx> >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Digest: <mailto:laamn-digest@xxxxxxxxxxx> >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Help: <mailto:laamn-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx?subject=laamn> >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Post: <mailto:laamn@xxxxxxxxxxx> >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Archive2: >> <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@xxxxxxxxxxx> >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Yahoo! Groups Links >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor >> --------------------~--> >> Everything you need is one click away. Make Yahoo! >> your home page now. >> >http://us.click.yahoo.com/AHchtC/4FxNAA/yQLSAA/xYTolB/TM >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> >> >> >> New Pacifica Working Group >> http://www.egroups.com/group/NewPacifica >> 'Save Our Stations!' >> Yahoo! Groups Links >> >> >> NewPacifica-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >> >> >> >> >> > > >Loraine >= = = = = = = = = = = >Read "Internment Camps of Bangladesh," by Loraine Mirza >Published by Crescent International Newspapers, Inc. >300 Steelcase Road West, Unit 8, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 2W2 >"The story of a long-suffering people told with compassion and sensitivity. >All who care for justice must read this book. Loraine Mirza, an American >Muslim print and broadcast journalist, has written this remarkable account of >the 'Stranded Pakistanis,' trapped in internment camps in Bangladesh since >1972." (Zafar Bangash, Director of Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought.) >For more information: >e-mail: haq_for_u@xxxxxxxxxxx > info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > crescent@xxxxxxxxxxxx > crescent.uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx >Visit web sites: www.statelesspeopleinbangladesh.net > www.strandedpakistanis.com > www.OBATHelpers.org > www.muslimedia.com > www.ihrc.org > > > >New Pacifica Working Group >http://www.egroups.com/group/NewPacifica >'Save Our Stations!' >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Everything you need is one click away. 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