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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I have donated to Relief and Development
many times. They are a great organization doing very good, necessary work in
spite of the physical dangers often involved. During the sanctions of <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> they were
very active in trying to help the Iraqis; I used several of their reports in
the early Iraq Notebooks. Lee Loe<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Bill Thomson
[mailto:wthomson@umich.edu] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, September 19, 2006
5:46 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Recipient list suppressed:<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> <st1:place w:st="on">Mideast</st1:place>
Action Alerts</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Please note the several
action alerts below.<br>
<br>
Peace,<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Bill<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>**************************************************<br>
1) Federal Agents Raid Islamic Charity - Life for Relief and Development<br>
2) Pardon Bush for breaking the law?<br>
3) The Dog Ate Bush's WAR CRIMES Defense<br>
<br>
**************************************************<br>
1) Federal Agents Raid Islamic Charity - Life for Relief and Development<br>
<br>
</span></b>Like Peter (below), I have worked with Life for Relief and
Development for many years and have found them to be of the highest integrity
and capability. -- Bill<br>
<br>
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 19:23:30 -0400<br>
From: Peter Lems <PLems@afsc.org><br>
Subject: <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">IRAQ</st1:place></st1:country-region>:
Federal Agents Raid Islamic Charity - Life for Relief and Development<br>
<br>
The Associated Press is reporting that FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force
agents raided the suburban <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Detroit</st1:place></st1:City>
offices<b><span style='font-weight:bold'> Life for Relief and Development</span></b>
- an international Muslim humanitarian organization. It was founded in 1992 to
help people in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and has provided over $50 in humanitarian relief worldwide. <br>
<br>
Life has been deeply involved with relief projects in <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> as well as educational efforts within the
Muslim community in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. We have worked with<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> Life for Relief and Development</span></b> on both
those fronts.<br>
<br>
Life is a member of Interaction, a coalition of more than 160 humanitarian
organizations working on disaster relief, refugee-assistance, and sustainable
development programs worldwide.<br>
<br>
***** <br>
<br>
Federal agents raid Islamic charity in suburban Detroit 18 September 2006 <br>
<u><a
href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/18/america/NA_GEN_US_Muslim_Charity_Raided.php">http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/18/america/NA_GEN_US_Muslim_Charity_Raided.php</a>
</u><br>
<br>
Baghdad Office of Life Raided in Baghdad 17 June 2004 <br>
<u><a
href="http://www.afsc.org/iraq/news/2004/06/baghdad-offices-of-us-muslim-ngo.htm">http://www.afsc.org/iraq/news/2004/06/baghdad-offices-of-us-muslim-ngo.htm</a>
</u><br>
<br>
Water Treatment Center <br>
<u><a
href="http://www.afsc.org/iraq/relief_updates/entries/water_treat_center_032003.htm">http://www.afsc.org/iraq/relief_updates/entries/water_treat_center_032003.htm</a>
</u><br>
<br>
Interaction Home Page <br>
<u><a href="http://www.interaction.org/">http://www.interaction.org/</a> </u><br>
<br>
Life for Relief and Development Home Page <br>
<u><a href="http://www.lifeusa.org/site/PageServer">http://www.lifeusa.org/site/PageServer</a></u>
<br>
<br>
### END ### <br>
<br>
Peter Lems <br>
American Friends Service Committee <br>
1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia PA 19102 <br>
Tel: 215/241-7170 / Fax:215/241-7177 <br>
<u><a href="http://www.afsc.org/human-face/default.htm">http://www.afsc.org/human-face/default.htm</a></u>
<br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>**************************************************<br>
2) Pardon Bush for breaking the law?<br>
<br>
</span></b>Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:58:55 -0700<br>
From: "Nita Chaudhary, MoveOn.org Political Action"
<moveon-help@list.moveon.org><br>
Subject: Pardon Bush for breaking the law?<br>
<br>
This week, the Senate will vote on whether to pardon President Bush for
breaking the law by illegally wiretapping innocent Americans. Can you sign the
petition opposing the Republican move to pardon President Bush for breaking the
law?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="http://pol.moveon.org/dontpardon/?id=8810-430262-YZxLh2v._gmQKjbntAFF_g&t=1">Click
Here</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Dear MoveOn member,<br>
<br>
This week, the Senate is planning to quietly hold a vote that would pardon
President Bush for breaking the law by illegally wiretapping innocent Americans
without warrants. According to Senator Leahy, the bill would "...immunize
officials who have violated federal law by authorizing such illegal activities."<sup>1<br>
<br>
</sup>President Bush broke the law, and courts are starting to agree. Judiciary
Committee Chairman Arlen Specter once said the program was illegal "on its
face." But he has now caved to pressure from Vice President Cheney, and
introduced legislation that marks a new low: the bill justifies everything the
president did. Worse, it makes it legal to wiretap Americans, in secret,
without warrants or oversight, whenever the administration wants to.<sup>2<br>
<br>
</sup>So far, Democrats and some Republicans are holding strong against the
bill, and there are good chances to stop it if enough of us speak up. Can you
sign the petition opposing the Republican move to pardon President Bush for
breaking the law? <br>
<br>
<a
href="http://pol.moveon.org/dontpardon/?id=8810-430262-YZxLh2v._gmQKjbntAFF_g&t=2">http://pol.moveon.org/dontpardon/?id=8810-430262-YZxLh2v._gmQKjbntAFF_g&t=2</a>
<br>
<br>
Many legal experts agree that the president's program to wiretap Americans who
have nothing to do with terrorism violates the law. President Bush already has
the authority to wiretap suspected terroristsand we support that. In fact, his
administration can tap anyone it likes as long as it gets an OK from a court a
few days later.<br>
<br>
Congress should be trying to hold him accountablethat's their job. Instead,
some Republicans are trying to let President Bush off the hook completely. In
fact, the legislation would give the president even more unchecked power.<br>
<br>
Here are some quick facts about the Cheney-Specter bill: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<ul type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>It allows President Bushand every president after
himto wiretap Americans indefinitely, in secret, without a warrant and
without any oversight. <sup>3</sup> <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>It effectively pardons the president for any
illegal behavior by forcing Congress to concede that he has the inherent
authority to conduct the program<sup>4</sup>something federal courts,
numerous legal experts and many leading Republicans disagree with. <sup>5</sup>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>It completely guts FISA (Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act) which has protected the privacy of Americans against
illegal wiretaps for close to 30 years.<sup>6</sup> <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>It prevents any legal challenges from taking
place in the public court system. Instead, it moves all cases to a secret
court, where only Bush administration officials can argue it. <sup>7</sup>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>It would help "immunize" any officials
who broke the law in this program from being held accountable in the
future. <sup>8</sup> <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Since the program was exposed in December of last year, we've learned
that President Bush personally blocked a Justice Department investigation of
the program, Vice President Cheney also personally intervened to stop telecom
companies from testifying to Congress about it, and a federal court recently
ruled the program unconstitutional.<sup>9</sup> In an effort to protect himself
from further consequences, the president is pressuring Congress to let him off
the hook.<br>
<br>
This is an important issue and it will help remind Americans, in an election
year, what Republicans are all aboutaccumulating power for themselves, and
trampling the system of checks and balances designed to stop that. Can you sign
the petition today?<br>
<br>
<a
href="http://pol.moveon.org/dontpardon/?id=8810-430262-YZxLh2v._gmQKjbntAFF_g&t=3">http://pol.moveon.org/dontpardon/?id=8810-430262-YZxLh2v._gmQKjbntAFF_g&t=3</a>
<br>
<br>
It's the Senate's job to act as a check on the president's power. If they can't
do it, they shouldn't be in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>.<br>
<br>
Thanks for all you do,<br>
<br>
Nita, Eli, Jennifer, Wes and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team<br>
Monday, September 18th, 2006<br>
<br>
Sources:<br>
<br>
1. "Today's Republican circus trick: Legislating in the Dark,"
Senator Leahy, provided by the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, September 13,
2006<br>
<a href="http://www.bordc.org/threats/leahy91306.php">http://www.bordc.org/threats/leahy91306.php</a><br>
<br>
"NSA Whitewash Passes Judiciary Committee on Party-Line Vote," People
for the <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">American Way</st1:address></st1:Street>,
September 13, 2006<br>
<a href="http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=22373">http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=22373</a><br>
<br>
2. "NSA Whitewash Passes Judiciary Committee on Party-Line Vote,"
People for the <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">American Way</st1:address></st1:Street>,
September 13, 2006<br>
<a href="http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=22373">http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=22373</a><br>
<br>
3. "Top 5 things Sen. Specter won't tell you about the Cheney-Specter
bill," ACLU<br>
<a href="http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SpecterTop5">http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SpecterTop5</a><br>
<br>
4. ACLU Letter to the Senate Regarding Strong Opposition to the Substitute
Version of S. 2453, the "National Security Surveillance Act of 2006"
May 16, 2006<br>
<a href="http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/25578leg20060516.html">http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/25578leg20060516.html</a><br>
<br>
**Note: The bill has changed slightly from when this letter was written,
however the sections accepting the president's claim of inherent authority
remains<br>
<br>
5."Judge Rules Against Wiretaps," <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State> Post, August 18, 2005<br>
<a
href="http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2096&id=8810-430262-YZxLh2v._gmQKjbntAFF_g&t=4">http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2096&id=8810-430262-YZxLh2v._gmQKjbntAFF_g&t=4</a>
<br>
<br>
"On NSA Spying: A Letter to Congress," New York Review of Books,
February 9, 2006<br>
<a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18650">http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18650</a><br>
<br>
McCain: Bush Does Not Have "The Legal Authority To Engage In These
Warrantless Wiretaps," ThinkProgress, January 22, 2006<br>
<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/22/mccain-wiretaps-illegal/">http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/22/mccain-wiretaps-illegal/</a><br>
<br>
6. "Top 5 things Sen. Specter won't tell you about the Cheney-Specter
bill," ACLU<br>
<a href="http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SpecterTop5">http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SpecterTop5</a><br>
<br>
7. "NSA Bill Performs a Patriot Act," Wire News, September 13, 2006<br>
<a
href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71778-1.html?tw=wn_story_page_next1">http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71778-1.html?tw=wn_story_page_next1</a>
<br>
<br>
8. "Today's Republican circus trick: Legislating in the Dark,"
Senator Leahy, provided by the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, September 13,
2006<br>
<a href="http://www.bordc.org/threats/leahy91306.php">http://www.bordc.org/threats/leahy91306.php</a><br>
<br>
9. ACLU Slams Senate Judiciary Committee Approval of NSA Spying Bills, ACLU,
September 13, 2006<br>
<a href="http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/26722prs20060913.html">http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/26722prs20060913.html</a>
<br>
<br>
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Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. <br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>**************************************************<br>
3) The Dog Ate Bush's WAR CRIMES Defense<br>
<br>
</span></b>Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 17:47:42 -0800<br>
From: The Pen <activist.gb@gmail.com><br>
Subject: The Dog Ate Bush's WAR CRIMES Defense<br>
<br>
PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE ACTION PAGES IN THIS ALERT<br>
<br>
Call Congress NOW at 888-355-3588 or 800-828-0498<br>
<br>
There is an apocryphal tale about a child who, having failed to perform an
assigned task, invented the most outlandish excuse for why he could not produce
the required finished work. We cannot say if there ever was an actual
child who claimed that the dog had eaten his homework. But we have its
equivalent now in the current president of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<br>
<br>
The incredible world spectacle we have is this. First, the president
demands that the War Crimes Act, the law of the land, be changed to accommodate
the crimes that have ALREADY been committed at his direction, specifically to
authorize methods of torture previously and rightfully considered verboten.
If this is not a naked admission that he has broken the law in the most hideous
way we don't know what is. Second, and at the same time, he is demanding
that new laws enacted be to hotrod the prosecution of those he personally deems
enemies of the state. What is he trying to tell the world, that those
people CANNOT be convicted of an offense under our current law, but that he
himself cannot ESCAPE conviction under that same law for what he has done?<br>
<br>
Shame on any member of Congress who signs on to any of this in any part.
Let us address each of these two points in turn<br>
<br>
THE WAR CRIMES ACT MUST NOT BE CHANGED AT ALL<br>
<br>
ACTION PAGE 1: <a href="http://www.usalone.com/wright/pnum500.php"
eudora=autourl>http://www.usalone.com/wright/pnum500.php<br>
<br>
</a>If there was an Olympic event for hypocritical lying, the Bush
administration would have no peer anywhere. But perhaps the biggest
honking lie of all is that the torture of our detainees has given us any
intelligence to make us safer. Indeed, it was information extracted by
torture (of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi) that was used as an EXCUSE by the Bush and
Cheney that it was so drop dead critical to attack and occupy Iraq, now
recognized by all with an honest bone left in their body as the greatest
strategic blunder in our nation's military history. It is all contained
in the Phase 2 Senate Intelligence Committee Report, which Cheney claims not to
have read himself.<br>
<br>
Those who really know interrogation know that information extracted by such
means is BAD intelligence, notwithstanding the most extreme "ticking time
bomb" scenario the Bush regime constantly throws in our faces. But
just as they have systematically done in every other policy area without
exception, those who actually know what they are talking about have here again
been muscled out of government decision making. We are told for example
that the military JAG attorneys were held for hours in a meeting and not
allowed to leave until they signed on to the president's demands.<br>
<br>
And now Bush directly threatens the American people by saying if they will not
rubberstamp his torture program as is, he will scuttle it. That's exactly
akin to a bank robber threatening to stop robbing banks unless we change the
laws to his specifications. Of course it has to stop. When we have
a program that is so destructive to our REAL national security it absolutely
MUST stop. Maybe then, just maybe, we could get back to obtaining good
intelligence of actual value. But Bush in his patented flim-flam way
would make it sound like his critics would have us stop all intelligence
operations to protect our families.<br>
<br>
They have their talking point, that the law needs to be "clarified",
and they are going to keep repeating it like a broken record until we all run
screaming from the room. The problem is that they KNEW they were breaking
international and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
law when they did it, in the most premeditated way, and were so warned in
advance by their own attorney general in no uncertain terms. Part of the
language they would now unilaterally and retroactively excise from Article 3 of
the Geneva Conventions refers to "outrages upon personal dignity, in
particular humiliating . . . " At Abu Ghraib, Bush administration
henchmen DESIGNED methods of treatment with the deliberate intent of being maximally
offensive to their Muslim victims, most of whom were innocent of any crime
whatsoever.<br>
<br>
If war itself were not enough of an atrocity, when the depth of the horrors of
World War II came to light some to the greatest legal minds ever labored to
define in words what civilized people must forever proscribe, even in
war. And in the Geneva Conventions they succeeded. Any who dare to
violate these mutually accepted definitions of despicable behavior are guilty
of war crimes on their face. We need NOT behave as monsters ourselves to
protect our people. Such acts only lead to the remaining civilized people
in the world shunning us as pariahs, to never again volunteer the good
intelligence we really need to thwart those who mean us harm.<br>
<br>
In fact, the Bush administration has repeatedly jeopardized intelligence
operations of REAL value to score media propaganda points. The British
were furious two years ago when they outed a very valuable mole in Al Qaeda,
thereby doing incalculable damage to our ability to stop the bad guys.
And they did it again by pressuring the British to move prematurely on the
recent airline plot, related to so-called "liquid explosives" which
had no chemical possibility of ever being operational. The case against
those plotters and their associates is accordingly weaker than it would have
been otherwise.<br>
<br>
Keep in mind that in both the above situations informants were gained by
winning people to our side. Such intelligence losses cannot be
compensated for by stooping to torture methods which have the exact OPPOSITE
effect.<br>
<br>
DETAINEES MUST BE PROSECUTED UNDER CURRENT LAW<br>
<br>
ACTION PAGE 2: <a href="http://www.usalone.com/wright/pnum501.php"
eudora=autourl>http://www.usalone.com/wright/pnum501.php<br>
<br>
</a>The fact that the detainees HAVE been tortured is precisely the reason why
the Bush administration is so determined to deny them any rights they have
under current law to see the evidence against them, or to have any other
protections thereunder. Secret evidence means keeping also secret their
own war crimes. Either we are a nation of laws or we are not. And
to butcher the law "ex post facto" (after the fact) anytime the
result will not be as we would like is to render our entire legal system of no
force and effect. It is to tell the world that we have laws of convenience
only, and that they are subject to change without notice.<br>
<br>
There are disreputable precedents in world history, the Star Chamber, kangaroo
courts and show trials. The Supreme Court, even stacked as it is already
is with Bush beholden appointees, has ruled that the military tribunals
proposed are contrary to the Constitution itself, let alone statutory
law. The solution is not to enact further Constitutional outrages in the
Congress, perhaps in hopes of stacking a contrary deciding fifth additional vote
by the time it arrives back at the Supreme Court.<br>
<br>
The detainees must be prosecuted under existing law. To do otherwise is
to send the loudest message possible to the entire world that we believe THEY
HAVE COMMITTED NO CRIME FOR WHICH THEY CAN BE PROSECUTED. Some who were
irrefutably innocent have already been released after years of torture, and
with no apology or compensation for their ordeal. If the truly guilty
cannot be found so under current law, we have no moral standing in the world
left at all.<br>
<br>
There's a ticking time bomb alright, but unfortunately it's our own current
president of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Day by day he becomes more
pugnacious and more defiant. It is just a matter of time before he
commits an atrocity in our name so heinous that no American will ever be safe
ever again anywhere in the world, unless he is peacefully and swiftly removed
from office.<br>
<br>
And if a dog did eat his homework, it would have been a dog of war.<br>
<br>
This alert is brought to you through the activism of James Wright, running for
the U.S. House in the 8th Congressional district, and one of the leading
progressive voices in the state of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:State>.
Follow the other links on the action page for Jim's own proposals of bills to
REALLY protect us.<br>
<br>
When a brave candidate steps forward in such a district as <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:State> 8th, shall we do anything to show him
our support? If so, please also consider making a donation to Jim's
campaign so he can spread the call to action message on impeachment, starting
to bring our troops home from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and on so many other issues.<br>
<br>
DONATIONS: <a href="http://www.usalone.com/wright/donations.php"
eudora=autourl>http://www.usalone.com/wright/donations.php<br>
<br>
</a>Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be
ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know.<br>
<br>
If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at <a
href="http://www.usalone.com/in.htm" eudora=autourl>http://www.usalone.com/in.htm<br>
<br>
</a>Or if you want to cease receiving our messages, just use the function at <a
href="http://www.usalone.com/out.htm" eudora=autourl>http://www.usalone.com/out.htm<br>
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