a report on the US raid on Abu Hanifa mosque in Iraq, based on eye-witness testimony...

”Everyone was there for Friday prayers, when five Humvees and several trucks carrying INGs entered,” Abu Talat told IPS on phone from within the mosque while the raid was in progress. ”Everyone starting yelling 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the greatest) because they were frightened. Then the soldiers started shooting the people praying!”

Talat said he was among a crowd of worshippers being held back at gunpoint by U.S. soldiers. Loud chanting of 'Allahu Akbar' could be heard in the background during his call. Women and children were sobbing, he said.

”They have just shot and killed at least four of the people praying,” he said in a panicked voice. ”At least 10 other people are wounded now. We are on our bellies and in a very bad situation.” [more from dahrjamailiraq.com]

the new US attorney general, Al Gonzales, isn't really new at all....

from LA Weekly writer Lou Dubose

The execution memoranda Gonzales prepared for Governor Bush were a prelude to the "torture memos" he prepared for President Bush. In both cases, Bush needed the advice of his lawyer before moving ahead with life-or-death decisions. On Jan. 25, 2002, Gonzales provided that advice in a four-pager to the president, justifying the suspension of Geneva Convention protections for suspected members of the Taliban and al Qaeda. "As you have said, the war against terrorism is a new kind of war," Gonzales wrote to his boss. "The obsolete Geneva Convention's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners renders quaint some of its provisions."

Bush used the memo to override Secretary of State Colin Powell's request to extend Geneva Convention protections to American prisoners of war locked up in Guantanamo. The torture techniques the Gonzales memo allowed for prisoners in Cuba ultimately found their way to the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

by chance, my father was chatting with a friend at an Eid function in dallas-ft. worth last weekend. when he heard about my search for volunteer/intern work in Islamabad, he told my father about his cousin (Dr. Nasim Ashraf) who chairs pakistan's National Commission for Human Development--which, coincidentally, one of you wonderful TIG folks has already recommened to me. so how's that for luck? along with the contact i'd already initiated with NCHD, now i've got a somewhat more personal avenue. we'll see how that turns out.

meanwhile, i'm still keeping my eyes and ears open. one pakistani NGO that i'm particularly excited about is the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. if you have any suggestions on how i can get involved with that group, please contact me (the website doesn't really address volunteer/intern opportunities).

for a lot of people, the US election results felt like a punch in the gut. or else, a slap in the face. how can so many people be mobilized, so much energy be galvanized--and all we get in return is four more years of Bush?

that's how we feel, but it's not the reality. electoral politics isn't the goal. it's ONE means among many. and you'll see us getting back in the streets once again, to make politics matter.

turnyourbackonbush.org

The election is over. The fight is not.

Bush's election is bad for the US, and even worse for the rest of the world. But elections are only one part of democracy. We need to think strategically about direct action, learn from a rich history of nonviolent activism, and develop new tactics to take on this administration.

Let's start from the start: Inauguration Day.

On January 20th, 2005, we're calling for a new kind of action. The Bush administration has been successful at keeping protesters away from major events in the last few years by closing off areas around events and using questionable legal strategies to outlaw public dissent. We can use these obstacles to develop new tactics. On Inauguration day, we don't need banners, we don't need signs, we don't need puppets, we just need people.

We're calling on people to attend inauguration without protest signs, shirts or stickers. Once through security and at the procession, at a given signal, we'll all turn our backs on Bush's motorcade and continue through his speech and swearing in. A simple, clear and coherent message.

so first US Attorney General John Ashcroft resigns--now State Secretary Colin Powell.

is the Bush administration defanging itself? is it meeting the divided nation halfway? hardly.

in addition to Ashcroft and Powell, here are the other Cabinet members taking a bow:

* Commerce Secretary Don Evans
* Agriculture Secretary Anne Veneman
* Education Secretary Rod Paige
* Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham

notice no mention of Condi Rice and Don Rumsfeld. i expect Rummie to stick around for more blood on his hands. but Rice... i think she probably wants to head back to academia.

in any case, before his appointment as Secretary of State, Colin Powell was touring the US as a lecturer on volunteerism and its increasing value in American society. my own university, the University of Texas at Austin, paid Powell $75,000 to speak on the subject.

is Powell taking a break from the war room to get back in touch with himself? is he sick of Bushisms and just wants to 'do good'? just to speculate, i'd say no.

it's possible that the United States populace won't be able to take four more years of radical right politics. in 2007-2008, Hillary Rodham Clinton will be blazing the country with a message of liberalism and normalcy. people will buy it this time. so what will the GOP do? will they prop up another Bush boy (Jeb, Neil?) or will they take a stab at reclaiming the Center? the multi-culti war hero Colin Powell may be the best man for that job.

and how would that be for a new, post-Bush era in American politics? a white woman and a black man running for the top office in 2008...

this morning i heard a public radio commentator put Arafat in the same class as Che Guevara, whom I idolized as a teenager growing up in Texas. "he traded Che's beret for the kuffiyeh," or something like that.

ironically, i considered Arafat a sell-out power-mongerer at the same time i was day dreaming of Che's last stand in Bolivia. this period in my life was just two or three years after the Oslo accords.

it's difficult to get a handle on how americans, specifically the american left, view Arafat's passing. certainly, the right hails this moment as a victory in the 'war on terror' and an opportunity to stand up another US-friendly puppet in the mideast. and while liberals pay their respects to the late Palestinian leader, they also hail his passing as chance to renew the peace efforts of the mid-90s. as if it was only Arafat standing in the way of peace!

meanwhile, the left hasn't said anything that i'm aware of. if i could put myself on the left for a moment, i'd say that i hope the leaders-in-waiting can balance popular support with fresh vision. unfortunately, they can't do it alone. i'd like to see arab leaders come together in earnest to facilitate a peace initiative. i'd like to see the US pressure Sharon to make unprecedented 'concessions.' but what can the Palestinian people do themselves? of course, this is the essential question and the hardest to answer.

Palestinians call for peace talks

for your information...

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Community Organizer
Silicon Valley Health and Environmental Justice Project

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) is a 22-year old non-profit organization committed to environmental justice, clean technology and social justice... SVTC is seeking a Community Organizer for the Health and Environmental Justice Project. The HEJ project is SVTC's local organizing project; HEJ organizes in the low-income Latino community in East San Jose to achieve environments conducive to the health and well-being of the community. [more]


Community Network for Youth Development
Finance/Operations Manager


For the past twelve years, the Community Network for Youth Development (CNYD) has served youth workers and youth-serving organizations in the Bay Area as an intermediary organization.... The Community Network for Youth Development (CNYD) is looking for a results-oriented, resourceful individual to join our staff team. The Finance/Operations Manager will manage and support the accounting, facilities, grant administration, human resources, and information technology functions. Primary responsibility will be to oversee financial management of the organization, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of financial systems and reporting. Regularly provides financial statements conforming to GAAP. Communicate with staff and board on a regular basis. Directs the budgeting process, maintains relationships with lending institutions, suppliers, and insurance providers. [more]

time's flying. i have just two months to find an organization or project to work with while i'm in Islamabad. My stay will cover February-April 2005.

so far i've contacted two groups
• the Asia Foundation
• the International Human Rights Observer

Asia Foundation is, in part, related to huge bodies like USAID and Asia Development Bank. but their legal reform work is appealing to me.

IHRO sounds interesting, as well--though i'm not too clear on what their main projects are.

my only recourse has been to websearch and then email staff at far away offices. naturally, i haven't gotten responses yet from Asia Foundation and IHRO. one other avenue available to me is a group my father is affiliated with, the Human Development Foundation. they have a door open for volunteers, mostly for projects involving literacy, aid, commmunity development, etc.

in any case, let me know if you have any thoughts/suggestions.