Re-arrest of Mordechai Vanunu 11-29-2004

29, November 2004            RE: Re-arrest of Mordechai Vanunu

Dear Mr. Sharon,     

I am writing to express my outrage over the re-arrest of Mordechai Vanunu on the morning of November 11 in his room at St. George’s Cathedral in East Jerusalem, by a large posse of police officers. While the world media turned its attention to the burial of Yasser Arafat, your military police took full advantage of the situation and proceeded to whisk away Vanunu to an undisclosed prison. His only crime was to reveal the terrible truth that Israel is trying to hide:  its large stockpile of WMD’s that have been concealed from Israeli citizens and the world at large.

As you aware, Vanunu worked in Israeli’s secret nuclear program in the Dimona nuclear “research center” in the Negev Desert at Beersheba in the 1980's. During this period he was increasingly troubled by his country’s disregard and contempt for international law. Accordingly, he took extensive photographs inside the nuclear facility and finally went public with his story in the London Sunday Times on October 5, 1986. He was subsequently arrested and spent the next 18 years in prison.

I call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mordechai Vanunu.

It is tragic that we have waged a war on Iraq who imposed no threat to us, but remain silent to Israeli’s development of WMD’s for more than 20 years in complete disregard and contempt for international law.

Bush Supporters 11-28-2004

28, November 2004                           Bush Supporters - shame on you!

To all those Indian Americans that were fawning over and supporting the election of President Bush I say shame on you! It is a travesty that so many Indian Americans are only concerned with their narrow interests rather than the greater good of society and the world at large. Tax refunds disproportionately benefitting the wealthy, special favors and access granted to the rich and famous.

In a significant rebuff, senior administration officials at the White House officials chose to remain absent at the Diwali celebrations on November 10. Let this be a harsh lesson for you Indian Republican supporters (IRS) - you have been used and abused.

Now that Bush is back in the White House we can expect more of the same. Our trade imbalance and deficit spending will increase dire warnings from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank notwithstanding. Sadly, our children will be saddled with the debt. It is significant that Alan Greenspan delayed his speech critical of the Bush fiscal policies until after the election. It is cruelly ironic and ludicrous that The Bush Administration, who are so admired by many Indo-Americans should, claim the moral high ground, repeating the big lie that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD's and was responsible for the 9/1 1 attacks. And so, we waged a ruthless war on a sovereign state killing over 1,000,000 Iraqi civilians, mainly young women and children. The horrific graphic images and ear piercing sounds of the wounded are well hidden from the American public lest our support should weaken.

The head of Turkey's parliamentary human rights group accused Washington of genocide. A humanitarian crisis has occurred with tens of thousands of civilians fleeing towns and cities. International relief agencies can no longer offer operate in Iraq because of the security crisis. The number of children suffering from acute malnutrition has doubled since the US led invasion. The coffins of American soldiers and the wounded remain hidden. The number of independent reporters has vanished, replaced by embedded reporters who rarely venture beyond the confines of their protectors. A self-imposed censorship has replaced the old gumshoe reporting and reporters have muted their criticism and moved in lock step to official White House sunny pronouncements of the war's progress.

Incredibly, the compliant press and lawmakers have assumed the moral high ground in denouncing those who oppose our illegal occupation as the 'bad guys' and we, who rain down 500/1000 pound bombs and have launched a reign of terror, as the good guys. All this has occurred with a deafening silence of the American public and our timid lawmakers who have a mortal fear of challenging the Administration. And so the killing goes on and on. This war has already been lost. It cannot be won because it is routed in falsehood. It violates a basic tenet of all religious faiths. It is anti-Christ, anti-Hindu, anti-Islam, anti-Sikh , , ,..

On the home front, we have polluted God's home by relaxing environmental laws. We offer no succor for the 48 million Americans without health insurance. Billions are pouring into the coffers of defense contractors who are busy building high tech killing machines. We pagans are ripe for conversion by the likes of Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart and Bob Jones. Our mandirs and gurdwaras were under attack after 9/11. This is likely to re-occur with the rise of religious fanaticism and another terrorist attack. Our Muslim brothers and sisters are already in a state of siege. Many Muslim men are languishing jail without access to legal counsel. I urge IRS's to do some serious soul searching and reject the siren song of unbridled wealth and power and work for a world order based on peace and justice.

Bush/Kerry Debate 10-3-2004

3, October 2004                       Bush/Kerry Debate

The first Bush/Kerry debate revealed in stark visual images and verbal responses that President Bush is unfit and grossly unqualified to retain the high office of the President of our great country.

Among his more egregious utterances were frequent references to the "coalition of the willing'. The governments of Britain, Australia and Poland did not act in concert with the will of the people who opposed the war in Iraq. Checkbook diplomacy was used to coerce these countries to commit troops.

No attempt was made to gain the support of the UN, contrary to Mr. Bush's assertions. "Old Europe' was dismissed and treated with contempt and denied the reconstruction spoils of war.

Osama bin Laden was forgotten and Saddam Hussein suddenly became a "gathering threat', ready to launch his mythical WMD's.The "mission accomplished' has become "mission impossible'. The International Court at The Hague was dismissed as irrelevant. Experts are now saying that poor planning for the occupation has overstretched our armed forces and put us on the road to a draft.

The violence and mayhem in Iraq has increased. Our troops and Iraqis are dying in greater numbers. There is no exit strategy.

Fortunately, we do have an exit strategy for Mr. Bush on November 2.

Prisoner Abuse 3-29-2004

29, March 2004                      Prisoner Abuse

In yet another sad episode of official denial into the sadistic behavior of prison guards at Abu Garaib and other prisons, a high-level army investigation cleared four top officers who were in charge of prison policies. It defies belief that top army officials and Pentagon policy makers were unaware of the torture and brutality of these guards. If this is indeed true, these officials are surely guilty of dereliction of duty and outright incompetence and must be held accountable.

In a companion story, Army Gen. George W. Casey said he had no reason to believe that U.S. officials were warned that Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian reporter who was kidnaped and subsequently released, and her bodyguard and driver were on the airport road when their car came under attack from US forces. According to Italian reports, the US military had been alerted and an Italian jet transport was waiting and ready at Bagdad airport.

In a desperate effort to escape the watchful eyes of human rights groups, the Pentagon is now outsourcing torture (rendition) to autocratic and repressive regimes mimicking Saddam Hussein's. How can our government officials, religious leaders and indeed the American people choose to remain silent and thereby acquiesce in the mistreatment of prisoners, most of whom are innocent according to the ICRC? How can these same officials who claim to revere life and oppose abortion be so indifferent to the suffering of people of other faiths and nationalities?

Bush's Israel policy is outrageous 3-29-2004

29, March 2004 Bush's Israel policy is outrageous
The illegal settlements were built in gross violation of U.N. sanctions, and Israel has shown its contempt for international law by refusing to implement 28 U.N. Security Council resolutions and several General Assembly resolutions calling for Israel to withdraw from Arab lands. The brutal assassinations of two Hamas leaders along with scores of civilians were another clear violation of International law. This blatant partiality and continued financial support to Israel will serve as a death sentence to hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians and will expose all Americans to danger.

Pouring fuel onto a roaring inferno is the grand finale of the "road map to peace." I urge all readers who support peace and justice to contact their elected officials and demand that our tax dollars not be used to support state-sponsored terrorism.

Israel assassinates Hamas leader 3-27-2004

27, March 2004                    Israel assassinates Hamas leader

The assassination of the Hamas leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, is a clear violation of international law, roundly condemned by most of the world, including the United Nations. Perhaps some of your readers may not be aware that the Hamas leader was held in a maximum security Israeli prison. Why then was he released? There is growing body of evidence that Tel Aviv gave financial aid to Hamas for many years. “Israel aided Hamas directly - as a counterbalance to the PLO”- Tony Cordesman, Middle East analyst for the Center for Strategic Studies.  Brigadier General Yithaq, the former military governor of Gaza, had publicly stated that he had help fund “Islamic movements such as Hamas as a counterweight to the PLO”. The highly respected Jewish scholar, Dr. Susan Green, confirmed Israel’s complicity in a recent interview with Dennis Bernstein of KPFA. Why would Israel fund a terror organization such as Hamas?

The answer is self-evident. Israel has never been serious in negotiating peace with the moderate faction of the Palestinian Authority. Thus, the lives of Israeli men, women and children have been sacrificed at the altar of this immoral and reprehensible policy. The illegal occupation of Palestine, land theft in the form of illegal settlements, the apartheid wall which has further expropriated land and trapped Palestinians in tight enclaves, checkpoints to protect illegal settlements - have collectively fueled Palestinian rage and a strong desire for revenge.

Unless we can persuade our government to stop funding Israeli state sponsored terrorism, more of our precious Israeli and Palestinian brothers, sisters and children will perish.

Israel 3-7-2004

7, March 2004 Response to local letter writers RE: Israel
Sheree Roth (PA Daily Thursday March 4), Rachel Reznichenko and David Meir-Levi (Daily March 7) all seem to be troubled that the cruel, sadistic policies of the Israeli government are finally receiving much needed media attention. If indeed the wall is needed to protect Israel from suicide bombers, then why not construct the wall on the Israeli side of the border? A Power Point presentation given at Stanford yesterday by Dr. Barghouti, exposes the myth that the wall is being constructed for security purposes. It shows the wall meandering deep inside Palestine, expropriating huge swaths of land and isolating whole villages. According to the U.N., the partially constructed fence already puts 16% of the West Bank and 13,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side!. A startling new fact emerged from Barghouti's presentation. Israeli is now planning to build an eastern wall to further hem in the Palestinians. Compounding the suffering, is the Israeli checkpoints through which Palestinians must pass.

These checkpoints have been strategically located to protect illegal Israeli settlements. Strip searches, denial of health services and myriad of other indignities have been heaped on the civilian population at these checkpoints. I sincerely hope the International Court will censure Israel and focus more world attention on the sad plight of the Palestinians.

Israel 3-7-2004

7, March 2004                        Response to local letter writer RE: Israel

Sheree Roth (PA Daily Thursday March 4), Rachel Reznichenko and David Meir-Levi (Daily March 7) all seem to be troubled that the cruel, sadistic policies of the Israeli government are finally receiving much needed media attention. If indeed the wall is needed to protect Israel from suicide bombers, then why not construct the wall on the Israeli side of the border? A Power Point presentation given at Stanford yesterday by Dr. Barghouti, exposes the myth that the wall is being constructed for security purposes. It shows the wall meandering deep inside Palestine, expropriating huge swaths of land and isolating whole villages.

According to the U.N., the partially constructed fence already puts 16% of the West Bank and 13,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side! A startling new fact emerged from Barghouti’s presentation. Israeli is now planning to build an eastern wall to further hem in the Palestinians. Compounding the suffering, is the Israeli checkpoints through which Palestinians must pass. These checkpoints have been strategically located to protect illegal Israeli settlements. Strip searches, denial of health services and myriad of other indignities have been heaped on the civilian population at these checkpoints.  I sincerely hope the International Court will censure Israel and focus more world attention on the sad plight of the Palestinians.

Senator Feinstein re: Aristide of Haiti 3-7-2004

                                                      7,March 2004                               Senator Feinstein re: Aristide of Haiti        

I am profoundly concerned by the proliferation of arms, which has contributed to devastating atrocities around the world. Often these arms flow to countries and armed groups who use them for torture, repression, and crimes against humanity. It is estimated that arms kill approximately 1,300 people daily across the globe - total of half a million per year or almost one life per minute. Sadly, our government is contributing to this human carnage. Its arms exports far exceeds that of other countries. For example, large shipments of M16's and M60's were sent to thugs and criminals in the Dominican Republic who used them, at the behest of the CIA, to overthrow Aristide. It is unconscionable that our tax dollars are being used to destabilize democratically elected governments. Coupled with a trade embargo and $500 million in desperately needed funds withheld by our administration, the fate of Haiti was sealed.

The Democratically elected Republic of the Congo (DRC) is yet another example of US arms sales that have caused misery and devastation on human rights. Over 3 million have died in the DRC since 1998. Abuses include mass killings, the widespread use of torture, the use of landmines, and killings. From 1998 to 2001, the five permanent members of the United States Security Council, the US, UK, France, Russia and China are responsible for a staggering 82% of conventional arms sales. This is an outrage. To exact profits from impoverished nations is a crime against humanity. We are guilty of complicity in the crimes committed by these illicit arms sales. Other countries, most notably Belgium, Israel and Spain have also shipped arms to the DRC.

The US Senate has an obligation to halt the illicit trade. I urge you to table a motion to demand that the Bush Administration takes immediate steps to halt the export of weapons which is contributing to the horror and human suffering in many parts of the world.

Finally, I ask that you ask for an immediate enquiry into circumstances leading to the ouster of Aristide and hold the Bush Administration, accountable for subverting democracy in Haiti and causing death and destruction in a nation already reeling from 100 years of misguided US foreign policy.

President Bush & 911 3-4-2004

                                       4 March, 2004                                     President Bush & 911

I am outraged that the White House junta has launched its Bush 're-election' campaign with a media blitz depicting the raw imagery of Ground Zero. This is blatant exploitation of our national tragedy to advance his political agenda -another example of a broken promise he made to the American people on 1/23/03, that "I will not use the tragedy of 9/11 as a political issue." Family members of the victims of 9/11 are especially upset because of Bush's refusal to testify before the 9/11 commission. The is the beginning of a campaign to perpetuate the myth of a 'popular war time president', who has fortified the resolve of our enemies by his preemptive war on Iraq based on mythical WMD, and 9/11, al Queda connections. Sadly, Bush has declared war on vanishing middle class families, the environment, our civil liberties and even on our children by under -funding the 'no child left behind' by $200 million.

It’s time for a regime change in Washington. Let us send this president back to Texas or perhaps to Alabama to complete his missing one year service in the National Guard.

Early history of Israel 2-25-2004

25, February 2004         Response to Stanford Daily – early history of Israel

I am appalled that the ‘Daily’ should choose to advertise David Horowitz inflammatory diatribe against the suffering of the Palestinians. Hororwitz seems to be inflicted with a convenient bout of amnesia ignoring the circumstances immediately preceding the birth of Israel. The British agreed to an independent Palestinian state in a White Paper published in 1939. Palestine would be an independent state with a Jewish minority limited to 30%. Immigration would be curtailed and purchased of land strictly controlled. The Zionists refused to accept these terms and Haganah, an Israeli terrorist organization, launched a violent campaign to displace Palestinians from their home land. A full day before Britain was to relinquish her power, Israel proclaimed herself a ‘reborn’ nation. By 1948 Jews, a third of the population, owned only 5.6% of the land. However, the UN, under intense pressure from Britain and the US, offered a staggering 56% of Palestine to the proposed Jewish state. Not surprisingly, Palestinians objected. In the ensuing fighting, 780,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled and their homes seized by the Israeli government. By 1953, 370 illegal settlements were formed on land belonging to Palestinian  refugees. Land acquisition for Jewish settlements continues unabated. Sharon’s apartheid wall will expropriate more land, create even greater hardships and confine Palestinians to only 42% of the West Bank! 

The current plight of the Palestinians is best described by Shlomo Avineri, the distinguished Israeli academic, “we remain a neocolonial relationship with the Palestinians, we do things which are incompatible with being a democracy. It coarsens Israeli life, making us all racists. It is utterly demeaning for the Palestinians, who are lined up and searched like cattle every day.”  House demolitions are the order of day. Palestinian civilians are killed with impunity. Even children are not spared. The ghoulish practice of killing children for sport was documented by Chris Hedges of the New York Times.

Israel is now mimicking the savage behavior of the Nazi’s. I urge Horowitz to see the movie ‘Jenin Jenin’ which documents in graphic terms the genocide committed by Israeli forces in April 2002.

Israel’s top ranking soldier, Lt. General Moshe Yaalon, stated that hard lines policies of Sharon works against Israeli interests, increases hatred for Israel and strengthens ‘terror’ organizations. 

Many Israeli reserve pilots presented a signed petition stating they would refuse to take part in “illegal and immoral” strikes in Palestinians areas in the West Bank and Gaza strip. This follows the action of hundreds of reserve soldiers who have pledged not to serve in the West Bank and Gaza strip. One of the petition’s signers was Yiftach Spector, a brigadier general in the reserves.

Israel has violated 68 UN Security Council resolutions and scores of General Assembly resolutions.  They have destroyed hopes for peace, deliberately dismantled the capacity of Palestinian people to govern themselves.

Horowitz parrots the crude propaganda of the Bush Administration in trying to establish a link between Al-Qaeda, 9/11 and the war against the illegal occupation of Iraq and Palestine.

I urge Horowitz to invest his time and money promoting peace and harmony  rather than fermenting hatred.

Aceh Aid 1-5-2004

5, January 2004                         Aceh Aid

Nearly 100,000 people have died in Aceh from the devastation caused by the tsunami. It is tragic that the corrupt Indonesian military is using this enormous human tragedy to divert aid money and continues to persecute and harass the people of Aceh. The army insists that people seeking help must produce an identity card. These were issued during martial law as symbols of 'loyalty'. During this period of utter repression, aid workers, and all foreigners were forbidden access to Aceh during which time the military killed and tortured thousands of civilians whose only crime was to seek independence from their oppressors. It is especially tragic that prior US administrations put profit ahead of principle and trained and supplied billions of dollars of military hardware to the Indonesian government. The poor people of Aceh have been cursed by the presence of the largest gas fields in the world which should have brought wealth and a decent standard of living. Alas, Exxon-Mobile has siphoned off billions of dollars of profit and is now being sued for gross human rights violations. Acehnese refugees and human rights activists have urged potential donors not to send aid money to Indonesia but instead send donations to human rights groups such as the East Timor Action Network or Tapol, the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign. President Bush has again displayed his utter lack of compassion and concern by remaining silent for the first 72 hours of this great tragedy and is now attempting to make political hay by sending his brother, father and President Clinton. Both Bush senior and President Clinton ignored the plight of the people of Aceh during their Presidential terms. It is extremely disquieting that General Colin Powell announced that the US is planning to resume supplying the Indonesian government with helicopters and other military equipment which was suspended for a number of years following the genocide in East Timor and Acheh. I would request concerned readers to contact their legislative representatives to demand a continued embargo of all military equipment to the Indonesian government.