World People's Blog

Harvey Franklin Wasserman is the author and co-author of a dozen books, and a renewable energy and anti-nuclear energy activist and journalist/historian, fighting for a renewable green future and the restoration of democracy to the United States of America. He has been a featured speaker on Today, Nightline, National Public Radio, CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight and other major media. Wasserman is senior advisor to Greenpeace USA and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, an investigative reporter, and senior editor of The Columbus Free Press and www.freepress.org, where his freepress.org coverage, with Bob Fitrakis, has prompted Rev. Jesse Jackson to call them « the Woodward and Bernstein of the 2004 election. » (full text).

Will Congress plunge us (again) into the nuke power abyss? December 14, 2007.

He writes: « Those American soldiers torturing and sexually abusing Iraqi prisoners have made criminals of us all. And there are only two possible responses to this horrible outrage: get out of Iraq. Now! And imprison the man responsible, George W. Bush. Any fantasy that the United States could ‘bring democracy’ or inject stability or somehow do something praiseworthy for the Iraqi people irrevocably died with the publication of those photographs » … and: « As always, Bush takes no personal responsibility. His radio rodents like Rush Limbaugh say the photos were fake. That Bush couldn’t have known about any of this. That those reports circulating for weeks about widespread torture and abuse in the Iraqi prisons -not to mention an unknown number of apparent murders – could not have been seen by Bush, and therefore he was not responsible » … (full text).

Ohio Secretary of State confirms 2004 election could have been stolen, Dec. 14, 2007.

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Harvey Franklin Wasserman – USA

Harvey Wasserman is (also) a senior advisor to Greenpeace USA and Nuclear Information and Resource Service.

Two Critical (But Tentative) Green Victories Hang in the Balance, Dec. 11, 2007.

Harvey Wasserman has been at the forefront of raising awareness about the dangers of nuclear power. He helped found the grassroots anti-nuke movement in the early 1970s, advises the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. He’s senior editor of the Ohio-based freepress.org and editor of nukefree.org. Harvey Wasserman has also co-authored two books on the 2004 election. They are How the GOP Stole America’s 2004 Election and Is Rigging 2008 and What Happened in Ohio: A Documentary Record of Theft and Fraud in the 2004 Election. (full text, Dec. 18, 2007).

Spending Bill Includes $24 Billion Loan Guarantees for Nuclear Industry, Dec. 17, 2007.

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She says (about Abkhazia): « This area is such a forgotten spot, which is of course not in the interest of a world that gets smaller and smaller and more inter-dependent ». (full text).

Swiss ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, Head of the UN Peace mission in Georgia from 2002 to 2006, delivers an address.

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Heidi Tagliavini – Switzerland

She works for UNOMIG, United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia.

She says also: « Well, I believe, certainly one of the most important achievements, in my opinion, is the fact, that we kept stability on the ground. You remember that we had in previous years [instability], in 1998 there were clashes, in 2001 there had been difficulties, including in the Kodori Valley. In 2002, we again had a fight in the Kodori Valley and we were very often very narrow[minded] to an overtaking of, I would say, just the readiness not to keep the stability. So, I believe this is a very important achievement. The second thing I think, maybe this is not me who should actually judge this, but I really understand that the relations between the interlocutors on both sides have dramatically changed. It is a very positive relationship with all the differences they have in their approach, but dialogue has never been really interrupted. Even when it was interrupted, it was with the clear intention to let the situation clarify and to come back to the negotiation table. So, there is a good atmosphere, which I think in part I am the reason for ». (full text).

STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR HEIDI TAGLIAVINI, DEPUTY STATE SECRETARY AND HEAD OF THE DELEGATION OF SWITZERLAND, AT THE FOURTEENTH MEETING OF THE OSCE MINISTERIAL COUNCIL, Brussels, 4 and 5 December 2006.

« Developments in Sri Lanka in the past months have seriously endangered the peace process, » said Switzerland Foreign Affairs Deputy Head Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini who gave the opening address wishing the facilitator and the Parties better understanding, in Geneva Saturday. Stressing the need for « confidence in the Norwegian Government as facilitator seeking ways to lead the delegations to a better mutual understanding, confidence in the other Party as a partner with whom one can engage, » Ms. Heidi Tagliavini said the International Community the recent developments in Sri Lanka have caused considerable concern within the International Community. (full text, Oct. 28, 2006).

Secretary-General Appoints Heidi Tagliavini of Switzerland As Special Representative for Georgia, Head of UNOMIG.

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Linked with A Death on Valentine Street.

Rosemarie Jackowski is an advocacy journalist living in Vermont, USA. On March 20, 2003, she was arrested for her participation in a peaceful protest against the war. After her arrest, she was incarcerated, hand cuffed, booked, finger printed, photographed, arraigned, tried, convicted and sentenced. The jury arrived at a guilty verdict in less than 10 minutes. The conviction was appealed in the State Supreme Court and overturned. Then the government announced plans to hold a second trial and seek a conviction again. After years of legal proceedings, all charges were finally dismissed. Rosemarie’s main focus has been on the civilian deaths in U.S. war zones. She is a strong advocate for the payment of reparations to all who have been adversely affected by U.S. policies. Of special interest is the issue of Diego Garcia. For more information, please click here. Rosemarie has been an advocate for children since 1970. Other areas of interest are farm worker rights, and the contamination of the world-wide food supply with GMO’s. She is a member of Veterans for Peace and a grandmother. (mwcNews, June 1, 2007).

9/11 is the goose that laid the Golden Grenade, Sept. 10, 2007.

She is The conviction was appealed and overturned in the State Supreme Court. The government then announced plans to retry the case. Finally, after years of legal proceedings, all charges were dropped. She can be reached by e-mail. (india interacts).

Her portrait. Another portrait.

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Rosemarie Jackowski – USA

Labor Pains, Sept. 2, 2007.

Rosemarie Jackowski, 70, made national headlines last year after being arrested for protesting the war at Bennington’s Four Corners. The grandmother and veteran refused to accept a plea bargain that would have let her off with a fine because she insisted she had done nothing wrong. The state eventually dropped the charges after the Vermont Supreme Court overthrew her conviction for disorderly conduct. « One very good aspect of this is their focusing on Congress which people should have been doing all along, » she said. « Too many people have been protesting the president when it’s the Congress who has the power to declare war. It’s too bad our Congress has subcontracted to the executive branch the power to declare war ». Jackowski said it was good to hear that college students were getting involved in the anti-war movement. She said she usually takes part in monthly vigils organized by the local citizens group, Vermont Peace Train, and wished there were more young people. « They are missed. I wish they could come out and join us next time, » she said. (full text, December 8, 2007).

Reparations for Iran, Aug. 9, 2006).

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Linked with United States Institute of Peace USIP, with Comprehensive Peace Agreement CPA, and with When Religion Brings Peace, Not War.

David R. Smock is the vice president of USIP’s Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution and associate vice president of the Religion and Peacemaking program, one of the Centers of Innovation. Previously he served as director of the USIP’s Grant program and coordinator of Africa activities. He has worked on African issues for over thirty years and lived in Africa for eleven years. As a staff member of the Ford Foundation from 1964 to 1980, he served in Ghana, Kenya, Lebanon, Nigeria, and New York. (full text).

He writes: « Is it true, as some claim, that democracy is basically a western concept and ideology and therefore fundamentally at odds with the values and principles of Islam? If so, then the Muslim world, consisting of 55 countries populated by more than 1.4 billion people, is doomed to dictatorship and oppression. Moreover, Muslims would have to choose between their religion and democracy. In introducing the discussion, Radwan Masmoudi asserted that there is no inherent contradiction between Islam and democracy and that democratic ideals and principles are also Islam’s ideals and principles. Thus, the explanation of why so many Muslim countries are not democratic lies in historical, political, cultural, and economic factors, not religious ones. « Not only must we understand these reasons, but we must also find out what needs to be done to correct this situation. What can we as Americans and especially as American Muslims do to promote democratization in Muslim countries? » (full text).

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David R. Smock – USA

He says:  » … Moderate religious leaders had the responsibility to rein in extremists, and all leaders should educate themselves about the religious “other” … and: « Therefore, political leaders needed to make understanding religion a priority in the same way that they study missiles and munitions. Additionally, religious leaders had a role in conflicted societies, which political leaders could not fill » … (full text).

He writes also: If the Darfur situation is not significantly improved soon, further implementation of the CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement could be threatened. Without peace in Darfur, the nation-wide elections mandated in the CPA for 2009 could be postponed or cancelled. This would undermine the CPA and would be very destabilizing for the whole country. Consistent with the terms of the CPA, oil revenues have begun to flow to the government of South Sudan, but the CPA’s requirements for oil revenues to be paid to other outlying regions have not been implemented. All international actors need to collaborate in pressuring the GOS to adhere to its earlier agreement about peacekeeping and to renegotiate the DPA. Given the level of its investments in Sudan, China is a critical player. The Chinese have exerted some behind-the-scenes pressure on the GOS but they are unlikely to make strong public statements. Nor are they willing to be as forceful as the United States in pressing Sudan. Overall, the international community needs to increase the pressure on the GOS and the rebel groups, while also being realistic about the leverage it actually has to force them to make the needed concessions. (full text, April 2007).

Read: Ijtihad, Reinterpreting Islamic Principles for the Twenty-first Century, 8 pages.

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Linked with Global Alternatives.

Roger Burbach is director of the Center for the Study of the Americas in Berkeley, California, and a visiting scholar at the Institute of International Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru in the late 1960s, resided in Chile at the time of the military coup by Augusto Pinochet in 1973, and reported on Central America during the revolutionary conflicts of the 1980s. He has written widely on US foreign policy, Latin America and globalization, publishing ten books. His most recent is Imperial Overstretch: George W Bush and the Hubris of Empire, co-authored with Jim Tarbell. The updated Spanish edition of The Pinochet Affair: State Terrorism and Global Justice was released in January in Santiago, Chile. (The Guardian).

Read: The Battle in Bolivia, ‘New Left’ President Evo Morales Faces Opposition to New Constitution, Dec 01, 2007; and: Oil Billions Fuel Venezuela’s ‘Petro Power’ Socialist Dream, Nov. 30, 2007.

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Roger Burbach – USA

Electoral Fraud and Rebellion in Mexico, 2006/07/10.

While international attention is focusing on President Hugo Chavez and the Sunday referendum on the Venezuelan constitution, a conflict that is just as profound is shaking Bolivia. Evo Morales, the first Indian president of the country, is forcing a showdown with the oligarchy and the right wing political parties that have stymied efforts to draft a new constitution to transform the nation. He declares, « Dead or alive I will have a new constitution for the country by December 14, » the mandated date for the specially elected Constituent Assembly to present a constitution for the country to vote on by popular referendum. (full text, Dec. 1, 2007).

Ecuador’s Leftist New Leader Sizes Up the U.S., March 6, 2007.

He writes: … But the real problem of Mexico runs much deeper. The entrenched political classes along with the Electoral Tribunal, and the Federal Electoral Institute before it, will not make any concessions to Lopez Obrador because they are afraid the entire system of privileges will collapse if they make even modest concessions. The campaign slogan of Lopez Obrador was straightforward: « For the good of all, the poor first. » His program during the campaign was actually quite reformist. In a country where half the population lives below the poverty line Lopez Obrador pledged to provide a stipend to the elderly and healthcare for the poor. Millions of jobs would also be created, particularly by undertaking large construction projects to modernize Mexico’s dilapidated transportation system. He also promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States, particularly the clauses that allow the importation of cheap subsidized grains that undermine Mexico’s peasant producers … (full text).

After Pinochet, prosecute Kissinger, Dec. 15, 2004.

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