Yesterday House Democrats and Republicans effectively struck a deal to “provide what amounts to legal immunity to the phone companies that took part in President Bush’s program of eavesdropping.” Today the parties will vote on the compromise bill. The New York Times has details below on the compromise. The AP will have updates of the voting here.

After months of wrangling, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress struck a deal on Thursday to overhaul the rules on the government’s wiretapping powers and provide what amounts to legal immunity to the phone companies that took part in President Bush’s program of eavesdropping without warrants after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The deal, expanding the government’s powers to spy on terrorism suspects in some major respects, would strengthen the ability of intelligence officials to eavesdrop on foreign targets. It would also allow them to conduct emergency wiretaps without court orders on American targets for a week if it is determined that important national security information would otherwise be lost. If approved, as appears likely, the agreement would be the most significant revision of surveillance law in 30 years.

Salon’s Glenn Greenwald posted the amount of money each of the major telecoms involved spent on lobbyists to curry a favorable outcome for this legislation. Read an excerpt below:

Just in the first three months of 2008, recent lobbyist disclosure statements reveal that AT&T spent $5.2 million in lobbyist fees (putting it well ahead of its 2007 pace, when it spent just over $17 million). In the first quarter of 2008, Verizon spent $4.8 million on lobbyist fees, while Comcast spent $2.6 million. So in the first three months of this year, those three telecoms — which would be among the biggest beneficiaries of telecom amnesty (right after the White House) — spent a combined total of almost $13 million on lobbyists. They’re on pace to spend more than $50 million on lobbying this year — just those three companies.

* Iraq Moratorium #10 on June 20
* June 22 Global One-Day Hunger Strike to Protest U.S. Radar Military Base in Czech Republic
* Articles of Impeachment Introduced
* Canadian Parliament Passes Resolution in Support of War Resisters

Please pass along this information to others in your group or organization…feel free to post it on your email lists.

peace,

Leslie Cagan
UFPJ National Coordinator

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1) June 20 - Iraq Moratorium #10

This Friday — the 3rd Friday of the month — people around the country will once again be taking part in activities as part of the national Iraq Moratorium campaign. There are already over 90 such events listed on their calendar and they would love to have any events you might be planning included as well. You can find updates, ideas,and the Moratorium events calendar on their website at:
http://www.iraqmoratorium.org

If you are planning anything, we urge you to address the supplemental war funding that is working its way through Congress. It now looks as if the House will agree to a bill that allocates some $165 billion more for the war without including any restrictions or limitations — another blank check for the war and occupation in Iraq. If this passes it will be the single largest allocation to date and will virtually ensure the continuation of the occupation and war well into next year! Events during this Friday’s Iraq Moratorium could urge folks to call their representatives and let them know how strongly we oppose this — and that we will not forget this vote in November!

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2) June 22 - Global One-Day Hunger Strike to Protest U.S.Radar Military Base in the Czech Republic

On May 13 two Czech peace activists began a 3-week hunger strike to protest the plans for the installation of a U.S. radar military base in the Czech Republic. Their action helped take the growing resistance struggle in that country to a new level of activism, and helped spread the word internationally. While their hunger strike has ended, other people in the Czech Republic and around the world have been fasting — some for a day at a time, others for longer.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had been scheduled to go to Prague on May 4th to sign a radar base treaty between the U.S. and the Czech Republic, but she was forced to postpone that trip at least in part because of the tremendous opposition to the base within the Czech Republic. It has recently been announced that Rice will now be in Prague on July 10th to sign the agreement.

With all of this in mind, the call has gone out for an international day of solidarity on June 22, and momentum is building as more and more people sign up to participate in this one-day fast. In several cities there will be public events as well. If you — either as an individual or your group — are planning to be part of this one-day hunger strike, please contact the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space at globalnet@mindspring.com

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3) Rep. Dennis Kucinich Introduces Articles of Impeachment

On June 9, Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduced 35 Articles of Impeachment against President George W. Bush. On June 11 the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (251-166) to send the articles of impeachment (H Res. 1258) to the House Judiciary Committee to be acted upon there. 24 Republicans voted Yes along with all the Democrats. That same day, Rep. Kucinich said he would give the House Judiciary Committee 30 days to act before he comes back with more articles of impeachment.

Now, before July 9th, is the time to call our representatives in Congress and urge them to become co-sponsors of H Res. 1258! Call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to connect with your representative.

For more information and details click here: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/bush <http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/bush>

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4) Canadian Parliament Passes Resolution in Support of U.S. War Resisters

On June 3, the Canadian Parliament passed an historic motion that calls on the Canadian government to create a program to allow U.S. war resisters to apply for permanent resident status in Canada and to cease all deportation and removal proceedings against U.S. war resisters. This was a tremendous victory, but because the motion was non-binding, the work is not yet over!

The Conservative government led by Stephen Harper — a close ally of the Bush-Cheney endless war agenda — has indicated that it is prepared to defy the resolution by proceeding with deportations of war resisters. Creative resistance will likely be required on both sides of the border. We need to act now to make sure that the will of many people living in the U.S., the Canadian people, and now Parliament is not ignored. Please contact Canadian Ministers Harper and Finley to request that they fully implement the resolution in support of U.S. Iraq War objectors and allow them to stay in Canada:

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley
Phone 613.996.4974; Email finley.d@parl.gc.ca -  finled1@parl.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Phone 613.992.4211; Email pm@pm.gc.ca

For more information, click here: http://www.resisters.ca/index_en.html

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SOA Watch has received confirmation that Congress will vote on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2009 that would require that the School of the Americas/WHINSEC release the names, ranks, country of origin, courses and dates attended of students and instructors at the institute. The amendment will be offered by Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA), Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA) and Representative Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and we expect the vote to happen on Thursday, May 22.

For the past few years, despite the WHINSEC PR machine proclaiming an open and transparent school, the WHINSEC has been unwilling to provide information about the students and instructors. Freedom of Information Act requests for FY 2005, 2006 and 2007 have all been denied, proof of WHINSEC’s unwillingness to submit to oversight from the public whose tax-payer dollars help fund the school.

Access to information regarding SOA/WHINSEC graduates of previous years has been a valuable asset to human rights organizations who have been able to identify Latin American military officers and police that have committed human rights abuses or engaged in criminal activity in their home countries after attending the school as instructors or students. SOA Watch supports the release of this important information at all U.S. military training facilities in the spirit of openness, transparency, and the public’s “right to know”.

It is crucial for the success of this amendment that you contact your Representative TODAY and TOMORROW!

SEND AN EMAIL AND FAX TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE NOW! <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&amp;url_num=0&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fsalsa.democracyinaction.org%2Fo%2F727%2Ft%2F3823%2Fcampaign.jsp%3Fcampaign_KEY%3D24657>
(Be sure to click the “Send a Fax” box to have the fax sent)

CALL YOU REPRESENTATIVE!

WEDNESDAY, May 21 - THURSDAY, May 22:
202-224-3121 - Congressional Switchboard Number

Once your call is forwarded to the office of your Representative, ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant. Here is a suggested message for you to convey:

“Hello,
My name is __________, and as your constituent, I urge you to vote YES on the McGovern-Sestak-Bishop (GA) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2009. The amendment would release the names, country of origin, rank and dates of attendance at WHINSEC for graduates and instructors. This amendment is supported by Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Congressman Ike Skelton.

As you may know the School of the Americas, renamed WHINSEC, has a notorious history linked to serious crimes and human rights abuses throughout Latin America. In the past few years under WHINSEC, known human rights abusers have attended the school and WHINSEC instructors have been arrested in Colombia for returning home and aiding the drug cartels. None of this information would be known if the basic information about enrollment at WHINSEC were not disclosed. This information is vital to the work of Congress and human rights organizations who seek protection of human rights and promoting transparency, however all FOIA requests for this information are now being denied.

What is WHINSEC hiding?! Voting YES on the McGovern-Sestak-Bishop (GA) amendment is a vote FOR human rights and FOR transparency. I urge your boss to vote YES!!!”

SEND AN EMAIL AND FAX TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE NOW! <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&amp;url_num=1&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fsalsa.democracyinaction.org%2Fo%2F727%2Ft%2F3823%2Fcampaign.jsp%3Fcampaign_KEY%3D24657>

In an amazing turn of events, the House of Representatives today voted AGAINST the supplemental funding for the war in Iraq!!

The bill would have provided $166 billion in war funding, the largest single provision since the war started in 2003. In a move that no one expected, dozens of Republicans voted “present,” which is the same as abstaining on the vote. This meant that the 149 NO votes were enough to defeat the bill. (141 votes were cast in favor.)

This is a tremendous victory for the antiwar movement. The hard work of people all around the country secured those 149 clear NO votes. Click here for the roll call to see how your representative voted.

But our work is far from over.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where we can expect an attempt to add the war funding back into the bill. After that, the bill will go to a conference committee, then back for a re-vote in both the House and the Senate. That means we need to keep up the pressure on both the House and the Senate.

Here’s what you can do:

1) If your member of the House voted NO on the funding, call your rep (202-224-3121), say thanks and ask him or her to hold firm over the next few weeks.

2) If your member voted yes or present, call your rep (202-224-3121) and tell him or her to vote against any funding bill that might come before the House in the new few weeks.

3) We must all escalate our pressure on the Senate! Call your two senators (202-224-3121) and let them know how strongly you oppose further funding for this war! (If you don’t know who your representative and senators are, click here.)

4) Write letters to your local newspapers, call into radio talk shows, organize a vigil or picket in front of your senators’ local offices, or put together a non-violent civil disobedience action at their offices. (Click here to find where their offices are located.)

5) Get word out that parts of the 4 hours of Winter Soldier testimony that was delivered at a hearing organized by the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Capitol Hill this morning will be broadcast on the “News Hour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS) tomorrow evening! (You can also watch the hearings on the C-SPAN website.)

Let us claim this victory and at the same time push as hard as we can to stop the Senate from giving the green light on billions more of our tax dollars going into this war and occupation.

We urge you to take a moment right now to make a donation to UFPJ. We need your support to make sure we can keep doing this work in the strongest way possible. Click here to make your contribution now.

Additional Information
Two other measures were passed in the House this afternoon. The first of those had some good provisions (no permanent bases, no use of torture), but also included a non-binding goal for the withdrawal of U.S. troops to be completed by December 2009. This would keep our troops in Iraq for another year and half, and this timeline is only a goal. In other words, this doesn’t even come close to our call for all of the troops to come home now. The second measure that passed today would increase veterans benefits and provide funding for some important domestic needs.
We expect the Senate to vote next week. We would have predicted that they would put the war funding back into the measure, take out the conditions they don’t like (such as the goal for withdrawal), and make changes to the domestic funding package. Given the un-expected development in the House, all bets are off on what the Senate will do. After the Senate acts on the package, both chambers will negotiate and try to come up with a compromise, which will then go before both chamber for a re-vote.

Yours, for peace and justice,

UFPJ Legislative Working Group

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Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ today.

UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
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This is simply an astounding victory, and it would not have happened without the massive grassroots effort by you and thousands of others who called their senators, sent more than a quarter million letters, posted thousands of pictures and stories on StopBigMedia.com, and testified at public hearings held by the FCC.

It was your dedication that made today’s Senate win possible.

Today was a huge step forward, but there is still much to do. The fight against the FCC now moves to the House, where our elected representatives need to hear from us.

President Bush has promised that he will try to veto this bill. But tonight the Senate and the American people have spoken with one voice. This historic vote sends a clear message that the only people who support more media consolidation are Big Media lobbyists and the White House.

We are in this struggle to bring more minority ownership, diverse perspectives and independent voices to the media. We need to make media consolidation an election-year issue. And we need to start talking about how to break up the giant conglomerates.

Corporate news today — with its propaganda pundits, horse-race election coverage, and celebrity gossip — undermines our democracy. We must continue to speak out and demand that the public airwaves be used to actually serve the public.

In just three weeks, thousands of people will be gathering together in Minnesota to build the movement for better media. You can join them at the National Conference for Media Reform, just visit www.freepress.net/conference.

For today, know that you played a key role in the fight for better media for all.

Thank you,

Josh Silver
Executive Director
Free Press Action Fund