Link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/illegal-war-is-not-good-policy

By: Johnny Canuck

On May 13, the University of Calgary plans to open their new School of Public Policy with an opening gala at which the guest of honour is Condoleezza Rice. Rice has emerged as a central figure in the developing US torture and war crimes scandal. "This is your baby. Go do it," Rice is reported to have said authorizing waterboarding by CIA.

Regrettably there has been little protest from the academic community in Canada, or the national student organizations who have been aware of Rice’s invitation since early March. The Director of the School of Public Policy, Jack Mintz told the Calgary Herald on March 11, that: "She’s a good example of what a school of public policy can achieve."

Please assist those at the University of Calgary who oppose this outrageous sanctioning of torture and war crimes by the school. Write to both Director Mintz and University President Harvey P Weingarten, asking that they cancel Rice’s visit:

University of Calgary President Harvey Weingarten: Email: president@ucalgary.ca

University of Calgary Director of Public Policy, Jack Mintz: Email: policystudies@ucalgary.ca

cc: Canadian Peace Alliance: cpa@web.ca

Petition: ’Illegal War is Not Good Policy’: http://thepetitionsite.com/1/illegal-war-is-not-good-policy

Please see:
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=20656

http://www.greenwood.com/books/printFlyer.aspx?sku=C36499

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gqaw5UnHA4

Please forward widely

From: Charles Brucks

Palestinian victims of Israeli terrorism.

Hi: This was sent by a longtime Middle East activist Bill Thomson of the University of Michigan. He said that there is a concerted effort to make one of the first orders of business in the new Congress a resolution supporting israel. Please be in touch with your Congressional representatives to try to head this off. What a ghastly way that would be to start this new Congress. Thanks. Peace. Richard Walton, RI.

In <7.0.1.0.2.20090105134259.02ae21e8@umich.edu>, on 01/05/09 at 01:43 PM,

Bill Thomson said:

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY

I have just received the following:

"A concerted effort is under way requesting that members of Congress issue statements supporting Israel's right to "defend its citizens against terrorism" by continuing its military action in Gaza. It is likely that legislation in this vein will emerge shortly after Congress convenes on January 6."

>We may be certain that AIPAC and its allies will be pushing this hard.

Please immediately call your House member and Senators and urge them to oppose this resolution and issue a statement condemning the disproportionate Israeli actions against the citizens of Gaza.

You may contact your Representative and Senators in Congress at 202-224-3121 or find contact info for your Members of Congress at: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/

Link: https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?%20&pagename=homepage&id=1149&page=UserAction&s_src=email1

Speak out against preemptive pardons and help restore the American values of justice and due process. Send a message to President Bush telling him you oppose preemptive pardons for these people and any others who may have been involved in torture.

Dick Cheney: Vice president who orchestrated the use of torture, secret prisons and detention without charge.		John Yoo: Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel authored memos that tried to provide a legal basis for the torture and abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody.		Alberto Gonzales: Former White House Counsel, chaired discussions about authorizing specific forms of torture and abuse, urged Bush not to apply Geneva Conventions to many detainees.		Condoleeza Rice: Chaired the National Security Council meetings reportedly authorizing specific forms of abuse on specific prisoners.		David Addington: Former counsel to Cheney had central role in developing the torture, abuse, and detention without charge policies.
Donald Rumsfeld: Former Secretary of Defense authorized the use of abusive interrogation methods at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base.		Geoffrey D. Miller: US General who oversaw Guantánamo Bay Naval Base when prisoners were abused and tortured there, and traveled to Iraq to oversee the "Gitmoization" of Abu Ghraib.		John Ashcroft: Reportedly participated in National Security Council meetings authorizing specific forms of abuse on specific prisoners and approved Office of Legal Counsel torture memoranda.		George Tenet: Director of the CIA oversaw the extraordinary rendition program as well as the abusive interrogation methods, including waterboarding, by CIA officials.		William Haynes: General Counsel at the Defense Department, signed off on the use of abusive interrogation methods by DoD personnel.

When asked by ABC host George Stephanopoulos if top level Bush administration officials would be prosecuted for mandating prisoner abuse, Biden said that he and Obama would be “focusing on the future,” adding “I think we should be looking forward, not backwards.”

So, the Obama administration says: "we should be looking forward not backwards", and we should close our eyes to mass murder and war crimes.

Friends, don’t for one second believe that the Bush administration should go unpunished for war crimes. They have killed over 1.44 million Iraqi men, women, and children, and grossly violated the Geneva Conventions through the use of torture and mass murder on a grand scale.

They established a network of secret CIA prisons around the world, along with 17 prison ships where untold horrors were committed in America’s name.

There are tens of thousands of Iraqi men, women, and children presently held in concentration camps by the US. They have been subjected to severe emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Those that still cling to life desperately await freedom and justice.

The Bush administration used banned weapons such as cluster bombs and white phosphorus on civilians and they have spread over 1000 metric tons of the deadly U238-isotope, America’s nuclear waste, over Iraq and Afghanistan, causing childhood leukemia and spontaneous abortions to become commonplace, dooming the people of both countries to endless suffering and premature death.

In a world where war criminals and mass murderers are allowed to go unpunished there will surely be more wars based on lies fought for profit and there will be more war crimes committed by dictators and politicians. They are emboldened by a weak immoral fearful citizenry unwilling to hold them accountable for their crimes.

Speak out against preemptive pardons and help restore the American values of justice and due process. Send a message to President Bush telling him you oppose preemptive pardons for these people and any others who may have been involved in torture.