Battle Broadens From Berkeley to the Beltway

By Elaine Pasquini


	One of several anti-war displays in front of the U.S. Marine Corps recruiting station in Berkeley (Staff photo E. Pasquini.)

WHAT BEGAN in October as a mild-mannered vigil every Wednesday outside Berkeley’s U.S. Marine Corps recruiting station (see Jan./Feb. 2008 Washington Report, p. 67) has escalated to a battle royal—not only outside Berkeley’s City Hall, but also on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Following the Berkeley City Council’s Jan. 29 resolution calling Marine recruiters “unwelcome intruders” in their city, South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint introduced legislation canceling two million dollars in federal funding for school lunches, services for disabled persons and University of California programs in the liberal East Bay city.

After supporters of the Iraq war and some military families complained about the resolution—and two council members had second thoughts about their votes—members voted 7-2 at a Feb. 12 council meeting to not approve the original resolution. Instead, the council reiterated the city’s opposition to the Iraq war, but emphasized support for the troops. A large rowdy crowd of pro-war and anti-war supporters turned out for the council’s meeting.

Not mollified by the council’s revised resolution, DeMint said in a prepared statement, “It’s time for Berkeley to realize that actions have consequences.” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) denounced DeMint’s measure, which would eliminate nutrition and cooking classes for children. On March 13, the Senate voted to defeat DeMint’s amendment, prompting the Republican senator to say that he is “extremely disappointed that the Senate was not willing to stand up for our Marines when they do so much to stand up for us.”

The pro-war group Move America Forward has aired a television advertisement denouncing Berkeley’s decision not to apologize to the Marine recruiters. Anti-war protesters staged a “camp-in” outside the recruiting station the week of March 9 in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

Palestinian Youth Network


Loubna Qutami of the Palestinian Youth Network (Staff photo P. Pasquini.)

“We are anxious to rebuild and revive a grassroots legacy of Palestinian activism wherever we may live,” Palestinian Youth Network (PYN) U.S. general coordinator Loubna Qutami told the Washington Report. “This is a network of Palestinian youth who are active in their communities—driven by a sense of belonging to our homeland and to a Palestinian identity—and who are really passionate to see change and social justice prevail in our homeland.”

The brainstorm of French students, the PYN was formed two years ago, and held its first conference in Barcelona in 2006. Spain-based Saif Abukishek is the global general coordinator of the PYN, which has members from 28 countries ranging from ages 18 to 35.

Qutami was one of three San Francisco residents to attend the second PYN conference held last November in Vendome, France. “We heard amazing speakers and guest lecturers,” the 22-year-old San Francisco State University graduate said. “We attended workshops on media, activism, strategic tools, and we developed the network’s vision and goals. We want to be straightforward, but we do not want to compromise on Palestinians’ inherent human and legal rights—and that includes the right of return.”

As a member of the General Union of Palestine Students, Qutami was on the committee which spearheaded the Palestinian Cultural Mural honoring Dr. Edward Said unveiled last November on the campus of San Francisco State University (see Jan./Feb. Washington Report, p. 54).

“We really want to be able to see something happen—not only for the Palestinians living under occupation in Palestine, but also for Palestinians living outside of Palestine trying to reconnect with their heritage,” Qutami explained. “The critical positions that challenge our people can’t wait any longer.”

The PYN delivered desperately needed food and medicine to Gaza on March 6, after waiting three weeks at the border for Israeli authorities to allow them in to assist with the humanitarian crisis. For more information visit <http://palyouth.blogspot.com>.

Egyptian Cartoonists Exhibit in San Francisco


	(L-r): Cartoonists Hassan Fedawy, Rahab Said and Tamer Youssef at City College of San Francisco (Staff photo E. Pasquini.)

The Egyptian Consulate General Press and Information Bureau presented “Sketches & Dialogues (Pure Improvisation),” a lecture and art exhibition featuring the works of San Francisco-based, Egyptian-born cartoonists and artists Hassan Fedawy, Rahab Said and Tamer Youssef. The Feb. 27 program at San Francisco’s City College was part of the community college’s yearly Concert and Lecture Series of free public events.

Fedawy is a freelance cartoonist, illustrator and layout designer whose work appears in the Egyptian publications Alaa Al-Dean and Al-Ahram Daily and the British magazine The Economist.

Said, who began his career as a graphic artist and stage designer, is the founder and director of Creative Services. He currently heads Gambari Design Group, a fine arts, design and advanced visualization services company.

Youssef is the vice president of the Federation of Cartoonists Organizations. The award-winning cartoonist’s works appear in Le Progrès Egyptien, Al-Ahram Weekly, Egypt Today, and in publications in France, Romania and the U.S.

Following the presentation, students in the audience asked questions ranging from the artists’ working techniques to job opportunities. Responding to a query on freedom of expression, Youssef stressed his view that a cartoonist’s responsibility is to convey information through his art despite public or government opinion. There are pitfalls, however, he pointed out, such as the recent arrest of Palestinian cartoonist Bahaa al-Bakhari because of his cartoon in the Nov. 8 edition of al-Ayyam featuring Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, which some Hamas parliament members found offensive.

The trio’s artworks also were on view March 7-31 at San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and Community Center, where the artists were honored at a March 7 opening reception.

Torture Victims Deserve Their Day in Court, Says ACLU Attorney

“Depriving torture victims of their day in court to prevent disclosure of information that the entire world already knows only compounds the brutal treatment our clients endured,” said attorney Ben Wizner in a statement issued following the Feb. 13 ruling against his clients. “Government officials are quite willing to discuss the CIA’s detention and interrogation of other prisoners, most notably the six Guantanamo detainees charged [Feb. 11] with capital murder. Apparently, the government believes such activities are state secrets only when that claim will help the administration avoid accountability for illegal programs, but not when it will help seek the death penalty for alleged terrorists.”

Following in the footsteps of previous federal judges who have ruled against victims of extraordinary rendition, U.S. District Judge James Ware dismissed a case filed against Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of five plaintiffs who accuse the San Jose flight-planning company of assisting in the CIA’s rendition program (see April 2008 Washington Report, p. 50). Government attorneys argued that confirming or denying allegations concerning the rendition program would jeopardize national security.

ACLU attorney Wizner opposed the government’s efforts to throw out the case and accused it of misusing the “state secrets privilege in an effort to avoid legal scrutiny of the unlawful and shameful program.”

The ACLU plans to file an appeal by April 14.

Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.