(Hijab tip: Dina Badawy)

(Hijab (hat) tip: Saira Lari)

Corrie v. Caterpillar: Political Question

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of CCR’s case charging Caterpillar, Inc. with aiding and abetting war crimes and other serious human rights violations on the grounds that the company provided bulldozers to Israel knowing they would be used unlawfully to demolish homes and endanger civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

[The] decision from a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals found that it did not have jurisdiction to decide the case because Caterpillar’s bulldozers were ultimately paid for with money from the United States. Because of the U.S. government’s decision to grant military assistance to Israel, any decision regarding whether Caterpillar aided and abetted war crimes would impermissibly intrude upon the executive branch’s foreign policy decisions. In today’s decision, the Court did not rule on the question of whether Caterpillar aided and abetted Israeli war crimes.

“We are extremely disappointed with the Court’s refusal to decide whether Caterpillar violated the law, essentially because it did not want to question the U.S. decision to pay for the bulldozers,” said CCR Senior Attorney Maria LaHood. “The Court has a constitutional duty to uphold the law, and the law prohibits aiding and abetting war crimes - regardless of who’s footing the bill.”

Source: The Rachel Corrie Foundation

(With respect to the concern of whether or not I will ever need to know the workings of the "political question" doctrine, the answer appears to be "YES!")

And the injustice continues . . .

UAW Calls National Strike

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers has launched a national strike against General Motors Corp., GM spokesman Dan Flores said Monday. It's the first nationwide strike during auto contract negotiations since 1976.

Workers walked off the job and began picketing Monday outside GM plants after UAW's late morning strike deadline passed.

Full Story: Houston Chronicle

Real Job

(I <3 this quote. It's been circulating via email for sometime now - I thought I'd share in case some of you out there had not yet seen it. Disclaimer: I haven't verified it's authenticity.)

From Ronald Reagan's recently published diaries.

Entry: May 17, 1986;

"A moment I've been dreading. George brought his
ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to
find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives
in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the
time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already
almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll
call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if
they'll hire him as a contributing editor or
something. That looks like easy work."

Milestone

For the first time, the number of deaths of children under age 5 around the world has fallen below 10 million a year.

(Sadly, that is being called a milestone.)

BUT 9.7 million children under age 5 will still die this year. Do your part to make a difference. Donate NOW.

(Reminder to myself before all others: the money spent on a new pair of shoes, even those on clearance, can save a life!)

9-11-01: 6 Years Today

Today undoubtedly marks a sad day in our country's history. However, what saddens me more is that we won't practice what we preach. Why do we, while mourning our losses, continue to kill innocent people overseas?

3,000 people died in the World Trade Center Attacks.

Over 650,000 people have died as a result of the illegal war we are conducting in Iraq.

It's 9-11 EVERY DAY in Iraq!

(Not to mention Afghanistan, Palestine, etc.!)

Win for Palestine Mural at SFSU - GUPS

GUPS @ San Francisco State University

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY

Sept 5, 2007

Dear community members:

We are thrilled to announce that we have finally won approval for the SFSU Palestine Mural despite ferocious opposition.

This permanent piece of art honoring the late professor Edward Said is the first of its kind on any American university campus wall; it has been attained after a long, unrelenting, and sustained struggle spearheaded by the Palestinian students of SFSU GUPS and allies and supported by the Bay Area Arab American community and friends.

You don't want to miss the exciting celebration to inaugurate the mural that will be held at the Cesar Chavez Student Center in San Francisco State University on November 2, 2007. The event will feature cultural presentations, inspirational speakers, music, food, and more throughout the day and a moving night program. We are planning to invite members of the Said family to join us in these activities.

This is history in the making. This mural is more than just a piece of art; it signifies the unbreakable bond between Palestine and the Palestinians everywhere including US campuses. It recognizes the ground-breaking and prolific academic and intellectual work to which Professor Said dedicated his life and his relentless defense of peace and justice. The mural is an important culmination of the Palestinian students' historic struggle for Palestinian human and national rights. The mural shall serve as a daily reminder of the Palestinian struggle, establishes a permanent presence of the Palestinian issue, and links it to the three other murals that celebrate peoples' struggles for social justice, self-determination, and freedom.

Therefore, we in GUPS, and the Cesar Chavez Student Center, have the honor to invite you all to join in celebrating this historic event.

If you need more information or like to know what you can do to support this celebration please contact GUPS by email at GUPS@sfsu.edu or by visiting our website.

GUPS Office:
1650 Holloway Ave.
CCSC M100-B
San Francisco, CA 94132

We hope to see you all there.


General Union of Palestine Students
San Francisco State University Chapter

Islamic Relief and Katrina

Donate NOW: Islamic Relief

Happy Labor Day

Today the United Steelworkers and United Mine Workers of America, which have a combined 1.8 million members, threw their support behind Mr. Edwards. His campaign said the endorsements gave him “the largest bloc of union support” of any of the presidential candidates so far.

In a statement announcing the Labor Day endorsement, the steel union cited Mr. Edwards’s electability in the general election — a theme his campaign has been pushing as a way to set him apart from top rivals Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

“The union movement is not just important for the past, it is crucial to strengthening and growing the middle class in America, crucial to lifting millions of Americans out of poverty,” Mr. Edwards said while visiting a region of the country where the steel and manufacturing businesses have declined.

Read on at: NY Times

Change

I ask Allah (swt) to:

"grant us the serenity to accept the things we can't change,

the courage to change the things we can,

and the wisdom to know the difference."