Roll Call: Children murdered by Israel

Al Jazeera has obtained the names of 210 of the young victims

Photo on right: Four-year-old shot: "I saw him [the solider] hiding next to the shop. I looked around for my mum, then he shot me. One bullet hit my hand and the other penetrated my stomach through my back."

27/12/2008
Ibtihal Kechko Girl 10
Ahmed Riad Mohammed Al-Sinwar Boy 3
Ahmed Al-Homs Boy 18
Ahmed Rasmi Abu Jazar Boy 16
Ahmed Sameeh Al-Halabi Boy 18
Tamer Hassan Al-Akhrass Boy 5
Hassan Ali Al-Akhrass Boy 3
Haneen Wael Mohammed Daban Girl 15
Khaled Sami Al-Astal Boy 15
alaat Mokhless Bassal Boy 18
Aaed Imad Kheera Boy 14
Abdullah Al-Rayess Boy 17
Odai Hakeem Al-Mansi Boy 4
Allam Nehrou Idriss Boy 18
Ali Marwan Abu Rabih Boy 18
Anan Saber Atiyah Boy 13
Camelia Al-Bardini Girl 10
Lama Talal Hamdan Girl 10
Mohammed Jaber Howeij Boy 17
Nimr Mustafa Amoom Boy 10
29/12/2008
Ismail Talal Hamdan Boy 10
Ahmed Ziad Al-Absi Boy 14
Ahmed Youssef Khello Boy 18
Ikram Anwar Baaloosha Girl 14
Tahrier Anwar Baaloosha Girl 17
Jihad Saleh Ghobn Boy 10
Jawaher Anwar Baaloosha Girl 8
Dina Anwar Baaloosha Girl 7
Samar Anwar Baaloosha Girl 6
Shady Youssef Ghobn Boy 12
Sudqi Ziad Al-Absi Boy 3
Imad Nabeel Abou Khater Boy 16
Lina Anwar Baaloosha Girl 7
Mohammed Basseel Madi Boy 17
Mohammed Jalal Abou Tair Boy 18
Mohammed Ziad Al-Absi Boy 14
Mahmoud Nabeel Ghabayen Boy 15
Moaz Yasser Abou Tair Boy 6
Wissam Akram Eid Girl 14
30/12/2008
Haya Talal Hamdan Girl 8
31/12/2008
Ahmed Kanouh Boy 10
Ameen Al-Zarbatlee Boy 10
Mohammed Nafez Mohaissen Boy 10
Mustafa Abou Ghanimah Boy 16
Yehya Awnee Mohaissen Boy 10
Ossman Bin Zaid Nizar Rayyan Boy 3
Assaad Nizar Rayyan Boy 2
Moaz-Uldeen Allah Al-Nasla Boy 5
Aya Nizar Rayyan Girl 12
Halima Nizar Rayyan Girl 5
Reem Nizar Rayyan Boy 4
Aicha Nizar Rayyan Girl 3
Abdul Rahman Nizar Rayyan Boy 6
Abdul Qader Nizar Rayyan Boy 12
Oyoon Jihad Al-Nasla Girl 16
Mahmoud Mustafa Ashour Boy 13
Maryam Nizar Rayyan Girl 5

01/01/2009

Hamada Ibrahim Mousabbah Boy 10
Zeinab Nizar Rayyan Girl 12
Sujud Mahmoud Al-Derdesawi Girl 10
Abdul Sattar Waleed Al-Astal Boy 12
Abed Rabbo Iyyad Abed Rabbo Al-Astal Boy 10
Ghassan Nizar Rayyan Boy 15
Christine Wadih El-Turk Boy 6
Mohammed Mousabbah Boy 14
Mohammed Iyad Abed Rabbo Al-Astal Boy 13
Mahmoud Samsoom Boy 16
Ahmed Tobail Boy 16
Ahmed Sameeh Al-Kafarneh Boy 17
Hassan Hejjo Boy 14
Rajeh Ziadeh Boy 18
Shareef Abdul Mota Armeelat Boy 15
Mohammed Moussa Al-Silawi Boy 10
Mahmoud Majed Mahmoud Abou Nahel Boy 16
Mohannad Al-Tatnaneeh Boy 18
Hani Mohammed Al-Silawi Boy 10
01/01/2009
Ahmed Al-Meshharawi Boy 16
Ahmed Khodair Sobaih Boy 17
Ahmed Sameeh Al-Kafarneh Boy 18
Asraa Kossai Al-Habash Girl 10
Assad Khaled Al-Meshharawi Boy 17
Asmaa Ibrahim Afana Girl 12
Ismail Abdullah Abou Sneima Boy 4
Akram Ziad Al-Nemr Boy 18
Aya Ziad Al-Nemr Girl 8
Ahmed Mohammed Al-Adham Boy 1
Akram Ziad Al-Nemr Boy 13
Hamza Zuhair Tantish Boy 12
Khalil Mohammed Mokdad Boy 18
Ruba Mohammed Fadl Abou-Rass Girl 13
Ziad Mohammed Salma Abou Sneima Boy 9
Shaza Al-Abed Al-Habash Girl 16
Abed Ziad Al-Nemr Boy 12
Attia Rushdi Al-Khawli Boy 16
Luay Yahya Abou Haleema Boy 17
Mohammed Akram Abou Harbeed Boy 18
Mohammed Abed Berbekh Boy 18
Mohammed Faraj Hassouna Boy 16
Mahmoud Khalil Al-Mashharawi Boy 12
Mahmoud Zahir Tantish Boy 17
Mahmoud Sami Assliya Boy 3
Moussa Youssef Berbekh Boy 16
Wi'am Jamal Al-Kafarneh Girl 2
Wadih Ayman Omar Boy 4
Youssef Abed Berbekh Boy 10

05/01/2009

Ibrahim Rouhee Akl Boy 17
Ibrahim Abdullah Merjan Boy 13
Ahmed Attiyah Al-Semouni Boy 4
Aya Youssef Al-Defdah Girl 13
Aya Al-Sersawi Girl 5
Ahmed Amer Abou Eisha Boy 5
Ameen Attiyah Al-Semouni Boy 4
Hazem Alewa Boy 8
Khalil Mohammed Helless Boy 12
Diana Mosbah Saad Girl 17
Raya Al-Sersawi Girl 5
Rahma Mohammed Al-Semouni Girl 18
Ramadan Ali Felfel Boy 14
Rahaf Ahmed Saeed Al-Azaar Girl 4
Shahad Mohammed Hijjih Girl 3
Arafat Mohammed Abdul Dayem Boy 10
Omar Mahmoud Al-Baradei Boy 12
Ghaydaa Amer Abou Eisha Girl 6
Fathiyya Ayman Al-Dabari Girl 4
Faraj Ammar Al-Helou Boy 2
Moumen Alewah Boy 9
Moumen Mahmoud Talal Alaw Boy 10
Mohammed Amer Abu Eisha Boy 8
Mahmoud Mohammed Abu Kamar Boy 15
Marwan Hein Kodeih Girl 6
Montasser Alewah Boy 12
Naji Nidal Al-Hamlawi Boy 16
Nada Redwan Mardi Girl 5
Hanadi Bassem Khaleefa Girl 13

06/01/2009

Ibrahim Ahmed Maarouf Boy 14
Ahmed Shaher Khodeir Boy 14
Ismail Adnan Hweilah Boy 15
Aseel Moeen Deeb Boy 17
Adam Mamoun Al-Kurdee Boy 3
Alaa Iyad Al-Daya Girl 8
Areej Mohammed Al-Daya Girl 3 months
Amani Mohammed Al-Daya Girl 4
Baraa Ramez Al-Daya Girl 2
Bilal Hamza Obaid Boy 15
Thaer Shaker Karmout Boy 17
Hozaifa Jihad Al-Kahloot Boy 17
Khitam Iyad Al-Daya Girl 9
Rafik Abdul Basset Al-Khodari Boy 15
Raneen Abdullah saleh Girl 12
Zakariya Yahya Al-Taweel Boy 5
Sahar Hatem Dawood Girl 10
Salsabeel Ramez Al-Daya Girl 6 months
Sharafuldeen Iyad Al-Daya Boy 7
Doha Mohammed Al-Daya Girl 5
Ahed Iyad Kodas Boy 15
Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Boy 10
Issam Sameer Deeb Boy 12
Alaa Ismail Ismail Boy 18
Ali Iyad Al-Daya Boy 10
Imad Abu Askar Boy 18
Filasteen Al-Daya Girl 5
Kamar Mohammed Al-Daya Boy 3
Lina Abdul Menem Hassan Girl 10
Unidentified Boy 9
Unidentified Boy 15
Mohammed Iyad Al-Daya Boy 6
Mohammed Bassem Shakoura Boy 10
Mohammed Bassem Eid Boy 18
Mohammed Deeb Boy 17
Mohammed Eid Boy 18
Mustafa Moeen Deeb Boy 12
Noor Moeen Deeb Boy 2
Youssef Saad Al-Kahloot Boy 17
Youssef Mohammed Al-Daya Boy 1

07/01/2009

Ibrahim Kamal Awaja Boy 9
Ahmed Jaber Howeij Boy 7
Ahmed Fawzi Labad Boy 18
Ayman Al-Bayed Boy 16
Amal Khaled Abed Rabbo Girl 3
Toufic Khaled Al-Khahloot Boy 10
Habeeb Khaled Al-Khahloot Boy 12
Houssam Raed Sobeh Boy 12
Hassan Rateb Semaan Boy 18
Hassan Ata Hassan Azzam Boy 2
Redwan Mohammed Ashoor Boy 10
Suad Khaled Abed Rabbo Girl 6
Samar Khaled Abed Rabbo Girl 2
Abdul Rahman Mohammmed Ashoor Boy 12
Fareed Ata Hassan Azzam Boy 13
Mohammed Khaled Al-Kahloot Boy 15
Mohammed Samir Hijji Boy 16
Mohammed Fareed Al-Maasawabi Boy 16
Mohammed Moeen Deeb Boy 17
Mohammed Nasseem Salama Saba Boy 16
Mahmoud Hameed Boy 17
Hamam Issa Boy 1

08/01/2009

Anas Arif Abou Baraka Boy 7
Ibrahim Akram Abou Dakkka Boy 12
Ibrahim Moeen Jiha Boy 15
Baraa Iyad Shalha Girl 6
Basma Yasser Al-Jeblawi Girl 5
Shahd Saad Abou Haleema Girl 15
Azmi Diab Boy 16
Mohammed Akram Abou Dakka Boy 14
Mohammed Hikmat Abou Haleema Boy 17
Ibrahim Moeen Jiha Boy 15
Matar Saad Abou Haleema Boy 17

09/01/2009

Ahmed Ibrahim Abou Kleik Boy 17
Ismail Ayman Yasseen Boy 18
Alaa Ahmed Jaber Girl 11
Baha-Uldeen Fayez Salha Girl 5
Rana Fayez Salha Girl 12
Rola Fayez Salha Girl 13
Diyaa-Uldeen Fayez Salah Boy 14
Ghanima Sultan Halawa Girl 11
Fatima Raed Jadullah Girl 10
Mohammed Atef Abou Al-Hussna Boy 15

More photos

First Nations Chiefs: Canada ignores tar sands environmental damage

PM and Ministers Turn Blind Eye to First Nations’ Tar Sands Concerns
MEDIA CONTACTS
Chief Roxanne Marcel – Mikisew Cree First Nation
tel. 780.697.3740 or 780.881.7099
Chief Allan Adam – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
tel. 780.713.1220
George Poitras – Mikisew Cree First Nation
tel. 780.972.0017

FORT CHIPEWYAN, ALBERTA – Canada’s Prime Minister and his ministers are continuing to ignore the concerns of First Nations’ communities being impacted by tar sands development.

“Prime Minister Harper has acknowledged that there are environmental issues from tar sands development, but his government is absolutely failing to take action,” noted Chief Roxanne Marcel of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. “He and his ministers are completely uninterested in hearing our concerns and discussing solutions.”

Federal Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt chose not to contact or meet with either the Athabasca Chipewyan or Mikisew Cree First Nations during a tour to the tar sands north of Fort McMurray on Tuesday that was coordinated by the Oil Sands Developers Group, an industry lobby group. Both First Nations have repeatedly voiced concerns over contamination of the Athabasca River due to tar sands mining and the potential health impacts on downstream communities, which are suffering an unusually high incidence rate of rare cancers

“The industry’s own polling shows that Canadians don’t trust the tar sands industry and it’s no wonder,” said George Poitras, a member of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. “With industry, it’s all about spin and public relations – they do not acknowledge our health concerns and the environmental damage that has already been caused.”

Last week the president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) was quoted as saying “We've dropped the ball on getting our message out and communicating. We have not dropped the ball on environmental performance as an industry.” A poll commissioned by CAPP found that 50 per cent of respondents don't believe what oil executives say about tar sands and 44 per cent do not believe information provided by oil companies.

“The federal government is neglecting its environmental responsibilities and ignoring our concerns,” stated Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. “When the government fails to engage with First Nations about our concerns, and fails to respect our rights, these things have nowhere to go but the courts.”

In December, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation initiated legal action against the Government of Alberta for failing to fulfill its duty to consult the band prior to selling oil sands permits to Shell Canada and other companies on traditional lands, thereby making the permits invalid.
Join the IEN Newsletter!
Jihan Gearon
Indigenous Environmental Network
Native Energy and Climate Campaign
P.O. Box 2696
Flagstaff, AZ 86003
928.214.8301

Morning Star, photos from San Francisco/Oakland

Photos by Morning Star Gali, in support of Palestine and calling for justice in the murder of Oscar Grant, shot while handuffed and face down, by a BART police officer.

Read 'Police execution of black youth video-taped,' by Quanah Parker Brightman

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2009/01/oakland-police-execution-of-black-youth.html

Video: Sheriff Arpaio traumatizing children in Arizona

The Board: Traumatizing Children, to Keep Us 'Safe'
Watch video:
http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/traumatizing-children-to-keep-us-safe/?emc=eta1n-to-keep-us-safe/?emc=eta1
JANUARY 14, 2009, 1:03 PM
Traumatizing Children, to Keep Us 'Safe'
By New York Times Editorial Board
Life in the United States in the age of state and local immigration enforcement run amok:
Here is a video from a recent immigrant-suppression sweep by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, Ariz. It's painful to watch – two of the victims are young children who have been forcibly separated from their mother, who was turned over to federal immigration authorities.
Immigrant advocates say the sheriff is terrorizing Latino communities with raids like these, and using police-state tactics to stifle criticism. The man on the video who tries to shut the camera down is a member of Sheriff Arpaio's "posse."
More links and comments can be seen at the blog of Stephen Lemons, a Phoenix New Times reporter who has been trying to get the word out about Sheriff Arpaio.
Salvador Reza, a community organizer who shot the video, wrote to us:
"I appreciate if you forward it to people that you may think might get a better picture of the 'hell' we are living here in Arizona. It is getting worse instead of better."
http://www.tonatierra.org/
http://www.puenteaz.org/
NY Times: Video of Police State tactics in Maricopa
Photo: Arpaio protest in Tucson by Brenda Norrell

Special thanks to Juan Reza, for this poem written in response:

COSTLY TOY
by Juan Reza
Little girl, little boy, here’s a toy for you to stop crying while I take your Mama from your side. Can’t you see your crying bothers me? At age two, three, six or seven, you don’t know why I do it? Don’t you understand, she is illegal, dangerous criminal for sure? Don’t cry while I take your mother from you, though it’s sure you won’t be seeing her, who knows for how long - one day, four, six,… months even perhaps.
Don’t ask me profound questions, they bother me. Why I do it, you can’t understand. Now shut up and stop your crying. How dare you? I don’t even analyze them in depth. What can you know about mercenaries – sheriffs, border patrol officers, soldiers, ICE and “intelligence” agents, police, congresspersons, governors, State Department personnel, Visual Media people, authors, ideologues with and without religious titles – associated with and sold-out to interests of the financial elite? “Defenders of the nation, Democracy and liberty, protectors against terrorism and of our Rule and Law” are names by which we call our comforts. It’s my lot to do this ugly part, to cage and separate your mother from you. I have to obey, it’s the correct thing to do”.
We took your mom, but I can’t give you further reasons, just accept, they fit in well “within the current law.” It would cost me far too much right now, time, thinking, unsettling of my conscience, and seeing clearly what I’ve become: a deranged, abnormal being, demon perhaps to some. I must comply, my work requires it. Bills I have to pay. At your tender age of innocence, inseparable from the Divine, I cannot explain to you the logic of taking what’s most sacred and important in your life. Damn…I just don’t want to face it, that which I’ve become: a separator of children from their mothers and their fathers, mercenary, a traitor to myself, humanity, and even worse, to God.
“I’m only doing my job,” “I‘ve got to earn that money,” “I only follow orders,” “I deserve to be and I am happy,” are our preferred refrains – like excuses, ineffective balms and affirmations before something as powerful as the truth. They are like the smoke we blow from our dying embers that remain of the divine fire that we neglected to take good care of so as not to see ourselves with clarity before the mirrors of Divine Mother and Creator of the Truth. I sure hope that they will serve us at the hour of talking truthfully before the Divine Just Judge, who discovers everything that’s false.
In exchange for your mommy, here, now, take this toy. Study well what it has cost me! You’ll see, it’s very, but very costly, more than even my humanity. How long will I be paying for it? No, in that I don’t even dare to think.
Enough! Quit crying while I destroy, pardon, while I “deport” your mother. I don’t know how you’re going to make it, child. That part is not mine to do. Again, here I affirm, “I’m only doing my job, “I have to obey to earn money,” and “I’m happy, I’m happy, I’m happppppyyyyyyyyyyyyy - Damn! My robotic programming mechanism got jammed, I need someone to hit my head …… ppppppyyyyyyyyyyyyyy_______ ________ ___________________
By Juan N. Reza
For the humanity that remains and that is to come, especially for the children.

JUGUETE CARO
Juan N. Reza
Niña, niño, aqui te va este juguete a cambio de que dejes de llorar, mientras me llevo a tu mamá. ¿No ves que tu llanto me perturba? A tu edad de dos, tres, seis o siete años, ¿Qué no sabes porqué lo hago? ¿No entiendes que ella es ilegal? No llores mientras me llevo a tu madre aunque ya no podrás verla quien sabe hasta cuando, un dia, cuatro, seis, … meses quizás.
No me hagas preguntas molestas tan profundas sobre porqué lo hago, no lo podrás tu entender. Solamente quiero que te calles y dejes de llorar. ¿Cómo te atreves? Ni yo mismo las analizo profundamente. ¿Qué puedes saber de mercenari@s - alguaciles, patrulla fronteriza, soldad@s, agentes de “inteligencia,” y de ICE, policías, congresistas, gobernador/a, agentes del departamento de estado u oficial, cineastas y autores, ideólog@s con y sin título de religios@s - asociad@s y vendid@s a los intereses de la élite financiera? “Defensores de la patria, Democracia y libertad, protegemos contra el terrorismo” así le llamamos a nuestra propia comodidad. A mi me toca esta fea parte, enjaular a y apartarte de tu madre. Tengo que obedecer, pues eso es lo correcto.
Nos llevamos a tu mamá, pero no te puedo dar más razones, solo acepta, bien quedan “dentro de la ley.” Me costaría demasiado ahorita, tiempo, pensamiento, sacudidas a mi conciencia, y ver claramente en lo que me he convertido: una fiera trastornada y anormal. Tengo que cumplir con mi trabajo, tengo cuentas por pagar. A tu edad tan inocente inseparable de divinidad, no puedo explicarte el porqué me llevo lo más sagrado e importante en tu vida, ay…no lo quiero enfrentar, en lo que me he convertido: separador de niños de sus madres y sus padres, mercenari@, traicioner@ a Dios, a mi mismo, a toda la humanidad.
“Solo hago mi trabajo,” “tengo que ganar dinero,” “solo estoy siguiendo órdenes,” “merezco ser y soy feliz,” son nuestr@s refránes preferidos, como excusas, bálsamos y afirmaciones inefectiv@s ante algo tan fuerte como la verdad. Son como el humo que soplamos desde las murientes brazas que nos quedan del fuego divino que dejamos de cuidar para no vernos con claridad ante los espejos de la Divina Madre y Creadora de la Verdad. Ojalá nos sirvan a la hora de hablar ante el Justo Juez Divino que descubre toda falsedad.
A cambio de tu mamí, ay te va este juguete. Estudia bien lo que me ha costado. Verás, es muy, pero muy caro, aún más que mi propia humanidad. ¿Hasta cuándo lo estaré pagando? No, en eso no quiero ni pensar. ¡Ya! Calla tu llanto mientras destruyo, perdón, mientras “deporto”, a tu mamá. Haber como le haces nin@. No me compite. Afirmo,“solo hago mi trabajo,” “tengo que obedecer para ganar dinero,” y “soy feliz, soy feliz, soy felizizizzzizzzzzz. ¡Ayyy! Denme un golpe en la cabeza, se me atoró el mecanismo de mi programación robótica izizizizizizzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz_______ _______ _______ _______ ____________________________________________________________
Por Juan N. Reza “Cheno” para la humanidad que queda y que vendrá, especialmente para l@s niñ@s

Shenandoah dedicates inaugural song to Western Shoshone

By Western Shoshone Defense Project

Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Joanne Shenandoah and Michael Bucher, multiple award winning artists, will be performing at the Inauguration on Jan. 20th at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, VA. They will be performing "Riding Free," a new song written and performed by Joanne Shenandoah and dedicated to the Western Shoshone struggle and the lives of Mary and Carrie Dann. The song first appeared in the newly released film, “American Outrage” produced by Beth and George Gage. If you would like more information, or an mpeg of the song, please let us know.
Thank you Joanne for your support!
Western Shoshone Defense Project

WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON INAUGURATION DAY?
Spend Inauguration Day Supporting the Western Shoshone and the Freedom of Native Religions and Human Rights
Action Alert
As the Martin Luther King human rights weekend and on the Inauguration Day of President Barrick Obama, the 44th President of the United States, approach, we at the Western Shoshone Defense Project ask the support of everyone to assist us in opposing the continuing Human Rights violations of the Western Shoshone People and their lands.
Just two months ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of a massive open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine on the face of well-known spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo. Western Shoshone communities, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking an injunction to stop further destruction of Mt. Tenabo by Barrick Gold Corporation. The Federal Court in Reno has scheduled a hearing on Jan. 20th and 21st.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AS WE AWAIT THE COURT’s DECISION: We need supporters at both of the following locations:
1.Attend the Public Demonstration to Protect Native Spiritual Areas and Human Rights in front of the Courthouse on S. Virginia Street beginning at 8 am on both Jan. 20th and 21st.
2.Attend the Mt. Tenabo encampment and Arbor Vigil beginning tomorrow, Thursday Jan. 15th and lasting through the following week of hearings at the gathering area on the Southeast flank facing Grass Valley, Nevada. (Contact wsdp@igc.org for directions and supplies needed).
3. We also need people to write requests to President-elect Barrack Obama and his transition team. This destruction of Indigenous spiritual areas must stop now and a commitment to good faith talks with the Western Shoshone must be made.
4. Make a donation to support our work. Make checks payable to : SGF/WSDP. Send to: PO Box 211308, Crescent Valley, NV 89812.
Addresses and talking points are attached below, please do what you can – we need all the help we can get.
Background: Barrick Gold Corporation is the world’s largest gold company and operates mainly on Indigenous lands for the extraction of gold. This company has refused to accept its social responsibility to protect Indigenous peoples’ land, sacred areas, water, and air pollution. Barrick has carried out many violations of Human Rights, and abusively opposed the struggle of Indigeous lands and people. Barrick is now beginning construction of an open pit cyanide mine directly on Mt. Tenabo – a Western Shoshone spiritual and cultural area. Shoshone opposition to this mine has been ongoing and has gained global attention. Barrick has failed to recognize these concerns and has instead attempted to divide the Shoshone people, giving money and gifts to the communities, and using its media channels to state that all the people are happy and are supportive of their operations. The time is critical now as Barrick has already received full approval from the U.S. Dept. of Interior and has begun ripping out the pinyon forest and digging the pit to create its “Cortez Hills Expansion Mine”.
This mine will cause permanent destruction of the cultural and spiritual practices of the Western Shoshone. Mt. Tenabo has been, and continues to be, used by Western Shoshone people as a central part of their religious practices and world view. Western Shoshone visit the mountain and the valley below (the location of the mine pit) for prayer ceremonies, gathering of sacred plants, fasting, and vision quests, among other uses. The Mountain also contains Western Shoshone gravesites. All of these values and uses will be destroyed by the Project. In addition, the massive pumping of groundwater will likely dry up sacred springs and streams on and around Mt. Tenabo.
No big mining project in Nevada has ever been denied by the United States. This is one must be stopped.
Again, we need your help to tell Barrick to to stop presenting false information to the media making the Shoshone people and the violations of this mine to the lands and sacred areas invisible to the public. At this time we need your support to stop mining at Mount Tenabo and to tell the U.S. there must be a full review of the human rights violations of the Shoshone people. We ask for your support in this urgent case which has common elements with indigenous peoples and mining abuses around the world. Thank you for supporting the Western Shoshone Defense Project.
Some important talking points to consider in your Request:
∗ The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Decision 1/68) has specifically raised concerns regarding the mining threat to Mt. Tenabo. The United States is in further violation of this Decision in approving this project – the Obama administration needs to understand this now before taking office.
∗ The Bush administration has strong connections to the mining industry and this decision approving the “Cortez Hills Expansion” before the new administration comes in is highly questionable.– President Obama should demonstrate the change he is committed to and respect Western Shoshone spirituality and the need to stop this destructive project and uphold the human rights and Treaty rights. Request that the Obama Team meet immediately with Western Shoshone representatives to investigate further the human rights violations.
∗ Barrick is well-aware of the concerns and the Mt. Tenabo mine proposal has been specifically criticized by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The details of the mine would:
∗ Disturb 6,792 acres of land, including a heap leach and waste rock facilities.
∗ Blast the new Cortez Hills mine Pit approximately 900 feet in length, 6,400 feet in width, and a maximum depth of 2,200 feet.
∗ Pump groundwater from around the pit with an average dewatering rate of approximately 1.8 billion gallons per year for ten years.
∗ Create a drop in the water table of 1,600 feet surrounding the pit, decreasing to 10 feet at a 3-4 mile radius of the pit.
∗ Potentially impact 50 springs and seeps in the area.
∗ Of the 11 non-Cortez Gold Mine water rights impacted, only one is expected to recover fully within 100 years after dewatering ceases
Also:
President-elect Barrack Obama – Needs to demonstrate his commitment to change and meet with traditional Western Shoshone immediately to investigate the human rights situation.
Type in your info and your request directly to the Transition Team at: http://change.gov/page/s/yourstory

Leonard Peltier transferred to Canaan, Pennsylvania

Jan. 14, 2009

Leonard has been moved to Canaan, Pennsylvania

Leonard was transferred on Jan. 13 to a high-security federal prison in Canann, Pennsylvania, northeast of his former facility in Lewisburg. Prison authorities have assured us that he will retain his phone and painting privileges and access to his diabetes medication, but we will keep you posted on the transition. Many thanks to all of you who wrote the BOP on his behalf. Please write to Leonard at his new address below.
Inmate Mail/Parcels
Do not send funds to this address; for more information go to the Inmate Money page. Use this address when sending correspondence and parcels to inmates confined at this facility.
Leonard Peltier
Inmate #89637-132
USP CANAAN
U.S. PENITENTIARY
P.O. BOX 300
WAYMART, PA 18472
Physical Address (Do not use for mail unless it is the same as the mailing address listed.)
Use this address for in-person visits.
USP CANAAN
U.S. PENITENTIARY
3057 EASTON TURNPIKE
WAYMART, PA 18472
Phone: 570-488-8000
Fax: 570-488-8130
E-mail address: CAA/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV2

Urgent Alert -- Sen. Dorgan Calls Peltier trial "fair and just"
Please write, call, or fax (Senators do not read email) Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who recently stated his belief that Leonard Peltier’s trial was “fair and just”. Dorgan is chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which is responsible for the funding and oversight of the BIA police force that terrorized the Pine Ridge reservation in the 1970s. Even if he does not support Leonard Peltier, Dorgan must acknowledge that the families of victims of federal violence such as Pedro Bissonette, Buddy Lamont, Sandra Wounded Foot, Frank Clearwater, and many others deserve the same recognition and respect as those of FBI agents Coler and Williams. Their deaths have gone not only for the most part unpunished, but also uninvestigated. History, as well as justice, demands a full congressional investigation of the events of 1973-1977 on Pine Ridge and beyond. Dorgan clearly has much to learn, and he should begin his education by asking the FBI why they are continuing to withhold documents and how they could have “misplaced” the Myrtle Poor Bear files, as they recently claimed in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. We must pressure Sen. Dorgan, as well as educate him.
As committee chairman, he will have to be more responsive to tribal demands, so tribal resolutions directed to both Dorgan and Obama are more important than ever. We will be drafting a model resolution soon, so please contact our office if you would like to work on presenting it to your tribal council. But please call or write Sen. Dorgan (form letter below for guidance) by next week and forward any responses you may receive.
For Freedom in 09,
LPDOC
Senator Byron Dorgan
322 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
Phone (202) 224-2551
Fax (202) 224-1193
Dear Senator Dorgan:
I was disappointed to learn that you consider the conviction and sentencing of indigenous activist Leonard Peltier to have been “fair and just”. Amnesty International, which closely observed the 1977 trial and subsequent hearings and appeals, came to quite the opposite conclusion. In calling for Leonard’s “immediate and unconditional” release on Nov. 16, 2000, the human rights organization stated that it “has repeatedly voiced serious concerns over the fairness of the legal proceedings which led to Leonard Peltier’s conviction and sentence, and believes that political factors may have influenced the way in which the case was conducted”. Every federal appeals court which has reviewed the trial has found evidence of government misconduct in the case, even while denying Peltier a new trial. For instance, Appeals Court Judge Gerald Heaney, who rejected Peltier’s motion for a new trial in 1986 on technical legal grounds, five years later wrote that “the United States government must share responsibility with the Native Americans for the June 26 firefight”.
As Heaney also wrote, “We, as a nation, must treat Native Americans more fairly. Favorable action by the President in the Leonard Peltier case would be an important step in this regard.” As chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, you are in a position to initiate this healing process. It must be remembered that agents Coler and Williams were far from the only victims of the conflict on Pine Ridge, in which the BIA and FBI were key players in propping up a corrupt dictatorship. You owe it to your constituents and to yourself to conduct a full-fledged investigation into the dozens of deaths on Pine Ridge in the 1970s. Such a process, perhaps along the lines of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will help heal the wounds of the forgotten victims of U.S.-backed death squads, as well as contribute to a fuller understanding of our shared history that will help prevent future conflicts.
Sincerely, Your Name, Address, Phone
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info
IPF WEBSITE: http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm
and www.myspace.com/leonardpeltierisinnocent
contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info