No Comments »

Stan Heller continues his campaign to get United for Peace and Justice to mention Iran in their upcoming April 29 demo. Incredibly, not only is UFJP refusing to mention the threat of a war in Iran, their “demo” won’t even have speakers. Golly, let’s just have a group hug for peace, that’ll stop the neocons, you betcha.

We covered what Stan is doing in an April 14 post, Not a time for tepid protest.

UFPJ Leadership:
Change course on April 29 demo

My article on Counterpunch.org “Time to Shake-Up the Peace Movement” criticizing UFPJ plans for April 29 has gotten a very good response with emails and requests for reprints. Though no one on the UFPJ steering committee has deigned to send me a reply, the day after my piece came out UFPJ sent out their first mass emailing calling for “No War on Iran”. Still no change yet in the demands for the demo and THERE ARE NO PLANS TO HAVE ANY SPEAKERS, just a march and a “festival”. - Stanley Heller

From his listserv

On April 14th UFPJ did send out a mailing to all their groups/members with a good statement against war/sanctions against Iran and theres a section of the UFPJ website about Iran. PROGRESS. But the website about the demo still does not have a demand about Iran, let alone Israel and Palestine. A message from UFPJ affiliate the US Campaign Against the Occupation says the demo can’t be changed because UFPJ is in coaltion with groups like Friends of the Earth and Rainbow/PUSH. The threat of nuclear war isn’t enough to get the folks together for a meeting to change the demo?

The real reason, methinks, is that UFJP wants to cosy up to the Democratic Party, so nothing beyond bland, innocuous calls for peace will be allowed.

Sign the petition demanding UFJP have speakers, and mention Iran and Palestine on April 29. More information.

5 Comments »

California State Prisons Chief resigns after 2 months on the job

Jeanne S. Woodford, as did her predecessor, reportedly complained of political interference.

Her departure follows the resignation in February of Roderick Q. Hickman, who said he was moving on because he lacked sufficient political support to bring change to a prison system that is often called a revolving-door warehouse for felons.

California’s “political environment and the power of special interests,” Hickman said at the time, “work against efforts to bring about lasting reform.”

In recent days, Woodford, 52, expressed some of the same concerns, said one official familiar with the situation, who asked not be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Woodford was particularly distressed that top aides to Schwarzenegger were consulting the prison guards union about her suggested candidates for warden jobs and other positions in the department, the official said.

Woodford, a 28 year veteran, was a genuine reformist who stressed alcohol and drug treatment so offenders would not return to prison. Given the neandertal prison guards union and other entrenched special interests, her views were considered heresy and ridiculed, then attacked.

Here’s what she was trying to do, from our report of her speech in April of last year.

Now you see who Arnold really is. Only in the thuggish world of a powerful politically-connected prison guards union combined with those who want to build ever more prisons, would those who want to stop the revolving door of prison through alcohol and drug treatment be unmercifully attacked.

Because, for them, it’s all about the money. More prisoners means more jobs for guards and more prisons to be built, and someone sure is getting rich off all those new prisons, all part of the huge, and still growing, California prison-industrial complex.
[tags]Jeanne Woodford[/tags]

No Comments »

Checkmate

Global Voices has lots more coverage.

Revolution In Nepal: Monarchy on its way out

No Comments »