Tuesday, January 28, 2003

THIS WEEK (Jan. 30th & 31st) ON FIRST PEOPLES TV - "Storytellers of the Pacific - Self Determination" "Storytellers of the Pacific - Self Determination " deals with the oral traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Rim. This show looks at the issue of self-determination through the words and stories of four cultures who have had to struggle to keep their cultures intact. Groups featured are the Nisqually people of the Pacific Northwest, native Hawaiians, the Seri people of the Sonoran Desert in northern Mexico, and the Aleut people of Alaska's Pribiloff Islands. SCREENING TIMES Thu, Jan 30, 9:00 PM ET (Thu, Jan 30, 6:00 PM PT) Fri, Jan 31, 3:00 AM ET (Fri, Jan 31, 12:00 AM PT) Fri, Jan 31, 9:00 AM ET (Fri, Jan 31, 6:00 AM PT) Fri, Jan 31, 3:00 PM ET (Fri, Jan 31, 12:00 PM PT) FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FIRST PEOPLES TV & WORLDLINK TV: For program descriptions visit http://www.dreamcatchers.org/fptv or for program schedules visit http://www.worldlinktv.org FIRST PEOPLES TV WorldLink TV (http://www.worldlinktv.org), the first nationwide television network providing Americans with global perspectives on news, events and culture, is broadcasting a new weekly series by and about the tribal peoples of the world. "First Peoples TV" features 26 award-winning documentaries and dramas focusing on the lives of contemporary Native and Aboriginal people and the issues they face. WorldLink's programming consists of first run documentaries, foreign feature films, global news reports and eight hours of world music each day. Launched in December 1999, the channel is available in over 17 million U.S. homes via basic service on the direct-to-home satellite services DIRECTV® (Channel 375) and EchoStar's DISH Network® (Channel 9410). "First Peoples TV" is the first time a regularly scheduled TV series concerning tribal peoples will be accessible to all urban areas, including the territories of every Indigenous nation in the United States. 5:10:23 PM    comment

Freedom Writers QUOTE OF THE DAY "Justice without love is not justice. Love without justice is not love." - - Mother Teresa RHINO HERE: Yesterday the inspectors reported. Still no smoking Gun. Meanwhile, word round the beltway is the shrub gang is considering possible use of first strike nuke on Baghdad. The Nuclear Option in Iraq - LA Times- 1/26/03 The U.S. has lowered the bar for using the ultimate weapon by William M. Arkin, a military affairs analyst who writes regularly for Opinion. http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0126-01.htm Meanwhile a new Darth Vader is surfacing as a key player in the new Death Star saga. His name is Harlan Ullman; defense intellectual of the National War College, former head of extended planning for the U.S. Navy. From the sound of it, he thinks collateral damage is a good thing. Shock & Awe: Is Baghdad the Next Hiroshima? - Common Dreams.org - 1/27/03 by Ira Chernus, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0127-08.htm Even though I don't live in Ohio, Congressman Dennis Kuchinich has been speaking for me in issuing the following recent press releases.This is one stand-up for compassion legislator: "Kucinich Calls On Administration to Renounce Use of 'First Strike' Nuclear Weapons In Iraq" "A news report in today's Los Angeles Times indicates that the Administration is considering the use of 'first strike' nuclear missiles in Iraq. Today, I call upon the President to publicly renounce the use of such weapons. Such discussion serves only to destabilize an already fragile region, and could further deteriorate the crisis in North Korea. Nuclear rhetoric such as this also sends a dangerous message to other nuclear countries such as India and Pakistan, and sets the United States at odds with nuclear powers China and Russia." http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/oh10_kucinich/030125nuclear1st.html "Report To UN Shows No 'Smoking Gun', Administration Must Stop Rush To War And Allow UN To Disarm Iraq" "While today's report to the UN Security Council demonstrated that Iraq should do more to cooperate with UN weapons inspectors, the report fell short of justifying the Administration's rush to war in Iraq. While the burden to disarm falls upon Iraq, the burden to prove the threat posed by Iraq falls upon the Administration. It is clear, not only to citizens of this country but also to the international community, that the Administration has failed to make a case for a preemptive attack on Iraq...." http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/oh10_kucinich/030127UNreport.html "Become A Freedom Writer" Monday's Blog included links to info on the work Amnesty International (A.I.) is doing to improve the state of human rights in countries like Iraq, Columbia & Russia. Today I'll focus on how A.I. directs attention to the plight of specific prisoners of conscience. Each month, members of A.I.'s "Freedom Writers Network" take action on 3 selected human rights cases. By coordinating thousands of letters being sent to those responsible for specific people's imprisonment.,the Freedom Writers force captors to realize that people all over the world know of their deeds. Shedding the light of international attention into the dungeons of the world has resulted in the successful release of many prisoners over the decades of A.I.'s existence. For each case, A.I. provides a sample letter printable as is, or to be used as guides for composing unique correspondence. A.I. provides addresses, The Freedom Writers provide the International airmail postage (80 cents for a one-page letter from the U.S.). A cheap price to pay for the satisfaction that you're helping to right some terrible wrongs in the world. I urge you to join. INFO ON THIS MONTHS CASES & ON BECOMING A FREEDOM WRITER IS AT: http://www.amnestyusa.org/freedomwriters FOR MANY OTHER WAYS TO LEND A HAND TO AMNESTY, GO TO: http://www.amnestyusa.org/join/participate.html This month's Freedom Writers human rights cases: LAOS - Appeal Case: January 2003 Thongpaseuth Keuakoun and 4 other students were arrested for their alleged involvement in a planned demonstration in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, in October 1999. The organizers of the demonstration had issued an open letter calling for respect for human rights, the release of political prisoners, a multi-party political system, and greater government support for education and health care. Police crushed the demonstration before it began and arrested hundreds of people. Amnesty International considers Thongpaseuth Keuakoun and his colleagues to be prisoners of conscience. Sample Letter at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/freedomwriters/fw1.html MOROCCO/WESTERN SAHARA - Appeal Case: January 2003 Ali-Salem Tamek was fined and sentenced to two years' imprisonment in September 2002 for "undermining the internal security of the state." He is a leading member of the Forum for Truth and Justice, an association established in 1999 to campaign for the rights of victims of torture, "disappearances" and other human rights violations. Amnesty International believes that his conviction was based on his belief that Western Sahara, annexed by Morocco in 1975, should be an independent state. Sample Letter at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/freedomwriters/fw2.html TURKEY - Appeal Case: January 2003 Eren Keskin is a well-known human rights lawyer who has challenged the government on numerous occasions over human rights violations. In the latest episode of a long campaign of harassment and intimidation, Ms. Keskin's license to practice law was suspended. Amnesty International views this act as an attempt to prevent Ms. Keskin from carrying out her important and legitimate activities as a human rights defender. Sample Letter at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/freedomwriters/fw3.html Former Freedom Writer Cases where prisoners of conscience were released: EGYPT - Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Nadia al-Nur (December 2001 Freedom Writers Bulletin) were released from prison after Egypt's highest appeals court overturned their conviction on December 3, 2002, and ordered a new trial. The two had previously been released in February 2002 but were re-imprisoned in July. Their new trial is scheduled to begin in January 2003. EQUATORIAL GUINEA - Fabián Nsue Nguema Obono (October 2002 Freedom Writers bulletin) was released from prison on October 16, 2002. He is recovering from the torture he endured in detention and still cannot use all his fingers. Fabián has said that while he was in prison he was aware of the work being done on his behalf by Amnesty International, and he is grateful to all those who wrote on his behalf. SYRIA - Riad al-Turk (October 2001 FW bulletin) The 72-year-old prisoner of conscience and leading opposition activist was released from 'Adra Prison following a personal Presidential amnesty on Nov. 16, 2002. A.I. FOR KIDS A.I. even has a letter writing program for kids that's designed for classroom use. If you know of teachers who may be interested, or just want to get your kids involved, check out the links below: "Mr. Human Rights" explains A.I. to kids: http://www.amnestyusa.org/aikids/basics.html A.I. Kids take action: http://www.amnestyusa.org/aikids THE BOTTOM LINE today is an explanation of what A.I. calls its Urgent Action Network. 9:55:59 AM    comment

About the Amnesty International Urgent Action Network The Urgent Action Network (UAN) is an Amnesty International program designed to provide a quick, effective response to situations of urgency involving prisoners, detainees and other threatened individuals. There are Urgent Action Networks in 78 countries where there are established Amnesty International organizations. In the United States, thousands of individual AI members, student groups, community chapters and other organizations make up its Urgent Action Network. A.I.'s Urgent Action Network consists of a streamlined procedure for finding and responding to urgent information about threatened individuals and quickly getting it to a pool of concerned people who agree to be 'on call' to send immediate letters, faxes, telegrams, and aerograms to government authorities regarding cases of torture, capital punishment, extrajudicial execution, ill-treatment, "disappearance," untreated health problems, death threats, denial of legal counsel, unacknowledged detention, forced repatriation, harassment, and arbitrary arrest... FOR THE FULL DESCRIPTION & HOW TO JOIN URGENT ACTION NETWORK: http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/about_uan.html "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. 9:42:49 AM    comment

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