UFPPC STUDY CIRCLE: The Middle East, Islam, the West
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- Written by UFPPC
On Mon., Nov. 28, at 7:00 p.m., at the Mandolin Cafe in Tacoma, UFPPC will begin "Digging Deeper XII: The Middle East, Islam, the West," a study circle around four books about relations between the West and the Middle East. -- No charge for participation; some copies of books are available for borrowing or purchase. -- More information below, or click here for a flyer on the study circle....
LOCAL NEWS: UFPPC meets with staff from Reps. Adam Smith & Norm Dicks on torture issue
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- Written by UFPPC
At 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, a delegation of seven UFPPC members met with staff of Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA 9th) and Norm Dicks (D-WA 6th), who between them represent most of Pierce County, Washington, at the offices of Rep. Smith on Port of Tacoma Road. -- Their purpose: 1) to press Congress to enact the McCain amendment; 2) to urge that a commission be established by Congress to investigate the abuse and torture scandals that have yet to be addressed adequately; 3) to insist that U.S. standards of treatement of detainees must be brought in line with the standards of the international community. -- More than a year ago, UFPPC met twice with Adam Smith on this issue, which continues to fester: the McCain amendment, passed 90-9 by the U.S. Senate on Oct. 6, is at risk of being eliminated or diluted in conference committee. -- Congressman Smith is well placed to exert influence on the torture issue, being a member of both the House Armed Services Committee (where he works on subcommittees for Tactical Air & Land Forces, Terrorism, and Unconventional Threats & Capabilities) and the House International Relations Committee (where he belongs to the subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific), and Congressman Dicks, whose influence on national security issues is well known, is a member of the House-Senate conference committee that will determine the fate of the McCain amendment. -- Staffers Sean Egan and Tom Luce assured UFPPC that Reps. Smith and Dicks share UFPPC's concerns, but the delegation, which consisted of UFPPC members Kristi Nebel, Steve Nebel, Ted Nation, Burk Ketcham, Rob Crawford, Mark Jensen, and Catherine Scott, pressed for stronger action and more audible expression of these concerns. -- They go to the heart of the nation's soul and security, as is said in the following letter addressed to Reps. Smith and Dicks and conveyed to them by the delegation. -- The text of the letter is posted below....
LETTER: US needs a commission on torture policy
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- Written by Madeleine Lee
Bettina B. Plevan, president of the New York City Bar Association, points out the fundamental flaw of the Bush administration's approach to torture policy: "The same people who started this program are the ones who oversee the investigation of its results." -- United for Peace of Pierce County agrees with her recommendation: "Congress should establish a commission similar in concept to the 9/11 commission to expose not only those who torture but also those who set in motion, and continue to pursue, a torture policy that has so undercut our world standing." -- A delegation from UFPPC will be meeting with Rep. Adam Smith's office this Tuesday to press this point....