Gulf News
Tsunami challenges still lie ahead, says Annan
Agencies
Banda Aceh, Indonesia: Mourners from across the world wept, prayed and observed moments of silence along ravaged Indian Ocean coastlines yesterday to remember those killed by one of nature's deadliest disasters.
A year after the tsunami, a huge recovery operation has brought hope to hundreds of thousands of survivors. But the sorrow, pain and trauma remain strong along with fears that monster waves could come again.
http://www.gulfnews.com/home/main_story/10007643.html
World leaders give condolences
AP
Banda Aceh: World leaders have sent condolence messages one year after the Indian Ocean tsunami struck a dozen countries, leaving more than 216,000 dead or missing.
"Tens of thousands of you are still living in inadequate shelters and have little access to information about your future...I want you to know that I won't be satisfied until you have decent homes and job opportunities, so that your children can go out with a [new] sense of security. I will stay the course, and will work with you to sustain a promise of a brighter future," wrote Former US President Bill Clinton, UN special envoy for tsunami recovery, in a message to survivors.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Indonesia/10007568.html
A 5-star retreat for women
By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
An exclusive health and leisure centre in the UAE with a range of facilities to rival the best in the Middle East, the Sharjah Ladies Club is a world of fitness and fun.
Whether you have a family, a career or both, everyone needs private time and the Sharjah Ladies Club gives women this private world, a world of physical and mental enlightenment.
Shaikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Vice-President of the club, said its mission was to offer health and well-being, recreation and entertainment, social activities, sports and new skills.
"Our mission is simple. To provide an exclusive retreat where women can relax and recharge in idyllic surroundings," she said.
http://www.gulfnews.com/tabloid/Leisure/10007472.html
When a child is born
By Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
Christmas Day was made extra special for three Dubai families as they were each handed their little bundles of joy.
The overjoyed new mums and dads all said they couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present.
Renee Kearney and Matthew Smith were the first to spring into action as Renee started to feel uncomfortable at around 10pm on Christmas Eve.
However, the Canadian couple were not convinced that little Ava Beatrice was on the way.
Renee explained: "We had already had a scare about two weeks ago when I thought she was on the way. But the doctors sent us home and said that pregnancy was just uncomfortable!"
"So when I felt some movement we just thought we would be sent home again ? we didn't even take the [overnight] bag with us."
But almost 12 hours later, at 1.50pm, Ava was born, weighing in at 8lbs 13oncs.
http://www.gulfnews.com/tabloid/People/10007470.html
India and Iran to hold talks on $7b gas link
Reuters
Mumbai: India and Iran will hold talks this week in New Delhi to discuss the progress of a proposed $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline and a separate liquefied natural gas deal between the two nations.
Iran's deputy oil minister, Mohammad Hadi Nejad Hosseinian, is scheduled to participate in these discussions tomorrow and Thursday, after arriving in India this evening.
"The biggest challenge before us today is to find a way as to how do we structure the project in a consensual way," an official from the Indian oil ministry, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters yesterday.
http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Oil_and_Gas/10007488.html
Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour jailed
Agencies
Cairo: Leading government opponent and former presidential candidate Ayman Nour has been sentenced by an Egyptian court to five years in jail on charges of forgery.
Nour, leader of the Ghad (tomorrow party) was held for questioning in January. The rules of the Egyptian election stipulated that hundreds of supporting signatures had to be gathered before a party could run. The Egyptian authorities allege that many of the signatures on Nour?s application were forged.
Nour's lawyer, Amir Salem said they would appeal the case. "This verdict will go into the dustbin of history," Salem shouted, adding that they would take the case to the court cassation, which is the highest appeal body.
Hundreds of supporters, led by Nour's wife Gameela Ismail, chanted "Down with Hosni Mubarak, Mubarak's rule is illegal." About one hundred supporters slept in the street the night before the trial but were prevented from entering the court house by hundreds of police guards.
Nour, who has been on hunger strike for the past two weeks in protest to his detention says the trial is an attempt by the state to destroy him politically.
Nour's detention drew international criticism and there is mounting pressure on US President George W. Bush to take action on Nour's behalf.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Egypt/10007071.html
Washington's outrage over Nour's sentence rings hollow
By Linda S. Heard, Special to Gulf News
Leader of Egypt's Al Ghad Party Ayman Nour was sentenced to five years for forgery last Saturday, which the Bush administration apparently finds "deeply troubling".
"The conviction of Mr Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom and the rule law," reads a White House statement.
These fine sentiments, echoed by human rights groups, are to be commended, and if they emanated, say, from Sweden, the tone of this column would be congratulatory, as it generally believed that Nour's trial was nothing little than a piece of political theatre.
However, in light of recent revelations concerning the US government's human rights abuses, the statement smacks of the pot calling the kettle black.
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10007498.html
Ten killed as quake strikes Iran
Agencies
Tehran: A powerful earthquake measuring at least 5.9 on the Richter scale struck Qeshim island off Iran's southern coast, killing at least ten people and damaging four villages.
The main hospital on Qeshim was full of wounded people.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10000851.html
UAE rocked by Iran quake
Staff Report
Dubai: The Dubai area has experienced tremors emanating from an earthquake in southern Iran.
The quake measuring 6.1 on the richter scale, had its epicentre in the south of Iran.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/United_Arab_Emirates/10000853.html
UAE meteorology body confirms tremors
WAM
Dubai: Shaikha Mouza Al Mualla, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Communication, and the UAE?s Permanent Representative of the World Meteorology Organization, said a medium tremor was felt by people in most areas of the UAE on Sunday, especially in the northern emirates.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/United_Arab_Emirates/10000852.html
Counsel says he saw marks of torture on Saddam
AP
Amman: Saddam Hussain was severely tortured by US forces, the deposed leader's chief Iraqi lawyer, Khalil Dulaimi, claimed yesterday, adding that he had seen the bruises.
The United States has strenuously denied maltreating Saddam, and the Iraqi judge who investigated the fallen president said that until last week he had always said 'no' when asked if he had been abused.
Dulaimi, who still regards Saddam as the president of Iraq, said yesterday the torture was revealed to him during a brief interview with Saddam last week, when he led the defence team in the Baghdad trial hearings Wednesday and Thursday.
"The president was tortured severely
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10007030.html
Diplomat among six Sudanese abducted in Iraq
Agencies
Baghdad: A Sudanese diplomat and five other Sudanese were kidnapped yesterday as they left prayers at a mosque, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
One of those kidnapped was able to briefly telephone the country's mission after he was taken.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10007037.html
Talks held to develop biblical park in Galilee
AP
Occupied Jerusalem: Israel is offering evangelical Christians a chunk of the Holy Land.
Fourteen hectares of rolling hills and rocky shores of the Sea of Galilee, tucked between key sites in Jesus' ministry, would be leased to an association of evangelists led by American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, Israeli tourism officials say.
The potential deal for turning over biblical lands to develop a tourist destination underlines how ties have strengthened in recent years between Israel and evangelical Christian groups that support the Jewish state.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10007005.html
US monitors Muslim sites for radiation
Agencies
Washington: Fearing an attack from Al Qaida, US authorities have been covertly monitoring radiation levels at Muslim sites across America.
US News and World Report magazine reported the program on Friday. It said monitoring was conducted at more than 100 Muslim sites in the Washington area - including Maryland and Virginia suburbs. At least five other cities, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, New York and Seattle were also heavily monitored when threat levels rose. Sites monitored included mosques homes and businesses.
According to US News and World Report, the nuclear surveillance programme was set up after the attacks of 11 September 2001.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/U.S.A_/10007070.html
European arrest warrants issued for CIA agents
AP
Rome: A judge has issued European arrest warrants for 22 purported CIA operatives in connection with the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric from a Milan street in 2003, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Prosecutor Armando Spataro said the warrants allowed for the arrest of the suspects in any of the 25 European Union member countries.
Previously, Italy had issued arrest warrants for the 22 inside Italy.
Daria Pesce, a lawyer for one of the 22 accused, played down the significance of the warrants but acknowledged they meant that the suspects could no longer travel to Europe without risking arrest.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Italy/10007045.html
UN budget talks focus on ending reform impasse
Reuters
United Nations: A group of wealthy countries, including the United States, proposed a UN budget compromise that diplomats said could end an impasse over management reforms opposed by developing nations.
"It is still a question whether we will have a budget deal by Christmas, but a path has been laid out and we are going to keep negotiating," French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere told reporters after all-day talks. "There is no Plan B."
The negotiations were due to resume in the morning and diplomats predicted that without an agreement yesterday, the talks likely would drag on right up to a December 31 deadline for the 2006 budget to be in place.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/United_Nations/10006983.html
Duma approves NGO Bill
AP
Moscow: Russia's lower house of parliament approved a much-criticised Bill yesterday that imposes strict curbs on non-governmental organisations, a measure that rights groups and others say could deal a damaging blow to struggling civil society under President Vladimir Putin.
The State Duma voted in favour of the Bill 357-20 with seven abstentions in the third of three required readings. The legislation, which has been rushed through parliament, is expected to be approved early next week by the equally compliant upper house before being signed into law by Putin.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Russia/10006954.html
Unauthorised spying won't solve the problem
By Gary Hart, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
Three weeks after I took the oath of office in the Senate in 1975, then-Majority Leader Mike Mansfield appointed me to a newly created committee the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities, which soon came to be known as the "Church Committee", after its chairman, the late Senator Frank Church of Idaho. Out of 11 members, I was by far the youngest.
The Senate had impanelled the committee because of increasing reports of abuse of authority by the country's myriad intelligence agencies under the Nixon administration as well as previous administrations. For two years, the committee investigated broadly the CIA, FBI, DIA and NSA were all within its purview and finally, in 1976, it issued a series of recommendations designed to prevent future abuses.
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10006965.html
Chicago Tribune
A matriarch's quandary: Saving a family adrift
By Kim Barker
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published December 26, 2005
NAGAPATTINAM, India -- Valliammai watches as the gold wedding necklace is tied around her daughter's neck, as the silver rings are slipped on her toes. She cries because her husband is not there.
She wears a pink sari with rose trim, one of the only saris she rescued from the tsunami. A fake gold necklace has left a bumpy rash on her neck. It is all she could afford, a poor replacement for her own wedding necklace, which she pawned for $12 to buy food.
"I don't have anybody," Valliammai says on this day in March. "There is nobody to help me. I'm all alone."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512260191dec26,1,348305.story?coll=chi-news-hed
2 more deaths bring area's cold toll to 7
Published December 26, 2005
CHICAGOLAND -- Autopsies confirmed that two men in the Chicago area died Saturday of hypothermia, bringing the Chicagoland total of cold weather-related deaths this season to at least seven.
David Webster, 56, of Oak Forest was pronounced dead in Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, said a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office. The cause of death was hypothermia and coronary atherosclerosis.
The second man, whose name is not known and who is believed to have been homeless, was pronounced dead of hypothermia and alcohol intoxication at 8 p.m. Saturday, the spokesman said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260223dec26,1,6381988.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Brief power outage hits nearly 15,400
Published December 26, 2005
WEST SUBURBS -- Nearly 15,400 ComEd customers in the west suburbs lost power early Christmas morning after electrical crews encountered problems while reconfiguring circuits.
The planned work at the Forest Park substation affected 15,390 customers in Berwyn, Forest Park, Maywood, North Riverside, Riverside and Oak Park, ComEd spokesman Luis Diaz said.
Workers were switching electrical loads at the substation at 1 a.m. when the outage occurred. Electricity was restored by 4 a.m., Diaz said.
He added that he did not know what caused the power outage. Its cause is under investigation.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260233dec26,1,6840741.story?coll=chi-news-hed
4 killed, dozens hurt in train derailment
Items compiled from Tribune news services
Published December 26, 2005
TOKYO, JAPAN -- An express train traveling through strong winter winds derailed in northern Japan, killing four people and injuring more than 30, officials said Monday.
Five cars of the six-car express train derailed Sunday evening, three of them toppling onto their sides in Yamagata prefecture, about 180 miles north of Tokyo, officials said. The train was going from northern Akita to Niigata prefecture.
The survivors' injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Yamagata police spokesman Yoshikatsu Oe said. It was unclear how many passengers were on the train.
Two men and two women were killed, officials said. Rescuers planned to lift the wreckage later in the day to see if any other passengers remained beneath.
Transport Ministry official Hiromi Mishima said the cause of the derailment was not known.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260183dec26,1,610224.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Candle sales flicker, but far from going out
The market for candles has seen some shadows since the bright 1990s, and makers are turning to less traditional outlets and developing new products in hopes of adding spark to their business
By David Sharp
Associated Press
Published December 26, 2005
Kathy Higgins has holiday candles in her living room. They're on windowsills. They're next to beds and in both bathrooms. They're on the dining room table, the buffet table, and the coffee table in her Cumberland, Maine, home.
This is the season for candles, with a third of annual sales coming during a two-month period capped by the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's holidays.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0512260240dec26,1,4528549.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Amusement Park Attendance Up 4.2 Percent
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press Writer
Published December 25, 2005, 9:43 AM CST
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Powered by strong investment in new rides, the 50th anniversary of Disneyland and hurricanes that spared the theme park capital of Orlando, attendance at North America's 50 most popular amusement parks rose 4.2 percent in 2005.
An estimated 176 million visitors went to North America's most popular parks, according to an annual survey being released Monday by the trade
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-theme-park-attendance,1,6552885.story?coll=chi-business-hed
5 Killed in Va. Murder-Suicide Shootings
By Associated Press
Published December 26, 2005, 10:59 AM CST
GREAT FALLS, Va. -- A man shot to death four people on Christmas Day in suburban Washington before killing himself, police said.
The man killed his mother in a house they shared in McLean and then traveled about eight miles to a house in Great Falls where he shot two men and a woman and then himself, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing police sources.
The Fairfax County Police Department would not confirm the name of the gunman nor his relationship to one of the female victims when contacted Monday by The Associated Press.
The gunman apparently knew all of the victims, police said, but investigators did not report a motive for the shootings.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-five-shot,1,3278304.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Iraq Violence Leaves at Least 2 Dozen Dead
By MARIAM FAM
Associated Press Writer
Published December 26, 2005, 2:55 PM CST
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Violence increased across Iraq after a short lull following the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections, with at least two dozen people killed in shootings and bombings mostly targeting the Shiite-dominated security services. The dead included a U.S. soldier killed by a grenade in Baghdad.
The violence came as three Iraqi opposition groups threatened to stage another wave of protests and resort to civil disobedience if allegations of fraud are not properly investigated.
The three blocs include the secular Iraqi National List, headed by former Shiite Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, and two leading Sunni Arab groups.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-iraq,1,1372776.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Michael Moore Today
NSA spy program broader than Bush admitted
‘Pattern analysis’ performed on main U.S. telecommunication channels
Reuters
NEW YORK - The volume of information gathered from telephone and Internet communications by the National Security Agency without court-approved warrants was much larger than the White House has acknowledged, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Citing current and former government officials, the Times said the information was collected by tapping directly into some of the U.S. telecommunication system’s main arteries. The officials said the NSA won the cooperation of telecommunications companies to obtain access to both domestic and international communications without first gaining warrants.
A former telecommunications technology manager told the Times that industry leaders have been storing information on calling patterns and giving it to the federal government to aid in tracking possible terrorists since the Sept. 11 attacks.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5279
Judges on Surveillance Court To Be Briefed on Spy Program
By Carol D. Leonnig and Dafna Linzer / Washington Post
The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program, according to several intelligence and government sources.
Several members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in interviews that they want to know why the administration believed secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails of U.S. citizens without court authorization was legal. Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court.
"The questions are obvious," said U.S. District Judge Dee Benson of Utah. "What have you been doing, and how might it affect the reliability and credibility of the information we're getting in our court?"
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5258
December 24th, 2005 1:58 am
Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report
By Eric Lichtblau and James Risen / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 - The National Security Agency has traced and analyzed large volumes of telephone and Internet communications flowing into and out of the United States as part of the eavesdropping program that President Bush approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to hunt for evidence of terrorist activity, according to current and former government officials.
The volume of information harvested from telecommunication data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the officials said. It was collected by tapping directly into some of the American telecommunication system's main arteries, they said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5277
Alito Defended Ordering Domestic Wiretaps
By Donna Cassata / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito defended the right of government officials to order domestic wiretaps for national security when he worked at the Reagan Justice Department, an echo of President Bush's rationale for spying on U.S. residents in the war on terror.
Then an assistant to the solicitor general, Alito wrote a 1984 memo that provided insights on his views of government powers and legal recourse — seen now through the prism of Bush's actions — as well as clues to the judge's understanding of how the Supreme Court operates.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5269
Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
By Barton Gellman / Washington Post
The Bush administration requested, and Congress rejected, war-making authority "in the United States" in negotiations over the joint resolution passed days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to an opinion article by former Senate majority leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) in today's Washington Post.
Daschle's disclosure challenges a central legal argument offered by the White House in defense of the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. It suggests that Congress refused explicitly to grant authority that the Bush administration now asserts is implicit in the resolution.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5274
Secret wiretaps could hurt prosecutions, experts warn
By Ted Bridis / Associated Press
Washington - The Bush administration's decision to sometimes bypass the secretive U.S. court that governs terrorism wiretaps could threaten cases against terror suspects that rely on evidence uncovered during the disputed eavesdropping, some legal experts cautioned.
These experts pointed to this week's unprecedented resignation from the government's spy court by U.S. District Judge James Robertson as an indicator of the judiciary's unease over domestic wiretaps ordered without warrants under a highly classified domestic spying program authorized by President Bush.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5261
Survey noted on December 24, 2005. 8:49 am est
Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment?
* 142796 responses
Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial.
85%
No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching "high crimes and misdemeanors."
5%
No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching.
8%
I don't know.
2%
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904/
Letters IMPEACH BUSH
After considering his latest TV performance in defending his latest scandal, I write today to sound the alarm that our President is officially out of control. Though I had not considered it a serious possibility, after reflecting on it I agree with those who say it is time to get rolling with our impeachment option.
This is not about Bush's stalwart though factually weak defense of the truly out of control spying on Americans. This is about the "tact" that they decided to use and the fact that they had the full year granted to them by the New York Times to prepare how they would answer the public for their deed.
Make no mistake about how drastic it was either. It was (is) widespread spying on mostly innocent people in hope of nabbing a few evil ones, and it was (and is) being done without any true checks or oversight.
With that being the reality, the defense they could have chosen could have been either a reasonable or a radical one.
Predictably they chose the latter. The simple strategy of it was as obvious as if we were watching it unfold on the TV version of the West Wing.
"Okay, team, it's go time, let's go on the offensive! Say damn right we did it and we're not apolozing, and we're going to continue to do it whether anyone likes it or not! Remind them some more about 9/11!
"And don't forget, tell Americans to doubt any political enemies who even want to make anything of it.
"And don't forget, imply treason and defeatism of any who would be part of shedding light on it too!"
It is arrogance totally unchecked from the one person who holds the most power in his hands of any person in the world - at a time when America and the world are far more volatile and uncertain than ever.
As their nonsense goes on and on, impeachment is where I am today. Starting with the top Neocon (by proxy or not) - the 43rd President of the United States.
Let's roll, America!
Al Kernan
Churchville
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/13471621.htm
Demand Censure and Accountability for Misconduct by Bush and Cheney in Iraq War
Dear Friend:
Today I released a staff Report entitled, “The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Coverups in the Iraq War.”
In response to the Report – which finds substantial evidence of federal legal violations by numerous members of the Bush Administration --
I have introduced a resolution creating a Select Committee with subpoena authority to investigate the misconduct of the Bush Administration with regard to the Iraq war and report on possible impeachable offenses; as well as Resolutions proposing both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney should be censured by Congress based on the uncontroverted evidence of their abuse of power.
To read the Report, sign up as a citizen cosponsor of these efforts, or make a contribution and obtain a signed copy of a book version of the report to be published in the coming months, please go to the Iraq Report Action Center on my web site.
Iraq Report Action Center
In addition to highlighting the devastating arrogance, hubris, and wrongheadedness of the Bush Administration, the Report also highlights the danger of one party rule in Washington and inability of the Republican Congress to operate as any sort of check or balance on the Administration. It is important that we as a nation say “never again” to going to war under false pretenses, and covering up official wrongdoing. Thank you for helping me look at these problems, and please pass on this email to friends and colleagues who may be interested in this issue as well.
Forward to a Friend
Thank you for your help and your continued stand for a better democracy.
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
http://www.conyersforcongress.com/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=1999990633.191619.40&gen=1
Stand with Congressman Conyers
Demand Censure for Bush-Cheney Misconduct
Investigate Impeachable Offenses
I am taking steps against the Bush Administration’s handling of the Iraq War and its collection of intelligence. I am going to need you to stand with me in fighting for accountability.
http://johnconyers.com/
Join me, below, in sending the:
Letter Advising the President of Censure
and
Steps to Begin Special Committee Investigation
Dear Mr. President:
We are brave, proud, patriotic citizens of the United States.
We love our country and are writing to express our profound disappointment with you and your administration for your conduct surrounding the Iraq War, the collection and use of intelligence, and your disrespect for the laws of this great nation.
We are calling upon Congress to form a Special Committee to investigate your administration's abuses of power and report any offenses which rise to the level of impeachment.
We are also calling upon Congress to immediately censure you and Vice-President Cheney.
We have great love for our country and faith in the government institutions provided for in our constitution.
We believe that the integrity of our nation is at stake and have supported these steps only after your administration has refused to come clean with the American people at every opportunity.
Respectfully,
John Conyers
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=SUPERFORMS&SEC={29336D51-F9AE-474D-8C08-8D69902D5149}
Meet John Conyers, Jr.
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={E940C74E-A879-4117-A446-AFA0E11A5EC1}
Welcome to Michigan's 14th District
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=NONE&SEC={086753D7-9CB7-408E-9925-398CC694DF93}
Rumsfeld: U.S. to Reduce Troops in Iraq
By Robert Burns / Associated Press
FALLUJAH, Iraq - Just days after Iraq's elections, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Friday announced the first of what is likely to be a series of U.S. combat troop drawdowns in Iraq in 2006.
Rumsfeld, addressing U.S. troops at this former insurgent stronghold, said President Bush has authorized new cuts below the 138,000 level that has prevailed for most of this year.
Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the cut, but the Pentagon said the reductions would be about 7,000 troops, about the size of two combat brigades. The Pentagon has not announced a timetable for troop reductions, but indications are that the force could be cut significantly by the end of 2006.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5278
Unable to End 'Unlawful' Detention, Judge Says
By Josh White / Washington Post
A federal judge in Washington ruled yesterday that the continued detention of two ethnic Uighurs at the U.S. prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is "unlawful," but he decided he had no authority to order their release.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson criticized the government's detention of Abu Bakker Qassim and Adel Abdu Hakim, who have been jailed at Guantanamo for four years; they have been cleared for release because the government has determined they are not enemy combatants and are not a threat to the United States. But Robertson said his court has "no relief to offer" because the government has not found a country to accept the men and because he does not have authority to let them enter the United States.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5273
Nuclear Monitoring of Muslims Done Without Search Warrants
By David E. Kaplan / USNews
In search of a terrorist nuclear bomb, the federal government since 9/11 has run a far-reaching, top secret program to monitor radiation levels at over a hundred Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area, including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites in at least five other cities, U.S. News has learned. In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned the legality of the operation, according to these accounts.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5268
Bush pardons Denver attorney
MDC counsel, now 49, was sentenced in '84 cocaine case
By Tillie Fong and Hector Gutierrez / Rocky Mountain News
A Denver lawyer was pardoned Tuesday by President Bush for drug-related crimes she committed more than two decades ago. Wendy St. Charles, now 49, was among 11 people who received presidential pardons.
In 1984, she was sentenced to four years in prison in Illinois for conspiracy to conduct a narcotics enterprise and distribution of cocaine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5276
Language of the Heart
...a message from Cindy Sheehan
I have been in Europe for 2 weeks now. I have been toasted by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, and greeted by Foreign Ministers, a Vice President and members of the various Parliaments. Those stories are for another article.
My highest honor both here in the States and in Europe now is meeting with the families of children murdered in George Bush's War of Terror against the world.
No matter if we all speak differently accented English, Spanish, or the heavy Glaswegian accent of my Scottish sister in sorrow, Rose Gentle, whose gentle-giant son, Gordon, was killed by Blair and Bush in Iraq in July of 2004, our hearts all speak the same idiom of pain and we sing the same lament of futile loss.
In Scotland, as we were meeting with Ministers of Parliament and urging them to stand up to the government in London and withdraw Scottish troops from Iraq, I met a woman named Sue Smith whose son Philip was killed in Iraq this past July. Her voice vibrated and fluctuated with incalculable loss as she spoke of the betrayal that she felt at burying her son too early and for the lies of her Prime Minister: a co-war criminal with George Bush. The wound in her heart was fresh and openly bleeding. In her wounded eyes I saw my heart as it was about a year ago.
At the International Peace Conference in London, I met Shaun Brierly's dad, Peter. Shaun was in the British Army and he was killed in Iraq in March of 2003 in the very early days of the war. Peter lugged my heavy satchel around London with quiet good humor. In his heavy Yorkshire accent he tried to describe to me what losing his son has done to him and his family. We drank a pint in a pub to our boys and to our hurt but especially to our hearts' resolve to end this war and expose the villains who mislead our countries so shamelessly. Through our blinked back tears we promised each other we would stay strong.
Also at the Peace Conference were Reg Keys and John Miller. Reg's son Tom was KIA along with John's son Simon. We attended a few events together and I teased them about the suits they were wearing and they teased me about my "gym clothes." Reg stood against Tony Blair for Prime Minister of the UK last year and made a respectable showing. John and Reg are hanging in together with their pain. It is so hard for Dads. It is easier for us Moms to express our heart pain as the Dads try to head their heartache off at the pass. I also met Ann Laurence who described her beautiful English countryside home to me and showed me pictures of her handsome son, Marc. She had a quiet voice and eyes filled with heaviness and tears ready to overflow at any moment.
In Spain, I met two women whose sons were callously murdered by the policies of our two governments: Governments and leaders who hand in jaded hand took our countries to an impossible and immoral invasion and occupation of an innocent and mostly defenseless country.
Maribel Permuy is the mother of slain Spanish cameraman, Jose Couso. Jose was murdered in the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003 along with other journalists. With new evidence coming out how George Bush wanted to kill Aljazeera journalists and with the targeting of Giuliana Sgrena and her rescuers, I find it so hard to believe that Jose's murder was an accident. In fact, a Spanish magistrate has indicted the three US troops who fired a missile at the hotel. The one who should be indicted, though, is George Bush. Maribel speaks not one word of English and I speak very little Spanish, but our hearts are connected in sorrow and also hope. I am called "Madre Coraje" (Mother Courage) in Spain and Latin American countries. However, Maribel is Madre Mas Coraje. She has steely and uncompromising resolve to see justice done for her son Jose. Her unconditional and undying love for Jose and her other children gives her the strength to fight against her government and mine. We laughed and cried so much together, I wonder how we could have communicated any better if we spoke the same language?
I also met Pilar Mahon in Madrid. Her son, Daniel, was killed in the terrorist bombings of March 11, 2004. The day I met her would have been Daniel's 22nd birthday. Her nose and eyes were red from a day of mourning her son. She could barely speak, but when she did, her voice rose in anger against George Bush and Spain's former President Aznar who took our countries to an unnecessary war based on the pipe dreams of the heartless neocons who are even now holding tenuously onto their power base. The same falsehoods of "fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here" killed both Casey and Daniel. I get filled with outrage when I meet people like Pilar who should be celebrating her son's birthday and Christmas but who spend days weeping at their child's final resting place. In spite of her constant longing for Daniel, Pilar is leading the fight in Spain for the rights of the families affected by the March 11th terrorist attack.
There are so many people in this world who will be celebrating sorrow filled holidays this year. Christmas is so hard for us, not only because our children are dead, but because we remember the Christmases past that were filled with joy and happiness. It is so painful to remember the Christmas mornings when the kids would get up before the sun came up and beg Mom and Dad to get up so they could open what Santa brought them. It is too painful to get out the decorations and hang the one sock that will remain empty for eternity. So most of us skip the traditional Christmas and do whatever we can to support each other through the devastation that our lives have become. Devastation that is so needless and avoidable. Our hearts go out to all families who are experiencing the pain of loss instead of the joy of togetherness this year.
George Bush and the other purveyors of pain can take a day off from spying on Americans without due process to celebrate the holidays with their families. Dick "the Grinch" Cheney made a "surprise" visit to Iraq the other day. His black heart feels no pain for the tragic loss of life that his greed has caused. How dare he show his face in a country which is destroyed by his insatiable quest for black gold and his obscene lust for profits for his company Halliburton and the other war profiteers?
The pain that these people have caused the world is inestimable. The people of the world want an accounting of the pain and for the people who seem to be getting off scot-free to be brought to some kind of justice for the damage they have wrought on humanity.
This Christmas as you fill your children's or grandchildren's stockings, wrap and unwrap presents, cook your holiday meals, light your Menorah or dance around your Festivus pole, or however you celebrate your holidays, please remember the families who will be trying to enjoy the holiday season with a part of them missing. But most of all, please remember the people (American and Iraqi) in harm's way in Iraq for the old lies and the new lies that seem to surface with the same frequency as a Republican corruption scandal.
In conclusion, this is an excerpt of an email I received from a mother in Iraq whose son, Zaydoun Mamoun Fadhil Al-Samarai, a Shi'a insurgent was involved in the same battle in which Casey was killed. Zaydoun was later killed.
We, my friend, in the march of pain could work together, each from where she is toward putting an end to the blood shed and toward peace and love to prevail, instead of war.
We could, my lady, work together toward peace and toward putting an end to the blood shed and give all mothers a hope for happiness because we experience pain when we lost our sons. Because, he who did not experience pain cannot understand happiness.
I will be very happy when the war ends so we can celebrate in my town, Samara, which witnessed the birth of my oldest son, Zaydoun, whom I thought he would morn me when I die, but, unfortunately, I mourned him one month before his wedding.
I am conveying his fiancée's greeting, who is still mourning him.
At the end, please accept my deepest sympathies, from a mother who lost her son to another mother who lost her son.
I hope to be able to meet with you on the march for peace and love.
George Bush, et al, has taught too many people in this world the language of pain by their lies and their doctrines of preemptive killing for profit.
We need to learn a new language of peace and love that we can speak, even shout, at our leaders who only understand the language of greed and murder.
Peace, shalom, paz, salaam.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=570
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Snowy owls make a rare visit
Birds usually found in Arctic pop up in Western Washington
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BELLEVUE -- Snowy owls are being spotted throughout the region, apparently making one of their rare migrations south.
Paul Talbott, owner of the general contracting company TCI Inc., watched a snowy owl for several hours one day last week while it sat on a second-story ledge just feet from his downtown Bellevue office.
"It's a gorgeous bird," Talbot said. "He just sat there all day long. His head kept turning about 360 degrees. He'd shake the water off his head when it rained."
Although the bird disrupted his work routine, Talbot said it was worth it.
"Like my business manager said, 'That's the best Christmas present I could have had,' " he said. "There was a steady flow of people who wanted to see it. How could I refuse?"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253418_owl26.html
Gray whales arrive off Oregon coast a week early
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DEPOE BAY, Ore. -- Whale watching season appears to have opened a week early on the Oregon Coast.
Gray whales already have been spotted heading south on their 6,000-mile trek from Alaska to Mexico. Some 20,000 will make the trip through February.
The migration will peak during the next few weeks, when about 30 whales will pass the coast each hour.
"We've had calm seas recently, which makes the whales easier to spot," said Morris Grover, the ranger in charge of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department's Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay. The whales arrived about a week earlier than usual, he said.
The 28th annual Winter Whale Watch Week begins today and runs through next Monday. About 200 trained volunteers will help whale watchers at 28 locations dotted along the coast, part of the parks department's Whale Watching Spoken Here program.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253438_whales26.html
'Emotional support' service dog missing
By HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Gatsby, all 4 1/2 pounds of him, is more than just a cute and cuddly Yorkshire terrier. He's a certified emotional support animal and a vital link to his owners' son.
Since their college-age son died two years ago, Bruce and Sharon Gallagher have relied on Gatsby to help them deal with their grief. But now Gatsby is missing, having escaped beneath a privacy fence at the home where the Gallaghers were staying on a holiday visit to Seattle.
"We're just frantic," Bruce Gallagher said. "We've just been crying our eyes out."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253440_lostdog26.html
Permafrost could be melting, study finds
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Climate change could thaw the top 11 feet of permafrost in most areas of the Northern Hemisphere by 2100, altering ecosystems across Alaska, Canada and Russia, according to a federal study.
Using supercomputers in the United States and Japan, the study calculated how frozen soil would interact with air temperatures, snow, sea ice changes and other processes. The most extreme scenario involved the melting of the top 11 feet of permafrost, or earth that remains frozen year-round.
"If that much near-surface permafrost thaws, it could release considerable amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and that could amplify global warming," said lead author David Lawrence, with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "We could be underestimating the rate of global temperature increase."
The study was published Dec. 17 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and presented earlier in the month at a science conference in San Francisco.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Permafrost_Study.html
Nun Bun stolen from Tenn. coffeehouse
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- When Bob Bernstein arrived at his coffeehouse to assess the scene of an early Christmas morning break-in, the one thing he noticed missing was the cinnamon bun that bears a striking likeness to Mother Teresa.
Bernstein said he believes that the culprit is someone angry over the shop displaying the world-famous pastry, which has been preserved with shellac. A jar of money next to the Nun Bun was not stolen.
"They went right for the bun," he said. "Unfortunately I think it's somebody who wanted to take it to destroy it."
The Nun Bun gained worldwide attention in 1996 when a customer nearly took a bite of it before recognizing the revered nun in the folds of flaky pastry.
The bun was featured on world news programs, "The Late Show" with David Letterman and was even mentioned on episodes of "The Nanny" and "Mad About You."
The shop, Bongo Java, sold T-shirts, prayer cards and mugs with the bun's image before Mother Teresa wrote a personal letter to the coffeehouse asking the sales be stopped.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120AP_Nun_Bun.html
Tsunamis: Waves of learning
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
A year after the tsunami, the Pacific Northwest looks ahead to its own vulnerability and that of other coastal areas.
The advance of science is one of the ways people in this country, Asia and around the world have sought to make some good come out of the tsunami that swept the shores of 11 countries on Dec. 26, 2004.
More than 200,000 people died in the waves along South Asian and African shores that followed a giant earthquake off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island. Surviving relatives, friends and people from many countries planned to take part in memorials today.
In the past year, the quest for better tools to predict tsunamis and warn people has made considerable progress. Congress authorized $40 million to expand a network of warning buoys.
In Seattle, where much of the cutting-edge research has occurred, scientists at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration labs are developing ways to reduce the time needed to predict when or where tsunamis will hit from hours to minutes. As a scientist told Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Tom Paulson, "We are trying to get down to less than 10 minutes."
The worldwide field of tsunami research has grown to thousands. Their work will mean that when tsunamis inevitably strike the Northwest and elsewhere, tens or hundreds of thousands of people will have a better chance at surviving one of nature's most fearsome events.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/253276_waved.asp
Holocaust Deniers: A truth all too real
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Even folks who think the moon landing was broadcast from a Hollywood studio seem to believe World War II atrocities happened. But the voices of Holocaust denial have risen again in recent weeks, this time from Middle Eastern leaders out of touch with a reality of the war that still influences world events.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spoken of the "myth" of the murder of 6 million European Jews by Adolf Hitler's Germany. The leader of Egypt's main Islamic opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, wrote similarly last week.
Seattle still counts eyewitnesses to the Nazis' systematic murder of not only millions of Jews but also Gypsies, other minorities, Christian activists and political opponents. But defending the historical record should not fall to the survivors or to America's greatest generation.
The children and grandchildren of those who experienced the horrors of World War II must make their voices heard over the shouts of Holocaust deniers in the Middle East or the strange circles of U.S. and European neo-Nazi movements. And, since one of America's strengths is diversity, Islamic leaders here have a particular opportunity to help set the record straight.
Those who seek to distort the past would prevent the world from learning the lessons of history. The consequences of refusing to learn this lesson could bring horrors better left unimagined.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/253274_denialed.asp
New council takes control in Mogadishu
By OSMAN HASSAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Warlords and civilians installed a council Sunday to govern Somalia's capital, an action that further fragments the nation but could bring the city under the control of a single group after 14 years of anarchy.
The swearing-in of the 64 new legislators formalized a break with Somalia's transitional government, which was formed last year under President Abdullahi Yusuf after lengthy peace talks in Kenya.
Somalia has been without a central government since warlords in 1991 ousted a dictatorship. They then turned on each other, carving the nation of 8.2 million into a patchwork of fiefdoms.
The new council contains mainly members of the Hawiye clan that dominates the capital of about 2 million people, which previously was divided under the control of rival warlords. There was no immediate comment from Yusuf, whose transitional government is based in Jowhar, north of Mogadishu.
The U.N. envoy to Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, warned last month that Somalia could become a terrorist haven because it is a failed state where extremist Islamic groups are growing.
A 1992 attempt by the U.N. to intervene in Somalia yielded some success, but deteriorated in October 1993 when U.S. troops tried to capture one of the most powerful warlords, Farah Aidid. That battle, featured in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down," left 18 U.S. soldiers dead.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Somalia_New_Administration.html
New Congo constitution all but approved
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- A draft constitution viewed as a crucial step toward lasting peace in Congo appeared likely to pass Saturday as vote counting from last weekend's referendum neared completion.
With 75 percent of Congo's 40,000 polling centers reporting, 83 percent of Congolese had voted in favor of the proposed charter, while 17 percent had voted against it, according to electoral commission Chairman Apollinaire Malu-Malu.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo_Referendum.html
Congo troops battle Ugandan rebels
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- Thousands of Congolese troops backed by U.N. peacekeepers battled Ugandan rebels hiding in Congo's restive east, leaving 35 rebels and one U.N. soldier dead, the U.N. said.
Some 3,500 troops supported by 600 Indian peacekeepers fought the rebels Sunday near the eastern city of Beni, U.N. spokesman Hans-Jakob Reichen said.
The fighting was part of a sweep by Congolese forces in a region largely outside state control since a 1998-2002 war that drew in armies from six neighboring nations. Government troops are trying to re-establish authority nationwide before elections next year, battling homegrown militia fighters and rebels from neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo.html
Kidnappings plague residents across Haiti
By ALFRED DE MONTESQUIOU
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Quesnel Durosier walked out of a bank with $3,500 tucked into his sock, buoyed by thoughts of his upcoming wedding. Seconds later, a car cut him off, gunmen sprang out and shoved him into the car along with a woman passer-by. What followed was a nightmare of torture and death threats for these latest victims of a wave of attacks that has made impoverished Haiti the kidnapping capital of the Americas.
Everyone is a target - schoolchildren, foreign aid workers and pedestrians in the upscale and heavily guarded Petionville district of the capital, where Durosier and the unidentified woman were snatched.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Haiti_Kidnappings.html
Chile court won't drop Pinochet charges
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Chile's top court on Monday refused to drop charges against Gen. Augusto Pinochet for the disappearance of six dissidents during his military regime, and ruled that the former dictator must remain under house arrest.
A panel of the court voted 3-2 to reject the appeal filed by the defense lawyers for the 90-year-old former ruler, said one of the judges, Alberto Chaigneau.
It was a new setback for Pinochet in his long fight in the courts against human rights and corruption charges.
He has been under house arrest since Nov. 24, when Judge Victor Montiglio indicted him for the six disappearances. Monday's decision by the Supreme Court means that Pinochet will almost certainly have to spend New Year under arrest at his suburban Santiago mansion.
The six dissidents were part of 119 who were either killed and went missing in 1975, two years after Pinochet seized power in a bloody coup, a case known as Operation Colombo.
Pinochet faces charges for nine of the victims in two separate criminal suites filed by relatives. An appeal is still pending for the other three and a ruling is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday.
Pinochet's regime had claimed they had all been killed in clashes between rival opposition groups.
Pinochet has faced hundreds of criminal suites stemming from the human rights abuses during his 1973-990 regime, and although he has been indicted in four cases, the charges have been eventually been dropped by the courts on health grounds. He has been diagnoses a mild dementia, has sustained several strokes, suffers from diabetes and arthritis and has a pacemaker.
He's currently also under indictment on tax evasion charges related to secret bank accounts he owns abroad, estimated by a judicial investigation at $28 million.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Chile_Pinochet.html
Congo troops battle Ugandan rebels
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- Thousands of Congolese troops backed by U.N. peacekeepers battled Ugandan rebels hiding in Congo's restive east, leaving 35 rebels and one U.N. soldier dead, the U.N. said.
Some 3,500 troops supported by 600 Indian peacekeepers fought the rebels Sunday near the eastern city of Beni, U.N. spokesman Hans-Jakob Reichen said.
The fighting was part of a sweep by Congolese forces in a region largely outside state control since a 1998-2002 war that drew in armies from six neighboring nations. Government troops are trying to re-establish authority nationwide before elections next year, battling homegrown militia fighters and rebels from neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo.html
American nun shuns luxury for Mexican jail
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Sister Antonia Brenner, 79, known as the "prison angel," speaks to a large group of prisoners in a holding cell at the La Mesa State Penitentiary as a guard walks behind her Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005, in Tijuana, Mexico. Brenner, who was raised in Beverly Hills, Calif., but abandoned her life of rare privilege, has lived and worked in the notorious Mexican jail since 1977.(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
TIJUANA, Mexico -- The cell at the end of the dark hallway barely fits a cot, a desk and a folding chair. This is home for Sister Antonia Brenner, an American nun who was raised in Beverly Hills but abandoned a life of privilege to live in a notorious Mexican jail.
Her neighbors are no longer Hollywood stars, but murderers, drug runners and human smugglers. They know her as "angel de la carcel" - the prison angel.
Brenner, 79, looks puzzled when asked what motivated her riches-to-rags choice nearly 30 years ago.
"I don't understand why people are so amazed," she says. "To give help is easy. To ask for it is hard."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Prison_Angel.html
A Jewish mom's letter to Santa
By MEREDITH MOSS
COX NEWS SERVICE
Dear Mr. Claus:
I imagine this letter will come as a bit of a shock because most of your mail these days is penned by a small fry. But you'll probably be relieved to discover that it's not another request for "Star Wars" spaceships, Barbie dolls or soccer balls.
And although I pride myself on being a good Jewish mother, I am not writing to encourage you to have a hot bowl of chicken soup before you climb aboard your sleigh.
This is, nevertheless, a request. I know that you're extremely busy making personal appearances and filling gift orders, but I'd like to ask that you take a few minutes out this time of year to consider my child. For although you are often unaware of him, he is confronted with you regularly.
You are, after all, America's No. 1 December Superstar. You're featured in animated television specials, in store windows; we see you smiling from the covers of books, records and greeting cards. You are jovial and merry, a happy symbol of Christmas.
But my family is Jewish and does not participate in a Christmas celebration. And for Jewish children, especially if they attend public school and live in a predominantly Christian neighborhood, this may pose a dilemma.
Now you will tell me that you have a Jewish friend who hands out a Christmas stocking, and that there are Jewish children who stand in line to sit on your lap. I won't deny that. That occurs because Jewish individuals are free to respond to you in any way they choose, and some of us believe joining in such non-religious aspects of Christmas is pleasant and harmless.
But most of us deal with you in a different way. American ethnic groups are relishing the beauty of their own traditions. We are learning that being a minority can mean being special. And we are transmitting that pride to our children.
As a Jew, I have my own meaningful holidays, my own beautiful traditions. Although I am delighted to have my child share in the fun of stringing popcorn for a Christian friend's Christmas tree, I would not feel comfortable erecting one in my own home. Out of respect for my gentile friends, I would not separate their symbol from the occasion it was designed to symbolize.
I believe that avoidance is not the answer. Imagine trying to avoid Christmas in America! It simply can't be done. Last year, for example, on our way to the downtown Holiday Festival, we boarded the RTA bus. It turned out to be the Christmas Bus. There you sat, surrounded by packages and holly, giving away candy canes and chatting with the children.
You motioned to my little boy. "It's OK," I said, "go ahead."
"And what would you like for Christmas?" you boomed, as you pulled him up on your lap.
"I don't celebrate Christmas, I celebrate Hanukkah," responded my preschooler, eager to continue the conversation.
"Sorry about that," you said, as you dumped him from your lap.
Santa, you probably don't remember the incident, but I always will remember my son's crestfallen face. Because ours is also a gift-giving holiday, you might simply have asked him what he was hoping to receive. And "Happy Hanukkah" easily can be substituted for your usual "Merry Christmas" greeting.
How would you feel if I labeled Christmas the "Christian's Hanukkah?" Sounds funny, huh?
Neither is Hanukkah the "Jewish Christmas." It is a distinct holiday. Although both fall in the winter months and may coincide, that's where the similarity ends.
Our "Feast of Lights," as Hanukkah often is called, is a holiday that celebrates the importance of religious freedom. More than 2,000 years ago, a small band of Jews led by Judah the Macabee, miraculously recaptured their temple from the Syrians who outnumbered them. The Jews re-established their right to worship as they pleased.
Today, Jews around the world commemorate the event with the lighting of the menorah (a candelabrum) and kindle an additional candle for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. The holiday is a joyous one. Small gifts are given to the children each night; there are songs and festive family gatherings and parties.
Let me close with the story of our most surprising encounter.
A couple of years ago when your business at an area mall wasn't so hot, you waddled down from your Santa's House and approached my little boy and his friend.
"And what do you want for Christmas?" you inquired with your cheery voice and a "Ho, ho, ho!"
"We don't celebrate Christmas, we're Jewish," explained my son's friend.
"I am, too!" you said, with your eyes twinkling. "Which synagogue do you belong to?"
Happy Hanukkah, Santa,
A Jewish Mom
P.S. Wear your warmest socks and a cozy scarf!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/253243_jewishmomtosanta.html?source=mypi
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