Iowa City Indymedia site

Check out this great story on the temporary iowa city indymedia blog. This story is about a new Executive Order issued on July 17, 2007.

Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007

After President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the right of habeas corpus was suspended by the following:

“No court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the United States who has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination"

The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (S. 185 or S.A. 2022) is coming to the Senate soon.

The co-sponsors by date are:

Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT] - 1/4/2007
Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] - 2/26/2007
Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH] - 2/26/2007
Sen Salazar, Ken [CO] - 2/26/2007
Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] - 2/28/2007
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 2/28/2007
Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI] - 2/28/2007
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] - 3/7/2007
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 3/14/2007
Sen Rockefeller, John D., IV [WV] - 3/29/2007
Sen Levin, Carl [MI] - 4/17/2007
Sen Obama, Barack [IL] - 4/20/2007
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] - 5/7/2007
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 5/9/2007
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] - 5/15/2007
Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] - 5/22/2007
Sen Biden, Joseph R., Jr. [DE] - 5/24/2007
Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] - 6/5/2007
Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 6/6/2007
Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] - 6/11/2007
Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. [MD] - 6/12/2007
Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT] - 6/13/2007
Sen Stabenow, Debbie [MI] - 6/22/2007
Sen Byrd, Robert C. [WV] - 6/26/2007
Sen Klobuchar, Amy [MN] - 6/27/2007
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 7/9/2007
Sen Carper, Thomas R. [DE] - 7/9/2007
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] - 7/11/2007
Sen McCaskill, Claire [MO] - 7/12/2007

If you would like to urge your Senator to sponser this bill, act now. The ACLU has a page to help find your Senator. Just enter the info, and make the call today!

All night debate on Iraq

So, the US Senate voted last night on a Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Levin Amdt. No. 2087. The motion was rejected, if you want to see how everyone voted, click here.

One thing I found interesting is that Senator Tim Johnson(Dem) of South Dakota did not vote. I was especially surprised at this after I read his comments on the all night debate. You can click here to get to his newsroom page and then click on the links titled, Johnson Comments on All Night Session on Iraq.

One of his comments includes, "It is time to enact the diplomacy portion of the report." He is referring to the Iraqi Study Group report which outlined 79 different suggestions on how to handle the situation. This comment and others throughout his statements seem to suggest that he may have voted "yea", if he had voted.

I wrote an email to this Senator and will post any response I may receive. I wonder if his constituents reading his statements realize that he did not even vote, maybe he has a good excuse. However, the urgency he expresses in his statements is not reflected at all by his lack of urgency to vote on the motion.

Indymedia Update!!!

So, we are still working on getting the indymedia site. In the meantime, we are posting stories and other news at www.iowacityindymedia.blogspot.com. If you would like to submit a story, send it to iowacityindymedia@hotmail.com.

The Jena 6

So, many know that racism is still alive and well in the US. So, here is another case of blatant injustice in the US.

Please read this important account (by Bill Quigley writing for the Black Commentator) of 6 black youth in Louisiana charged with second degree attempted murder after hitting and kicking a white kid. These students had already been victim to hate crimes that had gone unpunished.

An excerpt from Bill Quigley's article is pasted below:

"Black students decided to resist and organized a sit-in under the “white tree” at the school to protest the light suspensions given to the noose-hanging white students.

The white District Attorney then came to Jena High with law enforcement officers to address a school assembly. According to testimony in a later motion in court, the DA reportedly threatened the black-protesting students saying that if they didn't stop making a fuss about this "innocent prank… I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen." The school was put on lockdown for the rest of the week.

Racial tensions remained high throughout the fall.

On the night of Thursday November 30, 2006, a still unsolved fire burned down the main academic building of Jena High School.

On Friday night, December 1, a black student who showed up at a white party was beaten by whites. On Saturday, December 2, a young white man pulled out a shotgun in a confrontation with young black men at the Gotta Go convenience store outside Jena before the men wrestled it away from him. The black men who took the shotgun away were later arrested, no charges were filed against the white man.

On Monday, December 4, at Jena High, a white student – who allegedly had been making racial taunts, including calling African American students “niggers” while supporting the students who hung the nooses and who beat up the black student at the off-campus party – was knocked down, punched and kicked by black students. The white victim was taken to the hospital treated and released. He attended a social function that evening.

Six black Jena students were arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder. All six were expelled from school.

The six charged were: 17-year-old Robert Bailey Junior whose bail was set at $138,000; 17-year-old Theo Shaw - bail $130,000; 18-year-old Carwin Jones – bail $100,000; 17-year-old Bryant Purvis – bail $70,000; 16 year old Mychal Bell, a sophomore in high school who was charged as an adult and for whom bail was set at $90,000; and a still unidentified minor."

Again, to read the complete story by Bill Quigley, click here

Mychal Bell, the first to go to trial had his charges reduced to agrravated battery and conspiracy and was convicted. He will be sentenced on July 31 and could get up to 22 years in prison.

Democracy Now talks to the mother of Robert Bailey, the mother of Bryant Purvis, and Mychal Bell's father. To read/watch/listen to this story from Democracy Now, click here.

Active Maine students help themselves

Read about how students in Maine helped themselves with tuition debt and in turn is helping the state economy by clicking here

War Made Easy

Check this movie out!

To watch an excerpt from the film and an interview with Norman Solomon on alternet.org, click here

Read the movie transcript here

I am getting things together to host a movie showing. If anyone is interested in helping out, please comment below.

Or if you want to host your own screening, click here for more information

House passes bill to lower interest rates on school loans

For more info, click here

Iraqi Oil Law -- or shall I say U.S. imposed Iraqi Oil Law?

You can read more about this here.

Also, read a statement made by Nobel Peace Laureates opposing the law.

Iowa City Independent Media Collective

Hey,
Come to the Iowa City Public Library for the Iowa City Independent Media meeting from 6-8pm (we never go 'til 8) in meeting room E.

peace