Previously published online articles
Back to home page | Previous
events| Speakers | Newsletters
Journalism today
 Mort
Rosenblum, a foreign correpondent covering wars, coups and disasters
around the world for the Associated Press more than 40 years,
gave an insider’s view of the decline of foreign news
coverage at a packed DAF meeting at the home of John G. Morris
Nov. 27.
Rosenblum, also a former editor of the International Herald
Tribune, is a passionate advocate of on-the-spot reporting.
“To report,” he says, “you have to be there.
More than that, you have to understand what you see and hear.”
He feels that that more and more news organizations are cutting
back on hard news as new owners and managers with no sense of
public trust slash their way toward short-term profit. He quoted
columnist Molly Ivins, “Newspapers are not dying, they’re
committing suicide.”
Rosenblum’s new book, Escaping Plato’s Cave,
expands on these views. Journalism today is being dumbed down
and stripped of its ability to see reality outside U.S. borders.
“Plato imagined prisoners in a cave who could see events
outside only as firelight reflections on a wall,” he explains.
“These shadows, cropped by the cave’s opening, were
distorted in size, their details blurred. They loomed suddenly
and then vanished. Twenty-three centuries later, these images
appear on backlit screens with words like Sony or Dell stamped
beneath them. Otherwise, Plato’s simile still seems squarely
on the mark. We need to get out of our cave to see the world
in its real settings, with people who reason in different ways
according to different values. But we don’t.”
Because of this, America often make things worse, he declared.
This applies not only to the war in Iraq but to stripping the
earth. “The planet is dying around us,” he said.
Nevertheless, he says he’s optimistic “because optimism
is the only choice.”
Citing his own experiences at AP, he particularly noted the
decline of serious foreign news coverage after 9/11. AP killed
stories reporting that there were no weapons of mass destruction
in Iraq, he said. “Washington editors outshouted reporters
in the field.” Why, for example, did reporters and photographers
not protest when the Bush administration blocked coverage of
coffins bringing back dead soldiers? He noted that it was the
images of body bags that helped bring home to Americans the
reality of war in Vietnam.
He likes to refer to the press, not the media. The internet
can spread information more quickly, but it’s much the
same. He cited Google boasts that it’s has 4,500 sources
on a given event. True, Roseblum says, but 4,498 of those are
based on the reports of a couple of wire service reporters on
the scene.
What can be done? “It’s up to us to face up to
reality.” If the U.S. is a nation of sheep, “it
doesn’t take too many border collies to push them in the
right direction.” Go out and save the world, he says,
not too facetiously.
If you want more, Rosenblum has written books on his experiences
as a foreign correspondent, along with a few detours into subjects
like the history of chocolate. He outlined his proposals in
more detail in a recent speech to the Oversea Press Club in
New York:
“News professionals have got to stand up and say clearly
not only what is going wrong but also why it matters so much.
We need to help people recognize and support what is good in
the media’—and shun what is bad. We have to agitate
for something better. We can do it quietly, in conversations
with new-style publishers, or we can sound off when we have
to. I have no formula for this: You’ll have better ideas
than I do. But whatever we do, let’s do it fast. Our kids’
lives, if not our own, depend on it. If this sounds like hyperbole,
think about it again.
“With any luck, I’m dead wrong. Perhaps a new life
free of wise editors to guide my hand has turned me into a weirdo
with a sandwich board announcing Armageddon. But let’s
not bet on it.” — Barney Kirchhoff
The bomb and the Middle East
With tension between the U.S. and Iran continuing to increase,
the U.S. should stop trying to change the regime in Iran and start
serious negotiations, Hubert Vedrine, former French foreign minister,
told a packed meeting at the American University of Paris on Dec.
3. Vedrine said that we must do everything possible to avoid having
to make a choice between letting Iran develop a nuclear bomb and
bombing Iran. President Bush won’t do it, he said, but Secretary
of State Condolezza Rice is in effect working in this direction.
He cautioned that the next adminstration may not be all that different,
but at least it would be less venturesome about things like attacking
Iraq.
A surprise speaker, Leonard Kadychev, first counselor at the Russian
embassy in Paris, also urged restraint. Kadychev said he doubted
that further economic sanctions would be useful and noted that
in his view no intelligence case had been made that Iran is trying
to develop its own atomic bomb.
The meeting, sponsored by Democrats Abroad France to mark the
inauguration of a new masters program on international affairs,
was especially timely since it was held on the same day that the
U.S. made public a new National Intelligence Estimate. The NIE
statement, which represents the consensus of all 16 of the U.S.
national intelligence agencies, said, “We judge with high
confidence that in fall 2003 Iran halted its nuclear weapons program.”
But it also added that “We also assess with moderate-to-high
confidence that Tehran at minimum is keeping open the option of
developing nuclear weapons.”
Vedrine, who has his own consultancy firm in France and recently
completed a report on globalization for French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, said regime change cannot be imposed from outside Iran.
Change will come, he predicted, but we must have patience for
Iran to develop democracy by itself. He added that Sarkozy wants
a diplomatic solution and that he thinks Russia wants to part
of the solution.
Russia’s position is reasonable and understandable, according
to Kadychev, who noted that Russia shares part of its border with
Iran and thus has an important interest in what happens in Iran.
He wants the U.S. to consider Russia as a partner, not an opponent,
but doesn’t mean that it can’t criticize the U.S.
policy. He said the U.S, the EU and Russia should work together
to reach an understanding with Iran. He noted that after 9/11,
Russia was very sympathetic to the U.S. in its retaliatory attack
on the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Other points: Vedrine said he could not rule out a military attack
on Iran, although he rated the possibility as under five on a
scale of one to 10. As for sanctions, they have also been a failure
in Sudan and Burma. Three quarters of the requests for UN sanctions
has come from the U.S.
In response to a question on denuclearization of the entire Middle
East and Southeast Asia, he said that a “no first use”
policy is not likely because disarming Pakistan would also have
to include India. Not to mention Israel and no U.S. president
would go for that. As for outside financial support to opponents
of the regime in Tehran, he said change would “have to come
from Iranians in Iran, not Iranians in California.”
Kadychev said that he saw no possibility of returning to a bipolar
world such as during the Cold War. He acknowledged the U.S. is
the predominant power but said that multilaterism was gaining
ground on a lower level.
Is any optimism warranted? Vedrine predicted that the Iranian
regime would collapse and that Russia would continue to evolve
but at its own pace. One thing that the U.S. should do is continue
to press hard for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ann Kratz moderated the discussion and translated for Vedrine.
Kadychev spoke in English. — Barney Kirchhoff |
The effect of early primaries
If you are confused about how the clustering of many state
primaries earlier in the year will affect the U.S. system
of selecting delegates to the national convention, you are not alone.
The system “always a mess, is now an extraordinary mess,”
Joe Smallhoover, Chairman of Democrats Abroad in France, told a crowded
First Tuesday meeting Nov. 6. The system is fundamentally broken and
can’t be fixed in time for the 2008 presidential election, he
added.
Nevertheless, Democrats have to work within the system as it is under
the rules of the national party. The discussion focused on Michigan,
one of the key states that may decide the outcome
of the election. At the moment, the Michigan delegation may be excluded
from the National Convention if the state primary is held Jan. 15,
as currently scheduled. The Florida delegation also faces exclusion
as New Hampshire and Iowa move their elections further forward to
continue being the bellwether states in the media battle. New Hampshire
is still open, but probably will be held Jan. 8.
This forces candidates to concentrate their campaigns in the early
states and on issues such as the war and health care.
The Democrats risk losing much by not addressing other issues such
as the economy, globalization and job losses, Chip Seward, the moderator,
told the audience in his opening comments. Meredith Gowan Legoff provided
historical background, noting that the primary system as it is today
only evolved after World War I. In fact, she added, President Woodrow
Wilson proposed a national primary in 1916, but it was never adopted.
New Hampshire took over the lead as first in the nation by default,
she said.
Smallhover, who is deeply involved with setting up the rules for the
worldwide Democrats Abroad primary in February, said that the best
way for DA members to influence the selection of delegates
to the national convention is to vote in the DA primary rather than
their home states because the Democrats Abroad will select 22 delegates,
whereas scattered votes in the states will have less influence on
the outcome. With about 20 states now voting on Feb. 5, voters cannot
apply for absentee ballots until after Jan. 1, making it difficult
for their votes to be cast and counted in time.
Mark Brewer, chairman of the Association of State Democratic Committees
and vice-chair of the DNC, joined the discussion by phone from Michigan,
where the loss of jobs in the automobile industry has plunged the
state into recession for the past six years. He said that he hopes
that the Demos will win in Michigan, where Mitt Romney is a favorite
son, noting however that Michigan has been neglected in the campaigning
and it is not certain, although the Demos have taken Michigan in four
elections in a row. And don’t take Ohio for granted either,
he added.
Responding to questions, he said that the war in Iraq is still the
major issue in Michigan, but that the economy may eclipse it by next
November as mortgage foreclosures increase in the subprime financial
crisis. He said there is lots of anger about the economy in the state,
but he is optimistic that voters will rally around the Democratic
candidate in the November 2008 presidential election, whoever it is.
Smallhoover summed it up, declaring that 2008 will be a watershed
election. He urged everyone to go to the Votre
from Abroad web site, get your ballot and vote. He noted that
the Election Assistance Act has helped overseas voters to be counted,
although “India does it better.” State parties are becoming
more irrelevant, and the Democrats are moving toward national membership,
he said. The situation will be entirely different in 2012. –
Barney Kirchhoff
Can the U.S. health system be cured?
With more than 45 million people without health insurance and millions
more underinsured, is the U.S. health care system broken? If
so, how can it be fixed? These were the main questions at a
forum moderated by Peter Goldfarb, chair of the DAF Health Care/Social
Security subcommittee at the American University of Paris Oct. 29.
The wide-ranging discussion was opened by Dr. Elizabeth Docteur,
deputy chief of the OECD health division, who presented many measures
showing that the U.S. care system cost more and delivered less
than most of the 30 countries in the OECD. Specifics: Medical
costs consume nearly 16% of the nation’s national spending
and are rising faster than inflation. This is double the
rate of spending in France, yet life expectancy in the U.S. is an
average of a year less that in France and the other OECD nations.
She noted that the U.S. system relies heavily on private insurance,
and health care is mostly considered a matter of individual responsibility
rather than a fundamental human right. There is an overinvestment
in insurance, Docteur said, but America has fewer
doctors per capita and ranks near the top in infant morality
and coronary problems. The U.S. does have some of the best training
and treatments in the world, but millions of people don’t get
it. Doctors and most patients have few incentives to consider costs. One
bright spot is that the U.S. has reduced cancer deaths by cutting
down smoking.
She was followed by Tom Rose, chair of AARO’s Health Care and
Social Security Committee, who detailed the retiree association’s
case for extending Medicare to Americans overseas, so far without
little result. Rose noted that there are some minor waivers, mainly
for people living near the borders in Mexico and Canada who can use
the foreign facilities if they are closer than American ones. In another
case, Americans who are traveling from one U.S. area to another through
a foreign country, for example, from Washington State across Canada
to Alaska, can get Medicare reimbursement if they fall sick in Canada.
A proposal to extend Medicare to more than 400,000 Americans living
in Mexico failed. The reason is that Congress resists extending
Medicare to all Americans Abroad as too costly, difficult
to administer and hard to control fraud. One possibility is setting
up individual health savings accounts but so far, this is limited.
Bill Sara, a pharmaceutical industry consultant and retired AUP professor,
detailed the French approach where doctors’ fees and drug
prices are kept lower because doctors and drug companies have to negotiate
rates and prices with the government.
Goldfarb described the political landscape with the Democratic presidential
candidates focusing on extending the current system by requiring mandatory
coverage and making better use technology to control costs, but shying
away from a universal healthcare system. Neither party is likely to
propose cutting private insurance companies out of the system, he
said.
In a fast and furious question period, members of the audience suggested
such things such as a cap on insurance and pharmaceutical companies’
profits, legalizing cross-border purchases of drugs, widening medical
education, promoting generic drugs and curbing insurance company control
of what diseases can be treated and by which doctors. All of
these have political downsides. The AMA is totally committed
to blocking a universal care system or controls on fees, Goldfarb
noted. However he said there was a building consensus that it was
necessary to reform the system. One promising approach is to
extend Medicare to children; another is to curb HMO ability to control
treatments and choice of doctor or cut off insurance for people with
“pre-existing conditions.” A proposal to cap insurance
company profits, similar to the public utility model, isn’t
likely to get far.
The goal of forums such as this is to develop ideas and proposals
for the worldwide Democrats Abroad platform to be submitted
to the national Democratic convention in August, get more Democrats
into the House and Senate and build political pressure for much-needed
reform.
—Barney
Kirchhoff
Israel/Palestine
What is the outlook for Israel and Palestine? Two states or one? Is
either feasible? This was the controversial subject of a lively open
forum Oct. 25 sponsored by the DAF Foreign Policy Study Group in its
quest for proposals for the Democrats Abroad platform for the 2008
presidential election.
Richard Wagman, a French Canadian who is the honorary president of
the Union Juive Française Pour la Paix, and Rafe Jabari, a
Palestinian who is a member of Adala and a Phd student at Sciences
Po, outlined their views, then moderator Jim Cohen opened the meeting
to questions.
Wagman said that the one-state solution on the principle of one-man,
one vote is not acceptable to the Israelis because it means that the
Palestians will have a majority. He said that Israel is a democratic
state for Jews but not for Arabs. He advocates a bi-national, bi-cultural
nation with equal rights for both groups. He cited the example that
any couple—Israeli, Palestinian or mixed—who want only
a civil union have to go to Cyprus to get married because they could
not have a civil marriage in Israel.
Jaberi, who grew up in Hebron and stayed until 2002, spoke about Hebron
as a good example of one-state possibilities—that is, the good
relations that existed before the British Mandate. Jews and Palestinans
worked together, intermarried, even shared breast milk for their children.
He believes changes going in the direction of a one-state solution
could be the ideal way to solve the conflict.
Cohen questioned whether the two-state proposal is still possible
in the long term and added that he was for one state.
Variations were advanced by members of the audience. Positions have
hardened, and one person noted that a poll showed that 30% of the
Israelis favored the expulsion of the Palestians. Others said that
the two-state solution is becoming less and less realistic and that
the only out was one state in which everyone had the same rights.
Some raised questions of whether Israel is a democratic state, some
believe that the religious advocates are gaining ground, and some
questioned why DAF should even be having this discussion. John G.
Morris, who hosted the meeting, noted that some people declined to
come for this reason. However, he added, it is important to frankly
discuss sensitive topics like this. —Barney Kirchhoff
Resolution calling for a proactive policy on the part of
the United States of America for the renewal of the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process passed in Heidelberg, March 2007
Proposed by Joanne Yaron (Chair, DA Israel) and Susan Vaillant (holding
proxy for Connie Borde, DNC Member and Chair, DA France)
WHEREAS the Israeli-Palestinian long-term violent conflict has become
one of the central problems in the Middle East and this dangerous
situation needs to be resolved for the sake of world peace and stability,
and the peoples of the region;
WHEREAS we are encouraged by the numerous peace attempts and actions
by the relevant parties and several of the leading Arab countries,
and from such important achievements as the long standing 1979 Egypt-Israel
Peace Treaty and 1994 Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty, both concluded with
the active facilitation of the United States of America;
WHEREAS the United States has already been proactively involved in
such official and unofficial agreements, working papers and conference
protocols as the 1991 Madrid Principles, 1993 Israeli-Palestinian
Declaration of Principles, the 1998 Wye River Memorandum, 2000 Camp
David Summit, 2001 Clinton Parameters and the 2002 Road Map for Peace;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad supports a plank in
the Democratic Party platform to implement and renew with all judicious
speed a proactive policy to be actively facilitated by the United
States of America in close concert with other interested nations,
the United Nations, the European Union as well as official representatives
of Israelis and Palestinians who have been instrumental in working
for peace in the region;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party platform should promote
the establishment of a Permanent Ambassador assisted by a team of
researchers and negotiators as a resource, stationed in the Middle
East, preferably in both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and
active in the development of an Israeli-Palestinian peace process;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States of America will develop
in cooperation with other nations, a package of economic, social and
political incentives as an integral part of its proactive policy,
for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority and the State of Israel,
with incentives to begin at a time certain to continue or be suspended
based on benchmarks for progress;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that agreement by the Palestinian Authority
and the State of Israel to cease and desist all acts and rhetoric
of violence and the development or expansion of settlements, and to
publicly and mutually respect each other’s rights to exist and
recognize relevant prior agreements, will contribute to the execution
of a treaty that respects international law, attested by neighboring
states, thereby bringing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to its long
overdue peaceful conclusion.
Afghanistan, Inside and Out
 |
Patricia Lalonde, left, and Chekeba Hachemi
|
More than 70 people crowded into the Noces de Jeannette restaurant
Oct. 2 for a First Tuesday discussion of ”Afghanistan, Inside
and Out.” It was the first major DAF event for the fall where
efforts begin to register voters and increase the Democratic majority
in Congress in 2008 as well as elect a Democrat as President.
Patricia Lalonde, managing director of Mobilization for Elected Women
of Afghanistan (MEWA) and a long time activist for the liberation
of the Afghan people, looked at Afghanistan from the outside. The
resurgence of the Taliban is a “nightmare,” she said.
There is a divide between moderate Muslims and fundamentalists. She
described her efforts in setting up a school in Mazar-el-Sharif where
aid agencies supplied 10,000 books and bought a bus but said it was
difficult to go into villages to tell women their rights.
On the plus side, she noted that 62 women were elected to parliament
in the 2005 election, a startling advance compared to Kuwait where
the number of women in the parliament has dropped from 20 to 1.
Chekeba Hachemi, Afghanistan’s plenipotentiary minister to France,
who recently returned from a six-month stay in Afghanistan, gave the
inside view.
The Constitution theoretically gives women equal rights but it also
adopted Sharia religious law as the law of the country. Hachemi, who
at the age of 28 was the first woman delegate appointed by Afghan
President Hamid Karzai, said that Afghan people must make the drive
for equal rights real. President Karzai has limited control and Afghanistan
needs outside help although “military mistakes,” such
as the killing of innocent civilians in battles with the Taliban,
made the job more difficult. The situation is worse than it was two
or three years ago, she added. There is no national radio and a lack
of communication. Most people get their information from the mullahs
in the mosques. She also cited shortages of electricity and clean
water.
Religion is definitely a problem, she commented in response to a question
about whether women really wanted to live under Sharia law. Many people
don’t know what to do, she said and there is much ignorance
about Sharia law and even about what the Koran really says.
Why are the Taliban coming back? She answered that the Taliban is
very effective creating fear among people who work with the international
community.
Do the U.S. and other countries understand Afghanistan’s problems?
She replied that Afghans welcome NATO troops but must train Afghans
to fight terrorism. Outside agencies want short-term projects such
as building schools and hospitals, but she noted that it was difficult
to raise money for training police and improving the security situation.
Anne Kraatz moderated. Before the discussion, Joe Smallhoover, DAF
chair, urged everyone to vote in the Democrats Abroad caucuses, which
will be held around the world early next year to choose delegates
to the Democratic National Convention. He hopes that much of the voting
can be done on line. —Barney Kirchhoff
Fundraiser
 |
Howard Dean, Connie Borde, Toby Condliffe
|
DAF vice-chair Connie Borde didn't take August off as do most Parisians.
She was in the States hosting a fundraiser at her home on Martha's
Vineyard.
DNC Chair Howard Dean was there, speaking about the 50-state strategy
as well as assembling of data bases—allowing the party to catch
up with the Republican way of doing this—and surpass them. He
reported great demographics about youth involvement. See the Martha's
Vineyard Gazette article.
International Vice Chair Toby Condliffe assisted Connie and co-hosted
the event along with Rufus Peebles (The Martha’s Vineyard Democratic
Council) and Robin Leeds (Women & Politics Institute, American
University).
| Resolution
concerning pharmaceutical pricing |
... and practices in the United States. Proposed by the DAF Health
Care Subcommittee, adopted June 13, 2007 by the DAF Executive Committee:
WHEREAS the price of prescription drugs in the United States is considerably
higher than the same drugs sold in other countries;
WHEREAS many American citizens are forced to choose between prescription
drugs, food, home heating or other essentials;
WHEREAS the United States government, the largest buyer of pharmaceutical
products, is prevented by law from negotiating prices with the pharmaceutical
companies;
BE IT RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad asserts its firm belief that
health care is a basic human right and not a privilege, that the strength
of our nation rests on the foundation of the health, education and
safety of our people and that the pharmaceutical industry, while entitled
to make a reasonable profit necessary for the development of new and
more efficacious drugs, nevertheless should offer its products for
sale in the United States at fair prices;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government should have the
right to negotiate prices for prescription drugs purchased in connection
with Medicare, Medicaid and other government health programs, and
Democrats Abroad France hereby calls on Congress to adopt implementing
legislation to those ends.
Forum on Race, Poverty and Inequality in Paris June 6
After the murders of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King in the
1960s, many American inner cities went up in flames in widespread
rioting that left scores of people dead, hundreds injured, hundreds
more arrested and widespread property damage. In response, President
Lyndon Johnson set up a commission, known as the Kerner Commission
to examine the causes of the riots and propose measures to avoid future
rioting. The key finding of the Kerner Commission report was that
“Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate
and unequal.”
Twenty-five years ago, after less deadly rioting in British cities,
the British government set up a similar commission, know as the Scarman
Commission, to investigate similar problems in the UK.
Much of the effort since 9/11 in the U.S. and the subway
bombings in London has focused on fighting terrorism rather than improving
the conditions that spawn it.
What has been done? Have these two reports had any impact?
What still needs to be done? Those were questions a conference
of distinguished Americans and Britons organized by the DAF and CEUMA,
a unit of the Sorbonne, June 6.
Alan
Curtis, head of the Eisenhower Foundation in Washington (at left),
said that we know what needs to be done. He blames lack of political
will in the United States. “The problem is not the kids in the
’hood,'” he declared. “It’s the kids on Capitol
Hill.”
There is more hopelessness now, said Fred Harrison, a member of the
Kerner Commission, a former U.S. senator, and now a member of the
board of the Eisenhower Foundation (second from right). He describes
the current situation as a “quiet riot”
as the problems of the inner cities move to the inner suburbs.
Trickle-down economics and enterprise zones don’t work, according
to Curtis. Poverty and inequality are still widespread, incarceration
is increasing, building prisons is a major industry and the justice
system is still biased. A “prison-industrial complex”
is privatizing prisons, he said.
Jeffrey Fagan, a professor at the Columbia University Law School in
New York, linked law, race and criminals. Most of the riots start
from small incidents, such as a policeman injured or a police shooting
that triggers an explosion of widespread discontent. Sophie Body-Gendrot,
one of the directors of CEUMA, added that rumors play a major
role after initial clashes between police and youths, mostly
young disaffected and unemployed males. Police are not encouraged
to know the people that they are policing, added
Fagan. However, Anne Power, a professor at the London School of Economics,
noted that the London police have realized that they can’t operate
without public consent and changed their tactics.
John Benyon, professor political studies at the University of Leicester,
maintained that social injustice was the main cause of the
rioting in Britain. The conservative view is that people
are flawed and need policing. The liberal view (his) is that there
are flaws in society that cause poverty, deprivation, exclusion and
alienation and that these have to be tackled to avoid social disorganization.
So, what can be done? We knows what works, said Curtis,
listing Head Start, computer-based remedial education in high schools,
community-based banking, developing job opportunities and NGOs working
to rebuild housing. But these have to be embodied in long-term, well-funded
programs, he declared. “Progressives have to take back America.’’
John Edwards is the only Democrat presidential candidate who even
mentions poverty, he noted. He also wants campaign financing reform.
The high cost of campaigning means that candidates have to concentrate
on raising money which leaves them beholden to their contributors.
Anne Power, professor at the London School of Economics, said she
is “slightly optimistic “ about relieving ethnic
conflict in Britain, where ethnic populations are increasing
twice as fast as the white population. She has worked in “very
segregated” communities such as Bradford, where local groups
have had some success in tackling ethnic ghettos. “People don’t
want to be segregated,” she said, advocating the formation of
local groups to bring “ground level, hands-on management”
to bring people together. Local services and engagement are essential.
Romain Garbaye, of CEUMA, gave a report on the impact of violence
on Britain. He cites the need to build loyalty to the nation to combat
the appeal of groups such as religious fundamentalists, especially
in the wake of the 2005 subway bombings carried out by British-born-and-bred
children of immigrants. Britain and France are converging on the idea
of national identity, he added. Harris cited a PEW poll that indicated
that American muslims were better integrated in the U.S. than in Britain
or France. Most Muslims in America want to get into the system. Other
polls indicate 80% of Muslims in Britain consider themselves British
first, while only 50% in France consider themselves French first.
Baroness (which means Lady Senator) Vivien Stern, head of prison reform
in the House of Lords, issued a warning about ASBOs. These are Anti-Social
Ban Orders, commonly used in Britain to control people, such
as soccer rowdies who are loud or obnoxious but haven’t committed
any actual crimes. ASBO orders include things like barring people
from gathering in groups, setting curfews for individuals deemed to
be a nuisance and ordering people so stay out of certain pubs or areas.
Penalties can be up to five years in prison. Some of these ban orders
contain up to 20 specific restrictions. She cited cases such a woman
who walked into the sea to commit suicide and is now banned from going
near the sea. Parents can be held responsible for children’s
behavior; Stern cited the case of a mother of seven children who was
jailed for two weeks because one of her children skipped school. “Crime
control has now become behavior control,” she said. “Bad
things can be on the way.” However, Sophie Body-Gendrot noted
that these orders are popular with people to control others that they
considers nuisances.
Final speaker, Shelly Bradford-Bell, former counselor to the mayor
of San Francisco, reported on California experiences with under-privileged
young people in a poor San Francisco neighborhood. It was emotionally
moving and hard to believe that such terrible conditions of
inequality still exist in the U.S.
The conference was organized by Sophie Body-Gendrot (second from
left in photo), of CEUMA and Connie Borde (at right in photo), vice-chair
of DAF. CEUMA, by the way, are the French initials of the Sorbonne’s
Center for Urban Studies in the anglophone world.
—Barney Kirchoff
Focus on global warming & energy
Democrats need to step up their efforts to tackle global
warming and energy problems, members of DAF and supporters were told
in a wide-ranging discussion at the April First Tuesday meeting.
“We face a calamitous future,” said moderator Woody
Woodson. “Is the Democratic party doing all that it can do?”
The speakers clearly think the answer is no. Under the theme of If
Not Oil, What? speakers Laurie Geller, Everett Wakai
and Brice Lalonde drove home the point.
Geller noted that energy needs will double in the next 50 years. Geller,
who has a PhD in chemistry and works for the International Council
for Science in Paris, added that Democrats ignore the program at the
national level because it’s a political hot potato.
If we can keep carbon emissions from increasing in the next
five years while working to stabilize world climate change,
“maybe, just maybe, we might save the world.”
Wakai, an international business consultant specializing in environmental
technologies and renewable energy, cited estimates that it would require
a long-term investment of $17 trillion to halt changes from
global warming. He noted that the U.S. is the world’s
leader in environmental technology, but that the Democrats
need to focus more on climate change. Many Democratic
leaders are not addressing the problems, he said.
There are lots of bills in Congress but not enough, said Lalonde,
a former Environment Minister in France and currently chair of the
Round Table for Sustainable Development at OECD. “It
will cost much less if we act now, much more later.”
Geller said the climate problem can be divided into seven wedges,
all of which must be accomplished to stabilize carbon emissions and
global warming. Some of the points made by her and Wakai:
• Cutting emissions by 25% in all buildings
would achieve one wedge. We need to start doing this now with
architects and builders designing and building more efficient buildings.
• We need to raise vehicle mileage to an average
of 35 miles per gallon instead of the current world average of 25,
but she’s pessimistic that this will be done. We also need to
reduce total mileage by 50%, she said.
• A carbon tax is needed but unlikely. It’s
“politically unattainable,” said Wakai.
• Converting completely to biofuels would require
using one-sixth of the arable land in the world and would not
be sustainable. It’s better to reduce demand.
Corn-based biofuel, the current one favored by the Bush administration
and many Democrats, is the least effective. Sugar cane, already
widely used in Brazil, and cellulose, which is still under
development, offer much higher ratios of energy in comparison
to the amount needed to produce it.
• Renewable energy is still an insignificant
factor. Wind devices currently produce only 1% of total global electricity.
To make a significant wedge, output would have to be multiplied
30 times. The United States is behind the EU and other
countries in this regard.
• Solar energy would require 200,000 square miles of
solar arrays to provide a wedge. Current solar energy production
would have to be multiplied by a factor of 700!
• Fossil fuels, including coal, will remain the major
source of energy.
• Carbon storage is still small scale. It needs
a decade of research to become a significant factor. It is still largely
ignored by elected Democrats.
• Geller cited California for leading the fight in
the U.S. “It's twice as efficient as the rest of the United
States.”
Lalonde said the U.S. must take the lead in tackling global warming
but that the UN and the G8 group are now the main forums.
The Kyoto treaty is dead, he said. The U.S. won’t go in
unless China and India are included. He added that carbon capture
is an absolute must. He also said that stabilizing population
growth is necessary but no one wants to talk about it.
In short, there is much work to be done. The outlook must shift from
being a burden to an opportunity, said Lalonde. “People must
get involved.”
Geller and Wakai devised the “smart-growth program”
that has become a policy paper for DAF: PowerPoint
| in html | pdf
The meeting was April 16.
— Barney Kirchhoff
| Heidelberg
meeting yields resolutions |
Resolutions on restoring
habeas corpus, opposing troop
buildup in Iraq, renewing the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process and climate
change were adopted at the DPCA spring meeting in Heidelberg March
16-18.
Resolution concerning the restoration of
habeas corpus
proposed by Connie Borde (DNC Member and Chair, DA France) and Joe
Smallhoover (International Counsel)
WHEREAS the Constitutional privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus
has been impaired by the Military Commissions Act adopted by the 109th
Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2006;
WHEREAS this Act abolishes a privilege fundamental to the rule of
law;
WHEREAS the Writ of Habeas Corpus has been abridged in a fashion unprecedented
since its establishment over 800 years ago;
WHEREAS the Writ of Habeas Corpus is fundamental to the fight against
terrorism and tyranny, the respect of the individual, the rule of
law and of human rights;
WHEREAS this fight must involve the preservation of fundamental rights
of all humans and of the rule of law, which are the bases of democratic
societies, the very values that terrorists and tyrants seek to destroy;
WHEREAS democracy being fragile, Benjamin Franklin’s declaration
that “those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase
a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”
is as applicable in the 21st century as it was in the 18th Century;
THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad proclaims its
unwavering support for the fundamental rights and privileges guaranteed
by the Constitution of the United States, including the Writ of Habeas
Corpus, and for the preservation of such rights and privileges as
an essential protection against terrorism and tyranny;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad urges all Democratic
members of the 110th Congress to support bills before Congress which
would undo the damage to the rule of law and to the fundamental rights
and privileges of the US Constitution effected by the Military Commissions
Act by restoring the Writ of Habeas Corpus. Return
to top
Resolution opposing troop buildup in Iraq
proposed by Connie Borde (DNC Member and Chair, DA France), Susan
Haug (Vice Chair, DA Germany), Joe Smallhoover (International Counsel)
and Mitch Wolfson (Chair, DA Germany)
WHEREAS the U.S.-led military intervention was preceded by deliberate
misrepresentation on the part of the coalition governments of key
facts concerning Iraq's military potential prior to the invasion;
WHEREAS the war in Iraq has failed even in its stated goals, increasing
terrorism rather than bringing democracy and peace to Iraq and the
region;
WHEREAS subsequent to the invasion many tens of thousands of Iraqis
and more than 3000 coalition and military and civilian personnel have
perished, and many tens of thousands more have been wounded;
WHEREAS civilian refugees are currently fleeing from Iraq in large
numbers with all ensuing political and humanitarian repercussions;
WHEREAS in the aftermath of the coalition intervention in Iraq the
level of support for international terrorism has increased, the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict has worsened, the entire Middle East has been destabilized
and there has been a resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan;
WHEREAS the American electorate clearly demonstrated their disapproval
of the Bush/Cheney Administration and the Republican Party in the
2006 elections, especially with respect to the Administration’s
Iraq policy;
WHEREAS Democrats Abroad has previously called for the rapid return
of American and coalition troops from Iraq;
WHEREAS the Bush/Cheney Administration continues to increase the number
of troops in Iraq;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad strongly supports
a political rather than a military solution to the civil war in Iraq
involving a regional diplomatic effort including Iraq’s neighbors,
as military force cannot be the answer to communal violence;
AND LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad calls on the
U.S. Congress to oppose all attempts by the Bush/Cheney Administration
to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and to refuse funding
for any escalation of the war in Iraq. Return to top
Resolution on preventing military attack on
Iran
Proposed by Caitlin Kraft-Buchman (Chair, DA Switzerland)
WHEREAS we fear that the administration of George W. Bush is again
guiding the nation to a preemptive war - this time with Iran - while
still engaged in two unsuccessful wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
WHEREAS despite the painful lessons from the Iraq war disaster - including
more than 3000 U.S. soldiers dead and Iraq torn asunder by sectarian
civil war – the Bush administration appears to be following
the same course it chose in the run up to war in Iraq: insisting that
war is "a last resort," yet putting in motion the engines
of war; brushing aside doubts and warnings; then presenting war as
unavoidable, and
WHEREAS the repercussions of a war with Iran - apart from more U.S.
casualties, more civilian deaths, and more enormous military expenditures
- would be horrific, stirring up even more fury in the region and
throughout the Muslim world, further isolating the United States,
infecting populations across the Middle East with an epidemic of anti-Americanism,
drawing other countries in the region into war, and tipping control
of Pakistan to extremist movements, thereby leaving a region in flames,
even larger numbers of Muslims dying, and thus an Israel finding it
harder to protect itself against an eventual attack by someone with
an unconventional weapon,
BE IT RESOLVED THAT Democrats Abroad urge the Democratic Party and
Congress to impress upon the President that the current crisis over
Iran's enrichment of uranium and its alleged aid and assistance to
the insurgency in Iraq should be solved through diplomacy and direct
talks with the government of Iran, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Democrats Abroad urge the Democratic Party
and Congress to warn the President and his administration of the dire
foreseeable and unforeseeable repercussions of an air strike on Iran
and to take every conceivable step to prevent the Administration from
initiating, supporting or encouraging a military attack on Iran. Return
to top
Resolution calling for a proactive policy
on the part of the United States of America for the renewal of the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process
Proposed by Joanne Yaron (Chair, DA Israel) and Susan Vaillant (holding
proxy for Connie Borde, DNC Member and Chair, DA France)
WHEREAS the Israeli-Palestinian long-term violent conflict has become
one of the central problems in the Middle East and this dangerous
situation needs to be resolved for the sake of world peace and stability,
and the peoples of the region;
WHEREAS we are encouraged by the numerous peace attempts and actions
by the relevant parties and several of the leading Arab countries,
and from such important achievements as the long standing 1979 Egypt-Israel
Peace Treaty and 1994 Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty, both concluded with
the active facilitation of the United States of America;
WHEREAS the United States has already been proactively involved in
such official and unofficial agreements, working papers and conference
protocols as the 1991 Madrid Principles, 1993 Israeli-Palestinian
Declaration of Principles, the 1998 Wye River Memorandum, 2000 Camp
David Summit, 2001 Clinton Parameters and the 2002 Road Map for Peace;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad supports a plank in
the Democratic Party platform to implement and renew with all judicious
speed a proactive policy to be actively facilitated by the United
States of America in close concert with other interested nations,
the United Nations, the European Union as well as official representatives
of Israelis and Palestinians who have been instrumental in working
for peace in the region;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party platform should promote
the establishment of a Permanent Ambassador assisted by a team of
researchers and negotiators as a resource, stationed in the Middle
East, preferably in both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and
active in the development of an Israeli-Palestinian peace process;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States of America will develop
in cooperation with other nations, a package of economic, social and
political incentives as an integral part of its proactive policy,
for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority and the State of Israel,
with incentives to begin at a time certain to continue or be suspended
based on benchmarks for progress;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that agreement by the Palestinian Authority
and the State of Israel to cease and desist all acts and rhetoric
of violence and the development or expansion of settlements, and to
publicly and mutually respect each other’s rights to exist and
recognize relevant prior agreements, will contribute to the execution
of a treaty that respects international law, attested by neighboring
states, thereby bringing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to its long
overdue peaceful conclusion. Return to top
Resolution on climate change
Proposed by Connie Borde (DNC Member and Chair, DA France) and Donna
DuCarme (Chair, DA Netherlands)
WHEREAS the President of the United States of America, George W. Bush
has publicly acknowledged the growing threat of climate change and
both Houses of Congress are considering multiple proposals for regulating
GHG emissions within the United States of America;
WHEREAS business leaders in the United States of America, such as
the members of the United States Climate Action Partnership, are increasingly
calling for legislators to establish a regulatory and market-based
framework for reducing greehouse-gas emissions;
WHEREAS the alternative energy technologies needed to tackle climate
change will create a substantial number of highly-skilled jobs, and,
by taking a leadership role in this area, many of these jobs could
be generated in the United States of America;
WHEREAS the international community has already established market-based
mechanisms for reducing GHG emissions;
WHEREAS United States businesses and agencies can curb compliance
costs by gaining access to the international emissions trading market;
WHEREAS participation and leadership of the United States of America
in multilateral efforts to reduce GHG emissions will motivate increased
action by other countries;
WHEREAS without the participation of the United States of America,
the efforts of the international community to fight climate change
will ultimately have little or no effect;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Democrats Abroad call for a clear and
swift decision by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to develop
a United States Climate Change Policy by the end of 2008 that includes
United States of America participation in multilateral efforts to
slow, stop and reverse the increase of global GHG emissions;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such a policy will provide that the United
States of America take a position of leadership and play an active
role in designing and participating in the post-2012 (post-Kyoto Protocol)
regime;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as the largest emitter of GHGs, the United
States of America has a moral obligation to the people most affected
by our actions, and therefore the DNC will include in its policy measures
that protect and assist vulnerable populations around the world, as
well as position the United States of America as an advocate for market-based
mechanisms that foster sustainable and clean development opportunities
in developing countries. Return to top
DNC Chair Howard Dean in Paris
DNC Chair Howard Dean was in Paris a few hours April
20 and spoke to 50 active Democrats from five countries in Europe
about the party's progress and winning strategy that led to victory
in November, 2006.
Dean says this is only the beginning. His State Partnership
strategy is paying off. He cited many small local elections in red
states where the Democrats took back offices. “Democrats should
not hide from difficult and uncomfortable issues,” he said.
“The values of the Democratic party are the values of America.”
Republicans have used difficult issues to polarize the debate; Democrats
should bring the issues back to fairness, equal protection, due process
and justice—values most Americans hold dear.
He thanked Democrats Abroad and said that their votes do make a difference,
citing Montana and Virginia.
Photo ops galore...
| Cynthia
McKinney shows
American Blackout film |
Cynthia McKinney, who was supported by Democrats Abroad in France
but lost her seat in the House of Representatives in the 2006 election,
showed her film, American Blackout, to a packed audience
of 80 at a DAF meeting in Paris March 30. The film chronicles
her views on how the Republicans stole the 2000 and 2004 presidential
elections and engineered her own two defeats in 2002 and 2006.
She served in Congress from 1993 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2007. In
a discusion after the 86-minute film, she attributed her defeats to
the fact that Georgia has open primaries and said the Republicans
were mobilized by the thousands to pack the Democratic primary. She
was the first African-American woman to represent Georgia in the House.
" I tried my best to a thorn in the side of George Bush,"
she said. At the end of her seventh and last legislative session,
the controversial Congresswoman introduced articles of impeachment
against President Bush, which charged him with manipulating intelligence
and lying to justify the war in Iraq, failing to uphold accountability
and violating privacy laws with his domestic spying program. The articles
also charged Vice President Dick Cheney with helping to "fix"
the intelligence in order to justify the Iraq war and Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice for making false statements concerning Iraq's
alleged weapons of mass destruction program. However, the resolution
died when the Congressional session ended in January.
American Blackout, made by Ian Anaba, uses documentary footage
and interviews to tell about recurring patterns of disenfranchisement
of African-American voters in 2000 to 2004 with road blocks,
purged voters, “misplaced” voting machines, uncounted
ballots and long lines. While following the story of McKinney, who
not only took an active role in investigating these election debacles
but also found herself in the middle of one after publicly questioning
the Bush Administration about the 9-11 terrorist attacks. One memorable
scene shows her cross-examining then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
with such surgical precision that Rumsfeld is left stammering and
ashen-faced.
Asked about the 2008 election, McKinney said the
field "has not yet filled out." She has been mentioned as
a possible Greens candidate, but deflected queries about whether she
would leave the Democratic Party and a suggestion that she run for
the U.S. Senate: "I’ve experienced enough open primaries."
On the Iraq war, she said that the U.S. is "morally
bankupt" as a superpower, and that the Democrats
are failing in many respects to provide strong leadership and mobilize
voters. In her case, she says she was never fully supported by the
Democrats, and she didn't have the resources to turn out black voters
to vote Republican in a crossover campaign of her own. However she
remains "optimistic." Her own personal preference is for
Senator Barbara Boxer.
The showing was at the home of John G. Morris, former vice chair of
DAF. —Barney Kirchoff
Focus on French elections
Eighty people attending a roundtable on upcoming French elections
March 6 gained insight to the upcoming "atypical" French
elections.
The French will go the polls April 22 for the first round in a tight,
three-way presidential race of Nicolas Sarkozy on the center right,
Segolene Royal carrying the banner for the Socialists on the left
and Francois Bayrou in the middle. A second round May 6 is considered
likely if none of the three gets a decisive vote the first around.
DAF brought together Nicolas Jabko, a senior research fellow at Sciences
Po and author of Playing the Market: A Political Strategy for Uniting
Europe; Arun Kapil professor of political science at the Institute
Catholique de Paris and the American University of Paris, and Victorin
Lurel, president of the Regional Counsel of Guadaloupe and a Socialist
deputy working in Royal’s campaign. Axel Krause, author of Inside
the New Europe and a frequent political commentator on French TV,
moderated.
Polls indicate that an unusually high percentage of voters are still
undecided at this late stage in the campaign. Jabko called it the
most atypical election that he had seen in 15 years. Kapil noted that
Royal, the first female candidate for president in France’s
history, came out of nowhere after much party infighting. She was
able to do this because the Socialist Party has expanded its membership
base, and the candidate is no longer chosen by the Party heads, but
rather by its expanded base, resembling and American primary. Both
Kapil and Krause said the French electorate was getting more Americanized
and called it a nasty, dirty campaign, spilling over into the internet.
Jabko noted that there is little fundamental difference between the
left and right in foreign policy. While foreign policy is the main
job of the president, all major candidates are campaigning on domestic
issues. Complicating the matter is that a new National Assembly will
be elected in June and the new president may well face a rival majority,
resulting in years of “cohabitation,” similar to the current
situation in Washington but less usual in France. Victorin Lurel took
us inside the campaign itself and gave us insights into the multitude
of issues confronting the candidates and the complexity of dealing
with those issues on all fronts on an every day basis from now until
April 22.
Krause noted three dates to watch for clues: March 12 when Jacques
Chirac will announce whether or not he will run again (not likely);
March 16, the deadline for candidates to secure the required 500 endorsements
by French officials, and March 20 when the constitutional court will
annouce the successful candidates. So far, Le Pen, who jolted the
country by ousting Socialist Lionel Jospen in the first round in the
2002 elections and pushing the right wing candidate into a second
round which gave Chirac a landslide, has not secured his 500 signatures.
There are also a dozen minor candidates.
The First Tuesday dinner took place at Les Noces de Jeannette.
—Barney Kirchhoff
| Rights
lawyer counters extraordinary rendition, torture, lack of habeas
corpus |
Michael
Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), outlined
his long fight to give everyone, even accused terrorists, their day
in court in a meeting at the American University of Paris April 10.
“Torture has become part of U.S. policy” under the Bush
administration, he said. Physical beating has largely been replaced
by “sensory deprivation,” which few prisoners can endure
for long periods and end up confessing to anything to stop the torture.
The Bush administration has set up an “alternative justice system”
at Guantanamo and other prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as
secret prisons set up by the CIA at secret locations in other countries
(which President Bush says have now been closed but remain in standby
status). This denies fundamental human rights and has badly tarnished
America’s image abroad, he added.
Ratner, who recruited 600 lawyers to represent prisoners held in limbo
for years by the U.S. at Guantanamo in Cuba, denounced the use of
“extraordinary rendition”: the practice of grabbing suspects
and shipping them to other countries noted for ill treatment of prisoners.
He noted that dozens of CIA agents have been indicted in Italy and
Germany for such kidnappings and said he hoped for more indictments
soon in Spain.
Ratner, who was named Lawyer of the Year by the Trial Lawyers for
Public Justice and picked as one of the 100 most influential lawyers
in the United States by the National Law Journal, began his
legal fight soon after the 9/11 attack, despite threats and hate mail.
Ratner said many lawyers were reluctant at first, but he gradually
assembled a large group of attorneys working without fee to restore
the right of habeas corpus to prisoners held in Guantanamo and elsewhere.
President Bush issued the first of the orders setting up this system
just two days after 9/11, and Vice President Cheney cheerily dismisses
complaints against practices such as waterboarding as “just
a dunk in the water” for “the worst of the worst.”
A Defense Department spokesperson recently tried to get the press
to publicize the name of the lawyers in hoping of embarrassing their
firms and clients and forcing them to quit. None of them left, he
said.
In a fundraising dinner after the meeting, he praised the work of
DAF for originating and promoting a resolution demanding the restoration
of habeas corpus rights for non-U.S. citizens, which has now been
incorporated into the policy program of all Democrats Abroad.
CCR has brought three suits to the U.S. Supreme Court and won two
of them, but the Administration has largely nullified its efforts
by persuading the Republican-controlled Congress to legalize these
practices and set up special military courts to try the accused, many
of whom have been imprisoned for more than five years. Some of them
have lost hope and have resorted to hunger strikes (usually quelled
by a painful method of force feeding) and even suicide, he noted.
However it will be difficult to change even with a Democratic congress,
he said. There have been some victories. About 400 prisoners have
been released from Guantanamo without charge, largely as the result
of his efforts, but still nearly 400 detainees are there. Many of
these—he estimated 88 to 90%—were simply rounded up by
warlords and bounty hunters in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq and
sold to the U.S., which keeps them locked up indefinitely on the basis
of secret “evidence” that is not disclosed to the prisoners
or their lawyers. One of his first clients was David Hicks, the Australian,
who after five years at Guantanamo, was finally tried before a military
commission this month and given a mild nine-month sentence
Many of his experiences have been incorporated in books such as Guantanamo,
What the World Should Know, co-authored by Ellen Ray. The meeting
at the AUP was cosponsored by DAF and the university’s Center
for the Study of International Communications. Ratner’s appearance
was arranged by DAF members Meredith Gowan LeGoff and Janice Mitchell.
Mitchell introduced Ratner. The fundraising dinner after the meeting
was at the home of Susan Loder-Vehon.
After his Paris appearance here, Ratner is going on to Germany, to
pursue a suit against Donald Rumsfeld, based of the concept of universal
jurisdiction for crimes against humanity, the doctrine that landed
Pinochet, the ex-dictator in Chile, in the dock in London.
—Barney Kirchoff
| Democratic
National Committee adopts DAF resolution for restoring habeus
corpus |
The DNC, meeting in Washington the first week of February, adopted a
resolution submitted by Democrats Abroad France calling for restoration
of the writ of habeus corpus undermined by last year's Military Commissions
Act. The resolution approved by the DAF Executive Committee Jan. 10
is now a resolution of the entire Democratic National Committee. Democrats
Abroad were recognized as those who “know too well the seriousness
of the issue and how important it is to restore our reputation around
the world.”
DAF opposes troop buildup
The DAF Executive Committee resolved Jan. 10 to
support Senate speaker Pelosi and House majority leader Reid to oppose
all attempts by the Bush/Cheney administration to increase U.S. troops
in Iraq and to refuse funding for any build-ups of US troops.
Cross-country effort focuses
on immigration law
The combined GLBT (formerly Gay and Lesbian) and Paris Women’s
Policy Group December 10 focused on immigration law that affects male/male
and female/female commitments. It concerns all who care about equal
rights/inclusion for all Americans.
The meeting was an example of countries – France and the Netherlands
– working across borders to help sponsor an issue of policy
that we think needs changing in the U.S.
Attendees learned that by adding a few words to immigration law “permanent
partners” would be recognized, just as “spouses”
or “family members” are recognized. Married couples have
1138 rights in U.S. law. Gays have 0. Most immigration law in USA
is about family unification – you can sponsor parents, siblings,
kids, spouses etc., but there is no coverage if your marriage isn’t
recognized.
Speakers were:
- Robert Brager, a U.S. citizen living in Holland with his partner,
Rik Kruisdijk, a Dutch man to whom he is married. He is also an
exile because the so-called Defense of Marriage Act forbids the
government from acknowledging his relationship for visa or other
purposes. Robert has been part of a lobbying group in Washington,
together with Human Rights Watch and Immigration Equality, to present
Congress with a new report entitled “Family, Unvalued.”
Robert reports, “It was a truly moving experience to broach
the subject with people who really had never thought about it, and
who certainly had never met actual human beings (us) who are afflicted
by America's macho policies. Many Americans have never even considered
the possibility that the U.S.'s positions on certain human rights
is not the best. Staffers were moved, and we got several new sponsors
for the bill.”
- Martha McDevitt-Pugh, founder of the Love Exiles Foundation. She
moved to the Netherlands from San Francisco in 2000 to be with her
Australian wife, Lin. Martha and Lin were featured in the Human
Rights Watch report "Families, Unvalued." Martha lives
in Amsterdam and works as a professional writer for a major Dutch
financial institution.
Bob and Martha explained the work they are doing and what still needs
to be done. They want to make this issue known to the Democratic National
Committee GLBT Caucus, and attend the next DNC in Washington in February.
DAF has committed to doing all it can to help pass a resolution in
the DNC to assure the support of the Uniting American Families Act.
Democrats Abroad enthusiastically passed a resolution in favor of
UAFA at its meeting in Washington earlier this year—so there's
hope that this will no longer be considered a "divisive"
issue, but rather an issue around which people can rally.
The meeting was also a tribute to Rey Riemer, originator of the idea
of policy groups, who was working at implementing and fine-tuning
the process when he died in December.
Fundraiser
DAF's Take Back the Congress dinner Oct. 3
brought in thousands of dollars in contributions for candidates in
16 key races. See
coverage in Time Magazine.
Victory party
Democrats Abroad Paris wasted little time in celebrating Senate and
House gains from the previous day's elections. Scroll down for more
pictures.
 |
John
Morris (at right) hosted 80 at his home in the 3rd arrondissement.
Cisco Downing from the Riviera chapter played background music. |
| Chair Connie Borde
reads a letter from Molly Ivins extolling the outcome and hopes
for the future. Connie is surrounded by Sam Myers (wearing tie),
Myrna Myers and Al Herter. |
 |
 |
Phillip
Leventhal, Martin Schain and Wendy Kates |
Left to to right:
Heidi Draper, Meredith Gowan Le Goff and Betsy Damez |
 |
| Husband, Dominique
Borde, arrived with a bouquet celebrating Connie's efforts. |
 |
Debate
focuses on election issues
In a spirited doubleheader debate between Democrats and Republicans
Oct. 10, Joe Smallhoover and Max Hoffman spelled out Demos' hope for
taking back the Congress in the Nov. 7 midterm elections.
Hoffman, representing the Young Demos, took on Jake Tyshow, for the
junior Republicans, in the first round of the political bout at the
ESCP-EAP European School of Management in Paris. Opening-round moderator
Paul Pisciotta tossed five questions as them starting with national
security and the role of Congress. Hoffman
affirmed that national security was a top priority but that we need
a Democratic Congress to ensure that there were adequate checks and
balances against abuse of presidential power. Tyshow said it was not
Congress’s role to enforce administrative policy, and that the
GOP wanted Congressional “assistance,” not “mindless
criticism.” He claimed there was sufficient oversight of the
executive branch by Congress. Hoffman retorted that under the GOP
“no criticism was allowed.”
Moving to the Mark Foley page scandal, Tyshow said
it was a non-issue. Not so, said Hoffman, who predicted that it would
be a huge issue and that the election would turn on it because there
was much evidence that the GOP leadership knew more about the salacious
emails to Congressional pages by Foley, who resigned after they were
first disclosed, than they have admitted. “It won’t go
away,” he said.
Asked about immigration, Hoffman said that the current
system was very unfair and that new approach was needed. The Demos
want a “fair and balanced” policy, although he said the
Demos are not seeking a complete amnesty. He denounced the proposed
wall along the Mexican border, which “would probably need a
lot of illegal Mexicans to build.” Tyshow admitted that he disagreed
with the Bush administration on many details of the GOP proposal,
but said he was in favor of “increased quotas” not “incentives”
for illegal immigrants to enter the U.S.
Turning to Iraq, Hoffman said that the recently disclosed,
highly critical, National Intelligence Estimate, representing the
considered judgment of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, proved that
the U.S. military presence in Iraq was a “big red stop sign,”
which was producing animosity to the U.S. throughout the entire Muslim
world . Tyshow conceded that the U.S, troops were like “flypaper,’
attracting terrorists from around the world, but that the administration
would not change course because Saddam’s alleged murder of two
million Iraqis justified the invasion. Hoffman said that the report
proved after the administration’s repeated failures, we need
a new strategy. Tyshow maintained that the Demos have no solution.
Hoffman retorted that accountability begins at home.
Hoffman said that the other front, Afghanistan, was
also a monumental failure because the administration, after initial
success, let Osama bin Laden slip away when it was shifted resources
to Iraq. He said the U. S. has to refocus on Afghanistan. Tyshow replied
that we had to draw in more allies in both wars to help shoulder “our
responsibility” to the world. Hoffman shot back that the administration
didn’t lie in Afghanistan, but it did lie in Iraq.
Financial journalist Axel Krause took over as moderator for the second
round and shifted back to the effect of the Foley follies.
Yates conceded that the GOP might lose some seats but that there would
be no Demo landslide. National security is the main issue, he said,
predicting that Foley would be forgotten by election day. He said
that the Demos also had their scandals. Smallhoover replied that Dennis
Hastert, the House Speaker, was the issue, not just Foley He added
that the Foley affair proved that the Demos were the party of American
values, not the Republicans.
Shifting topics, Yates said that the economy was
strong and more important and that people were satisfied. Smallhoover
shot back that wages are at the lowest level in years and that only
one percent of the people benefited from the GOP policies.
Moderator Krause brought up the subject of polls.
Are they reliable? Do they matter? Or is the role of money more important?
Yates said they were extremely reliable and increasing accurate but
that both parties were spending far too much money on campaigning.
Whatever the polls indicate, Yates said that a sudden, unexpected
event could change voting opinions overnight. Smallhoover said that
while the polls are fairly accurate, they receive far too publicity
and often create a bandwagon effect. As for campaign spending,
he favored federally funded elections, since Republicans can raise
twice as much money as the Democrats. Yates said campaign spending
reform was a “terrible failure,” but constitutional guarantees
of freedom of speech make it imossible to limit speople from spending
as much as they want. Smallhoover said he favored a constitutional
amendment guaranteeing the right to vote and a system of voting to
ensure that all ballots are accurately counted.
Krause brought up Joe Lieberman’s primary loss in Connecticut,
attributed to Lieberman’s support for the war in Iraq?
What are the alternatives? Yates admitted that there was no easy solution
but maintained that it would not be a good thing for the world if
America was defeated. “There would be hell to pay,” he
said. Smallhoover questioned if we could afford to stay in Iraq, but
Yates maintained that a pullout was the same as “cut and run”
and would cause more chaos.
Policy - Smallhoover replied that the Demos have
a six-point program to provide real national security, economic security,
better education, a working health-care system and retirement security.
Yates countered that the GOP will continue its policies. He said that
Bush tax policies have increased tax collections and denounced teachers'
unions as the main problem in education. A small Democrat majority
“wouldn’t change much,” he said.
A questioner in the audience brought up gun control
in the wake of recent school shootings. Smallhoover said we need serious
gun control but that it was only a local issue in some jurisdictions
and Yates said there was no apparent solution in sight. “It
is not easy to just ban guns” because American are wedded to
them
As the debate wound up, Connie Borde, DAF chair, was at the National
Assembly for a VIP preview of Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient
Truth, which has just opened all around France to much acclaim.
The film’s warning that the planet was in danger from the effects
of global warming was welcomed with much applause and all Americans,
not just Democrats, are urged to see it.
— Barney Kirchhoff
Sunday night movies resume
DAF resumed its “Sunday at the Movies” series with a
BBC documentary on The Power of Nightmares, which drew a
packed audience at the home of John G. Morris Sept. 17.
The three-part film followed two themes—(1)the politics of fear
by the religious right and the neo-cons in America, upset by rampart
consumerism, sex, abortion and other American abominations, and (2)
the dreams of radical Muslims in Egypt and other repressive Arab regimes
to establish a new Islamic world free of the “degenerate”
consumerism and rampant sexual corruption of the West.
These came together in Afghanistan when the Americans armed the mujahideen,
including folks like Osama bin Laden, to fight the occupying Soviet
army. When the Russians were defeated, the Afghan clerics saw it as
a victory for sharia law and Koranic morality, while for the Americans,
it was the beginning of the end of communism. Reagan claimed victory
over Soviet Russia, which actually had simply imploded, while radical
Islamics considered it the first step in freeing their people from
corrupt modern Muslim regimes such as Egypt.
With the U.S. the sole world super power, the neo-cons saw it as opportunity
to impose their values on the rest of the world. As the filmmakers
see it, Al Queda is largely a myth. It’s not a centralized headquarters
with a detailed chain of command, but merely a loose source of inspiration
to radical Muslims. On the other side, the American neo-cons such
as Rumsfeld, Cheney, Perle and Wolfowitz are using it as a bogey man
to build up Bush and their own power.
It was a compelling film to energize Demos to do everything possible
to get out the vote and try to take back Congress in the November
elections. –Barney
Kirchhoff
Pre-election
flurry - from the Chair
A great amount of volunteer work should be acknowledged:
Louise Meyers has been all over the place registering voters—NYU,
American U, Reed Hall, and Bloom Where You're Planted, the American
Church's fall event. She and her team did a great job at Expatica's
newcomer fair, where our stand was THE hub of activity. People registered
to vote all day, and 32 new members signed up.
Many thanks to Jason Siegel (at far right, with Louise Meyers and
Max Hoffman) who made us a splendid banner. He did this at his own
expense, designed it and had it printed professionally. We will be
able to use it for many events in the future. Thanks to all who helped
make this event such a success, and thanks to Cisco Downing, Riviera
Vice-Chair, who transported our furniture.
Young Dems have risen to the occasion, registering voters at Sciences
Po 
twice with great success
(thanks to Aaron Levy-Forsythe, George Shanzek, Jason Siegal et al)
and at other hot spots.
Then there’s the inimitable Anna Marie Mattson who organized
the Great Debate last week, where Max Hoffman and Joe Smallhoover
showed up the Republican debaters.
We will be reviewing the impact that our ad campaign had on voter
registration. How effective was it?
The Women's Caucus will be working with the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi
and Transexual) Caucus on the issue that gays in Europe with children
are not allowed into the USA.
Report from last month's Rome regional conference:
Policy groups are the new buzz words. They act as think tanks to
prepare the 2008 platform by putting out position papers. Plans were
put into place for widening the policy groups (links from home page)
to international status, with countries in contact with each other
through a cyber-forum.
The Paris Smart Growth team Laurie Geller and Everett Wakai were
applauded for their presentation
containing ideas for Democrats’ approach to environmental and
energy issues. I attended Al Gore's presentation at the Assemblée
Nationale Oct. 11 when his film, An Inconvenient Truth, premiered
in Paris and gave him this presentation.
Author
speaks at Minority Caucus
The DAF Minority Caucus sponsored a book evening by African-American
author Jake Lamar on Sept. 26. Introduced by Zach Miller, Lamar read
an excerpt on racial politics in America from his novel, The Last
Integrationist, which was recently issued in French and won the
Cognac prize. He also read from his new Paris novel, Ghosts of
Saint Michael, published this summer in the U.S.
International
Executive Director in Paris
Paris
members met Democrats Abroad executive director, Ali Chalupa, at Heidi
Draper's boathouse on the Seine July 29 '06.
Ali's remarks focused on:
- Efficacy of the state-by-state grass roots approach that DNC chairman
Howard Dean instigated and is implementing
- Databases the Democratic party is developing which will muster action
on issues locale by locale
- Author Lakoff's framing approach and how the "culture of corruption"
increasingly is catching on as describing the current administration
-
Leave-behind fliers that capsualize current Democratic goals
- The voter registration tool
VoteFromAbroad.org
Hostess Heidi Draper is the filmmaker of Take It Back,
a documentary on Howard Dean's presidential campaign, available on
DVD and playing in Paris. Meredith Gowan LeGoff did a yeoman's task
organizing the event. Thank you, Meredith!
Look for more good news from Ali, as has just been promoted to the
Vice Chair's office as a senior DNC staffer.
In picture left to right: Meredith Gowan Le Goff, Ali Chalupa, Heidi
Draper and Andrea Johnson.
DNC in Chicago
|
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
(there to plug New York as the 2008 convention site), DA Paris
chair Connie Borde and Leo Perez, Dominican Republic chair
|
Focus on torture,
campaigning, primary
dates, voter fraud
Connie Borde reports from the Democratic National Committee
August 17-19 meeting in Chicago on how the party is preparing for
November elections and gaining back Congress:
Our resolution on torture
passed the Resolutions Committee. Bravo Democrats Abroad and bravo
DA Chair Michael Ceurvorst for making this the priority it should
be!
Democratic strategies are in place for getting
out the message during campaigning. The Democratic vision is Howard
Dean's outline:
1. Real Security
2. Energy Independence 2020
3. Honest Leadership, Open Government
4. Economic Prosperity and Educational Excellence
5. A Health Care System that Works for Everyone
6. Retirement Security
Standing out on a crowded DNC’s Rules
and Bylaws Committee agenda was the important resolution to recommend
that Nevada and South Carolina join Iowa and New Hampshire as early
election process states.
This 2008 pre-window period would open with Iowa caucuses January
14, Nevada caucuses January 19, New Hampshire primary January 22 and
South Carolina primary January 29.
Needless to say, this will change the face of US primaries. It means
that the South and the West will have as important a voice in choosing
our presidential candidate as Iowa and New Hampshire have.
A major concern was voter fraud and honest and
fair elections. Most of the Association of State Democratic Chairs
meeting was spent on voter protection. Many programs have been put
into place.
A national election protection program was launched June 20. National
leaders, attorneys, allied organizations and voting rights advocates
identified areas of concentration.
The DNC has identified key priorities for legislative advocacy.
States have identified jurisdictions using new voting systems this
year as well as problem wards from 2004. Lead lawyers from each problem
state have identified and recruited local councils to deal with these
issues.
By September 1 state units will ensure that coordinated campaign material
is prepared in sufficient quantities for targeted jurisdictions. State
parties are working with other organizations.
Precinct lawyers, local board attorneys and other legal staff have
been assigned to local elections, using DNC spreadsheet check-off
lists.
The Election Day Operation will consist of a state war room which
can contact attorneys assigned to county boards. Precinct lawyers
will report issues and problems to state election day war rooms.
Problems solved in real time at the precinct or county level can be
dealt with through a hotline: 1 888 DEM VOTE.
Let’s hope that this will secure us the safe and democratic
election we need to take back the Congress.
Democrats Abroad should not fail to register on our great website,
VoteFromAbroad.org
. Even if you think you are already registered, don’t take
any risks. Register again!
Torture resolution
This resolution submitted by Michael A. Ceurvorst, Chair
of Democrats Abroad, was passed by the DNC Resolutions Committee August
18 in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee meeting:
Resolution condemns any incident of abuse of prisoners or the use
of torture by any agent or agency of the United States;
WHEREAS, torture violates the U.S. Constitution, statutes, and core
American beliefs in the dignity and integrity of each person that
have always been essential to our system of government and way of
life; and
WHEREAS, torture also violates a fundamental prohibition of current
international law and specifically the Geneva Conventions, and its
breach is considered a crime of universal jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, torture is not a partisan concern and constitutes a violation
that all Americans should resolutely oppose in principle and in practice;
WHEREAS, rejecting torture re-affirms fundamental American beliefs
in the essential dignity of each human being, provides common ground
with current and aspiring democracies around the world, and undercuts
terrorist recruitment by reaffirming American commitment to human
rights; and
WHEREAS, a failure to take a stand against torture and its practice
by any agent or agency of our United States of America can be seen
to jeopardize our system of values and governance; and
WHEREAS, numerous credible allegations of torture by agents or agencies
of the United States await adequate investigation to establish accountability;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic National Committee (DNC)
hereby condemns any incident of abuse of prisoners or the use of torture
by any
agent or agency of the United States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC reaffirms the importance of making
human rights and the rule of law guiding forces for conduct by all
agents and agencies of the government of the United States, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC calls on all Americans to demand
accountability for those who have demonstrably engaged in torture
and those whose policies condoned, allowed, or encouraged the practice
of torture and violation of international conventions.
Platform
recommendations
by environmental policy study group
