THE PINE GAP 4 HAVE WON THEIR APPEAL!

Dear friends

Today Bryan, Jim, Adele and Donna were acquitted of their convictions under the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act 1952.

It was a unanimous decision by the full bench of the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeal.

The three judges agreed with our submission that there was a miscarriage of justice at last year's trial because we were not able to bring evidence before the jury about the function of Pine Gap.

There were other grounds to the appeal, of a more technical nature. The judges will publish the detailed reasons for their decision in coming weeks.

The Prosecution quickly sought a re-trial, but was quickly rebutted.

"What would be achieved for these individuals or the community if there is a re-trial?" asked Justice Riley rather sternly.

The judges unanimously ruled there would be no re-trial.

The fact that we had already served prison time was a significant factor in their decision to refuse a re-trial. We are all very glad we did this as now our slate is clean regarding the other charge of 'damage', under the crimes act. So now it's all over!

This 'David vs Goliath' outcome is a result of the excellent work of our legal team: Ron Merkel QC, Rowena Orr and Russell Goldflam. Their commitment, persistance and brilliance was amazing. They should be heartily congratulated. (I hope to have a way for you all to do that soon).

The result now raises significant questions for the Government about the use of the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act 1952. It was the first, and mostly likely last time it will be used in this context.

It is a victory for fairness and common sense, and a slap in the face for Prosecutor's who seek to use draconian legislation to respond to pacifists partaking in non-violent civil disobedience with an extreme witchunt.

Congratulations to our Pine Gap colleagues Jessica Morrison and Sean O'Reilly and thanks to everyone involved in our journey since December 2005.

It's been an amazing experience for all of us!

Rise Up!
Put Pine Gap on trial!

cheers from

Donna, Jim. Adele, Bryan

PS: Within 10 minutes of the ruling there was national media coverage on most major newspaper websites as well as ABC Radio and TV.

PPS: Some pics to come, news reports below


http://news.smh.com.au/pine-gap-protesters-conviction-quashed/20080222-1txp.html


http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23257820-5005961,00.html

Letter sent to Pope Benedict - US Visit

To His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
From:
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Archdiocese of Detroit Kathy Boylan, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Stephen Vincent Kobasa Kathy Kelly Marie Dennis, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Frank Cordaro, Des Moines Catholic Worker

Most Holy Father:

In your own words, "today we should be asking ourselves if it is still licit to admit the very existence of a 'just war'." Yet, during your upcoming visit to the United States, you are planning to meet with President George W. Bush, whose empty justifications for the violence in Iraq lead to increasing numbers of dead, injured and displaced people. Iraqi civilians still endure the "continual slaughter" which you described in your 2007 Easter Sunday address.

Shortly before the U.S. invaded Iraq, you rightly declared that "there were not sufficient reasons to unleash a war." You've also called attention to the terrible new technologies which cause indiscriminate destruction. Five years later, how much more reason you have to call for an immediate end to this war, and to refuse to meet with the President of the United States until that is accomplished.

If you kneel in grief and outrage before the cross of the tortured Christ, can you offer your blessing to a head of government who excuses the most terrible abuses of human minds and bodies as "legal?"

If meet with him you must, then meet as a prophet should - issuing a warning and an invitation to repentance. Courtesy cannot be used as an evasion of our biblical faith. Ezekiel was repeatedly reminded of his responsibility to admonish those doing evil if he desired to escape sharing in the responsibility for their sins. Shouldn't any of us who recognize the horror of what is happening in Iraq be condemned if we are silent?

You are scheduled to be in Washington, D.C. on the anniversary of your birth. We feel sure that you will be thinking of the countless children of Iraq who never reached their fifth birthday. In 2005 alone, 122,000 Iraqi children under age five died. There are many, both within the Church and outside of it, who long for your voice to speak for those innocent dead and - face to face with those whose policies denied all respect for their lives - demand that the killing stop.

We are, in faithful hope

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Archdiocese of Detroit Kathy Boylan, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Stephen Vincent Kobasa Kathy Kelly Marie Dennis, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Frank Cordaro, Des Moines Catholic Worker

FACILITATING SOCIAL CHANGE CONFERENCE 2008

Commonground Conference Centre, Seymour, Victoria
Thurs 6pm 8-5-08 to 6pm Sat 10-5-08
Plus - a free party chucked in for Sat night 10-5-08
thru to breakky Sun Morning 11-5-08

THE IDEA
Like never before, the world needs good facilitation to help collaborate
around just and sustainable outcomes on SOOOO many fronts.

This is a little Conference between the big Australasian Facilitation
Network (AFN) Conferences held annually in November. This May
Conference seeks to extend the reach of facilitation further into the
realm of social change, and being social change agents.

For such just and sustainable outcomes to have greater impact, we need
to gather together people who think differently. At this Facilitating
Social Change Conference - we would like to extend the invitation to
Facilitators from the 'top end of town' through to activists working
from 'the bottom up' - and all in between.

THE PROGRAM
At this stage, we would like to 'keep it fluid', and consult with people
interested in attending - to find out the kind of topics you would like
covered. So if you have ideas about what you want, and who could do
it - then contact Glen Ochre at all@groupwork.com.au.
In subject line of email, put 'FSCC Topics'.

As we get closer to the Conference - the melding of what people want,
what people can offer, and who is coming will form the core of the
Conference.
There will be room at the Conference for spontaneous topics.

THE VENUE
The venue is at Commonground - a small dedicated conference/social
change resource centre and intentional community. Glen Ochre and Ed
McKinley are among those who founded the Commonground Co-operative in
1984. It is nestled into the bush on a 95 acre property, near Seymour,
95 kms north of Melbourne. It is easily accessible fromMelbourne
Airport, is on the Sydney/Melb rail line, the Brisbane/Melb and
Sydney/Melb bus
routes.

THE DETAILS
A maximum of 60 participants, with 4 levels of accommodation.
We encourage people to come for the full 3 days to get the full benefit
from the conference process.

Costs range from $170 to $380 for the 3 day conference - depending on
your income level and accommodation option. The aim is to subsidise
those with low incomes/high costs. Delicious vegetarian meals are
included in the conference price. A roster will be used for
dishes/cleanup. This helps keep costs down.

See the Conference website www.fscc.net.au for full details.

THE PARTY
The Conference will formally close at 6pm on Saturday 10-5-08, but
everyone is warmly welcome to stay on for a great Saturday night
Freebie:
- dinner
- band and lotsa dancing
- accommodation
- Sunday morning breakky

THE NEXT STEP
For further enquiries:
Contact Ed McKinley edd@itu.com.au or +61 03 5793 8257 (AUST)
Stephen Thorpe stephen.thorpe@aut.ac.nz or 0011 6421 110 3018 (NZ)
To book: go to www.fscc.net.au/docs/registration.html#

Appeal -To stop violence against Iraqi women ..

Let us work together for justice, equality and the right of life


Despite the relative improvement in the security situation is still the Iraqi people to live in an atmosphere of chaos that unprecedented or other peoples live in its airspace.

Perhaps the most important manifestation of this lawlessness and chaos exacerbated terrorism and lawlessness and the spread of organized crime, which claimed the lives of more than fifty women in Basra alone in the second half of this year, at the hands of the forces of darkness and gangs and criminal motives and pretexts different social, religious and political.

The Iraqi women who are subjected to various forms of discrimination, oppression and exploitation, and to exercise their right of violence on a daily basis and through innovative, today face mass killings because of widespread terrorism against them, and implement the most heinous murders of their right everywhere in broad daylight with impunity ..

The murders of women in the city of Basra but a terrible proof of barbarism and the perpetrators behind them.

Despite the condemnation of these crimes faced by the government and the authorities concerned did not take necessary action about these crimes to put an end to them and to punish the assailants and stand behind it.

We in the Commonwealth of Iraqi women denounce and strongly condemn the killing of women in Basra and other Iraqi cities, and denounce all forms of violation of human rights in Iraq, and we call on international organizations and the Iraqi Government and the relevant authorities to:

1.- send an international commission of the High Commission for Human Rights of the United Nations, and with the participation of international organizations advocate for human rights, truth and help the Iraqi authorities to identify the perpetrators and to work towards the immediate cessation of crimes against Iraqi women.

2. - disclosure of the perpetrators of crimes against women and stand behind them and bring them to justice.
3. - disclosure of the results of investigations and declaration of public opinion.

4. - working for the protection of women's rights and maintenance of personal freedoms guaranteed constitutionally and in accordance with international charters.

5. - to take stringent measures to protect women and the lives of citizens.

6.- serious work to improve the conditions of women and enable them to participate actively in political life and the rebuilding of Iraq.

Iraqi Women's Association / Commission coordination abroad

To sign the campaign click on the link below

Stop Violence Against Iraqi Women .. Let Us Work Together for Justice, Equality Let Us Work Together for Justice, Equality
and the Right to Life And the Right to Life

Global Campaign against and prevention of crimes of honour
Raise the voice of protest against the exacerbation of violence and killings against women in Basra


Association of Iraqi women
sivany1@hotmail.com Sivany1@hotmail.com
2008 / 1 / 3 2008 / 1 / 3

Peace and Solidarity with the People of Kenya

Pax Christi International

Pax Christi International and its partner organisations in the Horn of Africa are deeply concerned about the violence that has shaken Kenya following the country’s 27 December elections. We lament the widespread loss of life, extensive destruction of property and massive displacement of people in a country that has been for many Africans a model of security and democracy on the continent.

We call upon all Kenyans to stop immediately the violence that is destroying their country. We also urge Kenya’s political leadership, particularly President Mwai Kibaki and the Honourable Raila Odinga, to seek a speedy and peaceful resolution to the crisis and to call upon their constituencies to end their fighting.

We commend international efforts to mediate in this situation. It is crucial at this time that agreement is reached on a way forward in order to restore security, to put the economy back on track and to permit a process of national reconciliation to begin. Pax Christi partners and other organisations are already actively engaged to make a positive contribution in this respect.

Whereas the international media has often reported the violence as ethnically-motivated, we recognize the wider historical context of Kenyan politics. Structures that perpetuate political and economic inequalities have long been tolerated in Kenya. Such policies will only engender further resentment and fragmentation at the heart of Kenya’s fragile democracy. It will be important for Kenya’s political leadership to address these matters in the years ahead.

Given the deep political divisions in Kenya at this time, it will be necessary that some negotiated solution be achieved if the government is going to accomplish anything in the coming years. Anything less will lack legitimacy and Kenya’s role as a beacon for stability and democracy in the region will remain seriously compromised.

Pax Christi International expresses therefore its solidarity with the people of Kenya and appeals to Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga to:

1. Publicly urge the end of violence and the restoration of order;
2. Favour in their public discourse the way of dialogue, transparency and a negotiated solution to the crisis; and
3. Permit an independent inquiry into the results of the December 2007 elections.

We also call upon all political, religious and civil society leaders, along with international partners, to:

1. Support a solution to the current situation that is peaceful, just and democratic;
2. Consolidate efforts to provide vital humanitarian assistance to those affected by the violence;
3. Acknowledge the painful divisions that exist within Kenyan society and seek ways to promote broader participation in public life and to strengthen democratic governance at all levels;
4. Stimulate discussion on strategies for national reconciliation with special attention to ethnicity, power-sharing and political inclusion.


Pax Christi International
Brussels, Belgium
11 January 2008

Gordon Zahn, Prophet of Peace

By Thomas A. Shannon

America, January 7, 2008

When Gordon Zahn (1918-2007) began his own journey to pacifism, he was convinced of two things: first, that had he been educated in the traditional Catholic schools of his time, he would never have heard of pacifism; second—and he was given rather strong encouragement to think this way—that he was on the lunatic fringe of the church. But he was also convinced that the path of the early church was the correct one and that pacifism was the normative Christian position and that the just war theory was at best an attempt to justify what Realpolitik had already decided was necessary. For many a decade, Gordon followed the lonely road of preaching pacifism in the company of others on the edges of mainstream Christianity. But this was a determined lot, and Gordon, who despised meetings to the depth of his being, continued to show up whenever asked, attended meeting after meeting and was eventually successful in efforts with others to resurrect Pax Christi USA, establishing it as a premier American peace organization.

Gordon’s witness to peace was accomplished in the classroom, on the lecture circuit, writing at his desk or attending endless meetings for the cause; but developments gave special luster to his contributions. First, during discussions at the Second Vatican Council on the draft of Gaudium et Spes, then known as Schema XIII, about war and the just war theory, he met Archbishop Thomas Roberts, S.J., of Bombay and members of the British hierarchy in England and began a correspondence with Archbishop Roberts. Gordon gave a major briefing to members of the British hierarchy in Rome and was instrumental in persuading them to support the insertion of a positive statement on conscientious objection. The council thus reversed Pius XII’s teaching that if one was a Catholic and one’s nation legitimately declared war, a Catholic citizen could not be a conscientious objector.


Second, and perhaps more important, Gordon discovered the story of Franz Jägerstätter, the Austrian peasant who refused to serve in Hitler’s army in any capacity because he was convinced of the immorality of the war. Franz, married and the father of three daughters, was beheaded for his convictions. Gordon came upon this story while doing research on the role of Catholics in Hitler’s Germany, and then sought out Franz’s widow and interviewed many of the townspeople and some clergy. The resulting book, In Solitary Witness, celebrated Franz’s life and became a major contribution to the Catholic peace movement. One of Gordon’s proudest moments came when he was at yet another antiwar rally and heard someone say that he was burning his draft card in memory of Franz Jägerstätter. One flame had led to another.


But surely the proudest moment would have been the beatification ceremony of Franz last month in Austria. Unfortunately, Gordon suffered from Alzheimer’s disease during the past several years and was unable to attend. One of Gordon’s relatives reported that she read the letter of invitation to him and, though he had been unresponsive, he opened his eyes, sat up and took a deep breath. Perhaps he was aware of the ultimate fruit that his story bore.

Gordon was not a flashy person and was rather modest in his personal way of living, but day in and day out he bore constant and often solitary witness to the cause of peace to which he dedicated his life. He can now skip further meetings and rest in peace.

Thomas A. Shannon is professor emeritus of religion and social ethics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

The End of Israel? By Hannah Mermelstein

The Electronic Intifada 22 December, 2007

I am feeling optimistic about Palestine.

I know it sounds crazy. How can I use "optimistic" and "Palestine" in the same sentence when conditions on the ground only seem to get worse? Israeli settlements continue to expand on a daily basis, the checkpoints and segregated road system are becoming more and more institutionalized, more than 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners are being held in Israeli jails, Gaza is under heavy attack and the borders are entirely controlled by Israel, preventing people from getting their most basic human needs met.

We can never forget these things and the daily suffering of the people, and yet I dare to say that I am optimistic. Why? Ehud Olmert. Let me clarify. Better yet, let's let him clarify:

"The day will come when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights. As soon as that happens, the state of Israel is finished."

That's right, the Prime Minister of Israel is currently trying to negotiate a "two-state solution" specifically because he realizes that if he doesn't, Palestinians might begin to demand, en masse, equal rights to Israelis. Furthermore, he worries, the world might begin to see Israel as an apartheid state. In actuality, most of the world already sees Israel this way, but Olmert is worried that even Israel's most ardent supporters will begin to catch up with the rest of the world.

"The Jewish organizations, which were our power base in America, will be the first to come out against us," he told Haaretz, "because they will say they cannot support a state that does not support democracy and equal voting rights for all its residents."

Perhaps Olmert is giving American Jews too much credit here, but he does expose a basic contradiction in the minds of most American people, Jewish and not: most of us -- at least in theory -- support equal rights for all residents of a country. Most of us do not support rights given on the basis of ethnicity and religion, especially when the ethnicity/religion being prioritized is one that excludes the vast majority of the country's indigenous population. We cannot, of course, forget the history of ethnic cleansing of indigenous people on the American continent. But we must not use the existence of past atrocities to justify present ones.

I am optimistic not because I think the process of ethnic cleansing and apartheid in Israel/Palestine is going to end tomorrow, but because I can feel the ideology behind these policies beginning to collapse. For years the true meaning of political Zionism has been as ignored as its effects on Palestinian daily life. And suddenly it is beginning to break open. Olmert's comments last week are reminiscent of those of early Zionist leaders who talked openly of transfer and ethnic cleansing in order to create an artificial Jewish majority in historic Palestine.

We must expel the Arabs and take their places and if we have to use force to guarantee our own right to settle in those places -- then we have force at our disposal. - David Ben-Gurion, Israel's "founding father" and first prime minister, 1937

So this idea of a "two-state solution" a la Olmert -- which I would argue provides neither a "state" nor a "solution" for the Palestinian people -- is the new transfer. It is no longer popular in the world to openly discuss expulsion (though there are political parties in Israel that advocate this), but Olmert hopes that by creating a Palestinian "state" on a tiny portion of historic Palestine, he can accomplish the same goal: maintaining an ethno-religious state exclusively for the Jewish people in most of historic Palestine. His plan, as all other plans Israeli leaders have tried to "negotiate," ignores the basic rights of the two-thirds of the Palestinian population who are refugees. They, like all other refugees in the world, have the internationally recognized right to return to their lands and receive compensation for loss and damages. This should not be up for negotiation.

So why am I optimistic? Why do I think Olmert will fail, if not in the short term, at least in the long term? There are many signs.

The first and most important is that Palestinian people are holding on. Sometimes by a thread, but holding on nonetheless. Despite the hope of many in Israel, Palestinians will not disappear. They engage in daily acts of nonviolent resistance, from demonstrations against the wall and land confiscation, to simply remaining in their homes against all odds. Young people are joining organizations designed to preserve their culture and identity. Older Palestinians have said to me, "We lived through the Ottoman Empire, we lived through the British Mandate, we lived through Jordanian rule, and we will live through Israeli occupation." This too shall pass.

In Israel, it seems that within the traditional "Zionist left," Jewish Israelis are beginning to have open conversations about the exclusivity of Zionism as a political ideology, and are questioning it more and more.

In the US, I have been traveling around speaking to groups about Palestine, and they get it. Even those whose prior information has come only from US mainstream media, when they hear what is actually happening, they get it. When we explain the difference between being Jewish (a religion or ethnicity), Israeli (a citizenship), and Zionist (an ideology), people understand.

"Does Israel have a right to exist?" people ask. What does that mean? Do countries really have rights, or do people have rights? The Jewish people have a right to exist, the Israeli people have a right to exist, but what does "Israel" mean? Israel defines itself as the state of the Jewish people. It is not a state of its citizens. It is a state of many people who are not its citizens, like myself, and is not the state of many people who are its citizens, like the 20 percent of its population that is Palestinian. So if we ask a Palestinian person, "Do you recognize the right for there to be a country on your historic homeland that explicitly excludes you?" what kind of response should we expect?

So when Olmert warns that we will "face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights" and that "the state of Israel [will be] finished," I get a little flutter of excitement. I think of the 171 Palestinian organizations who have called on the international community to begin campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel until Israel complies with international law. This is already a South African-style struggle, and we outside of Palestine need to do our part. Especially those of us who live in the US, the country that gives Israel more than $10 million every single day, must take responsibility for the atrocities committed in our name and with our money.

Ultimately, this is our role as Americans. It is to begin campaigns in our churches, synagogues, mosques, universities, cities, unions, etc. It is not to broker false negotiations between occupier and occupied, and it is not to muse over solutions the way I have above. But one can dream. And as a Jewish-American, I know that while it might be scary to some, while it will require a lot of imagination, the end of Israel as a Jewish state could mean the beginning of democracy, human rights, and some semblance of justice in a land that has almost forgotten what that means.

Hannah Mermelstein is co-founder and co-director of Birthright Unplugged, which takes mostly Jewish North American people into the West Bank to meet with Palestinian people and to equip them to return to their own communities and work for justice; and takes Palestinian children from refugee camps to Jerusalem, the sea, and the villages their grandparents fled in 1948, and supports them to document their experiences and create photography exhibits to share with their communities and with the world. Anna Baltzer helped contribute to this article.