ILAW 2003 Off To A Great Start

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Okay so there’s good news and bad news.
The good news is that Larry is letting me film ILAW!
The bad news is that, with me recovering from a cold, an hour commute each way for five days straight, and my having to stand up for most of the sessions (because they get kind of exciting and I have to move the camera around alot between the audience and speakers to get the best coverage of everything), I won’t be pulling any late nighters trying to get any of this footage to you before the weekend.
So for now, you should read Donna Wentworth’s Coverage and know that it will all be online in due time.
(Yes all five days’ worth.)
Cheers!

Day 5: First Book Printed!

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This just in from Ashley:


Date: 6/30
Time: 7:22 pm
We made a book! It’s an Arabic book entitled “Wonderful Water” (water being very wonderful when it’s 110 degrees out). So, the stationary unit is now functional and will be operational tomorrow once the security team is satisfied that it can’t print counterfeit bills. (And it definitely cannot.)
We checked out some vans today and saw these little Suzuki vehicles that would work really well for an Egypt Bookie. They’re pretty cheap too– abuot $8,000 new. All we need now is a willing, benevolent, wealthy person to put up the cash. We also snuck in a little sightseeing since our driver, Mohammed, who’s actually a higher-up in the admin. department wanted us to eat Egyptian ice cream (*really* good) at the Citadel– the Western-most point of the city). Fun.
Tomorrow’s off to Cairo for a meeting with the director of an NGO and some pyramidal sightseeing (I hope). Then back to Alex to make some more books and hopefully get rolling with the mobile unit.
Sorry for no pics today, I’ve got to run to a dinner appt.
Ashley in Egypt

Photo Below: This is Mohammed and me at Alexandria’s Citadel–the point where the Lighthouse of Pharos (one of the ancient wonders of the world) used to stand. This was after a day of scoping out vehicles for the Library’s Bookmobile.


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Time Asks: Who Lost the WMD?

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Who Lost the WMD?
As the weapons hunt intensifies, so does the finger pointing. A preview of the coming battle
By Massimo Calabresi and Timothy J. Burger for Time.

What Was Cheney’s Role?
Lawmakers who once saluted every Bush claim and command are beginning to express doubts. Two congressional panels are opening new rounds of investigations into the Administration’s prewar claims about WMD. One of their immediate inquiries, sources tell Time, involves Vice President Dick Cheney’s role in reviewing the intelligence before the bombing started. Cheney made repeated visits to the CIA in the prelude to the war, going over intelligence assessments with the analysts who produced them. Some Democrats say Cheney’s visits may have amounted to pressure on the normally cautious agency. Cheney’s defenders insist that his visits merely showed the importance of the issue and that an honest analyst wouldn’t feel pressure to twist intelligence. The House intelligence committee (and possibly its Senate counterpart, sources say) plans to question the CIA analysts who briefed Cheney, and that could lead to calling Cheney’s hard-line aides and perhaps the Veep himself to testify.
Is Powell Trying To Have It Both Ways?
Secretary of State Colin Powell, who staked his reputation on his February declaration at the U.N. about Saddam Hussein’s arms program, is also feeling the heat. Powell’s aides fanned out after that performance to say the Secretary had gone to the CIA and scrubbed every piece of intelligence to make certain it was solid. But since then, little of Powell’s presentation has been proved by evidence on the ground, and last week his aides were on the defensive over a memo from the State Department’s intelligence bureau that questioned whether two Iraqi trailers discovered in April were mobile bioweapons labs, as Powell has asserted. Questionable intelligence that made it into Powell’s February speech leaves him particularly vulnerable. Expect a push by Democrats, and perhaps some Republicans, to seek Powell’s testimony too.

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John Cougar Mellencamp Speaks Out

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This interview could have been better (the guy could have asked better questions and stopped trying to pigeon hole Cougar’s musical style — I’m referring to the “are you the Creedence of today” line of questioning on page 3).
But no matter, at least someone gave John a chance to speak!

Ain’t that America? Denounced as un-American after he blasted Bush on his 21st album, John Mellencamp talks about the rise of Fox News, pay-for-play, what’s wrong with the Rolling Stones and why most Republicans aren’t rich enough to be Republicans.
By Eric Boehlert for Salon.

Salon: Talk about people’s reaction to “To Washington.”
John: Initially I was surprised. My album wasn’t going to come out for a few months and I had the song
recorded so I put it up on my Web site and asked for people’s comments. And there were some mean
damn comments coming back.
Salon: How about today?
John: It’s changed. Now they’re almost totally in favor of the song. Because people are starting to
realize, “Now wait a minute, what really happened in Iraq?” I see the climate changing
tremendously. But when people hear those drums of war pounding, and Fox News is showing it on
television, people got pretty riled up. People were afraid, and when people are afraid they make
emotional decisions.
Salon: Did that include people in your hometown of Bloomington, Ind.?
John: When the song first came out I was in the car one day and we were driving to the airport and I had
my kids with me and a radio station was playing “To Washington” and having callers call in. Some
guy comes on and says, “I don’t know who I hate the most, John Mellencamp or Osama bin Laden.” My
kids heard that and my 9-year-old said, “Dad, are they talking about you? Why are people mad at
you?”
… Salon: Were there discussions about not including the song on your record?
John: I was asked not to put it on the record.
Where did it go from there?
John: I think the people who asked me knew what my response would be, but they felt they had to ask. They
were polite about it.
Salon: Did they say it just didn’t feel right, or the tone wasn’t right for the record?
John: No, it was more, “You’re asking for trouble, and look what happened to the Dixie Chicks, which was
based on just an offhand comment they made.” And my point to them was, “Look, I’m John Mellencamp,
I’ve been doing this 25 years. For anybody to say I’m un-American is laughable.”

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Info On Friday’s Anti-Shrub Protest In Burlingame, CA (SF Bay Area)

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Glad these guys made it, but I’m kinda glad I didn’t go too. I was unprepared and would’ve gotten heatstroke in a traffic jam, sounds like.
(Unrelated side note: Boy am I glad it’s cooled down here in S.F. — That was a miserable couple of days [and nights] last week…)
Protesters battle heat to boo Bush —
Tough day to make voice heard as cars jam airport-area streets
By Ryan Kim for the SF Chronicle.

The day was trying for many of the protesters and Bush supporters trying to converge on Friday’s luncheon. While the relentless heat did its share of damage, the closure of Millbrae Avenue and Old Bayshore Highway for security reasons caused major traffic headaches on streets and Highway 101.
Opponents of Bush harped on a number of topics but consistently hammered home their belief that the president lied about Iraq’s weapons capabilities as a false pretext for invasion.
“Bush lied, people died,” shouted the throng of protesters as he arrived.
Inside the hotel, five members of Code Pink, a nationwide anti-war organization, gained access to the lobby after they booked a hotel room together. Dressed in pink evening wear, the women engaged many of the luncheon guests, knocking Bush and his $2,000-a-plate fund-raiser.
“I find it obscene to charge $2,000-a-plate when he’s making sweeping budget cuts across the country in veterans’ benefits and health care,” said Carol Norris, an organizer with Code Pink.
The Code Pink women drew their own protester — Terri Connell of Fairfield, who paused from checking into the Marriott to say, “I respect your First Amendment rights, but you’re wrong.”

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Day 4: Printing Station Set Up!

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Date: 6/29/03
Time: 4:58 pm
Day…4! Still making steady progress with the Library’s stationary printing and binding unit. Unfortunately, the laserjet has been causing yet more troubles (in addition to the concerns that it might be used for counterfeiting money) since it came as 110v instead of 220v. Nothing a transformer can’t take care of though.
We worked on getting signage for the station today, and, after my weak attempts at taking pitcures of it in use, had a pro. photographer and designer from the lib. do the work for the signs.
Tomorrow we go van shopping and then Tuesday off to Cairo to meet with a Human Rights activist who’s based here and in the States.
Hopefully tonight we can find some of Alexandria’s famous seafood, since we’ve been mainly eating when there has been time (and, yes, I actually ate at McDonald’s once…pathetic).
Here’s some more pics. Enjoy.
Ashley in Egypt.

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Day 3: Photos From Egypt

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You might want to go check out Day 2 again, because I just added photos there too.


Date: 6/28/03
Time: 7:42pm
Text:
Hi.
This is day three and things are still moving pretty fast, especially by Egyptian standards. Shockingly, all the equipment arrived, and the arrival coincided with our arrival, so we’re really stoked about that.
We’re going to buy some PCs tomorrow (which is a bit complicated here– it’s not going to CompUSA and whipping out the credit cards) and then we’ll be ready to roll out books on demand.
We’ve been exploring Alexandria more and more, and get more and more enchanted by it. We smoked hookah (flavored tobacco) last night and drank Turkish coffee after a 10hour work day.
We hope to head to Cairo on Tuesday to meet with a human rights activism group that’s also based in the States and focuses on digital divide issues as well.
More pics attached.
best
ashley

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Video and Audio Of Sydney Levy Of Jewish Voice For Peace At Friday 13 INS Protest

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This footage is from the protest in front of the INS building that took place from noon to 1pm at 444 Washington Street in San Francisco on June 13, 2003.
Speaker: Sydney Levy
Organization: Jewish Voice For Peace
Sydney Levy in San Francisco (Small – 10 MB)
Audio – Sydney Levy in San Francisco (MP3 – 3 MB)

Sydney Levy, Jewish Voice For Peace
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Video and Audio Of Father Louie Vitale At The INS Mass Deportation Protest

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This footage is from the protest in front of the INS building that took place from noon to 1pm at 444 Washington Street in San Francisco on June 13, 2003.
Speaker: Father Louie Vitale
Organization: Franciscian School Of Theology, St. Boniface Church in San Francisco
Father Louis Vitale, O.F.M. is a Lecturer in Spirituality and Practice of Nonviolence at the Franciscian School Of Theology. He is also a Pastor of St. Boniface Church in San Francisco.
Father Louie ended up serving some time in a Federal Prison in Georgia for committing acts of civil disobedience while protesting the School of the Americas (a U.S. terrorist training camp whose graduates are known for committing human rights violations).
Father Louie Vitale in San Francisco (Small – 24 MB)
Audio – Father Louie Vitale in San Francisco (MP3 – 7 MB)

Father Louie Vitale, Pastor of St. Boniface Church

(Excerpt) I just want to say to those of you who are from maybe my background — a Judeo-Christian tradition — If you want to honor the scriptures we have that talk about loving your neighbor and bearing one another’s burdens, then we better get off our duffs and do something, or put away our bibles and forget it.
We have to be outraged! And we have to get out and show our rage in non-violent and peaceful ways, and put a stop to this terrible, terrible racism that’s going on and the abuse and oppression that destroying families and simply destroying lives.

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Video and Audio Of Andrew Lichterman Of The People’s Non-violent Response Coalition

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This footage is from the protest in front of the INS building that took place from noon to 1pm at 444 Washington Street in San Francisco on June 13, 2003.
Speaker: Andrew Lichterman
Organization: The People’s Non-violent Response Coalition
Andrew Lichterman in San Francisco (Small – 20 MB)
Audio – Andrew Lichterman in San Francisco (MP3 – 8 MB)

Andrew Lichterman Of The People’s Non-violent Response Coalition
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