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Women Say No to War
GUEST: Yanar Mohammed, President of Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq

This morning Iraq’s Ministry of Interior was attacked in Baghdad. According to police, a suicide car bomb exploded near one gate, and less than an hour later, two mortar shells landed near the ministry. At least 21 people have been killed. On Saturday 8 U.S. troops and four American civilians died aboard a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in northern Iraq. Violence and killing in Iraq have become so commonplace that most Americans barely react to this kind of news. But now about 200 prominent women activists from the US, Iraq and other countries have signed on to a peace plan to pull out of Iraq. The campaign is being spearheaded by Codepink and from now until March 8th, International women’s Day, they will be gathering signatures. Among the original signees are Alice Walker, Susan Sarandon, Margaret Cho, Dolores Huerta, Eve Ensler, Congresswomen Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, and Cynthia McKinney. Also on the list is Yanar Mohammed, President of Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq.

For more information, visit www.womensaynotowar.org

Sign the petition here.

Day Laborers Fight Back
GUEST: Pablo Alvarado, Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network

This past Saturday anti-immigrant groups organized a nationwide campaign to “stop the invasion”. Demonstrations were organized at several day laborer locations in 19 states across the country. In southern California, the Minuteman Project mobilized in Rancho Cucamonga, Laguna Beach, Lake Forest, and Glendale. Associated Press reported that attendance was sparse and in many cases outnumbered by pro-immigrants rights groups. At the Home Depot in Glendale, two dozen anti-immigrant protestors were surrounded by 100 counter-demonstrators who chanted, “Racists go home.”

For more information, visit www.ndlon.org.

Empire Notes
GUEST: Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade

We go now to our weekly commentary Empire Notes by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary is about the Congo.

Empire Notes is online at www.empirenotes.org.

Samuel Alito Hearings Planned Today
GUEST: Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization for Women

Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito will be facing the Senate Judiciary Committee today. Alito, a conservative, 15-year member of the federal appeals court in Philadelphia, was chosen by President Bush last October to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the high court. Bush sent Alito off to his confirmation hearings this morning with praise, a good-luck handshake and a demand that senators “give this man a fair vote.” Rightwing Christians rallied last night in support of Alito. The fundamentalist Reverend Jerry Falwell has also endorsed him. Samuel Alito is expected to be questioned about two 1985 memos he wrote saying there is no right to abortion in the Constitution. Senate Democrats yesterday promised a drawn-out confirmation and perhaps a filibuster if Alito evades or refuses to answer their questions on abortion, presidential war powers and other issues. Last week a coalition of women’s rights groups announced a joint campaign to block Alito.

For more information, visit www.now.org.

Click here to find out about NOW’s campaign against Alito.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“The only way to restore this republic our founders envisioned is to elevate honorable jurists like Samuel Alito.” – Rightwing Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania