A Special showing of the film "UNCOVERED: The Whole Truth About the War in Iraq" on March 4 at the West Newton Theater was a tremendous success with over 200 people attending - most of whom stayed for the lively discussion that followed. Click Here for more.

In a recent edition of the Newton Tab, is an excellent article by Steve Nathanson  (one of our steering committee members) which examines the validity of the five reasons Newton Dialogues gave in July, 2002, for opposing the war against Iraq. He points out the these reasons have been demonstrated to have been correct and that America needs a cooperative, internationalist approach to the problems that face us and people throughout the world. War is not the answer. Click Here to read this incisive editorial.

A modified version of our Resolution opposing the USA PATRIOT Act was UNANIMOUSLY Adopted by the Newton Board of Aldermen at their meeting on August 11.   The resolution  - -   “affirms its commitment that the campaign [against terror] NOT be waged at the expense of essential civil rights and liberties
…that the City of Newton urges its delegation in Congress to monitor the implementation of the PATRIOT ACT and seek the repeal (or sustain the sun-setting, where applicable) of those provisions which violate the civil liberties of all, citizens and non-citizens alike, living and working within the City of Newton and elsewhere in the United States.
 - -  “requests the Mayor to instruct City departments and officers to respect the constitutional rights of all people of the City of Newton, including the principles of equality, due process of law, freedom of religion, speech, and association, including privacy and open government. Click Here to read the version of the resolution that was passed by the Board of Aldermen.

Military Budget versus the Needs of Our Children The present budget priorities, combined with the military budget and the costs for the war in Iraq and its reconstruction threaten a fiscal train wreck. In a scant two years, the Administration has squandered a large projected surplus of come $5.6 trillion over the next decade and taken us to project deficits as far as the eye can see. The Administration's domestic policy has put many of our states in dire financial condition, under-funding scores of essential programs for our people. Since fiscal year 2000, military spending requests have jumped from Clinton's already huge $288.8 billion to Bush's breathtaking $399.1 billion. The most recent statistics are that our country spends more on defense that all the other 18 members of NATO, plus China, plus Russia, and plus the six remaining rogue states. The combination of these military increases and massive tax cuts will squeeze billions out of domestic spending on everything from health care to environmental protection to education to unemployment insurance.

But this most recent Defense Budget request excludes the costs of the Iraq war and occupation. The first supplemental appropriation, the $79 billion just approved, is the largest one in history. These numbers are so large that it is difficult to appreciate the magnitude or impact. In order to see how this amount of money might be spent for a variety of our childrens´ needs,  Click Here for a compelling graphical display.


Iraq children - Baghdad   The Faces of Collateral Damage
The words "collateral damage" mask the reality of what is being talked about. Their impersonal sound hides the fact that what is being referred to are injuries and deaths inflicted on actual human beings. In Iraq, half of the population consists of children under 18. To affirm this human reality, the left margin of this page first contains pictures of Iraqi children, then pictures of such "collateral damage". A report by a human rights physician who recently visited Iraq describes the terrible state of the present health care and existence of the Iraq citizens, and presents a vivid description of what the war has brought to these innocent people. This letter was written before the beginning of the Iraq war, but the facts of today are not that much different. The closing sentence of this letter are a warning our government did not heed: "Against the short-term gain of removing Saddam, we must take into account that idea that we may well unleash forces of hatred and resentment that will haunt us for decades to come in every corner of the world. I can just hear Osama Bin Laden saying now, "Please President Bush, attack Iraq. There's nothing better you could do to help the cause of Al Qaeda!" Click Here   to read.

Report from Iraq -   By American Friends Service Committee Senior Correspondent Doug Hostetter in Amman, Jordan  Talking to the victims of this war and watching it on TV has taken me back 35 years to my experience in Vietnam. Supporters of that war, too, proclaimed that it was being fought for the most noble of ideals: stopping totalitarianism and bringing American democracy to the benighted people of the East. Click Here to read Hostetter's comments.