Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez

Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez as he was and minutes before he died.

CBS News reported a story of the U.S. military neglecting the health of it's soldiers. Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez asked CBS news to do an interview. As they prepared to do the interview, Sgt. Rodriguez died. CBS News' report can be seen here:


A New York Congressman has introduced the Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Malpractice and Injustice Act. A local station in New York gives some background on why military personnel cannot sue the U.S. government for medical malpractice.

Iraq Moratorium: Third Friday of Every Month

If you have time tonight (Friday, May 16th), head to Water St. and Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Milwaukee for the Iraq Moratorium from 5pm to 6pm.

If the third Friday of every month isn't enough for you, check out Peace Action Wisconsin. They have weekly vigils to end the war in Iraq.

Milwaukee Tops Another List

Milwaukeeans live in a city that ranks among the highest in the U.S. when it comes to teen pregnancy, segregation, and now racial disparities in drug sentencing.

Human Rights Watch and The Sentencing Project recently released reports outlinging the disparities in sentencing, arrests, etc. The New York Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have run articles on both reports.

Human Rights Watch's report can be found here.The Sentencing Project's report can be found in PDF form here.

Labor and Immigration Film Series at UWM

Yves Engler Review

Thanks to everyone who came out to see Yves Engler speak. You can check the last post for where to pick up his books or read upcoming articles.

Yves Engler at UW-Milwaukee

Yves will discuss the roles the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) had in the 2004 coup of President Jean Bertrand Aristide of Haiti.

You can view some of Engler's articles at ZNet.

Engler coauthored a book called Canada in Haiti, which you should be able to order from People's Books Cooperative in Milwaukee.

Cosponsored by Third World Action and UWM SDS

Norman Finkelstein at UWM

Thanks to the approximately 250 people who attended Tuesday night's event on the Israel-Palestine conflict. We hope to have the entire lecture available online eventually. For now, a few clips:

Norman Finkelstein at UWM, 3/25

* March 25, 2008: Norman Finkelstein, The History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict and the Coming Breakup of American Zionism *

On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, Norman Finkelstein will be speaking at 7pm in the Ballroom of the UWM Student Union. Admission is free and open to the public. Norman Finkelstein has a doctorate in Political Science at Princeton University and he specializes on Jewish related issues, particularly the Israel-Palestine conflict. He is a Jewish scholar whose parents both survived the Holocaust and he has taught at Brooklyn College , Rutgers University , Hunter College, New York University, and most recently, DePaul University . He received media attention recently when he was denied tenure at DePaul University , and this incident has raised the question of academic freedom in American Universities. In the last year he has been lecturing around the world on the Israel-Palestine conflict and he is an advocate for the Two State Settlement.Finkelstein has written five books, including Beyond Chutzpah, The Holocaust Industry, and Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict.

Additional information about Mr. Finkelstein is available at his website: http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/.

This event is being sponsored by Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society, Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine and SLAC. Additional information and updates are available at http://www.sdsmilwaukee.org/.

###

SDS Supports Speaker’s Right to Free Speech, Notes Conservative Union Contradictions

Press Release Dated 11/29/07

In a November 28 article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, UWM student AJ Piwarun alleged that the attempted cancellation of a Conservative Union event entitled “Why I Left Jihad” was rooted in political bias. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UWM vehemently disagrees with Mr. Walid Shoebat’s Islamophobic message, but our organization supports his right to speak at UWM; however, we must point out the contradiction embodied in AJ Piwarun. Allocating funds to SDS as a student Senator, Mr. Piwarun among others violated viewpoint neutrality as outlined by the United States Supreme Court case Southworth v. Board of Regents of the UW System. While The Conservative Union received funds for Mr. Shoebat, Piwarun, the group’s president, knowingly stood by as fellow student Senator Tobin Huibregtse lied, stating that SDS’ funds should be cut because “the most we ever gave for a speaker was 1000 dollars.” The Senate Appropriations Committee Minutes show that the Conservative Union received $5,000 for one speaker and the College Republicans, of which Piwarun is a member, received $3,000 for a speaker as well.

Furthermore, Piwarun violated SDS’ rights as we organized a speech by Dr. Peter Phillips whose event focused on Self Censorship in the Media. Ironically, Piwarun attempted to censor a speaker bringing attention to censorship and now finds himself in a position where he usually places others. Piwarun voted with the majority to cut SDS’ funding from $6,792 to $3,000. Of the 62 student organizations, five groups were pulled out for reconsideration based on their funding levels. SDS was singled out by Piwarun and other student Senators for political reasons, as exhibited by the clearly apolitical nature of the other four groups under review: Club Hockey ($22,900), Lady Panther’s Soccer ($19,445),Wrestling Club ($19,015). In addition, thirteen student organizations were funded $6,500+ with unanimous consent without review.

Mr. Piwarun has also argued that he was censored when not called upon in a Q&A session at an SDS sponsored speech by Winona LaDuke -- a speech he attempted to censor by cutting SDS’ allocation, threatening SDS’ ability to hold the event. The circumstances surrounding Mr. Walid Shoebat’s speech have been used to characterize the sponsors as victims. SDS will defend freedom of speech for all, but highlight the fact that the supposed victims in this case are typically perpetrators.

Click image to enlarge