U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee is seeking constituent views on the upcoming congressional vote on further spending in Iraq. In a letter to constituents this week, the 1st District Democrat wrote:
“I write to ask for your thoughts and advice regarding Congress’ upcoming vote on President Bush’s request for $87 billion to fund operations in Iraq, of which $66 billion will be for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, $20 billion for rebuilding Iraq, and $1 billion for Afghanistan.
“This request raises important questions about the administration’s post-war strategy for stabilization in Iraq, including whether certain conditions must be attached to the president’s funding request.”
Constituents are asked to respond to an online survey at www.house.gov/inslee/iraq_survey_form.htm.
For more information, email jay.inslee@mail.house.gov.
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***Justice tour to visit Bainbridge
Speakers opposed to the occupation in Iraq and Palestine arrive on the island Friday to present first-hand experiences of current conditions in the Middle East.
Arranged by islander Gayle Lamberson, the stop is part of Wheels of Justice, a national bus tour launched in mid-August by Voices in the Wilderness, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, and the Middle East Children’s Alliance.
The bus will visit Eagle Harbor High School and Bainbridge High School, where tour members will discuss human rights issues with students from Chris Kozina’s Global Diplomacy class at EHH, presently studying issues surrounding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the U.N. in 1948.
The tour’s focus on human rights issues will also be the subject of a documentary by Emily Grice and her video students.
The public is invited to participate in a gathering 3-5 p.m. Oct. 17 at BHS, organized by Meghan Gladstein, the BHS Peace and Justice Coalition and the high school’s chapter of Amnesty International.
The program will include excerpts from photojournalist Lorna Tychostup’s photo project, “The War in Iraq – Looking into the Eyes of the Enemies” – a project resulting from a trip to Iraq in February 2003.
Tychostup has been a guest on several major network and cable TV shows, and is the senior editor of Chronogram magazine in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her photos can be seen at www.lornatychostup.com.
The photos will be followed by a discussion led by Tychostup and activist Bert Sacks, who has traveled to Iraq several times in the last decade in violation of US/UN economic sanctions to bring relief aid to Iraqi families.
Sacks was fined $10,000 by the U.S. Treasury, which he refused to pay, instead raising an additional $10,000 for medical aid to Iraq. Sacks has also lived in Israel for five years and twice visited the occupied territories of Palestine.
From Bainbridge, the Wheels of Justice tour will visit Irises Cafe at 4226 Kitsap Way in Bremerton for a 6 p.m. potluck dinner, followed by a screening and discussion of the film “Palestine is Still the Issue.”
Tour information: www.justicewheels.org.
Local information: Gayle Lamberson, 842-6372 or journeys2@att.net.
