Ivo Skoric 1-8

Sun Sep 12 14:30:14 CEST 2004

1. From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo at reporters.net>
Subject: Appeal to Release the Italian and Iraqi Aid Workers Abducted
Reply-to: ivo at reporters.net
Thu, 09 Sep 2004 10:50:25 -0400

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/09/international/middleeast/09iraq.html
?th
Is it true that the very same day the U.S. did another of their
"precision" attacks, which, again, was not that precise and killed
some children and innocent bystanders? Yes. But why would you leave
to the occupier that satisfaction that you are just as bad as he is?
The occupiers will have the upper hand as long as their opposers are
just a disorganized bunch of criminal elements without a clear vision
of the future, whose actions are random, impulsive, and counter-
productive to the cause they wow they wish to achieve. The kidnapping
of two Italian and two Iraqi women peace activists was a cowardly
act, that best served only the occupator, providing plenty of reason
to label the Iraqi resistance as plain criminals devoid of political
goals, who'd kidnap just any foreigner for ransom. And this came just
as the wave of commentaries in the Arab media, grossed out with
Russia's September 11 in Beslan, went forward to condemn the
kidnapping of Islam by angry men in the name of general mayhem.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/09/international/middleeast/09arabiya.h
tml?th
ivo

------- Forwarded message follows -------

>An Appeal for the Release the Italian and Iraqi Aid Workers Abducted
>in Baghdad: THEY ARE NOT INSTRUMENTS OF THE OCCUPYING FORCES
>
>We are individuals and organizations from around the world who
>opposed and continue to oppose the occupation of Iraq and we plead
>for the release of two Italian and two Iraqi humanitarian workers who
>were abducted in Iraq last September 7, 2004.
>
>Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both Italians, and Ra¹ad Ali Abdul
>Azziz and Mahnoaz Bassam, both Iraqis, are members of Un Ponte Per
>Baghdad (Bridges to Baghdad) an independent Italian humanitarian
>organization that has been working in Iraq since 1992. During the
>embargo, other humanitarian organizations refused to operate in Iraq,
>Bridges defied that in the belief that the suffering of civilians
>should not be used as a political bargaining chip.
>
>In this occupation, the United States and its coalition cynically
>blurred the distinction between the humanitarian and the political,
>using aid and relief as an apparatus for pacifying the Iraqis. As a
>result, Iraqis have become increasingly and understandably suspicious
>of international humanitarian organizations. Despite the perils
>caused by this confusion, Bridges consciously decided to continue its
>operations in Iraq, convinced that Iraqis will see through their
>intentions.
>
>Bridges is not an instrument of the Italian government, nor of the
>US-led coalition, to make the occupation more bearable, and
>therefore, more acceptable to the Iraqis. From the very beginning,
>Bridges has been open And consistent with its positions: it opposed
>the embargo, it opposed the invasion, and it opposes the occupation.
>In Italy, Bridges has been a leading critic of the government¹s
>decision to join the US-led coalition. It plays a leading role in the
>nation-wide movement that mobilized over a million Italians to march
>against the war in February 15, 2003, as well as in various
>demonstrations after. Bridges has also been very active in the global
>anti-war movement, maintaining links with various anti-war
>organizations around the world and playing a key role in establishing
>the Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad, a center for monitoring the
>occupation founded by anti-war organizations and coalitions from
>different countries.
>
>Simona Turretta has spent a third of her life for Iraq; Simona Pari
>joined her in 2003. As chief of Bridges¹ in-country operations,
>Simona Turreta has been supervising projects to rehabilitate Iraq¹s
>decrepit water infrastructure and to repair school buildings. Among
>other things, Simona Pari was organizing educational programs for
>Iraq¹s traumatized children. Ra¹ad is an Iraqi engineer who took
>charge of Bridges¹ school projects in Baghdad and Basra. Mahnoaz was
>involved in the social programs. Aside from these projects, Bridges h
>as also helped build the capacity of local Iraqi organizations to
>document and report cases of human rights abuses committed by
>occupation forces. In April this year, Bridges organized a
>humanitarian convoy that delivered food, water, blood, and medicine
>to civilians under siege in Fallujah. Last month, as US and Iraqi
>³interim government forces² mounted their offensive in Najaf, Bridges
>was also there, providing aid and assistance to Iraqis caught in the
>crossfire.
>
>Simona, Simona, Ra¹d and Mahnoaz are not enemies of the Iraqi people.
>They stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in calling for an immediate
>end to the occupation. We appeal to those holding them to release
>them immediately.
>
>We also call on the Italian government to immediately withdraw its
>membership in the US-led coalition. We call on the United States and
>the remaining members of the coalition to end the occupation.
>
>SIGNED:
>As of 8 September, 3 PM GMT
>[Organizations]
>Iraq International Occupation Watch Center
>
>Alianza Social Continental (Latin Americano)
>Campaign Genoa 2001 (Greece)
>Continental Campaign Against FTAA (Latin Americano
>Code Pink (United States)
>Global Exchange (United States)
>Globalize Resistance (United Kingdom)
>Focus on the Global South (Philippines, Thailand, and India)
>International Civilian Campaign for the Protection of Palestinians
>(France) Palestinian Workers Union Stop the War Coalition - Greece
>Stop the War Coalition - UK
>
>
>
>(To sign this appeal, please send an e-mail with your name,
>organization, country, contact details, to
>free-our-friends at focusweb.org. Please indicate if you wish to sign as
>an organization or as an individual. Contact: Herbert Docena
>+9613164370)

2. "Ivo Skoric" <ivo at reporters.net>
Subject: NYCLU seeks RNC Police Complaints
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2004 13:13:37 -0400

The New York Civil Liberties Union has received a number of
complaints of police misconduct during the Republican National
Convention, including

--the arrest of law-abiding protestors, bystanders and the
press/indy media
--the dangerous conditions at Pier 57,
--excessive delays in processing arrests, and
--the targeting of street medics, journalists, and legal
observers.
--dangerous and /or abusive police tactics like riding scooters
into crowds of demonstrators

Please reply to this special email address RNCNYCLU at AOL.com or use
the form below to file a complaint with the NYCLU know about problems
you experienced or observed at the RNC demonstrations. The intake
form is also available at nyclu.org and through our office 212-344-
3005

Please include as much relevant detail as possible: time, location,
witnesses, badge numbers and a description of what happened.

The information you provide will help the NYCLU and other legal
organizations document the policies and practices of the NYPD that
interfere with lawful protest and develop effective strategies for
for needed reforms.

Please indicate whether you wish your report to be kept confidential.
Thank you,

Donna Lieberman
Executive Director
NYCLU
125 Broad St.
NY NY 10004
212-344-3005

NYCLU RNC COMPLAINT FORM
Basic Info
Name
Address:
Phone#s:
Email:
Date, Time and Location of Incident:
Describe your interaction with law enforcement (including NYPD, FBI,
Port Authority police etc.)
Were you at a demonstration? What demonstration?
Were you barricaded in?
Name of officer?
Rank?
Badge #?
Precinct/Command?
Physical Description?
Uniform or plainclothes?
Any force used? Flexcuffs?
What types of questions were you asked?
Did the officer ask to search you or your bag?
Where was the search conducted?
If you refused a search, what happened?
Was anything found? (e.g. Weapons, anything that could be construed
as a weapon, drugs, graffiti materials)
Why do you think law enforcement stopped and/or arrested you?
Do you think you were stopped based on your affiliation or
association with a particular group/view/or your appearance? Did the
officer say or do anything specifically to make you believe this?
Witnesses? Please provide names and contact information if possible.
Were you arrested?
If so, where were you taken?
If you were taken to Pier 57
Time of Transport to Pier 57
(City bus, paddywagon?):
Pier 57 Information
Time of Arrival at Pier 57___________________
Conditions at Pier 57:
How many in your pen?
Allowed to go to bathroom?
Condition of floor in pen?
Did you need any medical attention?
Any physical manifestations?
Infection
Rash
Respiratory symptoms
Anything else?
Did you see a doctor? If so, who, when?
Time of transport to Central Booking (Center Street or œTombs?)
Time of release 
Total hours in system
Did you receive a Desk Appearance Ticket? Appearance
Date on DAT
What were charges against you? (Refer to NLG for defense)
Will you sign release allowing us to access medical records?
Will you speak to the press about this incident?
Did you file a CCRB complaint? ( If not, do you wish to do so? )
Anything else you™d like to add?

3. From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo at reporters.net>
Subject: Re: he can fool all of the people (some, or perhaps all of the time)
Date: Mon, 06 Sep 2004 15:05:34 -0400

Well, he delivered a very good speech. He promised mountains and
valleys to the people, just like Milosevic did for years. Republican
liabilities were absent (Rummy, Wolfy, Perly...) from the convention.
The swift ad was doing its job, too. After every convention the polls
slightly tilt towards the party that had the convention. This was
expectable. It doesn't mean he will be able to hold that lead for 2
months. Now he has to face Kerry in one-on-one debates, and he also
has to face the continuously bad news from Iraq, and worsening
economy. I believe this is the highest lead he would ever have over
Kerry. But he still can win.. Unlike Clinton, Kerry simply doesn't
have it. And his voting record does suggest that he is focused only
on his personal advancement, changing opinions according to what
would work better for his career. 9 of 10 delegates in Boston were
anti-war, yet speakers were competing in who would deliver stronger
pro-war message. DNC organizers were confiscating "peace delegate"
scarves from Kucinich delegates, and Code Pink party-crasher was
thrown out from BOTH conventions. Kerry is making a huge mistake in
trying to appease so-called swing voters while abandoning his core
constituencies, and this may cost him dearly in November. The swing-
voters would be influenced more by the swift-veterans ad, than by
Kerry's salute. Kerry is behaving like Draskovic did, telling Bush
not that war was wrong, but that war was lead wrong. This is NOT a
winning strategy judging by the sad Serbian example. The best
strategy for American people - a real revolution in democracy - would
be to pick one of 46 other presidential candidates (Nader or anybody
else, it doesn't really matter - I would take that American Native
guy imprisoned for killing two federal agents, he seems the most
presidential to me, although I can't remember his name) and cast a
vote for them. It would be hillariously funny to watch the reaction
of corporate America (and of other countries on the planet) to a
president-elect who is NOT a part of the revolving-doors-elite, that
for last 40-50 years holds all important public, corporate and
consulting positions in this country.
ivo

On 5 Sep 2004 at 17:01, Andras Riedlmayer wrote:

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1584315,00.html

4. From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo at reporters.net>
To: ed Agro <edagro at verizon.net>
Subject: Serbia back in the Fold of Evolution
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:44:02 -0400

They are such Democrats, not being able to stay the course and bowing
to the foreign pressure. Tsk, tsk, tsk...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3642460.stm

ivo

5. From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo at reporters.net>
Subject: On "whatever it takes"
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2004 11:45:56 -0400
Reply-to: ivo at reporters.net

Compared to Putin, Bush is such a 'girlie man'. First the Moscow
Theater, now the school in Beslan. If he did not care for deaths of
Moscow elite, the children in Beslan were really expendable. He must
have been reading too much Dostoyevski when he was young. What slogan
is he going to use for his Convention: "nation of suicidal"?
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/04/international/europe/04russia.html?t
h

ivo

6. From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo at reporters.net>
Subject: USPS
Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2004 01:04:10 -0400

The U.S. stamp to go with Bush-Cheney victory:
http://thesmokinggun.com/archive/0831041_photostamps_3.html

ivo

7. From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo at reporters.net>
Subject: Heavenly People
Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2004 23:05:21 -0400
Only in Kansas and Sumadija:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3635794.stm

ivo

8. From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo at reporters.net>
Subject: Florida and God
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2004 11:45:57 -0400

Pat Robertson insists that God wants us to vote for Bush. Why is God
then pummeling Florida with hurricane after hurricane as it hath
punished the pharaohs of Egypt?
ivo