The People Speak Radio

Eventually, Tracy was able to use a cellphone of Kevin Rodgers, a National Guard. Tracy’s husband 1st Sergeant Galen Barker states that his wife contacted him through Rodgers. He then tried to get to Kuwait so that he could rescue his wife from Iraq. However, Tracy continued to be held against her will by Halliburton/KBR and the State Department that continued to stall her release. She was eventually rescued by Dr. David Pakkal of the State Department who took her immediately to Kuwait.

Several months after returning home in July of 2005, Tracy started receiving phone calls from other Halliburton employees who also alleged sexual harassment and rape while in Iraq. Barker learned that a State Department investigator and a Halliburton EAP representative had given her home phone number out to gang rape victims because they thought Tracy could help them, since she had been the first victim to ever speak out.

After returning home, Tracy asked government officials to assist in securing justice. On the civil side, the State Department has not disciplined the State Department official who has admitted to State Department investigators some of the events that Tracy described. Not only does this assailant remained employed with the State Department, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia has refused to seek an indictment against him for his conduct. Rather than terminate the employment of the official, Tracy says that the State Department offered her a payment of $3,500 to drop charges against its employee for the admitted assault. Tracy refused the offer, and continues in her pursuit for justice not only for herself, but for others who have experienced the same or similar treatment while serving our country abroad.
As for her former employer, Halliburton and its subsidiaries requested that Tracy’s case against them be resolved through a arbitration that they contend is required by her employment contract. In private, there is no judge or jury, but the case is decided by an arbitrator selected from a list of arbitrators. Recently, a federal district judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas agreed with Halliburton’s position and granted Halliburton’s Motion to Compel Tracy’s case against her former employer and its subsidiaries to continue proceeding in arbitration. Tracy’s attorney, Stewart Hoffer of Houston, Texas, has recently been hired to assist Tracy with the Halliburton case as well as the case pending against the State Department official.

While Tracy continues her pursuit for justice in her own individual case, Tracy wanted to ensure that her experience, and the experience of others, did not go unnoticed by our elected officials. Accordingly, Tracy was invited to testify before a congressional subcommittee on December 19, 2007 North Carolina’s long time Congressman Bob Etheridge on December 19, 2007. Although Tracy was unable to testify at that hearing, she did provide some documentation to the committee, including a sworn statement of Letty Surman, a former Human Resources employee with Halliburton/KBR and who was an eyewitness to some of her ordeals. Surman’s affidavit detailed Tracy’s workplace experience, In addition to assisting Congress, Tracy has been in touch with Jana Crowder, a resident of Knoxville, Tennessee who, in her spare time, works to help contractors returning from overseas secure assistance with obtaining benefits. To that end, Jana and Tracy have created the War Zone Workers foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping United States citizens and legal residents working abroad for federal contractors, corporations, or government entities secure benefits under existing laws designed for their protection and to provide resources so that contractors can obtain immediate medical and mental healthcare upon their return home.

Tracy Barker is also working with Congressman Rob Bishop of Utah to pass legislation designed to ensure that contractors receive medical care through their employer after returning home.
Tracy Barker’s lawyer, Stewart Hoffer, has first-chaired thirteen trials to verdict in multiple state and federal courts around the country. In addition, Mr. Hoffer has represented numerous other clients in litigation and administrative proceedings in state and federal courts not only in his home state of Texas, but also in Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, Michigan, Nebraska and New York.

As a testament to Mr. Hoffer’s abilities, for five consecutive years since 2003, Mr. Hoffer has been voted by his peers as a “Texas Super Lawyer,” three times for employment litigation and twice for business litigation. Also, in 2004, “H” Texas Magazine twice chose Mr. Hoffer as one of Houston’s top lawyers – once in multiple practice areas and once for business litigation.

S.O.N. has shared the stage with artists like Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, and Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine as well as activists like Howard Zinn, Cindy Sheehan, Rosa Clemente, and Liam Madden from Iraq Veterans Against the War. Music from his 2004 debut cd “Blood And Fire” has earned him spots on compilations with iconic artists ranging from The Last Poets to Sonic Youth, won him a “Best of Baltimore” award from the Baltimore City Paper, and took “Best Song of the Week” on NPR’s website. S.O.N.’s forthcoming cd, “The Art of Struggle,” is a collaboration with producer DJ Mentos and will be released in early 2008.

Please visit http://www.SonOfNun.net

UNCOUNTED is an explosive new documentary that shows how the election fraud that changed the outcome of the 2004 election led to even greater fraud in 2006 - and now looms as an unbridled threat to the outcome of the 2008 election. This controversial feature length film by Emmy award-winning director David Earnhardt examines in factual, logical, and yet startling terms how easy it is to change election outcomes and undermine election integrity across the U.S. Noted computer programmers, statisticians, journalists, and experienced election officials provide the irrefutable proof.

UNCOUNTED shares well documented stories about the spine-chilling disregard for the right to vote in America. In Florida, computer programmer Clint Curtis is directed by his boss to create software that will “flip” votes from one candidate to another. In Utah, County Clerk Bruce Funk is locked out of his office for raising questions about security flaws in electronic voting machines. Californian Steve Heller gets convicted of a felony after he leaks secret documents detailing illegal activities committed by a major voting machine company. And Tennessee entrepreneur, Athan Gibbs, finds verifiable voting a hard sell in America and dies before his dream of honest elections can be realized.

UNCOUNTED is a wakeup call to all Americans. Beyond increasing the public’s awareness, the film inspires greater citizen involvement in fixing a broken electoral system. As we approach the decisive election of 2008, UNCOUNTED will change how you feel about the way votes are counted in America.

After spending 30 years in the Egyptian diplomatic service, including a stint as deputy chief of mission in Washington during the critical period around the negotiation of the Camp David accords in the late 70s, and rising to the post of assistant minister of foreign affairs, Ambassador Hassouna moved to the Arab League, which posted him as its ambassador to the United Nations in New York. After five years of work there, he was appointed to the Washington post.

Dr. Hassouna feels there was a need to improve American understanding of the Arab World: “I wanted to promote an Arab-American dialogue on various issues and thereby strengthen ties between the United States and the Arab World.”

Having lived and worked in the United States for over a decade, he sees many areas in which the two sides have common ground. “I believe despite existing issues that might divide the U.S. and the Arabs, there are many more that unite us.”

One of the main problems he has faced is that the image of Arabs and the Arab World has largely been shaped by the mass media focusing on negatives, such as the religious extremist and terrorist elements in the Middle East.

But how to project more balanced and positive images of the Arab World to Americans, and to Washington decision-makers in particular?

Ambassador Hassouna has worked to coordinate activities among Arab embassies in Washington so that they can be more effective in their approaches to key U.S. government institutions, such as the Congress, White House and State Department.

He personally makes a point of taking up as many invitations as possible, to address fora on Middle Eastern issues at think tanks and universities, or to grant media interviews. However, he laments that most U.S. media networks prefer to use American experts on the region, rather than consulting Arab representatives themselves, who naturally are better qualified to represent the Arab viewpoints on key issues.

“I think there is a need today for Arab views to be heard, on how to solve the Arab-Israel problem, how to restore stability to Iraq, how to deal with international terrorism, and other key issues,” he says.

He points out, too, that many parts of the Arab World, including his homeland Egypt, have for many years been victims of terrorism, and have extensive experience of fighting terrorism to share with America and the rest of the western world.

For the ambassador there are some very fundamental issues at stake, in particular how one views human civilization. He believes that, “We all belong to a common civilization, with common goals and aspirations.” In which case, theories that we are witnessing a clash between Western Civilization, on the one hand, and Islamic Civilization, on the other, need to be put aside in favor of constructive dialogue between representatives of Western and Islamic-based Arab nations and cultures. “We need to explain that Islam is a religion of tolerance, and solve U.S.-Arab disagreements through dialogue.”

He believes that relations could be much improved if there was a more vigorous focus on economic ties, given the great potential for them to be greatly developed. At the moment, the level of U.S.-Arab trade is around $45 billion a year. Arab investment in America is around $300 billion, while U.S. investment in the Arab World is around $70 billion.

Of Arab-Americans, the ambassador says, “We respect their American identity, but they have an Arab historic and cultural heritage…and can serve as bridges.” He believes that a stronger Arab-American voice in U.S. politics will provide a good balance to other influential forces. “They can balance other voices and pressure groups,” he says. “This can have an impact on U.S. foreign policy, making it more sensitive to Arab feelings and aspirations.”

But Ambassador Hassouna is always eager to return to cultural themes. “I believe we have to focus on culture, because culture brings people together,” he says. “We all belong to a universal culture.”

There are of course the more mundane issues that any ambassador to Washington has to deal with, such as immigration problems faced by those he represents. Since 9/11, Arabs have been in the spotlight, and many U.S. residents from Arab countries of concern have had to register with the authorities.

“We do understand the security problems of the U.S., but wise procedures have to be applied in a reasonable and flexible way. Otherwise friends of the U.S. will be deterred from coming here. Already tourism and visits for education and health purposes have been significantly affected, and some official visitors have been stopped for questioning and searched at U.S. airports.”

These and related concerns were aired at a meeting he organized for Arab ambassadors and officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (before it became part of the new Department of Homeland Security). “I think they were keen to find solutions,” the ambassador said of the INS officials at the meeting.

He appreciates the open doors he encounters in Washington and beyond, and considers this part of “traditional American openness and hospitality, and willingness to listen and learn, without sticking to formalities.” He says his Egyptian wife, Nevine, is also actively moving through diplomatic and social circles in Washington, getting the message out in her own, special way.

Dr. Hussein Hassouna has the following credentials:

Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the United States

Ambassador of the League of the Arab States to the United Nations
(1997-2002)

Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt for international Legal Affairs & Treaties (1996-1997)

Ambassador of Egypt to Morocco (1992-1996)

Ambassador of Egypt to Yugoslavia (1989-1992)

Director of Cabinet to the Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt (1986-1989)

Director, Egyptian Press & Information Bureau- Paris, France (1983-1986)

Political Counselor, Egyptian Embassy, Washington, DC(1978-1982)

Special Advisor to Egyptian Foreign Minister on Legal and

International Organization Affairs (1976-1978)

Member, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations, New York
(1971-1976)

Representative of Egypt to major United Nations conferences, Non-
Aligned, African and Arab meetings.

Member, Egyptian delegation to successive Middle East peace negotiations in Cairo, Tel Aviv and Washington DC, leading to the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.

L.L.B. & PhD in International Law, Cambridge University, England.

Lectured at major universities in the United States, Canada, England and France, including Yale, Georgetown, UCLA, McGill, Cambridge and Sorbonne.

Membership:

Board member of the International Law Institute
Board member of the Center for Global Training in Rule of Law
Board member of the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce
Board member of the Advisory Committee/ Academy for Educational

Development
The American Society of International Law
Egyptian Council of Foreign Affairs

Author of a book on Middle East conflicts and articles on international law and world affairs in various publications, including the American Journal of International Law, World Policy Journal, and United Nations publications.

Dave is a founding member of the Redwood Peace and Justice Center, an associate member of Veterans for Peace Chapter 56, and currently serves as co-chair of the Arcata Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and Peace Committee.

He is currently working on a ballot initiative ordinance that prohibits military recruiting of any person under the age of eighteen.

Dave earns his living as a home designer and builder, and his politics are driven by a belief that a just and sustainable world is possible. He wants to do his part to provide a peaceful and healthy future for his children, his grandchildren, and all those who will inherit whatever sort of earth we leave for them.

Recently, Leslie and her fellow Code Pink member Ellen Taylor have been meeting with Congressman John Conyers to discuss many issues such as the War in Iraq and Impeachment. They are also fasting for impeachment. They discuss this and much more with host David Swanson on The People Speak Radio.

World War II interrupted McGovern’s education in 1943. He flew 35 combat missions as a B-24 bomber pilot in Europe, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war he returned to Dakota Wesleyan University, graduating in 1946. McGovern then attended Garrett Seminary for one year before enrolling at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in American history and government.

McGovern returned to Dakota Wesley an University in 1950 as a professor of history and political science, where he became a beloved and respected faculty member. He left the university in 1955 to reorganize and revitalize the South Dakota Democratic Party, from which his illustrious political career was launched. He was elected to Congress in 1956 and reelected in 1958. As a congressman, he was an advocate for the American farmer and represented the nation’s heartland with distinction.

After McGovern lost his first bid for the U.S. Senate in 1960, President John F. Kennedy named him the first director of the Food for Peace Program and Special Assistant to the President. In this position he oversaw the donation of millions of tons of food to developing nations. McGovern was then elected to the Senate in 1962 and reelected in 1968 and 1974. As a member of the Senate committees on agriculture, nutrition, forestry and foreign relations, and the Joint Economic Committee, he led the way in expanding key nutrition programs.

In 1972, Senator McGovern was selected as the Democratic Party nominee for president, the only South Dakotan so honored by any major political party.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford named McGovern a United Nations delegate to the General Assembly, and, in 1978, President Jimmy Carter named him a United Nations delegate for the Special Session on Disarmament. After leaving the Senate in 1980, McGovern was a visiting professor at numerous institutions, including Columbia University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, American University and the University of Berlin. He served as the president of the Middle East Policy Council from 1991 to 1998, when President Clinton appointed him ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. In 2001 he was appointed the first United Nations global ambassador on hunger. In this position, McGovern continues his leadership in the battle against world hunger.

A prolific author, McGovern has lectured at more than 1,000 colleges and universities around the world. He has also received many honorary degrees and distinguished awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor, which was bestowed upon him by President Bill Clinton on August 9, 2000.

A war hero, 22-year U.S. Congressman and 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, George McGovern will long be remembered for his courage in speaking out against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, his friendship and respect for the common man, and his work on behalf of American farmers and hungry children throughout the world.

On January 6, 2008, the Washington Post published a major op-ed article by McGovern entitled, “Why I Believe Bush Must Go: Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse.”, expressing his support for impeachment efforts against President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney:

Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly “high crimes and misdemeanors,” to use the constitutional standard.

He characterized impeachment as “…a way to signal to the American people and the world that some of us feel strongly enough about the present drift of our country to support the impeachment of the false prophets who have led us astray. This, I believe, is the rightful course for an American patriot.”

In closing, McGovern opined:

I believe we have a chance to heal the wounds the nation has suffered in the opening decade of the 21st century. This recovery may take a generation and will depend on the election of a series of rational presidents and Congresses. At age 85, I won’t be around to witness the completion of the difficult rebuilding of our sorely damaged country, but I’d like to hold on long enough to see the healing begin.