It shows how the Governor can give even a good bill, one that provides funds for San Joaquin River salmon and steelhead restoration and grants wild and scenic status to more California rivers, a toxic green taint!

“Preserving and restoring California’s wilderness and waterways has been a top priority of my Administration and I am pleased that our environmental goals will be furthered by many aspects of this bill, specifically the San Joaquin River Restoration Act,” claimed Schwarzenegger in a statement on March 30. “This bill preserves 700,000-plus acres of California’s pristine wilderness and also provides additional funding to supplement the millions of dollars California has already invested to restore the San Joaquin River — helping rejuvenate a critical fishery, restore a devastated habitat and improve a water-delivery network that is the lifeblood of a Central Valley farming economy all Californians depend on.”

The operative phrase is “improve a water delivery network.” When Schwarzenegger talks about “improving” water delivery, he means building a peripheral canal and more dams, a goal that he shares with Senator Dianne Feinstein and the Nature Conservancy in their Unholy Alliance to destroy the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas.

His claim that “preserving and restoring California’s wilderness and waterways has been a top priority of my Administration” is simply not backed up by his actual record in office, since Schwarzenegger’s administration’s has presided over the collapse of Central Valley Chinook salmon, delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish populations, along with imperiling the southern resident population of killer whales (orcas).

Schwarzenegger’s version of “environmentalism” is nothing other than corporate greenwashing on a massive scale, in collusion with “Gang Green” groups such as the Nature Conservancy. While the Governor constantly preaches about promoting “green energy” and “solving global warming,” he and his minions have done nothing to stop the collapse of Central Valley salmon and California Delta pelagic fish populations.

Instead, Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman and Schwarzenegger are working to exacerbate the imperiled status of these fish by pushing for the construction of a peripheral canal and more dams. They want to divert more water out of the declining estuary when dramatic cuts in water exports to corporate agribusiness and the retirement of drainage-impaired land in the Westlands Water District are urgently needed to restore Central Valley Chinook salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, delta smelt, longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, striped bass, threadfin shad, American shad and other fish that depend on the estuary for their survival.

At the same time, Schwarzenegger is doing everything he can to pull the biggest defenders of fish and the environment – sustainable commercial and recreational fishermen and seaweed harvesters – off the water by creating massive marine protected areas on the North Coast of California, a region already devastated by de-facto marine protected areas and fishing closures, in a privately funded process rife with conflict of interest, mission creep and a lack of transparency.

Grass roots environmentalists from the North Coast, in contrast to corporate funded “environmentalists” that often gush about how “green” the Governor is in their press releases, are fighting Schwarzenegger’s fast track MPLA (Marine Life Protection Act) because it would devastate coastal communities and pave the way for corporate aquaculture, PGE’s wave energy projects and offshore oil drilling in remote areas such as Point Arena.

Schwarzenegger’s “green” record on restoring California’s waterways and fisheries includes:

* Vetoing legislation to limit the destructive impact of suction dredge mining on salmon and steelhead in northern California rivers;

* Sending lay off notices to 98 game wardens and cadets from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) at a time when fish and wildlife populations are under attack by poachers — and California has the lowest ratio of wardens to state residents of any state in the country;

* Pressuring the Central Valley Regional Water Resources Control Board to grant waivers to agricultural polluters at the expense of fish in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and farmworkers in rural communities with poisoned wells;

* Allowing tens of thousands of striped bass, Sacramento blackfish, Sacramento splittail and other fish to perish during the Prospect Island fish kill in November 2007 after the DFG signed off on a levee repair by the Bureau of Reclamation.

However, the most egregious attack that the Schwarzenegger administration has launched on California’s fisheries was when he allowed the Department of Water Resources, in collaboration with the Bureau of Reclamation under the Bush administration, to export record amounts of water to Westlands, the Kern County Water Bank and southern California at great expense to Delta fish and Central Valley salmon. Record water export levels occurred in 2004 (6.1 MAF), 2005 (6.5 MAF) and 2006 (6.3 MAF). Exports averaged 4.6 MAF annually between 1990 and 1999 and increased to an average of 6 MAF between 2000 and 2007, a rise of almost 30 percent, according the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA).

While Schwarzenegger played the role of the Terminator and other villains in his movies, he is now playing the real life villain role as the “Fish Terminator.” When he leaves office, he will leave behind a unprecedented toxic green path of salmon and other fish populations on the abyss of extinction, rivers devastated by siltation and suction dredge gold mining, poisoned wells in the San Joaquin Valley, and no fishing zones on the coast.

When are the leaders of national environmental groups going to have some courage and expose the Governor for the environmental fraud that he is? When is the mainstream media going to wake up to the fact that there is nothing green about Schwarzenegger other than the corporate money that he and his staff worship?

* For more information about what you can do to save Central valley salmon, southern resident killer whales and the Delta, go to www.calsport.org, www.water4fish.org and www.restorethedelta.org.

If the data is verified in upcoming meetings of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), commercial and recreational salmon fishing in California and Oregon ocean waters and recreational salmon fishing in Central Valley rivers could be closed or severely restricted in 2008. This alarming news couldn’t come at a worse time, since recreational and commercial fishermen are already reeling from draconian restrictions on rockfish, lingcod and other groundfish in California.

“The magnitude of the low abundance, should it be confirmed in verification efforts now underway, is such that the opening of all marine and freshwater fisheries impacting this important salmon stock will be questioned in the upcoming Council process to set 2008 ocean salmon seasons,” according to an internal memo of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) by Donald O. McIsaac, Ph. D, Executive Director. “This is particularly disconcerting in that this stock has consistently been the healthy ‘work horse’ target stock for salmon fisheries off California and most of Oregon.”

According to McIssac, the Salmon Technical Team (STT) met last week at the Council office to tabulate total counts of West Coast salmon stocks, including spawning escapements and catches. Two areas of bad news emerged relative to the 2008 abundance level for this important stock:

* The adult spawning escapement for this stock in 2007 failed to meet the goal for the first time in 15 years and only the second time in 35 years. This unexpected result indicates the carry-over of older fish in the ocean that might contribute to 2008 abundance will probably also be weak.

The adult salmon escapement was only 90,000 fish, down from about 275,000 a year earlier. The Sacramento River returns were 88,000 fish, while the San Joaquin River returns were only 2,000 adult chinooks.

* The count of jacks in the Central Valley fall Chinook return this past fall, which are used to predict adult abundance in 2008, was a record low: an order of magnitude less than average and less than a fourth of the previous record low. The return of Central Valley fall Chinook jacks in 2007 was about 2,000 compared to a long term average of about 40,000 and the previous record low of 10,000.

McIssac said there “were informed discussions” last week about whether a reasonable forecast of abundance in 2008 could rise to the point of achieving the spawning escapement goal in the absence of any commercial or recreational salmon fishing anywhere on the West Coast that Central Valley fall Chinook are typically found in significant abundance.

“It is important to note that the current information needs to be verified and validated, and that it is three or four weeks before the documents are finalized that the Council will use in its deliberations,” explained McIssac. “However, it is typical that the estimates at this stage do not vary much from the finalized values.”

McIssac also noted the potential collateral effects of this “unprecedented salmon fishery” situation to groundfish recreational fisheries, open access commercial groundfish and albacore fisheries, other fisheries, and research planning.

“What is not clear at this time is the reason for the apparent collapse, although it is notable that both hatchery and naturally produced fish have been negatively affected,” he concluded.

The federal and state governments will probably try to blame “ocean conditions” for the unprecedented collapse of salmon fisheries. Others will cite the increase of sea lion and harbor seal populations along the coast, the invasion of the highly predatory Humboldt squid, the change in forage fish populations off the coast, water pollution, climate change and other factors.

Although ocean conditions and other factors are all important to consider, I believe that unprecedented water exports out of the California Delta to subsidized agribusiness and southern California in recent years play a major role in the collapse of Sacramento and San Joaquin chinook populations.

The salmon are apparently the victims of the Delta food chain crash that has resulted in record low numbers of delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad in the California Delta since 2005. During 2005, an unprecedented 6.4 million-acre feet of water was exported out of the Delta by the state and federal governments.

The salmon that returned in 2007 as “jacks and jills” — two-year-old fish — would have migrated downriver in 2005 at the same time that record water exports were taking place. Those smolts may have starved from lack of food as they migrated through the Delta, never making it to the ocean. Or they may have ended up stranded in South Delta sloughs and channels, sucked in by powerful reverse flows caused by export pumping, if not destroyed in the pumps themselves.

Another factor that probably played a role was the fact that the pen release program of the Fishery Foundation of California was not in place in 2004 and 2005. Through this program, the salmon smolts are released into brackish water after being acclimated for 1 to 2 hours. This program cuts down greatly on smolt mortality.

The absence of the pens apparently contributed to increased salmon mortality when the DFG released them into San Pablo Bay those years. Fortunately, the program will be in place this year when the salmon are released into the bay.

Recreational anglers are alarmed about the crash in the salmon numbers and are urging the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations to take immediate action to restore the once abundant fish populations. “This news about the salmon population collapse is not surprising considering the decline of the California Delta food chain caused by increased export pumping by the state and federal governments,” said Dick Pool, owner of Pro Troll products and coordinator of Water4Fish.org. “We need the state and federal governments to solve this problem by reducing water exports and taking other measures to restore Central Valley salmon.”

After receiving word of the low abundance of Central Valley salmon forecasted in 2008, Jim Martin, West Coast Regional Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, said he hoped that the PFMC was able to keep a recreational chinook season open because of the minimal impact of recreational anglers on the overall salmon population. “If the Council closes salmon fishing completely, it will put more pressure on the rockfish population,” said Martin.

For more information, contact the PFMC, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, Oregon 97220-1384, Phone: (503) 820-2280, Fax: (503) 820-2299, Web: www.pcouncil.org

The 2008 PFMC Process:

* The STT will meet Feb 19-22 to collate coastwide salmon stock abundance forecasts.

* The PFMC publishes the Review of 2007 Ocean Salmon Fisheries and Preseason Report I: Stock Abundance Analysis for 2008 Ocean Salmon Fisheries, which contain the details of past year abundance information and 2008 stock abundance forecasts. These documents will be available to the public no later than February 24, 2008.

* The PFMC will Sacramento, CA March 7-14, 2008 to select three options for 2008 salmon seasons.

* Hearings on salmon season options will be convened March 31 in Westport, Washington and Coos Bay, Oregon, and April 1 in Eureka, California. The PFMC meets in Seattle, WA April 6-12, 2008 to reach a final decision on 2008 salmon seasons.

* Federal and State government authorities formally establish marine and freshwater salmon seasons subsequent to final Council action.

Schwarzenegger addressed delegates and invited guests for the United Nations conference — “The Future in our Hands: Addressing the Leadership Challenge of Climate Change” at the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, NY. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited the Governor to speak at today’s special session in July, when they toured a San Jose business that is developing the technology for countries to help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

“What we’re doing is changing the dynamic, preparing the way and encouraging the future,” Schwarzengger told the U.N. “The aerospace industry built the modern economy of Southern California. The computer industry and the Internet built the economy of Silicon Valley. And now green, clean technology — along with biotech — will take California to the next level.”

While promoting “green, clean” technology, the Governor also included the pandora’s box of biotechnology as a solution to the energy problems of California and the world — without discussing what potential threat biotechnology, particularly transgenic plants, fish and animals, present to the environment.

“Right now, in California, the brightest scientists from around the world and the smartest venture capitalists are racing to find new energy technologies, and the solutions to global warming. It’s a race fueled by billions of dollars,” continued Schwarzenegger.

While the Governor is planning the destruction of the California Delta, the West Coast’s most significant estuary, by campaigning for the building of a canal and more dams, he is touting his “green” credentials by calling for a “new race fueled by billions of dollars” to find new energy technologies.

While Schwarzenegger has pressured the Central Valley Regional Water Control Board to keep allowing the discharge of toxic waste water from agribusiness into Central Valley streams and the Delta, he is urging the world’s nations to “renew the climate of this planet.” This is greenwashing at its absolute worst!

Rather than preaching about “climate change” in a carefully choreographed photo opportunity before the United Nations, the Governor should have the courage to impose water pollution standards on corporate agribusiness and to reduce water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by mandating increased water conservation and taking drainage impaired land in the San Joaquin Valley out of agricultural production. However, he refuses to do this because the people that are destroying the Bay-Delta Estuary and polluting Central Valley rivers are the same folks that fund the campaigns of Schwarzenegger and other corrupt politicians.

I hope that the people of California soon wake up to the environmental nightmare that Schwarzenegger intends to inflict upon us by building the peripheral canal and more dams to export more water from the Delta. The Governor’s water bond boondoggle would fund two new reservoirs — Temperance Flat in the San Joaquin Valley and Sites in the Sacramento Valley, as well as expanding storage in Los Vaqueros Reservoir.

Four species of pelagic (open water) fish – Delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad — have declined to record low population levels under the Governor’s “green” leadership. Winter-run chinook salmon, spring-run chinooks, fall-run chinooks, Central Valley steelhead, white sturgeon, green sturgeon and other species are also threatened by Schwarzenegger’s water bond boondoggle.

The voters in 1982 overwhelmingly defeated the “peripheral canal” that would divert water around the Delta to the state and federal export pumps in the South Delta. The Governor’s latest canal proposal is the “armored” or “fortress” Delta proposal, also called “through-Delta conveyance.”

This new version of the old canal would “divert a portion of Sacramento River flows into a series of armored levees that wind through the Delta,” according to today’s article by Matt Weiser in the Sacramento Bee. “Most proposals would turn the south fork of the Mokelumne River and Middle River into this proposed canal.”

The new concept also includes gates across some side channels to keep out salt water during high tides. “Bolstered levees would be built to withstand earthquakes, floods and a predicted sea-level rise caused by global warming,” Weiser wrote.

A broad coalition of recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, Delta farmers, Indian Tribes and conservation groups is adamantly against the canal’s latest incarnation. “Our organization is completely opposed to the new Delta pipe proposal just as it was the old one,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, coordinator of Restore the Delta. “It will be very destructive to Delta water quality and quantity and would do great harm to prime farm land. The main difference between the old and new canal proposals is that the new canal would pass through fish habitat and farmland further west in the Delta than the previous one would have.”

Under the Schwarzenegger administration, state and federal water exports have jumped to record levels, causing an aquatic food chain collapse, while he expounds his thoughts on global climate change. There is no doubt that Schwarzenegger is the worst Governor in California history — and we’ve had some really bad ones — for fish, water and the environment, in spite of his shallow rhetoric proclaiming his “leadership” in “the fight against climate change on a world stage.”

“Do not believe that doom and gloom and disaster are the only outcomes,” Schwarzenegger said today. However, if Schwarzenegger is able to ram through his proposal for a canal and more dams, “doom and gloom and disaster” are exactly what Delta residents and farmers, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and the Winnemem Wintu and other California Indian Tribes can look forward to.

The measure provides for $5.1 billion in surface storage and identifies three sites for this storage — Sites, Temperance Flat Reservoir and the Los Vaqueros Expansion Project. The Sites Reservoir in the Sacramento Valley and Temperance Flat Reservoir in the San Joaquin Valley are included in the bond, in spite of the fact that the water would cost $1,000 to $2,000 per acre foot. Who is going to buy this water?

Schwarzenegger also disguises his plan to build a peripheral canal with his trademark euphemism — the development of a “new conveyance system.” The Governor cannot be truthful with the press and public and just call it for what it is — a peripheral canal or delta canal.

Of course, to give the proposal an environmental window dressing, the proposal includes some token “restoration” money. “The Governor’s comprehensive plan also includes significant funding toward restoration of the ailing Delta and would lead to the development of a new conveyance system,” the Governor’s office claims.

No mention is made of the dire need to conserve water and retire drainage impaired agricultural land in the San Joaquin Valley in order to restore the Delta ecosystem. In Schwarzenegger’s mind, the Delta is not an ecosystem that provides water supply, but a water supply that happens to include an ecosystem.

“Twenty five million Californians rely on the Delta for clean, safe water. It also irrigates hundreds of thousands of acres of Central Valley farmland and it is the backbone of California’s $32 billion agricultural industry,” according to the Governor’s Office.

As he did this summer at a series of carefully choreography press conferences and events pushing for the peripheral canal and more dams, Schwarzenegger again tries to paint a disastrous future for California water supplies if his water bond is not approved by the legislature.

“Our water crisis has gotten worse with the dry conditions and the recent federal court action that is going to have a devastating impact on the state’s economy and the 25 million Californians who depend on Delta water. We need a comprehensive fix,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “That is why we are introducing two bills to solve California’s water crisis in both the short and long-term. I look forward to working and negotiating with my partners in the Legislature so we can approve a comprehensive upgrade to California’s water infrastructure.”

The San Francisco-Bay Delta Estuary is the most significant estuary on the entire West Coast. State and federal scientists have documented a shocking collapse of four pelagic species — Delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad — since 2002. The “Pelagic Organism Decline” (POD), as the scientists describe it, has been spurred by massive increases of federal and state water exports amounting to over 1,000,000 acre feet of water in recent years.

As these pelagic species decline, populations of other species dependent on the Delta estuary for spawning and rearing purposes are expected to plummet. These species include winter-run chinook salmon, fall-run chinook salmon, spring-run chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento splittail, white sturgeon, green sturgeon and American shad. Valuable commercial species such as Dungeness crab, California halibut, herring and anchovies are also highly dependent upon the estuary for their survival.

The building of the peripheral canal and the proposed increase in water exports from the Delta, if it is allowed to happen, could result in the complete destruction of the Bay-Delta estuary and commercial and recreational fisheries up and down the coast. Recreational angling groups, commercial fishing organizations, Delta farmers, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, conservation groups and Delta residents are mobilizing to defeat Schwarzenegger’s dam and canal proposal. We must stop the Governor from strong-arming this water bond proposal through the Legislature so it appears on the February ballot.

Here’s the press release from the Governor’s Office:

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Contact: Aaron McLear Bill Maile 916-445-4571

Gov. Schwarzenegger Submits Comprehensive $9 Billion Water Infrastructure Proposal for Legislative Special Session

Governor Schwarzenegger announced a $9 billion comprehensive water infrastructure proposal to be introduced in the legislative special session that he called in response to California’s water crisis. The plan invests $600 million from Propositions 50, 84 and 1E to immediately relieve pressure on the Delta from environmental challenges and to respond to a recent federal court ruling that will reduce water deliveries to Southern California. It also includes $5.6 billion in water storage, nearly $2 billion in Delta restoration (in addition to the above-mentioned $600 million), $1 billion in grants for conservation and regional water projects and $500 million for specific water restoration projects. Written in two bills authored by Assembly Republican Leader Michael Villines (R- Fresno) and Senator Dave Cogdill (R – Modesto), the proposal represents a combination of ideas previously detailed in proposals by the Governor and legislative leaders.

“Our water crisis has gotten worse with the dry conditions and the recent federal court action that is going to have a devastating impact on the state’s economy and the 25 million Californians who depend on Delta water. We need a comprehensive fix,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “That is why we are introducing two bills to solve California’s water crisis in both the short and long-term. I look forward to working and negotiating with my partners in the Legislature so we can approve a comprehensive upgrade to California’s water infrastructure.”

Details of the $9 billion comprehensive water infrastructure proposal include:

* $600 million from Propositions 50, 84 and 1E to immediately relieve pressure on the Delta from environmental concerns

* $5.6 billion in above and below ground water storage

* $5.1 billion in surface storage

* $500 million in groundwater storage

* Identifies three locations for surface storage (Sites, Temperance Flat Reservoir and Los Vaqueros Expansion Project.)

* Specific criteria to assure public benefits and environmental benefits

* $1.9 billion for Delta Restoration and water supply reliability

* $1.4 billion for habitat restoration

* $500 million in early actions to address environmental concerns in the Delta

* $500 million in grants for specified watersheds throughout the state, including the San Joaquin River, Klamath River, Los Angeles River and others.

In January, building on his Strategic Growth Plan from last year, the Governor introduced a comprehensive plan to invest in additional surface and groundwater storage to meet the needs of population growth and manage the effects of climate change on California’s hydrology and water delivery systems. The plan will help communities protect against flooding, and capture water from storms and snowmelt run-off to supply cities, farmers and business with water during drought conditions.

The Governor’s comprehensive plan also includes significant funding toward restoration of the ailing Delta and would lead to the development of a new conveyance system. Twenty five million Californians rely on the Delta for clean, safe water. It also irrigates hundreds of thousands of acres of Central Valley farmland and it is the backbone of California’s $32 billion agricultural industry.

Last year, the Governor directed the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force to develop a Delta management plan. The task force will present its findings and recommendations by January 1, 2008 and its Strategic Plan by October 31, 2008. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is also underway, being developed with broad participation from water agencies, environmental organizations and local representatives.

Cardova, Costa and 40 other Democrats voted no on the McGovern Amendment that would have finally cut off funding to the School of Americas (SOA), now known as Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Only 6 more votes were needed to pass it — but these Democrats shamefully chose to join Republican Representatives in voting for the school, whose graduates have been responsible for genocide, assassinations, torture and other human rights violations throughout Latin America for decades.

California representatives Loretta Sanchez and Grace Napolitano, along with Charles Rangel of New York, are listed among the Democrats who chose not to vote. (House Speaker Pelosi is not found on any list, not even present.)

Members of SOA Watch, a human rights advocacy group founded in 1990 by Maryknoll Priest Father Roy Bourgeois to close the “School of Death,” were disappointed by the vote. However, SOA Watch activists vowed to continue their efforts in Congress until the school, located in Fort Benning, Georgia, is shut down.

“The grassroots mobilizing effort was tremendous: Tens of thousands of emails, faxes and calls flooded the halls of Congress over the past three days,” said Joao Da Silva, SOA Watch spokesman, after the vote at 11:52 p.m. on Thursday. “Students, clergy, union members and veterans traveled to DC and visited with hundreds of Congressional offices to communicate clearly that there is no room for institutions like the SOA/WHINSEC in our future. Despite this, 214 Members of Congress missed the chance to stand up for human rights, justice and democracy, and voted to keep the funding for the SOA/WHINSEC flowing.”

The WHINSEC “PR machine” and high-ranking Pentagon officials used taxpayer money to put a lot of pressure on Members of Congress. However, Da Silva said this is no excuse for Representatives to not be accountable to their constituents.

“There were Representatives this week that committed to vote to cut funding for the SOA/WHINSEC, and then shifted their vote,” said Da Silva. “Those people need hear from all of us, loudly and in public.”

Da Silva emphasized, “While we did not get enough Members of Congress to vote with us, it was clear to us and our supporters in the House that we have tremendous power when we mobilize together. We gained the support of new Republicans and new members of Congress. The margin of SOA/WHINSEC survival is rapidly dwindling, and this week due to grassroots pressure, we added several new cosponsors to HR 1707 bringing our total to 111. We have gained a lot of ground in Congress and our goal of closing this School of the Death is coming closer and closer.”

Although the amendment failed to pass by 6 votes, the vote still came closer to ending the school’s funding than last June’s vote, when the amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill by Jim McGovern (D-MA) calling for school’s closure failed by a 15 vote margin.

The recent vote came after a series of successes by SOA Watch over the past two years in convincing Latin America leaders to remove their military and police officers from the school. Venezuela, the first country to withdraw its troops from the SOA in 2005, was followed by Argentina and Uruguay last year. After a visit to Bolivia by Roy Bourgeois, President Evo Morales said Bolivia’s military will be pulling out of SOA/WHINSEC on a gradual basis.

More recently, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias announced on May 16 that Costa Rica will stop sending its police to train at the school. Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, made the decision after talks with a delegation of SOA Watch, including Bourgeois and Lisa Sullivan Rodriguez.

Costa Rica does not have an army — choosing to spend its tax money on education, health and social welfare — but has sent some 2,600 police officers over the years to be trained at the school. “We agreed that when the courses end for the three policemen we are not going to send any more,” Arias said.

The SOA/WHINSEC has graduated at least 11 military dictators and over 60,000 soldiers, many of which have been linked to some of the worst human rights abuses committed in the Americas.

“The school made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution,” said Da Silva. “Despite this admission and hundreds of documented human rights abuses committed by soldiers trained at the school, no independent investigation into the facility has ever taken place.”

SOA Graduates include Hugo Banzer Suarez, the former dictator of Bolivia, and Guatemalan Dictator Efren Rios Montt, who was responsible for a war of genocide against the Mayan people that resulted in the elimination of 626 Mayan villages from the face of the earth. Notorious human rights abusers such General Hector Gramajo of Guatemala, Leopoldo Galtieri of Argentina, and Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador were also graduates.

Lower-level SOA graduates have been involved in many atrocities including the massacre of 900 people at the village of El Mozote in El Salvador in the early 1980s and the massacre of four Jesuit priests and the housekeeper at in San Salvador in 1989.

Bourgeois in his talks around the country always emphasizes the role that the school plays in providing the shock troops and enforcers for corporate globalization throughout Latin America.

“The SOA continues to provide the muscle for U.S. foreign policy. It keeps the rich rich and the poor poor,” said Bourgeois at a talk in Sacramento this February.

Protests calling for the closure of the School of the Americas/WHINSEC have taken place every year around the November 16 anniversary of the assassination of six Jesuit priests and two Salvadoran women at the hands of SOA graduates.

Every year, brave activists “trespass” onto army property during the protest at Fort Benning, facing arrest and time in federal prison. Since 1990, 211 SOA Watch human rights defenders have collectively spent over 92 years in prison, while over 50 people have served probation sentences.

SOA/WHINSEC Vote in Congress: Check the roll call to see how your Representative voted. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to thank your Representative or to express your displeasure.

For more information, visit the SOA Watch website and the Legislative Action Index at: School of Americas Watch.

List of Democrats Voting No for Closure of the SOA:
Abercrombie, Neil, Hawaii
Barrow, John, Georgia
Bishop, Sanford D. Georgia
Boren, Dan, Oklahoma
Cardoza, Dennis, California
Carney, Christopher, Pennsylvania
Castor, Kathy, Florida
Clyburn, James, South Carolina
Cooper, James, Tennessee
Costa, James, California
Cuellar, Henry, Texas
Dingell, John, Michigan
Edwards, Chet, Texas
Gonzalez, Charles, Texas
Gordon, Bart, Tennessee
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie, South Dakota
Jefferson, William, Louisiana
Johnson, E.B., Texas
Klein, Ron, Florida
Lampson, Nick, Texas
Mahoney, Tim, Florida
Marshall, James, Georgia
Matheson, James, Utah
McIntyre, Michael, North Carolina
Meek, Kendrick, Florida
Miller, Brad, North Carolina
Murphy, Patrick, Pennsylvania
Murtha, John, Pennsylvania
Perlmutter, Ed, Colorado
Peterson, Colin, Minnesota
Reyes, Silvestre, Teaxs
Rodriguez, Ciro, Texas
Ross, Michael, Arkansas
Ruppersberger, Dutch, Maryland
Sestak, Joseph, Pennsylvania
Skelton, Ike, Missouri
Space, Zachary, Ohio
Spratt, John, South Carolina
Tanner, John, Tennessee
Taylor, Gene, Mississippi

Present:
Christensen, Donna, US Virgin Islands

Not Voting:
Bordallo, Madeline, Guam
Costello, Jerry, Illinois
Cramer, Robert, Alabama
Johnson, Henry, Georgia
Meehan, Marty, Massachusetts
Melancon, Charles, Louisiana
Napolitano, Grace, California
Ortiz, Solomon, Texas
Rangel, Charles, New York
Sanchez, Loretta, California
Scott, David, Georgia
Weiner, Anthony, New York