Wednesday, March 14, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY'S TOUR ENDS LIKE IT STARTED!

 
JUST AS ON EVERY OTHER STOP OF HIS 5 NATION TOUR, BULLY BOY'S FINAL 'CONCERTS' WERE GREETED WITH NONSTOP VIOLENCE AND PROTESTS.
 
AS THE BULLYING THE WORLD (LEG TWO) TOUR CAME TO A CLOSE IN MEXICO, PEOPLE THREW CONCRETE BLOCKS AT HIS HOTEL, SMASHED A TOWN HALL AND HAD A THROW DOWN WITH RIOT POLICES.
 
WHEN ASKED BY THESE REPORTERS IF HE WAS EMBARRASSED OR MORTIFIED, BULLY BOY CHUCKLED, "HELL NO! THIS IS CINCINNATI, DECEMBER 3, 1979!  IT'S MY OWN PERSONAL ALTAMONT!"
 
 
 
Staring with news of war resistance, Joshua Key's book The Deserter's Tale receives a favorable review from Peter Darbyshire (The Vancouver Provence) who concludes it is "a documentary" while War Pornographer Michael Gordon's Cobra II is a "feature film."  Considering the estranged relationship with the truth that Gordo's writing has, that pretty much says it all.  Key is in Canada with his wife Brandi and his children after self-checking out of the US miliary.  Eric Ruder (Socialist Worker) draws links between the historic resistance within the military during the Vietnam era and with the resistance today, noting that "more than 20,000 soldiers have gone AWOL".  Iraq Veterans Against the War's Kelly Dougherty states: "I think there probably are a lot of soldiers who left because they don't want to participate in the war in Iraq.  The reason that only a handful have come out publicly is that it's really hard to put yourself in that position.  If you come forward, you are exposing yourself to criticism and more extreme punishment from the military.  One friend told me that he went AWOL because he didn't want to go to war in Iraq, and when he later turned himself in, he didn't tell anyone that he felt that way."
 
Joshua Wolf is a part of a movement of resistance within the military tha includes Agustin Aguayo, Ehren Watada, Kyle Snyder, Mark Wilkerson, Camilo Mejia, Patrick Hart, Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Corey Glass, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
 
Yesterday on KPFA's Flashpoints, Dennis Bernstein again spoke with Tina Richards whose son Cloy has already served two tours of duty in Iraq.  Richards: "My son can't face a third tour there.  He barely made it home alive after the second tour."  Cloy Richards suffers from PTSD.  Richards is currently in DC and those wishing to join her or find out more information can click here for her website.  She's not sure what her son will do but noted that he might decide to self-check out and due to his medical needs that would mean the threat that he would lose his benefits and health care.  Noting the 'actions' of the US Congress on Iraq, Richards stated, "What confuses me is that George Bush's bill was not dead on arrival when it showed up at Congressman [David] Obey's office?  Why his supplemental wasn't thrown in the trash and rewritten so that it would really benefit our troops and that it would  bring them home.  And the fact that they're looking like, that they're acting like they have to work off of President Bush's bill is just wrong.  This is what a lot of political analysts have said -- that they can write their own bill."
 
Bernstein asked her if she felt that elected officials were putting "politics before humanity"?  Richards noted that some members of Congress were standing up; however, "there's a lot of other ones that are so disappointing because they are not standing up for what is right but they are working around what is going to make sure that they get a president in '08 and how are they going to increase their majority?  And it's coming directly from the leadership of the Democratic Party.  And other Congress people have told me, this is being run like a hierarchy, it's not run like a democracy and that to me is just . . . Every single one of those represenatives needs to stand up and represent the people in their district  not get told by the leadership of the Democratic  party what and how to vote to me any congress that does not stand up to their leadership and speak to truth to power then I just cannot, I don't think that they should be re-elected."
 
David Swanson (AfterDowningStreet.org) notes: "The House Appropriations Committee is taking up the 'Supplemental' spending bill for the war at 9 a.m. on Thursday.  Whatever comes out of that committee will go to the full House for a vote.  Please call 202-224-3121 today and ask for your congress member's office.  Or find their number" here.
 
 

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