Saturday, May 05, 2007

THIS JUST IN! MYSTERIOUS LETTER SHOCKS D.C.

 
THE BELTWAY IS IN A TIZZY OVER A LETTER TO SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID.
 
IN THE LETTER, SIGNED BY THE BULLY BOY OF THE UNITED STATES, IS THE STATEMENT THAT "I WILL VETO ANY LEGISLATION THAT . . . ENCOURAGES THE DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN LIFE . . ."
 
THIS 1ST LED SOME TO BELIEVE BULLY BOY WAS PLANNING TO VETO ANY APPROPRIATIONS BILL PASSED BY CONGRESS AND TO INSTEAD CALL AN END TO HIS ILLEGAL WAR OF CHOICE.
 
THEN THE BELTWAY REMEMBERED THAT BULLY BOY LOVES FETUSES BUT HATES PEOPLE.  IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH A SEA HORSE EGG HE ORDERED OUT OF THE BACK OF A COMIC BOOK IN HIS YOUNGER DAYS (HE WAS 42 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME).
 
NOW THE FOCUS IS ON WHO WROTE THE LETTER BECAUSE, OBVIOUSLY, THE BULLY BOY CAN NEITHER READ NOR WRITE.
 
WHITE HOUSE LIPS AREN'T MOVING.
 
OR WHITE HOUSE LIPS AREN'T MOVING ON THIS TOPIC.  THEY'RE TOO BUSY PUCKERING UP TO BULLY BOY'S HINEY.
 
 
 
Starting with news of war resisters.  Today Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) interviewed US Senator Daniel Akaka, the junior senator from Hawaii.  Ehren Watada was brought up.  Watada is the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.  A February court-martial ended in an mistrial.  This month (the 20-th through the 21st), pre-trial motions are scheduled.  If the judge elects to ignore the Constituion's ban on double-jeopardy, Watada would then be court-martialed beginning July 16th.  Before the Febuary court-martial,  he spoke to Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!  Tuesday, January 23, 2006 and Goodman and Gonzalez played a clip for that for Akaka today:
 
In my preparation for deployment to Iraq, in order to better train myself and my soldiers, I began to research the background of Iraq, including the culture, the history, the events going on on the ground and what had led us up into the war in the first place, and what I found was very shocking to me and dismaying, and it really made me question what I was being asked to do, and it caused me to research more and more. And as I found out the answers to the questions I had, I became convinced that the war itself was illegal and immoral, as was the current conduct of American forces and the American government on the ground over in Iraq. And as such, as somebody who has sworn an oath to protect our Constitution, our values and our principles, and to protect the welfare and the safety of the American people, I said to myself that's something that I cannot be a part of, the war. I cannot enable or condone those who have established this illegal and immoral policy. And so, I simply requested that I have my commission resigned and I separate completely from the military, because of those reasons, and I was denied several times, and I was basically given the ultimatum: either you deploy to Iraq or you will face a court-martial.
 
Noting that Akaka is opposed to the war, that Carolyn Ho had visited him in DC to ask for his support for her son, Goodman asked Akaka, "Do you think he should be court-martialed?"
 
Akaka: I know him and I know his dad and his mom very, very well in Hawaii.  I admire his position and, for me, it's a position that has grown with him being reared and brought up in Hawaii in a diverse population and with diverse culture and a care for people.  And what he has done is so difficult for any young man to take a position like that, to the point where he is willing to resign his position as an officer and to leave the service of the United States.  But he bases it on the mistakes that this country has made.  And so, he needs to be admired for that.  But he has had a difficult time to convince the military courts, as well, to just let him resign.  But for me, we'll let the courts decide that.  But I admire his position.  It's very difficult, and we know that we all love our country, and I know he does too.  But his reasons are, as I said, moral and that's really basic for anybody as he makes a difficult decision as he has.
 
For those lost in Akaka's useless wordage, the answer is "no."  He will not do one damn thing.  Would the answer have been different if Goodman or Gonzalez had raised the issue of double-jeopardy?
 
No.  Akaka is as useless as his words.  "I know him . . I know his dad and his mom . . ."  Yes, he does know them.  He was happy to have Bob Watada work his butt off for his campaign and many others.  And while Akaka's happy to pose as BRAVE SENATOR AGAINST THE WAR he can't won't lift a damn finger to help anyone that's suffering for Akaka and other senators' useless manuevers.  What is Akaka so scared of?  He was just re-elected in November of 2006.  He is 82 years old.  Is he afraid he won't be able to be a senator at 88 if he shows some damn courage?  When Time magazine picks you as one of the Five Worst Senators maybe it's time you stepped aside ("As a legislator, though, Akaka is living proof that experience does not necessarily yield expertise.  After 16 years on the job, the junior Senator from Hawaii is a master of the minor resolution and the bill that dies in committee.")  Voting against the war doesn't mean a damn thing if that's where you courage ends.  Staying on dumb and useless, let's turn to Hawaii's other Senator (though let's note that when it's time to stand up for drilling in the AMWR, Akaka is present and accounted for), Daniel Inouye.  Like Akaka, Inouye has strongly benefitted from the work of Bob Watada.  Inouye is 82 as well (he is actually four days older than Akaka).
 
Inouye voted against authorization for the illegal war.  At 82, why is he so scared to speak up in defense of Watada?  Greg Small (AP) reported on Inouye's attitude towards Watada last August: not "too happy," rushed to note "he wasn't praising Watada" . . .  So two senators, damn well old enough to know better, can't do one damn thing.   They can't end the war, they can't speak out for someone forced to take a stand (one they themselves are too feeble or cowardly to take).  They both knew Bob Watada.  They're thanks for all the hard work he put in is to turn their backs on his son?  May voters show them the same sense of 'loyalty' if the OLD FOOLS are idiot enough to run for re-election (2011 for Inouye, 2012 for Akaka).  Inouye and Akaka the strongest reasons today for a mandatory retirement age for the Senate.
 
In other war resister news, this week Camilo Meija's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia was published and, as Courage to Resist reports, he will be joining Agustin Aguayo Pablo Paredes, and Robert Zabala for a speaking tour from May 9th through 17th in the San Francisco Bay Area. The announced dates include:
 
Wednesday May 9 - Marin           
7pm at College of Marin, Student Services Center, 835 College Ave, Kentfield. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Pablo Paredes and David Solnit. Sponsored by Courage to Resist and Students for Social Responsibility.


 
Thursday May 10 - Sacramento        
Details TBA

Friday May 11 - Stockton    
6pm at the Mexican Community Center, 609 S Lincoln St, Stockton. Featuring Agustin Aguayo.

Saturday May 12 - Monterey      
7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 490 Aguajito Rd, Carmel. Featuring Agustin Aguayo and Camilo Mejia. Sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chp. 69, Hartnell Students for Peace, Salinas Action League, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Courage to Resist. More info: Kurt Brux 831-424-6447

Sunday May 13 - San Francisco 
7pm at the Veterans War Memorial Bldg. (Room 223) , 401 Van Ness St, San Francisco. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia and Pablo Paredes. Sponsored by Courage to Resist, Veteran's for Peace Chp. 69 and SF Codepink.


Monday May 14 - Watsonville           
7pm at the United Presbyterian Church, 112 E. Beach, Watsonville. Featuring Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes and Robert Zabala. Sponsored by the GI Rights Hotline & Draft Alternatives program of the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV), Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, Watsonville Women's International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF), Watsonville Brown Berets, Courage to Resist and Santa Cruz Veterans for Peace Chp. 11. More info: Bob Fitch 831-722-3311

Tuesday May 15 - Palo Alto          
7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church (Fellowship Hall), 1140 Cowper, Palo Alto. Featuring Camilo Mejia. Sponsored by Pennisula Peace and Justice Center. More info: Paul George 650-326-8837

Wednesday May 16 - Eureka  
7pm at the Eureka Labor Temple, 840 E St. (@9th), Eureka. Featuring Camilo Mejia. More info: Becky Luening 707-826-9197


Thursday May 17 - Oakland    
4pm youth event and 7pm program at the Humanist Hall, 411 28th St, Oakland. Featuring Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes and the Alternatives to War through Education (A.W.E.) Youth Action Team. Sponsored by Veteran's for Peace Chp. 69, Courage to Resist, Central Committee for Conscientious Objector's (CCCO) and AWE Youth Action Team.
 
Aguayo wants to take part in that but may not be released in time. If the military is thinking they'll clamp down on war resistance by holding Aguayo, they obviously aren't factoring the passion this tour will create and the questions of, "Where's Augie?"  All are part of a growing movement of war resistance within the military: Camilo Mejia, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Dean Walcott, Camilo Mejia, Linjamin Mull, Joshua Key, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, 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.  In addition, the documentary Sir! No Sir! traces the war resistance within the military during Vietnam and it will air at 9:00 pm (EST) on The Sundance Channel followed at 10:30 p.m. by The Ground Truth which examines the Iraq war and features Jimmy Massey and Iraq Veterans Against the War's Kelly Dougherty among others. (Filling in for Rebecca, Betty  wrote about Sir! No Sir! last night.)
 
 
Now let's turn to the apparent lie.  CBS and AP report that Manouchehr Mottaki (Iran's Foreign Minister) "walked out of a dinner of diplomats where he was seated directly across from Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, on the pretext that the female violinist entertaining the gathering was dressed too revealing."  Cute.  Kind of like the lie that Hugo Chavez said Noam Chomsy was dead, no?  Other versions take greater strides to note that Rice wasn't walked out on, she wasn't present.  But they love this apparently false claim of the scantily clad violinist -- in Egypt?  the US State Department can't lie any better than that? -- and most include this non-diplomatic quote by Sean McCormack who is a spokesperson for the State Department: "I don't know which woman he was afraid of, the woman in the red dress or the secretary of state."  What's the truth?
 
Oh, you don't think it's coming out of the braying mouth of Sean McCormack, do you?  KUNA reports: "On Thursday evening, Mottaki left dinner in Sharm el-Sheikh before Rice arrived to sit at the same table" and "Asked why he did not meet Rice, Mottaki told a news conference: 'There was no time, no appointment and no plans. A meeting between foreign ministers has certain requirements (such as) political will and it also has to be clear on what basis such a meeting would be held."  AFP, to its credit, noted the comments being put out by "US officials" were "a swipe" on the part of "US officials" but somehow Mottaki's press conference just slipped everyone's attention. 
 
McCormack's statements aren't diplomatic but they are the sort of calculated cheap shots.  So nice of so many in the press to run with them just because US officials said they were true.  Our Hedda Hoppers of the press.
 
 

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