Saturday, July 28, 2007

THIS JUST IN! SAME OLD DICK!

 
PRESIDENT OF VICE DICK CHENEY EXITED GEORGE WASHINGTON HOSPITAL THIS AFTERNOON, AFTER HAVING SURGERY TO REPLACE HIS HEART DEFIBRILLATOR, AND IMMEDIATELY SENT THE MESSAGE TO THE PRESS THAT HE WAS STILL THE SAME OL' DIRTY BASTARD BY FLASHING A ONE-FINGERED GREETING AS HE PASSED.
 
"WATCH YOUR BACKS," HE HISSED, "I ALSO PREY ON THE BLOOD OF CHILDREN.  I'LL BE AROUND FOREVER."
 
 
Starting with war resisters. From  September 2nd through September 26th, Agustin Aguayo was absent without leave.  Aguayo self-checked out when facing a second deployment to Iraq and while his case was moving through the civilian courts.  Aguayo was denied CO status by a military that doesn't know their own regulations.  John A. Rogowsky Jr. is another, among many others, who have been wrongly denied CO status. From  "Selective Service System: Fast Facts:"  "Beliefs which qualify a registrant for CO status may be religious in nature, but don't have to be."  Despite that basic reality, Aguayo, Rogowsky and others have been told that they're not religious enough, that their religion is not recognized, when religion really is NOT required for CO status.  In Aguayo's case, the military refused to recognize that time in Iraq deepened Aguayo's faith (already present when he enlisted).

Speaking with Don Bustany on KPFK's Middle East in Focus Wednesday, Aguayo shared his story.and noted that when he arrived in Iraq in February of 2004, the medics were gathered for a speech that was in conflict in with the printed training material.  They were told that they were medics and they were combat troops and that, "'You medics,' speaking to us, 'has to make it clear, has to make it clear in the minds of your infantry man that they must finish their job   because if they don't then there will be more work for you'."  As Aguayo looked around he saw acceptance and an eagerness to get back to the routine but "I  could not accept that I was being told those things."

He also spoke of the eagerness to blame Iraqis for any problems as opposed to questioning the illegal war or the Bully Boy who sent them there.  Aguayo began to realize, "I was a particiant, a supporter, of all the missions that took place."  Today Aguayo is sharing his story publicly.

Mialka Bonadonna (LAist) reports he will be speaking tonight (Friday) in Los Angeles, 7:00 pm at 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 2nd floor.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Jared Hood and James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin 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, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.


From reality to Operation Happy Talk.  The push-back is on and Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno has enlisted.  Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) writes of the press briefing Odierno gave yesterday where he issued the talking points that US military deaths were falling.  Parker rightly notes that seven deaths were announced after the press briefing and the one of the deaths announced on Thursday dated back to Sunday.  The US military was delaying announcing deaths.  Reality is that in terms of what has been annouced, the deaths were 67 on Thursday and that July is not yet over but July 2007 is already the deadliest July for US service members since the start of the illegal war. July 2006: 43 US service members were killed in Iraq. In July 2005 and July 2004, 54 US service members were killed in Iraq. In July 2003, 48 US service members were killed in Iraq. 


Last week, Odierno enlisted in the push-back in a vareity of ways at a press briefing with reporters at the US Pentagon via video-link.  In terms of downgrading expectations for the September report to the US Congress by the military, he declared that the report that was needed would come in November and clarified, "What I was saying is -- again, my remarks were, in 45 days I will have a better idea if the trends are continuing, and that's September. Obviously, we have an assessment we will conduct in September that will provide -- that General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will provide. I was not looking at extending that time frame when they have to report back. What I imagine we'll have to do is do assessments that follow that initial assessment in September, and that's -- I'm assuming we'll continue to do assessments while we're here." Yesterday, Odierno stressed "trends" as well but forgot to include 7 deaths he should have known about in his remarks.

In addition, at the same press briefing, he attempted to yet again sell the non-proven link between resistance fighters in Iraq and the Iranian government.  When pressed by reporters for evidence,  Odierno's confident remarks of such a link were replaced with his statements that, "We don't see any evidence -- significant evidence". And a third way he enlisted was in calling into question the right of an open debate in a free society when he took to suggesting that discussions in the media and in the US Congress about US forces withdrawing from Iraq,  was 'emboldening' al Qaeda. Again, when pressed, Odierno had to back off from his original remarks and admit he had "no specific intelligence" on any such emboldening.

Operation Happy Talk is not confined to the US military brass and the US administration.  Andrew Grice (Independent of London) reports that the UK Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup (I did not make that name up) has declared, "We are very close to being able to hand over Basra in my judgement.  Just when we will reach that point is at the moment uncertain but I am fairly confident it'll be in the second half of the year."  Basra is one base, the Basra Palace (and it's also the last of four provinces the British military currently controls -- the other three were already turned over)  Grice interprets Jock Stirrup's remarks to mean control of Basra could be handed off before the year's end; however, it could come much sooner.  After all, British troops, the Soldiers of the Queen's Royal Hussars, proved they could hustle when they pulled out of the Maysan province with less than 24 hours notice after their base their repeatedly was attacked  back in August. As Haidar Hani (AP) reported then that following the British hitting the road in 'stripped down mode': "Looters ravaged a former British base Friday . . . taking everything from doors and window frames to corrugated roofing and metal pipes".  Iraqi authorites noted then that the British had only given them 24 hours notice that the departure was coming.  As with that base, the Basra Palace has been under rocket and mortar attacks repeatedly.  In addition, IRIN reports that approximately "150 doctors in Basra, Iraq's second largest city about 600km south of Baghdad, began a three-day strike on 23 July, demanding the government protect them and their families."  This was to call attention to the lack of security and this comes as over "618 medical employees" have been killed since the start of the illegal war.

Turning to realities that US administration prefers we don't know.  Noam N. Levey and Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) report that the White House "has stopped reporting to Congress a key quality-of-life indicator in Baghdad: how long the power stays on."  This is an agreed upon 'benchmark' by the US administration and Congress -- and one even Iraqis could agree to even though they were consulted when it was time to draw on benchmarks.  When you can't meet the benchmark, this administration stops reporting it.


This approach is an affront to democracy and one of many the current administration has repeatedly shown not only to people in the US but to people around the world.  Today, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) hosted a debate on the issue of impeachment.  All sides were represented, with Cindy Sheehan representing the pro-impeachment and Dan Gerstein representing the lunatic fringe.  Gerstein is a Democratic Party Hack and not even a good one.  His full credentials were not listed on the program and that's probably due to the fact that if he'd had to sit through even a partial litany of his many losses, he would have walked off on air.

Gerstein doesn't want impeachment.  He doesn't think anything that's been done rises to the level of impeachment.  He thinks the way to 'fix' is to vote Democrats into power in 2008 (he might want to check out his consulting p.r. faxes because I'm seeing something about him being in favor of Democrats "all things being equal").  To impeach the Bully Boy and/or Cheney would be a distraction that would harm the Democrats chances to regain the White House in 2008.

Gerstein's been more wrong than right when gazing into his crystal ball and that may say it all but for those who've forgotten his nasty snit-fits when his boy Joe Lieberman lost the primary to Ned Lamont, try google-ing. 

The reality, as Cindy Sheehan pointed out, is that impeachment hasn't been a problem in terms of the White House.  Gerstein is wrong, Sheehan is right.  Gerstein tried to use the 1998 Congressional election (not a White House election) as an example.  After the 2002 Congressional election demonstrated that no patterns were holding, no tea leafs could be read, Gerstein might try sticking to reality and leaving his fantasy land where he knows the outcome.  (If he truly did, he might be a player and not a Lieberman lackey.)
 

Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more.
Posted by at

Thursday, July 26, 2007

THIS JUST IN! MORE SURFACE SKIMMING BY THE MSM!

 
A NO RIBBON PANEL OF NON-EXPERTS APPOINTED BY THE BULLY BOY RELEASED THEIR NON-FINDINGS AND APPARENTLY THE PRESS CORPS IS SO RELIEVED THAT DONNA SHALALA ISN'T YET AGAIN ATTACKING CUSTODIANS IN FLORIDA, THAT THEY'LL PRAISE ANYTHING.
 
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES HEADLINES THEIR SOP "PANEL CALLS FOR BETTER CARE FOR WAR VETS" AS IF THEY WOULD FLAT OUT STATE "SCREW VETERANS".  BUT THAT IS WHAT THE PLAN IN EFFECT DOES BY TURNING OVER MORE MONIES TO A VETERANS ADMINISTRATION THAT HAS A PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF REFUSING TO GRANT FULL DISABILITY RIGHTS TO RETURNING VETS.
 
IN A NOD TO RUPERT MURDOCH'S HIGHLY POPULAR MYSPACE PAGES, THE PANEL SUGGESTS THE CREATION OF A WEB PAGE ENTITLED "MY EBENEFITS" THAT DEMONSTRATES LAST YEAR'S REPEATED COMPUTER NIGHTMARES FOR THE VETERANS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT -- AND FOR VETERANS WHOSE PRIVATE INFORMATION BECAME PUBLIC -- IS SOMETHING THE PANEL NEVER HEARD OF.
 
RUMORS ABOUND THAT THE PANEL WILL NEXT 'TACKLE' THE ISSUE OF STEROID USE IN SPORTS AND AVOID THE ISSUE OF THE OWNERS OF SPORTS TEAMS WHILE FOCUSING ON REPEATING RUMORS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS.
 
 
 
Starting with war resisters. The San Francisco Chapter of Veterans for Peace (Chapter 69) and Asian Pacific Islanders Resist have penned an op-ed (San Francisco Bay Guardian) noting that responsibilities don't fly out the window during an illegal war.  In this section, they address the kanagroo courts that those who speak out face in the alleged name of military 'justice': "Many soldiers of conscience who dared to speak openly about the immorality and illegality of the war have been court-martialed and imprisoned. Their cases, dating back to 2004, raise serious doubts about the capacity of our soldiers to receive justice in our military courts. Five months prior to the Abu Ghraib scandal, a soft-spoken Army soldier named Camilo Mejía was visibly upset by the atrocities he observed during his tour of duty in Iraq. Repulsed by the slaughter of civilians and the needless deaths of American GIs -- all reported in his riveting combat memoir, Road from Ar Ramadi (New Press, 2007) -- Mejía gathered his courage and made formal complaints to his superiors. Commanders refused to listen and questioned his patriotism. Eventually Mejía was sentenced to a year in prison for speaking out, for telling the truth.  His trial, like subsequent trials of war resisters, was a travesty of justice. The judge, Col. Gary Smith, ruled that evidence of the illegality of the war was inadmissible in court, that international law is irrelevant, and that a soldier's only duty is to follow orders, regardless of their legality. In essence, Mejía spent months in prison for upholding the rule of law in wartime. Had commanders listened to Mejía, had judges respected due process and the rule of law, the Abu Ghraib scandal that humiliated our troops might never have occurred."
 
Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia  is Mejia's story of becmoing the first Iraq veteran to publicly become a war resisters (Stephen Funk is the first known war resisters in this illegal war and his resistance began when he refused to take part in an illegal war). Along with detailing the court-martial, Mejia also explains how, as that was about to get underweigh, the US military suddenly needed him to refile his CO application.  Why?  Well he'd outlined abuses and the military had ignored them so refiling it would make it appear that he was just then, as the court-martial approached, for the first time, noting the abuses he'd witnessed.  Another point in the Mejia case that is often overlooked is that the US military was in violation of their own rules.  Non-US citizen Mejia's eight-year contract was coming to an end.  From Iraq, he and superiors made a call during which Mejia learned that his mother had contacted their senator (US Senator Bill Nelson) who had already made an issue of this -- as a noncitizen, Mejia could not be extended.  That was the rule and Mejia was informed of that on the phone, when he repeated that and handed the phone to his superior, the superior "lost" the call.  The same military that refused to grant Mejia CO status was also in violation of their own rules and this was all before Mejia self-checked out.  That's why mainstream (or alternative) media dubbing Mejia a "deserter" without ever exploring those facts is more than a little simplistic.
 
Mejia's book came out in May and is one of two books published by war resisters this year.
Joshua Key's The Deserter's Tale is the other one and, in it, Key outlines his own experiences in Iraq and how he came to the decision to self-check out.  Joshua and Brandi Key and their children went underground and then moved to Canada.  The Deserter's Tale  has repeatedly won positive reviews since its release including an unwritten 'rave' from the US military which so enjoyed it, they sent two members to Canada to pose as Canadian police officers and badger Winnie Ng as to Key's whereabouts.  Though far less fanatical, Phil Shannon (Autralia's Green Left Weekly) recently reviewed the book and found it to be
"told with unadorned but compelling simplicity, follows the life-altering path of a US citizen who turned from super-patriot to war-resister."
 
Currently, war resister Agustin Aguayo is on a speaking tour telling his story and The Acorn reports that Aguayo will speak this Thursday from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Grant Brimhall, Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. James Rd., that the event is "free and open to the public" and more information is available by calling (805) 375-9939. War resister Pablo Paredes will also be at the event.
 
This comes as Terry Lee Goodrich (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reports on yesterday's meeting of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) General Assembly during which they passed a resolution "opposing the war in Iraq as contrary to Jesus' teachings" and
supporting war resisters who refuse to serve in the illegal war based upon church teachings.
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Jared Hood and James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin 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, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
 
Meanwhile, the White House has to deal with not one but two reports in September.  On September 15th, General David Petraeus will present his report detailing the 'progress' resulting from Bully Boy's escalation of US troops in Iraq (approximately 160,000 are now on the ground).  Robin Wright (Washington Post) reveals the General Accounting Office will also be presenting a report on September 1st: "The GAO's international affairs team has had far more experience in Iraq than the study group led by former secretary of state James A. Baker III and former congressman Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.) or any of the other independent panels that have weighed in on Iraq. Indeed, the study group consulted the GAO team in preparing its report. Over the past four years, the GAO has issued 91 reports on Iraq, on topics including the mismanagement of Iraq's oil industry and problems in its new army.
The GAO team is back in Iraq this week doing research to make its own assessment of the 18 benchmarks covered by the administration's reports."  The 'benchmarks' were pushed by the White House and Congress mandated them.  These are the same 'benchmarks' that the White House and the US military now attempts to play down as part of the push-back on the September deadline.
 
They aren't pushing back against the US Congress which still has no real desire to end the illegal war, instead they are pushing back against public opinion domestically which repeatedly finds approximately 70% of Americans are opposed to Bully Boy's illegal war of choice with 61% now wanting any futher funding of the illegal war to come with a timeline for withdrawal. 
 
As Norman Solomon observes (at Common Dreams), "Despite all the talk about how members of Congress have been turning against the war, few are clearly advocating a genuine end to U.S. military intervention in Iraq" and that the media joins in prolonging the illegal war, "Media outlets will keep telling us that the U.S. government is developing serious plans to 'leave' Iraq. But we would be foolish to believe those tall tales. The antiwar movement has an enormous amount of grassroots work to do -- changing the political terrain of the United States from the bottom up -- before the calculus of political opportunism in Washington determines that it would be more expedient to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq than to keep it going under one guise or another."  Solomon details the efforts by PBS' NewsHour and Time magazine to mitigate public outrage, " The game involves dangling illusionary references to 'withdrawal' in front of the public" while no real withdrawal is being proposed and Solomon cites IPS' Phylis Bennis on yesterday's House amendment regarding permanent bases in Iraq, "The bill states an important principle opposing the 'establishment' of new bases in Iraq and 'not to exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq.' But it is limited in several ways. It prohibits only those bases which are acknowledged to be for the purpose of permanently stationing U.S. troops in Iraq; therefore any base constructed for temporarily stationing troops, or rotating troops, or anything less than an officially permanent deployment, would still be accepted. Further, the bill says nothing about the need to decommission the existing U.S. bases already built in Iraq; it only prohibits 'establishing' military installations, implying only new ones would be prohibited."
 
[. . .]
 
Today the US military announced: "One MNC-I Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated during clearing operations in Baghdad July 24." That death took place two days ago and was announced today. And they announced: "A Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West died July 22 in a non-combat related incident in Al Anbar Province."  That death took place four days ago and was announced today.  And they announced: "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed during a small arms fire engagement in a southern section of the Iraqi capital July 25."  That death took place one day ago.  And they announced: "Three Marines and one Sailor assigned to Multi National Force-West died July 24 while conducting combat operations in Diyala Province."  Those deaths took place two days ago and were announced today.  Before someone wants to harp on "time differences" all announcements are coming out of Baghdad.  Also note that this is seven deaths and not, as so many in the press are reporting, five deaths.  It's easy to be confused with the MNF's new pattern of delaying death announcements -- but the press isn't commenting on that either.  The totals currently at ICCC are 3645 US service members killed in the illegal war since it started with 66 for the month thus far.
 

Luggage? GPS? Comic books?
Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search.
Posted by at

THIS JUST IN! TAKE THE QUIZ!

 
A QUIZ.
 
1) WHO IS MORE INEFFECTUAL?
 
A) THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS
B) ALLEGED PEACE ORGANIZATIONS
 
2) WHO WAS VOTED INTO OFFICE IN 2006?
 
A) THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS
B) ALLEGED PEACE ORGANIZATIONS
 
3) WHO TAKES A LOT OF MONEY FROM CITIZENS CLAIMING THEY WILL END THE WAR?
 
A) THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS
B) ALLEGED PEACE ORGANIZATIONS
 
4) WHO CONDUCTS THEMSELVES LIKE INDEPENDENT ACTORS?
 
A) THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS
B) ALLEGED PEACE ORGANIZATIONS
 
5) WHO HAS TO LIVE IN THE BELTWAY?
 
A) THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS
B) ALLEGED PEACE ORGANIZATIONS
 
ANSWER: NOT A DIME'S WORTH OF A DIFFERENCE.
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Today on KPFK's Uprising, Sonali Kohatkar interviewed  Agustin Aguayo and Helga Aguayo.  Aguayo self-checked out the US military at the start of September on the eve of his second deployment to Iraq (and while his CO requests were being ignored to such a point that they were now fighting in the civilian courts) and turned himself before the end of the month. Earlier this year, in Germany, Aguayo was court-martialed.  He is now speaking out about his experiences.

Agustin explained to Kohatkar that the time since being released from military prison and returning to the United States have been an adjustment becuase "for so long I was part of a system where everything was laid out."  Helga spoke of what it was like for her when the persecution of her husband was taking place, "It's been very difficult. . . . It's been very stressful.  My health has detirated a little but I'm getting stronger."  Helga and Agusin are the parents of twin daughters (12-year-olds).  Agustin declared that he speaks now to get the word out and "something of great importance to me is reaching out to the youth".  Agustin noted the recruitment efforts targeting young people today and hopes that by speaking he can count that "and share with them the other side of the story, the side advertisements and recruiters won't ever tell them."

In addition to the false promises recruiters to make to all children (generally the children of low income families), Kohatkar noted that there is also the promise of citizenship offered to those who will fight in the US military although they are not citizens.  Kohatkar noted that 32,000 immigrants had been naturalized as a result of serving in the US miltiary.

Reflecting on his awakening (it was a religious awakening and Agustin has spoken of it in those terms), Agustin stated, "I came to see myself as what I truly am.  A person that is peaceful. . . . The missions I was participating in were not naturally peaceful ones so I regret some of them."

Helga spoke to the issues of what can be done from the outside.  She termed the period during which the military was persecuting her husband "sheer terror for us" and spoke of living in fear that the military would physically harm if she spoke out or retaliate against him.  What she discovered was, "The louder I spoke, the more support I got.  The louder I spoke, the more media attention it got him.  So I had to get over my fear." 

Where things stand now is that Agustin is "still part of the military" and "basically I have a legal right to appeal my court-martial".  Kohtkar asked what was the worst that could happen right now?  Noting the current "political environment," Agustin pointed out that "recently Marines and soldiers with the inactive-ready reserves have been prosecuted for speaking out."  That would include Adam Kokesh (Cloy Richards and Liam Madden have also been among those harassed).  Agustin also noted how many were leaving the military often "in a quiet way without making any statements, including to their family."  Helga credited IVAW and others with "The moral support, the guidance" they offered and noted, "I do believe that we can stop this war.  You know the politicians have failed us and now it's up to us. . . . Maybe I'm being too optimistic but I think that eventually we can stop this war."


Aguayo is telling his story publicly and The Acorn reports that Aguayo will speak this Thursday from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Grant Brimhall, Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. James Rd., that the event is "free and open to the public" and more information is available by calling (805) 375-9939. War resister Pablo Paredes will also be at the event.



There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Jared Hood and James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin 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, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.

Now let's turn to periodical news and the biggest laugh (cited by friends at two networks and three daily papers), the Peace Resister Katrina vanden Heuvel.  It
was embarrassing enough that (once again) she was pushing a group on her blog (Editor's Cut) whose board both she and her father serve on (without DISLCOSING THAT while lavishing praise on the centrist group).  But she's not a journalist.  She's not a trained jouranlist and she continues to run The Nation as if it is the Palm Beach Social Pictoral and not an alleged independent weekly.

Today she demonstrates that not only may the posts editor and publisher beyond her grasp but so may be basic comprehension.  In the Democratic 'debate' this week, US Senator Barack Obama was asked a question and offered a response.  It demonstrated his lack of experience but Katrina vanden Heuvel drums up the case against Hillary Clinton and pushes the DLC Barack Obama by altering reality.  "In Monday's debate," she writes, "and with the benefit of having time to think through her response, Hillary Clinton posed as the foreign policy sophisticate to Barack Obama the bold leader who did not hesitate to say that he would meet with the leaders of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela."  No that is not what happened.

Transcript of the 'debate' (New York Times) shows Obama was asked if he would "meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?"  The first year.  Would he meet in the first year.  Obama responded, "I would."  Blah blah blah followed. 

David Corn gets it right. And it is a mistake.  (Tim Russert slipped in "insurgent Obama" on NBC's Today this morning.)  There is nothing wrong with diplomatic meetings, they should be encouraged.  But Katrina vanden Heuvel fudges reality to make it appear that's the issue when it isn't.  Obama agreed to meetings his first year in office.  You don't do that.  You don't show your hand in that way and you certainly don't announce first year meetings when you're not even in office.  This has nothing to do with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez or any other leader, it has nothing to do with other countries.  It has everything to do with the way diplomacy is conducted.  You can indicate you're willing to consider it, you don't say, "Yes, I will have those meetings."   In terms of the way diplomacy is conducted and in terms of the way Obama's mistake will continue to play out, David Corn is correct.

Corn writes for The Nation.  Katrina vanden Heuvel holds the magazine's posts of editor and publisher.  Disagreeing with a writer for the magazine -- someone serving under -- publicly might or might not be 'bad form' but the fact that she then holds up another writer at the magazine is causing huge laughs: "My colleague Ari Berman posted his smart and sharp counter to David's argument . . ."  As the editor and the publisher, vanden Heuvel should give the appearance of detatchment with regards to those working beneath her.  Instead, she picks a favorite.  Again, she's not trained in journalism.  But she sure did provide a lot of laughter today.

Berman also shades reality by changing the issue at stake (the first year vanishes from Berman's critique as it did from Katrina vanden Heuvel's).  Now let's get to the real reality here.  (Friends pushed for this to be noted but that alone wouldn't have gotten it included in the snapshot.)  The tongue baths of Obama from The Nation are appalling.  As Bruce Dixon and Glen Ford have explained, Barack Obama was DLC in 2004.  He only ran from it when it threatened to become harmful.  Katrina vanden Heuvel and Ari Berman are gushing over Obama.  They are far, far from reality.  Barack Obama repeatedly stated in 2004 that the US could not withdraw from Iraq.  He repeatedly (publicly and privately) went on record being opposed to a withdrawal.  Why is it that an alleged left magazine has elected not to explore that and instead play cheerleader for him?  (While giving non-stop hisses to Hillary Clinton.) 

The Nation's not trying to end the illegal war.  A strong but ultimately meaningless editorial every two years is not trying to end the illegal war.  An article that boasts of "dozens" of photos of abuse to Iraqis being turned over to the magazine that fails to feature any of those photographs isn't trying to end the illegal war or even to be a distant relation of journalism.  But the magazine wants to pretend (and really needs) it cares about the illegal war.  If it cares about the illegal war, it's past time for the magazine to get honest about Barack Obama.  It's beyond time for them to quit repeating the mainstream narrative of how Barack was right about the illegal war before it started unlike Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd without noting that repeatedly in 2004, Barack Obama argued that the US must not withdraw, must 'win' the illegal war, etc.  The one who wants credit for being right that the illegal war was wrong also needs to take his blame for saying that an illegal war should continue to drag on.  Pretending otherwise isn't helping anyone.

Pretending that Congressional leaders are attempting to end the illegal war isn't helping anyone either.  Tina Richards (via Democracy Rising) notes the obvious that's treated as if it must be kept unspoken -- the Levin-Reed Amendment will not "bring our troops home" or "end the war": "I had an opportunity to ask [Senate Majority] Leader [Harry] Reid about how many troops will be abandoned in Iraq.  He bluntly stated, 'we haven't spoken to the military yet, at this stage we don't know.'  We don't know?  They have pushed and prodded for this Amendment and they don't know?  If Members of Congress do not have any idea how large of a future force this amendment calls for, then how can we as military families possibly support it?  Senator Reid has admitted that this proposed 'pull-out plan' does nothing yet leave the decision up to the military leadership, who take their direction from President Bush.  It must be made clear to the public that the Levin-Reed Amendment does not call for a specific withdrawal from Iraq nor does it seek to revamp the American mission in the region."
Funding the war is Killing The Troops.  The message of Tina Richards' Grassroots America and Iraq Veterans Against the War.  It's basic, it's easy to communicate.  Want to bring the troops home safely?  Stop funding the illegal war.  Want to stop the US military air war on Iraq?  Stop funding the illegal war.
Want to stop the illegal war?  Stop farming yourself as the Pep Squad for Democratic Leadership in Congress which refuses to end the illegal war but prefers 'symbolic' action and shell games.
 

Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story.
Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games.
Posted by at

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY MAKES BIG MESS!

 
BULLY BOY ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT AL QAEDA IN IRAQ WAS A THREAT TO AMERICANS.  HE LEFT OUT THE PART ABOUT HOW HE HIMSELF CREATED AL QAEDA IN IRAQ.
 
DESPITE THE LIES THAT LED TO AN ILLEGAL WAR, AL QAEDA HAD NO LINK TO 9-11 (SAUDI ARABIA, HOWEVER, DID HAVE A LINK TO 9-11).AND WAS NOT IN IRAQ PRIOR TO THE ILLEGAL WAR. 
 
BULLY BOY'S ILLEGAL WAR OF CHOICE HAS LED AL QAEDA TO IRAQ. 
 
WHEN CONFRONTED BY THESE REPORTERS, BULLY BOY HOPPED FROM FOOT TO FOOT, CLUTCHED HIS CROTCH AND SAID, "ME NEED TO GO MAKE WEE-WEE.  OOPS.  I ALREADY STARTED." 
 
POINTING TO HIS CROTCH, BULLY BOY GIGGLED, "I MAKE BIG MESS." 
 
NO SH*T.
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Memphis Vets Against the War (Chapter 149 of Iraq Veternas Against the War) note (at Memphis Flyer) "soldiers of conscience, who dared to speak openly about the immorality and illegality of the war, [who] have been court-martialed and imprsioned.  Their cases, dating back to 2004, raise serious doubts about the capacity of our soldiers to receive justice in our military courts.  Five months prior to Abu Ghraib scandal, a soft-spoken Army soldier named Camilo Mejia was visibly upset by the atrocities he observed during his tour of duty in Iraq.  Repelled by the slaughter of civilians and the needless deaths of American GIs (all reported in Mejia's riveting combat memoir, The Road to Ar Ramadi, 2007), Camilo gathered up his courage and made formal complaints to his superiors.  Commanders refused to listen and questioned his patriotism. Eventually Mejia was sentenced to a year in prison for speaking out, for telling the truth.  His trial, like subsequent trials of war resisters, was a travesty of justice.  Judge Col. Gary Smith ruled that evidence of the illegality of the war was inadmissible in court, that international law is irrelevant, that a soldier's only duty to follow orders, regardless of their legality.  It is a sad day in military jurisprudence when a soldier of conscience is court-martialed, not for lying, but for telling the truth . . .  Our military system is passing through a profound moral and legal crisis."  IVAW's Adam Kokesh posts an e-mail from  Robert Weiss who has filed for conscientious objector status and "informed my chain of command that the only way I will go to Iraq is if they tranquilize me, cuff me, and throw me on a plane.  That being the case I won't perform any duties or wear a uniform anyways.  I don't plan on letting the situation progress that far.  I am hopeful that I will be placed on rear detachment until the decision on my application comes in.  When it becomes apparent that they won't do this I will simply refuse to follow any orders given to me or wear a uniform.  This will surely result in some jail time but that doesn't deter me one bit.  It makes more sense to me to resist the military now rather than in Iraq where the situation would be much more difficult."        

Agustin Aguayo was in Germany (as Weiss is now) when he was told he would be handcuffed/chained and put on a plane to Iraq.  That prompted his self-checkout.  Aguayo is telling his story publicly and  The Acorn reports that Aguayo will speak this Thursday from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Grant Brimhall, Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. James Rd., that the event is "free and open to the public" and more information is available by calling (805) 375-9939.  War resister Pablo Paredes will also be at the event.    



There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Robert Weiss,  Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Jared Hood and James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin 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, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.         


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.  Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.   


Turning to news of activism, bravery and disappointment.  Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) reported today that DC was the location, specifically John Conyers' office, for a rather surprising development, "45 protesters calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney were arrested Monday at the U.S. Capitol.  The arrests occurred after the demonstrators refused to leave the office and hallway of Congressman John Conyers of Michigan.  The arrested included Cindy Sheehan and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern.  They were urging Conyers -- the chair of the House Judiciary -- to introduce articles of impeachment." In addition, they were delivering a petition, with over one million signatures, calling for impeachment.  As Rebecca (Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude) noted last night, "That's really sad.  John Conyers, who knows all about civil disobedience, sicks the cops on civil disobedience.  Oh how the mighty have fallen."   Dave Lindorff (CounterPunch) shares that sentiment noting, "The arrest of impeachment activists and their forcible eviction from his office was a betrayal of people who were doing the very thing that had allowed Conyers to make his way into Congress in the first place:  sitting in to insist on action on their demands for justice.  It was, after all, sit-ins that helped lead to the Voting Rights Act which allowed African American candidates like Conyers to finally win seats in the US Congress.  It's ironice that Rep. Conyers, speaking in 2005 on Democracy Now! following Rosa Parks' death at the age of 92, said her passing 'is probably the end of an era.'  Certainly, with his request to have Capitol Police officers enter his office (the very office where Parks once had worked as a staff member!) to cuff and arrest peaceful protesters who were trying to defend the Constitution, he has made that point far more clearly than he could have expressed it in mere words."        

David Swanson (AfterDowningStreet) was among those arrested and he notes that John Conyers' office  is under a lot of pressure or feels that way: "The staffer was annoyed and complained to his colleague 'It's bad enough they shut the office down with phone calls'."  Oh, those pesky citizens, foolishy thinking they have a voice in democracy!  Don't they know the John Conyers staff doesn't need their input!  Democracy in the Conyers office translates as "We give you what we want, be happy!"  Now here's John Conyers singins with backing assitance from his staffers (and a down dirty rap by Nancy Pelosi): "Don't protest . . . be happy.  Ain't got no guts . . . ain't got no spine.  Ain't gonna help you . . . just get mine.  But don't protest . . . be happy."            

As Lindorff notes, Swanson has detailed the Two Faces of John Conyers -- says one thing when before crowds, says another when back on the hill.  Swanson reveals today that Conyers "said, if he were to do that [move forward with impeachment] Fox News would go after him and accuse him of being partisan.  I kid you not.  The Democratic Chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is basing his decisions on whether a Republican cable TV station would approve.  As Cindy Sheehan told me outside the jail last night: 'If I based my decisions on Fox, I would never do anything'."  (As noted Sunday, "Politicians crave their good publicity and when the media tilts to the right, they grasp which way to lean to get valentines. . . .  Politicians aren't naturally brave -- it's difficult to win a popularity contest/election on bravery".)  Lindorff notes that Iraq Veterans Against the War's Rev. Lennox Yearwood was arrested (really, shame on Conyers -- he's now having the clergy arrested) while Nadir (Distorted Soul via AfterDowningStreet) noted that -- in the worst tradition of The Nation magazine -- John Conyers' staff played dumb, "They asked why this action was directed at him, and not at other congress members.  It was explained that protests were also being held in DC and at district offices all over the country.  Conyers was being targeted because as Judiciary Chair, he has the power to put H. Res. 333 on the Judiciary Committee agenda."  Cindy Sheehan (AfterDowningStreet) reminds, of Conyers, "A year ago he introduced HR635 to impeach George Bush while he was Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee and not even chairman.  He wrote the book on impeachment called: The Constitution in Crisis and he readily admits that BushCo have committed impeachable offenses.  It's about partisan politics, pure and simple.  The Congressman claims that there is absolutley no way that impeachment can go forward and when I was nearing the end of my hope I cried out: 'So, if the people's house won't help us then we the people have no recourse against the executive branch.'  To which he replied: 'Yes you do, vote the enablers out in '08.'  Firstly, Congressman Conyers told us to put Democrats back in [power in] Congress to end the war and impeach BushCo. We did that and instead of ending the war, they gave George Bush more money to wage it and to conduct his deadly and tragic surge."  CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin (Common Dreams) observes, "The arrest of impeachment activists and their forcible eviction from Conyers' office today is proof of the bankruptcy of the two-party system.  It is shameful that Conyers and Pelosi are putting their perceived interest of their party above the Constitution, which clearly makes impeachment the remedy for dealing with presidential 'high crimes and misdemeanors'.  With the Democratic leadership refusing to rein in an administration run amok, it is crystal clear that we, the people, must uphold the Constitution.  People's power, like the kind in evidence today in the normally solemn halls of Congress, is our only hope."          


Impeachment is widely supported in the few national polls that survey on it and muncipalities across the nation have passed resolutions in support of it.  Robert Parry (Consortium News) observed, "If some historic challenge is not made to the extraordinary assertions of power by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the United States might lose its status as a democratic Republic based on a Constitution that adheres to the twin principles that no one is above the law and everyone is endowed with 'inalienable rights.' . . .  Even if impeachment didn't reach the ultimate goal of removing Bush and Cheney, it would put down a marker of congressional resistance to executive abuses.  The public would get the point, too.  The current Democratic strategy of fighting and losing legislative battles over symbolic resolutions of disapproval or meaningless votes of no confidence only invites the consolidation of the Bush-Cheney vision of an all-powerful presidency."  [Parry's latest book, Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush has just been released.  Also Rev. Yearwood is the chair of the  Hip Hop Caucus in addition to being a member of IVAW.]   

Ray McGovern (writing at Consortium News) reveals that during the meeting with Conyers yesterday, he, Sheehan and Yearwood were informed by the Rep that what was needed was a "Town Hall meeting in Detroit so we can talk about impeachment" but, as McGovern points out, that already happened: "On May 29, 2007, Col. Ann Wright and I were among those who flew to Detroit for a highly advertised Town Hall meeting on impeachment, because we were assured that John Conyers would be there.  The Town Hall/panel discussion was arranged by the Michigan chapter of the National Lawyers Guild less than two weeks after the Detroit City Council passed a resolution, cosponsored by Conyers' wife Monica Conyers -- calling for the impeachment of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.  We had hoped that Monica's clear vision and courage must be contagious.  I had to remind the congressman that he did not show up for the Town Hall."  And while Conyers can't remember which events took place and which did not, Matthew Rothschild (The Progressive) sounds the alarms about Bully Boy's latest power grabs including the July 17th Executive Order that allows "the Secretary of the Treasury . . . to freeze the assets of any person opposing Bush's Iraq policy" which can be seen to include actions such as a rally calling for the end of the illegal war, throwing "a pie in the face of legislator," arranging for "an Iraqi oil worker" to speak, etc.  Rothschild concludes of the Bully Boy, "He's got our democracy by the throat, and he keeps squeezing it.  And still the Democratic leadership in the House won't wave their hands for impeachment?  We have a  renegade in the Oval Office.  He is suberting our Constitution.  And the only remedy is impeachment.  We must apply that remedy before it's too late."  [Rothschild's new book is  You Have No Rights: Stories of America In An Age of Repression (The New Press, $16.99).  Rothschild has concluded one leg of his book tour and will begin a second leg next month:   August 14th 7:00 pm, San Luis Obispo Public Library, 995 Palm St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401; August 15th 7:00 pm, Borders Books, 900 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 and August 16th 7:00 pm, Book Soup, 8818 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069.]        

Returning to Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan, she has now declared her run in the 2008 elections: "It is also with a heavy heart that I announce my candidacy against Nancy Pelosi in California's 8th.  If anybody would dare think that I am not serious, I would hope that they would look back at the last three years of my life and everything that I have sacrificed to restore our nation to one that obeys the rule of law and can be looked up to with respect once again in the international community and not as the hated laughingstock on the block.  I am committed to challenging a two party system that has kept us in a state of constant warfare for the last 60 years and has become more and more beholden to special interests and has forgotten the faces of the people whom it represents."   Today, at 4:00 pm PST, 6:00 Central and 7:00 EST, Cindy Sheehan will be on KPFK discussing her meeting with Conyers and her decision to run.  (Those who see the heads up too late should remember they can utilize the KPFK archives.)       

Larry Pinkney (The Black Commentator) may make the case best of the current self-created swamp the US finds itself in (domestically) listing various lies and concluding, "Thus is should come as no surprise that even as America sinks deeper into the self-created bloody quagmire of Iraq, its President, Vice President, the entire US Senate, and a sizeable portion of the US House of Representatives are selectively ignoring the lies which led to the American invasion and occupation of Iraq in the first place.  Now these same elements are clamoring for war with Iran while blaming that nation for the deaths of US troops who were themselves taken into Iraq under the patent 'weapons of mass destruction' lie.  This insanity will stop only when the people of the United States bring it to an end.  The politicians, be they Democrats or Republicans will never end this insanity as they and their corporate bosses are irretrievably intertwined in this symbiotic cycle of insanity."         

The insanity largely continued in yesterday's 'debate' (the hyped YouTube debate -- so hyped, so trendy, that even Pat Robertson had to file a YouTube story yesterday on The 700 Club before his sit-down chat with Prince of Darkness Robert Novack).  The DNC planned 'debate' brought together candidates for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination . . . at the Citadel in yet another cowardly attempt to hide behind the military.  As bad as it is that Democrats sought to represent the people by appearing at a military venue, there's also the fact that the college was originally created, as their own press release notes, "to educate young men whose duty was to protect the city of Charleston from the threat of a slave rebellion."  In all the rah-rah, that's not being noted and it should be noted loudly before the next 'debate' includes the donning of white sheets.  In a non-ironic moment,  the issue of reparations for slavery was raised and, as Jens Manuel Krogstad (Waterloo Ceder Falls Courier) notes, Barack Obama felt it was more important to fund "struggling schools" -- as if that has anything to do with reparations or as if it's an either/or issue -- either we fund schools or we address reparations.      
 

Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows.
Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.
Posted by at

Monday, July 23, 2007

THIS JUST IN! MEET MEGAN THEE, PROFESSIONAL LIAR AND IDIOT!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.

MEGAN THEE PUT ON HER FISHNETS AND SMILED AS HER PIMP (NEW YORK TIMES) PUSHED HER OUT OF THE MOVING CAR. BRUSHING HERSELF OFF, SHE RAN TO HER STREET CORNER AND STARTED PEDDLING "A NEW POLL SHOWS AN INCREASE IN AMERICANS WHO THINK IT WAS RIGHT TO START AN ILLEGAL WAR WITH IRAQ!"

EXTRA!, EXTRA!, SHE'S A LIAR AND IDIOT.

CITING A NEW CBS NEWS - NEW YORK TIMES, MEGAN THEE LIES ABOUT AN INCREASE. MEGAN THEE PROCLAIMS (WHILE POUTING AND STICKING HER UGLY ASS OUT), "But the number of people who say the war is going 'very badly' has fallen from 45 percent earlier in July to a current reading of 35 percent, and of those who say it is going well, 29 percent now describe it as 'somewhat well' compared to 23 percent just last week."

HERE'S WHAT THE PRESS HOOKER DOESN'T TELL YOU AS SHE TRIES TO SELL THE ILLEGAL WAR. THE POLL HAD 889 RESPONDENTS. LAST WEEK'S CBS NEWS - NEW YORK TIMES POLL THE HOOKER REFERENCES HAD 1554 RESPONDENTS. WITH ROUGHLY 700 LESS RESPONDENTS, THE POLLS ARE NOT COMPARABLE BUT THEY MAY BE INSTRUCTIVE IF THE POLLSTERS DECIDED TO DELIBERATELY EXCLUDE 700 PEOPLE TO FIX THE RESULTS.

MEGAN CAN'T TELL YOU. SHE'S GOT TO MAKE $15 BUCKS TONIGHT OR HER PIMP'S GOING TO BEAT HER UP. IT'S A TOUGH LIFE WHORING YOURSELF OUT IN SUPPORT OF AN ILLEGAL WAR.



FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resistance. Agustin Aguayo served in Iraq as a medic and attempted to be granted CO status. The US military refused to grant it and claimed that there had to be a religious awkening (which CO status does not require) while ignoring Aguayo's religious awakening. After his first tour, Aguayo was stationed in Germany when he was informed he would be returning to Iraq. Aguayo self-checked out and returned in less than 30 days which DID NOT prevent the US military from charging him with desertion (despite the fact that the accepted measure for a desertion charge is a minimum of 30 days). Aguayo's court-martial was held in the spring and he was sentenced to prison but the time since the end of September was recognized as time served. Aguayo is now back in the US and speaking out. Sunday he spoke in Los Angeles and Stuart Silverstein (Los Angeles Times) reports
he "received a hero's welcome" and declared that while serving in Iraq, "I realized I wasn't just a medic, someone that helps and patches up and heals the wounded. I was much more. I was an enabler of these missions." Silverstein reports that Aguayo self-describes as a "conscientious objector/war resister." The Acorn reports that Aguayo will speak this Thursday from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Grant Brimhall, Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. James Rd., that the event is "free and open to the public" and more information is available by calling (805) 375-9939.


There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Jared Hood and James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin 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, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.


In a press briefing (via videolink) with reporters at the US Pentagon, General Walter E. Gaskin, declared Friday, that "we have turned the corner. . . .we truly turned the corner". Reality? As noted by Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) today, "New Pentagon statistics show that the number of attacks in Iraq last month reached their highest daily average since May 2003. The data, which was obtained by Reuters, shows an upward trend in daily attacks in the four months since President Bush decided to escalate the war. During the month of June there was a daily average of 178 attacks against coalition troops, Iraqi security forces, civilians and infrastructure."

Over the weekend, the US military conducted an air strike in the heavily populated area north of the capital. Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Qais Mizher (New York Times) reported that the US military asserted they had killed 'insurgents' only. Molly Hennessy-Fiske (Los Angeles Times) reported that the Saturday air attack was disputed by eye witnesses in Husseiniya "said U.S. helicopters attacked three houses in a four-hour period, killing at least 18 people, including women and children. They said about 21 people were wounded in the attacks, which leveled the buildings" and quoted Hazim Hussein stating, "It was a war and not a response to an attack targeting them. It was a war against civilians inside their houses."
Hannah Allam and Jenan Hussein (McClatchy Newspapers) quoted Salam al Rubaiye who disputed the US military's account and declared, "Lies, lies, lies.The Americans always try to change the truth, especially when it concerns the Sadrists," and Bassem Musawi who stated, "I took out with my own hands the bodies of two young children, two men, two adult women and four little girls. I don't know why the Americans bombed these homes. I know one was the house of Abu Mustafa. He's a very poor man with only one boy and the rest of his family are girls. And he didn't even have a rifle." Democracy Now! today quoted one unidentified resident declaring, "This is what the occupation does. The occupation. Look at the fork-lift trucks, they've turned the world upside down, our relatives have been ripped to pieces. Does God accept this? Does Mohammed accept it? Why, are we heathens? Even Israel hasn't done anything like this. Israel did not do what America has done to us." And Amy Goodman (DN!) informed that "Sunday nearly 1,000 Iraqis rallied in Husseiniya to protest the killings."


RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
"Other Items"
"Agustin Aguayo and Joshua Key"
"And the war drags on . . ."
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "A Flunky Scorned"
"If it's Sunday, the New York Times is spinning"
"John Pilger, Iraq, etc."
"3632 is the total as another US soldiers is announced dead"
"Truest statement of the week"
"A Note to Our Readers"
"Editorial: Stop the Current Illegal War before the next one begins"
"TV: Losers & Fools"
"Standing with the war resisters"
"Iraq War Helper"
"Mailbag"
"Iraq reporting MSM style"
"Sweet Nepotism"
"New York Times enlists in the clampdown"
"Hightlights"
"Cheney occupies the White House "
"THIS JUST IN! PRESIDENT CHENEY! "


Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today!
Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)