Saturday, September 01, 2007

THIS JUST IN! SCREW YOU AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO!

 
THE DNC LAID DOWN SOMETHING THEY THOUGHT WAS THE LAW BUT, JUDGING BY THE FUMES, IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE ALL TOGETHER.
 
THEY DECLARED THAT FLORIDA AND MICHIGAN WOULD NOT BE CAMPAIGNED IN.
 
2008 PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS WHO ARE ALL SO DETERMINED TO PROVE THEIR INDEPENDENCE AND PRESENT THEMSELVES AS OUTSIDERS TO THE SYSTEM JOINED THE DNC IN SAYING, "SCREW YOU AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO."
 
 
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance. Tampa Bay's WMNF (88.5) interviewed Aidan Delgado.

Aidan Delgado: First of all I wouldn't encourage just anyone to become a Conscientious Objector because if you don't know it already CO status is the most difficult way to get out of the army. Mine took 18 months and it was a hard 18 months. So if someone's just looking to leave the military, CO status is not the way to do it and you should only do it if you feel absolute moral conviction that you can't participate. And the other thing I would stress is to go online and look up CO packets that have been successful. Go and read through a couple of entire packets that show what it takes to become a successful CO. And don't ever be intimidated by the army and don't let them tell you the regulations. You have to go and read the regulations on CO yourself. Look at some of the successful packets to get an impression of how wide the field is and how you can go about it.

Aidan Delgado also tells his story in The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq which came out this month. The advice he offered on the radio is advice he followed. That includes the packets and that includes not allowing the military to tell you what you really believe as they attempted to with him.

Aidan Delgado: When I wrote The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq in my mind I was reacting against a lot of the war literature that was out there -- books like Black Hawk Down and The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell and a lot of the older war novels -- in that I think too much of the war novels are really a kind of hero worship in disguise and they tell the stories of violent actions and real physical bravery and daring. And I think that's great and I think that story needs to be told; however, I think there's a huge gap and I don't think we should read only one kind of war story. And I'm proud to say my war story is not about violence although there is violence in it. And it's not about war exploits although those are in it too. It's kind of about the moral side of war and the moral journey and the development which I think is something that will resonate with a lot more readers. I'm not interested really in having a, you know, heroic soldier flag waving gently in the background. And I'm not really trying to entertain people or satisfy their ghoulish curiosity about war. I really want people to think about the other side, the personal side, that hasn't been reflected in all these gory, violent war memoirs . So my idea was to create a different kind of war novel that talks about the shades of grey not the uncompromising black and white, good and evil, to talk about all the moral quandries and decisions you have to make as a soldier.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, 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.
 
 

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Thursday, August 30, 2007

THIS JUST IN! THEY HATE HIM! THEY REALLY HATE HIM!

 
LIKE AMERICA, HATE BULLY BOY?
 
A NEW POLL FINDS THAT'S A COMMON ATTITUDE . . .
 
IN AUSTRALIA!
 
 
IF 9/11 BROUGHT THE WORLD TOGETHER FOR A BRIEF MOMENT, HATRED OF THE BULLY BOY APPEARS TO BE THE GLUE BINDING THE WORLD TOGETHER TODAY.
 
WHEN THESE REPORTERS PASSED ON THE POLL RESULTS TO BULLY BOY TODAY HE REPLIED, "I'M A UNITER.   I BRING PEOPLES TOGETHER.  ACROSS THE GLOBE AND IN THE LANDS AND OCEANS AND WATER AND STUFF AND CLOUDS, I AM UNITING.  I AM PRACTICING UNTIFICATION."
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  The Seacoast reports some of the statements from last Saturday's rally for peace in Kennebunkport, Maine and quotes Eli Israel declaring, "We are not fighting insurgents, we're fighting Iraqis in their own neighborhoods.  We were there -- we saw the truth."  The rally was there since Bully Boy -- haunted by the memory of Camp Casey -- has preferred to spend his summer vacation instead of at the ranchette in Crawford, Texas.  Among the over 4,000 present were the Ragin' Grannies, members of Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Cindy Sheehan, and Dennis Kucinich.  Sheehan declared, "In August 2005, I went to Crawford to ruin the vacation of the man who has ruined all of my vacations."  IVAW's Liam Madden told the crowd, "Our government has failed us.  This war will not end by an act of Congress.  It will end through an organized and collective act of conscience." 
 
Eli Israel is a member of IVAW and the first US service member to publicly refuse to serve in the illegal war while stationed in Iraq.  At Courage To Resist (video and text) Israel declares, "The last few months have changed my life forever.  From Soldier, JVB Protective Service Agent, and Sniper in the middle of an occupation war, to anti-war veteran within days. . . . I'm hoping to use my experience and my education to change the course our country has been on: To end the policies of occupation.  To stop the avoidance of domestic defensive measures.  To end the violations of domestic liberties.  And to stop the heavy-handed offensive actions around the world which are done in the name of security, but which instead result in more insecurity."  He is also attempting to regain his veterans' benefits, get his discharge upgraded, etc.  Courage To Resist has started a donation page that will help with those costs as well as the costs of getting Eli Israel throughout the country to tell his story.
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, 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.
 
Last Saturday the big peace event was in Kennebunk Port, this Saturday?  Iraq Veterans Against the War will be in Texas. Texans For Peace are staging an American People's Poll on Iraq in Fort Worth, Texas featuring many speakers including IVAW's Adam Kokesh, Leonard Shelton and Hart Viges as well as Diane Wilson, Tina Richards, Ann Wright and many others. Click here for the press release. There is not a fee to attend, the event is Saturday, in Fort Worth, Texas which is also where the Republican Straw Poll will be "taking place in General Worth Square". People will begin arriving at nine in the morning, the speeches will begin at 1:30. There will be music and entertainment. Though the event is free, people can donate and Texans For Peace is encouraging everyone planning to attend to print up tickets online. The tickets will be used for a number count of those attending. No one will be turned away because they didn't have access to a computer to print up the ticket.
 
 
Throughout the day (nine to five, this is a Saturday) there will be canvassing and straw polls, the pre-rally entertainment starts at one p.m. and the peace rally begins at 1:30 and lasts until 3:30. Fort Worth is a city in Texas, part of the Dallas and Fort Worth region known there as "DFW." Suburbs, towns and cities in the area include Denton, Plano, Arlington, Irvining, Bach Springs, Desoto, Duncanville, Lewisville, Addison, Grand Prairie and a host of others. There is a point. Texans for Peace notes that you can catch the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth and that at 12:30 pm volunteers will be helping transport people to the rally.

Community member Diana and her family took part in the April 2006 immigrants rally in downtown Dallas that had at least a half million participants making it the largest protest in Dallas' history. She noted the traffic issue when she shared her experiences from that rally. Today, she explained over the phone that the easiest thing for people to the north, east or south of Fort Worth wanting to attend Saturday's events but unsure of how to get there is to utilize the Trinity train. She suggests grabbing a Dart Express Train and taking it to Union Station (in downtown Dallas). You can pick up the TRE there. ("It's the big, brown -- same brown as UPS uses --train that runs right next to the two light rails," says Diana.) ADDED: Dallas and Billie both note that there is also a solid white train. Billie: "Brown or white, they are real trains that look like trains, not the light rail." Texans for Peace notes that the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) runs from eight in the morning until eleven at night on Saturdays.  September will kick off many actions across the country calling for an end to the illegal war and this Saturday, Texas kicks off the action in Fort Worth. 
 
In Kennebunkport last week, Dr. Dahlia Wasfi spoke and Common Dreams has posted her speech in full.  We'll note this from the speech:
 
There has been debate recently within the American peace movement on the issue of support for the Iraqi resistance. The argument has been made by some that we don't support the resistance in Iraq because it's different than it has been for other countries we've invaded. That "what is understood to be 'the Iraqi resistance' is a disaggregated and diverse set of largely unconnected factions…There is no unified leadership that can speak for 'the resistance'…...There is no unified program, either of what the fight is against or what it is for…(Bennis, 2007)"
Well -- judge not lest we be judged, for this is an offensive display of the arrogance of empire.
We sit here 8000 miles away with our luxuries of electricity and water, while Iraqis suffer in the desert heat with no relief, and we tell them they are disorganized. This is fiddling while Iraq burns. People are dying; the question is moot.
We are not fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq; we are slaughtering people's children. We went in to liberate Iraqis from a ruthless dictator we imposed upon them who allegedly killed 300,000 during his 30 year reign of terror. We've accomplished more than triple that in a fraction of the time.
If ever there were legitimate resistance to illegal occupation, it is in Iraq.
If ever there were a people struggling for democracy and independence, there are Iraqis.
If ever there were a people who have known suffering at the hands of bloodthirsty American imperialism, there are Iraqis.
 
Meanwhile, if "knowledge is power" -- what's Wikipedia.  Mike (Mikey Likes It!) observes that the online encyclopedia has 'cleaned up' puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki's history, removing all references to his exile period in Iran and Syria as well as the fact that he served in the post-invasion interim government on the De-Baathification Commisson
As AFP has reported of al-Maliki, "His first job in post-Saddam Iraq was one perhaps better suited to someone of his background than the premiership; he was head of the de-Baathification commission that booted Saddam's supporters out of public office."  In fact, everything Wikipeida apparently allowed a user from MOREnet to remove has been reported by many outlets.  But the reality of al-Maliki is no longer available to Wikipedia readers. Vanishing it doesn't alter the fact that he left Iraq and lived in Iran and Syria nor does it take away the fact that he served on the De-Baathification Commission.  De-de-Baathing Iraq has been a problem for him to put it mildly.  This month's 'alliance' created by him did not include Sunnis and he's basically tossed out the US White House's 'benchmarks' two and sixteen.  As he continues to turn a blind eye to the thugs serving in his own Interior Ministry who regularly target Sunnis, Wikipedia readers would probably be better served knowing that al-Maliki in fact served on the De-Baathification Commission.  [Mike's write up has been reposted at uruknet.info.]
 
In news of Iraq, Nancy Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that "the Pentagon said Wednesday that it won't make a single unfied recommendation to President Bush during next month's strategy assessment, but instead will allow top commanders to make individual presentations. . . . Military analysts called the move unusual for an institution that ordinarily does not air its differences in public, especially while its troops are deployed in combat."  Meanwhile, Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) obtained a a draft copy of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Iraq which they term "strikingly negative" and finds that "Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress".  The reporters were provided the report out of fear that it the US administration would attempt to water it down or classify sections of it ("as some officials have said happened with security judgments in this month's National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq").
 

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BUILDING A BETTER CULT?

 
 
IN A REBROADCAST OF KPFK'S UPRISING TODAY, PROMOTING HIS NEW BOOK ON HIP-HOP MUSIC, DR. MICHAEL ERIC DYSON ATTEMPTED TO DECLARE HIP-HOP A POLITICAL CONSTITUENCY. 
 
QUESTIONS OF WHETHER "FRANKIE" SINATRA'S BOBBY SOXERS WERE ALSO A POLITICAL CONSTITUENCY WERE SET ASIDE AS GLEN FORD'S BLACK AGENDA REPORT RADIO COMMENTARY ON SENATOR BARACK OBAMA WAS PLAYED:
 
BARACK OBAMA'S MISSION IS NOT TO CRUMBLE THE WALLS OF A U.S. JERICHO, BUT TO ASCEND TO THE PINNACLES OF POWER, FOR ITS OWN SAKE.  HIS CAMPAIGN IS FUELED BY MEGA-MILLION DOLLARS, AND EXCEEDS EVEN HIS POLITICAL TWIN, HILLARY CLINTON.  THE ENTHUSIASM FOR OBAMA AMONG THE RICH IS ROOTED IN A DESIRE TO ONCE AND FOR ALL DISMISSES THE "BLACK PROBLEM" -- WHICH REQUIRES A BLACK FIGUREHEAD TO ACCOMPLISH.  OBAMA IS THAT MAN.  HE IS A LOYAL AND TRUSTED VASSAL.  THAT'S WHY, DURING HIS ENTIRE TERM IN THE U.S. SENATE, HE HAS NEVER STOOD UP, HAS NEVER CONFRONTED POWER, BUT HAS ALWAYS SENT THE RIGHT SIGNALS TO THE RULERS, AND ASSUAGED GENERAL WHITE ANXIETY ABOUT ONGOING, RAGING RACISM.
 
WHEN ASKED BY HOST  TO COMMENT REGARDING FORD'S COMMENTARY ON OBAMA, DYSON ELECTED TO IGNORE THE COMMENTARY AND GO ON AT LENGTH ABOUT HOW WE NEEDED TO ACCEPT THE BEST OF THE WORST BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT TO RUN PEOPLE AWAY FROM VOTING.  HE DID NOT USE HIS TIME TO MENTION ANY CANDIDATE WHO MIGHT REPRESENT THE BEST ALTHOUGH HE DID REFER TO "MRS. CLINTON" WHICH IS HOW NOURI AL-MALIKI REFERS TO HILLARY CLINTON BUT IN THE UNITED STATES "MS. CLINTON" OR "SENATOR CLINTON" ARE PROBABLY THE MORE RESPECTFUL WAYS TO REFER TO HER.  "MRS. CLINTON" MADE DYSON SOUND LIKE EDDIE HASKELL DECLARING, "THAT'S A VERY LOVELY DRESS, MRS. CLEAVER." 
 
DYSON IS NOT THE ONLY ONE REFUSING TO CALL OUT OBAMA'S NEO-LIBERAL NONSENSE AND WAR HAWK NATURE.
 
 
WHEN REACHED BY THESE REPORTERS AND ASKED WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THESE "CAMP OBAMA"S, SENATOR OBAMA RESPONDED, "I WAS AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR BEFORE IT STARTED."
 
THESE REPORTERS POINTED OUT THAT WHILE RUNNING IN THE GENERAL 2004 ELECTION FOR U.S. SENATOR, HE MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT HE WAS ALSO AGAINST WITHDRAWING U.S. FORCES FROM IRAQ, SENATOR OBAMA RESPONDED, "I WAS AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR BEFORE IT STARTED."
 
WHEN THESE REPORTERS ASKED IF WE COULD SPEAK TO SOMEONE ELSE WITH THE CAMPAIGN, SENATOR OBAMA PASSED THE PHONE OVER TO A MAN WHO REFUSED TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF BUT DID ANSWER EVERY ONE OF OUR QUESTIONS WITH, "SENATOR OBAMA WAS AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR BEFORE IT STARTED."
 
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Nick Chin and Hannah Morong (US Socialist Worker) report the Eli Israel was a huge hit in Kennebunkport, Maine on Saturday at the peace rally held there where Cindy Sheehan, Dennis Kucinich, Carlos and Melida Arredonod, Cynthia McKinney and Dahlia Wasfi were among the over 4,000 people participating.  Eli Israel is the first service member to publicly refuse to fight in the illegal war while being stationed in Iraq.  The reporters quote Israel asking, "What's going to stop [the war]? It has to stop from the inside." 
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, 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.
 
Iraq Veterans Against the War were also a big hit at the Kennebunkport rally.  They'll no doubt be a huge hit Saturday in Texas.  In what may be one of the biggest actions in Texas against the illegal war in September, Texans For Peace are staging an American People's Poll on Iraq in Fort Worth, Texas featuring many speakers including IVAW's Adam Kokesh, Leonard Shelton and Hart Viges as well as Diane Wilson, Tina Richards, Ann Wright and many others.  Click here for the press release.  There is not a fee to attend, the event is Saturday, in Fort Worth, Texas which is also where the Republican Straw Poll will be "taking place in General Worth Square".  People will begin arriving at nine in the morning, the speeches will begin at 1:30.  There will be music and entertainment.  Though the event is free, people can donate and Texans For Peace is encouraging everyone planning to attend to print up tickets online.  The tickets will be used for a number count of those attending.  No one will be turned away because they didn't have access to a computer to print up the ticket.  A number of community members are in the D-FW area.  If you're en route to the rally and see a friend, take them along.  Texans For Peace are encouraging people to invite friends.  This could be the biggest peace rally the area has seen.  The event's theme is "Bring the troops home now and take care of them."
 
Throughout the day (nine to five, this is a Saturday) there will be canvassing and straw polls, the pre-rally entertainment starts at one p.m. and the peace rally begins at 1:30 and lasts until 3:30. Fort Worth is a city in Texas, part of the Dallas and Fort Worth region known there as "DFW." Suburbs, towns and cities in the area include Denton, Plano, Arlington, Irvining, Bach Springs, Desoto, Duncanville, Lewisville, Addison, Grand Prairie and a host of others. There is a point. Texans for Peace notes that you can catch the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth and that at 12:30 pm volunteers will be helping transport people to the rally.

Community member Diana and her family took part in the April 2006 immigrants rally in downtown Dallas that had at least a half million participants making it the largest protest in Dallas' history. She noted the traffic issue when she shared her experiences from that rally. Today, she explained over the phone that the easiest thing for people to the north, east or south of Fort Worth wanting to attend Saturday's events but unsure of how to get there is to utilize the Trinity train. She suggests grabbing a Dart Express Train and taking it to Union Station (in downtown Dallas). You can pick up the TRE there. ("It's the big, brown -- same brown as UPS uses --train that runs right next to the two light rails," says Diana.) ADDED: Dallas and Billie both note that there is also a solid white train. Billie: "Brown or white, they are real trains that look like trains, not the light rail." Texans for Peace notes that the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) runs from eight in the morning until eleven at night on Saturdays.
 
[The last two paragraphs were noted yesterday and will be noted tomorrow and Friday.  Texas members in that area, or able to get to that area, will hopefully be attending and getting the word out.]
 
 
Yesterday, Bully Boy gave another laughable speech.  Cedric, Wally and I addressed it yesterday.   Michael Abramowitz (Washington Post) observes the "upbeat" speech came as Bully Boy "is stepping up his case for keeping additional U.S. forces in the country.  However, Democrats and Iraq experts say that Bush's proposals will face a steep hurdle because many of his predictions of success have not materialized." Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) reports that the White House will be asking for another 50 billion dollars ($50,000,000,000.00) for the illegal war "which would come on top of about $460 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq" with the announcement most likely coming "after congressional hearings scheduled for mid-September featuring the two top U.S. officials in Iraq.  Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker will assess the stat eof the war and the effect of the new strategy the U.S. military has pursued this year."
 
Bully Boy's responsible for the illegal war.  The puppet's responsible for his lousy performance.  Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) interviews him and he declares that he did not arrive at "this postition from being a king or a prince but have reached here through a political process, democracy and national will."  Each claim, in and of itself, laughable.  He then tries to play himself off as an accident of history: "I never wished to be put in a position of responsibility, neither did I see for one minute to be here."  Apparently, he was just sipping a soda at the counter of Schwabs and Bully Boy liked the way al-Maliki filled out a sweater.  In a report by Fadel on the interview, it's noted that: "Despite Maliki's confidence, the scene at his office made it clear that his survival isn't being debated only in Washington. Maliki's security guards were closely watching a talk show on a wide screen Panasonic television in the lobby. The topic was whether Maliki is the only choice for Iraq, and political pundits were debating whether the prime minister should step down. When Maliki entered, the guards turned down the volume, but kept the program on."
 
 
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"

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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY CAN'T STOP LYING!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX & THE TCI WIRE -- RENO.

TODAY THE BULLY BOY OF THE UNITED STATES WENT TO RENO, NEVADA AND AMERICA CRAPPED OUT.

IN TODAY'S ROUND OF "LIAR! LIAR" BULLY BOY PEELED OFF HIS FIRST OBVIOUS LIE IN SENTENCE 6 WHERE HE DECLARED, "I'M HONORED TO REPRESENT POST 77 OF HOUSTON, TEXAS."

BULLY BOY WAS IN AND OUT OF THE NATIONAL GUARD STATESIDE (THE TERM IS "A.W.O.L."). HE SERVED IN NO FOREIGN WAR. HIS COMPLETION OF THE APPLICATION MUST HAVE BEEN HIGHLY CREATIVE. HE WAS NEVER "ACTIVE DUTY."

HE THEN SUCKED UP REPEATEDLY BEFORE OFFERING THAT THE FLAG WAS MORE THAN CLOTH AND HE JOINED THE AMERICAN LEGION IN CALLING FOR ITS PROTECTION -- APPARENTLY DICK CHENEY'S THREATENED TO USE IT DURING DUCK HUNTS. A PITY THAT HIS SPEECH NEVER MENTIONED ANY VALUE OF THE UNITED STATES' CONSTITUTION -- THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND HE'S SHREDDED REPEATEDLY.


THEN HE LIED ABOUT VETERANS HEALTH CARE SAYING, "WE SHARE A COMMON GOAL TO MAKE SURE OUR VETERANS HAVE ALL THE HELP THEY NEED."

THAT HE WASN'T BOOED SHOWS EITHER EXTREME POLITENESS OR LITTLE GRASP OF REALITY.

THE WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER SCANDALS THAT SHAMED HIS ADMINISTRATION THIS YEAR WERE NO SURPRISE FOR THOSE PAYING ATTENTION TO HOW BULLY BOY WAS DESTROYING VETERANS' HEALTH CARE.

IN AUGUST OF 2002, U.S. SENATOR JOHN KERRY ISSUED A CALL FOR BULLY BOY "TO REMOVE THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL WHO MADE THE DECISION TO CEASE VA VETERANS HEALTHCARE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES" NOTING THE MEMORANDUM CALLING FOR DISCONTINUING OUTREACH EFFORTS, "THIS IS A MEMORANDUM WHICH REPRESENTS AN EXTRAORDINARY BROKEN PROMISE TO THE VETERANS OF OUR COUNTRY. THE PROMISE MADE TO VETERANS FAMILIES THAT THESE SERVICES WILL BE AVAILABLE TO THEM -- AND MANY OF THEM DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT ALL THE SERVICES ARE -- THAT IS WHY WE PUT INTO PLACE THE OUTREACH EFFORTS IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE THAT PEOPLE AREN'T DENIED THOSE SERVICES WHICH THEY MIGHT HAVE FORTHCOMING." SENATOR KERRY NOTED THAT "ENROLLMENT HAS INCREASED BY 15 PERCENT. SO THE BUDGET OUGHT TO REFLECT THAT. THE BUDGET OUGHT TO REFLECT THAT."

BUT IT DIDN'T.


AS THE ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU NOTED JUNE 4, 2004, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED THE CONTENTS OF A MAY 19, 2004 WHIE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE MEMO THAT "REVEALED INFORMATION FROM THE WHITE HOUSE THAT SAID THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION AND OTHER DOMESTIC AGENCIES WOULD FACE SPENDING CUTS AFTER THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION -- IF BUSH WON."

WALTER REED WAS NOT A SURPRISE, NOR THE ONLY VETERANS AFFAIRS SCANDAL UNDER THE BULLY BOY. IN 2004, NO-FACTCHECK.ORG DECIDED TO CARRY WATER FOR THE BULLY BOY AND, AS SUCH, THEY HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS AND HAVE TO LIVE WITH THAT.

IN JANUARY 2003, U.S. SENATOR PATTY MURRAY CALLED ON THE BULLY BOY TO RESTORE PRIORITY GROUP 8 ENROLLMENT -- ENROLLMENT BULLY BOY HAD CUT.

BULLY BOY THEN ATTEMPTED TO TAKE CREDIT FOR SOMETHING THAT IS AUTOMATIC AS HE DECLARED, "I KNOW HEALTH CARE IS A CONCERN OF YOURS, AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE EXTENDED TREATMENT TO A MILLION ADDITIONAL VETERANS, INCLUDING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN AND WOMEN RETURNING FROM AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ." VETERANS OF WARS WOUNDED ON THE BATTLE FIELD WERE NOT "EXTENDED TREATMENT," THEY ALREADY QUALIFIED. THE ONLY "CREDIT" BULLY BOY CAN CLAIM IS THAT HE INCREASED THEIR NUMBER VIA HIS LUST FOR WAR, WAR, WAR!

HE SPOKE OF THE COUNTRY BEING CALLED FOR "GLOBAL LEADERSHIP" BUT REFUSED TO MENTION THAT HE HAD FAILED ANY SUCH CALL THOUGH HE HAD DEMONSTRATED A REAL ITCH TO BE THE COP OF THE WORLD.

HE LIED REPEATEDLY SUCH AS WHEN HE SAID THE FOLLOWING.

"WE TOPPLED TWO REGIMES IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAG THAT GAVE HARBOR TO TERRORISTS . . ."

SADAM HUSSEIN AND AL-QAEDA WERE NOT IN LEAGUE TOGETHER. HUSSEIN WAS A SECULAR DICTATOR AND HAD NO INTEREST -- AS HIS WARS WITH IRAN DEMONSTRATED -- IN SUPPORTING FUNDAMENTALISM.

", DEFIED THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY,"

WEAPONS INSPECTORS LEFT IRAQ IN 2003 NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE KICKED OUT BY HUSSEIN BUT BECAUSE BULLY BOY SAID THE U.S. WAS GOING TO WAR. THE FOOTAGE OF THEM FLEEING IN THEIR S.U.V.S PLAYED ON MOST NETWORKS THOUGH WE ARE ALL SUPPOSED TO PRETEND NOW THAT IT DID NOT.

"AND THREATENED THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION."

IRAQ HAD NO W.M.D.S THAT WAS A LIE TOLD BY THE WHITE HOUSE TO SCARE THE PEOPLE INTO SUPPORTING BULLY BOY'S ILLEGAL WAR.

NO W.M.D.S WERE FOUND IN IRAQ BECAUSE NONE EXISTED.

TO NO SURPRISE, HE THEN MOVED ON TO "SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2001" -- IN HIS CONTINUED ATTEMPTS TO TRICK THE PUBLIC INTO THINKING IRAQ HAD ANY INVOLVEMENT IN 9-11.

AT LEAST HE GOT THE DATE RIGHT. MOVING ON TO THE BOMBING OF THE U.S.S. COLE HE SAID "THE USS COLE IN 2001". OCTOBER 12, 2000 WAS THE DATE. SINCE HE WAS SPEAKING TO THE AMERICAN LEGION, YOU'D THINK HIS HANDLERS WOULD HAVE PREPPED HIM ON THAT DATE.

HE THEN MOVED ON TO "THE OTHER STRAIN OF RADICALISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST" WHICH HE TERMED "SHIA EXTREMISM" AND INSTEAD OF NOTING THE MILITIAS HE'S BACKED IN IRAQ, HE POINTED THE FINGER AT IRAN.

HE WENT INTO A HARD SALE FOR HIS LONGED FOR NEXT ILLEGAL WAR: IRAN. HE THEN DID A VARIATION ON HIS OLD LINE OF 'FIGHTING THEM THERE SO WE DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT THEM HERE" AND NO ONE STOPPED HIM TO POINT OUT IRAQ DID NOT ATTACK THE UNITED STATES AND IRAN HAS NOT ATTACKED THE U.S.

HE BEGAN TALKING ABOUT "SUNNI EXTREMISTS" IN IRAQ AND SAYING THEY WERE BEHIND "SENSATIONAL ATTACKS ON INNOCENT MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN" APPARENTLY HOPING THAT NO ONE FOLLOWED THE NEWS AND WAS AWARE OF THE SHI'ITE ATTACKS SUCH AS TODAY'S ATTACK THAT THE PRESS IS REPORTING WAS SHIA-ON-SHIA VIOLENCE WITH PILGRIMS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE.

HE THEN PRESENTED AS FACT THE STILL UNPROVEN ACCUSATION THAT IRAN IS ARMING MILITANTS IN IRAQ. HE DECLARED THAT THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT IT BUT IT DID NOT MATTER BECAUSE THEY ARE, HIS UNPROVEN CLAIM, "AIDING ATTACKS AGAINST COALITION FORCES AND THE MURDER OF INNOCENT IRAQIS." LEFT UNSAID WAS THE NEWS THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS PLAYING DUMB WHILE U.S. TAX PAYER IS AIDING ATTACKS ON U.S. SERVICE MEMBERS AND IRAQIS BY PAYING CONTRACTORS THEY KNOW FORK THE MONEY OVER TO MILITANTS IN AL ANBAR PROVINCE.

IT WAS ONE LIE AFTER ANOTHER INCLUDING THE BIGGEST ONE THAT THE IRAQI CONSTITUTION, UNDER OCCUPATION, IS THE "MOST PROGRESSIVE" -- A LIE THAT MANY IRAQI WOMEN WHO LOST LEGAL RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION WOULD DISAGREE WITH HIM ON.

HE SPUN A 'DRAFT LAW' OVERTURNING THE DE-BAATHIFICATION WITHOUT EVER NOTING (A) PAUL BREMER PUT THE DE-BATHIFICATION INTO PROCESS (NOT IRAQIS), (B) THE ALLEGED "DRAFT LAW" WAS ANNOUNCED SUNDAY . . . BUT THE IRAQI PARLIAMENT IS OUT OF SESSION UNTIL SEPTEMBER 4TH. PUPPET OF THE OCCUPATION NOURI AL-MALIKI CAN CLAIM ANY LIE HE WANTS BUT NO "DRAFT LAWS" CAN BE INTRODUCED IN A LEGISLATIVE BODY WHEN THE BODY IS NOT MEETING.

HE LIED THAT A GOAL POST HAD BEEN MOVED. HE SAID HE'D BEEN CRITICIZED FOR HIS ILLEGAL WAR FAILING TO PROVIDE SECURITY TO IRAQIS AND NOW THAT SECURITY WAS THERE, THE GOAL LINE WAS BEING CHANGED. SECURITY IS NOT THERE. THERE HAVE BEEN NO IMPROVEMENTS, JUST EMPTY STATEMENTS MADE BY MILITARY FLACKS WHO REFUSE TO PROVIDE HARD NUMBERS. AN AP STUDY FOUND THAT "THE DEATH TOLL FOR IRAQI CIVILIANS IS DOUBLE WHAT IT WAS A YEAR AGO. ESTIMATES WHO IRAQ IS SUFFERING AN AVERAGE SIXTY-TWO DEATHS PER DAY, UP FROM THIRTY-THREE LAST YEAR. MEANWHILE THE IRAQI RED CRESCENT REPORTS THE NUMBER OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED IRAQIS HAS ALSO DOUBLED OVER THE COURSE OF THE SO-CALLED U.S. TROOP SURGE. MORE THAN 1.1 MILLION IRAQIS ARE NOW INTERNALLY DISPLACED, UP FROM UNDER FOUR-HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND EARLIER THIS YEAR."


U.S. SENATOR AND 2008 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL JOE BIDEN DECLARED THE BULLY BOY'S ILLEGAL WAR "MISGUIDED AND MISMANGED" -- BUT FAILED TO NOTE IT WAS "ILLEGAL" -- ADDING THAT, "LAST MONTH, THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY RELEASED A NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE ON 'THE TERRORIST THREAT TO THE U.S. HOMELAND.' IT WAS A DEVASTING INDICMENT OF THE AMINISTRATION'S FAILUE TO ACCOMPLISH ITS MOST IMPORTANT MISSION: DESTROYING AL QAEDA AND THE THREAT IT POSES. . . . THE SAME NIE SPOTLIGHTED THE DANGER POSED BY 'AL QAEDA IN IRAQ,' A GROUP INDEPENDENT OF, BUT NOW AFFILATED WITH OSAMA BIN LADEN'S AL QAEDA. THE PRESIDNET LIKES TO CONFUSE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY CONFLATING 'AL QAEDA IN IRAQ' WITH THE TERRORISTS WHO ATTACKED US ON 9/11. THEY ARE NOT ONE AND THE SAME IN FACT, 'AL QAEDA IN IRAQ' DID NOT EXIST BEFORE WE WENT INTO IRAQ -- IT IS A BUSH-FULFILLING PROPHECY."

THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN THE SPEECH WAS THAT BULLY BOY, HAVING BEEN SLAPPED DOWN FOR HIS LIES LAST WEEK, DID NOT GO TO THE VIETNAM WELL.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resistance. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) issued a statement in support of Iraq war resister Ehren Watada this month. Watada is the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq (June 2006). In February of this year he was court-martialed and when it was obvious he stood a good chance of winning support of the jury, Judge Toilet (aka John Head) called a mistrial over defense objection. As the National Lawyers Guild president Marjorie Cohn has noted, double-jeopardy had already attached the case. Judge Toilet immediately scheduled a new court-martial -- yet another power he actually did not have which is why that March court-martial never took place. Currently, Watada's court-martial is on the October docket; however, due to the appeals process and the issues of double-jeopardy and whether or not the incompetent Judge Toilet will again be allowed to preside, Watada's attorneys have stated their belief that it is unlikely the court-martial will take place in October and, of course, the double-jeopardy issue could toss the court-martial completely (the Constitution of the United States forbids double-jeopardy).

The JACL began in 1929 and, at that time, its focus was on "the civil rights of Americans of Japanese ancestry, [but] today we are committed to protecting the rights of all segments of the Asian Pacific American community." Ben Hamamoto (Nichi Bei Times) reports that August 18th was when the JACL's "National Board voted to pass a resolution in support of the civil rights of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the Sansei U.S. Army lieutenant who refused deployment to Iraq on the grounds that he believes the war is illegal. The vote occurred at the organization's regular board meeting at its San Francisco headquarters." Hamamoto goes on to trace the long (and overly cautious) process the JACL took en route to that resolution (including watering down the resolution) which now includes "the National JACL Board believes that all American citizens have the right to a fair and impartial trial, which includes the right to have a trial presided over by an impartial judge and to be protected from double jeopardy." The watering down process stripped key portions from the statement. Hamamoto explains, "It does not, however, offer an explicit position on whether or not Head would be an impartial judge for a retrial, whether Watada's first hearing was fair, or whether trying him again would constitute double jeopardy." A number of people worked very hard to get even that passed and they deserve congratulations for what they accomplished.

Aimee Allison and David Solnit's Army Of None notes Watada's speech at last years Veterans for Peace conference in Seattle and excerpts this part, "I speak with you about a radical idea . . . The idea is this: that to stop an illegal and unjust war, the soldiers can choose to stop fighting it . . . Those wearing the uniform must know beyond any shadow of a doubt that by refusing immoral and illegal orders they will be supported by the people not with mere words but by action . . . To support the troops who resist, you must make your voices heard. If they see thousands supporting me, they will know. I have seen this support with my own eyes . . . For me it was a leap of faith. For other soldiers, they do not have that luxury. They must know it and you must show it to them. Convince them that no matter how long they site in prison, no matter how long this country takes to right itself, their families will have a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, opportunities and education."


There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, 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.



Back in June, Evan Knappenberger staged an eight day vigil on a tower in Washington state. He explained to Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!), ""I decided a couple of weeks ago that I needed to do something to affect a positive change in all these kind of negative things going on. I figured the best way to do that would be to draw some attention to these policies that the military is using to fight this war without actually -- you know, a war without conscription, basically. So in the middle of the night I had this great idea, just as a symbol of something kind of similar to what Operation First Casualty is, you know, to bring the war to the American people, because there is a big disconnect between the civilian population and those of us who were in Iraq. We can see -- as veterans of Iraq -- we understand kind of the way that these policies get perpetrated, and the American people need to be made aware of that. So I had this great idea to bring that home and ended up on a tower for eight days." Sunday, August 26th, began another vigil, this one in DC at the Mall on Washington where he has constructed a scaffold.

Knappenberger is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and IVAW's Adam Kokesh and Tassi McKee as well as Tina Richards and Washington Peace Center's Jay Marx are among the ones showing their support in DC. More information can be found at Tower Guard Vigil.



Kokesh will be in Fort Worth, Texas on September 1st for American People's Poll on Iraq Texas Townhall. Texans for Peace explains that "Presidential candidates, members of Congress and the world media will be in Fort Worth attending the Texas Republican Straw Poll" which makes it the perfect time for thos in the area to register their opposition to the illegal war. Along with Kokesh, also speaking will be Diane Wilson, Tina Richards, Ann Wright, and IVAW's Leonard Shetlon and CO (and Rev.) Hart Viges. A full list can be found here. Throughout the day (nine to five, this is a Saturday) there will be canvassing and straw polls, the pre-rally entertainment starts at one p.m. and the peace rally begins at 1:30 and lasts until 3:30. Fort Worth is a city in Texas, part of the Dallas and Fort Worth region known there as "DFW." Suburbs, towns and cities in the area include Denton, Plano, Arlington, Irvining, Bach Springs, Desoto, Duncanville, Lewisville, Addison, Grand Prairie and a host of others. There is a point. Texans for Peace notes that you can catch the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth and that at 12:30 pm volunteers will be helping transport people to the rally.

Community member Diana and her family took part in the April 2006 immigrants rally in downtown Dallas that had at least a half million participants making it the largest protest in Dallas' history. She noted the traffic issue when she shared her experiences from that rally. Today, she explained over the phone that the easiest thing for people to the north, east or south of Fort Worth wanting to attend Saturday's events but unsure of how to get there is to utilize the Trinity train. She suggests grabbing a Dart Express Train and taking it to Union Station (in downtown Dallas). You can pick up the TRE there. ("It's the big, brown -- same brown as UPS uses --train that runs right next to the two light rails," says Diana.) ADDED: Dallas and Billie both note that there is also a solid white train. Billie: "Brown or white, they are real trains that look like trains, not the light rail." Texans for Peace notes that the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) runs from eight in the morning until eleven at night on Saturdays.


The book noted earlier for the Watada quote was Army of None, published by Seven Stories Press, available at Courage to Resist and many other places, which is written by Aimee Allison and David Solnit. This Thursday there will be a release celebration for the event at Club Oasis (135 12th St., btwen. Madison and Oak Sts., Oakland 6 blocks E. of Broadway/12th St. -- click here for East Bay express' map of Club Oasis' location). The event is free and open to all. The authors will be there, Jeff Paterson will have a slide show, there will be a puppet show, poets, snakcs, a dj . . . The event starts at 6:30 pm. More information can be found [Warning: MySpace page] by clicking here.



RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
"Army Of None book release event Thursday in Oakland"
"Funding and now news of arming as well"
"isaiah's comics, alberto cancelled "
"Bully Boy funds terrorism"
"Marjorie Cohn, Third"
"The for-show meeting meant nothing"
"Larry Craig's 'wide stance'"
"THIS JUST IN! WATCH THAT 'WIDE STANCE' IN AIRPORT BATHROOMS!"

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Monday, August 27, 2007

THIS JUST IN! WATCH THAT 'WIDE STANCE' IN AIRPORT BATHROOMS!

 
IN OCTOBER 2006, MIKE ROGERS REVEALED THAT U.S. SENATOR LARRY CRAIG, A REPUBLICAN WHO VOTES AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, HAD SAME-SEX RELATIONS WITH OTHER MEN.
 
FEW BOTHERED TO REPORT IT,
 
 
THE 62-YEAR-OLD REPUBLICAN HAS REPEATEDLY DENIED PUBLICLY THAT HE IS GAY.  THE ARRESTING OFFICER DESCRIBED THE INCIDENT IN A WRITTEN REPORT WHERE HE NOTED THAT HE AND CRAIG WERE EACH IN A STALL WHEN "CRAIG TAPPED HIS RIGHT FOOT.  I RECOGNIZED THIS AS A SIGNAL USED BY PERSONS WISHING TO ENGAGE IN LEWD CONTACT.  CRAIG TAPPED HIS TOES SEVERAL TIMES AND MOVES HIS FOOT CLOSER TO MY FOOT" DESPITE OTHER MEN BEING PRESENT IN THE MEN'S ROOM.  POSSIBLY HE WAS HOPING FOR GROUP PARTICIPATION?
 
 
WHEN THESE REPORTERS APPROACHED THE SENATOR TODAY HE WINKED REPEATEDLY WHILE GRABBING HIS CROTCH.  INFORMED THAT WE WERE REPORTERS, HE IMMEDIATELY EXPLAINED THAT HE HAD SOMETHING IN HIS EYE "AND I'VE GOT A WIDE STANCE.  I MEAN CRABS!  I'VE GOT CRABS!"
 
THE SCANDAL SERVES TO TAKE ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE FACT THAT THE ALBERTO GONZALES SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED THOUGH IT IS DOUBTFUL CABLE 'NEWS' WILL RUN WITH THIS STORY THE WAY THEY DID ANY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SEX SCANDALS -- REAL OR DRUMMED UP.
 
 
 
 
Starting with war resisters.  In most PBS markets, the latest episode of  NOW with David Branccachio began airing Friday and the first segment was an examination of how
Agustin Aguayo and James Burmeister became war resisters.  Both served in Iraq and checked out from the military in Germany.
 
Aguayo, who holds both US and Mexican citizenship checked out to demonstrate how serious he was about being recognized as a CO (as a medic serving in Iraq, he'd refused to load his weapon). He left Germany and returned to the US via Mexico.  Aguayo has fought for over three years to be recognizaed as a CO, through both the military channels and civilian courts.  The second check out lasted less than thirty days before Aguayo turned himself in; however, the US military elected to court-martial him as a deserter.  Throughout the pre-trial imprisonment and the court-martial Helga Aguayo, Agustin's wife, refused to be silenced and repeatedly raised attention to what was happening to her husband.  She explained to Gillian Russom (CounterPunch) that what changed her opinion of the war "was seeing what it does to military families.  I'm a mother [of twin daughtters], and seeing how it affects the children and the people really got to me.  That made me ask questions and do research.  And this war is just completely unnecessary."  March 6th Agustin Aguayo was convicted in his court-martial and then sentenced.  Amnesty International issued this statement: "It is evident from the statements made by Agustin Augyo, and members of his family that he is a legitimate conscintious objector whose opposition to war developed over the course of time and evolved further in response to his experiences in Iraq.  Amnesty International believes that he took reasonable steps to secure relase from the army through applying for conscientious objector status. Amnesty International is of the view that the right to refuse to perform military service for reasons of conscience is protected under international human rights law.  As such we consider Agustin Aguayo to be a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and unconditional release."  Aguayo was credit for the time he was imprisoned before his court-martial (the end of September through the start of March) and was released after seven months.  Earlier this month, Aguayo spoke in NYC (August 15th) at the Brecht Forum where he noted how medics in Iraq were told to treat the wounded US service members who might be able to recover to fight first.  He is a member of
 
James Burmeister was a new face for American TV (he's been profiled by Canada's CBC before).  Burmeister was in Germany following wounds received in Iraq after he experienced his third bombing. He had joined up when the talk was 'reconstruction' and 'rebuilding' and he believed the hype that humanitarian work was going to be done and the recruiter who told him he'd be doing just that.  Instead, he found himself setting up traps for Iraqis -- leaving US property out in the open so that when Iraqis touched them that had 'violated US soveriegnty' and could be attacked.  Burmeister, his wife and their young daughter set their sights on Canada where they now live in Ottawa and he attempts to be granted asylum by the Canadian government -- one that has refused to grant asylum to any war resisters (though they did during Vietnam).  Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey are expected to hear in the next few weeks whether or not Canada's Supreme Court will hear their cases for refugee status.  Hinzman and Hugey were the first to go public about going to Canada and they have worked their way through the 'system' (such as it is).  The Supreme Court refusing to hear their cases would mean that the lower court's verdict stands and no refugee status will be granted; however, that does not mean deportation from Canada and, should they be deported from Canada, there is no law that says they must be sent back to the US.
 
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, 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, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, 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.
 
Though Ronald R. Roach Jr. has not declared he's a war resister, his story does go to the way the US military attempts to track those who self-check out while denying to the press that they do.  On Saturday, Mark Boshnack (The Daily Star) reported on Ronald R. Roach Jr. Friday morning arrest in New York and it contained an element common to many of the arrest stories (for those paying attention, "State police were looking for Roach for two days after receiving a request from the Army to locate him, [BCI Inv. Kevin] More said. . . . .More said he received assistance from troopers and Otsego deputies in searching the house, finding Roach hiding on a shelf near the ceiling. Roach's wife was home at the time, but she has not been charged, More said.  Army spokeswoman Gini Sinclair said that Roach was with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Calvary, out of Fort Hood, Texas. He went AWOL on July 25, she said."  The US military continues to pursue those who check out despite the lies that continue to tell the press and despite the fact that the press continues to repeat these lies.
 
Turning to Iraq, today Hannah Allem (McClatchy Newspapers) breaks the news that the US government is funding what they alternately call 'terrorists' and 'insurgents' in Al Anbar Province -- huge sums of reconstruction money have been handed over to those the US has labeled as enemies by Iraqi contractors in what amounts to little more than a security shakedown -- one that US and Iraqi officials have been aware of for some time.  This has been going on since 2003 yet, surprisingly?, the US hasn't included that detail in their hype of the "Al Anbar model."  Nor did Rear Adm. Mark Fox include it as he attempted to spin 'success' in yesterday's laughable press briefing (which avoided all mentions of deaths, FYI).  The capital of the province is Ramadi and the city most well known to Westerners may be Falluja. So far this month, the US military has announced at least 10 deaths in Al Anbar Province, at least 17 last month.  Allem notes: "Iraq's deadly insurgent groups have financed their war against U.S. troops in part with hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. rebuilding funds that they've extorted from Iraqi contractors in Anbar province."
 
If Fox was laughable on Sunday, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch was bizarre in his Friday press briefing via video-link from Iraq.  Lynch insisted that he's 'out and about' which would make him the only high ranking officer that is.  He used "we" a lot when speaking of what he passes off as his interaction with Iraqi locals in Baghdad and said that they are asking him "How can we help?"  If true, they would be the only ones doing so judging by polls which find a majority of Iraqis want US forces out of Iraq and a majority 'supports' attacks on US forces.  So the question becomes what sort of drugs are they giving the generals?
 
They're giving them pretty much everything else.  Sunday, Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Damien Cave (New York Times) reported that Gen. David Petraeus serves US Congressional members in the Green Zone on a junket asparagus soup and lobster tortellini.  Who knew Patterson's Restaurant in London catered to the Green Zone?
 
While Patraeus and visiting members of the US Congress live it high on the hog, the US service members exist on MRIs or really bad fast food while that malnutrition rate among Iraqi children continues to rise.  Maybe Patreause will send them a doggy bag?  Stolberg and Cave describe the trips as good p.r. for Congress members who can stand up in the US Congress and declare "When I was in Iraq . . ." and the equivalent of "how I spent my sumer vacation".
 
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"

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