Saturday, November 24, 2007

THIS JUST IN! IDIOT TILL HIS DYING DAY

 
YESTERDAY, TIRED FOX 'NEWS' PERSONALITY JOHN GIBSON ADMITTED HE IS BOTH STUPID AND FOR BREAKING THE LAW:
 
SECOND, I'M THE GUY WHO SAID A LONG TIME AGO THAT WHOEVER OUTED VALERIE PLAME SHOULD GET A MEDAL, AND IF IT WAS KARL ROVE I'D PIN IT ON HIM MYSELF.
"JOHN, HAVE YOU TAKEN LEAVE OF YOUR SENSES? WHOEVER DID THAT SHOULD BE PUT ON TRIAL FOR EXPOSING A U.S. SECRET AGENT."
WELL, MOST TIMES, BUT NOT ALL, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SECRET AGENT -- IF SHE ACTUALLY WAS ONE -- IS ACTIVELY WORKING AGAINST AN ELECTED PRESIDENT'S . . . [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH]
 
VALERIE PLAME WAS A C.I.A. AGENT.  VALERIE PLAME WAS OUTED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.  WHILE REPORTERS OUTING A C.I.A. AGENT MAY BE PERFECTLY FINE, PLAME TRUSTED THAT HER GOVERNMENT -- THE ONE SHE WORKED FOR -- WOULD NEVER STAB HER IN THE BACK.
 
BECAUSE BULLY BOY, KARL ROVE, DICK CHENEY AND FELON SCOOTYS LIBBY COULDN'T LIE THEIR WAY OUT OF THEIR LIES, THEY WENT WITH OUTING A C.I.A. AGENT.  THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OUTED AN UNDERCOVER C.I.A. AGENT.  IN VIOLATION OF THE LAWS AND VIOLATION OF THE TRUST. 
 
FADED T.V. PERSONALITIES LIKE JOHN GIBSON DON'T CARE ABOUT BREAKING THE LAW OR BETRAYING TRUST, THEY JUST WANT TO SCORE ONE FOR THEIR POSTER BOY.  WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT GIBSON REPLIED, "ISN'T BULLY BOY THE CUTEST!  I'D LOVE TO BE THE FIRST LADY!  I'D LOOK SO MUCH BETTER THAN LAURA AT HIS SIDE!"
 
WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS DUTY TO JOURNALISM OR -- GIBSON CUT US OFF EXPLAINING HE WAS APPLYING A FACIAL MASK AND DIDN'T HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF TIME.
 
"MY DUTY IS TO THE BULLY BOY!  I HAVE NO DUTY TO JOURNALISM!  I HAVE NO DUTY TO COUNTRY!  I HAVE NO DUTY TO TRUTH!  OH.  I THINK I JUST DID MY DUTY IN MY SHORTS!  FRONT AND BACK!  GOTTA' GO!"
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey are US war resisters in Canada who have sought refugee status.  That status was denied and Canada's Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals to that decision.  Matt Mernagh (Canada's NOW magazine) reports the status on legislative efforts: the leaders of Canada's Liberal party are cowards.  Instead of addressing the situation, they're attempting to buy time by scheduling a hearing.  Mernagh notes that war resisters will be allowed to testify at the hearings and quotes war resister Phil McDowell declaring, "We'll give them an understanding of what we're doing here.  I think we can make a great case."  Dee Knight (Workers World) ties the refusal by the Canadian Supreme Court with other recent actions and decisions and notes, "In the U.S., the organization Courage to Resist has organized a letter-writing campaign to Canadian government officials. The letter asks them "to make a provision
for sanctuary" for U.S. war resisters, and cites Vietnam-era Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's statement that "Canada should be a refuge from militarism." (To sign, go to Courage to Resist.)"
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, 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, Blake LeMoine, 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, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty 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 [(877) 447-4487], 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.  In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
 
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $21 for previews and $41 for regular performances (beginning with the Nov. 18th opening night). The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project. 
 
 
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers. 
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.  
 
March 13th through 15th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation.
 
On Thursday, NPR's Melissa Block and Guy Raz (All Things Considered) reported that the US military was saying that violence in Iraq had been reduced.  Block and Raz are both self-effacing and not interested in giving credit to their peers.  The reality is the US military said it and then the neutered and spaded press repeated it over and over -- including Block and Raz.  Truth didn't matter.  Actual reporting didn't matter.  It only mattered that they all file the claim and then -- if they hadn't already strained themselves taking down dictation -- they grab onto some anectdotal 'evidence' (which Centcom has been happily supplying) and offer that as proof.  From the Abbey of Non-think, St. Thomas filed in the New York Times this morning the absurd claim that, "It's clear that the surge by US troops has really dampened violence in Iraq."  Never one to be left out on a misinformation campaign, the paper's own War pornographer Michael Gordon (Judith Miller's co-writer on several of the more fictious 'reports') was given room to prance around naked on the front page shreiking "violence in Iraq on the decline"!  And I thought that was his career that was on the decline?  Gordo and St. Thomas and all the other cowardly peers missed the fact that Thursday saw at least 54 deaths reported in Iraq with reports of over 29 injured. And that doesn't Cara Buckley (New York Times) reporting today on an attack on Hawr Rajab village that claimed the lives of "at least 11 people" with the attackers wearing the uniforms of either the Iraqi military or the US collaborating Awakening Council.  That would take the 54 to 65 dead.  However the number is higher and AFP's reporting suggests that Buckley's referring to one incident but using the numbers from another.  AFP reports that there was an attack in Hawr Rajab but it killed 3 Iraqi soldiers and 10 citizens while 11 died in another attack -- an attack on the village of Al-Kulaiyah.  Regardless of where the attacks took place, that's another thirteen bringing Thursday's total to 78 dead.  At least 78 deaths that were reported.  And the press organs sends their dancing monkeys out to entertain with lies of safety.  Dance, little monkeys, dance, prove that training didn't go to waste.
 
Staying on the topic of lies there's The Myth of the Great Return.  Things are so safe in Iraq, that people are eager to return.  That's the lie anyway.  BBC tried to enlist and do their part this week.  Like a battered woman confronted by the stares of her neighbor, they repeated the lies they were told to, that a large number of Iraqis were returning to Iraq.  They used the numbers the puppet government of Iraq fed them.  They didn't try to verify the numbers.  Maybe because the numbers can't be verified and they figured, "Why bother?"  But buried in their own 'reporting' were certain uncomfortable realities.  The Iraqi government is sending buses into Syria to bring Iraqis back and paying them to return.  That explains the small trickle.  But don't let the press off the hook because desperate though the refugees may be, if the media hadn't popularized the lie of 'safety' in Iraq, some might have elected not to return.  The families of any who die should closely scrutinize the reports and columns to determine whether they have a case for litigation.  The United Nations today issued a statement condemning the claims which noted, "UNHCR does not believe that the time has come to promote, organize or encourage returns.  That would be possible only when proper return conditions are in place -- including material and legal support and physical safety.  Presently, there is no sign of any large-scale return to Iraq as the security situation in many parts of the country remains volatile and unpredictable."  Repeating from the statement "no sign of any large-scale return to Iraq".
 
Patrick Martin (WSWS) zooms in on the lies of the New York Times regarding the alleged 'Great Return': "A front-page report in Tuesday's New York Times gave the newspaper's stamp of approval to the Bush administration's policy in Iraq. The report, spread across four columns under the headline, 'Baghdad's Weary Start to Exhale as Security Improves,' described improving conditions of life and security in the war-torn Dora neighborhood in southern Baghdad, portraying it as the outcome of the massive US military buildup in the Iraqi capital.  The Times report consists of a single anecdotal account--the story of one Shiite family who fled sectarian violence in Dora and has now returned--buttressed by figures supplied by the US military and the Iraqi regime, showing a decline in violent attacks from the highs recorded in the early part of this year. . . . After laying it on thick in this fashion, the Times is compelled to admit that the Shiite family profiled is more the exception than the rule. It describes the condition of a second Shiite family, the Nidhals, who fled violence in the west Baghdad neighborhood of Ghazaliya and have not returned because a Sunni family now occupies their home. . . . Why then the rose-colored portrayal of conditions in the Iraqi capital, prominently displayed in the most important American newspaper? Clearly what is involved here is a political adaptation by the Times, the most influential voice of official liberalism, to the Bush administration's policies in Iraq."
 
 

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Thursday, November 22, 2007

THIS JUST IN! RUDY G EXPLAINS HE'S IN FOR HIM!

 
"I AM CAMPAIGNING FOR YOUR VOTE," RUDY G'S CAMPAIGN SAYS BUT DOES THE G.O.P. CANDIDATE RESPECT THE PEOPLE ENOUGH TO TELL THEM THE TRUTH?
 
AMERICA'S FAILURE WANTS TO TAKE THE DISASTER OF 9-11 NATIONAL AND DAILY BECAUSE THAT'S ALL RUDY G HAS TO RUN ON.
 
BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS CONSULTING FIRM WHICH, DESPITE PROMISING IN APRIL THAT HE WOULD LEAVE IT, HE REMAINS WITH?
 
AID THE GOVERNMENT OF QATAR, IS HE REALLY UP TO THE JOB OF SERVING THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES?
 
WHEN QUESTIONED BY THESE REPORTERS, RUDY G DECLARED, "THAT'S JUST NONSENSE.  IF YOU'RE SUGGESTING DIVIDED LOYALTIES, THAT'S JUST NONSENSE.  I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FIERCLY LOYAL TO 1 THING, AND MY RECORD DEMONSTRATES THIS, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOYAL TO ENRICHING MYSELF.  I PROMISE THAT, IF ELECTED PRESIDENT, I WILL CONTINUE TO PUT MY NEEDS AHEAD OF THE PEOPLE I REPRESENT.  IF YOU DOUBT THAT, ASK THE FIRE FIGHTERS OF NEW YORK."
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  "I remember the day kids started throwing rocks," James Circello Iraq veteran and war resister explains to Sara Olson (CounterPunch) who provides an overview of Circello's decision to check himself out of the military, the reaction of his parents, and his decision and quotes Iraq Veterans Against the War chair Camilo Mejia, "How do we honor veterans and then send them to fight in an illegal war?  How do we honor the veterans and then not speak out about their service?  We don't want to hear their analysis or their questions, and we don't want to hear how their 'service' in Iraq has changed them.  How can we go on waving the flag and talking about supporting the troops, when we ignore the thousands of veterans opposing this war?"  Olson's article concludes, "Last week, James turned himself in to the military at Ft. Knox, in Tennessee.  Rather than going to prison as he had feared, James was simply discharged with an other than honorable discharge which prevents him from accessing healthcare or the GI Bill, but at least for now, James seems OK with that.  Now he says he's ready to start the rest of his life, much of which is likely to be shaped by his time in Iraq and his experiences as an AWOL soldier opposing the war."
 
Meanwhile, in yesterday's snapshot we noted a Joanne Fischer, apparently Canada's answer to Mr. Richard Feder (see Roseanne Roseannadanna), and her 'logic' regarding war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey.  Today the Toronto Star is a buzz with responses to her illogical 'logic.'  James Clark attempts to set her straight noting, "Many were soldiers who enlisted voluntarily, before they had the chance to be drafted, but quickly became opposed to the war after hearing from returning soldiers about what was really happening in Vietnam" and concluding, "Anyone who refuses to fight in an illegal and immoral war, whether in Vietnam or Iraq, should be welcomed to Canada as heroes, rather than jailed in the U.S. as criminals. It's time we let the resisters stay."  Michael Gaspar notes, "Yet when Fisher argues that whether the Iraq war is just or unjust has no bearing on whether Hinzman and Hughey were justified in refusing their orders, she is really saying that an employment contract supercedes every other legal and moral responsibility.  A soldier's right to refuse any order they believe would result in the commission of a war crime has been enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, as well as in the Nuremberg Principles. It is also set out in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Article 92), which governs all U.S. military personnel. To argue the contrary, that a soldier must blindly follow all orders regardless of the consequences, takes us right back to the gates of Auschwitz."  Matthew Swan also voices support for Hinzman and Hughey and notes, "The idea that soldiers should follow the orders of their superiors without question, or complete 'one's obligations,' as letter writer Joanne Fisher suggests, is repugnant. As she is familiar with the Vietnam War, she may remember the massacre at My Lai in 1968. A soldier who acts without thought is capable of acts against humanity."  Also weighing in is Vietnam war resister Richard van Abbe who shares his own experience and concludes, "Perhaps it's true that Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey do not meet the stringent criteria to be considered refugees. And so what if they joined the military voluntarily? Surely they joined to help defend their country from attack -- not to fulfill the ambitions of an incompetent president in an invasion condemned around the world. In refusing further participation in this murderous fiasco, these two young men exemplify the humanity for which Canada is renowned. The government has the option of permitting them and others like them to stay on compassionate grounds, and it should do so without delay."  Because asylum during that time period was never about the draft.  The asylum was about the illegal war.  The draft had been in place and utilized during the Korean War.  Canada didn't feel the need to weigh in then.  The issue was the war.  Just as it is today.
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, 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, Blake LeMoine, 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, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty 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 [(877) 447-4487], 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.  In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
 
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $21 for previews and $41 for regular performances (beginning with the Nov. 18th opening night). The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project. 
 
 
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers. 
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.  
 
March 13th through 15th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation.
 

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

THIS JUST IN! THEY CAN'T EVEN LIE WELL!

 
 
 
AT ISSUE IS ANOTHER $70 BILLION BULLY BOY CLAIMS HE NEEDS TO CONTINUE KILLING PEOPLE.
 
AT A TIME WHEN MANY HOUSEHOLDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE STRUGGLING WITH INCREASED PRICES ON BASICS -- SUCH AS A GALLON OF MILK COSTING NEARLY $5.00 -- THE WHITE HOUSE IS GOING TO HAVE TO WORK A LITTLE HARDER THAN THE CURRENT SPIN TO RACK UP ANY SYMPATHY.
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  And we'll start with an educational tool.  Click here for Canada's CBC audio and video archives on war resisters during Vietnam.  Such information won't necessarily help because there's a lot of Dumb Ass out there.  Some of which knows better because they lived through the period.  South Carolin's Daily Gamecock can honestly plead youth when they argue US war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey have no right to remain Canada because they enlisted so it's somehow different than those avoiding the draft during Vietnam.  What The Daily Gamecock can be forgiven for, others can't.  Take Canada's National Post (a conservative rag, to be sure) which argues for Hinzman and Hughey to be sent back to the US because this is different than during Vietnam and goodness, "the United States is a democratic ally whose respect for the rule of law matches our own."  First, I had no idea Canada's respect for the rule of law had fallen so greatly.  Second, does the National Post believe that Canada was engaged with a war during the 60s and 70s?  The US and Canada were 'democratic allies' then as well.  "Send Them Home" cries the editorial board of the National Post.  "Send your editors somewhere to get an education," is the response back.  A Joanne R. Fisher writes the Toronto Star that Hinzman and Hughey had a choice.  She doesn't make the mistake the South Carolina student paper does but then she's older.  So she knows it was not just "draft dodgers" it was also "deserters."  She even uses the terms herself.  Possibly she greeted them all upon entry with open arms as a sort of Miss Canadian Borders?
 
No, she didn't.  Nor was she involved in the war resistance then.  But to accept the 'logic' of her argument you have to assume she did or thinks she did.  She says the difference is Hinzman and Hughey volunteered.  Sorry to shock her -- and she's old enough to know better -- but war resisters going to Canada during Vietnam included those deserting after they'd enlisted.  It didn't matter.  It wasn't an issue.    And no one in the Canadian government was saying, "Well you showed up for your draft board, live with it."  Or, "Well you weren't even drafted!  You enlisted on your own!"  Or any other of the faux-talking points that get ginned up by the likes of Dumb Asses today.  War resisters who sought refuge in Canada during Vietnam did so in opposition to the illegal war going on.  Those of us old enough to know better remember should know better.  Sadly some of the worst offenders of the "Glories of the Draft" are, yes, some men on the left who continue to trot that lie out even though none of the ones trotting it out were ever drafted.  You really think Canada gave a damn if the US drafted or not?  The issue was an illegal war. 
 
Can you be sent to fight in an illegal war was the issue and the government of Canada provided refuge to those resisting.  The issue was not, "Can you be drafted?  Should governments draft?"  Those were not issues that mattered in terms of what was going on then.  There was not a motion to support those resisters who were drafted but not the ones who enlisted.  For those late to the party a draft resister or 'draft dodger' had not been inducted but received notice, a deserter was someone who had begun serving and self-checked out. 
 
So let's all drop the nonsense that Canada provided asylum because there was "A DRAFT!!!"  Those lies are hurting today's movement. 
 
The draft was not the issue.  The issue was the illegal war.  Pierre Trudeau said what in 1969?  "Those who make the conscientious judgement that they must not participate in this war . . . have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give them access to Canada. . . . Canada should be a refuge from militarism."  He said nothing about "Those who make the conscientious judgement -- because they are drafted . .."  Flashing back to October 2nd, US House Rep Christopher Shays insisted, "I was a conscientious objector.  I was in the Peace Corp!"  Point being, the draft could be got around by White men -- as a number of men of a certain age damn well should know -- and was.  Nearly half of the US men seeking refuge in Canada during Vietnam were deserters. There was no Q & A they had to participate in asking, "Well, did you enlist or join after you got a draft notice?  Oh, you enlisted?  Sorry, you'll need to return to the US."  The concern was the illegal war -- which Canada's government sat out and the people of Canada overwhelming opposed -- same as today.
 
The illegal war.  The abuses that were taking place.  The crimes that were taking place.  The lies about the war, about how it could be won, how it was being 'won,' lie, lie, lie while more Vietnamese and US service members died.  The "DRAFT DID IT" lie not only erases the involvement of women in the peace movement and the work done, it not only reduces a generation that had beliefs and values into something much more shallow than the right-wing could imagine.  The issue was the illegal war then and it's the issue today. 
 
Attempting to make it the draft -- as some on the left encourage with their talk and some on the right sieze on -- is ridiculous.  The issue was the war and is the war.  Which is why we don't waste time making arguments like, "Okay, Hughey should be sent back because he knew the Iraq War was going on but Hinzman enlisted before that happened!"  In fairness to all above, at least they are writing about it.  Whatever mistakes, whatever right-wing rants, they are covering it.  You can't say the same for the 'left' and left which goes a long way towards explaining why the illegal war drags on.
 
 
Back in August 2006, the number of deserters from all branches of the U.S. Military was reported at 40,000 service men and women since the year 2000; most deserting at the break of the Iraq War. Because no one would ever abandon a branch of the military just to return, I can only assume this number has increased over the past year. Even with the thousands of cases of delinquent soldiers, the story of two deserters, Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, is making the front pages.      
After realizing that they could not bring themselves to kill another human being, Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey deserted the U.S. Army and crossed our northern border into Canada. Rather than find a remote area and hide, they decided to fight their deportation in the public sector. The two soldiers openly and publicly placed a bid with the Canadian government to receive refugee status. On Thursday, November 15, their refugee submission, which had already been denied by the Supreme Court of Canada, was officially terminated when they declined to preside over subsequent appeals. The Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration believes refugee status should only be given to persons in true need of it.      
 
  
Good so far.  But what does Jamison -- who didn't live through Vietnam -- do next?  Go to the draft.  That's not Jamison's fault.  That's the fault of his elders.  Repeating, your useless memories of a time gone by (distorted memories at that) are not doing today's war resisters or today's young adults any good.  BBC's Lee Carter offers a report (text and audio) which concludes, "In response to the latest rebuff by the Supreme Court, the men's lawyer and a political support group are appealing to Canada's Conservative government to issue a special permit that would allow men to stay in Canada."  The War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist are two of the ogranizations with campaigns to lobby the Canadian Parliament to step up.  Reflecting on the refusal by the Canadian Supreme Court, Heather Mallick (CBC) offers:  "The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by American war resisters that they not be sent back to the U.S. for prosecution and has thrown the matter back to Parliament. The principle is 'refugee asylum' and it's odd that the court suddenly won't recognize the nature of the dispute.  Here's what Pierre Elliott Trudeau said during the Vietnam War: 'Those who make the conscientious judgment that they must not participate in this war … have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism.' Look at us now.
In the 1960s, those fine young Americans brought energy, drive, and decency to Canada; they did good things here. But suddenly it isn't fashionable for justices to take a stand against the bullying of these boxed-in people.  True, the court has accurately taken Canada's moral measure. The House of Commons is not going to tell the absurd Bush that we'll offer refuge to those who don't want to fight his wretched war, even if most American citizens would admire us for it."  Judith Siers-Poisson (PR Watch) notes the November 14th preview in Madison of Kimberly Peirce's new film Stop-Loss [Peirce directed Boys Don't Cry for which Hillary Swank won her first Academy Award as Best Actress; among those appearing in Peirce's new film are Channing Tatum, Ryan Phillippe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Laurie Metcalf, etc.] and notes the climbing desertion rates for the US army as well as Hinzman and Hughey and she cites Elizabeth May (leader of Canada's Green Party) explains that her adopted country of Canada should not "facilitate the persecution of American war objectors by deporting them to the United States."
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, 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, Blake LeMoine, 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, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty 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 [(877) 447-4487], 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.
 
 
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Zinn will take part in the November 18th presentation (the official opening night -- but performances are already taking place) and musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $21 for previews and $41 for regular performances (beginning with the Nov. 18th opening night). The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project. 
 
 
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers. 
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.  
 
March 13th through 15th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation.
 
Meanwhile, the US military continues tracking down those who self-check out although they continue to deny they do.  AP reported this morning on Justin Faulkner who suffers from PTSD already from his first time stationed in Iraq and who checked into Lexington's VA hospital on Thursday "and doctors there told him they wanted to keep him until Monday for observation" which ended when police barged into the hospital Saturday moring (2:00 a.m.), handcuffed him and hauled him off to jail.  Faulkner tells Jeffrey McMurray (AP) that he repeatedly used the Fort Campbell base resources but they did not work while his wife Brandy (due to give birth to the couple's second child in March) explains that "in the past few weeks, he has been constantly walking and talking in his sleep.  She found about about her husband's arrest when she got a call early Saturday from somebody at the VA hospital."  Numerous reports note that Fort Campbell's flack Cathy Gramling refuses to comment -- of course she does, this is appalling.  There's no pleasing public relations move that can cover this shameful action.  It may, however, remind some of Brad Gaskins who self-checked out of the military to get treatement for his PTSD and was enroute to Fort Drum with attorney and activist Tod Ensign when police came into the Different Drummer Cafe to arrest him -- despite the fact that they had notified Fort Drum that Gaskins was turning himself in.  In Sunday's New York Times, Fernanda Santos updates her earlier reporting on Gaskins to note that his PTSD has resulted in previous hospitalization and that he "could be discharged from the Army for medical reasons.  He could be court-martialed, which could land him in prison and prevent him from receiving veterans' benefits."  Speaking with Gaskins, his family and those who have treated him, Santos attempts to trace when he began exhibiting signs of PSTD and notes that by a two-week pass in August 2006, he was "biting his nails compulsively," had difficult sleeping and woke with night sweats and screaming, retreated to "a darkened room at his grandmother's apartment in Newark whenever her friends stopped by," took a knife to the throat of his wife and more.  Prior to that pass, the military had in Samaritan Medical Center where he was heavily dozed.
 
 
 

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Monday, November 19, 2007

THIS JUST IN! ENDORSEMENTS HURT!

 
 
THE CHIN CHALLENGED, BAD ACTOR FROM BAD MOVIES OFFERS SO MUCH MORE BUT WILL HE BE ASKED ABOUT "POLE TOWN"?  AND FOR THE RECORD IT IS "POLE TOWN" AND NOT "PO TOWN."  WILL HE BE ASKED ABOUT HIS FONDNESS FOR THAT AREA?  WILL HE BE ASKED WHY IT IS CALLED "POLE TOWN" IN THE FIRST PLACE?
 
GUESS YOU GOT TO GRAB BBQ SOMEWHERE.  WHITE SHEETS NON-OPTIONAL.
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Last Thursday the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of US war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, Aaron Glantz (reporting for IPS) quotes war resister Ryan Johnson explaining, "The Canadian government decided not to fight an illegal war. Canada was going to go into the war in Iraq, but then decided that because the U.N. did not sanction it, Canada would not participate in the war in Iraq. That's a major reason that I came to Canada. Canada felt the same way I did about the war in Iraq."  Thomas Walkom (Toronto Star) observed that, "If Canada's federal government had the inclination to face down Washington just a bit, both men -- who almost certainly qualify for permanent resident status –would be welcomed, not as refugees but as landed immigrants. That's how Canada treated U.S. draft dodgers and deserters from the Vietnam War. And it worked out fine."  Meanwhile war resister Brad McCall has started his own website.  McCall went to Canada after he learned of abuses in Iraq from returning US soldiers.  When attempting to enter Canada, he was stopped at the border and arrested.  He is in Canada now and is speaking out. 
 
Turning to the topic of Iraq War resister Ehren Watada who saw a court victory two weeks ago, Marilyn Bechtel (People's Weekly World) observes, "Judge Settle's response marked a rare civilian intervention into military court proceedings.  Settel, who served as a military lawyer in the 1970s, was recently appointed to the federal bench by President Bush.  Though Watada's term of mililtary service officially ended last December, the Army has not release him.  He is now performing administrative duties at Fort Lewis, Wash."  Settle is US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle.  Ben Terrall (Dissident Voice) notes that the preliminary injuction issued by Settle resulted in a gathering in San Francisco's Chinatown and quotes Ying Lee of the Watada Support Group declaring, "At the time that we called the news conference we did not know that the judge was going to give his decision yesterday." Lee went on, "The decision was due by today, so he was early (…) we are very appreciative of a United States Federal judge respecting the constitution and saying the trial cannot proceed."  Ben Hamamoto (Nichi Bei Times) also covers the San Francisco support rally and
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, 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, Blake LeMoine, 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, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty 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 [(877) 447-4487], 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.
 
 
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Zinn will take part in the November 18th presentation (the official opening night -- but performances are already taking place) and musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who recently appeared on Democracy Now! addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $21 for previews and $41 for regular performances (beginning with the Nov. 18th opening night). The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project. 
 
 
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers. 
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.  
 
The plan had been to fold the above into a summary; however, e-mails really want it included in each snapshot in full so, despite saying that we'd fold into the snapshot via a summary, it will instead run in full in each snapshot until their next announcement on the Winter Soldier Investigation at which point we'll run that one in each snapshot.
 
Turning to Iraq.  McClatchy's Hussein Kadhim noted Saturday, "Today , Sahwa ( Awaking ) council members in Hour Rijab in Doura found 30 unidentified dead bodies in a deserted house in the area which were transferred to A Shiite mosque first then to Doura police station. - Police found ( 4 ) unidentified dead bodies in the following neighborhoods in Baghdad : ( 2 ) two were found in west Baghdad ( Karkh bank ) ; 1 in Doura and 1 in Amil. While ( 2 ) bodies were found in east Baghdad ( Risafa bank ) 1 in Sadr city and Suleikh."  On Sunday,  China's Xinhau reported the second attack in two weeks on officials with Iraq's Finance Ministry when the vice-finance minister's convoy was attacking in Baghdad with a roadside bomb that claimed the lives of 5 civilians and left nine more wounded as well as wounding one of the vice-finance minister Salman Mgotar's bodyguards.  In Baghdad.  It's important to repeat that: "In Baghdad."  The reason it's important is that it's time to for the press to make like Moondoggie, grab their boogie boards and ride the latest wave of Operation Happy Talk. First to paddle out, Cara  Buckley and War Pornographer Michael R. Gordon (New York Times) explaining that US military flacks are saying violent attacks are down while then noting "But since the source for the data is American military reports, and not the Iraqi government, the figures do not provie an exhaustive measure of sectarian violence."  While spitting out the press releases they're fed, the two refuse to acknowledge that had the 'security' so 'improved' they'd be able to travel in and out of the Green Zone without either the paper's team of black-shirted bodygaurds or a military escort.  For the record, they cannot.  To cover their own butts (Gordo's got a lot to cover), they tack on: "Even as military officials announced the figures, Iraq had one of its deadliest days in weeks, with at least 22 people killed."  Apparently having paddled out too far from shore to hear that warning call, Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) so desperate to stay ahead of the curl, she misses that basic point in a report she files this morning ignoring the violence to tell readers that the worst is over.  Save it for after the pig roasting lua, Tina, when it's time to for a group sing-along to "Morning Has Broken."
 
Susman does find the time to mention what AP reported this morning, that Iraq's Olympic soccer team is minus three members and an assistant coach -- all of whom are now "seeking asylum in Australia" after vanishing "at dawn Sunday from the home of colleagues in Australia, where they were staying after playing Australia's Olympic team."  Olympic defectors?  It's all very cold war.
 

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