Thursday, February 21, 2008

THIS JUST IN! BACKSTAGE AT THE DEBATE!

 
THESE REPORTERS WERE BACKSTAGE WITH THE KING OF SODA POP, BARACK OBAMA, AT THE CAMPAIGN'S INVITATION (WE'RE SURE IT WAS A MIX UP) TO WITNESS THE PREPARATION FOR TONIGHT'S DEBATE OPPOSITE SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON.
 
BAMBI WAS PACING THE FLOOR IN FOOTIE PAJAMAS AS HE STUDIED SPEECHES OF OTHER CANDIDATES LOOKING FOR LINES HE COULD RIP OFF AND PRESENT AS HIS OWN.
 
FROM A CORNER, HIS LIFE-COACH OPRAH WINFREY CHEERED HIM ON WHILE HER GAL PAL GAYLE KING TRIED NOT TO LOOK BORED AND ANGRY.
 
"YOU ARE THE ONE I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!" EXCLAIMED THE BIG O.  "YOU PULL THIS OFF AND I'LL GIVE YOU A TOYOTA!"
 
"WASN'T ENOUGH FOR STEADMAN," GAYLE MUTTERED CAUSING THE BIG O TO BARE HER FANGS AND HISS.
 
"BARACK," OPRAH SAID IGNORING GAIL, "THIS IS YOUR MOMENT.  I BELIEVE YOU CAN RUN ON.  I KNOW YOU ARE EVERYWOMAN, IT'S ALL IN YOU --"
 
"I'M EVERYWOMAN?"  BAMBI ASKED.  "I LIKE IT.  'I'M EVERYWOMAN.  IT'S ALL IN ME.'  I'LL USE IT!"
 
"OKAY, BUT SAY 'YOU,'" COUNSELED THE BIG O.
 
"YOU'RE EVERYWOMAN.  IT'S ALL IN YOU!'  BAMBI HOLLERED POUNDING HIS FIST UP AND DOWN IN THE UNIVERSAL HAND SIGNAL FOR JERKING OFF.
 
"PERFECT!  SOMEONE GET DR. PHIL!" HOLLERED OPRAH.
 
 
Starting with war resitance.  Gina Hotta (Asia Times) writes today of James Yee, Antonio Taguba and war resister Lt. Ehren Watada noting, "The war in Iraq has thrust American soldiers of Asian ancestry into the limelight as no toher US conflict has ever done before." Of Watada, the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the Iraq War, Hotta notes his "refusal to deploy to Iraq underscored the Bush administration's determination to go to war, with Truth being its first casualty.  Watada argues that the President misled the public and that the reasons for going to war were based on false premises.  Watada states that he will not fight an illegal war.  He now faces a possible court martial.  The stand Watada took remains a source of controversy.  Yet support for him is strong, with a group of Asian American supporters driving several hundred miles to his trials in Washington State."  Earlier this month Gregg K. Kakesako (The Honolulu Star Bulletin) offered an update on Watada, citing one of Watada's civilian attorneys, Ken Kagan (James Lobsenz is Watada's other civilian attorney) is cited explaining there is "No real News . . . since the federal judge issued a preliminary injuction in November prohibiting the Army from bringing Watada to a second court-martial.  Watada's first court-martial, a year ago, ended in a mistrial."  The mistrial was declared over the objection of defense counse.  Kakesako notes, "Watada and his attorney claim that a second trial would violate his constitutional rights.  U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle ruled on Nov. 8 that no court-martial will be held for Watada pending the outcome of his claim that it would violate his Fifth Amendment rights by trying him twice for the same charges."  Whether or not double-jeopardy applies (it should apply, it attached when the February court-martial started) will be determined by the US Circuit Court for the Armed Forces and Kakesako concludes, "Watada's term of service in the military ended in December 2006, but the legal proceedings have prevented his discharge.  He lives in Olympia, Wash. and continues to perform administrative duties at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle."  Watada himself weighed in this month with "Is the Iraq War Illegal?" (Pacific Citizen) where he explains exactly why it is illegal:
 
Is the war illegal? Before answering this question, it is essential to divide up this conflict into: 1) the invasion and toppling of the former regime, and 2) the subsequent occupation of Iraq by American troops.       
There can be no doubt that according to the UN Charter which forbids preventative wars and regime change, the invasion of Iraq was unlawful on its face. Is outlawing pre-emption fair? Absolutely - there is nothing that prohibits a nation from having a very strong defense. Moreover, nothing in the Charter prohibits a nation from retaliating after being attacked (which we were not as stated unequivocally and after-the-fact by the Bush Administration).
Ultimately, this law was established to protect the weak from the powerful, which left unaccountable, can invent any rationale for an invasion and occupation like Hitler did with Poland.        
Next, is the occupation illegal? That would depend on who you ask. For supporters of continued involvement, the answer is no -- American troops are protecting us against international terrorism and the Iraqis have requested our help; we have a legal mandate granted by the same institution that we ignored and de-legitimized by invading in the first place. 
On the other hand, if you ask the Iraqis themselves (who make up the vast majority of the anti-American insurgency and not Al Qaeda) - as a democratic people, they may have an entirely different answer. 
[. . .]
I may not know much, but one thing is certain. Japanese American men and women did not sacrifice their lives and freedoms throughout history, so that today's leaders could invade and occupy another country, then strip the people of their democratic rights when it didn't suit their interests. To believe otherwise, is to bring dishonor upon their memory.
 
Watada is the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the illegal war.  Camilo Mejia is the first Iraq War veteran to refuse to return.  Stephen Funk was the first non-officer (after the war was declared) to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.  Jeremy Hinzman was the first war resister to go public about seeking asylum in Canada.  In March of 2004, Brandon Hughey also went to Canada and he also went public.  Hinzman and Hughey have repeatedly attempted to be granted asylum and repeatedly been denied.  November 15th, Canada's Supreme Court refused to hear their cases.  Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, 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, Clara 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).

 

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 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause.  Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible.  The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies.  It won't be easy but it must be done.  Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."
 
In preparation of the March action, IVAW has posted a video online featuring three veterans.  They also note the action will be carried over KPFA airwaves (Friday through Sunday) and available for streaming online via KPFA -- video will be streamed online from Thursday through Sunday via IVAW.  They also note Chelsea Hover's (News 8 Austin) report "Fort Hood soldiers breaking the silence in war in Iraq" (text and video at link and at the IVAW homepage) which features Ronn Cantu, Selena Coppa, Hart Viges and Casey Porter.  Porter explains, "We lost really good friends, really good leaders who died in Iraq.  From my perspective, it didn't make any sense, we didn't accomplish anything, and I talked to a lot of other soldiers who feel the same way."  That's Texas.  North Carolina?  Erin Callender (The News Observer) reports SDS and IVAW took part in an action today where "UNC-Chapel Hill students burned fake draft cards symbolizing their opposition to the war in Iraq" as part of a rally where IVAW's Jason Hurd spoke along with Iraqi-America Dahlia Wasfi ("Hurd and Wasfi will also speak tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Dey Hall.").
 

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