Monday, February 04, 2008

THIS JUST IN! MICHELLE OBAMA DOESN'T SUPPORT DEMS!

 
MICHELLE OBAMA DECLARED ON ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA THAT SHE COULDN'T SAY SHE WOULD SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON IF CLINTON RECEIVED THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION.  NO WORD ON WHETHER HER REFUSAL HAD TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT CLINTON IS WHITE OR WHETHER SHE COULD BRING HERSELF TO VOTE FOR ANY WHITE CANDIDATE.
 
HER SIDE-BOOB ISSUE WILL BE RAW MEAT FOR THE G.O.P. SHOULD BAMBI GET THE DEMOCRATIC NOD.  APPARENTLY, HER SPILLING OUT OF HER TOP IS THE LEAST OF HER PROBLEMS.  NOR IS HER SITTING A CHICAGO COMMISSION THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR THE PURCHASE OF HER MANSION.
 
IN OTHER NEWS FAT-SKINNY-FAT-SKINNY-ENDS-UP-CHUNKY OPRAH WINFREY WAS SHOWN LOOKING HAGGARED ON DEMOCRACY NOW! TODAY BECAUSE . . . SHE SPOKE ABOUT BAMBI.  AMY GOODMAN IS A HOOKER FOR BAMBI WHICH IS WHY SHE AGAIN GAVE GLOSSY TREATMENT TO BAMBS BY IGNORING ANY MENTION OF PAUL KRUGMAN'S COLUMN OR THE RECENT STUDY WHICH SAYS BAMBI COMES UP SHORT ON HEALTH CARE.  IN ADDITION, SHE REFUSED TO NOTE THE NEW YORK TIMES BIG STORY ON OBAMA AND HIS TEAM BEING BAG MEN FOR THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY.
 
WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT, AMY GOODMAN RESPONSED, "YOU THOUGHT I WAS A JOURNALIST?  OH, THAT IS FUNNY!  EVEN TO ME.  LOOK IF YOU ARE GOING TO STAY ON THE LINE, IT'S GOING TO BE $2.99 A MINUTE." 
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  On Saturday Angela Hickman (Queen's Journal) spoke with author Lawrence Hill who had two books released last year -- the fictional  Someone Knows My Name (Canadian title: The Book of Negroes) and The Deserter's Tale, with Joshua Key, which documents Key's service in Iraq and how he came to the decision that he could no longer participate in the illegal war.  Hill explained, "[The main characters are] both ordinary people who are drawn into a canvas of world events that they didn't ask to be drawn into."  Hickman explains, "Hill said he heard Key interviewed on CBC and thought his story was fascinating and the next day his publisher approached Hill about doing the story."  Joshua Key, wife Brandi and their children went to Canada as have many war resisters.  Dee Knight (Workers World) reports on the actions two weekends ago in support of war resisters being granted safe harbor in Canada:
 
The rallies urged the Canadian House of Commons to adopt a recommendation of its Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that would make it possible for U.S. Iraq War resisters to obtain permanent resident status in Canada.        
[. . .]        
Courage to Resist in collaboration with the War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada) initiated the actions at Canadian consulates across the U.S. They had the support of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace and many other groups.         
This event was the first nationally coordinated action in the U.S. in support of war resisters in Canada. Since the illegal U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, many soldiers have been going AWOL (Absent Without Leave). GIs who have publicly refused to deploy--or re-deploy--to Iraq have been court-martialed and imprisoned. Thousands of service people are AWOL and are believed to be in hiding in the U.S. and abroad. Hundreds have fled to Canada.
 
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.
 
 
In Iraq a law has been passed -- a benchmark, in fact -- but hold off on sounding the trumpets.  Amit R. Paley and Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) report that the de-de-Baathification law will be practiced law next week since it is "considered as approved" following the refusal of anyone on the presidency council to officially object.  CBS and AP observe it became law without the singature of the Sunni representative on the three-member presidency council because the constitution requires the body to act within 10 days after the panel received the law, according to Iraq's constitution."  Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reported yesterday (before it was known what step the council would take)  CIA asset and Iraqi exile into the US invaded Ahmed Chalabi has been blistering in his criticism stating that the result of passage would be "all former Baathists now serving in the security services would lose their jobs, a total of 7,000 people" and, of the Iraqi Parliament, "People should pay attention to what they are discussing and voting on."
 
Today Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) again explores conditions for women in Iraq (and the outlet should create a folder of her reports on this topic and cites the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights as the source for 1.5 million figure -- the number of women who have become widows during the illegal war -- while Iraq al Amal Association's Hanaa Edward explains that "11 percent of the more than 20 million Iraqi families were supported by unmarried or widowed women in 2005.  Widows who register with the state receive about $40 a month, barely enough to survive on their own, let alone take care of their children."  Meanwhile Weam Namou (uruknet.info) looks at what has been lost for women during the Iraq War for 'liberation,' "Since the invasion, many women have been executed, assaulted, raped or released only after their families paid considerable ransom money.  Serious threats and deadly attacks have forced Christians and Muslims to wear the veil and quit their jobs, and to avoid makeup and education.  My friend's sister-in-law, at the start of the war, was stabbed in the heart simply because she was wearing a cross, which was ripped off her neck and thrown over her body.  Today when you talk to Iraqi women they remember 'the good old days' when Saddam was in power and women were able to safely go to work, participate in social activities, take part in politics or stroll outside in the middle of the night.  During Saddam's regime, women were free to choose whether to wear western-style dress and make-up or the black abaya.  When I was in Baghdad, I wore the clothes I'd packed from America.  No one in the streets blinked an eye." 
 

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