Saturday, March 01, 2008

THIS JUST IN! BAMBI HOLDS A PRESS CONFERENCE!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- CAMPAIGN TRAIL.
 
WITH QUESTIONS SWIRLING ABOUT SENATOR BARACK OBAMA AND HIS SPECIAL FRIEND ANTOIN "BIG TONY" REZKO, BAMBI FELT THE NEED TO CALL TOGETHER A HASTY PRESS CONFRENCE THIS MORNING.
 
"IS IT A CRIME TO BE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE?"  ASKED BAMBI JABBING HIS FINGERS AS HE'S SO PRONE TO DO.
 
"IS IT A CRIME TO HAVE A FRIEND UNDER FEDERAL INDICTMENT?  IS IT A CRIME IF HE HAPPENS TO HAVE RAISED OVER $150,000 FOR MY POLITICAL CAREER?  IS IT A CRIME TO BUY A PROPERTY WITH HIM WHEN HE'S UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION?  IS IT A CRIME TO WANT A MANSION AND WANT IT SO BADLY THAT YOU GET IN BED WITH A CRIMINAL SO THAT HE AND HIS WIFE BUY THE LITTLE LOT OF LAND AND YOU BUY THE MANSION?  IS IT A CRIME TO USE THAT LAND TO PARK YOUR CAR?  PEOPLE PARK CARS ACROSS AMERICA!  IS IT A CRIME TO TOUR THE PROPERTY WITH YOUR FRIEND WHO IS UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION -- BUT NOT, AT THE TIME, YET INDICTED -- TO GET HIS OPINION ON THE PROPERTY?  NO, NONE OF THESE ARE CRIMES.  SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON SAYS THEY GO TO MY JUDGEMENT?  I SAY AMERICA WILL NOT STAND FOR IT.  WE ARE TIRED OF THE DIVISION, WE WANT TO SEE CRIMINALS AND POLITICIANS OPENLY MINGLE.  WE WANT TO SEE THEM REACH ACROSS THE AISLE AND, IN FACT, REACH THROUGH THE PRISON BARS!  SENATOR CLINTON QUESTIONS MY FRIENDSHIP WITH BIG TONY AND THAT IS RACISM!  IT IS A RACISM TO EVER QUESTION ME ABOUT WHO MY FRIENDS ARE.  IT IS RACISM TO QUESTION ME ABOUT STEALING LINES FROM THE WORDS OF OTHERS.  IT IS RACISM TO QUESTION MY CREDIBILITY.  IT IS RACISM TO SAY SHE WOULD BE A BETTER PRESIDENT.  ANY TIME SOMEONE QUESTIONS ME, IT IS RACISM.  PURE AND SIMPLE.  AS MY MENTOR PASTOR WRIGHT SAYS, THIS COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON RACISM.  MY CAMPAIGN IS FOUNDED ON SCREAMING 'RACISM' TO SILENCE MY CRITICS.  THANK YOU, AMERICA, THANK YOU!"
 
WHEN REPORTERS ATTEMPTED TO ASK QUESTIONS FOLLOWING HIS OPENING STATEMENT, BAMBI WALKED AWAY LEAVING DAVID AXELROD TO EXPLAIN FOR THAT THE PRESS TO QUESTION BAMBI WAS "RACISM."
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Courage to Resist interviews war resister Robin Long who is seeking safe harbor status in Canada.  Long was stationed at Fort Knox and hearing stories from returning service members that didn't have a thing to do with democracy.  "In the army you just want to fit in," Long explained noting how the US military uses collective punishment to discipline their own -- which is to create a shunning among the enlisted.  Those returning from Iraq, "a lot of them were bragging about I guess you could say what was going on there," Long explained, and he was hearing and seeing things that weren't being covered in the media such as pictures of the first kill ("holding a head up" for the photo "and smiling with a peace sign," photos of an Iraqi run over by a jeep, etc.).  After self-checking out of the military, he stayed in a friend's basement for two months and then went to Canada with two friends.  At the border, Long was asked if he was AWOL ("which I found out later that they weren't allowed to do") and replied that he was on leave. About his decision, Long says he has no second thoughts.  If he is deported would he be stopped at the US border and taken to jail?  Long shared that war resister Brad McCall had a friend take his car back to the United States and when the car crossed the border into the US "they were holding him at gun point, the guy that was bringing his car back, thinking that he was the war resister.  So that's a pretty good idea of what's going to happen to me if I try to cross the border.  If I'm deported they're going to be waiting there."
 
War resisters who have moved to Canada were dealt a serious set-back when the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey.  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.  That is the sort of thing that should receive attention but instead it's ignored. 
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, 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."
 
 
Iraq Veterans Against the War is calling the gathering "Winter Soldier," after a quote from the U.S. revolutionary Thomas Paine, who wrote in 1776: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
Organisers say video and photographic evidence will also be presented, and the testimony and panels will be broadcast live on Satellite TV and streaming video on ivaw.org.
Winter Soldier is modeled on a similar event held by Vietnam Veterans 37 years ago.
In 1971, over 100 members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with fellow citizens. 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.
"Initially even the My Lai massacre was denied," notes Gerald Nicosia, whose book "Home to War" provides the most exhaustive history of the Vietnam veterans' movement.
"The U.S. military has traditionally denied these accusations based on the fact that 'this is a crazy soldier' or 'this is a malcontent' -- that you can't trust this person. And that is the reason that Vietnam Veterans Against the War did this unified presentation in Detriot in 1971."
"They brought together their bona fides and wore their medals and showed it was more than one or two or three malcontents. It was medal-winning, honored soldiers -- veterans in a group verifying what each other said to try to convince people that these charges cannot be denied. That people are doing these things as a matter of policy."

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
Posted by at