Friday, February 09, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY'S PREPARING FOR WHAT?

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.

HOW WORRIED IS THE WHITE HOUSE ABOUT THE SCOOTER LIBBY TRIAL?

OUR COLLEAGUE AT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, PETE YOST, SAYS THAT THE TRIAL HAS EXPOSED THE "WHITE HOUSE CRISIS MACHINE."

WHAT ELSE IS ON THE VERGE OF BEING EXPOSED?

THE QUESTION IS BUBBLING UP IN POPULAR D.C. WATERING HOLES AS WORD GETS OUT ON THE MEMO THAT WAS SENT TODAY TO INTERNATIONAL BILLIE JEAN KING LOOK ALIKE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO GONAZLES LATEST MEMORANDUM.

ENTITLED "DESIGNATION OF OFFICERS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION" IT OPENS WITH: 'BY THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME" AND BULLY BOY GOES ON TO OUTLINE THE ORDER OF SUCCESSION SHOULD THE DIRECTOR OF THE F.B.I. DIE, RESIGN "OR OTHERWISE BECOME UNABLE TO PERFORM THE FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE".

IS BULLY BOY WORRIED ABOUT HIS OWN 'SATURDAY MASSACRE'?

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with Ehren Watada who, in June of last year, became the first commissioned officer in the US to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq because the war was illegal and immoral. On Monday, the court-martial of Ehren Watada began with jury selection for the military panel (seven officers were selected) who would, as Hal Bernton (Seattle Times) pointed out, "determine whether Watada spends up to four years in prison in one of the most high-profile cases to be tried at Fort Lewis." Watada was facing up to four years in prison and Lt. Col. John Head (aka Judge Toilet) refused to allow him to argue the reasons why he refused to deploy. This is why Norman Solomon (CounterPunch) called the proceedings "a kangaroo court-martial." . On Tuesday, the prosectution presented their case. Aaron Glantz discussed the day's events with Sandra Lupien on The KPFA Evening News noting: "The prosecution had 3 witnesses. It did not go as well as the prosecution would have liked. Lt. Col Bruce Antonia, who was the prosecution's star witness, as Lt. Watada's commander, said that nothing tangibly bad happened from Lt. Watada's refusal to go to" Iraq and
"[a]nother thing that did not go well for the prosecution today was that their own witnesses clearly showed that Lt. Watada tried other methods of expressing . . . [his opposition] to the Iraq war, internally within the military, before coming forward to speak to the public." Also noting the prosecution's poor performance on Tuesday (when they rested their case), was civil rights attorney Bill Simpich who told Geoffrey Millard (Truthout): "The prosecution asked too many questions. By the time it was over, the prosecution witness had become a defense witness because the field was open. The defense was able to ask nuanced questions, it told the story clearly to the jury." On Wednesday, Judge Toilet began talking mistrial and, due to the lousy performance by the prosecution, it was seen as an attempt at a "do over" even before he called the mistrial.

Yesterday, on KPFA's Flashpoints, Nora Barrows-Friedman spoke with Marjorie Cohn (president of the National Lawyers Guild) about the mistrial. Cohn's belief (based on expertise) is that the government's case is over -- that, military or civilian, courts must respect the laws of the land and that includes avoiding double-jeopardy (trying a person for the same alleged crimes twice). As Rebecca notes, Cohn explained that the stipulation Judge Toilet made much ado over was a stipulation (agreement between the prosecution and the defense) that both sides had agreed to, that the jury was made aware of, that Judge Toilet had looked over and, up until it was time for the defense to present their case, Judge Toilet never voiced any concerns over the stipulation, More importantly, Cohen pointed out, "When a mistrial is declared, the defense has to agree to it. The only thing that will defeat a finding of double-jeopardy . . . is if there was manifest necessity to declare the mistrial" which, in Cohn's opinion, there wasn't. At Counterpunch, Cohen also made the case "that under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Constitution, the government cannot retry Lt. Watada on the same charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officers." Leila Fujimori (The Honolulu Star-Bulletin) spoke with Earle Partington ("local attorney with decades in military justice") who also stated that "military judge Lt. Col. John Head lacked authority to set a new date, March 19, for the trial after declaring a mistrial Wednesday". Marjorie Cohn had explained to Nora Barrows-Friedman that Judge Toilet floated the idea of a mistrial and when the prosecution (taking the hint) asked for one, the defense did not consent to a mistrial. Also making this point is Eric Seitz, Watada's civilian attorney. Bob Egelko (San Francisco Chronicle) reports: "The lawyer for an officer whose court-martial for refusing deployment to Iraq was abruptly halted this week says the Army's planned retrial of his client would violate the constitutional ban on double jeopardy. Because 1st Lt. Ehren Watada neither caused nor consented to the mistrial that an Army judge declared Wednesday, the charges against him must be dismissed, attorney Eric Seitz said. Those charges were punishable by up to four years in prison. 'I don't think the judge understands, and I don't think the Army realizes that this case cannot be retried,'' Seitz said in an interview after the trial at Fort Lewis, Wash., was halted."

Yesterday, reporting for Free Speech Radio News, Aaron Glantz noted Carolyn Ho's reaction to the mistrial ("tears started streaming down her cheek"). Carolyn Ho, mother of Ehren Watada: "He was quite prepared to vacate his apartment. It's been all packed up and, you know, and we were arranging to have his furniture moved on Monday. The expectation was that he would be sentenced and, um, that there would be incarceration." Reporting for IPS (text), Glantz noted Eric Seitz's contention: "Every time the government has tried to prevent political speech, which they are attempting to punish, from infusing the trial proceedings it has created a major mess and many of those cases result in mistrials."

Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March 6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.

War resister Joshua Key self-checked out of the US army after serving in Iraq. He, Brandi Key (his wife) and their children moved to Canada. Key has written a book on his experience in Iraq and after entitled The Deserter's Tale. Brian Lynch (The Georgia Straight) notes: "And when Key arrived in the bomb-cratered streets of Iraq, his commanding officers issued constant reports that heavily armed terrorist cells or mobs of Saddam Hussein's sympathizers were poised to attack. None of these threats materialized, he says. And as he recalls in his book, he began to sense that 'the repeated warnings of danger were meant to keep us off guard, and to keep us frightened enough to do exactly what we were told.' This, he believes, is a tactic that the highest political and military leaders in his native country have used on the public itself. Field commanders, he says on the phone, 'try to keep you scared, keep you motivated. And that's exactly what's happened to the [American] people as well. Everybody is so afraid of terrorism... And of course, from my actions in Iraq, I think the terrorism hasn't begun yet--terrorism from all the little Iraqi children that I terrorized myself. There's going to be a flip side to that. There will be consequences'."

Cause and effect.


RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
"And the war drags on . . ."
"Other Items"
"Check the stove, intel's burning"
"House cleaning"
"ehren in the clear?"
"Marjorie Cohn, Media Matters, Ehren Watada"
"I wake up and nothing's changed"
"Bully Boy books trip (humor)"
"THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY GOES TO BRAZIL!"

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY GOES TO BRAZIL!

 
WITH THE NUMBER OF U.S. TROOPS WHO HAVE DIED IN IRAQ ALREADY REACHING 3,114 AND SPRING COMING UP AND THE THOUGHT OF FACING CAMP CASEY WHILE HE COULD BE ENJOYING THE FINALL YEARS OF HIS REIGN AS THE MOST EVIL MAN IN THE WORLD, THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE OF PLANS ANNOUNCED.
 
 
AS THE USELESS PRESS CORPS BUSIED THEMSELVES WITH NEAR NON-STOP QUESTIONS ABOUT NANCY PELOSI'S PLANE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS, THESE REPORTERS KEPT WAITING FOR THE MOMENT WHEN ANA NICOLE SMITH'S DEATH WAS BROUGHT UP.
 
THOUGH THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN, THERE WERE ALSO NO QUESTIONS ABOUT SCOOTER LIBBY'S CASE THAT THE PROSECUTION RESTED ON TODAY.
 
AFTER THE PRESS BRIEFING, THESE REPORTERS STOOD IN FRONT OF THE MEN'S ROOM AND BLOCKED HIS ENTRANCE WHILE HE HOPPED FROM FOOT TO FOOT AND WHIMPERED, "COME ON GUYS, I NEED TO GO PEE PEE."
 
THOUGH HE REFUSED TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SCOOTER LIBBY, HE DID ADMIT THAT BULLY BOY "IS DESPERATE TO ESCAPE FROM CINDY SHEEHAN, EVERY TIME SHE'S AROUND SHE BUMS HIS WAR HIGH.  ALSO JEB'S WIFE TOLD THE FIRST COUPLE THAT THEY COULD PICK UP SOME REALLY NICE THINGS AND, IF THEY WERE CLEVER COMING THROUGH CUSTOMS, THEY COULD MAKE A SMALL FORTUNE."
 
 
 
Starting with Ehren Watada. Yesterday, Lt. Col. John Head (aka Judge Toilet) decided to interject him into the proceedings -- going so far as to question Watada -- and then decided he would declare a mistrial. Aaron Glantz spoke with Sandra Lupien on yesterday's The KPFA Evening News and explained that the 'judge' was "essentially throwing out the agreement that the prosecution and the defense made together on the eve of the trial." The agreement was the stipulation that the defense and the prosecution came to an agreement on whereby Watada acknowledged making statements that were published and broadcast (thereby removing the need for reporters to come to court and affirm their reporting). Both sides agreed to the stipulation and the judge was aware of it and poured over it. Until Wednesday, it was not a problem. Daisuke Wakabayashi's (Reuters) explains the agreement, "In the stipulation, Watada said he did not board the plane with the rest of his unit to Iraq and admitted to making public statements criticizing the war and accusing U.S. President George W. Bush's administration of deceiving the American people to enter into a war of aggression. Watada does not dispute the facts, but said it was not an admission of guilt because it does not take into account the intent behind his actions." John Nichols (The Nation) picks up there noting the judge felt there was no "meeting of the minds" and without such a meeting "there's not a contract" -- despite the fact that both the prosecution and the defense agreed there was a contract -- and so, overruling efforts by the prosecution to again state "that they were not arguing that the agreement represented an admission of guilt by Watada." Eli Sanders (Time magazine) observes that Judge Toilet's declaration of a mistrial was "a surprising development that left military prosecutors clearly frustrated, observers stunned and defense attorneys claiming that the military had blown its only chance at a conviction." Frustrated? Stunned? As The Honolulu Advertiser notes this was "a weird bit of courtroom drama, both parties agreed with each other that Head was wrong." Sam Howe Verhovek (Los Angeles Times) reports that, regardless of what happens next, "the judge's ruling amounted to a temporary moral victory for the lieutenant in a case that many legal observers had considered a virtual slam-dunk for the Army."
So what does that mean? At this point, meaning is up in the air. Corey Moss (MTV News) was among the ones noting that Judge Toilet had scheduled a court-martial for next month. No, he's not planning on court-martialing himself though that would qualify as justice. He thinks Watada can be retried. Others aren't so sure. Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) reports that Watada's defense doubts that assertion and that John Junker ("University of Washington law professor") feels that another court-martial would be double-jeopardy for Watada, "The notion is that you can't just stop in the middle and say, 'I don't like the way it's going' and start over." Howe Verhovek quotes Ann Wright (retired State Department, retired col.) who declares, "The legal mess we saw here today reflects the major mess the Bush administration has made with the war in Iraq." If you can follow the above, consider yourself smarter than William Yardley (New York Times) who drops the issue of double jeopardy by merely noting that "the circumstances surrounding the mistrial, including the fact that the judge rejected a stipulation he had initially approved, could allow Lieutenant Watada to avoid prosecution altogether" -- all in the concluding sentence. Where it stands now for Ehren Watada? Aaron Glantz told Sandra Lupien (The KPFA Evening News) that if it another court-martial is held, "We're going to go back to the original charges. Some of the charges were dropped as a result of the agreement . . . Those charges are now back on the table."
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March 6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"


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Wednesday, February 07, 2007

THIS JUST IN! MEET THE JURY!

 
SCOOTER TOLD PATRICK FITZGERALD THAT TIMMY TOLD HIM BUT TIMMY SAYS "OH, NO, I DIDN'T!"
 
FOR FUN, KICKS, TO DESTROY LIVES AND JUST TO BREAK THE LAW, SCOOTER LIBBY AND OTHERS IN THE ADMINISTRATION DECIDED TO OUT AN UNDER COVER C.I.A. AGENT, VALERIE PLAME. 
 
WHEN SPECIAL COUNSEL PATRICK FITZGERALD CAME SNIFFING AROUND, SCOOTER GAVE TESTIMONY THAT HE HAD HEARD VALERIE PLAME WAS C.I.A. FROM JOURNALIST.  GRAND JURY TESTIMONY.
 
 
TODAY, TIMMY RUSSERT HOBBLED IN ON CRUTCHES TO TESTIFY THAT NOT ONLY DID HE NOT TELL SCOOTER THAT VALERIE PLAME WAS C.I.A., HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT HIMSELF UNTIL DAYS AFTER.
 
SCOOTER WAS OBSERVED TO GIGGLE NERVOUSLY, SLAP HIS FOREHEAD, SHRUG AND EXCLAIM, "MY BAD."
 
 
 
 
Starting with Ehren Watada who became the first officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq in June of last year and now is the subject of a court-martial at Fort Lewis where, if convicted of all charges, faces up to four years in prison.  L.A. Chung (San Jose Mercury News) reports on the people going to Tacoma, Washington to show their support for Watada such as Rose Takamoto who states, "I think it's really important" and "It's something that needs to be discussed while noting her disappointment in "local coverage from media outlets like the Mercury News, until this week."  Though some of the press accounts tell a different story, Tuesday's proceedings were a huge boost for Watada.  So it may come as little surprise that Reuters is reporting that Judge Toilet (Lt. Col. John Head) declared today that the trial could end in a mistrial -- which would result in another court-martial or, as many see it, a "do over" for the prosecution.
 
 
So let's review Tuesday's proceedings.  Yesterday on  The KPFA Evening News, co-anchor Sandra Lupien discussed the proceedings with Aaron Glantz.  (A section of this was played today on KPFA's The Morning Show.)  Lupein noted that after selecting the seven officers to serve on the jury/military panel on Monday, the prosecution argued their case Tuesday and "who were its witnesses and what were their arguments?"

Aaron Glantz: The prosecution had 3 witnesses. It did not go as well as the prosecution would have liked. Lt. Col Bruce Antonia, who was the prosection's star witness, as Lt. Watada's commander, said that nothing tangibly bad happened from Lt. Watada's refusal to go to [Iraq] and that it  did not inspire others in his unit to also refuse to go or to speak out against the war.  And, while that may not be comforting to supporters of Lt. Watada who want to see him make a big impact, it cuts against the prosecution's case that his conduct was unbecoming an officer and a gentleman because it inspired deviant behavior amongst other troops.                                  
Another thing that did not go well for the prosecution today was that their own witnesses clearly showed that Lt. Watada tried other methods of expressing . .  . [his opposition] to the Iraq war, internally within the military before coming forward to speak to the public.  For example he proffered his resignation which was not accepted , he offered to go to Afghanistan  instead of Iraq.  Now Lt. Col. James, who is one of the higher ranking officials at Fort Lewis, testified that, as service members, we don't have the opportunity to choose where we go and that's why his desire to go to Afghanistan was turned down but Lt. Col. James also said that when Lt. Watada came to him to discuss his opposition to the Iraq war he did not enage him a moral debate which it was discussed by many other peopl in the role of a commanding officer in the US military.

Lupien asked what was expected for the third day of the court-martial (today).
 
Aaron Glantz: Well one of the interesting things is that Lt. Watada is the star witness for both the defense and the prosecution.  Before the human witnesses came to testify for the prosectution, they played tapes of Lt. Watada himself speaking where he said the war was  illegal and immoral.  In particular they played a speech that he gave at the Veterans for Peace annual convention last year where he said. [. . .]  Now this speech was played  by the prosectuion, tomorrow the defense will call Lt. Watada as their star witness in order to explain why it is that he said this. [. . .]  The defense had hoped to call a number of witness who could speak to the morality and ethics of the war and the judge in the case, Col. Head, refused to allow that into the courtroom saying it was irrelevant so, as a result. the defense is only calling Watada himself  and a captain who was one of Lt. Watada's superiors.
 
In response to Lupien's question of whether Glatnz was expecting the trial to conclude on Thursady, he responded, "Obviously it depends upon how long this jury of US army officers takes to reach their decision -- and then we'll see the sentencing phase -- and of course that's where the defense is really looking because they do believe that he will be found guilty, at the very least, of missing movement, refusing to go to Iraq.  It's less clear whether he'll be found guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.  But, in any case, that's where they really hope to make their case. So his attorneys have already said that they will appeal whatever comes out of it."
 
In the report, Glantz quoted from the speech Ehren Watada gave at the Veterans for Peace conference in Seattle last August, hitting some of the key points.  We'll emphasize this section of the speech (from Darh Jamail's transcription at Truthout):
 
 
The Constitution is no mere document - neither is it old, out-dated, or irrelevant. It is the embodiment of all that Americans hold dear: truth, justice, and equality for all. It is the formula for a government of the people and by the people. It is a government that is transparent and accountable to whom they serve. It dictates a system of checks and balances and separation of powers to prevent the evil that is tyranny.       
As strong as the Constitution is, it is not foolproof. It does not fully take into account the frailty of human nature. Profit, greed, and hunger for power can corrupt individuals as much as they can corrupt institutions. The founders of the Constitution could not have imagined how money would infect our political system. Neither could they believe a standing army would be used for profit and manifest destiny. Like any common dictatorship, soldiers would be ordered to commit acts of such heinous nature as to be deemed most ungentlemanly and unbecoming that of a free country.                  
The American soldier is not a mercenary. He or she does not simply fight wars for payment. Indeed, the state of the American soldier is worse than that of a mercenary. For a soldier-for-hire can walk away if they are disgusted by their employer's actions. Instead, especially when it comes to war, American soldiers become indentured servants whether they volunteer out of patriotism or are drafted through economic desperation. Does it matter what the soldier believes is morally right? If this is a war of necessity, why force men and women to fight? When it comes to a war of ideology, the lines between right and wrong are blurred. How tragic it is when the term Catch-22 defines the modern American military.
Aside from the reality of indentured servitude, the American soldier in theory is much nobler. Soldier or officer, when we swear our oath it is first and foremost to the Constitution and its protectorate, the people. If soldiers realized this war is contrary to what the Constitution extols - if they stood up and threw their weapons down -- no President could ever initiate a war of choice again.             
 
 
Geoffrey Millard is reporting on the proceedings for TruthoutMillard asked Bill Simpich, civil rights attorney, about Atonia's testimony on Tuesday and Simpich offered this evaluation, "The prosecution asked too many questions, by the time it was over the prosecution witness had become a defense witness because the field was wide open, the defense was able to ask nuanced questions, it told the story clearly to the jury."
 
As Glantz and Simpich both point out, the prosecution didn't make the case they wanted on Tuesday before resting.  Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) reports that Judge Toilet had to order the prosecution "to rephrase a question that strayed close to that prohibited subject" -- the illegality of the war -- "ordering 'move on!'"  Ha Bernton (Seattle Times) notes the pathetic nature of the prosecution's witnesses which seemed less bothered with Watada's actions and more upset that he went public.  Watada began attempting to work the matter out privately in January.  His unit deployed in June, the same month his stand became public.  Apparently, they wanted Watada to stay silent while they (his commanders) did nothing.
 
Speaking with Glantz yesterday, Aura Bogado (anchor Free Speech Radio News) asked about the restrictions being placed on the media?
 
 
Glantz: This court-martial is taking place on Fort Lewis which is a US army installation, where the Stryker Brigade is headquartered, and we've been told that we're free to watch the proceedings and they've been very generous they've set up a media overflow room to deal with the tremendous number of members of the press that are here.  They have also allowed a number of the public and Ehren Watada supporters to come.  But members of the media are actually forbidden from talking to Watada's supporters while we're on base.  We're also forbidden from talking to the Lt. himself, his legal team, or his family, and actually we're even escorted to by military escort to lunch when they have their lunch break and we're escotred to a seperate restaurant on base from where the members of the public, many of Watada's supporters, are escorted. 
 
Free Speech Radio News also noted this from Eric Seitz, Ehren Watada's civilian attorney:
"This is a young man who went through a process where he tried to avoid a confrontation with the army.  He went to them in good faith on numerous ocassions and offered to resign his commission, offered to go to Afghanistan, offered to do a number of different things, so that we would not find ourselves in a situation where had had to disobey an order.  That was not something he wanted to do.  I'm going to tell them that he has always acted with sincerity and integritey.  He has always impressed everybody with whom he's met or spoken as to the basis of his beliefs. He has not gone out of his way or at any time encouraged the counsel other people to do an act or to take any action other than to decide for themselves what they're conscienceses require and to follow the dictate of their own consciences."
 
In addition to a lousy day for the prosecution on Tuesday, AFP notes that Ehren Watada has received support from Desmond Tutu ("I admire your courageous and moral stand.  In Christian tradition, ethics insist on the absolute primacy of obeying one's conscience.  It is categorical imperative."), Susan Sarandon ("If the definition of a patriot is one who loves and defends his country then Ehren Watada is truly a patriot for his refusal to serve in a war that is harming the people of Iraq and increasing the threat of harm to Americans.") and Amnesty International.  Amnesty International's statement of support for Watada opens:  "Pending the February 5 trial of Ehren Watada, who faces a possible four-year prison sentence for his refusal to participate in the Iraq war, Amnesty International stated that a guilty verdict would be a violation of internationally recognized human rights"  Also David Strum (Baltimore Messenger) reports that Ralph Nader voiced his support: "'This is a criminal war.  This is an unconstitutional war,' he said.  Watada has every right to invoke the Nuremburg principles of World War II in refusing to go to Iraq, he added." 
 
 
As Aaron Glantz (OneWorld) reminds, Judge Toilet (aka John Head) has refused to allow the Nuremberg defense to be argued: "The fourth of the Nuremberg Principles states that superior orders are not a defense to the commission of an illegal act, meaning soldiers who commit a war crime after 'just following orders' are as culpable as their superiors."  While the prosecution fizzles out, it's no surprise that Judge Toilet is suddenly announcing the possibility of a mistrial.  AP headlines their coverage "Fort Lewis judge threatens mistrial in Watada's court martial."  Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) notes that Judge Toilet's debating over the a stipulation agreed to by Watada prevented Watada from testifying and might mean the charges he faces increase.  The stipulation was  Watada's agreement to affirm the reports published and broadcast about him in order that reporters wouldn't be asked to testify in his case.  There's confusion about what exactly is in question regarding the stipulation.  Aaron Glantz may address that this evening on The KPFA Evening News (6:00 to 7:00 pm, PST).
 
 
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March 6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
 
 
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
 
We marched against a war, long ago,          
wondering if it would make a difference.         
Now we march again, in conscience, knowing,          
We cannot allow this lie to go unchallenged.          
-- Sebastian Eggert, "Compression," Poets Against The War, p. 63
 
 
 
 
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"


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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY'S BUDDY IS 100% STRAIGHT!

 
BULLY BOY SUPPORTER, 1 TIME PREACHER AND FULL TIME DRAMA QUEEN TED HAGGARD BREATHLESSLY GUSHED TO THE WORLD THAT HE IS "COMPLETELY HETEROSEXUAL" AS OF TODAY.
 
MAINTAINING THAT HIS SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A MALE PROSTITUTE WAS JUST EXPERIMENTING, TED HAGGARD EXPLAINED ALL THE DEMONS HAD NOW BEEN LOCKED AWAY . . . IN A CLOSET.  NO WORD ON WHETHER HE HAS "COMPLETELY STOPPED" PURCHASING METAMPHETAMINES.
 
 
IN A LESS REPORTED STATEMENT, TED HAGGARD EXPLAINED, "I LIKE TO WAKE UP FEELING A NEW MAN."
 
 
Starting with the court-martial of Ehren Watada, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted, "The court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada is continuing today in Washington State.  Watada is the first commissioned officer in the country to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq.  On Monday, the judge, Lt. Col. John Head, reinforced an earlier ruling that Watada could not base his defense on his contention that the Iraq war is illegal."  The court-martial is expected to run through Thursday and Watada could be sentenced to four years in prison.  As Norman Solomon (CounterPunch) observes, "The people running the Iraq war are eager to make an example of Ehren Watada.  They've convened a kangaroo court-martial.  But the man on trial is setting a profound example of conscience -- helping to undermine the war that the Pentagon's top officials are so eager to protect."
 
Solomon's call of a kangaroo court-martial referes to Lt. Col. John Head (aka, Judge Toilet) making the decision that Watada could not present his best defense, could not argue the reasons for his actions, could not call witnesses to back up his conclusions.  In August, during the Article 32 hearing, to determine whether or not there was justification to go forward with a court-martial, Watada's defense called three witnesses, Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois' College of Law, Champagne; Denis Halliday, the former Assistant Secretary General of the UN; and retired Colonel Ann Wright.  That type of a defense has been disallowed in the actual court-martial by Judge Toilet.  In fact, Halliday's name was among the proposed defense witnesses brought up yesterday by Eric Seitz and Judge Toilet again refused.
 
Ehren Watada believes the war is illegal and immoral.  (Rebecca walks you through here.)  Judge Toilet doesn't want that argument made.  Toilet's 'ruling' flushed Watada's best defense down the toilet.  Today on KPFA's The Morning Show, Aileen Alfandary noted "Opening arguments take place today in the court-martial of Lt. Ehren Watada at Fort Lewis in Tacoma Washington" and then played this clip by Watada's civilian attorney on what he planned to do in today's opening statements: 
 
 
Eric Seitz: I'm going to tell them that he has always acted with sincerity and integrity.  He has always impressed everybody with whom he has met or spoken as to the basis for his beliefs.  He has not gone out of his way, or at anytime encouraged or counseled other people, to do an act or to take any action other than decide for themselves what their consciences require and to follow the dictates of their own consciences."
 
 
In the second hour's opening news break, Alfandary spoke with Aaron Glantz who stated: "The prosecution is expected to call three witnesses against Lt. Watada.  It's a lot shorter than the original witness list of eleven witnesses".
 
Alfandary: Who are the witnesses that Lt. Watada's attorney is planning to call to testify on  Watada's behalf?
 
AG Well, Lt. Watada will make his case tomorrow.  And his attorneys had hoped to call a wide array of witnesses including experts on constitutional law and war.  For example, Michael Ratner, the head of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Marjorie Cohn, the head of the National Lawyers Guild,  Ray McGovern, who's a former CIA analyst.  But the judge refused all of that.  The judge also refused to allow Gary Solis, the former Marine Corps prosecutor and Marine court judge to testify about the nature of the dissent within the military and what's acceptable and what's not.  But at the end of the day the only witnesses that will be called in Lt. Watada's defense will be Lt. Watada himself, who will testify in his own defense, and a colleague of his from the military who will speak as a character witness.
 
Glantz will report on the court-martial on The KPFA Evening News later today as well as, tomorrow, on KPFA's The Morning Show.  Megan and Zach transcribed that (thank you) and both asked that it be noted KPFA is in fundraising mode and that, if you have the money and can donate, you can do say online or using the 1-800 number if you're out of the listening area [1-800-439-5732].  During Music of the World, Megan notes, it was stated if you were listening online (they were apparently attempting to meet a match) you could call in.  Megan wants it noted that if you're donating during a matching period and donate online, that goes towards the match.  (Megan knows some members who listen online have one phone line and cannot call in without disconnecting from the internet.)  Again, Aaron Glantz will report on day two of the trial later today (6:00 pm PST) on The KPFA Evening News and Aileen Alfandary will speak with him tomorrow on KPFA's The Morning Show (which airs from 7:00 am to 9:00 am PST).
 
Yesterday, on The KPFA Evening News, a report Aaron Glantz filed for Free Speech Radio News was aired and featured Chanan Suarez-Diaz who stated: "There are more people in different ranks in the military that are actually speaking out and refusing to go to this war and it's not only, you know, the officers are in the minority in the military and the majority are enlisted, but I think it's important for officers to see Lt. Watada's courage as an example, if they feel that this war is wrong -- which it is -- then they should have the courage to resist like he has and countless others."   Chanan Suarez-Diaz served in Iraq in 2005, was wounded in February 2006 and is the recipient of a commendation of valor and a Purple Heart.
 
 
Glantz: Here at Fort Lewis, there have been so many people who have showed up at the base which is just outside of Tacoma that they've had to create an overflow room for the dozen of reporters that have come to cover the trial, only seven were actually allowed in the courtroom, it's a very small courtroom, they're not used to these kinds of very political trials and then there's also dozens of peace activists here in the overflow room as well.  Outside the gates of Fort Lewis there are demonstrations -- at this hour by Iraq Veterans Against the War.  There's another demonstration that will be held at 3:00 today by Lt. Watada's family.  Fort Lewis is kind of outside of town  and there's a number of entrances to it and the pickets have been set up at all the different entrances to the base
 
Sandra Lupien (co-anchor of The KPFA Evening News) noted that Glantz had stated Watada made the choice to be tried by a military jury "seven offiicers were chosen today, the court will allow only two defense witnesses one of whom is Ehren Watada himself who will take the stand on Wednesday."
 
Hal Bernton (Seattle Times) quotes attorney Seitz stating of the jury (or military panel), "The critical thing is that he be treated as someone who is principled.  Someone who is principled and has taken a stand.  Not somebody who should be treated as a criminal."  Adam Lynn and Mike Archbold (The News Tribune) report that the panel is made up of Col. Carl Chappel, "Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bryan, Maj. Patrick Wright and Capts. Angela Gentry, Greg Reger, Nichole White and Larry Dean."  As The Honolulu Advertiser notes, the seven were selected from "a pool of 10 officers."
 
Mike Barber and Amy Rolph (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) report that Monday saw mass action: "Outside the base, from hundreds of supporters, the answer was a resounding "no" to the war in Iraq in which Watada refuses to fight and to the Army's prosecution of him" and that "More than 1,000 people gathered along Interstate 5 on the exit 119 overpass, spilling down the grassy slopes on either side and filling the sidewalks of the surrounding DuPont neighborhood."  Actions took place outside of Tacoma as well.  Melinda Tuhus (New Haven Independent) reported that activsts like Chris Schweitzer's standing out in in what felt "like one degree on Monday afternoon," Mary Adamski (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) reports that 40 people gathered at "the Prince Kuhio Federal Building" on Monday in Honolulu.  Courage to Resist offers a listing of other actions taking place around the United States.
 
As part of a series honoring the late Molly Ivins, Ying Lee (Berkeley Daily Planet) observes: Individuals like Cindy Sheehan can galvanize part of the population with her just and emotionally effective call to end the war and we are grateful for our leaders against the war.  Lt. Ehren Watada is one of these leaders.  Lt. Watada is the first U.S. Army officer to refuse to serve in Iraq.  [. . .] My gratitude to him is expressed in committing civil disobedience by blocking the doors of the San Francisco Federal Building (450 Golden Gate Ave.) last month and again this first Thursday of February (every first Thursday) as well as joining a dozen or so Bay Area people, including Berkeley resident Betty Kano, who are traveling to Ft. Lewis to support Lt. Watada and to stand in protest of the war."
 
Marjorie Cohn was disallowed as a witness by Judge Toilet on Monday.  If she had been able to testify, she might have offered testimony similar to what she provided in US war resister Pablo Paredes trial.  Speaking at the Veterans for Peace conference in Seattle last August, Cohn discussed the judge's reaction to her testimony:
 
At the conclusion of my testimony, and after an inept cross-examination by Navy prosecutor Lt. J.S. Freeman, Judge Klant made a statement that astonished the spectators.  "I believe," he said, "the government has successfully demonstrated a reasonable belief for every service member to decide that the wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq were illegal to fight in."     
Rick Rogers, the military reporter for the conservative San Diego Union-Tribune, characterized the judge's surprising statement as a "flip comment."  Lt. commanders presiding at Navy court-martials don't make flip comments.  Nevertheless, apparently at the suggestion of this reporter, the media representatives covering the trial agreed among themselves not to report the judge's statement.  Only The San Francisco Chronicle, a few small newspapers, and the electronic media published the quote.
 
 
In 2005, Marjorie Cohn and Pablo Paredes discussed the above with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! -- click here for audio, text and video. Had Cohen been able to testify, she could have refuted the ridiculous claim made by the prosecution today that Ehren Watada was some sort of publicy seeker for going public in June.  Watada went public in June, only after attempting to address the matter privately -- repeatedly attempting to serve in Afghanistan instead and repeatedly attempting to resign his commission.  Watada went public in June only after months of attempting to handle the matter privately.
 
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March 6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
 
 
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
 


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Monday, February 05, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY ADMITS HE HATES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.

 
D.C. IS STILL REELING OVER THE BULLY BOY'S LATEST SPENDING PLAN THAT THE WHITE HOUSE PRESENTED TODAY -- $2.9 TRILLION AND IT'S ALL GOING TO WAR-WAR-WAR!
 
AS ALL THE TRILLIONS GO TO THE IRAQ WAR, CUTS HAVE TO COME SOMEWHERE -- FOR INSTANCE MEDICARE WILL TAKE A $78 MILLION HIT.
 
BULLY BOY SKIPPED AND SCAMPERED THROUGH THE ROSE GARDEN TODAY AND THESE REPORTERS APPROACHED HIM.
 
HE AGREED TO AN INTERVIEW PROVIDED WE WOULD PLAY JACKS WITH HIM. 
 
HE SAID WE COULD NOT GO OVER "TWO-SIES" BECAUSE "COUNTING IS HARD."
 
SURE ENOUGH WHEN HE ATTEMPTED "THREE-SIES" HE FAILED.  DITTO WHEN HE ATTEMPTED "FOUR-SIES" BUT, HE SAID, "YOU HAVE TO KEEP DOING WHAT FAILS.  IF I DIDN'T, WE'D BE OUT OF IRAQ BY NOW."
 
WHEN NEW SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT GATES BROUGHT OUT JUICE BOXES AND FRUIT ROLL UPS, BULLY BOY AGREED HIS PLAN WAS "TOUGH FOR SOME PEOPLE" BUT, HE ADDED, "WHO CARES?  THEY DIDN'T VOTE FOR ME. I OWE IT TO THE VOTING MACHINES THAT WAS RIGGED AND THEY AIN'T COMPLAINING."
 
BULLY BOY THEN CHOKED ON A FRUIT ROLL UP WHICH PRESENTED THESE REPORTERS WITH BOTH A MORAL AND PROFESSIONAL DILEMMA: IF WE SAVE HIM WERE WE HARMING THE WORLD?  AND, IF WE SAVED HIM WERE WE BECOMING A PART OF THE STORY -- A JOURNALISTIC NO-NO.
 
FORTUNATELY, VICE DICK CHENEY WAS SKEET SHOOTING AND THE GUN BLAST STARTLED BULLY BOY ENOUGH TO DISLODGE THE FRUIT ROLL UP AND THE N.I.E. ON IRAN.  (WAVING THE LATTER, HE SAID HE KNEW HE'D PUT IT SOMEWHERE.)
 
HE THEN AGREED THAT IT WASN'T JUST CROOKED VOTING MACHINES AND THE SUPREME COURT THAT INSTALLED HIM, "IT WAS DEFENSE CONTRACTORS! THEY LOVE KILLING ALMOST AS MUCH AS I DO AND THEY LOVE ME!"
 
AS A RESULT HE POINTED OUT THAT OSHKOSH TRUCK AND OTHER DEFENSE CONTRACTORS WOULD "CLEAN UP PRETTY."
 
 
 
As noted by Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) today: "In the state of Washington, the court-martial of First Lt. Ehren Watada begins today.  Seven months ago, he became the first commissioned officer in the country to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq.  He faces four years in prison.  He is charged with one count of missing movement and two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer for refusing to ship out with his unit."  Aaron Glantz (IPS) reports on actions that took place Sunday in Tacoma, Washington as Iraq Veterans Against the War and others organized a strong show of support for Watada and notes that Helga Aguayo and her children left California to be present and speak to the crowd: "We are here because it's important to show support for people who resist wars.  We know what Watada's family is going through.  My husband has been fighting for more than three years to be declared a conscientious objector.  He is so opposed to war that when his commander sent him out on patrol he did so without putting any bullets in his gun."  Helga Aguayo is married to Agustin Aguayo  who awaits word from the US Court of Appeals on his c.o. status but the military isn't waiting on the verdict and has scheduled his court-martial for March 6th. 
 
Aaron Glantz also reported this morning on the news break of KPFA's The Morning Show, where he described to Aileen Alfandary that "hundreds of people" were present on Sunday (including Sean Penn) and that "People feel that this a very important moment for the anti-war movement."  Glantz will be reporting on the court-martial for The KPFA Evening News today (6:00 pm PST) as well as for KPFA's The Morning Show while the court-martial lasts.
 
Sunday Medea Benjamin told  The KPFA Evening News, "I think that there's a lot of pressure coming down on the military to not allow this officer to prove the unconstitutionality of this war because that would open the floodgates not only for other people in the miliitary to make the same claim but what does that say about President Bush and the Bush administration for getting us into this war in an unconstitituional way.  That would lead, to me, to say there's grounds for impeachment."   They are attempting to make an example of Ehren Watada with the mistaken belief that coming down hard on him will 'whip' the others into line.  Of course, it was doing his job that led Watada to his stand.  As Watada explained to Tomas Alex Tizon (Los Angeles Times), he began researching the issue of Iraq on the advice of his battalion commander, "He told us, 'If you don't know all there is to know about your mission, you're failing yourself and you're failing your soldiers."  Attempting to honor and live up to his commission led Watada to discover the realities of the illegal war and to the stand he has taken.
 
Today, Mike Barber and Kery Murakami (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) report that the main expected issue at the 9:00 am start of the court-martial was to be the selection of officers to serve on the jury.  As Hal Bernton (Seattle Times) reported on Sunday: "The officers will form a 'panel of peers,' the military equivalent of a jury, and determine whether Watada spends up to four years in prison in one of the most high-profile cases to be tried at Fort Lewis."  Present at today's court-martial, to show support, was Vietnam war resister David Mitchell.  Khurram Saeed (The Journal News, White Plains) noted that Mitchell states Watada's "stand is the same" as the one he took during Vietnam and that Bob Watada and Rosa Sakanishi (Watada's father and step-mother) requested he attend.  Hal Bernton and Nancy Bartley (Seattle Times) report: "As the court-martial began, anti-war activists converged outside the fort for vigils and rallies in support of Watada.  By late morning protesters were setting up in a park a few blocks from the fort's main gate.  Many trucks and cars arriving at the park bore anti-Bush bumper stickers.  A charter bus from Portland drove up and a stream of Watada supporters emerged carrying signs.  One sign said, "Thank you Ehren Watada."  
 
There was action inside Building 2027 as well.  Adam Lynn (The News Tribune, Tacoma) reports: "Honlulu attorney Eric Seitz said rulings that have gone against the Stryker Brigade officer in pre-trial motions, including the exclusion of many defense witnesses, rendered the proceedings 'almost comical' and at one point called the case 'an attrocity.'  'There's really nothing for us to say in this courtroom,' Seitz said during pre-trial motions in a wood-paneled courtroom."  Needless to say, Judge Toliet wasn't pleased. (Judge Toliet?  From The Third Estate Sunday Review: "The 'judge by the way is John Head.  We think it's fitting that his first and last name are both slang for toilets.  We think the 'judge' has taken justice into the crapper and flushed it down.")  Pleased or not, Seitz made his points.
 
And others are making a point of standing up.  Anita Weier (The Capital Times) reports that actions are ongoing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where students are showing their support for Watada and quotes student Chris Dols: "Today is the date of Watada's court martial.  We wanted to show soldiers who resist that they have our support, and others who are thinking about resisting that they will have our support.  I agree with Ehren Watada that this is an illegal war, and that it is right to refuse to carry out illegal orders.  The U.S. was not acting in defense.  This was an agressive war based on lies." 
 
 
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March 6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
 
 
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
 
 
As today we are a nation at war, it is good to keep in mind that things can change.  People learn, little by little.  Lies are exposed.  Wars once popular gradually come under suspicion.  That happens when enough people speak and act in accord with their conscience, appealing to the American jury with the power of truth.
 
-- Howard Zinn, "A  Break-In For Peace," A Power Governments Cannot Suppress, page 219.
 
Ehren Watada and all war resisters expose the lies.  They do so when there is coverage and when there isn't.  And, as we all know, they do it when independent media, print division, can't be bothered to cover them or to honor the honor the power of the people or what Zinn's rightly called "the American jury". 
 
In other news of war resistance, US war resister Kyle Snyder has returned to Canada.  Gerry Condon (Soldier Say No!) reports that Kyle Snyder and Maleah Friesen "moved to the quaint little town of Nelson" where "they have joined another war resister couple, Ryan and Jenna Johnson from California.  Now the four of them are urgently seeking funds so they can rent a 2-bedroom apartment together" -- donations can be sent to Kyle Snyder, 310 A Victoria St., Nelson, BC, V1L 4K4, Canada or online via Courage to Resist (where they are tax-deductable). Synder depolyed to Iraq and, returning to the US in April of 2005, made the decision to self-check out and went to Canada.  Following war resister Darrell Anderson's return from Canada to the US, Snyder decided to return as well, his attorney worked out an agreement with the US military, so, on October 31st, he turned himself in at Fort Knox only to self-check out again when the military refused to live up to the agreement.  Condon quotes Synder stating: "I didn't leave Canada in order to go to jail -- just the opposite.  I returned to the U.S. because the Army said they would discharge me with no jail time.  But the Army lied to me -- again."
 
Following his decision to self-check out again, Snyder remained in the United States speaking out against the war, raising awareness on the issue of war resisters, doing reconstruction work in New Orleans over the Thanksgiving week.  During all of that, a warrant for his arrest existed.  In December, things changed a bit as police began showing up at his scheduled appearances with the intent to arrest him.  They never managed.  Synder would speak via cell phone when unable to appear in person and he is now back in Canada.
 
 
 
 
 


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