Wednesday,
July 16, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces
another death, reactions to US war resister Robin Long's deportation,
today's scheduled court-martial, Katty-van-van takes it on the chin and
nose, BonusGates still ignored by Panhandle Media, and more.
Starting with war resistance. As noted yesterday, US war resister Robin Long was deported from Canada. Robin's story makes the New York Times today (A14) with an article by Ian Austen and a photo by Darryl Dyck (The Canadian Press) of Sarah Bjorknas.
Austen notes, "Mr. Long was expelled a day after the Federal Court of
Canada rejected his request to delay his removal order pending further
legal appeals. That decision and Mr. Long's expulsion were somewhat
unexpected. Two other American deserters received Federal Court
permission this month to stay in Canada to continue their appeals. . .
. Sadia Qureshi, a spokeswoman for Diane Finley, the immigration
minister, said agents from the Canada Border Service Agency sent Mr.
Long back to the United States from British Columbia, where he had been
living, at 9:55 a.m. local time." Petti Fong (Toronto Star) speaks with War Resisters Support Campaign - Vancouver's
Sarah Bjorknas, "In Ontario, where he lived for a time, Long was
engaged to be married and had a child, according to Sarah Bjorknas, one
of his supporters. About 50 American deserters are currently making
refugee claims to stay in Canada, said Bjorknas, and a couple of
hundred are presumed to be living quietly underground." Robin and Renee
had a child (the child and Renee are Canadian). That should have been
enough for any Canadian court. Some form of immigration status should
have been granted Robin since he was the father of a Canadian child.
Check the laws -- something Judge Anna Mactavish appears not to have
done. As Ruth noted last night,
"Today is very sad because Robin was deported. It is also very sad
because a Canadian judge decided to break up a family. I hope the young
boy is able some day to ask Judge Mactavish why she sent his father out
of the country." Chris Cook (Gorilla Radio) interviewed Sarah Bjorknas Monday night. UPI cites
'word warrior' army Major Nathan Banks who "said Long would be returned
to Fort Knox, Ky., for disciplinary procedures, which could include
prison time." Courage to Resist explains,
"Courage to Resist has made civilian legal representation available to
Robin and will be doing everything possible to provide him our full
support. We plan to collaborate with many other groups in our efforts
to help Robin in the coming weeks. Refusing to fight in an illegal war
is not a crime--except under the Uniform Code of Military (In)Justice."
Liam Lahey (The Villager) explores
the reactions and notes: "Dale Landry is wanted by the U.S. Air Force
for refusing to fight in Iraq after serving in Afghanistan. Landry
spent the night of July 14 in full uniform outside the U.S. Consulate
on University Avenue in support of Long. The Parkdale resident, who
turned 23 this past week, lives with two other American military
personnel in a small apartment." Tom Banse (OPB News -- link has text
and audio)
speaks with Iraq Veterans Against the WarAsh Woolson
US war resister who states, "The Canadian people are not for the war
in Iraq. It seems that the government is really pushing against these
veterans and it's not the people." Meanwhile Janice Tibbetts and Linda Nguyen (Canwest News Service) dig into the legal aspects:
"'We've got a divided court,' said Toronto lawyer Geraldine Sadoway,
whose client, Justin Colby, recently lost his refugee bid, after
fleeing to Canada two years ago following a one-year stint as a medic
in Iraq. Ms. Sadoway says she cannot figure out why the Federal Court
rejected Mr. Colby's claim on June 26, only one week before it handed the first ever victory to deserter Joshua Key, who also served in Iraq."
Robin is from Idaho and the Idaho Statesman notes,
"A Boise native is believed to be the first deserter from the Iraq war
to be deported back to the U.S. from Canada. Late Tuesday, Robin Long,
25, was en route from Canada to Fort Lewis, Wash., said Army Capt. Greg
Dorman. From there, the private first class will be taken to Fort
Carson, Colo., where he was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry
Division, which was recently renamed the 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry
Division, said Dorman, a Fort Carson spokesman." Robert Matas (Globe and Mail) explains
that "Canadian authorities failed to co-ordinate the deportation with
U.S. military police. Mr. Long spent last night in a jail cell at the
Whatcom County prison, just south of the Canada-U.S. border" and quotes
police Sgt Ernie Stach declaring, "We're in the process of
co-ordinating the transfer. I don't know when he will go." We know
where he won't go: Fort Knox. After ignoring the story all week --
declared today, "He's expected to be returned to his unit at Fort Knox,
Kentucky." Pravda on the Hudson. Linda Nguyen (Canwest News Service) quotes
Fort Knox spokesperson Ryan Brus who states Long will be going to Fort
Carson until a recommendation is made by the unit commander about what
to do next and that he is returning in time to "witness the case of
James Burmeister, an American deserter who is currently facing criminal
charges at Fort Knox." July 4th, Louisville's WHAS11 reported (text and video) on James Burmeister
Renee
Murphy: . . . But first here, our top story, we're looking at the
charges being brought against a US soldier. Supporters say that
Private 1st Class James Burmeister should be back in Oregon with his
family this Fourth of July holiday but instead he is being held at Fort
Knox facing a court-martial on AWOL and desertion charges. WHAS11's
Kelsey Starks joins us now ith more on our top story. Kelsey?
Kelsey
Starks: 23-year-old James Burmeister is being held at Fort Knox for
five months now. He is charged with deserting his army unit while on
leave from Iraq. Yesterday he got a court-martial date but his friends
and family say because he suffers from head injuries Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder after surviving a roadside bomb attack in Iraq, they're
hoping some of those charges can be dismissed.
Helen
Burmeister: My son is an Iraqi War veteran. And I'm very proud of him
today. He fought bravely in Iraq. He followed orders. He was wounded
in a roadside bomb. And he's been diagonsed with PTSD and a possible
brain injury.
Kelsey
Starks: Video blogger James Pence followed Helen Burmeister to Fort
Knox last week where she was fighting for her son, hoping to get him
out of Fort Knox. PFC James Burmeister enlisted in the army in June of
2005. Two years later while on leave he went AWOL -- Absent Without
Leave -- to Canada. After ten months, he turned himself in to Fort
Knox.
Nina Benson:
He went AWOL after six months of being there when he was back in
Germany on his rest and recuperation because he didn't feel that the
treatment that he was getting for his injuries were proper -- were up
to par with what he should be getting.
Kelsey
Starks: Fort Knox is one of only two processing centers for army
deserters. Nearly 5,000 army army soldiers were charged with deserting
last year -- that's a number up 92% from 2004.
Harold Trainer: They really do need to find more solutions.
Kelsey
Starks: Harold Trainer and his wife Carol [Rawert-Trainer] are
following James' case very closely here in Louisville. They both
served in the military during Vietnam.
Carol
Rawert-Trainer: It's not rare that there are so many suffing from PTSD
today that aren't getting help. That part's not rare. And it's not
even rare that we have AWOLs anymore. The rare thing is how aggressive
the army is going after James instead of just giving him a discharge.
Harold
Trainer: Those young men and women give our country and our government
a blank check when they sign to go into the military. The country and
the government really needs to give them a blank check back to take
care of them.
Kelsey
Starks: Now a Fort Knox spokesperson did not return our phone calls
this afternoon. If James is convicted of desertion, he could get a
dishonorable discharge and even face time in prison. His court-martial
date, by the way, is scheduled for July the 16th. Kelsey Starks,
WHAS11 News.
There
is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which
includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste,
Michael Barnes, 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,
Jose Vasquez, 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,
Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, 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.
In Iraq today one handed, one halted. Deborah Haynes (Times of London) reports that Qadisiyah Province was handed over to Iraqi control -- or what passes for it. That's one handed. Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) reports
that the handover of Al-Anbar Province "could be delayed because of a
dispute between Sunni Arab trial leaders and politicians in the vast
desert region. . . . The row hinges on who should be in charge of
security in the former insurgent heartland. The council wants ultimate
control, which normally happens when U.S.-led forces transfer security,
while tribal leaders want Iraq's military to have the final say."
Handed, halted and still the violence continues. As Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) observes
today, "For all the statistics showing improved security in Iraq, many
parts of the country remain astoundingly violent, places where
bullet-ridden bodies turn up every day and bombs destroy lives and
families in an instant." The BBC reports a Tal Afar car bombing that "targeted afternoone shoppers." Xinhua notes that 16 died and 94 were wounded. Iran's Press TV reports, "The town's mayor said all the dead were civilians."
In other reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
2 Baghdad roadside bombings that left six people wounded, a Mosul
roadside bombing that left two people wounded, a Mosul car bombing that
claimed 2 lives with either more injured, and another (this would be
the third) Mosul car bombing that killed the driver of the car and left
six people wounded. CBS and AP report:
"A female suicide bomber blew herself up Tuesday evening inside the
Baghdad house of a municipal leader who was planning to establish a
U.S.-allied Sunni group in the area" -- "Awakening" Council -- with 3
left dead (plus the bomber) and seven injured. Reuters notes
a Mosul mortar attack that left two people injured and an Iskandariya
roadside bombing that left one "Awakening" Council member injured.
Shootings?
Reuters notes 1 Iraqi soldier shot dead in Mosul and 1 Shi'ite cleric shot and Basra and left wounded.
Today the US military announced:
"A Multi-National Force - West Marine died of wounds he received in
action against an enemy force in al-Anbar Province July 14." The
announcement brought the total number of US service members who have
died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4121.
Before anything else, Martha, Shirley and Eli advise about several topics in the e-mails. First, Ava's
response to one bit of b.s., "When you go out of your way to insist
you're not Latino -- to the point that your statements are insulting --
you really have no right to then try to speak for Latino. Stick to
Queens -- where you're still not hanging around with Latinos -- and
stick to speaking for the racial group you have chosen to self-identify
with. You have given up the right to speak for or to Latinos. And we
don't need your lies. Hillary had huge Latino support. You can try
shutting your damn mouth instead of lying. And shame on KPFA for
playing that nonsense -- but note that it was a Hillary Hater who did
the interview. As a Latina based in California and on the road across
the country every week, I think I know my own community a little better
than someone who rejected them publicly and repeatedly. Shut your damn
mouth, dear." This is something we can explore further in our TV piece
Sunday. And e-mail complaints about the nonsense passing for
'journalism' at too many outlets is not being ignored. The TV program
(entertainment) Ava and I are reviewing this Sunday allows us to pull
all the nonsense in. That includes the disaster broadcast today which
included "And US war resisters may see refuge in Canada." When the
piece runs (which we haven't written yet), it'll be clear why Ava and I
have both alluded to things here but otherwise just walked on by them.
The trash that's passed for 'news' this week fits perfectly with the
program we're reviewing and we're both taking plenty of notes
and reading the e-mails.
Turning to US presidential
politics. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is getting
back slaps and ass pats from his fawning press which refuses to note
(a) he's only promising a partial-withdrawal, (b) his 'promises' are
meaningless and (c) this is a reversal of his earlier statements that
the US would leave (combat troops only) Iraq in 10 months. Remember
that? He declared it in Houston Texas. One single sentence. Had
Tom-Tom Hayden so excited he stretched that one-liner in a "Gosh, Wally
. . ." column. Speaking of Jerry Mathers, Little Andy Malcolm (Los Angeles Times) blogged this morning, "A funny thing happened over on the Barack Obama campaign website in the last few days. The
parts that stressed his opposition to the 2007 troop surge and his
statement that more troops would make no difference in a civil war have
somehow disappeared. John McCain and Obama have been going at it heavily in recent days over the benefits of the surge." Does it all seem so very familiar? From the January 10th snapshot:
"But
since you raised the judgment issue, let's go over this again. That is
the central argument for his campaign. 'It doesn't matter that I
started running for president less a year after I got to the Senate
from the Illinois State Senate. I am a great speaker and a charismatic
figure and I'm the only one who had the judgment to oppose this war
from the beginning. Always, always, always.' " "First it
is factually not true that everybody that supported that resolution
supported Bush attacking Iraq before the UN inspectors were through.
Chuck Hagel was one of the co-authors of that resolution. The only
Republican Senator that always opposed the war. Every day from the
get-go. He authored the resolution to say that Bush could go to war
only if they didn't co-operate with the inspectors and he was assured
personally by Condi Rice as many of the other Senators were. So, first
the case is wrong that way.""Second, it is wrong that Senator Obama got
to go through 15 debates trumpeting his superior judgment and how he
had been against the war in every year, numerating the years, and never
got asked one time, not once, 'Well, how could you say, that when you said in 2004 you didn't know how you would have voted on the resolution? You said in 2004 there was no difference between you and George Bush on the war and you took that speech you're now running on off your website in 2004* and there's no difference in your voting record and Hillary's ever since?' Give me a break. "This
whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen...So you can talk
about Mark Penn all you want. What did you think about the Obama thing
calling Hillary the Senator from Punjab? Did you like that?" "Or
what about the Obama hand out that was covered up, the press never
reported on, implying that I was a crook? Scouring me, scathing
criticism, over my financial reports. Ken Starr spent $70 million and
indicted innocent people to find out that I wouldn't take a nickel to
see the cow jump over the moon. "So, you
can take a shot at Mark Penn if you want. It wasn't his best day. He
was hurt, he felt badly that we didn't do better in Iowa. But you know,
the idea that one of these campaigns is positive and the other is
negative when I know the reverse is true and I have seen it and I have
been blistered by it for months, is a little tough to take. Just
because of the sanitizing coverage that's in the media, doesn't mean
the facts aren't out there. "
A
friend called me a few days ago from Massachusetts, astounded at a WBUR
radio program featuring Glen Greenwald from Salon.com and Katrina
vanden Heuvel of The Nation, in which vanden Heuvel not only
unflaggingly defended Obama's open and bald embrace of right-wing
positions during the last few weeks against Greenwald's criticism, but
also did it from the right herself, calling him a "progressive
pragmatist." She affirmed Tom Hayden's insistence on the Progressives
for Obama blog that the candidate is a progressive, but a new kind of
progressive, or some such twaddle. In response to Greenwald's sharp
rebuke of Obama's FISA sellout, she acknowledged that he had 'missed an
opportunity to lead.' Defending his June 30 patriotism speech that
included a gratuitous rehearsal of the right-wing line about
anti-Vietnam War protesters from the "counterculture" who "blamed
America for all that was wrong in the world" and the canard about
antiwar activists "failing to honor" returning Vietnam veterans, which
Obama asserted "remains a national shame to this day" despite the fact
that is an utter lie, vanden Heuvel pointed again to Hayden's
endorsement as a sign that Obama's cheap move must be okay because,
after all, Hayden was a founder of SDS. And perhaps most tellingly,
despite their disagreements, Greenwald and vanden Heuvel both supported
Obama's practice of going out of his way to attack black poor people,
most recently in his scurrilous Father's Day speech and again before
the NAACP. (And, by the way, he grew up without a father and is running
for president, no?) To vanden Heuvel, Obama's contretemps with Jesse
Jackson, who, ironically, has his own history of making such attacks,
around this issue reflects a "generational division" among black
people, with Obama representing a younger generation that values
'personal responsibility.' She also, for good measure, asserted that
Obama has been 'nailed unfairly' for his cozying up to the evangelicals
and promising to give them more federal social service money. In
explaining that he comes out of a 'community organizing' tradition
based in churches in Chicago, she didn't quite say that the coloreds
love their churches. But she didn't really have to say it out loud, did
she?
Reed recommends an article with a link that's not working currently. I think this is the Liza Featherson, Doug Henwood and Christian Parenti article ("Action Will Be Taken") referred to. When
Reed's hard hitting column ends, you can scroll down to comments for
Tom-Tom's running buddy rushing to lie yet again. I'm really not sure,
maybe this is just me, that a New Alliance Party (Marxist) member is
really the person to rush to defend Barack or Tom-Tom. But have at it,
Carl, it's your funeral. Meanwhile John Murphy (Dissident Voice) examines
the Democrats' BonusGate scandal in Pennsylvania in light of the
criminal charges that have emerged against Democrats for their illegal
efforts to keep Ralph Nader off the state ballot in 2004 (Amy Goodman
hasn't said one word about this since proof emerged, has she?): "The
grand jury report described a 'massive' effort by House Democrats to
oust the independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader from the ballot
in 2004. The report also says that in 2006 the same machine was fired
up again to remove Carl Romanelli, the Green Party candidate for U.S.
Senate. The grand jury found that as many as 50 Democrat House Caucus
staff members participated in the Nader petition challenge and
contributed a staggering number of man hours." Peter Jackson (AP) quotes
Nader's attorney Oliver Hall stating, "We are going to aggressively
pursue every avenue to oppose this judgment. It now appears to be
clear that (the judgment) is the result of a criminal conspiracy."
Here's a thought on the silence from the 'independent' journalists --
maybe when you devalue and disrespect democracy so much that you launch
and join "Don't Run ___" campaigns, it's just a short step to breaking
the law to prevent a candidate from making the ballot? Maybe their
silence is due to their own guilt?
Nader is running as an independent presidential candidate this year and Heidi Przybla (Bloomberg News) reports
that Morley Winograd ("former chairman of the Michigan Democratic
Party") could get a considerable number of votes in Michigan if his
campaign gets on the ticket, "You have in Ralph Nader's candidacy a
genuine Arab-American who has a lot of notoriety and publicity."
Winograd estimates Nader could receive a qurter of the Arab community's
vote. Kris Alingod (AHN) reports Nader is now on the ballot in 12 states.
With Nader/Gonzalez being blocked out of the mainstream, we have to create our own media.
Thousands of Americans have learned about the Nader/Gonzalez campaign from our videos.
Sometimes, the medium is the message.
By
supporting Nader/Gonzalez media, you'll be supporting the
Nader/Gonzalez message - shift the power from the corporations back
into the hands of the people.
And you'll be supporting our current ballot access drive. (We're approaching our goal of $60,000 by Sunday. Help us get there now.)
So, check out our new home page - featuring our video player - front and center.
Lastly, Andrea Lewis debuts as the host of the Sunday Morning Show on KPFA
this weekend. The two hour broadcast (which streams online) airs
Sunday from nine in the morning until eleven in the morning. Lewis was
formerly co-host of The Morning Show with Philip Maldari (Aimee Allison took over for Lewis).
An
American Army deserter who sought refuge in Canada from the war in Iraq
was expelled Tuesday to the United States. The deserter, Robin Long, a
native of Boise, Idaho, is believed to be the first from the Iraq war
returned by the Canadian government. Mr. Long was expelled a day
after the Federal Court of Canada rejected his request to delay his
removal order pending further legal appeals. That decision and Mr.
Long's expulsion were somewhat unexpected. Two other American deserters
received Federal Court permission this month to stay in Canada to
continue their appeals. Since the Iraq war began in 2003, about 200
people have abandoned the United States military and fled to Canada,
according to groups that represent their interests and provide them
with support, legally and otherwise.
Dale
Landry is wanted by the U.S. Air Force for refusing to fight in Iraq
after serving in Afghanistan. Landry spent the night of July 14 in full
uniform outside the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue in support of
Long. The Parkdale resident, who turned 23 this past week, lives with
two other American military personnel in a small apartment. "We're
shocked after all the work that's gone into the campaign, the opinion
polls, the people signing our petitions and all of the overwhelming
public support, and still (Long's) going to be deported," he said.
"It's really underhanded stuff that's going on." Lee Zaslofski,
co-ordinator of the Toronto-based War Resisters Support Campaign, said
he's spoken with the 20 known war resisters based in this city and
added there is much concern for Long. "We're very disappointed and
somewhat angry," he said. "It seems the Harper government is determined
to act as an enforcement arm for the U.S. Pentagon. Robin Long is the
first score they've had. The Canadian Border Services Agency will
(deport) him when they feel like it and they may have already done it
but we don't know. They're likely to do it in such a way as to avoid
publicity."
"We've
got a divided court," said Toronto lawyer Geraldine Sadoway, whose
client, Justin Colby, recently lost his refugee bid, after fleeing to
Canada two years ago following a one-year stint as a medic in Iraq. Ms.
Sadoway says she cannot figure out why the Federal Court rejected Mr.
Colby's claim on June 26, only one week before it handed the first ever
victory to deserter Joshua Key, who also served in Iraq. The court
ordered the refugee board to reconsider Mr. Key's claim, on the grounds
that the U.S. soldier witnessed enough human rights abuses during a
stint in Iraq that he could be eligible to qualify for asylum. Ms.
Sadoway attributes the apparently conflicting rulings to the fact that
different judges decided the cases and that the court is still trying
to find its way in the emerging issue of how to deal with dozens of
army deserters whom the refugee board has concluded do not fit the
traditional mould for asylum.
UPI cites
'word warrior' army Major Nathan Banks who "said Long would be returned
to Fort Knox, Ky., for disciplinary procedures, which could include
prison time." Many, like the Detroit Free Press and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, cover the story in their around-the-world briefs roundup.
Interestingly,
the Canadian parliament had passed a motion in June to let American war
resisters to stay permanently in the country. The House of Commons
overwhelmingly supported a motion moved by opposition New Democratic
Party (NDP) leader Olivia Chow, which "reflected ordinary Canadians'
belief that George Bush’s war in Iraq is wrong and that resisters
should not be deported to jail". The motion called on the Canadian
government to allow all American war resisters and their immediate
family members to stay in Canada permanently. Through that non-binding
motion, the government was also asked to immediately withdraw any
removal or deportation orders against war resisters. However, the
Conservative government of Stephen Harper, who is close to US President
George Bush, paid no heed to the motion. Most of these US soldiers, who
call themselves conscientious objectors, defected to Canada when they
were ordered to go to fight in Iraq. Many say they were being sent to
the war zone for the second time.
"Interestingly," IANS
is not aware (as you'll see if you use the link) that, during Vietnam,
Canada provided safe harbor to US war resisters who deserted.
Also
interesting is not just how Judge Anne Mactavish could break up a home
but how so many in the press seem unaware of that fact (or unwilling to
share it). From Petti Fong's "U.S. army deserter first to be deported" (Toronto Star):
In
Ontario, where he lived for a time, Long was engaged to be married and
had a child, according to Sarah Bjorknas, one of his supporters. About
50 American deserters are currently making refugee claims to stay in
Canada, said Bjorknas, and a couple of hundred are presumed to be
living quietly underground. In a 2006 interview
with a weekly magazine in Boise, Idaho, Long said he hid out in a
friend's basement before catching a ride to Canada in 2005. Long,
who enlisted when he was 19, said he had wanted to be in the army when
he was growing up, but decided that he didn't want to go to Iraq after
talking to people who had been there. "These people came back and
were telling these horrific stories and our superiors were egging
people on, some people were actually volunteering to go over there and
it just seemed like justified homicide," he said in the interview. "It
didn't sit right in my stomach. I morally couldn't do it."
Both
Robin and Renee presented Robin as the father. That should have been
enough for any Canadian court. (Some form of immigration status should
have been granted Robin since he was the father of a Canadian child.
Check the laws -- something Mactavish appears not to have done.)
Show it to them, loan it to them, or just give it to them - but just make sure they see it.
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Throughout
Iraq, legislators, armed factions and former members of Saddam
Hussein's regime were electioneering Tuesday — some with bombs, others
through vitriolic audio messages — in an effort to bolster themselves
for the scheduled fall provincial elections The government hasn't
set an election date, but Iraqis of all persuasions think that the
process could reshape the political landscape. Nearly every interest
group has begun positioning itself. In one day: *A key former
member of Saddam's regime who's eluded capture purportedly released an
audio message for the first time, demanding that his followers not be
ignored. *Suspected members of the group al Qaida in Iraq set off
two explosions targeting Iraqi army recruits in an effort to remind
voters that their elected government can't protect them and they should
therefore abandon the process. *In parliament, Kurdish legislators
walked out of a session after rival sects suggested that a key northern
province shouldn't vote this fall.
The
walkout by roughly a fifth of Parliament’s 275 members delayed voting
on the bill, which governs provincial council elections scheduled to
take place across Iraq this fall. The dispute could yet be resolved
quickly, but it introduced more uncertainty into preparations for the
nationwide elections. Parliament will meet again on Thursday to discuss
the bill, several members said, and talks are continuing in small
meetings. The walkout underscores the political power struggle among
the Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen populations in the oil-rich northern
province of Tamim and its ethnically mixed capital, Kirkuk.
He glimpsed a hospital orderly, who grasped a human head. "Who knows whose head this is?" the orderly asked. Mr.
Hamid had already lost his father to an insurgent’s bullet, and his
home to an insurgent's bomb. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Hamid, a
26-year-old father of three, drove to an Iraqi Army recruiting center
in Baquba. He arrived just as the two suicide bombers blew
themselves up, sending iron ball bearings tearing through scores of
young recruits like Mr. Hamid, killing 33 people and wounding 69. It
was the bloodiest attack in three months in Diyala, perhaps the most
dangerous province in Iraq, and it seemed calculated to intimidate
Iraqi soldiers preparing to begin the fourth major offensive since last
year to drive Sunni Arab guerrillas from the province's lush palm
groves. The fireball "ate everything," Mr. Hamid said, as he moaned
from the pain of shrapnel in his chest. "I have lost everything and my
life is nothing, and that’s what made me go to join the army to earn a
living for my family, who would otherwise starve in the land of oil and
thieves." For all the statistics showing improved security in Iraq,
many parts of the country remain astoundingly violent, places where
bullet-ridden bodies turn up every day and bombs destroy lives and
families in an instant.
A funny thing happened over on the Barack Obama campaign website in the last few days. The
parts that stressed his opposition to the 2007 troop surge and his
statement that more troops would make no difference in a civil war have
somehow disappeared. John McCain and Obama have been going at it heavily in recent days over the benefits of the surge.
Andy even posts a video
so he probably assumes he did his job. It's never that simple. What's
the word for what Andy's failing to supply? "Perspective." In the
courts, someone would be arguing "goes to pattern." Barack's campaign
websites do, after all, have a funny way of disappearing Iraq. Glen
Ford and Bruce Dixon noted that years ago. Some might argue that it's
not fair to expect Andy to know of other outlets. ("Informed"
apparently no longer being a journalistic requirement.) Really? When a
former president talks about it a political reporter doesn't have to be
aware of it? Especially when the former president is attacked with
slurs for speaking the truth?
"But
since you raised the judgment issue, let's go over this again. That is
the central argument for his campaign. 'It doesn't matter that I
started running for president less a year after I got to the Senate
from the Illinois State Senate. I am a great speaker and a charismatic
figure and I'm the only one who had the judgment to oppose this war
from the beginning. Always, always, always.' " "First it
is factually not true that everybody that supported that resolution
supported Bush attacking Iraq before the UN inspectors were through.
Chuck Hagel was one of the co-authors of that resolution. The only
Republican Senator that always opposed the war. Every day from the
get-go. He authored the resolution to say that Bush could go to war
only if they didn't co-operate with the inspectors and he was assured
personally by Condi Rice as many of the other Senators were. So, first
the case is wrong that way.""Second, it is wrong that Senator Obama got
to go through 15 debates trumpeting his superior judgment and how he
had been against the war in every year, numerating the years, and never
got asked one time, not once, 'Well, how could you say, that when you said in 2004 you didn't know how you would have voted on the resolution? You said in 2004 there was no difference between you and George Bush on the war and you took that speech you're now running on off your website in 2004* and there's no difference in your voting record and Hillary's ever since?' Give me a break. "This
whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen...So you can talk
about Mark Penn all you want. What did you think about the Obama thing
calling Hillary the Senator from Punjab? Did you like that?" "Or
what about the Obama hand out that was covered up, the press never
reported on, implying that I was a crook? Scouring me, scathing
criticism, over my financial reports. Ken Starr spent $70 million and
indicted innocent people to find out that I wouldn't take a nickel to
see the cow jump over the moon. "So, you can take a
shot at Mark Penn if you want. It wasn't his best day. He was hurt, he
felt badly that we didn't do better in Iowa. But you know, the idea
that one of these campaigns is positive and the other is negative when
I know the reverse is true and I have seen it and I have been blistered
by it for months, is a little tough to take. Just because of the
sanitizing coverage that's in the media, doesn't mean the facts aren't
out there. "
That's Bill Clinton from one of the key
moments of the primary campaign. "*" refers to the fact that it was
2003 and not 2004. If you remember how that unfolded it -- if you
don't, pay attention, it's a standard Barack trick -- the 'reply' from
the Obama campaign was to falsely scream "racism". That's how they
operate. St. Bambi gets criticized and they scream "racism!" with the
hopes that everyone will immediately agree and the criticism will be
ignored. They're trying that with The New Yorker currently, to avoid
anyone noting the article running inside the magazine. No matter how
many times surrogates like Clyburn and the non-Democrat sobbed in
public, embarrassing themselves since they are (supposed to be) grown
ups, that Barack wasn't a fairy tale, they never changed the reality of
the statement. (All they did was come off like Peter Pan trying to save
Tinkerbell. Clap your hands if you believe -- or if you just want to
stop Clyburn's sobbing.)
Somebody else's brand of politics appears to have intruded on Obama's campaign. For a while the whole speech could be found on Obama's campaign web site,
a key statement of principle for a serious US Senate candidate in an
election season when the President's party threatens the world with
permanent war and pre-emptive invasion, and cows US citizens with fear
mongering, color coded alerts, secret detentions and the abrogation of
constitutional liberties. Although Obama may have appeared at meetings
of other citizens opposed to the war or let them use his name, no
further public statements from the candidate on these important issues
have appeared. Then, a few weeks ago, Barack Obama's heartfelt
statement of principled opposition to lawless militarism and the rule
of fear was stricken without explanation from his campaign web site,
and replaced with mild expressions of "anxiety": But
I think [people are] all astonished, I think, in many quarters, about,
for example, the recent Bush budget and the prospect that, for example,
veterans benefits might be cut. And so there's discussion about that, I
think, among both supporters and those who are opposed to the war. What
kind of world are we building? And I think that's - the anxiety is
about the international prospects and how we potentially reconstruct
Iraq. And the costs there, then, tie in very directly with concerns
about how we're handling our problems at home. His
passion evaporated, a leading black candidate for the US Senate mouths
bland generalities on war, peace and the US role in the world. Barack
Obama, professor of constitutional law, is mum on the Patriot Act,
silent about increased surveillance of US citizens, secret searches,
and detentions without trial. His campaign literature and speeches
ignore Patriot Act 2, which would detain US citizens without trial,
strip them of their nationality and deport them to - wherever, citizens
of no nation. For a black candidate who is utterly reliant upon a
fired up base among African American and progressive voters, who must
distinguish himself from a crowded Democratic field, this is strange
behavior, indeed. Polls show Blacks have consistently opposed
administration war policies by at least two to one, as does the white
progressive "base" of the party. Yet Obama appears determined to
contain, rather than amplify, these voices. [. . .] In
a June 13 letter to The Black Commentator, the Black candidate for U.S.
Senate defended his civil liberties, anti-war, and social welfare
legislative record, and requested "that folks take the time to find out
what my views are before they start questioning my passion for justice
or the integrity of my campaign effort." Specifically,
State Senator Obama maintains that an October 2002 anti-war speech was
removed from his campaign web site because "the speech was dated once
the formal phase of the war was over, and my staff's desire to
continually provide fresh news clips." The speech was returned to the
site following Associate Editor Bruce A. Dixon’s June 5 commentary, "In Search of the Real Barack Obama: Can a Black Senate candidate resist the DLC?" in which Mr. Dixon remarked, "Somebody else's brand of politics appears to have intruded on Obama's campaign."
As Apollonia 6 once sange, "It's looking dirty, I guess he's up to his old tricks."
Tuesday,
July 15, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, US war resister Robin Long
has reportedly been deported from Canada, England wants to stay in Iraq
"long-term," Barack Obama wants to get his sticky fingers on all of
Bully Boy's wars and vows Afghanistan is the fight he's going to throw
down in, Bully Boy gets a message from the Baath Party, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Chris Cook (Gorilla Radio) explained last
night, "To recap if you've just tuned in, Robin Long the American war
resister, who has been in Canada for some time, more than a year at
least, was arrested last year in Nelson
and has been going through these various court processes to avoid
deportation. His hearing was today in Vancouver where he was
petitioning for an extension so he could work on an appeal to try to
stay in the country because he faces arrest in the as a deserter in
the United States. Justice Mactavish in Vancouver denied that appeal
so it looks like Robin Long is on his way back to America to face what
passes for American justice." The War Resisters Support Campaign - Vancouver issued a call for action last night:
Supporters
of Robin Long and the War Resisters coming from both sides of the
border will gather in a peaceful protest under the Peace Arch at the
border at 9 am Tuesday July 15. (while the Peace Arch is neutral
ground, supporters should bring appropriate identification in the
unlikely event they are required to pass through Canadian Customs) In
the meantime, please take a moment to email or phone Stockwell Day,
Minister of Public Safety, and ask him to immediately stop the
deportation of U.S. Iraq war resister Robin Long. (The Canadian Border
Services Agency falls under his ministry). Also
ask him why the federal government is refusing to respect the clearly
expressed will of Canada's Parliament, that U.S. war resisters should
be allowed to stay and that deportation proceedings against them should
cease?In a recent Angus Reid poll, almost two-thirds of Canadians said
they want U.S. Iraq war resisters to be allowed to stay in Canada.
Demand to know why the Harper government is unwilling to be accountable
to Canadians. Minister of Public Security Stockwell Day Email: day.s@parl.gc.ca (Ottawa office); days1@parl.gc.ca (Penticton constituency office) Phone: 613.995.1702 (Ottawa); 250.770.4480 (Penticton constituency office) Fax: 613.995.1154 (Ottawa); 250.770.4484 (Penticton) Please check the War Resisters Support Campaign website for updates on Robin's status and on emergency actions. For more information about the campaign please visit: http://www.resisters.ca/
October 2, 2007, Long was arrested. October 4, 2007, he was released and Canada's CBS interviewed him (video link
is on upper right hand of the page). Robin told them, "When I got
arrested and was sitting in the detention cell in Nelson, I was pretty
sure I was going home right away. I was pretty sure I would be
deported. The way that the immigration officer made it sound, I would
be deported Friday. That's not quite what happened and I'm very
thankful for that." He was asked how he felt "about the challenges
ahead" and Robin responded, "I have at least a couple more months in
Canada and hopefully something will happen in the next couple of months
within the government and maybe some kind of legal action will let us
stay here other than the refugee protection. But if not I'm prepared
to go back to the United States and face up to desertion. It's better
than going to Iraq." The arrest was over documents sent but not
received because he had moved for work. That one incident triggered
everything that followed for Robin Long in spite of Canadian Judge Robert Barnes decision regarding Joshua Key's claims for refugee status issued on the Fourth of July as well as the motion the House of Commons passed June 3rd.
25-year-old
Robin Long is from Boise, Idaho and enlisted in July 2003. In March
2005, he was told he'd be going to Iraq and ordered to report to Fort
Carlson in April of 2005. Instead, he self-checked out. Long remained
underground for two months and went to Canada only for a wedding (June,
2005). While in Canada, liking what he saw, Long decided to stay. He
and his partner Renee have a son (born in Canada). The decision to
deport Robin will break up a family. A detail not noted in the press
coverage of the decision. Nor is it noted that, by Canadian law, as
the father of a Canadian citizen, Long could apply for (and be granted)
citizenship. "A good person and sort of a gentle soul" is how she's
always heard Robin described, Sarah Bjorknas explained to Chris Cook last night.
Chris
Cook: Is there another avenue of appeal Sarah for Robin or is he just
going to be whisked out of the country as we've seen other people that
Americans want to extradite done -- John Marshall comes to mind?
Sarah
Bjorknas: We understand that there are no other legal avenues. And
that indeed they have him and we don't know precisely where he is.
They don't have to tell us where and when they move him anywhere
including across the border.
Bjorknas also
explained that Robin was not being extradicted. Canada doesn't (and
didn't during Vietnam) have any treaty with the US that would cover
military desertions.
Robert Matas (Globe and Mail) reports
that Robin "was troubled by evidence of abuse of Iraqi detainees that
came out in May of 2004, Mr. [Shepherd] Moss said. Mr. Long concluded
the abuse was systemic and condoned by the U.S. administration, Mr.
Moss said. After some soul-searching, Mr. Long decided he would not go
to Iraq and would not participate or be complicit in what he believed
were war crimes, the lawyer said." Jeff Hodson (Metro News) explains
attorney Moss "argued Long faced lengthy jail times and could even get
the death penalty. The judge ruled that a death sentence was only a
'theoretical possibility' as the last soldier sentenced to death for
desertion was during the Second World War." Kim Bolan and Suzanne Ahearne (Vancouver Sun) and Brian Hutchinson (National Post)
point out that Long would be the first war resister deported from
Canada since the start of the illegal war. Judge Anne L. Mactavish
long career has included being the president of the Human Rights
Tribunal Panel back in the nineties. Apparently, that temporary post
carried only temporary awareness. Bob Ages, chair of the War Resisters Support Campaign - Vancouver, tells The Canadian Press,
"I don't think there's time to even file papers. We're down to the
wire here. She's [Mactavish] refused us the ability to follow due
process and exhaust all his legal avenues in Canada." Catherine Elsworth (Telegraph of London) notes
Mactavish "rejected his last-ditch plea for a stay of his deporation
order, saying he had failed to provide convincing evidence he would
suffer 'irreparable harm' if he returned to the US." Apparently,
Mactavish either didn't care about splitting up a family or wasn't
informed of it. Canada's New Democratic Party issued the following this afternoon:
NDP
MP Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas) is calling on the Conservative
government to stop the deportation of American Iraq war resister Robin
Long, scheduled for today.
"Stockwell Day,
Diane Finley and Stephen Harper should respect the will of Parliament
and the Canadian people and stop this deportation immediately," said
Siksay. "The House of Commons has passed a motion supporting a special
programme that would allow conscientious objectors who refuse to serve
in the war in Iraq to remain in Canada. The government must respect
this action by the House and stop deportation action against Robin Long
and other Iraq war resisters."
The Standing
Committee on Citizenship and Immigration reported to the House of
Commons about the need for such a programme, and on a motion moved by
MPs Olivia Chow and Siksay, the House concurred in that report.
"The
Canadian government and the Canadian people do not support George
Bush's illegal war in Iraq. We must have the courage of those
convictions and back them up by ensuring that Americans who take a
stand against that war receive a welcome in Canada," noted Siksay.
"Robin Long must be allowed to stay," Siksay concluded.
Robin Long described his position on the Iraq War, on staying in Canada and more back in October 2007:
Because
I feel the war in Iraq is an illegal war of aggression and it's an
indiscriminate killing of the Arab people and I believe it's all for
lies and the wrong reasons so I couldn't with good conscience take part
in that conflict. . . . When I joined the army, I thought that the war
in Iraq was a good thing. I was lied to by my president. The reasons
that were given, I thought they were valid. But just because I joined
the army didn't mean I abdicated my ability to evolve intellectually
and morally and what I saw in the independent media and even in
mainstream media changed my view of what was going on over there and
based on what I had learned I made a decision to desert. . . . When
people coming back from Iraq were proud of what they had done, bragging
about killing people and showing me pictures of their first kill with
big smiles on their faces and that just didn't sit right in my stomach.
So I made the decision then. That was probably the turning point right
there.
Laura Baziuk (Peace Arch News link has text and video) descibes
approximately 30 people gathering at the Peace Arch this morning to
show their support for Robin Long. The group carried signs with
slogans such as "ROBIN LONG BELONGS IN CANADA" and "war Resisters
welcome here." Demonstrator Carleen Pickard declared, "We believe he
was deported this morning so he is already in the United States." Allan Dowd (Reuters) has just had confirmation
that Long is out of Canada: "The Canada Border Services Agency
confirmed Long's removal, but declined to give other details, citing
privacy laws. Long's refugee claim had already been rejected and he
could not appeal Monday's court ruling."
There is a
growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes
Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael
Barnes, 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,
Jose Vasquez, 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,
Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, 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.
While Long is ordered deported, the British aren't leaving anytime soon, aren't leaving Iraq. The Independent of London notes
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced he will not set a time for
withdrawal and "Mr Brown is due to deliver a statement on Iraq to MPs
before the summer recess of Parliament on 22 July. Labour MPs said they
were disappointed by his response." James Kirkup (Telegraph of London) explains,
"Military commanders have told the Prime Minister that UK troops will
have to remain in Iraq in significant numbers well into next year. The
need to stay in southern Iraq to support . . . the Iraqi forces has
dashed any hopes ministers had of announcing a major withdrawal from
Iraq this summer." This follows Deborah Haynes (Times of London) reporting
yesterday on British Maj-Gen Barney White-Spunner's declaration that
the British military role in Iraq would be "long-term". Haynes also
reminded that the United Nations resolution expiring on December 31st
with talk of it not being renewed means the UK must come to an
agreement with Iraq for the British forces to remain.
Sunday Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Ali Hameed (New York Times) reported
that "the Anbar Provincial Council" was arguing that Al Anbar Province
is not ready to be handled by its own inhabitants and no transfer
should take place until after the elections. The elections are
scheduled for October whether they take place or not -- this is a White
House defined 'benchmark' that has long been delayed -- only time will
tell. Withing the region, there is a split between the council and
members of the "Awakening" Council -- it's a power struggle with the
latter feeling the requested delay is nothing but a way to influence
the upcoming elections. Al Anbar Province is a border province and an
influx of Iraqi refugees (presumably from that province only, unless
the rules for voting have been changed) from Jordan, Syria and Saudi
Arabia could also effect the outcome -- a point the journalists didn't
make. Today Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) reports
that the elections are yet again in jeopardy as a result of the Iraqi
parliament being unable to reach an agreement (specifically regarding
Kirkuk) and that no one is sure when the measure will come up again.
While there may or may not be elections in October, the Baath Party
leader issued a statement today. Nancy A. Youssef and Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) report
that Izzat Ibrahim al Douri released a recording where he vowed "the
Iraqi people will fight you [the US] until doomsday". They note that
he was vice-president under Saddam Hussein and also the nation's
military commander who became the party leader once Saddam was dead.
They also noted that in today's recording Izzat Ibrahim al Douri
"demanded that Bush withdraw American troops from Iraq and called on
him to reveal the true U.S. troop death toll, suggesting that the
American military was withholding information."
Also today, Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) reports,
"Two suicide bombers posing as army recruits struck an Iraqi base just
east of Baquba on Tuesday morning, killing at least 35 Iraqi recruits
and wounding 63, according to the Iraqi police and medical officials in
Diyala Province." BBC (link has text and video), citing Iraqi military sources, states,
"The two attackers mingled with a crowd of would-be recruits at an army
base in the city of Baquba and then blew themselves up". Baquba is the
capital of Diyala Province and China's Xinhau notes that the province "stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border". United Arab Emirates' The National Newspaper is calling the bombings "one of the deadliest attacks of this year". Nancy A. Youssef and Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) report,
"After the first bomber detonated himself at around 8 a.m., the
survivors began to flee. The second bomber chased them into a corner
and detonated into the crowd seconds later, said a man working at the
center who wanted to be identified only as Maj. Ghassan out of fears
for his safety." KUNA declares, "The second bombing targeted the crowd that rushed to rescue the victims of the first". Camilla Hall (Bloomberg News) cites Iraqi president Jalal Talabani's message on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan web site
today stating at least 30 people were killed in the Baquba bombings
while the US military insists the death toll was much lower. Going with
"more than 30" dead, Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times -- link has AP video) notes, "The attack took place near a joint U.S.-Iraqi security station, but there were no reports of American casualties." The Times of India quotes
wounded eye witness Falah Ali Hussein who states, "We were about 30
people standing at the entrance. They had just called our names when
suddenly there was a big explosion." Sunday, The Gulf Times reports that "a major crackdown" on Diyala Province is about to commence. Pakistan's The Daily Mail adds
today, "The Interior Ministry has not given a date for the start of the
Diyala crackdown but says U.S. forces, which have been conducting
operations there since January, will take part."
In some of today's other reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded two, a Baghdad mortar attack
that claimed 2 lives and left nine wounded, a Tikrit car bombing that
wounded one police officer, a Kirkuk roadside bombing that wounded five
people, a Mosul car bombing that killed the occupant of the car and 1
police officer and another Mosul car bombing that left six people
wounded. The Daily Mail counts
three bombing in Mosul and states the worst "killed eight people and
wounded a policeman at a police checkpoint, the U.S. military said." AFP reports
Karim Wahid, Minister of Electricity, was targeted with a Baghdad
roadside bombing that he emerged from safely; however, "three of his
bodyguards" were left wounded.
Shootings?
CBS and AP report, "Gunmen in Baghdad also killed two members of a Sunni force allied with U.S. troops, police said." Reuters notes an armed clash in Iskandaria that resulted in 2 deaths.
In news in the US presidential race, Brett Lieberman (The Patriot News) reports,
"The bonus scandal stole millions from the public, but it could end up
saving third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader $81,000 in legal
fees he was ordered to pay after being tossed from the Pennsylvania
ballot in 2004." Barack Obama gave a speech today. Yawn. Free Speech Radio News
includes the nonsense and you know they never actually LISTEN. He's
promised nothing. "Can" is the word. "Can" is ability. "Can" is not
a vow. That's very difficult for the insane Cult of Obama to grasp.
There was nothing new offered in his dull, lip-smacking (maybe he needs
to go back to wearing lip gloss?) speech. It's the same non-specific
garbage he's said for 18 months now. He does not give specifics on
"residual" troops left in Iraq. It's a non-plan. And his alarmist
talk about "finishing" Afghanistan sounds not all that different than
the current White House occupant's yammering. He wants to "fight
against al Qaeda and the Taliban" and that's "a war that we have to
win." Remember when people were appalled by Bully Boy speaking like?
Remember when people (rightly) pointed out a 'war' on terror was like a
'war' on drugs and Americans needed to grow up and get realistic? At
this point, he's even worse than John Kerry's 2004 run.
Show it to them, loan it to them, or just give it to them - but just make sure they see it.
Young
people will learn and older people will remember what it means to stand
for something, to fight for something, and to believe that your efforts
will make a difference.
An Unreasonable Man is the movie that turns heads.
Show it to people who like Ralph.
Show it to people who don't like Ralph.
Show it people who think Ralph should run.
Show it to people who think Ralph should not run.
But get your own autographed copy now.
So you can show it to them all.
(Or if you already have a copy, get one as a gift.)
This limited offer is part of our ten day fundraiser.
Our goal - raise $60,000 by July 20.
To put Ralph on the ballot on 15 states by July 20.
Over the last five days, we've raised over $30,000.
So, we're halfway there.
Now, let's push it past the finish line.
Donate
$100 or more by 12 midnight Sunday July 20, and we'll send you an
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(Only one DVD per donation of $100 or more. If you would like two copies, please donate twice. Three copies, donate three times. Remember - only one DVD per donation of $100 or more.)
Robin
Long denied appealU.S. Iraq war resister Robin Long received word at
4:00 this afternoon, July 14th, in Vancouver that his appeal to have
his deportation order stayed was denied, His deportation is currently
expected to take place as early as tomorrow, Tuesday July 15th. Action on the West Coast - 9 am Supporters
of Robin Long and the War Resisters coming from both sides of the
border will gather in a peaceful protest under the Peace Arch at the
border at 9 am Tuesday July 15.(while the Peace Arch is neutral ground,
supporters should bring appropriate identification in the unlikely
event they are required to pass through Canadian Customs) In
the meantime, please take a moment to email or phone Stockwell Day,
Minister of Public Safety, and ask him to immediately stop the
deportation of U.S. Iraq war resister Robin Long. (The Canadian Border
Services Agency falls under his ministry). Also ask
him why the federal government is refusing to respect the clearly
expressed will of Canada's Parliament, that U.S. war resisters should
be allowed to stay and that deportation proceedings against them should
cease?In a recent Angus Reid poll, almost two-thirds of Canadians said
they want U.S. Iraq war resisters to be allowed to stay in Canada.
Demand to know why the Harper government is unwilling to be accountable
to Canadians. Minister of Public Security Stockwell Day Email: day.s@parl.gc.ca (Ottawa office); days1@parl.gc.ca (Penticton constituency office)Phone: 613.995.1702 (Ottawa); 250.770.4480 (Penticton constituency office) Fax: 613.995.1154 (Ottawa); 250.770.4484 (Penticton) Please check the War Resisters Support Campaign website for updates on Robin's status and on emergency actions. For more information about the campaign please visit: http://www.resisters.ca/
Mr. Long, who fled to Ontario in 2005, had signed up to join the U.S. Army in July, 2003. He
believed at that time that his country was justified in going to war in
Iraq, his lawyer Shepherd Moss said at the court hearing to halt the
deportation. Mr. Long intended to train as a tank commander. "He wanted
to go to defend his country," Mr. Moss said. His perspective changed
while in training at the army base at Fort Knox. After hearing that
weapons of mass destruction had not been found in Iraq, Mr. Long
thought the U.S. had no reason for being at war. Also, he was troubled
by evidence of abuse of Iraqi detainees that came out in May of 2004,
Mr. Moss said. Mr. Long concluded the abuse was systemic and
condoned by the U.S. administration, Mr. Moss said. After some
soul-searching, Mr. Long decided he would not go to Iraq and would not
participate or be complicit in what he believed were war crimes, the
lawyer said.
Shepherd Moss, Long’s lawyer, had argued Long faced lengthy jail times and could even get the death penalty. The
judge ruled that a death sentence was only a “theoretical possibility”
as the last soldier sentenced to death for desertion was during the
Second World War. As well, between 2002 and 2006, 94 per cent of
deserters have been dealt with administratively, receiving less than an
honourable discharge. Long, from Boise, Idaho, joined the army in
2003, believing that the invasion of Iraq was just. He went AWOL in
2005, believing that if he was deployed to Iraq he would be complicit
in war crimes.
Robin
Long will become the first U.S. war resister deported from Canada after
the Federal Court of Canada on Monday rejected his last-ditch effort to
stay in B.C. The deportation of Long, one of about 200 U.S.
deserters from the Iraq war living in Canada, is expected to be carried
out today.
Should
he be deported today as ordered, Robin Long, 25, becomes the first U.
S. deserter to be removed from Canada since the U. S.-led war in Iraq
began five years ago. Several other U. S. deserters have sought refuge
in Canada and while some have lost their court appeals, they remain in
this country, pending further deportation procedures. Madame Justice
Anne Mactavish of the Federal Court of Canada heard legal arguments in
a Vancouver courtroom yesterday morning before deciding that Mr. Long
must return to the United States, where he could face prosecution by
military authorities. He could also be deployed to Iraq and put into a
conflict he decided, too late, he would rather avoid. His case for
avoiding deportation hinged on whether he faced "irreparable harm"
should he be returned to the United States because of the high profile
of his case. But in a ruling issued yesterday afternoon, Judge
Mactavish wrote that "Mr. Long has not provided clear and
non-speculative evidence to support his contention that he would be
singled out for harsh treatment by the Americans because of the
publicity associated with this case."
Long, 25, is the first of an estimated 200 American army deserters who have sought refuge in Canada to be deported. Canada has had a policy of welcoming American draft dodgers and deserters since the Vietnam War. Bob
Ages, chairman of the Vancouver chapter of War Resisters Support
Campaign, said he fears the decision marks the end of an era and will
set a new precedent.
AP has a really bad
article that only gets worse as it goes along, ending with both a
numerical claim it cannot back up and a false assertion of amnesty
following Vietnam that's not really accurate (draft dodgers/evaders
were granted amnesty, not deserters and, pay attention AP, you are writing an article on a deserter today). The International Herald Tribune runs the article in full. Louisiana's KATC runs a portion of it here. Los Angeles Times runs it here. Amazingly, the American outlet can't even think to note Boise, Idaho -- where Long hails from. As dumb as the AP article is, The Record's editorial tops it. From "U.S. deserters aren't refugees:"
In
contrast with the Vietnam era, American soldiers today voluntarily
agreed to join the armed forces of the United States. There is no
draft; no one is forced to put on a uniform. It may well be true
that some American deserters oppose the war in Iraq and think the U.S.
is pursuing an unwise course. But they alone are responsible for their
decision to join the services of a nation that has been formally at war
since 2001 either in Afghanistan or Iraq. The deserters, therefore,
should accept the consequences of their own actions, which may well
mean a period of incarceration in an American jail.
Again
with the draft, again with the stupidity. The draft was not an issue
for Canada during Vietnam. There is no "contrast." Canada welcomed
those escaping the draft as well as those deserting. The latter
category were not asked, "Did you enlist or were you drafted?" It was
not an issue. The draft was never an issue. The 'movement' wasted many
years before it began this month to repeatedly note that Canada
welcomed deserters during Vietnam. Many idiots, like those on The
Record's editorial board do not even know their own country's history.
They have no idea what Canada did or did not do during Vietnam. So you
get these idiotic editorials. Canada's CBC offers
a brief which is as insulting when you consider it is a news
organization and one of the most recognized around the world. The
Canadian Press' "Federal Court judge rejects U.S. army deserter's attempt to avoid deportation" does a better job and this is Bob Ages, chair of the Vancouver chapter of the War Resisters Support Campaign:
Ages said he is unaware of any other recourse for Long and that he will likely be deported on Tuesday. "We will be caucusing, trying to figure out what we can do," said Ages. He said he expected that Long would be returned to Fort Knox, held in detention and court-martialed. Ages said there wasn't likely enough time to take the ruling to the Federal Court of Appeal. "I don't think there's time to even file papers," he said. "We're down to the wire here." Ages
said the Federal Court proceedings Monday were aimed at getting an
order staying Long's removal while they fought an earlier negative
ruling from an Immigration and Refugee Border official. "She's refused us the ability to follow due process and exhaust all his legal avenues in Canada."
Posted by The Nader Team on Monday, July 14, 2008 at 11:43:00 AM
Four
days ago we announced our goal of putting Ralph Nader on the ballot in
five more states - for a total of fifteen states - by July 20 and that
we would need to raise $60,000 to get it done.
How are we doing?
In those four days, we've raised - thanks to you - more than $26,000.
Later today in South Carolina, we will turn in more than 18,000, more
than enough to get us on the ballot. We only need 10,000 valid.
South Carolina - check.
Later today in Rhode Island, we will turn in more than 2,000 signatures.
We need only 1,000 valid to get us on the ballot there.
Rhode Island - check.
In Massachusetts, we have about 17,000 signatures in hand. We need 10,000 valid. Our goal is 20,000.
We're well on our way in Massachusetts.In Missouri, we have 14,000 in hand. We need 10,000 valid. Our goal is 20,000.
We're well on our way in Missouri.
Our South Carolina road crew is being deployed to Arkansas this week.
They should knock out Arkansas by the end of the week.
So, by Sunday, July 21, as promised, we will have 15 states in the bag. (See updated map here.)
U.S.
Iraq war resister Robin Long received word at 4:00 this afternoon, July
14th, in Vancouver that his appeal to have his deportation order stayed
was denied. He could be deported as early as July 15th. Emergency actions are planned at the Peace Arch near Vancouver, and in Toronto. For details click here. Whether
or not you can attend these actions, please take a moment to email or
phone Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, and ask him to
immediately stop the deportation of U.S. Iraq war resister Robin Long.
(The Canadian Border Services Agency falls under his ministry). Also
ask him why the federal government is refusing to respect the clearly
expressed will of Canada's Parliament, that U.S. war resisters should
be allowed to stay and that deportation proceedings against them should
cease? In a recent Angus Reid poll, almost two-thirds of Canadians
said they want U.S. Iraq war resisters to be allowed to stay in Canada.
Demand to know why the Harper government is unwilling to be accountable
to Canadians. Minister of Public Security Stockwell Day Email:
day.s@parl.gc.ca (Ottawa office); days1@parl.gc.ca (Penticton
constituency office) Phone: 613.995.1702 (Ottawa); 250.770.4480
(Penticton constituency office) Fax: 613.995.1154 (Ottawa);
250.770.4484 (Penticton)
The above is from the War Resisters Support Campaign. Last night, the War Resisters Support Campaign issued this statement:
Today's
Federal Court decision refusing to prevent the removal of conscientious
objector Robin Long is a major disappointment for the majority of
Canadians, 64% of whom support sanctuary for U.S. soldiers seeking refuge here. It
is also at odds with the passage of June 3rd Parliamentary motion
calling for the oppor-tunity for conscientious objectors to apply for
permanent resident status, and an end to all deportations. "The
federal government's single-minded determination to deny the legitimacy
of conscientious objection to what is plainly an illegal war rife with
human rights abuses is abhorrent. Robin himself has been harassed by
authorities by being arrested for violating a deportation order of
which neither he nor his counsel were ever advised," says Lee
Zaslofsky. spokesperson for the War Resisters Support Campaign. "He's
been held in jail since July 4 and treated with disrespect by our
government which seems intent on imposing American military law in
Canada." Canadian Immigration authorities -- who report to Minister
of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley -- had kept secret a
negative decision on Robin's Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, making it
impossible for his lawyer to file an appeal. "We have received
hundreds of messages of support for Robin," says Bob Ages of the
Vancouver War Resisters Support Campaign. "We are calling on Canadians
to take immediate action to tell the government that its attempts to
overturn Canada's longstanding tradition of sanctuary will be met with
challenges everywhere." The War Resisters Support Campaign pledges
to redouble its efforts on behalf of all conscientious objectors. It
will follow Robin's case, as will U.S. support organizations.
Two
suicide bombers posing as army recruits struck an Iraqi base just east
of Baquba on Tuesday morning, killing at least 35 Iraqi recruits and
wounding 63, according to the Iraqi police and medical officials in
Diyala Province.
Though the schedule has not been released an assault on Diyala Province has been spoken of as impending. Meanwhile the Independent of London's "Brown ends hopes of withdrawal from Iraq"
notes Gordon Brown has announced he will not set a time for withdrawal
and "Mr Brown is due to deliver a statement on Iraq to MPs before the
summer recess of Parliament on 22 July. Labour MPs said they were
disappointed by his response." James Kirkup's "More troops for Iraq dash hopes of withdrawal" (Telegraph of London) reports:
Military
commanders have told the Prime Minister that UK troops will have to
remain in Iraq in significant numbers well into next year. The need
to stay in southern Iraq to support of the Iraqi forces has dashed any
hopes ministers had of announcing a major withdrawal from Iraq this
summer.
The
bonus scandal stole millions from the public, but it could end up
saving third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader $81,000 in legal
fees he was ordered to pay after being tossed from the Pennsylvania
ballot in 2004. "It looks
like the judgment was the result of a criminal conspiracy," said
Nader's attorney, Oliver Hall tells the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We will
investigate our options to vacate the judgment." Efforts
by state House Democrats to toss Nader from the 2004 ballot and 2006
Green Party Senate candidate Carl Romanelli were some of the less
salacious details in the indictments of 12 people last week in the
state Bonusgate scandal.
Monday,
July 14, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces
another death, Ralph Nader files to be on the ballot in more states,
Robin Long's deportation hearing takes place today and Cynthia McKinney
declares "Yes, Sojourner, there's a lot out of kilter now, but these
two women, Rosa and me, joined by all the men and women in this room,
are going to do our best to turn this country right side up again" as
she wins the Green Party's presidential nomination Saturday in Chicago.
Starting with war resistance. The American Family News Network's OneNewsNow
demonstrates just how some people must actually beg to be stupid --
that's the only explanation for their nonsense. They quote a retired
Lt Col Bob Maginnis in the US on war resisters in Canada stating, "The
military is pretty strict on treason -- and if it gets its hands on
these people, it will put them in jail. They'll spend years, I would
expect, in jail. I don't think they're just going to let them go free
unless a new president comes in and grants amnesty -- and of course
we've seen that in the past." "Treason"? What a moron. Desertion is
not treason. As for amnesty and "we've seen that in the past" -- does
he mean Vietnam? We saw no amnesty for desertion (Gerald Ford did
institute a clemency program for deserters and draft evaders -- there
was no amnesty for deserters, not even by Jimmy Carter). Historically,
Andrew Johnson gave amnesty in December 25, 1868, FDR gave amnesty in
1933, Harry S. Truman did four amnesties -- all programs included
deserters. Canadian MP Bob Raetook to the Toronto Star on Saturday to give a much needed history lesson on Canada during Vietnam,
"At the time, those coming over as draft dodgers and deserters knew
they would not be able to return home without facing arrest. It would
be years before a general amnesty would allow that to happen, and it
applied just to the draft dodgers; deserters are still arrested if they
return. The Pearson and Trudeau governments kept the border open,
despite U.S. objections, and refused to allow Canadian border officials
to become agents of American military policy. It strained the
relationship -- as did public statements by Canadian officials about
the war itself -- but it did not break it. The Vietnam generation has
made an extraordinary contribution to the life of the country. In every
walk of life, in every profession, in every community, Canada is a
better place because we decided to become a place of refuge for those
seeking a different political home, even those who were defying
American military law to do so." Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times offers the editorial "Seeking asylum in Canada: The case of U.S. Army deserter Joshua Key should prompt the U.S. to do some soul-searching"
which notes, "Because of the sympathetic reception that Canada gave
U.S. conscientious objectors and deserters during the Vietnam War,
Americans may assume that our gentle northern neighbor will grant
refuge to the perhaps 200 Iraq war deserters who have fled to Canada
and thus spare us the agony of prosecuting them. But times and Canadian
laws have changed. Although Canada declined to help the U.S. invade
Iraq and its public largely opposes the continuing U.S. operations
there, its courts have consistently ruled that U.S. deserters have no
right to asylum. The courts have sensibly concluded that Americans who
volunteer for military service cannot claim to be conscientious
objectors merely because they oppose the war in Iraq, and that soldiers
who wish to challenge the conduct of the war can do so through
established legal procedures at home without fear of persecution." The
editorial notes Canadian Judge Robert Barnes decision regarding Joshua Key's claims for refugee status as well as the motion the House of Commons passed June 3rd) and comes out on the day that Robin Long's hearing takes place.
War Resisters Support Campaign - Vancouver notes that hearing was scheduled to begin at 9:30 this morning. Andy Iven (The Province) reports,
"Long's lawyer, Shepherd Moss, will ask the Federal Court this morning
to grant a stay of his deportation order" and notes Vancouver's War
Resisters Support Campaign chair Bob Ages explaining that Long was
never informed that the Canadian Border Services Agency had decided to
deport him prior to his being arrested and quotes Ages asking, "Without
the decision [being communicated], how do you know you are supposed to
appeal?" Chris Cook's Gorilla Radio will feature
Sarah Bjorknas (of Vancouver's War Resisters Support Campaign) as a
guest this evening. She will be speaking about Robin Long. It airs live
on 101.9 FM in Canada ond online from five to six p.m. PST.
Dahlia
Hashad: Matthis is with Iraq Veterans Against the War and a
conscientious objector himself. Welcome Matthis to Law and Disorder.
Thank you ma'am. It's good to be here.
Dahlia: Matthis, you're here in New York City protesting. Can you tell us why you're here?
Matthis:
I call New York City my home but I'm out in front of the Canadian
embassy today. I am advocating the rights of Corey Glass and other US
war resisters in Canada who may face deportation despite a resoulition
of support from the Canadian Parliament for allowing US war resisters
to stay in Canada. And that is not right. That is not democratic. The
people at large have spoken -- two-thirds of the Canadian people
believe US war resisters should be able to stay and the government is
prepared to act in opposition to that.
[. . .]
Michael
Smith: Matthis, we hear the chants of anti-war activists in the
background. We wanted to ask you about yourself. What's led you to
the decision to refuse to deploy to Iraq?
Matthis
Chiroux: Yes. Well I served for five years in the army. I see a great
need for a defensively postured, professional force that can also
participate in military operations abroad but I see that this force
has been hijacked by those who are not adhering to the Rule of Law
anymore as recorded in the Constitution and I refuse to -- I refuse to
follow illegal orders.
Michael Smith: Are you under orders now to deploy to Iraq?
Matthis
Chiroux: I am. I am under force reactivization orders. The president
signed a state of emergency orders declared on September 14, 2001. It's
the reason, his authority for calling me back and more or less drafting
me as a veteran to go and fight his war in Iraq which I believe to the
very core of my self as a soldier and citizen that this war is illegal
and I feel bound to refuse to participate.
Michael Smith: When are you supposed to ship out?
Matthis Chiroux: I was supposed to ship out June 15th.
Instead I made a speech in Washington, DC. I was there actually
informing members of Congress of the plight of war resisters. I met
with members and their staff and I think roughly about 30 offices and I
put forward to them the fact that military members who cannot call
themselves conscientious objectors according to the army's standard are
being left with options by the army and that is 1) deploy as ordered
despite your beliefs and despite what you understand the law to be; 2)
go AWOL -- you know flee the country or, if you stay in the country, go
into hiding and live like a criminal . . .
There
is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which
includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste,
Michael Barnes, 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,
Jose Vasquez, 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,
Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, 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.
Moving on to crimes. Abeer.
The 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was gang-raped by US soldiers while her
mother, father and five-year-old sister were shot dead in another
ream. Following her gang-rape, she was shot dead. Then US soldiers
attempted to set her corpse her on fire. Those still in the military
when the truth came out (originally the crimes were blamed on
"insurgents") admitted their guilt. Steven D. Green was already out.
He was supposed to be tried recently but they moved the court day due
to a quilting bee. Russel Carollo (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reveals that "Green's attorneys notified prosecutors that they may use insanity as a defense." In a piece published elsewhere, Russel Carollo (Sacramento Bee) reports
on the paper's findings after examing "120 cases of people whose
backgrounds should have raised the suspicions of military recruiters,
including felony convictions and serious drug, alcohol or mental health
problems. Of those, 70 were involved in controversial or criminal
incidents in Iraq." Mario Lozano Jr. who shot dead Nicola Calipari and
wounded Giuliana Sgrena (he also wounded Andrea Carpani -- not
mentioned in the article) after journalist Sgrena had been released by
kidnappers. Lozano threatened a man with a bat in 1994, his then-wife
reported spousal abuse in 2000 (he was in the military at that time),
he was wanted for questionin in Fairbanks for threatening a man, wrote
bad checks, didn't pay child support. For those who have forgotten, he also blamed his shooting, the death and the two wounded on . . . Sgrena
-- yet another indication that he has problems which should have been
red flags. There are many other cases including the mother of a soldier
whose been charged with drug selling in Iraq and, noting his "history
of drug and mental problems," declares, "Shame on my son, but shame on
all you people out there who are policing this and allowing this to
continue."
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
a Baghdad bombing via hand grenade that claimed the lives of 3 people
and left thirteen more wounded, a Diyala Province bombing that wounded
two members of the "Awakening" Council and a Sulaimaniyah roadside
bombing that wounded two people.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
Iraqi security forces fired on a man (killing him) who was "wearing a
suicide vest" and disguised a woman and 1 police officer shot dead in
Nineveh Province. Reuters notes 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul.
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Force -- West Marine died July 13 as the result of a non-combat related incident."
Turning to the US presidential race. The Green Party
concluded their convention yesterday. Media attention largely fell
into two categories: silence and snark. Leave it to Aileen Alfandary
to bring in "uninformed" which, for the record, she did on the first
news break of KPFA's The Morning Show where she declared of the Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente
ticket, "This year's Green ticket marks the first time a US has
nominated women of color for both president and vice-president." Uh,
no, Alfandary, it's not. From Friday's snapshot: "What About Our Daughters? explains
that, if McKinney is the nominee, this is the third time two women of
color would be on the ticket with the first being Lenora Fulani and
Maria Elizabeth Munoz in 1992 (New Alliance Party) and Monica Moorehead
and Gloria La Riva (Workers World Party) in 1996." And, no, Alfandary,
she's not a "Hip-Hop artist" -- usually you have to go to the Atlanta
Journal-Constiution to find that sort of lie. She's a "Hip-Hop
activist" (and bills herself as that).
Alfandary continued, "McKinney is African-American, Clemente is Puerto
Rican." Oh really? That's how Clemente self-defines? Here's Clemente explaining it in 2007,
"I am often asked what I am usually by Blacks who are lighter than me,
and by Latinos as dark or darker than me. To anser the ,000 question,
I am a Black Boricua, Black Rican, Puertoriqueoa! Almost always I am
questioned about why I choose to call myself Black over Latina, Spanish
or Hispanic. Let me break it down. I am not Spanish. Spanish is just
another language I speak. I am not Hispanic. My ancestors are not
descendants of Spain, but descendants of Africa. I define my existence
by race and land. (Borinken is the indigenous name of the island of
Puerto Rico.) Being a Latino is not a cultural identity but rather a
political one. Being Puerto Rican is not a racial identity, but rather
a cultural and national one. Being Black is my racial identity."
Amazingly Alfandary made so many mistakes during The Morning Show
while providing McKinney, Clemente and the Green Party convention 49
less seconds than she devorted to a Barack Obama magazine cover (listen
to all Alfandary's news breaks in the program). A political party
holds a convention. They nominate their presidential candidate. And
it's less important to Alfandary than a magazine cover? Is their any
perspective or awarness? (No, there's not. And Ava and I will tackle
it Sunday at Third.) NPR gave the nomination three minutes in a report Sunday by Cheryl Corley (Weekend Edition Sunday).
And just to be clear, the cover is not the issue. Though Amy Goodman
and Aileen Alfandary act like it is, the reality is Obama campaign is
attacking the cover to discredit the article. Back to the Greens.
The convention began Thursday "at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago" and it ran through Sunday. A video of McKinney speaking at the party's Presidential Candidate Forum Friday night can be found here. Kimberly Wilder (On the Wilder Side) has a photo essay of the weekend here
and you'll notice how much Cynthia McKinney looks like her mother,
Leola McKinney, who was among the many attending the convention (as was
Cynthia's father Billy McKinney). Wilder reports
that not only were they, they "switched their registration from
Democratic Party to Green Party" and "were elected to be the delegates
from the Black Caucus. So, Cynthia McKinney's parents went on stage to
cast the GP-US Black Caucus's two votes: both for their daughter". The
voting took place Saturday and involved only one round which Cynthia
won. In her acceptance speech, McKinney noted her son Coy who "grew up
playing on the Floor underneath my desk in the Chamber of the Georgia
House of Representatives. His buddies were the legislators down there,
under the Gold Dome, who were my and my father's colleagues." She
noted her father, "When my father first started out in the world of
politics in Georgia, he began as a Republican, because Georgia
Democrats would not allow Blacks to vote in their primaries. Some of
my father's closest friends today are still Republicans because of that
history. My father served 30 years in the Georgia Legislature as a
Democrat. Because of him, I served 4 years in the Georgia Legislature,
when we were the country's only father-daughter legislative team. And
then I went to Congress and served 12 years working with the Democratic
Party and its current leadership representing the State of Georgia."
And she noted her mother, "My mother is the genteel Southern lady who
keeps our family glued together. A nurse by profession, a nurturer by
instinct, she could patch over all the times I had political
disagreements with my Dad and it ended up being discussed, not only at
the family dinner table, but also on the evening news." She noted the
Democratic presidential primay, "And even though for the first time a
woman and an African-American were being taken seriously in national
primaries, a real discussion of race and gender has been studiously
avoided on all sides." From McKinney's speech (which is posted in full at Austin Cassidy's Independent Political Report):
In
1851, in Akron, Ohio a former slave woman, abolitionist, and woman's
rights activist by the name of Sojourner Truth gave a speech now known
as "Ain't I a Woman." Sojourner Truth began her remarks, "Well
children, where there is so much racket, there must be something out of
kilter." She then went on to say that even though she was a woman, no
one had ever helped her out of carriages or lifted her over ditches or
given her a seat of honor in any place. Instead, she acknowledged, that
as a former slave and as a black woman, she had had to bear the lash as
well as any man; and that she had borne "thirteen children, and seen
most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's
grief, none but Jesus heard me! And Ain't I a woman?" Finally,
Sojourner Truth says, "If the first woman God ever made was strong
enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together
ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!"
As
it was in 1851, so too it is in 2008. There is so much racket that we,
too, know something is out of kilter. In 1851, the racket was about a
woman's right to vote. In 1848, just a few years before Sojourner
uttered those now famous words, "Ain't I a Woman?" suffragists met in
Seneca Falls, New York and issued a declaration.
That declaration began:
"We
hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever
any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to
insist upon the institution of a new government . . . . But when a long
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their
duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their
future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women
under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains
them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled."
Two
hundred sixty women and forty men gathered in Seneca Falls, NY and
declared their independence from the politics of their present and
embarked upon a struggle to create a politics for the future. That bold
move by a handful of people in one relatively small room laid the
groundwork and is the precedent for what we do today. The Seneca Falls
Declaration represented a clean break from the past: Freedom, at last,
from mental slavery. The Seneca Falls Declaration and the Akron, Ohio
meeting inaugurated 72 years of struggle that ended with the passage of
the 19th Amendment in August of 1920, granting women the right to vote.
And 88 years later, with the Green Party as its conductor, the History
Train is rolling down the tracks.
The
Green Party is making history today. According to one source, 45 women
have run for President in primary elections in the United States in the
20th Century; 22 have made it on the ballot in at least one state in
November. Thank you, Green Party, for pulling this history train from
the station.
But we make history
today only because we must. In 2008, after two stolen Presidential
elections and eight years of George W. Bush, and at least two years of
Democratic Party complicity, the racket is about war crimes, torture,
crimes against the peace; the racket is about crimes against the
Constitution, crimes against the American people, and crimes against
the global community. The racket is even about values that we thought
were long settled as reasonable to pursue, like liberty and justice,
and economic opportunity, for all. Yes, Sojourner, there's a lot out of
kilter now, but these two women, Rosa and me, joined by all the men and
women in this room, are going to do our best to turn this country right
side up again.
McKinney is an actual
nominee, her party's candidate. The Democrats don't have one yet,
they'll hold their convention in August. Barack Obama is presumed to
be the candidate and a new group has sprung up in reaction to him. Progressives Against Obama announces:
"When Barack Obama broke his promise to progressives, and voted for the
FISA Amendments Act, it was with the assumption that progressive voters
would never abandon the Obama campaign, because they had no
alternative. Now a group is organizing disgruntled voters online with
the purpose of proving Obama's assumption to be wrong. Progressives Against Obama have begun to organize online at ProgressivesAgainstObama.com.
" Along with the FISA cave, the organization notes Barack's waffling
position on Iraq, his announcement that he'll expand Bully Boy's
'faith' based funding, his "opposition to full marriage equality" and
his "use of homophobic preacher Donnie McClurkin." The organization's
founder Jonathan Cook declares, "We do not support John McCain, and we
do not support right wing and racist attacks against Barack Obama. As
progressives, we oppose Barack Obama from a progressive perspective.
We intend to hold true to our ideals even as Barack Obama trades them
away for the sake of political power." Gilles d'Aymery (Swans Commentary) advocates
for independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, "The Nader-Gonzalez
ticket is by far the most qualified and experienced to govern the
nation. Their combined expertise, their common sense approach to
problem solving, and their acclaimed honesty appeal to a wide range of
people from all sides of the political divide. Contrary to the two
candidates of the duopoly [Barack and McCain] they are not panderers;
they are not flip-floppers; they do not exploit fear for political
ends; and they have no corporate masters and are not owned by
lobbyists, which allow them to represent the interests of the entire
American people, not the top twenty percent of the population. . . . as
often stated, a vote for Nader is a vote for sanity -- and the country
has never needed more sane and sound policies than since the 1930s." Jesse A. Hamilton (Harford Courant) reports,
"Right about now, the Forces of Nader are adding the familiar name of
Ralph Nader to the Rhode Island presidential election ballot for
November. The state requires 1,000 signatures to do so; his campaign
reported they'll be handing over more than 2,000." Foon Rhee (Boston Globe) notes,
"His campaign also plans to turn in signatures today in South Carolina,
and says he will be well on the way to being on the ballot in 15 states
by next week. In Massachusetts, Nader said he has about 17,000
signatures in hand and is aiming for 20,000. He needs 10,000 valid
signatures to get on the Bay State ballot." Chris Giganti (The Digitel) explains
that 18,500 signatures were gathered in South Carolina and that the
petition was filed this afternoon. Nader was campaigning in North
Carolina this weekend and Rachana Dixit (Charlottesville Daily Progress) reports
he declared that corporations "were never designed to rule us. They
were designed to be our servants, now they have become our masters" and
that he addressed "cutting the military budget, adopting single-payer
national health insurance, completely reversing the United States'
policy in the Middle East, impeaching President Bush and Vice President
Dick Cheney, and cracking down on corporate crime and welfare." This
morning Team Nader summed up the goals and objectives for the immediate future as well as the ones reached over the weekend:
Four
days ago we announced our goal of putting Ralph Nader on the ballot in
five more states - for a total of fifteen states - by July 20 and that
we would need to raise $60,000 to get it done.
How are we doing?
In those four days, we've raised - thanks to you - more than $26,000.
Later
today in South Carolina, we will turn in more than 18,000, more than
enough to get us on the ballot. We only need 10,000 valid.
South Carolina - check.
Later today in Rhode Island, we will turn in more than 2,000 signatures.
We need only 1,000 valid to get us on the ballot there.
Rhode Island - check.
In Massachusetts, we have about 17,000 signatures in hand. We need 10,000 valid. Our goal is 20,000.
We're well on our way in Massachusetts.In Missouri, we have 14,000 in hand. We need 10,000 valid. Our goal is 20,000.
We're well on our way in Missouri.
Our South Carolina road crew is being deployed to Arkansas this week.
They should knock out Arkansas by the end of the week.
So, by Sunday, July 21, as promised, we will have 15 states in the bag. (See updated map here.)
************* PLEASE CIRCULATE FAR AND WIDE ***************** Greetings everyone, Robin Long is scheduled to be transported to the Lower Mainland from Kamloops sometime tomorrow. Meanwhile, the hearing for his application for a stay of deportation will be at 9:30 am in Vancouver. We will gather at 8:30 am at 701 W. Georgia St. (north side of W. Georgia between Granville & Howe St.) After
drawing the support from the morning commuters, we will attend the
hearing on the 7th floor.Please come out to support Robin and all the
War Resisters if you able, and spread the word!For more information
about the campaign please visit: http://www.resisters.ca/
Long's lawyer, Shepherd Moss, will ask the Federal Court this morning to grant a stay of his deportation order. Ages
and others are urging Long's supporters to attend a rally outside the
courthouse on Georgia Street at Granville Street at 8:30 a.m., calling
on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to halt Long's deportation. Ages
said Long was shocked that no one from Canadian Border Services Agency
told him that a decision in May on his pre-removal risk assessment went
against him. A Canada-wide warrant for his arrest was issued. Long,
25, who had been living in Nelson since moving from Ontario, thought a
July 4 hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board was going to be a
routine detention hearing. He has been in jail since then. "Without the decision [being communicated], how do you know you are supposed to appeal?" Ages asked.
With
similar events taking place on July 10 across Canada, Lee Zaslofsky,
spokesperson for the Toronto-based U.S. War Resisters Support Campaign,
said there is a tremendous amount of concern for the incarcerated Long. “We’re
worried because this is Robin’s second arrest on these trivial
immigration type things and (the Canadian Border Services Agency) may
not have too much tolerance left,” he said. “He was couch-surfing and
he figured ‘I’m in the same area; it’s Nelson, B.C., it’s a small town.
Do I really need to call in every single day I’m moving to another
friend’s house?’ “When they issued a warrant for him ... they knew where to go. He’s not playing games, they’re playing games.” Zaslofsky
said Citizenship and Immigration Canada is spoiling to “score a
deportation so bad” after two stays of removal were awarded by the
Federal Court to Glass and fellow US Army deserter Joshua Key. “They
really want to get (Long) and put a smile on the faces of the guys in
the U.S. Pentagon,” he said. “It’s really a disgrace and I agree with
the NDP MP from Robin’s riding, Alex Atamenko, who regards Long’s
arrest as despicable.” Zaslofsky, a Vietnam War deserter who arrived
in Canada in 1970, added when he came here there was overwhelming
support from the Canadian public for U.S. soldiers and the same
sentiment, by and large, prevails today. “I don’t think the Canadian
people have changed one iota (in attitudes towards war resisters),” he
remarked. “What’s changed is our government and some of the elite
associated with them who are far more interested in cuddling up to the
Bush Administration than most Canadians are.”
Chris Cook's Gorilla Radio will feature
Sarah Bjorknas (of Vancouver's War Resisters Support Campaign) as a
guest this evening. She will be speaking about Robin Long. It airs live
on 101.9 FM in Canada ond online from five to six p.m. PST and archives
should allow for podcasting but that's usually the next day and, if I
remember right in one case, it was Wednesday one week.
While
Americans were watching fireworks on the Fourth of July, a Canadian
federal judge fired off a legal Roman candle by ruling that an
immigration panel had erred in denying refugee status to a U.S. Army
deserter named Joshua Key. The sparks are still flying Up
There, though, as usual, most Americans haven't taken note. They
should. The judge ruled that Key may be entitled to asylum in Canada
because of evidence that the U.S. may have violated the Geneva
Convention in the conduct of its counter-terrorism operations in Iraq. Because
of the sympathetic reception that Canada gave U.S. conscientious
objectors and deserters during the Vietnam War, Americans may assume
that our gentle northern neighbor will grant refuge to the perhaps 200
Iraq war deserters who have fled to Canada and thus spare us the agony
of prosecuting them. But times and Canadian laws have changed. Although
Canada declined to help the U.S. invade Iraq and its public largely
opposes the continuing U.S. operations there, its courts have
consistently ruled that U.S. deserters have no right to asylum. The
courts have sensibly concluded that Americans who volunteer for
military service cannot claim to be conscientious objectors merely
because they oppose the war in Iraq, and that soldiers who wish to
challenge the conduct of the war can do so through established legal
procedures at home without fear of persecution. In
June, a more lenient Parliament passed a resolution saying the U.S. war
resisters should be allowed to stay. But that resolution was
nonbinding, and the Conservative government led by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, a Bush administration ally, has announced that it will
begin deporting the deserters as early as this week. Key won't
be among them. He was trained as a combat engineer and spent eight
months in Iraq kicking down doors in house-to-house searches for
terrorists. He says that he fled to Canada with his wife and children
after he told a military lawyer his qualms about what he believed were
human rights abuses by U.S. forces, and that he was told his choices
were to return to Iraq or go to prison. The judge ruled that Key need
not have witnessed war crimes to qualify for asylum. Rather, "officially condoned military misconduct falling well short of a war crime may support a claim to refugee protection.”
Anti-corporation
sentiments flourished at Gravity Lounge on Sunday afternoon, where
White House hopeful Ralph Nader stopped by on his independent
presidential campaign tour. "[Corporations] were never designed to
rule us," said Nader, who first appeared on the presidential ballot in
2000. "They were designed to be our servants, now they have become our
masters." Nader drew nearly 3 percent of the popular vote in the
2000 presidential election, when he was the Green Party nominee. He was
not on the ballot in 2004. Speaking for roughly 45 minutes, the
candidate presented 12 "on the table" issues that he said neither
mainstream-party hopeful, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic
Sen. Barack Obama, has addressed. Among those were cutting the
military budget, adopting single-payer national health insurance,
completely reversing the United States' policy in the Middle East,
impeaching President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, and cracking
down on corporate crime and welfare.
Your response was overwhelming and our video rocketed--over 28,000 views!
You
helped make the video so popular that YouTube featured us in their
YouChoose '08 Presidential Race playlist all weekend. Those are the
kinds of wins that we need to grow our grassroots movement and to force
the mainstream media to cover the Nader/Gonzalez campaign.
Ralph Nader may still use a typewriter, but the rest of us on the campaign team are super-charging our keyboards
and preparing to win some key victories online. When the mainstream
media shuts the Nader/Gonzalez campaign out, it's you--our
supporters--who can help us get the message out through the blogosphere, social networks, and online news communities.
But we need your help right now to push us to the next goal.
Ralph
has no shortage of friends in real life, but we are currently behind
the other candidates when it comes to "friends" on sites like Digg.com, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace. And we need your help to catch up (and fast!).
Here's all you have to do to make a huge difference:
If you already have an account on Facebook, or MySpace, just add us as a friend. That's it, you're done.
If you already have an account on Digg.com, add us as a friend and start digging our stories as often as you can. That will help push us up on the Digg the Candidates page.
And, if you already have an account on YouTube, please subscribe to our channel and help spread our videos around by sharing them with friends, family, and colleagues.
If
you don't have an account on any of these sites--what better reason to
give it a try? Pick one. Create an account. And then join a network of
thousands of Nader/Gonzalez supporters all around the country.
Please take a moment to do this right now. Yes, now!
It'll
only take five minutes and it will make a huge difference. Showing a
groundswell of support online is key to breaking through the mainstream
media blockade, and puts us one step closer to those Presidential
debates.
I'll update you on our progress over the coming days.
P.S. So far we have raised over $22,000 towards our July 20th fundraising goal of $60,000 to put Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot in five more states. Please contribute whatever you can to help out, and spread the word as far as possible.
Jim Muir of the BBC just knows he's got a story.
He's got less than he thinks and less than he reveals at the top.
Puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki was misquoted! He never said
"withdrawal"! BBC listened to the tape! Muir then runs the statement of
what al-Maliki reportedly said against what the BBC says he actually
said (we didn't quote the statement in real time, we're not quoting it
now -- as the Times of London's James Hider pointed out when
the story was breaking, the idea was being floated). So as Muir settles
down, you find out about the differnt wording . . . "Withdrawal" was
added . . . By al-Maliki's office. Translation, he wasn't misquoted. If
his office added "withdrawal" to the statement they released -- and he
hasn't fired his office -- they were acting on his instructions. As
Muir admits in a sentence in the tenth paragraph: "An official
suggested the written version remained the authoritative one, although
it is not what Mr Maliki said." Yes, that is how it works. The notion
was still floated by al-Maliki. Muir goes on to note the country's NSA
but strangely seems unaware of other's in al-Maliki's cabinet who made
statements.
Nothing the White House's refusal to allow flag draped coffins to be photographed (in order to keep the dead out of sight), the New York Times offers an editorial entitled "Witnessing the War Dead, From Afar:"
The
muting of bad war news, which started at the Pentagon, is now an issue
as well at Arlington National Cemetery. A public affairs director at
the cemetery was recently fired after complaining that rules were
tightened to isolate the media 50 yards away — well beyond the point at
which news organizations could hear, never mind photograph or
videotape, burial ceremonies. The Pentagon says it is only following
the wishes of families and that it has not changed its procedures. But
there are serious reasons to doubt both protestations.
Our
young roadtrippers are busting it all around the country to leap the
ballot access hurdles the Democrats and Republicans have erected to
make life miserable for us.
We tried to get on the ballot in 2004 but only made it on 34 states. (We're shooting for 45 this time around.)
Why only 34 states?
One reason: The Democrats organized an underground campaign to knock us off.
When we say this, people don't believe us.
But
just yesterday, a grand jury in Pennsylvania indicted twelve Democratic
political operatives for the illegal use of millions of dollars in
taxpayers' funds, resources and state employees for political campaign
purposes. (See Nader/Gonzalez press release here.)
The
grand jury found that as many as 50 Democratic House Caucus staff
members contributed “a staggering number of man-hours” to successfully
knock Ralph Nader off the ballot in 2004.
A House Democratic employee testified before the grand jury that “everybody was working on this.”
“A veritable Army” of Democratic staffers were enlisted in the effort to deny Nader ballot status, the grand jury found.
It
was virtually a caucus-wide endeavor and many of the employees spent an
entire week on the Nader petition challenge, the grand jury found.
This is a scandal of immense proportions.
And twelve Democrats in Pennsylvania now stand charged with crimes.
Attorneys
General Oregon, Illinois and Ohio - three states where Democrats
successfully knocked us off in 2004 - should launch similar
investigations.
This year, we're not taking no for an answer.
We're building our funds to secure ballot access and to fight back if they come after us again.
We're fighting not just for 2008 - but for future generations of independent citizen activists, candidates and campaigners.
(In
case you missed it, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals knocked out a
requirement that only residents of Arizona be allowed to petition in
the state. Ralph Nader challenged this requirement as unconstitutional
We're hoping to carry this victory to other states that have similar
requirements. See story here.)
We're a positivo locomotive.
We've got the Big Mo.
Nothing will stop us now.
Together, we are making a difference.
Onward
The Nader Team
PS: We invite your comments to the blog.
Your contribution could be doubled. Public campaign financing may match your contribution total up to $250.
************* PLEASE CIRCULATE FAR AND WIDE ***************** Greetings everyone, Robin Long is scheduled to be transported to the Lower Mainland from Kamloops sometime tomorrow. Meanwhile, the hearing for his application for a stay of deportation will be at 9:30 am in Vancouver.We will gather at 8:30 am at 701 W. Georgia St. (north side of W. Georgia between Granville & Howe St.) After drawing the support from the morning commuters, we will attend the hearing on the 7th floor. Please come out to support Robin and all the War Resisters if you able, and spread the word! For more information about the campaign please visit: http://www.resisters.ca/
During the Vietnam War, the Liberal prime minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, welcomed American deserters and draft dodgers, declaring that Canada "should be a refuge from militarism." Americans who arrived were generally able to obtain legal immigrant status simply by applying at the border, or even after they entered Canada. But while the current Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not backed the Iraq war, it has shown little sympathy for American deserters. During a recent parliamentary debate, Laurie Hawn, a Conservative from Alberta, asked, "Why do they not fight it within their own legal system instead of being faux refugees in Canada?" No American deserter of the Iraq war has been deported by the Canadian government, but that is not for lack of effort. Immigration authorities have ordered about nine deserters to leave Canada, leading to public battles in the courts.
Meanwhile the Montreal Gazette editorializes "Too much compassion can erode the rule of law" which asserts decisions are being made willy-nilly and with no concept of . . . They don't say. They're willy-nilly themselves. They note Joshua Key:
U.S. Army Private Joshua Key deserted, came to Canada, and claimed refugee status, saying that in Iraq he had witnessed looting and violations of human rights. His refugee claim was rejected, but a judge allowed him to stay in Canada anyway.
The editorial is focused on different cases of refugee claims (Key is the only war resister they use as an example) and they appear to assert that the claims are made without foundation. Case law and precedent -- two terms they never stumble upon -- would qualify as foundation. They fret over the US reaction (apparently meaning the current administration installed in the White House since popular opinion swung against the illegal war years ago and has only continued). It's a serve-yourself-buffet of thoughts -- none of which are ever fully developed. The strongest 'argument' against refugees they semi-present is their fear of US reaction. Amanda Miller writes the Windsor Star and mounts an actual argument: "There is nothing wrong with any American military deserter trying to get refugee status in Canada to avoid the illegal war that was started by George W. Bush on false pretenses." There's more to her letter and the Montreal Gazette should study it because the editorial board and Miller have agreement on some issues but the difference is Miller advances an argument on those points. W. Peters Wahnapitae writes The Sudbury Star to disagree with their editorial advocating that war resisters should remain in Canada. Wahnapitae does not disagree with that conclusion, just on where the stance is coming from: "I am sick and tired of the practice of 'quiet diplomacy,' which is turning our eyes to torture and doing nothing or virtually nothing. Let the U. S. rant and rave all it wants -- we have seen them do this all the time when they don't get their way. Stand up to a higher standard, refugee board. " Friday, the Vancouver Province argued against safe harbor for war resisters and noted Robin Long: "Canadian anti-war groups and others opposed to the deportation of war resister Robin Long are well-meaning. But, in our view, they are misguided. Long, 25, wasn't being persecuted. He wasn't being tortured in some Third World country. He left the U.S. military and fled to Canada three years ago to avoid being sent to Iraq." The editorial claims "generosity" is a quality of Canadians and, while that may be true elsewhere, it is in short supply on that editorial board. Since the paper seems rather cold-blooded, let's make the argument for them briefly in the currency terms they worship: Accepting deserters and draft dodgers during Vietnam boosted the local Canadian economies in numerous ways including tourism. Not only will a war resister with asylum means that family members of the resister will most likely visit (ones who would otherwise never go to Canada), it means friends will as well. During Vietnam, family member visits that were parents or a parent could and often did mean a trip to the local grocery store where too much was purchased -- in the way that parents always worry and fuss over their children who are away from home. That's not counting mementos purchased or meals and lodging while in Canada. Trudeau made the decision on ethical grounds and it's sad that The Province only looks for dollar signs, but there it is. War resisters today are not as large an influx of individuals but they are an influx and refugee status and work permits would further help the local economies. Trudeau's decision during an illegal war that the bulk of the war was against gave Canada huge standing around the globe, raised the country's profile and also encouraged tourism. The same could happen today. Harper might want to consider how the decision made clear that Canada was no one's little sibling to be bossed around -- not by the US, not by the UK -- and how that also raised the country's profile.
They're just there to try and make the people free, But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me. Just more blood-letting and misery and tears That this poor country's known for the last twenty years, And the war drags on. -- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)
Last Sunday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war hit the 4,114 mark. And tonight? 4118. Just Foreign Policy's counter estimates the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war to be 1,236,604 (counter hasn't been updated since last week).
In some of the weekend's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded six people, another that wounded four, a Mosul roadside bombing that claimed 1 life and a Falluja roadside bombing that wounded "the head of the anti-terrorism" which was followed by a second roadside bombing that claimed the lives of 4 police officers with five more wounded (and by the resignation of "head of Falluja police Colonel Faisal Al-Zobayee"). McClatchy's Mohammed Al Dulaimy reported Saturday 2 Baghdad roadside bombings that wounded eight people, a Baghdad car bombing that wounded Brig Gen Faris Amir (whose car the bomb was attached to), and a Sulaimaniyah bombing that claimed 2 lives, a Kirkuk roadside bombing which was an apparent assassination attempt on Col Ahmed Al Shemirani and resulted in 1 woman dead and three people wounded (including Al Shemirani).
Shootings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an attack "on a soccer field in Dhuluiya" which claimed the lives of 1 police officer and 1 "Awakening" council member and left three people ("including a nine-year-old child) wounded. Reuters notes 1 "member of the political office of Shabak minority group" was shot dead outside of Mosul on Sunday and 1 person was shot dead in Mosul today.
Turning to the military's waiver program which has lowered recruitment standards repeatedly. Russel Carollo (Sacramento Bee) reports on the paper's findings after examing "120 cases of people whose backgrounds should have raised the suspicions of military recruiters, including felony convictions and serious drug, alcohol or mental health problems. Of those, 70 were involved in controversial or criminal incidents in Iraq." The man who has come to be the poster boy of the waiver program is not mentioned in the article: Steven D. Green. Another version written by Carollow and published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram ("Applicants' run-ins with law taint recruiting in Midland") notes Green at the top:
MIDLAND — Pfc. Steven D. Green, accused of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her family, entered the Army with a criminal record for minor offenses that included possession of drug paraphernalia. But a yearlong examination by The Sacramento Bee found that Green’s court record was not the worst among former and current Midland residents applying for the military since the Iraq war began, and he’s not the only one to later be charged with committing offenses in the military. Unlike other courts approached by The Bee, the Midland Municipal Court retained records of all military requests for searches — requests that are routine when someone applies to join the military. Those records provide a rare look at a microcosm of the more than 250,000 applicants for military service every year. [. . .] When Green applied for the Army in 2005, a court record noted that he owed outstanding fines and "must contact court immediately." The following year in Iraq, Green drank before going to a house he’d previously visited, where he emerged from a room to tell fellow soldiers, "I just killed them. All are dead," according to an affidavit from an FBI agent. Green was discharged from the Army "due to a personality disorder," the affidavit says. A federal court in Kentucky charged him with sexually assaulting and murdering Abeer Kassem Hamza Al-Janabi and killing her parents and a sibling. Two months ago, Green’s attorneys notified prosecutors that they may use insanity as a defense.
Abeer wasn't raped, she was gang-raped. The two other soldiers taking part in the gang-rape have confessed and fingered Steven D. Green as the ringleader. The first article does note Mario Lozano Jr. who shot dead Nicola Calipari and wounded Giuliana Sgrena (he also wounded Andrea Carpani -- not mentioned in the article) after journalist Sgrena had been released by kidnappers. Lozano threatened a man with a bat in 1994, his then-wife reported spousal abuse in 2000 (he was in the military at that time), he was wanted for questionin in Fairbanks for threatening a man, wrote bad checks, didn't pay child support. For those who have forgotten, he also blamed his shooting, the death and the two wounded on . . . Sgrena -- yet another indication that he has problems which should have been red flags. There are many other cases including the mother of a soldier whose been charged with drug selling in Iraq and, noting his "history of drug and mental problems," declares, "Shame on my son, but shame on all you people out there who are policing this and allowing this to continue."
Returning to the New York Times Sunday edition, the front page offers Steven Lee Myers' "U.S. Consdering Stepping Up Pace Of Iraq Pullout" which, if you go beyond the headline, really translates as "more troops needed for Afghanistan." That would be the nearly seven-year-old war that accomplished nothing and couldn't have from the start. Barack Obama sees that, from his repeated remarks, as one region that needs more troops, as opposed to one that US troops need to leave. Another useless war that has and can accomplish nothing. But will apparently drag on forever. (And enrich the war lords the US returned to power.) Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Ali Hameed contribute "Province Leaders Say Iraqis Not Ready to Handle Security." That goes on A8 and offers "the Anbar Provincial Council" arguing that Al Anbar Province is not ready to be handled by its own inhabitants and no transfer should take place until after the elections. The elections are scheduled for October whether they take place or not -- this is a White House defined 'benchmark' that has long been delayed -- only time will tell. Withing the region, there is a split between the council and members of the "Awakening" Council -- it's a power struggle with the latter feeling the requested delay is nothing but a way to influence the upcoming elections. Al Anbar Province is a border province and an influx of Iraqi refugees (presumably from that province only, unless the rules for voting have been changed) from Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia could also effect the outcome -- a point not made in the article. (I'm not speaking of a mythical return. I am noting the refugees are following the news on the upcoming elections and it is possible that some from that province might consider crossing back for voting only.) Movement continues to be restricted in Baghdad. Usama Redha (Babylon & Beyond, Los Angeles Times) reports a neighborhood in Baghdad was walled off overnight: "The wall consists of gloomy concrete chunks, 12 feet high, set side by side to enclose my neighborhood. Seven miles of it went up overnight. We call it 'The Black Night'." And The Gulf Times reports that "a major crackdown" on Diyala Province is about to commence.
iraq veterans against the war
