Wednesday,
August 27, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military
announces another death, 2 US soldiers state they killed handcuffed
Iraqis and did so on official orders, Ralph Nader's Super Rally takes
place in Denver tonight, Courage to Resist speaks with US war resister
Robin Long and more.
Starting with war resistance. In Canada yesterday, protests took place. Total Catholic reports,
"Catholic groups demonstrated outside Canada House in London on Tuesday
in protest against the deportation of US soldiers who refused to fight
in Iraq and sought asylum in Canada." It notes the groups included
Voices in the Wilderness, Pax Christi, the Fellowship of Reconciliation
and Catholic Worker Movement and that they carried posters with photos
of war resister and the following "Canada: Stop Deporting US Soldiers
Who Refuse to Fight in the Illegal War in Iraq." Bruce Kent explains,
"In the year that Franz Jagerstater was beatified by the Pope in
recognition of his conscientious objection and subsequent execution for
refusing to serve in Hitler's army, it seems extraordinary that the
Canadian Government is adopting this position. These soldiers have
every right to refuse to fight in an illegal war." While they stood up
"White boy" (read his article -- better yet, don't) Nathaniel Hoffman (Boise Weekly) blathers on
about the DNC convention (24 paragraphs) before including this: "Now
for a few updates on the home front. Army deserter Robin Long, a Boise
native, was sentenced to 15 months in jail, after being kicked out of
Canada and returned to his unit at Fort Carson, Colo. He will also get
a dishonorable discharge." That would be Robin's local weekly and
that's all they have to offer. Never forget the 'alternative' press
always has something else to do. Robin was court-martialed last Friday
and Courage to Resist spoke to Robin spoke with him later that day:
Courage to Resist: Well Robin your court martial is done, you got 15 months in military prison, how are you feeling about the outcome?
Robin
Long: I -- all in all -- on the day of the trial, had a really good
day. I got to tell the army and the world exactly how I felt and I got
to meet one of my heroes, one of my heroines, Col. Ann Wright and I
enjoyed all the support that was there, all the people that came to
see. It was kind of funny, when I was leaving, they rushed me off to a
Humvee and they had -- they had the military police escort front and
behind and they stopped traffic at all the intersections. And while I
was leaving, all the supporters, a lot of them were saluting so that
felt really good. I was kind of looking at different figures -- that I
could be out as early as April of next year. With everything so . . .
I don't know. I'm just looking forward to getting the RCF Unit and
start doing my time. And when I come out, start speaking for peace
again and my word will be that much more powerful. I can talk now in
the States instead of being up there in Canada. And hopefully, we can
end this occupation, this war.
Courage to Resist: Now you said you got to tell the army exactly how you felt? What did you tell them?
Robin
Long: Oh, I told them, I mean, with my defense case, Col. Ann Wright
and with the other witnesses, we basically got to say to a forum and an
audience that normally wouldn't hear the things we were saying about
the legality of the war in Iraq and, you know, following your
conscience and international law, a higher duty and it felt really good
to say those things. And to let people know that they can think for
themselves and follow their heart.
Robin
Long: She was basically saying the things she saw working in the army
and with the State Department and her decision to resign from her
position in opposition to the Iraq War and also she kind of said that
she wasn't offended because she's part of the military you know she
wasn't offended by me deserting. Having a colonel, someone in that
high of a position, you know, with the State Department, working with
different embassies, MongoliaSomaliaia, Afghanistan that maybe they
paid attention to her. The military judge looked really interesting in
what she was saying so.
Courage to Resist:
You said that she was one of your heroes. I'd be willing to be that
the next time we see Ann Wright, she'll be saying that you're one of
her heroes. So now you're back in the county jail?
Robin Long: Yep, I'm here at the El Paso jail waiting for transport transfer. They haven't told me yet where I'm going.
Courage to Resist: Any hints, any clues about where you might be headed?
Robin
Long: No, not yet. They said whichever place has availability. It's
kind of -- kind of weird. I can't bring anything with me in jail.
Like all of the books that nice people have sent I can't bring any of
that stuff with me. Mail, I can't even bring address book. So I'm
going to be sending out all my, my papers that I need to have with me
to somebody so that can mail them back to me when I find out where I am.
We'll note more from Robin's interview later in the week (hopefully tomorrow). US war resister Jeremy Hinzman is the US war resister who was the first to go to Canada and apply for asylum. August 13th, he was informed he had until September 23rd to leave Canada or be deported.
To show your support for Jeremy and other US war resisters in Canada, Courage to Resist alerts,
"Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War
also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or
email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and
ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca."
There
is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which
includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei
Hurancyk, 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, Daniel Baker, 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.
Turning
to Iraq. At the US Pentagon today Gen James Conway declared that there
might be a drawdown of some marines because "to do more in Afghanistan,
our marines have got to see relief elsewhere". No, that would not be
withdrawal, no that would not be troops home. Now or later. It is an
acknowledgement -- public -- by a marine commander ("The Commandant of
the Marine Corps," says the Defense Dept) that the US military is
stretched to the limit fighting two illegal wars that neither the White
House nor the Congress has the guts or desire to end. So the Pentagon
announces: "This week the Army and Coast
Guard announced an increase, while the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps
announced a decrease. The net collective result is 4,519 more
reservists activated than last week." Conway also declared that
Al Anbar Province would be turned over to Iraqis (Iraqis under the
control of the puppet government controlled by the US).
Meanwhile Khalid al-Ansary (Reuters) reports
that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says US troops (of some formation)
will be out (or 'out') of Iraq in 2011 and that the US wanted 2015 but
Iraq held firm. Take a second to let the laughter die down. Aboard
Air Force One this afternoon, Tony Fratto held a White House press
briefing and said nothing about any agreement. At the State Dept,
Robert Wood (Deputy Spokesperson) held a press briefing was asked if
the US had asked for the US to maintain their presence through 2015 and
Wood refused to answer that and stuck "there are discussions going on
between the United States and Iraqi Government. We're working to try
to finalize an agreement by the end of December. I don't have anything
new to offer other than what we've said, and that we think this is an
important agreement. And once we have an agreement, we will certainly
make that known to the publics."
This morning Paul von Zielbauer (New York Times) reported
that "a first sergeant, a platoon sergeant and a senior medic, killed
four Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots to the head as the men stood
handcuffed and blindfolded beside a Baghdad canal, two of the soldiers
said in sworn statements." The bodies were then dumped in the canal
according to Sgt 1st Class Joseph P. Mayo and Sgt. Michael P. Leahy
Jr.'s statements which have each man killing one Iraqi and stated that
1st Sgt. John E. Hatley killed two and ordered the killings. von
Zielbauer quotes Leahy's statement: "I'm ashamed of what I've done. . .
. When I did it, I thought I was doing it for my family. Now I realize
that I'm hurting my family more now than if I wouldn't have done it."
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
a Baghdad roadside bombing that left five wounded, another that left
six wounded, a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 1 life (seven wounded),
another Baghdad car bombing that wounded one person, a Tal Afar car
bombing that resulted in fourteen wounded (and the driver dead), 2
Mosul "suicide car" bombings -- one targeting "an American patrol" with
no known casualties for eitehr bombing. Reuters notes
the Tal Afar wound count is not at twenty-two "according to Sabih
Hussein, chief physician at the Tal Afar government hospital". The US military announces:
"Coalition forces killed three terrorists two of whom were wearing
suicide vests and detained six suspects, including an alleged
al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, during operations in Diyala province
Wednesday."
Today the US military announced:
"A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier died at a Coalition forces
medical facility in Baghdad today as a result of wounds sustained
following an IED attack Aug. 26. The Soldier was wounded after the
vehicle he was traveling in was struck by an improvised explosive
device in northeastern Baghdad Aug. 26." The death brings to 4148 US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and 20 since the start of the illegal war.
Moving
to the US race for president. Tom Hayden lied (there were many but
where there are Barack lies, there is Tom Hayden) that Barack had done
a bang up job helping Hillary retire her campaign debt. He DID
NOTHING. As community member Eddie points out, even Danny Schechter's fallen for the lie ("Remember, Barack's campaign helped her retire her campaign debt!"). Reality, New York Times, A16 today (buy a paper), Michael Lau and Griff Palmer report:
"The analysis by The Times found that Obama donors gave $300,000 to
Mrs. Clinton in July and $135,000 in June." Chump change. He did
nothing to help retire the debt. He's gotten credit from liars like
Hayden and from people too smart to give credit like Danny. Her
worshippers, Danny? Her worshippers? And you're puzzled so many see
you and Media Channel as part of the problem? Hillary busted
her ass for the Democratic Party last night and it is exactly the
attitude Danny's exhibited today (short on facts and sprinkles
of insults) that has no defense. There is no defense for it. And, no,
PBS' convention coverage is not praise worthy? Was no one watching
last night? Ava
and I skimmed last night's coverage today and sexism was on parade.
We'll address it Sunday. One example: Maybe someone thinks it's
'natural' to have three historians on repeatedly during the broadcast
to talk about Hillary and the women's liberation movement when . . .
all three are men. Talking about the struggle for women's equality?
PBS should be ashamed. Unless they're so ignorant that they believe
there are no female historians? Is that it? And because women know
they can count on attacks from all sides, be sure to check out how Eleanor Smeal chose to smear other feminists. When a DC lobbyist takes over Ms., feminism suffers -- and it has suffered. In the real world, To The Contrary's Bonnie Erbe (at US News & World Reports) observes,
"The Democrats nominated a junior, inexperienced Senator with no
legislative accomplishments on his resume to whom young Americans and
latte liberals swarmed due to his cool, celebrity-like demeanor. But
then, those same Democratic leaders act surprised that Middle America
isn't following suit. How bizarre!!!" Kownhaus notes,
"The meltdown of Progressive Blogosphere 1.0 is due in large part to
major 'A' list bloggers turning a blind eye to misogyny and sexism
because it helped the candidate they supported. MASSIVE FAIL!"
Meanwhile Jerry White (WSWS) takes on the latest nonsense
from fauxgressives Katty-van-van Heuvel (who doesn't do corrections)
and Robert L. Borosage, "Apart from their assertion, which is false,
that Obama will end the occupation of Iraq, the authors make no attempt
to substantiate their claim that Obama represents a 'stark ideological
contrast' with McCain. In fact, they virtually acknowledge just the
opposite." And White drives it home with this section:
The Nation is
no more able to explain how such a movement represents an alternative
to the "entrenched order" than they are able to establish Obama's
reformist credentials. Both in their support for Obama and their
insistence that all social opposition after the election remain
oriented to the Democratic Party, the Nation reveals itself to
be a critical prop for precisely the reactionary order they claim to
oppose. They themselves are simply its "left" flank.
Of course, the political milieu for which the Nation speaks
has a direct and personal stake in the outcome of the election. They
count on the arrival of a Democratic administration as an opportunity
for many in their ranks to secure choice positions and enhanced status
within the apparatus of power in Washington DC, whether as
congressional staffers, trade union functionaries or researchers at
Democratic-linked think tanks in the capital.
Ralph
Nader is the independent candidate for president. Tonight he and
running mate Matt Gonzalez hold their first Super Rally. This one in
Denver. From Team Nader:
D-Day.
Denver tonight 6 p.m.
University of Denver Magness Arena.
Sean Penn, Tom Morello, Cindy Sheehan, Jello Biafra, Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez will be there.
Standing up to the corporate two-party controlled debate commission.
Calling for an opening up of the Presidential debates. If you are in the area, see you at the event.
If you know people in the area, call them, text them, e-mail them -- and give them the details.
Free Speech TV will be streaming the event live on the Internet. (Wednesday, August 27, 7 p.m. Mountain time, 9 p.m. Eastern.)
Also, Free Speech TV will be broadcasting the event live on Dish Network Channel 9415.
If you are home watching convention coverage on cable, watch for Ralph.
He'll be in the DNC belly of the beast at the Pepsi Center today.
He'll be on Fox TV with Neil Cavuto in this afternoon at about 4 p.m.
And MSNBC with Dan Abrams tomorrow morning at about 10 a.m.
Other mainstream media interviews are being nailed down as we speak.
Stay tuned for more details.
The bottom line is this.
The conventions are supposed to be about democracy.
But in fact, they're two big corporate parties.
Talk about corporate crime and corporate power, and you are drummed out of the building.
Talk the happy corporate talk, and they invite you in for a drink.
Thank you Ralph Nader for having the guts to stand up.
For the American people.
Against the corporate takeover of our democracy.
Stand with Ralph today.
If you are in Denver, come on down and join with us at the Magness Arena tonight at 6 p.m.
If
you are not in Denver, give whatever you can afford -- $10, $20, $50,
$100 -- to help defray the costs of tonight's event. (Renting the
arena, sound, lights, stage hands, video crew and equipment, flying in
road trippers, printing of 100,000 fliers -- you get the picture.)
By
the way, great start on the fundraising drive -- we're at close to
$15,000 after just two days. But we have to hit $100,000 by September
4. So, let's get 'er cranked.
Cynthia McKinney:
Our country has been hijacked and the Democrats have proven themselves
to have been in on the plan. When it came to the Constitution, the
Democratic leadership showed us that aiding and abetting illegal spying
on us was more important to them than protecting our civil liberties.
When it came to war and occupation, the Democratic leadership showed us
that financing an illegal and immoral war, based on lies, was more
important to them than they people's desire for peace. And when the
people, hurting from the financial mismanagement of this country,
called foaccountabilityty for the crimes that have been committed
against the people here, against the global community, against nature,
itself, the Democratic leadership took impeachment off the
tableGrassrootsts Democratic Party activists want a livable wage! A
"Medicare-for-all" type of health care system, repeal of the Bush tax
cuts that have ushered in the greatest income inequality in this
country since the Great Depression. But the Democratic Party has shown
itself to be incapable of providing even a semblance of the values even
of its own activists. The Democratic Party's national leadership
didn't even mention Hurricanes Katrina and Rita survivors in their
Congressional agenda for the first 100 days.
Also, Free Speech TV will be broadcasting the event live on Dish Network Channel 9415.
If you are home watching convention coverage on cable, watch for Ralph.
He'll be in the DNC belly of the beast at the Pepsi Center today.
He'll be on Fox TV with Neil Cavuto in this afternoon at about 4 p.m.
And MSNBC with Dan Abrams tomorrow morning at about 10 a.m.
Other mainstream media interviews are being nailed down as we speak.
Stay tuned for more details.
The bottom line is this.
The conventions are supposed to be about democracy.
But in fact, they're two big corporate parties.
Talk about corporate crime and corporate power, and you are drummed out of the building.
Talk the happy corporate talk, and they invite you in for a drink.
Thank you Ralph Nader for having the guts to stand up.
For the American people.
Against the corporate takeover of our democracy.
Stand with Ralph today.
If you are in Denver, come on down and join with us at the Magness Arena tonight at 6 p.m.
If you are not in Denver, give whatever you can afford -- $10, $20,
$50, $100 -- to help defray the costs of tonight's event. (Renting the
arena, sound, lights, stage hands, video crew and equipment, flying in
road trippers, printing of 100,000 fliers -- you get the picture.)
By the way, great start on the fundraising drive -- we're at close to
$15,000 after just two days. But we have to hit $100,000 by September
4. So, let's get 'er cranked.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
With your help, tonight, we will shake it up.
Onward to November.
The Nader Team
PS:
Remember, if you donate $100 or more, we'll send you three DVDs -- the
Denver rally, the Minneapolis rally, and a special debate DVD. (Three DVD offer ends September 4 at 11:59 p.m.)
Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts "The Softer Side of Narcissicm." Michelle Obama declares (from the PBS interview last night),
"When people hear my story. How I was raised, how Barack was raised and
how we hope to raise our children. Me. Me. And, yes, me."
Eleanor
Smeal wants to be a feminist voice. She wants to be president of
Feminist Majority Foundation. She needs to check her damn ego. She also
needs to issue a PUBLIC APOLOGY TO ALL FEMINISTS. If she can't do that,
she needs to take her ass off the public stage.
Smeal can't be a 'leader' and slam women.
Let's be clear, she can take on any public woman she wants.
She can critique a public woman in any manner or tone she wants.
She can't go after grassroots women, she can't go after the women the media has no spotlight for.
Smeal's
'feminism' has always struck many as 'thin'. Her NOW tenure was very
weak and left a lot of heavy lifting for Molly Yard. That's because
Eleanor has always felt her role was in electing Democrats.
She can't pass herself off as a feminist leader and attack other feminists not in the spotlight.
That's what she's done in hurtful words.
E-mails
flood in the inboxes (the private e-mail addresses for community
members as well as the public e-mail address for visitors) and I heard
about it from women last night. I heard about it from an
African-American lesbian who wanted to know, through tears, just who
the hell Ellie Smeal thinks she is?
Who does she think she is?
She thinks she can bully women. She thinks she can make fun of them. Mock them. And for what?
To elect a man. Disgrace yourself in private, Ellie, feminism doesn't deserve your embarrassments.
You either apologize -- in a public statement -- or you leave the public stage.
The last thing feminism needs is ANOTHER MIDDLE-CLASS, STRAIGHT, WHITE WOMAN re-enforcing the worst stereotypes of feminism.
There are women who will not vote for Barack.
That's
not a question at this point. The polls demonstrate that there are
women who will not vote for him. There's not going to be a big change.
No matter how Ellie wants to throw a tantrum.
She went to 'feminist' Katha Pollitt to declare that PUMA's were really John McCain supporters all along.
That's a LIE and that's a disgusting LIE.
As
the woman crying on my shoulder -- I'm not joking here, she walked up,
she started talking and three words in, she just started sobbing --
asked, what does she have to do?
She's been a feminist all of
her life (I first met her at an abortion rights rally in DC years ago)
and she's been one because she believes in feminism. If feminism
embraces homophobia, then she's lost feminism in 2008 along with having
to endure the slurs that all women had to throughout the Democratic
Party primaries.
Eleanor Smeal needs to grasp reality.
1992
brought us the Sister Souljah moment and this cycle brought us a
similar moment when Barack Obama decided homophobia was the slur to use
in campaigning. That wasn't just offensive to Democratic Party beliefs,
it was offensive to many people -- men and women. It was and remains
offensive to feminists. This moment will not go away and, in a decade,
will be regularly called out. But lesbian feminists have been
especially vocal about the fact that feminist 'leaders' stayed silent.
In the January issue of The Progressive, Kevin Alexander Gray contributes an article he co-wrote with Marshall Derks. The article, "Obama's Big Gay and Black Problem," was posted online at many websites. Despite the article now appearing in print in this month's The Progressive,
Goodman never asked about it last week -- while speaking to its
co-author. Is homophobia not an issue in Goodman's world? Is it not as
important as racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination?
Considering
how rarely LBGT issues make it onto the program, Goodman apparently
doesn't think it's an issue. Even when a Democrat candidate uses
homophobia to stir up hatred in the hopes of turning out voters,
Goodman doesn't find it 'newsworthy.' But she's really not interested
in gender either. Though program after program throughout 2007 and 2008
addressed race and race only (and the race was always African-American
which has led to a huge outcry in the Bay Area about the silence on
Asian-Americans), gender issues in the US was never judged as important
enough for a segment in 2007.
Some may be suprised that they never noticed that. Others, especially those who read Aura Bogado's "Hustling the Left" (ZNet) will most likely be nodding their heads because it's not all that surprising when a woman (Goodman) who thinks H**tler is the place to publish also isn't interested in the lives of women.
Where are the 'leaders'? They are silent. Over and over. And the silence is a stab in the back to the feminist movement.
There are many reasons women aren't on board the bus with Barack -- usually because they were tossed under it.
Ava and I spoke with PUMA for a piece two Sundays ago.
There are some who support not voting, there are some who support
writing in Hillary's name, there are some who support voting for Ralph
Nader (we heard of those but did not speak to any), there are some who
support voting for Cynthia McKinney, there are some who support voting
for John McCain as a protest vote and there are some who support voting
for John McCain period.
Eleanor Smeal has no right to smear the
PUMA movement as Republican women who were pretending. It is a smear,
it is offensive. It's offensive because PUMA is about women rebelling
and rebellious women have always been the heart and soul of the
feminist movement.
It's offensive because none of the women Ava
and I spoke to or heard of had started out in 2007 assuming they'd vote
for anyone but the Democratic nominee -- whomever he or she was.
PUMA wasn't created by Republicans for Republicans.
PUMA
is a direct response to what went down in the primaries and (Ava and my
opinion) the failure of of feminist 'leaders' to call it out. Women
became their own leaders because their 'leaders' failed them.
(There
were exceptions and those names are known and don't need repeating
here. Needless to say, Eleanor's name doesn't make that list.)
For
Eleanor Smeal to smear PUMA is an ugly and offensive slur and one that
continues Eleanor's silence on what went down. She never called out
Barack's use of homophobia (and this is NOT a minor issue with lesbians
or with straight women). She didn't do a damn thing about sexism.
Now she wants to turn around and smear feminists -- real ones -- who have been fighting the good fight?
No.
Feminism
is not about any one candidate, any one political party. Feminism is a
movement and Eleanor wants to hijack it for a candidate.
It doesn't work that way.
Feminism is supposed to respect the right of women to make their own choices.
Eleanor Smeal shows nothing to indicate that she grasps that.
Her words have hurt and she needs to apologize.
And if she doesn't?
Losing
Smeal as a 'face' is no great loss to the feminist movement. She's
always placed electoral politics ahead of feminist actions and she is
the press stereotype of a feminism. Her stepping away (or being pushed
off stage) clears the path for a non-traditional face of feminism to
step on stage.
Her words are offensive. I'm reading the e-mails
and lesbians are grasping it right away. I'm seeing a few men who do
and I'm seeing a number of straight women who do. Lesbians are grasping
it because they were most publicly tossed under the bus.
Eleanor
wants credit for the Democratic Party Platform this year -- that would
be the same platform that, unlike more recent years, does not use the
term "gay" or "lesbian" or "LGBT." Lesbians especially have a reason to
be personally offended. They are not mistaken. They are not 'moody' or
seeing something that isn't there.
And feminists stand together. Lesbian, straight, we stand together in the struggle.
That's what Eleanor can't grasp.
Her
statements indicate that she thinks feminism means she, Eleanor Smeal,
can get a seat at the (Democratic Party) table by 'commanding' a legion
of women. (How very 1976 of her.) They aren't yours to command, Eleanor.
You owe feminism an apology. A public apology.
And
visitors e-mailing to complain about Ellie note that they attempted to
use the contact form at Feminist Majority Foundation which does not
work (error message of "CC" when there was no "CC") or returns the
message with a failure notice. A few visitors apologize for "dumping
this on you." Don't. I'm a feminist and what Eleanor Smeal did is
unacceptable.
I'm not afraid to call her out.
Elaine and I already had a long conversation this spring about how we were not rushing in (with our checkbooks) to save Ms. and how we wouldn't give a thin dime to Feminist Majority Foundation. They did nothing. Feminist Wire and Ms.,
both owned by Feminist Majority Foundation, didn't do a damn thing.
There were two 'briefs' when Hillary was considered a candidate on
sexism -- in both cases the briefs weren't written until after MSNBC
got to respond. In other words, after the actions OF OTHER FEMINISTS
had been so intense that MSNBC had to issue a public response, Feminist
Majority Foundation felt they might need to cover it. Both briefs were
on MSNBC because that became the target other feminists identified.
Eleanor Smeal didn't lead a damn thing.
And the attacks didn't stop with the end of the primaries. This morning on Democracy Now!,
Amy Goodman declared, "Clinton's speech marked an end to her campaign
against Obama." Give me the name of a man who ran in a primary --
post-primary, post suspension of campaign -- who has ever been
identified, all that time after, as campaigning against someone and not
for the office.
Amy Goodman's trashy ass needs to be called out. Larry Fl*nt's buddy, who thought publishing in H**tler,
lied about Hillary non-stop. LIED. She brought on Barack supporters and
didn't identify them as such. She shut out Hillary supporters. She
brought on Melissa Harris-Lacewell who was CAMPAIGNING for Barack and
didn't feel the need to tell the audience that fact which, had she been
NPR staff, would have led to a disciplinary notice and possible firing.
She lied repeatedly and intentionally. And, of course, she and
Harris-Lacewell plotted the Jerry Springer-like attack on Gloria
Steinem. Amy Goodman is trash and I could go on at length there but Ava
and I are tackling her this Sunday (but if you catch today's episode,
identify the Barack supporter who lies on air -- and forgets her own
lie in the midst of the segment).
In 1992, her speech to the ABA moved me and her speech last night moved me. She is one of a kind.
But
that doesn't wipe away what was done and what continues to be done.
It's really not about Hillary and the Barack Groupies fail to grasp
that because Hillary supporters did not exhibit Cult like behaviors. We
knew her. We saw her as she was, warts and all. We knew she made
mistakes but we knew she kept going. We knew she kept fighting. She ran
an amazing race and won 18 million votes. She truly is heroic.
I've
known Hillary for years and never cease to be amazed or moved by her.
But I don't take marching orders from Hillary. If I'm not going to take
them from Hillary, I certainly won't take them from the insulting
Eleanor Smeal.
When Barack was running for the US Senate, Elaine
and I went to an early fundraiser. We were prepared to write checks
and, in fact, planned to max out with our donation at the fundraiser.
That was because he was the 'anti-war' candidate. He was not, as we
realized in our face time (much easier to get back then -- the campaign
needed money badly -- though a friend with the campaign swears I can
have face time if I'll only open up my checkbook -- not happening and
don't want it -- will remain one of the 'untapped donors'). Elaine
spoke first and stated how great it was to support someone calling for
an end to the illegal war. Barack informed us that the "We" were in
Iraq now so "we" couldn't leave. Elaine's mouth dropped. I'm never at a
loss for words (also known as "mouthy"), so I went after him with one
question after another. He wasn't anti-war and he wasn't even anti-Iraq
War. This nonsense about the 2002 speech (that is a recreation and
'improvement' if people want to be honest about it) is crap. He'd long
decided otherwise. Now Tom Hayden was crestfallen this July 4th by what
happened. Elaine and I weren't. What Tom finally saw is what Elaine and I saw face to face, with very specific questions because you know I was nailing him down on this. Elaine
and I immediately left the fundraiser -- no, we didn't write any
checks. We didn't support his Senate run (and that was before he
decided to humiliate Jeri in his own sick desire to hold Senate office).
Eleanor Smeal needs to check herself.
It is not a feminist requirement that you vote for a candidate, any candidate, or that you even vote.
I
don't care who anyone votes for. I stated here, beginning in 2004, I
wouldn't vote for John McCain. I like Cindy, I admire the work she's
done, I have nothing but nice things to say about Cindy the private
person. But I won't vote for John.
I won't vote for Barack.
Neither of those things makes me a 'bad' feminist.
If
a feminist wants to vote John McCain she should. If it's because she
believes in him, she should vote for him. (And you can toss "he" in
there too because feminists can be men as well but this entry is
focused on women.) If she plans to vote for John McCain to lodge a
protest vote against sexism, homophobia, et al., that's her right too.
The
world will continue regardless. Any feminist who has a strong desire to
vote should. For whomever she wants. (That includes voting for Barack
if that's what she wants to do.) If she doesn't want to vote, that's
her right too.
But no 'leader' has the right to smear and LIE
about women who are standing up when her own chicken-s**t ass is too
cowardly to do so. Eleanor Smeal owes PUMAs an apology, yes. But she
also owes all feminists (and PUMAS includes feminists) apologies. She
needs to make a public apology and she needs to do so quickly.
And
I want to clear something up that I may not have been clear enough
earlier (this is dictated and Isaiah goes up after this with a comic,
by the way), PUMA was not created solely by the sexist attacks. It was
also created by the silence from so many 'leaders'. Eleanor Smeal
didn't do s**t when the attacks were starting (they continue today) and
she can take responsibility for helping to create PUMA. The bulk of
feminist 'leaders' failed. That's not they fought and lost. Feminism is
a centuries old movement. We know we will lose battles. We know we must
always continue fighting. But a number of 'leaders' chose not to fight,
chose silence.
In the 21st century, silence is no more an option than it was at any other time. Let the PUMAs roar.
A
Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldier died at a Coalition forces
medical facility in Baghdad today as a result of wounds sustained
following an IED attack Aug. 26. The Soldier was wounded after the
vehicle he was traveling in was struck by an improvised explosive
device in northeastern Baghdad Aug. 26.
The US military announced the above today. The death brings to 4148 US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and 20 since the start of the illegal war.
In
March or April 2007, three noncommissioned United States Army officers,
including a first sergeant, a platoon sergeant and a senior medic,
killed four Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots to the head as the men
stood handcuffed and blindfolded beside a Baghdad canal, two of the
soldiers said in sworn statements. After
the killings, the first sergeant -- the senior noncommissioned officer
of his Army company -- told the other two to remove the men's bloody
blindfolds and plastic handcuffs, according to the statements made to
Army investigators, which were obtained by The New York Times.
Sgt.
Matthis Chirous of the Individual Ready Reserve is a war resister and
IVAW member who had successfully refused to deploy to Iraq earlier this
year. He is the first person to refuse a deployment and not be prosecuted. "They tried to send me and I publically refused to go," he said while the IVAW protestors took a break from marching. Chirous, who is from Brooklyn, N.Y., refused to deploy to Iraq because he said the war is illegal according to the Constitution. "The
occupation of Iraq is in violation of Article 6, Section 2 of my U.S.
Constitution, which I have sworn to protect and defend before anything
else as a serviceman to this country," he said. Chirous
was ordered to deploy to Iraq on June 15. But he stood before the U.S.
Congress on May 16 and publically refused by calling the war in Iraq
illegal and immoral. In
addition to publically refusing to deploy, he informed the Congress of
the plight of Iraqi war resistors. For his testimony, Chirous received
a letter signed by 15 Congressmen and Congresswomen that they sent to
President Bush. Chirous said
he was marching for IVAW during the DNC in Denver to rebuke the
Democratic Party for its failure to end the war in Iraq after it was
given majorities in both the House and Senate in 2006. "We
are trying to bring the message to the Democrats that you have failed
to end the war as we, the American people, have demanded," he said. "We
will now force your hand. We will hold you accountable for your
promises."
We covered Ned Parker's article in yesterday's snapshot but we'll throw in a link here.
Jess
spoke with Ashley Sanders, the Super Rally Media Coordinator this
evening, and she states, "We're hoping for 5,000 people and we want the
mood to be thoroughly democratic and we want the peopl to feel inspired
about voting for candidates who actually represent them."
The
rally is today. This is it for the regular entries. I've read the
e-mails and we're grabbing a topic that I heard about last night as
well. Hearing about it (from women very upset by it), I planned to make
it the Thursday night topic; however, it is huge in the private e-mail
accounts (members) and in the public account (visitors).
Tuesday, August 26, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Kurds feel left out, al-Maliki is not to be believed (if you believe his cabinet), independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader gears up for tomorrow night's Super Rally and more.
The last few days have been a dizzying blur for me. I've been in Colorado Springs for Robin Long's court-martial at Ft. Carson, as well as to the support IVAW's State of the Union base tour.
The trial itself was pretty intense. I was so proud of Robin and witnesses: Pete Haney (of the Colorado Springs Justice & Peace Commission), SGT Matthis Chiroux (IVAW and resister to an ordered Iraq deployment) and COL Ann Wright (who can't even begin to summarize her bio). I also want to thank the folks who sent supporting written statements. We used some in the trials, but will be using all of them in the upcoming clemency/parole fights.
In the next day or two, I'll write up a lengthier blow-by-blow account of the trial, but for now I'll just say that while we (Robin and I) are disappointed by the sentence, we are happy that we got to present Robin's case. I think that in the future, the record will show that Robin's decision to go to Canada might have been illegal under US law, but it was supremely moral act and it was one in compliance with International law.
On June 3, the House of Commons voted to stop the deportations of American servicemen and women who come to Canada rather than participate in the fighting in Iraq. Incredibly, the Harper government has chosen to ignore the decision of the House of Commons. In spite of that clear vote, they deported Robin Long, an American soldier seeking sanctuary in Canada, back to the U. S. Last week, Robin was sentenced to 15 months in prison at a military penitentiary. He also received a dis-honourable discharge. This has huge implications for the rest of his life: he will be ineligible for student loans, mortgages, and many employment opportunities. Even worse, he will never be able to return to Canada, where his two-year-old son lives. His crime? Refusing to participate in an illegal and immoral war, once its true nature became clear to him. In Robin's own words: "I remember that a soldier is just a uniform following orders, a warrior is the man or woman that follows their conscience and does the right thing in the face of adversity." This he has done, and continues to do. Jeremy Hinzman has received his deportation date: Sept. 23. It is clear that he is a conscientious objector. It is wrong that he be punished for following his conscience. What has been done to Robin Long cannot be fixed. But it must not be repeated. The Harper government has an obligation to comply with the will of the House. The deportations must stop.
To show your support for Jeremy and other US war resisters in Canada, Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, 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, Daniel Baker, 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.
August 18th US Lt Gen Lloyd Austin briefed the press going on and and on about 'success' in Iraq and "our security gains continue to trend in a positive direction" and happy talk, happy talk, more and more Operation Happy Talk. Waves of reality wash all that happy talk away. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "A suicide car bomb targeted a recruiting centre in the twon of Jalowlaa, 70 km to the northeast of Baquba at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday killing 27 recruits, wounding 45." AFP explains that the "bomber thwarted a security check" point as he "rushed into a crowd of potential recruits and detonated his explosives-laden vest". Yassen Taha and Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) report that the bomber was disguised "as a security officer" and that the the hospital states "they'd received 30 bodies of dead recruits, a higher figure than police reported to McClatchy Newspapers." Stephen Farrell (NYT via IHT) states some believe it was actually a car bombing. CBS and AP quote eye witness (and police member) Falah Hassan stating, "I saw burned bodies, wounded people and small pools of blood." Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) quotes Mohammed Adnan who dclares, "There was black smoke everywhere, dead bodies on the ground, and people panicking and helping to transfer the injured to the hospital." Let'd drop back to August 18th one more time for Lt Gen Austin, "Today, the Multinational Corps Iraq is operating in more areas of the country with fewer troops, and our security gains continue to trend in a positive direction even after the redeployment of five brigade combat teams, and most recently the Georgian brigade. We've been able to achieve this success because of an increasingly effective Iraqi security force, one that is growing in capability and in confidence." Woops! Who said this: "The suicide bombing of Jalawla is striking evidence that Iraqi security forces are unable to impose security on the area from which Peshmerga have just withdrawn"? Iraqi Brig Gen Nadhim Najim Ahmed to Sherko Raouf (Reuters) and he said it today regarding the bombing: "The suicide bombing of Jalawla is striking eveidence that Iraqi security forces are unable to impose security on the are from which Pershmerga have just withdrawn." The Peshmerga are the Kurdish forces. Are Kurdish leaders about to pull a Bully Boy and use tragedies to their own advantage? BBC asserts of the bombing, "This is the latest in a series of attacks, launched mainly by Sunni Islamists in Diyala." Ned Parker explains, "The attack followed a suicide bombing on Sunday night at a tribal sheik's banquest in the western Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib".
Parker also sets up the larger perspective: "Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's negotiators are also bogged down in talks over a long-term security agreement with the United States, despite a December deadline looming for a deal. The Shiite-led government has also initiated a crackdown on leaders and members of the U.S.-funded Sons of Iraq movement, which includes many former insurgents, who allied themselves with America in 2007 to fight Al Qaeda in Iraq. Since May, Iraqi security forces have started arresting Sunni fighters. Leaders from the Sons of Iraq have warned that the measures could drive some of their men back to fighting the government." This morning Tina Susman and Parker reported on puppet of the occupation Nouri's "fixed deadline for the departure of all U.S. troops troops from Iraq" and observered, "His words appeared to rule out the presence of any U.S. military advisors, special forces and air support after the withdrawal date." Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) observes it is "a direct challenge to the Bush administration, which insists that the timing for troop departure would be based on conditions on the ground" and quotes al-Maliki stating, "There is an agreement actually reached, reached between the two parties on a fixed date, which is the end of 2011, to end any foreign presence on Iraqi soil." Campbell Robertson and Riyadh Mohammed (New York Times) cite "Iraqi negotiators" who insist that's al-Maliki didn't mean what he said and "than an agreed-upon 2011 date is for combat forces only". CBS and AP add, "Despite the tough words, al-Maliki's aides insisted a compromise could be found on the two main stumbling blocks to an accord governing the U.S. military presence in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires at the end of the year."
Turning to some more of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded two "Awakening" Council members and another Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded four people (two were police officers) and a Tikrit car bombing that claimed 4 lives and left thirteen wounded. CNN reports the Tikrit bombing was an attempted attack on "the general manager of the health administration, Dr. Hassan Zein Al-Abideen". AFP states police maintain there were no deaths in the Tikrit bombing. Citing "a security official," Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) puts the dead at 5 and the wounded at eight. Al Jazeera adds, "A police official says the bomb was planted in a car parked on a street used by local government officials going to work."
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an attack on one police officer in Mosul that left him wounded and, when more police officers showed up, 1 person was shot dead and another wounded.
Turning to the US presidential race. The nonsense goes on in Denver inside the Pepsi Arena where a candidate's spouse (not a candidate) gave a bad speech as did the Speaker of the House (both stammered, stumbled and had nothing of value to say). Tonight Hillary speaks which means more crackpot theories from Amy Goodman & company tomorrow morning. Just like the garbage offered up on Monday. The convention is giving Panhandle Media a chance to explain to the country why they can't work in Real Media. Covering the exact same events -- despite all the hectoring and lecturing over the years -- they have nothing 'alternative' to offer. The Democratic Party Convention allows them to demonstrate the real reason they're in Panhandle Media: they aren't qualified to work in real journalism jobs. Tonight Hillary Clinton speaks and as Marie Cocco (Washington Post Writers Group) observes that it's seen as 'natural' for Hillary to do the heavy lifting: "But it is usually the job of the party nominee to build unity once a vanquished rival has conceded and made the right gestures. Unless the loser happens to be a woman. Then it's just like high school, and she must do the work." And everyone will pretend not to notice just like they pretend not to notice the absence of Iraq from the DNC infomercial. Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez' campaign issued a press release of 12 issues the Democrats will refuse to address at the convention and we'll note number eleven:
The Democrats will not call for the United States to begin a military and corporate total withdrawal from Iraq. Such a withdrawal would result in mainstream Iraqis no longer supporting or joining the insurgency. Internationally UN-supervised elections will allow for appropriate autonomy for the Kurdish, Sunni, and Shi'ite communities within a unified Iraq. Seriously waging peace will be far cheaper than a permanent war economy which is generating huge deficits and diverting attention, talent, and resources from the necessities of the American people.
Meanwhile Austin Cassidy's Independent Reporter notes Sewer Dweller Alexander Cockburn's attempt to make like Alexis Carrington (yes, Alex is that out of date) and get catty about Ralph Nader. Cassidy's confused by this. Cockburn 'reported' wrongly that Ralph wouldn't run this year. When Nader contacted him for a correction, Cockburn wrote a hateful piece (all he can really muster in his career's dying days) instead of just issuing a correction. More garbage can be found at The Socialist Worker which has always been on board with Barack. And, in fact, the John McCain campaign should probably start including some of the Socialist Worker's gushing praise for Barack in their campaign ads. (And to note the true 'international' spirit of Barack's campaign, toss in the raves he receives from Workers' Liberty in the United Kingdom -- which does know it's not voting in a US election, right?) Today the Socialist Worker tells you that Cynthia McKinney (Green Party presidential nominee) and Ralph Nader's campaigns don't matter (and insist that they won't "get a significant hearing" -- certainly not at the Socialist Worker). Daniel Williams (Denver Daily News) reports Cynthia spoke on Monday at the Mercury Cafe in Denver declaring, "We must have an opposition party in this country, and the Green Party with over 200 elected officials on the local level can be that opposition, but we have to expand and broaden the Green Party to reflect the entire fabric of all of the communities that are in this country. . . . We have done a great job of reaching out to people of all diverse backgrounds, and we wanted to make sure that people understood that not only is Green Party a viable alternative, it is imperative." Gabriel San Roman (Uprising, KPFK) interviewed Cynthia over the weekend and the interview was broadcast on Monday's show. We'll note her speaking on how she became a member of the Green Party.
I left the Democratic Party . . . Probably the Democratic Party left me a long time ago -- before I even realized that it had indeed left me. But I left the Democratic Party because it has failed during the time that it had a majority in the Congress -- to provide us a live-able wage, single-payer health care system, it's failed to repeal the Patriot Act, the Secret Evidence Act, the Military Commissions Act, failed to repeal the Bush tax cuts, and, in fact, the hallmark of the Democratic majority in Congress is failure. And therefore, when I took an inventory of my values, a alongside the values of the policies that were being implemented in Washington, DC, it was very clear that the Democratic Party no longer reflected my values so I decided to do something that I hope other people will follow suit as well. And I declared my independence from the national leadership that had made our country so complicit in crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, crimes against the global community and crimes against the American people.
And she explained:
The Congress has voted to spend $720 million every day for war and occupation. That's above the one-half trillion dollars that the Pentagon gets in so-called 'defense' spending. And so consequently we are seeing more and more of hard earned tax dollars being sucked into a war and military industrial complex that does not serve the aims, objectives and ends and interests of the people of this country. So of course we want to see an end to militarization of US policy. We want to see a restoration of the bill of rights, we want to see a rollback of those infringements, as I said, the Patriot Act, the Secret Evidence Act, the Military Commission Act and we could go on. We want to see an end to the drug war. We want to see an end to the private operation over our US currency as it is now with the Federal Reserve. Most people don't even know that the Federal Reserve isn't "federal" at all, it's private. We would like to see an end to the drug war, an end to prisons for profit. We also are not afraid to talk about race and gender in this country. And we understand. The Green Party took as its 2004 platform position the fact that this country was built on genocide of indigenous people and we think that it is outrageous that the United States didn't support the United Nations' declaration on indigenous rights. The fact that this country also -- the economic foundation of this country was based on the enslavement of
Africans. And so the 2004 Green Party platform discusses the facts about reparations and, of course, we know that the two corporate parties and the two presumptive nominees have said that reparations is not something to be discussed. The status of women in this country is something that also needs to be discussed and its definitely something more than cleavage and whether or not a woman wears a skirt when she is campaigning for public office. The fact of the matter is that women wake up every morning and they go to work equally equipped as their male counter-parts and yet, at the end of the month, they bring home less money. We need to talk about that. We understand that it took seventy-two years when women and men decided together that they were going to declare their independence from the current political order that denied women the right to vote -- it took seventy-two years for that to be accomplished. So what we are hoping to kick start in this country is not only that the Green Party becomes the opposition party but that the Green Party becomes the vanguard of the movement for justice that this country so desperately needs.
August 26, 1920, US women (all US women) finally won the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment which states: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforse this article by appropriate legislation." Susan Fauldi offers "Second-Place Citizens" (New York Times -- click here for it at der Spiegel).
Jess spoke with Ashley Sanders, the Super Rally Media Coordinator this evening, and she states, "We're hoping for 5,000 people and we want the mood to be thoroughly democratic and we want the peopl to feel inspired about voting for candidates who actually represent them." Which is a good time to note Ruth's post last week:
I had an e-mail on that today. A Barack supporter insisting Mr. Nader was running a vanity campaign. A "vanity" campaign would have seen him endorse Barack Obama back in February or after so he could get the love The Cult loves to offer. Being ridiculed and mocked does not feed "vanity." Mr. Nader is running because he thinks the country needs to change. He, Mr. Gonzalez, and the many who play a role in the grassroots campaign are working to change the country. They are working to keep democracy alive. It strikes me as very funny that someone supporting the vague and airy corporate candidate Barack would have the nerve to suggest that issue-heavy Nader campaign was a "vanity" campaign. And that is before you get into the cult's behaivor of fainting in the presence of Saint Barack. Mr. Nader is for ending the illegal war now. Not possibly in four years from now. Mr. Nader supports universal, single-payer health care. Not some program that might insure childen while leaving millions of Americans uninsured (and a program that is a mandate, despite Mr. Obama's lies otherwise). Mr. Nader supports the right to unionize, the repeal of Taft-Hartley. Mr. Obama supports making life even easier for corporations.
To protest Obama's choice of the Senator from MasterCard for VP.
That would be Senator Biden.
(By donating $39 now to the Nader Media Fund, you'll be helping us report more on Mr. Plastic in the days to come, but for starters, check out this account of how Biden fronted for the credit card companies in Congress.)
This
June Canada's parliament passed a resolution calling on its government
to "cease any removal or deportation actions" against US soldiers who
have refused to take part in the Iraq war, and to allow them to apply
for permanent resident status and stay in Canada - a position backed by
64% of Canadians. Even so,
last month Canada deported its first war resister - Robin Long, now
serving a 15-month jail term in Colorado - and a second, Jeremy
Hinzman, has now been given a September 23 deadline to leave Canada
with his wife, son and baby daughter, or be deported. Today,
to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Central Committee
for Conscientious Objectors, we will be holding a 10-hour vigil outside
the Canadian high commission in Trafalgar Square, calling on the
Canadian government to abide by the will of its parliament and people,
and make provision for US war resisters to have sanctuary in Canada. We
urge your readers to join us by writing to the high commissioner, James
R Wright. Glenn Bassett,
Gabriel Carlyle, Susan Clarkson, Sian Colley, Pat Gaffney, Salih
Ibrahim, Joanne Macinnes, Jonathan Stevenson, Susan Wood London
The above is "War resisters" and that's the Guardian
of London for you, if someone writes a letter, a topic might get
covered. Might. But the 'reporters' have so many 'better' things to do.
(Trying to influence a foreign election takes a lot of work!) Orillia Packet & Times offers the following letter: Letter the the editor: On
June 3, the House of Commons voted to stop the deportations of American
servicemen and women who come to Canada rather than participate in the
fighting in Iraq. Incredibly, the Harper government has chosen to
ignore the decision of the House of Commons. In spite of that clear
vote, they deported Robin Long, an American soldier seeking sanctuary
in Canada, back to the U. S. Last week, Robin was sentenced to 15
months in prison at a military penitentiary. He also received a
dis-honourable discharge. This has huge implications for the rest of
his life: he will be ineligible for student loans, mortgages, and many
employment opportunities. Even worse, he will never be able to return
to Canada, where his two-year-old son lives. His crime? Refusing to participate in an illegal and immoral war, once its true nature became clear to him. In
Robin's own words: "I remember that a soldier is just a uniform
following orders, a warrior is the man or woman that follows their
conscience and does the right thing in the face of adversity." This he
has done, and continues to do. Jeremy Hinzman has received his
deportation date: Sept. 23. It is clear that he is a conscientious
objector. It is wrong that he be punished for following his conscience. What has been done to Robin Long cannot be fixed. But it must not be repeated. The Harper government has an obligation to comply with the will of the House. The deportations must stop. J. Gilbert Orillia
US war resister Jeremy Hinzman went to Canada for safe harboer and was informed August 13th,
that he had until September 23rd to leave Canada or be deported. Jeremy
has taped an appeal to Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, and
you can find the video at the War Resisters Support Campaign (the video features Jeremy Hinzman, with his wife Nga Nguyen and their children Liam and Meghan):
Let
Them Stay! Keep US war resisters here in Canada! Stop the
deportations!Tell the government to respect democracy and implement
Parliament's motion. Rally on the National Day of Action
Saturday, September 13, 2008, 1:00 p.m. Richmond/Central at Victoria Park March to the Federal Building and then to Covent Garden Market.
Speakers
include war resisters Josh Randall and Tim Richard. Lots of dramatic
street theatre. Bring your enthusiasm, your indignation, and your own
sign, and your noise-makers!
The
15-year-old girl had the chubby cheeks of a child who hadn't lost her
baby fat when she was arrested Sunday by an alert policeman. Around her
chest was a vest packed with explosives. The policeman chained her to
the bars of a window, stripped off her dress, found the vest and
deactivated the bomb. Had he not intervened, Rania would have been this
year's 31st suicide bomber in Iraq. A
day later, Rania seemed in a daze as she spoke about the people who put
her up to it: the relatives who forced her to don the vest and
apparently drugged her, her husband, whom police accuse of being a
member of the group al Qaida in Iraq, and her mother, who seemed to
play a central role in turning Rania into a human bomb but whom she
looked to as a rescuer.
On the front page of this morning's New York Times, Lizette Alvarez offers "War Veterans Concussions Are Often Overlooked" which has a large scope that may explain many weaknesses. Here's an excerpt:
Even
now, with traumatic brain injury called the signature injury of the
Iraq war, some soldiers and their advocates say that complications from
mild concussions often are not recognized. Mr.
Owsley's request for a Purple Heart, given to troops wounded or killed
in action, was denied by the military, a devastating blow. Others say
that their mild brain injury entitled them only to low disability
payments, or, if the diagnosis was inconclusive, to none at all. This
has happened in large part because there is no quantifiable diagnostic
test for the injury, and the language used by the Veterans Affairs
Department to rate traumatic brain injury, or T.B.I., is vague. The
military, in particular, seldom rates each symptom from a concussion
separately, which it is required to do, said Kerry Baker, associate
national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans. "The criteria remains ambiguous," Mr. Baker said. "The military way underrates T.B.I. and its symptoms."
The
article's biggest problem is the glancing manner in which it looks at
things which gives off the impression that things have worked much more
smoothly than they have and that -- other than a few cases for veterans
-- the struggle on veterans care is in the distant past.
The
purpose of today's hearing is to take a hard look at the current state
of the Army Medical Action Plan This will be the third hearing this
subcomitt has held on the Army Medical Action Plan -- the army's
response to the revelations at Walter Reed Army Medical Center last
year, since it was issued in June 2007. When the Army Medical Action
Plan execution order was issued last summer, the military personnel
subcomittee believed that the army had finally demonstrated a full
understanding and acceptance of the organizational and systemic short
comings that had led to the scandalous conditions at Walter Reed. We
felt that the Army Medical Action Plan was a comprehensive and
ambitious blue print to tackle these issues head on. After years of
frustration many on the subcomittee believed that the army was finally
ready to take the necessary steps to solve these problems. However,
from our very first briefing on the Army Medical Action Plan, we had
two significant concerns. The first was that the army would be unable
to initially dedicate and then maintain over the long haul the level of
resources required by the Army Medical Action Plan. Specifically, we
were worried that the army would be unable to assign adequate numbers
of personnel to the Warrior Transition Units. Why? Because the core of
the Warrior Transition Units were to be the same soldiers that make up
the backbone of our brigade combat teams: mid-grade, non-commissioned
officers. And these soldiers were already in short supply. The second
concern was that army commanders would overwhelm the Warrior Tranistion
Units by sending them all of their soldiers with medical issues rather
than just those with complex injuries or conditions that required
comprehensive case management. In truth, we do not feel that this was
necessarily a bad thing especially if it helped units deploy at full
strength while injured or ill soldiers had the opportunity to fully
recover Of course, this would only work if Warrior Transition Units
were properly resourced to take care of these soldiers. From June 2007
through February 2008, the members and staff of this subcommittee made
numerous visits to Warrior Transition Units throughout the army. The
overall trend we observed was positive. The Army Medical Action Plan
was clearly providing better support for recovering soldiers than the
previous medical holdover system. One wounded warrior commented, 'Thank
God for the Warrior Transition Unit. Things are so much better than
they were before.' That was good to hear but despite the positive
trends we were frustrated at the slow progress of implementing the
AMAP. We felt that things should have and could have been moving
faster. We also felt that there was a discconnect between how quickly
the army leadership believed things were happening and what the facts
on the ground seemed to indicate. Again, despite the challenges, we
felt things were moving in an overall, positive direction. However our
concerns about Warrior Transition Unit staffing levels and the
potential of line units, quote, 'dumping ' soldier on the Warrior
Transition Unit continued. We asked General [Eric] Schoomaker about
this repeatedly during our hearing in February to get an update on the
AMAP In response to a question asked by Mr. [John] McHugh, the army
surgeon-general declared, 'For all intents and purposes we are entirely
staffed at the point we need to be staffed.' As the facts at Fort Hood
demonstrate that is clearly not the case now. Gentlemen, the Army
Medical Action Plan was designed by the army. It is your plan. The army
senior leadership has publicly trumpeted your commitment to wounded
soldiers at every opportunity -- and we believe that that is true. But
the Secretary of Defense agrees -- as Dr. [Robert] Gates has made clear
-- "Apart from the war itself, this department and I have no higher
priority." . Over the course of this hearing we will review the
following topics. Resources. Why has the army failed to properly
resource the Warriror Transition Units population growth. Why did the
army fail to predict the growth in the WT population. We were assured
by the army in Feb. that you had the processes and reviews in place to
stay on top of the population and clearly that's not the case today.
Priority. Is the Army Medical Action Plan truly the army's number two
priority? Our visits do not leave us with that impression. And
creativity. From the outset the Army Medical Action Plan has been sold
as a bold roadmap to overhaul outdated, inefficient and deteremental
policies and procedures. . . . And oversight. Finally and perhaps most
importantly why did it take oversight visits from the subcommittee to
identify and spure the army to fix these issues and what will take to
ensure that the army follows its own plan and lives up to its own
promises it Gentlemen, aside from telling us that you will will harder
to implement it -- and we do believe that, we know that you are working
very hard at this -- what concrete steps are being taken to ensure
better follow through?
That was last month. The article
today provides no indication of just how little has been done and what
a struggle it has been to get that little done. In terms of individual
cases, a better job's done but, even there, there's not one case that
you can't go to a statement by Davis, Shelley Berkley or any number of
members in a hearing this year -- over and over.
Turning to the presidential race, Susan Faludi's "Second-Place Citizens" runs on A19 and makes some larger points:
In
one poll, 40 percent of Mrs. Clinton's constituency expressed
dissatisfaction; in another, more than a quarter favored the clear
insanity of voicing their feminist protest by voting for John McCain.
"This is not the usual reaction to an election loss," said Diane
Mantouvalos, the founder of JustSayNoDeal.com,
a clearinghouse for the pro-Clinton organizations. "I know that is the
way it is being spun, but it's not prototypical. Anyone who doesn't
take time to analyze it will do so at their own peril." The
despondency of Mrs. Clinton's supporters -- or their "vitriolic" and
"rabid" wrath, as the punditry prefers to put it -- has been the
subject of perplexed and often irritable news media speculation. Why
dont these dead-enders get over it already and exit stage right? Shouldn't
they be celebrating, not protesting? After all, Hillary Clinton's
campaign made unprecedented strides. She garnered 18 million-plus
votes, and proved by her solid showing that a woman could indeed be a
viable candidate for the nation's highest office. She didn't get the
gold, but in this case isnt a silver a significant triumph?
Susan
then pulls the punch. Why should women be celebrating? When were we
allowed to? In week after week of Bill Moyers psuedo-talks about race
and blah-blah-blah about the 'historic nature' of Barack's run? Are we
supposed to play like we are as STUPID as they think we are? That we
didn't notice that CRAP day after damn day? You don't have to go to the
sewer of MSNBC to find things to call out. And it's past time Bill
Moyers was called out for his bulls**t throughout the primaries and how
he refused to explore Hillary's run, how he REFUSES to book female
guests and how SEXISM has been dished out non-stop this year by The
Journal.
It's
not just Moyers but sexism isn't just the attacks Chris Matthews and
Keith Olbermann launched. Sexism is also silence. It's how women are
historically 'forgotten' when it's time to 'create' the canon. It's how
women are left out history repeatedly. It's how each wave of feminism
has to first re-invent the wheel. And NO FEMINIST is doing feminism any
favors by pretending what went down didn't. This bulls**t of why can't
women be happy IGNORES the reality that they weren't allowed to be.
Moyers never offered one damn story on gender. Check his archives and
see what he did offer, see how PBS allowed him to turn his show into an
infomercial for Barack.
It didn't just happen. But it continued to happen because too many 'leaders' refused to call it out. Lying
about it today or playing 'nice' isn't going to change a damn thing.
You confront abuse or it continues. That's reality. And damn well
PATHETIC that feminist 'leaders' refuse to write about what happened
which was far beyond the crap MSNBC broadcast. It's past time for
'leaders' to grow the hell up or face that fact that grassroots
feminism no longer needs them, no longer wants them. (Which is why the
Kim Gandy mailing sent out after midnight last night is already a joke.)
Katie Couric:
Over the last week it's been almost impossible to pick up a newspaper
or turn on a cable show and avoid the endless post-mortums on Hillary
Clinton's campaign. Senator Clinton has received her fair share of the
blame and so has her political team. But, like her or not, one of the
great lessons of that campaign is the continued and accepted role of
sexism in American life -- particularly in the media. Many women have
made the point that if Senator Obama had to confront the racist
equivalent of an "Iron My Shirt!" poster at campaign rallies or a
Hillary nutcracker sold at airports or mainstream pundints saying they
instinctively cross their legs at the mention of her name, the outrage
would not be a footnote, it would be front page news. It isn't just
Hillary Clinton who needs to learn a lesson from this primary season,
it's all the people who crossed the line -- and all the women and men
who let them get away with it. That's a page from my Notebook, I'm
Katie Couric, CBS News.
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is gearing up for the Denver Super Rally tomorrow night. This is from Team Nader:
Nader Flix
Posted by The Nader Team on Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 09:25:00 PM
As
a big part of the homestretch push to Election Day, we are starting a
new media fund drive -- $100,000 in ten days -- by the end of the
Republican convention.
We're
cruising. You've helped get us on 37 state ballots thus far (more to
come soon) and Nader/Gonzalez has been at 5% or above in several
national polls. But the big bucks news media has responded with a deep
freeze-out. So, it's up to us to break through and get our own message
out.
Enter the Nader Media Fund.
We
aren't tied down by narrow stylistic constraints. We don't worry about
offending corporate America. We just need to get much busier creating,
filming, editing, and distributing.
You
can help us create high-impact media that will get the Nader/Gonzalez
campaign message out there -- on television, radio, and the Web. Your
contributions will fund radio ads, our creative campaigns will garner
free television media (as our "puppet" debate did in 2004), and we will
put high quality content in your hands for you to show to your friends
and family.
Donate $100 to Nader/Gonzalez now
and we will mail to you three 30-45 minute DVDs over the next month
with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage hot out of the editing room --
"Nader Flix." First, the Denver Super Rally, then the Minneapolis Super
Rally, then a special debate project that we are creating.
Our
crew of professional filmmakers includes people from the pinnacle of
the business. The photo here shows them in the middle of their drive
from Los Angeles to Denver yesterday. They need tape and access to
top-notch gear, lodging and transportation. They need your support.
Make our own media. It's what we've got to do. We need your help to make it happen.
Onward to November.
(The 3-DVDs for $100 offer is good until September 4, 2008, 11:59 p.m.).
It
was the first time Maliki explicitly demanded a fixed deadline for the
departure of all U.S. troops from Iraq. His words appeared to rule out
the presence of any U.S. military advisors, special forces and air
support after the withdrawal date. The
current draft of the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, details of which
had previously been reported, outlines a conditional timeline of 2011
for U.S. combat troops to be out of Iraq. However, it leaves the door
open for the U.S. military to stay on in a noncombat role. The
hardened position came after last week's visit by Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice to Iraq, where she met with Maliki in hopes of
clearing obstacles to an agreement. But officials familiar with the
talks say that the prime minister remains undecided about whether he
even wants a deal.
Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) observes
it is "a direct challenge to the Bush administration, which insists
that the timing for troop departure would be based on conditions on the
ground." Fadel also establishes what was said:
Maliki
said that the United States and Iraq had agreed that all foreign troops
would be off Iraqi soil by the end of 2011. "There is an agreement
actually reached, reached between the two parties on a fixed date,
which is the end of 2011, to end any foreign presence on Iraqi soil,"
Maliki said.
The New York Times doesn't do that. Possibly in an acknowledgement that Nouri is but a puppet, Campbell Robertson and Riyadh Mohammed's "Maliki Pushes for Troop Withdrawal Date" makes an effort to downplay what al-Maliki said by allowing unnamed others to insist 'What he really meant was . . .':
Though
Mr. Maliki seemed to be referring to all foreign troops in his
statements, Iraqi negotiators have said recently that an agreed-upon
2011 date is for combat forces only, and that "training and support"
forces could remain after that if invited by the Iraqi government. On
Monday, a senior Iraqi official said he understood that even a
departure date for combat troops would be "conditions driven."
Yesterday's snapshot
featured some of Tony Fratto's remarks as White House spokesperson for
the traveling White House (Crawford, TX). Here's Fratto in full:
Sure.
I know there are always reports out there in the press and I'm not sure
I saw exactly what Prime Minister Maliki said. But clearly from our
perspective, we've been working with the Iraqi government for a long
time on this agreement. It's a critical agreement between two sovereign
countries in this region, and we want to see this bilateral agreement
put in place, to take effect once the December 30th U.N. agreement runs
out. We're discussing goals. As you know, you've heard us speak about
different kinds of timelines or aspirational goals that may be
acceptable. I don't have anything to announce on that. An agreement has
not been signed, and so from our perspective, there is no agreement
until there's an agreement signed. There are discussions that continue
in Baghdad. We'd like to let them continue and to continue to show
progress. What we're focused on is getting a good agreement, not
getting an agreement by a particular date. So we'll continue those
discussions. Stepping back, I think what we're really pleased about is
the fact that we're having these discussions with a sovereign,
democratically elected country that is -- that wants to have a
relationship with the United States going forward, and the fact that
the only reason we can have these discussions today is because of the
success of the surge. And as we continue to see security gains on the
ground in Iraq, and we can have the return on success that the
President talked about because of those security gains, that's a good
thing for us, that's a good thing for Iraq. And so we have these mutual
goals. But any decisions on troops will be based on the conditions on
the ground in Iraq. That has always been our position; it continues to
be our position.
Ralph Nader, independent presidential candidate, is providing Ralph's Daily Audio Monday through Friday and this is "Bailouts on Your Back:"
This
is Ralph Nader. The giant corporate destruction of capitalism is
proceeding at an accelerated pace. It looks like captialsim -- that is
the bearing of risk by the business -- is only for small business, not
giant corporations that are deamed too big to fail no matter how their
executives, overpaid as they are, undermine, weaken and damage the
company their workers and share holders.
Three
examples. The US government now has enacted legislation which provides
for up to $25 billion in loan guarantees for the domestic auto
companies. These are the same companies that for years opposed fuel
efficiency standards while they sold customers their gas guzzling SUVs.
Well when the price of gasoline went up, SUV sales went down and what's
General Motors doing? Ford? Chrysler? They're going to Washington for,
essentially, a tax payer bail-out. And they want more than $25 billion
dollars in loan guarantees .
Next up is
the nuclear industry. They can't get Wall St. financing for their new
nuclear plants without a US government loan guarantee. They wanted $50
billion in recent legislation. But the Congress only gave them $19
billion for starters in loan guarantees. The Wall Streeters think that
nuclear power is so risky and unpredicatable that they won't give them
any loans without Uncle Sam guaranteeing them.
And
then there's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For years opposing adequate
regulation and adequate capital-ratios and they took on very risky
financial instruments and now they're diving and they're in consulation
with? US Treasury for some variety of bail-out or guarantee.
And
so it goes. The big guys are too big to fail and so they have no
incentive to bear the risk or even let their owners -- the share
holders -- control runaway CEO pay that's tied to inflating profits and
taking on excessive risk so their stock options are worth more for
their private riches.
Capitalism is used
as a propaganda tool by giant corporations -- as a legitimization of
what they're doing. That is: going into the market place, bearing the
risk, succeeding where they succeed and accepting the verdict of the
market place which, of course, is always beyond their control. This is
The Big Lie.
Wall St. goes to Washington
for bail-outs, hand-outs, give-aways and subsidies -- and that ought to
be an issue in the presidential campaign.
You
won't hear John McCain and Barack Obama talking about this at all.
They're in the same boat of government subsidized corporate capitalism.
This is Ralph Nader.
Meanwhile, inside the Pepsi Center, the dog and pony show took place last night. And
yes, she bombed at the DNC. It's doubtful in all the gas bagging you'll
see and hear on it, anyone will point out that a Harvard graduate
should damn well know subject-verb agreement. And weren't her gestures
comical? More on Sunday but, yes, I have read the e-mails. "Ass"-"tute"
a groupie posing as a 'journalist' calls her today and he's just as
grammatically challenged as she is. The bar's not being moved, it's
where it always was and that speech wouldn't have cut it for the spouse
of a city council member let along as a keynote speech. Modulation was
a foreign concept as words went LOUD for no reason and what passed for
normal at others. In other words, she lacked poise. Or, as her former
roll dog on TV this morning (not introduced as such) might have worded
it, she lacked "pose"--"ee."
Monday,
August 25, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces
a death, sometimes the US and the puppet al-Maliki agree on their
stories (and sometimes they do not), and more.
Starting with war resistance. US war resister Robin Long was court-martialed in Colorado Friday and Karen Linne, Fort Carson Public Affairs Office, explained Friday afternoon
that he was sentenced to 15 months behind bars, reduced in rank (to E1)
and given a dishonorable discharge. Robin was held at the Criminal
Justice Center in El Paso Country while awaiting the court-martial and
he will receive credit for the time he has served ("about 40 days").
Eric
Singer: Now getting back to a story we told you about earlier on in the
newscast, a judge at Fort Carlson sentences a soldier to 15 months for
desertion. He ran to Canada.
Nina
Sparano: Twenty-four-year-old Private First Class Robin Long was
supposed to be deployed to Iraq three years ago. Only On News Channel
13's Scott Harrison was in the court room for the sentencing.
Scott
Harrison: Early Friday afternoon, Private First Class Robin Long left
this court room and walked down this sidewalk for the last time as a
free man for the next fourteen months or so as he begins his sentence
for desertion. Long seemed in good spirits as guards escorted him to a
waiting vehicle. He also got a warm send off from peace activists and
anti-war protesters who came to support him. Some supporters hired an
attorney from Oklahoma to represent Long.
James
Branum: He got to speak his mind about why he did what he did and he
knows that, yes, he did the legally wrong thing but the morally right
thing.
Scott
Harrison: Long's sympathizers expected he would serve some time after
going AWOL then fleeing to Canada to avoid deploying to Iraq but they
think 15 months is too harsh.
Ret.
Army Col. Mary Ann Wright: Four months, five months something like that
-- which is pretty common among all of the ones who have gone AWOL and
been public about it. I think that would be an appropriate punishment.
Sgt. Matthis Chiroux:
Robin Long to me is a hero. He is an individual who stood up during a
time of great, great crisis facing overwhelming adversity and
opposition and stood true to what he knew to be right.
Scott
Harrison: Coming up at six, we'll learn more about the influences
effecting Private Long's life that led him to be at this court room
today. At Fort Carson, Scott Harrison News Channel 13.
Nina
Sparano: Long's sentence will be reduced by forty days because of time
already served. He's also reduced in rank to private and will receive a
dishonorable discharge.
Samantha
Anderson: [The court-martial of] a Fort Carson soldier Friday at times
became more of a debate about the Iraq War then about the soldier's
desertion. In our continuing coverage, News Channel 13's Scott Harrison
explains how more service men and women are taking stands to oppose the
war.
Scott
Harrison: For most men and women in the military, the decision to go to
war is a simple one. They follow orders. It's part of the job of being
in the armed forces. But Friday's court-martial here at the mountain
post attracted other soldiers who have taken stands similar to Private
Long in opposing the Iraq War. We told you Friday how Private Long
pleaded guilty to avoiding a deployment to Iraq by fleeing to Canada.
Among those supporting him at his court-martial were a retired Army
Col. and State Dept diplomat.
Ann Wright: I resigned in opposition to the war in Iraq. And that's -- he went AWOL because of the war in Iraq.
Scott Harrison: Also present was a Reserve Sergeant who announced a month before his scheduled deployment that he wouldn't go, considering the war an illegal act of aggression.
Matthis Chiroux: I'm not exactly sure what is going to happen. My situation is quite unique.
Scott
Harrison: Sgt. Chiroux says the Army has decided not to court-martial
him partly because he gained sympathy and support in Congress for the
growing cause of war objectors within the military. The different
actions toward Sgt. Chiroux and Private Long show how the military
itself can seem divided on the issue.
Ann
Wright: And that's an interesting thing because one would think that
the army throughout the world would have a common view of these things.
And that maybe there wouldn't be such disparity.
Scott
Harrison: These war objectors -- whether in or out of the military --
say there are hundreds of servicemen and women like Private Long and
more will come as the war continues.
Matthis:
Who takes his dedication to the Constitution so seriously that he is
willing to face persecution for it? Not even our own president is
willing to do that.
Scott
Harrison: Private Long is believed to be only the second soldier
court-martialed for desertion by fleeing to Canada since the end of the
Vietnam war. And both of those cases have happened just within the last
month. At Fort Carson, Scott Harrison News Channel 13.
Robin Long wasn't 'found' in Canada that week. He was expelled from Canada July 14th. (He was extradited.)
Second, there has been more than two US war resisters who went to
Canada and then returned and were court-martialed. Darrell Anderson
returned from Canada and turned himself in October 3, 2006 but was not court-martialed, as Jim Fennerty explained to Jim Warren (Lexington Herald-Leader) back in October of 2006 (article no longer available online, but quoted in this October 4th entry). Two others would follow him back to the US that year. Kyle Snyder would turn himself in and then self-checkout again
when the US military broke the promised agreement. Snyder was informed
that he was going back to his unit, despite the agreement that had been
worked out. Snyder is married to a Canadian citizen and should not
(unless Judge Anne Mactavish thinks she can get away with it) be under
threat of deportation today. The other? Remember The Full Brobeck? Ivan Brobeck returned from Canada and turned himself in on November 7, 2006 (mid-term election day and Brobeck returned with an open letter to the occupant of the White House). Brobeck was court-martialed Dec. 5, 2007 and released on Feb. 5, 2007. As Robert Fantina (Political Affairs magazine -- one of the few to note Brobeck) explained,
"Several soldiers who deserted after a tour of duty in Iraq have stated
that cruelty towards Iraqi citizens was a factor in their desertions.
One of them, Lance Corporal Ivan Brobeck, witnessed the abuse of Iraqi
detainees and the killing of Iraqi civilians. Another, Sgt. Ricky
Clousing, had similar experiences. His allegations of systematic abuse
of Iraqi detainees are now being investigated by the military." Ivan
Brobeck would be the first known US war resister that went to Canada
and returned to the US to be court-martialed.
Back to Robin's court-martial. Jupiter Kalambakal (AHN) reported,
"During the trial, Long, 25, of Boise, Idaho, said he fled when his
unit was deployed to Iraq because he felt it was an illegal war,
according to CBC. Prosecutors, on the other hand, said he abandoned his
duty and his country." Tom Roeder (Colorado Springs Gazette via Albany Times Union) noted
that Col. Debra Boudreau presided as the judge, that the prosecution
called no witnesses and that the prosecution "showed a six-minute video
of Long, sporting dreadlocks and a beard, telling a Canadian news
reporter 'I think I was lied to by my president'." That's the October 2007 CBC interview Robin gave. The use of the video indicates Robin's civilian attorney James Branum was correct when he told Nick Kyonka (Toronto Star)
immediately before the court-martial, "I think they want to prosecute
him for free-speech issues without actually charging him." A McClatchy Newspapers-Tribune Services article in The New Haven Register reported
Ann Wright was among the witnesses and she testified that the Iraq War
"was against, the law, arguing that justified Long's fleeing to Canada.
. . . The lone character witness called to speak for Long was Peter
Haney with the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission. He had met the
soldier three times while Long was awaiting trial in the El Paso
County, Colo., lockup" and he testified, "I've observed Mr. Long in
situations that would be trying to just about anyone. He seemed to me
to be extremely poised and lucid." From that article:
In his testimony, Long talked about his life in Canada and attacked the war in Iraq. "I
feel the war on terror is a war on peace," Long testified, saying he
planned to eventually move back to Canada where he has a girlfriend and
a son born while he was on the run form the Army. In Nelson,
British Columbia, Long said he perfected his organic gardening skills
and converted his Volkswagen to run on recycled cooking oil. Long told the judge he wanted to serve little or no jail time, but would take a bad conduct discharge as punishment. He wrapped up his time on the stand by telling the judge, "Peace, love and light." Long's
civilian attorney, James Branam, closed his part of the sentencing
hearing by comparing Long to Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. "The morality of what he did should lessen the punishment," Branam told the judge.
Dan Frosch (New York Times) quoted Jim Branum stating, "I felt he doesn't deserve a day in prison. Any jail time is unjust." Nick Kyonka (Toronto Star) reported,
"About two-dozen anti-war supporters gathered around the courthouse at
Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo., yesterday afternoon as a
military judge handed down Long's sentence." Other coverage included an
AP article, Erin Miller filed a report for KBS Radio. David Fox and Jesse McLaren write to the Toronto Star
to point out that the sentence proves Judge Mactavish was wrong in her
decixion. Jesse McLaren: "Since it is now clear that deporting war
resisters to the U.S. does indeed produce irreparable harm, the Harper
government must enact the motion passed in Parliament to stop the
deportations and let war resisters stay." David Fox: "Justic MacTavish
claimed he would not suffer 'irreparable harm' if deported. How is a
military jail sentence and a felony conviction not irreparable harm? No
soldier should face jail for opposing the illegal and immoral war in
Iraq. And Stephen Harper must be held to account for deporting Robin
Long when he knew full well the persecution and punishment he faced in
Bush's America." Robin's civilian attorney Jim Branumn notes Free Robin Long and at his own site notes press coverage here and here.
Friday, Free Speech Radio News reported on Robin and the lead up to the court-martial and Jeremy Hinzman. Jeremy is the US war resister who was the first to go to Canada and apply for asylum. August 13th, he was informed he had until September 23rd to leave Canada or be deported.
Jes
Burns: Back in Canada, another war resister, Jeremy Hinzman, is
fighting for himself and his family to remain in the country. The
Canadian government has ordered the Hinzman family to leave by
September 23rd despite a motion passed in Parliament in June calling for an end to the deporations. Earlier this week Hinzman spoke at a Toronto forum to discuss strategies to stem the tide of current deportations.
Jeremy Hinzman: Ever since we got here, if it wouldn't be for the support of all of ya'll . . . It
seems like we've had our hands tied. The Canadian government intervened
in my case, said that the illegality of the war was irrelevant to our
refugee claim. We appealed this all the way to the Supreme Court and,
in November of last year, they refused to hear our case. So being here
for four and a half years, working full time, having a family, having
friends we thought perhaps that we'd have a shot at compassionate,
humanitarian grounds for staying here. and as Michelle said last week
we found out that that is not going to be the case. It's pretty
devastating but all I can say is that I'd rather -- or I'd proudly
serve jail time rather than kill and displace innocent people.
Jes
Burns: The current hope for Hinzman is a new federal appeal in his
case. Alyssa Manning is a lawyer representing him and other war
resisters. She says the decision to deport Hinzman was made based on
the assumption there would be adequate protection for his religious
beliefs and political opinions back in the United States. But new
evidence has emerged -- evidence that has already been used to stay the
deporation of another war resister Corey Glass.
Alyssa
Manning: New evidence has since come out that was not available to the
Federal Court of Appeal that says that soldiers who speak out against
the war in Iraq are actually subjected to severe punishment by the
military solely for speaking out. And it was based on this new evidence
that the Federal Court issued a stay of removal in Corey's case.
Justice [Orville] Frenette, for the Court, he said, "The applicant
submits that if returned to the United States he will be
court-martialed for desertion and he will be incarcerated in a military
prison where, like Stephen Funk, Camilo Mejia and Kevin Benderman, he
will suffer persecution and cruel and inhumane treatment." He then
said: "I believe the evidence here shows that if returned to the US the
applicant will suffer the harm he has described." So that's a clear
finding from the Federal Court that what these resisters have been
alleging would happen to them if they're sent back is actually happening
Jes
Burns: Manning says there were definite errors in the decision to
deport Hinzman and his family. She hopes a new round of appeals will
convince the Canadian courts to stay the deporation.
To show your support for Jeremy and other US war resisters in Canada, Courage to Resist alerts,
"Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War
also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or
email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and
ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca."
There
is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which
includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei
Hurancyk, 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, Daniel Baker, 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 to Iraq, over the weekend Nicholas Spangler (McClatchy Newspapers) reported that Nouri al-Maliki insists the assault in Diyala Province Tuesday
was a "rogue operation" while Iraqi Islamic Party spokesperson
responded, "We believe that such a raid could not have taken place
unless Mr. Maliki had at least prior knowledge of it." From last Tuesday's snapshot:
Reuters notes
a raid conducted by "Iraqi security forces" in Baquba on "the office of
the governor of Diyala province" which resulted in the death of "his
secetary". Reuters notes
the name of the dead is Abbas Ali Hmoud and that Raad Rasheed Mulla
Jawad (the governor of the province) has stated, "The body of the
martyr [Abbas Ali Hmoud] will stay in the building until the iillers
are captured." Though the US military admits at least 1 US helicopter
was present they deny that the US military had any knowledge or
participation in the raid. Maybe they were just jumping the gun on the August 22nd National Airborne Day? Also playing dumb is the puppet government in Baghdad which is ordering an investigation. AFP reports
that Nouri al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, "ordered the formation
of a committee to find out how Iraqi forces came to fight each other in
Baquba" and notes that, in addition to the secretary being murdered, a
bodyguard was also shot dead. CNN notes,
"Hussein al-Zubaidi, a provincial council member, and Nazar al-Khafaji,
the Diyala University dean, were arrested during the raid, the official
said."
Nicholas Spangler and Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) report
four police officers were wounded in the Diyala actions, the governor's
secretary was shot dead, Hussein al Zubaidi ("provincial council member
and head of security committee") was arrested, computers were seized
and "Taha Dria, a Shiite lawmaker from Diyala who was not in the
government compound during the raid, said the armed forces were from
Iraq's Emergency Response Unit, an American-trained unit similar to
U.S. Special Forces" quoting him explaining that, "They were wearing
khaki. Their weapons were American. The Humvees they used looked
American. They didn't have any ranks on their shoulders. They didn't
talk." They also report eye witnesses saw two US helicopters and that
the helicopters fired on the Iraqi people. The US military issued a
denial on accusations yesterday and maintained that one helicopter was
in the area but for other reasons and it was not involved in actions. Ned Parker and Usama Redha (Los Angeles Times) note
the US military's denial and also explain that "a prominet Sunni
university dean" was also arrested, that the Iraqi forces involved
"reports to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's counter-terrorism office" but
al-Maliki claims he was unaware and his office insists, "These special
forces work with the Americans. They are not associated with the
Ministry of Defense. They have goals, and they didn't inform anyone
else." Nichoals Spangler (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
that the US continues to deny any involvement in yesterday's lawless
activities with US Big Gen James Boozer insisting, "It was what appears
to be a rogue operations."
The
US military is claiming "rogue operation" despite the use of two US
helicopters and al-Maliki's following their lead. Today claims fly on
other issues with al-Maliki and the US on different sides. Ahmed Rasheed (Reuters) reports
that al-Maliki is stating that there is an agreement (this would be the
treaty called a "SOFA") "that all US troops will leave by the end of
2011" and the White House is stating "no final deal has been reached." AP suggests
al-Malik has "dug in his heels" and that "[d]espite the tough words"
there will be a compromise. At the US traveling White House (Crawford,
TX), Tony Fratto declared in a press briefing today, "I know there are
always reports out there in the press and I'm not sure I saw exactly
what Prime Minister Maliki said. But clearly from our perspective,
we've been working with the Iraqi government for a long time on this
agreement. . . . We're discussing goals. As you know, you've heard us
speak about different kinds of timelines or aspirational goals that may
be acceptable. I don't have anything to announce on that. An agreement
has not been signed, and so from our perspective, there is no agreement
until there's an agreement signed. There are discussions that continue
in Baghdad. We'd like to let them continue and to continue to show
progress. What we're focused on is getting a good agreement, not
getting an agreement by a particular date. So we'll continue those
discussions."
Sunday Sabrina Tavernise (New York Times) tackledThe Myth of the Great Return
and explained, "Out of the more than 151,000 families who had fled
their houses in Baghdad, just 7,112 had returned to them by mid-July
according to the Iraqi Ministry of Migration." Tavernise further
reported: "The reasons for the hesitation are complex, based on dangers
both real and imagined. In most cases, Iraqis say they feel safe with
their neighbors but are not sure about other residents. Some are afraid
of the new guards on their blocks. In rarer cases, they cannot face
neighbors who they suspect helped in killings." Erica Goode (New York Times) reported the Ministry of Culture's Deputy Minister Kamal Shyaa Abdullah was assassinated Saturday in Baghdad (along with his driver). Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reported a bomber blew his/herself up and claimed 21 other lives (thirty-two wounded). Today AFP reports the death toll from the bombing has risen to 30. Tina Susman and Saif Hameed (Los Angeles Times) explain the bomber was a man who showed up at the festivities. Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reports
that the gathering was for Sami Hanoush, the son of Adnan Hanoush -- an
"Awakening" Council member, who had recently been released from Camp
Bucca and that the assault, which was carried out by "a stranger in his
late 20s," "was one of the deadliest attacks in recent months." Erica Goode and Stephen Farrell (New York Times) note
the gathering was "a large dinner" and that the stranger was "a man
wearing a yellow dishdasha, or large robe" and quotes Abdullah Hamdan
stating, "I just lost my brother, but I pray to God to save my son."
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports
a mortar attack on the Green Zone, a Baghdad bombing that left one
Iraqi service member wounded, a Baghdad car bombing that wounded three
members of a family, a Baghdad bus bombing that wounded the driver, a
Baghdad roadside bombing that left one person injured, and a Baghdad
mortar attack on "a petrol station." Reuters notes
a Tikrit roadside bombing that injured six guards of Maj Gen Hamad
Namis Yasin ("police chief of Salahuddin province"), a Shirqat roadside
bombing claimed 2 live and, dropping back to Sunday, a Mussayab
roadside bombing that claimed the life of Lt Col Basim Mohammed and his
daughter (two sons were injured).
Today the US military announced:
"A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier died of wounds Aug. 25 at
a Coalition Forces Combat Army Support Hospital. The Soldier was shot
by a small-arms attack during a dismounted patrol in northern Baghdad.
The Soldier was quickly transported to the medical faciality but later
succumbed to the wounds." The announcement brings to 4147 the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war (19 for the month thus far).
US House Rep Stephanie Tubbs Jones passed away last week. Kristal Brent Zook notes the passing at Women's Media Center. [And at Third we note the vindicative Nancy Pelosi and her decision to pull Tubbs Jones' website on Thursday.] Each week when Ava and I do our TV pieces at Third, we have a host of links we want to work in and never get to half of them. Jennifer Merin's "Women Film Critics: An Endangered Species?" (WMC) needs to be read and we wanted to note it Sunday but couldn't fit it in. We think we'll be able to note it this coming Sunday but in case not, there's the link. Peggy Simpson covers
Joe Biden being named the running mate for Barack Obama -- if Barack
ends up the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. And this is
presidential politics and personal. A number of e-mails are coming in
repeating a point made this weekend by a friend with the Obama
campaign: "You are supporting the Obama campaign now!" No, I am not. I
like Joe Biden, I've known him for many years. I am not voting for war
and when Elaine
and I went to the big money fundraiser for Barack's Senate run it was
obvious that Barack was not anti-war or for ending the Iraq War. I will
not be voting for Barack. I will not be voting for John McCain
(presumed GOP nominee). I've said that over and over. This crosses over
with another topic (and Jess
-- in the public e-mail account today -- asked me to please clarify
that I wasn't voting for Barack with Biden now on the ticket so that
the e-mails would stop coming in on that). Democracy Now!
-- has the world ever seen more gossip on a broadcast. Gossip, gossip,
gossip. And they don't even have their FACTS right when they do toss
out the occassional fact. That includes Amy Goodman who is embarrassing
herself. The friend with the Obama campaign said, "You know they are
going to distort Joe" (meaning Panhandle Media) "and you're going to get sucked in that way" meaning defending Biden. Ava and I already decided to review Democracy Now!'s
weeks worth of coverage on Sunday. We will correct the record then.
It's not my job to correct them here. In fact, it's better for our TV
commentary if Amy Goodman books IDIOTS AND LIARS all week long. Judging
by today's offerings, she's already headed in that direction. Martha and Shirley
(working the private e-mail accounts) note that members are shocked
that basics (ones we've gone over here for some time) aren't known by
Amy & her experts. What can I say, THEY'RE IDIOTS -- UNINFORMED
IDIOTS. They didn't pay attention in real time, they don't know what
they're talking about. But this is exactly how Team Obama thinks I'm
going to get sucked in to rallying behind that ticket. It's not
happening. Ava and I will cover the nonsense of Democracy Now!
Sunday. I counted 16 errors/lies in today's broadcast and only heard a
half-hour. I'm sure there will be many, many more during the week. It's
tabled until Sunday. One more Biden-Barack note, Isaiah's comic went up Sunday on that. Also Lucas notes this broadcast of From The Vault which features a 1968 interview with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
Ralph Nader, independent presidential candidate, is providing Ralph's Daily Audio Monday through Friday and this is "Bailouts on Your Back:"
This
is Ralph Nader. The giant corporate destruction of capitalism is
proceeding at an accelerated pace. It looks like captialsim -- that is
the bearing of risk by the business -- is only for small business, not
giant corporations that are deamed too big to fail no matter how their
executives, overpaid as they are, undermine, weaken and damage the
company their workers and share holders.
Three
examples. The US government now has enacted legislation which provides
for up to $25 billion in loan guarantees for the domestic auto
companies. These are the same companies that for years opposed fuel
efficiency standards while they sold customers their gas guzzling SUVs.
Well when the price of gasoline went up, SUV sales went down and what's
General Motors doing? Ford? Chrysler? They're going to Washington for,
essentially, a tax payer bail-out. And they want more than $25 billion
dollars in loan guarantees .
Next up is
the nuclear industry. They can't get Wall St. financing for their new
nuclear plants without a US government loan guarantee. They wanted $50
billion in recent legislation. But the Congress only gave them $19
billion for starters in loan guarantees. The Wall Streeters think that
nuclear power is so risky and unpredicatable that they won't give them
any loans without Uncle Sam guaranteeing them.
And
then there's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For years opposing adequate
regulation and adequate capital-ratios and they took on very risky
financial instruments and now they're diving and they're in consulation
with? US Treasury for some variety of bail-out or guarantee.
And
so it goes. The big guys are too big to fail and so they have no
incentive to bear the risk or even let their owners -- the share
holders -- control runaway CEO pay that's tied to inflating profits and
taking on excessive risk so their stock options are worth more for
their private riches.
Capitalism is used
as a propaganda tool by giant corporations -- as a legitimization of
what they're doing. That is: going into the market place, bearing the
risk, succeeding where they succeed and accepting the verdict of the
market place which, of course, is always beyond their control. This is
The Big Lie.
Wall St. goes to Washington
for bail-outs, hand-outs, give-aways and subsidies -- and that ought to
be an issue in the presidential campaign.
You
won't hear John McCain and Barack Obama talking about this at all.
They're in the same boat of government subsidized corporate capitalism.
This is Ralph Nader.
U.S.
Iraq war resister Robin Long, arrested and deported by the Harper
government this summer after living in Canada, has been sentenced to 15
months in prison and a dishonourable discharge a felony conviction
that will last his whole life. His only "crime" is that he opposed the
Iraq war and came to Canada. Justice
MacTavish claimed he would not suffer "irreparable harm" if deported.
How is a military jail sentence and a felony conviction not irreparable
harm? No soldier should face
jail for opposing the illegal and immoral war in Iraq. And Stephen
Harper must be held to account for deporting Robin Long when he knew
full well the persecution and punishment he faced in Bush's America. David Fox, Toronto
Since
it is now clear that deporting war resisters to the U.S. does indeed
produce irreparable harm, the Harper government must enact the motion
passed in Parliament to stop the deportations and let the war resisters
stay. Jesse McLaren, Toronto
The above are two letters to the Toronto Star under the heading "Irreparable harm, indeed." US war resister Robin Long was court-martialed in Colorado Friday and Karen Linne, Fort Carson Public Affairs Office, explained Friday afternoon
that he was sentenced to 15 months behind bars, reduced in rank (to E1)
and given a dishonorable discharge. Robin was held at the Criminal
Justice Center in El Paso Country while awaiting the court-martial and
he will receive credit for the time he has served ("about 40 days").
The War Resisters Support Campaign notes:
ROBIN LONG SENTENCED TO 15 MONTHS SHAME ON THE HARPER GOVERNMENT
We
have just learned that Robin Long was sentenced today, August 22, to 15
months in prison at a military penitentiary. He also received a
dishonourable discharge which will follow him the rest of his life. It
is a felony conviction. Robin was deported from Canada when federal
Justice Anne McTavish ruled that he had not proven that he faced
irreparable harm if returned to the U.S. Sadly, today his sentence
proves how flawed that decision was. It shows all too clearly what U.S.
Iraq war resisters face if they are forcibly returned to the U.S. by
our government. Shame on Stephen Harper for allowing this courageous
and peaceful young man to be jailed. Stop the deportations. Let the War
Resisters stay. Implement the motion passed on June 3rd in the House of
Commons.
Emergency picket to protest Robin Long's sentencing: Monday, August 25 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. 360 University Avenue (Across from the US consulate) Toronto
On
Thursday, Hinzman's wife, Nga Nguyen, said he plans to appeal the
decision. The couple are asking the Canadian federal courts to delay
the deportation. Randall Hinds, who is 60 and lives in Fayetteville, said he was surprised by Canada's decision to deport Hinzman. "Historically,
they gave deserters asylum during the Vietnam War," Hinds said. "What
they should have done is extradited him directly to the U.S. Because
he's being deported, he's still free."
Also noting Hinzman is Karen Spears Zacharias's "Every war has two losers" (Fayetteville Observer):
I've
been thinking a lot about these men lately -- Conroy, OBrien and
Stafford -- as I read the reports about U.S. Army deserter Jeremy
Hinzman. The South Dakota native joined the Army in 2001, and was
deployed in 2002 to Afghanistan. He had, by then, converted to a
pacifist faith. So Hinzman was given a non-combat role while his
application for conscientious objector status was processed. Later,
when the 82nd Airborne Division, Hinzman's unit, received orders to
Iraq, Hinzman took his wife and son and headed for the border. He did
not want to do a tour in Iraq. Canada
recently denied Hinzman's request for objector status and told the
soldier he had to go back home, and let the military courts decide his
fate. Conroy's right. If
anybody has earned the right to protest war, it's the men and women who
have served there. But, by law, the ones with the most at stake are the
ones with the least amount of say about the wars they wage on our
behalf. The irony of that was not lost on the Poet of the West. "Those
who champion democracy, but also make a fetish of never accepting
anything they don't agree with -- what advantage do they see in
democracy?" Stafford asked. Good question. One we all ought to consider more thoughtfully. There was a time when I would have derided Hinzman for his actions. I might have even questioned his patriotism. Not any more though.
Emergency picket to protest Robin Long's sentencing: Monday, August 25 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. 360 University Avenue (Across from the US consulate) Toronto
ALL OUT SEPTEMBER 13
September 13th is a pan-Canadian Day of Action to support U.S. Iraq war
resisters and to demand that the Harper government immediately stop the
deportations. Actions, demonstrations, and pickets will take place in
cities and towns all across Canada. Click here to see a list of actions and to download materials.
If
your city is not listed, consider organizing a local action for
September 13th. Whether it is petitioning in your local farmer's
market, picketing a Conservative MP's office or rallying at a federal
building, we need to go all out to stop the deportation of resisters
like Jeremy Hinzman and Corey Glass!
and on September 14th, organize local screenings of Breaking Ranks Canada's
Prime Minister is about to deport Jeremy Hinzman, American
Conscientious Objector to the Iraq War, as well as his wife Nga and two
children by September 23rd. Jeremy is featured in Michelle Mason's
documentary BREAKING RANKS.
USE THE FILM:
Check your local library or borrow a copy of BREAKING RANKS featuring
Jeremy Hinzman, from the National Film Board Of Canada (contact Jane
Gutteridge at j.gutteridge@nfb.ca) and host a day of action and/or living room screening. Check www.nfb.ca for upcoming screenings of Breaking Ranks in Toronto this September, and in your community.
Coordinated
screenings of Breaking Ranks on the eve of Parliament reconvening gives
supporters the opportunity to organize letter writing parties
afterwards, so that federal ministers' mailboxes are stuffed in the
first days after MPs return to Ottawa.
Protesters
trooped up and down the 16th Street pedestrian mall and around downtown
landmarks, chanting: "If you support the troops, bring them home,"
"This should be a peace convention," and "We support war resisters."
Members from a group called Iraq Veterans Against the War, dressed in desert fatigues and black shirts, shook their fists and shouted, "Bring our brothers home."
IVAW has a number of actions they are working on and we'll highlight one below:
Northwest GI Coffeehouse in the works
IVAW
members in the Northwest, along with local allies, are working to open
a GIs coffeehouse to provide a safe place where GIs and their families
can find support, information about their rights, and room to express
their opinions about the war. IVAW member Mateo Rebecchi was
interviewed by the Seattle Post Intelligencer about the efforts
to raise money to open the coffeehouse: "We're trying to reach out to
soldiers who feel they have nowhere to go." Read the full article here
Turning to the US presidential race. Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate. Marci notes this from Team Nader:
Nader Flix
Posted by The Nader Team on Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 09:25:00 PM
As
a big part of the homestretch push to Election Day, we are starting a
new media fund drive -- $100,000 in ten days -- by the end of the
Republican convention.
We're cruising. You've helped get us
on 37 state ballots thus far (more to come soon) and Nader/Gonzalez has
been at 5% or above in several national polls. But the big bucks news
media has responded with a deep freeze-out. So, it's up to us to break
through and get our own message out.
Enter the Nader Media Fund.
We
aren't tied down by narrow stylistic constraints. We don't worry about
offending corporate America. We just need to get much busier creating,
filming, editing, and distributing.
You can help us create
high-impact media that will get the Nader/Gonzalez campaign message out
there -- on television, radio, and the Web. Your contributions will
fund radio ads, our creative campaigns will garner free television
media (as our "puppet" debate did in 2004), and we will put high
quality content in your hands for you to show to your friends and
family.
Donate $100 to Nader/Gonzalez now
and we will mail to you three 30-45 minute DVDs over the next month
with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage hot out of the editing room --
"Nader Flix." First, the Denver Super Rally, then the Minneapolis Super
Rally, then a special debate project that we are creating.
Our
crew of professional filmmakers includes people from the pinnacle of
the business. The photo here shows them in the middle of their drive
from Los Angeles to Denver yesterday. They need tape and access to
top-notch gear, lodging and transportation. They need your support.
Make our own media. It's what we've got to do. We need your help to make it happen.
Onward to November.
(The 3-DVDs for $100 offer is good until September 4, 2008, 11:59 p.m.).
jeremy hinzman
peter laufer
aimee allison
bonnie erbe
the new york times
paul von zielbauer
puma
feminism
eleanor smeal
sexism
homophobia
matthis chiroux
aaron leclair
robin long
the los angeles times
tina susman
susan faludi
campbell robertson
riyadh mohammed
lizette alvarez
katie couric
the third estate sunday review
iraq veterans against the war
stephen farrell
saif hameed
saad fakhrildeen
seth gitell
karen spears zacharias
