Robert Watada, 67, of Honolulu, a retired executive with the State of Hawaii who said his son, First Lt. Ehren K. Watada, was to be court-martialed next month for refusing to deploy to Iraq, said: "So many thousands of our own have died and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and for what? And still we are having to push Congress to block the president."
Micah noted the above and said he found it online but can't find it in the New York Times. It ran in Sunday's paper, not today's, on page A20. It's from Ian Urbina's "Protest Focuses on Iraq Troop Increase." Micah wanted it noted because "in one piece NYT can cover Bob Watada -- something The Nation couldn't do in two." As the crowd chanted during Bob Watada's speech, Micah, "Say it! Say it!" For more info on Ehren Watada use the link (just don't flip through print copies of The Nation unless you're looking for a sidebar or a lengthy article that calls him a coward.)
Megan notes Lori Hurlebaus' "2.500 Shut Down Military Recruiting Center in Support of GI Resistance" (Indybay IMC):
Over 2,500 people shut down a military recruiting center in Seattle in support of war resisters and in opposition to a troop surge in Iraq. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War led a march that began at the Social Justice Center to a military recruiting center at 23rd Ave. and Jackson St. located in the Central District, a heavily recruited working class neighborhood. Community members emerged from houses and joined the march as it snaked through the neighborhood. As the march drew near to the recruiting center the demonstrators began chanting , "Occupation is a crime, Ehren Watada should do no time!" and "You gotta resist, don't enlist!" Many in the crowd were displaying banners and signs in support of Lt. Ehren Watada including a banner that read "Support Ehren Watada, Feb 5, Ft. Lewis, Exit 119" Lt. Ehren Watada, the first U.S. commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq, is facing court martial on Feb 5 and supporters are gearing up to demonstrate outside of Ft. Lewis on the day his court martial begins.
Chanan Suarez-Diaz and Darrell Anderson, both Iraq combat veterans and members of Iraq Veterans Against the War , were attempting to present the recruiters with a book of photos of all U.S. service members who have died in Iraq, but the center was closed as the demonstrators arrived and the recruiters would not accept the book. A police line was formed in front of the center as demonstrators continued to amass demanding, "Shut it down!"
That's from the intro to a video clip where you can watch the action. I believe, I could be wrong, that LH is with Courage to Resist so you can also check that and it's linked to on the side (and in the snapshot each day). The page loading is moving to slow for me to attempt to pull up another one right now. If you have a wonderful highlight and didn't include the link, it won't appear this morning due to the page loading problems.
Liang has a highlight that I can't pull up but we'll note her thoughts (her opinions for the lurkers).
Liang: So as the Olson may have to testify (GASP!) drama continues, has anyone thought about the fact that not only do the 'biggies' of independent media refuse to honor Ehren Watada's stand, they don't address the court-martial itself. Let me explain that. They're all up in arms that Olson might have to testify and that's just not fair! That's just not right! Meanwhile the judge in the court-martial has refused to allow Ehren Watada to present his best defense. Forget that they refuse to stand with Ehren Watada, they also refuse to address the issue of justice.
Liang's statements referred to "Ehren." I added "Watada" to include links. (Which are copied and pasted from a previous entry -- again, I'm not trying to get another page to load right now. I'm still waiting on pages that have been trying to load for about 25 minutes.) That's a solid point. It's not just his refusal to fight in an illegal and immoral war that they refuse to cover, they're also refusing to cover what will now be a kangaroo court proceeding.
Lloyd wonders what the Sir! No Sir! of this period will look like. (I know that link by heart.) He imagines a future director interviewing today's voices ("now old geezes") and thinks it will go something like this:
Geezer: Oh, absolutely, war resisters were important. I believed in them and I supported them. That's why I wrote this article.
Geezer hands a clipping to the director.
Director: This is about a journalist.
Geezer: What? Yeah. It's about Sarah Olson. I stood up for war resisters, see, I mention that we have to work really hard to stop the court-martial.
Director: From calling Sarah Olson.
Geezer: That's right. And I'm proud to have been there to help draw attention to the cause of war resistance.
Yes, Lloyd, it is very interesting to imagine how many will defend the COWARDS SILENCE they've been operating under. Of course, it won't be their failure. And just reading some of the laughable e-mails coming into the public account makes that very obvious. They'll be attempting to rewrite history then because, oh boy, are they already trying to do so now.
Eli notes Levi Pulkkinen's "Dale Noyd, 1933 - 2007: Air Force captain refused Vietnam service" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer):
Air Force Capt. Dale Noyd had a promising career in 1966, a resume on par with almost any pilot in the service.
He'd graduated at the top of his Washington State University ROTC class. He risked his life to land a broken F-100 that he'd been told to ditch. He even earned an advanced degree in psychology,while continuing on active duty.
For Noyd's pains, the Air Force brought him to Colorado Springs, Colo. to teach Air Force Academy cadets, a high honor in the service.
Then the Air Force reassigned Noyd to give bombing lessons to fighter pilots bound for the war in Vietnam. He said: "No."
"He was concerned about the legality and morality of that war," his son, Erik Noyd, said.
Noyd was one of several servicemen who caught the national spotlight during the Vietnam War as a "selective" conscientious objector. Like those who have followed him -- including Army Lt. Ehren Watada, the Fort Lewis soldier who will face a court marshal Feb. 5 for refusing to fight in Iraq -- Noyd agreed that he would kill for his country, but not in a war he believed was unjust.
Noyd, 73, died of complications related to emphysema on Jan. 11 in Wenatchee, his birthplace.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com. (Members use the private account, I think everyone checking the public account has had all the laughs they can take for one day.) Hold on. Ava just told me about one laughable e-mail this morning and let me note that horse racing handicapping isn't important. The year is 2007. Your laughable excuse that although you don't cover war resisters, you are offering the nonsense of horse race handicapping (something that independent media has long pointed the finger at big media for doing) is somehow going to end the war has everyone laughing this morning. Get a brain, if not a life, and grasp that when independent media critics demand (rightly) that the mainstream media offer more than handicapping when covering political races -- that is a criticism that can and should be applied to independent media. The year is 2007. You have no idea who will win the primary in 2008. You're wasting your own time and your wasting our time. You are useless and you've made yourself that. It's a real shame that independent media refuses to call out nonsense in independent media. Maybe if they did, the state of independent media (of all media) wouldn't be so sorry. But let's be clear, when the New York Times offers who's hot, who's not and avoids the real issues, it's embarrassing. It's as embarrassing (possibly more so) when independent media does the same. And, after 2006's election of the timid, if you're really thinking that the answer lies solely with who gets elected, you're not only useless, you're stupid.
ehren watada
darrell anderson
levi pulkkinen
