Saturday, November 17, 2007

Scott Shane makes like Fats Domino

Cookie and Buzzy were brothers.

And Scott Shane fancies himself a balladeer.

He buries the only real news his article contains. Buzzy says Howard Cookie Krongard was told, by Buzzy, "a few weeks ago," that Buzzy "was joining the Blackwater advisory board". The article's entitled "2 Brothers, Bad Blood and Blackwater." Do yourself a huge favor and skip it. Shane's strumming and singing:

Well this story has no moral
And this story has got no end

It's also got no point. Along with burying the only real news, Shane (naturally) ignores the CIA issue which should be the focus of an article. (Naturally because Shane is overly friendly with the US spy community.) Dave Lindorff raises issues about Buzzy Krongard and, of course, the CIA ties to Blackwater are legendary.

Cara Buckley's "Sunni Group Says U.S. Killed Its Members" covers the response to the US attacks on Tuesday, the US collaborators Awakening Council maintains that "four dozen" of their members were killed in the "air and ground strikes". The US military maintains that's not what happened and says Sheik Jasim Zaidan Khalaf's assertion that there were 'al Qaeda of Mesopotamia' members there -- because they were holding them! -- only leads the US military to state that the Awakening Council is not a police boday "authorized to act independently of the law to 'round up'" others. Subtext apparently: You dance with the thugs who ask you.

Kayla notes The Seattle Times' "U.S., Iraqi troops launch campaign in remote area:"

More than 600 U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by helicopters descended Friday on a remote desert area southwest of Baghdad to root out insurgents and search for two U.S. soldiers missing after a deadly insurgent ambush six months ago.
The soldiers went house-to-house after a dramatic predawn air assault into Owesat and Betra, Sunni villages near the boundary with Anbar province.
U.S. officers said there was no sign of the missing soldiers but stressed it was only the first day of the operation dubbed Marne Courageous, which also aimed to establish a long-term presence west of the Euphrates River in a former al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold.

Turning to the topic of US war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, Brenda notes Aaron Glantz' "Canada Shuts Doors to U.S. War Resisters" (IPS):

Two U.S. Army deserters who fled to Canada and sought refugee status on grounds of their opposition to the war in Iraq have lost their bids to have the Supreme Court of Canada hear their cases.
The court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey Thursday, who were rejected two years ago by Canada's immigration authorities. The board ruled they would not be at risk of their lives if they returned to the United States, nor were they at risk of "cruel and unusual treatment or punishment". Hinzman and Hughey deserted the U.S. Army in 2004 after learning their units were being deployed to Iraq to fight in a war they have called immoral and illegal. The men argue that serving in Iraq would force them to commit crimes against civilians, and that they would be persecuted if forced to return to the United States.
There are currently about 200 U.S. Army deserters in Canada. Among them is Ryan Johnson of Visalia, California. He fled to Canada in 2005, the day his unit deployed to Iraq.
"The Canadian government decided not to fight an illegal war," he told IPS. "Canada was going to go into the war in Iraq, but then decided that because the U.N. did not sanction it, Canada would not participate in the war in Iraq. That's a major reason that I came to Canada. Canada felt the same way I did about the war in Iraq."


The following community sites have updated since yesterday morning:

Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;
Kat's Kat's Korner;
Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man;
Mike's Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot;
Trina's Trina's Kitchen;
and Ruth's Ruth's Report

Iwana was the first to note Margaret Kimberley's latest Freedom Rider column. From her "Democrats Love Bush" (Black Agenda Report):

The Democratic party is a gigantic cesspool of treachery, treachery towards its rank and file, treachery to the constitution, and treachery to international law. The party's leadership goes out of its way to continue its back stabbing, claiming an inability to stop the Bush reign of terror. Every Bush nominee is confirmed, every funding request for the occupation of Iraq is granted. Conversely, every Democrat who attempts to stand up is smacked down, dismissed as crazy and thwarted at every turn.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich made good on his pledge to bring an impeachment resolution against Dick Cheney to the House floor. His efforts were necessary and noble, but the leadership made it clear they had no use for defending the Constitution. The House leadership worked with Republicans to send the resolution into a Judiciary committee black hole, and Kucinich made a personal plea to John Conyers, committee chairman. "I believe impeachment remains the only tool Congress has to prevent a war in Iran. This information relates directly to the Article III charges in the resolution. I urge your timely consideration." Kucinich will have better luck writing to Santa.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.














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Fred Kaplan falls off his pony

Poor Fred Kaplan. Film criticism is apparently much more difficult than gas bagging. In a slam of Brian DePalma's Redacted at Slate, Kappy scribbles furiously to reach a conclusion:



The film ends with photos of real-life victims of the Iraq war, though it's impossible to tell who they are, how they were killed, or who killed them. Is De Palma saying it doesn't matter? The final photo, he's told interviewers, is fake. Is he saying that doesn't matter, either?



Kappy's not going to like the film. He's one of those war 'critics' that really isn't. His dislike would go unremarked upon were he not such an idiot as he works himself up into a frenzy to bury the film. In the paragraph above (the second to last one in his slam), he's taking De Palma to task (disclosure, I know De Palma) for what? For images from the illegal war (which have been redacted by a cowardly company). Kappy wants to get ride his high horse (a tiny, little pony) carping "it's impossible to tell who they are, how they were killed, or who killed them."

"Get on your pony and ride, get on your pony and ride," Kappy, as the Mamas and the Papas sing ("Too Late," The Papas & The Mamas).

There are many problems with Kappy's 'logic' including his ignorance (again, the photos were redacted over De Palma's objection). But Kappy's 'logic' falls apart throughout. Does it matter who died, how they were killed and who killed them? Absolutely. That's really not the point of their inclusion in the film but we'll get to that. For now let's note that Kappy's falling off his pony.
Here's Dunce Kappy earlier in his slam:

The horror scene, as has been widely reported, is based on a real incident that took place in March 2006 in Mahmudiyah, a village south of Baghdad, where a U.S. Army private named Steven Green was charged with doing precisely what the psychos in Redacted do: raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, shooting her, and murdering her family. Green was every recruitment officer's nightmare: a troubled kid, a high-school dropout with a G.E.D. who'd racked up a few convictions on drug and alcohol charges, who was let in the Army as it was lowering standards to meet enlistment targets--and, under pressure, turned out not to have reformed after all.

That is so wrong on so many levels. But let's take it to Kappy's level if the elevator reaches that low -- we'll obviously be going far below the ground floor. Kappy, who died? If it's important who died -- and Kappy thinks it is when it comes to what De Palma offers onscreen after a film has ended -- isn't it important that they be named?

The fourteen-year-old girl is Abeer Qassim Hamza. Was "her family" murdered? Her parents Qassim Hamza Raheem and Fakhriya Taha Muhasen and her five-year old daughter Hadeel Qassim Hamza were murdered. Kappy doesn't name Abeer or her sister or her parents. He who wants to whine that it's important to know "who". Wants to whine when it comes to someone else's work. Was "her family" murdered? Kappy doesn't know the first thing he's writing about. And we're not going to spoon feed his sorry ass. But, no, there are other members of her immediate family.

How they died is important, Kappy says, of photos that close out a film. But Kappy can't even provide the basics on the example he chooses to highlight. He can't even get his own facts right -- a terminal condition for Kappy.

Steven D. Green? Kappy doesn't know the first thing he's talking about and Slate should issue a correction. "Was charged"? Green is charged. Green also denies the charges. (He'll be tried in a civilian court. November 8th, 2006, in a federal court in Kentucky, Green entered a not guilty plea.) Does Kappy know the names Paul Cortez, Jesse Spielman, Bryan Howard and James P. Barker? To read his scribbled slam he doesn't. If he insists it's important, that how someone died is important, he should be including those names. Barker and Cortez are not in dispute. They took part in the gang-rape. They've had their day in court. They confessed.

Repeating, Green maintains his innocence. Barker and Cortez have confessed (and fingered him as the ringleader in their own testimonies).

So why would someone focus on Green? Why would they argue he "was charged" when there is nothing past tense about the charges against Green?

It's a cute little rewriting -- like Kappy's war 'criticism' -- that turns War Crimes into the problems of one person, one bad apple -- apparently 'rotten' before he ever went to Iraq.

At the Article 32 hearing in August 2006, military prosecutor Captain Alex Pickands argued: "They gathered over cards and booze to come up with a plan to rape and murder that little girl. She was young and attractive. They knew where she was because they had seen her on a previous patrol. She was close. She was vulnerable." "They." A plural. He was speaking of Cortez, Barker, Spielman and Howard. Green is alleged to have been present but Green wasn't part of the Article 32 hearing (he had been discharged from the military already which is why he's facing a civilian court and not a military one).

Kappy's version of 'reality' tells readers that Abeer was "raped" and murdered (as well as "her family") by Green. Kappy wants to ride his pony to town on De Palma using photos at the end of a film and carp that these photos (which, again, the company has redacted) go to some problem with the movie because they don't tell who died, how they died and "who killed them" but, in his own space, he doesn't bother to cover those issues with regards to Abeer. In fact, he can't even bring himself to name Abeer -- let alone her sister or parents.

He also can't name the ones who have been convicted. It's a cute little fantasy where Green, all by himself, is responsible. And he's a 'recruiters' nightmare.' Oh that trickster! The mighty trickster Green! Fooling those poor recruiters! Actually, he was one recruiter's wet dream. He was recruited right after he was busted. He shouldn't have been recruited due to his history of legal problems and other things. But let's not call him a "nightmare" for recruiters when his past was known and his recruiter actively worked to get him a waiver. He was one more towards meeting a quota, he was a recruiter's wet dream.

To repeat, he is also the only one accused of direct participation (Barker and Cortez's testimony has them raping Abeer while Green took her parents and sister into a bedroom and shot them dead, he then rejoined them -- according to their testimony -- and took part in the gang-rape) who has not had his day in court. Two of her rapists have confessed in court.

They don't fit the 'logic' Kappy's trying to sell which is that 'De Palma's film is over the top and, goodness me, the actual events the film is based upon is just the work of one social misfit that turned out to be a nightmare.'

That's LYING.

Green's record was known when he was recruited. Green, if the testimony of others proves to be correct, is the ringleader. However, he was also the least educated and no one's come forward to tell a tale of the troubled childhoods of the others involved. They were apparently 'upstanding' people. And that's what's at the heart of De Palma's film, the War Crimes, the way events shape and alter people.

Kappy intentionally misses that to write his slam. He reduces a gang-rape to one rapist. He goes with the rapist that can be used to say, "See, he was bad before he went to war. That's what happened. That's why this happened." That's not reality. Kappy can't handle the reality on screen and he can't handle reality in real life.

In Kappy's World of Crappy, he can rewrite history and LIE. He can reduce a conspiracy to rape and murder a young girl down to one person's actions. He can overlook the fact that Green was known to be lusting after the underage girl and that it wasn't an issue to his 'buddies.' They weren't appalled by that. Grown men who knew that, if they were in the US, and slept with an underage girl, even with her consent, they would be up on statutory rape charges weren't just willing to look the other way on a gang-rape, they were willing to take part in planning it. They were willing to see it as normal. As they did when Green touched Abeer inappropriately in public -- he and the others ran a checkpoint in her neighborhood.

If Green's guilty, his actions are criminal. He is a War Criminal if he's guilty. (Yes, I think he's guilty but a court will decide that.) But so are the actions of the others involved -- and the military courts have held that the actions were criminal. You don't have Green by himself, the way Kappy portrays it, you have several War Criminals.

But being honest and telling that story would raise issues that make Kappy uncomfortable. So he reduces War Crimes, a criminal conspiracy, down to one person.

Again, the others are not known to have had any legal troubles in childhood. They are all thought to be 'upstanding' prior to the incident. They weren't stationed in Abeer's neighborhood to pick up women let alone to plot to rape an underage girl. They were stationed there to provide the area with protection. Instead, it was a bunch of jokes, a bunch of ha-has. A bunch of leering. It continued and got more and more inappropriate until finally they're plotting how to gang rape and murder her, how to get through the family's fence, who will be lookout, how they will cover it up, etc.

Oh, yes, the cover up.


'Terrorists' killed Abeer and her family. That was the cover story. To destroy evidence, the US soldiers involved attempted to set Abeer's body on fire. That was part of the plan as well. In May 2006, what was announced as a retaliation move for those War Crimes would take place and US service members would be tortured and killed, their corpses mutilated. That's when Justin Watt would come forward with what he was hearing. If he was hearing it, others in the unit probably were as well. Only Watt came forward and did what the military says you are supposed to. (And the military 'repaid' him with one non-stop witch hunt after another.)

Kappy can't tell you any of that either. He can't because he doesn't like that story (he certainly doesn't like it on screen). He calls the film 'war porn' -- a term we've used here repeatedly but we use it to describe rah-rah nonsense that sells war and turns it into a game. That's not what De Palma's film does.

The story of Abeer is a story of War Crimes. Kappy reduces it to one lone misfit. The realities are much deeper and more complex. Kappy has to lie because he can't face those realities and that, in the end, is why he can't stomach De Palma's Redacted.

Scribbling his distortions, lies and half-truths, lets him deny the very nature of the War Crimes that took place. A critic who can't face reality isn't much of a critic and Kappy should stick to his crappy gas bagging. A critic who white washes War Crimes when the criminals have entered guilty pleas and been sentenced is praciting war porn.

To close this out, reviewing means some people will like your opinion, some won't. The fact that Kappy thinks the film is awful isn't the issue. The issue is that he can't critique the film by the own set of standards he pretends to profess. His review is bad writing for that reason. His slamming of the film goes to the fact that he's selling future illegal wars (better planned ones, to be sure) and that requires that he turn War Crimes by several members of the US military into one lone individual. That reduction is why he can't stand the film -- a piece of fiction offers more reality than he does in a supposed non-fiction piece of alleged thought.

Make a point to see Redacted -- a film that makes the right-winger (O'Lielly) and the 'better planning next time!' crowd uncomfortable. (Kappy expresses "discomforting" over the US dividing up a foreign country but feels it's the only 'alternative' . . . for the US -- a 'compassionate' imperialist).

redacted

Opening

11/16/2007
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas
Los Angeles, CA: The Landmark
Palo Alto, CA: Aquarius 2
Pasadena, CA: Laemmle's One Colorado Cinemas
San Francisco, CA: Embarcadero Center Cinema
Santa Ana, CA: South Coast Village 3
West Hollywood, CA: Sunset 5
Washington, DC: E Street Cinema
Chicago, IL: Landmark's Century Centre Cinema
Cambridge, MA: Kendall Square Cinema
New York, NY: Sunshine Cinema
New York, NY: Lincoln Plaza
Philadelphia, PA: Ritz at the Bourse

11/21/2007
San Diego, CA: Hillcrest Cinemas
Denver, CO: Mayan Theatre
Minneapolis, MN: Lagoon Cinema
Seattle, WA: Metro Cinemas

11/30/2007
Santa Rosa, CA: Rialto Cinemas Lakeside
Wilmington, DE: Theater N at Demours
Atlanta, GA: Midtown Art Cinemas 8
Durham, NC: Carolina Theatre - Durham
Raleigh, NC: Colony Twin
Montclair, NJ: Clairidge Cinemas
Red Bank, NJ: Red Bank Cinemas
Bronxville, NY: Bronxville Cinemas
Manhasset, NY: Manhasset Cinemas
White Plains, NY: Cinema 100 Twin
Cleveland Heights, OH: Cedar Lee Theatres
Dallas, TX: Magnolia Theatre - Dallas
Houston, TX: River Oaks Theatre

12/7/2007
Little Rock, AR: Market Street Cinema
Tucson, AZ: The Loft Cinema
Santa Fe, NM: The Screen
Salt Lake City, UT: Broadway Centre Cinemas

12/14/2007
Rochester, NY: Little Theatre

12/16/2007
Savannah, GA: Victory Square Cinema 9

12/18/2007
Norfolk, VA: Naro Expanded Cinema



The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.





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Friday, November 16, 2007

Iraq snapshot

Friday, November 16, 2007. Chaos and violence contine, the war resistance movement continues, Congress accomplishes nothing (but does get a vacation), Brian De Palma's film Redacted opens in select cities, and more.
 
Starting with war resistance.  Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign. staged rallies across Canada yesterday in support of  Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey  whose appeal the Supreme Court refused to hear.  Tracy Huffman and Debra Black (Toronto Star) report that Hinzman was at a rally in Toronto but not making public statements, instead letting Jeffry House (Hinzman, Hughey and many other war resisters in Canada's attorney) speak, "He's disappointed.  He's tired of talking."  John Ward (Canadian Press via London Free Press) dexplains that the focus will now be on the country's federal government and quotes House stating "the focus now turns to a political solution" and Canadian Friends Service Committee's Jane Orion Smith stating the legislature can "create a provision for them to stay."  Kari Huus (MSNBC) cites Lee Zaslofsky of the War Resisters Support Campaign explaining, "What we need is for the (Liberal) party as a whole to take a stance on this.  Together (the three parties) have a majority, and if they act together they can put something through the House of Commons."  The Liberal Party currently has 96 seats in the House of Commons, the New Democratic Party has 30 seats.  Those two bring the total to 126 which is the number of seats the Conservative Party holds.  Bloc Quebecois holds 49 seats and 3 seats are held by the Independents (four seats are vacant). CKNW (AM 980) quotes Vancouver organizer Bog Ages explaining that the Bloc Quebecois and New Democratic Party members are on board and "we have a number of Liberal MP's who said they would support us.  So, all we have to do, we'd like the Liberal Party as a whole to take a stand.  But even if they're split, enough of them, that combined with the other parties, they have a majority, potentially, in Parliament, to change the law."  The New Democratic Party cites the poll where 64.4 percent of Ontarians believe the war resisters should be allowed to remain in Canada, notes that NDP Citizenship and Immigration Critic Olivia Chow is introducing a motion to call for hearings on the issue and quotes her declaring, "To deport courageous war resisters who oppose the illegal invasion of Iraq is saying Yes to George W. Bush's war and No to supporting and protecting people seeking peace."
 
 
In the US, Tom Hayden declared, "I hope that the Canadian people stop the Bush Administration from using the Harper government to hound a handful of war resisters and erase Canada's proud heritage as a haven for resisters and refugees."  Rebecca (Sex and Politics and Attitude and Screed) also lamented the events in Canada (and compared Prime Minister Stephen Harper to adult acne): "if i was even slightly right about what canada once was, i know the people can still stand up and force their government to stand with them. but they better do so quick. if they want to see how it looks when they don't, just take a gander southward. we're becoming the text book example of a failed state."
 

 In July of 2004, Democracy Now! spoke with Jeremy Hinzman:

AMY GOODMAN: It's good to have you with us. Can you talk about how you made your decision?      

JEREMY HINZMAN: Pretty much what it came down to was-- I mean, I won't go into the false pretences and everything that we know about, but being in an illegal war, it would be being complicit and a criminal enterprise, and you may say that, oh, well, you're not a policymaker or a general or whatever, that the Nuremberg principles wouldn't apply to you. But in light of what's happened since Abu Ghraib, when they scapegoated like the lower enlisted soldiers for simply carrying out what the policy was from the upper echelons, I think it's pretty fair to say that we made the right decision. Because I was in the infantry and there is a good chance that I would have-- I would have been pretty active in a negative way. And so I'm-- that's why we came here pretty much is that I wasn't-- I don't want to shoot people. I would have been happy to go to Iraq as a port-a-potty janitor or operation human shield. I just don't want to shoot people.

 


AMY GOODMAN: Brandon Hughey, why did you go into the military?   

BRANDON HUGHEY: My story basically starts off almost the same way. I enlisted when I was 17 years old with basically the promise of a way to better my life financially. Again, it is a way to get a college education without amassing thousands of dollars of debt.  

AMY GOODMAN: Where did you grow up?   

BRANDON HUGHEY: I grew up in San Angelo, Texas. So, also when I signed the contract, I wasn't naive to the fact that I could be deployed to fight in a war, but I did have this image growing up that I would be sort of -- a good guy, if you will, and fighting for just causes and fighting to defend my country, and after I got out of basic training, and when I realized that basically the U.S. had attacked a country that was no threat to them, in an act of aggression, it shattered that myth, I guess you could say.      

AMY GOODMAN: How old were you when you signed up?          

BRANDON HUGHEY: I was 17.       
 
 
At the rallies for Hinzman and Hughey, among those attending were war resisters from the Vietnam era and war resisters from today's illegal war.  Huffman and Black note Kimberly Rivera -- Iraq veteran, mother of two -- spoke at one rally: "I strongly believe we are doing the wrong thing in Iraq."  Rivera went on to explain that, while serving in Iraq, when she looked "at the shaken crying Iraqi children" she was reminded "of her own daughter in Texas.":  John Ward notes war resister Tim Richard attending one rally and wondering, "Why is it legal for me (to stay), because my father was born in New Brunswick, and not legal for somebody else who did the exact same thing?"
 
Meanwhile war resister Rodney Watson has gone public.  Suzanne Fournier (The Province) notes the 29-year-old, African-American, Iraq veteran self-checked out a year ago and now lives in Canada and quotes him stating, "I I realized the war had nothing to do with 9/11 or helping Iraqis or stopping terrorists. It's all about guarding oil for the U.S. , , ,  I'd rather do my time in jail than be a party to the racism I saw in Iraq. As an African-American, I grew up with racism. But in Iraq, I saw the same kind of abuse and mistreatment, only this was U.S. enlisted soldiers and American contractors, like security forces, abusing Iraqis."
 
Tom Regan (NPR News Blog) points out the difference between this week's court action (or inaction) and last week's.  While Hugey and Hinzman were not allowed to seek out a legal remendy by the Canadian Supreme Court, last week US District Judge Benjmain Settle ruled in Ehren Watada's favor,  "The judge says the military court is ignoring Watada's constitutional right not to face double jeopardy after his first court-martial ended in a mistrial.
The injunction means Watada has a better chance of winning his case, but it also means he might not get a chance to test his central argument -- that the Iraq war is illegal -- in court."
Noting the Watada ruling yesterday, NPR's Martin Kaste (All Things Considered) covered the story and Kenneth Kagan, Watada's civilian attorney along with James Lobsenz, explained the double-jeopardy issue (the February court-martial ended in a mistrial over defense objection) was something many courts grasp: "Civilians courts understand that, state courts understand that but for some reason military courts weren't acknowledging that reality."
 
 Another reality that some (the press) has a hard time acknowledging is the number of service members electing to check out of the military on their own.  AP reports that this year the desertion rate has jumped to "the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase" since the start of the illegal war.  AP continues to deny reality by offering the claim that the US military does little to track down those who go AWOL or desert -- despite the mountain of public evidence to the contrary.
As to the figure cited, September 21st, Nick Watt (ABC's Nighline) examined war resisters and noted the number of people being processed for desertion at Fort Knox "jumped 60% last year" (to 1,414 for Fort Knox -- US military figures) while concluding his report with, "If the total for the first six months of 2007 doubles by year end, it will become the highest annual total in twenty-six years."   At 80% the total has more than doubled and not only is there another full month left in the year, it's also true that you have to be gone at least 30 days to be declared a deserter (unless you're Agustin Aguayo and the military wants to screw you over) and, in addition, the military figures have been 'lower' than they should be before (NPR caught that earlier this year) and the rolls aren't up to date for AWOL let alone desertion.
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
 
 
The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Zinn will take part in the November 18th presentation (the official opening night -- but performances are already taking place) and musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who appeared on Democracy Now! Friday addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $21 for previews and $41 for regular performances (beginning with the Nov. 18th opening night). The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project. 
 
 
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers. 
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.  
 
Starting next week, IVAW's announcement above will be summarized in each snapshot until the March testimony begins. Winter Soldier is the documentary that was made of the 1971 investigation and it is available via Vietnam Veterans Against the War for $28.95 (four dollars of that is for shipping).  Staying with films for a minute more, Brian De Palma's Redacted opens today in select cities and, although fiction, is inspired by real life events -- specifically the gang-rape and murder of 14-year-old Abeer Qassim Hamza and the murder of her five-year-old sister and both parents.

Opening Today:
11/16/2007
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas   
Los Angeles, CA: The Landmark     
Palo Alto, CA: Aquarius 2       
Pasadena, CA: Laemmle's One Colorado Cinemas            
San Francisco, CA: Embarcadero Center Cinema     
Santa Ana, CA: South Coast Village 3        
West Hollywood, CA: Sunset 5   
Washington, DC: E Street Cinema      
Chicago, IL: Landmark's Century Centre Cinema      
Cambridge, MA: Kendall Square Cinema   
New York, NY: Sunshine Cinema       
New York, NY: Lincoln Plaza 
Philadelphia, PA: Ritz at the Bourse 
 
 
 
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
 
Bombings?
 
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing claimed 1 life and left four more wounded, a Baquba mortar attack left six people wounded, while 2 Baquba bombings left three civilians and four police officers wounded.
 
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that an Iraqi  1st Lieuntenant and his brother were shot dead in Misan while en route to their home today and yesterday "5 civilians were injured in a random fire by the Iraqi army in Al Siniyah town north west of Tikrit city."
 
Kidnappings?
 
Reuters reports Muntazer al-Zaidi, a 26-year-old journalist for Iraqi television, was kidnapped in Baghdad today.
 
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses were discovered in Baghdad.
 
 
As the violence continues the US State Department has had a public relations nightmare with diplomats not filling posts and threats from the chain of command that they would be ordered to Baghdad.  This morning Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) reported that an announcement would be coming today "that volunteers have filled all 48 open jobs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for next year and that it will not order any foreign service officers to work there against their will, officials said yesterday."  NPR's Morning Edition reported earlier today that the positions had been filled; however, Reuters -- citing a State Department flack -- reports that it may -- may -- be unnecessay to order some diplomats to Baghdad and quotes Sean McCormack insisting, "It appears that we are getting very nearly to the point where we will have volunteers for all of the open, identified jobs."
 
As Reuters notes, some objecting to be assigned to Baghdad have compared it to a death sentence.  This as DPA reports that the Turkish military has been moving tanks to the northern border of Iraq.   Gareth Jones (Reuters) reports that some members of Turkey's ruling political party have stated Turkish troops will not enter Iraq if the PKK disarmed.  Since they really aren't able to make that promise and since the PKK would be highly unlikely to disarm under such a vague offer, the tensions continue between northern Iraq and Turkey.
 
Turning to the US Congress, the Democratic shell-game (Let's tell the voters this is a withdrawal!) passed in the House but didn't come to a vote today in the Senate.  Noam M. Levey (Los Angeles Times) reports the measure garnered only 53 votes of support and that Congress is now expected to leave DC for their two-week Thanksgiving vacation.  For those attempting to keep track, Congress just took a 30-day vacation in September but apparently carving a turkey takes several days when you're in the US Congress.  Possibly the lack of spines makes the standing difficult?  Pelosi pushed through the measure in the House and many in the Out of Iraq caucus held their news and voted to support it -- even though it did not mean withdrawal and even though it would have given Bully Boy $50 billion more dollars for the illegal war.  Earlier this week, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold went on record opposing the measure because it continued funding the Iraq War and was toothless and non-binding.  Toothless and non-binding?  In "Don't Ask Her to Play Hostess" news  Corporate Crime Reporter's Russell Mokhiber (via CounterPunch) shares the latest social tidbit from US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, "I'm not happy when people come to my house."  Oh.  So that's why she entertained the Dalai Lama at the MCI Center in 2005.  And those of us in her district just assumed the location was another reward to her corporate donors.  Actually, it's Fancy Nancy having another public fit over the fact that CODEPINK potests.  She loved CODEPINK . . . when they called out the powerful . . . back when Republicans controlled everything.  Now that Democrats control both houses in the US Congress and CODEPINK stays true to their purpose of calling out the powerful, Fancy Nancy has a snit fit.  Repeatedly.  Fancy Nancy declares of CODEPINK, "And if they think the longer they stay there the better the chances they will have a meeting with me -- I think I've disabused them of that notion."  No, all she's done is demonstrate that from Richard Nixon through PW Botha on up to the Bully Boy and a hop and skip over to Fancy Nancy the bunker mentality thrives.  CODEPINK is nation wide with chapters all over but many in the Bay Area see it as the "home team" so, when you're already tanking in the polls, with your highest negatives and your lowest approval ratings ever, it's probably not a good idea to go after them or present yourself an advocate against free speech.  Fancy Nancy's a Maryland transplant (that never really took) so possibly she's unaware where the Free Speech Movement began?  The eighth district's own Joe Lieberman appears eager to continue digging her own grave.
 
Finally, Robert Parry was a guest on CounterSpin today where he explained his article  "Why We Write" (Consortium News) and spoke of the immediate positive effects during and following Watergate that quickly fell away and how the US press became what it is today. He and his sons Nat and Sam will be speaking at Busboys and Poets in Arlingtion, Virginia Saturday Nov. 17th from four p.m. to six p.m. discussing their new book Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush. Sam and Nat Parry have established their own journalist skills at Consortium News and they and Robert Parry can discuss any of the topics pertaining to the current administration but remember that Robert Parry has been doing investigative journalism for years -- long enough to have had neocon Daniel Pipes insult his reporting long, long before the Iraq War -- a sure sign his investigations cause discomfort.

 

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Redacted opens in NYC, DC, throughout Calif, Chicago and Philadelphia today

Brian De Palma's Redacted opens today in select cities.

redacted

The film is a work of fiction but it is inspired by real life events -- specifically the gang-rape and murder of 14-year-old Abeer Qassim Hamza and the murder of her five-year-old sister and both parents.

Opening

11/16/2007
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas
Los Angeles, CA: The Landmark
Palo Alto, CA: Aquarius 2
Pasadena, CA: Laemmle's One Colorado Cinemas
San Francisco, CA: Embarcadero Center Cinema
Santa Ana, CA: South Coast Village 3
West Hollywood, CA: Sunset 5
Washington, DC: E Street Cinema
Chicago, IL: Landmark's Century Centre Cinema
Cambridge, MA: Kendall Square Cinema
New York, NY: Sunshine Cinema
New York, NY: Lincoln Plaza
Philadelphia, PA: Ritz at the Bourse

11/21/2007
San Diego, CA: Hillcrest Cinemas
Denver, CO: Mayan Theatre
Minneapolis, MN: Lagoon Cinema
Seattle, WA: Metro Cinemas

11/30/2007
Santa Rosa, CA: Rialto Cinemas Lakeside
Wilmington, DE: Theater N at Demours
Atlanta, GA: Midtown Art Cinemas 8
Durham, NC: Carolina Theatre - Durham
Raleigh, NC: Colony Twin
Montclair, NJ: Clairidge Cinemas
Red Bank, NJ: Red Bank Cinemas
Bronxville, NY: Bronxville Cinemas
Manhasset, NY: Manhasset Cinemas
White Plains, NY: Cinema 100 Twin
Cleveland Heights, OH: Cedar Lee Theatres
Dallas, TX: Magnolia Theatre - Dallas
Houston, TX: River Oaks Theatre

12/7/2007
Little Rock, AR: Market Street Cinema
Tucson, AZ: The Loft Cinema
Santa Fe, NM: The Screen
Salt Lake City, UT: Broadway Centre Cinemas

12/14/2007
Rochester, NY: Little Theatre

12/16/2007
Savannah, GA: Victory Square Cinema 9

12/18/2007
Norfolk, VA: Naro Expanded Cinema

This is one of the finest films of the year. If you have the chance to see the film you should grab it. More dates may be added but the film is under attack (Bill O'Lielly chief among the attackers). Wally notes this YouTube clip of O'Lielly calling for a boycott of the film. Does anyone listen to O'Lielly anymore? Some do, sadly. So if you need another reason to see the film besides how wonderful it is, there you have it: the right-wingers are attempting to destroy the film before it's ever been released. Redacted is the film and I've noted I do know De Palma and I love this film. But this plug is courtesy of Wally who just saw an e-mail about the attacks on the film and called. View a trailer for the film by clicking here.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.



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Hinzman and Hughey

Jeremy Hinzman attended a protest in Toronto last night, but the U.S. Army deserter didn't want to talk about his lost court battle to stay in Canada.
"He's disappointed. He's tired of talking," said his lawer Jeffry House at the demonstration outside the Federal Court on University Ave.
Yesterday the Supreme Court of Canda refused to hear appeals from Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, another U.S. citizen who fled here to avoid deployment in Iraq.
The above is from Tracy Huffman and Debra Black's "Supreme Court denies appeal by U.S. deserter" (Toronto Star). War resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey are not being "thrown out" of Canada today -- as one gleeful right-winger seems to believe. There are other avenues. We noted Hinzman and Hughey's role in the large movement of war resistance last night, noted the news itself yesterday morning and the snapshot included some reactions and some resources. John Ward's "U.S. War resisters supported" (Canadian Press via London Free Press) explains the focus will now be on the federal government (Jeffry House: "I think the focus now turns to a political solution") with Canadian Friends Service Committee's Jane Orion Smith advocating Parliament "create a provision for them to stay". Ward notes that US war resister Tim Richard was present at the London rally and that he wonders, "Why is it legal for me (to stay), because my father was born in New Brunswick, and not legal for somebody else who did the exact same thing?"
Tim Richard was far from the only war resister attending the rallies yesterday. Huffman and Black note:
Kim Rivera, the first known female soldier to desert to Canada after serving three months in Iraq, said she fled because she was fighting a war she didn't support.
"I strongly believe we are doing the wrong thing in Iraq," she said to applause, adding she couldn't look at the shaken and crying Iraqi children without thinking of her own daughter in Texas.
That's Kimberly Rivera who went to Canada in February 2007 with her husband (Mario) and their two young children. It's a movement of war resistance. And a bunch of tired desk jockies in NYC can't tell you that because they don't know what's going on in the country or the world. They're not going to end the illegal war because they've never wanted to. They've wanted to rattle paper, they've wanted to sell some books, they just haven't given a damn about the illegal war. You know the type -- they suddenly 'discover' Iraq when a politician hoping to become president mentions it. Then it slips their minds again. That's been the sad and shameful reality year after year. And nothing's changed to this day for little media.
But the ground's shifted, the ground's changed, underneath them. Without their knowing it.
Rodney Watson becomes the latest war resister to go public. Suzanne Fournier (The Province) reports the 29-year-old, African-American self-checked out and moved to Canada a year ago after serving in the Iraq War. Watson explains: "I realized the war had nothing to do with 9/11 or helping Iraqis or stopping terrorists. It's all about guarding oil for the U.S." As to what happens if he is deported, Watson declares:
I'd rather do my time in jail than be a party to the racism I saw in Iraq. As an African-American, I grew up with racism. But in Iraq, I saw the same kind of abuse and mistreatment, only this was U.S. enlisted soldiers and American contractors, like security forces, abusing Iraqis.
There's no denying the impact that Hinzman and Hughey have had and the reality is that the Supreme Court verdict issued yesterday was never the end of the story -- not for the movement of war resistance and not for Hinzman and Hughey. The New York Times isn't worth noting. "Canada Rebuffs 2 U.S. Deserters" runs on A14. It's brief (we noted it last night) but it's probably (and sadly) more attention that many outlets will give the story.
The sad reality is that people do care about this issue. These are going up late because we (Jim, Ava and I) grabbed two non-planned groups this morning and there wasn't time before now (thank you to ___ for taking this morning's dictation). Desk jockeys should stay behind their desks, they wouldn't recognize the world that's out there -- it's too far from the way they misportray it.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.


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Corruption

Facing violence, unemployment and poverty, the acpital city of Iraq's volatile Diyala province now finds itself confronting also corruption.
This follows the failed promises of reform, reconstruction and rehabilitation at the beginning of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.  Billions of dollars of U.S. and Iraqi funds were set aside for rebuilding Iraq, ruined by four years of occupation, 12 years of sanctions, and 30 years of dictatorship.  There is little to show for these vast amounts of aid money.
The infrastructure is clearly worse on all measurable levels than it was pre-invasion.
Under the Coalition Provisional Authority, more than 7 billion dollars went "missing" in the first year of occupation alone.  Now Iraqi authorities are blamed for adding to the corruption.
Contractors in Baquba told IPS they believe the govenor's office is directly involved in the corruption.
 
The above is from Ahmed Ali's "Coruption Adds to Baquba's Problems" (IPS).  That's Baquba, turning to northern Iraq.  Ali's pointing out the ongoing corruption and also notes puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki's immunizing his ministers against prosecution, so check out the article which Brendan noted.  And remember just how long the corruption in Iraq has been going on.  This didn't emerge or just surface.  A really bad documentary by a War Hawk who supported the illegal war before it started and who supports it continuing today gets his ego stroked a great deal for a really bad movie (that exists to sell 'smarter' illegal wars) mainly because, for most of the media, Iraq is like a TV signal when the cable's going in and out.  In March 2005, BBC could report, "The reconstruction of post-war Iraq is in danger of becoming 'the biggest corruption scandal in history,' Transparency International has warned."  Paul McGeough (The Age) would also cover the topic in 2005 (May 2nd):
 
The new Iraq receives foreign aid worth close to $US100 billion ($A126 billion) and the corruption watchdog Transparency International says it could become "the biggest corruption scandal in history".
Jawad taps into the economy at various levels - he's an engineer and builder, he supplies government departments and he represents foreign companies. He said: "After I went to the Transport Ministry with a proposal for flights to Iraq from Scandinavia, I had a call from the minister's cousin to say that there would be no deal unless I paid a bribe of $US500,000."
 
Those are just two examples.  This has been an ongoing story. Naomi Klein's "Baghdad Year Zero" (Harper's magazine) explained it very clearly in September 2004 and she expands upon the themes of the article (and the scope) in her new book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism.
 
 
Lloyd notes Karen DeYoung's "State Dept. Won't Order Diplomats to Iraq" (Washington Post):
 
The State Department expects to announce, perhaps as early as today, that volunteers have filled all 48 open jobs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for next year and that it will not order any foreign service officers to work there against their will, officials said yesterday.
Volunteers for the last three or four positions are currently being vetted.  Once that process is completed, a senior department officials said, Secretary of State Condolezza Rice will ask personnel officers to assure her that everyone selected "does in fact have the right skill sets" and meets all requirements before an announcement is made.
 
The State Department was among those agencies who were supposed to be preventing corruption and providing oversight.  We all know how that worked out.  And possibly some of the refusal to be stationed in Iraq is a refusal to take place in a crime spree?
 
Remember that today is Iraq Moratorium Day.  It's the third Friday of every month (every month while the illegal war drags on).
 
On most PBS' stations  NOW with David Brancaccio begins airing tonight.  In some markets, it may repeat at additional times or it may not air on Friday, but online it does stream at any time.  Here's what's up for the latest installment:
 
VOCA
As millions of homeowners face foreclosure, NOW investigates sleazy tactics of mortgage lenders.
NOW #346
On Friday, November 16 at 8:30 pm (check local listings), NOW travels to North Minneapolis to investigate the mortgage meltdown that's left the city scarred with boarded-up and abandoned houses. What's happened in communities like this one has investors everywhere shaken. Wall Street firms are stumbling and markets around the globe are reeling. Economists worry the mortgage bust may even lead to a recession. By one estimate, investors could eventually see as much as 400 billion dollars go down the drain - losses almost twice as big as the saving & loan crisis of the early 1990s. NOW connects the dots to see the extent to which recklessness, corruption and greed created this subprime mess that now threatens to undermine our entire economy. David Brancaccio talks to Rep. Keith Ellison, who grew up in North Minneapolis and who has pushed legislation to address the crisis. He also talks to Ameriquest whistleblower Mark Bomchill, who explains the competitive "boiler room" culture that encouraged brokers to aggressively push mortgage products they knew clients would be unable to repay.
NOW Online (www.pbs.org/now) will feature this show for free streaming starting Monday morning, as well as useful tips for homeowners worried about foreclosure.
 
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
 
 

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

And the war drags on . . .

The court's decision means that they will be able to stay in Canada only if they can obtain a special permit from Canada's immigration minister, a remote prospect.

Is that what is means? War resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey learned today that the Canadian Supreme Court would not hear their appeal. Somehow the New York Times ("Canada Rebuffs 2 U.S. Deserters") can read tea leaves. After the mainstream media flaunted their ignorance over the issues in Ehren Watada's appeal (for the record, the large outlets couldn't grasp that double-jeopardy mattered), you might think they'd stick to the facts this go round. You would be wrong.

What could happen to Hinzman and Hughey? Pressure is being put on Canada's Parliament to address the situation. That's not addressed in the article. In addition, they have been turned down on refugee status only. They can attempt to appeal on other grounds. Hinzman has a wife, Nga Nguyen, and she could easily be granted citizenship. Even under today's tougher guidelines. In which case, Hinzman would be married to a Canadian citizen. Hughey could, of course, marry a Canadian. There are other options as well.

But the paper of little record doesn't know about that because they didn't take the time to seek out any information. (For the record, that's how you end up with an 'article' of 15 lines making up 6 sentences.)

And independent media? Insert chuckles here.


They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
-- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)

Last Thursday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 3859. Tonight? 3866. Just Foreign Policy's total for the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war stood at 1,103,188. Tonight? 1,112,745.

Last week, we saw how very little attention Watada received. Today on NPR's All Things Considered, Martin Kaste did report on Judge Benjamin Settle's decision in the Watada case. Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey were the first to go public about moving to Canada to resist the illegal war. Most of the day, Ava, Jim and I were explaining them to students. They're first wave in a huge wave of war resistance and, as ground breakers who have been around for 'so long' (one student actually couldn't believe anyone was resisting the illegal war that early -- or one copped to it while some others may have played silent), they may be 'old' names to some but they are 'new' to many others. Stephen Funk is the first known war resister. Camilo Mejia is the first war resister who served in Iraq and went public. Jeremy Hinzman is the first war resister to go public about moving to Canada.

So let's drop back to those earlier times. In July of 2004, Democracy Now! spoke with Jeremy Hinzman:

AMY GOODMAN: It's good to have you with us. Can you talk about how you made your decision?
JEREMY HINZMAN: Pretty much what it came down to was-- I mean, I won't go into the false pretences and everything that we know about, but being in an illegal war, it would be being complicit and a criminal enterprise, and you may say that, oh, well, you're not a policymaker or a general or whatever, that the Nuremberg principles wouldn't apply to you. But in light of what's happened since Abu Ghraib, when they scapegoated like the lower enlisted soldiers for simply carrying out what the policy was from the upper echelons, I think it's pretty fair to say that we made the right decision. Because I was in the infantry and there is a good chance that I would have-- I would have been pretty active in a negative way. And so I'm-- that's why we came here pretty much is that I wasn't-- I don't want to shoot people. I would have been happy to go to Iraq as a port-a-potty janitor or operation human shield. I just don't want to shoot people.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about your application as a conscientious objector to here in the United States that was rejected, on what grounds was it objected and what did you tell them?JEREMY HINZMAN: I applied for a conscientious objector status in August of 2002. When I initially submitted the application, I was almost immediately reassigned to duties commensurate with what I stated in the application, until it could be evaluated. And then I would like to add we didn't know we were being deployed anywhere. So, three months later on Halloween, my First Sergeant, the same person I gave the application to, looks at me with this sparkle in his eye and he's like, well, Hinzman, you are a conscientious objector, we need the paperwork. At that point, we had known for about two weeks that we were being deployed. So, I had to resubmit it on the eve of a deployment and to a third party who didn't know the history of it or whatever. Of course, my motives fell under a cloud of suspicion and in the hearing, I was asked a hypothetical question being what-- if your camp was attacked, what would you do? And when we left for Afghanistan, I was given an M-4 with a scope and infrared laser and everything and I asked, why do I have this? I'm a conscientious objector. I don't want to shoot anybody. And they have said you have the inherent right to self-defense and yada yada yada. So, in the hearing, they said what would you do if you were attacked and I said, well, given the context I'm in, and beings that I'm human and I can probably overcome my fight instinct, I'd probably shoot back. I really would not rather be in that position. But if someone broke into my house, I might make efforts to restrain them. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to-- that I'm going to use the same logic to be a premeditated murderer, which is what we do in the infantry, for better or worse. You don't just go on a raid one day, you rehearse it for three or four days in advance, over and over again. And so in the summation, the investigating officer stated that there was no difference between defensive and offensive operations and combat is combat and, therefore, I'm not a conscientious objector. However, if I had said no, I'll go hide in a hole, I would have been shirking my responsibilities as a soldier and found to be negligent in my duties and that would have been enough-- a whole other episode. It was kind of a no-win question. So, I had to answer it honestly. Which I'm not ashamed of doing.


On October 15, 2004, Goodman again spoke with Hinzman as well as Brandon Hughey (and their attorney Jeffry House)

AMY GOODMAN: Brandon Huey, why did you go into the military?
BRANDON HUEY: My story basically starts off almost the same way. I enlisted when I was 17 years old with basically the promise of a way to better my life financially. Again, it is a way to get a college education without amassing thousands of dollars of debt.
AMY GOODMAN: Where did you grow up?
BRANDON HUEY: I grew up in San Angelo, Texas. So, also when I signed the contract, I wasn't naive to the fact that I could be deployed to fight in a war, but I did have this image growing up that I would be sort of -- a good guy, if you will, and fighting for just causes and fighting to defend my country, and after I got out of basic training, and when I realized that basically the U.S. had attacked a country that was no threat to them, in an act of aggression, it shattered that myth, I guess you could say.
AMY GOODMAN: How old were you when you signed up?
BRANDON HUEY: I was 17.
[. . .]
AMY GOODMAN: Brandon, when did you leave?
BRANDON HUEY: I left in March of 2004.
AMY GOODMAN: What was that like, that day?
BRANDON HUEY: That day -- I was relatively calm and collected, which a lot of people may not expect. I had thought about the decision for months, and I had talked to my superiors, my Sergeant Major, about why I had misgivings about the war. It came out of it for me, when I got out of basic training. It came out of a personal desire to know what I would be fighting for. If I was going overseas and point my rifle at someone and pull the trigger, I can't speak for all soldiers, but I wanted to know what it would be for, and for the right reasons. And after looking into the Iraq War, I couldn't find any justifiable basis for doing so, as Jeremy mentioned. No weapons of mass destruction, no ties to al Qaeda, and I didn't want to kill anyone for lies, if you will.
AMY GOODMAN: So, how did you come into Canada?
BRANDON HUEY: I basically drove myself out of the base. Halfway to Canada from Ft. Hood, Texas, to Louisville, Kentucky. A peace activist out of Indianapolis drove me the rest of the way, and before we got up into Canada, he had connections with the Quaker community. I guess in the Toronto area. He had found people in St. Katherine's that would be willing to take me in.

So that's Hinzman and Hughey in their own words the year they went public. Those are excerpts. For those new to the two, remember that Democracy Now! is watch, listen and read.
Their decision to go public was risky. Others have gone to Canada and blended in. They are not at risk now. It took bravery to say no to an illegal war. It took bravery to move to another country. On top of that, it took bravery to go public. By doing so, they didn't just put a face on war resistance, they also helped put war resistance on the map.

When we speak with active duty service members, Watada is the name that is known. But even if they don't know the names (some usually do know the names) of Funk, Mejia, Pablo Parades, Aidan Delgado and others, they do know of them, they know what they did. Their actions have made a difference and carved out a space for war resistance, given a name and face to it and allowed those considering resisting to have references.

It can be very difficult to stand up for something you believe in when a society doesn't want to question. It can be even more difficult to do so when you're not aware that others have. The wonderful documentary Sir! No Sir! does a great job of uncovering the earlier war resistance that was known during Vietnam but erased from the public memories. The actions today do get noticed, do get passed on, shared and discussed. And the early stands have made a difference allowing a second wave (Patrick Hart, Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ryan Johnson, Corey Glass and others) and a third wave and a fourth.

In fact, let's note the ones we're aware of, James Stepp, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman.

And it continues to grow. Earlier today we noted Peter Bohmer's "10 Days That Shook Olympia" (CounterPunch) on the actions at the Port of Olympia and we'll note this from it now:

Tuesday, November 13th will be a day long remembered by many in Olympia. In the morning about 20 people sat down at the Port entrance blocking military equipment from moving. For 13 hours no military equipment moved out of the Port. Hence, for a minimum of 30 hours, we stopped Stryker vehicles from returning to Ft. Lewis, a major action and statement. In the evening about 200 people gathered at the Port of Olympia entrance to resist by various and complementary means the war and the militarization of Olympia. In the midst of this action, a GI from Ft. Lewis who was supposed to be involved in the transport of these military vehicles to Ft. Lewis, walked out of the Port, saying he was against the war and refused to transport the war equipment. This was a really powerful action and reminded me of the increasing resistance to the Vietnam war by active duty soldiers. Civilian anti-war and GI cooperation and solidarity is a key to ending this war. This is a victory for Port Militarization Resistance organization (PMR) and the anti-war movement as a whole.

The first wave took harassment, ridicule and much more. They did tend to get more media attention. Were they seen as a novelty or did independent media just care more about the illegal war? Big media's been pretty consistent in their coverage -- the wire services cover them as well as local outlets. It's not that much easier for the later waves but there was a group who'd built a platform with their stands. That didn't make the decision or the stand any easier but they could point to others who had resisted. It's not a case of, "You're the only one who is doing/considering this!" It's a movement. Everyone's stand made it a movement.

Two other things to note. First, Suzanne Swift. We don't include her on the list, others do on their lists. That's their right. Here we operate under the belief that Swift needs an honorable discharge (with full benefits) immediately. If you're not familiar with Swift, she was sexually harassed, she experienced command rape and much more. She went through channels. She did what you're supposed to do. Her 'reward' was that nothing changed. There was no attempt to protect her. She was given 'training' in how not to attract 'unwanted attention.' If you don't grasp how disgusting that is imagine someone working at Microsoft experiencing sexual harassment and rape and being told, "We think you need to take some classes to learn what you're doing wrong." Swift didn't do a damn thing wrong. After all of that, when she was back in the US, she self-checked out and if you'd have a really difficult time finding any woman who was asked to role play that out in their heads and wouldn't agree that Swift did the only sane thing. You do not stay in an environment that you are not safe in. Had she worked for Microsoft, she'd be able to file a multi-million dollar law suit if Microsoft had ignored her the way the US military did. They didn't want to address the situation. They didn't even want it to stop. The just wanted Swift to stop talking. They wanted to shut her up and that's what the 'training' was about -- it was about telling her "This happened because of what you did." That is a disgusting message and the only thing more disgusting than the US military treatment of Swift is the US Congress' refusal to live up to their oversight role. Di-Fi's all concerned about whether the tele-communications industry (which has heavily funded her every Senate run) can get a fair hearing. Di-Fi was silent on Swift. Di-Fi and everyone else. Apparently 'oversight' is only something Congress is willing to provide in times of peace. In times of peace they can act shocked by Tailhook or other abuses. During this illegal war, they can't call out the rape and sexual abuse of a soldier, the cover up of those crimes or the fact that Swift has been sent back into the same situation. Swift's strong, no question. But find me a therapist (non-quack) who thinks that healing is putting a rape victim into the exact same situation? Congress doesn't want to be bothered. They're very busy, you understand, symbolic actions task their energy levels.

So Swift got betrayed. She was betrayed by her superior officer, she was betrayed by the chain of command in Iraq, she was betrayed by the brass and she was betrayed by Congress. Her story is not going away, it's not going to vanish. And at some point, members of Congress (they may be out of office by then -- by their own choice or by the choice of voters) will have to answer for their inactions. With Swift, we stick with the basics because when you say "war resister" it scares big media (and, sadly, little media doesn't rush to step up to the plate). She deserves an immediate honorable discharge and she's far from alone when it comes to women who have been betrayed and assaulted while serving. Had Congress done their job, this wouldn't be Swift only. Other women have come forward with similar stories and if Congress bothered to address the issue, they'd find many, many more women willing to come forward. But Congress doesn't want to do their job and they don't want to deal with the ugly realities for many women serving -- many, not all -- and males have also been subjected as well. VETWOW is an organization that helps women and men who have experienced MST -- Military Sexual Trauma. Instead of charging those in need, they ask that those they help "'pay it forward' by helping 3 other veterns during their lifetime."

Second thing, IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

Lewis notes this from Vietnam Veterans Against the War's website:

VVAW is pleased to announce that, thanks to Milliarum Zero, we are now offering the newly released "Winter Soldier" DVD at the VVAW Store on our website. This awesome film, which includes many bonus features, is selling for $24.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling. To order your copy now, go to http://www.vvaw.org/store/
About the Film and the Winter Soldier Investigation
WINTER SOLDIER - THE FILM
Winter Soldier documents the "Winter Soldier Investigation" conducted by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) in Detroit, Michigan in the winter of 1971. A call went out from VVAW to veterans all over the country saying, in effect, 'everyone is talking about the war that you know from the inside. If you want to have anything to say about it, come to Detroit and tell it like you saw it.' At the investigation, over 125 veterans representing every major combat unit to see action in Vietnam, gave eye-witness testimony to war crimes and atrocities they either participated in or witnessed. The purpose of the investigation was to bring to light the nature of American military policy in Vietnam.
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Winter Soldier Investigation was held around the time of the trial of Lieutenant William Calley, a trial involving the massacre, by American soldiers, of civilian inhabitants of the village of My Lai. The veterans at the Investigation were attempting to give testimony to the fact that My Lai was not the only time or place where such treatment of the Vietnamese people took place.
In the winter of 1776, almost two hundred years before, Thomas Paine wrote "These are the time that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Seeing themselves as the "winter soldiers" paraphrasing Thomas Paine, whose battle was, in part, to make their experiences common knowledge to the American and world public, the veterans who came, presented their own personal testimony concerning the commonplace atrocities, supported by documentary photographs often of their own taking.
THE TESTIMONY AUTHENTICATED
At the time of the Winter Soldier Investigation (WSI), the press questioned the authenticity of the veterans' testimony. The veterans came to tell their story, not to debate whether it was true. In effect this forced the people from the media, particularly the newspapers, to spend their energy and time checking the stories out. By the second day of testimony, the newspapers were including corroboration in their reports. The front page of the Feb. 2nd Detroit Free Press carried this authentication, "The Free Press found additional witnesses, two ex-Marines, who had no connection with the Winter Soldier Investigation, who confirmed that several Marine companies participated in a search-and-destroy operation inside Laos in February and early March 1969. The Free Press informed its readers that the veterans upon whose testimony it reported had been authenticated by either the Pentagon or the Defense Department."
A TRUTH LARGELY IGNORED
The film Winter Soldier was shown and praised in Europe, but was largely overlooked in the U.S. because it was a first-hand account of the war in Vietnam which the U.S. was still waging when the film was made. The film is a rare and raw telling, by soldiers in the war in Vietnam, of the training for and the experience of war, in which young men kill and do horrific things to other human beings, in the name of patriotism and comraderie. The Winter Soldier Investigation was an attempt at the process of truth and reconciliation, initiated and carried out by veterans of the war in Vietnam and largely ignored by the government that was continuing to carry on that war. The veterans had hoped that they could speak directly to the American public and in this way could help bring about an end to the war, but there was very limited coverage of the Winter Soldier Investigation in the television. The filmmakers came to understand that if there was to be in-depth coverage of this historic event that the veterans had created in order to be heard, it would come about in the many hours of film they were taking.
Out of this came the film Winter Soldier. One of the filmmakers has written: "The veterans in the film, black and white and Native American, and Asian American and Hispanic American, had gone to be in a war to uphold what they held dear about their country. Not all of them went believing in the war, but many of them did. When they came home they had seen things about themselves, their country, their leaders, about class and race, about sexism in war; things that did not get printed in the newspapers and got no coverage on television even as the American public watched war footage every night on the 'news.' One common theme in what the veterans testified about, that stood out as extraordinary, is that the war in Vietnam was being waged largely against civilians. Each of the men in the film exercised courage in speaking the truth at a time when many of their fellow Americans and fellow veterans called them traitors for speaking what they experienced as truth about the war.
The fact that this process of truth-telling was not respected and honored as a part of the experience of these soldiers is one of the reasons that the subject of the war in Vietnam continues to be misunderstood and misrepresented. This is a very disturbing film about the making of war, the making of young men into killers, the bringing of our society into acceptance of a war against people of a different color, a different culture, all the way around the globe. It brings to the surface of consciousness questions that must be confronted and asked again as our country is again sending off soldiers to die and to kill."

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.




jeremy hinzman
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democracy now
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the new york times





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