WNC Peace Coalition Reminder 07/30/07

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Next organizational meeting of the WNC Peace Coalition will be on August 21, 2007 at 7 PM at Unitarian Universalist Church. We will be having once a month meetings again. We hope you can join us!

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RAFTING: Some members of the Peace Coalition and Vets for Peace have been discussing joining Riverlink’s raft race on August 11. We have been looking for a raft also. The motivation for doing this is free ad time on local radios to an audience that we normally would not reach, and besides it would be fun. I need to know who is interested in doing this by Wednesday, because this is not a situation were we can make a decision at the last minute. If you would like to join us in rafting (and it will cost some money) please send me an email right away. Thanks, Susan at dancewater2@gamil.com - Please see last item under Announcements for more information.

July 30^th: Senator Dole’s aide, Graham Fields, will be in Brevard City Council Room on Main Street from 3 to 4 PM. This is an opportunity to send the message that we want an end to war and occupation and a start to finding peaceful means of solving conflicts and insuring security.

July 31^st: The people who are bicycling to Oak Ridge will hold a rally/fund raiser at Pack Square from 4 to 6 PM. This is in conjunction with the Vets for Peace vigil.

August 1^st: At 8 AM, the bicyclists will leave for Oak Ridge from Pack Square.

August 4^th: Carpool to Oak Ridge demonstration will leave from Westgate near Earthfare at 8 AM. The rally starts at 10 AM in Oak Ridge at Alvin Bissell Park (Tulane Ave & Oak Ridge Turnpike). The rally will be followed by a Peace March to Y12. Bring umbrella for the march.

Bonus: Free downloads of local music at http://www.mountainX.com/music - brought to you by Mountain Express.

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Minutes from the meeting on August 21, 2007

Present:

Minutes taken by Susan. Please send announcements, upcoming events and corrections to dancewater2@gmail.com or to wncpc@main.nc.us.

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PEACE VIGILS

Sunday, 5:30 to 6 PM All Souls Episcopal Church [Biltmore Village]
Tuesday, 5 to 6 PM Vets for Peace Vigil [Vance Monument]

Wednesday, 4:30 PM Haywood Neighbors for Peace at Waynesville Post Office

Wednesdays, 5:30 PM Votive Mass for Peace at St. Mary Episcopal Church in Asheville

Friday, 5 to 6 PM Women in Black Vigil A’ville [Vance Monument]

Friday, 12 to 12:30 PM Women in Black Vigil H’ville [Main St at Old County Court House]
Saturday, 12 to 1 PM Transylvania County Vigil for Peace [County Courthouse]

Other: Tuesday, 6 PM Run for Peace; Run for Impeachment at Vance Monument

Other: Food Not Bombs: 3:30 on Saturday at Pritchard Park. Info at 303-929-9713

Other: HONK TO IMPEACH on Flint Street bridge from 5 to 5:30 on Mondays – till Labor Day

OTHER EVENTS

08/01/07 to 08/04/07 Pedal for Peace – a bike ride from Asheville to Oak Ridge TN to promote peace and the closing down of the Y12 plant for making atomic bombs. Send off is 8 AM at Vance Monument. Call Lena at 828-545-0639 for more information or to support or participate in the ride.

08/01/07 Democracy for America meeting at 7 PM at North Asheville Library. Contact Doug at gdgibson@earthlink.net for more information.

08/03/07 to 08/05/07 Annual Permacultrue Gathering at the Celo Community in NC. Go to the website www.sepermaculture.org for printable registration page, information & schedule. You will also find some links, comments from participants & more!

08/02/07 David LaMotte performs at Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain. Free outdoor concert at 7 PM. David has been a strong voice for peace for quite some time, and his music is very good.

08/04/07 Peace Rally, March, Action for Abolition in Oak Ridge Tennessee - see http://www.stopthebombs.org/ Meet at Westgate Mall to carpool to this event at 8 AM.

08/04/07 Buncombe Green Party meeting from 10 AM to Noon at the Fortune Building at the corner of Haywood and Brevard Roads in west Asheville. Contact Ronald at 828-LUCK180 or word2ron@yahoo.com for more information.

08/06/07 to 08/10/07 Hiroshima-Nagasaki Week

08/06/07 Prayer vigil and candle luminaries at Pritchard Park to mark the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. This will be from 8 to 9:30 PM.

08/07/07 WNC Department of Peace Campaign meeting at Community Action Council, 25 Gaston Street at 7 PM. Contact Linda at deepwells@main.nc.us or call 828-665-3668 for more information on the meeting. This is held on the first Tuesday evening of the month.

08/08/07 Southeast Convergence for Climate Action – see posting below for more information on this event. It runs until August 14, 2007. Registration is required, and scholarships are available. See www.climateconvergence.org (select southeast) or call 828-675-1792.

08/09/07 Prayer vigil and candle luminaries at Pritchard Park to mark the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki. This will be from 8 to 9:30 PM.

08/10/07 Activist Movie Club in Waynesville. More information at 828-646-8602 or email John at buckley_john@bellsouth.net. This is on the second and fourth Fridays at 7 PM.

08/11/07 Urban Trail Block Party on Eagle and Market Streets. From Noon to 9 PM. Vendors, food, fun and entertainment.

08/13/07 Hendersonville Dept of Peace Advocates meets at 7 PM in the City Operations Building off of 4^th Avenue West. Call Jane at 693-8058 for more information. This is held on the second Mondays of the month.

08/13/07 Network of Spiritual Progressives WNC Chapter meeting at 5:30 PM at Jubilee! Community Church in Asheville. Please bring brown bag dinner. Enter at 101 Patton Avenue (next to Jack-of-the-Woods pub). Meeting goes until 8 PM. For More Information: contact Kim Carlyle (kcarlyle@main.nc.us) or call 828-626-2572.

08/18/07 Bonfires for Peace at Pritchard Park – featuring Touch Samadhi. Free. For more info call 828-505-0476

08/18/07 Palooza Family Concert Series at the Gray Eagle. David LaMotte signs, and this starts at 1 PM. Tickets are $10, donate a can of food for the Manna Food Bank and get $3 off your ticket.

08/18/07 The Traveling Bonfires presents Asheville’s Lovers Loop Poetry Forum at Osondu Booksellers, 184 N. Main Street, Waynesville NC Free. For info call 828-456-8062.

08/20/07 Common Sense at the Nuclear Crossroads meeting at 6:30 PM at Unitarian Universalist church.

08/21/07 WNC Peace Coalition meeting at Unitarian Universalist Church at 7 PM. Please enter from the north side, at the basement level. Please contact Susan at dancewater2@gmail.com for more information.

08/21/07 WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility meeting at 12:30 PM at West End Bakery on Haywood Street. Contact Lew at patrie.wncpsr@main.nc.us or call 828-299-1242 for more information.

8/24/07 to 08/26/07 Southern Energy & Environment Expo (SEEEXPO) Go to www.seeeexpo.com for more information.

08/24/07 Activist Movie Club in Waynesville. More information at 828-646-8602 or email John at buckley_john@bellsouth.net. This is on the second and fourth Fridays at 7 PM.

08/25/07 Third World Asheville presents DIWATA Womenfest. Featuring poets, music, art, crafts and a documentary film by Ramona Diaz called “Imelda”. This will be held at Handmade in Asheville Building at the corner of Hilliard and Church Streets. For more info call 828-505-0476. Small fees for this event which runs from 1 PM to 10 PM.

08/24/07 Activist Movie Club in Waynesville. More information at 828-646-8602 or email John at buckley_john@bellsouth.net. This is on the second and fourth Fridays at 7 PM.

09/01/07 Buncombe Green Party meeting from 10 AM to Noon at the Fortune Building at the corner of Haywood and Brevard Roads in west Asheville. Contact Ronald at 828-LUCK180 or word2ron@yahoo.com for more information.

09/04/07 WNC Department of Peace Campaign meeting at Community Action Council, 25 Gaston Street at 7 PM. Contact Linda at deepwells@main.nc.us or cll 828-665-3668 for more information on the meeting. This is held on the first Tuesday evening of the month.

09/10/07 Hendersonville Dept of Peace Advocates meets at 7 PM in the City Operations Building off of 4^th Avenue West. Call Jane at 693-8058 for more information.

09/11/07 “Peace on Earth – Peace with Earth” celebration at Pritchard Park. More information to follow.

09/11/07 Amnesty International will show a film about torture issues at Asheville Friends Meeting House (Edgewood Avenue) at 7 PM. Call 828-553-5467 for more information.

09/15/07 Mountain Greens meeting from 10 to 12 at West End Bakery. Call David at 828-683-1783 or email ireland.dw@juno.com for more information.

09/18/07 WNC Peace Coalition meeting at 7 PM. Location TBA. Please contact Susan at dancewater2@gmail.com for more information or call the Peace Line at 828-271-0022.

09/18/07 WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility meeting at 12:30 PM at West End Bakery on Haywood Street. Contact Lew at patrie.wncpsr@main.nc.us or call 828-299-1242 for more information.

09/19/07 Prayer vigil and candle luminaries at Pritchard Park to mark 4 ½ years of illegal occupation of Iraq. This will be from 8 to 9:30 PM.

09/21/07 First Iraq War Moratorium day. Various groups are asking for actions in the streets to bring attention to the ongoing occupation of Iraq and bring pressure to end this occupation. This will be held on the third Fridays of the month across the nation.

09/22/07 to 09/29/07 Encampment in front of Congress to cut off the war funds.

09/29/07 Mass march on the White House

10/01/07 to 10/08/07 Keep Space For Peace Week (cosponsored by Global Network and WILPF)

10/02/07 WNC Department of Peace Campaign meeting at Community Action Council, 25 Gaston Street at 7 PM. Contact Linda at deepwells@main.nc.us or call 828-665-3668 for more information on the meeting. This is held on the first Tuesday evening of the month.

10/04/07 to 10/10/07 UN World Space Week

10/06/07 Buncombe Green Party meeting from 10 AM to Noon at the Fortune Building at the corner of Haywood and Brevard Roads in west Asheville. Contact Ronald at 828-LUCK180 or word2ron@yahoo.com for more information.

10/08/07 Hendersonville Dept of Peace Advocates meets at 7 PM in the City Operations Building off of 4^th Avenue West. Call Jane at 693-8058 for more information.

10/10/07 Progressive Democrats of Buncombe County meeting at 7 PM at North Asheville Library. Please contact Susan at dancewater2@gmail.com for more information.

10/16/07 WNC Peace Coalition meeting at 7 PM. Location TBA. Please contact Susan at dancewater2@gmail.com for more information or call the Peace Line at 828-271-0022.

10/16/07 WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility meeting at 12:30 PM at West End Bakery on Haywood Street. Contact Lew at patrie.wncpsr@main.nc.us or call 828-299-1242 for more information.

10/19/07 Second Iraq War Moratorium day. Various groups are asking for actions in the streets to bring attention to the ongoing occupation of Iraq and bring pressure to end this occupation. This will be held on the third Fridays of the month across the nation.

10/24/07 United Nations Day

10/24/07 to 10/30/07 World Disarmament Week

10/27/07 United for Peace and Justice is calling for a day of regional, mass antiwar demonstrations in 6 to 8 cities around the country. More information later.

11/03/07 Buncombe Green Party meeting from 10 AM to Noon at the Fortune Building at the corner of Haywood and Brevard Roads in west Asheville. Contact Ronald at 828-LUCK180 or word2ron@yahoo.com for more information.

11/03/07 “Walk for Non-violence” by Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance. Email them at orep@earthlink.net or call them at 865-483-8202.

11/06/07 WNC Department of Peace Campaign meeting at Community Action Council, 25 Gaston Street at 7 PM. Contact Linda at deepwells@main.nc.us or call 828-665-3668 for more information on the meeting. This is held on the first Tuesday evening of the month.

11/12/07 Hendersonville Dept of Peace Advocates meets at 7 PM in the City Operations Building off of 4^th Avenue West. Call Jane at 693-8058 for more information.

11/16/07 Third Iraq War Moratorium day. Various groups are asking for actions in the streets to bring attention to the ongoing occupation of Iraq and bring pressure to end this occupation. This will be held on the third Fridays of the month across the nation.

11/16/07 Action to Close the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, GA. This runs until 11/18/07. More information to follow.

11/20/07 WNC Peace Coalition meeting at Unitarian Universalist Church at 7 PM. Please enter from the north side, at the basement level. Please contact Susan at dancewater2@gmail.com for more information.

11/20/07 WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility meeting at 12:30 PM at West End Bakery on Haywood Street. Contact Lew at patrie.wncpsr@main.nc.us or call 828-299-1242 for more information.

12/01/07 Buncombe Green Party meeting from 10 AM to Noon at the Fortune Building at the corner of Haywood and Brevard Roads in west Asheville. Contact Ronald at 828-LUCK180 or word2ron@yahoo.com for more information.

12/04/07 WNC Department of Peace Campaign meeting at Community Action Council, 25 Gaston Street at 7 PM. Contact Linda at deepwells@main.nc.us or call 828-665-3668 for more information on the meeting. This is held on the first Tuesday evening of the month.

12/10/07 Hendersonville Dept of Peace Advocates meets at 7 PM in the City Operations Building off of 4^th Avenue West. Call Jane at 693-8058 for more information.

12/10/07 Human Rights Day

12/18/07 WNC Peace Coalition meeting at Unitarian Universalist Church at 7 PM. Please enter from the north side, at the basement level. Please contact Susan at dancewater2@gmail.com for more information.

12/18/07 WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility meeting at 12:30 PM at West End Bakery on Haywood Street. Contact Lew at patrie.wncpsr@main.nc.us or call 828-299-1242 for more information.

12/21/07 Fourth Iraq War Moratorium day. Various groups are asking for actions in the streets to bring attention to the ongoing occupation of Iraq and bring pressure to end this occupation. This will be held on the third Fridays of the month across the nation.

04/13/08 April Action in Oak Ridge by OREPA – rally, march, action. See www.stopthebombs.org

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I got the two emails below from someone who is promoting Bob Bowman, an activist working for impeachment. I don’t know anything about Bob Bowman (other then what is on his website). His contact person would like to hold some type of event when Bob Bowman is in town. I told him about the vigil for Hiroshima that day (8 to 9:30 PM in Pritchard Park) and about my own Honk to Impeach event (Flint Street bridge from 5 to 5:30 on Mondays). If anyone would like to organize something else, please get in touch with Peter Forster at peterforster@bellsouth.net

First email:

This afternoon I spoke with Peter Forster, webmaster for Bob Bowman's tour. (See http://www.thepatriots.us/index.html.) I had just learned that, in addition to an appearance in Durham on 8/3, Bob is scheduled to be in Chapel Hill on 8/4, Charlotte on 8/5, and Asheville on 8/6. I don't know if any of you will have the opportunity/availability to help set up a speaking engagement for Bob, but he is strong on impeachment, and even a quickly planned, modest event could garner good press.

Second email:

Dr. Bowman is a leader in the peace movement, and is very highly regarded as a national security expert. He is ill with cancer of the blood due to agent orange, and has a tenuous grasp on life. He is the inventor of Star Wars, and directed it as a secret program under president Carter, and Regan. When Regan tried to militarize the program Dr. Bowman organized to resist the program from being implemented as a destructive military weapon. He also directed the Solar energy dept. under Carter, only to be gutted by Regan. Dr Bowman is actively pursuing the impeachment of and criminal conviction of both Cheney and Bush. He is also trying to educate the public about 911, and is pursuing a real investigation.

http://www.thepatriots.us or 407-896-8658.

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2007 Peace Pilgrimage to Oak Ridge. July 28-Aug. 6.

Please join Sr. Denise and Bro. Utsumi of the Nipponzan Myohoji-Atlanta
Dojo, for all or part of a 100+ mile pilgrimage through the mountains to
walk for peace, life and an end to nuclear weapons. Walkers leave Asheville Saturday, July 28 (from Vance Monument) and arrive Oak Ridge by Saturday, Aug 4 for Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance Peace Rally & March to the Y-12 Nuclear weapons factory. For info: Sr. Denise 404-627-89048 or atlantadojo@yahoo.com Visit www.stopthebombs.org for Oak Ridge info.
Asheville contact: Clare Hanrahan – email hanrahan@celticwordcraft.com or call 828-285-0010.

JOIN the Buddhists from the Nipponzan Myohoji-Atlanta dojo
on 100+ mile peace pilgrimage from Asheville to Oak Ridge Y-12 Nuclear
Weapons plant. For info: In Asheville Clare 828-285-0010
Denise (before & during walk) 404-627-7836.

Schedule:
Sat., July 28-Asheville-Marshall
Walk Begins 8:30 a.m. at Iraq Peace Park,
130 Courtland Ave. (off Montford Ave. near I-240).
Sun, July 29-Marshall to Hot Springs
Mon. July 30-Hot Springs to Newport, TN
Tues. July 31-Newport to Dandridge, TN
Wed. Aug 1-Dandridge to New Market, TN
Thurs. Aug 2-New Market to Knoxville
Fri. Aug 3-Knoxville to Oak Ridge
Sat. Aug 4-Knoxville to Oak Ridge
SAT., AUG 4-PEACE RALLY & MARCH
10 a.m. Oak Ridge. Rally info: www.stopthebombs.org

THERE WILL ALSO BE A BIKE TRIP TO OAK RIDGE - leaving August 1. Contact Cicada at wncpc@main.nc.us for more information.

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GET YOUR NAME IN CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ON IMPEACHMENT - Every day that Congress is in session, Rep. Kucinich will submit 5 single-spaced pages of names with states, which is the daily limit under House rules. To be included, all you need to do is submit this petition.
http://www.democrats.com/impeach-cheney-congressional-record

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Rural Broadband & Public Access TV Alert!

Senate Bill 1068 passed the N.C. Senate by a vote of 49-0 on July 15, but it is now at-risk for not getting a vote in the House. This bill would provide up to $5 million a year for broadband build-out in rural and low-income communities, and up to $5 million a year for Community Media Centers (built around public, education and government access TV
channels). This is not taxpayer money; it's revenue from the "rent" that cable and telephone companies pay for the use of our public rights-of-way. Please call AND email these key House members today!! The message is simple: "Please give S-1068 a vote!! It's critical for North Carolina's Digital Media Economy!!"

For additional "talking points," see the S-1068 "alert" at: http://ncccmc.org/

Rep. Susan Fisher Susanf@ncleg.net 919-715-2013

Rep. Bruce Goforth Bruceg@ncleg.net 919-733-5746

Rep. Ray Rapp Raymondr@ncleg.net 919-733-5732

Rep. Phil Haire Philliph@ncleg.net 919-715-3005

Sen. Martin Nesbitt martinn@ncleg.net 919-715-3001

[Sen. Nesbitt was a long-time member of the House, and he's a sponsor of S-1068. He still has influence in the House. Tell him "thank you" for sponsoring the bill!] The next 48 hours is critical -- please pass this on to friends and neighbors who care about affordable high-speed Internet and digital media job training for our young people!!

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NIRS is proud to invite you to participate in the August 8 – 14 Southeast Convergence for Climate Action www.climateconvergence.org (select Southeast)

Secluded site near Asheville, NC

Social Justice * Energy Justice * Climate Justice * Non-violence * Democracy skills

Week-long intergenerational training retreat (“Action Camp”) — learn about false solutions to climate change (“clean coal” and nuclear) — build real-world skills for real climate solutions; organizing; action.

Registration required – come for all or part. Low cost ($50 -- $100, sliding scale)...scholarships available. Meals and tent camping included in registration OR stay in area motels; limited Asheville home-stays possible. To register please visit: http://www.climateconvergence.org/southeast/index.php

Daily: intensive workshops on anti-oppression, basics and advanced issues in energy, environment, climate, local/global sustainability, democracy skills; all issue sessions will include strategic thinking and planning, spanning local to global; community time, shared chores, yoga, evening campfire, music; Panels/Workshops include: Confronting False Solutions to Climate Change including “clean coal” and nuclear power; Anti-oppression leadership training; Strategic Campaign building; Grandparents of our movement telling stories of past victories; Nukes 101, Fossil Fuels 101, Organizing 101; Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and its Global Mobile Chernobyl; Countering mountain top removal and challenging expanding coal energy plans; Principles of non-violent activism; Climbing and other action skills; Making big puppets; Homegrown sustainability – wind, solar, energy efficiency, permaculture, small hydro, small biofuels …and more!

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Be sure to tell your friends and everyone you know that they too can vote to impeach by going to http://www.impeachbush.org/. The Constitution can't defend itself. The people must act!

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IDEA for free publicity: River Link has a raft race on August 11 - and the Non Profit groups participating win advertising spots on radio stations - and according to this, all non-profits are winners, so they all get some advertising on the radio. I think we should try to get this together to do - anybody have a raft available? how about two canoes to tie together? We could rent.... any way, here's the info.

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To subscribe, unsubscribe, etc, from this list see http://main.nc.us/mailman/listinfo/actives

Happy day for Iraq

Photo: Iraqi soldiers and residents celebrate in a street in Baghdad July 29, 2007, after their Iraqi team won the final game of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup soccer tournament against Saudi Arabia in Jakarta.
REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ)

They are joyful today, and I am happy for them. I hope many more days of joy come their way soon. And I hope they keep winning their football games (even though I don't care about sports at all)!

I hope this joy unites them...... they certainly showed the world how to be the best at football (soccer in the out-of-touch USA).

The president's speech on the war on terror

In a speech in Carolina yesterday, George Bush discussed the war on terror.
The full text is available here.


But I have taken the liberty of highlighting the important bits.

Quote:
The President: ----- --- ---. ------ -- ------. ----- ---, -------. ------ --- --- ----------- --- ---- ------------. -'- ----- -- -- ---- --- --- --- ----- -- --- --- -----, --- ----, --- -------, --- ---- --- --- ----- -----. ------ --- -------. ------ --- ------- --- ------- -- --- ------ ------ -- -------.

- ---------- --- ---------- -------- -- ---- -----, ----- -----. ------ --- ------, --------. -'- ----- -- -- ---- ---- --- ------- -- --- ----- -- --------------- --- ----- --------, ----- -------------- ----- -------. --. -------, ------ --- ------….


…----- --- ------- -- September 11th, 2001, --- ------ -- ---- ---------- ---- -------- ------ --- ----- -- ------- -- --- --- -- ------. ------ --- ---------- -- -----------, --- ----- ---- ---- ---------- ---- -------- -- ------- -- --------- ------ --- ------- --------, --- ---- --- ---------- -- -- ------- ------.

---- ---------- -- ------- - ------- ---- -- Iraq. ----- --- ----- ---- --- ---- ---------- -------- ---- -- ----- -------- --- --- ------ -- --- ----- -----. ---- ------- --- ------ ----- --- ---'-- -------- -------- -- ---- -------. ----- ------ -- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- -- - ----- ------ -- --------------. --- ------- -- -------- --- ---- ------- -- --- ----- -- -------. --- ---- ------- -- ------.


------ --- ----- ----- --- 9/11 -------, ------- ------- - ------ -- ---. --- --------- ------- ---- -------- -- ---- --- -- ---------- -- ------ --- ------- -----, --- -- ---- -- ---------- -- --- ----- -- ---- ----. - --- ------ -- September 11th -- ---- --- ---- --- -- ------- ------- -- -- -- -- --- -------, -- ----- --- ---------- -------- -- -- ---'- ---- -- ---- ---- ---- -- ----. --- ---- -- ------- ---- --- --- --- ----- -- ------- --- ----- ------ --- -----.

--- --- ------- -- ---- ------ --- -- Iraq. --- ------ --- ------- ------- -- ---- -------. ----'-- -------- -------- -------, --- -- ----- -- ---- -------- -- Iraq ---- al Qaeda. ---- ---- ------- ------- ---- ------- -------; ---- ------ -------- -------- --- ---- ------ -------- ------. ---- ---- -- ----- ---- Iraq'- --------- -- ---- --- --- ---- ------ -- - --------- ---- ----- --- ------- ------- --- -------. -- --- ------ --- -------- ------ ---- ------ -- ------- Iraq-- --- ----- --- - ------ -- -----, --- ---- -- --- --- -------- -- Iraq --- --- ------ -- -------- --------.

-----'- - ------ -- ---------- ----- Iraq, --- ------- ----- ---- - ------- ------. -----'- ---- - ------ ----- al Qaeda- ---- -- Iraq. ---- --- ---- Iraq -- --- ---- -- --- ------- --- -- ------. ---- -------- ---- - --- ---- --- al Qaeda ---------- -- ---- -- Iraq --- ---- -- --- ---- ----- ---- -------- -- -- September 11th, 2001. ---- ----- ---- --- ------------ ------ al Qaeda -- Iraq -- -- Iraq- ----------, ---- --'- ----------- -- Osama bin Laden--- ---- --'- --- ---------- -- --------- -------.

--------- ------ -. ----, ------ -- ----- -------- ------- ------- ------, ------- -- ---- -------- --------- ------- ----- ------- ---------- ------ - ---- -------- -------, ---- --, ----, ------ - ----- -- ---------- --- -- ----------, -.-. ----- ----- ----- -- ---- ------ ---- ----- -- ---- -- Osama bin Laden. --'- ---------- ---- --- "----- ----- --- -- ------ -- Iraq." Osama bin Laden----, "--- --- -- --- --- -- --- -- -- ---. -- -- --- --, -- ----- ---- ------ --- -------- -------." - --- ---- ----- ---- -- - --- ------ -- Iraq --- -- ---- -- --- ------ -- al Qaeda. (--------.)

----- - ---- -------- --- --------- -- ----- --- --- ---- al Qaeda --- al Qaeda -- Iraq --- -------- --------. - ---- ------- --- ---- --- ---- ---- -- --- ---- --------- ------- -- --- --- ---- --- --------- -- --- -------.

- ---- ----- -- ----- -- ---- ---- ----- -----: al Qaeda -- Iraq --- ------- -- - --------- ---------, --- -- Iraq-. --- ---- --- --- ----- -- -------. ------ 9/11, -- --- - --------- ---- -- -----------. -- --- --- --- - ------ -- al Qaeda, --- --- ------------ --------- ------- ---- -- --- ------------ --------- ---- ------ al Qaeda -------, ---- -- --- --- ---- Osama bin Laden--- --- ----- ------, --------.


-- 2001, --------- ------ --------- -------'- ------ -------- ----, --- -- ---- --- ------- --- -- ---- -- Iraq, ----- -- --- -- ---------- ---- --------- ---------- ---- ------ --- ------- -- --------- ------. -- --- -------- --- ----------- --------- ------'- ----, ------- --- ---- -- ------ ------------ --- ----, -----, --- --------- -- --- ---------. -- ----, ------- --- --- --------- ----- -------- ------ al Qaeda, ------- ---------- -- Osama bin Laden, --- -- -------- -- "------ --- ------ -- -----."


---- -----, --- ----- -------- -------- ---- ------- --- --- "------ -- al Qaeda -- Iraq" -- --- ---------- ---------- -- Iraq -- "------ -- --- --- ---- ---." --'- ---- -- ----- ---- al Qaeda -- Iraq -- -------- ---- --- -----'- al Qaeda, ---- --- ------ -- al Qaeda -- Iraq ---- -- ---- -- ---------- -- Osama bin Laden.


--------- -- --- ------------ ---------, --- ----------- ----- ------ ---- al Qaeda -- Iraq -- ----- -- "-------- ----- --------- -------- --- ----------." --- ------ ---- ---- al Qaeda- ------ ---------- -- ----- -- "- -------- -- Iraq -- ------ --- ---------- -------- ... -- ---- -------- ---------- ... --- -- ---- --- ---------- -- --- ----- -- Iraq -- ------- ------ -------- ------- ---------." --- ------ ------- al Qaeda --- --- Iraq- --------- -- -- -------- -- ------- -- --- ---- -- --- --- ------ -------- -- --- ----- -- -- ----- -----.


--------- ------ -. ---- --------- --- ------- -- -------- --------- --- ----- ------ -------, -------- ---- --- ----- -------, -- - -------- -------, ---- --, ----, ------ --- ---------'- ----- -- ---------- --- -- ----------, -.-. ----- ----- ----- -- ---- ------ ------- --- ------ -- -.-. ------ -- ---- ----. -- --- -------- -- ------- --------- -- -- -------- ----- --- ----- --------. --- ---- -- --- al Qaeda ------ ---------- --- ---- --- ------------. -- --- ------------ ---- -------- --- ---- ---- --- -------. --- ------ 9/11, -- ----- ---- ---- al Qaeda -- ----------- ----- -- ------ ------- -------------- ------ -- al Qaeda- ------- --------.


----- --- ----- ---- ---- al Qaeda- Iraq- ---------- ---- ----, Osama bin Laden---- - --------- ------ ----- --- ------- -- Iraq- -- ---- ---. --------- -- --- ------------ ---------, ---- --- --- - ------ ------- -- --- -----, --- ------ -- --- --- --------- -- -----------. --- ------- ----- ---- -- -- Iraq. -- --- --------, --- --- -------- ----------- -- --- -.-. ----- ---- -- ---------- ---. --- ---- ---- --- ----- ------ ------- --- -- --- ---- ------ ---------- -- Iraq ----- --- ---------- -- ------ -- ------- -- al Qaeda- Iraq- ----------.

--------- -- --- ------------ ---------, ---- -- al Qaeda -- Iraq'- ----- ------ ------- --- ---- ------- ----------. ---- ------- - ------ --- -- al Qaeda -- Iraq'- ---- -- -------, - ----- --- -- al Qaeda -- Iraq'- --- --------- --- ----- -------, -- -------- --- ------ -- ----------- -- --- 1990- --- --- --- --- ---- Osama bin Laden, - -------- --- -- ------- ----- - --- ---- -- -------- ------- --------. ---- ----- -- Iraq, -- ------ - ------ al Qaeda ----------- ----- ------ ------, - ------- -------- --- ------ ---- al Qaeda -- -----------, --- --- ---- --------- --- 11-- ---------- ------ ------ --------, --- ----- ------ al Qaeda -------.

- --- ----- ---, -- -------- - ------ al Qaeda -- Iraq ------ ----- ---------. ---, ---- --------- -- -- Iraq-. -- ----, -- --- --- ------- ------- Iraq- -- --- ------------. ----'- ---- -- ----, ----'- ---- -- ---- --: --- ------- ------- -- al Qaeda -- Iraq ---- -- ------------- ------- -- ------- --- ------- ---- al Qaeda -- Iraq -- -- Iraq----- ---------. -- ---- al Qaeda ---- ------- - ---------- ---- ---- ----- ---- -----------. --- ------- --- -- ---- Iraq- -------- ------- ---- ---- --------- --- ------ -- -- Iraq- ------- -- - ---------. --- ---- -- -------, --------- -------- ---- ----------- -- ---- -- -----. -- --------- --- ------------ ---- ---------- --- -- --- --- -------- -- al Qaeda -- Iraq -- ---- --- --- ------- -- --- ---- ------- ------- ---- ---- -- --- ----------- ---------, --- Iraq--.


------- ---------- ---- ------- --- ---- -- --- ------- -------- -- Iraq. --- -------- --------- ---- ------- -- --- -- ------- -- ------- ------- -- Iraq --- ------- --- -- ------------ al Qaeda ----------. --'- ---- ---- ----- ---- -- al Qaeda -- Iraq'- ---- --- ---- -------- --- ---- -- --- ---------- --- Iraq-. --- -- ----- ----------- -- ---- ------ ---- -- -- ------ --- ------ -----: al Qaeda -- Iraq -- - ----- ------- -- ------- ----------, --- ------- -- ------- ----------, --- ----- -- - ------- --------- ------ -- Osama bin Laden. ---- ---- ----'-- al Qaeda. --- Iraq- ------ ---- ---- --- al Qaeda. ------ ------ --- ------ ----- ---- ---- --- al Qaeda. -----'- - ---- ------ ---- --- ------ 'Al Qaeda -- Iraq.' They are Al Qaeda. And they are in Iraq.

--------- ------ -. ---- ------ ---- ------- ---- -------- --------- -- - -------- -------, ---- --, ----, ------ --- ---------'- ----- -- ---------- --- -- ----------, -.-. ----- ----- ----- -- ---- ------ ---- ---- ------ ---- al Qaeda -- Iraq -- - -------- ------------ ------- al Qaeda- ------- ------- ----- ---- ----------- ------- ---- --. ---- -------- ------- - ---- -- -------------. ---- -- --- al Qaeda- ------ --------- ------- -------- --------. al Qaeda --- --- --------- ------------- --- - ----- ------- -- --------- ------ ---- --- ------ -- - ------ -------- --- ------ ----------, --- ---- --------- ------ -- ------------- ---- --- al Qaeda ------ ----------. -- ---- -----, ----- ------ ---- -------- ------ ---- al Qaeda --- ---- ---- -- ------ - "------" -- - ------ -- ------- -- Osama bin Laden. -- ----- -----, ------------- --- --- -------- ------ ---- al Qaeda, --- ----------- ------- ---- al Qaeda ------- -- ---- ------- --- ------- ----- ------ --------. -- ----- ----- -----, ----- --- ----- ----- -- ---------- ---- --- --- ---- -- al Qaeda -- --- ----- ------- --------- -----, --- -------- ------- ---- al Qaeda ------- --- --- -------- -- --- -------- -- ------- -------.

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---- ---- ---- al Qaeda -- Iraq --- --- ----- ----- --- -.-. -------- -- --- ----- ---- -- -- - ------- -- --- --- ------. --- -------- ------- --- ------ ----- ---- --------- -- ------ -- -------- -------. Iraq -- --- --- ------ ---- --- ---------- --- -- --- ---- --. -- ---- --- -- Iraq ---- --- ---------- ------ --- ----- ----- ------ -- 1993. -- ---- --- -- Iraq ---- ---- -------- --- --------- -- ----- --- --------. -- ---- --- -- Iraq ---- ---- -------- --- --- ---- -- ----. --- -- ---- --- -- Iraq - September 11th, 2001.


--- ------ -- ------ ------ ------- --- --- ----- --- --------- -------- -- --- ------- ---------- ---- Iraq ----- --- --- --. --- al Qaeda ---------- --- ------- ---------- -- -- Iraq --- --------- ---------- --- ---- ---- ------- --- -------- --- ------- -- ----- -----. ---- --- ---- -- - ------- ---- --- -------- ---, -----, --- -------- -- ------ --- ------; ----------- ------ ------- -- -------- --- ----------, ------, -------, --- --------- ------ --- -----. -- -- ---- --- -------- ----- al Qaeda ---------- --- ---------- -- Iraq, ---- ----- --- -- ------- ---------- ----- -- ------- --- -------. ---- ----- -- ------ -- ---- --------- --- ----- --------- --------- -- -- -----------, -- ----- ------- --------, -- -- --- ------- -- --- --- ------.


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-- -- ---- -- ----- ---- -- ------, --------- -------- -- Iraq ----- -------- ------------, ------- --- -------- -- ---- ----------. -------- ----- ------ --- ------ ------ -- -----, --- -- ----- ---- ---- - ------ ---- --------- -- ------- ---------- --- ----- ------ ------- -------, --- --- ----- ------- -- --- --- -------- --------- -- -- ---- --- ------- -- --- ------.

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---- ---- - ---- ---, ----- -------- --- al Qaeda- ---- -- Iraq --- --- ------- --- -- ---- -- ----. ----- ----, -.-. --- Iraq- ------ ---- ------ ---- ----- ------ --- ---- ------ ------- al Qaeda. -------- ---- ---- ------ -- --------. ---------- ---- ---- ------ ---- ---- -- --- ---------- -------. --- ------ --- --- ------- -- --------- --- ------- -- ----- -- ----- ----- -- --- -------. --- ----- --- --- ----- --- ------ -----, --- ----'-- ------- -------, --- --'-- ------ --------.

--- --- -------- -- --- --------, --- --- ----- -- --- -----, -- ---- ---- ------- -------- --- --- ------ --- ---- --- --------- ---- ----, -- ---- --- ------ al Qaeda -- Iraq. (--------.)

------ --- ------- -- ---- -- -----. -'-- --------- --- ---------- ------- al Qaeda --- --- Iraq- ---------. - --------- ------------ ---- ------- ----------- ---- ----------. --- ----- --- ---- al Qaeda ---------- ------ --------- -- 9/11, ----'-- -------- -- -- Iraq --- ------ --- -----, --- ---- --- -------- -- ---- --------- ---- -- ---- -----. ----- --- ------- ----------- --- ------ ---- Iraq -- ------- --- ------ -- al Qaeda -- Iraq --- --- ---- -- Osama bin Laden------ --- ----- ------------ -- ---- - -------. -- -- ---- -- ------ ----- ------, -- ----- -- --------- --- --- ----- -- --- ---------- --- -------. -- ---- ------ al Qaeda -- Iraq.

-- ---- ------, --'-- -------- -- --- ----- --- --- ----- ----------- -- ---- ----. ----- --- --- ----- --- ------ -- ---- ---- --- ------ --- ----- -- ------- - ----- ---- -- ---- --- -- ------. ---- ---- -------- ------ --- -------- -- ----, -- ---- -------- ---- ------ ------ -- --- ------- -- --- --'-- ----- -- -------.

- ---- ---------- -- --- -------, --- - ---- ----- -- --- -----, ------- - ---- --- --------- -- --- --- --- ----- -------- ------ --. - ----- --- --- ---- ----------; - ----- --- --- ---- -------. ---'-- ------ -- -- ---- -----: "--- ------, --- -------, --- -----." ----- --- --- --- --- --. --- ----- ---- --------. --- ----- -------. (--------.)

To summarise, Iraq, al qaeda, 9/11, bin Laden.

Thursday, July 26, 2007
(I cannot take credit for having done this - there is no way I would have the stomach or time to read one of bush's idiotic speeches - but someone emailed this to me, so I am passing it along.)

I work with some of these folks....

That is, I work with some really stupid folks. Some who believe that Saddam took his imaginary WMDs to Syria, where they are waiting - for a chance to attack America with, I guess! Sure glad there are no US troops in the neighborhood, otherwise......

I work with some folks who think that Saddam was behind 9/11, and now, thanks to our dumb press and dumb Senators, they are thinking that Iran is working with al Qaeda. Of course, you have to wonder if our press and Senators are really that stupid - or just war-pimping for another war.

I usually don't blog about my co-workers, mainly because I know it could cause some problems. But there is something that YET AGAIN brought the absolute dumbness of SOME of my co-workers to light - a sheet of paper on one of the cork boards in our office - that said this: HOME ALONE Again....... Even a dog's life isn't what it used to be. This is an advertisement for "Join the Right To Time Movement" where they are advocate that everyone participate in a TAKE BACK YOUR TIME DAY.

I think we should hold a GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS DAY for this poor, misguided, co-worker of mine. I think that day will come though- when the whole US of A gets their fantasy bubble popped about what is really happening in the world today. They they will realize that spending time with your DOG is the least of your worries. However, this group of people will probably never realize how much murder and mayhem the USA has unleashed on the world. They will never admit to the fact that we have committed

GENOCIDE IN IRAQ

for no particular reason than to let the neocons control the oil in the region. Well, that's the neocon's plan, even though they are unlikely to succeed.

Oh, and pointing out the BLOODY REALITY of what our tax dollars are doing in the world IS NOT ALLOWED IN MY WORKPLACE. I think that is so they all can stay HYPOCRITES until they die. I once had a supervisor who told me that the people I work with DO CARE about what is happening in Iraq, even though they (for the most part) cannot be bothered to get off their asses and do something about it. As a matter of fact, they are for the most part, vastly ignorant of what has happened there.

But, apparently someone feels the need to promote spending more time with their stupid dogs. Apparently, they see that as a worthy issue and apparently, this type of idiotic political promotion is allowed.

They sicken me.

Just about everywhere I look in America, I see stupid people.

Guess who this is?

The only reason I am posting this picture is because a local couple were cited for flag desecration. They had hung the flag upside down and then pinned a couple of sheets to the flag. This happened at their home.

Hanging a flag upside down is a sign of distress. That is not desecration. I am not sure that pinning something to the flag is desecration. However, WRITING ON A FLAG IS DESECRATION. And this is the president doing this, back in 2003.

Here is the North Carolina law about the flag:

Article 52.
Miscellaneous Police Regulations.
§ 14‑381. Desecration of State and United States flag.
It shall be unlawful for any person willfully and knowingly to cast contempt upon any flag of the United States or upon any flag of North Carolina by public acts of physical contact including, but not limited to, mutilation, defiling, defacing or trampling. Any person violating this section shall be deemed guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
The flag of the United States, as used in this section, shall be the same as defined in 4 U.S.C.A. 1 and 4 U.S.C.A. 2. The flag of North Carolina, as used in this section, shall be the same as defined in G.S. 144‑1.(1917, c. 271; C.S., s. 4500; 1971, c. 295; 1993, c. 539, s. 253; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)

Unfortunately, this incident went a lot further than a flag issue. The deputy delivering the citation wanted to see the couple's identification. They refused. The deputy went into their house against the wishes of this couple, and without a search warrant. They got into some sort of fight, and the wife called 911. This is the scary part - the deputy felt he had the right to go into their homes without permission, and felt this issue was serious enough to use force (the couple was not using any force or threatening to do so). The deputy could have just looked up the couples information and then mail them the warrant.

Fascism comes to Asheville. I will be printing up the picture above along with an explanation. I will post it on my car. I will give a copy to the Buncombe County Sheriff (where the deputy worked) and the Asheville Chief of Police (those folks had nothing to do with this incident).

And I will be displaying the US flag at my HONK TO IMPEACH events. Upside down.

Here is a link to the story in the local paper.

Operation First Casualty – Santa Monica, CA

Iraq Veterans Against the War members reenact scenes from their service in Iraq on the streets of Santa Monica to protest the ongoing occupation.

Some Happy Times in Iraq

There is so little of happy times in Iraq, that I felt I needed to post these photos. This celebration is in response to the Iraqis winning a football (soccer to Americans) game. I have to admit, I'm not into national sports like this, but if it makes people happy, then I am all for it. Here is what one blogger had to say about the football win:

Thanx young men

About two hours ago, our national soccer team won the match of the quarter final against Vietnam in Asia championship and now we passed to the semi final match. Our forward star Younis Mahmoud got the two goals, they were both great goals but the second one was the most beautiful one in the whole championship. Mahmoud celebrated by kissing the Iraqi flag he puts on his left hand. he took us to a new world where no politicians could ever take us too because Younis Mahmoud is a real Iraqi man while our politicians are only politicians having two citizenships, they are never pure Iraqis and they will never be ones.I just wanted to say thank you very much our young men, thank you for pleasing all the Iraqis, thank you for unifying all the Iraqis, thank you for being so loyal Iraqis. Thank you Youonis for your great efforts, Thank you Karrar, Thank you Nash'at, thank you Abbas and thank you all. GOD Bless Iraq, GOD Bless you young men, GO Forward men and get the golden cup to return smile back to the drooping lips of your people.

I hope they win all their football games.

Review: The Deserter's Tale

Review: The Deserter’s Tale

Photo: An Iraqi woman weeps as she and her baby sit amid the mess left behind at her house following a raid by US and Iraqi forces in Baghdad's al-Orfali Shiite district, June 2007. Envoys of the United States and Iran will hold a second round of talks in Baghdad on Tuesday on the security situation in Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said.(AFP/File/Wissam al-Okaili)

Photo: US soldiers question a man at his house during a search in west Baghdad, 20 July 2007. Al-Qaeda in Iraq already has its hands full, but US intelligence officials say the militant group's mentors in Pakistan now want to use its formidable resources for attacks on the United States.(AFP/File/Olivier Laban-Mattei)

“The Deserter’s Tale” is a book by Joshua Key, as told to Lawrence Hill. It is “the story of an ordinary soldier who walked away from the war in Iraq” and became a refugee in Canada. He claims he did not lose his country – rather his country lost him. It is overall, a very disquieting story about the actions of our country in Iraq, some hint of which is found in the photos cited above. And it is a hopeful story of how one American regained his morals and decency, and left the United States behind.

Joshua talks about how the demeaning and brutal treatment of other people starts in the USA, right on the military bases. In Iraq, Joshua talks of the raids, of the random killings of Iraqi children, of the demonizing of Iraqis, of the disrespect shown on a regular basis. He goes into quite a lot of detail about this, and it is a huge stain and shame upon our country that we allowed this violence and this degradation to be visited on another people who never hurt or threatened us. I am not going to go into detail on what happened there – you can find it all inside the book.

Joshua got a two week vacation from the war, on which he returned to his home and his family. On his return to duty in Iraq, his felt he was out of his mind to have gotten on the plane. When he reached the Dallas, his connecting flight to Kuwait was cancelled. His stepfather and brother went to a restaurant and this is Joshua’s recollections:

“Funny: in Iraq, I had talked constantly with Connor about the Oklahoma Sooners, but now that I had returned from war I had completely lost interest in football and other sports. Once I had been a fanatic, but it spoke to me no longer. It would have been nice to be able to knock back a beer and lose myself in a few hours of televised sports, but three other things teemed in my brain: I wanted to hold my wife and children; I had the blood of men, women, and children on my hands; and I couldn’t live with myself if I had to fight again in Iraq.”

Joshua did not return. He fled with his wife and children and a family friend to live on the run in the USA, and then fled with his family to Canada. He intends to stay in Canada. On reflecting on his experiences, Joshua had this to say: “A lot of ingenuity goes into killing, and it seems to me now a sad waste of money and intelligence.”

And he had this reflection on the aftereffects of participating in a war:

“If you have beaten or killed an innocent person, and if there remains a shred of conscience in your heart, you will not likely avoid anguish by saying you were only following orders. We each have to find what we believe to be the right way to live. When we prosecute an unjust war, or commit immoral acts in any war at all, the first victims are the people who were unfortunate enough to fall into our hands. The second victims are ourselves. We damage ourselves each time we violate our own true beliefs, and the wrongs we commit weigh on our shoulders to the grave.”

I wrote up this short review to let you know about this book, and to let you know that we, the citizens of the United States, also carry this wrong on our shoulders to the grave. Our veterans do not carry it alone. The guiltiest among us (the ones who started this war of aggression, this war crime) do not feel this weight because they do not have the morals or conscience to know the wrongs that they have done. They are blind to what the Iraqi people have suffered and what our veterans have suffered.

It is our job to make them aware of what they have done, but any non-violent means available. Protest, write letters, hold signs, lobby, go to DC, rally, protest some more, get in their faces – whatever it takes. We are the only ones who can peacefully stop this aggression. It is our job and our duty to stop it.

These are the final words in The Deserter’s Tale:

“I will never apologize for deserting the American army. I deserted an injustice and leaving was the right thing to do. I owe one apology and one apology only, and that is to the people of Iraq.”

And, to the people of Iraq, I would also like to say that I am sorry. I am very, very sorry that this war happened and I could not stop it.

Some Recent News Items You May Have Missed

Iraqis who've helped Danish troops secretly evacuated to Denmark

The government of Denmark has quietly evacuated dozens of Iraqi civilians who've been helping Danish troops in southern Iraq. Altogether about 200 aids and family members have been flown to Copenhagen this week. The last of 3 flights arrived today. The Danish government kept the operation secret until the plane had left Basra for fear of an attack by militants. Denmark announced last winter that it planned to pull its 480-member battlegroup out of Iraq starting next month. The issue of what to do about civilian helpers was hotly debated until the government decided to offer entry visas, financial aid and jobs.

US Still Slow to Admit Iraqi Refugees

The State Department will fall far short of the 7,000 Iraqi refugees it had said it was prepared to accept by the end of September. A State Department official told McClatchy Newspapers this week that it plans to interview 4,000 potential Iraqi refugees by then. The State Department has said that helping Iraqi refugees — particularly those who work with Americans — remains a top priority. In April, the department approved one Iraqi refugee. It allowed one in May, as well.

[Well, no surprises there. That’s how those folks operate. It sickens me. – dancewater]

Iran's Jews spurn cash lure to emigrate to Israel

Iran's Jews have given the country a loyalty pledge in the face of cash offers aimed at encouraging them to move to Israel, the arch-enemy of its Islamic rulers. The incentives - ranging from £5,000 a person to £30,000 for families - were offered from a special fund established by wealthy expatriate Jews in an effort to prompt a mass migration to Israel among Iran's 25,000-strong Jewish community. The offers were made with Israel's official blessing and were additional to the usual state packages it provides to Jews emigrating from the diaspora. However, the Society of Iranian Jews dismissed them as "immature political enticements" and said their national identity was not for sale.

[I guess they like living in Iran. I know if someone offered me that kind of money to move to New Zealand or Canada, I would sign up immediately. I would never go to Israel, however. – dancewater]

Hunting the Taliban in Southern Afghanistan

On this day, the battle is won by NATO and ANA forces. But Afghanistan's long history of resisting outside influence suggests that winning the war against the insurgents will be a much longer, more difficult task.

[Yeah, like along the lines of IMPOSSIBLE! They can win every battle, and they will still lose the war. Why are we still there? If we could not get a replacement government (that the US elites like) running in six years, what hope do we have that we ever WILL get such a replacement government running? – dancewater]

Nuke Secrets May Have Been Lifted From TN Plant

A contract worker has allegedly stolen nuclear secrets from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, WNBC reported Thursday. Officials say the worker, 67-year-old Richard Lockley, may have sought to sell the secrets to a foreign nation. Investigators say the breach is serious at one of the United States’ most important nuclear research sites. Officials are concerned the secrets could also have fallen into the hands of terrorist organizations or enemy nations. Lockley’s job was to escort visitors to and from offices, reports said. It was unclear how a low-level contract worker could have accessed some of the nation’s most highly guarded nuclear secrets.

[Now, don’t you feel better knowing THAT? I mean, it’s bad enough the US authorities sold nuke secrets to Iran and Pakistan, but for the underlings to do it is beyond belief – oh, I guess they are motivated by greed also. Never mind. This was found in a New Zealand news source. – dancewater]

Taliban/al Qaeda Merger Going Global

In a videotaped ceremony only two days after the interview on June, 9th, Shah Mansoor presides over 300 ‘suicide bomb volunteers’ who graduated from their militant training course. Justifying his global aims, Shah Mansoor said, "These Americans, Canadians, British and Germans come here to Afghanistan from faraway places, why shouldn't we go after them?" He then mentioned certain volunteers came from Western countries such as Germany, the UK and the US. A man identified as the leader of the cell intending to strike the UK spoke in English and said, "So let me say something about why we are going, along with my team, for a suicide attack in Britain. Whether my colleagues, companions and Muslim brothers die today or tonight, every drop of our blood will invigorate the Muslim (unintelligible)." 20 days later two car bombs which failed to explode were discovered in London and a third car bomb, more of a fire laden jeep, smashed into Glasgow, Scotland’s international airport and set it ablaze. Around the same time, Pakistani authorities arrested 3 German nationals believed to have links with ‘Islamist extremist groups.’ It is unclear if these suspects appeared in the June, 9th graduation ceremony with Shah Mansoor.

[I don’t know if this is accurate or not – although we all can be sure that the actions of the US government in the last six years have only encouraged them to do this. But, if it is true, or comes true, then the dumbass in Texas (no, not the president) who wrote a letter to the editor (remember – our president cannot write) saying that if our troops leave Iraq we will be fighting the Taliban in the USA, WILL BE CORRECT. And, most surely, still a dumbass. – dancewater]

Saudi prince sponsoring terrorist groups

The Baztab Internet site reported that Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan is supporting the so called Mujahedin Khalq Organization and also al-Qaeda and Fath al-Islam now operating in Lebanon. The site said that in an MKO congress held recently in the groups Ashraf military camp in Iraq, Prince Bandar donated $750,000 to the exiled group in the presence of former Iraqi Baath leaders, intelligence officers, several members of al-Qaeda and the armed group Ansar al-Sunna. Prince Bandar, who served for 20 years as Saudi ambassador to the US, maintains close ties with US President George W. Bush and is known affectionately within that family as "Bandar Bush".

[This, I suspect, is true. I remember last month visiting DC offices of my Representative, and they asked me to provide information to them that the bush/cheney regime was arming and funding Fatah in Palestine. That was on a Monday. I delivered it on Wednesday, but by then everyone knew that the bush/cheney regime was backing and supporting Fatah, and basically telling Hamas to go to hell. Sy Hersch and several Arab press sources have said that the bush/cheney regime is funding and arming Sunni extremist groups in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, and with this many reports, it does look credible. We do know at this point that the bush/cheney regime is arming the Sunni insurgents in Iraq at this point. I guess it would not be a sporting civil war if everyone didn’t have weapons, although it seemed the insurgents are doing a fine job anyway without our supplying them.

Also, the country of Saudi Arabia beheaded over 100 people last year. Now I think capital punishment IS BARBARIC NO MATTER HOW THEY DO IT, but I do find it hypocritical for our government officials to condemn al Qaeda for doing it while they walk around holding hands with Saudis who do it also. (Of course, bush has lots of blood on his hands too.) I also think that beheading is a more humane way to die than setting people on fire. Guess who did that?? Yep. By the way, most of these items never saw the light of day in the US press. What's up with that? Well, they want you to be STOOOPID.]

We Cannot Win A War Crime

"You Can't Win a War Crime - only we can end it"

Liam Madden - Iraq Veterans Against the War, The Appeal for Redress speaking at an antiwar rally in Providence RI. 5/9/07

Iraq Vets Bear Witness

I did a post on this for Iraq Today and Out of Iraq Bloggers – but this article is very important, so I thought I would post it here also. Read it and weep.
The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness

Over the past several months The Nation has interviewed fifty combat veterans of the Iraq War from around the United States in an effort to investigate the effects of the four-year-old occupation on average Iraqi civilians. These combat veterans, some of whom bear deep emotional and physical scars, and many of whom have come to oppose the occupation, gave vivid, on-the-record accounts. They described a brutal side of the war rarely seen on television screens or chronicled in newspaper accounts.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two dozen soldiers interviewed said that this callousness toward Iraqi civilians was particularly evident in the operation of supply convoys--operations in which they participated. These convoys are the arteries that sustain the oc­cupation, ferrying items such as water, mail, maintenance parts, sewage, food and fuel across Iraq. And these strings of tractor-trailers, operated by KBR (formerly Kellogg, Brown & Root) and other private contractors, required daily protection by the US military. Typically, according to these interviewees, supply convoys consisted of twenty to thirty trucks stretching half a mile down the road, with a Humvee military escort in front and back and at least one more in the center. Soldiers and marines also sometimes accompanied the drivers in the cabs of the tractor-trailers. These convoys, ubiquitous in Iraq, were also, to many Iraqis, sources of wanton destruction. According to descriptions culled from interviews with thirty-eight veterans who rode in convoys--guarding such runs as Kuwait to Nasiriya, Nasiriya to Baghdad and Balad to Kirkuk--when these columns of vehicles left their heavily fortified compounds they usually roared down the main supply routes, which often cut through densely populated areas, reaching speeds over sixty miles an hour. Governed by the rule that stagnation increases the likelihood of attack, convoys leapt meridians in traffic jams, ignored traffic signals, swerved without warning onto sidewalks, scattering pedestrians, and slammed into civilian vehicles, shoving them off the road. Iraqi civilians, including children, were frequently run over and killed. Veterans said they sometimes shot drivers of civilian cars that moved into convoy formations or attempted to pass convoys as a warning to other drivers to get out of the way.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sergeant Flatt recalled an incident in January 2005 when a convoy drove past him on one of the main highways in Mosul. "A car following got too close to their convoy," he said. "Basically, they took shots at the car. Warning shots, I don't know. But they shot the car. Well, one of the bullets happened to just pierce the windshield and went straight into the face of this woman in the car. And she was--well, as far as I know--instantly killed. I didn't pull her out of the car or anything. Her son was driving the car, and she had her--she had three little girls in the back seat. And they came up to us, because we were actually sitting in a defensive position right next to the hospital, the main hospital in Mosul, the civilian hospital. And they drove up and she was obviously dead. And the girls were crying.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

"The first Iraqi I saw killed was an Iraqi who got too close to our patrol," he said. "We were coming up an on-ramp. And he was coming down the highway. And they fired warning shots and he just didn't stop. He just merged right into the convoy and they opened up on him." This took place sometime in the spring of 2005 in Khadamiya, in the northwest corner of Baghdad, Sergeant Campbell said. His unit fired into the man's car with a 240 Bravo, a heavy machine gun. "I heard three gunshots," he said. "We get about halfway down the road and...the guy in the car got out and he's covered in blood. And this is where...the impulse is just to keep going. There's no way that this guy knows who we are. We're just like every other patrol that goes up and down this road. I looked at my lieutenant and it wasn't even a discussion. We turned around and we went back.

"So I'm treating the guy. He has three gunshot wounds to the chest. Blood everywhere. And he keeps going in and out of consciousness. And when he finally stops breathing, I have to give him CPR. I take my right hand, I lift up his chin and I take my left hand and grab the back of his head to position his head, and as I take my left hand, my hand actually goes into his cranium. So I'm actually holding this man's brain in my hand. And what I realized was I had made a mistake. I had checked for exit wounds. But what I didn't know was the Humvee behind me, after the car failed to stop after the first three rounds, had fired twenty, thirty rounds into the car. I never heard it.

"I heard three rounds, I saw three holes, no exit wounds," he said. "I thought I knew what the situation was. So I didn't even treat this guy's injury to the head. Every medic I ever told is always like, Of course, I mean, the guy got shot in the head. There's nothing you could have done. And I'm pretty sure--I mean, you can't stop bleeding in the head like that. But this guy, I'm watching this guy, who I know we shot because he got too close. His car was clean. There was no--didn't hear it, didn't see us, whatever it was. Dies, you know, dying in my arms."

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In the winter of 2004, Sergeant Campbell was driving near a particularly dangerous road in Abu Gharth, a town west of Baghdad, when he heard gunshots. Sergeant Campbell, who served as a medic in Abu Gharth with the 256th Infantry Brigade from November 2004 to October 2005, was told that Army snipers had fired fifty to sixty rounds at two insurgents who'd gotten out of their car to plant IEDs. One alleged insurgent was shot in the knees three or four times, treated and evacuated on a military helicopter, while the other man, who was treated for glass shards, was arrested and detained.

"I come to find out later that, while I was treating him, the snipers had planted--after they had searched and found nothing--they had planted bomb-making materials on the guy because they didn't want to be investigated for the shoot," Sergeant Campbell said. (He showed The Nation a photograph of one sniper with a radio in his pocket that he later planted as evidence.) "And to this day, I mean, I remember taking that guy to Abu Ghraib prison--the guy who didn't get shot--and just saying 'I'm sorry' because there was not a damn thing I could do about it.... I mean, I guess I have a moral obligation to say something, but I would have been kicked out of the unit in a heartbeat. I would've been a traitor."

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During the summer of 2005, Sergeant Millard, who served as an assistant to a general in Tikrit, attended a briefing on a checkpoint shooting, at which his role was to flip PowerPoint slides.

"This unit sets up this traffic control point, and this 18-year-old kid is on top of an armored Humvee with a .50-caliber machine gun," he said. "This car speeds at him pretty quick and he makes a split-second decision that that's a suicide bomber, and he presses the butterfly trigger and puts 200 rounds in less than a minute into this vehicle. It killed the mother, a father and two kids. The boy was aged 4 and the daughter was aged 3. And they briefed this to the general. And they briefed it gruesome. I mean, they had pictures. They briefed it to him. And this colonel turns around to this full division staff and says, 'If these fucking hajis learned to drive, this shit wouldn't happen.'"

Whether or not commanding officers shared this attitude, interviewees said, troops were rarely held accountable for shooting civilians at checkpoints. Eight veterans described the prevailing attitude among them as "Better to be tried by twelve men than carried by six." Since the number of troops tried for killing civilians is so scant, interviewees said, they would risk court-martial over the possibility of injury or death.

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On one occasion, in Ramadi in late 2004, a man happened to drive down a road with his family minutes after a suicide bomber had hit a barrier during a cordon-and-search operation, Lieutenant Morgenstein said. The car's brakes failed and marines fired. The wife and her two children managed to escape from the car, but the man was fatally hit. The family was mistakenly told that he had survived, so Lieutenant Morgenstein had to set the record straight. "I've never done this before," he said. "I had to go tell this woman that her husband was actually dead. We gave her money, we gave her, like, ten crates of water, we gave the kids, I remember, maybe it was soccer balls and toys. We just didn't really know what else to do."

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"As an American, you just put your hand up with your palm towards somebody and your fingers pointing to the sky," said Sergeant Jefferies, who was responsible for supplying fixed checkpoints in Diyala twice a day. "That means stop to most Americans, and that's a military hand signal that soldiers are taught that means stop. Closed fist, please freeze, but an open hand means stop. That's a sign you make at a checkpoint. To an Iraqi person, that means, Hello, come here. So you can see the problem that develops real quick. So you get on a checkpoint, and the soldiers think they're saying stop, stop, and the Iraqis think they're saying come here, come here. And the soldiers start hollering, so they try to come there faster. So soldiers holler more, and pretty soon you're shooting pregnant women."