Clipmarks | papananook's 'war' clips

Nationwide Protests at Canadian Consulates, Wed. July 9

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:59:38 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Having been a Refusenik myself (and I never forget it), these men and women of conscience hold a special place in my heart...I know how difficult, yet liberating it can be to stand up to the Federal Gummint.
Following Parliament vote welcoming war resisters, please sign new letter to stop deportations! We'll mail the letters for you...See site link.

Clip Source: www.couragetoresist.org

Events in 14 U.S. cities to urge Canadian government to abide by historic
House of Commons resolution welcoming war resisters
- - - Full list of nationwide actions at http://www.couragetoresist.org

On Wednesday July 9, military veterans, religious leaders and peace activists will convene on Canadian Consulates to protest the planned deportation of AWOL GIs back to the U.S., where they would face court martial, imprisonment and dishonorable discharges. Vigils and delegations in 14 U.S. cities will press the Conservative government to allow U.S. war resisters to remain in Canada.

In a landmark vote on June 3rd, 2008, the House of Commons called on the Canadian government to “immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors… who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations… to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada.” The motion, which passed 137-110, also called for an immediate halt to planned deportations.

Scientists Create a "Law of War" -But Does It Work?

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:14:50 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: ...we spent the money on this instead of body armor, would they punch me in the face?

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

An international team of scientists have bravely taken time away from fusion research, curing cancer and solar power to announce some truly staggering results: in war, sometimes some people get killed. But other times, more people get killed. It's amazing stuff.

In a complexity study more staggeringly misleading than a blind guide dog that's just been spun in a centrifuge, their discovery of a "Law of War" was announced at the European Consortium for Mathematics. The work doubtless contains valuable insights from the growing field of complexity theory, so it's unfortunate that such valid research is tarted up with buzzword headlines more mercilessly targeted on defence department dollars than a cash-seeking missile.

This statistical mish-mash is being pitched to the Pentagon, where it will doubtless find another home in the "pile of numbers we use to justify things." But if you really want check your contribution to a war effort, ask yourself this: if I told some troopers

Wonderful Kurt Vonnegut Interview

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:25:58 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Well worth the whole read...I loved Vonnegut.

Clip Source: cathy-edgett.livejournal.com

As war against Iraq looms, I asked Vonnegut, a reader and supporter of this magazine, to weigh in. Vonnegut is an American socialist in the tradition of Eugene Victor Debs, a fellow Hoosier whom he likes to quote: “As long as there is a lower class, I am in it. As long as there is a criminal element, I am of it. As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

—Joel Bleifuss

You have lived through World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Reagan wars, Desert Storm, the Balkan wars and now this coming war in Iraq. What has changed, and what has remained the same?

even somebody as old as I am, which is 80, only just got here. There were already all these games going on when I got here. … An apt motto for any polity anywhere, to put on its state seal or currency or whatever, might be this quotation from the late baseball manager Casey Stengel, who was addressing a team of losing professional athletes: “Can’t anybody here play this game?”

Dollars, Oil and the Big Wipe Out

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:54:23 GMT

clipped by: papananook

Clip Source: www.brasschecktv.com

[Video]

The Petro-Dollar War

The first thing the US did when it invaded and took over Iraq was reverse Saddam Hussein's recently policy of demanding Euros in payment for his countries oil.

Some think that's what the war was all about and that Iran's insistence on receiving Euros for its oil is the real reason that country has been targeted.

Dollars? Euros? What's the difference?

The difference is this...if you are the dominant currency, you can support your lifestyle and war machine by printing more when you run out.

Take that power away and there will be a very economic painful dislocation in the US.

Common Dreams Smorgasboard

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:17:37 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Learn something...

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

US Hasn’t Apologized To or Compensated Ex-Detainees

Immunity Likely For Phone Companies in Spy Bill

Congressman Obey, Along With Other So-Called Anti-War Democrats, Funds War He Says He's Against

Coalminers’ Slaughter: In US, They Blow Up Mountains For Coal

General Who Probed Abu Ghraib Says Bush Officials Committed War Crimes

Haroon Siddiqui:

Afghanistan Crisis Worse Than Iraq

Glenn Greenwald:

Obama, Telecoms and The Beltway System

A MAD Foreign Policy: America’s Irrational Defense of Israel

Senator Russ Feingold: Statement On the FISA Deal

Ted Rall:

Oops Nation

George Monbiot:

Bush's Secret Prisoners: Lost in the System

Denver Cops Stock Up For Democratic Convention

Injunction Allows Blackwater To Continue Otay Training Operation

Democrats To Back Down on Iraq War Conditions

Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:51:02 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.

There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

Sensitive to the appearance that they were profiting from the war and already under pressure because of record high oil pric

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

BAGHDAD - Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP - the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company - along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.

The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

Human Rights Group Says It Has Proof of Detainee Abuse

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:11:58 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Proof. Torture. Not charged with crimes. PROSECUTE FOR WAR CRIMES!!

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

General Taguba’s judgment was far more severe. “There is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes,” he wrote.

Medical evaluations of the former inmates found injuries consistent with the alleged abuse, including the psychological effects of sensory deprivation and forced nudity as well as signs of “severe physical and sexual assault,” Physicians for Human Rights said in a report scheduled for release today.

The report also alleges that in four of the cases, American health professionals appeared to have been complicit by denying the detainees medical care and observing the abuse but making no effort to stop it - charges that, if true, represent gross violations of medical ethics.

Four of the men were captured in Afghanistan and imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and seven were held in Iraq. All were released in recent years, and none was charged with a crime.

Is a voting boycott in order?

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:32:56 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: This group may go to far but they make good points. We have a rigged political system and Obama is NOT a peace candidate.

Clip Source: truthawaits.com

But there has been some change among the U.S. electorate. We are becoming better informed. And some of us have realized that we cannot bring about peace by continuing to vote for war. We know that a vote that is not counted or is flipped to another candidate is not a voice in government. We know that once in office, candidates cannot be held accountable. And we have decided to boycott the war and express our sincere yearning for peace by not voting in the November election.

If you really want a voice in government, stop voting in rigged elections where you cannot be sure if your vote is even counted.

If you really want peace, don't vote for war criminals.

[Video]

Anti-War Room video

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:28:18 GMT

clipped by: papananook

Clip Source: www.standupcongress.org

Anti-War Room, Week of June 9
Tom Andrews speaks with Brigadier General John Johns (ret.) about whether or not the United States should engage nations like Iran diplomatically or whether, as Bush and McCain have asserted, that's tantamount to appeasement.

Join delegates to the Democratic National Convention to end war in Iraq

This spring elected delegates and superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention – supporters of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and uncommitted – are working together to advance a position that unites the vast majority of Democratic Party members – changing our nation’s disastrous foreign policy and the debacle in Iraq. Join them here.

Israel's Influence on US Foreign Policy

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:44:05 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Please remember the distinction between the War Party and individuals or even the nation.

Clip Source: www.brasschecktv.com

[Video]

Former U.S. Marine Corps officer and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter talks about the unique influence that the Israel war lobby has on the U.S. news media and U.S. foreign policy.

Can anything be done to turn this around?

Ritter has written an important new book "Waging Peace" which answers this question realistically and comprehensively.

It's the peace manual for our times.

By they way, please note that the is a HUGE difference between the Israeli War Lobby (an alliance of the Israeli war party and corrupt politicians in the US) and Israelis, Jews, and even Zionists.

Many Israelis oppose the behavior of their government as do many Jews in the United States and elsewhere. Also, many "Zionists" are naive people whose idealism has been co-opted by corrupt elements.

To talk of "Israel", "Jews" and even "Zionists" as the problem is ignorant and counterproductive. It is the Israeli war party and their supporters in the US that is the problem.

Triumph of Lunacy

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:28:31 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Excellent article.

Clip Source: www.zcommunications.org

The military-industrial complex, the Christian right, and the “liberal media”

The public in the United States doesn't like what is going on and fully 81 percent feel that the country is moving in the wrong direction. But there doesn't seem to be much the public can do about it. It was widely felt that the 2006 election was a vote against the Iraq war, but the victorious Democrats failed to make any significant moves toward stopping the war or even halting, let alone reversing, Bush's attacks on constitutional government, and they have left the lame duck and discredited Decider in charge with a steady flow of additional funds to escalate the Iraq war.

Collateral Damage What It Really Means When America Goes to War

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:46:14 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Civilians and combatants, in the eyes of the beleaguered troops, merge into one entity. These civilians, who rarely interact with soldiers or Marines, are to most of the occupation troops in Iraq nameless, faceless, and easily turned into abstractions of hate. They are dismissed as less than human. It is a short psychological leap, but a massive moral leap. It is a leap from killing — the shooting of someone who has the capacity to do you harm — to murder — the deadly assault against someone who cannot harm you.

The war in Iraq is now primarily about murder. There is very little killing. The savagery and brutality of the occupation is tearing apart those who have been deployed to Iraq. As news reports have just informed us, 115 American soldiers committed suicide in 2007. This is a 13% increase in suicides over 2006. And the suicides, as they did in the Vietnam War years, will only rise as distraught veterans come home, unwrap the self-protective layers of cotton wool that keep them

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

Troops, when they battle insurgent forces, as in Iraq, or Gaza or Vietnam, are placed in “atrocity producing situations.” Being surrounded by a hostile population makes simple acts, such as going to a store to buy a can of Coke, dangerous. The fear and stress push troops to view everyone around them as the enemy. The hostility is compounded when the enemy, as in Iraq, is elusive, shadowy and hard to find. The rage soldiers feel after a roadside bomb explodes, killing or maiming their comrades, is one that is easily directed, over time, to innocent civilians who are seen to support the insurgents.

Winter Soldiers Hit the Streets

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:28:58 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: A late April poll conducted by CNN/Opinion Research Corp. found that nearly three-quarters (68 percent) of respondents opposed the Iraq war. The strategy of the regional IVAW groups is clearly meant to capitalise on the growing opposition to the occupation of Iraq among the U.S. public.

Christopher Diggins, a psychotherapist who attended the demonstration, reflected the feelings of many — that this strategy is important.

“This tactic is better because you have to get the community involved,” Diggins told IPS. “You have to have community awareness and support.”

“I want to show my solidarity for vets who are against the war, because it is the only way this war is going to stop,” he added. “It’s hard to have the war if nobody is going to fight.”

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

SEATTLE - In a clear change of strategy to energise public anti-war sentiment, Iraq veterans led a determined demonstration of hundreds through the streets of downtown Seattle last Saturday, following regional Winter Soldier hearings at the Seattle Town Hall.

A larger Winter Soldier event occurred at the National Labour College in Silver Spring, Maryland from Mar. 13 to Mar. 16 earlier this year. But the strategy for those hearings appeared to be based on keeping the event from being directly affiliated with any demonstrations or anti-war activities in an attempt to reach a broader audience. Those hearings were closed to the public, and no demonstrations or other overtly public actions were tied to the event.

This tactic was apparently meant to draw in more national mainstream media coverage of the event, which, with few exceptions, did not materialise.

The Seattle regional Winter Soldier event was open to the public.

Canada’s House Backs War Resisters

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:25:49 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: A step in the right direction. Good on Canada.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

Lawmakers Pass a Motion Urging the Government to Let US Military Deserters Stay. Dozens Seek Refugee Status.

OTTAWA - When U.S. soldier Corey Glass decided two years ago that he would rather be a criminal for fleeing the Iraq war than be a criminal by staying in it, there was one obvious place to go — Canada, a refuge for Americans who had fled the Vietnam War draft.

But instead of being welcomed, he became the first deserter to receive orders to leave the country — and ended up a symbol of Canada’s conflicted sentiments about the war.

On Tuesday, Canada’s House of Commons passed a motion urging the government to allow deserters to stay. The measure, though nonbinding, could lead to a last-minute reprieve for Glass and nearly 40 others who have asked for refugee status. Perhaps 200 more war dodgers are living in the country unannounced, waiting to see how Canada will ultimately declare itself, the War Resisters Support Campaign says.

West Coast Winter Soldier: “Enough Is Enough, It’s Time to Get Out”

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:59:44 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Worth the read. Much courage here.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

SEATTLE - Dozens of veterans from the U.S. occupation of Iraq converged in this west coast city over the weekend to share stories of atrocities being committed daily in Iraq, in a continuation of the “Winter Soldier” hearings held in Silver Spring, Maryland in March.

At the Seattle Town Hall, some 800 people gathered to hear the testimonies of veterans from Iraq. The event was sponsored by the Northwest Regional Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), and endorsed by dozens of local and regional anti-war groups like Veterans for Peace and Students for a Democratic Society.

“I watched Iraqi Police bring in someone to interrogate,” Seth Manzel, a vehicle commander and machine gunner in the U.S. Army, told the audience. “There were four men on the prisoner…one was pummeling his kidneys with his fists, another was inserting a bottle up his rectum. It looked like a frat house gang-rape.”