Cedric's Big Mix: Barack needs 12 inches!

Monday, March 03, 2008

Barack needs 12 inches!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- CAMPAIGN TRAIL.

SENATOR BARACK OBAMA NEEDS 12 INCHES!

AND THE FURTHER BACK YOU GET, THE MORE LIKE A REAL CANDIDATE HE LOOKS.

(NOD TO ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE FOR THAT 80S HEADLINE.)

PROVING HOW MUCH LIKE THE CURRENT OCCUPANT OF THE WHITE HOUSE HE TRULY IS, BAMBI GOT SNIPPY TODAY.

THE PRESS CORPS ACTUALLY HAD THE NERVE TO QUESTION HIM ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH BIG TONY REZKO WHO IS NOW ON TRIAL AND NOT JUST ABOUT THAT EVER CHANGING STORY BUT ALSO ABOUT BAMBI'S EVER CHANGING STORY ON WHAT HIS CAMPAIGN TOLD THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT ABOUT NAFTA BEFORE LAST TUESDAY'S DEBATE.

BAMBI'S HAD TO ADMIT THAT SOMEONE IN HIS CAMPAIGN DID SPEAK WITH THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT BUT CAN'T GIVE TOO MANY SPECIFICS -- WON'T GIVE. IT'S JUST LIKE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH BIG TONY.

FACED WITH REAL QUESTIONS, BAMBI STORMED OFF IN A HUFF. LITTLE MISS SNIPPY.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resistance. Brad McCall is a US war resister in Canada. Saturday and Sunday he offered original poetry at his site. From Sunday's poem:

You just don't realize,

The damage your really inflicting,

You say you're doing your job,

But I know, your really creating pain and suffering.

You wake up at 4 in the morning,

Preparing for a brand new day,

In this hell that they've put you in.

All these people are creating is enmity, and suffering.

McCall made the decision he could not participate in an illegal war. Currently he is in Canada attempting to be granted safe harbor. Just entering Canada was difficult for McCall. He was detained in September by Canadian authorities when he attempted to enter. And, as noted Friday, Courage to Resist interview with war resister Robin Long during which Long shares that McCall had a friend return his car to the US and that when the car crossed the border back into the US "they were holding him at gun point, the guy that was bringing his car back, thinking he was the war resister."

War resisters who have moved to Canada were dealt a serious set-back when the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. That is the sort of thing that should receive attention but instead it's ignored.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, 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. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Meanwhile IVAW has a DC action this month:

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

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it." The hearings will be broadcast throughout at the Iraq Veterans Against the War home page an on KPFA March 14th and 16th with Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz hosting and the KPFA live stream will also be available at Glantz' War Comes Home.

"Some people are going to say that we're not upholding our patriotic duty to America, that we're just demoralizing the troops, but if anything we want to make sure that our troops are taken care of the way they should," Vermont's WCAX (text and video) quotes Iraq veteran Adrienne Kinne explaining at the University of Vermont to a crowd of over 150 as she and three other veterans explained the upcoming Winter Soldier Investigation. Matthew Howard speaks to WCAX's Bianca Slota abouth how service members are encouraged to see "every Iraqi's a threat or terrorist or insurgenty. You know we never hear the term civilian over there." Howard speaks of "the feelings of betrayal, of ultimate betrayal" after serving in a war based on lies. Slota notes, "Their stories ranged from tales of intelligence intercepts from listening in on conversations of aid workers or journalists to tales of leaving injured Iraqi civilians on the side of the road." Sara Buscher (Burlington Free Press) speaks with Matthew Howard who previews the DC action, "We have footage. We have digital cameras and cell phones. The public doesn't know what dead Iraqis look like, what little children look like when they have their brains blown away by 50-caliber machine guns -- what a mosque look like when we use it for target practice." Andy Potter (WCAX text and video) interviewed Drew Cameron last week and Cameron shared his thoughts on the illegal war, "It's sending very young people to do atrocities, things based not on any reality of the security of this country. If anything, it's destroying the military. It's destroying peoples' lives and families' lives, not to mention all the innocent civilians. Massive amount of destruction."

"The soldiers and marines are just doing their jobs, doing what they were trained for or what they were told to do when they got over there. Things that seem really horrible just become routine -- and they are implicitly or explicitly condoned, or encouraged, by the commanders and the policy-makers," Iraq War veteran Kelly Dougherty states walking Ariel Leve through for a major report in the Sunday Times of London which also includes Afghan War veteran Perry O'Brien recalling, "Anyone carrying a shovel or any sort of implement that could be used to bury an IED could be considered a target. After dark, you can shoot anyone who is outside. Or anyone who puts anything on the side of the road can be considered a target. You won't find it in writing, but it's an order indicated to soldiers." Iraq War veteran Jason Washburn remembers one mission: "We kick down the door and all we find are a few women holding babies and a couple of kids. We were ordered to take the babies away and put sandbags on the women's heads, tie their hands behind their backs, put them on their knees facing the wall. Here I am zip-tying these women, and my buddy is standing next to me holding these babies asking what do I do with these kids? We stood there, like, oh s**t, what do we do? The squad leader came in and shouted, 'Everybody is bagged and tagged -- everybody!' So we did it." Michael Kramer (Workers World) reports today on an NYC event last month to get the word out on IVAW's action this month and notes, "IVAW member and war resister Ryan Johnson was able to take part in the program from Canada via a live video feed. He is a member of the Winter Soldier Organizing Committee and described the situation of more than 50 absent without leave war resisters in Canada as they courageously struggle for human rights and against deportation. There is now an IVAW chapter in Toronto. More ominously for the Bush administration and Pentagon generals, an IVAW chapter has recently been formed on the Fort Hood, Texas, army megabase."