Saturday, September 01, 2012

A victim of his own press


BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

THESE REPORTERS MET WITH CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O TODAY FOR A PREVIEW OF THE MAJOR TALKING POINTS OF NEXT WEEK'S DNC SPECTACLE. 

HOWEVER, HE WAS TOO BOTHERED BY RECENT PRESS TO SPEAK OF ANYTHING ELSE.

AT FIRST, WE THOUGHT HE WAS BOTHERED BY THE PIECE REFERRING TO HIS "FECKLESS" FOREIGN POLICY.  BUT HE DISMISSED THAT PIECE, INSISTING, "I ONLY FECKLE WHEN I'M IN THE SUN." 

NO, THE ARTICLE THAT BOTHERED HIM WAS IN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES.

"WHY ARE THEY SO MEAN!" BARRY O MOANED.  "WHY WOULD THEY SAY THAT ABOUT ME!  THEY'RE FOUR YEARS OLDER TOO!  'OBAMA FACE'S DEEPLY DRAWN LINES!' HOW DARE THEY!  HOW DARE THEY!"

WHEN THESE REPORTERS POINTED OUT THAT THE HEADLINE WAS "OBAMA FACES DEEPLY DRAWN LINES," BARRY O SIGHED IN RELIEF AND SAID, "OH, THAT'S MUCH BETTER."



FROM THE TCI WIRE:


 
"My biggest fear is being separated from my children and having to -- having to sit in a prison for politically being against the war in Iraq," declared Kimberly Rivera in Canada this afternoon.  Yesterday, Kim Rivera was informed that the Canadian government planned to deport her by September 20th.  Today, Kim took part in a press conference with War Resisters Support Campaign's Michelle Robidoux.  Here's a transcript of the video the Toronoto Star has posted.
 
Michelle Robidoux: We are calling on the government not to deport this family.  We think it's unfortunate that this government and, in particular, the Minister of Immigration [Jason Kenney] has seen fit to intervene in a process that should that should be fair and impartial by putting forward Operation Bulletin 202 which directs immigration officers to red flag the cases of US soldiers like Kim Rivera who are applying for status in this country and to label them criminally inadmissable.
 
Kim Rivera: If you want to know my biggest fear is being separated from my children and having to -- having to sit in a prison for politically being against the war in Iraq which I had experience in.  Without that experience, I know that I would not have come to the decision I had made to leave and also be here in Canada for people to know that experience which I had spoken many of.  So the only thing that I guess I can really ask is that all of my legal applications that I applied be considered and my agency application also get a decision.   That's pretty much all I have.
 
Michelle Robidoux: It's a matter of public record that Canada did not participate in the Iraq War, that two motions were passed in Parliament calling on the government to allow war resisters to stay in Canada and that also there have been a number of federal court and federal court of appeal decisions which are upholding the arguments that war resisters have made that they face differential punishment if they're returned to the United States, that they are punished more harshly for having spoken up against the war.
 
 
Kim took a great personal risk and did so for what she believed in.  Once in Canada, she spoke out when the issue needed her.  She didn't try to turn herself into a celebrity.  If you ever read her blog on Liveblog (I can't find it there anymore), you know she was focused on her family and on her kids and she was trying to teach them ethics and how to lead a solid life.
Kim's someone I would be friends with.  She's someone I would make a point to go up and hug when I saw her in church on Sundays.    She's a regular person like you or me and that came out in her blog where, like me, she'd write about food or about her kids.
And now this woman who was so glad and so grateful to be in Canada and so wanting to become a Canadian citizen may be forced out of the country.
Kim is not a person who tried to grab the spotlight.  She's just a mother who couldn't live with returning to what she saw in Iraq, couldn't live with herself if she returned.  And she also had to make sure that whatever did happen, it kept her family together.  Canada was the best possible answer and I just can't believe that Canada's going to force her to leave.
 
 
Casey Irvin (Torontoist) explains, "While on leave in 2007, Rivera came to Canada to avoid a second tour of duty in Iraq, a war with which she had become disillusioned. Rivera lives here with her husband and their four children (the two youngest were born in Canada). The family and their lawyers are looking into their options, but Rivera probably faces jail time if she goes back. "  Jeanette Torres (ABC News Radio) notes that "Robin Long and Clifford Cornell, two American war resisters deported to the U.S., wound up facing year-long jail sentences because they refused deployment to Iraq."  Patty Winsa (Toronoto Star) reports:
 
On Friday, the quiet Texan spoke out for the first time after learning this week from the Canada Border Services Agency that she had been given a negative pre-removal risk assessment and must leave the country by Sept. 20.
"I'm just a bit overwhelmed. I don't want to face reality. I respect Canada's law. I'm going to take it one step at a time so I don't have a meltdown," said Rivera, who was surrounded by supporters and peace activists. "But it's is very difficult."
Rivera said quietly that she hoped her application for permanent residency status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, which she made in 2009, would still be considered.
 
Charmaine Noronha (AP) adds that Kim "stepped away during a press conference Friday when she became visibly upset" and quotes Kim's attorney Alyssa Manning stating, "The 6 percent of (war) deserters who are punished through incarceration include service personnel who have been publicly outspoken about their criticisms of the Iraq war while AWOL.  The government has failed to assess that risk that Kim faces and that needs to be considered."  Alexandra Posadzki (Canadian Press) continues, "Manning said federal officials failed to consider the fact that Rivera has been outspoken about her opposition to the Iraq war when they evaluated her assessment."
 
 
Kim and the man now trying to force her out of Canada, Minister Kenney, have met.  Here's a trasncript of the video.
 
Minister Kenney at the University of Toronto
March 18, 2009
 
Michelle Robidoux:  Hello my name is Michelle Robidoux.  This is Kim Rivera.
 
 
Kim Rivera: (Shaking his hand)  Hi.
 
Jason Kenney:  Hello.

Michelle Robidoux:  We're just absolutely desperate and we're just sort of pleading with you.  If there's anything you can do to stop the petition.  The family has been here for almost two years. 
 
Jason Kenney:  Okay.
 
Michelle Robidoux:  She's an Iraq War resister who has refused to fight in Iraq, who has refused to continue to fight in Iraq.  And we know that you have the ability to do something to hopefully help this family in distress. They are in considerable distress.  We know there's an arrest warrant for her for deporation.  She will be arrested when she crosses the border when she's forced out next week.  So we're just asking for your intervention.  Some compassion for this family --
 
Pleae call Peter Van Loan, Minister of Public Safety: 1-877-738-3748 or 613-996-7752.
 
Jason Kenney:  Okay.  Well, actually, it's-it's the Minister of Public Safety that deals with removals, not me.  If you want to send me the particulars on the case . . .
 
Michelle Robidoux:  Absolutely.  But the -- the humanitarian situation she's in, she did apply for humanitarian compassionate consideration and we're just desperate trying to --
 
Jason Kenney: Okay.  I'm sorry ma'am because I'm not aware of your particular case because we receive thousands of applications for agency and they're generally dealt with by department officials but --
 
Michelle Robidoux:  She faces deporation next Wednesday.
 
Jason Kenney:  But if you send me the particulars, I will have my office look into it. I'm afraid I'm late for my next thing.  Thank you.
 
 
 
Canada's Parliament has adopted two motions calling on the federal government to allow war resisters to stay in Canada. But Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney has publicly labelled Iraq War resisters as "bogus refugee claimants". In July 2010, he issued a bulletin to all Immigration Officers requiring them to red-flag applications that involve US war resisters, labeling them as 'criminally inadmissible'.
Amnesty International Canada and former Immigration and Refugee Board Chair Peter Showler have called for Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Operational Bulletin 202 to be rescinded because it "fails to recognize that military desertion for reasons of conscience is in fact clearly recognized as a legitimate ground for refugee protection" and it "misstates the law and seeks to intrude on the independence of both IRB members and Immigration Officers."
 
He told them it wasn't his department in March of 2009.  Then he issued orders in 2010 and now he's trying to force Kim out of Canada.  Is it his department or not?  Is any grown up in the Canadian government or is Kenney just allowed to make up whatever rules he wants?
 
An upcoming event, next week, in Toronto is planned:
 
 
Please attend an emergency community meeting to support U.S. war resister Kimberly Rivera and her family!

WHEN: Wednesday, September 5, 7:00 PM

WHERE: Parkdale United Church, 171 Dunn Avenue, Toronto

WHY: STOP THE DEPORTATIONS!

When Kimberly Rivera saw with her own eyes the devastation of war, and the trauma it inflicts on children and families, she followed her conscience and refused to go back. Instead, she and her husband and their (then) two children came to Canada.

Since that day in 2007, the Riveras have been fighting to live their lives in peace. But despite the widespread support of the Canadian people for U.S. war resisters, and despite two votes in Parliament calling on the government to let war resisters stay, the Harper Government continues to target war resisters for deportation.

Kim and her family - which now includes two children born in Canada - now face deportation on September 20. In the U.S., Kim faces court martial, jail time, and a felony conviction that will follow her for life. All for the "crime" of refusing to participate in the invasion, destruction, and occupation of Iraq.

Kim stood up for peace at great risk to herself. Now we must stand up for Kim, and for other war resisters who face the same struggle. Please join the War Resisters Support Campaign for an emergency community meeting to support the Riveras, and to call on Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to stop the deportation.

Please share this information with your friends and neighbours. We hope to see you there!
In peace and solidarity, the War Resisters Support Campaign
 
 
While Kim fights for her family, US President Barack Obama fights for re-election.  If only Kim Rivera had a pack of Devin Dwyer's to lie and whore for her.  ABC News' Devy, still so excited about sprouting pubes, can't be bothered with things like reporting.  When not rubbing his fingers in the tangle of his new downy growth and then sniffing his fingers, Devy assumes reporting is transcribing what Barack said and transcribing what Barack's "top aides" told him.  There's no attempt at facts, there's not an even attempt to get a response from any of the other presidential campaigns.   No, Devy, a response the Romney campaign gave on Wednesday is not what members of the press do when printing new attacks made on Friday.  Less fingers on yourself, more attention on your job.


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