Istanbul: 10.000 protest Israeli's military assault on six aid ships(Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press)
Distress Video:"If you're watching this that probably means that the flotilla has either been attacked or stopped at sea" Pre-recorded distress video from a freedom flotilla activist. I'ts a call for civil society to mobilize support.-thanks to Victor Agosto
I drove up to Jeremy’s hearing in Toronto with Bruce Beyer yesterday. We left early, he drove, I relaxed and we chatted. Bruce is passionate about the War resisters. He has a history with them. He left the US as a resister during the Vietnam War and has spent a lot of time in Canada. He follows their cases like they were his own children.
We met up with some resisters from the Vietnam war at the rally in front of the courthouse. Many of them had stayed in Canada, became citizens and now some work with the War Resister Support Campaign in Toronto. The "campaigners" as they call themselves work tirelessly to help our veterans who have chosen to follow their conscience rather than participate in the terror, occupation and killing our military has forced on the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The campaigners have been meeting every week for years trying to figure out how they can prevent the deportation of these men and women.
The video clip was filmed by Alex Lisman.
VFP will be showing his movie, "War resisters Speak Out" in Buffalo on June 4th at Hallwalls.
Jeremy came to Canada in 2004 with his family. He was the first GI War Resister from the Iraq war. Soon there would be many more.
Jeremy has been appealing decisions for years. When I see him with his family I am always amazed at how wonderful they are in spite of all they have had to go through. It has to be difficult planning a life as a family knowing that at any time they can forced out of the country and into an armed force in the States waiting to split up his family and throw him in prison. I remember the Vietnamese families being physically torn apart by our soldiers and beaten for trying to hold onto their children. This is the same military waiting to get a hold of Jeremy. Once you’ve seen these things over and over again, you know what we are capable of doing. He's been there; he knows what they are capable of doing.
To see them together tears me up. His wife's parents were refugees from the Vietnam War who managed to flee the country. I look into her eyes and see the beautiful women and children that lay in the rice paddy after we killed them. The irony is incredible. Jeremy was enough of a man to refuse to do the same thing to the people in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is a infinite circle of irony and regret that speeds through my head. I, like so many soldiers are free because we didn’t have the insight or humanity to refuse. Jeremy knew what it was about and chose resistance.
Most of these resisters have have been to the wars at least once. They won’t do it again.
In the courtroom, Jeremy's son sat between me and his dad, fidgeting just enough to remind me that he is a normal eight year old boy. Having to listen to a judge express a lack of comprehension over and over had to be as boring to him as it was annoying to me and many of the people observing the hearing. The judge's performance was only outdone by the incompetant attorney for the Crown, Gold. I couldn’t help but wonder if the attorney’s performance even mattered or if the decision had been made before the hearing ever began.
The two women judges not only seemed to understand the case, but had some pointed questions for the crown that had to remain unanswered when they bounced off the incompetent, never shining Gold.
This was juxtaposed by the defense attorney, Alyssa Manning. She was all my organizational fantasies garbed in the same black robes as Gold. I am constantly looking for the paper I just printed or the name of some signicant individual. She alone shined. The onslaught of referrals to the stacks of tabbed preparation materials with copies that had been distributed to each of the judges was just the beginning. Her understanding of the material combined with her presentation, both the content and her incisive delivery blew my mind again and again. She was never at a loss about her case.
You should read Laura's blog, We Move To Canada, for the specifics.
I was honored to sit in the courtroom beside Jeremy and his son and all his supporters who filled the room to capacity. We have grown to love Jeremy and his family.
“The militarized border imposed by the U.S. has lead only to cultural and environmental destruction of the indigenous peoples whose land is on or near the border. This militarization brings death and terror for indigenous peoples from other parts of the continent migrating to this land.”
-An end to border militarization
-The immediate repeal of SB1070 and 287g
-An end to all racial profiling and the criminalization of our communities
-No ethnic cleansing or cultural genocide
-No border patrol encroachment/sweeps on sovereign native land
-No Deportations
-No Raids
-No ID-verification
-No Checkpoints
-Yes to immediate and unconditional regularization (“legalization”) of all people
-Yes to human rights
-Yes to dignity
-Yes to respect
-Yes to respecting Indigenous Peoples inherent right of migration
By Attorney James Branum. May 20, 2010I am writing on behalf of a pro-bono client of mine, SPC Nicole Mitchell.
SPC Mitchell was sentenced to 30 days in jail today in a Summary Court-Martial proceeding at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for the offense of AWOL. But this is not your typical AWOL case. It began some time ago. SPC Mitchell was an M.P. in the US Army. She served well until she went on a deployment to Iraq, where she began to have serious issues of conscience. After significant reflection and inner turmoil, she applied for C.O. (conscientious objector) status. The coming months were hard, in that she faced significant harassment for applying, but she prevailed. She was granted 1-A-0 conscientious objector status, which meant that she would continue to serve in the military but in a non-combatant status.
Living as a conscientious objector in the U.S. Army proved to be nearly impossible. SPC Mitchell was not assigned to a new M.O.S. (military occupational specialty), but instead remained as an M.P. She no longer carried a weapon but otherwise had to function as an M.P. So when personal problems arose in her life (something that happens to many soldiers), the emotional strain and stress became too much and she went AWOL.
Upon return to her unit, SPC Mitchell did her best to be a good soldier. In many cases, combat veterans who go AWOL and return voluntarily are not prosecuted, but this did not happen to SPC Mitchell. Her command rejected our request for her to be given a chapter 10 discharge in lieu of court-martial, and instead she was given a summary court-martial.
How you can help SPC Mitchell get an early release from the stockade:
Over the next few days I will be preparing a 1105 clemency application for SPC Mitchell. In this clemency application, I will be asking the convening authority (a high-level officer in her command chain) to suspend the remainder of Nicole’s sentence.
As part of this 1105 clemency application we are asking supporters and friends of Nicole Mitchell to write letters urging the convening authority to act on Nicole’s behalf.
Here is a sample of what a supporting letter could look like (but please reword it as you see fit so it will be in your own words):To whom it may concern:Also if you know Nicole personally and/or are a US military veteran, please be sure to mention that in your letter.
I am writing on behalf of SPC Nicole Mitchell, who was sentenced to 30 days in jail on May 19, 2010 for the offense of AWOL.
I understand that you have the power to suspend the remainder of her sentence. I would ask you to do this because.1. Character - SPC Mitchell took the courageous step of applying for conscientious objector status while in Iraq. She suffered harassment and derision for doing this, but she held her ground. And after receiving C.O. status, she did her best to do her duties within the boundaries of her conscience and the regulations for as long as she was able to.
2. Fairness - Most soldiers who go AWOL do not receive jail time, but rather are either given non-judicial punishment (article 15) or are chaptered out of the Army.
3. Rehabilitation - SPC Mitchell is a gifted musician who will do her best to make the world a better place. The sooner she is released from the prison, the sooner she can be about her life’s work.
Respectfully,
YOUR NAME HERE
YOUR CONTACT INFO HERE
Due to time constraints, your letter will need to be either faxed or emailed to me.
Faxes can be sent to me at: 1-866-757-8785.
Emails can be sent to girightslawyer(at)gmail(dot)com (but please put NICOLE MITCHELL in the subject line, so your email won’t get lost in the shuffle).-thanks to Courage To Resist
All letters must be received no later than Sunday, May 23rd.
Other ways you can help:
We do not know yet what jail Nicole is being sent to, but as soon we do I’ll post her mailing address here.
We trust that Nicole will be treated well while in jail, but if she is not I may ask for you letters to be sent to the jail by the public. I’ll keep folks advised if this is necessary. More information on the situation will soon also be posted at CoffeeStrong.org
As Laura puts it, "It's Crunch Time for Bill C-440".It’s crunch time in our fight to win asylum for U.S. Iraq War resisters. Everything we’ve been working for for the past six years is now coming to a head.
On May 25, Bill C-440 – which calls on the government to stop deporting U.S. war resisters and to allow them to become permanent residents of Canada – will begin second reading in the House of Commons. We are working doggedly to ensure that C-440 is passed.During that time, we expect decisions on several war resisters’ cases. The Harper Government continues to target war resisters, so we are preparing for the possibility of having to organize emergency mobilizations this summer in the event of any deportation orders.
A victory for US War Resisters in Canada will be a major victory for peace and justice.If the GI resisters can find refuge in Canada, the soldiers will have an outlet other than jail. The current situation for War Resisters in Canada is tenuous. We need to find a solution that doesn't come with imminent jail time. These men and women have made a huge decision to not participate in the occupations any longer.
The event will be featuring:
-noted blogger and American expatriate, Laura Kamminker
-Michele Robidoux of the Toronto based War Resisters Support Campaign
-Vietnam-era Draft Resister Charlie Diamond
-and Progressive Film maker, Alex Lisman, who will be showing his new film, "War Resisters Speak Out!"
| |
Date:
Friday, June 4, 2010
Time:
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:
HallWalls Contermporary Arts Center
Street:
341 Delaware Avenue
City/Town:
Buffalo, NY
This Friday, the Berkeley Arts Festival and Courage to Resist presents Berkeley C.O. and War Resisters' Film Night featuring "Soldiers of Conscience", a film by Berkeley directors Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan. Discussion of current GI resistance following the screening. Event starts at 7:30 PM, Judah L. Magnes Museum at 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley CA. Free admission.
Then Saturday morning, celebrate the 4th Annual Berkeley C.O. and War Resisters' Day on International Conscientious Objectors' Day. After a few words, we'll raise a Peace Flag at 11:00 AM, Civic Center flagpole at 2180 Milvia Street. Afterwards, a second Peace Flag will be raised at Civic Center Park, 2151 MLK, Jr. Way, Berkeley. With war resisters from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Sponsored by City of Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission. Endorsed by War Resisters League-West and Courage to Resist. Free event.
Sunday 09 May 2010
by: Eileen Fleming, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed
(Photo: cromacom / flickr)
The genesis of Mother's Day in the USA began when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community. And 15 years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist and author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace.
As mothers bear the loss of human life more acutely than anyone else, in 1870, Julia Ward Howe wrote the first "Mother's Day Proclamation," from which I excerpt:
Arise then ... women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.
Blood does not wipe our dishonor; nor violence indicate possession. At the summons of war let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace;
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar;
But of God.
In the 21st century, patriarchal "civilization" persists in the insanity of violence for violence, and Caesar today can be understood as the government industrial military security/surveillance complex, which could collapse when enough of "we, the people" rose up and confronted our "leaders" and demanded they change course from state-sponsored violence to dialoguing with our "enemy" and to seek justice as the way to peace.
We, the people, in America are responsible for most of the world's manufacturing, use of and exporting of weapons of all degrees of destruction, which terrorize every innocent caught in the crossfire.
In 1999, the UN dedicated the first decade of the 21st century to create a culture of nonviolence for all children of the world.
America abstained from voting on the 1999 initiative of the United Nations to dedicate a decade of creating a culture of peace and nonviolence for the children of the world. I also learned that America is on the record in the UN as stating: "We cannot support this initiative as it will make it harder for us to wage war."
The hearts and minds that require the most transformation are the ones that hold the most power; but power never gives any away without a fierce battle.
Forty years ago, John Lennon noted:
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends ... I believe that as soon as people want peace in the world they can have it. The only trouble is they are not aware they can get it."
On July 4, 1776, our founding father's upheld:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights [and] that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men [and women], deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it." -The Declaration of Independence.
In December 2005, I attended the Holy Land Trust's Celebrating Nonviolent Solidarity Conference in the Little Town of Bethlehem: Occupied Territory.
During that 2005 conference in the little town of Bethlehem: Occupied Territory, American Israeli and founder of Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Jeff Halper, spoke about how we all need to look at life as a play and it is up to the individual to claim a part and when enough "actors" pursue justice and remain nonviolent, "Caesar" will be forced to acquiesce in order to maintain power.
Also during that conference, Anglican Rev. Naim Ateek, a Palestinian refugee and founder of SABEEL [http://sabeel.org] Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, spoke about how the use of state-sponsored violence corrupted the true message of Christ.
Ateek explained how Christ's teachings and life reflected the revolutionary concept of nonviolent action, and how thousands of years of not reflecting upon the fact that evil can be opposed without being mirrored, and the cycle of a "tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye," never has, never will, never can bring true peace or security.
Christ taught that one must forgive and love one's enemies, and one must pray for those who persecute and hate them. In a nutshell, that is what being a Christian is truly about.
Before the reign of Emperor Constantine, all the early church fathers taught that Christians should not serve in the Army, but instead, willingly suffer rather than inflict harm on any other human being. Saint Paul taught that the only way to resist evil is with good. Clement, Tertillian, Polycarp, and every other early church father taught that violence contradicts Christianity.
In 313, Constantine sought to unite his empire by legitimizing Christianity - although he waited until on his dearth bed to be baptized - many have said that was when the soul left the church. Within 100 years after Constantine, the Empire required that all soldiers in the Army must be baptized as Christians and, thus, the decline of Christianity began.
Augustine was the first church father to speak about the concept of a "Just War." The Church relaxed the standards Jesus set as they negated the true teaching of Christ to justify war, and, thus, wrong became right, for a true Christian will always be nonviolent.
"The God of war, violence, oppression and terror must be rejected. Authentic Christianity is nonviolent and is all about peace, justice and liberation." -Rev. Naim Ateek.
Candidate George W. Bush once claimed his favorite philosopher was Jesus, but President Bush and his supporters defied the philosophy, ethics, morals and teaching of Jesus, who was explicit that one must forgive, pray and love one's enemies, not bomb, torture or occupy them.
The problem is not with Christianity, but that too few who claim to be Christian have actually done what Christ taught. Christians claim to comprehend that God is love and "Love is not the starving of whole populations. Love is not the bombardment of open cities. Love is not killing ... Our manifesto is the Sermon on the Mount, which means that we will try to be peacemakers." -Dorothy Day
Also at the Bethlehem conference, Dr. Mohamed Abu-Nimer from the Salam Institute of Peace and Justice stated, "All the Abrahamic traditions are based in nonviolence, it is our lenses that determine whether we see it. Like Christianity the concept of a Just War took root and developed after lots of discussions dealing with how to deal with believers and nonbelievers.
"The first twelve years Mohamed spent in Mecca he practiced nonviolent resistance. He was persecuted but always prayed: 'God forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.'
"Mohamed taught against the killing of innocents, the desecration of the environment and for the humane treatment and respect towards one's enemies. Suicide bombings are not justified and those who try to justify it negate the early principals and teachings regarding nonviolence, the pursuit of justice, doing good, universality and human dignity, equality, that all life is sacred, to be forgiving and be a peace maker."
As with Christianity, the ideals have yet to transform the hearts and minds of many followers. In explaining this gap Dr. Abu-Nimer continued, "We are quick to blame the external factors such as colonialism, war, humiliation, Zionism and economic dependency. But what we lack is looking internally for we Muslims love authority, bureaucracy, loyalty and our core government system is based on nepotism not ability. There is corruption, co-optation of religious leaders, the patriarchal structure and hierarchy, the authoritarian control system and the tribal mentality.
"We are not raised in our culture to question authority and if you engage in nonviolence you must resist authority. Our first step is to challenge our own presumptions ... We have 5,000 sayings attributed to Mohamed and 700 authentically traced. The politicalization of his teachings began the corruption of his teachings.
"Every Muslim child is exposed to positive values as well as interpretations that are narrow and exclusive. An example is: 'We are the best nation that God sent to people.' If we truly follow the ideals of Islam, we are, but reality is that the ideals have been corrupted by wrong actions.
"Many interpret the saying: 'Support your brother if he is just, right or wrong' to mean you must be loyal regardless of his actions and don't ask questions. The true way to support one's brother [or tribe] is to point out the error of his [their] ways; to explain to him why he is wrong, to correct but not fight."
Saint Paul expressed the same sentiment: "Do not judge the nonbeliever, but provoke one another to good works."
Dr. Abu-Nimer concluded, "Islam was revolutionary at its time but it went backwards. There is no lack of values; the lack is in interpretation ... Islam must reclaim what Mohamed put down. It is a myth to believe that the conflict between Israel Palestine can be fixed by secular methods."
Gandhi spoke about how personal nonviolence is not much use to society until one weds society to political action. It is not enough to speak TRUTH to power because power doesn't care; but history proves that the most hopeless situations all of a sudden just changed for the better because forces for justice had persisted with truth on their side.
Peace is a verb; it is who you are and what you do:
Arise then, from the voice of a devastated Earth,
With a voice in solidarity that demands Disarm! Disarm!
For the sword of murder is not the balance of justice.
And blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
Let all people of good will and of conscience bewail and commemorate the dead,
And may the great human family in nonviolent solidarity live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress,
NOT of Caesar;
But of God,
And Know This:
Over 1,366,350 Iraqi's will never see their mothers again due to the US invasion upon them. [1]
Military personnel who were sent to Iraq and whose mothers will never see them again has been officially acknowledged at over 4,715. Over 1,747, have also been slaughtered in Afghanistan as of this writing. [2]
American taxpayers have paid over $990, 800,000,000.00 to make war in Iraq and Afghanistan as of this writing. [3]
The Costs to American Taxpayers to sustain the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict tops $3 trillion as of this writing. [4]
Only in Solidarity do "we have it in our power to begin the world again." -Tom Paine
1. http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq
2. http://icasualties.org/
3. http://www.costofwar.com/
4. http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/stauffer.html
-thanks to truthout
From the 26th of March until the 9th of April I was lucky to be a part of a veterans delegation to Vietnam in order to do research in preparation for an upcoming push for legislation to alleviate the suffering of the people of Vietnam that has plagued them since we first started using agent orange in 1961.Vietnam may seem an odd place for an Iraq vet whose parents had not even met when the last US forces retreated in defeat hanging from helicopters, but somehow I was the perfect piece to complete a very complicated puzzle. You see there are many connections to be made between the two wars but I was there because both were toxic battlefields that left veteran and civilian alike scared for many generations.In the late 1960s and early 1970s it was not conservative veterans groups who were talking about the effects of agent orange (more specifically dioxin but for common understanding I will simply use AO as my reference), it was VVAW and CCI. As much as revisionists would love to write antiwar veterans from history or minimize them as a small force (as they are trying today with IVAW) the reality is that while the VFW would not allow Vietnam veterans to join their ranks antiwar vets were creating a new generation of leaders. These brave souls were the ones to first paint the words agent orange kills our soldiers on banners.
One of these young leaders would leave to form VVA but his roots are undeniably with VVAW. It is from the work of antiwar veterans that any compensation for AO has been granted. Thus it must again be antiwar vets that take up their banners and fight for compensation for the now three generations of survivors who have lived 35 years in a toxic battlefield that Americans have long since forgotten.
I was amazed to see veterans of both sides share war stories as easily as stories of their children, most of whom are many years my elder. These vets also share diseases that are just as much the legacy of Vietnam as is that black mirrored wall on the north west side of our national mall, just to the left of Lincoln's feet.
My thoughts often wandered forward in time to the day when I would go to Iraq. When I would meet with my former foe. When I would help press my government to take responsibility and provide relief for the toxic battlefield we have been creating since the first gulf war. That day will come and I hope soon. As our troops slowly withdraw from this illegal nightmare we were thrown into it is now up to my generation of veteran to speak loudly, or yell if we must that;Depleted uranium is killing our soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan.
We must fight for compensation and treatment before thousands die from DU as they did from AO. We must link our struggle for justice with that of those left alive in the toxic battlefields that we are now slowly pulling out of.
If not for the power of the antiwar movement shock and awe would have been genocidal in scale. If not for us Obama would not sit in the oval office. If not for us our troops would see no light at the end of the tunnel. And if we stop now then justice for our veterans and for those who will continue their lives in Iraq & Afghanistan will never be reached.
I'm proud of my trip and I am proud of the work done by VVAW, VFP, and IVAW. I am proud that while some spend their time protesting antiwar veterans, we the antiwar veterans are hard at work for peace and justice for all.
Today at a high school in San Leandro, CA: 100 students at the social justice academy (a program within the larger public school) heard Emma, Matthis and Robin Long present We Are Not Your Soldiers. 2-3 classes came, brought by their teachers. The school is extremely diverse: white, Latino, Black and Asian. Some of the students are already doing projects about military recruiting. One of the students researched, and found that this high school is the most heavily recruited from school in the Bay Area. Other students were already working on a “counter-propaganda” campaign within the school against military recruitment using posters.
Emma spoke, then Matthis and Robin spoke. Then they showed the Wikileaks video. One young woman started crying, saying her dad was in the military and she wanted to join but now she didn’t want to. Matthis had asked a question and this young woman raised her hand and said, “My dad was probably in a helicopter like that killing children. Maybe he had to do that to survive. Maybe if he was a stronger person and refused to do those things maybe he would have been killed.” Others pointed out that the soldiers in the video didn’t have to kill people to survive in that helicopter – it was obviously not in self-defense. A number of students actually said they changed their minds after hearing from Emma, Matthis and Robin about joining the military.
Robin Long, another Iraq Veteran against the war who recently spent a year in prison for refusing to fight in Iraq joined in, saying a few things about his experience – going to Canada, getting deported, getting court martialed. It made a big impression the students and the teachers. When they were brainstorming about things that the students could do, some people raised questions about whether there would be repercussions- would they get in trouble? Other people pointed out that Robin Long had been in prison for a year and this put the potential repercussions the students might face into perspective. A lot of students wanted to get involved… this is controversial at the school since not all the teachers/administrators are against the war. In the course of the event, some of the students left the room and came back with a Marine recruiting poster from elsewhere in the school. They took it in front of the room and ripped it apart, demonstrating how they felt about the whole enterprise in a really dramatic way. The rest of the students were transfixed, but one of the teachers said you can’t just do that. So the other students responded in support of the action, arguing that the teachers should also support this kind of righteous action.
Matthis asked students if the Wikileaks footage looked like a combat zone – they answered “no” of course. He talked about being trained to shot people dressed as civilians, revealing this whole view towards the people of the Middle East. One of the students said “here, if you murder someone you get 25-life but these soldiers are getting away with it over there.” Matthis said these soldiers are committing war crimes and he doesn’t want to be thanked as a “hero” for committing war crimes. Then he introduced Robin Long as a real war hero, someone who has been through a lot, and deserves to be thanked more than anyone. He talked about being in the military as a form of torture. They break you down to build you back up. Then they try to buy you. But no amount of money can make this torture worth it. It feels like being a slave. What do they charge you with if you try to commit suicide? Destruction of property; as if they literally own you. When he burned the U.S. flag in Washington, DC this past March 20th, he said the flag is a symbol of slavery.
Many of the students had friends who were already in the military. One young woman said her friend was scared because a rape happened on her base. Another said his friend in the air force told him he was in the military because, “I need to kill people.” She responded, “You’ll be killing children,“ and he came back with, “they deserve to die because they attacked us on 9/11.”
When Emma asked the students what they thought caused the war, a number of students said imperialism. This is definitely because at least one of their teachers has made a positive impact on them. He uses “A People’s History of the United States” in his classes and also talks about the present day wars. Another example of the power and importance of courageous truth-telling teachers.
Tomorrow, LA and Santa Barbara!
Banners dropped in Grand Central Station May 3. Photo by Ellen Davidson
Twenty-two activists were arrested May 3 at Grand Central Station for dropping banners off the balconies of the main hall and staging a die-in.-thanks to Indymedia
Organized by the War Resisters League, the action declared Grand Central a nuclear weapons-free zone and called for disarmament here in the United States first. Wearing t-shirts that said “No Nukes Begin with U.S.,” the protesters handed out thousands of leaflets to rush-hour commuters and circled the information booth with a picket with large signs shaped like skulls with the names of all the nuclear-armed nations. Participants came from around the country and the world; they were in New York for actions relating to the Nuclear Non-Profileration Review Conference. [SEE MORE HERE]
by Nathan Schneider | May 3, 2010As the United Nations’ Nuclear Non-Proliferation Conference was beginning just a few blocks away, activists came to New York City’s Grand Central Station this rainy morning to take a stand for real and rapid nuclear disarmament. The direct action followed a weekend of talks, workshops, and actions led by the War Resisters League. A handful of protesters were arrested by police for taking part in a die-in on the floor of the station with signs in their hands. [SEE MORE HERE]-thanks to Waging Nonviolence
Wikileaks - Ethan McCord
It was July 12th, 2007. American soldiers were on a mission in Iraq. Even in an arena of war... it is one that has now become infamous for its brutality. It was an attack by U.S. Apache helicopters, no one has an exact count but it appeared to have killed 12 iraqis including two employees of the Reuters news agency, and an unarmed man who drove up in a van and tried to rescue the wounded. The American fire also injured two children.
A classified US military video was made public this month by the whisteblowing website Wikileaks. The video was shocking to a public that rarely gets such first-hand glimpses of war. But no one was perhaps more shocked by it than Ethan McCord. That's because he was in that video. Ethan McCord was an army specialist, deployed to Iraq between April and November 2007. He is the co-author of An Open Letter of Reconciliation and Responsibility to the Iraqi People. He was in Wichita, Kansas.
You can watch the video we've been speaking about at wikileaks.org.
-thanks to We Move To Canada and the Current
