tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123173922024-03-07T16:03:03.412-06:00VETSPEAK.org...Speaking Truth To Power...Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.comBlogger242125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-82792727521768283912017-12-04T11:51:00.001-06:002018-11-15T16:18:09.536-06:00After Action Report: SOA Watch Encuentro Fronterizo 11/11/2017 Nogales Az y Sonora, Mex<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Willie Hager</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Managing Editor</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkNwD-Q42wfw14lPKus51XPWwRIvC5cotExkQ9yRDiQUiWCak1ix2jOHK3orT3jg1o4SQsRJzALVJTtFHCaOqeweh3XpLAdwcsL6HZPrteRmNuZ6NrnEezCvKR4pYgdhzb5Nb/s1600/VFP+Banner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkNwD-Q42wfw14lPKus51XPWwRIvC5cotExkQ9yRDiQUiWCak1ix2jOHK3orT3jg1o4SQsRJzALVJTtFHCaOqeweh3XpLAdwcsL6HZPrteRmNuZ6NrnEezCvKR4pYgdhzb5Nb/s400/VFP+Banner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nogales, Az y Sonora, Mex, 11/10 - 11/11, 2017 - As the <a href="https://www.veteransforpeace.org/files/1414/6600/7337/VFP_BOD_Meeting_April_2016.pdf">Veterans For Peace (VFP) National Deported Veterans Advocacy Project</a>, our dedicated mission was to deploy <a href="http://www.veteransforpeace.org/">VFP</a>'s recently Chartered </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mexico chapter, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/VeteransWithoutBorders/">Baja Sgt. Barrios Memorial Chapter 986</a>, from Tijuana to Sonora, and home again. This would entail fundraising for travel, lodging, and meals. So we had a conference call with the VFP National Office and after a healthy discussion, we all mutually agreed that we would do whatever we could to make this mission happen, and become a success. To that end, we were indeed collectively successful, including generous donations from San Diego Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter 091, the VFP National Board, and many others small donors as well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">The greatest challenge for VFP to that success was the fact that the dates for Encuentro 2017 had been changed since last year from mid-October to November 10 - 12. Our chapters participate in Veterans Day (Armistice Day) parades, events, and actions all around the country on November 11. In addition, VFP has a current </span><a href="http://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/position-statements/veterans-peace-calls-everyone-stand-peace-armistice-day/" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: justify;">National Campaign</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;"> to change the name of the day back to the original </span><a href="http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/history-of-veterans-day" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Armistice Day</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">. So, it was immediately recognized that VFP would not have the resources or the members available for this SOAW as they had in over 25 years in the past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br />VFP Sgt. Barrios Memorial Chapter 986 and Allies, Sonora, Mex 11-11-2017, stepped up and presented a very <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: left;">visible VFP presence at Encuentro 2017. While there, the Chapter would supply speakers for both sides of the border. They would also set up a Deported Veterans Workshop on the Sonora Mexico side. They would be joined on the US side by representatives of Veterans For Peace Chapters; 191 - San Diego Ca., 174 - Jax Florida,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: left;"> 170 - Savannah Georgia, 055 - Sante Fe NM, 69 - San Francisco, and the Unified US Deported Veterans, Boulder Co Barracks, among others. It should be noted that our Baja Chapter 986 is also affiliated with Unified US Deported Veterans Baja Barracks, as the VFP Sgt. Barrios Memorial Chapter 986. Maurice Martin, VFP East Bay Chapter 162 and Charter Member of the VFP National Deported Veterans Advocacy Project, was the Operations Coordinator for the travel to and from and coordinating on the ground in Sonora on behalf of Chapter 986. We owe him gratitude for his outstanding efforts on behalf of a successful mission.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">So, on Saturday 11-11-2017 we began to gather early on the steps of the Americana Hotel in Nogales, AZ for a 9 a.m., in order to jump off on time for our second SOAW Veterans For Peace March on, and across the border to interact in music, speeches, and workshops on the Sonora side of the border. Pictured below are the <a href="http://www.valenzuelabrothers.com/">Brothers Valenzuela</a>, Manuel and Valente, representing Boulder Co Barracks of Unified US Deported Veterans, Susan Sandoval - Media Coordinator for the Brothers, and myself - Coordinator Veterans For Peace Deported Veterans Advocacy Project. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">As we approached the border, folks who were going to rally on the US side of the stage turned right to march alongside the US side of the Wall. Manuel Valenzuela continued to march with these folks, as he was to speak on the US side, Valente crossed with us. When we crossed the border, there were over a hundred people who crossed over with us and marched to the stage area on the Sonora side of the Border.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"> Our Deported Veterans speakers were scheduled in to be the final speakers, at 11:45 a.m. When it came time, VFP Chapter 986 and allies mounted the stage together with flags and banners unfurled:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The crowd was fired up after a morning of music and speakers and we were very well received. All I that I saw and heard from the stage was jubilant UNITY, from marchers, musicians, and speakers alike. When we were introduced on stage, Hector Lopez and Robert Vivar shared our introduction, touching on the Chapter mission, and acknowledging the VFP National Reclaim Armistice Day campaign on 11/11/2017. After </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">that introduction; Valente Valenzuela, in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Service_Uniform">ASU Blues</a> - was introduced on Sonora stage and at the same time, his brother <a href="http://www.facebook.com/brothers.valenzuela/videos/vb.100001517875054/1566941463366434/?type=2&theater">Manuel, in his USMC Dress Blues - was introduced on the stage on the US side of the border wall</a>. Valente spoke in Spanish on the Sonora side while Manuel addressed the US crowd in English, simultaneously. What a powerful unifying moment for all who were fortunate enough to be present. More to come on this in upcoming documentary production.</span><br />
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There was one exception to the uplifting spirit of unity; during the march, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">with a Pro-Palestinian group who had taken offense to VFP 986/Unified US Deported Veterans carrying the American flag during the march from the border to the stage, and we could hear them booing as we mounted the stage. For our Deported brother's and sisters, the American Flag is a symbol of their allegiance to America and their demonstration that they are not enemies of the state; but rather were while originally in uniform, champions of the state. Now they are in exile. It is symbolic of their worthiness to return to their home country, and their American families. This was a sign of divisiveness that I had not in any way expected or had encountered at SOAW in the five years that I had attended, either at Ft Benning, Ga or Nogales Encuentro. Our Chapter 986 Coordinators met with them afterward. They listened to the Palestinian groups' reasoning, and in turn, shared their perspective on the topic. I was informed later in the day that they all parted friends as a result of 986's outreach.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">The morning had been both festive and deadly serious. The afternoon was reserved for workshops to be held at a school across the street from the wall in Sonora, just up the street from the stage. Time was growing short as we rounded everybody up and hustled up to the school to set up our Deported Veterans Workshop, in Sonora. When we arrived at the school, our film crew was already there waiting for us. They always seemed to know where to be, while we were still figuring things out. They kept up this pace for two days straight. I suspect after spending a couple of days in her company, that Media Coordinator, Susana Sandoval, had a lot to do with that. Once on site at the school, they filmed the workshop from set up until closing, for their production.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Robert Vivar, Co-Director of Unified US Deported Veterans Resource/Information Center in Tijuana BC was the moderator for our workshop:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Robert Vivar Workshop Moderator welcomes attendees...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Velente Velenzuela, Panelist and Robert Vivar, Moderator</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hector Lopez, Panelist</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Rock Hernandez</span><span style="font-size: small;"> , Panelist</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks to all of our members and allies that marched across the border and attended second Deported Veterans Workshop in Sonora, making it a success for our second year with SOAW Encuentro 2017</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After closing up the workshop, we gathered all of our folks up and headed to the Hotel San Marco, where our veterans and allies from Tijuana were based. There was a restaurant at the hotel, and we decided to gather together for some after action comida and fellowship, before those who had crossed returned to the US side of the border.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After a great lunch together, a few tears, and a lotta hugs; Tommy Griffin, VFP 170 and <br />Member of VFP National Deported Veterans Project Steering Committee and I were on our way back across the border, feeling fired up for the next opportunity to highlight our mission. We will gather again in Tijuana in late January, following the VFP Board meeting in San Diego on the 26th. Now though, Tommy and I loaded up and drove across the border to rest up for our return trip to the East Coast, in the morning...this was the scene with the sun setting in the west, as we crossed back into the US at the Nogales crossing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwbbaEhUTgBxbud8QRtag-UUtpPjQ_YqUJHLWf_8Xd2Esy_GknCLkxXkcbBKJ6y0_Aokuepf7aUz66W9RauP2W2tlfoc5esIvNQ04CCmlD5REFOTjVdhc48KwAhUfpqc4xImM/s1600/IMG_20171111_171004281_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12.8px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwbbaEhUTgBxbud8QRtag-UUtpPjQ_YqUJHLWf_8Xd2Esy_GknCLkxXkcbBKJ6y0_Aokuepf7aUz66W9RauP2W2tlfoc5esIvNQ04CCmlD5REFOTjVdhc48KwAhUfpqc4xImM/s400/IMG_20171111_171004281_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-91649418991894393392017-11-28T16:49:00.000-06:002017-11-28T16:49:21.645-06:00Reflections on 10th Anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, and the Continuing war in Iraq<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Ten Years and Counting in Afghanistan...</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">by <a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">Willie Hager</a></span></div>
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Ten Years and counting in Afghanistan, U.S. troops still bogged down in Iraq after eight years, and a country deeply divided politically, ideologically, and now, even religiously, as a result. What a cluster fuck!</div>
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How did we get here? Well, it wasn't easy; we had to work at it in order to position ourselves to be right back where we were following the Gingrich Revolution in Congress in the early 80s; it isn't just happenstance that we here we are again, caught up in mix of a retro <a href="http://www.shmoop.com/gilded-age/">Gilded Age</a>, and a painful re-emergence of<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTePaF_WS8k&list=FLE738o6AZzvynctr-HdWGGQ&index=1"> Nixonian </a>forces and money creeping back into the halls and back rooms of our government. Forces who still threaten our Bill of Rights and our Constitution. </div>
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I suggest that we are here, back from the future, because we as political and social activists have became complacent and self indulgent following our major victories of the 60s and 70s, to name a just a few; the end of the Vietnam War, the breaking down of racial barriers to voting, and the other civil rights victories of the day, including the end of the Draft, the end of domestic spying and political disruption by the FBI <a href="http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/churchfinalreportIIIa.htm">COINTEL</a> Program, the downfall of Nixon, and the imprisoning of some, but not all, of his thugs. We in fact, recovered our Constitution, and re-instated the proper application of the Bill of Rights to our society. For reflection on what I think happened, I make the case for how the left actually became complacent and politically self indulgent in a piece that I wrote in 2005 entitled "<a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/cracker-swamp-manifesto-by-willie.html">The Cracker Swamp Manifesto</a>". </div>
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But this discussion has more to do with the future, than with the past. We can't know where we're going, if we don't know where we've been A quick look back for reference at what has worked and what has not is called for, whenever doing any kind of strategical planning for the future, whether it is personal or political. None of what I describe above regarding our foreign policy, and the retaking of congress by the Repugs and <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/neoconservative">NEOCONs </a>could have happened, in my considered opinion, if the left hadn't of become a Babylon of minority interest groups fighting among themselves over political power and money. They sold the power of their all important UNITY in exchange for organizational, political, and cause oriented agendas and political careers that ultimately positioned them into being as ineffective as they were prior to the American social and political revolution of the 60s and 70s, as the "whole" morphed into minority special interest groups of society. The big losers? The American people.</div>
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To my way of thinking these groupings became as a whole so distracted and fragmented with<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness#Early_usages"> politically correct</a> self indulgence, that they lost the hearts and minds of the American people. The very hearts and minds (and votes) that that these groups as a grand and unified coalition of ant-war and social and political justice activists had fought so hard for so many years to win. These fragmented groups, not unlike the Repugs and Neocons, and most recently the Teabaggers, turned their backs on all who disagreed with their particular doctrine, whether it be a racial, political, or religious platform. But most importantly, they turned their backs on the American people in favor of their particular constituencies and careers. This dynamic was the birth of political correctness as we have came know it in our country. Prior to this rebirth, here; political correctness had originally a strategy of Mao's Red Guard in the<a href="http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/g387/cr.htm"> Great Leap Forward</a> in China.Here,it's re-birth ultimately became the death knell for all of our efforts and successes of the 60s and 70s.</div>
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In face of all of the above, it is my considered conclusion that this Administration's current strategies aren't going to change until we as a "movement" change our's. Collective GASP!!! I know, I know, this is politically incorrect thinking. But, it is my <a href="http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/suppmat/103chap7.pdf">critical thinking </a>assessment that the current, and now decades old, strategies of the left must take on a new profile. This has to happen if we are to have any hope of success in saving our nation from it's second<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism"> post modern </a> political Dark Age and the continued decline of the age of free thinking, free speech, and Constitutional democracy. </div>
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Here in the 21st century we need to develop our own strategies that are more pragmatic in their direction and application. That is not to say that militancy, fiery rhetoric, and occasionally manning of the barricades, is not critical to this process; it is to say that our militancy has to be more pragmatic than symbolic, our rhetoric based in empirical thinking and objective truth, as well as documentable evidence of that truth. It needs to incorporate clearly defined and realistically achievable demands and goals. Most importantly, it must appeal to more than those of one's particular organization, race, religion, ideology, and/or political party affiliation. it must be designed to democratically find the core issues that are common to all of us and rally around them in unity of purpose, and leave the ideological, racial, organizational, religious, and personal differences at the door. The keys to success in my paradigm are Unity of Purpose and Mission Focus</div>
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We are after all, all in this together; and we cannot succeed without mutual support, and the support and votes of the American people, who, as evidenced by history, we are potentially able to educate to the truth of our anti-war social justice agenda, and how it applies to them as individuals, and as citizens. To my way of thinking, in today's world this is best achieved by speaking <i>with</i> them, rather that <i>at</i> them. They must <i>want</i> to join with us and take action, not be verbally bludgeoned or shamed into it. So it is our responsibility to sort out what they agree with us on, and what they disagree with us on, and act accordingly in incorporating their energy and votes into our struggle. </div>
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My other other major consideration is the diminished impact of "mass" demonstrations and rallies in Washington D.C., where we all go occasionally to "confront" the powers that be on their home turf, and get ourselves arrested , or rather; arrange with the police to<i> let</i> ourselves be arrested, celebrities and authors first, in hope that someone out there in the hinterland will see how truly oppressive our government is to those who dare to speak truth to power, in spite of the fact that the buildings we are confronting are empty, and the mainstream media is in conspicuous absence. It's<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki"> Kabuki Theater</a> rather than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerilla_theate">Guerrilla Theater</a> to me, and in spite of it's repetitiveness nothing ever seems to come out of it, except some great photos and action reports on the underground internet activist blogs, and in the foreign press. </div>
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I can only conclude that the government actually welcomes this activity anymore, since they are much more equipped to deal with then they were, forty years ago. They send everyone home for the day so that they can't be accessed or confronted by the revolutionary forces in the street. They reinforce the police ranks with crowd control trained riot police and ariel surveillance, and everyone gets overtime. Then theythey work closely with civil disobedience organizers </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-4174312251477349142017-11-28T16:45:00.001-06:002017-11-28T16:45:20.252-06:00Stressors from Anonymous...<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Stressors. You don't know you have them til that tripwire gets stepped on.... jezus, I'm still shaking.....</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">I did 20 or so funeral escorts for KIA with the Patriot Guard Riders out of Dago. 5 or 6 a year.... they were all every one different. You would never know a tragedy was driving by but for the growl of all the harleys. A few times it was the family, the military honour guard, and us. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">One time we got a mission that turned out to be a hell of a rainy day, 8 of us showed up at a funeral home in El Cajon. The military honour guard couldn't make it, it fell to us to work out being pall bearers, we found our senior NCO- and old Marine tanker, and he counted cadence low, while we carried the casket out to the hearse for the trip to the cemetery. We went by his ma, white as paper, dad, bewildered, and his young girlfriend, wrapped in a fatigue jacket way to big for her, mascara running black stripes of grief down her young face. That was it. We followed the hearse in the rain, knowing there was someone much colder than we on that run, three people who were more miserable than we could ever know .....</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Always different. Sometimes some of the soldiers squad mates are there, sometimes not. The Cav has its traditions, the Marines, Rangers.... but the families are all the same. But different. Wives holding newborns walked down our line, thanking each of us for honouring her man..... that was rough, that. Mothers, eyes filled with tears, thanking us. Wives. Little sisters. Grandparents.......... strangers cared enough, and understood their senseless loss. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Sometimes we'd meet the planes on the tarmac, and be at attention when the awful reality for families can no longer be denied, and that box with all their hopes and dreams, dead now, gets slid out of the cargo bay. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">One of our regular members lost her own son, and Ive stood across from her in the flag line, watching her struggle and win the fight to keep her composure, and was able to keep mine thereby. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">So I did this again and again, and was starting to ..........get to the edge of my .......sanity. Composure. Ability to maintain, and Tanya got this job in Canada, and I had an honourable way out. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">And while I carried that around, I really had no idea how much of a hole it had eaten in my heart, til about 40 minutes ago, when by chance I came across a movie... "Taking Chance" about a Marine officer and the dead kid he is escorting home.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">I came on it at a scene where the coffin is coming off the plane, no sappy music, no wails of grief, just people standing there, the passengers just realizing what was happening.....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">And I went to pieces. I don't do that. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Stressors. Never know when you'll trip one.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-43120042157795957762013-07-22T18:08:00.000-05:002013-07-22T18:12:11.352-05:00How's The War Economy Working For You? War, you say? What War? The continuing War of Empire, say I...<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Privatize the
Empire</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>By: Michael Orange</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Submitted 7/16/13 to <i>VetSpeak</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With
the patriotic Fourth of July and Memorial Day commemorations of our wars now
behind us, it is also a time to ponder the terrible costs of war. As an
ex-Marine who served in Vietnam, I know of them first hand. I offer a solution
that will halt injuries to our troops and please conservatives: Privatize the
Empire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Conservatives
argue that the private sector is inherently more efficient than the public
sector. Since the Reagan Administration, they have stepped up efforts to
privatize aspects of the traditional “commons”—schools, airports, police and
fire services, parks, the postal service, health care, public works projects, prisons,
etc. War is no exception. Private contractors and mercenaries have consistently
outnumbered US troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. I say outsource them
all so our troops can come home to defend <i>this</i>
country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Obviously,
the government sector is inefficient at waging war. Our war on Iraq resulted in
a devastated corrupted country, hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths,
millions of refugees, trillions of wasted dollars, and death and trauma to our
own troops. One in five Iraqi children dies due to disease, malnutrition, and
unsafe water. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A
private sector cost-benefit analysis would have dismissed
these wars against our enemy—al-Qaida (a private sector entity) as folly from
the start. The vast majority of al-Qaida leaders have been “fired” not
by the gross hammer of our military (which creates enemies faster than they can
kill them) but by the surgical precision of our intelligence services. Years
ago, Mafia kingpins dominated the FBI’s Most Wanted list, but we never invaded
Sicily under the slogan of “We're fighting them there, so we
don't have to fight them here.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
spend more on the military than all other countries combined. If the Pentagon
scaled back to what it needs for actual defense, imagine the savings! It could
sell most of the 737 bases we maintain in foreign countries and have a fire
sale worth trillions in surplus planes, ships, tanks, and explosives—everything
the oil industry, for example, would need to take over the job of securing
their private supply lines. Why waste time on diplomacy when the industry can afford
to buy whatever political influence it needs—just as it does here. I’m sure the
countries that have “our oil under their sand” would prefer to deal with CEOs directly
and avoid the risk of regime change by a fickle public sector middleman like a
US President. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Conservatives
say they hate public subsidies because they create an uneven playing field. The
oil industry is the richest in history yet the most subsidized. Why not eliminate
their dependency on the public dole and unleash their gung ho competitive
spirit in their own defense. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Conservative
journalist, Eric Margolis, writes of bin Laden, al-Qaida’s CEO, “He repeatedly
asserted that the only way to drive the U.S. from the Muslim world and defeat
its satraps was by drawing Americans into a series of small but expensive wars
that would ultimately bankrupt them. [We] ... rushed right into bin Laden’s
trap.” So let’s get out! Privatize before they further radicalize. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
hundreds of thousands of troops eligible for benefits already overwhelm our VA
hospitals. The <i>Army Times</i> reported
that, on average, 31 veterans a day try to kill themselves and 22 of them
succeed—a suicide every 65 minutes. Over the past few years, more troops have
died by their own hands than on our two main battlefields. Let’s privatize
before more troops are traumatized. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
already privatized our elections and Congress. Why not the Empire?</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a Marine in Vietnam, <span class="il">Michael</span> Orange experienced combat in numerous search-and-destroy missions and patrols during his tour of duty (1969-70). In 2001, he published a memoir of his experiences, <i><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFire-Hole-A-Mortarman-Vietnam%2Fdp%2F0595160034&ei=qrPtUbq6D4zs8gScj4Bg&usg=AFQjCNFk-frGQF7yFlm5P43UqEVM_uNG0Q&sig2=xQCxdVEknehWxPA0mxxsTw&bvm=bv.49478099,d.eWU">Fire in theHole: A Mortarman in Vietnam</a></i>. <span class="il">He</span> teaches a class on the history of the Vietnam War at venues including the University of Minnesota's Compleat Scholar Program.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">www.VetSpeak.org</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-54825829920242995322013-07-04T13:38:00.000-05:002013-07-04T13:38:45.536-05:00After Action Report: Veterans For Peace 2013 Vietnam Tour<div align="center" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 14.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">VIET NAM REVISITED</span></b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tnNEmhyB-Vr06pRHzG1-SvbMLWowzCxZ1mtGB9178DSowvsOGmfuiLH5kkkKPJcCtDKjYMjm1pWSkAYWzlOFJjzVlR3I4Zkhe1g8pKWakJZRqcyoXH8MN07Fgl8R5ou0Ax2l/s720/Vietnam+Tour.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tnNEmhyB-Vr06pRHzG1-SvbMLWowzCxZ1mtGB9178DSowvsOGmfuiLH5kkkKPJcCtDKjYMjm1pWSkAYWzlOFJjzVlR3I4Zkhe1g8pKWakJZRqcyoXH8MN07Fgl8R5ou0Ax2l/s320/Vietnam+Tour.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Veterans For Piece Tour 2013<br /><a href="http://hivow.org/?page_id=299">Click here for more Tour photos and in-country activities</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">By<a href="http://vfp-vn.ning.com/profile/gaylehodges"> Gayle Hodges</a></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt;">RVN 1966-67</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Everyone has their story;
it is unique only to them. It is the combination of many experiences that make them
who they are today and what they will be tomorrow. I traveled recently with a
group of thirteen Americans to Viet Nam on a journey organized by Veterans for
Peace, Chapter 160; some of the group was returning and some were visiting for
the first time. There were teachers, writers, a lawyer, nurses, wives, a flight
attendant, and veterans. We each made a $1,000 donation to be divided among
different causes in Viet Nam to be decided by us at the flight attendant for
Braniff International based out of Travis Air Force Base near Fairfield, CA. I
was given the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Air Force and flew on planes
carrying troops to Viet Nam by way of Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, Japan, and
Okinawa. We would drop them in Saigon, Da Nang, or Cam Ranh Bay stay an hour to
refuel and bring the returning troops home. On the flights over the GIs’ would
be full of themselves and ready to kick butt. But the return was a quiet end of
our journey. We each had our reasons for going and we each had life changing
experiences that will remain with us. I was going for a very selfish reason. My
husband had died on April 19, 2012, and I would be in Viet Nam on this one year
anniversary of his death accomplishing something good in his name. This is my
story. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">In 1966-67 I was a flight
attendant for Braniff International based out of Travis AFB, near Fairfield, Ca.
I was given the rank of <span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Second Lieutenant in the Air Force and flew on planes carrying
troops to Viet Nam by way of Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, Japan, and Okinawa. We
would drop them in Saigon, Da Nang, or Cam Ranh Bay stay an hour to refuel and
bring the returning troops home. On the flights over the GIs’ would be full of
themselves and ready to kick butt. But the return was quiet.</span></span>My
guess; they just couldn’t believe they were really going home. Little did I
realize this airplane was the start of a nightmare for these young men and
women and that I was part of it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">The Viet Nam war was the
loss of innocence. I thought as so many others did that I was doing a service
for my country by volunteering to move to California and fly troops overseas. I
was shielded by the horrors of war because I never stayed in Viet Nam, and I
never brought the wounded home. I was only guaranteed 72 hours off between
trips in the United States so scheduling would keep us out of the country
flying. I never watched the news on TV in English, there was no CNN at the
time, so I was unaware of the protests against the war. On the return flight
the soldiers were so happy to see a round eye they treated us as goddesses. The
flight crews were having a blast, seeing exotic places, eating strange foods,
and partying like crazy. This moment in time is when I learned to drink
alcohol, discovered birth control pills, but it was also the start of a new
belief system that has stayed with me and has guided my life. No longer did I
believe that you had to be baptized or be a Christian to go to heaven. I
witnessed in these strange countries other religions just as holy as the
religions in the United States so I became more tolerant of others and their
belief systems and to treat others with respect and honor. Later in life I was
lucky enough to find a partner that shared my beliefs and we spent the last
fifteen years trying to make a difference in our community. When the trip to
Viet Nam with Veterans for Peace presented me with an opportunity to make a
difference for this country I could not wait to go and with the hope of a new
direction in my life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Upon arriving in Hanoi we
had the pleasure of meeting our hosts, members of Veterans for Peace Chapter
160, Chuck Searcy, Don Blackburn, Manus Campbell, and later during the trip
Chuck Palazzo and Mike Cull would join us. These men have chosen to return to
Viet Nam and have dedicated their lives to working with victims of Agent Orange
and unexploded ordnance (UXO). All of us though would consider our hero to be
the incredible tour guide Truc who kept us on track, kept our luggage from
being lost, and rescuing us from what could have been disasters. The code word
in crossing a street was “Safety in Numbers.” When we stepped off the plane it
became a whirl wind of action with every moment and meal planned and eaten. Our
first stop was a quick shower at the hotel and then three meetings; one right
after the other.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">We presented our
credentials to VAVN, Veterans Association of Viet Nam, second former Ambassador
to the US, Nguyen Tam Chien and Bui Van Nghi representing Vietnam Union of
Friendship Organization, our third meeting was at the American Embassy with
Ambassador Shear. Chuck Searcy was our representative at these meetings and
most of the other meetings on the trip. I cannot state how special I felt to be
a part of this group of people. It was requested at these meetings that we be
allowed to witness the cleanup of Agent Orange at Da Nang Airport which was
eventually granted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">In Hanoi I was touched by
the courage shown at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum where women are honored for
their commitment to their country. I was humbled by the simple life of Ho Chi
Minh and his dream for freedom for his country, enlightened and stressed by
learning the horrors of Agent Orange. We spent an afternoon visiting Friendship
Village, envisioned and founded by the late Viet Nam veteran George Mizo and
now supported by former veterans and several countries. I met Mr. Long who is
the size of an eight-year-old who teaches computer skills to students suffering
from Agent Orange. We visited class-rooms where they were teaching children and
adults’ subjects to survive and support themselves in their world with their
many disabilities. You wanted to hold and comfort each one as your heart was
breaking knowing that our government dropped this horrible poison causing such
grief. From 1961 to 1971 80 million liters of toxic chemicals such as Agent
Orange containing Dioxin was sprayed on the jungles of Vietnam causing
unprecedented disaster to humans and nature. It is now in its fourth generation
of causing birth defects.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">I was honored to witness
the veterans of both sides of this war meet each other for the first time with
no malice or anger. I watched a North Vietnamese veteran take one of his
medals’ off, prick his finger, place a drop of blood on Chuck Searcy’s shirt
and then he pinned it on Chuck and shook his hand. They looked each other in
the eye with only goodwill. This was the beginning when I felt a shift in the
atmosphere and a sense the nightmares were just beginning to fade as each of us
were confronting the past.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">We flew out of Hanoi and
took an airplane to Da Nang. Forty-five years does make a difference since I
was there, a modern airport with a lobby and jet ways, but off in the distance
you could still see the Quonset huts where we landed years ago. Da Nang
Airport, Bien Hoa, and Phu Cat have been identified as hot spots for Agent
Orange. When an aircraft would take off with their load of Agent Orange, spray
their target, and then it would return dumping any excess into the lakes and
fields that were surrounding the airport. The locals would eat the fish and
animals that lived in the areas changing their DNA, producing children which
would be born with birth defects. According to the LA Times May of 2013,
the government has now said all military on the ground in Viet Nam may be
affected by Agent Orange. USAID from the American People and Viet Nam are
spending over $80,000,000 to clean up the land surrounding this airport. They
are building a giant oven pyramid to cook the contaminated earth which will
then be safe to use in construction projects, but will not have the nutrients
to grow food. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">While in this area we
visited the towns of Hue, Dong Ha, DMZ area, Quang Tri, A Luoi, Hoi An, tunnels
of Vinh Moc, and the cemetery Truong Son National Cemetery. We met with many
incredible organizations Hearts for Hue, Project Renew, VAVA, and DAVA. All are
doing work that is so important such as micro financing of cat fish, cattle,
pigs, mushrooms farms and furniture factory helping victims of Agent Orange and
unexploded ordnances. After the war, Viet Nam has: 600,000 tons of bombs left
behind, 6.6 million hectors of land area contaminated with bombs and
explosives, 9,284 communes polluted by bombs and explosives. People killed and
wounded by bombs or explosives from 1975 – 2002: 42,135 people killed and
62,143 people wounded. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I discovered I knew
the couple from Palm Springs, CA who sponsored the Mine Action Visitor Center
in the middle of the jungle at Quang Tri, Steve Nichols and Sally Benson. This
center helps to educate the children and locals on what not to touch or play
with while out in the fields. We were able to join a retired colonel from
Project Renew as his team searched for ordnances with plans to return the land
to the community, free of explosives in order to farm. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">As we traveled in some
areas, our veterans who were with us faced their return to old battle grounds;
you could feel the emotions that they were going through. We returned to a
bridge that Chris Jamison had fought to guard, an airfield where Mike Kerber
was based, and shared with them their amazement at the return of civilization.
You felt their relief as we saw the greenery of the jungle and communities
happy with their lives. Once again you had a sense of old nightmares beginning
to fade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 6pt; min-height: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">During this period of time
we had Drew Brown and his companion join us. We hit the jack pot; Drew just
arrived from Afghanistan, being a war correspondent since we invaded Iraq and
Afghanistan, he shared with us his experiences and his knowledge of today’s war
and the question was - is it still the same? Yes, we are leaving
explosive ordnances in these countries also affecting the future of these
countries and their citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 6pt; min-height: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">We land at Cam Ranh Bay on
April 28<sup>th</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and it is
still as beautiful as I remembered. We take a short ride into Nha Trang where
we are guests of Mike Hull and Don Blackburn as this is where they live and
teach. Nha Trang is being groomed to be the paradise resort for Russia. Signs
are printed in Vietnamese and the Russian for the future tourists. The march of
the resorts buying up the beaches from the north to the south of Viet Nam
barring the locals from their own natural resources is the same all over the
world – follow the money and it is always King.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 6pt; min-height: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">We have not forgotten our
purpose and have once again presented our credentials to VAVA and the Vietnam
Advanced Education Center. As their guests we visited a family with two sisters
with dire disabilities of Agent Orange. They were born normal but by the age of
12 their bones began to crumble; being unable to support their own torso they
crawl everywhere they need to go. The sad part is in their 30’s they have the
same dreams of any normal young women, writing their hopes in dairies caught in
bodies broken by Agent Orange. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 6pt; min-height: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Our journey is coming to a
close as we fly into Saigon the airport I flew into so many times with so many
young soldiers. I loved Saigon it is still the Paris of the Orient – lovely. We
attended the War Remnants Museum where nightmares are stored. This museum is
not for the fainthearted as it houses displays of prisons, weapons and
photographs from both the French and the American Wars. I am happy we started
in Hanoi first and witnessed the healing of this country as we made our way
south leaving the memories to the past for I am filled with shame for what we
did to this country in the name of power. I am amazed that they welcome us to
their country with forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 6pt; min-height: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">I have never met Mother Teresa
but I met my Mother Teresa; Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Tan and her assistant Dr. Ta
Thi Chung of Tu Du Hospital. The hospital will deliver 60,000 babies this year
and 500 will be affected by Agent Orange which may or may not leave the
hospital because of many reasons – resources, family, or money. I could feel
her holiness of her gifts to her people and the children just by being in her
presence. She gave up her life in California as a doctor to return to Saigon to
take care of women and children affected by Agent Orange. We visited these
young children and adults locked in the world of pain and problems we cannot
imagine. I was speechless but I was also crying. I went to Dr. Tan and held her
in my arms and thanked her for giving her life to caring for these babies. She
is my saint and I will never forget her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 6pt; min-height: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Heroes come in all sizes
and all colors but the veterans in Viet Nam who are dedicating their lives
making amends for the crimes of this country are giants and the other twelve on
this trip are all my heroes. It was a rough ride but we made it home with hopes
to make a difference in the lives of the people we encountered. I salute
each and every one of you, thank you for being part of my journey and part of
my story. Special thanks go to Nadya Williams for organizing this trip; for
without her skills I don’t think it would have happened, and thanks goes to the
giving heart of Chuck Hodges for giving me the means to following our dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-small;">For more on VFP activites and projects in Vietnam:</span><br />
<a href="http://hivow.org/?page_id=299" style="line-height: 14.25pt;">Veterans For Peace in Vietnam</a><br />
<a href="http://vfp-vn.ning.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;">Hoa Binh Vietnam, VFP Chapter 160</a><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-79548179566230482352013-06-17T16:02:00.000-05:002013-06-18T12:29:48.307-05:00After Action Report: March For Bradley Manning, and opening day of Bradley's Courts Martial at Front Gate of Ft Meade, Md., June 1-3, 2013<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Perspectives on Pfc.
Bradley Manning from an Anti-War Veteran</b></span><o:p></o:p><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>By</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Jim Baldridge, </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">VVAW/OSS & Baltimore VFP </b></div>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMbuaGa96LbF8DYV6U_MjMgSimma2Vk2dy_e9M4ngMxQKEhNsy4-4T43e6ZS07Jmf_wabnduVJLn9pVosoLZxB7T2LNDNaOO_vZqfvOQVfw3ZJ2czRgseRoGmVAa1_wTDMjM3/s1600/945807_10151956152782564_1878119248_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMbuaGa96LbF8DYV6U_MjMgSimma2Vk2dy_e9M4ngMxQKEhNsy4-4T43e6ZS07Jmf_wabnduVJLn9pVosoLZxB7T2LNDNaOO_vZqfvOQVfw3ZJ2czRgseRoGmVAa1_wTDMjM3/s320/945807_10151956152782564_1878119248_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> L to R: Dave Schott - USAF (VFP), Vietnam; Dr. Larry Egbert, US Army (VFP), WWII & Korea; Jim Baldridge,- USN, Vietnam Era (VFP & VVAW/OSS) Photo: Bill Perry </span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwljuNpmG1XEaUgSh8QB5wEx6IwE78Yv9SO8y7Y_geEszp6gRX_7CH1HycdbQ4c0HWDYAodS7mRh9qOzi-YgoP8YAXb6y-gjg15rX8BBaI_4EJnitqGCjEfHjEpudEh9YrFN4R/s1600/Just+off+the+bus+at+Bradley+Manning+June+1st+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwljuNpmG1XEaUgSh8QB5wEx6IwE78Yv9SO8y7Y_geEszp6gRX_7CH1HycdbQ4c0HWDYAodS7mRh9qOzi-YgoP8YAXb6y-gjg15rX8BBaI_4EJnitqGCjEfHjEpudEh9YrFN4R/s200/Just+off+the+bus+at+Bradley+Manning+June+1st+2013.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Many came by bus. Photo: Bill Perry</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: right;">As reported at </span><a href="http://www.bradleymanning.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: right;">www.bradleymanning.org</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: right;"> , nearly 2,000 activists gathered outside the Main
Gate at Ft. Meade Army Post on 1 June to show support for Pfc. Bradley Manning,
whose court-martial trial began on
Monday, 3 June. Veterans from WWII,
Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq--and all times in between our many wars--were
in attendance. Veterans came from all
points of the compass: California,
Michigan, New England, Florida, Louisiana, Washington DC, Maryland, states in
between, and Canada. Members of VVAW/OSS
(Old School Sappers), VFP, IVAW, VVAW, and even some who are members of VFW and
the American Legion were there as well, as were citizens of various political
persuasions: Socialists, Communists, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: right;">Independents, Democrats, Greens, Anarchists and even a few Republicans. The
crowd included students and workers, union members and activists, labor
supporters and retirees. Many had been
supporters of Daniel Ellsberg back in the day because of his release of the
“Pentagon Papers,” my generation’s Bradley Manning and Wikileaks. We still support Elsberg, and as the popular
chant now goes, “WE ARE ALL BRADLEY MANNING.”</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJyLcueTdHv74sEIF3f7dI7DthhDOu5YmldK9cBsCeKt97solal_gUdHRJaFgcZxSKz8DOZIVuAoSv8yVsA4Mxee9uSrhK09azgepRd2kaq6XrYGPbTLwi1PrZxWixAcSQYD9/s1600/971435_10151956170652564_437974378_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJyLcueTdHv74sEIF3f7dI7DthhDOu5YmldK9cBsCeKt97solal_gUdHRJaFgcZxSKz8DOZIVuAoSv8yVsA4Mxee9uSrhK09azgepRd2kaq6XrYGPbTLwi1PrZxWixAcSQYD9/s320/971435_10151956170652564_437974378_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo: Bill Perry</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My perspective on the Bradley
Manning trial, as a Vietnam-era veteran, is that capitalism has once again turned
TRUTH into a victim of imperialist war no matter how it lies to justify it.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo: Bill Perry</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRm0ej5dS9w5BOo322JZzLWFdUaHtf235vk7C9cyJlvi5MsvQTBJAocUweHojtU3lt5UHHtBZZzt1mZYnI0PFL0zERRTYTmAHOKXbDH7KRu0vaqsYOY0HEgjkYk2NhzLEsWQcm/s1600/946951_10151956170822564_913317895_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRm0ej5dS9w5BOo322JZzLWFdUaHtf235vk7C9cyJlvi5MsvQTBJAocUweHojtU3lt5UHHtBZZzt1mZYnI0PFL0zERRTYTmAHOKXbDH7KRu0vaqsYOY0HEgjkYk2NhzLEsWQcm/s200/946951_10151956170822564_913317895_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">VVAW/OSS on the March For Bradley Manning<br />
Photo: Bill Perry</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Manning court martial trial presents challenges to vets. The massive government PR puts out </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">allegations, disinformation and outright myths about what he is alleged to have done, and what he and his defense team are saying in response. Too often veterans are expected to support the official government and Pentagon positions, no matter what, but it ain’t necessarily so! Anti-war vets typically don’t fit this traditional mold, are outspoken, go against the grain and are demonstrative, as we’ve seen at Ft. Meade, </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kent State, Chicago and across the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The main stream media (MSM) is
putting out all the misinformation that the Administration and Pentagon can
come up with, all to minimize support for Manning, but </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">it</u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">isn’t</u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">working</u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Aside from the myths and lies being told by
the MSM about Bradley Manning and what he did or is alleged to have done, as a
Vietnam-era vet I’ve seen the attacks before.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got out in ’69, and the Pentagon Papers hit the streets 14 months
later.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I heard about the release of
the Pentagon Papers I rushed to get to the newsstand because the Papers
validated what I had known to be true for the second half of my four years in
the service.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfFBAQBlYFCtwAFmwFc4nbGtU4g1Hq0HocQLpnJ8eU8KaVKWg5hEFZDW4NHgssF7L41kbM2XJ_F2pk475HcU-LBR4_ZfZh6huJVKO8RwQWVS7kINYB5KuMFLlTxFIimwjkeHx/s1600/Dan'l+Ellsberg+Bradley+Manning+June+1st.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 13px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfFBAQBlYFCtwAFmwFc4nbGtU4g1Hq0HocQLpnJ8eU8KaVKWg5hEFZDW4NHgssF7L41kbM2XJ_F2pk475HcU-LBR4_ZfZh6huJVKO8RwQWVS7kINYB5KuMFLlTxFIimwjkeHx/s200/Dan'l+Ellsberg+Bradley+Manning+June+1st.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan'l Ellsberg of Pentagon papers Fame at Ft Meade for Bradley<br />
Photo: Bill Perry</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many “myths” surround the
whole Wikileaks/ Bradley Manning situation.
I’ll just discuss a few of them.
First, some say that Wikileaks and Manning are “anti-American.” Wikileaks clearly disapproved of our invasion
of Iraq, which is true of two thirds or more of Americans well before we
officially “pulled out.” Does that make the U.S. majority “anti-American?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A second myth is that the
information Pfc. Manning “leaked” to Wikileaks was Top Secret. You wouldn’t know it from media coverage, but
none of the information Manning has been accused of declassifying was Top
Secret. None. Most of it wasn’t classified at all, just
somewhat embarrassing when it was publicly revealed. Even the helicopter gunship video, since called <a href="http://www.collateralmurder.com/">“Collateral Murder</a>", which has been highlighted at home and around the
world. wasn’t classified.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another “myth” that gets
closer to allegations being made against Manning in the military courtroom is
that his leaks have gotten people killed and have damaged U.S. “national
interests.” In the three years since the
release of the Wikileaks documents, there has been no evidence that anyone
other than America’s reputation has been harmed by the leaks. But I doubt that’s what our government is
talking about when it alleges damage to U.S. “national interests.” Rather, the military would have us believe
that in-the-know Americans are what put us at risk, and therefore our <u>lack</u>
of knowledge provides us security. It’s
worth noting that while our government doesn’t want us to know what it’s doing,
in many of these instances people in other countries already know because they
are on the receiving end of it, like death by helicopter gunship, drone and IED’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStuaM2Qq-7mmEEcPdMYZLg9GGmUnZWYyOrrqA67z94gY4oWny3Hk6ESAZBuTDZ0FhwO8y9F7kHtehjkn3wP8gX5M9j532yR2m8SP0_zC41nNBulppba-LKaFMd1jenow6TkD3/s1600/front+gate+ft+meade+opening+day+Bradley+trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStuaM2Qq-7mmEEcPdMYZLg9GGmUnZWYyOrrqA67z94gY4oWny3Hk6ESAZBuTDZ0FhwO8y9F7kHtehjkn3wP8gX5M9j532yR2m8SP0_zC41nNBulppba-LKaFMd1jenow6TkD3/s200/front+gate+ft+meade+opening+day+Bradley+trial.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0sKepPQ1Jl2F3ItJjk4x0CxDbTohJY9Ibm7IxOaYJEEUZJRZrPRu0BmbN_zdSFj3C222Vj5eMvc4lMhMFsNOoZCBqQHDllmSEpi-WGNB7rbE85K8eBSAc9fNdcQIsBV4usyU/s1600/601173_10151956170282564_1205462529_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0sKepPQ1Jl2F3ItJjk4x0CxDbTohJY9Ibm7IxOaYJEEUZJRZrPRu0BmbN_zdSFj3C222Vj5eMvc4lMhMFsNOoZCBqQHDllmSEpi-WGNB7rbE85K8eBSAc9fNdcQIsBV4usyU/s200/601173_10151956170282564_1205462529_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bradley Manning’s trial is
expected to continue for twelve weeks, through the summer. You can be sure that U. S. veterans will
continue to protest at the Main Gate and be vigilant in the military courtroom
to hear what the government and Pentagon are trying to do to Pfc. Bradley
Manning. As vets we object to what is so
often done “in our name,” whether it is torture, invading countries that pose
no threat to us, looking the other way when sexual assault and suicide decimate
the ranks of veterans and active duty, or cover-ups, lies and distortions of
truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAgMUIiT71BRp2KzWXDrQtt5eAgk1-e65luW5Cki9hfCEQR8wwFYo5uW6EnbbHE2a4RWasDSJT3rjgSwZ797PdBHytC-akLk1F1yI9ydJzCg5FM1A6BzeAR4vjgW-MnFda9nd2/s1600/Nicole+G+at+June+1st+Bradley+manning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAgMUIiT71BRp2KzWXDrQtt5eAgk1-e65luW5Cki9hfCEQR8wwFYo5uW6EnbbHE2a4RWasDSJT3rjgSwZ797PdBHytC-akLk1F1yI9ydJzCg5FM1A6BzeAR4vjgW-MnFda9nd2/s200/Nicole+G+at+June+1st+Bradley+manning.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">49er Nicole Guiniling, fresh in from Toronto<br />
Photo: Bill Perry</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A group of 14 American expatriates from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, known as the Toronto 49er's, was </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">represented at Ft Meade by Nicole Guiniling, wife of 49er Jules Guiniling. They</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> sent a letter to the VVAW/OSS
participants. It says, in part:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>To
the delegation of VVAW/OSS:<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>On behalf
of my fellow war resisters in Canada, I would like to extend this formal
greeting to all of you who are meeting here today. We are deeply thankful to
VVAW/OSS and others involved for the thought they are putting toward the
struggle of U.S Iraq and Afghanistan War Resisters in Canada. We are also
honored to have one among you, a Vietnam veteran against the war and old school
sapper, representing us at this gathering as he did at the medal returning
ceremony (in Chicago) last Spring. It was an odd twist of fate that brought him
to us but one that we are very grateful for. We have benefited from his
friendship, experience, and knowledge of the G.I resistance movement. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Many
of you might remember what it was like to be in our shoes, or at least under
similar circumstances during the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, we are living
proof that not much has changed since then. The imperialist war machine is
still turning out young killers with factory-like efficiency. Nowadays at the crew-served
weapons ranges at Ft. Benning, they teach you to hold the butterfly trigger for
three words, four syllables “die-Hajji-die”. Since the start of these wars,
thousands of U.S troops have deployed overseas to kill for and die for these
scumbags who run the show: the profiteers and the zealots. But, just as in all
wars that are unjust and based on false pretenses, there springs forth an
organic resistance to the bullshit. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Young
people like Camilo Mejia, Mike Prysner, Kelly Doherty, Jeremy Hinzman, and
Bradley Manning. You can’t really fit us into one category. We are not all
socialists; we are not all pacifists; not all of us began our resistance from a
place of ideology. Some of us had to see and do the things we did to figure out
that we didn’t want to do them anymore, and some of us figured it out right
away. We here in Canada left our contracts early, while those resisters who
chose to stay behind became outspoken while respecting their contracts.
Resistance has been unique to each individual—as it should be. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The Toronto 49er's Resisters Group</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-16365314686008971362013-06-02T19:51:00.000-05:002013-06-26T07:49:36.481-05:00VVAW/OSS Stands with Bradley Manning and all GI Resisters...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Ed Note: <i> </i></b><i>VVAW/OSS is currently encamped in Millersville, Md. for the occasion of the opening date of the of the Bradley Manning Courts Martial at Ft Meade, Md. We are here in support of Bradley Manning and all Resisters. Yesterday, Saturday June 1st, we participated in a Free Bradley Manning Rally & March staged at the front gate of Ft. Meade, Md. We were there to let Bradley Manning and the US Government know that we haven't forgotten Bradley and to clearly state to the world, that Blowing the Whistle on War Crimes is not a War Crime. We will be at the gates again tomorrow, Monday, June 3d.</i></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DveiLmvwc0GUEV37Qrrvx_3mrDRoNobQcjqa354eTyQJXnhnEMq0agW-56jjnALwKm2DtRlqE-WPMZMqhz4OvaznA5TJsLKd2cXf-rv5he8hyj7kaMKxu0gruJFunAZVLmb1/s1600/983625_4917039959505_1214631375_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DveiLmvwc0GUEV37Qrrvx_3mrDRoNobQcjqa354eTyQJXnhnEMq0agW-56jjnALwKm2DtRlqE-WPMZMqhz4OvaznA5TJsLKd2cXf-rv5he8hyj7kaMKxu0gruJFunAZVLmb1/s320/983625_4917039959505_1214631375_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><i>VVAW/OSS stands with Bradley Manning and all Resisters. Posted below is a letter that came from a group of Resisters in Canada known as the 49ers, it was addressed to the membership of VVAW/OSS while OSS was at their recent National Conference at Kent State on May 3d. We are working closely with these folks, developing an initiative known as Amnesty 2.0. This initiative is for the purpose of educating folks to the plight and circumstances of Resisters everywhere, and for the purpose of creating support groups for Resisters and their families who currently have been, or are are facing deportation from Canada back into the US (as in the cases of Robin Long and Kim Rivera), and directly into the hands of the US military.<br /><br />Bradley Manning is guilty of nothing more than Speaking Truth to Power about war crimes, the 49ers are guilty of nothing except acting on their conscience and refusing to continue to be a part of a war being prosecuted on false premises and perpetuation of the lie...something Vietnam Veterans understand, very well. Here is their letter:</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><b></b></span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>To the Delegation of VVAW/OSS:</b></div>
<b><o:p></o:p></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
On behalf of my fellow war resisters in
Canada I would like to extend this formal greeting to all of you who are
meeting here today. We are deeply thankful to VVAW/OSS and others involved for
the thought they are putting toward the struggle of U.S Iraq and Afghanistan
War Resisters in Canada. We are also honored to have one among you, Nick Velvet,
a Vietnam Veteran Against the War and Old School Sapper, representing us at
this gathering as he did at the medal returning ceremony last spring. It was an
odd twist of fate that brought him to us, but one we are grateful for. We have
benefited from his friendship, experience, and knowledge of the G.I resistance
movement.</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Many of you might remember what it was like
to be in our shoes, or at least in similar circumstances during the Vietnam War.
Unfortunately we are living proof that not much has changed since then. The
imperialist war machine is still turning out young killers with factory like
efficiency. Nowadays at the crew served weapons ranges at Ft. Benning, they
teach you to hold the butterfly trigger for three words, four syllables
“die-hajji-die”. Since the start of these wars, thousands of U.S troops have deployed
overseas to kill for and die for these scumbags that run the show. The
profiteers and the zealots. But, just as in all wars that are unjust and based
on false pretense, there springs forth an organic resistance to the bullshit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Young people like Camillo Mejia, Mike
Prysner, Kelly Doherty, Jeremy Hinzman, and Bradley Manning. You can’t really
fit us into one category. We are not all socialists, we are not all pacifists,
not all of us began our resistance from a place of ideology even. Some of had
to see and do the things we did to figure out that we didn’t want to do them
anymore, and some of us figured out right away. We, here in Canada left our
contracts early, while those resisters who chose to stay behind became
outspoken while respecting their contract. Resistance has been unique to each
individual. As it should be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">During the Vietnam war you had draft
dodgers, anti-war veterans, AWOL veterans, and troops refusing to leave the
wire. Each resisted in his or her own way and caused the system to collapse.
One resister in the U.S who was planning to turn himself in, once asked me “Why
don’t you guys just turn yourselves in? Wouldn’t that make more sense if you
really want to resist the war and make a statement?” I couldn’t think of a simple answer but the
one I gave him was this. Each of us resisters in Canada left our posts during
extreme personal distress. The time to have made a statement like that came and
went the moment we set foot on Canadian soil and claimed political asylum. When
we did, we took upon ourselves another yoke. The burden to convince the Canadian
people that we deserve to be here and to convince the Canadian government to
once again make Canada a haven from militarism as it once was during the
Vietnam era. If that ever became a reality it would do tremendous harm to the
mechanisms of the war effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The reality though, is that we up here face
heavy legal and political pushback from the conservative Canadian Government.
Unlike their Liberal predecessors from the Trudeau era, they are extremely
against us. Going so far as to release Operational bulletin 202 which
recommends every immigration officer on duty to turn back U.S soldiers trying
to seek asylum here. They have continued to tamper in the immigration and
refugee process to the point where the former U.N secretary general Kofi Annan
has taken interest, urging prime minister Harper to stop dicking around with
our cases. After a number of us including Robin Long, Chris Teske, Cliff
Cornell, Rodney Watson(who is hiding in a church in Vancouver), and most
recently Kim Rivera and her family have been targeted for deportation, it is
without a shadow of a doubt that the Conservative party of Canada is
aggressively working to get us out of here. They realize the significance of
any sort of victory as much as we do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Early this year my own case went to the
Federal Court of Canada, one of the highest courts in the land , where we
sought to appeal the negative(bogus) decision the refugee board granted me. In
an unprecedented move, the Federal Court Justice presiding my case granted me a
re-trial and effectively supported my evidence. He agreed that there have been
breaches of the Geneva Conventions in Iraq and Afghanistan witnessed by me and
well documented by third party sources. As well, he was in agreement that the
United States military justice system concerning the Court Martial of deserters
is unfair and out-dated compared to the Canadian, British, and other
international standards. The Commander of the soldier being court martialed,
chooses the jury and sentencing of said soldier. The Judge presiding over a
court martial shares the same chain of command as the Soldier’s commander which
threatens any kind of independent decision making on the part of the judge. This
was a clear victory for us. A mile stone. For Kim Rivera it was a month too
late.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Those of us who remain up here face many
challenges. Besides fighting a legal and political battle against an opponent
that has more resources than us and is quite determined, we also have our
personal demons to deal with. Some of these demons are common to all
veterans-even those who didn’t see the front lines of combat-Canada continues
to be like a deployment for them. Here, we exist in a sort of legal limbo,
where we don’t have rights as all Canadians do. And, neither can we collect the
rights we had as active duty service members and veterans. For PTSD mental
health care, we must pay out of pocket or fundraise. For unemployment and
housing we have to take care of each other. If one guy has a job we try and
hook the other guy up. That’s all we have essentially. When we came here we
were physically cut off from our family and friends, a social and financial
support that most returning veterans can utilize during hard times. We’ve had
to figure it out on the go. Suffice to say it’s been interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">This is why this relationship between our
two generation is important to foster. We don’t have to look ahead of us and
stare into a black hole. Time is constantly repeating itself with the events of
this war. We are intrinsically linked through our shared experiences. There
have been things that you all have went through in the years following the
Vietnam war that we have yet to run into. Some of those pitfalls we have
reached already. Substance abuse problems, relationship issues, survivors guilt
etc. When Barrack Obama got elected, some of the folks up here got excited and
thought he would be our Jimmy Carter. He turned out to be more of a Nixon.
Nevertheless, It’s important what you all are doing with this amnesty Campaign.
Regardless if it’s successful, even if it is a decade from now, recognition of
our struggle is good press. Recognition of our mistreatment at the hands of our
commanders and peers. Recognition of the unfair trials and sentencing.
Recognition of the right to say no and resist on any terms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Jules Tindungan <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Chris Vassey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Dale Landry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Cory Glass<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Chuck Wiley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Christian Kjar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Rodney Watson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Ryan Johnson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Dean Walcott<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Phil Mcdowell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Jeremy Hengst<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Brandon Hughey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-29401986409659109782013-05-28T14:54:00.000-05:002013-05-28T15:02:49.440-05:00Call To Action: June 1st Day of Action in Support of Bradley Manning, Ft Meade, Md.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-af3zyvVyhUU/TK3vvpeg6QI/AAAAAAAAAs0/5UKdQLKu7mg/s1600/IVAW+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-af3zyvVyhUU/TK3vvpeg6QI/AAAAAAAAAs0/5UKdQLKu7mg/s1600/IVAW+Banner.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Join IVAW for the June 1st Day
of Action in support of Bradley Manning</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;">June 1 marks the beginning of Bradley Manning’s
fourth year in military prison awaiting trial with many violations of due
process. Bradley’s conditions in prison have been described by
Amnesty International and the United Nations as torturous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 9pt;"><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=S3SaDrpZ%2FTQGVVRUaxOvu4vy9F4QgCZw"><span style="color: #2797da;">Join IVAW and others in a show of support before</span></a> <a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IGGUSSuyftK%2F6AIsts%2FonYvy9F4QgCZw"><span style="color: #2862c5;">Bradley's</span></a><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7ygFol%2FQuiOGWlCAO4EFi4vy9F4QgCZw"><span style="color: #2862c5;"> court martial.</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Whistleblowing should not be a crime.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The U.S. government is attempting to make an
example out of Manning, to intimidate anyone who might blow the whistle on
government wrong-doing in the future.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">But like many of our members who have had the
courage to speak out against what our military has done in Iraq and
Afghanistan, Bradley Manning was moved to take action due to a <b>crisis
of conscience.</b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;">The information he made public via WikiLeaks has
been an important affirmation of IVAW's work by exposing the atrocities and
misconduct of the Iraq war, and supports the eye-witness experiences of many of
our members:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">● Bradley released
the <i>Collateral Murder</i> video that depicts a U.S. Army
helicopter intentionally and illegally targeting Iraqi civilians. IVAW member
Ethan McCord was there that day, witnessed the killing, and helped save the
lives of Iraqi children who were severely injured.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">● The <i>Iraq
War logs</i> Bradley released provided civilian death counts that the U.S.
government was withholding.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">● Bradley's leak
exposed the corporate interests behind a variety of U.S. armed conflicts
worldwide. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We strongly believe that Bradley Manning’s
whistleblowing contributed to the declining public support for the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan. Like Daniel Ellsberg, famed Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Manning
should be honored as a person of conscience.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Join us at Fort Meade, Maryland to stand up for Bradley and
all whistleblowers.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #2862c5;"><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=rTylYfF4cDaxvwNo4nSeKovy9F4QgCZw">On June 1, rally and march with the Bradley Manning
Support Network, IVAW, Veterans For Peace, and others in defense of Manning and
all past, present, and future whistleblowers.</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Join <b>Daniel Ellsberg</b>, LGBT activist
U.S. Army <b>Lt. Dan Choi</b>, former U.S. diplomat Army <b>Col. Ann
Wright (ret.)</b>, and former soldier <b>Ethan McCord</b> at Fort
Meade.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Buses will be leaving from <b>New York City;
Washington, DC; Philadelphia; New Brunswick, NJ; and Baltimore</b> on June
1. You can find more information about those buses and <b>buy
tickets </b><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lsM9rSJW%2BEXIDgMHei7T44vy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;">here</span></b></a>. Additional information
about <b>travel and lodging</b> can be found <a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=73uuK3czS9Yj8V9lALqbR4vy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;">here</span></b></a>. You can also <b><span style="color: #2862c5;"><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OhMag9EQ%2Bt16YH90XDt2xqJ3XnlWvC47">organize</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #2862c5;"><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wPrvvpQwiAvLWm4cLzoeiYvy9F4QgCZw">a</a> </span></b><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7ygFol%2FQuiNfX9kAOh9KQIvy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;">bus</span></b></a><b> from your own local area.</b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">At Fort Meade, the <b>June 1 day of action</b> will
begin with a 1:00 PM gathering on Reese Road and US 175, followed by a march
and rally.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The trial, U.S. v. BRADLEY MANNING,
begins on June 3 </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">at 9:00 AM and is expected to last <b>6-12
weeks</b>. Supporters are encouraged to attend as many days of this
trial as possible.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Can’t make it to Fort Meade on Saturday, June
1st? <b>Help </b><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=bEtuI58SkhM3L00wt9emZovy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;">sponsor</span></b></a><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=fX163uX6IjjX90MNTYfGHKJ3XnlWvC47"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;"> </span></b></a><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=yywMqpVJkPpcUmjAr6hf3Yvy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;">travel</span></b></a><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AqRbhzBvRf0I5RlvCY3n24vy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;"> </span></b></a><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=W3Je%2FTZu4t1WhVDyJBFz5Ivy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;">for</span></b></a><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xMpMM0lbYdgWeNgO7jtJ1ovy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;"> </span></b></a><a href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gzhtEKfDFoB5g6EQMqYt%2BIvy9F4QgCZw"><b><span style="color: #2862c5;">others</span></b></a>. Each $20 will cover a bus ticket
for someone who otherwise wouldn’t be able to come. <i>Please note
"Bus Sponsor" in the comments field when making your tax-deductible
donation.</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Thank you for your continued
support </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">In Solidarity,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Maggie, Matt, Amadee, and Elly </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Iraq Veterans Against The War Staff</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-69651320248302057732013-05-27T18:14:00.000-05:002013-05-27T18:18:23.102-05:00Action Alert: One of our true champions of peace, freedom, and social justice is in need of our help...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Dear Friends…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Many of you already know her, for those who may not: Our friend Sue Thompson is a freelance photo-journalist
who has been to the Mideast on more than one occasion, documenting the true cost
of the “war on terror” on the children and families of the region. She is
currently involved in a project that is making a documentary on the survivors
of USS Liberty incident. She is also a
close personal friend and has shared several actions with the membership of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/168550729877116/">VVAW/OSS</a>
here in the US, ever since we were first all together in D.C. for the initial Occupy
Freedom Plaza in Oct., 2011. We consider her one of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Sue is also a
mother, and right now it is her and her own child’s plight that needs our
focus, our caring, and our help. Her daughter,
Tia, was recently hospitalized for diabetic complications that were exacerbated
by less than professional care by hospital staff on more than one admission
over the last year. She was recently
released to Home Hospice Care, in order to be home and care for her own child. Sue is there
with her to look after Tia, at present. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Problem is,
while Tia’s was in the hospital, her ex-husband, who shared custody with Tia
for their child, came and took all of the furniture, kept the child, and is in
arrears on his child </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">support for the sum
of $20,000, leaving Tia with no rent money, and facing a certain eviction notice
on the first of June. To say the least, our friend Sue is a little overwhelmed,
distraught, and really short on options.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">While there are long term ramifications and means of redress to this overall set of unfortunate set of circumstances, our concern is with the immediate relief from
this fall-out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">
<br />
Sue and Tia need our immediate moral and financial support, to include $300.00 up-front
for an attorney to help recover back payments from Tia’s Ex, and also to
protect Tia’s current interests, as well. However, they most immediately need “moving”
money by the first of June, in order to secure another place for Tia to live. <br />
<br />
Not much time left. If you can see your way clear to contribute to ease Tia’s
Hospice journey and help our friend Sue, who is in turn a true friend of children
everywhere, see she and Tia through this nightmare; we would deeply appreciate
it. We are providing two e-mail addresses,
both related to Sue and Tia’s Pay-Pal accounts, and a snail mail address that
you may use to send any donations via check or money order, and with which you
can send personal greetings to Tia:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">E-mail via
Pay-Pal - Go to <a href="https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/send-money-online">PayPal.com</a>
and enter either <a href="mailto:tiasmilinatya@hotmail.com">tiasmilinatya@hotmail.com</a>
or <a href="mailto:suethompson_artist@yahoo.com">suethompson_artist@yahoo.com</a>
in appropriate dialog box. There are instructions for mobile or e-mail Money
Transfer, including a How-To video link, on the PayPal page.<br />
<br />
Snail Mail - Tia Thompson, 7326 Carillon Avenue, Cocoa, Fl 32927<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Thank you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Willie Hager
<a href="http://www.vetspeak.og/">www.VetSpeak.org</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/168550729877116/">VVAW/OSS</a></span> <div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-52679233036927119162013-03-03T14:06:00.000-06:002013-03-07T17:49:13.960-06:00Veterans For Peace Applauds Bradley Manning!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Ed Note: <i>This piece was originally posted on the VFP website on March 1st, 2013. I am reposting it here in order to help get the word out far and wide regarding the importance of as many supporters as possible rallying at the gates of Ft Meade, Md, this June. My organization, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/168550729877116/">VVAW/OSS</a>, has already put the trial on their action agenda, and will have folks there for the opening of the trial in July, along with VFP, and many others...hopefully, you too. We were at Quantico, and we will be at Ft Meade as well. We ARE Bradley Manning. WH</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #000044;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"I felt I accomplished something that
would allow me to have a clear conscience.”</i></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Submitted by Gerry Condon</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: #fff2cc;">VFP Board Member</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #000044;"><b><a href="http://www.veteransforpeace.org/">www.VeteransForPeace.org</a></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_ZRIFN8yAYztVSJntv9IbR8Fwqd755PXxBDd6NZTl6pmae5NnJcWE-OhGm_oWxslA-LVFFnECYt7xBBCPM9eXK6QbmehpdugzLdFXMZ1hY9K2mwtCDKGrhdPnRgPvS0XzHEb/s1600/bradleymanning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_ZRIFN8yAYztVSJntv9IbR8Fwqd755PXxBDd6NZTl6pmae5NnJcWE-OhGm_oWxslA-LVFFnECYt7xBBCPM9eXK6QbmehpdugzLdFXMZ1hY9K2mwtCDKGrhdPnRgPvS0XzHEb/s1600/bradleymanning.jpg" /></span></a><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bradley Manning has shown us once again that he
is a hero. On Thursday, February 28, he made a profound and historic My statement
to a military court and to the world. Reading from prepared notes for over an
hour, Bradley detailed how he released classified military and government
documents to Wikileaks, and he explained why he did so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I believed if the public, particularly the
American public, could see this it could spark a debate on the military and our
foreign policy in general as it applied to Iraq and Afghanistan. It might cause
society to reconsider the need to engage in counter terrorism while ignoring
the human situation of the people we engaged with every day.... I felt I
accomplished something that would allow me to have a clear conscience.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What Manning released through Wikileaks was
evidence of the regular killing of civilians by US forces in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and the regular cover-up of these war crimes. The Iraq War Logs
and the Afghan War Diaries also revealed that military and civilian leaders
were lying to the U.S. people when they presented rosy assessments of the
progress of those wars.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Would that we all had listened to these truths
when Bradley revealed them almost three years ago. Perhaps we would not still
have US Special Forces engaged in murder, mayhem and torture in Afghanistan
today<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Contrary to the misinformation being transmitted
in many mainstream news reports, Bradley Manning did not make a plea agreement,
and he certainly did not agree to go to prison for twenty years. Rather, he
unilaterally pled guilty to 10 of the lesser charges against him, while
maintaining his innocence to 12 more serious charges, especially Aiding the
Enemy, which can be punished by life in prison and even the death penalty (Army
prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty – very gracious of them).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rather than “rolling over” or “caving in,”
Bradley has courageously chosen a path which allows him to tell the world the
truth and to explain the meaning of what he has done.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bradley Manning is a champion for peace and
justice, for truth and transparency. He had the courage to follow his
conscience and to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. He showed
us that courage again in the courtroom this week. The US government and
military have already punished Bradley severely and apparently they will try to
keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. Veterans For Peace will not
allow this to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We demand that the US Army drop all charges
against Bradley Manning and release him from prison immediately. We intend to
stand with Bradley every step of the way. We will escalate our support actions
leading up to his court martial, which is expected to begin on June 3 and to
proceed throughout the summer. We will show up en masse at Fort Meade, Maryland
for the support rally being planned for Saturday, June 1. We will protest in
our hometowns too, including at military recruiting stations. Bradley Manning
represents everything that Veterans For Peace stands for and we will not stop
until he is free.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/" style="background-color: #fff2cc;">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-32210795862351541532012-11-30T10:55:00.000-06:002012-11-30T10:55:05.691-06:00Witness: Reflections of an Awakening<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="color: #442200;">ED Note: </b><span style="color: #442200; font-size: x-small;"><i>Danielle Catanese is a former Navy Corpsman and traveling nurse. We met her early on in our current stay in Key West. She is also a food critic of sorts, and so we have spent a lot of time together checking out Key West's unique culinary offerings. This has led to some great conversations wherein I learned of her personal military history. I in turn shared mine with her, highlighting the experiences that led to my involvement and subsequent history with <a href="http://www.vvaw.org/">Vietnam Veterans Against the War</a> (VVAW) and it's interactions with <a href="http://www.ivaw.org/">Iraq Veterans Against The War</a> (IVAW). Danielle has since signed on with IVAW, and is particularly interested in IVAW's<a href="http://www.ivaw.org/operation-recovery"> Operation Recovery</a>. One afternoon during a visit with us, she sat and penned this piece, which reflect her inner thoughts on our conversations, and their impact on her consciousness of the contradictions entwined in it all. It is a great example of the definition of the meaning of the word vetspeak, and the art of speaking truth to power; so, with her permission, I share it here with y'all. WH</i></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #442200;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Witness</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NF5V8S7EaPU/ULjgrr8zLwI/AAAAAAAABXU/Dv8oY1-3MN8/s1600/8485_us_navy_marine_corps_blk_mtl_med_shield_cad_colar_device_blk_mtl_sub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NF5V8S7EaPU/ULjgrr8zLwI/AAAAAAAABXU/Dv8oY1-3MN8/s200/8485_us_navy_marine_corps_blk_mtl_med_shield_cad_colar_device_blk_mtl_sub.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="yiv897020661tab">I am a witness. I am a witness to pride, elation, sadness, and grief. I am a witness to greatness and defeat, of military prowess and stupidity, of compassion and apathy. I am a veteran of the United States Navy. As a Hospital Corpsman stationed stateside, overseas, shipboard, and forward deployed, I have witnessed almost every emotion one could think of. I have also witnessed many </span>situations from intense to mundane, all of which are unique to me and my ability to deal with their reality.<span class="yiv897020661tab"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a witness, it is my responsibility to my brothers and sisters in uniform to offer an ear, a shoulder, an outlet, or assistance finding professional help for the gambit of emotions and situations they have experienced first hand or witnessed themselves. Another responsibility of being a witness is to share my own experiences, reactions, and resolutions with others so that they may become witnesses too. People may say that being a witness is not as important as being reactionary, but I beg to differ.</span></div>
<div class="yiv897020661yui_3_7_2_15_1353896721120_230" style="color: #442200;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><span class="yiv897020661tab">Bearing witness to an event, situation, or emotion makes them real to the masses; for they have not been there, seen what we have, lived the way we have, or coped like us. The events, situations, and emotions become undeniable when tens, hundreds, and thousands of people with similar experiences join together to bear witness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><span class="yiv897020661tab"></span></span></div>
<div class="yiv897020661yui_3_7_2_15_1353896721120_230" style="color: #442200;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="yiv897020661tab">Revolution stems from a connected, informed, well organized base of witnesses. Without witnesses, there cannot be change; for the masses will remain ignorant of our pride, elation, sadness, and grief. They will not be able to relate to our situations and stand behind us. We cannot win our fight for acknowledgement and acceptance without support from each other, as well as those who have not served. I am a witness, are you?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><span class="yiv897020661tab"></span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv897020661tab"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Danielle R. Catanese</span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv897020661tab"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">HM2(SW/FMF)</span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv897020661tab"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">U.S. Navy Veteran</span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv897020661tab"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">AUG1998-OCT2006</span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv897020661tab"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-70248648702168593162012-11-27T12:47:00.001-06:002012-11-27T12:47:21.533-06:00Scott Camil: A Winter Soldier Carries On<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Internationally Known Activist Finds Peace With War Buddies</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br />Ed Note:<i> </i></b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>I learned of the Alpha North Reunion, and of this pending article regarding it, in a phone conversation with Scott while wandering the aisles of a local Key West grocery store ealier this month. The article was subsequently published on <a href="http://www.web2carz.com/people">Web2Carz</a>, on November 20th. As soon as I read it, I called Scott and asked if he would mind our publishing it and distributing it here at VetSpeak. It is a unique and poignant insight into the transition from combat veteran to anti-war veteran activist, and the contradictions that not only initiated it, but that still are in play even today. It personifies our Vetspeak <a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/vetspeak-mission-policies-faqs.html">mission statement</a>, and definitely speaks truth to power. Thanks Scott...here it is...WH</b></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>By: <a href="http://www.web2carz.com/team#stevekarras">Steve Karras</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.web2carz.com/">Web2Carz</a> Staff Writer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"<i><b>What we believe in and what we stand for is so different. But when we're together, we're fucking Marines first, Americans first, and the other bullshit doesn't matter and that's how our country should be."</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">S</span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">cott
Camil’s Marine Corps fitness report written before he left Vietnam states the
following: “[Sergeant Camil] can be trusted to complete any task assigned to
him and often takes the initiative to do the odd, unglamorous but necessary
jobs that arise from time to time. Under fire he is extremely cool." </span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">He
was praised for his “complete knowledge” of his job as a forward observer—to
call in artillery on enemy targets from the field—his organizational skills,
his fierce motivation, and his keen ability to instruct enlisted men and
officers alike.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 12.75pt;">But no adjectives or elevated language could convey the gravity of what Sergeant Camil had experienced during his thirteen month tour, and the extended six months he volunteered to stay on and fight. And however laudatory the officer who evaluated Camil, he couldn’t possibly have known that the 21-year-old sergeant would apply the same skills which made him a good marine to a tireless life of activism.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 12.75pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpCYMXpBt_AvneB_B3e6JIAStiqu3_7LDX7CUNZ5aLDG3aNaWWjIAljn86qsFeF2W1gBtCUMqg5pL3i93k0Nlgp6kPGaf30aR7a4BTbylN0tdbjrXyQEfmuuSV0CN9qAuHliG/s1600/Scott+2012+Reunion+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpCYMXpBt_AvneB_B3e6JIAStiqu3_7LDX7CUNZ5aLDG3aNaWWjIAljn86qsFeF2W1gBtCUMqg5pL3i93k0Nlgp6kPGaf30aR7a4BTbylN0tdbjrXyQEfmuuSV0CN9qAuHliG/s200/Scott+2012+Reunion+1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Camil’s entrance into the antiwar movement was gradual. When he came home from Vietnam in November 1967 he served two more years in the Marine Corps and had time to adjust from combat. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">“I would say that the time was a buffer that saved my life because the conflict resolution skills I learned in Vietnam was to just kill the guy,” Scott Camil said in a recent interview with us. </span><br />
<br /></div>
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“<i>We
were all ver</i><i style="line-height: 12.75pt;">y aggressive when we came home and if somebody spat on me I would
have messed them up. I don’t know any guy that came home and got spit on.”</i><br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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It
was while he was studying at the University of Florida in Gainesville that
Camil heard Jane Fonda speak at an anti-war rally on the campus and his life
took an unexpected turn. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“I
was throwing a Frisbee, not really paying attention. I just wanted to see <i>Barbarella</i>,”
Camil told us</div>
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: #fff2cc; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDw-Q3oU8sQyP6rpRAsP5RnasU5jumlxL1V5JNZns9_BKfZwSkapJqUgqOjS8fl7SsFoTghXu0Y3T3QQtwNnexUzSZ1YixuHzTEghvttgOxlCEZEAli8QrcpLBSH7wiqISCDu/s1600/Scott+Reunion+2+-+Hoi+An+1966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDw-Q3oU8sQyP6rpRAsP5RnasU5jumlxL1V5JNZns9_BKfZwSkapJqUgqOjS8fl7SsFoTghXu0Y3T3QQtwNnexUzSZ1YixuHzTEghvttgOxlCEZEAli8QrcpLBSH7wiqISCDu/s200/Scott+Reunion+2+-+Hoi+An+1966.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for patrol, Hoi An 1966</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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“[Fonda]
got my attention when she said, ‘This is supposed to be a democracy, and the
people are supposed to be in charge. The people are not getting the truth, and
without true information a democracy cannot function. It cannot live. It’s the
duty of patriotic Vietnam veterans to come forward and tell the truth about
Vietnam because the government is not.’ Well, I was patriotic, I was a Vietnam
veteran, and I knew what we were really doing in Vietnam, and I felt people had a right to know the truth"</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 12.75pt;">During
the rally, Camil gave his contact information to an organizer in front of the
stage taking names of veterans willing to speak truthfully about the war in
Vietnam. Several days later he received a phone call inviting him to Detroit to
participate in the highly publicized Winter Soldier Investigation—a three day
media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans against the War (VVAW) intended
to expose war crimes by American troops in Vietnam. </span></div>
</span>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">The
Scott Camil who showed up in Detroit in late January 1971 was a wide-eyed and
seemingly benevolent young man with long hair and a beard. He looked like any
other college-aged hippie who subsisted on a steady diet of ramen, casual sex
and good weed—not a twice-wounded, decorated marine with enough confirmed kills
to thrill any battalion commander. But the moment he introduced himself on the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Marine_Regiment_(United_States)">1</a></span><sup style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12.75pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Marine_Regiment_(United_States)">st</a></sup><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12.75pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Marine_Regiment_(United_States)"> Marine Regiment </a>Panel, jaws </span><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">dropped in the audience as he began his testimony. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<div style="color: #783f04; text-align: right;">
</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9w6d_PdHGyuCIDwdlRab1laNygXMdxVysOKxMHnWphLAyScT2U8cEr5Z7_Zc2MARd1MZ4yV6xOUbn3EC6Z-MoTSpKoUTqe5EDmOHrTmLLDaiFe6bQyOj1E6LJ6NjLvU9DktBP/s1600/Scott+Reunion+3+-+Dai+Loc+1967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9w6d_PdHGyuCIDwdlRab1laNygXMdxVysOKxMHnWphLAyScT2U8cEr5Z7_Zc2MARd1MZ4yV6xOUbn3EC6Z-MoTSpKoUTqe5EDmOHrTmLLDaiFe6bQyOj1E6LJ6NjLvU9DktBP/s200/Scott+Reunion+3+-+Dai+Loc+1967.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dai Loc 1967</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="color: #783f04; line-height: 12.75pt;">"My
name is Scott Camil, I was a sergeant attached to Charlie 1-1. I was a forward
observer in Vietnam. I went in right after high school and I’m a student now.
My testimony involves burning villages with civilians in them, the cutting off
of ears, cutting off of heads, torturing of prisoners, throwing prisoners from
helicopters, calling in artillery on villages for games, corpsmen killing
wounded prisoners, napalm dropped on villages, women being raped, women and
children being massacred, CS gas used on people, animals slaughtered, Chieu Hoi
passes rejected and the people holding them shot, bodies thrown off of
helicopters, tear-gassing people for fun, and running civilian vehicles off the
road."</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">He left Detroit with a renewed sense of self, totally politicized. Songwriter Graham Nash wrote and recorded the song </span>"<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuneAbchHNc">Oh Camil! (The Winter Soldier)</a><span style="line-height: 17px;">” in tribute and Camil ultimately became a known presence in the anti-war movement, especially on his college campus where he organized demonstrations. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="line-height: 12.75pt;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;"><br /></span></i></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #783f04; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: left;"><br /></i>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">By
1973 he’d made J. Edgar Hoover’s list of dissidents to be "neutralized” for
his conspicuous activities with the VVAW; as a member of the “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainesville_Eight">Gainesville 8</a>” he
stood trial for conspiracy to disrupt the Republican National Convention with
violence and was later hospitalized after a federal narcotics agent nearly shot
him to death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">In a
sense, Camil has always been “under fire.” He has repeatedly endured the
painful rejection of former comrades, been called a traitor by ex-active duty
marines, for once testifying before Senator George McGovern’s committee and in
recent years for his staunch opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">“<i>I
was in two units in Vietnam. First I was in the artillery unit, Alpha Battery,
1/11, or Alpha North, which was my mother unit, and then I was attached out to
an infantry unit. A lot of the guys in that infantry unit who had sons in the
military and were proud of them for going to Iraq stopped inviting me to their
reunions because I accused them of ‘not having learned jack-shit from their
experiences that they would want their children to go to war.’” </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Of
the dozens of abbreviated names and acronyms in the Vietnam lexicon used to
describe the enemy, battles, units, and locations there are two words that hold
the most significance for Camil: Alpha North. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Short
for Alpha Battery, <a href="http://www.12thmarineartilleryregimentassociation.org/11thMarineRegiment-1stBattalion11thMarines.html">1st Battalion, 11th Marines</a>, it was a fire support base
located just south of Da Nang when Camil arrived on March 24</span><sup><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">th</span></sup></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"> 1966. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NBPrSSJ4t7gb7osK9BSaokKR82XbHyk4Q6tuLuORptCRNQOJwPqI5dmha7agzbjNBPuBiAtVPN-b2jTxcYaGAru6Br2AdO5Ruk0BiheNBWpoohyIxaAwNgJBPjg65PUjgkmn/s1600/Scott+Reunion+4+-+WSI+Poster+1972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NBPrSSJ4t7gb7osK9BSaokKR82XbHyk4Q6tuLuORptCRNQOJwPqI5dmha7agzbjNBPuBiAtVPN-b2jTxcYaGAru6Br2AdO5Ruk0BiheNBWpoohyIxaAwNgJBPjg65PUjgkmn/s200/Scott+Reunion+4+-+WSI+Poster+1972.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1972 poster Winter Soldier Documentary</td></tr>
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As
the “new guy” he was assigned to guard duty for his first three weeks and on
April 17<sup>th </sup>was sent with 15 others to
four separate outposts on the camp’s perimeter (four men per outpost) to pull
guard duty. Since Alpha North was in the rear and far enough away from the
fighting, the rules of engagement for those on guard duty were that no weapons
could be loaded and they would not be allowed to fire without permission from
the sergeant of the guard. Grenades were also taped up so that if the pins
accidentally came out no one could get hurt, but because the weather was so
hot, the tape melted to the grenades rendering them useless during the
attack. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“<i>But
I was the kind of person (and still am) for getting in trouble for thinking for
myself. I thought, ‘I’m in Vietnam, I’m in the Marines at war and I’m getting
combat pay,’ so I loaded my rifle. <span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">A
trip flare went off to my left front and when all of these hardcore Viet Cong
sappers (suicide unit) with weapons got up to fire and I started shooting.
Chaos erupted everywhere, rockets started blowing things up, people were
shooting.”</span></i></div>
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<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The
enemy completely destroyed two of the 105mm howitzers and caused damage to the
ammo and fuel dumps. Out of 90 marines, 5 men had been killed and 28 were
wounded. 40 dead Viet Cong sappers wearing black pajamas lay scattered around
the compound. <span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">“The
next morning I knelt down and pulled the ponchos off each of the dead marines-
one of them was my first friend in Vietnam, William Terry "Jake" Main
from Jacksonville, whom I met when I came to the outfit.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">“<i>I
remember thinking, ‘This war stuff isn’t going to be as much fun as I thought
it would be’ and that I’m in a place where it’s people’s legitimate job to kill
me… and if I get killed, that is the end. There is no second chance. There is
no King's X. There is no time out. This is really serious and I have to get my
head out of my ass.’ So I made a decision that day that I was going to be
ruthless, brutal, and that I was going to have no empathy. I wanted to live. I
said, ‘kill them all and let God sort them out'. And so, I’m going to err on the side
of safety. If you’re dead, you can’t hurt me or mine. If you’re in free fire
zone and I couldn’t tell the difference between a good guy and a bad guy
whether you’re male, female, child, you’re dead. (who knows if that same person
who’s smiling at you during the day isn’t planting that booby trap at night) I
was going to get them all.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">After
Alpha North’s camp was attacked the battery moved to another compound and Camil
volunteered to be a forward observer with the infantry unit whose activities he
explicitly spoke most about during the Winter Soldier hearings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">What
happened to Camil at Alpha North and afterward is now etched indelibly into the
public record. Camil has told the same stories about what happened to him in
Vietnam ad infinitum in documentaries, interviews, and in the countless
articles about him online. On some levels Camil is no different from other
combat veterans battling Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and who revisit painful
events in the many self-sealed narratives which have remained frozen for
decades. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the ranks of VVAW 1971</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">But
Camil’s war also prefigured his very public world-view and greatly informed his
life in activism which he has maintained at a breathtaking pace. In 1971 he
started the Gainesville chapter of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and in 1987
established the <a href="http://www.vfpgainesville.org/">Gainesville Chapter of Veterans for Peace</a>. In the late ‘80s,
and into the ‘90s, Camil represented Veterans for Peace on fact finding
missions to Central America and the Middle East. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Then
in 1994 he returned to Vietnam for the first time since the war to work on the
<a href="http://www.vietnamfriendship.org/wordpress/">Vietnam Friendship Village Project</a>—-a nonprofit organization that raises money
in the United States to help support the Vietnam Friendship Village in
Hanoi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 12.75pt;">Then
in 1994 he returned to Vietnam for the first time since the war to work on the
Vietnam Friendship Village Project—-a nonprofit organization that raises money
in the United States to help support the Vietnam Friendship Village in
Hanoi. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;">While
there he told officials that there was one place he had been during the war
that he absolutely needed to go but they balked at his request. After all,
American veterans were always asking to be taken to their old battlefields but
nobody ever knew exactly where they were located. But when the ex-forward
observer took out his old maps from Vietnam he stunned his hosts who then gave
him permission (and a driver) to go where he needed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #783f04;">“<i>I
went back to this village where our battalion killed 272 people—old men, women
and children.” Camil said. “It’s where I got my first Purple Heart from a
“bouncing betty.” There is a memorial in that village for the people we killed
and I spent one day on my hands and knees and placed three burning incense
sticks at each grave, one of which was a mass grave for 23 children. I made it
a point to tell the people from that village that I was one of the guys who did
this and there was absolutely no hostility against me. So now when I think
about that place I have different pictures in my brain besides the people we
killed and my buddies who bled with me. I have pictures of people who are happy
there now, who are my friends, and who have forgiven me.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #783f04;">Then
this past year a woman named Bonnie Gallegos, whose brother PFC Robert
Dwain "Arnie" Arnold was killed at Alpha North, decided to organize a
reunion of the unit's surviving veterans in Las Vegas.Camil went and
uncharacteristically took politics off his agenda. It was a chance for him to
write the post-script on a story that has been closed for 46 years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #783f04;">“<i>There
were some who were afraid that I’d turn it into an anti-war event but the real
reason I wanted to go because there were people I wondered about, who I cared
about,”</i> Camil said. “<i>And for the last 46 years wondered ‘did that person have a
good life?’ or ‘is that person alive?’ "<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
</span></span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In addition to his wife Sherry (it’s his second marriage) accompanying Camil from Gainesville was a four person team from the Samuel Proctor, Oral History Program at University of Florida who were going to interview people from the unit and record the history of Alpha North. </span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzUikN0NPqFZh_czyFgRU-sUHmgQzQsXOf4a4H5tAi_hXBmEuplh57Q2z_xxtWeOQHO9CHcnQbqnlNaYDFfV48XKXEZ5K49thn_43BLSgKIl7so_X1sJvdEd6Igx1kN3ivSw2/s1600/Scott+Reunion+7+-+Always+Faithful+-The+men+of+Alpha+North+-+Las+vegas+10-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzUikN0NPqFZh_czyFgRU-sUHmgQzQsXOf4a4H5tAi_hXBmEuplh57Q2z_xxtWeOQHO9CHcnQbqnlNaYDFfV48XKXEZ5K49thn_43BLSgKIl7so_X1sJvdEd6Igx1kN3ivSw2/s1600/Scott+Reunion+7+-+Always+Faithful+-The+men+of+Alpha+North+-+Las+vegas+10-2012.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“<i>The reunion just put something so glorious and happy inside me. We hadn’t seen each other in 46 years and it was as if no time had passed. The camaraderie, the love, the emotion, the warmth, the sincerity was just unbelievable. I have never been as close to human beings in civilian life as I was with these guys in combat. </i></span></span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12.75pt;"><i>For the wives, it was just wonderful. The wives got to see that the things they deal with their husbands are not unique to them--being married to a combat veteran is a lot of work and it takes a unique person to be able to unde</i></span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12.75pt;"><i>rstand us and put up with our shit really</i>.”</span><b style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12.75pt;"><i> </i></b><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
<br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVQd5o6NHfxWlF-M-CfSfFyxFNeGyf7FMkRXM9imMnUzj9zIhS_ZT64YADI_LjrhMN2CMiBw31DoTJAfwYJBbwb5XDyllb3Wt-W_TRlufSol2ha195EzQj7ARg5EjrdcL79xw/s1600/Scott+Reunion+6+-+Alpha+North+Survivors+%252B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVQd5o6NHfxWlF-M-CfSfFyxFNeGyf7FMkRXM9imMnUzj9zIhS_ZT64YADI_LjrhMN2CMiBw31DoTJAfwYJBbwb5XDyllb3Wt-W_TRlufSol2ha195EzQj7ARg5EjrdcL79xw/s200/Scott+Reunion+6+-+Alpha+North+Survivors+%252B.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“<i>The majority of the people that I spoke with at the reunion were republicans, a few tea-party people, and Christians—very opposite of where I am on everything. But it didn’t matter because we were brothers first. I had a lot of conversations, one-on-one about politics and there was never an argument, there was no yelling, just complete civility. And I miss that </i></span></span><i style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">kind of civility in that real world. What are amazing are the varying backgrounds, where we are politically, what we believe in and what we stand for is so different. But when we’re together, we’re fucking Marines first, Americans first, and the other bullshit doesn’t matter and that’s how our country should be</i><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All of the oral histories recorded at the event will be filed with the Library of Congress and there will be a section at the University of Florida called the Alpha North Collection. Another reunion has already been planned for 2013. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">At age 66 Scott Camil gets 100 percent disability from the government and Social Security allows him to do full-time peace and justice work. He’s currently the president of the <a href="http://www.vfpgainesville.org/">Gainesville Chapter of Veterans for Peace</a>, now planning their annual peace concert on December 8</span><span style="line-height: 17px;"><sup style="line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th.</sup></span><span style="line-height: 17px;"> Proceeds from the event help raise enough money to cover the organization’s expenses for one year.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-33574486538164925232012-11-15T18:56:00.000-06:002012-11-15T19:58:22.580-06:00Two Soldiers, Four Wars, One Name<span style="color: #644a3d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;">by </span><span style="color: #261a11; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://nmguiniling.wordpress.com/author/nmguiniling/" title="View all posts by NMguiniling">NMguiniling</a></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVLzDaL0Lck34WPXkZai-ubOK3g5PVIO0NID70MznBubTKmYzVXW_ZhLa-FcmObFMblnmKZP9NqrE2VLsa9DamQGpKWfY0paJjYJTeG7QNJMCDOk6HBsBpsh4F6YNDlRzuarW/s1600/Two+Soldiers,+Four+Wars,+One+name+-+NMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVLzDaL0Lck34WPXkZai-ubOK3g5PVIO0NID70MznBubTKmYzVXW_ZhLa-FcmObFMblnmKZP9NqrE2VLsa9DamQGpKWfY0paJjYJTeG7QNJMCDOk6HBsBpsh4F6YNDlRzuarW/s1600/Two+Soldiers,+Four+Wars,+One+name+-+NMG.jpg" /></a><b><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; padding: 0in;">It’s Guiniling. Pronounced “Gah-Kneeling,” it is my husband’s
maternal last name, which traces back to the highlands of the Philippines.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s not that I find my own given name particularly un-likeable.
As a child of the modern-day ‘blended family’ (and one in which my mother
kept her maiden name in marriage), I’ve contemplated the idea of name-changing,
hyphenating, and all manner of Onomastics since I was pretty young. For
instance, my maiden name, Burton, is of English origin and refers to one
“residing near a fort or garrison,” whereas my maternal last name, “Wenger”
refers to one’s German place of residence, “on a grassy hill”. But Guiniling is
the name my husband and I have chosen for its ability to tell an important
chapter of our family history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is now only heresay that Inting Guinling, my late
grandfather-in-law, was born in August of the year 1900. That date comes from
an approximation on his U.S. Army enlistment papers, which were filed some 18
years later. On the paper, Inting’s middle name is listed as “Igorot”,
(pronounced Eee-Goo-Root), which refers to the Guiniling family’s
tribe—somewhat similar to “Cherokee” or “Navajo”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;">At the dawn of World War I, it was to the U.S. Army’s advantage to
recruit these highland tribes who had eluded both Spanish and American colonial
campaigns. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;">In addition to having had little to no contact with Westerners, this
meant the Igorot and other mountain folk knew little to nothing of the effects
of the Philippine War of Independence, which took the lives of 600,000 of their
countrymen at the hands of both Conquistadores and later, U.S. Marines</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtu-P0dgsceuvA39GgFqi-JrgOT41WqGHS9bWde9ys2gy_-Ciql-xdiMN4x4t4fR5QZ1xuU_07BsRrgwD6YyA-0eqTzP27UyGQmKsoWpIMZC-Qxt63-aXe60m6nao7QsDYDmSl/s1600/Two+Soldiers%252C+Four+Wars%252C+One+Name+II+-+NMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtu-P0dgsceuvA39GgFqi-JrgOT41WqGHS9bWde9ys2gy_-Ciql-xdiMN4x4t4fR5QZ1xuU_07BsRrgwD6YyA-0eqTzP27UyGQmKsoWpIMZC-Qxt63-aXe60m6nao7QsDYDmSl/s320/Two+Soldiers%252C+Four+Wars%252C+One+Name+II+-+NMG.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"> Inting
was recruited to the Philippine Scout (PS) special forces unit of the U.S. Army
in 1919, and served until the end of the war. He was called back into service
for World War II, where he fought in the Bataan Region with the 42</span><sup style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">nd</span></sup><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"> and 45</span><sup style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"> Infantry
regiments against Japanese soldiers. Jon, my uncle-in-law, explained to my
husband and I in a recent e-mail:</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 16.5pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;">“</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the [U.S. Army in the </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Philippines] </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16.5pt;">surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, Inting refused to surrender. Instead, he escaped and went back to the mountains and joined the guerrillas fighting the Japanese. He always eluded capture, even after his… units surrendered (</span><i style="line-height: 16.5pt;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Writer’s note: this surrender led to what is known as the ‘Bataan Death March.’ More than half of the P.S. died in battle or as POW’s of the Japanese in WWII). </span></i><span style="line-height: 16.5pt;">He finally rejoined the U.S. Army in 1944 when Gen. Douglas MacArthur returned to liberate the Philippines from the imperial forces of Japan. When Japan surrendered in 1945, he escorted surrendering Japanese soldiers to Manila to be shipped back to Japan. He was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1946 after 27 years of honorable military service. He earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with a combat V, Asiatic Pacific Campaign, World War II Victory Medal and many more. He died on Dec. 21, 1968"</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Despite all this, and General
MacArthur’s comments in a <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,773074,00.html" target="_blank" title="1942 TIME Magazine Article"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">1942
Time Magazine article</span></a> that the Igorots were an important part
of the war effort, the Philippine Scouts are still considered “<a href="http://ww2scouts.com/" target="_blank" title="Forgotten Soldiers"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Forgotten Soldiers</span></a>,” overlooked and under-recognized
for their sacrifice. Perhaps Inting’s long list of honours are a true testament
to just how incredible his actions were.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">There is no doubt in any of our minds that Inting Guiniling is a
hero. It was because of him that his entire family was granted U.S.
citizenship. He is the reason his daughter, my mother-in-law, was able to
attend university tuition-free. He is the reason my husband was born in the
United States. He is a hero simply for these gifts that gave his family the
chance to have a better life. My husband and I certainly wouldn’t have met and
fallen in love without him. (Thanks, Grandpa Inting!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">But war—as many people are touching
on this year, as we enter the 11<sup><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">th</span></sup> round of
the Global War on Terror—is about more than heroes and their valiant deeds<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">My husband’s uncle is the oldest of his mother’s siblings—old
enough to remember the war stories, and more.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 13.5pt;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVtw_RVfV0pweLqK2Dkhnq4UGXyx2AijQOkKZ58Anv3DaiuPchXrv8ACK9zy80MaQQK53_zpjLXuSAL5Th7XKyskseP8IXEzbpcykkp5AlAZBpQO5ptMZdoag4DjHRLg7AU52/s1600/Two+Soldiers%252C+Four+Wars%252C+One+name+III+-+NMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVtw_RVfV0pweLqK2Dkhnq4UGXyx2AijQOkKZ58Anv3DaiuPchXrv8ACK9zy80MaQQK53_zpjLXuSAL5Th7XKyskseP8IXEzbpcykkp5AlAZBpQO5ptMZdoag4DjHRLg7AU52/s1600/Two+Soldiers%252C+Four+Wars%252C+One+name+III+-+NMG.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">One morning in the family hut
(still, at this time, in the highlands of Mountain Province), Uncle Jon as a
child tried to wake his father. Grandpa Inting awoke in a panic, and proceeded
to beat his son into the wall of the hut. He would apologize some time later,
explaining to Uncle Jon that he didn’t recognize his son—or where he was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">And then there were the times, my husband told me, when his Lola
(Grandma) had to flee into the forest with her children, in order to hide from
her husband—who would slip into fits of rage, would grab his gun out of the
blue and put himself on “guard duty” outside of their home, for indefinite
periods of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">These used to be the things that every military family had a story
about, but no one was allowed to speak of. Paranoia, unpredictable rage and
violence, and ‘hyper-vigilance’— a term described by post-trauma psychiatrist
Kathleen Whip as, “When you’re in a constant state of readiness, even when you
don’t have to be”—are all the symptoms we know today associated with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Certainly, the word didn’t exist in
Inting’s day—some refuse to believe it exists in 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was in part the acknowledgement
of PTSD’s existence that my husband refused a second deployment. After 15
months in Afghanistan, he was unwilling to return there or go to Iraq. From
the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/03/2012312123045592978.html" target="_blank" title="Panjwai Massacre"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Panjwai
Massacre</span></a> to the torture of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/afghanistan-torture-transfer-detainees_n_1363835.html" target="_blank" title="Afghan detainees"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Afghan
detainees</span></a>; from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse" target="_blank" title="Abu Ghraib"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Abu Ghraib</span></a> to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_use_in_Iraq" target="_blank" title="white phosphorus"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">White Phosphorus</span></a>, it
has become clear that this decision may have saved his sanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">He didn’t qualify for C.O. Status (a Conscientious Objector in the
U.S. Army must categorically oppose all forms of violence, including self
defense). A request of transfer to a non-combat role was ripped up by his
commanding officer. Isolated, depressed, exhausted, trapped, and clearly
suffering from PTSD, my husband did what was best for his own
self-preservation: he went to Canada. He separated himself from his trauma, and
sought to understand it and come to terms with it. He did not, as his
grandfather and countless others did before him, resign to it as a “necessary
evil” of man, of war, of life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Soldiers today have more information about PTSD than any
generation before them. Should we still be thinking of war the same way? Should
my husband, for instance, have committed himself regardless, like his
grandfather did–despite his knowledge of PTSD and things like international
law?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">Soldiers who leave the army, as my husband has, face courts-martial and jail time for refusing to destroy themselves and other people in the process. A jail sentence of one day over a year will brand you a felon for the rest of your life. Felons, in exchange for their crimes, forsake the right to vote and bear arms in all but two U.S. states.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXxSaXsABGdsOb1fAvvnKSne0Q0LHfLzUxBKeGKzObncXm3im-SZxcjrmgu_0DlsaIlJGNTJcFiFQy6pBsqNdsaNFWgQmL4whkyToJZ9x5biAbcel4-VmtweLMm2Vgm8DLqZS/s1600/Two+Soldiers%252C+Four+Wars%252C+One+name+IV+-+NMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: #fff2cc; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXxSaXsABGdsOb1fAvvnKSne0Q0LHfLzUxBKeGKzObncXm3im-SZxcjrmgu_0DlsaIlJGNTJcFiFQy6pBsqNdsaNFWgQmL4whkyToJZ9x5biAbcel4-VmtweLMm2Vgm8DLqZS/s1600/Two+Soldiers%252C+Four+Wars%252C+One+name+IV+-+NMG.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 15pt;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Former U.S. soldier <a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/robin-long-prisoner-of-conscience_17.html">Robin Long served a 15 month sentence in2008-2009</a> for going AWOL to Canada, refusing to fight in the Iraq War</span></span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 13.5pt;"> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Where two U.S. wars gave one Guiniling citizenship for his family,
two other wars may be what takes it away. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">As the notoriously anti-war veteran
and writer Kurt Vonnegut would have said, “So it goes”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Canada, since Vietnam, has changed
its tone on the subject of War Resisters and Draft Dodgers (there is no “draft’
per se, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop-loss_policy" target="_blank" title="Stop-loss"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Stop-Loss</span></a> legislation
in the U.S. is a de-facto draft of servicemen and women, and it has led many to
re-deploy indefinately—not disconnected from the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/06/07/us-soldier-suicide-war.html" target="_blank" title="greatest suicide epidemic"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">greatest
suicide epidemic</span></a> that the country has ever seen). Whereas
Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals welcomed them in the 1970s, Harper’s Conservatives
find the cacophony of PTSD claims and human rights abuses—all the natural
bi-products of war—to be highly inconvenient in a time they are trying to
re-brand of Canada as a <a href="http://www.btlbooks.com/book/warrior-nation" target="_blank" title="Warrior Nation"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #d8471d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Warrior Nation</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Come what may, “Guiniling” is more than a name for my my husband
and me. It is the story of a legacy and a family, born of war and its plurality
of meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I remain optimistic. After all, ‘Nicole’ means “Victory of the
People”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">NMG</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Related Articles:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/robin-long-prisoner-of-conscience_17.html">http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/robin-long-prisoner-of-conscience_17.html</a></span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1961072771">http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/us-iraq-war-resister-kimberly-rivera.html</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/vfp-shout-out-yo-robin-long-supporters.html">http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/vfp-shout-out-yo-robin-long-supporters.html</a></span></span></div>
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<b style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Ed Note: </b><i style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, serif;">This piece was originally published on November 10th on <a href="http://nmguiniling.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/two-soldiers-four-wars-one-name/">Nicole's Blog</a>. She has agreed to share it here on VetSpeak in support of our mutual mission to put a human face on the Toronto Resisters (49ers), as we work torwards Amnesty for all Resisters and Deported Veterans.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; line-height: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-27024892767644550782012-11-10T21:57:00.000-06:002012-11-11T13:26:25.926-06:00Veterans Day 2012: Still at War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Ed Note: </b><i>Thanks to Mike Hearington of VFP for sharing this piece with us. WH</i></div>
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<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thoughts on Veterans Day</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By John Cory</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #234786; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; outline: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=12317392" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">November 11</a>, 2012</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #234786; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; outline: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Veterans Day—A national Hallmark Card for war inked with survivor's guilt.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: 24px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=12317392" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/j6gZefW4yEA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></a></div>
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<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have numbered wars like SuperBowls (WWI and WWII), marked them by time (the Hundred Years' War and the Thirty Years' War), masked them with a gentle oxymoron (the Civil War) and fogged their battles in terms of weather (Rolling Thunder and Desert Storm). War is a lesson in geography like the Spanish-American War, the Mexican-American War and the Vietnam War or, as the Vietnamese call it, the American War. Modern war is waged on an "ism" like Communism or Terrorism.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We never run out of names, terms or reasons for war. And there is always an anniversary for war or a battle or its start, a day of red poppies and marketing to ensure romantic remembrance of death and destruction.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That is war after all - a marriage of violence and glory "until death do us part."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">War is a true never-ending story. And when the shooting stops, we file the body parts and memory fragments on a bookshelf for later reference when we write about war, searching for Kevlar words to protect the troops as we recon the thesaurus of emotions and memories for the building blocks that frame a new rationalization for more war.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And everyone wants a good war story to lead the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=12317392" rel="nofollow" style="outline: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">six o'clock</a> news or top the bestseller charts. It has to be heroic and noble, a tale of sacrifice for the greater good or better yet, a battle of reluctance turned into righteous annihilation of the enemy. It has to be a story about us versus the faceless and godless enemy that leads to triumph and victory, albeit a world-weary victory, thrust upon us. We didn't want to destroy the village but we had to destroy the village in order to save the village. Like that ominous voice of movie previews, we utter the words: In a world of kill or be killed, there can be no doubt.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course we don't tell real war stories. We write recruiting posters. We have perfected the perverted normalcy of war and made it a family affair</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the recent election cycle only 3 percent of voters listed war as a topic of concern when voting for a candidate. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The thing they never tell you, the lie of all lies, is that you can go to war and then come home.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/H7ZZnM_Fomg/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/H7ZZnM_Fomg&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/H7ZZnM_Fomg&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #783f04;">You can't.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-25276765378380572752012-10-29T20:14:00.000-05:002012-10-29T20:43:40.506-05:00Saving Private Rivera...<div aria-label="Message body" class="msg-body inner undoreset" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1351359268630_194" role="main" style="margin: 25px 24px 22px 29px; overflow-x: auto; overflow-y: hidden; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<b><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">On the Edge of a Fall</span></span></b></div>
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<i style="color: #454545; font-size: 12px;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://nmguiniling.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/on-the-edge-of-a-fall/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #234786;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://nmguiniling.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/on-the-edge-of-a-fall/</span></span></a></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #454545;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/nmguiniling?fref=ts"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nm Guiniling</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Ed Note: </b><i>Nicole Guiniling is the wife of one of the group of Toronto Resisters known as the 49ers. The groups name is a reference to the 49th Parallel that separates Canada from the US. Our mutual friend <a href="http://www.facebook.com/nick.velvet.5?fref=ts">Nick Velvet </a>shared this post from Nicole's blog with me. I was knocked out. So, I asked Nicole if we could repost it here on VetSpeak, as part of our Fall focus on the resisters, and the recently launched Amnesty For Resisters 2.0 Campaign. I also asked if she would consider establishing an "through the eyes of" By-line regarding the 49ers and their struggles. To all of ours' benefit, she has agreed. WH </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;"><b>Kim Rivera's De facto Deportation Marks a Changing of the Season for War resisters in Canada</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6uTG3U_O3HocU-GceE-1SOBd1a-wJ2iPHtqnfg-UDKs0TuHeLe743tyAILwudPAfFIYX96EVcDlahA3iPCkUWXXWKY6XP_p7wNmjsdafLk-4lrt59ZEk-2w_gTAyXF7cWyVL/s1600/kim-rivera-amnesty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #454545; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6uTG3U_O3HocU-GceE-1SOBd1a-wJ2iPHtqnfg-UDKs0TuHeLe743tyAILwudPAfFIYX96EVcDlahA3iPCkUWXXWKY6XP_p7wNmjsdafLk-4lrt59ZEk-2w_gTAyXF7cWyVL/s200/kim-rivera-amnesty.jpg" width="200" /></span></span></a><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">September 21st was the last day </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">of Summer. September 20th
marked the last day in Canada for Kimberly Rivera and her family.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;">I had to bite my lip and read Laura K’s account of the</span><a href="http://www.wmtc.ca/2012/09/the-rivera-family-leaves-canada-our.html" target="_blank" title="the last few days Kim had in Canada"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #234786;">last few days Kim had in Canada</span></a><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #454545;">–</span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04;">it’ll
break your heart, and that’s why you need to read it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is an anger in me. And a sadness. And it becomes difficult
to write when you don’t know what to say.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">There is something so vulgar and contemptuous, even in the
drudgery of paperwork, coming from the current actions of the Conservative
Government. This “request to leave” comes as the beginning of a new push by
Harper and his Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney*. </span><span style="color: #783f04;">Of course, War Resisters
aren’t the only community being affected. I mean, what is this steamrolling garbage
about Jason Kenney</span><span style="color: #454545;"> </span><a href="http://www.straight.com/article-785491/vancouver/reasonable-doubt-citizenship-fraud-residency-evils-and-fear-tactics-jason-kenney" style="color: #454545;" target="_blank" title="vilifying over 3000 new Canadians as "fraudsters"><span style="color: #234786;">vilifying over 3000 new Canadians as “fraudsters</span></a><span style="color: #454545;">“</span><span style="color: #783f04;">?</span><span style="color: #454545;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">I guess terms like “bogus refugees” aren’t just being used on U.S. war
resisters, of whom 90,000 of their compatriots came to Canada during the
Vietnam war (draft dodgers and deserters alike, welcomed with open arms).</span><i><span style="color: #783f04;">(*Writer’s
note: Since writing this article a week ago, Kenney has made headlines twice
more: first, for his</span><span style="color: #454545;"> </span><a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/critics-accuse-kenney-of-pinkwashing-in-targeted-emails-1.970259" style="color: #454545;" target="_blank" title="pink-wash spam"><span style="color: #234786;">pink-wash
spam</span></a><span style="color: #454545;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04;">sent to the LGBT community about the Conservatives’
support of gay refugees [serious attention was given to refugees who have fled
Iran], and then with his very</span><span style="color: #454545;"> </span><a href="http://o.canada.com/2012/09/24/jason-kenney-to-vote-in-favour-of-abortion-motion/" style="color: #454545;" target="_blank" title="Kenney supports abortion motion"><span style="color: #234786;">vocal enthusiasm for the anti-choice Motion-312</span></a><span style="color: #454545;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04;">[it
was defeated--thank goodness we're not losing <u>everything</u> this
country has fought for over the last 40 years].</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Energy was very high before word came down that Kim’s appeal had
been denied. When you’re confident that you’ve done all you can and still, the
doors for compassion from above slam in your face… words stutter. Thoughts act
like prey. They freeze, shrink back, play dead. I’ve considered that my
own thoughts have seasons–Spring and her riots of colour are followed by a mix
of drought and harvest respectively, until the final days of retreat
to protect what perennially remains, a warm and living core–this is all cyclical,
but shit like the Conservatives are like climate change–messing up the natural
order. The war resisters and their families may also, coincidentally,
be entering their Autumn now.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It began on August 30, when Immigration formally asked Kim to
leave Canada by September 20. From there, it was a campaign: an uphill battle,
but one with a lot of hope. It was so obviously wrong, for so many reasons. It
meant a productive whirlwind of harnessing a letter or phone call or petition
signature from every Canadian who opposed the Conservative’s anti-resister
agenda; and sending it to Ottawa. And that is a tree ripe with fruit: Canadians
in the majority, whenever polled, have supported war resisters and their right
to remain in Canada. And we saw that reflected in support for Kim from 20,000
people who wrote letters to Immigration Minister Kenney, through the Change.org
web campaign; we saw it in thousands of petition signatures and phone calls to
Kenney’s office that, at the peak on Sept 19th, averaged at 3 incoming calls per
minute from across the country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But as with other concepts of a majority, the Conservative party
chooses to misinterpret the data. And so despite Canadians’ support of these
brave men and women who turned their worlds upside down and left their homes at
the behest of their consciences, every victory gained for U.S. war resisters in
Canada has been fought for, legally and politically. When this started last
month, that open stretch of track in front of me–in front of all of us–looked
really promising. We’d won stays of deportation before–we could do it again.
Kim hadn’t even received a decision on her H&C application, a request to
receive special consideration on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds (two of
her children are Canadian citizens, after all…) As far as I know, this
contradicts Immigration Canada’s own procedures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">We could spend a lot of time as progressives blaming ourselves.
But there is a ferocity against the resisters this time around that I didn’t
see in previous times. The landscape is changing. Online news sites have been
completely</span><span style="color: #454545;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing" style="color: #454545;" target="_blank" title="astro-turfing"><span style="color: #234786;">astro-turfed</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;"> by
Conservative trollers on this issue. We’re over a decade into an era of
U.S.-led war and occupation, and we’re debating the worthiness of a cause that
was overwhelmingly acceptable in this country 40 years ago.U.S. online forums
are even worse. I don’t think I’ve seen one more brutal than the posts on the <a href="http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/09/ap-canada-deports-army-soldier-who-fled-iraq-war-092012/" target="_blank" title="ArmyTimes.com">ArmyTimes.com</a>-
understandably, read by the most gung-ho, confused FUBAR’s in the military…
people who post things like “I’ve been on 6 deployments… it’s time for Kim to
do her share!” Yea, buddy, if Kim hadn’t left, you totally wouldn’t have had
your rights as a soldier and U.S. citizen violated.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I try not to be pessimistic, but I can’t help but think about
it… When will it happen for us? When will my husband cross the border and be
taken away in handcuffs–for refusing to kill any more people? For refusing to
destroy himself?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This, and the closing of the Iran embassy last week gives me the
chills… the feeling that the climate in Ottawa is getting colder faster than
the rest of the country. </span></span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have confidence that the NDP could promise us a government in
2015, they have the support, but for the first time I have a very real fear
that this will be far too late. The fact that their popularity could get them
in with a minority government were there an election </span><i style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>today</u></i><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">,
makes the risky and destructive moves by the Conservatives all the more
frightening. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The mental image I get is a man with a gun who’s starting to take
hostages because he knows he’s surrounded. Likewise, it will be a mission of
Harper and Kenney to kick out every war resister in Canada before they
themselves are kicked out of office by a democratic vote…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course I’m pessimistic right now. There is this chill in the
air.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>More On Kimberly Rivera's arrest:</b></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://resisters.ca/">http://resisters.ca/</a></span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.couragetoresist.org/" style="background-color: transparent;">http://www.couragetoresist.org/</a></span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/army-deserter-arrested-at-border-opposed-iraq-war/">http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/army-deserter-arrested-at-border-opposed-iraq-war/</a></span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://activehistory.ca/papers/history-papers-12/">The Re-writing of History: The Misuse of the Draft "Dodger" myth against Iraq War resisters</a></span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/"><b>www.VetSpeak.org</b></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-72321688790673200742012-10-26T17:34:00.000-05:002012-10-26T20:07:29.935-05:00VetSpeak Newsletter re New Look & Fall Offensive<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-large; text-align: left;">Common Sense...</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: right;"><b> VetSpeak.org Newsletter - Fall 2012</b></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: right;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>"VetSpeak.org exists to publish and distribute the crucial voices and perspectives of America's military veterans, families, and supporters; in print, online, and on disc..." </b>(<a href="http://vetspeak.org/Mission.html">VetSpeak, 2005</a>).</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b> NEW LOOK - SAME MISSION</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">VetSpeak.org is changing it's look, but not its </span>mission<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. As part of the New Look, I have moved the VetSpeak <a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/vetspeak-mission-policies-faqs.html">Mission Statement & Policy</a>, from the bottom of the page sidebar, to the top. The reason for this is; I believe that who you are and what you are about should always be up front, whether you are a journalist or an activist. Both of these capacities can directly shape the American public's perceptions of Truth. Perceptions, which have been proven to be easily distorted and manipulated by </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">corporate</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> media, politicians, and </span><a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/kerry_03.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">political opportunists with hidden agendas</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">;</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> all of whom practice the art of political spin and hide Objective Truth from an electorate dying of thirst from lack of it. The way that they manage these re-writes, is with the tried and true practice of re-framing the political and social </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">argument of the moment. They spin Objective Truth</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in an attempt to somehow reflect their politically altered truth (</span><a href="http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/elephant" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lakoff, 2004)</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. VetSpeak.org Speaks only Objective Truth to Power.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our New Look is the result of Google buying out Blogger and transforming everything over to their formats. The sales pitch is that it makes things easier to manage, and also allows updated interactive technologies for social medias, and on 4G internet media in general, thereby expanding outreach and distribution opportunities. We will see. As a publication, VetSpeak grew up on Blogger. Blogger was like a community; neophyte commentators and techie nerds, all working together in a symbiotic publishing relationship through the user friendly medium of the Blogger platform. Now, when you see Blogger, think Google; a distant, sterile, and for all intents and purposes, inaccessible ring master, for those of us trying to blaze the trail from print media to digital multi-media publishing. No biggie...as the ol' Gunny used to say; "...when all else fails, improvise!..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have tried to keep the Look as much like the old one as possible, changing the banner to reflect the theme established on VetSpeak letterheads and business cards...kinda like an old Marine Corps green footlocker, with yellow stenciled identifiers...the main page background represents the desert sand of America's campaigns, since 9-11</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. The outer background and font color are throwbacks to the old page look, that of parchment. Parchment was the medium used by Tom Paine and other Sons of Liberty </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">pamphleteers</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to write their commentary and political treatises, such as Paine's Common Sense, and upon which they ultimately wrote the US Constitution on. The image suggests VetSpeak coming off the parchment of Blogger into the 21st century medium of Google, but not abandoning the principles or ideals of Paine and the other Sons of Liberty..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Something else I learned is that while our look is an identifier, our content is our heart and soul. Critical to successfully carrying out our above stated mission is our </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">distribution of that content to an involved activist readership, rather than unfocused shotgun messaging, political pandering, or advertising. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We don't spend any time or money for services that "guarantee" readership hits for a fee. We don't try and drive readers to our site; instead; we </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">literally "deliver the news" to our readership. We do this in the hopes that they in turn will share it to their own lists and with friends, FB and otherwise. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our downline distribution is to select closed lists and/or groups and list serves that are made up of veterans, families, and supporters, to include the informational and activist list serves of activist organizations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>REINFORCING THE MISSION</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As you can see, we now have two of the four critical elements to success already in place; a new 4g capable platform with updated desktop publishing technology and support, and a 7 year history as a credible and effective medium for publishing the perspectives of veterans, current service members, families, and supporters, and actively reporting on their events, actions, and legislative initiatives that address their particular peace and social justice issues. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, there are two other elements critical to carrying out the mission that still need to be addressed, and those are; funding and content. These two elements are directly tied to one another. Our VetSpeak business model sets our journalistic standard as; First Hand, Timely, and Well Documented. Much of our content is composed of live blogging or after-action reports, which requires that we be present for the event and/or action to fulfill the First Hand and Timely part of that standard. Without being there, due to the prolonged economic downturn, we have diminished our content capability by becoming dependent on second hand reporting which in turn directly impacts our timeliness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With a stagnate economy and rising costs for travel, increased funding is the key to securing content that is relevant to our reader base, and true to our journalistic standards. Sadly, we can no longer carry the load out of pocket and with spot donations. As we continue to improve the site, we will be exploring the possibilities of some grants, appeals for perpetual endowments, and serial donation pledges. We have already designed the page for our online store, The PX, and with our new capabilities and increased background space will soon have it on-line. But, for now, we still need to appeal directly to our readers for support, from time to time...and, this is one of those times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>RALLYING MISSION SUPPORT</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We realize that finances are a challenge for all hands, so I think its important to point out that there are other ways that you can show your support besides donating money. We think of VetSpeak as a family operation, including our readership. Each member contributes what they can to sustain and/or improve the quality of life of the family. Some write, some organize, some read and share, some read and take action, and some always come through to make it possible for us to make it to an important action or event. If everyone who reads this were to choose just one of the following ways to support our efforts, you would greatly improve the VetSpeak family quality of life, and thereby enable increased relevant content and upgrade distribution capability:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WRITE FOR US</b> - submit any poetry, personal insight, articles, essays, commentary, and group/organization event notices to <a href="mailto:willie.hager@vetspeak.org">willie.hager@vetspeak.org</a>, attached in Word.doc format and with <i>Attn: Editor</i> in the Subject field. Attach any pictures you </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">want to use in the piece, in the order you wish them displayed. Also, please use the Post A Comment option to join the topic discussion, or to tell us your thoughts on a topic, or our presentation of it.</span></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">FOLLOW US </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- show your support to others and go to </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Followers </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">header in sidebar, and click on </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Join This Site</b>.</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> You may run in to someone there that you know, or that you might like to meet. We will add you to the VetSpeakNet list serve when you choose to follow us.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>SHARE US</b> - share postings that you receive from us on FB, other social media, and on any relevant list serves that you might administer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>DONATE </b>- to make either a one time or a perpetual cash donation; go to <i>Join The Fight </i>header in sidebar, and click on <i><b>Donate</b> </i>button for PayPal. Be sure to type in <i>VetSpeak Donation</i> in memo line, for 501 (c) deduction credit. We are currently on a drive to raise $8,000 to cover anticipated travel and expenses and site improvement software through the spring of 2013. A $25.00 donation from each person on our lists, and from all those who read this elsewhere and support our mission, would put us over the top in short order.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>MOBILIZE US</b> - last, but not least, help to put VetSpeak on the road; we are seeking a tax deductible donation of a serviceable, road ready, 4 sleeper RV to use for travel and event support. If you know of a dealer or an individual who might support our mission, and donate one for a tax deduction, please ask them to contact me at <a href="mailto:willie.hager@vetspeak.org">willie.hager@vetspeak.org</a>, with Re RV in the Subject field.</span><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">x</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>FALL OFFENSIVE</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As we move towards the new year, we will be focusing our pages on the plight of the GI and other Resisters resulting from the continued US involvement in Afghanistan, to include the issue of multiple forced deployments of our troops to that theatre of operations. This in spite of pending clinical evaluations regarding the severity of diagnosis of PTSD and TBI. </span><a href="http://www.ivaw.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Iraq Veterans Against the War</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (IVAW) already has instituted a campaign, </span><a href="http://www.ivaw.org/operation-recovery" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Operation Recovery</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, to address this practice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To deal with the devastating human fall-out of GI Resistance, </span><a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/vvawoss-launches-amnesty-for-resisters.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Vietnam Veterans Against The War/Old School Sappers</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (VVAW/OSS) has initiated Amnesty for Resisters Campaign 2.0. VVAW/OSS has developed this initiative from working with a group of Toronto Resisters who call themselves the "49ers" (pertaining to the 49th </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Parallel</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> that separates Canada from the US). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the coming months, VetSpeak.org will be following up on both of these campaigns and publishing personal essays, advocacy information, and by-lines and blogs from those actively involved in these symbiotic issues. We hope that we can count on y'all to do your part for the mission; read, act on, and share.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good concience to remain silent."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <a href="http://www.vetpeak.org/">www.Vetspeak.org</a></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-3307697345282124062012-07-26T23:44:00.009-05:002012-10-20T14:47:59.594-05:00VVAW/OSS Launches Amnesty For Resisters Campaign<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Honor The warrior ~ Not The War</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/168550729877116/">PLEASE ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES…</a></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u>Who We Are</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">VVAW/OSS is a 41 member strong caucus of Old School VVAW types, most of whom, following the VVAW 40<sup>th</sup> Reunion in 2007, were listed as VVAW Regional Contacts in the VVAW‘s “The Veteran” newspaper. Many were members of the Veterans Advisory & Resource Group, a committee appointed by the VVAW National Steering Committee to review organizational policy and operations and make recommendations for reform. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We came together as an active caucus of VVAW at the Kent State 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary because we believed that after a yearlong review, and input from VVAW members past and present and who hailed from throughout the U.S., that VVAW needed to be more focused on an anti-war agenda, and more actively outspoken regarding U.S. involvement in the wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and in the affairs of other nations, under the guise of “building democracy”. A concept and policy which our caucus believes is simply continuing U.S. and multi-national corporate imperialism, and must be brought to an end, just as we brought the war in Vietnam to an end; by taking our Truth, to the streets and winning the hearts and minds of the American people. </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Since May of 2010, we have been active in two national gatherings at the White House, we held a caucus at the 2011 VFP convention in Portland,, Ore., we have been active with IVAW, attending two South East Regional Retreats regarding movement building, and participating with IVAW in the recent March for Justice and Reconciliation during the NATO Summit, where VVAW/OSS represented the Toronto Resisters and one of our OSS members who had tossed his medals at Dewey Canyon III, stood in for the Toronto Resisters and tossed their medals back to NATO, for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">In that same and continuing spirit of activism, and again initially on behalf of the Toronto Resisters, we have as a caucus set out for ourselves the task of initiating a grass-roots campaign for Amnesty for Resisters. VVAW/OSS has developed this initiative from working with the current Toronto Resisters, upon hearing that they wanted to come home. We believe that they never should have had to leave in the first place. In 1973, VVAW, after attending an </span><a href="http://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=1436&hilite=Amnesty"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">International Amnesty Conference in Toronto</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">, initiated its original Amnesty for Vietnam Resisters that same year. Amnesty was enacted incrementally, but successfully by both </span><a href="http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/amnesty"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">President Ford, 1974, and President Carter, 1977</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">. Carter’s Amnesty went further than did Ford’s, and met more of the demands of the Left, regarding the topic. We wish to do the same for today’s Resisters…we hope y’all will join with us in this important effort.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We will be attending the 2012 Veterans For Peace Convention in Miami, where will launch our Amnesty initiative by presenting our case to VFP for support for our Amnesty for our campaign. We will be seeking not only the support of VFP as an national organization, but of its chapters and individual members from out in the grass-roots as well, as we begin to build a coalition of organizations and individuals who wish to actively work with us in bringing about Amnesty for the current generation of Resisters living abroad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">In support of furthering our initiative, we are attempting to raise </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">the funds to bring our Toronto VVAW/OSS member, who many of you on FB know as Nick Velvet, down to Miami to speak for the Resisters. Nick knows these folks personally and works closely with them there in Toronto. Nick, who returned his own medals to the government at Operation Dewey Canyon III in 1971, represented the Toronto Resisters at the IVAW March for Justice & Reconciliation during the NATO Summit held there 20 May 2012.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Nick marched with the IVAW troops who were to return their medals to NATO, and at the medal toss he threw back the Toronto Resisters’ medals to NATO on their behalf, becoming the only two time medal toss Veteran in history. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">If you would</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">like to join us in launching the VVAW/OSS Amnesty for Resisters campaign, and get Nick to Miami, please donate whatever you are able to; no donation is too small…we will need at least $500.00…your donation is tax deductible, so print and save your receipt with Purpose annotated…if you are unable to donate, at least please share this letter with a friend…</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">If you able to donate, please simply click on the DONATE button located under "Join The Fight..." in left side bar of this page.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Unity - Struggle - Victory</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Willie Hager</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Operations Coordinator</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">VVAW/OSS</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">willie.hager@vetspeak.org</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-85722758732745417162012-05-12T14:15:00.000-05:002012-05-12T14:16:41.169-05:00NATO Summit, Chicago, 05/20/2012 - IVAW Medal and Awards Return<br />
MARCH FOR JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION<br />
posted to:<br />
<a href="http://www.ivaw.org/chicago">Chicago</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB00EsMxRqAl3NQNVS0IQAWI3jRpsqou3Pc0X0Mva7FCVs52rDU8ggYTZzbsHnnDoCxP4sj9-DgpbE6maTSteuJALkcyis-3KYkogfclueENqF4-kHSfg4AuZhVJCUj8JatIhQ/s1600/feb042ed6b086b1bad1c8c58fd0901bf-210x141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB00EsMxRqAl3NQNVS0IQAWI3jRpsqou3Pc0X0Mva7FCVs52rDU8ggYTZzbsHnnDoCxP4sj9-DgpbE6maTSteuJALkcyis-3KYkogfclueENqF4-kHSfg4AuZhVJCUj8JatIhQ/s1600/feb042ed6b086b1bad1c8c58fd0901bf-210x141.jpg" /></a>Sunday May 20th supported by thousands of people Afghanistan and Iraq veterans will march to NATO Summit to ceremoniously return their military service medals.<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/291166727635286/">Join the event</a> and share with friends on facebook <br />
10AM - Music at Petrillo Music Shell (E. Jackson Dr. & S Columbus Dr.)<br />
1030AM - Musical Guest Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman<br />
2PM - Step off from Petrillo Music Shell (E. Jackson Dr. & S. Columbus Dr.)<br />
3PM - Ceremony to return military service medals (Michigan Ave. & E. Cermak Rd.)<br />
5PM - Post event hang out with musical guest Watermellon Slim at Simones 960 W. 18th St.<br />
IVAW Members register today to March and return your medals.<br />
<br />
We, Afghanistan and Iraq veterans, from around the country have united with CANG8 Coalition aginst NATO/G8 war and poverty agenda to converge in Chicago on May 20th for a unity march to the NATO summit and ceremoniously return our service medals to NATO generals. We were awarded these medals for serving in the Global War on Terror, a war based on lies and failed polices. This endless war has killed hundreds of thousands, stripped the humanity of all involved, and drained our communities of trillions of dollars, diverting funds from schools, clinics, libraries, and other public goods.<br />
<br />
Iraq Veterans Against the War calls on fellow service members, veterans, Chicagoans, and everyone who believes in justice, dignity, and respect for all peoples to join us in the streets on May 20th. On this day, we will hold a nonviolent march to the site of the NATO summit where we will ceremoniously return our military service medals. We will demand that NATO immediately end the occupation of Afghanistan and relating economic and social injustices, bring U.S. war dollars home to fund our communities, and acknowledge the rights and humanity of all who are affected by these wars. We wish to begin a process of justice and reconciliation with the people of Afghanistan and other affected nations, fellow service members, veterans, and the American people.<br />
<br />
The city of Chicago will host the NATO summit from May 20th-21st. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an organization of western military superpowers whose combined military might is the world's largest and most powerful military force. The NATO mission in Afghanistan has dragged on for over a decade, to the detriment of the people of Afghanistan, military service members and their families, and our communities.<br />
<br />
The recent news that the G8 summit, originally set to take place in Chicago this May, has been moved to Camp David shows that the world's large economies fear the mass mobilization and collective organizing of the people of Chicago. NATO should also be advised that the world's military superpowers, responsible for unjust wars, occupations, and militarism, are also not welcome in our hometown. We are emboldened by the knowledge that Chicagoans' call for popular mobilizations was enough to move the G8 out of our city. We must now harness this same people power to send the message loud and clear to NATO that they too will be met with resistance. Furthermore, even though the G8 and NATO will now be held apart from each other, we know that these two summits, and the interests they represent, are linked. War, austerity, poverty, and economic exploitation by the 1% go hand in hand.<br />
<br />
It is time for us to take a stand and make our voices heard. We stand in international solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and all the people of the world who are demanding their right to self-determination, their human rights, and economic justice.<br />
<br />
To cosponsor the march or for more information contact <a href="mailto:chicago@ivaw.org">chicago@ivaw.org </a> 217-898-9083 <br />
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Sponsors:<br />
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ADAPT<br />
<br />
American Friends Service Committee<br />
<br />
CANG8<br />
<br />
Chicago Democratic Socialists of America<br />
<br />
Chicago Jobs With Justice<br />
<br />
Civilian Soldier Alliance<br />
<br />
Delaware Valley Veterans for America<br />
<br />
Grassroutes Caravan<br />
<br />
Michael Moore<br />
<br />
Military Families Speak Out<br />
<br />
Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild,<br />
<br />
Move the Money<br />
<br />
National Nurses United<br />
<br />
Network for a NATO Free Future<br />
<br />
Occupy Chicago<br />
<br />
Peace Action<br />
<br />
Protest Chaplains of Chicago<br />
<br />
Rogers Park Food Not Bombs<br />
<br />
Social Justice Council of the First UU Church of Chicago<br />
<br />
STOP<br />
<br />
UE Western Region<br />
<br />
UIUC GEO's Solidarity Committee<br />
<br />
United for Peace and Justice<br />
<br />
US Labor Against the War<br />
<br />
Veterans for Peace<br />
<br />
Vietnam Veterans Against the War<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/168550729877116/">Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Old School Sappers</a><br />
<br />
Voices for Creative Nonviolence<br />
<br />
WI Network for Peace and Justice<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-39567415086430334292012-03-28T16:35:00.003-05:002012-04-08T15:09:59.451-05:00IN MEMORIAM<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Marv Davidov: My Friend, My Inspiration<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael Orange, 3/21/12<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Ed Note:<i> </i></b><i>Michael is a personal friend, fellow Marine and a regular VetSpeak.org contributor. We have been friends since we met at the IVAW Winter Soldier investigation in 2008, at the US Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland.<b> </b>He and his wife Cynthia have appeared on our pages numerous times since then. Even with his passing we, as a leaderless Occupy Movement, have a lot to learn from Marv Davidov, as we all try and shake off our winter doldrums, and mount our Occupy Spring Offensive; and that lesson is Leadership by Example & ORGANIZE!. WH</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Marv Davidov, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">the man the noted historian, Howard Zinn, called “the apostle of nonviolent direct action,” died on January 14 at </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">80 years of age. The litany of Davidov’s life as a devoted advocate matches the turbulent history of the peace, justice, labor, and environmental movements over the last six decades. He was a Freedom Rider and protester on the Peoples March on Washington, a hunger striker in several Southern jails, a union organizer, a protector of family farms and Native American rights, an anti-war activist, and a riveting speaker and teacher.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Best known for founding the Honeywell Project in 1968, a worldwide movement to stop the production of indiscriminate weapons of war, Marv also founded the Minnesota chapter of the War Resisters League and helped found the Minnesota Campaign to Ban Land Mines, which was part of the international organization that was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With Marv’s life of dedication and unflagging work across the country, it would be hard to find a famous peace and justice worker who <i>didn’t</i> know Marv. He was admired and embraced by the likes of Phil Berrigan, Fr. Daniel Berrigan, Dave Dellinger, and Noam Chomsky, to name a few. In fact, the Justice Studies Association chose Marv for its 2007 Noam Chomsky Award. To honor Marv and his contributions, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the Minnesota House of Representatives proclaimed March 10 as Marv Davidov Day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Soon after he died, I was in Marv’s room at a local nursing home helping his closest friend, Barbara Mishler, and my wife, Cynthia, with his possessions. We stepped out of the room when the man from the Cremation Society arrived so he could do his job. A few minutes later, he told us he would now bring out Marv's body. He slowly wheeled the blanket-draped gurney out of the room and paused where the three of us had lined up to offer our deep respect and love for this giant of the peace and justice community. We said our last goodbyes and stood there for a few moments more, almost at attention, as one would do when the body of a dignitary or national hero passes for military review. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Marv and I were both in the service, and I thought of saluting but dismissed the idea even though it always struck me that the story I heard Marv tell repeatedly was about the incident while in the Army that launched his activist vocation. He refused to participate in the brutal beating of another soldier and that act of courage resulted in his own beating. If it wasn’t his Greek fisherman’s cap that covered his head, it was his faded Veterans for Peace hat, and as a fellow member of the organization, I wanted to pay tribute to his bravery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Although acquaintances for two decades, Marv and I became good friends after he agreed to address the students in a class I co-taught in 2007 about Vietnam and the 60s. Wearing his Honeywell Project T-shirt (as did I), his b</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ushy white hair exploded from under his Vets for Peace cap</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. “Mine was a breach birth,” he began. “I came out feet first kicking and then screaming and I’ve been doing it ever since.” Then he recounted his Army story, fresh as if it was the first time, complete with his characteristic drawn-out vowels and no-holds-barred-expletives. He finished an hour and a half later only pausing occasionally to breathe. He so transfixed the students that they ranked his presentation as the highlight of the course. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On that Saturday morning with Marv, January 14, Cynthia and I joined Barbara and two other close friends of Marv at his bedside as he lay dying. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">His breathing was somewhat labored and, for a time, he seemed to try to speak to Barbara who sat close to him on his bed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Earlier, Barbara described some of the last words Marv spoke the night before he died. “I said to him, ‘Marv, what should I do with the rest of my life?’ He thought for a long, long time; so long that I thought he forgot the question. Finally, he turned to me and said: ‘You must locate your deepest private feelings—philosophical, religious and spiritual—and then decide to live out these beliefs in a commensurate way, in public, as much as possible without compromise.’ It’s no surprise I loved and admired him immensely.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As we gathered close around Marv, Cynthia sang him the Beetles’ lullaby, <i>Goodnight</i>. He reached up to touch Barbara and she held his hand gently. He relaxed and his breathing grew softer. At about 1:15 p.m., he turned his face and gaze towards the ceiling as if he recognized something (or someone), then shut his eyes and died peacefully moments later.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Over the last months of his life, we started a little ritual when I visited him. I always gave him a little kiss on the top of his bald head as he laid in his bed and we both said I love you. Just before the tall man in the long black-leather coat took Marv for his last trip, I completed my role in our ritual one last time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About the Author:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael Orange, a member of VFP Chapter 27 since 1991, served as a Marine in Vietnam and experienced combat in numerous search-and-destroy missions and patrols during his one-year tour of duty. Afterwards, he returned to his former university campus, Kent State, in May 1970, just before Ohio National Guardsmen shot thirteen of his fellow students, killing four. In 2001, he published a memoir of his service, <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fire in the Hole: A Mortarman in Vietnam</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Michael teaches a class on the history of the Vietnam War at venues including the University of Minnesota’s Compleat Scholar Program.</span></span></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-54224334153483613852011-11-30T15:38:00.003-06:002012-04-08T15:11:02.822-05:00IVAW Official Statement on Occupy Movement<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #fce5cd;">x</span><br />
<img src="https://www.commondreams.org/sites/commondreams.org/files/organization_image_sm/ivaw_logo.gif" style="color: #121212; display: block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" /><br />
<table id="newswire-header" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(237, 237, 237); border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: rgb(237, 237, 237); border-right-width: medium; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(237, 237, 237); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #121212; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 488px;"><tbody style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<tr style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: medium; border-right-width: medium; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 13px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 244px;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</strong><br />
November 28, 2011<br />
9:07 AM</span></div></td><td style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: medium; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: medium; border-right-width: medium; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 13px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 244px;"><div class="newswire_source" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;">CONTACT: <a href="http://www.ivaw.org/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Iraq Veterans Against the War</a></span></strong></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Joseph Carter, Iraq Veterans Against the War<br />
<span class="skype_pnh_print_container_1333813860">646-723-0989</span><span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_mark"> begin_of_the_skype_highlighting</span> <span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr" skypeaction="skype_dropdown" title="Click to make a low cost call with Skype"><span class="skype_pnh_left_span" skypeaction="skype_dropdown" title="Skype actions"> </span><span class="skype_pnh_dropart_span" skypeaction="skype_dropdown" title="Skype actions"><span class="skype_pnh_dropart_flag_span" skypeaction="skype_dropdown" style="background-position: -5849px 1px !important;"> </span> </span><span class="skype_pnh_textarea_span"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">646-723-0989</span></span><span class="skype_pnh_right_span"> </span></span> <span class="skype_pnh_mark">end_of_the_skype_highlighting</span></span></span>, <a href="mailto:josephcarter@ivaw.org" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #005588; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">josephcarter@ivaw.org</a></span></div></div></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div id="node-header" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><h2 class="node-title" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 23.4px; line-height: 23.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;">Iraq Veterans Against the War Board of Directors Releases Official Statement on Occupy Movement</span></h2><h3 class="title" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 15.6px; line-height: 25.4833px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04;">We are the 99%, organization says</span></h3></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br />
</span><br />
<div id="node-header" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><h3 class="title" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 25.4833px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">NATIONWIDE - November 28 -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Veterans are a part of the 99%. </strong></span></h3></div><div id="node-body" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="clear-block" id="content-newswire" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Most of our military is made up of the 99%. We join the military for many reasons. Some join because of family tradition or a sense of patriotism. Others join for citizenship, education or to escape poverty or violence in our homes and neighborhoods. Many service members realize the wars we fight contribute to poverty and violence in Iraq and Afghanistan communities. We are coming home to a broken economy where veterans have higher unemployment, incarceration, suicide and homelessness than the national average.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The 1% is profiting from of our sacrifices. </span></strong></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our nation’s leaders have betrayed us. We have been asked to risk our lives and mental health for the defense of our country and the well being of foreign allies. The causes for military conflict have proven false while corporations profit. The military industrial complex continues to grow in wealth while the rest of the world pays for it in dollars and blood. Instead of increasing programs to attempt to repair damages, many schools, hospitals, and social services are shutting down. Programs for veterans are inadequate and are leaving us physically, mentally, and emotionally bankrupt.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Veterans have a history of effective grassroots organizing. </span></strong></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">IVAW has been a voice for veterans and their grievances since our founding in 2004. We understand that change comes about when people speak up, organize, and demand justice. Veterans and active-duty service members have a history of organizing, from the Bonus March to the Vietnam War. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have an important contribution to make to this movement. </span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As veterans and members of the 99% we stand in solidarity with the Occupy Movement. </span></strong></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As service members we are told that we fight for human rights and democratic freedoms. However, these rights seem to be continually denied at protests across the nation, often times by police using excessive force and violent tactics. We support our members, fellow veterans and members of this movement who have been subjected to this gross contradiction, and who have refused to remain silent.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We are the 99%.</span></strong></div></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 13px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">###</span></div><div class="authorBio" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: italic; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was <a href="http://ivaw.org/founders" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">founded by Iraq war veterans</a> in July 2004 at the annual convention of Veterans for Peace (VFP) in Boston to give a voice to the large number of active duty service people and veterans who are against this war, but are under various pressures to remain silent.</span></div><div class="authorBio" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #121212; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 13px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/" style="background-color: #fff2cc;">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-75970032170836661472011-10-25T16:39:00.003-05:002014-08-25T16:04:22.742-05:00After Action Report: Freedom Plaza and Beyond...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><b>By Willie Hager</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">VVAW Fl</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">VVAW/OSS</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When the Occupation of Freedom Plaza was first brought to our attention in September of this year, it came in the form of a</span><a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2011_09_26_archive.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> press release</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_886499249" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">from a group calling itself the<a href="http://october2011.org/"> October2011 Coalition</a>. It also came on the heels of an article that I had posted on these pages on September 25th entitled<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_886499271"> </a></span><a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/reflections-on-10th-anniversary-of-war.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Ten Years and Counting in Afghanistan</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">", </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">which in part<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span>questioned the effectiveness of a continuation of mass demonstrations, as they were organized and carried out, prior to Oct 6th, 2011, when the people's Occupation of Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C. began.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was wary of the cost and commitment of time that these types of demonstrations in D.C. required, given that our repeated visits had become routine in nature, and that once we left D.C., there never seemed to be an organized effort to capture the spirit and momentum of the occasion, and to take it back and share it at the grass-roots with those who were unable to attend. Those who were unaware that it was even happening, and educate and inform those folks as to the issues</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> that were relevant to their daily lives</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and to demonstrate to them, that by simply coordinating their talents and resources that they could do something about their circumstances, and could involve themselves in the process </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">of confronting those issues (and those responsible for them), right</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> there at home. I need not have been wary; that was not to be the case this time. This time, all the forces came together and a prairie fire was lit.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My initial purpose for going to D.C. for the October2011 Freedom Plaza Occupation was because the tenth anniversary of involvement in Afghanistan was one of the core issues of the Occupation. Also, I wanted to do a piece for <a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">VetSpeak</a> on the Occupation of Freedom Plaza, and the subsequent downline dynamics resulting from it and it's impact on bringing about awareness out where it needs to be; out in the heartland, rather than on the doorsteps of the institutions of government.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I even recruited my daughter Sarah to accompany me, as the VetSpeak photo-journalist for the piece. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While we were preparing for the journey, some critical VVAW business arose that needed to be attended to. The result was that a delegation was formed to go D.C. to meet and resolve the issues, and at the same time to represent VVAW at the Freedom Plaza Occupation and any subsequent actions that might spontaneously occur.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At about the same time as these events were developing, a Canadian consumer Activist group,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adbusters_Media_Foundation">Adbusters Media Foundation</a>, called for the Occupation of Wall Street, coinciding with the already planned Freedom Plaza Occupation. Fact is, Occupy Wall Street came to D.C. while we were there and began yet another Occupation there in the city, and made an alliance with the Freedom Plaza Occupation. Turns out, occupations were now springing up in cities all over the US, in rapid order. A perfect storm was brewing.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our VVAW group was headquartered at the at the Harrington Hotel, in D.C. We arrived on Wednesday, the 5th. We had scheduled our meeting for the afternoon of the 6th, the first day of the Plaza Occupation. We were booked in through Sunday the 9th, which gave us </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">several days following our meeting in which to participate in Occupation activities and actions. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;"> This was a prime opportunity for us to spend a few days together getting to re-know one another personally and to work together democratically to achieve our stated objectives.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">x</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The purpose of our meeting was to demonstrate our nationally resolved organizational unity around stopping the war in Afghanistan and it's negative impact on our economy and society, given Obama's assertions that we were to be there at least until 2015, and to tighten up our network of still active VVAW members and Regional Contacts for the long fight ahead. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">We were also there to develop an ad-hoc infrastructure, one designed for the purpose of presenting </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">a visible and effective public face of unified VVAW activists with-in the movement, and to discuss strategy and tactics, and how we could become an active arm of VVAW in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">interfacing with other anti-war organizations and Veterans groups and thereby, share our history, talent, and resources, in any future movement planning, with an emphasis on the power of grass-roots messaging and the power of the networking aspects of organizing, and the empowerment of democratic decision making, incorporating the spirit of one of the slogans/chants of the Freedom Plaza Occupation: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Messaging, networking, and democratic decision making were the three critical elements that enabled VVAW to be successful historically, and at the forefront of the movement which back in the day brought about the end of the war in Vietnam, and was instrumental in bringing about the downfall of the Nixon creature's police state. And yet, here we were again, 40 years later, right back on square one; meeting as VVAW to try and bring a halt to another war of corporate, capital, and political imperialism, in an increasingly militaristic America. We had to do something different in order for our efforts to ring about permanent change, this time around.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Those of us who met in D.C. believe that our old school formula for organizing can be a powerful tool in today's anti-war movement, in order to get main-stream America into the fight. We also believe that it is our jobs, as ones who have "been there", to demonstrate how the current wars, just as with Vietnam, break down our families and our society, and is tied directly to the failing economy, and to the cuts to education, health, and mobility of the 99% of us who do not share in the corporate billions in profit being made at the expense of American blood and treasure, by the remaining wealthy 1%. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But, as stated earlier, we were also there to support and participate in Occupy Freedom Plaza. So, on the evening of the 6th, we went down to the Plaza to participate in the general assembly, and to listen to movement folks giving speeches and playing music. We wanted to hear what folks had to say at open mike at the general assembly. One of our own, Watermelon Slim was on the venue and played some movement blues for the occupiers.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Others who played that evening were a troop of Afghanistan Veterans and supporters from the Southeast who were bicycling the eastern seaboard bringing and singing messages of peace, and some local talent who helped to get the crowd revved up and in the mood for some serious protestin'. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">The most notable thing about the events in the park, was the lack of ideological sloganeering and dogmatic rhetoric. There was an air of hippie festivity mixed with pragmatic determination. What appeared to be gathered here, judging from the speeches and people in close proximity to us in the park, were folks who recognized that as we harnessed the energy this time around, we needed to so in a pragmatic way, rather than in a knee jerk reactive way. That, in order to win hearts and minds to the cause; it was understood that we needed to inspire, rather than cajole those who weren't standing there in D.C. with us...this was new, and refreshing. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">What else was new was the all out effort to make sure that all who wished to speak could be heard, bolstered with a new </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">phenomena called "Mike Check!". When shouted out, it required all hands to stop talking and to listen, and to repeat after every five words or so whatever the speaker was saying...it worked really well and no one missed out on the message or necessary information with this form of 21st century public speech. All decisions were being put to the crowd for affirmation, through what we in VVAW came to refer to as "twinkling"; extending both hands in the air, and wiggling your fingers. This was now the universal sign of consensus or approval.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsf1jKR4li0aKmV1-XCztV5IBlpLV-_l27KZT-RWOBUdTSONhUcd8urmEFPI0NA4FwiQW5EtEBYNBI4VQr3DsY_uofNDSqkcgPIP1Cqs4yfmlqgA0PXalstqlWT3WcyCH1mWu/s1600/R1-01586-0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsf1jKR4li0aKmV1-XCztV5IBlpLV-_l27KZT-RWOBUdTSONhUcd8urmEFPI0NA4FwiQW5EtEBYNBI4VQr3DsY_uofNDSqkcgPIP1Cqs4yfmlqgA0PXalstqlWT3WcyCH1mWu/s200/R1-01586-0002.jpg" height="135" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisknxF0iKPIEGA-KWDv2Sr-cxmKmc6SWiOQjN1LSyP6KY8qCJcAPqs6AU6dIV3s56YN9BCZubpK-7xPu5_BgtuF41Ru2q9-SPtfzIxw5rhuQwExuseXGIfIniJWISVn_b1KakI/s1600/R1-01591-0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisknxF0iKPIEGA-KWDv2Sr-cxmKmc6SWiOQjN1LSyP6KY8qCJcAPqs6AU6dIV3s56YN9BCZubpK-7xPu5_BgtuF41Ru2q9-SPtfzIxw5rhuQwExuseXGIfIniJWISVn_b1KakI/s200/R1-01591-0004.jpg" height="135" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Our opportunity to march came the next day, in the form of a march to, and a rally at, the MLK Memorial, where there was to be a press conference with Iraq Veterans Against The War (IVAW) & Veterans For Peace (VFP), linking MLK's opposition to the Vietnam War to the premise that he would also be outspoken about our current involvement in the middle-east, and in the world wide War on Terror. In the end, VVAW, and a Veterans group named March Forward also participated in the press conference supporting the Occupation, and all gave a united message of discontinuance in our current wars, full health care for Veterans, and support of IVAW's Operation Recovery, which addresses the topic of re-deployments of service personnel identified as exhibiting symptoms of PTSD following previous deployments.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">We finished the rally with a gathering under the MLK quote station addressing Vietnam, that starts "I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not in anger, but with sorrow in my heart." We can relate, Martin...same goes for the current wars...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgossQe7rJ_kKmJmxN72rsKIbAO2Tvsi-8jUMhTd-78Hno937ykDlVqXHG7LEoqbuhRAnivLTSKh7Ixo3YdwKHgHwJJ1UKmGdWnbXUS2r1n4Vty1kgTGq4v7oPak-2NGYEYeB0E/s1600/R1-01591-0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgossQe7rJ_kKmJmxN72rsKIbAO2Tvsi-8jUMhTd-78Hno937ykDlVqXHG7LEoqbuhRAnivLTSKh7Ixo3YdwKHgHwJJ1UKmGdWnbXUS2r1n4Vty1kgTGq4v7oPak-2NGYEYeB0E/s320/R1-01591-0003.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRA14OHhqpnHBPIM4iw9zhjY13gT9Qe2jHsk0KPjStRuimvtpV9I19cQyy-ZTDy3Oj9PaRclM9OqWN17GtgBH768JpnYNCDHeGExf1tgmH4t7LFZFyS6LbgZ0HTpHJa0W3yRC/s1600/R1-01591-0022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRA14OHhqpnHBPIM4iw9zhjY13gT9Qe2jHsk0KPjStRuimvtpV9I19cQyy-ZTDy3Oj9PaRclM9OqWN17GtgBH768JpnYNCDHeGExf1tgmH4t7LFZFyS6LbgZ0HTpHJa0W3yRC/s200/R1-01591-0022.jpg" height="135" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Our last action in D.C., was to join with Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), VFP, and March Forward, in a march on the White House on Sunday the 9th. The purpose was to demand a Beer Summit with President Obama. We wanted to have a beer and discuss the war and the economy with the Commander in Chief. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Of course, like so many other times that we had come to the gates of the White House, no one was home...they never are when we get there, but we rallied anyway and a representative from each Veterans group delivered a personal message to the crowd, and a personal invitation, relayed through the gate guard, that we wished to have a beer with Obama, and discuss the state of the nation. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">By the time that we were ready to roll back to Florida on Sunday, Occupations had sprung up in 103 cities, with more to come as of this writing. There was already an Occupy Jacksonville, back home; This, in a town where if it can happen, it can happen anywhere. The Occupy movement, with the advent of the joining in unity of purpose of the Wall Street and Freedom Plaza Occupations, has been the spark that has lit the prairie fire that has now become the Occupy movement. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">This time, the message and energy from mass demonstrations held in far cities was getting back out to the grass-roots, and people are becoming aware, and are coordinating their talents and their resources, and starting to do something about their circumstances. They are beginning to confront the issues of corporate domination of our lives, politics, and economy, and bringing to an end wars of corporate and political imperialism, and abandoning the lock step mentality of the two main po</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">l</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">itical party's who no longer speak for the people, but instead for the corporations and the global economy, rather than your's and your family's economy. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">If nothing else comes of all of this, I would like to see all involved re-register as Independent voters, so that the parties and politicians could no longer lump us all into defined groups of voters, i.e., Democrats, Republican, latino voters, black voters, veteran voters, women voters, and tell us we should vote as such. As Independents, they couldn't stereotype us as voters who all vote the same way as identity groups, as they do now. The current practice of two party politics is racist in nature, and disrespectful of the fact that as Americans, we are capable of thinking of ourselves. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">As Independents, the power brokers couldn't categorize and predict our votes by our demographic grouping and as a whole and united people, we could win our Constitution back from the corporate power brokers and politicians who are only in this for political, personal, or capital gain, and replace them with those who desire to serve the people in accordance with our hard fought for and hard won Constitution and Bill of Rights, forged in blood, way back in 1776. We could go back to electing folks who would work for us, rather than for the money men and corporate power brokers. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Think about it; as I see it that is the power of the Occupy movement...all of us, despite all of our differences...standing together and speaking as one against the political tyranny that has become our current manner of governance. For a short week, that spirit was alive in Freedom Plaza, and it is now spilling over into plazas and parks all over our great nation. See you at Occupy Jacksonville, this Saturday. Power to the People.</span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-46855525805006970752011-10-14T21:06:00.002-05:002011-10-14T21:11:52.981-05:00We the People--A New Movement: Freedom Plaza Occupation, Washington, D.C., October 2011<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">We the People—A New Movement</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Submitted for <i><a href="http://vetspeak.org/">VetSpeak.org</a><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Michael and Cynthia Orange, 10/14/11<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear...<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div align="right" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">—From “For What It’s Worth,” Steven Stills and Buffalo Springfield, 1967<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">We participated in the</span> “<a href="http://www.october2011.org/">Stop the Machine! Create a New World</a>” </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-G7BGYwauSHmmSurfoOeDoWd4wH2-KmWEkjQeVKmo7OIqjsUX2n81Hl914uZT0sRNR8NaHmDNq3Y6EMz_a1JYXrrTZSnYYyasgzIvie-cX5G6KCZfXCuVUZkOIA16TWTnpAL/s1600/DSC03791.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663497058775635362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-G7BGYwauSHmmSurfoOeDoWd4wH2-KmWEkjQeVKmo7OIqjsUX2n81Hl914uZT0sRNR8NaHmDNq3Y6EMz_a1JYXrrTZSnYYyasgzIvie-cX5G6KCZfXCuVUZkOIA16TWTnpAL/s200/DSC03791.JPG" style="float: right; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 320px;" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">gathering in Washington DC to launch the occupation of Freedom Plaza. The occupation was the culmination of efforts from a large coalition of previously existing grassroots organizations, including the Veterans for Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War. What we saw in DC and have been seeing in broadcasts from some of the other “occupations” throughout the country convince us that we are witnessing the birth of a new movement.</span></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For months, we felt compelled to make the trip from our home in St. Paul primarily because the focus of the gathering in Washington DC was to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the US war and occupation of Afghanistan. It was also to “connect the dots” that link our imperial wars as the root causes of our country’s debilitating domestic problems. The military-industrial-media complex bears increasing responsibility for our growing economic inequity, chronic joblessness and union bashing, defunded public education and public services, decaying public infrastructure, the assault on the environment, the health care debacle, and the hijacking of our democracy by the rich and powerful.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We’re not novices at this. We’ve been peace activists for over four decades now, sustained by an abiding hope that eventually the people will rise up to take back our country. This DC Occupation is not new but it’s certainly different. It’s the latest chapter in a two-century history of struggle by Americans who sought fair treatment.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">In addition to the war economy focus, the DC Occupation embraced a broader range of interests that garner wider support and are more in harmony with the Occupy Wall Street purpose. In fact, a large majority of the American people consistently support ending the wars, creating a more equitable tax system, ending corporate welfare, protecting the social safety net and worker rights, transitioning to a clean energy economy, and reversing environmental degradation. Of absolute necessity is getting the money out of politics.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We were very impressed with the event organization. This is in contrast to some of the corporate media spin that wants you to believe that Occupy Wall Street and the similar actions are led by a bunch of angry losers or old hippies who don’t have a clue. In DC, there were tents for the media, legal aid, first aid, free donated food, electronic tie-ins, and a long line of porta-potties.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The small grassy side of the totally paved plaza became a crowded campground for the hundreds who spent the night there. As the crowd grew to nearly a thousand, the buzz of hundreds of conversations from people of all ages, races, and walks of life created their own energy. There was music, dancing, laughter, and deep discussion. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And everywhere, there were people with signs, most of them hand lettered:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">·A Vietnam vet’s sign read: “How’s the war economy working for you?”</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKuSdtPgTOrKXiweh9x4TcQuIJ2WpVmLANbqHQN6mjDC9kniIFqpjSY4Zc1Sbu1KS3uYajewmJYtkVIvVbXV2argy1mk9_eqcD-I31brpSDtcecJIho1lYUUD1qzJRfdv0pb9/s1600/DSC03805.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663497794277584818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKuSdtPgTOrKXiweh9x4TcQuIJ2WpVmLANbqHQN6mjDC9kniIFqpjSY4Zc1Sbu1KS3uYajewmJYtkVIvVbXV2argy1mk9_eqcD-I31brpSDtcecJIho1lYUUD1qzJRfdv0pb9/s200/DSC03805.JPG" style="float: right; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 214px;" width="133" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>A man held a sign that said, “I wish I could afford my own politician.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>A middle-aged woman’s signs said, “You screw us, we multiply.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>A white bearded veteran held a US flag with corporate logos where the stars should be. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>A young woman stood alone holding a piece of brown cardboard with penciled letters that read “Another single mother in foreclosure.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>There were two children, one with a sign reading, “Please don’t steal my future,” and the other with “Toddlers Against Corporate Greed.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>“Capitalism ate Democracy” read another.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>And there were Vets for Peace banners from across the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></o:p></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The women from Code Pink created a cardboard village with labels such as “Foreclosed Dream House.” It served as a playground for kids during the day and shelter for the overnighters to “rest” after the Park Police banned sleeping and the use of tents on the plaza. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></o:p></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A display of worn combat boots carried tags that listed their now-dead owners. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The backdrop for the main stage was a twenty-foot-wide, parchment-colored banner, titled “We the People,” which proclaimed the text and calligraphy of the Preamble to the Constitution. In the middle of the plaza was a companion banner titled “We the Corporations” with a parody of the Preamble complete with a host of corporate logos.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></o:p></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To begin the formal program, the Raging Grannies from Madison sang original songs that we had first heard when we attended the massive pro-labor rallies there last spring. (photo)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></o:p></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">During the evening program, we heard from an Iraq War vet and his artist friend who had biked 6,000 miles to bring attention through their music to the stupidity of our ongoing wars. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We spoke with event “Peacemakers” whose job was to quell hot tempers and prevent violence. They were called into action at the demonstration two days later at the Smithsonian’s military drone exhibit when an agent provocateur in the group created a violent situation. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The incident serves as an excellent example of how peace demonstrations are often infiltrated and discredited. Patrick Howley, who is an editor at the conservative magazine <i>The American Spectator,</i> boasted that he shoved his way into the museum and this led to the security guards dousing the group with pepper spray. This is what Howley wrote about his motives: “As far as anyone knew I was part of this cause — a cause that I had infiltrated the day before in order to mock and undermine [it] in the pages of <i>The American Spectator</i>.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Michael%20Orange/Documents/Veterans,%20PTSD,%20groups,%20interviews,%20Vet%20History%20Project,%20and%20presentations/October%202011%20Occupation/We%20the%20People%20for%20VetSpeak.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span></a> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">There is a striking contrast with the two-year-old Tea Party whose members are also voicing their anger at conditions for the average person. Unlike the “Occupy” movement, the Tea Party has been co-opted by the corporate elite who have bankrolled it and used their corporate media to mold opinion and to serve their own interests and those of the Republican Party. In contrast, these occupations, like the one we attended in DC, are part of an organic grass-roots movement that actually resists outside control from even traditional progressive groups (e.g. organized labor).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Like the peace movement of forty years ago, we protesters are angry and completely frustrated by the imperial wars and the oligarchic control of the many by the wealthy and powerful few.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">David Morris of the Institute for Local Self reliance describes it, “We’re mad at the devastation wrought in the last four years by the toxic combination of unrestrained greed and concentrated wealth.... We’re mad at Wall Street for taking our money and giving nothing back.... We’re mad at the 1 percent of the country who make decisions that enrich themselves while impoverishing the rest of us.” His article, “It’s Labor vs. Capital, Stupid,” is rich with the facts to back up his assertions.<sup><sup><a href="file:///C:/Users/Michael%20Orange/Documents/Veterans,%20PTSD,%20groups,%20interviews,%20Vet%20History%20Project,%20and%20presentations/October%202011%20Occupation/We%20the%20People%20for%20VetSpeak.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title="">[2]</a></sup></sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><sup><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></sup></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">As Gerald Gannon, fellow member of Veterans for Peace, writes, “Let me be clear here: we are not anti-business or anti-capitalism.... The great majority of entrepreneurs, sole proprietors and small-to-medium sized business [that] provide most of the jobs in our country and practice true capitalism ... [are] more than willing to pit themselves against the competition for a fair share of the marketplace.... But the giant ‘multinational’ corporations seek to stifle competition.... These Godzilla-like corporations built on the backs of American workers and with American dollars now deny the people in the country of their origins—jobs for their livelihood, their tax dollars, the fundamental control of their own government and any allegiance what so ever. They are driven only by insatiable lust for ever greater profits with no concern at all for the American people or the environment in which we all live. They have been allowed to metastasize into traitorous monsters....”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Chris Hedges,</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Michael%20Orange/Documents/Veterans,%20PTSD,%20groups,%20interviews,%20Vet%20History%20Project,%20and%20presentations/October%202011%20Occupation/We%20the%20People%20for%20VetSpeak.doc#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"> the keynote speaker for first night of the DC Occupation, has stated, “The greatest gift the occupation has given us is a blueprint for how to fight back. And this blueprint is being transferred to cities and parks across the country.” As we write this in mid-October, there are nearly 1,500 occupations in the US, and many more around the world. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">In his remarks in DC, Hedges challenged us all by saying “Either you are rebel or a slave. (Hedges photo) Here are some excerpts of his speech:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">“</span><i style="background-color: white;">There are no excuses left. Either you join the revolt taking place on Wall Street and in the financial districts of other cities across the country or you stand on the wrong side of history. Either you obstruct, in the only form left to us, which is through civil disobedience, the plundering by the criminal class on Wall Street and accelerated destruction of the ecosystem that sustains the human species, or become the passive enabler of a monstrous evil. Either you taste, feel and smell the intoxication of freedom and revolt or sink into the miasma of despair and apathy. Either you are a rebel or a slave....<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="background-color: white;"> </i></span></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="background-color: white;">“Choose. But choose fast. The state and corporate forces are determined to crush this. They are not going to wait for you. They are terrified this will spread, as it is spreading....<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="background-color: white;"><br />
</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="background-color: white;"> </i></span></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><i>“Those on the streets around Wall Street and here tonight are the physical embodiment of hope. You know that hope has a cost, that it is not easy or comfortable, that it requires self-sacrifice and discomfort and finally faith.... But as long as we remain steadfast we can see our way out of the corporate labyrinth.</i>” </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">There is indeed, “something happening here.” But what it is, <u>is</u> getting clearer. The people are rising up to take back our country. We stand together in this new movement.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">About the authors:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Michael is a member of local Chapter 27 Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the author of <i>Fire in the Hole: A Mortarman in Vietnam</i>. Cynthia is also a long-time peace activist and author of <i>Shock Waves: A Practical Guide to Living with a Loved One’s PTSD</i>.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div><br />
<hr align="left" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Michael%20Orange/Documents/Veterans,%20PTSD,%20groups,%20interviews,%20Vet%20History%20Project,%20and%20presentations/October%202011%20Occupation/We%20the%20People%20for%20VetSpeak.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span></a> <span style="text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://theweek.com/article/index/220144/the-agent-provocateur-who-infiltrated-occupy-wall-street">http://theweek.com/article/index/220144/the-agent-provocateur-who-infiltrated-occupy-wall-street</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Michael%20Orange/Documents/Veterans,%20PTSD,%20groups,%20interviews,%20Vet%20History%20Project,%20and%20presentations/October%202011%20Occupation/We%20the%20People%20for%20VetSpeak.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></span></a> See <a href="http://onthecommons.org/its-labor-vs-capital-stupid">http://onthecommons.org/its-labor-vs-capital-stupid</a></span></div></div><div id="ftn3"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Michael%20Orange/Documents/Veterans,%20PTSD,%20groups,%20interviews,%20Vet%20History%20Project,%20and%20presentations/October%202011%20Occupation/We%20the%20People%20for%20VetSpeak.doc#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04;">Chris Hedges was a foreign correspondent who, for 15 years, covered wars throughout the world for the <i>New York Times</i>. He was an early critic of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Iraq War</span></a> and left the paper to become a senior fellow at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nation" title="The Nation"><span style="text-decoration: none;">The Nation Institute</span></a>, write books, and teach (see </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/category/hedges/">http://www.truthdig.com/report/category/hedges/</a>)</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><o:p> </o:p></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Agent Orangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00396791165065590124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-20586569489301034782011-10-01T12:40:00.001-05:002011-10-23T14:31:03.280-05:00Clock's ticking...Bring a Friend: Occupy Freedom Plaza, Washington D.C., Oct 6th - ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 20px;"><b><br />
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IN WASHINGTON, DC BEGINNING OCT 6<sup>th</sup></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-7574660722790080012011-09-26T15:36:00.003-05:002011-10-23T14:26:06.012-05:00Freedom Plaza Occupation: Oct 6, Washington D.C. Oct 6, 2011<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;"><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:</b></span></span></div></div><div class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">xxxxxx</span> </span></div><div align="center" class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;"><b>OCTOBER2011 COALITION TO OCCUPY FREEDOM PLAZA<br />
IN WASHINGTON, DC BEGINNING OCT 6<sup>th</sup></b></span><span style="color: #454545;"></span></span></div><div align="center" class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #454545; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #454545; text-align: center;"><a href="http://october2011.org/"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://external.ak.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQATDfx8_WvtFsJX&w=90&h=90&url=http%3A%2F%2Foctober2011.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2Fsmallfist.png" width="200" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">DC Occupation Marks the 11<sup>th</sup> Year of Afghan War, Austerity Budgets and Builds on<br />
Arab Spring, European Summer, Madison and Occupation of Wall Street</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>x</b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kevin Zeese,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=12317392&postID=757466072279008001" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;">301-996-6582</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Margaret Flowers,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=12317392&postID=757466072279008001" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;">443-759-4635</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Maria Allwine,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=12317392&postID=757466072279008001" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;">443-762-0892</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="mailto:press@october2011.org" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" ymailto="mailto:press@october2011.org">press@october2011.org</a></span></div></div><div class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">The People’s Uprisings seen around the world and in the United States come to Washington, DC’s Freedom Plaza beginning on Thursday, October 6 whenthousands will converge to begin a prolonged people's occupation of Freedom Plaza. The</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://october2011.org/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">October2011 Movement</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;"> involves thousands of people and 150 organizations who have already signed. The DC occupation comes at a pivotal time: the beginning of the 11<sup>th</sup> year of war in Afghanistan and a new federal fiscal year that promises austerity of everything except weapons and war.</span></span></div><div class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">The Freedom Plaza occupation occurs as activists in New York are</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/wall-street-occupation-continues-shows-leadership-america-needs" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">occupying Wall Street</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"> and follows major protests across the Midwest against austerity budgets, the environmental protest of th</span><span style="color: black;">e </span><a href="http://october2011.org/blogs/margaret-flowers/stop-pipeline-stop-machine" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">Tar Sands Pipeline</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"> where more than 1,200 were arrested and</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://october2011.org/blogs/organizer/it-can-be-done-now-time" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">protests throughout the United States</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;"> on a wide range of issues.</span></span></div><div class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">The October2011 Movement demands that the government represent the people, not just the top 1%. The</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://october2011.org/statement" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">pledge signed on by thousands</span></a><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">calls for using our resources on human needs and environmental protection, not for war and exploitation. October2011.org stands with </span><a href="http://october2011.org/standwiththemajority" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">super majorities of Americans on seven key issues</span></a><span style="color: black;">:</span></span></div><ul id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317062036290124" style="display: block; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 40px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" type="disc"><li class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: list-item; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tax the rich and corporations</span></li>
<li class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: list-item; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">End the wars, bring the troops home, cut military spending</span></li>
<li class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: list-item; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Protect the social safety net, strengthen Social Security and improved Medicare for all</span></li>
<li class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: list-item; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">End corporate welfare for oil companies and other big business interests</span></li>
<li class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: list-item; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Transition to a clean energy economy, reverse environmental degradation</span></li>
<li class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: list-item; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Protect worker rights including collective bargaining, create jobs and raise wages</span></li>
<li class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317062036290121" style="display: list-item; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Get money out of politics</span></li>
</ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #783f04;">The Freedom Plaza occupation builds on the experiences of Egypt, Tunisia, Greece and Spain. October2011 has joined with the Egyptian revolutionary movement in a</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://october2011.org/solidaritywithegypt" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">solidarity statement</span></a><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">based on four common principles: seeking real democracy, an end to U.S. interventionist military policy, protection of human rights through the rule of law and developing a sustainable economy that meets human needs. The Indignados of Spain have described our common</span><a href="http://october2011.org/blogs/margaret-flowers/road-dignity" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">Road to Dignity</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;"> that includes the occupation of Wall Street and Freedom Plaza.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span></span><br />
<div class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">x</span> </span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #783f04;">For more information visit </span><a href="http://october2011.org/faq" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">FAQ</span></a><span style="color: black;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">on</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #454545;"> </span><a href="http://october2011.org/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">http://october2011.org</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #454545;">.</span></span></div></div><div class="yiv968008332MsoNormal" style="display: block; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="color: #454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org </a> </span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317392.post-43638972974615674902011-09-25T16:55:00.004-05:002011-09-26T15:56:30.067-05:00Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of the War in Afghanistan, and the Continuing War in Iraq<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span> </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Ten Years and Counting in Afghanistan...</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">by <a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">Willie Hager</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqtNsuJCdsrlxatJlZPthdBe7Yf4kx5FAU2pOVlpZaSrQOmNV80iz8rR8bSjX9lSuTywmUQpfrK-Xr7_9PWz3REfT7tJGm28HNPzg7uTq-7Xa0bmTnyt1HP7vqpUeXadPSoI3/s1600/Willie+%2526+Di+-+2005.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqtNsuJCdsrlxatJlZPthdBe7Yf4kx5FAU2pOVlpZaSrQOmNV80iz8rR8bSjX9lSuTywmUQpfrK-Xr7_9PWz3REfT7tJGm28HNPzg7uTq-7Xa0bmTnyt1HP7vqpUeXadPSoI3/s200/Willie+%2526+Di+-+2005.bmp" width="137" /></a>Ten Years and counting in Afghanistan, U.S. troops still bogged down in Iraq after eight years, and a country deeply divided politically, ideologically, and now, even religiously, as a result. What a cluster fuck!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">How did we get here? Well, it wasn't easy; we had to work at it in order to position ourselves to be right back where we were following the Gingrich Revolution in Congress in the early 80s; it isn't just happenstance that we here we are again, caught up in mix of a retro <a href="http://www.shmoop.com/gilded-age/">Gilded Age</a>, and a painful re-emergence of<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTePaF_WS8k&list=FLE738o6AZzvynctr-HdWGGQ&index=1"> Nixonian </a>forces and money creeping back into the halls and back rooms of our government. Forces who still threaten our Bill of Rights and our Constitution. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I suggest that we are here, back from the future, because we as political and social activists have became complacent and self indulgent following our major victories of the 60s and 70s, to name a just a few; the end of the Vietnam War, the breaking down of racial barriers to voting, and the other civil rights victories of the day, including the end of the Draft, the end of domestic spying and political disruption by the FBI <a href="http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/churchfinalreportIIIa.htm">COINTEL</a> Program, the downfall of Nixon, and the imprisoning of some, but not all, of his thugs. We in fact, recovered our Constitution, and re-instated the proper application of the Bill of Rights to our society. For reflection on what I think happened, I make the case for how the left actually became complacent and politically self indulgent in a piece that I wrote in 2005 entitled "<a href="http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/cracker-swamp-manifesto-by-willie.html">The Cracker Swamp Manifesto</a>". </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But this discussion has more to do with the future, than with the past. We can't know where we're going, if we don't know where we've been; so, a quick look back for reference at what has worked and what has not is called for whenever doing any kind of strategical planning for the future, whether it is personal or political. None of what I describe above regarding our foreign policy, and the retaking of congress by the Repugs and <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/neoconservative">NEOCONs </a>could have happened, to my way of thinking, if the left hadn't of become a Babylon of minority interest groups fighting among themselves over political power and money....the spoils of victory. They sold the power of their all important UNITY in exchange for organizational, political, and cause oriented agendas and political careers that ultimately positioned them into being as ineffective as they were prior to the American social and political revolution of the 60s and 70s, as the "whole" morphed into minority special interest groups of society. The big losers? The American people.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">To my way of thinking these groupings as a whole became so distracted and fragmented with<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness#Early_usages"> politically correct</a> self indulgence, that they lost the hearts and minds of the American people. The very hearts and minds (and votes) that that these groups, as a grand and unified coalition of ant-war and social and political justice activists, had fought so hard for so many years to win, back in the 60s and 70s. These fragmented groups, not unlike the Repugs and Neocons, and most recently the Teabaggers, ultimately came to turn their backs on all who disagreed with their particular doctrine, whether it be a racial, political, or religious platform, beginning in the 80s. But most importantly, they turned their backs on the American people in favor of their particular constituencies and careers. This dynamic was the birth of political correctness as we have came know it in our country. Prior to this rebirth, here; political correctness had been a strategy of Mao's Red Guard in the<a href="http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/g387/cr.htm"> Great Leap Forward</a> in China. Here, it's re-birth ultimately became the death knell for all of our efforts and successes of the 60s and 70s.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">In face of all of the above, it is my considered conclusion that this Administration's current strategies aren't going to change until we as a "movement" change our's. Collective GASP!!! I know, I know, this is politically incorrect thinking. But, it is my <a href="http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/suppmat/103chap7.pdf">critical thinking </a>assessment that the current, and now decades old, strategies of the left must take on a new profile. This has to happen if we are to have any hope of success in saving our nation from it's second<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism"> post modern </a> political Dark Age and the continued decline of the age of free thinking, free speech, and Constitutional democracy. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here in the 21st century, we need to develop our own strategies that are more pragmatic in their direction and application. The 60s and 70s are now relegated to history. We need to refresh and re-energize our approach to social and political revolution if we are to be effective in a 21st century social and political environment. In today's environment politics vs reality on the ground as a strategy, is a failed policy. This was true for Vietnam, and it most certainly true for Iraq and Afghanistan. That dynamics won't change until our strategy is changed.<br />
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That is not to say that militancy, fiery rhetoric, and occasionally manning of the barricades, is not critical to this process; it is to say that our militancy has to be more pragmatic than symbolic, our rhetoric based in empirical thinking and objective truth, as well as documentable evidence of that truth. It needs to incorporate clearly defined and realistically achievable demands and goals. Most importantly, it must appeal to more than those of one's particular organization, race, religion, ideology, and/or political party affiliation. And, it must be designed to democratically find the core issues that are common to all of us and rally around them in unity, and leave the ideological, racial, organizational, religious, and personal differences at the door. The keys to success in my paradigm are Mutual Respect, Unity of Purpose, and Mission Focus.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We are after all, all in this together; and we cannot succeed without mutual support, and the support and votes of the American people, who (as evidenced by history) we are potentially able to educate to the truth of our anti-war social justice agenda, and how it applies to them as individuals, and as citizens. To my way of thinking; in today's world, this is best achieved by speaking <i>with</i> them, rather that <i>at</i> them. They must be given a reason to <i>want</i> to join with us and take action, not be verbally bludgeoned or shamed<span id="goog_1259675473"></span><span id="goog_1259675474"></span> into it. So it is our responsibility to educate them to the issues,sort out what they agree with us on and what they disagree with us on, and act accordingly in incorporating their energy and votes into our struggle. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Another major consideration is the diminished impact of "mass" demonstrations where-ever they are called for to be held, or by whom. I can only conclude that the government actually welcomes this kind of activity anymore, since they are much more equipped to deal with then they were, forty years ago, when they worked, i.e. VVAW's 1971 Dewey Canyon III. These days they send everyone in the police approved and fenced off demonstration free speech areas home for the day, so that they can't be accessed or confronted by the revolutionary forces in the street. They reinforce the police ranks with crowd control trained riot police and ariel surveillance, and everyone gets overtime. Then they work closely with civil disobedience organizers to arrange for the orchestrated "civil disobedience arrests", for which demonstration organizers have made prior arrangements to<i> let</i> ourselves be arrested, celebrities and authors first, in hope that someone out there in the hinterland will see how truly oppressive our government is to those who dare to speak truth to power, in spite of the fact that the buildings we are confronting are empty, and the mainstream media is in conspicuous absence, and as a result rise up in rage against the state.<br />
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Of course participants in these national confrontations are expected to be able to provide the 100 dollar bail that goes into the city coffers...let's see 130 demonstrators X 100 = a quick 13,000 dollars into the city coffers. So, the cops are getting overtime, and the city is profiting from the demonstrations at our expense. All very surreal to this old school anti-war and peace and justice activist and journalist. It's<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki"> Kabuki Theater</a> rather than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerilla_theate">Guerrilla Theater</a> to me. In spite of it's repetitiveness, nothing ever seems to come out of it all, except some great photos and action reports on the underground internet activist blogs and in the foreign press. In addition, these events require a lot of personal expense and energy that could otherwise be better used in furthering our cause out in the grassroots, where our true constituency lives. Too often the issues and the demands become polluted with conflicted ideologies and messaging by participants, reflecting to the public more divisions than unity. And, of course, the mainstream media, whether under duress or lack of interest, ignores us. The most recent blatant example of this mainstream press black-out is the on-going <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street">Occupy Wall Street</a> protests.<br />
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We need to recognize that there is not one among us who has all of the answers, whether it be as an individual, a celebrity, or as a representative of an organizational or ideological agenda. Each have specific resources and tactics to bring to the campaign, but that is only becomes politically effective when rallied around in unity on mutually agreed upon specific demands; ones that are realistically attainable through pragmatic and unified message application. I believe that this process best takes place out where we all started, at the grassroots. Not on the steps of monolithic institutions, where we now all occasionally gather to voice our displeasure with our government's failed policies, both foreign and domestic. They're on to that one these days, folks, and know how to deal with it effectively; containment and media black-out. Now, just as back in the day, the power lies with the people. Remember our rally cry back then; "Power To The People!"? We meant ALL the people, not just a few politically correct ideologues and "radical fringe" dissenters from a particular group or class, as outlined in <a href="http://www.marx2mao.com/PDFs/HEDP56.pdf">Marx's Dictatorship of The Proletariat.</a><br />
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There are, of course, many other opinions and choices of action, but here is what I have concluded to be essential ingredients as a result of my personal experiences and a studied review of our history, and of our current outdated paradigm for social and political action. Here is a suggested minimal guideline model that we as a "movement" can easily mobilize around and together and implement with our existing resources, in order to make a seamless paradigm shift into the 21st century world of effective social and political activism:<br />
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<b> I.</b> <b>Personal Contact</b><br />
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<ul><li>First, and most important, make personal contact (no not on FB) by phone, or personal visits. Get to know one another; what we believe in, where we've been, who do we know mutually, what do we have strong disagreement on, and what do we strongly agree on. We should be friends (real ones) as well as political compatriots.</li>
<li>We must then agree to share resources and work together (personally and organizationally) to further the issues that we believe in, and agree to personally respectfully disagree on things that we disagree on, but keep those disagreements out of how we together, in unity, support the issue in question, publicly.</li>
</ul><div> <b> </b></div><div><b> II. Prioritization of Issues</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><ul><li>When considering issues, we can all I am sure, agree to an anti-war/social peace & justice agenda, in general terms. But we have all arrived at that agreement from diverse experiences. Those experiences all began somewhere locally, so it makes sense to consider the demographics of a locality when outreaching for recruits or volunteers, and begin by using our experience in rallying local folks around local issues that we can directly relate to the prior mentioned general agenda. </li>
<li>From these personal connections, build a 21st century style electronic national network of individuals, chapters, and organizations (much as we did back in the day with land-lines, and Rolodexes) that are all on the same page, and are ready and able to mobilize quickly around our agreed upon national campaign priority issues, right there in Your City, USA. Grassroots coalition building vs organizational or cause chauvinism. That's how Joe Hill would do it.</li>
</ul><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> III.</b> <b>Modern Media Communications</b><br />
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<ul><li>Just as IVAW is currently doing, we also need to educate ourselves to 21st century social and journalistic digital media. I attended two such workshops that IVAW presented at the VFP National Convention in Portland, OR, in August. The main theme of both of these workshops was messaging methodologies. They are ahead of the curve on this one. We can learn from them.</li>
<li>As we have seen with the Arab Spring up-risings, social media can have a profound impact on the ability to mobilize people quickly, and it can allow for a running account of events first hand. From a journalistic point of view, the mainstream media, who never covers our events as we would like, are being sidelines, due to the ability of social media to get our message out quickly, and to be in instant communications with one another if need be. </li>
<li>We should all, individuals and organizations alike, learn how to use this powerful medium in a coordinated fashion to coordinate our activities in unison, at the grassroots, as well as in Washington D.C., when appropriate.</li>
</ul><br />
<a href="http://www.vetspeak.org/">www.VetSpeak.org</a><br />
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">~Speaking Truth to Power~</div>Windbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11678765699760989446noreply@blogger.com0