Gathering of Eagles

I would love for everyone to check out this great group website. It's for a group called "Gathering of Eagles".

There are several reasons I like this group. For one, in their title, they have a Ross Perot quote. Brave.

Well, actually, that's the only reason I can possibly think of to like a group like this. Not "like" but more "laugh at".

"Aw, poor little yellow punk, it’ll never be safe anywhere for a deserter. I predict suicide will be the solution."

That is what Zeke, a member of this group had to say about me. Wow, what a solution.

So, my fair readers, check out this "non-profit, 501(c)(4) corporation." It'll open your eyes a little.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Only Militants in Iraq?

So, I ran across this piece on Mother Jones. It's the perfect argument for those people that deny the fact that civilians are killed in Iraq. I mean, come on George, who are you kidding?


http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/tomdispatch/2007/11/beyond-the-green-zone-iraq-has-only-militants.html

Blackwater: Shadow Army

BLACKWATER, USA.
The Things You Should Know:


-Value in 2002: $3.4 million
-Value in 2003: $25 million
-Value in 2004: $48 million
-Value in 2005: $352 million
-Value in 2006: $593 million

Nice raise, huh?

-Percentage of Blackwater holding company Prince Group's revenue derived from federal contracts: 90

I guess you could call them Government Funded.

-Erik Prince's income in 2006: "More than a million dollars."

-Amount Erik Prince has contributed to the GOP and Republican candidates: $225,000

I guess we could say he's Republican. For sure.

-Compensation paid to family of an Iraqi vice presidential guard killed by a drunken Blackwater operator in the Green Zone last Christmas Eve: $20,000

-Penalty exacted on Blackwater operator: Termination of employment, cost of plane ticket back to U.S. ($1,630), and forfeiture of outstanding pay ($7,067), of Fourth of July bonus ($3,000), and of Christmas bonus ($3,000)

-Total financial penalty for killing Iraqi vice presidential guard: $14,697

-Compensation originally suggested by a State Department official in response to Blackwater's accidental killing of an Iraqi bystander in December 2006: $250,000

-Compensation actually paid: $15,000

-Blackwater's reasoning: "A sum this high will set a terrible precedent. This could cause incidents with people trying to get killed by our guys to financially guarantee their family's future."

Unfair? I'd say.

-Slogan chanted by Code Pink protesters as Erik Prince departed hearing: "War criminal".

Do I agree?

Well, actually I do. Since when did the taxpayers of the United States of America start paying taxes to fund a warlord's private army?

I mean think about it people. The US Army comes out everyday with a new list of "Warlords" that it is trying to apprehend. So, I guess Bush's reasoning is,"Well, hell, we gotta fight fire with fire." Give me a fucking break.

I've already mentioned my first problem with this "Shadow Army" and that is the issue with taxes. Why isn't tax revenue going into the FEDERAL military budget? They wanna take money out of schools to fund the war do they? Why not just take a little money from Blackwater?

But, I'm sure my view is a very simplistic one.

So, on to another complaint. The fact that this man is answerable to no one enrages me. His "troops" are getting away with murder. They kill Iraqis, that, by the way, are declared in reports as innocent bystanders. And what happens to the killer, that hero serving his country from the payrolls of a Warlord? He loses their job, forfeits a little money, no big deal. What's so different in a human being in Iraq compared to one in America again? Is an Iraqi life not worth as much? Why isn't this drunken Blackwater "operative" serving time for murder?

And the list goes on...

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

All statistics are from Bruce Falconer's blog on Motherjones.com's Mojo blog.

Fort Benning Gets a Dose of the Anti-War Movement

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/19/5324/

Well, well, well. Fort Benning got a huge dose of reality a few days ago, when 20,000 angry protesters showed up at it's gates. They were protesting The School of the Americas, or wait, new name...what is it...oh yeah, Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Nice one.

What I'm pissed about though is the 11 people that are quite possibly still in jail for civil disobedience.

"...ranging in age from 25 to 76..."

Wow, Fort Benning, I'm sure you've stopped some of America's most hardened criminals in this roundup. Congratulations.

Thankyou to the Fort Benning 11. I hope you get out of this crap soon.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Who is Our Enemy?

http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/tomdispatch/2007/11/who-is-our-enemy-in-iraq.html

People, this is an essential article to read in understanding the confusion that is Iraq.

It gives me this question...Who in the hell are we fighting against George?

One More Hero has Fallen

The Rev. John H. Cross Jr. died Thursday.

If you are not aware of who this man is, then I'll give you a brief history lesson:

On the morning of September 15, 1963, Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. This came at a time of civil unrest over the civil rights of Black Americans. The bombing was a display of hate. It represented the evil that was the Ku Klux Klan.

John H. Cross was the pastor of this church at the time of the blast. He spent the day digging through the rublle trying to locate any possible surivors.

That day claimed the lives of 4 little girls and injured 22 innocent people.

It drew a picture though for all of America to see.

Reverend Cross, may your soul rest in peace.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

"1960s Radical and Former California Senator Tom Hayden Urges Canadians to Let Former U.S. Soldiers Remain in Canada"

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/16/c9244.html

And this War Resister sends out a warm thankyou to Mr. Tom Hayden.

We need more people like this.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

The Veterans are Loved in America.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22771092-2703,00.html

"At least 6256 US veterans took their own lives in 2005, at an average of 17 a day, according to figures broadcast last night."

And the war goes on.

A growing, shall we say, epidemic? I think so. These men, as I did, signed that contract trusting in the government to take care of them. They live with this trust throughout their military careers, only to be awakened to the fact that that trust was nothing but naivety.

Should the United States take steps to fix this problem? Yes. Do they know what to do? Yes. Will they do it? No, they will not.

"But why not?", you maybe asking yourself.

Because, in order for the United States government to end an epidemic caused by a war, it must end the war. Pretty difficult to grasp, huh?

But they wouldn't even have to go that far. That's the permanent solution. A less permanent fix would be to invest a little more into the mental health of their soldiers. I mean come on Robert Gates, is it really that difficult?

"A separate study published last week shows that US military veterans make up a quarter of homeless people in the US, even though they represent just 11 per cent of the adult population."

And on.

Why in the name of everything great and good are there this many troops living on the streets?

Do you really think these men were signing a contract based on the knowledge that once they were out of the service they were to be homeless? No. They signed a contract thinking, as did I, that they were starting a new life full of opportunities.

So, the simple answer to the aforementioned question is this: The Army didn't keep their end of the deal.

Just another example of military injustice.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Thankyou, NDPers.

As many of you reading this already know, Alison Bodine is being barred from Canada for a period of two years. This comes as a shock to me, and to many others that have been influenced by her work in this very important anti-war movement.

So, tomorrow, we send her off...but maybe not.

Today, well, tonight, at a meeting of Alison's defence committee, we were all ecstatic to hear that the BC NDP had invited her to speak at their provincial convention.

AND HERE'S A BIG THANKYOU FOR THE NDP.

So, maybe, if her speech went as well as we think it did, someone in that audience will decide to do something about this unjust decision from the CBSA.

I hope so.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Free Speech Radio News

Well, I did an interview a few weeks back for Pacifica Radio. After waiting patiently, it finally made broadcast. Here it is, for your listening pleasure:

http://www.fsrn.org/content/canada%2526%2523039%3Bs-supreme-court-says-u-s-war-resisters-will-not-be-given-refugee-status

The Army is "Freakin' out man".

So, Lolita C. Baldor, a writer with the AP, wrote a nice piece on desertion rates rising in the United States Army. Check it out here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071116/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_deserters

Anyways, you may be wondering what good ole' Brad has to say about this. Well, people, it's about damned time.

And guess what? The longer this war drags on, the lower the morale gets. And the lower the morale gets, the sooner they (the US Government) will be forced to end this travesty.

But why is morale so low? Hmmmmmm, could it be the fact that if you go to Iraq, one of 3 things is most likely to occur:

1. You're gonna get your ass shot or blown off.

2. You're gonna end up killing someone...probably a civilian or freedom fighter, but never a terrorist.

3. You're gonna get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Which brings me to my next point.

REDACTED. The new Brian Dipalma film. It comes out this Friday. GO SEE IT PEOPLE. You wonder what it's really like for a soldier over there? Well this is your magic little window into their world.

SHAME on the Canadian Supreme Court...

For violating the basic human rights of two men today.

Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey are two fellow Resisters here in Canada, and today they were denied access to a fair chance by the Supreme Court of Canada.

This comes after the Canadian Refugee Board (you know, those guys that don't like us Resisters) had refused their right to claim Refugee Status here in good 'ole peace loving Canada. Well, boys, I guess it's over.

I guess the Canadian government expects you two to just go back. You know, give up. Go serve another tour in the sandbox. Ah, what the hell. Your seeing the world in it's greatest splendor. Oh, and your serving your goddamned country as well. See you all later. Have fun in...wait...where will you go again?

Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. A cozy part of the world. You boys don't mind, do you? After all, you did violate your contract. You know, that contract in which you signed away your rights as a free American. The right to protest. The right to free speech. The right to bear arms (trust me, it's violated. E-mail me if you don't believe it). Oh, and the right to decide for yourself whether or not you want to kill innocent people! Sorry you didn't take the time to read it. You should've thought less about all of that money they were throwing at you, and more about the things that matter. Like humanity.

People, as you can see, I'm pretty pissy about this. I see this as the denial of the existence of a growing problem here in Canada. A problem that must be addressed.

This is one defeat in the war. And people, get ready, because this war is gonna get big.

WE SHALL OVERCOME.