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11.6.12

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Election Day 1920:

A Hero In A Prison Cell Who Opposed U.S. Imperial War Gets One Million Votes

Carl Bunin Peace History November 1-7 November 2, 1920 Socialist Party candidate Eugene V. Debs received nearly one million votes for President though he was serving a prison sentence at the time for his criticism of World War I and his encouraging resistance to the draft.

IT IS BETTER TO VOTE FOR WHAT YOU WANT AND NOT GET IT THAN TO VOTE FOR WHAT YOU DONT WANT AND GET IT.
Eugene V. Debs
[Thanks to Romi Elnagar]

MORE:

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Three U.S. Soldiers Killed By IED In Paktia

11.5.12 AP Three U.S. soldiers died of wounds suffered Nov. 3, when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device in Paktia province, Afghanistan. Killed were: Staff Sgt. Dain T. Venne, 29, of Port Henry, N.Y.; Spc. Ryan P. Jayne, 22, of Campbell, N.Y.; and Spc. Brett E. Gornewicz, 27, of Alden, N.Y. They were assigned to the 178th Engineer Battalion, 412th Theater Engineer Command, Oswego, N.Y.

Port Henry Soldier Killed In Afghanistan:

Community Mourns Death Of Daine Venne
Nov 04, 2012 WPTZ PORT HENRY, N.Y. A soldier from Port Henry has died serving in Afghanistan. Moriah Central School Superintendent William Larrow says Dain Venne was an all around great person, a great athlete and a role model. Larrow says Venne graduated from Moriah just over ten years ago and has undoubtedly made the community a better place. Larrow and others working in the school district would like to do something to honor Dain and his family; those details are still being worked out. Venne worked with the Fire Department where he was honored for saving lives. He also worked with youth in the community. Larrow says Dain will be deeply missed. The family was notified Saturday and has asked for privacy. Daine Venne was 29 years old.

POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR

Insurgents In Parwan Blow Up And Burn 30 Vehicles:

Explosives Were Planted In A Large Fuel Tanker

05 November 2012 TOLOnews As many as 30 vehicles have been destroyed or burned in a massive explosion in the capital of northern Parwan province on Monday, local officials said. Explosives were planted in a large fuel tanker and were detonated near a car show room at around 12:00 noon local time in Charikar city, provincial spokesman Roshan Kahlid told TOLOnews. She said that the driver of the tanker had fled the area, however the security forces have launched a search operation to investigate the explosion and capture the driver. No casualties were reported but a substantial amount of property was destroyed, Khalid added.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THE RESISTANCE END THE OCCUPATION

MILITARY NEWS

Army Giving Preferential Treatment To General Accused Of Sex Crimes:

A Freedom Of Information Act Request Seeking The Charging Documents Against Sinclair Was Denied By The Pentagon

The Army Quickly Released Charge Sheets Laying Out Evidence Against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, Accused Of Gunning Down 17 Afghan Civilians
The Pentagon Has Rebuffed Repeated Requests For Explanation Of How The Generals Rights Are Different From A Sergeants
Fidell said it is not unusual for a high-ranking officer facing criminal charges to be treated differently than an enlisted defendant. For instance, Sinclair was never arrested on charges that would typically land a soldier in jail until trial. 11.5.12 By MICHAEL BIESECKER, Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. The public is expected to get its first glimpse Monday at the evidence against U.S. Army general facing court-martial on sex crimes charges, a rare criminal case against a high-ranking officer that has thus far been shrouded in secrecy. An Article 32 hearing is scheduled at Fort Bragg for Brig. Gen. Jeffery A. Sinclair, who was sent home from Afghanistan and later charged Sept. 26 with a long list of crimes that include forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, violating orders, engaging in inappropriate relationships, misusing a government travel charge card, and possessing pornography and alcohol while deployed. But the Army has kept details confidential, refusing to identify the officer who will preside over the hearing and military lawyers assigned to defend Sinclair. The general was serving as deputy commander in charge of logistics and support for the 82nd Airborne Division before being abruptly relieved during his most recent combat tour. A Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Associated Press seeking the charging documents summarizing the evidence against Sinclair was denied by the Pentagon, which claimed the papers were exempt from disclosure. "Release of these documents could reasonably be expected to interfere with law enforcement proceedings, would deprive Brig. Gen. Sinclair of a fair trial or impartial adjudication and could also reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted

invasion of personal privacy," Lt. Col. Nelson Van Eck, Jr., the acting chief of the U.S. Armys Criminal Law Division, wrote in an Oct. 24 letter. That is not the position Army prosecutors took when releasing charging documents, similar to indictments in civilian courts, in other high-profile cases. In March, the Army quickly released charge sheets laying out evidence against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the soldier accused of gunning down 17 Afghan civilians, including children sleeping in their beds, during a massacre in southern Afghanistan. The Pentagon has rebuffed repeated requests for explanation of how the generals rights are different from a sergeants. Eugene R. Fidell, a co-founder of the National Institute of Military Justice who also teaches the subject at Yale Law School, said the Armys refusal to release the charge sheets could give the appearance Sinclair is getting special treatment and undermine public confidence. "When you see something like this, you realize somebody doesnt get it. This is a selfinflicted wound," said Fidell, who served as a military lawyer in the U.S. Coast Guard. Fidell said it is not unusual for a high-ranking officer facing criminal charges to be treated differently than an enlisted defendant. For instance, Sinclair was never arrested on charges that would typically land a soldier in jail until trial. Since returning to Fort Bragg in May, Sinclair, 50, has been assigned as a special assistant to the commanding general of 18th Airborne Corps. No restrictions on his movements were imposed following his arrest, said Fort Bragg spokesman Benjamin Abel. Sinclair could not be reached for comment because his phone number is unlisted and he lives behind the posts guarded gates. It is rare for a criminal case against a general to proceed to a court-martial. There have been only two recent cases. Earlier this year, Brig. Gen. Roger Duff pleaded guilty to charges of conduct unbecoming an officer, wearing unauthorized awards or ribbons and making a false official statement. Under a pre-trial agreement, he will be dismissed from the military. Before that, Maj. Gen. David Hale pleaded guilty to charges related to adultery and was ordered to retire at a reduced rank. Although Sinclair faces more serious charges, Fidell said he wouldnt be surprised if Sinclairs case ends with a reduction in rank and forced retirement. "The sanctions (against those of high rank) tend to be more in the nature of political sanctions, in other words getting rid of people rather than sending them to the brig," he said. "Its a rare thing for an officer to go to jail."

Proud Work For Our Troops:

Honor And Respect To Them All

Soldiers from the National Guard help to unload supplies to set up a donation distribution center for victims of superstorm Sandy at St. Camillus School in the Rockaways area of the Queens borough of New York, November 4, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

U.S. Marines remove debris left from Hurricane Sandy in the Staten Island Borough of New York, November 5, 2012. REUTERS/Keith Bedford

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose. Frederick Douglass, 1852

The Nixon administration claimed and received great credit for withdrawing the Army from Vietnam, but it was the rebellion of low-ranking GIs that forced the government to abandon a hopeless suicidal policy. -- David Cortright; Soldiers In Revolt

How To Stop A War:

On April 27 [1968] A Group Of Forty Active-Duty People Marched At The Head Of An Anti-War Demonstration In San Francisco, The First Time GIs Led A Civilian Peace Rally
On February 16, 1969, The Alliance Sponsored A Peace Rally In Downtown Seattle, With Two Hundred Active- Duty People Leading A Crowd Of Several Thousand

[No, they didnt go to DC begging the Imperial Congress to stop the war. They werent fools. They knew that when the army rebelled, the war would end. They did, and it did. T] Excerpts from: SOLDIERS IN REVOLT: DAVID CORTRIGHT, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1975. [Reprint available from Haymarket Books] ******************************** The young people forced into the ranks by the Vietnam build-up expressed a sometimes articulate, sometimes desperate, opposition to an unwanted mission.

The GI movement imbued the military with the voice of a troubled citizenry, providing a measure of democratic restraint on though otherwise unresponsive and imperious institutions of war. The appearance of coffeehouses and a burgeoning GI press, in an atmosphere of mounting disillusionment over stalemate in Vietnam, set the stage for the first significant GI action. The Armys huge armored training center at Fort Hood experienced a particularly rapid deterioration of troop morale, especially among combat returnees, and throughout the Vietnam period witnessed extensive unrest and drug use (the bases copious marijuana supplies earned it the sobriquet Fort Head). The civilians who opened the Oleo Strut in the summer of 1968 thus met with an enthusiastic response; with the founding of Fatigue Press, a long history of successful GI activism began. The first political gathering of Fort Hood soldiers occurred in Killeen on July 5, 1968. A Love-ln and countercultural festival was held in Condor Park, featuring rock music and anti-war speeches; approximately two hundred soldiers attended, most of them white. The atmosphere at the base grew considerably tenser in the following weeks, however, as thousands of troops were prepared for possible use against civilian demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago culminating in a dramatic and important act of political defiance among black troops. On the evening of August 23, over one hundred black soldiers from the 1st Armored Cavalry Division gathered on base to discuss their opposition to Army racism and the use of troops against civilians. After a lengthy, all-night assembly, which included a visit from commanding general Powell, forty-three of the blacks were arrested for refusal to follow orders. The action of the blacks was spontaneous and unrelated to the work of the white soldiers (reflecting a common pattern of parallel but separate development of dissent among blacks and whites), but the Oleo Strut GIs supported the brothers and helped with their legal defense. Because of widespread support for the resisters, especially among blacks, the Armys treatment of the Fort Hood 43 was not as harsh as it might have been; most received only light jail sentences. The San Francisco Bay Area has been in the vanguard of most of the radical movements in the United States during the past decade, and the GI movement was no exception. With the support of two local GI newspapers, The Ally and Task Force, area servicepeople were among the first to speak out in 1968.

On April 27 a group of forty active-duty people marched at the head of an anti-war demonstration in San Francisco, the first time GIs led a civilian peace rally. Two months later, also in San Francisco, nine AWOL enlisted men (five soldiers, two sailors, one airman, and one Marine) publicly took sanctuary at Howard Presbyterian Church in moral opposition to the war. After a forty-eight-hour service of celebration and communion, they were arrested by MPs on July 17. *********************************************** In the fall, the growing network of GI activists in the area laid plans for the largest servicemens peace action to date an active-duty contingent for the scheduled October is anti-war rally in downtown San Francisco. Among the efforts to mobilize area soldiers and distribute literature about the march was Navy nurse Susan Schnalls daring feat of dropping leaflets from an airplane onto five area military bases (for which she was later court-martialed). As the demonstration date approached, military authorities became nervous that a large number of GIs might become involved, and, in a manner that became standard whenever protests were planned, sought to prevent servicemen from attending. A communication from the Military Airlift Command in Washington, later anonymously released to The Ally, depicted the militarys attitude toward even lawful dissent: it urged that this demonstration be quashed if possible because of possible severe impact on military discipline throughout the services. On the Saturday of the actual march, soldiers at the nearby Presidio were detained for mandatory company formations, while special maneuvers and other diversions were held at several West Coast bases. Despite such obstruction, two hundred active-duty GIs and some one hundred reservists marched at the head of the demonstration, in what was the largest gathering yet of the expanding GI movement. Two days later, in an incident partly inspired by the show of antiwar strength on October 12, twenty-seven inmates of the Presidio stockade held a sit-down strike to protest the shooting death a few days earlier of fellow prisoner Richard Bunch and to call attention to unbearable living conditionswhat became known later as the Presidio mutiny. (For a sensitive and penetrating account of the Presidio incident see Fred Gardners Unlawful Concert.) As the GI movement emerged, civilian radical organizations played an important role in helping to sustain rank-and-file dissent. One of the first agencies to recognize the changes taking place within the Army was the Student Mobilization Committee (SMC) and its closely allied counterpart, the Young Socialist Alliance (YSA). One of the first examples of this co-operation was the Gl-Civilian Alliance for Peace (GlCAP) and the newspaper Counterpoint at Fort Lewis.

Aided by SMC activists, Gl-CAP developed into one of the most successful early Gl-movement groups, with as many as fifty servicemen at regular weekly meetings. On February 16, 1969, the Alliance sponsored a peace rally in downtown Seattle, with two hundred active- duty people leading a crowd of several thousand. A few months later, the servicemen formed their own organization apart from the civilians and continued their work as an all GI group.

MORE:

FREE TO ACTIVE DUTY:

A Vietnam Soldier Wrote The Book All About How An Armed Forces Rebellion Stopped An Imperial War

SOLDIERS IN REVOLT: DAVID CORTRIGHT, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, New York

[CIVILIANS: $16 INCLUDING POSTAGE: BUY ONE FOR A FRIEND/RELATIVE IN THE SERVICE. CHECKS, MONEY ORDERS PAYABLE TO: THE MILITARY PROJECT] Requests from active duty or orders from civilians to: Military Resistance Box 126 2576 Broadway New York, N.Y. 10025-5657

DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN THE MILITARY?

Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the email address if you wish and well send it regularly with your best wishes. This is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the war, inside the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or write to: Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657.

Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika

Comment: T
The anthem of the South African liberation movement has been trashed over the past few years, transformed from a militant marching song into a slow dirge that barely moves, or, in other versions, into limping gushy sentimental garbage complete with violins and a church-style choir; carefully entombed with all traces of its revolutionary origins castrated. This link is to the anthem as it was recorded in the 1930s, when it was still a truly beautiful and revolutionary call to action, marching proudly into the future. Turn up your volume to the max.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il1hNMhdmpk

Guantanamo Prisoners To Receive GI Bill Benefits:

By Allowing The Detainees To Use The Department Of Veterans Affairs, We Hope To Completely Crush Their Souls With Bureaucracy

October 12, 2012 by SGT B, The Duffle Blog GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA In a controversial move praised by the international community as a promotion of human rights, the Department of Defense has begun allowing prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to seek Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. While these benefits have traditionally been restricted to veterans of the United States Military to use in pursuit of a degree, the Pentagon has seen fit to begin allowing GTMO prisoners to enroll in the program. DoD Spokesman Wesley Manheim said that it was all a matter of fairness. The DoD has been doing everything it can to prevent torture from being used against detainees at GTMO. By allowing the detainees to use the Department of Veterans

Affairs, we hope to completely crush their souls with bureaucracy, which to be noted, is completely different from torture. I mean hell, the VA does that to our veterans on a daily basis. When pressed as to how the detainees would be able to use the money, Manheim stated, Mostly through online courses. Probably Phoenix College. Dont worry, its not like theyll be able to get a REAL degree. Eric K. Shinseki, head of the Department of Veteran Affairs, informed the Duffel Blog of the details of how the VA would handle the new claims. Because most guests at Guantanamo Bay have been there nearly a decade and there is no end in site for their visit, the Department of Veterans Affairs is ready to have their claims processed in 12-15 years as per standard operating procedure. Secretary Shinseki also hinted at plans to award the tan beret of the Army Rangers to all GTMO Detainees. When asked the purpose of this, Shinseki commented that if theyre going to represent the Army in the classroom, I want them to look sharp while doing it. Representatives of the 75th Ranger Regiment released a response to Shinsekis comments: Seriously, FUCK that guy. Most prisoners have praised the DOD for its humanitarian efforts. Praise Allah, said prisoner TK421, who plans on possibly pursuing a degree in Homeland Security from American Military University. Although emotions surrounding this news have been mostly positive from the prisoners, the news has its naysayers. This is bullshit! cried prisoner SA15-2-12. I filled out all of the forms like they said and mailed them to my regional office in Spokane, Washington. I was enrolled in school and they said it was fine if I didnt pay up front. Now Ive just been dropped from all my classes because my claim hasnt been processed yet and the school hasnt been paid! Id rather be force-fed pork and be sprayed with a fire hose than wait for the VA to process my claim! The program will also be prorated just like the Post 9/11 GI Bill, but based on an detainees time behind bars instead of active duty time for service members. Sergeant Bryant Adams took a break from force feeding SA15-2-12 pork while simultaneously spraying him with a fire hose to speak to the Duffel Blog. A National Guard Military Policeman from Mississippi and guard at GTMO, Adams expressed concerns about the fairness of the program. Its pretty fucked up if you ask me. This is my third goddamn deployment, one to shitty fucking Iraq and one to even shittier Afghanistan, and now Im here guarding these

stench covered nerf-herders and Im only entitled to 80% of tuition and the monthly stipend because I only have two years on active duty orders! IQ19-8 in cell 523 has been rotting in here for nine years so he gets 100%? This is horseshit!

OCCUPATION PALESTINE

100 Zionist Terrorists Attack A Palestinian Family And Wreck Their Home:
Their Nice Dreams Abruptly Turned Into A Nightmare
Nothing New Here:
The Story Of Umm Hamza, Raneem, Mohammed And Khatab Is Repeated Week By Week Throughout The Occupied West Bank

2 November 2012 The Palestine Solidarity Project

Mohammed, Khatab and Raneem had been missing their father while he was away from home. Now that he was home they finally had a rare chance to play games together, talk about the celebration of Eid, what they did at school and to eat a family dinner together. The children could go to bed with smiles on their faces. Their nice dreams abruptly turned into a nightmare. In the early hours of Tuesday 30th October a contingent of over 100 Israeli soldiers surrounded the house of Waheed Abu Maria in the small farming village of Beit Ommar, south of Bethlehem. Waheed is an activist who has spent lengthy periods in the past in Israeli prisons for his resistance activities. For many years now he has lived the life of a farmer and has taken part in no activities which could, in any sense, be considered illegal. Nevertheless, he is highly respected in the village for his resolute refusal to bow down to the Occupation. The soldiers shone spotlights on the house and demanded, through a loudspeaker, Everyone leave the house!. Inside were Waheed, his wife, Umm Hamza, and three of their four children, Raneem (14), Mohammad (11) and Khatab(9). Woken by the lights, the shouting and the sound of military vehicles the family feared for their safety. Waheed advised his wife to take their children, still in their pajamas, and leave the house, while he remained behind. Mohammad, Khatab, Umm Hamza, her daughter and two sons left the house and were ordered to walk a short distance up the road and sit down in the roadway. The children were both scared and cold because they did not have any time to get properly dressed. They waited in the streets for two hours before being taken to a neighbours house. During this time the army continued their demands that Waheed leave the house and, when he refused, commenced to fire automatic weapons at the doors and windows. They also fired several rounds of a bazooka-like weapon in their efforts to breach the door. When this failed they brought in a military bulldozer and commenced to demolish the front of the house.

By now many people from the village had gathered nearby, undeterred by the warning shots and tear gas used by the military in an effort to disperse them. Waheeds brother Falah (50) arrived on the scene and approached the soldiers, hoping to find a peaceful solution. He was immediately knocked to the ground, handcuffed and detained. He was unarmed and therefore surprised by the fact that the soldiers would attack him. While on the ground he was again attacked, sustaining two broken ribs. By pretending that he had passed out Falah hoped that the soldiers would stop beating him. After three and a half hours of escalating violence, Umm Hamza, fearful for her husbands life, beseeched the military to allow her to approach the house and convince Waheed to come out. This they agreed to. She was successful and they left the house hand in hand. Waheed was arrested and taken into detention at the military base in Gush Eztion where he remains at this time. As yet no one knows what charges will be laid. Umm Hamza and the children have lost their husband and father for a future that could extend from days to months to years. Much of their house lies in ruins, but they have no money for rebuilding. This is not important. They have destroyed this house twice before and each time we have re-built it, she says. With the help of friends and neighbours they will do so. The family told PSP that they are grateful for the support from the local community in Beit Ommar. The solidarity the residents show towards them helps them to stay strong. The effect on the bewildered children is less certain; they wonder when they will see their father again and find it hard to sleep, even to eat.

But they are not alone; the story of Umm Hamza, Raneem, Mohammed and Khatab is repeated week by week throughout the Occupied West Bank. [To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded by foreign terrorists, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves Israeli.]

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