'Watada photo by Jeff Paterson of Not In Our Name and available for public use at this page of the ThankYouLt. site.' caption at site: 'Lt. Ehren Watada with Phoebe Jones (left) from Philadelphia and Selma Jones (right) from London, of the Global Women's Strike. June 21, 2006. Photo by Jeff Paterson.' i'm using that 1 for 2 reasons. lynda wrote that she knew the site but hadn't explored it until the photos started going up at the community sites. she says there are a lot of things available (click on ehren) and encourages everyone to check it out. the other reason is because courtney e-mailed wondering how many people cared besides 'people my age?' courtney's in high school and she, her boyfriend and her friends are really getting the word out. obviously, i'm a few years older than courtney, just a few (i'm joking) but it is a question to ask for a lot of my readers because they care. they care very deeply.
and what they see when they look around is not a lot of caring. where do they get that idea?
well they're students. so they can look at the media. courtney is "fucking pissed, if you can put that up, that the nation refuses to do 1 damn thing for ehren.' courteny, i can put it up. i've used the f-word here myself. when i'm that angry, i will use it. she writes that she's not thrilled by the progressive's silence, but it furious with the nation.
so when students look around, they see who doesn't have time for ehren in the middle of his court-martial and they're left with the impression that adults must not care. certainly, if adults gave a damn, those who had media platforms would address the court-martial, right?
and if they're not addressing it, then they must not care or must not think it's important, right?
well norman solomon addressed it today (he's linked to in the snapshot). he joins people like amy goodman (who is noting it in headlines every day this week), and a few others, only a few others. aaron glantz has written about it. (he is also reporting on it for pacifica and i'll assume that all the pacifica stations are noting it - i know from the snapshot that kpfa is.)
but that's why courtney wonders (and she was writing on behalf of her friends and boyfriend - a pretty big group) where the adults are?
a little secret courtney, 1 to remember in life: not every adult physically is an adult mentally and not ever adult lives up to the responsibilities of adulthood.
now someone like goldie, a middle schooler, does more to get the word out on iraq in 1 day than a katrina vanden heuvel does all month (all year?). some adults are just useless - some choose to be and some were born that way.
but, if you haven't already caught on courtney, some adults are worthless. they like to act important, they like to act like they've done something or will do something, but they don't.
they're useless.
now certainly bob, carolyn and rosa (ehren's parents on the 1st 2 and rosa's ehren's step-mother) give a damn. and certainly they are adults. but look at the picture and you'll see 2 grown women who are speaking out, standing up and making a difference.
if all adults did, the country wouldn't be in such a mess.
courtney, as the years go by, there will be times when you're active and there will be times when you're not if you're the average person. sometimes, things will be so crazy that you're just trying to get through the damn day without screaming or banging your head against the wall. being an adult is not all fun and games (and i'm sure you know that already). so most will go in and out on participation. that's fine with me. people need down time and life can be crazy.
but it's also true that some never do a damn thing. that's not alright with me.
it's also true that some never stop. i hope you're like that courtney.
if you end up being like that, you're not only doing your part, you're inspiring your friends.
c.i. inspires me. i think about how 2 weeks ago it was d.c., then it was texas last week and then this week it's tacoma. even if i wasn't pregnant, i wouldn't have that kind of stamina. but it does make me do more than i would.
when c.i. started traveling the country in 2003 speaking out against the war, it made me up my own commitment. and that's the kind of power you can have, courtney. your friends will look at you and think 'i can't do all of that.' but you will inspire them to do more than they would normally.
courtney wrote that she couldn't ever imagine not being up on the news or caring about what was happening 'but i see so many adults who don't give a damn.' courtney, you sound just like c.i. when we 1st met. so i'm willing to bet you are going to care your whole life. (she worried this might be normal - growing out of caring as you got older - in her e-mail.) and by staying up on things, you'll be not just doing your part but helping those around you.
i can't tell you how many times i'm on the phone to c.i. or elaine with something i've seen on tv asking, 'what's really going on?' - or 'what does this mean?'
you're going to find your friends doing the same with you. (and i bet they already do that.) so never lose hope because it's the people like you that inspire the rest of us to do something.
courtney and her best friend spent 3 hours at a strip mall last night - after being kicked out of a mall - passing out information on ehren watada. she is very dedicated. and i bet she's going to be that way her whole life. so my only tip is, next time courtney, make sure your friends know, all of them. in college, there were times when i would have done nothing because i didn't know what to do and then c.i. would be on the way out the door and stop to tell me about something and i'd tag along.
now maybe you're not as active as courtney but you're active - well that will inspire people around you as well. everything is a wave. some 1 starts it and others follow along because they've been inspired. that's how democracy works.
there are a lot of people who will do nothing - or act like they're doing something when they really aren't - and they are useless. they might be useful in the future. i've seen a lot of changes in the last few years with people i know who were never active before. but if you are out there trying, you will inspire others to do the same.
i do understand courtney's frustration and anger and i feel that as well when i see so many who won't bother to speak out for ehren.
if he was your son, your brother, your husband, your friend, you would want every 1 to support him. so maybe some of the 1s who are silent will pay a karmic debt (or possibly more)?
but the fact that courtney or goldie or any 1 who has never met ehren realizes how important it is to stand with him speaks to a wonderful power we have (if we use it): the ability to care beyond our own immediate circle. as long as that is out there, it's the antidote for all the useless 1s who do nothing when they could step up.
ehren matters. he matters for his stand and courage, absolutely. but when flyboy and i were going through the e-mails with ruth today, we were just struck by how many of you writing, the supposed 'apathetic' youth of today, really care and care really deeply. not just about the brave stand, but about the person taking it.
now let's move to andrew weaver and ray mcgovern's 'The Plight of Damaged Iraq War Vets' (consortium news):
The California Nurses Association reported that in the first quarter of 2006, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs "treated 20,638 Iraq veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder, and they have a backlog of 400,000 cases." A returning soldier has to wait an average of 165 days for a VA decision on initial disability benefits, and an appeal can take up to three years.
This is unacceptable and reprehensible.The saying "War is hell" doesn't begin to describe how horrible it has been for tens of thousands in our military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
War inevitably involves witnessing and sometimes engaging in gruesome acts of violence. It is a shocking confrontation with death and devastation. It is normal for human beings to react to war's psychic trauma with profound fear, anger, grief, repulsion, helplessness and horror - or with emotional numbness and disbelief.Trauma is the Greek word for "wound." Just as a physical wound from combat can cause suffering in the body, psychological trauma can cause acute suffering of mind and spirit.It is not surprising to find that an assessment of more than 220,000 military personnel returning from Iraq published in the April Journal of the American Medical Association found that nearly one in five has significant mental health problems. Repeated tours of duty increase the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder by 50 percent.At the same time, we are hearing disturbing news reports that these traumatized soldiers are not receiving the mental heath care they urgently require. Last month, National Public Radio journalist Daniel Zwerdling did an extensive story on the military's treatment of personnel returning from Iraq who suffer from emotional problems, including PTSD.Veterans coming home stated that their superiors have harassed and punished them for seeking help for psychological problems triggered by their service in Iraq. Several of the soldiers' supervisors acknowledged the callous treatment.
2 things. 1st let me give credit to elaine who called out factcheck.org's nonsense when they issued it in 2004 (she wasn't blogging then) and went on to note it here when she subbed for me 2 summers ago and at her own site once she started it up. if you're pulling a blank, in a debate, john kerry pointed out that the funds were not there for returning vets. bully boy lied and said they were. fact check - the supposed non-partisan, supposed reality check sided with? bully boy. they said he was correct.
if you ask me, they should down their offices tomorrow and give any money in the bank over to the returning vets because their LIES covered up reality. with 2008 approaching, you need to remember that. you need to remember that factcheck.org LIED because they will be trotted out once again as a reliable and non-partisan source. they ARE NOT. remember, they LIED.
the 2nd thing is, notice who's being prosecuted right now, who's being court-martialed - ehren watada. the big crooks are in the white house but don't think for a 2nd that the people screwing over the vets aren't crooks - where is their court-martial?
ehren watada spoke truth and stood up bravely. for that, he's to be punished? but the 1s screwing over vets and preventing them from receiving the help they need, where is their court-martial, where is there trial?
ehren watada is not being court-martialed due to any sense of justice. he's being court-martialed to intimidate him. the white house has built this administration on lies and any 1 who tells the truth is to be destroyed - ask joe wilson about what happened to his wife valerie plame.
now, last week, in friday's snapshot, c.i. had a link for nora barrows-friedman's name and i don't usually go through the links because i'm reading the snapshot. but c.i. asked me about that and it went to an article nora wrote for ips. i didn't realize that. this is from nora barrows-friedman's 'Israel's Economic Stranglehold a Silent Killer' (ips):
BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Jan 31 (IPS) - Over the last year, Palestinians have faced a siege that has taken its toll in every city across the West Bank and Gaza. It is not a siege of missiles and gunfire, but a calculated attack on the backbone of the entire occupied territories.
Through the Israeli, U.S. and European move to paralyse the precarious Palestinian economy over the last year, daily life has become a constant struggle for the ordinary Palestinian trying to put food on the table or run a business within a choking, round-the-clock military occupation.
The day after the swearing in of the duly-elected Hamas leadership in February 2006, Israel froze the release of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority to the tune of 52 million dollars a month, as collective punishment against the millions of occupied Palestinians for electing the Hamas leadership.
In parallel attacks just months later, the United States and the European Union slapped economic sanctions against the entire population, under the conditions that Hamas "recognise" Israel's right to exist while "renouncing" violence. Additionally, since February 2006, Israel has worked hard to pressure international aid organisations and donor countries to suspend aid projects in Palestine.
Financially sanctioning an occupied population is historically unprecedented, and has led to an irreparable trickle-down effect throughout the occupied territories.
nora barrows-friedman and dennis bernstein host KFPA's Flashpoints. tonight they featured bill moyer's speech from the media reform conference. i fell asleep. that's not an insult to the program, i hadn't taken a nap today. i thought, 'at last, i'm adjusting to the pregnancy!' but then i fell out right on the couch. on monday, it was mentioned that dennis had been very sick. i'm assuming that's why he was off for that long period.
sherry asked about the pregnancy so let me just do a quick update there. i'm fine. i am out of the danger zone. all the tests are good. it's going to be a healthy baby. i don't know the gender because flyboy and i can't get it together. on a day when i decide i do want to know, he doesn't. and vice versa. i feel like i'm huge. every 1 says i'm not but it's a struggle already to get up if i'm not sitting on a wooden chair. if i'm on the sofa or the couch or a nice comfy chair, it's struggle time. i'm using sherry's e-mail for the column sunday in francisco, maria and miguel's newsletter, by the way. she had a number of questions and i'm never sure what people are wondering about and what's too much information. so i'm going through the e-mail's questions as i write the column. so there will be a full update then and if you have questions after that (sherry or any 1) e-mail and i'll continue to answer them there. i wish i had more to offer them for their newsletter (and didn't flyboy do a great job in the last 1?) but i usually blog here about whatever ruth and i have talked about during the day and, except for the doctor's now, i'm still not going out. i did start taking walks this week (with doctor's permission). ruth and i tried to do that with flyboy and elijah on monday but elijah (ruth's grandson) told us 'no.' we laughed. he loves that time with flyboy. i guess it's 'guy time.' so ruth and i did our walk today on our own. but i am walking and we are going to the doctor's office (instead of home visits) and everything is going smoothly. the doctor says it's a healthy pregnancy and that we are out of the critical time. if i continue to take it easy lately, it's just because i get tired.
well, i get comfy too. and then think of the struggle it's going to be get up and end up being lazy.
that may result from my breasts and my belly. i already had very large breasts and they're getting a little larger. so when i stand up from sitting down, i really feel it in my back.
and let me say thank you to ruth, to t, to every 1 who visits, that includes mike & elaine, to my mother-in-law, my grandmother, my mother ... long list. and c.i. has flooded me with gifts - books for me, books for the baby (flyboy says we need to turn a room into the library). and let me say thank you to betty again. we had a blast on her vist (or i did, i still worry it was boring for her). her kids were wonderful and it was just so great to see her. we talk on the phone all the time but not being able to go to d.c. for the big demonstration was making me feel a little low. we had a house party here (watched the ground truth, discussed it, discussed the war and legislation to end it) and if you know how betty is in the roundtables, she was like that at the house party. she always finds the thing that no 1 else notices or skips over. she really had every 1 (including me) thinking.
wally's stopping here on the way back from tacoma and we're all looking forward to that. i've never been so immobile in my life and with out all the calls and visits and e-mails (that includes courtney, sherry, and the rest) i would have gone crazy. so thank you to every 1.
now here's c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Tuesday, February 6, 2007. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq; Ehren Watada's court-martial continues in Fort Lewis, Washington; press in Iraq focuses on selling the latest version of the crackdown and other rumors; and the Occupation Project takes action.
Starting with the court-martial of Ehren Watada, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted, "The court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada is continuing today in Washington State. Watada is the first commissioned officer in the country to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq. On Monday, the judge, Lt. Col. John Head, reinforced an earlier ruling that Watada could not base his defense on his contention that the Iraq war is illegal." The court-martial is expected to run through Thursday and Watada could be sentenced to four years in prison. As Norman Solomon (CounterPunch) observes, "The people running the Iraq war are eager to make an example of Ehren Watada. They've convened a kangaroo court-martial. But the man on trial is setting a profound example of conscience -- helping to undermine the war that the Pentagon's top officials are so eager to protect."
Solomon's call of a kangaroo court-martial referes to Lt. Col. John Head (aka, Judge Toilet) making the decision that Watada could not present his best defense, could not argue the reasons for his actions, could not call witnesses to back up his conclusions. In August, during the Article 32 hearing, to determine whether or not there was justification to go forward with a court-martial, Watada's defense called three witnesses, Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois' College of Law, Champagne; Denis Halliday, the former Assistant Secretary General of the UN; and retired Colonel Ann Wright. That type of a defense has been disallowed in the actual court-martial by Judge Toilet. In fact, Halliday's name was among the proposed defense witnesses brought up yesterday by Eric Seitz and Judge Toilet again refused.
Ehren Watada believes the war is illegal and immoral. (Rebecca walks you through here.) Judge Toilet doesn't want that argument made. Toilet's 'ruling' flushed Watada's best defense down the toilet. Today on KPFA's The Morning Show, Aileen Alfandary noted "Opening arguments take place today in the court-martial of Lt. Ehren Watada at Fort Lewis in Tacoma Washington" and then played this clip by Watada's civilian attorney on what he planned to do in today's opening statements:
Eric Seitz: I'm going to tell them that he has always acted with sincerity and integrity. He has always impressed everybody with whom he has met or spoken as to the basis for his beliefs. He has not gone out of his way, or at anytime encouraged or counseled other people, to do an act or to take any action other than decide for themselves what their consciences require and to follow the dictates of their own consciences."
In the second hour's opening news break, Alfandary spoke with Aaron Glantz who stated: "The prosecution is expected to call three witnesses against Lt. Watada. It's a lot shorter than the original witness list of eleven witnesses".
Alfandary: Who are the witnesses that Lt. Watada's attorney is planning to call to testify on Watada's behalf?
AG: Well, Lt. Watada will make his case tomorrow. And his attorneys had hoped to call a wide array of witnesses including experts on constitutional law and war. For example, Michael Ratner, the head of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Marjorie Cohn, the head of the National Lawyers Guild, Ray McGovern, who's a former CIA analyst. But the judge refused all of that. The judge also refused to allow Gary Solis, the former Marine Corps prosecutor and Marine court judge to testify about the nature of the dissent within the military and what's acceptable and what's not. But at the end of the day the only witnesses that will be called in Lt. Watada's defense will be Lt. Watada himself, who will testify in his own defense, and a colleague of his from the military who will speak as a character witness.
Glantz will report on the court-martial on The KPFA Evening News later today as well as, tomorrow, on KPFA's The Morning Show. Megan and Zach transcribed that (thank you) and both asked that it be noted KPFA is in fundraising mode and that, if you have the money and can donate, you can do say online or using the 1-800 number if you're out of the listening area [1-800-439-5732]. During Music of the World, Megan notes, it was stated if you were listening online (they were apparently attempting to meet a match) you could call in. Megan wants it noted that if you're donating during a matching period and donate online, that goes towards the match. (Megan knows some members who listen online have one phone line and cannot call in without disconnecting from the internet.) Again, Aaron Glantz will report on day two of the trial later today (6:00 pm PST) on The KPFA Evening News and Aileen Alfandary will speak with him tomorrow on KPFA's The Morning Show (which airs from 7:00 am to 9:00 am PST).
Yesterday, on The KPFA Evening News, a report Aaron Glantz filed for Free Speech Radio News was aired and featured Chanan Suarez-Diaz who stated: "There are more people in different ranks in the military that are actually speaking out and refusing to go to this war and it's not only, you know, the officers are in the minority in the military and the majority are enlisted, but I think it's important for officers to see Lt. Watada's courage as an example, if they feel that this war is wrong -- which it is -- then they should have the courage to resist like he has and countless others." Chanan Suarez-Diaz served in Iraq in 2005, was wounded in February 2006 and is the recipient of a commendation of valor and a Purple Heart.
Glantz: Here at Fort Lewis, there have been so many people who have showed up at the base which is just outside of Tacoma that they've had to create an overflow room for the dozen of reporters that have come to cover the trial, only seven were actually allowed in the courtroom, it's a very small courtroom, they're not used to these kinds of very political trials and then there's also dozens of peace activists here in the overflow room as well. Outside the gates of Fort Lewis there are demonstrations -- at this hour by Iraq Veterans Against the War. There's another demonstration that will be held at 3:00 today by Lt. Watada's family. Fort Lewis is kind of outside of town and there's a number of entrances to it and the pickets have been set up at all the different entrances to the base
Sandra Lupien (co-anchor of The KPFA Evening News) noted that Glantz had stated Watada made the choice to be tried by a military jury "seven offiicers were chosen today, the court will allow only two defense witnesses one of whom is Ehren Watada himself who will take the stand on Wednesday."
Hal Bernton (Seattle Times) quotes attorney Seitz stating of the jury (or military panel), "The critical thing is that he be treated as someone who is principled. Someone who is principled and has taken a stand. Not somebody who should be treated as a criminal." Adam Lynn and Mike Archbold (The News Tribune) report that the panel is made up of Col. Carl Chappel, "Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bryan, Maj. Patrick Wright and Capts. Angela Gentry, Greg Reger, Nichole White and Larry Dean." As The Honolulu Advertiser notes, the seven were selected from "a pool of 10 officers."
Mike Barber and Amy Rolph (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) report that Monday saw mass action: "Outside the base, from hundreds of supporters, the answer was a resounding "no" to the war in Iraq in which Watada refuses to fight and to the Army's prosecution of him" and that "More than 1,000 people gathered along Interstate 5 on the exit 119 overpass, spilling down the grassy slopes on either side and filling the sidewalks of the surrounding DuPont neighborhood." Actions took place outside of Tacoma as well. Melinda Tuhus (New Haven Independent) reported that activsts like Chris Schweitzer's standing out in in what felt "like one degree on Monday afternoon," Mary Adamski (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) reports that 40 people gathered at "the Prince Kuhio Federal Building" on Monday in Honolulu. Courage to Resist offers a listing of other actions taking place around the United States.
As part of a series honoring the late Molly Ivins, Ying Lee (Berkeley Daily Planet) observes: Individuals like Cindy Sheehan can galvanize part of the population with her just and emotionally effective call to end the war and we are grateful for our leaders against the war. Lt. Ehren Watada is one of these leaders. Lt. Watada is the first U.S. Army officer to refuse to serve in Iraq. [. . .] My gratitude to him is expressed in committing civil disobedience by blocking the doors of the San Francisco Federal Building (450 Golden Gate Ave.) last month and again this first Thursday of February (every first Thursday) as well as joining a dozen or so Bay Area people, including Berkeley resident Betty Kano, who are traveling to Ft. Lewis to support Lt. Watada and to stand in protest of the war."
Marjorie Cohn was disallowed as a witness by Judge Toilet on Monday. If she had been able to testify, she might have offered testimony similar to what she provided in US war resister Pablo Paredes trial. Speaking at the Veterans for Peace conference in Seattle last August, Cohn discussed the judge's reaction to her testimony:
At the conclusion of my testimony, and after an inept cross-examination by Navy prosecutor Lt. J.S. Freeman, Judge Klant made a statement that astonished the spectators. "I believe," he said, "the government has successfully demonstrated a reasonable belief for every service member to decide that the wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq were illegal to fight in."
Rick Rogers, the military reporter for the conservative San Diego Union-Tribune, characterized the judge's surprising statement as a "flip comment." Lt. commanders presiding at Navy court-martials don't make flip comments. Nevertheless, apparently at the suggestion of this reporter, the media representatives covering the trial agreed among themselves not to report the judge's statement. Only The San Francisco Chronicle, a few small newspapers, and the electronic media published the quote.
In 2005, Marjorie Cohn and Pablo Paredes discussed the above with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! -- click here for audio, text and video. Had Cohen been able to testify, she could have refuted the ridiculous claim made by the prosecution today that Ehren Watada was some sort of publicy seeker for going public in June. Watada went public in June, only after attempting to address the matter privately -- repeatedly attempting to serve in Afghanistan instead and repeatedly attempting to resign his commission. Watada went public in June only after months of attempting to handle the matter privately.
Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March 6th), Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
In Iraq today the violence continued while, as Kim Gamel (AP) notes, puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki complained about the delays in starting up Crackdown version 7.0. And so important is it to treat the latest version of the cracked up "crackdown" (begun last June) as news (and push Operation Happy Talk) that Reuters is left alone to cover the daily violence today.
Bombings?
Reuters notes three car bombs and one roadside bomb killed 2 people and wounded 19. Kim Gamel (AP) reports that there were "eight slain by two car bombs in Baghdad" (and notes "At least 51 Iraqis also were killed or found dead" today in Iraq).
Shootings?
Reuters notes two police officers wounded in Baghdad, a woman shot dead in Mosul, a police officer shot dead in Mosul.
Corpses?
Reuters notes 25 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Also today, the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier died when insurgents targeted a security post southwest of the Iraqi capital Feb. 6. While manning designated battle positions in the area, the unit received small arms fire, killing one Soldier." And they announced: "One Marine assigned to Multi-National Force - West died Feb. 5 from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province."
It's also true that the US government knew how to milk the will-they-or-won't-they release the friendly fire tape. (Yes. CNN has the transcript of the tape.)
James Glanz (New York Times) reported that: "An Iranian diplomat was abducted Sunday evening when his convoy was stopped by men with official Defense Ministry identification in the Karrada neighborhood here, senior Iraqi and American officials said Monday." Robert H. Reid (AP) reports that the US has involved any involvement in this kidnapping despite the fact that the culprits are believed to be with "the Iraqi Special Operations Command, an elite unit under the direct supervision of the U.S. military."
In the US, Bully Boy tries yet again to slash domestic needs while pushing for more defense funding. Leigh Ann Caldwell (Free Speech News) addressed Bully Boy's proposed budget which Congress : "The Bush tax cuts total $1.3 trillion dollars in tax revenues in three years. He asked Congress Monday to renew them when they expire. [. . . ] The budget does not include the costs of the wars past 2009. In 2009, President Bush proposes just 50 billion dollars a sharp decrease from current costs of the war. But this year's budget is the first time that the president has included war costs. He asked for $145 billion for 2008. But that's not part of the 10% increase in spending for the Defense Department -- a request of $480 billion. In addition to the budget, he sent Congress a request for an additional 100 billion dollars for the wars for the remainder of 2007. This is the first time war funding is expected to be scrutinized by Congress."
The Occupation Project is demonstrating in DC and around the United States. Kathy Kelly recounted yesterday's events to Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!): "Well, we came to Washington, D.C. to be with companion groups: CODEPINK and Vets for Peace and the Military Families Speak Out, the Iraq Veterans Against the War, United for Peace and Justice. There's a long list, really, of people who are wanting to join together in the campaign called the Occupation Project. And also in Chicago, four people were arrested in Senator Barack Obama's office, four people in Senator Durbin's office. And we're aware of affinity groups that are organizing all around the country for this sustained campaign to make sure that the elected representatives know that we won't go away on this issue, that we won't be fooled by issues that are raised that would continue the spending for three, four, five years into the future. We want this funding turned off now." The Occupation Project explains it's purpose as "a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience aimed at ending the U.S. war in and occupation of Iraq. The campaign will begin the first week of February 2007 with occupations at the offices of Representatives and Senators who refuse to pledge to vote against additional war funding."
The KPFA Evening News noted the group yesterday. CODEPINK's Gail Murphy stated: "Although we voted on November 7th to stop the war, our elected officials are not listening, the president is certainly not listening, and so we need the pressure of the people to make sure that they hear our message." Sandra Lupien noted that the districts offices of Mike Honda and Doris Matsui (among others) in California. From CODEPINK:
Occupation Project In early February, the White House is exptected to submit a new supplemental spending bill to Congress, and CODEPINK has joined with Voices for Creative Nonviolence to launch Occupation Project, a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience to end war funding. As Kathy Kelly writes, "Now is the time for seriously strategizing about the best ways, in our hometowns, to engage in sustained civil disobedience at the offices of elected representatives, demanding that they vote against the supplemental spending bill..." See Monday, Feb 5 action photos at Senator McCain's office, and click here to learn more and join us.
