Five Before Chaos

Our congressman, Peter Welch, made a promise way back when not to sign on to any Iraq funding bill that doesn’t have some sort of timetable, and there was another one that was up for a vote yesterday. Welch was wavering (lots of pressure cming from above, although that’s not an excuse – he works for us, not them). Alas, he got some pressure from below as well, with a little help from the national blogosphere, and he did the right thing and voted no, at the last minute. Now I know a lot of us don’t agree with Peter on some things, but he deserves a thanks for doing the right thing here. You can call at (802) 652-2450 or (202) 225-4115 if you feel so inclined.

…over at GMD, this one is about Iraq and activism. Enjoy.

Right on…

The Massachusetts School of Law in Andover is organizing a conference detailing what a potential war crimes trial for Bush and his cronies. And they’re taking “war crimes trial” very seriously, according to AfterDowningStreet.org:

“This is not intended to be a mere discussion of violations of law that have occurred,” said convener Lawrence Velvel, dean and cofounder of the school. “It is, rather, intended to be a planning conference at which plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth.”

“We must try to hold Bush administration leaders accountable in courts of justice,” Velvel said. “And we must insist on appropriate punishments, including, if guilt is found, the hangings visited upon top German and Japanese war-criminals in the 1940s.”

“For Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and John Yoo to spend years in jail or go to the gallows for their crimes would be a powerful lesson to future American leaders,” Velvel said.

Oooh, hangings. That Which Must Be Never Spoken Aloud. I was thrilled to read that, as that’s something I’ve thought would really be the most fitting punishment, considering the crimes, much more appropriate than impeachment. But Godless forbid you say that to anyone, you get excommunicated from the Forward Thinking People’s Club or something.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. If you’re interested in attending, contact eff Demers at demers@msl.edu (978) 681-0800; or Sherwood Ross, media consultant to MSL, at sherwoodr1@yahoo.com.

Still worth it, Mr. Bush?

Remember Abu Ghraib? You know, that pivotal moment that showed those that were actually paying attention that this idea of American moral exceptionalism was really a crock of steaming shit? Well, some new photos have made their way to the surface, over at Wired Magazine. Perhaps someone could explain to me the psychology of posing with a rotting corpse while giving a thumbs up and a big smile. That one’s lost on me. Would malke a good campaign photo for McCain, though.

… in that “lack of evidence” somehow constitutes “proof of existence”. Or at the very least, lack of evidence on something shouldn’t keep one  from believing in something. Huck seems pretty convinced that there were WMD’s in Iraq. From TP:

I don’t have any evidence. [Saddam] was the one who announced openly he had weapons of mass destruction. 

[snip]

Did they go some other place? We don’t know. They may not have existed. But simply saying — we didn’t find them so therefore they didn’t exist — is a bit of an overreach.

[snip]

And I’m simply saying that because when we went in we didn’t find them, everybody wants to criticize the president and say, oh, the president lied to us. The president didn’t lie to us. The president acted on information that he had, that he believed, and intelligence services believed that they were weapons of mass destruction.

I can see why he’s a young earth creationist, believing in something else that has absolutely no evidence (and plenty to the contrary). I don’t know what’s worse, that or the idea that he actually trusts Bush. Yet another Republican Hack Who Will Never Be President®. There’s just so many I can barely keep track of ‘em.

Seven Days now has a great piece up on last week’s student-led action that shut down two military recruiters’ offices in Williston. Check it out.

Well, then. Today, I was witness to a truly inspiring day of direct action. With results, as you can see from the sign that was on the recruiter’s office in Williston, today. All of you old coots who grumble about the youth of today, it’s time to listen up. More below the jump…

Continue reading

Just wanted to pass along some information to those of you that are interested in shaking things up. And yes, I’ll be there.

CALL TO ACTION!
November 30, 2007 – 3:00 pm
“OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS – OUT OF IRAQ!” Williston Military Recruitment Office
166 Sycamore St. in Williston, VT
Nonviolent Civil Disobedience and Rally!

“Out of Our Schools – Out of Iraq”
Unites Iraq Veterans Against the War, Mount Mansfield Union High School Peace Club,
and all Vermonters Opposed to this War to Demand an End to Military Recruiters Preying on our Public School Students, and an End to the Occupation of Iraq.

Not one new soldier recruited from VT.

One less soldier in Iraq =Ten less casualties!

Stand up! Stop lies! Save Lives!

The insidious and pervasive presence of military recruiters preying on our young people with their arsenal of lies and deception in our public schools has gone on long enough!
The unjust, immoral and merciless occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan must end immediately.

Join us in putting Life before Lies! People before Profit!
Education before Occupation!
Once and for all!

November 30, 2007 – 3:00 pm
Williston Military Recruitment Office
166 Sycamore St. in Williston, VT.

There’s a must-read story by Peter Bohmer about 10 day civil disobedience action in Olympia, Washington, in which people were able to blockade military equipment from Iraq that was loading off of a ship (to be repaired and returned to Iraq). It had was a big success on many fronts, rubber bullets and pepper spray notwithstanding. Check this out:

Tuesday, November 13th will be a day long remembered by many in Olympia. In the morning about 20 people sat down at the Port entrance blocking military equipment from moving. For 13 hours no military equipment moved out of the Port. Hence, for a minimum of 30 hours, we stopped Stryker vehicles from returning to Ft. Lewis, a major action and statement. In the evening about 200 people gathered at the Port of Olympia entrance to resist by various and complementary means the war and the militarization of Olympia. In the midst of this action, a GI from Ft. Lewis who was supposed to be involved in the transport of these military vehicles to Ft. Lewis, walked out of the Port, saying he was against the war and refused to transport the war equipment. This was a really powerful action and reminded me of the increasing resistance to the Vietnam war by active duty soldiers. Civilian anti-war and GI cooperation and solidarity is a key to ending this war. This is a victory for the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance organization (PMR) and the anti-war movement as a whole.  

Refreshing news for a change, dontcha think?