The Guerrilla Campaign

The Bendermans need our help! Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - Jack Dalton http://jack-dalton.blogspot.com/2005/11/bendermans-need-our-help.html I need some folks to dig into their pockets. Here is what this is about and why. Kevin and Monica Benderman need our help. Monica has not asked me to do this; this I do on my own just becase it needs to be done. Here is what I am talking about:Kevin is in jail because, as a matter of conscience, he knew he could not participate in an on-going war crime—Iraq’s invasion and occupation. ( See the Benderman Timeline for full details ) The Army, when it sent Kevin to jail, sent him 3,000 miles away from the jail at his base in Georgia. The only way Kevin and Monica can talk is by phone. That is a $25 per 20 min call. 3 calls a week is over $300 a month. Add a couple of emergency calls and now its up to about $500 per month. They don’t have the money, period.For the past 4 months I have been paying their house note; I will not sit by and watch Kevin c...

by Doris Colmes, MSW 11/29/05 When Deborah Davis hit the news, I got hit as well – right in the pit of my stomach where terror hides, and panic lurks.. “Oh God, I mumbled, “It’s happening again” And just exactly what had Deborah done to get this emotionally detached old lady into such a replay of emotions left over from 1938 Nazi Germany? It was the gut-wrenching realization that the Nazi Police State in which I was raised has come back to roost – in the United States. Deborah, who commutes by bus in Denver, Colorado, had been asked to present her I.D. to a man in uniform. If she didn’t, she was told, it would mean walking several miles to her job. So, she complied, but, it rankled. Deborah knew that, unless she was being a danger to self or others, behaving irrationally, or drunk and disorderly, no one had the right to ask for her identification. As long as she was sitting quietly in her seat, she could not be arbitrarily asked for ID. (She’d learned that in her 8th grade Civics...

The bush administration lies. they've been lying from the moment bush took the Oath of office in January, 2001. We know they lie, because they've used lies on their people in the past. Their lies have led to: - the looting of the US Treasury; - two wars where 100,000+ Afghans and Iraqis have been killed, and 2100+ American military have been killed; - the rape of the Bill of Rights; - false and illegal arrests and detention of American citizens; - the destruction of the social safety net for American workers. This is by no means an exhaustive list. It goes on and on. Now cheney's bitching because they're being called out for their lies. Well, that's too bad. His statements of innocence and outrage are just so much fluff. "They're lying. It's just false, not true, inaccurate and typical.", as rumsfeld has put it. Well, to paraphrase cheney as he put it so elegantly regarding Saddam Hussein, "The burden of proof is entirely on the bush administ...

To be or not to be… How are you doing? Ready for the holidays? It's that time of year again, when we reflect on our nuclear families and express our affections for same. It is also the time of year to reflect on the past, take a moral inventory and begin anew in the coming year. Consider this: Many thousands of earthquake victims in Pakistan and Kashmir continue to be left to die. The refugee camps in Darfur in the Sudan continue to be attacked as hopes for peace fade. Malaria continues to kill children all over the globe and scientists are warning of an impending viral pandemic. Environmental degradation is increasing at an accelerated pace. And, of course, the war of terror in Iraq continues to claim lives every day. The congress in Washington needs more money in order to continue the war so it is cutting spending on programs like food stamps for the poor. They hope to stimulate the economy by extending the tax breaks for the wealthy… Am I getting through? These are just the head...

Let’s see: I sponsor a race car. My job deals with construction. I live on a little street out in Redneck City, with the wife and my dogs. I shop-drop every place I go. I write letters to the editor to tell them they’re wrong. And I take no guff, when I strut my stuff. You might want to use your rights while you still got ‘em.

Bush's War on Veterans November 9, 2005 By Mary Shaw http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/05/11/09_veterans.html On Friday, November 11, Americans will observe Veteran's Day. This is a day set aside to honor our war veterans. I cannot think of a more worthy purpose for a holiday. Now let me guess: this Veteran's Day, George W. Bush will strut his way into a specially choreographed photo opportunity and smirk and say some carefully crafted yet predictable and hollow-sounding words about how the American people appreciate the sacrifices that our veterans have made in the noble quest to defend freedom and democracy. And he will be right. We the people do appreciate the sacrifices that our veterans have made. After all, our brave veterans made those sacrifices while Dubya's congressman dad pulled enough strings to get his boy out of harm's way and into the elite Texas Air National Guard to avoid Vietnam. Our brave veterans made those sacrifices while Dick Chene...

Not that we really need anymore evidence of the criminality of the bush administration. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article325560.ece Today's Independent (UK) reports on an Italian documentary about the atrocities committed by the US military in the Nov 2004 destruction of Fallujah. Many independent commentators and reporters at the time tried to bring this information to the American people, but, as usual, they were basically ignored by the CCMA*. White phospherous bombs, and the new napalm (Mark 77), banned weapons by the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons of 1980, were used. ..."Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone ... I saw the burned bodies of women and children. Phosphorus explodes and forms a cloud. Anyone within a radius of 150 metres is done for."... Think about that. Picture that. FEEL that. Is that what you want done in your name? And do you really think it's confined to just Falluja...

Source of impeachment banner remains unknown County officials don't know who hung a political banner on the Pinellas Trail overpass, but they took it down as soon as they heard about it . By NICOLE JOHNSON Published November 6, 2005 http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/06/Northpinellas/Source_of_impeachment.shtml PALM HARBOR - Motorists and pedestrians passing the Pinellas Trail overpass just north of Curlew Road one morning last week were asked to take on a hefty task. "Impeach Bush Now!" read a large white banner hanging from the overpass. And so it seemed, a particularly politically contentious week had spilled out onto the Pinellas Trail. It's not clear who posted the 19-foot-long vinyl banner, but Pinellas County officials said it was not sanctioned. The sign was likely put up Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, said Paul Cozzie, county director of parks and recreation. A local Democratic group denied responsibility for the message. "That was not the work of...

by Mike Whitney November 04, 2005 http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=43&ItemID=9048 Zmag.org “Those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid the terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends” - Former Attorney General, John Ashcroft Did you know that under the terms of the new Patriot Act prosecutors will be able to seek the death penalty in cases where “defendants gave financial support to umbrella organizations without realizing that some of its adherents might eventually commit violence”? (NY Times; editorial 10-30-05) So, if someone unknowingly gave money to a charity that was connected to a terrorist group, he could be executed. Or, that the Senate Intelligence Committee is fine-tuning the details of a bill that will allow the FBI to secretly procure any of your personal records without “pro...

Everybody knows the dice are loaded everybody rolls with their finger crossed Everybody knows the war is over everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight was fixed the poor stay poor the rich get rich That's how it goes everybody knows Everybody knows the boat is leaking everybody knows the captain lied...... -Leonard Cohen Powerful Government Accounting Office report confirms key 2004 stolen election findings by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman October 26, 2005 http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1529 As a legal noose appears to be tightening around the Bush/Cheney/Rove inner circle, a shocking government report shows the floor under the legitimacy of their alleged election to the White House is crumbling. The latest critical confirmation of key indicators that the election of 2004 was stolen comes in an extremely powerful, penetrating report from the General Accounting Office that has gotten virtually no mainstream media coverage. The governme...

Woman Sees Husband Off to Iraq, Gets Fired 10/26/05 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051026/ap_on_re_us/soldier_s_wife_fired CALEDONIA, Mich. - A woman who took an unpaid leave of absence from work to see her husband off to war with an Indiana National Guard unit has been fired after failing to show up for her part-time receptionist job the day following his departure. "It was a shock," said Suzette Boler, a 40-year-old mother of three and grandmother of three. "I was hurt. I felt abandoned by people I thought cared for me. I sat down on the floor and cried for probably two hours." Officials at her former workplace, Benefit Management Administrators Inc., a Caledonia employee-benefits company, confirmed that Boler was dismissed when she didn't report to work the day after she said goodbye to her husband of 22 years. "We gave her sufficient time to get back to work," Clark Galloway, vice president of operations for Benefit Management, told The Grand Rapids...

the following news release describes a new effort by a national grassroots coalition to stop yet ANOTHER nefarious grab of our kids by the pentagon. the release was sent to toledo press and has an ohio quote, but also explains the national issue. if you want more information from the national group organizing this, their contact information is included below. from Mike Ferner 10/18/05 **************************** For more information: www.epic.org/privacy/student/doddatabase.html Coalition Of 75 Groups Demand End To Pentagon’s Youth Database Toledo -- More than seventy-five local, state, and national organizations sent a letter today to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and the Congressional oversight and appropriations committees for the Department of Defense (DOD), seeking an end to a data collecting project called the Joint Advertising and Market Research Studies ( JAMRS ) Recruiting Database. Toledo's Student and Family Rights and Privacy Committee, the group now pressu...

Rice calls war part of post-9/11 plan By Nicholas Kralev The Washington Times October 20, 2005 http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20051019-095906-4805r.htm […] The testimony, during which Miss Rice was interrupted several times by senators on both sides because they did not feel she was answering their questions, culminated in objections by three Democrats to the administration's mission to rebuild the Middle East. "Unless we commit to changing the nature of the Middle East, and if we tire and decide that we are going to withdraw and leave the people of the Middle East to despair, I can assure you that the people of the United States are going to live in insecurity and fear for many, many decades to come," Miss Rice said. Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Barack Obama of Illinois and Bill Nelson of Florida said that was not the reason the administration had given Congress for the Iraq war; rather, it was the threat dictator Saddam Hussein was said to have po...

posted at http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1014-27.htm Published on Friday, October 14, 2005 by the Independent/UK by Harold Pinter The following remarks were adapted during Mr. Pinter's acceptance speech on winning the Wilfred Owen Award earlier this year. The great poet Wilfred Owen articulated the tragedy, the horror - and indeed the pity - of war in a way no other poet has. Yet we have learnt nothing. Nearly 100 years after his death the world has become more savage, more brutal, more pitiless. But the "free world" we are told, as embodied in the United States and Great Britain, is different to the rest of the world since our actions are dictated and sanctioned by a moral authority and a moral passion condoned by someone called God. Some people may find this difficult to comprehend but Osama Bin Laden finds it easy. What would Wilfred Owen make of the invasion of Iraq? A bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concep...

By Mitchel Cohen October 11, 2005 http://www.counterpunch.org/cohen10112005.html For about 1 hour beginning at 5 pm Monday afternoon, members of the Brooklyn Greens leafletted at the front entrance of the Atlantic Terminal against Chuck E. Cheese's showing of military videos to their 4-11 year-old clientele. We were joined by activists from Times Up! (one of whom had ridden his bike all the way from Queens to be there), Bay Ridge Greens, and an IndyKids photographer -- with a special guest appearance by the legendary Yippie Pieman Aron Kay. Three of the young kids had earlier leafletted inside the inner sanctum of Chuck E. Cheese itself. All of the 13 leafletters (including 4 children) reported they received an excellent response by everyone visiting the mall, including several relatives of soldiers who are currently stationed in Iraq. No negative incidents occurred, despite the presence of 4 U.S. soldiers with machineguns at the entrance to the Long Island Railroad 100 feet up the...

Thanks to Kierstan for the pic.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1586978,00.html Mr Bush revealed the extent of his religious fervour when he met a Palestinian delegation during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egpytian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, four months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did." Whoo hoo! the bush is gone. somewhere in the ozone. the boy really needs some professional help. Unfortunately for us, his veep, the cheney ain't any closer to reality. Reading bush's speech from the other day, it's obvious he's drifting somewhere between today and fantasy land. Which would be ok if he wasn't president.

By Alister Doyle 10/7/05 http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051007/ts_nm/nobel_peace_dc OSLO (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog and its head Mohamed ElBaradei, who clashed with Washington over Iraq, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for fighting the spread of nuclear weapons. The Nobel Committee praised the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ElBaradei, a 63-year-old Egyptian, for their battle to stop states and terrorists acquiring the atom bomb, and to ensure safe civilian use of nuclear energy. In Vienna, ElBaradei said the $1.3 million Nobel award, widely viewed as the world's top accolade, would give him and his agency a much needed "shot in the arm" as they tackle nuclear crises in Iran and North Korea. ElBaradei said he had been sure he would not win because he had not received a traditional advance telephone call from the Committee, worried by media leaks. He learned of his win at home while watching television with his wife, Aida. He said he jumped to hi...

American Progress Action Fund The Progress Report On September 16, President Bush made a vague promise to " cut unnecessary spending " to pay for reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Yesterday, he specified what spending he considers "unnecessary." At a press conference on the White House law, Bush said he will ask Congress to " make even deeper reductions in the mandatory spending programs than are already planned." The major mandatory spending programs are Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. (The category also includes a few smaller program related to income security such as unemployment insurance and school lunches.) In other words, President Bush want the the poor, the sick and the elderly to pay for Katrina reconstruction by giving up their health care and retirement security. Meanwhile, the President is pressing forward with billions in new tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans .