Screening of "Winter Soldier" -a special YBCA
Independence Day Weekend screening
(documentary on the atrocities of the Vietnam war)
By the Winterfilm Collective
(testimonial by Senator John Kerry)
Friday, July 1, 7:30 pm
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Screening Room
701 Mission Street @ 3rd, San Francisco, CA 94103
$8 regular/$5 YBCA members, students, teachers, seniors
Public Info: www.ybca.org
or 415.978.ARTS (2787)
Contact: Adriane Lee at 415.321.1307 or alee@ybca.org
A rarely screened, devastating
documentary classic, Winter Soldier, captures
the testimonies of ex-GIs at the
1971 Detroit Winter Soldier Investigation
concerning American atrocities in
Vietnam. The soldiers, including
Senator John Kerry, are riveting
as they provide eye-witness testimony
to war crimes and atrocities they
either participated in or witnessed.
The film evokes all of the sorrow
and pain that Vietnam has come to represent.
***********************************************************
GET THE MILITARY OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS! MONEY FOR EDUCATION
NOT FOR WAR! BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
This week and next marks the final two weeks left in the
College Not Combat petition campaign. Over the July 4th weekend
(July 2, 3 & 4) the petition campaign will be stationed at
Dolores Park starting at 1:00 p.m.
A table will be set up at
The Mime Troupe performance of:
"Doing Good"
Based loosely on the book, "Confessions
of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins.
This play is fresh, new, brilliantly performed,
insightful, full of content, and the music
is the icing on the cake!
MUSIC: 1:30 P.M. - SHOW: 2:00 P.M.
(THEN GATHER SIGNATURES AFTER THE SHOW)
BAUAW is setting up a COLLEGE NOT COMBAT
PETITION CAMPAIGN table by invitation
from the Mime Troupe. THERE WILL BE AN
ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE TABLE FROM THE STAGE.
Free antiwar posters and information will be
available as well as the petitions. We will
be able to gather signatures before
and after the performance. After the performance
we will also fan out over the city to give this
petition drive a big push over the July 4th weekend!
COLLEGE NOT COMBAT BALLOT INITIATIVE
FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO, NOVEMBER 2005, ELECTIONS:
"The people of San Francisco oppose U.S.
military recruiters using public
school, college and university
facilities to recruit young
people into the armed forces.
Furthermore, San Francisco should
oppose the military's "economic
draft" by investigating means
by which to fund and grant
scholarships for college and job
training to low-income students
so they are not economically compelled
to join the military!"
FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE!
***********************************************************
This just in:
Suicides in the Ranks - Something is Seriously Wrong
By: Jack Dalton
Sunday, June 19, 2005
http://jack-dalton.blogspot.com/2005/06/suicides-in-ranks-something-is_19.html
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
BAUAW NEWSLETTER-TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2005
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
1) California National Guard
Targeted Mother's Day
Anti-War Action
by Brendan Coyne ( bio )
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=1983
Jun 27 - A unit within the California National Guard that has
been given "broad authority" to work on terrorist-related
intelligence matters put a Mother's Day anti-war rally under
observation, the San Jose Mercury News reported Sunday.
Emails obtained by the Mercury News demonstrate that officials
in the state National Guard's intelligence unit, known as the
Information Synchronization, Knowledge Management and Intelligence
Fusion program, were communicating about details of the rally
after being notified by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
office that it was to occur.
A spokesperson for the National Guard told the Mercury News
that no agents from the unit attended the rally -- which
reportedly had a few dozen participants and was organized
by Code Pink, the Raging Grannies and the Goldstar Families
for Peace, among others -- but that such information
tracking was justified and would likely continue in cases
where the governor could potentially call out the guard
for crowd control.
"It's nothing subversive,'' Lieutenant Stan Zezotarski
told the paper. "Because who knows who could infiltrate
that type of group and try to stir something up? After all,
we live in the age of terrorism, so who knows?"
The new revelation comes just days after the Mercury News
reported that the Army Inspector General's office was
investigating the California National Guard over allegations
against its former head, Major General Thomas Eres. Eres
initiated the intelligence unit last year, the paper reported.
(c) 2005 The NewStandard . See our reprint policy .
2) Cut all Public School Ties to the Military!
Speak up and Picket the S.F. Board of Education
the Fourth Tuesday of Each Month Starting:
June 28TH, 7:00 P.M.
555 Franklin St., S.F,
To get on the speakers list call:
415-241-6427, 241-6493 or 241-6000
3) COLLEGE NOT COMBAT PETITION CAMPAIGN
JULY 2,3 & 4 WEEKEND SCHEDULE
*SHOW UP TO PETITION:
SATURDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY, JULY 2, 3 & 4, 1:00 P.M.
DOLORES PARK, 18TH AND DOLORES STS, SF
*SEE THE SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE'S PLAY
"DOING GOOD"
A play based loosely on the book, "Confessions
of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins.
MUSIC: 1:30 P.M. - SHOW: 2:00 P.M.
(THEN GATHER SIGNATURES AFTER THE SHOW)
4) HANDS OFF VENEZUELA SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA FILM
SHOWING: 7:00 PM, FRIDAY JULY 15
Center for Political Education
522 Valencia, Third Floor,
Near 16th Street, SF
(not wheelchair accessible)
Close the 16th Street BART
$5/$3 Students, Seniors, Unemployed
5) SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE
PRESENTS: "DOING GOOD"
A play based loosely on the book, "Confessions
of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins.
JULY 16, PRECITA PARK
MUSIC: 1:30 P.M.
SHOW: 2:00 P.M.
(This play is fresh, new, brilliantly performed,
insightful, full of content, and the music is the
icing on the cake!...BW)
SPONSORED BY BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR
Help get the word out about the ballot proposition
and upcoming antiwar events. Free antiwar posters!
FREE!
6) SAVE THE DATES: AUGUST 4, 5 & 6, 2005 FOR
PRESENTATION OF HOWARD ZINN'S ONE MAN SHOW,
"MARX IN SOHO" PERFORMED BY JERRY LEVY
The central theme of Marx in Soho is unique: heaven's
bureaucracy allows Karl Marx more than a century after
his death in 1883 to return to Earth to the place where
he spent most of his adult life, namely London's Soho.
The bureaucracy makes a mistake, however, and he finds
himself in New York's Soho and in front of an audience
to boot.
The single actor in this one-man play is Jerry Levy,
who has been teaching sociology at Marlboro College
and been acting with the Actors' Theater of Brattleboro
since he moved there from Chicago in 1975. Originally
directed by Michael Fox Kennedy of the Actors' Theater,
Levy has been on the road with Zinn's version of Karl
Marx for a year, performing at benefits, colleges, small
theaters and other venues around the state. At Middle
Earth he was sponsored by the Bradford-based Coos Peace
and Justice Alliance and performed free of charge but
charged with mighty talent and a bottomless love of the play.
LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED
TO BENEFIT BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR
WWW.BAUAW.ORG
(FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: 415-824-8730)
7) Tough duty
Recruiters say long hours, numbers and fewer prospects
make job harder
June 27, 2005
By Joseph R. ChenellyTimes staff writer
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=0-ARMYPAPER-870997.php
8) On the Objection Front
We have a verry stong film this year that will be perfect for
your organization - On the Objection Front. I am sending the
flyer to you as an attachemnt and the verbiage in the
bosy of the e-mail below. Please give me a call if you have
any questions about the film or the festival. I will be in
the office till 3PM today.
9) More Evidence Indicts U.S.
Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
http://dahrjamailiraq.com
10) STATE NATIONAL GUARD UNIT SET UP
TO DETER TERRORISM MONITORED ANTI-WAR RALLY
By Dion Nissenbaum Mercury News Sacramento
Posted on Sun, Jun. 26, 2005
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/11989882.htm
11) solidarity fasts June 28-30 Tue, 28 Jun 2005 01:35:17 -0700
From: "Barbara Deutsch"
12) Candlelight Vigil for Samuel
Sunday July 3, 2005
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
757 N. 12th Street, San Jose
Shortly after that (around 7ish ) we will
march up Taylor Street, past the Police department and
back down Hedding street. Our vigil will be to hold
Sam's memory alive and to show our community that the
escalation in excessive force by the police is out of
control.
13) The Speech the President Should Give
By JOHN F. KERRY
Boston
June 28, 2005
"He should also say that the United States will insist that
the Iraqis establish a truly inclusive political process and
meet the deadlines for finishing the Constitution and holding
elections in December. We're doing our part: our huge military
presence stands between the Iraqi people and chaos, and our
special forces protect Iraqi leaders. The Iraqis must now do
theirs."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/opinion/28kerry.html?hp
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
1) California National Guard
Targeted Mother's Day
Anti-War Action
by Brendan Coyne ( bio )
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=1983
Jun 27 - A unit within the California National Guard that has been given "broad
authority" to work on terrorist-related intelligence matters put a Mother's Day anti-
war rally under observation, the San Jose Mercury News reported Sunday.
Emails obtained by the Mercury News demonstrate that officials in the state National
Guard's intelligence unit, known as the Information Synchronization, Knowledge
Management and Intelligence Fusion program, were communicating about details of
the rally after being notified by governor Arnold Schwarzennegger's office that it was
to occur.
A spokesperson for the National Guard told the Mercury News that no agents from
the unit attended the rally -- which reportedly had a few dozen participants and was
organized by Code Pink, the Raging Grannies and the Goldstar Families for Peace,
among others -- but that such information tracking was justified and would likely
continue in cases where the governor could potentially call out the guard for crowd
control.
"It's nothing subversive,'' Lieutenant Stan Zezotarski told the paper. "Because who
knows who could infiltrate that type of group and try to stir something up? After all,
we live in the age of terrorism, so who knows?"
The new revelation comes just days after the Mercury News reported that the Army
Inspector General's office was investigating the California National Guard over
allegations against its former head, Major General Thomas Eres. Eres initiated the
intelligence unit last year, the paper reported.
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
2) Cut all Public School Ties to the Military!
Speak up and Picket the S.F. Board of Education
the Fourth Tuesday of Each Month Starting:
June 28TH, 7:00 P.M.
555 Franklin St., S.F,
To get on the speakers list call:
415-241-6427, 241-6493 or 241-6000
Bay Area United Against War (BAUAW) will be picketing the San
Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Board of Education
meetings the 4th Tuesday of each month beginning June 28th until
the district cuts all school ties to the military.
San Francisco voters passed Proposition N for the immediate
withdrawal of troops from Iraq by a 63 percent majority last
November. And this November 2005 we will pass an anti-recruitment
resolution initiated by College Not Combat, a coalition of groups
and individuals opposed to the U.S. militaries' school recruitment
program.
We are currently gathering the necessary signatures to place
this counter-recruitment proposition on the ballot. The
proposition says, "The people of San Francisco oppose U.S.
military recruiters using public school, college and university
facilities to recruit young people into the armed forces.
Furthermore, San Francisco should oppose the military's "economic
draft" by investigating means by which to fund and grant
scholarships for college and job training to low-income students
so they are not economically compelled to join the military!"
Proposition N, passed last November, already mandates the
SFUSD to cut all school ties to the military. Yet S.F. children
are still being actively recruited at schools throughout the
district by direct military recruitment, and through the Junior
Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs.
Many students are forced into JROTC in order to get the necessary
Physical Education credits they need to graduate High School. JROTC
now fulfills this requirement-and the district actually pays
a million dollars a year to the Army to support JROTC. (JROTC, by
the way, is totally managed and controlled by the U.S. Army. The
Army writes the curriculum and appoints the teachers. The district
has no say in this program.)
In fact, the U.S. military maintains a presence in the schools
at all grade levels from kindergarten on up. And now the Military
is beginning to set up JROTC "Military Academies" in the Middle
Schools. At these "academies" children are taught how to obey
orders and to practice military maneuvers with realistically
functioning toy guns.
As a result of the board's open door military policy, many San
Francisco high school graduates are currently serving in Iraq.
This must end. Schools must not be used to recruit youngsters to
kill or be killed in this illegal, immoral war! The following
resolution was presented to the board several months ago.
They still have not acted on it!
CUT ALL SCHOOL TIES TO THE MILITARY!
Resolution for San Francisco Board of Education
WHEREAS, the United States military is actively recruiting high
school students into the military to fight in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, many young San Francisco high school alumni are
presently serving in military units fighting in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, it is San Francisco City policy by virtue of
Proposition N, to bring all U.S. troops home from Iraq now; and
WHEREAS, over 1,700 U.S. soldiers and approximately
100,000 Iraqis have been killed in this war and over
10,000 U.S. soldiers and unknown thousands of Iraqis have
been wounded; and
WHEREAS, the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on the
war have robbed our children of resources that should be
spent on education and other human needs; and
WHEREAS, military presence in our schools legitimizes the
message that violence is acceptable; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
It shall be the policy of the San Francisco Board of Education
to cut all ties with the United States military, including, but
not limited to: Ending military recruitment on campuses; ending
the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC); and guaranteeing
that all students and parents are informed of their right to deny
military recruiters access to their names, addresses and
telephone numbers.
Come to the next planning meeting of
Bay Area United Against War (BAUAW)
Saturday, July 9, 11:30 a.m. at 474 Valencia Street
between 15th & 16th Streets, S.F.
Bay Area United Against War (BAUAW) • www.bauaw.org
P.O. Box 318021,
San Francisco, CA 94131-8021 •
414-824-8730
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
3) COLLEGE NOT COMBAT PETITION CAMPAIGN
JULY 2,3 & 4 WEEKEND SCHEDULE
*SHOW UP TO PETITION:
SATURDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY, JULY 2, 3 & 4, 1:00 P.M.
DOLORES PARK, 18TH AND DOLORES STS, SF
*SEE THE SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE'S PLAY
"DOING GOOD"
Based loosely on the book, "Confessions
of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins.
This play is fresh, new, brilliantly performed,
insightful, full of content, and the music
is the icing on the cake!
MUSIC: 1:30 P.M. - SHOW: 2:00 P.M.
(THEN GATHER SIGNATURES AFTER THE SHOW)
BAUAW is setting up a COLLEGE NOT COMBAT
PETITION CAMPAIGN table by invitation
from the Mime Troupe. THERE WILL BE AN
ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE TABLE FROM THE STAGE.
Free antiwar posters and information will be
available as well as the petitions.
We will be able to gather signatures before
and after the performance. After the performance
we will also fan out over the city to give this
petition drive a big push over the July 4th weekend.
COME HELP GATHER SIGNATURES FOR THE
COLLEGE NOT COMBAT BALLOT INITIATIVE
FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO, NOVEMBER 2005, ELECTIONS:
"The people of San Francisco oppose U.S.
military recruiters using public
school, college and university
facilities to recruit young
people into the armed forces.
Furthermore, San Francisco should
oppose the military's "economic
draft" by investigating means
by which to fund and grant
scholarships for college and job
training to low-income students
so they are not economically compelled
to join the military!"
GET THE MILITARY OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS!
MONEY FOR EDUCATION NOT FOR WAR!
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE!
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
4) HANDS OFF VENEZUELA SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA FILM
SHOWING: 7:00 PM, FRIDAY JULY 15
Center for Political Education
522 Valencia, Third Floor,
Near 16th Street, SF
(not wheelchair accessible)
Close the 16th Street BART
$5/$3 Students, Seniors, Unemployed
With the Poor of the World
Con los pobres de la Tierra (2003) 56 minutes.
by Marta Harnecker on Venezuela
In Spanish with English Subtitles
This video gives the background and context of the
current struggles in Venezuela since 1993. Using TV
news footage and archival video, this film documents
the rise of Chavez and the Oligarchy's three attempts
to overthrow him.
May Day in Caracas
(2005) 22 minutes.
by a J. Carlos Flores.
In Spanish with English Subtitles
A short documentary about international labor day in
Venezuela
Hands off Venezuela will show these films as a benefit
to bring Stalin Peres Borges, a leader of the National
Union of Workers of Venezuela (UNT) a dynamic new
Venezuelan Trade Union federation.
Call Adam at 415 864 3537 or email sfbay@ushov.org for
more info or to arrange a speaker to talk about the
inspiring events in Venezuela and the need to protect
it from US attack.
Also Come To The Next Hands Off Venezuela Organizing
Meeting (all welcome): 7:00 PM, Thursday, June 30,
Socialist Action Bookstore, corner Valencia and 14th,
SF
www.handsoffvenezuela.org
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
5) SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE
PRESENTS: "DOING GOOD"
A play based loosely on the book, "Confessions
of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins.
JULY 16, PRECITA PARK
MUSIC: 1:30 P.M.
SHOW: 2:00 P.M.
(This play is fresh, new, brilliantly performed,
insightful, full of content, and the music is the
icing on the cake!...BW)
SPONSORED BY BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR
Help get the word out about the ballot proposition
and upcoming antiwar events. Free antiwar posters!
FREE!
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
6) SAVE THE DATES: AUGUST 4, 5 & 6, 2005 FOR
PRESENTATION OF HOWARD ZINN'S ONE MAN SHOW,
"MARX IN SOHO" PERFORMED BY JERRY LEVY
The central theme of Marx in Soho is unique: heaven's
bureaucracy allows Karl Marx more than a century after
his death in 1883 to return to Earth to the place where
he spent most of his adult life, namely London's Soho.
The bureaucracy makes a mistake, however, and he finds
himself in New York's Soho and in front of an audience
to boot.
The single actor in this one-man play is Jerry Levy,
who has been teaching sociology at Marlboro College
and been acting with the Actors' Theater of Brattleboro
since he moved there from Chicago in 1975. Originally
directed by Michael Fox Kennedy of the Actors' Theater,
Levy has been on the road with Zinn's version of Karl
Marx for a year, performing at benefits, colleges, small
theaters and other venues around the state. At Middle
Earth he was sponsored by the Bradford-based Coos Peace
and Justice Alliance and performed free of charge but
charged with mighty talent and a bottomless love of the play.
LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED
TO BENEFIT BAY AREA UNITED AGAINST WAR
WWW.BAUAW.ORG
(FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: 415-824-8730)
---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
7) Tough duty
Recruiters say long hours, numbers and fewer prospects
make job harder
June 27, 2005
By Joseph R. ChenellyTimes staff writer
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=0-ARMYPAPER-870997.php
They aren't in Iraq, but they feel under fire. Their bosses want
them on the job. Their spouses want them at home.
And, they are finding, the people whom they desperately need
just want them to go away.
Outside combat, recruiting is widely considered the toughest
job in the Army today. For the 7,500 soldiers serving as
recruiters, a traditionally challenging job has become
a relentless pressure cooker. They are being sent into
a war-wary public to convince unwilling civilians to go
Army. Four straight months of missing their goals has
brought merciless media attention to a story of failure.
So they work harder, endure more rejection.
"It seems like just about no one wants to join the Army anymore.
It has changed a lot in the past year and a half," said
Sgt. 1st Class Jeffery Due, a recruiter who has been beating
Seattle's streets for two years.
"If you are doing well, you might be able to see your
children when they're awake. You might have something
that resembles a social life. But if you are missing goals,
you can count on even more hours," he said.
Even senior leadership recognizes that the singular demands
of recruiters' jobs are taking a hard toll.
Major Gen. Michael Rochelle, who commands U.S. Army
Recruiting, has said his soldiers are working in the
"toughest recruiting climate in the history of the
all-volunteer Army."
Still, the Army is counting on its recruiting force to fill
the ranks of a service that's expanding, reorganizing,
fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and performing
humanitarian and training missions in Kosovo, Bosnia,
Colombia, the Philippines, West Africa and dozens of
other countries.
And now come the make-or-break months.
Officials at Recruiting Command have placed the weight of
success directly on the summer months, typically the best
recruiting season because high schools and colleges let out.
But three-quarters of the way through the fiscal year that
ends Sept. 30, the Army Reserve and Army National Guard need
to recruit more people in the final quarter than they did
in the first three quarters combined.
The active-duty Army is in nearly the same predicament.
Having put 40,964 in the active-duty ranks so far, the Army
needs another 39,036 people to hit the goal of shipping
80,000 new soldiers to basic training this year.
Interviews with recruiters on duty in Nevada, Idaho, Utah
and Washington state reveal doubts in the ranks as to whether
the summer will bring Recruiting Command's predicted bounce.
The recruiters who spoke with Army Times said they hear "no"
more often and more firmly now than ever before. Doors are
slammed in their faces, phones aren't answered by parents
with caller ID, and recruiters are turned away daily by
potential soldiers who say, "I don't want to die in Iraq."
But they still have to get the job done.
even when Recruiting Command realized it was not making
national goals in March, April and May, commanders did
not adjust the individual recruiters' personal goals,
though it cut the command's goal for May by 1,350,
a 17 percent cut. And the command bumped up the July
goal to make up the difference rather than lower the
overall mission for the year.
"More reasonable, obtainable goals would do a lot
for morale," said Due, the Seattle recruiter.
Individual recruiter's goals are set after factoring in
the population of the area he or she is working. On
average, each recruiter has a mission of signing up two
new soldiers per month.
The contract mission the command assigns to the
recruiters "is what is necessary to make the accession
mission that the Army has assigned to us," said Douglas
Smith, a spokesman for Recruiting Command. "While we
can't lower their missions, we have gotten additional
resources - more recruiters, more incentives, more
advertising dollars, etc., which should help them as
they strive to achieve their individual missions."
Due said that, nevertheless, making goal is everything.
"If you're not producing, you're considered a substandard
soldier - even if you're doing everything you legally
can do," he said. "And it reflects back on you in your"
NCO evaluation report.
Smith said that a recruiter who misses a monthly goal
is assessed to determine "if there are training deficiencies."
"Each recruiter is handled on a case-by-case basis," Smith
said. "Once a specific training need is identified, it is
usually addressed with hands-on training to enhance the
recruiter's capability to accomplish their monthly goal."
The most common problem in signing up new soldiers, said
recruiters interviewed for this story, was lack of
openings in highly skilled military occupational specialties.
"I get people who come in and score really well on the
[vocational aptitude test], but the only job opening I may
have available then, for example, is truck driver," Due
said. "So the only option I have for him is a job he is way
overqualified for. Instead he'll say he wants to be a medic.
But that MOS is closed, so he'll usually leave.
"The Army just isn't giving people what they want," he said.
Charting for success
Despite the many obstacles they face, recruiters continue
to strategize for success. Staff Sgt. Patrick King, a career
recruiter in suburban Las Vegas for about four years, tracks
which schools, parks and shopping areas have been fruitful.
Once he sees a positive pattern, he'll alter his schedule
to spend more time in those areas. But he hasn't had much
success to chart lately.
His recruiting station, he said, has achieved only about
50 percent of its year-to-date goal through May.
King recruits in an upper-class, residential area, where
young people generally aren't looking for college money –
or a job, because the unemployment rate is among the
lowest in the country.
"Then when I find kids who want to join, their parents
don't want them to," King said.
Staff Sgt. Luke Pearson works in the less-affluent area
of Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he has made mission the past
three months. The paratrooper-turned-recruiter is at
the office shortly after 8 each morning planning the
day and working the phones. About 11 a.m., he typically
heads out to the city hot spots to try to meet potential
soldiers. His goal is to get three individuals to agree
to meet with him later that day.
In the late afternoon and evening, he's back on the phones,
calling those who earlier in the day were at school,
college or work. It's not uncommon for him to work 14 hours a day.
Every interviewed recruiter with children identified
juggling family life with work commitments as one of
his or her biggest challenges.
"Balancing family life as a recruiter can be the hardest
job in the world," said Pearson, who has two daughters,
ages 8 and 4, as well as a 1-year-old boy.
Pearson tries to break away for lunch with his wife or
to make it home in time at night to help tuck in his children.
Staff Sgt. Anthony Harmon, a recruiter in Henderson,
Nev., isn't having trouble making mission. As of late May,
he had enlisted about 25 men and women into the active-duty
Army since the beginning of fiscal 2005. That is among
the highest in his recruiting battalion. But being
successful can be very time-consuming.
He also has three children. He gets little off time
but makes sure to spend as much of it as possible
with his kids.
King is a father of three children between the ages of
8 and 11. His family has dinner together every night,
and although the staff sergeant rushes home as soon as
he can each evening, the family sometimes waits until
8 p.m. or later to eat together.
Back on the job, recruiters find themselves talking about
combat every day, even though advertisements paid for by
Recruiting Command do not deal much with the wars in Iraq
or Afghanistan.
A few recruiters said they think their job would be easier
if the Army ran ads that showed the positive things
happening in Iraq.
"Recruiting was a lot easier before the war," King said.
"A lot of people joined for college benefits, using the
Army as a steppingstone. Now they're looking at other
ways to pay for school that don't involve going to war."
Unfortunately for the Army, one of those alternatives
for potential recruits is the Navy. Recruiters for the
sea service are letting people know that they'd be
a lot less likely to go into Iraq as a sailor than as
a soldier, King said. "The Navy is selling that against
us right now."
However, war duty is working for some Army recruiters,
including one in Roy, Utah. Sgt. Patricia Lynn shipped
23 people to basic training in the past five months.
As part of the 1st Armored Division, she planned convoys
in Iraq for a year. She shows potential soldiers photos
of her deployment as she discusses it with them.
"I let people know that if I can go over and come back
without a scratch, then anyone can," she said.
Staff Sgt. Laszlo Lucas agrees that the year he spent
in Iraq with 3rd Infantry Division helps as he recruits
in Las Vegas. But, he added, his time on recruiting
duty has been more difficult than his combat tour.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MOOS-BAY/
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8) On the Objection Front
We have a verry stong film this year that will be perfect for
your organization - On the Objection Front. I am sending the
flyer to you as an attachemnt and the verbiage in the
bosy of the e-mail below. Please give me a call if you have
any questions about the film or the festival. I will be in
the office till 3PM today.
Check out all of the films on our website: www.sfjff.org
On the Objection Front
Castro Theatre: Saturday, July 23rd at 2:30 pm
Roda Theatre (at Berkeley Repertory): Tuesday,
August 2nd at 6:45 pm
Moutain View Century Cinema 16: Thursday, August 4th at 4:00 pm
Smith Rafael Film Center: Sunday, August 7th at 12:00 pm
On the Objection Front ˆ Israel, 2004, 63 min., color,
Hebrew w/Eng. subtitles.
Director Shiri Tsur
After years of loyal active duty, six
Israeli combat soldiers find they can no
longer countenance serving in the occupied
territories of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. They become "refusniks"--putting
them at odds with deeply held national
values and having devastating consequences
in their own lives. Sponsored by a
friend of the Festival in honor of
filmmaker Gail Dolgin. Co-presented by
Veterans for Peace.
Box Office: (925) 275-9490. Check out
our website: www.sfjff.org. For further information
about group tickets, contact the Community Outreach Coordinator at:
myra@sfjff.org/outreach@sfjff.org or 415.621.0556 x313
Myra Feiger
Community Outreach Coordinator
25th Annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
myra@feiger.com
415.621.0556 x313
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9) More Evidence Indicts U.S.
Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
http://dahrjamailiraq.com
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail
ISTANBUL, Jun 27 (IPS) - New evidence on U.S. war crimes and violations
of international law was presented at the concluding session of the
World Tribunal on Iraq at hearings in Istanbul Sunday.
The World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) is a 'peoples' court' set up by
academics, human rights campaigners and non-governmental organisations
to take an independent look at the Iraq record of the United States and
other occupying powers such as Britain. The tribunal was inspired by the
Russel Tribunal of the Vietnam war days.
The three-day tribunal, the 21st in a series of meetings held over the
last two years, was held against a background of another spurt of
violence that left 41 people dead in bombings Sunday. The dead included
four U.S. soldiers, three of them women.
The tribunal says it derives its legitimacy from the fact that a war of
aggression was launched on Iraq "despite the opposition of people and
governments all over the world." It adds: "However, there is no court or
authority that will judge the acts of the U.S. and its allies. If the
official authorities fail, then authority derived from universal morals
and human rights principles can speak for the world."
The last sitting took place before a 'jury of conscience' that included
author Arundhati Roy and Francois Houtart who participated in the
Bertrand Russell War Crimes Tribunal on U.S. Crimes in Vietnam. In all
54 persons gave testimony on several aspects of the invasion and the
occupation of Iraq.
"The assault on Iraq is an assault on all of us: on our dignity, our
intelligence, and our future," Roy said at the hearings.. "We recognise
that the judgment of the World Tribunal on Iraq is not binding in
international law. However, our ambitions far surpass that. The World
Tribunal on Iraq places its faith in the consciences of millions of
people across the world who do not wish to stand by and watch while the
people of Iraq are being slaughtered, subjugated, and humiliated."
Denis Halliday, former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations
who resigned in protest against sanctions on Iraq said during his
testimony that "the UN silently accepted the totally illegal no-fly zone
bombing by the U.S../UK of Iraq culminating in softening up attacks
preliminary to the unlawful invasion of 2003."
Halliday said that "by these various means, the UN has itself destroyed
the basic human rights of the Iraqi people through the wilful neglect of
Articles 22-28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UN
failed to protect and safeguard the children and people before and after
the 2003 invasion."
Thomas Fasy, associate professor of pathology at the Mount Sinai School
of Medicine in New York, provided evidence of a seven-fold increase in
congenital malformations of Iraqi babies from 1990-2001.
Fasy also testified that childhood cancers and leukemia in children
below five in the Basra governorate increased 26-fold over 1990-2002.
Fadhil Al Bedrani, a BBC and Reuters journalist who was in Fallujah
during the November siege, provided evidence of collective punishment of
civilians by U.S. forces.
Iraqi women's rights supporter Hana Ibrahim said women suffer 90 percent
unemployment, and are often the victims of rape, lawlessness, forced
prostitution and kidnappings.
"From the day that the occupation started in Iraq there was a systematic
violation of women and their rights," she said.
Herbert Docena, researcher with the group 'Focus on the Global South'
who has studied Iraq's reconstruction and political transition pointed
to the economic and political forces behind the invasion and occupation
of Iraq.
"As early as February 2003, the U.S. had finished drafting what the Wall
Street Journal called 'sweeping plans to remake Iraq's economy in the
US's image'," Docena said. "Just as the U.S. bombed out and physically
obliterated almost all of Iraq's ministries, the plan entails the repeal
of almost all of its current laws and the dismantling of its existing
institutions, except those that already fit in with the U.S. design."
The jury in its ruling "recognised the right of the Iraqi people to
resist the illegal occupation of their country."
It recommended "immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all occupation
forces" and called on "the governments of the coalition to pay full
compensation to Iraqis for any and all damages, and that all laws,
contracts, treaties and institutions created under the occupation that
Iraqi people deem harmful or un-useful to them be banished."
Other recommendations included immediate investigation of crimes against
humanity by U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony
Blair, and every other president of countries belonging to the coalition.
In addition, the jury called for a process of accountability to bring to
justice journalists and media outlets that lied and promoted the
violence against Iraq, as well as corporations who have profited from
the war.
More writing, photos and commentary at http://dahrjamailiraq.com.
You can visit http://dahrjamailiraq.com/email_list/ to subscribe or unsubscribe to the
email list.
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10) STATE NATIONAL GUARD UNIT SET UP
TO DETER TERRORISM MONITORED ANTI-WAR RALLY
By Dion Nissenbaum Mercury News Sacramento
Posted on Sun, Jun. 26, 2005
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/11989882.htm
Program raises spying concern Bureau SACRAMENTO - Three decades
after aggressive military spying on Americans created
a national furor, California's National Guard has quietly
set up a special intelligence unit that has been given
``broad authority'' to monitor, analyze and distribute
information on potential terrorist threats, the Mercury
News has learned. Known as the Information Synchronization,
Knowledge Management and Intelligence Fusion program, the
project is part of an expanding nationwide effort to
better integrate military intelligence into global
anti-terrorism initiatives. Although Guard officials
said the new unit would not collect information on
American citizens, top National Guard officials have
already been involved in tracking at least one recent
Mother's Day anti-war rally organized by families of
slain American soldiers, according to e-mails obtained
by the Mercury News. Past abuses recalled Creation of
California's intelligence unit is already raising
concerns for civil libertarians who point to a string
of abuses in the 1960s and 1970s, when the military
collected information on more than 100,000 Americans,
infiltrated church youth groups, posed as reporters to
interview activists, monitored peaceful protests and
even attended an elementary school Halloween party
in search of a ``dissident.'' ``The National Guard
doesn't need to do this,'' said Christopher Pyle,
a former Army intelligence officer who first exposed
the military's domestic spying operations in 1970.
``Its job is not to investigate individuals, but to
clear streets, protect facilities and help first
responders.'' Top Guard officers said they have no
intentions of breaking long-established rules barring
the military from gathering information on Americans
and that the evolving program is meant to help
California and the nation thwart terrorist attacks.
``We do not do any type of surveillance or human
intelligence or mixing with crowds,'' said Lt. Col.
Stan Zezotarski. ``The National Guard does not
operate in that way. We have always had a policy
where we respect the rights of citizens.'' Generally,
the National Guard is called upon to help the state
deal with natural disasters and riots. But the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan have put major strains on
the military, which has started drawing more on
Guard soldiers to fight overseas. And now Guard
units are being integrated into anti-terrorism
efforts in the United States. The intelligence unit
was quietly established last year by Maj. Gen.
Thomas Eres, the National Guard leader who was
forced by the Schwarzenegger administration to
retire this month amid allegations that he failed
to prove his shooting skills for a trip to Iraq,
set up a questionable military flight for
a Republican friend's political group and improperly
used money meant to stem the flow of drugs for
anti-terrorism programs. Right before Eres retired,
the Guard hired its first director for the
intelligence unit who has ``broad authority''
and is expected to ``exercise a high degree of
independent judgment and discretion,'' according
to the job description obtained by the Mercury
News. ``However, highly controversial or precedent
-setting decisions, directives and policies are
discussed with the appropriate senior leadership
prior to implementation,'' the description states.
A one-stop shop Col. Robert J. O'Neill, a veteran
intelligence officer who started last week as
director of the new program, said he envisions
his team as being a one-stop shop for local,
state and national law enforcement to share
information. Intelligence officers will have
access to sensitive national security information
that they can analyze and potentially share with
state and local law enforcement, he said. ``We are
trying to integrate into their systems and bring
them information that they don't have,'' O'Neill
said. He said his unit would not cross any legal
lines into spying on Americans. But the Guard's
role in monitoring at least one demonstration has
already alarmed civil libertarians. Last month,
a group of anti-war activists, including the parents
of American soldiers killed in Iraq, held a small
Mother's Day rally at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
near the California Capitol to call for the return
of all National Guard troops by Labor Day. Three
days before the rally, as a courtesy to the military,
an aide in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's press office
alerted the Guard to the event, according to e-mails
obtained by the Mercury News. The information was
passed up the chain of command directly to Eres and
other top Guard officials including Col. Jeff Davis,
who oversees O'Neill's operation. E-mail reveals
actions ``Sir,'' Guard chief of staff Col. John
Moorman wrote in the e-mail to Eres that was
copied to Davis and other top commanders.
``Information you wanted on Sunday's demonstration
at the Capitol.'' In response, Davis indicated that
Guard intelligence officers were tracking the rally.
``Thanks,'' Davis wrote. ``Forwarding same to our
Intell. folks who continue to monitor.'' That rainy
Sunday, the protest organized by Gold Star Families
for Peace, Raging Grannies and CodePink drew about
three dozen supporters. Guard spokesman Zezotarski
said the monitoring did not involve anything more than
keeping tabs on the protest through the media and that
no one went to observe the demonstration. But he said
the military would be ``negligent'' in not tracking
such anti-war rallies in the event that they disintegrate
into a riot that could prompt the governor to call out
troops. ``It's nothing subversive,'' Zezotarski said.
``Because who knows who could infiltrate that type of
group and try to stir something up? After all, we live
in the age of terrorism, so who knows?'' Civil
libertarians scoffed at such defenses. ``That's ludicrous,''
said Joseph Onek, a former Carter and Clinton administration
official who now heads the Liberty and Security Initiative
for the Constitution Project at Georgetown University.
``That's not what the American people expect its military
to be doing.'' Pyle, the Army officer who exposed the
abuses in the 1970s and is now a professor at Mount Holyoke
College in Massachusetts, said that the evolving
intelligence programs are susceptible to dangerous
``mission creep'' that led to overaggressive tactics
during the Vietnam War. Since the Civil War, the
United States has tried to create firm barriers
preventing the military from getting involved in
domestic issues. The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act prevents
the U.S. military from taking part in domestic law
enforcement. Military role expands The Army got involved
with collecting intelligence on Americans in the 1960s
when it was called in to deal with civil rights protests
and riots. Its role expanded as the decade wore on and
the anti-Vietnam War movement grew more confrontational.
At the time, according to congressional records, the
military collected files on more than 100,000 Americans
and embraced aggressive tactics to try to undermine
anti-war groups, including attending a Halloween party
for kids and infiltrating church youth groups.
In response, Congress and the military set up new
rules to strictly regulate military spying in the
United States. But the Sept. 11 attacks raised concerns
that the controls had gone too far. Since then, the
FBI and military have been expanding their intelligence
operations. The notion of creating intelligence
``fusion centers'' is slowly gaining momentum.
Massachusetts is setting one up, but it is housed in
the state police headquarters, not its National Guard.
Currently, federal law allows the U.S. military to
gather information on Americans under exceptionally
tight restrictions. The intelligence must be essential
to their mission, publicly available or related to
national security issues. The Pentagon has created
a new operation in Colorado known as the Northern
Command to help protect the nation from terrorist
attacks. Its leader, Gen. Ralph Eberhart, raised
some concerns among civil libertarians last year
after telling a National Guard group that ``we can't
let culture and the way we've always done it stand
in the way'' of gathering intelligence. Last year,
the U.S. military came under fire after it was
reported that two Army lawyers in civilian clothes
attended a forum on sexism in Islam and later
demanded a roster of those in attendance, along
with a videotape of the conference, after being
questioned by three Middle Eastern men during the
event. Army officials said the attorneys had
``exceeded their authority'' and ordered a refresher
course for agents.
Contact Dion Nissenbaum at
dnissenbaum@ mercurynews.com or (916) 441-4603.
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11) solidarity fasts June 28-30 Tue, 28 Jun 2005 01:35:17 -0700
From: "Barbara Deutsch"
Subject:
please augment solidarity fasts June 28-30
Dear fellow seekers of a release for the people of Iraq -- and
ourselves as their persecutors -- from long and unimaginably cruel
deprivation, duress, and massively destructive technological
violence, now followed by criminally and intentionally disruptive and
damaging occupation:
As I write, a fast is in the 13th of 15 days at UN headquarters in
Geneva. Eight people, who include Kathy Kelly and a young Iraqi
engineering professor who, growing up during US bombings, used dark
nights to study the stars, and who was kidnapped together with
Italian humanitarian workers last year, are there to demand that the
UN end its imposition of unilateral war reparations against Iraq's
people, and begin to administer economic justice. An illegally
constitued UN security council commission has begun three days of
meetings schedulled to deliberate this matter.
Kathy Kelly writes that "Geneva is one of the most comfortably
elegant cities in the world . . . where the future of one of the
world's most desperate countries will be decided, [whose] people are
going to bed hungry in deteriorating homes, lacking access to clean
water, exasperated and frightened by round after round of violence,
and bearing scorching temperatures that won't let up for another two
months." http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0623-20.htm There is a solidarity
fast in Oakland tomorrow in the vicinity of the
Oakland federal building, (1301 Clay street, easily accessible from
the 12th street BART station), where participants in the weekly vigil
organized by Carolyn Scarr and held there faithfully over many years,
will be able to direct anyone wishing to join it.
Carol Brouillet is holding a solidarity fast at the weekly "Listening
for Peace" demonstration in Palo Alto on Wednesday, from 11 - 1 p.m.
at Lytton Plaza.
On Thursday, some of those who for over two years have been
conducting a weekly vigil at the federal building in San Francisco,
will be fasting in solidarity with those in Geneva.
Each of these three days, whenever another person can accompany me, I
will be carrying a banner at appropriate locations and/or through
streets to be determined by those participating at the time.
With three participants, we can also ring a bell (in memory of
earlier witnesses by Voices in the Wilderness, to which a leaflet for
distribution will refer). Two of us will be meeting tomorrow at 4
p.m.; if you wish to join us, please respond to this, or phone me, by
11 a.m.
I am available throughout Wednesday until 6:00 p.m.
On Thursday, I am available in the morning until noon when I will
join the vigil at the San Franciso federal building.
With appreciative respect for all acts of solidarity on your part,
Barbara.
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12) Candlelight Vigil for Samuel
Sunday July 3, 2005
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
757 N. 12th Street, San Jose
Shortly after that (around 7ish ) we will
march up Taylor Street, past the Police department and
back down Hedding street. Our vigil will be to hold
Sam's memory alive and to show our community that the
escalation in excessive force by the police is out of
control.
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13) The Speech the President Should Give
By JOHN F. KERRY
Boston
June 28, 2005
"He should also say that the United States will insist that
the Iraqis establish a truly inclusive political process and
meet the deadlines for finishing the Constitution and holding
elections in December. We're doing our part: our huge military
presence stands between the Iraqi people and chaos, and our
special forces protect Iraqi leaders. The Iraqis must now do
theirs."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/opinion/28kerry.html?hp
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