i really do like the pink bloc.

STORY

[SOUND… CodePink actions report…]

The Code Pink women for peace dropping some 15 anti-war pink banners came from as far as Washington state, Oklahoma, Florida and Texas with a clear message..

[SOUND… chants gringos out of Iraq..]

[SOUND…I am Assil … with Iraqi Voices 4 Peace… Watching the news everyday we see Iraqis as a block, as Sunnis and Shiites. We need to start counting … the Iraqis are dying!]

On Friday, Code Pink-women for peace, hung in front of the Capitol a 3 floor height pink slip.

[SOUND… Liz-CodePink-LA, reading the names.. fade under]

Reading the names of killed Iraqi they unveiled their tribute to the struggle for Peace: a pink plexiglass block overflowing with shoes representing the 650,000 dead since the US invaded Iraq.

[SOUND… Jane Fonda, silence is no longer an option]

Jane Fonda and other celebrity and officials on stage and a determined crowd, marched on the Capitol in Washington DC, and rallied in a clear message to the US administration…

[SOUND… Vets old vets are re-experiencing PTSD… drug addictions, suicides, spouse abuse ... woman about her husband’s redeployment to where his cousin was killed, we came to tell congress to defund the war, …cheers from stage Maxine Waters…….Lynn Wolsley-Legislation

….Raed Jarrar-Iraqi: the only way to stop Iraqi violence is to end the occupation, we lived together for the last thousands of years, and we know how to rule our country by ourselves we want our country back]

They say they were 500,000. They surrounded the Capitol for the first time in history, and put impeachment back on the table…

[SOUND… Conyers… Tim Robbins-Impeach Bush WILD cheers crowd response… 10 yr old girl …if I was president … ]

[SOUND… CHANTS … from Iraq to Palestine, occupation is a crime, …fade under… ]

Their neck wrapped by checkered Kouffiehs-the Arab anti-occupation resistance symbol, The Contingent for Justice in the Middle East was one of 11 Contingents who marched as a block through various neighborhoods in Washington DC before joining the anti-war rally Saturday morning, to talk of Affordable Housing, Global Warming, Labor Struggles, Education, and amplify a peace messages barely mentioned by United for Peace and Justice the rally organizers.

[SOUND…Ross--No War on Iran… Norouzi we need to prevent the wars not just stop them…]

Other actions included a day-long teach-in in Bethesda on issues and on lobbying on Sunday, lobbying Representatives to stop the war and bring the troops home, and sit-ins blocking Independence Avenue in a big peace sign, sit-ins on the Capitol, and in front of the White House all night long, pledging to come back and stay ‘till Peace is won…

[SOUND… Young Woman: rallies come and go, sit ins demand attention, a little civil disobedience goes a long way]

I’m Ryme Katkhouda with help from the dcradiocoop.org
======================================

Do you have any photos or video you can post?

spit at me punk, i ain't that hard to find.
ps: wear a vest.

You go Eddie!! Nice to meet you at the funeral services for Steve Golding.. God Bless you for standing up for our guys!!

It's kind of sad you are to busy attacking some stupid move star to go serve in the U.S. miltary in Iraq, you wave the flag in safely in america but you don't want to go to Iraq and wave it. You also don't want to learn english "i ain't that hard to find." I believe what you meant to say is I am not that hard to find, normally I have no problems with people not speaking english, but when it comes from the flag waving type who want everyone to speak english I have a problem. Also nice beret did you get it when you decided not to wave your flag in Iraq but safely under the protection of cops! Or wait did you get the beret while bravely hiding online saying you are going to hit people, shit I have friends in Iraq who are in their second and third deployments and who have at the least earned their berets, and really all they want is too be home with their families but it because of fucks like you and your right wing politicians who are fighting to keep them there to possibly die or get severely hurt instead of serving themselves!

While I respect your choice to be gay or bi, I personally am not and I would rather like it if you did not come out and say you want to fuck me, I don't want to fuck you not even if I was gay especially not if I was too die afterwards! I do hope one day you might get a spine and don't tell anyone and maybe join the military and fight in Iraq instead of whining about some old movie star, maybe you might then see why we should not be there, According to the U.S. Department of Defense 3075 U.S. soldiers have died (but I guess you could care less about them, because some old movie star wants to bring the ones that are alive home) and that isn't even mentioning the 50,000+ civilians that have died or I guess that the U.S. liberated from life!

Eddie, they need the full blown right cross, left hook to the chin for sure. TRAITORS !

I made this up. The first time this fictious "incident" was mentioned was on my show.

About as real as Barack Obama going to a madrassa...made up on our show, Fox and Friends.

Look out, the roc from the old Sinbad movie is attacking the WTC, while a Freddie Mercury look-alike stands on his tiptoes.

You wear a vest? Who cares what kind of leather fetish wear you own. What does that have to do with anything?

or do you mean "vest" as in body armor? Aren't they illegal in NYC?
Either way, with a melon that size and a few 7.62 in your 8 ring, my Maadi is unimpressed.

All you "Anmonymous" out there ... wannagees and nothing more. Can't spell movie, write iraq with a capital I but America with a small A. The only thing you idiots can shoot are blanks.

I fought in Nam. Wasn't drafted. I enlisted. Spent 3 1/2 months as a quadreplegic. Didn't like it so I got up and left.

Got the medsals, served with honor, didn't kill any babies, wasn't a druggie. I'd rather have an amputee vet at my back than any of you wimps.

Sorry. Wanted to keep my sentences short so you could read them OK.

And I suppose you think what you are doing falls into the category of supporting the troops.

Bullshit.

Eddie, thanks for posting this. Steve is smiling!

Bullshit you didn't fight in 'nam and I doubt you were a quadraplegic. You are making these bullshit claims up to try and make your send more and more troops to die argument more valid...I have had friends and family members who have fought in wars, Vietnam, Iraq, Afganistan and the only reasons they would have wanted to stay in Iraq was till their friends and relatives come home safe , they would not wish others to die, 3075 have already died, but I guess to you that is ok! Some of my friends might have wanted others to go so they could come back for a bit to spend time with family (in America) but I think most of them would want to come home or at least start leaving Iraq not sending more to die. Also aren't you being just as anonymous calling yourself hawk!

Got a few questions for you Rambo. (I'll return the favor and keep em short)

Branch? Unit? MOS? Where incountry? Dates?

(Looks like we've got another rightwing keyboard warrior here folks, with his own imaginary war record)

FTA

Eddie.

Come on back. All is forgiven. Still have your rifle.

- Best
Võ Nguyên Giáp

Where do you people come from? MARS?? This was Eddie's tribute to a friend who recently passed away from a horrible battle with cancer.

And as for your questions about Hawk - he's the real deal, I have met him and spoke with him. I can catch a poser within minutes.

Eddie, Steve and I along with thousands of others despire Jane Fonda for her acts of treason and what it did to the political landscape here at home and the horrible effects it had on our troops and in particular those who were POWs. If you want a history lesson, just go find the DVD "Stolen Valor", former POWs telling how the anti-war movement had a direct effect on their captivity, their beatings and the mentality of their captors that they could keep them forever.

You really have to be a few can short of a sic pack if you don't realize that if we back out of this war in Iraq that is will only fuel the enemy just as the anti-war protestors did during Vietnam. Trust me, theses terrorists are getting Trip-Tiks, destination America. They are coming, there is no doubt about it - My question for you is, will it be too late when you have a fundamentalist blowing up your home, making you kneel 5 times a day to pray to Mecca and turning your daughters into mere possessions? Like it or not, that is their plan and you might as well be sending them money with you mentality. You may want to head over to US Veteran Dispatch and read ..

www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/muslim_women.htm

As an American female, I will not allow YOU to decide MY destiny!

Maryann, where's the tribute? I don't see it. I see some bad Freddie Mercury photoshopping,but that's it.
I don't care about Jane Fonda one way or the other, but apparently, many functioning illiterates such as yourself do.
I'll worry about the fundamentalists who steal from me to fund other religious kooks, and then turn around and use my money to go after the terrorists they created in the first place.

Good girl, Maryann.

buckivranger wrote:
From: John Buckley <buckivranger>

Why I do what I do.

I've often thought what on earth had possessed me to get me into the
jungle boots I now fill. What gave me the idea to pursue this type of
life. I have never been able to put it into words. I have my personal
reasons, the glory and the title. I sometimes think that if we all had
a sound track to our lives like they have in the movies, mine would be
the coolest. I get an occasional handshake and a thank you for what I do.

It's nice but I find no solace in that at 3 in the morning as I lay in
the mud and under 2 and a half inches of rain.

Weeks let alone years of that kind of thing make it a bit easier to
endure but it still none the less sucks. I get paid close to nothing
and after 2 combat tours living under the worst conditions possible I
still haven't had enough, so why do I do it. I'm under the privilege of
competing in the Best Ranger competition this year and one should be in
the best shape of his life to finish let alone win. As I hit mile 19 of
my 21-mile ruck run the other night I pondered on this. Why would I do
this to myself?

I've got friends in college and friends who have jobs and are making
good money. Why am I here with 60 pounds on my back at an
excruciatingly painful jog, in the pouring rain? I found the answer in
a the eyes of a subordinate on my first tour to Afghanistan. A man went
down and with his gear and all probably weighed in excess of 270
pounds. We were pinned down behind two small birms and there was about
20 feet of open ground between me, the senior guy, and one of my hooah's
(a lower enlisted guy that has not yet been to Ranger school is called a
hooah.) Ladened with his own gear and the stress of the situation he
grimaced for only a second. Without missing a beat that 135-pound kid
dragged his buddy back far enough to get some cover and hoisted all 270+
pounds onto his back and took off at a dead sprint as if his friend's
life depended on it (it did). That kid was 18 years old.

I knew then why I do what I do. The nation will always have a call,
someone must answer it. That 18-year-old kid did. He could have been
making more money flipping burgers; instead he was in Northern
Afghanistan saving his friend's life. The honor in that is
unfathomable. It's more satisfying than anything I have ever
experienced. I love what I do simply for that reason; it's a
bittersweet feeling.

There's no pain like saying goodbye before you step on the plane,

unsure of what will happen but hoping and praying that you'll come back
eventually. The entire process of emotions is unexplainable but the
feeling that I get when I see my flag billowing in the wind is worth the
sacrifice, even the ultimate one. I and those like me are warriors in
the name of the United States of America. We don't do it for money, or
glory, or girls. We do it for you, your family and each other.

Some of us are gone and won't ever come back but it's worth it to
protect our freedoms and liberty's. I love my country. I may not love
everything about it but I love it none the less. This country is
protected by our blood and sweat, don't take that for granted. Never,
never, forget. I won't...

Cpl John C. Buckley IV USA
Army Ranger 3rd Ranger Battalion
75th Ranger Regiment

"You Don't Speak For Me Cindy Sheehan(s) of the world, who sell out their sons valor for publicity and money"

Hello, my name is Bob Calvert, Host of the “Talking with Heroes” Program.
www.talkingwithheroes.com. We began this program on the internet a little
over a year ago to give our men and women in the military an opportunity
to share their mostly untold stories about helping people in the areas in
which they serve. In October 2006, we took our program over to Iraq. All
of the interviews are currently archived on our website under the past
shows/archives section for all Americans to listen to.

A few days ago, we returned from our second tour in Iraq. On this past
trip, Jim Martin, CEO of Altitude Sports and Entertainment from Denver,
Colorado accompanied me. Jim Martin and Altitude aired all the segments
from our October interviews in Iraq on their Network. The interviews we
recently completed in Iraq will also air on their 10 State Cable Network
as well as reach many subscribers to Dish Network and DirecTV. You will
be able to watch as our heroes talk about the progress being made in Iraq.

I can assure each of you that the training and mission in Iraq is in fact
working and we will show you the proof in the interviews we did with an
Iraqi Air Force General and his Colonel as well as over 40 military
personnel with the Air Force, Marines and Minnesota National Guard.
Everyone mentioned is also involved in the training of the Iraqi Air
Force, the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police.

We had the privilege of being embedded for three days in Rawah, Iraq with
the Marines and the Iraqi Police, living with them in the middle of Rawah.
We accompanied them on both daytime and nighttime convoys throughout the
city and surrounding areas along the Euphrates River. We also accompanied
the Marines on a foot patrol in Rawah.

We spent time with the Minnesota National Guard Military Transition Team
and the Iraqi Army. While there, we conducted an interview with a
high-level military official within the Iraqi Army.

It is my most sincere desire that before the end of January 2007, to have
in place, the complete set of interviews on the “Talking with Heroes”
website www.talkingwithheroes.com. I am currently working on ideas that
will allow everyone involved with a website to be able to be able to link
to these interviews from their own websites.

Next month, we will announce that edited versions of the videos will air
on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which is currently viewed by
millions in 10 states along with some Dish Network and DirecTV
subscribers. You will be amazed with the footage that was filmed while we
accompanied the convoys throughout different areas of Iraq.

While we’ve been here in Iraq, we have been reading the daily editions of
Stars and Stripes and reading about other Iraqi towns where the Sheiks,
Tribal Leaders and Iraqi Townspeople are working side by side with our men
and women in the military to take control of their towns and cities. The
reconstruction progress is expanding as well as the Iraqi Police and Army.
I have already been asked to come back in a couple of months to go to more
cities where the insurgents are being rooted out.

It is with great honor that we are able to interview our men and women and
bring back to you the American people their mostly untold stories.

The Main Second Iraq Tour webpage is now on TalkingwithHeroes.Com in the
Talk Show schedule section. Most of the people we interviewed are listed.
We will divide these interviews into one-hour segments for the Internet.

Please allow me to invite each of you to help us by sponsoring one or more
of these programs. You will receive high visibility by being one of the
second Iraq talk show sponsors. I wish we could put everyone on for free
but I ran out of personal money over a year ago. Therefore, we are relying
on those of you who feel led to help us get the word out. The sponsorship
is $100 per page for our Second Iraq Talk Show. You will be thanked at the
top of the page where everyone will be able to see your ad as they go to
listen to the shows. We will post your name, organization and website
address.

Already listed on all of them is www.soldiersangels.org and
www.anysoldier.com. Both of these organizations have helped tremendously
on this Second Tour. We invite you to be part of this project as millions
of Americans find out about these interviews.

To become an online sponsor, you can go to the "Become a Sponsor" section
and go to the level one or level two sponsorship order pages. Put the
number of talk show pages you wish to be listed on.

In addition, we invite each of you to please forward this email to others.
Those listening on Sunday nights to the "Talking with Heroes" Programs
have consistently grown as many of you have told others about the program.
We have a great opportunity to give millions of Americans the opportunity
to hear the great work that has been and continues to take place in Iraq.
The sacrifice being made by our men and women everyday is incredible to
watch and experience.

I also want to say that many of our military personnel asked us not to
forget the families back home and the sacrifices they make every day their
loved ones are overseas. On one of the talk shows, we talked about the
extension of the Minnesota National Guard as they have been extended. Many
of them will have been away from their homes for over a year and a half.

I agreed to ask every American to thank a family. Whom do you know who has
somebody serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or other area of the world? The
soldiers thought it would be great if millions of families back home could
get emails, phone calls and thanks in person for their sacrifice and
service to our country.

It is our responsibility as a country to support the hard work being done
successfully by our brave men and women as well as the brave Iraqis.
Thank you for your support

Blessings
Bob Calvert, Host www.talkingwithheroes.com

Mogadishu Police Hit in Latest Somalia Violence
AlertNet.org/Reuters
Gunmen attacked a Somali security boss and fired rocket-propelled grenades at police stations in the latest wave of guerrilla-style ambushes on the government and its Ethiopian allies, residents said on Sunday. Gunmen opened fire on Mogadishu Police Chief Ali Said's convoy on Sunday afternoon, witnesses said. He survived, but one civilian was wounded in the ensuing shootout. "I heard a big explosion. When I came out of the shop, I saw uniformed police exchanging fire with gunmen in civilian clothes," said local shopkeeper Mohamed Hussein. Another seven people were hurt when gunmen fired rockets at two police stations in Mogadishu late on Saturday, before opening up with machine-guns at officers on guard outside. The government blamed remnants of an Islamist movement which vowed a long guerrilla war after it was ousted from Mogadishu over the New Year. "We will make sure such individuals are filtered from society and apprehended," said spokesman Abdirahman Dinari. Leaflets circulating at the weekend in Mogadishu, and purporting to be from the defeated Somalia Islamic Courts Council, urged residents to avoid collaboration with Ethiopians or face "losing lives and property". Ethiopia's military joined Somali government forces late last month in a two-week offensive that drove the Islamists out of strongholds in south Somalia they had held since June.
[read article]

Bombing Kills 11, Wounds 35 in Pakistan
Topix/AP
A suspected suicide attacker exploded a bomb near a Shiite Muslim mosque in this northwestern Pakistani city late Saturday, killing at least 11 people, including the city police chief, and wounding 35, police said. Most of the victims were police and municipal officials who were clearing the route for a procession of Shiites in a crowded old quarter of Peshawar, said police officer Aziz Khan...This weekend marks the start of the festival of Ashoura, when Shiites mourn the 7th century death of the prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein. In the past the festival has been a target for sectarian attacks. The blast went off in a bazaar area about 200 yards from the mosque that was the starting point for the Shiite procession. It caused a power outage that left the city center in darkness, complicating rescue efforts. At the bomb site, investigators found what appeared to be two legs from a suicide attacker, police officer Raza Khan said. Eleven bodies and 35 wounded people were brought to Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, Aziz Khan said. The city's police chief, Malik Saab, was among the dead, said provincial police chief Sharif Virk...There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion will likely fall on Sunni extremists.
[read article]

Taliban Warn of Summer Offensive
Yahoo! News/Reuters
The Taliban is gearing up for a massive summer offensive, with more than 2,000 suicide bombers ready for action and even more preparing, a senior commander said on Saturday. The warning comes a day after a top US diplomat warned Afghanistan was in for a bloody and dangerous spring after the bloodiest year since the hard-line Islamist Taliban was ousted by US-led forces in 2001. "The Taliban will intensify their guerrilla and suicide strikes this summer," Mulla Hayat Khan told Reuters from a secret location. "This will be a bloodiest year for foreign troops." He said 2,000 suicide bombers were ready -- about 40 percent of the total suicide force -- adding numbers were so high it was sometimes hard to find enough explosives and targets. "Our war preparations have been completed to a large extent and we're waiting for summer to set in," Khan said. More than 4,000 people died last year, a quarter of them civilians, as the resurgent Taliban fought back with what NATO generals said was surprising ferocity.
[read article]

Taliban Link Probed in Marriott Bombing
News.com.au/AFP
Investigators probing a suicide blast at a top hotel in Pakistan's capital said today they were looking at possible links to pro-Taliban extremists fighting government forces near the Afghan border. Police said they were examining the head, a leg and an arm of the bomber who detonated explosives strapped to his body when he was prevented from entering the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad yesterday , killing a security guard. “Experts are examining the few remains of the bomber's body in a bid to identify him,” said the interior ministry crisis management chief Brigadier Javed Cheema. Officials said a sketch of the bomber could not be prepared as no witnesses had so far come forward, nor had hotel security cameras filmed the attacker. Interior ministry officials said no group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack. “We suspect (the attack) could be by militants opposed to the Government's drive against Taliban elements in the tribal regions,” a senior security official said on condition of anonymity. The official said the bomber appeared to be ill-trained and poorly briefed, which suggested he was from the northwestern tribal belt rather than affiliated to better-funded sectarian groups.
[read article]

Israel Destroys Two Secret Hezbollah Bunkers
Israel National News
The Israel Defense Forces bombed two Hezbollah bunkers on Friday. The bunkers were located in the area of the northern border with Lebanon and blown up. One of the bunkers was discovered during the war with Hezbollah terrorists last summer in southern Lebanon, according to the Haaretz news service. The other was discovered Wednesday while soldiers were searching the Katamon Valley in the western section of Israel in the area of the border with Lebanon. Both were blown up. The bunkers were located by IDF Special Forces within Israeli territory, some 400 meters east of the IDF’s Biranit outpost which is located between the border fence and the international border. Both housed supplies that would enable terrorists to stay underground for a long period of time, such as food and various tools. It appeared they had been used by Hezbollah terrorists during the war.
[read article]
Commentary
Making the Case Against Genocide
Jerusalem Post/Caroline Glick
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an evil man. But he is not a stupid man. Indeed, he is smart and fastidious. He understands power and how to get it. And he understands that the purpose of a nation's foreign policy is to sell ideas and messages and to build coalitions that enable a state to achieve its national aims. Due to his understanding and his abilities, Ahmadinejad has achieved significant success in advancing his policy aims of defeating the United States, destroying the State of Israel.
[read article]
Spotlight
Historical Look at Somali Resistance to Ethiopia
Jamestown Foundation/Andrew McGregor
The U.S.-supported Ethiopian invasion of Somalia has an unsettling resemblance to the British-supported Ethiopian incursions in the early years of the 20th century. In both cases, the Western powers became involved because of perceived strategic considerations, while their proxy, Ethiopia, went to war as a result of Somali resistance to Ethiopian domination of the ethnic-Somali Ogaden region. Last December's invasion succeeded in bringing the Ethiopia-friendly Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad to power in Mogadishu. Although the Islamists have been dispersed for the moment, there are signs that a guerrilla campaign is in the making.
[read article]
Point/CounterPoint
Point:
Venomous Propaganda
The News (Pakistan)/Burhanuddin Hasan
[read article]

CounterPoint:
Venomous Propaganda Indeed
JihadWatch/Robert Spencer
[read article]
Multi-Media
A Cleric Justifies Wife Beating via The Quran
YouTube.com
An Islamic cleric, during a Friday sermon, justifies the beating of wives via the words of the Quran. Equating the book to the manual one would get with the purchase of a new appliance, he goes on to intimate that the Quran is a woman's "owner's manual."
[view media]

Thais halt Hmong deportation after stand-off

By Nopporn Wong-Anan | January 30, 2007

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand was forced on Tuesday to halt the deportation to Laos of 153 Hmong, the ethnic minority who fought alongside America in the Vietnam War, after the men in the group put up a struggle, the general in charge said.

"Top officials have decided to cancel the deportation," Lieutenant-General Nipat Thonglek, head of the army's border affairs, told Reuters from the border town of Nong Khai, where the group has been held since late last year.

He gave no details but apologized to Lao government officials who had arrived with three buses to repatriate them. Human rights organizations fear the group would face persecution from Vientiane's communist rulers.

Earlier, Nipat said police had managed to get 100 women and children onto the buses, but the remaining men refused to go. One human rights group said they had barricaded themselves inside the compound.

"There are three leading troublemakers among the men who refuse to go," Nipat said.

A California-based Hmong lobby group called the Factfinding Commission said two women who refused to board the buses had been beaten.

Nipat denied the report, saying: "We didn't beat them up."

Before Bangkok's change of tack, the United Nations' refugee agency criticized the deportation, saying it broke international law as every person in the group had been accorded official refugee status.

They were also being considered for resettlement elsewhere and immigration officials from the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands had already interviewed some of the group, the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh said the deportation had "put on hold indefinitely" after the four countries in question assured Bangkok they would take the Hmong.

UNHCR, which criticized Thailand last week for deporting 16 Hmong, said the Nong Khai group included a two-week-old child and three men described as "prominent figures who might be at particular risk."

Dubbed "America's forgotten allies" after the war, the Hmong have had a difficult relationship with the Pathet Lao communists who have run the landlocked southeast Asian nation since seizing power in 1975.

Human rights groups accused them of waging a 30-year campaign of vengeance against Hmong guerillas still hiding out in the forests. Vientiane denies the accusations.

Since the war, the United States has granted asylum to thousands of Hmong, although it has indicated in the last few years it will accept no more.

There is more to this story than meets the eye.
(1) A Hmong going by the name of Thai Vang,on behalf
of General Vang Pao, called all Hmong who wished to go
to America to cross to Thailand.Bribes were paid to
Lao and Thai authorities,this after both the US/Thai
Governments said, after the temple was emptied there
would be no more.(2) There also has been a marked
infiltration of the Kingdom by Muslim extremists under
the guise of refugees and 'guest workers.'

Thailand found itself in a bind and operatives
of the former government had been part of the money
making scheme to bring Hmong into the country. They
would then,when the money stopped, label them as
non-refugees and deport them back to the tender
mercies of the same Pathet Lao who took the bribes to
begin with. At some point they ceased to be refugees
and became 'evidence' of corruption. This endangered
some permanent officials whose faces never change,no
matter who is running the government. They painted the
picture the present government bought and put
everyone in a bind until the PM personally stepped in.

We all need to understand something. There are
not sixty five hundred Hmong refugees in Thailand,with
legitimate ties to Vang Pao or the US. But there are
some who have every right to that status and
immigration to the U.S. We are trying to get them
separated and recognized as refugees and those who
already have that status moved on their way. The
reason this most recent deportation was halted,in my
view,was that questions arose about people removing
evidence of graft,rather than refugees. This placed
those most threatened with death by deportation, at
the head of the list to be sent back.

The US Government has never had clean sheets
in this matter. They talk about saving lives but they
are happy to allow the Thais to be stuck with
them,rather than taking them to the US. The reason?
Most of these people had no connections to the US
during the war. They have been persecuted and murdered
just because they are Hmong. People,that is going on
around the world. Regime change in Laos is the only
way to help the Lao and the Hmong. The same goes for
the Vietnamese,especially Montagnards and Cambodians
being murdered or jailed for being in opposition to
their government or just for being Christian.


Last, the US Government should audit the
books of every one of these 'resistance leaders.'
Little if any of the money collected ever got to the
troops in the jungle and sent them starving and out of
ammunition to the border. Along with them came 'sent
agents' with great credentials provided by their
communist handlers. VP's people,including his own
relatives have been murdered simply because they would
not listen. When his son went to Hanoi and met
secretly with the VN communists to negotiate a
separate homeland for the Hmong it was over and over
big time with the Thais.They have Hmong here, who for
years were the backbone of the communist insurgency in
highland areas. THIS IS MORE THAN A REFUGEE PROBLEM.
Mark

A U.S. Marine squad was marching north of Faluijiah when they came upon an Iraqi terrorist, badly injured and unconscious. On the opposite side of the road was an American Marine in a similar but less serious state.
The Marine was conscious and alert and as first aid was given to both men, the squad leader asked the injured Marine what had happened.
The Marine reported, "I was heavily armed and moving north along the highway here, and coming south was a heavily armed insurgent. We saw each other and both took cover in the ditches along the road.
"I yelled to him that Saddam Hussein is a miserable, lowlife scumbag, and he yelled back that Ted Kennedy is a good-for-nothing, fat, left wing liberal democrat drunk."
"So I said that Osama Bin Ladin dresses and acts like a frigid, mean-spirited lesbian!
He retaliated by yelling, Oh yeah? Well, so does Hillary Clinton!"
"And, there we were, in the middle of the road, shaking hands, when a truck hit us"

Don Peterson
U.S. Army SFC (67-77)
Viet Nam (68-69)
Life Member, Military Order of the Purple Heart
Life Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars
Life Member, Viet Nam Veterans of America

0930 - Armed Services Committee: The Senate Armed Services Committee meets to consider the nomination of GEN George Casey to be Chief of Staff of the Army. (Live)

UPDATE: 1230 or immediately following the Armed Services Committee - Around the Services: Will the leader of Multi-National Force-Iraq become the new Army Chief of Staff? The latest on GEN George Casey's confirmation hearing. Plus, see what the Army is doing to stop wear and tear on battle gear in Iraq. (VoD, 30 min)

UPDATE: 1300 or immediately following Around the Services - USAF Total Force Integration: Tuesday's coverage of Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director, Air Force Staff, HQ USAF Lt Gen Arthur Lichte, Commander of Alaskan Command Lt Gen Douglas Fraser, and Air National Guard Director Lt Gen Craig McKinley participating in a media event announcing the model Total Force Integration of Active, Guard, and Reserve units on Elmendorf AFB supported by the closure of Kulis Air National Guard Base and the move of the 176th Wing to Elmendorf AFB. (25 min)
Encore presentation at 1900 hrs.

1500 - Armed Services Hearing: Wednesday's coverage of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities receiving testimony on current manning, equipping and readiness challenges facing Special Operations Forces. (2 hrs 15 min)

1730 - Around the Services: The Pentagon Channel is in Miami for the big Super Bowl showdown. Plus, African-Americans in the Civil War--the first of our special reports celebrating Black History Month. (VoD, 30 min)

Streaming Live 24/7 at www.pentagonchannel.mil
VoD = Video on Demand, on our web site when you want to watch it
Podcast = Downloadable to your mp3 player

He musta took lessons from John Kerry...
(LOL WMP)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Joe Biden planned to spend Wednesday focusing on his official announcement that he was running for president, but the Delaware Democrat instead found himself defending remarks he made to the New York Observer about his Democratic opponents.

In the article published Wednesday, Biden is quoted evaluating presidential rivals Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois. His remarks about Obama, the only African-American serving in the Senate, drew the most scrutiny.

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."

Click below for the full article.
www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/31/biden.obama/

Spiker:
I am not sure what you are insinuating by posting Senator Joe Biden's racist remarks. I do not feel that I have to vindicate Biden at all. Practically the only thing that I know of that we have in common is that we are both from the big business crazy, DuPont-controlled state of Delaware. I realize that there are racists on both sides of the political spectrum of capitalism. This is, after all, a system of institutionalized racism and "white" privilege. From its inception, the U.S. has had a system class system where light skinned people were at least slightly better off than dark skinned people--and dark skinned people were enslaved, beaten, prevented from acquiring any political power, harrassed by the police, and killed by lynch mobs and imprisoned. The fact that we have affirmative action programs and the "whites only" signs are down doesn't change the fact that we live under a racist system. By the way, I am not a Democrat, nor a Republican, so if you were trying to attack "leftists" on this site, you failed miserably. If you were not, I apologize for my endless tirade.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2007 – All active components of the military services met or exceeded their recruiting goals for January, the Defense Department announced today.

The Army achieved 111 percent of its goal with 9,306 troops; the Air Force, 100 percent of its goal with 2,552 troops; the Navy, 100 percent of its goal with 2,764; and the Marine Corps, 108 percent with 3,403.

Four of six of the reserve components met or exceeded their recruiting goals for January. The Army National Guard, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve all achieved more than 100 percent of their goals. The Army Reserve and Navy Reserve lagged, with 99 percent and 93 percent, respectively.

Retention among active and reserve components remained solid. The Marine Corps and Air Force met or exceeded overall retention missions. The Army met 109 percent of its year-to-date mission, and the Navy met 93 percent.

Army National Guard retention was 120 percent of the cumulative goal of 10,289, and Air National Guard retention was 97 percent of its cumulative goal of 3,289. Both the Army and Air Guard are at 99 percent of their target end strength. Losses in all reserve components for December are well within acceptable limits, officials said, and indications are that trend will continue into January.

.03% were reported to be liberal and were subsequently discharged under the don't ask don't tell policy!

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07047/762556-192.stm

Criminal force: The military is admitting more ex-convicts

Friday, February 16, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Department of Defense records show that the Army and Marines have granted 65 percent more waivers in the last three years to recruits with prior criminal records.

The convictions that bar enlistments fall into two categories: "serious misdemeanors" (which include aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and vehicular homicide) and felonies. Any recruit who has committed one of these crimes requires a "moral waiver" to be allowed into the service.

Last year the Army enlisted more than 69,000 men and women, 11.7 percent of whom had criminal histories. The Pentagon said the military approved about 30,000 moral waivers each year since 2003.

The first conclusion that can be drawn is that the Army is scraping the bottom of the barrel to keep recruitment figures up in spite of the vicissitudes -- casualties, arbitrary extensions and repetitions of tours -- of the Iraq war. Other efforts employed to keep the ranks filled have included extra cash incentives, lowering the bar on aptitude tests and educational standards, and relaxations of weight and age requirements.

A likely result of the recruitment of larger numbers of former criminals is that the number of cases of misconduct among troops -- such as that at the Abu Ghraib prison and at the scene of other atrocities -- may increase. The crimes that the recruits committed before enlistment indicated a lack of respect for society's rules. Although they may have learned from their mistakes and their time in prison, it is also possible that the lack of respect for rules will carry over into their new military lives, which are governed by even stricter standards.

Service in the armed forces has in many societies been considered a means of rehabilitating ex-criminals or a means of putting direction and discipline into young lives that have lacked those qualities. Public concern over the presence of former criminals in the military ranks should not amount to a blanket denial to those who have reformed their lives after prison and deserve a chance to serve in the armed forces on the road to rehabilitation and training as honest members of American society.

At the same time, these particular soldiers will require close supervision by their officers. In the case of recruits who have a past that includes violent crime, careful attention also will need to be paid to see that they don't simply take military service as an opportunity to improve their weapons handling, marksmanship and other potentially criminal skills to be used after their demobilization.

As far as the services and the Bush administration drawing from that particular stratum of society to keep the ranks filled, it is an approach that saves them from reinstituting the draft. The Bush administration knows full well that if it restarts the draft, that will spell the end to its war in Iraq.

A volunteer army -- even one including ex-convicts -- will fight, and so the population is likely to go along. The Vietnam experience showed clearly that an unpopular war waged by draftees will come to a bitter, messy end quickly.

hahaha, hey eddie, i think you need to take some patriot pills and go salute the flag some more.

"Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!" -Albert Einstein

Eddie the Lock? More like Dugout Doug. Gimme a break, Rambo. Spending your time behind the counter at the big PX in Saigon doesn't count as time in the bush, good buddy. Take your shag Jane sign back to the VFW hall.

That's what I'm talking about. What's the solution, peaceful revolution! What's the reaction, direct action!

Is anyone at the DC IMC out there to get rid of all the spam from eddie right winger and pals! I know ya'll can get busy but shit like "punkasses in the anti war movement
spit at me punk, i ain't that hard to find.
ps: wear a vest." needs to be gotten rid of, especially since it is growing, I think trolls need to get taken off so we can have real news and as well useful comments!

The right wingers who are making strawman attacks on this thread are just spouting garbage. The alleged "spitting victim" U.$ Army Private Joshua Sparling, was NOT actually spit on at the protests...or any other protests. He is allegedly a right wing ally of Sean Hannity and Oliver North, who infiltrates anti-war protests with his friends in order to intimidate the dissidents. Read the full article at www.alternet.org/story/47433

Sorry, I'm not very familiar with HTML. If the link doesn't work, try going to the AlterNet website (www.alternet.org)and search for the article entitled, "Did Spitting 'Victim' of D.C. Protest Cry Wolf?" by Dave Johnson.

Wow, I didn't mean to post that much!

Hillary explains her war vote to Code Pink in 2003

Hillary explains her war vote to Code Pink in 2003