July 4, 2006
Declare independence from
King George the Lame

protests every Saturday from noon till night

By Colbert I. King
Saturday, July 8, 2006; A15

Please don’t lump what happened in Mahmudiyah with the alleged attacks by U.S. troops on unarmed Iraqi civilians in Fallujah, Haditha, Qaim or Salahuddin province. True, the murders of innocent noncombatants, and the humiliation and abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, are deplorable acts deserving condemnation and swift and severe punishment. But the event that occurred in Mahmudiyah, a village south of Baghdad, deserves a category all to itself.

Mahmudiyah wasn’t a case of soldiers exceeding their orders or authority in the interrogation of prisoners—or an example of war-weary, stressed-out troops mistakenly assuming a villager was a member of the insurgency. Neither was it a situation in which U.S. service members, grief-stricken over the loss of a comrade, decided to take out their anguish on people who looked like the enemy.

Mahmudiyah, if the charges are true, was a case of something else; a vile event made all the more disgusting because a soldier, afforded the opportunity to serve his country, chose instead to indulge his private need to hurt, degrade and murder.

Twenty-one-year-old Steven D. Green, honorably discharged from the Army in May for a “personality disorder,” is charged with entering an Iraqi home near Mahmudiyah in March and raping a young woman (Iraqis say she was 15 years old; the U.S. military says 20), shooting her in the head and setting her body aflame—after he was done using it.

But first, it is alleged, he herded the young woman’s mother, father and 5-year-old sister into a bedroom, where he shot and killed them. Arrested by the FBI this week, Green has pleaded not guilty.

The young woman’s body and those of her family were found burned in an effort to cover up what happened. And Green, according to an FBI affidavit, wasn’t the only rapist; another soldier in his unit is said to have taken part in the assault.

Some might call that a tactic of war. It was nothing of the sort. Yes, there are numerous cases of mass rape that were methodically carried out during times of war. Look no farther than Darfur and Kosovo.

But if the reporting out of Iraq is accurate, Mahmudiyah is a tale of sadism and degradation and of the desire of one man and possibly others to display mastery over the weak for reasons having nothing to do with why America is in Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070701124_pf.html

By E&P Staff

Published: July 07, 2006 11:25 AM ET

NEW YORK A new Gallup poll finds that roughly 2 in 3 Americans urge a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, with 31% wanting this to start immediately.

Gallup’s director, Frank Newport, sums up the results today: “Taken together, it is perhaps fair to say that a significant majority of Americans would like the United States to either withdraw troops from Iraq or make specific plans to do so, although there is no majority demand that troops be withdrawn immediately.”

The poll was unusual in that rather than give respondents a list of options, it allowed them to respond in their own words. Gallup then grouped the varied responses and labelled them with a common theme.

Results showed that almost 1 in 3 want to “pull the troops out and come home,” as soon as possible. About the same number seem to wish for a gradual pullout. The remaining one-third back the present course or want to “finish what we started.”

Only 2% want to send more troops. The same number urge: “Admit we made a mistake/Apologize and move forward.”

CODEPINK

These White House Lawn Gnomes
only come out at night.
They can only be seen by the light of the burning
Constitution.

Bush 2000 Campaign Promise:
“We will disengage from the Middle East and engage in Asia.”

It was the only thing he said that made sense.

It was also a lie.

yellowcakewalk salutes the courageous resistors of
YESH GVUL

Yesh Gvul (“There is a limit !”) is an Israeli peace group campaigning against the occupation by backing soldiers who refuse duties of a repressive or aggressive nature. The brutal role of the Israeli army in subjugating the Palestinian population places numerous servicemen in a grave moral and political dilemma, as they are required to enforce policies they deem illegal, immoral and ultimately harmful to Israeli interests. The army hierarchy demands compliance, but many soldiers, whether conscripts or reservists, find that they cannot in good conscience obey the orders of their superiors.
Yesh Gvul arose in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, as growing numbers of soldiers grasped that the campaign, with its bloodshed and havoc, was an act of naked and futile aggression in which they wanted no part.
168 servicemen were jailed, some repeatedly, for refusing to serve in the campaign: the actual number of refusals was far greater, but their rising numbers deterred the army from prosecuting most of the refuseniks. The first Palestinian intifada in 1987 likewise prompted further refusals, with close on 200 jailed, though the army again backed down from jailing many of the recalcitrant soldiers, indicating that refusals were significantly more numerous. A notably high ratio of refuseniks are combat officers (ranking from sergeant to major) i.e. soldiers who have served with distinction.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms

Guns kill 30,000 Americans per year.
Cigarettes kill 400,000 Americans per year.
Booze kills hundreds of thousands of Americans per year.
Marijuana kills zero Americans per year.

Guess which one is illegal?

“I believe it was the right thing for us to overthrow Saddam Hussein,” said Senator Joe Lieberman last night, explaining his support for the Iraq War during the heated primary debate with Ned Lamont. Lieberman’s stubborn defense sounded eerily similar to another unpopular politician under pressure for the war. Last night President Bush assured Larry King “the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision.”

Lieberman actually channeled Bush throughout the debate. He echoed the White House spin on Iraq, arguing the only “choice is between helping the Iraqis achieve a free and independent Iraq or abandoning them and letting the terrorists take over.” He trotted out baseless flip-flop charges, accusing Lamont of taking five different positions on the war. And when all else failed, Lieberman deployed the classic Bush-Rove tactic: project your own weakness on to your opponent. So he accused Lamont of the top grievances voters have against Lieberman: voting too often with Republicans, acting out of touch and prioritizing power over principle. (He claimed Lamont’s war position only changed when he decided there was an “opportunity to become a United States senator”).

The guy on the left came for Bush bestest-buddy Kenny-Boy Lay on July 5.

Kenny-Boy will be bunking up with William Casey when he gets down to Hell. Casey, if you will remember, was due to testify in the Iran-Contra Scandal against Bush Sr. ( for selling arms to Iran and funding death squads in Nicaragua with drug money ) when he tragically died very suddenly. But …. it’s all just a coincidence, right?

Gaza fury: Israeli street protests & critical media voices
TOI-Billboard, July 7, 2006
The Other Israel’s email updates

(...) The army has to deploy a whole elite regiment against a single Gaza Strip neighborhood without even entering. You can only imagine how much force would be needed to implement the cabinet’s decision to cut the Gaza Strip in two, or to take over the entire northern Gaza Strip, in order to stop the shooting of Qassams. Gaza is a bottomless hole, swallowing military forces. (...) The Palestinians are fighting seriously. The armed militants throw themselves at the tanks and the armoured personnel carriers, undeterred by their losses. (Alex Fishman, Yediot Aharonot of today, July 7—who represents an army’s point of view).

What follows is a compilation of protests, in action and in writing

_{~ Dissident voices in the mainstream & other Israeli media}

_{It’s never too late
Haaretz Editorial—Today Fri., July 07, 2006
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/735154.html}

_{Look who’s been kidnapped!
Arik Diamant in Ynet News (July 5, 2006)}

_{http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3271505,00.html}

_{No strength for silence}

_{Esther Wachsman, Haaretz July 4, 2006}

_{http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733773.html}

_{The government is losing its reason
Ha’aretz Editorial June 30
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733036.html}

_{Esther Wachsman: It’s the same record playing again
Ruth Eglash interview, Jerusalem Post Jun. 30, 2006
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885884815&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull}

_{Agatha In The Rain
Uri Avnery July 1, 2006
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1151794314/}

_{Composure is also strength
By Yoel Marcus Ha’aretz, July 3, 2006
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733034.html}

_{Suffering from a paralysis of thought
Ze’ev Sternhell – Ha’aretz July 2, 2006
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733029.html}

_{A Week of Israeli Restraint
Tanya Reinhart, Yediot Aharonot June 21, 2006
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=14609}

_{We must wake up
David Grossman Ma`ariv June 11, 2006
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=14449}

_{Protests against Gaza clampdown initiated by different groups on different dates} ~

June 28

Immediate protest in front of Defence Ministry Gush Shalom

http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/Gu_vigil.htm

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3268789,00.html

June 30

Demonstration at the Gaza border Ometz Lesarev, joined by the Committee against War Crimes

http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/Shouting_at_the_canons.htm

July 1

500 hundred to protest at PM’s doorstep Yesh Gvul

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3269764,00.html

July 3

22500 already signed Ometz prisoners release petition http://www.publicators.com/tmp/shalit

July 5

Protest at Defence Ministry previous to fascism discussion Coalition of Women’ for Peace

http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/CWPJune5.htm

July 7

Appeal on EU countries Gush Shalom

http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en

July 8

Demo against invasion in Nazareth, Hadash communists – announced for tomorrow

http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/Nazareth.htm

Human rights organizations reports and condemnations

PHR-Israel http://www.phr.org.il/phr/cat.asp?catid=55&parentid=45&pcat=-1〈=ENG

B’tselem http://www.btselem.org/English/index.asp

ACRI http://www.acri.org.il/english-acri/engine/story.asp?id=321

See also the remarkable call by 300 British Jews What is Israel doing?

http://www.jfjfp.org/indexfiles/Gaza%20ad_times.pdf

TOI-Billboard updates you in between the issues of our printed newsletter. For more news on the struggle against the occupation, on the ground and in the media, there are the frequently updated sites:

Occupation Magazine

http://www.kibush.co.il/ (articles and action news, worth looking at daily – but also useful archive)

ISM website

http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/ (informing especially about anti-Wall struggle in the villages)

Robert Rosenberg’s summary of “peace” issues in the Israeli media

http://www.ariga.com/ (on workdays)

http://www.theheadlines.org/ (a variety of papers, followed dayly by Shadi Fadda)

http://electronicintifada.net/new.shtml (Palestinian press agency, including own research)

more links at http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/recommen.htm

TOI-Billboard current issue http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/index.htm

TOI-Billboard archive
http://archives.zinester.com/93796

TOI-Billboard is the ‘ezine’ of the independent THE OTHER ISRAEL bi-monthly peace newsletter, existing since 1983, and published by its editors Adam Keller & Beate Zilversmidt.

NB: The Other Israel May issue is now online with a selection of the articles:
http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/

For a one time hard-copy (free sample), send your address to: otherisr@actcom.co.il,
US addresses to: aicipp@igc.org

Visit also the archive under construction of issues since 1994
http://israelipalestinianpeace.org

If you got this forwarded and want to subscribe mailto:otherisr@actcom.co.il
also for being removed from the list - or use (un)subscribe links at the bottom

THE OTHER ISRAEL pob 2542, Holon 58125, Israel
ph/fx: +972-3-5565804 
otherisr@actcom.co.il

TAKE ACTION: Hold Israel to account for its killing of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Contact the White House and your Members of Congress to demand that Israel is held accountable for its violations of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act and urge that military aid to Israel be cut off as required by law.

Click here to send an email: http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/cnif/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=4516

BACKGROUND: Israel is using weapons supplied by the United States to target Palestinian civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in violation of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, the Foreign Assistance Act and the Geneva Conventions.

Israeli air force fighter squadrons are composed of Lockheed Martin F-16I Fighting Falcons and Boeing F-15Is, which fire U.S.-manufactured AMRAAM, Sidewinder, and Sparrow missiles. Between 2005-2005, the United States licensed to Israel at least $1.062 billion of spare parts, engines, and missiles for its F-15 and F-16 fighter planes. ()

Israel’s month of killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, highlighted below, is a clear reminder that Israel remains the occupying power of the Gaza Strip despite last year’s “unilateral disengagement.” Living under military occupation, the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip are “protected persons” under the terms of the Geneva Conventions. Israel’s attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip are a violation of the Geneva Conventions and constitute war crimes.

In addition, by using U.S.-supplied weapons to commit these atrocities, Israel is violating the terms of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act. The Arms Export Control Act restricts the use of U.S. weapons to legitimate self-defense and internal policing; U.S. weapons cannot be used to attack civilians in offensive operations. The Foreign Assistance Act prohibits U.S. aid of any kind to a country with a pattern of gross human rights violations.

• On June 9th, Israel shelled a beach in Beit Lahiya killing 8 civilians and injuring 32. At the site of the killing, Human Rights Watch found evidence of a 155mm artillery shell consistent with those fired from an Israeli M-109 Self-Propelled Artillery. Between 2000-2005, the United States licensed to Israel $69,163 worth of M-109 spare parts and 155mm artillery shells. ()

• On June 13th, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a van in an extrajudicial killing of two Palestinians in Gaza City. A second barrage of missiles fired shortly afterward killed nine Palestinian bystanders.

• On June 20th, Israeli aircraft fired at least one missile at a car in an extrajudicial killing attempt on a road between Jabalya and Gaza City. The missile missed its intended target and killed three Palestinian children and wounded 15.

• On June 27th, Israel launched a massive invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft fired missiles targeting civilian infrastructure. In illegal acts of collective punishment, Israel demolished three key bridges, the Gaza Strip’s only electricity generation plant, the five-story Interior Ministry building in Gaza City and part of a university and a school, thereby endangering Palestinian human rights to food, water, health, electricity, education, and freedom of movement. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted that the purpose of these measures is to “apply pressure” to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

• On June 29th, Israel arrested and detained 64 Palestinian Authority cabinet ministers and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly said in a closed meeting, “They want prisoners released? We’ll release these detainees in exchange for Shalit.” The arrested Hamas government officials were democratically elected to govern the Palestinian territories in January, and their arrest and targetting can be considered a reprisal against civilians, which is forbidden under the Geneva Conventions.

(*) Statistics for U.S. weapons licensed to Israel are compiled from the State Department’s annual report to Congress pursuant to Sec. 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act.

FURTHER ACTION:

1. Write a letter to the editor or op-ed for your local newspaper and call your local talk radio stations to protest Israel’s atrocities in the Gaza Strip and highlight U.S. support for these actions. For contact information for your local media, click here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

2. Make a donation to support humanitarian efforts to reprovision the Gaza Strip with much-needed medical supplies for Palestinian children. The Middle East Children’s Alliance, a member organization of the U.S. Campaign, is accepting tax-deductible donations to send medical supplies. Click here to donate: http://www.mecaforpeace.org/GazaMeds.html

“Washington Wednesday” action alerts are initiated by the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and its member organizations, including the Council for the National Interest, the first Wednesday of each month.

Council for the National Interest Foundation
1250 4th Street SW, Suite WG-1
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
http://www.cnionline.org/
http://www.rescuemideastpolicy.com/
Phone: 202-863-2951
Fax: 202-863-2952

2) The Annual Smoke-In in Lafayette Park

3) The Independence Day Parade

4) The usual White House Gnomes from yellowcakewalk.

BRING THEM HOME (IF YOU LOVE YOUR UNCLE SAM)©
Live 10 May 2006 version

If you love this land of the free
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

It will make the politicians sad, I know
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
They wanna tangle with their foe
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

They wanna test their grand theories
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
With the blood of you and me
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

We’ll give no more brave young lives
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
For the gleam in some fool’s eyes
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

The men will cheer and the boys will shout
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
And we will all turn out
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

The church bells will ring with joy
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
To welcome out garland girls and boys
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

We’ll lift their voice and sound
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Yeah, when Johnny comes marching home
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

If you love this land of the free
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

If you love this land of the free
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

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