I like it!!!!! Been there. Done that. It was an Oliver North book signing at a "christian" bookstore no less. Sometimes the righteous just don't care if they push you into rushing automobile traffic. Of course we all know, that's what Jesus would do........, not.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." --- Mahatma Gandhi Pity the man who makes himself out to be more than he is or "empowered" to be. Todd Swearingen snip... > On June 27th at 5pm five anti-war activists heeded the National Call to > Action in support of Lt. Ehren Watada ( http://www.thankyoult.org/) and > Suzanne Swift (http://www.suzanneswift.org/) who are soldiers who are > facing punishment for refusing to deploy to Iraq. They peacefully > chanted and held signs while passing out information on the resisting > soldiers and counter-recruitment literature. Although an officer > called the police, they engaged in civil discussions with various > soldiers and pedestrians and were invited back for the next day when > the colonel would be in town. They left chanting "We'll be back! See > you tomorrow! > > > The activists kept their word and returned the following day with four > times as many people. Things started out peacefully but that quickly > changed when an aggravated marine officer began yelling and sent a > young recruit to retrieve a baseball bat. He lunged wildly at the > protesters with the bat in their faces while threatening physical > violence. The activists did not respond in any way and tried to > diffuse the situation peacefully. One activist pulled out their cell > phone to take a picture. The marine pushed two activists off the curb > into the street and knocked the phone out of the other activists hand. > He picked up the phone, erased the picture and only after police > arrived at the scene did he back down. Meanwhile his fellow soldiers > stood back and did nothing. > > > When the police arrived, the marine was still holding the bat. Yet the > police approached the protesters immediately. The marine was allowed > to leave the scene with the phone he had taken and returned to his > duties, training the Junior Marine Corps. Meanwhile the police > insisted that protesters had provoked this reaction from the marine by > exercising their free speech rights. He insisted that they move their > protest to the opposite side of the street. When asked politely by > protesters why they were required to do this, pointing out that they > were on a public sidewalk, he declared "This is MY sidewalk." He > implied that if they did not move they would be arrested when he said > "You can do whatever you want, but in the end I'll win." He then > proceeded to call in police paddy wagons to intimidate. After 45 > minutes, the phone was returned but the police refused to divulge the > identity of the marine. > > > Throughout this outrageous incident, the activists maintained composure > and did absolutely nothing to aggravate the situation. They > immediately called a member of the National Lawyers Guild and other > allies. Upon some discussion and legal advice, the protesters moved to > the opposite side of the street to avoid escalating the situation. At > this point the news cameras arrived and the protesters continued to > chant loudly until the soldiers went home and their offices closed. > > > This is not over. They are holding a press conference this Wednesday > July 5th at 5pm in front of the Orange St. recruiting station. We > can't let the government intimidate us!! > > > Demands: > 1. A public apology from both the US Marine Corps and the New Haven > Police Department. > > > 2. That the officer that assaulted us be removed from his duties and > provided appropriate counseling but NOT jail time. > > > 3. That our free speech rights are guaranteed in all public places > including in front of the recruiting station. > > > 4. Free Lt. Ehren Watada, Specialist Suzanne Swift and all other jailed > war resisters! > > > 5. Fund GI healthcare! ( > http://www.courant.com/news/specials/hc-mental1a.artmay14,0,6150281.story) > > > 6. Bring the TROOPS HOME NOW! > > > TAKE ACTION! > > > Call the US Marine Corps Recruiting Command > Orange St, New Haven, CT - 203-789-4484 > Regional Office, Springfield, MA - 413-594-4623 or 2033 > -- Major Lawrence Coleman, Sergeant Major Cevet Adams > > > Call the New Haven Police Department > Chief Francisco Ortiz - 203-946-6333 > General - 203-946-6316 or 6120 > "Internal Values and Ethics" - 203-946-6249 or 6250 > --Officers Ratti (#463), Hartnett (#4), Knickerbocker (#80) > > > Come to the Press Conference and Rally > Wednesday, July 5 - 5PM > 157 Orange St. New Haven, CT 06511 > For More Info/directions/get involved call Todd 203-506-2414 > > > For every emotionaly disturbed Marine desperately in need of treatment, > and hypocrite > thug of a cop we meet, we meet ten people who are glad > we're there. Now it's time to get those supporters > into the streets with us for next time. > > > > > Statement s > > > The following is a statement that is being > circulated regarding an > incident at the military recruiting station on > Orange Street in New > Haven on Wednesday, June 28. A baseball > bat-wielding Marine recruiter > engaged in an unprovoked assault on two > demonstrators outside the > recruiting center and then seized the cellphone > belonging to another > demonstrator who had witnessed and photographed the > assault. There are > plans for a rally and press conference outside the > recruiting center for > July 5 at 5PM. > > The National Lawyers Guild was contacted immediately > after the incident > by organizers who were looking for legal assistance > because, among other > things, the New Haven police were trying to > discourage the victims from > making a complaint against the recruiter -- > apparently at least one > officer expressed the opinion that having an > anti-war demonstration > outside a military recruiting center was a > "provocation." > > The question that this incident must raise is this: > if a US Marine > recruiter, while safely ensconced behind a desk in > an air-conditioned > office in New Haven, working in a position that > plainly keeps him in the > public eye, feels free to use a baseball bat to beat > a protester . . . > then how much restraint do we imagine that his > compatriots use against > Iraqis? > > I would strongly urge people to participate in the > rally on July 5. The > movement needs to respond in a strong and clear > voice to violence > against demonstrators, and all the more so when it > comes from government > personnel and is calculated to discourage political > opposition. > > Peter Goselin > NLG-CT > > > -------------------- > > > "Yesterday, five of us heeded the call to action in support of Lt. > Ehren Watada who is the first officer to refuse deployment to Iraq by > staging a peaceful protest outside the Orange St. recruiting station > in downtown New Haven. Chanting "They're our brothers, they're our > sisters, we support war resisters" we stood on the sidewalk out > front holding signs and receiving positive support from pedestrians > and drivers. We had civil conversation with soldiers in the office, > distributed literature and fliers and raised the profile of some of > the first true heros of the Iraq war - those refusing to fight. > Although they called the police (who left us alone) the protest was > completed peacefully and we were invited back to protest today when > the Colonel would be in town. > > > Today, however, the protest was NOT entirely peaceful from the part > of one US Marine. When about 10-15 of us returned today to continue > our non-violent expression of our free speech rights, we were > confronted with an imposing marine with a baseball bat. He screamed > in our faces, trying to intimidate us and after hitting []'s phone > out of his hands with the bat he shoved me with the end of it off the > sidewalk into the street. Not only did he assault two of us, he > took the cell phone, erased the picture that had been taken of him > with the bat and kept it. Other, more level headed soldiers arrived > to try and defuse the situation and sent the enraged officer to lead > a training session of fresh recruits - canon fodder for the illegal > imperial war in Iraq. When the police arrived they did nothing. > They did not care that we were assaulted. They did not care that > something had been stolen. They want this to go away quietly. We > MUST NOT let that happen. A police report has been filed and we are > discussion possible legal and certainly political responses to this. > Eventually the phone was recovered and we continued our chanting with > renewed energy "This is what democracy looks like...THAT is what > hypocrisy looks like!" The police were threatening, saying "this is > my street" and "no matter what you do, I will win." We decided it > was in our best interest to listen to the officer and we moved our > protest to the opposite side of the street. The police officers > refused to give us the name of the Marine who attacked us and called > in paddy wagons to bring us away. Fortunately the news media showed > up shortly and filmed us chanting and interviewed some of us. We want > all of the news stations to cover this and they will be > getting calls in the morning. > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > This event is an outrage! Not only were we INVITED back to protest by > the military recruiters but were subsequently lectured by the soldiers > about how they fight "to defend our freedom and liberty". After about > 15 minutes, this raging Marine threatened to beat us, he was promptly > thrown a metal bat from inside by another Marine, and he got in our > faces and started yelling about how we were "distrubing his place of > work". We immediately tried to defuse the situation by telling him to > calm down and asking him to put down the bat while HIS FELLOW SOLDIERS > DID NOTHING. In response, the angry Marine violently waved the handle > of the bat in several people's faces, touching my nose with it, and > then assaulting [] and [] and stealing []'s cell phone. [] got out her > camera and the Marine then threatened to steal and destroy her camera > and beat her. As the situation escalated, I threatened to and did call > the police, but the Marine said that he had already > called them! The police showed up right then and the soldiers quickly > moved to push the Marine back while he still had the phone. The police > immediately confronted us as though we were the instigators. The Marine > was allowed to freely walk back and forth and eventully led a "training > session" in the park with JROTC students. The police, for no legal > reason, told us to move across the street because it was "their" > sidewalk and they "would win no matter what." Throughout all of this, > while we were trying to maintain our compsure and discipline, we > continued to chant loudly. Many bystanders stopped to watch and most > showed their support for us, although one told us that we were "scum" > and that he "would kill us if he had the chance" (he said this at least > twice and stayed around until the very end). We also immediately called > lawyers that we knew who gave us guidance over the phone and we called > media. We continued to protest across the street until the > scene was cleared and the recruiting offices were closed. > > > On the positive side, we engaged a solider in very calm, civil debate > and he largely agreed with us on our anger over this assault and the > immorality of the war. A female soldier talked to me and took our > information until her officer told her that she wasn't allowed to do > that and that she had to get inside. > > > The really scary parts: > 1. The rank hypocrisy and brainwashing that goes on in the military. > 2. This Marine is training potential soldiers. > 3. It gave us all a very small sense of what Iraqis face everyday -- > outraged, uncontrollable soldiers who have big rifles instead of metal > bats and who are not in anyway considering laws, norms, or holding back > because they're dealing with Americans. > 4. The arrogance of the soliders who knew they could depend on cops to > defend them and the arrogance of cops who thought they could get away > with anything through intimidation and the use of the "law" (ie, batons > and paddy wagons). > > > They clearly don't know who they're dealing with. We're going to turn > up the heat and make this into a campaign. This is a free speech fight > and an antiwar fight. No soldiers should be put into a position where > they turn out raging like this. That Marine needs counseling for anger > management and PTSD. His officers, the police, and the government need > to be held accountable for these crimes -- from the streets of New > Haven to the streets of Haditha. Press conference a week from today -- > July 5, 5pm, in front of the recruiting stations. It's time to > jump-start the antiwar movement in New Haven and continue building so > that we can the US out of the Middle East! " > > > -------------------- > > > It started really by 2 soldiers and one local worker legitimately > asking me, "why don't you support us [the troops] --which we certainly > do-- yet they were too impatient to wait for a response even though I > was giving it to them. Quickly three got in my face in a somewhat > aggressive manner. [] turned and saw three soldiers encroaching into > my PZ and asked them, "why are there three of you crowding one of us > [or something to that affect]?" In turn they saw this as > confrontational because they quickly got in his face. Then [] stood up > only to be chased with a bat. And on it went, down the line of > successive activists being unwarrantably threatened, provoked, and > assaulted until the police arrive as the Army's arbiter. The rest is > as laid out below. > > > --------------------- > > > Today's events revealed for me and everyone present > the heartbreaking and gutwrenching reality of the > domestic face of U.S. imperialism. Our project, after > all was to defend war resisters Ehren Watada and > Suzanne Swift. Ehren has refused to deploy to Iraq, > and is facing a jail sentence for refusing orders, and > Suzanne has already been to jail and been forced to > return to her unit after being sexually harassed by > her commanding officer and others and refusing to > return to Iraq for a second tour of duty. When we > returned to the recruiting station today, joking with > some of the soldiers there, and preparing our > materials, none of us expected to be assaulted by a > U.S. Marine Wielding a baseball bat. Especially since > yesterday we had been invited back by the recruiters, > and filed out of the park next door chanting "We'll be > back, seee you tommorrow!", to which staff in the > office responded by smilling and waving. The police > yesterday, in fact assured us the we had a right to be > there, and after responding to a complaint from a > commanding officer at the recruitment center, told us > to "have a good afternoon". However, the police today > arrived on the scene having somehow come to the > counterintuitive conclusion that we, the unarmed, > peacefull protesters were somehow the cause of the > violence committed against us by a Marine wielding a > baseball bat. This recruter was then allowed to > continue with his duties, including the "training" of > several minors from the Junior Marines program, while > still holding stolen property which belonged to one of > the demonstrators. That's right, it's hard for me to > believe too, but we were assaulted and threatened by a > member of the U.S. military while he was on the clock > and he was allowed to stay at work with teens and > young adults in his care. This was of course after > being told countless times by his coworkers that they > were "defending our right to be there protesting". > Well, I know I certainly don't feel protected with the > business end of a baseball bat in my face. The > absurdity is abundantly clear if you immagine just for > a second of what would have happened if the situation > were reversed and a protester had threatened a > recruiter with a bat. In the blink of an eye, this > individual would have been beaten bloody, dragged > away, and sent to jail. This is the hypocrisy of a > system which when it's not actively rewarding soldiers > for committing attrocious violence against unarmed > civilians, turns a blind eye to these incidents, and > sicks the police on their victims. > > > But, as brutal and nakedly one sided as this > experience was, I wanted to generalize some positive > aspects of our work, because we did a kick ass job today! Not only were > we able > to get counter recruitment literature to some > potential recruits, and supportive literature to some > GIs who might be against the war, but we were able to > conduct ourselves in a well organized and disciplined > manner which avoided any injuries, and maintained our > presence at the demonstration. > These are the things we did right: > 1) We stuck together, never letting anyone be isolated > for very long. > 2) We called the press. > 3) We recognized our limits in terms of numbers and > complied with the cop's order to move across the > street. > 4) We contacted an NLG lawyer who was able to advise > us on how to deal with the cops. > 5) We gathered information about the incident > including names and badge numbers for all the cops on > the scene. > 6) We didn't back down or become disorganized, but > moved across the street, chanting even louder, and > didn't leave untill the office closed. > > > For every emotionaly disturbed > Marine desperately in need of treatment, and hypocrit > thug of a cop we meet, we meet ten people who are glad > we're there. Now it's time to get those supporters > into the streets with us for next time. > > > These guys don't know who they're messing with. We've > already sent out a press release to seventy media > outlets and begun > calling through our allies to put together a free > speech campaign. In other words, we are a force to be > reckoned with! Next Wed. same time, same place, > we'll be back! > > > ------------------- > > > The past day's events were an eye-opening experience for a good bulk of > us, > although some had already been witness to the brutality of the NHPD, > SCSU > Police, and the CT State Troopers, and today, compared to other times, > we > emerged relatively unscathed, as opposed to arrests, and physical harm > in > the past. If we play our cards right, and make our experiences of > today known to a wider audience, we have a real potential of > strengthening > the antiwar movement, at least in New Haven. > > > A few things. First, we need to develop clear goals about what we want > to, > and can expect to gain from this. As others noted, this for us is going > to > be both a legal, and a political battle. On the legal front, our goals > should be (but not limited to): > > > 1. A full apology, not only from the marine who assaulted members, but > also > from the officer, and the New Haven Police Department and even Mayor > DeStefano. > 2. A prosecution of the Marine that assaulted us, and threatened > the rest. However, we should tie this in to our political battle, and > should > DEMAND that he NOT be jailed, but receive counseling, which can bring to > attention that what he did is a result of his experiences and > environment, > and of the fact that the ENTIRE blame for this lies at the top, not only > of > the military brass, but at the highest levels of government, which > locally > includes Dodd, Lieberman, DeLauro, and DeStefano. > And 3. A full public recognition of our legal right to demonstrate > outside > the recruiting office and other public property (which isn't the cops' > property) in the future, as our constitutional rights entitles us to. > > > Our political tasks in the near future should more broadly be, a full > campaign around this, including press, phone blasts, petitions, but more > importantly bringing others into this struggle, and not just the usual > suspects, but the broader working people who are most affected by this > sort > of thing daily. At every step, we need to bridge the connection between > the war at home (Marine and Police > threats in New Haven with baseball bats and paddywagons), and the war > abroad > (Army, Marines, and National Guard actual use of guns and F-16's in Iraq > and > Afghanistan). Through this, we can definitely hope, if not expect, to > solidify, and expand the antiwar left in New Haven. > > > --------------------------- > > First of all, I think that given the unexpected situation we were > confronted with, we did an excellent job of handling ourselves and > working as a team. As we all know if takes very little for a protester > to be harrassed and assaulted by the police and it was important to > keep our cool, especially given our small numbers. That said, I think > for future actions we can certainly be more prepared. This means: 1) > having a legal observer present; 2) having media present if possible > and our own means of recording things if not (for instance it would > have been great to have that cop on tape saying things like you better > listen to me or else)--- although being aware that merely recording > something is likely to be seen as a provocation; 3) bringing out as > many people as possible and sticking together-- for a larger > demonstration marshalls are a necessity. > > In terms of next steps, I agree for the most part with what others put > out. However, if possible we should avoid pressing charges against the > individual marine and try to move it further up the chain of command. > Hell, we should press charges on the entire US government for waging > this illegal and immoral war. After all, we have plenty of information > about how the military treats its soldiers like crap, recruits and > retains mentally imbalanced people whose conditions are only worsened > by the horrors of being in Iraq. The military explicitly trains people > to harrass and torture innocent civilians and these are the results. > The point of a legal campaign, in my opinion, is not necessarily to > "win" but to raise awareness and rally a grassroots mobilization. We > also need to be crystal clear on the point that we don't think this is > an issue of one "bad apple" but of the war and the military as a whole. > > The anger about this war is palable, both on the part of ordinary > people who showed their support for us (a waitress from the nearby > coffeeshop brought us free coffee and cookies!) as well as a genuine > interest on the part of active soldiers and recruits. While the antiwar > movement has hit a slump, mainly to due to liberal leaders' bankrupt > plan of supporting the democrats, anger has only increased and > deepened. We have a potential right now to turn this anger into action > and we must sieze the moment! All out for July 5! > > > ------------------------- > > > Yesterday was a clear example of what we have been saying for some > time; a war abroad means at the same time a war at home. The US > government in Iraq through its military arm is the same state here at > home, in the way it conducts its affairs against those seen as > "enemies". There is little difference between "enemies" in Baghadad > and "enemies" at home. Some of the brutality of the war was seen on > Orange St. in New Haven, CT. The way soldiers are trained to handle > citizens, police disregard for constitutional rights, etc. > The predom. ideas of protecting Americans through the "war on terror" > has led to a significant curtailment of our civil liberties. The USA > Patriot Act has been used against Arabs, Muslims, Latinos (border wall) > anitwar activists and many others to accomplish some goal for US > capital. While making US corporations happy through increased profits > the majority of the US pop. and the world pop. have grown poorer and > their freedoms have diminished. > People in the US have also seen funding for their social programs cut > while the military budget has shot through the roof. Funding has even > been cut for all GIs, even those who have come back from active duty > in Iraq or Afg. Its sad but no surprise that soldiers aren't getting > the help that they need. There have been many well documented cases of > suicide, violence, etc. that GIs have experienced after coming home > from combat. > The war in Iraq has become quite upopular amongst most people in the US > and around the world, to say the least. The Republican party and > especially GW are facing all time lows in approval ratings, and the > military is having a hard time recruiting new soldiers. All of this has > come from scandal after scandal regarding the handling of the Iraq war. > the Iraqi resistance, Lies, civilian casualties, escalating number of > US GIs dead, killed or wounded, torture scandals, Haditha massacres, > etc. > No challenge has been put forward to the "war on terror" and its > logical consequences by the Dems. they have accepted the logic of the > "war on terror" and say that they want to be stronger than Rep. on the > "war on terror" > At the same time the antiwar movement has been struggling with > political weakness that can be somewhat attributed to their support for > the Dem. party. You can't support the Dems. while they are supporting > the "war on terror" if you do support them than you also accept their > logic and baggage which is tied to corporate america and the "war on > terror" > We need to organize and call out these issues on the ground, build a > hearing for our ideas amongst ordinary working people who also disagree > with the war, put pressure on any or either pol. party in DC from > outside of their institutions to end the war, bring our troops home > now, fund GI healthcare and all other social programs, and uphold our > right to organize, speak, demonstrate, so on and so on. > Defend our civil liberties! > End the war, bring our troops home now! > Fund GI healthcare! > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "iso-newhaven" group. > To post to this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/iso-newhaven > -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- > > > > > > -- > "There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, > makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even > passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears > and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and > you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people > who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the > machine will be prevented from working at all!" > -Mario Savio Berkeley Free Speech Movement December 3rd > 1964 > > > __._,_.___ > > __,_._,___ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 > messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
