military resistance 11i9 our true sisters and brothers

7/29/2019 Military Resistance 11I9 Our True Sisters and Brothers

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Military Resistance: [email protected] 9.15.13 Print it out: color best. Pass it on.

Military Resistance 11I9

Troops Oppose Attack On SyriaBy 3-1 Margin: The Results Suggest That

Opposition Inside The Military MayBe More Intense Than Among The

U.S. Population At Large

I Havent Heard One Single PersonBe Supportive Of It, Said An Army

Staff Sergeant[Thanks to Felicity Arbuthnot, who sent this in.]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Sep. 11, 2013 By Andrew Tilghman, Navy Times [Excerpts]

To the list of skeptics who question the need for air strikes against Syria, add anotherunlikely group many U.S. troops.

I havent heard one single person be supportive of it, said an Army staff sergeant atFort Hood who asked not to be identified by name.

A Mili tary Times survey of more than 750 active-duty troops th is week foundservice members oppose military action in Syria by a margin of about three toone.

The survey conducted online Monday and Tuesday found that about 75 percent oftroops are not in favor of air strikes in response to reports that the Syrian governmentused chemical weapons to kill civilians in that country.

A higher percentage of troops, about 80 percent, say they do not believe getting involved

in the two-year-old civil war is in the U.S. national interest.

The results suggest that opposition inside the military may be more intense thanamong the U.S. population at large.

About 64 percent of Americans oppose air str ikes, according to a recentWashington Post-ABC News poll published Monday.

For many troops, money is a key consideration.

Troops question the cost of bombing Syria at a time when budget cuts areshrink ing their pay raises, putting their benefits package at risk and forc ing some

of their friends to separate involuntarily.

We dont have money for anything else but we have a couple hundred mill iondollars to lob some Tomahawks and mount an expensive campaign in Syria?said Army Sgt. 1st Class Chris Larue, a 39-year-old maintenance expert at FortEustis, Va., referring to the precision-guided miss iles that are likely to be used inany strike.

People are just sick of it, said Lt. Cmdr. J effrey Harvey, a nuclear-trained officer whoworks at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.

Its like the old pre-World War II isolationism, I hear grumblings of that. People would

rather withdraw all our troops and let the rest of the world figure out what to do. I thinkthere is a lot of credence to that argument.

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS


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Army Sgt. 1st Class Ricardo Young OfRosston Killed In Afghanistan

Sgt. 1st Class Ricardo Young

Sep 2, 2013 Magnolia, Arkansas News,

A soldier from Rosston was killed on Wednesday in Afghanistan when insurgents

attacked his unit with small arms fire, according to the Department of Defense.

Sgt. 1st Class Ricardo D. Young, 34, was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom inGhazni Province, Afghanistan, during the attack.

Young was assigned to the 307th Engineer Battalion (Combat/Airborne), 20th EngineerBrigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.

He was a 1997 graduate of Nevada High School.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton issued a statement mourning the death of the sergeant from hiscongressional district.

It read as follows:

J ohn 15:13 says, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life forhis friends. Sergeant First Class Young courageously fought for our country and laiddown his life for us, his fellow countrymen, so that we might live in freedom. We grievehis loss, yet we will always cherish and celebrate his bravery and patriotism. Mydeepest condolences go out to his loved ones, who are in our prayers. We cannot fill the


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emptiness they feel in their hearts. But as they mourn the loss of Sgt. 1st Class Young,let us comfort and care for them, and thank them for the nobility of his service. Ourgratitude to them and Sgt. 1st Class Young will always endure.

Gov. Mike Beebe ordered that the Arkansas state flag be flown at half-staff untilsundown on Sunday, September 1, 2013, to honor Sgt. 1st Class Young.

AFGHANISTAN THEATER:U. S. Foreign Fighters Suffered 38

Combat Casualties In The Week EndingSept 11 As The Total Rose To

40,017.

Sep 12, 2013 www.michaelmunk.com[Excerpts]AFGHANISTAN THEATER:

US foreign fighters suffered 38 combat casualties in the week ending Sept 11 as thetotal rose to 40,017.

The total includes 21,070 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies ashostile causes and 18,947 dead or medically evacuated (as of Dec. 3, 2012) from whatit calls non-hostile causes.

US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by reportingregularly only the total killed (6,756: 4,489 in Iraq, 2,267 in Afghanistan) but rarelymentioning those wounded in action (51,480: 32,230 in Iraq; 19,287 in Afghanistan).

They ignore the 59,908 (44,607 in Iraq, 18,463 in AfPak as of Dec 3, 2012) militarycasualties injured and ill seriously enough to be medevacd out of theater, even thoughthe 6,752 total dead include 1,445 (961 in Iraq, 484 in Afghanistan) who died from thosesame non hostile causes, of whom almost 25% (332) were suicides (as of J an 9, 2013)and at least 18 in Iraq from faulty KBR electrical work.

POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THEBLOODSHED

THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THEWAR


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Militants Carried Out An Attack OnThe U.S. Consulate In The Western

Afghan City Of Heart The Growing Reach Of The Taliban

Afghanistan security forces take up a position after an attack on the U.S. Consulate in

Herat early Friday. (Aref Karimi / AFP-Getty Images / September 12, 2013)

September 12, 2013 By Hashmat Baktash and Mark Magnier, L.A. Times & Sep. 13,2013, By Amir Shah and Nahal Toosi, The Associated Press. [Excerpts]

KABUL, Afghanistan --Taliban militants unleashed car bombs at the U.S. Consulate inwestern Afghanistan on Friday morning, triggering a firefight with security forces in anattack that killed at least two Afghans and wounded 17.

The U.S. said its personnel from the mission were safe and that most of them weretemporarily relocated to Kabul, while American forces secured the site.

According to Gen. Rahmatullah Safi, Herat provinces chief of police, the attack beganaround 6 a.m. when militants in an SUV and a van set off their explosives-laden vehicleswhile others on foot fired on Afghan security forces guarding the compound in the city,1,000 kilometers (625 miles) from Kabul.

The explosion shattered the glass of the consulate building and structures in thesurrounding area.


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An Afghan police officer and an Afghan security guard were killed, though it was notclear whether they died in the explosions of the two vehicles or in the gunfire, Safi said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which started with the detonation of acar bomb approximately 60 yards from the consulate entrance, followed by gunfire frommilitants attempting to enter the compound.

There were no immediate reports of American casualties.

The gun battle between the militants and security forces lasted about two hours, saidSayed Fazlullah Wahidi, governor of Herat province. Four assailants were killed byAfghan and U.S. security forces, with one or two still unaccounted for, Wahidi said.

The attackers may have managed to enter the first ring of the diplomatic compound, butthe situation was under control and there was no damage to the consulate building, hesaid.

A Taliban spokesman said his group killed 13 foreigners and two Afghan soldiers and

wounded many more.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul tweeted that all consular personnel were safe.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a brief phone call to The Times that hisgroup claimed responsibility for the attack.

Footage broadcast on Afghanistans Tolo television network showed Afghan policedragging away from the scene. Rubble and twisted pieces of metal lay strewn in aseemingly wide area near the consulate, the footage showed.

Video aired by the local Tolo television network showed Afghan police officers dragging

a badly bloodied man away from the scene strewn with blood as rubble and mangledbits of debris lay around the consulate.

It wasnt immediately clear who the victim was or his medical condition.

U.S. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement that theassault began around 5:30 a.m., when a truck carrying attackers drove to the front gate,and attackers possibly firing rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles startedfiring at Afghan forces and security guards on the exterior of the gates. Shortly after, theentire truck exploded, extensively damaging the front gate.

Rafi said U.S. special forces secured the compound and that no attackers

managed to breach it. Harfs statement said American security personnel wereamong the responders, and that it appears American and cont ract securitypersonnel addressed any attackers who managed to enter the compound.

Herat lies near Afghanistans border with Iran and is considered one of the betterdeveloped and safer cities in the country.

Fridays attack there underscored the growing reach of the Taliban, who oncemostly concentrated their attacks in the east and the south, but in recent years


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seem to be able to str ike with more frequency in the once-peaceful north andwest.

The U.S. Consulate is located in a relatively sparsely populated part of the city, and theattack took place on Friday, a day of rest.

Resistance Action

Sep. 13, 2013 By Amir Shah and Nahal Toosi, The Associated Press

An attack on Friday morning took place in eastern Paktika provinces Sar Hawza district,said Mokhlis Afghan, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Police recognized avehicle was dangerous and shouted at the driver to stop but he ignored them.

Police then opened fire, and the bomber detonated the explosives, causing a powerfulblast, the spokesman said. Four police were wounded as were three members of the

Afghan national army, he said. The road was badly damaged, and windows on nearbybuildings were shattered.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THE RESISTANCEEND THE OCCUPATION

MILITARY NEWS

Munich Court Considering TheAppeal Of A U.S. Soldier Seeking

Asylum In Germany After DesertingHis Iraq-Bound Unit In 2007

He Applied For Asylum In 2008,

Speaking Vocally About His OppositionTo The Iraq War

[Thanks to Clancy Sigal, who sent this in.]

Sep 11, 2013 by Steven Beardsley, Stars and Stripes


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A Munich court considering the appeal of a U.S. soldier seeking asylum in Germanyafter deserting his Iraq-bound unit in 2007 has forwarded the case to a European Unioncourt in Luxembourg for clarification of EU law, according to the soldiers attorney.

Andre Shepherd, a former helicopter mechanic stationed in Ansbach, Germany, claims

his fears of persecution for refusing to deploy to Iraq, where he claimed a fear of beingpart of war crimes, were substantial enough to merit refugee status under European law.

A German court disagreed in 2011, saying Shepherd couldnt show enough evidence.

Shepherds attorney, Reinhard Marx, says the courts standard of proof was too strict.Instead of requiring Shepherd to show beyond a doubt that he had reason to fearinvolvement in war crimes, it should have permitted a well-founded fear, a phrase usedin the text of the 1951 Geneva Convention on refugees.

This had to be clarified by the European court, Marx said. And the main issue isstandard of proof -- what kind of standard of proof do deserters have to establish in the

European asylum system.

Marx announced in J anuary that the Munich court had accepted his request to appeal tothe EU court; it formally suspended Shepherds case in recent days and sent his casefiles to Luxembourg, where they will be examined by the court and the 28 EU memberstates.

The attorney said he also will seek an oral hearing on the issue in the future. He expectsthe court to return an answer to the Munich court, which will decide Shepherds appeal,in about two years.

Shepherd, meanwhile, continues to live and work outside Munich as he awaits a

resolution to his case.

He left his unit, the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, in 2007 and applied for asylum in2008, speaking vocally about his opposition to the Iraq War.

In an interview earlier this year, he said he would never return to the U.S. for fear ofbeing imprisoned.

TROOPS INVITED:Comments, arguments, artic les, and letters from service menand women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or [email protected] : Name, I.D., withheld unless yourequest publication. Same address to unsubscribe.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convinc ing argument, is needed. Oh hadI the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery st ream of

biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke.

For it is not l ight that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder.

We need the storm, the whi rlwind, and the earthquake.

The limi ts of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom theyoppose.

Frederick Douglass, 1852

Nothing has more revolutionary effect, and nothing undermines more thefoundations o f all state power, than the continuation of that wretched andbrainless rgime, which has the strength merely to cling to i ts posit ions but nolonger the slightest power to rule or to steer the state ship on a definite course.-- Karl Kautsky; The Consequences of the Japanese Victory and SocialDemocracy


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A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

From: Mike HastieTo: Military Resistance NewsletterSent: September 14, 2013Subject: A picture is worth a thousand words

Photo by Mike Hastie, Army Medic Vietnam.

Display of Betrayal of U.S. mili tary killed inIraq and Afghanistan. Veterans For PeaceNational Convention in Seattle, Wash. 2006.

Photo and caption from the por tfolio of Mike Hastie, US Army Medic, Vietnam1970-71. (For more of his outstanding work, contact at:([email protected] ) T)

One day while I was in a bunker in Vietnam, a sniper round went over my head.The person who f ired that weapon was not a terrorist, a rebel, an extremist, or a

so-called insurgent. The Vietnamese individual who tried to kill me was a citizenof Vietnam, who did not want me in his country. This truth escapes millions.

Mike HastieU.S. Army MedicVietnam 1970-71December 13, 2004
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Assads Neoliberal PoliciesAnd Economic Liberalization To

Redistribute The WealthSeverely Exacerbated The

Inequality Between The PoorAnd The Rich

Crony Capitalists, BusinessClass, And Loyalists To AssadWere Able To Benefit From These

Policies The Regime Used Its Power To

Benefit The Few On Top As Their Leaders Celebrated Their

Profits, The People Of Syria Were LeftWith Nothing

The gap between the state and these areas, which were left disenfranchised, wasfilled by the hand of lower level and underpaid secret and security police, orMukhabarat, who relied on coercion and corrupt behavior.

These policies of Bashar al-Assad were directly intended to transfer the public

asset into the hands of crony capitalists , privileged networks, and corporationsin order to increase the wealth of his inner circle.

Apr 8, 2013 by Majid Rafizadeh, The Daily Beast

The media have paid a considerable amount of attention to political analyses that focuson the authoritarian, totalitarian, and corruptible character of Bashar al-Assadsgovernment.


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However, scarce attention has been given to one of the crucial factors that havecontributed to the ongoing revolt against the police-state of Syria and other Arab states.

Assads neoliberal policies and economic liberalizationwithout the political reforms toredistribute the wealthseverely exacerbated the inequality between the poor and the

rich.

In middle-class areas and cities, the separation was especially felt.

While a small portion of the crony capitalists, business class, and loyalists to Assad wereable to benefit from these policies, the vast majority of the population wasdisenfranchised.

The regime attacked the worker and peasant unions in the country, viewing them asobstacles to the neoliberal policies, by not providing them with funds that they needed tocontinue to function.

When Assad, a Western-educated ophthalmologist, came to power, it was inevitable thatinternal clashes and tensions between him and the old guard, who were the founders ofthe Alawite-Baathist and socialist regime of Assad, were to occur. Men such as Ali Duba(the former head of the Syrian military intelligence and a close adviser to the Syrianpresident Hafez al-Assad), as well as hardliners such as Maher al-Assad (commander ofthe Republican Guard and the Armys elite Fourth Armored Division, and also Bashar al-Assads brother), held opposing views of their new leader.

Bashar al-Assad favored the adoption of Western-promoted neoliberalism and economicliberalization. In order to pursue the capitalist and neoliberal agenda, he realized thatpolitical readjustments, development, and reforms were necessary to foster morepopular support of economic liberalization and privatization.

After the death of his father, Bashar al-Assad implemented the so-called DamascusSpring and the Committees of Civil Society, intended to introduce a limited amount ofpolitical reform so that the neoliberal policies of the state and accumulation of wealthwould prosper. However, these changes were heavily criticized by the old guard.

Syria under Bashar al-Assads rule tried very hard to join the World Trade Organization.When the U.S. lifted its opposition, the World Trade Organizations 153 membersgranted the Syrian government an observer status.

Although the state was still the main economic generator, privatization was encouraged;foreign entities such as private banks, joint Saudi-French bank of Bimo, Fransabank,

Bank of J ordan-Syria, and the Saudi Islamic bank, joined the Syrian market.

The road also began opening for other credible international banks such as Citibank andHSBC to come to Syria and lend money at higher interest rates.

The Syrian government attempted to satisfy the demands of the international banks,which urged Syria to raise the cap and limit on non-Syrian ownership of local banks from49 percent to 60 percent.


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In 2006, the Syrian regime of Assad and the new guard became the fourth-largestrecipient of foreign direct investment, as well as of Arab Gulf states investments.

The foreign and Arab investments ratcheted up from $115 million in 2001 to $1.6 billionin 2006. Assad replaced one of the old guards, the minister of economy, with a neweconomy and trade minister, Lamia Assi, who did not object to the new neoliberal

policies.

At this time, Assads pol ic ies were indist inguishable from Western neoliberalism.

But he resisted parallel political liberations, and his main goal was capitalaccumulation while equality and distribution were neglected.

While the regime used its power to benefit the few on top, the villages and medium-sizedcities such as Daraa and Hama were abandoned.

The gap between the state and these areas, which were left disenfranchised, wasfilled by the hand of lower level and underpaid secret and security police, or

Mukhabarat, who relied on coercion and corrupt behavior.

Islamic charities and schools stepped in to fill in the vacuum that the state created byshrinking the welfare facilities in these neglected areas.

These policies of Bashar al-Assad were directly intended to transfer the publicasset into the hands of crony capitalists , privileged networks, and corporationsin order to increase the wealth of his inner circle.

Unlike his father, Hafez, Bashar also sought to decrease the reliance of the Syrianregime on Russia and Iran by expanding the scope of the sweetening deals that theregime would receive from foreign and other Arab corporations.

At this time, the regimes policies and politico-economic and sociopolitical agendadeparted heavily from the original Baath Partys slogans voicing socialist and Arabnationalistic sentiments and aspirations.

These sweeping changes left the Syrian people in a dire state of need and neglect.

When the uprising erupted, the regime responded with a mixed reaction, on one handoffering promises and on the other enforcing mass repression.

The uprising empowered and brought back the old guard and hardliners who weremarginalized by Bashar al-Assad.

For people such as Maher al-Assad and Ali Duba, who was one of the orchestrators ofthe battle of Hama, tolerance for dissidents and compromise meant encouragement offurther revolt.

Therefore, they believe that if enough force and repression is usedas in Hama in 1980and the battle with the Muslim Brotherhood, which was viewed as a success for thestatethen the opposition will be defeated.


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However what the old guard did not consider was technology; videos, cellphones,satellite TV, and other social-media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and instantmessaging that were readily available in 2011.

This disconnect from popular culture caused the regime to lose its legitimacy andcredibility inside Syria as well as outside. There was an increase of pressure on the

regime.

The regime and the gilded circle of al-Assad, like those of Hosni Mubarak ofEgypt, Zein Al-Abedin Ben Ali of Tunisia, and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, didgain short-term benefits in terms of wealth and capital accumulation from theirprivatizations and neoliberal policiesall w ithout any of this wealth ever reachingthe vast majority o f the population.

The flaw was that they neglected equality and distribution, political liberalization, withoutthe foresight to realize what the eventual consequence of this imbalance of riches wouldbe.

As their leaders celebrated their profits, the people of Syria were left with nothing.

This vast separation between the wealthy and the poor inevitably led to the revoltof the impoverished, not just in Syria but also in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen aswell as in other Arab countries.

Although Bashar al-Assad appeared to be successful, in that moment, with his methodof gradual liberalization, authoritarian upgrading, and readjustment of the economy tothe advantage of the few privileged, the neoliberal change failed to correspond and didnot go hand in hand with redistribution and political liberalization.

Soldiers In Revolt: 1917 Our Staff Printing Plant, Says TheSoldier, Pereiko, Performed A Great

Service For The Revolution The Bourgeois Press, Although

Supplied To The Front Free Of Cost InMillions Of Copies, Hardly Found AReader

Trotsky, Leon; The History of the Russian Revolution; Volume Two


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How was it that with this weak apparatus and this negligible circulation of the partypress, the ideas and slogans of Bolshevism were able to take possession of the people?

The explanation is very simple: those slogans which correspond to the keen demands ofa class and an epoch create thousands of channels for themselves.

A red-hot revolut ionary medium is a high conductor of ideas. The Bolshevikpapers were read aloud, were read all to pieces. The most impor tant articles werelearned by heart, recited, copied, and wherever possible reprinted.

Our staff printing plant, says the soldier, Pereiko, performed a great service for therevolution.

How many individual articles from Pravda were reprinted by us, and how many smallbrochures, very close and comprehensible to the soldiers! And all these were swiftlydistributed along the front with the help of air mails, bicycles and motorcycles ...

At the same time the bourgeois press, although supplied to the front free of cost in

millions of copies, hardly found a reader. The heavy bales remained unopened.

This boycott of the patriotic press at times assumed a demonstrative form.

Representatives of the 18th Siberian divis ion passed a resolution asking thebourgeois parties to stop sending literature, inasmuch as it was f ruitlessly usedto boil the hot water for tea.

The Bolshevik press was very dif ferently employed.

Hence the coefficient of i ts useful or if you prefer, harmful effectiveness wasincomparably higher.

Tubal Cain


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By Charles Mackay

TUBAL CAIN

Old Tubal Cain was a man of mightIn the days when the Earth was young;By the fierce red light o f his furnace bright

The strokes of his hammer rung;And he li fted high his brawny hand

On the iron glowing clear,Till the sparks rushed out in scarlet showers

And he fashioned the sword and spear.And he sang Hurra for the handiwork!

Hurra for the spear and sword!Hurra for the hand that shall wield them well,

For he shall be king and lord!

To Tubal Cain came many a one,As he wrought by his roaring f ire;

And each one prayed for a strong steel bladeAs the crown of his desire.

And he made them weapons sharp and st rong,Till they shouted loud for glee,

And gave him gif ts of pearl and gold,And spoils of the forest free;

And they said, Hurra for Tubal Cain,Who hath given us strength anew!

Hurra for the smith, hurra for the fire,And hurra for the metal true!

But a sudden change came oer his heartEre the setting of the sun,

And Tubal Cain was fi lled with pain forThe Evil he had done;

He saw that men, with rage and hate,Made war upon their kind,

That the land was red with the blood they shed,In their lust for carnage blind.

And he said, Alas! that ever I made,Or the skil l of mine should plan,

The spear and the sword for men whose joyIs to slay their fellow-man.

And for many a day old Tubal CainSat brood ing oer his woe;

And his hand forebore to smite the ore,And his furnace smoldered low.

But he rose at last with a cheerful face,And a br ight courageous eye,


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And bared h is strong right hand for workWhile the quick flames mounted high!

And he sang, Hurra for my handicraft!And the red sparks li t the air;

Not alone for the blade was the bright steel made!And he fashioned the f irst ploughshare.

And men, taught wisdom from the past,In friendship joined their hands;

Hung the sword in the hall, the spear on the wall,And ploughed the wi ll ing lands;And sang, Hurra for Tubal Cain!

Our staunch good fr iend is he;And for the ploughshare and the plough

To him our praise shall be;But while oppression lif ts its head,

Or a tyrant would be lordThough we may thank him for the plough

Well not forget the sword!

OCCUPATION PALESTINE

Zionists Grab More Palestinian LandTo Build Settlement Units In Salfit:

Leshim Was Built Last Year OnPrivately Owned Palestinian Lands

Leshim Settlement. Photo: Active Stills


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September 01, 2013 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Local sources in Salfit district, in the central part of the West Bank, have reported thatIsraeli bulldozers uprooted Palestinians lands, west of Salfit, in preparation for buildingnew units in Leshim illegal settlement.

The lands are located between Deir Ballout and Kufr Ad-Deek towns.

Leshim was built last year on privately owned Palestinian lands.

Israeli Housing Minister, Uri Ariel, placed the corner stone of the illegal settlement.

The Salfit distr ict is one of the most impacted districts due to Israels i llegalsettlement activit ies as it contains 23 Israeli settlements swallowing more thanhalf of Salfits farmlands.

It is worth mentioning that there are 18 Palestinian towns and villages in the Salfit

District.

Besides being illegal under International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention,settlements are consuming large areas of Palestinians orchards and fertile lands, andare devastating the Palestinian economy.

Zionist Occupiers ForcePalestinians To Destroy Their

Own Homes And Pay For DoingSo:

35% Of Arab Owned Land In EastJerusalem Has Been Expropriated

For Israeli Settlements Ziad Ameira Was Forced To

Demolish His East Jerusalem HouseLast Week In Order To Avoid The73,000-Shekel Demolition Cost


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Ziad Hired A Bulldozer And Truck, At APersonal Cost Of 25,000 Shekels, And

Destroyed His Familys Home

September 02, 2013 By Sam Gilbert - The Palestine Monitor

Ziad Ameira was forced to demolish his East J erusalem house last week in order toavoid the 73,000-shekel demolition cost leveled by the municipality.

On Monday, 19 August, Ziad hired a bulldozer and truck, at a personal cost of 25,000shekels, and destroyed his familys home, thus ending a 15-year battle with the

J erusalem Municipal Court and adding to the increasingly common phenomenon of self-demolitions in East Jerusalem.

Ziad, an East J erusalem native, told the Palestine Monitor about the events preceding

the eventual self-demolition. The house was built 15 years ago [on land Ziad owned],after 20 days people from the municipality came saying that the house had been builtwithout a permit.

The family of eight was able to postpone the demolition by paying multiple fines andhiring lawyers to contest the courts ruling.

After 2 months we went to court and we had hearings for 2 years. In the first verdictthey gave me a fine of 35,000 shekels (500 shekels per month). After 2 - 3 years, theymade me pay other 27,000 shekels.

After that Ziad hired a lawyer, It was better to postpone everything by hiring a lawyer

and paying him every year around 1000 dollars. Like this I gained every time one moreyear until I couldnt afford it any more.

Israels discriminatory policies and practices in East J erusalem, coupled with exorbitantpermit costs (250,000300 000 shekels) lead many Palestinian to build illegally.

According to the Uni ted Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs2011 report , at least 32% of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem lack build ingpermits, meaning that some 93,100 residents are at risk of being displaced byhaving their homes demolished.

Ziad explains that for the 15 years leading up to the demolition, his family lived in

constant fear of displacement. It was difficult, we were constantly waiting. On everypaper it was written that they could come and demolish the house at any time.

A continual process of Israeli land seizure compounds the difficulty and cost of attaininga permit.

In East Jerusalem, 35% of Arab owned land in East Jerusalem has beenexpropriated for Israeli settlements.


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Another 54% of the Palestinian owned land has been designated open greenspace, reserved for public purposes and forbidding Palestinian construction.

This leaves 11% of East Jerusalem available for Palestinian construction, farbelow the needs of the 58% majority Palestinian population.

Zionist Mob Attacks Homes InOccupied Jerusalem:

Their Police Arrive And ArrestPalestinian Kid

[These Palestinians are dangerous. They defend themselves when attacked. T]

06/09/2013 Maan

J ERUSALEM -- Israeli police on Thursday night raided several houses at al-Sowananeighborhood east of the old city in J erusalem, after a group of settlers arrived, localssaid.

Ahmad al-Ewiwi, a resident in the neighborhood, said the residents were shocked whenthey saw a group of settlers raiding the area.

Settlers threw stones toward Palestinians and houses without reason, they said, andPalestinians threw stones

Israeli police raided several Palestinian houses belonging to the al-Amouri, Barakat, Abual-Hawa, and al-Imam families. They detained the boy, Mousa Abu al-Hawa, from hishouse.

Despite Siege, Shelling, DeathAnd Detainment, Our

Palestinian Brothers AndSisters Have Stood Steadfast

By Syrians And The Revolution


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They Have Endured The BrutalityOf The Assad Regime For As Long

As We Have, And Have NotWavered

The Nation Of Injustice Is One;Authoritarianism And Zionism Freedom To All Our Detainees, In

Zionist And Assadist Jails

Khaled Bakrawi, Martyr.

September 13, 2013 Saqet

More than a month has passed since the actions of the Palestinian Camps in Syria, andthe siege on Yarmouk Camp is still ongoing

Today, September 13, 2013, despite the crippling regime-imposed siege on YarmoukCamp, Damascus, the people of the Camp went out and protested after Friday noonprayers. They began in front of Palestine Mosque and marched throughout the Camp.

In their protest, the residents stressed Palestinian-Syrian unity throughout the ongoingconflict, called on the armed opposition to come to the front and break the siege.


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They also repeated calls from their Breaking the Silence Campaign to the PalestinianDiaspora to aid by working to lift the siege on the Camp and the southern parts ofDamascus.

Following the protest, Yarmouk was shelled with rockets, a daily part of the ongoingsiege imposed on the Camp.

The people of Yarmouk have come out and protested following the receipt ofheartbreaking news two days ago, regarding a well-loved activist: Khaled Bakrawi.Khaled Bakrawi was a 24-year old activist from Yarmouk Camp, born and raised inSyria but originally from Lubya, Palestine that was ethnically cleansed in 1948.

Khaled Bakrawi played an integral role in rallying the masses in the struggle for justice.

He was one of the founders of the J afra Foundation and was extremely active in thePalestinian Youth Movement.

During the commemoration of al-Naksa in 2011, Khaled was injured when Israeli

Occupation Forces opened fire on the protestors.

Despite his wounds, he remained steadfast in his s truggles and organized for theinternally displaced that made their way into Yarmouk.

Khaled Bakrawi had been miss ing, thought to be in Assads jails, since January19, 2013.

This was confirmed on September 11, 2013 when news of his martyrdom broke;he had been tortured to death.

Khaled leaves behind a legacy of Resistance and compassion, one that any

Revolutionary against the universal struggle of tyranny should hope to emulate.

Rest in Power, ya shaheed.

Despite siege, shelling, death and detainment, our Palestinian brothers and sisters havestood steadfast by Syrians and the Revolution.

They have endured the brutality of the Assad regime for as long as we have, and havenot wavered.

And neither should we, in our support of them.

As such, it is the duty of Syrians in the Diaspora to say NO to normalization andpartnerships with Zionis ts for the supposed sake of the Revolution.

It is our duty as Syrians to stand against the regimes that have perpetuated thepain of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, to refuse help that surely comes atthe cost of their freedom, their lives.

It is our duty not to dirty our cause with the stain of collaboration, as our freedomand dignity will no t arrive on the blood and pain of Palestine.


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And lest we forget: The nat ion of injustice is one; authori tarianism and Zionism

Freedom to all our detainees, in Zionist and Assadist jails. Long live the people.

CLASS WAR REPORTS

Polish Capital Gripped ByAntigovernment Rallies Organized

By The Solidarity Trade Union:

At Least 10,000 People MarchedThrough The Capital

Prime Minister, Were Coming To GetYou


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Trade unionists bang drums during a demonstration in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday.European Pressphoto Agency

September 11, 2013 By MARCIN SOBCZYK and PATRYK WASILEWSKI, Wall StreetJ ournal [Excerpts]

WARSAW The Polish capital was gripped by antigovernment rallies Wednesday asthousands of people feeling squeezed by the countrys economic slowdown called forearly elections.

The protests, organized by the Solidarity trade union and set to continue through

Saturday, come as the center-right government led by Prime Minister Donald Tuskteeters on the brink of losing its parliamentary majority.

At least 10,000 people marched through the capital in several demonstrations thatinterrupted traffic and culminated at the Parliament compound.

Protesters shouted Prime Minister, were coming to get you, while a union memberleading a rally in front of the Economy Ministry demanded elections be held before thenext ones are due in 2015.

Mr. Tusk had said Tuesday he was ready to meet with the unions but it would be hardto expect me to schedule talks with anyone about how he plans to topple me.

The protesters want higher pay as well as improved public services such ashealth care and education.

Polands average take-home pay is equivalent to some $800 a month, way below theEuropean Union average, despite more than two decades of uninterrupted growth.


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Polands relatively low wages have been partly responsible for encouraging westEuropean companies to relocate here to cut their labor costs, boosting the countrysexports and economic output.

Most Poles back the protests, according to a poll by MillwardBrown for the privatebroadcaster TVN published Tuesday. It said 59% of those polled were in favor of

antigovernment rallies and 31% against.

Mexico: Heavily Armed Riot Police Battled

Thousands Of Striking TeachersFriday

Protesters grab the shield of a police officer on the ground during a protest againstPresident Enrique Pena Nietos education law in Mexico City September 11, 2013.Pena Nieto signed into law on Tuesday a government bill take away rights of teacher

teachers union protests seeking to derail it. Thousands of teachers have marched in thecapital in recent days to protest against the attack on their union rights.REUTERS/Oswaldo Ramirez

[Thanks to Alan Stolzer, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.]

September 13, 2013 Al J azeera


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Heavily armed riot police battled thousands of striking teachers Friday, forcing them outof a Mexico City square they had occupied for weeks over education reforms slated tobecome law on Tuesday.

The government had promised to clear the square -- where Mexican Independence Daycelebrations were scheduled to take place -- and moved in three days ahead of the

festivities on Friday.

Teachers -- many of them veterans of battles with police in poor southern states --armed themselves with metal pipes and wooden clubs and blocked off the Zocalosquare with street grates and plastic traffic dividers.

Police swarmed the square shortly after 4 p.m., shooting tear gas from specially-equipped fire extinguishers, tossing sound bombs, and spraying water from armoredtrucks.

Protesters hurled sticks and chunks of pavement broken from the streets.

Activists reported several injuries among protesters, and city officials reported 15 policehurt as protesters seized some plastic riot shields from officers.

Within half an hour, police had cleared the square and union organizers said they wouldreassemble away from the main plaza at the nearby Monument to the Revolution.

Small knots of teachers, self-described local anarchists and other supporters hurledbottles and rocks at police on some of the main avenues of downtown Mexico City.

According to local activist reports, the police planned to head to the monument tocontinue dispersing protesters.

The teachers argue that because they are from poor states and dont have themeans to enact peaceful change, their main strength is the ability to shut schoolsand make life inconvenient in Mexicos economic, political and cultural heart.

Teachers have marched through the capital at least 15 times over the last two monthsagainst President Enrique Pena Nieto and his educational reforms, which reduce unionpower by hiring and promoting teachers based on standardized tests.

Scores of students and anarchists have joined the teachers in protests against thepresidents plan to overhaul the educational system.

Congress has already passed changes to the constitution to overhaul the education

system. The changes include requiring teachers to undergo mandatory standardizedperformance tests to get jobs or promotions, and ending unions power over hiring.

Many protesters have joined in parallel demonstrations against Pena Nietos plansto allow private companies to explore and exploit Mexicos vast oil and gasreserves.

Leftist politician and 2012 presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calledthe oil reform the biggest theft of all time and a robbery of the Mexican people, in an


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interview with Reuters last month, when tens of thousands of teachers and oil reformprotesters clashed in the streets with riot police.

Pena Nieto won the 2012 presidential election with 38.2 percent of the vote.

The presidents approval ratings so far, around 50 percent, have been surprisingly

low for a new president in Mexico -- where 70 or 80 percent popularity is notunusual.

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK


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