You didn't really hear about that from Panhandle Media, did you?
As always they had something else to do.
They didn't have time to tell you about Corey Glass either. May 21st, US war resisters and Iraq War veteran Glass was informed that he had until June 12th to leave Canada or he would be deported.
Amy Goodman isn't interested in telling her audience about that.
Amy Goodman just isn't interested.
Friday, Amnesty International issued "USA: James Corey Glass has right not to serve in Iraq"
Amnesty International believes James Corey Glass to have a genuine conscientious objection to serving as a combatant in the US forces in Iraq, and would consider him to be a prisoner of conscience if imprisoned on his return to the USA. He is facing deportation from Canada on 12 June.James Glass joined the army in 2002, enlisting in the National Guard where he was assigned to non-combatant duties in the USA. His unit was later ordered to deploy to Iraq, where he served five months of active service in 2005.
According to his statement, he had concerns about the legality of the war before his deployment to Iraq. While serving there, he developed further serious objections to the war, including what he saw as the abusive treatment of civilians by the US military and failure within the system to address such abuses. He stated that, whilst in Iraq, he reported his concerns to his superiors and asked to be relieved of duty. His request was denied but he was granted a two-week leave. He refused to return to his unit and went absent without leave (AWOL) in February 2006.Since being in Canada, James Glass has become a member of the "War Resisters Campaign" and has spoken out publicly about his objection to the Iraq war.
US law recognizes the right to conscientious objection only on grounds of opposition to war in any form. James Glass was therefore unable to seek a claim for discharge from the army on grounds of his objection to the Iraq War. Other similar cases where US soldiers have sought to register their conscientious objection and apply for non-combatant status have been turned down.
If returned to the USA he faces a possible court-martial, where he could be imprisoned for between one and five years.
Corey Glass has a story that Panhandle Media isn't rushing to tell.
In the end, that may be a good thing considering how badly Panhandle Media has repeatedly botched the story in the US.
For years, they've allowed people to get away with repeating the lie that there's a difference between Vietnam and Iraq, that there was a draft during Vietnam, that Canada recognized "draft resisters". They've avoided the reality that Canada's asylum provision was never rooted in the draft, that "deserters" were as welcome as "draft dodgers".
They've repeated the lie of no draft making a difference and seriously undermined efforts in Canada with their own stupidity.
They don't know their history, no matter how pompously they gas bag. Victor Navasky and Amy Goodman gas bagged hard on Gerald Ford when he passed but didn't know enough about the amnesty program he offered to get it right. Ford offered a conditional amnesty and it was to "draft dodgers" and "deserters". It required a lengthy process that might allow you to avoid prison. If you did everything just so and were judged adequate.
Jimmy Carter followed Ford in the White House. Carter issued an amnesty for "draft dodgers" only.
Though there were expectations of more to come, nothing ever did and isn't that a brief summary of Jimmy Carter's entire presidency?
This decade has seen "deserters" from that era come into the US and be arrested.
But somehow we were all supposed to play as dumb as the CED fellow and pretend that Canada only opened their arms to "draft dodgers."
We're still supposed to play dumb.
We're not, for instance, ever supposed to mention that Ed Koch, then a member of Congress, later NYC mayor, went to Canada in 1969 to meet with war resisters. We're not supposed to tell people that by 1974, Koch had proposed four amnesty bills. Offering that hidden history only underscores how little has been done by our current Congress and how little pressure our peace 'leaders' have brought to bear. But shove some more painted hands in Condi's face. Hey, it got you a photo in Jet magazine! And isn't that really the end goal? Publicity for yourselves? Doesn't matter if people are laughing at you, just as long as your photo gets run!
Here's history you're not supposed to know. Canada's Minister of Immigration, during Vietnam, Allan J. MacEachen issued the order that all war resisters were allowed to enter Canada. Quote: "If a serviceman from another country meets our immigration criteria, he will not be turned down because his is still in the active service of his country. The selection criteria and requirements applying to him will be the same as those that apply to other applicants." You're not supposed to know that. Either because Panhandle Media's too stupid or they want to stretch it all out to fill their coffers.
But that's the reality. The draft had nothing to do it. "Deserters" were welcome.
MacEachen made that declaration in May 22, 1969.
By 1971, well known people supporting a call for all governments to welcome US "deserters" was supported by the likes of Hannah Arendt, Vanessa Redgrave, Jean Genet, Lenoard Bernstein, Noam Chomsky, Erich Fromm, Dr. Benjmain Spock and Norman Mailer.
Where are the ones demanding it today? The great Shirley Douglas stood tall then and stands tall now. Where are the rest? Can't make demands on them if you don't know the bravery that was shown in earlier times.
Or maybe Joan Baez thinks it's 'enough' that she endorsed the 'anti-war' Barack. You've gone a long way backwards, Joanie.
Lot of crouchers, not a lot of standers.
See how they run like pigs from a gun
See how they run
They could turn the first Camp Casey into a media event but supporting a grieving mother is always less controversial than standing up and publicly supporting war resisters.
You'll never know how very little is being done today until you know the real history of that period and, Sir! No Sir! aside, no one's even trying to educate it. An ignorant population will accept meaningless sop. An informed public will demand action.
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Illustration is a card you can purchase from Courage to Resist which is an organization the provides up-to-date alerts, interviews and much more on war resisters. You can also utilize
The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. The latter is a Canadian organization that assists US war resisters in Canada.
Song quoted in text is John Lennon (and Paul McCartney's according to the credit) "I Am The Walrus." The title is a reworking of The Clash's "Know Your Rights."
