Afghanistan war resister needs/would like books sent to him in prison...

196 is the death toll of British soldiers in Afghanistan. Victor Agusto is yet another soldier who is refusing to return. Based on their previous experiences, these soldiers are joining the growing calls for an end to war, for the troops to be pulled out in what many are calling an 'unwinnable war'.

In a message i received this morning from his facebook group he says he is 'ok for money' but would like some books to be sent to him.

Victor returned to Fort Hood, Texas after a 13-month deployment in Iraq and became active with Iraq Veterans Against the War. Victor has been stop-lossed in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. In May, he told his unit command he would not go. He has refused to follow any order which would support the occupation of Afghanistan, an occupation he considers immoral, illegal, and dangerous to the citizens of the U.S. He faces a summary court-martial and incarceration for 30 days very soon.

For more information on Victor's struggle, visit http://underthehoodcafe.org/victor_agosto_links.html

HIS MAILING ADDRESS IS (for letters and books)

Victor Agusto - B1C

Bell Co. Law Enforcement Center

113 W Central

Belton, Tx 76513

Join his Facebook group HERE

The Mirror reports well on Joe Glenton

It's not often that I want to report what is being said in the red top Daily Mirror but I couldn't resist this one. The last line is great...

Why Joe Glenton should not be facing a court martial

By Paul Routledge 7/08/2009

If you’re a deskbound general continually demanding more men, more weapons and more money to subdue Afghanistan, you get endless air time, a peerage and a gold-plated pension.

If you’re a humble squaddie with service in theatre, whose doubts about the war are so serious you go Awol for two years, you face disgrace, a court martial and possibly jail.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, 27, of the Royal Logistic Corps, has been charged with desertion for refusing to return to Afghanistan, and faces extra charges for speaking out about a war he (and plenty of his mates) say is unwinnable.

When MoD top brass say the same thing it makes headlines, not a charge sheet.

Rarely has the class distinction between officers and men been so clearly defined.

Croatian occupation-Money for Education not for the army

Cross posted from infinite thØught blog. Thanks for the great report.

Invited to give a paper at the occupied Philosophy faculty, we arrived on day 31 of the protest. The first striking thing about the occupation, to protest against the introduction of tuition fees, is its sheer size. Unlike Philosophy departments in the UK, often small addenda to larger Humanities or Social Science schools, here Philosophy is truly the Queen of the Sciences. As such, Philosophy at Zagreb includes all humanities and most social science subjects, and the faculty is made up of somewhere between 6000-7000 students. The occupation is not only huge in terms of the size of the buildings, but also in terms of the number of students still there, even after a month. The protests started after the government proposal was discussed and an occupation was proposed by a Capital reading group (although there is some dispute as to whether this is where the original idea came from - no matter, it happened). The occupation has received widespread media coverage.

Read more HERE

Student Occupations spread to Croatia

Read about it here

On Monday (20/04/2009) an independent student initiative for the right to free education started a peaceful occupation of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia. They organized this action demanding the right to free education for all and the elimination of all tuition fees, at all levels of higher education: undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate. During the occupation, everyone is free to enter and leave the Faculty building, but regular classes will not be held. Instead, students have organized an alternative educational program, which consists of lectures, public discussions, workshops, movie screenings and other happenings. Everyone is free to attend these happenings, whether they are students or not.

Every evening, a plenary session will be held, at which students will decide whether they will continue with the occupation the next day. Everyone is free to attend these sessions, participate in discussions and vote, whether they are students or ordinary citizens. The issue of the right to free education is not one that concerns only the students, it is an issue of relevance for the future of the entire society, therefore every member of the society has the right to participate in decision making at the plenary sessions.

On this page you will find information about the initiative for the right to free education, as well as translations of some of our important documents into several languages.

For more information about the reasons for the protest and why the students chose to carry it out in this manner, see frequently asked questions.

So far, we have received numerous letters of support from individuals and organizations, both at home and from abroad. Among those who have expressed support for our cause are Noam Chomsky, Judith Butler and Slavoj Žižek. Full list of who supports us can be accessed here.

Victory for Matthis Chiroux - good things come to those that struggle

Chiroux, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, refused to participate in what he described as "an illegal and immoral occupation" May 15th, 2008, in Washington D.C., after nine other veterans testified to Members of the U.S. Congress about abuses they experienced during deployments to Iraq. Chiroux also vowed to remain public in the U.S. to defend himself from any charges brought against him by the military.

"My resistance as a noncommissioned officer to this abhorrent occupation is just as legitimate now as it was last year," said Chiroux, adding, "Soldiers have a duty to adhere to the international laws of war described as supreme in Art. 6 Para. 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which we swear to abide by before the orders of any superior, including our former or current president."

I received this from the campaign this morning:

Today, I stood before the Army. I looked a board of officers in the eyes, and I told them I thought they were sending people off to participate in war crimes. And what did they say? Get out of here, Sergeant, and keep your damn G.I. Bill!!!Indeed, folks!

The Army awarded me a recommendation for a general discharge under honorable conditions from the Individual Ready Reserve for my refusal to deploy to Iraq last summer. This landmark decision means not only am I a free man, I’m free to continue school this fall with the “new” G.I. Bill that I earned while on active duty.

...

During the hearing, my girlfriend Alexandra among others were present in the board room to offer moral support. Having them there made all the difference as I squared off with the military over human slaughter that we’ve all been forced to bow down to.So what does this mean for the military?

RESIST!!!! Now’s the time, ladies and gentleman. The flood-gates are open. Your leaders are listening, and more and more, they are agreeing. Resisters are moving away from being the exception, and slowly becoming the norm.If I can refuse to go to Iraq, climb monuments, march into presidential debates, lobby congress, face the military, not go to jail and not even loose my G.I. Bill, we just don’t have any excuses anymore!

Resistance is rising, and IVAW will stand firm underneath it. My story is now history, and I humbly pass the torch. More to follow soon on my testimony at Winter Soldier and the juicy details of my hearing.

Now, I’m going to sleep like I haven’t in a year!

Peace and Solidarity,

Matthis Chiroux

Matthisresists.us

See also http://ivaw.org/

My heartfelt thanks go out to him and all the resisters-we need more people to do this and now hopefully they will find the encouragement they need. In solidarity brother.

Can someone translate from Hebrew to English?

Military recruiters kicked off campus at SOAS

One of our demands when we occupied the Brunei Suite at SOAS was to get assurance from the school that military propaganda will not be allowed on campus in the future. The school responded by saying that they would not allow any military on campus in the futuree without prior approval from the Students' Union.

Given that we passed a motion on Tuesday that resolved to oppose ALL military propaganda, a policy which will now last for FIVE years, we now have a mandate to say to the school 'NO, not on our campus'.

We claim this as a major result. An action that is part of an international campaign to oppose military recruiters on campuses and places of study.  UCL, a top university in England passed a motion for this last year and caused an uproar in the right-wing media...well done to UCL Stop the War Society.  Read another story here.

SUCCESS!!

Poem of resistance

Someone sent me this poem to show to you...

Bruce Cockburn wrote this for Central America in 1983 but I keep
thinking about it now:

If I Had A Rocket Launcher

Here comes the helicopter -- second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they've murdered only God can say
If I had a rocket launcher...I'd make somebody pay

I don't believe in guarded borders and I don't believe in hate
I don't believe in generals or their stinking torture states
And when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would retaliate

On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation -- or some less humane fate
Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would not hesitate

I want to raise every voice -- at least I've got to try
Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.
Situation desperate, echoes of the victims cry
If I had a rocket launcher...Some son of a bitch would die

Children of the Revolution

Women are now using their appearance and sexuality to fight the regime.

In 1979 Iran went through a major upheaval with the Revolution.

While this political and social transformation was just beginning the country was thrown into a terrible and costly war with Iraq, that would last eight years.

During these years, the revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, encouraged Iranians to have large families, to make 'Armies for Islam'.

At the time, Iran's population was 25 million: today the population is 68 million with nearly 70 percent aged 30 or younger - these are the Children of the Revolution, (also known in Iran as "the burnt generation").

Today unemployment amongs this generation runs at 50 percent. Officially half the population lives below the poverty line. Prospects for young people are not good and many graduates are lucky to get jobs as taxi drivers.

This generation of young Iranians has experienced real extremes - the turmoil of war, social and religious reform, and the conservatism and poverty that followed.

Zohreh Soleimani is not a journalist - but she sets out to give a picture of Iran that reflects the reality of day to day lives.

Read more at the BBC here

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Jewish-israeli teens refuse to join the IDF

From a group on Facebook...."We are a group of Jewish- Israeli teens who are refusing to join the IDF for it has been occupying the Palestinian territories since 1967. In Israel, the law ruled that every 18 year old- healthy, Jewish, Israeli, teenager is to join the military (this varies between 2-3 years and sometimes more). Our group is refusing for political reasons, standing up against the occupation and declaring: we will not support it! The Six Day War broke out on June 5th, 1967 and Israel has not left the West Bank since. Gaza strip was conquered too, and military forces still rule the place. We are saying END THE OCCUPATION IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES. Join our struggle and support our cause. Here we will be available to provide you with more information about the subject. We want and need your support. Sign the petition, join and support us and spread the love we are trying to promote! We want to end occupation, we want to change the face of the militaristic Israeli society to make it a better place, WE WANT PEACE."

Contact Info: Facebook group

Location:

Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

See the full letter at Jews for Justice for Palestine