GI SPECIAL 4A4:

itsabouttimebpp.com/

Prisoners Against The War: 4

In the week leading up to the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday, GI Special will lead with statements written by members of Prisoners Against The War.

Organized by Stanley Howard and five other imprisoned members of the Military Project at Illinois' Statesville Prison, Prisoners Against The War breaks new ground.

There has been no organization like this in recent American history. That may be an understatement, since no record of a similar organization has been found at any point in American history.

Prisoners Against The War hopes to inspire other prisoners, both in civilian and military prisons, to organize their own chapters, and spread the movement nation-wide.

They report many prisoners have relatives serving in the armed forces. Other prisoners are Vietnam Veterans. To the extent allowed by prison regulations, they circulate GI Special and Traveling Soldier. They will see these issues of GI Special, and provide support to family members on the outside resisting the war.

A variety of social critics have argued that the prisons and armed forces of a given society express most nakedly the underlying class nature of the society.

An organization bringing together civilian and military prisoners can open a new window on that reality, not least by destroying the myth spread by politicians and other servants of the rich and homicidal that prisoners are mere things without humanity or redeeming social value.

For how to contact Prisoners Against The War, see information below. T

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"Many People Have Lost Their Only Child To This Lie, And The Only Thing They Received In Return Is A Flag And Some Gunshots In The Air"

By Jamie Jackson, Prisoners Against The War

Statesville C.C.

Joliet, Illinois

The United States of America.

Home of The Free.

Home of The Brave.

A country that is suppose to serve and protect it's citizens from harm and danger.

President George W. Bush instituted a war against Saddam and his regime, claiming that he had weapons of mass destruction, and that Iraq posed a threat to the United States' national security.

So in their fight to combat terrorism, all the young men and women was hauled off to fight a war that in the end turned out to be a lie.

Upon investigation, there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq. The only thing found in Iraq was the bodies of innocent men and women who had been victims of a U.S. invasion to seize control of the Natural Resource of Iraq (oil).

The American people was deceived and lied to by their Commander in Chief, and many many American citizens voted their trust and loyalty upon the President, only to have that trust and loyalty shattered with deception.

In the midst of these lies, the sons and daughters of the American people were killed and are being killed, including kids as young as 18 years young.

After giving Iraq control of their country, "their country," the President still refuses to allow the soldiers to return home to their families.

This is a blatant disregard for humanity and the American people who voted to put him in office twice.

The President is a heartless being who cares nothing for human life, and his attitude about withdrawing the troops out of Iraq and other alleged hostile areas would drastically change if his two daughters were over there on the frontlines.

I've learned in my own struggles that if something doesn't affect an individual directly, then their concerns about it is nothing.

You have your Pro War people because they don't have anything to loose.

Their kids are not there on the front lines getting killed by roadside bombs.

I say enough is enough. Many people have lost their only child to this lie, and the only thing they received in return is a flag and some gunshots in the air. This is so wrong and so unfair and so unjust.

The President needs to feel the pressure of the people, because our loved ones are being killed everyday over seas for the savage fulfillment of the U.S. interest in the oil fields in Iraq.

It's past time for our people to come home to be with their families.

How many more lives needs to be lost before this President say "pull the troops out?"

How many more kids have to be left without parents before this President say "pull the troops out?"

How many more parents have to loose their children that carries the essence of them before this President say "pull the troops out?"

How many more weeping families have to receive phone calls saying "your Loved One is dead" before this President say "pull the troops out?"

I don't know how many more live has to be lost, but as long as we continue putting the pressure on the President, he will have to give us our families back.

This is a struggle that we must never give up on no matter how long it takes, because the people are going to open their eyes and realize that this war is wrong.

Please stay strong, prayerful, and never loose hope of winning this battle.

We will continue fighting against this injustice.

And always remember: no matter what happens, the power is always in the people.

Without the people, a nation cannot function; without the people elected officials cannot hold their positions in office; we are the people and we must continue to stand strong as the people.

Peace and Solidarity

Jamie Jackson

****************************************************************

Contacting Prisoners Against The War:

Prisoners who wish to communicate with Prisoners Against The War may write to:

Prisoners Against The War or PAW or Martin Smith, at:

PO Box 121

Champaign, IL 61824

NOTE WELL: ILLINOIS PRISON REGULATIONS FORBID INMATES FROM RECEIVING ANY MAIL FROM ANY OTHER PRISONERS ANYWHERE.

Martin Smith is not allowed to forward your letter to the prison. He is allowed to summarize the contents in his own letters.

If your prison also has rules forbidding mail from another prisoner to be sent to you, the reply will also be summarized by Martin Smith, and sent to you.

Persons not in prison at this time may write directly to Prisoners Against The War. NOTE WELL: Nothing whatever may be enclosed in your mail other than your written or typed letter: no money or other objects may be sent.

Letters to:

Stanley Howard

Reg. # N-71620

PO Box 112

Joliet, Illinois 60434

George Jacksons' Funeral

1971

(itsabouttimebpp.com.)

IRAQ WAR REPORTS

Crash Killed 3 Members Of 3rd ACR

January 10, 2006 By TOM ROEDER THE GAZETTE

Three Fort Carson soldiers were among 12 Americans killed in an Army helicopter crash on Saturday near Tal Afar, Iraq.

The three from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment were passengers aboard the helicopter, which was flown by members of a different unit, several sources who have been briefed on the crash said Monday.

One of the Fort Carson soldiers aboard was a military intelligence expert, and another was an Army lawyer, which makes it likely the flight was not part of a combat effort.

The latest deaths bring the number of 3rd ACR soldiers killed in Iraq to 71 over two yearlong deployments.

That's nearly half the 156 war dead from all Fort Carson units.

The 5,200-soldier regiment left Fort Carson for Iraq in March.

Sgt. Dies At Taji

1.10.06 U.S. Department of Defense News Release No. 025-06

Sgt. Radhames Camilomatos, 24, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, died in Taji, Iraq, on Jan. 7, from non-combat related injuries. Camilomatos was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Fallece Hijo De Puertorriqueqo En Irak

28/12/2005 EFE

El oficial ticnico Isamas Enrique Santos, hijo de un militar puertorriqueqo, fallecis el lunes al estrellarse el helicsptero Apache en el que viajaba al oeste del Bagdad.

Asm lo confirms hoy Josi Pagan, portavoz del Ejircito de Estados Unidos en Puerto Rico.

La Oficina de Notificaciones y Apoyo del Fuerte Buchanan se comunics anoche con el padre de Santos, el sargento de Segunda Clase retirado Josi Santos, quien es natural de Ponce, para informarle la noticia.

Isamas Enrique Santos nacis y se cris en Panama, de donde es natural su madre, aunque vivis algzn tiempo en Ponce.

El deceso se produjo cuando el helicsptero en el que Santos viajaba como copiloto chocs en el aire con otra nave militar y cays a tierra. El piloto del aparato tambiin muris.

Santos y el piloto pertenecman a la Compaqma A del Primer Batallsn de la Cuarta Brigada de Aviacisn, con sede en Fort Hood, Texas.

Los restos de Santos seran sepultados en Panama, informs Pagan en un comunicado.

El traslado del cuerpo y las honras militares seran oficiadas por personal de Fuerte Buchanan, porque esa base militar es responsable de todos los servicios funerarios militares en el Caribe, Centro y Sudamirica.

Anteriormente ha prestado servicios en Panama, Jamaica, Trinidad y Tobago, Santa Lucma, Santo Tomas y Repzblica Dominicana. EFE hra fenecido militar

North Carolina Soldier Killed In Iraq Had Dodged War In Liberia

1/3/2006 By: Associated Press

(DURHAM) - Prince Teewia avoided the violence that tore apart his home country of Liberia when he was a teen-ager. Instead, he found death in Iraq, wearing the uniform of the United States Army.

Teewia was killed by a bomb last week in Baghdad. The Pentagon announced his death Tuesday.

The 27-year-old Liberian called Durham home after moving to the United States in 1998. He returned in 2002 to marry his childhood sweetheart in Nigeria and was still trying to bring her to the US when he died.

Teewia joined the Army in March 2004, despite his mother's fears for his safety. She said he couldn't afford college or a visit to his wife on a convenience store clerk's pay.

'All-American Guy' Troxel Was Devoted To His Family

January 10, 2006 Anchorage Daily News

A pilot and aircraft mechanic with a family and deep roots in Anchorage was among four Alaska Army National Guardsmen killed in a helicopter crash Saturday in Iraq.

Family and friends confirmed Monday that Chester Troxel, 44, was on the Black Hawk that went down for unknown reasons in a remote location in northern Iraq, killing all 12 people on board.

Troxel's wife of 23 years, Sheree, and the couple's two children, Hollis, 17, and Summer, 14, were at their South Anchorage home Monday, surrounded by friends and family.

Tom Cobaugh, who has known the family for about 15 years, said in a telephone interview from the Troxels' home that the kids were having a sleepover and that many other people had called the family or dropped by with cards, flowers and food.

Sheree described the outpouring as "tremendous" and said she and the kids were doing OK given what they were going through. She was not up to speaking further.

"His whole world revolved around his wife and his kids," said longtime friend and neighbor Tom Blake, a retired Air National Guard pilot who met Troxel when they were flying Huey helicopters together in the late 1980s.

Blake said the last time he saw Troxel, he was jogging in their South Anchorage neighborhood.

"His wife is disabled, and when he ran, he would push her in a little sort of a bicycle with multiple wheels on it. They would just spend that time together," Blake said, his voice tight and trailing off.

The Troxels have lived in Anchorage for 22 years. Sheree and her daughter both suffer from Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, which affects the lower extremities, making it difficult for them to walk. Friends describe the family members as devoted to one another. When Hollis, a junior at Anchorage Christian School, came from behind to win the small-schools state cross-country running championship in October, he fought back tears.

"I run for everyone in my family," he said then. "They are always in pain."

Polish Soldier Wounded Near Hamza

Jan 10 AFP

A Polish soldier was wounded and two rebels killed during a raid carried out by coalition forces near the town of Hamza, south of Baghdad, Poland's PAP news agency reported Tuesday.

REALLY BAD IDEA:

NO MISSION;

HOPELESS WAR

12.1.05: US soldiers take cover behind their armored vehicle during a patrol in western Iraq on November 2. Hundreds of guerrillas attacked a US base in Ramadi, taking control of the town centre. (AFP/File/David Furst)

TROOP NEWS

"Augie Was Killed On His Fifth Mission To Clear Haditha"

"I Believe That His Death Was A Waste"

Lance Cpl. Edward "Augie" Schroeder II in Iraq. (Courtesy Paul Schroeder)

[Thanks to Soldier X and Anna Bradley, who sent this in.]

January 3, 2006 By Paul E. Schroeder, Washington Post

Early on Aug. 3, 2005, we heard that 14 Marines had been killed in Haditha, Iraq.

Our son, Lance Cpl. Edward "Augie" Schroeder II, was stationed there. At 10:45 a.m. two Marines showed up at our door. After collecting himself for what was clearly painful duty, the lieutenant colonel said, "Your son is a true American hero."

Since then, two reactions to Augie's death have compounded the sadness.

At times like this, people say, "He died a hero." I know this is meant with great sincerity. We appreciate the many condolences we have received and how helpful they have been. But when heard repeatedly, the phrases "he died a hero" or "he died a patriot" or "he died for his country" rub raw.

"People think that if they say that, somehow it makes it okay that he died," our daughter, Amanda, has said. "He was a hero before he died, not just because he went to Iraq. I was proud of him before, and being a patriot doesn't make his death okay. I'm glad he got so much respect at his funeral, but that didn't make it okay either."

The words "hero" and "patriot" focus on the death, not the life. They are a flag-draped mask covering the truth that few want to acknowledge openly: Death in battle is tragic no matter what the reasons for the war. The tragedy is the life that was lost, not the manner of death. Families of dead soldiers on both sides of the battle line know this. Those without family in the war don't appreciate the difference.

This leads to the second reaction. Since August we have witnessed growing opposition to the Iraq war, but it is often whispered, hands covering mouths, as if it is dangerous to speak too loudly. Others discuss the never-ending cycle of death in places such as Haditha in academic and sometimes clinical fashion, as in "the increasing lethality of improvised explosive devices."

Listen to the kinds of things that most Americans don't have to experience: The day Augie's unit returned from Iraq to Camp Lejeune, we received a box with his notebooks, DVDs and clothes from his locker in Iraq. The day his unit returned home to waiting families, we received the second urn of ashes. This lad of promise, of easy charm and readiness to help, whose highest high was saving someone using CPR as a first aid squad volunteer, came home in one coffin and two urns. We buried him in three places that he loved, a fitting irony, I suppose, but just as rough each time.

I am outraged at what I see as the cause of his death. For nearly three years, the Bush administration has pursued a policy that makes our troops sitting ducks. While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that our policy is to "clear, hold and build" Iraqi towns, there aren't enough troops to do that.

In our last conversation, Augie complained that the cost in lives to clear insurgents was "less and less worth it," because Marines have to keep coming back to clear the same places. Marine commanders in the field say the same thing. Without sufficient troops, they can't hold the towns. Augie was killed on his fifth mission to clear Haditha.

At Augie's grave, the lieutenant colonel knelt in front of my wife and, with tears in his eyes, handed her the folded flag. He said the only thing he could say openly: "Your son was a true American hero."

Perhaps. But I felt no glory, no honor. Doing your duty when you don't know whether you will see the end of the day is certainly heroic. But even more, being a hero comes from respecting your parents and all others, from helping your neighbors and strangers, from loving your spouse, your children, your neighbors and your enemies, from honesty and integrity, from knowing when to fight and when to walk away, and from understanding and respecting the differences among the people of the world.

Two painful questions remain for all of us. Are the lives of Americans being killed in Iraq wasted? Are they dying in vain? President Bush says those who criticize staying the course are not honoring the dead. That is twisted logic: honor the fallen by killing another 2,000 troops in a broken policy?

I choose to honor our fallen hero by remembering who he was in life, not how he died. A picture of a smiling Augie in Iraq, sunglasses turned upside down, shows his essence -- a joyous kid who could use any prop to make others feel the same way.

Though it hurts, I believe that his death, and that of the other Americans who have died in Iraq, was a waste.

They were wasted in a belief that democracy would grow simply by removing a dictator, a careless misunderstanding of what democracy requires.

They were wasted by not sending enough troops to do the job needed in the resulting occupation, a careless disregard for professional military counsel.

But their deaths will not be in vain if Americans stop hiding behind flag-draped hero masks and stop whispering their opposition to this war. Until then, the lives of other sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers may be wasted as well.

This is very painful to acknowledge, and I have to live with it. So does President Bush.

"I Told My Commander That I Wouldn't Kill Anyone. I Turned In My Rifle"

[Thanks to D, who sent this in.]

December 31, 2005 By MARTHA MENDOZA, The Associated Press

Increasing numbers of men and women in uniform are seeking honorable discharges as conscientious objectors. Others are suing the military, claiming their obligation has been wrongfully extended. Many have simply deserted, refusing to appear for duty.

"As this war continues, we're going to see more refusals, disobeying of orders, stop loss lawsuits," said Marti Hiken, who co-chairs the National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force. "There's going to be more and more resistance."

"Being a conscientious objector is not an easy way to get out of the military and not a fast way to get out of the military," said JE McNeil, executive director of The Center on Conscience & War, a 65-year-old Washington D.C.-based nonprofit organization that supports the rights of conscientious objectors.

The organization runs the GI Rights Hotline, and McNeil said it received more than 36,000 calls this year from soldiers interested in how to get out of their required service. That's up from fewer than 1,000 a year before the war in Iraq, she said.

Army paratrooper Jeremy Hinzman, who fled from Fort Bragg, N.C., in January 2004, weeks before his 82nd Airborne Division was due to go to Iraq, is awaiting a February hearing in Toronto.

"Perhaps I made a mistake by enlisting in the Army, but the U.S. is putting the lives of its soldiers in jeopardy in order to the line the pockets of big money," he said.

Hinzman said he vowed to his wife that he wouldn't go to Iraq, and then had to decide whether he would face a court martial or flee. He said he didn't want to miss out on his son's formative years, so he chose Canada.

Hinzman's attorney said as many as 200 American war resisters are hiding in Canada, waiting to see how Hinzman's case plays out before coming forward.

Aidan Delgado decided he was a conscientious objector last year, after spending a year in Iraq where he was stationed at Abu Ghraib prison. His application was approved and he was honorably discharged last January.

"When I met Iraqi prisoners firsthand, I saw the people who were supposed to be our enemies but I didn't hate them. They were young, poor guys without an education, like us. They were supposed to fight us and we were supposed to fight them. It didn't make sense," said Delgado, who speaks Arabic and lived for a while as a child in Egypt.

"I told my commander that I wouldn't kill anyone. I turned in my rifle."

Military Leaders Support For War Declining, Survey Says

[Thanks to David Honish, Veterans For Peace, and Phil G, who sent this in.]

[Note well: This survey has nothing to do with what the troops think. The readers of these publications are mostly officers. Proof? A survey of non-commissioned troops reported last year in GI Special found that a majority are for ending the ban on gays serving in the military. But, as you see below, the Military Times readers are still overwhelmingly opposed. Hardly surprising; officers are the most frightened of and have the greatest paranoia about what might happen to them in the showers.

[What is worth noting here is that even the leadership is slowly turning against the war.]

January 6, 2006 Matthew B. Stannard, S.F. Chronicle Staff Writer & 1.3.06 AFP News

Support for President Bush and for the war in Iraq has slipped significantly in the last year among members of the military's professional core, according to the 2005 Military Times Poll.

Support for President George W. Bush's Iraq policy has fallen among the US armed forces to just 54 percent from 63 percent a year ago, according to a poll by the magazine group Military Times.

In its annual survey of the views of military personnel, the group reported on its website that support for Bush's overall policies dropped over the past year to 60 percent from 71 percent.

The poll also found diminished optimism that U.S. goals in Iraq can be accomplished.

Military Times, which publishes popular magazines for each of the US military branches including Army Times and Navy Times, cautioned that its poll, of 1,215 active-duty servicemen, is not necessarily representative of the military as a whole.

The respondents were "on average older, more experienced, more likely to be officers and more career-oriented than the military population."

This latest poll was no exception. The poll's findings are likely to crop up in politics, said sociologist David Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland -- even though the numbers can be read two ways.

"Were I a strategist for the Democratic Party, which I am not, I would think seriously about using the data to point to the fact that even in the military there is declining support for the war," he said. "(But) while there is a trend toward declining support for the war . . . support for the war is still very high."

In fact, the trends exposed in the poll are really not that dramatic or surprising, Segal said.

"The military is a microcosm of society, and trends that you see in public opinion regarding the military are likely to be reproduced within the military," he said. [And by now just about everybody knows that among working class Americans, the opposition to the war is strongest.]

He and other experts said the military's tendency to follow public trends was evident elsewhere in the poll, such as a slight increase in support for allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military, up to 27 percent, a number that has increased one or two points in each of the past two years. [There it is. In case you missed it the first time, a majority of enlisted ranks have no problem with gays serving in the armed forces.]

The overall public support for allowing gays and lesbians to serve is around 58 percent, according to an August survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

According to Military Times, 60 percent of respondents said they approved of the job Bush was doing in general, down from 71 percent last year, and 54 percent said they approved of how he was handling the war in Iraq, down from 63 percent last year.

The Military Times poll also showed a significant decline in the armed forces' views of US military policy and management.

Only 56 percent felt the US should have gone to war in Iraq, compared to 60 percent a year before.

Easy Way To Help "Sir! No Sir!"

January 04, 2006, From: David Zeiger

Dear friends of "Sir! No Sir!,"

As we prepare for the national theatrical release of "Sir! No Sir!" this Spring, I will be sending you periodic updates on developments and ways that you can help support the film and spread the word.

"Sir! No Sir!" has been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. The Independent Spirit Awards, which are considered one of the most important for independent films, are broadcast nationally on the Independent Film Channel on March 4.

As the cliche goes, just getting nominated is an honor. And most importantly it will be a big boost for the theatrical release.

Voting for the Independent Spirit Awards is done by members of the Independent Feature Project in New York and Film Independent in Los Angeles. To facilitate the voting, Netflix has made all of the nominated films available on DVD for IFP and FIND members only, free of charge. So during January and February, IFP and FIND members will have the opportunity to see "Sir! No Sir!" on DVD prior to its release.

Here's how you can help: Netflix has a five-star system of customer ratings that they average and post with every film. If you are a member of Netflix, you can go on the site (www.netflix.com) and both rate and write a review of "Sir! No Sir!" While you won't be able to rent the movie if you are not an IFP or FIND member, your voice can help promote "Sir! No Sir!" to the people in the independent film world who will be viewing it.

You can also join Film Independent (www.filmindependent.org) or the Independent Feature Project (www.ifp.org). They are both great organizations that support and promote independent filmmaking and filmmakers--and you can vote for the Independent Spirit Awards!

So please take a few minutes and help make 2006 the Year of "Sir! No Sir!"

Thank you,

David Zeiger

"Sir! No Sir!" combines exceptional artistry and insightful analysis with great story telling. This is no facile agitprop piece, but a careful dissection of a growing military rebellion that permanently altered American society, but has largely been forgotten. International Documentary Magazine

Nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary: Winner to be

announced March 4, 2006

Audience Award Best Documentary--Los Angeles Film Festival

Jury Award Best Documentary: Hamptons International Film Festival

Jury Award Best Film on War and Peace: Vermont International Film Festival

Nominated for a Gotham Award and International Documentary Association Award

www.sirnosir.com

Displaced Films

3421 Fernwood Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90039

323-906-9249

323-913-0683 fax

www.displacedfilms.com

IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP

(Graphic: London Financial Times)

"We Call On The Occupiers To Withdraw From Iraq"

"They Are The Reason For Every Crime And The Death Of Every Innocent In Iraq"

1.10.06 AFP & By BUSHRA JUHI Associated Press Writer

Angry Sunni Arabs protested at a raid on a Baghdad mosque by US and Iraqi soldiers looking for a kidnapped US woman reporter, the latest victim in a series of abductions of Westerners in Iraq.

The demonstration came as Iraqis celebrated the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday a day after a twin suicide bombing at the interior ministry, claimed by Al-Qaeda, that left at least 28 policemen dead.

Waving banners and chanting anti-US slogans, about 700 people rallied in the gardens of the Umm al-Qura mosque in the west of the capital to denounce the Saturday night raid.

We call on the occupiers to withdraw from Iraq because they are the reason for every crime and the death of every innocent in Iraq," Harith al-Aubaidi, a member of the committee said in his sermon at the prayers ahead of the protest.

"If the occupier would leave, Iraqis would live as brothers."

Not Much Oil For Blood:

Resistance Defeats Foreign Investors

01/10/06 Miriam Amie, Mail&Guardian

Iraq has vast hydrocarbon potential that could rival major producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, but United States government analysts are predicting that Iraqi oil production development will remain thwarted for years to come.

Political instability, violence, and the sabotage of oil industry pipelines and infrastructure have been main factors.

"Most analysts believe that there will be no major additions to Iraqi production capacity for at least two-three years, with Shell's vice-president recently stating that any auction of Iraqi's oilfields was unlikely before 2007," said the EIA report released late in December 2005 and carried on its website.

Between April 2003 and January 5, 2006 there were 290 recorded attacks on Iraq's hydrocarbon and energy infrastructure including the nation's 6960km-long pipeline system and 11,000km-long power grid according to the US-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), an independent organisation that monitors energy and security issues.

Sabotage, bombings, and looting along Iraq's biggest export line, the duel 960km Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipes which can optimally transport 1,6-million bpd of two kinds of crude, have forced it to operate only sporadically. Most Iraqi oil exports are now shipped through the southern Basra terminal.

The US military continues to guard the energy infrastructure, and under a $100-million joint contract with South African security firm Erinys International, about 14 000 mainly Iraqi personnel have also been trained to guard the sector, the EIA report said. In addition, Florida-based AirScan conducts air surveillance of the pipelines.

[Bottom line: they can't do shit to get the oil going if the Iraqis don't want to get the oil going. If you were an Iraqi, would you hand over your oil to G. Bush and his thieving buddies? Or would to take up arms and fight? Duh.]

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

Bush Regime Spies Opening And Reading Americans' Personal Mail From Abroad

Jan. 6, 2006 By Brock N. Meeks, Chief Washington correspondent, MSNBC

WASHINGTON - In the 50 years that Grant Goodman has known and corresponded with a colleague in the Philippines he never had any reason to suspect that their friendship was anything but spectacularly ordinary.

But now he believes that the relationship has somehow sparked the interest of the Department of Homeland Security and led the agency to place him under surveillance.

Last month Goodman, an 81-year-old retired University of Kansas history professor, received a letter from his friend in the Philippines that had been opened and resealed with a strip of dark green tape bearing the words "by Border Protection" and carrying the official Homeland Security seal.

"I had no idea (Homeland Security) would open personal letters," Goodman told MSNBC.com in a phone interview. "That's why I alerted the media. I thought it should be known publicly that this is going on," he said. Goodman originally showed the letter to his own local newspaper, the Kansas-based Lawrence Journal-World.

"I was shocked and there was a certain degree of disbelief in the beginning," Goodman said when he noticed the letter had been tampered with, adding that he felt his privacy had been invaded. "I think I must be under some kind of surveillance."

The letter comes from a retired Filipino history professor; Goodman declined to identify her. And although the Philippines is on the U.S. government's radar screen as a potential spawning ground for Muslim-related terrorism, Goodman said his friend is a devout Catholic and not given to supporting such causes.

A spokesman for the Customs and Border Protection division said he couldn't speak directly to Goodman's case but acknowledged that the agency can, will and does open mail coming to U.S. citizens that originates from a foreign country whenever it's deemed necessary.

"All mail originating outside the United States Customs territory that is to be delivered inside the U.S. Customs territory is subject to Customs examination," says the CBP Web site. That includes personal correspondence. "All mail means 'all mail,'" said John Mohan, a CBP spokesman, emphasizing the point.

"This process isn't something we're trying to hide," Mohan said, noting the wording on the agency's Web site.

"We've had this authority since before the Department of Homeland Security was created," Mohan said.

However, Mohan declined to outline what criteria are used to determine when a piece of personal correspondence should be opened, but said, "obviously it's a security-related criteria."

Mohan also declined to say how often or in what volume CBP might be opening mail. "All I can really say is that Customs and Border Protection does undertake (opening mail) when it is determined to be necessary," he said. [And it's necessary whenever the Bush traitors say it's necessary.]

4-Year-Old Turns Up On Government 'No-Fly' List

Jan. 5, 2006 AP

HOUSTON - Edward Allen's reaction to being on the government's "no-fly" list should have been the tip-off that he is no terrorist.

"I don't want to be on the list. I want to fly and see my grandma," the 4-year-old boy said, according to his mother.

Sijollie Allen and her son had trouble boarding planes last month because someone with the same name as Edward is on a government terrorist watch list.

"Is this a joke?" Allen recalled telling Continental Airlines agents Dec. 21 at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. "You can tell he's not a terrorist."

She said it took several minutes of pleading and a phone call by the ticket agent to get on the plane to New York.

Allen, a Jamaican immigrant, said workers at La Guardia Airport were even more hard-nosed before their Dec. 26 flight home. She said a ticket agent told her: "You're lucky that we're letting you through instead of putting you through the other process."

"I know the government is trying to protect because of the terrorist attacks, but common sense should play a role in it," Allen said. "I don't think he should go through the trouble of being harassed and hindered."

Continental spokesman Dave Messing said Thursday that the airline would not discuss its security policies.

Other people with common names who have encountered "no-fly" list problems at airports include Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and actor David Nelson from "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., has said he had to make several calls to federal officials before his name was separated from the one on the list.

Orwell Estate To Sue President Bush:

"1984" Being Used By White House Illegally

Dec. 20, 2005 by Steve Young (apj.us)

HOLLYWOOD -- In yet another blow to plans to renew the Patriot Act, lawyers for the estate of George Orwell announced their intention to sue President Bush for plagiarism.

"We've felt that since its beginning, this administration has stolen much of its policy from Mr. Orwell's writings," said attorney Will Bilyalotz, "expressly '1984' and 'Animal Farm.' In some cases, for example, the illegal surveillance of its own citizens, this administration has lifted passages word for word from '1984. ' Simply changing the year does not protect the president from copyright laws."

Whit