It's Not Extremism to Say This Should Stop

A New Film About Rachel Corrie {A Review}

This is a somber movie indeed, and timely as the United Nations attempts an investigation of the Israeli attack on Gaza. Rachel re-examines the death of Rachel Corrie, crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza in 2003. The director, Simone Bitton, describes it as “the examination of an examination”, with much of the film focusing on re- visualizing what happened, interviewing witnesses, and on the Israeli investigation of Rachel’s death. The counterpoint is Rachel’s fellow International Solidarity Movement activists reading excerpts from her diary........>

Rachel Corrie: "Rachel" the Documentary

Rorschach "Rachel"

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Simone Bitton's documentary "Rachel," which premiered this week at the Tribeca Film Festival, is what's not in it. Bitton, a Moroccan-born Jewish filmmaker who spent many years in Israel and now lives in France, conducts a philosophical and cinematic inquiry into the death of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American activist who was killed under ambiguous circumstances in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip in March 2003. But the political firestorm that followed Corrie's death, which saw her beatified as a martyr for peace by some on the left and demonized as a terrorist enabler by some on the right, is virtually absent from the film....>>>>>Much More Here

Listen to interview with Simone Bitton at Tribeca


Rachel's mother and father, a brother 'Nam Vet, were living and working for a stop to the impending illegal invasion of Iraq, here in Charlotte, at the time of Rachel's Murder by the Israeli Army!!

Rachel Corrie: March 16, 2003

Rachel Corrie, an American college student in Gaza to protest Israeli military and security operations, was killed when run over by a bulldozer while trying to stop Israeli troops from demolishing a Palestinian home.

The 23-year-old from Olympia, Washington, was a member of International Solidarity Movement and was the first nonviolent western protester to die in the occupied territories.

In Memoriam Rachel Corrie 1979-2003

Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

Statement from the Family of Rachel Corrie

March 16, 2009 at After Downing Street

We thank all who continue to remember Rachel and who, on this sixth anniversary of her stand in Gaza, renew their own commitments to human rights, justice and peace in the Middle East. The tributes and actions in her memory are a source of inspiration to us and to others.

Friday, March 13th, we learned of the tragic injury to American activist Tristan Anderson. Tristan was shot in the head with a tear-gas canister in Ni’lin Village in the West Bank when Israeli forces attacked a demonstration opposing the construction of the annexation wall through the village's land. On the same day, a Ni’lin resident was, also, shot in the leg with live ammunition. Four residents of Ni’lin have been killed in the past eight months as villagers and their supporters have courageously demonstrated against the Apartheid Wall deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice—a wall that will ultimately absorb one-quarter of the village's remaining land. Those who have died are a ten-year-old child Ahmed Mousa, shot in the forehead with live ammunition on July 29, 2008; Yousef Amira (17) shot with rubber-coated steel bullets on July 30, 2008; Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22) and Mohammed Khawaje (20), both shot and killed with live ammunition on December 8, 2008. On this anniversary, Rachel would want us all to hold Tristan Anderson and his family and these Palestinians and their families in our thoughts and prayers, and we ask everyone to do so.
We are writing this message from Cairo where we returned after a visit to Gaza with the Code Pink Delegation from the United States. Fifty-eight women and men successfully passed through Rafah Crossing on Saturday, March 7th to challenge the border closures and siege and to celebrate International Women's Day with the strong and courageous women of Gaza. Rachel would be very happy that our spirited delegation made this journey. North to south throughout the Strip, we witnessed the sweeping destruction of neighborhoods, municipal buildings, police stations, mosques, and schools –casualties of the Israeli military assaults in December and January. When we asked about the personal impact of the attacks on those we met, we heard repeatedly of the loss of mothers, fathers, children, cousins, and friends. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reports 1434 Palestinian dead and over 5000 injured, among them 288 children and 121 women.

We walked through the farming village of Khoza in the South where fifty homes were destroyed during the land invasion. A young boy scrambled through a hole in the rubble to show us the basement he and his family crouched in as a bulldozer crushed their house upon them. We heard of Rafiya who lead the frightened women and children of this neighborhood away from threatening Israeli military bulldozers, only to be struck down and killed by an Israeli soldier's sniper fire as she walked in the street carrying her white flag.

Repeatedly, we were told by Palestinians, and by the internationals on the ground supporting them, that there is no ceasefire. Indeed, bomb blasts from the border area punctuated our conversations as we arrived and departed Gaza. On our last night, we sat by a fire in the moonlight in the remains of a friend's farmyard and listened to him tell of how the Israeli military destroyed his home in 2004, and of how this second home was shattered on February 6th. This time, it was Israeli rockets from Apache helicopters that struck the house, A stand of wheat remained and rustled soothingly in the breeze as we talked, but our attention shifted quickly when F-16s streaked high across the night sky. and our friend explained that if the planes tipped to the side, they would strike. Everywhere, the psychological costs of the recent and ongoing attacks for all Gazans, but especially for the children, were sadly apparent. It is not only those who suffer the greatest losses that carry the scars of all that has happened. It is those, too, who witnessed from their school bodies flying in the air when police cadets were bombed across the street and those who felt and heard the terrifying blasts of missiles falling near their own homes. It is the children who each day must walk past the unexplainable and inhumane destruction that has occurred.

In Rachel's case, though a thorough, credible and transparent investigation was promised by the Israeli Government, after six years, the position of the U.S. Government remains that such an investigation has not taken place. In March 2008, Michele Bernier-Toff, Managing Director of the Office of Overseas Citizen Services at the Department of State wrote, “We have consistently requested that the Government of Israel conduct a full and transparent investigation into Rachel's death. Our requests have gone unanswered or ignored.” Now, the attacks on all the people of Gaza and the recent one on Tristan Anderson in Ni'lin cry out for investigation and accountability. We call on President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, and members of Congress to act with fortitude and courage to ensure that the atrocities that have occurred are addressed by the Israeli Government and through relevant international and U.S. law. We ask them to act immediately and persistently to stop the impunity enjoyed by the Israeli military, not to encourage it.

Despite the pain, we have once again felt privileged to enter briefly into the lives of Rachel's Palestinian friends in Gaza. We are moved by their resilience and heartened by their song, dance, and laughter amidst the tears. Rachel wrote in 2003, “I am nevertheless amazed at their strength in being able to defend such a large degree of their humanity--laughter, generosity, family time—against the incredible horror occurring in their lives.....I am also discovering a degree of strength and of the basic ability for humans to remain human in the direst of circumstances...I think the word is dignity.” On this sixth anniversary of Rachel's killing, we echo her sentiments.

Sincerely,
Cindy and Craig Corrie
On behalf of our family

The other romantic war Bush missed

A fitting exclamation point to a weekend that brought us the opening of Hearts and Minds at Winter Soldier II.

The anniversary of the Murder of Rachel Corrie.

And the 40th anniversary of My Lai

The following was posted by lavotevets Here
over at the Vet Voice Interactive Blog.
LA Vote Vets just gave the photo, and it's Powerful Message!



As a 'Nam Vet I really need not say much more than what the photo and message says.

RIP My Brothers, and All the Brothers and Sisters of the Romantic Occupations of Iraq and Afganistan and the Future the Failed Devestating Policies have Wrought!

And A Weekend Of A

HUGE Slap Down of the MSM by the Growing Grassroots of Indie Media!!!!

And Congress as well, but you were Called Out Yesterday, OPEN Hearings into the Iraq/Afgan Debacles NOW!!!!!!!!

Winter Soldier 2008 Part Two & RIP Rachel

Cheney Five Years Ago: ‘We Will, In Fact, Be Greeted As Liberators’

And so from the spectre of the summer soldier who shrinks from the hard truths and his country's crises, comes the Winter Soldier who will not look away.

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony, opening statements, transcripts and much more.
Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information.
Broadcast of todays testimonies, 3-16-08, begin at 10am ET

Thanks to Veterans For Peace Chapter 78, who are live blogging from 'Winter Soldier' I borrowed a few of their photo's, including the one above, and the ones below, some more can be found at link at site.


IVAW Group photos, of those participating




Winter Soldier: Bitter Truths From Those Who Know

A Defense Department spokesman said he had not seen the allegations raised yesterday but added that such incidents are not representative of U.S. conduct.

"When isolated allegations of misconduct have been reported, commanders have conducted comprehensive investigations to determine the facts and held individuals accountable when appropriate," Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros said.
How laughable this would be if it were not so tragic. Mark Ballesteros hasn't even seen the allegations but he can already assure us that they're false!

In yesterdays testimonies they played a few clips, from Iraq of Iraqi's, from Alive In Baghdad. Alive in Baghdad has been bringing reports, video and written, from Iraq these past five years. If you haven't visited their site please do, for first hand reports of conditions and lives from those living in the middle of Occupation!

The Real News Network has also been devoted to telecasting the testimonies under the heading This weekend: Winter Soldier, Iraq and Afghanistan organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), they have a number of video clips up on the individual testimonies for all to view and, those who want, to embed at their sites or send to others.

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony, opening statements, transcripts and much more.
Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information.
Broadcast of todays testimonies, 3-16-08, begin at 10am ET

Some more reports out today:

Boston Globe
Veterans recall horrors of war in live broadcast

Liz Jackson's eyes were fixed on a screen showing a live broadcast of anguished testimonies by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans describing what they had seen and done during their combat tours.

Jeffery Smith recalled how his Army unit beat and humiliated Iraqi prisoners. Former Marine Bryan Casler recounted how fellow Marines urinated and defecated into food and gave it to Iraqi children. Former Marine Matthew Childers talked about how he used to humiliate Iraqi civilians during predawn raids on their homes. When he described turning away an Iraqi father who was asking American troops to help the badly burned baby he carried in his arms, Jackson began to weep silently.

"These soldiers are saying: 'I'm complicit,' " said Jackson, 29, a community organizer from Cambridge. "But every American citizen who saw this happen and isn't out there protesting is complicit. I include myself."

Another year, another $300 billion

THE SIXTH year of the Iraq war begins this week. The war is now the second-longest in US history - longer than any except Vietnam. So far, 1.6 million US troops have served, more than a third of them for two or more tours of duty. Almost 4,000 US service personnel have been killed, and 60,000 wounded, injured or contracted a serious disease. Many survive with severe multiple injuries ("polytraumas") that in previous wars would have almost certainly ended in death.

One-third of the 780,000 troops discharged so far have been treated at veterans' hospitals and clinics, including 120,000 treated for mental health conditions and 68,000 diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. This year alone the Department of Veterans Affairs expects to treat 333,000 returning veterans. The majority of these veterans will be eligible to receive lifetime disability compensation - 228,000 have already filed applications.

Boston Herald
Testimony from vets in D.C. fires up local protesters

A dozen Massachusetts veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars piled into a van bound for Washington, D.C., on Friday or traveled by other means to spend the weekend testifying about their experiences overseas and to protest the five-year war in Iraq.

A portion of the four-day “Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan” public testimony at the National Labor College, just outside the capital in Silver Springs, Md., was shown at the First Parish Church in Harvard Square yesterday.

“I feel it’s not just something we should be against but we should actively work to end,” said Liam Madden, a Northeastern University sophomore and ex-Marine sergeant. “Our presence there could not fix the harm we had done.”

America Must Hear These Iraq Vets' Stories
If America listens to what they say, the war would be over tomorrow - Penny Coleman.

I missed the Winter Soldier Investigation in 1971. At the time I was married to a vet who desperately wanted to put his war behind him -- and he wanted me to help him do it. We were supposed to pretend it had never happened. It didn't work.

I have posts up on
'Winter Soldier' at my site that I also posted on a few others as well as sent out.

You can view Here, or Here, or Here
Might find something that you hadn't seen.

Yesterday I asked a question for the 'Gathering of Eagles' and by extension 'Move America Forward', as both groups combined to have some 40 people protesting, didn't anyone tell you folks that protesting, as Your Ideology Defines, is 'Unpatriotic', outside of the 'Winter Soldier Hearings'. I also asked 'Vets for Freedom' the same in that post:

"if you "Support The Troops" why is it that you carry Nothing on your Sites, nor in your Rethoric, about the Rage you should be feeling about All the reports, finally coming forward, as to the Care of these Same Troops when they Return or are Re-Deployed or Discharged?"!!!

I'm not the only one to want to know the answer, Thousands of us Veterans have a need to know, so We can better 'Support The Troops'!!

I have a second, more personal, question.

Please let me know how it is that you know, well before someone speaks, that what they say Is A Lie?

I ask the same to those who have been posting on their sites and blogs that the testimonies are False as well as those Soldiers giving them, well before anything has been said!

This is something I need to learn to do myself, do you speak to God one on one like george, would make things so much easier if you pass on your secret!

By the way, an Iraqi Citizen at the hearings, offered up the use of his house, in Baghdad, yesterday. For anyone wanting to travel and stay awhile to give First Hand Reports, Direct From Iraq, on how Great and All Those Wonderful things happening, and according to some aren't being reported, so you can give the Real News, or maybe rush, hannity, savage, or any of the FOX nonjournalists!

Someone should take him up on the offer, Really. I'll let you view the archived video's to find him so you can make contact and Vacation in the Tamed Baghdad!

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony, opening statements, transcripts and much more.
Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information.
Broadcast of todays testimonies, 3-16-08, begin at 10am ET

~ Rachel Corrie ~
1979 - 2003

On March 17, 2003, President Bush spoke with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about Rachel's killing. Sharon assured Bush that the Israeli government would undertake a "thorough, credible, and transparent investigation" and would report the results to the United States.

On March 19, 2003, Richard Boucher, spokesman for the State Department, noted in reference to Rachel: "When we have the death of an American citizen, we want to see it fully investigated. That is one of our key responsibilities overseas, to look after the welfare of American citizens and to find out what happened in situations like these."

The Israeli government exonerated the soldiers, closed the case, and refuses to release to the US government the complete report on the military police investigation into Rachel's killing.

And they still haven't, according to the rice/bush State Department!

Rest In Peace Rachel, You Will and Are, Not Forgotten!