Military Resistance:
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8.7.13
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Military Resistance 11H6
AFGHANISTAN THEATER
“U.S. Foreign Fighters Suffered 65
Combat Casualties In The Week Ending
July 31 As The Total Rose To 39,796”
Jul 31, 2013 www.michaelmunk.com [Excerpts]
AFGHANISTAN THEATER: US foreign fighters suffered 65 combat casualties in the
week ending July 31 as the total rose to 39,796
The total includes 20,850 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as
“hostile” causes and 18,946 dead or medically evacuated (as of Dec. 3, 2012) from what
it calls “non-hostile” causes.
US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by reporting
regularly only the total killed (6,741: 4,488 in Iraq, 2,253 in Afghanistan) but rarely
mentioning those wounded in action (51,303: 32,223 in Iraq; 19,080 in Afghanistan).
They ignore the 59,908 (44,607 in Iraq, 18,463 in AfPak (as of Dec 3, 2012) military
casualties injured and ill seriously enough to be medevac'd out of theater, even though
the 6,733 total dead include 1,444 (961 in Iraq, 483 in Afghanistan) who died from those
same “non hostile” causes, of whom almost 25% (332) were suicides (as of Jan 9, 2013)
and at least 18 in Iraq from faulty KBR electrical work.
NOTE: It’s unclear whether the AfPak number for WIAs at some point started to include
medical evacuations for non hostile injuries and disease.
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Afghanistan Bombing Kills Soldier From
Colorado Springs
July 25, 2013 By Tom Roeder, Colorado Springs Gazette
A soldier from Colorado Springs was one of three killed in an Afghanistan attack, the
Pentagon confirmed Thursday.
Spc. Rob L. Nichols, 24, of Colorado Springs, died Tuesday when an insurgent's bomb
detonated near Soltan Kheyl, Afghanistan, a town southwest of the Afghan capital in
Kabul.
He was serving with the Fort Stewart, Ga.-based 4th Brigade Combat team of the 3rd
Infantry Division. Also killed were 1st Lt. Jonam Russell, 25, of Cornville, Ariz., and Sgt.
Stefan M. Smith, 24 of Glennville, Ga.
Fort Stewart officials said Nichols, an infantryman, was on his first overseas deployment
after joining the Army in 2010. Nichols was a 2007 graduate of Sand Creek High School
who went to Pikes Peak Community College and studied at WyoTech in Laramie, Wyo.,
before joining the Army.
“He was an incredible kid, an incredible smart kid,” said Sam Fuson, who was Nichol's
supervisor at D&B Precision Products in Colorado Springs. “Just an awesome kid.”
Fuson said Nichols had a great sense of honor and a natural talent for welding.
“He was a really great kid,” he said.
Fuson was kicking himself Thursday when he learned of the death.
“I was in the military myself,” Fuson said. “I told him one of the best thing he could do is
join the military.”
His friend Greg Smith, who attended diesel mechanics school with Nichols, was
remembering the good times Thursday.
“He always lived life to the fullest,” Smith said. “His motto was go big.”
Smith said Nichols was a loyal friend. “
He would give you anything,” Smith said. “He was always there for you.”
Smith said Nichols joined the Army after having difficult finding work amid the recession.
“It suited what he liked to do - blow off steam,” Smith said.
Bartlett Soldier Killed In Afghanistan
July 30, 2013 By Michael Lollar, The Memphis Commercial Appeal
Stephen Michael New, 29, had left active duty military in 2005 and opened a moving
business in Bartlett, but decided he wanted to rejoin the Army and become a Green
Beret.
Mr. New succeeded, becoming a medical sergeant in the Green Berets until his death
Sunday under small-arms fire as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Bagram,
Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense.
Mr. New of Bartlett had attended Bolton High School and joined the Army in 2003 as a
health care specialist. While on active duty he served with Headquarters, 75th Ranger
Regiment in Fort Benning, Ga., until leaving the service.
A cousin, Dr. Ken Barrett, said Mr. New's moving business “was very successful, but he
and a buddy decided they wanted to go back and be Green Berets.”
In 2009, he joined the Mississippi National Guard and was assigned to a Special Forces
Group (Airborne) in Jackson, Miss. In 2011 he attended a Special Forces Assessment
and Selection and was chosen to become a Special Forces medical sergeant, according
to a biography released Tuesday by the Army Special Forces Command. He completed
the Special Forces qualification course last year.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal,
Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Afghan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal, National
Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon,
Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces Tab.
POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE
BLOODSHED
THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP
THE WAR
MILITARY NEWS
Rebels Capture Key
Government Air Base In Syria:
“A Rebel Fighter, Ahmed Farzat,
Said In A Skype Interview That He
Had Helped 10 Soldiers Defect
From The Base On Monday”
“Government Troops Had Fought Off
Their Attacks For Nearly A Year”
“To The North, A Large Rebel Force
Armed With Tanks And Rocket
Launchers Pushed Deeper Into An Area
That Has Long Been A Relatively Quiet
Government Stronghold”
A Free Syrian Army fighter on Sunday in Aleppo, where rebels seized the Minakh air
base. If control of the base holds, it will challenge the government’s stance that it is
rolling to victory. Aref Hretani/Reuters
August 5, 2013 By ANNE BARNARD and HWAIDA SAAD,The New York Times
Company [Excerpts]
BEIRUT, Lebanon —
Rebel fighters on Monday swept into a sprawling government air base in northern Syria
where isolated government troops had fought off their attacks for nearly a year, and by
early Tuesday controlled almost all the base, seizing several tanks and other munitions
and taking soldiers prisoner, rebel and opposition groups said.
The victory, said by the groups to have been led by two foreign men in an armored
vehicle who carried out an attack to breach the defenses of the Minakh air base, was
bound to boost the morale of an insurgency that has faltered in recent months with
rebels fighting among themselves and losing long-held ground to the army.
But if it holds, the rebels’ seizure of the Minakh base in Aleppo Province will challenge
the government’s assertion that it is rolling to victory and demonstrate the complexity of
the Syrian battlefield, which neither side has been able to control and where momentum
shifts from place to place and week to week.
Warplanes from the base had struck at villages across northern Syria, and the
base, in flat fields with little cover, had presented its own challenge. But as rebels
began to acquire antiaircraft weapons from Qatar and other donors, shooting
down helicopters and warplanes, it became harder for the army to restock the
base by air, stranding the soldiers with dwindling supplies.
A rebel fighter, Ahmed Farzat, said in a Skype interview that he had helped 10
soldiers defect from the base on Monday.
“They tried to kill the head of the base a few days ago, but failed,” Mr. Farzat said. “He
was trying to flee with other soldiers in a tank, but thank God he was captured later.”
Even as the battle at Minakh was raging, the government was celebrating its own victory
in the central city of Homs, where the defense minister toured the shattered Khalidiyeh
neighborhood, long held by insurgents, and posed in front of the Khalid bin al-Waleed
mosque — a 13th-century landmark that had been a rebel rallying point and was heavily
damaged in the fighting.
Yet to the north, a large rebel force armed with tanks and rocket launchers pushed
deeper into an area that has long been a relatively quiet government stronghold, the
coastal mountains of Latakia Province, sending civilians fleeing.
The dueling victories show the de facto splitting of Syria into zones of government and
rebel control. The government appears committed and strong in the corridor leading
from Damascus north through Homs to its coastal stronghold.
But in the north it has lost the ability to maneuver through most roads and rural areas
and struggles to hold on to isolated military outposts.
The insurgency has been plagued recently, especially in northern Syria, by infighting
between elements of the Free Syrian Army umbrella group, led by army defectors, and
radical Islamist groups that include foreign fighters. The dividing lines between the
groups and the alliances between them are blurred and shifting, and while it is too early
to say who played the decisive role at Minakh, Islamist battalions and Free Syrian Army
fighters seem to have worked together there.
The base was first besieged by a Free Syrian Army brigade called North Storm, and
joined by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham and a group calling itself
Jaish al-Muhajireen wal Ansar.
Muhajireen means emigrants, and the group, which carried out several attacks at the
base, is led by Russian speakers from Chechnya and other parts of the Caucasus.
Mr. Farzat said Chechen Islamist fighters near the airport had refused to let the defecting
government soldiers flee, so he helped them escape by another route. “I give the Islamic
fighters credit for the liberation,” he said.
The seizure of the base could have an impact on the stalemated fight for Aleppo,
Syria’s largest city, by freeing up rebel fighters and antiaircraft weapons to put
pressure on Aleppo’s airport, which rebels have been unable to take despite
months of trying. It could also dampen the morale of government troops in other
remote outposts.
In Latakia, the rebel offensive, involving more than 1,500 fighters led by the Islamic State
of Iraq and al-Sham, accelerated what had been a gradual rebel push into a province
whose government-held central city has been a relatively secure haven for displaced
Syrians from war-torn areas.
Government forces withdrew Monday from a number of villages in the coastal
mountains, said Ammar Hassan, an opposition activist in close touch with rebels.
He said rebels had seized four mountaintop military posts that had been shelling
villages below, and were trying to advance farther toward the coast and toward
Qardaha, the ancestral mountain village of President Bashar al-Assad’s family.
The advance brought fighting deeper into the heartland of the Alawite sect, an offshoot
of Shiite Islam to which the Assad family belongs, heightening fears of sectarian conflict.
Alawites here have long feared they would face revenge killings by the mostly Sunni
insurgents, and pro-government Alawite militias have been accused of killing Sunni
civilians in the area.
Some Alawites remained in their villages as rebels advanced, and a few wounded
Alawites were treated in makeshift rebel hospitals, said Mr. Hassan, who added, “Of
course the majority of the residents fled to the city.”
GOT A COMMENT?
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service
men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome.
Write to Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 100255657 or email contact@militaryproject.org: Name, I.D.,
withheld unless you request publication. Same address
to unsubscribe.
FORWARD OBSERVATIONS
“At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had
I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of
biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke.
“For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder.
“We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”
“The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they
oppose.”
Frederick Douglass, 1852
A revolution is always distinguished by impoliteness, probably because the ruling
classes did not take the trouble in good season to teach the people fine manners.
-- Leon Trotsky, History Of The Russian Revolution
“I Am A Veteran Of The US
Army, A Loyal And Patriotic
Citizen”
“I Have A Business Proposal For
NSA. Let Me Explain”
“I Am An Avid Fisherman And Have
Always Wanted To Become A Great
Fishing Guide”
“The Proposed Deal Is That NSA Will
Funnel Me Information On A Daily Basis
About Where The Fish Are Located. I
Know You Know”
OPEN LETTER:
August 6, 2013
Keith B. Alexander
Director, NSA
9800 Savage Road
Ft. Meade MD 20755
Dear Mr. Alexander:
I am a veteran of the US Army, a loyal and patriotic citizen.
I have a business proposal for NSA. Let me explain:
I am an avid fisherman and have always wanted to become a great fishing guide. I have
caught many nice fish and may even be an above average fisherman but I am not
consistently successful, a must for a fishing guide.
The reason I am not regularly successful is that 90% of the fish are usually in 10% of the
water and I have a really hard time finding them in that 10% with all that other water out
there. (Kind of like finding al Qaeda).
I have read about the Prism revelation by Snowden and the subsequent disclosure of
XKeyscore. Wow, you guys sure know everything. I am impressed.
Well this brings me to my business proposal.
I want to contract with NSA. The proposed deal is that NSA will funnel me information on
a daily basis about where the fish are located. I know you know.
With this information, I will become the most famous and successful fishing guide of all
time. In return, I will furnish high level NSA personnel with fresh fish flown-in on ice to
NSA headquarters on a daily basis.
The fish will be properly cleaned and ready to cook. (Not unlike the victims of
extraordinary rendition are delivered but, of course, not to your headquarters).
The daily shipment is another issue we need to agree upon. I am sure, even though
NSA and the CIA are jealous of one another and do not co-operate very well, to the
detriment of the American people, that with your personal intervention, the CIA would
agree to do these daily fly-ins.
Maybe there are still remnants of Air America around that can be tapped for the job?
Maybe I’d have to supply top CIA officials with fresh fish on a daily basis too, for this
small task? If so, no problem.
This brings me to another thought.
Since fish can relocate from one 10% area to another 10% area almost instantaneously,
could you get the CIA, you know, for cutting it in on the deal, to fly a drone overhead
wherever I am guiding to keep an eye on those sly slimy fish to advise me in real time if
they begin to relocate and, if so, to where?
My agent said that since NSA knows everything that you know I, as a successful fishing
guide, would eventually write books and star in documentaries about fishing and you
would want a cut on the royalties.
No problem.
But let’s keep this part of the deal between NSA and me and not involve the CIA.
If you are worried about the legalities of such a transaction maybe you could consult with
George W. Bush’s ex-lawyers (especially that Jonathan Yoo, he is a clever one indeed,
finding torture to be legal to give W cover.)
The lawyer will give you an alleged lawful basis for proceeding with this proposal. And
listen, even if we get caught by some of those principled pesky Congress members, the
few that there are, you have experience with lying and getting away with it.
So, no problem. I know you know.
Well, of course, as you certainly must know, because you know everything, I am anxious
to hear back from you. Please do not delay.
You probably knew what I was going to propose before I even typed this letter to you. If
not then, you certainly must have known simultaneously with my typing this letter to you
on my computer.
So you must know by the time you receive this letter, without even needing to bother
reading it, whether you want to do this deal.
As W once said, Let’s Roll!
Sincerely,
/s/ Sanford Kelson
Attorney at Law
P.S. By the way, have you been able to intercept communications to Earth from God?
If so, what’s the real story about this religion stuff?
I figure there must not be much to it based upon the kind of behavior you and your coconspirators engage in. Certainly you know that that kind of behavior would land you all
in Hell. Hey, wait a minute, you are not thinking about doing in God, are you? SK
Marine Convicted Of Wearing
Baseball Cap Indoors:
“Marines Get Back From Afghanistan
And They Think They Are War Heroes
And The Rules Don’t Apply”
August 4, 2013 by Frederick Benteen, The Duffel Blog
SAN DIEGO, CA – A Marine sergeant is facing administrative separation after being
convicted of wearing a baseball hat indoors, sources confirmed this morning.
The conviction for Sgt. Michael Erickson stems from an Apr. 22 incident at the
commissary aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.
“It was Saturday morning,” said Erickson in his testimony, “and my hair was a little
messy so I decided to put a baseball cap on.” Erickson then drove from his Mira Mesa
apartment to the commissary to buy groceries.
“The baby was out of formula and I had thought it would be a good idea to have some
single Marines over for lunch. Some of those guys get lonely on Sundays so I just
wanted to help fellow Marines out.”
“It’s all my fault. I had forgotten to pick up formula the day before when I went to the
store,” Erickson’s wife Meredith testified. “He had not showered yet, but the baby was
screaming for her morning feeding. I told him to just put a ball cap on, and pick up the
groceries and formula.”
After making it past the gate guard, Erickson drove to the commissary parking lot. It took
him quite some time to locate a parking place, because so many crusty, old retirees
looking to save a buck had filled up the parking spaces. The young sergeant then
walked inside.
“I saw a young devil pup, wearing a stupid looking Habitat for Humanity hat around the
commissary like he owned the place,” Sgt. Maj. Rafael Alberto, top enlisted leader of
HMH-486 Sergeant Major told The Duffel Blog.
“Marines get back from Afghanistan and they think they are war heroes and the rules
don’t apply. I was in Bastion for four months running the pax terminal. I didn’t feel like a
hero, why should they?”
Erickson felt like the whole commissary was looking at him and he didn’t know why.
“Sergeant Major just started chewing my (expletive), telling me to take off my (expletive)
hat. He told me I am a disgrace to the legacy of the Marines heroic past.”
The fiery Sergeant Major wasn’t impressed by the Marine’s excuses. “I told the Marine, if
he loved Habitat for Humanity so much, maybe he should just quit the Marine Corps,
and go build houses for them.”
Erickson, who is a regular volunteer, replied that “there was no need for me to quit the
Marine Corps, I was already volunteering.”
Alberto interpreted that comment as disrespectful therefore felt obligated to notify the
Provost Marshal Office (PMO).
The incident was reported to PMO, eventually leading to the recent ruling. “If you give
Marines an inch they’ll take a mile. If you can’t correct a Marine for something
insignificant, how are you going to be able to correct him when it really matters,” mused
Alberto.
“Erickson was a great Marine,” according to his section chief Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Brown.
“I hate to see this happen to him.
“He had already been planning to get out due to his wounds.”
Brown informed The Duffel Blog that Erickson had completed a lateral transfer to
aviation after being wounded in his abdomen in Marjeh.
The damage caused by the shrapnel is what eventually forced Erickson out.
“He couldn’t finish the crunches on the last two PFT’s,” said Brown, referring to the sit-up
portion of the Marine Corps physical fitness test. “That’s why he had decided to get out.”
Erickson expressed his frustration to The Duffel Blog. “Everyone knows that Sergeant
Major is hooking up with the admin chief. It’s not like I was cheating on my wife, or
abusing drugs. It just doesn’t seem right.”
According to the terms of Erickson’s administrative separation board, he is to receive a
general discharge resulting, among other things, in a loss of his GI Bill benefits.
“That is the worst part. I can get work. But I wanted to go back to school to become a
teacher. Unfortunately, I have to feed my family while footing the school bill. I may just
have to give up on that dream all together.”
“You’ve gotta separate the wheat from the chaff,” said Alberto. “I am proud that the
Marine Corps standards were upheld by this decision.”
TROOPS INVITED:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men
and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box
126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or email
contact@militaryproject.org: Name, I.D., withheld unless you
request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.
OCCUPATION PALESTINE
The Cruelty Of A Sadistic
Regime:
“I Will Keep Trying To See My
Daughter Until The Day I Die”
“A Mother Who Has Not Seen Her
Daughter For Eleven Years”
“She Is My Daughter And She Only
Wants To Come And Visit Me As I Am
Very Ill” “Why Is She Always Refused
Entry? She Is Not A Threat To Their
Security”
August 1, 2013 The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; via Uruknet
Fatma's wrinkled face reveals the sorrow of a mother who has not seen her daughter for
eleven years.
Fatma Khalil Mubarak (78) lives in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Her daughter, Lamees Ahmad Mubarak (44), has been living in Hebron in the West
Bank since she got married in 1988.
The last time Fatma saw her daughter was in 2002.
Since then, Lamees has been trying to visit her family in Gaza, but she has been
denied access every time she applied for a visitor permit to travel via Beit Hanoun
(“Erez”) crossing.
Beit Hanoun crossing is the only access point for people from Gaza to travel to
the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and/or Israel.
Fatma explains: “My daughter Lamees went to Hebron with her husband when she got
married in the '80s. She used to visit me frequently, and I used to visit her as my health
condition was much better and crossing to the West Bank was much easier. However,
since the Second Intifada, we haven't seen much of her.
“The last time she came was in 2002, but she has never been able to come back again
since.”
Several attempts have been made by both Lamees and her family to reunite since
2002; however, Lamees' applications for a visitor permit to the Gaza Strip have
always been met with refusal.
This year, we have applied twice so far, but in vain. The permit was refused again.
We have not given up yet. I will keep applying for a permit to see my daughter
until the day I die.”
Fatma's urge to see her daughter gets stronger every day, especially due to her
deteriorating medical condition as she suffers from heart disease and hepatitis.
“I do not know why I'm deprived of seeing my daughter,” she adds. “She is my
daughter and she only wants to come and visit me as I am very ill. Why is she
always refused entry? She is not a threat to their security. She only wants to come
so I can see her.”
“We have tried everything. The last time we applied, we attached a copy of my medical
report certified by the doctors to attest to how poor my condition is, but even that did not
work.
“The Israeli authorities refused to give her a permit again. We all thought that it would
work and that she would finally manage to come.”
“The last time I went to visit Lamees in Hebron was seventeen years ago.
“Since I became very ill, it is hard for me to travel on my own. I do not even leave this
house. I know that I might get a permit if I applied for one, due to my age and my
medical condition, but what would I do with a permit when I cannot move and cannot go
anywhere alone? My health condition does not allow me to. What if I died on the way?
“The Israeli authorities won't allow my children to accompany me to the West Bank.”
Israel imposes a policy of territorial fragmentation on the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip.
The separation of the territories has had grave consequences on the fabric of
society. It has influenced every aspect of the social life of Palestinian people.
Fatma explains how the Israeli closure of the Gaza Strip has further prevented her and
her family from fulfilling her role as a mother and a grandmother.
“Lamees got very sick recently. I could not go to visit her or look after her. None of her
family could either. She is there on her own.
“Her father became very ill before he died in 2008. He wanted to see her, so we
applied for a visitor permit, but the permit was refused.
“He died without seeing her, and she could not attend his funeral.
“Now, I have seven grandchildren whom I do not know. Two of my granddaughters got
married, and I could not attend either of their weddings.”
The separation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has made the simplest family
occasions very difficult.
According to Fatma, Lamees was hoping to attend the wedding of her nephew in Gaza,
which was planned for after Ramadan, in order to celebrate the happy occasion with her
family.
“We were getting ready to receive her at the wedding and we were expecting her. We
were disappointed to hear that her permit had been refused again. No matter how many
times she is denied permission to come, I am always hopeful that she will get the permit
the next time and that I will see my daughter again. I cannot get used to the refusals. I
will keep asking for permits again and again.”
Fatma recalls the days when Israeli restrictions on the movement of individual civilians
via Beit Hanoun crossing were less strict:
“In the past, when I applied for a permit, I would get it the next day. I would take a taxi
from Gaza City to Hebron. We used to leave for Hebron in the morning and arrive
before noon. It was only about an hour's drive.
“Nowadays, it's easier for me to see my daughter who lives in Norway than see my
daughter who lives an hour away.”
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip remain denied of their right to freedom of
movement, and suffer greatly due to the restraints imposed upon travel via Beit
Hanoun crossing.
The restrictions were first imposed in 1994 and have become increasingly strict
since the al-Aqsa Intifada.
Eventually, the crossing was completely closed on 16 February 2006. Since then,
Palestinians have been prevented from travelling via the crossing unless they fall under
certain specific categories.
As a result, civilians in the Gaza Strip have been denied access to holy places in
Jerusalem and Bethlehem to perform religious rituals.
Students have been prevented from travelling to attend universities in the West Bank.
Families are prevented from visiting their relatives in the West Bank and vice versa.
Since the Hamas takeover in June 2007, the Israeli authorities have only permitted
limited categories of individuals to travel via the crossing: patients in a critical state;
international journalists; employees of international organisations;. These groups are
allowed to travel via the crossing under limited circumstances, via complicated
procedures, and are often subjected to degrading treatment.
The closure of the Gaza Strip, which Israel has imposed for six consecutive years,
constitutes a form of collective punishment, in violation of international humanitarian law.
As a consequence of the continued closure, travelling between the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank has been rendered virtually impossible for Palestinians, and entire families
are now separated.
The forced separation of families is in violation, inter alia, of Article 16 of the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 23 of the 1966 International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which obliges States to protect the right
to marry and found a family.
[To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded
by foreign terrorists, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The occupied nation is Palestine.
The foreign terrorists call themselves “Israeli.”]
CLASS WAR REPORTS
Thousands Demand Tunisia
Government's Ouster:
Constituent Assembly Suspends Its
Work Indefinitely
06 Aug 2013 Aljazeera
Tens of thousands of Tunisians have crowded the streets of downtown Tunis to demand
the government's ouster, in the largest opposition protests to hit the capital since the
country's political crisis began two weeks ago.
The protest on Tuesday marks the six-month anniversary of the assassination of leftist
politician Chokri Belaid, one of two opposition figures to be shot dead in recent months.
It comes hours after the embattled Constituent Assembly suspended its work indefinitely.
Mustafa Ben Jaffar, the head of the assembly and secretary-general of the centre-left
party Ettakatol, announced the suspension.
I assume my responsibility as president of the ANC [assembly] and suspend its work
until the start of a dialogue, in the service of Tunisia,” he said on state television.
He was referring to a crisis sparked by another assassination of an opposition figure,
which has already prompted many opposition members to boycott the assembly's
sessions.
The assembly was only weeks away from finishing a draft constitution and electoral law
that would move the country closer to new elections.
The country's secular opposition is trying to oust the Islamist Ennahda-led government
and dissolve the transitional Assembly.
Protests have been held daily since the killing of leftist politician and assembly member
Mohamed Brahmi on July 25, nearly six months after another leftist figure was gunned
down.
More than 70 members of the assembly withdrew two weeks ago in protest at the two
killings and organised a sit-in outside the assembly headquarters.
The assembly met on Tuesday morning despite the absence of protesting lawmakers.
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Amazon Founder Says He Clicked On
Washington Post By Mistake
Photograph by Ted S. Warren/AP.
August 6, 2013 The Borowitz Report
SEATTLE — Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, told reporters today that his
reported purchase of the Washington Post was a “gigantic mix-up,” explaining that he
had clicked on the newspaper by mistake.
“I guess I was just kind of browsing through their website and not paying close attention
to what I was doing,” he said. “No way did I intend to buy anything.”
Mr. Bezos said he had been oblivious to his online shopping error until earlier today,
when he saw an unusual charge for two hundred and fifty million dollars on his American
Express statement.
After investigating with the credit-card company, he was informed that he had been
charged for the purchase price of the entire Washington Post, which, he said, was “pure
craziness.”
“No way in hell would I buy the Washington Post,” he said. “I don’t even read the
Washington Post.”
Mr. Bezos said he had been on the phone with the Post’s customer service for the better
part of the day trying to unwind his mistaken purchase, but so far “they’ve really been
giving me the runaround.”
According to Mr. Bezos, “I keep telling them, I don’t know how it got in my cart. I don’t
want it. It’s like they’re making it impossible to return it.”
DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
“Small-Town Police Departments
Have Been Gobbling Up Tons Of
Equipment Discarded By
Downsizing Military Regardless Of
Whether The Items Are Needed Or
Will Ever Be Used”
“A Disproportionate Share Of The
$4.2 Billion Worth Of Property
Distributed Since 1990 Has Been
Obtained By Police Departments And
Sheriff's Offices In Rural Areas With
Few Officers And Little Crime”
“The Only Full-Time Officer In The Town
Of 835 Residents Acquired More Than
$3.2 Million Worth Of Property Within 14
Months”
Morven Police Chief Lynwood Yates inspects a military surplus portable floodlight in
Morven, Ga., Monday, June 16, 2013. Morven has been one of the most prolific users of
a Defense Department program, getting more than $4 million worth of military surplus
goods over the past decade. Yates conceded there isn't much crime and acknowledged
that his officers spend most of their time on traffic enforcement. (AP Photo/John
Bazemore)
Before his firing earlier this year for an unrelated matter, the police chief in Rising
Star, Texas — the only full-time officer in the town of 835 residents — acquired
more than $3.2 million worth of property within 14 months.
According to an inventory obtained by the AP, the hundreds of items included
nine televisions, 11 computers, three deep-fat fryers, two meat slicers, 22 large
space heaters valued at $55,000 when new, a pool table, 25 sleeping bags and
playground equipment.
July 31, 2013 by MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, AP [Excerpts]
MORVEN, Ga. (AP) —
Small-town police departments across the country have been gobbling up tons of
equipment discarded by a downsizing military — bicycles, bed sheets, bowling
pins, French horns, dog collars, even a colonoscopy machine — regardless of
whether the items are needed or will ever be used.
In the tiny farming community of Morven, Ga., the police chief has grabbed three
boats, scuba gear, rescue rafts and a couple of dozen life preservers.
The town's deepest body of water: an ankle-deep creek.
An Associated Press investigation of the Defense Department program, originally aimed
at helping local law enforcement fight terrorism and drug trafficking, found that a
disproportionate share of the $4.2 billion worth of property distributed since 1990 has
been obtained by police departments and sheriff's offices in rural areas with few officers
and little crime.
The national giveaway program operates with scant oversight, and the surplus military
gear often sits in storage, the AP found.
Program officials often have to trust recipients to follow the rules and take only what they
can utilize; requests for equipment are reviewed, but the process hasn't stopped many
overly aggressive departments from grabbing property that could be better used by other
communities with a greater need.
Morven Police Chief Lynwood Yates, for example, has acquired a decontamination
machine originally worth $200,000 for his community of about 700 residents, and two
additional full-time officers.
The high-tech gadget is missing most of its parts and would need $100,000 worth of
repairs.
He also received a shipment of bayonets, which have never made it out of storage in his
1.7-square-mile city.
“That was one of those things in the old days you got it because you thought it was
cool,” Yates said of his bayonets. “Then, after you get it, you're like, 'What the hell am I
going to do with this?' “
Before his firing earlier this year for an unrelated matter, the police chief in Rising Star,
Texas — the only full-time officer in the town of 835 residents — acquired more than
$3.2 million worth of property within 14 months.
According to an inventory obtained by the AP, the hundreds of items included nine
televisions, 11 computers, three deep-fat fryers, two meat slicers, 22 large space
heaters valued at $55,000 when new, a pool table, 25 sleeping bags and playground
equipment.
Federal officials suspended Rising Star from the program in March after investigators
discovered that many items — including 12 pairs of binoculars — were missing from
police department facilities.
“He was getting any kind of equipment he wanted,” Rising Star city attorney Pat Chesser
said. “I don't understand why anyone city would get that amount.”
Yates has driven to military bases throughout the region to retrieve the free property and
said he has had to provide written justification for everything he requests. He said he
asks only for equipment he needs, though he sheepishly conceded that ordering the
bayonets may have been a mistake.
Sometimes he doesn't get exactly what he's requested, like the time he asked for a
handheld laser range finder for a gun and instead got a $28,000 range finder from
the nose of an A-10 Warthog tank-busting jet aircraft.
Known for its speed trap and annual peach festival, Morven also has been one of the
most prolific users of the Defense Department program, getting more than $4 million
worth of goods over the past decade.
The spoils have included 20 blankets, 10 two-man combat tents, a hammock, four
demagnetizers, two leg curl machines, a shoulder press, a leg press, two
treadmills, 20 red gym shorts, 20 fitted bed sheets, 50 flat bed sheets and 355
sandbags.
Yates conceded there isn't much crime and acknowledged that his officers spend
most of their time on traffic enforcement.
“This is probably one of the last quiet small Southern towns left in this area,” he said.
“Even my worst drug dealer here, if I was broke down on the side of the road, they would
stop and help.”
Still, Yates hasn't been afraid to think big.
He said he plans to use the boats and scuba gear to form a dive team because the
county doesn't have its own.
He says he formed a SWAT team, arming it with surplus military rifles, a Humvee and an
armored personnel carrier, before the local sheriff's office had such a unit.
And although the decontamination machine, which collects dust in a grassy area
next to the Morven fire station, would be very expensive to fix, Yates said he
wanted one in case he has to respond to a “nuclear, chemical, biological”
incident.
Yates said he could “take my guys and the training they have, the equipment we have,
and we could shut this town down” and “completely control everything.”
Seeking to avoid “over-policing” the population and giving the appearance of “an
occupying army,” the chief said he's had some of the military equipment painted
non-military colors.
Gary Randall, manager of Morven's only grocery store, said the chief's stockpiling of
equipment seems like “big-time” overkill.
“They've got a bunch of damn junk is what it looks like to me,” he said. “This is a little, itty
bitty town. His mentality is, 'If I don't get it, someone else will.' “
Yates said he routinely teams up with the local Brooks County Sheriff's Department, but
the sheriff's chief deputy disputed that.
“We assist Morven. They don't assist us,” Major Joe Wheeler said.
“They're a one-horse town.”
“We don't depend on Morven for anything,” he added. “If we felt like we needed a dive
team, the sheriff's office would create one.”
The logistics agency's Law Enforcement Support Office suspended the transfer of
firearms to police forces more than a year ago because of concerns that state
coordinators weren't keeping adequate inventory records.
Communities can still obtain other types of tactical equipment, such as aircraft,
boats, Humvees, body armor, weapon scopes, infrared imaging systems and
night-vision goggles.
There's no indication that the suspension of firearms distribution has slowed local
police from gorging themselves on general property items — a long list that
includes bookcases, hedge trimmers, telescopes, brassieres, golf carts, coffee
makers and television sets.
A sheriff in Bureau County, Ill., was accused of lending government-issued M-14
rifles to unauthorized friends.
The firearms manager for the program in North Carolina pleaded guilty in April to
stealing M-14 and M-16 assault rifles and other weapons, selling some on eBay for more
than $30,000.
A story last year in The Arizona Republic that contributed to the suspension of the
weapons program detailed how officials at the Pinal County sheriff's office budgeted the
expected proceeds from the auction of some Defense Department discards in violation
of program rules.
Other unused pieces worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were given to non-police
agencies.
Critics fear the glut of freebies is helping to transform many local police
departments into paramilitary forces.
Norm Stamper, a retired Seattle police chief who is now a spokesman for a nonprofit
group that supports legalizing and regulating illicit drugs, said the program is fueling a
pervasive, troubling trend.
“The harm for me is that it further militarizes American law enforcement,” Stamper said.
“We make a serious mistake, I'm convinced, in equipping domestic law enforcement,
particularly in smaller, rural communities, with this much military equipment.”
But in Alabama, the Oxford Police Department received more than $10.4 million in
equipment, including a $1.5 million piece of infrared surveillance apparatus for a
helicopter it doesn't have.
Oxford's police chief said the department had asked for night-vision goggles for its
SWAT team but instead received the high-value item it could not use.
Many state program coordinators say they have the staff and funding to conduct
only a handful of on-site inspections annually — if at all.
That effectively leaves to the very departments that receive the equipment the job
of certifying that the goods are being used properly and have not been lost,
stolen, sold or given away.
Mississippi's program, coordinated by its Office of Surplus Property, once went six years
without a review.
And in March 2012, federal overseers scolded that office for accumulating more than $8
million in property because it isn't a law enforcement organization, and therefore was
ineligible.
Those rules weren't in place when Rising Star's police chief went on his online shopping
spree.
“He spent most of his time on the computer looking for that stuff. He wasn't really doing
his job,” said June Stone, a former member of Rising Star's city council.
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