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October 16, 2008 at 10:33:47
Iraq War Veterans Arrested at Final Debate by Kevin Gosztola Page 1 of 3 page(s) |
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Through this article, I will highlight 1) the courageous action of a few which most Americans are unaware of and 2) how the media does a disservice to the men and women who have returned from Iraq and who are fighting for immediate withdrawal, reparations for Iraqis, and benefits for veterans returning home. Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) has consistently acted independently from the two major parties. Unlike veterans in a coalition like United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), IVAW’s strength is that it can always find a good amount of veterans to oppose both Democrats and Republicans. Ever since March 2008, when they held their “Winter Soldier Investigation” and were ignored, IVAW has been moving right along challenging the current policy in the Middle East despite the fact that media entirely blacked out the event (search OpEdNews.com for stories; OpEdNews.com was one of the few media sources that covered the event regularly). The veterans eventually were able to testify on the hill in front of the click here Progressive Caucus (CPC) and that can be attributed to the fact that Dennis Kucinich, Robert Wexler, and John Conyers were holding private meetings with members of IVAW.
IVAW marched on the DNC with nearly 10,000 Americans. The veterans were ready to engage in civil disobedience, but Obama cleverly diffused the situation.
On the night of the final debate, which was held at Hofstra University, Iraq Veterans Against the War along with other antiwar groups came to the debate with the intention of rallying, marching, and risking arrest.
Police: 15 protesters arrested outside of LI debate
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) — Police say 15 people have been arrested during anti-war protests outside the Long Island university campus where the presidential debate was held.
Nassau County Police Lt. Kevin Smith says the 15 protesters were arrested on disorderly conduct charges Wednesday night outside the gates of Hofstra University in Hempstead. He says they identified themselves as Iraq war veterans.
Police say they were arrested trying to get onto the campus after they had been turned away from a university gate. They say one person may have received a minor injury and has been taken to a nearby hospital.
About 350 people had gathered outside the campus in the afternoon and were met by mounted police and officers in riot gear.
In order to maintain “objectivity” (or more importantly “credibility”), the Associated Press asked the police to explain what happened. No statement in the article represents what was happening from the perspective of an antiwar protester.
“He says they identified themselves as Iraq war veterans.” Either this is lazy journalism or this is appalling denigration of a group of courageous young men and women who are fighting to salvage the future of this country.
The veterans should be referred to as members of an official organization---Iraq Veterans Against the War. AP may be unaware of the group because it works hard to ignore such groups but that does not excuse how they note who was present.
At 11:23 am ET, there are only a handful of articles on IVAW's attempts to get into the debate and ask a question. Media blackout is the coup de grâce that will continually be levelled against these courageous men and women until they shut the hell up.
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| 10 comments |
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I was counting on you Kevin. Thanks a lot.
I wanted to get an eye on the IVAW actions. And I knew it would be hard to find anything in NY papers. So thank you for getting this out early. Who says you can't be a cyber-journalist? Huh! Now to get more on the Rovian tactics. P.S. Did you see the 5-min. video between Obama and Joe Plumber? I think that is something we can use on the tax question. I quicklinked it. by Margaret Bassett (45 articles, 2910 quicklinks, 43 diaries, 1854 comments [99 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 11:43:16 AM  (0+)
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important article, found nowhere else in mainstream media!
Good work, Kevin. Thank you. I hope they have good legal representation. by Stephen Fox (96 articles, 3 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 802 comments [33 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 1:12:50 PM (0+)
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Thanks Kevin!
It is difficult to read because it is so extremely upsetting but thank you for bringing it to us. Well written also. by Kellie Hahn (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 11 comments) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 1:15:31 PM (0+)
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This is on CNN's homepage too
Amazingly enough this is on their I-report section with pictures: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-115455 Freaking brutal! I suppose that's the police state's version of "Support the Troops!" They've taken that yellow ribbon and wrapped it around the Constitution and pulled: now it's dead. by Cheryl Abraham (13 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 207 comments) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 2:07:02 PM (0+)
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Thank you very much for the excellent reporting, Mr. Gostola
I learned about IVAW's planned action day-before-yesteday, and I notified Rob Kall and Rada Ananda about it yesterday by personal correspondence. Rob did not reply and Rada replied that she had not heard about IVAW's plans. I suppose there was nothing OpEdNews could have done to publicize the events you describe so well in this piece, except post a headlined article yesterday informing their readers that the much ballyhooed debate was going to vetted (pun intended) outside. In which case, conceivably a few Long Islanders in the area could have been additional witnesses to the-silence-of-the-big-media-in-America. My regret is that my effort to get OEN to give the event the attention it deserved beforehand evidently fell totally flat. by GLloyd Rowsey (104 articles, 65 quicklinks, 60 diaries, 828 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 2:52:07 PM (0+)
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EMERGENCY - READ RIGHT AWAY - EMERGENCY-
NOT A JOKE... WE ARE IN DANGER. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10564 COPY AND PASTE AND SEND LINK TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW AND THEN SOME. DEMAND IMPEACHMENT OR WHATEVER... WE HAVE TO DO IT NOW. by bucketslogg (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 259 comments [99 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 3:16:48 PM (0+)
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Reply: Carry mirrors!
Reflect the energy beams back to the source! Simple physics & should work. Parabolic reflectors would be even more effective for concentrating beam energy. by Cinderfella (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 248 comments [95 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 9:03:47 PM (0+)
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Reply: If the rays are MASER technology
as I suspect ("microwave" replacing "light") then they are already concentrated. No need for a parabolic mirror. The electrosensitives have developed shielding for when they need to walk among normal microwave-emitting human beings (cell phone users). I would be interested to see if my "bee hat" would protect me. I would think one's face and especially eyes would be most vulnerable. See www.powerwatch.org for a good start on dealing with this. by Oh (7 articles, 5 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 321 comments [41 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 10:00:41 PM (0+)
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excellent coverage, kevin!
quite distressing and disturbing. glad the lights aren't out at OEN. by Joan Brunwasser (206 articles, 3757 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 752 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 at 6:51:22 PM (0+)
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Outside the Debate
I was there for the demomstration. The police presence was over the top and overwhelming. Mounted police were used to herd demonstrators and at on point they drove their horses up on the crowded sidewalks which was totally uncalled for. I have video up you can see. It is very graphic and unbelievable what they did. This is what caused the injuries.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdMLRtmlK0E by Kevin Gallagher (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Oct 20, 2008 at 9:54:18 PM (0+)
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