Haiti Needs Your Help!
Please join the Student Activist Movement and Salem AntiWar to donate items to be sent to help relief efforts in Haiti. As you may know, the situation there is one of complete devastation, and anything we can do to help will be appreciated. We need to save as many lives as we can.
Possible Items to Donate:
Bottled Water of Any Size
Water Purification Tablets
Canned Goods
Packaged Non-Perishable Food
Baby formula and Diapers
Gauze, Bandages, and other First Aid Supplies
Clothes
Collecting from Monday 18 Jan. to Friday 22 Jan.! Donation boxes will be placed in all Salem College Residence Halls and in the RAT.
All donations will be sent to Haiti through Goler Memorial AME Zion Church.
For more information, please contact Trish Kahle or Destiney Linker.
Posted by Trish
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Haitian Relief
Salem AntiWar and the Student Activist Movement are working together to organize a donation drive to contribute to earthquake humanitarian relief in Haiti. Specific details on where and how to donate will be posted in the next 24 hours.
posted by Trish
posted by Trish
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Imperialism, Racism, and Haiti
by Trish Kahle
When Haiti was rocked by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck just outside Port-au-Prince, it shed light on the devastatingly poor nation--the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Obama said that the United States would most certainly help Haiti in its hour of need. Well, Mr. President, I hate to break it to you, but it's been Haiti's hour of need for a while. You can point to the UN Peacekeeping mission of 9,000. You can point to the abysmally small aid packages already sent.
But not too long ago, Obama sent a $663.8 billion dollar defense budget to Congress for approval. Of course it will be approved. No one seems to mind killing people, directly or indirectly, however much it costs. And spending that same money to care for those people would of course never pass Congress. After all, there's little profit for companies like DynCorp, Halliburton, or Blackwater in that. Who do you think gives more money to Congressional campaigns--the disenfranchised, homeless woman or Blackwater?
It's frankly embarrassing to live in a country that will spend over $663.8 billion on what essentially boils down to murder. Imagine if that money had been spent building schools, bridges, levees, and other structures able to withstand natural disasters--not just in Haiti but in countries all over the world, including the United States.
The imperial message of the US is very, very clear. Don't conform to our policies? We'll attack. You're not white? We'll make bombs before we house you adequately. It's no coincidence that the people who live in the poorest areas on Earth are Black, Beige, and Brown. It's racism. Racism enforced by the American DoD. These people suffer every day, not just when natural disaster strikes, because the US government and other governments of the developing world would rather spend $52 billion on fighter jets that can't be flown in the rain than aid them.
This "natural" disaster, and others like them, are the indirect result of American imperialism and defense spending. Axe the military budget, and maybe we could kill two birds with one stone.
When Haiti was rocked by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck just outside Port-au-Prince, it shed light on the devastatingly poor nation--the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Obama said that the United States would most certainly help Haiti in its hour of need. Well, Mr. President, I hate to break it to you, but it's been Haiti's hour of need for a while. You can point to the UN Peacekeeping mission of 9,000. You can point to the abysmally small aid packages already sent.
But not too long ago, Obama sent a $663.8 billion dollar defense budget to Congress for approval. Of course it will be approved. No one seems to mind killing people, directly or indirectly, however much it costs. And spending that same money to care for those people would of course never pass Congress. After all, there's little profit for companies like DynCorp, Halliburton, or Blackwater in that. Who do you think gives more money to Congressional campaigns--the disenfranchised, homeless woman or Blackwater?
It's frankly embarrassing to live in a country that will spend over $663.8 billion on what essentially boils down to murder. Imagine if that money had been spent building schools, bridges, levees, and other structures able to withstand natural disasters--not just in Haiti but in countries all over the world, including the United States.
The imperial message of the US is very, very clear. Don't conform to our policies? We'll attack. You're not white? We'll make bombs before we house you adequately. It's no coincidence that the people who live in the poorest areas on Earth are Black, Beige, and Brown. It's racism. Racism enforced by the American DoD. These people suffer every day, not just when natural disaster strikes, because the US government and other governments of the developing world would rather spend $52 billion on fighter jets that can't be flown in the rain than aid them.
This "natural" disaster, and others like them, are the indirect result of American imperialism and defense spending. Axe the military budget, and maybe we could kill two birds with one stone.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
[I'd Like to Shred] Obama's Report Card
by Destiney Linker for Salem AntiWar
People of the world (or, at least, the maximum four of you who will read this), forgive me. This is my first blog in years and my first ever to deal with a political situation.
That said, let me say that I am deeply disappointed in President Barack Obama. Of all the people I know who voted for him, I probably had the most hope for his administration, a fact which can be easily demonstrated by the embarrassing admonition that I received a commemorative Obama plate for Saturnalia 2008 and cried as I opened it. Yes. Cried. Actual tears. I’m not a political expert; my biggest claim to expertise would be the several hundred hours I log every year watching CNN.
THAT said, let me get to the actual point here: though I am shamed at the lack of progress our president has shown on many issues, namely healthcare, the multiple wars in which the US is engaged, and LGBTQ rights, I also find myself in the conundrum of being disappointed, yet unsurprised. Despite the millions of people who found themselves wiping away tears of joy at the image of President Bush hauling his sorry administration out of the White House as Obama triumphantly pushed his way into the clusterfuck that W. had left him, I saw this coming all along. Sure, I was blinded by pure relief and an inevitable admiration for Obama, which I still hold even though he has let us all down, but I knew that, despite the rhetoric of change that was a hallmark of his campaign, he would commence upon the weighty task of destroying this country, much the way presidents have been doing since 1945 (that’s an optimistic estimation).
This cynicism results, not surprisingly, from my exceedingly liberal college education. And, since Obama announced his decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, my doubts have been confirmed.
You see (and I say this with the motivation of sounding not-so-preachy), Obama enters into an administration that just recently (if at all) emerged from the invisible quagmire that was the Cold War. The US/Soviet tensions that escalated in the post-WWII years defined a new era in US foreign policy. As I learned in a Spring International Relations course, foreign policy rarely, if ever, changes significant course. This makes sense. As many of you may know, the effect of real time events takes a considerable while to show their mark on the man-made constructs that are national and international markets. The same goes for the realm of politics, except on a greater scale.
This state of things worsens when we consider the fact that justification of war/intervention (in such conflicts as Korea, Vietnam, and the myriad depositions for which the CIA was responsible [aka, the assassinations of such democratically leaders as Patrice Lumumba of the Congo]) upon the threat of communism has evolved to encompass the abstract entity that is terrorism. In other words, the US government has, in essence, brainwashed the American people to believe that, just like communism, terrorism is a constant and viable threat to homeland security. While actual events such as 9/11 are undeniably real, they stem more from a demographic’s unwillingness to submit to the continuation of American imperialism in the Middle East than from any real vendetta against the people of this country. While these actions may be backed by motives quoting Allah, jihad, and such, it is incredibly narrow-minded to assign the same identity to all perpetrators of terrorist activities when the parameters of terrorism have yet been properly defined. In what way are solitary men with bombs strapped to their shoelaces more “terrorist-y” than a United States Marine who willingly fires upon a group of civilians? This is definitely a grey area, but one which is not analyzed often enough. The United States has justification for being in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I sincerely doubt they are really so noble as Presidents W. and Obama would have us believe. I couldn’t tell you what they are, because I am, unfortunately, a lowly civilian.
President Obama, by announcing another troop surge, is not acting any differently than any president before him would. Rather, he is following a script that has been carefully laid out for him. America’s role in the world has been, by and large, that of poser-policeman. In reality, America is poised to defend her (mostly economic) interests at any cost, human or otherwise. Still virtually disabled by MAD (mutually assured destruction—the “cold” state of tensions between nations that both possess the equal capability to destroy one another), America has turned her head elsewhere, to the Middle East, so that we might wreak havoc there until the countries there, too, have nuclear power. This trend will, unfortunately, continue until there is a revolutionary upheaval in the international paradigm, until nations change the way they conduct business with one another, and until a nation’s power is not determined by its stockpile of nuclear weapons or the number of reluctant people it has under its (hard or soft) control.
People of the world (or, at least, the maximum four of you who will read this), forgive me. This is my first blog in years and my first ever to deal with a political situation.
That said, let me say that I am deeply disappointed in President Barack Obama. Of all the people I know who voted for him, I probably had the most hope for his administration, a fact which can be easily demonstrated by the embarrassing admonition that I received a commemorative Obama plate for Saturnalia 2008 and cried as I opened it. Yes. Cried. Actual tears. I’m not a political expert; my biggest claim to expertise would be the several hundred hours I log every year watching CNN.
THAT said, let me get to the actual point here: though I am shamed at the lack of progress our president has shown on many issues, namely healthcare, the multiple wars in which the US is engaged, and LGBTQ rights, I also find myself in the conundrum of being disappointed, yet unsurprised. Despite the millions of people who found themselves wiping away tears of joy at the image of President Bush hauling his sorry administration out of the White House as Obama triumphantly pushed his way into the clusterfuck that W. had left him, I saw this coming all along. Sure, I was blinded by pure relief and an inevitable admiration for Obama, which I still hold even though he has let us all down, but I knew that, despite the rhetoric of change that was a hallmark of his campaign, he would commence upon the weighty task of destroying this country, much the way presidents have been doing since 1945 (that’s an optimistic estimation).
This cynicism results, not surprisingly, from my exceedingly liberal college education. And, since Obama announced his decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, my doubts have been confirmed.
You see (and I say this with the motivation of sounding not-so-preachy), Obama enters into an administration that just recently (if at all) emerged from the invisible quagmire that was the Cold War. The US/Soviet tensions that escalated in the post-WWII years defined a new era in US foreign policy. As I learned in a Spring International Relations course, foreign policy rarely, if ever, changes significant course. This makes sense. As many of you may know, the effect of real time events takes a considerable while to show their mark on the man-made constructs that are national and international markets. The same goes for the realm of politics, except on a greater scale.
This state of things worsens when we consider the fact that justification of war/intervention (in such conflicts as Korea, Vietnam, and the myriad depositions for which the CIA was responsible [aka, the assassinations of such democratically leaders as Patrice Lumumba of the Congo]) upon the threat of communism has evolved to encompass the abstract entity that is terrorism. In other words, the US government has, in essence, brainwashed the American people to believe that, just like communism, terrorism is a constant and viable threat to homeland security. While actual events such as 9/11 are undeniably real, they stem more from a demographic’s unwillingness to submit to the continuation of American imperialism in the Middle East than from any real vendetta against the people of this country. While these actions may be backed by motives quoting Allah, jihad, and such, it is incredibly narrow-minded to assign the same identity to all perpetrators of terrorist activities when the parameters of terrorism have yet been properly defined. In what way are solitary men with bombs strapped to their shoelaces more “terrorist-y” than a United States Marine who willingly fires upon a group of civilians? This is definitely a grey area, but one which is not analyzed often enough. The United States has justification for being in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I sincerely doubt they are really so noble as Presidents W. and Obama would have us believe. I couldn’t tell you what they are, because I am, unfortunately, a lowly civilian.
President Obama, by announcing another troop surge, is not acting any differently than any president before him would. Rather, he is following a script that has been carefully laid out for him. America’s role in the world has been, by and large, that of poser-policeman. In reality, America is poised to defend her (mostly economic) interests at any cost, human or otherwise. Still virtually disabled by MAD (mutually assured destruction—the “cold” state of tensions between nations that both possess the equal capability to destroy one another), America has turned her head elsewhere, to the Middle East, so that we might wreak havoc there until the countries there, too, have nuclear power. This trend will, unfortunately, continue until there is a revolutionary upheaval in the international paradigm, until nations change the way they conduct business with one another, and until a nation’s power is not determined by its stockpile of nuclear weapons or the number of reluctant people it has under its (hard or soft) control.
Salem AntiWar now has a WEBSITE!
Hey everyone,
Salem AntiWar is pleased to announce the creation of a website! Please look around, bookmark us, and check back for regular updates!
Website
Follow us on Twitter, fan us on Facebook, and of course, keep reading this blog!
Posted by Trish
Salem AntiWar is pleased to announce the creation of a website! Please look around, bookmark us, and check back for regular updates!
Website
Follow us on Twitter, fan us on Facebook, and of course, keep reading this blog!
Posted by Trish
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Blackwater Protest: Success
The women of Salem AntiWar protested the recent decision in the case US vs. Slough today by lying in the center of campus for nearly an hour during the highest traffic time of the day.
We received no direct negative feedback (unusual on such a conservative campus) and were able to educate students and passerby about the role of Blackwater in the American occupations and to inform them about Blackwater's lack of accountability for the atrocities it commits.
We also gained a member who joined us, lying down on the pavement in the below freezing temperatures.
Our confidence was bolstered by this small success. Past actions have been met with hate mail and threats. We hope today we may have detected a shift in the rest of the student body. On a campus where action is rare, we are continuing to protest and demonstrate. Our message is striking a chord, and our numbers are growing.
Thanks to all the phenomenal women who participated in today's action!
Posted by Trish
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
There is No Justice In Murder: Why We're Protesting the Blackwater Decision
If Blackwater were read their rights, they’d sound a little different than what we’re used to; they’d probably sound something like this: “Nothing you say can or will be used against you in a court of law.”
On September 16, 2007 a Blackwater convoy sped into Nisour Square in Baghdad—a congested intersection in the once upscale Mansour district. By the time they left about fifteen minutes later, seventeen people were dead—all of them Iraqi civilian men, women, and children.
But the Blackwater shooters were investigated by the State Department with the understanding that their statement could not be used to bring criminal charges against them or be used as evidence. Copies of sworn statements from the operatives obtained by ABC News read “I further understand that neither my statements nor any information or evidence gained by reason of my statements can be used against me in a criminal proceeding.”
Paul Bremer, head of the occupation until June 2004, furthered Blackwater’s growing immunity by signing Order 17, which prevented Blackwater or its operative from being charged in Iraqi courts.
Now this outrage has been brought into the US judicial system. District Judge Ricardo Urbina threw out manslaughter and weapons charges brought against five Blackwater security guards. “If a judge ... dismissed the trial, that is ridiculous and the whole thing has been but a farce,” Dr. Haitham Ahmed—whose (unarmed) son and wife were killed in the massacre—said. “The rights of our victims and the rights of the innocent people should not be wasted.”
The messages Judge Urbina has sent with the dismissal of this case—that war crimes are permissible and human lives expendable in the pursuit of profit and that the Justice Department is happy to play an active role in the imperialist American war machine—is both dangerous and intolerable.
This is why we, the women of Salem AntiWar, take action. If an Iraqi citizen is expendable, then so are we. The Iraqi people are our brothers and sisters. To deny them basic human rights, to deny them their own voice is to deny our own humanity. It’s to implicate ourselves in the war crimes of this government and its companies/contractors that enforce is hegemonic imperialist policies.
Blackwater claims that no VIP protected by its forces has been killed, but the company admits that they have no idea how many Iraqi civilians they have killed. Blackwater and its operative must be held accountable for their war crimes, for the murder of innocent civilians. We will not tolerate a government, a judicial system that refuses justice to people to protect imperialist interests and corporate profits. There is no justice in murder.
1 Scahill, Jeremy. "State to Blackwater: Nothing You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You in a Court of Law." Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-scahill/state-to-blackwater-noth_b_70479.html (accessed January 4, 2010).
2 Scahill, Jeremy. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. New York: Nation Books, 2008, 15.
Associated Press, .. "Iraq Dismayed by Blackwater Dismissal." CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/01/world/main6044525.shtml (accessed January 2, 2010).
3 Scahill, Jeremy. Blackwater, 209-231.
On September 16, 2007 a Blackwater convoy sped into Nisour Square in Baghdad—a congested intersection in the once upscale Mansour district. By the time they left about fifteen minutes later, seventeen people were dead—all of them Iraqi civilian men, women, and children.
But the Blackwater shooters were investigated by the State Department with the understanding that their statement could not be used to bring criminal charges against them or be used as evidence. Copies of sworn statements from the operatives obtained by ABC News read “I further understand that neither my statements nor any information or evidence gained by reason of my statements can be used against me in a criminal proceeding.”
Paul Bremer, head of the occupation until June 2004, furthered Blackwater’s growing immunity by signing Order 17, which prevented Blackwater or its operative from being charged in Iraqi courts.
Now this outrage has been brought into the US judicial system. District Judge Ricardo Urbina threw out manslaughter and weapons charges brought against five Blackwater security guards. “If a judge ... dismissed the trial, that is ridiculous and the whole thing has been but a farce,” Dr. Haitham Ahmed—whose (unarmed) son and wife were killed in the massacre—said. “The rights of our victims and the rights of the innocent people should not be wasted.”
The messages Judge Urbina has sent with the dismissal of this case—that war crimes are permissible and human lives expendable in the pursuit of profit and that the Justice Department is happy to play an active role in the imperialist American war machine—is both dangerous and intolerable.
This is why we, the women of Salem AntiWar, take action. If an Iraqi citizen is expendable, then so are we. The Iraqi people are our brothers and sisters. To deny them basic human rights, to deny them their own voice is to deny our own humanity. It’s to implicate ourselves in the war crimes of this government and its companies/contractors that enforce is hegemonic imperialist policies.
Blackwater claims that no VIP protected by its forces has been killed, but the company admits that they have no idea how many Iraqi civilians they have killed. Blackwater and its operative must be held accountable for their war crimes, for the murder of innocent civilians. We will not tolerate a government, a judicial system that refuses justice to people to protect imperialist interests and corporate profits. There is no justice in murder.
1 Scahill, Jeremy. "State to Blackwater: Nothing You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You in a Court of Law." Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-scahill/state-to-blackwater-noth_b_70479.html (accessed January 4, 2010).
2 Scahill, Jeremy. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. New York: Nation Books, 2008, 15.
Associated Press, .. "Iraq Dismayed by Blackwater Dismissal." CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/01/world/main6044525.shtml (accessed January 2, 2010).
3 Scahill, Jeremy. Blackwater, 209-231.
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