“I felt then, as I feel now, that the politicians who took us to war should have been given the guns and told to settle their differences themselves, instead of organizing nothing better than legalized mass murder.”
- Harry Patch, last living veteran of WWI
On 12 April, Tarek Mehanna was found guilty of conspiracy and of giving material support for terrorism and was sentenced to 17 years in prison. The prosecution accused Mehanna of translating statements for al-Qaida and of disseminating pro-jihadist material on the internet. Mehanna maintains that he does not support the world view of al-Qaida, though he is unapologetic for supporting the rights of Muslims to defend themselves against their oppressors – in this case, US and British soldiers.
However, if Tarek Mehanna is guilty, so am I. I, too, support the right of Muslims to defend themselves against US troops, even if that means they have to kill them, and I try to give the Iraqi resistance a voice through my website. I have done everything that Tarek Mehanna has done, and there are only two possibilities as to why I am not sitting in a cell with him: first, the FBI is incompetent and hasn’t been able to smoke me out; second, the US judicial system would never dream of violating my freedom of speech because I am white and I am a veteran of the occupation of Iraq.
… I’m not afraid to profess my support for Tarek Mehanna, or to advocate for his ideas, because I know the law does not apply equally to all in America. My whiteness and my status as a veteran will protect me. But Tarek was brown and he never made the mistake of enlisting in the Marine Corps, as I did. So he will spend the next 17 years in a prison cell.
William Brown, a former Navy SEAL and Iraq war veteran, attended a town hall meeting on March 8 to raise his concerns about a takeover of the Rutgers-Camden law school by Rowan University—and for his troubles, he got called an “idiot” by Gov. Chris Christie, a rising star in the Republican Party establishment. Christie grew intolerant of Brown’s questions and had state troopers “escort” him from the meeting. Brown spoke with fellow antiwar veteran about his eviction.
(Video) Caught On Cell Phone: LA Cop Punches Special Needs Girl In The Face On A Bus! Tries to Arrest Iraq War Veteran Who Video-recorded Incident »
“A Metro passenger used his cell phone’s video camera to capture a confrontation between a woman and two LA County sheriff’s deputies on a bus in Bellflower.” - Channel 4 News.
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I hate the police (as an institution, and yes, most of the individuals) so much! I don’t really feel the need to explain why — this video speaks for itself.
The following message is from a US Army veteran to Occupy protesters. I think it shows how deep the stentiment of support runs among ‘regular’ Americans for the Occupy movement as against the police trying to suppress our rights.
I especially find it interesting that even this person below qualifies his warning to ’do things legally so as to avoid police brutality,’ by admitting that one could easily be targetted by the police anyway, despite acting within the law …
I support your right as an American to gather and to have your voice heard, just make sure your doing things legal so the police have no reason to brutalize you.
but here are a few helpful tips in case you happen to be targeted anyway.
bring milk - it can be used to wash out mace from your eyes and shortens the duration of the burn.
if pepper spray is burning your skin use a solution of 1 part chlorine bleach to 5 parts water. DO NOT USE FOR EYES.
bring a hospital mask and vinegar(apple cider vinegar or lemon juice) - douse the mask with it and breathe through it. It helps cancel out riot gas, although you may have to re douse it occasionally.
swim goggles with a tight seal can help protect the eyes.
bring a solution of water and 5% sodium bisulfate to decontaminate yourself from tear gas.
wear clothing that cover as much of your body as possible and sinch the cuffs closed. if you find yourself in tear gas your first instinct will to be to panic. you will cough, throw up, have burning vision, and possibly a 3 foot trail of snot gushing out your nose.
Do Not Run, as you cannot see and will most likley run into something big and painful.Breathing will be labored. the effects usually last 7 - 15 minutes. If you have a respiratory problem bring your meds/inhalers. do not touch your face or any other part of your body as the roit agent will spread. bring an extra change of clothes to change into. tear gas crystallizes so it will be in your clothes until washed.
Just some helpful tips from some one who has to go into a tear gas chamber every year. Be safe.
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