Memorial Day 2011 (more)

Contents: VfP, Sen. Boxer, VfP

from VETERANS FOR PEACE

An Alternative View of Memorial Day
Posted by: "Dave" mplsstreetrwy@earthlink.net   mplsstreetrwy
Thu Jun 2, 2011 12:20 pm (PDT)

* Deep down, we all know that this powerful video is what Memorial
Day should be about.
* And for professed Christians who pray for the troops, pay attention
to the part starting at 3:52.
lightcaesar <http://www.youtube.com/user/lightcaesar> , YouTube
<http://www.youtube.com/>
"Our soldiers don't sacrifice for duty, honor or country; they
sacrifice for Kellogg Brown & Root. They don't fight for America, they
fight for their lives and their buddies beside them because we put them
in a war zone. They are not 'defending our freedoms', they are laying
the foundation for 14 permanent military bases to defend the freedoms
of Exxon Mobil and British Petroleum. They're not establishing
democracy, they are establishing the bases for an economic
occupation..."
"They don't hate us 'because of our freedoms' - they hate us because
every day we are funding and committing crimes against humanity.
The so called 'War on Terror' is a cover for our military aggression to
gain control of the resources of Western Asia. This is sending the poor
of this country to kill the poor of those Muslim countries. This is
trading blood for OIL. This is genocide. And to most of the world - WE
are the terrorists."
Since WWII, 90% of the 'casualties of war' are unarmed civilians,
a third of them children.
Our victims have done nothing to us.
From Palestine to Afghanistan, to Iraq to Somalia, to wherever our next
target may be - their murders are not collateral damage - they are the
nature of 'modern warfare'.
More (video)...
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IRZ2scu40c&feature=player_embedd>

Senator Boxer: Bringing Our Troops Home
Posted by: "bigraccoon" bigraccoon1@verizon.net   redwoodsaurus
Thu Jun 2, 2011 12:19 pm (PDT) - - - - - NEWS FROM BARBARA BOXER, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM CALIFORNIA - May 27, 2011
Dear Friend:
I want to share with you my op-ed in today’s Los Angeles Times urging the safe and expedited withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan, starting this summer.
The death of Osama bin Laden reminds all of us why we went into Afghanistan in the first place – to go after those responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001. Although we must remain vigilant in our efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and must continue our support for the Afghan people, there is simply no justification for the continued deployment of 100,000 American troops in Afghanistan.
To read my op-ed on the need to start bringing our troops home, please click here.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator


FROM VETERANS FOR PEACE
{ http://vato21stcentury.blogspot.com/2011/05/memorial-day-2011-6000-as-visual.html }
6,000 tombstones serve as visual reminder
The annual display will remain on Eighth Ave. until dusk on Monday
Philip
Morris, a veteran of the Army National Guard, looks at the tombstones
of his friend, DeForest Talbert along the Memorial Mile along 8th Avenue
on Saturday, May 28, 2011 in Gainesville, Fla. Matt Stamey/Staff
photographer
May 28, 2011 - More than 6,000 tombstones with names of those who have
died in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq now line the sides of Northwest
Eighth Avenue — and they'll remain in place until dusk on Monday.
Saturday morning, the tombstones were put in place by the local chapter
of Veterans for Peace as part of its Memorial Day weekend tribute — the
fifth year the veterans have erected what has come to be known as the
Memorial Mile.
The display grows every year as the number of deaths grows. This year
more than 600 tombstones were added, said Scott Camil, president of
Veterans for Peace Chapter 14 and a Vietnam veteran.
It is the third time the tombstones have lined both the north and south sides of Eighth Avenue, Camil said.
Camil said that when he first started the display years ago, he never
would have thought the war would still be going on in 2011. {continued}
Veterans honor their fallen comrades
30 May 2011 - For many veterans and their families, Memorial Day is about more than a day off for shopping and barbecues.
Lee Dorman is the chair of the Orange County Veterans Advisory Council.
"I am a veteran and I have always recognized Memorial Day, Veterans
Day," Dornan said. "And I think it's wrong to call it a holiday because
it isn’t really. It’s a day of remembrance."
Dorman served 10 years in the Navy during the Vietnam War era. He says he spent most of that time in the Mediterranean region.
Ken Armelin is the commander of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 23 in Santa Ana.
"Memorial Day means remembering my comrades that I served with in
Vietnam and honoring them, and also attempting to try to help the newer
vets as well as the older vets and directing them where they can acquire
their benefits," he said at a recent veterans job fair in Costa Mesa.
In the middle of the conversation, a man approached Armelin to shake his hand.
"Can I just say, thank you for your service young man?" the man said.
"Thank you very much," Armelin replied.
The man thanked him a second time before walking away.
"Having veterans like this come up to you," Armelin said, "it means a
lot to have them thank me for their benefits and vice versa."
Armelin says he’s spending his Memorial Day at a barbecue for
hospitalized veterans. He said for him, the day is about giving back to
his military comrades, especially those who are ill or can no longer
take care of themselves. {continued}
Photos: A reminder of what Memorial Day is truly about
http://vato21stcentury.blogspot.com/2011/05/memorial-day-2011-6000-as-visual.html