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8.22.13

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Military Resistance 11H17

Lt. Col. Says Purge The Generals

Aggressive Resistance To The Reporting Of Problems, Suppression Of Failed Test Results, Public Declarations Of Success Where None Was Justified
Senior Leaders Have Amassed A Record Of Failure In Major

Organizational, Acquisition And Strategic Efforts

I Just Dont See Anybody Being Held Accountable For Anything, Whether Its FCS Or The Ground Combat Vehicle Or Year After Year In Afghanistan
8.16.13 By Michelle Tan, Army Times [Excerpts] An Army officer who called on the military a year ago to come clean about the absence of success on virtually every level in Afghanistan, is now calling for a sweeping overhaul of top Army leadership. In a new essay titled Purge the generals: What it will take to fix the Army, Lt. Col. Daniel Davis writes, The U.S. Armys generals, as a group, have lost the ability to effectively function at the high level required of those upon whom we place the responsibility for safeguarding our nation. Over the past 20 years, our senior leaders have amassed a record of failure in major organizational, acquisition and strategic efforts. Davis, an armor officer who works on the Army staff, also writes, These failures have been accompanied by the hallmarks of an organization unable and unwilling to fix itself: aggressive resistance to the reporting of problems, suppression of failed test results, public declarations of success where none was justified, and the absence of accountability. In his essay, Davis recommends replacing a substantial chunk of todays generals, starting with the three- and four-star ranks, and fixing the promotion system. It is unlikely todays top leaders who are products and benefactors of the existing system have the appropriate motivation or buy-in for substantive change, he writes. New leadership is required. In particular, the Army needs a visionary leader at the top with the experience, moral standing and iron will to lead change against those who will resist and obstruct such reform. He lists a track record that shows a crying need for change, including the $6.9 billion effort to build the RAH-66 Comanche armed reconnaissance helicopter, the $7 billion XM2001 Crusader mobile cannon program, and the $20 billion Future Combat Sys-tems program. All three programs were canceled, and the Ground Combat Vehicle program, launched after the failed FCS program, has been delayed twice, Davis wrote.

You see this constant pattern, he said, adding that Army leaders reject alternative courses of action that might have produced superior results. Theyre always wrong, and the Army is never wrong, Davis said. Their track record is failing and never being wrong, and they never change. I just dont see anybody being held accountable for anything, whether its FCS or the Ground Combat Vehicle or year after year in Afghanistan. When is anybody ever held to account for what they said or did? I dont see it. Davis also criticizes the Armys decision in 2004 to modularize the brigade combat teams by stripping away one of its three maneuver battalions. Defying internal Army analysis that predicted a less-capable force, the leadership attempted to offset the loss of infantrymen, tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and artillery with larger headquarters elements, technology and more intelligence capability, he wrote in the essay. Now, after nine years and reportedly $75 billion, the Army is trying to reverse course by returning the third battalion to the BCT, Davis wrote.

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Foreign Occupation Servicemember Killed Somewhere Or Other In Afghanistan: Nationality Not Announced
August 20, 2013 Reuters A foreign servicemember died following a direct fire attack in eastern Afghanistan today.

US Convoy Hit By Blast Near Kandahar Airport:

There Has Been No Confirmed Report On The Number Of Casualties

August 19, 2013 Military-world.netUS-led foreign convoy hit by blast near Kandahar airport. The attack was carried out on Friday as the convoy was moving toward the airport. Over a dozen people were also wounded in the blast. However, there has been no confirmed report on the number of casualties. The Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for the attack. In another incident in the western province of Farah, the Taliban militants attacked a convoy of fuel tankers belonging to US-led forces on Thursday. According to Afghan officials in Farah, four tankers have been destroyed in the assault, but Taliban claim to have targeted ten tankers and killed eight guards of the convoy.

POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR

Resistance Action

[Graphic: flickr.com/photos]

Aug 18 Khaama Press & Peninsula News Paper & August 20 By Associated Press & 21 August 2013 TOLOnews Abdul Rahman Zhawandai, a spokesman for the provincial governor of western Farah province, said 11 members of the Afghan Public Protection Force and 21 insurgents were killed Sunday in a two separate gun battles. Officials often announce high insurgent death tolls in clashes that cannot be independently confirmed.

He said the Taliban attacked a convoy being guarded by the APPF, a state-run company that provides security for private companies and international organizations, in Farahs Gulistan district. At the same time the Taliban attacked an APPF base in a neighboring district. Zhawanda added that 17 APPF officers were wounded in the attacks. He had no further details. In other violence, four officers were killed by a roadside bomb on Monday in eastern Kapisa province, an official said. Kapisa spokesman Qadri said the four were killed as they returned to their base after defusing another bomb under a bridge near the capital. All four were in a single vehicle and were part of the police bomb squad, he added. ****************************************************** The ministry of defense of Afghanistan on Sunday announced, at least seven Afghan national army soldiers were killed following roadside bomb explosions across the country. According to a statement released by the ministry of defense media office, the soldiers were killed during the past 24 hours in eastern and southern provinces of Afghanistan. The statement further added, two soldiers were killed in Zherai district of southern Kandahar province, three soldiers in Mohammad Agha district of Logar province, and two in Zurmat district of Paktiya province. Defense officials also added that two other soldiers were injured in Zherai district of southern Kandahar province following roadside bomb blast. Separately, four Afghan police officers were killed in militants attack and roadside bomb explosions in eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan. According to local government officials, at least two police officers were killed and three others were injured after their vehicle struck with a roadside bomb in Jaghato district on Sunday morning. In a separate incident on Saturday evening, at least two police officers along with three militants killed in Zankhan district. An insurgent attack on a road construction workers camp in Karukh district in the western province of Herat left nine workers dead overnight. The Taliban attacked their camp along the Herat-Badghis road while they were asleep last, Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, provincial police spokesman, said. The workers were employed by a government-owned road construction company, he said

****************************************************** Local officials on Wednesday confirmed the deaths of two Afghan Local Police (ALP) officers in a roadside bomb blast in Khew district of eastern Nangarhar province. Mohmmad Akaram, Commander of the Khewa ALP, and a female bystander were also injured in the blast. The incident took place on a road in the Khewa district at around 10:00am, when an ALP vehicle carrying two officers and Mr. Akaram struck a roadside bomb.

MILITARY NEWS

Hearing Is So Secret That Its Subject Remains Secret:

A Secret Request From The Government For A Secret Ruling From The Judge
Despite The Governments Propaganda, This Process Is Not Transparent, Said Army Maj. Jason Wright
Its Seeking To Execute Men With Secret Evidence Away From The Public View
08.20.13 By CAROL ROSENBERG, Miami Herald At issue was a motion labeled AE52 and listed as government consolidated notice regarding ex parte, in camera filing and motion for finding in short a secret request from the government for a secret ruling from the judge.

The hearing lasted 36 minutes, said Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a Pentagon spokesman who was unable to provide any specifics besides the motions name. James Connell III, Baluchis Pentagon-paid defense lawyer, argued without specifics that the contents of the motion werent classified. Even if the public were excluded, he said, the accused should be allowed to hear the arguments because theyre held incommunicado, under lockdown at a secret prison on this base with no means to tell anyone but their lawyers what was said. Prosecutor Joanna Baltes said the U.S. government chose to classify the motion and did not have to justify to the defense lawyers why they had done so. The judge agreed and rejected a request by Connell that at least a portion of the hearing be held in open court. Despite the governments propaganda, this process is not transparent, said Army Maj. Jason Wright, Mohammeds military defense attorney. Its seeking to execute men with secret evidence away from the public view.

[Thanks to SSG N (retd) who sent this in. She writes: Are we having fun yet?]

Manning Sentenced to 35 Years:

He Is One Of Seven People To Be Charged In Connection With The Leaks Of Classified Information To The News Media Under The Obama Administration
There Were Only Three Such Cases In All Previous Administrations Combined
August 21, 2013 By CHARLIE SAVAGE and EMMARIE HUETTEMAN, New York Times FORT MEADE, Md. A military judge on Wednesday sentenced Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison for providing more than 700,000 government files to WikiLeaks, a gigantic leak that lifted the veil on military and diplomatic activities around the world. The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, said that Private Manning was dishonorably discharged. Colonel Lind could have sentenced Private Manning, 25, to up to 90 years. She found him guilty last month of most of the charges against him, including six counts of violating the Espionage Act, five counts of stealing government property and one count of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, a charge never before filed in a leak case. Private Mannings sentence will automatically be sent to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Before the next phase can begin, the entire court-martial proceedings must be turned into an official transcript, which both the defense and prosecution, as well as the judge, must approve; that process is expected to take considerable time. Pretrial hearings started in 2012, and the trial itself began in early June. During closing arguments in the sentencing phase, prosecutors urged Colonel Lind to sentence Private Manning to at least 60 years in prison, saying he had betrayed the government. They also said they hoped that the severity of the punishment would discourage future leaks of entire electronic archives. The prosecution also recommended that Private Manning be reduced in rank, given a dishonorable discharge, forced to forfeit his pay and fined $100,000 to repay some of

what the government said had been spent on efforts to mitigate damage, including reviewing documents and identifying individuals who officials said were put at risk by the disclosures. The materials that Private Manning gave to WikiLeaks included a video taken during an American helicopter attack in Baghdad in 2007 in which civilians were killed, including two journalists; documents exposing the abuse of detainees by Iraqi officers under the watch of American forces; and reports showing that civilian deaths during the Iraq war were most likely significantly higher than official estimates. Private Mannings defense lawyer, David Coombs, argued that he leaked the documents because he believed the public had a right to know about aspects of the Iraq war that he found troubling. But Mr. Coombs, seeking leniency, also argued that his client was nave and confused at the time by stresses including going through a crisis over his gender identity while on a military deployment to a combat zone. He also elicited testimony showing that the military had played down serious and recurring signs that his clients mental health was deteriorating, noting that had the military responded differently, his client might not have had access to classified information. Last week, Private Manning apologized for his actions, saying they had hurt people and hurt the United States. He said that while he was going through a considerable difficulty in my life at the time, these issues are not an excuse for my actions. I understood what I was doing and the decisions I made. Held up by his supporters as a hero, Private Manning has attracted international support, inspiring demonstrations outside the Army base here where his court-martial was held and as far away as Australia and South Korea. The Bradley Manning Support Network, a grass-roots group, says it has raised $1.4 million from more than 22,000 contributors to cover his legal fees. Private Manning was arrested in May 2010 after he told a former computer hacker, Adrian Lamo, that he had given hundreds of thousands of secret government files to WikiLeaks. Mr. Lamo turned him in to military authorities. A little more than three years will be deducted from Private Mannings sentence for the time he has already spent in custody. He also will be credited with 112 days for the treatment he endured at a military jail that the judge ruled was unlawful. He is one of seven people to be charged in connection with the leaks of classified information to the news media under the Obama administration, the latest being Edward J. Snowden, the former government contractor who disclosed secret documents from the National Security Agency to The Guardian and The Washington Post. There were only three such cases in all previous administrations combined.

TROOPS INVITED:
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FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nations 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

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it. -- Karl Marx, "Theses on Feuerbach"

The Only Game In Town

Photo by Mike Hastie From: Mike Hastie To: ThomasFBarton@earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 4:49 PM Subject: The Only Game In Town The Only Game In Town Bradley Manning is sentenced to 35 years in prison, and dishonorably discharged from the most dangerous military the world has ever seen. The "Collateral Murder" video that Manning revealed to the world is a metaphor of what the U.S. Government has done since the genocide of the American Indian. The collateral murder of 504 innocent Vietnamese civilians at My Lai is another metaphor of the most dangerous military the world has ever seen. What most people do not realize, is there were My Lais from the skies that were committed in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos throughout U.S. bombing campaigns. Firing artillery rounds into "Free Fire Zones" is another example of the most dangerous military the world has ever seen. You Do Not Bring The Enemy To The Peace Table By Just Killing Military Combatants. You Ultimately Bring The Enemy To The

Peace Table By Killing Innocent Civilians--They Are Military Targets. Bradley Manning is another whistle blower that simply blew people away with the truth about what the most dangerous military in the world does, while the American people continue to be in a coma. Congratulations to Bradley Manning for being dishonorably discharged from the most dangerous military the world has ever seen. Mike Hastie U.S. Army Medic Vietnam August 21, 2013

The survivor, then, is a disturber of the peace. He is a runner of the blockade men erect against knowledge of "unspeakable" things. About these he aims to speak, and in so doing he undermines, without intending to, the validity of existing norms. He is a genuine transgressor, and here he is made to feel real guilt. The world to which he appeals does not admit him, and since he has looked to this world as the source of moral order, he begins to doubt himself. And that is not the end, for now his guilt is doubled by betrayal--of himself, of his task, of his vow to the dead. The final guilt is not to bear witness. The survivors worst torment is not to be able to speak. Terrence DesPres The Survivor Photo and caption from the portfolio of Mike Hastie, US Army Medic, Vietnam 1970-71. (For more of his outstanding work, contact at: (hastiemike@earthlink.net) T) One day while I was in a bunker in Vietnam, a sniper round went over my head. The person who fired that weapon was not a terrorist, a rebel, an extremist, or a so-called insurgent. The Vietnamese individual who tried to kill me was a citizen of Vietnam, who did not want me in his country. This truth escapes millions. Mike Hastie U.S. Army Medic Vietnam 1970-71 December 13, 2004

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Opinion: Staff Sergeant Bales Is A War Criminal

2nd Lt. William Calley: Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons) August 19, 2013 by ArmyJ, The Duffel Blog Dear Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, Im writing to you today not just as a fellow combat veteran, but as an American. I understand the legal concept of innocent before proven guilty, but our justice system has no tolerance for those who flagrantly ignore the established rules of international conflict. To deploy to a foreign nation with the express purpose of protecting the local people, only to betray their trust by murdering them in cold blood is completely unacceptable. I too was a member of the U.S. Army. I had the privilege of serving in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader, and at no time did I ever sacrifice my personal integrity or sense of honor for nothing more than a personal vendetta against a group of hostile locals. War isnt just about killing, its about hearts and minds. Thats what I always told my soldiers; always double-tap their hearts and minds. Thats how you win a village over. You have to storm in, arms open, and deliver the sweet release of freedom to those people at a muzzle velocity of 3,110 feet per second. Instead you just went in there with guns blazing alone.

That should have been your first clue that what you were doing was wrong. At no point did you get orders from your company commander to kill all combatants and suspects regardless of your personal thoughts on the matter. You didnt go into that tiny hamlet supported by a platoon or more of your fellow soldiers, righteous in the knowledge that your decisions were correct because everyone was taking part. For this I condemn you. Your cruel and evil actions have set the war effort back years, and have contributed to an increased negative focus on our war effort overseas, something the troops definitely dont need at this juncture. The Geneva Convention is very clear, and states that unarmed civilians should never be targeted for any reason. And yet you seem to have declared yourself above the law. Who the hell do you think you are Staff Sergeant? Some helicopter pilot protecting enemy combatants who decides that he knows more about a situation on the ground than the veteran infantrymen under heavy fire? You think youre some rogue platoon leader just running through a friendly village, shooting people and burning down huts? I remember when I was in combat. I told my soldiers to always serve honorably. Never do anything you may regret or become infamous for years from now. I think your platoon leader should have told you that. If he had, maybe this entire tragic situation could have been averted. Men, women, even children close to a year old! What were you thinking? This is a failure in leadership if Ive ever heard one. And dont you dare try and claim you were just following orders. No officer would ever consent to the wholesale slaughter of an entire village. During an operation targeting a little place called Pinkville, I gave my men strict instructions on how to act once we entered the village and led by example, not allowing the troops to do anything until I had done it first. Thats real leadership, Mr. Bales. When the operation was over, there wasnt a single person alive in the village who opposed our counter-insurgency strategy. Thats how you win a war against a brutal enemy, as we did in southeast Asia. Now dont get me wrong, Im no left-wing peace lover. Im a firm believer in the Army, the Constitution, the Bible, in that order. Defending freedom is what we do, and like Ive always told my men, have a plan to kill everyone you meet, and be polite and professional when you do it. Unfortunately, Staff Sergeant Bales, you have failed to meet the high standards we have set for our officers and NCOs in the most professional Army on earth, and for that I

cannot forgive you. I hope that you find peace spending the rest of your life rotting in a military prison, since that is the only recourse for someone who has so blatantly committed mass murder in a war zone. Dont you think for a single minute that after you are convicted youll receive a presidential pardon down the road. That would absolutely never happen. Ill pray for you. ********************************************************************* 2nd Lt. (Ret.) William Calley is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He served with distinction in the famed Americal Division and is personally credited with at least 22 confirmed enemy kills. After his time in the army, Calley was influential in brokering a peace deal between Vietnam and the United States, and he now serves on the boards of Amnesty International, the National Association of Second Lieutenants, and the NRA.

ANNIVERSARIES

Honorable Anniversary: August 21

Nat Turners Rebellion

Carl Bunin, Peace History Aug 21-27 August 21, 1831 Nat Turner, a 30-year-old man legally owned by a child, and six other slaves began a violent insurrection in Southampton County, Virginia.

They began by killing the childs stepfather, Joseph Travis, and their family. Within the next 24 hours, Turner and ultimately about 40 followers killed the families of adjacent slaveholding properties, nearly 60 whites, while freeing and inciting other slaves to join them. Militia and federal troops were called, and the uprising was suppressed with 55 African Americans including Turner executed by hanging, and hundreds more killed by white mobs and vigilantes in revenge.

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Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the email address if you wish and well send it regularly with your best wishes. Whether in Afghanistan or at a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to injustices, inside the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or write to: Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657.

STUCK ON STUPID

Glenn Greenwalds Partner Detained By British Government Fools At Heathrow Airport For Nine Hours:
David Miranda, Partner Of Guardian Interviewer Of Whistleblower Edward Snowden, Questioned Under Terrorism Act:
It Is A Criminal Offence To Refuse To Co-Operate With Questioning
Miranda Was Released, But Officials Confiscated Electronics Equipment Including His Mobile Phone, Laptop, Camera, Memory Sticks, DVDs And Games Consoles

Glenn Greenwald (right) and his partner David Miranda, who was held by UK authorities at Heathrow airport. Photograph: Janine Gibson 18 August 2013 The Guardian, Guardian staff The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through Londons Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro. David Miranda, who lives with Glenn Greenwald, was returning from a trip to Berlin when he was stopped by officers at 8.05am and informed that he was to be questioned under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The controversial law, which applies only at airports, ports and border areas, allows officers to stop, search, question and detain individuals. The 28-year-old was held for nine hours, the maximum the law allows before officers must release or formally arrest the individual. According to official figures, most examinations under schedule 7 over 97% last less than an hour, and only one in 2,000 people detained are kept for more than six hours. Miranda was released, but officials confiscated electronics equipment including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles. Since 5 June, Greenwald has written a series of stories revealing the NSAs electronic surveillance programmes, detailed in thousands of files passed to him by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The Guardian has also published a number of stories about blanket electronic surveillance by Britains GCHQ, also based on documents from Snowden. While in Berlin, Miranda had visited Laura Poitras, the US film-maker who has also been working on the Snowden files with Greenwald and the Guardian. The Guardian paid for Mirandas flights. "This is a profound attack on press freedoms and the news gathering process," Greenwald said. "To detain my partner for a full nine hours while denying him a lawyer, and then seize large amounts of his possessions, is clearly intended to send a message of intimidation to those of us who have been reporting on the NSA and GCHQ. The actions of the UK pose a serious threat to journalists everywhere. "But the last thing it will do is intimidate or deter us in any way from doing our job as journalists. Quite the contrary: it will only embolden us more to continue to report aggressively." A spokesperson for the Guardian said: "We were dismayed that the partner of a Guardian journalist who has been writing about the security services was detained for

nearly nine hours while passing through Heathrow airport. We are urgently seeking clarification from the British authorities." A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said: "At 08:05 on Sunday, 18 August a 28-year-old man was detained at Heathrow airport under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He was not arrested. He was subsequently released at 17:00." Scotland Yard refused to be drawn on why Miranda was stopped using powers that enable police officers to stop and question travellers at UK ports and airports. There was no comment from the Home Office in relation to the detention. However, there was surprise in political circles and elsewhere. Labour MP Tom Watson said he was shocked at the news and called for it to be made clear if any ministers were involved in authorising the detention. He said: "Its almost impossible, even without full knowledge of the case, to conclude that Glenn Greenwalds partner was a terrorist suspect. "I think that we need to know if any ministers knew about this decision, and exactly who authorised it." "The clause in this act is not meant to be used as a catch-all that can be used in this way." Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act has been widely criticised for giving police broad powers under the guise of anti-terror legislation to stop and search individuals without prior authorisation or reasonable suspicion setting it apart from other police powers. Those stopped have no automatic right to legal advice and it is a criminal offence to refuse to co-operate with questioning under schedule 7, which critics say is a curtailment of the right to silence. Last month the UK government said it would reduce the maximum period of detention to six hours and promised a review of the operation on schedule 7 amid concerns it unfairly targets minority groups and gives individuals fewer legal protections than they would have if detained at a police station. The government of Brazil issued a statement in which it expressed its "grave concern" over the detention of one of its citizens and the use of anti-terror legislation. It said: "This measure is without justification since it involves an individual against whom there are no charges that can legitimate the use of that legislation. The Brazilian government expects that incidents such as the one that happened to the Brazilian citizen today are not repeated." Widney Brown, Amnesty Internationals senior director of international law and policy, said: "It is utterly improbable that David Michael Miranda, a Brazilian national transiting through London, was detained at random, given the role his partner has played in revealing the truth about the unlawful nature of NSA surveillance.

"Davids detention was unlawful and inexcusable. He was detained under a law that violates any principle of fairness and his detention shows how the law can be abused for petty, vindictive reasons. "There is simply no basis for believing that David Michael Miranda presents any threat whatsoever to the UK government. The only possible intent behind this detention was to harass him and his partner, Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, for his role in analysing the data released by Edward Snowden."

OCCUPATION PALESTINE

[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.]

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CLASS WAR REPORTS

Comment Unnecessary
August 9, 2013 Lydia DePillis, Washington Post

Finance Trumps Love As Worries About Job Instability And A Lack Of Benefits Create A Stark Divide Between Income Groups:
Historically, Marriage Has Been An Institution Based On Economics And Power Rather Than Love
8.15.13 By Aimee Picchi, MSN [Thanks to Alan Stolzer, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] While the declining marriage rate has been attributed to feminism and men opting out, the phenomenon doesnt cut equally across all classes.

Working-class Americans are now less likely to get married and stay married than people with college degrees, according to a new study from the University of Virginia and Harvard University. Poorer Americans are also less likely to have children within marriage, according to "Intimate Inequalities: Love and Work in a Post-Industrial Landscape." The reason? Working-class adults are finding themselves in a world with little job stability, given the decline of U.S. manufacturing and its stable, high-paying union jobs with good benefits. The study is based on interviews with more than 300 middle-class and working-class U.S. men and women. "These are foundational changes in the labor market for the working class, and they broadly affect peoples lives," researchers Sarah Corse and Jennifer Silva say. Historically, marriage has been an institution based on economics and power rather than love. Given the still-recovering economy, its clear that money still has a role to play in the decision to say "I do." Whats interesting about the study is that it delves into the mindset of working-class adults who are opting against marriage, a trend that researchers have noted for several years. The class divide when it comes to marriage is quite troublesome, Stephanie Coontz, who teaches history and family studies at Evergreen State College, told PBS in 2011. Coontz noted that job insecurity, lower wages for high school graduates and fewer pensions were leading low-income women to ask: "What are the benefits of this?" The new study found that people with college degrees tend to earn more and have stable jobs, allowing them to invest time and emotion in their marriages and parenting. That disparity is backed up by employment and income data. College graduates have an unemployment rate of 3.8%, compared with 7.6% for those with only a high school diploma, according to July data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. College grads will earn $1.42 million over their careers, almost double the earnings of high school grads, Pew Research found. Members of the working class increasingly compete for service-sector jobs, such as hotel or restaurant work, which often lack benefits and security, the new study added. Much of the job growth during the economic recovery has stemmed from such lowpaying positions, leading workers at fast-food restaurants such as McDonalds to stage walkouts in search of higher pay.

Silva and Corse added, "Our interviewees without college degrees expressed feelings of distrust and even fear about intimate relationships and had difficulty imagining being able to provide for others."

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

RECEIVED:
A Fund Appeal On Behalf Of: Let Them Stay: Oral Histories of Iraq War Resisters in Canada
[Thanks to Carolyn Birden, who sent this in.] August 18, 2013 via Marc Becker Luke Stewart, a member of the Historians Against the War Steering Committee since 2011, is a graduate student at the University of Waterloo and a leading activist in support of US military personnel whose objections to the Iraq War led them to seek refuge in Canada.

He has now put together an edited collection of oral histories, public statements, and personal narratives of these war resisters between 2004 and 2013. He has donated his time, money, energy and passion since 2011 editing this collection with the War Resisters Support Campaign out of Toronto. The book is therefore the product of an independent, grassroots initiative and is almost ready for publication. Stewart is starting a fundraising campaign for final production and marketing costs with Iguana Books, the publisher. With the help of volunteers - including a professional editor, videographer, and graphic designer - Stewart and the Support Campaign have reduced the final cost to publish the book down to a very low level: $6500. The fundraising efforts will go to pay for marketing/promotion, ebook and print formatting, distribution licenses (for bookstores and libraries), and other final production costs. Any amount over the $6500 goal will go directly to the War Resisters Support Campaign, and all royalties for the book will go directly to the war resisters legal, housing, medical, dental, and other associated costs while seeking sanctuary in Canada. If youre interested in donating or spreading the word, please visit: Online Indiegogo Campaign for donations: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-them-stay-iraq-warresisters-in-canada. If you want more information about the war resisters in Canada, visit: www.resisters.ca.

Vietnam GI: Reprints Available

[THEY STOPPED AN IMPERIAL WAR]

Edited by Vietnam Veteran Jeff Sharlet from 1968 until his death, this newspaper rocked the world, attracting attention even from Time Magazine, and extremely hostile attention from the chain of command. The pages and pages of letters in the paper from troops in Vietnam condemning the war are lost to history, but you can find them here. Military Resistance has copied complete sets of Vietnam GI. The originals were a bit rough, but every page is there. Over 100 pages, full 11x17 size. Free on request to active duty members of the armed forces. Cost for others: $15 if picked up in New York City. For mailing inside USA add $5 for bubble bag and postage. For outside USA, include extra for mailing 2.5 pounds to wherever you are. Checks, money orders payable to: The Military Project Orders to: Military Resistance Box 126 2576 Broadway New York, N.Y. 10025-5657

All proceeds are used for projects giving aid and comfort to members of the armed forces organizing to resist todays Imperial wars.

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