Maximilian Forte's List: Anti-Imperial Actions

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• THE CANADIAN PRESS

   

  Last Updated: 22nd October 2009, 4:28pm
• MONTREAL — As George W. Bush joked with a business crowd inside a historic hotel ballroom Thursday, hundreds of people outside the room cheered while he was being burned in effigy.
• Police in riot gear and others on horseback held back a crowd of hundreds, including several people who tossed shoes at the Queen Elizabeth hotel in a demonstration of disdain for the man speaking inside.
• Two protesters tried forcing their way through the line of shield- and baton-carrying police, were wrestled to the ground, and arrested.
• Chants of “George Bush terrorist” echoed in the street as some of the 300 protesters said they refused to accept that Canada would roll out the red carpet for a man they called a war criminal.
• But outside in the street, Helen Hannah said she couldn’t imagine why Bush had been invited to speak in several Canadian cities.

• “He stands for modes of torture, modes of warfare and modes of lying that don’t represent the way most Americans and most Canadians want to face the world.” 

  The setting is an iconic one for anti-war protests. 

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• He praised the close trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada and thanked Canadian soldiers for their efforts in Afghanistan.

  But Bush spent most of his time on stage defending his heavily criticized White House legacy, including how he handled the financial crisis, Iraq and the aftermath of 9-11.

  He also brushed off his record-low public approval ratings at the end of his tumultuous presidency.

  "If you chase popularity in life, you're often times going to be wrong," he said.

  "The only thing that really matters is that when you look in the mirror you'll be proud of what you see."

  Outside in the street, activists couldn't imagine why Bush, who spoke in Edmonton and Saskatoon earlier this week, had been invited to the Canadian cities.

  "He has nothing to offer," said Helen Hannah, a colourfully dressed member of the Raging Grannies.
• "He stands for modes of torture, modes of warfare and modes of lying that don't represent the way most Americans and most Canadians want to face the world – we don't believe in those things."

• Demonstrators blew horns and lobbed footwear at the front entrance of the hotel – a symbolic act to pay homage to the Iraqi journalist who was jailed for throwing his shoes at Bush.

  They also torched a life-sized dummy of the former president.

• This year marks the 40th anniversary of Lennon's recording of ``Give Peace a Chance" with wife Yoko Ono during their bed-in for peace at the Queen Elizabeth.

  "It's a really sad and tragic irony," said protester Jaggi Singh.

  "All we are saying is not just 'give peace a chance' ... we're saying peace comes with justice, peace comes with dignity, peace comes when people struggle for peace and for justice and for dignity."

     

                 

   

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• Yesterday protestors took to the streets of Saskatoon to let Bush know they'd prefer he stay home.
• Canadian demonstrators, while aware of the latest trends in protesting, have shown that they are not quite up to world standards. Take, for example, the use of shoes -- a technique developed by Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi.

• Almost 200 demonstrators began throwing shoes at the entrance of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel late Thursday morning ahead of a speech by former U.S president George W. Bush during a luncheon at the hotel. Traffic was blocked in both directions outside the hotel as the Montreal police tactical squad positioned itself to control the crowd.

  The demonstrators included university students, political activists such as the Raging Grannies, and various left-wing supporters. They were blowing whistles and chanting in an effort to drown out the speech.

• Wimps. He should have been arrested for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

   

  Or, at least, not granted a visa so we don't have to pay the security costs.

   

  And, I am right wing.
• The simple fact that Dubya chose to do a speaking tour in Canada and people actually are paying to see him is an embarrassment to the country. They should have arrested him when he went to Calgary back in March: theendisalwaysnear.blogspot.com/.../arrest-that-man.html

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• Irwin Block and Michelle Lalonde, Montreal GazetteOctober 22, 2009
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• MONTREAL — About 300 protesters outside a downtown hotel blew plastic horns, tossed shoes and burned George W. Bush in effigy Thursday as the former U.S. president spoke to a luncheon of the Montreal Board of Trade.
• there were only five arrests and no injuries.
• "I am confident that I made decisions based on principle, that I made calls as best I could, and I did not sell my soul," Bush told an audience of about 1,000 men and women at the $400-a-seat steak luncheon.
• The speech, part of a cross-country tour organized in part to promote Bush's upcoming autobiography, was followed by a question-and-answer period.
• Bush defended his decisions to invade Afghanistan and Iraq and to bail out Wall Street with taxpayers' money.
• Various unions, activist and antiwar groups supported the protest.
• Joan Hadrill of the Raging Grannies said she was on the street because Bush was "an alleged war criminal for his invasion of Iraq and torturing prisoners of war."
• Immigration lawyer William Sloan blamed Bush for "cynically causing a war that is responsible for so many deaths and so much destruction."
• "He set back international law into the 1700s, violating every convention possible and seeming to revel in it," he continued.

• Among the main slogan chanters was Jaggi Singh, the Montreal activist who was part of the committee that organized the protest and asked that old shoes be brought, to emulate the Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi who tossed one at Bush during a Baghdad news conference.

  Various pieces of footwear were hurled high in the direction of the hotel and the line of riot police, who did not seek to arrest the throwers.
• The Washington Speakers Bureau, Bush's agent on the speaking circuit, is reported to charge up to $150,000 for each of his appearances.

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• Collectif Échec à la guerre -
  Montreal Rally Against George W. Bush
  Thursday October 22 -- 11:00 am-1:00 pm
  Queen Elizabeth Hotel, 900 Boul. René Lévesque
• The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is inviting its wealthy members and friends ($400 a head) to a Conversation with George W. Bush on October 22 where he "will share his thoughts on his eight momentous years in the Oval Office and will discuss the challenges facing the world in the 21st century."
• We denounce that invitation from Montreal's business circles to George W. Bush, whose policies were in violation of international law and led to such suffering worldwide.
• The "eight momentous years" of George W. Bush in the White House were first and foremost those of two wars of aggression and occupation which continue today, for whom the populations of Iraq and Afghanistan tragically continue paying the price: of massive bombings of cities, of "collateral" massacres of villagers, of carnage and destruction, of rape and other sexual violence, of torture and arbitrary detention.
• Lawyers Against War in Canada,
• the Brussels Tribunal in Europe
• Center for Constitutional Rights in the United States
• the provisions of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and in Canada the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. That is why George W. Bush is persona non grata and should not be allowed to enter Canada.
• Bush government is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity
• Working populations of the entire world, including the United States, are tragically paying the price today and will continue to do so for a long time to come, as it is they who will be reimbursing the huge national debts linked to tax cuts for the rich, militarism and the financial rescue of speculators of the worst kind.
• invitation to George Bush from the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
• its endorsement by other bodies such as the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations (MCFR) and the newspaper The Gazette
• In Calgary, Toronto, Saskatoon and in Montreal, that is the thrust of all these recent invitations to George W. Bush from Canadian business circles, who profit from war, the privatization of public services and state agencies and the development of Alberta's tar sands.

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• Hundreds take to streets to denounce ex-president's speech
• Thursday, October 22, 2009
• Hundreds of people were drawn to the downtown demonstration outside the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where the exclusive speaking event took place.
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• Protesters tossed shoes toward the hotel, as an Iraqi journalist did at Bush in a notable case last December, and chanted "George Bush, terrorist" as dozens of television cameras stood by.
• A lot of objects were thrown [at] police officers," he said.
• Guests were asked to pass through airport-style metal detectors before entering the conference hall.
• Hundreds of protesters greeted Bush in Saskatoon on Wednesday at another speaking engagement, and a similar demonstration met his speech Tuesday in Edmonton.

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• Tuesday, August 25, 2009

• Former U.S. president George W. Bush will be travelling to Montreal in October for a speaking engagement.

   

  Bush is scheduled to speak Oct. 22 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel at a luncheon being organized by tinePUBLIC Inc., the same group that brought Bush to Calgary last spring.

   

  Attendance at the private event is by invitation only.

• I’ve just launched an act.ly petition asking the White House to end the war in Afghanistan. Please sign it (you must have a Twitter account to do so) and forward it around to your networks. It includes an embedded section of the Rethink Afghanistan documentary and a link to Peace Action West’s Facebook vigil at the White House.

   

  Here’s the link: http://act.ly/my

   

  Here’s the text of the petition:

• Eight Years is Enough: Tell the White House to End the War in Afghanistan

   
   
   
   
   
   

  As President Obama considers the way forward in Afghanistan, he should listen to the fifty-seven percent of Americans who oppose the war [AP-GfK poll, Oct. 1-5]. Eight years is enough—it’s time to end the war in Afghanistan.

   

  So far, this war has cost us:

   
   
  • $228 billion,
   
  • 869 dead American troops, and
   
  • thousands of Afghan civilian casualties (roughly 5200 since the U.N. started counting in 2007).
   
   

  Wednesday, October 7, 2009 marks the eighth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. Eight years is enough. It’s time to bring the troops home.

   

  Here’s how you can help end the war:

   
   
  • Sign this petition via Twitter to let the White House know that eight years of war is enough.
   
  • Join Peace Action West’s Facebook vigil at the White House.
   
  • Watch Brave New Foundation’s new documentary, Rethink Afghanistan, to learn more about the price we pay for war in Afghanistan. You can also sign their petition to demand civilian solutions.
   
   

  Eight years is enough. Tell the White House to end the war in Afghanistan.

• Dylan Penner

       | February 19, 2009
• In an article titled 'Assist US economy by cutting defence budget,' one of the world's leading military affairs publications, Jane's Defence Weekly, recently highlighted that "A sure-fire way to advance deeper into recession is now being spread around: spend even more on the Department of Defense". The article says increasing military spending "will not generate new jobs" and "would be a money surge for Lockheed Martin, but not a jobs engine".
• In fact, Wheeler writes, "the same amount of money spent elsewhere would generate more jobs, often better ones, and it would do it faster. For example... USD1 billion in spending for mass transit would generate 19,795 jobs (131 per cent more than for the DoD) and in education would generate 17,687 jobs (107 per cent more) - and the hiring could start in early 2009."
• Just last year, Harper launched the Canada First Defence Strategy, which dedicated nearly half a trillion dollars to the military. The 20-year, $490 billion plan aims to increase annual military spending from $18 billion in 2008, to over $30 billion annually by 2028. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has pegged the Canadian cost of the war in Afghanistan to reach over $18 billion by 2011.
• Dylan Penner is founder of Operation Objection - a pan-Canadian counter-recruitment campaign - and an organizer with ACT for the Earth and the Ottawa Peace Assembly.

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• Peter Rothberg on 10/02/2009
• A broad coalition of groups is co-ordinating protests and demonstrations for the coming weeks, hoping to emulate the successes of the Vietnam protests in ways that the anti-Iraq war movement never managed. There will be vigils, rallies, memorials, teach-ins, film festivals, demonstrations, direct action and marches. The activities will range from a few individuals to events where many thousands of people are expected to turn up.
• The activist upsurge is nicely detailed in an article in last week's UK Observer, which also argues that "...the Obama administration does not appear to have much fear of the doveish wing of the broad liberal coalition that put Obama into the White House."

• See the Nation's list, Ten Things You Can Do to Oppose War in Afghanistan by Z.P. Heller. 

   

   And, Ten More Things You Can Do to Oppose War in Afghanistan by Tom Hayden. 

   

   If you're a student, join the Campus Antiwar Network and hold teach-ins, debates, talks, demonstrations and walkouts on college campuses across the country.  
• Sponsor one of the more than 830 pairs of empty boots making up the Eyes Wide Open Exhibit, a memorial to American soldiers killed in the war, which is being organized by the American Friends Service Committee and Military Families Speak Out for this coming weekend in Washington, DC.
• Head to DC on October 5th for a day of direct action at the White House, organized by the stalwarts of non-violent protest, the War Resisters League.
• Or if you're in the capital on that day, visit the Washington Peace Center's educational forum, 'Not the "Good" War: Rethinking Afghanistan Eight Years Later' which includes first-hand reports back from trips to Afghanistan from Phyllis Bennis and Medea Benjamin.
• Watch Robert Greenwald's Rethink Afghanistan online for free, then get a copy of the DVD and host a screening, invite your elected reps and their staffers to watch the film, and post one of the six film's segments to your Facebook page.
• Collect signatures for Peace Action's A Better Plan for Afghan Peace petition.

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• April 8, 2009
• The war in Afghanistan is a quagmire bordering on a catastrophe. With a current price tag of $2 billion a month, this drawn-out conflict took the lives of 155 American soldiers and 2,118 Afghan civilians last year--the bloodiest year of the war to date. Western airstrikes alone killed 522 civilians, fueling hostility toward the United States and causing more Afghans to join and support the Taliban insurgency that has spread into Pakistan.
• 1 Watch parts one and two of Brave New Films' documentary Rethink Afghanistan, which explores many fundamental questions.
• 2 Read up on the war. Anand Gopal's coverage for the Christian Science Monitor has been insightful; see also Ann Jones's Kabul in Winter and articles like Gilles Dorronsoro's "Focus and Exit: An Alternative Strategy for the Afghan War". The Nation's own Robert Dreyfuss has more "For Your Reading Pleasure."
• 3 Check out the coalition of bloggers and activists seeking nonmilitary alternatives to escalation at Get Afghanistan Right.
• 4 Demand Congressional oversight hearings. It is Congress's duty to challenge policy-makers and inform the public about everything from the overall mission to the efficiency of military agencies. Sign a petition calling on Senator John Kerry and Representative Howard Berman to hold hearings immediately.
• 5 What question would you ask at a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan? Take a video of yourself or a friend asking your question and e-mail it to Brave New Foundation via YouTube.
• 6 Contact your senators and representative directly to demand Congressional oversight hearings.
• 7 Write to your local paper's editorial board and your favorite political blogs to raise concerns about the war. Don't let the mainstream media remain silent as they did before the Iraq War!
• 8 Support anti-escalation Afghan groups working for women's rights and social justice. You can aid organizations like the Afghan Women's Mission, MADRE and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) by buying them equipment from their Amazon "wish list" that helps them document and spread the news about their efforts. Stay updated with the Afghan Women's Mission newswire.
• 9 Join the Campus Antiwar Network and hold teach-ins, debates, talks, demonstrations and walkouts on college campuses across the country.
• 10 Get involved in the peace movement with groups like Win Without War and Peace Action West, which are devoted to finding nonviolent alternatives to military escalation in Afghanistan. Follow Peace Action West on Twitter.

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• Comment

   

  By Tom Hayden

    

   

  April 30, 2009
• 1. The immediate demands should be opposition to more troops, predator attacks, human rights abuses and escalating budget costs.
• 2. Support a regional diplomatic solution (exit strategy), including withdrawal of US/NATO troops and bases.
• 3. Demand of Congress and President the same accountability that was demanded of Bush and never won: verifiable casualty figures, transparent budgeting, oversight of contractors, compliance with human rights standards, including women's rights--clear metrics to measure progress towards a defined exit strategy.
• 4.With these focuses in mind and using United for Peace and Justice as an organizational base:
• 5. Criticize Obama's war from within the Obama structure and MoveOn.org. (Since neither of these structures have a focus on the war, contact them or start on a discussion on Afghanistan under another heading).
• 6. Start or join a group against military recruiters.
• 7. Build a visible network in your Congressional district. Buy and wear antiwar buttons, T-shirts and banners.
• 8. Build a local media list and meet with the editorial board.
• 9. Start Friday night streetcorner pickets. These are the hundreds of groups in every region that hold up placards on Friday nights. This is the heart of the antiwar movement.
• 10. Support other organizations, such as American Friends Service Committee, Military Families Speak Out, Code Pink etc.

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• Editorial
• September 30, 2009
• Opponents of escalation now include conservative columnist George Will, who editorialized in favor of withdrawal in the September 1 Washington Post, as well as Senators Richard Durbin, Russ Feingold and Carl Levin, chair of the Armed Services Committee. Meanwhile, Senators Dianne Feinstein, Jack Reed and John Kerry, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, have weighed in with pointed skepticism about the cost and terms of escalation. Kerry, in a September 27 Wall Street Journal op-ed, called for a "fuller debate about what constitutes success in Afghanistan," citing former Secretary of State Colin Powell's mantra, What's the exit strategy? For his part, Powell has reportedly warned the president of the need for a clearly defined military mission. And another career military man, Army chief of staff George Casey, has reportedly expressed concern about the drain on military resources.
• it is McChrystal's report that raises the gravest doubts. Although it maintains that "success is still achievable," the daunting challenges it identifies should lead foreign policy realists to conclude the exact opposite. Among the obstacles it cites are: "the weakness of state institutions," "widespread corruption and abuse of power," a "crisis of confidence among Afghans," the growing influence of insurgent groups backed by narcotrafficking and/or the Pakistani government, and the operational culture of foreign forces there, which poorly understand Afghan social, political, economic and cultural affairs. McChrystal plans to integrate US troops into Afghan units. With this strategy, he concludes, it "is realistic to expect that Afghan and coalition casualties will increase."

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