Military Resistance 10A24: One of Ours

8/3/2019 Military Resistance 10A24: One of Ours

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Military Resistance: [email protected] 1.29.12 Print it out: color best. Pass it on.

Military Resistance 10A24

ONE OF OURSONE OF MANY

MORE TO COME

A Syrian soldier who defected to join anti-government forces holds up his RPG as hesecures a street in Saqba, Damascus suburbs, January 27, 2012. REUTERS/ AhmedJadallah
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A Movement That Now

Seems To Attract MoreDefectors From Syrias

Military By The DayThe Ranks Of The Fighters Had

Been Buttressed By ArmyConscripts And Others,

Including Air Force VeteransEach Time They Bring NewForces Here, Some Of Them

DefectIt Is A Syrian Uprising Against ADictators Regime, And For That

Reason There Are Protesters FromAlawite, Christian, Druze, Ismaili And

Other SectsThey Had Defected From Military BasesAll Over The Country, With Many SayingThey Had Fled After Being Ordered To

Fire On The Protests


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January 27, 2012 By KAREEM FAHIM, The New York Times [Excerpts]

SAQBA, Syria If the scene here on Friday was anything to judge by, the armedopposition to the Syrian government was making inroads and had won control ofthis town at the doorstep of the capital, Damascus, and perhaps of several other

neighborhoods, signaling an escalation of violence in this beleaguered country.

At a funeral for one of the more than 5,400 victims of Syrias unfolding civil war,fighters from the opposition Free Syrian Army kept watch, their faces coveredwith scarves and balaclavas as they stood at the edge of a square, carryingassault rifles and grenade launchers.

Thousands of demonstrators marched behind the coffin beneath the green, white andblack banner of the opposition not the Syrian governments flag.

Suspected state security agents were grabbed by the crowd.

The growing violence and assertiveness of the loosely organized military force hinted atthe expanding role of armed fighters in a movement that began peacefully more than 10months ago and that now seems to attract more defectors from Syrias military by theday.

After months of a withering government crackdown on the opposition, manyprotesters have come to welcome the fighters as a bulwark against the securityforces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The Free Syrian Armys leadership is based over the border in Turkey.

It is unclear whether it has any organizational control over the local, ad hoc militias in

Syria that one person described as franchises.

The scene in the square in Saqba showed that the ranks of the fighters had beenbuttressed by army conscripts and others, including air force veterans.

In some places the militias are filled with local men, and in others, like Saqba, many ofthe defectors come from other parts of the country, welcome but somewhat mysteriousguests.

We dont know who their commanders are, said Rafaat Obeid, 37, one of thedemonstrators. We know they protect us.

In the Free Syrian Army, the government faces what is surely a gathering threat.

The rebels have fanned out across the country, forming militias that seem to beorganizing mostly at a local level.

Khaled Abou Salah, a spokesman for the Homs Revolution Council, said brigades ofFree Syrian Army soldiers in the city answered to neighborhood commanders whocoordinated their efforts with officers in other parts of the country.


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The corps included engineers specializing in explosives and civilians, often menwanted by the government. Their ranks were growing, he said.

Each time they bring new forces here, some of them defect, he said.

In interviews last week, some residents of Homs, including several Christians and

Alawites, expressed fears that hard-line Sunnis known as Salafis were forming armedgroups and stoking violence.

The tensions played out this week between secular and Islamist activists, with theIslamists pushing to name the weekly Friday protests Al Jihad, as other activistspushed for the Right to Self Defense.

The secular activists won.

The Syrian uprising is not a Sunni jihad against unbelievers, said Rami, aprotest leader in Damascus.

It is a Syrian uprising against a dictators regime, and for that reason there areprotesters from Alawite, Christian, Druze, Ismaili and other sects, he said.

In Saqba, a Free Syrian Army commander echoed that sentiment, saying that thefighters in the city crossed sectarian lines.

My colleagues names are George, and Joseph, he said.

They had defected from military bases all over the country, with many saying they hadfled after being ordered to fire on the protests.

Men from Saqba had begged to join the brigade, usually motivated by revenge after the

death of a relative.

In another sign that the conflict might be escalating, there were unconfirmedreports on Friday of large protests in Aleppo, the countrys second largest cityand a center of commerce that has stayed largely quiet.

Activists said that at least nine protesters were killed when plainclothes security officersattacked the demonstrations.

Increasingly, the opposition is meeting violence with violence. Opposition figures havewarned about the new direction of the uprising as some militias have attacked thesecurity forces as well as people seen rightly or wrongly as its supporters.

In Aleppo, Free Syrian Army officers were behind the recent assassination of aprominent businessman who was widely believed to be one of the main financiersof the shabiha, or plainclothes security officers, said Col. Ammar Alwawi, a FreeSyrian Army officer in Turkey, who said the militia had been warning thegovernments supporters for months to return to the people.

Theres no other option now, he said.


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A Free Syrian Army member who identified himself as Lt. Sayf, said 35 soldiers from themilitia were behind a bombing at a checkpoint near Idlib on Friday that killed at least twomembers of the governments security forces.

Speaking of his role in the attack, Lieutenant Sayf said, I thank God, with his blessings,no one from our army got injured and all security at the checkpoint were killed.

Sabqa itself was hardly safe on Friday.

In recent weeks, beneath the tall, dingy apartment blocks of the city, the fightershave fought off government attacks from snipers and tanks.

More recently, mortar rounds have landing in the neighborhood, they said. At one point,there was a stampede, after rumors of a government attack.

Residents were mostly at ease in the square, where they talked about the violence ofrecent months, saying that more than 30 local residents had died.

Ive never felt safe in my house in my country, Jamal Attaya said asthousands marched past him.

The protests couldnt go on without them, he said, referring to the fighters.

MORE:

Fighters from the Free Syrian Army in Saqba, a town it controls on the outskirts ofDamascus. Tomas Munita for The New York Times


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Militia forces defending funeral and antigovernment demonstration in Saqba. TomasMunita for The New York Times

Demonstrators beat one of the two Syrian security officers (wearing blue at center) whoinfiltrated a funeral for a militia soldier killed by the government. Tomas Munita for TheNew York Times


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An anti-government soldier raises their flag in Saqba. Tomas Munita for The New York

Times

A Syrian soldier from the Free Syrian Army secures a street as he takes position behindsandbags, in Saqba, Damascus suburbs January 27, 2012. REUTERS/ Ahmed Jadallah


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Syrian people carry a coffin during the funeral of Mazen abou Dhahab who killed in aprotest in Saqba in Damascus suburbs, January 27, 2012. REUTERS/ Ahmed Jadallah

DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN MILITARYSERVICE?

Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the address if you wish andwell send it regularly.

Whether in Afghanistan or at a base in the USA, this is extra important foryour service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news ofgrowing resistance to the wars and economic injustice, inside the armedservices and at home.

Send email requests to address up top or write to: The Military Resistance,Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657. Phone: 888.711.2550

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AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Solider Killed In Afghanistan Laid ToRest In Greenwood

1/20/2012 by Ray Steele, WIBC

A private funeral was held at Indian Creek Christian Church in Indianapolis Friday for 32-year-old Staff Sergeant Jonathan Metzger who, along with three other members of the713th Engineer Company based in Valparaiso, was killed in Afghanistan.

The four soldiers died two weeks ago when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle.Metzger was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, and was an ex-Marine who joined the

Army National Guard in 2006 and had previously served in Iraq.

Sergeant Metzger was laid to rest in Greenwood.

POLITICIANS CANT BE COUNTED ON TO HALTTHE BLOODSHED

THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE

WARS

NEED SOME TRUTH?CHECK OUT TRAVELING SOLDIER

http://www.traveling-soldier.org/

Traveling Soldier is the publication of the Military Resistance Organization.

Telling the truth - about the occupations or the criminals running the governmentin Washington - is the first reason for Traveling Soldier. But we want to do more

than tell the truth; we want to report on the resistance to Imperial wars and allother forms of injustice inside the armed forces.

Our goal is for Traveling Soldier to become the thread that ties enlisted troopsinside the armed services together. We want this newsletter to be a weapon tohelp organize resistance within the armed forces. We hope that you'll build anetwork of active duty organizers.
http://www.traveling-soldier.org/http://www.traveling-soldier.org/


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MILITARY NEWS

NOT ANOTHER DAYNOT ANOTHER DOLLARNOT ANOTHER LIFE

The casket of Lance Cpl. Kenneth E. Cochran, 20, at Gowen Field Jan. 28, 2012, inBoise, Idaho. Cochran was assigned to the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd MarineLogistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force and was killed in combat Jan. 15 inHelmand province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Charlie Litchfield)

Call To Action:Call To All IVAW Members:

Rally At The G8 & NATO Summits:

We Stand In International SolidarityWith The People Of Iraq, Afghanistan,

And All The People Of The WorldWho Are Demanding Their Rights Of


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Self-Determination And GlobalJustice

We Know The Difference Between TrueInternationalism And What They Call

Globalization

01/28/12 by Aaron Hughes, Iraq Veterans Against The War; http://ivaw.org/

The Chicago Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War calls on IVAW membersnationwide to converge on Chicago for the G8 and NATO summits.

This May, the City of Chicago will be hosting the G8 and NATO summits from May 18 -21. The Chicago chapter of IVAW, with IVAW members from across the country, will beholding a series of actions in the lead up to the summits, and will culminate with actionsat the summits themselves.

Call To Action

The G8, or Group of Eight is a consortium of the world's wealthiest nations,representing over half of the world's wealth within its constituent countries.

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an organization of westernmilitary powers, whose combined military might is the world's largest and mostpowerful military force. These organizations together represent the world'seconomic and military power.


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We are calling on IVAW members to come to Chicago to tell the participants of theG8 and NATO summits that we stand against their policies of economicexploitation and militarism.

The Neoliberal economic policy of the members of the G8 has destroyed oureconomy, used our public wealth for private gain, and has decimated public

goods and services, both here in the U.S. and abroad.

The NATO mission in Afghanistan has dragged on over a decade, to the detrimentof the people of Afghanistan and our service members, their families and ourcommunities.

It is time for us to take a stand and make our voices heard.

We know the difference between true internationalism and what they callglobalization.

We stand in international solidarity with the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and all

the people of the world who are demanding their rights of self-determination andglobal justice.

Join us to show our strength and numbers at largest action in IVAW history.

Questions please contact [email protected]

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS
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At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh hadI the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream ofbiting 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 theyoppose.

Frederick Douglass, 1852

Hope for change doesn't cut it when you're still losing buddies.-- J.D. Englehart, Iraq Veterans Against The War

Troops Invited:Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service menand women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or [email protected]: Name, I.D., withheld unless yourequest publication. Same address to unsubscribe.
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ANNIVERSARIES

January 30, 1972:Shameful Anniversary;

Bloody Sunday:An Occupation Massacre

Carl Bunin Peace History Jan 28 - Feb 3

In Bogside, Derry, British Occupied Ireland, near the Rossville flats, 13 unarmed andpeaceful civil rights demonstrators were shot dead by British Army paratroopers from theBritish Armys 1st Parachute Regiment in an event that became known as Bloody

Sunday.

The protesters, all Catholics, had been marching in protest of the British policy ofinternment without trial of suspected Irish nationalists. Internment without trial wasintroduced by the British government on August 9, 1971.

British authorities had ordered the march banned, and sent troops to confront thedemonstrators when it went ahead.


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The soldiers fired indiscriminately into the crowd of protesters, killing 13 and woundingseventeen. One wounded man later died from illness attributed to that shooting.

By the end of the year 323 civilians and 144 military and paramilitary personnel would bedead.

MILITARY RESISTANCE NEWSLETTERBY MAIL FREE FOR ACTIVE DUTY

TROOPS

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Please say how many you wish sent.

Be Advised: They will be different issues of Military Resistance to satisfy DODregs that you may possess copies, provided you dont have more than one of thesame issue in your physical possession on your person or in your living quarters.

OCCUPATION PALESTINE

Dont Call Me Invented,Because My Roots In This LandAre As Old As The Land Itself

Dont Call Me Homeless, BecauseI Have A Home Thousands Of

Years Old


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Dont Call Me A Terrorist, BecauseYou Are The One Terrorizing My

Family And My HomelandDont Call Me Anything But PalestinianBecause That Is What I Am: APalestinian From Palestine

26/01/2012 By Reham Alhelsi, avoicefrompalestine.wordpress.com/

Dont call me homeless, because I have a home thousands of years old.

I have a home in Jrash which you demolished, erased from your map.

I have a home whose stones still stand as witness to your crimes, still stand witness towhat once was and to what will be.

I have a home that will be rebuilt with the same stones and on the same spot where itoriginally was and where it should be.


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I have a home in Jerusalem which you occupy, a home that will be liberated.

I have a home in Hebron which you closed, a home that will be reopened.

I have a home in Gaza which you bombed, a home that will be rebuilt.

I have a home carved in my heart. I have a home in An-Naqab, I have a home inTabaria, I have a home in Bisan, I have a home in Jenin, I have a home in Jerusalem, Ihave a home in Safad.

Every part of Palestine is my home; every olive field is my sitting room, every hilltop ismy balcony, every meadow is my playground, every stone is my chair, every bit ofshadow beneath a fig tree is my bed.

The land of Palestine is my ground, the sky over Palestine is my roof. All of Palestine ismy home, my one and only home.

Dont call me homeless, because I have a home and its called Palestine.

Dont call me voiceless, because I have a voice even if you dont want to listen.

I have a voice that roars in the midst of the storm.

I have a voice that breaks the silence of those who sing non-stop of humanity, of humanrights to every other people and every other nation, but are blind, deaf and mute to theZionist crimes.

I have a voice that silences the lies, silences the hasbara.

I have a voice that sings of freedom, of liberation and of return.

I have a voice that is louder than the whips of oppression, louder than the bullets of theoccupation.

My voice is my heart that beats every second to write in blood the name of my belovedPalestine.

My voice is my eyes that see Palestine as it will always be; one from the river to the sea.

My voice is my body that stands steadfast, only armed with a belief in a just cause, toface your bulldozer, your bombs, your tanks and your war planes.

My voice is my hand that plants the lands you so savagely murder, that waters the oliveand the fig tree that you so mercilessly massacre.

My voice is my fingers that draw Palestine free of occupation and colonization.

My voice is the children who memorize the names of the villages you erased, and writethese names in their hearts, in their copybooks and on their maps.


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My voice is the children who cherish the keys to their homes, hold on to them, dream ofthe homes that are theirs, the homes that once stood under the blue sky of Palestine,and wait for the day to return and rebuild them. My voice is the children who count thenumber of trees you uproot, and replant a thousand tree for every tree you kill. My voiceare the children who wake up to the sound of your planes, go to school despite yourtanks, play in the alley of Palestine despite your bombs, fly kites despite your F-16, face

your machine gun with their slingshot.

My voice is the children who continue to dream of freedom and return every day despiteyour terror, despite your killing machines. My voice is the parent who plants the love ofPalestine in the hearts of children.

My voice is the youth who raises the flag of Palestine in the face of oppression. Myvoice is the elderly who passes the heritage of Palestine to the future generations. Myvoice is the farmer who draws Palestine in every field, on every hilltop, on every flowerand on every leaf. My home is the teacher who teachers the children a song aboutPalestine.My voice is the refugee who swears to return to Palestine.

Dont call me voiceless, because every cell of me screams: Palestine.

Dont call me a terrorist, because you are the one terrorizing my family and myhomeland.

You occupy our home, colonize it with aliens and expel us from our birthplace. You killour children while sitting in their classrooms, you kill our parents while on their way towork, you kill our friends while waiting at checkpoints.

You bomb our schools during the day while we are at our desks, you bomb our homes atnight while we are asleep, you bomb our streets while we play, you bomb our fields while

we pick the olives, you bomb our ambulances while they rush us to hospital.

You kidnap our siblings from their beds, from their schools and from their workplace, youtorture our comrades and imprison them in dark cold dungeons. You demolish ourhomes over our heads, uproot our trees and destroy our fields to build colonies androads for aliens who dont speak the language of the land.

You steal our drinking water, you starve our children and our olive trees to fill yourswimming pools and to water you European exported flowers and trees.

You walk our roads armed from head to toe, you burn our mosques and besiege ourchurches, you teach your children that a good Arab is a dead Arab. You steal our

homeland, steal our homes and fields, steal our heritage. You massacre our songs, ourtales, our laughter, our books and our dances.

You attack us with phosphorous bombs and F-16 and markavas.

You shoot our pregnant mothers, our baby brothers, our children.

You threaten our existence every day, every minute, every second.


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Dont call me a terrorist because it is you who is the personification of terrorism.

Dont call me invented, because my roots in this land are as old as the land itself.

I am part of the land and the land is part of me. My blood and sweat have since thedawn of history watered this land, kept it green and blooming and gave the poppies their

colour.

I have a history in this land that is older than the history of your invented entity and olderthan the history of the colonial powers that support you.

It is my homeland you stole in order to create an invented homeland for yourself.

It is my cultural heritage you stole in order to create an invented identity for yourself.

It is my history you twisted in order to create an invented history for yourself.

It is my homes, my villages, my playgrounds you erased in order to create an invented

home for yourself.

It is my groves, my fields, my flowers you stole in order to invent for yourself a link to thisland. It is my olive tree you uprooted and replanted in your colonies in order to invent aplace for yourself in this land.

You stole my land, you stole my home, you stole my field, you stole my Hannoun, youstole my olive tree. You stole my Yaffa, you stole my Haifa, you stole my Beisan, youstole my Ramlah, you stole my Tabaria, you stole my Tarshiha, you stole my Jrash. Youstole my Dabkah, you stole my Dalouna, you stole my Thoub, you stole my food.

You stole my books, you stole my history, you stole my tales, you stole my songs.

You stole my identity and you call me invented? It is you who is invented, living in aninvented entity, creating for yourself an invented identity.

Dont call me invented because Palestine is as old as time itself and Israel is theinvented entity.

Dont call me Israeli Arab, because there is no such thing as an Israeli Arab.

I am a Palestinian from Palestinian Yaffa. I am a Palestinian from Palestinian Acca. I ama Palestinian from Palestinian Beisan. I am a Palestinian from Palestinian An-Naqab. Iam a Palestinian from Palestinian Al-Jalil. I am a Palestinian from Palestinian Beir As-

Sabi. I am a Palestinian from Palestinian An-Nasirah. I am a Palestinian fromPalestinian Al-Quds.

This land has my features imprinted in every stone, every tree, every cloud, every flowerand every creek.

You can force me to speak your language, but the land I walk on, the sky above me, thewind and the rain and the rainbow whisper my name: Palestinian. You can force me to


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write my name in your alphabet, but engraved in the rocks, drawn in the sky, printed inthe leaves of trees is one word in Arab: Palestinian.

You can force me to carry the ID card of your entity, but the blood that runs in my veinsscreams I am from Palestine, Ana min Falasteen. You can force my tongue to sing yourinvented anthem, but my heart will always sing Palestine. You can force my hand to

write Israel on the map, but my eyes will only see Palestine.

You can force me to study the invented history of your entity, but my mind will repeat themassacres you committed, the villages you erased, the on-going Nakba you arecausing.

You come from the USA and you claim a right to my homeland. You come fromGermany and you illegalize my existence, my heritage and my history in this land. Youcome from France and you lock me up in ghettos in my own homeland.

You come from Russia and you silence my mosques and my churches. You come fromUkraine and you deny me my birthright and my rights.

But listen, and listen carefully: I am a Palestinian from Palestine, this is my home and Iam here to stay till the end of days.

Dont call me Israeli Arab, because I am a Palestinian from Palestine.

Dont call me a Palestinian of the Palestinian Territories because it is calledPalestine.

Dont give me a fraction of my homeland and call it a solution. Dont give meoppression and call it peace.

Dont give me a Bantustan and call it a home.

Dont give me a prison and call it freedom.

Dont draw the borders of my existence according to your whims and interestsand call it a state.

My home is not a disfigured result of a till-death-do-us-part-marriage between theoccupier and the champions of negotiators-for-life that yields a Bantustan on 20% of myhomeland.

My home is not a lets legitimize the Zionist racist colonization of Palestine and hope

they accept us and allow us to live with them one day tale for the sake of fame and ashoulder pat from conditional-supporters, while giving the Zionist usurpers a right to myland which they stole and continue to colonize a right to my home which theydestroyed and continue to destroy. a right to my village which they ethnically cleansedand continue to do so to the rest of Palestine a right to Palestine, the Palestine theyraped and continue to rape for over 63 years, a rape they are proud of and celebratevery year while denying us even the tears and the memories and the names of thevictims they massacred and the villages they erased.


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My Palestine is the home that is mine since the dawn of history till the end of history. MyPalestine is the home of my ancestors, the home between the Mediterranean and theJordan River.

Dont call me a Palestinian of the Palestinian Territories, because I am a Palestinianfrom Palestine.

Dont call me a dreamer, because I refuse to surrender and I know that one dayPalestine will be free.

Dont call me unrealistic, because I refuse to surrender and I know that one dayPalestine will be free.

Dont call me crazy, because I refuse to surrender and I know that one dayPalestine will be free.

I know that one day, Zionism will be defeated.

I know that one day, occupation will be history.

I know that one day, justice will prevail.

I know that one day, the sun will shine again over Palestinian famers working in Marj IbinAmer. I know that one day, the sea will hear the whispers of Palestinian fishermenwatching the sunset over Acca.

I know that one day, the gentle breeze will race the laughter of Palestinian children alongthe streets of the old city of Jerusalem.

I know that one day, Palestinian refugees will return to build their villages and their

homes. I know that one day, Palestine will be free of the Zionist colonists, the cowardsand racists that they are, for they dont know justice, they dont want justice, they fear

justice and thus they have no place in this land.

Those who destroy the land, will never be part of the land.

Those for whom the land is the parent, the sibling, the child, the friend and theentire existence will always be part of the land.

Dont act as if I dont exist because I am here, and here I will stay, forever.

Dont call me anything but Palestinian because there is only one home for me;

Palestine.

Dont call me anything but Palestinian because there is only one Palestine; fromthe River to the Sea.

Dont call me anything but Palestinian because that is what I am: a Palestinianfrom Palestine.


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On November 9, 2000, the 50th Child killed by Israeli forces was Faris Fa'iq Odeh, a fewdays shy of his 15th birthday, near the Muntar/Karni checkpoint in Occupied Gaza. Hewas shot in the neck and left to bleed to death. Ten days earlier he was photographedthrowing stones at an Israeli tank. He lives forever.

[To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commandedby foreign terrorists, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The occupied nation is Palestine.The foreign terrorists call themselves Israeli.]

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
http://www.rafahtoday.org/http://www.rafahtoday.org/


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CLASS WAR REPORTS

10,000 Angry Workers SwarmedAround The Indiana State HouseJanuary 23 To Protest A PendingAnti-Union Right-To-Work Bill

The-Right-To-Work-For-Less Law Is

Opposed By A Majority Of OrdinaryPeople In Indiana


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Two-Thirds Are Against Passage Of TheBill, And 69 Percent Reject Republican

Plans To Pass It This Week

January 25, 2012 By Tithi Bhattacharya, Socialist Worker [Excerpts]

Some 10,000 angry workers swarmed around the Indiana State House January 23 toprotest a pending anti-union right-to-work bill that the Republican-controlled stateSenate passed by a vote of 28-22. The next day, another 7,000 workers returned,enraged by the Senate vote.

The crowd was broad and diverse, including members of the Ohio AFL-CIO who cameby bus from Columbus to join the fight. The crowd carried signs like Indiana-Ohio-Wisconsin, which linked the struggle against Indianas right-to-work legislation to thesuccessful union-led campaign to overturn anti-labor legislation in Ohio and the effort to

recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The bill now must pass the Indiana House ofRepresentatives before it is presented to the governor to be signed into law.

On Tuesday, a huge contingent of workers gathered outside the chambers of the IndianaHouse, which was in session, chanting Whose House? Our House! and The workersunited will never be defeated! They also yelled, Let the people vote! in reference to anattempt, blocked by Republicans, to put the right-to-work law on the November ballot.

Workers also chanted Occupy the Super Bowl, no doubt sending a collective shiverdown the spines of NFL executives swarming Indianapolis in preparation for the biggame scheduled for Sunday, February 5, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Unions and progressive groups have rightly dubbed the proposed legislation the right-to-work-for-less bill. The bill, which allows workers to opt out of paying their fair shareof union dues, is a naked bid to reduce the power of unions in the workplace and givebosses greater power to intimidate or misinform workers about joining unions. The bill islegalized union-busting at its worst.

The corporations and industry groups behind the bill are not shy about thereasons for their support. Companies (are) attracted to right-to-work states notbecause of lower wages but because (of) the weakened role of unions...whichlowers their costs, John Sampson, president of the Northeast Indiana RegionalPartnership, a prominent business group, told the New York Times.

The-right-to-work-for-less law is opposed by a majority of ordinary people in Indiana.Two-thirds are against passage of the bill, and 69 percent reject Republican plans topass it this week.

It is a stark testimony to the undemocratic nature of legislative politics that Indianasenators, soaked in corporate money, passed this bill while more than 10,000 workersaired their rage outside the legislatures closed doors. But a winning strategy to defeatthe bill will have to go beyond the floor of the Senate; the struggle will have to be won onthe streets. The real strength of the labor movement lies in mobilizing the power of


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workers, not in politicking by progressive legislators whose support is partial andunreliable.

The Indiana AFL-CIOs role in the battle against this bill has been hesitant at best,insisting that this fight must be won inside the legislature. But as Tuesdays eventsshowed, the Democrats presence during the vote--and their obvious efforts to make

deals with individual Republican senators to win a vote or two--did not stop theRepublicans from ramming this bill through.

Uprising Against CorruptDictator Rocks Senegal:

Wade Has Alienated Many Former

Allies As Well As The Population ByGiving An Increasing Share Of Power

To His Unpopular SonI Can Confirm That One Policeman Was

Killed. He Was Stoned To Death

January 28: Senegalese protesters rally in Dakar on Friday over the candidature ofAbdoulaye Wade for a third term in office. Senegal's opposition vowed Saturday to forceWade out of office as the capital reeled from the violent riots after a court said theoctogenarian could run again. (AFP Photo/Seyllou)


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January 28, 2012 By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI AND SADIBOU MARONE, HuffPost News[Excerpts]

DAKAR, Senegal Senegal's opposition called on the population Saturday to riseup against President Abdoulaye Wade's decision to run for a third term, a move

that foreshadows more unrest after a night of clashes that saw a policemanstoned to death in the normally peaceful nation on Africa's west coast.

The streets of the capital were strewn with debris, sign of the riots that spreadfrom a downtown square to the interior of the country late Friday after thecountry's constitutional court approved Wade's candidacy in next month'selection.

The constitution was changed soon after the 85-year-old Wade took office in 2000 inorder to impose a two-term limit. He argues that because the law was not in effect whenhe was elected, it should not apply to him.

In a statement Saturday, the M23 coalition representing all the major oppositioncandidates running in the election said the court had betrayed the people.

A black page has been written in the history of our country by the decision to validatethe candidacy of Abdoulaye Wade, the statement said. We are inviting the populationto organize and mobilize themselves to face Wade. The combat has started.

Police spokesman Col. Alioune Ndiaye said an officer had been killed late Friday duringthe riots that followed the court's verdict. A graphic video posted on YouTube shows abody lying on the ground, a cinderblock lying near his head, as a group of young menhurl more rocks.

I can confirm that one policeman was killed, Ndiaye said. He was attacked and he washit in the head by a brick. He was stoned to death, he said.

On Saturday, police detained Alioune Tine, a leading opposition figure who was theorganizer of Friday's protest.

The other members of the M23 coalition attempted to visit him at the CriminalInvestigations Division including international pop star Youssou Ndour. The Grammy-award winning singer tussled with police after they barred him from entering by shovinghim back.

Fourteen candidates were cleared by the court to run in the Feb. 26 election.

Among those whose applications was not validated is Ndour, who according to the courtdid not turn in enough valid signatures on his petition. Ndour is appealing the decision,and after the fracas at the police station, he told reporters that the government is afraidof him.

They are afraid of me because they know that Senegal was asleep, and I woke it up,he said. Senegal is not a deed for a house belonging to Abdoulaye Wade.


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Senegal finds itself at a crossroads before the Feb. 26 election. The dispute over thelegality of Wade's candidacy is compounded by the worsening economic situation,including spiraling prices and grinding unemployment.

Wade has alienated many former allies as well as the population by giving anincreasing share of power to his unpopular son.

Corruption scandals have erupted at regular intervals, detracting from thegovernment's achievements which include the building of numerous roads andbridges.

In 2008, an audit of the Ministry of the Family discovered that officials there had billedthe government for coffee spoons costing $74 a piece. The entire cutlery set costSenegal nearly $30,000.

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