Military Resistance:

thomasfbarton@earthlink.net

9.13.12

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Military Resistance 10I10

Post-conventions break time.

Reality Vs. Stupid Bullshit In One Small Afghan Village:

You Made A Home For The District Governor, You Made Offices For Him, You Made Everything For Afghan National Army
The District Governor Is Destroying Us
All Of The Money That Is Coming Here Is Going In His Pocket

The villagers say the last time they had contact with the government was in April when they ran a poppy eradication program. For the farmers who relied on the crop, the theft of their yield without any recompense or replacement left the door open to Taliban sympathy, which took root and flourished. Sep 12, 2012 By Richard Johnson, National Post [Excerpts] In a village tucked inside a country most people could not find without Google maps, in an all-but-forgotten war, small battles are being won. Over the past week, soldiers of U.S. Security Force Assistance Team (SFAT) 42 have assisted and advised the Afghan National Armys 6th Kandak as it pushed the Taliban out of this small dusty valley leading down to the Arghandab River. [Pushed the Taliban out? As described below, the village population IS the Taliban.] The operation is the culmination of more than six months of working behind the scenes to assist and advise the Afghan soldiers. In the end, the operation went flawlessly, with little or no ISAF support. Now it is time to win the peace. Colonel Altafullah, the 6th Kandak commander, has invited villagers to a shura (consultation), a sort of town hall. For residents, the last week must have been a huge strain as mortars, planes and rockets passed over their homes. In the months before, the Taliban attacked police checkpoints from these same villages. Now, the villagers must be wondering what will happen next. Only the men turn up. Under the spreading limbs of a tree, in the interior courtyard of the police station that is really nothing more than a series of run-down mud buildings, they sit and wait. They do not seem afraid. Mostly they look inquisitive. Life in this part of Afghanistan is harsh in ways most Westerners cannot grasp. Entire families work together just to ensure they have enough food and clothing and water to keep alive the small fields of grapes, figs, poppies and pomegranates. These people are insular by necessity, and private by nature. The Taliban brand of religious severity and minimalism sits well with their daily lives. So when a government most consider corrupt arrives on the back of a force of arms that contains Westerners, no matter how peripherally, it is easy to see why they would be skeptical.

Around the outside of the courtyard, a dozen or more Afghan Uniform Police (AUP) officers brandishing Kalashnikov AK-47s stand on the rooftops. Nearby are another dozen or so 6th Kandak soldiers, some with similar AK-47s. There are a dozen more U.S. troops and a few high-ranking U.S. officers from other SFAT units who have just driven in at great risk one convoy struck two improvised explosive devices en route to attend this confrontation/peacemaking effort. They each have their own heavily armed security teams. Everyone watches everyone else, while watching the hills. Someone high up in ISAF has decided now is the time to go without body armour. In this cauldron of distrust, it seems like an empty and potentially fatal gesture. The Afghan colonel sits on a chair in the sun. Everyone else is kneeling or squatting under the trees in the shade. For a few minutes no one says anything. The village elder is the first to speak, the smallest of the villagers. He is upset they have not been offered tea he feels tea is surely the bare minimum of etiquette for hosting a shura. The colonel, clearly annoyed, responds, I just came from a mission. We sent out AUP on a motorcycle to tell anyone to come to this shura and someone set off an IED near him. Silence descends again. Col. Altafullah breaks it, getting straight to the point. We have to keep our friendship. We want to promote our country and keep our friendship. All of Afghan people are proud, and they have pride in being Afghan. We should be all the time working together. I am trying now to provide security to make that happen. The villagers say the last time they had contact with the government was in April when they ran a poppy eradication program. For the farmers who relied on the crop, the theft of their yield without any recompense or replacement left the door open to Taliban sympathy, which took root and flourished. The ANA is working for you, Col. Altafullah said. We should talk about peace. The ANA is part of your government. The Taliban are fighting against the Afghan government, but the government is saying, Come and make peace with us. Put your weapons away and come and join the ANA or be a farmer. Only through this diplomacy can we be successful. Mohammad Zarif, the district governor and Mohammad Ashraf Naseri, the provincial governor, arrive in a motorcade of Humvees.

The shura grinds to a halt. These are the very men the villagers distrust so wholeheartedly and accuse of corruption and deceit. They bring their own phalanx of Afghan Security Service commandos. The commandos keep their faces hidden, their sunglasses on and weapons handy. Even the most stoic villager appears concerned as the commandos take up positions around the walls. Col. Altafullah appeals once more to the villagers before he hands the shura over to the unwelcome governors. What is jihad? he asks. Do you know the meaning of jihad? You kill a person, someone innocent, building a school, or building a mosque, this is not jihad. This is power. And the one fighting for power will never be satisfied. Anyone fighting for power is destroying himself. You should be happy now in your security and take responsibility for your village and your area. The diminutive village elder stands before all, a small man among a sea of bearded faces. The district governor is destroying us, he said. If you are coming and making a school or some other thing, we will help you and work with you. But instead you made a home for the district governor, you made offices for him, you made everything for ANA and AUP, but you never made anything for the villagers, no mosque or school. All of the money that is coming here is going in his pocket. I am disclosing all of the secrets of your government. We have not seen the district governor here for six months. You promised much but fulfill on none of your promises. The Americans came here, Col. Altafullah responds. They are helping and supporting us for 10 years. We are taking their money and killing them back. There are people who do not want Afghanistan to be quiet and safe. I wish that one day that all of Afghanistan be safe. That is my wish. We can build our country. But just now all we are doing is killing and being killed. The shura ends and the villagers return to their homes, and to an unrelenting war that for them is anything but forgotten.

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Slain Army Pfc. Shane Cantu Of Corunna Remembered As Tough, Fearless Leader

August 29, 2012 By David Harris, Michigan Live CORUNNA, MI -- U.S. Army Pfc. Shane Cantu was just a few weeks into his first tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was killed in an explosion Tuesday, his former football coach said. This has hit so hard. It hurts, said Mike Sullivan, who coached Cantu at Corunna High School. He was the toughest kid Ive ever coached -- ever known. He outworked, outhustled, outplayed everyone. Cantu, 20, was killed when an explosive device went off in his compound, Sullivan said. The Department of Defense had not announced the death as of Wednesday afternoon but an obituary identified Cantu as a member of the Armys 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. The 2010 Corunna High School graduate went to Adrian College to play football, but that didnt work out so he joined the Army, Sullivan said. He had been based in Germany and Italy, but had been sent on his first tour of duty to Afghanistan just a few weeks ago. Cantu finally found what he loved to do when he joined the military, said Sullivan. He said he talked to Cantu about a week ago and his spirits were up. Cantu was a three-year starter at Corunna and was All-Capital Area Activities Conference three times, Sullivan said.

Shane was the most passionate guy I ever met, said friend Dom Persichini, 20. He was 100 percent all the time. If he was laughing, he was cracking up louder than anyone else. If he was serious he was the most serious guy in the room. After Cantu broke his leg early in his senior year, he remained a team leader, his former teammates said. It didnt matter what happened to Shane, he was a leader, Persichini said. Everyone respected him on and off the field. He was just so loyal. He was always pushing everyone and supportive of everyone. During the last game of Cantus senior season, Sullivan and the opposing coach agreed to allow Shane to catch a pass near the sidelines. After the play, the team erupted. Shane meant a lot to our football team, said Ryan Butcher, 19. He put his heart and soul in front of the whole football team. He deserved every bit of it. Corunna High School Principal Leo Constine said Cantu was a good, hardworking student. News of his death was difficult to swallow, said Constine, a former biology teacher who had Cantu in his classes for two years. When I was notified by phone call I was speechless, totally devastated, he said. It took me quite a while to be able to speak. The community is rallying to support the Cantu family, he said. There will be a candlelight vigil at about 8 p.m. Friday on the high school football field. He touched many peoples lives, said Persichini. (The community is) honestly in a state of shock, he said. The amount of people hes touched, its unbelievable. The whole community really has come together. Cantus uncle, Naz Cantu, said the family is waiting until his mother and stepfather return to Michigan from Delaware to talk to the media. He was a hell of a man, Naz Cantu said. Nelson House Funeral Home in Owosso is handling the funeral arrangements, which are still pending.

Chopper Destroyed In Attack On U.S. Base:

Two Foreign Troops Wounded;
Nationality Not Announced
September 11, 2012 Los Angeles Times & CNN

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents fired on a giant U.S. airbase north of the capital, destroying a helicopter and killing three members of the Afghan security forces, the Western military said Tuesday. Two foreign service members were injured. Four rounds landed in the airfield on Monday around 10 p.m., The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at Bagram airbase, which took place late Monday night. Officials were trying to determine if the casualties and damage were caused by rockets or mortar rounds. Last month, indirect fire aimed at Bagram damaged a plane that was being used by the visiting chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey. The general was not aboard at the time, and left the country on another aircraft. At the time, the NATO force called it a lucky shot, saying it did not believe that insurgents had either the intelligence information or the targeting capability to intentionally strike the generals aircraft.

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

Resistance Action:
Demonstration In Favor Of Warlord Accused Of Killing Civilians Is Bombed;
Many Dead
September 11, 2012 Agence France-Presse KUNDUZ: A bomb tore through a crowd of Afghan demonstrators on Monday, killing 21 people in the northern city of Kunduz, a hospital doctor said, amid fears that the toll could rise further.

Doctor Shir Jan, who works at the Kunduz central hospital, said 21 bodies had been brought in after the attack. Both civilians and policemen were among the dead, he added. A policeman deployed to man the demonstration, Gul Agha, said that 18 people had died, including six civilians and 12 law enforcement police. There were local reports that the demonstration was in support of a local warlord accused of killing civilians.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THE RESISTANCE END THE OCCUPATION

SOMALIA WAR REPORTS

Insurgents Attack New Somali President & Kenyan Foreign Minister In Mogadishu

Feisal Omar/Reuters September 12, 2012 By MOHAMMED IBRAHIM, The New York Times Company [Excerpts]

MOGADISHU, Somalia Three bombers attacked the temporary residence of the new president of Somalia as he was giving a news conference on Wednesday, killing an African Union soldier but failing to assassinate any political leaders, witnesses and officials said. The Somali president, Hassan Sheik Mohamud, had only just been elected to his post by the newly created Parliament on Monday, taking the helm of a fledgling government that is supposed to represent a tangible step toward permanent governance in a country that has been without it for more than 20 years. Two of the bombers struck, one near the gate and one at the back of the Jazeera Hotel near the airport as the president was giving a briefing for the news media with the visiting Kenyan foreign minister, Samson K. Ongeri. Another attacker was shot as he tried to scale the walls of the compound, according to a statement from the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The attack did not interrupt the news conference and the president continued his speech. This is the Mogadishu we are trying to change, he said. Mr. Mohamud was moved to the presidential palace. I was covered with dust as I was walking on the street near the hotel, and I saw several people lying on the ground, said Mohamed Farah, who was passing by. This is a shocking incident reminding us of our long-gone days, but we are expecting brighter future now. There were conflicting death tolls after the attack, but the spokesman of the African Union mission, Col. Ali Hamud, confirmed at least four deaths and noted that investigations were still under way. Four people have been killed in the attack, among them an African Union soldier, Colonel Hamud said, We have secured the hotel. The Shabab, an Islamist insurgent group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The government and African Union forces have driven the Shabab out of Mogadishu, but it has been waging relentless attacks against the government and the African forces through suicide and roadside bombs and assassinations. Kenya has also joined in the fight, crossing the border to invade parts of Somalia to fight the Shabab, which it considers a major security threat. Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, and the election of the new president on Monday officially marked the end of the internally backed transitional government and the start of a permanent one.

How Can A Free And Fair Election Take Place In A Country Where The Land Is Suffering A Brutal Occupation, Where Its Sea Is Plundered, The Skies Are Occupied
More Than Two Thirds Of The MPs Hold Foreign Passports
[Press Release From Somali Insurgents]
11th September 2012 Sheikh Ali Mahmud Rage, Official Spokesman, Harakat AlShabaab Al-Mujahideen; from Twitlonger In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful Mogadishu (11/09/2012) As is well known, Somalia has for several years been suffering from the plots of the Crusader enemies, under the patronage of the United Nations and the African Union. The latest of these plots in which a number of Western agents have been revised is the so called presidential election. Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen does not regard the so called elections as being in the interests of the Somali people. They represent Western interests, and interests of their agents in the region. Sharifs replacement is nothing more than a revised edition of traitors serving those interests. The selection of Sheikh Sharifs replacement is a further attempt to hoodwink the oppressed Somali people. How can a free and fair election take place in a country where the land is suffering a brutal occupation, where its sea is plundered, the skies are occupied, and where the economy is under siege? An election is not possible except in the manner dictated by the occupier. The condition of the parliament ascertains this, more than two thirds of the MPs hold foreign passports. They do not represent the aspirations of the Somali people, rather, they represent the countries in which they hold citizenship.

We will continue to fight these apostates as we have been fighting them before. The so called election came to maintain the status quo, allowing foreign companies to steal Somalias resources and to destroy its economy. We call upon the Somali people not to be deceived by these plots, and to continue supporting Jihad and the Mujahideen until we regain our honour, we free our land, and Sharia is established in the entire country.

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

This Election Is Not Really A Choice Between Different Policies It Is A Choice Between Who Will Be In Charge Of Carrying Out The Same Policies
No Matter Who Wins This Election, The Rich Will Get More Tax Breaks, Resulting Inevitably In A Worsening Of The Crisis, And More Unemployment
Neither Party Ever Responded To The Needs Of Working People Except When Working People Imposed Change On The Politicians
Sep 9, 2012 Editorial; The Spark [Excerpts] The Republicans officially anointed Mitt Romney on August 29, while the Democrats gave their blessing to Barack Obama the following week. The Republicans staked out their position as defenders of the wealthy, promising to further reduce taxes on the corporations and their wealthy owners. They pretend this will create jobs, but the corporations and the wealthy have been getting tax breaks for years, producing no more jobs, only more unemployment. Promising to get government off YOUR back, the Republicans propose only to get government off the backs of the capitalist class eliminating restrictions on industrial pollution, mine and workplace safety, unsanitary food, etc.

They speak of the need to reduce debt. But government debt was increased by each new round of tax breaks to the wealthy and by increased military spending. Instead of cutting back there, Romney and the Republicans propose to limit unemployment benefits, restrict disability benefits, replace Social Security with private investment accounts and replace Medicare with vouchers. With unemployment still high, Obama and the Democrats may nonetheless win this year. If they do, it will be because Republicans, spouting this garbage, hand the election over to them. Certainly Obama and the Democrats have done nothing to recommend themselves. Obama may have presented himself four years ago as the change you can count on, but he continued the policies Bush laid out. He increased Bushs bailout of the big banks. He signed a renewal of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and the corporations. His administration deported more immigrants than Bush did. He now promises full rights to same sex couples, but four years ago, he promised to defend womens access to abortion, only to have Democrats join with Republicans to chip away at womens right to control their own bodies. Obama set up the committee that proposed cutbacks in Social Security and Medicare. He cut funding for all those agencies that monitor health place safety or industrial pollution, etc. agencies that cannot perform their duties now because they are starved for money. With severe unemployment continuing for years, he signed the measure eliminating extended unemployment benefits. This election is not really a choice between different policies it is a choice between who will be in charge of carrying out the same policies. No matter who wins this election, the rich will get more tax breaks, resulting inevitably in a worsening of the crisis, and more unemployment. Women will face more restrictions, as will immigrants. Our situation will degrade, as more money goes to support the profits of a worn-out system that depends on war, unemployment and poverty to keep rolling along. Thats what will happen, no matter who wins unless we fight to push back the wealthy class and the politicians who defend them. Why wait on the politicians? They come and go. But neither party ever responded to the needs of working people except when working people imposed change on the politicians.

The big social programs Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment and Disability Benefits were put in place as the result of the movements of the 1930s and 1960s-70s. Wages were increased. Jim Crow overturned. Womens rights expanded. Workplace safety regulated. Our parents, grandparents and great grandparents imposed those changes on the politicians. We are losing what they won because we are not mobilizing as they did. Why not? What do we expect to gain by quietly waiting?

DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN MILITARY SERVICE?

Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the address if you wish and well send it regularly. 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 the wars and economic injustice, inside the armed services 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

Church Outraged After Care Package Returned,

Included Note Asking For Porn, Beer

June 30, 2012 by Merrick, The Duffle Blog [Late report]. By Merrick. About The Author: Merrick served in Iraq and has done other stuff. ****************************************************** Columbus, Ohio Leaders of the Unity Church of God were recently surprised after one of the many care packages they have sent to anonymous service members overseas was returned with all of its original contents but had an additional note inside from the soldier who had received it. The note read: Thank you for the kind gesture. Unfortunately, I have no need for any of this stuff. Please send porn and beer. It was signed as Every American Soldier Ever. After extensive investigation, the anonymous soldier was tracked down and identified as Specialist Christopher Applewood with 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. When reached for comment, Applewood was unapologetic. I dont see why theyre so mad. How many toothbrushes, decks of playing cards, or little packets of gum do we need? I get that stuff at the PX. Im twenty years old and havent had sex in fourteen months. My balls are so blue theyre cobalt. Im not exactly sure what that means but lets just say its bad. The note has set off a firestorm between the military and charity organizations. An in-depth investigation by the soldiers commander further stoked the flames when the report issued was extremely brief and confirmed Applewoods remarks. The report included statements from various soldiers, including (we) have enough damn baby wipes and there is a real shortage of high-quality material for the jack shack. Other service-members oppose the investigations findings. They believe the care packages for soldiers are well-meaning and allow those who cannot serve the opportunity to contribute to the war effort. Marine Lance Corporal Jared Headley, of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, is one who disagrees with Applewood. Weve been at war for over a decade. How can you not find porn in Iraq or Afghanistan? Im stuck in a crappy COP (combat outpost) in the middle of nowhere and I have three terabytes of porn meticulously categorized by genre. That dude needs to make some friends. I could use a beer though. Church officials, having finally learned what Every American Soldier Ever wants, have begun including the new requests in the care packages. Local porn shops, however, have suffered from the newfound revelation.

I hate it, said Rex Rudder, owner of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a porn shop outside Fort Bragg. Those buses pull up and all these church moms come pouring out into my store. My regulars usually beat feet because who wants to buy Donkey Dongs 6 when the church lady is behind them in line? Rudder shakes his head and continues. I guess if its soldier care packages for the troops, its ok. All these people out here just get a bumper sticker on their car and think thats enough. Hell, Im doing real work for the war effort Ive even thrown in a few fleshlights to do my part.

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ANNIVERSARIES

September 13, 1858: Truly Heroic Action:

Armed Abolitionists Rescue Captured Ex-Slave:
The Group Wanted To Proceed Nonviolently, But When The Kentuckians Refused To Surrender Price, The Response Was We Will Have Him Anyhow

These were twenty of the thirty-seven citizens from Oberlin and Wellington who were charged with breaking the law by helping John Price escape from slave catchers in the fall of 1858. The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue and subsequent trial caught the eye of the nation as escalating tensions over slavery raised the prospect of civil war. (Courtesy of Oberlin College Archives) I must take upon myself the responsibility of self-protection; when I come to be claimed by some perjured wretch as his slave, I shall never be taken into slavery. Carl Bunin Peace History September 8-14 A group of the citizens of Oberlin, Ohio, stopped Kentucky slavecatchers from kidnapping John Price, a black man. Shakespeare Boynton, son of a wealthy landowner had lured Price with the promise of work. Oberlinians, black and white, from town and from the local College, pursued the kidnappers to nearby Wellington at word of his abduction. The group, led by Charles Langston, James M. Fitch, bookseller and superintendent of the Oberlin Sunday School, and John Watson, a grocer, wanted to proceed nonviolently, but when the Kentuckians refused to surrender Price, the response was we will have him anyhow. They rushed the door guards of the Inn and theology student Richard Winsor took Price to safety, hidden for a time in the home of Oberlin College President James Fairchild, later helped across the Canadian border to freedom. ***************************

Oberlinheritage.org

Oberlin And Anti-Slavery

Oberlin was a uniquely tolerant community in the early nineteenth century. Founded in 1833, Oberlin College pioneered co-education and in 1835 broke new ground by admitting students regardless of their race. Many residents were abolitionists and over two hundred people joined together to form the Oberlin Anti-Slavery Society in 1835. The society was dedicated to the immediate emancipation of the whole colored race within the United States: The emancipation of the slave from the oppression of the master, the emancipation of the free colored man from the oppression of public sentiment, and the elevation of both to an intellectual, moral, and political equality with the whites. Over the next generation, Oberlinians supported the antislavery cause by helping fugitive slaves escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad. After the federal government passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Oberlin abolitionists grew increasingly concerned about the threat posed by slave catchers hired to recover slaves who had stolen themselves from their masters. Under the 1850 Act, federal marshals received rewards for the arrest and return of alleged fugitive slaves, and anyone caught helping a freedom seeker could be jailed and fined. Antislavery activists throughout the nation denounced the law as immoral and Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Toms Cabin to rally public opinion against the measure. Most Oberlin residents were proud of the towns reputation as a major station on the Underground Railroad and were more ready than ever to safeguard the escaped men, women, and children seeking aid in their community. John Price was a young man who had escaped from his Kentucky slave owner in the mid-1850s. He had been living and working in Oberlin for about two years when, in the fall of 1858, slavecatchers Anderson Jennings and Richard Mitchell conspired to kidnap Price and bring him back to his Kentucky master. With the help of a few locals (not everyone in Oberlin was an abolitionist), on September 13, 1858 the slave catchers lured Price out of Oberlin with the promise of work. Armed with weapons and a warrant, Mitchell, federal marshal Jacob Lowe, and his assistant Samuel Davis forced Price into their carriage. They then drove him eight miles south to Wellington, Ohio to catch the 5:13 p.m. southbound train. News of John Prices kidnapping spread quickly in downtown Oberlin as townspeople, students, and professors rallied together in response. They have carried off one of our men in broad daylight, and are an hour on their way already! shouted one outraged citizen.

The Kidnapping Of John Price And The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue

Side view of Wadsworths Hotel in Wellington, Ohio (Courtesy of Oberlin College Archives)

White and black Oberlinians hurried the eight miles to Wellington in wagons, buggies, carriages, and some even on foot to rescue Price from slavery. When John H. Scott went to his neighbor, Mrs. Oliver P. Ryder, to borrow a horse she told him, If necessary, spare not the life of my beast, but rescue the boy. John Watson, a black store owner in Oberlin, arrived in Wellington first. Soon between 200 and 500 men crowded the streets around the Wadsworth Hotel where the slavecatchers held Price. The crowd began to shout back and forth with the captors, disputing the legality of the capture and demanding to hear from Price himself. Many in the crowd were determined to free Price, whatever the law or consequences. Charles Langston, a black school teacher, moved through the crowd trying to calm the armed protesters. When the southbound train arrived, the situation grew urgent and the crowd began to force their way into the hotel.

In the confusion that followed, Price escaped with the help of men who had been trying to negotiate with the captors. Energized by the success of the rescue, Oberlin residents paraded back from Wellington, shouting, singing, rejoicing in the glad results. Price first hid in the home of James Fitch, but then moved because Fitch was a known agent of the Underground Railroad. Fitch and Professor James Monroe approached Oberlin College professor James Fairchild, who was known as a more conservative, lawabiding citizen. Fairchild disapproved of slavery and agreed to house Price until he was able to continue north. As the rescuers had hoped, no one came to search Fairchilds home. With the help of others, John Price probably made his way into Canada. Unfortunately, the story of his life after the rescue is lost to us today.

The Trial Of The Rescuers

Jubilant spirits in Oberlin dimmed when thirty-seven of the Rescuers, both black and white, were charged with breaking federal law. Twenty-five of the men were from Oberlin and twelve were from Wellington. Ever defiant and trusting in the right of a higher law, many of the accused and their wives attended a Felons Feast on January 11, 1859. Sixty-four guests dined while the Oberlin String Band played. The night was filled with speeches, toasts, spirited criticism of slavery, and a few jokes as well. The town had less to cheer about in the following months as the lengthy trials began and the Rescuers were remanded to jail for their refusal to post bond. They had little chance of escaping legal punishment with a Cleveland-based jury entirely formed of Democrats who opposed abolition.

Their lawyers used the trial to speak about the horrors of slavery and to persuade people to support the Republican cause. Two of the defendants sold 5,000 copies of their newspaper The Rescuer from inside the jail. Rescuers Simeon Bushnell and Charles Langston were eventually convicted of violating the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Bushnells sentiments likely matched those of his fellow prisoners when he wrote, They may do their worst, & when I am again out, I will rescue the first slave I get a chance to rescue. On May 24, 1859 thousands of people crowded into Clevelands Public Square to support the Rescuers. Court costs continued to mount and the legal tangle intensified when the Rescuers supporters arranged for the arrest of the slave catchers on kidnapping charges in Lorain County. A deal was finally negotiated and the Rescuers were released on July 6, 1859, eighty-three days after being imprisoned.

John Scott was an Oberlin harness and trunk maker and one of twelve black men who were charged with breaking the law by participating in the Rescue. (Courtesy of Oberlin College Archives)

Most Oberlin residents were proud of their participation in the Rescue and the continued reputation of the community as a safe haven for all men and women, regardless of color. So strong was their belief in a higher law that many were surprised when Bushnell and Langston were found guilty. They saw the trial as a sham and moral outrage, and large numbers of their fellow Northerners agreed. However, others in the North as well as the South felt the arrests and trial had been justified. By harboring fugitive slaves, Oberlin residents had been breaking the law for years. What would happen if everyone began disobeying the laws of the state or nation because they followed a higher law? While Oberlin residents saw themselves as unwaveringly in the right, many outsiders thought they were arrogant idealists who were pushing the nation towards war. For the black men and women living in Oberlin, free and fugitive, abstract debates over the law mattered less than the immediate necessity of ensuring their own safety and the safety of their families and friends. Yet they also recognized that fundamental principles were at stake. After being tried and found guilty, Charles Langston gave a speech to the court that eloquently expressed his belief in universal human rights:

I must take upon myself the responsibility of self-protection; when I come to be claimed by some perjured wretch as his slave, I shall never be taken into slavery. And as in that trying hour I would have others do to me, as I would call upon my friends to help me, as I would call upon you, your Honor, to help me, as I would call upon you (the prosecuting and defense attorneys) to help me, and upon you and upon you, so help me God! I stand here to say that I will do all I can for any man thus seized and held! . . . We have all a common humanity, and you all would do that; your manhood would require it, and no matter what the laws might be, you would honor yourself for doing it, while your friends and your children to all generations would honor you for doing it, and every good and honest man would say you had done right!

Troops Invited:
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OCCUPATION PALESTINE

Palestinian Uprising Against Corrupt Government Spreading:

Outbreaks In Many Cities Condemn Agreements With Israel By Collaborator Palestinian Regime:
Demonstrators Chanted Against The Oslo Peace Accords And The Paris Protocol, Which Binds The Palestinian Economy With Israeli Tax Rates And Trade

10 September 2012. PNN 10 September 2012 PNN & September 11, 2012 IMEMC News & 9.13.12 Maan BETHLEHEM A group of angry Palestinian governmental employees on Tuesday set fire copies of the Paris Protocol, while protesters in Ramallah called to bring down the Salam Fayyad government. Protesters in Ramallah chanted against the Oslo peace accords and the Paris Protocol, a subsection of Oslo which binds the Palestinian economy with Israeli tax rates and trade. Palestinians for Dignity said in a press release that upon the popular anger that rejects being turned into beggars who are preoccupied with making a living instead of our national struggle; Palestinians for Dignity calls for participation in a mass march to demand: Social justice and the termination of the Paris Economic Protocol. Palestinians for Dignity also said, Let us all emerge from our silence and tolerance of the Palestinian Authoritys dependence on the Occupying State, the rampant corruption in our institutions, and our leadership that no longer has options, only justifications. The march followed a public transportation strike which paralyzed the occupied West Bank a day earlier. Taxi and truck drivers demanded the cancellation of increased taxes on fuel, and violent riots broke out in Hebron and Nablus. Several hundred protesters arrived at Abbas compound and called for Abbas and Fayyad to step down. They also called to bring down the Oslo Accord, participants said. In Bethlehem, meanwhile, angry protesters burned copies of the Paris agreement but stopped short of calling for an end to Fayyads government. Israel and its extremists such as Avigdor Lieberman keep threatening the Palestinian Authority and its leadership, but here comes the response to such threats from the

Palestinian people as we burn these bad agreements to tell the Israelis neither our people, nor their leaders fear Israeli threats, said Muhammad al-Jaafari, one of the protestors. The torching came during a sit-in strike organized by the union of civil servants in Bethlehem district near the office of the citys governor. Hundreds of employees joined the sit-in demanding improvement to their dire economic conditions. They also demanded that the PA cancel the Paris Protocol which made the Palestinian economy dependent on the Israeli economy. The governor of Bethlehem Abdul-Fattah Hamayil asserted that he supports the employees and the Palestinian public and emphasized that President Mahmoud Abbas did not oppose protests as long as protestors do not vandalize property. Palestinian medical sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported Monday that eighty residents and members of the Palestinian security forces were reported when a number of residents attacked the City Council building in Doura, near Hebron, a Palestinian Police Stations and an ambulance that belongs to the Red Crescent. Nasser Qabaja of the Red Crescent in Hebron said that nine ambulances transferred the wounded to a number of hospitals in Hebron, while dozens of residents received treatments by field medics. Most of the wounded suffocated after inhaling gas fired by Israeli soldiers against the protesters. The clashes took place after several unknown persons hurled stones and empty bottles at the building of Hebrons City Council, and at the Fire Department building, causing serious damages to a number of fire trucks and the windows of the City Council. They also hurled stones at a Palestinian Police station. Earlier on Monday at dawn, several unknown persons torched tires and placed rocks closing the main junctions of Hebron, and also damaged several traffic signs. Several minor roads were also blockaded with rocks and burning tires, while several trash cans were set ablaze. Clashes were also reported in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, while a number of security forces personnel fired rounds of live ammunition into the air in an attempt to disperse the protesters in the center of the city. The Team Palestina Facebook group reported that 60 Palestinians were injured in Nablus during clashes with the police, and that Nablus mayor, Adli Yaish, was mildly injured while trying to intervene between the protesters and the police. [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.]

CLASS WAR REPORTS

Chicago: On Strike For All Teachers:

Parents Who Support The Teachers Were A Part Of The Picketing At Most Every School
A Train Driver On The Blue Line Going Into The Loop Used The PA To Wish Teachers Success In Their Fight--And The Whole Train Erupted In Cheers

The Beginning Of The Fight To Take Back The U.S. From The Plutocracy, And The Teachers Of Chicago Were Leading It

Thousands of public school teachers march for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 in downtown Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

Chicago teachers take over the streets outside the headquarters of Chicago Public Schools in Chicago September 10, 2012. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes

September 11, 2012 By Alan Maass, Socialist Worker [Excerpts] Rahm Emanuel [the Mayor of Chicago] thought he had this fight sewn up. He thought the teachers would be intimidated. He thought the 26,000 members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) would never even vote to strike, much less go out on one. He thought the relentless anti-teacher propaganda campaign of the political and media establishment would keep public opinion on his side. He thought that parents, students and the rest of the city would go along with the teacher-blaming and embrace his corporate school deform agenda. But Rahm thought wrong. Just how wrong started becoming clear in the early morning hours of Monday, September 10, when the picket lines went up on the first day of an all-out strike by CTU members at nearly 600 public schools in every neighborhood in the city. And it became undeniable later that day when teachers left the picket lines and converged, with at least as many supporters, on the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters downtown for a massive rally. The streets around the building overflowed with a sea of humanity, dressed in CTU red. This is an amazing display of democracy, Rick Sawicki, a 7th grade teacher, told the Chicago Tribune. Its a wonderful lesson for children and adults alike. Im honored that we are all sticking together. The teachers and those who support them taught a lesson on Monday for the whole world to learn: When your jobs and your profession and your schools and your lives are under attack from a bully, you have to stand up and fight back.

The Buzz Of Picket-Line Conversation Was Broken Constantly By Drivers Honking Their Support
The strike became official late Sunday night, when CTU leaders appeared at a press conference to announce that school officials had failed to come up with a fair contract. The last offer from CPS over the weekend was better than the scorched-earth assault Emanuel and his unelected school board started out with--but thats only because the CTUs determined mobilization forced city officials to start getting serious. Nevertheless, Emanuel immediately denounced the union for calling a strike of choice that would harm Chicago children--as if his months of calculated insults designed to bully the CTU into agreeing to concessions had never happened. Rahm spent the day Monday scrambling in front of every camera provided by a willing media to bash the CTU for its selfishness--a complaint, incidentally, that was echoed

by none other than Republican presidential nominee and fellow ex-hedge fund parasite Mitt Romney. But for anyone walking, biking or driving around the city on Monday morning, the message that came through loud and clear was from the proud picketers to be found every several blocks at the more than 600 schools where the CTU is on strike. Teachers talked about the issues in their struggle with a sense of sober anger, reflecting the high stakes of this struggle. But there was also pride, energy and enthusiasm now that they were finally able to make their stand--especially after so many months of being the target of Emanuels sneers and smears. Were trying to send a message: This city needs help, the help of teachers who are trained that know the kids, said Phillip Olazaba, a music teacher and CTU delegate at Cooper Academy in the South Side Pilsen neighborhood. The buzz of picket-line conversation was broken constantly by drivers honking their support as they passed by, and picketers erupting in cheers in response. At Gale Elementary School on the northern edge of the city, teachers and their supporters chanted and sang, improvising new lyrics to This Land Is Your Land. CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard stopped by the Disney Elementary Magnet School on the North Side, one of more than 140 schools the city is using in a chaotic plan to provide facilities for children, though not instruction, for half a day. Picketers spotted Brizard and took up a loud chant of Rahm, Brizard, were no fools. We wont let you ruin our schools! The schools boss made a quick getaway. School workers represented by unions other than the CTU are required to cross teachers picket lines--in several locals, leaders shamefully settled contracts early, capitulating to the citys divide-and-conquer tactic to isolate the teachers. But at virtually every school, union members stopped by the picket line first to express their support. Many said they were wearing red in solidarity and planned to do as little as possible for CPS during the strike. Other unionists joined the picket lines--like Ryan Hornback, a Calumet City firefighter who came to Ray Elementary School on the South Side with coworkers. As Hornback said: The Chicago Teachers need to know they are not alone. We are all fighting our own fights, too. Its a huge decision to go on strike. If theyre willing to do that, were going to stand in support. All public employees are fighting the same fight. I work in Calumet City. I know exactly what theyre going for. They need to know that there are other union employees standing with them.

Parents Who Support The Teachers Were A Part Of The Picketing At Most Every School

Parents who support the teachers were a part of the picketing at most every school. I support the strike because its the last recourse the teachers have, said Daisy Arias, with three children at Cooper Academy in Pilsen. As a mother, this is important to me because they spend so much time with our children. The citys so-called Children First plan to open up drop-off centers was sparsely attended, according to both teachers on hand to see who went in and some school employees. Many parents realize that Emanuel and CPS are trying to pit them against the teachers by exploiting their need to find a way to care for their child while they go to work. Antonia Hernandez felt she had no other choice but to leave her 5- and 7-year-old children, students at Nettelhorst Elementary on the North Side, at a drop-off center while she went to work. But she told the Chicago Tribune that she firmly supports the teachers: If we dont have them, who will teach our children? Its time to have their demands met, every single one of them.

A Train Driver On The Blue Line Going Into The Loop Used The PA To Wish Teachers Success In Their Fight--And The Whole Train Erupted In Cheers
The pickets ran until 10:30 a.m., after which streets all over the city became the site of impromptu mobile demonstrations--carloads of teachers and their supporters waved picket signs out the window to spread the message further. By mid-afternoon, it was time to head downtown for the massive rally outside the Board of Ed building. El trains headed toward the city center were packed with red-shirted riders and had to skip stops because they were so full. A train driver on the Blue Line going into the Loop used the PA to wish teachers success in their fight--and the whole train erupted in cheers. Once downtown, CTU members beamed as they looked in every direction and saw only a sea of red. Workers from other unions proudly joined in--the Air Line Pilots Association, Service Employees Union, AFSCME, and more. Anger at Emanuel was palpable. The idea that the union was, in the mayors words, engaging in a strike of choice incensed the teachers. Whose choice? Rahms choice! was a frequent chant--along with We want teachers, we want books, we want the money that Rahm took!

The teachers spilled off the sidewalks and into the streets radiating out in every direction from the CPS headquarters. With so many people wrapped around several city blocks, it was hard to know how many people were there: 20,000, 30,000, 50,000 or more in the streets. The spirit of the rally, like the picket lines before it, was familiar to anyone who was in the Capitol building in Wisconsin when workers and students took it over in protest against state-sponsored union-busting--or who was part of the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park in New York City or any of the dozens of others inspired by it around the country. The Chicago teachers strike is the latest stage in a broader resistance in the era of austerity. To George Schmidt, publisher of the rank-and-file teachers newspaper Substance, the first day of the CTU strike was the premiere of a new Chicago Symphony-one that couldnt be drowned out, no matter how craven the lies of the men and women who, by 2012, were known generally as the 1 percent....(T)his was THE beginning of the fight to take back the U.S. from the plutocracy, and the teachers of Chicago were leading it.

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South Africas Mining Sector Reeling From Strikes:

15,000 Workers Away From Production
About 3,500 Protesters Marched Among Parts Of Lonmins Platinum Mine, Singing Songs And Carrying Sticks And Machetes

Mineworkers marched at Lonmins Marikana mine in South Africa on Monday. Negotiations that had been set for Monday fell through. Reuters September 10, 2012 Wall Street Journal [Excerpts] JOHANNESBURGGold Fields Ltd. said the strike at its KDC gold mine spread to its western section, pulling 15,000 workers away from production as unrest in South Africas mining sector expanded. Meanwhile, Lonmin failed to lure back its workers as a wildcat strike continued to simmer at the site of last months deadly clash with police. KDC west miners walked off the job Monday, following co-workers from the east side who struck last week, Gold Fields said. About 400 workers at KDC west went to the mine hostels on Sunday to meet with workers and call on them join their strike. Gold Fields said it received demands from Mondays strikers, including for salaries of 12,500 rand, or roughly $1,500, a month, the same amount requested by Lonmin strikers. The Gold Fields strikers, 400 of whom marched to the companys office, also demanded new union leadership. The strike suspended all output at KDC west, which produces about 1,440 troy ounces of gold a day. Gold Fields said it would meet with the workers. South Africas mining sector is reeling from strikes over the past month that have resulted in 44 deaths at Lonmin and have hit production of metals such as gold and platinum.

Police said Monday that about 3,500 protesters marched among parts of Lonmins platinum mine, singing songs and carrying sticks and machetes. The strikes started Aug. 10, when 3,000 rock drillers put down their tools at Lonmins Marikana mine. Workers clashed in the following days, resulting in 10 deaths. On Aug. 16, police fired into a crowd of protesters, killing another 34 people. Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. said it recently received a demand for a 10% wage increase, following a strike that shut its largest mine for six weeks in February. The job actions spread into the gold sector with the events at Gold Fields and a clash between fired workers and security guards outside Gold One International Ltd.s mine this month. That dispute left four people in the hospital with wounds from rubber bullets. Social responsibility is, unfortunately, at the periphery of what were doing and that is something that has to change, Vishnu Pillay, the executive head of Anglo American Platinums joint-venture operations, said about the mining industry. At the heart of many of the strikes are worker grievances over pay and the slow pace of change at mines since the end of apartheid nearly two decades ago. Amid that discord, the emerging Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union has been recruiting at mines with promises to get workers higher pay. That has sparked clashes with the countrys largest mine union, the National Union of Mineworkers, an ally of the countrys ruling African National Congress. Expelled ANC youth league leader Julius Malema has visited Lonmin and Gold Fields mines, calling for workers to make the countrys mining industry ungovernable and for South African President Jacob Zuma to resign. Gold Fields said that during the eastern-section strike last week, workers said they wanted new NUM leaders. Many of the workers on strike at Lonmin have echoed the same views, saying that NUM has lost touch with the workers, is too close to mine management and too cozy with ANC leaders who have business interests in the countrys mines. Lonmin has struggled to get workers back at the mine. A government-backed attempt to broker a peace accord between mine management, unions and worker groups has floundered. The strike has cost Lonmin 50,000 troy ounces of lost platinum production and, analysts estimated, about $100 million in revenue.
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