Friday, April 20, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Hometown Baghdad: The Untold Story of the Iraq War
Hometown Baghdad
A documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi 20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad.
The everyday life of the Iraqi citizen has been the great untold story of the Iraq war.
The Distribution
The brave Iraqi subjects and crew risked their lives every time they turned on a camera to make this series. They want to show the world what life is like when your hometown is a war-zone. We believe that people who see their stories will want to share them with others. That's why we're distributing the series online. So please - watch the videos, rewatch them, tell friends about them, comment on them, and link to them.
The Language
The intention of the Iraqi filmmakers and subjects was to show the world what Baghdad is truly like. That's why they usually speak English and not Arabic.
The Producers
It is a co-production between NY-based Chat the Planet and a group of Iraqi filmmakers in Baghdad. The subjects also turned the cameras on themselves when it became too dangerous for our crew to travel through Baghdad.
From: http://hometownbaghdad.com
*See video link below
A documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi 20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad.
The everyday life of the Iraqi citizen has been the great untold story of the Iraq war.
The Distribution
The brave Iraqi subjects and crew risked their lives every time they turned on a camera to make this series. They want to show the world what life is like when your hometown is a war-zone. We believe that people who see their stories will want to share them with others. That's why we're distributing the series online. So please - watch the videos, rewatch them, tell friends about them, comment on them, and link to them.
The Language
The intention of the Iraqi filmmakers and subjects was to show the world what Baghdad is truly like. That's why they usually speak English and not Arabic.
The Producers
It is a co-production between NY-based Chat the Planet and a group of Iraqi filmmakers in Baghdad. The subjects also turned the cameras on themselves when it became too dangerous for our crew to travel through Baghdad.
From: http://hometownbaghdad.com
*See video link below
Thursday, March 29, 2007
U.S.-Mexico border fence builders sentenced for hiring undocumented workers
Desert Sun Wire Services
The Desert Sun
March 29, 2007
The top two executives of a Riverside-based company that helped build a fence to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border were sentenced yesterday to home confinement for hiring undocumented workers.Golden State Fence Co., its founder and president, Melvin Kay, and the company's vice president, Michael McLaughlin, pleaded guilty Dec. 14 in federal court in San Diego to hiring unauthorized alien workers over a six-year period between January 1999 and November 2005.
U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz sentenced both Kay and McLaughlin to 180 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring and ordered each of them to perform 1,040 hours of community service as conditions of their three years on probation.Kay was also fined $200,000 and McLaughlin $100,000.The company was ordered to forfeit $4.7 million in proceeds from its unlawful practices.
``Companies that willfully flout our nation's hiring laws will pay the price for their illegal actions; in this case $4.7 million of the corporation's assets are being forfeited to the government,'' said Michael Carney, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Investigations in San Diego.
``Knowingly hiring illegal aliens not only harms law-abiding businesses, it also exposes those companies that break the law to prosecution and financial penalties,'' he said.Golden State is based in Riverside and has offices in Oceanside, Bakersfield/Santa Paula, Palmdale, Anaheim and Brawley.
In the late 1990s, Golden State was hired by the government to build more than one mile of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.In July 1999, federal immigration officials inspected the company's Oceanside office and provided written notice that at least 15 employees were unauthorized alien workers, according to court documents.
In September 2004, immigration officials again determined that at least 49 Golden State employees at the Oceanside office were unauthorized aliens, court records indicate.In August 2005, ICE agents inspected Golden State's Riverside office and found at least three of the employees who had been listed in a 1999 notice as unauthorized alien workers.
Three months later, ICE agents served search warrants at the Oceanside and Riverside offices of Golden State, seizing evidence showing a pattern of hiring unauthorized alien workers, according to court documents.In a company-issued statement late yesterday, Executive Vice President Gary Hansen expressed relief that the judge chose probationary sentences rather than incarceration.
``Mel and Mike are hard-working men who have worked all their lives to make a better life for themselves and the people around them,'' Hansen said.``Their acts were not egregious, nor were they exploitive to the undocumented workers. We believe the court recognized the strength of their character when making its decision.''
He said the company since December 2005 has voluntarily participated in the Basic Employment Verification Pilot program run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, through which newly hired employees are screened by the government to help verify their legal immigration status.
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20070329&Category=UPDATE&ArtNo=70329004&SectionCat=
The Desert Sun
March 29, 2007
The top two executives of a Riverside-based company that helped build a fence to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border were sentenced yesterday to home confinement for hiring undocumented workers.Golden State Fence Co., its founder and president, Melvin Kay, and the company's vice president, Michael McLaughlin, pleaded guilty Dec. 14 in federal court in San Diego to hiring unauthorized alien workers over a six-year period between January 1999 and November 2005.
U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz sentenced both Kay and McLaughlin to 180 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring and ordered each of them to perform 1,040 hours of community service as conditions of their three years on probation.Kay was also fined $200,000 and McLaughlin $100,000.The company was ordered to forfeit $4.7 million in proceeds from its unlawful practices.
``Companies that willfully flout our nation's hiring laws will pay the price for their illegal actions; in this case $4.7 million of the corporation's assets are being forfeited to the government,'' said Michael Carney, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Investigations in San Diego.
``Knowingly hiring illegal aliens not only harms law-abiding businesses, it also exposes those companies that break the law to prosecution and financial penalties,'' he said.Golden State is based in Riverside and has offices in Oceanside, Bakersfield/Santa Paula, Palmdale, Anaheim and Brawley.
In the late 1990s, Golden State was hired by the government to build more than one mile of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.In July 1999, federal immigration officials inspected the company's Oceanside office and provided written notice that at least 15 employees were unauthorized alien workers, according to court documents.
In September 2004, immigration officials again determined that at least 49 Golden State employees at the Oceanside office were unauthorized aliens, court records indicate.In August 2005, ICE agents inspected Golden State's Riverside office and found at least three of the employees who had been listed in a 1999 notice as unauthorized alien workers.
Three months later, ICE agents served search warrants at the Oceanside and Riverside offices of Golden State, seizing evidence showing a pattern of hiring unauthorized alien workers, according to court documents.In a company-issued statement late yesterday, Executive Vice President Gary Hansen expressed relief that the judge chose probationary sentences rather than incarceration.
``Mel and Mike are hard-working men who have worked all their lives to make a better life for themselves and the people around them,'' Hansen said.``Their acts were not egregious, nor were they exploitive to the undocumented workers. We believe the court recognized the strength of their character when making its decision.''
He said the company since December 2005 has voluntarily participated in the Basic Employment Verification Pilot program run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, through which newly hired employees are screened by the government to help verify their legal immigration status.
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20070329&Category=UPDATE&ArtNo=70329004&SectionCat=
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Face of War
In addition to the thousands of Iraqi men, women and children killed during the
war, take a look at the faces of American soldiers: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/ages/21/
454 in all who were killed, all at the age of 21. The age group with the most casualties.
Other young men and women: (28) 18 year olds, (206) 19 year olds and (359) 20 year olds.
No more war, please.
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/ages/
war, take a look at the faces of American soldiers: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/ages/21/
454 in all who were killed, all at the age of 21. The age group with the most casualties.
Other young men and women: (28) 18 year olds, (206) 19 year olds and (359) 20 year olds.
No more war, please.
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/ages/
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
What Will it Take?
Wounded Vet Struggles with Deeper Injuries
By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - His biceps steel hard, injured Iraq war veteran Ken Sargent is looking more like the career soldier who shipped out for his second tour than the severely wounded man who was evacuated from Najaf in August 2004. But his appearance only tells part of the story.
A bullet responsible for his wounds entered below his right eye, blowing off a chunk of brain, erasing most of Sargent's vision, the hearing in his left ear and portions of his memory and mental functioning.
After eight surgeries -- including one to put a metal plate in his head -- and countless hours of rehabilitation, the 38-year-old Marine master sergeant's chest and arms are buffed from workouts with weights. He's again walking, speaking and cracking jokes, but is dogged by fatigue, unable to work full-time and depends on his family for help with daily tasks.
Sargent and thousands of other soldiers with traumatic brain injury (TBI) -- the signature wound of the U.S. war on terrorism -- represent America's new war wounded.
Based on information in a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, an estimated 4,000 troops have TBI.
While many of their lives have been saved by advances in medical technology, a number of them will require specialized, long-term care from a military health system that has been under fire for losing medical records, pay mishaps and miring troops in bureaucracy and red tape as they transition from military to civilian life.
"My injuries can't be fixed. I can't get inches of my brain back. I can't get my hearing back. Doctors told me that the damage to my eyes can't be fixed," said Sargent, who joined the Marines at 18 and wants nothing more than to do another 20.
While he has regained day-to-day function and works on base a couple days a week, what remains of his vision is blurred or doubled. His brain also took a major jolt from the bullet, which has upset its wiring.
He is now obsessive about cleanliness and order, washing his hands often and even making the bed while his wife is still in it. He still has a hard time remembering things from one day to the next and uses notebooks to remember telephone numbers and his ever-changing physical symptoms, which include black spots before his eyes to headaches and fatigue.
He wears gloves while working outside or in the garage because his body doesn't register pain -- any cuts or bruises won't be noticed until hours later.
WARRIOR WIFE
And Sargent is one of the lucky ones. His wife and family were there to support and fight for his needs. The Marines kept him on active duty after his injury so he can complete his 20 years and be eligible for fuller retirement benefits.
"I'm doing better than they thought I was going to do," he said. "I'm more of a joker and a funny man than I used to be."
While the experience has sharpened his sense of humor, it has also magnified his anxiety as his planned separation from the Marines looms in March 2008.
"I'm really worried about where we're going to live. Am I going to be able to make enough money to support my family? I feel bad because I can't take care of things like I used to," he said.
That role now belongs to Tonia, who is looking for ways to work and care for the man she married 20 years ago this week.
On top of that, she said her family is struggling to accept and make sense of their new roles and relationships.
"If you look at (Ken), the right side of his face from the side resembles the man that I was married to. The left side of his face is the man that I'm married to now," she said.
"What kind of relationship do I develop with this person that I am going to grow old with?"
For now, that takes a back seat to Ken's evolving needs.
"There is no finish line," said Tonia, who early on brought Ken back to Camp Pendleton, about 40 miles north of San Diego, rather than keeping him in a high-tech military hospital in northern California.
"I was assuming that the closer I got to home, the more structure and support I would have," said the 37-year-old, who also planned to join the Marines before getting pregnant with the first of their two daughters, Tasha, 19, and Alishia, 17.
She found the opposite, and has taken up the warrior role her husband left behind by fighting to get him the best care.
"I'm a very squeaky wheel and I'm still misinformed," said Tonia.
She is trying to remain in the family's home on base, close to other resources and friends, for the six months or more it usually takes from the time one is discharged until benefits kick in from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which oversees care for non-active duty soldiers.
"It's like having two sides and you're missing a bridge. I'm saying 'You want me to jump from this end? I've got a 50-50 chance of making it. No. I want a 100 percent chance of making it. Don't make me guess,"' she said.
From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070320/us_nm/iraq_veteran_dc
By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - His biceps steel hard, injured Iraq war veteran Ken Sargent is looking more like the career soldier who shipped out for his second tour than the severely wounded man who was evacuated from Najaf in August 2004. But his appearance only tells part of the story.
A bullet responsible for his wounds entered below his right eye, blowing off a chunk of brain, erasing most of Sargent's vision, the hearing in his left ear and portions of his memory and mental functioning.
After eight surgeries -- including one to put a metal plate in his head -- and countless hours of rehabilitation, the 38-year-old Marine master sergeant's chest and arms are buffed from workouts with weights. He's again walking, speaking and cracking jokes, but is dogged by fatigue, unable to work full-time and depends on his family for help with daily tasks.
Sargent and thousands of other soldiers with traumatic brain injury (TBI) -- the signature wound of the U.S. war on terrorism -- represent America's new war wounded.
Based on information in a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, an estimated 4,000 troops have TBI.
While many of their lives have been saved by advances in medical technology, a number of them will require specialized, long-term care from a military health system that has been under fire for losing medical records, pay mishaps and miring troops in bureaucracy and red tape as they transition from military to civilian life.
"My injuries can't be fixed. I can't get inches of my brain back. I can't get my hearing back. Doctors told me that the damage to my eyes can't be fixed," said Sargent, who joined the Marines at 18 and wants nothing more than to do another 20.
While he has regained day-to-day function and works on base a couple days a week, what remains of his vision is blurred or doubled. His brain also took a major jolt from the bullet, which has upset its wiring.
He is now obsessive about cleanliness and order, washing his hands often and even making the bed while his wife is still in it. He still has a hard time remembering things from one day to the next and uses notebooks to remember telephone numbers and his ever-changing physical symptoms, which include black spots before his eyes to headaches and fatigue.
He wears gloves while working outside or in the garage because his body doesn't register pain -- any cuts or bruises won't be noticed until hours later.
WARRIOR WIFE
And Sargent is one of the lucky ones. His wife and family were there to support and fight for his needs. The Marines kept him on active duty after his injury so he can complete his 20 years and be eligible for fuller retirement benefits.
"I'm doing better than they thought I was going to do," he said. "I'm more of a joker and a funny man than I used to be."
While the experience has sharpened his sense of humor, it has also magnified his anxiety as his planned separation from the Marines looms in March 2008.
"I'm really worried about where we're going to live. Am I going to be able to make enough money to support my family? I feel bad because I can't take care of things like I used to," he said.
That role now belongs to Tonia, who is looking for ways to work and care for the man she married 20 years ago this week.
On top of that, she said her family is struggling to accept and make sense of their new roles and relationships.
"If you look at (Ken), the right side of his face from the side resembles the man that I was married to. The left side of his face is the man that I'm married to now," she said.
"What kind of relationship do I develop with this person that I am going to grow old with?"
For now, that takes a back seat to Ken's evolving needs.
"There is no finish line," said Tonia, who early on brought Ken back to Camp Pendleton, about 40 miles north of San Diego, rather than keeping him in a high-tech military hospital in northern California.
"I was assuming that the closer I got to home, the more structure and support I would have," said the 37-year-old, who also planned to join the Marines before getting pregnant with the first of their two daughters, Tasha, 19, and Alishia, 17.
She found the opposite, and has taken up the warrior role her husband left behind by fighting to get him the best care.
"I'm a very squeaky wheel and I'm still misinformed," said Tonia.
She is trying to remain in the family's home on base, close to other resources and friends, for the six months or more it usually takes from the time one is discharged until benefits kick in from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which oversees care for non-active duty soldiers.
"It's like having two sides and you're missing a bridge. I'm saying 'You want me to jump from this end? I've got a 50-50 chance of making it. No. I want a 100 percent chance of making it. Don't make me guess,"' she said.
From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070320/us_nm/iraq_veteran_dc
Friday, March 9, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Encampment to Stop the War Wash. DC, March 12-19
Schedule of Events at the Encampment to Stop the War Schedule subject to change.
Monday, March 12
12 Noon - Encampment to Stop the War Begins
5 pm - Kick-off rally, featuring Pam Parker, Anne Feeney, and others
7pm - Protest at AIPAC Conference organized by DAWN
Tuesday, March 13
10 am - Morning meeting
Time TBA - Women's delegation to Iraqi embassy to protest the pending execution of three women in Iraq.
Wednesday, March 14
10 am - Morning meeting
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on funding for the Iraq war. When voting on the war budget begins, groups are planning Direct Action and protest at the Capitol.
7 pm - A Forum: Target Iran. the Bush administration's plan for more war - All Souls Unitarian Church - 1500 Harvard St (16th & Harvard Sts.), NW Washington, DC
Thursday, March 15
10 am - Morning meeting
12 noon - May 1 Immigrant Rights Conference
3 pm - Veterans, Military Families Car Caravan and Protest at Walter Reed
Friday, March 16
10 am - Morning meeting
TBA - Youth action
Saturday, March 17
10 am - 11:30 “Cut war funding” kick-off rally at Encampment in front of Congress at 3rd St & the Mall, in front of West Side of Capital. At 11:30 we will begin a 20-30 minute march along Constitution Ave to Answer rally at 22nd & Constitution. This is a distance of 1.6 miles. (The March on Pentagon begins at 2pm from 22 & Constitution)
Sunday, March 18
10 am - Morning meeting
TBA
Monday, March 19
10 am - Morning meeting
Please check the blog for daily updates on logistics, program, actions, and other Encampment updates.
Dear Friend:Over the past few days, response to the call for an Encampment to Stop the War has been overwhelming. Students, antiwar activists, veterans, military families, community organizers, and trade unionists are coming from all over the U.S. to join the Encampment.Next week, Congress will be asked to vote on President Bush' request for another $245 billion for the war in Iraq. This will be, in effect, a vote to continue the war. The current Congress was elected with a mandate to stop the war, and the antiwar movement must be in DC to hold them accountable for their actions. The Encampment to Stop the War will start in just a few days - March 12 - and there is an enormous amount of work to be done in a short period of time. We have an opportunity in the next few days to have a major impact, if we work together--here's how you can help:
Let us know if you are coming to the Encampment. Use the Volunteer form at http://troopsoutnow.org/march12volunteer.shtml.
Volunteer at the Encampment - we will need hundreds of volunteers during the week of the Encampment let us know how you can help (logistics, security, medical, greeter, etc) - http://troopsoutnow.org/march12volunteer.shtml
Donate to to help with the enormous costs of the Encampment - http://troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml. If you are not able to come to the encampment, help send a youth activist to the Encampment to the week- donate for transportation and housing costs here.
Get the word out -- forward messages to your email lists, list serves, etc. Download leaflets from http://www.TroopsOutNow.org and take them to your school, workplace, union hall, community center, or your church, mosque, or other place or worship.
Monday, March 12
12 Noon - Encampment to Stop the War Begins
5 pm - Kick-off rally, featuring Pam Parker, Anne Feeney, and others
7pm - Protest at AIPAC Conference organized by DAWN
Tuesday, March 13
10 am - Morning meeting
Time TBA - Women's delegation to Iraqi embassy to protest the pending execution of three women in Iraq.
Wednesday, March 14
10 am - Morning meeting
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on funding for the Iraq war. When voting on the war budget begins, groups are planning Direct Action and protest at the Capitol.
7 pm - A Forum: Target Iran. the Bush administration's plan for more war - All Souls Unitarian Church - 1500 Harvard St (16th & Harvard Sts.), NW Washington, DC
Thursday, March 15
10 am - Morning meeting
12 noon - May 1 Immigrant Rights Conference
3 pm - Veterans, Military Families Car Caravan and Protest at Walter Reed
Friday, March 16
10 am - Morning meeting
TBA - Youth action
Saturday, March 17
10 am - 11:30 “Cut war funding” kick-off rally at Encampment in front of Congress at 3rd St & the Mall, in front of West Side of Capital. At 11:30 we will begin a 20-30 minute march along Constitution Ave to Answer rally at 22nd & Constitution. This is a distance of 1.6 miles. (The March on Pentagon begins at 2pm from 22 & Constitution)
Sunday, March 18
10 am - Morning meeting
TBA
Monday, March 19
10 am - Morning meeting
Please check the blog for daily updates on logistics, program, actions, and other Encampment updates.
Dear Friend:Over the past few days, response to the call for an Encampment to Stop the War has been overwhelming. Students, antiwar activists, veterans, military families, community organizers, and trade unionists are coming from all over the U.S. to join the Encampment.Next week, Congress will be asked to vote on President Bush' request for another $245 billion for the war in Iraq. This will be, in effect, a vote to continue the war. The current Congress was elected with a mandate to stop the war, and the antiwar movement must be in DC to hold them accountable for their actions. The Encampment to Stop the War will start in just a few days - March 12 - and there is an enormous amount of work to be done in a short period of time. We have an opportunity in the next few days to have a major impact, if we work together--here's how you can help:
Let us know if you are coming to the Encampment. Use the Volunteer form at http://troopsoutnow.org/march12volunteer.shtml.
Volunteer at the Encampment - we will need hundreds of volunteers during the week of the Encampment let us know how you can help (logistics, security, medical, greeter, etc) - http://troopsoutnow.org/march12volunteer.shtml
Donate to to help with the enormous costs of the Encampment - http://troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml. If you are not able to come to the encampment, help send a youth activist to the Encampment to the week- donate for transportation and housing costs here.
Get the word out -- forward messages to your email lists, list serves, etc. Download leaflets from http://www.TroopsOutNow.org and take them to your school, workplace, union hall, community center, or your church, mosque, or other place or worship.
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