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Indybay Feature

Arcata Students Join Nationwide Strike (retrospective)

by Brian Covert / Independent Journalist
Commemorating the fourth anniversary of the United States' invasion and subsequent occupation of the nation of Iraq, a look back at the many voices on the road to war — and a reminder of the many more voices needed to stop this war and prevent other wars in the future.
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Arcata, Humboldt County, California — More than 100 high school students here leave their classes midday on Wednesday, 5 March 2003 to march in solidarity with the "Books Not Bombs" campus strikes across the United States, as Bush administration threats against the nation of Iraq rise.

_____________________________________

Brian Ohkubo Covert is an independent journalist based in Hyogo, Japan.



§Walkout Begins
by Brian Covert / Independent Journalist
ahs_walks05.jpg
At the nationally coordinated strike time of 1:30 p.m., dozens of Arcata High School students begin exiting their classrooms, filtering through the parking lot and gathering with cheering classmates in front of the school, as some AHS administrators look on.
§The March is On
by Brian Covert / Independent Journalist
ahs_walks07.jpg
Leaving behind the school bus and school district building (at left), the student marchers — joined by some community supporters, including Arcata Mayor Bob Ornelas — head out onto 16th Street and toward downtown, cheering and waving signs.
§Everywhere are Signs
by Brian Covert / Independent Journalist
ahs_walks13.jpg
The students hoisted banners, flags and signs — some of which read: "No Iraq War," "Buck Fush" and "No Blood for Oil."
§Takin' It to the Streets
by Brian Covert / Independent Journalist
ahs_walks17.jpg
The students took over the streets, and stopped traffic on some of the city roads.
§No Blood for This Oil
by Brian Covert / Independent Journalist
ahs_walks20.jpg
Heading the opposite way down the one-way G Street, the student protesters pass a gasoline station, where the price of gas has surged to well above $2.00 per gallon.
§Over and Onward
by Brian Covert / Independent Journalist
ahs_walks26.jpg
The student marchers span the length of the 11th Street overpass above U.S. Highway 101, as they head to their final destination of a rally at the Old Arcata Community Center that afternoon.
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by friend of arcata
good work kids! great news to hear!!
These are great pictures of your protest against the American aggression in Iraq! I encourage you to have hope in the future poosbilities of peace and love. You can create a new society if you have courage and a deep vision for change. Refuse to join the war effort! Drop out of society and start a commune. Live free! You don't need consumerism and war to be free. Become freedom writers and post your messages on the IMC for all the world to read. You have potential influence beyond your wildest dreams! Take over the Plaza!
by Joseph C. Stockett (hippiejoelives [at] yahoo.com)
In order to understand the dynamics involved in stopping the war in Iraq it is essential to comprehend the historical context within which the war has occurred.

The causitive factors cannot be absorbed, assimulated, and comprehended as long as the mind is blinded by propaganda and fear of telling the truth.

The facts are what they are. The problem of Iraq is a result of decades of American favoritism toward Israel. It is this lack of balance in American policy that has inspired, agitated, provoked, and produced hostility on the part of Arabs and Muslims against the United States.

It is Israeli intransigence, racial ethno-centrism, bullying, and oppression that has brought about the distrust of the United States by the Arab world because the counter-productive actions of Israel are perceived as being supported by the American people. That is why we must strengthen the Arab states and weaken Israel's stupendous superiority. Israel has become astronomically arrogant and her behavior is demented, overly demanding, dishonest, and deluded.

Therefore, when it appears that the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq are simply designed to insulate Israel from the repercussions of her unethical, illegal, and repressive acts against her neighbors it is easier to understand why pro-Israeli American congressional leaders are not going to leave Iraq until the goals of the U.S./Israeli axis of arrogance have been met.

The destruction of Iraq has suited Israel well. For four years Israel has been able to deflect pressure to make a peaceful settlement and has instead chose to invade and destroy Lebanon. All the while Americans are fed this propaganda line about Israel being justified when it was nothing but excuses and false pretexts used by Israeli officials and leaders who must really think we Americans are as dumb as they come.

Israel is to blame as much as the U.S. for the carnage in Iraq and the only solution is for the entire world to boycott all tourism to Israel, embargo all financial transactions with Israeli companies, terminate all treaty agreements with Israel, and demand under the penalty of extreme sanctions that Israel submit all facilities involved in the production of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons to inspections by the appropriate international agencies.

Without addressing the problem of Israeli provocations, obstinacy, militarism, and uncalled for aggression the war in Iraq will never end because the crisis in Iraq is integral to the crisis with Israeli refusal to make peace with the Palestinian victims of Israeli racism.

The tragic consequences for the anti-war movement in the United States failing to understand the role Israel is playing in this stupid war in Iraq are not difficult to predict.

As long as American supporters of Israel, be they Republicans or Democrats, think the war in Iraq is good for Israel we will see no end to the conflict and the war will not only continue but will be expanded in order to achieve the U.S./Israel objective of establishing permanent power and control over the region in order to prevent the peace process from moving forward.

I was in Arcata during the 1991 so-called liberation of Kuwait charade when the redneck, pro-war Arcata CIA dupes and pawns went about threatening to beat up anti-war protesters.

These pro-war facist anti-freedom Americans are now sucking on their thumbs because they know the majority is completely against them and their dirty war in Iraq.

You need to understand that some Americans are demonically possessed with the big demon of violent oppression and bloodthirst toward anyone who disagrees with their violent warmongering which they hide behind patriotic slogans, flag waving, support the troopism,
and other asinine methods of pitiful and putrid propaganda.

Now billions of bucks are being thrown away down the rathole of Iraq and you are going to suffer for it. When the economy reacts with a major recession to these events the money will suddenly dry up and then only the war will be funded and you will be drafted to go to some land to die for nothing worth dying for.

Don't be afraid! You can emerge victorious against the forces of oppression and violence by being dedicated, united, organized, peaceful, loving, and determined to fight for the truth no matter what they do to you!

Good will always conquer evil in the long run, and I assure you, my friends that those responsible for this outrage in Iraq are tools of evil whether they live in Washington DC or Tel Aviv. The U.S./Israel wickedness of aggression in Iraq is doomed to failure and you should help bring about the failure of their joint policy for the sake of humanities future and your own conscience!

The purpose of the invasion of Iraq was to establish a series of American military bases in the region that would allow the U.S. warmongers to threaten Iran, Syria, and provide a buffer against possible Russian influence in the region.

The policy was also contrived to insulate Irsael from any possible repercussions regarding the Jewish state's failure to conduct 'good faith' negotiations with the Palestinian Authority concerning the future status of Jerusalem and the 'right of return' of Palestinians expelled from Israel from 1948 to date.

Of course the role of oil also was a significant factor in the decision to occupy Iraq, but it was the long-range geo-political advantages that really motivated the policy makers to exploit global sympathy by portraying the illegal invasion as an integral aspect of the war on 'terror'.

After these excuses were exposed as lies, fabrications, half-truths, and putrid propaganda the pretext for military occupation of Iraq then was morphed into the "support our troops" and "we got rid of Saddam" double-speak that justified the military aggression on grounds other than "weapons of mass destruction."

The war boom was stimulating the economy. Jobs were being created to build tanks, humvees, missiles, uniforms, guns, and planes to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars per month with only two or three American soldiers being killed each day.

For their money, this was a price easy to pay. Besides weapons and field equipment were being tested, improved and replaced with more advanced models. Soldiers were being trained in the battlefield for future conflicts where the U.S. might actually have an enemy capable of fighting back.

The war was good for business. The Jewish Lobby was happy with the results. Afterall, Iraq had been a friend to the Palestinians and now it was a destroyed country. Nothing could make Israel's leaders more joyous, except, of course, an American bombing of Iran! This would really thrill Jewish hearts and help Israel's cause.

Now the economic recession has America by the balls, and foreign competitors are going to squeeze the dollar until it screams out in defeat! Then, even Federal Reserve Bank viagra interest rate cuts won't make Uncle Sam's thing-a-ma-jig stand up tall.

The truth will finally hit home but it will be too late. The war in Iraq ruined economic prosperity, and there will be no recovery. The Greater Depression will be here to stay, and the ruination of the American Way of Life will be completed.

And who do we have to thank for this disaster? You got it: George W. Bush and his Cheney crooked cronies who have defrauded and bilked the American population out of their honor, integrity, and money.

Don't worry, Bush will issue all his henchmen and evil associates 'pardons' before he leaves office. Now you got it. Smoe folks are just born to be above the law.

by Hippie Joe Stockett (jcstockett [at] live.com)
dateline...july...2011.....With the American economy staggering like a drunken sailor looking for an open bar the consequences of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Libya have resulted in huge deficits the American people must now pay for in the form of trillion dollar cuts in social programs like Medicare, Education, and Social Security.
This is exactly what I warned you was going to happen! Now American is going to slide into second-rate status, astronomical unemployment, and global powerlessness.
It's the stupid wars, stupid! You arrogant Americans, idiot flag wavers, moronic clones, and war mongering fools are going to get exactly what you deserve: DISGRACE! yOUR STUPID WARS HAVE WASTED YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS. The United States of America is a loser, a has-been nation.
by Hippie Joe Stockett (hippiejoestockett [at] gmail.com)
The Obama policy of sending more troops to Iraq, more troops to Afghanistan, more troops to Syria, and more drone bombers to Pakistan all serve to underscore the absolute failure of American policy in the region. The one huge beneficiary, of course, has been Israel, the Jewish Racist Terror Hate State that always seems to be a step ahead in the game of colonialism, oppression, and racist hate.
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