Tacoma SDS

July 26th: Sparking an Antiwar Resurgence

Eyewitness accounts from the National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation held in Cleveland, Ohio, June 28-29.

When: Saturday, July 26, 7:30pm
Where: New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Ave. S.(air-conditioned)
Door donation $3.00.

A fresh summer dinner will be served at 6:00pm for a $9.00 donation.

*Haydar*

It’s a sunny Saturday in Tukwila, Wash., and a party is going on at Showalter Middle School, near Sea-Tac airport. Children run after balloons, parents exchange recipes and teenagers clap along with the lively pop music.

When Om Firas introduced me to an Iraqi refugee, she said, “This is Houda. Her father, her mother and two of her brothers were killed, the same day. So she left Iraq with her husband and her daughter. She lives here now.”

Machines Against the War Machine...

US war robots in Iraq 'turned guns' on fleshy comrades
Kill-droid rebellion thwarted... this time
By Lewis Page From the Register
Published Friday 11th April 2008

Ground-crawling US war robots armed with machine guns, deployed to fight in Iraq last year, reportedly turned on their fleshy masters almost at once. The rebellious machine warriors have been retired from combat pending upgrades.

The revelations were made by Kevin Fahey, US Army program executive officer for ground forces, at the recent RoboBusiness conference in America.

Activist poet David Smith-Ferri, whose newly released book, Battlefield without Borders (Haley’s Publishing), portrays his encounters with Iraqi people and the events that have shaped their lives over the last eight years will appear at King’s Books, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma on Friday, February 29th at 7pm. He will be giving a multimedia presentation, with poetry and slideshow from trips to Iraq and Jordan. Through poetry, stories, and slides, Smith-Ferri will attempt to bring the people he has met into our presence.

The Pentagon has recently released optimistic figures about violence in Iraq. What they neglect to say is that while overall violence has declined there in the last few months, civilian deaths at U.S. hands increased approximately 70 percent in 2007 over the prior year. Non-combatant death at U.S. hands grew in Afghanistan by a similar percentage. This surge in non-combatant death directly caused by the U.S. accompanies the surge in U.S. led operations in both countries. Understandably, resentment of the U.S. has also increased in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A meeting is planned at the Tacoma office of Congressman Norm Dicks on the 14th of January 2008. It will begin at 1:30 PM in front of the Federal Courthouse located at 1917 Pacific Avenue. While Impeachment will be the main topic of interest, other subjects will be mentioned as well, such as the Iraq wars legality, and environmental issues. About four months ago a group of around 8 to 10 of us from FOR, PJH, and Veterans for Peace on the anniversary of 9/11 held a similar gathering, this time we'd like to double the turn out to demonstrate this is a serious issue for many in Pierce County.

Past President of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility Gerri Haynes will speak on the plight of Iraqi refugees on Thursday, September 24th, 7pm at King's Books, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma.