Labor leaders gather in Ssn Francisco to oppose Iraq war

Labor leaders from around the world gathered in San Francisco today to call on workers to stand up and take organized action against war in Iraq, saying that politicians can't be counted on to halt the bloodshed.

Several speakers cited the civil rights movement of the 1950s and the anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s as models to follow, saying that both achieved change that would not have occurred if matters had been left in the hands of those running the country.

"Until people get off their asses and do something, there won't be a change," Clarence Thomas, past secretary-treasurer of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 and a third-generation ILWU member, told the audience at the local's hall near Fishermen's Wharf.

Jeremy Corbyn, a Labour Party member of Parliament in Britain, cited the staggering number of civilian deaths in the Iraq war and the thousands of returning soldiers who have needed psychiatric care to deal with what they faced during battles in that country.

Corbyn told the audience of about 150 labor officials that the war in Iraq is "a disaster of the grandest scale possible for the people of Iraq and the rest of us."

Thomas, whose local and ILWU local 34 co-hosted the conference, and other speakers said that leaders at the conference should go back to their unions and begin a dialogue resulting in concrete actions that highlight their opposition to the war.

Several speakers mentioned that while billions of dollars funnel into the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, there are urgent needs for health care, education, disaster relief and housing that go unmet or underfunded.

Liberalism- gotta love it. A few days ago I saw this at that OTHER site and pasted into a thread here. Worth another galance:

AND the OTHER side is imploding. From our OTHER funny website:

(To the few dem leaders who fight the fight & stand up with all you have....this does not pertain to you...the party has abandoned you as much as it has us)

I have tried. I really, really, really, have tried hard. My position has been to work for positive change within the democratic party, & dedicate myself to getting progressives elected. I have tried working with you, giving you the benefit of the doubt, pleading with you through letters, calls, & personal visits to uphold the constitution & represent the people. But, YOU are making it impossible to continue to stay with you. YOU are making it impossible to work with you. How can I work with you when I am constantly fighting for you to do the right thing? It is exhausting enough to have to always be fighting the Republicans, it is ridiculous that I have to battle with you, as well. And, not only do I have to fight to make you stand up for what is right & just...I have to work with the on-line grassroots media to speak out against all the lies, manipulations, & slander the rigt wing throws at you without your response. I do not mind being a part of the new media, it is empowering. I DO mind very much when you don’t speak out as well, & HELP instead of hinder our efforts.

So, I am giving you an ultimatum. Stand up for our democracy now, stop acquiescing to the illegal actions & policies of the Bush administration, & start working for the people you supposedly represent. I realize their are limits to what you can do. I understand the politics and difficulties of your job. But, the following incidents are NOT acceptable in any way, & they are VERY MUCH in your power to do something about:

Granting Bush expanded spying powers under the NSA wiretapping program. Today, it came out that you are going to cave once again & allow the telecom companies immunity for following Bush’s orders EVEN THOUGH YOU DON’T KNOW THE FULL DETAILS OF WHAT THIS PROGRAM ENTAILS, COVERS, & THE SCOPE & EXTENT OF ITS LEGAL IMPLICATIONS...In August you temporarily extended Bush’s powers, & I was in shock that after all the betrayals, all the lies, all the known constitutional violations perpetrated by this administratin, you would go along with granting any more power to this criminal administration.

You refuse to stop funding for the war. You just allowed another 150 billion dollars for this fiasco. Money we don’t have. Troops we don’t have. For a failed policy that has accomplished NOTHING other then to destabilize the entire region & make a few contractors extremely rich. 40 cents of every dollar goes to a private contractor. Private contractors who are really Mercanaries. Why do you not fight with every breath in your body to stop this? Our military is broken. The people sent for endless tours of duty, in this endless unethical fiasco, are broken. FUND A WITHDRAWL, not the war. Tell them NOT ONE PENNY IS TO BE SPENT ON CONTINUING THIS CONFLICT. And, if Bush ignores & defies you, IMPEACH THE BOY KING DICTATOR, as you should have the second you took office. Impeachment is a constitutional duty when a President overreaches, but you are more concerned about your own political skins to uphold the LAW. The really ironic thing is that by doing your DUTY, you would garner more political support, improve your image beyond anything you could imagine. You have no understanding of the true political climate in this country. Your approval is worse then the Presidents precisely because you don’t stand up to him.

If you continue to refuse to do your duty & uphold the constitution as you swore to do, you leave me no choice. I will break from the democratic party & work with the millions of other people who are equally disenfranchisd & work to create a party that represent the people. You always take for granted your ‘base’, treating us with complete disdain because you believe we will always be there no matter what you do. You know we won’t vote Republican. And, we won’t. But, nor will we continue to abide by a impotent party that can’t or won’t represent our interests. Doing the same thing over & over & expecting to get different results has been said to be the definition of craziness. I will not keep banging my head against the same wall. I will not keep giving my money, my time, my passion to a party that does not even represent what I believe. I will no longer give you the luxury of being judged on the deeds of a past party that no longer exists in anything but rheoteric. I am prepared to accept you as what you have shown to be, another arm of the one party corporate rule.

This is your last warning. I will not abide this any longer. Do what is right or lose your base to a future party that will leave you as a historical note.

Labor leaders from around the world gathered in San Francisco today to call on workers to stand up and take organized action against war in Iraq,

That's great! It's about time someone stood up to the Al Qaeda-linked and sectarian militias in Iraq, and their Iranian and Syrian sponsors, and said: "Stop that! Stop making war against Iraqi society and her elected government!"

Because after all, that's who is perpetuating war in Iraq: terrorists and militias. If they would stop, the war would stop.

What's that? These protestors were talking about removing the U.S. military from Iraq? That would not make the war stop.

Today's "anti-war" leaders really need to be called on their false advertising. They're not anti-war at all. They're in favor of letting warfare go unfettered anywhere and everywhere - in some cases, I think they kinda like warfare - as long as it means a poke in the eye of the U.S. and (especially) a Republican President of the U.S.

saying that politicians can't be counted on to halt the bloodshed.

Of course not. Nothing politicians could do at this point would "halt the bloodshed".

Politicians could force a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, but that wouldn't "halt" the bloodshed. There would still me much bloodshed in Iraq.

It's also beginning to be starkly obvious just how little of a rat's ass today's "liberal" "progressives" actually care about anyone in Iraq or anywhere else.

Jeremy Corbyn, a Labour Party member of Parliament in Britain, cited the staggering number of civilian deaths in the Iraq war a

Who is causing those civilian deaths, Jeremy? Terrorist militias.

What's his "solution"? Remove U.S. forces from the vicinity of murderous terrorist militias and let them do their thing more freely.

These people seem to lack the most basic of critical thinking skills.

Corbyn told the audience of about 150 labor officials that the war in Iraq is "a disaster of the grandest scale possible for the people of Iraq and the rest of us."

"Disaster of the grandest scale possible", said Jeremy Corbyn. Later on he went out clubbing in San Francisco. He checked his email on his Blackberry. When he got home, he dozed off to a movie he'd ordered off Netflix. The next morning, he woke up at 10:15 and moseyed to his local Starbuck's for a $4.95 Frappucino.

Just guessing, of course. But I might not be that far off. Anyway, don't let any of that fool you: he's STILL right that our nation has suffered a "disaster of the grandest scale possible".

The Civil War was nothing. The Depression, the Dust Bowl - pieces of cake. The influenza epidemic, a minor setback. It's the war in Iraq that tops 'em all on the disaster scale. I just feel bad for Jeremy Corbyn, having had to suffer through it all. If only his ancestors and forefathers could see what he's had to go through as a result of the war in Iraq. They'd probably break down in tears.

Thus further proving that they don't give a rat's ass about anyone in Iraq. "Spend more money on US US US", cry the bleeding-hearted liberals who cry so many crocodile tears over Iraq civilian deaths.

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