In a follow up to the arrest of the Iraq Vets protest at the final Presidential Debate,reporter Stephen Dohnberg talks with member Sgt Chiroux about the charges faced,support they are receiving,tactics of the Nassau County Police, and Sgt Morgan’s injury.

Hempstead, NY - On Oct 16 we reported on the demands and the arrest of 10 members of Iraq Vets Against the War (IVAW) members and 5 civillian protesters. IVAW and supporters were seeking to address the final Presidential Debate at Hofstra University, Nassau County, Long Island, New York.

i-witness video Sgt Morgan Appears to be Trampled in Vid Still despite Nassau County PD’s assertion that the injury is undertermined (1of 5)

The protest coordinators, Sgt. Matthis Chiroux (Army) and Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith (Army), met with Nassau County PD prior to the planned action and outlined their intentions to engage in a non-violent protest, and informed the NCPD that there would be no resistance, and that full cooperation was the intention.

Goldsmith and Chiroux had one request that they had also delivered in a written letter to the campaigns of each candidate, as well as CBS’s Bob Schiefer: They wanted permission ask one question of each Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain regarding veterans affairs and issues surrounding the Iraq war. IVAW members and supporters felt that both candidates remained “eerily silent” during the 3 televised, CPD sanctioned debates.

The IVAW announced their intention to breach police lines if no response from any camp was offered by 7 p.m.

That night, something very different happened. The peaceful and legally assembled supporters of the IVAW were pushed back by police using horses to engage in crowd control. Amid that action protesters and IVAW members were also physically pushed back and down. It was during this action that IVAW member Sgt Nick Morgan (Army) possibly had his head trampled by a police horse. After the melee 10 veterans and 5 protesters were arrested. Additionally, members of the IVAW reported verbal harassment and threats from the police while in custody, and indicate that Morgan was initially denied treatment despite having been rendered unconscious, injured, and suffering from a concussion.

i-witness video Sgt Morgan Appears to be Trampled in Vid Still despite Nassau County PD’s assertion that the cause of the injury is undertermined (Video still 3)

Chiroux, Goldsmith, and other veterans were arrested while crossing police lines after delivering their questions via bullhorn. Not all veterans were arrested crossing police lines however. Some were plucked by police along with civilian protesters.

Morgan eventually required reconstructive surgery, with a titanium plate being placed under his eye socket.

i-witness video Sgt Morgan Appears to be Trampled in Vid Still despite Nassau County PD’s assertion that the injury is undertermined (video still 4)

The NCPD’s “crowd control method” was caught on video by a number of people documenting the event.

On Nov 10 at 8 a.m., one day before Remembrance Day (Canada), and Veteran’s Day (United States). the group, known as the ‘Hempstead 15′ appeared at the Nassau County, NY courthouse on 99 Main St, Hempstead, NY, to hear the charge of ‘Disturbing the Peace’ issued against them.

They were greeted that morning by 80 to 100 supporters at the courthouse.”Hopefully some understanding of how outraged people are over this action…can be seen by the fact that so many people would be willing to come out on a Monday morning…and will be recognized by the DA (Kathleen Rice).” Sgt Matthis Chiroux continued, “no justice was served” on that morning.

Detective Anthony said of the NCPD’s actions the night of the protest and of the injuries sustained by Morgan, that the “Protesters were trying to gain access into the debate and police were not going to let that happen. We used necessary force in order to carry out that goal.”

Jonathan Moore, a former Vietnam-era conscientious objector, is the lawyer representing the Hempstead 15 on a pro bono basis. Moore has represented clients in many social justice issues from Agent Orange victims, environmental concerns, and protesters arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.

IVAW member Sgt Adam Kokesh (Marines) was the first of the Hempstead 15 to appear before the courts on Nov 13. His trial was scheduled for Dec 11. The Court attempted to increase his bail amount. The protestors have had their dates spread out individually dating from Nov 13 to the end of January.

Sgt Chiroux indicated that further actions are planned to raise awareness and funds in support the of the charged protesters, noting in a press release that “Dec.10 and 11, and Jan. 5 thru 8 are the days set for the 15 of us to be tried. Each day, we will assemble at 8 a.m. to demand that charges are dropped against us and that the officers responsible for brutalizing us are held accountable”

Regarding the separate trial dates for each arrested protester, Chiroux noted “I have never heard of this being done before, though I have also never heard of veterans, peacefully assembling Constitutionally to redress grievances, being trampled by police on horseback before. There’s a first time for everything and it appears the place is Nassau County.”
He does feel that there is a tactical component to the decision to hold scattered trials on different dates. In an open press event on the courthouse steps on Nov 10, as Chiroux took questions from a reporter with
the Nation, he took of his sweatshirt to reveal a tee shirt with the IVAW logo “You Are Not Alone”.
“Nassau County wants us to believe this statement is not true.”

The press release also calls for supporters to contact “District Attorney Kathleen Rice at 516-571-2994″ or to contact her through the Nassau County website at “to demand that all charges be dropped against the Hempstead 15.”
Ultimately ,Chrioux hopes that the DA will see fit to drop these charges “and hold their officers accountable for their crimes against veterans”.

i-witness video Sgt Morgan Appears to be Trampled in Vid Still despite Nassau County PD’s assertion that the cause of injury is undertermined (1of 5)

Official comment from the Nassau County PD states “The police have yet to determine whether Morgan was stepped on by a horse”

In a coincidental twist, Sgt. Chiroux has received notification from the Army dated Oct 15 that he faces a “Misconduct” charge for refusing a deployment to Iraq slated for June, 2008. Chiroux was honourably discharged after 5 years of service in June of 2007. He had originally faced Desertion charges and fought his deployment after garnering the support of members of Congress, including Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Lynne Woolsey (D-CA), Jan Schkowsky (D - IL), James McGovern (D-MA), and House Judiciary Chair John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) among others, who comprise the Out of Iraq Caucus.

i-witness video Sgt Morgan Appears to be Trampled in Vid Still despite Nassau County PD’s assertion that the injury is undertermined. Vid still 5

He publicly announced his refusal on the steps of the Canon Building of the House of Representatives on May 16, 2008. It is a development, story, and issue all it’s own.

Sgt Chiroux discusses additional details of the Hofstra events with New York Times bestselling author Naomi Wolf (‘Disaster Capitalism’) HERE.

also appeared HERE, and an alternate version HERE (Pulse Magazine Alt. Weekly)

Audio of the Interview:

by kathy ullyott inside kabul 1

SD: So she (the Member of Parliament) had the perspective that the western presence was a good thing - did you speak to anyone that though it was counterproductive or a bad thing?

KU: I didn’t. I certainly didn’t come across anyone who thought westerners there was a bad thing - there was more dissension around the role of westerners - for example, the role of the military involvement. Some people thought it was a good thing, some people did not. and the difficulty come, of course, when you have - for the people involved in the relief organizations their view is that: say you’re there representing a Canadian relief organization and Canadian troops are also there who are seen by some people as hostile - that puts you as the relief person on “their side” as far as the locals are concerned . They feel that having a military presence there is counterproductive as far as relief efforts. However, the view of the military strategists is that the Taliban and other like insurgents are creating so much instability and so much danger and they have such an agenda of putting down women and the local population that it would be impossible for the relief people to be working there if the military was not there providing stability - which is also a good argument.

SD: Yeah - and it’s a catch 22 - you need the logistical support.

KU: Exactly

SD: You need the protection or else you couldn’t go on fact finding missions, deal with warlords, and insurgents…

KU: Exactly - so it’s a very complicated question.

SD: One other component I found frustrating , especially having been aware of this for such a long time and being reminded of what you see statistically is that the United States - and the Western World, was aware of what was going on for such a long period of time and the ‘tipping point’ was 9-11, and that’s when all the rhetoric and jingoism started to emerge about ‘democratization’ and al Qaeda and human rights, whereas before the western world was functioning with oil interests, resource interests - I think at this point it’s well established that Hamid Karzai was an agent for Unocal before he worked for the CIA before he was a Taliban supporter - so politically, I was wondering how people felt things were …did it have to be the war that brought the world’s attention to what was going on? Rwanda is another example that comes to mind, Kosovo…

by kathy ullyott inside kabul 2

KU: You know, I don’t know if I could fairly answer that. I think obviously it was 9/11 and the western world, particularly the United States who identified as al Qeada as needing to be dealt with and it happened to be using those regions on the Pakistani - Afghan border for its training facilities and it’s hideouts and the Taliban was very enabling of that, so it became clear to them that they had to get rid of the Taliban and root out al Qaeda and I think - personally - and I’m not an expert, but i think all the rest of this stuff about human rights, women’s rights, democracy - that was all secondary. Their main object was to disable Al Qaeda through the Taliban but I don’t think - had that not ever happened, I wouldn’t have been there.

SD: Can you tell us about Capt Renee Point?
.
KU: She was a remarkable person who is a career army officer who was put in charge of one of the groups in the south in charge of training the local police, which is very key there, the rule of law - you know, you can make as many laws as you want but if you can’t enforce them… so the development of the police force is seen as one of the key things westerners can be involved in. And that was her specialty, she had done that in the Golan Heights. When she was to be put in charge of a local police force (in Afghanistan) there was a lot of discussion over whether they would accept a woman. And she found that they were not only accepting of her but the men were fascinated by her and even wanted her to visit their homes to speak to their partners and children because they wanted their partners and children to see her example of what a woman could do. For me, it really sort of drove home for me that a lot of the cultural imperatives that we read about here - they’re not that the culture is bad or “evil” , but it’s just that’s what they’re used to. And when you get down to an individual level, they’re open to seeing a different way of doing things. Maybe more than we are, you know?

SD: One question that I had for you - I don’t know if you can illustrate it or quantify it - but in a war zone, in a place that’s been brutalized for some long, obviously there’s some resourcefulness that emerges…what were some examples that kind of struck you as ingenuity at work?

KU: One thing I was really amazed to see was the carpentry workshop that the women were running - with some help from CARE Canada - these women are learning a trade and the CARE people are teaching them lots of trades that would associate with women, like food services and baking, but there also also teaching them non-traditional trades and trades that even not very many women here - how many women carpenters do you know? And these women were learning how to make buildings and office equipment in this workshop that was really just a great big tent, and there were these great big saws and lathes and they were making window frames and door frames in this sort of uncanny place with these gigantic tools - and for the water they were drawing water from a well that looked almost biblical. they use the same well water for cooling off the tools as they do for making tea…

kathy ullyott inside kabul 2

SD: As you were saying, you didn’t get a chance to get out of Kabul, but did you still see examples of gender apartheid, the application of Taliban law, where people might still have been in fear of consequences?

KU: Probably. I did see more women in Burkas than I expected to see, a lot of women were not wearing them, a lot of the poorer women did wear them - and I asked about that and I found that you have to be very careful as a westerner - like the Members of Parliament I spoke to, for example, who do not wear burkas were the most vocal that I met terms of women’s rights. They also were clear in some cases, they certainly agreed that some women probably wore burkas out of fear - fear that they’d be reprimanded by insurgent elements, that sort of thing, BUT some women wear them out of choice and they should be able to do so…so there’s no question - I never personally saw any female police officer - I know they exist but I never personally saw any out patrolling around. On the other hand I met lots of male veterinarians that were helping women achieve some self sufficiency and that was very nice to see…

SD: Like in areas of animal husbandry, and…

KU: Exactly…exactly…so there are lot of men who are committed to women’s rights as well.

SD: Actually that was my next question, did there seem to be a contingent of men who realized that this kind of progressivism would benefit them as well - not out of self interest but of an interest in rebuilding the country…?

KU: Definitely, I would definitely say that, and there was also some self interest as well, There were men who were very glad that their wives would be able to contribute to the household income so they were very grateful for these kinds of programs as well - or even who wanted their wives to be literate. I think there was, yes, the self interest, but also just the sense that this was progress and it was good for everybody…

SD: So we know there has been a resurgence of the Taliban…What has been the general feeling - does the city feel like it’s in its own enclave or lock down…?

KU: I think people go about their business, I think people there are incredibly resilient . Among some people I talked to their is some feeling of discouragement but there’s also a sense of ‘we’ve seen it before, it ebbs and flows, we’ll keep on fighting - we’ll keep doing what we can do’.

SD: After so many years that would pretty much have to be the mindset

KU: Exactly. Here in the west we talk about “should we remove the troops, should we get our aid people out, and so on - but for the people who are there, they don’t have a choice. They are there and - for example the C.A.R.E. organization that is there totals 1000 - 900 of them are from Afghanistan - and they are committed to making life better for other Afghani people.

SD: You bring up a completely interesting point - we’ve just had an election and one of the questions was our presence - I don’t know what your position was before, but what conceptions did you have coming away from it?

KU: I don’t think my position has changed - i think it’s a good thing that were there if only be/ we promised NATO we’d be part of it and I think that’s a good reason to be there and my view before going was, having read a lot of things written by military people on what they were accomplishing there I thought ‘well they’re there , they know better’ so I was sort of open minded about it - I liked the idea, however - of having a strategy. After being there, I didn’t feel significantly different but I had a much greater sense of what a complicated and huge issue it is. I’ve read a lot of opinions, for example “we can’t win this war”, “this isn’t a war we could win, or how could we win it?’. After being there, and having done all the research I had to do before I went I really had a sense that we can’t talk about winning or not winning in the sense that we might have been able to talk about it, say, in the sense of the 2WW. There will probably never be a point in time when we can say ‘Ok we’re done here. We won, we can go home now’. What we’re doing there is contributing to a long term strategy that will bring some measure of stability to that area I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to say ‘we won’ and I don’t think we can say ‘well we’ve won when we’ve imposed out view of civilization and democracy’ because they will develop their own and I think if we can provide any help in doing that then I think we should. I’m less certain in my mind as to what form that help should take. It’s a complex matrix of military security, relief, and development and the quibbling really comes down to what role you think each of those should play.

SD: Each issue should be dealt with on its own merits rather than a broad spectrum of yes we should be there versus no we shouldn’t?

KU: Exactly - and I think it changes as it goes. when I was there in May, in the summer the three aid workers were killed - 2 of them Canadian - and just last week there was another aid worker killed (Oct 21) and I don’t think I would go now given those things that have happened and I’m not sure CARE sould have encouraged me to go.

SD: There have been other NGO’s that have pulled out, but care clearly has a commitment because they have been there since 1996. Did you come across any other NGO workers?

KU - Tons - especially is because in Kabul most of the headquarters are there. The Red Cross is really big there, the United Nations of course, I think OXFAM is there, the Red Cross/Crescent is there.

Pt 3 continued next week.

Kathy Ullyott’s photo essay can be viewed via www.homemakers.com

conact the author via editor@globalpundit.org

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note: versions have appeared in Digital Journal Magazine and Pulse Magazine

Homemakers Magazine editor-in-chief Kathy Ullyott reveals the complex situation the progress of women’s rights are in the face of the presence of Western countries, Afghani politics, and nation rebuilding. This is the first of a three-part interview. AUDIO INTERVIEWS INCLUDED (click here or view below)

Pt 1 of 3

Homemakers Magazine editor in chief Kathy Ullyott speaks with Stephen Dohnberg about the struggle of women and what she witnessed during her visit to Kabul, Afghanistan The conversation reveals what a complex situation the Western presence in Afghanistan is by any measure.

Invited by C.A.R.E. Canada, in May Kathy Ullyott, made her way to the city of Kabul for a week-long look at the work and commitment of an NGO such as C.A.R.E., who have been an early presence since 1996, assisting widows with food aid. Even an issue of basic aid is fraught with concerns that span the range of issues from western presence to cultural mores. Although we initially planned to discuss the ascent of women’s rights in Afghanistan, the intersection of so many other disparate concerns clearly illustrates that no single issue will resolve itself independent of others.

Stephen Dohnberg: So you went to Afghanistan in May of 2008?

Kathy Ullyott: Yes, I was invited to go by a friend of mine at C.A.R.E. Canada and I got interested because C.A.R.E. International has been one of the long term relief organizations that is operating in Afghanistan, and a lot of aid organizations have scaled back their operations because they are less and less safe.

There was an optimistic surge around 2003-4 after the Taliban had been routed and it looked like things were getting better, but they have been really deteriorating in the intervening 4 years. But C.A.R.E. Canada has been operating there since, I think, 1996 where they started by giving food rations – so much olive oil, so many bushels of flour, that kind of thing, to Afghan widows, of which there were many, because they weren’t permitted to work and they weren’t permitted to go to school. So once the men were gone, they had nothing to do but beg in the streets – you know, if they were even safe doing that. So the Taliban did not mind if (C.A.R.E) was just giving them food. But the Canadians wanted to do more than that – they wanted to give them some basic literacy training and some means of supporting themselves so that they wouldn’t be reliant on food rations anymore.

They were just starting to roll that program out and a friend at C.A.R.E. asked me if I would like to go and have a look at it, which was a great opportunity because you can’t go there unless you have protection. I know there are ‘tour companies’ and so on that will take you there, but that’s just crazy – you really need to go where there’s somebody to keep you secure. So that was why I went. It was a great opportunity to see the C.A.R.E. projects, but it was also a chance to meet many of the women there. And I was not outside of Kabul, I was just inside the city of Kabul.

SD: You’re right, C.A.R.E. had been operating there since late 1996. Had C.A.R.E. cultivated or maintained a relationship with the Taliban prior to 1991?

KU: I don’t know that they had a relationship with the Taliban as much as they had permission to function.

SD: Even in a city that has had some, by varying standards, progress, and I’m reminded of the Malcolm X analogy to progress, “you can stick a knife into someone’s back nine inches, and pull it out six, and some call that progress” – what did you see, what was your experience, your gut feeling as you came away from Kabul?

KU: First of all, the city is completely destroyed. I had never seen anything quite like that. I had been to South America, where it’s not as safe as it is here and they’re very, very, poor people, but I had never seen a city that was essentially a war zone. There’s nothing marked, everything is surrounded by walls with razor wire along the top and we never went out and just walked around. We were picked up at a hotel by our car with an Afghani driver, who delivered us to where we were going. We never went from a street into a compound without being searched and having our car searched, and were never without an armed guard. I had completely resigned myself to ‘whatever happens, happens’. I wasn’t ever scared or worried, I just put myself into their hands. In terms of your analogy to “progress”, what I saw were women – and men too, who were really committed to making a difference. Especially in the area of human rights, and they really wanted to do this for their children. One of the women who I had met there was Horia Mossadeq, who is head of the Independent Human Rights Commission…

SD: I was going to ask you about her…

KU: She’s just amazing. She was one of the people who fled the country around the time of the civil war. And I just want to say, people think of the main warfare as being the time of the Taliban, and then the time of the Americans bombing to get rid of the Taliban, but actually the worst of the war just before that, and that was the civil war. I can’t name specific numbers but by far the highest number of casualties was that period of civil war between the time the Soviets left and the time the Taliban became the strongest of the rival groups.

SD: Yes, exactly, the period of jihad against the Soviet Union, which we know was covertly backed by the U.S., the civil war, the emergence of the Taliban who were essentially let loose by Pakistan to make their way north…

KU: It’s very complicated, and that’s something else I discovered, and I still don’t think I’ve answered your question – as you say, it’s a big thing and impossible to get a handle on, some I realized there while talking to people. Here we think of the Taliban as some opposing force, but there the Taliban is really just the most organized of the many insurgent groups with different interests. Some of them are the Taliban, but others are warlords in a certain area, in a very ancient and tribal culture going back hundreds of years. Some of these are very vicious rivalries spanning loyalties. The Taliban tend to claim responsibility for any attacks, but that’s just PR. A lot of attacks have nothing to do with the Taliban. It’s really a very amorphous thing and very difficult to fight. And I’m not a military expert by any stretch of the imagination. But it makes the whole question very complex…

SD: People don’t realize the extent of the power of the warlords or how far it extends into rural areas…

KU: Totally – into the rural areas and into the government as well. The women I spoke to, the MP, and Horia…one of the greatest frustrations of the people there is that the government itself is so corrupt. And we’ve seen reports of that. That’s one of the things making progress so difficult. And of the things that created so much pessimism in the intervening years is that people within the country expected that (the ousting of the Taliban) was going to be a big change and that life was going to get better. And they are continuing to see that these warlords exercise great control over the government. The opium trade is one such situation. They (citizens) know that there are ‘bad guys’ still in power, the police force is still horribly corrupt, yet they had hoped-with the involvement of NATO – that the more developed world was going to help them get rid of this stuff. But it’s much harder than they expected.

SD: I remember speaking with some political refugees and more outspoken envoys to the media, and often if you ask them to list the biggest impediments to progress they say “corruption, corruption, and corruption.” They were really frustrated knowing Karzai’s background, hoping that some things would move forward, whether the implementation of the Constitution, and with Parliament…we’re going to jump around a little here and that’s my fault. Frankly, I don’t mind that because it illustrates just how easy it is for people paying close attention to get their wires crossed. Can you imagine the media’s job and the already poor job they do, in trying to simplify this for the public to digest?
Did you get an impression from people who had moved into Kabul from rural areas, that maybe life was better for them in the city because they at least had intermittent access to scarce resources like water and electricity?

KU: Definitely, in fact these are statistics you can Google, but compared to 2000, the city itself is approximately 10 times the size now as it was then. And although the utilities are hugely strained, water and electricity and what there is of it, at least there is somewhat more consistent access to goods. Kabul is where the international community is stationed, so there is a greater presence of Western diplomats and military so it’s marginally safer. There are many girls’ schools operating there and that’s one thing in terms of progress, at least a lot of the kids are in school, especially the girls, who as you know, were not permitted to seek education under the Taliban. All children go to school now for at least a few hours a day. It’s not what it is here, it’s just a few hours a day. You see the female students in their uniforms – black cut clothing with white chador ( note: a chador is almost like a semicircle of clothing worn almost like a hijab, draped over the head but held together in the front with the hand). Seeing this is certainly an optimistic thing to see.
There are a mandated number of women in the Parliament (aka National Assembly, aka Jirga), about one-third of the women are mandated to contribute to the country’s laws. That is not as good as it seems because many of the women are implemented as puppets. But it still gives the opportunity for women to speak and be heard, more than they had six, or 10, or 15 years ago.

SD: Of the two women MP’s you spoke with; some of the reports whether through media or state department that I have read about some of the women MP’s that aren’t puppets, or are rather simply put in to appease coalition statisticians or UN mandates to secure funds, the independently acting ones face threats, and even murder…

KU: Of the two I had a chance to speak with, Shinkai Zahine Karokhail and Shukria Barakzai, were both very incredible people. Actually, both came from very contrasting backgrounds. Karokhail had come from the rural area and had been raised in a very traditional family but had always kicked against it, had always hated it – even though multiple marriages and child marriages were part of her culture and would fight her family on things.
But she eventually got married and had children. When she ran for Parliament her family was very opposed to it. I think I mentioned in my story in Homemakers that her husband had taken another wife and had taken the kids so she had not spoken with her daughter for a couple of years, which was very difficult for her. But she was carrying on and still fighting for Afghan and all women’s rights.

However Shukria Barakzai had come from a very supportive family – a supportive husband and three daughters so she was as equally outspoken but what impressed me - and both were extremely impressive women – but Shinkai seemed to be born with a belief that things could be different for women. And with both
of them, we talked at some length about the Western presence in Afghanistan. And that’s very controversial.

Should Westerners be there? If they are, in what capacity?

It was Shinkai’s view that women in Afghanistan needed to see women from other countries so they could see that things could be different. I think that was a element of progress as well. And everyone said that (progress) is not going to happen overnight. It will take years. Shinkai noted how long it took women, in North America for example, or the Western World, to get the right to vote – and then look how long it has taken them since getting the right to vote, to get to a position where women were Members of Parliament…or Congress…

SD: …or even represented properly in Parliament…

KU: Exactly. Exactly! We don’t even have proper representation here…

SD: We don’t even have pay equity here…

KU: Exactly! Exactly! So to think that Afghanistan is going to go from a feudal Medieval culture in five years is hard.

Part 2 of 3 coming Nov 14

Kathy Ullyott’s Photo essay can be viewed at homemakers.com

AUDIO OF INTERVIEW - FOLLOW FOR FULL SIX PART INTERVIEW:

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Obituary:Jimi Hendrix Experience Drummer Mitch Mitchell Dead at 61

Mitch Mitchell, last surviving member of the Experience was found dead in his hotel room in Portland, Oregon Wednesday.He was 61.
Half of powerful rhythm section,he provided grounding for Hendrix’s guitar.His jazz style aided Hendrix in pushing himself.

Mitch Mitchell, the last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the genre smashing group of the 1960’s, was found dead in his hotel room in Portland, Oregon Wednesday a.m. He was 61.

The talented drummer and one half of the powerful rhythm section, along with bass player Noel Redding, provided the ground for Jimi Hendrix’s soaring guitar work. His jazz inspired style assisted Hendrix to push his talents further and further.

Few bands have had such a lasting legacy in spite such short time actually putting records out. From 1967’s debut album “Are You Experienced?”, the follow up, “Electric Ladyland” (1967) and “Axis: Bold As Love.” (1968), the three records have inspired generations of musicians from underground acts the Butthole Surfers and the Flaming Lips, to any number of mainstream artists. Their reach spans every genre and every epoch in the rock pantheon.

Influenced by such jazz greats as John Coltrane’s drummer Elvin Jones, whom Mitchell credited for his syncopated. polyrythmic style, as well as Gene Krupa and Max Roach, many critics and fans considered him as powerful a drummer as Keith Moon (the Who), as driving as John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) and possessing the finesse of contemporary Ginger Baker (Cream).

Matt Cameron (Soundgarden), and Scott Asheton (The Stooges), also cite Mitchell as an influence on their styles.

I had the chance to speak with Mitch Mitchell in 1997. I asked him about how he came to work with Hendrix. “I was just lucky that Chas knew me. He had left the Animals and decided to get into managing groups and was very excited about this guitar player from America. Looking back - for all of us - it was some kind of chance and the time, a very exciting time in music.”

After leaving work with Hendrix briefly while Hendrix worked on the Band Of Gypsys with Billy Cox (bass) and Buddy Miles (drums), Mitchell returned and was Hendrix’s drummer in 1970 when Hendrix passed away from an accidental death.

Holding their first rehearsals in October of 1966 at the urging of Chas Chandler, Hendrix manager and former Animals bass player, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 at the age of 27, while bass player Noel Redding died in 2003 in his home at the age of 57.

Mitchell penned a book about his work with the band, Jimi Hendrix: Inside the Experience.Noel Redding also produced a book on his time in the Experience, “Are You Experienced?”

According to AP reports, Deputy medical examiner Erin Patrick, said “Mitchell apparently died of natural causes.” An autopsy will be performed.

for more information, please contact us at editor@globalpundit.org

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~submitted by Mark Smith / originally appeared in ‘911 debunkers’

As a wise person put it, the losses are permanent, the victories are only temporary. Each new shock comes before we have recovered from the last one. JFK was assassinated 45 years ago and there is still no closure.

The American people don’t want to know the truth and they will not rise up. They are comfortable with genocide. Ask yourself how many dedicated peace activists you know personally who voted for continuing war crimes under the command of Barack Obama.

Many of the Democratic gatekeeper sites urged people to vote for Obama by saying that first we had to elect him and then we could hold his feet to the fire. But they already knew from his FISA vote, his vote to fund the wars, and his bailout vote, that he has asbestos shoes and doesn’t care what people say or think. Now they are purging dissidents and saying that nobody should criticize Obama, that we have to accept the “centrism” of Rahm Emanuel and Nancy Pelosi, two Democrats who are far to the political right of Bush and Cheney. They never intended to press Obama for peace, they wanted more genocide.

COINTELPRO has had decades to eliminate potential leaders and replace them with government agents and operatives. I don’t care how Libertarian, liberal, progressive, or leftist they claim to be, any website that costs more than a thousand dollars a month to run, is part of the government. Activists simply don’t have that kind of money. They talk about revolution and withdrawing our consent, but when it comes to election time they all sing the same song–get out and vote and support the system. It doesn’t matter who you vote for, as long as the major parties do the nominating and control the electoral system, the military-industrial complex always wins.

It doesn’t matter if you voted for Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin, Barack Obama, or Mickey Mouse, or if you ignored the Presidential race and voted only for local offices and ballot propositions. If you voted, you delegated your power and granted your mandate to a government engaged in wars of aggression and crimes against humanity. You agreed to it. You accepted it. You showed your support for it. You stood up to be counted as another fascist. You may have salved your conscience by promising yourself that you’d go out in the streets and protest the government you’d just voted for, but that’s a sure way to lose. Once you’ve legitimized a government, you’ve criminalized anyone who protests it, even yourself. Why would you do that? You voted to consent to allow the government to fund and pull off the next 9/11. Why would you do that? You voted against freedom and against truth — how can you do that and still call yourself a truther?

Every election we’re told that this is the most important election. Every election there are emotional issues on the ballot like guns, gays, God, and abortion, deliberately placed on the ballot to get emotional morons to vote for genocide, corporate bailouts, and the NAU. Because whoever or whatever you vote for or against, by voting you are legitimizing fascism and giving it your authority.

But you knew all that, right? You knew it and you voted anyway. Because you really don’t care. You don’t care about peace, about truth, about anything but yourself, your vote, and your self-righteous hypocrisy. So what if a few million more innocent people die. So what if the world economy is destroyed. So what if we all end up in concentration camps. YOU voted, and that’s all that matters to you, right? The consequences aren’t your problem because in voting, you delegated all responsibility to somebody else. Anybody else. Whoever the machines said won. That’s fine with you and it isn’t anybody else’s business. How dare anybody try to tell you not to vote for war, not to vote for fascism, not to vote?

Well, I’m telling you. Again. I don’t care if the coming economic collapse makes the Great Depression look like Disneyland. I don’t care if the government nukes a few U.S. cities and blames it on Iran. I’m telling you to stop being complicit and to stop collaborating. There will be another election and another election. Even in Zimbabwe where conditions are indescribably brutal, there are elections. That’s the only way that governments can demonstrate the consent of the governed, whether they get it legitimately or not.

The only proven successful way to delegitimize a government is to boycott its elections. It worked to discredit the Apartheid regime in South Africa. It worked to discredit the Batista regime in Cuba. If you don’t vote, the government cannot demonstrate your consent. That’s the only reason fascist dictatorships hold elections.

So I’m starting now for 2012. Don’t vote. It doesn’t matter who the candidates are or what they promise. They are candidates because they believe in the system. Do you believe in the system? Not if you’re a truther. You know that the system was reponsible for both 9/11 and the cover-up.

Stop consenting. Stop collaborating. Stop voting.

Truth from Emma Goldman: If elections could change anything, they’d be illegal.

Truth from George Carlin: If you vote, you can’t complain.

Truth from me, Mark Smith: If you voted, the blood is on your hands. The next 9/11 is on your hands. I didn’t vote for it. You did.

~Mark Smith

reach us at editor@globalpundit.org

MN Sen. Norm Coleman Bars ‘Citizen Journalists’ - Again

St. Paul,MN - For the third time in just over a month, Republican Senator Norm Coleman’s staff has denied access to self described “citizen journalist” organization www.TheUptake.org.

In all three instances, staffers barred access for reporter Chuck Olsen, and most recently reporter Tom Elko, each time saying that press event access was for “legitimate media only”. Echoing Olsen’s questions from previous denials, Elko plead “what do I have to do to get press credentials with you guys?” after a a campaign staffer said “I don’t have time for this”

Chuck Olsen is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

TheUptake.Org are not the only media organization that the Coleman campaign has denied access to. Minnesota Independent were also denied access despite receiving press releases. MN Indy’s Paul Schmelzer made the same inquiry about gaining press access, only to be told by Coleman staffer Tom Erickson that only “legitimate media” were to be allowed access.

Both the MN Indy and theuptake.org have reported extensively from the campaign trail, and TheUptake.Org included breaking coverage from the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention, as well as having “credentialed” reporters in Chicago for the Nov 4 election.

Speaking to TheUptake.org’s Mike McIntee, he indicates that they have made repeated attempts to communicate with the Coleman campaign, “we’ve been asking asking them what their criteria is…they basically have not responded at all. It’s impossible to have a conversation with someone who won’t acknowledge you.”

The Coleman campaign has refused to answer questions of www.TheUptake.org’s reporters at publicly held functions, also.

TheUptake.org have garnered a strong reputation for their coverage of this election cycle, asking the toughest questions,as McIntee notes,”of both the Democrats AND the Republicans” TheUptake.org were there to ask questions of Ramsey County officials after the questionable police actions at the Republican National Convention, as well as providing footage of the Denver police’s hidden detention facilities on the Platte River prior to the Denver National Convention in Colorado.

After making an attempt to speak with the Coleman campaign, a staffer declined to comment at this time, I did however leave contact information if they wanted to offer comment.

Minnesota is making news as the Senate race garners national attention after incumbent Senator Coleman squeaked by Satirst, Writer, and Comedian Al Franken, who is running against Coleman on the DFL ticket. By law, any tally that comes under .5% requires an automatic recount. The most current vote difference has Coleman ahead by 204 votes, down 17 votes from last weeks unofficial tally.

The Minnesota Secretary of State office has not posted any official results yet.

As Olsen comments in his video posting on the theuptake.org’s ‘Mogulus’ video page, theuptake.org is actually a “hybrid organization of citizen journalists and professtional journalists” He continues “what happens to one journalist happens to all journalists”.

Election Day Alternatives From GlobalPundit.Org - and We’re Nuts Enough to Offer a Prediction, too…

Frankly. there’s no point in writing or chasing anything you’re already going to see on every newspaper and every newscast - SO here’s what we’re doing, and here’s our recommendation…

We’re visiting polling stations in Cook County, IL all morning - among many other things - watch for our LIVE FEEDS at various points throughout the day (and they’ll be archived) at WWW.THEUPTAKE.ORG 

at the same time, when we can, we’ll be uploading photography raw and unedited and likely untagged and unnamed - and it will be all posted either througout the day when we can get a breather - or one fantastic barrage after 1 AM Central Time at our GLOBALPUNDIT.ORG FLICKR SITE .

You can also join the fantastic Buffalo, NY based www.wnymedia.net if the New York races are more your thing - our live feeds will be on their Mogulus.com page and again, all the wild stuff will be there, too…

As well , you can follow the  minutiae that is Twitter since we’re certain to have some great updates and notices throughout the day. If you decide to join us and follow us on Twitter, drop us a message and let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see and we’ll point our cameras, live cameras, or anything else at it…

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS WHERE OBAMA VOTED

early cook county precinct - largest on in cook county…

finally, we’re reporting for a large number of radio stations, which is going to take a huge chunk of our time - not in a bad way - but we’re juggling film, photography, print, live qik feeds, radio, and new media so we’re covering it all…

And of course, amid everything else, we’ll be at Grant Park in the evening for the Obama - and we’ll say it right here because it’s our (well - on guy’s anyway) prediction and I’ll go on record now as offering it - as NUTS as it might seem - but Obama will win 384 to 184 over McCain. We love Grant Park for many reasons, but it;s important most to remember the Chicago 7/8, since I consider it a big part of my political education…but we’ll be sure to post everything we said we’ll post , so enjoy whatever happens, and at least please make sure you VOTE. That is, if you’re eligible…or don’t vote…there are strikes and boycotts and arguments for them all are relevent…very relevent…

oh hey  - our good friend Davis Fleetwood will be hanging and reporting with Ralph Nader and the Real News Network… make sure to check that out…

By the way - there were SIX Candidates - not two…go find out who they were and why you may have really lost out - or at the very least not hear something discussed you should have…

~Sven Eric Balabanoff

Where Obama Voted:

email us and tell us we’re idiots for any reason you like - editor@globalpundit.org - especially for that COCKAMAMMIE PREDICTION…right?

Can’t stop watching video like this…help!

Will Marketing My Marijuana Grow Charges Make Me Money?

~ Matt Mernagh

Everyone loves good courtroom drama.
Combining this with my marijuana grow-op bust which also brings big media headlines an opportunity to market my upcoming (Summer 2009) blockbuster medical marijuana constitutional challenge appears to be
ganja golden.

Charismatic med-cannabis infused alt-weekly journalist (cannabis / war resisters beat) with a Gen X criminal defense lawyer angling to create a name with an incredibly articulate constitutional challenge is hot copy.

Especially in the middle of the dog days of July. 

Sidewalks crammed with those big media tents, with newscasters doing mid day noon hour courtroom commentary, and friends pitching in words of wisdom for the throng of print journalist seeking quotes would be awesome.

Working social media sites, learning Search Engine Optimization, with ideas on making video and potcasting, er, podcasting, I’m intending to promote the med-pot case like 2009 blockbuster movies.

Thus building plenty of media heat.

Which will turn naturally into a book deal (‘Professional Pothead: Your Cannabis Career Explained’), which is my first benchmark that getting arrested not once but twice this summer is going to pay off.
I’m putting the finishing touches on a tour guide, ‘High From Toronto’, about places to bring your own bud.

ePublishing this for the holidays, while also seeking a print publisher with guts to capitalize on the WEED television show.

My life is better drama.

As Toronto’s only pot smoking tour guide this summer I got gunned on weed daily with tourists from around the world. Mostly from the USA.

It was the best and worst of summers.

Performing cannabis strain sampling. Explaining why Skunk cannabis is nothing more than a UK media myth. Most nights I’d have five kinds of cannabis to inhale in a Storz & Bickel Volcano Vaporizer.

Unable to grow marijuana to treat my illness, which is a massive undertaking and hobby, I’m dedicating myself to promoting my medical cannabis constitutional challenge like its the next  summer’s
Hollywood blockbuster. Given my growing abilities this should be a delightful task.

To do this I’ll be using my many social media profiles (love Twitter) along with a website documenting my daily struggles.

And efforts to supplement my income since I’m no longer allowed to grow marijuana.

 Using various website tools I’m curious to determine whether dedicating myself to marketing will earn me the same amount of money as growing cannabis.

Marketing vs Marijuana Growing which is more profitable.

Both are borderline illegal.

Because there’s plenty of solid case law support my med cannabis claims. Making the possibility people following my cannabis case are backing with their pageviews, ePublishing purchases and print book
pickups, a weed winner.

Something akin to Roe v. Wade or R v. Morgentaler.
Will Web 2.0 make me a phenomena?

Click to find out.

~Matt Mernagh

about the author: Matt Mernagh is writer for Toronto alt-weekly Now Magazine and a  med pot user / activist who is currently mounting a case v. Crown with Charter of Rights and Freedoms-challenging implications. Mernagh is a political activist for the New Democratic Party of Canada and has covered a wide range of social justice issues. Matt had previously established the Niagara Compassion Society, whose inaugural public meeting we covered HERE.

email us as always using that computer thingy that we keep hearing are going to be all the rage soon. I’m STILL not convinced: editor@globalpundit.org

TRUCKERS SHUT DOWN Nov. 3rd:

By chris rice

A general strike is proposed for the United States on November 2nd, 2008. The general strike movement has no clearly named leadership. It’s described as an Internet viral effort.
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_phenomenon defines /viral/ efforts on the Internet as:
An object (or an idea) is viral when it has the ability to spread copies of itself or change other similar objects to become more like (it) when those objects are simply exposed to the “viral object.”
General strikes, more common in Europe, are events that shut down the normal operations of a city, state, or nation for a period of time. These strikes aim to force awareness and action on a single issue or broader set of concerns. The 11/02/08 General Strike has a central location—http://votestrike.ning.com —on the Internet, which is linked to and reproduced on a variety of other internet sites. The site states the rationale for the effort:
The General Strike is a national call to action, from citizens to other citizens. It is not about a single issue. It is not a gas protest, a bail-outs protest, an election fraud protest. It is not about torture, surveillance, corporate media, the war, or the environment. This strike is about all these issues and more.
We all have different concerns, but we all have the same concern:

We are being lied to and this government does not represent us.
Join millions of Americans in demanding truth, justice, and accountability.
This is our country.

And our world.
We just have to stand up.

A National Call to Action: starts Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

No school. No work. Buy nothing.

LOCK DOWN USA—NO Answers (to anything)

The strike targets key issues facing the American public, issues that have not been addressed in any meaningful way by any branch of government.

You have ignored the hundreds of thousands of American people who have been calling, faxing and emailing you opposing this bailout at least 100 to 1. You have ignored the almost two hundred economists from around the country that have contacted you and who have no conflict of interest and told you this bill will outright fail.

Do NOT believe the media that says this is a done deal, it’s far from it. We can not let up! This issue is too important to us, to our children and to their children.
Other concerns of the strike include areas of strong public skepticism.
Our votes have been hijacked by privilege and special interest. And regardless of who wins this Presidential election, the American people lose. When lobbyists wine, dine and bribe every politician, regardless of their party affiliation, our votes become worthless.
74% of Americans oppose the Iraq War and a majority says it should never have happened in the first place. Massive violations of civil rights are occurring with the aid of the U.S. Departme