Military Resistance: 9I14 One in Ten

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Military Resistance:

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9.24.11

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Military Resistance 9I14

“Some Marines Say Roughly One In 10 IEDs Hits A Target”
“Sixteen Of The Battalion’s Marines Have Died And At Least 160 Have Been Injured During A Seven-Month Deployment That Ends In October”
“If I Lose My Manhood, Then I Don’t Want To Live Through It”
“It’s One Of The Areas We Can’t Put A Tourniquet On”

From one perspective, a Marine who loses a foot is lucky because he didn’t lose the leg. If he lost the lower part of his leg, he’s lucky because he didn’t lose the knee, which enables an easier transition to a prosthetic leg. If he lost most of the leg, he’s lucky because he still has the other one. Losing genitals, however, is a “whole new ballgame,” said the battalion’s chaplain, Navy Lt. David Kim of Mineola, N.Y. September 21, 2011 By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press [Excerpts] FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, Afghanistan — It is a conversation, the military surgeon says, that every U.S. Marine has with his corpsman, the buddy who is first to treat him if he is wounded by an insurgent’s bomb. The Marine says, “‘If I lose my manhood, then I don’t want to live through it,’“ according to Navy Lt. Richard Whitehead, surgeon for 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which is fighting in one of the most treacherous combat areas of Afghanistan. “They ask us not to save them if their ‘junk’ gets blown off,” said Whitehead, using a slang term for genitals. “Usually, we laugh. We joke with them about it. At the same time, you know that you’re going to treat them anyway.” This is a world of fear, resolve and dark humor that is mostly hidden from accounts of the human cost of the war in Afghanistan. American troops who patrol on foot in bomb-laced areas know they might lose a leg, or two, if they step in the wrong place. But for young men in their prime, most unmarried and without children, the prospect of losing their sexual organs seems even worse. Whitehead said: “It’s one of the areas we can’t put a tourniquet on.” Sangin, the district of southern Afghanistan where the Marine battalion is based, was a Taliban stronghold for years. It has one of the highest concentrations of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in the country. Lt. Col. Thomas Savage, the battalion commander, said there was a rough average of five IED strikes, finds or interdictions a day in Sangin, in Helmand province. Estimates vary, but some Marines say roughly one in 10 IEDs hits a target. Sixteen of the battalion’s Marines have died and at least 160 have been injured during a seven-month deployment that ends in October. Of those, about 90 were sent home because of the severity of their wounds, said Whitehead, the battalion surgeon. One lost both testicles, four Marines lost one testicle and two had penis injuries. The U.S. military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany said it has treated 134 servicemen with one or more amputated limbs through July 31 this year, about 80 percent of the number that suffered similar injuries in all of 2010.

Ninety of the 134 also had genital injuries, according to the center. Virtually all the troops were injured in Afghanistan. Several months into the deployment, the Marines in Sangin were issued so-called “blast panties” or “ballistic boxers,” British-made underwear made of densely woven silk that ends above the knee. The black garb resembles cycling shorts and can’t stop shrapnel, but it protects against infection and the tight fit compresses flesh and offsets the impact of a blast wave, which separates skin from muscle. “We’ll get guys in here with all of the skin on their legs pushed up like a pair of loose pants around their waist,” said Whitehead, of Pascagoula, Mississippi. “All that tissue is going to die. With the compression down around their knees, the blast wave stops.” Early on, some Marines complained the heavy underwear was hot and uncomfortable. It is now mandatory clothing, deemed as essential as gloves, helmets, plastic eyewear and other protective gear. Before a patrol, squad leaders check to make sure their men have it on. A flap hanging from body armor around the torso also offers Marines some protection to the groin, which has major blood vessels. The sweepers, those who lead patrols with a metal detector, wear extra padding that loops between the legs. Some call it a “Kevlar diaper.” One of the first things that Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Richard Erfurth of Portland, Oregon does when he assists an injured comrade is check his groin. If all is well, he will reassure the wounded Marine by saying: “Your junk’s still there.” Erfurth says the Marine usually appears relieved and says something like: “Sweet, dude.” This scenario, the medical specialists say, plays out even if an injured Marine has lost a foot or a leg. Troops in areas where IED attacks are common have become so accustomed to the prospect of extreme injury and amputation that a gruesome relativism takes over. From one perspective, a Marine who loses a foot is lucky because he didn’t lose the leg. If he lost the lower part of his leg, he’s lucky because he didn’t lose the knee, which enables an easier transition to a prosthetic leg. If he lost most of the leg, he’s lucky because he still has the other one. Losing genitals, however, is a “whole new ballgame,” said the battalion’s chaplain, Navy Lt. David Kim of Mineola, N.Y. Marine Cpl. Robert Cole of Klamath Falls, Oregon, was blown up twice in this deployment, suffering a concussion both times and falling unconscious for a few minutes in the second attack. In each blast, men near him lost legs. Cole said a close friend in his platoon lost a testicle as well as his legs in an IED strike in May, and is recuperating in the United States.

“He’s dealing better with losing his legs than with losing his testicle,” Cole said. He recalled that his friend, in a telephone conversation, paused awkwardly before mentioning his lost testicle. Two months after the blast, however, the injured friend had sex with his wife for the first time and they were both “bragging” about it, according to Cole. The corporal said he once had tests for possible testicular cancer and that the results came back negative. After grappling with the private fear of losing his testicles, he believes more than ever that there should be open talk of a grievous, deeply personal injury that is often dodged in public discussions about casualties. The topic has edged into popular culture. A fictional character in a U.S. television series, Sons of Anarchy, is called “Half-Sack” because he lost a testicle while serving in the Marines in the Iraq war. Marines seem more likely to indulge in macabre humor about losing legs as a way to deflate the anxiety. At Camp Pendleton in California, a Marine scrawled “I am going to miss my legs” on the walls of a portable restroom before deploying to Afghanistan. Some Marines posted photos of their legs or feet on Facebook accounts. There’s a shorthand for the unfortunates now: “double amp,” or “triple amp” if they lose an arm as well. Such injuries are common in Afghanistan because insurgents bury bombs made with small amounts of homemade explosives. “The charges here aren’t meant to kill, they’re meant to maim.”

MORE:

“The Number Of Serious Battlefield Injuries, Including Multiple Amputations And Genital Wounds, Continues To Rise”
“The Army Said That The Number Of Multiple Amputations So Far This Year Is Higher Than All Of 2010, Blaming The Increase On Walking Patrols”

September 21, 2011 By Charley Keyes, CNN Senior National Security Producer [Excerpts] WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department confirmed Tuesday that the number of serious battlefield injuries, including multiple amputations and genital wounds, continues to rise. The Army said that the number of multiple amputations so far this year is higher than all of 2010, blaming the increase on walking patrols -- a key element in U.S. counterinsurgency strategy -- and the continuing threat of roadside bombs buried by insurgents such as those in Afghanistan. And the report, titled “Dismounted Complex Blast Injury,” says that some military personnel may be so concerned about potential injuries, such as multiple amputations, that they may not want to survive serious wounds. “The increased rate of double and triple amputees, coupled with pelvic and genital injuries, represented a new level of injury to overcome,” the 87-page reports says. “To some, the resultant burden on their family and loved ones seemed too much to accept, and, anecdotally, some actually developed ‘do not resuscitate’ pacts with their battle buddies in the event of this type of injury.” Army doctors said at the Pentagon Tuesday that the number of major-limb amputations had increased from 86 in 2009 to 187 in 2010 and that so far this year there has been 147. But increases in the numbers of multiple amputations -- three or more limbs -- are even more dramatic, from 23 in 2009 to 72 in 2010 and already 77 in the first nine months of this year. And injuries that result in multiple amputations also are likely to cause urinary and genital injuries. “The ATO’s (Afghanistan Theater of Operations) most dramatic changes in 2010 were the increased numbers of bilateral thigh amputations, triple and quadruple amputations, and associated genital injuries,” the report says. But Army officials said they were unable to give details of how many military personnel received genital injuries, saying based on the available data it could not be determined whether an injury was a laceration or full loss of genitalia.

IRAQ WAR REPORTS

Iraqi Insurgents Launch Coordinated Attack On Ramadi Police & Government Buildings
September 20 By Uthman al-Mokhtar and Dan Zak, Washington Post & Sept 21 (Reuters) [Excerpts] RAMADI, Iraq — Insurgents dressed in military uniforms launched a coordinated attack on a government compound in the western city of Ramadi on Tuesday. Two police officers, one civilian and a leader of the Sons of Iraq, a government militia, were killed by twin bombs, said Brig. Mohammed Rashid, the police commander in Ramadi, capital of Anbar province. Fifteen policemen were injured in an ensuing firefight with five insurgents who breached the perimeter of the compound after the explosions. Police shot and killed the insurgents. They also fatally shot a third would-be bomber before he could trigger his device. One bomber detonated his explosives at the eastern gate of the compound about 12:45 p.m., and another blew up his car at the western gate. Police then cordoned off the compound, and gunfire could be heard inside. The compound, about 60 miles west of Baghdad, houses the headquarters of the Anbar police department, government and counterterrorism bureau. It has been the site of seven insurgent assaults in the past two years. Among the dead Tuesday was Khalid al-Alwani, one of the leaders of the Sons of Iraq. Elsewhere Tuesday, three Iraqi policemen were killed by insurgents using silencer pistols at a checkpoint in the Shiite district of Shaab, in northern Baghdad, and a district police commander was injured by a bomb attached to his car in the city of Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of the capital. MOSUL - Attackers detonated three roadside bombs in quick succession and then fired shots at a police patrol, killing three policemen and wounding 13 policemen in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb went off near a police patrol, wounding one policeman, on a highway near Baghdad’s southern Doura district. KIRKUK - A roadside bomb went off near a military vehicle carrying Iraqi soldiers, killing two soldiers and wounded one, in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

3 Italian Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
Sept. 23, 2011 UPI Three Italian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan Friday, bringing Italy’s death toll to 44 since it joined the international force in 2004. A fourth soldier was seriously injured in the incident, which involved Italian patrols in the western city of Herat, ANSA reported. The last Italian solider to be killed in Afghanistan was Cpl. Maj. David Tobini, 28, who was shot in the head during a gunfight in Murghab Valley July 26.

Two Foreign Occupation “Servicemembers” Killed Somewhere Or Other In Afghanistan Wednesday: Nationality Not Announced
September 21, 2011 AP Two foreign servicemembers died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan today.

Foreign Occupation “Servicemember” Killed Somewhere Or Other In Afghanistan: Nationality Not Announced
September 23, 2011 AP A foreign servicemember died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today.

Seminole High School Teachers Remember Soldier Killed In Afghanistan
Craig Day, News On 6 SEMINOLE, Oklahoma -- An Oklahoma soldier who grew up and went to high school in Seminole was killed in Afghanistan on Friday. At Seminole High School, the flag hangs at half staff and heavy hearts hang over those who knew Sergeant Bret Isenhower. The 26-year-old was killed Friday in Afghanistan by small arms fire. His former teachers and coaches are saddened by the loss of a fine young man, known for his smile and friendly demeanor. “Just a wonderful, wonderful young man. A great representative of America and Seminole,” said Krista Clark, Seminole High School Teacher. Isenhower graduated from Seminole High in 2003 where he played football, was in drama and speech, belonged to FCA and sang in the choir. Even after graduation, he’d return to the school to say hello and visit with his teachers. They say he was quick with a smile. “Just a great personality. Someone you’d want your kids to be like,” said Jack Tinsley, Seminole High School Teacher. “Not only did he give the ultimate sacrifice for his country, but he was a good person too,” said Seminole High School Teacher Laura Rose. Not only was Isenhower a hero for making the ultimate sacrifice, he was also one for saving the life of a fellow soldier just two weeks ago. When a bullet severed an artery in Randen Allison’s arm during a gun battle, Sergeant Isenhower ran to his aid, putting a tourniquet on to keep Allison from bleeding to death. Allison talked to him on the phone two days before Isenhower was killed to thank him. Isenhower’s response: don’t worry about it, and that he was just doing his job. Back at Seminole High, that’s the kind of person they remember. The kind of person they’ll miss. Selfless, patriotic, genuine. A person to admire... and a hero. “Put himself in harm’s way. What more can you say, just a super person. It’s a shame that we lose people like that,” Tinsley said. Funeral services for Bret Isenhower are pending. Ten soldiers from Oklahoma’s 45th have died in Afghanistan since the end of July.

Porterville Grad Killed In Afghanistan
Sep. 09, 2011 By Lewis Griswold, The Fresno Bee Douglas J. Jeffries Jr. joined the Army after graduating from Porterville High School, hoping that his military service would help him land his dream job as a forestry “hot shot” firefighter. Instead, the 20-year-old Army private first class was killed Thursday by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Department of Defense reported his death Friday. He is the 43rd service member with ties to the Valley to have died in an overseas war zone since 9/11. Douglas Jeffries Sr. was informed of his son’s death on Thursday and traveled late Thursday to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to await the arrival of the casket, said Pastor Chris Ferrell of Springville. The attack on Jeffries’ unit -- part of the 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, N.Y. -- killed both Jeffries and Spc. Koran P. Contreras, 21, of Lawndale in Los Angeles County. They served in the 22nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. Jeffries, who graduated from Porterville High School in 2009, was engaged to a woman he met in New York, said high school buddy Carl Bushnell. Bushnell said Jeffries enlisted about six months after high school, figuring that serving in the military would give him credentials to become a firefighter and join a forestry hot shot crew. Friends and a former teacher said Jeffries was fun-loving and friendly, but also a hard worker. “He was just a really good all-around guy,” Bushnell said. “He was outgoing, funny and always had something good to say about people.” In high school, Jeffries played bass guitar in a rock ‘n’ roll band with Bushnell and other friends. Robert “Bobby” Brown of Springville said they’d race their pickups to school. “It was like a NASCAR race to see who would get there first,” Brown said. “I had a big pickup, and he had a little pickup. It was cat and mouse.” Jeffries was active in the National FFA Organization in speech, agricultural mechanics, agricultural finance and forestry in all four years at Porterville High, said teacher Todd Coons. As a senior, he was on the team that won Tulare County FFA’s ag finance competition, qualifying him to receive the American FFA Degree. He will be recognized for earning that degree posthumously at the National FFA Convention in October in Indianapolis, Coons said.

Jeffries was responsible and could work independently, Coons said. “He knew when to play and he knew when to work.” On car trips to FFA events, Jeffries would keep the mood light, Coons said: “He had that humor. There was always a ... good aura, a kind of grin on his face.” High school friend Aneliz Jimenez said Jeffries was part of a crowd that hung out and ate lunch together daily. “He’d always ask you for a bite of your food,” she said. “He’d throw ice at you. He was never down.” Jimenez said she got a text message on Thursday that Jeffries had been killed in action. “I’m really proud of him,” Jimenez said. “He did something so special for me, to give his life, something so selfless, to keep us safe.”

Germany-Based Soldier Killed In Paktika Attack Is Identified

Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Quintana is shown in a photo posted on the official Facebook page of the 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade. Quintana, with the brigade’s 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, was killed when his unit came under small arms fire in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. September 12, 2011 Stars and Stripes A soldier killed Saturday in eastern Afghanistan was part of the 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade out of Germany, according to the Department of Defense.

Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Quintana, 30, of Huntington Park, Calif., died of gunshot wounds from an insurgent attack on his unit in Paktika province, according to a press release. Quintana was a weapons squad leader in the brigade’s 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, according to the brigade. Reached at home in Huntington on Tuesday, Quintana’s father, Daniel Quintana Sr., 50, said he was told his son died after he was shot while on foot patrol. The younger Quintana joined the military 11 years ago, first joining the Air Force before enlisting in the Army, his father said. He planned to make a career of the service, Quintana Sr. added. “He told me, ‘Dad, I love what I do. Don’t worry about me, I’m a great soldier.’” the father recalled. “I believe him. He was a great soldier.” The deployment was Quintana’s second, following a tour in Iraq, the elder Quintana said. The soldier leaves behind a wife and two children. A third is due in January, according to the father. The 172nd, based out of Schweinfurt and Grafenwöhr, Germany, deployed to eastern Afghanistan in July for a 12-month tour.

POLITICIANS CAN’T BE COUNTED ON TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WARS

Taliban Attacks Closing Down Afghanistan Road Resupply Of U.S. Troop Outposts:
General Confirms “Shift Toward Conducting More Air Drops Of Supplies And Equipment”
Convoys “Are Often A Target For Taliban Attacks”

09/20/11 By John T. Bennett, The Hill [Excerpts] American tanker planes have pumped nearly 150 million gallons of fuel into U.S. and coalition combat aircraft, U.S. Air Mobility Command (AMC) chief Gen. Raymond Johns told reporters during a breakfast meeting in Washington. In Afghanistan, the command — tasked with moving the military’s fuel, cargo and personnel — plans to continue its shift toward conducting more air drops of supplies and equipment. That’s because some of the first American troops that will be removed from Afghanistan under the White House’s 2014 total withdrawal goal will be support troops like truck convoy drivers and support personnel. “I would love to have all the convoys gone,” Johns said, because they are often a target for Taliban attacks. Aerial cargo movement is more expensive, but it removes easily targeted troops from the battlefield, Pentagon officials say.

[For further reading in relevant military history, see:]

Crowd Shouts “Death To America! Death To Pakistan! Death To Karzai!” At Funeral: Former President “Was Assassinated On Tuesday By A Suicide Bomber Who Had Promised To Help Negotiate With Taliban Insurgents”

[Go figure that one. T] 23 September 2011 By RFI Angry mourners stoned government vehicles and police fired into the air at the funeral of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani in Kabul Friday. Thousands of people turned out, demanding action against Rabbani’s killers. “Death to America! Death to Pakistan! Death to Karzai!” the crowd shouted before being dispersed by guards who fired warning shots into the air. The former president, whom President Hamid Karzai had appointed head of the High Peace Council, was assassinated on Tuesday by a suicide bomber who had promised to help negotiate with Taliban insurgents.

IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE RESISTANCE END THE OCCUPATION NO MISSION; POINTLESS WAR: ALL HOME NOW

Aug. 26, 2011: A U.S. Marine Scout Sniper, 3/4 Marines, walks back into his living area after an exchange of fire with Taliban militants in the Gesresk Valley, Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. The Marines of 3rd Platoon who live inside the mud-walled compound of PB-302 face Taliban militants who regularly attack the base from multiple directions using launched grenades, sniper rifles, and AK-47s. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Aug. 28, 2011: A U.S. Marine at Patrol Base 302, in the Gesresk Valley, Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Sgt. Misha Pemble-Belkin, 25, of Portland, Ore., with the U.S. Army’s Bravo Company of the 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, hikes up to an observation post from Combat Outpost Monti Sept. 4, 2011, in Kunar province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Pfc. Garrick Carlton, 21, of Sacramento, Calif., with the U.S. Army’s Bravo Company of the 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, hikes up to man a hilltop observation post Sept. 10, 2011 at Combat Outpost Monti in Kunar province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

SOMALIA WAR REPORTS

Shabab Fighters Took An Ambush
September 21, 2011 Mareeg Mogadishu: Fighters of rebel group, Shabab and government soldiers are reported to have exchanged fires in Dharkenlay district in the capital Mogadishu killing 3 T.F.G soldiers. The clash came as Shabab fighters took an ambush against some government soldiers who were going throught civilians in a passenger bus in Kah-shikal village in Dharkelay district killing 3 soldiers, reports said. The dead soldiers are reported to be government soldiers and it’s not known the casualties reached Shabab fighters as though broadcast extended the number of casualties than found now.

MILITARY NEWS
THIS IS HOW OBAMA BRINGS THEM HOME: ALL HOME NOW, ALIVE

SEPTEMBER 14: The casket of U.S. Army Spc. Douglas J. Green during a full honors burial service at Arlington National Cemetery on September 14, 2011 in Arlington, Virginia. Spc. Green, who was from Sterling, Virginia, was killed in Kandahar province in Afghanistan from injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Veteran Says U.S. Government ‘Betrayed’ Him By Forcing His German Wife To Leave:
“‘If You Don’t Have A Lawyer And Can’t Afford A Lawyer’, You’re Doomed”
“This Breaks My Heart”

[Thanks to Pham Binh, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] Sep 14, 2011 By Liz Goodwin, Yahoo! News Network Michael Giesey spent thousands of dollars in immigration fees to try to keep his German-born wife as a legal resident of the United States. For a while, Giesey thought all the money and time spent on forms and interviews would finally pay off. He and his wife and their 7-year-old daughter were going to be able to stay in Florida and help take care of his brother, a Fort Lauderdale firefighter who was injured on the job. But an e-mail arrived on July 30 from Citizen and Immigration Services. In it, Marina, Giesey’s wife of more than 10 years, was asked to leave the country within 30 days. Giesey, who is 50, was serving in the Air Force while stationed in Germany when he met Marina. He doesn’t know what went wrong. “I feel betrayed by my own country,” he said in an interview with The Lookout. Making mistakes early in the immigration process can doom a person’s chances for a green card. In the Gieseys’ case, the mistakes happened during the rush to get home to care for a relative, and were compounded by a belief that the government would make it relatively easy for an American citizen to live in the United States with his wife. Giesey, a 20-year veteran who served in Saudi Arabia, near the Iraqi border, during the first Gulf War, retired in 2000 while he was stationed in Germany. He had met his wife Marina at a New Year’s Eve party two years earlier, and they married in 1999. Marina worked as a nurse in Germany, and Giesey began to work in aircraft maintenance. They had a daughter in 2003, and they planned to stay in Germany for the rest of their lives. “I had pretty much resigned myself to a life there,” Giesey says. “I enjoyed it and it was a nice place to live, a beautiful country.” (Giesey does not have German citizenship. Because he is married to a citizen, he merely needed to register with the city government to legally reside there. There was no fee.) But Giesey’s brother Stan suffered a serious spinal injury in 2008 while on the job as a firefighter. Giesey quickly looked for aircraft maintenance work in Florida, so that he could help take care of Stan. When he was hired by the company Gulf Stream, he was told to be at work in two weeks. “Because of what happened with my brother it was kind of a rushed deal,” Giesey says. “There was so much to do before I got here. We didn’t have time to go to the consulate in Frankfurt and didn’t have the money to pay the fees. We figured we could do it (once) she got here.”

Marina entered the country on a 90-day tourist visa, which she overstayed while Giesey tried to scrounge up the more than $1,000 in fees required to get her a green card. In 2009, Marina and Michael returned to Germany. Marina stayed a little longer to have some dental work done, and tried to return to the United States by herself in July of that year. She was detained for five hours by customs officials who said she didn’t have the legal status to enter the country. The customs officials seemed sympathetic to Marina’s situation, Giesey says, and they gave her what’s called a “paroled” status. That was supposed to give the Gieseys time to fill out the forms and pay the fees to get legal residency for Marina. In the meantime, Marina started a small business selling German cookies and became the regional president in Florida of the United States Nordic Walking Association. But what the officials did not mention is that after a first visa violation, it’s very rare for the government to grant a green card. Federal law says that anyone who overstays a visa may not re-enter the country for at least three years. In April, customs officials in Palm Beach told the Gieseys to fill out a form to prove that Marina’s deportation would cause undue hardship to her family. This time, the forms and a green card application cost more than $2,000, but the Gieseys were assured that everything would work out. In July, Citizen and Immigration Services declined to give Marina hardship status, saying that it is usually granted only if an immediate family member has a severe disability--and that a brother-in-law did not count. No one told the Gieseys that, Michael Giesey says. A lawyer told Giesey that an appeal would cost at least another $2,600. Giesey had hoped that the Obama administration’s controversial move to dismiss most deportation cases against non-criminal illegal immigrants would help his wife. But in order to benefit from the government’s “prosecutorial discretion,” a person has to first enter deportation proceedings. Letting his wife enter that process was unthinkable to Giesey. “I absolutely cannot allow a customs official officer or a sheriff or whoever...to show up at my front door and handcuff my wife and take her away in front of my daughter,” he said. Giesey decided to quit his job, short-sell his house and move the whole family to Germany. No one has offered to buy his house, so he plans to turn the deed over to the bank to pay his mortgage. “My idea of a family is that you’re together,” he went on. “I spent 20 years in the military traveling around and I know what that does to families.”

Giesey says he is disillusioned with the entire immigration process, which struck him as too complicated and expensive for an ordinary person to navigate. “The system almost requires that you have legal representation for something that should be able to be done by any citizen,” he said. “If you don’t have a lawyer and can’t afford a lawyer,” you’re doomed. Crystal Williams, the head of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, agreed. “Unfortunately we have a very complicated and trap-filled immigration situation,” she told The Lookout. “There is nobody who is going to tell you what the traps are. People do think, ‘I’m married to a U.S. citizen--I’ll just come as a visitor and it’ll be fine.’ That’s unfortunately not the case.” The Gieseys flew back to Germany on August 30. “My brother will have to return to try and sell his house, cars, furnishings, and all other belongings to have to start over in Germany,” Stan Giesey wrote in a letter to his local newspaper. “This breaks my heart.”

Honorable Work For The National Guard:
“This Is The Best Mission That I’ve Done Since I’ve Been In The Army”
“There’s Nothing That Beats Helping Out The Local People In The United States”

Soldiers from the Virginia National Guard’s 189th Engineer Co. (MRBC), based at Bowling Green National Guard Armory, clear fallen trees and debris from roads in the wake of Hurricane Irene. September 26, 2011 Army Times

The Minnesota National Guard sent helicopters Sept. 15 to help put out wildfires in Boundary Waters wilderness area — one of the latest in a recent string of natural disasters that brought calls for guardsmen around the country. Guardsmen have gone in recent weeks to help local authorities fight fires, contain floods, evacuate residents and remove debris after heavy storms including Hurricane Irene. In early September, more than 1,200 Pennsyl-vania National Guard members were mobilized to help with flooding along the Susquehanna River that followed Tropical Storm Lee. On Sept. 9, guardsmen used a boat to rescue 11 people, including two young children, trapped on the second floor of a house in West Pittston, Pa. Black Hawks from the Louisiana National Guard, hanging with 500-gallon buckets, put out the last of smoldering marsh fires in New Orleans on Sept. 10, reported Nola.com. Days earlier, the Texas National Guard deployed Chinooks and Black Hawks, bulldozers and large trucks to help fight fires in the south-eastern part of the state. After Hurricane Irene blew through New England, Connecticut’s 192nd Multi-Functional Engineer Battalion rescued residents in Hartford trapped by floodwaters, reported gas leaks and assessed damage, the National Guard reported. More than 1,600 guardsmen from Maine, Vermont, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia remained on duty in New England into September. Staff Sgt. Jason Burnham, of the Maine National Guard’s 262nd Engineers, a veteran of two overseas tours, left his home state ready to help. “This is the best mission that I’ve done since I’ve been in the Army,” he said. “There’s nothing that beats helping out the local people in the United States.”

ANNIVERSARIES

September 23, 1939: Disgusting Imperial Anniversary;
Hitler Sells Lithuania, Stalin Buys
Carl Bunin Peace News 9.23 – 9.30 Nazi-led Germany [capitalists pretending to be “National Socialists”] and the Communist Soviet Union [capitalists pretending to be Communists] considered enemies at the time,

negotiated an addendum to the Hitler-Stalin Pact ceding Lithuania, the small independent country on the Baltic Sea, to the Soviets’ sphere of influence [translation: to the Russian Empire] in exchange for 7.5 million gold dollars. Josef Stalin, the Georgian who was General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, and Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany, had agreed the previous month to allow Germany free reign [translation: to expand the German Empire] in eastern Europe, leading to Germany’s invasion of Poland.

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

“If Hurricane Irene Had Been Severe, The Bloomberg Administration’s Measures Would Have Cost Many People Their Lives”
September 5 - 19, 2011 The Spark Issue no. 899 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been busy ever since Irene passed through, patting himself on the back for saving New York.

It’s true, he ordered public transport shut down. The entire system of buses and subways was shut down more than eight hours before the storm arrived. But Bloomberg did not require businesses to shut down. And many did not, leaving their employees, who depend on mass transit, scrambling to find a ride just before the hurricane hit. And without public transit, many families in the evacuation zones had no way to get out. Moreover, thousands of families in the huge public housing projects within the evacuation zone, such as in Red Hook, Brooklyn and the far Lower East side of Manhattan, were trapped in their apartments, because management shut down the elevators “for the tenants’ safety.” Just as with Katrina, a city administration was saving property to the detriment of the population. In fact, if Hurricane Irene had been severe, the Bloomberg administration’s measures would have cost many people their lives.

2012 Republican Party Nominee For Emperor Receives Award

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, second from left, receives the Liberty Medal from Iraq War veteran Anthony Odierno, right, representing Wounded Warrior Project, and Sergeant First Class Dana Graham, left, of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and David Eisner, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center during a ceremony Sept. 22, 2011 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

CLASS WAR REPORTS

“Violent Protests Tuesday Rocked Large Oil Fields In Colombia”
“Several Hundred Rubiales Employees Demanding Better Working Conditions Refused To Work And Instead Faced Off With Antiriot Police”
“The Angry Workers Blocked Roads And Destroyed Company Property While

Police Tried To Beat Them Back With Tear Gas And Other Measures”
SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 By DAN MOLINSKI, Wall Street Journal [Excerpts] BOGOTA—Violent protests Tuesday rocked large oil fields in Colombia operated by Canada-based Pacific Rubiales, forcing the company to halt production and declare a ‘force majeure’ on the oil it sends abroad. Camilo Valencia, a company vice president, told reporters production is completely paralyzed at its main Rubiales field, the highest-producing field in Colombia at 180,000 barrels a day, and at its smaller Quifa field. A total of some 225,000 barrels a day has been shut in, the company official said. Force majeure is a term in a contract that can be invoked when conditions beyond the control of the company make it impossible for it to fulfill terms to which it originally agreed. “We were forced to declare a force majeure to be able to cover ourselves legally,” Mr. Valencia said. “It’s the reality, what is happening to us, and we hope to reestablish our operations as soon as possible.” He said most of the oil the company produces at the two fields is sent to the northern Colombian port of Covenas for export. The protests began Tuesday morning when several hundred Rubiales employees demanding better working conditions refused to work and instead faced off with antiriot police that were sent in earlier to protect the oil installations. The angry workers blocked roads and destroyed company property while police tried to beat them back with tear gas and other measures, said a government official who asked not to be named. “There are injuries on both sides, the protesters as well as the police,” the government official said, who said the extent of the injuries wasn’t known. Tuesday’s protests are only the latest in a string of recent disturbances a the Rubiales field, which is operated by Pacific Rubiales and majority-controlled by state-run Ecopetrol. In July, production at the Rubiales field, located near the town of Puerto Gaitan in central Colombia, was halted for several days due to protests by workers. And last month, about 1,000 protesters including residents in Puerto Gaitan blocked roads leading to the oil field, demanding the company hire more local workers and provide more social welfare to the community. A meeting aimed at resolving the conflict was scheduled for Tuesday night among union representatives, company management and government officials. Colombia’s National

Police commander, Gen. Oscar Naranjo, was also scheduled to attend, the government official said. The halt in production is expected to at least temporarily slow the sharp rise in overall oil production in Colombia, which has been experiencing a boom in its oil industry for the past four years. The country produced 953,000 barrels a day of oil last month, up from around half that just four years ago. It is aiming to reach 1 million barrels a day of crude production by the end of 2011.

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