Entries this day: Dear_Suzyxx_in_Palestine Flash Longest_leg_hair_ever!! Work lt-watada reality-strikes-my-day-off

Dear Suzyxx in Palestine

9:13am JST Friday 5 January 2007 (day 13435)

I've just added to my blog Suzyxx email from Palestine, and changed the permalink structure (for nicer URLs; thank you WordPress!), and then posted Lt Watada justly refuses an unjust war, which is far bigger, but no less important than Suzy xx's entry. In fact, I prefer to tell people about Suzy xx, because she's a friend of mine.

Flash

11:06am JST Friday 5 January 2007 (day 13435)

Finally got the flash thing to work the way I want. I had to use a white rectangle on top of the dynamic text to get the dynamic text to fade in and out.

Longest leg hair ever!!

11:08am JST Friday 5 January 2007 (day 13435)

Holy shizah!! I just found a leg hair about 3 inches long! And it's on my leg!!

Work

9:57pm JST Friday 5 January 2007 (day 13435)

Madoka was our receptionist today at work. I had 1 cancellation to finish off my day, and two students showed up 15 minutes late each, giving me a bit more of a break during the day.

Ami (was one of the 15-minute-late students, and) brought chocolate for me with her newfound cash influx due to Japanese New Year's tradition of receiving cash from aunts and uncles.

I tried staying genki (and awake) during all of the lessons, though a couple of times it was trying. I've determined what I mostly don't like is students pretending to understand, cause when I tell a story, I don't want to waste my breath. They fake comprehension so I can't help them learn anything new, and it's just a waste. Rarely do I say, "you don't understand, do you?" cause they usually won't understand that either.

Carl was asked by a student what sperm was (their topic was surogate mothers). He didn't know how to say it in Japanese, so after the lesson he asked Madoka. She spent a lot of energy claiming not to know. How silly! Finally I got her to write it down: seishi

lt watada

##09:03 Friday 05 January 2007

Letter from Carolyn Ho – mother of Lt Watada

Dear Friends,

On behalf of Lt. Watada and our family, thank you for standing with us during this most difficult time. Because of his refusal to deploy to the illegal and immoral Iraq War, my son now faces a maximum of 6 years in a military prison. The pretrial is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2007. The court martial is calendared for Feb. 5, 2007.

We are just days away from the pretrial and must broaden his support base. Help us mobilize the local, national, and international community through your personal, professional, religious and other networks. Please forward the attached email alert with a brief explanation. Ask people to go to: www.thankyoult.org to learn more about Lt. Watada's case. On the main menu, supporters can click on SIGN PETITION/GET UPDATES AND ALERTS. They will receive weekly email updates that call for actions in support of Lt. Watada's stand.

Encourage your contacts to integrate these actions into the anti-war activism they are already doing. Their voices are critical to building an international public opinion campaign that demands justice and no punishment for Lt. Watada. His voice of resistance to this heinous war cannot be silenced!

In Solidarity,

Carolyn Ho (Lt. Watada's Mother)

• * * * * * * * * *

[Lt Watada Action Center](https://ga0.org/ltwatada/home.html)

"The war in Iraq is in fact illegal. It is my obligation and my duty to refuse any orders to participate in this war. An order to take part in an illegal war is unlawful in itself. So my obligation is not to follow the order to go to Iraq." - Lt. Ehren Watada

NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION

Feb. 5, 2007 - Lt. Watada Military Court Martial

Rally at the gates of Ft. Lewis, Washington or in your local community

5 Actions to Support Lt. Watada

1. ******Send letters or call Commander Dubik. Urge him to:**

• Dismiss all charges

• Honor Lt. Watada's resignation

Lt. General James Dubik Commanding General Fort Lewis 1 Corps Building 2025 Stop 1 Fort Lewis, WA 98433 Phone 253-967-1110

1. ******Spread the word about Feb. 5, 2007.** [ Forward this email](https://ga0.org/ltwatada/join-forward.html?domain=ltwatada&r=EdSZyLn1_LvY&) and post on blogs, MySpace, student, activist, social justice and media websites. [ Register for campaign updates](https://ga0.org/ct/ipSZyLn1rSAy/).

1. ******Encourage your organization to endorse the National Day of Action and mobilize on Feb. 5, 2007.** Please specify national, state, city, chapter/local, and contact person, and send to [action@ltwatada.org](mailto:action@ltwatada.org).

1. ******Organize a student walkout, rally or vigil on Feb. 5, 2007.** [Tell us](mailto:action@ltwatada.org) about your action so we can include your event on our website.

                      5. [Donate online](https://ga0.org/ct/k1SZyLn1rSAh/) to Lt. Watada's Defense Fund. 

website: www.thankyoult.org

Mark Your Calendars

Thurs. Jan 4, 2007 Pre-trial Hearing Contact Commander Dubik Rally at the gates of Fort Lewis, 8-11 am, exit 119

January 20-22, 2007 Citizens' Hearings Evergreen State College, Tacoma campus Tacoma, WA

February 5, 2007 Court Martial Trial Begins National Call to Action more details to come

For more information contact info@ltwatada.org.

Make your 2007 New Year's Resolution to Stand with Lt. Watada Against Illegal and Immoral War

On Monday, February 5, 2007 take action against the Iraq war and in support of Lt. Watada during his military court martial. Stand up with Lt. Watada and speak out against the illegal and immoral war! Join the national movement and organize student walkouts and non-violent demonstrations. Together let's build a mass movement in the streets, in our schools, and in our communities to end the Iraq War. On Feb. 5, 2007 rally at the gates of Fort Lewis, Washington or in your local community.

For courageously standing up and speaking out against the Iraq War, New Year's Eve 2007 may be Lt. Watada's last holiday as a free man until 2013. While many 28 year-olds are starting their families and building their careers, Ehren will be locked away in military prison for following his conscience and refusing to fight in the Iraq War.

Now it is time for you to follow your conscience and join the national movement to support Lt. Watada and end the Iraq war.

As civilians, the responsibility ultimately falls on us to demand an end to the Iraq war. In fact, we owe it to the soldiers who are fighting and dying in Iraq every day, as well as those resisting the war. We must all stand up and speak out against the war and in support Lt. Ehren Watada!

Currently, the Bush Administration is planning to deploy 30,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq, yet the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the Iraq war. Since 2003 the war has cost 3,000 U.S. soldiers' lives, approximately 950,000 Iraqi deaths, 2 trillion U.S tax dollars or approximately 8 billion dollars a week. We can no longer stand by and continue to allow this great injustice to occur!

___"My fellow soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq and their families are suffering because of the lies and deceptions crafted by the Bush Administration. The Iraq war is not only a crime against domestic and international law but [it] is a terrible moral injustice against the Iraqi people." Lt. Ehren Watada_

As the first Army officer to publicly speak out against the war and refuse deployment to Iraq, Lt Watada will be punished by the U.S. Army with a maximum six years in prison. The military's intention IS to SILENCE VOICES OF RESISTANCE and make an example out of Lt. Watada.

Lt. Watada's bold actions have raised the consciousness of thousands of Americans about the illegality and immorality of this war, but his actions alone will not stop the Iraq war. If Lt. Watada is willing to sacrifice his freedom, then we, too, must voice our opposition and take action to end the war.

Take Action Feb. 5, 2007 during Lt. Watada's military court martial and make your 2007 New Year's Resolution to Stand with Lt. Watada Against Illegal and Immoral War.

• * *

Pass this message on to three friends and ask them to join the Lt. Watada Support campaign. Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Action Center - Lt. Watada Support Campaign.

reality strikes my day off

##08:36 Friday 05 January 2007

I think I'm losing it...seriously...i think I'm forgetting the meaning of words like "peace" and "ceasefire" and "routine". Today I had a day off and went to meet a friend of mine from Bethlehem who has recently started a new job with UNESCO in Ramallah. We met for a long lunch and then went shopping in Ramallah's busy town centre. Then the army arrived. Bulldozers first, shunting parked cars out of the way, some into shop fronts. Close behind were the armoured jeeps. No announcements: tear-gas, then sound grenades, then live fire. A helicopter above, backing up he ground troops with overhead fire. We were caught so unaware that I have to admit we both panicked and fled with other shoppers, young and old into the nearest store. We flinched and held hands with every gunshot and explosion from the other side of the metal shutters. .

Of course, we needn't have worried. This was just a "routine arrest operation". So tell me, am I losing it? Have I been here too long? What exactly is routine about four dead people and twenty seriously injured? Routine to me was mothers and children, on holiday from school, going about their business, buying food and clothes, meeting friends for lunch....right?

Today in Palestine: Ramallah raided, Bethlehem raided, Tubas raided, two villages close to Bethlehem raided, four dead, 35 injured, 9 arrested, so far. But Israel wants only peace and to protect _itself_ from terrorists. A new colony approved in the West Bank to house the illegal Israeli "settlers" removed from the Gaza strip; 55,000 new Israeli houses to be built on land stolen from the village I volunteer in, the village that now has an unemployment rate of around 75%....peace?

Like I say, i really think i'm losing it, I hear the words Israel speaks but my eyes won't let me believe them...anyone any advice for a confused girl?