Life can get kind of lonely for a military recruiter sitting around in an office in a shopping center all day. So the good ladies of the anti-war group Code Pink are planning a nice Valentine’s Day visit to the Army recruiting office in Bend.
Two local Code Pink members, Joy Newhart and Thiel Larson, passed out fliers during Bend Winterfest last weekend and plan to do it again from 4 to 5 pm outside the recruiting office next to ShopKo on Third Street. The fliers say “Make Out, Not War” on the front, and on the other side list what Code Pink says are eight ways the military misrepresents the facts to prospective recruits.
The fliers are “very informative, and everyone we gave them to (mostly young people) was very appreciative of the information,” said Larson. “
This type of information is crucial for our young people. … They are being courted by the military at a very vulnerable age.”
Thursday’s demonstration will be part of a nationwide Valentine’s Day event planned by Code Pink, according to Larson.
“No doubt we will start out in front of the recruiting office and then have to move to the street sidewalk if there are complaints,” she said.
Snared in the
Tangled Web of Crime
Classified, but hardly on the DL.Craigslist might be a good place to sell placemats, plywood or puppies, but when it comes to selling pot the old-fashioned, low-tech approach is probably better. Or at least less risky.
According to police, 24-year-old Steven Zahorsky of Stamford, CT placed an ad on Craigslist offering a half-ounce of “A-plus” marijuana for $220 or the same amount of “B-plus” weed for $160.
Claiming to be a member of a painting crew that wanted to buy some pot during a work break, Stamford police set up a rendezvous with Zahorsky at a rest area off Interstate 95. When Zahorsky showed up and allegedly sold three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana to an undercover cop for $320, he was busted.
Zahorsky is free on $10,000 bail pending a court appearance to face a number of drug charges.
Riding High,
Wide and Naked
Let’s face it: What with the long lines, the interminable delays, the cramped seats, the lousy food – or no food – and the lost luggage, isn’t air travel these days miserable enough without having to endure the added discomfort of clothing?
Fortunately, although there’s no remedy in sight for the first five problems, the German travel agency OssiUrlaub is trying to do something about the last one.
OssiUrlaub is now booking seats for a trial run of a clothing-optional flight on July 5 from the eastern German town of Erfurt to Usedom, a popular resort on the Baltic Sea. Passengers will have to remain clothed until they board and dress again before they disembark, but they will be able to enjoy being airborne sans attire.
Travel agency manager Enrico Hess apologized for the high price of the trip — $735 – but explained it was necessary because the small plane the agency chartered can carry only 55 passengers.
If you’re interested you’d better book your seat early, but be forewarned: Neither the travel agency nor the airline will tolerate any hanky-panky. “I don’t want people to get the wrong idea,” Hess said. “It’s not that we’re starting a swinger club in mid-air or something like that. We’re a perfectly normal holiday company.”
Obligatory
Sex-Related Item
Upfront thought we’d heard every possible excuse for sexual misconduct, but this was a new one on us: A Canadian man has been acquitted of sexual assault charges because he suffers from “sexsomnia” – involuntarily having sex while asleep.
Seems Jan Luedecke of Toronto was at a croquet party in July 2003 at which he consumed a dozen beers and four mixed drinks. (That must have been one hell of a croquet party.) He then fell asleep (not surprisingly) on a couch on which a woman also was sleeping.
When the woman woke up she found her skirt had been pulled up and her underwear removed and Luedecke was on top of her, trying to have sex. Luedecke claims to have no recollection of what happened, although somehow he was wearing a condom.
At Luedecke’s 2005 trial a University of Toronto expert testified that he suffered from sexsomnia, which – believe it or not – is a medically recognized sleep disorder. The judge acquitted him on the grounds of “non-insane automatism,” and the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the verdict last week.
Luedecke’s lawyer dismissed fears that the ruling might open the “floodgates” for similar cases, noting that his client was the only person to successfully use sexsomnia as a defense since
1999. “If this is a flood, I think the levees are safe,” he said.
This article appears in Feb 14-20, 2008.
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“When the woman woke up she found her skirt had been pulled up and her underwear removed and Luedecke was on top of her, trying to have sex. Luedecke claims to have no recollection of what happened, although somehow he was wearing a condom.”
And a jury bought this crap?
My comment is referring to the Code Pink ladies article. I am a young adult and I feel that these ladies have very mixed views on the armed forces. They should not be targeting the recruiting stations, but the government. As I have replied before to the opinion article titled รข Balance The Recruiterรข โขs Pitchรข ย, I donรข โขt think they have the right to make absurd accusations. Donรข โขt get me wrong, I am a peace lover myself. I am all for peace and not war, but I donรข โขt believe sayings such as รข Make Out, Not Warรข ย are very appropriate for mothers to be saying to their children. The Code Pink ladies should stop attacking innocent people and if they really have a problem with the war they should take that up with the government. After all they are the ones that decide on whether we go to war or not. Recruiters have nothing to do with it, what so ever. Just because you feel like protesting people, for something that is not even their fault, doesnรข โขt mean you should. Keep your signs and flyers for the bigger picture. The armed forces arenรข โขt bad, and they certainly arenรข โขt trying to take your children away. They provide many different job opportunities. You can even go to college. I donรข โขt believe I should judge their beliefs, you are entitled to your opinions but I do believe you should seriously consider my words.
-Taylor Ridge
Correction:
I am all for peace and not war, but I donรข โขt believe sayings such as รข Make Out, Not Warรข ย aren’t very appropriate for mothers to be saying to their children.
taylor,
According to this article, the Code Pink ladies are attempting to inform the public, particularly young people, about how those recruiters do intentionally mis-represent facts in order to seduce fresh young recruits. This indeed is the military’s fault. You’re right to a certain extent in that government oversight is lacking in this regard, but you don’t even have to be against war to realize that these practices are unethical. Recruits, whatever their age, have a right to know what they’re signing up for when they go into the armed forces, and that there really are very few promises the military can make that they can’t also renege.
False Clea,
First of all, Code Pinker’s are no ladies. In fact members of the Berkeley sect are on record calling American servicemembers “the real terrorists”.
Next, the Bend recruiting office is where I processed. They are very professional and thorough. I was told everything that was in my future by enlisting in the Army, including the likelihood that I would be sent off to war. You see ma’am, some of us were born WITH spines and find nothing particularly fearful or negative about doing something for this great nation instead of doing everything they can to bring about its demise.
Finally, I signed a CONTRACT outlining the responsibilities of both sides in my service. Both sides are legally bound to uphold their end.
Excuse me Clea,
but I am a young adult and my father is a recruiter. Even if he wasn’t one I would still not agree with you. For the plain and simple fact that you are the one that is being mislead. The recruiters have to tell the truth to the people they are recruiting and they do tell them what they are in for. Just because you don’t think they do, doesn’t mean its true. Have you actually witnessed this? I don’t think you have, I know you have your own beliefs but you need to open your eyes. If the recruiters lie to get people in, they would be done because their commanding officers would definitely set things straight. I don’t know where you get these unethical ideas, but frankly I believe you need to wake up and smell the flowers.
Hi taylor,
First off, let me say – I don’t mean to impugn you or your father in any way. I believe that within any group, organized or otherwise, you will find good, honest and ethical people, as well as those who have a weaker character and succumb to lying or manipulating. I imagine your father falls into the first category.
The military is under a tremendous amount of pressure right now to turn out new recruits, since enlistment is dropping faster and faster. That some military recruiters omit or manipulate facts to potential recruits is becoming pretty well documented. Here are a few examples:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2626032&page=1
and
http://www.quakerhouse.org/truth-in-recruiting-01.htm
I do have my own “beliefs,” but when I want to engage in a discussion like this, I prefer to rely on evidence. You are totally correct that the commanding officers should “set things straight,” and hopefully as more evidence of misrepresentation comes out, there will be tougher enforcement and oversight.
Again, I’m not implying that all recruiters are inherent lyers. But there are documented cases of it happening. It seems like helping to arm young people with the information they need to ask the right questions and know their rights before they go into the recruitment office can’t be a bad thing, right?
To Jon Jegglie,
I think it’s abhorant that anyone would call service members “terrorists.” I am not associated in any way with Code Pink, and refering to them as “ladies” was just in reference to the article and taylor’s response to it.
Thank you for your service to this country. I have a lot of friends who are vets of both Vietnam and the first Iraq war, and I have nothing but respect for them.
My comments were a reaction to taylor exclaiming that it was “absurd” to imagine that recruiters would ever mislead or omit information. My response was simply to say, look – it has happened, it’s been documented, and the military has even investigated it.
I was not trying to, nor did I imply that enlisting in the military is wrong. I also made clear that I don’t believe that every recruiter is unethical. But I do believe that people should be well prepared before even stepping foot into the recruitment office. They should know their rights, they should know to read EVERYTHING before signing, in case they do encounter a situation in which they feel pressured to sign up before doing so. They should go in, like you did, well prepared.
I guess it must have sounded like I’m defending Code Pink. I couldn’t care less about them, what I do care about is people making educated decisions. Can you imagine that it might be very intimidating for some 18 year olds to go into a recruiting office and be told that they’re a “pussy” if they don’t sign up? Again – I am NOT implying that this happens all the time, but it’s been documented that it has happened sometimes. You cannot cry “false” or “absurd!”
This isn’t a black and white world. There are those of us who do a lot for this country who never serve in the military, but for those of you who do, thank you again.
A font of knowledge from readers none of which are veterans.