Human Shield

[vegetablebelay]

 

 

Former Human Shield Faces Thousands in Fines

 

 

 

Monday, August 11, 2003

 

SARASOTA, Fla. — A retired schoolteacher who went to Iraq to serve as a "human shield" (search) against the coalition invasion is facing thousands of dollars in U.S. government fines, which she is refusing to pay.

 

 

 

 

 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a March letter to Faith Fippinger that she broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in "virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq."

 

She and others from 30 countries spread out through Iraq to prevent the war. She spent about three months there. Only about 20 of nearly 300 "human shields" were Americans, she said.

 

Fippinger, who returned home May 4, is being fined at least $10,000, but she has refused to pay. She could face up to 12 years in prison.

 

In her response to the charges, she wrote the government that "if it comes to fines or imprisonment, "please be aware that I will not contribute money to the United States government to continue the buildup of its arsenal of weapons." Since she won't pay, she said, "perhaps the alternative should be considered."

 

The government also has asked Fippinger, 62, to detail her travels to Iraq and any financial transactions she made. In her response, Fippinger wrote that the only money she spent was on food and emergency supplies.

 

If Fippinger does not pay, the fine may increase, and the money will be drawn from her retirement paycheck, her Social Security check (search) or any of her assets, officials said.

 

"She was (in Iraq) in violation of U.S. sanctions," said Taylor Griffin, a Treasury Department spokesman. "That's what happens."

 

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,94366,00.html

 

 

 

[Kiwi]

While I don't agree with her actions, I think she's being made an example. Sure the law is out there, but I doubt it's strongly or routinely enforced.

[Greg_W]

"Get a rope."

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Greg_W said:

"Get a rope."

 

Time to string up some money-grubbing government fucks?

 

[murraysovereign]

Where does your government get off, telling you where you may or may not travel? And more to the point, why do you let them?

For all the talk out of the US about "defending individual rights and freedoms" you seem to be surrendering basics like freedom of movement with nary a whimper. In fact, some of you are actually defending your government's right to tell you what to do. What's up with that? Rather than saying "get a rope" you should be running to defend this woman's right to go where-ever the Hell she damn well pleases. If you're going to get out a rope, I would hope you'd use it on those jackass legislators who are taking away your personal liberties.

[gohawks]

Murray-You are manipulating the notion of freedom. She obstructed the U.S. army from completing a war that was approved by our elected Congress. She deserves whatever she gets.

[Fence_Sitter]

gohawks said:

Murray-You are manipulating the notion of freedom. She obstructed the U.S. army from completing a war that was approved by our elected Congress. She deserves whatever she gets.

 

indeed... your right to swing your fists ends at my face...

[j_b]

indeed... your right to swing your fists ends at my face...

 

err ..., no. it ends short of threatening people. you better ponder on this.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Fence_Sitter said:

gohawks said:

Murray-You are manipulating the notion of freedom. She obstructed the U.S. army from completing a war that was approved by our elected Congress. She deserves whatever she gets.

 

indeed... your right to swing your fists ends at my face...

 

Curious, given your vociferous endorsement of others' "right" to swing their fists with no such boundary constraints when it comes to others' grilles. Oh, wait, forget it; if you have the gall to question violent people, you deserve to get hit. Duh.

[allthumbs]

murraysovereign said:

Where does your government get off, telling you where you may or may not travel? And more to the point, why do you let them?

For all the talk out of the US about "defending individual rights and freedoms" you seem to be surrendering basics like freedom of movement with nary a whimper. In fact, some of you are actually defending your government's right to tell you what to do. What's up with that? Rather than saying "get a rope" you should be running to defend this woman's right to go where-ever the Hell she damn well pleases. If you're going to get out a rope, I would hope you'd use it on those jackass legislators who are taking away your personal liberties.

you sir, are a fuckin idiot. it was war-time for chrissake. go buy a clue

[Fence_Sitter]

Dr_Flash_Amazing said:

Fence_Sitter said:

gohawks said:

Murray-You are manipulating the notion of freedom. She obstructed the U.S. army from completing a war that was approved by our elected Congress. She deserves whatever she gets.

 

indeed... your right to swing your fists ends at my face...

 

Curious, given your vociferous endorsement of others' "right" to swing their fists with no such boundary constraints when it comes to others' grilles. Oh, wait, forget it; if you have the gall to question violent people, you deserve to get hit. Duh.

 

chivo? whatever Doc. i have never condoned beatin ass... like that. why dont you knock off the pseudo-intellectual jargon... do you jerk off to websters? who talks like this on a B.B.S? loser

[b-rock]

Um, yeah, big words there Dr.

[gohawks]

Why don't you speak directly? When you say "violent people" you mean USA? If you don't like our country, then go to France and take that girl with you.

[gohawks]

Dr_Flash_Amazing said:

Fence_Sitter said:

gohawks said:

Murray-You are manipulating the notion of freedom. She obstructed the U.S. army from completing a war that was approved by our elected Congress. She deserves whatever she gets.

 

indeed... your right to swing your fists ends at my face...

 

Curious, given your vociferous endorsement of others' "right" to swing their fists with no such boundary constraints when it comes to others' grilles. Oh, wait, forget it; if you have the gall to question violent people, you deserve to get hit. Duh.

 

My last post is a reply to this quote.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Fence_Sitter said:

 

 

chivo? whatever Doc. i have never condoned beatin ass... like that. why dont you knock off the pseudo-intellectual jargon... do you jerk off to websters? who talks like this on a B.B.S? loser

 

Sure, Dr. Flash Amazing will knock off the dictionarial discourse, no problem! How about as soon as you cease and desist with your shamelessly masturbatory pseudo-Balkan interjections, malchik?

 

As for accusations of rubbing it out in the reference materials ... ya find the pages stuck together last time you had to machete through DFA's choice of verbiage?

[Fence_Sitter]

Dr_Flash_Amazing said:

Fence_Sitter said:

 

 

chivo? whatever Doc. i have never condoned beatin ass... like that. why dont you knock off the pseudo-intellectual jargon... do you jerk off to websters? who talks like this on a B.B.S? loser

 

Sure, Dr. Flash Amazing will knock off the dictionarial discourse, no problem! How about as soon as you cease and desist with your shamelessly masturbatory pseudo-Balkan interjections, malchik?

 

As for accusations of rubbing it out in the reference materials ... ya find the pages stuck together last time you had to machete through DFA's choice of verbiage?

 

do you even know what malchik means?

 

and i knw all the words you use, i just think it is pathetic to try and use the most obscure and archaic ones you know in each and every sentene you create

[fleblebleb]

Well, I think it's kind of funny. It's even funnier to think of all the time he spends scratching his head trying to make simple things complicated. Reminds me of my little brother.

[Dru]

maybe they can throw her in prison with the other "bad americans" like craig leubben and armando menocal who went climbing in cuba. and they could put jesse jackson in there too - didn't he hug yasser arafat once or something? in fact why not just open a special prisdon for nutty leftists and imprison them BEFORE they even do something silly to prevent them from embarassing your country. they could do something productive then, like make Omega Pacific carabiners.

[JayB]

I think the photo in question may have shown Jesse high fivin' Charles Taylor. Homeboy is down with Charles and Foday like A.C. was down with O.J.

[lI1|1!]

Dru said:

maybe they can throw her in prison with the other "bad americans" like craig leubben and armando menocal who went climbing in cuba. and they could put jesse jackson in there too - didn't he hug yasser arafat once or something? in fact why not just open a special prisdon for nutty leftists and imprison them BEFORE they even do something silly to prevent them from embarassing your country. they could do something productive then, like make Omega Pacific carabiners.

 

excellent suggestions! dru, any chance you could lead any army of canadians down here take over and fix a buncha shit RIGHT NOW?

 

i wonder if asscraft's scanner scripts can identify a bbs post that violates the alien and sedition acts.

[AlpineK]

You would think the government would let it drop. I mean I don't think any of those, "human shields," changed the way the war went.

 

Then again Asscraft is a prick of major proportions.

[murraysovereign]

"...She obstructed the U.S. army from completing a war..."

 

There's no mention in the charges of her "obstructing the US Army" or anyone else. She's being charged with being in Iraq in defiance of an Administration that had decided it didn't want her to go to Iraq. Period.

 

As for "manipulating the notion of freedom": lessee - life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, blah blah blah... oh, here it is: "the right to do whatever the government decides to tell you to do without questioning their purposes ever for fear of being branded a criminal and thrown in prison." Yup, there it is, right up front and centre in the "Declaration of Simpering Obedience to the State" - I stand corrected. Funny I hadn't seen it there earlier, but then a lot of that stuff is way clearer now that Ridge and Rice and Ashcroft have re-written it all.

 

And as for Trask's observation that "it was war-time" ... frankly, so what? As Dru has pointed out, this woman would be facing exactly the same charge if she had visited Cuba instead of Iraq, despite the fact that the US and Cuba have not been at war since Teddy Roosevelt was president. By contrast, as a Canadian I can legally travel to any country that will admit me, including Iraq or Cuba, any time I want to go. Ottawa doesn't pass laws telling me I can or can't go to this or that country on any given day, and they don't have people waiting at the airport to arrest me on my return. Nor should they. The Department of External Affairs regularly issues travel advisories warning us of specific risks we may encounter in certain places, but - get this - they then allow us to make our own decisions about where we go and when. How is that at odds with "the notion of freedom?" What is Washington so afraid of that it can't allow American citizens the same freedom? Do they really think you're not intelligent enough to make your own decisions, based on your own analysis of the risks?

 

I'm not trying to defend this woman's decision to go off and try to stop the war by standing in front of a refinery. Frankly, I think she's delusional for believing it would have had any effect whatsoever. But I question the need for Washington to pass laws telling her she can't do it, and I most definitely question the willingness of people simply to roll over and allow Washington to tell them where they can and cannot go at any given time - war or no war. This idiotic, obsessive prohibition on travel to Cuba is a perfect example: it's silly and pointless and petty. It's a completely unjustifiable restriction of your personal liberty, and you've put up with it for 40 years, for God's sake. And now you're defending Washington's right to impose and enforce more restrictions just like it. All in the defence of liberty and freedom, of course.

 

And I'm labelled a "fucking idiot" for questioning it?

"Welcome to George Bush's America - the land of the obedient, and the the home of the complacent. Now get in line with everyone else, and shut up."

[Greg_W]

murraysovereign said:

And I'm labelled a "fucking idiot" for questioning it?

"Welcome to George Bush's America - the land of the obedient, and the the home of the complacent. Now get in line with everyone else, and shut up."

 

I respect you, Murray, but if this is your opinion (that of an outsider) then stay the fuck out of our country. It's not your country (which is fucked up enough in its own way, thank you very much), so what do you care? Our very existence and strength ALLOWS Canada to exist as freely as they do.

[gohawks]

Note to Murray: The USA is NOT CANADA. And if you don't like it here, then leave our country and move to Canada (or France or wherever). I feel free to do whatever I want, and the government has no problems with me. Those who do, bring it on themselves.

 

As for this girl, she can follow in Rachel Corrie's footsteps for all I care.

[gohawks]

murraysovereign said:

And I'm labelled a "fucking idiot" for questioning it?

"Welcome to George Bush's America - the land of the obedient, and the the home of the complacent. Now get in line with everyone else, and shut up."

 

And I bet you'd like to think that's how we all are. I don't have to be obedient to anybody. I knew long before Bush Jr came into office that Saddam was going down. We saved thousands more of Iraqi lives, even if those Islam-brainwashed idiots don't realize it.