A 26-year-old Army specialist stationed with the 58th Combat Engineer Company in Ft. Irwin is fighting to be released from the Army as a conscientious objector rather than be involuntarily deployed to Iraq.

Calvin Lee, a devout Buddhist-Taoist, joined the Army in 2004 after a zealous recruiter approached him at a civilian job fair in South San Francisco. Though he had learned English from brief stays in America and in school in Southeast Asia, he was unfamiliar with the tactics of military recruiters. When the recruiter told him his job would be repairing trucks and that he would never have to leave Ft. Irwin or go to war, Lee believed him and signed the three year contract.

While serving, Lee eventually realized the depth of the recruiter's deception. Unaware of his rights, he continued working, turning down promotions in rank and pay as he felt his faith would require. Months before he was to be released from the Army, Lee was informed that his service contract was being involuntarily extended under the military's 'stop loss' policy and that his unit would be deployed to Iraq. Lee then applied for conscientious objector status.

Date

Monday, October 22, 2007 - 12:00am

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A 26-year-old Army specialist stationed with the 58th Combat Engineer Company in Ft. Irwin is fighting to be released from the Army as a conscientious objector rather than be involuntarily deployed to Iraq.
Calvin Lee, a devout Buddhist-Taoist, joined the Army in 2004 after a zealous recruiter approached him at a civilian job fair in South San Francisco. Though he had learned English from brief stays in America and in school in Southeast Asia, he was unfamiliar with the tactics of military recruiters. When the recruiter told him his job would be repairing trucks and that he would never have to leave Ft. Irwin or go to war, Lee believed him and signed the three year contract.
While serving, Lee eventually realized the depth of the recruiter's deception. Unaware of his rights, he continued working, turning down promotions in rank and pay as he felt his faith would require. Months before he was to be released from the Army, Lee was informed that his service contract was being involuntarily extended under the military's '''stop loss' policy and that his unit would be deployed to Iraq. Lee then applied for conscientious objector status.

Date

Monday, October 22, 2007 - 12:00am

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In a CNN report seen by millions, two immigrants described their ordeals at the hands of U.S. agents who drugged them against their will during their attempted deportations. The ACLU/SC and the law firm of Munger, Tolles, and Olsen have asked a federal court to stop the practice of using powerful anti-psychotic drugs on people with no history of mental illness.

Amadou Diouf tells how he was wrestled to the ground on board a commercial airplane and injected with unknown drugs that left him unable to walk. Raymond Soeoth was held down and forcibly drugged with a powerful anti-psychotic. Neither man had a history of mental illness or posed a threat.

And in testimony to Congress, the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) admitted the U.S. forcibly drugs immigrants much more often than was previously known. Over a seven-month period earlier this year, 33 people with no history of mental illness were given powerful drugs before their deportations.

"I am aware of, and deeply concerned about reports that past practices may not have conformed to ICE detention standards," immigration chief Julie Myers wrote to Sen. Joe Lieberman before her confirmation hearing in October.

Date

Friday, October 19, 2007 - 12:00am

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