The Bega Butcher: a depressed, distrustful, volatile man Jun 2, 2008
He was a medical student at the time, and a conscientious objector to conscription during the Vietnam War. He brought up three successful children, who forged careers in the arts, real estate and building industry, although in the mid-1990s they avoided talking to him. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Bush: Don't Let Partisanship Prevent Public Service Jun 2, 2008
" In addition to the silent protesters, 31 other professors were granted "conscientious objector" status, allowing them to skip commencement exercises in objection to Bush's visit. There are 230 full-time professors at Furman. Part of the animosity comes from the faculty's disagreement with Furman's president, David Shi. They say he failed to consult them before inviting Bush, breaking a tradition of having students give commencement speeches. University spokesman Vince Moore said Shi agreed... (Fox News)
Protests awaits Bush at S.C. college commencement Jun 1, 2008
In addition to the protest plans, 31 other professors have been granted "conscientious objector" status, allowing them to skip commencement in objection to Bush's visit. The White House says the president will try to impress upon students the value of volunteering, military service and "living lives of integrity.". (WTKR.com, VA)
Prosecutor protests ruling for conscientious objector May 26, 2008
ANCHORAGE - The U.S. Attorney's Office in Anchorage is protesting a magistrate's ruling on the conscientious objector status of a soldier ... Michael Barnes was denied conscientious objector status by an Army review board. (Juneau Empire)
Prosecutor protests magistrate's ruling on soldier's status May 25, 2008
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR': Army appeals lower court's view of Christian paratrooper's case ... The U.S. Attorney's office in Anchorage, representing the U.S. Army, is objecting to a magistrate's recommendation that a Fort Richardson soldier be given conscientious objector status ... The case now goes before U.S. District Judge John Sedwick -- who could agree with Roberts' recommendation and order the Army to grant Barnes his conscientious objector status, or decide to hold his own hearing. (Anchorage Daily News)
REGION: County clerk may excuse employees from officiating same-sex marriages May 21, 2008
Please explain to the tax payers why a conscientious objector is not required by the military to fight in a war he considers immoral ... I believe that the military reassigns conscientious objectors. (North County Times)
Do you have to go to war to be a hero? May 20, 2008
But Stephen soon realised he had made a grave mistake and applied to leave as a conscientious objector. The response was ruthless. (BBC News -- UK)
Judge backs soldier in bid for objector status May 14, 2008
He's appealing the rejection of his request to be awarded conscientious objector status based on his recently established Christian faith ... The Army should grant conscientious objector status to Pfc ... Only one in about 10,000 soldiers files a request to be recognized as a conscientious objector, according to Army records. (Anchorage Daily News)
Soldier battles on for objector status May 13, 2008
A Fort Richardson-based paratrooper who had his request for conscientious objector status denied by the U.S. Army while serving in Iraq last year appealed that decision in an Anchorage federal court on Monday ... In denying his request -- along with Barnes' petition to be honorably discharged by the military -- the Army Conscientious Objector Review Board in Alexandria, Va ... Toman reiterated the board's rationale for turning down the request for conscientious objector status. (Anchorage Daily News)
The Next Somalia? May 10, 2008
Conscientious objector: Bloggers are in a tizzy over the fact that Cindy McCain, whose worth is in the tens of millions of dollars and who always kept her finances separate from her husband's, has gone on record saying that she will release her tax returns, not even if her husband becomes president. Some are nonchalant. (Slate)
Warrior nationIsraelis have always been ready for war, but are they changing? May 9, 2008
Lotahn RazIsraeli conscientious objector. Some soldiers do their best to respect the dignity of the Palestinians under their control, in sometimes difficult circumstances. (BBC News -- Africa)
Fighting talk May 3, 2008
"It's possible to say," he tentatively admits, "that two people knocking at the door of someone's residence and terrorising them and taking them away has become more and more actual in our lives. It happens all the time. It's happening more today than it did yesterday, and that may be a reason for the play's long life. It's not fantasy. It just becomes more and more real."Thinking back to my own life, I also hadn't forgotten my own experiences as a conscientious objector 10 years earlier ... No... (Guardian Unlimited -- Arts)
There he goes again Apr 21, 2008
wrote on Apr 19, 2008 11:30 AM:" Carter wanted his presidency to be a new beginning of sorts, a real 'dawn' and end to 'our long national nightmare' of Vietnam and Watergate and all those implied and entailed -- mainly the crushing of liberal optimism that 'began' for many with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Carter even announced his appointment of JFK 'alter ego'-adviser-speechwriter Theodore Sorenson, who had been a conscientious objector during WWII, as director of the CIA. Given the... (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
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Harrison Ford was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, while Sly Stallone was teaching sports at a girl's school in France. But movie audiences love spending their idle time in idol worship. (Globe and Mail)
Carry a torch for your conscience and country Apr 9, 2008
Indeed, even in extreme situations, such as that of war, when not just your government of the day but the security of your real country, of its land and its people, is threatened, you can, in a democracy at least, be a conscientious objector and refuse to take up arms (though, as a result, you might find yourself jailed or your movements restricted for the duration of the conflict). Does all this imply that democracy, or conscience, and patriotism are somehow incompatible, or even mutually... (India Times, India)
3 comments Apr 9, 2008
Can either or both candidates declare conscientious objector status and still hope to win a political war. McCain and Obama will have people on their side dispensing plenty of rhetorical fire. (Human Events Online)
Peace symbol celebrates 50th anniversary Apr 6, 2008
Gerald Holtom, a British artist and conscientious objector, created the "peace symbol" by combining the semaphores, or flag signals, for the letters N and D--for Nuclear Disarmament. He later wrote of his design: "I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya's peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it.". (Fredericksburg.com, VA)
Speaking truth to poverty Apr 4, 2008
I urge our nation, our citizens, our businesses, our government and our presidential hopefuls to remember my father's caution in his final sermon: There is no such thing as a conscientious objector in the war on poverty. Martin Luther King III is an international human rights activist and chairman and CEO of Realizing the Dream Inc.. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
The 'peace' sign turns 50 Apr 4, 2008
Mr. Holtom, a conscientious objector during World War II who died in 1985, once described his design with these words. "I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands, palm outstretched outward and downward, in the manner of Goya's peasant before the firing squad.". (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
A former Marine with misgivings about Bush and the bloodshed in Iraq Apr 1, 2008
If a military member is so incensed at the prospect of taking up a weapon and going into combat, he has every right to claim conscientious objector status even after taking the oath. The distasteful part of such an action is having to live with those who dont agree with the decision to invoke it. (Lodi News Sentinel, CA)
A Piece of Our Time Mar 28, 2008
Holtom was a London textile designer who had been a conscientious objector during World War II. By 1958, as Britain, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were well into the nuclear arms race, a grass-roots movement to "Ban the Bomb" was gathering force in the United Kingdom. Early that year, a fledgling disarmament group called the Direct Action Campaign (DAC) started to put together what would be Britain's first major demonstration against nuclear weapons. (Time.com)
The 50th Anniversary Of The Peace Symbol Mar 24, 2008
A conscientious objector during World War II, he was driven to the nuclear disarmament campaign, he said, by a feeling of despair. Holtom's daughter Anna Scott, also an artist, remembers the image of her father's despair, in the paintings of Goya. (WTKR.com, VA)
Two letters that mean peace, or are a runic sign for death Mar 21, 2008
Gerald Holtom, a designer and former World War II conscientious objector from West London, persuaded DAC that their aims would have greater impact if they were conveyed in a visual image. The "Ban the Bomb" symbol was born. (BBC News -- UK)
Wrong In So Many Words Mar 19, 2008
March 19, 2008 -- IT seems churlish to criti cize an historical play for being too thoughtful, but it's hard to feel otherwise about Michael Murphy's play "The Conscientious Objector." ... THE CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORClurman Theater, 410 W. 42nd St.; (212) 279-4200. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
'I've always liked an unsettled life' Mar 7, 2008
Her first column, significantly enough, was about Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, then just published in Britain, in which the American feminist quoted men who said, "Oh you don't believe all that stuff about women and careers, do you?" Whitehorn recalls: "I suppose I naively thought that the battle had been won years ago. I was amazed as well as angry: I think my feminism was then of the pre-war kind." Her relative privilege may well have retarded the development of her feminist... (Guardian Unlimited -- Media)
Israelis show declining zest for military service Mar 3, 2008
"A great part of what defines us is our military service," said Yfat Doron, a 30-year-old former conscientious objector who helped produce the alternative ad. "But now the army is panicking because so many people are not doing their military service.". (Anchorage Daily News)
As I see it: Military recruiters make, break promises (38) Feb 27, 2008
We offer information on recruitment, the military service, the draft, conscientious objector materials and alternatives to the military such as jobs and scholarship opportunities. The CCC is comprised of parents, students, teachers, community volunteers, veterans and conscientious objectors. (Corvallis Gazette Times, OR)
Reclaiming a gallant voice Feb 22, 2008
Worthy refused to fight in World War II, becoming a conscientious objector. "There was no way I could kill another human being," he told me. (Boston Globe)
A peace of history turns 50 Feb 21, 2008
Designed by British artist and conscientious objector Gerald Holtom for what then was the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War, the bisected circle with two downward spokes combined the semaphores for the letters N two flags held down at a 45 degree angle and D, one up, one down. The symbol was unveiled Feb. 21, 1958, according to the New York Public Radio show On the Media, and made its public debut at a 1958 Easter weekend anti-nuclear march, according to CND.. (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
Prescott warns critics off China Feb 18, 2008
Conscientious objector. In a statement, Mr Spielberg accused China of not doing enough to pressure Sudan to end the "continuing human suffering" in the troubled western Darfur region. (BBC News -- UK)
VIDEO: Army recruiters draw protestors and supporters Feb 16, 2008
It seems that if they were sincere about their opposition to the war they could choose the option of being a conscientious objector, rather than hiding behind the hollow "I'm just doing my job" excuse ... If you are a conscientious objector (even after you sign up for the military), the military recognizes your beliefs and takes appropriate actions. (Palo Alto Online, CA)
God moves to the left Feb 8, 2008
Yet the rector of All Saints Episcopal Church was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam war. His predecessors as rector marched with Martin Luther King and threw themselves in front of the trucks that hauled Japanese Americans off to internment camps during the second world war. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
D.B. Woodside joins 'Objector' Jan 30, 2008
D.B. Woodside ("24," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") will join two-time Tony winner John Cullum onstage in the Keen Company's "The Conscientious Objector," a new work by Michael Murphy that opens March 18. Woodside will play Martin Luther King Jr. and Cullum will portray President Lyndon Johnson in the play, which tracks the role of the idealistic King in the antiwar movement during Vietnam. (Variety)
Young lovers learn to say goodbye to all that Jan 27, 2008
A conscientious objector who played the piano in peacetime and who, in the carnage of the operating theater, feels shock but not fear, Richard Lewis is a dreamy, evocative character whom Paul - and we, for that matter - cannot help but love. He's the personification of the fallen innocent, like the young Billy Prior of the "Regeneration" books, and his tender valor makes the surrounds of combat all the more horrific. (Boston Globe)
Combat, family stress bring soldier to desert Jan 26, 2008
Although Keller doesn't fit the "first-term" profile, Wright said military studies show most soldiers desert because of personal, family or financial problems, not for political or conscientious objector purposes. Keller's reasons are related to combat and to his family. (Daytona Beach News Journal)
Military ethicists debate their role Jan 26, 2008
While much of the symposium was dedicated to a theme of whether soldiers should be able to selectively seek conscientious objector status if they believe a particular conflict is unjust, the ethicists also spent a lot of time talking about Iraq. Myers called on the ethicists to be more critical of civilian leaders' rationale for going to war, faulting them along with journalists and politicians for being too accepting of Bush administration arguments. (North County Times)
Military ethics set for examination Jan 16, 2008
By: MARK WALKER - Staff WriterSymposium at USD will examine conscientious objectors and issues in Iraq war. "Is the military forcing into battle troops who should be granted conscientious objector status?" ... Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Capt. Robert Schoultz said Monday that while conscientious objectors is a theme of this year's gathering, current ethical issues such as the slayings of Iraqi civilians at the hand of Camp Pendleton troops also are expected to be discussed. (North County Times)
Appeals court upholds conscientious objector's status Jan 10, 2008
Court upholds conscientious objector's status ... A federal appeals court ruled yesterday in favor of an anesthesiologist who asked to be discharged from the US Army as a conscientious objector after the military paid $184,000 for her to attend Tufts University School of Medicine ... In a 2-to-1 vote, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld a judge who in October 2006 halted the Army's effort to force Dr. Mary Hanna, 31, of Somerville, to report for active duty, ruling that an Army... (Boston Globe)
Gordon C. Zahn, author, teacher, and pacifist; at 89 Dec 30, 2007
The story of an Austrian peasant beheaded in 1943 for refusing to serve in Hitler's army during World War II captivated the attention of US scholar and peace activist Gordon C. Zahn, who wrote of the conscientious objector's plight in a book that Austrians would later turn into a movie ... Just weeks after J gerst tter was beatified, Dr. Zahn, himself a conscientious objector during World War II, died Dec. 9 of complications of Alzheimer's disease, in St. Camillus retirement community in... (Boston Globe)
Courage to resist Dec 28, 2007
They are the active duty military, national guard, and ROTC trainees who have looked deep into their souls and found themselves to be conscientious objectors to war ... Some are applicants for conscientious objector discharge, some have gone AWOL to be true to their beliefs ... For military people, whether career military, national guard, ROTC or enlistees who have not yet reported, and who need help in seeking discharge as conscientious objectors, call the GI Rights Hotline 800-394-9544. (Boulder Colorado Daily, CO)
Solnit: Hope Library Dec 19, 2007
Rebecca Solnit blurbed a lot of books this year, wrote the foreword for Marisa Handler's Loyal to the Sky, and provided editorial services on another book of her brother's, this time with conscientious objector Aimee Allison: the counter-recruitment manual Army of None. Her own book for 2007 is , a collection of 36 essays including several that first appeared as Tomdispatches. (Zmag.org)
Public's frustration will shape vote Dec 16, 2007
Kelsey's a year younger, Forsythe says, and was practically a conscientious objector until a couple of years ago when he heard about civilians being executed by Islamic extremists. So he joined the Army National Guard. (AZCentral -- News)
Iraq war a divisive topic for many military families Dec 15, 2007
His perspective: He embraced Buddhism a few years ago and once got paperwork to file for conscientious objector status. He dropped that application after 9/11, knowing it wouldn't go through. (Florida Times-Union)
Earth sciences revolutionary dies Dec 14, 2007
He was educated at William Hulme grammar school, read geology at Manchester University, was a conscientious objector during the second world war, and interrupted university studies to work at the North Mosley mine in Lancashire. In 1950, during this experiment, the experience helped to test the ideas of physics Nobel laureate Patrick Blackett on the origin of the Earth's magnetic field, which required measurements at a mine. (Guardian Unlimited -- Life)
A Christmas tale: Part I Dec 2, 2007
In that letter, which ran to 30 pages, I explained, "it was the first time I'd raised the subject." I explained why I was petitioning for conscientious objector status. At least I began the letter with that concept. (Auburn Citizen, NY)
Obituary: DS Savage Nov 21, 2007
Savage's Testament of a Conscientious Objector, in Clifford Simmons' The Objectors (1965), begins with the Cambridge Evening News report of his appearance at a tribunal in January 1940 ... Testament of a Conscientious Objector deserves to be republished, as does Derek's brilliant Hamlet and the Pirates (1950), an account of how the commercial pirating of the first quarto led Shakespeare to pun on the situation when seeking to dispose of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. (Guardian Unlimited -- Books)
Deserter dealt blow in seeking asylum Nov 19, 2007
He had served three years in the Army but had applied for conscientious objector status before his unit was sent to Afghanistan in 2002, where he served in a noncombat. Hinzman lives with his wife and young son in Toronto, where Quakers and anti-war groups have taken on his cause. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
U.S. Deserters Lose Bid For Canada Asylum Nov 18, 2007
He had served three years in the U.S. Army, but had applied for conscientious objector status before his unit was sent to Afghanistan in 2002. The 20-year-old Hughey was part of the 1st Cavalry in Fort Hood, Texas, and fled to Canada in March 2004. (CBS News -- Iraq)
Canada Supreme Court Refuses U.S. Army Deserters'... Nov 16, 2007
He had served three years in the Army, but had applied for conscientious objector status before his unit was sent in 2002 to Afghanistan, where he served in a non-combat position after applying for CO status. Hinzman lives with his wife and young son in Toronto, where Quakers and anti-war groups have taken on his cause. (Fox News)
Morton and Tremont lose a friend and businessman Nov 9, 2007
He was drafted into the Army, but because of his religious beliefs he was considered a conscientious objector. Rassi did his part, however. (Pekin Times, IL)
Sidney Adler, at 55; was partner in Boston law firm Nov 5, 2007
Before entering college, he was drafted, but he obtained conscientious objector status and performed community service, his wife said. He earned an undergraduate degree in geography at Clark University in Worcester in 1976. (Boston Globe)
James Michie dies, aged 80 Nov 5, 2007
The real Michie was quite other - a conscientious objector who, in lieu of national service, had worked as a hospital porter at Guy's, and then with the International Voluntary Service for Peace, helping to build houses, for refugees in Bavaria, then in Jamaica. In the mid 1950s, he joined Heinemann, where he had notable successes, publishing Sylvia Plath's first collection, The Colossus (1960) and, three years later, The Bell Jar. (Guardian Unlimited -- Books)
Marden Habegger was a peace-loving healer Nov 3, 2007
Dr. Habegger, who died Tuesday, performed alternate service as a conscientious objector during World War II and again during the Korean conflict. His wife, Marianna, attributed the success of their 67-year marriage to mutual attachment to their church and love for each other. (Fresno Bee -- Local)
Wis. Teacher Protests No Child Law Nov 2, 2007
So after years of growing frustration, he said he decided to be a "conscientious objector" this year. Wasserman had planned to resume his protest for five more days of testing. (CBS News -- US)
Military chaplains: a rich history of more than just blessing the cannons Oct 30, 2007
That the chaplains suddenly were supposed to be available to not only counsel military leaders about the moral right and wrong of their decisions and actions, but also to provide counseling to soldiers, including providing counseling in the ways to be a conscientious objector. Chaplains were supposed to be the outside voice inside the military. (Christian Science Monitor -- USA)
Church beatifies WWII objector Oct 27, 2007
Franz Jaegerstaetter, an avowed conscientious objector, was executed outside Berlin on Aug. 9, 1943 for treason after his request to be excused from regular army service for religious reasons was denied. The married father of four was posthumously exonerated in 1997 by a Berlin court. (MSNBC -- International)
Austrian beatified for resisting Nazis Oct 26, 2007
Austrian conscientious objector and martyr Franz Jaegerstaetter has been beatified at the cathedral in Linz, Upper Austria, for resisting the Nazi regime on grounds of his faith. Jaegerstaetter, an Austrian farmer born on May 20, 1907, in the village of St Radegund, near Adolf Hitler's birthplace of Braunau, paid with his life for his refusal to join the German Wehrmacht in 1941. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Brecher: Watada's Double Jeopardy Oct 23, 2007
Watada's case is different from typical conscientious objector cases because the US military recognizes as conscientious objectors only those who oppose war in any form. Watada did not apply for conscientious objector status because he said as a soldier he would be willing to fight in a war--unlike Iraq--that was necessary, legal and just. (Zmag.org)
Malaysian files suit over Iraq duty Oct 21, 2007
However, he sought conscientious objector status after discovering that his service was being extended and his unit was being deployed to Iraq, the ACLU said in a statement ... The Department of the Army rejected his conscientious objector application without explanation despite recommendations for his release by army officers, a chaplain and a mental health specialist, the ACLU said. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
Soldier sues Army for conscientious objector status Oct 20, 2007
A Fort Irwin soldier sued the Army on Friday seeking discharge as a conscientious objector ... The Department of the Army denied the application in August, finding that Lee had not presented convincing evidence that his religious beliefs warranted conscientious objector status. (Fresno Bee -- Local)
"Love thy enemy" -- U.S. soldier gets discharge Oct 17, 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier who said his Christian beliefs compelled him to love his enemies, not kill them, has been granted conscientious objector status and honorably discharged, a civil liberties group said on Tuesday ... During his Iraq deployment he applied for discharge as a conscientious objector but the request was denied, the NYCLU said. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Obituary: Roland Mathias Oct 17, 2007
Registered as a conscientious objector, he would not accept non-combatant duties in support of the war effort, and continued teaching - at his request, without pay. In 1941 his principled obduracy earned him three months' jail with hard labour, but he emerged intransigent. (Guardian Unlimited -- Books)
West Point Grad Wins Objector Status Oct 17, 2007
FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- A West Point graduate who cited his religious beliefs in a lawsuit against the Army while serving in Iraq has been granted conscientious objector status and given an honorable discharge ... While in Iraq, Brown applied for discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector ... "Peter Brown showed by clear and convincing evidence that he is a deeply sincere conscientious objector because of his religious training and beliefs," Karpatkin said. (Newsmax)
They will be recognized: Local veteran, military widow trying to start museum of armed forces memorabilia Oct 5, 2007
According to the book, as a prisoner of war, Honeycutt was forced to endure the little-known death march" from Stalag Luft IV. The book recounts the experiences Honeycutt endured during the war. It reflects back to his childhood, enlistment and how he persevered through a destructive battle on a mission to Austria. The B-24 consisted of a 10-man crew, with Honeycutt being the 11th man. The B-24 was surviving on a single engine and lost brave men aboard the charter plane. Honeycutt grabbed the... (Catoosa County News, GA)
State Radio frontman Chard Urmston talks about music and awareness Oct 4, 2007
In an early fan favorite "Camilo," Urmston weaves the story of Sergeant Camilo Majia, who was arrested for choosing to become a conscientious objector after serving six months in Iraq. Songs from the new State Radio album, "Year of the Crow," out just last week, are equally as socially conscious. (GW Hatchet, Washington DC)
