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Title: US Marine Gary Stein dismissed for criticising Obama
Source:
bbc.co.uk
URL Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17849170
Published: Apr 26, 2012
Author: staff
Post Date: 2012-04-26 03:33:21 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 734
Comments: 2
A US Marine sergeant who criticised President Barack Obama on Facebook is to be discharged. Sgt Gary Stein will receive an other-than-honourable discharge for violating a policy that limits speech of military service members, the Marine Corps said. The action means Sgt Stein, who served nearly 10 years in the Marine Corps, will lose all benefits. He had argued that his comments were covered by his constitutional right to freedom of speech. Sgt Stein had put a disclaimer on Facebook that his opinions, which included calling President Obama an enemy, were his own. He had put Mr Obama's face on mocked-up film posters, including one for the movie Jackass. A disciplinary board recommended earlier this month that he be given an "other-than-honourable" discharge. The panel heard he had said he would not follow orders from the president if it involved violating the rights of US citizens. Prosecutors said Sgt Stein repeatedly ignored warnings from superior officers, and that the postings were in breach of military regulations. The US military has a long-standing policy of restricting the free speech of service members, including criticism of the president, who is commander-in-chief of America's armed forces. Sgt Stein's supporters - who include two congressmen, and the American Civil Liberties Union - argued that the defence department's regulations are vague, and that commanders do not understand them.
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#1. To: All (#0)
The sergeant, a nine-year veteran who served in Iraq, will be demoted to lance corporal and receive an other-than-honorable discharge. He posted his critical comments on Facebook. He deserves his punishment, as the military cannot operate with rank and file enlisted or even commission personnel slandering the command structure.
Un volunteer. War is a racket. You're fighting to keep your chains...;} Conscientious Objection. "Another thread that binds us is the image of socialism that has been burned into our brains. We are continually persuaded that it means brutal dictatorship, concentration camps, no freedom, a slave state. To counter this, we need to criticize the regimes of the Soviet Union and China and point out that they weren’t socialist. The totalitarian tradition in their cultures and constant attack by the capitalist nations kept them from achieving anything close to real socialism. In many cases the government took over as the exploitative boss, and the workers had little power. Real socialism means economic democracy, where we decide together how our economic life will be organized. It puts the resources and productive capacity of the world in the hands of its people, who use them to meet human needs rather than to generate private profits for a few owners.
#2. To: Ferret Mike (#1)
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