Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Rested

Tuesday. I got some sleep and I needed it. I was so tired last night. I can't remember a time when I've felt so tired. I think it was because last week I had a paper due Wednesday and there was the World Can't Wait Thursday, the Iraq discussion group Friday and then the long, long edition. I know that's like one day in the life of C.I. but it was enough to wipe me out. :ast week really kicked my butt.

Monday, it was like I was a zombie. I just kept waiting for the day to be over. When I finally got into bed to go to sleep, I couldn't fall asleep for the longest. I'd be thinking, "Okay, sleep." But I'd end up thinking about something else and stuff and it was probably 30 minutes before I finally fell asleep. Then today, I was spazzing with the snooze button.

But, like Tony said, better to be tired because you were doing stuff then to be one of those people sitting on their butts and staying silent about Iraq. That's true. I really can't believe how many are happy staying silent. And that was one of the many reasons I loved C.I.'s "And the war drags on" Sunday night. That wasn't about "those kids today." It was pointing out that there are a lot of adults doing nothing. A lot of women, in fact, with columns who will write about everything except Iraq. Even if they're supposedly 'political columnists.' They'll write their little dumb ass Meet-the-Press type columns but they can't say a word about Iraq. And when they go on radio programs, they can talk about how the war hasn't 'touched' them and feel no shame. People need to quite picking on students today. We're doing a lot. What are people older doing? Not the ones in their late fifties and sixties, but like the 30 and 40 year olds? What are they doing?

Some are doing stuff but some just 'put in their day' and never have a word to say about Iraq.

Charlie Gibson is a tool. And a joke. This is from Media Matters' "Searching for the GOP's silver lining, ABC's Gibson misrepresented his own network's poll:"

In discussing an October 5-8 Washington Post/ABC News poll with ABC News chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos on the October 9 broadcast of ABC's World News, anchor Charles Gibson claimed that the poll's finding that the scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley "is dwarfed by other concerns," such as the Iraq war, terrorism, and the economy, "would seem to be good news for Republicans." In fact, the poll also found that, by significant margins, more Americans trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle the Iraq war, terrorism, and the economy. Neither Gibson nor Stephanopoulos explained how greater concern over Iraq, terror, and the economy, compared to the Foley scandal, "would seem to be good news for Republicans" when their own poll shows that Americans trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle those issues.

Gibson's a tool so that doesn't surprise me. (But I'm glad Media Matters pointed it out.) What surprises me is how little people want to question James Baker's involvement in 'rescuing' Iraq.
If Naomi Klein were writing right now (she's finishing her book), you know she'd have something to say. But I guess Klein was carrying her own weight and others because she takes time to write a book (which I'll be reading) and no one comes along to fill in the vacuum.

C.I.'s tackled that nonsense of "Thank God for Baker" and so has someone else. This is from
Missy Comley Beattie's "The Return of James Baker, III:"

The task to clean up after Bush is tremendous. Baker is a Bush family loyalist with years of experience. In other words, he is your typical politico, reluctant to rock any boats before the vote. If he were a statesman, he'd say "troops out now." He knows that polls taken in Iraq show that most Iraqis want us out of their country and believe that violence will abate once the occupiers have left. Baker is also aware that al-Qaeda leaders regard U.S. presence in Iraq as their greatest recruitment tool. Further, Baker certainly has examined the National Intelligence Estimate report that terrorism has increased because of the invasion of Iraq. But most importantly, he sees the mounting casualties in Iraq. During the first nine days of October, the U.S. lost 33 troops. Two other coalition soldiers were killed. Hundreds of Iraqis have died this month. And there is this staggering truth: for every soldier killed, eight are wounded.
Is Baker losing sleep, asking himself as he tosses and turns, "What to do...what to do?" After all, if we continue to lose two or three young men and women a day while he protects Republicans who are on the ballot, a lot of doorbells will be ringing, followed by the military messengers' words, "We regret to inform you."

The second he came in to tidy up Bully Boy's mess, people should have been addressing that it's James Baker. They should have been talking about how Bully Boy always needs someone to rescue him and it's usually been one of Daddy's friends. And they should have talked about Baker's client lists (9-11 families talked about that for a reason) and how his statements about Iraq were nothing but cover for the Bully Boy.

But most people stay silent. Missy Comley Beattie didn't. Elaine steered me to that and be sure to check out Like Maria Said Paz.

You know what else people are staying silent on? Ricky Clousing. Today's Tuesday. Thursday, Ricky Clousing has a military hearing. Where's the news on that?

"Iraq snapshot"
Tuesday, October 10, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, the US military tries to spin again, at least 33 deaths are reported in Iraq (44 counting corpses discovered Tuesday), Bob Watada continues speaking out to raise awareness on his son and what does 'meeting the goal' mean when the qualifications continue to be gutted and ignored?

As noted yesterday, war resister Ricky Clousing will face a military trial Thursday. Prior to that, at ten a.m., he will speak at a press conference (223 Hillside Avenue, Fayettevill, North Carolina) and there will also be a noon rally in downtown Fayetteville to show support for Clousing.

As Clousing stands up against an illegal war, the US military spins. Thom Shanker (New York Times) noted what the US Pentagon was about to announce -- all divisions of the military allegedly "reached their targets for recruits in 2006." Lolita C. Baldor (AP) reports: "The U.S. Army recruited more than 2,600 soldiers under new lower aptitude standards this year, helping the service beat its goal of 80,000 recruits in the throes of an unpopular war and mounting casualties. . . . According to statistics obtained by The Associated Press, 3.8 percent of the first-time recruits scored below certain aptitude levels" and "About 17 percent of the first-time recruits, or about 13,600, were accepted under waivers for various medical, moral or criminal problems, including misdemeanor arrests or drunk driving." Not quite the rosy picture we're all supposed to believe.

But then, as Michael Bronner (Vanity Fair) reported in 2005, the story of Tim Queen wasn't a rosy picture either. Queen suffered from "twitches" in his left arm and wanted to be a Marine: "Tim told me he talked to recruiters about all of his medical issues that first day. They told him not to worry, he said, that they'd seen this kind of thing before; no problem, he'd get in." And he did, he got waived through two physicals, he got put on a bus to go to basic and there, he got humilitated by drill instructors asking questions like: "Was the doctor drunk or stoned when he gave you the test?" Queen wasn't qualified but a quota had to be made so a 19-year-old with health problems gets lied to in order to "get those numbers" and he's the one humiliated and embarrassed . . . for believing his recruiter. As the sherrif of the county Tim Queen grew up in told Bronner, "I'm slow to anger, but I was very upset. . . I mean, Tim cannot stand still. If they're missing things like this, what other kinds of emotional or psychological things are they missing?" That's Tim Queen. He just wanted to enlist. Not to get out of jail or sentencing or because his urine came up "hot." Just a young person who got used by someone so they could make their quota. The case of Steven D. Green demonstrates the dangers to others that arise from the lowered standards that have been at play since the beginning of the illegal war.

In other spin news, the Giddiest Gabor in the Green Zone, Willie Caldwell IV, held another press conference. You'd do well, if you intend to read about it, to do so here at the US military's site. That'll put you wise to how little reporting is coming out of the Green Zone when you see it pop up in tomorrow's papers. Little Willie talks up the 4-point 'peace' plan. Will anyone ever insist that the "four points" be addressed? Or will everyone pretend the 'security councils' are all four points? Probably the latter since the 'peace plan' didn't think up the 'security councils' (they were already in existance).

Leaving the world of spin for reality, AP reports that over 300,000 Iraqis are displaced within Iraq. This is not a figure on those who have left the country, this is the number of those who have left one part of Iraq to go to another for safety. AP notes: "The flight is solidifying the sectarian divide in this country of around 30 million people." (The CIA's most current estimate is a little over 26 million.)


Bombings?

CNN reports that a car bomb and a roadside bomb killed eleven people in Baghdad today. That was in the Doura district of Baghdad and Reuters notes another bombing in western Baghdad that wounded three and a bombing in northern Baghdad that left two police officers wounded -- as well as roadside bombs in near Hilla (one dead), in Mahaweel (wounded one person), and Mosul (wounded five). AFP reports two police officers "were killed in an explosion . . . between Mussayab and Jurf al-Sakhr" and a bus driver died in a roadside bombing that "targeted two buses carrying coffings through Latifyah". That's 15 dead from bombings reported thus far.


Shootings?

AFP notes a police officer was killed in Amara. A police captain was shot dead in Mosul, Reuters reports and also quotes an Iraqi police source who states that
"[t]welve people were killed in different districts of Baquba." In a later update, Reuters noted that a bodyguard was killed in Balad in an an attack on "a senior Iraqi army officer" and three people were shot dead in Ishaqi. That's 18 for a total of 33 reported thus far.

Corpses?

The BBC notes that through Tuesday morning in Baghdad, sixty corpses were discovered. CNN notes: "In the first 10 days of October, Iraqi police have discovered 250 bodies in the capital." Reuters reports that four copses were discovered "near Falluja." In an update, Reuters noted four corpses were discovered in Tal Afar and three in Mosul. Adding the eleven discovered after sun up to the 33 above, that's 44 deaths reported thus far today.

Kidnappings?

Yesterday we noted a mass kidnapping of eleven soldiers in Baghdad (Sadr City section). Today, Reuters notes that this wasn't the only mass kidnapping on Monday:
"Gunmen in several cars kidnapped at least 11 worshippers on Monday as they were leaving a Sunni mosque in central Baghdad, police said. The Sunni Muslim Scholars Association put the figure at six." For more on the Iraqi soldiers kidnapped, see Amit R. Paley's (Washington Post) report.


In peace news, yesterday, KPFA's Flashpoints took a look at the World Can't Wait demonstrations and featured speeches by Alice Walker and others. Meanwhile, Historians Against the War are calling for a nationwide teach in from October 17th to November 7th. The group notes: "The tragedies now unfolding in Iraq and across the Middle East underscore our responsibility as educators and citizens to enhance public knowledge, to stimulate thoughtful inquiry, and to end the American occupation of Iraq" and ask that: "If you are interested in/can help organize a teach-in at your school, please send us an email ASAP to teachin@historiansagainstwar.org."

And Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, continues the second leg of his speaking tour to raise awareness on his son, the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.
Ehren Watada feels that the war is illegal and that to participate would mean he and anyone serving under him would be committing war crimes. Some of the upcoming dates for Bob Watada's speaking tour include:

Wed 10/100 7:00-9:45 pm CSULB Asian American and Chicano & Latino Studies Classes
Dr. John Tsuchida and Dr. Juan Benitez
1250 Bellflower Bl, Long Beach

Thurs 10/12 6:00 pm Whittier Area Coalition for Peace & Justice, Mark Twain Club Potluck
($3 donations) Bob speaks at 7:00 pm. First Friends Church of Whittier, 12305 E. Philadelphia St., Whittier
Contact: Robin McLaren 562-943-4051 email: mclaren@charter.net

Sat 10/14 morning Press Conference San Diego
Contact: Reiko Obata 858-483-6018 email: watada@san.rr.com for San Diego events.

Sat 10/14 6:00 pm Lt. Watada Dinner/Fundraiser San Diego (suggested donation: $15)
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito, 1036 Solano Drive, Solano Beach

Mon. 10/16 4:30-5:30 pm National Lawyers Guild of San Diego
Room 300, Thomas Jefferson Law School, 2120 San Diego Ave, San Diego

A full schedule, in PDF form, can be found here. More information on Ehren Watada can be found at ThankYouLt.org. and information on all known war resisters can be found at Courage to Resist.

Be sure to check out Betty's "Kat & Blogging (Betty)" (she's subbing every Monday).














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