Friday, February 01, 2008

Glen Ford, Larry Johnson, Saleh Mamon

Friday at last! When I do stop blogging, I wonder if Friday will still be so important to me? :D Fridays are the best, no question. But Friday's are also the punch the clock and I'm done with the site until Monday! Yabba-dabba-doo! :D

Marcia and I are both writing about Democracy Now! or Sometimes tonight. I hope you're checking out her site. C.I. was working on the snapshot when I called and Kat said, "It's Mike." C.I. asked, "See if Mike's going to cover DN! and, if so, ask him to see if Marcia is?" So I called Marcia and she was all for it and I called Kat back to let her know so that it could be passed on to C.I. before the dictation of the snapshot was done.

The thing that stood out to me the most was Amy Goodman cutting off Dolores Huerta while Huerta was explaining that Barack Obama, elected out of Chicago to the state legislature and owner of a mansion in Chicago that he calls home, did nothing to help Elvira Arellano who was attempting asylum in Chicago. Amy Goodman has to pipe up, "Did Senator Clinton weigh in--Dolores Huerta, did Senator Clinton weigh in in either of those cases?" Why didn't she just ask if Ted Kennedy had? Neither of them is a senator from Illinois.

Huerta's point was that this 'community organizer' Obama was someone she'd never met and who had avoided the big issues to the Latino community. But Goodman's part of the Hookers For Bambi crusade. So she acts like something is an issue when it's not.

You might have also noted that Heurta got Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Kerry Kennedy's "Kennedys for Clinton: She stands for Democrats and for the nation, these family members say" mentioned for the first time on the program. That column ran on Tuesday. Somehow Amy Goodman ignored it all week and is probably cursing herself that Huerta got it worked in today. But Goodman was happy this week to mention Ted Kennedy and Caroline supporting Bambi. It's a one-way street for the Hookers For Bambi.

I didn't care for the first man, from Colorado, that they paired Huerta with. He came off like a whiner and smart mouth. I'm sure Goody and he had Obama hope-sex after the segment aired. :D

Okay, Iraq is a 'win'! cries the White House. Here's the 'trophy,' this is Saleh Mamon's "US airstrikes on Iraq rise 500 percent:"

Though George Bush claims the 'surge' brings peace in 2007 warplanes made 1,447 bombing runs
The US has unleashed a ferocious bombing campaign on Iraq and Afghanistan, with devastating effects on the population. This surge in the "air war" is largely hidden behind talk of "recent successes" for the occupations.
According to figures released by the US military -- known as "airpower summary of close air support missions" -- in 2006 there were 229 US bombing missions. But last year this rose to 1,447 -- more than a 500 percent increase.
The most frequently used munition in this campaign of air bombardment is the Guided Bomb Unit 12, a laser guided bomb with a 500 pound "general purpose warhead". This warhead is capable of reducing houses to rubble.
In 2006 over 111,000 pounds of bombs were dropped on targets in Iraq. Extrapolating for 2007, it can be estimated that 500,000 pounds have been dropped.
This month there were massive airstrikes in the region south of Baghdad involving 38 bombers dropping 40,000 pounds of bombs in 10 minutes. This is a portent of the kind of high-tech destruction Iraqis face. These figures do not include guided missiles, unguided rockets and cannon rounds fired by helicopter gunships and warplanes. One weapon left out is the Hydra-70 rocket which is a widely used helicopter launched weapon system.
US special forces often use aircraft which wield a Gatling gun that fires up to 1,800 rounds a minute. The damage caused by these munitions is unimaginable.
Within a matter of minutes aerial bombardment can destroy homes, infrastructure and workplaces. Historical evidence attests that the US air war during the 1960s and 1970s displaced 25 percent of the population in Laos, 33 percent of Vietnamese and almost a million people in Cambodia.
Although the number of Iraqi casualties is contested, the highly credible survey published in the Lancet medical journal estimated that from March 2003 to June 2006 over 13 percent of the "excess" 601,000 violent deaths in Iraq were caused by airstrikes.
The authors of the report have also attributed half the deaths of Iraqi children under 15 to these airstrikes. With a fivefold increase in bombings, Iraqi fatalities can be expected to increase proportionately.
The vast increase in the numbers of refugees -- two million internally displaced people and an equal number fleeing abroad -- bears witness to this devastation.
Although there are no maps to track the damage to populated urban areas and villages throughout Iraq, there have been vivid eyewitness accounts of the destruction in Fallujah and Baghdad where residential and commercial buildings have been reduced to rubble.
The following should be read alongside this article: » 15 March - next stop for the anti-war movement» Iraq occupation leads to health crisis» Pakistan spirals out of control» Division over Afghanistan exposes lies» World Against War events
Saleh Mamon is a peace campaigner and a retired teacher
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I meant to have the above up and posted before the Iraq study group started but I am really slow when it comes to typing. Those are always great but this was especially good because there was so much to cover like which GOP candidate loves war more! (That really did seem to be the point of the Republican debate this week as McCain and Romney duked it out to see who would be most faithful to the eternal war in Iraq.) C.I. and Ava just did about ten minutes (if that) and I had a feeling I was getting a sneak preview of their TV commentary because they were addressing the State of the Union address Bully Boy gave this week. I wish they'd write up what they said because it was hilarious but I have a feeling some of the points will be the same but they'll say it differently. How it worked was they trade off on explaining what Bully Boy said and what it meant, like one time would grab Bully Boy and the other would grab reality. It was very funny.

On the State of the Union speech this is the opening of Glen Ford's "Bush Bullies the Cringing Democrats, As Usual" and it is text or audio:

George Bush is very lucky to have the Democrats as the "opposition party." In both content and delivery, his final State of the Union Address showed Bush to be a spent force, the dirty fighterwhose entire career was built on amorality, sheer meanness and bribed referees. No blow was ever too low for Bush, but at this late stage of the seven-year-long bout even razor-lined gloves can't help him. All that now props Bush up are the nervous weaklings at the other corner of the ring: theDemocrats.
Although Barack Obama seems to think the Republicans once had interesting "ideas," they really have only three simple solutions for all situations: bigger and more aggressive militaries, low taxes and huge subsidies for the rich, and relentless privatization of the people's property and social space. Just add a little more coercive muscle to the National Security State and you have all the ingredients for a true American fascism. But Bush and his corporate masters are having a difficult time, because the world is not cooperating.
Bush dedicated only a few minutes to the crisis in domestic and international financial structures, lamely describing the unfolding economic disaster as "a period of uncertainty." What an understatement! American predatory, super-speculative lending practices have not only guaranteed the dispossession of millions of families and deepening chaos throughout the U.S. economy, the domestic collapse has also revealed that, at the heart of the global financial edifice lies an unimaginably huge "balloon" of derivatives and other varieties of possibly worthless paper.

Bully Boy went on and on about nothing. Which is really all he has to offer: nothing. Plus is that January is over and next January we'll have someone new in the White House.

Another thing everyone talked about was John Edwards dropping out. Those who were supporting him have switched over to Hillary. I don't know if that's true everywhere but that's how it was here. People just don't trust Bambi.

Some guy I've never heard from before e-mailed to say that he sent something to the public account for The Common Ills three times today and it didn't make the snapshot. I'll go ahead and highlight it but let me explain some basics first.

C.I. is not the only reading the e-mails at The Common Ills. Martha, Shirley, Eli, Dona, Jess and Ava also read the e-mails. Because there are SO MANY. Martha and Shirley give C.I. a summary of what they read. Eli condenses all the e-mails he reads down to a 10 point report (single space, one sentence per point). There are e-mails asking for highlights constantly each day. The snapshot is mainly C.I. calling (and returning calls from) friends in MSM. They sometimes pass on something in Little Media that people are talking about (good or bad talk). Jess generally phones C.I. a few hours before the snapshot and leaves a voice mail with one or two things from little media. The snapshot is called the "Iraq snapshot." The guy's thing is on Kenya. It's not the "Kenya snapshot." The Kenya aspect relates to Obama. C.I.'s really not doing the presidential candidates. Ava and C.I. know Dolores Huerta and so that's the "politics" that makes it in today. ("Politics" is not an insult to Huerta. But if it had been anyone else, it probably wouldn't have gotten noted. We're all sick of DN! and, if you paid attention, you'll grasp that this was the only time DN! made the snapshot with a link all week. That was because it was Huerta. If she hadn't been on DN! today, no campaign politics would have been offered.) C.I., Ava and Kat are here overnight before heading back to Cali and I made a point to ask C.I. about this story tonight/this morning. C.I. knew nothing about it. So don't assume that because you e-mailed something C.I. saw it. I told C.I. that the guy e-mailed it three times. C.I. said, "It most likely got deleted as spam by someone. When we see the same name and heading in the inbox more than once, we assume it's spam and delete. Nobody has time to read all the e-mails so if anything's suspicious before it would even be opened, it gets deleted. It also may have gone into the bulk folder and we no longer check that, we just delete it. It's not like there aren't already enough visitors wanting stuff noted." C.I. was in the e-mails Friday morning before posting the morning entries at The Common Ills and just reading the top fifty e-mails in the three accounts (public account, two private accounts for members -- top fifty are the fifty most recently sent). I gave a brief sketch and C.I. said, "It wouldn't have gone into the snapshot. I haven't been following Kenya closely and using it would have been unfair because I don't care for Bambi and would have used it just because it was negative to him, not because I knew what was being talked about. But the reality is that there were twin bombings in Baghdad and that was a bit more important, to say the least, than campaign politics." Again, if Dolores Huerta hadn't been on DN!, there wouldn't have been any campaign politics in the snapshot at all.

So there's X's answer why his highlight didn't get noted at The Common Ills. I'll note it here because I'm not concerned where I'm fair to Bambi. If it's bad about Bambi, I'm all for it. I don't know anything about Kenya. If the topic interests you, go to the link and also research it on your own. This is from Larry Johnson's "Obama's African Hubris:"

I suppose it is too much to ask of Obama supporters to read the following material and appreciate the arrogance and ignorance displayed by Senator Barack Obama, but folks, it appears he is going to do for Africa what George Bush has done for Iraq. Only worse. He is taking sides in a tribal war in Kenya that is on the verge of becoming a Rwanda-like genocide.
Really? Let's start with this uncomfortable fact. The leader of the Kenyan Orange Democratic Movement opposition leader, Raila Odinga, is Barack Obama's cousin. Barack may not put much stock in the relationship, but tribal allegiances are still strong in Kenya and Barack is clearly viewed as a Luo by his fellow tribesmen. Robert Ethan reported recently that:
Barack Obama has had a major impact on the recent disputed Kenyan election. He spoke in support of Orange Democratic Movement opposition leader Raila Odinga when in Kenya in 2006. The two men met last fall when Odinga visited America as each was preparing an "insurgency" campaign in their respective countries. In a recent BBC interview, Raila Odinga, averred that he and Obama were "old friends who spoke often on the telephone". Odinga also said that he and Obama were cousins, a claim that the Obama campaign was unwilling to acknowledge, (given Odinga's current difficulties) but did not deny.
Great. Obama's cousin wants to be president. Is there a familial gene? If you are like most Americans you are blissfully unaware that two of Kenya's tribes–the Luo and Kikuyu–are killing each other over a disputed election that Odinga, Obama's cousin, claims was stolen from him.


Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Friday, February 1, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, a lesson should be used about tossing around the term "suicide bombers," the administration attempts to push back on two topics getting coverage and more.

Starting with war resistance. Bethany Skyler James self-checked out of the US military and went to Canada. Julia Johnson (The Charlatan) reports on James decision to go to Canada and writes, "James says she has official refugee status but because of the Nov. 15 Supreme Court decision not to hear an appeal from resisters Brandon Hughey and Jeremy Hinzman, currently no other resisters are allowed to gain refugee status." The difference between Skyler and Hinzman and/or Hughey is that she is gay and was targeted with bullying and threats while serving and that may have factored into her case when she applied for refugee status. She tells Johnson, "I was being treated inhumanely for being a lesbian. [It was] the worst of the worst of the worst of gay bashing. I have been sent hate letters. People threatened to kill me." When she and a friend made it to Canada, she contacted the War Resisters Support Campaign and she nows lives in Ottawa.

You can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers.

"Baghdad's fragile peace was shattered today when two women loaded with explosives blew up in crowded pet markets, killing at least 60 people and wounding scores more," reports Martin Fletcher (Times of London). Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports: "Both markets are surrounded by concrete barriers to bar cars from entering, but with no one to search women at the entrance and exit checkpoints, the female bombers were able to slip in with explosive vests hidden under flowing coats, police said. By Friday afternoon, U.S. and Iraqi military had surrounded the markets and were questioning witnesses, as people cleaned pools of blood from the pavement and swept up dead birds and destroyed pet carriers." CNN maintains the female bombers were "mentally disabled" and "they were blown up by remote control" according to Iraqi Gen. Qasim Atta and places the death toll thus far at 98 with over two-hundred injured. AFP observes, "The apparently coordinated attacks 20 minutes apart ended a relative lull in violence in the Iraqi capital and were the most lethal since August 1, when three car bombs killed more than 80 people." Paul Tait and Aws Qusay (Reuters) quote eye witness to the Ghazil pet market bombing, Abu Haider, explaining, "I was right there at the scene when the blast happened. It knocked me over. When I managed to get up, I saw dozens had been killed and wounded." On that second bombing, Stephen Farrell and Graham Bowley (New York Times) report that "army units sealed off the area and set up checkpoints following the exposion. Bloodstained feathers mixed with melting sleet." AFP describes scene of the pet market: "Some bodies were packed into bags and put in the back of police pick-up trucks. Emergency workers sifted through the bomb-blackened garbage-strewn site in search of a wallet, a watch, a piece of paper -- anything that could help identify the unrecognisable corpses. Bloodied identity cards, watches and sets of prayer beads were placed one after the other into a plastic box. A mobile phone lay amid the wreckage, ringing incessantly; perhaps a relative trying desperately to reach a loved one caught up in the explosion."

Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) offers this background, "It was the fifth attack since June 2006 on the Ghazel pet market, and the second since November. Both it and the bird bazaar are popular places for Iraqis to visit on Fridays, the Muslim day off." Camilla Hall (Bloomberg) provides this, "Baghdad's Al-Ghazal market was targeted previously on Nov. 23, when 13 people were killed and more than 22 wounded in an attack that also took place at the weekend. On Aug. 1, three car bombings in Baghdad killed more than 80 people." Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) offers concrete details about the pet market bomber "a woman wearing an explosive belt under an all covering, floor length coat". AP reports US Secretary of State Condi Rice is calling the above "brutal" yet notice what she's not saying in any of her remarks including this: "It certainly underscores and affirms the decision of the Iraqi people that there is no political program here that is acceptable to a civilized society and that this is the most brutal and the most bankrupt of movements that would do this kind of thing."

What do the bombings "certainly underscore"? That people need to stop using "suicide bombers" repeatedly. In some cases, cars have been rigged but despite the fact that the press picked up upon that sometime ago, the term "suicide bomber" continues to be applied without any indication that any thought went into the 'reporting.' We have said, and will continue to say, "a bomber" unless we're quoting. Condi's trying to sell the illegal war, the press should take away a real lesson from the above: Everyone who explodes because of a bombing on their person, in their vehicle, etc. is not a "sucide bomber." Despite the reality that the women were mentally challenged some reports are including Rice's remarks while still referring to the two women as "sucide bombers." You can't have it both ways. If they are mentally challenged -- and they appear to have been (one was known as the "crazy lady" in her area) -- then they were not "sucide bombers."

In other State Department news, they've announced a press briefing on the topic of Iraqi refugees for Monday featuring James Folely, Stewart Baker and Tony Edson. Presumably to explain why the United States has still done so damn little (or maybe to explain why the few let over are being told "Get a job in six months or get lost") and since Baker is with the Homeland Security Dept, no doubt we'll have a 'security risk' assessment.

It's the first day of the month and a few will do their monthly reports even though the US military often waits a bit before nothing all the military fatalities. Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "The U.S. death toll in Iraq increased in January, ending a four-month drop in casualties, and most of the deaths occurred outside Baghdad or the once-restive Anbar province, according to military statistics. In all, 38 American service members had been reported killed in January by Thursday evening, compared with 23 in December. Of those, 33 died from hostile action, but only nine of them in Baghdad or Anbar.A total of 3,942 American service members have been killed in Iraq as of Thursday, according to icasualties.org, an independent Web site that tracks the statistics." After Youssef filed, the number would be 39. At the Pentagon today "chief of staff or Multinational Corps-Iraq" Brig Gen Joseph Anderson spun wildly to the press, via videolink from Baghdad, in an attempt to stamp a happy face on the illegal war. He wrongly claimed that there were only 170 "civilian casualities" in Baghdad for the month. They like to define "civilian casualities" by not defining the term. It is what they say it is. He also 'bragged', "The
security situation today is about the same as we experienced statistically in early 2005."
That's 'success' in their book -- cooking the numbers and then claiming that the levels are now what they were in 2005 -- as if 2005 was a year of peace or anything to pat one's own back over.


In other news for the month, Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports an update on the thugs of the Iraqi government who decided that female police officers shouldn't be allowed to carry guns (the next step would be: no female police officers), "Iraqi police officials have dropped plans to disarm policewomen and give their guns to male officers after an outcry from critics, who said the move was a sign of religious zealots' rising influence in Iraq." However, despite that claim some are less than convinced and Susman quotes US General David Phillips declaring, "Even with the revocation order, we will have to watch very closely the actions taken in regards to the remaining female Iraqi police" which is backed up by a Najaf female police officer Hanan Jaafer who says "none of the roughly two dozen female officers posted at the shrine had guns or uniforms, even though they searched women and children entering the complex and faced threats from the increased use of female suicide bombers." Increased use of female suicide bombers? Today demonstrates more than ever the need for trained female police officers with as much authority as their male counterparts.
While the US installed thugs of al-Maliki's government (especially the Interior Ministry) do their damage, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports the Kurds aren't feeling the US love they used to and that their "leverage appears to be declining". Rubin offers a number of reasons including forcing a vote on Kirkuk (she misses her own paper's earlier report about how the Kurds are forcing Kurds into Kirkuck), the arming of Sunnis for hire (which also threatens the US installed Shi'ite thugs) but the clear irritant is buried in paragraph 19: Turkey. The US has long declared the PKK a terrorist group and the fact that they haven't changed that designation and that Turkey has made incursions into the Kurdish region of Iraq (by land and air) has not played well with the Kurdish provisional government in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile the US is in damage control mode on the heals of two stories. First up, Bully Boy and the end of the illegal war. Michael Abramowitz (Washington Post) reports that Bully Boy bragged yesterday that "he would not be pressured into making further troop cuts in Iraq beyond the five combat brigades already scheduled to come home by the middle of the summer" which, Abramowitz notes are the latest in a round of remarks where the Whie House has signaled "that it may keep the number of troops in Iraq at roughly the same level they were before last year's buildup of U.S. forces, possibly through the end of Bush's presidency. Under existing plans, the levels are gradually falling about 5,000 troops a month, from roughly 160,000 to 130,000 by July -- or approximately where they stood before Bush sent reinforcements to Iraq seeking to curtail spiraling sectarian violence." James Gerstenzang (Los Angeles Times) reports that Bully Boy gave the speech to a right-wing non-think tank on Thursday in Nevada and declared he wasn't worried about the "political right thing" to do -- or about international law. Now comes the spin. Andrew Gray (Reuters) notes that the chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff made a big show of pointing today to an interview General Davey Petraues gave to CNN Sunday and stating that neither Davey or US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker "have made any specific recommendations about future force levels in Iraq" and that Davey's "given no indication to anybody in the chain of command that" he's wanting to pause the drawdown of troops to nearly the level they were at before the escalation. The second news was about Moqtada al-Sadr. Michael Howard (Guardian of London) offers that al-Sadr is saying the cease-fire is over unless puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki prevents attacks on his followers, that the freeze was only for six months and that Jalal Talbani, Iraq's President, has expressed concerns, to General Davey, "asking him to recognise Sadr's initiative and urging American troops to halt their attacks on Sadr's supporters. In reply, Petraeus praised the anti-US Shia cleric, but said the troops would continue to target those who were apparently not obeying the cleric's orders." So at the Pentagon today, via video link, Brig Gen Joseph Anderson was questioned about al-Sadr by NPR's Guy Ruz who asked about whether "the continued reduction in violence over the coming months depend on Sadr's movement recommitting to its cease-fire pledge?" [On NPR's Morning Edition today, before the press conference, Guy Ruz reported on the topic of drawdown and escalation noting that General Davey intends to speak in April -- possibly April Fool's Day and possibly dependent upon whether or not he doesn't earlier see his own shadow.] Anderson judged the freeze "clearly a help" and that the US military was in talks with al-Sadr regarding the continuing the freeze. Pinned down about the lack of legislative advances (the whole point of the escalation was to create a 'zone' for the Iraqi government to act in), Anderson praised the 2007 provincial budgets -- because he can't praise the central government in Baghdad which still hasn't passed the 2008 budget -- and the de-de-Baathifcation bill which is not a "law" though he called it that. In reality, the bill isn't moving and, as noted yesterday, Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraq's Sunni Vice President (they also have a Shi'ite Vice President) declared it "unlikely" that the bill would become a law -- despite the fact that it is a White House designated "benchmark" and despite the fact that Anderson referenced it today and wrongly called it a "law."

Turning to some of the violence besides today's twin bombings . . .


Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a police officer wounded by gunfire in Samarra. Reuters notes two police officers shot dead and four other people wounded by unknown assailants storming a bus in Kut and an Iraqi soldier shot dead in Samarra.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered today in Baghdad.

Closing with US politics, Dolores Huerta -- longtime and pioneering activist for justice -- appeared on Democracy Now! today:

DOLORES HUERTA: Well, I believe that she's a person who has the experience that we need. I believe she has the courage, because she has, you know, taken risks like coming out for national healthcare when nobody else was doing that. She was also--just the fact that shes running for the presidency of the United States. So you've got the combination that we need for a president that can take, you know, as she has said often, to lead on the first day she gets inaugurated, because she's got the intelligence and the experience and the courage and the capability of running the country.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And, Dolores, as I'm sure you're aware, Ted Kennedy, I guess the icon of the Democratic Party in the Senate, this week came out in support of Barack Obama, and he immediately went to try to campaign among Latinos in California, I guess evoking especially the memory of Bobby Kennedy, who marched with Cesar and you and many of the farm workers in the 1960s. Your response to this effort by Ted Kennedy to convince Latinos to back Obama?

DOLORES HUERTA: Well, on the other hand, we have the endorsement of Bobby Kennedy, actually, Robert Kennedy's son. Bobby Kennedy, as you know, has been very active on the environment, and he had a beautiful piece at the--he, Kerry Kennedy, the head of the Robert Kennedy Foundation, Kathleen Kennedy, former lieutenant governor of Maryland--all of these are Robert's children. And I want to refer you to an LA Times editorial that they wrote of why they were supporting Hillary. And in that article, Bobby says he has worked with Hillary on the environment for fifteen years, and Kathleen has worked with Hillary for twenty-five years. One of the things that, you know, they keep talking about, the progressive candidates, you know, Hillary Clinton voted against the nuclear waste dumping in Yucca Mountain in Nevada, while on the other hand Barack Obama actually took money from the company that was creating the nuclear waste and wanted to dump it in Nevada. So, you know, I think that that pretty much offsets Ted Kennedy's endorsement, because you've got Robert Kennedy's children--of course, the farm workers' union, we were much more closer to Robert, and these are the activists. These are the ones that are out there doing community work, and that they know what Hillary has done in terms of her long history in civil rights, in working for children, working for education. You know, so they know that she's the one that they feel is the best person to run for president.

[. . .]

DOLORES HUERTA: Yeah. There was a big issue, if you will recall, where we had a woman who--in Chicago, Elvira Arellano, who refused to be deported, and she was undocumented. She was in sanctuary for twelve months, for an entire year, right there in Chicago, where Obama lives. The people who did that campaign, these were the same ones that organized the big marches in Chicago, went to see Obama to get some support for Elvira Arellano. He not only refused to help them, but he didn't even bother to go see Elvira. I went from California four times to be there with her. We had a large delegation from Mexico from all the political parties that went to see Elvira. Five ambassadors, they all flew to Washington, D.C. to plead on her behalf. Obama never, never lifted a finger to help her, as he never did when we had two Latinos that had been unjustly incarcerated for a murder that they did not commit. Again, a big campaign to free these two young men from prison. They were ultimately freed. But when they went to see Senator Obama, he refused to help them. I have been a civil rights activist like this all of my life, and I have been to Chicago many times for many different campaigns that the community there--the Latino community was there. I have, to this day, to meet Mr. Obama. I have never encountered him in any of these big campaigns that we have done in Chicago on different issues. And, as I say, I have never yet to meet the man. And so, I don't know about his--

AMY GOODMAN: Did Senator Clinton weigh in--Dolores Huerta, did Senator Clinton weigh in in either of those cases?

DOLORES HUERTA: Well, let me--yeah, let me just say this, that this is a--we're talking about Chicago. We're talking about the third largest Latino area outside of Mexico City, right?

FEDERICO PENA: Can I--

DOLORES HUERTA: But Hillary doesn't live in Chicago. These people here actually went to see Obama, Senator Obama. So I don't believe that he has that kind of courage and that kind of judgment. Or let's say, is it judgment or is it wisdom or whatever? But he chose not to be associated with one of the biggest causes that we have in our community, the cause of Elvira Arellano, the cause of these two young men, where he could have stepped in. They were ultimately freed, by the way, but not with his help. So, I mean, I don't know--

While it was wonderful to see Huerta on the show, with Edwards out of the race, it was a given that Democracy Now! would have to start inviting on Clinton supporters. See Ava and my "TV: Democracy Sometimes?" and Mike and Marcia will be blogging about this topic tonight at their sites.

In other programming news tonight (Friday) on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal will interview US House Rep Henry Waxman who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as part of an investigation by the program into government waste and abuse. There is a promotional video for it posted at YouTube. And that's Friday nights in most PBS markets but some may air it (or reair it) over the weekend at different times. Online, Bill Moyers Journal streams video and audio and provides text -- accessible for all. Also, NOW on PBS (which airs on Friday in most markets) has created "Adventures in Democracy Online" which is intended to be "a counter to traditional, ubiquitous election-themed programming centered around candidates, debates, polls, and punditry." It will focus on "Burning Questions," "Democracy Tookit" and "Election 2008 'Toon In."






















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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Dave Lindorff, voting, Marcia's site, etc.

Thursday! One day until the weekend! :D

First Dalia Hashad is on this week's Law and Disorder. As I understand it, she's a new mother and has taken time off the last few weeks (four months?) for that. Congratulations to her and it was good to hear her voice (she participated by phone). The rest of the show? Zach e-mailed about Michael Ratner being on KPFA Evening News this week talking about how Hillary wasn't any good and (Zach's words) maybe Obama's not 100% perfect. I didn't hear it. But Zach's e-mail had me not wanting to listen. I'm not in the mood for Bambi Love. (Zach's not a liar, by the way. If he says something happened then that's how it sounded to people listening.) One of the things I love best about Michael Ratner is that he's not afraid to call things out. But the left all seems to be scared to call Bambi out. So I listened because C.I.'s friend noted on the disc that Dalia was on and when I got done with her part (the first segment), I stopped listening. Bambi the SubPrime isn't a friend to the working people and I'm not in the mood for any who think he is or resist calling his crap out. Right now, I'm considering Hillary Clinton, Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney. Guess what? None are perfect.

But I'm an adult and I can handle that. I'm a college student, not a little kid who believes in the Tooth Fairy. Tell the truth about the candidates or just talk about something else.

And, at this point, with everyone and their dog weighing in on Hillary and everyone else couching their smallest of criticism of Bambi, real bravery requires telling the truth about Bambi.

Ratner should never refuse to call out Bambi who is tight with Richard Daley who I have heard Ratner rip apart (rightly) on the program over and over. And what did "community organizer" Bambi do to help stop the torture in Illinois prisons? I've heard from the program that the torture was rampant and everyone knew about it. So did Bambi step up? (NO.) So call him out on that. Call him out on the fact that, in winter, people in his district were without heat because they lived in his buddy Tony Rezko's slum housing. That was his district. He was in the state legislature. He can't play, "I didn't know." It was reported in real time. He ignored it because it was his friend and big donor Tony Rezko.

All candidates have warts. And voters are going to have to decide based on reality, not on a myth. Some people may not care about the truth about Bambi. They might still support him. But people need to tell the truth and if they don't, I don't have time to waste.

Again, congratulations to Hashad. I'm sure it's a beautiful baby and it's also a very lucky baby because you could hear in her voice how much love it will be raised with.

David Lindorff apparently has more bravery than anyone in independent media (other exceptions being Glen Ford, Margaret Kimberley, Bruce Dixon and Paul Street). This is from his "This Campaign's a B-Movie with a B List of Characters:"

With the presidential race now effectively pared down to four candidates, thanks to the departure of John Edwards and the imminent departure of Rudy Giuliani, we’re left with a really “B-grade” contest: a bomber (John McCain), a bummer (Hillary Clinton), a betrayer (Mitt Romney) and Obama (that’s Barack with a B).

And if you're supporting one of the four front runners, or thinking about it, you need to read it. You may look at it and think, "True, but I can live with that" about your personal candidate. And that's cool. But you need to be sure you know what's what. Media is supposed to inform, not write fan letters. Lindorff's doing his job and we should all be glad someone knows what media's supposed to do.

If I go with Clinton, I won't be blind and think, "She's so wonderful! She's my hero! I want to be her!" I won't be a mindless Bambi groupie. I think she's got negatives and I think she's got some strengths. I was talking to a friend today and he said the thing with Bambi, why he'd picked Clinton over Bambi after Edwards dropped out, is he thinks she can do the job and thinks Bambi would be handed his lunch. He's followed all the dirt on Hillary and the tiny bit of non-fan-mag coverage of Bambi you can find. I told him I was going to see what was what with Ralph and think about Cynthia McKinney as well but if I picked a Democrat it would be Hillary. He pointed out, "We vote next week!" :D

Which probably means Ralph's out for my primary vote. No offense but he's still not declared. He's exploring it. So I'll be going with Cynthia or Hillary and I really need to talk about the Greens (I've got office time with my favorite professor tomorrow to do so) to find out how much votes help Greens in my state (they're on the ballot) and also to get his impression on whether or not Greens will run a real campaign for president? (Meaning no 'safe state' strategy.)

I like Cynthia. If everything lines up in her favor (it's about the party and not her that I have questions), she's got my vote. Otherwise, I'll probably go with Hillary. I have no problem voting for the Greens if it's a real race. They also have a debate on Saturday so I'll try to find some stuff on that. In fact, check out The Third Estate Sunday Review. Dona and C.I. always advocate for pieces on the Green and I'll join them this weekend in doing so. So we'll have something up about Saturday's debate.

I want to be clear that I really like Cynthia McKinney and think she would be an amazing president. I have no problems with her. I just want to be sure that the party is running a real campaign and not holding back to try to help the Dems. If their strategy is to help the Dems, I should help the Dems myself -- by voting for them!

Hillary's not perfect. (Have you met my mother? She loathes Hillary! :D I know all about Hillary.) But she is a fighter. She's a scrapper. And I could support her for that, for the fact that she won't be eaten alive by the right wing echo chamber and because she does have a few issues she supports that I can agree with. By the way, if MoveOn gives their endorsement to Bambi, they are pathetic. Hillary's the one who voted for them in the Senate. She stood up for them. Bambi? Another vote he skipped.

I'm taking a break. Didn't plan on it. But C.I. just called. C.I. and Ava are on their way to go speak to a group and, on the other cell, C.I.'s on with a community member who is setting up a site! That's so cool. I'll take a break and that way when I come back, hopefully, I'll have a post to link to or at least the website. (I know who it is but I don't know if ___ is using their name. I'll know when I'm back from break.)

Back! Okay, community member Marcia is the one creating a site. It's called SICKOFITRADLZ and I hope I spelled it right but the link is right. I was telling her ways she could do links and all for her second post. I'll interview her next week (which means Third will get her first on Sunday! :() She asked if everyone was nervous when they first posted and I told her it gets easier with time. She goes, "S**t!" She forgot to mention Elaine's "Frauds passing themselves off as 'helpful'." Elaine was talking about Marcia's column in Hilda's Mix and how it got Laura Flanders delinked community wide. Marcia was beating herself up for forgetting to link to that and I said, "Oh Marcia, as you post more, you'll find a reason to beat yourself up daily." :D It's true. But I told her not to go back in (she said she's so nervous her hands are shaking) and that I'd note Elaine's post here.

She's not sure how often she's posting or what her schedule would be. She's trying to figure out if she can post via texting from her cell? If she can, she thinks she'll post a lot more often than she's currently planning. But check out her site. I think it's great and that you'll love it. I'll interview her next week and I'll post tomorrow night but that's going to be it for tonight because I want you to check out her site. Yea for Marcia! :D

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, January 31, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces a death, women in Iraq never got 'freedom' from the illegal war, and more.

Starting with war resistance. "(Recruiters) use the lack of benefits of Latinos and immigrants to lure people in. The biggest problem is that they don't give all the information, they only give the pretty information, which is not the true picture," explains IVAW chair and war resister Camilo Mejia to Cindy Von Quednow (Daily Sundial). Von Quednow goes on to explain that "Latinos made up 13 percent of the enlister personnel in 2006, compared to 18 percent of the civilian population and there is an effort to increase those numbers to 22 percent" by targeting Latinos with advertising buys on Spanish-language television and radio which Rosa Furumoto (Chicano/A studies at CSUN) explains, "If you look at docments released by the Pentagon and the federal government, they have a deliberate attempt to recruit and socialize young Chicanos and Latinos for the military." That is one of two articles Cindy Von Quendnow authors for Daily Sundial. In her second one, she checks in on Camilo Mejia's life today in North Miami, "After completing what he thought was the end of his contract, Mejia found he had actually enlisted for eight years, not three. He decided to finish his duty with the Florida National Guard while going to school. . . . From the beginning, Mejia used his immigrant status to avoid going to Iraq (legal residents who haven't applied for citizenship can only serve a total of eight years in the military) and was finally allowed a two-week leave of absence to fix legal matters back at home. He never returned to Iraq." Mejia, whose Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia was published last May, is currently writing a second book "about his jail experience and wants to delve into the genre of fiction writing." In addition to that and traveling around the country to speak out against the illegal war, Mejia is also sharing the responsibilities of raising his seven-year-old daughter and "appealing his bad conduct dismissal and continues waiting on his conscientious objector status, hoping it will help others in similar situations." When Mejia made his decision that he could not continue to participate in the illegal war, he became the first Iraq War veteran to resist publicly.

Robin Long is another war resister. In March of 2005, he was informed he would be shipping out to the illegal war and he self-checked out and went to Canada. Thunder Bay's Source reports that he spoke in Thunder Bay yesterday as part of the ongoing efforts in Canada to raise awareness of legislative protection for war resisters: "Long says it wasn't an easy decision to abandon the army and move to Canada but his cosncience wouldn't allow him to join a war he didn't support. Long is currently fighting a deportation order, and splits his time between Nelson, B.C., and Marthaton, where he has an 18-month old son."


You can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers.

Among the things IVAW advocates for (ending the illegal war, reperations for Iraq) is the need for real health care to be provided to veterans. Dana Priest (Washington Post) continues the work she and Anne Hull having been doing for the Post today by looking at the extremely high rate of suicide among returning veterans and notes "121 soldiers took their own lives" in 2007 which was "nearly 20 percent more than in 2006. At the same time, the number of attempted suicides or self-inflicted injuries in the Army has jumped sixfold since the Iraq war began. Last year, about 2,100 soldiers injured themselves or attempted suicide, compared with about 350 in 2002, according to the U.S. Army Medical Command Suicide Prevention Action Plan." This as the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence trumpets an internal study that asserts British "Forces mental health statistics for the second quarter of 2007, published today, 31 January 2008, have continued to show that the number of personnel assessed and diagnosed with a mental disorder remained low." If true -- remember it's a study they conducted, not an independent one -- that would be surprising considering the abysmal treatment conditions many British veterans have faced.

Three British soldiers were wounded in Iraq today. Reuters notes: "Two British soldiers suffered minor wounds when the British base at Basra airport was hit by multiple attacks using mortar bombs and other weapons, British military spokesman Captain Finn Aldrich said. Basra is 550 km (340 miles) south of Baghdad." AP reports, "Rockets slammed into the British base near the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Thursday, slightly wounding three British soldiers, a spokesman said." The Sun notes, "Captain Finn Aldrich, an Army spokesman, said multiple rockets were apparently launched Thursday morning from the city, which is about 12 miles east of the airport, although he said the attack was still being investigated." In addition to the three wounded, Al Jazeera reports that 10 Iraqis were killed "outside the base" and that when the British fired "artillery shells" they "hit a construction company, killing one employee and wounding five others." Alive in Baghdad (text and video) notes "that in the last three weeks violence has returned to Basra, and more Iraqis were killed during these last three weeks because of the battles between Iraqi security forces and the militias. Reuters reports, "One U.S. soldier was killed when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb during combat operations in Baghdad, the U.S. military said."

Staying with today's violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing wounded 5 people (three police officers among the five), a Baghdad bombing wounded two civilians, a Baghdad roadside bombing wounded four people, a Baghdad car bombing claimed 3 lives and left six people wounded. a Mosul car bombing left two people wounded and, in the continued attacks on officials, a Baghdad roadside bombing targets the caravan of Salam al-Qazaz (Deputy Minister of Electricity" resulting in one civilian and two bodyguards being wounded.

Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports two civilians injured in an armed clash in Baquba, 2 people (father and son) shot dead in Salahuddin Province.

Kidnapped?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 women kidnapped in Baquba Wednesday night at a fake checkpoint. Reuters notes 5 college students were abducted in Mosul.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad, 2 corpses were discovered in Mosul and 1 severed head found in Tuz today (2 more found "near Tuz bridge yesterday morning").

Meanwhile Saleh Mamon (Great Britain's Socialist Worker) explains, "Though George Bush claims the 'surge' brings peace, in 2007 warplanes made 1,447 bombing runs. The US has unleashed a ferocious bombing campaign on Iraq and Afghanistan, with devastating effects on the population. This surge in the 'air war' is largely hidden behind talk of 'recent successes' for the occupatin." The 2007 figure is a huge leap from the year prior when only 229 US bombings were reported by the US military.

On Tuesday, Deborah Amos (NPR's Day to Day) reported on the realities in 'democratic' Iraq for women:

Deborah Amos: Rima, a 48-year-old mother of four, escaped to Syria a year ago. She doesn't want her family name broadcast because of relatives back home. In the kitchen, Rima seems a traditional Iraqi mother preparing food for her son and three daughters but when it came to education, her daughters have advanced college degrees just like her son. In Baghdad, Rima worked for a western aid organization helping improve the lives of poor Iraqi women until militants threatened to kill her.

Rima: So many times I went to places that poor women are living. They knew me. They knew my face.

Deborah Amos: Rima acknowledges that from a distance Baghdad seems safer now but she says she needs guarantees that go beyond safety to take her daughters back there.

Rima: There is no freedom. Can any girl, woman, dressing as she likes, going to jobs, going to colleges as before?

Deborah Amos: There are women in college, there are some.

Rima: But all of them are frightened.

Deborah Amos: Historically Iraqi women had more rights and freedom than many in the Middle East. That status declined in the last years of Saddam's rule, deteriorated further still after the US invastion. Religious conservatives swept to office in Iraq's elections, the new constitution reduced women's rights and religious radicals directly threatened women -- a story told be refugees across the Middle East. In Lebanon, 53-year-old Bosaf and her brother Feraz, live in a low rent neighborhood outside the capital. They fled Iraq's northern city of Mosul in June. Bosaf -- the head librarian at Mosul University -- was threatened she says because of her head scarf. Her university i.d. shows her blond hair covered by a flowered scarf -- a hijab. But that wasn't good enough for Islamist militants in Mosul. Basama -- a dignified, middle-aged woman -- displays a wicked sense of humor when it comes to the young men who dictated her head gear. She drapes a long, black garmet over her head, rolls her eyes in a can-you-believe-they-made-me-wear-this expression and twirls across the living room.

Unidentified woman: They killed many Christians, that's why she had to wear it.

Deborah Amos: But even a proper headscarf was no protection in Basra. Just ask 35-year-old Ala, the name she agrees to use for her family's safety. She worked as a translator for a western aid organization delivering food and school supplies -- a job she knew came with risks. But Ala says the bigger danger is the well armed and powerful in Basra imposing an extreme form of Islam.

Ala: What's happened, the whole change, attract every wrong value -- this is the religion: "God say that!"

Deborah Amos: Do you think it's more dangerous because you're a woman or because you were a translator?

Ala: Woman. Woman, yeah.

Deborah Amos: Ala now expresses her opinions in the relative saftey of exile. She fled to neighboring Jordan last year. But as a refugee there are other dangers for women. Many have been trapped into prostitution, she says.

Ala: Let me show you something.

Deborah Amos: Ala takes a folded piece of paper from her wallet. She says a Jordanian man -- old enough to be her father -- handed it to her when she first arrived.

Ala: Okay. And then he said, just in case my dear daughter -- you need anything, anybody bother you in this country call me any time. And you'll never believe what he gave me. Oh my God.

Deborah Amos: She smooths out the paper, points to a phone number and one Arabic word underlined. A code she understood.

Ala: Marriage. (Ala laughs.)

Deborah Amos: So he was actually proposing marriage to you?

Ala: If that was his proposal. This is what they're using women here unfortunately. Marriage is the gate or the knock for the door.

Deborah Amos: This is how the prostituion happens? You get a note like this?

Ala: How many women actually show the note to the police?

Deborah Amos: Ala has finally left Jordan accepted for resettlement in the United States. Basama in Lebanon and Rima in Syria hope for resettlement too because they believe they have no future in Iraq.

Meanwhile Judith Orr (Great Britain's Socialist Review) interviewed Haifa Zangana whose City of Widows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance examines Iraq's history with a focus on women.

Judith Orr: The US and British governments claimed that liberating women was one of their motives for the invasion of Iraq. You describe women who colluded with this as "colonial feminists".

Haifa Zangana: Women were campaigning and fighting against Saddam's regime for many decades and no one took any notice. But suddenly there was a huge interest in women's issues and exposure in the media about the untold stories of women in the months before the invasion. An organisation called Women for a Free Iraq was established. Within two months it was given all the media space available by the US administration with videos, interviews and meetings at the White House. Women were telling stories about their suffering -- of course some of their stories were absolutely true, but it later transpired that many were fabricated for the occasion. These stories were used to justify the war. Those women were used to add a feminist face and give a moral justification for the aggression. This was for a war which has been proven to be a war against Iraqi women.

Judith Orr: Women have played a role in government and in political life in Iraq in the past.

Haifa Zangana: Iraqi women have never been victims waiting to be liberated. And this is the case for the whole Iraqi population. They did not receive the US and Britain as liberators. Women have a long history of struggle and achievements, which would have continued without the war and the United Nations sanctions in 1990. The occupation reduced Iraqi women's struggle to just one aspiration, and I quote an Iraqi woman when asked what she aspired to. She said, "All we want at the moment is to bury our dead with dignity." When you open your window in the morning you see dead bodies in the street, and people daren't approach them to bury them. So this is what women are now reduced to, thanks to the occupation.

As noted yestereday, ORB has re-examined their date of over a million Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war and has stated that their earlier figure (see September 14, 2007 snapshot) "was reasonable" -- 1.2. million with a range of 946,000 to 1,120,000. These deaths destroy families. Today Aseel Kami (Reuters) examines Iraqi women, "Every week, letters from Iraqi widows spill across Samira al-Moussawi's desk. One wrote to ask whether she should spend what scant money she gets on her infant or on school books for her older son. The member of parliament and head of a parliamentary women's committee is at her wits' end as to how to answer the desperate pleas from what could be as many as one to two million women." Kami notes that the "acting minister for women's affairs," Narmeen Othman, estimates there are 2 million widows in Iraq and that the number "is increasing day after day, it is becoming a time bomb". These women are expected to maintain their families or remaining families for as low as $40 a month to as 'high' as $95 a month. In addition, in the July 30, 2007 snapshot, it was noted that OXFAM's work revealed the internally displaced two million in Iraq were "mostly women and children".

Turning to US political news, Barack Obama's BFF, real estate buddy, financial backer (and then some) is not just federally indicted. James Bone (Times of London) reports that the "undeclared payment of $3.5 million" noted on Monday, "from a corrupt Iraqi-British businessman has landed Barack Obama's former fundraiser behind bars. The payment, disclosed in court papers, is the first time Mr Obama's long-serving bagman Tony Rezko, a Syrian immigrant to the United States, has been linked as a friend to the Iraqi-born billionair Nadmi Auchi, one of Britain's richest men." Bone goes on to note the paper's discovery of "state documents in Illinois recording that the Panamanian company Fintrade Services SA lent money to Mr Obama's fundraiser in May 2005. Fintrade's directors include Ibtisam Auchi, the name of Mr Auchi's wife." Tonight Obama and Hillary Clinton face off in the Democratic presidential nominee debate in Los Angeles. Today's KPFK Mid-Day News noted: "Locally anti-war activists will be protesting outside the Democratic presidential debate tonight in Hollywood. Organizers say neither of the two candidates call for the immediate end to the war in Iraq which they call 'the will of the people.' Protesters will gather outside the Kodak Theater near the Hollywood and Highland intersection from five to seven p.m." This month Grandmothers Against the War's Joan Wile (writing at Common Dreams) asked the common-sense question (at a time when common sense is in short supply and AWOL from DC): " What would happen if we withdrew ALL our troops? Amazingly, NONE of our kids would die in Iraq. Has anybody in Washington done the math? It seems quite elementary to us grannies." [Causing community member Carlton to advocate for Wile to be put in charge of all independent media.] Wile's forthcoming book Grandmothers Against the War: Getting off Our Fannies and Standing up for Peace comes out this spring. And right now Joan Wile has just started her own website. In terms of the US political race (yes, I did have a point), Wile has posted "Bill and Hill Pillow Talk Post South Caroline Election." [Mike Gravel remains in the race but is not invited to the debate.]

The Democrats are not the only ones in the race or, as Nanci Griffith once put it, "There's a light beyond these woods, Mary Margaret" ("There's A Light Beyond These Woods" from her first album of the same name: There's A Light Beyond These Woods). For some that may be Ralph Nader who has created a presidential exploratory committee to determine whether or not to run for president in 2008. Kristin Jensen (Bloomberg News) quotes Nader explaining, "Look at the major areas of injustice deprivation and solutions that are not being addressed by the major candidates" and Jensen notes that Nader pointed out there is no "practical timed withdrawal" from the illegal war being touted by any of the GOP or Democratic 'front runner' candidates. The Chronicle of Higher Education maintains, "The closest thing college activists may have to a 'favorite son' candidate, Ralph Nader, is at long last considering entering the presidential race." Carol Britton Meyer (The Hingham Journal) reports that Nader appears on Massachusetts ballot (Feb. 5th is the Super Duper Tuesday for the primary in MA and many other states) under the Green-Rainbow party along with Cynthia McKinney, Jared Ball (dropped out and endorsed Cynthia McKinney), Elaine Brown (withdrew from race), Kat Swift and Kent Mesplay. The Guardian of London -- lacking the courage to sign their trash -- gets in a seven-line little slam that only demonstrates how uninformed they are -- Nader is not impressed with either of the two Democratic front runners. (No link to trash.) They do repeat the lie that he is a 'spoiler.' As we've stated repeatedly, no one owns your vote. Whomever speaks to you is whom you should vote for. (If you vote. That's your decision.) Proving that lunacy exists on both sides of the Atlantic, Jon Bruner (Forbes) pens his own little slam -- but has the guts to put his name to it. (Even so, we don't link to trash.) Christopher Keating (Hartford Courant) reports, "In an interview with The Courant Wednesday evening, Nader trashed the main candidates and said they are not addressing the issues he has espoused for years: corporate welfare, consumer protection, medical malpractice and too much defense spending. In his classic, bombastic style, Nader said that all of the current presidential candidates are inadequate."

From the article, Nader on the two Democratic front runners:

On Democrat Barack Obama: "He never gets down to the nitty-gritty issues. He's too vague. I've seen Barack on TV 50 times in a year. What do I remember? Change."Regarding Hillary Rodham Clinton, Nader referred to a recent column he wrote that said that eight years of Hillary would be the same as the "two-term triangulating presidency" of Bill Clinton that led to the Republicans' regaining control of Congress and numerous governorships.

At The Harvard Crimson, Adam R. Gold offers more thought than 'indymedia' adults (or 'adults') of many years can manage noting "democracies are set up with the intent that people will vote for the candidate that serves their interests, not the candidate most likekly to win. Admittedly, naysayers have a point about electability: A third-party candidate faces difficult odds in winning the next presidential election. However, a strong show of support for a particular third-party platform might compel the two major parties to incorporate elements of that platform into their own." Silly liar John Nichols scribbles at The Nation (no link to trash) that Nader's running because of Hillary ("absolutely consistent in one thing, however, and that is his rejection of Hillary Clinton"). John, get your hands out of your pants and accept that Nader's considering running against your crush (Bambi) as well.

In Iraq, where there is still no 2008 budget for the country passed by the Parliament, Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) interviews Tareq al-Hashemi (Iraq's Sunni Vice President) who states that he "is unlikely to sign off on a new law that would give thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party their old jobs back" -- this is the de-de-Baathification move that would scratch Paul Bremer's de-Baathification and it has been listed as a "benchmark" by the White House. Also set as a "benchmark" by the White House is the legislation permitting the theft of Iraqi oil. Like the de-de-Baathification, that hasn't come to be yet. However, CNN Money reports that Royal Dutch Shell states the hold up on their moving into Iraq is the lack of such law by quoting the company's CEO Jeroen van der Veer who declares, "Yes, we are interested to work in Iraq . . . but we have to know the rules of the game." So modest, what van der Veer means is, "We have to control the game, we have to make the rules and we have to enforce them."

Today Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) reported that the escalation -- like the illegal war -- drags on noting, "Senior U.S. military commanders here say they want to freeze troop reductions starting this summer for at least a month, making it more likely that the next administration will inherit as many troops in Iraq as there were before President Bush announced a "surge" of forces a year ago. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, will probably argue for what the military calls an operational "pause" at his next round of congressional testimony, expected in early April, another senior U.S. military official here said. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and top military officers have said they would like to see continued withdrawals throughout this year, but Bush has indicated he is likely to be guided by Petraeus's views." Which may bring to mind Tuesday's press conference at the Pentagon by spokesperson Geoff Morrell and the question he was asked: "Geoff, help me out on the process here. You're talking about Petraeus is suggesting that he may need. Looking to the president, sometimes you get the impression that, you know, what Petraeus wants, Petraeus gets. Is that the case here, that we're all just kind of waiting on Petraeus, and this decision is really on Petraeus's shoulders -- ultimately, obviously, it would be approved by the president, but that Petraeus's opinion is the one that matters here?" Is his the only opinion that matters? Does the opinion of the American people matter? Meanwhile, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports today the same-old -- passed off as 'strategy' and 'new' -- continues but is now Target Mosul: "A Defense Ministry spokesman, Mohammed al-Askeri, told reporters that the goal of Iraqi military operations in Mosul was to oust Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia from the city and prevent its fighters from returning."

Friday on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal will interview US House Rep Henry Waxman who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as part of an investigation by the program into government waste and abuse. There is a promotional video for it posted at YouTube. And that's Friday nights in most PBS markets but some may air it (or reair it) over the weekend at different times. Online, Bill Moyers Journal streams video and audio and provides text -- accessible for all.





















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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Edwards leave, Florida wins, etc.

Hump day. John Edwards is out of the Democratic race for president.

Beau was the first to e-mail and ask if I saw it coming? No. C.I. told me to stress that event. I had planned to write about Edwards last night and called C.I. to check some stuff and make sure I had it right. I was half-way through with it when C.I. stopped me and said, "Mike, you don't want to post that tonight." I asked why and C.I. said, "Just note the New Orleans event." I went to Edwards website to get info on that. I found some other stuff listed and called C.I. back and C.I. took the call (they were speaking). C.I. said, "Mike, I'm telling you, just note the New Orleans."

When I wrote, I was thinking, "Man, Edwards is going to give some speech tomorrow. The campaign's really going to get started." Then I posted. When I got into bed later, I started thinking and by this morning, I was telling Dad, "Edwards is dropping out."

I realized that because if it was a powerful speech coming, C.I. would have said, "Leave in ___." I was ready to cover Iraq, poverty and a lot more. Instead C.I. told me not to put any of that in. Just to note that New Orleans thing. So it hit me but hit me slowly. And it was after I posted. I called C.I. today to say thanks because I would've felt like a real fool if I'd posted on all that stuff last night only to find out Edwards dropped out today. C.I. was apologizing on the phone today and saying, "I was sworn to secrecy." No need to apologize. C.I. saved my ass. I would've looked like the biggest fool in the world if I'd posted on all the stuff I'd been researching.

C.I. doesn't take calls when they're speaking about Iraq and that should have been my clue and I should have caught on immediately. The fact that C.I. stepped outside and took my call should have told me, "Something big is about to happen." If it had been good, C.I. would have said, "Well drop that but go with Iraq." Or something like that. By killing everything I was writing, there was a message there and I didn't pick up on it.

I picked up on the fact that C.I. thought I was wasting my time. I didn't question that. I don't try out things on C.I. (I'm not insulting Wally or Cedric or Betty who are doing humor writing and do try that out). And I don't worry that I'm going to make C.I. mad. (Wally and Cedric were worried about that recently and C.I. listened and laughed based on the writing and not based on personal feelings for the target. If you're telling it the way you see it, C.I.'s not going to say, "I'm friends with her" -- in their case it was a her.) C.I. really doesn't care. But if I'm doing something new that I'm trying to understand, I will call C.I. to make sure I've got it right. There was one time I was going to cheer Senate Dems and C.I. told me not to bother and why. This is only the second time C.I.'s ever told me, "You don't want to write that." I really like Edwards (still) and because of that, I didn't pick up that the news could be bad. I was thinking it was more like, "He's really going to go after the Iraq War tomorrow, just rip apart all the lies." That was the bulk of what I was reading to C.I. -- about how Edwards was our only vote (my opinion) because he was the best shot to end the illegal war and he would fight to end it.

If I'd posted that, I would have been embarrassed all day. So thank you, C.I., for saving me from myself.

Beau thought I knew because (a) I plugged New Orleans and (b) I was pushing Hillary like never before. The second part came from Elaine (who probably got what was about to go down when I told her about my call with C.I.). Hold on, we just got off the phone but I'll call her back. Benefits of being in a relationship! :D

Back. She said, "I suspected from what you said but I didn't know. If I'd known, I would've told you Edwards was dropping out." So she didn't know but she did guess that was why C.I. was telling me not to write all that stuff about Edwards I had planned. That's why she steered me to Hillary last night and why I wrote about her. Elaine pointed out that Florida was important and because it looked like Hillary was going to win, Florida would be treated as unimportant. That's exactly what happened. So I'm doubly glad I wrote about Hillary last night.

Where do I stand now? I was talking about Hillary on my first call to Elaine this evening. If I vote Democratic, I'm voting for Hillary. Barack's a liar and a phony.

Elaine was still working on her post for tonight but be sure to read it. It will be excellent.

Let's talk about Little Liar Amy Goodman. Today she noted Hillary's endorsement from Maxine Waters. In two sentences of the headlines. First she had to go on and on about Bambi's latest endorsement. But did you notice what she left out, the three Kennedys who endorsed Hillary.
Gee, I thought Robert Kennedy Jr. had been good to Amy's work. But apparently not good enough to get a mention. Or an interview on the show. Where's Sydney Blumenthal? Where's Maya Angelou? Where's Dolores Huerta? Where are any of the progressives supporting Hillary? Not on Amy Goodman's show.

She really insulted Florida today. She can't buck the national party, can she? She can't support Florida. "I was beaten in East Timor in the 90s!" Yeah and now you're just a tool. What's your point?

Am I supposed to be impressed with something that happened (maybe when I was 2 or something) and ignore the lies that are her daily show?

Pay attention to what makes it on air and what doesn't. And marvel that she poses as a journalist. An independent journalist would have told Eli Israel's story when he was resisting in Iraq. An independent journalist would have knocked herself out to interview him as soon as he got back to the US. Goodman didn't. She's so not brave.

As she globe hops, you start to catch on that she does that to avoid the realities in this country. We're never going to fix anything -- let alone end the illegal war -- if we're skipping over to Pakistan one day, Israel the next, Egypt right after . . .

Didn't you love her athlete today? She was going to where the 'silences are' . . . by going to a man who came to the US to advise Congress. You go, brave Amy, you go.

Why do we have so much poverty, so many foreclosures, so much money spent on the war machine and the Iraq War among other things? Because independent media is nothing but a distraction. It's not interested in fixing this country. It's interested in creating the world's most needy. As screwed up as America is now, it can't 'lead' and it can't 'fix' other countries. Only by fixing its own mess could it send a message to the world. But globe trotting allows Amy Goodman to pretend otherwise.

At least she's not the goofy ass John Nichols with his lovely blonde locks. He lies with a curl. And a head toss. :D I'm really getting why Elaine is so against supporting independent media now. They've done such a great job of proving they can't be trusted.

I don't obsess over the polling for races but I'll make an exception (read why after excerpt) to note this from US News & World Reports:

Mitt Romney and Sen. Hillary Clinton are the Odd Couple of next Tuesday's Massachusetts primary; although they hail from different sides of the political spectrum, they share a key political advantage in the state: their roots.
[. . .]
Not surprisingly, both Clinton and Romney now hold commanding leads in statewide polls ahead of the state's February 5 primary. One recent poll puts Clinton ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in Massachusetts by more than 30 points, 59 percent to 22 percent. The same poll shows Romney up on McCain, 50 percent to 29 percent.

A lot of people made themselves stupid (Katha Pollitt and John Nichols among them) with their Cindy-Can't-Win pieces. They're not from the Bay Area. C.I. is and knew better. By the same token, that's my state they're talking about. Those results aren't surprising. Bambi's not popular. Which is why it's surpising that both Ted Kennedy and John Kerry are endorsing Bambi. (Kerry's got a serious opponent on the GOP side, you may not know about that, he can run a real campaign and he may unseat Kerry, which is why Kerry needs to stop holding hands with Bambi and get serious about serving the state of Big Mass.)

If you're working class, you know Bambi's not and never was. You know he doesn't know the first thing about your life. If you're not for US troops contributing to violence in the Sudan, you're not for Bambi. People who apparently live in mini-Bambi communities always e-mail to say, "You're so hateful to Bambi!" I'm really not. If I ever transcribed the average conversation about Bambi on campus, at work, in my church, etc., you'd get how hated Bambi is.

He's a fake. That's why he's the perfect poster boy for indymedia, he's as fake as they are. I figured out, by the way, what Ava and C.I. didn't want to talk about until after Super Duper Tuesday. How Bambi's destroyed his own campaign. (They don't want to talk about it because they don't want to help his campaign. I'll stay silent for the same reason.) I was talking to some friends on campus today and it just hit me, just clicked. And I really think it's about to be Bye-bye Bambi.

This is an interesting AP article. Look What Bambi's Doing Now:

In his speech, Obama depicted Clinton as a calculating, poll-tested divisive figure who will only inspire greater partisan divisions as she sides with Republicans on issues such as trade, the role of lobbyists in politics and national security. At the same time, he elevated McCain, fresh off victory in Florida's crucial primary, as the likely Republican nominee.
In the AP interview, Clinton vowed to take the high road and warned that voters in the mega-primaries next week expect that.
"I'm going to continue to talk to people about what we need to do in our country to try to lift people up, to keep focused on the future to be very specific about what I want to do as president because I want to be held accountable," said Clinton.

Bambi's such trash. If you read on, remember what Betty said about Bambi Sunday, you'll learn Hillary's appearing in person at Atlanta churches. You'll learn Bambi did a 4-way phone call. He had to. Georgia's Black churches are in an uproar about the fact that he wasn't baptized. That's more harmful to him than anything else. There's nothing wrong with being a Muslim and no one would hold that against him if he was one. But to say you're a Christian really implies 'saved' in most religions (including his own) and he's like those people that show up every week at my church (I'm Catholic) but aren't members. It's like they don't want to admit it and go through the process to become part of the church.

C.I. mentions something in the snapshot and I left a message on Kat's cell (I try to rotate my calls). She just called me back and said the statement was dictated to C.I. without a link but C.I. says search "Florida Democrats" and I should find it somehwere on that web page. I did. I support Florida and Michigan (unlike independent media). I will stick up for the people (unlike independent media). This is "Amazing Night For Democrats Everywhere:"

No campaigns? No delegates? No problem. Florida Democrats prove America is ready for change
For Immediate Release: January 29, 2008
ORLANDO - Florida Democrats today surpassed the total combined vote in the first four "early states", topped the total population of New Hampshire, shattered the previous state record for turnout in a Democratic Presidential Primary, and even broke the previous record for turnout in ANY Democratic primary in Florida.
Incredibly, Democratic turnout has exceeded 1,708,489 voters with 97% of precincts reporting - only 195,074 less than Florida Republicans whose turnout was relatively dismal, considering five multi-million dollar GOP presidential campaigns were working the state for months. Republicans appear to have even failed to meet their own expected turnout, which was rumored to be between 2.2 and 2.5 million.
"Florida Democrats have spoken, and they are being heard loud and clear. More than one and a half million Democratic voters went to the polls and made a powerful collective statement,'" Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen L. Thurman said. "The nation's largest battleground state proved today that America wants change. Democrats clearly have the momentum in Florida and across this country. No matter the challenges we face, Florida Democrats will deliver for this country in November just like they did today. This is an incredible night for the people of Florida!"
Florida Democratic Presidential Preference Primary Turnout: 1,708,489
Population of New Hampshire according to 2007 US Census Projections: 1,315,828
1988 State of Florida record for Democratic Presidential Primary Turnout: 1,273,338
Combined 2008 turnout of the 4 early states (IA, NH, NV, SC) - 1,174,227 voters

Good for Florida Democrats. Even with the national party trying to trash and bully them, they didn't cave. They didn't buckle. It's a shame we have a PATHETIC independent media would couldn't stand up for them today or ever. (Wally, Cedric and C.I. stood up for them months ago. We did a piece at Third in December standing up for them.) This was a victory for democracy and for the people. It didn't matter who won, it mattered that the people of Florida refused to be intimidated. Come 2012, Iowa and New Hampshire better not be going first. We all better rise up and say, "NOT AGAIN! NEVER!"

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Wednesday, January 30, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Ralph Nader gears up to run for the presidency while John Edwards drops out, Little Media stomps its tiny feet over the Florida Democratic primary, Bully Boy says "Can too!" to permanent bases in Iraq, attacks on the press, educators and officials continue, and more.

Starting with war resistance. Brad McCall self-checkout of the US military and went to Canada. His first attempt to get into Canada last fall found him stopped at the border, questioned about being in the military and then detained. On his second attempt, he made it into the country. He is now attempting to receive safe harbor. Earlier this month, at his website, he addressed those making threatening comments:

First off, to address these threats, I openly invite you to make an attempt at hogtying me and dumping me at the US border, for you will, my dear friend, not succeed in this attempt.
Nextly, in defense of myself: I am a deserter. I willingly admit this. I am fighting for my beliefs. I will not back down. You ask why I do not just serve my time in Ft. Leavenworth? Well, friends, I know, as well as you do that if I subjected myself to that punishment, I would be completely ineffective in fighting for the cause of the anti-war movement. So, I will fight going to prison as long as I can. I have a voice, and I will be heard.

You can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'."

Staying in the US, Charlie Savage (Boston Globe) reports, "President Bush this week declared that he has the power to bypass four laws, including a prohibition against using federal funds to establish permanent US military bases in Iraq, that Congress passed as part of a new defense bill. Bush made the assertion in a signing statement that he issued late Monday after signing the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008. In the signing statement, Bush asserted that four sections of the bill unconstitutionally infringe on his powers, and so the executive branch is not bound to obey them." Elana Schor (Guardian of London) notes, "Bush's attempt this week to sidestep the permanent bases law, which aims to stop him from creating an indefinite US military presence in Iraq, may become as controversial as the signing statement sidestepping the torture ban. Such bases are broadly unpopular with Iraqis, who have voiced fears of an ongoing US occupation, and Bush's political opponents are suspicious of the administration's intentions along similar lines. Defence secretary Robert Gates this week continued the Bush administration's serial denials of any plans to build permanent bases." As Dan Froomkin (Washington Post) observes, "The overall message to Congress was clear: I'm not bound by your laws." The New York Times editorial board notes that Bully Boy's rejected a commission authorized by Congress to determine waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as this, "It's glaringly obvious why Mr. Bush rejected the fourth provision, which states that none of the money authorized for military purposes may be used to establish permanent military bases in Iraq. It is more evidence, as if any were needed, that Mr. Bush never intended to end this war, and that he still views is as the prelude to an unceasing American military presence in Iraq."

Moving to England. In the September 14, 2007 snapshot, noted the UK's Opinion Research Business' study of Iraqi deaths which found that "the 1.2 million figure was reasonable." Today the ORB announces that they've gone over the "earlier work" and that over one million Iraqis have died since the start of the illegal war and, allowing for the margin of error, note "the estimated range is between 946,000 and 1,120,000." In a press release, they note, "Detailed analysis (which is available on our website) indicates that over two-fifths of households in Baghdad have lost a family member, higher than in any other area of the country. Meanwhile among those willing to declare their doctrine (and for quite obvious reasons about half those interviewed prefer to simply describe themselves as Muslims) those from Sunni households (33%) were significantly more likely to say the conflict had claimed a household member. The respective figure for Shias being half that figure (16%)."

Leila Fadel and Hassan al Jubouri (McClatchy Newspapers) report on the discovery of nine headless corpses yesterday, "The nine, including three women, had been targeted because they were suspected of being part of a local awakening council, or concerned local citizens group, that was working with U.S. troops to fight al Qaida in Iraq, said a police officer involved in the investigation. The officer said the nine headless bodies were found with two DVDs showing one of the dead men confessing that he was a member of an awakening council and another man refusing to confess." The 'Awakening' Council are thugs put on the US dime to become collaborators and whose 'loyalities' can not be bought. The arming of the Sunni thugs has alarmed many but especially the Shi'ite thugs the US previously put in charge. Actual Iraqis will not be allowed to rule their country as long as the US continues the illegal war and occupation. In Baghdad, Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reports, the US military intends to "increase the number of garrisons in the city from 75 to 99 by June".


Meanwhile, Reuters reports today that Aala Abdul-Kareem was shot dead outside of Balad last night and that the journalists working for al-Furat TV (Shi'ite TV channel) was 29-years-old and the father of two children. CBS and AP add that a "female correspondent and camera assistant were wounded from the roadside bombing." Reporters Without Borders identifies Fatima Al-Hassina as the correspondent and Haidar Kadhem as the assistant while also noting "two Dajla TV crews were roughed up by police yesterday in Diyala province, northeast of the capital" -- "Reporter Khaled Saleh and cameraen Laith Hamid of the Egypt-based satellite TV station Dala were physically attacked yesterday by a senior police officer in Baquba, the capital of Diayla province . . . while covering a conference on national reconciliation at the prefecture's headquarters. The police officer did not want them to attend. The Journlistic Freedoms Observatory reported that another Dajla crew, cameraman Adnan Khader and reporter Sawssan Al-Dulaymi, were beaten and briefly detained by police officers in Baladruz . . . for filming police trying to get fuel from a service station without waiting in line."

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing that claimed the life 1 police officer and left four more wounded, two people wounded by another Baghdad bombing, five security members injured by two bombings "underneath Ghadeer bridge," a Baghdad mortar attack wounded three people and, dropping back to yesterday, an Anbar car bombing that claimed the life of 1 member of an "Awakening" Council and left three more wounded.

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, in the continued targeting of academics, Dr. Khaleel Ibraheem ("head of Sharia in the college of the Islamic sciences in Mosul University") was shot dead along with "one of his students" in Mosul and a home invasion in Diyala Province that resulted in the death of one man and wounded his daughter and two sons. In the continued attacks on officials, KUNA reports, "A district governor was wounded Wednesday in an armed attack in southern Kirkuk, at a time when authorities worked out a security plan to prevent the influx of armed groups from neighboring Mosul. A police source told KUNA that armed men opened fire at the convoy of Taleb Mohammad Mustafa, the governor of Salman Bek district, southern Kirkuk, seriously wounding him and his driver."

Kidnappings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 people were kidnapped in Diyala Province today.

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes, "The beheaded bodies of two brothers were found in the town of Tuz Khurmato . . . They had been kidnapped by gunmen a week ago." KUNA reports 2 "human heads" found in Kirkuk today.

Turning to US politics and the coverage of them. As Mike predicted last night, Amy Goodman would get creative with Florida's Democratic Party. She did so today. "Uncontested," crowed Obama supporter Amy Goodman of the primary yesterday. Others rushed to add more spin. Florida voters spoke. For those who have forgotten it, post-2000 elections, well into 2004, Little Media couldn't shut up about the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election. Then, you understand, people mattered. Their voices mattered. But today? They don't matter. Today all Little Media's railing against the electoral college and pretending to give a damn about the direct vote, the voice of the people is revealed as ONE BIG FRAUD. Liars. That is the word. John Nichols lied yesterday -- as Rebecca pointed out at last night -- and his lie that appeared at The Nation yesterday is all over today including at TPM Cafe "wwjb" embarrasses him or her self by citing Nichols' false claim: "On Sunday, she flew to Florida, violating the pledge all the major Democratic contenders has made to avoid campainging in the state that scheduled its primary earlier than was allowed by the Democratic National Convention." In fairness to "wwjb," prior to this election, Nichols was someone you could take on face value. However, like so many in allegedly 'independent' media, he's disgraced himself and the stain on his name will endured long after the Democratic primary and long after the 2008 elections. You can't just lie and get away with it. If follows you forever and a journalist -- even a columnist -- is not allowed to do that. Reality noted by CNN yesterday, "Clinton attended permitted fund-raisers in Florida on Sunday and planned to appear with supporters there after polls closed." In addition, Obama ran commercials in Florida (he claims it being a "national buy" allows him an exception but the DNC has said no). Nichols leaves out that, he leaves out the Clinton was a fundraiser which is allowed and he left out the fact that Bambi's been in and out of Florida for fundraiser and, in fact, broke a rule in September while in Florida. Via TaylorMarsh.com, William March and Elaine Silverstrini (The Tampa Tribune) reported that following a Tampa fundraiser, Obama met with the press to take questions: "The pledge covers anything referred to in Democratic National Committee rules as 'campaigning,' and those include 'holding news conferences.' Obama seemed unaware the pledge he signed prohibits news conferences. Asked whether he was violating it, he said, 'I was just doing you guys a favor." The same article notes that Obama pledged at the fundraiser -- regarding the delegates the DNC is threatening to strip Florida of -- to "do what's right by Florida voters."
To recap, Clinton attended a permitted fundraiser as Bambi has done. Unlike Bambi, Clinton did not hold a press briefing.

Another lie being tossed around is that Hillary won Florida on her name. As if Bambi hasn't been dubbed a 'rock star' for how many years now? As if the people in Florida don't have TVs or newspapers. Florida's actually more of an indication than any other primary thus far. Most states do not get endless face time with the candidates. (Which is why Michigan and Florida moved up their primary dates. They were tired of it. They should be tired of it. There's no reason in the world that each presidential election cycle must revolve around what Iowa and New Hampshire want.) Senator and failed 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry was too busy to step into most states. In Texas, he dispatched Teresa Heinz Kerry to represent the campaign's attempt to reach the 'common' voter -- and at a hundred dollars a plate for the Dallas lunch, what could be more 'common'? (I'm speaking of the primary. In the general election, Heinz-Kerry was dispatched to other areas of Texas and was a stronger candidate than her husband.) We could go state by state but community members in Texas and Hawaii are the most vocal (and have been from the start) about the nonsense of a primary system that always relegates them as unimportant. Most primary voters will be deciding on factors that do not include hearing the candidate speak or endless face time.

Democratic voters in Florida made their decision and it was Hillary Clinton. It is a huge disservice to them to imply that they do not matter. Of course they matter. People turned out in huge numbers to vote. They voted their choice and the fact that 'independent' media doesn't like the choice shouldn't result in the dismissal of what happened: Hillary won Florida because the people there picked her. CNN notes, "Clinton led strongly among women, who made up nearly 60 percent of turnout. . . . Clinton also led among men in general, but by a much narrower margin -- 43 percent to 38 percent for Obama. She's also led strongly among Latino voters, who made up 12 percent of Tuesday's voters." We're seeing the same petulance we usually see from Bambi -- he's dismissed it as a "beauty contest" -- which would make him the "ugly girl"? It's certainly "ugly" for Obama to dismiss the people of Florida and their choice in that manner. It's flat out rude. Florida Democrats issued this statement: "Florida Democrats today surpassed the total combined vote in the first four 'early states', topped the total population of New Hampshire, shattered the previous state record for turnout in a Democratic Presidential Primary, and even broke the previous record for turnout in ANY Democratic primay in Florida. Incredibly, Democratic turnout has exceeded 1,708,489 voters with 97% of precints reporting -- only 195,074 less than Florida Republicans whose turnout was relatively dismal, considering five multi-million dollar GOP presidential campaigns were working the state for months. Republicans appear to have even failed to meet their own expected turnout, which was rumored to be between 2.2 and 2.5 million." Florida's Democratic Party Chair Karen L. Thurman is quoted stating, "Florida Demorats have spoken, and they are being heard loud and clear. More than one and a half million Democratic voters went to the polls and made a powerful collective statement. The nation's largest battleground state proved today that America wants change. Democrats clearly have the momentum in Florida and across this country. No matter the challenges we face, Florida Democrats will deliver for this country in November just like they did today. This is an incredible night for the people of Florida!"

Indeed it is. Little Media talks a bunch of crap -- they're demonstrated it's just crap -- about how people matter. They gas bagged about the electoral college after the 2000 elections. Reality appears to be they don't give a damn about the public. They don't care that Florida set a new record for turnout in a Democratic primary. They don't care that more people voted in the Democratic primary yesterday than took part in the Democratic primaries or caucuses in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina combined. All four put together did not even meet the turnout in Florida. Over 500,000 more Democrats in Florida voted yesterday than in all the four states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina) combined. Don't dismiss this, don't dismiss this many people.

It's not politically smart to do so. For one thing, Florida has too many electoral votes. But forget 'strategy,' it's just not fair. And Little Media needs to get their act together and accept the fact that the candidate they've stroked and fondeled and attempted to cram down everyone's throats isn't that well received and may -- The Nation shudders! -- not get the nomination. Too damn bad. Get over it. You're allegedly "journalists" and you're supposedly concerned with the "people." But not one of you did one damn thing to stand up for Michigan or Florida. Diane Rehm did. (In this communtiy, all sites supported those voters.) The DNC said no -- the national committee -- and tried to bully the states. You who preach of bottom-up power didn't rush to defend the people. You've disgraced yourselves -- all of you. Amy Goodman, John Nichols, Katrina vanden Heuvel, go down the list. People needed you (in this country -- maybe that's why you didn't give a damn?) and you ignored them. Don't pretend otherwise. You refused to buck the system. You embarrassed yourselves and you exposed yourselves.

Now your candidate of choice didn't win and it's time to act like Florida didn't matter. 1,708,489 people matter. They damn well matter. They're more important than a single candidate and they are damn well more important than independent media which stamps it's feet like the White House upset over Hamas' victory and the MSM that echoed that anger. If I go further, Jim will hit the roof because we're addressing the slams and slurs of the people -- of we the people -- by 'independent' media over and over during this campaign.

This is a big issue and it's always a been a HUGE issue to this community. Long before a book was written exploding myths (that the author repeated in a bad column about Montana), we addressed this topic in November 2004 (click here, here, here and here). This isn't a new issue to the community and no one mistakes it for being "about Hillary." It's about the people and independent media makes it clear that they don't care about the people -- especially when the people don't take their marching orders from independent media. They've had a non-stop hissy fit. Now they want to turn on the Democrats of Florida -- the ones they couldn't support when they needed support. We don't play that game here. But all independent media has offered is a bunch of games. Take Mitch Perry -- allegedly reporting for Free Speech Radio News yesterday -- providing a quote from the Bambi campaign but none from the Hillary campaign. Liar Patrick Cannon whines, "Since Barack did not campaign here in Florida he is at an extreme disadvantage." What a lie. He held a press conference -- in violation of the rules -- in Tampa in September and he read ads. That's a campaign. He's the only candidate who did that. Not only does 'reporter' Perry allow that lie to get repeated, Perry couldn't be bothered with the Clinton or Edwards camp. When your goal is not reporting or free speech or people power, you LIE and then you LIE some more. And 'independent' media has truly shown its ass. Ron Fournier (AP) tried explaining reality in October of last year noting, "The truth is that while Obama showed foreign policy savvy and an ability to keenly analyze both sides of an issue in his October 2202 warnings on Iraq, the political upside of his position rivaled any risk. And, once elected to the U.S. Senate two years later, Obama waited months to show national leadership on iraq. Even now, as he hopes to ride his anti-war credentials to the White House, Obama's views on how to end the conflict differ little from those of Democratic rivals who voted in the fall of 2002 to give President Bush authority to wage war." But reality is to be attacked by Little Media -- attacked, ignored and distorted -- because they don't appear to practice journalism.

Mike Gravel remains in the Democratic race though some pretend otherwise. John Edwards dropped out today (here for CBS and AP story which is text and video). Neither Hillary or Bambi could pledge to end the illegal war by 2013 if elected president (nor did Edwards agree to make that pledge). That's reality. If Hillary gets the nomination, having slimed her so, it would be a lot harder for 'independent' media to abandon the illegal war as they did in 2004 to pimp a Democratic presidential campaign. It's getting harder and harder for the Bambi groupies to promote Barack as a candidate who will end the illegal war (hence the need for all those attacks on Hillary by 'independent' media) and, as Chris Fusco and Tim Novak (Chicago Sun Times) point out, Bambi announced last night he was giving away $72,650 to make up for the equivalent of donations from federally indicted Tony Rezko. That brings the current total of monies connected to Rezko that Bambi's 'given away' to $157,385. "Given away"? Obama already ran on that money many times over.

July tenth through thirteenth is when the Green Party will be holding their National Nominating Convention in Chicago. Click here for the Green Party News Center, here for a database of Green candidates, here for video of the Green presidential candidates and of course, if it's Green news, Kimberly Wilder (On The Wilder Side) is probably posting about it. The Green Party has scheduled another presidential candidate forum for February 2nd at Busboys & Poets in DC (14th and V Streets) at ten in the morning -- Jesse Johnson and Kent Mesplay are confirmed to appear others may or may not. More info click here. Yesterday on KPFK's Uprising Radio, Sonali Kolhatkar spoke with Daniel Brezenoff of the Green Party about the Green Party's press statement regarding those selling out the illegal war and offering a strong critique of the Democratic candidates. "I think people, American voters, want to get out of Iraq. We've been trained to have very little faith and to kind of settle for these people in their suits and ties who are going to continue things as they are."

This as Kimberly Wilder (On the Wilder Side) reports, "Ralph Nader in. Ralph Nader announced his presidential exploratory committee." At the site, Peter Miguel Camejo, Matt Gonzalez, Theresa Amato, Jason Kafoury, Sally Soriano, Matthew Zawisky, Nate Coppernoll, Julie Coyle and Carl Mayer have posted a statement: "Maybe the Democrats and Republicans who will nominate Presidential candidates this year who will stand up against the war profiteers, the nuclear industry, the credit card industry, the corporate criminals, big oil, and the drug and health insurance industries. We doubt it. But hope springs eternal. In the meantime, take a few minutes and explore with us an idea. The idea is this -- 1,000 citizens in every Congressional district. Each and every one committed to challenging the corporate powers that have a hammerlock on our political and economic systems. Organized citizen power facing off against corporate power. In this election year -- 2008. Instead of spending this election year sitting back and watching the corporate candidates spin their vapid mantras -- hope, experience, change. Instead of spending the year complaining about inertia, exhaustion, and apathy. Let us instead weigh the possibility of pulling together half a million dedicated citizens collectively rising up off our couches and organizing a ground force in every Congressional district in the country. A ground force of citizens who are informed, committed, tenacious advocates for a just future." Rick Klein (ABC News) reports that Nader says "that he will launch another presidential bid if he's convinced he can raise enough money to appear on the vast majority of state ballots this fall. Nader, who ran as an independent candidate in each of the past three presidential elections, told ABCNews.com that he will run in 2008 if he is convinced over the next month that he would be able to raise $10 million over the course of the campaign -- and attract enough lawyers willing to work free of charge to get his name on state ballots. Nader said he filed papers with the Federal Election Commission and launched a Web sites after Dennis Kucinich, a liberal Ohio congressman, announced his decision to withdraw from the presidential race last week." CNN quotes him stating, "John Edwards, the banner of Democratic Party populism, is dropping out, and Dennis Kucinich dropped out earlier, so in terms of voters who are at least interested in having major areas of injustice, depravations, and solutions discussed in a presidential campaign, they might be interested in my exploratory effort."

Cynthia McKinney declared her intent to run for the Green Party presidential nomination last year. Rob Redding Jr. (The Washington Continent) observes, "She is sharp on the issues and brings Greens a candidate with a proven policy track record, based on the fact she has served in Congress. Because of her congressional record and unique issue selection -- one of her favorite subjects is COINTELPRO -- she just may be able to pull many blacks of the Democratic party plantation." Author, poet, activist and Death Row prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal has endorsed McKinney (audio link).




















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