Friday, February 22, 2008

Zogby wants to know if America's racist

Friday! The weekend at last. First up, Zogby -- the pretend pollster -- wants to know if you are a racist.

What state do you live in?


State Select from list Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington DC West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Outside the U.S. Don't Know Refused Not applicable


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Are you registered to vote in the United States?


Yes
No
Not Sure


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How likely are you to vote in national elections?


Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not likely
Not sure


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In the 2004 presidential election, the candidates were Democrat John Kerry, Republican George W. Bush, and independent Ralph Nader. For whom did you vote?


Kerry
Bush
Nader
Someone else
Not sure


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In which party are you either registered to vote or do you consider yourself to be a member of ...?


Democratic
Republican
Independent
Libertarian
Constitution
Green
Natural Law
Reform
Other
Not sure


. . 7% complete

What are the major areas of concern for African-Americans today?


Education
Finances
Professional opportunities
Housing
Healthcare
Other
Don't know/Not sure


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What is the main reason African-Americans struggle to embrace the opportunities available to other races?


Suffering with racial discrimination
Failing to take responsibility of their own destiny
Still playing catch-up after years of oppression
African Americans are not behind or ahead
Other
Don't know/Not sure


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What are the major areas of discrimination facing African-Americans today?


Access to education and learning
Financial opportunities
Professional opportunities
Housing availability
Healthcare
Consumer experiences
Other
Don't know/Not sure


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Please respond yes or no to the following questions.


Yes No Don't know/Not sure
Do you have confidence in law enforcement?
Are you personally concerned that excessive force could be used by law enforcement?
Do you think law enforcement treats all people equally?
In states where capital punishment is legal, do you think it is applied fairly across the state?
Do you think African-Americans have equal educational opportunities?
Do you think African-Americans have equal financial opportunities?
Do you think African-Americans have equal professional opportunities?
Do you think African-Americans have equal access to housing opportunities?
Do you think African-Americans have equal access to healthcare?
Do you think African-Americans are treated equally by retail and restaurant service workers?


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In what areas do you think African-Americans have made the most progress?


Access to education and learning
Financial opportunities
Professional opportunities
Housing availability
Healthcare
Consumer experiences
Other
Don't know/Not sure


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In what areas do you think African-Americans have made the least progress?


Professional opportunities
Housing availability
Healthcare
Consumer experiences
Access to education and learning
Financial opportunities
Other
Don't know/Not sure


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Thinking about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, how close are we to fulfilling the dream?


The dream is reality
We are close, but not yet there
We are about half-way there
We have just begun
We are nowhere close to the dream
Other
Don't know/Not sure


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Again please respond yes or no to the following questions.


Yes No Don't know/Not sure
Are African-Americans better off in 2008 than they were in 1968?
Do you have African-American friends or social acquaintances?
Do you have Caucasian friends or social acquaintances?
Do you think race relations are more unified in 2008 than they were in 1968?
Do you think it will take a cooperative effort from all races to fulfill Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream?


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How important is your racial heritage in defining you as a person - very important, somewhat important, or not at all important?


Very important
Somewhat important
Not at all important
Not sure


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To the best of your knowledge, have you ever experienced any discrimination because of your racial heritage?


Yes
No
Not sure


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Imagine that you are with a group of co-workers when one of your co-workers makes a joke that you consider racially offensive. Would you go along and say nothing, , excuse yourself from the conversation, confront the person immediately and tell them that the joke was inappropriate, or confront the person later in private?


Go along and say nothing
Excuse yourself from the conversation
Confront the person immediately
Confront the person later
Not Sure


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At what age is it appropriate to begin educating children about the difficult episodes of black history, such as slavery and the social injustices?


Infant, 0-1
Toddler, 2-4
School age, 5-10
Depends, based on the maturity level or interest of the child
Never, leave the past in the past
Not sure


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Who should have the most responsibility to educate children about the difficult episodes of black history, such as slavery and the social injustices?


Media outlets like television, radio and the Internet
Schools and educators
Church and religious advisors/counselors
Friends
Family and parents
Not sure


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Do you think the overall teaching about black history is:


Not perfect, but a good effort
Balanced, a good assortment of both the difficulties and the triumphs
Largely negative, focusing on the difficulties
Largely positive, focusing on the triumphs
Not sure


. . 30% complete



Now a few questions about cars and driving.

Do you have a valid drivers license?


Yes
No
Not sure


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Do you currently own or lease an automobile?


Yes
No
Not sure


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For each of following, please rate if you think the quality of the automobile brand is poor, fair, good or excellent.


Poor Fair Good Excellent Not familiar Not sure
Chevrolet (Cars)
Chevrolet (Trucks and SUVs)
Dodge (Cars)
Dodge (Trucks and SUVs)
Honda
Kia
Jeep
Toyota


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Now some questions about media and journalism.

How satisfied are you with the quality of journalism in your community?


Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
Not sure


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Which of the following is your most trusted source for news and information in your community?


Newspaper
Television
Radio
Magazine
Internet sites
Blogs
Friends/neighbors
Religious groups you belong to
Groups other than religious
Other
I don't pay attention to news
Not sure


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Where do you get most of your news and information?
(Choose only ONE.)


Newspaper
Television
Radio
Magazine
Internet sites
Blogs
Friends/neighbors
Religious groups you belong to
Groups other than religious
Other
I don't pay attention to news
Not sure


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How important is journalism to the quality of life in your community?


Very important
Somewhat important
Not very important
Not at all important
Not sure


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Overall, how optimistic are you about the future of journalism?


Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
Not sure


. . 42% complete

For the following, please indicate how important each of the following are to you as a source of news and information - very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important.


Very important Somewhat important Not very important Not at all important Not sure
Newspapers
Television
Radio
Magazines
Web sites
Blogs
Friends and neighbors


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Now, for the following, please indicate how important each are to the future of journalism - very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important?


Very important Somewhat important Not very important Not at all important Not sure
Social Networking
Blogging
Corporate blogging
Trust
Search
Professional Journalism
Citizen Journalism


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What do you think has been the impact of the Internet on the overall quality of journalism?


Very positive
Somewhat positive
Somewhat negative
Very negative
Not sure


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Who do you regard as the most trusted news organization?

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In general, do you think that traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news?


Yes
No
Not sure


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Do you believe that Americans are more or less informed than they were 10 years ago?


More
Less
About the same
Not sure

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When thinking about media companies, do you believe they are becoming. . .?


Too large and powerful to allow for competition, like monopolies
The right size to adequately compete
Too small to provide the range of services necessary to remain competitive
Not sure


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Which of the following poses the greatest opportunity to the future of professional journalism?


Rise of free-internet based media
Media mergers-conglomeration
Blogs/citizen journalists
Online advertising
Other
Not sure


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In general, do you think that traditional journalism provides news in ways consumers want to read and see it?


Yes
No
Not sure


. . 57% complete

Now, some demographic questions.

What is your age?


Age Select from list 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 Refused


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Which of the following best describes your occupation?


Managerial
Medical
Professional/Technical
Sales
Clerical
Service
Blue-Collar/Production
Student
Homemaker
Teacher/education
Retired
Military
Not sure
Other-Specify
Refused


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Which of the following best describes your highest level of education?


Less than high school graduate
High school graduate
Some college
College graduate+
Refused


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Which of the following best represents your race or ethnic group?


White
African American
Asian/Pacific
Arab American
Other-Specify
Refused


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Do you consider yourself Hispanic or Latino?


Yes
No
Not sure


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Which of the following best represents where you live?


Large city (100,000 or more residents)
Small city (less than 100,000 residents)
Suburbs
Rural area
Not sure
Refused


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Which description best represents your political ideology?


Progressive/very liberal
Liberal
Moderate
Conservative
Very conservative
Libertarian
Not sure
Refused


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Which of the following best represents your religious affiliation?


Roman Catholic
Protestant/other non-denominational Christian
Jewish
Muslim
Mormon
Atheist/realist/humanist
No affiliation
Other-Specify
Refused


. . 73% complete

Are you or is anyone in your household a member of a union?


Yes
No
Not sure
Refused


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Are you a parent or guardian of a child under 17 who is living at home?


Yes
No
Refused


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Which of the following best describes your marital status?


Married
Single, never married
Divorced/widowed/separated
Civil union/domestic partnership
Not sure
Refused


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Do you consider yourself to be mostly a resident of: your city or town, America, or the planet earth?


My city or town
America
The planet earth
Not sure/refused


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Are you or is any member of your family a member of the Armed Forces or a veteran of the Armed Forces?


Yes
No
Not sure
Refused


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Do you consider yourself a NASCAR fan?


Yes
No
Not sure
Refused


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How often do you attend church, mosque, synagogue or other place of worship?


More than once a week
About once a week
Once or twice a month
Only on religious holidays
Rarely
Never
Not sure
Refused


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Would you consider yourself to be a member of the "investor class?"


Yes
No
Not sure
Refused


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Are you currently or have you ever been a member of the National Rifle Association?


Currently a member of the NRA
Used to be a member of the NRA
Have never been a member of the NRA
Not sure (Do not read)


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Are you a gun owner? If not, were you ever a gun owner?


Current gun owner
Used to be a gun owner
Have never been a gun owner
Not sure (Do not read)


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How often do you shop at Wal-Mart?


Every week
A few times a month
A couple times a year
Never
Other
Not sure


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Do you currently have a valid passport?


Yes
No
Not sure


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Which of the following best represents your household income last year before taxes?


Less than $25,000
$25,000-34,999
$35,000-49,999
$50,000-74,999
$75,000-$99,999
$100,000 or more
Refused


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Are you male or female.


Male
Female
Refused


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Thinking about the last six months, have you conducted research via the internet to locate a local financial planner?


Yes
No
Not sure

Consider that poll another piece of puff from Zogby. And note that this is their new poll. Note that they e-mail it out (as well as phone on it). Zogby polling isn't accurate. He was wrong on Kerry's win. Why? Because people signed up for the polls. They signed up to do the e-mail poll that's included in the real poll. Zogby isn't using a 'random sample.' He's using people who signed up for his e-mail polls and hopefully a random sample on phone. C.I. doesn't take Zogby polls but, C.I. will tell you, they're in some account. Why? Because everyone for Kerry signed up for them in 2004. That's why the polling was off. That's why the polling is still off.

A poll only works in a random sample. Zogby is wrong because it's not a random sample. The phone may be, but the e-mails are people who signed up to take them. It is a large number and they control the polling, they shift it to one side.

C.I.'s explained that before. But I'm doing it in the simplest terms so hopefully it will soak in to those still citing Zogby as a trusted polling source. It's not a real poll. It's got a built-in bias by not being truly random.

Amy Goodman pimped hard for Sammy Power today at the end of Democracy Now! As C.I. can tell you, after the show, you heard why. Amy Goodman declared that Sammy Power would probably be the next Secretary of State if Obama was elected. So there was 'independent' Amy Goodman, there was 'we shouldn't get close to the powerful' Amy Goodman pimping whatever is left of her tattered reputation for who she thinks is going to be the next Secretary of State.

Samantha Power, Our Modern Day Carrie Nation, wants war on Darfur. She's preached that for years. She's upset NGOs on the ground in Darfur. She's and her ilk have repeatedly destroyed the peace process in Darfur. Sammy Power is a War Hawk and a liar.


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

Friday, February 22, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Turkey has invaded northern Iraq, and more.

Starting with war resistance. Courage to Resist interviews 24-year-old marine reservist Matt Mishler who has applied for CO (conscientious objector) status. Mishler had a religious awakening and is against wars now. He cites the Sermon on the Mount in explaining how he realized he was a CO: "I don't see serving my God --as doing God's word -- as . . . picking up a rifle and slinging it over my shoulder and walking through Iraq or Afghanistan and shooting other people with rifles and guns that are there." He explains that his beliefs mean he will go to jail before he will deploy. "If they tell me I'm not a conscientious objector it does not make me not a conscientious objector in my mind because that's a decision you make deep down inside yourself. It's not a decision that's up to someone else outside of you. It is a decision that you have to make and believe for yourself. And if you believe in it strong enough and if that is truly your beliefs than just by someone telling you that you're not a conscientious objector does not make you a conscientious objector."

Also interviewed is war resister Robin Long who went to Canada to seek aslyum. "I have no second thoughts at all. This is totally better than having to go to that war torn country and participate in the indiscriminate killing of the Arab people. It saddens me how so many people have been snowballed by it. They just . . . They don't, they don't realize that these people have brothers, they have sisters, they have kids, they have mothers and fathers just like us. And . . . I wouldn't have it any other way. This is -- I made the best decision, I know that. And regardless of what hardships I go through I could have easily put a family or someone else in that country through way more hardships. So I have no regrets." We'll note more from the interview next week but Long, like the other war resisters in Canada, was dealt a set-back when the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, 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 action:
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. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."

Son of gun. Cue the double pianos from Carly Simon's "You're So Vain." "Awakening" Councils are no more. The official US term now is "Sons Of Iraq." That was made clear in Col. Tom James' press briefing (via videolink) today at the Pentagon where he repeatedly used the terms "Sons Of Iraq" and "SOIs" repatedly. As to the "DOIs" -- or "Daughters Of Iraq" -- like every other Iraqi woman, they are ignored by the US. When asked about the continued reluctance of the central, puppet government in Baghdad to deal with the "Sons Of Iraq," James explaing the he is "dealing with the SOI program. We have just under 8,000" and he refers ("screened") them to "the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces . . . for potential employment". So, in other words, the puppet government doesn't want them but the US is adament about forcing them to take them. James claims 'progress' and "positive momentum" on that front. Whether or not the Iraqi government would at some point pay the SOIs is side-stepped by James who only acknowled "that we have paid" their salaries why swearing that that the US would soon "transition them to government institutions".

Meanwhile, Camilla Hall (Bloomberg News) reports Moqtada al-Sadr has extended the truce/cease-fire for another six months today (taking it through August 15th). At his briefing today, James was very 'up' on this news, stating it was "very positive to the security situation. . . this is a very positive situation because al-Sadr understands that a peace and establishing peace in the future is the way to success in Iraq, not violence. And with the senior position that he holds, that will influence an enormous amount of the Shi'a population in AO Vanguard, and we see that as a being a very positive step in securing the security situation that we have now so that we can continue to exploit other things." "Exploit" may be the key word there from the US military's view. But there's also reality. Alexandra Zavis and Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) note, "But in recent days, Sadr's followers, including loyalists in the national Parliament, have complained that their foes have used the cease-fire to try to crush his movement politically and militarily. Until the last minute, they had held out the possibility that Sadr might order his militia back into action." So the real issue isn't al-Sadr now. Having agreed to an extension, he is now out of the picture. He is also out of Baghdad and whether or not the Mahdi Army will continue to listen to him from out of town, while he labors away as a hotel clerk and busies himself with studies, is the real issue at this point. The anger and resentment that has been breeding in the Sadr City section of Baghdad has been doing so without al-Sadr's oversight. How much pull he will have, how much control, is in doubt. Residents of Sadr City have complained of mistreatment and abuses (including raids) throughout the truce/cease-fire and many noises were made by "aides" and "loyalists" throughout (made publicly to the press) that there was no way al-Sadr would renew the truce/cease-fire. He has now done that and how much weight he will have now as someone not living in Sadr City is up in the air. Deborah Haynes (Times of London) reports that his supporters are in the "thousands" and can al-Sadr control "thousands" via communiques he has delivered to mosques? Is he the remote-control leader? Haynes quotes Abu Zahra'a al-Saadi complaining of the cease-fire, "We decided on peace and they decided to put us in jail." "They" refers to "US and Iraqi forces". Despite the reports of al-Sadr being in Najaf (and working a hotel there), AFP notes, "Sadr did not appear publicly at Friday prayers" in Sadr City "and it is not clear where he is now based. Some reports have suggested that he has crossed the border into Iraq's neighbour Iran, but his group would not confirm this." AFP further notes that his announcement "was not universally welcomed by Sadr's supporters" and that goes to the issue that they're living in Sadr City and he isn't. Is he really going to be able to control the area from outside of it? Will a new leader emerge? Will it faction off instead with some following his latest decree and others ignoring it? Those are valid options under any study of resistance or rebellion. Mark Kukis (Time magazine) offers another, "Sadr could just as easily be simply biding his time until surge troops leave in July." At the White House today, flack Scott Stanzel held a press gaggle and declared of the cease-fire/truce, "We welcome any move that forswears violence and encourages peaceful participation. To the extent the announcement today serves to further isolate the groups that are engaging in violence, and to the extent that it helps enhance our intelligence to root out those groups, it's a positive development."

Of greater interest from that press gaggle may be Stanzel's announcement that the US was in 'the loop' of the Turkish military's latest bombings and attacks on the northern region of Iraq. Stanzeld explained, with little prompting other than being asked for his "reaction" to Turkish forces on the ground in Iraq, "Well, as you know, there's an ongoing dialogue between Iraqis and leaders in Turkey about how to best confront the threat of the PKK. We've worked cooperatively with both of our allies on these issues, and worked to make sure that there's regular coordination about how to best confront this threat. So this is something that we were aware of in advance. And as you know, the US agrees with Tukrey that the PKK is a terrorist organization and it is an enemy of Turkey, Iraq, and the United States. And we have demanded that the PKK end their attacks on Turkish soldiers and civilians." Stanzel noted that Turkey was "a NATO ally" which means "we have a longstanding intelligence sharing relationship with Turkey. That was intensified with respect to the PKK as indicated during the meetings between Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip]Erdogan and President Bush." Stanzel further stated that the US government had "urged" that the scope of the invasion be "limit[ed] to precise targetinf ot he PKK" and that the central government in Baghdad was in the loop on the upcoming attack as well.

The invasion and/or attack is described by Leila Fadel and Yassen Taha (McClatchy Newspapers): "Iraqi Kurdish troops on Thursday encircled Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq and threatened to open fire in the most serious standoff between the two nation's forces since Turkey threatened late last year to go after guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers Party sheltering in Iraq. The standoff began when Turkish troops in tanks and armored vehicles left one of five bases they've had in Iraq since 1997 and moved to control two main roads in Dohuk province, Iraqi officials said. Kurdish soldiers from the peshmerga militia, which is loyal to the Kurdish Regional Government, moved to stop them. For an hour and a half, the two sides faced off before the Turkish soldiers retreated to their base, which is about 27 miles northeast of the city of Dohuk." Apparently the White House forgot to inform the puppet government in Baghdad that the cover story was "We were all told this was coming" because AFP has puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki phoning "Erdogan after the latest incursion was launched to urge him of 'the need to respect Iraq soveriegn authority." Steve Negus and Daniel Dombey (Financial Times of London) observe, "An incursion across the border by Turkish troops has long been in the offing, although it was not immediately clear how big the operation was or how long it would last" and they call it "a blow to the US, which last year made a series of efforts to persuade Turkey not to carry out a large-scale ground incursion." Tim Butcher (Telegraph of London) proclaims it Turkey's "biggest military incursion into the Kurdish north of Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein" while Mark Bentley (Bloomberg News) states it's Turkey's "first major incursion" into in Iraq "in 11 years." China's Xinhua quotes Erdogan declaring, "The TSK will rapidly return to Turkey as soon as it reaches its aims". CBS and AP inform, "U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about the escalation. He said he recognized Turkey's need for security, but appealed to Turkey and Iraq to work together to promote peace." Bentley also notes, "Crude oil futures rose as much as 1.2 percent in London because of concern the conflict may disrupt Iraqi oil production. Crude gained as much as $1.14 to $99.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange." India's Economic Times also notes the spike in the price of oil and notes it's "related to an incursion into Iraq by Turkish troops." Brian Baskin (Wall St. Journal) opens with, "Crude-oil futures setttled higher Friday, as tensions between Turkey and Iraq and cold weather in the U.S. Northeast snapped oil out of a one-day slump." Despite the long standing tensions and claims by the regional government in northern Iraq (KRG) that they've addressed the issue, Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) explained, "In the snowcapped Qandeel Mountains of northern Iraq, it's hard to see that the Kurdistan Workers Party -- the PKK, as it's known by its Kurdish initials -- has been on the U.S. terrorist list since 2002. Or that President Bush and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government promised Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that they'd crack down on the group, which has killed hundreds of Turks in its battle for an independent Kurdish homeland. No Iraqi troops patrol here. PKK men in uniform check the IDs of those who seek to visit. The image of the PKK's leader is emblazoned on a mountain slope, and a sign openly proclaims PKK headquarters. The peshmerga troops of the Kurdistan Regional Government, which officially rules northern Iraq, make no effort to enter. Indeed, there's little evidence in this tiny village inside what the PKK calls the Medya Defense Area that the Kurdish Regional Government has made any effort to cut off the group's supply lines. The regional government paves the roads and buses in teachers from nearby towns. Residents openly watch PKK television, with the sound up loud."

Fadel was noted in yesterday's snapshot for her article on the extra rules being placed on Iraqi Arabas in the northern region of Iraq. One battle in the region is over who will have Kirkuk -- the central government out of Baghdad or northern Iraq. A referendum has long been postponed though the vote will allegedly take place at some point in 2008 (in the meantime, the Kurdish region has been forcing Kurds into Kirkuk in anticipation of the vote -- in anticipation of weighting the vote in their favor -- see Stephen Farrell's December 9, 2007 report for the New York Times). Damien McElroy (Telegraph of London) reports, "Iraq's Kurds are moving towards taking control of the vital oil city of Kirkuk as one of the most explosive disputes bequeathed by Saddam Hussein nears a resolution. The rigs and pipelines around Kirkuk account for about one third of Iraq's oil output, now running at 2.4 million barrels per day" and that's behind the cancellation of Arabs' ration cards in an attempt to force them out of Kirkuk and to settle more Kurds into the area. It won't be deemed violence for decades and even terms like 'resettling' won't be utilized.

In what's recognized as violence taking place today . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad donkey and cart bombing that claimed 1 life and left four wounded, a Baquba mortar attack that killed 1 six-year-old boy ("4 women and 4 children" wounded) and an Anbar Province bombing attacking "the motorcade of Ameriyah Chief of Police, Major Saadoun Subhi" who was injured in the attack. Reuters notes a bomber blew up near a mosque outside Falluja resulting in the deaths of 6 police officers with nine more injured (the bomber is 1 more death), a Garma bombing that claimed the lives of 2 civilians (and of the bomber), a Tikrit car bombing claimed the lives of 3 police officers (eight more wounded) and also the life of the bomber

Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports unknown assailants shot dead 12-year-old Omar Mohammed, "his two sisters Budur and Seleema, 17 and 20 years old" in Diyala Province.

Corpses?

Reuters notes 2 corpses discovered in Iskandariya.

Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier died as the result of a non-combat related illness Feb. 21." The 4,000 mark is now 30 away with the ICCC total standing at 3970 since the start of the illegal war. 26 is the number for the month thus far.


On PBS tonight (in most markets) on Bill Moyers Journal: finds Moyers and company working with PBS' Expose for "a hard and fresh look at how earmarks really work. The broadcast profiles Seattle Times reporters on the trail of how members of Congress have awarded federal dollars for questionable purposes to companies in local Congressional districts -- often to companies whose executives, employees or PACs have made campaign contributions to the legislators. The segment also focuses on how earmarks for some products were added to the defense appropriations bill even in cases in which the military didn't want them in the first place. Example: a $4.56 million patrol boat the Coast Guard hadn't even asked for and decided it couldn't use was eventually given away by the Coast Guard to a California Sherrif's office. David Heath of The Seattle Times says: 'They're selling a product to the military that they're not even using.' The segment will available for viewing before the broadcast at [Expose] and airs on Bill Moyers Journal Friday, February 22. Viewers can post questions for Seattle Times reporters after the broadcast at The Moyers Blog at [Bill Moyers Journal]. Expose will premiere a new episode one Friday per month as part of Bill Moyers Journal, which airs Friday at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)." Important for community members : As noted repeatedly (for instance here) The Nation decided the best way to kick off 2007 was with a book review by a Pig who wanted to talk about visiting bordellos in Afghanistan while also slamming Sarah Chayes and Ann Jones -- 'emotional' and 'conspiracy' blah blah blah. That nonsense offended many. Tonight (in most markets), you can watch Moyers interview Chayes about Afghanistan. So in addition to the segment already noted, you'll be able to enjoy that. Mentioning Chayes allows me to squeeze in that Ann Jones' latest article, "The War Against Women," is up at Mother Jones.
Independent journalist and artist David Bacon covers the the workers of Pacific Steel picketing outside a Berkeley City Council against a measure that might lead to Pacific Steel's closure. In addition, his photo exhibit has one more day at Galeria de la Raza (2857 24th St, San Francisco 94110). That's "Living under the trees" "Viviendo bajo los arboles." and February 23rd is supposed to be the last day at that gallery.

In a correction to yesterday's snapshot, the KPFA special was not live of the debate. My apologies. The special itself (the not-so-special -- except in a very bad way) was noted here at length including the booking of only pro-Obama guests while KPFA pretended that they were having an open discussion about a debate with two candidates. It was a joke. It was an embarassment and Larry Bensky couldn't even shut up long enough to take the calls that were promised to make up the broadcast's final hours. Instead, listeners were shut out. Along with the glee Laura Flanders took in distorting Hillary Clinton (she's a funny sort of feminist, that Laura Flanders, but she's a funny sort of out lesbian as well), there was Tom Hayden betting his future on two lines by Bambi. Most telling was the KPFA blog that they they created for the live broadcast. They appear to think it's gone and vanished but it's not. You know where to go to Sunday to see it.












Posted by at

Thursday, February 21, 2008

The 'fairness' of KPFA

Thursday. I was watching the debate and planning to blog as I did. I logged in, pulled up the screen, but missed on blogging because I was watching it.

Now I'm listening to KPFA and I don't know why Larry Benksy feels the need to give 'commentary' by citing one poll (a Washington Post-ABC poll) before we're even ten minutes in. I thought Bensky was an alleged journalist. And why did KPFA bill this as the Obama-Clinton debate? Alphabetical order would put Clinton first.

I don't listen to KPFA so I'll just assume they've been whoring themselves out for Obama like everyone else in Little Crap Ass Media.

They're playing Hillary's opening statement right now and it was powerful. "There is a lot of work ahead." She's right. And we won't get there with pretty words from Me Steal Pretty Words All Day Bambi Obama.

Bambi was rude as hell and his usual pompous self. He said he was friends with Hillary before the campaign and will be friends with her after. Translation, "I hate her guts today."

He said the war (he doesn't call it "illegal") should have never been "authorized." It wasn't, moron.

When he has to speak without a speech, he says "uh . . . uh" a lot.

We got Bully Boy all over again in Bambi. Bambi Boy. Bambi can't speak unless he's delivering a memorized speech (with stolen lines). He has no proposals for anything and appears to be running on the "Just Trust Me" platform.

The best moment was when Hillary noted Bambi's rip offs and said he was about "change you can Xerox" which had Bambi whimpering that their role was to "be lifting the country up." Bambi, you're not a push-up bra, you're running for the highest office in the land.

He is so weak. He really is. John Edwards would be in the race today if he hadn't made the mistake of giving Bambi so much room. It made it look like Edwards was afraid to stand up to a man. He stood up to Hillary all the time. But he went chicken s**t on Bambi. And with guys on my campus, he was seen as a wuss because Bambi's the ultimate wuss.

Here's more of Hillary's quote, "If your candidacy is going to be about words then they should be your own words" and "Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox."

He steals from Governor Who.

That's my governor. And we all bought into the pretty words and now we're suffering. We have the worst governor of my lifetime. He's so totally ineffective and we voted him in because he said pretty things. But he can't do a damn thing. He's a lousy governor. He's friends with Bambi and the same guy/thug that runs Bambi's campaign that ran Governor Who's campaign.

Oh, Lord, MEDIA WHORE Laura Flanders is on. And Larry's pimping the one poll again.

Who the hell is Clarence Hussein? He's comparing the debate to American Idol. I'm calling C.I. Hold on. "Those latest polls in Texas," LIES Laura the MEDIA WHORE. It's one damn poll, you stupid, stupid, idiot.

Here's a question? This is a Texas debate so why is MEDIA WHORE (I want to call her worse) Laura Flanders -- from NYC --

"I felt sad at the end of the thing," said liar Laura Flanders.

C.I. just called me back, it's Clarence Lusane and he's a Bambi supporter.

Can you believe that crap? KPFA brings on two "analysts" from outside of Texas to provide commentary on the debate and they're both pro-Obama.

I'm sick of this crap. That's it for me tonight.

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

Thursday, February 21, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, the British military announces wounded soldiers, the Iraqi refugee crisis continues, and more.


Starting with war resitance. Gina Hotta (Asia Times) writes today of James Yee, Antonio Taguba and war resister Lt. Ehren Watada noting, "The war in Iraq has thrust American soldiers of Asian ancestry into the limelight as no toher US conflict has ever done before." Of Watada, the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the Iraq War, Hotta notes his "refusal to deploy to Iraq underscored the Bush administration's determination to go to war, with Truth being its first casualty. Watada argues that the President misled the public and that the reasons for going to war were based on false premises. Watada states that he will not fight an illegal war. He now faces a possible court martial. The stand Watada took remains a source of controversy. Yet support for him is strong, with a group of Asian American supporters driving several hundred miles to his trials in Washington State." Earlier this month Gregg K. Kakesako (The Honolulu Star Bulletin) offered an update on Watada, citing one of Watada's civilian attorneys, Ken Kagan (James Lobsenz is Watada's other civilian attorney) is cited explaining there is "No real News . . . since the federal judge issued a preliminary injuction in November prohibiting the Army from bringing Watada to a second court-martial. Watada's first court-martial, a year ago, ended in a mistrial." The mistrial was declared over the objection of defense counse. Kakesako notes, "Watada and his attorney claim that a second trial would violate his constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle ruled on Nov. 8 that no court-martial will be held for Watada pending the outcome of his claim that it would violate his Fifth Amendment rights by trying him twice for the same charges." Whether or not double-jeopardy applies (it should apply, it attached when the February court-martial started) will be determined by the US Circuit Court for the Armed Forces and Kakesako concludes, "Watada's term of service in the military ended in December 2006, but the legal proceedings have prevented his discharge. He lives in Olympia, Wash. and continues to perform administrative duties at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle." Watada himself weighed in this month with "Is the Iraq War Illegal?" (Pacific Citizen) where he explains exactly why it is illegal:

Is the war illegal? Before answering this question, it is essential to divide up this conflict into: 1) the invasion and toppling of the former regime, and 2) the subsequent occupation of Iraq by American troops.
There can be no doubt that according to the UN Charter which forbids preventative wars and regime change, the invasion of Iraq was unlawful on its face. Is outlawing pre-emption fair? Absolutely - there is nothing that prohibits a nation from having a very strong defense. Moreover, nothing in the Charter prohibits a nation from retaliating after being attacked (which we were not as stated unequivocally and after-the-fact by the Bush Administration).
Ultimately, this law was established to protect the weak from the powerful, which left unaccountable, can invent any rationale for an invasion and occupation like Hitler did with Poland.
Next, is the occupation illegal? That would depend on who you ask. For supporters of continued involvement, the answer is no -- American troops are protecting us against international terrorism and the Iraqis have requested our help; we have a legal mandate granted by the same institution that we ignored and de-legitimized by invading in the first place.
On the other hand, if you ask the Iraqis themselves (who make up the vast majority of the anti-American insurgency and not Al Qaeda) - as a democratic people, they may have an entirely different answer.
[. . .]
I may not know much, but one thing is certain. Japanese American men and women did not sacrifice their lives and freedoms throughout history, so that today's leaders could invade and occupy another country, then strip the people of their democratic rights when it didn't suit their interests. To believe otherwise, is to bring dishonor upon their memory.

Watada is the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the illegal war. Camilo Mejia is the first Iraq War veteran to refuse to return. Stephen Funk was the first non-officer (after the war was declared) to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. Jeremy Hinzman was the first war resister to go public about seeking asylum in Canada. In March of 2004, Brandon Hughey also went to Canada and he also went public. Hinzman and Hughey have repeatedly attempted to be granted asylum and repeatedly been denied. November 15th, Canada's Supreme Court refused to hear their cases. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, 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 action:
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. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."

In preparation of the March action, IVAW has posted a video online featuring three veterans. They also note the action will be carried over KPFA airwaves (Friday through Sunday) and available for streaming online via KPFA -- video will be streamed online from Thursday through Sunday via IVAW. They also note Chelsea Hover's (News 8 Austin) report "Fort Hood soldiers breaking the silence in war in Iraq" (text and video at link and at the IVAW homepage) which features Ronn Cantu, Selena Coppa, Hart Viges and Casey Porter. Porter explains, "We lost really good friends, really good leaders who died in Iraq. From my perspective, it didn't make any sense, we didn't accomplish anything, and I talked to a lot of other soldiers who feel the same way." That's Texas. North Carolina? Erin Callender (The News Observer) reports SDS and IVAW took part in an action today where "UNC-Chapel Hill students burned fake draft cards symbolizing their opposition to the war in Iraq" as part of a rally where IVAW's Jason Hurd spoke along with Iraqi-America Dahlia Wasfi ("Hurd and Wasfi will also speak tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Dey Hall.").

Meanwhile the rightwing Economist out of England notes of the Iraqi refugee crisis, "Whether they supported the American-led campaign to topple Saddam Hussein or denounced it, all rich countries now agree that the turmoil which engulfed Iraq after the war was a tragedy whose victims should be succoured. But by no means all wealthy countries are prepared to back up those compassionate sentiments with money or hospitality." However, the United High Commissioner for Refugees does praise "the Lebanese government for its decision to recognize thousands of Iraqi refugees who had been considered as illegal immigrants liable to detention. From the beginning of this week, Lebanon's Directorate General of the General Security will give Iraqis who have entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas three months to regularize their status. The decision will benefit thousands of Iraqi refugees in Lebanon and will result in the release of hundreds from detention. As of October last year, 584 Iraqis were being held in detention in Lebanon due to their irregular status." Ferry Biedermann (Financial Times of London) reports, "But the measures stop short of giving Iraqis special residence permits. Najla Chahda, director of Caritas' Migrant Centre in Beirut, said that the release and the grace period offered Iraqi refugees, 'a chance to feel a bit more comfortable'. She said it was the best they could hope for as long as Lebanon wasn't prepared to offer special status for refugees." IRIN notes, "Starting this week Lebanon's General Security intelligence body has given Iraqi asylum-seekers three months to regularise their status, which entails giving them residency and work permits that were previously denied. UNHCR spokeswoman Laure Chedrawi told IRIN none of the hundreds of Iraqi would-be refugees in Lebanese prisons for violating immigration rules had yet been released, but the administration process had started and the agency was waiting for a list from the General Security Directorate of all those who had served their sentences and were therefore eligible for the process." That's Lebanon. Syria? The BBC reports, "Despite all efforts to provide security in Iraq, large numbers of Iraqis are still fleeing the country, with about 1,000 reportedly crossing into Syria daily, where they join a population of more than one million. The refugees are not allowed to work legally in Syria, and many families whose money is used up face the difficult choice of living in poverty or returning home with no guarantees of safety." Syria is where Riverbend and her family decided to go and, in October, she wrote (Baghdad Burning), "It is estimated that there are at least 1.5 million Iraqis in Syria today. I believe it. Walking down the streets of Damascus, you can hear the Iraqi accent everywhere. There are areas like Geramana and Qudsiya that are packed full of Iraqi refugees. Syrians are few and far between in these areas. Even the public schools in the areas are full of Iraqi children. A cousin of mine is now attending a school in Qudsiya and his class is composed of 26 Iraqi children, and 5 Syrian children. It's beyond belief sometimes. Most of the families have nothing to live on beyond their savings which are quickly being depleted with rent and the costs of living." The other country with the largest concentration of Iraqi refugees is Jordan. In an effort to allow any Iraqi refugees who wanted to go home to be able to do so, the government was setting aside fines for those wanting to return to Iraq. IRIN reports, "Four days into the new rules, only a few dozen Iraqis gathered outside the Interior Ministry and relevant immigration offices to take advantage of the grace period" -- "rules" which also include "reducing by 50 percent visa fines for those who wish to remain in" Jordan and Jordanian-Iraqi Brotherhood Association's Shankal Qader is quoted stating that it's the latter option most Iraqis will chose due to the fact that, "The situation in Iraq does not encourage Iraqis to leave Jordan yet." Last week, UPI reported, "The Jordanian government said it would continue to support Iraqi refugees in Jordan despite them costing $2.2 billion over the past three years." As early as 2004, Jordan was receiving refugees from Iraq. In July of that year, NPR's Deborah Amos reported for Morning Edition: "The large asphalt parking lot a few miles outside of the center of the Jordanian capital is known as Iraqi Square. More than two dozen taxis with Iraqi license plates stand idle, doors wide open, while the Iraqi drivers drink small glasses of hot, sweet tea. They share complaints about the problems of picking up passengers on the Jordanian-Iraqi border: the long lines; the hours of security checks." At that point there were estimates of 300,000 to 600,000 Iraqis in Jordan. At the start of 2007, Carolyn Lochhead (San Francisco Chronicle) was reporting, "Jordan, a U.S. ally, has long accepted Arab refugees, and so has Syria's pan-Arabist dictatorship. The fear now is that both may close their borders. Pressure on Jordan, a country of just 6 million, is intense, with Iraqi refugees now accounting for 10 percent of its population -- the equivalent of 30 million landing on U.S. shores." Like thirty million arriving in the US. And how many have actually arrived?

The total number of Iraqi refugees accepted by the US in 2007 was 1,608. In the February 5th snapshot, the US State Department's laughable press confrence was noted. It featured Homeland Security's Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Iraqi Refugee Issues Lori Scialabba, The State Dept's Deputy Assistant for Consular Affairs Tony Edson, and the Senior Coordinator on Iraqi Refugee Issues Ambassador James Folely with a lot of excuses. CNN Elise Labott and Bloomberg News' Janice Zacharia had questions (and numbers) the State Department wasn't expecting which led to such claims by Foley as the State Dept had never said it would have 7,000 settled by the 2007 fiscal year. Finally, he offered "I came on board in September" (the end of the 2007 fiscal year) and that apparently means that he can't be updated on what's come before. Forget internal briefings, can't they even offer a shift change? May 30, 2007, AP was reporting, "The United States will soon begin admitting a bigger trickle of the more than 2 million refugees who have fled Iraq, acknowledging for the first time the country may never be safe for some who have helped the U.S. there. Since the war began in 2003, fewer than 800 Iraqi refugees have been admitted, angering critics who argued the United States is obligated to assist many more . . . Now, under enhanced screening measures aimed at weeding out potential terrorists -- announced this week by the Department of Homeland Security -- the administration plans to allow nearly 7,000 Iraqis to resettle in the United States by the end of September." Foley wants to offer the excuse that "I came on board in September" 2007 -- which should have been a time when the pledged 7,000 figure was being discussed at length due to the fact that it was the deadline for the announced pledge. It should have been discussed since only 1,608 were admitted which is over 5,000 short of what they promised in May of 2007 (and since 15,477 Iraqis were recommended for asylum to the US government during that period by the United Nations). The "cooridnator" on the Iraqi refugee issue for the State Dept has no excuse for first denying that a pledge of 7,000 was ever made and he has no excuse for then trying to cover by saying he started in September. That was a February press briefing, a scheduled one. If he wasn't lying, then he's obviously not up to speed on the basics of his job. Where's the supervision, Condi? In terms of media coverage, Tara Conlan (Guardian of London) reports, "Channel 4 is to launch its Happy Birthday Iraq season on March 15 with a week of programmes examing the devastating fall-out of the war for Iraq and the Middle East, America and Britain. . . . The first Dispatches investigation features journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy travelling to Jordan and Syria to meet Iraqi refugees struggling to start new lives from scratch." That's in England. In the US? Let's not hold our breath.

In some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left three people injured, a Baghad mortar attack that left two people wounded, an Al Anbar Province roadside bombing that claimed 2 lives -- Brig. Gen. Ahmed al-Juburi and his driver -- while wounding a bodyguard, an Al Anbar Province car bombing that claimed 1 life and left another person wounded, a Mosul roadside bombing that left five police officers wounded and a rocket attack on the Basra International Airport. Reuters notes, "The Turkish military shelled several Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq, Kudish officials said, just days after Ankara said it was weighing a ground operation against the guerrillas." Shamal Aqrawi (Reuters) adds, "A senior Iraqi border official said a bridge had been destroyed in Nerva Rikan, an area close to Iraq's border with Turkey in Dahuk province" -- did it happen? There are always denials and conflicting reports. Today is no different.

Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports police 1st Lt. Ahmed Mohammed was shot dead in Baghdad while Lt. Col. Haxim and another police officer were wounded and a driver for the Ministry of Transport was shot dead in Baghdad. Reuters notes a police officer was shot dead in Numaniya outside his home.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad and 15 corpses in Diyala Province ("hand cuffed, blindfolded and shot to death"). Reuters adds the Diyala corpses were "shot execution-style in the head."

Today the US military announced: " A Multi-National Division -- Center Soldier was killed when the Soldier's vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device Feb. 20." And they announced: "A Multi-National Force - West Marine was killed in action against enemy forces in Al Anbar Province Feb. 21."

In addition, Megan Levy (Telegraph of London) reports that 4 British soldiers were wounded Wednesday in a Basra attack. The Press Association cites rumors that it was a roadside bombing.

Yesterday's snapshot noted the nonsense and harm of talk of round-ups in Baghdad. The Los Angeles Times' Baghdad bureau raises further issues today: "But enforcing the law will be difficult. Beggars and street people are part of life here, and their numbers have grown dramatically since the war. In addition, the Koran encourages people to help the needy, and Iraqis see nothing wrong with giving money to people who ask for it. In fact, beggars here often go door-to-door in residential neighborhoods seeking handouts. Others walk the chaotic streets hitting up people in passing cars when traffic slows." Meanwhile, as speculation continues to mount as to the continuation or cancellation of the cease-fire/true Moqtada al-Sadr initiated with the US military, Tina Susman and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) report that "aides" and "loyalists" are expressing doubts that it will be renewed with one member of Iraq's parliament in the Sadr bloc, Ghufran Saidi, explaining, "We have made more than one gesture. . . . However, we haven't received any help from the government. The aim is to eliminate the Sadr movement in all provinces." While everyone waits to see what al-Sadr will do, the situation in northern Iraq gets more tense (the Kirkuk election will supposedly take this year -- determining whether the oil-rich area is part of the central government or part of nothern Iraq). Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports on the pressures being placed on Iraqi Arabs ("They treat us like foreigners," says Munawer Fayeq Rashid) and how you need a 'sponsor' to live in the region and then a residency permit. The region -- the desires of some War Hawks not withstanding -- is still a part of Iraq. Fadel observes, "The rules have created tension between Kurds and Arabs, both of whom are citizens of Iraq but who speak different languages and have different histories. Most Kurds are Muslims, but they shudder at the thought of traveling to the dangers of Baghdad."

Now let's turn to US politics. Tonight Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama debate in Austin, Texas. KPFA will broadcast (and stream) it live with Larry Bensky hosting and taking calls after. Tom Hayden has a ridiculous column (guess we won't see the bounc back from embarrassment this week) based on speech that Bambi gave in Houston last week. We'll wait and see on his claims after he explained, while running for the Senate, to Elaine and I that US troops were in Iraq so they couldn't be pulled. Meanwhile, the public trashing of Hillary goes on. It is a trashing and it is very much a trashing in the feminist sense of the term. As a result, Common Dreams -- one of the worst offenders -- has taken to feature faux feminists and today's idiot (we're not even naming her) tries to go after Robin Morgan and Hillary Clinton from a standpoint of 'caring.' Apparently she worked so hard on her act that she was unable to spare time for logic? The faux feminist acknowledges that maybe a climate has been created where Hillary is held to a standard others aren't but, having offered that, she then blames Hillary. That would be blaming the victim. No, that is not feminism. We'll get back to that, let's just enjoy the 'worth' of what she shares such as this statement, "Barack Obama chose the Howard-Dean-Deval Patrick strategy (the Clintons hate Dean): pay attention to all the states" blah, blah, blah. When did Deval Patrick "pay attention to all the states"? Never. He's a governor -- a very bad governor who got into office on pretty words and demonstrates that words are not actions -- of Massachusetts. Explain to us how Deval Patrick, running for governor of Massachusetts, was "paying attention to all the states"? Did all fifty vote him into office as governor? (Mike's friends and family -- including Trina -- call Patrick "Governor Who" because when the pretty words proved not enough, Patrick appeared to go MIA.) Since an idiot has brought Governor Who into it, let's go ahead and note that Jake Tapper (ABC News) caught Patrick lying publicly when he claimed he'd given permission for Obama. But let's get back to the trashing. These 'concerned' columns that blame Hillary are just as much about a trashing as are the ones featuring the on-the-nose hatred. To be clear, Hillary can be held a standard but equality means all are held to the same standard. That hasn't happened. Further, there's no reason a supporter of any candidate has to trash Hillary to make their case. Halle Berry is strongly for Barack Obama and she has not engaged in a trashing. But many others can't do anything but trash and for women, they need to stop pretending they are feminists. What they are doing is acting out against other women, saying, 'You think you're better,' or 'You think your s**t don't stink?' It's a very old story and feminist history has long charted it. Posing as if you're writing out of concern is actually more offensive because at least the other pose is honest. When women's history is written in the near future -- not the far future -- it will not look kindly on a number of these women. It will be very harsh to them as it should be. By contrast, Robin Morgan's "Goodbye To All That (#2)" (Women's Media Center) will still be required reading.




jeremy hinzman



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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Jeremy Scahill, Leila Fadel, Joshua Kors

Hump day, hump day. Doesn't seem like it due to the holiday. I wanted to note Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "GOP Attack Machine" last night but couldn't because the spacing was off, so here it is now:

gopattackmachine

The Polk awards were noted in yesterday's snapshot and due to the fact that 'internationally' concerned Amy Goodman couldn't note Leila Fadel, I thought I'd note the three that mattered most -- the ones who won for Iraq. First up, Jeremy Scahill won for his book on the mercenaries operating in Iraq and elsewhere. This is from Kristina Lindgren's "Polk award is bittersweet for 'Blackwater' author:"

Winning the prestigious George Polk award is bittersweet vindication for investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill. His book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," was ignored by most major news organizations (including this one) when it was released in February 2007.
Readers found it though, putting Scahill on the Los Angeles Times and New York Times bestseller lists long before Blackwater Worldwide security forces killed 17 and wounded 24 Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad thoroughfare last September. And with debate dragging on over whether Blackwater and other security firms (which operate in numbers rivaling actual U.S. military forces in Iraq) should remain immune from prosecution, still more attention to Scahill's book is likely to follow.
"It took 17 innocent Iraqi civilians being gunned down in the streets of Baghdad for [Blackwater] to become a page one story," Scahill wrote in an e-mail. "If, in any way, winning this award means that efforts to hold Blackwater and other mercenary forces accountable for their killings and other crimes will intensify, that would mean infinitely more to me than any accolades for the book."
For Scahill, a central -- and still largely underreported -- story of the Iraq war has to do with the U.S. hiring of private military contractors, with North Carolina-based Blackwater being one of the largest, to extend its reach in war zones. These "secretive, shadow forces . . . have regularly killed Iraqis, shot at civilians and committed crimes in Iraq over the past five years in a climate where impunity and immunity have gone hand-in-hand," said the correspondent for the Nation and the national TV and radio program Democracy Now!. "They have not been held accountable under any legal system and continue their armed activities in Iraq to this moment."

The third name mentioned in the article above is Leila Fadel and she won for foreign reporting. She is based in Iraq. This is from an article about her by Sarah Behari entitled "Former S-T reporter honored for Iraq coverage:"

Fadel joined the Star-Telegram in 2004 and worked for the paper until December 2006, covering crime in Northeast Tarrant County and, later, higher education in Arlington.
She also traveled to Baghdad three times for six-week reporting stints, and she went once to Lebanon to cover the Lebanese-Israeli conflict.
Her work on those assignments caught the attention of John Walcott, McClatchy's Washington, D.C., bureau chief. "Leila has made an enormous contribution to America's understanding of what's going on in Iraq," Walcott said. "Her reporting is based on what's happening on the streets, not what's happening behind the walls of the Green Zone."
Fadel said she tries to write about everyday people going about their business. In the last year, she wrote about Iraqi widows struggling to rebuild their lives, the raucous celebrations after Iraq won the Asian Cup soccer tournament, and the hardships of Shiite and Sunni intermarriage.
In September, Fadel traveled from Baghdad west through Anbar province into Jordan, a route once notorious for hijackings, kidnappings and roadside bombs. She chronicled the seven-hour trek in a first-person narrative.
Fadel said the Polk Award also belongs to her Iraqi staff members, whom she called courageous and dedicated. "Everything I've done here, I've done with them," she said. "They help me with every piece of reporting."
Edward Hershey, a member of the Polk selection committee for about 30 years, said Fadel's portfolio immediately stood out from the others. "It's credible and devastating at the same time," Hershey said. "Her work reminded us anew of what's going on in Iraq."

Joshua Kors won for magazine writing and his focus was the veterans benefits scandal. He is a free lance writer and the magazine was The Nation. Here's some info on him from his website:

From 2004 to 2005 he worked at Northern California's top-rated news station, KCBS - AM in San Francisco, while reporting on politics and education for Knight Ridder's Contra Costa Times.
In 2003 he earned a master's degree from the Columbia School of Journalism in New York. There he covered the African-American and Hassidic communities of Flatbush, Brooklyn.

He is also a finalist for another award:

The Joan Shorenstein Center at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government has announced the six 2008 finalists for the Goldsmith Prize for investigative reporting. The winner will be announced March 18 in an awards ceremony at the school.The Goldsmith Prize honors investigative pieces that expose corruption, secrecy, and mismanagement in government or the opposite -- instances of responsible governing. The finalists for this year's competition wrote stories on a range of topics, from Chinese exports to local government corruption.
"In a period when news organizations are cutting back on their budgets, the finalists for this year’s Goldsmith Prize are proof that investigative journalism of the highest quality is still a hallmark of the American press," said Thomas Patterson, acting director of the Shorenstein Center in a statement. "Each of these news stories exposed a troubling threat to our public life and, in doing do, brought about needed change."
Two nominated pieces deal with Army medicine. Joshua Kors' piece "Thanks for Nothing," published in The Nation, exposed how Army doctors often misdiagnose soldiers, saying their Iraq wounds stem from illnesses before joining the service. Dana Priest and Anne Hull wrote "he Other Walter Reed" for The Washington Post, revealing the problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Both pieces led to significant change in policy and oversight.

I was really hoping to find something on him but I couldn't. If you see something, e-mail me at irishmike02@yahoo.com and I'll note it later in the week. But all three of them deserve praise for digging at stories that wouldn't have been told otherwise and that's especially true of Fadel who's reporting from a war zone that is also the most deadly war zone for journalists. More have died in Iraq than in Vietnam, for instance. They should all be proud of themselves for winning but most of all for writing about the illegal war and its effects at a time when so many -- even older 'names' -- offer so little.

I really just want to focus on those three for tonight but Susan UnPC has video and a great piece on Bambi supporters and how they can't name a single achievement. This is from "Can They List His Qualifications? (Part Deux):"

I already showed you a video of a panel of Obama supporters who were unable -- a single one of them -- to name any of Obama's legislative or other accomplishments. But even his elected supporters -- members of Congress and governors (!) -- cannot come up with anything. (Uh, you'd think that Obama's campaign would send them some talking points? If they can come up with a few?) (h/t Taylor Marsh and MyDD's "Breaking Blue")

Be sure to read Rebecca's "fools (dave lindorff) & trash (eve ensler)" from last night and C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" below:

Wednesday, February 20, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Little Media wallows in being useless, the US military announces deaths, round-ups announced in Baghdad and more.

Starting with war resisters, Nisa Islam Muhammad (Final Call) reports on realities for war resisters in Canada:

In the '60s and '70s, Canada was a refuge for war resisters and conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War. Iraq war resistors want the same reception and protested at Canadian consulates from coast to coast as part of Courage To Resist's "Dear Canada: Let Them Stay" campaign."We had actions in eight cities Jan. 25, at five Canadian consulates around the county on behalf of war resisters in Canada," Max Diorio of Courage to Resist told The Final Call."Thousands of soldiers are AWOL. The military doesn't know how many or where they are. Canada was a safe haven, but the climate now has Canada wanting to be on the good side of the United States."Hundreds of U.S. military personnel are in Canada because of decisions not to participate in U.S. wars and the occupation in the Middle East. There is no legal or political provision in effect in Canada that affords U.S. war resisters the right to stay in the country.Deportation looms as a real threat for many women and men seeking refuge from prosecution south of the border, even as widespread support for the rights of resisters to stay grows among Canadians.

With Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, 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 action:
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. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."


Staying with reality, Iraq is off the media radar and FOOLS and LIARS don't get it back on the radar. Debate whether Tom Engelhartdt is a a FOOL, a LIAR or a little bit of both when reading his latest pathetic piece at Common Dreams. Bully Boy says there's no problem -- says Tom -- and the media "miraculously" vanished Iraq. "The mainstream media," he tells us. Fool or liar or just a bit of both. Little media didn't stand up during the Myth of the Great Return. Amy Goodman devoted one full segment to Iraq last month when? January 25th. She waited until January 25th. [The 'we only have one minute!' garbage doesn't count.] Engelhartdt needs to stop peddling those tired lies. It may keep the checks coming in from The Nation but it's not reality. Nor is this claim that "Juan Cole's Informed Comment website" is "perhaps the best daily round-up of Iraqi mayhem and disaster on the Web". Really? Well sure he was for the illegal occupation after he was against it (as Steve Rendall pointed out to his face on CounterSpin) but, hey, if he's providing a "daily round-up of Iraqi mayhem" -- best or otherwise -- we should certainly make a point to check in.. Wednesday's sole entry (thus far) -- John McCain, Bambi and Pakistan. Monday's entry -- he did only one -- on Afghanistan. Tuesday's entry -- he did only one -- on Pakistan. Not a "daily round-up" but it's a nice way for someone to kiss ass with a shout-out, isn't it? Stick to McClatchy Newspapers, Reuters and ICCC, they provide daily information. Here's the reality Tom Engelhartdt isn't telling you because he's not willing to or he's too stupid to: Iraq's off the radar because we tolerate it being off the radar.

Because we renew our subscriptions to the garbage that is The Nation or buy it in stores, because Amy Goodman's begging on air for Pacific (for herself really) and we toss out a few bucks to shut the beggar up. There is an illegal war going on that hits the fifth year mark next month. There is nothing in independent media -- despite all the money we've forked over to them -- that reflects this reality. Nothing. And as long as we continue to accept that, as long as we're thrilled to death that Katrina vanden Heuvel can provide John Nichols, the Aris (Mebler and Berman) and assorted others covering the Democratic presidential primaries each damn day while providing NOTHING on the Iraq War, the illegal war is going to go on. Engelhartdt may be too stupid to tell you that or he may just enjoy being on the dime of The Nation. But that's reality and anyone telling you otherwise is a LIAR.

Not misinformed, not disinformed, not misguided -- just a LIAR. That's reality. And lying to people is DISGUSTING. Want Iraq covered? Demand it. Refuse to support media that doesn't cover it. And let's get one damn thing real clear, it's not, despite Engelhardt's claim, the "MSM" that's dropped Iraq. If the New York Times doesn't file a story for Iraq that's the headline of a morning entry here. I know how often that's the case and how often it isn't. (And not hear to spoonfeed lazy minds like Engelhardt). The New York Times isn't dropping Iraq -- they may resell the illegal war most days, but they do cover it. It's Little Media that's dropped Iraq. And no one needs a lecture from Tom Englehardt to begin with but we certainly don't need him on his high horse when he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. If you're talking corruption in Iraq, to provide one example, you're largely talking James Glanz of the New York Times. Not that Glanz is corrupt but you are talking his beat. He's covered it. He's defined it. When few have given a damn and the occassional moments when they have, he has covered that beat since the illegal war began. I'll slam the New York Times every day of the week. I'll slam Glanz if the article offends. But I don't pretend for a minute that Little Media 'competes' with the Times or other MSM outlets. Little Media doesn't compete because Little Media (broadcast and print) doesn't give a damn. Engelhardt's offering up the kind of crap we got in 2004 and 2005 when it was time to open the checkbooks: "Look what we do! No one else brings you the truth! Judith Miller did not work for us!" Independent media hasn't done a thing worthy of praise on Iraq -- or Iraq related topics -- in years. Anyone telling you otherwise is a fool or a liar. And you should be sick of it.

Sick Of It Day is an action Veterans for Peace started on the 14th of this month and VFP's Mike Ferner offers, "I've seen the pain on the faces of the people of Iraq and the soldiers who come back from war. It's something I can't get out of my mind and there are days when it really does make me sick" to explain the need for the action asking people to call in sick March 19th and then selecting "from a wide variety of other things to do that day -- from contacting Congress and going back to bed, to more ambitious ideas like helping quarantine military shipments in U.S. ports. Campaigners are invited to come up with their own 'Sick Of It Day' activity and post it to the site." Ferner (writing at Online Journal) speaks with IVAW co-chair Adam Kokesh ("campaign originator") who explains, "I'm sick of seeing America in denial about how much we have been lied to."

To return to the nonsense offered about the MSM, it was Sewell Chan (New York Times) who reported on a Friday NYC action where "20 antiwar activists gathered outside an Army recruiting office in East Harlem" -- it was not Democracy Now!, it was not The Nation, it was not Free Speech Radio News. The War Stops Here is a new website created to be "an online hub and journal of DIRECT ACTION." The website features text and videos. The creator of the site explained at Infoshop: "This is a project that I've long been thinking about, and unfortunately, nobody else has stepped up to help me out with it. So, here goes nothing. The basic premise is this: we're finally at a stage in the antiwar movement where there is something to report in terms of creative, militant direct actions against the occupation of Iraq happening right here in the US. It's happening on campuses, at ports, in the Capitol, in small towns and in big cities. Therefore, there ought to be a regularly-updated hub for those of us who take this work seriously, want to learn what other people are doing, and to let new people know that there are ways to tangibly grind this war to a halt." The creator's a member of today's Students for a Democratic Society and SDS' Kati Ketz is interviewed by Ron Jacobs (Dissident Voice) addressing what's coming up next month with Ketz explaining, "SDS is again putting out a call for students to take action, this time a week of action between March 17th-21st in order to protest five years of war in Iraq. We are focusing on March 20th as a student and youth specific day of action, where schools will be having walk-outs or rallies and protests on their campuses and in their cities." Ketz explains how her UNC-Asheville chapter of SDS is working with the local chapter of IVAW, "It seemed natural to our SDS group that when the IVAW-Asheville group started up in November of 2007 that we invite some of their members to speak on our campus. From that, a couple of members of IVAW-Asheville started coming to SDS meetings and getting involved in our actions on campus, which led to the counter-recruitment action we did recently. During this counter-recruitment action, we staged a mock Iraq raid based on what one member of IVAW-Asheville witnessed firsthand, with a family of Iraqi people being zip-tied and asked for information that they did not have before being carried away." More information is available at this page of the SDS website.

There are people seriously committed to ending the illegal war. Chances are you won't ever find them in what passes for 'independent' media today. Which is why we didn't hear the latest nonsense in Baghdad being called out. Again, the MSM is reporting. Where's Little Media? The damage they create with their silence is appalling. The new push is for round-ups in Baghdad. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports it as if that's a good thing -- having the "homeless and mentally ill residents" rounded up and it's for their protection, you understand, because they have been used as bombers ("knowingly or unknowingly") so this is the way to address that according to the Interior Ministry's Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf who explains to CNN that "[p]olice will hand beggars, vagrants and the mentally handicapped over to governmental institutions that can provide them with shelter and care". The thugs of the Interior Ministry (who control the police or did we all miss that in the James Baker Circle Jerk report?) are going to determine who is sane and who isn't? Based on what training? They're going to determine -- in a country with runaway inflation and unemployment -- who is a 'vagrant' or 'beggar'? And they're never going to base those decisions on anything but the facts, right? They won't use that power to round-up against political enemies or dissidents? Keep dreaming.

The February 1st Baghdad bombings were said to have involved two women as 'suicide bombers' who were mentally disabled or one had Down Syndrome or blah, blah, blah -- who can remember all the spin the US military was offering day after day? In fact, they're still at it. The New York Times' Richard A. Oppel Jr. with AP (at International Herald-Tribune) reports that the US held a press briefing today in Baghdad to say they have files! medical records! and the women were ill! they had "depression and schizophrenia"! US military flack Gregory Smith explains that photos of the two women's severed heads were then photographed and -- apparently despite the heads being blown off the bodies -- were intact enough for the women to be matched up with "their psychiatric files -- not any medical files". That's such a sweet story and maybe there's a bit of truth somewhere deep.
records.

There's no proof, just some yacking coming from a flack for the US military. Earlier today Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reported on the same topic qutoing Khalaf stating beggars under 18 would be confined "to shelters" while those over 18 "would be charged with crimes" and those 'judged' mentally disabled by the 'doctors' working the Iraqi police beat on foot patrol would end up confined to hospitals because "These people with mental defects can cause a lot of damage if they are left on the streets . . . Their proper place is in the hospitals." There's no cultural excuse for what he just stated. "Proper place" and "defects" are offensive in any culture but that's what happens when educated Iraqis flee the country because thugs are put in charge.Repeating, the thugs of the Interior Ministry just got a pass on rounding up anyone they want to in a country where unemployment is the norm and where the mental health facilities are struggling at best. And what type of a country has a law on the books that bars the mentally disabled from being seen in public? This really is a disgrace and it's something that will be used to 'eliminate' people that are not in favor with the Interior Ministry. Again, there's still no proof that the mentally disabled have been used in bombings, even after the US raided a psychiatric hospital last week (CNN says they raided two). Steve Lannen and Hussein Khadim (McClatchy Newspapers) actually report on the Al Rashad hospital -- the one raided two Sundays ago with the director, Dr. Sahi Aboub, being arrested by the US military. The reporters find that the US military's claim that Dr. Aboub has been "selecting possible suicide bombers since Jan. 1" is ridiculous since (a) his first day at the hospital was January 13th and "he had no say in when patients would check in or out of the hospital." The hospital staff also notes that it's tied to Moqtada al-Sadr -- that would be the same al-Sadr's who has endorsed a six-month truce/cease-fire since August. It doesn't add up and it never will.

Lannen and Khadim explain that there are only two psychiatric hospitals in Iraq currently -- Ibn Rushad is the other. So exactly where those pronounced 'disabled' by the Interior Ministry are supposed to go is up in the air. As for those carted off to jail, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports on the realities of Iraqi 'justice' today, "The absence of the witnesses was the latest in a series of events that appear aimed at derailing the case, in which the officials are charged with using the resources of the Health Ministry to carry out a campaign of sectarian kidnappings and killings. Witnesses have been intimidated; their families have been threatened; and information emerged this week suggesting that the trial's outcome was fixed. One of the judges scheduled to hear the case had reportedly already agreed to find the men not guilty, according to officials close to the court."
Not disturbed yet? Those are the benefits given to Shi'ite officials and Rubin explains who the two are: "The defendants, former Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili and Brig. Gen. Hameed al-Shammari, who led the ministry's security service, are charged with running militias that killed and kidnapped hundreds of Sunnis in hospitals run by the Health Ministry and other facilities in 2005 and 2006." These round-ups should set off alarms. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Today at the intersections of central Baghdad where forlorn women and young children typically pawn candy, gum, tissues or balloons were empty. The spokesman at the Ministry of Interior took no one off the streets. They all stayed home today." We'll come back to Fadel at the end.

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .


Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing left two people wounded, another Baghdad roadside bombing targeted an official -- "the deputy minister of science and technology, Sameer Salim Al-Attar" -- who was wounded as were "two of his guards," a Baghdad car bombing claimed 1 life and left two people wounded, a Kirkuk roadside bombing left five police officers wounded and a Diyala Province bombing in which a bomber killed himself and 7 other people were at a bakery (with another seventeen wounded). Reuters notes a Tal Afar car bombing in which the driver died as well as two civilians -- "a woman and a 6-year-old girl" -- while eight more people were injured while a roadside bombing outside Tikrits left four people injured.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province shooting that wounded two people while 4 police officers were shot dead in Mosul. Reuters notes "a police woman wearing civilian clothes" was shot dead in Mosul.

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

Today, the US military announced: "Three Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldiers were killed at approximately 10:30 p.m. Feb. 19 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in northwestern Baghdad." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division - North Soldier was killed as a result of injuries sustained from a rocket propelled grenade attack while conducting patrols in Mosul Feb. 20. Three soldiers were also wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility for treatment." 3967 is the current total for US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war. 23 is the current total for the month -- on the 20th day of the month.

Yesterday, IRIN noted the continued plight of the Palestinian refugees "trapped in three makeshift camps along the Iraqi-Syrian border". The Palestinian population of Iraq before the illegal war broke out was not considered "citizens" of Iraq. They were included in the census, they were legally in the country and had some rights (not universal rights) recognized but they were not considered citizens. This creates a huge problem when attempting to leave Iraq since many countries demand passports -- more so since the large migration of refugees out of Iraq. But prior to that large migration, Palestinians were already leaving Iraq because the illegal war meant that the few rights they had were now shredded. In May of 2003, the BBC was reporting on the United Nations explaining what was happening, how they faced the threat of eviction (with 1,000 already being kicked out of Baghdad). The crisis was expected. Those trapped between the borders of Iraq and Syria have been trapped for nearly two years. Nothing is being done.


Turning to US political news. Margaret Kimberly (Freedom Rider -- this is Kimberley's own website, not her latest column) believes Hillary Clinton's campaign for the presidential nomination is now over: "She cannot over come the barrage of negative press that has hit her. The press are in the tank for Obama, and that is obviously because he is the corporate media favorite. . . . He endorsed Joe Lieberman, his Senate mentor, he waffled on Iraq, often contradicting his own statements about being anti-war. He said he would bomb Iran. He said that Israel can keep killing people whenever and wherever it chooses. Most importantly he told them that he will keep black people quiet. Like the right wing he thinks that the 60s and 70s were 'excessive.' He says 'there is no black America' and in any case we are '90% of the way towards equality'." [For more on Hillary, Elizabeth L. Keathley examines cultural and historical bias working against the Clinton campaign at Women's eNews.] Staying with that themes Obama sells, Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report) observes, "Obama is a world-class wooer. His white male wooing is made much easier by the fact that those who consider themselves his 'sisters' and 'brothers' demand nothing whatsoever from him. Just come home when you get ready, brother. Obama is free to concentrate his attentions on the hard-to-get demographics, especially white men with their peculiar notions of 'change.' No need for Obama to promise the hood a damn thing, except that he'll cut a dashing figure in the Oval Office and make the homefolks proud that he's there, symbolically representing them. Republicans and GOP-leaning 'independents' (meaning, deep-dyed whites) are crossing over in heards to vote for Obama. They've got the message: happy days are here again, when the darkies smiled and were careful not to hurt our feelings by telling the truth. That's the kind of 'change' we've always 'hoped' for, by golly! The white liberal/left, ineffectual and geographically scattered, are drawn irresistibly to the Black man who regales them with sweet nothings -- literally, nothing in the way of the concrete policies for peace and social justice they claim to champion. His presence in their midst is enough. Besides, Obama is someone who is 'capable of forging a progressive majority,' they say. That's a strange concept, since Obama doesn't act like a progressive, or claim to be one." Doesn't act like one? Fidel Castro announced he was stepping down as president of Cuba. KUNA reports on Obama's statements yesterday including that Castro's stepping down ending "a dark era." He wasn't the only Obama embarrassing himself yesterday. As Kat notes, Michelle Obama declared on Monday, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback." Cindy McCain, spouse of Senator McCain, later stated publicly, "I am proud of my country. I don't know about you. If you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of my country." If only that was the least of Bambi's troubles. Jake Tapper (ABC News) reports on Obama and the federally indicted Antoin "Tony" Rezko: "Turns out before Obama bought the mansion (Rezko helped him by buying half the land), Obama took Rezko 'on a tour of the premises to make sure it was a good deal'." Tapper's quote comes from David Jackson and Bob Secter (Chicago Tribune) who note, "Weeks after saying he'd answered all questions about his controversial dealings with the now-indicted Rezko, Obama released new details about their purchase of adjacent lots from the same seller on the same day. But the disclosures by Obama's presidential campaign left unanswered questions and raised new ones." Today, Rhonda Schwartz and Justin Rood (ABC News) report, "Watchdog groups are questioning why it took Sen. Barack Obama more than a year to disclose additional details of his dealings with indicted fundraiser Antoin 'Tony' Rezko" and quote Better Government Association's Jay Stewart ("when you're laying out that kind of rhetoric . . . it makes sense for people to say, 'Let's look at what you've done. Let's see if your rhetoric matches wtih reality." and Illinois Campaign for Political Reform's Cindy Canary ("This is something that Sen. Obama should have put foward from the get-go."). Well he should have given away the Rezko money from the get-go but, as Chris Fusco and Tim Novack (Chicago Sun-Times) reported at the end of last month, "The latest dump of Rezko-related cash by the Democratic presidential contended is $72,650, bringing the total Obama is giving away to $157,835."

In her speech last night, Hillary Clinton noted, "I have served on the Armed Services Committee. I've been to more than 80 countries, worked with world leaders, stood up to the Chinese government to declare that women's rights are human rights. And I am ready to end this war in Iraq and this era of cowboy diplomacy. I will restore our leadership and moral authority in the world without delays, without on-the-job training, from day one. One of us has a plan to provide health care for every single American, no one left out. And I believe -- I believe health care is a right, not a privilege. And I will not rest until every American is covered. That is my solemn promise to you." If you didn't catch that from 'independent' media today, it's because you have Smut Merchants and a lot of Pigs.

For instance, why does Amy Goodman hate women? Alleged 'journalist' Amy Goodman -- allegedly a 'woman' -- felt the need to finally get around to noting the Polk awards. (We noted them in the snapshot yesterday, we also noted them before Democracy Now! started yesterday, they were already in the news cycle.) Joining her in dishonoring women is The Cindy Brady of the Faux Left Eric AlterPunk who makes time to note a blogger, his own magazine (which did not win) and the Washington Post. (Writers won the Polks awards, not their outlets.) So let's repeat, McClatchy Newspapers reports:

Leila Fadel, McClatchy's Baghdad bureau chief, won the George R. Polk Award for outstanding foreign reporting and The Charlotte Observer won the Polk Award for outstanding economic reporting, Long Island University announced Tuesday.Fadel, 26, was cited for her "vivid depictions" of the military and political struggle in Iraq. "Her work provided a comprehensive array of disturbing, first-hand accounts of violence and conflict by juxtaposing the agonizing plight of families in ethnically torn neighborhoods with the braggadocio of a vengeful insurgent proud of his murderous exploits, and the carnage and sorrow among victims of Iraq's most deadly car bombing in a remote region of the country where few reporters ventured," the jurors said.:
From Robert D. McFadden (New York Times), "Leila Fadel, the Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy, won the foreign reporting Polk for wide-ranging articles from Iraq on families in ethnically torn neighborhoods, on killers and victims and on an endlessly changing military and political struggle." Editor & Publisher has reposted a 2007 article on her. Sarah Bahari (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reviews Fadel's past reporting and notes, "From her work on that story and others, Fadel -- a former Star-Telgram reporter and now Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, the Star-Telegram's parent company -- has been awarded the prestigious George Polk Award for foreign reporting." And that foreign reporting is coming from Iraq. So you might think she could get a shout-out from Little Media. She didn't. Petty jealousies? Anger at an an attractive and younger woman? Who knows. But she won it and she earned it and like many other women reporting from Iraq during the illegal war -- including Nancy A. Youssef, Cara Buckley, Sabrina Tavernise, Riverbend, Alissa J. Rubin, Ellen Knickmeyer, Tina Susman and Alexandra Zavis. Fadel's contributions have made a real difference. Maybe that's why Little Media could do everything -- while pretending to give a damn about Iraq -- but note the journalist who won a Polk this year for actually reporting from Iraq?










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