Saturday, July 19, 2008

Socialist Worker, Nader

Friday finally! It's the weekend at last! I'm blogging quickly tonight because I waited so long to start. This is from the Las Vegas Sun's "Nader makes presidential ballot in Nevada:"


Matt Griffin, deputy secretary of state for elections, said Friday that he has received information from the counties that Nader has nearly 5,000 signatures of registered voters on a petition to qualify for the presidential ballot. He said about 4,700 are needed to qualify for the ballot.
Nader supporters said they had 12,000 signatures. Griffin said he should receive the official numbers next week.
Nader hopes to be on the presidential ballot in 45 states by Sept. 20.
His vice presidential candidate is Matt Gonzalez, and his Nevada electors are Richard Murakami and Frank Kunovic, both of Las Vegas, and Michele Patterson, Miranda Humphrey and Thomas Farrell, all of Reno.



That's good news and the 45 states is going to happen. Bit by bit. That's what happens when you're an independent candidate. You don't just have to fight for votes, you have to fight to even get on the ballot. Maybe the reason that Panhandle Media can't get behind Ralph is because they don't have the strength to fight for anything? Now Gilles d'Aymery & Jan Baughman offer "How To Help The Nader-Gonzalez '08 Campaign" at Swans and it's really not excerptable. It's a concrete list of things you can do to help the Nader campaign. Who can help the Barack campaign?

No one.

If you doubt it, this is the UK Socialist Worker's "Barack Obama is already moving to the right:"

US presidential candidate Barack Obama arrives in London to meet Gordon Brown next week. It’s part of his tour of key US allies, including France, Germany, Israel and Jordan.
This comes amid growing concern among his supporters that he is moving closer to the neoconservative agenda.
Obama has made great play of the fact he opposed the Iraq war. He had promised to pull US troops out of Iraq. But after meeting military commanders Obama now says he would retain a “residual” US presence there and “redeploy” any spare troops to Afghanistan.
After the Republicans attacked his pledge to negotiate with Iran he said that the country represents a “grave threat” and called for “aggressive diplomacy”.
Veteran black Democrat Jessie Jackson has also criticised Obama for blaming black fathers for not taking “personal responsibility” for their children. Jackson pointed to the high levels of unemployment and poverty among black people as the main problem that Obama is ignoring.
Across the globe there are hopes that if Obama is elected he might halt the endless war agenda of George Bush’s years. Now these hopes seem set to be dashed even before the presidential election gets seriously underway.
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And Barack just blows it off. Blows off the people, blows off the promises. And some people, like Katty-van-van Hovel -- make excuses and try to keep us all in line with their little threats and tantrusm.

So Barack's jet-setting. When we've got produce that's not safe in this county? When we've got serious problems to address? He's off galavanting. That's not going to help the anyone. The White House is attacking reproductive rights and where is Barack?

This is Senators Patty Murray and Hillary Clinton's news release "Senators Murray and Clinton Call On HHS To Stop Plans To Obstruct Family Planning Services:"


For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) today called on the Secretary of Health and Human Services to stop misguided plans to put in place new obstacles for women accessing family planning services. This proposed rule change is a poorly-veiled attempt to roll-back women's health care options before the current Administration leaves office.
In a letter to Secretary Michael Leavitt, Senators Clinton and Murray underscored that new planned regulations will increase barriers to obtaining health care services, while weakening health care providers’ ability to obtain funding and provide services.
“It is outrageous that the Bush administration is once again putting ideology over women’s health. Instead of undercutting access to contraception and family planning services, the Bush Administration should put prevention first,” said Senator Clinton.
"On the first day of his administration, the President reinstated the Mexico City global gag clause, a harsh, anti-family planning policy that hurt the world's poorest women and children. Now, on his way out the door it appears that he is trying to limit women's health care options here at home," Murray said. "This misguided attempt to restrict health care services and limit access to contraceptives defeats our common goal of reducing the number of abortions in this country."
Senators Murray and Clinton have worked tirelessly to stop efforts by the Bush Administration to put in place ideological barriers to contraception. Senators Murray and Clinton successfully led the fight to secure an administration decision on the over-the-counter sale of Plan B emergency contraception after more than three years of Administration delay.
The text of the Senators' letter follows:
Secretary Michael O. LeavittThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services200 Independence Avenue, S.W.Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Mr. Secretary:
It has come to our attention that the Department of Health and Human Services may be preparing draft regulations that would create new obstacles for women seeking contraceptive services.One of the most troubling aspects of the proposed rules is the overly-broad definition of “abortion.” This definition would allow health-care corporations or individuals to classify many common forms of contraception – including the birth control pill, emergency contraception and IUDs – “abortions” and therefore to refuse to provide contraception to women who need it.
As a consequence, these draft regulations could disrupt state laws securing women's access to birth control. They could jeopardize federal programs like Medicaid and Title X that provide family-planning services to millions of women. They could even undermine state laws that ensure survivors of sexual assault and rape receive emergency contraception in hospital emergency rooms.
We strongly urge you to reconsider these regulations before they are released. We are extremely concerned by this proposal’s potential to affect millions of women’s reproductive health.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Senator Patty Murray, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)



Notice who keeps working. Who doesn't complain and just goes about the work. Barack's jet setting and Hillary's the one standing up. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Friday, July 18, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, who is harrassing IVAW co-chair Adam Kokesh, the White House issues a statement the State Dept doesn't want to touch, the US military announces another death, and more.

Starting with war resistance -- because Amy Goodman never can -- this was a busy week. Monday US war resister in Canada Robin Long was the subject of deportation of hearing. Which he lost. (Mainly because Judge Anne Mctavish doesn't know her job.) He was deported Tuesday from Canada with the Canadian government keeping everything hush-hush to try to clamp down on public shows of support for Robin. On Wednesday, US war resister James Burmeister faced a court-martial: "
The court-martial of the kill-team whistle blower." He was busted in rank, given six months of time and stripped of his rights and benefits. The latter is especially shocking when you realize he has Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The government gladly shipped him to a war zone where he was injured and then they spat him this week by refusing to pay for the injuries their illegal war caused James -- life-long injuries. Amy Goodman (Democracy Sometimes!) continued the silence she's long maintained on James -- she never mentioned his name. James is the one who blew the whistle on the kill teams -- groups of US soldiers assigned to leave US property (such as cameras) out in the open in Iraq while snipers then wait for an unsuspecting Iraqi to touch them at which point, living up to the team name, they kill the Iraqis. It was big news and and Mark Larabee (The Oregonian) broke the news domestically July 16, 2007. That wasn't something to amplify. Apparently no one in Panhandle Media had slept with James or wanted to. If so, we could have seen the kind of embarrassing moment that had the 'left' recruiting talk show hosts not all that long ago. Call it The Critic and the Young Chippie or -- as they prepared to play it -- The Greatest All Time Threat to Democracy. Nothing gets a fire burning for our 'fearless' 'leaders' as much as the thought that one of their old 'lions' might finally get laid. So James, who was actual news, got ignored in 2007 and, if you missed it, got ignored Wednesday, Thursday and today. Free Speech isn't worth a damn when it's also Meaningless Speech -- and didn't so many prove just how meaningless they could be.

AP (Real Media) filed a better version of their earlier story, one that noted, "He said he was disturbed by a military tactic of planting equipment to lure Iraqis that American snipers could then kill. Burmeister said he complained to superior officers that the snipers couldn't know for sure whether the people they shot were actually insurgents, or presented any threat to U.S. forces." The Oregonian did a brief that noted, "Burmeister said he complained to superior officers that the snipers couldn't know for sure whether the people they shot were actually insurgents or presented any threat to U.S. forces. Eventually, the soldier from Cheshire, near Eugene, was injured by a roadside bomb and sent to Germany to recuperate. While there, he left his unit and went to Canada, where he campaigned against the use of the small kill teams." Kill teams. War crimes. But Panhandle Media had something else to cover. While whining about the silence from Real Media on some stories, they censored themselves. Call it Learned Pathetic. The only maturity in the story came from James himself. Ten months ago, Mina Al-Oraibi (Asharq Alawsat) quoted the then-in-Canada James Burmeister stating he did not regret self-checking out, "Because I feel it's the right thing to do -- even if I face prison or a dishonorable discharge from the army. I can't go back to the killing."

On Robin Long,
Stefanie Fisher (Party for Socialsim and Liberation) provides a run-through, "On July 15, Robin Long became the first Iraq war resister to be deported from Canada back to the United States. In 2005, Long went to Canada because he would not fight in an 'illegal war of aggression.' Like thousands of young recruits, Long discovered that the Iraq war was based on lies only after he had joined the military. The court denied Long sanctuary based on a so-called 'lack of evidence' that he would face harsh treatment if he were sent back to the United States. The court was fully aware that Long would be unjustly tried as a deserter, could face prison time and be deployed to Iraq against his will. As an example to others, on July 16, James Burmeister, a resister who turned himself over to the U.S. government was sentenced to 9 months in jail and dishonorably discharged. Protests in the U.S. and Canada have demanded sanctuary for Iraq war resisters. Two-thirds of Canadians believe that war resisters should be allowed to stay in Canada." Jeremy Deutsch (Kamloops This Week) reports on NDP's Michael Crawford's reaction to the deportation and quoted him stating, "We have a government in Canada hell-bent on pleasing the American administration. . . . If we believe it's an illegal war, why should we not give some form of sancturary to people who are refusing to fight that war?" This follows NDP's Bill Siksay's earlier statements this week, prior to the deportation of Robin, "Stockwell Day, Diane Finley and Stephen Harper should respect the will of Parliament and the Canadian people and stop this deportation immediately. The House of Commons has passed a motion supporting a special programme that would allow conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in the war in Iraq to remain in Canada. The government must respect this action by the House and stop deportation action against Robin Long and other Iraq war resisters. The Canadian government and the Canadian people do not support George Bush's illegal war in Iraq. We must have the courage of those convictions and back them up by ensuring that Americans who take a stand against that war receive a welcome in Canada. Robin Long must be allowed to stay." Meanwhile Keith Jones (WSWS) examines the situation and concludes:

As for the Canadian government, in 2005 when the Liberals held office, it took the highly unusual step of intervening at [Jeremy] Hinzman's refugee hearing--the first for an Iraq war resister--to successfully urge the Immigration and Refugee Board to exclude any arguments concerning the legality of the US's invasion of Iraq. The pretext invoked by the government was that only the International Court of Justice at the Hague has the authority and jurisdiction to adjudicate on the legality of a war. (See
"Canada denies asylum to US soldier who refused to serve in Iraq")
During the Vietnam War more than 50,000 US draft-dodgers and "deserters" found refuge in Canada. Today, however, the Canadian judiciary, immigration board, and government are determined to ensure that the country not become a safe haven for those in the US military who refuse to be party to the US's wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is not just because Canada's elite does not want to rile the Bush administration and US military. The Canadian ruling class is determined to jettison the myth of Canada as a peace-keeping nation--a myth closely bound up with Pearson and Trudeau Liberal governments' attitude toward the Vietnam War and decision to allow Vietnam war resisters to apply for landed immigrant status in Canada--because they see it as cutting across their efforts to revive Canadian militarism and use the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a means to assert their predatory interests on the world stage.

Today,
Canadian Christianity notes: "Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Canada held a public prayer vigil July 10 on behalf of Robin Long, a US war resister who was scheduled to be deported from Canada July 15. Long joined the US military in 2003, but became disillusioned with the US war in Iraq, deserted and fled to Canada in 2005. He applied for refugee status in 2006, but his final court appeal was turned down July 14. There are about 200 US resisters of the Iraq War currently in Canada. The CPT Canada vigil, which took place in Winnipeg, drew participants from the 'People's Summit for Faithful Living,' a joint meeting of delegates from Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA."

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, 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, Jose Vasquez, 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, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, 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. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

IVAW's co-chair, Adam Kokesh, has been regularly targeted by the US government for speaking out. Wednesday he wrote (Revolutionary Patriot) "The Cops Are Everywhere -- Especially Where I Am." Thursday he posted a video of one encounter. Friday, his report also included a police report (pages of the police report are clickable to make them larger to read) which reveals that one of the people who have been hassling/harassing him is an FBI agent. So what's going on? I have no idea. But Adam has been targeted before and there's no denying that an FBI agent is going out of his way to target Adam now.

Staying on
IVAW, they've posted a copy members of Congress sent to the White House. The letter is signed by House Reps Yvette D. Clarke, John Conyers, Lynn Woosley, Barbara Lee, Jan Schakowsky, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Dennis Kucinich, James McGovern, Pete Stark, Edolphus Towns, Tammy Baldwin, William Jefferson, and Eleanor Holmes Norton. The letter [PDF format warning] reads:

We, the below signed Members of Congress, voice our support for current, present, and future members of the United States Armed Forces who oppose the War in Iraq and who are working to bring it to a speedy and safe conclusion. These brave men and women, who have served our nation so honorably, represent the best aspects of our democratic tradition. While we cannot condone the actions of any service members who translates their personal opposition to the war into a deliberate decision to go Absent Without Leave (AWOL), we offer our most sincere support to every service member affected by the War in Iraq. This war has placed many of armed service members, like Sergeant Matthis Chiroux, in an untenable dilemma. Sgt. Chiroux has served as an active duty service member for the last 5 years -- serving tours of duty in Afghanistan and the Philippines. In July of 2007, having served his country with distinction, the Sergeant was discharged to the Individiual Ready Reserves. As the civil war raging inside Iraq intensified, Sgt. Chiroux was moving on with his life and leaving behind a war with which he disagreed. Unfortunately for the Sergeant, the war's unpopularity has taken a heavy toll on the Army's recruitment efforts. As such, in February of this year, he was recalled to active duty and received his deployment orders for Iraq. We in the Congress oppose this type of forced redeployment, as well as the military's so-called 'stop-loss' policy. As such, we in the Congress reaffirm our support for ending the War in Iraq by all means available to us. We also reaffirm our support for all military members who speak out, advocate, and otherwise support efforts to bring the troops home.

If the letter seems a little weak, let's go to
Howard Zinn who isn't campaigning for any office and, even if he was, could probably still tell the hard truths. From his "Memo to Obama, McCain: No one wins in a war" (Boston Globe):


For someone like myself, who fought in World War II, and since then has protested against war, I must ask: Have our political leaders gone mad? Have they learned nothing from recent history? Have they not learned that no one "wins" in a war, but that hundreds of thousands of humans die, most of them civilians, many of them children?
Did we "win" by going to war in Korea? The result was a stalemate, leaving things as they were before with a dictatorship in South Korea and a dictatorship in North Korea. Still, more than 2 million people - mostly civilians -- died, the United States dropped napalm on children, and 50,000 American soldiers lost their lives.
Did we "win" in Vietnam? We were forced to withdraw, but only after 2 million Vietnamese died, again mostly civilians, again leaving children burned or armless or legless, and 58,000 American soldiers dead.

This morning in Tucson, Arizona, the traveling White House press corps heard from Scott Stanzel, Deputy Press Secretary, regarding the continued treaty negotiations between the White House and its puppet in Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki. Stanzel stated, "And as the statement says, we have reached a point in Iraq where we can have these discussions about continuing to transition more control of the security situation to the Iraqi forces. . . . But these are aspirational goals, not arbitrary time lines based on political expediency. So we want to get to a point where we have sustainable security in the country, and our forces are able to come home and transition into a role there of more overwatch and training." What was Stanzel referring to? This statement issued by the White House Press Secretary:

President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki spoke yesterday in their regularly scheduled secure video conference, about a range of matters including the improving security situation and the performance of Iraqi Security Forces across Iraq, from Basra, to Maysan, Baghdad and Sadr City, and Mosul. The two leaders welcomed the recent visit of Prime Minister Erdogan to Baghdad and the successful visit of Prime Minister Maliki to the UAE. They also discussed ongoing initiatives to follow security gains with Iraqi investment in its people, infrastructure, cities, and towns, which will be aided by a $21 billion supplemental budget now before the Iraqi parliament.
In the context of these improving political, economic, and security conditions, the President and the Prime Minister discussed the ongoing negotiations to establish a normalized bilateral relationship between Iraq and the United States. The leaders agreed on a common way forward to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible, and noted in particular the progress made toward completing a broad strategic framework agreement that will build on the Declaration of Principles signed last November, and include areas of cooperation across many fields, including economics, diplomacy, health, culture, education, and security.
In the area of security cooperation, the President and the Prime Minister agreed that improving conditions should allow for the agreements now under negotiation to include a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals -- such as the resumption of Iraqi security control in their cities and provinces and the further reduction of U.S. combat forces from Iraq. The President and Prime Minister agreed that the goals would be based on continued improving conditions on the ground and not an arbitrary date for withdrawal. The two leaders welcomed in this regard the return of the final surge brigade to the United States this month, and the ongoing transition from a primary combat role for U.S. forces to an overwatch role, which focuses on training and advising Iraqi forces, and conducting counter-terror operations in support of those forces.
This transition and the subsequent reduction in U.S. forces from Iraq is a testament to the improving capacity of Iraq's Security Forces and the success of joint operations that were initiated under the new strategy put in place by the President and the Prime Minister in January 2007.

What's it mean? Nothing.
BBC may come closest to that reality when they note: "The BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington says the announcement is designed to encourage the idea that US troops are coming home, without committing to any dates." In which case, the hope would be to lull the American people into a sense that the illegal war is drawing to a close, so everybody calm down. Who is 'everybody'? Our pathetic 'peace' organizations who are focused on Iran and have forgotten Iraq? Roger Runningen and Ken Fireman (Bloomberg News) note that "White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said the new statement doesn't reflect a shift in the U.S. position." At the State Dept today, spokesperson Sean McCormack attempted to play dumb. Responding to questions about the discussions between the puppet and the White House, McCormak first declared, "I think the -- well, the White House issued a statement about this." The next question was answered with, "And they -- the Iraqis -- also put out language." And then, "What am I going to add to the statement that has been issued?"

It's all very Nixonian, this 'plan' that no one can know about but everyone should know that peace is just around the corner.
It echoes US Senator John McCain (presumptive GOP presidential nominee) claiming yesterday that the Iraq War could now be considered a 'win.' And, as with Nixon and his secret 'peace plan,' no one appears eager to probe McCain to explain what happens after a 'win'? Mitt Romney took to NBC's Today show this morning to speak vaugely of John McCain's 'goals' to end the illegal war to Matt Lauer but Matt was more interested in cracking resume jokes and asking about polls. Didn't even appear to note Romney's "sweet talk" jab at Barack ("I think in the final analysis that sweet talk is going to give into straight talk."). Maybe because Matt Lauer was too busy laying on the "sweet talk" ("Can I just recite your resume here?").

Today,
James Risen (New York Times) reports that KBR's electrical work is even worse than thought -- and this was with it thought that only 13 US service members had died from being electrocuted in the showers due to cheap and shoddy work -- with people receiving daily shocks and Risen notes, "During just one six-month period -- August 2006 through January 2007 -- at least 283 electrical fires destroyed or damaged American military facilities in Iraq, including the military's largest dining hall in the country, documents obtained by The New York Times show. Two soldiers died in an electrical fire at their base near Tikrit in 2006, the records note, while another was injured while jumping from a burning guard tower in May 2007." Meanwhile Hurriyet reports that northern Iraq was bombed today by Turkish warplanes.


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

Bombings?


Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Nineveh Province car bombing that killed the driver and 3 members of the Iraqi military with seven more left wounded, an apparent assassination attempt on Laith Salih in Diyala Province -- Salih ("Awakening" Council) wasn't wounded but his brother was.

Shootings?

Reuters drops back to Thursday to note 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul with three more injured.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad.

Monsters and Critics reports, " The Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency quoted a statement by the US Department of Defense saying a US soldier died of injuries after a car accident in Nineveh's capital some 400 kilometres north of Baghdad."



"Decades ago it was full of victories in the sixties and seventies," said
Ralph Nader when asked about the changes in consumer advocacy. "Full of victories. You know, regulated the lack of safety in motor vehicles, flamable fabrics, Product Safety Commission, all kinds of -- going after usary interest rates for the poor and many other pieces of legislation. But now it's purely defensive. It's trying to hold the gains of the sixties and seventies and that's become a losing fight because the Democrats are not going after the Republicans on this issue, even in this campaign. The Republicans are terrible on consumer protection and the Democrats are not fighting back." Hold the line? You could apply the comments to reproductive rights (except Barack's now attacked them with his demeaning of Doe v. ). Nader was speaking to John Bachir and about the 2004 campaign (video here). But what about the consumer aspect? Yesterday the US Food and Drug Administration issued an announcement noting: "FDA is updating its warning to consumers nationwide concerning the outbreak of Salmonella serotype Saintpaul. As of today, FDA officials believe that consumers may enjoy all types of fresh tomatoes available on the domestic market, without concern of becoming infected with Salmonella Saintpaul. The agency is removing the warning that has been in place since June 7, which states that consumers should avoid certain types of fresh tomatoes due to a potential connection to the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak. Consumers may resume enjoying any type of fresh tomato, including raw red plum, raw red Roma, and raw red round tomatoes. While we are changing our consumer guidance about tomatoes, we reiterate our guidance to consumers that those in vulnerable populations (infants, the elderly, and immune-compromised people) should avoid eating jalapeno and serrano peppers as the investigation continues." In what world is that acceptable? For those who remember the earlier e-coli outbreak in spinach, in March of this year Consumer Reports' blog noted "a report recently released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called 'FDA and Fresh Spinach Safety.'
The findings paint a most unappetizing picture of food safety and once again underscore the need to give the Food and Drug Administration more resources to oversee the safety of the nation's food supply. The committee's investigation was prompted by the
September 2006 outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 that caused hundreds of reported injuries and several deaths—an outbreak that was ultimately traced to packaged fresh spinach. So where is the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform? June 7th was when the FDA issued their warning on tomatoes. A working Congress, a working committee would have called for public hearings immediately. But apparently the public safety takes backseat to showboating for elections so everyone has to wait until the end of July for any hearings. Jim Downing (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that "Americans have continued to get sick -- at a rate of about 20 people per day -- even after" the FDA issued their alert, even after they studied the spinach outbreak. US House Rep Diana DeGette issued a statement yesterday: "It is absolutely outrageous that we are 90 days into the salmonella outbreak and the FDA and CDC still cannot determine the source of contamination. Currently, over 1200 cases of salmonella have been reported, hundreds have been hospitalized, while the outbreak has affected 41 states, including Washington, DC and even Canada. The salmonella outbreak continues to spread, with nearly 30 cases a day, because we do not have a national, comprehensive food traceability system that would quickly track our foods from the field to the fork. . . . Now the FDA is saying that tomatoes are safe, but only because they have a short shelf life. We still don't know the source of the contamination and that is inexcusable." And it's inexcusable that Congress has done nothing but issue press statements while this has taken place. Stephen J. Hedges (Chicago Tribune) quotes a letter Senator Tom Harkin sent to Michael Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services, "It seems highly unlikely that tomatoes harvested in April would still be consumed fresh by consumers in late June." And it seems highly unlikely that an effective Congress 'addresses' this issue by sending letters instead of immediately calling hearings.

On a possibly related note, Bill Moyers and Michael Winship (PBS'
Bill Moyers Journal ) point out:

But we also get into these terrible dilemmas -- where the big guys step all over everyone else and the victims are required to pay the hospital bills -- because we refuse to recognize the connection between money and politics. This is the great denial in democracy that may ultimately mean our ruin. We just don't seem able to see or accept the fact that money drives policy. It's no wonder that Congress and the White House have been looking the other way as the predators picked the pockets of unsuspecting debtors. Mega banking and investment firms have been some of the biggest providers of the cash vital to keeping incumbents in office. There isn't much appetite for biting -- or regulating -- the manicured hand that feeds them. Guess who gave the most money to candidates in this 2007-08 federal election cycle? That's right, the financial services and real estate industries. They stuffed nearly $250 million dollars into the candidate coffers. The about-to-be-bailed-out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together are responsible for about half the country's $12 trillion mortgage debt. Lisa Lerer of Politico.com reports that over the past decade, the two financial giants with the down home names have spent nearly $200 million on campaign contributions and lobbying. According to Lerer, "They've stacked their payrolls with top Washington power brokers of all political stripes, including Republican John McCain's presidential campaign manager, Rick Davis; Democrat Barack Obama's original vice presidential vetter, Jim Johnson; and scores of others now working for the two rivals for the White House." Last Sunday's New York Times put it as bluntly as anyone ever has: "In Washington, Fannie and Freddie's sprawling lobbying machine hired family and friends of politicians in their efforts to quickly sideline any regulations that might slow their growth or invite greater oversight of their business practices. Indeed, their rapid expansion was, at least in part, the result of such artful lobbying over the years." What a beautiful term: "artful lobbying." It means honest graft.

Meanwhile
Team Nader notes:

Last week, we set a fundraising goal of $60,000 by Sunday July 20 midnight - to put Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot in a total of 15 states.
In one week, we have raised $44,000.
Now, we need your help to raise the remaining $16,000 over the next three days - by Sunday midnight.
If only 8,000 of you, our loyal supporters,
donate $2 now, we will meet this goal.
Why is it important to have Ralph Nader on the ballot in November?
Without him, the plight of the Palestinian people will not be an issue in this year's election.
How do we know?
Because Obama/McCain stand with the militaristic right wing AIPAC lobby in the United States.
Nader/Gonzalez stand with the Israeli/Palestinian peace movements.
You will be hearing a lot this weekend about Obama's upcoming trip to the Middle East.
To keep Obama's trip in perspective, check out our new video -
Nader on Obama/Israel - here.
Pass it around to friends and family this weekend.
It is also important to keep in mind that Obama is to the right of some Mossad Israeli hawks. (
See recent Mother Jones article here.)
Even these Mossad Israeli hawks - along with the majority of the Israeli people - would open talks with Hamas.
Obama/McCain would not.
Nader/Gonzalez would reverse U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Obama/McCain would not.
We stand with the courageous Israeli and Palestinian peace movements.
We stand against the AIPAC militarists.
So, if you care about peace in the Middle East.
Please
help us out today.
To
meet our goal by Sunday night.
Together, we are making a difference.
Onward

TV:
NOW on PBS will focus on "the forgotten war' Afghanistan (begins airing Friday on most PBS stations). Bill Moyers Journal (check your local listings, begins airing on PBS in most markets tonight, it also streams online -- transcript, video, audio) looks at the housing crisis and spotlights the continued decline of a once strong voice who guests on the program to talk about the 'up' of the housing crisis (for Democrats!). Gwen's fronting polls as a 'draw' for viewers of this week's Washington Week which should give everyone pause. Dan Balz is among the scheduled guests and the only one who might be able to penetrate the spin. And independent journalist David Bacon continues to explore the issue of immigration, his latest is "THE RIGHT TO STAY HOME" (New American Media). Bacon's latest book is set for release in September, Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press).

iraqjames burmeisterrobin longjeremy deutschmark larabeekeith jonesstefanie fisher
mina al-oraibi
howard zinn
iraq veterans against the war
adam kokesh
mcclatchy newspapers
now on pbs
bill moyers journal
the new york timesjames risen

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Grab bag

Thursday. One day until the weekend. Barack's getting ready in his attempts to use campaign stunts to replace actual news and the news media is oh-so-ready to help him. They're not really about the news either. But MSNBC has an interesting reminder posted today where they take you back in time:

On Aug. 1, 2007, when Obama unveiled his counterterrorism agenda, the Biden camp fired off a snarky email congratulating him for his "Johnny-come-lately position" on Afghanistan, noting that during two Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Afghanistan and other subjects, Obama didn't ask questions about the Taliban, Al Qaeda, or Afghanistan. (We also wrote on it here.)
"We find it a little disingenuous that Sen. Obama is hailing this as a new bold initiative when he has neglected to join his colleagues in the Senate when the opportunities have been there to redirect our forces into Afghanistan" Biden campaign manager Luis Navarro said at the time. "It's good to see Sen. Obama has finally arrived at the right position, but this can hardly be considered bold leadership." Ouch.



Poor Bambi, it's not a good day for him. He's got Michael Barone pointing out how stupid he is:

"Ahistorical" is a good word, for Obama seems surprisingly lacking in his knowledge of history for a man educated at Columbia University and Harvard Law School. At one point in the campaign, he cited Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman as presidents who met with enemy leaders. In my reading, I have missed the descriptions of the Roosevelt-Hitler summit and the dialogue between Truman and the leaders of imperial Japan. Perhaps Obama had in mind the pictures of Roosevelt sitting next to Josef Stalin at Tehran and Yalta or of Truman sitting next to him at Potsdam. But the Soviet Union was our ally at the time of those meetings. Is it possible that Obama doesn't know this?


There were eight e-mails today about the movie Stop-Loss and I'm glad so many enjoyed the review we did ("DVD: Stop-Loss") and thanks to Angie for complimenting my editing on that review. That really is a good movie and I hope enough people see it because, from the e-mails, everyone's renting it to check it out and then calling up friends and saying, "You gotta get ovre here and watch this with me."

And then everyone's writing about how they were talking about the war after. Which really is the point. I mean, what are you going to talk about after seeing the new Batman? That Heath's dead? That there's like six big parts for men and only one for women? I mean, if you tease it out, maybe you'll have something in there to talk about, I don't know. But Kimberly Peirce's movie really gives you a lot to talk about.

And Iraq's slipped off the rader some time ago. That's why our Panhandle Media thinks they can get away with ignoring Robin Long and James Burmeister.

Remember all the LIARS pretending to care about the illegal war, pretending to give a damn. A few years back, of course. Where are they?

Robin Long gets kicked out of Canada AND turned over to the US military and James Burmeister gets court-martialed in the same week. This week. And where the hell is Panhandle Media?

After awhile, you really have to wake up to the fact that they don't care anymore about ending the illegal war than the Democratic 'leadership' in Congress does.

They can cover anything. And they choose to ignore the illegal war.

Robin Long? Who knows what's going to happen to him now? But I'm willing to bet when we find out, the same ones not giving the story the time it deserves will have something else to jaw bone about. The same way they ignored James Burmeister's court-martial. Poor Jamesthey pretty much ignored him all along. They don't care about ending the illegal war. They'll pose like they do, toss out a few crumbs. Use the illegal war the same way Congress does.

And it's really getting old.

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


Thursday, July 17, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, James Burmeister is court-martialed and sentenced, John McCain appears to be saying "War is over," hotel construction and big business in northern Iraq, and more.

Starting with war resisters. US war resister James Burmeister was court-martialed yesterday.
AP ridiculously offers, "Burmeister said he was disturbed by a military tactic of planting equipment to lure Iraqis -- presumably insurgents -- who American snipers could then kill." No, not insurgents. They can't even do their own reporting and they can't even the damn facts right. What took place at Fort Knox yesterday was "The court-martial of the kill-team whistle blower." Here's how Mark Larabee (The Oregonian) reported it, "But once in Iraq, he was assigned to a 'small kill' team that set traps for insurgents. They'd place a fake camera on a pole with a sign labeling it as US property, giving the team the right to shoot anyone who messed with it." [The Oregonian link does not currently work and the story does not show up via a search. The section quoted here was quoted here on July 16, 2007. The story ran that day and was entitled "Soldiers still go over the hill even in an all-vounteer Army."] [Add this anywhere, on the paper's blog, they've just reposted Larabee's story.] The CBC reported it June 29,2007 (link has text and also a listening option), "Instead he said he became part of a team that set up traps for Iraqis using an object such as a fake camera as a lure" and quotes James stating, "If the Iraqis would go and touch it they [the soldiers] could shoot 'em because if anyone messes with the U.S. government property, they're allowed to fire at 'em." It could have been news then -- the "kill teams." It should have been. But instead Panhandle Media chose to ignore reality. They're never very concerned with Iraq. Real Media got on the story in September, via Josh White and Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) reporting on Jorge Sandoval "As he and two other snipers face charges of killing Iraqis, legal experts are debating how large a role a classified program of "baiting" their targets played in the cases. The soldiers in the unit had the spool of wire, defense attorneys said, only because the Army's secretive Asymmetric Warfare Group had given it to them -- along with other items, such as plastic explosives and AK-47 rounds -- so the snipers could boost the number of suspected insurgents they killed by shooting whoever picked up the materials. . . Retired Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Romig, a former judge advocate general for the Army, said the group's baiting program, as described publicly, opens up the possibility for indiscriminate shootings -- based on little information -- that could lead to the death of scavengers or curious passersby. He said that when troops kill civilians by mistake, it can harm the war effort." Kim Sengupta (Independent of London) summarized it, "US soldiers are luring Iraqis to their deaths by scattering military equipment on the ground as "bait", and then shooting those who pick them up, it has been alleged at a court martial." Sengupta then quoted an unnamed "US military source" stating, "The guys picking them up are sometimes bad guys. But how do you know each time?" The difference should be very clear to the AP which, after all, reported of Sandoval September 28th, "He was found not guilty of the two murder charges, but the panel decided he had placed a detonation wire on one of the bodies to make it look as if the man was an insurgent." But today AP wants to say "presumably insurgents"?

August 24th Maria Hinojosa spoke with James Burmeister for NOW on PBS (she also spoke with Agustin Aguayo for the same segment)

HINOJOSA: During his many missions, James was caught in three road-side bombings... And amazingly, a fellow soldier caught one of the explosions on camera.BURMEISTER: We were in a five humvee set. Rolling down a--down a main street in Baghdad in our sector. I'm the gunner on top of this humvee... Just a big bomb goes off. And it's so fast, you don't--you don't see the bomb. You're scared. You're checking your body parts to see if you're missing anything. A few days after that, I had actually passed out in my room. Passed out, just hit the floor.HINOJOSA: James says that was the first sign of his post traumatic stress disorder. He says doctors thought he also may have sustained a traumatic brain injury, so he was sent to Germany on medical leave. Two months later, while still on medication, he was ordered back to Iraq.BURMEISTER: They were desperate for people to get back there. They just needed people in Baghdad. They just need bodies to man the guns and the equipment.HINOJOSA: James saw only two options: either go back to Iraq...or go AWOL, Absent Without Leave, a crime punishable by jail time and even court-martial.BURMEISTER: I got back home--talked to my wife. You know, I said, "I think I'm gonna leave." It was like a 15 minute decision that I'm--I'm gonna leave--I'm gonna leave the Army.HINOJOSA: On May 4th of this year James fled to Canada, a familiar haven for over 55,000 Americans during the Vietnam War. But times have changed and Canadian immigration laws are much stricter now. When James arrived in Ottawa he realized his only viable option to legally stay in Canada was to apply for refugee status. We were with him and his family the day they put in their application.BURMEISTER: Today I am here at the immigration office to file my refugee claim, and starting the whole process today and hope everything goes well.HINOJOSA: Up until now James and his family had been living underground. During this war about 300 U.S. soldiers are known to have fled to Canada and around 50 have applied for refugee status. None to this day have been granted but no one has been sent home either. They, along with James, wait to see if Canada will take them in permanently.

Speaking to the CBS June 29th, he explained: "Our platoon in particular would set up small groups called small kill teams maybe a group of four, five people, some snipers and we would set up fake cameras. We would put 'Property of US Government' in English and Arabic and we would wait for an Iraqi to come up and touch it because that gives the US the right to kill them, so they say. That would be the typical thing we'd do. . . . I didn't see how that was helping at all." Following the roadside bombing caught on tape (which wasn't the only bombing James endured), he was put on 'leave' when he should have been sent to a hospital. The military didn't want to take responsibility for that and expected him to get (apparently brief) medical treatment while he was on so-called 'leave.'
Mina Al-Oraibi (Asharq Alawsat) reported, "Following three months of lengthy treatment and surgery for a head injury, the US Army issued an order to send Burmeister back to Iraq" and James explained to her, "They wanted to send me back there on crutches and taking anti-depressants." James told the CBC that he was being threatened and told to lie about his status because he was wanted back in Iraq which is when he made his decision:

Like I said, I was back on leave, just taking care of my hospital stuff. My commander of my company told me that I had two days to get ready to head back to Baghdad. They gave me 24-hours duty on the first day so I couldn't go home and tell my wife so I was -- when I got back after the 24-hours -- just was looking on the internet about Canada and I heard a lot of stories about Vietnam war resisters coming up to Canada so the idea just popped into my head to look on the -- look on the internet. And I also included 'refugee" in that search. Came across the website Resisters.ca and called them up and asked what kind of options I had. You know, they told me I should look at all my options before just running up to Canada but at that point I had already looked at a lot of them, I had already talked to my commander about consientious objector status and they just said no to that. So that day I bought the ticket and next day flew out from Nuremberg Germany to Toronto and made my way up here.
[The audio clip at CBC is an interview Burmeister did with Rob Benzie. More from the interview -- for those who can't stream online or with hearing disabilities -- can be found in the
September 25th snapshot.]

Burmeister left Canada and returned to the US where he turned himself in on March 4th.
Camilla Mortensen (Eugene Weekly) reported on his return and noted, "His father fears the Army wants to keep Burmeister quiet about the 'bait-and-kill' teams the he alleges have been used to kill Iraqi civilians. While James Burmeister awaits the Army's decision, his father [Erich Burmeister] is fighting to bring him home." In May, James Burmeister's father Erich wrote about his son at Courage to Resist:

He is not a kid anymore. When he joined the army, he was a typical poor kid, naive kid, painted himself in a corner kid. A typical young man high on testosterone low on common sense, he brought the recruiter's line of crap and fine-print flim flaw, and was coached on how to assure his induction despite medical conditions that would have disqualified him.
So the army trained him how to kill efficiently in urban warfare situations and shipped his naive butt over to Baghdad to carry out the orders of his commander and chief, the Warrior Prince Bush, our president, brave military veteran of Vietnam. So my son was forced to take part in and was witness to acts of human cruelty beyond his wildest imagination. He killed other young men just like him. In another place in another time, they could have been friends, they could have worked side by side and shared their dreams, now their ghosts will haunt his dreams, like the dreams of this brand new generation of "winter soldiers". For the matter of a few feet, or maybe even a few inches, my son's brains would have been spilled out on a Baghdad street. My nightmare of a soldier's dad, of cradling my son's blown up head in my lap while I try to put it back together, it would have become reality like the nightmares of the families of those soldiers who have already died, and those who will die next week, next month, and next year.
So now my son sits in Army custody, brain injured by a roadside bomb and struggling mightly with PTSD while he awaits court-martial for desertion, because he refused redepolyment to combat in Iraq in May 2007 in protest over the war crimes he was ordered to engage in. He married a fifty-caliber machine gun atop a hummer providing perimeter security for one of the now infamous small kill teams.

In June, his mother Helen Burmeister spoke at a rally outside Fort Knox.


Helen Burmeister: I'm Helen Burmeister and I'm here today to support my son Prviate 1st Class James Burmeister. My son is an Iraq War veteran and I'm very proud of him today. He fought bravely in Iraq. He followed orders. He was wounded in a roadside bomb and he's been diagnosed with PTSD and a possible brain injury. Our request today is that the army release James. We want James to be able to put this traumatic experience behind him so he can begin to heal -- both emotionally and physically. I believe my son has done his part. Now it's time for him to be given the recognition he deserves. Short of that, we are requesting that he be allowed to go home to Oregon. And thank you. Thank you to everyone for all your support today.

Chris Kenning (Courier-Journal) reported on Helen Burmeister's efforts and spoke with US war resister Darrell Anderson who also went to Canada. Anderson returned September 30, 2006 to turn himself in October 3rd. Like Burmeister, he suffers from PTSD and he also lost his benefits. He told Kenning, "It wasn't the easy choice, it was the hard choice. I lost my GI Bill, my veteran's benefits . . . but I did what's right, and I've still got my pride."

Today
Chris Kenning (Courier-Journal) reports on James Burmeister's court-martial yesterday and the sentence of jail (six months), reduction in rank (busted down to private), dishonorable discharge (bad conduct) and "a loss of pay" and quotes Burmeister's military attorney, Captain Tyson McDonald, stating of the military, "They're not happy that dirty laundry was getting aired." Nick Kyonka (Toronto Star) quotes Vietnam vet and Vietnam Veterans Against the War's Carol Rawert-Trainer stating the court-martial took four hours and, "It's quite a shock to everybody. We all thought they were going to take it easy on him because he turned himself in, but it doesn't look that way." She also spoke at the rally last month to show support for James Burmeister:

Carol Rawert Trainer: I am a Vietnam Era veteran and my husband is a retired USAF officer and Vietnam Veteran. We belong to Lousiville Peace Action Community and Vietnam Veterans Against the War, two great organizations that work for peace and justice. I learned of PFC James Burmeister through my involvement with the GI Rights Hotline. We are disgusted at the way the government treats our returning war heroes and we will not sit by and watch it happen. You hear the slogan 'Support Our Troops.' Well that is why we have come here today. I have personally heard too many horror stories of veterans in the Lousiville area who return from war and do not receive proper medical care or benefits or counseling for PTSD which is all too prevalent in this war. The Army seems to care more about their retention at any cost to the soldier and family than they do about the care of the soldiers affected by this war. Too many soldiers are battling their physical and emotional problems alone. The suicide rates have risen dramatically. This is obscene. We are here today to demand that the army grant James a discharge in lieu of court-martial. We are watching what the army is doing. James served honorably in Iraq and carried out his duties as commanded. He received head injuries and shrapnel in his face in the 3rd attack on his convoy. He also has PTSD and seizures and is on many medications as a result of his experience. When he was recuperating in the hospital in Germany he realized that what he was commanded to do -- killing innocent people, sometimes in bait-and-switch schemes, was immoral. The army trains these troops from basic to kill, kill, kill and does not differentiate between innocent Iraqis or insurgents. James could not, would not, do it any longer. He had to live with himself and his actions for the rest of his life. The army does not care about the lifelong problems these honorable soldiers face. In fact they were going to send James back to Iraq even though he was on medications for high blood pressure, depression, sleep problems and more. At least James is one of the lucky ones who realized he needed help before it was too late. Going back to Iraq would be dangerous to his life as well as to those who served with him. We are here today to support James and his family in their struggle for justice! James' family has suffered through other family circumstances that dictate that James be home to help them. We hope the army will grant James an immediate discharge not only for his own personal needs but for his families' needs. Even though he would not receive medical benefits which he needs, he would be home in a safe and loving environment. This is what is fair. This is what is just. James was there when the army needed him. Now the army must be there for James and the countless other heroes who need assistance and support as they cope with their war-induced problems.

War Resisters Support Campaign Lee Zaslofsky tells Kyonka regarding the verdict, "In that case, his post-traumatic stress disorder and some of the other problems that he has won't be dealt with properly. I just hope this isn't an ill omen for some of the other (resisters)."

Turning to news of Robin Long. Or how about "Huh?" "The Morning Show discusses Canadian government's decision to expel an American war resistor, then Jane Mayer . . ." It does? No, KPFA's The Morning Show did not. Despite the summary and announcing it on air. Kind of like, as noted in
yesterday's snapshot, "And US war resisters may see refuge in Canada." Which should have been noted as taking place on Tuesday. Or rather not taking place. Probably not a good idea to self-pat yourself on the shoulders, in the midst of your latest round of begging, when you're unable to deliver on what you have promised and appear to think that, as the program ends, you can just pretend you never promised the segment. Or if you let Aileen pimp the most embarrassing segment of the week as "independent, listener sponsored media," don't expect people to be in a hurry to toss a few coins at you -- not even to get you to be quiet.

Heath Druzin (Idaho Statesman) reports, "Long, who has a child with a Canadian woman, has been considered absent without leave since he fled the U.S. Commanders at Fort Carson will decide whether he should be discharged from the military, returned to duty, court marshaled or given a less severe punishment, Fort Carson spokeswoman Karen Linne said." Monique James (KTVB) notes, "He's been living in British Columbia for the past three years and has a two-year-old son there.Long's sister, Christine, says she fears for her brother now that he's back in the U.S. 'When I heard what was going on I'm kind of freaked out because he's my brother, I don't want anything to happen to him,' said Christine Long."
Robin is the father of a Canadian child. It's not a minor issue. It is, however, an issue that Judge Anne Mctavish should have to explain overlooking. Apparently dizzy from the high altitude of the bench, she forgot the law: Robin, as the father of a Canadian citizen, should not have been deported. It's not just the common sense that it splits up a family (which it does), it's also that the immigration policies are very clear regarding children and parents. Judge Mctavish needs to be asked what gave her the right to override precedent and law in making her decision to evict Robin from the country? Also covering Long? The Idaho Examiner runs a summary of the article
here while The Seattle Times does so here. KBOI News files a brief summary. The Chicago Tribune files a small brief on Long here. Iran's Press TV covers his story here. And Susan Bourette (Christian Science Monitor) observes of the decision to deport Robin, "In a country that provided refuge to an estimated 90 percent of some 100,000 deserters and draft dodgers who went into exile during the Vietnam War, it's an unprecedented decision -- though perhaps not unexpected, given the political temper of the times in Canada."

Free Speech Radio News filed a report yesterday:

Aura Bogado: When more than 50,000 people made their way from the US to Canada to avoid fighting in the Viet Nam war, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau welcomed them, declaring Canada a "refuge from militarism". Today, while much smaller in number and largely unnoticed in the US, a new generation of "deserters" are fighting for the same sanctuary -- including Robin Long, who came to Canada in 2005 seeking refugee status. But as FSRN's Sarah Olson reports, Canadian government officials have not extended the same welcome to these modern war resisters.

Sarah Olson: A federal judge in Vancouver ruled that Robin Long must go home, saying Monday that the 25-year-old had failed to provide clear and non-speculative evidence that he'd be singled out for harsh treatment if he returned to the United States. By Tuesday afternoon, despite two federal court victories,
last month's Parliamentary resolution welcoming Iraq war resisters and the support nearly two-thirds of Canadians have shown for US war resisters, Long became the first Iraq Warwar resister to be deported from Canada. Bob Ages with the War Resisters Support Campaign in Vancouver.

Bob Ages: We think they have expedited what amounts to kidnapping and extraordinary rendition precisely to try to set a precedent to take the wind out of the sails of a campaign of support which has been growing in strength both in terms of our legal arguments and our political support.

Sarah Olson: To understand the legal landscape Long is navigating, one must examine three other cases. First, the Hinzman-Hughey case. Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey arrived in Canada in 2004 and in 2005 became the first US soldiers to petition for refugee status. They were denied but appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada which declined to intervene in November of last year. Attorney Alyssa Manning represents deserters now living in Toronto. Her client,
Corey Glass, won a stay of removal last week based largely on how dramatically Hinzman-Hughey changed things.

Alyssa Manning: We argued that it established new law in the area of Canadian refugee law and that is that if you are fearing the persecution of the state itself as opposed to some other actor in your country of origin then you have to seek protection from that state before you can get refugee protection. Before the Hinzman decision, it wasn't thought that you had to seek state protection if it was actually the state that was persecuting you.

Sarah Olson: The second case is army private Joshua Key. Unlike Hinzman and Hughey, Key was an Iraq veteran. In 2005, the refugee board found that although Key had received orders which violated the Geneva Convention disobeying these orders didn't entitle Key to refugee status. A federal court heare his appeal earlier this month. Key's attorney, Jeffry House.

Jeffry House:
The federal court said that the right to refuse inappropriate orders is larger than what the refugee board had thought. It isn't simply that a soldier can refuse to commit war crimes, a soldier can also refuse to commit violations of the Geneva Convention if that's required of him or her on a systematic basis. The court held that if the United States were to prosecute Joshua Key for refusing to violate the Geneva Conventions then that would give rise to a refugee claim.

Sarah Olson: This July 4th decision was the first legal victory for Iraq War resisters and House says it could have substantial implications.

Jeffry House: Any case in which it was alleged by the person concerned that he or she was required to commit inappropriate acts on a systematic basis probably would have a right to have their case re-heard.

Sarah Olson: Finally there is national guard Sgt. Corey Glass. Glass arrived in Canada in 2006 after going AWOL while home on leave in the middle of an 18-month deployment. His bid for refuge was also rejected. His legal appeals unsuccessful. And his deportation seemed so likely he gave up his apartment and quit his job. But thanks in part to the Key decision the federal court stayed his removal last week while his legal team presents new evidence. Attorney Alyssa Manning.

Alyssa Manning: The really interesting thing about the reason coming down in Corey's case is that it will be the first decision that will consider all of the evidence that we gathered about what has happened to simarly situated individuals in the United States -- people like Stephen Funk or Camilo Mejia, people who spoke out against the war and then were court-martialed and imprisoned.

Sarah Olson: This makes
Robin Long's removal yesterday all the more unfortunate. Long is expected to be sent to Fort Carson, Colorado where his tanker unit is based. Despite the Canadian court's assertion that most deserters don't even face a court-martial or prison time, the percentage of soldiers facing prosecution is much higher when the soldier is on record opposing the war. And this has Long's US supporters concerned. For Free Speech Radio News, I'm Sarah Olson, Oakland, California.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, 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, Jose Vasquez, 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, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, 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. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Turning to the MidEast where
Deborah Haynes (Times of London) reports Lt Gen Ali al-Momen will become Kuwait's first ambassador to Iraq since 1991and notes, " His appointment will be issued in a decree by the emir. It is unclear when the new embassy will open but it is likely to be situated inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, home to other foreign embassies as well as Iraqi Government buildings." And Iran's Press TV reports that Lebanon's Parliamentarian leader Saad Hariri visited Iraq today for the first time since the start of the Iraq War. CNN calls it a diplomatic push that will include puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki going to meet with "leaders of Germany and Italy and with the pope" next week. Strangely no one's talking about what the Kurdistan region of Iraq's President Massoud Barzani's doing. He was courting big business again today as ground was broken for construction of the a new hotel in Erbil and, among his notable guests, were "Joseph Sarkis, Lebanon's Minister for Tourism, Jacques Sarraf, President of Malia Group Holdings, Selim al-Zyr, President and CEO of Rotana Hotles, Andrea Dini, CEO Dama and Diva Companies." His speech is posted online here.

While some explore diplomacy, US Senator John McCain (presumptive GOP presidential nominee) makes a surprising statement in Kansas City.
CNN reports that he stated "we have succeeded in Iraq. I repeat my statement that we have succeeded in Iraq. Not 'We are succeeding.' We have succeeded in Iraq." If McCain truly believes that, he should be able to speak of withdrawal and reporters shouldn't let him avoid the very serious issue by his stating he doesn't want to talk about 'timelines.' Forget timelines. If he believes what he says, he should be able to sketch out a specific plan for withdrawal. He can note qualifiers that things on the ground could change or whatever -- but if he truly meant what he said, he should be able to sketch a withdrawal. If he can't, he's honestly not up to the job of running for president. When you state, "We have succeeded," being asked, "Then how do we withdraw?" is not an unreasonable question.

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

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded three people, a Diyala roadside bombing that killed 1 man and wounded his three sons. Reuters notes a Samarra roadside bombing that left seven "Awakening" Council members injured.

Shootings?

Reuters notes 1 person shot dead in Hilla.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 1 corpse discovered in Hilla.

Before becoming McClatchy, it was Knight-Ridder Newspapers. Dr. Yasser Salihee was one of the Iraqis working as a correspondent. In June of 2005,
Ron Brynaert (Why Are We Back In Iraq?) noted Yasser's final story: "The last story filed by Knight-Ridder special correspondent, Yasser Salihee appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday but received little attention. "Campaign of executions feared in Iraq" was co-written by Tom Lasseter and it suggested that the Iraqi police may have been acting as executioners instead of policemen". James Cogan (WSWS) explained in July 2005, "Over the past month, Salihee had been gathering evidence that US-backed Iraqi forces have been carrying out extra-judicial killings of alleged members and supporters of the anti-occupation resistance. His investigation followed a feature in the New York Times magazine in May, detailing how the US military had modeled the Iraqi interior ministry police commandos, known as the Wolf Brigade, on the death squads unleashed in the 1980s to crush the left-wing insurgency in El Salvador." NPR's Jacki Lyden noted his death in 2005, "Yasser was part of the first story I reported for NPR after Saddam Hussein was deposed. We met in Baghdad, when he was a physician at Yarmouk Hospital's emergency room. He invited me home the next day and I met his beloved wife and child. . . . It was Friday, he was in his neighborhood on his day off, going to get gasoline and an oil change so that he could take his wife and daughter swimming. He was driving his car alone, when an American sniper from the 3rd Infantry apparently shot him at a check point. I say apparently because the cricumstances are somewhere unclear. He died of a single bullet to the brain, which pierced the car's windshield." As part of the Sacremento Bee's investigation into violence, Russell Carollo reports new details this week on the man who shot Yasser dead, "But a yearlong examination by the Sacramento Bee found that the shooter, Staff Sgt. Joseph J. Romero, brought a long, troubled past with him to Iraq, and the Guard unit Vige praised was riddled with misfits, drug users and soldiers with criminal records -- at least two of them former mental patients. At the time that he shot Salihee Romero was under investigation for selling cocaine, military records show. Days before the shooting, Romero threatened to kill a fellow soldier who reported him to the Army's Criminal Investigation Command or CID. Three weeks later, the drug allegations would prompt the Army to strip Romero of his leadership, bar him from missions and take away his large-caliber sniper rifle. And less than three months after the shooting, on Sept. 9, 2005, Romero was sentenced to 14 months' confinement and given a bad conduct discharge, convicted of selling cocaine, possessing other drugs, obstructing justice and communicating a threat." The Sacremento Bee editorializes on the topic of who is getting into the military on waivers today and notes:

Soldiers with criminal, drug and alcohol histories may represent just a tiny fraction of the 1.4 million who serve in the United States military. But Bee reporter Russell Carollo's stories show that these soldiers can wreak havoc within the military, at times seriously jeopardizing the country's mission in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Take one case examined by The Bee. As a young man, Staff Sgt. Joseph Romero was charged with assault and a string of residential burglaries, but most of the charges were dropped when he agreed to join the Army. During his problem-plagued first 10 years of Army service, he was investigated but not charged with selling drugs. He left the Army in 2001 and spent what those who knew him described as a drug-soaked few years before he joined the Louisiana National Guard and was deployed to Iraq.
While in Iraq, Romero was accused and later convicted of selling drugs to fellow soldiers. After he was accused, the Army required him to surrender his sniper rifle -- but only after he had used that rifle to kill Yasser Salihee, an Iraqi physician who was working as an interpreter. No criminal investigation of the shooting was ever conducted. Salihee's widow told The Bee, "Before the accident I loved the Americans … but after … I hate all the Army. All my neighbors were hating the Americans."

Meanwhile
Andy Rowell (Oil Change) notes, "Four Democratic senators, including Senator Carl Levin have called on the State Department's inspector general to investigate whether the agency encouraged lucrative oil deals between Iraq and several Western companies." This as CBS and AP report that Iraq has decided that the no-bid contracts awarded to Big Oil would come with a one-year offer so as not "overlap with longer-term deals expected" next year. Meanwhile independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader issues an open letter to presumed GOP and Democratic presidential nominees McCain and Barack:


In the July 6, 2008 edition of the New York Times, the courageously peripatetic columnist, Nicolas D. Kristof urged the creation of a Truth Commission on torture and other war crimes. Here is Kristof in his words: "When a distinguished American military commander accuses the United States of committing war crimes in its handling of detainees, you know that we need a new way forward. "'There is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes,' Antonio Taguba, the retired major general who investigated abuses in Iraq, declares in a powerful new report on American torture from Physicians for Human Rights. "'The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.' "[W]e need a national Truth Commission to lead a process of soul searching and national cleansing. "That was what South Africa did after apartheid, with its Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and it is what the United States did with the Kerner Commission on race and the 1980s commission that examined the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. "Today, we need a similar Truth Commission, with subpoena power, to investigate the abuses in the aftermath of 9/11. "It's a national disgrace that more than 100 inmates have died in American custody in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo. After two Afghan inmates were beaten to death by American soldiers, the American military investigator found that one of the men's legs had been 'pulpified.' "Moreover, many of the people we tortured were innocent: the administration was as incompetent as it was immoral. The McClatchy newspaper group has just published a devastating series on torture and other abuses, and it quotes Thomas White, the former Army secretary, as saying that it was clear from the moment Guantánamo opened that one-third of the inmates didn't belong there. "These abuses happened partly because, for several years after 9/11, many of our national institutions didn't do their jobs. The Democratic Party rolled over rather than serving as loyal opposition. We in the press were often lap dogs rather than watchdogs, and we let the public down. "Yet there were heroes, including civil liberties groups and lawyers for detainees. Some judges bucked the mood, and a few conservatives inside the administration spoke out forcefully. The Times's Eric Lichtblau writes in his terrific new book, "Bush's Law," that the Immigration and Naturalization Service commissioner, James Ziglar, pushed back against plans for door-to-door sweeps of Arab-American neighborhoods. "'The book recounts that in one meeting,' Mr. Ziglar bluntly declared, 'We do have this thing called the Constitution,' adding that such sweeps would be illegal and 'I'm not going to be part of it.' "The Truth Commission investigating these issues ideally would be a non-partisan group heavily weighted with respected military and security officials, including generals, admirals and top intelligence figures. Such backgrounds would give their findings credibility across the political spectrum -- and I don't think they would pull punches. The military and intelligence officials I know are as appalled by our abuses as any other group, in part because they realize that if our people waterboard, then our people will also be waterboarded. "Both Barack Obama and John McCain should commit to impaneling a Truth Commission early in the next administration. This commission would issue a report to help us absorb the lessons of our failings, the better to avoid them during the next crisis." Mr. Kristof has put forth a strong case for a strong investigating Truth Commission. He asks for your commitment to establish such a commission should either of you become President. How do you respond to this prize-winning, eye witness-inclined journalist?

iraqjames burmeister
darrell anderson
joshua keymark larabeechris kenningcorey glassnick kyonkapbs
josh whitethe washington post
russel carollomcclatchy newspapers
mina al-oraibi