Iraq, Nader

Tuesday and I'm really bummed because I thought it was Wednesday for some reason. I really went through the day thinking, "Hump day. Weekend's almost here." And when I sat down at the computer to write I noticed stuff saying it was Tuesday online and thought, "Huh?" I was so hopeful until reality sunk in!

This is from Edward Luce's "Obama under fire over Iraq troop pledge:"

US presidents have a history of abandoning campaign promises by pointing out that “the world looks different from here” when they reach the Oval Office. A growing number of Democratic foreign policy wonks are hoping that Barack Obama will do just that with his Iraq election promises if he wins the race for the White House in November.
Having stuck to the line that he would withdraw one to two brigades a month and remove all US combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, Mr Obama’s promise is looking increasingly vulnerable to John McCain’s taunts of “surrender” as ­conditions in Iraq continue to improve.

Is Luce just stupid or pretending to be? First Barack's "promise" isn't a promise as Samantha Power revealed to the BBC in April and Barack made clear earlier this month to CNN. He's already given his statement that he'll decide what to do about Iraq if he makes it to the White House. Second of all, Iraq is not progressing. Sometimes violence goes up some, sometimes it comes down a little. But the violence never stops.

Luce is worried about Barack's "promise" or maybe just pretending he's worried when what he says he wants has already been stated by Barack to CNN. When you're telling the world via CNN, it's not like you're whispering in church. Everyone who wants to know that could know it. Why Luce, a journalist, doesn't is a question to ask him?

Who'll end the illegal war? Barack's not promising that. McCain's not. Ralph Nader is. This is from Chris Rodrigues' "Out of the Country:"

Here's another question -- that is all too telling: Which presidential candidate favours impeachment and would be prepared to see George Bush prosecuted "for criminal and anti-constitutional behaviour" even after he leaves office?
He's the one you won't hear much of or see much written about? That's right: Ralph Nader. And the black out that surrounds his message of "subordinating corporate power to the sovereignty of the people" is a study in capitalist censorship.
Nader's "irrelevancy", it should be noted, is not intellectual or moral but, because he's the only candidate who problematises the two faces of a one-party corporate system, structural. He is simply too challenging of corporate interests to be given his fair share of time in the corporate media. To adapt Marshall McLuhan: The capitalist medium is the only message.

C.I. is including the Nader campaign in all the snapshots possible and since we all repost the snapshots if we post that day, it can reach a really large audience. That's a good thing. The bad part is that it's already in the snapshot. I mentioned that to C.I. on the phone this afternoon and C.I. said, "Mike, I can send you some Nader stuff." I should have asked that a long time ago. C.I.'s always got more stuff than can ever fit into a snapshot.

But I really believe in Nader's run and I want to get the word out. I've tried Yahoo News search because I NEVER find anything on Nader on Google. (They may have some stuff now, I gave up about two and a half weeks ago.) And why don't they have anything on Nader? I think Rodrigues just explained it to you.

Nader's offering real change. Not just an empty slogan. He's not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. He's saying what he will do. You want the troops home? You better vote for Nader. (Bob Barr also says he'll bring the troops home if you're reading this and on the right side of the spectrum. Cynthia McKinney would be she's not running for the White House, she's just running to get 5% of the vote which is why we don't cover her anymore.)

You can vote for someone who would make a difference and you can get others to vote for him too. That's how he can win. Get a real movement started. Barack's already on the ropes and the bloom is off that rose (C.I. loves to say that! :D). He got a bump by scapegoating African-American fathers. The bi-racial man called out Black fathers to hop up in the polls. He needs to be called out.

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

Tuesday, June 24, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, a bombing in Sadr City, and more.

Starting with war resistance. May 21st was when Corey Glass was told he would be deported. Corey Glass is an Iraq War veteran and a US war resister. He went to Canada seeking asylum -- the kind of welcoming Canada provided to war resisters ("draft dodgers" and "deserters") during Vietnam. After being told he was being deported, he's been 'extended' through July 10th. June 3rd Canada's House of Commons voted (non-binding motion) in favor of Canada being a safe harbor for war resisters. Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign will hold a "Rally to Stop the Deportation of Parkdale Resident Corey Glass" July 3rd, begins at 7:00 p.m. (with doors opening at six p.m.) at the May Robinson Building, 20 West Lodge, Toronto: "In 2002, Corey joined the Indiana National Guard. He was told he would not have to fight on foreign shores. But in 2005 he was sent to Iraq. What he saw there caused him to become a conscientious objector and he came to Canada. On May 21, 2008, he got his final order to leave Canada by July 10, 2008. Then on June 3 Parliament passed a motion for all the war resisters to stay in Canada. However the Harper government says it will ignore this motion." Meanwhile the Vancouver branch of the War Resisters Support Campaign needs help housing war resisters in that area:

Dear friends; the two things that we need help with most right now in Vancouver are housing for war resisters and your participation in our outreach and lobbying in Conservative ridings and keeping up the media visibility. Below is a housing appeal, please pass it on freely. Also in Vancouver we will be doing another visit to a Conservative riding, probably either Emerson's in Vancouver or Nina Grewal in Fleetwood-Port Kells. That is tentatively planned for Saturday June 28. War Resister Housing Appeal Do you have an extra-room or a fold-out couch in your home? Do you want to help end the war in Iraq? Would you like to see Canada, once again, become a sanctuary for American soldiers refusing to participate in an illegal war? If you answered yes to the questions above, the War Resisters Support Campaign in Vancouver needs you! The War Resisters Support Campaign helps American soldiers who have come to Canada seeking sanctuary. These young men and women face imprisonment in the US because they obeyed their conscience. They turned their backs on George Bush's war. We need volunteers to house US war resister for a few days to a few months, while we help them to get settled in and work their way through the refugee immigration process. Right now in Vancouver we are in urgent need of housing for two war resisters.If you can house a war resister in the lower mainland, for at least a week starting this week please contact James Leslie at jamesleslie@telus.net or (604) 736-9804 After Friday June 20, 2008 call or email Sarah Bjorknas at 778-837-1475 or vanresisters@yahoo.ca For more info, or to volunteer housing in other parts of BC or the rest of Canada, please see our website http://www.resisters.ca/ Dear Campaigners; As you know, on June 3, the House of Commons did a pretty important thing. The MPs voted 137-110 for the War Resisters Motion, which would make it possible for the war resisters to apply for permanent residence in Canada, and which would stop the deportation of any of them, including Corey Glass, whose deadline to "leave or be removed" is now July 10. The CBC and Newsworld, had a 7-minute report the previous Sunday (June 1), with Terry Milewski, a prominent reporter, anchoring the story. It was a great piece, and it mentioned that the vote would take place on the following Tuesday. Then, on Tuesday, NOTHING -- NADA -- ZERO -- ZILCH! MEDIA COVERAGE NOW IS SUPER IMPORTANT IF WE ARE TO GET THE CONSERVATIVES TO IMPLEMENT THE WAR RESISTERS MOTION. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO DROP A LINE TO THE CBC AT http://www.cbc.ca/contact/
AND LET THEM KNOW YOU WANT MORE COVERAGE OF THE WAR RESISTERS ISSUE! And by the way -- don't be shy about writing to your local media, or to "national" media like the Globe & Mail, which has ignored the story except for a teensy little paragraph that whispered "don't read this" the day after the vote. The Tories would love this issue to disappear from view. Don't let them have their way. PEACE, LEE ZASLOFSKY

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).


Yesterday we noted the death of two US service members. Today Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports a split in the who of the shooting with Iraq's Ministry of Interior stating the shooter was "a local official and said he emerged from the building with the Americans" while eye witnesses insist the shooter "was a former council member who joined the Sunni Muslim insurgency after he was outsed from his job in sectarian fighting in 2006." Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) identifies the shooter as "a council member" and notes that three other service members were injured as was 1 Iraqi translator. Citing eye witnesses Rafi Sleiman and Abu Dawood, London names the shooter as Raed Hmmod Ajil. Mohammed al Dulaimy and Hannah Allam (McClatchy Newspapers) reported yesterday that Raed Mahmoud Ajil was the council member who did the shooting. Those deaths took place as the Government Accountability Office released a report yesterday which James Glanz (New York Times) sums up as detialing a decline in violence and that "several crucial measures the Bush administration uses to demonstrate economic, political and security progress are either incorrect of far more mixed than the administration has acknowledged." 2 US service members killed yesterday, more today and we're supposed to accept that there's been an improvement in violence?

Really? In Berlin today, US Secretary of State delivered the following statement: "The attack in Sadr City that killed State Department employee Steven L. Farley, along with Department of Defense civilian and military personnel today, is a terrible reminder of the dangers that our colleagues face daily in advancing our critical foreign policy goals. Steven Farley's devotion to public service was reflected in his many years of duty in the United States Navy Reserve, and to his hometown of Guthrie, Oklahoma. Farley was mobilized shortly after September 11th, and served with distinction on the staff of the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the western Pacific. Along with thousands of other citizen-patriots, he volunteered to serve in Iraq, joining the State Department in April of 2007. He was one of the hundreds of dedicated men and women serving on Provinicial Reconstruction Teams, helping the citizens of Iraq to rebuild and revitalize their local governments after years of Saddam's tyranny. Our heartfelt sympathy and gratitude go out to Steven Farley's family and his wife Donna, and to the numerous men and women who worked alongside him in Iraq. I have conveyed my sympathy to Ambassador Ryan Crocker, I salute the courage and commitment of all of our colleagues in Iraq." That's included in full because it's the first time this year (or last) that Rice has remembered she's the head of the State Dept. (On her last visit to Iraq she forgot/refused to acknowledge the work done by the State Dept and, judging by her comments and whom she praised, appeared to think she was heading the Defense Dept.) So what's Rice talking about? James Hider (Times of London) explains: "Four Americans were killed today when an explosion ripped through a Baghdad council meeting they were attending as part of efforts to boost reforms in Sadr City, one of the capital's most sensitive trouble spots." The US military announced: "Two Coalition forces soldiers and two civilians serving with Coalition forces were killed after an explosion inside the District Advisory Council building in a southern neighborhood of Sadr City district at approximately 9:30 a.m. today. One Coalition forces soldier and three DAC members were also wounded in the attack." The announced deaths brought the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4106 with the total for the month so far to 22. AFP notes 6 Iraqis died in the blast and that the wounded include 1 "US soldier, three members of the district council and seven other Iraqis". CBS and AP report: "Tuesday's blast occurred in the office of the council's deputy chief as Americans and Iraqi officials were gathered nearby about half an hour before a meeting to elect a new chairman, said Hassan Karim, Sadr City's top administrator." Ernesto London and Saad al-Izzi (Washington Post) offer, "A spokesman for Sadr's office in Sadr City suggested that U.S. officials staged the bombing to 'create chaos and strife.' He said the explosion occurred in an area where only U.S. and Iraqi security forces can drive into." Gina Chon (Wall St. Journal) points out that, "The explosion shattered the relative calm that has been seen in Sadr City since a truce in mid-May ended fighting there between the Mahdi Army and the Iraqi government." Alissa J. Rubin and Graham Bowley (International Herald Tribune) note: "The neighborhood meetings are held regularly and well publicized, and they therefore can make relatively easy targets. The visit by the American troops to the meeting had been unexpected, however, the council spokesman, Ahmed Hassan, said. 'American forces do not attend regularly and that is why we were surprised this morning,' he said. 'The explosion happened inside the room where some members of the council and Americans were' in discussion, he said."

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

Bombings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded one person, a Baghdad mortar attack that wounded two people and a Ninevah Province car bombing that left 2 people dead (plus the driver of the car) and fifty-seven people wounded. Reuters notes the number wounded from the Mosul car bombing has risen to seventy-three.

Shootings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mayor in Kirkuk was shot dead. Reuters notes a police officer (who was also a college student) was shot dead at the University of Mosul.

Kidnappings?

Reuters notes 4 college students kidnapped in Mosul -- two of which were later released.

Corpses?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpse discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 1 corpses discovered in Mosul.


Turning to US politics. In "The Triumph of double-think," Joseph (Cannonfire) examines the way The Cult of Barack requries that up be up until Barack says it is down. He specifically examines Barack's NAFTA nonsense -- Barack's lying about Hillary Clinton's stand, Barack's printed handouts and the way, and when it was revealed that Barack's 'tough' talk on NAFTA publicly came as his campaign's Austin Goolsbee rushed to assure the Canadian government that these were just words tossed out and Barack didn't mean of them. He goes into how an effort then took place to smear Hillary with an unsourced whisper claiming it was her campaign in talks with the Canadian government and charts how that lie was repeated online. But it wasn't just repeated online. Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! is available online, on radio and TV. March 9th, Ava and I observed:


Noting that Nichols was in Canada, Goody let Nichols smear Hillary Clinton with a false whisper (that two days later still hasn't panned out) presented as a "revelation" by never-a-journalist John Nichols. Remember how Bambi talked big and strong in the Texas debate about NAFTA? Probably not because he mainly repeated the answers Hillary had already given. But he did. He talked big, he talked strong. Down with NAFTA! But his campaign also talked to the Canadian government and assured them that, basically, you have to say certain things to get elected, you know, you have to put one over on those stupid American voters.Amy Goodman likes to put one over on viewers which is why, before the show began, she was laughing with John Nichols about how they could introduce the unsourced smear against Hillary. (We are actually told she was "cackling.") Goody did that on the program with this fanciful lie, "Well we have covered the Barack Obama aspect of that [NAFTA] quite a bit. What are they saying about Hillary Clinton?" Goody thinks she covered Bambi's NAFTA-Gate "quite a bit"? No, she just thinks her viewers are too stupid to remember reality and that they are too lazy to check the archives

[. . .]

So informed viewers were most likely laughing when Goody declared that she had "covered the Barack Obama aspect of that quite a bit." She did two headlines. One minimized what had taken place by leaving out the fact that his campaign had offered non-stop denials over a series of days that only ceased when AP published the memo, the other that attempted to act as if the leaking of the memo was the story. (Yes, this is the same Goody who grandstanded recently on the shutting down of Wiki-leaks. Leaks are only good when they don't effect her candidate. And again, she calls this distract-from-the-discovered-lie-by-launching-an-investigation-into-the-leak nonsense out when the White House does it.)Despite the fact that the AP had to publish not just the stories of NAFTA-gate but also the memo before Goody could get off her tired ass and note NAFTA-Gate, on Friday, she was eager to set John Nichols up so he could turn an unsourced whisper into a "revelation." It was nothing and not worth repeating. It certainly wasn't journalism but, hey, consider the two goons we were watching.

Yes, John Nichols of The Nation. And Amy Goodman. Who had nothing for the March 7th Democracy Now! broadcast. But he smeared and he lied with encouragement from Goody. "So this story just gets deeper and deeper and more complex," lied Nichols from Canada, 'hunting down' the story that was a non-story. But it was never about reality. It was about launching a smear, an unfounded rumor against Hillary because Barack had been caught lying. Saint Barack wasn't so saintly and it was really important to spread rumors and lies about Hillary to take the focus off that fact. As Joseph explains, "Even though Austan Goolsbee initially asserted that he never spoke about NAFTA with Georges Rioux of the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago -- and even though the Obama campaign officially denied the CTV report -- all parties now admit that Team Obama lied. Lied. The Canadian government conducted an investigation which confirmed the existence of the Goolsbee/Rioux meeting and sought to assign blame for the leak." Hillary's campaign was never in talks with the Canadian government about NAFTA. Barack's campaign was telling the government to ignore what Barack was saying, that it was just words. And now? Nina Easton (Fortune magazine) reported last week, "In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine's upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee backed off his harshest attacks on the free trade agreement and indicated he didn't want to unilaterally repopen negotiations on NAFTA. 'Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified,' he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA 'devastating' and 'a big mistake,' despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy. Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? 'Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don't exempt myself,' he answered." The article also notes Goolsbee's being dispatched to "the Canadian counsul general in Chicago" February 8th to provide "assurances that Obama's rhetoric was 'more reflective of political manuevring than policy'" according to a new memo that Fortune got a hold of. Yes, Barack lied. He lied to get votes when he needed them. He was caught out in the middle of lying and he denied it. His Holler Monkeys had to distract from the damaging revelation so they tried to drag Hillary into it and smear her with lies. Now that he thinks he has the nomination, Barack admits he never meant what was he was saying -- something he had Goolsbee tell the Canadian government in real time. He LIED to American voters while telling the Canadian government he was LYING. And he thinks he's qualified to be the leader of the United States?

Ralph Nader is running for president with Matt Gonzalez as his running mate. AP reports that they turned in over "50,000 signatures" yesterday and are now should be on the Illinois ballot in November. Team Nader notes:

Tomorrow, Senator Obama has a choice.
He can vote to defend the American people and the U.S. Constitution.
Or he can vote with the snooping Bush White House and the telephone companies.
The bill in question grants immunity to the phone companies that illegally participated in the White House's warrantless wiretap program.
Obama says he will seek to remove the immunity provision - but will vote for the bill if that doesn't succeed.
Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) calls the bill a capitulation to the phone companies and to the White House.
According to Senator Feingold, under under this bill, "the government can still sweep up and keep the international communications of innocent Americans in the U.S."
Last October, Obama said he would "support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."
Now he says he will vote for it.
Liberal Democrats are surprised and outraged that Obama would flip-flop this way.
But we're not surprised.
From the beginning, we saw through Obama's "Change You Can Believe" mantra.
Obama is just another corporate candidate.
At times, he might sound like a progressive.
But he's not.
That's why we're here.
We're here to give the American people a choice in November.
You can support the corporate candidates - Obama and McCain.
Or you can shift the power from the corporate candidates and the corporations to the people.
And support Nader/Gonzalez.
Increasingly, progressives and liberal Democrats are seeing the light and breaking away.
What's your breaking point?

mikey likes itthe common ills
iraq
alexandra zavisthe los angeles times
james glanzthe new york timesmcclatchy newspapers
hannah allam
gina chon
the washington posternesto londono
alissa j. rubin

Isaiah, Third, 2 US soldiers killed in Baghdad

Monday, Monday. Bah-da-bah-dah-dah-da. :D Don't you hate Mondays some days. I'm not that crazy about Google either. Their top stories (even in "world") does not include the fact that two US soldiers were shot dead in Baghdad today. Gulf Daily News has a write up (and C.I.'s got it in the snapshot). A city council member finished a meeting with US soldiers, as the story goes, and then started shooting at US soldiers, killing two and wounding three (plus an American translator). How does that not qualify as real news? As serious news?

That really is pathetic. First off, two US soldiers were shot dead and that alone should drive it on Google's news page. Second, it goes to something, doesn't it? A city council member, working with Americans, decides to pull a gun and start shooting? Doesn't sound like Baghdad is all that secure.

Iraq's never news. Over and over, it gets treated like something unimportant. I'm sure it's important to Iraqis. I'm sure it's important to the families of Americans serving there. But it's not important for news. Or for Google News.





Here's Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Wheel of Greed"









Okay, let's talk Third and along with Dallas, here's who helped out:


The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim,

Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,

Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,

C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,

Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),

Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,

Mike of Mikey Likes It!,

Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz,

Ruth of Ruth's Report,

Wally of The Daily Jot,

and Marcia SICKOFITRDLZ.

And here's what we came up with:

Truest statement of the week -- That's Matthis Chiroux and could it be anyone else? C.I. added the video so you've got his statement and now the video of it as well. I think he was both the "truest" and the "most courageous."

A note to our readers -- Jim breaks down the edition. He called me to ask me to talk about something and I'll try to remember. But he wrote it quickly. Flickr is a pain in the ass. It held them up for over an hour.

Editorial: What's your acceptance level? -- They changed this from our final draft. That's not a complaint. I like it better that way. (Dona was the one who said the editorial would not work with regular readers. It was too cut and dry and they needed to give it something to make sure regular readers would read it. So they went through the notes and found Elaine and C.I.'s critiques offered when Jim pulled up Wikipedia and said, "Okay, here's what Wikipedia says." Wikipedia was wrong.)

TV: Breaking what? -- Ava and C.I. always think they can't produce a commentary and then are convinced that if they do it won't be worth reading. I think that's actually why their writing is so amazing. If they allowed their heads to be swelled (if I'd produced even three of the things they have, my head would be swelled!) they'd write it differently. Instead, each week is "We can't do it! It's going to suck!" And that probably makes them work harder and not phone it in. They really are amazing. Last year at some point, in a roundtable, people were talking about how the sites might go dark in November. And Dona's comment was that if Blogger/Blogspot ended up doing away with the sites because they weren't offering new content, she'd wish she'd printed up some of the editorials and ALL of Ava and C.I.'s TV articles. I agree with Dona on that. This was going to be one thing but before they could write it, Jim asked if they could include public financing and I forget what else. So they had to scrap the plan they'd worked out but Jim was really concerned because there are a lot of new readers added in the last months and this would be their first time being exposed to a fiction edition. So Ava and C.I. had to rethink and they were tired, we all were. But they really managed something amazing.

New York Times, Early Edition -- As I noted, Jim was freaking out throughout this edition. He's usually pretty calm and laid back. But this was the fiction/summer-read edition that they do each year. He was really losing it (Jim would agree) over a long humorous piece that was funny but needed editing to tighten it. We didn't have the time needed to do that. He was also wanting Ava and C.I. to do a short story by themselves because they could turn one out (that readers would love) quickly. But Ava and C.I. were exhausted and had already done their article. As a compromise, Dona, C.I. and Elaine thought up this. It was a lot of fun to write but Jim wanted Amy Goodman pelted with bananas as well as tomatoes. Wally kept pointing out that if bananas were included, there had to be a reason for it. Rebecca remembered a column in NYT last week about the cost of bananas (killing, overturning governments, etc.) The bananas was the last detail and the date had already been picked. Jim was asking Ava, C.I. and Elaine to think of some historical date we could use. And I was online going through Guatemala and Wally and Cedric were looking up other countries but we couldn't find one. Finally Ava and C.I. are talking and saying they think Fidel did something on February 4th one year. And I'm going into Cuban history online trying to find it. Just when I get to that point, they remember what it was. But we didn't have to fact check at least because I was able to say, "They're right! I'm looking right at it!" :D This is hysterical and was a lot of fun to write. We could have gone on and on but part of the joke involved NYT doing their 'short articles' now days so we could see a short article at some point on the US bombing a country. Also true was that we wanted to get in the whole John F. Burns "tax payers" remark and NYT's lack of concern for foreign countries as actual countries. I hope that comes through. I love the illustration, by the way. Kat worked and worked on that. I know Jim and Jess added some details but they scanned it throughout so we could see it. Kat may not have participated in the writing and if so that's because she was asked to create the image. I think she (and Jim and Jess) did a great job.

Clouds -- This was another one that was a lot of fun to write. I think Ruth and Rebecca presented the basic idea. Ruth's grandson and Rebecca's kid are always playing together these days and they're both fascinated by clouds. Ruth's grandson had even asked last week if people lived in clouds. So from that basic, we came up with the short story with everyone adding details. We had to edit this down because it was soooooo long. The illustration was for another short story (a horror one) that didn't run online. Jim didn't think it made it. (I thought it had its moments.) We had no illustration for this. And Jim and Jess had words (as Jim will admit -- he wanted me to put this in) because Jess was talking about the illustration for that story. Jim kept saying, "It's not running, it's not strong enough." Jess kept saying, "Will you listen!" Jess wanted Rebecca to see if, in Photoshop, she could strip out a layer from a portion of that drawing. She went to work on that and came back with the illustration that runs. Jess had realized that if you stripped out that section, the illustration really worked for "Clouds." And when Jim saw it, he realized what Jess was talking about. To prove to Jess that Jess was right and he (Jim) was wrong, Jim made sure it appeared twice in the story.


The non-whistle blower -- This was Jim, Wally and my idea and Jess and Cedric helped. Ava and C.I. brought up the David Gregory thing but they were working on another short story and we wrote that. I don't know how good it is but it made the edition. :D

Bee-bees and cockle bugs -- Ty had this idea and it was not working at all. It had probably gone through five drafts and if C.I. hadn't been strongly advocating for it, it probably would have been dumped after the third. C.I. pointed out that Ty's ideas are unique and that, months after a short story he's steered goes up, e-mails still come in on that one story. (Ty told me to thank C.I. for that support, by the way.) After the fifth draft, Jim said, "It's not going to work, we have to move on." C.I. said, no, that we had to figure out a way to fix it. Marcia knew a bully like the one Ty was trying to capture, "But she was a girl. Can we flip it so that it's a boy and a girl and not two boys?" That's all it took. The second the flip was made, there was a new excitement and the thing was rewritten on the spot and it really works.

Circling -- As Jim points out, Betty came up with the idea for this. With the humor and the other horror story killed for online and the rest of our attempts not fixable by any means (and a few were really bad -- including another one I suggested), we were trying to think of one more idea. Betty said "Dorothy Parker" and Jim was all, "No, no! The humor short story has been shelved because we don't have time to fix it. We're not going to try another." Betty corrected him that she was talking about Parker's obsessive love pieces. This was actually longer and went on too long. We were all adding things. Betty and Dona edited it to tighten it up and make it more intense. They also added 'relief' via two things because they are not obsessed with love types.

Nader-Gonzalez -- This may have been the last thing we worked on. Ava and C.I. were finishing up their TV commentary and I don't think they worked on this at all. (But I could be wrong.) Kat, Betty's son and Jim did the illustration. We needed another illustration. Kat went through pieces she and Betty's oldest son had worked on together when we were all getting out the vote for Hillary. She found that one. Jim loved it and added the Ralph Nader in 2008! part too it.

Highlights -- During the first extended break, Ruth, Rebecca, Betty, Cedric, Wally, Elaine and I decided we needed to knock this out early so after the break, we worked on this exculsively. And since we came in late on the humor piece, a lot of the bits that were funny but needed editing were things we were adding to it. So you can blame us (chiefly Betty, Wally and me) for that piece become bigger and bigger until it needed a serious edit and therefore not making it.







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


Monday, June 23, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, two US service members are shot dead in Iraq, war resistance continues, Nouri has a new target and more.


Starting with war resistance. Stefani E. Barner (Llewellyn Journal) notes, "When Lieutenant Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq, his cause was met with international support -- and a Court Marshall. His case ended in a mistrial and at the last update, the Department of Defense was preparing to re-try him on charges of missing troop's movement and conduct unbecoming of an officer. If the D.o.D. decides to pursue a retrial, Lt. Watada faces up to six years in prison for speaking out against a war that he believes violates the oath he took upon receiving his commission. While Lt. Watada is not Pagan, his case along with those such as Agustin Aguayo and Camilo Mejia -- both of whom chose to face prosecution and serve jail time rather than participate in a war they opposed -- have inspired some Pagan service personnel to follow suit, and spurred the larger Pagan communtiy to question what role we should play when it comes to the Conscientious Objector." Pagan resources for Pagan COs and resisters include Sacred Well Congregation, The Covenant of the Goddess, the Military Pagan Network and the Lady Liberty League of Circle Sanctuary. Barner notes, "In Hanna v. Secretary of the Army (1st Cir., Jan. 9, 2008) the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Army's Conscientious Objector Review Board had no basis for denying CO status to an Army doctor (Capt. Mary Hanna) on the grounds that her beliefs were not gained through 'rigorous training, study, or contemplation.' Because this ruling seems to exclude the need for formal religious instruction such as would typically be obtained through religious classes or from a spiritual authority such as a rabbi or minister, and instead allows individual spiritual and moral authority to influence the decision to seek CO status, Hanna v. Secretary of the Army should be extremely useful in dealing with the confusion that the diversity of Pagan philosophies can often present to organized institutions such as the military."

Last week, outside Fort Knox, war resister James Burmeister's mother held a press conference. James Burmeister is an Iraq War veteran wounded in the war who went to Canada and came back this year to turn himself in. Last fall, Maria Hinojosa (NOW on PBS) interviewed him (as well as Agustin Aguayo) and noted, "During his many missions, James was caught in three road-side bombings." Burmeister explained that after one bombing (which was captured on tape) "I had actually passed out in my room. Passed out, just hit the floor."

Maria Hinojosa: James says that was the first sign of his post traumatic stress disoreder. 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.

James 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.

Maria 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.

James 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."

Saturday, Chris Kenning (Louisville Courier Journal) reported on Helen Burmeister's decision to "demonstrate outside the post [Fort Knox] . . . in hopes of persuading the military to let her take her son home" and quotes her stating, "I'm hoping to take him back to Oregon with me." Kenning notes that "fiscal year 2007" found desertion had "risen 92 percent since 2004" in the army.

Last week, Helen Burmeister spoke and was backed up by supporters carrying signs. One read "SHAME, SHAME ON the U.S. Army!" while some of the other signs read "I SUPPORT PFC James Burmeister & family! Let James be free!" and "Combat Troops DESERVE OUR SUPPORT -- Not Court Martials".

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.

Also showing support was Vietnam Veterans Against the War's Carol Rawert Trainer.

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.


A video of the press conference can be found here.

Meanwhile US war resisters in Canada continue to fight for safe harbor. Henry Aubin (Montreal Gazette) offered Saturday, "The federal government has ordered a deserter from the U.S. Army to return to the United States by July 10. If he doesn't leave voluntarily, the government will deport him. Either way, Corey Glass, a former sergeant, would become the first Iraq war resister to be booted out of Canada - thereby setting a precedent for other U.S. war resisters who are seeking refuge in this country. A majority of the House of Commons voted 137-110 two weeks ago in favour of a motion urging the government to refrain from ousting war resisters; about 100 of whom are believed to be in the Canada. All three opposition parties supported the measure, sponsored by the New Democrats' Olivia Chow. The Conservatives dissented. Yet the motion seems futile. Nothing obliges Prime Minister Stephen Harper to respect it - it's non-binding." To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here.

In addition, War Resisters Support Campaign announces "Rally to Stop the Deportation of Parkdale Resident Corey Glass" which is July 3rd, begins at 7:00 p.m. (with doors opening at six p.m.) at the May Robinson Building, 20 West Lodge, Toronto: "In 2002, Corey joined the Indiana National Guard. He was told he would not have to fight on foreign shores. But in 2005 he was sent to Iraq. What he saw there caused him to become a conscientious objector and he came to Canada. On May 21, 2008, he got his final order to leave Canada by July 10, 2008. Then on June 3 Parliament passed a motion for all the war resisters to stay in Canada. However the Harper government says it will ignore this motion." In addition, the Vancouver branch of the War Resisters Support Campaign needs help housing war resisters in that area. (And we'll note that in more depth -- hopefully in full -- in tomorrow's snapshot.)

Back to the US, Iraq Veterans Against the War Matthis Chiroux announced June 15th that he would not report to duty (as he'd stated he wouldn't on May 15th). Chiroux served his time and was honorably discharged. Then the army decided to 'recall' him and to send to Iraq. Chiroux knows the Iraq War is an illegal war and will not take part in that. On the 15th of this month, he explained, "Today I stand in resistance to the occupation of Iraq because I believe in our nation, its military and her people. I resist because I swoare an oath to this nation that I would not allow it to fall into decay when I may be serving on the side of right. . . . I stand here to make it known that my duty as a soldier is first to the higher ideals and guiding principles of this country which our leaders have failed to uphold. I stand here today in defense of the US Constitution which has known no greater enemy, foreign or domestic, than those highest in this land who are sworn to be governed by its word." Matthis' father Robert Chiroux told The Huntsville Times, "It was tough for me to get up where the cameras could see me . . . I don't agree [with his son]" but "[i]f a man can't stand up for his son, how can he stand up for his country?" And Ellis Eskew (WHNT, CBS) quotes Matthis explaining, "I choose to remain in the United States to defend myself from charges brought by the army if they so wish to pursue them. I refuse to participate in the Iraq operation."


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 Iraq. Saturday, Haydar al-Alak and Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reported that Moqtada al-Sadr Amara spokesperson Adnan Selawi states that Iraqi troops have committed abuses during the operation in Amara ("we found many breaches and violations") and that another member of Sadr's bloc (unnamed) stated there is stand-down order from Moqtada al-Sadr during the current crackdown on Amara. Walter Ibrahim and Tim Cocks (Reuters) report that puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki promised today that the next to be raided would be Diyala Province. Why Diyala Province? Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reported Sunday that a woman detonated a bomb in Diyala Province killing herself and 16 other people. Doug Smith (Los Angeles Times) added of the bombing, "A woman pretending to seek assistance from police detonated a suicide belt under her traditional robe today, killing 15 people in the busy civic center of Baqubah, police said." A report earlier today (no byline on the article) noted that the woman appeared to be around 35-years-old. Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) cited Jassim Mohammed al-Saedi (a police officer wounded in the bombing) stating that the woman "stepped out of a car, walked toward a group of police officers and detonated explosives strapped to her waist." Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) states that violence in Diyala Province yesterday claimed "at least 25" lives. Citing the US military, CBS and AP report that the bombing was "the 21st suicide mission carried out by a woman in Iraq this year".

Meanwhile Mohammed al Dulaimy and Hannah Allam (McClatchy Newspapers) report that Iraqi city council member Raed Mahmoud Ajil fired at US service members after they had attended "a weekly joint meeting on reconstruction" and 2 US service members died with three more "and an interpreter" left wounded. CBS and AP quote eye witness Hussein al-Dulaimi stating, "The attacker got out of the car with an AK-47 assault rifle in his hand and he started to fire on the American soldiers until he was killed by return fire." AP also reports 2 dead (earlier today the military was saying one dead).

In some of today's other reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing wounded three police officers. Reuters notes a Mosul roaside bombing left five people injured.

Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports and 1 police officer and 1 "civilian female" were shot dead in Mosul in an attack that wounded two more people. Reuters notes another police officer was shot dead in Mosul and a college student was shot dead as well.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

Turning to the US race of president and moving quickly. Barack Obama continues to lie and break promises. Joseph (Cannonfire) explores the thinking of the Cult of Obama, their "gift for self-deception" which allows them to say the sky is blue when Barack says so and insist it is a purple when Barack changes his mind. He does this with various examples including NAFTA. Time permitting, we'll return to Joseph's findings tomorrow (but who knows what's going to be happening tomorrow) -- in the meantime, you can use the link to explore his writing. The perfect book-end to that piece is Glenn Greenwald (Salon) on Barack's broken promise to fight for the Constitution and against illegal spying on American citizens and the reaction to it from the Cult of Saint Obama: "In the past 24 hours, specifically beginning with the moment Barack Obama announced that he now supports the Cheney/Rockefeller/Hoyer House bill, there have magically arisen -- in places where one would never have expected to find them -- all sorts of claims about why this FISA 'compromise' isn't really so bad after all." This has been going on all along. The 2007 year in review contains the following observation: "If independent media went out of their way to avoid Iraq and all Iraq related stories, what did they cover? 2007 was when the bulk of little media enlisted in the Barack Obama presidential campaign -- a Katrina coffee fetcher even went to work for it. Bambi would walk on his own and go to potty all by himself in 2008, indy media insisted, but right now he needed coaxing. And what better way to guarantee that than by lavishing him with non-stop praise. As they crowded around the potty chair, they produced many embarrassing moments." It's 2008 and he's still being babied. While he's stabbing the left in the back. People need to grow up and, for those doubters who need a reason, as LBJ was leaving the White House, Jules Feiffer looked back on what he had to offer ("LBJ in Caricature," Harper's magazine, February 1968) and included this point, "Defenders of Johnson further assert that had Kennedy lived, and made the same moves in Vietnam as his successor, he would not be subjected to the same sort of vilification. They are undoubtedly right -- which goes to prove how fortunate, in this case, at long last to have a President whose style coincides with his content. Kennedy could possibly have convinced us that Vietnam was a just war, and a whole generation of young people, hypnotized by charisma, could possibly have marched proudly off to napalm and defoliate knowing that their country stood firmly behind them." No, I don't think Barack's JFK. You can't buy charisma. But he's something to the Cult -- denied their own Janis Joplin so going ga-ga over Miley Cyrus -- the same sort of desperation/settle for anything that leads them to Barack. But what Jules is noting JFK could have gotten away with, the left better start realizing applies to Barack as well -- in fact, he's getting away with it right now while the left does and says nothing.

Meanwhile Ralph Nader is a candidate for president and Team Nader notes:

Watch The Nader Challenge.
Which Presidential candidate would eliminate the billions of dollars in corporate welfare we pay every year to the ethanol industry?
Obama!
Wrong. (According to today's New York Times, Obama actually has very close ties to corn ethanol industry - an industry that Ralph Nader has called "a multifaceted monstrosity radiating damage in all directions of the compass.")
Many people still consider Obama the progressive candidate in the race.
He's not.
He's just another corporate candidate.
Who's the progressive in the race?
Ralph Nader.
To drive home the point, today we launch The Nader Challenge.
Check out the video here.
Who favors single payer national health insurance?
Obama!
Wrong.
Nader/Gonzalez.
Who favors cutting the bloated, wasteful military budget?
Obama!
Wrong.
Nader/Gonzalez.
With your ongoing and generous help, we're destined to make a splash in November.
Together, we are making a difference.

iraq
james burmeister
pbsmaria hinojosanow with david branccacio
iraq veterans against the warmatthis chirouxcorey glassellis eskewchris kenninghenry aubin
mcclatchy newspapersleila fadelthe los angeles timesdoug smith
richard a. oppel jr.the new york timesthe washington posternesto londono

The Nation & Progressive hold a tag sale on beliefs

It's Friday. First up, there's some family news. My mother wrote about it in "Basic pasta sauce in the Kitchen" and those really are the rules so I won't be commenting here. Ma outlined it because everyone is supposed to follow the rules, that's uncles, cousins, aunts, grandparents, you name it. So you can read what she wrote and this is all I plan to say about it.

Okay, let's talk politics. Susan Page (USA Today) reports that "Barack Obama hasn't gotten much of a bounce among voters nationwide since clinching the Democratic nomination". Are we surprised? Meanwhile John Bentley (CBS News) reports:

John McCain had harsh words today for his Democratic rival’s decision to opt out of public financing. “A little over a year ago, there was a questionnaire sent out to me and to Sen. Obama that said, 'If your opponent will take public financing, will you?' and I said, 'Of course.' And he signed his name to a piece of paper that said if the Republican nominee takes public financing, then he would, too. Well--and he signed his name to it,” McCain told a group of fundraisers here today. “His status has changed from what was clearly not a frontrunner status to one that now has the ability to raise a lot of money. He has reversed his position on that. He has reversed his position on a number of issues.”

Hey, did you catch what John Nichols wrote about public financing? Here's some of it:

For years, the reform movement shied away from pushing public financing of elections because it seemed too much to ask of a country that liked the idea of cleaning up elections but was not necessarily ready to pay for it. Decades of battering from foes of reform had made even some liberal members of Congress skeptical. But the past decade has seen dramatic movement on that front at local and state level, in most cases with help from Public Campaign. Maine and Arizona have successfully implemented "Clean Money" systems, which allow for public funding of legislative and statewide campaigns. Minnesota legislators are well along the way to expanding their state's limited public-financing program. Wisconsin and Arizona have seen significant progress toward plans to publicly finance judicial elections, and North Carolina, New Mexico, Maryland and Illinois are seen by Public Campaign's Nyhart as states where the issue is heating up.

Of course, he wrote that in April 2002. Here's Ari Berman:

Theodore Roosevelt first floated the idea of public financing in his 1907 State of the Union address. Durbin-Specter is not the first federal public financing bill to be unveiled. Senators John Kerry and the late Paul Wellstone introduced a similar plan in 1997 that went nowhere. It took seven years to approve McCain-Feingold. Durbin says that passing his bill, over the objections of TV stations and well-funded incumbents, among others, will be even tougher. "We're not talking about part of the system," Durbin says. "We're talking about the system."

That's April 2007. Here's Christopher Hayes in May of this year:

The procedural reformers, many of whom were in the audience at Lessig's Press Club talk, have some significant victories they can point to over the past several decades, most notably the public financing system set up for presidential elections after Watergate and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (aka McCain-Feingold), which banned soft money.

And from October 2007, here's student Ned Resnikoff from his essay that made him a top five finalist in the magazine's student writing contest:

Public financing of campaigns is also a central part of reducing corporate power in America. While public financing's detractors argue that it is fundamentally undemocratic, it will in fact bring America closer to the democratic ideal we purport to hold so dear.

In May 2002, Matthew Rothschild was jaw boning with Russ Feingold and public financing was a good thing for The Progressive. And in March 2006, Molly Ivins was explaining three things that were needed and her second one was: "Full public financing of campaigns so as to drive the moneylenders from the halls of Washington. " In October of 2002, Matthew Rothschild was mourning Paul Wellstone and noting the need for public financing.

Barack decides not to go with public financing and who is calling him out? Only Molly Ivins has an excuse (she passed away). I should add that Russ Feingold did call it out, but I'm not talking about Congress. I'm talking about our media 'leaders.' They're never going to hold Barack's feet to the fire. If you forgot, in February Laura Flanders and Tom Hayden were saying it was time to hold Barack's feet to the fire -- after they endorsed him. That was the primaries. They never held his feet to the fire. If a nightmare happened and Barack became president, they still wouldn't hold his feet to the fire. They have no guts, they have no beliefs they won't sell out. They are liars. They've made themselves liars. They're greedy liars as well.

It's disgusting and, after the election, you need to remember this and hold them accountable.

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


Friday, June 20, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, today is World Refugee Day, and more.

Starting with war resistance. Matthew Chiroux was the subject of a broadcast CBS 23 News (WIFR, link has text and video) last night:

Mike Garrigan: 24-year-old Matthis Chiroux says he will not deploy to Iraq. The young soldier was asked to report to duty June 15th but he refuses, calling the war in Iraq and illegal war. Chiroux has been in the US army for five years and has completed a tour of Afghanistan; however, he says he has no intentions of returning.

Matthis Chiroux: My decision was entirely based on my desire to no longer continue to violate my core values to support an illegal and unconstitutional occupation.

NBC's WAFF 48 also reported on Matthis last night (link has text and video):

Kimberly Essex: An army Sergeant is refusing to deploy from Iraq and his family is dealing with his decision to do so. WAFF 48 reporter Eric Sollman joins us now and, Eric, you spoke with the soldier's father.

Eric Sollman: Yes, Kim, and being a military man himself, Robert Chiroux, he has mixed -- mixed reactions to the whole ordeal. His son Matthis, a military photo journalist, is one of thousands of military ready reserve troops recalled to combat and now, according to army officials, he's one of about 700 called from this group that have failed to report in the last seven years. Last time Matthis Chiroux made local news was when [clip from December 2004 shown] was four years ago. The story involved his girlfriend at the time and a car break-in. Now this US army Sergeant is making national headlines for refusing to redeploy to Iraq. He's not hiding his protest and his family isn't dodging questions either.

Robert Chiroux: My son made the decision not to report. He feels that the war in Iraq is unconstitutional and unjust.

Eric Sollman: His father Robert is a navy veteran who lives in Huntsville [Alabama]. He said his son was to report to Fort Jackson Sunday for reactivation from the Individual Ready Reserve. Matthis refused.

Robert Chiroux: My son has certainly indicated that if he had been called back from the Inactive Ready Reserve to active duty to serve in Afghanistan, he would not have hesitated to go. So I know that my son -- inspite of things that I have heard said of him -- he's certainly not a coward. He just has decided that he feels this war is illegal and he's taking a stand.

Eric Sollman: While Robert doesn't necessarily agree with his son's stand, he stands by him.

Robert Chiroux: My son asked me to come to Washington [DC] to be with him on Father's Day. I had some reservations about standing behind my son while he made his statement but he's my son and, of course, I love him and I'm going to stand with him.

Eric Sollman: And Robert says he would gladly take his son's place and serve if he could and, Kim, of course there were a lot of issues that we talked about that we couldn't fit into the story so we put his interview in its entirity on our website at waff.com.

Kimberly Essex: Well your heart just goes out to this father because he really is in a tough position. He wants to support his son but it doesn't coincide with maybe what he really believes.

Eric Sollman: And he says it's something that only a parent could understand.

WAYYTV's Brett Haas notes, "The 24-year-old is in Washington lining up support from like-minded members of Congress." AFP explains, "Chiroux served five years in the army, with tours in Afghanistan, Japan, Germany and the Philippines."

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).

Today is World Refugee Day. The United Nations' IRIN notes that "Iraqi experts have been urging the government and international community to do more to help the large number of Iraqi refugees in the Middle East" and quote Iraqi Parliamentarian Abdul-Khaliq Zankana stating, "Day after day Iraqi refugees in neighbouring countries are getting more frustrated by the harsh conditions in which they live. Sooner or later they are going to have a negative impact on the stability of the whole region." Amnesty International has released Iraq: Rhetoric and Reality: The Iraqi Refugee Crisis (here for HTML and here for PDF) this week. Picking up with obligations: "Under international law a duty exists to not send or force a person to return to a situation where they would be at risk of serious human rights abuses. This principle attaches to all states as a principle of customary international law, as well as to state parties to the ICCPR, Convention against Torture and Refugee Convention and Protocol." But as the report points out the resposibility isn't just to host countries, the international community has an obligation to provide assistance as well.

The report repeatedly stresses that refugees cannot be returned to Iraq because the country is not stable. On Northern Iraq, they note: "There have been acts of political violence between Iraqi Arabs and Iraqi Kurds and against members of the Yazidi religious minority in several areas along the border between Kurdistan and Nineweh (Mosul) governorate. Tension and insecurity also increased when attacks by a Turkey-based armed group, the Kurdistand Workers Party (PKK), against Turkish troops stationed near the border with Iraq were followed in October 2007 by Turkish military operations against PKK bases in northern Iraq." When even the highly touted 'safe' region of Iraq is not safe, there's no 'safe' area. Despite that reality, many countries are attempting to send Iraqi refugees back to Iraq.

Norway was attempting to do that but, the report notes, it appears to have stopped. Other countries continue attempting deportation. Among the offenders are Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece and the Netherlands.

"Instead of avoiding the reality," the report notes, "the international community should be confronting a medium- to long-term displacement crisis, in view of the likelihood that Iraqi refugees will need sancturay for years to come. Recognition of the on-going nature of the crisis must be grasped now if the suffering of the millions of displaced Iraqis is to be ameliorated. Host nations need to be provided with on-going assistance and support from the international community through increased and sustained funding."

US senators Hillary Clinton and Ben Cardin and House Representatives Alcee Hastings and John Dingell sent a letter to the White House today on the refugee issue (Barack Obama refused to sign on). Here's the letter sent to the White House:

As you know, the Iraq War and subsequent ethnic and sectarian conflict has caused the displacement of millions of Iraqis. While we have great concerns about the United States response to this humanitarian crisis, we write to you about a specific population of especially vulnerable Iraqis: those who have worked for our government and American organizations in Iraq and whose lives have been placed in grave danger because of that service. Recent statistics and reports have indicated that the current system of identifying and resettling our Iraqi allies has structural complications and procedural inefficiencies. Since March 2003, the United States has admitted fewer than 8,000 Iraqi refugees in total. Your Administration's goal of admitting 12,000 Iraqi refugees during this fiscal year seems an unlikely goal, given that less than 6,000 have been resettled to date. At a recent Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) briefing, one panelist, an attorney providing pro bono legal services to help resettle Iraqi refugees noted, "unresponsiveness and protracted delays in interviews and processing have themselves contributed to…individual emergencies…The cost in human lives and suffering due to institutional breakdowns in such aberrational instances speaks to the pressing need to ensure that our system is better equipped to respond to these challenges." The role our own government has played in prolonging the suffering of our courageous Iraqi allies who risked their lives to assist our country is troubling and simply unacceptable. To better understand why the Administration continues to delay processing our Iraqi allies for resettlement, we respectfully request that you provide us with the necessary information in response to the following: • While we are pleased that the United States has opened a processing center in Baghdad to assist Iraqis at risk in applying for resettlement to the United States, we remain concerned by reports that the office lacks the necessary personnel and resources at this time to quickly and efficiently process those Iraqis who are in imminent danger. It is most troubling that only Iraqis with sufficient connections to enter the Green Zone are able to receive help. What is the Administration's immediate and long-term strategy to improve and increase the efficiency of the current processing system? • At the Baghdad center, in particular, significant problems inhibit expeditious and efficient processing of our Iraqi allies. For example, logistical and security issues prevent access to the Green Zone for many applicants and contribute to complications with assisting applicants with medical conditions. In light of the inherent difficulties of in-country processing, what is the current status of a proposal by State Department officials to allow the Department of Defense to airlift Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants for expedited processing to a central processing center at the United States Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait? As you know, this past April, England's Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered an airlift of British-affiliated Iraqis to a military airfield in Oxfordshire, England in order to expeditiously and safely process them there. Denmark also evacuated and resettled 370 Iraqi interpreters and other Iraqis who worked for Danish troops prior to the Danish contingent's departure from Iraq last year. We strongly urge your consideration of a proposal similar to those that are now being successfully implemented by our Coalition partners. • The appointment of Ambassador James Foley at the State Department and Lori Scialabba at the Department of Homeland Security as senior coordinators within those agencies with respect to Iraqi refugee issues was an important and useful step. However, it appears as if there are still problems with respect to interagency cooperation. One particular problem that has been identified is that FBI background checks, even for those Iraqis who have been working directly with the United States military in Iraq, are subject to inordinately lengthy delays. To address this ongoing issue, we strongly urge you to appoint a Senior Coordinator for Iraqi Refugee Issues in the White House. • When will the Department of Homeland Security issue its policy directive to implement the provisions of Sections 1241-1249 of Public Law 110-181, the "Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act," for which it is responsible? • What is your Administration's policy regarding medical parole for those Iraqis whose cases are of high priority due to serious medical conditions? Our government has a moral responsibility to provide aid and protection to those courageous Iraqi allies who have risked their lives and the lives of their families to assist American efforts to build a democratic and stable Iraq. We are deeply concerned that, to date, you have not acknowledged their sacrifice or effectively marshaled the assets of our government to help them. We urge you to speak out about the service of our brave Iraqi allies and direct the appropriate agencies in your Administration to take immediate steps to provide them with the attention and resources they desperately need and deserve. Each day, more Iraqi allies face increased danger or even murder for their service to the United States. To ensure that more do not suffer because they chose to help us, a prompt response to these concerns is appreciated and we believe appropriate. Sincerely,
Alcee L. Hastings, M.C.
Benjamin L. Cardin, U.S.S.
John D. Dingell, M.C.
Russell D. Feingold, U.S.S.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S.S.
Robert P. Casey, Jr., U.S.S.
John W. Olver, M.C.
Janice D. Schakowsky, M.C.
G.K. Butterfield, M.C.
James P. McGovern, M.C.
Timothy H. Bishop, M.C.
Joseph Crowley, M.C.
Diane E. Watson, M.C.
Earl Blumenauer, M.C.
Peter Welch, M.C.
Hilda L. Solis, M.C.
Ike Skelton, M.C.

Repeating, Barack elected not to sign. Consider it another skipped vote -- or, dropping back to the Illinois state legislature, a "present" one. William C. Mann (AP) observes, "A half-million Iraqis fled their embattled country in 2007, the third consecutive year more Iraqis were displaced than any other nationality, a survey of the world's refugees reported Thursday." The organization is US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) and they also rank the ten worst countries. For Iraq, they note: "Shia militias in Iraq have particularly singled out Palestinians for retribution since the fall of the Hussein regime in 2003. From 2004 to 2007 more than 85,000 Palestinians fled targeted violence, leaving only 15,000 in Iraq. Gunmen in Ministry of the Interior uniforms have killed Palestinians, firing on UN buildings in the process. Insurgents have tortured Palestinians to death and fired mortars into Palestinian neighborhoods." IRIN notes the UNHCR's findings that 50% of the 50,000 Iraqi refugees in Lebanon are children. Citing the International Organization for Migration, Kim Gamel (AP) explains, "But women and children who have been forced to flee their homes are particularly vulnerable because the men in the family have often been killed or abandoned them in a conservative Islamic society that generally doesn't value women in the workplace." Adnkronos International notes the Spanish Commission of Refugee AID (CEAR) which found that "All 1600 refugees who sought asylum in Spain in 2007 were rejected by the government."


On refugees, the Times of London's Deborah Haynes won an award from Amnesty Interntaional for her coverage of Iraqi collaborators who face obstacles to safe harbor from the United Kingdom. Haynes wrote multiple articles on the topic. As noted before, we're not concerned with the plight of the collaborators. They have their champions -- such as Haynes.

Meanwhile, the invasion of Amara continues with Iraqi troops and US troops taking part in the 'crackdown.' Hannah Allam and Ali al Basri (McClatchy Newspapers) quote Faiq Hanoun declaring yesterday, "The city is quiet even though the operation has started, and I haven't heard a gun-shot or the sound of a plane. Life is going on in the normal fashion. Markets are open and movement in and out of the city hasn't stopped." Ernesto London and Aahad Ali (Washington Post) note the arrest of the vice governor which "angered followers of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr . . . Sadrist leaders in Maysan have vowed to cooperate with Iraqi troops but have suggested that the government is trying to expand its presence in Sadr strongholds to weaken the movement politically before provincial elections scheduled for the fall." Alissa J. Rubin and Suadad Salhy (New York Times) discover, "There were reports of rough treatment and especially of arrests of eminent followers of Mr. Sadr. It was unclear whether the units making the arrests had warrants, as required under Iraqi law. If so, Mr. Sadr's followers said they would not protest the detentions. However, Mr. Sadr's supporters protested at least two cases in which Iraqi troops seized family members of wanted figures when they could not find the person they were seeking. Iraqi military leaders responded that they had arrested only one relative of a wanted man. The American military has used similar tactics, drawing criticism from Iraqis in and out of the government." ANTARA NEWS and AFP explain that today saw the arrests of five more aides to al-Sadr. Aref Mohammed (Reuters) quotes Adnan al-Selawi ("head of the Sadr movement's office in Amara) stating that "we found many breaches and violations" in the 'security sweep.'

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

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 3 lives and left seven people wounded, a Nineveh roadside bombing left eleven Iraqi soldiers wounded, a Mosul car bombing left six police officers wounded and, dropping back to yesterday, Diyala Province home bombings left one person wounded.

Corpses?

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

Meanwhile, in the US, Robert O'Harrow Jr. (Washington Post) reveals that the Democrats have set up a panel to investigate the contracts 'awarded' throughout the illegal war. The press release at US Senator Jim Webb's online office notes, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have named a co-chair and three additional commissioners to the Commission on Wartime Contracting. Established as the result of legislation introduced by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) last spring and signed into law January 28, 2008, the Commission is charged with addressing the systemic problems associated with the federal government's wartime-support, reconstruction, and private security contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan."



Today the US military announced: "One Soldier was killed and five wounded in three roadside bomb attacks on Coalition force patrols in Diyala province June 20. All casualties were evacuated to a Coalition hospital."

Turning to US politics, Barack Obama's decision to opt out of public financing [see Wally's "THIS JUST IN! DNC OR GOP? WHO CAN TELL?," Cedric's "Extreme DNC Makeover!," Mike's "LAT and Barack -- liars liars pants on fire," Ruth's "Barack sells out, Matthis stands firm," Kat's "Glen Ford, Kevin Zeese" and Rebecca's "the liar barack" and yesterday's snapshot] leads the New York Times to editorialize "Public Funding on the Ropes" and Team Nader notes:
Ralph Nader stands for shifting the power from the big corporations back to the people.
Period.
Full stop.
End of story.
Contrast that with Senator Obama.
The old Obama said that he thought NAFTA was a "big mistake."
The new Obama isn't so sure.
The old Obama said he would abide by public spending limits in this election.
The new Obama he says he won't.
The old Obama said he was for a change in foreign policy and surrounded himself with innovative thinkers with a chance to make a difference.
The new Obama has surrounded himself with veterans of the military industrial complex status quo.
The old Obama talked economic populism.
The new Obama talks corporate-speak and surrounds himself with economists from the Chicago School.
You know where Nader and Gonzalez stand on corporate power.
And that isn't changing.
We're at six percent nationwide in the most recent CNN poll.
We're going to be on ten state ballots by the end of June.
And we're shooting for 40 by the end of the summer.
Together, we are moving forward.
And together, we will make a difference in November.
Onward.

Non-Iraq related, independent journalist David Bacon continues to explore the issue of immigration. And his latest is "HOW DO YOU SAY JUSTICE IN MIXTECO?" (TruthOut). NOW on PBS (airs tonight in most markets) asks: "Will a booming worldwide middle class drive up consumer costs?" PBS' Washington Week will include AP's Charles Babington, Los Angeles Times' Doyle McManus and CNBC and the New York Times' John Harwood.

mikey likes itthe common ills
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mcclatchy newspapershannah allemali al basrithe washington posternesto londonoaahad ali

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