Hump day! And the topic this evening is 80s rock songs. I have to apologize because I'm too young to know the 80s. I had to really think about it and focus on my brothers and sisters.
My parents love music and we had music playing more often than the TV was on. So my childhood might include the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s all mingled together. My oldest brother got really mad before I was in school, at me, because he collected trading cards and one day, while he was at school, I went into his room and peeled off a sticker and slapped it on his door. This was a very big no-no (one he still remembers) and his 'punishment' was to dig through his cassette tapes and blast one song he found. It is an 80s song but it wasn't that year. So it was already old by the time I remember it. But it was Tina Turner's "Better Be Good To Me." And from that moment on, whenever I messed with any of his stuff, it was blast "Better Be Good To Me." According to him, I used to cry when he would do that but at some point started singing along (probably the fifth or sixth time) and began asking him to play the song again at which point it was no longer effective punishment. :D
I really like that song and didn't know all of that until I called him tonight. I remembered him playing that song which is why I called him. And I remember the sticker (because he will never let that go). But I didn't know how "Better Be Good To Me" was involved in all of that until tonight. :D
He helped me out by listing some other songs.
One I remember really loving was the Bangles' "In Your Room." That was really cool and sounded a little like something George Harrison would do on the sitar. And it has these really big drum sounds (probably machines) that just pop during it. I also love Susanna Hoffs' vocals. The Bangles, my brother explained to me, got real big and then stopped being cool. I apparently love a song after they were uncool. That's fine with me. I'd go out and buy a Best of The Bangles tomorrow. :D I also liked their "Walk Like An Egyptian" and the song Prince wrote "Manic Monday."
But my favorite song took him forever to remember. I was asking him who did it and he kept asking me who the artist was. I didn't know. He asked me to sing it and I was like "Blah blah blah." I never knew the lyrics to it. :D I just liked the melody and the way the song sounded. Despite knowing nothing about it that helped him out, he finally figured out what it was when I described the cover. "Finest Worksong" by R.E.M. I just loved that song.
I had no idea that was the title. R.E.M. had a lot of good songs on that album and my brother (oldest) used to play it all the time. I remember "The One I love" and "It's The End Of The World As We Know It And I Feel Fine." My brother asked me to say that was their last great album, that they went big label and sold out after Document. That's his opinion. I don't know their music well enough to judge. But I remember he was a big fan. He had t-shirts and all by them.
My parents had a huge vinyl collection (still do and they also have a ton of CDs) so apparently when cassettes were the big thing, my brothers (I have three of them) decided 'this is our time' or something. (Like a Barack groupie?) But I remember how I was not allowed near the CDs forever. I mean like I can remember being ten years old and not being allowed near it and they were already collecting CDs by then. But there was this whole wall they had that was just covered with cassettes. I don't mean hanging from the wall. I mean at the carpet, the stacks of cassettes started. That was their thing -- and it was their collection. They would ask for cassettes for birthdays and Christmas. And would get me to ask for cassettes for myself. And I stopped that after the first Christmas when I couldn't even touch my own cassettes after they went up on the wall! In 1996 (according to my oldest brother) my second oldest brother bailed on the cassette wall and started asking for CDs. It was apparently a big deal to the other two (and a sore spot still). They were supposed to all three build the biggest cassette collection. And then that changed. But even after they were doing the CDs, it was still a big deal if I touched the wall of cassettes. I can remember being in high school (freshman year) and it still being a big deal.
By the time I was finally allowed to touch the cassette wall, there wasn't much point. The cassettes had this little felt square under where the tape played and a lot of those squares had come off and you had tape drop out and you had squeaky tapes and spliced tapes when they got eaten by the machine. When I was finally allowed freedom to touch the tape wall, it was a big disappointment. I remember telling my father that (he was never allowed to touch the tape wall, I'm not joking) and he really enjoyed that. Apparently the war between the formats was very real in my family. :D
Thing is, my father's vinyl (which has held up) was something he was very protective of. But I was either just in school or about to be when he would let me play his vinyl. And he was super protecitve of it. That's why my brothers declared the tape wall off-limit to him. Because his vinyl collection was off limits to them. They'd scratched up a Moby Grape (before I was born) and the vinyl was off limits to all the kids. Only our parents could put a vinyl album on the record player as a result. But I was very careful with his vinyl so I was allowed to touch it and play it. Which my oldest brother brought up on the phone tonight and explained that was one of the reasons the great tape wall was off limits to me, I was the traitor who could touch the vinyl. :D
The debates are being closed and they need to be opened up. If someone's running for president, America has a right to hear from them. This is from Ralph's Daily Audio, "Join Our Super Rallies for Open Debates" which went up Monday:
Good morning, this is Ralph Nader. As you know, Nader/Gonzalez is being blocked from the presidential debates. The corporate controlled so-called Commission on Presidential Debates will not let any independent candidate in unless they show 15% in a series of polls in September. That's no surprise. What is surprising is the failure of other debates to fill the vacuum. Part of this is due to Senator Obama's reluctance to engage his opponents. On May 4th, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet The Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great." But earlier this month, Obama's campaign manager backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain and only in the three rigged debates that's sponsored by the two parties and paid for by corporations. Senator Obama's also refused to participate in a number of other debates including the Google debate in New Orleans, the Texas Ft. Hood debate that is being organized by veterans groups and the series of ten townhall meetings proposed by Senator McCain. Senator Obama's refusal to participate is a mistake and is costing him in the polls. Just yesterday, the Gallup tracking polls put McCain and Obama tied at 44% each. If Obama doesn't agree to more debates he could end up at the end of a sentence that starts out "Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry. With only McCain and Obama on the stage , there will be no debate of key issues and redirections important to the American people . Just go down the partial list. Single-payer Medicare for all healthcare, supported by the majority of the American people, the majority of doctors and nurses, and just recently, unanimously, by the US conference of mayors? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Reversing US policy in the Middle East? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Cut the bloated, wasteful, redundant military budget? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." They want a bigger military budget. Empty the prisons of drug possessors and fill 'em up with corporate criminals? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Nader-Gonzalez says "yes" to each. The only way to change this systemic exclusion is for millions of Americans to become engaged now. If you can, please join with us at our two Super Rallies-- on August 27th in Denver at the University of Denver Magness Arena or September 4th in Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall. And help us raise the banner for all to see: "OPEN THE DEBATES." If you are not able to attend, please go to VoteNader.org and donate now whatever you can up to the legal maximum of $4,600 to help fund our Open The Debates Campaign. Our goal is to raise $50,000 by Wednesday night. Last night, we were close to $14,000 in less than three days, but we have a ways to go. So join with us in Denver and Minneapolis if you can. We're planning to have some prominent activists and musicians with us. Stay tuned for more information on that. And we have some surprise, giant, inflatable visuals that should be a lot of fun, that will travel with us as we move from Denver to Minneapolis and then, hopefully, will bring attention to our Super Rallies from the press. Thank you for your ongoing and considered support to our campaign. Together we are making a difference. Onward to November. I'm Ralph Nader.
And Dad asked me to be sure to highlight C.I.'s "Sad state of the 'peace' movement" from this morning. That's really a great piece of writing and you're seeing the groundwork C.I. will be revisting for the year-in-review. Be sure to read it.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, August 20, 2008. Choas and violence continue, another US service member is dead, Richard A. Oppel Jr.'s reporting has the UN and US in damage control, Bully Boy lies to the VFW, lies surround yesterday's assaults in Diyala Province, and more.
Starting with war resistance. US war resister Tim Richard could not take part in the illegal war in Iraq for legal and ethical reasons so he went to Canada. At the London War Resisters Support Campaign, he notes J.M. Branum's response to the ridiculous Rondi Adams. James Branum, a member of the National Lawyers Guild and co-chair of their Military Law Task Force, is representing US war resister Robin Long expected to face a court-martial shortly after being extradited from Canada last month.
Courage to Resist offers the followings to support Robin:
1. Donate to Robin's legal defense
Online: http://couragetoresist.org/robinlong
By mail: Make checks out to "Courage to Resist / IHC" and note "Robin Long" in the memo field. Mail to:
Courage to Resist 484 Lake Park Ave #41 Oakland CA 94610
Courage to Resist is committed to covering Robin's legal and related defense expenses. Thank you for helping make that possible.
Also: You are also welcome to contribute directly to Robin's legal expenses via his civilian lawyer James Branum. Visit girightslawyer.com, select "Pay Online via PayPal" (lower left), and in the comments field note "Robin Long". Note that this type of donation is not tax-deductible.
2. Send letters of support to Robin
Robin Long, CJC
2739 East Las Vegas
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
Robin's pre-trial confinement has been outsourced by Fort Carson military authorities to the local county jail.
Robin is allowed to receive hand-written or typed letters only. Do NOT include postage stamps, drawings, stickers, copied photos or print articles. Robin cannot receive packages of any type (with the book exception as described below).
3. Send Robin a money order for commissary items
Anything Robin gets (postage stamps, toothbrush, shirts, paper, snacks, supplements, etc.) must be ordered through the commissary. Each inmate has an account to which friends may make deposits. To do so, a money order in U.S. funds must be sent to the address above made out to "Robin Long, EPSO". The sender's name must be written on the money order.
4. Send Robin a book
Robin is allowed to receive books which are ordered online and sent directly to him at the county jail from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. These two companies know the procedure to follow for delivering books for inmates.
Robin Long was extradited. It was done under the cloak of deportation because Judge Anne Mactavish knew that if she openly instituted extradition proceedings, there would be higher checks on her actions which could have prevented Robin from being forced out of Canada. It is not a minor point and it's one that's all the important as US war resister Jeremy Hinzman has been informed he has until September 23rd to leave Canada. In Robin's case, Mactavish was willing to ignore the law as well as guidelines covering refugees and immigrants (most obvious in her decision to extradite Robin and break up a family -- Robin is the father of a Canadian child) and willing to oversee the handover of Robin Long to US authorities (that's what makes it extradition and not deportation). Hopefully, Jeremy's expulsion from Canada will be stopped. But people need to pay attention to what happens if it is not. Robin was locked away for weeks and kept from contact with those who could have advised and offered support. He went from a Canadian jail to being handed over to US authorities. Judge Mactavish argued that Robin had to be imprisoned because he was a "flight risk." A "flight risk"? If someone you are debating expelling is a "flight risk," you don't lock them away. You hope they decide to leave on their own to avoid your government paying the costs of a hearing. Mactavish got a way with a lot. If Jeremy is expelled, all eyes should be watching to ensure that laws are not broken. Jeremy is being highly pro-active and has already taped a video, which you can find at the War Resisters Support Campaign, where he speaks directly to Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada:
Jeremy Hinzman: Hello, Mr. Harper. This is my family Nga, Liam and Meghan. We've been in Canada for the last four and a 1/2 years. I was a specialist in the 82nd Air borne division of the United States Army and served honorably in Afghanistan. In 2004, my family and I came to Canada because we would not participate in the Iraqi War, a war which Canada also refused to participate in because it was condemned by the international community. One of your predecessors, Pierre Trudeau, once said that Canada should be have from militarism and we took him at this word. On June 3, 2008, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion saying that United States war resisters should be able to remain in Canada. We're asking you to abide by this motion and allow us to stay in Canada. Thank you.
Title Card: On September 23rd, the Harper government plans to deport the Hinzman family back to the United States.
Title Card: Hinzman faces a court martial and up to 5 years in military prison for opposing the Iraq war and coming to Canada.
Title Card: War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada): www.resisters.ca
Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where
"[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, 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, Daniel Baker, 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 where Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "A key pillar of the U.S. strategy to pacify Iraq is in danger of collapsing" and she's referring to the counter-insurgency 'strategy' of putting thugs on the US payroll so that they will, as US Ambassador to Iraq outlined to Congress repeatedly in April, stop attacking Americans (the 'strategy' is: Fork over your lunch money and you'll be safe on the playground). Call them "Awakening" Council or "Sons of Iraq" or whatever, they're thugs paid to play nice. Fadel notes that the Shi'ite dominated government of puppet Nouri al-Maliki refuses to bring these Sunni militias into the government and quotes "one senior Iraqi commander in Baghdad" explaining, "We cannot stand them, and we detained many of them recently." That part is no surprise. The next part of the quote? "Many of them were part of al Qaida despite the fact that many of them are helping us to fight al Qaida" can be seen as the cover explanation that will be offered (and has been offered) for not bringing them in. One group of thugs in power doesn't want to share with another. The US installed one group and then, "counter-insurgency" (brought to Iraq by such 'great' minds as Sarah Sewall and Monty McFate) decided paying off the other dominant (in the population) group of thugs was just the thing to . . . throw the whole country off balance. Which it has. Let's hear it for the quackery of Sidewalk Social Scientists. Fadel quotes one thug leader of the "Awakening" Council, Mullah Shahab al Aafi, declaring, "If they disband us now, I will tell you that history will show we will go bacck to zero. I will not give up my weapons. I will never give them up, and I will carry my weapon again. If it is useless to talk to the government, I will be forced to carry my weapons and my pistol."
As Fadel notes the White House has repeatedly sold the "Awakening" Councils as a success story. So let's drop back to April for some basics. From April 8th, when US Amassador Crocker and US General David Petraeus brought their variety show to Congress:
How much lunch money is the US forking over? Members of the "Awakening" Council are paid, by the US, a minimum of $300 a month (US dollars). By Petraeus' figures that mean the US is paying $27,300,000 a month. $27 million a month is going to the "Awakening" Councils who, Petraeus brags, have led to "savings in vehicles not lost". Again, in this morning's hearings, the top commander in Iraq explained that the US strategy is forking over the lunch money to school yard bullies. [. . .] Crocker's entire testimony can be boiled down to a statement he made in his opening statements, "What has been achieved is substantial, but it is also reversible." Which would translate in the real world as nothing has really changed. During questioning from Senator Jack Reed, Crocker would rush to shore up the "Awakening" Council members as well. He would say there were about 90,000 of them and, pay attention, the transitioning of them is delayed due to "illliteracy and physical disabilities."
That afternon, the Senate Foreign Affairs committe chair would outline the three reasons violence was "down" (but had not ceased), Joe Biden: "First, the Sunni Awakening, which preceded the surge. Second, the Sadr cease-fire. Third, sectarian cleansing that left much of Baghdad segregated, with fewer targets to shoot or bomb. These tactical gains are relative. Violence is now where it was in 2005 and spiking up again. Iraq is still incredibly dangerous and, despite what the President says, very far from normal. And these gains are fragile. Awakening members frustrated at the government's refusal to integrate them into the national security forces could turn their guns back on us." What if the "Awakening" Council members turned their guns? It's not pie-in-the-sky, it's a question that should have been answered back in April. The frustrations are boiling over as al-Maliki continues to refuse to fold them into the government forces. Back to that snapshot and focusing on Senator Barbara Boxer's time:
She then turned to the issue of monies and the militias, "You are asking us for millions more to pay off the militias and, by the way, I have an article here that says Maliki recently told a London paper that he was concerned about half of them" and wouldn't put them into the forces because he doubts their loyalty. She noted that $182 million a year was being paid, $18 million a month, to these "Awakening" Council members and "why don't you ask the Iraqis to pay the entire cost of that progam" because as Senator Lugar pointed out, "It could be an opportunity" for the Iraqi government "to turn it into something more long term." This is a point, she declared, that she intends to bring up when it's time to vote on the next spending supplamental. Crocker tried to split hairs.
Boxer: I asked you why they couldn't pay for it. . . . I don't want to argue a point. . . I'm just asking you why we would object to asking them to pay for that entire program giving all that we are giving them in blood and everything else?
Crocker declared that he'd take that point back to Iraq when he returned.
Now we're flipping over to the April 10th snapshot and bringing in the topic of the treaties:
Senator Joe Biden: We will hear today about the two agreements that the Administration is negotiating with Iraq which were anticipated in the November Declaration. On Tuesday, Ambassador Crocker told us that these agreements would set forth the "vision" -- his phrase -- of our bilateral relationship with Iraq. One agreement is a "strategic framework agreement" that will include the economic, political and security issues outlined in the Declaration of Principles. The document might be better titled "What the United States will do for Iraq," because it consists mostly of a series of promises that flow in one direction -- promises by the United States to a sectarian government that has thus far failed to reach the political compromises necessary to have a stable country. We're told that the reason why we're not continuing under the UN umbrella is because the Iraqis say they have a sovereign country. But they don't want a Status of Forces Agreement because that flows two ways. The Administration tells us it's not binding, but the Iraqi parliament is going to think it is. The second agreement is what Administration officials call a "standard" Status of Forces Agreement, which will govern the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq, including their entry into the country and the immunities to be granted to them under Iraqi law. Unlike most SOFAs, however, it would permit U.S. forces -- for the purposes of Iraqi law -- to engage in combat operations and detain insurgents. In other words, to detain people that we think are bad guys. I don't know any of the other nearly 90 Status of Forces Agreements that would allow a U.S. commander to arrest anyone he believes is a bad guy.
The treaties are back in the news but before we get to them, April 10th, Biden was calling out the "internal threat" aspect and explaining that it required the US "to support the Iraqi government in its battle with all 'outlaw groups' -- that's a pretty expansive commitment," and one that requires the US "to take sides in Iraq's civil war" when "there is no Iraqi government that we know of that will be in place a year from now -- half the government has walked out. . . . We want to normalize a government that really doesn't exist." Senator Russ Feingold would add, "Given the fact that the Maliki government doesn't represent a true coalition, won't this agreement [make it appear] we are taking sides in the civil war especially when most Iraqi Parliamentarians have called for a withdrawal of troops?" All of the issues raised in today's news cycle were not only known some time ago, they were raised by the US Congress repeatedly in April (and brushed aside by those sent before them to offer talking points). AP reports that US sources are saying the treaties (both of them) have been worked out and will soon be formalized. Yesterday, US White House spokesperson Gordon Johndroe confirmed that the White House had been sent a draft.
On December 31st of this year, the United Nations authorization for the occupation of Iraq (there was never any authorization for the illegal war itself) expires. Nouri al-Maliki has already angered the Iraqi Parliament by twice ignoring it and renewing the mandate. But nothing is preventing the UN from offering a stop-gap measure of some form to briefly cover the occupation while the US presidency switches hand (Bully Boy has had his two terms and on his way out the door). Even better, no extension -- even a brief one -- would end the illegal war because foreign forces would have to leave Iraq. Instated, the White House is pushing long-term treaties that they attempt to call by other names to avoid the US Constitutional requirement that requires Senate authorization of all treaties. (al-Maliki has stated that, on Iraq's ends, the Iraqi Parliament will follow their own Constitution to some degree and the Parliament will have some form of approval.)
The United Nations raised Iraq yesterday in their daily press briefing where a spokesperson (Farhan Haq) spoke for Ban Ki-moon and asserted "that, over the past five years, the United Nations has continued to help the people of Iraq -- and others throughout the world -- who suffer from violence, disease and want." It is the fourth anniversary of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad (22 UN staffers died) and the spokesperson declared, "This work is often dangerous, but it must go on. Those who died on August 18th, 2003 would have it no other way." When you're arguing for continued actions on the backs of the dead, you're arguing from a position of weakness and "position of weakness" describes the UN's role throughout the Iraq War. Naturally Bloody War Hawk Samantha Power (taking time out from praising counter-insurgency) took to the New York Times yesterday to satisfy her blood lust with a column. Despite providing a cloak for the ongoing illegal war, the anniversary of the UN bombing yesterday resulted in no 'shout out' from the White House with Gordon Johndroe not even acknowledging it in his press briefing.
Today in Florida, the Bully Boy of the United States addressed the VFW. Gordon Johndroe had explained in yesterday's White House press briefing that the speech would be "a look-back on significant moments in the war on terror," and indeed Bully Boy attempted to use the 'war on terror' to justify everything but daughter Jenna's wedding expenses. If he could fold it into the so-called war on terror, he obviously would have. On Iraq he referenced Saddam Hussein as "a brutal dictator who murdered his own people" leaving out the fact that he was installed by the US and took most of his actions with US approval. "Because we acted, the dicator is gone," he declared striving really hard to sound like a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz, "and 25 million Iraqis are free." Bully Boy is wrong, approximately 2 million Iraqis are 'free' -- the external refugees who face new tragedies in other countries. No one in Iraq is 'free.' Not checking out the news cycle, Bully Boy complained that Iraq's suitation was once criticized and that some "were willing to give up on the mission." Bully Boy made clear he would never apologize for the illegal war he started. He did make time to lie about "political and economic progress . . . taking place". Lying is all the rage in front of the VFW this month. Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama lied this week. He hailed presumptive Republican candidate John McCain's ("served this nation honorably") and then used his speech to attack McCain claiming that he (Barack) had always been consistent in his opposition to the illegal war. A lie. Another was hailing Nouri al-Maliki as "democratically-elected." al-Maliki wasn't even the first choice of the US in the spring of 2006 (nor was he the first choice of the Iraqi parliament). al-Maliki was installed. It's that kind of lie -- one that comes so easily to Barack -- which goes a long, long way towards explaining how he's not vested in ending the illegal war. Attempting to dispell his 'stranger' quality to the VFW, he ignored speaking of his father and his many wives and instead emphasized the American side of his family. He also claimed wife Michelle had been speaking to veterans knowing no one would check into that (she's not sought out veterans) and knowing few would dare point out that Barack's refused a request for debate by, yes, veterans. He repeatedly went nasty on McCain (including on the GI Rights Bill) knowing that as the darling of the press corps he can continue to attack and only McCain's attacks on him will ever be noted. The only improvement for Barack is that someone has tutored him enough that he now no longer speaks of "the bomb" dropped on Pearl Harbor and appears aware that it was multiple bombs. Yes, he truly is that stupid.
Yesterday's snapshot noted Richard A. Oppel Jr.'s "Kurdish Control of City Creates Political Powderkeg in North Iraq" (New York Times) on what Kurds are boasting as their takeover of oil-rich Kirkuk. Missy Ryan (Reuters) reports today that US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker is insisting that Iraqi MPs must not be "bitter" over events in Kirkuk and that It's important that the elections law focus on elections, not on attempting to use this legislation to solve a difficult and much more complicated problem." Had the US government wanted to stop it, Kirkuk's fate would not appear sealed today. Crocker sanctimonously added, "It is important to remember what brings you together, not only the differences." Economically, one difference is that Kirkuk is oil-rich and it's not as simple as Crocker wants to portray it. Peter Graff (Reuters) reports that the UN's Staffan de Mistura declared at a press conference today that the UN was working on a "grand deal" to be revealed in September or October that would hopefully "resolve a looming row without fresh bloodshed" and, regarding Kirkuk, the UN would not advocate a referendrum but would instead attempt "to negotiate a broad political deal which could then be put to a 'confirmatory referendum', backed by all sides."
Yesterday, Iraqi security forces raided Sunni politicians, killed and arrested. Nicholas Spangler and Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) report four police officers were wounded in the Diyala actions, the governor's secretary was shot dead, Hussein al Zubaidi ("provincial council member and head of security committee") was arrested, computers were seized and "Taha Dria, a Shiite lawmaker from Diyala who was not in the government compound during the raid, said the armed forces were from Iraq's Emergency Response Unit, an American-trained unit similar to U.S. Special Forces" quoting him explaining that, "They were wearing khaki. Their weapons were American. The Humvees they used looked American. They didn't have any ranks on their shoulders. They didn't talk." They also report eye witnesses saw two US helicopters and that the helicopters fired on the Iraqi people. The US military issued a denial on accusations yesterday and maintained that one helicopter was in the area but for other reasons and it was not involved in actions. Ned Parker and Usama Redha (Los Angeles Times) note the US military's denial and also explain that "a prominet Sunni university dean" was also arrested, that the Iraqi forces involved "reports to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's counter-terrorism office" but al-Maliki claims he was unaware and his office insists, "These special forces work with the Americans. They are not associated with the Ministry of Defense. They have goals, and they didn't inform anyone else." Nichoals Spangler (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the US continues to deny any involvement in yesterday's lawless activities with US Big Gen James Boozer insisting, "It was what appears to be a rogue operations." If true, it would reflect poorly on Bully Boy's declarations today, wouldn't it? Spangler notes, "Both men arrested are Sunni Muslims, and the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni party in the country, immediately condemned the raids as part of a sectarian campaign by the largely Shiite Muslim security forces." So busy spinning, M-NF apparently was too busy to announce a death which is how the death toll for the month thus far reached 18 US service members with no one noticing (4145 since the start of the illegal war). Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left two people wounded. Reuters notes four were wounded in that bombing
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports two Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a Baghdad shooting and a Nozad Sirwan ("engineer") was shot dead in Kirkuk. Reuters notes 1 person shot dead and two more wounded in Tuzkhurmato, 1 person shot dead by the US military in Abu Alapa, .
Corpses?
Reuters notes 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad and 2 corpses were discovered in Hilla.
Turning to the US presidential race. Cynthia McKinney, Green Party presidential nominee, continues her campaign stops in Tennessee. Tomorrow she starts the day in Dickson and moves on to Nashville where she will hold a press converence at Legislative Plaza (11:00 a.m., open to the public) and then and she has upcoming appearances this week (tomorrow and Thursday) followed by a public Q&A.
Indpendent presidential candidate Ralph Nader continues his campaign for ballot access. Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez' independent presidential bid has set the goal of appearing on 45 states' ballots and Ryan J. Foley (AP) reports that the Nader campaign in Wisconsin is 100 signatures away from the required number of signatures to gain access to the state's ballot and that they expect to more than exceed the required number by the September 2nd deadline. In other news, Team Nader notes:
As late as yesterday, we didn't think we had a chance.
For the first time in this campaign, we were at serious risk of missing a self-imposed financial goal.
Then, yesterday, you came through.
And now, we're back in it.
Now, we're just shy of $42,000.
And we have a chance to hit our goal of $50,000 by 11:59 pm tonight.
But we're going to have to bust a gut to get there.
All out.
All day.
All night.
So, we are calling on 900 of you -- our most loyal supporters -- to donate $10 each now to push us over the top.
(900 times $10 equals $9,000, right?)
And for every $10 contribution you donate today, we will give free admission to a needy student who wants to come to hear Ralph Nader at our Open the Debates Super Rally at the University of Denver's Magness Arena. ($10 in advance, $12 at the door.)
Ralph will be joined by his running mate Matt Gonzalez.
And -- breaking news -- a star studded line-up will join Ralph and Matt in a call to open up the Presidential debates.Featuring -- Val Kilmer, Cindy Sheehan and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Jello Biafra, Nellie McKay, and Ike Reilly.So, please -- give a student a chance to attend this historic event.
Donate $10 now -- or whatever you can afford -- and send a student to raise the banner in Denver -- Open the Presidential Debates, More Voices, More Choices.
Keep an eye on our widget throughout the day.
Watch your name go up in lights.
And see if we blast through our goal.
Donate now.
And let's get it done.Together, we will not be denied.
Onward.
iraq
tim richard
jeremy hinzman
robin long
jim branum
leila fadellaith hammoudinicholas spanglerusama redhathe los angeles timesned parkersaif hameed
the new york timesrichard a. oppel jr.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Nader, brief Olympic thoughts
Tuesday and I don't have much time because I've still got some small packing to do. So let's get right to it. Daniel (VoteNader) points out:
There is only one presidential candidate this year who wants to give Americans a universal healthcare plan: Ralph Nader. Obama wants to force you to buy it from insurance companies while McCain wants to leave it up to employers (who continue to reduce or cut benefits).
Ralph Nader represents American values better than the two corporate candidates. If you really believe in progressive policies, don’t waste your vote on status-quo stiffs like McCain and Obama.
Unfortunately, the other interviewees get no better. Next up:
Kellam Clark, 30, furniture maker and artistI was sceptical about Obama initially. . . .But then during the period in which he was debating against Hillary and the Republicans, he came out on top. I thought, I'll support him - he felt like the only one available to me. I'm now supporting [independent presidential candidate] Ralph Nader since he jumped back into the race. But I don't see it as a contradiction to wear the T-shirt. I still see it as important to endorse Obama, as one of the politicians we have available to us as progressive Americans. I don't go for the dream stuff, but he represents a changing of the guard. . . .
Mr. C is very confused. No Republicans showed up at the Dem debates. To the contrary Obama has been ducking and running from any direct debates with McCain like a mouse running away from a cat. And if he thinks Obama is coming out on top, obviously he did not tune in to Saddleback.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Iraqi forces raid the office of the governor of Diyala Province and shoot dead his secretary but no one knows how?, the issue of the oil-rich Kirkuk may have already been 'settled,' and more.
Starting with war resistance. US war resister Jeremy Hinzman has been told he has until September 23rd to leave Canada. John Mackay (WSWS) explains, "Hinzman joined the US Army in early 2001, partly out of a sense of patriotism and adventure. However, he was primarily attracted by the promise of financial support for a university education. He says that more than a year after joining, he realized that he could not become a killer. He felt he could not dehumanize the people he was supposed to shoot. He applied for conscientious objector (CO) status in August 2002, but his command threw his application away. Hinzman subsequently reapplied while serving in Afghanistan, only to have his application turned down. In Afghanistan, while his CO application was being processed, Hinzman played a non-combatant role as an assistant to Haliburton employees serving meals to soldiers. Upon denial of his application for CO status, Hinzman was ordered to return to active duty. When his unit returned to the US with the understanding that they would soon be sent to Iraq, Hinzman deserted, crossing the Canadian border in January 2004 with his wife and young son and claiming refugee status." Nga Nguyen, Jeremy's wife, just gave birth to a daughter (Meghan) in July. We'll note again that the four are in a video at the War Resisters Support Campaign where Jeremy speaks to Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada:
Jeremy Hinzman: Hello, Mr. Harper. This is my family Nga, Liam and Meghan. We've been in Canada for the last four and a 1/2 years. I was a specialist in the 82nd Air borne division of the United States Army and served honorably in Afghanistan. In 2004, my family and I came to Canada because we would not participate in the Iraqi War, a war which Canada also refused to participate in because it was condemned by the international community. One of your predecessors, Pierre Trudeau, once said that Canada should be have from militarism and we took him at this word. On June 3, 2008, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion saying that United States war resisters should be able to remain in Canada. We're asking you to abide by this motion and allow us to stay in Canada. Thank you.
Title Card: On September 23rd, the Harper government plans to deport the Hinzman family back to the United States.
Title Card: Hinzman faces a court martial and up to 5 years in military prison for opposing the Iraq war and coming to Canada.
Title Card: War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada): http://www.resisters.ca/
Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where
"[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada."
A new documentary, The Path of Most Resistance, addresses war resistance. Directed by Gareth Keogh, the film traces two US service members attempts to receive CO status. One receives it, one doesn't. Susannah Tarbush (Saudi Gazette) reports on the film noting that Daniel Baker and Robert Weiss are the two CO applicants. Anyone paying attention knows who was successful and who wasn't:
Daniel Baker joined the US Navy in 2004, but soon after being deployed in Qatar as a communications officer in 2006 he made a successful application for CO status. He now works for the Catholic Peace Fellowship, one of the organizations that advise CO applicants. In contrast, soldier Robert Weiss's application for CO status was turned down in December 2007. He said: "I feel that at this point I have no legal avenue for pursuing recognition of my beliefs, so therefore I have no choice but to leave the military rather than do something I feel is immoral." On December 22 he was due to fly back to Iraq, but saw no alternative but to go absent without leave (AWOL) for 30 days, the minimum time necessary to be classified as a deserter. He would then turn himself in and face the inevitable court martial and imprisonment. During his period of being AWOL, he was given refuge by a family with pacifist sympathies. In February he turned himself in, and on May 13 was court martialled. He is serving a seven-month sentence in a military prison in Mannheim, Germany.
.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, 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, Daniel Baker, 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, Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) sketches out how oil-rich Kirkuk's fate already appears determined and how that took place because the central government (puppet) in Baghdad didn't do anything to mediate between Arabs, Kurds and Turkomans. Oppel writes, "Kurdish authority is visible everywhere in the city. In addition to the provincial government and command of the police, the Kurds control the Asaish, the feared undercover security service that works with the American military and, according to Asaish commanders, United States intelligence agencies." Oppel doesn't pursue that aspect which is a shame because the puppet government was controlled by the White House so the stand-down on Kirkuk was no acident. And US Col David Paschal can brag about how he made the call last month (as Turkmen and Kurds battled) not to send in the Iraqi forces but that call came from higher up. Mohammed Khalil ("leader of the Arab bloc on the provincial council") explains, "There is much fear. The Asaish are saying they will annex Kirkuk by force and that is terrifying people." For more realities on Kirkuk, see Stephen Farrell's "As Iraqis Vie for Kirkuk's Oil, Refugee Kurds Becomes Pawns" (December 9, 2007). Meanwhile the United Nation's IRIN advises today of how volatile the situation in Kirkuk remains and sites Baghdad University's Amer Hassan al-Fayadh explaining, "I do believe the best solution for Kirkk is that it be run as a separate region -- after resolving all pending issues between its segments, conducting a census and then letting its population determine its fate through a referendum, instead of one party imposing a solution." IRIN notes that the Iraqi Parliament attempts to impose a solution (in regular session last July and in special session early this month) have resulted "in daily demonstrations in favour of, or against, the new legislation."
Meanwhile the Associated Press has an article all over the place today (here at Los Angeles Times, here at Washington Post, etc.) that is just rah-rah-rah about the US taking in Iraqi refugees and how the State Dept might meet their announced quota ("for the first time" is left unstated by Samantha Henry). But at Inside Iraq (McClatchy Newspapers) Sahar Issa explains, "For the second time now in one month Iraqi newspapers have published articles stating the U.S will not accept any more Iraqi refugees." And before some idiot says, "Well it's the 2008 quota and it's been met!" Fiscal year. Which ends September 30th. Meaning October 1st starts the next (fiscal) year. Zaineb Naji (Baghdad Life, Wall St. Journal) examines the changing policies on Iraqi refugees for surrounding countries:
Last year, Syria announced new rules for Iraqis coming to Syria and for the first time, required us to get visas. But only academics, merchants, and taxi and truck drivers would qualify for visas. You can also get permission to travel to Syria if you are going there for medical treatment.
[. . .]
This time as we went through customs, two Iraqi soldiers came up to us and used a scanning device to check us. Then American soldiers took our biometrics information, including an eye scan. The people who passed got an "OK" written on their right hand with a black marker.
"Just like sheep" a young woman said to the American soldier when she got the "OK" mark on her hand. The soldier said "sorry" several times and explained that this was the procedure.
Two hours later, we were on the Syrian side of the border and again we had to line up to get our passports checked. In the arrival hall, people were shouting and pushing each other to reach the immigration desk. I was told to step aside by one of the customs officers, who said I was blocking his view of the television set.
In the hall, there was an extra "fee" for each kind of visa. Merchants were asked to pay $10, while for the sick, the price was $5. For our transit visas, the fee was $4 each. Everyone got a stamp that allowed them to stay in Syria for one month and then we were on the bus again.
At the end of the trip, I realized that Iraqis are always suffering, whether it's inside their country or outside of it.
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Nineveh Province car bombing that left five people wounded.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad attack in which 1 police officer was shot dead and three were left wounded and, in Kirkuk, a police shooting is under examination as a result of the deaths of a man and his father. Reuters notes a raid conducted by "Iraqi security forces" in Baquba on "the office of the governor of Diyala province" which resulted in the death of "his secetary". Reuters notes the name of the dead is Abbas Ali Hmoud and that Raad Rasheed Mulla Jawad (the governor of the province) has stated, "The body of the martyr [Abbas Ali Hmoud] will stay in the building until the iillers are captured." Though the US military admits at least 1 US helicopter was present they deny that the US military had any knowledge or participation in the raid. Maybe they were just jumping the gun on the August 22nd National Airborne Day? Also playing dumb is the puppet government in Baghdad which is ordering an investigation. AFP reports that Nouri al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, "ordered the formation of a committee to find out how Iraqi forces came to fight each other in Baquba" and notes that, in addition to the secretary being murdered, a bodyguard was also shot dead. CNN notes, "Hussein al-Zubaidi, a provincial council member, and Nazar al-Khafaji, the Diyala University dean, were arrested during the raid, the official said."
Corpses?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 20 corpses were discovered in Diyala Province.
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division - Center Soldier was killed as a result of a rocket attack on a forward operating base near Amarah Aug. 19." ICCC's count is 4144 for the total number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and 17 for the month.
Turning to the US presidential race. The Democratic Party holds its convention in Denver shortly. AP notes, "Independent Ralph Nader planned to attend a rally at Denver University on Aug. 27, the night before Obama accepts his party's nomination. And Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney was scheduled to address supporters after an anti-war march through downtown Denver on Sunday, the day before the convention opens." Christopher Keating (Hartford Courant) notes that independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader's campaign was set to turn in petitions today in New York and Alabama making them the 31st and 32nd states the Ralph Nader - Matt Gonzalez ticket will be on the ballots of. Foon Rhee (Boston Globe) adds that the Nader campaign is set to submit their signatures to be on the Massachusetts ballot. The Nader campaign states it has around 17,000 signatures gathered, that Massachusetts would be the 34th state they'd be on the ballot of and that "Michael Richardson, Massachusetts Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Coordinator, will hold a Weds. Aug. 20, 10 a.m. news conference at the Elections Division office, McCormack Bulding, Room 1705, One Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 02108"..
From Ralph's Daily Audio, this is "The Difference Between The Two Parties:"
This is Ralph Nader. Just how different are the two major parties? Well I've often said that the towering similarities between the two parties are far greater than the dwindling differences they're really willing to fight over. It's clear that the Democrats are better than Republicans on Social Security, civil justice, the right to go to court if you're wrongfully injured, civil rights and a number of other issues. But consider the similarities. As I've said when it comes to the overriding issue of the corporate takeover of our federal government department by department, agency by agency, the two parties differ in the velocity with which their knees hit the floor when corporations pound on their door.
The two parties are pretty similar on foreign and military policy. In recent weeks the leading foreign affairs reporters for the Washington Post and the New York Times said that Obama would be similar in his foreign and military policy to the second term of George W. Bush. They're both pushing for more military budget. They haven't singled out a single weapons system that they think is obsolete, redundant or not needed.
They both are not doing anything about cracking down on corporate crimes commensurate with the violations of health and safety laws by the corporations in the looting and draining of trillions of dollars of mutual fund savings and pension funds they both are furthering the perforation of the tax code corporate loopholes and offshore havens. They both have put the regulatory agencies under anesthesia. They both are in a race to get more and more private special interest money into elections corrupting our election process. You ever hear them mention in any specifics what they're going to do about consumer protection or what they're going to do about repealing anti-worker, anti-union laws like Taft-Hartley? No way. Similarly silent.
The Democrats took over the Congress in January 2007, they haven't rolled back any of the legislation or even made a major college try to roll back the bad legislation that Bush and his Congressional Republicans have passed So we can go and on but just think about it, how necessary it is to have somewhere else on the ballot line to cast your vote. Nader-Gonzalez. Thank you.
Team Nader notes:
We are in a sprint to the finish line.That would be November 4.
And we're not about to let up.
But for the first time since we started this campaign, we are in danger of not meeting one of our financial goals.
We set a goal of $50,000 by tomorrow night 11:59 p.m.
As of now, we are just under $30,000.
So, we need to ramp it up.
Big time.
And now.
We need 2,000 of you -- our loyal supporters -- to drop $10 each.
That simple.
So hit that there contribute button.
And drop a ten spot on Nader/Gonzalez.
Time to get it done.
By the way, did you hear some of the big names that are coming to our Super Rallies in Denver and Minneapolis?
Not just our own caped crusader.
But also --
Batman?
Huey Long?
The Anti-Pelosi?
Stay tuned.
Here's one person who will be there for sure.
Ashley Sanders.
Ashley who?
Ashley Sanders.
Ashley gave one of the most eloquent and thought provoking endorsements of the Nader/Gonzalez candidacy this year.
Check out Ashley here -- introducing Ralph in Utah last month.
But first things first.
Let's not miss this deadline.
Kick it in so we can push it over the top.
Onward to November.
Cynthia McKinney is the Green Party presidential nominee and she has upcoming appearances this week (tomorrow and Thursday):Wednesday, August 20th McKinney will make 3 stops in Memphis. That evening she will be in Jackson, Tennessee for a fundraiser hosted by the Madison County Green Party.Thursday, August 21st McKinney's first stop is in Dickson to meet with representatives of the community who have been affected by the dumping of toxic waste in their community. Then to Nashville for an 11:00 AM Press Conference in Room 31, Legislative Plaza speaking to the press about her campaign. This event is open to the public. Following the press conference Ms McKinney will speak directly to the public and take questions. This will also be in Legislative Plaza, Room 31.That morning Greens will turn in their nominating petitions to secure her position on the general election ballot in Tennessee. "Due to Tennessee's oppressive election access laws Ms McKinney will be listed on the ballot as an independent candidate which we can achieve with 275 valid signatures. It would take over 45,000 valid signatures to get her listed with the "Green" affiliation. The Green Party is currently a litigant against the state seeking ballot access laws that are fair", said John Miglietta a delegate to the Green Party of the US and a Green Candidate for US House District 5.Following the Press Conference she is scheduled to visit Tennessee State University, Fisk University and Carver Food Park where Sizwe Herring of EarthMatters Tennessee teaches children and community members about the value of composting and principles of ecology.
Those appearances start tomorrow and the Geen Party website still has nothing up.
the common ills
iraqjeremy hinzmanjohn mackaydaniel bakerrobert weisssusannah tarbushchristopher keating
the new york timesrichard a. oppel jr.stephen farrellleila fadelmcclatchy newspapers
There is only one presidential candidate this year who wants to give Americans a universal healthcare plan: Ralph Nader. Obama wants to force you to buy it from insurance companies while McCain wants to leave it up to employers (who continue to reduce or cut benefits).
Ralph Nader represents American values better than the two corporate candidates. If you really believe in progressive policies, don’t waste your vote on status-quo stiffs like McCain and Obama.
The Democratic 'leaders' made their own problems. And it's no one's fault but their own. They could have made it about issues but they didn't care. If they had, John Edwards had poverty as an issue and Hillary Clinton had health care. But they wanted to go with the airy Toast Master instead. So that's their own dumb luck. He's bought and paid for by the corporations. He's got nothing going for him, no reason to root for him. You can be a fan at a movie premeire, I guess. But most of us don't carry around autograph books.
Barack's Cult is dwindling. He keeps falling and falling. And when the Christ-child can't walk on water, it raises more questions in more people.
Too bad for Pelosi, et al. The only real candidate is Ralph.
Unfortunately, the other interviewees get no better. Next up:
Kellam Clark, 30, furniture maker and artistI was sceptical about Obama initially. . . .But then during the period in which he was debating against Hillary and the Republicans, he came out on top. I thought, I'll support him - he felt like the only one available to me. I'm now supporting [independent presidential candidate] Ralph Nader since he jumped back into the race. But I don't see it as a contradiction to wear the T-shirt. I still see it as important to endorse Obama, as one of the politicians we have available to us as progressive Americans. I don't go for the dream stuff, but he represents a changing of the guard. . . .
Mr. C is very confused. No Republicans showed up at the Dem debates. To the contrary Obama has been ducking and running from any direct debates with McCain like a mouse running away from a cat. And if he thinks Obama is coming out on top, obviously he did not tune in to Saddleback.
If the guy is a right-winger, oh well. He called the above pretty clearly. It made me laugh in several places (use the link). Right-wingers are part of the country too. I don't agree with them on political positions but that was funny and worth highlighting. So thanks to ____ for e-mailing me it.
I had e-mails about the Olympics. I haven't watched any of it. Was it 2000 when NBC destroyed the Olympics with their "Intimate Portraits" (Lifetime TV) that didn't allow the time to cover the actual events? Wasn't that when they refused to carry it live? I remember trying to watch that and just giving up. I have no interest in the Olympics, sorry. I'm not a fan of or in love with Michael Phelps. Judging by the TV, I'm the only one in America. But in the real world, I don't know anyone who thinks anything nice of Phelps.
Most of the people I know think his 'records' are a joke because the pool is deeper and he (and others) wears that ridiculous suit that cuts time.
I saw a clip of him on TV and that was enough for me. He made me sick to my stomach. He was stretching or waving and I thought, "Geez, shaving your armpit?"
You can see bodybuilders do it and that may be one thing. But I think most guys look really vain and stupid when they're shaving their armpits. Mark Spitz had a mustache. Maybe if he'd shaved that, he would have shaved off even more time back in the day!
But that just brought up the suit issue and everything else and how it's not really a competition, it's trickery. There's no real skill, just figuring out ways to cheat.
I also don't watch because I don't need to see Michael Phelps' butt crack. My younger sister (she's the baby, my other sisters are older) liked Phelps in 2004. She told me he looks like someone's elderly aunt these days and that she's really noticing how his teeth on the sides are longer than his front teeth.
So that's going to be it tonight. I've got to do some more packing. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, August 19, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Iraqi forces raid the office of the governor of Diyala Province and shoot dead his secretary but no one knows how?, the issue of the oil-rich Kirkuk may have already been 'settled,' and more.
Starting with war resistance. US war resister Jeremy Hinzman has been told he has until September 23rd to leave Canada. John Mackay (WSWS) explains, "Hinzman joined the US Army in early 2001, partly out of a sense of patriotism and adventure. However, he was primarily attracted by the promise of financial support for a university education. He says that more than a year after joining, he realized that he could not become a killer. He felt he could not dehumanize the people he was supposed to shoot. He applied for conscientious objector (CO) status in August 2002, but his command threw his application away. Hinzman subsequently reapplied while serving in Afghanistan, only to have his application turned down. In Afghanistan, while his CO application was being processed, Hinzman played a non-combatant role as an assistant to Haliburton employees serving meals to soldiers. Upon denial of his application for CO status, Hinzman was ordered to return to active duty. When his unit returned to the US with the understanding that they would soon be sent to Iraq, Hinzman deserted, crossing the Canadian border in January 2004 with his wife and young son and claiming refugee status." Nga Nguyen, Jeremy's wife, just gave birth to a daughter (Meghan) in July. We'll note again that the four are in a video at the War Resisters Support Campaign where Jeremy speaks to Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada:
Jeremy Hinzman: Hello, Mr. Harper. This is my family Nga, Liam and Meghan. We've been in Canada for the last four and a 1/2 years. I was a specialist in the 82nd Air borne division of the United States Army and served honorably in Afghanistan. In 2004, my family and I came to Canada because we would not participate in the Iraqi War, a war which Canada also refused to participate in because it was condemned by the international community. One of your predecessors, Pierre Trudeau, once said that Canada should be have from militarism and we took him at this word. On June 3, 2008, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion saying that United States war resisters should be able to remain in Canada. We're asking you to abide by this motion and allow us to stay in Canada. Thank you.
Title Card: On September 23rd, the Harper government plans to deport the Hinzman family back to the United States.
Title Card: Hinzman faces a court martial and up to 5 years in military prison for opposing the Iraq war and coming to Canada.
Title Card: War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada): http://www.resisters.ca/
Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where
"[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada."
A new documentary, The Path of Most Resistance, addresses war resistance. Directed by Gareth Keogh, the film traces two US service members attempts to receive CO status. One receives it, one doesn't. Susannah Tarbush (Saudi Gazette) reports on the film noting that Daniel Baker and Robert Weiss are the two CO applicants. Anyone paying attention knows who was successful and who wasn't:
Daniel Baker joined the US Navy in 2004, but soon after being deployed in Qatar as a communications officer in 2006 he made a successful application for CO status. He now works for the Catholic Peace Fellowship, one of the organizations that advise CO applicants. In contrast, soldier Robert Weiss's application for CO status was turned down in December 2007. He said: "I feel that at this point I have no legal avenue for pursuing recognition of my beliefs, so therefore I have no choice but to leave the military rather than do something I feel is immoral." On December 22 he was due to fly back to Iraq, but saw no alternative but to go absent without leave (AWOL) for 30 days, the minimum time necessary to be classified as a deserter. He would then turn himself in and face the inevitable court martial and imprisonment. During his period of being AWOL, he was given refuge by a family with pacifist sympathies. In February he turned himself in, and on May 13 was court martialled. He is serving a seven-month sentence in a military prison in Mannheim, Germany.
.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, 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, Daniel Baker, 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, Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) sketches out how oil-rich Kirkuk's fate already appears determined and how that took place because the central government (puppet) in Baghdad didn't do anything to mediate between Arabs, Kurds and Turkomans. Oppel writes, "Kurdish authority is visible everywhere in the city. In addition to the provincial government and command of the police, the Kurds control the Asaish, the feared undercover security service that works with the American military and, according to Asaish commanders, United States intelligence agencies." Oppel doesn't pursue that aspect which is a shame because the puppet government was controlled by the White House so the stand-down on Kirkuk was no acident. And US Col David Paschal can brag about how he made the call last month (as Turkmen and Kurds battled) not to send in the Iraqi forces but that call came from higher up. Mohammed Khalil ("leader of the Arab bloc on the provincial council") explains, "There is much fear. The Asaish are saying they will annex Kirkuk by force and that is terrifying people." For more realities on Kirkuk, see Stephen Farrell's "As Iraqis Vie for Kirkuk's Oil, Refugee Kurds Becomes Pawns" (December 9, 2007). Meanwhile the United Nation's IRIN advises today of how volatile the situation in Kirkuk remains and sites Baghdad University's Amer Hassan al-Fayadh explaining, "I do believe the best solution for Kirkk is that it be run as a separate region -- after resolving all pending issues between its segments, conducting a census and then letting its population determine its fate through a referendum, instead of one party imposing a solution." IRIN notes that the Iraqi Parliament attempts to impose a solution (in regular session last July and in special session early this month) have resulted "in daily demonstrations in favour of, or against, the new legislation."
Meanwhile the Associated Press has an article all over the place today (here at Los Angeles Times, here at Washington Post, etc.) that is just rah-rah-rah about the US taking in Iraqi refugees and how the State Dept might meet their announced quota ("for the first time" is left unstated by Samantha Henry). But at Inside Iraq (McClatchy Newspapers) Sahar Issa explains, "For the second time now in one month Iraqi newspapers have published articles stating the U.S will not accept any more Iraqi refugees." And before some idiot says, "Well it's the 2008 quota and it's been met!" Fiscal year. Which ends September 30th. Meaning October 1st starts the next (fiscal) year. Zaineb Naji (Baghdad Life, Wall St. Journal) examines the changing policies on Iraqi refugees for surrounding countries:
Last year, Syria announced new rules for Iraqis coming to Syria and for the first time, required us to get visas. But only academics, merchants, and taxi and truck drivers would qualify for visas. You can also get permission to travel to Syria if you are going there for medical treatment.
[. . .]
This time as we went through customs, two Iraqi soldiers came up to us and used a scanning device to check us. Then American soldiers took our biometrics information, including an eye scan. The people who passed got an "OK" written on their right hand with a black marker.
"Just like sheep" a young woman said to the American soldier when she got the "OK" mark on her hand. The soldier said "sorry" several times and explained that this was the procedure.
Two hours later, we were on the Syrian side of the border and again we had to line up to get our passports checked. In the arrival hall, people were shouting and pushing each other to reach the immigration desk. I was told to step aside by one of the customs officers, who said I was blocking his view of the television set.
In the hall, there was an extra "fee" for each kind of visa. Merchants were asked to pay $10, while for the sick, the price was $5. For our transit visas, the fee was $4 each. Everyone got a stamp that allowed them to stay in Syria for one month and then we were on the bus again.
At the end of the trip, I realized that Iraqis are always suffering, whether it's inside their country or outside of it.
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Nineveh Province car bombing that left five people wounded.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad attack in which 1 police officer was shot dead and three were left wounded and, in Kirkuk, a police shooting is under examination as a result of the deaths of a man and his father. Reuters notes a raid conducted by "Iraqi security forces" in Baquba on "the office of the governor of Diyala province" which resulted in the death of "his secetary". Reuters notes the name of the dead is Abbas Ali Hmoud and that Raad Rasheed Mulla Jawad (the governor of the province) has stated, "The body of the martyr [Abbas Ali Hmoud] will stay in the building until the iillers are captured." Though the US military admits at least 1 US helicopter was present they deny that the US military had any knowledge or participation in the raid. Maybe they were just jumping the gun on the August 22nd National Airborne Day? Also playing dumb is the puppet government in Baghdad which is ordering an investigation. AFP reports that Nouri al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, "ordered the formation of a committee to find out how Iraqi forces came to fight each other in Baquba" and notes that, in addition to the secretary being murdered, a bodyguard was also shot dead. CNN notes, "Hussein al-Zubaidi, a provincial council member, and Nazar al-Khafaji, the Diyala University dean, were arrested during the raid, the official said."
Corpses?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 20 corpses were discovered in Diyala Province.
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division - Center Soldier was killed as a result of a rocket attack on a forward operating base near Amarah Aug. 19." ICCC's count is 4144 for the total number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and 17 for the month.
Turning to the US presidential race. The Democratic Party holds its convention in Denver shortly. AP notes, "Independent Ralph Nader planned to attend a rally at Denver University on Aug. 27, the night before Obama accepts his party's nomination. And Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney was scheduled to address supporters after an anti-war march through downtown Denver on Sunday, the day before the convention opens." Christopher Keating (Hartford Courant) notes that independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader's campaign was set to turn in petitions today in New York and Alabama making them the 31st and 32nd states the Ralph Nader - Matt Gonzalez ticket will be on the ballots of. Foon Rhee (Boston Globe) adds that the Nader campaign is set to submit their signatures to be on the Massachusetts ballot. The Nader campaign states it has around 17,000 signatures gathered, that Massachusetts would be the 34th state they'd be on the ballot of and that "Michael Richardson, Massachusetts Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Coordinator, will hold a Weds. Aug. 20, 10 a.m. news conference at the Elections Division office, McCormack Bulding, Room 1705, One Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 02108"..
From Ralph's Daily Audio, this is "The Difference Between The Two Parties:"
This is Ralph Nader. Just how different are the two major parties? Well I've often said that the towering similarities between the two parties are far greater than the dwindling differences they're really willing to fight over. It's clear that the Democrats are better than Republicans on Social Security, civil justice, the right to go to court if you're wrongfully injured, civil rights and a number of other issues. But consider the similarities. As I've said when it comes to the overriding issue of the corporate takeover of our federal government department by department, agency by agency, the two parties differ in the velocity with which their knees hit the floor when corporations pound on their door.
The two parties are pretty similar on foreign and military policy. In recent weeks the leading foreign affairs reporters for the Washington Post and the New York Times said that Obama would be similar in his foreign and military policy to the second term of George W. Bush. They're both pushing for more military budget. They haven't singled out a single weapons system that they think is obsolete, redundant or not needed.
They both are not doing anything about cracking down on corporate crimes commensurate with the violations of health and safety laws by the corporations in the looting and draining of trillions of dollars of mutual fund savings and pension funds they both are furthering the perforation of the tax code corporate loopholes and offshore havens. They both have put the regulatory agencies under anesthesia. They both are in a race to get more and more private special interest money into elections corrupting our election process. You ever hear them mention in any specifics what they're going to do about consumer protection or what they're going to do about repealing anti-worker, anti-union laws like Taft-Hartley? No way. Similarly silent.
The Democrats took over the Congress in January 2007, they haven't rolled back any of the legislation or even made a major college try to roll back the bad legislation that Bush and his Congressional Republicans have passed So we can go and on but just think about it, how necessary it is to have somewhere else on the ballot line to cast your vote. Nader-Gonzalez. Thank you.
Team Nader notes:
We are in a sprint to the finish line.That would be November 4.
And we're not about to let up.
But for the first time since we started this campaign, we are in danger of not meeting one of our financial goals.
We set a goal of $50,000 by tomorrow night 11:59 p.m.
As of now, we are just under $30,000.
So, we need to ramp it up.
Big time.
And now.
We need 2,000 of you -- our loyal supporters -- to drop $10 each.
That simple.
So hit that there contribute button.
And drop a ten spot on Nader/Gonzalez.
Time to get it done.
By the way, did you hear some of the big names that are coming to our Super Rallies in Denver and Minneapolis?
Not just our own caped crusader.
But also --
Batman?
Huey Long?
The Anti-Pelosi?
Stay tuned.
Here's one person who will be there for sure.
Ashley Sanders.
Ashley who?
Ashley Sanders.
Ashley gave one of the most eloquent and thought provoking endorsements of the Nader/Gonzalez candidacy this year.
Check out Ashley here -- introducing Ralph in Utah last month.
But first things first.
Let's not miss this deadline.
Kick it in so we can push it over the top.
Onward to November.
Cynthia McKinney is the Green Party presidential nominee and she has upcoming appearances this week (tomorrow and Thursday):Wednesday, August 20th McKinney will make 3 stops in Memphis. That evening she will be in Jackson, Tennessee for a fundraiser hosted by the Madison County Green Party.Thursday, August 21st McKinney's first stop is in Dickson to meet with representatives of the community who have been affected by the dumping of toxic waste in their community. Then to Nashville for an 11:00 AM Press Conference in Room 31, Legislative Plaza speaking to the press about her campaign. This event is open to the public. Following the press conference Ms McKinney will speak directly to the public and take questions. This will also be in Legislative Plaza, Room 31.That morning Greens will turn in their nominating petitions to secure her position on the general election ballot in Tennessee. "Due to Tennessee's oppressive election access laws Ms McKinney will be listed on the ballot as an independent candidate which we can achieve with 275 valid signatures. It would take over 45,000 valid signatures to get her listed with the "Green" affiliation. The Green Party is currently a litigant against the state seeking ballot access laws that are fair", said John Miglietta a delegate to the Green Party of the US and a Green Candidate for US House District 5.Following the Press Conference she is scheduled to visit Tennessee State University, Fisk University and Carver Food Park where Sizwe Herring of EarthMatters Tennessee teaches children and community members about the value of composting and principles of ecology.
Those appearances start tomorrow and the Geen Party website still has nothing up.
the common ills
iraqjeremy hinzmanjohn mackaydaniel bakerrobert weisssusannah tarbushchristopher keating
the new york timesrichard a. oppel jr.stephen farrellleila fadelmcclatchy newspapers
Monday, August 18, 2008
Nader, Third
Monday! Monday! Summer's winding down. Labor Day's about to be here. Today, Tony said, "I can't believe it's almost . . . Thanksgiving!" We both laughed. We really know someone like that. While everyone else is saying, "Summer's almost over" or in December, "Christmas is almost here," he's always months and months ahead. The week after Easter, this guy said he couldn't believe it was almost the Fourth of July. And unlike Tony, he wasn't joking. :D
The Nader-Gonzales campaign has news about ballots. Okay, this is "Nader/Gonzalez Campaign Concludes Successful D.C. Ballot drive with over 7,500 Signatures:"
Monday, August 18, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM
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News AdvisoryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org; (local) Kymone Freeman, 202-413-6160, kymone@votenader.org
NADER/GONZALEZ CAMPAIGN CONCLUDES SUCCESSFUL D.C. BALLOT DRIVE WITH MORE THAN 7,500 SIGNATURES
Supporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader Tuesday, Aug. 18, will hold a news conference and submit petitions to to the District of Columbia Board of Elections, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250 North, Washington, D.C., 20001, to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 election ballot.
Washington will be the 31st ballot line for which the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign has filed since the consumer advocate announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." D.C. Ballot access law requires submission of the signatures of 3,900 registered voters. The Nader/Gonzalez campaign will submit more than 7,500 signatures.
Gaining a ballot line in Washington is particularly meaningful as Ralph Nader has long championed the cause of statehood for D.C., whose lack of congressional representatives and lack of control over budgets effectively make D.C. a colony, subject to taxation without representation. Mr. Nader further advocates a Marshall Plan for the cities: rebuilding deteriorated infrastructures and creating domestic jobs.
Kymone Freeman, D.C. Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Coordinator, and Nader/Gonzalez supporters, will be available at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, in Judiciary Square Plaza in front of the District of Columbia Board of Elections, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250 North, Washington, D.C., 20001, to answer news media questions.
WHO: Washington D.C. Supporters of Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Campaign
WHAT: News Conference and Turn-in of nominating petitions
WHEN: 4 p.m., Tuesday., Aug. 19, 2008
WHERE: Judiciary Square Plaza, in front of the District of Columbia Board of Elections, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250 North, Washington, D.C., 20001
About Ralph NaderAttorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.
About Matt GonzalezMatt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.
About the Nader/Gonzalez CampaignAccording to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.
For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
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So that's DC but wait, we're not done. This is "Nader/Gonzalez Campaign to Submit More Than 27,000 Signatures to Clinch New York Ballot Line:"
Monday, August 18, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM
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News AdvisoryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org; (Albany, N.Y.) Christina Tobin, 312-320-4101, christina@votenader.org or Josh Starcher, 718-909-6343, josh@votenader.org NADER/GONZALEZ CAMPAIGN TO SUBMIT MORE THAN 27,000 SIGNATURES TO CLINCH NEW YORK BALLOT LINESupporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader Tues., Aug. 19, will submit petitions to the New York State Board of Elections, to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 election ballot.New York will be the 32nd state in which the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign has filed for a ballot line since Mr. Nader announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press". To qualify to appear on New York's ballot, state law requires submission of the signatures of 15,000 registered voters. The Nader/Gonzalez Campaign will submit more than 27,000 signatures.Howie Hawkins, New York Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Coordinator, and Christina Tobin, National Ballot Access Coordinator, will be joined by several other Nader/Gonzalez supporters in a news conference at 11 a.m. outside on the Steuben Street side of the State Board of Elections building.WHO: New York Supporters of Nader/Gonzalez 2008 CampaignWHAT: News Conference and nominating petitions submissionWHEN: 11 a.m., Tues. Aug. 19, 2008WHERE: NY State Board Of Elections, 40 Steuben Street, Albany, NY 12207-2108About Ralph NaderAttorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.About Matt GonzalezMatt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.About the Nader/Gonzalez CampaignAccording to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
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Truest statement of the Week I -- Bonnie Erbe got this.
Truest statement of the Week II -- And John Walsh got this one.
A note to our readers -- Jim breaks down the edition. It really was a tough edition. Before we were let go, Ava was saying she was so tired (and Ava, Jess, Jim, Dona, Ty and C.I. work to the end) that she couldn't even see straight ("I mean it, my vision is blurry").
Editorial: Withdrawal can be done in 100 days -- C.I. almost used this topic but waited and that allowed us to have the easiest editorial we've ever had. This really is a good editorial. Last week demonstrated that all the lies about 16 months just to withdraw were lies. Withdrawal from Iraq -- full withdrawal -- can take place in 100 days.
TV: Transformations -- I love Ava and C.I.'s writing. They're down on this. They haven't read it and, as usual, don't plan to. But they were wanting to just write about Eli Stone but then Norman Solomon acted like an idiot. They had to bring that in and then there were other things. So they didn't even get to really talk about Eli Stone the way they wanted. I haven't seen it but my oldest brother has been watching it on Saturdays and he really likes it. What I really like is this TV commentary.
Jeremy Hinzman ordered to leave Canada -- Everybody wants to know, "What's on that photo?" They were doing some ink stuff for the newsletters and that got on the scanner. How tired were they? They didn't even notice it. I called Dona today and she asked me what I was talking about. She pulls it up and says, "Oh, that's from the ink drawings we scanned."
Open Up The Debates! -- Three articles become one and really work out that way. I was in the group working on the John Edwards stuff. And Marcia and Ty really wanted that one. It was rough because it just wasn't working. Marcia really did keep everyone focused. At the end, it couldn't make a stand alone article but the strongest part could be combined with other stuff.
What If Feminists Were Swing Voters? -- This is the article that Ava and C.I. proposed the week before but we knew it would be a long piece and we didn't have time. So we picked it up this week. In fact, this is the first piece we wrote to get it out of the way. This is a really strong edition and though it was murder to write, it shows how hard we worked Saturday and Sunday.
The race card, what's not feminism, and more -- Betty proposed this one. We thought it would be shorter and quicker but there was a lot to cover. You have to read this one.
Catching on to the Peace Resister -- This was "short feature." And Dona and Jim want stuff this size next week so we don't end up working and working and working some more.
Roundtable -- Every week when Ava and C.I. go off to do their TV commentary, we either edit or (more likely) just shoot the breeze. They come back and we've got nothing to show for when they were gone. So this time we decided to shoot the breeze via a roundtable. That's why Ava and C.I. aren't participating, they were writing their TV piece. Dallas talks in this and you'll learn how stupid Barack's ad buy was (on the Olympics).
Highlights -- Kat, Marcia, Ruth, Rebecca, Betty, Wally, Cedric, Elaine and I wrote this and picked out all the highlights unless it says otherwise.
How long was the edition? Wally and Cedric thought they'd do their joint-post for Saturday Saturday night. Kat thought she'd be able to grab some editing time on her CD review. Kat never got that time and Wally and Cedric had to wait until late Sunday to do their joint-post. It was probably the longest one (writing edition) we've had in some time and that has to do with the fact that we started earlier than usual. The reason was so that we'd be done long before the sun came up and that didn't happen.
"Where it stands" -- which is why Dona and Jim wrote this note to advise everyone stuff would be going up at some point. It was nine o'clock here (EST) and everyone was exhausted.
Ma's "Split Pea Soup in the Kitchen" went up this weekend. I'm not supposed to read it because it's about me. I kept my word until this evening. I know why she didn't want me to read it. She was afraid I'd see it as, "Don't move, Mike!" I didn't see it that way. I knew she was being the practical one and I knew it was hard on Dad that I'm moving. It's hard on me too but, like my mother says, it really is time.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, August 18, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Jeffry House still doesn't grasp what Justice Robert Barnes wrote in his ruling, Blackwater mercenaries are made to sweat, Ralph Nader fights for democracy and open debates and Cynthia McKinney makes it clear that she will not be intimidated by some 'supporters' who wanted her to cancel an appearance.
Starting with war resistance. Last Wednesday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed he had to leave Canada by September 32rd. He and his family (wife Nga Nguyen, son Liam and daughter Meghan) have taped a video at the War Resisters Support Campaign where Jeremy speaks to Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada:
Jeremy Hinzman: Hello, Mr. Harper. This is my family Nga, Liam and Meghan. We've been in Canada for the last four and a 1/2 years. I was a specialist in the 82nd Air borne division of the United States Army and served honorably in Afghanistan. In 2004, my family and I came to Canada because we would not participate in the Iraqi War, a war which Canada also refused to participate in because it was condemned by the international community. One of your predecessors, Pierre Trudeau, once said that Canada should be have from militarism and we took him at this word. On June 3, 2008, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion saying that United States war resisters should be able to remain in Canada. We're asking you to abide by this motion and allow us to stay in Canada. Thank you.
Title Card: On September 23rd, the Harper government plans to deport the Hinzman family back to the United States.
Title Card: Hinzman faces a court martial and up to 5 years in military prison for opposing the Iraq war and coming to Canada.
Title Card: War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada): www.resisters.ca
In These Times has an article by Peter Kavanagh and I'm going to take huge exception with a viewpoint offered by Jeffry House who really needs to start getting to know the facts. Facts are your friend, Jeffry. House represents Joshua Key (and many others) and maybe he thinks making ridiculous statements about the Barnes decision is to Josh's benefit? I don't know. But he was wrong when the decision was released and he's STILL wrong. He tells Kavanagh, "The Key decision is of use to soldiers who have their boots on the ground and are ordered to commit acts [that] violate their consciences, and also violate international norms." House is wrong. Alyssa makes similar statements and I let it slide. I cringe but let it slide. She didn't live through the time period, House did. Judge Barnes, PAY ATTENTION, found the Board to be in error by proclaiming "that refugee protection for military deserters and evaders is only available where the conduct objected to amounts to a war crime, a crime against peace or a crime against humanity."
Let me explain what NOT noting that is akin to: Finding out that your dream house has a closet painted the wrong color and saying, "Oh, forget it." That sentence -- which escapes Allyson, shouldn't escape House. Key words: MILITARY DESERTERS AND EVADERS. Same words from Vietnam. Barnes is using those terms today. Who's what? Deserters are those who served in Iraq and then checked out. Evaders would be those ordered to go to Iraq who checked out before deploying. Barnes knows his terminology and he knows his history. His decision is a very carefully constructed finding. By mentioning the category of military evaders he means who? Jeremy Hinzman, Brandon Hughey and all others who checked out instead of deploying to Iraq. Kyle Snyder, Joshua Key, Patrick Hart, etc would qualify as military deserters in the eyes of the court.
This isn't the first time Jeffry House has made public statements that have missed the boat (and, worse, damaged the cases of others). I'm not going to sit here and smile and pretend it didn't just happen again. He is WRONG. Justice Robert Barnes' decision is a long one. House was commenting on it without even reading it earlier. It was obvious from the press that he hadn't even bothered to read it. He may have read a summary but he didn't read the 23 pages. Barnes is careful, considered and meticulous in his ruling. He is specifically addressing Joshua Key's case but what he ruled provides openings for many war resisters -- regardless of whether they fall into the category of "military deserter" or "military evader." The latter term, during Vietnam, was used to described those who were evading the draft. The "evader" has always been the one who has not been on the battlefield. Barnes is using that term today and Jeffry House should have caught that and should have understood its significance. It's been over a month since that ruling was issued. There's no longer an excuse for not being familiar with it. We'll try to note Kavanagh's article again later in the week -- really note it -- but this is exactly the nonsense (House's -- I'm not referring to Kavanagh) that keeps hurting war resistance. It is exactly why Mactavish was able to dismiss concerns as "speculation." (And, hello, we pointed the dangers of that 'strategy' out here at the start of July. Long before Mactavish offered that ruling. And noted it would be dismissed as "speculation." As it was.) I'm sure House and others are overworked but there are too many basic points of law that are repeatedly being missed. The ruling is 23 pages long. All representing war resisters in Canada need to read over the ruling (read it again if they already have). Don't take House's summary as gospel because this is the second time he's spoken of it publicly and been wrong. Not only do you need to read it for what it says (such as "military deserters and evaders"), you need to read it while thinking how it directly effects your client's case and how YOU CAN TRY TO EXPAND IT to do so. That is building on the ruling. And, one more thing, Barnes mentions Jeremy Hinzman in his ruling. He didn't have to. The fact that Hinzman is mentioned in the ruling makes the ruling especially significant to Jeremy's case. More so than any other war resister except Josh. Equally true, Barnes' statement that, "Officially condoned military misconduct falling well short of a war crime may a support a claim to refugee protection" is a statement that applies to all, not just those who had their boots on the ground. If only those whose boots were on the ground could make that assessment, Barnes couldn't make it himself. He's dependent upon testimony and findings (including the International Red Cross). The same testimony and findings he depended upon to make his ruling may have had impact on the decision of a US war resister currently in Canada who did not go to Iraq.
Irwin Loy (24 Hours Vancouver) reported over the weekend on Michael Beyers who is running for the Canadian Parliament and declared, "I believe in a Canada that grants asylum to principled young Americans that said no to an illegal war." Byers is an NDP candidate and the NDP has a long history of supporting war resisters. Just as Oliva Chow is among those leading the charge today, NDP-ers like Ed Broadbent led it during Vietnam. Back then, Broadbent was regularly pointing out Canada's long history as a place for sanctuary such as when he noted, "Our tradition of welcoming those who are essentially political refugees goes back to the United Empire Loyalists." Broadbent would go on to take the NDP to new heights in the immediate post-Vietnam period. There is no political fallout for Canadian office holders on this issue. [Click here for CBC coverage of Broadbent.] This is the press release issued by Oliva Chow's office on the decision to deport Jeremy:
The August 13 decision by Harper's Conservative government to deport war resister Jeremy Hinzman is mean-spirited and anti-democratic.
"Harper's mean-spirited decision to allow this deportation is sad," said NDP Citizenship and Immigration Critic MP Olivia Chow. "Jeremy has called Canada his home for the past five years and has just recently celebrated the birth of his second child. If there was ever a case to grant refugee status on compassionate and humanitarian grounds, this is it."
With today's negative ruling on Jeremy Hinzman's Pre-removal Risk Assessment and Humanitarian and Compassionate consideration, there is an urgent need for the people of Canada to express their outrage against the Conservative government's refusal to act on the will of Parliament.
On June 3rd, Olivia Chow saw her motion to halt all deporations against US Iraq war resisters passed by Parliament by a vote of 137-110.
"Ordinary Canadians have already said 'yes' to Jeremy Hinzman and to his family," said Chow. "They have spoken through their Parliament, they want to let Mr. Hinzman and other U.S. Iraq War Resisters stay in Canada."
Jeremy Hinzman is schedule to be deported on Tuesday, September 23. Hinzman is the first war resister who filed a refugee claim to stay in Canada.
Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where "[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, 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 where Shi'ite pilgrims became the focus of attacks last week and it continued over the weekend. AFP reports that from Thursday through Saturday "at least 36" lost their lives (and notes that Thursday's Iskandariyah attack claimed 22 lives with seventy-three injured). Sunday, Stephen Farrell (New York Times) reported on the 6 deaths of pilgrims in a bombing and that, "Three hours after the early-morning blast, shopkeepers, residents and survivors were still pulling charred goods and debris from damaged roadside stores, and sweeping ashes and wreckage into the gutter." [Friday's bombing attack on pilgrims claimed 9 lives.] Yesterday Hussein Kadhim (McCatchy Newspapers) reports a Sunday Baghdad bomber on bicylce that claimed his/her own life as well as 5 other people (thirteen wounded). As the death toll increased, Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reported that 7 were dead from the "suicide bomber on a bicycle" with thirteen injured. Erica Goode and Ali Hameed (New York Times) report the bombing took place "in front of Baghdad's famous Abu Hanifa mosque," claimed 15 lives (twenty-nine injured) and: "Witnesses said that the bomber, a man, may have been riding a motorcycle that was parked about 65 feet from a traffic light on the street." Ned Parker and Saif Hameed (Los Angeles Times) explain, "There were contradictory accounts of the incident. One police officer said the bomber was disguised as a woman and arrived on foot; another said the attacker was not disguised and arrived on a bike." The US military maintains it was a man and that he walked up to "an SOI control check point near the Abu Hamifa Mosque wearing a personal borne improvised-explosive device and self-detonated." "SOI" is "Sons of Iraq" aka "Awakening" Councils (or Sahwa). AP disagrees on the gender of the bomber (they say it was a woman) but do agree that 6 "bodyguards of Farooq al-Obeidi, deputy leader of the 'awakening council' in Baghdad's Azamiyah district, also died in the blast, which occurred as they were seated on chairs near a checkpoint near the Abu Hanifa mosque".
Sunday Del Quentin Wilber and Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) reported that six mercenaries working for Blackwater who had been in Iraq "working as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect U.S. diplomats and other non-military officials in Iraq" that they are targets in a criminal investigation. If it seems familiar you may be remembering the real-time article by Sabrina Tavernise and James Glanz ("Security Firm Faces Criminal Charges in Iraq," New York Times). Dropping back to the September 17th snapshot:
Turning to the issue of violence, Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reported Sunday [Sept. 16th] that a Baghdad shooting (by private contractors) killed 9 Iraqi civilians and left fifteen more wounded. Later on Sunday, CNN reported, "In the Baghdad gun battle, which was between security forces and unidentified gunmen, eight people were killed and 14 wounded, most of them civilians, an Interior Ministry official said. Details were sketchy, but the official said witnesses told police that the security forces involved appeared to be Westerners driving sport utility vehicles, which are usually used by Western companies. The clash occurred near Nisoor square, in western Baghdad. CBS and AP report that Abdul-Karim Khalaf, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, announced "it was pulling the license of an American security firm allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of civilians during an attack on a U.S. State Department motorcade in Baghdad," that "it would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force" in the slaughter (eight dead, 13 wounded) and they "have canceled the liscense of Blcakwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory."
The number killed continued to mount. James Bone (Times of London) notes today that 17 Iraqi civilians were slaughtered in that incident and reminds that, "In negotiations on a new bilateral security agreement, the Iraqi government has pressed for all foreign personnel to be subject to Iraqi law." Meanwhile, the US military has good news yesterday! "Attacks down except roadside bombs, rigged houses"! So attacks are down . . . if you eliminate some of the attacks. The opening sentence: "The numbers of houses rigged with explosives and roadside bombs have increased since the beginning of the Iraqi offensive in Diyala, while other attack trends have been decreasing." Guess this wave of Operation Happy Talk should be dubbed "win some, lose some." M-NF also announced 37 women "attended the first day of a four-week course at the Kirkuk Police Academy outside of Kirkuk city" Saturday. Reuters reported the Turkish military says they bombed northern Iraq on Sunday ("no details of casualties"). And that "police fired on demonstrators" Sunday in Arbil killing one.
In news of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left five people wounded, while another Baghdad roadside bombing left three people wounded and a Baghdad IED bombing left nine people wounded. Reuters notes a Ramadi car bombing that claimed the lives of 5 police officers dead (seven wounded) and a Mosul roadside bombing that resulted in three being injured.
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that Faris Jabir Thair ("a member in Shaheed al Mihrab organization") was shot dead (machine gunned while in his car) in a Baghdad attack that left his wife wounded, while 2 people were shot dead in Basra ("director of an election center and his deputy") with another wounded and "Awakening" Council leader Raheem Thyab al Bayati was shot dead in Kirkuk. On the Basra shooting of election officials, Reuters notes Ma'ath Wahab was the name of the director who was shot dead (the other killed and the one wounded are not named).
Turning to the US presidential race. Last Monday, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader was in Toronto. Hentry Martinuk (Rabble News) reports today that Ralph attracted a crowd of 200 and: "There are several other issues where Nader differs from Obama and McCain: impeachment of Bush and Cheney; withdrawal from Iraq; restoring civil liberties; repealing anti-union laws; supporting industrial hemp; and cutting the wasteful military budget. According to Nader, Obama and McCain 'never met a weapons system they didn't like'." Third Party Watch notes, "Zogby International reports that more than half of likely voters nationwide -- 55% -- want Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr to participate in the presidential debates this fall, while nearly half -- 46% -- also said they think Ralph Nader should be allowed into the debates." Which is a good time to note, from Ralph's Daily Audio, "Join Our Super Rallies for Open Debates:"
Good morning, this is Ralph Nader. As you know, Nader/Gonzalez is being blocked from the presidential debates. The corporate controlled so-called Commission on Presidential Debates will not let any independent candidate in unless they show 15% in a series of polls in September. That's no surprise. What is surprising is the failure of other debates to fill the vacuum. Part of this is due to Senator Obama's reluctance to engage his opponents. On May 4th, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet The Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great." But earlier this month, Obama's campaign manager backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain and only in the three rigged debates that's sponsored by the two parties and paid for by corporations. Senator Obama's also refused to participate in a number of other debates including the Google debate in New Orleans, the Texas Ft. Hood debate that is being organized by veterans groups and the series of ten townhall meetings proposed by Senator McCain. Senator Obama's refusal to participate is a mistake and is costing him in the polls. Just yesterday, the Gallup tracking polls put McCain and Obama tied at 44% each. If Obama doesn't agree to more debates he could end up at the end of a sentence that starts out "Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry. With only McCain and Obama on the stage , there will be no debate of key issues and redirections important to the American people . Just go down the partial list. Single-payer Medicare for all healthcare, supported by the majority of the American people, the majority of doctors and nurses, and just recently, unanimously, by the US conference of mayors? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Reversing US policy in the Middle East? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Cut the bloated, wasteful, redundant military budget? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." They want a bigger military budget. Empty the prisons of drug possessors and fill 'em up with corporate criminals? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Nader-Gonzalez says "yes" to each. The only way to change this systemic exclusion is for millions of Americans to become engaged now. If you can, please join with us at our two Super Rallies-- on August 27th in Denver at the University of Denver Magness Arena or September 4th in Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall. And help us raise the banner for all to see: "OPEN THE DEBATES." If you are not able to attend, please go to VoteNader.org and donate now whatever you can up to the legal maximum of $4,600 to help fund our Open The Debates Campaign. Our goal is to raise $50,000 by Wednesday night. Last night, we were close to $14,000 in less than three days, but we have a ways to go. So join with us in Denver and Minneapolis if you can. We're planning to have some prominent activists and musicians with us. Stay tuned for more information on that. And we have some surprise, giant, inflatable visuals that should be a lot of fun, that will travel with us as we move from Denver to Minneapolis and then, hopefully, will bring attention to our Super Rallies from the press. Thank you for your ongoing and considered support to our campaign. Together we are making a difference. Onward to November. I'm Ralph Nader.
Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader are presidential candidates. There is no need for "presumptive" to be used as a preface. They are presidential candidates. They get very little coverage. The debates need to be opened and click here for Third addressing that yesterday and this was left out in the rush to type (Jim added it this morning -- thank you to community member Lynda), wo we'll include that section in full here:
The campaign is keeping issues on the table. Thursday, Jess spoke with Junue Millan at the newly opened Nader-Gonzalez Denver Headquarters. The headquarters intends to be open not just business hours Monday through Friday, but from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. That's due to the fact that not only are they a campaign headquarters with all that entails, they're also gearing up for the Denver Super Rally August 27th. They are expecting between 5,000 and 7,000 people at the University of Denver's Magness Arena. And they need volunteers. If you're in the Denver area and interested in helping, you can e-mail Junue Millan at junue@votenader.org as well as call the office (303) 832-2509 or walk in. The Denver Super Rally will feature Ralph and running mate Matt Gonzalez as well as many guest speakers such as artist, activist and rocker Jello Biafra. Junue Millan described the mood to Jess as very up and noted that five outlets (including Univision) had sent reporters Thursday to cover the opening of the Denver headquarters. Millan was able to quickly -- without pausing -- tick off the issues that the Nader-Gonzalez campaign were raising and intended to keep on the table. None of that, "Check Saint Barack's website for issues, I am just here to talk about how groovy Barack is and how, when he cries, the heavens rain. I first came to Barack . . . a street junkie who had run away from home and was turning tricks on the side, selling a little blow and scamming this old lady at the homeless shelter, but Saint Barack has changed my life and cured my irritable bowel syndrome. Praise be, St. Barack." Instead, Millan was informed and a total pro which says a great deal the Nader-Gonzalez campaign.
Steven Argue (Dissident Voice) reports that Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney (and running mate Rosa Clemente) will be participating in Recreate '68 in Denver in spite of the fact that "the Green Party of Colorado has issued false statements to the press and all over the internet claiming that Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia MiKinney will not be participating in the Recreate '68 events." We don't have room in the snapshot for Cynthia's statement in full (it'll go in one of tomorrow's morning entries) but here is the opening (and for space, paragraphs are going to run together):
As the United States activated Navy ships and the Air Force to begin an airlift of non-specified goods into the former Soviet state of Georgia, and military exercises began in the Persian Gulf near Iran, I received communications from certain individuals among the Colorado Greens who were organizing campaign support events there, suggesting that I not participate in an anti-war program being organized by other individuals in Colorado. Perplexed, I began to do my research to understand the nature of the fissure that I seemed to be placing myself in the middle of. The communications to me about not participating in one of the scheduled events became more and more shrill. The events ran through August 26th. When the lineup of speakers, including Rosa and me, was announced for the events in question, I received multiple communications stating in various ways that the sender from the Green Party of Colorado, was on the verge of desperation over the latter.
At this point Cynthia states that some Colorado Greens threatened her with stopping the ballot access efforts in Wyoming if she didn't agree not to appear and she was told, basically, 'We supported Elaine Brown and not you anyway, nah-nah-nah.' She then lists some of the people participating who have stood up regularly for what was needed before concluding:
Rosa and I have not been given any rational, ideological, or strategically-acceptable reason by the Green Party of Colorado to dissociate ourselves from the movement that this country so desperately needs and that these individuals and organizations participating represent, as we all attempt to hold the Democratic Party accountable for its complicity in all of the crimes of the Bush Administration. Therefore Rosa and I will keep our appointments in Denver and we hope that the members of the Green Party of Colorado will attend our sessions and listen to what we have to say. I have faith that by taking principled stands against war and occupation, human rights abuse, the prison-industrial complex, and in support of freedom for political prisoners, the Green Party will emerge stronger.
Finally, from Ralph's Daily Audio, here's today's "The Bloated Defense Budget:"
This is Ralph Nader. Remember reading or hearing the farewell address of President Dwight Eisenhower? 1960, when he warned Americans about what he called "the military industrial complex." Well, just a few words about where we are in the military budget. It's now 1/2 of the entire federal government's operating expenditures. It's way over $700 billion and that's not counting the money for helping our veterans. Both Obama and McCain want to increase the military budget. The Government Accountability Office yearly describes the gigantic Pentagon contracting budget unaduitable. Just imagine, half of what the federal government spends in operating expenditures can't even be audited. For example, people inside the Defense Department think that the F-22 should never have been contract for, built wasn't necessary. The Osprey helicopter -- defective, killed quite a few marines in test flights, shouldn't have been built in their judgment. Hundreds of billions of dollars are in the pipeline for weapons systems that were designed for the Soviet Union-era of hostility. They no longer have any strategic value and many of them are redundant. We've got to cut the waste out of the huge military budget and put that money back into repairing America's public works and cities, towns and rural areas all over the country. If we cut out the expenditures of keeping our soldiers out of Japan and Western Europe -- 60-plus years after WWII -- a portion of that money could give free education to all students in public universities in the United States. Think about it. Think about who stands for a lean defense -- not a wasteful defense; who stands for respecting your tax payer dollar and returning it to you to improve the public facilities, schools and clinics, libraries, drinking water systems, sewage stream and plant upgrades among some of the deferred maintenance that's reducing the facilities that are necessary for a thriving community.
the common ills
the third estate sunday review
like maria said paz
kats korner
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
trinas kitchen
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
mikey likes it
thomas friedman is a great man
ruths reportsickofitradlz
iraq
jeremy hinzmanerica goodethe new york timesali hameedthe washington postsudarsan raghavanthe los angeles timesned parkersaif hameed
mcclatchy newspapers
irwin loy
stephen farrell
sabrina tavernise
karen deyoung
The Nader-Gonzales campaign has news about ballots. Okay, this is "Nader/Gonzalez Campaign Concludes Successful D.C. Ballot drive with over 7,500 Signatures:"
Monday, August 18, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM
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News AdvisoryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org; (local) Kymone Freeman, 202-413-6160, kymone@votenader.org
NADER/GONZALEZ CAMPAIGN CONCLUDES SUCCESSFUL D.C. BALLOT DRIVE WITH MORE THAN 7,500 SIGNATURES
Supporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader Tuesday, Aug. 18, will hold a news conference and submit petitions to to the District of Columbia Board of Elections, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250 North, Washington, D.C., 20001, to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 election ballot.
Washington will be the 31st ballot line for which the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign has filed since the consumer advocate announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." D.C. Ballot access law requires submission of the signatures of 3,900 registered voters. The Nader/Gonzalez campaign will submit more than 7,500 signatures.
Gaining a ballot line in Washington is particularly meaningful as Ralph Nader has long championed the cause of statehood for D.C., whose lack of congressional representatives and lack of control over budgets effectively make D.C. a colony, subject to taxation without representation. Mr. Nader further advocates a Marshall Plan for the cities: rebuilding deteriorated infrastructures and creating domestic jobs.
Kymone Freeman, D.C. Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Coordinator, and Nader/Gonzalez supporters, will be available at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, in Judiciary Square Plaza in front of the District of Columbia Board of Elections, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250 North, Washington, D.C., 20001, to answer news media questions.
WHO: Washington D.C. Supporters of Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Campaign
WHAT: News Conference and Turn-in of nominating petitions
WHEN: 4 p.m., Tuesday., Aug. 19, 2008
WHERE: Judiciary Square Plaza, in front of the District of Columbia Board of Elections, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250 North, Washington, D.C., 20001
About Ralph NaderAttorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.
About Matt GonzalezMatt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.
About the Nader/Gonzalez CampaignAccording to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.
For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
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So that's DC but wait, we're not done. This is "Nader/Gonzalez Campaign to Submit More Than 27,000 Signatures to Clinch New York Ballot Line:"
Monday, August 18, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM
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News AdvisoryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org; (Albany, N.Y.) Christina Tobin, 312-320-4101, christina@votenader.org or Josh Starcher, 718-909-6343, josh@votenader.org NADER/GONZALEZ CAMPAIGN TO SUBMIT MORE THAN 27,000 SIGNATURES TO CLINCH NEW YORK BALLOT LINESupporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader Tues., Aug. 19, will submit petitions to the New York State Board of Elections, to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 election ballot.New York will be the 32nd state in which the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign has filed for a ballot line since Mr. Nader announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press". To qualify to appear on New York's ballot, state law requires submission of the signatures of 15,000 registered voters. The Nader/Gonzalez Campaign will submit more than 27,000 signatures.Howie Hawkins, New York Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Coordinator, and Christina Tobin, National Ballot Access Coordinator, will be joined by several other Nader/Gonzalez supporters in a news conference at 11 a.m. outside on the Steuben Street side of the State Board of Elections building.WHO: New York Supporters of Nader/Gonzalez 2008 CampaignWHAT: News Conference and nominating petitions submissionWHEN: 11 a.m., Tues. Aug. 19, 2008WHERE: NY State Board Of Elections, 40 Steuben Street, Albany, NY 12207-2108About Ralph NaderAttorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.About Matt GonzalezMatt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.About the Nader/Gonzalez CampaignAccording to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
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No stopping the Nader-Gonzalez campaign! :D And the super rallies are coming up. This is the campaign to get on board with. Okay, let me turn to Third. Along with Dallas, this is who helped on the edition:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, and Ava,
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.
Now here's what we came up with:Truest statement of the Week I -- Bonnie Erbe got this.
Truest statement of the Week II -- And John Walsh got this one.
A note to our readers -- Jim breaks down the edition. It really was a tough edition. Before we were let go, Ava was saying she was so tired (and Ava, Jess, Jim, Dona, Ty and C.I. work to the end) that she couldn't even see straight ("I mean it, my vision is blurry").
Editorial: Withdrawal can be done in 100 days -- C.I. almost used this topic but waited and that allowed us to have the easiest editorial we've ever had. This really is a good editorial. Last week demonstrated that all the lies about 16 months just to withdraw were lies. Withdrawal from Iraq -- full withdrawal -- can take place in 100 days.
TV: Transformations -- I love Ava and C.I.'s writing. They're down on this. They haven't read it and, as usual, don't plan to. But they were wanting to just write about Eli Stone but then Norman Solomon acted like an idiot. They had to bring that in and then there were other things. So they didn't even get to really talk about Eli Stone the way they wanted. I haven't seen it but my oldest brother has been watching it on Saturdays and he really likes it. What I really like is this TV commentary.
Jeremy Hinzman ordered to leave Canada -- Everybody wants to know, "What's on that photo?" They were doing some ink stuff for the newsletters and that got on the scanner. How tired were they? They didn't even notice it. I called Dona today and she asked me what I was talking about. She pulls it up and says, "Oh, that's from the ink drawings we scanned."
Open Up The Debates! -- Three articles become one and really work out that way. I was in the group working on the John Edwards stuff. And Marcia and Ty really wanted that one. It was rough because it just wasn't working. Marcia really did keep everyone focused. At the end, it couldn't make a stand alone article but the strongest part could be combined with other stuff.
What If Feminists Were Swing Voters? -- This is the article that Ava and C.I. proposed the week before but we knew it would be a long piece and we didn't have time. So we picked it up this week. In fact, this is the first piece we wrote to get it out of the way. This is a really strong edition and though it was murder to write, it shows how hard we worked Saturday and Sunday.
The race card, what's not feminism, and more -- Betty proposed this one. We thought it would be shorter and quicker but there was a lot to cover. You have to read this one.
Catching on to the Peace Resister -- This was "short feature." And Dona and Jim want stuff this size next week so we don't end up working and working and working some more.
Roundtable -- Every week when Ava and C.I. go off to do their TV commentary, we either edit or (more likely) just shoot the breeze. They come back and we've got nothing to show for when they were gone. So this time we decided to shoot the breeze via a roundtable. That's why Ava and C.I. aren't participating, they were writing their TV piece. Dallas talks in this and you'll learn how stupid Barack's ad buy was (on the Olympics).
Highlights -- Kat, Marcia, Ruth, Rebecca, Betty, Wally, Cedric, Elaine and I wrote this and picked out all the highlights unless it says otherwise.
How long was the edition? Wally and Cedric thought they'd do their joint-post for Saturday Saturday night. Kat thought she'd be able to grab some editing time on her CD review. Kat never got that time and Wally and Cedric had to wait until late Sunday to do their joint-post. It was probably the longest one (writing edition) we've had in some time and that has to do with the fact that we started earlier than usual. The reason was so that we'd be done long before the sun came up and that didn't happen.
"Where it stands" -- which is why Dona and Jim wrote this note to advise everyone stuff would be going up at some point. It was nine o'clock here (EST) and everyone was exhausted.
Ma's "Split Pea Soup in the Kitchen" went up this weekend. I'm not supposed to read it because it's about me. I kept my word until this evening. I know why she didn't want me to read it. She was afraid I'd see it as, "Don't move, Mike!" I didn't see it that way. I knew she was being the practical one and I knew it was hard on Dad that I'm moving. It's hard on me too but, like my mother says, it really is time.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, August 18, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Jeffry House still doesn't grasp what Justice Robert Barnes wrote in his ruling, Blackwater mercenaries are made to sweat, Ralph Nader fights for democracy and open debates and Cynthia McKinney makes it clear that she will not be intimidated by some 'supporters' who wanted her to cancel an appearance.
Starting with war resistance. Last Wednesday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed he had to leave Canada by September 32rd. He and his family (wife Nga Nguyen, son Liam and daughter Meghan) have taped a video at the War Resisters Support Campaign where Jeremy speaks to Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada:
Jeremy Hinzman: Hello, Mr. Harper. This is my family Nga, Liam and Meghan. We've been in Canada for the last four and a 1/2 years. I was a specialist in the 82nd Air borne division of the United States Army and served honorably in Afghanistan. In 2004, my family and I came to Canada because we would not participate in the Iraqi War, a war which Canada also refused to participate in because it was condemned by the international community. One of your predecessors, Pierre Trudeau, once said that Canada should be have from militarism and we took him at this word. On June 3, 2008, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion saying that United States war resisters should be able to remain in Canada. We're asking you to abide by this motion and allow us to stay in Canada. Thank you.
Title Card: On September 23rd, the Harper government plans to deport the Hinzman family back to the United States.
Title Card: Hinzman faces a court martial and up to 5 years in military prison for opposing the Iraq war and coming to Canada.
Title Card: War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada): www.resisters.ca
In These Times has an article by Peter Kavanagh and I'm going to take huge exception with a viewpoint offered by Jeffry House who really needs to start getting to know the facts. Facts are your friend, Jeffry. House represents Joshua Key (and many others) and maybe he thinks making ridiculous statements about the Barnes decision is to Josh's benefit? I don't know. But he was wrong when the decision was released and he's STILL wrong. He tells Kavanagh, "The Key decision is of use to soldiers who have their boots on the ground and are ordered to commit acts [that] violate their consciences, and also violate international norms." House is wrong. Alyssa makes similar statements and I let it slide. I cringe but let it slide. She didn't live through the time period, House did. Judge Barnes, PAY ATTENTION, found the Board to be in error by proclaiming "that refugee protection for military deserters and evaders is only available where the conduct objected to amounts to a war crime, a crime against peace or a crime against humanity."
Let me explain what NOT noting that is akin to: Finding out that your dream house has a closet painted the wrong color and saying, "Oh, forget it." That sentence -- which escapes Allyson, shouldn't escape House. Key words: MILITARY DESERTERS AND EVADERS. Same words from Vietnam. Barnes is using those terms today. Who's what? Deserters are those who served in Iraq and then checked out. Evaders would be those ordered to go to Iraq who checked out before deploying. Barnes knows his terminology and he knows his history. His decision is a very carefully constructed finding. By mentioning the category of military evaders he means who? Jeremy Hinzman, Brandon Hughey and all others who checked out instead of deploying to Iraq. Kyle Snyder, Joshua Key, Patrick Hart, etc would qualify as military deserters in the eyes of the court.
This isn't the first time Jeffry House has made public statements that have missed the boat (and, worse, damaged the cases of others). I'm not going to sit here and smile and pretend it didn't just happen again. He is WRONG. Justice Robert Barnes' decision is a long one. House was commenting on it without even reading it earlier. It was obvious from the press that he hadn't even bothered to read it. He may have read a summary but he didn't read the 23 pages. Barnes is careful, considered and meticulous in his ruling. He is specifically addressing Joshua Key's case but what he ruled provides openings for many war resisters -- regardless of whether they fall into the category of "military deserter" or "military evader." The latter term, during Vietnam, was used to described those who were evading the draft. The "evader" has always been the one who has not been on the battlefield. Barnes is using that term today and Jeffry House should have caught that and should have understood its significance. It's been over a month since that ruling was issued. There's no longer an excuse for not being familiar with it. We'll try to note Kavanagh's article again later in the week -- really note it -- but this is exactly the nonsense (House's -- I'm not referring to Kavanagh) that keeps hurting war resistance. It is exactly why Mactavish was able to dismiss concerns as "speculation." (And, hello, we pointed the dangers of that 'strategy' out here at the start of July. Long before Mactavish offered that ruling. And noted it would be dismissed as "speculation." As it was.) I'm sure House and others are overworked but there are too many basic points of law that are repeatedly being missed. The ruling is 23 pages long. All representing war resisters in Canada need to read over the ruling (read it again if they already have). Don't take House's summary as gospel because this is the second time he's spoken of it publicly and been wrong. Not only do you need to read it for what it says (such as "military deserters and evaders"), you need to read it while thinking how it directly effects your client's case and how YOU CAN TRY TO EXPAND IT to do so. That is building on the ruling. And, one more thing, Barnes mentions Jeremy Hinzman in his ruling. He didn't have to. The fact that Hinzman is mentioned in the ruling makes the ruling especially significant to Jeremy's case. More so than any other war resister except Josh. Equally true, Barnes' statement that, "Officially condoned military misconduct falling well short of a war crime may a support a claim to refugee protection" is a statement that applies to all, not just those who had their boots on the ground. If only those whose boots were on the ground could make that assessment, Barnes couldn't make it himself. He's dependent upon testimony and findings (including the International Red Cross). The same testimony and findings he depended upon to make his ruling may have had impact on the decision of a US war resister currently in Canada who did not go to Iraq.
Irwin Loy (24 Hours Vancouver) reported over the weekend on Michael Beyers who is running for the Canadian Parliament and declared, "I believe in a Canada that grants asylum to principled young Americans that said no to an illegal war." Byers is an NDP candidate and the NDP has a long history of supporting war resisters. Just as Oliva Chow is among those leading the charge today, NDP-ers like Ed Broadbent led it during Vietnam. Back then, Broadbent was regularly pointing out Canada's long history as a place for sanctuary such as when he noted, "Our tradition of welcoming those who are essentially political refugees goes back to the United Empire Loyalists." Broadbent would go on to take the NDP to new heights in the immediate post-Vietnam period. There is no political fallout for Canadian office holders on this issue. [Click here for CBC coverage of Broadbent.] This is the press release issued by Oliva Chow's office on the decision to deport Jeremy:
The August 13 decision by Harper's Conservative government to deport war resister Jeremy Hinzman is mean-spirited and anti-democratic.
"Harper's mean-spirited decision to allow this deportation is sad," said NDP Citizenship and Immigration Critic MP Olivia Chow. "Jeremy has called Canada his home for the past five years and has just recently celebrated the birth of his second child. If there was ever a case to grant refugee status on compassionate and humanitarian grounds, this is it."
With today's negative ruling on Jeremy Hinzman's Pre-removal Risk Assessment and Humanitarian and Compassionate consideration, there is an urgent need for the people of Canada to express their outrage against the Conservative government's refusal to act on the will of Parliament.
On June 3rd, Olivia Chow saw her motion to halt all deporations against US Iraq war resisters passed by Parliament by a vote of 137-110.
"Ordinary Canadians have already said 'yes' to Jeremy Hinzman and to his family," said Chow. "They have spoken through their Parliament, they want to let Mr. Hinzman and other U.S. Iraq War Resisters stay in Canada."
Jeremy Hinzman is schedule to be deported on Tuesday, September 23. Hinzman is the first war resister who filed a refugee claim to stay in Canada.
Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where "[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, 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 where Shi'ite pilgrims became the focus of attacks last week and it continued over the weekend. AFP reports that from Thursday through Saturday "at least 36" lost their lives (and notes that Thursday's Iskandariyah attack claimed 22 lives with seventy-three injured). Sunday, Stephen Farrell (New York Times) reported on the 6 deaths of pilgrims in a bombing and that, "Three hours after the early-morning blast, shopkeepers, residents and survivors were still pulling charred goods and debris from damaged roadside stores, and sweeping ashes and wreckage into the gutter." [Friday's bombing attack on pilgrims claimed 9 lives.] Yesterday Hussein Kadhim (McCatchy Newspapers) reports a Sunday Baghdad bomber on bicylce that claimed his/her own life as well as 5 other people (thirteen wounded). As the death toll increased, Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reported that 7 were dead from the "suicide bomber on a bicycle" with thirteen injured. Erica Goode and Ali Hameed (New York Times) report the bombing took place "in front of Baghdad's famous Abu Hanifa mosque," claimed 15 lives (twenty-nine injured) and: "Witnesses said that the bomber, a man, may have been riding a motorcycle that was parked about 65 feet from a traffic light on the street." Ned Parker and Saif Hameed (Los Angeles Times) explain, "There were contradictory accounts of the incident. One police officer said the bomber was disguised as a woman and arrived on foot; another said the attacker was not disguised and arrived on a bike." The US military maintains it was a man and that he walked up to "an SOI control check point near the Abu Hamifa Mosque wearing a personal borne improvised-explosive device and self-detonated." "SOI" is "Sons of Iraq" aka "Awakening" Councils (or Sahwa). AP disagrees on the gender of the bomber (they say it was a woman) but do agree that 6 "bodyguards of Farooq al-Obeidi, deputy leader of the 'awakening council' in Baghdad's Azamiyah district, also died in the blast, which occurred as they were seated on chairs near a checkpoint near the Abu Hanifa mosque".
Sunday Del Quentin Wilber and Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) reported that six mercenaries working for Blackwater who had been in Iraq "working as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect U.S. diplomats and other non-military officials in Iraq" that they are targets in a criminal investigation. If it seems familiar you may be remembering the real-time article by Sabrina Tavernise and James Glanz ("Security Firm Faces Criminal Charges in Iraq," New York Times). Dropping back to the September 17th snapshot:
Turning to the issue of violence, Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reported Sunday [Sept. 16th] that a Baghdad shooting (by private contractors) killed 9 Iraqi civilians and left fifteen more wounded. Later on Sunday, CNN reported, "In the Baghdad gun battle, which was between security forces and unidentified gunmen, eight people were killed and 14 wounded, most of them civilians, an Interior Ministry official said. Details were sketchy, but the official said witnesses told police that the security forces involved appeared to be Westerners driving sport utility vehicles, which are usually used by Western companies. The clash occurred near Nisoor square, in western Baghdad. CBS and AP report that Abdul-Karim Khalaf, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, announced "it was pulling the license of an American security firm allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of civilians during an attack on a U.S. State Department motorcade in Baghdad," that "it would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force" in the slaughter (eight dead, 13 wounded) and they "have canceled the liscense of Blcakwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory."
The number killed continued to mount. James Bone (Times of London) notes today that 17 Iraqi civilians were slaughtered in that incident and reminds that, "In negotiations on a new bilateral security agreement, the Iraqi government has pressed for all foreign personnel to be subject to Iraqi law." Meanwhile, the US military has good news yesterday! "Attacks down except roadside bombs, rigged houses"! So attacks are down . . . if you eliminate some of the attacks. The opening sentence: "The numbers of houses rigged with explosives and roadside bombs have increased since the beginning of the Iraqi offensive in Diyala, while other attack trends have been decreasing." Guess this wave of Operation Happy Talk should be dubbed "win some, lose some." M-NF also announced 37 women "attended the first day of a four-week course at the Kirkuk Police Academy outside of Kirkuk city" Saturday. Reuters reported the Turkish military says they bombed northern Iraq on Sunday ("no details of casualties"). And that "police fired on demonstrators" Sunday in Arbil killing one.
In news of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left five people wounded, while another Baghdad roadside bombing left three people wounded and a Baghdad IED bombing left nine people wounded. Reuters notes a Ramadi car bombing that claimed the lives of 5 police officers dead (seven wounded) and a Mosul roadside bombing that resulted in three being injured.
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that Faris Jabir Thair ("a member in Shaheed al Mihrab organization") was shot dead (machine gunned while in his car) in a Baghdad attack that left his wife wounded, while 2 people were shot dead in Basra ("director of an election center and his deputy") with another wounded and "Awakening" Council leader Raheem Thyab al Bayati was shot dead in Kirkuk. On the Basra shooting of election officials, Reuters notes Ma'ath Wahab was the name of the director who was shot dead (the other killed and the one wounded are not named).
Turning to the US presidential race. Last Monday, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader was in Toronto. Hentry Martinuk (Rabble News) reports today that Ralph attracted a crowd of 200 and: "There are several other issues where Nader differs from Obama and McCain: impeachment of Bush and Cheney; withdrawal from Iraq; restoring civil liberties; repealing anti-union laws; supporting industrial hemp; and cutting the wasteful military budget. According to Nader, Obama and McCain 'never met a weapons system they didn't like'." Third Party Watch notes, "Zogby International reports that more than half of likely voters nationwide -- 55% -- want Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr to participate in the presidential debates this fall, while nearly half -- 46% -- also said they think Ralph Nader should be allowed into the debates." Which is a good time to note, from Ralph's Daily Audio, "Join Our Super Rallies for Open Debates:"
Good morning, this is Ralph Nader. As you know, Nader/Gonzalez is being blocked from the presidential debates. The corporate controlled so-called Commission on Presidential Debates will not let any independent candidate in unless they show 15% in a series of polls in September. That's no surprise. What is surprising is the failure of other debates to fill the vacuum. Part of this is due to Senator Obama's reluctance to engage his opponents. On May 4th, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet The Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great." But earlier this month, Obama's campaign manager backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain and only in the three rigged debates that's sponsored by the two parties and paid for by corporations. Senator Obama's also refused to participate in a number of other debates including the Google debate in New Orleans, the Texas Ft. Hood debate that is being organized by veterans groups and the series of ten townhall meetings proposed by Senator McCain. Senator Obama's refusal to participate is a mistake and is costing him in the polls. Just yesterday, the Gallup tracking polls put McCain and Obama tied at 44% each. If Obama doesn't agree to more debates he could end up at the end of a sentence that starts out "Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry. With only McCain and Obama on the stage , there will be no debate of key issues and redirections important to the American people . Just go down the partial list. Single-payer Medicare for all healthcare, supported by the majority of the American people, the majority of doctors and nurses, and just recently, unanimously, by the US conference of mayors? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Reversing US policy in the Middle East? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Cut the bloated, wasteful, redundant military budget? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." They want a bigger military budget. Empty the prisons of drug possessors and fill 'em up with corporate criminals? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Nader-Gonzalez says "yes" to each. The only way to change this systemic exclusion is for millions of Americans to become engaged now. If you can, please join with us at our two Super Rallies-- on August 27th in Denver at the University of Denver Magness Arena or September 4th in Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall. And help us raise the banner for all to see: "OPEN THE DEBATES." If you are not able to attend, please go to VoteNader.org and donate now whatever you can up to the legal maximum of $4,600 to help fund our Open The Debates Campaign. Our goal is to raise $50,000 by Wednesday night. Last night, we were close to $14,000 in less than three days, but we have a ways to go. So join with us in Denver and Minneapolis if you can. We're planning to have some prominent activists and musicians with us. Stay tuned for more information on that. And we have some surprise, giant, inflatable visuals that should be a lot of fun, that will travel with us as we move from Denver to Minneapolis and then, hopefully, will bring attention to our Super Rallies from the press. Thank you for your ongoing and considered support to our campaign. Together we are making a difference. Onward to November. I'm Ralph Nader.
Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader are presidential candidates. There is no need for "presumptive" to be used as a preface. They are presidential candidates. They get very little coverage. The debates need to be opened and click here for Third addressing that yesterday and this was left out in the rush to type (Jim added it this morning -- thank you to community member Lynda), wo we'll include that section in full here:
The campaign is keeping issues on the table. Thursday, Jess spoke with Junue Millan at the newly opened Nader-Gonzalez Denver Headquarters. The headquarters intends to be open not just business hours Monday through Friday, but from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. That's due to the fact that not only are they a campaign headquarters with all that entails, they're also gearing up for the Denver Super Rally August 27th. They are expecting between 5,000 and 7,000 people at the University of Denver's Magness Arena. And they need volunteers. If you're in the Denver area and interested in helping, you can e-mail Junue Millan at junue@votenader.org as well as call the office (303) 832-2509 or walk in. The Denver Super Rally will feature Ralph and running mate Matt Gonzalez as well as many guest speakers such as artist, activist and rocker Jello Biafra. Junue Millan described the mood to Jess as very up and noted that five outlets (including Univision) had sent reporters Thursday to cover the opening of the Denver headquarters. Millan was able to quickly -- without pausing -- tick off the issues that the Nader-Gonzalez campaign were raising and intended to keep on the table. None of that, "Check Saint Barack's website for issues, I am just here to talk about how groovy Barack is and how, when he cries, the heavens rain. I first came to Barack . . . a street junkie who had run away from home and was turning tricks on the side, selling a little blow and scamming this old lady at the homeless shelter, but Saint Barack has changed my life and cured my irritable bowel syndrome. Praise be, St. Barack." Instead, Millan was informed and a total pro which says a great deal the Nader-Gonzalez campaign.
Steven Argue (Dissident Voice) reports that Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney (and running mate Rosa Clemente) will be participating in Recreate '68 in Denver in spite of the fact that "the Green Party of Colorado has issued false statements to the press and all over the internet claiming that Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia MiKinney will not be participating in the Recreate '68 events." We don't have room in the snapshot for Cynthia's statement in full (it'll go in one of tomorrow's morning entries) but here is the opening (and for space, paragraphs are going to run together):
As the United States activated Navy ships and the Air Force to begin an airlift of non-specified goods into the former Soviet state of Georgia, and military exercises began in the Persian Gulf near Iran, I received communications from certain individuals among the Colorado Greens who were organizing campaign support events there, suggesting that I not participate in an anti-war program being organized by other individuals in Colorado. Perplexed, I began to do my research to understand the nature of the fissure that I seemed to be placing myself in the middle of. The communications to me about not participating in one of the scheduled events became more and more shrill. The events ran through August 26th. When the lineup of speakers, including Rosa and me, was announced for the events in question, I received multiple communications stating in various ways that the sender from the Green Party of Colorado, was on the verge of desperation over the latter.
At this point Cynthia states that some Colorado Greens threatened her with stopping the ballot access efforts in Wyoming if she didn't agree not to appear and she was told, basically, 'We supported Elaine Brown and not you anyway, nah-nah-nah.' She then lists some of the people participating who have stood up regularly for what was needed before concluding:
Rosa and I have not been given any rational, ideological, or strategically-acceptable reason by the Green Party of Colorado to dissociate ourselves from the movement that this country so desperately needs and that these individuals and organizations participating represent, as we all attempt to hold the Democratic Party accountable for its complicity in all of the crimes of the Bush Administration. Therefore Rosa and I will keep our appointments in Denver and we hope that the members of the Green Party of Colorado will attend our sessions and listen to what we have to say. I have faith that by taking principled stands against war and occupation, human rights abuse, the prison-industrial complex, and in support of freedom for political prisoners, the Green Party will emerge stronger.
Finally, from Ralph's Daily Audio, here's today's "The Bloated Defense Budget:"
This is Ralph Nader. Remember reading or hearing the farewell address of President Dwight Eisenhower? 1960, when he warned Americans about what he called "the military industrial complex." Well, just a few words about where we are in the military budget. It's now 1/2 of the entire federal government's operating expenditures. It's way over $700 billion and that's not counting the money for helping our veterans. Both Obama and McCain want to increase the military budget. The Government Accountability Office yearly describes the gigantic Pentagon contracting budget unaduitable. Just imagine, half of what the federal government spends in operating expenditures can't even be audited. For example, people inside the Defense Department think that the F-22 should never have been contract for, built wasn't necessary. The Osprey helicopter -- defective, killed quite a few marines in test flights, shouldn't have been built in their judgment. Hundreds of billions of dollars are in the pipeline for weapons systems that were designed for the Soviet Union-era of hostility. They no longer have any strategic value and many of them are redundant. We've got to cut the waste out of the huge military budget and put that money back into repairing America's public works and cities, towns and rural areas all over the country. If we cut out the expenditures of keeping our soldiers out of Japan and Western Europe -- 60-plus years after WWII -- a portion of that money could give free education to all students in public universities in the United States. Think about it. Think about who stands for a lean defense -- not a wasteful defense; who stands for respecting your tax payer dollar and returning it to you to improve the public facilities, schools and clinics, libraries, drinking water systems, sewage stream and plant upgrades among some of the deferred maintenance that's reducing the facilities that are necessary for a thriving community.
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