Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Law and Disorder

Tuesday, Tuesday. Where does the time go? Or, like Judy Collins is singing on the speakers right now, "Who knows where the times goes? Who knows where the time goes?" Does time always fly? It really seems to these days.

Wally and I had fun this afternoon and then it hit me that he'll be leaving soon. Seems like he just got here! I started saying, "Wally, you got to stay. You can take classes here!" :D As soon as I got off work this afternoon, I went home and first thing Wally says is, "Shut up, sit down and read this." :D I did too. It was "Lakshimi shows up late and lost (Ava and C.I.)." OMG. I love Ava and C.I. for lots of reasons including that they are great friends, that they are a lot of fun and, good God, can those two write! Jim called tonight and goes, "I've figured it out. We need to get Ava and C.I. to write their TV commentaries in the middle of the week." LOL. They truly are something. In fact, they are my two favorite writers without question. I didn't know I'd be mentioned in that (thank you!) and I got to that point and thought, "YES!" :D

Last week's Law and Disorder? There was only one section I wanted to comment on. They had Tod Ensign on and Dalia Hashad was talking about something she'd read in the book and he just dismissed it. So all last week, I was flipping through Camilo Mejia's The Road From Ar Ramadi and trying to find the part Dalia was talking about. She was talking about Camilo was told that he could be or was extended nearly thirty years or so. Tod Ensign kind of rudely dismissed that. And I remember reading that in the book too. But I couldn't find it. When Wally was done trying out his and Cedric's entry on C.I., he passed me the phone and I mentioned it to C.I.
C.I. said, "Yes, that's in the book. Go to the afterword, page 309."

I had forgotten about the afterword. I was reading and re-reading and re-reading again over where he's in Iraq and told about how he can't be extended because he's not an American citizen and he should be discharged and going from there all the way up to where he ends up in NYC and then starting over, just trying to find that one part.

Here's the part of the book Dalia was talking about:

But in that contract was a clause that required all who join to make an eight-year commitment to the military, even if they are only on active duty as Mejia was, for three years. His eight-year-obligation to the military was about to end in May 2003 when George W. Bush, whose privilege and wealth insulated him from the hardships of people like Mejia, declared war. In January of that year Mejia was activated in support of Opeartion Iraqi Freedom. His commitment to the army was extended until the year 2031.

C.I. said Dalia knew what she was talking about and there was a Rolling Stone article that backs that up called "The Return of the Draft." If you read that article, you'll see that 40,000 troops were told they were extended to 2031. C.I. also said check the e-mail and there'd be a link waiting for me. This goes to a report on Democracy Now! about the 2031 extension. So Dalia did know what she was talking about and I think she was treated kind of rudely. I would think that even if I thought she was wrong but since SHE WAS RIGHT it makes it even more rude.


This is from Cindy Sheehan's "Turn, Turn, Turn:"

I fell in love at Camp Casey and had my heart broken again there. I found true friends and learned how to distinguish between true friends and people who only pretend to be your friends until your usefulness to them is over. I smiled more than I frowned; I laughed more than I cried; I danced badly and sang out of tune; I received more love than animosity and I thinkthousands of us were given renewed hope and energy because Camp Casey existed.
I will always be grateful for this experience that did have an intense and positive effect on the world but I am also content I have chosen a new direction and can rest easily in the fact that we did do good. It’s time for someone else and something else to manifest itself in Crawford and time for some of us to ride into the beautiful Texas sunsets that I definitely will miss.
I think when one is heading in the wrong direction, it is always prudent to change direction--even if you have to pull over and ask the way to go, and very imprudent to stay a ridiculous and mistaken course.
I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love, support, and financial support that has come my way since my resignation from the peace movement. My medical bills will be paid off and because of Bree’s generosity, I have a financial cushion to help me on to the next phase: helping humans who have been hurt by US corporate imperialism. I want to also thank everyone who has helped me along the way so far and encourage people to stay their courses if they think they are being productive and supported.
The millennia old season of war is getting tiresome and while never good, is growing in evilness as the people who run the wars become more corrupt, callous and as far removed from their conflicts as they can possibly get.
There is a season for peace--I hope for all of our sakes we reach it soon.
Cindy would like to invite everyone to her 50thBirthday Party and Camp Casey final celebration theweekend of July 6 to 8 at Camp Casey in Crawford, Tx.
RSVP to CampCaseyMom@yahoo.com or Tiggerloli@aol.com

"Turn, Turn, Turn" is a song by the Byrds (based on something in the Bible -- I don't know what, I'm Catholic, we aren't bible thumpers). But it's a cool song. Elaine found that and we're both noting it tonight. I'll also note that Dave Zirin has a good article on Barry Bonds at CounterPunch. And that's going to be it for me tonight. We're going to catch a late night movie tonight so I'm going to go shower. (Yeah, I showered this morning. You got any idea how hot it was today!!!!) Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, June 19, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, a Baghdad bombing results in mass deaths, Iraqi orphans, some Democratic candidates for president meet up and Iraq is one topic so why does a website's editorial [BuzzFlash] hit hard then all of them combined?


Iraq Veterans Against the War's Adam Kokesh appeared yesterday on Mark Levine's Inside Scoop discussing many topics for the hour. He explained how he wanted to do reconstruction and looked forward to that before he went to Iraq. After he had been there awhile:

I realized though that there was a futility in it. That what we were doing on our small scale may be good for the Iraqis we were dealing with, you know, may be good that there's another clinic there, another school, these are great things that Iraq needs. But in the scale of things, in the greater scale of things we're imposing martial law on a country and for every insurgent we kill today we piss of so many people in the process the next day we have two to kill. And what the country really needs is rule of law. And in order to have military civil affairs. . . in Iraq, we're imposing military law on the country and you can't create a standard rule of law that we take for granted in America with law enforcement, courts and precedent and a stable legal system with a foreign military there imposing martial law. . . .
There was a lot of resentment about that [US remaining]. It was like "Okay you got rid of Saddam, thanks, we'll take it from here." And everything that we tried to step in and do for them was really resented.

It's an hour long interview, available for online streaming. On the topic of aspirations and realities, Christina Hamlett (American Chronicle) reviews Plays and Playwrights 2007 and notes that "this anthonlogy is Brendon Bates' Corps Value in which a father's sense of duty to country is challenged when the Marine son he is so proud of for kicking ass in Iraq suddenly announces that he feels the war is unjust and is, therefore, turning AWOL. . . . Plays and Playwrights 2007 is a trade paperback of 492 pages". Michael Criscuolo (NYTE) discusses the play with Brendon Bates who notes that the question he's raising "is our objective(s) in Iraq worth all this suffering?"

It's a question many ask and it's prompted action. That includes those like Kokesh who serve and come back to speak out. It also includes those resisting while still serving (depite the decision of the 'hearing,' Kokesh's service ended the second he was moved to IRR).
The movement of resistance within the US military grows and includes Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.



Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.


In Baghdad today, a truck bombing has resulted in mass deaths. It is already the deadliest bombing since April 18th when 191 Iraqis were killed. Richard Beeston (Times of London) sets the scene: "One of Baghdad's busiest commercial districts shuddered with the impact of the afternoon explosion, which went off in a parking lot near the Kholani mosque, one of Baghdad's best known landmarks. A huge pall of black smoke obscured the area. When it cleared the distinctive turquoise dome of the shrine appeared undamaged bu the explosion wreaked havoc in the crowded streets below." BBC observes that the usual Baghdad checkpoints along with mid-day traffic led to traffic jams in the time before the bomb exploded. Julian E. Barnes and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) note that a house and some shops were destroyed and at least twenty cars were "ablaze" from the bombing. CBS and AP report that shooting followed the explosion and quote eye witnesses Karim Abdullah stating, "I stopped in shock as I saw the smoke and people on the ground. I saw two or three men in flames as they were getting out of their car." AFP reports that, in the aftermath of the bombing, there was a rush to pull people out of burning cars and from underneath the rubble and "[g]roups of women wailed, while others chanted that the explosion was the work of those who blew up a Shiite shrine in the northern city of Samarra last Wednesday." Al Jazeera notes the death toll to be 78 with 130 injured. Beeston (Times of London) puts the injured at 200 and observes, "The move was a particular blow to the US military, which had earlier launched a massive military offensive outside Baghdad aimed at disrupting al-Qaeda from carrying out precisely the sort of attack that took place in the capital." Reuters puts the wounded at 224 (78 for the dead).

CNN provides the following back story: "The mosque damaged in Tuesday's attack houses the tomb of Mohammed al-Khalani, who was the second deputy and messenger of the Mehdi, the 12th imam from the early days of Islam who is revered by Shiites. The Mehdi is said to have disappeared during the funeral of his father in the 9th century. Sunnis believe Allah withdrew the Mehdi from the eyes of the people and they are waiting for him to reappear as their leader." And Simon Tisdall (Guardian of London) notes, "The mosque's imam, Sheikh Saleh al-Haidari, said civilian worshippers had been targeted in the blast as they left afternoon prayers."

Meanwhile, the Diyala province also saw large scale violence today. John Ward Anderson and Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) report that 10,000 US service members flooed the capital (Baquba) of the province utilizing "helicopters and Bradley Fighting Vehicles". Julian E. Barnes and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) note that the 'push' meant closed shops and families hiding in their homes while "some Baqubah residents claimed that indirect or aerial attacks that began in advance of the infantry's movement into the city killed some civilians." Though suspected people are killed and their figures trumpeted, as Jim Muir (BBC) points out, "There was no official acknowledgement of civilian casualties."

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Baghdad explosion that claimed the lives of 2 Iraqi soldier (4 more wounded), a Baghdad mortar attack that killed 2 people (19 wounded), and, yesterday, a Basra mortar attack that claimed 3 lives (1 police officer injured). Reuters notes a Tal Afar bombing that claimed the lives of a child and woman and 2 deaths in Iskandariya (1 wounded) from a roadside bombing.

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that Iraqi police officer Alaa Abdullah Hamdan was shot dead "west of Baghdad today" and, last night, 5 Iraqi soldiers were shot dead outside of Hibhib (16 more wounded). Reuters notes a female college student dead in Mosul. Reuters also reports 35 dead in Nassiriya from two days of fighting "between gunmen loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi police linked to a rival Shi'ite faction".

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 21corpses discovered in Baghdad. Minus today's figure, CNN states that the total number of corpses stands at 359 since the start of this month.

Yesterday a Baghdad orphanage made news. The orphanage was supposed to be serving children with special needs but instead has abused the children. Interviewed by CBS News Lara Logan, Staff Sgt. Mitchell Gibson explained that, in looking over a wall in central Baghdad, US soldiers saw "multiple bodies laying on the floor of the facility. They thought they were all dead, so they threw a basketball (to) try and get some attention, and actually one of the kids lifted up their head, tilted it over and just looked and then went back down. And they said, 'oh, they're alive' and so they went into the building." BBC reports that there were 24 boys "starved and neglected . . . some near death . . . left naked".

In England, Michael Evans (Times of London) reports on the inquest into the May 2006 helicopter crash noting, "Private Drummond said that just before the helicopter was hit, the Lynx 'lifted as though it was trying to move out of the way. It sort of jerked'. Corporal Stuart Redmond, another witness, said that he too had seen the helicopter jerk to one side. Lance Corporal Dale Birkin told the coroner that he saw flares being fired before the aircraft burst into flames, indicating that the pilot was trying at the last moment to draw the approaching missile away from the helicopter." Again, the helicopter was shot down in May of 2006.

In the United States, many Democrats hoping to win their party's nomination for president in 2008 gathered. John Whitesides (Reuters) reports that Chris Dodd, Mike Gravel and Joe Biden did not attend, however, US House Rep Dennis Kucinich "roused the crowd" (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) while US Senator Barack Obama continues his strange desire to make the case that his 2002 opposition to the illegal war in Iraq was all about fearing that it would last too long. That's a novel twist and not at all what he was saying in 2004 when, while Jack Ryan was in the race, he was stating that he was opposed to it because it was illegal and unnecessary. Well, let the record show that Obama continues to say this year that he was always just worried the war would drag on and on. Addressing reality, Nedra Pickler (AP) quotes Bill Richardson stating, "With all due respect to my outstanding Democratic colleagues -- Senators Clinton, Obama, Dodd and Biden -- they all voted for timeline legislation that had loopholes. Those loopholes allow this president, or any president to leave and undetermined number of troops in Iraq indefinitely. And this is the same legislation that former Senator Edwards says we should back and back to the president over and over again until he signs it." Pickler quotes John Edwards who also offered a bit more than Chicken Sop for the Soul and stated of Congress' inaction, "No more we'll-get-around-to-it-next time. No more taking half a loaf. No more tomorrow. For the men and women who are leaving this country to serve in Iraq, there is no tomorrow."

On a similar note, BuzzFlash editorializes on the nature of Democrats and leadership noting:

Polls out this week show that the Democratic Congress is down so low in the dumps that they are basically in the pig slough with Bush. The Dems in power can't seem to understand that their role is to lead the American people, not to become immobilized by the fictional alternative universe manufactured in Rove's laboratory of perfidy.
What happens in such a situation is that the Dem leadership regularly leaves our nation's wounded heroes (on the homefront) on the political battlefield as the Dems in Congress retreat in fear from the right wing volleys. That means people like Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson, Richard Clarke, the top retired Pentagon generals critical of the war, ex-intelligence officers, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and so many, many others are left high and dry to fend for themselves.
And the Congressional Dems have pretty much given up on bringing our heroes in Iraq home so that they don't continue to get killed for lies, vanity, egotism and profiteering.
It is, indeed, a serious sign of weakness when you leave your wounded heroes behind. That sort of behavior doesn't go over well with the American public -- and it shouldn't.














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Monday, June 18, 2007

The Third Estate Sunday Review

Bah-dah-bah-da-da-dah. Monday, Monday. Hope everyone had a great week.

Truest statement of the week -- Elaine, who never agrees to more than one post in the highlights -- if that, for once didn't argue when earned attention was given. She earned it and that was the truest statement of the week.

A Note to Our Readers -- Jim's note. He beats me but what's up now is version 2! Damn you, Jim, damn you! :D Seriously, the first note wasn't showing and when Jim found out last night, he used that to write a second one. I never read the first one but the 2nd one pretty much says it all.

Editorial: Iraqis & Benchmarks -- Like Jim, I don't remember who thought of this topic but it made for a really strong editorial. I should probably talk about the edition itself. Jim and C.I. were on the road last week and they really weren't in touch with most of us. I spoke to C.I. briefly on the phone a couple of times and spoke to Jim twice. Wally spoke to C.I. every day because that's how it usually is (Wally always tries out his entry on C.I.). Ava spoke to C.I. and Dona spoke to Jim and that was really it except for Betty who saw them Wednesday when they were in Atlanta. So with all the anger and rage the community was feeling, Jim decided to shelve the fiction edition planned for Sunday. He felt that we needed to be focused on doing the work we would do on a normal week or there might not be another edition after the fiction one. C.I. knew about that on Thursday and agreed if that's what everyone wanted. They passed it on to Cedric in an e-mail. Wally didn't call Friday because he and Cedric posted Saturday (not Friday). So they get back home Friday night and Jim explains and Kat says she's cool with it but since everyone can't have a vote make it a decision by the ones who run the website (Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.). So they voted and the fiction edition was shelved. We found on Saturday from Wally who learned about it from Cedric and C.I. (They didn't call us Friday because we were at a conference in Chicago -- Elaine, Rebecca, Flyboy, Wally, my folks, my grandfather and me.) So the thing was it had to be us hitting hard. I think the editorial does and the whole edition as well.

TV: A down and up week for women -- and on hard hitting. Wow. The down is the fact that Katrina vanden Heuvel would front a cover for sexism. They do a great job on this part. The second part I enjoyed when I read it. But my oldest sister loved it and came over Sunday night (a good thing) to explain why it was so great. Again, I read it and laughed and enjoyed the second part knowing nothing about General Hospital or Laura. My sister was a devoted Luke and Laura fan and she says one of our brothers was as well but I'll wait until he owns up to it to declare it as fact. But I got how important it was because my oldest sister is really laid back and I have never seen her so excited. Everyone will love this but if you're a General Hospital fan, it will apparently take you to heaven. I should put in here that Genie Francis is a big, HUGE, soap opera star and Friday she won an Emmy -- the first one she's ever been given.

The Dirty Politics of Barack Obama -- another hard hitting piece. I think it's a real shame that so many 'lefties' looked away but doesn't that prove that some have no independence? Obama insults Indian-Americans with stereotypes and the 'left' goes silent. That tells you a great deal and should really make you scared about what will happen if a Democrat's elected in 2008. (I think it will be a Democrat. I still haven't decided who I'm going to vote for but I'm leaning towards John Edwards.) Obviously, if what we're seeing now is any indication, there will be no attempts to pressure the Dem to do anything -- only a lot of Party Hacks saying, "Shut up!" Like David Sirota did when Congress was pushing that meaningless measure in March.

Precedent is again tossed out the window -- Jim told me C.I.'s hands were shaking when this was seen in Friday's New York Times. From anger. We should all be angry because this is the second time the 5 conservative justices on the Supreme Court have sent the message that they will not respect past Supreme Court decisions.

Independent media -- C.I. had to be convinced to take part in this. But I think it's strong. (I'm sure C.I. does now but C.I. really wanted to sit this one out.) I think us all writing this together really brought us back to life. It's over and we addressed it.

Ed Oakley -- While users in independent media did nothing to help (Rebecca pointed out, but C.I. said "Not going in!", that the New York Times had linked to The Common Ills during a confirmation hearing and to Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude as well), Texas community members have done nothing but get the word out on The Common Ills. When we did the speaking out on Iraq tour there last March it was wild. It was like a concert tour! :D Texas members are strong and strongly opposed to the illegal war. Eddie, Billie and Samantha had been covering the mayor race in Dallas for the community newsletters (and doing a great job). The word came while we were working on the edition (from Dallas -- who lives in Dallas, hence his community name) that Oakley had lost. We wanted to note something on the race and felt it deserved attention especially because it proves what a myth that 'red' state nonsense is. Yes, he lost. But he ran and he survived the first votes (in May) and only lost in a two-person run off. Oakley is an openly gay man (and a member of the City Council). So this was a feature on that.

Dumbest Headline of the week -- Read the note for a prediction on Jolie's movie because there's no predicition in this article. (I think the movie's going to bomb and agree with Ava and C.I. that the accent is hideous and since many of us have heard the real life woman speaking on TV, I would also say the accent is insulting.)

Peter Pace fired -- Peter Pace was fired. This is a short entry.

Highlights -- Wally, Cedric, Rebecca, Betty, Elaine and I did this one. We tried to write more than we normally do because we were trying to live up to Jim's request (on everything) that we push ourselves harder than we have in the past.

Ruth's Report -- Ruth finished this Saturday night. She posted it. There was nothing showing up at the website. C.I. published the thing over and it still wouldn't display at The Common Ills. So we decided to repost it at The Third Estate Sunday Review. We did that by going into the post and hitting the "preview" option and then copy and pasting paragraph by paragraph. "Ruth's Report" showed up at The Common Ills finally on Sunday morning. (9:00 a.m. my time. The repost was up at The Third Estate Sunday Review by 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning -- my time.)

Here's who worked on the edition:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz,
and Wally of The Daily Jot

And Dallas. Thank you to Kat for filling in for me Friday with a wonderful post ("Michelle Phillips, Stanley Aronowitz, Laura Flande..."). And it's Stanely Aronowitz, like Kat typed, not Stanley Abramawitz as I've typed.

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

Monday, June 18, 2007. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, the battles is on! for . . . control of the messages, the US military announces another death, a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist explores war resistance, and more.


Starting with war resistance, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Anna Quindlen (Newsweek) examines the resistance in the ranks noting Iraq war resister Ehren Watada, Iraq Veterans Against the War, noting that "[w]hat was once underground is now-in-your-face," and Scott Pelley's 60 Minutes piece (May 27, 2007) on a soldier whose experiences in Iraq changed his opinion of it and destroyed any notions that the illegal was about 'freedom.' Quindlen concludes, "So, of course, have many Americans. The difference is that they don't have to pick up a gun and climb into an armored vehicle on a mission they've concluded is senseless, endless and just plain wrong. There are those who argue that such a conclusion is above the pay grade of anyone but the commander in chief, and that discipline overrides dissent. But it's the guys in the field who are best able to judge whether the mission is right and just and is working on the ground. They are the ultimate embeds. As one man said on a posting to the IVAW Web site, 'when the people who fought the war are speaking out against it . . . maybe you should listen'."


The movement of resistance within the US military grows and includes Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.



Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.

Iraq Veterans Against the War's Adam Kokesh appeared today on Mark Levine's Inside Scoop where he and the host discussed the street theater and the actions behind Operation First Casualty, the attempts by the military to silence Kokesh (resulting in the so-called hearing), his service in Iraq and the process of his speaking out publicly against the illegal war. On what needs to be done, Kokesh stated, "I think if we immediately withdraw all our occupying forces we can continue to honor our obligations to the people by paying reparations and hope that someday they'll find their own way to a proper democracy."

Today, Iraq Veterans Against the War took Operation First Casualty to Chicago: "In an effort to illuminate the true reality of the conflict in Iraq, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War will engage in a series of street theater actions around the Chicago area on Monday, June 18. The street theatre action is entitled, 'Operation First Casualty' (OFC) because the first casualty of war is truth. Members will carry out reenactments which highlight various aspects of life in combat in Iraq. The event will be treated like a military operation with participants in full military uniform, however, there will be no weapons used at any time. This will be IVAW's fourth OFC."

In Iraq, a war rages . . . for control of the message. War Pornographer Michael Gordon weighed in Sunday (New York Times) with some heavy breathing about a 'major offensive.' As Gordo threw his pompoms in the air (possibly his legs as well), truths began emerging. Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) reports David Petraus ("top commander in Iraq") spoke Sunday of how "Conditions in Iraq will not improve sufficiently by September to justify a drawdown of U.S. military forces" and quotes him answering a question as to whether or not the escalation would be over by then with "I do not, no. I think that we have a lot of heavy lifting to do." This as Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) notes that only 40% of Baghdad -- home of the year long 'crackdown' -- is "under the control of security forces" according to Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno. The escalation took place over the objections of American people, if not over the objections of Congress ('symbolic' measures are only 'symbolic' objections). The American people have been told the escalation would be short term, was temporary, but the reality appears to be -- like everything with this illegal war -- Bully Boy lied to get what he wanted and a do-nothing Congress (regardless of which party's been in charge since 2003) didn't prevent him and won't punish him. But Editor & Publisher notes that the escalation, according to a report released by the Iraqi Red Crescent, has 'accomplished' displacing even more Iraqis, creating more Iraqi refugees.

The big talking point of the 'New Iraq' is that new 'plans' and 'strategies' are emerging when the reality is that a fire is blazing and someone says, "No, not two gallons, let's try four gallons of gasoline this time." But a 'development' that was supposed to prove promising was the arming on non-Shi'ites. As with every other Bully Boy non-plan, didn't work out quite the way they sold it. Nancy A. Youssef and Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) report that "some U.S. military officials in Washington and foreign policy experts" say arming the Sunni population "undercuts the Iraqi government and years of U.S. policy, and is a tacit acknowledgement that the country's violence is really a civil war" and military "officers also say it abandons the long-stated U.S. goal of disarming militias and reinforces the idea that U.S.-trained Iraqi forces cannot control their country." Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) quotes an unnamed "senior Iraqi government" stating, "Every three months they have a new strategy. This is not only a distracting way to conduct policy, it is creating insecurity for all. I don't think these strategies have been thought through deeply. It is all about convenience." Meanwhile Patrick Wintour (Guardian of London) reports that Jay Garner, kicked out by the US administration for wanting to hold elections in Iraq, states that "the country is on the brink of a genocidal civil war and its government will fall apart unless the US changes course" -- Garner is advocating the same 'solution' as US Senator and 2008 presidential hopeful Joe Biden: divide Iraq into three parts. Tom Baldwin (Times of London) reports that US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker speaks of a "clear absence of progress" -- but he's blaming the victims (Iraqis) and not taking accountability so we'll move right along.

Which brings us back to the non-plan built around the so-called success of the al-Anbar 'model' which, the lie tells you, was a huge success when the US military decided to arm militias in al-Anbar province. Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) reports that the so-called success has been a failure that has "won it more enemies instead," that there were "short-term victories" but, long-term results were to turn "people more and more strongly against the occupation," that the US backing (cash payouts -- that's me, not al-Fadhily) criminals and 'leaders' installed by the British during the 1920 occupation who long ago left Iraq but, historian Mohammad al-Dulaimy states, "They then found a chance to return under the American flag."

Meanwhile, CBS and AP report an ongoing battle in Amarah that has resulted in 36 people being killed and over 100 wounded. BBC states the fighting began "before dawn" and was completed in two hours with British troops offering only "logistical support". Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that those fighting were "Shiite militants and U.S.-led forces" and that the fighting including helicopters which, residents report, "attacked two homes where women and children slept."

In other violence today . . .

Bombings?

Reuters notes a Samarra car bombing that claimed 5 lives (all Ministry of the Interior commandos), a Falluja truck bombing that left 2 dead (10 wounded), a Baghdad bombing that killed 9 (25 wounded) and a Falluja car bombing that resulted in 3 dead (15 injured). Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a car bombing in Baghdad utilizing two cars to attack people waiting to refuel which claimed the lives of 3 (27 wounded) and Baghdad mortar attacks that killed 2 people (7 wounded).

Shootings?

Reuters notes two Iraqi soldiers shot dead in Balad and Mohammed Abid ("manager in the Diyala electricity station") shot dead in Baquba. Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports


Corpses?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 33 corpses discovered in Baghdad today. On Saturday the BBC reported that the corpses "of 13 members of an Iraqi taekwondo team seized a year ago" were discovered "near the town of Ramadi" and that, since 15 were kidnapped, the whereabouts of 2 remain unknown.


The US military announced today: "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near a foot patrol in the southern part of the city."


In England, an inquest into a May 6, 2006 helicopter crash in Iraq is ongoing. BBC reports that today's testimony was that the helicopter was shot down and quotes Pte Stuart Drummond who states, "I saw two yellowy objects going towards the helicopter. I thought they were missiles. The helicopter exploded. It was engulfed in flames and went down." Five died in the crash: "Wing Commander John Coxen RAF; Lieutenant Commander Darren Chapman RN; Flight Lieutenant Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill RAF; Captain David Dobson AAC and Marine Paul Collins." As noted May 9, 2006, Mulvihill was the first female British service member to be killed in Iraq and the first to "be killed in action for more than 20 years" (latter quote from Scotland's Herald in 2006, they have retooled their website). Please note that until January 2007, the US military maintained that helicopters could not be shot down because the machinery/weapons were not available. They went to the well with that lie one time to many and the press started calling it out. But we now know that as early as May 2006 (if not before), forces in Iraq had the capabilities and machinery/weaponry to shoot down helicopters.

In the United States, a flurry of renewed interest in Iraq as Antonio Taguba (Taguba Report fame) reveals that then US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon forced him to retire when they were unhappy with what his investigation into Abu Ghraib was turning up. David S. Cloud (New York Times) summarized a press report Sunday. Good or bad, Cloud's covered Iraq in the last two years while others have wondered off to Game Theory, to put it mildly. Translation, one article doesn't make The New Yorker worth reading.

Norman Solomon (CounterPunch) ponders the distance that is caused by the TV reports -- to which many in the US would ask, "What TV reports?" (Ava and I noted The Manny Named Brian was left to point out what many wouldn't -- two weeks ago, Charlie Gibson and ABC thought two minutes of Iraq was enough coverage for a week's worth of evening news reports.) What TV reports? Solomon notes, "Part of the accepted wisdom is the idea that media outlets are pushing envelopes and making the Iraq war look bad. But the press coverage, even from the reputedly finest outlets, is routinely making the war look far better than its reality -- both in terms of the horror on the ground and the agendas of the war-markers in Washington." On the two minutes given to Iraq in five half-hour broadcasts of Charlie Gibson's evening news, let's note what was going on during that time -- from Ava and my piece Sunday:

For those not familiar with the week of June 4th through June 8th (Monday through Friday), Iraqi oil workers went on strike, Adam Kokesh suffered through a trumped up, kangaroo hearing, Liam Madden (whom the military was also attempting to silence) held a press conference, the number of US service members killed in the illegal war passed the 3500 mark, tensions between Turkey and northern Iraq increased, two Sunni mosques were attacked in Baghdad (which may have been the motivation for the Samarra mosque attack last Wednesday, but people would have to know of the two mosques attacked June 7th to even consider that), a video of Byron Fouty and Alex Jimenez -- two US soldiers missing since a May 12th attack -- turned up portraying them as dead (June 5th), an unnamed Iraq veteran was publicly protesting the war by doing laps around the State Capitol Building in Sacramento, California, and that was just some of the events from the week in which Charlie Gibson could only spare two minutes for the topic of Iraq.

Short on time and swiping from this morning -- For laughs, read Thomas Ferraro's "Newly empowered US Democrats draw wrath of voters" (Reuters) Where's the humor? Read the article. Harry Reid shares maybe the Dems built up too much excitement. Joe Biden offers hilarity as well. No one, including Ferraro, points out the obvious, the conjobs. First conjob the laughable "100 Days" which didn't even bother to address Iraq. The second? The lust for "symoblism." A symoblic vote on the escalation. A symbolic Pelosi-Reid measure (March) that was toothless and non-binding and they (and their Party Hacks) wanted to promote it as "action!" And then The Great Sell Out where they claimed there was nothing to do. As a party, they have done nothing. They have refused to do anything. Voters aren't stupid and Reid can act like, "Golly, gosh, I guess I built Christmas up too much this year but . . ." Truth of the matter, not a single damn present under the tree. And voters grasp that.

On that topic, Dave Lindorff (This Can't Be Happening!) observes: "No Harry. You didn't raise the bar too high. You ducked under the bar, when it came time to act to defund the war. Last month, instead of cutting off funding for Bush's war in Iraq, Congress passed a measure providing him with over $100 billion to fund it, attaching no strings to the measure--not even any deadlines for starting to withdraw troops. This after running a 2006 campaign on ending the war. No wonder Democrats and the independents and, yes, even Republicans who voted Democrats into control of Congress last November are furious."


















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Saturday, June 16, 2007

Michelle Phillips, Stanley Aronowitz, Laura Flanders

Kat here with you tonight because Mike is in Chicago. He, Elaine, Wally, Rebecca, Trina and others are all there so Cedric's filled in for Elaine and Betty filled in for Rebecca. And Jess is filling in for Trina right now as I speak. We're both posting.

I'm in the e-mails for The Common Ills and Marcia sent something. I want to pair it with
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Bye-bye" from Sunday:

byebye

Okay, Isaiah's noting Pace's original statement filled with hope and big plans. But he's out. What happened?

Kilian Melloy's "Peter Pace Reveals: 'I've Been Told I'm Done'" (EDGE Boston) tells us:

Pace said last night that doubt about a second term for him as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came to his attention in May; a few weeks later, on June 8, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that Pace, the first Marine to hold the position, would be replaced. His successor is expected to be Navy Admiral Michael Mullen."One thing that was discussed was whether or not I should just voluntarily retire and take the issue off the table," Pace revealed. "I said I could not do that" lest any servicemember in Iraq "think--ever--that his chairman, whoever that person is, could have stayed in the battle [but] voluntarily walked off the battlefield."

Okay, so one of the big Operation Happy Talkers did not fall, he was pushed. Let's just make sure we all know that. Now I want to go from international-national to local in terms of my own state, California. This is from John Wildermuth's "Latinos reject governor's English-immersion advice" (San Francisco Chronicle):

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger knew he was setting himself up for plenty of criticism when he urged Latinos to "turn off the Spanish television set" in order to learn English faster, but it was a briar patch the Austrian immigrant was happy to leap into.
Speaking to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention in San Jose Wednesday night, the governor, relaxed and seated in a chair on-stage, answered questions for more than 40 minutes on Latino-oriented issues ranging from immigration to education. Late in that session, he was asked what could be done to help Latino students, many new to the country, pass the newly required high school exit exams.

Ahnuld is my governor. I feel like I need every one in the room to say, "Hello, Kat." I didn't vote for him at any time. But that is just so embarrassing and I think it needs to be noticed by everybody. If you don't live in California, you may not realize that Ahnud campaigned on his 'I was an immigrant' speech. He actually ended up with some Latino votes, some significant ones, because of his movie career (for younger males) and because of this nonsense of "I know what it's like." He knows nothing about what it's like.

And that comment, I mean really. That is just disgusting. It's like he was channeling Bill Cosby on that one but with Cosby's comments, he's not holding elected office. This isn't new. He made comments about Latinos before publicly and got a pass.

Let's drop back to September of last year, via AP:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger apologized Friday for saying during a closed-door meeting that Cubans and Puerto Ricans are naturally feisty and temperamental because of their combination of "black blood" and "Latino blood."

Apparently it wasn't clear before so let's make it really clear now, a White immigrant is not a friend to all immigrants just because he immigrated. Ahnuld has made one insulting remark after another that expresses xenophobia.

It's really past time he stopped getting a pass on this from the mainstream media.

Okay, Martha sent this in to the members account at The Common Ills and I thought this would be great to note at my own site. C.I. says I should note it here as well because Mike thinks the world of Stanley Aronowitz. He loves his books and just loves the way he lays it out there. So you've got Stanley Aronowitz and Laura Flanders in a debate this Monday:

Left Forum and The Nation Present:
CAN PROGRESSIVES MOVE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO THE LEFT?
A debate between Stanley Aronowitz and Laura Flanders
Monday June 18 , 7pm
CUNY Graduate Center
Elebash Recital Hall
365 5th Avenue at 34th St.
New York City
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!
Stanley Aronowitz, author of Left Turn: Forging a New Political Future (Paradigm Publishers, 2006), and Laura Flanders, author of Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (The Penguin Press, 2007), will discuss and debate the possibilities and limitations of working within the Democratic party.
$5 to $10 admission, ticketing at the door (no advance sales)
Stanley Aronowitz and Laura Flanders will be signing their books after the discussion.
Information: 212-817-2003 or leftforum@leftforum.org
STANLEY ARONOWITZ is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at CUNY Graduate Center, where he is Director of The Center for the Study of Culture, Technology and Work. He is Founding Editor of Social Text and Situations, was Book Review Editor of Social Policy, and serves on the Editorial Board of Ethnography; Cultural Critique. He has authored and edited 24 books, the most recent being Left Turn: Forging a New Political Future (2006).
LAURA FLANDERS is the host of "RadioNation" heard on Air America Radio and syndicated to non-commercial affiliates nationwide. She is the author most recently of Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (The Penguin Press, 2007) and also BUSHWOMEN: Tales of a Cynical Species (Verso, 2004), an investigation into the women in George W. Bush's Cabinet.

I'll note that I took out the moderator. Mike doesn't like liars and I don't either. The moderator did a story recently that mentioned Darrell Anderson and failed to note he was a war resister.
That's a lie. Some would call it something else, in this community we call it a lie. A big fat lie and a clampdown on the realities of this illegal war so you can guess that his writing appears in The Nation where most of the ones who sit on their ass and don't a damn thing to end the illegal war publish. By the way, tonight (I'm at C.I.'s) a guest from the East Coast (big in left politics in NYC) told me AlterPunk supported the illegal war in theory at one point. Does anybody know anything about that because as awful as he is, I've always given him credit for at least being against the illegal war. If you do, e-mail. Otherwise, I'll assume the guest misspoke.

Of course The Peace Resister in charge of The Nation stepped up to say no sexism was involved in the 14 month trashing of Katie Couric. If you haven't yet read C.I. and Ava's "Adam Kokesh."
And speaking of that, one of Katrina vanden Heuvel's enuichs (does it grow back when they leave her stable?) e-mailed and that prompted Ava's (wonderful) response. So let me note that C.I. knows Stanley Aronowitz. C.I. knew Ellen Willis. So if there's a disclosure needed, before one of vanden Heuvel's coffee fetchers (present or former) is dispatched to write a missive, let me note that here.

If you missed Michelle Phillips on NPR (stealing from Rebecca): "click here if you want to hear the npr story on the 40th anniversary of the monterey pop festival with some (not enough) commentary by michelle phillips." Mama Michelle Phillips talking about Monterey Pop. Now here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Friday, June 15, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces the deaths of more US service members, a US jet crashes in Iraq, gas shortages plauge Iraq and more.


Starting with US service members. Today, the US military has announced multiple deaths of US service members. They announced: "Three Task Force Lightning Soldiers were killed as a result of injuries sustained from an explosion near their vehicle while conducting operations in Kirkuk Province, Thursday." And they announced: "One Task Force Lightning Soldier was killed as a result of injuries sustained from small arms fire while conducting operations in Diyala Province, Thursday." And they announced [PDF format warning]: "A Task Force Lightning Soldier died Wednesday in a non-combat related incident, which is currently under investigation." That was five announced deaths which took the current ICCC total for the number of US service members killed in the illegal war since it began (March 2003) to 3519 with the total for the month of June thus far at 42.

That was before a F-16 crashed in Iraq today. CBS and AP report that the US Air Force is calling the crash "an accident" and not giving out any details which includes the status of the pilot. CNN reports that plan "crashed in Iraq at 12:27 a.m." and that "Pentagon sources" have told them the pilot died in the crash. Reuters notes the crash comes as 9 helicopters have already crashed in Iraq this year. The Toledo Blade reports, "A fighter pilot from Toledo's 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, is unaccounted for after a crash while flying an F-16 today during a mission in Iraq."


Turning to war resistance. In June of 2006, Ehren Watada became the first US officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq and in February of 2007 his kangaroo court-martial ended in a mistrial over the objections of the defense when Judge Toilet sensed (rightly) things weren't going well for the prosecution. As noted Tuesday, Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) reports the second court-martial is set to start July 23rd. Barbara Kelly (Juneau Empire) covers the issue of war resistance in a recent column (June 12th) and notes "those who take such a stand are execrcising a certain kind of moral courage . . . In speaking of Lt. Ehren Watada's refusal to deploy to Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Batiste who has been outspoken in his criticism of the president's Iraq policy, recentlyl stated that Watada followed his conscience. Batiste says he respects Watada even though he does not agree with what the lieutenant did. Batiste does not consider Watada a coward." But he has become a cultural touchstone. Zbignew Zingh (Dissident Voice) uses Watada as one of his examples of how we have now arrived at "Cola Crime." Also today, Megan Kung (Asian Week) writing about an exhibit of Tezuka Osaumu's artwork notes: "With Guantanamo Bay, Karl Rove, Iraq and 9/11, it does seem like we're living an anime. Too bad fighting those 'shadowy' forces in real life is not that easy -- remember Ehren Watada?" A lot do. His story has traveled far and wide and, if the military does attempt another court-martial, even more people will be paying attention than in February.

The movement of resistance within the US military grows and includes Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.

This week, Iraq Veterans Against the War Adam Kokesh learned that the kangaroo 'court' on him had rendered a verdict: the honorably discharged marine was informed he'd received a general discharge from the IRR. Earlier, Geoffrey Millard (Truthout) reported on Kokesh and the compilation tells the story up through the news that came out Wednesday -- this is a video report. Kokesh states at the end, "I think what they were hoping to achieve with this decision is that because it won't effect my benefits the way an other-than-honorable-discharge would that I would go away quietly but that's not but that's not the case and I don't think they understood or any of the things that I've written or bothered to read the e-mail responses to the plea bargain but I'm standing on principle and we're going to contest this on principle and it's not going to go away."

Liam Madden and Cloy Richards are also targeted for speaking out against the illegal war.
Cloy's mother, Tina Richards wrote (at Grassroots America) about their recent Memorial Day march, "He [Cloy] could have chosen to march with the Marines and received numerous cheers. For him, it's not a choice. He has a moral imperative to speak out to end this war, and for this he is booed. It is not an easy route to take, but the one our family has chosen. Our children are being killed and maimed as others celeberate and we will not let them forget it. That Memorial Day was one of distress; I waited to see if my son was going to make it through another tough day. Another memory of what Iraq wrough him. Would I walk in and find him with a gun in his mouth, or even worse, I didn't come in time. Every day I fear my son will not survive this war." The US military has no such concerns. They've been happy to launch a witch hunt and a campaign of intimidation and silence at Cloy Richards despite knowing full well that he suffers from PTSD. That was the US military's own 'special thank you' to Cloy Richards.

In different ways, it's a thank you they hand out to many as Aaron Glantz (IPS) demonstrates as he explores the realities for today's returning Iraq veterans which already includes at least 400 homeless while Vietnam homeless veterans "did not usually become homelss until nine to 12 years after their discharge." Today, the Pentagon announces more money is needed for veterans. Kristin Roberts (Reuters) reports that the Pentagon announced today that America's "military's mental health system fails to meet the needs of troops and is too short of funds and staff to help service members sent to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan . . . Repeated and extended deployments to those war zones over the past five years have driven the need for mental health services higher, but resources have not climbed in response, members of a Defense Department task force said." Are you shocked and suprised? Then you must work for the alleged FactCheck.org which made a point of denying this issue in 2004. Aaron Glantz notes, "A recent study by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government found that by the time the Iraq and Afghanistan wars end, there will be at least two and a half million vets. Because of that, the Harvard study concluded, Congress will have to double the VA's budget simply to avoid cutting services."

In Iraq, John Ward Anderson and Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) report the escalation has reached its target and 28,500 additional US service members have been put on the ground and quote Giddy Gabor Sister II of the Green Zone, Chris Gaver, declaring the "we'll be able to execute the strategy as it was designed." Such a Happy Talker. In the real world, Andrew North (BBC) reports that fuel shortages in Baghdad are leading to massive lines (including one where the people went out at daybreak and over 900 were in line), notes that the Ministry of Oil has declared it "a crisis," and that the "attacks on bridges . . . have seriously disrupted fuel tanker traffic into the city." What, what? Didn't the US military, Garver in fact, at the start of the week assure the world that the bridge bombings were of little effect? Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reported Tuesday on Garver's reassurance that it was of no great consequence "because we have other resources, we have 20,000 troops on each side of the river" but did allow it may be "inconvenient for the people who live there". You think? (It's more than 'inconvenient' for the US military -- no matter how Garver spins it.)

This is the sort of thing Matthew Rothschild (The Progressive) is addressing when he notes Iraq is "going to hell" while other things are focused on. Rothschild goes on to recount Admirall Fallon and John Negroponte 'lobbying' al-Maliki on the oil law "which would turn over Iraqi's liquid treasure to foreign corporations like ExxonMobil. This is the paramount concern of the Bush administration. It is being sold to the American people as a way to equalize revenues to various segments of Iraqi society. But the true reason for it is to line the pockets of U.S. oil executives." Marilyn Bechtel (People's Weekly World) notes that, in the US, "We rarely hear that a powerful labor movement is defending workers' rights, campaigning for an end to the U.S.-led occupation and for better daily living conditions for ordinary people, and upholding the Iraqi people's right to keep control of their country's great oil resources. This month, people across the U.S. are getting a glimpse of that other reality, as they hear from two Iraqi trade union leaders, Faleh Abood Umara, general secertary of the Oil Workers Union, and Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, president of the Electrical Utility Workers Union and the first woman to head a national union in Iraq." The tour continues through the 29th and information is available at US Labor Against the War. Bechtel notes that during the tour thus far, they have met with AFL-CIO's John Sweeny as well as US Congress members Lynn Woolsey and Dennis Kucinich -- Kucinich is, of course, both a member of Congress and running for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

From the criminal theft of Iraqi oil to violence . . . It's Friday. Most are following the F-16 story or Robert Gates surprise visit.

Bombings?

Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports a roadside bombing in Baghdad that left seven Iraqis injured. the mosque attacks continue today with Reuters noting that one in "Basra was destroyed" John Ward Anderson and Joshua Partlow (Washington Post) report "At least 13 Sunni mosques were attacked on Thursday" and today the mosque attacks continued with Reuters noting that one in "Basra was destroyed" today. AP informs that the attacks on the mosque began on Thursday with some damage and then, on Friday, a new attack ("planting bombs inside the structure and exploding it completely"). Deborah Haynes (Times of London) reports: "Only the front gate of the Talha Ibn Abdellah mosque was left standing after the gang planted bombs around the compound, blowing up two domes and a minaret."


Corpses?

CBS and AP note, "The remains of a Brazilian engineer who was kidnapped in Iraq in 2005 have been found and positively identified, the Brazilian foreign ministry said Thursday. The remains of engineer Joao Jose Vasconcellos were identified by forensic experts in Kuwait with support from Brazilian embassy personnel, the ministry said in a statement. It did not say when or where the remains were found, which arrived Thursday in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo." From CNN: "Baghdad authorities also reported finding 25 bodies." [Reuters notes 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad yesterday.]

Robert Gates, US Secretary of Defense, made a surprise visit to Baghdad today. This follows an incident yesterday. Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) reports that US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated David Petraues "isn't in touch with what's going on in Baghdad" after he saw Thursday's USA Today Q&A where David Petraues gushed over alleged "astonishing signs of normalcy" in Baghdad. Senator John McCain, naturally, clutched his chest, wept and soldiered on as only Senator Crazy can do: with High Drama. CBS and AP report that, in Baghdad, Gates attempted to find a middle between the general and Senate Majority Leader Reid declaring the results to be "a mixed bag." No confirmation to rumors that Gates then hollered "Hit me! Papa's got a mixed bag!" while breaking it down old school with the Mashed Potato.

Meanwhile, one of McClatchy Newspapers' Iraqi correspondents has posted (at Insided Iraq) about Falluja noting, "The city is under seige. You cann not go in only through certain checkpoints witha badge issued by the marines. The main soccer field in the city is now a cemetery. The only amusement park in the city was looted and destroyed; its trees were used by the locals to bake their bread. Now the former amusment park is intended to be the next cemetery. Instead of being the city of mosques it will be the city of cemeteries and this will be another achieveement of the invasion that residents of Fallujah will remember through generations." The correspondent goes on to note the need for burials, for cell phone service to be restored, electricity, water and notes that the US military does not allow people to come and go freely: "In a prison you can enter but you can not leave. In Fallujah you can not enter and you can not leave."

In media news, the latest episode of Bill Moyers Journal airs on PBS in many markets tonight (check your local listings) and in a commentary in the latest episode, he notes:

We have yet another remarkable revelation of the mindset of Washington's ruling clique of neoconservative elites--the people who took us to war from the safety of their Beltway bunkers. Even as Iraq grows bloodier by the day, their passion of the week is to keep one of their own from going to jail.
It is well known that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby--once Vice President Cheney's most trust adviser--has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for perjury. Lying. Not a white lie, mind you. A killer lie.
Scooter Libby deliberately poured poising into the drinking water of democracy by lying to federal investigators, for the purpose of obstructing justice. Attempting to trash critics of the war, Libby and his pals in high places -- including his boss Dick Cheney-- outed a covert CIA agent. Libby then lied to cover their tracks. To throw investigators off the trail, he kicked sand in the eyes of truth. "Libby lied about nearly everything that mattered," wrote the chief prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
The jury agreed and found him guilty on four felony counts.

And?

You'll need to check out Bill Moyers Journal. Remember, Hilda (Hilda's Mix) notes that, online, Bill Moyers Journal is welcoming to all -- it has text, audio and video. And that can't be stressed enough.

In other media news, as independent media continues to be under attack, News Dissector Danny Schechter's "Special Blog: Can Our Media Channel Survive?" announces the potential fate of Mediachannel.org which may shut down: "If we can get 1500 of our readers (that means you) to give $25, we can keep going for another quarter. [PLEASE CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION ONLINE]"

Finally, independent journalist John Pilger is on a speaking tour with his new book Freedom Next Time and his documentary Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror (which looks at DC, Afghanistan and Iraq). His next stop is Chicago for the 2007 Socialism conference. At 11:30 am Saturday June 16th, he and Anthony Arnove will participate in a conversation, audience dialogue and book signing (Arnove is the author most recently of IRAQ: The Logic of Withdrawal) and that evening (still June 16th) at 7:30 Pilger will be at Chicago Crowne Plaza O'Hare (5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018) as part of a panel of international activists. To attend the conference, the fee is $85. For Saturday and Sunday only, the price is $70. To attend only one session, the cost is ten dollars. "Presented by The Center for Economic Research and Social Change, The Nation Institute, with support from the Wallace Global Fund. Co-sponsors: Obrera Socialista, Socialist Worker, International Socialist Review, and Haymarket Books. For ticket information, call 773-583-8665 or e-mail info@socialismconference.org For media inquiries, contact (212) 209-5407 or ruth@nationbooks.org. For more information, email info@socialismconference.org." The Socialism 2007 conference will take place in Chicago from June 14-17. Along with Pilger and Arnove, others participating will include Laura Flanders, Kelly Dougherty, Joshua Frank, Amy Goodman, Sharon Smith, Dave Zirin, Camilo Mejia, Jeremy Scahill, Jeffrey St. Clair and many others.


















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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Ari Hest and other thoughts

Thursday! Wally and I were out funning and didn't realize the time until about 9:00! He got on the phone with Cedric and they've got their posts up but if anyone was waiting, too bad! :D I never get to have fun with Wally. He lives all the way out in Florida. And between my classes and work, he's seen Rebecca way more than me! :D That's cool cause he gets to see the baby. Do I still say "the new baby"? I think so. :D

But we all got to see Ari Hest at The Abbey Saturday. It was a road trip! :D If you can see him live, you need to and if you can't, listen to The Break-In. That's his new CD. My favorite track is the first one. He's a guitar player and a singer and a songwriter. Trying to think who he sounds like and can't think of anyone. Wally's grabbing the CD so I can find out the name of the first track. It's about Iraq and I think everyone will really love it. I would have made this the single. Probably cut off the first 30 or so seconds for radio. Okay, the first track is "When and If." And you click right here and you can see a live performance on YouTube.

I'd rather promote stuff like that here. People who could use publicity and don't stab you in the back. You know what I'm talking about! :D Wally and I didn't participate in the roundtable (it's probably finishing up) for the gina & krista round-robin because I knew I would get loud on this subject. I'm writing about it for Polly's Brew and Wally said I could put in here that he is "beyond angry" about that still. I think everybody is. Well, I don't know about C.I. That's the other reason I didn't want to participate, I didn't want to put C.I. on the spot. C.I.'s just kept the head down and done the work all week long. And I'm sure all the rip-off artists appreciated that and will, no doubt, be planning their next big rip off.

I'm not as nice as C.I. Wally goes to put in "Who is?"

True that, as Cedric would say.

I'm still working on my list of what I'll note here from now and on and what I won't. I just don't really see the point in being a cheerleader for back stabbers. I'm amazed that C.I. can be. I keep going back to the post Betty did at Rebecca's site and think there's a whole lot of truth there, C.I. really doesn't expect anything. That may be the way to live and all but I'm not that high minded. I admire C.I. for that. When I'm on the phone with C.I., I avoid this topic because I know from Jess and Ava that the e-mails are still pouring in on this topic.

C.I. really is about the work and the work is ending the illegal war.

And that's why, when it's time for independent media to get around to talking about or writing about Iraq, it's time to go rip off C.I. again and again. They can all go suck my left one, pretty much.

They'll get theirs, I really do believe that. The whole what goes around comes around thing. Look at the Bully Boy. He lied and lied and lied some more. And today, no one believes him, more than half the country thinks he's doing a lousy job. Took long enough, but it did happen. Reality's the ugly blind date you've got waiting when you act like a prick.

And reality will smack quite a few upside their face.

I know Rebecca's mother-in-law is working on something right now. :D I really love that woman. Rebecca goes, "She doesn't like everyone." That's what she told me right before I met the woman and I'm thinking, "Great, tell me that now!" :D

But she's a smart woman. And she doesn't suffer the faux left easily or at all. Watch your back, Peace Resister! :D

Or look at Kurt Waldman. The Nazi who just died. Even the mainstream media has to note that he's a Nazi. They try to clean it up a bit, but the whole world knows and they'll always know.

I believe in the truth because it always comes out. It may take forever, but it comes out. And everything you've built up crumbles. You go from United Nations chief to world pariah. The truth will always bite you in the butt.

Kat just called and goes, "Are you posting?" :D Yeah, I'm just way behind. But I had some e-mails that asked that too. Beau wondered what was really the point at this point and I know what he means. Why invest your time and energy trying to get the word out on this and that when all that happens is you get f**king used?

Hey, I get to see ____ on Saturday? Maybe I'll get in his fat face? Maybe I'll ask him why he can't give credit? Why he expects anyone to care about what he doesn't write about Iraq anymore? Or are we all supposed to give nonstop applause for work that's three years old? Stupid ass.

So like I said, I'm still working on my list. Maybe I'll just pull a Kat and plug music? I'll write about Iraq and plug music and save any deep thoughts for my columns in Polly's Brew so I don't get ripped off? I really couldn't do it if I was C.I. I mean I would not be posting anything. My attitude would be, "You little s**ts keep ripping me off and never give me credit." And when it's coming from people who've asked for favors, that's even worse. I don't know how C.I. does it because I couldn't.

People come along begging for favors asking for mentions and they don't give back s**t. I couldn't do it.

Who knew the uncool kids were as petty and clicquish as the cool kids? That's really all independent media is, the uncool kids. They can't get any friends so they start their own little world and then start begging for money while they claim that they are doing what they're doing for you. But the reality is that they're not doing anything for you. Pick up any copy of The Nation and you'll see that.

I'll always love Stanley Abramaowitz for what he said about the 'vanden Heuvel crowd.' :D That still makes me laugh. But he's the exception. The others just kiss ass and won't call that Queen Bee out on anything. Why does she get to publish one useless issue after another? Because everyone's too scared to call out Money Bags. She might not ever post your guest column online! Oh heavens no! Get real. You're not making in the magazine unless, like her, you're a member of the Council for Foreign Relations.

Look at the bland and centrist writers she's brought in. That's where that crappy magazine is headed. You'll see people wise up and leave that have written for the magazine forever or maybe she'll push them out. Except for the columns, there's no difference between The Nation and The American Prospect at this point.

It's a joke.

And people who support it are a joke because they should be screaming their heads off. Instead, they stay silent hoping for that 'online column' that she'll run. I've got to stop here because I'm about to spoil two upcoming things. :D

But I will say that if you belong to a centrist organization, you should never be put in charge of what's supposed to be a magazine for the left. You also shouldn't be allowed to buy your way in when you've got no talent at writing. Stick to the (bad) joke books, Katrina vanden Heuvel, that's really about all your 'talents' can handle.

To get the latest on "Adam Kokesh" read that link. Rebecca calls C.I.'s and Ava's (Ava added stuff after it went up) "inspired" and says that it got Kokesh a lot more attention by including the second topic. I hope so. We all know The Useless Nation didn't do crap for Kokesh. Here's a taste of C.I.:

Katrina vanden Heuvel wants to wade in (late to the party as always -- and empty handed) and tells you it's not about sexism -- which is a bit like David Duke telling you Don Imus' remarks weren't racists.
Maybe if you were the editor and publisher of a magazine that has spent 2007 publishing approximately four male bylines for every one female byline, you'd rush to insist "No sexism! Not there! Not here! Not anywhere!"
It has everything to do with sexism. And the next time Katrina vanden Heuvel feels she has time to leave her regular beat of reality television, someone suggest to her she spend that time addressing The Nation's sorry record of publishing women under her leadership.

Here's a taste of Ava:

As a woman who would never marry one of my professors, I am quite comfortable stating, "Bring it on, little girl" to a woman physically older than I am even if she elects to pretend she's 15. 15 Going On 50 -- someone call Jennifer Garner and tell her the sequel's ready.

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

Thursday, June 14, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, mosques are attacked throughout Iraq, Adam Kokesh continues fighting, the Pentagon releases a report and more.

Starting with Iraq Veterans Against the War Adam Kokesh who has been the subject of witch hunt by the US military that 'ended' (it's not over yet) yesterday with Kokesh receiving a general discharge from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Normally, service members are not discharged from the IRR. They are discharged from service (as Kokesh was, honorably, in November). Now the military prepares to set their sights on Liam Madden and Cloy Richards. (You can sign the petition to support of Madden.) Veterans for Common Sense (in a letter posted at Kokesh's website) demonstrate they are far wiser than the press by noting: "Neither marine wore a full uniform. They wore camouflage fatigues without themarine insignia, a right they have earned in blood. There is no law, or regulationagainst wearing camo. A camo shirt, pants, and hat is not a uniform. You cansee people wearing camo everyday all around America. The corps claims that is against regulations to wear a uniform, or apparently a part of a uniform, at political events. If that is correct, the regulation is selectively enforced by the Department of Defense. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other politicians often have soldiers in full dress uniformstanding behind them for the cameras at political events. In short, the Marine Corps is attempting to stifle legitimate pro-American speech, which should not be tolerated. Are we fighting in Iraq to lose our freedoms at home?" That's still too much for the press to grasp.
And Heather Hollingsworth (AP) appears to be competing for prize pig in this county fair judging by a hideous article where she states Kokesh has been "kicked out of the Marines" (he was discharged in November) and pretending to not grasp that Kokesh was participating in street theater, among other things.

The movement of resistance within the US military grows and includes Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.


Turning to the Pentagon's report [PDF format, click here]. Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) informs that the report "acknowledges that violence in Iraq has not diminished, despite the arrival of thousands of additional U.S. and Iraqi troops in Baghdad," that McClatchy Newspaper figures show a "70 percent increase in sectarian murders in Baghdad from April to May," and that the Pentagon report places the average daily death figure in Iraq (from February through May) at 100 a day. Also filing on the report was Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) who observed that the Congressionally mandate report "tempers the early optimism about the new strategy voiced by senior U.S. officials. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, for instance, in March described progress in Iraq as 'so far, so good.' Instead, it depicts limited gains and setbacks and states that it is too soon to judge whether the new approach is working." The Pentagon report has many sections and one of interest considering one of the 2007 developments may be this: "There are currently more than 900 personnel in the Iraqi Air Force. . . . The fielding of rotary-wing aircraft continued with the delivery to Taji of five modified UH II (Iroquois) helicopters, bringing the total delivered to ten. The final six are scheduled to arrive in June. Aircrews are currently conducting initial qualifications and tactics training. The Iroquois fleet is expected to reach initial operation capability by the end of June 2007." By the end of June 2007? One of the developments of 2007 was the (admission of) helicopter crashes. US helicopters. British helicopters. Some may find comfort in the fact that evacuations and mobility will be handled by Iraqis . . . whenever they are fully staffed and trained. Four years plus to deliver the equipment, training should be done in ten or twenty years, right?


Remarking on yesterday's bombings, Lara Logan (CBS News) wrote: "No one knows for sure how it will play out this time. But there is one thing I do know for sure: tonight, somewhere in Baghdad, on one of those blackened streets, someone will pay for this act. Someone innocent, someone unarmed, someone who does not deserve to die this way. They will go into a house, wearing masks and carrying weapons, maybe even wearing police or army uniforms. They will take an innocent man from his bed, or from his family, and they will execute him. If he's lucky, they will be quick. But if not, they may torture him. Maybe they won't have time. Or maybe they will have too many others to kill. But if they do have time, most likely they will use an electric drill." Meanwhile, John F. Burns (New York Times) announced in this morning's paper that "appeals for calm by Shiite political and religious leaders, as well as by moderate Sunni politicians and the top two American officials in Iraq, appeared to have headed off the risk of a new sectarian convulsion, at least for now." At least for now transferred to "as I write." As Debroah Haynes (Times of London) notes, "A wave of revenge attacks on Sunni mosques hit Baghdad last night in retaliation for a devastating attack on a revered Shia shrine in Samarra". AFP counts three mosques, all Sunni, bombed today -- two in Iskandiriyah, one Mahawil and it was the second day in a row of attacks on the Iskandiriyah mosque. CBS and AP note that a total of six mosques have either been "attacked or burned Thursday" and that an attack on a Basra mosque resulted in 4 deaths (6 wounded). And CNN notes, "Hilla police said five mosques have been bombed in Babil province, three on Thursday and two on Wednesday."

Meanwhile, Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports on the demonstrations going on in the Sadr section of Baghdad where "thousands of protesters marched peacefully, many carrying Iraqi flags and photographs of [Moqtada al] Sadr." Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) notes that "[d]emonstrations also took place in Kut, Diwaniyah, Najaf and Basra -- all predominately Shiite cities in the south." CNN describes the Baghdad demonstration as "angry but peaceful" and notes: "The protesters carried banners, Iraqi flags and pictures of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his father. Al-Sadr has called for three days of mourning to mark the destruction of the two minarets at the Askariya shrine. 'We demand of our Sunni brothers help us rebuild Askariya Shrine,' one of the banners said. Shouting 'No, no for the devil' and 'Yes, yes for unity,' the crowd marched to al-Sadr's office." CNN puts the total number of mosque attacks, since the one in Samarra was attacked yesterday, at nine and notes the Askariya mosque, as the Samarra one before, lost both minarets (columns/towers).

In other reported violence today . . .

Bombings?

McClatchy Newspapers reports that a police station in Baghdad was "fully destroyed" today by bombings. Reuters reports a Mussayab bombing that left 4 Iraqi soldiers dead, while a Riyadh bombing left three Iraqis soldiers wounded as well as three police officers Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports a Kirkuk bombing outside a government builidng in which the bomber also claimed the the lives of three police officers, 2 security guards and a civilian.


Shootings?

McClatchy Newspapers reports that three people were injured in shootings in Baghdad today. Reuters reports that two police officers were shot dead in Diwaniya, and, outside of Balad, two farmers were shot dead (3 more wounded).

Corpses?

Reuters reports that 25 corpses were discovered in Baghdad yesterday, 4 were discovered in Mosul today with another one (also discovered today) found in Latifiya.

And McClatchy Newspapers reports that "the head of Diyala university" is missing and this follows a phone call where he discussed the deaths of 12 university professors and the fact that 44 other ones had been "transferred to other universities in the south and north seeking" safety.


Turning to US politics. Mary Frances Berry utilized some of that 'wisdom' she's not famous for to explain on NPR that, basically, for non-White, non-males, it's all a choice between senators Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama when it came to the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. Confronted with polling that had Clinton ahead of Obama by 10%, Mary Francis Berry reached back into her shallow pool of wisdom to come back explaining that "people like me who are intellectual" respond more to Obama. Intellectual? The campaign who appears to rip off Chicken Soup for the Soul is now the home of the intellectuals? Or maybe Mary Francis Berry was just attempting to get a dig in at Maya Angelou who has recorded a video endorsement of Hillary Clinton? Regardless, hopefully the laughter greeting Mary Francis Berry's remarks, across America, allowed many to miss some troubling statements by Mary Francis Berry about Latinos and Asians -- don't worry, Mary Francis Berry just knows "their children are legal even if they're not"! To this day, no one sours a room faster than Mary Francis Berry. And both she and Farai Chideya seemed unaware that it is a requirement that you are a US citizen but wasn't it 'cute' for them to smear Latinos and Asians and wasn't it 'cute' for NPR to turn over public airwaves to those falsehoods?

In the real world, Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report) explains the basics on Obama as he and Bruce Dixon discovered while at The Black Commentator: " There followed a month-long series of interchanges - June 5, June 12, June 19, June 26, 2003 - in which Obama danced like Mr. Bojangles to get around the issues at hand. Was he a DLC Democrat, by affiliation or political affinity? Finally, tiring of the charade and the reflexive spin from Obama's mouth, Dixon and I compiled three questions to the wannabe senator, the answers to which would determine if he should be in the DLC and, therefore, unworthy of our support. Obama, a genius at double-speak, fudged all three, on the Iraq war, universal health care, and NAFTA/so-called free trade." At his campaign site, Obama continues to hide behind the James Baker Circle Jerk (whose authors are fudging in recent days). Meanwhile, Bill Richards has presented a plan for ending the illegal war and made the war a strong point in his campaign likening a vote for Richardson as a vote to "Get America Out Of Iraq" (click here to see the campaign bumper sticker). US House Rep Dennis Kucinich wasn't mentioned by NPR (nor were Mike Gravel, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden) maybe Farai Chideya hosts a program entitled News & Notes as opposed to News? Kucinich's campaign commerical can be seen at YouTube and is entitled "No more blood for oil."

In the US Congress, Anne Flaherty (AP via Democracy Rising) reports, US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for another vote on the Iraq war that would take place before Congress takes its next recess for the July 4th holiday and this is being discussed because "[l]ast month, Democrats helped push through legislation funding the war for four more months, triggering a backlash from liberal voters who helped Democrats take control of Congress in the November elections." Meanwhile, in Iraqi politics, Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's foriegn minister, did his own song and dance. Al Jazeera reports that the illegal war has been exteded by Zebari who went to the United Nations Secuirty Council to ask that the "mandate for US-led forces in Iraq" be extended. The UN Security Council quickly agreed and apparently never took a moment to think about how angry the Iraqi parliament was when the mandate was previously extended without their input or request. This also ignores the recent (nonbinding) action by the Iraqi parliment expressing their desire that the US forces leave. The mandate is actually up for renewal in December, this was a review. Along with Zerbair, US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad also spoke at length to the Security Council and what was the first 'economic' thing he emphasized? Did you guess "passage of legislation on the hydrocarbons sector with regulations governing oil revenue sharing"? More likely, you didn't pretty it up and just guess, "Theft of Iraqi oil."



In media news, as independent media continues to be under attack, News Dissector Danny Schechter's "Special Blog: Can Our Media Channel Survive?" announces the potential fate of
Mediachannel.org which may shut down: "If we can get 1500 of our readers (that means you) to give $25, we can keep going for another quarter. [PLEASE CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION ONLINE]"

Finally, independent journalist John Pilger is on a speaking tour with his new book Freedom Next Time and his documentary Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror (which looks at DC, Afghanistan and Iraq). His next stop is Chicago for the 2007 Socialism conference. At 11:30 am Saturday June 16th, he and Anthony Arnove will participate in a conversation, audience dialogue and book signing (Arnove is the author most recently of IRAQ: The Logic of Withdrawal) and that evening (still June 16th) at 7:30 Pilger will be at Chicago Crowne Plaza O'Hare (5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018) as part of a panel of international activists. To attend the conference, the fee is $85. For Saturday and Sunday only, the price is $70. To attend only one session, the cost is ten dollars. "Presented by The Center for Economic Research and Social Change, The Nation Institute, with support from the Wallace Global Fund. Co-sponsors: Obrera Socialista, Socialist Worker, International Socialist Review, and Haymarket Books. For ticket information, call 773-583-8665 or e-mail info@socialismconference.org For media inquiries, contact (212) 209-5407 or ruth@nationbooks.org. For more information, email info@socialismconference.org." The Socialism 2007 conference will take place in Chicago from June 14-17. Along with Pilger and Arnove, others participating will include Laura Flanders, Kelly Dougherty, Joshua Frank, Amy Goodman, Sharon Smith, Dave Zirin, Camilo Mejia, Jeremy Scahill, Jeffrey St. Clair and many others.














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