Bambi implosion

Hump day, hump day. So all the Bambi lovers are crying in private today and trying to lie in public. Trying to pretend like their candidate did "good" yesterday when he did lousy. Poor Bambi.

Be sure to check out Kat's "Hillary" because it's pretty wonderful. And Bambi? This is from Daniel Nasaw's "Obama-Rezko link may be scrutinised by Republicans:"

The details of Obama's house purchase certainly point to a close relationship between the pair. Obama bought the 94-year-old house in June 2005, shortly after his election to the Senate. The same day, the wife of real-estate developer and fast-food restaurateur Tony Rezko bought the adjacent lot from the same owner who was splitting a large lot in two.
Obama, the new senator for Illinois, and his wife Michelle, were flush after signing a $1.69m publishing deal on his book, "The Audacity of Hope". The couple paid $1.65m for the house - $300,000 less than the asking price, according to the Chicago Tribune. Rezko's wife Rita purchased the adjacent lot, formerly the yard of the house, for $625,000, the full price.
In a lengthy interview with the Chicago Sun-Times in 2006, Obama said the seller, a University of Chicago doctor, required that sales of the two properties close at the same time. He said the house had been on the market for months, the listed price was too high, and the sellers were anxious to move. He said he approached Rezko about the two properties.
After the purchases were completed, Rezko agreed to sell a 10-ft sliver of his land abutting Obama's, so the senator could build a fence separating their properties. The Chicago Tribune reported an appraiser valued the slice at $40,500, but Obama paid $104,500. The amount represented one sixth of Rezko's original purchase price, for one-sixth the land.

Here's what the story doesn't tell you. Before Bambi and Big Tony Rezko purchased, it was one property and it was a historical property. It was being listed as one property. When Bambi couldn't afford it as one, the owner went to file papers with the historical commission to break up the property. Guess who sat on the historical commission? Michelle Obama. She voted to throw history to the wind and break up the property. So there was the house and the land it sat on and the 60 ft. next to it (do the math, 10ft sliver is 1/6 so we're talking 60 feet) was split into two. And after Michelle Obama pushed that through, she high tailed it off the historical commission. Hey Bambi, thought you were Mr. Ethics? Explain your wife sitting on the commission and making a decision that benefitted you both? But it didn't benefit history did it? No. No, it did not.

Now I'm swiping from SusanUnPC's "Name one accomplishment by Obama" which has some good points and also includes an excerpt from MyDD:

Then there was this brilliant analysis in “Obama Wasn't Right About Iraq -- AGAIN” by ThinkingDem at MyDD.com: "I am NOT saying that Obama did not oppose the war. He did. I grant him that. What I am saying is that on the 3 fundamental bases as stated in his speech on October of 2002, his judgment was NOT RIGHT." Briefly:
(1) "He does not dispute the intelligence that everybody else believed. He does not dispute the causus belli for war. Barack Obama was just as wrong as everybody else." (See ThinkingDem's reasoning.)
(2) "Barack Obama was NOT RIGHT about the threat posed by Iraq." (See ThinkingDem's reasoning.)
(3) About Obama's contentions about why we shouldn't go to war:
[Quoting Obama] "I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences."
[ThinkingDem then says] First of all -- it still bugs me to no end that Democrats don’t recognize that by framing victory in the language of defeat BEFORE THE WAR BEGAN, Obama was setting himself up to run for Commander in Chief on the pre-ordained failure of the very troops he wants to command. How you people out there don’t see the truly disgusting, shameful, cynical long term political calculation in that phrase makes me fear for the future of the Party.
But let’s put that aside for a moment. Obama agrees that Iraq is a threat. He was wrong about our ability to contain that threat. But even if you put THAT aside, Obama is saying that America should not neutralize threats to our national security if it’s going to take a while, cost a lot and involve a lot of risk. A President Obama would have responded to Pearl Harbor by saying "Screw it, let the Japanese have their fun". After all, four years of combat? Billions spent? Lots of Dead Americans? Hell, Obama would have responded to 9/11 by doing...nothing. Afghanistan was no threat to us, and of course, 6 years later, we're still there, for an undetermined future, at an undetermined cost, at an undetermined risk...

Susan's sick. Her appenditics and she's going to have have surgery. She's probably already had the surgery today but put in her thoughts (and prayers if you pray -- I do). She's someone who just does not fall for the Bambi hype.

Av and C.I. may be taking it on this week. I was on the phone with both of them and they were giving me a preview of some of the possible topics for their TV commentary this week. It was hilarious.

So we all know Bambi wasn't all that. And now, reading the thing above, grasp that he wasn't "right" about the illegal war. Now this is from Andrew Stephen's "Now it gets really dirty:"

Then he preached at Martin Luther King's church in Atlanta about how "my daddy left me when I was two years old...and I was raised by a single-parent mother ... and I needed hope" -- true if you discount his Indonesian step-father and then his well-off white grandparents in Hawaii, who effectively became his parents when he was 10.
Last month I described Obama's cleverly choreographed media events in Kenya, when an old lady widely described as his grandmother was produced. A few days ago, it was time for more photo-opportunities in El Dorado, in the heart of the frozen plains of Kansas, where his white maternal grandfather was born.
"Thank you for welcoming me back to the place my family called home," he roared, failing to mention that he had never once been to that place before. Tavis Smiley, the legendary black broadcaster, says that blacks are sceptical of Obama because he does "not have a long-standing relationship with the black community."

It's over for Bambi. He couldn't carry Big Mass or California. Both were supposed to be his states. He had our governor and both of our senators praising him in Big Mass, trying to strong arm votes for him. And we still said no. I read this funny rant online about Irish-Catholics who were working class in Big Mass. It wasn't supposed to be funny, the guy was serious, but it was funny how little he knows about us. Like I said last night, we weren't bowled over by Bambi and his 'endorsements' meant nothing. As a general rule, we like the Kennedys when they work for us, not when they try to tell us what to do. And Caroline Kennedy really isn't a part of Big Mass. Tony's mom was saying, "Oh, like we give a damn what she says?" (She grew up in NY and elsewhere.) But there were the Kennedys (not Robert, Kerry and Kathleen) trying to tell us what to do, trying to tell us that we owed it to them. We don't owe Caroline a damn thing. She's not done a damn thing for my state. Go talk to the Onassises and maybe she owes them something but we don't owe her. And we don't owe Teddy a damn thing. We've been kind enough to keep him in office. We had been kind enough to keep John Kerry in office but now he's got to scramble. He sold off or gave out our contact info to the DNC and then to the Bambi campaign. We didn't appreciate that. Kerry may not be in office after this year. So his making a fool out of himself screaming, "FLORIDA DOESN'T MATTER!" last week was just one of the many bonkers things he's done lately.

Either Kerry or Kennedy -- or both -- could start a filibuster and end the illegal war right now. They haven't. And yet they think they can tell us who to vote for? Get f**king real. Both of them are mainly still in office because they were already in office when a large number of us came to voting age. And Caroline, what an idiot. Thinking she can conjure up Camelot. As if the time since hasn't exposed what a time that really was? Shots from Dr. Feel Good and sleeping with a mob mistress, Marilyn Monroe and assorted others. Yeah, Caroline, Camelot. Push that again. Be sure to read Elaine's "Letter to an Old Sell Out." And if I didn't already say it this week, go read Ma's "Linguine in White Clam & Shrimp Sauce in the Kitchen" which is just really great and all week long I've been hearing, "Tell you mother I loved that!" :D She's really popular this week on my campus and at work.

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

Wednesday, February 6, 2008. Chaos and violence continues, Bobby Gates begs the Senate for money, war resisters get attention (outside the US, always outside the US media), and more.

Starting with war resistance. Lauren Miele (The Eyeopener) reports on Kathryn Palmanteer's photo exhibit of US war resisters which is being exhibited at Ryerson University in Toronto which attempts to "relay the message that these Resisters should be welcomed in Canada" and Palmanteer explains, "I used these documentary portraits to give voice to the voiceless, allowing them to have the opportunity to tell their stories." "From Whisper to Roar" is displayed through Thursday at the Podium Building's Credit Union Lounge and "Each photograph is a portrait of a US soldier who has come to Canada seeking refugee status. Underneath each photograph is a quote that underlines why the subject is a resister of war. Along with the various marines and navy military that are featured, there are also wives of US War Resisters who are resisters themselves." Jennifer Prichett (The Whig Standard) also examines war resistance and starts by explaining how US navy chief petty officer Chuck Wiley came to Canada with his wife due to the illegal war: "Wearing jeans and a black T-shirt emblazoned with 'Say Yes to Soldiers Who Say No,' Wiley told the crowd that he would like to see Canada become 'a refugee for those who don't participate in an unjust war." The Wileys are class of 2007 -- translation, US media ignored them completely -- and entered Canada in February of last year after both had served many years in the military.

You can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers.

Dennis Rahkonen (Dissident Voice) writes of the upcoming IVAW action and notes, "Recently, not far from here, a young Iraq War veteran fatally shot himself. He'd returned from combat a fundamentally changed, deeply troubled person. Before taking his own life, he revealed how he'd been ordered to gun down an unarmed Iraqi man who was approaching a checkpoint, oblivious to shouted warnings to stop. The doomed individual turned out to be not just an innocent civilian -- probably unfamiliar with the foreign language of alien occupiers -- but a physician. Family and friends of the traumatized soldier urged that he seek professional help for his worsening stress disorder, but he refused, contending it would show 'weakness' that the military had inculcated in him was not manly to do. IVAW's upcoming testimony will show not only that the murder of unarmed noncombatants in Iraq and Afghanistan is pervasively prevalent, but that returning veterans are commonly so psychologically damaged by what they've experienced that suicide or dysfunction leading to disproportionate homelessness, for instance, is almost an expected consequence."

On the subject of innocent civilians, Solomon Moore and Khalid al-Ansary (New York Times) report that Ali Hamed Shihab (father), Naeema Sli (mother), Dhiaa Ali (son) were killed and he two daughters wounded (one of whom died in the hsopital) in Door after, according to an eye witness, "American soldiers kick open the door and fire their weapons without provocation." Garrett Therolf and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) quote Muhannad Ismail Shihab (nephew of the parents killed) stating, "I was shocked when I saw their bodies, and I started to shiver. All of them were near their beds. The Americans are liars when they said my family was killed because the soldiers came under fire." The reporters note that the United Nation's estimate for civilians killed in air strikes from Mrach 2007 to June 2007 was 88. Last week, Saleh Mamon (Great Britain's Socialist Worker) reported on the air strikes increasing by 500% noting official US military reports that "in 2006 there were 229 US bombing missions. But last year this rose to 1,447 -- more than a 500 percent increase. . . . In 2006 over 111,000 pounds of bombs were dropped on targets in Iraq. Extrapolating for 2007, it can be estimated that 500,000 pounds have been dropped."

Today US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates testified to the US Senate Armed Services Committee to justify/argue for Bully Boy's huge budget wish list for the Pentagon. His prepared remarks included, "We have a moral obligation to see that the superb life-saving care that the wounded receive initially is matched by quality out-patient treatment. To provide world-class health care to all who are wounded, ill, or injured serving the nation, the Department is taking action on the recommendations made by the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors." He also noted that Africa is the next big target and the desire to increase the size of the military. Also speaking to the committee was Michael G. Mullen who is the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In his prepared remarks he was loose with the truth but telling, "The surge of U.S. forces to Iraq, a well executed counter-insurgency strategy and an Iraqi population increasingly weary of violence, and willing to do something about it, have all combined to improve security conditions throughout much of the country." "A well executed counter-insurgency strategy and an Iraqi population increasingly weary of violence" -- almost makes it sound as if Iraqis have been targeted to shock them for disaster capitalism. [See Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism.] Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) reported a similarly interesting quote today, when Iraqi Maj. Gen. Qassim Moussawi praised the cutting up of Baghdad and erecting Bremer walls and declared, "These walls will remain until we have imposed security in all of Baghdad." Imposed. Interesting terminology. Kristin Roberts (Reuters) notes that Gates stated to the committee that the treaty (the US White House is attempting to work out a treaty with the puppet government in Baghdad and circumvent the Congress) between the US and Iraq would not require permanent bases (doesn't the Embassy qualify?) and it wouldn't require that the US "defend Iraq". Gates was there to beg for money and the administration's record on honesty begs disbelief. Elana Schor (Guardian of London) noted Monday of the White House's request for more money, "The $3.1 trillion budget would increase US military spending for the 11th straight year while slicing about $200bn from the social security and Medicare programs that aid older Americans. The budget deficit under Bush's proposal would balloon to $410bn this year -- more than twice as much as 2007".

In some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports three people wounded by a Baghdad roadside bombing, a Diyala Province roadside bombing wounded "three women and one man," an Al Muqdiyah mortar attack wounded four people, a Baquba roadside bombing wounded six and a Diwaniya roadside bombing claimed the lives of 2 children and 2 adults with nine more people wounded. Reuters notes a Baghdad bombing that killed 2 police officers, a Mosul mortar attack that wounded two people, a Mosul roadside bombing that wounded three people and another Mosul roadside bombing that wounded three.

Shootings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the Association of Muslims Scholars of Iraq's Essam Felaih was shot dead in Samara. Reuters notes 2 police officers shot dead in a Mosul drive-by that left three more injured and 2 Iraqi soldiers shot dead in Samarra.

Corpses?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad, 7 headless corpses were discovered in Tawakal and 3 headless corpses were discovered in Tal Al Aswad. Reuters notes 5 headless corpses discovered in Muqdadiya, the corpse of 16-year-old female and a male of unknown age discovered in Najaf, and a corpse discovered in Hilla.

Moving to US politics. The Illinois Green Party sent out the alert on voting problems yesterday noting, "In the early hours of voting, Green Party officials began receiving reports from frustrated voters across the statewho, in many cases, had been told by pollworkers that there are no Green Party ballots available at their polling places, or that they had to vote on suspect electronic voting machines, even while other parties use paper ballots.Some of the most outrageous incidents, however, occurred across the wards of Chicago, where Green Party ballots have been apparently tampered with so they can't be read and accepted by voting machines, voters are given Democratic ballots despite requesting Green ballots . . . Check ilgp.orgfor more reports as they are received." Kimberly Wilder, as always, tracks more than one person should be able to at On the Wilder Side. That includes that Massachusetts Green primary results are not expected to be in until the end of this month. Other states are noted here. The Green Party announces that, "Results from the four states where Green Parties participated in the February 5 Super Tuesday primaries show a landslide for Ralph Nader in California (61%) and a lead among candidates for Cynthia McKinney in Arkansas and Illinois. Cynthia McKinney is declared on her run, Ralph Nader is exploring whether to run or not.

Mike Gravel remains in the race for the Democratic Party nomination; however, that's not what today's e-mails are talking about. So let's address it (and seriously consider -- community wide -- ignoring Democracy Now! tomorrow so we can focus more on Iraq -- not that reproductive rights and LGBT issues aren't important, they are or we wouldn't be addressing it).


Amy Goodman appears to be in the running for an acting nod from this year's daytime Emmy's. On screen, she portrays a journalist. In reality? You be the judge. Today she had a roundtable on Democracy Now! with four guests. You know she slants but how badly does she slant?

Four guests. Bill Fletcher Jr. at least made some critiques of Bambi but having a supporter try to fill the role of critic is the same rigged game when Goodman wanted to talk about the split in the Jackson household with Jesse Jackson who supports Obama as opposed to with Jaqueline Jackson who supports Hillary Clinton. Or maybe Amy Goodman just values men's opinions more? That would explain why she published in skin magazine that targets women with violence.

Tim Carpenter was another guest and another Bambi supporter. Tim's with Pathetic Democrats of America and, on that, we need to ask that groups identifying themselves as "Democrats" have a rule that their membership is indeed Democrats. PDA has a 'loose' policy which no doubt explains why the go round and round in circles and never accomplish anything -- that and the fact that they are a group with a tiny membership. So was there a reason a struggling California Democratic PAC was brought on Democracy Now! to begin with? Oh, yeah, PDA endorsed Obama.

Then we got Frances Fox Piven who talked about the need to do things for the "movement." What movement? Goodman never asked. Fox Piven wasn't speaking of the New Left of the sixties, she was speaking of a period prior to that. Again, if Bambi didn't have non-Democrats to speak for him, he might be doing even worse than he is. Franci's supporting Barack. Chalk it up to the 'movement' she never identified and Goodman knew not to ask her about. What is widely known is that Feminists for Peace and Barack Obama! (a faux group fronted by Chunky Katha Pollitt) features Frances Fox Piven at number 107. Yes, Franci of the unnamed 'movement' is a Bambi supporter and, no, audiences were never informed of that.

The fourth guest was Roberto Lovato who is not in love with either candidate. On his own website, Lovato bills today's show as "an out-of-the-corporate-media box discussion about race, empire and the primaries." Should we assume gender is a non-issue to him? Or is it just that he grasped it was to Amy Goodman? Yet again, another broadcast from Democracy Now! that featured a token woman -- we get a few tokens each week, don't we? -- and wasn't interested in exploring gender at all.

So you had three Bambi supporters in the roundtable and Lovato who's not thrilled with either. Fletcher deserves credit for noting who he supports on his own. Way, way, into the show, Goody will note, oh, yeah, PDA, endorsed Bambi! Franci keeps her own mouth shut about who she supports. It's been a career builder for her.

Now this was supposedly a roundtable on the Democratic primaries (and one caucus) on Super Duper Tuesday and issues like 'electability' were addressed. Presumably such a roundtable would require that all "Democrats" are in fact Democrats. Franci Fox Piven did vote for John Kerry in 2004. The majority on the left did to get Bully Boy out of the White House. So let's drop back to when a Democratic won a presidential election. Most recently, that would be 1996.

Franci, why don't you tell DN! audiences how you -- 'Democratic' Franci -- voted? I think many listeners and viewers would be surprised to know that you didn't vote for the Democrat. That would be Bill Clinton. Who did you vote for, Franci?

What's Amy Goodman doing bring on a non-Democrat to discuss a Democratic primary while posing as one? And since 'electabilty' was the subtext -- or was it's Franci's talk of an unspecified 'movement' she knew she was building? -- shouldn't she be required to explain what the hell she knows about electability since her 1996 vote didn't result in a presidential win for her candidate of choice?

When, on the program, Frances Fox Piven labels Lee Atwater one of "the key Democratic operatives" -- strange mistake for a Democrat, isn't it? It's also cute that she wasn't asked about 'welfare reform.' That was the cutting of the safety net for many Americans and went through the Congress and the Bill Clinton White House. Goodman's allowed Marian Wright Edelman -- mere months ago -- to play shocked and appalled by that legislation. I seem to recall, in real time, Franci raging against Wright Edelman and holding her responsible -- noting that MWE did nothing, noting that MWE did a Stand For Children action which Franci liked to snidely joke made it appear that the biggest threat to the poor was a drive-by shooting. Maybe I'm remembering wrong? (I'm not remembering wrong. Franci practically worked that up into a standup bit.)

Here's why "movement" talk matters. Franci's been talking about that undefined 'movement' for decades. And a media hype has allowed her and others to delude themselves into thinking Bambi has one behind him -- he doesn't -- so these people with their publicly undefined goals see him as a chance to grab onto a movement and merge it with their own. There's a need for honesty. There was none on Democracy Now! but there never would have been. Not when three Bambi supporters are invited on and no supporter of Hillary is. It's the way Goodman has slanted the show all along while wanting to lecture Big Media about what 'fairness' is and about the importance of 'diverse' voices. But she staged a roundtable where everyone sang from the same hymnal.

Let's turn to Tim Carpenter who at least defined the 'movement' he wants to be part of: a grassroots one. Carpenter appears seriously deranged and he makes that clear by declaring, "I think it's safe to say this morning that despite the corporate media's best attempt, and the inside-the-Beltway Democratic Party, that the Democratic primary is far from over." He's saying Bambi's 'in the race' and it's *not* because of support from "corporate media" and "inside-the-Beltway Democratic Party" members. Such as Ted Kennedy? Such as John Kerry? He appears deranged. It's some sort of sickness that allows some to refuse to see reality. Craig Crawford (The Huffington Post) explains it, "If I were Barack Obama I would tell my flaks in the news media to shut up in the final days before elections. The chattering crowd's frenzy for this man only raises expectations that he cannot meet. As a result, what was otherwise not too shabby a night for Obam on Super Tuesday came across like a public relations defeat because so much more had been expected. Still, those who predicted a bigger night for Obama are invested in downplaying what actually happened, and will surely gin him up for the next contests. Before Super Tuesday gushing pundtis predicted that the Kennedy family endorsements would, at a minimum, deliver Massachusetts. Didn't happen. Feverish news reports of rising momentum for Obama led to hints that he was winning New Jersey. Didn't happen." Crawford goes on to recount the Big media talk that Bambi would win California. Again, Tim Carpenter has serious problems and is highly estranged from reality.

Meanwhile, at The Huffington Post, it's time to set the record 'straight' on Obama's non-support for abortion and to trash NOW's Illinois chapter. Steve Trombley, still recovering from his own D&C, gathers together the back flaps of his hospital gown to explain that NOW is just lying. No, NOW is telling the truth. "Present" was not a NOW strategy. The lie that it ever was was started by a woman who presented herself as "president of the Chicago NOW chapter" but wasn't president at the time and wasn't even in NOW at the time. Steve, let me loan you a Midol. What's that? You're not a woman? Then what business is it of yours what NOW does? As Jill Zuckman (Chicago Tribune) noted, "Steve Trombley, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood/Chicago Action, said there's a reason his organization has endorsed Obama throughout his political career." Throughout his career.

Here is the statement by Illinois NOW's state president Bonnie Grabenhofer:

Much has been printed in both the mainstream and alternative media and many have watched videos of Lorna Brett's comments on important votes that occurred while Barack Obama was serving in the Illinois State Senate (see article below). Ms. Bret continues to present herself as the President of Chicago NOW when IL State Senator Barack Obama was making decision on votes that were critical for women and girls in Illinois. As the current Illinois NOW State President, it is essential that I clarify for the record that Ms. Brett's assertions are not correct. Lorna Brett was president of Chicago NOW from 1996-1998. She was not, as she represents, the president of Chicago NOW at the time IL NOW activists were meeting and talking with legislators about the abortion bills in the early 2000s. Five of those votes occured in the 92nd General Assembly session in 2001. Our records indicate that Ms. Brett has not been a member of NOW since 1999. Ms. Brett was not involved with either Chicago NOW or IL NOW when we were fighting to stop these bills. Ms. Brett is misleading people and using her very old affiliation with NOW to help distance Senator Obama from his vote of present on key bills and as a platform for her personal criticism of Senator Hillary Clinton. To be clear, voting "present" on those bills was a strategy that IL NOW did not support. At that time, we made it clear to the legislators that we disagreed with the strategy. We wanted legislators to take a stand against the harmful anti-choice bills being brought to the floor of the Illinois State Senate. Voting "present" does not demonstrate leadership and does not send the clarion signal that one is unwavering in their support of a woman's right to choose.

In real media, when you're caught telling a LIE -- as Lorna was -- you're out of the game. A man representing Planned Parenthood -- he serves on the board of their action fund and federation, calls NOW a liar. Planned Parenthood's allowing a man to smear NOW. It all leaves Lynn Harris (Salon) lost and she feels the need to include little Steve-o's claim that "only after years have passed" does NOW raise an objection. As Illinois NOW notes, "During Senator Obama's 2004 senate campaign, the Illinois NOW PAC did not recommend the endorsement of Obama for the U.S. Senate because he refused to stand up for a woman's right to choose and repeatedly voted 'present' on important legislation."

From abortion rights -- which Bambi didn't stand for -- to the LGBT communtiy. Rev. Irene Monroe (The Black Commentator) wonders, "Is it mere happenstance that once again, and seemingly unbeknownst to the Obama campaign, another anti-gay African American minister has endorsed the presidential hopeful? But with an Obama endorsement coming from the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, longtime spiritual adviser to President George W. Bush and senior pastor of one of Houston's black mega-churches, Windsor Village United Methodist Church, this isn't deja vu all over again. Why is Obama, a supposed healer and consensus builder, continuing to do this? One answer: Perhaps Obama was unaware of Rev. Caldwell's background and views regarding LGBT! folks? The real answer: how many sides are there to a politiican's mouth. Obama's cavoritng in a highly competitive field for black evengelical votes and is as calculated as when he had gospel mega-star, Pastor Donnie McClukin, poster boy for African-American ex-gay ministries, as part of his 'Embrace the Change!' Gospel Series in October 2007." You again didn't hear about that from Democracy Now!. Amy Goodman has never explored the issue of homophobia from the Bambi campaign. NEVER. Democracy for who, Amy, democracy for who?

Goodman wasn't able to mention what Andrew Stephen (The New Statesman) notes: "Exit polls, too confirmed that Obama is the candidate of the yuppies: practicially every voter earning less than $50,000 voted for Clinton rather than Obama, and those in the $150-200,000 range plumped for Obama." See, Frances Fox Piven likes to talk about the poor and working poor, she just doesn't like listening to them.

the common ills
like maria said paz
trinas kitchen
mikey likes it
iraq
jennifer pritchettchuck wiley
lauren mielejon telvin
iraq veterans against the warsolomon moorethe new york times
charley keyeselise labott
saleh mamonthe socialist worker
naomi klein

Hillary predicted win for Big Mass!

Tuesday or Super Duper Tuesday as it's being called. Will we live through it!!!! Yes, we will. As C.I. said this morning, if Bambi wins, we'll laugh our asses off in the coming days, weeks and months. We've got two different articles planned for Sunday depending upon the results (at Third).

C.I. passed this on to Elaine (Like Maria Said Paz) and me and said, "You don't have to note it but if you do it will save me from having to post something tonight." No problem.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, FEBRUARY 5, 2008
CONTACT:
Patrick Kelly ILGP Media Coordinator 773-203-9631 media@ilgp.org
Phil Huckelberry Chair, ILGP Government & Elections Committee 309-268-9974 phil.huckelberry@ilgp.org

GREEN PARTY FIELDS NUMEROUS REPORTS OF VOTING IRREGULARITIES IN CHICAGO, ELSEWHERE
Voters who hoped to participate in the Illinois' first ever statewide Green Party primary are receiving a very rude reception at many polling places, especially in Chicago.
In the early hours of voting, Green Party officials began receiving reports from frustrated voters across the statewho, in many cases, had been told by pollworkers that there are no Green Party ballots available at their polling places, or that they had to vote on suspect electronic voting machines, even while other parties use paper ballots.
Some of the most outrageous incidents, however, occurred across the wards of Chicago, where Green Party ballots have been apparently tampered with so they can't be read and accepted by voting machines, voters are given Democratic ballots despite requesting Green ballots.
What follows are a few examples of reports. Check ilgp.orgfor more reports as they are received. More information will also be available at the Green Party gathering tonight atDecima Musa Restaurant, 1901 S. Loomis, Chicago (in Pilsen).

1st WARD, 26th PRECINCT
A voter reports that all of the Green Party ballots had been folded in half, causing them to not feed through the machine properly. The Republican and Democratic ballots were not folded. Because his first ballot kept getting rejected bythe machine, the voter was asked by pollworkers to fill outanother Green Party ballot, which also had been previouslyfolded. That ballot was not able to be read and was rejectedas well.
25th WARD, 8th PRECINCT
Pollworkers didn't have any green ballots available and were asking voters if they wanted a Democratic or Republican ballot (but not Green ballots).
25th WARD, 24th PRECINCT
A voter asked for a Green Party ballot three times, and wasgiven a Democratic paper ballot each time. Finally, on the fourth time, the voter was told only touch screen available for Greens.
31st WARD
Mary Ann Esler, Green Party Committeewoman in the 31st Ward, went in to vote in the Green Primary this morning. The election judges refused to give her a Green Party ballot. The Democratic Precinct Captain, who was supervising the judges told them that there were no ballots for the Green Primary because the Green candidates were running unopposed.
The confrontation ended when Mary found the ballots hidden under some papers on the judge's table. The judges then went into a big huddle with the Democratic Precinct Captain while Mary marked her ballot.
35th WARD
Jeremy Karpen, live blogging from the 35th Ward polling place, gives the following reports:
9:00am: After reporting an election judge for not orally offering Green Party ballots (when he is offering Dem and Rep) he was visited by the Board of Elections and then he called me [an expletive]. I asked him first to either list all three ballots or simply ask people what ballot they prefer, he said "I can if I want to."
9:09am: Craig (my committeeman and roommate) was just handed a "green" democratic ballot and got all the way to the little voting booth before he realized what had happened.Dear lord.
9:45am: The Election Judge, who now seems to have an attitude, when asked if Green is a real party, said "unfortunately" and stated that it "isn't a real party." The person he was talking to was an electioneer for Bradley's campaign and not a voter but there certainly were other voters in the room.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=188400239&blogID=354973039
47th WARD
A voter was told there were no Green Party ballots. During a call to report the incident, the pollworkers told him that he could vote using an electronic voting machine, but they did not have any paper ballots available (although paper ballotswere available for the Republican and Democratic parties).
50th WARD, 5th PRECINCT
Green committeeman reports that the election judge is only offering Republican and Democratic ballots.
COOK COUNTY, NORTHBROOK
An election judge reports that judges were instructed to keep a tally of Green voters on a tally sheet that numbersup to 50. There is no such tally for the Democrats and Republicans.
COOK COUNTY, NORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP, 44th PRECINCT
A voter writes: "At approximately 11:30 am, at the polling place at 74 Park Drive, Glenview, Green Party ballots were still in shrink wrap, in the box, in the cabinet. Officials at the desk were indignant about my disappointment, andchallenged me to "have credentials" in order to register my complaint.
DUPAGE COUNTY, MILTON TOWNSHIP, 28th PRECINCT
A pollwatcher reports that and election judge asks voter "which parties' primary ballot do you want?" The voter seemed confused by the question and the judge clarified by stating "Republican or Democrat". The pollwatcher immediately interjected and corrected the judge and asked her to please state all three parties in the primary from now on.
DUPAGE COUNTY, MILTON TOWNSHIP, 44th PRECINCT
A voter writes: "A judge repeatedly tried to give me a Democratic ballot, which I refused. The Green ballots were still wrapped up and semi-out of sight. As I approached the tables, I could hear only "Republican or Democrat?" over and over.
JACKSON COUNTY, MURPHYSBORO, 12th PRECINCT
A voter writes: "As I was leaving, the head lady was making a call about getting more Green ballots because they had onlybeen sent three and at 7:30a they had already used 2 of them and she was worried about a run on Green voters."
MORE REPORTS AVAILABLE ON ILGP.ORG AS THEY COME IN.

This is nerve wracking! :D I'm on the laptop and there was just a huge yelling match going on. Not bad yelling, cheering's the word. ABC just called my state, Big Mass, for Hillary! :D

I told you, doubters, that Obama was not popular here. I also told you that John Kerry is facing a tough re-election. We were lukewarm and then he came out and endorsed Bambi and then just made it worse every day (last week yelling that Florida didn't matter -- he sounded unhinged and nuts). And Ted? All he did was remind everyone of William Kennedy Smith and assorted other scandals. The governor? Governor Who? is what Tony's dad calls him. We're not too impressed with the so-so job he's doing.

Dad voted for Hillary. I'm not sure who Ma (Trina's Kitchen) voted for, she's not saying. My guess is Hillary. My brothers and sisters voted for Hillary. We're a HUGE family. I mean, I'm one of eight kids. And we've got huge families we're friends with. So nah-nah-nah Bambi. You thought Oprah would help you, you thought John Kerry would, it goes down to family, you pompous fool. And Big Mass voted as such.

We sent Bambi packing! :D He may win elsewhere but we made sure those Bambi groupies understood this ain't there state. Get lost you little do-nothings. They don't give a damn about the illegal war. You see them posing on campus, trying to act like they know anything. They make the statements in classes that the professors have to correct them on. They are STUPID. They are truly STUPID. The funniest class was yesterday when Bambi supporters were asked -- we were all asked -- why they were supporting their candidate. "He's cute," said one woman. "He makes me feel good," said a guy. That's how it went. All this crap that has nothing to do with leadership or being a president. Students are not for Bambi. That's a media lie. Especially with Edwards out of the race, students were for Hillary. The funniest thing was this one guy who said, "I will be making history by voting for Obama on Wednesday." The whole class erupted in laughter and he didn't know why. (I didn't correct him, I was laughing too hard.) But that's the Bambi lovers for you. They don't even know when to vote. They're really that stupid.

And they aren't that many but damned if liars like Laura Flanders and John Nichols weren't LYING big time. Talking about how 'warm' it is. How 'wonderful' the ignorant are.

I hate Laura Flanders now. I hate Amy Goodman. I hate John Nichols. I hate all the liars.

But I LOVE MY STATE!!!!! Big Mass wasn't taken in by the con-job. We didn't buy the advertising. We went for a real candidate. We didn't buy the lies! We didn't buy it.

John Kerry embarrassed himself. He shamed himself. He's going to have to fight now to stay in office because he pissed a lot of people off with his endorsement of Bambi. It's his own damn fault. He was pathetic and he acted like a NUT. Screaming that Florida didn't matter. If I was the Republican candidate, I would get ahold of that audio from Free Speech Radio News and play it in commercials. Kerry sounds like a wack job, like a full on nut. Everyone who hears it acts shocked then they start laughing.

Kerry didn't stand with Big Mass so whatever happens to him now is his own fault. If he screwed himself, tough s**t. I really don't care about him now. He can kiss my Irish-American ass.

ABC's predicting more states for Hillary but, I'll be honest, I just cared about Big Mass. We rejected the hula hoop! :D We said no to lies and no to 'independent' media.

Kiss our ass, 'independent' media. Suck on it! :D

This is from Robin Morgan's "Goodbye To All That (#2):"

Goodbye to a misrepresented generational divide . . .
Goodbye to the so-called spontaneous "Obama Girl" flaunting her bikini-clad ass online--then confessing Oh yeah it wasn't her idea after all, some guys got her to do it and dictated the clothes, which she said "made me feel like a dork."
Goodbye to some young women eager to win male approval by showing they're not feminists (at least not the kind who actually threaten thestatus quo), who can't identify with a woman candidate because she is unafraid of eeueweeeu yucky power, who fear their boyfriends might look at them funny if they say something good about her. Goodbye to women of any age again feeling unworthy, sulking "what if she's not electable?" or "maybe it's post-feminism and whoooosh we're already free." Let a statement by the magnificent Harriet Tubman stand as reply. When asked how she managed to save hundreds of enslaved African Americans via the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, she replied bitterly, "I could have saved thousands---if only I'd been able to convince them they were slaves."
I'd rather say a joyful Hello to all the glorious young women who do identifywith Hillary, and all the brave, smart men--of all ethnicities and any age--who get that it's in their self-interest, too. She’s better qualified. (D'uh.) She's a high-profile candidate with an enormous grasp of foreign- and domestic-policy nuance, dedication to detail, ability to absorb staggering insult and personal pain while retaining dignity, resolve, even humor, and keep on keeping on. (Also, yes, dammit, let’s hear it for her connections and funding and party-building background, too. Obama was awfully glad about those when she raised dough and campaigned for him to get to the Senate in the first place.)
I'd rather look forward to what a good president he might make in eight years, when his vision and spirit are seasoned by practical know-how--and he'll be all of 54. Meanwhile, goodbye to turning him into a shining knight when actually he's an astute, smooth pol with speechwriters who've worked with the Kennedys' own speechwriter-courtier Ted Sorenson. If it's only about ringing rhetoric, let speechwriters run. But isn’t it about getting the policies we want enacted?

Over at The Nation, Richard Kim -- who I thought was gay -- is thrilled with Bambi. I guess when he's giving or getting a blow job, Kim needs to feel ashamed of himself? That's why he supports homophobia? Yeah, Richard Kim, get kinky.

Shame in his game apparently gets him his jollies. I'm not gay and I'm outraged by Obama's homophobia. People I know who are gay are outraged by it. There was a really heated conversation after class today about Laura Flanders and how she was betraying lesbians. One junior, who is a lesbian, was just tearing her apart -- and Flanders had it coming. I don't think 'independent' media grasps how hated they are right now. :D I love it.

Let me check out the idiot David Swanson who's been telling people to vote Obama and not Hillary.

Oh good Lord! He's promoting a very stupid event. I'll suggest we carry it over to Third. I know a similar event ticked C.I. off in 2006 so I think we'll probably tackle it this weekend.
What an idiot. He also has a "Is Naomi Wolf Afraid of Mentioning Impeachment? Then Why Won't She Mention It?" or some such nonsense. Naomi Wolf has come out publicly for impeachment. What an idiot Swanson is.

Here he is on "Vote Obama:"

But my secondary concern is for the Democratic primaries. It's important that you take part and cast your vote for Barack Obama. Come November, you can vote for McCain or Paul, Nader or McKinney, or your pet llama, or for the Democratic nominee. But it should be a high priority for all of us to ensure that the Democratic nominee is not Hillary Clinton.

Why David, cause she's a woman! Obama's a War Hawk, a fraud and a phony. Look at him telling Nader, Paul, McCain and McKinney voters to vote for Obama. He's disgusting.

Here's Robert Parry playing Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous: "heirs to leaders from that earlier era see something in Obama that gives them hope that he can get the United States back on track with an earlier vision of America." That's really f-ed up. You sort of picture Parry running after them with his autograph book. :D

Okay, I'm out of here. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

February 5, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the Iraqi refugee crisis gets little attention, Super Duper Tuesday takes place, and more.

Starting with war resistance. Bruce Elder (Sydney Morning Herald via The Canberra Times) reviews Joshua Key's book The Deserter's Tale (written with Lawrence Hill) and notes, "Most nights on SBS's NewsHour With Jim Lehrer there's a silent roll call of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are, with few exceptions, teenagers or young men in their twenties. Who are these casualties of war? What is their background?" and concludes, "This is the raw, front-line story of America at war and it makes ugly, deeply disturbing but essential reading. Key's final line -- 'I owe one apology and one apology only, and that is to the people of Iraq' -- neatly sums up the tragedy of the war." Joshua Key recognized what he saw on the ground in Iraq: an illegal war. Today, he and his family lives in Canada and are among the ones hoping to be granted safe harbor status. Stuart Netbydrou Oja Jay (The Dominion) reviews the month of January and notes this, "Three hundred supporters of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, the first two war resisters to cross into Canada after refusing to deploy to Iraq with the US military, gathered in Toronto calling upon the Canadian parliament to pass a motion allowing them to remain in Canada. The rally was attended by Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae, as well as Toronto NDP MP Olivia Chow. Similar rallies and actions were held in 11 cities across the country. Days before, a rally of 50 Iraq veterans gathered at the Canadian Embassy in Washington urging the Canadian government to provide sanctuary to all military service personnel looking to escape deployments with the US military. In November the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the cases of Hinzman and Hughey, on the grounds that they had previously been turned down by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, which considered the illegality of the Iraq war under international law inadmissible."

You can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers.

Yesterday, Refugee International released a statement declaring, "The number of Iraqi refugees resettled in the United States remained low last month with only 375 Iraqis resettled in January 2008. In response to the latest numbers released today, Refugees International expressed disappointment at the U.S. administration's continual failure to meet its resettlement targets. In September of 2007, the State Department announced its goal of resettling 12,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of the fiscal year. Thus far, the U.S. has only resettled 1,432 Iraqi refugees in FY 2008. In 2007, the U.S. government only resetteled 1,608 Iraqi refugees, despite the fact that the UN Refugee Agency referred 15,477 Iraqis to the U.S." The UNHCR places the number of Iraqis who are refugees at 4.2 million with 2 million displaced externally and 2.2 million displace within Iraq. Last month, the UNHCR's William Spindler noted a study on Iraqi refugees in Syria, "The survey . . . showed that every single person interviewed reported experiencing at least one traumatic event (as defined by the Harvard Trauma Survey) in Iraq, prior to their arrival in Syria. One in five of those registered with UNHCR since January 2007 -- more than 19,000 individuals -- are registered as 'victims of torture and/or violence' in Iraq. . . . Seventy-seven percent of the Iraqi refugees who were interviewed reported being affected by air bombardments and shelling or rocket attacks. Eighty percent reported witnessing a shooting. Sixty-eight percent said they experienced interrogation or harassment by militias or other groups, including receiving death threats, while sixteen percent had been tortured. Seventy-two percent were eye witnesses to a car bombing and seventy-five percent know someone who has been killed." The International Red Cross and Red Crescent states, "In 2008, Iraq is the ICRC's biggest humanitarian operation worldwide, with increased emergency assistance for the civilian population affected by the conflict."

And yet the US State Department's not overly concerned about not meeting their announced goals -- announced when not only were Jordan and Syria embarrassing the US by taking in refugees but so were European countries who were seen as part of some-sort war 'coalition' at one point. Yesterday the State Dept held a press briefing in DC with Homeland Security's Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Iraqi Refugee Issues Lori Scialabba, The State Dept's Deputy Assistant for Consular Affairs Tony Edson, and the Senior Coordinator on Iraqi Refugee Issues Ambassador James Folely. Scialabba vouched for Homeland Security by maintaining, "DHS is committed to working closely with State Department and we have worked closely with State Department to meet the goal of 12,000 admissions. Our role in the process, as Jim described, is to interview and adjudicate the cases, perform certain security checks, not all of them but certain ones, and make sure that the cases get finally approved once all the necessary steps have been completed. We've been doing this on a timely basis in coordination with the other program partners and we'll continue to do so." As Scialabba insisted any hold up or slow-down wasn't the fault of Homeland Security, there was also the issue of numbers which, Scialabba claimed, were 7,700 individuals interviewed by the department out of 17,000 referred. The briefing was a pass-the-buck joke. Bloomberg New's Janine Zacharia attempted to pin down the speakers on general numbers and practices and the best that can said is that the US has set the total number of refugees which is 70,000. The total number of Iraqi refugees the US is stating it will admit is 12,000. The 12,000 is not in addition to the 70,000 (all refugees admitted) but coming out of the 70,000. Scialabba gave this as the qualifications required, "You have to have a well-founded fear of persecution based on one of the five grounds: race, nationality, membership in a particular social group, religion, political opinion. Any number of stories can fit that definition. I mean, if you lost your house because of your political opinion and you can't find anyplace else to live, you don't have anywhere else youc an go, you could be a refugge based on that." Rusch added, quickly, that the refugees are mainly "referred by UNHCR" and "They determine when, in their dealings with individual cases, who are most in need of this particular durable solution, resettlement in a third country." CNN's Elise Labott pressed the State Dept on their previous promise to settle 7,000 last year and Foley stated it didn't happen. Labott pointed out that, yes, it did ("Ellen Sauerbrey stood up -- stood in front of all of us and said the U.S. hopes to resettle 7,000 this year.") while Foley then hid behind "I came on board in September". That's the kind of press briefing it was -- reporters asking for accountability and a lot of refusal to answer questions by the designated spokespeople. But Foley says he can be held to 12,000 for this year.

This is not a new problem. In January of 2007, Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) was reporting on a Senate hearing on this issue and the reality is nothing's been accomplished since that hearing and the Senate needs to demand a hearing to determine what's going on in the State Dept. AP notes that the US needs to "accept 10,568 Iraqi refugees in the next eight months if it is to reach 12,00 the number the administration has pledged to resettle in the current budget year, which began in October 2007 and runs until Sept. 30." While Congress is figuring out the State Dept's problem with refugees, they might also try to figure out why the Pentagon needs, according to the White House, $515.4 billion for fiscal year 2009 as Josh White (Washington Post) reported today.


In Iraq today, CNN reports that the Iraqi flag "flew for the first time in Baghdad". It's not the "new" flag so much as it's the latest one, the latest temporary one. As Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) observed last month, "The latest version of the Iraq flag . . . is temporary . . . another band-aid solution. The constitution requires that the parliament pass a new law to pick a flag for Iraq and a national anthem. . . . In technical terms Iraq still has no flag and no anthem. Little has been decided that lasts in Iraq." AFP notes, "In northern Iraq, the autonomous Kurdish minority rarely allows the Iraqi flag to fly over official buildings, perferring its own national banner with its golden sunburst motif. But for many Arabs in the rest of Iraq, the traditional national banner, with its stars, had become a rallying point for an often divided people in the difficult and violent years since the US invasion. . . . So far, the new banner can only be seen over the prime minister's office." They also note that this is the second "new" flag for Iraq since the illegal war started.

Meanwhile the theft of Iraqi oil hits a snag. Roula Khalaf and Dino Mahtani (Financial Times of London) report that the central (puppet) government in Baghdad is telling Big Oil to come on board, don't worry about the lack of oil laws and, "In a sign that the oil law the US has been pressing for is unlikely to be agreed by parliament any time soon, Hussain Shahristani, Iraq's oil minister, said in an interview with the Financial Times that Iraq was now determined to push ahead with plans to raise production from a current 2.5 m barrels per day to 6M bpd in five years." This comes as Reuters reports that Hussain al-Shahristani also declared today that the bpd on Iraqi oil was "the highest since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003". al-Shahristani was in London for the big meet up with Big Oil. Dow Jones reports, "Iraqi oil officials and oil company executives were greeted by demonstrators in London Tuesday protesting long-term oil contracts being signed in Iraq, which they say are handing control of the country's oil wealth to private foreign enterprise." Protestor Greg Muttitt is quoted as stating, "They give control of Iraq's oil to multinationals for 20-30 years. It's like giving my house to a decorator and renting a room back from him." Also speaking in London today was BP PLC's chief exec Tony Hayward who stated that BP is registered and ready to go into Iraq. Yesterday, Robin Pagnamenta (Times of London) reported that a deal was in the works where "ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell would be paid in oil rather than cash to help develop the fields."

Following yesterday's reports that the US military had stated they accidentally killed 9 Iraqi civilians, Reuters writes today of the admission by US command that US forces "killed an innocent woman during a raid in Iraq on Tuesday".

In some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing that left two people wounded while a bombing in Al Anbar Province claimed the lives of 3 'Awakening' Council members and left five more wounded.. Reuters notes a Baghdad bombing near an internet cafe claimed the lives of 1 "member of a neighborhood police unit and a civilian".

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed crash in Misan led to three Iraqi military officers being shot dead. Reuters notes that US forces in Tirkit state that they accidentally killed 2 men and one woman while wounding a young girl. Al Bawaba reports that the toll was higher and that the men were father and son and that there were two young girls wounded and one of them has alreday died. Al Bawaba reports a roadside bombing outside Taji in which a bomber killed himself and 8 people who were members of the 'Awakening' council.

Corpse?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Meanwhile, Michael Holden and Paul Tait (Reuters) report that a mass grave with at least 50 corpses was discovered today outside of Baghdad

Turning to US political campaigns. Mike Gravel is running for the Democratic Party nomination for president. Tomorrow he will be on the UC Berkeley campus, at the IGS Library (Moses Hall) speaking from five to six p.m. Today he will also be in Berkley for an open house sponsored by World Can't Wait at Spud's Pizza, 3290 Adeline. Gravel's Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Kraus explains at American Chronicle, "He would cut the defense budget by 60%, and give us a stronger, more efficient military. He would institute a carbon tax right at the source (the lump of coal and barrel of oil), which would filter through the system and shift our infrastructure to carbon-free, zero-emissions technology very rapidly. He has said 'we can get off of gasoline in 5 years, and off of carbon in 10.' He has accurately pointed out that in 1940, the United States had no military capacity, and within 3 years, they were producing a Liberty Ship every day. This was over 60 years ago." Gravel is the only Democratic in the race calling for an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq -- and not a withdraw of only "combat" troops: "Senator Gravel's position on Iraq remains clear and consistent to commence an immediate and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops that will have them home within 120 days. The sooner U.S. troops are withdrawn, the sooner we can pursue aggressive diplomacy to bring an end to the civil war that currently consumes Iraq. Senator Gravel seeks to work with neighboring countries to lead a collective effort to bring peace to Iraq. One of the leading opponents of the Vietnam War, Senator Gravel was one of the first current or former elected officials to publicly oppose the planned invasion of Iraq in 2002. He appeared on MSNBC prior to the invasion insisting that intelligence showed that there were indeed no weapons of mass destruction, that Iraq posed no threat to the United States and that invading Iraq was against America's national interests and would result in a disaster of epic proportions for both the Unitd States and the Iraqi people. . . . As President, Senator Gravel will call for a U.S. corporate withdrawal from Iraq and hand over reconstruction contracts to Iraqi businesses which will empower Iraqi nationals to reconstruct their own country."

At The Wilder Side, it's noted, "I think most Americans are tired of the war. I know I am passionately against it. We may disagree on who is exactly the best peace candidate, or what is exactly the best strategy. But, whichever candidate or strategy you believe in, please keep peace at the forefront of your thinking tomorrow. Peace is the biggie. It is the issue that the corporate parties want us to forget." Kimberly Wilder is a Green and the Green Party's candidates vary. We'll start with the Illinois Green Party. Kent Mesplay, Cynthia McKinney and Howie Hawkins as a stand in for Ralph Nader. (Jared Ball has dropped out the race.) That's one of five states with a Green primary today. The Green Party notes that the others are Arkansas where McKinney, Mesplay and Kat Swift are running; California where Jesse Johnson, McKinney, Mesplay, Nader and Swift are running and Massachusetts where McKinney, Mesplay, Swift and Nader are still in the race -- Hawkins is a placeholder for Nader on those ballots. Streaming interview with McKinney here. Sarah Terry-Cobo (Contra Costa Times) spoke with a number of voters including James Achee who "said he will most likely vote for Ralph Nader, but was not aware that Cynthia McKinney . . . was on the Green ballot." Laura Norton (The Press Democrat) spoke to some voters in California -- one of whom was Coral Becker who stated, "I wanted to stay green and make a point. I voted for Ralph Nader." Kevin Zeese (writing at Al Jazeera Magazine), notes, of voters attempting to figure out who is the 'peace vote,' "Others, will look to the Green Party which has two strong peace candidates in Ralph Nader and former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney or other third parties like the Libertarians and Constitution Parties which also are running anti-war candidates. Nader has questioned whether Obama has the backbone to stand up to the special interests on the issue of militarism and points out how Bush justified the war based on Clinton policies, McKinney seeks to lead a 'peace slate' to end the war and, like Nader, opposes the bloated military and intelligence budgets."

Meanwhile out lesbian Laura Flanders writes at The Nation (no link to trash), "I wish I felt what Robin Morgan feels. 'Our President Ourselves!' she cheers, in a rousing pitch for Hillary Clinton." Laura, we all just wish you'd have the self-respect to call out the homophobia by the Barack Obama campaign instead of writing that ridiculous "please, Bambi, break with Richard Daley" whimper. It was stupid because Michelle Obama was assistant to who? Richard Daley, that's right. Information is power and lack of it is weakness -- thereby explaining RadioNation with Laura Flanders (again, no links to trash). It was disgusting because when a gay woman won't call out homophobia, what will she call out? Nothing.

Flanders likes to talk about "people power" and used to enjoy rocking out to Patti Smith's "People Have the Power" but Laura herself has none because she refused to call out of homophobia. It was more important to her to 'fit in' and be 'one of the gang' than it was to stand up for justice, to stand up for what was right. If you haven't already, be sure to read Marcia's "Laura Flanders the self-hating, disrespecting lesbian." Apparently having a girl-crush on Michelle Obama, Laura Flanders concludes, "Today, with fingers crossed, I'm voting for Barack and Michelle Obama. At least we can call their community organizers' bluff." What? Flanders has never called Barack or Michelle out on anything. Homophobia was okay with little Laura when it was blasted onstage in South Carolina. Not a peep. Can't speak up when it matters then maybe you shouldn't have a voice.

But this is the woman who wanted to get up in arms that Obama's campaign was using a song by a child molestor (yes, that was over a year ago, she fell in line because she knows who signs her checks and keeps her on air) but had no problem booking Pig-Boy who was twice busted for online predatory activities with younger women. It's a funny kind of 'strength,' a temporary one. She's weak. And that may be the worst we can say about someone who's tried to self-present as strong.

She might try to argue that she's applauded the 'movement' and not the candidate previously. When the 'movement' utilizes homophobia, applauding it and refusing to call it out makes Flanders the Andrew Sullivan of the 'left.' She was once a strong voice. The Nation cut her great radio program down from six hours a week to one. It took Flanders to cut herself down from greatness which she has. And all these people using their 'name' and 'image' this campaign cycle don't seem aware of the damage they've done to themselves. These things will not be forgotten, regardless of today's outcome. They have trashed their own nests and, for chuckles, picture ten years on down the line when it's, "Ms. Flanders, clean up an aisle twelve." Hopefully, someone other than Bambi -- and of course Flanders herself -- will have stood up for the rights of LGBT so she'll have some work place protections left.

Robin Morgan, the one and only Robin Morgan, puts it into perpsective, puts it on the table, in "Goodbye To All That (#2)" (Women's Media Center) and that's because it takes a woman not afraid to be called a woman -- or any of the slurs on women -- to speak the truth. A woman who hides, who says, "I'm gay but if I call out Bambi's homophobia they might cancel my radio show and no one listens to it anymore and I can't get a real job so I have to make nice . . ." can't speak for any woman because she can't even speak for herself. Morgan's never been a Flanders. Morgan explains the double standard in place that exists to knock down a female candidate no matter what.

-- Young political Kennedys -- Kathleen, Kerry, and Bobby Jr. -- all endorsed Hillary. Senator Ted, age 76, endorsed Obama. If the situation were reversed, pundits would snort "See? Ted and establishment types back her, but the forward-looking generation backs him." (Personally, I'm unimpressed with Caroline's longing for the Return of the Fathers. Unlike the rest of the world, Americans have short memories. Me, I still recall Marilyn Monroe's suicide and a dead girl named Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick.)
[. . .]
Goodbye to pretending the black community is entirely male and all women are white . . .
Surprise! Women exist in all opinions, pigmentations, ethnicities, abilities, sexual preferences, and ages -- not only African American and European American but Latina and Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Arab American and -- hey, every group, because a group wouldn't exist if we hadn't given birth to it. A few non-racist countries may exist -- but sexism is everywhere. No matter how many ways a woman breaks free from other discriminiations, she remains a female human being in a world still so patriarchal that it's the "norm."
[. . .]
Goodby to some women letting history pass by while wringing their hands, because Hillary isn't as "likeable" as they've been warned they must be, or because she didn't leave him, couldn't "control" him, kept her family together and raised a smart, sane daughter. (Think of the blame if Chelsea had ever acted in the alcoholic, neurotic manner of the Bush twins!) Godbye to some women pouting because she didn't bake cookies or she did, sniping because she learned the rules and then bent or broke them. Grow the hell up. She is not running for Ms.-perfect-pure-queen-icon of the feminist movement. She's running to be president of the United States.
[. . .]
Goodbye to some young women eager to win male approval by showing they're not feminists (at least not the kind who actually threaten the status quo), who can't indentify with a woman candidate because she is unafraid of eeueweeeu yucky power, who fear their boyfriends might look at them funny if they say something good about her. Goodbye to women of any age again feeling unworthy, sulking "what if she's not electable?" or "maybe it's post-feminism and whooosh we're already free." Let a statement by the magnificent Harriet Tubman stand as reply. When asked how she managed to save hundreds of enslaved African Americans via the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, she replied bitterly, "I could have saved thousands -- if only I'd been able to convince them they were slaves."
I'd rather say a joyful Hello to all the glorious young women who do identify with Hillary and all the brave, smart men -- of all ethnicities and age -- who get that it's in their self-interest, too. She's better qualified. (D'uh.) She's a high-profile candidate with an enormous grasp of foreign- and domestic-policy nuance, dedication to detail, ability to absorb staggering insult and personal pain while retaining dignity, resolve, even humor, and keep on keeping on. (Also, yes, dammit, let's hear it for her connections and funding and party-building background, too. Obama was awfully glad about those when she raised dough and campaigned for him to get to the Senate in the first place.)
I'd rather look foward to what a good president he might make in eight years, when his vision and spirit are seasoned by practical know-how -- and he'll be all of 54. Meanwhile, goodbye to turning him into a shining knight when actually he's an astute, smooth pol with speechwriters who've worked with the Kennedys' own speechwriter-courtier Ted Sorenson. If it's only about ringing rhetoric, let speechwriters run. But isn't it about getting the policies we want enacted?

That's a lengthy excerpt but not even the entire piece. Take a moment to grasp how much the Womens Media Center is needed. It's not going to be cross-posted at Common Dreams -- just, as Jess pointed out, they refused to cross-post Gloria Steinem's "Women Are Never Front-Runners" but were happy to post a 'rebuttal.'

Jess: What is known is that Common Dreams posted an idiot's response to Gloria Steinem but failed to have posted, before or since, Gloria Steinem's column "Women Are Never Front-Runners." And for anyone trying to give Common Dreams a pass on that by saying, "It was a New York Times column," Common Dreams regularly reposts NYT columns and editorials in full with their "fair use" tag at the end. They made a decision on Tuesday, when the column ran, not to post it. On Thursday, they made a decision to post a Bambi's groupies' trashing of Gloria Steinem.

What the election cycle has demonstrated on the Democratic side is how much women are still devalued and hated. Don't kid that it's not so. Like Laura Flanders has no problem bringing the Pig (twice busted for attempting to set up sex with an underage female online) onto her radio program, Common Dreams has no problem posting him. They've got him up today. But they didn't post Steinem and they didn't post Morgan. With Pig, we're supposed to overlook the busts. It's more important that his 'voice' be heard than that he's a predator and, thing is, women know that argument because we've heard it over and over, decade after decade. Gender is the greatest barrier. All women are told to wait -- over and over. Ask Flanders why she was so offended about Gary Glitter but thought nothing of repeatedly booking Pig on her program? Ask her to explain that. Ask Amy Goodman to. Ask Katrina vanden Heuvel why she, the mother of a teenage daughter, thinks his rambles are worth carrying at The Nation? Big media had the sense to wash their hands of him when the arrests came out. Not little media. Because you've got a lot of queen bees who won't use their voices, they don't want to look 'bitchy' or 'assertive' or 'demanding.' How's that working out for you?

So let's not pretend that the alleged "Progressive Community" is at all interested in women. They're not. If women say what they want to hear, they can't wait to post. Rosa Brooks, for instance, says exactly what Common Dreams wants and they post her like crazy. But let a woman write from a position of self-respect and not rush to play the boys' game and suddenly there is just silence. Go to their "about" section and you'll see praise and shout outs . . . from man after man . . . plus self-loathing Flanders. Or go to the stench of all slime, BuzzFlash, where bashing women is the norm and you'll find one attack on Hillary after another and the only authors are women who praise Bambi -- many described as 'feminist' which is a shock to those of us who are feminists.

On the Democratic side this election has demonstrated that Little Media isn't objective, isn't interested in a full exchange, isn't interested in truth. Women were tossed under the bus, the bi and multi-racial community was tossed under the bus, the LGBT community was tossed under the bus, the Palestinian people were tossed under the bus . . . And a whole lot more. Little Media signed up to do p.r. for Bambi and wanted to pass it off as journalism. In the process, they twisted every fact possible to villify Hillary for . . . being so similar in positions to Obama. Then they want to show up and argue about the 'movement' -- the one their spin created -- and claim it's proof of something. It's proof of nothing.

We're including a photo. It's at Larry Johnson's No Quarter. Yesterday, Amy Goodman was schilling for Bambi again in the headlines and it was rah-rah-rah, people turn out! Here's a photo of the Los Angeles speech -- not the tight shot Goodman offered on the TV version of her program





Oops! The Obama and Orpah Show didn't exactly pack them in, did it? UCLA. Isn't that a 'youth' paradise? But it was billed as rah-rah, pack 'em in. Those lies should remind you of another photo-op -- the pulling down of Saddam's statue in Baghdad which -- in a tight shot -- had tons of cheering Iraqis but -- in a wide shot -- demonstrated there was no crowd. Goodman pointed the first one out, you may remember, and called it out. The second? Oh, cookie, journalistic standards get tossed aside for the Bambi standard.

the common ills

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trinas kitchen

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iraq
david ovallejoshua key
iraq veterans against the war
leila fadelmcclatchy newspapers
robin morgan
josh whitethe washington post
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