Queer Voices, Dan Choi

Tuesday! D: Wish it were Friday.

May 17th is a day against homophobia and transphobia and I learned that from KPFT's Queer Voices radio program yesterday. The program also featured a discussion about the ways in which walls go up between the trans community and the gay and lesbian communities and the way walls go up between lesbian and gay communities.

A word on that. I'm straight, sorry to butt in, but GLBT? Nah. LGBT. Sorry. If you want to tear down walls stop expecting to have first rights because you're men. LGBT.

As usual, it was a pretty straight forward conversation that you could follow and held your interest. No hidden agendas, just talking about the issues that effect the gay community. They had a clip of a news story featuring Lt Dan Choi protesting the still not ended Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Howard Dean was featured in that segment, a clip of him praising Choi.

This is from On Top Magazine:

Howard Dean, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Lt. Dan Choi led a rally in protest against “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the 1993 law that prohibits gay troops from serving openly, as six more activists chained themselves to the White House fence Sunday.

With his shirt sleeves rolled up, no tie, Dean called out to the crowd: “The American people know this is the right thing to do.”

“If somebody's brave enough to take a bullet for the U.S., they deserve full equality,” he added.

The rally was held across the street from the White House, in Lafayette Park. After being arrested twice for chaining himself to the White House fence in protest of the policy, Choi has been barred by police from approaching the White House grounds.

“We are not afraid,” he said. “We stood in the front lines for war; today we stand on the front lines for justice. Love is worth fighting for!”

Tomorrow night I'll do 24 and Chuck.

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

Tuesday, May 11, 2010. Chaos and violence continue, Iraq receives little to no attention from broadcast TV, Allawi wants the de-Ba'athifcation to end, Chris Hill seems to think it has, veterans issues remain unaddressed and little noted, veterans are forced to sign papers waiving treatment for their injuries, and more.


The Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans commissioned a poll to find out how aware Americans were about veterans issues and the wars themselves.
The Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV) commissioned the poll to measure American support for those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and determine whether the public is aware of the important issues facing current service members and veterans –issues such as unemployment, homelessness, post traumatic stress disorder and suicide. The poll, conducted by Cohen Research Group this April, surveyed 1,000 adults who currently live in the U.S. "There is a very real and disturbing disconnect among the majority of Americans in understanding how deployment contributes to economic, social, and familial stress through a dearth of services and support," said Amy Fairweather, program director of the CIAV. "All of which are factors which drive veterans and their families to poverty." The poll found that while the psychological effects of the wars are widely known, a majority of Americans are not aware of the unique economic struggles that returning veterans face; including high rates of unemployment, access to healthcare issues, and risk factors for homelessness, poverty, and suicide. Specifically, 58% of Americans know about the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder among Iraq and Afghanistan troops and veterans, yet only 35% are aware that not all veterans are eligible for VA healthcare, and only 31% know that veterans can wait up to a year for disability benefits. Regarding the economic impacts of war and poverty among veterans, fewer than three out of ten Americans know that 20% of male veterans ages 18-24 were unemployed last year and that there are approximately 200,000 homeless veterans in the U.S. "What the poll tells us is that Americans have little knowledge of the true costs of war," Fairweather said. "As advocates we understand the tremendous struggles service members face when they return from war, but collectively we have a lot of work ahead of us to educate the public about the sacrifices our warriors make and ensure that the system of care is sufficient and appropriate for military, veterans, their families and survivors." The CIAV will address the gaps in services for our military community and discuss ways to foster improved communication with the American public about the issues our troops and veterans face this week at the 3rd annual conference in Washington, DC May 11-14. Service providers, veterans, families, survivors and advocates will share cutting edge expertise and meet with top officials from the VA, DoD, White House and Congress to improve the quality and quantity of support for the military and veteran community. The conference is open to the public and attendees will have an opportunity to learn about the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Register at coaltionforveterans.org May 11-14, 2010 Renaissance Mayflower Hotel 1127 Connecticut Ave Washington, DC 20036 About the Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans The Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV) is a national non-partisan partnership of more than 50 organizations committed to working with and on behalf of all military, veterans, families, survivors and providers to strengthen the existing system of care and support for all those affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If the people are under-informed of something or over-informed, it goes to the media. The media sold the never-existed link between Iraq and 9-11 through repetition. Don't offer the b.s. that the White House did it alone. The White House's remarks could have made the cutting room floor. Instead, they were broadcast, printed, etc. Repeatedly. The media acted (and acts) as an echo chamber and megaphone for the White House. What gets lost? Reality.


Yesterday was the deadliest day of this year in Iraq as the country was slammed with attack. When the snapshot was being dictated -- before the evening news began airing on the east coast -- the death toll had already reached 102. Saad Abdul-Kadir (AP) reports today that the death toll has reached 119. Around the world, the violence is covered. Russia's Pravda, for example, All India Radio, South African Star, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . . . In fact, pretty much every country and every outlet reported on it. The only news consumers who might not know about the violence would be . . . US news consumers dependent upon commercial, broadcast TV to provide them with news on what passes for news shows. Three evening news broadcasts and two offered blink-and-you-miss-it 'coverage' while the third offered . . . as Heart once sang, "Nothing At All."
ABC World News with Diane Sawyer served up 19 seconds and, as Sawyer read the following, they had a graph of numbers:
Overseas as America continues to draw down troops in Iraq, more violence there. Suicide bombers, heavily armed gunmen, launched a wave of attacks that touched nearly every part of the country. At least 80 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the attacks in market, a factory and police checkpoints.
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams offered a few seconds more -- 28 seconds total -- and ran video of the aftermath of attacks while Williams read the following:
We have an update today on Iraq where the American presence is now winding down but as we saw dramatically today the violence isn't -- quite the opposite. Some two dozen attacks across that country left more than 90 people dead, hundreds more injured. Coordinate attacks by suicide car bombers targeted workers at a textile plant. Then the emergency workers who showed up and came to their aid were targeted. It was the bloodiest day there all year so far.
Two offered headlines. And then CBS Evening News with Katie Couric continued it's slide into obscurity last night with no news on Iraq. CBS was among the first to bail on the country and it continues to avoid the topic. Let's be really clear, when you've got time to cover the 'announcement' that Barbara Walters will have heart surgery -- not that she had it, which would be news, but that she will have it -- and you've got time to offer bulls**t on Tiger Woods, you've got time to cover the deadliest day of the year in Iraq. Unless you're just not really in the news business. CBS viewers were treated to a story on heartburn medicines. And didn't that make for a better world and a more informed citizenry?
If it bleeds it leads. Maybe the refusal of all three broadcasts to grasp that accounts for why network news continues to bleed viewers?
PBS didn't have much time for Iraq either. More than CBS but you're local town gossip has more time for Iraq than CBS. The NewsHour reduced it to a headline as well (link has text, video and audio option):
Hari Sreenivasan: A series of attacks across Iraq made today the deadliest day of the year so far. At least 99 people were killed in violence that began in the early morning and continued into the night. Hundreds more were wounded. Nearly half of the victims died in a pair of car bombings outside a textile factory in Hillah. As a crowd gathered to help those victims, a suicide bomber blew himself up. The violence also included coordinated shootings targeting Iraqi security forces at six checkpoints in Baghdad.

Today the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, issued the following: "The Secretary-General strongly condemns the wave of terrorist bombings and other attacks in Iraq yesterday that reportedly claimed the lives of over a hundred people and injured many more, mostly civilians. The United Nations stands in solidarity with the Iraqi people in the face of these deplorable, unjustifiable acts." Amnesty International issued the following statement:

Amnesty International has condemned the killing of civilians in a series of suicide bombings and shootings by armed groups in Iraq on Monday, which left over 100 people dead and 350 wounded.The attacks on a textile factory, markets and police and army checkpoints were carried out in the town of Hilla, the southern city of Basra, the capital Baghdad and other cities."Yesterday, was the deadliest day so far this year in Iraq, said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "Some of the attacks appear to have deliberately targeted civilians and to have been intended to cause maximum loss of life. If so, such attacks constitute war crimes. We condemn them utterly. Those responsible must cease these murderous attacks." "Civilians are continuing to pay a very heavy price for the ongoing divisions in Iraq.""The political vacuum resulting from the failure of Iraqi political leaders to agree on a new government, two months after the 7 March election, is fuelling instability and being exploited by armed groups, in particular al-Qa'ida and its supporters, to cause further mayhem and suffering."Leaders of the major political groups in Iraq have so far failed to garner enough support to form a government following the national elections, which did not produce a clear winner.Two suicide car bombers drove into a textile factory in Hilla, south of Baghdad on Monday afternoon. A third bomb exploded as rescue workers arrived on the scene. At least 45 people were reported killed and 190 wounded.On Monday evening, three car bombs exploded in Basra - the first in the central market, the other two in a residential area in the north of the city. Reports say that 21 people were killed and more than 70 others were wounded.Earlier on Monday, suicide bombers killed 13 people and wounded 40 in a market place in al-Suwayra, 50 km (30 miles) southeast of Baghdad.The day of attacks started at dawn in Baghdad, when gunmen killed at least seven Iraqi soldiers and policemen when they attacked six checkpoints. Bombs planted at three other checkpoints wounded several more, according to reports.Further attacks in the western province of Anbar, the northern city of Mosul, the outskirts of Baghdad and elsewhere took the death toll to at least 102.On 27 April 2010 Amnesty International published Iraq: Civilians under fire, highlighting the plight of the Iraqi civilian population and the targeting of particular vulnerable groups by armed groups, government forces and others in Iraq.

The report is PDF format. You can also refer to the April 27th snapshot for a summary of some of the reports key points. Faith Abdulsalam (Azzaman) observes, "Iraq is heading towards the abyss. The path to hell gets clearer not only day after day but hour after hour. The abyss engulfs the country the way rough seas erode a small island." Asia News notes that "attacks yesterday covered the entire country: from Mosul to Baghdad, Hilla to Basra." Anne Barker (Australia's ABC) adds, "The government has blamed militants linked to Al Qaeda." But not everyone agrees. Jane Arraf (Christian Science Monitor) and Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) report, "Many Iraqis, including police and soldiers, say they believe their own politicians are behind the attacks." And they quote an Iraqi police officer explaining, "This is a struggle for power -- none of the citizens are blindfolded -- we can all see and understand the situation. I blame the government for this." And they note, "The Sadr movement -- one of the members of the new Shiite alliance -- has called for an emergency session to reconvene the former parliament to oversee security." Ayad Allawi has called for an interim government to address the violence and security issues. Ben Lando (Time magazine) interviews Allawi:


The two biggest blocs belong to former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose Iraqiya Party took 91 seats, and current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose State of the Law Party took 89. Parliament has a total of 325 seats -- with 163 needed to form a majority. In an interview with TIME, Allawi angrily accuses the international community of undercutting what he calls his victory at the polls, after first supporting the results. "We came first," he says. "Now they are silent; the [U.N.] Security Council, they kept their mouth shut."
After the elections, an electoral court ruled that it wasn't the top vote getter that has the right to form the next government but the biggest bloc of newly elected members of parliament, turning the post-election period into a time of high-stakes horse-trading. In Iraq's parliamentary math, Allawi and al-Maliki together have enough seats to form a government. But the two leaders dislike each other so much that a one-on-one meeting has yet to take place. Al-Maliki has instead turned to another slate, the Iraqi National Alliance, led by Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and other religious leaders, to form what U.S. ambassador Christopher Hill called this week "a Shi'ite mega-party." The religious slate needs only four additional seats to form a party, and by acquiring them, it could edge out Allawi altogether.
Allawi tells Lando he has conditions including that the de-Ba'athification process must stop. On today's Morning Edition (NPR), Peter Kenyon reported from Baghdad:

Ambassador Chris Hill: I think we have genuine expectation that the Accountability and Justice Commission has concluded its work, and that we will not see further moves on that.

Peter Kenyon: The American comments were echoed in private by Iraqi officials. Analyst Joost Hiltermann, with the International crisis group, wrote that: The Accountability and Justice Commission, which has disqualified candidates under the rubric of De-Baathification, seems to have reached the limits of its influence for now. All of which elicits only a patient smile from Ali Faisal al-Lami, the director of the De-Baathification panel. Relaxing on a couch inside a compound controlled by former Iraqi exile Ahmed Chalabi, Lami says he doesn't see how the Americans have the right to interfere in the work of an independent Iraqi commission. He adds that the commission is still pursuing a legal ruling on the candidates it has already challenged.

Justice and Accountability's Ali al-Lami: Our proposed disqualifications were sent to the higher Electoral Commission, but the commission refused to act. Therefore, we took the cases to the judiciary for a decision to be implemented.

Chris Hill just needs to sit somewhere silently. A) de-Ba'athifcation? Never should have sprung up. The fact that it did goes to Hill who damn well should have been on top of it, should have known the legal status of the commission and should have been prodding Nouri back in April to nullify the committee. That was one of the benchmarks. Hill inherited those benchmarks when he took the post. B) What Chris Hill wants or thinks at this point mean nothing and he just needs to sit down. al-Lami and Ahmed Chalabi are running the Justice and Accountability Commission. They're not listening to Chris Hill. Any chance of Hill having impact passed months ago.

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

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Falluja suicide bombing whcih claimed the lives of 1 police officer and 1 bystander and left five people wounded, 2 Mosul roadside bombings which wounded two people and, dropping back to Monday, a Baghdad roadside bombing which injured two pople, a Baghdad home bombing which injured four people and a Baghdad store bombing which destroyed the store. AFP reports two Baghdad bombings close to the Athureen Church which claimed the lives of 5 police officers and left fourteen more injured.

Shootings?


Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that Monday saw four Baghdad drive bys which injured five police officers

As the attacks on police officers continue, Jane Arraf (Christian Science Monitor) and Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) report that approximately half of the security forces do not show up and those who do are often afraid such as an Iraqi soldier who tells them, "I haven't slept for three days." Lara Jakes (AP) reports that US commanders are now rethinking the drawdown pace scheduled for the end of August. Jakes notes that the first week of May saw 92,000 US forces on the ground in Iraq.

Turning to the US, where 2009 saw the US army won convictions against 327 soldiers for going AWOL. Chie Saito (Austin's News 8 -- link has text and video) reports on Jacob Wade who went AWOL while back in the US on two weeks leave from his Iraq deployment.

Chie Saito: [. . .] he says the psychological effects from what he saw and experienced --

Jacob Wade: Riding through town we got attacked.

Chie Saito: -- in his first six months there --

Jacob Wade: I had a grenade go off like five feet behind me.

Chie Saito: -- made it impossible for him to go back.

Jacob Wade: I saw a lot of people die, saw a kid get shot.

Chie Saito: Images and memories which he says still haunt him today.

Jacob Wade: I wake up talking to myself about Iraq. Dreams about killing myself all alone.

Jade Ortego (Killeen Daily Herald) adds, "His psychiatrist, Dr. William Cross of Manilus, N.Y., who has agreed to testify on Wade's behalf at his sanity board, diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder. Wade also suffered physical injuries to his legs as a result of his service, and walks with a limp. Wade was scared to report and be redeployed, but was also afraid of the harassment and hazing from fellow soldiers that he heard comes with an admission of mental health issues due to service." Tod Ensign (Citizen Soldier) is representing Jacob Wade. Yesterday Iraq Veterans Against the War posted an update on Eric Jasinski who also suffers from PTSD and also self-checked out to get treatment for PTSD. The military responded by court-martialing him. He has served one month at Bell County Jail and been released from the jail. Their update includes a video by Stand with Honor filmed after the court-martial.

Eric Jasinski's mother Laura Barrett: He stood up. He knew -- he knew he was going to have to go to jail. He knew that would happen. But he also knew he had to have help. And he wants to make sure that the word -- the word gets out there. That's what I'm so proud of him for, that he wants to make sure that the word gets out that so many other young men and women need help psychological help. They're coming back damaged from what they make them do, make them participate in. Eric's going to stand up. He will inspire and help so many other people.

James Branum is Eric's attorney. PTSD is rarely taken seriously. The Congress continues to fund studies that find . . . further studies are needed. The system itself works against those suffering with it. Lyda Longa (Daytona Beach News Journal) reports 29-year-old Iraq War veteran Joshua James Gerard was shot at his home Sunday by Deputy Vidal Mejias when the sheriff's office responded to a 9-11 call placed by his wife. Gerard is said to suffer from PTSD. It is not known at this point whether or not he had sought help for his PTSD. Afghanistan War veteran Jennifer Crane did seek help once she returned home and found her life spiraling out of control. She shared her story with Lynn Harris and Marie Clare:

I completed two weeks of rehab, and then went to a three-month VA program for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. But after only one month there, the doctors, unbelievably, asked me to leave. They said the treatment wasn't really helping me -- although I disagreed -- and that as one of only two women in the group, I was distracting the male patients, who apparently found me attractive. I begged them, literally on my hands and knees, to let me stay; I knew I wasn't ready to go back into society. I knew what would happen if I tried. Incredibly, they said no. I left the VA Medical Center and went straight to my drug dealer's house. I told him I needed something strong to get rid of my pain. That day, I started smoking crack. I hit bottom so fast, it was amazing. I went from being happy with my progress to having no hope at all. I used all day, every day. I tried to hold down jobs -- bartender, waitress, receptionist -- but I was so strung out that I couldn't get out of bed to go to work. When I was at work, I was high. I got fired from every job. At one point, I just quit trying. I couldn't afford rent, I couldn't go to my mom's house unless I was clean, and I couldn't stop fighting with my boyfriend long enough to stay with him. That's how I wound up living in my car. For several months, in exchange for drugs, I ran errands for my dealer and cleaned his home. He also asked me to be a "dancer" -- in other words, dance privately for his friends and customers. Clinging to my last shred of dignity, I said no. But not long after, I had sex with him for drugs. I felt so disgusted afterward, I took out a lighter and burned the clothes I'd worn that night. Then, in August 2006, as I was driving away from my dealer's house, seven police cars suddenly surrounded me. I was handcuffed and arrested for possession of the crack cocaine I had with me. But when I wouldn't give them the name of my dealer (which would be suicide), they eventually gave up and let me go. The very next day, my old friends held a reunion on the anniversary of Steve's death. When I showed up, everyone stared. I was emaciated, with my eyes darting around and contusions all over my face from picking my skin, out of anxiety. When I spotted one of my oldest and dearest friends, Jason, he gently whispered, "What's wrong?" With his Timberlands, tattoos, and crew cut, he made me smile, and his simple question moved me. I told him, "I have to change my life, and I don't know how to do it." Jason sat up with me all night. I didn't get high. I cried and I shook, and he held me, saying, "I'm not letting you leave." That night -- those words -- changed everything. I finally felt ready to let someone help me. I began to imagine getting clean.

Jennifer Crane is now a spokesperson for the non-profit Give an Hour which provides "free medical health service to US military personnel and families affected by the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan." Alison St. John (KPBS -- link has text and audio) speaks with Iraq War veteran Sage Bird who has Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD which made returning to civilian life rough and, as she sought to self-medicate, she developed a drug addiction and ended up in jail where she "caught the attention of the jail authorities who saw her efforts, and that her violent behavior was connected to the traumas she experienced in Iraq. They gave her a second chance. She was given a lawyer who won her a reprieve, to spend six months at Veterans Village, working on healing herself." Last Friday on The World (PRI -- link has text and audio), Marco Werman spoke with journalist Joshua Kors about Sgt Chuck Luther who was forced to sign a statement claiming his injuries were a pre-existing personality disorder so the military could avoid paying for his care.

Joshua Kors: Well they're not accusations. This was two years of combing through the medical records kept by his doctor, confirmation from his commander who was there to watch his treatment, and from others who came to visit him while he was in confinement. Sgt. Luther had been wounded by mortar fire while serving in Iraq. Slammed his head against the concrete and ended up with severe traumatic brain injury. The headaches resulting from that blow to the head caused blindness, his vision to shut off in one eye. He said the other eye felt like someone was stabbing him in the eye with a knife. He went to the aid station to get care for that, but they told him that his blindness was caused by a personality disorder. He thought that was ridiculous, how could a problem with his personality cause blindness? But Marco, this is part of a larger story. For the last three years I've been reporting on wounded soldiers, pressed into signing these papers saying they have a personality disorder. [. . .] Sgt. Luther was put in a closet and held there for over a month under enforced sleep deprivation with the lights on all night, blasting heavy metal music at him all through the night, but when he tried to escape the closet they pinned him down, injected him with sleeping medication and dragged him back to the closet. Finally, at the end of a month, he was willing to sign anything and he did. He went ahead, signed papers saying that he had a pre-existing personality disorder. They flew him back to Fort Hood, and that's when they let him know the repercussions of that discharge. No disability pay for the rest of your life, no long term medical care, and here's a bill for $1,500.00. [. . .] Since 2001, 22,600 soldiers have been booted out of the military with personality disorder. Taking those wounded soldiers and sliding them out the side door with that mental illness is saving the military 12.5 billion dollars in disability and medical care. And that is why, then Senator Barack Obama was so up in arms about this issue. Along with Republican Senator Kid Bond, he put forward a bill to halt personality disorder discharges. That made him both a hero and a disappointment to so many veterans. A hero because he was addressing this critical issue; a disappointment because during his Presidential run, and now from the White House, he hasn't spoken at all about personality disorder. The result was that the issue sort of withered on the vine.


iraq
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nprmorning edition

Isaiah, Elena Kagan, Third

Monday, Monday. Another week begins. I wonder how fast or slow the rest of the year will pass? I really wish I could close my eyes, snooze, wake back up and it would be 2012. I made it through the Bush years and honestly thought I'd be able to breathe easy come the 2008 elections. However, that did not happen. Not at all.

This is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "To Clarify Any Confusion"



And this is from Josh Gerstein and Carol E. Lee (Politico):

President Barack Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court Monday – calling her a legal trailblazer who would embody “that same excellence, independence, integrity and passion for the law” as the man she would replace, retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
Obama said the court with Kagan on it will be more representative of the country – and it would have for the first time three female justices, if Kagan is confirmed.
"I hope that the Senate will act in a bipartisan fashion," Obama said, "and that they will do so as quickly as possible so she can get busy."

He nominates a half-ass nominee and then insists that others have to work hard and quickly. I loathe him. To me, there's not one bit of difference between him and George Bush. I'm so glad I voted for Ralph Nader.

Okay, new edition at Third was worked on by Dallas and the following:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.

And what did we come up with:

Truest statement of the week -- Cindy Sheehan. Peace Mom comes up with some more solid points.

Truest statement of the week II -- Michael Hastings on the lack of interest in Newsweek.

A note to our readers -- Jim serves up the breakdown for this week's edition.

Editorial: Some lives matter less -- A Latino immigrant was killed because of who he was and because the killers also thought he was gay (he wasn't gay). And there's no effort to call it out. No effort to call out the decision not to lable this hate crime a hate crime -- because that would have meant the killers get life. Instead, one is going to get 40 years max. The other? We're still waiting on an answer.

TV: FlashBackward -- Ava and C.I. offer a hilarious and to the point review of FlashForward.

Iraq roundtable -- This was supposed to be a roundtable on multiple topics but there was a high level of participation on the topic of Iraq so we ended up with just an Iraq roundtable. Which is more than fine with me. I wish we'd do it more often. I honestly wish we'd do another one next week.

The spin machines -- We look at the bad magazines we on the left have to pretend to like.

Discovering music -- We look at music magazines and at music. Go download Cults.

Four Books To Avoid -- This feature is about four books not to read.

Workers World calls for an end to the violence -- This is a repost from Workers' World.

Highlights -- And here are the highlights.

We actually made good time on this edition. And it really worked out pretty good. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Monday, May 10, 2010. Chaos and violence continue, Iraq slammed the worst violence of the year with over 100 people dead, the post-election madness continues and is noticed by the Arab world, Allawi warns it may go global, in the US Lena Horne has passed away, and more.


As Sarah Garrod (In The News) notes, a wave of attacks slammed Baghdad today. Steven Lee Meyers (New York Times) explains, "The attacks, which began as the sun rose on a hot and hazy morning, followed a recent series of arrests and killings of members of Al Qaeda in Iraq and other extremist groups." The Irish Examiner notes, "The government blamed al Qaida in Iraq for violence in Baghdad, saying the terror group is stepping up its attacks now to exploit political instability." And outside of Baghdad. Lin Zhi (Xinhua) reports, "A bomb exploded at a crowded popular market close to a Shiite mosque in the town of Suwayra, some 60 km southest of Baghdad, the source with Wasit police told Xinhua on condition of anonymity." England's Channel 4 counts 8 dead and seventy-one injured in the Suwayrah bombing. Albawaba reports 2 Hillah car bombings which claimed at least 25 lives. Reuters notes that the death toll for the Hilla bombings has now climbed to 35 with the injured being one-hundred and thirty-six. Ben Lando (Wall St. Journal) reports the death toll has now reached 45 with one-hundred and forty injured. CNN adds, "And in the city of Falluja, at least 10 civilians were wounded when four roadside bombs were detonated outside the homes of four police officers." Omar Ghraieb (Palestine Telegraph) reports, "In Sulaiman Bek, a town 160 km north of Baghdad, police said a bomb exploded outside the house of a government official in the region, killing his mother and one of his bodyguards and wounding two others." "Meanwhile," Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) adds, "in neighboring Kut province, also in the heavily Shiite south, a bomb detonated outside a restaurant killed at least nine people and wounded 12." And, back to Baghdad, Alsumaria TV reports, "At least 24 people were killed in a series of attacks targeting a number of security checkpoints and other targets in Baghdad. Gunmen using mute weapons attacked six checkpoints in Baghdad on Monday killing a number of soldiers and policemen, a source from the Interior Ministry reported." Ian Black (Guardian) observes, "Armed men used silenced and automatic weapons, roadside bombs and cars packed with explosives to hit six checkpoints manned by local and federal police and the Iraqi national army in the capital." BBC News notes, "The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Baghdad says smaller scale shooting attacks are becoming a more frequent tactic by insurgents as security forces try to prevent the kind of large suicide car bombs that have killed hundreds in the past year." Adam Arnold (Sky News -- link has text and video) adds, "An Interior Ministry source said of the co-ordinated raids: "This was a message to us that they can attack us in different parts of the city at the same time because they have cells everywhere." Mark Memmot (NPR) quotes Peter Kenyon in Baghdad stating that "the spike in violence is adding to the anxiety in Iraq as the U.S. military prepares to reduce its presence dramatically, and as Iraqi politicians struggle to form a new government in the wake of inconclusive elections back in March." Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) quotes Kurdish MP Tania Talaat stating, "The parliament is in limbo, so who is there to call the government to account and demand to know why security is slipping? It's because there's no one to monitor their performance. The security forces should not be affected by the political atmosphere and the tensions between the political rivals." Parliament's session long ago expired and the newly elected members of Parliament have yet to be sworn in. For all the talk of Iraq's stalemate with regards to a prime minister and a cabinet, there's little to prevent the seating of the new Parliament which is not dependent upon a prime minister being first chosen. Issa also writes a round-up of today's violence and, in addition to what's noted above, includes that Falluja bombings injured four and claimed 2 lives (that's in addition to the ten wounded already noted above), a Mosul suicide car bomber targeted a checkpoint and killed him/herself and 2 Peshmerga members, a Mosul drive-by claimed the lives of a father and son and left two females wounded, another Mosul drive-by claimed the life of 1 high school student and Basra where two car bombings (one after the other) took place and a third car bombing might be the most deadly incident of the day: "in the main motorbike marked in the old city in Basra that resulted in more than 60 civilians killed and injured, according to health officials in Basra." Richard Spencer (Telegraph of London) counts 102 as the death toll for the day.


Al Jazeera observes, "The attacks come just two days after reports that the Iraqi defence ministry was considering building a "security fence"around the capital as a way of curbing violence and controlling the movements of anti-government fighters.Access to the city would be controlled by eight checkpoints, and construction could be completed by mid-2011, reports from local broadcaster Al Iraqiyya Television said." Counting 52 dead, Abbas al-Ani (AFP) stated this morning, "Monday's death toll was the highest since April 23, when 58 people were killed in series of bombings in Baghdad and western Iraq, days after the government said Al-Qaeda was on the run." As the death toll continue to rise, Borzou Daragahi (Los Angeles Times) updated that: "It was the bloodiest day in Iraq since Dec. 8, when insurgent bombings in the capital killed at least 127." Caroline Alexander (Bloomberg News) includes this news in her report on the violence, "Iraq holds the world's third-largest oil reserves. Crude oil for June delivery rose $2.93, or 3.9 percent, to $78.04 a barrel at 1:00 a.m. in London on speculation an emergency fund by European policy makers will contain sovereign debt risks and maintain economic growth." Possibly because the theft of Iraqi oil is Nouri al-Maliki's sole accomplishment? Tom Hundley (Global Post) noted last month:

After a spectacularly successful auction of drilling rights last December, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government spent the first few months of this year putting the finishing touches on 10 separate deals that, if implemented successfully, could see Iraq challenging Saudi Arabia as the world's leading producer within the decade.
By any measure, these deals were the singular accomplishment of Maliki's tenure. Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani earned the respect of the international oil community for driving a very hard bargain and delivering a deal that should quickly put his nation on the path to prosperity.

Thursday Sardasht Osman's body was discovered. The 23-year-old journalist and college student was kidnapped from Salaheddin University. Kurdish Media noted that Kamal Rauf, Ahmad Mira, Asos Hardi and other Kurdish journalists have issued a statement which includes:

To kidnap a journalist in the regional capital; taking him outside the Kurdistan region; and killing him, raises serious questions. This act cannot be done by one person or small group of people. That is why we believe in the first instance that the Kurdistan Regional Government and the security forces should take the responsibility. We must take maximum step to find this perpetrators responsible. [. . .] We, as a group of Kurdistan's writers and journailsts, believe that kidnapping and threatening of journalists have increased rapidly, and cannot be accepted anymore.

Satuday, Yahya Barzanji (AP) reported protesters took to to the streets in Sulaimaniyah today to decry the kidnapping and murder of Sardasht Osman, the Iraqi journalist and college student. Barzanji quotes Kurdish journalists Riben Hirdi at the protest stating, "Kurdish security services want to instill fear in us by killing the journalists and forcing them to stop their writings, but their attempts will fail." Student Saman Karim declared, "They claim democracy and security . . . while a journalist is kidnapped and murdered in broad daylight." The photo accompanying the report featured a large crowd and the three in front carry signs. One sign displays a photo of Sardasht while another is a drawing of a gun and a pen or pencil. The gun has a large "X" over it. Protests did not end on Saturday. Sam Dagher (New York Times) reports demonstrations continued today with "hundreds" attempting "to storm the local parliament building" in Erbil and "There were signs on Monday that Mr. Osman's death was fast becoming a rallying cry for reformists, particularly among the young."

Elsewhere in Iraq, Chris Hill continues to be both US Ambassador to Iraq and Global Embarrassment. Arthur MacMillan (AFP) reports on Hill and it's as if he thinks he can work furiously and now save his job. It's so embarrassing and, worst of all, it just makes him (by proxy the US) look like a moron. Hill's rushing to insist everything's fine and dandy -- better even! "The counting is going faster," AFP quotes him stating of the recount in Baghdad "and we do expect it to be over by the end of the week." Do we expect it? And that's fast? Go back in real time to when the recounts were announced and it was stated that it would take two weeks to do the recounts. They started last Monday . . . Hill's saying that they'll end this week. Which would be? Two weeks. So they're going according to schedule, as predicted and Chris Hill's so damn out of it or so eager to make it look like he's on top of things that he's insisting the counting's taking place "faster" when it's going at the pace that it was predicted to take. And his other statements?Hill's supposed a diplomat, he's supposed to be a public face of the US. His idiotic rantings do not play well in the Arab world nor are they attempting to Happy Talk recent events the way the US moron is. Mohammad Akef Jamal (Gulf News) expresses a popular opinion: "In reality, the appeals of the State of Law coalition, which happens to be the government coalition, represent the real obstacle. The coalition, formed by Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and his Dawa party, insisted on a manual recount. At the same time, it has used all its power and influence to target the alliance that won the largest number of votes. Clearly, it aims to rob the winning alliance of its constitutional right to put together a government. [. . .] Al Maliki, who insists on holding on to his post, and the Dawa party are ignoring the rights of others. The party which is in control of many key posts in the Iraqi government is the primary obstacle to the formation of a new government, thus creating a dangerous power vacuum." Musa Keilani (Jordan Times via Al-Arabiya) explains, "The sum of the political equation in Iraq today does not bode well for the ordinary people of Iraq. The government is largely ineffective outside the fortified Green Zone. A majority of the people does not have enough water and power. Jobs are scarce and most hospitals do not have any facility to handle any serious case, let alone emergencies. Schools are functioning, but at a level that does not permit any learning beyond rudimentary education."Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya was the winner in the March 7th elections. Nouri's circumvented that win by abusing his powers. DPA reports Iraqiya spokesperson Hani Ashour states that Nouri, while playing the glad-hander for public consumption and insisting he wants all involved, has not met with Iraqiya: "There was no initiative or a serious action that confirms the intentions of the State of Law coalition to set a date to meet with the head of Iraqiya, to bring their views closer and confirm their national partnership." Sun Yunlong (Xinhua) reports that -- excepting Baghdad -- all vote counts were being sent to the Supreme Court for ratification. Which means only Nouri gets a recount. Martin Chulov (Guardian) interviews Allawi and quotes him stating of the latest post-election mess, "This conflict will not remain within the borders of Iraq. It will spill over and it has the potential to reach the world at large, not just neighbouring countries. Now Iraq is at the centre stage in the region. But it is boiling with problems, it is stagnant and it can go either way. I feel that we are not done and that the international community has failed this country."

"The irony is that al-Maliki himself spent two decades in Syria plotting the downfall of Saddam's regime but Syria had repeatedly refused to extradite him to Iraq despite a wave of bombing campaigns carried out by the Dawa Party in the 80s killing many Iraqi civilians," Jasam al-Azawi observed on the latest Inside Iraq (Al Jazeera). Jasam al-Azawi spoke with Thabet Salem (Syrian journalist) and Saad al-Muttalibi (advisor to Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue).

Jasam al-Azawi: Saad al-Muttalibi, what is the evidence that Syria is really plotting to re-impose the Ba'athists back on Iraq? What is the evidence?

Saad al-Muttalibi: First of all I would like to make an objection on the introduction when you said that the Dawa Party was responsible for killing Iraqi civilians. That is unfounded, untrue and historically incorrect. Secondly, nobody's accusing the Syrian government. Actually, we have the highest regards for President Bashar al-Assad who proved to be a brother to the Iraqi nation and proved to be an ally for Iraq. So we have no issues with the Syrian government or the Syrian authorities. Actually, as I said, we hold them with the highest respect and regards. We do have -- This is a very complex picture where there is multiple international agendas interacting and crossing over each other within the wider Middle Eastern conflict. So it is very hard to separate one issue from another but if we manage to slightly pull out the Iraqi conflict -- if we can call it that -- from the Syrian point of view, we find that President Bashar al-Assad was very helpful and very gracious in calling for a reconciliation in Iraq and calling for a continuous dialogue, with his care and attention, that Iraq should include all its citizens or representatives of its citizens within the government. Now we no objection to that at all. As long as these political representatives work on a political agenda and not using violence. As you know, violence and terrorism is a destructive method and not a constructive one so it is important to differentiate between our help and support and cooperation with the Syrian government and from some quarters that back a-a-a-a violence organization that is causing Iraq a great deal of blood and casualities.

Jasam al-Azawi: Well before I go to Thabet Salem, let me go back to the first thing that you objected to and this is not the bone of contention of this program, the evidence for the Dawa Party engaging in bombing campaigns has been amply established not only in Iraq but also in Kuwait. If you remember the very reason for the start of the Iraq-Iran War was an attempt by a member of the Dawa Party to kill Tariq Aziz -- at that time the Foreign Minister and that was simply because they were linked to Iran. But that is not our subject for the time being, Saad al-Muttalibi. Perhaps we can have another episode one day about the terrorist activities of the Dawa Party. We'll go to it later on.

Saad al-Muttalibi: These are all allege -- these are all alleged.

Jasam al-Azawi: From your perspective it's alleged. From other point of view, it's clarified and documented. But then again, you're an advisor to the Prime Minister, you have to say that. Otherwise, perhaps, you might even lose your position. Thabet Salem, we listen to Saad al-Muttalibi articulating -- at length, if I may so -- basically we did not hear any point of evidence that Syria is plotting. He claimed that Syria is plotting to impose the Ba'ath back on Iraq again.

Thabet Salem: Well actually I can't obeject to what Mr. Muttalibi said from Baghdad. Actually, I didn't really understand if this is a view point, why you are here and is there any difference in views regarding this accusation. But we don't have to forget, regardless of what Mr. Muttalibi says, that the Iraqi prime minister -- this time we don't have to forget that the Iraqi prime minister accused Syria, more than once at least, of being terrorist and that it has carried out criminal acts inside Iraq which resulted in the deaths of many Iraqis. I think that until now that this is the basic argument of Mr. Malaiki -- but this hides really something else. The other thing is that he's not happy that there are Iraqis who are opposed to his regime and the American occupation of Iraq in Syria. This it the vital thing, I think, this is the essence, the very essence, of the issue. Just to make it clear, until now the Iraqi accusations have reached no result and they have failed in presenting any document or any evidence or clue even that Syria has really contributed or helped any criminal element in doing these acts in Iraq. This is first. Second, I just want to make it clear that Syria cannot say "no" to any Arab political refugee who comes to Damascus. This is one of the rules --

Jasam al-Azawi: We shall come to that point, later on, Thabet. Let's give Saad al-Muttalibi another chance to see whether he can come up with the evidence that Syria is plotting to reimpose the Ba'athists on Iraq again.



In the United States, the woman once called "the female Paul Robeson" has died. She long surpassed that moniker and stood in no one's shadow. Singer, actress and activist Lena Horne passed away at the age of 92 (Washington Post multi-media link). At wowOwow, photographer Harry Benson remembers her. Margena A. Christian (Ebony) reflects on Lena's life and meaning (and link is text and video). NPR's Mark Memmott notes Lena's passing and compiles multiple audio of NPR's past coverage of her. Avoid Crapapedia. I'm borrowing liberally from a piece we did at Third in April 2009 (word-for-word with some editing out and a tiny bit of wrap around to make the below flow).

Crapapedia can't get her family correct. (Two relatives of Lena Horne's maternal grandfather would pass for White, one an actress, the other a singer.) They can't get the pressure on her correct either. (Early on, while trying to establish herself in the New York theater, she was advised to pass for Latino by agent Harold Gumm and producer George White -- Horne refused).

Most significantly, they leave out Horne's signing with MGM. Horne didn't want to make movies and was quite happy in New York City. So happy she was turning down an offer from the Trocadero in Los Angeles when the NAACP's Walter White explained to her that not only could this lead to a break in films for Horne, it could lead to a huge advanced for African-Americans. She took the town when she opened at the Trocadero. After MGM offered a contract, Horne went to speak with Walter White. They discussed the roles African-Americans were relegated to -- servants and native caricatures. It was for this reason that Horne refused to play demeaning roles and had that written into her contract. In her autobiography, Lena, Horne explained of the roles offered to African-Americans at the time, "They were mainly extras and it was not difficult to strip down to a loincloth and run around Tarzan's jungle or put on a bandanna and play one of the slaves in Gone with the Wind."

Crapapedia leaves out that and they also tell you that Lena Horne never starred in a film while under contract to MGM. Apparently they missed Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather (the first was for MGM, the second was made by Fox with MGM loaning Horne out for the film).


She refused to do an MGM-backed Broadway play because it was flat-out racist. As a result, MGM started screwing her over by refusing to let her do night club work. Joan Crawford advised her to get a bigger agency and she went with MCA. They did the bare minimum. That's in terms of getting 'permission' for her to work in nightclubs and in terms of 'representing' her. They were more than happy to take her money. But MCA was a highly racist agency and Lena would find, in town after town, that while a White star or White personality far less famous than her, raising far less money than she did, would be greeted immediately by MCA, receive congratulatory telegrams on opening night, MCA would mosey on over to see her when they damn well felt like it, maybe three, maybe five days after she opened. The telegram would arrive on the second or third night. They were racists, they were damn racists. Even for the time. They were also cowards. And of course Jules Stein ran MCA.Lena Horne's Civil Rights work including raising the profile of African-Americans in film and in clubs, ending segregation in New York City clubs as well as clubs outside of NYC. It includes joining James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Jerome Smith, Rip Torn, Dr. Kenneth Clark, Lorraine Hansberry and Dr. Brewton Berry for a meeting with then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to discuss the segregation and violence in Birmingham (the violence included police sicking dogs on the marchers and fire fighters turning the hoses on the marchers on May 3rd, which followed the April arrest of MLK and other assaults on peaceful protests). Her activism found her traveling to Jackson, Mississippi to speak and sing at an NAACP rally -- which is where she met Medgar Evers for the first time. Horne was booked on NBC's Today Show June 13, 1963 to talk about the Civil Rights movement and learned, shortly after arriving at the studio, that Medgar Evers had been assassinated the night before. Horne would manage to compose herself and go on live TV to discuss Evers life and legacy. She participated in the August 28, 1963 March on Washington. She would do a Carnegie Hall benefit for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. At that performance she would debut two new songs. "Silent Spring" was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg about the September 15, 1963 Birmingham 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham in which four young girls -- Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Diane Wesley, Carole Rosamond Robertson and Addie Mae Collins -- were murdered. The second song was "Now!" which is a Civil Rights anthem and was a hit song. Like "Kumbaya" its role in the Civil Rights movement seems to be forgotten by many today. Adolph Green and Betty Comden wrote the lyrics and Lena sang it full out, brimming with passion. That wasn't unique to this one song but, as Lena knew, it wasn't a song some expected from her. Especially those who didn't grasp that she always took the big steps that pulled everyone along with her.


If those historical gentlemen came back today --
Jefferson, Washington and Lincoln --
And Walter Cronkite put them on channel 2
To find out what they were thinking,
I'm sure they'd say,
"Thanks for quoting us so much
but we don't want to take a bow,
enough with the quoting put those words into action
and we mean action
Now!"
Now is the moment,
Now is the moment,
Come on,
We've put it off long enough.

Now!
No more waiting,
No hesitating,
Now!
Now!
Come on
Let's get some of that stuff!

It's there for you and me.
For every he and she.
Just want to do what's right
Constitutionally.

I went and took a look
In my old history book.
It's there in black and white
For all to see.

Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!

Everyone should love his brother,
People all should love each other,
Just don't take it lieteral, mister
No one wants to grab your sister

Now is the time!
Now is the time!

Now is the moment,
Now is the moment,
Come on,
We put it off long enough.

Now no more waiting,
No hesistating
Now!
Now!
Come on,
Lets get some of that stuff.

It's there for you and me
For every he and she
Just want to do what's right
Constitutionally.

I went and took a look
In my old history book.
It's there in black and whiteFor all to see.

Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!

Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!

The message of this song's not subtle.
No discussion.
No rebuttal.
We want more
Than just a promise.
Say goodbye
To Uncle Thomas.
Call me naive,
Still I believe
We're created free and equal now!

Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!

Everyone should love his brother.
People all should love each other.
Since they say we all got rhythm
Come on, let's share rhythm with them.

Now is the time!
Now is the time!
The time is now!



iraq
in the newssarah garrodxinhualin zhialbawabaalsumaria tvcnnbbc newsgabriel gatehousechannel 4sky newsadam arnoldreutersal jazeerathe palestine telegraphomar ghraiebabbas al-anithe new york timessteven lee meyers
nprmark memmott
bloomberg newscaroline alexander
ben lando
mcclatchy newspaperssahar issa
the los angeles times
borzou daragahi
the washington posternesto londono
al jazeera
inside iraq
jasim al-azzawi
the associated pressyahya barzanji
the telegraph of londonrichard spencer
the guardianmartin chulov
afparthur macmillangulf newsmohammad akef jamalxinhuasun yunlongmusa keilani

Fringe and Barry's hometown problems

Friday! At last! Beau e-mailed saying he went to watch Fringe on Hulu this morning but couldn't because it wasn't there. That happened to me the week before last so I just surfed on over to its website at Fox and watched Fringe there -- it was probably six in the morning because I was doing sit ups and on the treadmill.

I liked this episode so much better than last week's. Last weeks's had a one-time appeal. You can watch it once and then what's the point? The whole thing was a fairy tale told by Walter. It didn't really happen. And it was nice as a one-time thing but it didn't advance the plot line or make you know the characters better (they didn't play the characters, for one thing, they played a version of the characters if they were in a film noir).

So this was a basic episode. Martha Plimpton was a guest star and she did a great job. I was kind of thinking they'd make her a regular, that her boyfriend would be dead, and she'd tell Peter, "I've got no reason to stay in this town."

That didn't happen but she had a really strong role and did a great job with it.

Unlike Barack. And Barry O's woes never seem to go away. This is from Ben Smith and Manu Raju (Politico):

President Barack Obama’s enemies like to call him a creature of the “Chicago machine,” but when it comes to the politics of his home state of Illinois, the White House doesn’t seem to know where the gears are.
Indeed, Chicago has delivered an unending stream of embarrassment, frustration and discomfort to the administration of its favorite son, from an indicted governor to a failed Olympics bid to a series of smaller political blows.
In the latest encounter with political quicksand, the White House — already burned by a series of failures to fill Obama’s Senate seat with a chosen candidate — has been forced to proceed with extreme caution toward the damaged Democratic Senate nominee, Alexi Giannoulias, waiting to see if he drops out even as some of its allies want the White House to take a heavier hand.

Poor Barry. My heart bleeds . . . not. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Friday, May 7, 2010. Chaos and violence continue, is it over for Allawi, Amnesty calls out the killers of Sardasht Osman, the VA can't meet deadlines -- even Congressionally mandated ones -- even ones signed off on by the President -- and thinks seven months late with a report (that was finished in September) is no big deal, and more.

Yesterday Iraqi journalist Sardasht Osman's corpse was discovered. Today Sam Dagher covers it in "Abducted Kurdish Journalist in Iraq Is Found Dead" (New York Times). He is only one of many journalists kidnapped and/or killed all over the world. So people need to think when they speak. Critics? No, the press or the pompous who consider themselves the press. Take the stammering idiot James Kitfield of National Journal who makes an ass out of himself every time he opens his mouth to offer another series of incomplete, unfinished sentences. Today he appeared on The Diane Rehm Show (NPR) and uttered a series of phrases and run on thoughts including, "Also -- These guys -- The drone program as we all know has been increased dramatically, we've been killing a lot of these guys." If you didn't just get offended, let's let him continue. "We killed . . ." "We thought we got . . ." Jimmy Kit, you're in the US military? Now it's offensive that a journalist wouldn't know the large number of civilians killed in Pakistan by Barack's drones. That's offensive. But James is stupid -- listen to flop that mouth around -- and that's a given. But does the world really need his 'enlisting' right now? Are, for example, US reporters in many countries not seen as CIA or working for the government?

Is James Kitfield not aware that the National Movement for the Resortation of Pakistani Sovereignty made that (false) claim against Daniel Pearl, used that as their 'justification' for kidnapping him and killing him? The world really can't afford James Kitfield's stupidity but we'll all adjust some way. Journalism cannot afford Kitfield's stupidity. When Jimmy Kit opens his stupid mouth and starts blathering on about "we killed" or "we did," he perpetuates the myth that the press is not free and that it operates under the direction of the US government and spies for the US government. James Kitfield needs to keep his mouth shut if he can't stop damaging the profession. This is not about a media critique this is about US reporters being in hostile environments around the world. Kitfield needs to learn to present objectively and needs to stop speaking of "we." Every time he pulls that nonsense, he throws gasoline on already smouldering fire.

USA Today's Susan Page guest-hosted The Diane Rehm Show today and Iraq was raised in the second hour with the panel which consisted of Kitfield, Michele Kelemen (NPR) and David Sanger (New York Times).

Susan Page: We talked about the effort to build a government in Great Britian, let's talk about what's happening in Iraq. The two largest Shi'ite parties, the two largest Shi'ites blocs are trying to get together and form a new government. The US does not see this as necessarily a good thing. David, why?


David E. Sanger: They don't because their biggest concern here is that the Sunni minority is going to feel even more frozen out and you would end up in the kind of violence that we saw happen in 2006, 2007, until the surge began to tamp that down. So the idea was build an inclusive government. And if the Shi'ites actually stopped fighting each other and start once again thinking of how they would keep the Sunni out of the government, uh, then you've got basically all of the ingredients for an eruption. Now the next question we ask then is how does that effect the withdrawal schedule for the US? And the answer we get back is: "Not at all. At this point, the Iraqis have to sort this one out themselves and a US presence isn't going to speed this up or slow that down."

Susan Page: So even if there were signs of civil -- the kind of civil unrest that we've seen less of in Iraq, this would not prompt the US to say, "Well we better stay there for awhile and provide some stability."

James Kitfield: They say it would not. I think the pressure to do so would be too great.

Susan Page: What do you think?

James Kitfield: I was just recently in Iraq and talked to-to the military on this. There's two jumping off points since April's already passed where they could put the brakes on this because it's a very complicated rotation scheme. You have to have forces trained if you're going to keep people on the ground longer than anticipated it effects the entire rotation cycle -- in-in basically June. So they have to make their minds up pretty quick or else this withdrawal is going to, you know, go apace as we've seen and its 50,000 troops out of there by August 30th. I will say what they're trying -- You know -- I think they would clearly -- The Americans would clearly rather have Allawi who had the most number -- And he's backed by the Sunnis --The Iraqiya Party -- He's backed by the Sunnis -- They would like to see him part of a coalition. But they're making the point to the Sunnis -- Is that -- "Look, you're going to be a very powerful party in opposition that that's the way it ends up. You're going to have a lot of seats. And that's going to force them to probably give you some ministries. So it's not like they're going to totally freeze out the Sunnis. They won a lot of the -- They won 91 seats in the Parliament. So that's the message the Americans are trying to send the Sunnis. But clearly, if Allawi is frozen out of the coalition there will be hard feelings on the part of the Sunnis.

The post-election madness. Rania El Gamal and Suadad al-Salhy (Reuters) report that the "alliance between Iraq's two main Shi'ite political coalitions to form the next government is far from concluded, with potentially divisive issues such as the nomination of a prime minister still unresolved." Oliver August (Times of London) observes, "Before the election, and even after it, there were hopes that a cross-sectarian alliance might bridge the divide. But a successful intervention by the Iranian Government prevented that. Many Shia leaders owe allegiance, and in some cases their position, to Tehran." Last Saturday, Lara Jakes (AP) reported that Hoshiyar Zebari (Iraq's Foreign Minister) has said the US should not be standing by observing but instead urging a solution to the post-election dispute in Iraq. He accused the Barack Obama administration of being more focused on drawdown deadlines than on the state of Iraq. Zebari was calling for help and doing so publicly. You can't get much more clear than that. Despite calls for US involvement from Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, the US did nothing as Michael Young (Lebanon's Daily Star): Instead, US officials took great pride in saying that they had not interfered in the election process. What, precisely, was the thinking here? That America would be rewarded by some cosmic moral supreme court? That Iran and Syria would gasp at American uprightness and refrain from exploiting Iraq for their own purposes? Does the administration imagine that international politics unfolds like a Frank Capra film, so that like Mr. Smith in Washington the world would dissolve into tears of affection for Mr. Obama in Iraq? Once the Iraqi elections ended, it was plain what the US should have done, or tried to do. A coalition government between Maliki and the front-runner Ayad Allawi was the right way to go. It would have helped return the Sunnis to Iraqi political life, while profiting from the Shiite split, to Iran's disadvantage. The priority should have been to keep Maliki away from the Iranians, whom the prime minister was never very close to anyway. A shotgun wedding between Maliki and Allawi might have failed, their conflicting ambitions making this difficult. Yet both could have eventually seen an interest in following through, since they would have thus marginalized their communal rivals. Here was a moment when Barack Obama's personal involvement was essential. But what did the US do? Nothing.


And the US did nothing. It offered no leadership. It just sat on the sidelines. Barack Obama is not in Iraq. Christopher Hill is. He is supposed to be the US Ambassador to Iraq. He's done a lousy job and the administration wishes they'd moved to replace him sooner (he's going bye-bye in a few months). But that's really too damn bad.Republican objections about Hill were valid when they were based on the fact that he said one thing to your face and then did another behind your back. His personnel file goes on and on about just that. It's Barack's fault and it's the Senate Democrats fault. They should have known what he was. He's done a lousy job. And Iraq was already fragile. He's only made it worse with his dithering and his stupidity and his inability to grasp even the basic issues such as Kirkuk. He couldn't even grasp Kirkuk in his Senate confirmation hearing -- despite the fact that he'd been tutored on it [The March 25, 2009 confirmation hearing was covered in that day's snapshot and the March 26, 2009 snapshots ].

Some missed the point in real time. Such as Tom Ricks' sidekick Spencer Akerman (Washington Independent) who whined the following before the confirmation hearing, "But this is one of the most important U.S. diplomatic postings in the world. It should have an ambassador filling it already." Poor Spency, fired from The New Republic and still a fool. It "is one of the most important U.S. diplomatic postings in the world" but that didn't mean that it should have someone "filling it already" -- it meant that it should have someone qualified filling the position.

Ryan Crocker had already said he would stay on a bit longer (and he did). There was no big rush. And there was no issue of "I can't get along with Crocker!" Ryan Crocker was against the Iraq invasion. He and Barack should have gotten along just fine. There was a qualified person in the position ready to stay on for as long as needed because he realized how important the post was. Chris Hill was the best Barack could do? Unfamiliar with the region, unfamiliar with the culture, unfamiliar with the history, unfamiliar with the culture and prone to morning peaks and afternoon spirals, Hill was the best choice? Were that actually true, it would be very frightening.
Iraq was not a success when Hill (finally) got to Baghdad. But he's leaving it worse than it was when he got there and the decay happened on his watch because he didn't know what he was doing. When the fool occasionally asked basic questions about protocol, he'd blow off the advice he was given. There's no way to spin it for Barack. Chris Hill is a disaster.

And Allawi? Ayad Allawi's slate won the most seat in the Parliament. Now Iraqiya finds itself shut out of the process. Kitfield's idea that some ministries might be awarded is ridiculous. Not that they might be. It could happen. But with few exceptions, the ministries are a joke. They're actually pretty much all a joke but some come with their own militias. Nouri al-Maliki's cabinet -- like his brain -- was never full. The Ministries aren't that important and they don't have a great deal of independence. Add in that if you're truly independent, you usually end up fast tracked into the US because you've got death threats and accusations against you. There is no independence. So what of Allawi? Muhammad Ashour (Niqash) believes Allawi will now have to "settle for a lower-ranking ministerial portfoilo". Paul Schemm (AP) reports that Ayad Allawi has returned to Iraq and is stating the Iraqiya Party has first shot at forming the government due to the number of seats it won in the March 7th election. Schemm notes that the Kurds state they are going with al-Maliki. The Kurds state that. It's not reality. Allawi could get the block by promising to deliver to the KRG what they've long wanted -- as anyone observing the last few years should be aware.

In addition, once the Baghdad recounts are over, MPs are sworn in. Once sworn in, they're in. Meaning?

There are 325 seats, 163 needed to form the government. After an MP is sworn in, they're in. If the new prime minister has not yet been named at that point, any MP can switch to whatever party they want for whatever reward (or bribe) they want. It's in the MPs interest to delay the process because that allows them to make demands for the people they represent and/or themselves. Should an MP switch before they're sworn into the Parliament, they could be stripped of their seat and replaced with someone else from their party. After they've taken office, they're in.

As the Iraqi National Alliance and State Of Law attempt to figure out what to do next, it is likely that the naming of the prime minister may not take place quickly.

In some of today's reported violence, Reuters notes a Tikrit car bombing which injured eleven people, an Abu Ghraib car bombing which claimed 1 life and left two people injured, an armed attack in Rashad resulted in 3 dead and four injured and, dropping back to last night, 1 'suspect' was killed in Ramadi.

Tuesday's snapshot noted the plans to turn Baghdad into a walled-in-city -- apparently Nouri is The Last Emperor and the Green Zone is being redubbed The Forbidden City. Al Jazeera reports today that the fence "will be made of concrete and topped by security cameras" and -- Nouri's not given up on that moat! -- in areas where The Grand Wall Of Maliki will interfere with farming, they will resort to trenches instead. Construction of the fence is said to take at least a year.

Returning to the kidnapping and murder of 23-year-old Iraqi journalist Sardasht Osman whose body was discovered yesterday, Amnesty International issued the following:

The Kurdistan Regional Government must take immediate steps to investigate the abduction and murder earlier this week of Sardasht Osman, 23, a university student who worked as a journalist for the Ashtiname newspaper in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. His abduction and murder follows a spate of other attacks on journalists and other critics of the KRG's two main political parties in recent years for which no-one has been brought to justice. Sardasht Osman, a final-year student at Erbil's University of Salaheddin, was abducted outside the university on 4 May by a group of unidentified armed men. They forced him into a car and drove away. He was not seen alive again. His body was found in Mosul yesterday morning. He had been murdered. Prior to his death, Mr Osman wrote articles for Ashtiname newspaper in Erbil, and other publications. According to Kurdish media websites, he had recently published an article in Ashtiname critical of a senior Kurdish political figure following which, according to his brother, Bashdar, he received anonymous threats to his mobile phone. It appears that his abduction and murder may be the latest in a series of attacks carried out against independent journalists and other critics of the KRG authorities in recent years. There is an emerging pattern of attacks on those who have criticised leading members and officials of the two main political parties in the Kurdistan Region - the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), headed by Mas'oud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by Jalal Talabani - which jointly form the KRG. The attacks, mostly physical assaults but including some killings, have generally been carried out by unidentified men in plain clothes who are widely suspected of being agents of or connected to the Parastin and Zanyari, the party security and intelligence organs of, respectively, the KDP and the PUK. Amnesty is calling on the KRG authorities to institute immediately a thorough, independent investigation into the abduction and murder of Sardasht Osman and other attacks on journalists and others in the Kurdistan Region and areas under the effective control of the KRG, and for those responsible to be brought to justice in full conformity with international law


Turning to the US where a subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing entitled "Quality v. Quantity: Examining the Veterans Benefits Administration's Employee Work Credit and Management Systems." As Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Chair John Hall noted, "One of our longer titles of a hearing." The Subcommittee heard from three panels. The first panel was composed of CNA's Eric Christensen. Why?

Chair John Hall: We also intended for today's hearing to provide an opportunity to examine a Congressionally-mandated report on the VBA's work credit and management system outlined in legislation that I developed and sponsored during the 110th Congress, the Veterans Disability Benefits Claims Modernization Act of 2008, HR 5892, codified in Public Law 110-389. The goal of this legislation, among other things, was to provide VBA with a valuable roadmap to assess and improve its work credit and management systems to produce better claims outcomes for our veterans. The deadline for this report was October 31, 2009 and I note that we have yet to receive it. However, VA has authorized its independent research contractor that was retained to complete this report, the Center for Naval Analyses to testify before us today concerning a summary of the report's findings and recommendations. VA advised the Subcommittee that the report is still under review by the agency and OMB and that it should be transmitted to Congress soon. We look forward to hearing today when this report will be ready and submitted to Congress, and getting a better understanding of why it has not yet been delivered.

The above was in his opening remarks. We'll note this exchange that took place during questioning.

Subcommittee Chair John Hall: Thank you and can you give us any insight into why the VA has been unable to release the study that was made by CNA which I believe you said was completed in September?

Eric Christensen: That's correct. We completed it in September and delivered it to VBA per our contract. I cannot speak for VA in terms of why they have not provided it to you.

CNA completed the report in September 2009. Congress was ordered to report on that study and the report was due October 31, 2009. It is now May 2010 and the report has not been made to Congress. Representing the VA was Diana M. Rubens (on the third panel), the Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations. This is what she stated in her opening remarks:

As the Subcommittee is fully aware, Public Law 110-389 required the Secretary [of the VA] to initiate a stufy of the effectiveness of the VBA's employee work credit to evaluate a more effective means of improving disability claims processing performance. I apologize for the late delivery as we experienced delays in both the initiation of that study and the completion of that concurrence process. I do anticipate that that will be delivered shortly and I'm happy to be available for any questions you have upon review of that study.

She went on to claim that CNA and VBA were similar in their analysis. Were that correct, why would it take so long to release a report on the study? It will be "delivered shortly" -- she anticipates. In the written version of her opening statment (what will make it into the record over her verbal response quoted above), she's stating "we expect to deliver [the report] in the near future."

It all sounds like "Check's in the mail." And what is it with the VA that they can get anything right these days? They can't make fall 2009 payments on time (they just finished -- or supposedly 'finished' -- there may be some veterans still waiting) and they can't turn in a report that was due October 31, 2009. Is Eric Shinseki unable to provide leadership and oversight to the department? If so, then a new VA Secretary may be needed. How does a department head not notice that a report legally due to Congress no later than October 31st still hasn't been delivered 7 months later?

We'll note this exchange from the hearing:

Subcommittee Chair John Hall: Thank you Ms. Rubens, could you please explain, first of all, what has delayed the transmission of the report outlined in PL 110-389? And when you said "shortly," what does that mean? When will we receive that report?

Diana M. Rubens: Yes, sir. I, uh, I will tell you that, uh, this study was one of eleven in 110-389. As we worked to get the studies all engaged, it took us longer than it should have. It was an unexcusable delay. Uhm. That was enacted in October. It took us until March -- you heard Mr. Christensen say we engaged them in March [2009] and so that was an inexcusable delay. Uh, as I understand it and I spent the last couple of days trying to ascertain just where it is. The concurrence process through VA, VBA and working with OMB is closer to the end of that process than the beginning. And we've engaged in some ongoing discussions to ensure that everybody that's looking at it, if you will, outside of VBS recognize that we are late.

Subcommittee Chair John Hall: Well if the report was done in September [2009], are you changing the report? Is it being modified or are you just reading it before we get to read it?

Diana Rubens: I will tell you that I think we were reading it before you get to read it and the concurrence process over the course of October, November and December was painfully protracted. It wasn't so much that we're editing or changing, I think it's making sure that we understand. And unfortunately not staying on top of the concurrence process to move it along.

Subcommittee Chair John Hall: Well I would appreciate receiving it within what I would consider to be a reasonable time -- like the next week. I see no reason why a report that was paid for by the tax payer, that was required by this Congress and by this Committee and that was completed last September by an outside contractor should be sitting somewhere at VA -- and for no good reason that I've been told -- other than, it being reviewed and 'concurred' upon -- whatever that may mean -- has not been shared with us. And I think it's time.

Diana Rubens: Yes, sir.

That was far from VA's only problem. Another example arose in the hearing.

Subcommittee Chair John Hall: As of May 1st of this year, there are over 87,000 compensation claims pending before the New York RO [Regional Office], nearly half of which have been waiting for over 125 days. What can you tell my New York area veterans and those in other Congressional districts about the work that's being done to reform the systems so that the staff -- both line staff and managers alike -- focus on improving quality and still get the benefits to the veterans in a timely manner?

Diana Rubens: Yes, sir. Specifically, the New York -- As you know, we've got a new management team in the New York Regional Office. I'm very excited about their innovation approach, their collaboration approach that they've taken on on their own already with the local medical centers to ensure that we get, uh, timely, accurate exams upon which to make decisions. And so the efforts there with a new management team I think will begin to, if you will, bear fruit as they help the employees better manage the work in innovative ways that they've developed locally. At the national level, you know, I've mentioned some of the things that we've done to generate ideas whether it's internally, whether it's through the roundtable that [House Veterans Affairs Committee] Chairman [Bob] Filner hosted, whether it's our national innovation initiative. And we are working to put together an overarching approach to how do we improve nationwide? Uh, some of the things that I think heard concern about here as well. Interim ratings is one of the things that I've heard discussed in terms of if there are 3 or 4 issues on a claim and we can process one and need to develop further information on the other that we are reinforcing the use of interim ratings. It starts getting money flowing to the veteran, it starts getting them access to health care, uhm, it ensures that they're uh in our system and getting work done. We're also looking at how do we segment claims? I heard some discussion from some of the panel members about those one issue claims that might move more quickly -- whether it's that hearing loss claim or just one single-issue -- and are currently piloting in several offices. How will that work? About 26% of our work is a single-issue claim and if we can move those along more quickly, will we allow ourselves a better focus, if you will, on those more complex claims -- whether it's a complex issue or whether it's a number of issues. Uhm, I talked a little about the pro-active phone development. We've heard some concerns about whether or not we're incentivizing or rewarding employees. I will tell you that as we reward employees, quality is always a part of the requirement for a reward to be given. But it's also about that -- I'll call it "less tangible monetary award" and it's that recognition of who your performers are and making sure that we're recognizing them for that effort. One of the initiatives that we're developing and the Secretary's interested in supporting, if you will, a Who's Who in VBA for VSRs and rating specialists that will allow us to recognize quarterly uh the top 25 in each of those categories and, at the annual level, with recognition from the Secretary in an effort to have people continue to stay jazzed and focused on we've got to get this job done. I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of the efforts that we're making in both technology, if you will, the VBMS -- the Veterans Benefits Management System. We are standing up an organization that brings VBA and uses, if you will, field users and the organization together to be focused on this work that will grow from the virtual regional office pilot that was just completed in Baltimore allowing us to change and pursue accurately the electronic claims processing system.

Subcommittee Chair John Hall: Well thank you for all of that. I'm especially happy to hear that you're -- that you're moving toward streamlined granting of claims or approval of claims in clear cut cases like hearing loss. Although I'm a little bit disappointed that, in 2008, Congress passed a law unanimously that was signed by President Bush that said "The Secretary shall issue this partial claims rating," changed the language from "may" to "shall" indicating the clear intent of Congress that when there's an undisputed severe disabling injury -- which I think hearing loss might fall under or a loss of a limb or paralysis or blindness or any number of other things that are clearly service connected and are not in dispute although there may be many other facets of the claim that are either not developed yet, they're needing longer ajudication -- but that "the Secretary shall award an immediate partial rating so that the money starts flowing to the veteran" that was passed unanimously and signed by the previous president and, two years later, I'm surprised that we're talking about being part way on the road to getting that done. I would hope that we would have been there already.

We could go on and on with other examples. That's due to the fact that John Hall prepares. He's paying attention in the other hearings and he's referencing Inspector General reports. It's nothing like the Senate VA Committee. And Hall is among the stars of the House VA Committee (others on the Democrat side would include Bob Filner, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Harry Teague and Debbie Halvorson -- on the Republican side, it would include Steve Buyer, Jerry Moran and John Boozman -- and I'm basing that on Committee performance, being able to question the witnesses and usually knowing a great deal more than the witnesses). Is there a star at the Veterans Affairs Dept? If so, they've yet to emerge and Barack Obama needs to figure out what exactly is going on and whether Shinseki is up to the job he's been appointed to.

The second panel was made up of advocates. There's not space for them in this snapshot; however, the American Legion's Ian DePlanque offered testimony and the American Legion has written about that and the hearing here. If I hear from friends with other organizations that they wrote about their advocate's testimony, we'll link to those in Monday's snapshot.

"We've been here even in the worst possible weather, in pouring rain and exhuasting heat," Joan Wile tells Clyde Haberman (New York Times) for his report on the weekly protest against the wars still held every Wednesday "on Fifth Avenue at the eastern entrance to Rockefeller Center" by the Grandmothers Against the War. Haberman reports this week saw the Grannies "330th consecutive Wednesday" protest. Heberman reports:Anne Moy went there by bus from the Lower East Side. It was important to her, she said, to register her opposition to the wars. At 92, she was the oldest on the protest line. She beat Lillian Lifflander by two years. Jenny Heinz, 65, was another regular, even though she was in the midst of treatment for breast cancer. Bert Aubrey, 76, had to lean on a cane, his knees not what they used to be. As so many rushed to walk -- no, run -- to run away from calling out the ongoing wars because a Democrat now occupies the White House, the Grandmothers Against the War have remained firm -- even with some of them having endorsed Barack. 330 Wednesdays (one Wednesday the police prevented the protest) speaks to commitment and so does protesting against what you know is wrong regardless of who is running the war. Joan Wile is also the author of Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace.


TV notes, Washington Week begins airing on many PBS stations tonight (and throughout the weekend, check local listings) and joining Gwen around the table this week are Peter Baker (New York Times), Dan Balz (Washington Post), Elizabeth Shogren (NPR) and Pierre Thomas (ABC News). And Gwen's column this week is "The Politics of Panic." Remember that the show podcasts in video and audio format -- and a number of people sign up for each (audio is thought to be so popular due to the fact that it downloads so much quicker). If you podcast the show, remember there is the Web Extra where Gwen and the guests weigh in on topics viewers e-mail about. And also remember that usually by Monday afternoon you can go to the show's website and stream it there (including Web Extra) as well as read the transcripts and more. Meanwhile Bonnie Erbe will sit down with Cari Dominguez, Ilana Goldman, Irene Natividad and Sabrina Schaeffer on the latest broadcast of PBS' To The Contrary to discuss the week's events. And at the website each week, there's an extra just for the web from the previous week's show and this week's it's immigration reform. For the broadcast program, check local listings, on many stations, it begins airing tonight. And turning to broadcast TV, Sunday CBS' 60 Minutes:
Homegrown TerrorSteve Kroft reports on American citizens - like the recent would-be Times Square bomber - who have traveled abroad for terrorist training in order to attack America or its allies.
The Secretary of StateScott Pelley follows Hillary Rodham Clinton as she performs her duties as secretary of state and questions her on the latest developments in foreign policy and the recent terror scare in New York's Times Square.
Walking AwayIt's estimated that one million Americans walked away from homes "underwater" or worth less than their mortgages even though they could afford the payments. Morley Safer reports on this trend, called strategic default, that threatens the economic recovery. Watch Video
60 Minutes, Sunday, May 9, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.


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