Saturday, October 22, 2005

Marie does the Democracy Now rundown in Spanish & English

Just got back from a game of pick up basketball and Dad says Maria did the Democracy Now! Headlines summary this week and it's up. So I'm logging on quick to post it here. Democracy Now! is the best source of news there is in my book so if you're a person who counts on Democracy Now! as much as I do, make sure you are telling people about it. Let 'em know where you get your news and who knows maybe someone who's never listened or watched or read will check it out.

"Ex asistente de Powell: "Complot" de Cheney se apoderó de las políticas extranjeras"

Maria: Hola. De parte de "Democracy Now!" once cosas que vale hacer notar este fin de semana. Paz.

Ex asistente de Powell: “Complot” de Cheney se apoderó de las políticas extranjeras
El ex jefe de personal de Colin Powell acusó públicamente a funcionarios de alto rango del gobierno de Bush de manejar las políticas extranjeras del país de tal manera que debilitaron la democracia estadounidense. El funcionario, Coronel Lawrence Wilkerson, hizo esas declaraciones el miércoles en Washington. Hasta enero, era el jefe de personal de Powell, quien era en ese entonces Secretario de Estado. Wilkerson dijo: “Lo que vi fue un complot entre el Vicepresidente de Estados Unidos, Richard Cheney, y el Secretario de Defensa... para tomar decisiones de las que la burocracia no tenía conocimiento” Wilkerson acusó también al Presidente Bush y a Rumsfeld de permitir el abuso a detenidos en el extranjero. El Financial Times catalogó los comentarios de Wilkerson como los ataques más severos al gobierno de Bush por un ex funcionario de alto rango desde las críticas realizadas por Richard Calark y Paul O’Neill a principios del año pasado. Wilkerson admitió el miércoles que su decisión de criticar públicamente al gobierno lo llevó a romper relaciones con Colin Powell, con quien trabajó durante 16 años.



Informe: Bush supo de la participación de Rove en la filtración hace dos años
Surgieron nuevos avances en el escándalo sobre la filtración de la identidad de la agente de la CIA Valerie Plame. El New York Daily News informa que el Presidente Bush amonestó a Karl Rove dos años después de que presuntamente conociera la vinculación de Rove con el caso de filtración. Mientras tanto, el Washington Post informa que Rove le dijo al Gran Jurado que podría haber sido Lewis "Scooter" Libby, jefe de personal del Vicepresidente Cheney, quien le reveló que Plame trabajaba para la CIA.

Rumores en DC: ¿Renunciará Cheney por caso de filtración de la CIA?
Esta noticia es sobre la investigación de la filtración de la identidad de la agente de la CIA Valerie Plame. El martes se esparció en el Capitolio el rumor de que el Vicepresidente Dick Cheney podría renunciar a causa del escándalo de la filtración. Se especula si el Fiscal Patrick Fitzgerald presentará cargos contra alguno de los involucrados en la investigación. El Washington Post informó el martes que Fitzgerald centra su atención en la participación de la oficina de Cheney. El New York Times informó hoy que Fitzgerald no tiene planeado presentar un informe sobre las investigaciones del Gran Jurado. Fitzgerald tiene dos opciones: presentar cargos o cerrar la investigación sin revelar públicamente sus hallazgos.

Informe: Soldados estadounidenses quemaron cadáveres de combatientes Talibanes
Esta noticia es sobre Afghanistan. Un programa de televisión australiano trasmitió imágenes de soldados estadounidenses quemando los cadáveres de dos combatientes del movimiento Talibán. El programa también presentó imágenes de una unidad del ejército estadounidense que trasmitía noticias sobre el incidente a residentes locales. El mensaje decía: "Permitieron que sus combatientes estén tirados con sus caras hacia el oeste quemándose. Están demasiado asustados para recuperar sus cuerpos. Esto prueba que son los hombres afeminados que siempre creímos que eran... Atacan y huyen como mujeres. Se hacen llamar Talibán, pero son una vergüenza para la religión musulmana, y avergüenzan a sus familias. Vengan y peleen como hombres y no como los perros cobardes que son". El miércoles el Pentágono anunció que investigaría el incidente.


Juez español ordena arresto de soldados estadounidenses por asesinato de Couso
Un juez español ordenó el arresto y extradición de tres soldados estadounidenses vinculados con el asesinato en Irak del camarógrafo de la televisión española Jose Couso. El juez dijo que esa medida era necesaria debido a que los soldados estadounidenses no habían proporcionado "cooperación judicial" para tratar de resolver el crimen.

Estados Unidos descarta proyectos de reconstrucción claves en Irak
Y una noticia más de Irak: el principal auditor de Estados Unidos a cargo de monitorear la reconstrucción de Irak dice que proyectos de reconstrucción serán descartados, debido a que los costos de seguridad y mantenimiento siguen aumentando. El auditor, Stuart Bowen, indicó que se necesita dinero para salud, agua, combustible e infraestructura eléctrica en Irak, y que los actuales proyectos de reconstrucción "sobrepasarán el presupuesto disponible". Bowen dijo que cerca del 26 por ciento del dinero aportado por Estados Unidos para la reconstrucción se utilizó para cubrir costos de seguridad.


Informe: No hay control sobre el gasto en defensa en Irak
En otras noticias sobre Irak, Knight Ridder informa que surgen serias preocupaciones acerca de la supervisión del gasto de 140 mil millones de dólares para defensa en Irak. La agencia de noticias indica que los auditores del Departamento de Defensa se retiraron en silencio de Irak hace un año. Desde octubre de 2004, sólo una de las 107 auditorías registradas en el sitio web del inspector general del Departamento de Defensa abarcó Irak.

Dieciocho abuelas arrestadas en protesta contra la guerra de Irak
En Estados Unidos, 18 abuelas de la organización Raging Grannies (Abuelas Furiosas) fueron arrestadas el lunes, luego de intentar alistarse en un centro de reclutamiento militar en Times Square. Las mujeres, de edades entre 40 y 90 años, se sentaron frente a la cabina de reclutamiento, cantando "Insistimos, queremos enlistarnos". Las 18 arrestadas afrontan cargos de alteración del orden público.

Tom DeLay fichado por la policía, sonríe en la foto
Tom DeLay, ex líder de la mayoría de la Cámara de Representantes, se entregó a las autoridades el martes en Houston, un día después de que se emitiera una orden de arresto en su contra. Poco después del mediodía, DeLay se presentó en el tribunal de Harris County donde se le tomaron las huellas dactilares, se le fotografió y fue liberado luego de pagar una fianza de 10.000 dólares. Sólo momentos después la fotografía de su ficha estaba en Internet. En esa fotografía, DeLay está sonriendo. El abogado de DeLay, Dick DeGuerin, criticó duramente al fiscal Ronnie Earle, a quien acusó de cometer un acto de venganza política. La oficina de Earle dijo: "Creemos que el congresista DeLay debe recibir el mismo trato que cualquier otra persona". DeLay presentó un recurso legal contra Earle, alegando mala gestión fiscal en el caso, y se llevará a cabo una audiencia sobre la legitimidad de la acusación. Mientras tanto, Earle requirió la semana pasada los registros telefónicos de DeLay. El fichaje policial del congresista se realizó sólo un día antes de la fecha fijada para su primera aparición ante un tribunal, este viernes en Austin. El mes pasado, un gran jurado acusó a DeLay y a dos de sus colaboradores de conspiración, por la presunta entrega de 190.000 dólares de donaciones realizadas por empresas a candidatos en elecciones legislativas estatales en 2002, disfrazando el origen del dinero mediante su canalización por comités nacionales de la campaña republicana. La legislación de Texas prohibe usar donaciones de empresas para financiar campañas políticas del estado.



UPFJ planifica Día de Acciones por la muerte de 2.000 militares en Irak
El grupo en contra de la guerra Unidos por la Paz y la Justicia (UFPJ, por sus siglas en inglés), anunció que está organizando un día nacional de acción para el día después de que la cifra oficial de militares muertos en Irak llegue a 2.000. El 20 de octubre el número de muertos era 1.988. UFPJ llama a la acción: “Dos mil de más”. Ya se han programado manifestaciones en ciudades de todo el país. Los familiares de los militares y los veteranos estarán al frente de muchas de éstas manifestaciones.

Selva tropical amazónica es destruida más rápido de lo que se pensaba
La publicación de resultados de una nueva investigación muestra que la selva amazónica está siendo destruida al doble de la velocidad que indicaban los cálculos anteriores. Los resultados fueron publicados hoy en la revista científica Science. Un nuevo análisis de imágenes satelitales de la parte brasileña de la cuenca del Amazonas muestra que un promedio de 9.600 kilómetros cuadrados de bosque son deforestados cada año mediante tala selectiva. A eso se agrega un área talada anual similar para cría de ganado o agricultura. Como consecuencia, la liberación de dióxido de carbono a la atmósfera aumenta un 25 por ciento cada año.


Maria: In English, here are eleven stories fom Democracy Now! Remember that the headlines are provided daily in English and Spanish and please pass on to your friends. Peace.

Ex-Powell Aide: Cheney 'Cabal' Hijacked Foreign Policy
Colin Powell's former chief of staff publicly accused top-level officials in the Bush administration of hijacking the country's foreign policy in ways that have undermined American democracy. The official - Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson spoke Wednesday in Washington. Up until January he was chief of staff to then Secretary of State Powell. "What I saw was a cabal between the Vice President of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the Secretary of Defense... that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made," Wilkerson said. Wilkerson went on to accuse President Bush and Rumsfeld of condoning the abuse of detainees overseas. The Financial Times described Wilkerson's comments as the harshest attack on the administration by a former senior official since criticisms by Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill early last year. Wilkerson admitted Wednesday his decision to publicly criticize the administration has led to a falling out with Colin Powell, who he worked with for 16 years.


Report: Bush Knew Rove's Role in Leak Two Years Ago
A number of new developments have emerged in the growing scandal over the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. The New York Daily News reports that President Bush admonished Karl Rove two years ago after the president reportedly learned of Rove's involvement in the leak. Meanwhile the Washington Post reports Rove told the grand jury that it may have been Vice President Cheney's chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby who first told him that Plame worked for the CIA.

Rumors In DC : Will Cheney Resign Over CIA Leak?
This update in the investigation of the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame: Rumors spread through the Capitol Tuesday that Vice President Dick Cheney might possibly resign over the leak scandal. Speculation is running high on whether Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will indict anyone in the investigation. The Washington Post reported Tuesday Fitzgerald is focusing in on the role of Cheney's office. The New York Times reported today that Fitzgerald does not plan to issue a report on the findings of the grand jury. This leaves Fitzgerald with two options: issue indictments or close the investigation with no public disclosure of his findings.


Report: U.S. Soldiers Burnt Bodies of Captured Taliban Fighters
This news on Afghanistan - an Australian TV program has aired footage of U.S. soldiers burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters. The program also aired footage of a U.S. Army psy-ops unit caught on tape broadcasting news of the burning to local residents. The message read : "You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burnt. You are too scared to retrieve their bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be... You attack and run away like women. You call yourself Taliban but you are a disgrace to the Muslim religion, and you bring shame upon your family. Come and fight like men instead of the cowardly dogs you are." On Wednesday the Pentagon announced it would investigate the incident.

Spanish Judge Orders Arrest of U.S. Soldiers in Couso Killing
A Spanish judge has ordered the arrest and extradition of three U.S. soldiers connected to the killing of Spanish tv cameraman Jose Couso in Iraq. The judge said the action was needed because the U.S. had provided "no judicial cooperation" in trying to resolve the death. We'll have more on this in a few minutes.




U.S. Drops Key Reconstruction Projects in Iraq
In other news from Iraq -- the top U.S. auditor monitoring Iraq's reconstruction says rebuilding projects will be dropped as security and maintenance costs continue to soar. The auditor, Stuart Bowen, said money needed for Iraq's health, water, oil and electrical infrastructure and current rebuilding projects "will outstrip the available revenue." Bowen said up to 26 percent of U.S. reconstruction money has gone to security costs.


Report: No Oversight for Defense Spending in Iraq
In other Iraq news, Knight Ridder is reporting serious concerns are being raised around the oversight of more than $140 billion dollars in defense spending in Iraq. The news agency reports defense department auditors quietly pulled out of Iraq a year ago. Since October 2004, only one of the 107 audits currently listed on the Defense Department inspector general's Web site has covered Iraq.

18 Grandmothers Arrested at Iraq War Protest
Here in this country, eighteen grandmothers from the Raging Grannies were arrested Monday after they tried to enlist at a military recruiting center in Times Square. The women, ranging in age from 40 to 90, sat down in front of a recruiting booth, chanting "We insist, we want to enlist." The 18 arrested face charges of disorderly conduct.

Tom DeLay Gets Booked, Smiles in Mug Shot
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay turned himself in to the authorities in Houston on Thursday, a day after an arrest warrant was issued for him. Shortly after noon, DeLay walked into the Harris County Sheriff's Office where he was fingerprinted, photographed and released after posting $10,000 bond. It only took moments for his mug shot to appear on the Internet. In the photo, DeLay sports a big smile. A short time later, DeLay's attorney blasted prosecutor Ronnie Earle, accusing him of political retribution. In response, Earle's office said, "We believe that Congressman DeLay should be treated like everyone else." DeLay already has subpoenaed Earle, claiming prosecutorial misconduct in the case, and a hearing will be held on the legitimacy of the prosecution. Meanwhile, Earle issued a subpoena last week for DeLay's phone records. DeLay's booking comes just a day ahead of his first scheduled court appearance Friday in Austin. Three weeks ago, a grand jury indicted Delay and two associates on a conspiracy charge on allegations they steered $190,000 in corporate donations to state legislative candidates in 2002 and disguised the source by sending the money through national Republican campaign committees. Texas law prohibits corporate donations to political campaigns.




UFPJ Plans Day of Actions Over 2,000 Military Deaths in Iraq
The antiwar group United for Peace and Justice has announced that it is organizing a national day of action planned for the day after the US military death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000. As of October 20, the total was 1,988. UFPJ is calling the action "2000 Too Many." Demonstrations are already scheduled in cities around the country. Military family members and veterans will be at the forefront of many planned protests.


Amazon Rainforest Being Destroyed Faster Than Earlier Believed
Newly published research shows that the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed at double the rate of all previous estimates. The research was published today in the journal Science. A new analysis of satellite images of the Brazilian part of the Amazon basin shows that on average 6,000 square miles of forest is being cut down by selective logging each year. This is in addition to a similar amount clear-cut annually for cattle grazing or farming. As a result, up to 25% more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere every year.







Friday, October 21, 2005

Michael Brown, Green Zoning it Dexter Filkins

Good evening. It's Friday and hopefully everyone will be able to chill a bit this weekend. Elaine's blogging tonight so be sure to check her out at Like Maria Said Paz. Here are two things from Democracy Now!

FEMA Scandal Widens as Internal E-mails Are Made Public
More details have emerged depicting the extent of the neglect and irresponsibility of former FEMA Director Michael Brown in his roll in the scandal of the government's handling of Hurricane Katrina. On Thursday, FEMA official Marty Bahamonde testified in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. He was the first official from the agency to arrive in New Orleans ahead of Katrina. In the midst of the chaos and horror of the hurricane's aftermath, Bahamonde sent a dire e-mail to Michael Brown saying victims had no food and were dying. No response came from Brown. Instead, less than three hours later, an aide to Brown sent an e-mail saying her boss wanted to go on a television program that night. But first, the aide said, Brown needed at least an hour to eat dinner at a Baton Rouge restaurant, writing, "He needs much more than 20 or 30 minutes." Some 19 pages of internal FEMA e-mails revealed Thursday show Bahamonde gave regular updates to people in contact with Brown as early as August 28, the day before Katrina hit. They appear to contradict Brown, who has said he was not fully aware of the conditions until days after the storm hit. Bahamonde arrived on Aug. 27 and was the only FEMA official at the scene until August 30. Subsequent e-mails told of an increasingly desperate situation at the New Orleans Superdome, where tens of thousands of evacuees were piled in. Bahamonde spent two nights there with the evacuees. On August 31, he e-mailed Brown saying, "estimates are many will die within hours." He described the situation as "past critical." It was just moments after that email that Michael Brown's press secretary, Sharon Worthy, wrote colleagues to complain that the FEMA director needed more time to eat dinner. Worthy wrote, "Restaurants are getting busy...We now have traffic to encounter to go to and from a location of his choise (sic), followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc. Thank you."

I asked Elaine if she could remember if Bob Somerby of The Daily Whine had covered Brownie. She thinks he defended Brownie. That Daily Whiner. He really is useless.

But from the e-mails, we now know that Brownie was kept in the loop and made other choices, like having dinner, instead of doing his job. He was hungry? He never heard of drive through?
Or maybe he didn't realize that being the FEMA director meant you worked long hours during a disaster?


U.S. Marshals Interrogate Reporters at Saddam Trial
A Fox News reporter has revealed that US Marshals are overseeing security at Saddam's trial in Baghdad and have conducted interrogations of journalists, asking them a bizarre series of questions. Among the questions correspondent Dana Lewis says he was asked: "Am I friends with insurgents?" "Have I ever experimented with drugs?" "What is my religion?" "Are my teeth real?" At the end of the interview, Lewis says the Marshals asked him if he would be willing to take a polygraph. He was then led to a room for an iris scan and fingerprints, which will be used as a physical identity check entering the courtroom for the trial.

Elaine and I both hollered "Filkins!" when we were discussing which items to do tonight. This is what you get from Filkins. Thank Dexter Filkins for the fact that reporters are now having to pass a loyalty test to cover an event. Dexter Filkins sets the standard for loyalty oaths. Hell, with his Falluja non-reporting, he probably wrote the loyalty oath! All the links in this paragraph go to an important thing on Filkins and the others at the New York Times and their reporting "style" in Iraq that C.I. wrote.


Cynthia e-mails me to ask why every guy she dates wants to grab her breasts?


Well we're a breast obsessed society. Guys, straight ones, are encouraged to focus on breasts, the bigger the better. And cause of these societal encouragements, guys can assume women are obsessed with breasts as guys are.

A lot of guys think every woman is turned on if you stroke her breasts. And cause of the encouragements, guys also think that if they don't go straight for the breasts, then the woman's going to think there is something wrong with them.

Or that's what we talked about in a class I'm taking on human sexuality.

We had to do this quiz and one of the biggest myths exploded about breasts after the quiz was that every woman wasn't turned on by having her breasts touched.

This part is just my opinion. But I think guys, straight ones, tend to think breasts are like penises. We love to be touched there. And we just assume that this is the part of the body on women that's going to get the same response. Maybe because they both stick out from the body?

Or maybe because we act like vagina's a dirty word and something not to be talked about but hidden?

But there are different areas for different women. Some women do like having their breasts touched. I should have said upfront that we're talking about guys that Cynthia has dated and was interested in.

Anyway, in the class, the prof talked about how for some women it might be their neck or their shoulders or their knees or some other body part that was visible. But she said the smartest thing a guy could do was not become obsessed with what was on the outside.

She said that women have a pretty good working knowledge of men's sex organs but that the converse is rarely true.

If you're a guy and you're reading this and you're involved with a woman, you might want to talk to her about it. If you're a woman involved with a man, you might want to do the same.

Cynthia asked if I'm obsessed with breasts like every guy she's dated? I think I said this before but in case I didn't I'm really more of a leg man.

Cynthia asked for a suggestion and I'm going to give her one. Since it doesn't turn you on, next guy you're dating that does it, just stop him and ask him if he's trying to turn you on? Explain that you're not really into it and that you feel like you're being mauled. Set him straight upfront.
If you're worried about hurting his feelings, don't be. Just set him straight from the start.

Hope that helps and if anyone's got another take on it, feel free to write it down and e-mail it and we'll note it.









Thursday, October 20, 2005

Burning bodies

Good evening. Elaine has the night off. :D Elaine blogs at Like Maria Said Paz and due to the fact that she's got group, she's a doctor, on Thursday nights, she's not able to blog Thursdays. So I solo on Thursdays when it comes to Democracy Now! and she solos on Wednesdays if I have an interview. Here are two things from Democracy Now! that Elaine and I picked out today.

Report: U.S. Soldiers Burnt Bodies of Captured Taliban Fighters
This news on Afghanistan - an Australian TV program has aired footage of U.S. soldiers burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters. The program also aired footage of a U.S. Army psy-ops unit caught on tape broadcasting news of the burning to local residents. The message read : "You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burnt. You are too scared to retrieve their bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be... You attack and run away like women. You call yourself Taliban but you are a disgrace to the Muslim religion, and you bring shame upon your family. Come and fight like men instead of the cowardly dogs you are." On Wednesday the Pentagon announced it would investigate the incident.

To me, this is a huge story and I bet Democracy Now! will have more on it in the coming days.
There are all sorts of issues here like international law and Muslim customs. For instance, you can't be cremated if you're an observant Muslim. So burning the bodies was really awful. The facing west refers to the fact that Muslims face east when they pray so this was another way to disrespect and insult the religion, which is the big religion in the Middle East.

C.I. wrote about Eric Schmitt's article on this at The Common Ills this morning:

If the story gets traction, the spin will be "a few bad apples." In this case, the troops, and Dupont believes they were sincere, were ordered to burn the bodies for hygene. PsyOps was ordering the burning and PsyOps had their own reasons for that. Punishment needs to go to PsyOps and watch and see where the spin goes on this. Normally, on the spotlight entry, I put the title of the piece and the reporter or reporters name. I'm not putting Schmitt's name in the title because I don't want someone crusing the web to think Schmitt's making that allegation. Australia's Dateline does. I am. But Schmitt didn't. I doubt the Dixie Chicky efforts work as well at smearing, but I've done the title in the manner I have so that no casual visitor would get the impression that my belief is what Schmitt is reporting.
To me, that should be the thrust of today's article. It's a charge made by Dupont who was present. The record on past abuse is that lower level troops take the fall as though they acted on their own when other facts indicate that is not the case. So here we'll state upfront in the title that two bodies were burned at the orders of PsyOps. I think the Times should have as well. We'll also note "The Night Letter" since apparently only a few have read Jon Lee Anderson's piece.

That pretty much says it all. It's not a few bad apples and it's not just some guys going like "Hey should we burn people?" They're being told to. They were told it was for hygiene. The people doing the "telling" keep getting away everytime. They need to be held accountable.

Ex-Powell Aide: Cheney 'Cabal' Hijacked Foreign Policy
Colin Powell's former chief of staff publicly accused top-level officials in the Bush administration of hijacking the country's foreign policy in ways that have undermined American democracy. The official - Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson spoke Wednesday in Washington. Up until January he was chief of staff to then Secretary of State Powell. "What I saw was a cabal between the Vice President of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the Secretary of Defense... that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made," Wilkerson said. Wilkerson went on to accuse President Bush and Rumsfeld of condoning the abuse of detainees overseas. The Financial Times described Wilkerson's comments as the harshest attack on the administration by a former senior official since criticisms by Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill early last year. Wilkerson admitted Wednesday his decision to publicly criticize the administration has led to a falling out with Colin Powell, who he worked with for 16 years.

That was the other big story for me. With the first one, I had heard about it this morning. But this one was complete news to me. I hadn't heard about it. I was hearing the thing in the car today and was like, "Woah, go over it again." I had to log onto a computer as soon as I got on campus to read it. It doesn't surprise me that it happened but I am surprised that this guy would come forward and tell the truth. I wonder why he decided to do so now?

I wish more people would talk about it. People who've seen up close how disgusting and undemocratic and illegal the Bully Boy is. I think as bad as we can picture him being we still don't know like even a third of it. Like if he pissed someone like Condi or Cheney off or like if they were charged with something and turned on him, can you imagine what they could probably tell?

I wonder what the die hards think? They tend to ignore truth and slam anyone who says even the littlest critical thing about their Bully. But maybe that's changing?

Rebecca called this evening to tell me how much she enjoyed my interview with Wally and that meant a lot because she knows Wally and she still found some new stuff in the interview. She felt it was my best interview so far. I think that's because Wally's such a great guy and cause I was smart enough to shut up and listen more this time. FOR THE HOUR!

:D


I also heard from 19 guys going, "My jeans do that too!" I think most of our jeans do that. Wear out inside right where our legs are meeting our groins. I think it has to do with a lot of things but that crotch rot isn't one of them. :D So guys quit worrying!

But if you need more than words, remember, take your deodarant and run it around your groin and let it dry before getting dressed. And speaking of dry, like Ma said, make sure underwear is dry. Don't be pulling it out of the dryer early to save a few coins.

And I got about 20 hundred things I wanted to talk about but that's all. Why? I told you about talking to Rebecca. Then my sister comes in upset because she's got a test tomorrow and she doesn't know if she understands the equations. So I spent two and a half hours on that. Then I get back to blogging and Tony shows up upset about his girlfriend. Not griping about any of them and glad to hear Rebecca's kind words, glad to help my sister and hope I made Tony feel better but I'm not getting anything done tonight obviously and it's like six hours after I started this the first time so I'm just going to go ahead and put it up. So let me swipe from C.I. and note a real important article that C.I.'s noted twice today.

This is Robert Parry's "Rise of the 'Patriotic Journalist:'"

The apex for the "skeptical journalists" came in the mid-1970s when the press followed up exposure of Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal and disclosure of the Vietnam War's Pentagon Papers with revelations of CIA abuses, such as illegal spying on Americans and helping Chile’s army oust an elected government.There were reasons for this new press aggressiveness. After some 57,000 U.S. soldiers had died in Vietnam during a long war fought for murky reasons, many reporters no longer gave the government the benefit of the doubt.
The press corps' new rallying cry was the public's right to know, even when the wrongdoing occurred in the secretive world of national security.
But this journalistic skepticism represented an affront to government officials who had long enjoyed a relatively free hand in the conduct of foreign policy. The Wise Men and the Old Boys -- the stewards of the post-World War II era -- now faced a harder time lining up public consensus behind any action.This national security elite, including then-CIA Director George H.W. Bush, viewed the post-Vietnam journalism as a threat to America’s ability to strike at its perceived enemies around the world.Yet, it was from these ruins of distrust -- the rubble of suspicion left behind by Watergate and Vietnam -- that the conservative-leaning national security elite began its climb back, eventually coming full circle, gaining effective control of what a more "patriotic" press would tell the people, before stumbling into another disastrous war in Iraq.
Pike Report
One early turning point in the switch from "skeptical" journalism to "patriotic" journalism occurred in 1976 with the blocking of Rep. Otis Pike's congressional report on CIA misdeeds. CIA Director Bush had lobbied behind the scenes to convince Congress that suppressing the report was important for national security.
But CBS news correspondent Daniel Schorr got hold of the full document and decided that he couldn't join in keeping the facts from the public. He leaked the report to the Village Voice -- and was fired by CBS amid charges of reckless journalism.
"The media's shift in attention from the report's charges to their premature disclosure was skillfully encouraged by the Executive Branch," wrote Kathryn Olmstead in her book on the media battles of the 1970s, Challenging the Secret Government.
"[Mitchell] Rogovin, the CIA's counsel, later admitted that the Executive Branch's 'concern' over the report's damage to national security was less than genuine," Olmstead wrote. But the Schorr case had laid down an important marker.
The counterattack against the "skeptical journalists" had begun.








My interview with Wally

Good morning. Posting delayed due to typing up this interview. (I hate typing.) I'll have an entry this evening but no way to finish this last night. We've got the interview with Wally of The Daily Jot. But first, two items from Democracy Now! that you should know about.

Baltimore Tunnel Threat Turns Out to Be Hoax
For the second time in as many weeks, the credibility of an intelligence threat that led to a terror scare in a major metropolitan city in the United States is being questioned. Two major car tunnels were closed in Baltimore Tuesday following information gleaned from an informant in FBI custody. But intelligence officials now say the informant's warning appears to have been an attempt to exact revenge on a Maryland resident he named as one of eight suspects for being involved with his girlfriend. All eight suspects were Egyptian-born Maryland residents. Last week, a terror scare led to a heightened alert and increased security presence on New York City's subways. Officials later conceded the intelligence that led to the threat warning was a hoax.

Chertoff Pledges Crackdown on Undocumented Immigrants
Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff is promising to immediately deport all undocumented immigrants caught in the United States. Chertoff vowed to end the so-called "catch and release" policy that has reportedly allowed 10,000 undocumented immigrants to remain in the country. Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, Chertoff said : "If they think that they can come across the border and get released, they're going to keep coming... Return every single illegal entrant - no exceptions." Chertoff made the announcement shortly before President Bush signed the $32 billion homeland security bill. The Associated Press reports the bill includes a large increase in border patrol funding but less money for local emergency first responders and a freeze in transit security funding.

Check out Elaine for commentary on the above two things.

There were nine community sites last Friday:

The Common Ills
Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude
The Third Estate Sunday Review
Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man
Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)
Mikey Likes It!
Cedric's Big Mix
Like Maria Said Paz
Seth in the City

Saturday, the number rose to ten when Wally started
The Daily Jot. I'm talking to Wally.

Wally: For the hour!

For the hour!!


For the hour! We better stop or that'll be your whole interview.

Okay, but let me drop back and explain that we're doing Larry King and that the first time we spoke on the phone, Larry King was on in the background and you were doing your impersonation of him. Now whenever we're on the phone, we'll do dueling Larry Kings. Now let me say, Why you gotta make Cedric and me come off like fools?

(Laughing) Ouch. You're talking about your interview with Cedric where you were trying to figure out who the two new bloggers would be and one of you says "Oh, I know it's not Wally."

Cedric says that. What's up with that Wally? Why you gotta front like that?

You knew about Seth.

Right. C.I. told me about Seth but I didn't know you were planning to start up.



It's one of those things you think about but you're not sure you can pull off so you don't talk about it too much.


What weren't you sure of? That you could do it every day?



Man, I didn't want to do like you and put in all this time. I mean, I don't have it, you know, the time. But I did want to do something and like a fortune cookie for the left is how Gina sees it.


A fortune cookie for the left? I like it. So you just wanted to do a line or two each day?


Right. I can make time for that. I can handle that.



Why The Daily Jot title? I've got readers who think you're taking a poke at Bob Somerby.


He wishes! No. The Daily Jot because it's just a jot. It's not even fair to call it a jotting. And the hope is to do it five times a week. In a way, it's like the thing Will Durst does at The Progressive but not as funny. It's not like an op-ed or a report, it's just a jot. Hopefully several times a week.



Any thoughts on The Daily Howler?


It's sad to see someone trash his own work by making himself so useless. You're thinking of the interview I did of C.I. for the gina & krista round-robin?



Yeah, and to back up there, I was going to interview C.I. here and you were going to do an interview for the round-robin but then something came up, I lost my interview and you're the only one in the community to do an interview with C.I.



Besides Beth.



Right, but Beth is the ombudsman. Back to The Daily Howler.



Well, it's like C.I. and I discussed in the round-robin interview. How do you miss Judy Miller? You're covering the press and you don't write one damn word on it. Until Wilson comes along and even then. How do you miss that? What's the biggest journalistic story of our time? Probably this decade will be Judith Miller and her WMD coverage but Bob Somerby's got nothing. That's his beat. That's what he's supposed to cover. Where the hell was he? That's a huge embarrassment. Now he wants to come along and piss all over the people raising issues and, me, I wonder how much of it has to do with the fact that he was sleeping on the job and missed the biggest story of the decade. Not just big because people talk about it but big because it was a stepping stone to war, not the only one, others played along too. But I mean, we're at war, Bob Somerby's fucking useless. He's a dottering old man saying, "Billy Kristol made a point the other day" or some other crap. He's useless. Take away his keys, he shouldn't be driving anymore. He's an old crank telling you the same old story for the 80th time and it's disgusting. "Bill Clinton in 1993 . . ." It's like, shine it on somewhere else you old fool. I mean, we are at war, people are dying and he wants to write about how nice his friend Mary Matilin is. It's like, "Shut up, go away." It's like the book by John Le Carre, The Russia House, where Katya tells Barley that she hopes he's not being frivilous because she only has time in her life for the truth. That's what a reader of Bob Somerby has to be thinking these days -- that he's just frivilous now and that in life right now, there just isn't time for that.

Because?

Because we have troops on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq and he's stuck jerking off on election 2000. And day after day, he's lecturing and making fun of all these people trying to say something like Atrios or Digby -- I don't even know Digby and never read him or her but I know I got sick of hearing Digby trashed -- when all he has to say is "My friend Al Gore" or "let's talk about test scores." I mean in his geezer circuit it's probably passing for news, the junk he's talking about. But where has he been on Judith Miller and where has been on Iraq period? That mattered in the last few years and matters right now. Not that Maureen Dowd told a joke he didn't like. And the roundtable, I read that thing and I started thinking, "Yeah, why is he trashing women all the damn time?" You can tell C.I.'s sick of him. That was obvious when C.I. pointed out that Katrina vanden Heuvel was right and that Bob was wrong. Bob's wrong a lot but what is it, one correction in a year?


How is he wrong a lot?


He argues his opinion and with guys it's like "Okay so this is my opinion and maybe you have a point" but with women it's like "You're stupid! You're an idiot!" And what's the whole "I won't peer into someone's soul" thing that's supposed to be operating principle. Didn't he do that with the woman he was calling out for election 2000 this week? A woman who apparently wasn't established enough to write about it then but Misogynist Bob has to make her the one responsible and keep on about how she would have done the same thing everyone else did. How does he know? He doesn't. But he's not rational when it comes to women. He really reads like a misogynist. You should hear my mom on him.


Really. What does she say?

She says white men of his class who are winding down the middle age years and are sexists tend to think if they throw a crumb here or there that they aren't. And she says that's why he throws to Naomi Klein.

Naomi Wolf.

Wolf. Thank you, Naomi Wolf. Yeah, Naomi Klein doesn't exist in his little neoliberal world of Clintonista. But, and this came up in the interview at the round-robin and C.I. might write about it, he'll sacrifice Wolfe even. He'll never call Eric Alterman out, the lisping scold. Alterman insults Wolf and gets his facts wrong but you'll never hear Bob Somerby call him on that. And we saw that my mom and C.I. are both right on that because today he's quoting his buddy Eric again but he still has never taken the time to say "Eric is wrong about Naomi Wolf." He won't do it. Eric Alterman is so annoying with that lisping voice, he sounds like that cartoon cat.

Sylvester.


Right. And he whimpers and acts like he's about to cry. I mean, even on Charlie Rose on PBS he's about to burst into tears. This is our brave voice? It's like, "Go write another bad book about Bruce Springsteen to prove your manhood again, Alterman."


You hate Eric Alterman.


Oh God do I. He's such a pompous little effete thing. It's funny to hear on The Majority Report with Janeane Garofalo where he's trying to act like he's this smart person and strong voice but all he sounds like is a snotty little boy who only knows how to communicate with women by insulting them.


Sounds like Bob Somerby.


Well I've never heard Somerby on the radio but yeah they both love insulting women. Somerby's like a slasher going after Ashley Judd when a woman comes up at The Daily Howler. Men never get that treatment at The Daily Howler, just women. He'll do one of his "David Brooks makes a strong point" and you read that and think, "David Brooks has lied more often than he's told the truth" but he'll always go easy on the men. When it's a woman, he's unreasonable and just getting off on how mean and disgusting he can be. I loved that thing C.I. did yesterday. Put it in.


Okay. This is from The Common Ills yesterday:


Ellen wonders what our latter day, online Dylan would make of that? Oh, Ellie, he's still on his Shot of Love tour, staggering from town to town, making noises about changes but nothing's changed. Despite the claim that it was time for a change in subject matter and focus. Today's targets? Just about everyone.
Which makes the claims about a change dubious. It's a bit like Dylan saying, "I'm thinking of touring with the Band." Or getting back together with Joan Baez. No new Rolling Thunder tour coming but got to keep the people hoping. Today, he's going after Wilson again. And explaining to us that 1992 was the year of change at the New York Times by God! Proving that the professor's grip grows looser and looser. The war on Social Security, the air kisses to Reagan, that's the 1980s but it's easier, apparently, to once again make it all about Clinton and/or Gore. And, point of fact, the Times clowned more often than not the entire last century but the professor missed all of that. He's probably not even aware of their infamous Woodstock coverage which veered down one road, up the other and then circled back. Live by the public record . . .
It's as though, once upon a time, say 1992, he heard, "It all began in a little town called Hope . . ." and he blanked on everything that came before. Was hearing that like Dylan hearing Woody Guthrie for the first time? We just don't know.
The Shot of Love tour goes on (current Dylan meter reading) but ticket sales are down and the limited crowd is shouting out requests.
So he does a song and dance on Arianna Huffington. (Is DA Pennebaker getting any of this on film?)
Once upon a time,
not that long ago,
he clowned and clowned,
but didn't tell you so,
those were the days,
when he penned thinks like,
"we like Arianna, a lot more than most,"
and forgot to shout out "Psyche!"


You put the last part like lyrics to a song right? Because the person C.I. dictated it too ran it together like a paragraph.


Yeah, I put in like lyrics.


But that's so true. It wasn't that long ago that Somerby was saying something like "we like Arianna a lot more than most" and then on Tuesday, you find out how much he hates her as he rips her apart. So what was that earlier nonsense about? He's just nonsense. And that same day he used a dirty word and put in asterick to avoid putting it up there but this is the man who pulled a Cheney and dropped the f-bomb over and over not all that long ago when he had his snit fit with Atrios.


Are you a big Atrios fan?

Not really. You know how our generation, yours and mine, feels about sites that put out a sentence and then think the readers comments can somehow cut it. I don't want to read 120 comments with about 90% sucking up to the site and 10% having something that might actually be information.



And the petty little wars going on in the comments.


Oh I know. "I've been coming to this site forever, how dare you say that to me!" The troll wars. (Laughing.) If that's the contribution you're remembered for, God help you. Atrios works at Media Matters so he'll be remembered for a bit more than some folks and I'll just leave it at that.

I know the ones you mean.


All these people don't realize how out of date they are. Atrios will also be saved by the fact that he's not screaming for more troops. But there are a lot of biggies who are going down and they don't realize it because their personality cults keep visiting and praising. But there's this whole current moving against them. Bob Somerby's like that. He's made himself useless because all he cares about is what someone said on some dopey cable show. There's a whole world out there but Bob Somerby's apparently confined to a small section of the United States. When the people he so obviously wants to be like, the mainstream media, focus on New Orleans, he can do that too. Otherwise, he might as well be a Sunday Chat & Chewer. Lot of change has happened and Bob Somerby doesn't grasp that. Atrios will probably be okay because he's likeable on the radio and people don't make fun of the way he talks the way they do some of the other net biggies.


Of the net biggies, who do you think gets the change?


I don't know if Bill Scher gets it or he just got lucky doing Liberal Oasis the way he did but no one rags on Bill. You never walk in a classroom and hear somebody mocking him. Sometimes you'll hear people disagree with him on a point or something but no one mocks him for "cat blogging" or "a thread is a lonely thing." Either he's got no interest in a chat room or he realizes that if people want chat rooms, they'll go there.


Does Bob Somerby get it?


I have no idea. I laughed so hard the first time C.I. said it was starting to feel like you were watching the Grammys when you read The Daily Howler. You know, back when Somerby was giving his "props" and doing his "shout outs." That was so embarrassing. To see an old man trying to suck up. It was like desperation time. Since then, I only go there to laugh or get frustrated. My mom reads him and she was a fan until the Grammy period. She got skeptical during the whole Lawrence Summers nonsense. And then when he was trying to weigh in on Guantanamo she just thought he was an idiot trotting out his Washington Post or New York Times or whatever articles when the whole point of Guantanamo is that the mainstream press has been relucatant to tell you the truth on that. You can go to the BBC or mainstream from England but in this country, forget it. Bob Somerby's just an idiot. Do you link to him?


Like everyone else in the community who does, I'm waiting for C.I. to pull the link and then I'll do the same. But yeah, he is an idiot. There was some good work in the past but not anymore. Did he even cover Abu Ghraib?


I don't think so. It doesn't interest him. He's too busy telling you what mean thing someone said about Al Gore in 1999. I can't believe we've spent so much time on him.


Hey, you had a lot to say.


Yeah but that's because you asked if The Daily Jot was a title making fun of The Daily Howler and, dude, no, I wouldn't want anyone to ever think that.


Got you. C.I.'s thinking about writing about Somerby tonight.


I hope that happens.


Okay, so I have a question from Joe and he wants to know why you're 19 and a freshman in college.


No problem. You already know this but I was in a really bad car accident when I was 8 years old and with the therapy and all I missed out on school.


We've talked about this on the phone and I'm not sure what to ask here because I know this was a big thing in your life and I'm not sure how much you want to go into it.


No problem. Short story. Summer. I was in little league. We'd gone to get pizza. That's the team with their families. On the way home, this drunk driver plows into our car. My mom had to have stiches but was otherwise okay. Dad and I were on the left side of the car which is where the drunk plowed into, the left side. I really don't remember much about it. But that's how Dad died.

I'm sorry.


Not your fault. But it was real hard on Mom because she lost Dad and they weren't sure for almost a month if I was going to make it. Then it was months and months of physical therapy.
So I was behind in school because of the year I missed.


Was your mom real protective after that?


She says she was and that Grandpa straightened her out on that. I don't really remember that. I just remember the next summer she was like, "Do you want to play baseball?" and I did because that was something Dad and I did. That's really what I remember about him, tossing the ball with him in the backyard. Him teaching me how to throw and stuff like that. But that was apparently a big deal because, and I don't remember this, don't know if they even talked about stuff like this in front of me, but there was this talk about how the whole thing was a sign and how I was going to have to be careful and stuff but Grandpa was all against that and he and Mom had big arguments. I'm sure that's how it happened but I don't remember that. I remember stuff like saying, "I'm going to play football" and Mom going along with it. So I think this all took place while I was out of it or like away from me because I don't remember any of that. I remember Mom living at the hospital because I'd fall asleep and she'd be there and I'd wake up and she'd be there. I think it was really hard on her but I don't remember much. I remember being in a lot of pain and I remember being real frustrated in physical therapy a lot because I couldn't get my feet to do what I wanted them to and stuff. That's what I remember. That and the nurses. I had really nice nurses who made me smile even when I didn't feel like laughing. I remember three of them and I even remember one's name, Ann. Ann was the night nurse and she was always coming in and saying something silly to try to get me to smile or laugh. And she'd always be going on about how I was doing good and all. Making progress and stuff. But all the nurses were really nice to me and I remember that.


And you recovered physically.


Yeah. I've got a nasty scar on my left side but most of the others have faded or shrunk and you can't really see them.


Now you're doing The Daily Jot and you say it's to be a smart ass and hopefully make people laugh so I'm wondering if you think that period in the hospital has anything to do with that?


It probably does. People need to laugh and I'm one of those guys who likes to laugh and be silly so I'm sure that comes from that. But Mom has a good sense of humor and I remember Dad laughing a lot so it probably has to do with that too.



I'm also wondering if you think that has anything to do with your feelings about Bob Somerby's Daily Jerk Off?



Oh, I'm sure. I mean, I lost my dad, I almost didn't make it. And now we've got two wars and people are dying and, yeah, it does offend me that we're talking about real life or death things and Bob Somerby's doing his Daily Jerk Off about some nonsense that someone said on cable TV or wrote in a paper. It's like, Dude, there's important stuff and you're still focused on 1999.
I mean, I could be whining about the car wreck every other day if I wanted to live in the past. I think I'd have a better excuse for living in the past than what Bob Somerby has. But it's like, "Suck it up and grow up already." Yeah, he ticks me off with his nonsense. Life's too short.

How's it been blogging? You got a few days under your belt.

Yeah, two more days and I'll have a full week! I'll be an expert! (Laughing.) The big problem I'm having is I can't e-mail the stuff. C.I.'s going to help me try to figure out what's going on there this weekend. When I set it up C.I. talked me through and I thought I did it so I could e-mail a post to the site but I tried that on Sunday and it didn't work so I ended up just putting it up the regular way. If I could e-mail it in, it would be a lot easier. You don't use the e-mail option, do you?

No, I think C.I.'s the only one in the community who does. I'd offer to help you on that but I don't know how to.


It's cool.


What did you think of Beth's thing?


I loved it but where were you?


I didn't want to be quoted. I told her she could sum me up but I didn't want to be quoted.


You know what I liked? I liked that she offered her opinion and took a stand. This could have been a fluff thing like some paper's mea culpa. She spoke to people and got their opinion and then reconstructed it that way.

Did she speak to you?


Yeah, I had like ten minutes because I had practice but she did call me. I told her I joined you guys for the CD review and that I really didn't know much about before but I knew that Dona kept saying "We need to focus" during the CD thing. And then after Ava and C.I. were doing their own thing and this was still a huge topic. I thought, and I wasn't there for most of it, but reading it I thought Beth gave a straight forward take on it. And if you're going to do something like that, look at how something fell apart, that's how you do it. Not the way the New York Times did Sunday with Judith Miller.


Readers of my site have heard about you because you are a buddy and someone whose opinion I value. Lauren e-mailed that she likes your site and laughs but you're nothing like what she thought you'd be from my talking about you.



Well you know we all have a lot of sides. At The Daily Jot, I'm just blowing off at the mouth and trying to be funny. That's one side of me. But, and I read you so I know what you've said, when you talk about me, you key in on that part of me that's about how there are things you get worked up about and there are things that are just not worth the time.



Yeah, you've got a great perspective and there are times when I'm pissed off about something and we'll talk and I realize that whatever pissed me off doesn't really matter that much or at least not as much as I thought it did.


Yeah, well, let me say I love your site. Counter-recruiting is a big thing and I'm glad you cover it and I'm glad you make me laugh and talk about stuff that maybe seems too whatever for old guys but you'll talk about it. Like the kid yesterday who wore himself raw beating off. You took his question and dealt with it.


Which brings us to Lauren's question, have you ever had a problem with crotch rot?



With odor, no. (Laughing) Or I don't think so and none of the ladies ever pointed out. But I do have a problem with my boxers. They all end up getting holes right around the inner leg and all. Same things with my jeans. They will wear out there. I don't know what that is. (Laughing) Probably the strain from my impressive package.



Betty had a question for you. She called me today. She wants to know what is it about "you young men" that makes you go to the groin?



She's talking about the question on the profile, right?

Right.




That was my third question option. I was trying to hurry because C.I. needed to get to work with The Third Estate Sunday Review. Then that question came up and I just went with it.


"Paper or briefs?" "Breifs! No depends here! I pack a mean tighty whitey!"

Yeah, C.I. laughed and said something like, "That's why you get along so well with Mike."

Because of my question and answer: If you were a cannibal, what would you wear to dinner?
Just the bone, just the bone. Munch on that.


We like our dicks jokes, what can I say? Or making boastful jokes. Betty wasn't offended, was she?



No, she was laughing. But she said you put two nineteen year old males together and that's what you'll get.



I feel like I let her down then! We really didn't go there much.

No, we didn't. But we'll do another interview where we do.


I know. I was thinking about how much we talked and remembering how you hate typing.


I hate typing!


So we should probably wind down.


Yep. My buddy Wally, who enjoys a good dick joke, blogs at The Daily Jot. Check him out.


No, no, Mike. You have to say "I've been . . ."


Oh yeah. I've been talking to Wally of The Daily Jot FOR THE HOUR!


FOR THE HOUR!


Thanks, Wally.



Thank you, Mike.










Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Iraq and Miers

Good evening and let's kick things off with Democracy Now!

Iraq Vote Results Questioned After "Unusually High" Returns
Iraq's referendum on a draft constitution is being called into question after the country's electoral commission announced it will audit what it calls "unusually high" voting results. Sunni leaders, who mostly advocated a "no" vote in Saturday's nation-wide poll, have alleged widespread electoral fraud, citing allegations of ballot-stuffing and unlawful absentee voting. The New York Times reports "yes" votes in areas with large Shiite and Kurdish populations - groups known to support the draft - were reported to reach over 99 percent. An official with the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq told the Associated Press voting numbers seemed unusual in areas "all around the country", but it remained too early to draw conclusions. The referendum required a simple majority to be approved into law but can be rejected if two-thirds of the population in at least three provinces vote against it.

The New York Times is surprised. It's a Dexter Filkins article so I'm surprised that they still run his crap and that he hasn't been stripped of his award. When do you think that will come?
His purple prose for a slaughter (Falluja) in an illegal war won an award back when just about everyone in the mainstream press was still hurting after pimping the WMD lie. Filky's cheerleading a slaughter made 'em all feel like there was still hope.

How cool is my bud Wally? So cool that he takes on Dexy in Wally's first week of blogging:

Dexter Filkins goes all spaz and spaztic while reporting on the rumors of ballot stuffing in Iraq. Maybe he feared that a look into ballot stuffing might prompt one into crotch stuffing as well? Never did understand that. If you're looking to get with someone, really get with someone, how do you explain when the pitching mound is suddenly an ant hill?
Maybe Dexter Filkins can explain that in his next op-ed "live from the Green Zone!"?



How is everyone liking The Daily Jot?

I really like it. Wally said he was just going to be mouthing off for a couple of lines each day and I am really enjoying it. I hope you are too. I'll be interviewing Wally tomorrow so if there are any questions anyone has e-mail and I'll ask some.

Miers: "No One Knows My Views on Abortion"
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers denied a published report saying two close friends had said she would vote against abortion rights. Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund wrote Monday on the day she was nominated October 3rd, the two friends spoke with the Arlington Group, a coalition of conservative Christian organizations, in a conference call organized by Karl Rove. During the conversation, Fund wrote, the friends assured Arlington members Miers would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer met with Miers yesterday. After the meeting, he said she told him: "No one knows how I would rule on Roe v. Wade."

No one knows my views about abortion execpt for the fact that in 1989 I filled out a questionnaire pledging to be anti-choice. That news came out late this afternoon. She's a hack with no qualifications and no one should be shocked that she's anti-choice. But will Democrats do anything about it?

I'm sick of Harry Reid. I'm sick of his sucking up to the Republican Party and I'm sick of all his "Harriet is a great gal!" C.I. said over and over that Dems needed to get in there and start making their points but most of them have either stayed silent or been like Harry Reid telling the world how great she is.

I think Harry Reid needs to step down and let a real leader take over.

When I was talking to Elaine and we were picking which items to cover, the news on Harriet Miers was just picking up on the news. Elaine was furious so be sure to check out Like Maria Said Paz.

Now for an e-mail question from Terry who writes that he's 14 and in pain. I told Tony about this e-mail and he goes that it's got to be a joke. It may be a joke. I don't know. But it does happen. Terry's hand been overly friendly with 1 part of his body and there's redness and pain.
You're going to have to lay off for a bit, Terry, and let it get better. Terry writes that he has to jerk now to go to sleep at night and he it hurts everytime he chokes it.

Terrry, I hope you're using something other than a dry hand. You can use vasoline, baby oil, hand lotion, olive oil, anything. But if you don't use something, you'll keep having this problem because the friction is causing the redness.

I'm all for masturbation. I'd applaud it if I had a free hand. :D But when you encounter something like this, you got to take a break, dude. Go for a run or workout and see if that doesn't tire you enough to sleep without beating off. And when you start back up use something to cut down on the friction and you shouldn't have this problem again.




Monday, October 17, 2005

Democracy Now! and Uri Avnery

Good evening. We'll start off with two items from Democracy Now!

Sunnis Contest Reports Iraqi Constitution Has Passed
U.S. and Iraqi officials are predicting Iraq voters approved the country's new constitution during Saturday's nation-wide referendum. The constitution could have been rejected if two-thirds of voters in three or more of Iraq's 18 provinces voted against it. But reports indicate only two Sunni provinces voted no. Sunni Arabs are overwhelmingly opposed to the constitution, fearful it could ultimately lead to their exclusion from oil-rich Kurdish areas in the north and Shiite areas in the south. Authorities estimated a turnout of at least 60 percent. Sunni leaders contested the early predictions, saying independent monitors had concluded a sufficient amount of voters voted against the constitution. No foreign election observers were present to monitor Saturday's vote. Representatives of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq reported turnout to soldiers and officials at a command center located on a U.S. base. A U.S. Army Specialist told the Post: "We have to hold their hand to do everything around here."

So is anyone buying that the election, with ballots "counted" by kerosene lamps is valid? Didn't we do a little manipulating last time? It's a joke and, if you read The Common Ills Sunday night, you know that Allawyi is saying it is civil war time in Iraq.

U.S. Kills 70 in Ramadi Bombings
Also in Iraq, the U.S. claims military strikes have killed 70 insurgents near the town of Ramadi yesterday. But witnesses say at least 39 of the dead are civilians. A local hospital official told the Washington Post U.S. warplanes attacked bystanders gathered around a burning U.S. vehicle on the side of a road, killing 25. In a separate incident, U.S. air strikes killed 50 people hiding in a building. Witnesses say at least 14 civilians were killed. The attacks occurred after five U.S. Marines were killed in a roadside bombing in the city on Saturday.

"Come vote! We give you democracy! Then we blow you up!" is that the administration's slogan? Seems like they can't claim we've "turned the corner" when the day after the election, they're bombing Ramadi. If you read this in a book and it was a made up story, you'd laugh about how stupid this occuyping country's leaders were. But it's not a book and it's not made up and when I heard that story today I was thinking about all the Demmy Hawks in Congress and online (and on the radio in some cases) who keep justifying the occupation and arguing that we have to stay. Even though the Iraqis want us out. Even thought the American people want us out.

Elaine and I are doing the same two items so be sure to check her out.

Wally started his site and I mentioned in yesterday's post but in case anyone missed my good buddy, our good buddy if you're a Common Ills community member, Wally has started his own site. It's called The Daily Jot. It's just a "jot" of something in the news. Wally doesn't want to get bogged down in long entries. This is his first semester as a college freshman. So it's a thought or a jot.

There's a lot more I could say here about how Wally is a real buddy and stuff but I think I'm going to interview him for Wednesday. He's cool with it and Beth's on both our asses to get an interview done and up. She's right, it will help promote Wally's site and that's important to me and to the community. Wally's always done right by me.

So I'll be doing another interview it looks like. I was really wanting some time off from that. I was hoping to get one in with Seth but he's real busy and that doesn't look like it will happen. I wasn't planning on doing an interview last week but Gina was talking to Ruth and Ruth mentioned how much Tracey enjoyed the interviews and when Gina passed that one, I called Ruth and we were talking and all when I thought, I should interview Tracey. Ruth loved the idea. Tracey loved it too and I got a really good interview because Tracey's such a smart young woman. Even my sister liked it but that might just be cause Tracey took up for her in it. :D

I'd love to do one with Seth and help promote his site but he's busy and so it seemed like maybe a time to pull away for a bit from the interviews. I'm not a typist -- can you tell? And those are a pain in the butt to type up.

Now for something Betty passed on to me. This is from CounterPunch and it's "What Awaits Samira?" and it's by Uri Avnery:

A few days ago, at a conference in Europe, I met a charming young lady. Intelligent, well educated, versed in several languages, and, well, very attractive. After a few hours of shopping, she was as elegant as a model, dressed in the very latest fashion. She happens to be a Shiite from Baghdad, where she has now returned. Let's call her Samira.
What struck me most about Samira was her pessimism. The situation is bad, she said, and, whatever happens, it is going to get worse.
For a young, professional woman, the outlook is bleak indeed. The Shiite community is in the grip of the ayatollahs, who are out to enforce a rigid religious attitude towards women. Perhaps not as strict as in the Taliban's Afghanistan or in Khomeini's Iran, but strict enough to make it impossible for a woman to dress as she likes or to pursue the career she wants. Already, Samira is hiding her profession from her neighbors in a well-to-do part of Baghdad, for fear of attracting the attentions of one of the numerous armed militias.
What is life like without a regular electricity and water supply in 40 degrees Centigrade, dependent on generators and improvisation, in a perpetual state of fear, while tanks roam the streets? It's very, very bad, she says, and not getting any better.

The prospect for Iraq? She sees several possibilities, all of them bad. Perhaps a break-up of the state. Maybe a civil war. Certainly an ever growing bloody insurgency. No chance at all for a new, prosperous, democratic, multicultural society.

Have a good night.







Sunday, October 16, 2005

Sunday entry so nobody give me any crap. Here's my part of "The Third Estate Sunday Review News Review:"

C.I.: Thank you, Cedric. And we'll note that on The Laura Flanders Show Saturday night, we were all reminded that the January elections featured a lot of photo ops of purple stained fingers and only after the spin was in place was it noted that all the photos came from the same polling stations. We now go to Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz and Mike of Mikey Likes It! for a joint report on Iraq. Elaine, I'm guessing, you have the fatalities figure, so how about we start with you?

Elaine: Yes, I do. For the month of October, the fatality count for US troops is 37, this on the 16th day of October. The 37 fatalities bring the total number of US troops who have died in Iraq, by the official count, to 1970. US troops wounded in action? Here's a shocking official number that the press isn't rushing into the headlines: 14,641. When Bully Boy trumpets the election as a "success" will he mention those numbers? It is doubtful. It's also doubtufl that he'll mention 26,521 which is the minimum number of Iraqis killed since the invasion/occupation as noted by Iraq Body Count. The AP estimates that in the last six months alone "at least 3,663 Iraqis have been killed." But good news for Bully Boy. They've yet to capture Osama bin Laden, some five years later, but when he faces the cameras next, he can trumpet the fact that they have allegedly caught the barber of Al Qaeda. Sleep easy, America, terrorists remain at large, but we've nailed the coiffeur! No one's on the run but senior al Qaeda militants will be looking pretty ragged.

C.I.: Indeed. Mike, you were looking into a number of things having to do with the polling places themselves?

Mike: Correct. In Haditha, a Sunni stronghold, they had a whopping two polling places! Two for a city that houses an estimated 60,000 people. Lee Keath of the Associated Press reports that turnout is high in some Sunni areas due to a healthy number of people wanting to vote "no" to the proposed Constitution. Vote counting in Baghdad, as Cedric noted they've had electricity problems throughout Saturday, was done by laterns. In Ramadi, Saturday's election began with gunfire.

C.I.: Not quite fitting the 'flowers in our path' picture that we were so long ago promised or the 'liberation' and 'peace' promised the Iraqis. The basics are that Iraq is divided into 18 provinces. If any three of those provinces have 2/3 of the voters saying no, three of the 18, then the constitution is defeated. Which would then mean that the constitution would be written by their parliment that's due to be elected in December.

Mike: Press reports say the al-Anbar province is likely to reach that 2/3 no vote. But a story not being picked up widely in the US media is that, from KUNA, "The Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission declared Saturday that about 70 ballot stations have not opened in Anbar, western Iraq for security reasons." No one knows what the ballot count's going to be and, though I'm Irish, I won't play Tim Russert and waste everyone's time with predictions.

C.I.: Thank you for that, Mike.

Elaine: Mike quoted "70 ballot stations" and that is what KUNA reports but they headline that story with "60." 60 is also the number Aljazeera's going with. Aljazeera also reports that:"Ten people working for the independent Iraqi electoral commission have been abducted during the constitutional referendum in the restive Sunni al-Anbar province, the commission said." Abducted apparently by armed gunmen.

C.I.: How many polling stations are there in al-Anbar?

Elaine: 207. So if you go with 60, that's a little less than a third of polling stations not open. Mike mentioned the gunfire in Ramadi and Aljazeera notes that people are staying away from the polls due to the violence while US war planes circle at a low altitude. In non-polling news,Gulfnews.com reports:

A United Nations human rights advocate accused US-led coalition forces in Iraq of breaching international law by cutting off food and water to civilians to force them to flee cities earmarked for attacks on insurgent strongholds.
Jean Ziegler, a UN expert on food rights, said that coalition forces had restricted food and water to civilians in Fallujah, Tal Afar and Samarra in an effort to encourage them to flee before attacks took place."This is a flagrant violation of international law," Ziegler told reporters.

Elaine (con't): Aljazeera also reports that Second Lieutenant Erick Anderson, who was cleared in the killing of an Iraqi teenager in January, is now facing charges again for the same death.

Mike: And I'll note that measures have been taken for the polling but that they are also increasing measures to get into the country. Brian Conley, of Boston Indymedia, reports at his site Alive In Baghdad that an American who'd entered the country many times, with CPT, was prevented from returning recently due to new form regulations.

C.I.: Christian Peacemaker Teams?

Mike: Correct. The man had already made four previous trips to Iraq since the occupation began but a few weeks ago, a new form was added on to the requirements for entering the country.

C.I.: Thank you, Mike and Elaine. One thing that should be remember, actually two. First, Dona's whispering "blue finger" and I'm guessing she means that in the western media it's usually referred to as "purple" ink fingers but in other areas it is referred to as "blue." Yes, that's what she meant. She's monitoring several Iraqi blogs and the bloggers in Iraq are using "blue." So that's something to remember. The other thing to note is that, according to Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker, the United States government used "off the book" techniques to influence the January elections. We now go to Ty who'll catch us up to speed with the antics at The New York Times. Ty of The Third Estate Sunday Review.

Ava: Actually, Jim's asked me to step out here and make a statement before anything moves on. C.I. noted the January date Saturday morning in an entry. Not surpisingly someone's all over it right now as we do this entry and there's no mention of the entry. Despite having covered this story at length, the person just now figures out January 2004 after it's noted at The Common Ills. This is actually the second time something from Plamegate has 'suddenly occured' to this writer after it goes up on a Saturday at The Common Ills.

C.I.: Noted. That was Ava of The Third Estate Sunday Review. And note that was Ava's statement, so take it up with her or The Third Estate Sunday Review. I can guess who the person was but I haven't read the piece so I've made no statement on it. For myself, I'll state that I didn't do any "reporting," I merely listened to friends at The Times. Let's move on.


That's where everything ground to a halt because Jim finds out that C.I.'s been ripped off. There was all this cross chatter and I don't know how Ava and Dallas got anything typed or how Ty and C.I. were able to do their exchange. It was all, "Oh my God!" "What?" "I'm sending it to you!" And then it became even more loud as we started reading the piece ripping off C.I.

At some point, we're so loud, even with Dona telling us to pipe down, and Jim and Ava start working on a statement. C.I. still doesn't know what's going on at this point. Ava comes out
and reads that statement and C.I. makes the statement ending with "Let's move on." But we take a break.

I wish I could be as laid back about it as C.I. but I'm pissed.

I am not pissed at my buddy Wally, however. Wally started his own website and he never gave me a clue it was coming. Wally's site is The Daily Jot. Everyone better be checking it out because Wally's a cool guy and it will be a cool site.

We lost Dear Third Estate Sunday Review. That was a feature that we were working on but trashed when all this came up. But they do read your e-mails. That's why Elaine and me got paired up again because e-mails came in saying they liked that. Thank you to the people who wrote them about that. Elaine's really cool and it's a blast to work with her.