Busy day. I got online around noon and thought I'd blog but ended up reading Ava and C.I.'s TV review from last week ("TV: Swift Justice") because Dak-Ho told me it was their funniest. It is good but I don't think it's their funniest. That's partly because I heard Ava and C.I. bouncing off one liners for their review this coming Sunday. I think they're hitting it out of the park with that one. I threw a tablet at them early in the week and said, "Write that stuff down!" They didn't. But they continued to come up with one liners throughout the week.
A lot of times, when they're writing a review, they will kill some of their funniest lines. They'll say they can't include whatever because someone may be a friend or because it's a personal joke that's too obvious. That shouldn't be a problem this week and that's all I can say. Rebecca called me today and asked, "Is it written yet?" No. She's dying to give a heads up to what show they're reviewing but, since it's not written yet, she's going to wait.
Jim's curious about the review and worried (noted with Jim's permission) because C.I.'s spoken out of state twice this week and had a mishap that required stitches (nothing major, some broken glass) so Jim's just expecting Saturday to roll around and C.I. to collapse. It'll happen, as soon as the edition is done. (And Dona keeps telling Jim the exact same thing but he's nervous about the first edition since they announced they're West coast based. I think Jim has some coastal issues, seriously.)
Ty's written some of the ideas for the edition down and pinned it to the fridge at C.I.'s thinking that might calm Jim down. If you read Ava and C.I.'s "TV: TESR Investigates: NYC," that is fiction, in terms of their portrayals of Ty, Dona, Jim and Jess but there's some truth in it too. Specifically:
We were in the land of milk & honey, poolside, well we might have been later. Right now we were in the middle of a party, in the middle of conversations, on opposite sides of the room when both our cells went off.
It was Jim talking in two phones at once because God forbid he make one call when he can make two calls.
"Ava! C.I.! If your brains haven't gone to mush and browned like guacamole left out too long, we need you here in NYC!"
NYC? It's summer. It's hot there. There's no breeze. Next month, everyone who can will be fleeing and you want us to fly out there?
"Well, you don't have to stay the whole week, just long enough to get some set-up shots then you can return to California where crap is so freely churned out."
I think the above perfectly captures Jim's coastal issues. I've seen it before. East coaster moves out here and they pack their stereotypes. It'll be fine. He doesn't need to worry.
The KPFA Evening News needs to worry. They had some guest on who basically said, of today's Senate Intel report, that the administration only linked al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein by saying a sentence on al-Qaeda and then saying a sentence on Saddam Hussein. Did their guest miss Carl Levin's statement? If you did, it's in the snapshot below and C.I. tracked down the Bully Boy quote that Levin's speaking of (with link provided to the transcript). Bully Boy, in one sentence, linked Zurqawi to Saddam. It happened and a supposed Middle East expert should know that. Especially when Carl Levin's calling out the administration on it.
Dak-Ho also pointed out Maggie's contribution today. Maggie has her moments where she's dead on and she had one in 2005 so I'm going to note it here:
Ticking off a list of names worthy for noting for Women's History Month, I came across many: Margaret Fuller, Mary Shelley, Kate Millet, Margaret Atwood, Lucy Stone, bell hooks, Kathy Boudin, Catharine A. MacKinnon, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Grace Paley, Grace Slick, Michelle Phillips, Nina Simone, Kate Bush, Nora Ephron, Anne Sexton, Louise Bryant, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Tracy Chapman, Mary Daly, Rita Mae Brown, Joan Baez, Alice Walker . . . And for the longest time I was just paralyzed as I was facing this monstorous decision of how to choose one.
Certainly the struggle for equality has been made up of many, many women (and often some men) but hopefully by noting various individuals it brings awareness to the larger struggle and the many who participated in opening various fields and options to women.
So just when I was at the abandon-all-hope-all-ye-who-enter, I was gathering magazines to carry to my local library's magazine exchange and there's Ms. staring at me.
Robin Morgan is a writer who's influence on my own life has been wide ranging. It started when I was a teenager and found a copy of Sisterhood Is Powerful on my mother's bookshelves. Sisterhood Is Powerful is an anthology of writings from the women movement circa 1970 and Morgan served as the editor of the anthology. She also wrote a lengthy introduction for the book that served to capture what had led up to the then current wave of feminism. I found the anthology Sisterhood is Global (also edited by Robin Morgan) while I was in college and immediately snapped it up.
In 2003, Robin Morgan edited another anthology that I quickly added to my collection, Sisterhood Is Forever. I think the three Sisterhood books serve as a powerful overview of the feminist movement and I hope she continues to introduce and edit anthologies.
Robin Morgan currently serves as a consulting editor at Ms. along with Gloria Steinem who's already been highlighted. Both have long helped steer Ms. and as such have shaped my life in ways that I'm probably not even aware of.
I'd recommend this interview with Morgan for those new to her and I'd recommend this article by Morgan entitled "Fighting Words for a Secular America: Ashcroft & Friends VS.George Washington & The Framers." I'd also recommend that you check your libraries and bookstores for copies of Sisterhood is Powerful and Sisterhood is Forever. I'd also recommend that you check out her book The Demon Lover: The Roots of Terrorism.
I called Maggie and asked her about it. She remembers wanting to write about Robin Morgan but doesn't remember what she wrote. She asked, "Did I make any sense?" I said, "Yes, you did. You had your adult voice on." We laughed. But she did make sense. Morgan's latest book, Fighting Words, is due out September 28th.
That's going to be it for me tonight. I almost didn't blog but then I realize the East coasters are all doing the Iraq discussion group and might not blog tonight. Oh, Betty's blogging tonight. In fact, let me check and see if it's up. It is, it's called "The Central Proof." Read it. Now here's C.I.'s
"Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, September 8, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, bits of the long over due US Senate reporton the lies that led to war (they're calling it a look into the intell) are scattered like crumbs, US soldier Mark Wilkerson reflects on how he reached the decision not to take part in the illegal war, US soldier Darrell Anderson is reportedly headed back to the United States after attempts to be granted asylum in Canada,
and Australia's Bully Boy says Brendan Nelson is doing a "fantastic job."
In the United States, AP was first out of the gate with: "A senate intelligence committee report says there's no evidence Saddam Hussein had a relationship with terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or his al-Qaida associates before the Iraq war." CBS and AP quote US Senator John D. Rockefeller stating of the report: "Ultimately, I think you will find that administration officials made repeated prewar statements that were not supported by underlying intelligence" and that it shows "the administration pursued a deceptive strategy abusing intelligence reporting that the intelligence community had already warned was uncorroborated, unreliable and in some critical circumstances fabricated."
Reuters notes that US Senator Carl Levin has pointed to the Bully Boy's statement on August 21st and attempted (yet again) to make an unfounded link. Levin: "The president's statement, made just two weeks ago, is flat-out false."
Though the press wants to play Levin's statement as an allegation, public record shows Bully Boy stated: "I square it because imagine a world in which you had Saddam Hussein, who had the capacity to make a weapon of mass destruction, who was paying suiciders to kill innocent life, who had relations with Zarqawi." As Levin pointed out, that "is flat-out false."
The lies that led into illegal war. Yesterday, AP notes, the Senate passed a spending measure to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with another $63 billion dollars.
As the cost in blood and currency continues to add up, more and more people turn against the illegal war. In the United States, Byron Pitts (CBS) reported on the mood in Jacksonville, North Carolina and spoke with retired Marine Colonel Jim Van Riper who admits to vote for Bully Boy twice but intends to vote Democratic for the first time. Van Riper tells Pitts: "I've turn him [Bully Boy] off. I've tuned him out." The cost in blood? AFP notes the Baghdad morgue body count for August stands at 1,584. It also includes 2666 US troops who have died in Iraq since the start of the war, 118 British troops (that includes the one who died Thursday) and 115 "other" for a total of 2899.
Of the US fatality count, Emil Guillermo (Asian Week) notes, "Ironically, of the Iraq war deaths, over 2,500 came after" Bully Boy's "declared on May 1, 2003, 'Mission Accomplished'."
Bombings?
CNN reports that, in Baghdad, a roadside bomb left six injured and killed three ("including a mother and child" among the dead) and that a US soldier died "south of Baghdad" from a roadside bomb. Reuters reports a car bomb in Baghdad that killed a police officer "and a bystander". Sami al-Jumaili (Reuters) reports the death of eight in Kerbala from mortars.
Shootings?
CNN reports that three people were shot dead in Baquba and a sunni tribal chief was shot dead in Hawija. Reuters identifies the man as Ibrahim al-Khalaf and notes that an Iraqi soldier was shot dead near Samarra (with two others wounded).
Corpses?
AFP reports six corpses were found in Baghdad ("tortured . . . shot to death"). Reuters reports the corpse of Haider Hamza was discovered "shot dead in front of his house" and that he had been "an interpreter working for Danish troops in Iraq".
AFP reports that Brigadier Muzher Kamel Mohammad ("head of the police force protecting Iraqi courts") was kidnapped in Baghdad. This as Reuters reports the US is clashing with people in Falluja and "U.S. troops used loudspeakers to demand people turn in 'insurgents' or face a 'large military operation'." Falluja. Again. As if November 2004 wasn't destructive enough. Hearts and minds, as Mark Wilkerson has noted, are not being won.
And the much touted non-handover? As Jim Sciutto (ABC) notes: "Watching the headlines in the American media today, you might think the U.S. military handed over military control in Iraq to Iraqis. There was certainly a ceremony yesterday -- a handshake at a military base where Iraqi commanders took control of an Iraqi army division from coailtion commanders -- but the real story is the arithmetic. Yesterday's handover affects the tiny Iraqi navy and air force, with a few hundred folks in each, and a single Iraqi army division, the 8th Army with 5500 to 7000 troops. This means only about five percent the 115,000 regulars in the Iraqi army now take their cues from the Iraqi prime minister. The rest remain firmly under foreign control -- and so do the most dangerous areas of the country, such as Baghdad and the volatile Anbar province in the west. The 8th Army operates in the relatively small -- and relatively quiet -- Diwaniyeh province in southern Iraq."
In peace news, Diana Welch (Austin Chronicle News) reviews the case of war resister Mark Wilkerson noting his disillusionment ("When we went, our general mission was to win the hearts and minds of the people. But when I got there, and I saw the people and how we were treating them, I thought, 'We're doing exactly the opposite'."), his awakening (finding out who was profitting -- "certain individuals were making on this war, how much money the corporations like Halliburton were making"), having his conscientious objector application rejected as he was called up for another tour of duty, and then deciding to check himself out. Alan Gionet (CBS4) reports that Rebecca Barker, Matt Wilkerson's mother, stated, "I think the public is looking at anyone who goes AWOL as cowards and it goes much deeper than that." Welch notes that Wilkerson could face a special court-martial (if found guilty, one year sentence is the maximum) or a general one (which would led to seven years if found guilty). Gionet reports: "Wilkerson is confined to base while his unit faces what could be its third deployment."
Meanwhile, Phinjo Gombu (Toronto Star) reports that war resister Darrell Anderson will be leaving Canada and returning to the US, according to his mother Anita Anderson. This should take place during the last weekend of September and he will be met at the border by peace activists and Vietnam veterans as well as by Jim Fennerty, his attorney. "If he is not arrested immediately, Anderson plans to travel to Fort Knox in Kentucky to turn himself in. It is one of the two army bases where deserters are kept while the army decides whether to court-martial or discharge a soldier."
In Washington, DC Camp Democracy continues through September 21st. It is free and open to the public. Today's events focused on labor issues. Saturday, September 9th, many events will be taking place and among those speaking will be Antonia Juhasz (The BU$H Agenda), Ray McGovern and Bill Moyers. The events will kick off at 9:00 a.m. in preparation of the 9:30 a.m. march around the Capitol Building "To remember the fallen and remind Congress and the public of the human cost of the War on and Occupation of Iraq." Sunday, September 10th will feature Juhasz, Ann Wright, Raed Jarrar and others. A complete schedule can be found here.
And beginning September 21st (International Peace Day), via United for Peace & Justice:
It's time to answer fear with courage, to step out of our personal comfort zones and take bold action to end the Iraq War.Join us in a week of nonviolent action, including civil disobedience, from September 21-28, and in pressuring pro-war politicians all this fall through the Voters for Peace pledge.
In Australia, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson continues to be a subject of discussion over his role as self-designated media spokesperson for the April 21st Baghdad death of Jake Kovco. First into the fray was prime minister John Howard who has "full confience" in Brendan Nelson. Of course he also claims to have "full confidence" in Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston whose testimony directly contradicts Nelson. And it's also true that Howard is the Bully Boy down under. So no one really cares what he says as he speaks from both sides of his mouth except possibly for this statement which has strong echoes of "Heck of a job, Brownie" -- from ABC's The World Today, Howard: "Dr Nelson is doing a fantastic job." Fantastic of a job, Brendie!
For those who missed it, yesterday Houston told the hearing that he had repeatedly warned Nelson not to speak to the press because the events of Jake Kovco's death were not clear. Or as WA Business News sums it up: "Defence force chief Angus Houston has directly contradicted the Defence Minister's statement to police about private Jake Kovco's death, saying Brendan Nelson ignored repeated warnings not to speculate about the shooting."
Samantha Hawley summarizes (on ABC's PM) thusly: In a witten submission to the Military Board of Inquiry, Dr Nelson says it was Air Chief Marshal Houston who told him that Jake Kovco had been handling his loaded weapon in some way when it discharged. But Angus Houston directly contradicts that claim. In his own submission, the Defence Force Chief indicates he repeatedly urged the minister against speculating about the cause of death, saying it appeared to have been a tragic accident but this would need to be confirmed by the Board of Inquiry."
We turn to this statement from April 27, 2006: "Of course we are, and I'm personally, very angry about it. I'm very disappointed. The inquiry and the investigation will get to the bottom of it. But I just ask Australians, it's very easy to criticise Defence. It's a large organization. It does wonderful things for Australians and for people in times of trouble, but don't just, I just say to Australians, don't just take a free kick here."
A free kick? Hasn't Brendan Nelson earned it? The statement above was when he went to the press to announce that Jake Kovco's coffin had returned home but not his body. It's been one mix up after another. Put yourself in the Kovco family's place, think of all the mix ups/screw ups Nelson's overseen and been responsible for and wonder if Brendan Nelson is the poor-put-upon he'd like to paint himself or someone performing their job very poorly.
iraqjacob bruce kovcojake kovco
phinjo gombudarrell anderson
antonia juhasz
united for peace and justice
ann wrightmark wilkerson
