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Tuesday,
September 18, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, Jalal returns to Iraq,
an Iraqi dies in prison less than 24 hours after he was arrested (mass
arrested), a number of Iraqi leaders are out of the country (who will
greet Jalal!), the Electoral Commission remains a question mark and a
problem, in Canada people gather to show their support for war resister
Kim Rivera who has been ordered to leave the country, in the US a
presidential ticket takes part in Occupy, and more.
This
afternoon in Toronoto, Iraq War resister Chuck Wiley declared, "Like
Kim Rivera, I am a war resister who developed an issue of conscience
after witnessing events in Iraq and sought protection in Canada. Kim's
actions were based in conscience, and her own understanding of the
Nuremberg Principles, the Geneva Conventions, and the balance os
international law. She took these principles seriously, and hoped and
expected that Canada still did the same as it has for generations."
Wiley was among a group of people gathered today to show their support
for Kim. At The Strength of the Absurd, Kim's friend explains,
"Kimberly Rivera grew up in Mesquite, Texas. When she was 17, Army
recruiters visited her home offering money for college that her family
did not have. She signed up to be a mechanic and was enlisted in the
Army Reserves.In October 2006 her unit was activated and deployed to
Iraq. What she witnessed during that deployment affected her deeply. In
January 2007 on a two week leave in the US, Kim and her husband Mario
agreed she would not go back to Iraq. In 2007 she became the first woman
U.S. Iraq war resister to seek asylum in Canada. She lives in Canada
with her husband and four children, two of them born in Canada." Now the
Candiana government is stating she must leave the country by Thursday,
September 20th or face deportation.
As
the Toronto press conference got started, a statement from prominent
Canadians -- including the children of two of Canada's most historic
politicians, the daughter of " The Greatest Canadian" Tommy Douglas (Shirley Douglas) and the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (Alexandre Trudeau).
We
the undersigned support conscientious objector Kimerly Rivera and her
family who are threatened with imminent deportation from Canada on
September 20. Kim deployed to Iraq in 2006 and sought asylum in Canada
in 2007. She faces a court martial and up to 5 years in military prison
for refusing to participate any longer in the Iraq War -- a war which
had no legal sanction. Kim would be separated from her four young
children, two of whom were born in Canada. A felony conviction would
mean a lifetime of difficulty finding employment. We call on the
Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kennedy
to do the right thing and allow Kimberly Rivera and her family to stay
in Canada.
Naomi Klein, author [child of a Vietnam War resister who went from New Jersey to Montreal in 1967 with his wife Bonnie]
Ron Kovic, author, Born on the Fourth of July
Jack Todd, journalist and Vietnam War resister
Alexandre
Trudeau's father left a mark on the world stage. He did that by taking
brave stands. Stephen Harper is the current prime minister and he's
little known outside of Canada despite holding the office for over six
years now. If he wanted to be a world player and have all the world
looking to Canada again, as so many did when Pierre Trudeau was prime
minister, he could intervene and allow Kim and her family to stay in
Canada. But maybe Harper's not interested in having a legacy or being
known as a player on the world stage?
Also speaking at the media conference today was Beaches International Jazz Festival's
Artistic Director Bill King who explained, "I arrived in Canada as a
Vietnam War resister, and I have been welcomed and embraced by
Canadians. Kim Rivera made the same difficult decision I did. Minister
Kenney and Prime Minister Harper, please show us that strong leaders
are compassionate and allow her to stay." War Resisters Support Campaign's
Michelle Robidoux observed, "Canada's support for conscientious
objectors to the Iraq War, and for the Rivera family specifically, has
been overwhelming. If it was up to the Canadian people, there is no
doubt that the Rivera family would be allowed to stay in this country.
We are appealing today to Jason Kenney to stop a great injustice from
being done, by approving Kimberly Rivera's application to stay in
Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds." (All quotes from the
press conference are from a press release e-mailed to the public e-mail
account. They do not have the press release up at the War Resisters
Support Campaign site currently.)
-
Join a rally in support of the Rivera family. Bring your banners,
flags, and signs in support of Kim and all of the Iraq War resisters.
In Toronto the rally will be held at the Federal Court, 180 Queen Street West, from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
For a list of rallies in other cities, go to http://resisters.ca/support-the-rivera-family/.
Turning to Iraq, All Iraq News notes
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived late yesterday evening in
Sulaimaniya via private jet from Berlin where he was "completing his
treatment." (He had knee surgery. He fled at the start of June to
Germany.) Kitabat notes
he went to his residence and his return comes as there are expectations
that he can help resolve the ongoing political crisis -- expectations
that exist, the apper notes, at the same time there are indications
that there is not the will to resolve the crisis. In the photos, it
appears Jalal's lost a little weight and might be down to 420 pounds.
Don't expect Jalal to easily give up the presidency. Yes, in June he
threatened (yet again) to resign. Yes, he's indicated he won't seek a
third term. But he previously declared he wouldn't seek a second term.
The reality is a grossly obsese man like Jalal needs the health care
that the presidency can provide. All Iraq News noted this morning that he was scheduled to meet with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan today (that's his political party).
But
that's not the meeting everyone will be eyeing. The meetings people
will pay attention to are the ones he has with other leaders. Massoud
Barzani, for example. But Jalal can't meet with KRG President Barzani
because he left the day Jalal was due back, choosing instead to leave
the country in order to meet with European leaders. Not to avoid Jalal,
surely.
Maybe he'll meet with Iraqiya leader
Ayad Allawi? Allawi is the head of Iraqiya, the political slate that won
the 2010 parliamentary elections. Allawi Tweeted yesterday:
That's right. Allawi's in Russia.
Possibly
Jalal can meet with Moqtada al-Sadr? Except Moqtada's never been fond
of Jalal -- they've had political differences throughout the war and
their families have had political differences going back even further.
And Jalal stabbed Moqtada, Allawi and Barzani in the back as May came to
a close and Jalal suddenly derailed the no-confidence vote on prime
minister Nouri al-Maliki (aka Little Saddam). Moqtada's become stately
enough in the last two years that he might go ahead and meet with Jalal
-- just to see how awkward it might be.
Jalal
returns to Iraq limping and it's not just from that knee surgery. At
least tomorrow, he can count on Nouri to visit his bedside. Alsumaria reports that meet-up will take place in Sulaymaniyah.
Today Alsumaria also reports
that Khodair al-Khozaei, one of Iraq's two vice presidents, is calling
for the implementation of death sentences saying that he supports the
death penalty. Khodair al-Khozaei is a member of Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa
political party. August 29th, Iraq executed 5 more people making it at least 96 executions for 2012 thus far.
Ayad Allawi noted
last week that the Iraqi judiciary was politicized and death row
prisoners who were Saudi would not be getting a fair shake. He also
noted that the judiciary's verdict on Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi
would cause more problems. At that time, Human Rights Watch's Joe Stork told Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN), "Our main concern is what were these people actually convicted of? Terrorism does not tell us very much." And Dar Addustour reported
that there are at least 200 executions still to be carried out. The
news outlet noted that an Iraqiya youth leader is calling for Iraq to
stop the executions at least until the much talked of amnesty bill is
passed into law. The student accused the government of rushing to carry
out executions for sectarian reasons -- wanting to kill Sunnis before
the amnesty law passes and some might be released. Dropping back to
the September 6th snapshot:
Ipek Yezdani (Turkish Weekly) reports
Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi has written a formal request to
President Jalal Talabani in which he calls for Jalal "to stop the
arbitrary and ever-increasing rate of executions in Iraq." He notes
that Jalal can stop the executions at any point in his role as
president. Alsumaria adds that Minister of Justice Hassan al-Shammari declared today that the use of the death penalty should be blowed down. Dar Addustour notes
a Tikrit prison saw riots this week over the transfer of prisoners to
Baghdad -- including some who have been sentenced to death.
This
month has also seen prisoners in two prisons go on a hunger strike with
the demand that the Parliament pass an amnesty law. Sunday Alsumaria published a draft proposal of the amnesty law. It has still not been voted on. Today Alsumaria reports
that Moqtada al-Sadr's parliamentary bloc is in agreement with the
Kurdistan Alliance on the amnesty bill with both supporting it and
calling for it to be passed.
A large number of Iraqis die in prison and that's no longer just raising eye brows, it's also raising questions publicly. Alsumaria reports
that Iraqiya's Nahida Daini is leading a call for an investigation into
the death of two people being held in a security detentnion center in
Diyala Province. The two did yesterday . Bryar Mohammed (AKnews) reports
that Khales Mayor Oday Khidran states only one, not two, have died:
"The inmate was arrested together with six more people yesterday under
'terrorism' charges. He was diabethic and died of his condition,
according to Khidran." Might this finally get the non-Iraqi press to
focus on the mass arrests that have been taking place? It's
interesting that a mayor -- not identified as a doctor -- is able to
determine cause of death before an autopsy has been performed. It's
also interesting that an elected official would be as stupid as Khidran
to claim that a diabetic dying on Monday, also arrested on Monday, was
dying "of his condition." Meaning? You can't just arrest
people. Iraq has signed onto various treaties. If the man was a
diabetic and he was arrested, it was incumbent upon the authorities to
ensure that the man had medication. That means if he was brought to the
prison without insulin (which may be the case), it was the prison's
responsibility to supply him with insulin. Not a few days after he was
brought to the prison but immediately. Health care isn't a right just
for the fat Jalal. Prisoners are supposed to have health care. If it
turns out that the man did die as a result of his diabetes, that means
he wasn't getting proper medical supervison and that's on the prison,
the prison system, all the way up to Nouri.
Maybe now the mass arrests that have been going on for weeks -- Ayad Allawi called them out a week ago -- will get some attention from the international press? Maybe not.
The violence does not end in Iraq. Kitabat reports
that a tribal Sheikh and two of his bodygruads were assassinated last
night with two more people left injured. The paper explains this had
been the third assassination attempt on the Sheikh this year and that
this one resulted in over seventy rounds of bullets being fired into his
car. Also late yesterday, Al Mada reports,
a bombing went off outside Kirkuk's Church of the Sacred Heart doing
damage to the church but not wounding or killing anyone. Last night, Hazhar Rashid (AKnews) reports,
3 people died and one person was injured when unknown assailants fired
on their car in Kirkuk and "a university instructor was killed by gunmen
in central Kirkuk." All Iraq News reports
that Professor Khader Hussein with the University of Kirkuk was injured
in an armed attaack today. Hazhar Rashid (AKnews) notes Alsumaria reports a Baghdad sticky bombing has claimed the life of 1 employee of the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, Alsumaria reports a Turkish drone has crashed in Dohuk province. Not
noted in the report, the US supplies Turkey with drones. Under Bully
Boy Bush, this was done via an agreement signed in 2007. Under Barack,
the supply has continued but mainly due to the fact that Turkey gave
land in 2011 to the US to be used for a CIA station. The drones are
used in part to locate suspected PKK (PKK is a Kurdish rebel group which
is largely in the moutains of nothern Iraq) but they're also used to
spy on Iraq and that goes back to the still in effect agreement Bush and
Turkey signed which provided drones with the understanding that Turkey
would share the footage being transmitted. The footage is apparently
important enough to the US for them to risk exposure of the program
since a drone was spotted flying over Baghdad not all that long ago (Al
Mada and other Iraqi publications reported it while the US press ignored
it).
Yesterday
came news that 8 people had been voted onto the Independent High
Electoral Commission. A vote on the 9th member was blocked by Christian
MPs who felt they were not being represented. Alaa Sabbagh (Kitabat) wonders if this commission is going to promote democracy or embrace a dictatorship in Iraq? All Iraq News reports
that the Sadr bloc has announced they support a Christian member for
the Commission and declare that they are a "respectable part of the
country." Kitabat notes
that the 8 voted on do not represent minorities. This includes women.
Not one woman was voted onto the commission yesterday. Martin Kobler
is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative in Iraq.
July 19th, Kobler appeared before the UN Security Council and stated: As
we speak, my political deputy, Mr. Gyorgy Busztin, is engaged in
facilitation efforts to bring about the formation of a new, Independent
High Election Commission which is representative of the main components
of Iraq -- including women and children and minorities. The urgent
selection of the commissioners is essential for ensuring that the
provincial council elections due to take place in March 2013 can be
conducted on time. I'm concerned that the ongoing political stalemate is
hindering the process however. In recent days, I have discussed with
political leaders -- including Prime Minister al-Maliki -- the need for a
swfit conclusion of this political process and the need for an adequate
representation of women and minorities in the commission. Today, I
would like to re-iterate my appeal to all political blocs to expedite
the selection of professional commissioners. UNAMI stands here ready to
actively assist. The need for an adequate
representation of women and minorities in the commission? 8 of the 9
members are now voted on. There's not a woman among the eight. Wafaa Zangana (AK News) reports
Christian MP Yonadam Yousef Kanna is calling for the number of seats on
the commission to be increased since there is now "only one seat for
minorities, while the women, Turkmen and Christians were not represented
[in the new commission]. The law of the Federal Court stresses the
need to represent all parties in the electoral commission, but the
presidency of the Council of Representatives violated this law." In
related news, an Iraqiya MP tells All Iraq News
that there is a conpiracy taking place to ensure that women will not be
members of the next Parliament (parliamentary elections are supposed to
take place in 2014) and she is calling for a woman to be appointed to
the electoral commission so that women's rights will be protected. She
notes women make up 65% of the Iraqi population but are barely
represented in the Parliament and, at present, not even on the new IHEC.
Barack's good for Constitution Day? Get real.
Michael
Smith: Michael, the actions that the Obama administration took against
Libya is really a perversion of the law. Explain what they did in
order to justify not going to Congress.
Michael
Ratner: Well the use of military force by the president has to be
authorized by Congress under the United States Constitution. That's
very clear. And it's not just war, it's use of -- it's hostilities,
it's really any military action anywhere in the world other than in
self-defense. So we start from the premise that military actions,
whether in Libya, killing people in Somolia or Yemen, etc., has to be
authorized by Congress. In some cases the president claimed that the
authorization to use military force passed in 2001 -- after 9/11 -- gave
him authority. But in other cases, he's just asserting raw, naked
power. He's claiming that because these don't amount to large wars that
the Constitution doesn't apply and he doesn't have to go to Congress.
Now then what happened because this is a common claim of presidents
whether it's in Libya or Somolia, Congress after Vietnam built in a
safety trigger. They said, "Lookit, you still need our consent to go
to war, or to go into hostilities or bomb people, etc. But we're going
to put in a safety trigger. If you do that, if you engage in
hostilities and you don't come to us first like you're required to do
under the Constitution, then you have sixty days to come back to us and
get authority or within sixty days all troops have to be automatically
withdrawn." So it's a safety figure because they knew the president
would do exactly what Obama is doing, violate the Constitution. They put
in a safety trigger that said you have sixty days to get authority, if
you don't have authority then you then have 30 more days to get all the
troops out, a total of 90 days. So in the case of Libya, of course, the
90 days have passed and the War Powers Resolution had required that all
those troops be brought out. So we had a sort of double system. Is
that clear, Michael?
Michael
Smith: Well as a practical matter, the political will in this country
is lacking to do anything. Technically what he did is a crime and he
can be impeached for it and tried and gotten out of office but I don't
think that's going to happen.
Michael
Ratner: It's a high crime or misdemeanor. It's true violation of the
Constitution, it's a violation of Congressional statute, you could
impeach him. But good luck. We've never -- we've never successfully
impeached anybody. I mean, we had, you know, Andrew Johnson after the
Civil War was at least tried and acquitted eventually but I think that
was the case. Nixon, rather than be impeached, resigned. Clinton made
it through. Bush made it through. So what do you say, Michael? It
looks like it's not a really good lever.
A
true violation of the Constitution. Tell us again about Constitution
Day, Donna Brazile, we're all waiting for that fairy tale.
Cindy
Sheehan: Obama has increased military spending since he became
commander in chief of the US armed forces. He's increased troops to
Afghanistan [. . .]. And he has also increased the use of unmanned
aerial vehicles or drones and Hellfire Missile bombings by over 500%
over his predecessor George W. Bush. I am sure that if Mitt [Romney]
becomes president, those things will continue Besides Obama bombing
Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan and etc., use of a kill
list and executing Americans without the Due Process that's guaranteed
to us under the Bill of Rights, the thing that upsets me the most about
his regime and the Democrats in general is not only the refusal to hold
the Bush regime accountable for War Crimes and crimes against humanity,
but how Obama's DoJ -- Department of Justice -- protects them while
persecuting people like me for being a War Tax Resister and people like
Bradley Manning, an alleged whistle blower, and we are trying to stop
the War Crimes.
Will
you allow Occupy to become a project of the old left, the same cabal of
old world thinkers who have blunted the possibility of revolution for
decades? Will you allow MoveOn, The Nation and Ben & Jerry to put
the brakes on our Spring Offensive and turn our struggle into a "99% Spring" reelection campaign for President Obama?
We
are now in a battle for the soul of Occupy… a fight to the finish
between the impotent old left and the new vibrant, horizontal left who
launched Occupy Wall Street from the bottom-up and who dreams of real
democracy and another world.
Whatever you
do, don't allow our revolutionary struggle to fizzle out into another
lefty whine and clicktivist campaign like has happened so many times in
the past. Let's Occupy the clicktivists and crash the MoveOn party. Let's #DEFENDOCCUPY and stop the derailment of our movement that looms ahead.
WASHINGTON,
DC -- The Green Party of the United States saluted and praised Occupy
Wall Street on September 17, the latter's first anniversary, calling the
movement a sorely needed revival of protest for the economic rights of
working people and the poor in an era of increasing redistribution of
wealth to the top "one percent" supported by both Democratic and
Republican politicians.
Many Greens, including presidential
nominee Jill Stein and running mate Cheri Honkala, have joined the
Occupy rally in New York. On Monday, September 17, Dr. Stein and Ms.
Honkala spoke to the rally at Bowling Green, with Dr. Stein addressing
the connection between climate change and big banks (http://www.jillstein.org/occupy_wall_street_anniversary / photos: http://bit.ly/Qg2F1E).
"We
need Occupy Wall Street in the next few months more than ever before,"
said Julia Willebrand, Green candidate for New York State Assembly in
Manhattan (67th District) and participant in current Occupy actions (http://www.facebook.com/juliaforassembly).
"America's two-party political establishment -- including President
Obama and Gov. Romney -- has continued to abandon the 99 percent and
serve the interests of Wall Street and other powerful corporate lobbies.
The attack on public education and labor in Chicago, which led to the
teachers' union strike, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, endorsed by
Romney and Obama, are just two recent examples."
Greens have
respected the nonpartisan nature of the Occupy protests and have
criticized Democratic Party front groups like MoveOn.org for
attempting to hijack the movement and turn it into "Reelect Obama."
Greens
assert that many Occupy grievances and demands match those of the Green
Party. Green Party leaders said that Jill Stein's likely exclusion from
the presidential debates means that Occupy's concerns will be banished
from discussion (http://www.jillstein.org/launching_occupy_the_cpd).
"We
urge all Americans who share the frustration and anger of the Occupy
Movement to learn about the Green Party and the 'Green New Deal' that
our candidates are promoting. We urge working Americans to remember that
Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala stood with the Chicago Teachers Union,
were arrested for protesting foreclosures in Philadelphia, and have
spoken at Occupy events -- while Democratic Party leaders were on the
wrong side or remained silent," said Drew Langdon, Green candidate for
New York State Assembly in Rochester (137th District / http://drewlangdon.org/).
"And we remind everyone that not voting is really a vote for the status quo," said Mr. Langdon.
MORE INFORMATION
For more on Occupy:
Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, interviews David DeGraw about the birth and evolution of Occupy Wall Street on its one year anniversary:
"This
was about empowering a new generation to be leaders, to be engaged…. We
have millions of people engaged in creating change that were not
engaged and creating change a year ago…. Occupy globally is the big bang
of humanity's next phase of evolution. It created this wild new
ecosystem of mass transformation. Millions of people turned on, let out
of the propaganda cage. The first step is that you have to open the
prison door so people can come flying out and realize that we can change
things. You say another world is possible. Now, another world is
happening." ((Watch Video))
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Ayad Allawi 
