So tonight is the big debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Tensions are running high judging by what we saw on campuses today. There's a groundswell of anger over the way Hillary has been treated by the media and by Bambi. Students were bringing up Bill Clinton's remarks that Hillary had to win March 4th. I will assume he said that because everyone was bringing it up.
We're talking about the Iraq War. That's why we're there. I'm more apt to comment on the race than Ava or C.I. I'll usally do so by noting that there are possibilities beyond the two-party system and give a shout-out to Cynthia McKinney.
Bambi gave a speech in Houston (I mentioned that last night) so that was on the minds of a lot of students.
As they put if over and over, he's lying. This is what he said, "I opposed this war in 2002. I will bring this war to an end in 2009!" That's it. And yet, as one student pointed out, Tom Hayden's writing a column treating it like it amounts to anything. C.I. took a deep breath and explained why politicians couldn't be trusted because they poll on everything and then gave an illustration (the one Elaine can't believe C.I. still hasn't made at The Common Ills) of what Tom Hayden polled on -- while he was having his affair with VR. C.I. was very specific about the details (including VR) and about the question in that poll. Students were shocked. As Elaine says, if C.I. hasn't already written about that at The Common Ills already it means (a) C.I.'s not been pissed off enough or (b) C.I.'s holding it as the killer blow for Hayden. I knew about it from Elaine and Rebecca. But even I wasn't prepared for that. Politicians really will do anything.
Bambi's not proposing anything he hasn't already said. Those lame two lines do not negate the fact that he's still talking "combat" troops and he's made clear before that, for him, "combat" troops are the end of the war. Tom Hayden's really not that stupid, he's just a really good liar and desperate to be a power-broker again. I don't see it happening.
It wasn't just women who were upset, men were too. This crossed gender lines and racial lines -- this feeling that Hillary had been held to a different standard and slammed repeatedly by the press -- and the students knew their press. We heard The Nation and Democracy Now! mentioned repeatedly. Among websites, BuzzFlash and Common Dreams were cited as the worst offenders.
But there are people who do not trust 'independent' media anymore. They feel they've been lied to to garner support for a candidate and, as one man said, "It's not even an anti-war candidate. Barack Obama is not ending the illegal war." Which really is the point and it's one that's not lost on the students.
One woman was near tears about the way Hillary has been treated. She said she wasn't even a Hillary supporter (she'd supported John Edwards) but she was so offended "for Hillary, for myself, for all women."
C.I.'s response was perfect. I was surprised C.I. responded because C.I. generally allows me to grab those questions and avoids the politicians. But C.I. said something like, "Let me make it clear that I'm not endorsing any candidate. In terms of the trashing?"
We were all waiting for C.I. to continue. The answer was sung:
I'm not an angry girl
But it seems like I've got everyone fooled
Everytime I say something they find hard to hear
They chalk it up to my anger
Never to their own fear
And imagine you're a girl
Just trying to finally complain
Knowing full well they prefer you were dirty and smiling.
That's Ani DiFranco's wonderful "Not a Pretty Girl." It was the perfect response and it went over well. Very well. Not everyone knew Ani's song and when C.I. started with the first line, and even the second, there were a few confused looks but by the end (C.I. just sang the section I've quoted), there were nodding heads and people applauding. I jumped in to tell them, as I will now, the Ani DiFranco song can be found on So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter. That's a live CD. I'll also tell you that you can find it on Ani's CD Not A Pretty Girl. I happen to love the live version which is why I promoted that version. But it is available on both discs.
We will probably be tackling this topic at Third this weekend. I was telling Dona about the reaction of students to the way Big and Little Media has treated Hillary and also about the verse C.I. sang. Dona says, "We need to write something on this subject." So that will probably come up this weekend.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Thursday, February 21, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, the British military announces wounded soldiers, the Iraqi refugee crisis continues, and more.
Starting with war resitance. Gina Hotta (Asia Times) writes today of James Yee, Antonio Taguba and war resister Lt. Ehren Watada noting, "The war in Iraq has thrust American soldiers of Asian ancestry into the limelight as no toher US conflict has ever done before." Of Watada, the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the Iraq War, Hotta notes his "refusal to deploy to Iraq underscored the Bush administration's determination to go to war, with Truth being its first casualty. Watada argues that the President misled the public and that the reasons for going to war were based on false premises. Watada states that he will not fight an illegal war. He now faces a possible court martial. The stand Watada took remains a source of controversy. Yet support for him is strong, with a group of Asian American supporters driving several hundred miles to his trials in Washington State." Earlier this month Gregg K. Kakesako (The Honolulu Star Bulletin) offered an update on Watada, citing one of Watada's civilian attorneys, Ken Kagan (James Lobsenz is Watada's other civilian attorney) is cited explaining there is "No real News . . . since the federal judge issued a preliminary injuction in November prohibiting the Army from bringing Watada to a second court-martial. Watada's first court-martial, a year ago, ended in a mistrial." The mistrial was declared over the objection of defense counse. Kakesako notes, "Watada and his attorney claim that a second trial would violate his constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle ruled on Nov. 8 that no court-martial will be held for Watada pending the outcome of his claim that it would violate his Fifth Amendment rights by trying him twice for the same charges." Whether or not double-jeopardy applies (it should apply, it attached when the February court-martial started) will be determined by the US Circuit Court for the Armed Forces and Kakesako concludes, "Watada's term of service in the military ended in December 2006, but the legal proceedings have prevented his discharge. He lives in Olympia, Wash. and continues to perform administrative duties at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle." Watada himself weighed in this month with "Is the Iraq War Illegal?" (Pacific Citizen) where he explains exactly why it is illegal:
Is the war illegal? Before answering this question, it is essential to divide up this conflict into: 1) the invasion and toppling of the former regime, and 2) the subsequent occupation of Iraq by American troops.
There can be no doubt that according to the UN Charter which forbids preventative wars and regime change, the invasion of Iraq was unlawful on its face. Is outlawing pre-emption fair? Absolutely - there is nothing that prohibits a nation from having a very strong defense. Moreover, nothing in the Charter prohibits a nation from retaliating after being attacked (which we were not as stated unequivocally and after-the-fact by the Bush Administration).
Ultimately, this law was established to protect the weak from the powerful, which left unaccountable, can invent any rationale for an invasion and occupation like Hitler did with Poland.
Next, is the occupation illegal? That would depend on who you ask. For supporters of continued involvement, the answer is no -- American troops are protecting us against international terrorism and the Iraqis have requested our help; we have a legal mandate granted by the same institution that we ignored and de-legitimized by invading in the first place.
On the other hand, if you ask the Iraqis themselves (who make up the vast majority of the anti-American insurgency and not Al Qaeda) - as a democratic people, they may have an entirely different answer.
[. . .]
I may not know much, but one thing is certain. Japanese American men and women did not sacrifice their lives and freedoms throughout history, so that today's leaders could invade and occupy another country, then strip the people of their democratic rights when it didn't suit their interests. To believe otherwise, is to bring dishonor upon their memory.
Watada is the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the illegal war. Camilo Mejia is the first Iraq War veteran to refuse to return. Stephen Funk was the first non-officer (after the war was declared) to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. Jeremy Hinzman was the first war resister to go public about seeking asylum in Canada. In March of 2004, Brandon Hughey also went to Canada and he also went public. Hinzman and Hughey have repeatedly attempted to be granted asylum and repeatedly been denied. November 15th, Canada's Supreme Court refused to hear their cases. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC action:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."
In preparation of the March action, IVAW has posted a video online featuring three veterans. They also note the action will be carried over KPFA airwaves (Friday through Sunday) and available for streaming online via KPFA -- video will be streamed online from Thursday through Sunday via IVAW. They also note Chelsea Hover's (News 8 Austin) report "Fort Hood soldiers breaking the silence in war in Iraq" (text and video at link and at the IVAW homepage) which features Ronn Cantu, Selena Coppa, Hart Viges and Casey Porter. Porter explains, "We lost really good friends, really good leaders who died in Iraq. From my perspective, it didn't make any sense, we didn't accomplish anything, and I talked to a lot of other soldiers who feel the same way." That's Texas. North Carolina? Erin Callender (The News Observer) reports SDS and IVAW took part in an action today where "UNC-Chapel Hill students burned fake draft cards symbolizing their opposition to the war in Iraq" as part of a rally where IVAW's Jason Hurd spoke along with Iraqi-America Dahlia Wasfi ("Hurd and Wasfi will also speak tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Dey Hall.").
Meanwhile the rightwing Economist out of England notes of the Iraqi refugee crisis, "Whether they supported the American-led campaign to topple Saddam Hussein or denounced it, all rich countries now agree that the turmoil which engulfed Iraq after the war was a tragedy whose victims should be succoured. But by no means all wealthy countries are prepared to back up those compassionate sentiments with money or hospitality." However, the United High Commissioner for Refugees does praise "the Lebanese government for its decision to recognize thousands of Iraqi refugees who had been considered as illegal immigrants liable to detention. From the beginning of this week, Lebanon's Directorate General of the General Security will give Iraqis who have entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas three months to regularize their status. The decision will benefit thousands of Iraqi refugees in Lebanon and will result in the release of hundreds from detention. As of October last year, 584 Iraqis were being held in detention in Lebanon due to their irregular status." Ferry Biedermann (Financial Times of London) reports, "But the measures stop short of giving Iraqis special residence permits. Najla Chahda, director of Caritas' Migrant Centre in Beirut, said that the release and the grace period offered Iraqi refugees, 'a chance to feel a bit more comfortable'. She said it was the best they could hope for as long as Lebanon wasn't prepared to offer special status for refugees." IRIN notes, "Starting this week Lebanon's General Security intelligence body has given Iraqi asylum-seekers three months to regularise their status, which entails giving them residency and work permits that were previously denied. UNHCR spokeswoman Laure Chedrawi told IRIN none of the hundreds of Iraqi would-be refugees in Lebanese prisons for violating immigration rules had yet been released, but the administration process had started and the agency was waiting for a list from the General Security Directorate of all those who had served their sentences and were therefore eligible for the process." That's Lebanon. Syria? The BBC reports, "Despite all efforts to provide security in Iraq, large numbers of Iraqis are still fleeing the country, with about 1,000 reportedly crossing into Syria daily, where they join a population of more than one million. The refugees are not allowed to work legally in Syria, and many families whose money is used up face the difficult choice of living in poverty or returning home with no guarantees of safety." Syria is where Riverbend and her family decided to go and, in October, she wrote (Baghdad Burning), "It is estimated that there are at least 1.5 million Iraqis in Syria today. I believe it. Walking down the streets of Damascus, you can hear the Iraqi accent everywhere. There are areas like Geramana and Qudsiya that are packed full of Iraqi refugees. Syrians are few and far between in these areas. Even the public schools in the areas are full of Iraqi children. A cousin of mine is now attending a school in Qudsiya and his class is composed of 26 Iraqi children, and 5 Syrian children. It's beyond belief sometimes. Most of the families have nothing to live on beyond their savings which are quickly being depleted with rent and the costs of living." The other country with the largest concentration of Iraqi refugees is Jordan. In an effort to allow any Iraqi refugees who wanted to go home to be able to do so, the government was setting aside fines for those wanting to return to Iraq. IRIN reports, "Four days into the new rules, only a few dozen Iraqis gathered outside the Interior Ministry and relevant immigration offices to take advantage of the grace period" -- "rules" which also include "reducing by 50 percent visa fines for those who wish to remain in" Jordan and Jordanian-Iraqi Brotherhood Association's Shankal Qader is quoted stating that it's the latter option most Iraqis will chose due to the fact that, "The situation in Iraq does not encourage Iraqis to leave Jordan yet." Last week, UPI reported, "The Jordanian government said it would continue to support Iraqi refugees in Jordan despite them costing $2.2 billion over the past three years." As early as 2004, Jordan was receiving refugees from Iraq. In July of that year, NPR's Deborah Amos reported for Morning Edition: "The large asphalt parking lot a few miles outside of the center of the Jordanian capital is known as Iraqi Square. More than two dozen taxis with Iraqi license plates stand idle, doors wide open, while the Iraqi drivers drink small glasses of hot, sweet tea. They share complaints about the problems of picking up passengers on the Jordanian-Iraqi border: the long lines; the hours of security checks." At that point there were estimates of 300,000 to 600,000 Iraqis in Jordan. At the start of 2007, Carolyn Lochhead (San Francisco Chronicle) was reporting, "Jordan, a U.S. ally, has long accepted Arab refugees, and so has Syria's pan-Arabist dictatorship. The fear now is that both may close their borders. Pressure on Jordan, a country of just 6 million, is intense, with Iraqi refugees now accounting for 10 percent of its population -- the equivalent of 30 million landing on U.S. shores." Like thirty million arriving in the US. And how many have actually arrived?
The total number of Iraqi refugees accepted by the US in 2007 was 1,608. In the February 5th snapshot, the US State Department's laughable press confrence was noted. It featured Homeland Security's Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Iraqi Refugee Issues Lori Scialabba, The State Dept's Deputy Assistant for Consular Affairs Tony Edson, and the Senior Coordinator on Iraqi Refugee Issues Ambassador James Folely with a lot of excuses. CNN Elise Labott and Bloomberg News' Janice Zacharia had questions (and numbers) the State Department wasn't expecting which led to such claims by Foley as the State Dept had never said it would have 7,000 settled by the 2007 fiscal year. Finally, he offered "I came on board in September" (the end of the 2007 fiscal year) and that apparently means that he can't be updated on what's come before. Forget internal briefings, can't they even offer a shift change? May 30, 2007, AP was reporting, "The United States will soon begin admitting a bigger trickle of the more than 2 million refugees who have fled Iraq, acknowledging for the first time the country may never be safe for some who have helped the U.S. there. Since the war began in 2003, fewer than 800 Iraqi refugees have been admitted, angering critics who argued the United States is obligated to assist many more . . . Now, under enhanced screening measures aimed at weeding out potential terrorists -- announced this week by the Department of Homeland Security -- the administration plans to allow nearly 7,000 Iraqis to resettle in the United States by the end of September." Foley wants to offer the excuse that "I came on board in September" 2007 -- which should have been a time when the pledged 7,000 figure was being discussed at length due to the fact that it was the deadline for the announced pledge. It should have been discussed since only 1,608 were admitted which is over 5,000 short of what they promised in May of 2007 (and since 15,477 Iraqis were recommended for asylum to the US government during that period by the United Nations). The "cooridnator" on the Iraqi refugee issue for the State Dept has no excuse for first denying that a pledge of 7,000 was ever made and he has no excuse for then trying to cover by saying he started in September. That was a February press briefing, a scheduled one. If he wasn't lying, then he's obviously not up to speed on the basics of his job. Where's the supervision, Condi? In terms of media coverage, Tara Conlan (Guardian of London) reports, "Channel 4 is to launch its Happy Birthday Iraq season on March 15 with a week of programmes examing the devastating fall-out of the war for Iraq and the Middle East, America and Britain. . . . The first Dispatches investigation features journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy travelling to Jordan and Syria to meet Iraqi refugees struggling to start new lives from scratch." That's in England. In the US? Let's not hold our breath.
In some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left three people injured, a Baghad mortar attack that left two people wounded, an Al Anbar Province roadside bombing that claimed 2 lives -- Brig. Gen. Ahmed al-Juburi and his driver -- while wounding a bodyguard, an Al Anbar Province car bombing that claimed 1 life and left another person wounded, a Mosul roadside bombing that left five police officers wounded and a rocket attack on the Basra International Airport. Reuters notes, "The Turkish military shelled several Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq, Kudish officials said, just days after Ankara said it was weighing a ground operation against the guerrillas." Shamal Aqrawi (Reuters) adds, "A senior Iraqi border official said a bridge had been destroyed in Nerva Rikan, an area close to Iraq's border with Turkey in Dahuk province" -- did it happen? There are always denials and conflicting reports. Today is no different.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports police 1st Lt. Ahmed Mohammed was shot dead in Baghdad while Lt. Col. Haxim and another police officer were wounded and a driver for the Ministry of Transport was shot dead in Baghdad. Reuters notes a police officer was shot dead in Numaniya outside his home.
Corpses?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad and 15 corpses in Diyala Province ("hand cuffed, blindfolded and shot to death"). Reuters adds the Diyala corpses were "shot execution-style in the head."
Today the US military announced: " A Multi-National Division -- Center Soldier was killed when the Soldier's vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device Feb. 20." And they announced: "A Multi-National Force - West Marine was killed in action against enemy forces in Al Anbar Province Feb. 21."
In addition, Megan Levy (Telegraph of London) reports that 4 British soldiers were wounded Wednesday in a Basra attack. The Press Association cites rumors that it was a roadside bombing.
Yesterday's snapshot noted the nonsense and harm of talk of round-ups in Baghdad. The Los Angeles Times' Baghdad bureau raises further issues today: "But enforcing the law will be difficult. Beggars and street people are part of life here, and their numbers have grown dramatically since the war. In addition, the Koran encourages people to help the needy, and Iraqis see nothing wrong with giving money to people who ask for it. In fact, beggars here often go door-to-door in residential neighborhoods seeking handouts. Others walk the chaotic streets hitting up people in passing cars when traffic slows." Meanwhile, as speculation continues to mount as to the continuation or cancellation of the cease-fire/true Moqtada al-Sadr initiated with the US military, Tina Susman and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) report that "aides" and "loyalists" are expressing doubts that it will be renewed with one member of Iraq's parliament in the Sadr bloc, Ghufran Saidi, explaining, "We have made more than one gesture. . . . However, we haven't received any help from the government. The aim is to eliminate the Sadr movement in all provinces." While everyone waits to see what al-Sadr will do, the situation in northern Iraq gets more tense (the Kirkuk election will supposedly take this year -- determining whether the oil-rich area is part of the central government or part of nothern Iraq). Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports on the pressures being placed on Iraqi Arabs ("They treat us like foreigners," says Munawer Fayeq Rashid) and how you need a 'sponsor' to live in the region and then a residency permit. The region -- the desires of some War Hawks not withstanding -- is still a part of Iraq. Fadel observes, "The rules have created tension between Kurds and Arabs, both of whom are citizens of Iraq but who speak different languages and have different histories. Most Kurds are Muslims, but they shudder at the thought of traveling to the dangers of Baghdad."
Now let's turn to US politics. Tonight Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama debate in Austin, Texas. KPFA will broadcast (and stream) it live with Larry Bensky hosting and taking calls after. Tom Hayden has a ridiculous column (guess we won't see the bounc back from embarrassment this week) based on speech that Bambi gave in Houston last week. We'll wait and see on his claims after he explained, while running for the Senate, to Elaine and I that US troops were in Iraq so they couldn't be pulled. Meanwhile, the public trashing of Hillary goes on. It is a trashing and it is very much a trashing in the feminist sense of the term. As a result, Common Dreams -- one of the worst offenders -- has taken to feature faux feminists and today's idiot (we're not even naming her) tries to go after Robin Morgan and Hillary Clinton from a standpoint of 'caring.' Apparently she worked so hard on her act that she was unable to spare time for logic? The faux feminist acknowledges that maybe a climate has been created where Hillary is held to a standard others aren't but, having offered that, she then blames Hillary. That would be blaming the victim. No, that is not feminism. We'll get back to that, let's just enjoy the 'worth' of what she shares such as this statement, "Barack Obama chose the Howard-Dean-Deval Patrick strategy (the Clintons hate Dean): pay attention to all the states" blah, blah, blah. When did Deval Patrick "pay attention to all the states"? Never. He's a governor -- a very bad governor who got into office on pretty words and demonstrates that words are not actions -- of Massachusetts. Explain to us how Deval Patrick, running for governor of Massachusetts, was "paying attention to all the states"? Did all fifty vote him into office as governor? (Mike's friends and family -- including Trina -- call Patrick "Governor Who" because when the pretty words proved not enough, Patrick appeared to go MIA.) Since an idiot has brought Governor Who into it, let's go ahead and note that Jake Tapper (ABC News) caught Patrick lying publicly when he claimed he'd given permission for Obama. But let's get back to the trashing. These 'concerned' columns that blame Hillary are just as much about a trashing as are the ones featuring the on-the-nose hatred. To be clear, Hillary can be held a standard but equality means all are held to the same standard. That hasn't happened. Further, there's no reason a supporter of any candidate has to trash Hillary to make their case. Halle Berry is strongly for Barack Obama and she has not engaged in a trashing. But many others can't do anything but trash and for women, they need to stop pretending they are feminists. What they are doing is acting out against other women, saying, 'You think you're better,' or 'You think your s**t don't stink?' It's a very old story and feminist history has long charted it. Posing as if you're writing out of concern is actually more offensive because at least the other pose is honest. When women's history is written in the near future -- not the far future -- it will not look kindly on a number of these women. It will be very harsh to them as it should be. By contrast, Robin Morgan's "Goodbye To All That (#2)" (Women's Media Center) will still be required reading.
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Bambi, et al
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "GOP Attack Machine" captured what awaits if the Democratic Party is stupid enough to go with Bambi as their nominee:
People can pretend all they want but Cindy McCain scored points this week. She really drew a line between herself and Michelle Obama and she really tossed a huge QUESTION MARK over Michelle Obama. MO saying for the first time in her adult life she was proud of her country was and is huge. Bambi groupies can pretend otherwise but that's the sort of statement that hangs around and sinks a campaign. Now you've got John McCain calling Bambi out on his promise to go the public finance route.
The Nation is penning an editorial, C.I. told me about it, it's not up yet, praising Bambi for saying today he'd end the illegal war in 2009. They're fools. He's not ending the war in 2009. They're willing fools and everyone needs to remember that they championed him as the 'anti-war' candidate. Not Kucinich, Obama. Everyone needs to remember that so that, if he's elected, you can hold those liars accountable. They have lied, they have stacked the deck and they have gone far, far from journalism.
I love C.I.'s point that Juan Cole doesn't do a daily post on Iraq. Tom Englehardt (however you spell his last name) is a fool. Juan Cole last blogged on Iraq on Sunday. He blogged on other things this week. The only thing I would've changed if I'd dictated the snapshot was to have said, "Hello! We do that here every damn day." After C.I. got done dictating the snapshot, I pointed that out. C.I. hadn't even thought of that. C.I.'s plugging McClatchy, Reuters and ICCC. It didn't even occur to C.I. to think of The Common Ills. It's a pity C.I. isn't a glory hog. I think sometimes that's the only way anyone gets the credit they deserve. We all know C.I.'s carried the ball on Iraq and no one else can say that in 'independent' media. Day after day, C.I. is there -- with the Iraq snapshot or without it (no snapshot on the weekends). C.I. sets the standard. Tom Englehart can piss off.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, February 20, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Little Media wallows in being useless, the US military announces deaths, round-ups announced in Baghdad and more.
Starting with war resisters, Nisa Islam Muhammad (Final Call) reports on realities for war resisters in Canada:
In the '60s and '70s, Canada was a refuge for war resisters and conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War. Iraq war resistors want the same reception and protested at Canadian consulates from coast to coast as part of Courage To Resist's "Dear Canada: Let Them Stay" campaign."We had actions in eight cities Jan. 25, at five Canadian consulates around the county on behalf of war resisters in Canada," Max Diorio of Courage to Resist told The Final Call."Thousands of soldiers are AWOL. The military doesn't know how many or where they are. Canada was a safe haven, but the climate now has Canada wanting to be on the good side of the United States."Hundreds of U.S. military personnel are in Canada because of decisions not to participate in U.S. wars and the occupation in the Middle East. There is no legal or political provision in effect in Canada that affords U.S. war resisters the right to stay in the country.Deportation looms as a real threat for many women and men seeking refuge from prosecution south of the border, even as widespread support for the rights of resisters to stay grows among Canadians.
With Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC action:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."
Staying with reality, Iraq is off the media radar and FOOLS and LIARS don't get it back on the radar. Debate whether Tom Engelhartdt is a a FOOL, a LIAR or a little bit of both when reading his latest pathetic piece at Common Dreams. Bully Boy says there's no problem -- says Tom -- and the media "miraculously" vanished Iraq. "The mainstream media," he tells us. Fool or liar or just a bit of both. Little media didn't stand up during the Myth of the Great Return. Amy Goodman devoted one full segment to Iraq last month when? January 25th. She waited until January 25th. [The 'we only have one minute!' garbage doesn't count.] Engelhartdt needs to stop peddling those tired lies. It may keep the checks coming in from The Nation but it's not reality. Nor is this claim that "Juan Cole's Informed Comment website" is "perhaps the best daily round-up of Iraqi mayhem and disaster on the Web". Really? Well sure he was for the illegal occupation after he was against it (as Steve Rendall pointed out to his face on CounterSpin) but, hey, if he's providing a "daily round-up of Iraqi mayhem" -- best or otherwise -- we should certainly make a point to check in.. Wednesday's sole entry (thus far) -- John McCain, Bambi and Pakistan. Monday's entry -- he did only one -- on Afghanistan. Tuesday's entry -- he did only one -- on Pakistan. Not a "daily round-up" but it's a nice way for someone to kiss ass with a shout-out, isn't it? Stick to McClatchy Newspapers, Reuters and ICCC, they provide daily information. Here's the reality Tom Engelhartdt isn't telling you because he's not willing to or he's too stupid to: Iraq's off the radar because we tolerate it being off the radar.
Because we renew our subscriptions to the garbage that is The Nation or buy it in stores, because Amy Goodman's begging on air for Pacific (for herself really) and we toss out a few bucks to shut the beggar up. There is an illegal war going on that hits the fifth year mark next month. There is nothing in independent media -- despite all the money we've forked over to them -- that reflects this reality. Nothing. And as long as we continue to accept that, as long as we're thrilled to death that Katrina vanden Heuvel can provide John Nichols, the Aris (Mebler and Berman) and assorted others covering the Democratic presidential primaries each damn day while providing NOTHING on the Iraq War, the illegal war is going to go on. Engelhartdt may be too stupid to tell you that or he may just enjoy being on the dime of The Nation. But that's reality and anyone telling you otherwise is a LIAR.
Not misinformed, not disinformed, not misguided -- just a LIAR. That's reality. And lying to people is DISGUSTING. Want Iraq covered? Demand it. Refuse to support media that doesn't cover it. And let's get one damn thing real clear, it's not, despite Engelhardt's claim, the "MSM" that's dropped Iraq. If the New York Times doesn't file a story for Iraq that's the headline of a morning entry here. I know how often that's the case and how often it isn't. (And not hear to spoonfeed lazy minds like Engelhardt). The New York Times isn't dropping Iraq -- they may resell the illegal war most days, but they do cover it. It's Little Media that's dropped Iraq. And no one needs a lecture from Tom Englehardt to begin with but we certainly don't need him on his high horse when he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. If you're talking corruption in Iraq, to provide one example, you're largely talking James Glanz of the New York Times. Not that Glanz is corrupt but you are talking his beat. He's covered it. He's defined it. When few have given a damn and the occassional moments when they have, he has covered that beat since the illegal war began. I'll slam the New York Times every day of the week. I'll slam Glanz if the article offends. But I don't pretend for a minute that Little Media 'competes' with the Times or other MSM outlets. Little Media doesn't compete because Little Media (broadcast and print) doesn't give a damn. Engelhardt's offering up the kind of crap we got in 2004 and 2005 when it was time to open the checkbooks: "Look what we do! No one else brings you the truth! Judith Miller did not work for us!" Independent media hasn't done a thing worthy of praise on Iraq -- or Iraq related topics -- in years. Anyone telling you otherwise is a fool or a liar. And you should be sick of it.
Sick Of It Day is an action Veterans for Peace started on the 14th of this month and VFP's Mike Ferner offers, "I've seen the pain on the faces of the people of Iraq and the soldiers who come back from war. It's something I can't get out of my mind and there are days when it really does make me sick" to explain the need for the action asking people to call in sick March 19th and then selecting "from a wide variety of other things to do that day -- from contacting Congress and going back to bed, to more ambitious ideas like helping quarantine military shipments in U.S. ports. Campaigners are invited to come up with their own 'Sick Of It Day' activity and post it to the site." Ferner (writing at Online Journal) speaks with IVAW co-chair Adam Kokesh ("campaign originator") who explains, "I'm sick of seeing America in denial about how much we have been lied to."
To return to the nonsense offered about the MSM, it was Sewell Chan (New York Times) who reported on a Friday NYC action where "20 antiwar activists gathered outside an Army recruiting office in East Harlem" -- it was not Democracy Now!, it was not The Nation, it was not Free Speech Radio News. The War Stops Here is a new website created to be "an online hub and journal of DIRECT ACTION." The website features text and videos. The creator of the site explained at Infoshop: "This is a project that I've long been thinking about, and unfortunately, nobody else has stepped up to help me out with it. So, here goes nothing. The basic premise is this: we're finally at a stage in the antiwar movement where there is something to report in terms of creative, militant direct actions against the occupation of Iraq happening right here in the US. It's happening on campuses, at ports, in the Capitol, in small towns and in big cities. Therefore, there ought to be a regularly-updated hub for those of us who take this work seriously, want to learn what other people are doing, and to let new people know that there are ways to tangibly grind this war to a halt." The creator's a member of today's Students for a Democratic Society and SDS' Kati Ketz is interviewed by Ron Jacobs (Dissident Voice) addressing what's coming up next month with Ketz explaining, "SDS is again putting out a call for students to take action, this time a week of action between March 17th-21st in order to protest five years of war in Iraq. We are focusing on March 20th as a student and youth specific day of action, where schools will be having walk-outs or rallies and protests on their campuses and in their cities." Ketz explains how her UNC-Asheville chapter of SDS is working with the local chapter of IVAW, "It seemed natural to our SDS group that when the IVAW-Asheville group started up in November of 2007 that we invite some of their members to speak on our campus. From that, a couple of members of IVAW-Asheville started coming to SDS meetings and getting involved in our actions on campus, which led to the counter-recruitment action we did recently. During this counter-recruitment action, we staged a mock Iraq raid based on what one member of IVAW-Asheville witnessed firsthand, with a family of Iraqi people being zip-tied and asked for information that they did not have before being carried away." More information is available at this page of the SDS website.
There are people seriously committed to ending the illegal war. Chances are you won't ever find them in what passes for 'independent' media today. Which is why we didn't hear the latest nonsense in Baghdad being called out. Again, the MSM is reporting. Where's Little Media? The damage they create with their silence is appalling. The new push is for round-ups in Baghdad. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports it as if that's a good thing -- having the "homeless and mentally ill residents" rounded up and it's for their protection, you understand, because they have been used as bombers ("knowingly or unknowingly") so this is the way to address that according to the Interior Ministry's Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf who explains to CNN that "[p]olice will hand beggars, vagrants and the mentally handicapped over to governmental institutions that can provide them with shelter and care". The thugs of the Interior Ministry (who control the police or did we all miss that in the James Baker Circle Jerk report?) are going to determine who is sane and who isn't? Based on what training? They're going to determine -- in a country with runaway inflation and unemployment -- who is a 'vagrant' or 'beggar'? And they're never going to base those decisions on anything but the facts, right? They won't use that power to round-up against political enemies or dissidents? Keep dreaming.
The February 1st Baghdad bombings were said to have involved two women as 'suicide bombers' who were mentally disabled or one had Down Syndrome or blah, blah, blah -- who can remember all the spin the US military was offering day after day? In fact, they're still at it. The New York Times' Richard A. Oppel Jr. with AP (at International Herald-Tribune) reports that the US held a press briefing today in Baghdad to say they have files! medical records! and the women were ill! they had "depression and schizophrenia"! US military flack Gregory Smith explains that photos of the two women's severed heads were then photographed and -- apparently despite the heads being blown off the bodies -- were intact enough for the women to be matched up with "their psychiatric files -- not any medical files". That's such a sweet story and maybe there's a bit of truth somewhere deep.
records.
There's no proof, just some yacking coming from a flack for the US military. Earlier today Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reported on the same topic qutoing Khalaf stating beggars under 18 would be confined "to shelters" while those over 18 "would be charged with crimes" and those 'judged' mentally disabled by the 'doctors' working the Iraqi police beat on foot patrol would end up confined to hospitals because "These people with mental defects can cause a lot of damage if they are left on the streets . . . Their proper place is in the hospitals." There's no cultural excuse for what he just stated. "Proper place" and "defects" are offensive in any culture but that's what happens when educated Iraqis flee the country because thugs are put in charge.Repeating, the thugs of the Interior Ministry just got a pass on rounding up anyone they want to in a country where unemployment is the norm and where the mental health facilities are struggling at best. And what type of a country has a law on the books that bars the mentally disabled from being seen in public? This really is a disgrace and it's something that will be used to 'eliminate' people that are not in favor with the Interior Ministry. Again, there's still no proof that the mentally disabled have been used in bombings, even after the US raided a psychiatric hospital last week (CNN says they raided two). Steve Lannen and Hussein Khadim (McClatchy Newspapers) actually report on the Al Rashad hospital -- the one raided two Sundays ago with the director, Dr. Sahi Aboub, being arrested by the US military. The reporters find that the US military's claim that Dr. Aboub has been "selecting possible suicide bombers since Jan. 1" is ridiculous since (a) his first day at the hospital was January 13th and "he had no say in when patients would check in or out of the hospital." The hospital staff also notes that it's tied to Moqtada al-Sadr -- that would be the same al-Sadr's who has endorsed a six-month truce/cease-fire since August. It doesn't add up and it never will.
Lannen and Khadim explain that there are only two psychiatric hospitals in Iraq currently -- Ibn Rushad is the other. So exactly where those pronounced 'disabled' by the Interior Ministry are supposed to go is up in the air. As for those carted off to jail, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports on the realities of Iraqi 'justice' today, "The absence of the witnesses was the latest in a series of events that appear aimed at derailing the case, in which the officials are charged with using the resources of the Health Ministry to carry out a campaign of sectarian kidnappings and killings. Witnesses have been intimidated; their families have been threatened; and information emerged this week suggesting that the trial's outcome was fixed. One of the judges scheduled to hear the case had reportedly already agreed to find the men not guilty, according to officials close to the court."
Not disturbed yet? Those are the benefits given to Shi'ite officials and Rubin explains who the two are: "The defendants, former Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili and Brig. Gen. Hameed al-Shammari, who led the ministry's security service, are charged with running militias that killed and kidnapped hundreds of Sunnis in hospitals run by the Health Ministry and other facilities in 2005 and 2006." These round-ups should set off alarms. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Today at the intersections of central Baghdad where forlorn women and young children typically pawn candy, gum, tissues or balloons were empty. The spokesman at the Ministry of Interior took no one off the streets. They all stayed home today." We'll come back to Fadel at the end.
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing left two people wounded, another Baghdad roadside bombing targeted an official -- "the deputy minister of science and technology, Sameer Salim Al-Attar" -- who was wounded as were "two of his guards," a Baghdad car bombing claimed 1 life and left two people wounded, a Kirkuk roadside bombing left five police officers wounded and a Diyala Province bombing in which a bomber killed himself and 7 other people were at a bakery (with another seventeen wounded). Reuters notes a Tal Afar car bombing in which the driver died as well as two civilians -- "a woman and a 6-year-old girl" -- while eight more people were injured while a roadside bombing outside Tikrits left four people injured.
Shootings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province shooting that wounded two people while 4 police officers were shot dead in Mosul. Reuters notes "a police woman wearing civilian clothes" was shot dead in Mosul.
Corpses?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today, the US military announced: "Three Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldiers were killed at approximately 10:30 p.m. Feb. 19 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in northwestern Baghdad." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division - North Soldier was killed as a result of injuries sustained from a rocket propelled grenade attack while conducting patrols in Mosul Feb. 20. Three soldiers were also wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility for treatment." 3967 is the current total for US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war. 23 is the current total for the month -- on the 20th day of the month.
Yesterday, IRIN noted the continued plight of the Palestinian refugees "trapped in three makeshift camps along the Iraqi-Syrian border". The Palestinian population of Iraq before the illegal war broke out was not considered "citizens" of Iraq. They were included in the census, they were legally in the country and had some rights (not universal rights) recognized but they were not considered citizens. This creates a huge problem when attempting to leave Iraq since many countries demand passports -- more so since the large migration of refugees out of Iraq. But prior to that large migration, Palestinians were already leaving Iraq because the illegal war meant that the few rights they had were now shredded. In May of 2003, the BBC was reporting on the United Nations explaining what was happening, how they faced the threat of eviction (with 1,000 already being kicked out of Baghdad). The crisis was expected. Those trapped between the borders of Iraq and Syria have been trapped for nearly two years. Nothing is being done.
Turning to US political news. Margaret Kimberly (Freedom Rider -- this is Kimberley's own website, not her latest column) believes Hillary Clinton's campaign for the presidential nomination is now over: "She cannot over come the barrage of negative press that has hit her. The press are in the tank for Obama, and that is obviously because he is the corporate media favorite. . . . He endorsed Joe Lieberman, his Senate mentor, he waffled on Iraq, often contradicting his own statements about being anti-war. He said he would bomb Iran. He said that Israel can keep killing people whenever and wherever it chooses. Most importantly he told them that he will keep black people quiet. Like the right wing he thinks that the 60s and 70s were 'excessive.' He says 'there is no black America' and in any case we are '90% of the way towards equality'." [For more on Hillary, Elizabeth L. Keathley examines cultural and historical bias working against the Clinton campaign at Women's eNews.] Staying with that themes Obama sells, Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report) observes, "Obama is a world-class wooer. His white male wooing is made much easier by the fact that those who consider themselves his 'sisters' and 'brothers' demand nothing whatsoever from him. Just come home when you get ready, brother. Obama is free to concentrate his attentions on the hard-to-get demographics, especially white men with their peculiar notions of 'change.' No need for Obama to promise the hood a damn thing, except that he'll cut a dashing figure in the Oval Office and make the homefolks proud that he's there, symbolically representing them. Republicans and GOP-leaning 'independents' (meaning, deep-dyed whites) are crossing over in heards to vote for Obama. They've got the message: happy days are here again, when the darkies smiled and were careful not to hurt our feelings by telling the truth. That's the kind of 'change' we've always 'hoped' for, by golly! The white liberal/left, ineffectual and geographically scattered, are drawn irresistibly to the Black man who regales them with sweet nothings -- literally, nothing in the way of the concrete policies for peace and social justice they claim to champion. His presence in their midst is enough. Besides, Obama is someone who is 'capable of forging a progressive majority,' they say. That's a strange concept, since Obama doesn't act like a progressive, or claim to be one." Doesn't act like one? Fidel Castro announced he was stepping down as president of Cuba. KUNA reports on Obama's statements yesterday including that Castro's stepping down ending "a dark era." He wasn't the only Obama embarrassing himself yesterday. As Kat notes, Michelle Obama declared on Monday, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback." Cindy McCain, spouse of Senator McCain, later stated publicly, "I am proud of my country. I don't know about you. If you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of my country." If only that was the least of Bambi's troubles. Jake Tapper (ABC News) reports on Obama and the federally indicted Antoin "Tony" Rezko: "Turns out before Obama bought the mansion (Rezko helped him by buying half the land), Obama took Rezko 'on a tour of the premises to make sure it was a good deal'." Tapper's quote comes from David Jackson and Bob Secter (Chicago Tribune) who note, "Weeks after saying he'd answered all questions about his controversial dealings with the now-indicted Rezko, Obama released new details about their purchase of adjacent lots from the same seller on the same day. But the disclosures by Obama's presidential campaign left unanswered questions and raised new ones." Today, Rhonda Schwartz and Justin Rood (ABC News) report, "Watchdog groups are questioning why it took Sen. Barack Obama more than a year to disclose additional details of his dealings with indicted fundraiser Antoin 'Tony' Rezko" and quote Better Government Association's Jay Stewart ("when you're laying out that kind of rhetoric . . . it makes sense for people to say, 'Let's look at what you've done. Let's see if your rhetoric matches wtih reality." and Illinois Campaign for Political Reform's Cindy Canary ("This is something that Sen. Obama should have put foward from the get-go."). Well he should have given away the Rezko money from the get-go but, as Chris Fusco and Tim Novack (Chicago Sun-Times) reported at the end of last month, "The latest dump of Rezko-related cash by the Democratic presidential contended is $72,650, bringing the total Obama is giving away to $157,835."
In her speech last night, Hillary Clinton noted, "I have served on the Armed Services Committee. I've been to more than 80 countries, worked with world leaders, stood up to the Chinese government to declare that women's rights are human rights. And I am ready to end this war in Iraq and this era of cowboy diplomacy. I will restore our leadership and moral authority in the world without delays, without on-the-job training, from day one. One of us has a plan to provide health care for every single American, no one left out. And I believe -- I believe health care is a right, not a privilege. And I will not rest until every American is covered. That is my solemn promise to you." If you didn't catch that from 'independent' media today, it's because you have Smut Merchants and a lot of Pigs.
For instance, why does Amy Goodman hate women? Alleged 'journalist' Amy Goodman -- allegedly a 'woman' -- felt the need to finally get around to noting the Polk awards. (We noted them in the snapshot yesterday, we also noted them before Democracy Now! started yesterday, they were already in the news cycle.) Joining her in dishonoring women is The Cindy Brady of the Faux Left Eric AlterPunk who makes time to note a blogger, his own magazine (which did not win) and the Washington Post. (Writers won the Polks awards, not their outlets.) So let's repeat, McClatchy Newspapers reports:
Leila Fadel, McClatchy's Baghdad bureau chief, won the George R. Polk Award for outstanding foreign reporting and The Charlotte Observer won the Polk Award for outstanding economic reporting, Long Island University announced Tuesday.Fadel, 26, was cited for her "vivid depictions" of the military and political struggle in Iraq. "Her work provided a comprehensive array of disturbing, first-hand accounts of violence and conflict by juxtaposing the agonizing plight of families in ethnically torn neighborhoods with the braggadocio of a vengeful insurgent proud of his murderous exploits, and the carnage and sorrow among victims of Iraq's most deadly car bombing in a remote region of the country where few reporters ventured," the jurors said.:
From Robert D. McFadden (New York Times), "Leila Fadel, the Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy, won the foreign reporting Polk for wide-ranging articles from Iraq on families in ethnically torn neighborhoods, on killers and victims and on an endlessly changing military and political struggle." Editor & Publisher has reposted a 2007 article on her. Sarah Bahari (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reviews Fadel's past reporting and notes, "From her work on that story and others, Fadel -- a former Star-Telgram reporter and now Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, the Star-Telegram's parent company -- has been awarded the prestigious George Polk Award for foreign reporting." And that foreign reporting is coming from Iraq. So you might think she could get a shout-out from Little Media. She didn't. Petty jealousies? Anger at an an attractive and younger woman? Who knows. But she won it and she earned it and like many other women reporting from Iraq during the illegal war -- including Nancy A. Youssef, Cara Buckley, Sabrina Tavernise, Riverbend, Alissa J. Rubin, Ellen Knickmeyer, Tina Susman and Alexandra Zavis. Fadel's contributions have made a real difference. Maybe that's why Little Media could do everything -- while pretending to give a damn about Iraq -- but note the journalist who won a Polk this year for actually reporting from Iraq?
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People can pretend all they want but Cindy McCain scored points this week. She really drew a line between herself and Michelle Obama and she really tossed a huge QUESTION MARK over Michelle Obama. MO saying for the first time in her adult life she was proud of her country was and is huge. Bambi groupies can pretend otherwise but that's the sort of statement that hangs around and sinks a campaign. Now you've got John McCain calling Bambi out on his promise to go the public finance route.
The Nation is penning an editorial, C.I. told me about it, it's not up yet, praising Bambi for saying today he'd end the illegal war in 2009. They're fools. He's not ending the war in 2009. They're willing fools and everyone needs to remember that they championed him as the 'anti-war' candidate. Not Kucinich, Obama. Everyone needs to remember that so that, if he's elected, you can hold those liars accountable. They have lied, they have stacked the deck and they have gone far, far from journalism.
I love C.I.'s point that Juan Cole doesn't do a daily post on Iraq. Tom Englehardt (however you spell his last name) is a fool. Juan Cole last blogged on Iraq on Sunday. He blogged on other things this week. The only thing I would've changed if I'd dictated the snapshot was to have said, "Hello! We do that here every damn day." After C.I. got done dictating the snapshot, I pointed that out. C.I. hadn't even thought of that. C.I.'s plugging McClatchy, Reuters and ICCC. It didn't even occur to C.I. to think of The Common Ills. It's a pity C.I. isn't a glory hog. I think sometimes that's the only way anyone gets the credit they deserve. We all know C.I.'s carried the ball on Iraq and no one else can say that in 'independent' media. Day after day, C.I. is there -- with the Iraq snapshot or without it (no snapshot on the weekends). C.I. sets the standard. Tom Englehart can piss off.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, February 20, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Little Media wallows in being useless, the US military announces deaths, round-ups announced in Baghdad and more.
Starting with war resisters, Nisa Islam Muhammad (Final Call) reports on realities for war resisters in Canada:
In the '60s and '70s, Canada was a refuge for war resisters and conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War. Iraq war resistors want the same reception and protested at Canadian consulates from coast to coast as part of Courage To Resist's "Dear Canada: Let Them Stay" campaign."We had actions in eight cities Jan. 25, at five Canadian consulates around the county on behalf of war resisters in Canada," Max Diorio of Courage to Resist told The Final Call."Thousands of soldiers are AWOL. The military doesn't know how many or where they are. Canada was a safe haven, but the climate now has Canada wanting to be on the good side of the United States."Hundreds of U.S. military personnel are in Canada because of decisions not to participate in U.S. wars and the occupation in the Middle East. There is no legal or political provision in effect in Canada that affords U.S. war resisters the right to stay in the country.Deportation looms as a real threat for many women and men seeking refuge from prosecution south of the border, even as widespread support for the rights of resisters to stay grows among Canadians.
With Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC action:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."
Staying with reality, Iraq is off the media radar and FOOLS and LIARS don't get it back on the radar. Debate whether Tom Engelhartdt is a a FOOL, a LIAR or a little bit of both when reading his latest pathetic piece at Common Dreams. Bully Boy says there's no problem -- says Tom -- and the media "miraculously" vanished Iraq. "The mainstream media," he tells us. Fool or liar or just a bit of both. Little media didn't stand up during the Myth of the Great Return. Amy Goodman devoted one full segment to Iraq last month when? January 25th. She waited until January 25th. [The 'we only have one minute!' garbage doesn't count.] Engelhartdt needs to stop peddling those tired lies. It may keep the checks coming in from The Nation but it's not reality. Nor is this claim that "Juan Cole's Informed Comment website" is "perhaps the best daily round-up of Iraqi mayhem and disaster on the Web". Really? Well sure he was for the illegal occupation after he was against it (as Steve Rendall pointed out to his face on CounterSpin) but, hey, if he's providing a "daily round-up of Iraqi mayhem" -- best or otherwise -- we should certainly make a point to check in.. Wednesday's sole entry (thus far) -- John McCain, Bambi and Pakistan. Monday's entry -- he did only one -- on Afghanistan. Tuesday's entry -- he did only one -- on Pakistan. Not a "daily round-up" but it's a nice way for someone to kiss ass with a shout-out, isn't it? Stick to McClatchy Newspapers, Reuters and ICCC, they provide daily information. Here's the reality Tom Engelhartdt isn't telling you because he's not willing to or he's too stupid to: Iraq's off the radar because we tolerate it being off the radar.
Because we renew our subscriptions to the garbage that is The Nation or buy it in stores, because Amy Goodman's begging on air for Pacific (for herself really) and we toss out a few bucks to shut the beggar up. There is an illegal war going on that hits the fifth year mark next month. There is nothing in independent media -- despite all the money we've forked over to them -- that reflects this reality. Nothing. And as long as we continue to accept that, as long as we're thrilled to death that Katrina vanden Heuvel can provide John Nichols, the Aris (Mebler and Berman) and assorted others covering the Democratic presidential primaries each damn day while providing NOTHING on the Iraq War, the illegal war is going to go on. Engelhartdt may be too stupid to tell you that or he may just enjoy being on the dime of The Nation. But that's reality and anyone telling you otherwise is a LIAR.
Not misinformed, not disinformed, not misguided -- just a LIAR. That's reality. And lying to people is DISGUSTING. Want Iraq covered? Demand it. Refuse to support media that doesn't cover it. And let's get one damn thing real clear, it's not, despite Engelhardt's claim, the "MSM" that's dropped Iraq. If the New York Times doesn't file a story for Iraq that's the headline of a morning entry here. I know how often that's the case and how often it isn't. (And not hear to spoonfeed lazy minds like Engelhardt). The New York Times isn't dropping Iraq -- they may resell the illegal war most days, but they do cover it. It's Little Media that's dropped Iraq. And no one needs a lecture from Tom Englehardt to begin with but we certainly don't need him on his high horse when he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. If you're talking corruption in Iraq, to provide one example, you're largely talking James Glanz of the New York Times. Not that Glanz is corrupt but you are talking his beat. He's covered it. He's defined it. When few have given a damn and the occassional moments when they have, he has covered that beat since the illegal war began. I'll slam the New York Times every day of the week. I'll slam Glanz if the article offends. But I don't pretend for a minute that Little Media 'competes' with the Times or other MSM outlets. Little Media doesn't compete because Little Media (broadcast and print) doesn't give a damn. Engelhardt's offering up the kind of crap we got in 2004 and 2005 when it was time to open the checkbooks: "Look what we do! No one else brings you the truth! Judith Miller did not work for us!" Independent media hasn't done a thing worthy of praise on Iraq -- or Iraq related topics -- in years. Anyone telling you otherwise is a fool or a liar. And you should be sick of it.
Sick Of It Day is an action Veterans for Peace started on the 14th of this month and VFP's Mike Ferner offers, "I've seen the pain on the faces of the people of Iraq and the soldiers who come back from war. It's something I can't get out of my mind and there are days when it really does make me sick" to explain the need for the action asking people to call in sick March 19th and then selecting "from a wide variety of other things to do that day -- from contacting Congress and going back to bed, to more ambitious ideas like helping quarantine military shipments in U.S. ports. Campaigners are invited to come up with their own 'Sick Of It Day' activity and post it to the site." Ferner (writing at Online Journal) speaks with IVAW co-chair Adam Kokesh ("campaign originator") who explains, "I'm sick of seeing America in denial about how much we have been lied to."
To return to the nonsense offered about the MSM, it was Sewell Chan (New York Times) who reported on a Friday NYC action where "20 antiwar activists gathered outside an Army recruiting office in East Harlem" -- it was not Democracy Now!, it was not The Nation, it was not Free Speech Radio News. The War Stops Here is a new website created to be "an online hub and journal of DIRECT ACTION." The website features text and videos. The creator of the site explained at Infoshop: "This is a project that I've long been thinking about, and unfortunately, nobody else has stepped up to help me out with it. So, here goes nothing. The basic premise is this: we're finally at a stage in the antiwar movement where there is something to report in terms of creative, militant direct actions against the occupation of Iraq happening right here in the US. It's happening on campuses, at ports, in the Capitol, in small towns and in big cities. Therefore, there ought to be a regularly-updated hub for those of us who take this work seriously, want to learn what other people are doing, and to let new people know that there are ways to tangibly grind this war to a halt." The creator's a member of today's Students for a Democratic Society and SDS' Kati Ketz is interviewed by Ron Jacobs (Dissident Voice) addressing what's coming up next month with Ketz explaining, "SDS is again putting out a call for students to take action, this time a week of action between March 17th-21st in order to protest five years of war in Iraq. We are focusing on March 20th as a student and youth specific day of action, where schools will be having walk-outs or rallies and protests on their campuses and in their cities." Ketz explains how her UNC-Asheville chapter of SDS is working with the local chapter of IVAW, "It seemed natural to our SDS group that when the IVAW-Asheville group started up in November of 2007 that we invite some of their members to speak on our campus. From that, a couple of members of IVAW-Asheville started coming to SDS meetings and getting involved in our actions on campus, which led to the counter-recruitment action we did recently. During this counter-recruitment action, we staged a mock Iraq raid based on what one member of IVAW-Asheville witnessed firsthand, with a family of Iraqi people being zip-tied and asked for information that they did not have before being carried away." More information is available at this page of the SDS website.
There are people seriously committed to ending the illegal war. Chances are you won't ever find them in what passes for 'independent' media today. Which is why we didn't hear the latest nonsense in Baghdad being called out. Again, the MSM is reporting. Where's Little Media? The damage they create with their silence is appalling. The new push is for round-ups in Baghdad. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports it as if that's a good thing -- having the "homeless and mentally ill residents" rounded up and it's for their protection, you understand, because they have been used as bombers ("knowingly or unknowingly") so this is the way to address that according to the Interior Ministry's Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf who explains to CNN that "[p]olice will hand beggars, vagrants and the mentally handicapped over to governmental institutions that can provide them with shelter and care". The thugs of the Interior Ministry (who control the police or did we all miss that in the James Baker Circle Jerk report?) are going to determine who is sane and who isn't? Based on what training? They're going to determine -- in a country with runaway inflation and unemployment -- who is a 'vagrant' or 'beggar'? And they're never going to base those decisions on anything but the facts, right? They won't use that power to round-up against political enemies or dissidents? Keep dreaming.
The February 1st Baghdad bombings were said to have involved two women as 'suicide bombers' who were mentally disabled or one had Down Syndrome or blah, blah, blah -- who can remember all the spin the US military was offering day after day? In fact, they're still at it. The New York Times' Richard A. Oppel Jr. with AP (at International Herald-Tribune) reports that the US held a press briefing today in Baghdad to say they have files! medical records! and the women were ill! they had "depression and schizophrenia"! US military flack Gregory Smith explains that photos of the two women's severed heads were then photographed and -- apparently despite the heads being blown off the bodies -- were intact enough for the women to be matched up with "their psychiatric files -- not any medical files". That's such a sweet story and maybe there's a bit of truth somewhere deep.
records.
There's no proof, just some yacking coming from a flack for the US military. Earlier today Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reported on the same topic qutoing Khalaf stating beggars under 18 would be confined "to shelters" while those over 18 "would be charged with crimes" and those 'judged' mentally disabled by the 'doctors' working the Iraqi police beat on foot patrol would end up confined to hospitals because "These people with mental defects can cause a lot of damage if they are left on the streets . . . Their proper place is in the hospitals." There's no cultural excuse for what he just stated. "Proper place" and "defects" are offensive in any culture but that's what happens when educated Iraqis flee the country because thugs are put in charge.Repeating, the thugs of the Interior Ministry just got a pass on rounding up anyone they want to in a country where unemployment is the norm and where the mental health facilities are struggling at best. And what type of a country has a law on the books that bars the mentally disabled from being seen in public? This really is a disgrace and it's something that will be used to 'eliminate' people that are not in favor with the Interior Ministry. Again, there's still no proof that the mentally disabled have been used in bombings, even after the US raided a psychiatric hospital last week (CNN says they raided two). Steve Lannen and Hussein Khadim (McClatchy Newspapers) actually report on the Al Rashad hospital -- the one raided two Sundays ago with the director, Dr. Sahi Aboub, being arrested by the US military. The reporters find that the US military's claim that Dr. Aboub has been "selecting possible suicide bombers since Jan. 1" is ridiculous since (a) his first day at the hospital was January 13th and "he had no say in when patients would check in or out of the hospital." The hospital staff also notes that it's tied to Moqtada al-Sadr -- that would be the same al-Sadr's who has endorsed a six-month truce/cease-fire since August. It doesn't add up and it never will.
Lannen and Khadim explain that there are only two psychiatric hospitals in Iraq currently -- Ibn Rushad is the other. So exactly where those pronounced 'disabled' by the Interior Ministry are supposed to go is up in the air. As for those carted off to jail, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports on the realities of Iraqi 'justice' today, "The absence of the witnesses was the latest in a series of events that appear aimed at derailing the case, in which the officials are charged with using the resources of the Health Ministry to carry out a campaign of sectarian kidnappings and killings. Witnesses have been intimidated; their families have been threatened; and information emerged this week suggesting that the trial's outcome was fixed. One of the judges scheduled to hear the case had reportedly already agreed to find the men not guilty, according to officials close to the court."
Not disturbed yet? Those are the benefits given to Shi'ite officials and Rubin explains who the two are: "The defendants, former Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili and Brig. Gen. Hameed al-Shammari, who led the ministry's security service, are charged with running militias that killed and kidnapped hundreds of Sunnis in hospitals run by the Health Ministry and other facilities in 2005 and 2006." These round-ups should set off alarms. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Today at the intersections of central Baghdad where forlorn women and young children typically pawn candy, gum, tissues or balloons were empty. The spokesman at the Ministry of Interior took no one off the streets. They all stayed home today." We'll come back to Fadel at the end.
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing left two people wounded, another Baghdad roadside bombing targeted an official -- "the deputy minister of science and technology, Sameer Salim Al-Attar" -- who was wounded as were "two of his guards," a Baghdad car bombing claimed 1 life and left two people wounded, a Kirkuk roadside bombing left five police officers wounded and a Diyala Province bombing in which a bomber killed himself and 7 other people were at a bakery (with another seventeen wounded). Reuters notes a Tal Afar car bombing in which the driver died as well as two civilians -- "a woman and a 6-year-old girl" -- while eight more people were injured while a roadside bombing outside Tikrits left four people injured.
Shootings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province shooting that wounded two people while 4 police officers were shot dead in Mosul. Reuters notes "a police woman wearing civilian clothes" was shot dead in Mosul.
Corpses?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today, the US military announced: "Three Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldiers were killed at approximately 10:30 p.m. Feb. 19 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in northwestern Baghdad." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division - North Soldier was killed as a result of injuries sustained from a rocket propelled grenade attack while conducting patrols in Mosul Feb. 20. Three soldiers were also wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility for treatment." 3967 is the current total for US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war. 23 is the current total for the month -- on the 20th day of the month.
Yesterday, IRIN noted the continued plight of the Palestinian refugees "trapped in three makeshift camps along the Iraqi-Syrian border". The Palestinian population of Iraq before the illegal war broke out was not considered "citizens" of Iraq. They were included in the census, they were legally in the country and had some rights (not universal rights) recognized but they were not considered citizens. This creates a huge problem when attempting to leave Iraq since many countries demand passports -- more so since the large migration of refugees out of Iraq. But prior to that large migration, Palestinians were already leaving Iraq because the illegal war meant that the few rights they had were now shredded. In May of 2003, the BBC was reporting on the United Nations explaining what was happening, how they faced the threat of eviction (with 1,000 already being kicked out of Baghdad). The crisis was expected. Those trapped between the borders of Iraq and Syria have been trapped for nearly two years. Nothing is being done.
Turning to US political news. Margaret Kimberly (Freedom Rider -- this is Kimberley's own website, not her latest column) believes Hillary Clinton's campaign for the presidential nomination is now over: "She cannot over come the barrage of negative press that has hit her. The press are in the tank for Obama, and that is obviously because he is the corporate media favorite. . . . He endorsed Joe Lieberman, his Senate mentor, he waffled on Iraq, often contradicting his own statements about being anti-war. He said he would bomb Iran. He said that Israel can keep killing people whenever and wherever it chooses. Most importantly he told them that he will keep black people quiet. Like the right wing he thinks that the 60s and 70s were 'excessive.' He says 'there is no black America' and in any case we are '90% of the way towards equality'." [For more on Hillary, Elizabeth L. Keathley examines cultural and historical bias working against the Clinton campaign at Women's eNews.] Staying with that themes Obama sells, Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report) observes, "Obama is a world-class wooer. His white male wooing is made much easier by the fact that those who consider themselves his 'sisters' and 'brothers' demand nothing whatsoever from him. Just come home when you get ready, brother. Obama is free to concentrate his attentions on the hard-to-get demographics, especially white men with their peculiar notions of 'change.' No need for Obama to promise the hood a damn thing, except that he'll cut a dashing figure in the Oval Office and make the homefolks proud that he's there, symbolically representing them. Republicans and GOP-leaning 'independents' (meaning, deep-dyed whites) are crossing over in heards to vote for Obama. They've got the message: happy days are here again, when the darkies smiled and were careful not to hurt our feelings by telling the truth. That's the kind of 'change' we've always 'hoped' for, by golly! The white liberal/left, ineffectual and geographically scattered, are drawn irresistibly to the Black man who regales them with sweet nothings -- literally, nothing in the way of the concrete policies for peace and social justice they claim to champion. His presence in their midst is enough. Besides, Obama is someone who is 'capable of forging a progressive majority,' they say. That's a strange concept, since Obama doesn't act like a progressive, or claim to be one." Doesn't act like one? Fidel Castro announced he was stepping down as president of Cuba. KUNA reports on Obama's statements yesterday including that Castro's stepping down ending "a dark era." He wasn't the only Obama embarrassing himself yesterday. As Kat notes, Michelle Obama declared on Monday, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback." Cindy McCain, spouse of Senator McCain, later stated publicly, "I am proud of my country. I don't know about you. If you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of my country." If only that was the least of Bambi's troubles. Jake Tapper (ABC News) reports on Obama and the federally indicted Antoin "Tony" Rezko: "Turns out before Obama bought the mansion (Rezko helped him by buying half the land), Obama took Rezko 'on a tour of the premises to make sure it was a good deal'." Tapper's quote comes from David Jackson and Bob Secter (Chicago Tribune) who note, "Weeks after saying he'd answered all questions about his controversial dealings with the now-indicted Rezko, Obama released new details about their purchase of adjacent lots from the same seller on the same day. But the disclosures by Obama's presidential campaign left unanswered questions and raised new ones." Today, Rhonda Schwartz and Justin Rood (ABC News) report, "Watchdog groups are questioning why it took Sen. Barack Obama more than a year to disclose additional details of his dealings with indicted fundraiser Antoin 'Tony' Rezko" and quote Better Government Association's Jay Stewart ("when you're laying out that kind of rhetoric . . . it makes sense for people to say, 'Let's look at what you've done. Let's see if your rhetoric matches wtih reality." and Illinois Campaign for Political Reform's Cindy Canary ("This is something that Sen. Obama should have put foward from the get-go."). Well he should have given away the Rezko money from the get-go but, as Chris Fusco and Tim Novack (Chicago Sun-Times) reported at the end of last month, "The latest dump of Rezko-related cash by the Democratic presidential contended is $72,650, bringing the total Obama is giving away to $157,835."
In her speech last night, Hillary Clinton noted, "I have served on the Armed Services Committee. I've been to more than 80 countries, worked with world leaders, stood up to the Chinese government to declare that women's rights are human rights. And I am ready to end this war in Iraq and this era of cowboy diplomacy. I will restore our leadership and moral authority in the world without delays, without on-the-job training, from day one. One of us has a plan to provide health care for every single American, no one left out. And I believe -- I believe health care is a right, not a privilege. And I will not rest until every American is covered. That is my solemn promise to you." If you didn't catch that from 'independent' media today, it's because you have Smut Merchants and a lot of Pigs.
For instance, why does Amy Goodman hate women? Alleged 'journalist' Amy Goodman -- allegedly a 'woman' -- felt the need to finally get around to noting the Polk awards. (We noted them in the snapshot yesterday, we also noted them before Democracy Now! started yesterday, they were already in the news cycle.) Joining her in dishonoring women is The Cindy Brady of the Faux Left Eric AlterPunk who makes time to note a blogger, his own magazine (which did not win) and the Washington Post. (Writers won the Polks awards, not their outlets.) So let's repeat, McClatchy Newspapers reports:
Leila Fadel, McClatchy's Baghdad bureau chief, won the George R. Polk Award for outstanding foreign reporting and The Charlotte Observer won the Polk Award for outstanding economic reporting, Long Island University announced Tuesday.Fadel, 26, was cited for her "vivid depictions" of the military and political struggle in Iraq. "Her work provided a comprehensive array of disturbing, first-hand accounts of violence and conflict by juxtaposing the agonizing plight of families in ethnically torn neighborhoods with the braggadocio of a vengeful insurgent proud of his murderous exploits, and the carnage and sorrow among victims of Iraq's most deadly car bombing in a remote region of the country where few reporters ventured," the jurors said.:
From Robert D. McFadden (New York Times), "Leila Fadel, the Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy, won the foreign reporting Polk for wide-ranging articles from Iraq on families in ethnically torn neighborhoods, on killers and victims and on an endlessly changing military and political struggle." Editor & Publisher has reposted a 2007 article on her. Sarah Bahari (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reviews Fadel's past reporting and notes, "From her work on that story and others, Fadel -- a former Star-Telgram reporter and now Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, the Star-Telegram's parent company -- has been awarded the prestigious George Polk Award for foreign reporting." And that foreign reporting is coming from Iraq. So you might think she could get a shout-out from Little Media. She didn't. Petty jealousies? Anger at an an attractive and younger woman? Who knows. But she won it and she earned it and like many other women reporting from Iraq during the illegal war -- including Nancy A. Youssef, Cara Buckley, Sabrina Tavernise, Riverbend, Alissa J. Rubin, Ellen Knickmeyer, Tina Susman and Alexandra Zavis. Fadel's contributions have made a real difference. Maybe that's why Little Media could do everything -- while pretending to give a damn about Iraq -- but note the journalist who won a Polk this year for actually reporting from Iraq?
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the washington postamit r. paleyalissa j. rubin
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Barack and his side-boob
Michelle Obama made two separate remarks in Wisconsin on Monday declaring a new pride she has felt in her country -- comments that today came under oblique attack from another would-be first lady, Cindy McCain.
At a midday event on Monday in Milwaukee, Obama said, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback."
That's from Sasha Issenberg's "Proud Michelle vs. Proud Cindy" (Boston Globe). Yes, the candidate's wife who wasn't smart enough to wear a bra with two strands rising from her waist and tying behind her neck, the woman who thought "side-boob" was First Lady like, opened her mouth today to declare the above. In her adult life, she's never felt pride in her country until now. (No rumors about that church the Obamas go to, shh.) Michelle Obama is not 18-years-old. She has lived many, many years. Over forty in fact. So her cheap attempt to slime the Clintons today was also her effor to slime the United States. Maybe she could have just flashed her side-boob to the nation again?
The expected (and natural) response came from Cindy McCain today -- wife of John McCain -- who declared, "I am proud of my country. I don't know about you. If you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of my country." The only way she could have improved her statements was by adding, "And I promise you, I will never force Americans to endure side-boob."
We knew Bambi was an airhead but don't forget that Michelle Obama is a boob at his side.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, February 19, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths over the weekend, a disease outbreak effecting children in southern Iraq, an outrage outbreak in the UK as it turns out -- yes -- the intell was 'sexed up,' Howard Zinn offers the wisdom only he can, and more.
Starting with war resistance. US war resister Camilo Mejia,chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War, is the subject of the documentary Dear Camilo (Querido Camilo) which was awarded first prize in December at the Tenth Icaro Central American Film and Video Festibal in Guatemala. The film is plays next month at the 25th Miami International Film Festival. The Miami Herald notes: "Dear Camilo, a portrait of Camilo MejÃa who was the first soldier of the U.S. to declare himself a conscientious objector to the war in Iraq and the first to be convicted for his refusal to return to the Middle East. In English and Spanish with English subtitles; 9:15 p.m. COSFORD. Also 9:15 p.m. March 7 at REGAL." A trailer for the film can be seen at YouTube. The summary from the official site notes: "Camilo Mejia was the first soldier in the U.S. Army to declare himself a conscientious objector to the war in Iraq, and went public with his refusal to return to the front line. On 21 May 2004, amid great public interest, court-martial sentenced the 28-year-old sergeant to one year of imprisonment. Dear Camilo tells his story from his perspective, but also from that of his parents and a former classmate. It is the story of a naive but intelligent young man who grew up in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. His parents advised him against volunteering for the army, but he did so all the same. After experiencing the ragages of the war in Iraq firsthand, he started to have serious misgivings. Upon his return from Iraq, he first went into hiding, but then realised he could not go on like that and openly decided to refuse military service. From prison, Camilo writes that even though he is behind bars, he finally feels free, because he heeded a higher power than his army superiors: his conscience." Camilo Mejia tells his own story in Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia (published last May by the New Press).
War resisters are also in Canada and with Canada's Supreme Court refusing to hear appeals on the issue of safe harbor status for war resisters in Canada. The country's Parliament remains the best hope for safe harbor war resisters like McCall may have. You can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC action:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."
In the United Kingdom much attention is focused on the lies that led to the illegal war. On Monday, Chris Ames (New Statesman) explained that "[t]he secret first draft of the Iraq WMD dossier written by Foreign Office spin doctor John Williams has finally been published after a ruling back in January under the Freedom of Information Act. . . . The document places a spin doctor at the heart of the process of drafting the dossier and blows a hole in the government's evidence to the Hutton Inquiry. . . . From the time that the row first erupted over Andrew Gilligan's allegations that the dossier had been sexced-up, the government has claimed that [Intelligence chief John] Scarlett's draft, produced on 10 September 2002, was the first full draft and produced without interference from spin doctors. But the Williams draft, dated a day earlier, shows that spin doctors were sexing up the dossier at the time the notorius 45 minutes claim was included." Today Alex Barker (Financial Times of London) reports the response to yesterday's release includes the fact that "[o]pposition parties renewed calls for an inquiry into the origins of the Iraq War" while Rose Prince (Telegraph of London) explains, "Opposition politicians said the report proved that the case for war had been based on the arguments and rhetoric of spin doctors rather than an impartial analysis by intelligence experts" and that while "Ministers were keen to stree that the dossier had been drawn up by the Joint Intelligence Committee . . . [,] critics last night seized upon the similarities between the draft written by Mr Williams and the final version." Nigel Morris (Independent of London) reports, "Last night, the opposition parties said the language used by Mr Williams, the former political editor of the Daily Mirror, showed that ministers initially turned to senior press officers to make eye-catching claims about the evils of Saddam's regime. They renewed calls for a public inquiry into the build-up to the conflict." As Great Britain's Socialist Worker points out, "It's no wonder that the foreign office tried to suppress it. . . . It's bad enough that Tony Blair took us into a war apparently on the basis of a document written by a foreign office press officer. But what's worse is that the infamous claim that Saddam Hussein could launch chemical weapons within 45 minutes was not in the draft document. It was written in the margin by someone else in Whitehall and appears in the final dossier -- backing up the claim that the dossier was 'sexed up' to justify the war."
Turning to some of the reports coming out over the weekend. As if cholera, malnutrition and becoming an orphan aren't enough risks for the children of Iraq, a disease long present in the region is suddenly thriving. Maria Cheng (AP) reported that already "275 children in southern Iraq have been infected with a disfiguring skin disease, an outbreak some health officials are blaming on the war's devastating effect on the public health system. According to the United Nations -- citing reports from Iraq's southern province of Qadissiyah -- 275 children have been struck with leishmaniasis, which is spread by sand flies. Most have a form that causes skin sores, but others have a type that strikes internal organs and can be fatal." IRIN explained yesterday, "Children are particularly at risk because they typically have weaker immune systems than adults, he [Qadissiyah General Hospital's Mohammed Sahib] said. A single sand fly bite can be enough to transmit the diesease." The one that produces sores but does not attack the body's organs is not simply a few 'bumps.' The CDC explains, "The skin sores of cutaneous leishmaniasis will heal on their own, but this can take months or even years. The sores can leave ugly scards. If not treated, infection that started in the sink rarely spreads to the nose or mouth and causes sores there (mucosal leishmaniasis). . . . Mucosal leishmaniasis might not be noticed until years after the original skin sores healed. The best way to prevent mucosal leishmaniasis is to treat the cutaneous infection before it spreads" and as for the other form (also currently being found in the children of southern Iraq), "If not treated, visceral leishmaniasis can cause death." The World Health Organization provides photos of those who had the disease on their face that show the permanent scarring produced (scroll down WHO's page). As for the version that attacks the body's organs, WHO notes, "Visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala azar, is characterized by high fever, substantial weith loss, swelling of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. If left untreated, the disease can have a fatality rate as high as 100% within two years." On February 11th, IRIN was noting that 180 children had been diagnosed with it and quoted Fahan Mohammed ("head of Siniya local council"), "About a month ago, we informed the provincial officials about the spread of this disease in our area and that we did not have enough medicines for it. But no one responded in a serious way and that contributed to the spread of this disease, as our modest efforts in the area's medical centre were not enough." Ismail Salami (Iran's Press TV) observes the outbreak "is yet another appalling consequence of US invasion of Iraq. . . . Wars are wars but the invasion of a country under the banner of democracy and bringing disease and calamity instead to the women and children, looting a nation's natural resources and exercising greater control over the region for egoistic or military pursuits is a telltale charade orchestrated by the diseased minds of the imperialists who seek to achieve their fiendish goals by any means." Note that the article contains a photo of a very small child with the disease. AP notes, "Though the disease was first identified in Iraq more than a century ago, outbreaks were rare during Saddam Hussein's regime. But since the conflict began, experts say the destroyed health system has opened the way for diseases lurking in the environment." A photo of a woman with scars from the cutaneous leishmaniasis accompanies this IRIN article which notes, "The disease's incubation period is up to six months, so thousands could have the disease without knowing it."
While requests and pleas for help were ignored, ExxonMobile, Shell, Chevron and BP expect to be heard. UPI reported Saturday that Big Oil is pushing for the theft of Iraqi oil to be pushed through the parliament which "could wrap up next month" and "Shell, ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron are in discussions with Iraq's Oil Ministry for special technical support contracts". Meanwhile the Times of India reports today that "Reliance Industries Ltd is staying away from signing up for acreage auctions in Iraq for fear of being blacklisted by the government for signing oil deals with the Kurdistan Regional Goverment (KRG)." Ahmed Rasheed (Reuters) noted yesterday that the theft of Iraqi oil legislation "remains stalled by bitter rows between Baghdad and the largely autonomous Kurdistan region in the north over who will control the fields and how revenue will be shared." Despite that conflict, the delay and the reluctance on the part of Reliance, Jonathan Saul (Reuters) reported yesterday, "Over 70 companies on Monday registered to compete for oil extraction and service contracts to help develop Iraq's oil reserves, the world's third largest." Meanwhile ConsumersforPeace and Dallas Peace Center have released a statement, "The Big Three Oil Boycott to End the War, against ExxonMobil, Shell and BP, will be taken to the street on Saturday, February 23 in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas by the Dallas Peace Center and Consumers for Peace.org as part of a two-day international action with oil workers in Iraq and demonstrators in England, Indiana and Washington, DC." Noting Alan Greenspan's comments in his recent book ("It is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows -- the Iraq war is largely about oil"), Alex Callinicos (Socialist Worker) provides a walk through, "Oil runs through the history of US capitalism and its efforts to dominate the world. It's where its greatest business dynasty, the Rockefellers, made their money. Today the Western oil super-majors and their local rivals still ride high at the top of the global corporate hierarchy."
Some that might think they'd increased their own ranking on a hierarchy would be the members of the 'Awakening' Councils in Iraq -- the US collaborators who became 'allies' when coin was tossed their way. Sunday Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reported on a Zab funeral where almost a thousand people turned out to mourn "family members of a sheik who died in an attack there" that they say was launched by the US while in Jurf al Sukr "a number of Iraqi guardsmen quit Saturday to protest the killings." Steve Lannen (McClatchy Newspapers) reported on Saturday that "Citizen brigades in the province of Babil quit work after three members were killed by U.S. Forces Friday, a local police spokesman said Saturday" which is the Jurf al Sukr group identified by Rubin and Lannen explains this is the 2nd walkout, "The action in Babil province follows a strike by citizen brigades members in Diyala province, northeast Baghdad, that has gone on for more than a week." Meanwhile the six month cease-fire/truce between Moqtada al-Sadr and US forces may or may not continue. Later Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reported that in the face of claims that the US military killed innocent Iraqis who were in fact collaborating with the US , the US military is now asserting that these 'allies' "have fired on American troops twice in the last two weeks". On Sunday, Steve Lannen and Hussein Khadim (McClatchy Newspapers) reported on a Baghdad bombing which is thought to be "the fifth female suicide attack this year and the eighth since November" and quote eye witness Sameer Ahmed who explained the woman cried out "I am going to explode myself if you come near me" and was shot by a shop keeper at which point the bomb went off claiming 3 lives (in addition to the bomber) and wounding eight. On NPR's Morning Edition today, Lourdes Garcia-Navarro cited an al-Sadr spokesperson who said "Sadr is unhappy with the government actions against his followers. There have been intense negotiations between members of the government and Sadr's bloc in the run up to the deadline. The cleric so far has not given any indication what he will decide." Garcia-Navarro stated there is some chance that an announcement will be forthcoming "in the next few days." Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Mudhafer al-Huseini (New York Times) report 5 Iraqi civilians dead from a rocket attack that "struck the large American military base near Baghdad International Airport and a nearby neighborhood" yesterday. Rockets accounted for more deaths today. In some of today's reported violence.
Bombings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 woman dead from a Baghdad roadside bombing that also wounded two other people, a Baghdad house bombing that wounded one person and a Salahuddin roadside bombing that left four Iraqi soldiers wounded. Reuters notes a Mosul bombing where a driver apparently "rammed a minibus into a building used by Iraqi security forces" resulting in the death of 1 Iraqi soldier with two police officers wounded. Michael Holden (Reuters) explains 15 Iraqi police officers are dead in Baghdad with an additional forty-five injured from attempting "to defuse rockets that had been prepared for launch from the back of a truck." Muhammed Al Dulaimy reports that first "two U.S. military outposts were hit by at least eight rockets" and that when police responded, they discovered "a truck that was used as a launcher and some unexploded rockets."
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports one person shot dead in Baghdad in an attack on "a mini bus," a Monday night Diyala Province home invasion that resulted in the deaths of 4 people -- the wife and husband, "their son and a female guest" and, back to today, another attack on an official as "police Lt. Col. Taha Ghileith" was shot dead en route to work in Diyala Province.
Corpses?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 1 woman's corpse was discovered in Mosul
Sunday, ICCC noted [PDF format warning]: "Two Coalition Force Soldiers were killed as a result of a small arms fire attack in the Diyala Province Feb. 17. One Soldier was also wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility for treatment." 19 announced deaths (US service members) is the current total for the month thus far with 3963 since the start of the illegal war.
Turning to the United States. Sewell Chan (New York Times) reported on a Friday NYC action where "20 antiwar activists gathered outside an Army recruiting office in East Harlem this afternoon to protest what they described as the military focus on persuading young blacks and Latinos to fight in Iraq" and quoted World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime's Debra Sweet explaining, "The question of military recruitment is important because you can't carry out this war without fresh troops. These troops are being trained to carry out war crimes. We're sending a message that military recruiters are not welcome to prey on yought. The war will be stopped by the action of the people. That is the only way it will be stopped." A point Howard Zinn would argue as well and he does as he addresses (The Progressive) "election madness" and notes, "Would I support one candidate against another? Yes, for two-minutes--the amount of time it takes to pull the lever down in the voting booth. But before and after those two minutes, our time, our energy, should be spent in educating, agitating, organizing our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the neighborhood, in the schools. Our objective should be to build, painstakingly, patiently but energetically, a movement that, when it reaches a certain critical mass, would shake whoever is in the White House, in Congress, into changing national policy or matters of war and social justice. . . . The two leading Presidential candidates have made it clear that if elected, they will not bring an immediate end to the Iraq War, or institute a system of free health care for all. They offer no radical change from the status quo. . . . So we need to free ourselves from the election madness engulfing the entire society, including the left. Yes, two minutes. Before that, and after that, we should be taking direct action against the obstacles to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
On the press and Iraq, the Polk Awards have been announced. McClatchy Newspapers reports:
Leila Fadel, McClatchy's Baghdad bureau chief, won the George R. Polk Award for outstanding foreign reporting and The Charlotte Observer won the Polk Award for outstanding economic reporting, Long Island University announced Tuesday.Fadel, 26, was cited for her "vivid depictions" of the military and political struggle in Iraq. "Her work provided a comprehensive array of disturbing, first-hand accounts of violence and conflict by juxtaposing the agonizing plight of families in ethnically torn neighborhoods with the braggadocio of a vengeful insurgent proud of his murderous exploits, and the carnage and sorrow among victims of Iraq's most deadly car bombing in a remote region of the country where few reporters ventured," the jurors said.
Robert D. McFadden (New York Times) notes other winners which include Jeremy Scahill winning his second Polk, this time for his book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army and Joshua Kors "a freelance, won the magazine reporting award for articles in The Nation exposing misdiagnoses by military doctors that cheated wounded Iraq veterans of disability and medical benefits by claiming they had pre-existing "personality disorders." After an uproar, President Bush signed a law requiring investigations of all discharges based on such diagnoses.." In April of 2007, NOW on PBS spoke with Kors and Bill Moyers spoke with Jeremy Scahill for Bill Moyers Journal last October.
Tonight on PBS (in most markets, check local listings), Frontline devotes the broadcast to examining the Haditha slaughter. This being Frontline, watch at your own risk. And that's watch and listen only because Frontline does not feel that -- despite being broadcast on public television -- it is their obligation to provide the deaf or hard of hearing with a damn thing (no transcripts, no summaries).
iraq
camilo mejia
iraq veterans against the war
leila fadelmcclatchy newspapers
steve lannen
howard zinn
chris ames
rosa princethe new york timessewell chanalissa j. rubinrichard a. oppel jr.
tina susmanthe los angeles times
the socialist worker
blackwater usa
jeremy scahill
bill moyersbill moyers journalpbs
npr
At a midday event on Monday in Milwaukee, Obama said, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback."
That's from Sasha Issenberg's "Proud Michelle vs. Proud Cindy" (Boston Globe). Yes, the candidate's wife who wasn't smart enough to wear a bra with two strands rising from her waist and tying behind her neck, the woman who thought "side-boob" was First Lady like, opened her mouth today to declare the above. In her adult life, she's never felt pride in her country until now. (No rumors about that church the Obamas go to, shh.) Michelle Obama is not 18-years-old. She has lived many, many years. Over forty in fact. So her cheap attempt to slime the Clintons today was also her effor to slime the United States. Maybe she could have just flashed her side-boob to the nation again?
The expected (and natural) response came from Cindy McCain today -- wife of John McCain -- who declared, "I am proud of my country. I don't know about you. If you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of my country." The only way she could have improved her statements was by adding, "And I promise you, I will never force Americans to endure side-boob."
We knew Bambi was an airhead but don't forget that Michelle Obama is a boob at his side.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, February 19, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths over the weekend, a disease outbreak effecting children in southern Iraq, an outrage outbreak in the UK as it turns out -- yes -- the intell was 'sexed up,' Howard Zinn offers the wisdom only he can, and more.
Starting with war resistance. US war resister Camilo Mejia,chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War, is the subject of the documentary Dear Camilo (Querido Camilo) which was awarded first prize in December at the Tenth Icaro Central American Film and Video Festibal in Guatemala. The film is plays next month at the 25th Miami International Film Festival. The Miami Herald notes: "Dear Camilo, a portrait of Camilo MejÃa who was the first soldier of the U.S. to declare himself a conscientious objector to the war in Iraq and the first to be convicted for his refusal to return to the Middle East. In English and Spanish with English subtitles; 9:15 p.m. COSFORD. Also 9:15 p.m. March 7 at REGAL." A trailer for the film can be seen at YouTube. The summary from the official site notes: "Camilo Mejia was the first soldier in the U.S. Army to declare himself a conscientious objector to the war in Iraq, and went public with his refusal to return to the front line. On 21 May 2004, amid great public interest, court-martial sentenced the 28-year-old sergeant to one year of imprisonment. Dear Camilo tells his story from his perspective, but also from that of his parents and a former classmate. It is the story of a naive but intelligent young man who grew up in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. His parents advised him against volunteering for the army, but he did so all the same. After experiencing the ragages of the war in Iraq firsthand, he started to have serious misgivings. Upon his return from Iraq, he first went into hiding, but then realised he could not go on like that and openly decided to refuse military service. From prison, Camilo writes that even though he is behind bars, he finally feels free, because he heeded a higher power than his army superiors: his conscience." Camilo Mejia tells his own story in Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia (published last May by the New Press).
War resisters are also in Canada and with Canada's Supreme Court refusing to hear appeals on the issue of safe harbor status for war resisters in Canada. The country's Parliament remains the best hope for safe harbor war resisters like McCall may have. You can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC action:
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." As part of their fundraising efforts for the event, they are holding houseparties and a recent one in Boston featured both IVAW's Liam Madden and the incomprable Howard Zinn as speakers. IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it."
In the United Kingdom much attention is focused on the lies that led to the illegal war. On Monday, Chris Ames (New Statesman) explained that "[t]he secret first draft of the Iraq WMD dossier written by Foreign Office spin doctor John Williams has finally been published after a ruling back in January under the Freedom of Information Act. . . . The document places a spin doctor at the heart of the process of drafting the dossier and blows a hole in the government's evidence to the Hutton Inquiry. . . . From the time that the row first erupted over Andrew Gilligan's allegations that the dossier had been sexced-up, the government has claimed that [Intelligence chief John] Scarlett's draft, produced on 10 September 2002, was the first full draft and produced without interference from spin doctors. But the Williams draft, dated a day earlier, shows that spin doctors were sexing up the dossier at the time the notorius 45 minutes claim was included." Today Alex Barker (Financial Times of London) reports the response to yesterday's release includes the fact that "[o]pposition parties renewed calls for an inquiry into the origins of the Iraq War" while Rose Prince (Telegraph of London) explains, "Opposition politicians said the report proved that the case for war had been based on the arguments and rhetoric of spin doctors rather than an impartial analysis by intelligence experts" and that while "Ministers were keen to stree that the dossier had been drawn up by the Joint Intelligence Committee . . . [,] critics last night seized upon the similarities between the draft written by Mr Williams and the final version." Nigel Morris (Independent of London) reports, "Last night, the opposition parties said the language used by Mr Williams, the former political editor of the Daily Mirror, showed that ministers initially turned to senior press officers to make eye-catching claims about the evils of Saddam's regime. They renewed calls for a public inquiry into the build-up to the conflict." As Great Britain's Socialist Worker points out, "It's no wonder that the foreign office tried to suppress it. . . . It's bad enough that Tony Blair took us into a war apparently on the basis of a document written by a foreign office press officer. But what's worse is that the infamous claim that Saddam Hussein could launch chemical weapons within 45 minutes was not in the draft document. It was written in the margin by someone else in Whitehall and appears in the final dossier -- backing up the claim that the dossier was 'sexed up' to justify the war."
Turning to some of the reports coming out over the weekend. As if cholera, malnutrition and becoming an orphan aren't enough risks for the children of Iraq, a disease long present in the region is suddenly thriving. Maria Cheng (AP) reported that already "275 children in southern Iraq have been infected with a disfiguring skin disease, an outbreak some health officials are blaming on the war's devastating effect on the public health system. According to the United Nations -- citing reports from Iraq's southern province of Qadissiyah -- 275 children have been struck with leishmaniasis, which is spread by sand flies. Most have a form that causes skin sores, but others have a type that strikes internal organs and can be fatal." IRIN explained yesterday, "Children are particularly at risk because they typically have weaker immune systems than adults, he [Qadissiyah General Hospital's Mohammed Sahib] said. A single sand fly bite can be enough to transmit the diesease." The one that produces sores but does not attack the body's organs is not simply a few 'bumps.' The CDC explains, "The skin sores of cutaneous leishmaniasis will heal on their own, but this can take months or even years. The sores can leave ugly scards. If not treated, infection that started in the sink rarely spreads to the nose or mouth and causes sores there (mucosal leishmaniasis). . . . Mucosal leishmaniasis might not be noticed until years after the original skin sores healed. The best way to prevent mucosal leishmaniasis is to treat the cutaneous infection before it spreads" and as for the other form (also currently being found in the children of southern Iraq), "If not treated, visceral leishmaniasis can cause death." The World Health Organization provides photos of those who had the disease on their face that show the permanent scarring produced (scroll down WHO's page). As for the version that attacks the body's organs, WHO notes, "Visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala azar, is characterized by high fever, substantial weith loss, swelling of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. If left untreated, the disease can have a fatality rate as high as 100% within two years." On February 11th, IRIN was noting that 180 children had been diagnosed with it and quoted Fahan Mohammed ("head of Siniya local council"), "About a month ago, we informed the provincial officials about the spread of this disease in our area and that we did not have enough medicines for it. But no one responded in a serious way and that contributed to the spread of this disease, as our modest efforts in the area's medical centre were not enough." Ismail Salami (Iran's Press TV) observes the outbreak "is yet another appalling consequence of US invasion of Iraq. . . . Wars are wars but the invasion of a country under the banner of democracy and bringing disease and calamity instead to the women and children, looting a nation's natural resources and exercising greater control over the region for egoistic or military pursuits is a telltale charade orchestrated by the diseased minds of the imperialists who seek to achieve their fiendish goals by any means." Note that the article contains a photo of a very small child with the disease. AP notes, "Though the disease was first identified in Iraq more than a century ago, outbreaks were rare during Saddam Hussein's regime. But since the conflict began, experts say the destroyed health system has opened the way for diseases lurking in the environment." A photo of a woman with scars from the cutaneous leishmaniasis accompanies this IRIN article which notes, "The disease's incubation period is up to six months, so thousands could have the disease without knowing it."
While requests and pleas for help were ignored, ExxonMobile, Shell, Chevron and BP expect to be heard. UPI reported Saturday that Big Oil is pushing for the theft of Iraqi oil to be pushed through the parliament which "could wrap up next month" and "Shell, ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron are in discussions with Iraq's Oil Ministry for special technical support contracts". Meanwhile the Times of India reports today that "Reliance Industries Ltd is staying away from signing up for acreage auctions in Iraq for fear of being blacklisted by the government for signing oil deals with the Kurdistan Regional Goverment (KRG)." Ahmed Rasheed (Reuters) noted yesterday that the theft of Iraqi oil legislation "remains stalled by bitter rows between Baghdad and the largely autonomous Kurdistan region in the north over who will control the fields and how revenue will be shared." Despite that conflict, the delay and the reluctance on the part of Reliance, Jonathan Saul (Reuters) reported yesterday, "Over 70 companies on Monday registered to compete for oil extraction and service contracts to help develop Iraq's oil reserves, the world's third largest." Meanwhile ConsumersforPeace and Dallas Peace Center have released a statement, "The Big Three Oil Boycott to End the War, against ExxonMobil, Shell and BP, will be taken to the street on Saturday, February 23 in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas by the Dallas Peace Center and Consumers for Peace.org as part of a two-day international action with oil workers in Iraq and demonstrators in England, Indiana and Washington, DC." Noting Alan Greenspan's comments in his recent book ("It is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows -- the Iraq war is largely about oil"), Alex Callinicos (Socialist Worker) provides a walk through, "Oil runs through the history of US capitalism and its efforts to dominate the world. It's where its greatest business dynasty, the Rockefellers, made their money. Today the Western oil super-majors and their local rivals still ride high at the top of the global corporate hierarchy."
Some that might think they'd increased their own ranking on a hierarchy would be the members of the 'Awakening' Councils in Iraq -- the US collaborators who became 'allies' when coin was tossed their way. Sunday Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reported on a Zab funeral where almost a thousand people turned out to mourn "family members of a sheik who died in an attack there" that they say was launched by the US while in Jurf al Sukr "a number of Iraqi guardsmen quit Saturday to protest the killings." Steve Lannen (McClatchy Newspapers) reported on Saturday that "Citizen brigades in the province of Babil quit work after three members were killed by U.S. Forces Friday, a local police spokesman said Saturday" which is the Jurf al Sukr group identified by Rubin and Lannen explains this is the 2nd walkout, "The action in Babil province follows a strike by citizen brigades members in Diyala province, northeast Baghdad, that has gone on for more than a week." Meanwhile the six month cease-fire/truce between Moqtada al-Sadr and US forces may or may not continue. Later Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reported that in the face of claims that the US military killed innocent Iraqis who were in fact collaborating with the US , the US military is now asserting that these 'allies' "have fired on American troops twice in the last two weeks". On Sunday, Steve Lannen and Hussein Khadim (McClatchy Newspapers) reported on a Baghdad bombing which is thought to be "the fifth female suicide attack this year and the eighth since November" and quote eye witness Sameer Ahmed who explained the woman cried out "I am going to explode myself if you come near me" and was shot by a shop keeper at which point the bomb went off claiming 3 lives (in addition to the bomber) and wounding eight. On NPR's Morning Edition today, Lourdes Garcia-Navarro cited an al-Sadr spokesperson who said "Sadr is unhappy with the government actions against his followers. There have been intense negotiations between members of the government and Sadr's bloc in the run up to the deadline. The cleric so far has not given any indication what he will decide." Garcia-Navarro stated there is some chance that an announcement will be forthcoming "in the next few days." Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Mudhafer al-Huseini (New York Times) report 5 Iraqi civilians dead from a rocket attack that "struck the large American military base near Baghdad International Airport and a nearby neighborhood" yesterday. Rockets accounted for more deaths today. In some of today's reported violence.
Bombings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 woman dead from a Baghdad roadside bombing that also wounded two other people, a Baghdad house bombing that wounded one person and a Salahuddin roadside bombing that left four Iraqi soldiers wounded. Reuters notes a Mosul bombing where a driver apparently "rammed a minibus into a building used by Iraqi security forces" resulting in the death of 1 Iraqi soldier with two police officers wounded. Michael Holden (Reuters) explains 15 Iraqi police officers are dead in Baghdad with an additional forty-five injured from attempting "to defuse rockets that had been prepared for launch from the back of a truck." Muhammed Al Dulaimy reports that first "two U.S. military outposts were hit by at least eight rockets" and that when police responded, they discovered "a truck that was used as a launcher and some unexploded rockets."
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports one person shot dead in Baghdad in an attack on "a mini bus," a Monday night Diyala Province home invasion that resulted in the deaths of 4 people -- the wife and husband, "their son and a female guest" and, back to today, another attack on an official as "police Lt. Col. Taha Ghileith" was shot dead en route to work in Diyala Province.
Corpses?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 1 woman's corpse was discovered in Mosul
Sunday, ICCC noted [PDF format warning]: "Two Coalition Force Soldiers were killed as a result of a small arms fire attack in the Diyala Province Feb. 17. One Soldier was also wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility for treatment." 19 announced deaths (US service members) is the current total for the month thus far with 3963 since the start of the illegal war.
Turning to the United States. Sewell Chan (New York Times) reported on a Friday NYC action where "20 antiwar activists gathered outside an Army recruiting office in East Harlem this afternoon to protest what they described as the military focus on persuading young blacks and Latinos to fight in Iraq" and quoted World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime's Debra Sweet explaining, "The question of military recruitment is important because you can't carry out this war without fresh troops. These troops are being trained to carry out war crimes. We're sending a message that military recruiters are not welcome to prey on yought. The war will be stopped by the action of the people. That is the only way it will be stopped." A point Howard Zinn would argue as well and he does as he addresses (The Progressive) "election madness" and notes, "Would I support one candidate against another? Yes, for two-minutes--the amount of time it takes to pull the lever down in the voting booth. But before and after those two minutes, our time, our energy, should be spent in educating, agitating, organizing our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the neighborhood, in the schools. Our objective should be to build, painstakingly, patiently but energetically, a movement that, when it reaches a certain critical mass, would shake whoever is in the White House, in Congress, into changing national policy or matters of war and social justice. . . . The two leading Presidential candidates have made it clear that if elected, they will not bring an immediate end to the Iraq War, or institute a system of free health care for all. They offer no radical change from the status quo. . . . So we need to free ourselves from the election madness engulfing the entire society, including the left. Yes, two minutes. Before that, and after that, we should be taking direct action against the obstacles to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
On the press and Iraq, the Polk Awards have been announced. McClatchy Newspapers reports:
Leila Fadel, McClatchy's Baghdad bureau chief, won the George R. Polk Award for outstanding foreign reporting and The Charlotte Observer won the Polk Award for outstanding economic reporting, Long Island University announced Tuesday.Fadel, 26, was cited for her "vivid depictions" of the military and political struggle in Iraq. "Her work provided a comprehensive array of disturbing, first-hand accounts of violence and conflict by juxtaposing the agonizing plight of families in ethnically torn neighborhoods with the braggadocio of a vengeful insurgent proud of his murderous exploits, and the carnage and sorrow among victims of Iraq's most deadly car bombing in a remote region of the country where few reporters ventured," the jurors said.
Robert D. McFadden (New York Times) notes other winners which include Jeremy Scahill winning his second Polk, this time for his book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army and Joshua Kors "a freelance, won the magazine reporting award for articles in The Nation exposing misdiagnoses by military doctors that cheated wounded Iraq veterans of disability and medical benefits by claiming they had pre-existing "personality disorders." After an uproar, President Bush signed a law requiring investigations of all discharges based on such diagnoses.." In April of 2007, NOW on PBS spoke with Kors and Bill Moyers spoke with Jeremy Scahill for Bill Moyers Journal last October.
Tonight on PBS (in most markets, check local listings), Frontline devotes the broadcast to examining the Haditha slaughter. This being Frontline, watch at your own risk. And that's watch and listen only because Frontline does not feel that -- despite being broadcast on public television -- it is their obligation to provide the deaf or hard of hearing with a damn thing (no transcripts, no summaries).
iraq
camilo mejia
iraq veterans against the war
leila fadelmcclatchy newspapers
steve lannen
howard zinn
chris ames
rosa princethe new york timessewell chanalissa j. rubinrichard a. oppel jr.
tina susmanthe los angeles times
the socialist worker
blackwater usa
jeremy scahill
bill moyersbill moyers journalpbs
npr
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