My House Rep is a hypocrite, how about yours?

In the US House, I'm represented by Nancy Pelosi.  That used to be a source of pride.  Many years ago.  Now it's embarrassing to confess such a thing.  It just got more embarrassing today.

Kevin G. Hall and David Lightman (McClatchy Newspapers) report:


Rep. Nancy Pelosi was emphatic. Mitt Romney's refusal to release more than two years of his personal tax returns, she said, makes him unfit to win confirmation as a member of the president's Cabinet, let alone to hold the high office himself.
Sen. Harry Reid went further: Romney's refusal to make public more of his tax records makes him unfit to be a dogcatcher.
They do not, however, think that standard of transparency should apply to them. The two Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives are among hundreds of senators and representatives from both parties who refused to release their tax records. Just 17 out of the 535 members of Congress released their most recent tax forms or provided some similar documentation of their tax liabilities in response to requests from McClatchy Newspapers over the last three months. Another 19 replied that they wouldn't release the information, and the remainder never responded to the query.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/18/3712169/most-members-of-congress-keep.html#storylink=cpy

Can you believe that?  She's hectoring others but won't release her own tax forms.  She's such a hypocrite.

Like I said, Nance used to be a point of pride.  And then she got the leadership post in 2002 when the Dems were in the minority.  Suddenly, she was no longer representing us.  Suddenly, she 'had to' water down her views and opinions.  We're San Francisco and Nancy regularly refused to lead on LGBT issues.  We're San Francisco and Nancy, when she became House Majority Leader in January 2007 couldn't end the illegal war.

Nancy stopped representing her constituents years ago.  But when she does something like the above and is exposed as a hypocrite, her gift to us is that we get to be embarrassed all over again.


Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Wednesday, July 18, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, Joe Biden's National Security Adviser tries to make nice in Iraq, the political crisis continues, Josh Rogin continues his journalistic malpractice and misses the big story (as usual), while the US is in the midst of The Great Recession and unemployment remains at record highs the VA is handing out $10,000 and higher bonuses to senior executives, the VA's Allison Hickey continues struggling with how to answer a question (hint: respond to what was asked), and more. "It's unacceptable the federal government is doing nothing but continuing to promise what they promised before," declare House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa this morning.  He was attending the House Oversight's Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations.  US House Rep Jason Chaffetz is the Subcomittee Chair. Appearing before the Subcommittee were VA's Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey, the VFW's Gerald Manar and Disabled American Veterans' Joseph Violante.  Darrell Issa:  42 years ago this November, I raised my right hand and became a soldier.   I have no claim today before the Veterans Administration.  But for those 42 years, soldiers, sailors and Marines have served  and need our support.  It's unacceptable the federal government is doing nothing but continuing to promise what they promised before. 183 days the average processing time for a claim.  It's unacceptable.  More unacceptable is that the fact that the error rate is 16%and perhaps higher in some regions.  Veterans who appeal the system face multiple years 883 days, three years in order to be adjudicated.  The system was broken during the Vietnam war when I enlisted.  The system has never been fixed so today we're going to concentrate in this Committee on hearing what you're going to do.  But understand, we've heard it before.  Today, you will be judged by what you say and what you do.  You will no longer be allowed to come back again with promises of reform a year away. Today, I understand, you will be talking about getting better over the next year -- perhaps talking about ways in which you have improved recently.  In 1970, the system was paper and the system failed veterans miserably.  Today the system is computerized but not harmonized.  Today the Veterans Administration continues to claim that they will get better be but they have not.  Jason Chaffetz:  Madam Under Secretary,  Mr. Manar,  I think accurately points out in his testimony that in order to solve the problem, you need to know exactly what the problem is.  And I see a major discrepancy in some of the numbers and I want to help clarfiy that.  In youre testimony in talking about the integrated disability evaluation system, you say, "We went from 240 day average in the legacy system to 56 days" and it goes on.  And there's a definition of the backlog.  The House Armed Services Committee staff and the House Veterans Affairs Committee staff on July 13 of this year which was not too long ago gave a briefing to these two Committees.  It says in here that the current monthly average completion time is 408 days.  You say it's 56 days -- 54 days -- yeah, 56 days -- and they say it's 408 days.   Can you help clarify that for me please? Allison Hickey:  Thank you, Chairman Chaffetz for your question. First of all, allow me to clarify by stating a few basic definitions so also, as I say things, you can understand what words I'm using and their context  We have, in the inventory and pending an overall number of 854000.  That's not backlog.  Those are claims that even as we've been sitting here for the last ten to fifteen minutes, more claims have come into us from veteran service members  and Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay, let me stop you -- let me stop you right there. Let me stop you right there.  On July 16th, which is not very long ago, the Monday morning workload report says there are 919,461 claims.  You say that number is -- what did you say that number is?  860,000 something? Allison Hickey:  The numbers I'm using are 854,000 -- Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay, so we're off by about 50 or 60 thousand.  And we're talking about something that is just  couple of days old.  Why the discrepancy on those number? Allison Hickey:  Chairman Chaffetz, our backlog -- I mean our inventory is a dynamic inventory. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  I know but that's less than ten days so -- Allison Hickey:  Chairman, I'm happy to answer the questions if I'm allowed an opportunity. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Sure I want to know.  You're saying that that number is 800 and something thousand and I'm just saying that the VA's report says it's 919,461.  That's of July 16th -- Allison Hickey:  Chairman, I'm happy to answer the question if I'm allowed an opportunity. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Ma'am, just answer the question.  Yes. Allison Hickey:  Thank you very much. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  --  That's why I asked the question. Allison Hickey:  Thank you very much, Chairman.  The numbers that I'm using are from the endpoint of a month.  Probably the end of May.  So you probably are using the end of this week's report.  I chose not use a floating number that continues to change over time and over dates and over weeks.  So I used an end of month number to be able to to talk to you, to be able to have a solid number to hvae a discussion around. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  If you -- Allison Hickey:  Regardless of what it is -- Regardless of what it is, I will tell you that our inventory and our pending is not our backlog.  And typically, the statistics show 61% of that backlog are supplemental claims that people -- veterans who are already receiving compensation from us are coming back with a second, third or a fourth claim in that process.  So of the number I will use 854,000, I could use your number as well.  And I could use the weekly reports number in backlog it would be exactly the same thing which is about 65 to 66% of our claims are in -- they are more than 125 days old. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay -- Allison Hickey:  That is the -- Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay, that's great.  More than 125 days old.  You say in your testimony -- I mean, to hear your testimony, these things are getting so much better.  We went from a 240 day average in the legacy system to 56 days? Allison Hickey:  Chairman Chaffetz, I'd be happy to answer the question in the disparity for the briefing which you just handed out.  I have different processes that have different standards.  The process you described is our end of b -- our integrated disability evaluation system that we work with DoD for our most wounded and ill -- injured service members. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  In your testimony -- Allison Hickey:  The numbers that you are -- Chair Jason Chaffetz:  I'm sorry -- Allison Hickey:  -- describing are the VA -- the 56 days are the VA numbers in that complete process -- Chair Jason Chaffetz:  I'm -- I'm -- Allison Hickey:  -- where VA has the responsibility for -- Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Hold on.  Hold on.  Let's tackle them one at a time.  This is your testimony, "We are closely collaborating with DoD through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System."  You say that's 56 days.  This report, this briefing that went to another Committee just last week says it's 408 days.  That's not exactly close.  Which -- Allison Hickey:  Chairman Chaffetz -- Chair Jason Chaffetz:  -- one is it?  Is it -- Allison Hickey:  The VA days for those 10,000 we have done in FY12, the VA days, the days that I have responsibility for doing them are 56 for those 10,000. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Are you saying this is accurate or inaccurate? Allison Hickey:  I'm saying I do not know what's on that slide.  If you were to give me that slide and give me some time to digest that slide I'd be happy to do that, Chairman.  You have access to that information right at this moment, I do not. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  We will make -- we will make -- Allison Hickey:  I will be happy to take that for the record and respond to you. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  How -- In it's simplified format here, how bad do you think this problem is?  I'm trying to quantify it and I'm concerned because we're not off by a couple of 100 people here,  we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people.  And in your testimony, you would lead the American people to believe that it's getting much better.  But if you look at it over the course of time, it's getting worse.  It's -- Allison Hickey:  Chairman, I have clearly stated -- Chair Jason Chaffetz:  It's getting worse. Allison Hickey:  -- in my testimony that two -- that -- that, uh, 65% of people in more than 125 days, from a VA perspective, is unacceptable.  I've clearly stated that. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  And you say that this is a decade's old problem -- Allison Hickey:  It is a decade's old problem and for the first time we have an integrated plan that goes after the way we're organized and trained to do the work, the processes that we've done that we have streamlined, the technology that we're bringing in that under this administration and this Secretary [of VA Eric Shinseki], VBA has never had an emphasis on it's IT infrastructure to get from a paper bound process to a paperless system that we have right now.  We are implementing it right now. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay, my time is far expired.  The numbers and the discrepancies here are absolutely stunning.   I let that run through so that Hickey -- who was very defensive and very loud in the hearing -- had her say such as it was.  But there's a ton of nonsense in there.  First off, if you're using a figure, you need to know what month the figure is from.  She chose not to use the most recent numbers, that was her decision.  Having made that decision, she needs to know what period of time the number she's using are from.  But she stated, "The numbers that I'm using are from the endpoint of a month. Probably the end of May."  Probably?  Probably's not good enough.   Chair Chaffetz was using 919,461.  He explained his numbers.  More to the point, this morning at the Washington Post's blog Federal Eye, Steve Vogel was addressing numbers noting that the 919,461 was the number "as of Tuesday."  Vogel notes that the claims stood at 903,000 in April.*  Did the numbers fluctuate in May and June?  We don't know because Hickey seems to believe she can use any numbers she wants.  Up to date numbers were available, she chose not to use them.  If she didn't want to use July because the month is still ongoing, then she should have fallen back to June.  And this wouldn't require new reports, these figures are kept weekly.  [In Vogel's report he says "backlog stood at 903,000" -- he most likely meant claims.  In the hearing, Hickey was repeatedly talking about the difference between the two.  If you use the link in Vogel's report for that number, you're taken to an earlier report he did where he refers to that number as "pending claims."  I understand what he means and would call it "backlog" myself.  It is backlog, any claim that's not been determined today is now backlog.  But since she made such a huge deal out of the terminology, I'm noting this.]  She needs to be better prepared.  US House Rep Bob Filner has clearly put a scare and to her and good for that.  But she needs to know that the VA will be held responsible.  And she speaks about that but time and again things keep happening in hearings that if she didn't know about it, she should have.  And if she did know about it, she's playing dumb with the Committee.  At a recent hearing, Filner wisely noted that Hickey was hired to a do a job and did not need her hand held but she did need to do her job.  It would be nice if everyone could remember that. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Madam Undersecretary, the VA had reported that it awarded $2.8 million to 245 senior executives.  How do we justify that?  I mean, that's a very small group of people.  We've got hundreds of thousands -- close to a million -- veterans waiting in line and 245 people got $2.8 million in bonuses?  How do we justify that? Allison Hickey: Chairman Chaffetz, thanks for the question.  First of all, I will tell you in VBA, since 2009, we have actually decreased by a full third the number of our SESs that are getting outstanding ratings. So we have done what this administration's asked us to do which is to really scrutinize the ratings that we are giving to our senior executives and bring them down. I'll tell you from a VBA perspective, I have 98 metrics, performance metrics, that I rate every one of our senior executives against.  They are performance based. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  How -- Allison Hickey:  They are production and quality based. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  How many -- Allison Hickey:  And in those environments where I do have outstanding leaders, I need to keep those outstanding leaders. They're making a difference for our veterans, their family members and survivors. Chair Jason Chaffetz:  How many of them -- How many of the people that worked for you go those bonuses? Allison Hickey:  Congressman, I'll have to bring you the explicit information.  I wasn't prepared to come and talk about bonus structure.  If all 245 got approximately the same amount of bonus, they got a bit over $10,000 each.  How does anyone working for the federal government deserve that? They did a great job?  Good.  They were supposed to.  I don't understand when the American people are being told that drastic cuts are needed how 245 employees of the VBA are getting not just their nice salaries but bonuses of $10,000 each for . . . doing their job?  Long before Senator Patty Murray and others were called for the Super Congress panel to address the deficit, the White House should have notified all cabinets that all bonuses were suspended.  I'm not joking on this.  A month ago there was a hearing that I knew nothing on -- record retention, record digitizing, etc. -- and I had to speak to a number of people who were kind enough to speak with me (that friends were kind enough to hook me up with) to get repeat walk throughs on this (because that's how I am, I have to over-saturate to feel comfortable talking about a topic) and I was speaking to government employees on all levels.  I heard about pay freezes and hiring freezes.  This is not uncommon across the country right now due to The Great Recession which continues.  And for state and municipal employees, this comes as layoffs have already demanded that they do their jobs and the jobs of two or three other people that were let go.  In some instances, they've also had pay cuts.  And yet at the federal level, senior executives, whose job it is to run the VA, are getting $10,000 bonuses? That's disgusting.  The White House, if they understood a damn thing about the current economy, should have let senior execs know -- especially for VA -- that there were no more bonuses until the economy turned around.  Especially VA?  The backlog's not gone.  And the service isn't there. Let's demonstrate the quality of service via statements in the hearing by two members of the Subcommittee. US House Rep Peter Welch:  [. . .] one family that contacted our office.  And this woman, the mother of Howard Hoy, the son who had contacted us, they had a claim that just wasn't answered for years and it wasn't until after the mother died -- and this was her trying to get pension benefits from what she was entitled to as the survivor -- it wasn't until after she died that they adjudicated this.  [. . . ] After this woman died, she got a condolence letter. So one part of the system was working but the part that would have been beneficial to her while she was alive was not working. US House Rep Jackie Speier: [In San Francisco at her "VA Fix-It meeting"] over 250 veterans showed up.  They were angry, they were hostile and they had every right to be.  I'm just going to tell you a few of these stories.   Sgt Ari Sonnenberg had multiple tours in Iraq.  He was facing eviction from his apartment while he waited for over a year for a disability ruling. He was unable to work -- a fact that took Oakland VA months and months to verify.  He needed treatment for PTSD. He was ordered by the VA actually to go to the VA Medical Center in Oakland.  The breaking point came the day before I took his wife and mother to meet with the director at Oakland. Until that meeting was set up, the Oakland Office was unaware that Mr. Sonnenberg was hospitalized at the VA facility for the next several months.  At the "VA Fix-It meeting" that we had, he told the packed room that he almost committed suicide.  Now the good news is that he will be boarding a plane for home tomorrow, he's had his surgeries, he's had treatment for PTSD and he has his disability benefits.  Had we not intervened, Mr. Sonnenberg would probably be dead today.  Another gentleman, a 92-year-old WWII vet who was confined to a wheel chair showed up at the "Fix-It meeting." He waited for over two years to have his claim adjusted, he had a service connection of 60%.  He was there, in his condition, his caregiver said, "It's been two years and now you're telling us that we've got to go back to a doctor to determine what his status is even though we've already done that.  Now the good news there is because we had that "Fix-It meeting," within a week, he was given retroactive payment of $32,000 and is now receiving $2000 a month.  He's 92-years-old.  Michael Cortez argued that his Parkinson's Disease was caused by exposure to Agent Orange.  He, again, waited two years.  As it turned out, because we had that "Fix-It meeting," his claim was recently resolved.  He's got a one-time retroactive payment of $92,000   [. . .] and now he's receiving $3,400 a month. Does that sound like quality service?  And when the Congress funds VA, are they aware that so much money is going to bonuses? Tomorrow, we'll note US House Rep Jackie Speier on another aspect of the hearing. If someone didn't get noted?  There's not time or space to note everyone in most cases.  If I'm ignoring someone that I ignored at the last hearing?  I don't like kiss asses.  I never have.  If you're not there to serve veterans, why are you there?  To kiss ass for one Democrat and I'm not interested in noting him.  I'm not interested in helping him put his embarrassing scandal behind him.  I feel the House Ethics Committee -- under Democrat control first, not under Republican control -- has carried out a non-stop witch hunt on US House Rep Maxine Waters.  I like Maxine and think she works very hard.  I'm not sure how you look the other way for a man whose own family members -- just convicted -- say he was in on it.  I don't understand when that happens, how you don't immediately launch a House Ethics Committee investigation.  I have no interest in helping the ass kiss. We'll come back to veterans issues at the end to note two things.  All Iraq News reveals that Antony Blinken, US Vice President Joe Biden's National Security Adviser, is in Iraq and led a delegation that met with Nouri.  AFP adds that he also met with Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi "and was set to hold talks with other top politicians on a trip to Baghdad and later in the Kurdish regional capital Arbil." Why is Blinken there? Because of the ongoing political crisis and the White House's fear that it's starting to get traction -- people are starting to notice Iraq.  Blinken's not expected to solve anything, just to put a band-aid on it -- a band-aid that will, the White House hopes, last through the November elections.  Today Sally Painter contributes a column to POLITICO about how things are going in Iraq.  Excerpt. But although Iraq has made significant strides since the dark days of 2006 and 2007, after the U.S. withdrawal, the country has seemed on the verge of spiraling violence and political chaos. Withdrawal cannot mean abandonment -- but unfortunately, it's unclear whether Washington has an effective strategy to remain positively engaged with Iraq's future. Since December, Iraq has lurched from political stalemate to rumors of Sunni succession to talk of civil war. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has wasted no time in accelerating his efforts to concentrate power in the executive, ignoring parliamentary prerogatives and, according to Human Rights Watch, overseeing a secret prison for his political opponents. Political accommodation over the most fundamental issues, including how to divide oil revenue between regions and ethnic groups, remains more remote than ever. Meanwhile, renewed terrorist bombings killed hundreds of people in June. The central government is more deadlocked than ever. Calls for Maliki's resignation have increased, and erstwhile allies like Moqtada al-Sadr have joined the opposition in threatening a vote of no confidence. Maliki has responded by threatening early elections, before their scheduled date in 2014. Key cabinet positions, including defense and interior, remain unfilled. As noted in yesterday's snapshot, Nouri al-Maliki is not pleased with comments about him made by the former Syrian Ambassador to Iraq who defected last week and has decided to sue the diplomat.  In no-surprise news, Al Mada reports that State of Law began insisting the ambassador needed to be arrested yesterday.  He's also not pleased with Turkey.  Nayla Razzouk (Bloomberg News) reports that Nouri is threatening "to take action" if Turkish 'flights' continue -- Razzouk notes that Ali al-Dabbagh (Nouri's spokesperson) was short on details of what 'flights' were being referred to (it's assumed, due to the use of the term "war planes" yesterday that the flights refer to the bombing raids Baghdad has allowed over the KRG).  al-Dabbagh stated that that a formal complaint will be filed with the UN Security Council.  Nouri's also not pleased with the Kurds.  And, with all of this, is it really smart to arm him with F-16s, let alone to rush the order? Al Mada notes the belief that Nouri's latest war of words is motivated by a desire to punish the KRG over their energy policy which is independent of Baghdad.  They also point out that as the war of words escalate, dialogue gets harder and harder.  Dialogue, of course, being what Nouri claims to currently want as he attempts to circumvent efforts to withdraw confidence from him.  Al Mada notes Iraqiya spokesperson Maysoun al-Damalouji explains that they are going through with their efforts for a vote of no-confidence in Nouri and that they have passed their decision on to Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq (who is also a member of Iraqiya).  In another article, they note Nouri's flurry of activity with the Parliament -- including last Thursday's meeting with Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.  Alsumaria notes that KRG President Massoud Barzani's spokesperson raised the issue yesterday of Nouri's attempts to militarize Iraq society for his own political ends.  AFP adds, "The F-16 deal has raised alarm bells in the northern Kurdistan region, with Barzani saying earlier this year he was opposed to the sale of the warplanes while Maliki was premier, fearing they would be used against Kurdistan." Monday's snapshot noted the decision to yet again delay findings by the Iraq Inquiry -- an investigation led by John Chilcot in England.  Rose Gentle's son Gordon Gentle was killed while serving in Iraq with British forces.  For the Guardian, she explains what the latest delay means:  He was a lovely boy: he looked such a grown-up man in his Royal Fusiliers uniform, but I could still see the little boy in him. He was just 19: Iraq was his first posting, straight out of training. He'd been there less than three weeks when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra. But this year, on the anniversary of his death, I had a bit of hope in my heart. My hope was that, during this summer, I'd at last be able to read the results of the Chilcot inquiry, which I've been waiting for since 2009 when Gordon Brown announced it was going to be set up to look into why we went to war in Iraq, and to "learn the lessons" from the trail of events that led to the deaths of young men like Gordon. This week, though, we've learned there's yet another delay. It's going to be the middle of next year, we're now told, before the report sees the light of day. 2013 – 10 whole years after the war started. And why? I've listened as keenly as Sir John Chilcot to this inquiry – any mother who lost her son would, to find out why he died. What does he still need time for? Also at the Guardian, readers weigh in with their thoughts on the delay.  We'll note this from one letter: Two points for consideration now. First, what has happened to the Iraq inquiry? We were told last year that it would take "until at least summer 2012" to complete its report. An important reason for taking so long is the need "to negotiate the declassification of a significant volume of currently classified material with the government". Very well, but it is time to say that enough is enough. Secondly, we are told that Tony Blair is wondering whether it is time to offer his services to the nation again. Iraq is one reason why I think we can manage without him. Oliver Miles Oxford On War Criminal Tony Blair, Matthew Norman (Independent) observes, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, here he is encircling the upper echelons of public life once again - and if his dream of rehabilitation is to be harpooned, we're going to need a bigger boat." The United States needs something in order to stop the whisper attacks on citizens -- the government's whisper attacks.  For some reason -- journalism isn't the reason -- Foreign Policy has again allowed Josh Rogin to write another article where he allows an unnamed State Dept official to attack people by name and their character.  That's not how journalism's supposed to work so clearly Foreign Policy doesn't believe in journalism.  What has him breaking all the rules?  As always it is his hate for the residents of Camp Ashraf.  This one may cause waves -- might even splash on Baby Cum Pants Josh.  See, in the article he's trashing like crazy. And it would appear that US House Reps Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Brad Sherman will next be on the trashing list (the two wrote Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking for the conditions at Camp Liberty to be improved -- Camp Liberty is where the US is trying to relocate Camp Ashraf residents).  What Baby Cum Pants Josh apparently doesn't know -- or one of the many things he apparently doesn't know -- is that despite Ros-Lehtinen being a Republican and Hillary being a Democrat, the two woman have strong respect for one another.  If he had even a clue about the beat he's supposed to cover, he would have realized he could tailor the story as: "Is this what turns things around for Camp Ashraf?  Or will Secretary Clinton blow off a friend?"  But, as usual, Rogin's typing on autopilot. Yesterday, we noted Senator Patty Murray was pushing for a floor vote on the Camp Lejeune issue.  The US House Veterans Affairs Committee issued the following.   WASHINGTON, D.C.--Today, Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, issued the following statement on the Senate passage of H.R. 1627, the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012: "This legislation brings together nearly two years' worth of work on behalf of America's veterans. From streamlining and adding increased accountability to the disability claims process, to protecting our veterans from sexual assault, and providing for the future of Arlington National Cemetery, the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 is a tribute ensuring our veterans, their families, and survivors are guaranteed the benefits earned through their service to our Nation. "With Senate passage today of H.R. 1627, our veterans are one step closer to receiving healthcare and improved services from VA. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr for their leadership in the Senate, as well as Ranking Member Filner's support here in the House, to make this legislation a reality. Finally, I want to thank Senator DeMint for working with us to ensure that resources are focused on veterans and family members in need of VA healthcare. "I look forward to the House passing this legislation as soon as possible." To learn more about the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, click here. Senator Patty Murray, as noted above, is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and we're closing with this from her office (and I'm not in the mood for whines about the font size, I'm told that it can't be reduced without making the snapshot wider which will throw off the site for the next three entries so it is what it is): In the face of threatened delays, Murray brokers compromise to finally deliver health care to Camp Lejeune Veterans and their families Omnibus includes comprehensive health care, housing, homelessness, education and benefits legislation for veterans (Washington, D.C.) – Today, Wednesday, July 18, 2012, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee helped ensure passage of the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 by unanimous consent.  This bipartisan, bicameral, and comprehensive legislation combines provisions of the Veterans Programs Improvement Act of 2011(S. 914, Report No. 112-088) and Honoring American Veterans Act of 2011 (H.R. 1627, Report No. 112-084 Part 1), as well as provisions from other Senate and House legislation.  This comprehensive package extends health care to veterans and their families who lived at Camp Lejeune, expands critical health programs, improves housing programs, enhances programs for homeless veterans, and makes needed improvements to the disability claims system. In the face of threatened delays on the bill, Senator Murray brokered a compromise today that allowed the bill to move forward. "This comprehensive legislation makes improvements to almost every aspect of care and services for veterans, and I am proud of the work my committee put into bringing this omnibus bill together," Senator Murray said following passage of the bill. "This bill will finally provide health care to veterans and family members exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, expand eligibility for housing adaptation grants to more seriously injured veterans, and make help for homeless veterans more widely available." Specifically, the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 would: ·         Provide health care for certain individuals stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.  This bill will extend hospital care and medical services coverage for certain illnesses and conditions to eligible veterans and family members who served on active duty or lived at Camp Lejeune. ·         Expand critical health care programs for veterans.  This bill will authorize VA to waive copayments for telehealth and telemedicine visits of veterans, expand beneficiary travel reimbursement for veterans living in highly rural areas, and improve reimbursement for state veterans homes.  In addition, the bill will enhance VA's teleconsultation and telemedicine capabilities to improve rural veterans' access to quality health care, protect veterans from sexual assault and other safety incidents, and expand TBI services.  ·         Enhance Specially Adapted Housing programs for disabled veterans.  This bill expands the eligibility for VA's specially adapted housing assistance grants to certain veterans with disabilities due to the loss or loss of use of one or more lower extremities that preclude ambulating without the aid of a supporting device. Senator Murray recently heard from a veteran who is severely injured with an above the knee amputation and an injury to his hip.  His combination of injuries made it incredibly difficult for him to live comfortably in his home, yet despite his serious injuries and mobility challenges, he did not meet current eligibility criteria for VA's adaptive housing programs to get the benefits that he so critically needed.  Senator Murray wrote a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki asking that eligibility criteria be adjusted accordingly, so that veterans in similar situations can get the benefits they deserve. This bill authorizes increased assistance to those disabled veterans who reside temporarily with family members and indexes levels of such assistance on an annual basis.  The bill also provides adaptive housing assistance grants to veterans with a lesser degree of vision impairment than what is required by current law. ·         Improve efforts to eliminate homelessness among veterans.  This bill will reauthorize a number of VA's programs to help homeless veterans and will expand eligibility for VA's emergency shelter services to include homeless veterans who are not seriously mentally ill.  In addition, the bill enhances grant programs for homeless veterans with special needs, by including dependents of veterans and male veterans with dependent children.  The bill also improves the grant and per diem program, which serves upward of 30,000 homeless veterans annually, by requiring VA to report on how to improve the per diem payment process for grantees.  In addition, the bill strengthens efforts by eligible entities to assist in case management services provided to the nearly 40,000 homeless veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program. ·         Strengthen veterans' benefits and improving claims processing.  This bill will improve VA's disability claims appeal processing by waiving initial review of claimants' new evidence by the agency of original jurisdiction unless specifically requested.  It is estimated that this provision could prevent approximately 1,600 remands from the Board of Veterans' Appeals per year allowing the Board more time to address the backlog of appeals.  Other significant improvements include, improving the process of filing jointly for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation and clarifying the month of death payment provisions to ensure surviving spouses receive proper and timely benefit payments.      ### Matt McAlvanah Communications Director U.S. Senator Patty Murray 202-224-2834 - press office 202--224-0228 - direct matt_mcalvanah@murray.senate.gov News Releases | Economic Resource Center | E-Mail Updates     iraq the washington post steve vogel antiwar.com margaret griffis all iraq news al rafidayn  al mada kitabat bloomberg news nayla razzouk

I want to be a super-temp!

I don't really want to be a super-temp.  But Laura Vanderkam's report for MoneyWatch is supposed to make me want to become one.

I can make 600K a year!!!!!

And I can be worried about being fired.  Or, more likely, worry about firing.  If you're swooping into troubled companies for a few weeks or months and then leaving, chances are you're the firing crea.

I did freelance, that's what it is in the photography business when you're your own boss.  And there were scary times early on when I wouldn't be able to afford all the bills.  But I built up a base and a reputation and didn't have to worry as much.

That I can handle.  I could never handle being a temp unless I shared an apartment with three other people.  I would forever worry when the next check was coming in, how long I'd be at an assignment, how the bills would be paid, etc.

I think Laura's written a smart little spiffy article.  But I don't think it says anything of value or gets at reality.

Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, July 17, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, a rumor circulates about Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the Iraqi government screams "mine!," Nouri decides to sue over allegations against him, Nouri hurls allegations at others, and more.   Starting in the US where there's major news on the legislative front.  Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  Her office issued the following today:   FOR PLANNING PURPOSES Tuesday, July 17, 2012 CONTACT: Murray Press Office (202) 224-2834   TOMORROW: Murray to Call on Senate to Pass Veterans Omnibus Legislation   Murray will ask for immediate passage of the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012   (Washington, D.C.) -- Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 18th, U.S. Senator Patty Murray will give a speech on the Senate floor calling for unanimous consent on the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, bipartisan, bicameral, and comprehensive legislation that combines provisions of the Veterans Programs Improvement Act of 2011 (S. 914, Report No. 112-088) and Honoring American Veterans Act of 2011 (H.R. 1627, Report No. 112-084 Part 1), as well as provisions from other Senate and House legislation. This comprehensive package would extend health care to veterans and their families who lived at Camp Lejeune, expand critical health programs, improve housing programs for severely disabled veterans, enhance programs for homeless veterans, and make needed improvements to the disability claims system.     WHO: U.S. Senator Patty Murray WHAT: Senator Murray will seek unanimous consent on the passage of important veterans omnibus legislation. WHEN: TOMORROW: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 11:00 AM ET/ 8:00 AM PST WHERE: Senate Floor WATCH: Speech will air live on C-SPAN 2     ### Kathryn Robertson Specialty Media Coordinator Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray 448 Russell Senate Office Building Washington D.C. 20510 202-224-2834   Senator Patty Murray's office   Senator Murray's YouTube Channel   Senator Murray's Press Office Twitter Account   RSS Feed for Senator Murray's office     Camp Lejeune is a North Caroline Marine Corps base which was considered to be one of "the biggest water-contimination case[s] in history, with more than a million people potentially exposed to carcinogens such as TCE and benzene from the 1950s to 1985, when the poisoned wells were shut down" (Mike Manager of GovExec).  Franco Ordonez (McClatchy Newspapers) observes, "Up to 750,000 people at Camp Lejeune may have been exposed to water that was poisoned with trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, benzene and vinyl chloride. Some medical experts have linked the contamination to birth defects, childhood leukemia and a variety of other cancers."   Senator Richard Burr, Ranking Member on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has long championed this issue.  Last month, Kat reported on a Senate Veterans Affairs Committeee hearing and  how there appeared to be movement on this issue and she quoted Chair Murry stating:   I am optimistic that by the time of the next mark-up the President is going to be signing into law the Honoring of America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 which includes legislation from our last mark-up.  Veterans legislation obviously continues to be bi-partisan and that  is at it should be.  So I want to thank all the members of our Committee.     This will be a historic and long awaited moment for the many families of Camp Lejeune.     Iraq is considered the cradle of cvilization due to its long and historical importance.    Oh, Baghdad Center of the world City of ashes With its great mosques Erupting from the mouth of god Rising from the ashes like a speckled bird Splayed against the mosaic sky Oh, clouds around We created the zero But we mean nothing to you You would believe That we are just some mystical tale We are just a swollen belly That give birth Sinbad, Scheherazade We gave birth Oh, oh, to the zero The perfect number We invented the zero -- "Radio Baghdad," written by Patti Smith and Oliver Ray, first appears on her trampin'     For all of its glory and history the Baghdad-based government  currently attempts to hold onto the history of  another people.  AFP reported at the end of last month that Nouri al-Maliki's Baghdad government had made the decision to cut archaeological ties with the United States over Jewish archives.  Nouri's government insisted the Jewish archives belonged to Iraq.  The same government that refused to protect the Jews in Iraq now wants to lay claim to the documents: "The archives, which were found in the flooded basement of the intelligence headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, include Torah scrolls, Jewish law and children's books, Arabic-language documents produced for Iraqi Jews and government reports about the Jewish community."   The only thing Nouri's government can lay claim to is the government reports.  They can lay claim to that because Nouri is the New Saddam.  And, as such, he can claim the property of a people as surely as Saddam Hussein would be insisting, if these were Shi'ite papers, that they belonged to the Iraqi government.    A people own their own documents and that is especially true when you're dealing with an oppressed people -- the Shi'ites under Saddam or the Jews in modern-day Baghdad where all but a handful have been run out of their homes and out of the country.  Shame on the government for attempting to lay claim to that which it is not entitled to.   Xinhua noted this week, "Iraq rejected an offer made by the United States to bring back half of the Iraqi Jewish Archive previously transferred from Baghdad to the US after 2003, insisting that Iraq should restore the whole Archive, an Iraqi official newspaper reported on Sunday."    While Nouri's government uses a great deal of time and energy trying to grab that which it is not entitled to, it refuses to maintain Iraq's historic treasures.   Dropping back to the May 29th snapshot:   Last week Aseel Kami (Reuters) reported on the State Board of Heritage and Antiquities' Mariam Omran Musa who is suing Iraq's Ministry of Oil over a pipline through Babylon which threatens the existence of the historical Hanging Gardens.  Musa declared, "Oil and antiquities are both national wealth, but I have an opinion: when the oil is gone, we will still have antiquities."  The Travel Channel notes that the Hanging Gardens were considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  RT adds: The magnificent gardens allegedly built for a king's homesick wife in the 6th century BC were one of the Ancient World's seven wonders. Some historians doubt they existed, but they were described in many written sources and were said to have been destroyed by earthquakes. The remains of the ancient city of Babylon are situated near present-day Al Hillah in Iraq's Babylon Province south of Baghdad. The country has long been trying to get UNESCO to add the site to its World Heritage list, but chances appear to be fading away as authorities plan to lay an oil pipeline there. Iraq's Oil Ministry plans to extend a strategic route to export oil through six provinces at the center and south of the country.Two pipelines carrying oil products and liquid gas from Basra in the south to Baghdad were built under the ancient site in the late 1970s and early 80s. Stephane Foucart (Guardian) seeks out expert opinion on the issue:   "The pipeline crosses the perimeter of the archaeological site but outside the walls, beneath the so-called outer city," said Véronique Dauge, chief of the Arab States Unit at the Unesco World Heritage Centre. "But even if it doesn't cross the centre of the ancient city, it is in an area that has never been excavated." The site covers approximately 850 hectares, most of which is virgin territory for archaeologists. A spokesman from the Iraqi oil ministry quoted by AFP reported that the land dug up revealed no archaeological remains. "No one can say right now if the oil pipeline has caused damage," said Lisa Ackerman, executive vice-president of the World Monuments Fund (WMF), a New York-based foundation for preserving architectural heritage, who works on the site with the Iraqi authorities. "But I think it's very likely that it crosses sensitive archaeological zones."     Meanwhile AFP reports, "Teams of Iraqi archaeologists have discussed 40 ancient sites in the country's south from the Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian periods, an Iraqi antiquities offical said on Monday."  And hopefully the fate of those sites will be better than the currently threatened Hanging Gardens or other threatened sites in Iraq.  Mohamad Ali Harissi (Middle East Online) reports that historical sites discovered near Najaf's airport -- including "the remains of the celebrated ancient Christian city of Hira" -- are at risk, "unexplored and unkempt," due to a lack of excavation funding.  One of the people who led historical digs upon the discovery and in 2009 and 2010 is Shakir Abdulzahra Jabari who states, "The area has historical importance, because it is rich in antiquities, including especially the remains of churches, abbeys and palaces.  But now the antiquities have been neglected for a year, and they do not receive any attention, despite the fact that many Western countries are interested in Hira's history as the main gateway of Christianity into Iraq."   One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the Hanging Gardens remain in jeopardy in Iraq today.  They're not the only historical marvel at risk.  There is also the famous Abbasi Bridge in Zahko.  Abdul-Khaleq Dosky (Niqash) reports on the bridge and notes the many origin stories told about the ancient marvel:   One of the oldest revolves around a young man in the Abbasside era - the Abbaside dynasty ruled for almost two centuries from the year 750 - who fell in love with a girl living in the village on the opposite side of the river; he built the bridge so he could be with her.  Another story focuses on a Turkish architect who came to Zakho, which lies near the border of Iraq and Turkey, in the Middle Ages. A nearby Turkish governor had amputated one of his hands and as a kind of challenge to him, the architect decided to build a bridge. Legend has it that the architect built the bridge by constructing both ends and then having it join in the middle. Using this method, the bridge was in danger of collapse many times. So the architect consulted a medium who told him that he should kill the first person to cross the river and bury the body in the centre of the bridge. Unhappily for her, the next day his son's wife, a woman called Dalal, came across the river to bring him his breakfast. And apparently that is why to this day the locals know the crossing as the Dalal bridge.     Iraq has so much worth preserving and so much in need of preserving.   It certainly is telling that Iran's Press TV can run -- and has run, here and here for examples -- multiple pieces on the Jewish archives and interview biased Americans but when it comes to Iraq's historical treasures Press TV has nothing to say.  That's your first indication that this isn't about history, just another pissing match and the world's certainly seen more than enough of those.      Faces of Iraq notes:     Although it might not be at the top of your vacation destinations, let's not forget that Iraq is the home of the first city that was ever recorded, Sumerian, that was built over 6000 years ago so why diminish the importance of visiting such a pillar of civilization? We are not talking about an apple mac support London from the corner of the street here. True it has its own significance but what about a city that was built thousands of years ago and which is known to be the place where the first book was ever written. Here in Iraq between the rivers of Euphrates and Tigris once stood the great and famous Mesopotamia, a region where the first form of writing was developed, where the first signs of irrigations systems were found and where people had already discovered the wheel.        -- not the Hanging Gardens, not the Ctesiphon Arch, nothing.  Nouri says he wants to build up the travel industry in Iraq.  Yet here's a bridge that's already bringing in approximately 150,000 tourists each year and Nouri's refusing to use any of the large piles of government money he sits on to ensure that the the bridge remains standing and doesn't fall apart.      Dropping back to yesterday's snapshot: Al Rafidayn reports that Nouri met with US Central Command General James Mattis on Sunday.  Why?  To ask the US to speed upt he delivery of weapons.  All Iraq News also covers the meeting and includes a photo of the two.  AFP adds, "The Iraqi premier also pointedly said during a meeting with General James Mattis, the visiting head of US Central Command, that only the central government would decide which arms purchases would be made, in an apparent swipe at Kurdish complaints over the acquisition of F-16 warplanes."  Defense World adds, "Iraq has agreed to acquire American military equipment worth more than $10 billion, including 36 F-16 warplanes, tanks, artillery, helicopters and patrol boats which are not delivered for years to the Iraq."  KUNA notes, "Baghdad Monday urged neighboring countries to respect sovereignty of Iraq and warned against violating its airspace.  Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, addressing a graduation ceremony of police officers, said the Iraqi airspace has been breached by aircraft of neighboring countries, which he did not name, on a daily basis."  Kitabat notes that Nouri's spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh declared today that Turkey has breached Iraq's airspace with "warplanes" repeatedly and that they intended to complain to the United Nations Security Council. Reuters answers the immediate question -- breach? do they mean the raids on northern Iraq?  Yes, Reuters reveals, that's apparently what they mean.  That's strange that Baghdad's not previously said one word publicly, in all these years, that could qualify as a complaint about these bombs.  In fact, they've told the United Nations previously that they were cooperating with Turkey and cited this as an example of how they fight terrorism and insisted it was proof of the stability they were bringing to the region and reaon enough for the UN to remove the Chapter VII classification imposed on them as a result of the attack on Kuwait. Oh, well, maybe the accusations will cover Nouri's latest embarrassment.  The Journal of Turkish Weekly was already reporting this morning that Iraq's radar system was down due to "the power cut in Iraq."   Nouri has been on a holy tear of late, hurling one allegation after another.  Rudaw reports, "At Iraq's Council of Ministers meeting last week, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki accused the Kurdistan Region of 'smuggling oil.'  The accusation caused a stir and Maliki's Kurdish deputy Dr. Roj Nuri Shawais, issued a strong reply."  Nouri loves to blame so much that facts rarely matter to him.  Back on  May 30th we noted Nouri was blaming Arab countries yet again while saying nothing about Iran and, when the issue is water, that's not realistic.  Today Al Mada and Kitabat both report on findings from London's Institute of  Development Studies which has predicted a 70% decrease in fresh water in Iraq as a result of Iran's actions with regards to the Tigris River.   While the Arab neighbors also have an impact, the report finds Iran a greater culprit (causing Al Mada to note Iran and the "environemental disaster" its caused in their headline). If the issue isn't addressed, Iraq's drinking water and agricultural sector will dwindle.  Al Arabiya adds:   The IDS report, obtained by Al Arabiya, stated that Iran stopped the flow of Alwand River, which runs from western Iran to eastern Iraq, for the past four years. This caused the damage of around 10% of arable land and rendered the residents of several villages around the river homeless. The production of several crops has also been greatly affected whether through quantity with a loss that amounted to 80% in some years or through quality that has witnessed a remarkable drop. Iran, the report added, has also been pumping drainage water into several Iraqi rivers, which led to a rise in their salinity levels and in turn inflicted a substantial damage on marine life, basically demonstrated in the death of several fish species. This also caused the migration of birds that lived in the area and the emergence of snakes which attack crops and kill livestock.   Last week, Nouri was trying to improve his image -- and a press eager to sell war on Syria was happy to oblige.  All this led to days of Nouri the brave, offering the Syrian Ambassador to Iraq asylum.  Those days are gone.  Tariq Alhomayed (Asharq al-Awsat) notes, "The Syrian Ambassador to Iraq's defection was not only a slap in the face for the tyrant of Damascus; it also came as a blow to Nuri al-Maliki's government."  Nouri's not happy about what Nawaf Fares is saying.  When Nouri's unhappy, what does he do?  That's right: Sue.  And BBC News notes that Nouri's spokesperson today announced that there would be a lawsuit against Fares:   In interviews since defecting, Mr Fares said Syria formed an alliance with al-Qaeda to disrupt US forces in Iraq. Mr Fares has accused Mr Maliki of being complicit in attacks in Iraq because of "his alliance" with Damascus. The BBC's Rami Ruhayem in Baghdad says Mr Fares has a few stories to tell about his former Syrian masters and, since arriving in Qatar from Baghdad, he hasn't been holding back.   Kitabat reports that Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi has written to the Parliament urging them to investigate whether Nouri has had any involvement with terrorism.    On violence,  Al Rafidayn reports that 1 intelligence officer for the Ministry of the Interior was assassinated today in Baghdad by unknown assailantes suing guns with silencers.  In addition, All Iraq News notes that a police officer's home in Salahuddin Province was bombed -- the police officer was outside his home at the time and not wounded.   In other news of violence, Nouri continues the mass arrests.  If you are ever unclear on how people (inclucing innocents) can disappear into the maze that passes for the Iraqi 'legal' system, you just have to follow the mass arrests.  Alsumaria reports 32 arrested in Kirkuk today.  The suspects were arrested based on 'intelligence.'  But Nouri has no real intelligence capability and that's one of the things the State Dept was supposed to be helping him with but he spurned that.  We're not done.  Alsumaria also reports mass arrests in Babylon today: 60 arrests.  In related news, Khalid al-Alwani is a member of Iraqiya and serves on Parliament's Integrity Committee.  All Iraq News notes that he attended the funeral of Saddam Batawi who died in prison and that he's calling for the end of torture in Iraqi prisons and detention centers.     Meanwhile Fars News Agency reports, "Spokesman of the office of Iraq's most revered Shiite Cleric and top religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Hosseini al-Sistani, categorically denied media reports about and assassination attempt on Ayatollah Sistani's life."     iraq  xinhua alsumaria all iraq news al rafidayn  al mada kitabat niqash

Superhero movies

Adam Haig (WSWS) reviews the new Spider-Man flick:



But Spider-Man is not remotely politically conscious or anti-capitalist. In the film, he acts on the basis of a vengeance quest for the killer of his uncle; he reduces the complex social world to “good guys” and “bad guys”; and he believes that he does “80 percent” of the job of law enforcement, as he tauntingly tells a police officer who tries to arrest him.
Despite Spider-Man’s lack of conscious politics, the film does ascribe a label to him from the perspective of Captain Stacy—vigilante anarchism—though this is something the audience is never supposed to take seriously. Spider-Man is made out, through the pre-death words of Uncle Ben, to be acting out of “responsibility.” It is a socially muddy message.
Art does not need to contain consciously intended or socially acceptable messages, yet it can only be truthful if it corresponds to the actual nature of things and if it makes artistic discoveries with aesthetic intuition and feelings. The Amazing Spider-Man is entertaining, but in the end, it is a tired play on formulas in a repeating, endless circle.
The author also recommends:
Trying to have it both ways: Spiderman, directed by Sam Raimi[21 June 2002]
No, this won’t do at all[12 July 2004]
The dilemma of blockbuster filmmaking[4 June 2007]


Here's my problem with the new Spider-Man film, it's so visually blah.  The look of the film is dead.  Sam Raimi's version Haig doesn't seem to have cared for.  That's fine.  But I don't expect a great deal from these comic films.  One thing I do expect is that they have a unique look.  Tim Burton's two Batman films did, Joel Shumarcher's played with color but had no look.  Sam Raimi is a visual genius and I loved the look and scope he brought to the previous Spider-Man movies.  They were like "Love Finds Andy Hardy" and the other Mickey Rooney films in that they got worse and worse as the series went along -- plot wise.  But they maintained their unique look.



Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Monday, July 16, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, oil remains a source of squabble, the UN expresses concern over Iraqi children, John Chilcot's Iraq Inquiry (again) begs for more time, the political crisis continues, and more. Chris Ames (Iraq Inquiry Digest) boils down the big Iraq news out of England down to one quote from the Iraq Inquiry, "The Inquiry has advised the Prime Minister that it will be in a position to being the process of writing to any individuals that may be criticized by the middle of 2013."  James Tapsfield (Independent) points out, "The findings about the run-up to the 2003 invasion and its aftermath had originally been expected by the end of last year. The timing was then put back to this summer."  Of the latest development, James Blitz (Financial Times of London) predicts it's "a development that will trigger anger among MPs at the slow pace of the inquiry." Gordon Rayner (Telegraph of London) does the math, "So far the Inquiry has cost 6.1 million pounds, and the extra year of information-gathering is expected to cost the public purse around 1.4 million pounds more."  Steve Bell (Guardian) offers a visual take on the news (political cartoon).    Gavin Stamp (BBC News) explains, "The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera said there had been an ongoing row between the inquiry and the Cabinet Office over certain documents - particularly notes sent by former prime minister Tony Blair to President Bush and records of their discussions in the run-up to the conflict."  Richard Norton-Taylor (Guardian) adds, "O'Donnell told Chilcot that releasing Blair's notes would damage Britain's relations with the US and would not be in the public interest. 'We have attached particular importance to protecting the privacy of the channel between the prime minister and president,' he said."  And the end result? The Daily Mail breaks it down: "It means the committee's final judgment will not be delivered until at least a decade after the war." Yesterday, Nick Hopkins (Guardian) reported, "Speaking for the first time about her experiences, Emma Sky also questioned why no officials on either side of the Atlantic have been held to account for the failures in planning before the invasion."  Who?  Sky was a Spring 2011 Resident Fellow at Harvard and from their bio on her: Emma Sky left Iraq in September 2010, where she had served for three years as Political Advisor to General Odierno, the US General commanding all US forces in Iraq, had worked directly for General Petraeus on reconciliation and had been the Governorate Coordinator of Kirkuk for the Coalition Provisional Authority back in 2003/2004. In the intervening years, Sky had served in Jerusalem as Political Advisor to General Ward, the US Security Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process; and as Advisor to the Italian and British Commanding Generals of the NATO forces in Afghanistan in 2006. As a British, female, civilian, with a background in international development and strong anti-war credentials, it seemed unlikely that Sky would become advisor and confidante to some of America's finest military leaders. And certainly it has been quite a journey for someone who did not support either the Iraq war or the Afghanistan war. Nick Hopkins has the first series of extensive interviews with Sky.  From the first one, we'll note Sky saying this: We'd have power point presentations with pictures of men who've had half their brains blown out. Some things you never forget … the smell of burning bodies. I didn't want to learn to cope with these images. The military talk about KIAs (killed in action). That's how they cope. They don't say, the victims were women and children. There was so much violence that it was almost too big to comprehend. The military has a language that is not accidental, it is used to quarantine emotion. Everyday we would hear reports that another 60 or 70 bodies had turned up, heads chopped off or drilled through. It was absolutely horrific. We could tell which groups had been behind the attacks by the way the victims had been killed. Violence in Iraq continues today.  All Iraq News reports a Kazak roadside bombing has left 2 Iraqi soldiers dead.  Alsumaria notes that, northwest of Baquba, unknown assailants shot dead (with machine guns) a Sahwa who was leaving his home while southwest of Baquba a security checkpoint was bombed, a Tikrit car bombing left five people injured, a 21-year-old man was discovered drowned in Zab River and four of his friends have been arrested in the death, an attack in the Abu Ghraib section of Baghdad left 1 employee of the Ministry of Electricity dead and, Sunday night for the last two, 1 corpse was discovered (25-year-old man, strangleed) in Kirkuk, and 1 Sahwa was shot dead last night in Tarmmiyah near his home.  That's 7 deaths and five injured so far in today's news cycle.  (The Sunday night events were not reported on Sunday.)   Violence continued over the weekend as well. Xinhua reports of Sunday's violence: 1 person shot dead in Baquba, 1 "young girl" shot dead by her Muqdadiyah home, a bombing attack on the Baquba home of a Sawha leader which left fifteen injured and an al-Tahrir grenade attack that left one police officer injured.  AFP notes a Rashidiyah attack which left 9 security forces dead and two more injured and an attack in Hammam al-Alili attack which left four people injured.  Iraq Body Count tabulates178 deaths from violence so far this month. In memory of an attack on July 13, 2005 in which "dozens of children" died from a car bombing, the United Nations made today the Day of the Iraqi Children.  UN Childen's Fund Rep to Iraq Marzio Babille declared, "UNICEF remains very concerned about the continuing grave violations committed against children in Iraq and calls on all actors to cease indiscriminate acts of violence that harm children."  The United Nations counts 49 Iraqi children dead and 169 injured from violence so far this year.  KUNA adds, "On the occasion of Day of the Iraqi Child, the UNICEF office in Baghdad urged all Iraqi officials to join efforts in making Iraq more fit for children by investing in the basic needs of children." On Democracy Now! today, Amy Goodman spoke (link is video, audio, transcript) with Greg Muttitt, author of Fuel on the Fire: Oil and Politics in Occupied Iraq about  Iraq's oil: The oil corporations wanted to wait until there was a permanent government in Iraq so they could have secure contracts. The first permanent post Sudan government was formed in May 2006 under Nouri al-Maliki, and in the months -- even the months before that -- the U.S., Britain, the International Monetary Fund were saying your first priority has to be pass an oil law to give multinationals leading role in Iraq's oil industry again for the first time since the nationalization of the 1970s. And then, this oil law was drafted very quickly after the government was formed. It was drafted in couple of months by August 2006. As well as putting multinationals in the driving seat, its other role was to deprive their contracts of parliamentary scrutiny. According to existing Iraqi law, if the government signs a contract with a company like BP or Exxon to develop an oil field, it has to show it to parliament to get the yes or no or amendments. One of the major functions of the oil law was to repeal that existing legislation and so allow the executive branch, which was of course populated by U.S. allies, to sign contracts without Parliament getting in the way. So, this was the function of the oil law, it was drafted by August 2006. The U.S. hoped it would pass very quickly without anyone knowing about it because the vast majority of Iraqis are very keen that oil stays in the Iraqi hands in the public sector. It didn't turn out that way. In October 2006, two months after it was drafted, the draft started to leak out. In December 2006, I attended a meeting of Iraq's trade unions at which they decided they were going to fight the law. During the course of 2007, this became a central struggle over Iraq's oil. As you remember, Amy, in January 2007, President Bush announced a surge; he was sending an extra troops into Iraq. Actually that was on half of a two part strategy. The troops were sent to achieve control over Iraq. The second part of the strategy was to use that control, use that influence, to pressure Iraqi politicians to achieve what they call benchmarks. These were marker of political progress. As you reported at the time, the foremost among these was getting an oil law passed. So, throughout 2007, there is constant pressure from the Bush administration on Iraqi politicians. But, at the same time, the trade unions were organizing to try and stop this oil law because they thought it was going to be a disaster for the country. That campaign spread, and because of the strength of Iraqi feeling about it, over the subsequent months, the more it was talked about, the more people opposed it and then the more it was talked about, and opposition to the oil law spread across the country. Civil society groups, both secular and religious, was talked-about in Friday sermons in mosques. And by the summer, this opposition spread into the Iraqi parliament and it became -- politicians saw it as a political threat to their futures to support the oil law, and an opportunity to get one up on their rivals by joining this popular cause. The Americans had set a deadline of September 2007 to pass the oil law or face a series of consequences; cutting off aid, removing military support to the Maliki government etc. The September deadline came and the oil law wasn't passed, and the reason the oil law was not passed was because of this grassroots civil society campaign. Now, to me, that is a very inspiring story. It's why I feel hopeful about the future of Iraq. That operating in the most difficult circumstances imaginable, civil society was able to stop the U.S.A. of achieving its number one objective.  FYI, that's one interpretation and you can determine it's validity  for yourself.  I would pick apart several minor points, but overall would agree with the above.  With the above.  A few weeks back, Muttitt wrote a piece of nonsense after Brett McGurk was no longer a nominee for US Ambassador to Iraq.  He wanted to dismiss the affair with a journalist.  What Gina Chon did means she should never report again.  But it was just as wrong for McGurk.  What he did was in violation of US policies.  And he knew it which is why he hid it from Ryan Crocker -- as he admitted in an e-mail to Chon that was published.  For a reporter to sleep with a source is bad enough.  For her to then allow him to vet her copy is even worse.  By the same token, public servants aren't supposed to be secretly influencing their press.  But that's what McGurk did.  If he'd had an affair with a nurse, doctor, diplomat, etc., that would have been different.  The backpedeling on the Chon-McGurk scandal has really been something to see.  And it's going to be a scandal years from now.  Lot of 'last reporters standing' types are going to continue to churn out their cut and paste 'books' and, within five years, they'll have to include Chon-McGurk.  It's too big of an ethics story to ignore.  And when they do, let's hope that their book tours find many, many people asking, "Why didn't you weigh in in real time?"  And let's hope the answer of "I was carrying water for the administration" is greeted with the proper boos it deserves. In that idiotic post that Muttitt wrote, he also wanted to say the 'surge' was bad but the 'surge' was good.  Granted, he insisted it wasn't noble but he went with the tired myth that the "surge" "created the conditions for sectarian bloodshed to subside."  If you mean the increase in the number of US troops on the ground in Iraq allowed those Iraqis targeted  who couldn't flee to be hemmed in and hunted, absolutely.  But I don't think that's what he means.  Ethnic cleansing took place.  If you're on the left and you can't push that fact foward, then you need to hop on over to the right because you're not helping anyone on the topic of Iraq.  The "civil war" (ethnic cleansing) killed an unknown number -- still unknown -- and also forced the mass fleeing that created the biggest refugee crisis in the MidEast since 1948.  Equally true, Muttitt's history ignores the Democrats and the Democrats are very much a part of the benchmarks.  In real time, here, we repeatedly pushed back at the lie that these were Democratic benchmarks.  They were the White House's benchmarks.  But the Democrats wanted some form of benchmarks.  Jonathan Weisman and Shailagh Murray (Washington Post, May 3, 2007) reported, "House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) indicated that the next bill will include benchmarks for Iraq -- such as passing a law to share oil revenue, quelling religious violence and disarming sectarian militias -- to keep its government on course. Failure to meet benchmarks could cost Baghdad billions of dollars in nonmilitary aid, and the administration would be required to report to Congress every 30 days on the military and political situation in Iraq." Iraq may be of the richest oil regions in the world but all that excess oil has not translated into fewer squabbles than in other regions.  Sinan Salaheddin (AP) reports that Nouri al-Maliki's Baghdad-based government is thundering to the Turkish government about a deal that they made with the KRG to export "crude oil and gas to Turkey."  Nouri's spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh insists that the deal "is illegal and illegitimate" when, in fact, it's not.  It could be. Those benchmarks we were talking about -- Nouri agreed to pass an oil and gas law.  He never did.  And while the one the US wanted was awful for Iraq, nothing prevented him from proposing something different but he never did.  And what's he proposing now?  Saturday, Al Mada reported more on the Thursday night meeting between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi. Nouri asked that several bills introduced in previous sessions -- included the oil & gas draft -- be considered this session and Osama agreed.  So Nouri's still pushing that law -- one the Parliament doesn't want or hasn't thus far.  He could push something different but he chooses not to.  Without a national oil  and gas law, there's nothing preventing the KRG from making deals on the oil in their semi-autonomous region.  Maybe if Nouri had gotten off his lazy ass and did what he was supposed to in 2007, he'd have a valid complaint today.  All the lethargic tend to do is complain -- at that Nouri excels.  Raheem Salman, Sylvia Westall and Stephen Powell (Reuters) add that Ali al-Dabbagh threatened that the deal could harm Baghdad's relationship with Ankara.  And all along, we all thought the biggest harm to the relationship between Baghdad and Anakra was Nouri's big mouth.  KUNA reports the response from Turkey's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Selcuk Unal, "The conflict is between the government in Baghdad and the Kurdish administration and Turkey has no role in it." The Journal of Turkish Weekly quotes an unnamed Turkish official stating, "If there was a legal problem, we would not start exporting."  The journal notes that the back-and-forth is "the latest sign of cooling ties between Ankara and Baghdad, as well as between Baghdad and Arbil."  The Journal of Turkish Weekly also notes, "Turkey said on July 13 that it had begun importing 5 to 10 road tankers of crude oil a day from the northern region of Iraq and the volume could rise to 100-200 tankers per day."  There's still no heads to the security ministries.  Nouri's failed to nominate them.  He was supposed to have done that by the end of 2010.  2012 is over half-way over and still no heads to the security ministries.  In the most recent development on that front, Al Mada notes whispers that Nouri's State of Law is stating that if members of Iraqiya want to be nominated to the security ministries then they need to withdraw from Iraqiya first. As violence has increased, Nouri's done nothing. Last year, Iraqis took to the streets with a number of demands.  They wanted better security.  They also wanted their family and friends who were disappearing into the Iraqi 'legal' system to be treated fairly, to have their day in court and to be released when there was no reason to hold them. Al Mada reports that Iraqiya is calling on Nouri to follow the law with regards to prisoners, especially those facing execution, and noting that hundreds of innocent people remain in Iraqi prisons waiting years for trials that are repeatedly delayed.  They note that last September Amnesty International estimated there were at least 30,000 Iraqis in prisons still waiting for a trial. The protesters had several demands.   They wanted the basic utilities fixed and improved -- potable water, dependable electricity.  That hasn't happened either.  As that demand continues to be ignored, Al Mada reports that women suffer more from the power outages than do men in Iraq and among the reasons they cite is that women are more often responsible for the household chores and those are chores that have to be done whether there's eletricity or not while Iraqi men can leave the home and, in addition to cleaning and laundry, women are also most often responsible for preparing meals and the power outages also effect the ability to store and keep food as well as the appliances themselves.  Meals during power outages, the paper notes, are often meals in which an electric oven, blender, other electrical appliane or refrigerator cannot be utilized.  Last Thursday, Nouri met with Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.  Bit by bit, details leak out.  Al Rafidayn reports that State of Law's Yasin Majid states that the two men did not discuss the proposed no-confidence vote on Nouri during their meeting, that they only discussed draft laws.   All Iraq News reports that yesterday the PUK began working with the KDP and Goran (PUK and KDP are the two major political parties in the KRG; KRG President Massoud Barazani belongs to the KDP and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani belongs to the PUK; Goran -- also known as "Change" -- is a struggling third party) to discuss the no-confidence vote.  Alsumaria notes that National Alliance leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari visited Nujaifi's today and they discussed the never-ending political crisis with both sides agreeing that any solution must be Constitutional. None of the issues that led Iraqis to take to the street last year have been addressed -- despite Nouri swearing, as February ended, that if the Iraqi people would just give him 100 days, he would fix things.  He didn't fix a damn thing.  So is it any surprise that Alsumaria reports residents of Kirkuk took to the streets yesterday to protest? The people were protesting the imprisonments that Baghdad oversees in most of Iraq and that Erbil oversees in the KRG.  For those who have forgotten -- not hard to do since the US press misreported it -- this was what sparked the protests in Iraq.  It had nothing to do with the Arab Spring in other countries. The US press ignored the Iraq protests until they could pretend it was 'sparked' by the Arab Spring.  So a new wave of protests could be coming to Iraq. Al Rafidayn reports that Nouri met with US Central Command General James Mattis on Sunday.  Why?  To ask the US to speed upt he delivery of weapons.  All Iraq News also covers the meeting and includes a photo of the two.  AFP adds, "The Iraqi premier also pointedly said during a meeting with General James Mattis, the visiting head of US Central Command, that only the central government would decide which arms purchases would be made, in an apparent swipe at Kurdish complaints over the acquisition of F-16 warplanes."  Defense World adds, "Iraq has agreed to acquire American military equipment worth more than $10 billion, including 36 F-16 warplanes, tanks, artillery, helicopters and patrol boats which are not delivered for years to the Iraq."  Turning to the US, Karen Jeffrey (Capecodoline) reports last week Iraq War veteran Vincent Mannion-Broudeur and his family were invited onstage at rock legend Stevie Nicks' concert and she dedicated "Soldier's Angel" to him "and all wounded warriors."  I am a soldier's memory As I write down these words I try to write their stories And explain them to the world I float through the halls of the hospitals I am a soldier's nurse I keep the tears inside And put them down in verse -- "Soldier's Angel," written by Stevie Nicks, from her new album In Your Dreams The two had met in 2007 when Stevie was on one of her regular visits to Walter Reed where she usually sits and talks to as many veterans as she can and also drops off iPods for them.  Stevie's on tour promoting her latest hit album and, as Kat noted Friday, then Stevie grabs some ribbons and some bows and gets back out on the road next year with her bandmates in Fleetwood Mac. Onto radio,  Smiley and West -- Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West's weekly PRI radio program -- featured Rosanne Barr.  Early in the show, they played a clip from an episode of the classic TV show Roseanne. Mike Summers:  Hi, I'm Mike Summers, your state representative.  How ya doing? Roseanne:  Great. Mike Summers:  Good.  I'm going door-to-door trying to get to know my constituents Roseanne:  Oh. Door-to-door, huh?  That takes a lot of time. Why don't you just go down to the unemployment office and see everybody at once. Mike Summers: I hear you.  And you're right.  We can't let this area's work force lay idle.  That's why bringing in new business is my number one priority. Roseanne:  How? Mike Summers:  Through tax incentives.  See, we're going to make it cheaper for out-of-state businesses to set up shop right here in Landford. Roseanne:  So they get a tax break? Mike Summers:  Yeah, that's why they come here. Roseanne:  Well who's going to pay the taxes that they ain't paying? Mike Summers:  Well -- you-you will.  But you'll be working.  Good, steady employment. Roseanne:  Union wages? Mike Summers:  Well now part of the reason these companies are finding it so expensive to operate in other locations -- Roseanne:  So they're going to dump the union so they can come here and hire us at scab wages and then, for that privilage, we get to pay their taxes. Mike Summers:  Is your husband home? That's from season four's "Aliens" episode written by Roseanne, Jeff Abugov, Joel Madison and Ron Nelson with a credit handed out to Matt Williams for doing nothing but trying to look pretty (he failed) while he stood around.  Mike Summers was played by Mark Blum.  Click here for the clip at YouTube. Tavis Smiley: So given your understanding of how dysfunctional the process is, what even interests you -- or interested you -- to even want to put yourself on the ballot? Roseanne Barr:  I wanted to see if it was possible, you know?  I wanted to see what it would be like to be the spokesperson for an idea -- to encourage people that maybe this time they didn't have to vote for the lesser of two evils, that maybe this time they would hear their highest ideals voiced by a candidate who they could vote for. Tavis Smiley:  Mmm-hmm. Roseanne Barr:  And I just wanted to, my experiment was how would that turn out?  Like watching how the money interests in this country -- specifically Citizens United and all the other things that -- since Reagan -- have sold our country and its people down the tubes and packed its bag and moved to another country with the jobs and the public money in their pocket too. Tavis Smiley: Does this seem in some ways like deja vu for you? Talking about the sitcom and what it was about and when it aired?  Does this moment in American history have a deja vu moment for you? Roseanne Barr:  It does in so many ways because in so many ways it's sad because, oh, I tried so hard.  I tried to tell people what was coming. Of course, I was rewarded handsomely.   But, of course, like a lot of professional athletes who get like contracts for 20 million to play a sport and that looks like a lot of money 'till you look at what the owners are taking down.  So I did become rich but I didn't become anywhere near as rich as the people I was working for who made billions when I made a few millions and did all the work.  So I tried to tell people, I put myself on the line every week on that show and my whole life and everything to let the American people know what was coming that they were being marginalized by their own government and robbed.  And, you know, here it is and it's just like now when I watch my show, it's even more relevant now then it was then because it's all happening and everybody sees it now.  It's not a big secret.  And it's not just a small group of people who know, now everybody knows. Roseanne will not be the Green Party presidential nominee.  But she's not out of the race according to her Twitter feed this election which includes:   15 Jul Roseanne Barr ‏@TheRealRoseanne please leave your name and the cabinet job u could perform in my administration- thanks! I already have 900 ppl signed up! need thousands Expand Reply Retweet Favorite I like Roseanne.  Ann, Ava and I wrote "Roseanne: The Green Party's greatest gift in 2012" for Third yesterday.  There are e-mails to the public account assuming that because I know and like her I will be voting for her if she sticks to her independent run.  And that I plan to do that without ever announcing it until the last minute.  In other words, this argument says I'm full of s**t.  I'm sure I am full of it for many reasons. But that's not one of them. But while I applaud Roseanne for many things and think she could accomplish a great deal in an independent run (including making the Green Party stand up), I wouldn't vote for her for president.  Go back to the Tavis Smiley and Cornel West interview.  There's no logic there or straight thinking -- only fear. Roseanne 'dislikes' Mormons.  I'm not tossing out anything that's not well known -- read her first book and her second book if this is news to you.  Her remarks about Mitt Romeny are  fear-based.  I love Roseanne but I don't trust her because she's governed by a lifetime of fear with regards to Mormons and that's why she's making crazy statements about how if Mitt wins the White House in 2012 that could be the last election. To which I say, Roseanne, put down the bong and let go of your childhood.  Truly, America has enough fears without you adding baseless ones to them.  In Roseanne's 'logic,' Mitt is buying the  2012 election.  And what, Roseanne?  He doesn't have the money to buy it twice?  He's going to buy it once and then outlaw voting?  That's not going to happen. That's insanity and the fears of a little non-Mormon girl growing up scared and frightened  in Utah.   I don't have a high tolerance for those who try to instill fear.  You try to scare me and I'm going to yawn and be ticked off at you for thinking you could force me into doing what you want me to do by scaring me.  That doesn't mean she needs to drop out or if she expands her independent campaign (Green Tea Party) beyond Twitter, we won't cover it.  Of course we will.  I hope she expands into a full -- offline -- run for the office.  But it does mean I'm not voting for her.  So, no, I will not be voting for Roseanne. I think she's a wonderful comedian, a great actress, a lively author but I think she's still too governed by fear to lead.   And I refuse to be. And that, cleaned up, is the sort of response the Jill Stein campaign needs to have to Roseanne.  The Stein campaign needs to be saying things like, "We refuse to live in fear, we refuse to be governed by fear." Monica Hesse (Washington Post) reports on the Green Party convention and wrongly notes that Roseanne was in Hawaii.  She taped the interview with Tavis in New York City.  She taped that mid-week, last week.  If she was in Hawaii on Saturday, it was because she choce to fly out there.  Her being in Hawaii was not an excuse for her to skip out on the convention.  She announced Wednesday (see "Roseanne Barr's sour grapes" and "Stein's choice is Honkala") that she would not be attending the convention.  The best part of Hesse's article is probably this: "While the rest of America either pits Romney as a corporate robot or Obama as a socialist maniac, the people at this convention see them both as the same thing: bad Romney is like the school bully, says Ben Manski, Stein's campaign chief, but Obama is like the guy who says he'll help you fight the bully, then doesn't show up.  The Greens have had enough." At Jezebel Doug Barry appears to take issue with media coverage of Cheri Honkala "whose epithet in NPR's report is "formerly homeless single mother."  In her Weekend Edition Sunday (NPR -- link is audio, text and transcript), Allison Keyes does refer to Jill Stein's running mate as a "formerly homeless single mother."  But she does so because that's what Cheri Honkala declared in her acceptance speech on Saturday.  Ann, Ava and I covered this at Third: In accepting the vice presidential nomination on Saturday, Cheri Honkala declared, "I stand here today as a formerly homeless mother, a single mother of two children, Mark [Webber] and Guillermo Santos." [Disclosure C.I. loosely knows Mark Webber and finds him impressive. C.I. also knows Roseanne and finds her "inspiring and insightful."] That's an interesting story.  It's one that goes to her experience and her qualifications. She continued, "Something just didn't seem right to me, especially that day when I had to tell my nine-year-old son Mark that we were no longer going to be living in an apartment.  Instead, we would have to move in to our car.  But on a cold winter night in Minnesota, I lost my home the car when I parked my car and a drunk driver hit and totaled it.  Unable to find shelter in the dead of the winter in Minnesota, I faced an important decision: Occupy a heated, abandoned house or risk freezing to death on the streets of America." Ian Wilder (On The Wilderside) noted Sunday, "After spending the whole year exclusively convering only the two corporate party candidates.  Democracy Now! breaks away [Friday]  to give a third party candidate some coverage.  Unfortunately, this is the same timing chosen by the corporate media such as the New York Times because it is the Green Party Presidential convention.  Please let Democracy Now! know that you expect them to live up to their name and give equal time to third party candidates throughout the remainder of the presidential race.  Democracy Now! is supposed to be the War and Peace Report, they should give equal time to peace candidates such as Jill Stein that they give to war candidates such as Obama and Romney."  I think Ian Wilder is 100% correct and if you care about the Green Party, a level playing field, basic fairness, independent media making a point to cover independents or any combination, you should support Ian's call. We'll note Stein's campaign again this week.  If Roseanne goes beyond Twitter, we'll note her campaign.  I have no plans to vote.  The fear tactics* have wiped me out and killed my interest. (*Fear tactics include the Democrats misguided "War on Women."  Yes, there is a War on Women. No, the Democratic Party's hands are not clean.  And some of the same women who stabbed Hillary in the back in 2008 are kidding themselves if they think most women are going to take them seriously in 2012 as suddenly now they're concerned about the way women are treated.)  We will cover women who run for the presidency.  Good to know that Jezebel will as well (click here for notable outlets that won't bother to cover women who run for the presidency).  We'll close with this from the Michigan Green Party. Press Release For Immediate Release For more information contact John Anthony La Pietra, elections coordinator for Michigan: (269)781-9478 or email at jalp@triton.net Michigan Makes Significant Showing At Green Party National Convention Michigan Greens had a strong presence among the thirty-four states represented at the Green Party's national convention in Baltimore this past weekend. Michigan was represented not only by ten delegates and six proxy votes, but also with a featured speech to the delegates by activist Reverend Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor. The Green Party of Michigan earned ballot access in 2000 with a successful petition campaign and has maintained access every year since. For the November election, Michigan voters have a choice of Green candidates on all levels of government throughout the state, including for President and Vice-President of the United States. Dr. Jill Stein of Massachusetts, the officially nominated Green Party candidate for President, has promoted a "Green New Deal" - a series of policies designed to undo the damage done by the previous administrations' poor management of the country without the continuing downturn assured with either a Democratic or Republican president. Her running mate, Cheri Honkala of Pennsylvania, ran for sheriff of Philadelphia and campaigned against unjust foreclosures and evictions. Dr. Stein has already toured Michigan twice, and raised enough in individual contributions here to help her become the first Green Party member to qualify for Federal matching funds. At the national convention, Michigan delegates gave Dr. Stein nine of their 16 votes, in proportion to the first-choice votes in the state party's straw poll tallied at the state convention. Visit http://www.jillstein.org/ for more information on the Stein-Honkala campaign. For a list of Green candidates nominated by the party in Michigan, visit the "Elections 2012" tab of GPMI's new Website (http://www.MIGreenParty.org/node/13).   # # # Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala campaign Website: www.JillStein.org Green Party of Michigan candidates for 2012: http://www.MIGreenParty.org/node/13 iraq the guardian richard norton-taylor chris ames iraq inquiry digest npr weekend edition allison keyes stevie nicks the telegraph of london gordon rayner the financial times of london xinhua alsumaria  all iraq news al rafidayn  al mada kitabat jonathan weisman the washington post shailagh murray