If you live in the United States, this is now the question you are faced with. It has just been revealed that the torture photographs Barack Obama is hiding include those showing U.S. military personnel raping male and female prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
The Daily Telegraph reports: “At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee. Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube.”
Retired U.S. General Antonio Taguba, who oversaw the Abu Ghraib investigation, plainly acknowledged: “These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency.”
That's from Malcolm Shore's "Is Rape OK with you?" (World Can't Wait). And you should pair it with Jacob G. Hornberger's "Was Rape an Enhanced Interrogation Technique?" (Information Clearing House):
There are those who argue that U.S. officials who authorized waterboarding and who performed waterboarding should not be held criminally accountable, notwithstanding the fact that the U.S. government prosecuted Japanese military personnel who waterboarded U.S. POWs during World War II. Their reasoning goes as follows: Since the president’s attorneys redefined torture to mean only those actions that threaten death or serious injury to bodily organs, waterboarding did not meet that redefinition.
What about rape? It would seem that rape, like waterboarding, would not meet the Bush administration’s redefinition of torture. Rape doesn’t threaten death or serious injury to bodily organs. Should U.S. officials who authorized enhanced interrogation techniques be let off the hook for rapes committed by U.S. officials as part of enhanced interrogations of detainees?
That of course begs the question: Were people raped as part of the U.S. government’s enhanced interrogation techniques?
Well, think back to the Abu Ghrab photos and videos, which depicted sordid sexual acts being committed by U.S. personnel on Iraqi prisoners. You may have forgotten that there was a particular set of photos and videos that were never released to the public because they depicted acts that were apparently much worse than anything that was shown in the photos that were released. Therefore, U.S. officials decided to keep those particular photos and videos under lock and key.
Over the long weekend, I did "Kat's Korner: David Saw, Why Didn't You Hear?" and "Kat's Korner: Tori Amos, the friend you fear for" and I plan to do at least one this weekend. Plan to. It may not work out that way.
But that is my plan. Thank you so much to C.I. who a) helped me go over all of my scraps of papers and pull them into two reviews and b) explained to me Tori was distributed by Universal in the US. (I had Island.)
Now I want to talk about the lying sack of s**t Sara Jane Moore and the eternal fool Matt Lauer. Sara Jane Moore attempted to kill then-President Gerald Ford. She was not the first to try to do so (Squeaky From beat her by a few weeks). Sara Jane Moore is out of prison. She shouldn't be.
She shouldn't be because if we're not giving the death penalty (I don't think we should) we don't need to be letting people sentenced to life out early. That tends to give fuel to the people who believe in the death penalty.
There was lying Sara on Today this morning with fool Matt. She never said her crime. She said her mistake.
She also wishes she hadn't done it. Today. But I've got a copy of Newsweek at the house from 2008 where Sara Jane Moore is saying she wished she'd succeeded.
The liar also wants you to know that she was a radical and people need to know, man, there was a war going on. Vietnam, man.
Sara's a f**king liar. The fall of Saigon (generally considered the end of the war) was in April of 1975. Sara's using the war that ended in April 1975 as her excuse for attempting to kill Gerald Ford in September 1975.
Five months.
Five months later.
She's a liar.
She's also was an FBI informant. No one considered her to be left or radical. Everyone thought that Jesus freak (which she was) was an informer. A snitch. And she was. A paid one for the FBI. Shortly before she shot Ford, she even admitted it.
But it was already known.
She was only admitting to it then because she was trying to get herself out of the corner she'd painted. She was trying to say, "If I were still an FBI informant, would I be telling you I used to be one?"
Sara's a liar. Her ass belongs in jail. Not once in the interview with Matt Lauer was there any remorse. Nor did she own up to her crimes. But she did try to LIE and blame them on the Vietnam war which had ended five months before she tried to shoot Ford.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Thursday, May 28, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, Steven D. Green is back in court, Abeer's family does not accept his prepared words, Cindy Sheehan is censored on YouTube, Iraq's LGBT community is still under assault and more.
Iraq Veterans Against the War held their Winter Soldier Investigation in the DC area in March of 2008. That was broadcast at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday with Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz anchoring Pacifica's live coverage. (It was also broadcast at the IVAW site.) That was their first Winter Soldier. They recently had another in Pasadena. Iraq Veterans Against the War explains:
Winter Soldier Southwest was a great success. There were more than half a dozen camera crews shooting it for purposes ranging from independent media to anti-war documentaries. The panelists were quite moving and the audience was extremely supportive and full of positive energy. We want to thank everyone that helped put the event together, including all the panelists from VVAW, VFP, MFSO and Gold Star Families. Most profoundly moving was the testimony of the Gold Star Families panel. Quite a number of panelists testimonies have found their way onto the internet already, below is a short list of a few links to what's out there
Yesterday we noted Ryan Endicott, today we'll note Sgt Christopher Gallagher. In addition, IVAW notes the testimony of Devon Read, this compilation video and this compilation video. We'll note Devon Read's testimony tomorrow.
Christopher Gallagher: My unit was 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines. I joined the Marine Corps right at 9-11out of patriotism and love for my country. I was part of the invasion force and two tours following that. While sitting around in Kuwait in early 2003, we were told to write a final letter to our families and put it on [. . .] sea bags that were to be left behind and then sent to your family if you died in Iraq. This is a picture of the letter I wrote. Many of the troops, including myself, were sent to Iraq with inadequate armor. I drove a Hummer into Iraq. It had only a plastic canvas for protection while I was driving directly behind armored troop carriers. I was not issued ballistic plates for my flak jacket. Whole battalions of officers were issued ballistic plates along with the line companies. But to the government, I was expendable and did not rate to have such life-saving, personal protection. I vividly remember one night after being up for nearly five days straight I was on a closed parameter roving post outside the commanding operation center when artillery rounds started landing. The next day I found out it was friendly fire. And these rounds were landing only a few hundred yards away -- which if you've ever been around 120 millimeter round, land near you, it's pretty insane. It made me realize how close I had come to death and it made me angry that I didn't have ballistic plates.
After my unit had taken Baghdad and helped pull the statue of Saddam Hussein down, there was a short-lived celebration. This brings me to my next issue -- of where an official Defense Department story meets with true reality on the ground. On April 14, 2003, Cpl Jason Mileo of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines was murdered by a Force Recon Sniper. Cpl Mileo had apparently taken off his helmet and was smoking a cigarette at night with his rifle next to him and was mistaken for an insurgent. I had been providing security at night along with several others of my platoon on that roof. For several nights prior to Force Recon relieving us and I had not noticed anything significant to report in that time. There was nothing out there. I hadn't seen anything. And as soon as Force Recon had taken over, I was hearing shots coming from the roof constantly and it made me wonder what the hell were they shooting at? Then the night of April 14, 2003, my company gunnery sergeant had called from the roof and was raising hell. That's when I found out one of the marines from India Company had been shot by one of the cowboys from Force Recon. On my third tour, I had been on the government issued computer and found the investigation case file for the incident on a military web server. The report went on to say that the platoon commander and the sergeant had been derelict in their duty. They failed to do proper, routine patrol overlay and negated to send in a position report to let the battalion know where they were at. To my knowledge, no one was reprimanded and some were later promoted. The Defense Department stated that he died from hostile friendly fire and that the incident was under investigation. It was a shocking reminder to everybody about the truth and what really goes on down there compared to what the government is telling you at home.
Forced Recon and their tabloid ways proved deadly for my unit once again. April 7, 2005, Lance Cpl Juan Venegas, who was one of the snipers in my unit, was on a mission in Falluja. He was in a hide when a patrol of Force Recon Marines drove up in their Hummers and then, mistaking him for an insurgent, running him over with their vehicles. The official story released by the Defense Department stated that he was involved in a hostile vehicle accident that was under investigation. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of a hostile vehicle accident before. It's a shame that a young man -- through my research -- he wanted to become a boxer and too many lives have been lost that -- you can't take it away from these guys -- they're young men that want to serve their country and this story is just -- it got to me.
And I'm going to go back to my second tour in Iraq. I was stationed at a dam in Haditha. Things were completely different from my first tour. I had seen the presence of contractors doing military jobs such as cooks, truck drivers and security mercenaries like Blackwater. They were doing these jobs and getting paid five times more than I was. At the dam, marines were providing security for the dam below it as were Azerbaijani soldiers who were poorly trained and equipped. They were very trigger happy and shot at and sometimes killed fisherman who got to close to the damn. During that tour it was the first time I noticed the change in the demeanor that the Iraqis had towards us. During the invasion, the streets of Baghdad were filled with people cheering "Bush good, Saddam bad!" In 2004, the Iraqis called protests in the town of Haditha against the occupation. Typical response for this was to have fighter jets fly over the crowd and scare them away. So much for winning the hearts and the minds of the Iraqi people we were supposed to be doing. In January 2005, I was stationed in Falluja about three hundred yards from the bridge where the Blackwater contractors bodies were hung in April 2004. We were relieving a marine infantry unit that had fought during the heavy fighting in the city carrying out Operation Phantom Fury. I was the radio operator for an 81 millimeter mortar platoon and our task was to run a checkpoint outside Falluja making sure that no insurgents return to Falluja. During the transition, I met a few young marines who were reservists from an artillery unit. It was there job to clean up all the dead bodies of the insurgents and the foreign fighters after the operation was finished. They had taken all the enemy to a place we called The Potato Factory where the bodies were stripped and checked for identification by CIA agents.
So after we got the checkpoint up and running, smoothly, the marines from my platoon were given jobs such as issuing identification to everyone re-entering the city by retinal scanning them and giving them a badge they had to show to get back into the city they were forced from. After they were retinal scanned with the biometric system known as BATS [Biometrics Automated Toolset System], they had to pass in front of a BATS scanner scan that was supposed to scan for heat variation to see if someone was carrying a weapon. This piece of equipment that probably cost more than most Americans homes, didn't work too well in the heat. If the government hasn't noticed, Iraq is in a desert and it's hot most of the year. Now if you look at this picture behind me, you can see it's winter time and there are no leaves on the tree of course it's going to work when it's cold out. The Iraqis were herded like cattle through the checkpoint as if they were animals. If any Iraqis voiced their opinion for the way they were being treated, the Iraqi police we had at our checkpoint would handle the situation by harassing and assaulting them.
Looking back on my third tour, it seems Orwellian to me with the CIA involvement and all that Big Brother-esque type of equipment and technology being used to enslave the Iraqis in their own country.
I still love my country and I feel that the most patriotic thing we can do is to let the world know that US imperialism is wrong. And I finish today by saying something that I've heard a million times and I've said myself: You can't bring democracy through the barrel of a gun.
Again, we'll note Devon Read tomorrow.
"Most of all I am sorry for the deceased, but aside from them, I am the most sorry for the boys whose family are gone. I know what we did left a hole in their lives, and scars on their minds, and that there is no making up for that. I only hope for them that they can somehow, and I don't know how, move forward, and have a good future despite the nightmare in their past that I helped create. They have my apologies and my prayers, as meaningless as they must seem," declared Steven D. Green in court today. May 7th, former US soldier Steven D. Green was found guilty on all counts for his role in the Iraq War Crimes from March 12, 2006, when Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi was gang-raped and murdered, her five-year-old sister was murdered and both of her parents were murdered. May 21st, the federal jury deadlocked on the death penalty and instead kicking in sentence to life in prison. September 4th, Green is scheduled to stand before US District Judge Thomas B. Russell for sentencing. This morning AP reported that Abeer's family would provide testimony to Judge Russell on the damage and destruction to them as a result of the War Crimes and are doing that because they need to return to Iraq. Green's pre-written statement (which he claimed to be the author of) also included, "I am truly sorry for what I did in Iraq and I am sorry for the pain my actions, and the actions of my co-defendants, have caused you and your family. I imagine it is a pain that I cannot fully comprehend or appreciate. I helped to destroy a family and end the lives of four of my fellow human beings, and I wish that I could take it back, but I cannot. And, as inadequate as this apology is, it is all I can give you."
The apology or 'apology' did not go over well with Hajia al-Janabi (Abeer's aunt). Andrew Wolfson (Courier-Journal) reports she denounced Green "as a coward, a criminal and a 'stigma on the United States'," attempted to approach him and was "restrained by a half-dozen court security officers." Wolfson notes that Mahdi al-Janabi then went back to the witness stand to express, "We do not accept your apology at all." WKLY has text and video:
Ann Bowdan: An outburst in federal court after relatives of an Iraqi family killed by a Kentucky-based soldier addressed the suspect for the first time. Steven Green was faced with the death penalty but will receive a life sentence instead. Hailee Lampert was in court today during this morning's and she's live downtown to tell us what happened.
Hailee Lampert: Ann, this was the most emotional, intense court hearing I have ever been to. At one point, the victim's grandmother got so upset she had to be restrained by multiple law enforcement agents who actually began escorting her out of the court room until she literally collapsed on the floor beside the bench where I was sitting. She was literally within arm's reach of me. And she was beside herself. She was that striken with grief.
Hailee Lampert adds that both of Abeer's brothers testified briefly.
Hailee Lampert: And at a certain point, the prosecutor pointed out Steven Green and one of the boys took a moment to look at him. His face remained stoic and cold and he was asked if he had anything to say to the suspect and the boy said "no." Then the man's sister took the stand and said, "I am not honored to look at Steven Green and I don't want to see his face." She said she doesn't understand why Green would would cross all those continents and oceans to come to Iraq and kill her family. She spoke directly to Steven Green, referring to him on multiple occassions as a coward and a criminal without mercy. Then the 14-year-old's grandmother took the stand echoing similar sentiments. Remember for her it was the first time being in the same room as the man convicted of killing her son and his family. Again the prosecutor pointed out Steven Green in the court room and after giving her testimony the elderly woman got up and began approching Green saying she just wanted to get a look at her. But as she began moving closer, law enforcement stepped in and physically held her back until she fell down crying on the ground beside the bench where I was sitting. Now at that point, the judge did allow her to stay in the court once she had calmed down a little but the uncle took the stand as well.
In another report, Hailee Lampert (WLKY -- text and video) quotes the aunt stating, "The wounds are eating my heart. But he has no conscience.." The uncle is quoted stating, "The face of this innocent girl, that face will be chasing you in that dark cell you will be in until the last day of your life. Abir will follow you in your nightmares. On Judgment Day, you will see what your hand has done to us and to your nation."
Throughout the trial, editorial boards repeatedly ignored the case (here for an exception). Today a letter appears in the Salt Lake Tribune:
The decision by the jury for U.S. "soldier" Steven Green is absolutely outrageous ("Sentence for rapist-killer brings Iraqi outrage," Tribune , May 23). A life sentence is unimaginably unjust. The conduct of the U.S. military members involved in this case is as horrific as any act committed by any small group of terrorists. It cannot be condoned; it cannot be tolerated. In essence, we are terrorists. These military members should never have been in Iraq in the first place. I am embarrassed to be a U.S. citizen. I feel anguish for a family that was assaulted, raped and systematically assassinated by U.S. servicemen who scarcely deserve to be called human. Green and his cohorts should be executed. But apparently four murders is not enough. Let us not feel any sorrow for Green, but rather for the members of the Janabi family who were unmercifully slaughtered: a 6-year-old girl; her 14-year-old sister, Abeer Qassim Janabi, who was gang raped and shot in the face by Green with an AK-47; and their parents -- all burned in their home near Baghdad.If this is the price of freedom, who wants it? Tony FratesSalt Lake City
Meanwhile Cindy Sheehan reports she was censored by YouTube. She and Clifford Roddy created a short film entitled finaledit and she posted it to her YouTube page only to have YouTube pull the video down because the realities of war must never be seen, even on the allegedly free speech web. Cindy writes, "I am sorry (sarcasm) that our video 'violated' You Tube's terms of service, but the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan not only violate my terms of service, but international law." Cindy Sheehan's currently on a speaking tour and these are some of the upcoming dates:
Phoenix: June 5th
Dallas: June 7th and 8th
Waco: June 9th
Austin: June 10th and 11th
Nashville: June 14-16
St. Petersburg, FL: June 17-18
Philadelphia: June 20-23
NYC: June 24-26
Cape Cod: June 27-29
New Hampshire: June 30 - July 1
San Francisco: July 3 - 5 (Socialist Conference)
Cleveland: July 8-9 (National Assembly to end the Iraq War)
Pittsburgh: July 11-12
Norfolk, VA: July 15-18
Vashon Island, Washington: July 25-26
In today's New York Times, Timothy Williams' "Bomb Kills G.I. in Baghdad as Attacks Keep Rising" covers multiple topics (including corruption, the pipeline to Turkey, etc.). Williams notes that May -- a month not yet over -- is already the deadliest month for US troops in Iraq since September 2008 when the monthly toll was 25. Aamer Madhani (USA Today) also covers that news and notes, "Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has said that he would be willing to stay longer in hot spots, such as Mosul, if asked by the Iraqi government. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that he expects all U.S. troops to withdraw as scheduled." They will be staying in Baghdad -- a fact Williams forgets in his report today despite the fact that his colleague Rod Nordland already reported on that for the Times. Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report the US military base by Basra base was targeted with rockets (British 'combat' troops left yesterday) and a Mosul roadside bombing which claimed 1 life and left four people injured. Reuters has the Mosul roadside bombing targeting a woman serving on the region's provincial council.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report Talib Chiad ("leading recruiter for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq") was shot dead in his home in Diwaniyah Province.
Corpses?
Reuters notes a corpse discovered in Kirkuk.
ABC News' Mazin Faiq reports on the targeting of Iraq's LGBT community and notes, "The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs believes as many as 30 people have been killed during the last three months because they were -- or were perceived to be -- gay." ChicagoPride picks up the story, as does UPI which notes an Iraqi soldier stating, "Two young men were killed Thursday. They were sexual deviants," and that's it. The ongoing targeting has NEVER been a segment on Democracy Now! nor has it been a full hour broadcast. What is going on gets no coverage. Reruns is all they have to offer for the Iraq War. Which is why Goody jumped on the gas bag (and will be on it tomorrow again) over an earlier Iraq War story. Duncan Gardham and Paul Cruickshank (Telegraph of London) cover what has everyone chattering this morning about the torture photos Barack Obama refuses to release:
At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube. Another apparently shows a female prisoner having her clothing forcibly removed to expose her breasts. Detail of the content emerged from Major General Antonio Taguba, the former army officer who conducted an inquiry into the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq.
Andrew Gray and Ross Colvin (Reuters) report the Pentagon has "attacked the report" and its accuracy and the White House has "strongly denied" the Telegraph of London's report. Racist Robert Gibbs -- whom Barack appointed White House spokesperson in a deliberate slap to all people from and living in India -- played his usual drama queen self, snapping, "Let's just say if I wanted to read a write-up today of how Manchester United fared last night in the Champions League Cup, I might open up a British newspaper. If I was looking for something that bordered on truthful news, I'm not entirely sure it'd be the first stack of clips I picked up." Gibbs is really begging the Telegraph of London to pick up the story GQ buried to protect their Dream Lover Barack. Gibbs will not benefit from that story surfacing.
Yesterday on KPFA's Flashpoints, Robert Knight noted that British 'combat' forces left Iraq yesterday (British forces remain in Iraq). Despite the fact that British "combat" troops are out, five hostages remain held. CNN reports that David Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, is calling for their release. James Sturcke (Guardian of Manchester) adds:Peter Moore, an IT consultant from Lincoln, and four bodyguards were seized in Baghdad by a group of 40 armed men dressed in police uniforms.Moore's stepmother, Pauline Sweeney, said the relatives had been given hope by the release of a video two months ago in which her stepson looked "a lot, lot healthier".Below is David Miliband's statement in full:"It is two years since five British men were abducted from the Finance Ministry in Iraq. I don't think that any of us can imagine their ordeal nor the anguish that their families and friends have had to suffer during this dreadful time. "We have seen the humanitarian appeals that the families of the men have made. I'd like to support this appeal. Our thoughts are with them all as they continue to endure the pain of being separated from their loved ones. "We are totally committed to working for the safe release of the men. There is a dedicated team from across government, including people on the ground in Baghdad, working tirelessly with the Iraqi authorities and Coalition partners to help bring this about. We are grateful to Prime Minister Maliki and all our allies for their support and continue working with them and with anyone who may be able to help. "The Iraq of today is a different place to that of two years ago. There are signs of progress and reconciliation as the Iraqi people show their commitment to a democratic and peaceful future. Hostage-taking has no part in that future. We call on those holding all hostages to release them immediately and unconditionally and return them safely to their families where they belong."Not everyone is thrilled with Miliband. From Peter Dominiczak and Ben Bailey's "David Miliband accused of 'not giving a damn' over British hostages" (This is London):But Mr Miliband's comments were overshadowed by criticism from the father of one of the hostages, who said the Government had failed his son. The hostages, who have not been officially named, are IT consultant Peter Moore and four security guards. Peter's father Graeme Moore, 59, of Leicester, said: "The Foreign Office and the government don't give a damn." In a separate attack, Iraq's national security adviser added to the pressure on Mr Miliband by saying Britain should do more to secure the release of the five men, who have been seen only in videos released following their capture. In an email to The Times, Mowaffak al-Rubaie said: "The families of the hostages should work on the Western governments to be much more proactive in their approach to this."
Personal note breaking in and then back to politics. At Ruth's site "Ruth's off in Japan" and "Barack may be post-racial; however, our society is not" have gone up this week. Those posts and others this week are written by Ann (Cedric's wife). Ruth's in Japan on vacation. She'll be gone for at least two more weeks. Next week, the guest blogging will be done on a rotating basis but Ann's grabbing this week. I mean to note that each morning and never have time. Does it belong in the snapshot? Considering how many things I work in for friends and strangers, I think we can take the time to note Ann guesting for Ruth. Back to the politics.
In No Fool Like An Old Fool, Socialist Grace Lee Boggs -- who didn't and doesn't hide in a political closet -- still managed to make a damn fool of herself in 2008 as she glommed on Barack blindly because 'the kids like him'. When you're over 90 years old, life's not supposed to be about what Dick Clark's spinning on American Bandstand and you're supposed to be the one imparting wisdom. Grace now seems to realize she was played for a fool (actually, she played herself for a fool) but can't bring herself to speak reality except to make a few meek moans about war. Say goodnight, Gracie, no one needs your crap. If you don't have your honesty, you've got nothing. Gracie lies, LIES, and says "gays" are now welcome thanks to Barack. Reality, you old fool, Barack's the reason Proposition 8 passed in California. You can be a fool like Roseanne Barr and blame 'gay leaders'. Roseanne, into nutso land again, echoes Sherry Wolf's ludicrous b.s. Reality, it doesn't matter who was part of the reach out opposing Prop 8 when Barack was part of the reach out on the other side. The media darling allowed his voice to be used to argue against marriage equality in robo calls and he REFUSED to call those robo calls out. He refused. When some group associated with John McCain or in McCain's proximity did this or that, Barry O and his Cult wanted an apology, wanted this and that. But Barry O never did a damn thing to call out homophobes using his words to make their argument. That's why the ban on same-sex marriage passed. Don't lie. Don't cover for the ass. And Barry O's silence? It was just like what we saw in the primaries. "John Edwards is being mean to me! He promised not to do this negative campaigning! He must stop or I will cry and wet my pants." So Edwards pulls the ads and mere days later Barack's doing negative ads on Edwards and won't pull them. WILL NOT PULL THEM. That's how it works in Barry O land. And he better own the fact that he was used to rally people to support homophobia. He better own it the same damn way he better own embracing homophobes and putting them onstage at his events in the primaries and in the general. Barack's not just given homophobia a pass, the asshole's embraced it, he's humped homophobia and come up grinning. He's a damn liar. And Roseanne, you are in nutso territory now. You need to get a grip real damn quick. Here's the first clue for you, that little event you have planned next month? You look like a damn fool and a crazy woman. You're going to be onstage with a woman who claims she was a CIA sex slave -- claims Senator Robert Byrd controlled her -- and, here's the kicker for Roseanne -- claims that among the people she was forced to sexually service was Hillary Clinton. Roseanne, that would be who you endorsed in the Democratic Party primary. (Roseanne then ended up supporting Cynthia McKinney's run for president.) You look like a damn fool. And you sound highly uninformed or, yes, STUPID, on your radio show chattering away about how much you trust this woman (whom you haven't met and whose story you obviously didn't check out) and how great the event's going to be. Grace Lee Boggs and Roseanne Barr, two working hard to be big time fools this week. And, at that, they succeed. No links to Grace, no links to Roseanne when she's being crazy. From crazy to sane. Yesterday, Bob Somerby (Daily Howler) had a strong critique which (unknowingly, I'm sure) was reminiscent of the spirit of the 1970 Women's Strike Day profile of Ben Bradlee by Washington Post's female staff including B.J. Phillips. (That's not an endorsement for the Supreme Court. That's an endoresement of Somerby's strong critique.) [For those unfamiliar with the profile, it was putting Bradlee through the prism the Post put all women through in profiles at that time: did spouse approve of their working, did they have permission, did they have a trim little figure, etc.]
Lastly, this link takes you to NOW on PBS' debate on gay marriage featuring Maggie Gallagher who believes that allowing gays and lesbians to use the same water fountains as straights is quite enough, thank you and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom who supports equality for all. As noted before, disclosure, I know Gavin, I love Gavin, he's wonderful. (PBS asked for that link, not Gavin. If Gavin had asked, it would have gone in Tuesday's snapshot instead of waiting until I could squeeze it in.)
iraq
andrew wolfson
cindy sheehan
tony fratesthe salt lake tribunetimothy williamsthe new york times
rod norlandusa todayaamer madhani
mcclatchy newspapers
abc newsmazin faiq
duncan gardhampaul cruickshanktelegraph of london
pbsnow on pbs
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Brief
See that man? He's Senator Roland Burris.
Patrick Fitzgerald, put up or shut up.
Bring charges, any at all, or stop smearing Burris off the record.
You're a tool who refused to go after Dick Cheney and George W. Bush for outing undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame.
You're a tool and a fool.
You proved you weren't a real prosecutor when the only one you locked up was Scooter Libby.
Now you need some more fawning and praise and you're using Senator Roland Burris to get it.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, May 27, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, al-Maliki needs a law firm, Sahwa has some regrets and more.
Starting with Iraq Veterans Against the War which announces:
Winter Soldier Southwest was a great success. There were more than half a dozen camera crews shooting it for purposes ranging from independent media to anti-war documentaries. The panelists were quite moving and the audience was extremely supportive and full of positive energy. We want to thank everyone that helped put the event together, including all the panelists from VVAW, VFP, MFSO and Gold Star Families. Most profoundly moving was the testimony of the Gold Star Families panel. Quite a number of panelists testimonies have found their way onto the internet already, below is a short list of a few links to what's out there
Iraq Veterans Against the War held their Winter Soldier Investigation in the DC area in March of 2008. That was broadcast at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday with Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz anchoring Pacifica's live coverage. (It was also broadcast at the IVAW site.) This was a West Coast Winter Soldier and the videos are here, here, here, here and here. We'll note one today.
Ryan Endicott: I knew my time had come as I laughed, I ran. This was everything I had hoped for, my chance to kill. I didn't care how or who but someone was going to die today. [. . .] From that moment forward, our efforts became much more intense. We began getting "intelligence" -- quote unquote -- of suspected terrorists safe houses, weapons caches. We would gear up, blare our death metal and pump each other up comparing body counts, telling each other, "It's only a matter of time before we get another." We knew every way to walk right around the line of engagement. The rules of engagement? What a joke. To us grunts, rules of engagement were not rules at all but merely words on a piece of paper, somewhere printed, for the sole purpose of protecting officers if we grunts actually got caught.
Try to imagine yourself tonight as you sleep warm in your bed with your wife, your children in the next room. Two a.m. and your door is kicked in and men are screaming. As they kick open your bedroom door, they're screaming a language you don't understand. They're pointing machine guns at your face as they drag you by your hair from your bed, slamming your face down to the ground, putting their boots on the back of your neck and smashing your face further into the concrete floor. Your struggle to protect your family and your home is futile as you are blindfolded and handcuffed so tight you lose feeling in your hands within minutes. All you know is you can hear your screaming wife and children crying for help and you are too useless to protect them. You were not on a list of suspected terrorists. You were not on a list of known terrorists. In fact, you completely supported the US coming into your country and promising freedom, prosperity. You were simply a man in a house on a street that my platoon decided to search. When your blindfold is finally released, the men left your home, it's destroyed. Your wife and children are huddled in a corner defenseless and crying. Every drawer in your home is thrown. The contents broken, soiled. Your bed has been urinated on. Your wife's panties are glued to the wall. Maybe a family heirloom is missing or other objects stolen. The floor is wet with fresh chewing tobacco spit. And you vainly try to tell your family it will be okay and never happen again but, in your heart you know all the while, your chances are it probably will.
As time continued to pass, my ego grew stronger and my hate boiled within my veins. A scene like this was nothing more than a Tuesday to me. I laughed as I heard a story. One of the platoons had strapped dead bodies to the hoods of their Humvees and drove around the city for hours blasting death metal music as they terrorized the population. Just another Tuesday to me.
Back on post, there was a time when somehow, some way, an Iraqi had managed to get himself lost and ended up knocking on the door to my post which happened to be next to our sleeping area. As I answered the door and I saw the Iraqi standing there, I accepted my fate and I jumped on top of him. I accepted he was a suicide bomber and I had seen my last day as I began to punch him. Brutally I sat on top of him punching him as hard as I could. After a moment I got him under control and handcuffed him. He was simply a man who had just gotten lost. I was punished harshly not for my actions, not for harming an unarmed civilian, but for not killing him. I was told he should have been killed for being there and I would have been protected. I was forced to burn feces, stand hours at an additional post and physically punished. I was ostracized and called a "wuss" and a "girl" for not killing him. I had lost all the respect that I had gained and that I had killed for to earn. I was forced to stand six hours at post at a time directly behind an air conditioning unit with all the heat blasting out of the back side onto my face in the middle of the summer in one of the hottest places on the earth. I stood that post 12 hours a day, four days a week for over a month.
The man that arose from that month was someone I hoped to never meet again. The last bit of humanity and morality I had left was gone. I laughed as marines told me they'd just shot this guy in the head and saw his head explode. Just another Tuesday to me.
One Tuesday they brought a car that had just been shot up. The driver's fully intact brain was sitting in the back seat. And, to the looks of it, the passenger's brains were all over the car. I walked over to the body bag with the passenger in it -- the bag was still twitching. And we could hear his body still attempting to breathe. Even though his brains were clearly all over the car. We laughed as we stomped him. Just another Tuesday to me.
These are just some of the Tuesdays that fill a seven day calendar.
I was given a medium machine gun and unlimited ammo and told to spend a couple of hours per post down at a post that was usually unmanned. It had extended view and less observers that could see what I was doing while I was down there. It was expressed to me that I was now a shooter and was being placed down there to shoot. "Don't worry. We have your back. Make sure your combat reports are rock solid and we'll take care of you. You saw two guys with weapons and one ran off." Rules of engagement may change like the tides of the ocean or the winds of a hurricane but people don't come back from the dead. Sometimes, from one hour to the next, the rules of engagement would change. At ten a.m. someone with a shovel on a certain street would be killed and at ten-thirty he shouldn't be killed. You can change the rule but you can't bring that person back to life. And when you can't bring him back to life, you tell me that I just murdered him.
After returning from the war, I began drinking, not caring. I had an attitude that ruled my life where I didn't care if I lived, if I died, where I went or what I did. As the mental brainwashing and numbing that the Marine Corps had given me dissipated, the only way to substitute that numbing was through alcohol. I started to think back to the people I shot and the lives that I ruined through my hatred and violence and sometimes it was just too much for me to handle. This war has not only taken the lives of countless Iraqis -- men, women and children, but it has destroyed how many? Who knows? Countless American lives have been destroyed. American veterans. People who joined to serve their country and be American heroes. Many vets feel there's just no one out there who can help them and end up on the street homeless with nothing or sometimes worse. Veterans are attempting and committing suicide at an unprecedented rate. That's for a reason. What's worse? To die for no reason or to live a life of violence and destruction, internal structure and hatred every single day for no reason? To live every day knowing that everything that was instilled in me from the moment I was born as a free American boy, all the morals and everything that was taught to me, I gave away -- at the moment I pulled the trigger for acceptance, the moment that I beat another human being half to death simply to feel like the heroes that I held with such regard.
I know today that I cannot mend the things that I have broken. Or fix the lives that I have destroyed. But maybe with my testimony today, I can help one person, they might help two people who can eventually help four. And they'd be all of us together, standing united in preventing these atrocities from ever happening again.
Let's not pretend that Ryan Endicott or anyone like him is getting the help from the government they really need. The administration and the Congress is tossing out the bare minimum and wanting pats on the back and applause for that. Meanwhile, more Ryans and Ritas are created every day because the illegal war has not ended -- even if the interest in it faded. . AP reports "an invitation-only briefing to a dozen journalists and policy analysts from Washington-based think tanks" yesterday was where US Army General George Casey Jr. declared US troops might remain on the ground in Iraq for over a decade more: "Global trends are pushing in the wrong direction. They fundamentally will change how the Army works." Michael Winter (USA Today) notes the remarks here. Casey's remarks are not unique or out of the norm. Repeatedly remarks like his have been made and repeatedly they have been ignored. We're dropping back to yesterday's snapshot:Military spokespeople weren't the only ones making statements Sunday. The Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also made statements publicly. The New York Times ignored it naturally. Noting it here led to five e-mails from CENTCOM trying to insist what it did and didn't mean. Sorry folks, I believe Mike Mullen is conversant in English. Sunday Adm Mike Mullen appeared on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos (link has video option and the transcript is here).STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Let me move to Iraq then. U.S. combat forces are scheduled to complete their pullout from Iraqi cities by June 30th. But in recent weeks, we've seen an uptick again in the violence. Does that rise in violence mean that the deadline for pulling American forces out of the cities might not be met? MULLEN: Oh, I think we're still very much on a track in terms of pulling the forces out of the cities, which is the end of next month. We're on track to decrease the number of troops down to 35,000 to 50,000 in August of 2010. We've had an uptick in violence, but the overall violence levels are at the 2003 levels. It's still fragile. There's an awful lot of political positioning and political debate that's going on right now, and I think that in great part becomes the essence of how Iraq moves forward. I'm actually positive about what the Iraqi security forces have done, their army and their police in terms of providing for their own security. They've improved dramatically. So the path, I think, is still the right path. These ticks, upticks in violence are going to occur. We said that going in, even into -- as we talked about coming down in force. So we just have to, we have to constantly keep an eye on that. Al Qaida is still active. They're not gone. They're very much... STEPHANOPOULOS: Al Qaida in Iraq. MULLEN: Al Qaida in Iraq is very much diminished, but they still have potential to create these kinds of incidents. STEPHANOPOULOS: And the president has said that his overall goal is to have all forces out of Iraq by 2011. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: Under the status of forces agreement with the Iraqi government, I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. (END VIDEO CLIP) STEPHANOPOULOS: That is pretty unequivocal. Yet I was reading the proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute. They had an interview with Tom Ricks, the U.S. military historian, where he says he worries that the president is being wildly over- optimistic. He says we may be only halfway through the war. And he talks about a conversation he had with the commanding general in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, who told him he'd like to see 35,000 troops in Iraq in 2015. Is that what you expect, as well? MULLEN: Well, certainly the direction from the president and the status of forces agreement that we have with Iraq right now is that we will have all troops out of there by the end of 2011. And that's what we're planning on right now. STEPHANOPOULOS: But can Iraq be safe with all U.S. troops out of Iraq in 2007 (sic)? MULLEN: Well, we're on a good path now. And we'll have to see. I mean, the next 12 to 18 months are really critical there in that regard, and I think that answering that question will be much clearer given that timeframe. The other thing is, we have -- this is a long-term relationship we want with Iraq, and Iraq has stated they want with the United States. And part of that is the possibility that forces could remain there longer. But that's up to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government to initiate discussions along those lines, and that hasn't happened yet. STEPHANOPOULOS: It's up to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government. It's up to the president, of course, as well. But from a military perspective, General Odierno says that he would like to see 35,000 troops in 2015. Is that what you all believe is necessary to secure Iraq from a military perspective? MULLEN: There's no definitive number right now beyond the end of 2011. STEPHANOPOULOS: But it's not zero? MULLEN: Well, I mean, when I'm engaged in other countries around the world, I have very small footprints of military personnel in that engagement. You know, and I would hope long-term, that we would have a great military-to-military relationship with Iraq. STEPHANOPOULOS: That could include U.S. troops there? MULLEN: Well, I mean, we've got small numbers of troops throughout the world that conduct training activities, exercises, and those kinds of things. So long-term in Iraq, I would look to be able to do something like that. "It's not zero," George asked. Basic question. Mullen is a 63-year-old man who's spoken English for at least 61 -- if not 62 -- of those years. Yes, CENTCOM, they speak English in Sherman Oaks. Edward DeMarco (Bloomberg News) caught it, "On Iraq, Mullen said he would like to have some U.S. forces available there for training and exercises with the Iraqi military beyond 2011, when all U.S. forces are set to leave. He didn't specify how many U.S. military personnel would be needed." And though I have to hold my nose to note, Manu Raju (Hedda Hopper Lives!) observed Mullen "left open the option of keeping residual forces there after that deadline passes." Holding my nose for that source (not the reporter, the outlet) but we gave credit where it was due. By the way, Whores For Centcom who lied about what was stated included Janet Adamy (Wall St. Journal), AFP and many, many more. Decide on your own whether it's worse to do as the New York Times did and ignore it or to 'report' on it and deliberately lie.Mullen was not the first person before Casey. There have been many others and Gen Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, has repeatedly made similar statements.
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The above from yesterday's snapshot also now includes the links that were left out yesterday. Alex Spillius (Telegraph of London) reports on Casey's remarks and also notes that there are approximately 139,000 US troops in Iraq at present. Casey's remarks get a little more attention than did Mullen's remarks. Maybe the trick there is to speak them to an invited audience and not on the broadcast airwaves? Regardless, Casey is just another to say what so many have arleady stated. This is a lot like Time magazine deciding to piss on their correspondent in Vietnam because they didn't want the war to hurt JFK so an exec, who hadn't been there, wrote a cover story about how wonderful things were going in Vietnam. If the American people had really known the truth then, that illegal war wouldn't have gone on into the late sixties, let alone the seventies. But how many people wanted to know the truth? Even then? Even now we hear revisionist exclaim (while beating their chests) JFK wanted troops out of Vietnam! He would have done it! He was already saying so! Privately! The only US citizens JFK wanted out of Vietnam were American reporters. Less than thirty days before he was assassinated, he ws trying to get then-publisher of the New York Times Arthur Ochs Sulzberger to pull David Halberstam out of Vietnam because Halberstam was offering too much reality for JFK. (Kennedy stated Halberstam was "too involved" with the story.) The same fools who want to believe in St. John (who apparently violated The Mann Act to give Marion Beardsley Holy Communion in France) want to believe in St. Barack and how's that delusion working out for you?
Today the US military announced: "BAGHDAD -- A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier died of combat-related injuries after an improvised explosive device detonated near a patrol in western Baghdad May 27. The Soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The names of the service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense Official Website at [here]. The announcements are made on the Website no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member's primary next of kin." The announcement brings to 4302 the number of US service members killed in the illegal war and the number for the month of May so far to 20.
In other reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report a Baghdad roadside bombing which left two people injured, an Abu Ghraib car bombing which left fifteen people wounded (this is the bombing that claimed the life of the US soldier), a Mosul roadside bombing which wounded one person and, dropping back to yesterday, two Mosul roadside bombings which wounded two police officers and claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier. Reuters notes 4 died from the Abu Ghraib bombing.
Shootings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report 1 grocer shot dead in Mosul and 1 person in a car shot dead in Mosul. Reuters notes a Mosul drive-by shooting which killed a man "near his house".
In Iraq, the trade minister's out and the oil minister may be next. Nada Bakri (Washington Post) examines the ouster in terms of Aya al-Samarrai, the Speaker of Parliament, and conflicts between Parliament and Nouri al-Maliki. MP Wael Abdel Latif states, "The government kept parliament weak for the past three years. But now, with Samarraie in power, it's becoming stronger, and it's assuming its rightful place." Last week, puppet of the occupation and despot with training wheels Nouri al-Maliki lashed out against representative democracy indicating that if he can ever kill every Sunni in Iraq, his next goal would be to abolish democratic guidelines in Iraq. When not arranging for the murders of Sunnis or attacking Constitutional government, Nouri likes to attack the press. In his continued efforts on that, he's now filed a lawsuit. Mayada Al Askari (Gulf News) reports he's filed suit seeking damages of one billion in dinars (Iraq's currentcy) over an article at the start of the year which "accused Al Maliki's chief of staff of using his position to get jobs for his relatives." While we ponder whether Nouri would even have standing (it would be the chief of staff who would have standing), he lives to be litigious and intimidating so it's only one of two lawsuits in the news. Martin Chulov (Guardian of Manchester) reports his paper is being sued by Nouri who claims defamation over a "story by award-winning correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, [which] was published in April, when the Iraqi leader was in London on an investment drive. It included interviews with three unnamed members of the Iraqi national intelligence services (INS), who said elements of Maliki's rule resembled a dictatorship." Nouri demanded the INS sue for damages. (Apparently he grasped standing in that instance.)
Maybe the Sahwa should sue him? They could sue for lack of payment and breach of contract. It would catch his attention and nothing else appears to. Paul Wiseman (USA Today) reports on Sahwa and quotes Sheik Ali Hatem stating, "The Americans made the Sahwa militias to fight al-Qaeda, then they abandoned them. The heads of Sahwa are beginning to feel it would have been better to stay with al-Qaeda."
Turning to the US where yesterday was David A. Schaefer Jr.'s funeral. The Belleville, Ilinois native died May 16th in Baghdad due from a bombing. Jennifer Bowen (Bellville News-Democrat) reports on his funeral, "People lined the sidewalks on South Illinois Street and around Belleville's fountain, some holding American flags, others with their hands over their hearts as the hearse was escorted by police vehicles and the Patriot Guard Riders to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Missouri. Flags around the city were flown at half staff, and American flags from Memorial Day flew from utility poles and hung from the front of the courthouse. . . . Schaefer leaves behind a wife, Shelly, and three children, Jason Phillips, 13, Logan Schaefer, 7, and Savanna Schaefer, 6. The family had planned to move to Germany as soon as Schaefer's second tour in Iraq ended in November. He joined the Army in 2006 after serving in the National Guard." The state's governor, Pat Quinn, is quoted declaring, "We lost a heor and a role model. Schaefer was a true hero, someone to look up to, and I hope his children know what a hero their father is." Meanwhile, Theresa Harrington (San Jose Mercury News) reports that Marie Coon took her own life as a result of her step-son's death two years ago. Walnut Creek, California's James J. Coon died in Balad from a bombing on April 4, 2007. Harrington explains, "On Mother's Day -- after struggling for more than two years to cope with the loss of the young man she loved as her son -- Marie committed suicide by locking herself in the cab of a pickup truck at Lake Arrowhead with portable lighted barbecues and a pail of burning coals. She left a note, saying she wanted to be with Jimmy. She was 48."
As noted in yesterday's snapshot, a bombing on Monday claimed the life of 1 US soldier, 1 unnamed Defense Dept employee and Terry Barnich who was a State Dept employee. At Thomas E. Roeser's "Terry Barnich, RIP. Valiant Defender of Peace" (Chicago Daily Observer), Mimi Jordan has shared:
Terry hired me as a paralegal in Governor Thompson\'s office and later discovered I was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. I never had a better debating partner, and never learned so much from a conservative, perhaps because he was the only truly principled, intellectually consistent conservative I ever met. This is a heart-breaking loss for all of us.
Aamer Madhani (USA Today) reports, "When Terry Barnich took leave from his lucrative job at a Chicago telecommunications consulting firm in 2007 to assist the U.S. State Department's reconstruction efforts in Iraq, he planned on returning home in a year. A year turned into two and then a bit longer as Barnich, 56, saw progress being made, said his friend and former Baghdad colleague Philip O'Connor." Marc Santora (New York Times) adds, "The attack took place within a few miles of the bridge where four American contractors were killed in March 2004, their bodies burned and mutilated, and dragged through the streets. The jarring images of that attack were a major factor in the American military's decision to begin its first major offensive in Falluja, a center of the Sunni insurgency, months later."The US State Dept has done a lousy job noting the passing of one of their own while in a war zone. See Marica's "Terry Barnich died in Iraq" from last night and you can click here for this site this morning. The Defense Dept has identified their employee: "Cmdr. Duane G. Wolfe, 54, of Port Hueneme, Calif". Janene Scully (Santa Maria Times) reports he worked at Vandenberg Air Force Base for 24 years, that the base is planning a memorial and quotes two colonels speaking of Wolfe. Col David Buck states, "Each and every member of our team feels this tragedy, but we will pull together and help our own." Col Rick Wright states, "Duane's death will leave a hole in the Mission Support Group that can never be filled. He was a great team member and even greater friend. His 24 years of service at Vandenberg Air Force Base will be missed dearly." Jill James (KSBY) notes that their evening newscasts and nightly news will feature a report on Wolfe, that he is survived by a wife, a son and two daughters and includes the Vandenberg Air Force Base press release.
On Friday, contractor Jim Kitterman was stabbed to death in the Green Zone. Jennifer Radcliffe (Houston Chronicle) reports he was 60-years-old, that his survivors include "his mother, an uncle, two aunts, a brother, son and three grandchildren" and quotes his older brother Cliff Kitterman stating that the family grabs "comfort in knowing he was doing something he loved. . . . He developed a close relationship with many Iraqis and their families. He thought he could be a part of something big and good by helping rebuild the infrastructure of a nation."
Today Amy Goodman donned her White hood. In the old days of what she calls "the People's Republic of Brooklyn," her ass would have been kicked several times over for the little stunt she pulled with regards to Senator Roland Burris.
What does the wiretap say? I don't know. Nor does Goodman. There is a transcript that's been made availabe to the press. (Click here for the Chicago Tribune.) Roland Burris, according to the transcript, did not buy his Senate seat. Then-Governor Rod Blagojevich's brother Rob called him for a donation. Senator Burris does offer a check towards the governor's re-election campaign. Not a big one. Obviously.
Had there been a check, none was nailed down during the call, it would have been a small one. That's clear to anyone reading the transcript. (Apparently Goody was too busy fingering herself and gasping, "I love bi-racial Barack! I hate Black men!" over and over and didn't have time to read the transcript.) Burris states that business is "terrible" and that "we might lose Burris and Lebed because we've been trying to get contracts. We don't have any clients renweing for 09." He then adds, "We have no clients renewing for 09. Fred is dying on the vine because, I, you know, a lot of our clients have run out." Read the transcripts. Burris isn't playing high roller. He's talking about losing his business.
He had no money to buy the seat with. In the transcript, he offers no big payout. The press has repeatedly gone after him. Goody left out that Burris didn't object to the transcript being released. Why would he? It backs up what is on the record. (Goody pretends no affidavits were ever filed.) What you have is a lynching.
FIND THE CRIME. Read that damn transcript and find the damn crime. There is none. Goody and all the rest need to explain what the crime is or leave the man alone. This has gone on long enough and it's past time that anyone who is opposed to racism started calling it out. Every few months they claim they have something and every few months they're forced to back down because they have NOTHING.
This is the United States of America in the year 2009 and it's damn embarrassing the lengths some will go to in order to railroad the only sitting Black senator. Every few weeks Amy Goodman and these other racists show up insisting "PROOF!" and there's never any proof -- except of their hatred towards Black people. It's getting old and it's getting ugly.
As for Patrick Fitzgerald -- the 'prosecutor' who couldn't draw a link between Scooter Libby and Dick Cheney -- Libby's boss. Maybe it's time to stop chasing headlines and do the actual job? If he's got a case against Burris, he would have charged Burris. All this time later, he still hasn't. (Goody left that out as well.) Burris has NEVER been charged with a crime despite all this gossip and drama. There is still NO proof of a crime.
And here's another reality Fitzgerald better start thinking about: The jury. If Blagojevich was trying to sell the Senate seat, IF, it appears Fitzgerald's desire for headlines and press may have ruined the case because Burris couldn't buy it. Burris didn't have the money. And after Fitgerald harmed his own case by going public too soon, Blagojevich may have chosen to appoint Burris just because it was obvious Burris didn't have the money to buy the seat (which would look good for defendant Blagojevich if he feared standing before a jury).
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Revisionary Kevin Zeese
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Future of the Court" and don't ever forget that our alleged left refused to call for Judge Anne Diggs Taylor to be on the Supreme Court despite the fact that she was the only judge who stood up to Bully Boy Bush.
Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox Sunday featured my BFF Kevin Zeese. If you want to laugh and you want to laugh hard, make a point to listen.
Now Cindy ran against Nancy Pelosi (I voted for Cindy) so no one expects Cindy to ever have a nice thing to say about Pelosi or even to have a balanced thing to say about her.
But if you make a point to listen, pay attention to Kevin.
Listen closely and notice who gets nothing, no excuses, no minimizing, no rationalizations.
Is it Barack Obama?
No, of course not. Even now, Kevie Pooh can't call Barry O like a grown up. Even now, Kevie Pooh hedges and hems and acts like Barry O is pressured by mean people and we have to pressure Barry O because we have to be there for him.
What a load of s**t.
And let me be honest here, Cindy, I don't take you at all seriously when you go on and about Nancy. I voted for you. I like you. But I'm not going to listen to your show when you say you "know" something when, in fact, you don't know. It's embarrassing to listen to.
And they don't know what Nancy was told and what she wasn't told.
But what quickly emerges is that women are resposible for everything they do and they may do and that they don't do.
And men?
Women are responsible there as well.
Nancy FORCED John Conyers not to pursue impeachment.
No, John Conyers made that decision.
They want Nancy to take responsibility for her actions and everyone else's. They don't make Conyers or Barack or any man take responsiblity for their actions but they'll blame Nancy for everything.
Conyers could have started impeachement. And we all know it would have been so popular that no one in leadership could have touched him.
Conyers made the decision not to impeach. Conyers.
I'm just not in the mood for this nonsense. I had to put up with all this crap -- Cindy knows because she was part of the crap -- during the primaries. When any lie could be told against Hillary by the people who didn't like her. Cindy knows because she haunted the comments section at Common Dreams and left all these attacks on Hillary and -- pay attention -- flattery for Barack.
She'd already endorsed Cynthia McKinney and had no damn business praising Barry O.
It got so bad that, at Third, we did a feature making the point -- this was during the Democratic Party primaries -- that Barry's plans -- the expanison of the war in Afghanistan was always known -- meant US service members would die in that country and that we found it appalling that instead of calling out Barry O, Cindy Sheehan, the Peace Mom, was proving him cover.
So let me go one further than C.I. does in the snapshot, it was a LAUGH to hear both of them talk about those people fooled by Barack and how people weren't honest and now we've got Barack in the White House and wah-wah-wah.
Cindy wasn't honest and Kevin Zeese damn well wasn't honest.
It was really something to watch Cindy build up Barack -- the candidate of her opponent. It was really something to watch Cindy do Nancy's bidding for her without even grasping that was what she was doing.
And to hear Cindy and Kevin say this week that there was no difference between John McCain and Barack Obama after they'd both done their part for Barack was just appalling. Now Kevin did it more than Cindy. Cindy largely confined her embarrassments to the comments at Common Dreams. Whereas Kevin Zees penned one embarrassing column after another.
But people better start getting honest.
I'm not in the mood.
I'm not in the mood for these chicken s**ts who couldn't call out Barack in real time to show up and act like they did.
We always knew he would expand the war in Afghanistan. We also knew, based on his advisors, that he would attempt to get the bases in African (AFRICOM is currently set up in Europe because Bully Boy Bush couldn't get those bases) and attempt to spread the war there.
If you didn't know that, you weren't doing the work necessary.
Maybe because you were a stupid idiot who thought independent media would do the work necessary.
Maybe because you just didn't give a f**k.
I don't know and I don't care.
What I do care about is that you put a War Hawk in the White House and you're not going to now act like you didn't.
You're not going to pretend like you were speaking out all along.
And Cindy Sheehan? How stupid was that. How stupid was she to pimp for Barack?
Her son died in Iraq and she's pimping for the candidate promising to increase the killing in Afhgnistan.
And Kevin Zeese is never smart. He wrote those love letters to Barack with a moment or two of reality and pretended like that was no-holds barred criticism. He was a chicken s**t waste of time bulls**ter.
If you missed it, Kevio loves Sexist Pig Ed Schultz. Hilarious. What a failure on every damn level Kevin Zeese is. What a world class embarrassment.
"Votes for Peace" is the name of his organization because he's such a dumb f**king idiot. We're not voters, we're citizens, you candy ass liar.
And to call your organization "Voters for Peace" when you refused to use it to advocate for peace?
And remember Kevie's 'winning strategy' in 2006?
A great point someone else told me recently. Cardin does not deserve to be a senator, he has shown no leadership in 40 years. He will be a crappy Lieberman light type Democrat, and didn't you just knock that guy out. Why not let him lost this time have the Dem's run someone who does not suck (Mfume? VanHollen? Raskin?) in 6 years and kick Steele's ass out then, just don't run a pro-war, pro-patriot act, neo-con again and you wont have the Green menace to worry about from your "left" flank. If Steele win's he will be a one term senator because it shows the leadership that when a state is 30%+ Afro-American you need to show them some respect. If Cardin wins that ass will be in for 20 years. Thats all assuming the Democratic or Republican party does not collapse in 6 years. Then again there are like what 20 die hard Cardin supporters in the state.
That's Kevie's son Alex exmplaing that Michael Steele should be in the US Senate. Our friend of peace, Kevy Zeese.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, May 26, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, Sahwa threatens a return to open war, Iraq loses a Trade Minister, the 4300 mark was passed over the weekend, the US military announces deaths including a US State Dept employee, Mike Mullens doesn't think the US is leaving Iraq, Ralph Nader allegedly calls Barack Obama a "War Criminal," and more.
On Saturday the 4300 mark was passed. The US military announced: "CAMP VICTORY, Iraq -- A Multi-National Corps - Iraq Soldier died in a non-combat related incident in Baghdad Province, May 22. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. The incident is under investigation." With that death, the number of US service members killed in the illegal war reached 4300. Already the mark -- which really wasn't noted by the press -- has been passed. The US military announced today: "BAGHDAD -- Three people were killed and two were wounded May 25, when an improvised explosive device detonated during a visit of construction sites near Fallujah. The IED struck a vehicle traveling as part of a convoy that included Coalition Forces and U.S. Government civilians and contractors. The two wounded personnel were medically evacuated to a hospital for treatment. The names of the deceased and injured are being withheld pending next of kin notification." Liz Sly (Los Angeles Times) reports one of the dead is a US service member bringing the number killed in the Iraq War to 4301 and bringing the number killed in the month of May thus far to 19. That's the same number killed in April. Unless you're the Mainstream Media which damn well better not try to pull "It's the same number" if 19 sticks and they're doing their end of the month reports. They didn't say 19. One of the 19 who died in April was a service member who left Iraq for medical treatment and continued to receive that treatment (hospitalized the entire time) only to die. The media didn't count him. They didn't give a damn. Sgt Christopher D. Loza died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center April 10th. They acted as if he didn't exist and ran with 18 deaths. So they can't turn around now and claim, should it not go higher than 19, "It's the same number as last month." Not after they all but spat on Christopher D. Loza.
One person killed in yesterday's bombing has already been identified. Erika Slife (Chicago Tribune) reports that 56-year-old Terry Barnich was killed in a roadside bombing yesterday and that he "was serving as deputy director for the Iraq Transition Assistance Office for the State Department". Cara Siever reported on Barnich's work in Iraq in January 2008: "Terry has been in Baghdad since mid-January 2007 and lives in a 150-foot trailer in the Green Zone, a heavily guarded area of closed-off streets in central Baghdad where U.S. authorities live and work. Terry travels frequently through the Red Zone -- less safe areas of the city where the risk of a roadside bomb or kidnapping always is present. However, he says traveling with the State Department security makes him feel very safe. While attacks in the Green Zone have subsided since he arrived, Terry had one close call; he missed being hit by two rockets by 44 paces and about eight seconds." Barnich was in the 1971 graduating class from Washington High School in Chicago. He was legal counsel to Illinois Govenor James R. Thompson during the time when Gary Dotson was in the news (Cathy Webb falsely accused him of rape and Dotson was imprisoned for six years before Webb got honest and also tried to cash in with her book Forgive Me). Thomas F. Roser (Chicago Daily Observer) remembers Barnich here which also includes comments from others who remember him including David Karmol who worked with Barnich in Baghdad. Carol Wilson knew Barnich from when "he was still the chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission" and she explains, "I didn't realize Terry had spent the last two-and-a-half years in Iraq, not as an independent contractor, getting rich during wartime, but as a government employee, trying to help rebuild critical infrastructure that will enable Iraq to be economically stronger and more secure. But it doesn't surprise me now to learn what he was doing and to hear that, despite repeated plans to return to the U.S. for good, Barnich kept going back." The Illinois Commerce Commission issued the following statement today:The Illinois Commerce Commission extends its deepest sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of former ICC Chairman Terry Barnich, who died Monday, May 25 in Iraq, where he was working as a deputy director for the U.S. State Department's Iraq Transition Assistance office. A native of Chicago, he served as chairman of the ICC from 1989 to 1992. Funeral arrangments are pending.
CBS and AP note his "sister, Rochelle Barnich, described her brother as a person with a great sense of humor who had great pride in his country and had been interested in politics since they were children." In 1993, he and Craig Clausen co-founded NPRG. Liz Sly (Los Angeles Times) quotes from US Ambassador to Iraq Chris Hill's written statement: "We and all who are working for a brighter future for Iraq condemn this terrible attack in the strongest possible terms. We remain committed as ever to helping Iraqis achieve the peace, stability and prosperity that will make such acts of terror a thing of the past."
US civilians died over the weekend as well with a corpse discovered Friday in the Green Zone which Ernesto Londono and Steve Fainaru (Washington Post) identified as Jim Kitterman who had been "president of Janus Construction" and they note, "Another American working for a contractor was killed Friday in a suspected rocket attack near the U.S. Embassy, U.S. officials said. It appeared to be the first fatal rocket attack in the Green Zone in more than a year." Iraqi civilians died over the weekend also. Sunday's violence contained a juxtaposition Rod Nordland (New York Times) caught, "On the same day that military spokesmen gave a rare briefing in Baghdad to announce a continued rop in overall violence, insurgents killed at least 22 people in eight attacks in Mosul and Falluja on Sunday, using roadside bombs, drive-by shootings, suicide bombers and execution-style killings, police officials said."
Military spokespeople weren't the only ones making statements Sunday. The Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also made statements publicy. The New York Times ignored it naturally. Noting it here led to five e-mails from CENTCOM trying to insist what it did and didn't mean. Sorry folks, I believe Mike Mullen is conversant in English. Sunday Adm Mike Mullens appeared on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos (link has video option and the transcript is here).STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Let me move to Iraq then. U.S. combat forces are scheduled to complete their pullout from Iraqi cities by June 30th. But in recent weeks, we've seen an uptick again in the violence. Does that rise in violence mean that the deadline for pulling American forces out of the cities might not be met? MULLEN: Oh, I think we're still very much on a track in terms of pulling the forces out of the cities, which is the end of next month. We're on track to decrease the number of troops down to 35,000 to 50,000 in August of 2010. We've had an uptick in violence, but the overall violence levels are at the 2003 levels. It's still fragile. There's an awful lot of political positioning and political debate that's going on right now, and I think that in great part becomes the essence of how Iraq moves forward. I'm actually positive about what the Iraqi security forces have done, their army and their police in terms of providing for their own security. They've improved dramatically. So the path, I think, is still the right path. These ticks, upticks in violence are going to occur. We said that going in, even into -- as we talked about coming down in force. So we just have to, we have to constantly keep an eye on that. Al Qaida is still active. They're not gone. They're very much... STEPHANOPOULOS: Al Qaida in Iraq. MULLEN: Al Qaida in Iraq is very much diminished, but they still have potential to create these kinds of incidents. STEPHANOPOULOS: And the president has said that his overall goal is to have all forces out of Iraq by 2011. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: Under the status of forces agreement with the Iraqi government, I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. (END VIDEO CLIP) STEPHANOPOULOS: That is pretty unequivocal. Yet I was reading the proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute. They had an interview with Tom Ricks, the U.S. military historian, where he says he worries that the president is being wildly over- optimistic. He says we may be only halfway through the war. And he talks about a conversation he had with the commanding general in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, who told him he'd like to see 35,000 troops in Iraq in 2015. Is that what you expect, as well? MULLEN: Well, certainly the direction from the president and the status of forces agreement that we have with Iraq right now is that we will have all troops out of there by the end of 2011. And that's what we're planning on right now. STEPHANOPOULOS: But can Iraq be safe with all U.S. troops out of Iraq in 2007 (sic)? MULLEN: Well, we're on a good path now. And we'll have to see. I mean, the next 12 to 18 months are really critical there in that regard, and I think that answering that question will be much clearer given that timeframe. The other thing is, we have -- this is a long-term relationship we want with Iraq, and Iraq has stated they want with the United States. And part of that is the possibility that forces could remain there longer. But that's up to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government to initiate discussions along those lines, and that hasn't happened yet. STEPHANOPOULOS: It's up to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government. It's up to the president, of course, as well. But from a military perspective, General Odierno says that he would like to see 35,000 troops in 2015. Is that what you all believe is necessary to secure Iraq from a military perspective? MULLEN: There's no definitive number right now beyond the end of 2011. STEPHANOPOULOS: But it's not zero? MULLEN: Well, I mean, when I'm engaged in other countries around the world, I have very small footprints of military personnel in that engagement. You know, and I would hope long-term, that we would have a great military-to-military relationship with Iraq. STEPHANOPOULOS: That could include U.S. troops there? MULLEN: Well, I mean, we've got small numbers of troops throughout the world that conduct training activities, exercises, and those kinds of things. So long-term in Iraq, I would look to be able to do something like that. "It's not zero," George asked. Basic question. Mullen is a 63-year-old man who's spoken English for at least 61 -- if not 62 -- of those years. Yes, CENTCOM, they speak English in Sherman Oaks. Edward DeMarco (Bloomberg News) caught it, "On Iraq, Mullen said he would like to have some U.S. forces available there for training and exercises with the Iraqi military beyond 2011, when all U.S. forces are set to leave. He didn't specify how many U.S. military personnel would be needed." And though I have to hold my nose to note, Manu Raju (Hedda Hopper Lives!) observed Mullen "left open the option of keeping residual forces there after that deadline passes." Holding my nose for that source (not the reporter, the outlet) but we gave credit where it was due. By the way, Whores For Centcom who lied about what was stated included Janet Adamy (Wall St. Journal), AFP and many, many more. Decide on your own whether it's worse to do as the New York Times did and ignore it or to 'report' on it and deliberately lie.
Members of Sahwa ("Awakenings," "Sons Of Iraq") have long been under attack this year. Indpedent journalist Dahr Jamail (at ZNet) reviews some of his months many, many attacks on Sahwa and observes, "The Maliki government in Baghdad, which has perceived the Sahwa as a threat from the beginning of the group's formation, is systematically eliminating the perceived threat. Maliki has broken his promise to integrate the Sahwa into the government security apparatus, while continuing to forgo payment to Sahwa forces working in security positions around much of Baghdad." Over the weekend, Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) spoke with Sahwa Abu Fatma who stated, "All our arms are from old army caches underground; they will allow us to fight another 20 years. I've told the Americans, 'If you keep alienating the people, all the Iraqis will fight." Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) spoke with a Sahwa commander who preferred to remain nameless and he stated, "If we hear from the Americans they are not capable of supporting us . . . within six hours we are going to establish our groups to fight against the corrupt government. There will be a war in Baghdad." Meanwhile the US military rushes out a press release today explaining that "big gains in SoI pay reconciliation" is taking place. Thanks to al-Maliki's government! Really? Then why did the "U.S. Military forces oversaw another series of paydays in Multaka"? So in one village -- not even a major town or city -- where al-Maliki had not been paying 228 members of Sahwa, with US help, the number was just dropped to only 18 not being paid. For the record, the world was informed last fall that al-Maliki had taken over payments of ALL Sahwa. That was not true. Then we were told it had happened early this year. Then that it would take place April 1st.
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report a Baghdad mortar attack which injured eight people and a Baghdad car bombing which left three people injured and a Kirkuk roadside bombing which injured a driver and two "members of a military inspection committee from the Iraqi Ministry of Defence". Reuters notes a Mosul roadside bombing which left two police officers injured and an Iskandariya car bombing which left "two bankers" injured. Liz Sly (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Also on Tuesday, a suicide bomber targeted a U.S. convoy in the still-troubled northern city of Mosul, the second suicide attack against Americans operating there in as many days. The bomber missed the Americans but killed one Iraqi and wounded 45 others, the military said."
Shootings?
Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report a Kirkuk home invasion which claimed the lives of Ali Ahmed Hussein and his sons Salah and Hussein. Reuters notes 1 taxi driver shot dead in Kirkuk.
Abed Falah al-Sudani is no longer Iraq's Trade Minister. Over the weekend, Jack Dolan and Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reported al-Sudani was expected to be out of office shortly and they noted, "All of Baghdad seemed to watch last weekend when Sudany appeared on state TV to answer questions about his two brothers allegedly skimming millions from a national food program as ordinary Iraqis went without staples such as rice, wheat and cooking oil. Sudany also struggled to answer charges that when government investigators arrived at the Trade Ministry, his guards had fired into the air, allowing his brothers to escape out a back door, and about why an inspector general was transferred to Beijing after he asked about shipments of spoiled food." Timothy Williams and Abeer Mohammed (New York Times) report Sudani has quit and note the rations shortages throughout "Sudani's tenure . . . arousing widespread anger." Nouri al-Maliki appointed al-Sudani, who is also a member of Nouri's political party. Yesterday Dolan and Hammoudi quoted Nouri mouthpiece Yaseen Majeed declaring, "It's over. They [Parliament] don't have to have a no confidence vote anymore." That's no doubt what Nouri wants. That's not necessarily where it stands.
Alsumaria reports, "As Parliamentarian and presidential elections are looming in Iraq Kurdistan, the IHEC announced that submitting candidacies for presidential elections has ended on Monday while current President Massoud Barazani and five other candidates are on the list." The elections are scheduled for July 25th. The KRG did not participate in the January 31st elections. Nor did Kirkuk. Massoud Barzani is the current president of the KRG and his political party is the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). Jalal Talabani is the current president of Iraq and his political party is the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The elections will follow Kurdistan history and be a face off between the two parties.
Appearing Sunday on Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox, Kevin Zeese declared, "It's funny you say that, I was just -- before you called -- talking to Ralph Nader and Ralph says Obama's a War Criminal." Here's where the remarks pops up.
Cindy Sheehan: I've just crossed that third rail and said that Obama doing this and killing innocent Afghanis and Pakistanis and covering up torture and covering up the war crimes of the Bush administration, that makes him a War Criminal too.
Kevin Zeese: It's funny you say that, I was just -- before you called -- talking to Ralph Nader and Ralph says Obama's a War Criminal. For exactly the same reasons you just laid out: he's killing civilians, wedding party bombings, drones killing 70 civilians for every one fighter . And so I think more and more people are seeing that Obama is part of this.
That's what Kevin Zeese said. Did Ralph Nader say it? We don't know. Did Ralph Nader say it and expect it to be private? We don't know. It's Kevin Zeese. Factor that in. For your laughing pleasure, here's Kev-o blathering on:
It shows the left needs to get better organized and become more agressive and withhold their votes from people who promise more war. We can't just vote for someone who promises to, as he did during the campaign, expand Afghanistan, attack Pakistan, very slowly and incompletely withdraw from Iraq and hope that someone who says that's gonna actually support our cause when he says he doesn't. We have to use our vote to stop that.
The public e-mail address for this site (The Common Ills) can be used to contact Kat. That's fine. (It can also be used to contact Ruth and Isaiah who also write here.) The mirrorsite (here) has a contact forum. There's no reason to use that contact forum to e-mail Kat unless you're e-mailing her about her music articles. That's the only thing she writes that goes up at the mirror site. If you're writing about what's she's written at her own site, don't use the contact form on the mirror site because her writing from her own site DOES NOT APPEAR THERE and you are CLOGGING UP THE E-MAILS. I bring that up for a reason. Kevin Zeese used the mirror site to contact Kat and, goodness, did Kat and I laugh at his cowardly punk ass. Now Kevin wants people to use their votes? Now? He damn well didn't in 2008. Half the time you couldn't understand what he was saying in 2008 because he had his tongue so far up Barack's ass. Kevin Zeese is a damn liar and Kat didn't come out and call him that. But then little punk ass wouldn't stop e-mailing and she did. Kevin Zeese pimped and whored for Barack. And he shows up on the Soapbox to tell the world that people should withhold their votes? Where the hell was he when it mattered? Listen to him whine about mountain top removal ("it just pierces me through my body") and grasp that Barack was always promising that. And that Kevin was happy to cheerlead Barack. In July of 2008, Barack wasn't just a candidate, according to Kevy, Barack was the next president. We don't need Kevin Zeese now. He certainly couldn't be counted on back when it actually mattered.
He and his little punk ass that wants to whine today? He made sure Barack was installed. He offered weak-ass criticisms and wanted to whine that all he could do was that weak-ass criticism because otherwise people wouldn't listen. Oh, poor little baby. People might not listen. How sad. He needs to take accountability for what he did and stop trying to act big, bad and brave today. We're not in the mood for it. Kat's laughing as I'm dictating this, she may or may not write about the topic tonight. But there's no way in hell that either of us is going to hear that crap without laughing. This is the same Kevin Zeese who wanted to whine that his 90% praise of Barry O and 5% maybe and 5% criticism was all that could be managed. Go Dick Cheney yourself, Kevin Zeese. Ralph may have said it. He may not have. I hope he did say it but, if he did, he wasn't saying it for public consumption. If he meant for it to be passed around, he would have said it himself publicly or written about it.
Cindy Sheehan's speaking tour takes her to Corvallis, Oregon tomorrow (Unitarian Universality Fellowship of Corvallis at seven p.m.).
Phoenix: June 5th
Dallas: June 7th and 8th
Waco: June 9th
Austin: June 10th and 11th
Nashville: June 14-16
St. Petersburg, FL: June 17-18
Philadelphia: June 20-23
NYC: June 24-26
Cape Cod: June 27-29
New Hampshire: June 30 - July 1
San Francisco: July 3 - 5 (Socialist Conference)
Cleveland: July 8-9 (National Assembly to end the Iraq War)
Pittsburgh: July 11-12
Norfolk, VA: July 15-18
Vashon Island, Washington: July 25-26
Kevin Zeese, Willem Buiter's "Obushma-Biney in the Home of the Frightened" (Financial Times of London) demonstrates how a grown up calls out Barry O:The spinelessness and moral cowardice of the Obama administration know no bounds. The Bush-Cheney team ordered the torture and abuse of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and assorted other locations abroad -- offshore detention without trial as well as torture by US officials or persons acting under their instructions being permitted by Article VIII of the United States Constitution, as confirmed in the XXVIIIth Amendment to the US Constitution. Candidate Obama declares he abhors torture and deplores what went on in Gitmo and in secret detention centres around the world, but President Obama decides that the Camp may have to remain open for another year, as he doesn't seem to know what to do with the prisoners. The right thing to do would have been to send a plane to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on the day of his inauguration, to move all the prisoners to the US. President Obama then also decides not to prosecute those who committed the crimes of torture or abuse of prisoners or were responsible for these crimes. The president's excuse was was that he sought to turn the page on "a dark and painful chapter". It was a "time for reflection, not for retribution", he said.
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