read elaine's 'Live coverage of the Michael Hayden hearing on KPFA (9:00 a.m. ET)' - she's down about this item:
"UNICEF: 25% of Iraqi Children Suffer Malnutrition" (Democracy Now!):
Meanwhile, a survey carried out by the Iraqi government and UNICEF has concluded a quarter of all Iraqi children suffer from malnutrition.
she just feels that this is a story that's getting overlooked and it's at the heart of the occupation - a feeling of 'so what' that belies the standard mainstream myths of the illegal occupation.
i'd agree with her 100%. if there's 1 person still thrilled with the occupation, or maybe still kidding themselves that a school room being painted (see c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot'), they need to get in touch with reality. 1st step, the children in iraq.
this is as outrageous as the starvation that went on under the oil for food period. just as there was no humanitarian concern on the part of the united states with that program (yeah, mad maddy albright, i'm talking about you), there's none in the illegal occupation.
if the occupation was about helping iraqis, don't you think they would have done something about this?
oh, wait, they have done something as c.i. would point out, they've tried to cut off the subsidies program that existed before the occupation - where flour, sugar and other staples were provided. 'too much like communism!' apparently. 'got to cut it off!'
considering that the illegal occupation has done nothing to provide jobs for iraqis, exactly where are they supposed to earn the money to feed their children?
that's why people join the militias or the iraqi police (some would say it's the same thing).
lot of money to be made off the occupation, if you were a big corporation.
but people need to get serious. nancy pelosi can't even talk about impeachment let alone start screaming for the troops to come home. it's time for 'leaders' to be making the case for turning iraq over to the iraqis.
here's what matthew rothschild had to say about the cowardly stay silent approach to impeachment (on KPFA's The Morning Show - care of c.i.'s "Talking entry"):
This gets to Barbara's point of the grand conception this administration has, really coming out of Cheney's office, for the presidency. President Bush has issued 750 signing statements. That is, he'll sign a bill that Congress has brought before him instead of vetoing it, he will sign it and make it into a law and then put essentially an asterisk at the bottom that says I'm going to enforce this law to the extent that it doesn't conflict with my powers as commander-in-chief or whatever proviso he wants to attend to it. That's not our system. The president is supposed to veto the bill and let Congress try to override it or he's supposed to sign the bill and then see that the laws are faithfully executed. [. . .] This is certainly one ground for impeachment and I don't understand why it's viewed as such a partisan issue because if this is allowed to stand then if and when a Democrat becomes president that person can do just what Bush is going to be doing and then Republicans would be screaming bloody murder. I mean, I think wiser people should prevail here. And look what President Bush is doing to our Constitutional system. It really isn't about who is in control of the White House or in control of Congress.
but nothing seems to get the democratic party leaders' outraged. what's it going to take?
we're seeing the same nonsense with immigration. after all the protests and rallies, the senate wants to push through the filthy, vile bill they had their dirty fingers on before - turning immigrants into 2nd class workers, stripping them of work place rights, making them serfs to their employers. and after 5 years, if they can stay on the boss' good side, well maybe then they can start, START, the process to become a citizen.
that's b.s. and don't let anyone (not the damn new york times which has pushed the crap from the start) that this is about helping people - it's about helping business.
kpfa's flashpoints tonight had a speech by robert fisk on iraq. the sort of thing you won't read in the new york times - too much reality for them. dennis bernstein also noted jason leopold. i called c.i. and truthout is getting added at that site and i'm adding it here. leopold's being trashed. you know who's trashing him? pusedo lefties.
it's the usual b.s. of 'oh, i'm not like him! i better make sure that no 1 thinks i'm like him! i'm reasonable and acceptable!'
i hate to keep harping on it and i didn't even know who leopold was when we worked on the thing sunday ('Editorial: Could it be true? Rove indicted?'). c.i. had to point out what leopold had written and then i was 'oh yeah.' i know robert parry's byline and a few other people's. most of the time, i'm 1/2 way through something before i think to check for the author. jim's question was had c.i. heard about it? the possible indictment of rove? c.i. hadn't heard anything (but was on the road). jim asked me and i hadn't and it was too late to call any 1 i knew. but we all agreed if jason leopold was writing about it, he believed in it. we could sit on the sidelines or we could do something, so we wrote about it.
i think the indictment is coming. (i haven't heard anything but c.i.'s heard some stories that it is happening and some that it isn't and a lot of 'i don't know's.)
dennis talked to jason leopold about it. the way he's being treated is pathetic. (not by dennis, dennis is supporting him.) c.i. thinks that if there's an announcement this week, it will be on friday. that's when fitzgerald announced scooter's indictment. i can see that too and see bully boy asking for that, leaning on fitzgerald in a 'we have so much to deal with this week and we aren't asking you not to announce it, we're just asking you to let us deal with this week and let tony snow get some press conferences under his belt.'
i could see that happening.
swiping from elaine:
Larry Bensky and Mitch Jesserich will cover the Michael Hayden hearing tomorrow live on KPFA. (9:00 a.m. Eastern Time is when it starts.)
9:00 am est, 8:00 am ct, 6:00 am pt. you can listen online. they're dropping their fundraising to cover this, so show some love.
