okay, so after 1 hour of trying to log in, i'm finally in.
strange how the problems always tend to come at the same time. i don't know who's blogging tonight and who isn't. i know everyone's tried to log in and we're all having the same problems. (if we try to access internet explorer on any computer - laptop or tower - the browser closes. i have alternate browsers installed on my laptop (in addition to mozilla which we all use) and
if you read lloyd grove today, you know that there was a benefit reading of all the president's men and that (a) sam seder felt the need to voice his opinions on bob woodward which led to (b) carl bernstein (who cowrote the book with woody and was reading at the benefit) sharing his opinions.
i think everyone knows i detest, loathe and pretty much everything else sam sader. but when seder is right, he is right. and he was right. lloyd grove quotes bob woodward saying this, "I appreciate Carl's remarks, but I also understand the passions that blind people, quite frankly, when they want certain political outcomes. And reporters have to stick to what happens and what they can find out." yes, reporters do have to do that. but bob woodward isn't a reporter. he's a book author. a reporter wouldn't be stockpiling news for his books. a reporter wouldn't be caught in the valerie plame outing after the fact (after scooter libby was indicted, bob woody - who couldn't stop dismissing the outing on cable and npr - suddenly realized plame had been outed to him by richard armitage, then 2nd at the state department).
carl bernstien's a good friend to bob woodward, but he's dead wrong. woody doesn't do reporting anymore and the washington post should have sent him packing a long time ago.
again, i'm no fan of sam seder but seder was correct.
who else is correct? codepink:
The Declaration of Peace is a nationwide campaign to establish a concrete and rapid plan for peace in Iraq. From September 21-28, we will take part in nonviolent action, marches, rallies, demonstrations, interfaith services, candlelight vigils and other inspired ways to declare peace at the US Capitol and in cities and towns across the US. Join CODEPINK for a week of creative and outrageous action in Washington DC, including an Arms are for Hugging "Hug In" at Congress.
Local CODEPINK groups are also taking action in communities from New York City to Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco to Boulder. To join an action in your area, or to get info about planning one, click here.
This week, Yoko Ono, Kate Hudson and Samuel L. Jackson signed on to our Give Peace a Vote campaign. Have you? Consider becoming one of our 1000 Peacemakers who are getting 100 others to vote for peace. And pass on John Stauber's flash video from his new book, The Best War Ever, to encourage voters for peace.
As John Lennon and Yoko Ono said so beautifully, "WAR IS OVER, if we want it."
Declaring peace and gratitude,
Andrea, Anedra, Dana, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Laura, Liz, Medea, Nancy, Patricia, Rae, Samantha, and Sonia
so what are you going to do for peace? leonard read yesterday's 'frank, films, iraq' and decided to go with sir! no sir! but couldn't find it at a rental store. i'm sure it's available on netflix for those who can't afford to purchase it but you can also do what leonard did and check with friends. he was able to locate a copy and he'll be showing it saturday to his friends. this is his 1st attempt at, as he put it, 'doing more than saying "man, the war is wrong" to my buds.' so he's stepping up. you can too. (i just checked netflix, they do have sir! no sir! and it's got a 3 & 3/5 rating. i would rate it far higher but you know the war hawks have been in there rating it low.)
here's c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Thursday, September 21st, 2006, International Peace Day established by the United Nations November 30, 1981 and Bully Boy offers 'alternative programming' as the chaos and violence continues in Iraq, as the press learns that 'suicide bomber' is an imprecise term, as those doing the torture includes 'government forces,' as the US military fatality count approaches the 2700 mark and the so-called coalition of the willing continues to shrink with the US forces left to sing,"To be the last to leave, the last to be gone, stolen from the ones who hung on to it" ("Fireflies," written by Stevie Nicks, available on Fleetwood Mac Live).
The BBC reports that Manfred Nowak (anti-torture expert for the United Nations and Austrian law professor) has stated that torture is not only on the rise in Iraq but it may be happening more frequently than when Saddam Huseein was in power. Nowak's statements were based on a UN report which found that "Victims come from prisons run by US-led multinational forces as well as by the ministries of interior and defence and private militias".
This as Reuters notes: "The Sunni religious organisation, the Muslim Scholars Association, accused unnamed militia and government forces of killing five people in the village of al-Intsar, on the northeastern outskirts of Baghdad late on Wednesday. The group said others were kidnapped and houses burned."
Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) reported today, in Baghdad alone, at least "5,106 people . . . died violent deathd during July and August". Which is no doubt why, as reported by Sudarsan Raghavan's (Washington Post), The Giddiest Gabor in the Green Zone, William Caldwell IV, US military spokesperson, announced the obvious, after the UN had, that there was "a spike in execution-style murders" and "many bodies found had clear signs of being bound, tortured and executed." Way to stay ahead of the curve, but then he wouldn't look like the third guest, the loopy, bra-less one, if he couldn't state the obvious long after it had already been noted, would he?
Meanwhile Reuters reports that at least 38 corpses were discovered in Baghdad with most bearing signs of torture. Bombings? Reuters reports that a rocket attack on a home in Baghdad killed four and left five wounded, while bombs killed eight in Baghdad and left eighteen wounded and, in Diwaniya, a roadside bomb took the lives of two Iraq soldiers. Shootings? Reuters reports 3 shot dead in Kerbala and three police officers in Baquba. In a combination of the two (mortar attack, followed by gunfire) AP reports the deaths of six Iraqi police officers when their Baghdad police station was attacked.
AFP reports that the so-called coalition of the willing continues to suffer from shrinkage as Italy hands over Dhi Qar to Iraqi forces and, low and behold, there are no reports the Italy's actions "embolden" terrorism or that their action prevents "democracy." Quite the contrary, a US military press release credited to Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. George W. Casey Jr.maintains that the handover and Italy's withdrawal predicated on the handover is "another sign of progress." Progress is possible, apparently, for all but the U.S. and England. Reuters identifies Italy as "the last major Western European ally" for England and the US and notes that an Italian soldier died just "hours" before the handover raising the total number of Italian soldiers who died in the war to 32.
The US military fatality count continues to rise and the US military announced today that a US soldier died in Baghdad Wednesday from a roadside bomb while today a soldier died from wounds received while fighting in al Anbar province. The announcements come as the US military fatality count is at 2,693 (seven away from the 2700 mark) and as the AP reports questions remain in another Wednesday US military death in Baghdad ("Sgt. 1st Class Charles Jason Jones, 29, of Lawrenceburg", Kentucky ) which is currently classified as due to "non combat-related causes".
"Suicide bombers" and "suicide car bombers"? The AP reports that term is far from precise and that the Iraqi Defense Ministry issued a warning today based upon the fact that people are being kidnapped, released and then used as unknowing bombers via remote control from devices planted on them or their vehicles.
In peace news, Sue Anne Pressley Montes (Washington Post) reports "A group of ministers, veterans and peace activists attempted to deliver a 'declaration of peace' to the White House today, kicking off a week of vigils and other activities in 350 communities across the country calling for the prompt withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq" and "The day's activities also featured vigils for peace in dozens of cities and towns, including Little Rock, Ark.; Tucson, Ariz.; Pasadena, Ca.; Miami, Fla.; Decatur, Ga.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Austin, Tex. In San Diego Friday, there will be a Dance Action for Peace; on Saturday in Cincinnati, a Peace Tent City will be erected. San Francisco is hosting a mass bicycle ride to protest the conflict, and Madison, Wisc., is holding community forums on the issue." The Declaration of Peace site contains aVigils Calendar that will help you find events in your area as well as more information.
