katha, a pig, and power

katha pollitt has a column at the nation that i'll note the end of:

Whatever you think of the action against Qaddafi—count me as extremely apprehensive—it might just be that someone, even a woman, could support it for a reason other than sheer viciousness. The Clinton administration’s inaction in the face of the Rwandan genocide was a formative experience for Power and Rice, and possibly for Hillary Clinton as well, given that President Clinton said his biggest regret was failing to prevent the genocide. Military action against Qaddafi may be a bad idea—another Iraq-like “cakewalk”—but people of good will can still see it as preferable to standing by as Qaddafi butchers the rebels, as he promised to do.

In any case, the fact that three women argued for it skillfully and won their point is not very interesting. So why stress it, except that it mobilizes a raft of misogynist tropes about castrating females, the dangers of petticoat government and the folly of expecting anything good to come out of gender equality? After all, can you imagine a piece in The Nation titled “Black President Opts for Bombs” or “Qaddafi, a Man, Threatens to Massacre Rebels, Most of Whom Are Also Men”?

Misogyny—it’s the last acceptable prejudice of the left.

yes, it is, katha. and thank you for saying it. but don't you think you should have been more vocal in 2008? don't you think that instead of 'doing my part for obama' (as you wrote in your 2008 column about tom hayden making you want to scream) that you should have done your part for women.

who the hell is barack obama?

some worthless piece of trash. you put him above all women.

and while i applaud you for speaking out, i hope you get that your silence allowed this sexism to flourish and really take root.

it's as though the basement's flooded and now we're all down there with pails when we could have had the plumbing fixed in 2008.

i don't want to scream and yell at katha. i don't want to curse her.

i just hope to hell she never does again what she did in 2008.

that was not just misguided, it was damaging.

women can't afford it to take place again.

now for the report by robert dreyfuss that katha's taking to task.

dreyfuss is a pig.

hillary is the 'star' of his piece and hillary's the least 1 that barack listens to.

my point isn't to defend hillary.

it's to note that being a pig hurts. dreyfuss could have had the story.

how samantha power calls the shots.

c.i. told you that forever and a day. not just this year, not just last year, not just in 2009. c.i.'s told you that all along.

dreyfuss came close to stumbling upon a reality. he missed it because he's a pig.

susan rice had an impact and more so than hillary. but samantha power is the advisor that has barack's ear and a bit more.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Wednesday, March 23, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, displacement continues in Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr tries to angle Ahmed Chalabi into a cabinet post, Iraqi children are born with birth defects in numbers higher than the normal average, and more. Today the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre released [PDF format warning] "Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2010." Across the globe, the number of displaced person grew to 27.5 million ("the highest in a decade"). Iraq joins Columbia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somolia and Sudan as one of the five countries with "over a million people identified as IDPs" -- Internally displaced Persons -- and "over half the world IDPs" are in those five countries. Of the five, Iraq ranks third on the largest internally displaced populations scale with approximately 2.8 million people in Iraq. The graph on page 16 of the report shows a steady climb in the number of IDPs in Iraq throughout the decade with 2008 being a high point, 2009 a slight dip and 2010 returning to the same level as 2008. Approximately 9% of Iraq's population (in country) is IDP which translates as approximately one Iraqi in every ten is internally displaced. Page 25 features a photo of an Iraqi male missing a portion of his left leg who, along with others, now lives "in a garbage dump in the neighbourhood of Al-Mushraf" in Mosul as a result of being an IDP who has had to flee his home as a result of violence. Page 78 deals specifically with Iraq. From page 78: By 2010, people from the same sectarian or religious group had been concentrated into the same locations as IDPs fled to areas where their group was dominant. About half of the total number came from the ethnically diverse governorates of Baghdad and Diyala. As a result the country was more ethnically and religiously homogenous than at any time in Iraq's modern history. Iraqi society remained deeply divided along sectarian lines, with many minority groups facing particular threats, including Christians of various denominations, Fae'eli Kurds, Yazidis, Palestinian refugees, and Sunni and Shi'a Muslims where they were in the minority. Tensions remained high in 2010 yet increasingly confined to the disputed areas of the ethnically diverse northern governorates of Kirkuk and Ninewa. While the security situation in Baghdad remained fragile, it had improved tos ome extent because the major political parties had renounced violence to jockey for political influence. The only identified pattern of new displacement in 2010 was that of Christians from Baghdad and Mosul: following threats and targeted bombings, an undetermined number were displaced to the three northern governorates under the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government. Internally displaced children and women were particularly at risk, and faced widespread gender-based violence and labour exploitation. In a country that gives women fewer opportunities than men, internally displaced women and families headed by women had significantly greater needs than other displaced people in the same area. Many of the vulnerabilities faced by IDPs were shared by non-displaced groups who all suffered from high rates of unemployment, limited access to basic food rations and clean water, and a declining standard of living. However, IDPs faced the additional challenge of the constant threat of eviction as most displaced families were living in rented or privately-owned houses, in collective settlements, or in public buildings. The report notes that the number of returnees (of IDPs -- not returnees from outside the country) dropped in 2010 and those who did return largely returned to either Baghdad or Diyala. (Yes, we noted this reality back in 2010 when fools like Thomas E. Ricks' online spouse couldn't get it correct.) Kelley B. Vlahos explores the realities of what's been done to the land and future of Iraq in "Children of War" (American Conservative). Scott Horton discussed the article with her on Antiwar Radio. Excerpt: Scott Horton: This is a very hard hitting piece there in the American Conservative magazine which is the flagship magazine of the anti-war right in this country and often times it's worth reading in depth but this article was really great and especially timely since it's now the 8th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. And primarily this article is concerned with the pollution of various kinds and the disastorous effects that this pollution has had for the people of Iraq. So that, I think as you even say in the piece, "Even though the American people would prefer to just pretend the Iraq War is ancient history or something, it's still going on for the people there." Can you tell us a little bit about the consequences and maybe some of the likely causes that we're talking about here? Kelley B. Vlahos: Sure. I mean I -- I basically would call this if you're going to look at something that crystalized the US invasion of Iraq, I would say this is the greatest, you know, singular example of the tragedy of our invasion of Iraq -- if not the thirty year relationship we've had, the US has had with Iraq. This was a very difficult piece to write. But just to drill down a bit, basically it talks about the impact of, like you said, the pollution -- the impact of 30 years, really of war in Iraq beginning with the Iran and Iraq war in which we supplied monetarily and with weapons Saddam Hussein in the Iraq war and against Iran in which thousands and thousands of pounds of munitions were dropped, tanks and chemical weapons. Then you fast forward to the Persian Gulf War, another anniversary that was reached this week, the end of the Persian Gulf War 1991in which, again, we used heavy artillery and tanks notably with depleted uranium that still sits out in the deserts of Iraq. And then the more recent US invasion of Iraq and the last 8 years. So the impact of that on the landscape of Iraq has been devestating. And the greatest example we have right now is the increase of birth defects in places like Falluja, for example, and Basra which were very, very heavily hit -- both in this war, specifically Falluja, and in the Persian Gulf War, Basra. And what they're finding in a recent study that I -- that I mention in the piece, in Falluja they, scientists, have determined a 15% incident rate of birth defects among babies born in their General Hospital in 2010. And to sort of bring this into perspective, you know, an estimated 3% of every live birth in the US is effected -- is effected by birth defects and 6% worldwide. So we're talking a huge, auspicious number here. We're talking birth defects -- Scott Horton: Well hold on a second, Kelley. I was going to say if -- if people have young kids riding along in the back of the minivan right now, you might want to turn it to music before Kelley starts describing some of the birth defects we're talking about being found at the Falluja General Hospital. Kelley B. Vlahos: Oh, yeah. I mean, as a mother, this is a particular difficult story for me to do because every time that I went to do research, Googling "birth defects Falluja" I would indiscriminately get photographs of these babies that were born and we're talking everything from congenital heart defects to what you would call skeletal malformations which could be pieces of the skull missing, missing eyes, missing limbs, additional limbs where there shouldn't be limbs, babies who are just lying there lifeless and limp because their heads are three, four times the size they should be. Things that you don't even want to see or ever hope to see, that will give you nightmares at night. And there are pictures and pictures and examples upon examples on the internet that, you know, I think most of us would probably -- not ignore, but never see unless we were investigating it ourselves. And this is sad because the evidence is there and we have basically, like you said earlier, have decided that the war is over but this is occuring. And they're looking for help and their own government isn't giving them help and we certainly aren't doing it. Now what are the causes? This is -- this is the big investigation that's going on. There's been -- There's many theories. One being that depleted uranium that I had mentioned earlier. Our depleted uranium basically is -- is a dense heavy metal that is used in both an armored plating on our tanks as well as in our munitions. Now the extent of how much we've used in this war is pretty much a secret because the military knows it's controversial. It's been controversial since the Persian Gulf War when it was used and our own soldiers were being exposed to it in friendly fire fights with tank battles. And they came home and complained of all sorts of illnesses but also birth defects in the babies that their wives were having. There had been many studies and many surveys done but the Department of Defense -- surprise, surprise -- has denied that depleted uranium has anything to do with incidents, increased incidents, of cancer birth defects among our soldiers so you can imagine that they don't want anything to do with anything that's happened among Iraqis. But anyway, so the use of depleted uranium is controversial but they're still using. The Air Force uses it, the Army, the Marines. And in places like Falluja which had been unbelievably pounded by US air power during 2004 and 2005 if you can remember, this was a big hot bed of Sunni resistance. They were the ones that hung the Blackwater contractors off the bridge, the Sunnis in Falluja. And so the Marines went in there and basically tried to basically restore order there, to take it out of control of the insurgents' hands. They managed to do that. They put -- They put the security in the hands of local uh-uh Fallujans and left and then they had to come back after George Bush -- the minute George Bush was re-elected in 2004. He -- He started another air campaign. So we're basically talking about large areas of the city just leveled. We're talking about GPS guided bombs just like plucking buildings out, plucking insurgents out. You know strafing going on. I mean, just -- you can imagine. Looking at pictures of Falluja today, it's a wasteland. But they managed to "pacify" them in the end. But anyway, so what's left there? And we can only imagine. So the babies that are being born today are, like I said, 15% of them in 2010 were being born with these birth defects. Is it the depleted uranium? Is it the fact that there's no sewage or clean water in Falluja? All sorts of -- I mean, the burning of the trash on the forward operating base, a little bit about that in the article. So we basically destroyed the ecology of Iraq. But we need to find out exactly what's causing the birth defects and also the high levels of cancer among Fallujans as well as the people in Basra which I mentioned earlier was also heavily hit too. The studies are there but they need the help not only to bring it to light and to do something about it. And we are-are so far ignoring the plight of these people. For all obvious reasons. It is -- It is an embarrassment and a humiliation. And it is anathema to everything we were told: we went into Iraq to save and to liberate these people. Albertina Ada (Health Facility) observes: About 75,000 children in Iraq are now living in camps or shelters, having lost their homes due to the war or been forced to evacuate because of threats of violence. Hundreds of kids have been injured, or even died, from war-related violence. Many, many others have lost family members to the war. One twelve-year-old girl was shot repeatedly by US soldiers who burs into her home. The soldiers shot and killed the girl's uncle and injured her aunt. They even killed all of the family's chickens before they left, to lessen the family's chance of survival. Violence never ceased in Iraq but it's been on an upswing for awhile now. Alsumaria TV notes, "Some Iraqis attribute violence outbreak to rows among political parties while others blame the Parliament which suspended its sessions and delayed the nomination of security ministers. Political analysts in their turn believe Iraq insecurity is due to the delay in security ministers nomination which is getting more and more complicated on account of political parties competition." Bombings? Reuters reports a Ramadi roadside bombing injured two police officers, a Mussayab roadside bombing injured two police offiers, a Baghdad roadside bombing claimed 1 life and left seven other people injured, a Baghdad sticky bombing claimed the life of a driver for the Ministry of Electricity and left two people injured, a Baghdad roadside bombing left two people injured, a Kirkuk bombing injured two people and, as fire fighters arrived on the scene, a second bombing left five of them injured, a Baghdad sticky bombing claimed 1 life and a Mosul grenade attack injured on person. Shootings? Reuters reports 1 "official in the Municipalities Ministry" was shot dead in Baghdad, a Mosul attack left two police officers injured, and, dropping back to Tuesday for both of these, Iraqi Army Maj Ahmed Obeidi was shot in Baghdad and died after arriving at the hospital and a Mosul police officer was shot dead not far from his home. Meanwhile Aswat al-Iraq reports that 2 suspected of smuggling antiquities out of Iraq were arrested by police in Anbar Province today. Last week, Douglas Martin (New York Times) noted the March 11th passing of Iraqi archaeoligist Donny George from a heart attack in Toronto: Dr. George was director of research for the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage when United States troops and their allies invaded Iraq. He fought through blocked bridges, explosions and troops to repor to the museum in the chaotic days afterward, finding he could not persuade American troops to protect it because no order had been issued to do so. An estimated 15,000 artifacts were stolen, less than a tenth the initial guesses. Working with Col. Matthew Bogdanos of the Marines to investigate the thefts, they recovered half the stolen [. . .] artifacts, partly by granting looters amnesty. The Telegraph of London, in their obituary, spoke a little more freely than the New York Times: In the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein, he fought his way through the chaos to report to the museum, but found that he could not persuade American troops to protect it by moving their tanks across the entrance because they had not been ordered to do so. It was a question about the looting that prompted American Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's laconic observation "Stuff happens". Or as General Tommy Franks of Central Command said at a pre-war briefing when the subject of securing cultural sites came up, "I don't have time for this ----ing bulls**!" In 2008, British archeologist John Curtis recounted for the Times of London how he had been contacted by George: More significantly, as the conference was breaking up, Channel 4 News managed to set up a satellite phone link in Baghdad to my old friend Donny George, the director of research at the Iraq Department of Antiquities, and I was able to speak with him directly. I was the first person outside Iraq he had been able to speak to. Donny was distraught. Looters and vandals had been rampaging unchecked through the museum for two days. Although there was nobody in the building at that time, it was still unguarded and therefore vulnerable. He asked me to pass this information on, and he urged me to come to Baghdad as soon as possible to see what could be done to help. As soon as it was known that Donny wanted me to go to Baghdad, a number of journalists offered to facilitate my trip. I joined forces with the BBC team and on April 22 flew out to Amman, where we picked up our "protection officers" (a euphemism for hired guns) and drove in a convoy along the desert road to Baghdad. Once across the Iraqi border we were confronted by stark reminders of the recent war: military convoys, burnt-out vehicles and bombed bridges. Nothing, however, prepared me for the changed appearance of Baghdad. On the outskirts of the city we could see blackened buildings, some with smoke still rising from them. The streets were more or less deserted, and there was an unreal calm and quiet, punctuated by the periodic sound of gunfire, showing that there was still some resistance to the coalition occupation. We made straight for the museum, and our vehicles were allowed through the locked gates. Donny, Dr Jabr Ismail, the director of the Department of Antiquities, and Dr Nawalla al-Mutawalli, the director of the Iraq Museum, all came out to greet me. It was agreed that we should sleep on the ground on the colonnade. In the morning we were able to start our inspection of the museum. It was a heartbreaking sight. I already knew that, in the build-up to the war, the curators had moved most of the objects from the galleries to a "secret store" in the bowels of the Earth beneath the museum. However, they had left behind all those objects that, for one reason or another, were difficult to move or were simply overlooked, and it was these objects that had been stolen or vandalised. Many of the glass showcases were also smashed, so in some places there was a thick carpet of broken glass on the floor. In addition, every one of the 120 offices in the building had been broken into, usually by smashing a hole in the door. Files, papers, index cards, photographs, films and computer software had all been swept off the shelves and onto the floor. It seemed that the intention had been to start bonfires, but fortunately this did not happen. All the safes in the building had been broken open. It was also clear that the intruders had broken into the storerooms, but at this stage nobody had been inside to assess the extent of the losses. There has been much speculation as to whether the looting that took place was spontaneous or organised -- and who, precisely, was behind it. Theories have ranged from the involvement of Ba'athist loyalists, determined to cause maximum civilian unrest, to the connivance of international antique-dealers, requesting items to be stolen to order. Five years on, these questions remain unanswered. The whereabouts of looted material is also hotly disputed. There is clearly a black market in Iraqi antiquities, but where the pieces have ended up is not yet known. Back to the Telegraph of London obituary: George was the first Iraqi Christian to rise to the top of the country's archaeological establishment, but his faith made him a target during worsening sectarian violence. To get to work he would use three different cars (to keep any assassins off his trail), varying his route and never leaving at the same time two days in a row. Several colleagues lost their lives. The situation took a turn for the worse when, in 2005, a member of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Shiite political faction was appointed minister of tourism and antiquities. George claimed that the new appointee and his acolytes were only interested in preserving art from the country's Islamic history and not from earlier periods, making his job impossible. The final straw was when his 17-year-old son received an envelope containing a bullet and a message that accused the youth of "cursing Islam, teasing Muslim girls" and having a father who was helping the Americans. In 2006 he fled Iraq for good. May 26, 2005, he was a guest of Neal Conan's on NPR's Talk of the Nation and here's an excerpt. CONAN: Give us an example, if you would. Is there a piece that is of particular significance that--or at least significance to you? Mr. GEORGE: Well, at the beginning, you see, we lost some very, very important masterpieces, like the Warka vase, like the mask of the lady from Warka, but these came back. But now one of the most important pieces that is still missing is the headless statue, half-natural-size, of the Sumerian King Natum(ph), which--we still don't have it. And, by the way, this piece is inscribed on the back shoulder, and it could be one of the rare examples, the first examples, of this mentioning the word 'king' in the history of mankind. So this is -- I mean, every single piece has its own significance. CONAN: We're talking with Donny George, director of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. You mentioned Sumer; this was an early, maybe the earliest, human civilization... Mr. GEORGE: That's right. CONAN: ...speaking a language that appears to have no relation to any language anywhere else. Mr. GEORGE: That's right. Yeah. CONAN: This is a great mystery and--but these were the people who first invented the hydrographic civilization that we emerged from. Mr. GEORGE: That's right. I mean, modern scholars believe that the Sumerians are the descendants of the first people coming to Mesopotamia. Those were the people coming from the Neolithic period. Those were the people who started the villages. Those were the people who actually, with the villages, started the animal domestication and agriculture and a lot of -- villages planning and, you know -- but then, in about 4,500 BC, we learn that these are Sumerians. We don't have the writing then, but in about 3,200 BC we started having the writing, the inscription that they themselves invented at the beginning. It was a kind of pictographic. And, you see, this is the greatness of the people: Out of nothing, they invent something, something very important, something that can exchange ideas and can accumulate ideas between generations and generations. That was the writing. Now we have it here. The statue he spoke of in 2005 was of the Sumerian King Entemena and other Mesopotamian artifacts noting King Entemena include a silver tripod dedicated to him which is housed in the Louvre. Last September, Barbara Surk (AP) reported on a number of stolen artifcats which had been recovered and that included the "4,400-year-old statue of a Sumerican King" noting, "The most prominent [recovered artificat] was the statue of a Sumerian king discovered in the 1920s at the ancient city of UR in southern Iraq. [. . .] The FBI listed its theft among the world's top 10 art crimes. Experts say the statue, carved from black diorite with cuneiform inscriptions along the back and the shoulders, is the oldest known representation of an Iraqi monarch. Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security located the statue in the United States in May 2006 and handed it over to Iraqi diplomats in Washington two months later." AFP reported that, March 16th, a tribute was held for George at Baghdad Museum and quoted Deputy Culture Minister Jaber al-Jaber stating, "Donny George was a symbol of this country. With these candles we say goodbye with tears in our eyes." On the stolen artificats, there was confusion when there return was reported because they'd been returned some time ago and put in Nouri al-Maliki's custody. He apparently 'forgot' to inform others that he was holding the objects. Imagine that. Tom Zirpoli (Carroll County Times) reflects on Iraq's prime minister: Under Maliki's direction, the Iraqi high court recently ruled that only Maliki, not members of the Iraqi Parliament, could propose legislation. This is reminiscent of Saddam Hussein's control over the Iraqi Parliament. Freedom of the press is almost dead in Iraq. Maliki has ordered his security forces to arrest journalists who are frequently subjected to beatings and torture. Newspaper offices are regularly raided and destroyed by Iraqi police. After eight years of war funded by American blood and dollars, the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein has been replaced with the dictatorship of Maliki, which makes me question why we continue to place American lives on the line to defend the government of Iraq. Why are scarce American tax dollars spent to financially support this corrupt government? Why are we giving Maliki military equipment to suppress his citizens who want democracy? Why are we paying for prisons in Iraq where innocent Iraqi citizens are detained and tortured because they want democracy? Moqtada al-Sadr is back in Iraq for a bit more and the reason is he's supposed to secure a Cabinet post for Ahmed Chalabi per the Iranian government. Chalabi angled for the spot of prime minister in the lead up to the elections by purging various candidates from the lists but it wasn't enough for Iran to back him as prime minister. So the best he can hope for now is a Cabinet post. Dar Addustour reports that State of Law (Nouri's slate) is resistant. Al Mada reports it was the National Alliance which joined with State of Law to reject Chalabi while Moqtada al-Sadr's supporters are backing Chalabi for Minister of the Interior. Meanwhile Al Rafidayn reports on Chalabi's attempts to grandstand on larger issues in an attempt to look official. Alsumaria TV notes, "The delay is submitting security ministers names is unjustifiable, State of Law Coalition members said while blaming part of the delay as well on political parties. National Alliance MPs complained in the same regard of their party's delay in agreeing on the Interior Minister candidate while Iraqiya MPs criticized internal rows that delayed security ministers' nominations, a source told Alsumaria." When protests took hold in Baghdad, Nouri al-Malik and Moqtada al-Sadr joined forces to put up false fronts that would derail public anger. Among the measures they both pushed was 100 days. Corruption? Lack of adequate public services? Give the government 100 days and just you wait! For what? Al Mada reports part two of the 'plan,' demand 100 more days! The latest announcement is that one hundred days isn't enough so the government's going to take 200. That's over half a year. And it's been a year since elections but Nouri still doesn't have a full Cabinet. Dar Addustour reports that the Ministry of National Reconciliation plans to hold a press conference with "Awakening" Thamer al-Tamimi to announce that he and his 200 person militia will be laying down their arms.. 8 years ago today, the US Army convoy was attacked outside of Nasiriyah. Jessica Lynch as among those injured and captured. Today Lynch was at Piestewa Peak for a memorial service held for the woman Lynch has described as "my hero," Lori Piestewa who died of injuries from the attack. Diane Ryan (KSAZ - MyFoxPhoenix) filed a video report. Diane Ryan: We are here at Piestewa Peak. It is a very moving ceremony. Eight years ago, her friends and family decided to get together and do this special sunrise ceremony and you can see behind me, it's way back in the mountain there and it's just getting under way. I have pictures of what we saw just a few minutes ago as they were getting ready. Lori, of course, a member of the Hopi Nation. She's the first Iraqi female -- war female. She was the first Native American Indian woman to die in combat for the US. Now the mountain was renamed in her honor eight years ago. She left behind two children Carla and Brandon who are taking a bigger part in the ceremony every year as they grow older. The memorial honors her service and also other soldiers as well who died in combat for the United States. Also members of Lori's 507 Maintenance Company are here as well. The first week of the Iraqi War, they were ambushed and 11 soldiers were killed including Piestewa. Lori's best friend Jessica Lynch [. . .] she is here as well. And we talked to Lori's cousin, Barbie [Wyaco] and this is what she had to say. Barbie Wyaco: It's healing for everybody who's here. We all get to heal a little more year by year and the memories become great memories that we can continue to build off of. Lori Piestewa was both the first US female service member to die in the Iraq War and the first Native American woman in the US military to be killed in combat. She was 23-years-old when she died. If you served in the US military and you were stop-lossed, you are owed additional money. That money needs to be claimed. DoD announces the date to file for that additional payment has been extended: The deadline for eligible service members, veterans and their beneficiaries to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP) has been extended to April 8, 2011, allowing personnel more time to apply for the benefits they've earned under the program guidelines. The deadline extension is included in the continuing resolution signed by President Obama Friday, providing funding for federal government operations through April 8, 2011. Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay was established to compensate for the hardships military members encountered when their service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss Authority between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009. Eligible members or their beneficiaries may submit a claim to their respective military service in order to receive the benefit of $500 for each full or partial month served in a Stop Loss status. When RSLSP began on Oct. 21, 2009, the services estimated 145,000 service members, veterans and beneficiaries were eligible for this benefit. Because the majority of those eligible had separated from the military, the services have engaged in extensive and persistent outreach efforts to reach them and remind them to apply. Outreach efforts including direct mail, engaging military and veteran service organizations, social networks and media outlets, will continue through April 8, 2011. To apply for more information, or to gather more information on RSLSP, including submission requirements and service-specific links, go to http://www.defense.gov/stoploss. We last noted journalist Michael Ware in the September 20th snapshot when he was discussing his war experiences on Prisoner of War (Australia's ABC) -- here and here for transcript. At the end of last month, he and CNN officially parted ways and now he's working on a film about the Iraq War which will utilize a lot of never before seen footage he shot while reporting from Iraq and he states, "It's the war documentary. It just happens to be set in Iraq. This really is a film that looks at the true nature of us. It's one war seen through the viewfinder of one man." Lastly, War Hawk Barack fluttered his wings and flew back to the US today. As Iraq War veteran Adam Kokesh noted Saturday: Why is Obama in Rio when he's starting a war in Libya!?! He should really be at home polishing that peace prize. 4:10 PM Mar 19th via Facebook Adam was Tweetin on the anniversary of the Iraq War and also noted: 8 years in Iraq. Still proud, America? 12:06 PM Mar 19th via Facebook iraq kelley b. vlahos antiwar.com antiwar radio scott horton the carroll county times tom zirpoli dar addustour al mada al rafidayn alsumaria tv

impeach him

that's Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Grim Peace Resister" from saturday. katrina vanden heuvel is the peace resister. and she is grim. so is her hero barack obama. jake sherman (politico) reports:

Liberal Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich plans to offer up a measure that would defund U.S. efforts in Libya.

According to a letter blasted to his email list, Kucinich plans to offer an amendment to the next spending bill to ensure no federal funds go to the bombing campaign in Libya.

The amendment would give Congress a more concrete opportunity than they’ve had to challenge President Barack Obama on Libya, a subject that has riled both sides of the aisle.

i say impeach him. he isn't god. he can't act unilaterally. he has to seek congress' approval and he did not.

impeach him.

i think that cry is only going to grow over the next 2 years if he isn't impeached.

let's go out with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, at least one police officer is killed during a protest in the KRG, Baghdad activists explain the point of Liberation Square, Nouri claims safety when security incidents beg to differ, the White House continues to refuse to fall Congress' laws with regards to veterans and service members, and more. Alsumaria TV reports that Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister and thug of the occupation, has declared Iraq to be "the most stable country in the region." Nouri was speaking at an agricultural conference. Nayla Razzouk and Kadhim Ajrash (Bloomberg News) report that Iraq is need of foreign investment in order for "the country [to] become self-sufficient in grains within three years" and they note that Nouri asserted that Iraq currently is able to produce "half of its grain needs." Oops! Nouri didn't pay attention because Alsumaria reports that Sunday the US Embassy in Baghdad's Ron Verdonk was explaining "that Iraq imports 80% of its annual wheat consumption and 90% of its annual rice consumption". UPI adds that the plan is for Iraq to be "self-sufficient by 2014" when it comes to grain. Related, today is World Water Day. AFP reported yesterday that the UN has declared Iraq is wasting 50% of its water resources. Alsumaria TV quotes a UNICEF statement: "Iraq faces difficulties in meeting the target of 91 percent of households using a safe drinking water supply by 2015" and "One in five or around six million Iraqis do not have access to safe water, of which the vast majority are in rural areas." At the start of this month, UNICEF noted: Unremitting violence not only sets the backdrop of daily life in much of Iraq, it has also weakened governance and crippled the ability of the country to feed, protect and educate its citizenry. Political and economic turmoil has led to the great vulnerabiilty of women and children, who are threatened by poverty, undrenutrition, lack of safe water and sanitation, insufficient educational resources and the prospect of personal violence and abuse. Iraqis must contend with threats of drought, decimated infrastructure and a large population of refugees and internally displaced people. The number of displaced Iraqis is counted in the millions, with a large number of Iraqis seeking refuge in neighouring countries and over a million displaced inside the country since the height of 2006 violence. Reutrn of people to their homes is thwarted by continuing fears and insecurity. Vulnerable Iraqi women and children -- whether in Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon or the Syrian Arab Republic -- require sustained, intense assistance to assure basic living standards and fundamental protection in a context of war, violence and political discord. Aswat al-Iraq also notes Nouri's claim of stability, "Iraq became one of the most stable countries in the region after a period of violence and divisions." Of course, he leaves not only the violence but the fact that 47,000 or so US troops stationed on Iraqi soil guarantee (thus far) that he can't be toppled. His neighbors can't make the same claim, now can they? Today Baghdad is slammed with bombings. Aswat al-Iraq notes 2 dead and at least eight injured from five bombings in the capital. Reuters updates that to six bombings with 2 dead and thirteen injured. Hisham Rikabi (Al Mada) reports that an Iraqi military spokesperson, Maj Gen Qassim Atta, is blaming the resurgence of assassinations and liquidations of government and security officials on opponents upon "criminal gangs and terrorists." Noting the recent assassinations of members of the Ministries of Oil and Defense, Dar Addustour reports that the police are stating that the assailants are using silencers and that people are blaming this increase on the fact that there is still no Minister of the Interior or Minister of Defense. (There is also still no Minister of National Security but that's not mentioned in the article.) Reuters reports one or two police officers were killed in clashes with protesters in the KRG village of Halabja. Dar Addustour reports that a senior citizen took his own life in Baghdad (he hanged himself) because he couldn't afford the cost of providing for his family (which included two children who may have been young or may have been kids). Amer Qaisi pens a column for Al Mada entitled "The Road to Liberation Square." "Liberation Square" is what protesters have re-named Baghdad's Tahrir Square. Qaisi notes that every Friday the government attempts to block demonstrators from arriving at Liberation Square. Qaisi notes that protesters must travel between pits and piles of garbage to approach "Liberation Square" and then they encounter closed bridges and roads roped off with barbed wire to prevent vehicles from going an futher. All of this and the harrassment and abuse of journalists and protesters indicate that the Iraqi government doesn't want to hear the voices making demands. Every Friday, Qasi continues, they must face the same scene all over again as well as the fear mongering of "al Qaeda!" and "Ba'athists!" No one believes Nouri has a magic wand nor that he'll discover Aladdin's lamp but the protests will continue and the protesters will continue to make their demands. March 11th, Jane Arraf filed an audio report for PRI's The World on the protests. Many voices: Ka-thab. Jane Arraf: There's a new song in town. Many voices: Ka-thab. Jane Arraf: Kathab in Iraqi Abaric means "liar." You hear the chant at every protest in Baghdad -- usually linked with the prime minister's name, Nouri al-Maliki. And when you ask protesters what Maliki's lied about, there's a long list starting with Maliki's claim that Saddam loyalists, Ba'athists, are behind the protests. Yanar Mohammad is a women's activist. Yanar Mohammad: Mr. Maliki tells us that we are Ba'athists. And our answer to him is that we all suffered under the Ba'ath. Many of us escaped. Many of us went into prisons. And we did suffer in the previous era of the Ba'athists but now in these eight years also millions are suffering, hundreds are being tortured right now in Maliki's prisons. What about those people? Why doesn't he answer to that? He says we're either Ba'athists or we are from al Qaeda. Why is he lying? Jane Arraf: Mohammad says she's so angry, she wants to storm the Green Zone where the government is based. In Baghdad's Liberation Square, the protests attract all kinds of people. Majdi Abdul Khalif is talented enough to have taught himself English from the movies and how to fix cell phones. But he can't find a job. Majdi Abdul Khalif: Our patience is finished. To tell you the truth, we've seen the changes in Egypt and Tunisia and we need to try that. One of the demands the protesters have made is for an end to corruption. Dar Addustour reports that the Integrity Commission informed inspector generals yesterday that they could not hide files and that all reports on corruption in institutions will be turned over to the Commission. Al Rafidayn details a few investigations including one involving Ministry of the Interior employees, one of which was caught blackmailing employees of a Baghdad police station. As noted in the March 14th snapshot, Gen Numan Dakhil, head of Nouri's Rapid Reaction Brigade in Baghdad was caught by the Integrity Commission investigators taking a $50,000 bribe and ordered his forces to attack the IC investigators, leaveing nine injured, three of which required hospitalization. He was later cornered in a Baghdad shoot out before finally surrendering. Nouri's Rapid Reaction Brigade is back in the news. Al Rafidayn reports that the group is being criticized -- along with the US military -- for raids that have been taking place in Diwaniya Province. The Provincial Council's Deputy Chair has called out the raids noting that contents of homes have been destroyed and the inhabitants terrorized by the joint forces and that these raids have taken place "without the knowledge of the local government." He also expressed his surprise that, Baghdad being 180 km from Diwaniyah Province, the Rapid Reaction Brigade would be utilized. He also accused the US forces of deliberately taking part in the raids in order to antagonize the Sadrists in the province and cause them to retaliate. From Sardists to Moqtada al-Sadr himself, Xinhua (link has text and audio) reports that while Moqtada condemned the attacks on Libya (by the US, France and England), Nouri al-Maliki's spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh read a statement which included, "The Iraqi government supports the international effort that aims to protect the people of Libya." On the 8th anniversary of the Iraq War KALW was one of the few to do a special and link is audio and transcript. And the eighth anniversary saw protests around the country. We noted some in yesterday's snapshot. KALW reports of the San Francisco protest, "Last Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at San Francisco's Union Square as a part of the International Day of Action in accordance with the eighth anniversary of U.S. military action in Iraq. The event began with a rally, including speeches from students, labor unions and the ANSWER Coaltion." In Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the Taunton Gazette reports, members of Citizens for an Informed Community held a protest as they do each year on the anniversary of the Iraq War. Jordan Farrar and Joe Bernick (Peoples World) reports: In Tuscon demonstrators marched and rallied demanding an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well. They also opposed and possible new U.S., military intervention in the region. The day began with a spirited march from Armory park, through downtown Tucson and on to De Anza Park for an anti-war rally. The most prominent signs in the march were for "Jobs not war", and "Healthcare not warfare." Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan has held and led many vigils and she has a new essay: Dear War Loving (Democratic or Republican) Fraud, I know many of you don't really care, but in exactly 15 days, it will be seven years since my oldest son (whom I never "abandoned" and raised with his father and three siblings until he went into the Army when he was 21), Casey was killed in this Empire's insane War OF Terror. Was Casey the first, or the last? No--but he was my first and the shock knocked me out of my quiet complacency--which was just as wrong as the Empire's unending wars. When I began protesting, Bush was president and my protest and the energy that grew around it was used by you Democrats to regain political power in the federal government. Four years later and a change of Executive, this nation is still mired in Arab countries waging a war against Arabs of all, or no, faith. Now brought to us by the Blue Team. Three days after the current evil Emperor was installed by the oligarchy, he ordered a drone bombing in Northern Pakistan (a country that we are supposedly not at war with) that killed 36 civilians and since then, he has been absolutely mad about drone bombings, increasing Bush's total over 300 percent in far fewer years. Even though I never supported Obama who funded wars as a Senator and who is NOT a peace president, I said at the time: "Three days in and already a war criminal." I was thoroughly attacked by Democrats who once affiliated as "peace" activists for not giving Obama "time." Well, Gitmo is still open, military tribunals will resume for men who have been illegally detained for up to a decade now, US Tomahawk missiles are raining down on innocents in Libya (killing people to save them is the NEW PEACE), dictators are still supported, Israel is still occupying and oppressing Palestine, activists are being targeted by Obama's DOJ while BushCo are being protected, the USA PATRIOT ACT was renewed, the Gulf is dying--and where is the outrage? That's the opening. Use the link to read in full. One of Cindy's many great strengths is that she never shies from sharing what she's experiencing. Sharing those experiences has helped more people than she will ever meet face-to-face. And it's probably not easy for her to do that but she has a lot of courage. Maj Mark Citarella writes at the New York Times' At War blog about his current deployment and how, shortly after he deployed, his new girlfriend told him via "emial and a text" that it was over. This is something that many will be able to relate to as well including his anguish: Sometimes the stress causes soldiers to exhibit suicidal behavior. That happened to a sergeant on my last deployment. After the breakup of a relationship, all he wanted to do was go outside the wire on every mission. Take every chance with his life, as if it didn't matter anymore. I also struggled with powerful emotions, even as I was trying to lead soldiers. I wanted to let loose. Sometimes I just wanted to start shooting my rifle. But I had to remind myself that I was a professional with a job to do. Being an officer and a commander, I couldn't let my troops see me fall. For a leader to express any sort of weakness would create doubts among his troops: "If he can't handle himself here, how can he be trusted to keep others safe?" So I tried my hardest to internalize the pain even when all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball. Suicides in the military continue at an alarming rate. When someone higher up shares, as Citarella has done, it can have an impact on others who are struggling. When 2010's figures were released, the military noted that it was the second year in a row where more service members died of suicide than from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Kevin Caruso (Suicide.org) offers an overview on military suicides. The Army has a suicide prevention resource page. 1-800-273-TALK (8255) is the Suicide Prevention Lifeline for service members, veterans and their families. Chris Hedges (CounterCurrents) reports on Iraq War veteran Jess Goodell who served in the Marines' Mortuary Affairs unit and, in that capacity, encountered many service members who had taken their own lives in Iraq: The unit was sent to collect the bodies of the Marines who killed themselves, usually by putting rifles under their chins and pulling the trigger. "We had a Marine who was in a port-a-john when he blew his face off," she said. "We had another Marine who shot himself through the neck. Often they would do it in the corner of a bunker or an abandoned building. We had a couple that did it in port-a-johns. We had to go in and peel and pull off chunks of flesh and brain tissue that had sprayed the walls. Those were the most frustrating bodies to get. On those bodies we were also on cleanup crew. It was gross. We sent the suicide notes home with the bodies." "We had the paperwork to do fingerprinting, but we started getting bodies in which there weren't any hands or we would get bodies that were just meat," said Goodell, who in May will publish a memoir called "Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq." The book title refers to the form that required those in the mortuary unit to shade in black the body parts that were missing from a corpse. "Very quickly it became irrelevant to have a fingerprinting page to fill out. By the time we would get a body it might have been a while and rigor mortis had already set in. Their hands were usually clenched as if they were still holding their rifle. We could not unbend the fingers easily." Last week we saw the White House lobby to cut health care for active duty and their family members [if you're late to the party on that, refer to this "Iraq snapshot" and this "Iraq snapshot"] and now Kimberly Hefling (AP) reports that the Pentagon is misinterpreting a law Congress passed three years ago in order to deny veterans retirement benefits. Hefling's report comes after Congress has discovered that the VA is deliberately misinterpreting the law they passed on caregivers. Earlier this month, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee released the following statement: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Murray Press Office – (202) 224-2834 March, 9th 2011 Jon Clark (Miller) – (202) 225 – 3527 Chandler Smith (Burr) – (202) 224-2074 Meredith McFadden (Filner) - (202) 225-8045 Bipartisan Congressional Veterans Leaders Urge President to Block VA's Plan to Limit Support for Caregivers of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Leaders of the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees call on President Obama to stop the VA from severely limiting a benefit for those who are forced to leave careers, health care behind to care for their loved ones (Washington, D.C.) – Leaders of the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committee sent a bi-partisan, bi-cameral letter to President Barack Obama yesterday calling on him to ensure that eligibility for a law Congress passed to support veterans caregivers is not limited and that the law is implemented in a timely manner. In the letter, the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Congressional Committees that oversee the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expressed their frustration over VA and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delays in moving forward with caregivers support, and with additional criteria that will severely limit the ability for some family caregivers to access the benefit. Specifically, the Congressional leaders asked the President to direct OMB to "ensure that the regulations or other elements of the program's implementation comply with the specific eligibility criteria that are set out in the law." "It's simply unacceptable that the VA would limit a program Congress designed to support family members of veterans who have left behind careers, lives, and responsibilities to see that their loved one can recover at home," said Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Patty Murray. "We are calling on the President to make sure that the will of Congress and the needs of these veterans are not being ignored. Caring for our veterans is part of the cost of war. This program is part of the cost of war." "When he signed the Caregiver Law, President Obama stood with wounded veterans and caregivers in promising that they'd be getting the help they needed," said House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller. "We're now calling on him to fulfill that pledge and direct his administration to hear the will of Congress, veterans, and caregivers to get this program right." "This legislation was originally designed to provide a path forward for caregivers who are already sacrificing their own aspirations in order to make the lives of severely wounded veterans easier to bear," said Senator Richard Burr, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. "I urge the President to work with VA to get this bill right so that caregivers in dire need of assistance can receive the benefits promised to them," "VA's continued delay in the implementation of such a vital program is inexcusable. Many of these caregivers have wiped out their savings, have had to forego their own health care coverage and have given up their careers in order to care for their loved one," said Rep. Bob Filner Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. "Last year, Congress saw fit to extend critical benefits to the Caregivers of our nation's veterans and we will not stand idly by as VA prolongs the process. Too much time has passed already." The full text of the letter follows: March 8, 2011 The President The White House Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: We are writing regarding the family caregivers assistance program established in Public Law 111-163, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, which you signed into law on May 5, 2010. To date, implementation of this program is significantly behind the schedule mandated in law. The statutory deadline for the full implementation of this program was January 30, 2011. Our concerns were raised with you about this previously, and after conversations with members of your senior staff, we understand that you are directing your Administration to get this program back on track such that services should commence early this summer. We ask that you direct the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Management and Budget to implement the necessary interim-final regulations for this program within 60 days of the date of this letter. We also ask that you direct OMB to ensure that the regulations and other elements of the program's implementation comply with the specific eligibility criteria that are set out in the law. VA's reluctance to work with Congress and veterans advocates has led to a situation where caregivers remain unclear if they will receive the support Congress intended for them. Further delay of this program hurts veterans and caregivers in need of these critical benefits and services. Further, limiting eligibility to arbitrary and stringent criteria, contrary to the intent of the law, creates undue hardship for veterans and family caregivers meant to be helped by the new program. Instruction and training in the provision of care, respite, technical assistance, counseling, and a living stipend for those who are forced to leave their jobs or work fewer hours to provide care to their loved ones are all being withheld as some in VA attempt to stymie this program. VA and OMB need your leadership to implement this program. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL 1st), Chairman, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Ranking Member, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA 51st), Ranking Member, House Veterans' Affairs Committee ### Either the White House is intent upon gutting programs that serve service members and veterans needs or the White House is inept. Either way, it doesn't matter, the end result is that veterans and service members (and their families) suffer. A functioning White House would have long ago gotten the VA and the DoD in line. That hasn't happened. And, in fact, the efforts by DoD to push the burden of health care cost off on active duty is part of the White House proposed budget to Congress. For all of Barack's big claims that he would be different than Bush, the result is he's more of the same. And while the White House works to push the burden off onto active duty, retired and veterans, they continue to send service members into war. AP notes that there was a send-off ceremony Sunday for members of the 2219th Brigade Support Ccompany with the Indiana National Guard who are deploying to Iraq. The Iraq War continues and it's Barack's war now. The Son of a Bush is dealt with in Micahel Oplinger column for the Daily Collegian: On the big issues, Obama has continued the same policies that Bush championed -- the same ones much of the country disapproved of by the end of his eight years in office. The Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans can now be referred to as the Obama tax cuts as the current law has the Democrat's signature on it. Despite Obama ordering the closure of Guantanamo Bay, the prison remains open and its controversial tactics likely remain in practice. Obama has failed to voice strong support for union rights as battles rage on, despite union members making up a large portion of the Democratic voting block. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to drag on, despite their unpopularity and staggeringly high costs. Now, Obama has announced the United States will engage in military conflict in Libya. The decision is eerily similar to Bush's decision to enter Iraq, including the announcement eight years to the day after Bush made his announcement. Today DoD issued the following: "The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation New Dawn. Cpl. Brandon S. Hocking, 24, of Seattle, Wash., died March 21 in As Samawah, Iraq, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 87th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. For more information, the media may contact the Fort Stewart public affairs office at 912-435-9879 or after 4 p.m. call 912-767-8666." Staying on veterans issues: Stop-loss. Stop-loss is the backdoor draft and, supposedly, the US military is now done with it. That remains to be seen. But many service members would be at the end of their service contracts and planning to leave the military when they would be informed thaty had been "stop-lossed" meaning time had been extended on their contract. It's legality was questionable for US citizens but it was flat out illegal when it was done to non-US citizens serving in the US military. If you were stop-lossed, you were owed additional money. That money needs to be claimed. DoD announces the date to file for that additional payment has been extended: The deadline for eligible service members, veterans and their beneficiaries to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP) has been extended to April 8, 2011, allowing personnel more time to apply for the benefits they've earned under the program guidelines. The deadline extension is included in the continuing resolution signed by President Obama Friday, providing funding for federal government operations through April 8, 2011. Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay was established to compensate for the hardships military members encountered when their service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss Authority between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009. Eligible members or their beneficiaries may submit a claim to their respective military service in order to receive the benefit of $500 for each full or partial month served in a Stop Loss status. When RSLSP began on Oct. 21, 2009, the services estimated 145,000 service members, veterans and beneficiaries were eligible for this benefit. Because the majority of those eligible had separated from the military, the services have engaged in extensive and persistent outreach efforts to reach them and remind them to apply. Outreach efforts including direct mail, engaging military and veteran service organizations, social networks and media outlets, will continue through April 8, 2011. To apply for more information, or to gather more information on RSLSP, including submission requirements and service-specific links, go to http://www.defense.gov/stoploss. The reality is that DoD knows who was stop-lossed. They were the ones doing it. But if they have to contact the people, then the payments will be much more than if they just do these little announcements and then say, "Well we made the announcement." If you were stop-lossed you have until April 8th (at this point) to apply for the money owed you. If you know someone who was stop-lossed, you might want to check with them and be sure they know about this. In a perfect world, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and ABC World News with Diane Sawyer would all lead with the announcement on the same night to really get the word out. Finally in veterans news, Iraq War veteran Jeff Key wrote a play about his experiences entitled The Eyes Of Bablyon. Some portions of it were featured in the 2007 documentary Sempre Fi: One Marine's Journey. Key outed himself on CNN (March 31, 2004) and was kicked out of the military. His play is being performed at the Bristol Riverside Theatre through April 3rd. Gwen Shrift (Philly Burbs) writes a rave review, "In the realm of bravery, some have physical courage, some have moral conviction, and some have creative audacity. Jeff Key, playwright, actor and former Marine, possesses all three in abundance." iraq alsumaria tv bloomberg news nayla razzouk kadhim ajrash aswat al-iraq al mada pri the world jane arraf hisham rikabi dar addustour cindy sheehan the daily collegian michael oplinger the associated press kimberly hefling

that sad amy goodman

that's "Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Ego Tripper's Workout"

and i don't exist in amy goodman's world.

i found that out this morning on democracy now.

along with 5,000 other people, i rallied against the wars in los angeles on saturday. but we weren't noted or noticed by amy goodman.


we had the largest turnout nationwide but she didn't have time for that news.

she reduced all of saturday's protests to 1 single sentence.

remember when she used to claim that pacifica was the people's medium and that people power was so important and that protests need to be covered?

maybe you remember her books where she was forever whining that the new york times buried news of a protest inside the paper or npr got the number wrong or blah blah.

but on her own program, on her program which is 1 hour long, she couldn't find or make the time to cover the protests.

that says it all, now doesn't it.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Monday, March 21, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces a death, protests take place around the US over the weekend, though covered by the many segments of the press they are largely ignored by 'listener supported' and 'independent' media, Nouri and his lackeys pursue talks with the US about the US military remaining in Iraq past 2011, and more. Another US soldier has died in Barack Obama's Iraq War. AP reports the military released a statement informing "the soldier died from wounds sustained from a roadside bomb attack during operations in southern Iraq." August 31, 2010 US President Barack Obama -- in his best little Son of a Bush style -- pranced around declared an end to combat operations -- it so echoed Bush's "major combat operations have ended" May 1, 2003 speech. And, like the earlier speech, it didn't reflect reality. Aaron Liu (Neon Tommy) observes: But in declaring an end to "combat operations," the U.S. may be drawing superficial lines. While U.S. casualties have dropped drastically since the military's shift in strategy, a handful of soldiers still find themselves involved in the operation far beyond an advisory/auxiliary role. Since September, approximately 21 servicemen have died, nine of them "in combat." Furthermore, under the U.S. status of forces agreement (SOFA) with Iraq, the U.S. military retains the "inherent right to self-defense and are authorized to take necessary action to prevent terrorist activities in order to protect themselves or the people of Iraq" -- further skewing the notion that combat endeavors are indeed a thing of the past. "Honestly, there are still combat missions," wrote the soldier, in reference to Obama's declaration. "In my opinion, if you are getting blown up and/or shot at, you are in a combat zone." Libertarian David Boaz observes of the Son of a Bush: Maybe antiwar organizers assumed that they had elected the man who would stop the war. After all, Barack Obama rose to power on the basis of his early opposition to the Iraq war and his promise to end it. But after two years in the White House he has made both of George Bush's wars his wars. In October 2007, Obama proclaimed, "I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." Speaking of Iraq in February 2008, candidate Barack Obama said, "I opposed this war in 2002. I will bring this war to an end in 2009. It is time to bring our troops home." The following month, under fire from Hillary Clinton, he reiterated, "I was opposed to this war in 2002….I have been against it in 2002, 2003, 2004, 5, 6, 7, 8 and I will bring this war to an end in 2009. So don't be confused." Indeed, in his famous "the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow" speech on the night he clinched the Democratic nomination, he also proclaimed, "I am absolutely certain that generations from now we will be able to look back and tell our children that . . . this was the moment when we ended a war." Today, however, he has tripled President Bush's troop levels in Afghanistan, and we have been fighting there for more than nine years. The Pentagon has declared "the official end to Operation Iraqi Freedom and combat operations by United States forces in Iraq," but we still have 50,000 troops there, hardly what Senator Obama promised. Al Mada reports today that Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi officials are discussing with US officials the possibility of the US military keeping around 20,000 US troops in Iraq after December 31, 2011. The report notes that the officials, military figures and analysts in both countries fear that "withdrawal could threaten the fragile stability in Iraq" and US Maj Gen Edward Cardon is quoted citing the long (continued) delay of Nouri forming a government and saying that there was no prime minister for so long and everything slowed down as a result. The report also references AP and I'm guessing it's this report by Lara Jakes. Meanwhile, Dar Addustour reports that 200 Iraqis demonstrated Saturday in Mosul demanding that US troops leave the country. Saturday was the 8th anniversary of the Iraq War. And what took place on Saturday? To hear Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) tell it, not much: "In Washington, D.C., more than 100 antiwar activists were arrested outside the White House on Saturday during a protest to mark the eighth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq." (She provides a second sentence about a Sunday protest not against the Iraq War. She provides a third sentence where she notes Daniel Ellsberg was arrested at both.) Ava and I explored how pathetic Democracy Now! and KPFA were this weekend. Amy Goodman's bound and determined to prove us right. Protests took place across the country on Saturday. DC wasn't even the largest protest, Los Angeles was. But Goody's not interested in the Iraq War as she's demonstrated over and over (in fact, I don't believe her audience has even been told that US troops may remain in Iraq past 2011). Nor is KPFA. They provided 3 minutes on Iraq in a 2 hour "Iraq War special" Saturday. Here's how they describe in the archives (it doesn't show up on Saturday's archive, you have to click here to find it): On the 8th Anniversary of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, many organizations coordinated by the ANSWER Coalition will hold a march and rally from UN Plaza in San Francisco. KPFA will cover the event in a joint production of Flashpoints, La Onda Bajita and Voices of the Mideast and North Africa and Hard Knock Radio. Despite billing it as they did above (for how they billed it on air, see Ava and my piece), only 3 minutes were on Iraq. Apparently those three minutes exhausted them because today KPFA couldn't find the protests when they returned to work. The Morning Mix had an hour but nothing on the protests (and Tara was co-hosting the 2 hour special), Letters to Washington had an hour and nothing on the protests, Brian Edwards-Tiekert was laid off by KPFA and used that time to whine that without him on the air there wouldn't be any Iraq coverage but he filled in as host of Against The Grain today and, in a full hour, couldn't find the protests. Remember that the next time some of our left leaders whine about the MSM giving the Tea Party attention. Faux radical Sonali and her so-called Uprising Radio had nothing on the protests in their hour today because Sonali's the establishment, despite her public claim to be "subversive." That a program called Uprising -- with a grandstanding host -- can ignore the protests says a great deal. Not everyone was silent. Today on WBAI's Wake Up Call, Esther Armah noted Saturday's protests took place as a suicide bomber attacked the Iraqi military and 10 Iraqi soldiers were killed with thirty people left injured. (Saturday Reuters noted 9 other deaths and 24 wounded -- plus 2 deaths from Friday.) Esther played statements from various participants. We'll note Pledge of Resistance's Maria Allwine who took part in the DC protest and explained, "Certainly the peace movement suffered a huge blow with Obama's campaign, election and then betrayal of all of us. So for me seeing these new groups or rather these groups all involved again in this type of action does give me hope and I've felt pretty hopeless for some time but I think we're seeing a resurgence." That was in the first hour of Wake Up Call and you have 89 days left to hear it in the WBAI Archives. Matthew Duss (Foreign Policy) observes, "Looking back eight years later the US war in Iraq should teach policymakers of the very clear limitations of American military and political power and the consequences of utilizing US military force with uncertain political objectives. It was a humbling lesson that American leaders learned after Vietnam and informed foreign policy and national security decision-making for decades afterward. But none of this is happening today. The Iraq catastrophe has not led to the sort of national soul-searching that one saw after Vietnam -- or that one might expect after a war that so disastrously undermined US national security." However, The Progressive has nothing today on the protests, nor does The Nation, nor does ZNet. Again, when they whine about the MSM next, remember that ahead of the protests they couldn't get the word out and after they had nothing to say. As noted in the editorial at Third, the protests succeeded in spit of these outlets. I am asking everything you have to give I am asking everything you have to give We will never give up We will never give up We will never give in We will never give in We will never give up We will never give up We will never give in We will never give in You will lose your youth, your sleep, your arches, your strength, your patience, your sense of humor And occasionally, the love and support of people you love very much. But we will never give up We will never give up We will never give in We will never give in -- "We Will Never Give In" music and lyrics by Kristin Lem appears on her Equality Road album and I think it first appeared on a Broadside Magazine recording. Not everyone was silent. And the protests took place across the country. So let's do the work people paid to do couldn't and note many of the protest. Gloria Tatum (Atlanta Progressive News) reports, "[. . .] Saturday, March 19, 2011, on the 8th anniversary of the criminal US 'shock and awe' attack on Iraq, 160 Atlantans marched in Midtown to bring awareness that the US still has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that these continued occupations will cost Georgia taxpayers five billion dollars in 2011." Some protests were big, some were small, but around the country people turned out to stand up against the wars and say "ENOUGH!" Josh O'Leary (Iowa City Press-Citizen) reports, "Marking the eighth anniversary of the war in Iraq, about 40 protesters gathered Saturday on the steps of the Johnson County Courthouse and marched through downtown Iowa City to call for an end of U.S. occupations overseas." Iowa City wasn't the only municipality in the state protesting. . Clark Kauffman (Des Moines Register) counts over 100 protesting in downtown Des Moines and notes signs included "Bring The Iowa Guard Home" and "Enough Already." ABC 5 WOI-DT adds that the Des Moines participants included army veteran Ed Flaherty who stated, "If you ask people on the street, I think the war on Iraq has gone to the recess of peoples minds but we still have fifty thousand U.S. troops there and people are dying on all sides." Like Iowa, Oregon also had multiple protests taking place across the state. Emily Gilliespie (Corvallis Gazette Times) notes, "Nearly 100 anti-war demonstrators marked the eighth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq on Saturday by walking about a mile from Central Park to the National Guard Armory on Kings Boulevard in Corvallis. They carried flags, signs bearing messages such as 'Stop the war' and mock coffins in remembrance of the casualties of the war. Bagpipes played but the group otherwise was silent." Michael Stone (Portland Progressive Examiner) notes Portland's protest, "Saturday hundreds gathered in Oregon at Portland's Pioneer Courthouse square to rally for peace on the 8 year anniversary of America's invasion of Iraq. Oregonians rallied in the city square in solidarity and protest of America's foreign adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan." Bobby Allyn (The Oregonian) adds of the Portland protest: A pack of war protesters from Oak Grove, who assemble every weekend near the Fred Meyer on McLoughlin Boulevard just south of Milwaukie, demonstrated there a half-hour early Saturday so they could march with the protesters in Portland. "We keep doing it because people forget," said JoAnn Weaver, 71, of Oak Grove, holding a sign that read: Fund health care, not war. "People keep getting sick and the resources aren't there." KGW offers a video report of the Portland protest. Still in Oregon, Chris McKee (KMTR) reports an estimated one hundred marched in dowtown Eugene and quotes marcher Doublas Bovee stating, "War is not inevitable, war is an option. And we can resolve conflict in much more effective ways to save humanity." Tim Elliott (NBC 15 -- link has text and video) reported on the Madison, Wisconsin protest, "For the sixth Saturday in a row, protesters showed up in full force at the capitol. The difference: Saturday's demonstration was led by veterans. On the eighth anniversary of the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, anti-war veterans led thousands of protesters in a march and rally on the capitol steps." James Ewinger (Plain Dealer) reports on "dozens" showed up in Cleveland to protest including Greg Coleridge who "said he regretted that the rally marked the eighth anniversary of the war's commencement, instead of its ending." The Kansas City Star reports on Kansas City's protest and notes, "An organizer, Ira Harritt, said the rally was held to protest the war, but also to remind Americans that the death toll continues to mount." Kyle Jarvis (Sentinel) reports approximately 80 people turned out in Keene, New Hampshire to protest and Jarvis quotes Iraq War veteran Paul J, Krautmann stating of the war, "It makes me very, very angry that this thing just goes on and on. I never dreamed that when I came home in 2005 (from Iraq) that this would still be going on." KRQE (link has text and video) reports on Albuquerque's protest and quotes marcher Marie Ellis stating, "We went into a country where we weren't invited. We went because we were given false information. Eight years later, we're still there, we still don't have the money, but yet in our own country we're in a crisis situation." M.E. Broderick (Democracy for New Mexico -- link has text and video) reports approximately 300 people took part in the Albuquerque protest and "The main theme: bring the troops home now. Start using the $2 BILLION a week and more we spend on the wars to create jobs and support community and human needs." The protest getting the most media attention was the one in DC. Remember, that one got a whole sentence from Amy Goodman who rendered everyone else invisible. Oh-la-la. Emily Babay (Washington Examiner) notes, 113 marchers were arrested. Catherine Finn (DCist) notes Pentagon Papers whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg was among the arrested. AP adds: Hundreds of protesters attended the rally and marched around the White House, but the crowd - which included many military veterans - thinned considerably as the U.S. Park Police warned that they'd be arrested if they didn't move. As officers moved in with handcuffs, one protester who clutched the gates outside the White House shouted, "Don't arrest them! Arrest Obama!" and "You're arresting veterans, not war criminals!" Joana Godinho (CNN) counts, "About 1,000 people from various antiwar groups, including Veterans For Peace, Iraq Veterans Against War and Code Pink, marched around Lafayette Park to make three demands of the Obama administration: stop the war, expose the lies and free Bradley Manning." The Argus-Press National runs a photo from the DC protest by AP's Jacquelyn Martin. For video, you can check War Is A Crime for this and this and this -- all video reports of the DC protest filed by BillyClub. And we noted other protests last night in this entry. In addition, World Can't Wait is posting numerous reports to their Facebook Page. Those are amazing numbers all over the country and if there was one true surprise -- and disappointment -- Saturday, it was Madison Wisconsin. Gayle Worland (Wisconsin State Journal) reports, "Though their numbers were dwarfed by the estimated 100,000 people who gathered there a week earlier, more than 1,000 demonstrators against Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget and his efforts to end most collective bargaining rights for public workers returned to Capitol Square on Saturday, unified by what they said they had in common: Staying power." IVAW really tried to get the word out for that but they were up against a 'left' and 'independent' press that didn't care. You can go to any of those outlets (I'm being kind and not naming but I heard all about it last week while IVAW was trying to get the word out) that promoted the other Wisconsin protests but weren't interested in this one. And in terms of the peace crowd, the event was billed as a labor event with some war tacked on. I wasn't there, I don't know how it went off but the various small press radicals who promoted other actions weren't interested and the peace and justice crowd wasn't courted. Madison was expected to be the huge protest of Saturday because of all the huge protests that have happened one right after another in Madison. Instead, for Madison, they had a meager turnout. A lot of that can be traced to the fact that there was no word of mouth generated by the independent media -- or so-called independent media. Chicago had less people working behind the scenes but managed to pull out significant numbers and that's in part because their local media (not corporate media) did work to get the word out ahead of time and generate some excitement. Fight Back! News reports on Chicago's action: 1000 people rallied and marched here March 19 to mark the eighth anniversary of the war in Iraq. A large contingent was organized by the Committee Against Political Repression (CAPR), which included many of the 23 persons subpoenaed to a grand jury for because of their anti-war and international solidarity efforts. Chants and signs carried the message that activism is not a crime. Seven of those subpoenaed are Palestinians. A large group of youth, mostly Arabs, carried a 60-foot long Palestinian flag behind the CAPR banner to show the unity of the Arab and Muslim communities with the fight to resist FBI and grand jury repression. Stephanie Weiner, whose home was raided by 25 agents last fall, was the first speaker at the rally at the end of the march. She thanked the anti-war movement for six months of support for the targeted activists, calling out, "Courage, courage, courage," as the watchword for those standing up to the repression. She made it clear that she and the other 22 people will continue to stand on the side of the people suffering through U.S. wars and occupations. Evelyn Holmes (WLS -- link has text and video) reports the crowd was 1,500 strong and quotes marcher Julie Harley stating, "We cannot continue to spend billions of dollars on war." NBC Chicago (link has text and video) adds that the chants included, "We need money for jobs, not the war. We need money for schools, not the war. We need money for health care, not the war." To no one's surprise the pro-war and right-wing Chicago Tribune underestimates the turnout by approximately 10%. No link to their nonsense. Actions took place in New York as well. Stacey Sager (WABC) reports on the NYC protest and notes "U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel joined the protesters. He said he's undecided on whether the military action against Libya is justified. But he is angry that Congress was not consulted beforehand." Chris Hawley (AP) reports the Raging Grannies were among the 80 or so participating. As Jim notes in "Roundtable," " I went to take part in the NYC protest -- the one Joan Wile, founder of Grandmothers Against the War and author of Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace was getting the word out on and was one of the organizers of [. . .]" We noted it in two Iraq snapshots last week, running Joan's announcement of the event, and did so twice because I realized they weren't getting any attention from media that should have been supportive. In addition, for some stupid reason, the Left Forum decided to counter-program against the Iraq War protest. Joan and the other organizers worked very, very hard and deserve to be congratulated for their work and for the turnout. For an audio report of the NYC protest, click on this page and scroll down to the audio option for Sophia Hall's WCBS report. I was at the Los Angeles protest. It actually got LA media attention ahead of the protest. KPKF was the media sponsor of the event and worked to get the word out. Which may be why Los Angeles may have had the largest turnout. If CNN's numbers are correct, LA was the biggest turnout across the country. I'd estimate we were approximatley five thousand. A.N.S.W.E.R. which, along with March Forward!, sponsored the LA rally (and many other ones across the country) notes the protests around the country but we'll quote them on the LA rally: Thousands of people hit the streets in Los Angeles in a spirited, youthful demonstration to stop the wars. Led by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, including active-duty soldiers and marines, the march of well over 4,000 people chanted, "Money for jobs and education, not for wars and occupation!" A huge student contingent from high schools and community colleges in Long Beach, Orange County and L.A. participated, along with large numbers from the Muslim community. Speakers included Vietnam Veteran Ron Kovic, students, teachers, union leaders and anti-war activists. Chris Shiflet, the lead guitarist for the Foo Fighters, spoke and played a song. The ANSWER Coalition initiated the March 19 protest in Los Angeles. Over 100 additional community and progressive organizations endorsed the action. Dan Bluemel (LA Activist) reports that 11 people were arrested in LA for civil disobedience as they sat holding photos of fallen soldiers, "Ed Garza, the Orange County chapter leader of Military Families Speak Out, was one of those arrested. Garza is a Vietnam War veteran who was awarded the Purple Heart. He spoke last week at the Mothers March rally in MacArthur Park. In his speech, Garza spoke of his two friends and fellow veterans, Max and Felix, who both died from complications arising from Agent Orange exposure. Max had died only a few weeks prior." Lisa Brenner (LAist) offers a photo essay of the protest. Press TV has a nice photo of the LA rally and they also observe: Nominally, the U.S. is required under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to leave Iraq by the end of the year, but all indications are that this won't happen. Indeed, reports are that a mostly behind-the-scenes debate is ongoing not on if the U.S. occupation will continue, but how big it will be. Antiwar The White House proposed on February 14, 2011 to spend $671 billion on the U.S. military next year. Reuters The Obama administration's budget proposal for fiscal 2012 includes $118 billion for the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, on top of the base budget of $553 billion. In an article on the Iraq War, Alexandra Messick-Kopel (Palo Alto Patch) makes time to note Iraq War resister Camilo Mejia. In 2003, Camilo Mejia was four months away from completing his eight-year obligation to the military when his commander informed him that he was stop-lossed -- a military term for the involuntary extension of active duty -- and that his service was required until the year 2031. Mejia was shipped to Iraq, where his first mission was to torture civilians so they would be "softened" for interrogation, he said. From there he went to Ar Ramadi, an urban city. "We were working with a civilian population, where the only thing that separated a civilian from a combatant is that a civilian had a gun and was shooting at you, so when the combatant put the rifle down, there was no way to tell a combatant away from a civilian," he said. "Given the the inability to pinpoint the enemy, or a uniformed enemy, we ended up killing a lot of non-armed civilians." Although Mejia began to resist some orders, he was afraid of being perceived as unpatriotic or "soft." "Between the fear of dying, peer pressure, the heat and fatigue, it was very difficult to make decisions based on morality or my conscious," he said. "Decisions were made with the one purpose of getting out of there alive." When Mejia was given an opportunity to go home halfway through his tour, he decided he could not in good conscious continue to be part of the occupation. He wrote up a "conscientious objector" claim, went public with his opposition to the war and surrendered to a military base. A few months later, he was court-marshaled with desertion and was declared a "prisoner of conscience" by Amnesty International. Camilo Mejia is the first Iraq War veteran to publicly resist the war. Others who came before him resisted deployments but he was the first to resist while serving. He is the author of Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia. We noted Kristin Lem 's "We Will Never Give In" above and you can see her at the start of next month, Saturday April 2nd, performing live: Starbucks Kristin Lems unplugged! - 7 - 9 pm 4116 Dempster St. (at Karlov) Skokie Illinois 60076 Price: freewill donation Enjoy Kristin without a p.a. system ~ singing your favorites and hers too, whilst you sip on coffee and whatever else Starbucks offers. Tip jar pays the fees! Turning to Iraq, Al Mada notes press reports that Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani has stated he will step down if political reforms do not take place in the KRG. Barzani easily won re-election in 2009. If the reports are true, Barzani may be attempting to reposition himself as an 'agent of change' which would be difficult to do if he were to remain president. 'Those reports weren't true!' That's what Dar Addoustor reports the office of Parliament's Speaker Osama al-Najafi is saying regarding the report that Parliament has suspended sessions until March 27th. Of course, the denial only comes after the massive protests on Saturday by Iraqis outraged that Parliament was taking a break when they were supposed to be addressing the problems Iraqi face. Saturday protests continued in Iraq. Aswat al-Iraq reports protesters in Rawa called for "the release of detainees, employment and public services." Alsumaria TV reported Baghdad protesters affirmed they would continue protesting until goals were met, Ramadi protesters "called for the topple of Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki's government. Demonstrators accused Iraqi Parliament of focusing on the sitaution in Bahrain and neglecting people's demands in Iraq." Following the protests calling out the Parliament's announcement of a ten day break "in solidarity," the people of Iraq began rejecting that call publicly which is why the denial of a break was issued by the Speaker's office today. Though the office has denied it, there are no sessions of Parliament currently scheduled for the week and, though the article doesn't mention it, al-Najafi's not even in Iraq. He's in Kuwait. If his office was worried about angry Iraqis, it probably wasn't a good idea to try lying to them. Alsumaria TV notes today that the decision to "suspended its sessions and delayed the ratification of laws was not well received by Iraqis who believe these stands are made to divert the people and shy away from demonstrators' demands. " Meanwhile Iraq's prodigal son Moqtada al-Sadr, Al Mada reports, was confronted about the assaults on journalists by Iraqi forces including by some of his people and Moqtada declared it's not within him to attack journalists and urged reporters to get the words correct when reporting -- apparently that's why they're being beaten. So Moqtada doesn't think they're getting the words right or he is in talks with other figures who do not think the press is getting the words right? Interestingly and tellingly, he didn't condemn the attacks on journalists. But he wouldn't, now would he? Bombings? Reuters notes a Kirkuk grenade explosion injured a boy, a Hawija landmine explosion wounded one shepherd, a Mosul roadside bombing injured three people, a Karma sticky bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left two more injured and, dropping back to Sunday, a Baghdad sticky bombing claimed 1 person's life and left three more injured. Shootings? Reuters notes 1 Ministry of Agriculture official was shot dead in Baghdad's Sadr City, 1 Sahwa was shot dead in Kirkuk, an attack on a Najaf gold shop killed 1 person and left the store's owner injured, 1 Oil Ministry employee was wounded in a Baghdad attack in which his wife was killed and his son wounded and dropping back to Sunday for the rest, Ministry of the Interior's Col Ali Jabar was shot dead in Baghdad, Ministry of the Interior Col Emad Chyad was injured in a Baghdad shooting and police Lt Ali Ramiz was wounded in a Baghdad shooting. iraq al mada the associated press lara jakes dar addustour alsumaria tv the atlanta progressive news gloria tatum the iowa city press-citizen josh oleary the corvallis gazette times emily gillespie the portland progressive examiner michael stone the oregonian bobby allyn nbc15 tim elliott the des moines register clark kauffman abc5 woi-dt the cleveland plain dealer james ewinger the kansas city star the sentinel kyle jarvis kmtr chris mckee the washington examiner emily babay cnn joana godinho the associated press jacquelyn martin dcist catherine finn fight back! news wls evelyn holmes wabc stacy sagel chris hawley krqe laist lisa brenner l.a. activist dan bluemel democracy for new mexico m.e. broaderick wcbs sophia hall war is a crime billyclub kristin lems