so when the news hit on alberto, i said i believed there were reasons not being stated.
this is what i wrote:
alberto didn't weigh it and then suddenly decide, 'i'll leave.' there's more to it and there's something he's afraid will come out. (probably many things but there's something he thinks the dems will be pursuing.) otherwise, he would have resigned some time ago and not made those ridiculous statements (now forgotten by the press) about how it was his duty to stay and fix the problems at the justice department (the problems he helped create).
well there probably are many things but 1 thing has already emerged. this is from democracy now's headlines today, 'Justice Department to Investigate Gonzales:'
Departing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is under investigation by the Justice Department for lying to Congress. Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine revealed that the internal investigation will focus on whether Gonzales intentionally gave false, misleading or inappropriate statements about the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program and the removal of nine U.S. attorneys.
so that's cute, right? alberto's under investigation for his lying and the inspector general at the justice dept. is supposed to be an independent position.
that was pressure but i think that's hardly all that was going on.
if the democrats don't cave (i know, i'm laughing too), we may find out why he left. why he really left.
but you don't give that crap speech that he did that was basically 'i beat my wife but only i can make it better' about the justice dept and then leave. he left because stuff was going to come out.
and there may have been some nervousness on the part of karl rove or harriet miers. they may have indicated that they were nervous about ignoring the congressional subpeona.
now dick cheney's already pissed at karl rove because he blames karl for scooter's conviction. he sees karl as rolling over on scooter to save his own ass.
so if karl seemed even slightly nervous about congress, alberto would have good reason to fear karl was about to roll over on him.
now, if you missed it, conservative war hawk ruben navarrette jr. got a piece posted at common dreams last week.
why? who the hell knows.
however, junior loved him some alberto. junior tells you that unlike the mean old new york times and washington post bully boy's 'reaciton was kinder and less condescending' and that 'gonzales is not the sort to jab at his critics'. no? well he is the sort to call for torture to be legalized. junior's column is entitled 'alberto gonzales makes graceful exit from washintong politics.' it's a love letter from one conservative to another and remember that the next time common dreams has a lapse of judgement and highlights his neurotic writing again.
junior's man crush has left d.c. and junior's got to convince himself that it really was love, a true love affair. he's probably getting out the ice cream right now and calling his friends to figure out where it all went wrong?
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Friday, August 31, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, disease outbreaks in northern Iraq, Bully Boy shows contempt for Congress (again), Texas gears up for a big protest Saturday and more.
Starting with war resistance. Tampa Bay's WMNF (88.5) interviewed Aidan Delgado.
Aidan Delgado: First of all I wouldn't encourage just anyone to become a Conscientious Objector because if you don't know it already CO status is the most difficult way to get out of the army. Mine took 18 months and it was a hard 18 months. So if someone's just looking to leave the military, CO status is not the way to do it and you should only do it if you feel absolute moral conviction that you can't participate. And the other thing I would stress is to go online and look up CO packets that have been successful. Go and read through a couple of entire packets that show what it takes to become a successful CO. And don't ever be intimidated by the army and don't let them tell you the regulations. You have to go and read the regulations on CO yourself. Look at some of the successful packets to get an impression of how wide the field is and how you can go about it.
Aidan Delgado also tells his story in The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq which came out this month. The advice he offered on the radio is advice he followed. That includes the packets and that includes not allowing the military to tell you what you really believe as they attempted to with him.
Aidan Delgado: When I wrote The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq in my mind I was reacting against a lot of the war literature that was out there -- books like Black Hawk Down and The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell and a lot of the older war novels -- in that I think too much of the war novels are really a kind of hero worship in disguise and they tell the stories of violent actions and real physical bravery and daring. And I think that's great and I think that story needs to be told; however, I think there's a huge gap and I don't think we should read only one kind of war story. And I'm proud to say my war story is not about violence although there is violence in it. And it's not about war exploits although those are in it too. It's kind of about the moral side of war and the moral journey and the development which I think is something that will resonate with a lot more readers. I'm not interested really in having a, you know, heroic soldier flag waving gently in the background. And I'm not really trying to entertain people or satisfy their ghoulish curiosity about war. I really want people to think about the other side, the personal side, that hasn't been reflected in all these gory, violent war memoirs . So my idea was to create a different kind of war novel that talks about the shades of grey not the uncompromising black and white, good and evil, to talk about all the moral quandries and decisions you have to make as a soldier.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
Saturday Iraq Veterans Against the War will be in Texas. Texans For Peace are staging an American People's Poll on Iraq in Fort Worth, Texas featuring many speakers including IVAW's Adam Kokesh, Leonard Shelton and Hart Viges as well as Diane Wilson, Tina Richards, Ann Wright and many others. Click here for the press release. There is not a fee to attend, the event is Saturday, in Fort Worth, Texas which is also where the Republican Straw Poll will be "taking place in General Worth Square". People will begin arriving at nine in the morning, the speeches will begin at 1:30. There will be music and entertainment. Though the event is free, people can donate and Texans For Peace is encouraging everyone planning to attend to print up tickets online. The tickets will be used for a number count of those attending. No one will be turned away because they didn't have access to a computer to print up the ticket.
The event is sponsored and Endorsed by Texans for Peace, Dallas Peace Center, IVAW, Veterans for Peace, Crawford Peace House, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, CODEPINK - Dallas Chapter, Peace Action Texas, Peace and Justice - Arlington, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and more.
Throughout the day (nine to five, this is a Saturday) there will be canvassing and straw polls, the pre-rally entertainment starts at one p.m. and the peace rally begins at 1:30 and lasts until 3:30. Fort Worth is a city in Texas, part of the Dallas and Fort Worth region known there as "DFW." Suburbs, towns and cities in the area include Denton, Plano, Arlington, Irvining, Bach Springs, Desoto, Duncanville, Lewisville, Addison, Grand Prairie and a host of others. There is a point. Texans for Peace notes that you can catch the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth and that at 12:30 pm volunteers will be helping transport people to the rally.Community member Diana and her family took part in the April 2006 immigrants rally in downtown Dallas that had at least a half million participants making it the largest protest in Dallas' history. She noted the traffic issue when she shared her experiences from that rally. Today, she explained over the phone that the easiest thing for people to the north, east or south of Fort Worth wanting to attend Saturday's events but unsure of how to get there is to utilize the Trinity train. She suggests grabbing a Dart Express Train and taking it to Union Station (in downtown Dallas). You can pick up the TRE there. ("It's the big, brown -- same brown as UPS uses --train that runs right next to the two light rails," says Diana.) ADDED: Dallas and Billie both note that there is also a solid white train. Billie: "Brown or white, they are real trains that look like trains, not the light rail." Texans for Peace notes that the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) runs from eight in the morning until eleven at night on Saturdays. September will kick off many actions across the country calling for an end to the illegal war and this Saturday, Texas kicks off the action in Fort Worth.
September is a month of actions and protests and it kicks off tomorrow in Fort Worth Texas.Jeff Gibbs will apparently not be in Fort Worth or DC. Gibbs (CounterPunch) explains, "I am tired of protests: they don't stop wars. Not protests that are mostly sign waving and hooking up with friends and strangers and feeling the solidarity and then going back to work or school on Monday. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result." Gibbs' feelings on this are quite common. If those are your feelings then figure out what actions do speak to you. If something's not speaking to you or working for you, find something that is. The movement doesn't need to grow stagnant. Gibbs is calling for work-stoppage and other actions (all solid actions). Iraq Moratorium is proposing new actions as well.
And in Iraq . . . Yesterday's snapshot noted:
While Iraq's Foreign Minister critiques the British decision to withdraw, David Miliband, UK Foreign Secretary, has his own (and presumably the British government's take). Thomas Harding (Telegraph of London) reports that Miliband has indicated what others think (including the US) really isn't the issue declaring "we will always take British decision in the British national interest. Our decision about Basra are about the situation on the ground in Basra not the situation on the ground in Baghdad" (with Harding noting that was "in reference to America's zone of control").
Today Miliband joins with the UK's Minister of Defence Des Browne to pen a column for the Washington Post where they explain the British decision to withdraw from Basra: "We pledged to help Iraqis develop a functioning state, with armed forces, police and other institutions capable of delivering security for the people. We also promised that, when we had done that, we would promptly hand over full responsibility for security to the legitimate, elected Iraq authorities." Damien McElroy (Telegraph of London) notes that Basra Palace is the last British base within Basra and that "[t]he American military is known to harbour concerns over the security of the oilfields that are Iraq's only source of oil exports and its supply lines along the north-south highway". The British began the occupation of Basra April 6, 2003. That was over four years ago. As Great Britain's Socialist Worker notes, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has declared that there is no planned withdrawal (5,500 British forces are in Iraq, the Basra withdrawal is expected to allow for no more than 500 troops to leave Iraq) and that British army head Richard Dannatt has termed Iraq "a region perched precariously above a large proportion of the world's remaining supply of oil."
Meanwhile Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London) reports that 5,000 Iraqis in the northern part of the country have cholera. AFP reports that the the World Health Organization terms the outbreak a "major epidemic". Earlier this week, UNICEF announced they had "rushed emergency aid" in to "Suleimaniya and Kirkuk in northern Iraq" and that: "Serious problems with water quality and sewage treatment are being blamed for the outbreak. Local reports indicate that only 30 per cent of the population in Suleimaniya has an adequate water supply. Mains water is only available for two hours per day at the most in the main city quarters and suburbs. A water quality report from Suleimaniya from July showed the only 50 per cent of the water inside the city was chlorinated. Many people have been reduced to digging shallow wells outside their own homes." IRIN quotes Slaimaniyah General Hospital's Dr. Dirar Iyad stating, "We need urgent medical support as the disease is spreading. We didn't expect an outbreak in this area. There is a shortage of medicines to control the disease and the focal point [source of the disease] hasn't been identified yet . . . Five deaths have so far been reported here and in Kirkuk, and we believe more could occur over the next couple of days as victims are already in an advanced stage of the illness." Cockburn explains, "Most of Iraq outside Kurdistan is flat so water and sewage need to be pumped, but this has often become impossible due to a lack of electricity. The water in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is highly polluted and undrinkable." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) notes that earlier (June) there was an outbreak in southern Iraq.
Cockburn also notes 4.2 million is the current number of Iraqi refugees "of whom two million have been displaced within Iraq." UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie vitied Iraq and Syria this week to meet with Iraqi refugees. The UN notes that Jolie visited a Damascus UNHCR center and visited the "small rented room shared by 13 people between the ages of eight months and 67 years" of one family who were registering with the center and also visited Iraq's Al Waleed camp "which houses 1,300 refugees . . . where there is no running water or electricty." ABC News (US) has photos of the visit. Pasadena Weekly notes the estimate is 1,200 for the number of Iraqi refugees she met with on Tuesday. Many external Iraqi refugees have gone to Syria or Jordan. Today, Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) noted, "The Syrian government has announced it will soon prevent Iraqi refugees from crossing its border unless they have work visas. The new rules take effect on Sept. 10. Over 1.5 million Iraqi refugees have fled to Syria since the U.S. invasion. More than 30,000 Iraqi refugees continue to arrive in Syria each month." Peace Mom and candidate for the US Congress in California's eighth district Cindy Sheehan recently visited Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Great Britain's Socialist Worker reports, "Asked whether the occupying powers had taken steps to alleviate the suffering of refugees, she compared the tiny amounts spent to the billions given to the military. Cindy Sheehan said, 'This is a war crime. It is a crime to create so many refugees and then wash our hands of them'." Josie Clark (Independent of London) also noted the London press conference last week and that Sheehan was asking "the UK to help with the emergency aid operation and to consider taking more refugees from the area."
Refugees, disease outbreaks, how lucky the Iraqi people are to have been 'given' 'peace.' David S. Cloud (New York Times) reports today that an independent committee established by Congress and headed by Gen. James L. Jones will report that the Iraqi police force needs "remaking" due to "corrupt officers and Shiite militants suspected of complicity in sectarian killings". There's the Bully Boy's 'progress'. Rosa Brooks (Los Angeles Times) offers some strong truths regarding the need for US forces to withdraw and also observes, "The honest (though not very satisfying answer is that no one really knows what will happen in Iraq after the United States leaves. Interestingly, a poll in March found that a majority of Iraqis thought the security situation would improve immediately after a U.S. withdrawal. But things could also get worse -- and anyone who claims to have a crystal ball is lying. We long ago squandered any capacity to guarantee a happy ending for the Iraqis."
Meanwhile the US White House has launched an attack (again) on the legislative branch of the United States. Jonathan Weisman (Washington Post) reports that the US military brass distributes 'rap sheets' on visiting Congress members to "Iraqi officials, U.S. officials and uniformed military of no particular rank" and, by these sheets, those encountering representatives of the US Congress know where they're friend or foe and treat accordingly. This is an assault on the legislative branch and an embarrassment to Congress. Weisman notes:
At one point, the three were trying to discuss the state of Iraqi security forces with Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, but the large, flat-panel television set facing the official proved to be a distraction. Rubaie was watching children's cartoons.When Moran asked him to turn it off, Rubaie protested with a laugh and said, "But this is my favorite television show," Moran recalled.
The disrespect shown to Congress, forget the particular members, is shameful. That these actions have been tolerated goes a long way to demonstrating just how Congress continues to stand up for itself repeatedly. The White House should be called to the carpet on this.
Margaret Kimberley (Black Agenda Report) examines the long relationship between Iraq and the US, ponders the candidates for president and notes, "Poor al-Maliki. He is just the latest to discover that in certain circumstances, being a friend of the United States is a terrible position indeed. Uneasy lies the head of America's allies. Just ask Saddam Hussein." As Kimberly notes, Nouri al-Maliki knew the odds going in (or should have). Meanwhile Nermeen Al-Mufti (Al-Ahram Weekly) summarizes the many failures of al-Maliki's government (including "seems unable to keepts its own ministers in the cabinet) and concludes, "Al-Maliki is facing domestic and international criticism over the failure of his government to achieve national reconciliation and pass certain laws --- principally the US-favoured oil law. So far, Al-Maliki has reacted angrily to criticism, pledging to stay on in office." Robert H. Reid (AP) reports that al-Maliki is now attempting to blame Sunnis for this week's viiolence in Karbala -- the violence that was Shia-on-Shia violence. Sami Moubayed (Asia Times) reports on the latest paranoid induced ravings of al-Maliki regarding Krabala: "Maliki also accused the culprits of having wanted to blow up the shrine of Imam al-Hussein and then ordered the arrest of Hamid Kannush, a member of the city's municipality who is a ranking member of the Sadrist bloc. Kannush was accused of conspiracy in the Karbala violence. Maliki was effectively saying: the Sadrists did it, although his office's official press release blamed 'the Saddamis'. Maliki's office, however, did not actually explain what had happened in Karbala. National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rabei, however, said that militants wanted to occupy the two holy shrines of Imam al-Husseini and Imam al-Abbas, 'and topple the Maliki government'."
Marshall Helmberger (Timberjay Newspapers) reminds, "And don't forget that Gen. Petraeus himself said the most critical progress in Iraq had to come on the political front. On that score, there’s little debate over the fact that the Iraqi government is in utter chaos. A large portion of Prime Minister al-Maliki's cabinet has quit, as have significant blocs within the Parliament. None of the benchmark legislation the White House called 'must-pass' six months ago has been approved. The political situation is so bad that some in Congress, from both parties, are now calling for al-Maliki's replacement and rumors are again afoot about a U.S.-supported coup that would put former interim Iraqi prime minister and CIA informant Ayad Alawi in charge in Baghdad. So much for promoting democracy. While President Bush hasn't yet signed on to the idea, it's clear even the White House is no longer oblivious to Iraq's political implosion."
In some of the violence today . . .
Bombings?
Reuters reports a Samarra car bombing that claimed the lives of 4 police officers (seven wounded). Late last night, Mary Orndoff (The Birmingham News) reported that a plane "carrying Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, and two other sentors" was en route to Baghdad when it was fired upon by three rockets. No person or plane was hurt.
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Gunmen killed a barber man, Ghazwan Jawad, inside his shop in Al Nasr neighborhood. The deceased worked as a personal barber man to a colonel in Kirkuk police." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) explains Ghazwan Jawad's murder is "the ninth slaying of a barber in the city this year by Islamic militants who oppose Western haircuts and grooming styles."
Corpses?
It's Friday. Reports trickle out of the day's violence on Saturday.
Today, the US military announced: "A Marine and a Soldier assigned to Multi National Force-West died Aug. 29 in separate in attacks while conducting combat operations in AlAnbar Province." The announcement brings ICCC's total for the number of US service members killed in Iraq so far this month to 80 with the total since the start of the illegal war to 3738.
A new book entitled Army of None, published by Seven Stories Press, available at Courage to Resist and many other places, is written by Aimee Allison and David Solnit. This is a practical, inspiring book on ways to resist. Watch for these events in the month of September [And clicking here will give you more info]:
Sep 14 at 4:00P Army of None Workshop - San Jose, CA @ Californians for Justice, San Jose, CA;Sep 14 at 7:30P Army of None Book Release/Signing - San Jose, CA @ Dowtown San Jose - Location TBA; Sep 15 at 12:00P Army of None Tour in Pittsburgh, PA; Sep 19 at 7:00P Army of None Tour in Cleveland, OH; Sep 20 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Kent, OH;Sep 23 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Milwaukee, WI; Sep 24 at 6:00P Army of None Tour in Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 25 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI; Sep 26 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI; Sep 27 at 6:30P Army of None Tour @ May Day Books, Minneapolis MN; Sep 28 at 10:00A Army of None Tour @ High Schools in Minneapolis, MN;Sep 28 at 7:30P Army of None Tour @ Lyndale United Church of Christ, Minneapolis MN; Sep 29 at 1:00P Army of None Tour @ Rondo Community Outreach Library - St. Paul, MN; Oct 12 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Bluestockings Bookstore - New York City; and Oct 17 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Sanctuary for Independent Media - Troy, NY
In US political news, Matthew Rothschild (The Progressive) reports that US House Rep John Conyers has declared that impeachment may be off Nancy Pelosi's table (more room for the centerpiece made of the spines that once were in Democratic leaders) but it's not off his table and Pelosi "cannot prvent me from introducing an impeachment resolution." Remember that for two reasons. First, Conyers have caved and backtracked on this issue before. Second, those enablers rushing to rescue Conyers a few weeks back kept insisting that Conyers had no real power. He's said otherwise. Rothschild wonders, "So what's his hesitation now? And when is a more appropriate time than now, after all the crimes Bush and Cheney have already committed?" Also wondering about the refusal to move foward on the part of Democrats is Jimmy Breslin (New York Daily News via Common Dreams):
There had been the sound of many feet on a Brooklyn street at the first funeral, of firefighter Joseph Graffa-gnino, and at the second funeral, of firefighter Robert Beddia, a fire engine sounded in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. In my office about an hour later, slips of paper came silently out of a machine, the slips coming from the Department of Defense and carrying the names and ages of the 14 soldiers who were killed in Iraq when their helicopter crashed. Four were under 21 and nine 25 or under. Of course the first thought was how the city at this time could handle such calamity if the 14 dead were New York firefighters or police officers. This gives a good view of the catastrophe that happens in Iraq, day after day. But as the soldiers die at a time of national Alzheimer's, there was virtually no reaction to the 14. When anybody you elect tries to end the war, Bush blocks all intentions with a veto or threats of a veto that prevent it. And his Supreme Court is ready to validate whatever he does, this court with its five Catholic justices, and a chief who falls on his face a couple of times that we know of. Our politicians despair that there can be no way to override Bush and save our young and everybody of any age in Iraq. Of course there is. By all the energy and dignified disgust of a nation that needs it to keep any semblance of greatness, there is an extraordinary need for an impeachment of this president and his vice president.You start an impeachment with an investigator who starts to develop a case. That's what got Nixon out. He had the most expensive, elaborate defense in the world, and when they were pressed his assistants folded and Nixon quit. I wonder whether Bush and his people can do any better when pressed.
Breslin was one of the few voices this time last year noting the silence on Iraq as media elected to travelogue over the summer and allowed Iraq to fall off the media radar. The late Molly Ivins also called out the nonsense. Sadly, others cannot be added to the list. As he did last summer, Breslin is refusing to allow his voice to be wasted.
8/31/2007
8/30/2007
katrina vanden heuvel, still wetting herself
Dear Katrina and all,
The Nation had me on the cover of its magazine in March 2005 as one of the new faces of the antiwar movement. At the end of 2005, John Nichols of The Nation named me "Progressive of the Year" and has since said that I am a true "Jeffersonian Democrat." The Nation also invited me to its foundation dinner in NYC at the end of 2005, presumably to exploit my popularity to sell tickets.
The Nation's editorial staff and other staff also invited me to talk with them about not supporting "pro-war" Democrats in any elections anymore, and the editors wrote an editorial stating that. Tom Hayden was also instrumental in formulating that policy.
Now they are supporting a "pro-war" Speaker of the House, who says she is against the occupation with her mouth but gives George more money to wage the war with her actions. They support a Speaker who has made a mockery of the Constitution as much as BushCo has.
The Nation just joins a long line of orgs, entities and persons who supported me while I challenged Bush and the Rethugs, but now that I recognize that it is the two-party system that is inherently corrupt and ruining our nation and the world, they are not just abandoning me but trying to undermine me and my candidacy. I believe in doing this, The Nation is also supporting the status quo of continuing war, death and the destruction of our middle class and way of life here in America.
I am not sad for myself, but sad for The Nation and our nation.
Maybe Katha Pollitt et al. should go to the Middle East and view the carnage that this Administration has caused with the complicity of the Democratic Party, which she so stridently defends.
Peace and Justice,
CINDY SHEEHAN
that's cindy sheehan's letter to the nation. katrina vanden heuvel (whose title is professional idiot who lives off her grandfather's money because her father was street trash who had to marry into money) (hey, i made my own money) responds in that laughable way she has that causes so many snickers. almost as many snickers as the tale elaine loves to repeat about the young child katrina with the piss panties who kept denying it to the adults in the room. she'd rather sit in her own piss than admit - big girl that she was - that she'd had peed herself again.
she still does that. only instead of peeing in her panties, she pees on the magazine.
she thinks she's had friends and she has no real friends. i couldn't hear all the gossip i do (which is not even 1/2 of what my mother hears) each day about katrina vanden heuvel if she had any friends. she flubs every 15 minutes in 1 way or another and, the way the story is told, is always picking up the phone asking her husband to explain events to her.
c.i. had heard about the 'dialogue' but been told it was nicer than it was. it's not a dialogue. it's cindy sheehan writing in to defend herself against katha pollitt's trash and katrina playing like she's earned the right to be the nation's healer at the nation.
katrina's pompous remarks are ridiculous and she hasn't earned anything (except ridicule). i was on the phone with my mother-in-law when the gang got her and handed the phone off to c.i. (my mother-in-law was very tight with c.i.'s mother - old money sticks together, something katrina wouldn't know anything about.)
i know c.i. and i know when it's angry and i know when it's beyond angry.
katrina is so stupid. she really is.
she's already a joke at all the big media outlets (fair loves her, fair exchanges e-mails with her, i understand).
when the nation wises up and kicks her ass to the curb (she really doesn't have the money she wishes she did - and she never will because she doesn't have the drive), she'll have to find a new profession. and she's way too long in the tooth to play 'school girl' (though she tries, she tries!).
remember the labor day piece is coming up.
blog title? it didn't work. c.i. told me it wouldn't. 'sex' is in my webaddress so even when i changed the title to 'six' it didn't unblock it. so i'll be creating a backup site tonight. and i'll post that there. so hello to mirror site readers.
check the common ills for the address. i doubt i'll have the energy to get back on after the roundtable.
let's talk fair.
In an August 21 story posted on the New York Times website about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's talk to a veterans group the day before, reporter Jeff Zeleny attributed to Obama a dig at the anti-war movement that the Democratic candidate did not make.
that's what their action alert opens with now:
here's what it used to read:
In an August 21 New York Times story about Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama's talk to a veterans group the day before, reporter Jeff Zeleny attributed to Obama a dig at the anti-war movement that the Democratic candidate did not make.
why the change?
we helped them out. see the third estate sunday review's 'FAIR late to the party and a little lost' where we walked them through slow and included this at the end:
But, and this is important because the paper's already chuckling about FAIR's outraged e-mailers who are angry about a story that ran in the paper, the story only ran online. Do not, as some have already written, type: "I just opened my paper and this Obama story . . ." It was passed on to C.I. that those e-mails have provided much laughter.
poor fair. the new york times was laughing at their obvious error.
we may not have handled getting the news to fair the right way. see, we just posted that online. as i understand fair's preferred manner of communication, we should have e-mailed the nation and let them pass on our e-mail to fair.
that only doesn't make sense to you if you haven't been paying attention.
i lied! i can tell you the mirror site right now. c.i. is on a laptop and just created the site for me at blogdrive. it's 'politics attitude' and they have a title limit of '17 characters' c.i. says so it had to be shortened. oh, it's pretty. c.i. just held up the laptop so i could see it. it's really nice. and cedric and c.i. do their sites at blogdrive and they always say it's easy to just copy and paste onto it. so i'll be finding out tonight. in fact, let me wrap up so i can find out.
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Thursday, August 30, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Wikipedia 'cleans up' al-Maliki's history, Texas gears up for a major rally against the illegal war on Saturday and more.
Starting with war resistance. The Seacoast reports some of the statements from last Saturday's rally for peace in Kennebunkport, Maine and quotes Eli Israel declaring, "We are not fighting insurgents, we're fighting Iraqis in their own neighborhoods. We were there -- we saw the truth." The rally was there since Bully Boy -- haunted by the memory of Camp Casey -- has preferred to spend his summer vacation instead of at the ranchette in Crawford, Texas. Among the over 4,000 present were the Ragin' Grannies, members of Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Cindy Sheehan, and Dennis Kucinich. Sheehan declared, "In August 2005, I went to Crawford to ruin the vacation of the man who has ruined all of my vacations." IVAW's Liam Madden told the crowd, "Our government has failed us. This war will not end by an act of Congress. It will end through an organized and collective act of conscience."
Eli Israel is a member of IVAW and the first US service member to publicly refuse to serve in the illegal war while stationed in Iraq. At Courage To Resist (video and text) Israel declares, "The last few months have changed my life forever. From Soldier, JVB Protective Service Agent, and Sniper in the middle of an occupation war, to anti-war veteran within days. . . . I'm hoping to use my experience and my education to change the course our country has been on: To end the policies of occupation. To stop the avoidance of domestic defensive measures. To end the violations of domestic liberties. And to stop the heavy-handed offensive actions around the world which are done in the name of security, but which instead result in more insecurity." He is also attempting to regain his veterans' benefits, get his discharge upgraded, etc. Courage To Resist has started a donation page that will help with those costs as well as the costs of getting Eli Israel throughout the country to tell his story.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
Last Saturday the big peace event was in Kennebunk Port, this Saturday? Iraq Veterans Against the War will be in Texas. Texans For Peace are staging an American People's Poll on Iraq in Fort Worth, Texas featuring many speakers including IVAW's Adam Kokesh, Leonard Shelton and Hart Viges as well as Diane Wilson, Tina Richards, Ann Wright and many others. Click here for the press release. There is not a fee to attend, the event is Saturday, in Fort Worth, Texas which is also where the Republican Straw Poll will be "taking place in General Worth Square". People will begin arriving at nine in the morning, the speeches will begin at 1:30. There will be music and entertainment. Though the event is free, people can donate and Texans For Peace is encouraging everyone planning to attend to print up tickets online. The tickets will be used for a number count of those attending. No one will be turned away because they didn't have access to a computer to print up the ticket.
The event is sponsored and Endorsed by Texans for Peace, Dallas Peace Center, IVAW, Veterans for Peace, Crawford Peace House, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, CODEPINK - Dallas Chapter, Peace Action Texas, Peace and Justice - Arlington, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and more.
Throughout the day (nine to five, this is a Saturday) there will be canvassing and straw polls, the pre-rally entertainment starts at one p.m. and the peace rally begins at 1:30 and lasts until 3:30. Fort Worth is a city in Texas, part of the Dallas and Fort Worth region known there as "DFW." Suburbs, towns and cities in the area include Denton, Plano, Arlington, Irvining, Bach Springs, Desoto, Duncanville, Lewisville, Addison, Grand Prairie and a host of others. There is a point. Texans for Peace notes that you can catch the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth and that at 12:30 pm volunteers will be helping transport people to the rally.Community member Diana and her family took part in the April 2006 immigrants rally in downtown Dallas that had at least a half million participants making it the largest protest in Dallas' history. She noted the traffic issue when she shared her experiences from that rally. Today, she explained over the phone that the easiest thing for people to the north, east or south of Fort Worth wanting to attend Saturday's events but unsure of how to get there is to utilize the Trinity train. She suggests grabbing a Dart Express Train and taking it to Union Station (in downtown Dallas). You can pick up the TRE there. ("It's the big, brown -- same brown as UPS uses --train that runs right next to the two light rails," says Diana.) ADDED: Dallas and Billie both note that there is also a solid white train. Billie: "Brown or white, they are real trains that look like trains, not the light rail." Texans for Peace notes that the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) runs from eight in the morning until eleven at night on Saturdays. September will kick off many actions across the country calling for an end to the illegal war and this Saturday, Texas kicks off the action in Fort Worth.
In Kennebunkport last week, Dr. Dahlia Wasfi spoke and Common Dreams has posted her speech in full. We'll note this from the speech:
There has been debate recently within the American peace movement on the issue of support for the Iraqi resistance. The argument has been made by some that we don't support the resistance in Iraq because it's different than it has been for other countries we've invaded. That "what is understood to be 'the Iraqi resistance' is a disaggregated and diverse set of largely unconnected factions…There is no unified leadership that can speak for 'the resistance'…...There is no unified program, either of what the fight is against or what it is for…(Bennis, 2007)"Well -- judge not lest we be judged, for this is an offensive display of the arrogance of empire.
We sit here 8000 miles away with our luxuries of electricity and water, while Iraqis suffer in the desert heat with no relief, and we tell them they are disorganized. This is fiddling while Iraq burns. People are dying; the question is moot.
We are not fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq; we are slaughtering people's children. We went in to liberate Iraqis from a ruthless dictator we imposed upon them who allegedly killed 300,000 during his 30 year reign of terror. We've accomplished more than triple that in a fraction of the time.
If ever there were legitimate resistance to illegal occupation, it is in Iraq.
If ever there were a people struggling for democracy and independence, there are Iraqis.
If ever there were a people who have known suffering at the hands of bloodthirsty American imperialism, there are Iraqis.
Meanwhile, if "knowledge is power" -- what's Wikipedia. Mike (Mikey Likes It!) observes that the online encyclopedia has 'cleaned up' puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki's history, removing all references to his exile period in Iran and Syria as well as the fact that he served in the post-invasion interim government on the De-Baathification Commisson
As AFP has reported of al-Maliki, "His first job in post-Saddam Iraq was one perhaps better suited to someone of his background than the premiership; he was head of the de-Baathification commission that booted Saddam's supporters out of public office." In fact, everything Wikipeida apparently allowed a user from MOREnet to remove has been reported by many outlets. But the reality of al-Maliki is no longer available to Wikipedia readers. Vanishing it doesn't alter the fact that he left Iraq and lived in Iran and Syria nor does it take away the fact that he served on the De-Baathification Commission. De-de-Baathing Iraq has been a problem for him to put it mildly. This month's 'alliance' created by him did not include Sunnis and he's basically tossed out the US White House's 'benchmarks' two and sixteen. As he continues to turn a blind eye to the thugs serving in his own Interior Ministry who regularly target Sunnis, Wikipedia readers would probably be better served knowing that al-Maliki in fact served on the De-Baathification Commission. [Mike's write up has been reposted at uruknet.info.]
In news of Iraq, Nancy Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that "the Pentagon said Wednesday that it won't make a single unfied recommendation to President Bush during next month's strategy assessment, but instead will allow top commanders to make individual presentations. . . . Military analysts called the move unusual for an institution that ordinarily does not air its differences in public, especially while its troops are deployed in combat." Meanwhile, Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) obtained a a draft copy of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Iraq which they term "strikingly negative" and finds that "Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress". The reporters were provided the report out of fear that it the US administration would attempt to water it down or classify sections of it ("as some officials have said happened with security judgments in this month's National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq").
In Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr declared yesterday that he was asking his forces (Mahdi Army) to stand down for six months (cease operations). Joshua Partlow and Saad Sarhan (Washington Post) obeserve, "Some officials interpreted the statement to mean Sadr had called off attacks on U.S. soldiers as well as Iraqi opponents, but a source close to Sadr said some fighting would continue in the name of 'self-defense'." Ewen MacAskill (Guardian of London) reminds, "Mr Sadr, who has thousands of armed men at his command, has called truces before but these have been short-lived." Carol J. Williams (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Aides to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr appeared Thursday to place conditions on his call for a six-month halt to militia operations . . . The militia operations were frozen for no more than six months, said the aide, Abu Firas Muteri, 'and the halt can be revoked at any time if there is a need for that'."
Turning to broken record news, Hoshyar Zerbari -- Iraq's Foreign Minister and apparent KC and the Sunshine Band fanatic, has only one song to sing these days, "So please don't go, Don't go, Don't go away, Please don't go, Don't go, I'm begging you to stay . . ." On the United Kingdom's planned withdrawal from Basra, Martin Fletcher (Times of London) notes Zerbari has questioned and critiqued Britain's committment to the illegal war and quotes Zerbari declaring, "I am worried, absolutely worried." So worried in fact that he rushed to give Bassem Mroue (AP) a soundbyte as well, this time on the reports that US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petreaus will give to Congress (after the White House 'polishes' it): "The whole world is waiting anxiously to see what this report will indicate. I personally believe that this report would not provide any magical solutions or provide any magical solutions or provide and instant answers to the difficulties and challenges we are going through." Zebari, take a breath. Anyone remembering the Zebari of 2003? The one who told Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London) that the US had to give up control of Iraq "because their present course -- occupation by America alone -- won't be successful." Apparently, Zebari doesn't remember that. But he's a busy guy. He's also announced he's hosting "a meeting with Iraq's neighboring countries, the five permanent members of the United Nations, and the G-8 during the first week of September."
AP reports Zebari's also issuing statements regarding Iran allegedly shelling "Kurdish guerilla positions in border areas" which the government of Iran claims is launching attacks in Iran. In a rush of words, Zerbari explains that this "has been ongoing and unfortunately has become a daily or a routine practice. Recently, we summoned the Iranian ambassador and handed him a note of protest. . . . [We] demanded an immediate cessation of these attacks on innocent people because it has led to extensive damage to the property, to the environment of the area and it also has led many people to leave their homes because of the continuation of the shelling." The PEJAK is the group accused of shelling Iran, they are also accused of shelling Turkey and launching attacks there and a splinter group of the PKK which is considered a 'terrorist' group by many countries (including the US). They are a Kurdish group (Zerbari himself is a Kurd) and the Turkish government has been very vocal about their belief that actions launched by the group from Iraq are ignored. The Turkish Daily News reports, "In a speciall session called after the alleged bombing in northern Iraq by Turkey and Iran, the parliament of the northern Iraqi government called on both its neighbors to find a solution to the conflict through dialogue, reported the NTV news channel yesterday. Parliament speaker, Adnan Mufti, stated that the stability of the region was severely threatened due to the shelling of northern Iraqi territories." As Lenore G. Martin (Boston Globe) noted today the US "administration's polices are pushing Turkey toward Iran rather than planting it firmly in the US security network." Martin notes pre-illegal war fears in Turkey that the Iraq War would result in the northern section of Iraq becoming a Kurdish state thereby encouraging a similar, ongoing push led by the PKK. Martin sketches out the conflict:
With the revival of PKK violence in Turkey in 2004, Turkish fears concerning Kurdistan are becoming a reality. The PKK is ensconced in the Kandil mountains of Northern Iraq, killing Turkish soldiers almost daily, and has set off bombs in major Turkish cities. The Kurdish Regional Government, led by Massoud Barzani, refuses to isolate or oust the PKK.
In response, the Turkish military has assembled a large force at the border and threatened to invade northern Iraq. The United States is warning Turkey not to, fearing that a major Turkish military incursion will destabilize Kurdistan, currently the most stable region in Iraq.
This stability is ephemeral. Indeed, signs of trouble are already evident, due in part to the contest between Kurds and the rest of Iraq over oil-rich Kirkuk. The instability is likely to continue, whether the constitutionally mandated referendum over Kirkuk's fate is held or not. The Sunni and Shia will not live quietly with the inclusion of Kirkuk into the Kurdish Regional Government -- at least without an oil-sharing agreement, which has proved elusive.
While Iraq's Foreign Minister critiques the British decision to withdraw, David Miliband, UK Foreign Secretary, has his own (and presumably the British government's take). Thomas Harding (Telegraph of London) reports that Miliband has indicated what others think (including the US) really isn't the issue declaring "we will always take British decision in the British national interest. Our decision about Basra are about the situation on the ground in Basra not the situation on the ground in Baghdad" (with Harding noting that was "in reference to America's zone of control").
Turning to some of today's violence . . .
Bombings?Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports three police officers wounded in a Baghdad roadside bombing while another Baghdad roadside bombing wounded four civilians, a third had no known fatalities or injuries but a fourth claimed 1 life (two more wounded) while 2 Kirkuk roadside bombings which left a bodyguard of police brigadier Burhan Taeeb wounded; while "Wednesday night" a Kirkuk car bombing claimed 3 lives (four wounded). CNN reports that "at least four Iraqi police officers" were wounded while they attempted to dismantle a bomb planted on a bridge in Baghdad: "Insurgents have targeted bridges in and around the Iraqi capital in recent months, including a suicide bombing in June that killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded six other near Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad. That blast triggered a highway overpass to collapse on the Americans."
Shootings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that Abu Haider Al-Hasnawi was shot dead ("head of Najaf oil warehouses"); while yesterday
Corpses?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "One Task Force Lightning Soldier was killed by an explosion near his vehicle while conducting combat operations in Diyala province, August 29." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed and another wounded during combat operations in a western section of the Iraqi capital Aug. 30."
ICCC's total for the number of US service members announced dead this month is 77 so far with 3735 being the number since the start of the illegal war.
Another thing we'll be noting through the end of the week -- events for Army of None, published by Seven Stories Press, available at Courage to Resist and many other places, which is written by Aimee Allison and David Solnit. Tonight there will be a release celebration for the event at Club Oasis (135 12th St., btwen. Madison and Oak Sts., Oakland 6 blocks E. of Broadway/12th St. -- click here for East Bay express' map of Club Oasis' location). The event is free and open to all. The authors will be there, Jeff Paterson will have a slide show, there will be a puppet show, poets, snakcs, a dj . . . The event starts at 6:30 pm. More information can be found [Warning: MySpace page] by clicking here.Aug 29, at 12:00P, Aimee and David on KPFA Radio! @ KPFA Radio 94.1;Aug 30, at 6:00P Army of None Book Release Party & Tour Kick-Off @ Oasis Restaurant & Bar - Oakland, CA;Sep 14 at 4:00P Army of None Workshop - San Jose, CA @ Californians for Justice, San Jose, CA;Sep 14 at 7:30P Army of None Book Release/Signing - San Jose, CA @ Dowtown San Jose - Location TBA; Sep 15 at 12:00P Army of None Tour in Pittsburgh, PA;Sep 19 at 7:00P Army of None Tour in Cleveland, OH;Sep 20 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Kent, OH;Sep 23 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 24 at 6:00P Army of None Tour in Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 25 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI;Sep 26 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI;Sep 27 at 6:30P Army of None Tour @ May Day Books, Minneapolis MN;Sep 28 at 10:00A Army of None Tour @ High Schools in Minneapolis, MN;Sep 28 at 7:30P Army of None Tour @ Lyndale United Church of Christ, Minneapolis MN;Sep 29 at 1:00P Army of None Tour @ Rondo Community Outreach Library - St. Paul, MN;Oct 12 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Bluestockings Bookstore - New York City;and Oct 17 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Sanctuary for Independent Media - Troy, NY
The Nation had me on the cover of its magazine in March 2005 as one of the new faces of the antiwar movement. At the end of 2005, John Nichols of The Nation named me "Progressive of the Year" and has since said that I am a true "Jeffersonian Democrat." The Nation also invited me to its foundation dinner in NYC at the end of 2005, presumably to exploit my popularity to sell tickets.
The Nation's editorial staff and other staff also invited me to talk with them about not supporting "pro-war" Democrats in any elections anymore, and the editors wrote an editorial stating that. Tom Hayden was also instrumental in formulating that policy.
Now they are supporting a "pro-war" Speaker of the House, who says she is against the occupation with her mouth but gives George more money to wage the war with her actions. They support a Speaker who has made a mockery of the Constitution as much as BushCo has.
The Nation just joins a long line of orgs, entities and persons who supported me while I challenged Bush and the Rethugs, but now that I recognize that it is the two-party system that is inherently corrupt and ruining our nation and the world, they are not just abandoning me but trying to undermine me and my candidacy. I believe in doing this, The Nation is also supporting the status quo of continuing war, death and the destruction of our middle class and way of life here in America.
I am not sad for myself, but sad for The Nation and our nation.
Maybe Katha Pollitt et al. should go to the Middle East and view the carnage that this Administration has caused with the complicity of the Democratic Party, which she so stridently defends.
Peace and Justice,
CINDY SHEEHAN
that's cindy sheehan's letter to the nation. katrina vanden heuvel (whose title is professional idiot who lives off her grandfather's money because her father was street trash who had to marry into money) (hey, i made my own money) responds in that laughable way she has that causes so many snickers. almost as many snickers as the tale elaine loves to repeat about the young child katrina with the piss panties who kept denying it to the adults in the room. she'd rather sit in her own piss than admit - big girl that she was - that she'd had peed herself again.
she still does that. only instead of peeing in her panties, she pees on the magazine.
she thinks she's had friends and she has no real friends. i couldn't hear all the gossip i do (which is not even 1/2 of what my mother hears) each day about katrina vanden heuvel if she had any friends. she flubs every 15 minutes in 1 way or another and, the way the story is told, is always picking up the phone asking her husband to explain events to her.
c.i. had heard about the 'dialogue' but been told it was nicer than it was. it's not a dialogue. it's cindy sheehan writing in to defend herself against katha pollitt's trash and katrina playing like she's earned the right to be the nation's healer at the nation.
katrina's pompous remarks are ridiculous and she hasn't earned anything (except ridicule). i was on the phone with my mother-in-law when the gang got her and handed the phone off to c.i. (my mother-in-law was very tight with c.i.'s mother - old money sticks together, something katrina wouldn't know anything about.)
i know c.i. and i know when it's angry and i know when it's beyond angry.
katrina is so stupid. she really is.
she's already a joke at all the big media outlets (fair loves her, fair exchanges e-mails with her, i understand).
when the nation wises up and kicks her ass to the curb (she really doesn't have the money she wishes she did - and she never will because she doesn't have the drive), she'll have to find a new profession. and she's way too long in the tooth to play 'school girl' (though she tries, she tries!).
remember the labor day piece is coming up.
blog title? it didn't work. c.i. told me it wouldn't. 'sex' is in my webaddress so even when i changed the title to 'six' it didn't unblock it. so i'll be creating a backup site tonight. and i'll post that there. so hello to mirror site readers.
check the common ills for the address. i doubt i'll have the energy to get back on after the roundtable.
let's talk fair.
In an August 21 story posted on the New York Times website about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's talk to a veterans group the day before, reporter Jeff Zeleny attributed to Obama a dig at the anti-war movement that the Democratic candidate did not make.
that's what their action alert opens with now:
here's what it used to read:
In an August 21 New York Times story about Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama's talk to a veterans group the day before, reporter Jeff Zeleny attributed to Obama a dig at the anti-war movement that the Democratic candidate did not make.
why the change?
we helped them out. see the third estate sunday review's 'FAIR late to the party and a little lost' where we walked them through slow and included this at the end:
But, and this is important because the paper's already chuckling about FAIR's outraged e-mailers who are angry about a story that ran in the paper, the story only ran online. Do not, as some have already written, type: "I just opened my paper and this Obama story . . ." It was passed on to C.I. that those e-mails have provided much laughter.
poor fair. the new york times was laughing at their obvious error.
we may not have handled getting the news to fair the right way. see, we just posted that online. as i understand fair's preferred manner of communication, we should have e-mailed the nation and let them pass on our e-mail to fair.
that only doesn't make sense to you if you haven't been paying attention.
i lied! i can tell you the mirror site right now. c.i. is on a laptop and just created the site for me at blogdrive. it's 'politics attitude' and they have a title limit of '17 characters' c.i. says so it had to be shortened. oh, it's pretty. c.i. just held up the laptop so i could see it. it's really nice. and cedric and c.i. do their sites at blogdrive and they always say it's easy to just copy and paste onto it. so i'll be finding out tonight. in fact, let me wrap up so i can find out.
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Thursday, August 30, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Wikipedia 'cleans up' al-Maliki's history, Texas gears up for a major rally against the illegal war on Saturday and more.
Starting with war resistance. The Seacoast reports some of the statements from last Saturday's rally for peace in Kennebunkport, Maine and quotes Eli Israel declaring, "We are not fighting insurgents, we're fighting Iraqis in their own neighborhoods. We were there -- we saw the truth." The rally was there since Bully Boy -- haunted by the memory of Camp Casey -- has preferred to spend his summer vacation instead of at the ranchette in Crawford, Texas. Among the over 4,000 present were the Ragin' Grannies, members of Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Cindy Sheehan, and Dennis Kucinich. Sheehan declared, "In August 2005, I went to Crawford to ruin the vacation of the man who has ruined all of my vacations." IVAW's Liam Madden told the crowd, "Our government has failed us. This war will not end by an act of Congress. It will end through an organized and collective act of conscience."
Eli Israel is a member of IVAW and the first US service member to publicly refuse to serve in the illegal war while stationed in Iraq. At Courage To Resist (video and text) Israel declares, "The last few months have changed my life forever. From Soldier, JVB Protective Service Agent, and Sniper in the middle of an occupation war, to anti-war veteran within days. . . . I'm hoping to use my experience and my education to change the course our country has been on: To end the policies of occupation. To stop the avoidance of domestic defensive measures. To end the violations of domestic liberties. And to stop the heavy-handed offensive actions around the world which are done in the name of security, but which instead result in more insecurity." He is also attempting to regain his veterans' benefits, get his discharge upgraded, etc. Courage To Resist has started a donation page that will help with those costs as well as the costs of getting Eli Israel throughout the country to tell his story.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
Last Saturday the big peace event was in Kennebunk Port, this Saturday? Iraq Veterans Against the War will be in Texas. Texans For Peace are staging an American People's Poll on Iraq in Fort Worth, Texas featuring many speakers including IVAW's Adam Kokesh, Leonard Shelton and Hart Viges as well as Diane Wilson, Tina Richards, Ann Wright and many others. Click here for the press release. There is not a fee to attend, the event is Saturday, in Fort Worth, Texas which is also where the Republican Straw Poll will be "taking place in General Worth Square". People will begin arriving at nine in the morning, the speeches will begin at 1:30. There will be music and entertainment. Though the event is free, people can donate and Texans For Peace is encouraging everyone planning to attend to print up tickets online. The tickets will be used for a number count of those attending. No one will be turned away because they didn't have access to a computer to print up the ticket.
The event is sponsored and Endorsed by Texans for Peace, Dallas Peace Center, IVAW, Veterans for Peace, Crawford Peace House, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, CODEPINK - Dallas Chapter, Peace Action Texas, Peace and Justice - Arlington, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and more.
Throughout the day (nine to five, this is a Saturday) there will be canvassing and straw polls, the pre-rally entertainment starts at one p.m. and the peace rally begins at 1:30 and lasts until 3:30. Fort Worth is a city in Texas, part of the Dallas and Fort Worth region known there as "DFW." Suburbs, towns and cities in the area include Denton, Plano, Arlington, Irvining, Bach Springs, Desoto, Duncanville, Lewisville, Addison, Grand Prairie and a host of others. There is a point. Texans for Peace notes that you can catch the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth and that at 12:30 pm volunteers will be helping transport people to the rally.Community member Diana and her family took part in the April 2006 immigrants rally in downtown Dallas that had at least a half million participants making it the largest protest in Dallas' history. She noted the traffic issue when she shared her experiences from that rally. Today, she explained over the phone that the easiest thing for people to the north, east or south of Fort Worth wanting to attend Saturday's events but unsure of how to get there is to utilize the Trinity train. She suggests grabbing a Dart Express Train and taking it to Union Station (in downtown Dallas). You can pick up the TRE there. ("It's the big, brown -- same brown as UPS uses --train that runs right next to the two light rails," says Diana.) ADDED: Dallas and Billie both note that there is also a solid white train. Billie: "Brown or white, they are real trains that look like trains, not the light rail." Texans for Peace notes that the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) runs from eight in the morning until eleven at night on Saturdays. September will kick off many actions across the country calling for an end to the illegal war and this Saturday, Texas kicks off the action in Fort Worth.
In Kennebunkport last week, Dr. Dahlia Wasfi spoke and Common Dreams has posted her speech in full. We'll note this from the speech:
There has been debate recently within the American peace movement on the issue of support for the Iraqi resistance. The argument has been made by some that we don't support the resistance in Iraq because it's different than it has been for other countries we've invaded. That "what is understood to be 'the Iraqi resistance' is a disaggregated and diverse set of largely unconnected factions…There is no unified leadership that can speak for 'the resistance'…...There is no unified program, either of what the fight is against or what it is for…(Bennis, 2007)"Well -- judge not lest we be judged, for this is an offensive display of the arrogance of empire.
We sit here 8000 miles away with our luxuries of electricity and water, while Iraqis suffer in the desert heat with no relief, and we tell them they are disorganized. This is fiddling while Iraq burns. People are dying; the question is moot.
We are not fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq; we are slaughtering people's children. We went in to liberate Iraqis from a ruthless dictator we imposed upon them who allegedly killed 300,000 during his 30 year reign of terror. We've accomplished more than triple that in a fraction of the time.
If ever there were legitimate resistance to illegal occupation, it is in Iraq.
If ever there were a people struggling for democracy and independence, there are Iraqis.
If ever there were a people who have known suffering at the hands of bloodthirsty American imperialism, there are Iraqis.
Meanwhile, if "knowledge is power" -- what's Wikipedia. Mike (Mikey Likes It!) observes that the online encyclopedia has 'cleaned up' puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki's history, removing all references to his exile period in Iran and Syria as well as the fact that he served in the post-invasion interim government on the De-Baathification Commisson
As AFP has reported of al-Maliki, "His first job in post-Saddam Iraq was one perhaps better suited to someone of his background than the premiership; he was head of the de-Baathification commission that booted Saddam's supporters out of public office." In fact, everything Wikipeida apparently allowed a user from MOREnet to remove has been reported by many outlets. But the reality of al-Maliki is no longer available to Wikipedia readers. Vanishing it doesn't alter the fact that he left Iraq and lived in Iran and Syria nor does it take away the fact that he served on the De-Baathification Commission. De-de-Baathing Iraq has been a problem for him to put it mildly. This month's 'alliance' created by him did not include Sunnis and he's basically tossed out the US White House's 'benchmarks' two and sixteen. As he continues to turn a blind eye to the thugs serving in his own Interior Ministry who regularly target Sunnis, Wikipedia readers would probably be better served knowing that al-Maliki in fact served on the De-Baathification Commission. [Mike's write up has been reposted at uruknet.info.]
In news of Iraq, Nancy Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that "the Pentagon said Wednesday that it won't make a single unfied recommendation to President Bush during next month's strategy assessment, but instead will allow top commanders to make individual presentations. . . . Military analysts called the move unusual for an institution that ordinarily does not air its differences in public, especially while its troops are deployed in combat." Meanwhile, Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) obtained a a draft copy of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Iraq which they term "strikingly negative" and finds that "Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress". The reporters were provided the report out of fear that it the US administration would attempt to water it down or classify sections of it ("as some officials have said happened with security judgments in this month's National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq").
In Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr declared yesterday that he was asking his forces (Mahdi Army) to stand down for six months (cease operations). Joshua Partlow and Saad Sarhan (Washington Post) obeserve, "Some officials interpreted the statement to mean Sadr had called off attacks on U.S. soldiers as well as Iraqi opponents, but a source close to Sadr said some fighting would continue in the name of 'self-defense'." Ewen MacAskill (Guardian of London) reminds, "Mr Sadr, who has thousands of armed men at his command, has called truces before but these have been short-lived." Carol J. Williams (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Aides to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr appeared Thursday to place conditions on his call for a six-month halt to militia operations . . . The militia operations were frozen for no more than six months, said the aide, Abu Firas Muteri, 'and the halt can be revoked at any time if there is a need for that'."
Turning to broken record news, Hoshyar Zerbari -- Iraq's Foreign Minister and apparent KC and the Sunshine Band fanatic, has only one song to sing these days, "So please don't go, Don't go, Don't go away, Please don't go, Don't go, I'm begging you to stay . . ." On the United Kingdom's planned withdrawal from Basra, Martin Fletcher (Times of London) notes Zerbari has questioned and critiqued Britain's committment to the illegal war and quotes Zerbari declaring, "I am worried, absolutely worried." So worried in fact that he rushed to give Bassem Mroue (AP) a soundbyte as well, this time on the reports that US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petreaus will give to Congress (after the White House 'polishes' it): "The whole world is waiting anxiously to see what this report will indicate. I personally believe that this report would not provide any magical solutions or provide any magical solutions or provide and instant answers to the difficulties and challenges we are going through." Zebari, take a breath. Anyone remembering the Zebari of 2003? The one who told Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London) that the US had to give up control of Iraq "because their present course -- occupation by America alone -- won't be successful." Apparently, Zebari doesn't remember that. But he's a busy guy. He's also announced he's hosting "a meeting with Iraq's neighboring countries, the five permanent members of the United Nations, and the G-8 during the first week of September."
AP reports Zebari's also issuing statements regarding Iran allegedly shelling "Kurdish guerilla positions in border areas" which the government of Iran claims is launching attacks in Iran. In a rush of words, Zerbari explains that this "has been ongoing and unfortunately has become a daily or a routine practice. Recently, we summoned the Iranian ambassador and handed him a note of protest. . . . [We] demanded an immediate cessation of these attacks on innocent people because it has led to extensive damage to the property, to the environment of the area and it also has led many people to leave their homes because of the continuation of the shelling." The PEJAK is the group accused of shelling Iran, they are also accused of shelling Turkey and launching attacks there and a splinter group of the PKK which is considered a 'terrorist' group by many countries (including the US). They are a Kurdish group (Zerbari himself is a Kurd) and the Turkish government has been very vocal about their belief that actions launched by the group from Iraq are ignored. The Turkish Daily News reports, "In a speciall session called after the alleged bombing in northern Iraq by Turkey and Iran, the parliament of the northern Iraqi government called on both its neighbors to find a solution to the conflict through dialogue, reported the NTV news channel yesterday. Parliament speaker, Adnan Mufti, stated that the stability of the region was severely threatened due to the shelling of northern Iraqi territories." As Lenore G. Martin (Boston Globe) noted today the US "administration's polices are pushing Turkey toward Iran rather than planting it firmly in the US security network." Martin notes pre-illegal war fears in Turkey that the Iraq War would result in the northern section of Iraq becoming a Kurdish state thereby encouraging a similar, ongoing push led by the PKK. Martin sketches out the conflict:
With the revival of PKK violence in Turkey in 2004, Turkish fears concerning Kurdistan are becoming a reality. The PKK is ensconced in the Kandil mountains of Northern Iraq, killing Turkish soldiers almost daily, and has set off bombs in major Turkish cities. The Kurdish Regional Government, led by Massoud Barzani, refuses to isolate or oust the PKK.
In response, the Turkish military has assembled a large force at the border and threatened to invade northern Iraq. The United States is warning Turkey not to, fearing that a major Turkish military incursion will destabilize Kurdistan, currently the most stable region in Iraq.
This stability is ephemeral. Indeed, signs of trouble are already evident, due in part to the contest between Kurds and the rest of Iraq over oil-rich Kirkuk. The instability is likely to continue, whether the constitutionally mandated referendum over Kirkuk's fate is held or not. The Sunni and Shia will not live quietly with the inclusion of Kirkuk into the Kurdish Regional Government -- at least without an oil-sharing agreement, which has proved elusive.
While Iraq's Foreign Minister critiques the British decision to withdraw, David Miliband, UK Foreign Secretary, has his own (and presumably the British government's take). Thomas Harding (Telegraph of London) reports that Miliband has indicated what others think (including the US) really isn't the issue declaring "we will always take British decision in the British national interest. Our decision about Basra are about the situation on the ground in Basra not the situation on the ground in Baghdad" (with Harding noting that was "in reference to America's zone of control").
Turning to some of today's violence . . .
Bombings?Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports three police officers wounded in a Baghdad roadside bombing while another Baghdad roadside bombing wounded four civilians, a third had no known fatalities or injuries but a fourth claimed 1 life (two more wounded) while 2 Kirkuk roadside bombings which left a bodyguard of police brigadier Burhan Taeeb wounded; while "Wednesday night" a Kirkuk car bombing claimed 3 lives (four wounded). CNN reports that "at least four Iraqi police officers" were wounded while they attempted to dismantle a bomb planted on a bridge in Baghdad: "Insurgents have targeted bridges in and around the Iraqi capital in recent months, including a suicide bombing in June that killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded six other near Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad. That blast triggered a highway overpass to collapse on the Americans."
Shootings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that Abu Haider Al-Hasnawi was shot dead ("head of Najaf oil warehouses"); while yesterday
Corpses?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "One Task Force Lightning Soldier was killed by an explosion near his vehicle while conducting combat operations in Diyala province, August 29." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed and another wounded during combat operations in a western section of the Iraqi capital Aug. 30."
ICCC's total for the number of US service members announced dead this month is 77 so far with 3735 being the number since the start of the illegal war.
Another thing we'll be noting through the end of the week -- events for Army of None, published by Seven Stories Press, available at Courage to Resist and many other places, which is written by Aimee Allison and David Solnit. Tonight there will be a release celebration for the event at Club Oasis (135 12th St., btwen. Madison and Oak Sts., Oakland 6 blocks E. of Broadway/12th St. -- click here for East Bay express' map of Club Oasis' location). The event is free and open to all. The authors will be there, Jeff Paterson will have a slide show, there will be a puppet show, poets, snakcs, a dj . . . The event starts at 6:30 pm. More information can be found [Warning: MySpace page] by clicking here.Aug 29, at 12:00P, Aimee and David on KPFA Radio! @ KPFA Radio 94.1;Aug 30, at 6:00P Army of None Book Release Party & Tour Kick-Off @ Oasis Restaurant & Bar - Oakland, CA;Sep 14 at 4:00P Army of None Workshop - San Jose, CA @ Californians for Justice, San Jose, CA;Sep 14 at 7:30P Army of None Book Release/Signing - San Jose, CA @ Dowtown San Jose - Location TBA; Sep 15 at 12:00P Army of None Tour in Pittsburgh, PA;Sep 19 at 7:00P Army of None Tour in Cleveland, OH;Sep 20 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Kent, OH;Sep 23 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 24 at 6:00P Army of None Tour in Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 25 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI;Sep 26 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI;Sep 27 at 6:30P Army of None Tour @ May Day Books, Minneapolis MN;Sep 28 at 10:00A Army of None Tour @ High Schools in Minneapolis, MN;Sep 28 at 7:30P Army of None Tour @ Lyndale United Church of Christ, Minneapolis MN;Sep 29 at 1:00P Army of None Tour @ Rondo Community Outreach Library - St. Paul, MN;Oct 12 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Bluestockings Bookstore - New York City;and Oct 17 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Sanctuary for Independent Media - Troy, NY
8/29/2007
this & that and 'six'
1st off, you may note a title change.
i'm trying that for today & tomorrow and seeing what happens.
how come?
i've got 3 longterm readers in 2 states who just started back to school (1's a freshman, another a junior and then a senior). they go to 3 different schols and they all report that they're suddenly blocked in the library from my site. 1 asked and was told the new filter is blocking it because of 'sex' in the title.
so i'm banned in at least 3 schools!
i feel like a modern day mae west.
however, as flattering as it is to be banned, i don't want any 1 punished.
so from now until friday (or saturday morning if i don't post friday night), this is 'six and politics and attitudes.' the 3 are going to try to see if this allows them to visit the site.
it may not because my site's web address remains the same and the naughty word's in the title! oh no!
it's kind of funny i get banned when i'm cleaner than i've ever been.
i don't even write curse words in full these days.
as for talking about desire - i gave birth a few months back. please. i rarely feel in the mood these days.
i have 'six'. i've not stopped having 'six.'
but i'm 'purer' than i've been my whole life and wouldn't you know it that's when i get banned.
i actually had 'six' thoughts while watching democracy now awhile back. i called c.i. because - of course, i'm finally in the mood and flyboy's not around - and ask about amy's guest. it was glen greenwald and i hope i spelled that right.
he's a sammy power lover and i loathe her and her simplistic analysis but who cares, glen was hot.
so i'm on the phone with c.i. trying to feed my fantasy life by getting details on glen. c.i. all of the sudden says, 'you're interested in him?'
not in a 'you'd have an affair!' that's not what that was about before any 1 starts feeling sorry for flyboy. but glen was hot.
c.i. says, 'rebecca, when you think a guy's hot you have generally speaking had 1 of 2 problems. glen's not a jerk.'
i said, 'oh, he's gay.'
he is and he's out so i'm not writing anything that's not known.
but for the longest time, like my 1st 10 years of 'dating,' if the guy wasn't a jerk, he was gay. (and, as i've pointed out before, my 1st husband - great guy - came out shortly after we got married.)
i laughed and thought 'it figures.'
then i said, 'who cares, tell me every bit of dirt you know about glen.'
hours and hours later, flyboy gets home. so the mood is gone.
but glen, thanks, i found you 'six'ually desirable and you're the first man i have since i gave birth. (the last months of my pregnancy were hormone raged.)
(for the record, flyboy is not a jerk and he is not gay. he's also very attractive.)
so, point, there wasn't going to be a lot of 'six' talk here for a bit. and i was trying to follow some sort of language policy so every 1 could read in the community without fear.
i feel like a heroin addict that kicked the habit and got busted when the cops found an old stash!
if 'six' works for the 3, allows them to pull it up on the school computers, i'll stick with it most likely. if not (if it doesn't work or if i just say '"fudge" it, i'm going back to my old title,' i'll set up a mirror site with a title that's less alarming to software screening.
besides this being temporary most likely, i also don't want any 1 to change the title on their links. if i do change the title, sites in the community may follow that and change it on their links but i hate going into the template here and i'm not asking any 1 else to especially when this may only be for 2 days.
okay, john conyers. yesterday he was on democracy now talking about impeachment. like i pointed out last night, t had left a message on my machine. i called her today and couldn't get her. because she wasn't at work. she was on her way out here. 1st she said, mike said it all. he did do a great job.
what she wanted to add to that was she's sick of hearing 'john conyers: the great black hope.' she said 'as a gay african-american woman, i want to know why i'm supposed to be impressed with him? what has he done for me or any other lesbian? he may or may not have done some brave things in the past. he did them and he benefitted. years have passed and what's he doing today?'
she believes very strongly in impeachment.
as do i.
we were outside going through the papers this morning on the deck. it wasn't the hot time of the day but my baby, if she's not napping, wants to be outside. i have no idea why. fuss and fuss and fuss some more. go outside and it's entrancement time just staring at the water.
it's probably the water and not the heat because no child of mine would want to be out in the heat unless it was time to work on a tan.
but we were outside and flipping through the papers. t had the new york times and i was going through the washington post. t found 2 things we agreed i should note.
no links. if you're interested, google or search at the paper's website.
a21 is where jim dwyer's 'in mass arrests during '04 convention, divergent versions of events emerge,' dwyer's telling about the arrests in nyc during the g.o.p. convention. there are problems in court because, it turns out, the cops lied. imagine that. what stood out the most, of the examples, was amber tejada who was 27. she was at the new york public library on 5th and 2 guys asked her to help them hang a sign which they did (a banner). police captain ronald mercandetti strolls up and tells them they can't hang a sign. so they took it down. he then tells them (and this is on videotape) 'you can hold it, but you can't hang it.' then he leaves. so they hold it on the steps. and then police officers swarm in (while they're doing what they were told - and what actually was legal) and arrests & cuffs them. the police filed a report that they were 'obstructing the entire intersection' when they weren't in the streets (again, there is video), that they were ordered 'to leave' (they weren't), that they held a parade without a permit (they didn't) and that they hung a sign. they did. and when capt. mercandetti told them they couldn't, they took it down. he didn't arrest them. he told them they could 'hold it, but you can't hang it' and went on his way. so the whole arrest report is a lie and that happened repeatedly. that's just 1 of the examples in the story.
the other thing i would've completely missed on my own. i would've read the dwyer story because it was an article and he's been on democracy now before talking about the arrests. but t also found something in the national briefing. this it 1 item in full as it appears on a13:
TENNESSEE: EX-LAWMAKER SENTENCED
Former State Senator John Ford, once among Tennessee's most powerful lawmakers, was sentenced to five and one-half years in prison for bribery. Mr. Ford, 65, was one of the five former lawmakers convited of bribery or extortion in a statewide corruption investigation. He was convicted in April of taking $55,000 in bribes from F.B.I. agents posting as dishonest businessmen representing E-Cycle Management. The company, which sought a change in state law for a business advantage, was a front created by the F.B.I.
(AP)
who is john ford. harold ford's uncle. from last summer's knox news sentenal:
Family matters One of his grandparents' 15 kids is his uncle, former state Sen. John Ford, D-Memphis, now awaiting trial - in October, with the general election looming - on bribery charges.
His own father was charged - and acquitted by a jury - on bank fraud charges. An aunt, Ophelia, was elected to the state Senate, then ousted from the seat amid contentions that her election was tainted by illegal voting.
that's a july 9, 2006 article. harold ford jr. ran for senate.
if you've forgotten, the pro-war, gay hating, 10 commandents on public displaying loving harold ford jr. not only posed in front of a confederate flag during the campaign (he is african-american), he also lost.
but before he could, we all were supposed to hop on board for him. all on the left.
in fact, it was supposed to be a tragedy that a commercial against him featured a white woman who was apparently supposed to be a playboy bunny saying she met harold at a playboy party and she says 'call me' at the end.
that was racism! screamed the left.
that was nothing.
and wasting our time worrying about some pro-war candidate was nonsense.
t said today, 'the racism was thinking a playboy bunny could only be white. she's the 1 they should have been fretting over.'
ford jr. went to a playboy party after the superbowl 1 year (i believe the 1 in new orleans, but i don't follow football, i do follow basketball).
so ford junior lost his race. and 1 of the reasons had to be the constant corruption charges against his family. in july of last year it was just charges for his uncle. but now his uncle has been convicted.
and ford junior? the nephew of the convicted felon is now serving his own 'sentence,' he's a commentator on fox 'news'.
okay, that's it. hopefully, on thursday morning, people will be able to read this if they want, even on high school campuses. i'm e-mailing it to the 3 that couldn't pull up the site. i'll probably also be doing a mirror site very soon. it's 'six and politics and screeds and attitude' until friday night or saturday morning for sure. after that, it'll probably go back to the original title because i really don't think the quick fix will take care of the problem. maybe i'm wrong.
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Wednesday, August 29, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Texas gears up for a big rally on Saturday, Bully Boy wants another $50 billion for his illegal war, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Nick Chin and Hannah Morong (US Socialist Worker) report the Eli Israel was a huge hit in Kennebunkport, Maine on Saturday at the peace rally held there where Cindy Sheehan, Dennis Kucinich, Carlos and Melida Arredonod, Cynthia McKinney and Dahlia Wasfi were among the over 4,000 people participating. Eli Israel is the first service member to publicly refuse to fight in the illegal war while being stationed in Iraq. The reporters quote Israel asking, "What's going to stop [the war]? It has to stop from the inside."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
Iraq Veterans Against the War were also a big hit at the Kennebunkport rally. They'll no doubt be a huge hit Saturday in Texas. In what may be one of the biggest actions in Texas against the illegal war in September, Texans For Peace are staging an American People's Poll on Iraq in Fort Worth, Texas featuring many speakers including IVAW's Adam Kokesh, Leonard Shelton and Hart Viges as well as Diane Wilson, Tina Richards, Ann Wright and many others. Click here for the press release. There is not a fee to attend, the event is Saturday, in Fort Worth, Texas which is also where the Republican Straw Poll will be "taking place in General Worth Square". People will begin arriving at nine in the morning, the speeches will begin at 1:30. There will be music and entertainment. Though the event is free, people can donate and Texans For Peace is encouraging everyone planning to attend to print up tickets online. The tickets will be used for a number count of those attending. No one will be turned away because they didn't have access to a computer to print up the ticket. A number of community members are in the D-FW area. If you're en route to the rally and see a friend, take them along. Texans For Peace are encouraging people to invite friends. This could be the biggest peace rally the area has seen. The event's theme is "Bring the troops home now and take care of them."
Throughout the day (nine to five, this is a Saturday) there will be canvassing and straw polls, the pre-rally entertainment starts at one p.m. and the peace rally begins at 1:30 and lasts until 3:30. Fort Worth is a city in Texas, part of the Dallas and Fort Worth region known there as "DFW." Suburbs, towns and cities in the area include Denton, Plano, Arlington, Irvining, Bach Springs, Desoto, Duncanville, Lewisville, Addison, Grand Prairie and a host of others. There is a point. Texans for Peace notes that you can catch the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth and that at 12:30 pm volunteers will be helping transport people to the rally.Community member Diana and her family took part in the April 2006 immigrants rally in downtown Dallas that had at least a half million participants making it the largest protest in Dallas' history. She noted the traffic issue when she shared her experiences from that rally. Today, she explained over the phone that the easiest thing for people to the north, east or south of Fort Worth wanting to attend Saturday's events but unsure of how to get there is to utilize the Trinity train. She suggests grabbing a Dart Express Train and taking it to Union Station (in downtown Dallas). You can pick up the TRE there. ("It's the big, brown -- same brown as UPS uses --train that runs right next to the two light rails," says Diana.) ADDED: Dallas and Billie both note that there is also a solid white train. Billie: "Brown or white, they are real trains that look like trains, not the light rail." Texans for Peace notes that the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) runs from eight in the morning until eleven at night on Saturdays.
[The last two paragraphs were noted yesterday and will be noted tomorrow and Friday. Texas members in that area, or able to get to that area, will hopefully be attending and getting the word out.]
Yesterday, Bully Boy gave another laughable speech. Cedric, Wally and I addressed it yesterday. Michael Abramowitz (Washington Post) observes the "upbeat" speech came as Bully Boy "is stepping up his case for keeping additional U.S. forces in the country. However, Democrats and Iraq experts say that Bush's proposals will face a steep hurdle because many of his predictions of success have not materialized." Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) reports that the White House will be asking for another 50 billion dollars ($50,000,000,000.00) for the illegal war "which would come on top of about $460 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq" with the announcement most likely coming "after congressional hearings scheduled for mid-September featuring the two top U.S. officials in Iraq. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker will assess the stat eof the war and the effect of the new strategy the U.S. military has pursued this year."
Bully Boy's responsible for the illegal war. The puppet's responsible for his lousy performance. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) interviews him and he declares that he did not arrive at "this postition from being a king or a prince but have reached here through a political process, democracy and national will." Each claim, in and of itself, laughable. He then tries to play himself off as an accident of history: "I never wished to be put in a position of responsibility, neither did I see for one minute to be here." Apparently, he was just sipping a soda at the counter of Schwaabs and Bully Boy liked the way al-Maliki filled out a sweater. In a report by Fadel on the interview, it's noted that: "Despite Maliki's confidence, the scene at his office made it clear that his survival isn't being debated only in Washington. Maliki's security guards were closely watching a talk show on a wide screen Panasonic television in the lobby. The topic was whether Maliki is the only choice for Iraq, and political pundits were debating whether the prime minister should step down. When Maliki entered, the guards turned down the volume, but kept the program on."
This week Erica Bouris (Foreign Policy in Focus) became the latest offer that criticism of al-Maliki is not helpful. Well sometimes the truth hurts. al-Maliki has done an awful job and doesn't represent Iraqis.
Let's deal with some basics before we get to specifics. Iraq is a war zone. Iraq is occupied. Leaders in those situations (in any country) have a limited number of options. They can lead a resistance to occupying forces. They can attempt to work with the occupation in a 'savy' manner that benefits the people of the country. Or they can become a collaborator in the occuaption. They can attempt to work between all the options listed -- ping-ponging back and forth -- but those are the options for leaders in any occupied country. Bouris declares, "Scolding Maliki, however tempting it is in the dog days of August, when heat, violence, and the 2008 election are all a little close for comfort, is a dangerous temptation to give in to. Especially when combined with the just released National Intelligence Estimate report that paints a grimp picture of Maliki's ability to lead Iraq towards effective governance." In other words, Bouris is aware of the NIE and its evaluation of the puppet so why is she bothered by criticisim of al-Maliki? She fears that al-Maliki might begin to "reach out to less moderate Shiites. Or he could broaden his horizons and respond to the overtures of the Iranians. The Iranians would likely be happy to lend a supportive hand to keep Maliki securely in power."
Nouri al-Maliki came into puppet office with ties to Iran (he lived there in exile). US intelligence notes those ties and when they became firmer is when al-Maliki started getting more public criticism. al-Maliki cannot be pushed closer to Iran, he's already there. That may or may not be a bad thing for Iraq or for the United States. But a claim that he might be pushed into the arms of Iran requires a lack of awareness of his firm ties prior to becoming prime minister and the strengthening of those ties since he has.
As to the concern that he might "reach out to less moderate Shiites" -- again, anyone paying attention will raise an eye brow over that 'fear' as well. Not only has al-Maliki backed the Shia death squads and refused to call out their attacks, calling his Interior Ministry "thugs" is being generous. On July 30th, Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) walked readers through the Interior Ministry building noting that Mahdi Gharrawi controls the second floor ("Last year, U.S. and Iraqi troops found 1,400 prisoners, mostly Sunnis, at a base he controlled in eastern Baghdad. Many showed signs of torture"), the sixth floor is "home to border enforcement and the major crimes unit, belongs to the Badr Organization militia. Its leader, Deputy Minister Ahmed Khfaji, is lauded by some Western officials as an efficient administrator and suspected by others of running secret prisons," the seventh floor is the location of "a turf war" betwen the Badhr Organization and Kurds . . .
That is not a new development, that is not a rarely reported development. al-Maliki would have a very difficult time getting closer with "less moderate Shiites" because they're already arm-in-arm.
"Maliki is the stupidest man alive (well, after Bush of course . . .) if he belives his arrogance and callous handling of the sitatuion will work to dismiss it from the minds of Iraqis. By doing what he is doing, he's making it more clear than ever that under his rule, under his government, vigilante justice is the only way to go. Why leave it to the security forces and police? Simply hire a militia or gang to get revenge." Riverbend (Baghdad Burning) wrote that on February 20th of this year. She was commenting specifically of the refusal to pursue justice for Sabrine Al Janabi. What does Riverbend think today? Her last post was in April and she noted that she and her family were going to attempt to make it to Syria or Jordan:
Riverbend is now a refugee and under the puppet's 'rule' a vast number of those have been created.
On Monday, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) explained, "Meanwhile the Iraqi Red Crescent reports the number of internally displaced Iraqis has also doubled over the course of the so-called U.S. troop surge. More than 1.1 million Iraqis are now internally-displaced, up from under four-hundred fifty thousand earlier this year." Today, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted that "the Iraqi refugee crisis worsens by the month. The United Nations says the monthly rate of displacement has reached 60,000 people -- an increase of 10,000 over previous estimates. Some 4.2 million Iraqis have fled their homes since the U.S. invasion of Iraq." Do we want to talk orphans? Jonathan Finer (Washington Post) reported in 2006 that prior to the illegal war approximately 400 children were living in orphanages throughout Iraq but by the beginning of 2006, the number had already grown to 1,000.
Assuming the puppet was attempting to be 'savy' and not collaborating, he has failed. There are many things the US wants. Top of the list, the US wants to put into law the theft of Iraqi oil. If he was attempting to be 'savy,' he could have used the desires to leverage items that would make life under occupation a little better for Iraqis. He hasn't.
He told Fadel, "The support for the Sunnis is something we do not accept -- because we do not agree to support either Sunnis or Shiites. I have made a pledge to deal with matters according to state law and citizens regardless of their affiliations. Our responsibility is to break down the barriers that have been erected recently". The first eleven words are probably the closest to the truth al-Maliki got: "The support for the Sunnis is something we do not accept". That would explain creating an 'alliance' this month without Sunnis and trashing the US White House's 'benchmarks' two and sixteen.
He is a miserable failure and with regards to the Sunni population, he is a menace by whom he appoints and what he chooses to recognize and what he chooses to ignore.
Over a week before the NIE was made public, Peter W. Galbraith (The New York Review of Books) was already laying reality out: "Provincial elections will make Iraq less governable while the process of constitutional revision could break the country apart. . . . Iraq's mainstream Shiite leaders resist holding new provincial elections because they know what such elections are likely to bring. Because the Sunnis boycotted the January 2005 elections, they do not control the northern governorate, or province, of Nineveh, in which there is a Sunni majority, and they are not represented in governorates with mixed populations, such as Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. New elections would, it is argued, give Sunnis a greater voice in the places where they live, and the Shiites say they do not have a problem with this, although just how they would treat the militant Sunnis who would be elected is far from clear."
Reality is reality and calling al-Maliki out for his failures is reality. Reality check: Baghad went under 'crackdown' when? June 2006. Over a year later and nothing to show for it. No improvement. On September 2, 2006 -- almost a year ago -- AFP reported the effects of the 'crackdown' -- the only real effects: "Several of Iraq's leading booksellers and writers have burnt a pyre of books to denounce a curfew which they said has turned the centre of Baghdad's intellectual life into 'a street of ghosts'." The curfews only inflame the tensions, they do not solve anything. The 'crackdown' has been an extreme curfew. It has had resulted in the destruction of many of the last remaining cosmopolitan aspects of Baghdad.
al-Maliki was not swept in by 'national will' as he claims to McClatchy Newspapers. He got the job when Ibrahim al-Jaafari didn't have the support needed. April 22, 2006 was when al-Maliki became the prime mnister. From the May 17, 2006 snapshot: "CNN, the Associated Press and BBC note that Iraqi prime minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki will, apparently, announce his cabinet nominations this Saturday. As the rah-rah-rah-put-on-Etta-James'-"At Last!"-mood builds, it's left to AFP to note the obvious: the parliment meets Saturday because the constitutional deadline is Monday, the 22nd. al-Maliki has already missed his own imposed deadline. The Monday deadline is not optional." On May 22nd, he had a cabinet -- if you were willing to ignore Iraq's Constitution and al-Maliki was. As Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted, the 'cabinet' wasn't full: "Several key cabinet positions remain unfilled including Minister of Defense and Minister of the Interior." Of course, the Constitutional deadline of May 22nd was about the full cabinet, not partial.
That should have been the first clue that he was ineffective. How about that fabeled 24-point plan al-Maliki was talking up in May? In May of 2006, it should be noted. That 'peace plan' didn't amount to anything. After the Green Zone barricades were stormed in June 2006 (the reason for the crackdown), al-Maliki suddenly had a new 'plan' and it was another 'peace plan'. Lot of praise for an awful plan and one that never worked but let's drop back to October 3, 2006's snapshot:
Operation Happy Talkers are on the move and telling you that Nouri al-Maliki offers a 'four-point' peace plan. You may have trouble reading of the 'four-point' plan because the third point isn't about "peace" or "democracy" so reports tend to ignore it. The first step has already been (rightly) dismissed by Andrew North (BBC) of the "local security committees": "In fact, most neighourhoods of Baghdad set up their own local security bodies some time ago to protect themselves -- because they do not trust the authorities to look after them." AP reports that the Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the 'peace' plan (reality title: "continued carnage plan").
As we went on to note (and noted repeatedly), it was difficult to hear about the plan because so much of the press made a point of ignoring one point. The third plank of the 'peace plan' was the attack on a free press. The war on the press. It was the war on the press that created the problems in Falluja in April 2004 when Paul Bremer's itsy-bitsy feelings were hurt over a political cartoon. It was the war on the press that led al-Maliki to shut down al-Arabiya in September 2006.The 'peace plan' pushed in the fall of 2006 only enshrined the assault on a free press though most media outlets avoided noting that. The assault continues. Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) reported yesterday on the "fascist behavior" in Falluja where even the journalists live in fear "after a few of them were arrested and held for several days. One of the detained journalists spoke to IPS on condition of anonymity. Visible shaken, he said that a major in the Fallujah police force had told him that freedom of the media had been missued and the police would not allow it anymore. He said the major told him that 'the news you transmit to the world will be what we tell you, not what you pick up from the street'."
al-Maliki is a puppet. There's no question of that. When he was in Egypt, the US decided to install permanent barricades in Baghdad. al-Maliki declared, "I oppse the building of the wall, and its construction will stop," as Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) noted before adding that the US "military did not say whether the wall's construction would be halted." And the following day, as CNN reported, Iraq's Brig. General Qassim Atta held a press conference in Baghdad where he declared, "We will continue to set up these barries in Adhamiya and other areas." And, FYI, the construction continued.
al-Maliki is a puppet. There's no question of that. But he wanted to have the title of "prime minister" and be seen as a leader. The Iraqi people have nothing to show from his 'leadership'. If this was al-Maliki being 'savy' for 15 months, he's an idiot. More likely, he decided to be a collaborator in an illegal occupation. Regardless, he has not used the limited power he does hold to leverage better conditions for Iraqis. He has allowed Shi'ite death squads to run free, he has allowed his Interior Ministry to target Sunnis when they coveted their homes. The statements being made by people holding office in the US government, mild as they are, are not really that different from what was being stated publicly by October 2006. The difference is that the jury is no longer out on al-Maliki. September 30, 2006, Amit R. Paley and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reported that then US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said of al-Maliki, "He has a window of a couple months. If the perception is that this unity government is not able to deal with this issue [the death toll and threat of civil war], then a big opportunity would have been lost and it would take a long time to address this issue." In their opening sentence, Paley and Raghavan wrote, "The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned on Friday that time is running out for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to contain the burgeoning sectarian bloodshed that threatens to plunge the country into a civil war." That was almost a year ago. The statements or threats are the same today as they were then except for the fact that there's no talk of "if" -- the jury is in, the puppet failed. By the US government's standards he has failed. By measures of daily life for Iraqis he has failed.
US forces arrested Iranians in Baghdad. Stephen Farrell (New York Times) reports, "An Iranian Energy Ministry delegation was arrested by American troops at a hotel in central Baghdad during an official visit to Iraq" while the US military "did not mention the hotel" and asserted the arrests took place "near the checkpoint on the east bank of the Tigris" but staff at the hotel say "the members were eating dinner in the ground floor restaurant" of the hotel when they were arrested, handcuffed and blindfolded. Robin Stringer (Bloomberg News) notes they were released and that the US military's latest version of the ever changing story is that they waived the Iranians through a checkpoint and then changed their minds which is how they ended up arrested at the hotel.
In other violence.
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 1 life (three wounded). Reuters reports a Kirkuk car bombing claimed 3 lives (seven people wounded), a Kirkuk mortar attack claimed 2 lives (one more wounded), a Diwaniyah roadside bombing claimed the lives of 2 "bodyguards of a government official",
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Hawija shooting that left an Iraqi soldier dead and 1 person shot dead in Kirkuk. Reuters reports a police officer shot dead in Najaf.
Corpses?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 11 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "One Multi-National Corps – Iraq Soldier died of wounds suffered during combat operations in the vicinity of Kirkuk Aug. 28." The announcement brings the ICCC total for the number of US service members killed in Iraq this month to 75 with 3733 being the total number killed in the illegal war since it started.
Another thing we'll be noting through the end of the week -- events for Army of None, published by Seven Stories Press, available at Courage to Resist and many other places, which is written by Aimee Allison and David Solnit. This Thursday there will be a release celebration for the event at Club Oasis (135 12th St., btwen. Madison and Oak Sts., Oakland 6 blocks E. of Broadway/12th St. -- click here for East Bay express' map of Club Oasis' location). The event is free and open to all. The authors will be there, Jeff Paterson will have a slide show, there will be a puppet show, poets, snakcs, a dj . . . The event starts at 6:30 pm. More information can be found [Warning: MySpace page] by clicking here.Aug 29, at 12:00P, Aimee and David on KPFA Radio! @ KPFA Radio 94.1;Aug 30, at 6:00P Army of None Book Release Party & Tour Kick-Off @ Oasis Restaurant & Bar - Oakland, CA;Sep 14 at 4:00P Army of None Workshop - San Jose, CA @ Californians for Justice, San Jose, CA;Sep 14 at 7:30P Army of None Book Release/Signing - San Jose, CA @ Dowtown San Jose - Location TBA; Sep 15 at 12:00P Army of None Tour in Pittsburgh, PA;Sep 19 at 7:00P Army of None Tour in Cleveland, OH;Sep 20 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Kent, OH;Sep 23 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 24 at 6:00P Army of None Tour in Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 25 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI;Sep 26 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI;Sep 27 at 6:30P Army of None Tour @ May Day Books, Minneapolis MN;Sep 28 at 10:00A Army of None Tour @ High Schools in Minneapolis, MN;Sep 28 at 7:30P Army of None Tour @ Lyndale United Church of Christ, Minneapolis MN;Sep 29 at 1:00P Army of None Tour @ Rondo Community Outreach Library - St. Paul, MN;Oct 12 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Bluestockings Bookstore - New York City;and Oct 17 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Sanctuary for Independent Media - Troy, NY
i'm trying that for today & tomorrow and seeing what happens.
how come?
i've got 3 longterm readers in 2 states who just started back to school (1's a freshman, another a junior and then a senior). they go to 3 different schols and they all report that they're suddenly blocked in the library from my site. 1 asked and was told the new filter is blocking it because of 'sex' in the title.
so i'm banned in at least 3 schools!
i feel like a modern day mae west.
however, as flattering as it is to be banned, i don't want any 1 punished.
so from now until friday (or saturday morning if i don't post friday night), this is 'six and politics and attitudes.' the 3 are going to try to see if this allows them to visit the site.
it may not because my site's web address remains the same and the naughty word's in the title! oh no!
it's kind of funny i get banned when i'm cleaner than i've ever been.
i don't even write curse words in full these days.
as for talking about desire - i gave birth a few months back. please. i rarely feel in the mood these days.
i have 'six'. i've not stopped having 'six.'
but i'm 'purer' than i've been my whole life and wouldn't you know it that's when i get banned.
i actually had 'six' thoughts while watching democracy now awhile back. i called c.i. because - of course, i'm finally in the mood and flyboy's not around - and ask about amy's guest. it was glen greenwald and i hope i spelled that right.
he's a sammy power lover and i loathe her and her simplistic analysis but who cares, glen was hot.
so i'm on the phone with c.i. trying to feed my fantasy life by getting details on glen. c.i. all of the sudden says, 'you're interested in him?'
not in a 'you'd have an affair!' that's not what that was about before any 1 starts feeling sorry for flyboy. but glen was hot.
c.i. says, 'rebecca, when you think a guy's hot you have generally speaking had 1 of 2 problems. glen's not a jerk.'
i said, 'oh, he's gay.'
he is and he's out so i'm not writing anything that's not known.
but for the longest time, like my 1st 10 years of 'dating,' if the guy wasn't a jerk, he was gay. (and, as i've pointed out before, my 1st husband - great guy - came out shortly after we got married.)
i laughed and thought 'it figures.'
then i said, 'who cares, tell me every bit of dirt you know about glen.'
hours and hours later, flyboy gets home. so the mood is gone.
but glen, thanks, i found you 'six'ually desirable and you're the first man i have since i gave birth. (the last months of my pregnancy were hormone raged.)
(for the record, flyboy is not a jerk and he is not gay. he's also very attractive.)
so, point, there wasn't going to be a lot of 'six' talk here for a bit. and i was trying to follow some sort of language policy so every 1 could read in the community without fear.
i feel like a heroin addict that kicked the habit and got busted when the cops found an old stash!
if 'six' works for the 3, allows them to pull it up on the school computers, i'll stick with it most likely. if not (if it doesn't work or if i just say '"fudge" it, i'm going back to my old title,' i'll set up a mirror site with a title that's less alarming to software screening.
besides this being temporary most likely, i also don't want any 1 to change the title on their links. if i do change the title, sites in the community may follow that and change it on their links but i hate going into the template here and i'm not asking any 1 else to especially when this may only be for 2 days.
okay, john conyers. yesterday he was on democracy now talking about impeachment. like i pointed out last night, t had left a message on my machine. i called her today and couldn't get her. because she wasn't at work. she was on her way out here. 1st she said, mike said it all. he did do a great job.
what she wanted to add to that was she's sick of hearing 'john conyers: the great black hope.' she said 'as a gay african-american woman, i want to know why i'm supposed to be impressed with him? what has he done for me or any other lesbian? he may or may not have done some brave things in the past. he did them and he benefitted. years have passed and what's he doing today?'
she believes very strongly in impeachment.
as do i.
we were outside going through the papers this morning on the deck. it wasn't the hot time of the day but my baby, if she's not napping, wants to be outside. i have no idea why. fuss and fuss and fuss some more. go outside and it's entrancement time just staring at the water.
it's probably the water and not the heat because no child of mine would want to be out in the heat unless it was time to work on a tan.
but we were outside and flipping through the papers. t had the new york times and i was going through the washington post. t found 2 things we agreed i should note.
no links. if you're interested, google or search at the paper's website.
a21 is where jim dwyer's 'in mass arrests during '04 convention, divergent versions of events emerge,' dwyer's telling about the arrests in nyc during the g.o.p. convention. there are problems in court because, it turns out, the cops lied. imagine that. what stood out the most, of the examples, was amber tejada who was 27. she was at the new york public library on 5th and 2 guys asked her to help them hang a sign which they did (a banner). police captain ronald mercandetti strolls up and tells them they can't hang a sign. so they took it down. he then tells them (and this is on videotape) 'you can hold it, but you can't hang it.' then he leaves. so they hold it on the steps. and then police officers swarm in (while they're doing what they were told - and what actually was legal) and arrests & cuffs them. the police filed a report that they were 'obstructing the entire intersection' when they weren't in the streets (again, there is video), that they were ordered 'to leave' (they weren't), that they held a parade without a permit (they didn't) and that they hung a sign. they did. and when capt. mercandetti told them they couldn't, they took it down. he didn't arrest them. he told them they could 'hold it, but you can't hang it' and went on his way. so the whole arrest report is a lie and that happened repeatedly. that's just 1 of the examples in the story.
the other thing i would've completely missed on my own. i would've read the dwyer story because it was an article and he's been on democracy now before talking about the arrests. but t also found something in the national briefing. this it 1 item in full as it appears on a13:
TENNESSEE: EX-LAWMAKER SENTENCED
Former State Senator John Ford, once among Tennessee's most powerful lawmakers, was sentenced to five and one-half years in prison for bribery. Mr. Ford, 65, was one of the five former lawmakers convited of bribery or extortion in a statewide corruption investigation. He was convicted in April of taking $55,000 in bribes from F.B.I. agents posting as dishonest businessmen representing E-Cycle Management. The company, which sought a change in state law for a business advantage, was a front created by the F.B.I.
(AP)
who is john ford. harold ford's uncle. from last summer's knox news sentenal:
Family matters One of his grandparents' 15 kids is his uncle, former state Sen. John Ford, D-Memphis, now awaiting trial - in October, with the general election looming - on bribery charges.
His own father was charged - and acquitted by a jury - on bank fraud charges. An aunt, Ophelia, was elected to the state Senate, then ousted from the seat amid contentions that her election was tainted by illegal voting.
that's a july 9, 2006 article. harold ford jr. ran for senate.
if you've forgotten, the pro-war, gay hating, 10 commandents on public displaying loving harold ford jr. not only posed in front of a confederate flag during the campaign (he is african-american), he also lost.
but before he could, we all were supposed to hop on board for him. all on the left.
in fact, it was supposed to be a tragedy that a commercial against him featured a white woman who was apparently supposed to be a playboy bunny saying she met harold at a playboy party and she says 'call me' at the end.
that was racism! screamed the left.
that was nothing.
and wasting our time worrying about some pro-war candidate was nonsense.
t said today, 'the racism was thinking a playboy bunny could only be white. she's the 1 they should have been fretting over.'
ford jr. went to a playboy party after the superbowl 1 year (i believe the 1 in new orleans, but i don't follow football, i do follow basketball).
so ford junior lost his race. and 1 of the reasons had to be the constant corruption charges against his family. in july of last year it was just charges for his uncle. but now his uncle has been convicted.
and ford junior? the nephew of the convicted felon is now serving his own 'sentence,' he's a commentator on fox 'news'.
okay, that's it. hopefully, on thursday morning, people will be able to read this if they want, even on high school campuses. i'm e-mailing it to the 3 that couldn't pull up the site. i'll probably also be doing a mirror site very soon. it's 'six and politics and screeds and attitude' until friday night or saturday morning for sure. after that, it'll probably go back to the original title because i really don't think the quick fix will take care of the problem. maybe i'm wrong.
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Wednesday, August 29, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Texas gears up for a big rally on Saturday, Bully Boy wants another $50 billion for his illegal war, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Nick Chin and Hannah Morong (US Socialist Worker) report the Eli Israel was a huge hit in Kennebunkport, Maine on Saturday at the peace rally held there where Cindy Sheehan, Dennis Kucinich, Carlos and Melida Arredonod, Cynthia McKinney and Dahlia Wasfi were among the over 4,000 people participating. Eli Israel is the first service member to publicly refuse to fight in the illegal war while being stationed in Iraq. The reporters quote Israel asking, "What's going to stop [the war]? It has to stop from the inside."
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Zamesha Dominique, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko,Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters.
Iraq Veterans Against the War were also a big hit at the Kennebunkport rally. They'll no doubt be a huge hit Saturday in Texas. In what may be one of the biggest actions in Texas against the illegal war in September, Texans For Peace are staging an American People's Poll on Iraq in Fort Worth, Texas featuring many speakers including IVAW's Adam Kokesh, Leonard Shelton and Hart Viges as well as Diane Wilson, Tina Richards, Ann Wright and many others. Click here for the press release. There is not a fee to attend, the event is Saturday, in Fort Worth, Texas which is also where the Republican Straw Poll will be "taking place in General Worth Square". People will begin arriving at nine in the morning, the speeches will begin at 1:30. There will be music and entertainment. Though the event is free, people can donate and Texans For Peace is encouraging everyone planning to attend to print up tickets online. The tickets will be used for a number count of those attending. No one will be turned away because they didn't have access to a computer to print up the ticket. A number of community members are in the D-FW area. If you're en route to the rally and see a friend, take them along. Texans For Peace are encouraging people to invite friends. This could be the biggest peace rally the area has seen. The event's theme is "Bring the troops home now and take care of them."
Throughout the day (nine to five, this is a Saturday) there will be canvassing and straw polls, the pre-rally entertainment starts at one p.m. and the peace rally begins at 1:30 and lasts until 3:30. Fort Worth is a city in Texas, part of the Dallas and Fort Worth region known there as "DFW." Suburbs, towns and cities in the area include Denton, Plano, Arlington, Irvining, Bach Springs, Desoto, Duncanville, Lewisville, Addison, Grand Prairie and a host of others. There is a point. Texans for Peace notes that you can catch the Trinity Railway Express to Fort Worth and that at 12:30 pm volunteers will be helping transport people to the rally.Community member Diana and her family took part in the April 2006 immigrants rally in downtown Dallas that had at least a half million participants making it the largest protest in Dallas' history. She noted the traffic issue when she shared her experiences from that rally. Today, she explained over the phone that the easiest thing for people to the north, east or south of Fort Worth wanting to attend Saturday's events but unsure of how to get there is to utilize the Trinity train. She suggests grabbing a Dart Express Train and taking it to Union Station (in downtown Dallas). You can pick up the TRE there. ("It's the big, brown -- same brown as UPS uses --train that runs right next to the two light rails," says Diana.) ADDED: Dallas and Billie both note that there is also a solid white train. Billie: "Brown or white, they are real trains that look like trains, not the light rail." Texans for Peace notes that the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) runs from eight in the morning until eleven at night on Saturdays.
[The last two paragraphs were noted yesterday and will be noted tomorrow and Friday. Texas members in that area, or able to get to that area, will hopefully be attending and getting the word out.]
Yesterday, Bully Boy gave another laughable speech. Cedric, Wally and I addressed it yesterday. Michael Abramowitz (Washington Post) observes the "upbeat" speech came as Bully Boy "is stepping up his case for keeping additional U.S. forces in the country. However, Democrats and Iraq experts say that Bush's proposals will face a steep hurdle because many of his predictions of success have not materialized." Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) reports that the White House will be asking for another 50 billion dollars ($50,000,000,000.00) for the illegal war "which would come on top of about $460 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq" with the announcement most likely coming "after congressional hearings scheduled for mid-September featuring the two top U.S. officials in Iraq. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker will assess the stat eof the war and the effect of the new strategy the U.S. military has pursued this year."
Bully Boy's responsible for the illegal war. The puppet's responsible for his lousy performance. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) interviews him and he declares that he did not arrive at "this postition from being a king or a prince but have reached here through a political process, democracy and national will." Each claim, in and of itself, laughable. He then tries to play himself off as an accident of history: "I never wished to be put in a position of responsibility, neither did I see for one minute to be here." Apparently, he was just sipping a soda at the counter of Schwaabs and Bully Boy liked the way al-Maliki filled out a sweater. In a report by Fadel on the interview, it's noted that: "Despite Maliki's confidence, the scene at his office made it clear that his survival isn't being debated only in Washington. Maliki's security guards were closely watching a talk show on a wide screen Panasonic television in the lobby. The topic was whether Maliki is the only choice for Iraq, and political pundits were debating whether the prime minister should step down. When Maliki entered, the guards turned down the volume, but kept the program on."
This week Erica Bouris (Foreign Policy in Focus) became the latest offer that criticism of al-Maliki is not helpful. Well sometimes the truth hurts. al-Maliki has done an awful job and doesn't represent Iraqis.
Let's deal with some basics before we get to specifics. Iraq is a war zone. Iraq is occupied. Leaders in those situations (in any country) have a limited number of options. They can lead a resistance to occupying forces. They can attempt to work with the occupation in a 'savy' manner that benefits the people of the country. Or they can become a collaborator in the occuaption. They can attempt to work between all the options listed -- ping-ponging back and forth -- but those are the options for leaders in any occupied country. Bouris declares, "Scolding Maliki, however tempting it is in the dog days of August, when heat, violence, and the 2008 election are all a little close for comfort, is a dangerous temptation to give in to. Especially when combined with the just released National Intelligence Estimate report that paints a grimp picture of Maliki's ability to lead Iraq towards effective governance." In other words, Bouris is aware of the NIE and its evaluation of the puppet so why is she bothered by criticisim of al-Maliki? She fears that al-Maliki might begin to "reach out to less moderate Shiites. Or he could broaden his horizons and respond to the overtures of the Iranians. The Iranians would likely be happy to lend a supportive hand to keep Maliki securely in power."
Nouri al-Maliki came into puppet office with ties to Iran (he lived there in exile). US intelligence notes those ties and when they became firmer is when al-Maliki started getting more public criticism. al-Maliki cannot be pushed closer to Iran, he's already there. That may or may not be a bad thing for Iraq or for the United States. But a claim that he might be pushed into the arms of Iran requires a lack of awareness of his firm ties prior to becoming prime minister and the strengthening of those ties since he has.
As to the concern that he might "reach out to less moderate Shiites" -- again, anyone paying attention will raise an eye brow over that 'fear' as well. Not only has al-Maliki backed the Shia death squads and refused to call out their attacks, calling his Interior Ministry "thugs" is being generous. On July 30th, Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) walked readers through the Interior Ministry building noting that Mahdi Gharrawi controls the second floor ("Last year, U.S. and Iraqi troops found 1,400 prisoners, mostly Sunnis, at a base he controlled in eastern Baghdad. Many showed signs of torture"), the sixth floor is "home to border enforcement and the major crimes unit, belongs to the Badr Organization militia. Its leader, Deputy Minister Ahmed Khfaji, is lauded by some Western officials as an efficient administrator and suspected by others of running secret prisons," the seventh floor is the location of "a turf war" betwen the Badhr Organization and Kurds . . .
That is not a new development, that is not a rarely reported development. al-Maliki would have a very difficult time getting closer with "less moderate Shiites" because they're already arm-in-arm.
"Maliki is the stupidest man alive (well, after Bush of course . . .) if he belives his arrogance and callous handling of the sitatuion will work to dismiss it from the minds of Iraqis. By doing what he is doing, he's making it more clear than ever that under his rule, under his government, vigilante justice is the only way to go. Why leave it to the security forces and police? Simply hire a militia or gang to get revenge." Riverbend (Baghdad Burning) wrote that on February 20th of this year. She was commenting specifically of the refusal to pursue justice for Sabrine Al Janabi. What does Riverbend think today? Her last post was in April and she noted that she and her family were going to attempt to make it to Syria or Jordan:
Riverbend is now a refugee and under the puppet's 'rule' a vast number of those have been created.
On Monday, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) explained, "Meanwhile the Iraqi Red Crescent reports the number of internally displaced Iraqis has also doubled over the course of the so-called U.S. troop surge. More than 1.1 million Iraqis are now internally-displaced, up from under four-hundred fifty thousand earlier this year." Today, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted that "the Iraqi refugee crisis worsens by the month. The United Nations says the monthly rate of displacement has reached 60,000 people -- an increase of 10,000 over previous estimates. Some 4.2 million Iraqis have fled their homes since the U.S. invasion of Iraq." Do we want to talk orphans? Jonathan Finer (Washington Post) reported in 2006 that prior to the illegal war approximately 400 children were living in orphanages throughout Iraq but by the beginning of 2006, the number had already grown to 1,000.
Assuming the puppet was attempting to be 'savy' and not collaborating, he has failed. There are many things the US wants. Top of the list, the US wants to put into law the theft of Iraqi oil. If he was attempting to be 'savy,' he could have used the desires to leverage items that would make life under occupation a little better for Iraqis. He hasn't.
He told Fadel, "The support for the Sunnis is something we do not accept -- because we do not agree to support either Sunnis or Shiites. I have made a pledge to deal with matters according to state law and citizens regardless of their affiliations. Our responsibility is to break down the barriers that have been erected recently". The first eleven words are probably the closest to the truth al-Maliki got: "The support for the Sunnis is something we do not accept". That would explain creating an 'alliance' this month without Sunnis and trashing the US White House's 'benchmarks' two and sixteen.
He is a miserable failure and with regards to the Sunni population, he is a menace by whom he appoints and what he chooses to recognize and what he chooses to ignore.
Over a week before the NIE was made public, Peter W. Galbraith (The New York Review of Books) was already laying reality out: "Provincial elections will make Iraq less governable while the process of constitutional revision could break the country apart. . . . Iraq's mainstream Shiite leaders resist holding new provincial elections because they know what such elections are likely to bring. Because the Sunnis boycotted the January 2005 elections, they do not control the northern governorate, or province, of Nineveh, in which there is a Sunni majority, and they are not represented in governorates with mixed populations, such as Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. New elections would, it is argued, give Sunnis a greater voice in the places where they live, and the Shiites say they do not have a problem with this, although just how they would treat the militant Sunnis who would be elected is far from clear."
Reality is reality and calling al-Maliki out for his failures is reality. Reality check: Baghad went under 'crackdown' when? June 2006. Over a year later and nothing to show for it. No improvement. On September 2, 2006 -- almost a year ago -- AFP reported the effects of the 'crackdown' -- the only real effects: "Several of Iraq's leading booksellers and writers have burnt a pyre of books to denounce a curfew which they said has turned the centre of Baghdad's intellectual life into 'a street of ghosts'." The curfews only inflame the tensions, they do not solve anything. The 'crackdown' has been an extreme curfew. It has had resulted in the destruction of many of the last remaining cosmopolitan aspects of Baghdad.
al-Maliki was not swept in by 'national will' as he claims to McClatchy Newspapers. He got the job when Ibrahim al-Jaafari didn't have the support needed. April 22, 2006 was when al-Maliki became the prime mnister. From the May 17, 2006 snapshot: "CNN, the Associated Press and BBC note that Iraqi prime minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki will, apparently, announce his cabinet nominations this Saturday. As the rah-rah-rah-put-on-Etta-James'-"At Last!"-mood builds, it's left to AFP to note the obvious: the parliment meets Saturday because the constitutional deadline is Monday, the 22nd. al-Maliki has already missed his own imposed deadline. The Monday deadline is not optional." On May 22nd, he had a cabinet -- if you were willing to ignore Iraq's Constitution and al-Maliki was. As Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted, the 'cabinet' wasn't full: "Several key cabinet positions remain unfilled including Minister of Defense and Minister of the Interior." Of course, the Constitutional deadline of May 22nd was about the full cabinet, not partial.
That should have been the first clue that he was ineffective. How about that fabeled 24-point plan al-Maliki was talking up in May? In May of 2006, it should be noted. That 'peace plan' didn't amount to anything. After the Green Zone barricades were stormed in June 2006 (the reason for the crackdown), al-Maliki suddenly had a new 'plan' and it was another 'peace plan'. Lot of praise for an awful plan and one that never worked but let's drop back to October 3, 2006's snapshot:
Operation Happy Talkers are on the move and telling you that Nouri al-Maliki offers a 'four-point' peace plan. You may have trouble reading of the 'four-point' plan because the third point isn't about "peace" or "democracy" so reports tend to ignore it. The first step has already been (rightly) dismissed by Andrew North (BBC) of the "local security committees": "In fact, most neighourhoods of Baghdad set up their own local security bodies some time ago to protect themselves -- because they do not trust the authorities to look after them." AP reports that the Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the 'peace' plan (reality title: "continued carnage plan").
As we went on to note (and noted repeatedly), it was difficult to hear about the plan because so much of the press made a point of ignoring one point. The third plank of the 'peace plan' was the attack on a free press. The war on the press. It was the war on the press that created the problems in Falluja in April 2004 when Paul Bremer's itsy-bitsy feelings were hurt over a political cartoon. It was the war on the press that led al-Maliki to shut down al-Arabiya in September 2006.The 'peace plan' pushed in the fall of 2006 only enshrined the assault on a free press though most media outlets avoided noting that. The assault continues. Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) reported yesterday on the "fascist behavior" in Falluja where even the journalists live in fear "after a few of them were arrested and held for several days. One of the detained journalists spoke to IPS on condition of anonymity. Visible shaken, he said that a major in the Fallujah police force had told him that freedom of the media had been missued and the police would not allow it anymore. He said the major told him that 'the news you transmit to the world will be what we tell you, not what you pick up from the street'."
al-Maliki is a puppet. There's no question of that. When he was in Egypt, the US decided to install permanent barricades in Baghdad. al-Maliki declared, "I oppse the building of the wall, and its construction will stop," as Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) noted before adding that the US "military did not say whether the wall's construction would be halted." And the following day, as CNN reported, Iraq's Brig. General Qassim Atta held a press conference in Baghdad where he declared, "We will continue to set up these barries in Adhamiya and other areas." And, FYI, the construction continued.
al-Maliki is a puppet. There's no question of that. But he wanted to have the title of "prime minister" and be seen as a leader. The Iraqi people have nothing to show from his 'leadership'. If this was al-Maliki being 'savy' for 15 months, he's an idiot. More likely, he decided to be a collaborator in an illegal occupation. Regardless, he has not used the limited power he does hold to leverage better conditions for Iraqis. He has allowed Shi'ite death squads to run free, he has allowed his Interior Ministry to target Sunnis when they coveted their homes. The statements being made by people holding office in the US government, mild as they are, are not really that different from what was being stated publicly by October 2006. The difference is that the jury is no longer out on al-Maliki. September 30, 2006, Amit R. Paley and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reported that then US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said of al-Maliki, "He has a window of a couple months. If the perception is that this unity government is not able to deal with this issue [the death toll and threat of civil war], then a big opportunity would have been lost and it would take a long time to address this issue." In their opening sentence, Paley and Raghavan wrote, "The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned on Friday that time is running out for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to contain the burgeoning sectarian bloodshed that threatens to plunge the country into a civil war." That was almost a year ago. The statements or threats are the same today as they were then except for the fact that there's no talk of "if" -- the jury is in, the puppet failed. By the US government's standards he has failed. By measures of daily life for Iraqis he has failed.
US forces arrested Iranians in Baghdad. Stephen Farrell (New York Times) reports, "An Iranian Energy Ministry delegation was arrested by American troops at a hotel in central Baghdad during an official visit to Iraq" while the US military "did not mention the hotel" and asserted the arrests took place "near the checkpoint on the east bank of the Tigris" but staff at the hotel say "the members were eating dinner in the ground floor restaurant" of the hotel when they were arrested, handcuffed and blindfolded. Robin Stringer (Bloomberg News) notes they were released and that the US military's latest version of the ever changing story is that they waived the Iranians through a checkpoint and then changed their minds which is how they ended up arrested at the hotel.
In other violence.
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 1 life (three wounded). Reuters reports a Kirkuk car bombing claimed 3 lives (seven people wounded), a Kirkuk mortar attack claimed 2 lives (one more wounded), a Diwaniyah roadside bombing claimed the lives of 2 "bodyguards of a government official",
Shootings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Hawija shooting that left an Iraqi soldier dead and 1 person shot dead in Kirkuk. Reuters reports a police officer shot dead in Najaf.
Corpses?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 11 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "One Multi-National Corps – Iraq Soldier died of wounds suffered during combat operations in the vicinity of Kirkuk Aug. 28." The announcement brings the ICCC total for the number of US service members killed in Iraq this month to 75 with 3733 being the total number killed in the illegal war since it started.
Another thing we'll be noting through the end of the week -- events for Army of None, published by Seven Stories Press, available at Courage to Resist and many other places, which is written by Aimee Allison and David Solnit. This Thursday there will be a release celebration for the event at Club Oasis (135 12th St., btwen. Madison and Oak Sts., Oakland 6 blocks E. of Broadway/12th St. -- click here for East Bay express' map of Club Oasis' location). The event is free and open to all. The authors will be there, Jeff Paterson will have a slide show, there will be a puppet show, poets, snakcs, a dj . . . The event starts at 6:30 pm. More information can be found [Warning: MySpace page] by clicking here.Aug 29, at 12:00P, Aimee and David on KPFA Radio! @ KPFA Radio 94.1;Aug 30, at 6:00P Army of None Book Release Party & Tour Kick-Off @ Oasis Restaurant & Bar - Oakland, CA;Sep 14 at 4:00P Army of None Workshop - San Jose, CA @ Californians for Justice, San Jose, CA;Sep 14 at 7:30P Army of None Book Release/Signing - San Jose, CA @ Dowtown San Jose - Location TBA; Sep 15 at 12:00P Army of None Tour in Pittsburgh, PA;Sep 19 at 7:00P Army of None Tour in Cleveland, OH;Sep 20 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Kent, OH;Sep 23 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 24 at 6:00P Army of None Tour in Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee, WI;Sep 25 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI;Sep 26 at 6:00P Army of None Tour @ Madison, WI;Sep 27 at 6:30P Army of None Tour @ May Day Books, Minneapolis MN;Sep 28 at 10:00A Army of None Tour @ High Schools in Minneapolis, MN;Sep 28 at 7:30P Army of None Tour @ Lyndale United Church of Christ, Minneapolis MN;Sep 29 at 1:00P Army of None Tour @ Rondo Community Outreach Library - St. Paul, MN;Oct 12 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Bluestockings Bookstore - New York City;and Oct 17 at 7:00P Army of None Tour @ Sanctuary for Independent Media - Troy, NY
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)