so what are the benefits to switching to beta?
that's a question i've got in some of the e-mails?
1) publishing is quicker.
here's a really easy description of how it works. i log in, i hit 'create' and then i start typing my post (and adding links) in a window. when i'm done, i click on publish. a few seconds later, i hit 'index' and that takes a few seconds. then i hit 'publish' and if it works, it's done in about 5 minutes. (that's where you get to see the post i wrote.) sometimes on 'publish' the thing gets stuck. or gets to 90% published and resets at zero (in which case it run for an hour.)
that's the old thing.
in beta, i just hit 'publish' and i'm done. that's it. that's all.
2) i can add 'labels.'
i'm not sure what good they are, but i can add them.
otherwise, i'm not seeing much here that's different.
but (1) is important if you've got a bigger site. the third estate sunday review gets stuck in the 'publish' cycle all the time and ends up way behind schedule. and the common ills has so many posts that c.i. has to allow 30 minutes minimum for the 'post' stage. so this should make things move quicker for both of them.
there may be more and i haven't discovered it yet. this is still my 1st day using beta. and thanks to c.i. who ended up putting the 2nd post up before it was done to help me. i called and said, 'i have no idea what's going on.' i couldn't figure out why it didn't let me log on and other things this morning. so c.i. posted 'Other Items' and noted that more would be 'added later' to get something up and then focus on helping me out.
with the 2 of us, we got the 1st beta post up.
oh, another thing it does well is that it puts things in italics if they're in it when you copy and paste them into your entry.
c.i.'s not switched yet. c.i. tried but got the message that 'your site is too large.' trina did switch, mike did and the third estate sunday review did today. c.i. and i this morning were thinking that third really needed to switch right away to avoid anymore problems (they have so many problems each weekend with trying to get the posts up. forget writing them, just posting them can be a pain in the butt due to all the problems.)
kpfa's Flashpoints had another multi-topic show tonight. they've had a really strong week but i'm wondering where dennis is? due to the iraq study group, i'm not able to listen on friday. i'm sure he's on a vacation and it was announced then but i missed it. dennis bernstein and nora barrows friedman are both strong and either can handle the show solo when they need to spell 1 another. but i am wondering where dennis has been? (mainly because during fundraising, he was trying not to yell - i don't mind it when he yells, i think most people yell when they're excited and it's not like he's high pitched and you're clutching your ears. but he was talking then about how his doctor was basically ordering him not to yell. so i just hope all is cool and it's a fun absence as opposed to health reasons.)
they discussed the slaughter of 85 palestinians in 8 days (and the silence over that) and they also addressed what's going on in columbia. but let me mention the last guest, danny schechter. he was on discussing his new documentary. it's on the debt crisis in america and how it's only going to get worse, in debt we trust. i would assume from his posts as his site (news dissector) he shares my 'nice place to visit but not living there' attitude about california which is strange because i think he does better on kpfa interviews. i heard him on an east coast show awhile back and remembered thinking, 'i wish the host would let danny finish speaking.' it seemed like in the middle of every point, he was cut off and
'this is an issue every 1 is effected by' danny said about the debt issue and how every 1 has a 'topper' they want to discuss when the issue of debt is brought up. we're going to review in debt we trust at the third estate sunday review but we're waiting for every 1 to have a chance to see it. without getting into any thing that spoils that review, i will urge you to see this.
on the show tonight, danny called the u.s. system 'market-leninism' which made me laugh because that's an apt description for what we have (and a funny 1).
danny's not good about promoting his appearances at his site so if you missed it, remember that the shows are archived and you can listen for free either at Flashpoints or at kpfa. also, if you're out in the bay area this weekend, in debt we trust is playing at the roxie in san francisco - starts tomorrow (friday).
big congrats to trina who had a special e-mail today. you'll learn about that in c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Thursday, November 9, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, War Hawk down Donald Rumsfleld continues to collect professional obits but not many mourners, Cindy Sheehan continues to demonstrate more life and spirit than the media, Tom Hayden looks to what needs to be done now, and some data on the US elections is now known (even if not noted by gas bags).
Starting with War Hawk Down, Rumsfeld is Rumsfled and though the obits continue to pile up where are the mourners for his professional demise? Has even the U of Minnesota drop-out lost her gift for hagiography? Some say it's lonely at the top, Rumsfled discovers it's lonely at the bottom as well. Around the world, the feedback comes in. Mussab Al-Khairalla (Reuters) reports on the Iraqi consensus and the AP notes that a similar consensus around the world while John F. Burns and Michael Lou (New York Times) note Iraqi Sadoon al-Zubaidi response: "The Americans came to Iraq three and a half years ago to do something good for Iraqis, to free them from dictatorship. That has failed. The Americans helped, encouraged and planted civil disorder and sectarianism. Now, I would like to see all American troops taken out. I’d like to see all the reins of power placed in Iraqi hands."
Philippe Naughton (Times of London) notes that the next US Secretary of Defense will have "the clearest missions: get American troops out of Iraq as quickly and cleanly as possible."
Bully Boy has nominated Robert Gates for that position. Speaking with Nora Barrows Friedman yesterday on Flashpoints, Robert Parry noted Gates' involvement in Iran-Contra. Today on Democracy Now!, Parry also noted the involvement and the questions that had never been answered including, as Amy Goodman noted, his role in providing weapons to Saddam Hussein which he was just convicted for using. Online, Parry (Consortium News) delves into the world of Gates, his Bush family connections and concludes that "whether Gates can be counted on to do what's in the interest of the larger American public is another question altogether."
Another issue, especially considering the illegal warrantless spying by the administration, is whether former CIA director Gates is the one to be put in charge of the US Defense Department since, as many can remember, the illegal spying of an earlier period wasn't confined to the FBI and the CIA, it also included DoD spying?
In US elections news, control over both houses of Congress shifted to Democrats yesterday when two Senate races were called: Jon Tester won in Montanna and Jim Webb in Virginia. On the Webb race, as Feminist Wire Daily points out, there was "a ten-point gender gap" between those voting for Webb and those voting for George Allen (with women favoring Webb over Allen by ten-points). FWD also notes that "women voted five percentage points more (56 percent) for Democrats than men (51 percent). Kim Gandy (president of NOW) sums up the results: "Women voters cleaned House. We turned out on Tuesday to turn out the politicians who were tuning out our concerns. Women are fed up with the 'stay the course' strategy in Iraq, the so-called economic recovery that has left most of the country behind, and the relentless efforts to limit women's reproductive rights. The 'gender gap' is alive and well, and making a difference on election day." [Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) noted that "young voters voted overwhelmingly Democratic."]
Noting the Democratic control, Tom Hayden (writing at Common Dreams) reminds that: "The Vietnam War continued for seven senseless years after the Paris peace talks began. While scaling back its original victory plans, the US still wants to station tens of thousands of troops in subdued, and perhaps partitioned, Iraq, and it wasnt the issue neutralized by the 2008 elections. The peace movement therefore needs to gear up for the 2008 elections by establishing anti-war coalitions that no candidate can avoid in the primary states."
Possibly having a panic attack over the concept of peace or just dismayed regarding the lack of breast-beating over Rumsfled's impending departure (and worried about his own ass), John Howard, prime Minister of Australia and professional War Hawk, rushes to weigh in. Though not known previously as a student of American politics, Gillian Bradford (Australia's ABC) reports that Howard is downplying the election results and claiming that it boils down to Bully Boy "running a Budget deficit" that led to Republicans staying home. When considering post-government careers, Howard would be wise to skip teaching. Translation, the deficit was not covered as an issue in the leadup and it was not named in polling.
Howard's attempt to spin the illegal war comes at a time when Carne Ross is criticizing Tony Blair's government's actions with regards to the illegal war. On Iraq, the BBC reports that the British diplomat told MPs that "our policy has been a rank disaster in the last few years in terms of blood shed. By that measure that invasion has been a much greater disaster even than Suez." Ross also informed the MPs that the current state was predicted and that during talks between the US government and the British government England's Foreign Office "would say, with emphasis, we do not believe regime change is a good idea in Iraq and the reason we do not believe that is that we think Iraq would break up and that would lead to chaos if you do that."
In Iraq the chaos and violence continues with CBS and AP noting: "October was a particularly bloody month for Iraqis, with more than 1,200 killed, and November so far looks to be just as bad. At least 66 Iraqis were killed on Wednesday, although that is likely much lower than the true figure since many deaths go unreported. Since this summer, the United Nations has bumped its daily death toll estimate to 100 per day."
Bombings?
Sabah Jerges (AFP) observes there were "at least seven explosions" in Baghdad, "the worst being a suicide car bomb that exploded near the Mishin shopping center in the southeast of the city that killed seven people and wounded 27" that appears to be part of a coordinated attack including a mortar round prior to the car bomb (also noted is the death of 10 in Baquba from violence though no details are offered), while in Amara a bomb took one life and left three wounded. CBS and AP note a bombing in Tal Afar that killed three people (including a police officer) and the death of two "when a mortar bomb landed on a car on Palestine street in eastern Baghdad". Reuters notes a roadside bomb in Baghdad that left four wounded; the wounding of two police officers in Baghdad as they attempted to disarm a bomb; a car bomb in Baghdad (Abu Ghraib district) that resulted in five people being killed; and two dead and four wounded in Tal Afar from a rocket attack.
Shootings?
Qais al-Bashir (AP) notes an attack on "a primary school" in Muqdadiyah that left "a policeman, a guard and a student" dead; while in Baghdad, two incidents (one a drive-by) claimed three lives; and, in Mosul, a wife and husband were shot dead (the husband was with the Iraqi military). Reuters notes that in addition to the couple, four more people were shot dead in Mosul.
Corpses?
Qais al-Bashir (AP) reports that eleven corpses were discovered in Baghdad. The count increased to 26, Reuters notes, and four corpses were found in Latifiya. AFP notes that
Meanwhile, Patrick Cockburn (CounterPunch) examines "the rise of the sniper" in the capital and concludes it "will incerase the already numerous ways that Iraqi civilians can die," that the US military often offers "no warning shots"
In peace news, as Sandra Lupien noted yesterday on The KPFA Evening News, Cindy Sheehan was arrested outside the White House when she and others attempted to deliver a petition with at least 80,000 signatures on it. The petition was calling for an end to the war.
Today Military Families Speak Out attempts to deliver their petition to the soon to be gone Rumsfled calling for an end to the back door draft and noting: "We believe that the best course of action is to bring all of our troops home now, and take care of them when they get here. Our loved ones signed up to protect and defend the Constitution of this nation. That is not what they are doing in Iraq."
Today, Trina received an e-mail from the family of a war resister which only underscored to Trina how "hideous" the lack of coverage on this issue is. Trina: "If you believe the war is wrong and needs to end, then you need to cover those who are saying 'NO!' loudly and clearly. The fact that most independent magazines -- even at their own websistes -- can't is beyond disappointing. People standing up need support and their stories need to be told."
US war resisters that should have been in the news in the last two weeks include Kyle Snyder, Joshua Key and Ivan Brobeck. Kyle Snyder returned to the US Tuesday October 31st to turn himself in at Fort Knox after self-checking out and going to Canada. The agreement between Synder's attorney and the military was trashed after the US military had Synder in custody. Snyder self-checked out again. Joshua Key was denied refugee status by the Canadian government this week. Ivan Brobeck returned to the US from Canada this week, on election day, and turned himself in. These stories have garnered very little interest by independent media. Brobeck's return has hardly been noted. (Hurt feelings over the fact that Nora Barrows Friedman got the exclusive interview with Brobeck?) The verdict in Key's case has been noted even less. It's not cutting it and independent media (print and audio) needs to stop kidding themselves that it is. It's shameful.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Appeal for Redress is collecting signatures of active duty service members calling on Congress to bring the troops home.
Ivan Brobeck, Kyle Snyder and Joshua Key are part of a movement of war resistance within the US military that also includes Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Ehren Watada, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Agustin Aguayo, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, and Kevin Benderman. Their stories do matter. It's only the coverage that is lacking.
Which gets to a point Anthony Arnove made on yesterday's Flashpoints regarding the importance of knowing our history and how much energy is expanded to rob people of their history. History is all around -- it's just not getting the coverage. Arrnove and Alice Walker, both guests on yesterday's Flashpoints will be among those bringing history to life via a reading of Howard Zinn and Arnove's Voices of a People's History of the United States tonight (7:30 p.m.) at the Berkeley Community Theatre (1930 Allston Way) and along with Walker and Arnove, other participants will also include Mos Def, Steve Earle and Zinn himself.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Due to increased interest there have been some date changes and a full schedule can be found here. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 9, 11AM, Philadelphia, PA, Press Conference
Location: TBA Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Mothers
Contact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 9, 12:30PM, Philadelphia, PA., University Appearance
Location: Rutgers, Details TBA
Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Mothers
Contact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Professor Elizabeth Hillman (RU Law School), Board of Governors Professor Roger S. Clark (Rutgers-Camden), and Bill Perry of Delaware Valley Veterans For America
Nov 9, 3:30PM, Philadelphia, PA., University Appearance,
Location: St. Joseph’s University, Bldg. & Room TBA
Sponsors: : Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Mothers
Bob Watada, Patrick Resta of IVAW, Bill Perry of Delaware Valley Veterans For America, and Professor Katherine Sibley (St. Joseph’s University)
Nov 9, 7PM, Philadelphia, PA., Location: University of Pennsylvania
Annenberg Center Room 109,
Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Mothers
Contact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Bob Watada, Professor Carolyn Marvin (Annenberg School for Communications), Patrick Resta of IVAW, and Bill Perry of Delaware Valley Veterans For America
Nov 10, Early PM, New York City, NY., Press Conference
Location: UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, First Avenue and E. 44th Street
Sponsors: Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34
Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
George McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM, New York City, NY.
Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church -- West End Avenue and West 86th Streets,
Sponsors: Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34
Contacts: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 11, 10AM-2:30PM, New York City, NY.,Veterans Day Parade
Sponsor: Veterans For Peace Chapters 34 & 138, IVAW, MFSO
Contacts: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
George McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 3-5 PM, Flushing, NY.,
Location: Macedonia AME Church (718) 353-5870
37-22 Union St.
Sponsors: "United for Lt. Watada"
Contact: Gloria Lum 646-824-2710, lumgloria@yahoo.com
Nov 11, 7 PM, New York City, NY., Manhattan,
Location: Columbia University, Broadway and W 116 St., Bldg- Mathematics Rm 312
Sponsors: Asian American Alliance, "United for Lt. Watada",
Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34
Contact: Gloria Lum 646-824-2710
Nov 12, 11AM-1PM, Providence, RI.,
Location: Brown University, The John Nicholas Brown Center,
357 Benefit Street at Williams
Sponsor: Veterans For Peace National
Contact: Naoko Shibusawa, 401-286-1908, Naoko_Shibusawa@brown.edu
Nov 12, 7PM, Rockland County, NY.
Location: TBA
Sponsor: Rockland Coalition for Peace and Justice, Veterans For Peace National and Veterans For Peace Chapter /Rockland County
Contact: Nancy Tsou, LYTHRN@aol.com
Barbara Greenhut
Nov 13 , TBA, Ann Arbor, MI, “The Ground Truth” and Bob Watada
Location: University of Michigan, Angel Hall, Auditorium B
Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org/,
Contact: Phillis Engelbert, work - 734-761-5922, home - 734-662-0818, cell- 734-660-489, philliseng@yahoo.com
Nov 14, TBA St. Louis, Mo. Location: Friends Meeting House1001 Park Avenue Sponsors: Veterans for Peace Chapter 161, 314-754-2651Contact: Chuc Smith, 314-721-1814, vfpch61@riseup.net
iraqkyle snyderamy goodman
juan gonzalezdemocracy nowivan brobeckflashpointsnora barrows friedman
robert parryjoshua key
cindy sheehanmilitary families speak out
ehren watadabob watada
tom haydentrinas kitchenthe new york timesjohn f. burnsmichael luo
11/09/2006
wednesday post on thursday morning
i did blog last night, i just did it at kat's site. i'm copying the post here and it will explain the problem.
rebecca here. i made a huge mistake tonight. i logged in over 2 hours ago to my site and was offered the chance to switch my site to 'beta mode.' i figured, 'what the hell?'
blogger/blogspot will be switching all sites to beta mode in the next few weeks. i figured i'd be the test site for the community.
this is the message i got over 2 hours ago:
Switching to the new Blogger Your blogs are being moved to the new version of Blogger. For some blogs, this may take a little while, so we’ll email you at your Google Account email address, sexandpoliticsandscreeds@yahoo.com, when the process is done. Thanks for your patience.
the switch continues. over 2 hours later, the switch continues. 'take a little while'? to me that says 5 to 15 minutes. over 2 hours is not 'a little while.'but blogger/blogspot is a pain in the ass so why should tonight be any different?
if any 1 reading this has a site, my advice to you is this: when you switch to beta, do it when you can spare a block of time, not when you're about to blog.
i really assumed i could blog tonight. it's past 11:00 p.m. right now. if i hadn't come over here, i wouldn't be blogging at all. ruth got the same message to switch when she logged into kat's site tonight and she phoned me to ask what to do?
i told her, 'don't do it, ruth.'
i explained that i've been waiting and waiting.i keep checking my e-mail account to see if they've sent an e-mail?
nope.
knowing blogger/blogger, i assumed it might be done and they're just late with the e-mail. so i tried logging in. the switch is still going on.
i don't blog that often. i mean, i do 5 times a week and i do post illustrations for third. but it's not like i have over 3,000 posts the way c.i. does. i can't imagine how long it will take when c.i. switches the common ills to beta. in fact, i'll call c.i. and suggest it take place on a saturday morning after the morning entry or entries go up so that it can run (the switch) all day saturday.it may take that long. my blog's not even 2 years old. my entries aren't essays. just jottings.if it's taking over 2 hours to move my site, any 1 with blogger/blogspot that has more posts than i do should be prepared to give it several hours. and blogger/blogspot keeps going out as i'm typing, so i should wrap up.
dems have control in the senate. jim webb's race was the 1 every 1 was waiting on. what will they do with it?
doesn't seem like much to hear all the talk. you come in with an agenda of programs or you achieve nothing. as the days drift by, what you don't achieve becomes a liability. they've got some vague thing on immigration reform (which, the way it's worded, seems scary to any 1 who's not in agreement with bully boy on building an insane fence between the u.s. and mexico) and they'll chat with bully boy and they're going to address the minimum wage.the minimum wage needs to raised. it needed that for what, 10 years?these are visionary programs?
it's band aids.
i'm not impressed.
on flashpoints tonight, alice walker spoke elequently (no surprise) and i was thinking, 'okay, i'm going to be able to get into my site, remember what she's saying!'that was too long ago. i can't remember now. anthony arnove spoke of how history is hidden from us, elected officials don't bring about change and some other topics.
as c.i. noted earlier this week:
Zinn and Anthony Arnove's Voices of a People's History of the United States will be presented this Thursday at 7:30 pm, Berkeley Community Theatre (1930 Allston Way) and participants will include Alice Walker, Mos Def and others.
walker and arnove will be there reading. there will also be performances (including 1 of the song 'strange fruit').
feminist majority has a great set up for tracking the elections results so please check that out.
please check out c.i.'s 'iraq snapshot.' i'd love to copy and paste it but i don't think i can. there's not time and kat's site is acting up. joni mitchell has a new album coming out soon, she's addressing the state of the world. that, not the election results, gives me hope.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq with at least 60 reported dead today, Steven D. Green enters a plea, gas bags toss out the word "Iraq" and pretend they've somehow addressed anything, War Hawk Down! -- Rumsfled resigns, "a defector in the petty wars that shell shock love away" ("Hejira") prepares a new release, and the Mennonite church -- not independent media -- discusses conscientious objectors.
this morning, i'll put in 'iraq snapshot:'
Starting with news not coming out of Iraq, the current issue of Rolling Stone (Jon Stewart cover) notes that Joni Mitchell is recording another album of her own compositions. Uncut reports on the upcoming album and quotes Mitchell stating "when the world becomes a massive mess with noboday at the helm, it's time for artists to make their mark" and noting that the albums is an attempt to provide "courage through tough times." Mitchell's official website notes one song on the upcoming album entitled "Holy War" which includes these lyrics:
There's nothing on earth
As unholy as war,
The rich sacrifice the poor.
If I had a heart I'd cry.
In fairy tales the good go to heaven
And the evil go to hell,
Ring the funeral bell.
If I had a heart I'd cry.
Holy earth, religion has failed us,
It failed to make us kind,
It spoke of light but kept us blind.
The album will be Mitchell's first recording of her own compositions since 1998's Taming the Tiger. And if that doesn't seem important to you, remember that Mitchell's Dog Eat Dog, and not gas baggery, captured the Reagan de-Revolution. Between art and gas baggery, this community will always go with art. Also, it was Mitchell's birthday Tuesday.
The day prior to that, Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) reported that the White House had conveyed through Zalmay Khalilzad that yesterday's elections were meaningless -- conveyed to Iraqi puppet leaders. Bully Boy is currently attempting to push that notion right now. On screen, CNN offers a "knowable" -- War Hawk Donald Rumsfeld has resigned as US Secretary of the Defense. Bully Boy has evened out his streaks and his hair now looks much darker but look the other way as the media has for the last six years. Hair dye doesn't make for the 'manly' image the Bully Boy cultivates. (What's he saying? Who knows? I'm having lunch and there are too many people at other tables booing the Bully Boy to hear him and no link at CNN yet.)
For those looking for attempts to make sense of the election (something that really won't happen until all the votes are in and data crunched -- as opposed to skimmed) should refer to Amy Goodman's interview with Ralph Nader (Democracy Now!) and the Feminist Majority blog on the elections. [Feminist Wire addresses the failed abortion ban in South Dakota.] While the White House's message may have been lost on the puppet leaders, Nancy A. Yousseff (McClatchey Newspapers) reports that "Iraqis outside the world of politics saw no change, regardless of the results" as Matthew Schofield (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the reaction was far different for Europeans who are now "a bit more comfortable with their partners across the Atlantic after five years of unease with Americans under the Bush administration." What is known is that the Democratic Party now holds the most seats in the US House of Representatives and may control the Senate provided the candidates in Montana and Virginia (Jon Tester, Jim Webb) hold their leads.
In Iraq today, Zalmay Khalilzad rushed to spin telling a reception in the heavily fortified Green Zone (reception made up of reporters, the puppet government, "American colleagues from the embassy," etc) that "Americans understand that Iraq is import. They understand that this region is important" blah, blah, blah. When even Zalmay-Take-Me-Away grew tired of his own voice, he signed off with "Thank you again for coming and my God bless the people of Iraq" which may not be the best way for American officials, supposedly wanting a secetarian government in Iraq, to conclude their 'official' messages. Reality absent in the rumored to be departing soon Zalmay's pontificating can be found in Missy Comley Beattie's latest (CounterPunch): "This historic smackdown of an arrogant president and his administration will not bring back my nephew, Marine Lance Cpl. Chase Comley, his fellow servicemen and women who have died during the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, other dead coalition troops, and so many Iraqis. . . . Nothing can reverse the effects of madmen. The hearts of our dead cannot restart. Limbs can't be restored. Devastating brain damage won't heal."
Absent from the gas baggery by conventional-wisdom loveing pundits and the spin of the White House flacks is the reality on Iraq. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reports that "at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded in Baghdad and in Diyala province" on Tuesday. Chaos and violence continues today in Iraq.
Bombings?
AFP reports that a car bombing in Mahmudiyah has resulted in six dead and twenty-six wounded. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reported on a Tuesday bombing in Baghdad that left 17 dead and 20 wounded. IOL reports that four more have died today from Tuesday's coffee shop bombing bring the total number who have died to 21. CBS and AP note that: "A pair of mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field while young men were playing a game in a Shiite district of Baghdad, killing at least eight people." AFX notes 15 people were also wounded in thos mortar attacks. AFP notes a bombing in Iskandriyah that killed two (a father "and his 13-year-old son) and a mortar attack, in Baghdad, "near the health ministry" that killed three and left five wounded. Reuters notes a car bomb in Baghdad that killed three and wounded three more, a car bombing that killed one person, and a car bombing in Ramadi that killed five people.
Shootings?
The BBC notes that four people were shot dead in Baquba. AFP notes five were shot dead "in the village of Dhida near Muqdadiyah," two police officers were shot dead in Tikrit. Reuters notes that that a police officer was shot dead in Samawa.
Corpses?
IOL notes that three corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes that six corpses were discovered in Mosul.
In addition, the US military today announced: "One Marine assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died Wednesday from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province.The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense." ICCC counts 2839 US troops dead since the start of the illegal war and 21 dead for the month.
In other Iraq news, Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) examine the realities of Iraq's Facilities Protection Services and note the belief "that the FPS consists mainly of criminals who looted banks and government offices at the beginning of the U.S. invasion in April 2003."
In legal news, Reuters reports that Steven D. Green pleaded not guilty today "in federal court to charges he participated in a gang rape of an Iraqi girl and murdered her and her family in March." That would be Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi who was murdered on March 12, 2006 in the town of Mahmoudiyah along with her parents Oassim Hamza Raheem and Fakhriya Taha Muhasen as well as her five-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza. Green was discharged from the US military before events became public. On Friday, June 30th, he was arrested in Asheville, North Carolina and charged with rape. Five members still in the US military have also been charged. Anthony W. Yribe has been charged with dereliction of duty for not reporting the incident and the other four (Paul Cortez, Jesse Spielman, Bryan Howard and James Barker) have been charged with murder, rape and arson. At the Article 32 hearing for the four, prosecutor Captain Alex Pickands stated: "They gathered over cards and booze to come up with a plan to rape and murder that little girl. She was young and attractive. They knew where she was because they had seen her on a previous patrol. She was close. She was vulnerable." Green, who is being tried in a civilian court, could face the death penalty if convicted as could Speilman and Cortez if found guilty in a court-martial.
In peace news, Chris Arsenault (The Dominion) takes a look at US war resister Corey Glass currently in Canada, at the War Resisters Support Campaign and notes that depite the petition with 35,000 signatures "demanding Canada treat Iraq War objectors the same way we treated Vietnam War resisters . . . the immigration and refugee board, whose mandate is different from the courts, has" refused to rule in favor of asylum for war resisters. Glass tells Arsenault: "I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work filling sandbags if there was a hurricane; I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq." Three other war resisters who went to Canada include Kyle Snyder who turned himself in at Fort Knox on October 31st only to self-check out again after the US military lied to him again, Joshua Key who was denied refugee status by the Canadian government and Ivan Brobeck who returned to the US yesterday to turn himself in.
Meanwhile, Gladys Tericho (Mennoite Central Committee) reports on the conference on conscientious objection held October 20-21 and bringing together groups "including Mennoite, Doukhobor, Quaker and Jehovah's Witnesses." She notes Harry Loewen (Professor Emeritus of Mennonite History and Studies at the University of Winnipeg") stating: "It is important that we deal with these issues now. . . . This principle must not be abandoned, it must be strengthened."
CNN reports that Bully Boy announced "Don Rumsfeld . . . superb leader" has resigned and that Bully Boy also stated, "The timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon." Now it's time? Only now? No wonder Condi Rice keeps getting promoted. Rums-fled is out. Zalmay soon will be.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliottadams@juno.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBA
Nov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, philliseng@yahoo.com
iraqkyle snyderamy goodmandemocracy nowivan brobeck
joshua key
corey glassthe new york timeskirk semplemissy comley beattie
ehren watadabob watada
dahr jamailali al-fadhilynancy a. youssef
rebecca here. i made a huge mistake tonight. i logged in over 2 hours ago to my site and was offered the chance to switch my site to 'beta mode.' i figured, 'what the hell?'
blogger/blogspot will be switching all sites to beta mode in the next few weeks. i figured i'd be the test site for the community.
this is the message i got over 2 hours ago:
Switching to the new Blogger Your blogs are being moved to the new version of Blogger. For some blogs, this may take a little while, so we’ll email you at your Google Account email address, sexandpoliticsandscreeds@yahoo.com, when the process is done. Thanks for your patience.
the switch continues. over 2 hours later, the switch continues. 'take a little while'? to me that says 5 to 15 minutes. over 2 hours is not 'a little while.'but blogger/blogspot is a pain in the ass so why should tonight be any different?
if any 1 reading this has a site, my advice to you is this: when you switch to beta, do it when you can spare a block of time, not when you're about to blog.
i really assumed i could blog tonight. it's past 11:00 p.m. right now. if i hadn't come over here, i wouldn't be blogging at all. ruth got the same message to switch when she logged into kat's site tonight and she phoned me to ask what to do?
i told her, 'don't do it, ruth.'
i explained that i've been waiting and waiting.i keep checking my e-mail account to see if they've sent an e-mail?
nope.
knowing blogger/blogger, i assumed it might be done and they're just late with the e-mail. so i tried logging in. the switch is still going on.
i don't blog that often. i mean, i do 5 times a week and i do post illustrations for third. but it's not like i have over 3,000 posts the way c.i. does. i can't imagine how long it will take when c.i. switches the common ills to beta. in fact, i'll call c.i. and suggest it take place on a saturday morning after the morning entry or entries go up so that it can run (the switch) all day saturday.it may take that long. my blog's not even 2 years old. my entries aren't essays. just jottings.if it's taking over 2 hours to move my site, any 1 with blogger/blogspot that has more posts than i do should be prepared to give it several hours. and blogger/blogspot keeps going out as i'm typing, so i should wrap up.
dems have control in the senate. jim webb's race was the 1 every 1 was waiting on. what will they do with it?
doesn't seem like much to hear all the talk. you come in with an agenda of programs or you achieve nothing. as the days drift by, what you don't achieve becomes a liability. they've got some vague thing on immigration reform (which, the way it's worded, seems scary to any 1 who's not in agreement with bully boy on building an insane fence between the u.s. and mexico) and they'll chat with bully boy and they're going to address the minimum wage.the minimum wage needs to raised. it needed that for what, 10 years?these are visionary programs?
it's band aids.
i'm not impressed.
on flashpoints tonight, alice walker spoke elequently (no surprise) and i was thinking, 'okay, i'm going to be able to get into my site, remember what she's saying!'that was too long ago. i can't remember now. anthony arnove spoke of how history is hidden from us, elected officials don't bring about change and some other topics.
as c.i. noted earlier this week:
Zinn and Anthony Arnove's Voices of a People's History of the United States will be presented this Thursday at 7:30 pm, Berkeley Community Theatre (1930 Allston Way) and participants will include Alice Walker, Mos Def and others.
walker and arnove will be there reading. there will also be performances (including 1 of the song 'strange fruit').
feminist majority has a great set up for tracking the elections results so please check that out.
please check out c.i.'s 'iraq snapshot.' i'd love to copy and paste it but i don't think i can. there's not time and kat's site is acting up. joni mitchell has a new album coming out soon, she's addressing the state of the world. that, not the election results, gives me hope.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq with at least 60 reported dead today, Steven D. Green enters a plea, gas bags toss out the word "Iraq" and pretend they've somehow addressed anything, War Hawk Down! -- Rumsfled resigns, "a defector in the petty wars that shell shock love away" ("Hejira") prepares a new release, and the Mennonite church -- not independent media -- discusses conscientious objectors.
this morning, i'll put in 'iraq snapshot:'
Starting with news not coming out of Iraq, the current issue of Rolling Stone (Jon Stewart cover) notes that Joni Mitchell is recording another album of her own compositions. Uncut reports on the upcoming album and quotes Mitchell stating "when the world becomes a massive mess with noboday at the helm, it's time for artists to make their mark" and noting that the albums is an attempt to provide "courage through tough times." Mitchell's official website notes one song on the upcoming album entitled "Holy War" which includes these lyrics:
There's nothing on earth
As unholy as war,
The rich sacrifice the poor.
If I had a heart I'd cry.
In fairy tales the good go to heaven
And the evil go to hell,
Ring the funeral bell.
If I had a heart I'd cry.
Holy earth, religion has failed us,
It failed to make us kind,
It spoke of light but kept us blind.
The album will be Mitchell's first recording of her own compositions since 1998's Taming the Tiger. And if that doesn't seem important to you, remember that Mitchell's Dog Eat Dog, and not gas baggery, captured the Reagan de-Revolution. Between art and gas baggery, this community will always go with art. Also, it was Mitchell's birthday Tuesday.
The day prior to that, Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) reported that the White House had conveyed through Zalmay Khalilzad that yesterday's elections were meaningless -- conveyed to Iraqi puppet leaders. Bully Boy is currently attempting to push that notion right now. On screen, CNN offers a "knowable" -- War Hawk Donald Rumsfeld has resigned as US Secretary of the Defense. Bully Boy has evened out his streaks and his hair now looks much darker but look the other way as the media has for the last six years. Hair dye doesn't make for the 'manly' image the Bully Boy cultivates. (What's he saying? Who knows? I'm having lunch and there are too many people at other tables booing the Bully Boy to hear him and no link at CNN yet.)
For those looking for attempts to make sense of the election (something that really won't happen until all the votes are in and data crunched -- as opposed to skimmed) should refer to Amy Goodman's interview with Ralph Nader (Democracy Now!) and the Feminist Majority blog on the elections. [Feminist Wire addresses the failed abortion ban in South Dakota.] While the White House's message may have been lost on the puppet leaders, Nancy A. Yousseff (McClatchey Newspapers) reports that "Iraqis outside the world of politics saw no change, regardless of the results" as Matthew Schofield (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the reaction was far different for Europeans who are now "a bit more comfortable with their partners across the Atlantic after five years of unease with Americans under the Bush administration." What is known is that the Democratic Party now holds the most seats in the US House of Representatives and may control the Senate provided the candidates in Montana and Virginia (Jon Tester, Jim Webb) hold their leads.
In Iraq today, Zalmay Khalilzad rushed to spin telling a reception in the heavily fortified Green Zone (reception made up of reporters, the puppet government, "American colleagues from the embassy," etc) that "Americans understand that Iraq is import. They understand that this region is important" blah, blah, blah. When even Zalmay-Take-Me-Away grew tired of his own voice, he signed off with "Thank you again for coming and my God bless the people of Iraq" which may not be the best way for American officials, supposedly wanting a secetarian government in Iraq, to conclude their 'official' messages. Reality absent in the rumored to be departing soon Zalmay's pontificating can be found in Missy Comley Beattie's latest (CounterPunch): "This historic smackdown of an arrogant president and his administration will not bring back my nephew, Marine Lance Cpl. Chase Comley, his fellow servicemen and women who have died during the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, other dead coalition troops, and so many Iraqis. . . . Nothing can reverse the effects of madmen. The hearts of our dead cannot restart. Limbs can't be restored. Devastating brain damage won't heal."
Absent from the gas baggery by conventional-wisdom loveing pundits and the spin of the White House flacks is the reality on Iraq. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reports that "at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded in Baghdad and in Diyala province" on Tuesday. Chaos and violence continues today in Iraq.
Bombings?
AFP reports that a car bombing in Mahmudiyah has resulted in six dead and twenty-six wounded. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reported on a Tuesday bombing in Baghdad that left 17 dead and 20 wounded. IOL reports that four more have died today from Tuesday's coffee shop bombing bring the total number who have died to 21. CBS and AP note that: "A pair of mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field while young men were playing a game in a Shiite district of Baghdad, killing at least eight people." AFX notes 15 people were also wounded in thos mortar attacks. AFP notes a bombing in Iskandriyah that killed two (a father "and his 13-year-old son) and a mortar attack, in Baghdad, "near the health ministry" that killed three and left five wounded. Reuters notes a car bomb in Baghdad that killed three and wounded three more, a car bombing that killed one person, and a car bombing in Ramadi that killed five people.
Shootings?
The BBC notes that four people were shot dead in Baquba. AFP notes five were shot dead "in the village of Dhida near Muqdadiyah," two police officers were shot dead in Tikrit. Reuters notes that that a police officer was shot dead in Samawa.
Corpses?
IOL notes that three corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes that six corpses were discovered in Mosul.
In addition, the US military today announced: "One Marine assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died Wednesday from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province.The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense." ICCC counts 2839 US troops dead since the start of the illegal war and 21 dead for the month.
In other Iraq news, Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) examine the realities of Iraq's Facilities Protection Services and note the belief "that the FPS consists mainly of criminals who looted banks and government offices at the beginning of the U.S. invasion in April 2003."
In legal news, Reuters reports that Steven D. Green pleaded not guilty today "in federal court to charges he participated in a gang rape of an Iraqi girl and murdered her and her family in March." That would be Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi who was murdered on March 12, 2006 in the town of Mahmoudiyah along with her parents Oassim Hamza Raheem and Fakhriya Taha Muhasen as well as her five-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza. Green was discharged from the US military before events became public. On Friday, June 30th, he was arrested in Asheville, North Carolina and charged with rape. Five members still in the US military have also been charged. Anthony W. Yribe has been charged with dereliction of duty for not reporting the incident and the other four (Paul Cortez, Jesse Spielman, Bryan Howard and James Barker) have been charged with murder, rape and arson. At the Article 32 hearing for the four, prosecutor Captain Alex Pickands stated: "They gathered over cards and booze to come up with a plan to rape and murder that little girl. She was young and attractive. They knew where she was because they had seen her on a previous patrol. She was close. She was vulnerable." Green, who is being tried in a civilian court, could face the death penalty if convicted as could Speilman and Cortez if found guilty in a court-martial.
In peace news, Chris Arsenault (The Dominion) takes a look at US war resister Corey Glass currently in Canada, at the War Resisters Support Campaign and notes that depite the petition with 35,000 signatures "demanding Canada treat Iraq War objectors the same way we treated Vietnam War resisters . . . the immigration and refugee board, whose mandate is different from the courts, has" refused to rule in favor of asylum for war resisters. Glass tells Arsenault: "I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work filling sandbags if there was a hurricane; I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq." Three other war resisters who went to Canada include Kyle Snyder who turned himself in at Fort Knox on October 31st only to self-check out again after the US military lied to him again, Joshua Key who was denied refugee status by the Canadian government and Ivan Brobeck who returned to the US yesterday to turn himself in.
Meanwhile, Gladys Tericho (Mennoite Central Committee) reports on the conference on conscientious objection held October 20-21 and bringing together groups "including Mennoite, Doukhobor, Quaker and Jehovah's Witnesses." She notes Harry Loewen (Professor Emeritus of Mennonite History and Studies at the University of Winnipeg") stating: "It is important that we deal with these issues now. . . . This principle must not be abandoned, it must be strengthened."
CNN reports that Bully Boy announced "Don Rumsfeld . . . superb leader" has resigned and that Bully Boy also stated, "The timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon." Now it's time? Only now? No wonder Condi Rice keeps getting promoted. Rums-fled is out. Zalmay soon will be.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliottadams@juno.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBA
Nov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, philliseng@yahoo.com
iraqkyle snyderamy goodmandemocracy nowivan brobeck
joshua key
corey glassthe new york timeskirk semplemissy comley beattie
ehren watadabob watada
dahr jamailali al-fadhilynancy a. youssef
11/07/2006
gas bagging about the elections
'they want things done. they're not looking at whether you're voting with democrats.' lois debarry. what a 'brave voice' and aren't we lucky to hear that crap?
i'm in conn. where ned lamont is losing as we all knew would happen shortly after he won the primary. they piled it on thick about him, arianna huffington was 1 of the few exceptions, and couldn't do any real reporting, just cheerleading. if they'd been serious and offered up some real criticism, ned lamont might have been able to regain his momentum. instead, he became wishy-washy with each passing day and the 'independent' cheerleaders just made lamont more of a joke.
i don't vote in conn. fly boy does. we're at his parents' house and there's no surprise that lamont suffered premature evaluation. he lost it. no 1's fault but his own.
casey junior appears to have won. and we're all worse off for it. the dems don't seem to have control of the senate at this point, or much chance of that. so they killed a real democrat's campaign so that they could shove off the anti-choice, pro-war casey.
it appears ford junior has lost. dubarry was talking him up like crazy. he's disgusting. not more so than casey junior. both juniors are disgusting, equally. in a fair world, they would have both lost.
some dumb ass needs to shut up on pacifica right now. he has no idea of what he's talking about ('vangical voters) and is just spinning. there was a man from ohio who discussed the realities of the 'vangical voters and yet here we hear blah blah.
oh damn.
it was that stupid chip berlet. he's an idiot. as my mother-in-law just said, 'that explains it.'
i didn't realize that was who was speaking. chip berlet what a fool. every 1 who heard the reports from the other states throughout the night, knows chip berlet is a fool, and a fat fool.
some 1 kick him to the curb. whiny little ass.
i couldn't understand how some 1 could be so stupid (and racist - thinking conservative african-american 'vangical voters would vote democratic). it wasn't 2 hours ago that the guy in ohio was explaining how their might be a record turnout for african-americans voting republican as a result of the 'social issues.'
gas bags like berlet do not belong on air. they make the entire broadcast look stupid because they're pushing their own pet issues. you expect that from the people with campaign but the so-called independent voices are supposed to be aware of what they're speaking of.
chip berlet never knows what he's speaking of. it's as though all he's thinking is when he can run off and hit the rocky road ice cream.
the democrats just announced, kendrick meeks in d.c., that they'd won the control of the house.
they could have won the senate, they could have won the house by a wide margin. that would've required bravery.
there was none. ned lamont won the primary and then was like a declawed cat. fly boy and i were watching tv 3 weeks ago and he groaned and wondered why lamont didn't just disappear until election day? he didn't think vanishing could hurt lamont more than lamont's b.s. remarks.
of course all results are suspect without a paper trail. maybe ford junior would win with a paper trail? i don't think lamont would have. he became a joke. ned lamont turned into ned flanders (simpsons) over night. it was disgusting.
so my in-laws had every 1 over. i warned her iw as bringing my laptop both to blog and to listen to pacifica's coverage. on the big screen, they've got cnn but a number of people have come over throughout the night to the corner i've set up in. i told my mother-in-law that i didn't want to seem rude but that i intended to listen to the coverage. she was fine with that and she's been among the people who've come over throughout the evening. with mitch in d.c., larry in berkeley, deepa in new orleans, etc., i think they've done a pretty amazing job throughout the evening. larry has been especially strong with his questioning. he gets to the point quick and when he's being spun, he doesn't agree and build up to the question, he just gets to the question.
i know the gang's listening to kpfa (c.i., ava, jess, jim, ty and dona) so i assume they're hearing this too. i turned off my cell when the party started and that's driving me crazy. all of the jokes about me and phone use are true. but i didn't want to look even more rude in my little corner with my laptop and streaming audio.
my mother-in-law has really been a dream tonight. i told her she was scaring me. but thanksgiving is coming up and this will be the 1st since fly boy and i remarried. we've been talking, him and me, about how we were going to handle that and she brought that up tonight saying we could all get together on friday. so i'll call my family and tell them we'll do christmas eve with them and we'll do christmas here. i started to type, 'i wonder if i should invite elaine?'
her only family is her brother (their parents died when elaine was young). i know she usually does thanksgiving with c.i. but hates the 'madhouse' (all the guests) at christmas time. but i just realized, she'll be at mike's because they're a couple now. i wonder if she's doing that for both holidays? she usually does spend thanksgiving at c.i.'s. that started back in college. our 1st year in fact. c.i. and i were both going home and we found out elaine wasn't. her brother was working so there was nothing to go home to. so c.i. cancelled plans and stayed. they've missed thanksgivings before but i think it's been at least 5 years since they didn't spend it together.
i know jess' parents are coming out to c.i.'s for thanksgiving and ava's intending to stay out there for both holidays (she has family in new york and california). but i hadn't even thought about holidays other than what fly boy and i were doing until a few minutes ago. i think ty told me he was staying out there for thanksgiving because it's so short (the school break) and going home on christmas. jess is going home for christmas too (which is why his family is coming out for thanksgiving). ava grew up in california and really doesn't care for the east coast. i need to find out what dona and jim are doing. both because they are friends and because i doubt the site's going dead for either weekend.
okay enough gas baggery about elections. i keep stopping every few paragraphs to talk (and to drink). if i'd been focused on writing, i'd probably already be done. this is associated press via the guardian of london:
As of Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006, at least 2,837 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,275 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is three more than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST.
The British military has reported 121 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 17; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, six; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, one death each.
Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 21,572 U.S. service members have been wounded, according to a Defense Department tally.
remember when it was going to be a 'cakewalk'? we're closing in on 3,000. you'd think with the increase in fatalities, there would be an increase in coverage but there really isn't. each year of the war seems to bring less and less coverage.
okay, i have to wind down. fly boy just came over and said he was getting ready to turn in and i'm kind of tired as well. it's 2 minutes until midnight. here's c.i.'s 'iraq snapshot:'
Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, another US war resister returns to the US from Canada, Halliburton puts on Cher's Living Proof CD and plays dumb, and prison abuse back in the headlines.
"In Iraq, I found myself being the problem instead of the solution" -- Ivan Brobeck quoted by Alison Bodine (Fire This Time). Today, he became the latest US war resister to return from Canada to the United States. Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, VA is where he expects to be processed. Brobeck enlisted in the Marines and, as Jim Fennerty explained to Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) last Friday, there are different processes for different branches and Fennerty believes that Brobeck will "be placed in the brig" and very likely face a court-martial -- which wasn't the case for Darrell Anderson whom Fennerty also represented. Courage to Resist has posted the twenty-year-old war resister's open letter to the Bully Boy. Speaking with Nora Barrows Friedman on yesterday's Flashpoints Brobeck shared: "I'm sort of trying to teach them to open their eyes. It's easy to forget basic stuff in Iraq."
Ivan Brobeck in is own words via Pacific News Service:
I was in the Marines. I joined in June 2003, and after boot camp in March of 2004 I was sent directly to Iraq. This wasn't at all unsettling to me. You see, I went into the Army because I wanted to fight the bad guys. In school during history classes I learned that the Army and Marines had done all these wonderful things, and it all sounded so patriotic and I wanted to do the same. I wanted to fight for freedom.
I didn't care, and I still don't care, if I died fighting for a good and noble cause which is what I wanted to do.
In Iraq, I found myself being the problem instead of the solution. A problem in a normal town, in the life of normal people, like the people here in Toronto, trying to go about their life and risking getting shot at by me. Innocent people getting killed for misunderstandings, and for even more trivial things. I found myself in situations with my partners where we had to shoot at speeding cars, at people that probably were just trying to get out of our way.
All these insurgents, as they call them, they're not. They're people who have nothing left. There was this guy who was mad at us because we had killed his family. Wife, children, everybody but him had been killed. He was seeking some kind of retribution. That is not an insurgent, that's a desperate man.
My ethnic background is Salvadoran; my mom is from El Salvador. So the fight against tyranny is something that is dear to me, considering the history of El Salvador. I believed that the war in Iraq was a just war, and it was not. Now, before I get involved again, I really have to see somebody overcoming my country with weapons in hand.
Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Ehren Watada Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Joshua Key, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Agustin Aguayo, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, and Kevin Benderman are among those who have been part of a movement of war resistance within the military.
Focusing on one US war resister mentioned above (also a Fennerty client), Kyle Snyder returned from Canada last week only to discover that the same military that lied to sign up, was still lying. Noting the ABC News investigation that found the lies of recruiters continue, Elaine commented: "Will anyone get in trouble for the above? No. But kids will be lied to. Young adults and peole who aren't even 18 yet will be lied to over and over. They'll believe the lies. They'll assume no one in uniform would say something if it wasn't true. My friend, who's back from Iraq and speaking to students so that they don't end up over there, has so many stories like this. He's speaking about twice a week now and there is never just a handful of students who are able to share the kind of lies they've been told, it's always a large number."
Why do recruiters lie? Because they can get away with it. Because they won't be punished. They can sign up someone, someone who is not even able to legally purchase a beer, to a 'contract' that could result in the loss of life and they can do so with any lie that can tumble out of their mouths because there is no accountability.
Information on recruiters and protecting schools can be found at Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools, Counter-Recruitment and Alternatives to the Military Program and Campus Anti-War Network. Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Appeal for Redress is collecting signatures of active duty service members calling on Congress to bring the troops home.
"When the money's gone/ Will you be my friend?" asks Cher in "When The Money's Gone" (Living Proof) and it's a question Halliburton may be wondering about the White House. James Glanz (New York Times) reports that a new scandal has emerged over their 2003 no-bid contract "to deliver gasoline to Iraq" which might seem simple easy enough but KRB [Kellogg Brown & Root] were charging "as much as $25,000 per month for each of as many as 1,8000 fuel trucks". Al Jazeera reports: "The audit of 15 noncompetitive contracts paid for by US government agencies with Iraqi oil money was unable to account for $22.4 million in funds, a UN-led watchdog said on Monday."
The report for the IAMB [International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq] is available online, PDF format, and the auditing was done by KPMG.
Within Iraq, Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports on the charges, brought by the Interior Ministry, "of 57 employees, including high-ranking officers, with human rights crime for their role in the torture of hundreds of detainees once jailed in a notorius eastern Baghdad prison known as Site 4". Kirk Semple (New York Times) notes that Site 4 is not the only Interior Ministry run prison that's been found to be a source of abuse. As they day has progressed the number charged has increased. Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) reports that those now charged include "[a] general and nearly 100 other members of Iraq's police force". The BBC reminds that Site Four was a "secret prison" until May when "Iraqi and US officials found the jail at a building in east Baghdad belonging to the Shia-Muslim dominated ministry." Discovered in May and dealt with in . . . November. On top of that, CBS and AP note:
"CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick reports that the Iraqis plan eventually to retrain all of their police batallions." Retrain all.
Crackdown, shake-up, country break up . . . But outside the press eye. The show trial still provides gas bags to pretend they're reporting. The US election allows people to shout out "IRAQ!" and act like they've offered coverage on it. Once again, it's time to treat the Iraq war as an after thought apparently.
A few of the events that actually got some coverage.
Bombings?
Christopher Bodeen (AP) reports that mortar attacks left 22 wounded in Baghdad. Reuters notes a bombing in Basra took one life and left seven wounded while three were killed and eight wonded from a roadside bomb in Falluja.
Shootings?
Reuters reports that a police officer was shot dead in Kirkuk. AP notes that "sniper attacks and a roadside bombing in Karmah" claimed the lives of six Iraqi soldiers.Corpses?
Sky News reports that 15 corpses were discovered in Suwayrah. AP reports that they were all found "blindfolded and bound at the wrists and ankles, before being shot in the head and chest." Reuters notes that two corpses "and a decapitated head" were discovered in Falluja.
And the Whack-a-mole goes on. Having attempted to seize the city of Falluja in April of 2004 and the slaughter that followed in November 2004, the checkpoints requiring bio-metric i.d.s to enter, et al., it may come as a surprise to learn, via Jay Price and Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers), that there is 'concern' over resistance in Falluja yet again.
While the US military and White House attempt to ignore the fact that it's the same fight over and over (and that the war is lost), the deaths continue to pile up on all sides. Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier died at approximately 10:40 p.m. Monday from wounds he received after the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised-explosive device in northwest Baghdad." The announcement brought to 19 the number of US troops killed in Iraq this month. Meanwhile, in England, Lee Glendinning (Times of London) reports on the British military announcing a Monday death: "The soldier, from the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died after the army base came under small arms fire, the Ministry of Defence said." The death brought to 121 the number of British soldiers who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and comes a day after mothers of two soldiers who died in Iraq took their case to the Court of Appeal.
Michael Evans (Times of London) reports that Beverley Clarke and Rose Gentle pressed their case yesterday as to the legality of the illegal war. Both women lost their songs (Trooper David Clarke and Fusilier Gordon Gentle) in Iraq. The BBC reports that outside the court, Rose Gentle stated: "Why can't Tony Blair be man enough to stand up and say he will give an inquiry and stop a lot of court cases going ahead? Ehat has he got to hide? Our boys are being killed day-by-bya. It we dod succeed in this case it will be a bonus. If we don't, we can say we tried and we fought for the boys and have got more backbone than the MPS who didn't stand up for them in last week's vote."
Another mother for peace, Cindy Sheehan is taking part in the Gold Star Families for Peace sit-in at the White House in DC. Today's actions including organizing exit poll teams (for the day's election) and the plan to hold an event this evening in Lafayette Square Park while tomorrow will include the delivery of a petition opposing an attack on Iraq. Other DC actions this week include Military Families Speak Out's plan to deliver a petition to Congress and Rummy demanding troops home now and an end to the backdoor draft.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 7, 4:30PM Portland, ME Location: Meditation Center Sponsor: Veterans for Peace, Chapter 1 Contact: Doug Rawlings, 207-293-2580, rawlings@maine.edu,
Nov. 7, 6-9PM Brunswick, ME Location: Morrill Room, Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant Street Pot luck supper and speaking engagement Time: 6 - 7:30pm
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliottadams@juno.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBA
Nov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, philliseng@yahoo.com
i'm in conn. where ned lamont is losing as we all knew would happen shortly after he won the primary. they piled it on thick about him, arianna huffington was 1 of the few exceptions, and couldn't do any real reporting, just cheerleading. if they'd been serious and offered up some real criticism, ned lamont might have been able to regain his momentum. instead, he became wishy-washy with each passing day and the 'independent' cheerleaders just made lamont more of a joke.
i don't vote in conn. fly boy does. we're at his parents' house and there's no surprise that lamont suffered premature evaluation. he lost it. no 1's fault but his own.
casey junior appears to have won. and we're all worse off for it. the dems don't seem to have control of the senate at this point, or much chance of that. so they killed a real democrat's campaign so that they could shove off the anti-choice, pro-war casey.
it appears ford junior has lost. dubarry was talking him up like crazy. he's disgusting. not more so than casey junior. both juniors are disgusting, equally. in a fair world, they would have both lost.
some dumb ass needs to shut up on pacifica right now. he has no idea of what he's talking about ('vangical voters) and is just spinning. there was a man from ohio who discussed the realities of the 'vangical voters and yet here we hear blah blah.
oh damn.
it was that stupid chip berlet. he's an idiot. as my mother-in-law just said, 'that explains it.'
i didn't realize that was who was speaking. chip berlet what a fool. every 1 who heard the reports from the other states throughout the night, knows chip berlet is a fool, and a fat fool.
some 1 kick him to the curb. whiny little ass.
i couldn't understand how some 1 could be so stupid (and racist - thinking conservative african-american 'vangical voters would vote democratic). it wasn't 2 hours ago that the guy in ohio was explaining how their might be a record turnout for african-americans voting republican as a result of the 'social issues.'
gas bags like berlet do not belong on air. they make the entire broadcast look stupid because they're pushing their own pet issues. you expect that from the people with campaign but the so-called independent voices are supposed to be aware of what they're speaking of.
chip berlet never knows what he's speaking of. it's as though all he's thinking is when he can run off and hit the rocky road ice cream.
the democrats just announced, kendrick meeks in d.c., that they'd won the control of the house.
they could have won the senate, they could have won the house by a wide margin. that would've required bravery.
there was none. ned lamont won the primary and then was like a declawed cat. fly boy and i were watching tv 3 weeks ago and he groaned and wondered why lamont didn't just disappear until election day? he didn't think vanishing could hurt lamont more than lamont's b.s. remarks.
of course all results are suspect without a paper trail. maybe ford junior would win with a paper trail? i don't think lamont would have. he became a joke. ned lamont turned into ned flanders (simpsons) over night. it was disgusting.
so my in-laws had every 1 over. i warned her iw as bringing my laptop both to blog and to listen to pacifica's coverage. on the big screen, they've got cnn but a number of people have come over throughout the night to the corner i've set up in. i told my mother-in-law that i didn't want to seem rude but that i intended to listen to the coverage. she was fine with that and she's been among the people who've come over throughout the evening. with mitch in d.c., larry in berkeley, deepa in new orleans, etc., i think they've done a pretty amazing job throughout the evening. larry has been especially strong with his questioning. he gets to the point quick and when he's being spun, he doesn't agree and build up to the question, he just gets to the question.
i know the gang's listening to kpfa (c.i., ava, jess, jim, ty and dona) so i assume they're hearing this too. i turned off my cell when the party started and that's driving me crazy. all of the jokes about me and phone use are true. but i didn't want to look even more rude in my little corner with my laptop and streaming audio.
my mother-in-law has really been a dream tonight. i told her she was scaring me. but thanksgiving is coming up and this will be the 1st since fly boy and i remarried. we've been talking, him and me, about how we were going to handle that and she brought that up tonight saying we could all get together on friday. so i'll call my family and tell them we'll do christmas eve with them and we'll do christmas here. i started to type, 'i wonder if i should invite elaine?'
her only family is her brother (their parents died when elaine was young). i know she usually does thanksgiving with c.i. but hates the 'madhouse' (all the guests) at christmas time. but i just realized, she'll be at mike's because they're a couple now. i wonder if she's doing that for both holidays? she usually does spend thanksgiving at c.i.'s. that started back in college. our 1st year in fact. c.i. and i were both going home and we found out elaine wasn't. her brother was working so there was nothing to go home to. so c.i. cancelled plans and stayed. they've missed thanksgivings before but i think it's been at least 5 years since they didn't spend it together.
i know jess' parents are coming out to c.i.'s for thanksgiving and ava's intending to stay out there for both holidays (she has family in new york and california). but i hadn't even thought about holidays other than what fly boy and i were doing until a few minutes ago. i think ty told me he was staying out there for thanksgiving because it's so short (the school break) and going home on christmas. jess is going home for christmas too (which is why his family is coming out for thanksgiving). ava grew up in california and really doesn't care for the east coast. i need to find out what dona and jim are doing. both because they are friends and because i doubt the site's going dead for either weekend.
okay enough gas baggery about elections. i keep stopping every few paragraphs to talk (and to drink). if i'd been focused on writing, i'd probably already be done. this is associated press via the guardian of london:
As of Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006, at least 2,837 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,275 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is three more than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST.
The British military has reported 121 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 17; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, six; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, one death each.
Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 21,572 U.S. service members have been wounded, according to a Defense Department tally.
remember when it was going to be a 'cakewalk'? we're closing in on 3,000. you'd think with the increase in fatalities, there would be an increase in coverage but there really isn't. each year of the war seems to bring less and less coverage.
okay, i have to wind down. fly boy just came over and said he was getting ready to turn in and i'm kind of tired as well. it's 2 minutes until midnight. here's c.i.'s 'iraq snapshot:'
Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, another US war resister returns to the US from Canada, Halliburton puts on Cher's Living Proof CD and plays dumb, and prison abuse back in the headlines.
"In Iraq, I found myself being the problem instead of the solution" -- Ivan Brobeck quoted by Alison Bodine (Fire This Time). Today, he became the latest US war resister to return from Canada to the United States. Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, VA is where he expects to be processed. Brobeck enlisted in the Marines and, as Jim Fennerty explained to Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) last Friday, there are different processes for different branches and Fennerty believes that Brobeck will "be placed in the brig" and very likely face a court-martial -- which wasn't the case for Darrell Anderson whom Fennerty also represented. Courage to Resist has posted the twenty-year-old war resister's open letter to the Bully Boy. Speaking with Nora Barrows Friedman on yesterday's Flashpoints Brobeck shared: "I'm sort of trying to teach them to open their eyes. It's easy to forget basic stuff in Iraq."
Ivan Brobeck in is own words via Pacific News Service:
I was in the Marines. I joined in June 2003, and after boot camp in March of 2004 I was sent directly to Iraq. This wasn't at all unsettling to me. You see, I went into the Army because I wanted to fight the bad guys. In school during history classes I learned that the Army and Marines had done all these wonderful things, and it all sounded so patriotic and I wanted to do the same. I wanted to fight for freedom.
I didn't care, and I still don't care, if I died fighting for a good and noble cause which is what I wanted to do.
In Iraq, I found myself being the problem instead of the solution. A problem in a normal town, in the life of normal people, like the people here in Toronto, trying to go about their life and risking getting shot at by me. Innocent people getting killed for misunderstandings, and for even more trivial things. I found myself in situations with my partners where we had to shoot at speeding cars, at people that probably were just trying to get out of our way.
All these insurgents, as they call them, they're not. They're people who have nothing left. There was this guy who was mad at us because we had killed his family. Wife, children, everybody but him had been killed. He was seeking some kind of retribution. That is not an insurgent, that's a desperate man.
My ethnic background is Salvadoran; my mom is from El Salvador. So the fight against tyranny is something that is dear to me, considering the history of El Salvador. I believed that the war in Iraq was a just war, and it was not. Now, before I get involved again, I really have to see somebody overcoming my country with weapons in hand.
Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Ehren Watada Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Joshua Key, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Agustin Aguayo, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, and Kevin Benderman are among those who have been part of a movement of war resistance within the military.
Focusing on one US war resister mentioned above (also a Fennerty client), Kyle Snyder returned from Canada last week only to discover that the same military that lied to sign up, was still lying. Noting the ABC News investigation that found the lies of recruiters continue, Elaine commented: "Will anyone get in trouble for the above? No. But kids will be lied to. Young adults and peole who aren't even 18 yet will be lied to over and over. They'll believe the lies. They'll assume no one in uniform would say something if it wasn't true. My friend, who's back from Iraq and speaking to students so that they don't end up over there, has so many stories like this. He's speaking about twice a week now and there is never just a handful of students who are able to share the kind of lies they've been told, it's always a large number."
Why do recruiters lie? Because they can get away with it. Because they won't be punished. They can sign up someone, someone who is not even able to legally purchase a beer, to a 'contract' that could result in the loss of life and they can do so with any lie that can tumble out of their mouths because there is no accountability.
Information on recruiters and protecting schools can be found at Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools, Counter-Recruitment and Alternatives to the Military Program and Campus Anti-War Network. Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Appeal for Redress is collecting signatures of active duty service members calling on Congress to bring the troops home.
"When the money's gone/ Will you be my friend?" asks Cher in "When The Money's Gone" (Living Proof) and it's a question Halliburton may be wondering about the White House. James Glanz (New York Times) reports that a new scandal has emerged over their 2003 no-bid contract "to deliver gasoline to Iraq" which might seem simple easy enough but KRB [Kellogg Brown & Root] were charging "as much as $25,000 per month for each of as many as 1,8000 fuel trucks". Al Jazeera reports: "The audit of 15 noncompetitive contracts paid for by US government agencies with Iraqi oil money was unable to account for $22.4 million in funds, a UN-led watchdog said on Monday."
The report for the IAMB [International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq] is available online, PDF format, and the auditing was done by KPMG.
Within Iraq, Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports on the charges, brought by the Interior Ministry, "of 57 employees, including high-ranking officers, with human rights crime for their role in the torture of hundreds of detainees once jailed in a notorius eastern Baghdad prison known as Site 4". Kirk Semple (New York Times) notes that Site 4 is not the only Interior Ministry run prison that's been found to be a source of abuse. As they day has progressed the number charged has increased. Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) reports that those now charged include "[a] general and nearly 100 other members of Iraq's police force". The BBC reminds that Site Four was a "secret prison" until May when "Iraqi and US officials found the jail at a building in east Baghdad belonging to the Shia-Muslim dominated ministry." Discovered in May and dealt with in . . . November. On top of that, CBS and AP note:
"CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick reports that the Iraqis plan eventually to retrain all of their police batallions." Retrain all.
Crackdown, shake-up, country break up . . . But outside the press eye. The show trial still provides gas bags to pretend they're reporting. The US election allows people to shout out "IRAQ!" and act like they've offered coverage on it. Once again, it's time to treat the Iraq war as an after thought apparently.
A few of the events that actually got some coverage.
Bombings?
Christopher Bodeen (AP) reports that mortar attacks left 22 wounded in Baghdad. Reuters notes a bombing in Basra took one life and left seven wounded while three were killed and eight wonded from a roadside bomb in Falluja.
Shootings?
Reuters reports that a police officer was shot dead in Kirkuk. AP notes that "sniper attacks and a roadside bombing in Karmah" claimed the lives of six Iraqi soldiers.Corpses?
Sky News reports that 15 corpses were discovered in Suwayrah. AP reports that they were all found "blindfolded and bound at the wrists and ankles, before being shot in the head and chest." Reuters notes that two corpses "and a decapitated head" were discovered in Falluja.
And the Whack-a-mole goes on. Having attempted to seize the city of Falluja in April of 2004 and the slaughter that followed in November 2004, the checkpoints requiring bio-metric i.d.s to enter, et al., it may come as a surprise to learn, via Jay Price and Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers), that there is 'concern' over resistance in Falluja yet again.
While the US military and White House attempt to ignore the fact that it's the same fight over and over (and that the war is lost), the deaths continue to pile up on all sides. Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier died at approximately 10:40 p.m. Monday from wounds he received after the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised-explosive device in northwest Baghdad." The announcement brought to 19 the number of US troops killed in Iraq this month. Meanwhile, in England, Lee Glendinning (Times of London) reports on the British military announcing a Monday death: "The soldier, from the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died after the army base came under small arms fire, the Ministry of Defence said." The death brought to 121 the number of British soldiers who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and comes a day after mothers of two soldiers who died in Iraq took their case to the Court of Appeal.
Michael Evans (Times of London) reports that Beverley Clarke and Rose Gentle pressed their case yesterday as to the legality of the illegal war. Both women lost their songs (Trooper David Clarke and Fusilier Gordon Gentle) in Iraq. The BBC reports that outside the court, Rose Gentle stated: "Why can't Tony Blair be man enough to stand up and say he will give an inquiry and stop a lot of court cases going ahead? Ehat has he got to hide? Our boys are being killed day-by-bya. It we dod succeed in this case it will be a bonus. If we don't, we can say we tried and we fought for the boys and have got more backbone than the MPS who didn't stand up for them in last week's vote."
Another mother for peace, Cindy Sheehan is taking part in the Gold Star Families for Peace sit-in at the White House in DC. Today's actions including organizing exit poll teams (for the day's election) and the plan to hold an event this evening in Lafayette Square Park while tomorrow will include the delivery of a petition opposing an attack on Iraq. Other DC actions this week include Military Families Speak Out's plan to deliver a petition to Congress and Rummy demanding troops home now and an end to the backdoor draft.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 7, 4:30PM Portland, ME Location: Meditation Center Sponsor: Veterans for Peace, Chapter 1 Contact: Doug Rawlings, 207-293-2580, rawlings@maine.edu,
Nov. 7, 6-9PM Brunswick, ME Location: Morrill Room, Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant Street Pot luck supper and speaking engagement Time: 6 - 7:30pm
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliottadams@juno.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBA
Nov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, philliseng@yahoo.com
11/06/2006
kyle snyder, joshua key, missy comley beattie, alexander cockburn
We have another scandal. Yes, another scandal involving a well-known leader and gay sex. This one, according to Andrew Sullivan, the conservative writer who at one time was a George Bush supporter, is bigger than Foleygate. Seems there are some prominent opponents of same-sex marriage engaging in same-sex sex.
Ted Haggard, pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, has resigned, following allegations that he paid escort Mike Jones for sex. Jones decided to out Haggard after he realized the minister was a hypocrite who denounced gay marriage. Haggard has confessed to buying methamphetamines and receiving a massage from Jones but continues to deny having sex with the man, claiming to be "steady" with his wife. He is also saying he was "curious" about the drug but didn't use it. Right! Anybody thinking, "I didn't inhale?" Anybody thinking, "Depends on the definition of massage?"
Haggard has been a staunch defender of marriage as the union between a man and a woman. After Massachusetts legalized gay marriage, he worked to organize state-by-state opposition to same-sex marriage. But during this time, Jones said that he and Haggard, who paid him for sex, were having tryst after tryst.
the above is from missy comley beattie's 'The Medium is the Massage' (counterpunch) that c.i. passed on because i was planning to write about this topic. i think mcb sets it up but if you missed the update, he's now admitted to sexual relations.
what interested me about the story, besides the hypocrisy, was how it played out last week. on thursday, haggard was denying it all. by friday, he was denying sexual relations (and people were saying they were false accusation that were 'political') but admitted he bought drugs - once! - but did not use them because he felt bad.
i found that really interesting. he was denying a sexual relationship but copping to a crime (buying illegal drugs is a crime whether you use them or not). that really tells you how screwed up sexually our society is.
at that point, he clearly had no interest in being honest. he was still denying the sex. (which the outer said was paid for but haggerty could have finessed that.) but he was willing to admit to the illegal purchase of the drugs.
when he was in save-your-own-ass mode, he would admit to breaking the law, and not just any law in a nation with a never-ending-war-on-drugs.
is haggerd gay? who knows. he may just be bisexual. but the reality is he confessed to a crime that results in hard time while denying sexuality.
that's a sign of how screwed up our country is.
he's getting sex on the side because he can't admit what he wants. he gets caught and cops to drugs.
it's a bit like mark foley admitting he had an alcohol problem before he could admit he was gay.
and, if you think about it, the refusal to admit reality is a very basic problem. haggered couldn't admit his reality. there are still some americans who can't admit the reality of the illegal war.
they want kyle snyder on the cross. they talk about how 'deserters are shot' and other b.s.
bully boy? he gets off with a pass.
kyle snyder said no to illegal war. bully boy started the illegal war. even if they think kyle snyder's wrong to check out, you'd think they'd have a sense of proportion.
but they don't and they can't because they're lying to themselves the same way that haggerd did. they're kidding themselves that their uber, if not super, patriots and if they really cared so much about this country, they'd address the reality of how the illegal war has hurt this country (and iraq, and the whole world due to the unrest).
it's easier for them to lie to themselves. like haggered did during the 3 years he was having sex with a man. (while doing the 'gays are bad' talk and noting that it says so 'in the bible!')
if we could all show a little reflection, a little honesty, would we be in this war?
what's bully boy lying to himself about?
clearly, he's lying to himself about 'winning' the war. (or else he's lying to the american people.)
why is that lie so important?
because he's staked his legacy on it?
maybe. but he lied us into war, cooked the intel, bombed in 2002 hoping to force saddam hussein's hand.
what is it that he couldn't admit?
hagger and bully boy were friends. in better times. the white house is in denial mode now. claiming he was 1 of many. in better times, haggered would brag about how he spoke to bully boy each monday.
the government of canada's lying to itself as well. they know the illegal war is wrong, that's why they won't participate in it. but sunday they refused to grant asylum to war resister joshua key.
what lie are they telling themselves? how do they reconcile knowing that the war is illegal but not providing a haven to those who say 'no' because the war is illegal?
a lot of self-lying going on.
lying in the democratic party as well. alexander cockburn's 'The Message of Campaign 2006' is a must read and here's a taste of it:
Does McCain's latest statement Iraq--a call for 20,000 fresh U.S. troops to be sent there--square with the Democrats' position on the war? The answer to this is of course that the Democrats don't have a position on the war beyond the de facto one of trying to make sure no peacenik candidates slipped past the guard post supervised by Rahm Emanuel, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
As is the case with the American people overall, the majority of ordinary Democrats want US forces leave to quit Iraq in the immediate or relatively near future. This was not the posture of Democratic candidates approved by Emanuel, particularly in tight races. Most of them have talked about withdrawal as a matter of many months. The Democratic leadership would sign onto a McCain beef-up plan in minutes, flailing away at Bush for the next two years for losing the war. For the left position we'll probably have to wait for the commission headed by James Baker or a mutiny by the generals, aware--just as they told Rep John Murtha this time last year--that the war is a bust and it's time to quit Iraq.
Campaign 2006 has shown us clearly enough that about the outer limit of popular sanction is the ability to lodge a formal protest on Election Day. Such protest can only have actual consequences in the very few remaining congressional districts not gerrymandered into permanent incumbency or rotted out with vote fraud. Mostly the voters seem to have felt that both parties are pretty awful, but as the outfit that's been running the country without opposition for six years the Republicans deserve to get a kick in the pants.
The fact that this protest is purely formal is attested by the adamant refusal of the Democrats to offer anything by way of a substantive alternative, beyond saying Bush is an incompetent fellow. Indeed, the substantive effect of Campaign 2006 has been to state in terms plain enough for a simpleton to understand, that resistance is futile, since both Republicans and Democrats agree that the Bill of Rights is a dead letter and that wars must go on, and jobs to disappear, despite overwhelming popular disagreement with such policies.
closing with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Monday, November 6, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, a US war resister is denied refugee status in Canada while another remains 'underground,' and as this and more fails to get coverage, we're all supposed to pretend that a verdict will bring about that long promised 'turned corner.' Operation Happy Talk -- remember wave breaking takes places in shallow water as well as deep. For examples of the former, pick up any daily paper today.
On Sunday, Tom Godfrey (Toronto Sun) broke the news that the Canadian government had denied refugee status to US war resister Tom Godfrey. Joshua Key became the third war resister denied asylum by the Canadian government. The two who came before, Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, are still awaiting word of their appeal.
Key's case was seen as the strongest of the three due to what Key saw while serving in Iraq. One example can be found in Michelle Mason's documentary Breaking Ranks, where Johsua Key states: "As we got down the Euphrates River and we took a sharp right turn , all we seen was heads and bodies. And American troops in the middle of them saying 'we lost it.' As soon as I stepped and I walked out the back of my APC, I seen two American soldier kicking the head around like a soccer ball. I stepped right back inside the tank and I told my squad leader . . . 'I won't have no part of this'."
In December 2003, Joshua Key returned from Iraq on leave and decided to self-check out. He, Brandi Key (his wife) and their children moved to Philadelphia where they lived 'underground' with Joshua doing welding jobs and Brandi waiting tables. The story of Jeremy Hinzman's war resistance was something Joshua Key learned of online. In March of 2005, the Key family crossed the border into Candada where Joshua, Brandi and their four children have have made their home since.
Tom Godfrey (Toronto Sun) notes that Jeffrey House, the attorney for Joshua Key, states he's "filed refugee claims in Canada" for "[a]t least 35" war resisters. None have yet to be awarded refugee status by the Canadian government which is in stark contrast to the Vietnam era. House tells Godfrey that he believes Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board "doesn't want to hurt relationships with the U.S. by granting refugee status to deserters".
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Joshua Key, in his own words (France's Le Monde translated by New Socialist):
My name is Joshua Key. I was born in 1978 in Guthrie, in central Oklahoma. My family worked on a ranch. We had a hard time making ends meet, but I loved the outdoor life, amongs cowboys, and where we didn't have to wear shoes until we started school. I married Brandi after high school. We were the same age, and from the same background. I dreamt of becoming a welder, but I didn't have money for school. So I looked for work doing anything. But there was no future in Guthrie, which has no industry. We went to Wisconsin, then returned, as we found nothing. Our future seemed dim, and we already had two children. It was then I met the recruiters from the Army. It was February, 2002. They knew how to talk to me, that's for sure!
On the topic of military talk, Kyle Snyder remains 'underground.' Last Tuesday, US war resister Kyle Snyder turned himself in at Fort Knox after self-checking out and moving to Canada in April of 2005. Jim Fennerty, Synder's attorney, worked out an agreement regarding Snyder's return with the US military. Fennerty had done similar negotiations for war resister Darrell Anderson when he returned to the United States.
While Darrell Anderson had a Purple Heart and family members who would be actively and strongly making their voices heard, Kyle Snyder grew up in foster-care and appeared to have less of a support network than Anderson. Courage to Resist is asking supporters to call 502-624-2707 to speak to Major General Robert M. Williams and tell him "Discharge Kyle Snyder!" In addition, Brett Barroquere (AP) reported on the reaction in Canada to the US military burning Synder yet again and notes that war resisters Corey Glass and Patrick Hart have no faith currently in their own fates should they return.
Last Friday, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) interviewed Kyle Snyder who explained: "I had jointed the military October 22, 2003, and I had originally joined for basically, the verbal promises that were given to me at the time then, too. I was 19 years old." When the verbal promises were again broken last week, Kyle Snyder self-checked out again. Snyder, Hinzman, Key, Anderson, Glass, Hart and Hughey are part of a movement of war resistance within the US military that also includes Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Aidan Delgado, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Ivan Brobeck, Robin Long, Ryan Johnson, Clifford Cornell, Katherine Jashniski, Agustin Aguayo and Kevin Benderman.
While the US government fights war resisters, AP notes the rumors tha Zalmay Khalilzad, US ambassador to Iraq, may be pulling his own self-checkout according to an unnamed White House official. Possibly the White House had to drop the ignorant 'stay the course' motto because of the high turnover at the top?
In Iraq, Riverbend (Baghdad Burning) surveys the chaos and violence and notes: "Iraq has not been this bad in decades. The occupation is a failure. The various pro-American, pro-Iranian Iraqi governments are failures. The new Iraqi army is a deadly joke. Is it really time to turn Saddam into a martyr? Things are so bad that even pro-occupation Iraqis are going back on their initial 'WE LOVE AMERICA' frenzy. Laith Kubba (a.k.a. Mr Catfish for his big mouth and constant look of stupidity) was recently on the BBC saying that this was just the beginning of justice, that people responsible for the taking of lives today should also be brought to justice. He seems to have forgotten he was one of the supporters of the war and occupation, and an important member of one of the murderious pro-American governments. But history shall not forget Mr. Kubba."
Riverbend notes the shutting down of two Iraqi TV stations. Al Jazeera reports: "Iraq's interior ministry has ordered two televesion stations off the air" on charges of 'inciting violence.' In July, that was a popular talking point for the puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki. As noted last night: "That's the four-part 'plan' that you don't hear much about, that you never heard much about other than empty praise and the first two-parts. One of the 'steps' was curtailing press freedom. You didn't hear much about that because it's kind of hard to pass the lie of 'democracy' off at the same time Nouri al-Maliki's going to destroying the press."
As all outlets cover the topic of the day, the reality of life in Iraq goes little noted. Some of the small reporting coming out of Iraq includes the following.
Bombings?
AFP reports that a bus bombing killed two people and left ten more wounded. AP reports a mortar attack in Baghdad with "no immediate reports of damage or casualties." New Zealand's Newswire reports that, in Baghdad, "mortar rounds slammed into areas around Baghdad's Green Zone".
Shootings?
In Amil, AP notes, three people were wounded. Borzou Daragahi (Los Angelse Times) reports that two firefighters were shot dead in Baghdad.
Corpses?
On today's KPFA's The Morning Show, Alieen Alfandary noted that "the bodies of 50 murder victims were discovered yesterday, the bulk of them in Baghdad."
In other news of violence, the US military has announced five deaths today bringing the total US military deaths in Iraq to 18 for the month thus far. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count places the death toll for US troops in Iraq since the start of the illegal war at 2836.
Meanwhile AP reports on "Desert Crossing" -- a series of war games by the US government ("70 military, diplomatic and intelligence officals") in 1999 which found that a war in Iraq "would require 400,000 troops, and even then chaose might ensue." No word yet on if or when the aspect of starting an illegal war might cause chaos was also commissioned.
In deployment news, Friday's snapshot noted Jamie McIntrye (CNN) reporting that convicted prisoner abuser (for Abu Ghraib) Santos Cardona was being redeployed to Kuwait. On Saturday, Reuters reported that press attention had been followed by the announcement, by the military, that Cardona "would return to his base at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Army offered no explanation as to why Mr. Cardona's unit commanders had plan to deploy him, given his record in Iraq."
In peace news, Jenna Russell (Boston Globe) notes that a number of anti-war vets are gearing up for the Veterans Day Paradeparade seasons including Members of Veterans for Peace in Portland (ME) and Veterans for Peace in Machester (NH) and quotes Doug Rawlings: "War is not just flags flying and people in uniform. The reality is, death and destruction go along with it. We're tired of the pagenatry glorifying war." Remember that as a Veteran's Day offfering, David Zeiger's documentary Sir! No Sir! is available on DVD at the discounted price of $14.95. That's a limited time offer. The amazing documentary documents the war resistance within the military during the Vietnam era. How powerful is the documentary? Henry Kissiner should declare: "See this film! It changed my life! After one viewing, I confessed to international war crimes!"
In other peace news, historian Howard Zinn spoke with Andrea Lewis and Philip Maldari on today's KPFA's The Morning Show and he noted that, regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's elections, his hope was that Americans were waking up: "I have no doubt that the Bush administration and the Bush program, they're on their way down and I hope the American people are waking up." Zinn and Anthony Arnove's Voices of a People's History of the United States will be presented this Thursday at 7:30 pm, Berkeley Community Theatre (1930 Allston Way) and participants will include Alice Walker, Mos Def and others.
And Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 6, 2-4:30PMBoston, MALocation: University of Massachusetts/BostonSponsor: The Institute for Asian American StudiesWilliam Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social ConsequenceTime: 2-4:30 pm
Nov 6, 7PM Worcester, MA. Location: Clark University – University Building, Lurie Room Sponsors: Veterans For Peace Chapter 10 Contact: Bob Flanagan, 508-755-1479, IrishBob54@aol.comNov 7, 4:30PM Portland, ME Location: Meditation Center Sponsor: Veterans for Peace, Chapter 1 Contact: Doug Rawlings, 207-293-2580, rawlings@maine.edu,
Nov. 7, 6-9PM Brunswick, ME Location: Morrill Room, Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant Street Pot luck supper and speaking engagement Time: 6 - 7:30pm
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliottadams@juno.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.comNov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.comNov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netNov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBANov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, philliseng@yahoo.com
Ted Haggard, pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, has resigned, following allegations that he paid escort Mike Jones for sex. Jones decided to out Haggard after he realized the minister was a hypocrite who denounced gay marriage. Haggard has confessed to buying methamphetamines and receiving a massage from Jones but continues to deny having sex with the man, claiming to be "steady" with his wife. He is also saying he was "curious" about the drug but didn't use it. Right! Anybody thinking, "I didn't inhale?" Anybody thinking, "Depends on the definition of massage?"
Haggard has been a staunch defender of marriage as the union between a man and a woman. After Massachusetts legalized gay marriage, he worked to organize state-by-state opposition to same-sex marriage. But during this time, Jones said that he and Haggard, who paid him for sex, were having tryst after tryst.
the above is from missy comley beattie's 'The Medium is the Massage' (counterpunch) that c.i. passed on because i was planning to write about this topic. i think mcb sets it up but if you missed the update, he's now admitted to sexual relations.
what interested me about the story, besides the hypocrisy, was how it played out last week. on thursday, haggard was denying it all. by friday, he was denying sexual relations (and people were saying they were false accusation that were 'political') but admitted he bought drugs - once! - but did not use them because he felt bad.
i found that really interesting. he was denying a sexual relationship but copping to a crime (buying illegal drugs is a crime whether you use them or not). that really tells you how screwed up sexually our society is.
at that point, he clearly had no interest in being honest. he was still denying the sex. (which the outer said was paid for but haggerty could have finessed that.) but he was willing to admit to the illegal purchase of the drugs.
when he was in save-your-own-ass mode, he would admit to breaking the law, and not just any law in a nation with a never-ending-war-on-drugs.
is haggerd gay? who knows. he may just be bisexual. but the reality is he confessed to a crime that results in hard time while denying sexuality.
that's a sign of how screwed up our country is.
he's getting sex on the side because he can't admit what he wants. he gets caught and cops to drugs.
it's a bit like mark foley admitting he had an alcohol problem before he could admit he was gay.
and, if you think about it, the refusal to admit reality is a very basic problem. haggered couldn't admit his reality. there are still some americans who can't admit the reality of the illegal war.
they want kyle snyder on the cross. they talk about how 'deserters are shot' and other b.s.
bully boy? he gets off with a pass.
kyle snyder said no to illegal war. bully boy started the illegal war. even if they think kyle snyder's wrong to check out, you'd think they'd have a sense of proportion.
but they don't and they can't because they're lying to themselves the same way that haggerd did. they're kidding themselves that their uber, if not super, patriots and if they really cared so much about this country, they'd address the reality of how the illegal war has hurt this country (and iraq, and the whole world due to the unrest).
it's easier for them to lie to themselves. like haggered did during the 3 years he was having sex with a man. (while doing the 'gays are bad' talk and noting that it says so 'in the bible!')
if we could all show a little reflection, a little honesty, would we be in this war?
what's bully boy lying to himself about?
clearly, he's lying to himself about 'winning' the war. (or else he's lying to the american people.)
why is that lie so important?
because he's staked his legacy on it?
maybe. but he lied us into war, cooked the intel, bombed in 2002 hoping to force saddam hussein's hand.
what is it that he couldn't admit?
hagger and bully boy were friends. in better times. the white house is in denial mode now. claiming he was 1 of many. in better times, haggered would brag about how he spoke to bully boy each monday.
the government of canada's lying to itself as well. they know the illegal war is wrong, that's why they won't participate in it. but sunday they refused to grant asylum to war resister joshua key.
what lie are they telling themselves? how do they reconcile knowing that the war is illegal but not providing a haven to those who say 'no' because the war is illegal?
a lot of self-lying going on.
lying in the democratic party as well. alexander cockburn's 'The Message of Campaign 2006' is a must read and here's a taste of it:
Does McCain's latest statement Iraq--a call for 20,000 fresh U.S. troops to be sent there--square with the Democrats' position on the war? The answer to this is of course that the Democrats don't have a position on the war beyond the de facto one of trying to make sure no peacenik candidates slipped past the guard post supervised by Rahm Emanuel, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
As is the case with the American people overall, the majority of ordinary Democrats want US forces leave to quit Iraq in the immediate or relatively near future. This was not the posture of Democratic candidates approved by Emanuel, particularly in tight races. Most of them have talked about withdrawal as a matter of many months. The Democratic leadership would sign onto a McCain beef-up plan in minutes, flailing away at Bush for the next two years for losing the war. For the left position we'll probably have to wait for the commission headed by James Baker or a mutiny by the generals, aware--just as they told Rep John Murtha this time last year--that the war is a bust and it's time to quit Iraq.
Campaign 2006 has shown us clearly enough that about the outer limit of popular sanction is the ability to lodge a formal protest on Election Day. Such protest can only have actual consequences in the very few remaining congressional districts not gerrymandered into permanent incumbency or rotted out with vote fraud. Mostly the voters seem to have felt that both parties are pretty awful, but as the outfit that's been running the country without opposition for six years the Republicans deserve to get a kick in the pants.
The fact that this protest is purely formal is attested by the adamant refusal of the Democrats to offer anything by way of a substantive alternative, beyond saying Bush is an incompetent fellow. Indeed, the substantive effect of Campaign 2006 has been to state in terms plain enough for a simpleton to understand, that resistance is futile, since both Republicans and Democrats agree that the Bill of Rights is a dead letter and that wars must go on, and jobs to disappear, despite overwhelming popular disagreement with such policies.
closing with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Monday, November 6, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, a US war resister is denied refugee status in Canada while another remains 'underground,' and as this and more fails to get coverage, we're all supposed to pretend that a verdict will bring about that long promised 'turned corner.' Operation Happy Talk -- remember wave breaking takes places in shallow water as well as deep. For examples of the former, pick up any daily paper today.
On Sunday, Tom Godfrey (Toronto Sun) broke the news that the Canadian government had denied refugee status to US war resister Tom Godfrey. Joshua Key became the third war resister denied asylum by the Canadian government. The two who came before, Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, are still awaiting word of their appeal.
Key's case was seen as the strongest of the three due to what Key saw while serving in Iraq. One example can be found in Michelle Mason's documentary Breaking Ranks, where Johsua Key states: "As we got down the Euphrates River and we took a sharp right turn , all we seen was heads and bodies. And American troops in the middle of them saying 'we lost it.' As soon as I stepped and I walked out the back of my APC, I seen two American soldier kicking the head around like a soccer ball. I stepped right back inside the tank and I told my squad leader . . . 'I won't have no part of this'."
In December 2003, Joshua Key returned from Iraq on leave and decided to self-check out. He, Brandi Key (his wife) and their children moved to Philadelphia where they lived 'underground' with Joshua doing welding jobs and Brandi waiting tables. The story of Jeremy Hinzman's war resistance was something Joshua Key learned of online. In March of 2005, the Key family crossed the border into Candada where Joshua, Brandi and their four children have have made their home since.
Tom Godfrey (Toronto Sun) notes that Jeffrey House, the attorney for Joshua Key, states he's "filed refugee claims in Canada" for "[a]t least 35" war resisters. None have yet to be awarded refugee status by the Canadian government which is in stark contrast to the Vietnam era. House tells Godfrey that he believes Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board "doesn't want to hurt relationships with the U.S. by granting refugee status to deserters".
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Joshua Key, in his own words (France's Le Monde translated by New Socialist):
My name is Joshua Key. I was born in 1978 in Guthrie, in central Oklahoma. My family worked on a ranch. We had a hard time making ends meet, but I loved the outdoor life, amongs cowboys, and where we didn't have to wear shoes until we started school. I married Brandi after high school. We were the same age, and from the same background. I dreamt of becoming a welder, but I didn't have money for school. So I looked for work doing anything. But there was no future in Guthrie, which has no industry. We went to Wisconsin, then returned, as we found nothing. Our future seemed dim, and we already had two children. It was then I met the recruiters from the Army. It was February, 2002. They knew how to talk to me, that's for sure!
On the topic of military talk, Kyle Snyder remains 'underground.' Last Tuesday, US war resister Kyle Snyder turned himself in at Fort Knox after self-checking out and moving to Canada in April of 2005. Jim Fennerty, Synder's attorney, worked out an agreement regarding Snyder's return with the US military. Fennerty had done similar negotiations for war resister Darrell Anderson when he returned to the United States.
While Darrell Anderson had a Purple Heart and family members who would be actively and strongly making their voices heard, Kyle Snyder grew up in foster-care and appeared to have less of a support network than Anderson. Courage to Resist is asking supporters to call 502-624-2707 to speak to Major General Robert M. Williams and tell him "Discharge Kyle Snyder!" In addition, Brett Barroquere (AP) reported on the reaction in Canada to the US military burning Synder yet again and notes that war resisters Corey Glass and Patrick Hart have no faith currently in their own fates should they return.
Last Friday, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) interviewed Kyle Snyder who explained: "I had jointed the military October 22, 2003, and I had originally joined for basically, the verbal promises that were given to me at the time then, too. I was 19 years old." When the verbal promises were again broken last week, Kyle Snyder self-checked out again. Snyder, Hinzman, Key, Anderson, Glass, Hart and Hughey are part of a movement of war resistance within the US military that also includes Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Aidan Delgado, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Ivan Brobeck, Robin Long, Ryan Johnson, Clifford Cornell, Katherine Jashniski, Agustin Aguayo and Kevin Benderman.
While the US government fights war resisters, AP notes the rumors tha Zalmay Khalilzad, US ambassador to Iraq, may be pulling his own self-checkout according to an unnamed White House official. Possibly the White House had to drop the ignorant 'stay the course' motto because of the high turnover at the top?
In Iraq, Riverbend (Baghdad Burning) surveys the chaos and violence and notes: "Iraq has not been this bad in decades. The occupation is a failure. The various pro-American, pro-Iranian Iraqi governments are failures. The new Iraqi army is a deadly joke. Is it really time to turn Saddam into a martyr? Things are so bad that even pro-occupation Iraqis are going back on their initial 'WE LOVE AMERICA' frenzy. Laith Kubba (a.k.a. Mr Catfish for his big mouth and constant look of stupidity) was recently on the BBC saying that this was just the beginning of justice, that people responsible for the taking of lives today should also be brought to justice. He seems to have forgotten he was one of the supporters of the war and occupation, and an important member of one of the murderious pro-American governments. But history shall not forget Mr. Kubba."
Riverbend notes the shutting down of two Iraqi TV stations. Al Jazeera reports: "Iraq's interior ministry has ordered two televesion stations off the air" on charges of 'inciting violence.' In July, that was a popular talking point for the puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki. As noted last night: "That's the four-part 'plan' that you don't hear much about, that you never heard much about other than empty praise and the first two-parts. One of the 'steps' was curtailing press freedom. You didn't hear much about that because it's kind of hard to pass the lie of 'democracy' off at the same time Nouri al-Maliki's going to destroying the press."
As all outlets cover the topic of the day, the reality of life in Iraq goes little noted. Some of the small reporting coming out of Iraq includes the following.
Bombings?
AFP reports that a bus bombing killed two people and left ten more wounded. AP reports a mortar attack in Baghdad with "no immediate reports of damage or casualties." New Zealand's Newswire reports that, in Baghdad, "mortar rounds slammed into areas around Baghdad's Green Zone".
Shootings?
In Amil, AP notes, three people were wounded. Borzou Daragahi (Los Angelse Times) reports that two firefighters were shot dead in Baghdad.
Corpses?
On today's KPFA's The Morning Show, Alieen Alfandary noted that "the bodies of 50 murder victims were discovered yesterday, the bulk of them in Baghdad."
In other news of violence, the US military has announced five deaths today bringing the total US military deaths in Iraq to 18 for the month thus far. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count places the death toll for US troops in Iraq since the start of the illegal war at 2836.
Meanwhile AP reports on "Desert Crossing" -- a series of war games by the US government ("70 military, diplomatic and intelligence officals") in 1999 which found that a war in Iraq "would require 400,000 troops, and even then chaose might ensue." No word yet on if or when the aspect of starting an illegal war might cause chaos was also commissioned.
In deployment news, Friday's snapshot noted Jamie McIntrye (CNN) reporting that convicted prisoner abuser (for Abu Ghraib) Santos Cardona was being redeployed to Kuwait. On Saturday, Reuters reported that press attention had been followed by the announcement, by the military, that Cardona "would return to his base at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Army offered no explanation as to why Mr. Cardona's unit commanders had plan to deploy him, given his record in Iraq."
In peace news, Jenna Russell (Boston Globe) notes that a number of anti-war vets are gearing up for the Veterans Day Paradeparade seasons including Members of Veterans for Peace in Portland (ME) and Veterans for Peace in Machester (NH) and quotes Doug Rawlings: "War is not just flags flying and people in uniform. The reality is, death and destruction go along with it. We're tired of the pagenatry glorifying war." Remember that as a Veteran's Day offfering, David Zeiger's documentary Sir! No Sir! is available on DVD at the discounted price of $14.95. That's a limited time offer. The amazing documentary documents the war resistance within the military during the Vietnam era. How powerful is the documentary? Henry Kissiner should declare: "See this film! It changed my life! After one viewing, I confessed to international war crimes!"
In other peace news, historian Howard Zinn spoke with Andrea Lewis and Philip Maldari on today's KPFA's The Morning Show and he noted that, regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's elections, his hope was that Americans were waking up: "I have no doubt that the Bush administration and the Bush program, they're on their way down and I hope the American people are waking up." Zinn and Anthony Arnove's Voices of a People's History of the United States will be presented this Thursday at 7:30 pm, Berkeley Community Theatre (1930 Allston Way) and participants will include Alice Walker, Mos Def and others.
And Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 6, 2-4:30PMBoston, MALocation: University of Massachusetts/BostonSponsor: The Institute for Asian American StudiesWilliam Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social ConsequenceTime: 2-4:30 pm
Nov 6, 7PM Worcester, MA. Location: Clark University – University Building, Lurie Room Sponsors: Veterans For Peace Chapter 10 Contact: Bob Flanagan, 508-755-1479, IrishBob54@aol.comNov 7, 4:30PM Portland, ME Location: Meditation Center Sponsor: Veterans for Peace, Chapter 1 Contact: Doug Rawlings, 207-293-2580, rawlings@maine.edu,
Nov. 7, 6-9PM Brunswick, ME Location: Morrill Room, Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant Street Pot luck supper and speaking engagement Time: 6 - 7:30pm
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliottadams@juno.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.comNov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.comNov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netNov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBANov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, philliseng@yahoo.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)