Saturday, March 05, 2011

On Damon and Betty

"Matt Damon Proves He Is Too Stupid To Be Allowed To Criticize Sarah Palin" (Hillary Is 44):

Matt Damon is the sort of boob who said in 2008 of Obama, “I think a lot of the problems in the world would be mitigated if he were the face of our country.” Really Matt? Take a look around you boy, it’s bound to scare you boy.

Matt Damon is the sort of boob who endorsed flim-flam man Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton! By contrast, Rob Reiner (”meathead” of Archie Bunker fame) endorsed Hillary Clinton over the Chicago boob and flim-flam man and politely said this about Obama:he just doesn’t have the experience yet. …We can’t afford on-the-job training at this point. We have got to have somebody, when they get into the White House, (who can) hit the ground running.

Who’s the meathead?


Matt Damon's an idiot who has seen his career tank. 30 Rock, really? True Grit? Where he has a supporting part and most of the jokes (yes, C.I. was the first to start them but you hear them all over now) are about how he plays Kim Darby's role. (If you've seen the original, that is hilarious.)

He's like George Clooney, they're both dead. They're limp. They're lifeless. No one cares about them as their box office failures demonstrate over and over.

Now Matt's starting to grasp that, to grasp that being seen as Clooney's boi isn't a good thing and thinks he can micromanage his way out of failure. It's too late.

He never should have ran with Clooney. Damon could have had some political integrity, instead he was just a Whore for the Democratic Party which is all Clooney is. That's why Damon was one of the War Hawks on Sudan -- though he himself never grasped that. He's just not an intelligent person. In fact, he's honestly kind of stupid. Ben Affleck's the smarter of the two and able to think on his feet and then some.

I am noting the above because Betty didn't realize Hillary Is 44 had a new post when she posted last night. So she e-mailed me and asked if I could work it in? Of course.

In fact, I want to write about Betty for this journal entry.

This was a tough week for Betty.

In 2005, Betty started her website. She did a lot planning and studying ahead of time. She spent weeks, in fact. When she started it, it was a comic novel where each entry was a chapter. It was the story of one woman, Betinna.

She was able to comment on globilzation and war and many other topics using that frame.

In 2007, Betty began supporting Hillary in the Democratic Party primary. As the attacks on Hillary intesified, in 2008, Betty turned her site into a blog, dropped Betinna. She did that to argue for Hillary's campaign and to defend Hillary from the attacks.

A lot of her readers -- from the old days -- miss Betinna. Some of her newer ones do as well (they've gone through her archives). So she was asked to bring back Betinna.

She put it off but it kept happening, the requests, so she plotted out a way to pick up where it left off. Then she started it back up last week.

She has added many readers since becoming a blog in 2008. These readers did not want Betinna.

They wanted Betty.

Betty announced this week ("El Spirito Sunday") that she was retiring Betinna from the blog due to complaints (she didn't use the term complaints). She'll now take Betinna's story to a community newsletter.

If you're one of the ones who complained, you cheated yourself. Betty's writing is very funny in the novel. I do know how Betinna was brought back. She was brought back due to a mystical incident and she was now going to have martial arts training. This was going to allow her to take on bigger targets than Thomas Friedman. She will still do that, but in El Spirito and, if you're not a community member, you won't be able to read it. Your loss.

I just really was offended to read Betty's post because let's say you really didn't like Betinna? You really didn't know the character. You didn't give it time. Betinna was just coming out of something (she'd been pushed off a roof and then there was a period of time that could have been hours or days -- it was months, we will find out Sunday -- and that was when the rebirth took place). If you'd been patient, you would have seen how great it was about to get.

So, as a reader, I'm offended.

As a person, I'm offended that anyone would be so rude. If you really like Betty's writing and she's just brought Betinna back (I believe there were four chapters Betty posted), I think your admiration for her past writing, should have resulted in your being patient and giving what Betty was doing a chance. That really strikes me as rude because Betty had shared how happy and excited she was to be bringing back Betinna.

Were it me, I would have either stuck with Betinna or used it as my exit -- as in, "Since you're unhappy with what I'm writing, I think this is a good time for me to bow out."



"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):

Friday, March 4, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, protests take place across Iraq, Iraqi forces attack journalists in Basra, Mosul demonstrators are threatened with a number forced back into their homes, the US government remains largely silent on the protests, the political situation in Iraq continues to resemble a square dance and more.
KUNA reports, "Thousands of Iraqi demonstrators are flowing to Baghdad and other Iraqi cities in what is called 'Friday of Dignity' in protest against poor services and boringly sluggish efforts against alleged corruption and fraud in Iraq." Prashant Rao (AFP) reports that, today, "a crowd of about 2,000 people had descended Baghdad's Tahrir Square by early afternoon, another 1,000 gathered i the southern city of Nasiriyah and about 300 were in the central city of Hilla." AGI notes, "The protesters mostly arrived on foot because of a ban on the movement of vehicles in the square." Bushra Juhi and Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) note Bahjat Talib had to stop at eight checkpoints to get from the Sadr City section of Baghdad to Tahrir Square and they quote him stating, "Our country is lost and for the last eight years the government has failed to offer services for people. Thousands of youths are without jobs." In Nineveh Province, the Dar Addustour live screen crawl noted, protesters have again demanded that the release of detainees and the expulsions of US forces from the country. Al Rafidayn adds security forces in Nineveh used water cannons and batons to disperse the crowd. American University Cairo's Firas al-Atraqchi Tweeted this observation about the Iraqi protests:
Thing about today's #Iraq protests is that they happened despite general curfew #Baghdad #karbala #Basra #Mosul #Najaf #Nasiriyah #diwaniya about 2 hours ago via web
The Day of Dignity follows last week's Day of Rage which saw protests across Iraq with demonstrators often attacked by police leaving less than 30 dead and hundreds injured. The attacks were not just on the demonstrators, Iraqi forces also attacked the press. Physically attacked the press. The groundwork for that physical attack was laid by Nouri who ordered forces to bust into news outlets and journalistic organizations in the days prior to last Friday's Day of Rage. In addition, Nouri also outlawed live broadcasts from Baghdad on that Friday. Through his actions, he sent the message that his government did not respect or support a free press and his thugs then acted accordingly -- in one instance, barging into a Baghdad restaurant and physically attacking four journalists who were eating lunch, beating them in the heads with the butts of their rifles and then arresting them. Stephanie McCrummen (Washington Post) reminds, "Witnesses in Baghdad and as far north as Kirkuk described watching last week as security forces in black uniforms, tracksuits and T-shirts roared up in trucks and Humvees, attacked protesters, rounded up others from cafes and homes and hauled them off, blindfolded, to army detention centers. Entire neighborhoods -- primarily Sunni Muslim areas where residnets are generally opposed to Maliki, a Shiite -- were blockaded to prevent residents from joining the demonstrations. Journalists were beaten." In an essay on last Friday's protest, Danial Anas Kaysi (Foreign Policy) observes:
After the March 2010 elections, the Iraqi people waited close to ten months for their political representatives to agree on a framework and form a government (which is yet to be truly completed due to disputes concerning the naming of security ministers). Those were months in which the population continued to live in the shadow of an occupation, in face of high unemployment levels and in deteriorating conditions -- from low levels of electricity and water to mismanaged sewage systems and ration card provisions.
When Maliki was chosen, the Iraqi people continued to patiently await the creation of a national unity government capable of addressing their needs. All along, Maliki led a protracted campaign to retain the premiership, arguing that was Iraq's best choice in guiding it away from its woes at a time of uncertainty. While services were not central to his coalition's campaign, Maliki concentrated on his capability to impose the rule of law and bring back stability and security so that the country might begin to truly rebuild. Security could be quite the convincing argument had terrorist attacks decreased rather than increased, and had the prime minister not been creating police forces outside the regular chain of command, such as the infamous Baghdad Brigades, which is feared by the residents of the city.
The prime minister's image can no longer be built on a mirage of security and stability. Worsening conditions, coupled with clear corruption and an increase in terrorist attacks, have led people to lose trust in their local, provincial, and federal representatives. Two months after government formation, it has become clear to the people that it is one of a starkly political nature, formed through backroom deals and the placating of various factions.
Al Mada notes that yesterday a vehicle ban was placed on Basra in anticipation of the protest (in anticipation of curbing the protest) and those violating the ban will not have their vehicles returned until some time after Friday. Basra is where 23-year-old Salem Garuq al-Dosari died last Friday, killed for the 'crime' of protesting. In reply to a question about violence from McClatchy's Hannah Allam, AFP's Prashant Rao Tweeted:
@HannahAllam We have reports of a cameraman injured in Basra, but its not clear how. No violence reported to us against journos in Baghdad about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck
Aref Mohammed (Reuters) informs of today's Basra protest, "A Reuters reporter at the scene said some journalists were also beaten by security forces. A vehicle ban was in effect." J. David Goodman (New York Times) also notes the attacks on journalists ("beaten by authorities there"). The Dar Addustour live screen crawl noted Diyala, Kirkuk, Tikrit and Samarra were also placed under curfew. Ammar Karim (AFP) adds, "Nasiriyah, in the south, barred anyone from entering. Complete vehicle bans were also placed on every non-Kurdish province north of the capital, with protesters not even allowed near provincial governorate offices in the city of Mosul, after five demonstrators were killed and one building set ablaze in rallies there a week ago."
While bans were put in place, Al Mada reveaks that the Iraqi Jurists Association announced they would be participating in today's protests and called on the "legitimate" reforms protesters have demanded to be implemented. They also saluted the protesters noting that they have shown strength, that all Iraqis are one people and one destiny. Al Rafidayn reports that the protesters in Baghdad today found Tahrir Square cordoned off by security forces and that blockades were utilized to close down roads and prevent access to areas including the Green Zone and the Sinak Republic Bridge. Osama Mahdi (Kitabat) reports that protesters in Baghdad chanted "Liar Liar Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Liar Liar" and "Peaceful, Peaceful" while carrying flags and banners -- one banner read "Where did the people's money go?" Stephanie McCrummen (Washington Post) notes that "security was tight as police in riot gear faced the demonstrators, and it was unclear whether crowds would become larger following Friday prayers. Many protesters in the square said they were nervous about staying there considering violence that followed last week's nationwide demonstrations." The crowds did increase despite many obstacles, going from hundreds before ten this morning to, Aref Mohammed (Reuters) estimates, "around 3,000," Tahrir Square is now being called "Iraqi Liberation Square". But not all who wanted to take part in Baghdad were able to. Alice Fordham and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) quote Hansa Hassan who says, "There were many people who wanted to participate but who were prevented; my husband insisted, and he managed to go in, but there were many barriers." NPR's Jonathan Blakley reported from Baghdad:
Most of the participants today were young people, waving Iraqi flags and plastic flowers. Many were college-age students, dressed in red and black caps and gowns, upset because, they say, they couldn't find work after graduation. Some demonstrators had walked for hours to get to Tahrir Square.
One Iraqi [home maker] said the protestors would "expose the thieves" -- referring to government corruption. She said people would march every Friday until their demands are met.
I've changed the term to "home maker." It's 2011 and I'd love to Alicia explain why NPR is using the term I'm not allowing at this site. Was today "Remember Glen Campbell Day"? I don't know. Reporting for Al Jazeera (link goes to Al Jazeera's YouTube page which provides a live feed) from Baghdad, Jane Arraf stood in front of a large crowd gathered in Tahrir Square explaining the thousands "have walked for hours to come to this square," that the government had put up conrecte blocks at the end of Sinak Republic Bridge and walled off the Green Zone and "despite this, thousands of people came to chant that they believe the government they elected are liars and they can do better." Iraqi Streets 4 Change has a photo essay of the Baghdad protest at the top of their web page.
The Dar Addustour live screen crawl noted so reports that Baghdad Operations have been ordered to evacuate the square of journalists and protesters. Al Rafidayn reports that Iraqi state television reported the protest in Baghdad was over and there were no incidents and that, after this was announced by state TV, Baghdad security forces in Tahrir Square dispersed the protesters --- still present, the protest hadn't ended despite the TV claims -- and did so with force and utilizing batons after one p.m. (Baghdad time). On this violence, Iraq Oil Report Tweeted a reply to AFP's Prashant Rao and McClatchy's Hannah Allam:
@prashantrao @HannahAllam we've got reports that those in baghdad who defied the 1pm "official" end to the protest were pushed away by ISF about 2 hours ago via web in reply to prashantrao
Alsumaria TV adds, "In Diwaniya, hundreds of citizens rallied against weak services in their province and called to dismiss the governor and dissolve the provincial council. Demonstrators criticized the government's delay in meeting their demands. Protestors called to dismiss governor Salem Alwan along with head of the provincial council and its members on account of their failure to provide their province with basic services, Alsumaria News reporter said." Dar Addustour live screen crawl noted protesters in Muthanna wants the provincial council and the governor removed. DPA reports Mosul protesters were repeatedly intimidated and quotes Mohamed Saadon stating, "Security forced me to return home though I was planning to join protests. They threatened to shoot me in the leg if [I] did not go back to myhome. They also prevented my three children from leaving home."
Al Rafidayn notes that MP Kamal Saadi has invited the protesters to meet with the Parliament on Saturday and discuss their demands according to Jalal Iipoidica who states that a call for this meet up with go out across Facebook.
In one of the saddest developments, Gilbert Mercier (News Junkie Post) observes, "The US media and most world news outlets (including the BBC) have been strangely silent over the situation in Iraq. Of course it can be explained by the fact that our current news cycle is on steroid. Tracking the Arab revolution's progress is overwhelming even for big news outlets. Libya and the armed revolution to finish off Gaddafi is the big headline, but not for long as it seems that the days of the mad man are counted. Egypt and Tunisia are still in mid-revolution limbo. Both are under military control, but the people are still putting pressure on their respective military to make sure that the revolution doesn't get hijacked by a military junta." Iraqis will most likely be gain ingored by the bulk of US media but with the White House refusing to support the protests, media lackeys will fall in line and declare it 'non-news'. Which is so very true. The outlet that's owned the story domestically would be the Washington Post. (CNN has done some very strong reports -- most of which didn't air on CNN but aired on CNN International.) Kelly McEvers (NPR) did some strong reporting but she left Iraq Tuesday. AP has done strong and consistent work. Monday morning we were noting how the New York Times couldn't be bothered mentioning the assault on Iraqi journalists.
Days later, they still had trouble despite the fact that by Monday evening, The Committee to Protect Journalists had called out the assaults, as had Simone Vecchiator (International Press Institute) and Reporters Without Borders released their open letter to KRG President Massoud Barzani while Nouri al-Maliki had apologized to one reporter, Wissam Ojji (Turkman Eli TV), publicly. Al Rafidayn reported Ojji accepted Nouri's apology. No report on that in the New York Times today. Alsumaria TV reported Tuesday that the White House National Security Council spokesperson Tommy Visor issued a statement which included: "We were also deeply troubled by reports that Iraqi Security Forces detained and beat Iraqi journalists and civil society leaders during Friday's demonstrations." Testifying to the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never mentioned it despite offering a media critique (for her appearance before the Committee, see Tuesday's snapshot, Kat covered it in "Is you're Congressional district in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?," Wally covered it at Rebecca's site with "Pitching the State Dept. budget (Wally)" and Ava covered it at Trina's site with "Hillary's foreign policy aims (Ava).") US President Barack Obama hasn't said a word. March 1st, Marian Wang (ProPublica) reported:
As the Mideast protests and government crackdowns continue, one country to watch closely is Iraq, with whom the U.S. has a long-term partnership [1] and where clashes between protesters and government forces recently turned violent. Even as Iraqi security forces detained and abused hundreds of intellectuals and journalists [2], the U.S. government -- in keeping with a pattern of silence on Iraq's abuses -- has withheld criticism of its strategic ally. (Salon noticed this too [3].)
Asked generally about the violence against Iraqi demonstrators [4] on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said only "the approach we've taken with regard to Iraq is the same that we've taken with regard to the region," which he said was to call on governments to respond to the protests peacefully. Neither the White House [5] nor the State Department seem to have mentioned the matter since. Yesterday's State Department briefing discussed Libya, Egypt, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China, Pakistan, Argentina, South Africa and Haiti -- Iraq was never discussed [6].
Wednesday, Sami Ramadani (Guardian) reported on efforts to stop last Friday's protests (more protests are scheduled for this Friday) -- efforts by the US government to stop the protests:

For its part, the world's biggest US embassy -- the power behind the throne -- took the unprecedented step of broadcasting in Arabic, on state TV, a thinly veiled threat to protesters not to go too far in their demands. The US, it stressed, fully backed the "democratically elected" regime, while supporting the right to peaceful protest. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama must be pretty confused as to which dictatorship they should now abandon and which to prop up.

So it's not silence -- bad enough -- it's also actively attempt to scare Iraqis from protests. The US is supposed to be a democracy and shame on any White House that uses tax payer money in another country to encourage people not to utizlize the right to assembly and the right to free speech. Shame on the White House.
From the shameful games of US politics, to the circle game that is Iraqi politics, American University Cairo's Firas al-Atraqchi Tweeted:
An older looking Muqtada Sadr meets with Iyad Allawi - both say they support #iraq peaceful protests 31 minutes ago via web
EuroNews notes, "Earlier, former Iraqi premier Iyad Allawi and Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr held talks to discuss the protests. Last week, al-Sadr asked his supporters to give the government six months to try to address their demands." UPI notes, "Allawi conducted a joint news conference in Najaf with his one-time enemy, Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, calling on his followers to protest in support of the Libyan people and against U.S. intervention. Sadr did not directly call on his followers to join the demonstrations." Relationships may be shifting in Iraq. From yesterday's snapshot:
In political news, the big news may be Ayad Allawi's announcement. Al Rafidayn reports the Iraqiya leader has given a TV interview in which he has declared he will have no part of the National Council on Supreme Policies. He termed his decision "final" and said Iraqiya could nominate or back someone else for that post if they want to. Iraiqy won the most votes in the March 7th elections which should have meant Ayad Allawi had first crack at forming a government but the Constitution wasn't followed. To end the stalemate, the US government increased the pressure on various parties resulting in an agreement largely brokered by the Kurds which gave Nouri the prime minister poster and would make Allawi head of the National Council on Supreme Polcies; however, that body has still not been created. For those who can remember, after the agreement there was much fan fair in Parliament the next day . . . except for Iraqiya walking out as it became obvious that their rewards in the agreement were not priority. Among those who walked away then was Allawi. It probably would have been smart for others in Iraqiya to have taken a stand back then when it might have made a difference. Dar Addustour reports the assertion that the National Council wil lbe formed. When? Iraq still doesn't have a full Cabinet. In related news, New Sabah reports that Iraqiya is stating Nouri is using his '100 days' (a time of review Nouri's given himself) not to reform, but to stall. Arab News reports: "The Chairman of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), Ammar al-Hakin, and the Leader of al-Iraqiya Coalition, Iyad Allawi, have discussed on Wednesday the activiation of the agreements, reached among different Iraqi political parties, to activiate the national partnership to respond to the people's demands, an SIIC statement said on Thursday. In further related news, Alsumaria TV reports, "Al Sadr Front threatened to stop supporting the government of Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki if he keeps on his weak performance and failures. The front even hinted about allying with Iraqiya leader Iyad Allawi to form a parliamentary majority in case the government fails to provide its people the needed services within the six month deadline set by Sadr's referendum." UPI notes, "The party loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr could rally against the country's prime minister if he doesn't address national woes."
Alice Fordham (Los Angeles Times) reports "In an interview on Iraqi TV, Allawi alleged that he was being watched by intelligence services and said that he would not head the proposed National Council for Strategic Policies. The council, backed by the United States, was conceived as a counterweight to the power of the prime minister to end the months-long deadlock on forming a government." Meanwhile Michael S. Schmidt and Jack Healy (New York Times) note the fact that (Nouri's) Supreme Court gave him the power over the Electoral Commission and other independent bodies at the start of the year, that -- following Ned Parker's secret prisons report for the Los Angeles Times -- Human Rights Watch and Amnesty both released reports on the secret prisons in Iraq under Nouri's command: "And in July, Iraq's high court ruled that members of Parliament no longer had the power to propose legislation. Instead, all new laws would have to be proposed by Mr. Maliki's cabinet or the president and then passed to the Parliament for a veto. Political experts said they knew of no other parliamentary democracy that had such restrictions." Iraqiya's Aliya Nasif tells the reporters, "This is the beginning of dictatorship. We are regressing by centuries."
Regressing? Standing still on the issue of Kirkuk to be sure, the oil rich, disputed territory in Iraq. The central government or 'government' in Baghdad claims it has the right to it while the KRG claims it belongs to them. Both lay claims about this period of time where their own was most discriminated against and forced out. The issue was supposed to have been addressed sometime ago. Supposed? The Constitution mandated that it be addressed. The US White House's 2007 benchmarks -- signed off on by the US Congress and Nouri al-Maliki -- demanded that progress be made on the issue or US funds would be cut off. That didn't happen -- it didn't get addressed and US tax payer dollars continued to flow like honey to Nouri. The issue has been postponed repeatedly. More recently, the Constitutionally mandated census -- long pushed back -- was supposed to finally take place in December. That got 'postponed'. It's an issue that's been kicked down the road repeatedly.

Wednesday's snapshot noted, "Al Rafidayn reports Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani held a press conference yesterday where he said the KRG would weigh reforms while noting that he had ordered the pesh merga into Kirkuk. Dar Addustour reports that Kirkuk's curfew was removed yesterday in part due to the influx of additional pesh merga forces."

Today, Al Rafidayn reports that a source close to Nouri al-Maliki is stating that Nouri is demanding the KRG remove the thousands of pesh merga they've deployed to Kirkuk without his permission. Nidhal al-Laithi (Azzaman) reports KRG President "Massoud Barzani, in comments on his decision to send in his militias, said he wanted to protect the Kurds in the city. However, he did not say from whom. The presence of the Kurdish militia has ignited harsh criticism from both Arab and Turkmen communities in Kirkuk who charge that the Kurds are intent to resort to force to annex the city." Wednesday, Wisam al-Bayati (Press TV -- link has text and video) filed a report noting, "Turkmen lawmakers and officials described the presence of these troops as unconstitutional. They say Iraqi security forces have the capability of dealing with the situation by themselves, and that the Kurds have the ambition to take over the city." The report (video) also notes Mohammed al-Juburi, of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, who asserts "that the US presence in Kirkuk is one of the main obstacles to stability. He claims that the US is creating instability by supporting the Kurds against the Arabs and the Turkemen." He is quoted stating, "An active role has been played by the US troops in the city and allowing US troops to commit violations against the Arabs means that they are supporting these violations." What to do about Kirkuk? This week, American intellectual Noam Chomskey observed, "Look how hard it is just to try to settle the issue of Kirkuk," when speaking with Namo Abdulla (Rudaw):
NA: Talking about the issue of Kirkuk and other disputed regions, some people here believe that as soon as the American forces are withdrawn from Iraq, there could be an Arab-Kurd war over those issues. How possible is that?

CHOMSKY: You know better than I do. I don't think anyone really knows. For another thing, I don't really think that it's very likely that the American forces will be completely withdrawn. It doesn't look like it, but it is a hard problem. I have not seen a sensible proposal about Kirkuk. I am not in a position to make any sensible prediction about it.
Staying in the US, Wednesday's snapshot covered the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on the VA's refusal to implement the caregivers law Congress passed. Kat covered it in "Burr promises VA 'one hell of a fight'" and Ava covered it at Trina's site with "The VA still can't get it together." Also Wally covered yesterday's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing at Rebecca's site with "No one gives a damn about your money (Wally)." Kimberly Hefling (AP) reported on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing and noted, "President Obama on May 5 signed a law instructing the VA to provide a monthly stipend, health insurance, mental health help and other aid directly to caregivers to help keep wounded veterans out of nursing homes. But the VA missed a Jan. 31 deadline for implementation. And the Associated Press reported last month that while the VA did announce plans soon after that to help caregivers, aid was available to fewer families than Congress intended." Which is why, see Wednesday's snapshot, Committee Chair Patty Murray wanted VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to explain how that happened.
Chair Patty Murray: I've already discussed the caregiver issue with you, I've talked about it with Jack Woo, I've talked with senior staff at the White House and I have spoken directly with the president of the United States. VA's plan on the caregivers issue was overdue and once submitted it hardly resembled the bill that unanimously cleared this Congress. Three weeks ago, my Committee staff requested information on how that plan was developed and to date no information has been provided. Rather than following the law, the administration set forth some overly stringent rules bureaucratic hurdles that would essentially deny help to caregivers. Sarah and Ted Wade who were staunch advocates and worked hard with us to get this passed were invited by the president to attend the bill signing at the White House, they won't be eligible for the program under the plan that the department submitted. We're also hearing a lot from veterans and caregivers from across the country who fall outside of this new line in the sand the VA has drawn, who have been left in limbo and now don't know if this benefit that they advocated and worked so hard for will support them. Mr. Secretary, it appears your that department is not complying with the law as we have written. Can you please tell this Committee why?
We included Shinseki's non-response in full in Wednesday's snapshot. The short answer is: He doesn't know but he sure used a lot of words to say that. Rob Hotakainen (McClatchy Newspapers) reported, " According to Murray, Congress wanted the law to serve at least 3,500 caregivers, at a cost of $1.7 billion over five years. The VA's plan, which calls for covering only 840 caregivers, "is simply not good enough," she said." Richard Burr is the Ranking Member on the Committee (most senior Republican) and Kat covered his comments to Shinseki which included promising "one hell of a fight" with the Committee if the law they passed was not properly implemented. Rick Maze (Army Times) explained, "The Obama administration's narrow interpretation of a new law granting benefits and support to the caregivers of severely injured Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has sparked bipartisan outrage in Congress, with a key senator warning of a 'hell of a fight' if the administration moves ahead with its pending regulations." There weren't a lot of strong reports on the national level (and I'm sure I missed some strong local reporting). There wasn't room to note the coverage of Wednesday's hearing in Thursday's snapshot so we're noting it today and we'll close (today) this topic out with this from the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs (also on yesterday's hearing):

(Washington, D.C.) -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, heard testimony from Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki and representatives from veterans groups and the American Federation of Government Employees on next year's budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"On balance, and given that other agencies are facing budget cuts, this VA
budget is a very good starting place from which to work," said Senator Murray. "The President has requested an overall increase for VA funding during a very difficult budget year, but we must ensure that the cuts he also proposed do not hurt the veterans who have sacrificed so much for this nation. Going forward, I will work to add funding that is necessary for programs vital to veterans, such as for research and the operation of VA's Inspector General which helps root out fraud and other problems with existing programs."

The President's budget request includes an overall increase of $1.8 billion in discretionary spending over Fiscal Year 2011 levels. It also includes various proposed funding cuts, however, including a reduction in spending for construction and non-recurring maintenance, and a proposed $72 million cut for VA research funding.

Following today's hearing, Members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee will provide the Senate Budget Committee with their views and estimates for VA's budget. Views and estimates are a formal part of the federal budget process, in which Congressional Committees recommend funding levels for programs and activities under their legislative jurisdiction. (For the Veterans' Affairs Committee's jurisdiction, click here.) The House and Senate Budget Committees review these recommendations when formulating the proposed Budget Resolution for the coming fiscal year.

The Chairman's opening statement is available in audio form here. For the full witness list and the witnesses' written testimony, please visit http://veterans.senate.gov.

Meanwhile as protests rocked Iraq today, the question is whether a planned demonstration against the ongoing war will rock the US? A.N.S.W.E.R. and March Forward! and others will be taking part in this action:

March 19 is the 8th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Iraq today remains occupied by 50,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of foreign mercenaries.

The war in Afghanistan is raging. The U.S. is invading and bombing Pakistan. The U.S. is financing endless atrocities against the people of Palestine, relentlessly threatening Iran and bringing Korea to the brink of a new war.

While the United States will spend $1 trillion for war, occupation and weapons in 2011, 30 million people in the United States remain unemployed or severely underemployed, and cuts in education, housing and healthcare are imposing a huge toll on the people.

Actions of civil resistance are spreading.

On Dec. 16, 2010, a veterans-led civil resistance at the White House played an important role in bringing the anti-war movement from protest to resistance. Enduring hours of heavy snow, 131 veterans and other anti-war activists lined the White House fence and were arrested. Some of those arrested will be going to trial, which will be scheduled soon in Washington, D.C.

Saturday, March 19, 2011, the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, will be an international day of action against the war machine.

Protest and resistance actions will take place in cities and towns across the United States. Scores of organizations are coming together. Demonstrations are scheduled for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and more.

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Bob Simon reports on the latest "spy-cam" techniques used by wildlife filmmakers to show animals - in this case, polar bears - up-close and in a way audiences have never seen them before. |
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"60 Minutes," Sunday, March 6, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

And finally, David Bacon's latest book is Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press) which won the CLR James Award. Bacon has a new report for In These Times entitled "Divide and Deport: On Immigration, Thom Hartmann and Lou Dobbs Have Much in Common:"

There has always been a conflict in U.S. labor about immigration. Conservatives historically sought to restrict unions and jobs to the native born, to whites and to men, and saw immigrants as job competitors-the enemy.
This was part of an overall perspective that saw unions as businesses or insurance programs, in which workers paid dues and got benefits in return. Labor's radicals, however, from the IWW through the CIO to those in many unions today, see the labor movement as inclusive, with a responsibility to organize all workers, immigrant and native-born alike. They see unions as part of a broader movement for social change in general.
In 1986, the AFL-CIO supported the Immigration Reform and Control Act, because it contained employer sanctions. This provision said employers could only hire people with legal immigration status. In effect, the law made it a federal crime for an undocumented person to hold a job. Since passage of the law, immigration raids have led to firings and deportations of thousands of people in workplaces across the country. In many cases employers have used the law as a way to intimidate immigrant workers, and rid themselves of those trying to organize unions and protest bad wages and conditions.
Transnational corporations invest in developing countries like Mexico, moving production to wherever wages are lowest. Treaties like the North American Free Trade Agreement promote low wages, privatization, the dumping of agricultural products, and other conditions that increase corporate profits. But those measures also impoverish and displace people, forcing them to migrate to survive.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

I Hate Liars

Kevin Gonsztola was never a smart person nor a good writer and now that he's a coffee fetcher at The Nation, those weaknesses are only more obvious. Liars? I can't stand 'em. Today Kevin felt the need to lie at OpEdNews):

Feminists used this nuanced campaign to launch #MooreandMe to attack Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, Naomi Wolf and any other supporters suggesting this case seemed to be political or that women should not be using this case to advance a women's rights agenda because there are better cases of injustice out there to be used to raise awareness of how rape is often engrained in culture.


That's a total distortion, it's a lie, Kevin, you should f**king rot in hell. At this late date, it's too late to be lying like that. No attack was launched by feminists. The attacks came from the people you name -- Trashy Money Grubbing Little Whore that you are. The women were attacked, they were smeared and this happened over. Feminists haven't said, "Julian's a rapist!" We've stated, "These are serious charges, stop attacking these women." A looney tunes article at CounterPunch by a Holocaust denier writer called the two women CIA 'honeypots' and that was repeated by Olbermann and Moore. It and other lies were repeated by Naomi Wolf. In fact, that tired Naomi Wolf sure is silent right now, isn't she? (Yes, she has a 'personal' problem. It will not be her last.) (If you're new to the way the women were attacked, check out Ava and C.I.'s "TV: Saboteurs.")

Ray McGovern attacked the women and this happened over and over. Little Kevin can blow every faux lefty in the world, it won't make him a writer. It won't make him Christopher Isherwood. It'll just make him a little liar who sucked up instead of telling the truth.

Part of his problem is that he admires Kevin Zeese. Kevin The Coward. Remember how Kevie knew that Barack was evil and could say it in e-mails in 2008 but not in columns? I'm so damn sick of this s**t. If you think he's a War Criminal, you call him one.

Don't give me "I'm so brave in my private e-mails." Kevin would whine to Kat over and over about how mean she was being to him when all she was doing was pointing out that (publicly) he was supporting a War Hawk.

Zeese wants you to know WikiLeaks is a news outlet.


No, it's not. The most it does is publish documents. They don't report, they don't analyze. That's why they needed the Guardian, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, etc.

They're a joke today. Julian Assange using leaks -- which were supposed to be made public -- as blackmail instead.

He's a joke. So is Zeese.

At the top of the heap, however, is Kevin G. A dumb little ass who hopes and prays you didn't read the judge's decision last week.

I don't think there's a lie Kevin G didn't tell. He should be a perfect fit at The Nation.


"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):

Wednesday, March 2, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, the Arab summit this month in Baghdad is off, the US 'advised' Iraqis last week not to participate in protests, the VA has ignored a law passed by both houses of Congress, Patty Murray's Committee had some tough questions about how that happened, and more.
Starting in DC with the US Congress. Some background: Caregivers are the people who take care of you when you need assistance. If you are a wounded veteran, your caregivers are often family, a spouse or a significant other. Caring for you may be temporary in that you recover and you have full or close to full use and ability and mobility as you did before your injury; however, that is not always the case. There are many veterans -- especially of the current wars -- who are badly injured and need a caregiver for the rest of their lives and/or around the clock. The person who fills that role -- whatever his or her relationship to the veteran -- isn't visited by the clock fairy who waves a wand and creates more hours each day for that person. The person in the role of the caregiver is doing hard work and a full time -- usually more than full time -- job. And you cannot be a caregiver in that situation and also maintain a full time paid job in the workforce. Which means that while you are providing care, you're not bringing in money. The bills don't go away and many veterans and their caregivers face huge financial hardship as a result. June 4, 2010, the mother of a veteran called in on the first hour of The Diane Rehm Show (NPR).
Marlene: My son was in Iraq for 15 months and directly effected by two IED explosions -- with shrapnel to his head. He continues -- my son continues to say everything is fine. But two weeks ago, the bank repossessed his car. He had been faithfully paying on this car prior to his diagnosis of PTSD. Now, as the Mom and the next of kin, I was not able to assist in any way. The bank would not work with my son other than to demand the total payment of the balance. There was no bailout for this soldier. Now I as the Mom had no right to advocate on his behalf. I called my Congressman, the military and who ever else I thought could help. My question is: Who does advocate for these soldiers?
Bills don't stop for the veterans because they're veterans and that's especially an issue if you're a disabled veteran or the caregiver for one. Hike for our Heroes is a non-profit started by Iraq War veteran Troy Yocum who is hiking across the country to raise awareness and money for veterans issues -- all veterans. Why did he start his 7,000 mile hike? As Katherine Gustafson (Tonic) reported last May:
Directing people's attention to the stress that many military families face is an idea that came to Yocum while he was stationed in Iraq, where he was distressed to receive emails from a friend, an Iraq veteran, who had lost his job and was losing his house. It brought to Yocum's mind memories of his grandfather, a World War II veteran who had faced the same problems and ended up committing suicide as a result.
Yocum contacted nonprofit organizations to find help for his friend, but everywhere got the same answer: There isn't enough funding to go around. Yocum made up his mind that he would find a way to help all those families when he got home and immediately started researching a game plan. He turned up the story of Terry Fox, a one-legged man who had run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. "That story was so amazing, and he raised millions and millions of dollars," said Yocum. "That's something I could do to help spread awareness across America but also raise millions of dollars to help military families."
He was determined to prevent more people from getting "into a situation like my grandfather where they lose their jobs and they have no other way out, or at least that's what they think, and then they kill themselves. Did you realize that 20 percent of all suicides are veterans?"
Money, debts and the stress from bills piling up do not help the health of any veteran -- even more so a disabled one. Doesn't help a caregiver either and you can't be a full time caregiver and also work in the paid work force. It's just not possible and Congress has been recognizing the time and work required of caregivers for many years with hearings in both houses. For example, June 4, 2009, the Wounded Warrior Project Anna Freese testified to the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health:
Let me begin by asking you to think about what it took for each of you to get prepared for the day today. I'm not talking about the first cup of coffee or your morning paper. I'm asking you to think about more basic activities. Raising your arm to reach for a bedside light switch. Moving a finger to wipe the sleep from your eyes. Getting out of bed, walking to the bathroom. While most of us take this for granted, severely injured service members, like my brother Eric [Edmundson], can no longer carry out these basic activities of daily living without assistance. Eric and other severely wounded warriors get the most intimate, devoted care from family members in the privacy of their homes, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
After many hearings and many meetings with the effected populations, both houses of Congress agreed upon the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (May 5, 2010) which was to go into effect January 30, 2011. This was a bill that had support from both political parties -- and support from independent Senator Joe Lieberman, Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. In the Senate it passed by 98 votes (all present voted for it). In the House, it passed by 419 votes with all present voting in favor of it. President Barack Obama signed it into law May 5, 2010. It shouldn't have caused any problems because of the huge Congressional support it had -- universal support -- and because the Congress took so much care in investigating the issues, in taking testimonies from stakeholders, in evaluating and re-evaluating before they wrote the bill.
So this morning, in the US Senate, it might have been surprising to some to discover that the law that Congress wrote and understood and backed universally was taken by the VA to mean, "Do what you want with this." The US Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee took testimony this morning from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and from the VFW's Raymond Kelley, Delware VA Medical Center's Maryann D. Hooker, AMVETS' Christina Roof, Paralyzed Veterans of America's Carl Blake, the American Legion's Tim Tetz and Disabled American Veterans' Joseph A. Violante. We're noting this exchange from the first panel. Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Committee.
Chair Patty Murray: Mr. Secretary, I have a great deal of respect for the work that you've done on homeless and women's issues and I know you're working diligently in a number of ways. But I wanted to bring up an issue that I'm very concerned about. I've already discussed the caregiver issue with you, I've talked about it with Jack Woo, I've talked with senior staff at the White House and I have spoken directly with the president of the United States. VA's plan on the caregivers issue was overdue and once submitted it hardly resembled the bill that unanimously cleared this Congress. Three weeks ago, my Committee staff requested information on how that plan was developed and to date no information has been provided. Rather than following the law, the administration set forth some overly stringent rules bureaucratic hurdles that would essentially deny help to caregivers. Sarah and Ted Wade who were staunch advocates and worked hard with us to get this passed were invited by the president to attend the bill signing at the White House, they won't be eligible for the program under the plan that the department submitted. We're also hearing a lot from veterans and caregivers from across the country who fall outside of this new line in the sand the VA has drawn, who have been left in limbo and now don't know if this benefit that they advocated and worked so hard for will support them. Mr. Secretary, it appears your that department is not complying with the law as we have written. Can you please tell this Committee why?
Secretary Eric Shinseki: Well, Chairman Murray, let me begin by expressing my regret that the implementation plan was late in getting to you. We did our best and uh, uh, we're looking forward at this point on how to accelerate the process. I will also add to that that the importance of family and caring for our nation's uh injured veterans has been a long standing uh, uh concern and issue for VA. And I think, as you know, we have eight decades of history of, uh, caring for the caregives. And we have demonstrated this dedication to them in a wide range of ways over those years. Benefits that are already offered including education, training, homemaker, home health services, respite care, uh, family support services. But more than programs, we see it in the thousands of acts of compassionate care provided by VA employees on the front lines. Through the caregivers bill enacted last year -- thanks to the leadership -- your leadership specifically -- but the leadership of Congress as well, Congress and the president built on this foundation by establishing landmark new benefits for Post-9/11 veterans that for the first time provide direct financial and broad health care support directly to the caregiver. We've not done this before and, uh, and we're working through the complexity of what this means. Implementation of the more unprecedented features of this law has taken longer than I had anticipated or would have liked and we understand the frustration that's been expressed on the part of some. We have responded by greatly expediting the required regulatory process through the use of what I described as the interim final regulation transmitted to the Office of Management and Budget on Monday. I assure veterans and the Congress that the administration will move quickly and we plan to have direct to caregiver benefits in place this summer -- early this summer. We also understand the concerns that have been expressed in the scope of the benefit as we've proposed in meeting our implementation plan. We have an obligation to get this right -- to get this benefit right -- and that means meeting the requirements of the law and also making sure that those VA employees on the front lines of caring for our veterans have a clear and consistent set of guidelines to apply. It has been a challenging exercise. I will state that. It's my personal obligation to be able to explain to an injured veteran why he or she would not be eligible for this benefit while someone else in his or her company with similar injuries would be. And that's the standard we're trying to establish here. That standard has guided our efforts to this point and I hope remains in whatever standard we finally establish. That said, I want to be clear, we are absolutely open to suggestions for different places to draw that line than what we have put forward, what we have put forward was a start place. But the standard must work in the real world, on the clinical front lines where the differences end standards and combinations of injuries mental and physical are unique as-as veterans themselves. To that end, Madame Chair, VA is willing -- and I am willing -- to work with you and this committee and members of your staff and all the veterans and families who are represented and have a stake in this. I welcome the input both from you and Ranking Member Senator Burr and others in trying to develop clear, clinical guidelines for this program. OMB is now reviewing the regulation. I'll take this opportunity to encourage all with a stake in this important new program.to provide us the benefit of their insights and their comments and, uh, I will provide feedback to you at the appropriate time.
Chair Patty Murray: Well thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. I know that this is a new law. I think that we went through that as we prepared it and wrote it and worked with many, many people to get it done. But I think it is absolutely in this time of war with OIF and OEF soldiers coming home seriously disabled, a generation of soldiers that are facing very long term care with spouses or parents who are caring for them -- that's what we went through in our hearings and processes as we went to it. I am deeply concerned, first of all, in the lack of information we had and the lateness of this getting to us. We're past that now but a very unfortunate circumstance where the rules have gone to OMB and may be out in a few months and implementation takes awhile and you're now offering to us to look into different ways of writing the law but it's at OMB. So we have a real challenge in front of us to write it in a way that Congress intended. If the rule comes out as we saw the draft with the narrow definition, it will not be the intent of what Congress had. We're happy to work with you now to tell you how we feel that should be implemented but we're in a serious, difficult challenge to do that because of where we are today. So I am very concerned about that and we'll have more to talk about that. I think it's important to remember why we wrote this. We know that in every war, soldiers come home and need care. But in this war in particular, where we have saved the lives of many, many soldiers, they've come home with very serious, challenging issues to deal with at home and their spouses or their parents are now required to quit their job, lose their income and care for them. That was the intent of Congress. The narrow draft of what we saw of your rules excludes many people who we believe, in Congress, and we wrote the law to cover. So we're going to have to work on this. But I wanted to ask you today of the 180 million that the budget submission specifies for caregivers and veterans pact, how much is going to be actually allocated for the implementation of the family caregiver program?
Secretary Eric Shinseki: Uh, in the 2012 budget it's 66 million.
Chair Patty Murray: 66 million for the implementation. Okay. The legislation authorized an average of 308.4 million for this program each year. Can you tell us why the VA use about 21% of that?
Secretary Eric Shinseki: Madame Chairman, I'd just say that that again is where we established the start point. We expect this program will go -- grow.
Chair Patty Murray: Pardon me?
Secretary Eric Shinseki: We expect that this program will grow. The 66 million was based on our estimate of uh going through the veterans who are in various categories of serious injuries, severe injuries and, uh, the numbers on which, uh, 66 million are based was that initial eligibility start point.Roughly about a thousand.
Chair Patty Murray: Very narrowly defined, though. Not designed as the law was defined.
Secretary Eric Shinseki: That is correct.
Chair Patty Murray: And it was the intent of Congress that that law not be narrowly defined. So we have an issue between us on that one. Let me ask one other question and I will turn it to my Ranking Member -- and we will have a lot more discussion about this caregiver bill -- I recently saw a newsletter written by the Directoor of the Indianapolis VA Medical Center talking about a variety of cost saving initiatives that the VAMC will undertake and he indicated that he intended to seriously reduce bonuses but he also will be slowing the hiring of additional and replacement staff. Will those types of cost savings actually result in the degredation of quality?
Secretary Eric Shinseki: Madame Chairman, I'm going to call on Dr. [Robert[ Petzel to address the specific issue hear at Indianappolis. But what I would offer up front is that we now have a year long budgeting dialogue -- the beginning of the year, mid-year and end of year. And they're adjustments made. No VISIN Director of the 21 VISINS have come in and said they're unable to execute their programs the year and we hold them responsible for balancing resources and requirements.
Dr. Robert Petzel: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Madame Chairman, the estimate that the letter you read -- and I also read -- was based on -- was an early estimate of what the budget might look like. Those estimates are refined almost weekly as the medical centers begin to spend their money. And if you were to look -- in fact, we have asked what the estimate is now, it is substantially reduced. As the Secretary has said, we review -- here in Washington [. . . Not including it -- Petzel was brought on to testify about things Shineski did not know about it. I would presume Shineski knows what he does each day at work and could have answered that himself.]
Chair Patty Murray: Well the Indianapolis director said that they were facing an $18 million gap this fiscal year.
Dr. Robert Petzel: That's -- that was the difference between what they wanted and what they got. It does not represent the difference between need and what they got. So if you were to look -- If we were to ask what is that gap now that it's not $18 million. It's been substantially reduced and if not actually disappeared. In addition to that, if that were true, if there was an $18 million shortfall between what they got and what they needed, the networks are able to make up those differences. They have reserve funds. The Secretary has a reserve fund. And we have, as I said, reviews at least 3 times a year here in Washington of the financial state of each one of the medical centers.
Chair Patty Murray: How many --
Dr. Robert Petzel: There would be money to take care of it.
And how many VISNS currently are facing a budget shortfall?
Dr. Robert Petzel: None.
Chair Patty Murray: Quickly on the issue of bonuses, I was surprised at the number of bonuses that were awarded last year. Among them actually was the director of the medical center in Dayton, Ohio where there have been serious problems we've been hearing about with respect to a dentist failing to practice basic hygene and overall poor management of resources, the dental clinic and other areas. Apparently he received more than $11,000 this year and $64,000 since 2006, problems going on the entire time with that. And executives at other troubled medical centers received significant bonuses as well. Mr. Secretary, I wanted to ask you, are you going to be seriously reducing the number of bonuses the same way the director of Indianapolis was forced to?
Secretary Eric Shinseki: Uhm, Madam Chairman, let me start and then call on Dr. Petzel for any details. I-I offer that since -- for the past two years we have, uh, paid specific attention to the way bonuses are paid and, uh, without making any statements about how it was run prior, I just didn't find as close a connection between performance and bonuses. And I do believe bonuses have a real role to play in the compensation programs -- designed to encourage best behaviors, superior performance. And when that happens, I think there's justification for them. Since -- for the past few years, we have looked very closely at it and I'd be happy to provide you with the details, the "outstandings" and the number of bonus payments actually adjusted quite significantly. To your direct question about Dayton? I can't justify the performance of what happened at Dayton. I think there is a failure of leadership and therefore I'm not going to try to describe why a bonus was sensible. But suffice to say this issue came up because VA workers thought we had a problem. This went on for an extended period of time where it wasn't brought to the attention of leadership and I again fault that to a failure in leadership that the climate wasn't conducive for the workforce to believe they could raise the issueand get satisfactory response. I own that and my responsibility is to correct that and that's what we're doing.
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee released the following this afternoon:

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senate Veterans' Affairs Chairman Patty Murray, pointedly questioned Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki over the VA's decision to limit a benefit for the caregivers of severely injured Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The VA's decision, which cuts back stipends for those who have left careers behind to care for their injured loved ones, ignores the will of Congress in passing the caregivers law last year.

"I have already discussed the caregivers issue with you, with Jack Lew, with senior staff at the White House, and I have spoken directly with the President," Senator Murray said at today's hearing. "VA's plan was overdue and once submitted it hardly resembled the bill that unanimously cleared this Congress.
"Rather than following the law, the Administration set forth some overly stringent rules -- bureaucratic hurdles that would deny help to caregivers. We are hearing from veterans and caregivers from all across the country who fall outside of this new line in the sand that the VA has drawn or who have been left in limbo – and now don't know if the benefit they have been advocating for will support them."

After questioning Shinseki about why the VA is not complying with the law, Murray also pointed out that the VA has only set aside a fraction of the funding authorized for the caregiver program. Secretary Shinseki acknowledged that all of the funding is not being used because of the narrowing eligibility requirements. Secretary Shinseki also acknowledged that the benefit has taken too long to implement.

TO WATCH SENATOR MURRAY QUESTION SECRETARY SHINSEKI VISIT: [this Senate Veterans Affairs Committee page]
The caregivers question appears at the 77 minute mark.

Yesterday's snapshot covered Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's appearance before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee. We'll again note this exchange:


US House Rep Dannis Cardoza: Madam Secretary, at least 70 people were killed during an attack last October on Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad making it the worst massacre of Iraqi Christians since 2003. Less than two months later, extremists bombed the homes of more than a dozen Christian families in Baghdad as well. And on New Year's Eve 23 people were killed by a suicide bomber in Alexandria, Egypt while coming out of mass in St. Marks and St. Peter's Coptic Church. Since these tragic incidents in the Middle East have -- Since these tragic incidents, the Middle East has been rocked by wide ranging protests and regime changes as we've seen in the last few weeks. How has this ongoing instability effected the already heightened risk to vulnerable religious minority groups like Assyrians, Jews, Cops and others?

Secretary Hillary Clinton: Congressman, thank you for asking that question. I think this has not gotten the level of attention and concern it should. We immediately went into action when the bombings took place in Baghdad. Our Ambassador [] was deeply involved with the government, making sure that there was protection and security. The ambassador went to Mass in order to show solidarity with Iraqi Christians. But there's no doubt that Christians and other minority groups are feeling under pressure and are leaving countries from North Africa to south Asia because they don't feel protected. I think we need to do much more to stand up for the rights of religious minorities and obviously I'm deeply concerned about what happened to the Christians in Iraq and the Christians in Egypt. I'm also concerned about what happens to minority Muslim groups in Pakistan and elsewhere. So you have raised an issue that I think is one of deep concern and we have to be speaking out more. And we have to hold governments accountable. When I spoke with the prior Egyptian government after the Alexandria bombing, they expressed the same level of outrage that I felt. They said that the Cops are part of, you know, Egyptian history. As you recall from Tahrir Square there were a lot of inter-faith efforts with Cops and Muslims together, worshiping together. Let's hope that continues and let's do whatever we can to make that the future instead of what I am fearful of which is driving out religious minorities. And the final thing I would say on that because it's an issue that I have paid a lot of attention to, we want to protect religion and religous believers but we don't want to use some of the tools that other countries are proposing -- which is to criminalize defamation, criminalize in the broadest possible definition blasphemy -- and then use it to execute, harass and otherwise oppress religious minorities. So we have to come up with an international consensus about what we're going to do to protect those who are exercising their conscience.

Of her non-Iraq comments above, the story from McClatchy Newspapers and the Los Angeles Times on the events in Pakistan add weight to them. In Pakistan, Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who was a Christian and who opposed the blasphemy legislation, has been assassinated; however, BBC News cautions that too many details on the assassination are unknown. On yesterday's Committee hearing, Kat covers it in "Is you're Congressional district in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?," Wally covers it at Rebecca's site with "Pitching the State Dept. budget (Wally)" and Ava covers it at Trina's site with "Hillary's foreign policy aims (Ava)." Kat will cover Richard Burr -- Ranking Member on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee -- at her site tonight. She long ago carved out Burr's participation on the Committee as her beat. And Monday's snapshot noted an article by Eric Ruder (US Socialist Worker) however the link had a period at the end of it which caused it not to go to the correct page. This is the correct link.
Yesterday's snapshot noted: "Today UPI reports on Rasmussen Reports' poll which found 'a plurality of U.S. voters think the Arab world's growing unrest makes it unlikely U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the year's end as planned'. We'll go into the poll more tomorrow." Respondents were 1,000 likely voters surveyed February 26 through 27th. 61% of the respondents say it is unlikely the US will remove troops at the end of 2011 and, from that 61%, 16% say "Not At All Likely." In addition, respondents were asked what-if in terms of Iraq becoming more violent? 22% would want to see the US military provide more troops while 65% voice that the situation in Iraq would be the responsibility of the Iraqis. There is not a great shift in public opinion. Opinions on the Iraq War hardened some time ago. There is a small shift and that may be due to the fact that the peace movement has acted as though the Iraq War has ended -- when it hasn't -- and allowed the War Hawks to run free and wild with their revisionary tactics. Because the Iraq War is not over, this month there will be a march which A.N.S.W.E.R. and March Forward! and others will be taking part in this action:

March 19 is the 8th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Iraq today remains occupied by 50,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of foreign mercenaries.

The war in Afghanistan is raging. The U.S. is invading and bombing Pakistan. The U.S. is financing endless atrocities against the people of Palestine, relentlessly threatening Iran and bringing Korea to the brink of a new war.

While the United States will spend $1 trillion for war, occupation and weapons in 2011, 30 million people in the United States remain unemployed or severely underemployed, and cuts in education, housing and healthcare are imposing a huge toll on the people.

Actions of civil resistance are spreading.

On Dec. 16, 2010, a veterans-led civil resistance at the White House played an important role in bringing the anti-war movement from protest to resistance. Enduring hours of heavy snow, 131 veterans and other anti-war activists lined the White House fence and were arrested. Some of those arrested will be going to trial, which will be scheduled soon in Washington, D.C.

Saturday, March 19, 2011, the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, will be an international day of action against the war machine.

Protest and resistance actions will take place in cities and towns across the United States. Scores of organizations are coming together. Demonstrations are scheduled for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and more.


Turning to Baghdad, the seat of the puppet government installed by the US, where a massive protest took place Friday despite efforts on the part of the government to stop it. Al Kamen (Washington Post) notes, "Just last weekend, the U.S.-backed government of Nouri al-Maliki responded most poorly when tens of thousands of Iraqis around the country demonstrated against the endemic corruption of government officials and the lack of electricity. Seemingly legitimate concerns, but the government nonetheless responded to the 'Day of Rage' by killing 29 protesters, wounding hundreds and allegedly detaining hundreds more, though the prime minister's office says only four people were detained. The government also allegedly beat and tortured some journalists and others, and shut down a TV station." AP reports today that Ad Melkert, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative to Iraq, has expressed that the violence aimed at protesters seemed excessive and dismay regarding the attacks on and arrests of journalists. The UN News Centre quotes him stating, "We are encouraged by the engagement by the Council of Representatives and by the Government to seek dialogue with civil society aimed at addressing the grievences expressed by the Iraqi people, as well as by the unanimous support given by all Iraqi parties to improving the access of all Iraqis to basic services. Fundamental changes are needed for creating stability and trust." Mahdi al-Hindawi (Dar Addustour) pens a column about the attacks on journalists noting that journalists "are independent" and do not serve political parites or sects or factions, they are observers outside the circle of influence but there are many who work to liquidate journalism.
Sami Ramadani (Guardian) reports on efforts to stop last Friday's protests (more protests are scheduled for this Friday) -- efforts by the US government to stop the protests:

For its part, the world's biggest US embassy -- the power behind the throne -- took the unprecedented step of broadcasting in Arabic, on state TV, a thinly veiled threat to protesters not to go too far in their demands. The US, it stressed, fully backed the "democratically elected" regime, while supporting the right to peaceful protest. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama must be pretty confused as to which dictatorship they should now abandon and which to prop up.
Maliki has so far made four state-TV broadcasts. In the first two he urged people to stay at home, because "Ba'athists and al-Qaida terrorists" had infiltrated the protesters and were planning to kill them. In the third, he was visibly shaken, thanking the protesters and promising reform "within one hundred days". Lastly, he implied the state would react violently and even torture journalists if they wanted to "overthrow" him and his regime, because he was "democratically elected".

Al Rafidayn reports
Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani held a press conference yesterday where he said the KRG would weigh reforms while noting that he had ordered the pesh merga into Kirkuk. Dar Addustour reports that Kirkuk's curfew was removed yesterday in part due to the influx of additional pesh merga forces. It transitions to the news that Nineveh governor, Ethel al-Nujaifi has refused the request of Nouri al-Maliki to resign as govenor. Al Rafidayn adds that Nujaifi states the protests in Mosul -- the demands and the slogans, chants and signs of the protesters -- addressed the responsibilities of the prime minister and not him. al-Nujaifi is the brother of the Speaker of Parliament, Osama al-Nujaifi.

To address unrest in the provinces, one of the measures proposed is to hold provincial elections early. Ayas Hossam Acommok (Al Mada) reports that UNHCR has stated that the election law would need to be revised for such a thing to take place and the issue of preparation work for elections also needs to be considered.

In other news, Dar Addustour notes the claim that there are 15 candidates being considered for the posts of Minister of the Interior, Defense and National Security. The three posts are (illegitimately) held currently by Nouri al-Maliki. New Sabah reports that Nouri will make a decision next week -- yes, we have heard that before.
For months, rumors have swirled that Iraq would be unable to hold the Arab summit March 23rd. It is now March and Al Rafidayn reports that "Arab diplomatic sources" are confirming that the Arab summit will not take place this month but will be pushed back until at least May. And when May rolls around, who knows what will happen then? Al Arabiya also reports the summit has been pushed back to May. Sarah El Deeb (AP) has an English language report on the story here. Among the many official denials in the last weeks was Haidar Al Ibadi, MP from Nouri's State Of Law, noted by Alsumaria TV February 19th. Of course, while those denials were being made, Bi Mingxin (Xinhua) was reporting, "Libya, current holder of the Arab summit's rotating presidency, said the next summit will be delayed over the circumstnaces in the Arab world, Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV reported earlier Friday." Much had been made of it taking place in Baghdad since in the Arab League's 20 years, it had never held its annual meeting in Iraq. And Nouri's government that can't provide basic services to the Iraqi people began spending big bucks prepping for this event. Lara Jakes (AP) reported in January that the money spent would include $30 million in US dollars alone were to go to the Palestine Hotel in order to ensure that it was ready and presentable. The cancellation will hit Baghdad hotels especially hard since they were looking at up to 5,000 guests requiring lodging.

Reuters notes the following violence: 2 Baghdad bombings claimed 1 life and left thirteen injured, a Baghdad roadside bombing injured two people, another Baghdad roadside bombing injured another two people, a Baghdad bombing injured two people, a third Baghdad roadside bombing injured three people, yesterday a Mosul bombing claimed the life of an Iraqi who had done translation for the US military, a Baghdad bombing injured four people yesterday, a Ramadi suicide bomber took his own life and the life of 1 other people as well as leaving three people injured and 1 person was shot dead outside his Mosul home.
Turning to England, whether he took his own life (as has been ruled) or was the victim of foul play, Dr. David Kelly's death is due to the Iraq War. The scientist is the one who told the BBC that the intell was being cooked by Blair's Cabinet to make the case for war. After he was publicly outed as the source, Kelly died. It was ruled a suicide but every few months new developments seem to pop up. Miles Goslett (Daily Mail) reports, "Fresh information casting doubt on how weapons inspector Dr David Kelly died has been sent to the Government by campaigners trying to secure an inquest into his death. Attorney General Dominic Grieve was presented with legal papers on Monday arguing that because there were no fingerprints on five items found with Dr Kelly's body – including the knife he supposedly used to kill himself – a coroner's inquest must be held to determine how he died." BBC News notes today, "The files contain fresh information about the absence of fingerprints on items found near his body in woods close to his Oxfordshire home in 2003. The Hutton inquiry found in 2004 that he had killed himself." The Oxford Mail adds, "Similarly no fingerprints were recovered from a mobile phone, watch or water bottle discovered near to where his body was found, close to his home in Southmoor, near Abingdon. No gloves were found on the body or in its vicinity."