First, thank you to Kat and C.I. who ended up listening Wednesday (repeatedly) to sections of the post while I was working on it. Kat and I had spoken earlier, prior to my starting the post, and when we spoke during, she was working on "Both Sides of the Coin -- Ben Harper's Both Sides of The Gun vs. The Living Room Tour" (which is wonderful, please read it if you haven't already). C.I. had a business function and would return my calls repeatedly. They both offered patience and encouragement. As Mike has noted, C.I. also offered me the advice (before I started writing it and during) not to worry about spelling, grammar, et al. Just write it (actually, open a vein and let it pour) and don't go back over it trying to smooth it over. I know that I rushed through some spots so quickly that at least twice a sentence is missing a word. I wish I had caught that while I was typing it but, reading some of the e-mails, I grasp that if I'd smoothed it over it wouldn't have registered the way it did.
Thank you to everyone who wrote. I do a group on Thursday nights, which is why I don't post that night, and when I come home, I turn on the stereo, grab a snack, and then crawl into bed exhausted. I don't post on Thursdays, I don't check the e-mails. I'm doing sessions all day and then the evening one. So I haven't had time to read all the e-mails. I've started from the top and now wish I'd gone to the first that came in. But I will get to all of the e-mails. Thank you also to classmates of Mike (as well as his professor) for their interest and kind words.
"Monthly Spending on Iraq, Afghan Occupations Nears $10B" (Democracy Now!):
In other news, a new report from the Congressional Research Service says the US is now spending close to $10 billion dollars a month on the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan -- an increase of nearly $8 billion dollars from one year ago.
Ten billion a month? Our schools are suffering, our libraries, our medical care systems and everything else. Our government is not taking care of its citizens. Our quality of life sinks further and further. Do we realize that? Students are about to be walked over with regards to changes in the student loan programs. We are losing ground -- not because we've dedicated ourselves to a noble purpose, but instead because we fail to grasp that, in this country, the whole system is being undermined.
At what point do we see the price tag and grasp not just that the war is illegal but that we are harming ourselves. Granted, some people are cleaning up, profiting from the war. But most of us, as with the Bully Boy tax cuts, are not beniffiting.
As a society, the illegal war takes a toll on our psyche, on our hopes, understanding and the very notion of a civil society gather together. We also lose out due to the fact that the funding for that illegal war reduces the funding for other, needed programs.
"New Mexico VA Hospital Admits Nurse Wrongfully Accused" (Democracy Now!):
This update on a story we've been following: In New Mexico, Albuquerque's Veterans Affairs Medical Center has publicly admitted it wrongly accused one of its nurses of sedition. In September, the nurse, Laura Berg, wrote a letter to a local newspaper criticizing the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq war. Her employers responded by confiscating her computer. Shortly after she was informed she was being investigated. Up until this week, the hospital had given Berg a private apology, but had resisted calls to publicly admit that its allegations were false.
Laura Berg deserved an apology. Anyone in that situation does. But I don't think that cuts it. I think the hospital should be on TV making an apology. Without that, it just seems to me someone decided to run a "test" on how much they could get away with.
They were forced to make a public statement but it's not public enough for me. If they'd found that she wrote the letter on her work computer, they wouldn't be offering anything right now more than likely.
"Libby Defends Releasing Fitzgerald Letter" (Pete Yost, Associated Press):
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton threatened to impose strict silence on everyone connected with the case last week after lawyers for defendant I. Lewis Libby distributed a letter from Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald before the letter was made a part of the case record.
Libby's lawyers rushed out the letter to the news media because it was advantageous to their client. In it, Fitzgerald acknowledged making a mistake in one of his earlier court filings.
Scooter Libby is still leaking. That is his m.o. Whether he grasps it or not, his actions form opinions in the "court" of public opinion. If his defense's m.o. is to leak to the press, he's not shoring up support for the view that he's not the type to leak. This actually reminds me of a point Robert Parry made on Pacifica. I don't remember which show, or which network. He's been on Pacifica a great deal lately. However, his point was that the American people have a right to know about the case prior to the elections this November.
Mike and I are attempting to highlight C.I.'s Iraq "snapshots" to be sure that with so much breaking news, people are still aware that the violence continues in Iraq:
Reuters reports that Cambodia has turned down requests to send troops to Iraq.This as the BBC notes Tory MP Michael Ancram's call for withdrawal from Iraq by all British troops. Ancram's statements break with his party's official position. Though
Jawad al-Maliki is the new nominee for prime minister in Iraq, some aren't waiting for parlimentary process to make deals that will effect Iraq for decades.
Reuters is reporting that Shamhi Faraj, director general of marketing and economics in the oil ministry, has announced that the Iraqi parliment doesn't need to pass the investment law, oil contracts can start now. That is important to the US administration, they're getting antsy that they won't be able to install a new figurehead soon enough. The investment "law" doesn't need to become "law" says Faraj. Do the Iraqis want it? No. This is more US policy stamped "Iraqi" and passed off as a sign of "democracy." In a true democracy, other countries don't design the potential laws and the proposal does not go into effect before it's been passed into law. As Exxon and Chevron (and others) sniff around, it's worth noting that this is one more aspect of the (illegal) occupation that causes tension and strife. It's not unrelated. More traditionally recognized violence continued in Iraq today.
Iraqi police officers continue to be killed. AFP notes the death of seven including five killed near Tikrit. Irish Examiner reports that four police officers died in Mosul (roadside bomb) and that, in Baghdad, at least nine Iraqi police officers were wounded in road side bombings. While in Baquba, a police officer walking to his house was gunned down.
Corpses were discovered by police, six in Baghdad, one in Mahmudiya. Al Bawaba reports that two bodies with signs of torture were discovered between Qaem and Rutba. One body that was identified earlier this week, reports CBC News, was Sadeq Aldifai. A Montreal tailor, Aldifai left Iraq in 1991. He was returning for his first visit since 1991 and had hopes of seeing his two eldest daughters. In Beiji, the Associated Press reports that six Iraqi soldiers were killed following a kidnapping by unidentified people. Finally, in Al Diwaniya, Deutsche Presse-Agentur addresses a rocket attack aimed at a US Army base: "The extent of the damage inflicted on the US base and information regarding casualties was not yet know."
The next thing needs no comment from me, it makes the case quite strongly.
"NYT: A columnist can tell it's news -- why can't the reporting section?" (The Common Ills):
It's news. That's what Clyde Haberman tell us via "What Did You Do In The War, Grandma" in this morning's New York Times. It's news that the Granny Peace Brigade got busted in October. He paints a visual of grandmothers in the court room yesterday, photos hanging from their necks of grandchildren and great grandchildren, but his news judgement is about the arrest, about the women being hauled off in a paddy wagon:Grandmothers being hauled away in a police wagon is what we in the news business call a story.
I'm not disagreeing with his call. He's correct, it was a news story. Where was the Times? The arrest was in October. If it was big news (and it was news, we agree on that), why didn't the Times have a story on it when the arrest happened? It took place in Time Square, so where was the Times?
It was a one pargraph brief . . . on March 3, 2006. That was the arraignment. Eighteen women, ranging in age from fifty to in their nineties. Arrested on October 17, 2005. The brief appears, what, over sixteen weeks after the arrest? (Do the math, I'm too tired this morning to even try.)So Haberman and I can both agree it was news then. I'd assume we'd agree it was news today (I could be wrong). Haberman's a local columnist for the paper. Why is the he the only one covering it?
Wally's tackling free speech tonight with "THIS JUST IN! FREE SPEECH DIED TODAY!" He was having trouble coming up with a topic today. He and Betty have to work harder than I ever do because they're offering commentary and trying to do it in a humorous manner. "When friends are awarded, Thomas Friedman goes fugue" is Betty's most recent chapter (up last night), so I hope you'll read it as well. Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's commentaries.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
"My pacificism isn't a cloak I wear some days and others put on war drag"
Blogger was down for a little under an hour so I'm starting late. I have something I want to address at length so I may have little to offer on the Democracy Now! items. Please visit
Mikey Likes It! for a discussion on the topics by Mike.
"Bush Refuses To Rule Out Nuclear Strikes on Iran" (Democracy Now!):
At the White House Tuesday, President Bush refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons in the impasse over Iran's nuclear program. "All options are on the table," Bush said. "We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we're working hard to do so. The best way to do so is there for (sic) to be a united effort with countries who recognize the danger of Iran having a nuclear weapon. And that's why we're working very closely with countries like France and Germany and Great Britain. I intend, of course, to bring the subject up of Iranian ambitions to have a nuclear weapon with Hu Jintao this Thursday. We'll continue to work diplomatically to get this problem solved."
He lies beautifully. He must have been taught at an early age. Oh, I'm sorry. I need to "get with the program," right? I need to join the shouting for more war, more force, all the time. That's what some of the left are doing right now and it's really disgusting me. No, not on Iran, but on other issues. I'll get to that after the next item.
"FBI Seeks Files of Deceased Investigative Journalist Jack Anderson" (Democracy Now!):
The Chronicle of Higher Education has revealed the FBI is seeking to search through the files of the late investigative journalist Jack Anderson. Anderson, whose legendary career included exposes of the Iran-contra scandal and the CIA's attempts to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro, died in December at the age of 83. Federal investigators say they want to access Anderson's files to recover classifed documents and seek out evidence that could be used in the current prosecution of two pro-Israel lobbyists. Anderson's family has turned down the FBI's request. During his lifetime Anderson was viewed with derision by several administrations. He earned a spot on President Nixon's infamous "enemies list", and was reportedly the subject of a poisoning operation ordered by a White House aide.
Classified documents? Where does that end? Will they attempt to grab them from others? What if you were a victim of government abuse under an earlier Bully Boy and you were passed documents proving that? (Anderson did pass them on to one citizen who sued the government.)
Will the FBI show up to demand those as well. They have no right to them. But under a Bully Boy (or Gal since two female bullies seem interested in becoming president), right doesn't enter into it. Only the claim of "mine!"
Just yesterday we were talking about what? The Darfur screamers. Here comes another one.
"What to do about Darfur?" (Amitabh Pal, The Progressive):
What should be done to stop the mass killings in the Darfur region of Sudan? All progressives should be trying to answer this question.
All of us? Well how much time should all of us devote to it? If you're going to instruct us on what we must be do, could you also tell us how much time we should spend on it?
He continues:
The scale of the mass murder in Darfur boggles the mind. Africa Action, one of the foremost groups in the United States working on issues related to that continent, has compiled numbers on the tragedy. An estimated 400,000 people have died since 2003, when the Sudanese regime started unleashing its Arab militia proxies on the inhabitants of the area as a way of putting down a local rebellion. More than 2 million people have been made refugees either within their own country or have had to flee to neighboring Chad.
Since 2003, almost a half a million people. In Iraq, Robert Fisk and others estimate that we're near or at half a million dead. Refugees? You've got the brain drain, you've got people fleeing. You've also got little "gated communities" like Falluja where people may have to give retinal scans and carry i.d. They must prove to the foreigner fighters (that would the United States) that they're who they say they area. But apparently, Darfur is a "must." Top of our lists.
Now check out this point and note the Bully Boy tone:
I can anticipate objections to my support for NATO intervention. But if Security Council members impede the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, what else can be done to stop the slaughter? I am a big admirer of Gandhian nonviolence and of peaceful resolution to conflicts, but in this particular situation, reality has shown over the past three years that such approaches will get us nowhere in saving innocent lives.
In this particular situation? So you should have principles but you should toss them out the window when given the chance?
Reality, Pal claims, has shown us that "peaceful resolution to conflicts" -- "over the past three years" -- "will get us nowhere in saving innocent lives." What is he speaking of? We didn't use peace in Iraq. We didn't use it in Afghanistan. We didn't use it in Haiti and peace never "broke out" in the occupied territories. Exactly what example from the last three years is he referring to because I apparently missed it?
I've never read such nonsense in my life from a left site.
Another way to deter the Sudanese regime is to try to bring those responsible to justice. There was a fascinating cover story in the New York Times Magazine earlier this month on the attempts of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to do this, and how even his preliminary efforts are striking fear in Sudanese government officials.
You know what I read? I read "Blah, blah, blah." He's criticized Thomas Friedman in the past. Otherwise I'm not remembering any criticism of the paper in recent months. What's my point? I'm tired of these shouts outs by alternative media to corporate media. Are you telling me that The Independent and The Guardian (to name only two foreign papers), haven't covered the situation? Are you telling me that independent media in this country hasn't covered it?
I'm also real tired of our "realistic" doves who transform to hawks when things get tough.
We are not the cops of the world. Bully Boy plays that game. The left doesn't need to.
Pal goes on to tells us that a legal approach was stymied by Bully Boy so it's not an option. So that just leaves sends in military force in the form of NATO (or possibly a "coalition"?). Those are his options after he dismisses peace options (that I'm not aware of our government excersizing) which failed, according to him, in the last three years.
Upfront, I don't put a lot of weight behind Pal's conclusions. I didn't like his Dalhi Lama piece which was pure puff. I didn't care for him when he was on KPFA and he seemed uninformed (as I recall it, the topic was India), the guest from Corporate Watch seemed to know what he was speaking of. I'm not alone in feeling that way. It was raised by members in the round-robin so I made a point, a week later, to listen to that discussion. (The comments seemed to contradict Arundhati Roy's reports in other outlets and also a friend of mine who got constant updates from his relatives in India.)
I'm even less impressed with him now. "Unless something is done fast" he warns later in his piece . . . Unless something is done fast, what? We might see the sort of slaughter that goes on the occupied territories?
If Darfur is someone's issue, fine. But quit trying to scare everyone in order to force them to work on your issue and get behind your one-solution only. I'm really getting sick of it. Pal offers the most limited range of options (all is ruled out except for NATO, that's not even from Colin Powell to Bully Boy -- A to B) and tell you that you must act now! Must! I'm not acting on anything.
Excuse me, Darfur is an area that our government would covet. As a feminist who never got on board the Afghanistan war, I'll be damned if I'm bullied by some on the left into hopping on board for more war.
Feminists didn't discover Afghanistan after 9/11. We were speaking out against the oppression of women long before 9/11, for years. Bill Clinton wanted to cozy up to them, so did Bully Boy. Then 9/11 happens. Suddenly, they're harboring a terrorist and Colin Powell says we have proof. Their government refuses to extradite Osama bin Laden without the US providing proof of his involvement in 9/11. At that point, proof should have been provided. It wasn't. Not only that, the American public never got proof. You can read that as more arrogance on the part of the administration (and disdain) or you can read it as there was no proof (which can be read as Osama wasn't involved or as more proof that basic evidence is no longer needed in this country for the Bully Boy to 'convict' -- just his 'gut').
What I do know is that they sold that war on the backs of feminists. Feminists were calling out the Taliban but where were these "Something must be done!" voices then? Laura Bush delivers a radio address (something Hillary would have been strung up for) to say that we're doing this war to liberate women.
Now a lot of people bought into the nonsense. Forget that Bully Boy had no record of liberating anything but corporate monies. So we bombed the hell of the country. That didn't help women or children or men. But we did it. The results? Besides death, nothing really. Osama bin Laden escaped. Things are as bad, if not worse, for women in Afghanistan now. Things are a little brighter in the tiny corner of Kabul but that's really it. There has been no liberation.
With Iraq, we've turned back the progress for women. (As well as killed "thousands!") Now Iraq and Afghnistan was the Bully Boy doing it his way. I'm not prepared to give him a blank check. Pal is. Even had he gotten behind the UN, UN forces in Haiti not only do not appear to help the people but some reports have them hurting the people.
You want me on board your project, come up with a solution that doesn't have Bully Boy written all over it. Don't tell me that there can be no peaceful resolution since that's failed the last three years (what world was Pal living on that he observed efforts for peaceful resolutions?). Don't then tell me that my choices are legal or force but we can't use legal because Bully Boy's circumvented it. So after screaming at the country to do something, Pal wants to tell everyone that the only thing to do, the only option, is send in NATO forces. (Shades of Kosovo?)
We are not the cops of the world. Every time we fall for that nonsense, we back up the Bully Boy and every other imperialist. What Pal proposes hasn't worked but he wants to let that reality escape him.
After Rawanda (after), Bill Clinton said "never again." I'm not Bill Clinton. Newsflash, he's no longer president. I'm not bound by some statement he makes to escape guilt.
If Darfur is your issue and you want people on board, it's incumbent upon to provide a plan. It's incumbent on you to know your facts. There's nothing Pal's written that convinces me that he does. He wants to create a sense of urgency. So did Judith Miller. Well, there's urgency going on all around the world. You want me on board, find a way to address the problem that doesn't make it worse. In the meantime, this government has created problems in Iraq and Afghanistan. There's Guantanaom that we're responsible for as well. Those are problems "we need to address!" and might need to before we go nosing around elsewhere if the only "solution" is to continue doing what has failed repeatedly.
Putting the same Bully Boy in charge (and we would be even if we didn't try NATO or a "coalition" but went with the UN) isn't an answer. After Kosovo, Pal should be embarrassed to scream that we respond in a knee jerk manner. Considering the resources, he should be embarrassed to advocate a "solution" that puts DC in charge of the region -- or are we to believe that what was done in Iraq was some aberration?
He wants to talk about the last three years and doesn't appear to have been awake during them.
He also appears to have no grasp of any form of involvement other than force.
I'm really sick of the George Packer "left" who scream force at the drop of a hat.
Newsflash, people are dying all over the world. They're dying in Nepal. They're dying in Columbia. Going to the same response, because it's quick and easy (if not succesful), isn't an answer. Trying to shame people into jumping on board your Force Wagon is ridiculous.
The world's seen enough of the Bully Boy administration. It's time for America to return to its beliefs and principles. Unleashing force on a situation that's already out of control isn't addressing it. Screaming and attempting to shame people to rush into a "just do something" mode is foolish. You want help? Come up with your plan. Don't try to shame people.
"Get over there now! With NATO!" isn't a plan.
Sidebar, I read every issue of The Progressive. Where is the Darfur coverage in print? Did I miss it? I'm not recalling it. I'm sure there must have been at least one article, maybe two. But for Pal to play Paul Revere (or Judith Miller), one would assume he'd need a number of articles he could point to. Or maybe, like Cheney, he feels he can justify invasion just on the basis of the New York Times?
There is more than enough going on in the world (and more than enough that our government has actively caused) to address. But if Pal's so sure that force is the answer, here's a bit of advice, be the first to sign up, Pal. Leave your arm chair, warrior, and you go out and "do something."
I'm sick of this nonsense. It's the equivalent of Pat Robertson saying Hugo Chavez should be taken out. It operates under the same prinicple which is "force is the answer."
The George Packers played that card trick with Iraq. "Do something!" That's how we ended up over there in an illegal war with no exit plan. When everyone's trying to rush to the easy solution, no one stops to think. I've seen how this administration handles "liberation" and I will not support or advocate more of the same.
People are dying all over the world. Come up with a plan or accept that whomever is on board is all you will have on board. Or maybe you can up with propaganda like a death camp that wasn't, but I guess we're not supposed to talk about that. Alexander Cockburn never shies from the topic but maybe Pal's unaware of it?
What Pal tells us, as opposed to what he screams at us, is that a New York Times piece moved him. Considering the track record of that paper, I'm not sure that's something to acknowledge when you're trying to make a case for intervention.
This isn't a case of burn out. This isn't a case of lack of compassion. This is a grown woman looking at the destruction the Bully Boy has already brought about and saying that I'm not getting on board with any one-answer-only scheme some screamer wants to market. (Speaking of marketing, I'm fully aware of how the "mission" would be marketed and used to justify more of the same.)
If the answer is always burn the village to save the village, find someone else to carry the gas can and matches because I'm not getting on board. Pal's become The Progressive's Nicky Kristof -- full on bluster if short on facts and ideas. My pacificism isn't a cloak I wear some days and others put on war drag. I do not support endless war which is all the current administration knows. Backing a NATO show of force means putting the Bully Boy in charge. Endless war and endless occupation are what he knows and practices.
By all means, screech at the top of your lungs about whatever topic you want. But if you're expecting support from a less trusting (more wise) public than you appear to be, don't be surprised when no one wants to join you on the Force Wagon that you drive for the Bully Boy (knowingly or not).
Be sure to check The Common Ills tonight because Kat has completed her latest CD review and will be posting it. Thanks to Kat and C.I. for listening to portions of this as I wrote it.
Mikey Likes It! for a discussion on the topics by Mike.
"Bush Refuses To Rule Out Nuclear Strikes on Iran" (Democracy Now!):
At the White House Tuesday, President Bush refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons in the impasse over Iran's nuclear program. "All options are on the table," Bush said. "We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we're working hard to do so. The best way to do so is there for (sic) to be a united effort with countries who recognize the danger of Iran having a nuclear weapon. And that's why we're working very closely with countries like France and Germany and Great Britain. I intend, of course, to bring the subject up of Iranian ambitions to have a nuclear weapon with Hu Jintao this Thursday. We'll continue to work diplomatically to get this problem solved."
He lies beautifully. He must have been taught at an early age. Oh, I'm sorry. I need to "get with the program," right? I need to join the shouting for more war, more force, all the time. That's what some of the left are doing right now and it's really disgusting me. No, not on Iran, but on other issues. I'll get to that after the next item.
"FBI Seeks Files of Deceased Investigative Journalist Jack Anderson" (Democracy Now!):
The Chronicle of Higher Education has revealed the FBI is seeking to search through the files of the late investigative journalist Jack Anderson. Anderson, whose legendary career included exposes of the Iran-contra scandal and the CIA's attempts to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro, died in December at the age of 83. Federal investigators say they want to access Anderson's files to recover classifed documents and seek out evidence that could be used in the current prosecution of two pro-Israel lobbyists. Anderson's family has turned down the FBI's request. During his lifetime Anderson was viewed with derision by several administrations. He earned a spot on President Nixon's infamous "enemies list", and was reportedly the subject of a poisoning operation ordered by a White House aide.
Classified documents? Where does that end? Will they attempt to grab them from others? What if you were a victim of government abuse under an earlier Bully Boy and you were passed documents proving that? (Anderson did pass them on to one citizen who sued the government.)
Will the FBI show up to demand those as well. They have no right to them. But under a Bully Boy (or Gal since two female bullies seem interested in becoming president), right doesn't enter into it. Only the claim of "mine!"
Just yesterday we were talking about what? The Darfur screamers. Here comes another one.
"What to do about Darfur?" (Amitabh Pal, The Progressive):
What should be done to stop the mass killings in the Darfur region of Sudan? All progressives should be trying to answer this question.
All of us? Well how much time should all of us devote to it? If you're going to instruct us on what we must be do, could you also tell us how much time we should spend on it?
He continues:
The scale of the mass murder in Darfur boggles the mind. Africa Action, one of the foremost groups in the United States working on issues related to that continent, has compiled numbers on the tragedy. An estimated 400,000 people have died since 2003, when the Sudanese regime started unleashing its Arab militia proxies on the inhabitants of the area as a way of putting down a local rebellion. More than 2 million people have been made refugees either within their own country or have had to flee to neighboring Chad.
Since 2003, almost a half a million people. In Iraq, Robert Fisk and others estimate that we're near or at half a million dead. Refugees? You've got the brain drain, you've got people fleeing. You've also got little "gated communities" like Falluja where people may have to give retinal scans and carry i.d. They must prove to the foreigner fighters (that would the United States) that they're who they say they area. But apparently, Darfur is a "must." Top of our lists.
Now check out this point and note the Bully Boy tone:
I can anticipate objections to my support for NATO intervention. But if Security Council members impede the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, what else can be done to stop the slaughter? I am a big admirer of Gandhian nonviolence and of peaceful resolution to conflicts, but in this particular situation, reality has shown over the past three years that such approaches will get us nowhere in saving innocent lives.
In this particular situation? So you should have principles but you should toss them out the window when given the chance?
Reality, Pal claims, has shown us that "peaceful resolution to conflicts" -- "over the past three years" -- "will get us nowhere in saving innocent lives." What is he speaking of? We didn't use peace in Iraq. We didn't use it in Afghanistan. We didn't use it in Haiti and peace never "broke out" in the occupied territories. Exactly what example from the last three years is he referring to because I apparently missed it?
I've never read such nonsense in my life from a left site.
Another way to deter the Sudanese regime is to try to bring those responsible to justice. There was a fascinating cover story in the New York Times Magazine earlier this month on the attempts of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to do this, and how even his preliminary efforts are striking fear in Sudanese government officials.
You know what I read? I read "Blah, blah, blah." He's criticized Thomas Friedman in the past. Otherwise I'm not remembering any criticism of the paper in recent months. What's my point? I'm tired of these shouts outs by alternative media to corporate media. Are you telling me that The Independent and The Guardian (to name only two foreign papers), haven't covered the situation? Are you telling me that independent media in this country hasn't covered it?
I'm also real tired of our "realistic" doves who transform to hawks when things get tough.
We are not the cops of the world. Bully Boy plays that game. The left doesn't need to.
Pal goes on to tells us that a legal approach was stymied by Bully Boy so it's not an option. So that just leaves sends in military force in the form of NATO (or possibly a "coalition"?). Those are his options after he dismisses peace options (that I'm not aware of our government excersizing) which failed, according to him, in the last three years.
Upfront, I don't put a lot of weight behind Pal's conclusions. I didn't like his Dalhi Lama piece which was pure puff. I didn't care for him when he was on KPFA and he seemed uninformed (as I recall it, the topic was India), the guest from Corporate Watch seemed to know what he was speaking of. I'm not alone in feeling that way. It was raised by members in the round-robin so I made a point, a week later, to listen to that discussion. (The comments seemed to contradict Arundhati Roy's reports in other outlets and also a friend of mine who got constant updates from his relatives in India.)
I'm even less impressed with him now. "Unless something is done fast" he warns later in his piece . . . Unless something is done fast, what? We might see the sort of slaughter that goes on the occupied territories?
If Darfur is someone's issue, fine. But quit trying to scare everyone in order to force them to work on your issue and get behind your one-solution only. I'm really getting sick of it. Pal offers the most limited range of options (all is ruled out except for NATO, that's not even from Colin Powell to Bully Boy -- A to B) and tell you that you must act now! Must! I'm not acting on anything.
Excuse me, Darfur is an area that our government would covet. As a feminist who never got on board the Afghanistan war, I'll be damned if I'm bullied by some on the left into hopping on board for more war.
Feminists didn't discover Afghanistan after 9/11. We were speaking out against the oppression of women long before 9/11, for years. Bill Clinton wanted to cozy up to them, so did Bully Boy. Then 9/11 happens. Suddenly, they're harboring a terrorist and Colin Powell says we have proof. Their government refuses to extradite Osama bin Laden without the US providing proof of his involvement in 9/11. At that point, proof should have been provided. It wasn't. Not only that, the American public never got proof. You can read that as more arrogance on the part of the administration (and disdain) or you can read it as there was no proof (which can be read as Osama wasn't involved or as more proof that basic evidence is no longer needed in this country for the Bully Boy to 'convict' -- just his 'gut').
What I do know is that they sold that war on the backs of feminists. Feminists were calling out the Taliban but where were these "Something must be done!" voices then? Laura Bush delivers a radio address (something Hillary would have been strung up for) to say that we're doing this war to liberate women.
Now a lot of people bought into the nonsense. Forget that Bully Boy had no record of liberating anything but corporate monies. So we bombed the hell of the country. That didn't help women or children or men. But we did it. The results? Besides death, nothing really. Osama bin Laden escaped. Things are as bad, if not worse, for women in Afghanistan now. Things are a little brighter in the tiny corner of Kabul but that's really it. There has been no liberation.
With Iraq, we've turned back the progress for women. (As well as killed "thousands!") Now Iraq and Afghnistan was the Bully Boy doing it his way. I'm not prepared to give him a blank check. Pal is. Even had he gotten behind the UN, UN forces in Haiti not only do not appear to help the people but some reports have them hurting the people.
You want me on board your project, come up with a solution that doesn't have Bully Boy written all over it. Don't tell me that there can be no peaceful resolution since that's failed the last three years (what world was Pal living on that he observed efforts for peaceful resolutions?). Don't then tell me that my choices are legal or force but we can't use legal because Bully Boy's circumvented it. So after screaming at the country to do something, Pal wants to tell everyone that the only thing to do, the only option, is send in NATO forces. (Shades of Kosovo?)
We are not the cops of the world. Every time we fall for that nonsense, we back up the Bully Boy and every other imperialist. What Pal proposes hasn't worked but he wants to let that reality escape him.
After Rawanda (after), Bill Clinton said "never again." I'm not Bill Clinton. Newsflash, he's no longer president. I'm not bound by some statement he makes to escape guilt.
If Darfur is your issue and you want people on board, it's incumbent upon to provide a plan. It's incumbent on you to know your facts. There's nothing Pal's written that convinces me that he does. He wants to create a sense of urgency. So did Judith Miller. Well, there's urgency going on all around the world. You want me on board, find a way to address the problem that doesn't make it worse. In the meantime, this government has created problems in Iraq and Afghanistan. There's Guantanaom that we're responsible for as well. Those are problems "we need to address!" and might need to before we go nosing around elsewhere if the only "solution" is to continue doing what has failed repeatedly.
Putting the same Bully Boy in charge (and we would be even if we didn't try NATO or a "coalition" but went with the UN) isn't an answer. After Kosovo, Pal should be embarrassed to scream that we respond in a knee jerk manner. Considering the resources, he should be embarrassed to advocate a "solution" that puts DC in charge of the region -- or are we to believe that what was done in Iraq was some aberration?
He wants to talk about the last three years and doesn't appear to have been awake during them.
He also appears to have no grasp of any form of involvement other than force.
I'm really sick of the George Packer "left" who scream force at the drop of a hat.
Newsflash, people are dying all over the world. They're dying in Nepal. They're dying in Columbia. Going to the same response, because it's quick and easy (if not succesful), isn't an answer. Trying to shame people into jumping on board your Force Wagon is ridiculous.
The world's seen enough of the Bully Boy administration. It's time for America to return to its beliefs and principles. Unleashing force on a situation that's already out of control isn't addressing it. Screaming and attempting to shame people to rush into a "just do something" mode is foolish. You want help? Come up with your plan. Don't try to shame people.
"Get over there now! With NATO!" isn't a plan.
Sidebar, I read every issue of The Progressive. Where is the Darfur coverage in print? Did I miss it? I'm not recalling it. I'm sure there must have been at least one article, maybe two. But for Pal to play Paul Revere (or Judith Miller), one would assume he'd need a number of articles he could point to. Or maybe, like Cheney, he feels he can justify invasion just on the basis of the New York Times?
There is more than enough going on in the world (and more than enough that our government has actively caused) to address. But if Pal's so sure that force is the answer, here's a bit of advice, be the first to sign up, Pal. Leave your arm chair, warrior, and you go out and "do something."
I'm sick of this nonsense. It's the equivalent of Pat Robertson saying Hugo Chavez should be taken out. It operates under the same prinicple which is "force is the answer."
The George Packers played that card trick with Iraq. "Do something!" That's how we ended up over there in an illegal war with no exit plan. When everyone's trying to rush to the easy solution, no one stops to think. I've seen how this administration handles "liberation" and I will not support or advocate more of the same.
People are dying all over the world. Come up with a plan or accept that whomever is on board is all you will have on board. Or maybe you can up with propaganda like a death camp that wasn't, but I guess we're not supposed to talk about that. Alexander Cockburn never shies from the topic but maybe Pal's unaware of it?
What Pal tells us, as opposed to what he screams at us, is that a New York Times piece moved him. Considering the track record of that paper, I'm not sure that's something to acknowledge when you're trying to make a case for intervention.
This isn't a case of burn out. This isn't a case of lack of compassion. This is a grown woman looking at the destruction the Bully Boy has already brought about and saying that I'm not getting on board with any one-answer-only scheme some screamer wants to market. (Speaking of marketing, I'm fully aware of how the "mission" would be marketed and used to justify more of the same.)
If the answer is always burn the village to save the village, find someone else to carry the gas can and matches because I'm not getting on board. Pal's become The Progressive's Nicky Kristof -- full on bluster if short on facts and ideas. My pacificism isn't a cloak I wear some days and others put on war drag. I do not support endless war which is all the current administration knows. Backing a NATO show of force means putting the Bully Boy in charge. Endless war and endless occupation are what he knows and practices.
By all means, screech at the top of your lungs about whatever topic you want. But if you're expecting support from a less trusting (more wise) public than you appear to be, don't be surprised when no one wants to join you on the Force Wagon that you drive for the Bully Boy (knowingly or not).
Be sure to check The Common Ills tonight because Kat has completed her latest CD review and will be posting it. Thanks to Kat and C.I. for listening to portions of this as I wrote it.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
"Find one that you can speak out for and do so"
Two people who did check Mikey Likes It! yesterday wrote to ask, "Where was the silly?" (That's a summary.) Mike wasn't in a silly mood once he started writing. He was actually in that mood when we first started speaking and after he had discussed it a bit, he said, "You know what, forget it?" I didn't think he would but he was being silly and wanting to avoid the subject that bothered him (see "") so I assumed that's how he'd be when he wrote. He wasn't and he shouldn't have tried to be. If he's bothered by something, he should talk about it. Which is what he did.
"Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel To Run For President" (Democracy Now!):
In political news, former Alaskan Senator Mike Gravel has become the first Democrat to officially announce he will seek the party's nomination for president in 2008. Gravel served in the Senate from 1969 to 1981. Gravel who was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and is vowing to remove U.S. troops from Iraq. He said "President Bush's mistake is not worth the life or maiming of one more American soldier."
This falls under our "announcement" item. Sometimes we pick an extra item (in addition to the two usual items) because we feel it offers something worth noting. In this case, Gravel is declared. He has entered the race. It's worth noting, whether you support him or not, because it could raise the level of the debate. I'm not playing coy. All I know about Gravel is the above plus a John Nichols article.
"Supreme Court Rejects Appeal of Chinese Men At Guantanamo" (Democracy Now!):
The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from two Chinese Muslims who are being held at the U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay even though the government acknowledges they were mistakenly detained. The men have been held for more than four years. Lawyers for the men said they should be immediately released but the Bush administration has refused the request. Officials say they have been unable to find a country that will accept the men after their release. Both men are Uighurs and do not want to return to China out of fear that they would be imprisoned and tortured.
The Surpreme Court has abdicated their responsibility. You have two prisoners "held for more than four years" and they're still being held. Even though they should never have been imprisoned to begin with and the US government admits that. If it is not the Court's role to step in and make a determination, than whose role is it? The entire situation with the Guantamano prisoners is like the internment in WWII of the Japanese. For those who are unable to make any judgement that doesn't come to them via the evening news on corporate television, the instance above is clear cut. Wrongly imprisoned for four years and still imprisoned and the Court has abdicated their role by refusing to offer a ruling that would have been just.
"Nepalese Police Shot Dead One Protester" (Democracy Now!):
In Nepal, pro-democracy protests are continuing for a 13th day. On Monday police shot dead one protester. The BBC is reporting police in Nepal have arrested 25 government officials for demonstrating against King Gyanendra inside the Home Ministry. Among the detained are four high ranking officials. This marks the first time civil servants have been arrested for joining opposition protests against the king.
Nepal has had little attention from the mainstream media when you realize how long this has been going on. There's someone who always screams (and I do mean "screams") about Darfur (and there's Nicholas Kristof who whines) but there's little concern over Nepal. With regards to Kristof, it appears to result from the fact that Darfur involves Christian's being killed. He just won the Pulitzer for, I'm assuming, his "ONLY I EVER TALK ABOUT DARFUR!" Maybe the prize money can be used to purchase more sex workers? Kristof did do that to "free" them. That was so disgusting and appalls me to this day. Not him, he wasn't appalled. As with everything else, his attitude is, "I'm the ONLY ONE dealing with the serious problems of the world!" If that is true, it's equally true that is his coverage is often times more harmful to his cause than not.
Did he deserve the Pulitzer? No. But those prizes don't go to the deserving, they go to the big names at big papers. It's the equivalent of turning on the Grammys last March and seeing Perry Como win for "best pop vocal male" -- and worth about as much.
On Darfur. If I see a story of interst, I'll highlight it. But unlike the New York Times, I won't, for instance, pretend that what goes on in Gaza isn't genocide as well. There are many tragedies going on in this world, war and genocide. I don't know that screaming that you're the only one addressing something helps anyone. But I do think some of the outrage fits the typical US position to see crimes of genocide and otherwise when the victims are Christians and to look the other way when they are of a different religion. If you're going to scream that no one else is talking about Darfur, you might want to check to see if you're writing about other tragedies because they go on around the world. In terms of the Gaza Strip, tragedies has gone on so long that many don't even bat an eye anymore. If you're screaming but not covering the occupied territories or another area of conflict, then maybe you should grasp that everyone will talk about what they choose to. Genocide is going on in Darfur. My focus here is Iraq. I may note, as above Nepal, but I would like to note Israel more. (I think Rebecca's going to be doing that and, if that's the case, that's fine and I'll use my limited time on something else.) Our government is illegally occupying Iraq. That's my main focus here.
Here's an Iraq news roundup from C.I.:
Violence and chaos (planned) continues. In Baghdad, the Associated Press notes, a bomb went off resulting in the death of at least two (Iraqi police officers) and wounding at least six. A separate bombing incident would claim addition lives. Xinhua reports that four civilians were dead and twenty-two were wounded. Also in Baghdad, four workers at the Sunni Endowmen Authority were shot at -- Bahrain News Agency reports two dead and two wounded. Still in Baghdad, AFP and Reuters announce that twelve more corpses were found. In addition to those twelve bodies, Ireland's BreakingNews.ie notes that two more corpses were found in Iraq -- both had been shot in the head. Al Jazeera notes that a Shia cleric died in Baghdad -- the victim of a drive by shooting. In Basra, a drrive-by also claimed the life of an Iraqi "police officer walking near his home." Reuters informs that, in Baiji, "a police colonel" and "two policemen" were wounded by gunmen while, in Tikrit, a police officer was killed with two others wounded. A police officer was also killed in Irbil, KUNA notes, and at least six civilians were wounded. There is still no word on 3 kidnap victims: Salah Jali al-Gharrawi (AFP -- kidnapped April 4th) or Reem Zeid and Marwan Khazaal (Sumariya TV -- kidnapped February 1). And Tom Lasseter reports for Knight Ridder that despite warnings "more than two years that Shiite Muslim militias were infiltrating Iraq's security forces and taking control of neighborhoods," the US ignored the warnings.
Peace Quote (from me):
There are many areas in the world in need of assistance and attention. Find one that you can speak out for and do so.
democracy now
guantanamo
nepal
iraq
the common ills
john nichols
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
"Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel To Run For President" (Democracy Now!):
In political news, former Alaskan Senator Mike Gravel has become the first Democrat to officially announce he will seek the party's nomination for president in 2008. Gravel served in the Senate from 1969 to 1981. Gravel who was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and is vowing to remove U.S. troops from Iraq. He said "President Bush's mistake is not worth the life or maiming of one more American soldier."
This falls under our "announcement" item. Sometimes we pick an extra item (in addition to the two usual items) because we feel it offers something worth noting. In this case, Gravel is declared. He has entered the race. It's worth noting, whether you support him or not, because it could raise the level of the debate. I'm not playing coy. All I know about Gravel is the above plus a John Nichols article.
"Supreme Court Rejects Appeal of Chinese Men At Guantanamo" (Democracy Now!):
The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from two Chinese Muslims who are being held at the U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay even though the government acknowledges they were mistakenly detained. The men have been held for more than four years. Lawyers for the men said they should be immediately released but the Bush administration has refused the request. Officials say they have been unable to find a country that will accept the men after their release. Both men are Uighurs and do not want to return to China out of fear that they would be imprisoned and tortured.
The Surpreme Court has abdicated their responsibility. You have two prisoners "held for more than four years" and they're still being held. Even though they should never have been imprisoned to begin with and the US government admits that. If it is not the Court's role to step in and make a determination, than whose role is it? The entire situation with the Guantamano prisoners is like the internment in WWII of the Japanese. For those who are unable to make any judgement that doesn't come to them via the evening news on corporate television, the instance above is clear cut. Wrongly imprisoned for four years and still imprisoned and the Court has abdicated their role by refusing to offer a ruling that would have been just.
"Nepalese Police Shot Dead One Protester" (Democracy Now!):
In Nepal, pro-democracy protests are continuing for a 13th day. On Monday police shot dead one protester. The BBC is reporting police in Nepal have arrested 25 government officials for demonstrating against King Gyanendra inside the Home Ministry. Among the detained are four high ranking officials. This marks the first time civil servants have been arrested for joining opposition protests against the king.
Nepal has had little attention from the mainstream media when you realize how long this has been going on. There's someone who always screams (and I do mean "screams") about Darfur (and there's Nicholas Kristof who whines) but there's little concern over Nepal. With regards to Kristof, it appears to result from the fact that Darfur involves Christian's being killed. He just won the Pulitzer for, I'm assuming, his "ONLY I EVER TALK ABOUT DARFUR!" Maybe the prize money can be used to purchase more sex workers? Kristof did do that to "free" them. That was so disgusting and appalls me to this day. Not him, he wasn't appalled. As with everything else, his attitude is, "I'm the ONLY ONE dealing with the serious problems of the world!" If that is true, it's equally true that is his coverage is often times more harmful to his cause than not.
Did he deserve the Pulitzer? No. But those prizes don't go to the deserving, they go to the big names at big papers. It's the equivalent of turning on the Grammys last March and seeing Perry Como win for "best pop vocal male" -- and worth about as much.
On Darfur. If I see a story of interst, I'll highlight it. But unlike the New York Times, I won't, for instance, pretend that what goes on in Gaza isn't genocide as well. There are many tragedies going on in this world, war and genocide. I don't know that screaming that you're the only one addressing something helps anyone. But I do think some of the outrage fits the typical US position to see crimes of genocide and otherwise when the victims are Christians and to look the other way when they are of a different religion. If you're going to scream that no one else is talking about Darfur, you might want to check to see if you're writing about other tragedies because they go on around the world. In terms of the Gaza Strip, tragedies has gone on so long that many don't even bat an eye anymore. If you're screaming but not covering the occupied territories or another area of conflict, then maybe you should grasp that everyone will talk about what they choose to. Genocide is going on in Darfur. My focus here is Iraq. I may note, as above Nepal, but I would like to note Israel more. (I think Rebecca's going to be doing that and, if that's the case, that's fine and I'll use my limited time on something else.) Our government is illegally occupying Iraq. That's my main focus here.
Here's an Iraq news roundup from C.I.:
Violence and chaos (planned) continues. In Baghdad, the Associated Press notes, a bomb went off resulting in the death of at least two (Iraqi police officers) and wounding at least six. A separate bombing incident would claim addition lives. Xinhua reports that four civilians were dead and twenty-two were wounded. Also in Baghdad, four workers at the Sunni Endowmen Authority were shot at -- Bahrain News Agency reports two dead and two wounded. Still in Baghdad, AFP and Reuters announce that twelve more corpses were found. In addition to those twelve bodies, Ireland's BreakingNews.ie notes that two more corpses were found in Iraq -- both had been shot in the head. Al Jazeera notes that a Shia cleric died in Baghdad -- the victim of a drive by shooting. In Basra, a drrive-by also claimed the life of an Iraqi "police officer walking near his home." Reuters informs that, in Baiji, "a police colonel" and "two policemen" were wounded by gunmen while, in Tikrit, a police officer was killed with two others wounded. A police officer was also killed in Irbil, KUNA notes, and at least six civilians were wounded. There is still no word on 3 kidnap victims: Salah Jali al-Gharrawi (AFP -- kidnapped April 4th) or Reem Zeid and Marwan Khazaal (Sumariya TV -- kidnapped February 1). And Tom Lasseter reports for Knight Ridder that despite warnings "more than two years that Shiite Muslim militias were infiltrating Iraq's security forces and taking control of neighborhoods," the US ignored the warnings.
Peace Quote (from me):
There are many areas in the world in need of assistance and attention. Find one that you can speak out for and do so.
democracy now
guantanamo
nepal
iraq
the common ills
john nichols
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
Monday, April 17, 2006
Today, we're all cheerleaders
First, a correction. Friday, I wrote this:
This week, I noted special programming ( WBAI's special broadcast of Beckett's Waiting for Godot which aired Monday night -- if you missed it, you can use the archives to hear it).
Tammy was kind enough to e-mail and tell me that what you get from the archive is only the introduction to the play and one of the first scenes. I apologize for my error and thank Tammy for catching it.
Mike and I were on the phone and we were laughing and being quite silly. Which caused him to wonder what sort of posts we'd end up with? I have no idea. I know that we finished the edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review early (for Third) Sunday morning. (Four a.m.) (Third proper, which includes C.I., did do a polish on the editorial we'd all worked and Ava and C.I. never stopped polishing their TV commentary, but the rest of us were done by four a.m. That is late, but since there are times when it is 9:00 am or later, this was early and probably the earliest of any edition I've participated on.)
So, I was able to get some sleep and not wake up around three in the afternoon having lost half the day. I woke up at nine which gave me six additional hours in my Sunday so I was able to relax. I think that's why we were both in a silly mood. Usually, we're still recovering from Sunday. (If you wake up at three p.m., it can be very difficult to go to sleep at a reasonable time on Sunday night.)
So please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's commentary.
"Cindy Sheehan Returns to Camp Casey" (Democracy Now!):
And Cindy Sheehan and others returned to Crawford Texas to protest outside President Bush's estate. At a sunrise service on Easter Sunday the Rev. Joseph Lowery urged the protesters to keep working for peace.
I heard Cindy Sheehan saying that she would be at Camp Casey every time the Bully Boy goes on holiday. (It was on one of the Pacifica news shows but I was listening to several programs yesterday and don't remember which station I heard it on.) She said that it didn't matter that Bully Boy wasn't there (he was vacationing up north). I agree with that and agree with her about the rumors she's heard that he may be avoiding his ranchette (my term, not Sheehan's) because he doesn't want to face her.
That actually reminds me of a joke we did on April 9th in The Third Estate Sunday Review's
"'What I Didn't Find In Iraq' by Bully Boy:"
I found out this country needs something like unlisted addresses. You know, like unlisted phone numbers? Everytime I went down to my ranch to get a little rest that Cindy Sheehan would be out there. I asked Dick if I could have his undisclosed location and he got all hard ass and goes, "It's not a time-share."
"120,000 Mark 90th Anniversary of Easter Rising in Ireland" (Democracy Now!):
In Ireland, 120,000 people gathered in Dublin Sunday to mark the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising -- a short-lived 1916 rebellion against British rule. During the uprising, Irish rebels seized parts of Dublin from the British and declared an Irish Republic. The rebellion failed and the British executed 15 leaders. But the uprising inspired the Irish independence movement. Five years later 26 of Ireland's 32 counties became free of British rule.
If you know much about Mike, you know he is Irish-American. If you know The Common Ills community, you know that a number are as well and that there are also Irish members. They've gotten very tired of the attacks from the mainstream press on Ireland. Five years later 26 of the 32 counties did become free, but some are still occupied territories and the anger, from both sides, spills over into violence. There is a tendency in the mainstream to pin the blame on Sinn Fein (a political party currently) and that's very interesting considering that we're still talking about occupied land.
With modern day Israel, I often hear people say, of Palestinians, "They just need to get over it."
That would be the occupation they live under. (That's a simplification of what they live under but I'm rushing.) When I've followed that up with "What makes you feel that way?" -- the reply has usually been, "Well, I'm just tired of the fighting." (Sometimes, it's "I'm just tired of hearing about the fighting.")
But what would we do if we were a nation occupied by another government? If someone's tired of the violence in the occupied territories, they might want to think about how it is to live there. I'm sure the people are tired of it as well. (In fact, many press accounts note that.)
I'm not a violent person (although verbally these days I do assualt my TV if I make the mistake of attempting to watch coporate news). But I haven't lived under an occupation. The American Revolution (which led to the creation of this nation-state) was a revolt for self-rule.
That gets forgotten and here's another thing that gets forgotten. People will say that Native Americans need to "get over" the loss of their land (which is what our current nation-state sits on). I must be missing something because I've yet to see an effort to reclaim the land. I have seen legal efforts to get the monies owed from the IMB. I have read of a judge stating that the government has mismanged the funds. But the other thing I think of is the civil war in this country and how some from certain states haven't "gotten over" it. They're not attempting to fight a war, except for some fringe groups, against the country. But they put their flags up in their cars and trucks, in their windows and elsewhere and there's not a cry of, "Get over it!" Instead, there are movies, miniseries, documentaries and more maade on that time period over and over.
I find that interesting due to the fact that often times, when I've heard that statement from a person who is from the "Deep South" (not every person I know from that area has made remarks similar to that), I will ask what they think of the Civil War and, often times, they will speak of that period with great passion. So it would appear that those who have to "get over it" are always the people who are not like ourselves. I think we need to make an effort to be open when we hear of pain or hear someone speaking in pain because we won't understand where the pain is coming from otherwise.
In the eighties, TNT or TBS aired Funny Girl and I taped it for Rebecca because it wasn't just the movie, it was Sandra Bernhard hosting it and providing commentary throughout. Rebecca loves Barbra Streisand and loves Bernhard. The broadcast was starting in ten minutes and I attempted to call Rebecca but just got her machine.
I was living with a boyfriend at the time and he let his cousin borrow the tape. I came in on the end of that and saw her put it in her purse. I said, "Sure, watch it, but I need it back by the weekend because I taped it for a friend and I'm sending it to her." No problem replied the cousin.
That weekend, it wasn't returned so I called her. She denied having it. She said she'd never borrowed a tape. I told my boyfriend we were going over to his cousin's house. We went, he was reluctant to go, and I asked for the tape. She again denied borrowing it. I told her, "I saw you put it in your purse. I told you then that I had to send it this weekend." She lied to my face.
At which point, I turned to my boyfriend and said, "You better back me up."
She never would give me the tape. I told her I didn't know if she'd lost it or if she wanted it for herself but I knew she had taken it.
Rebecca was disappointed but handled it well. Now if someone wants to tell me to "get over it," I have no problem with that. It's a minor thing. But there are issues and events that people cannot just stuff inside because someone tells them to get over it. That needs to be recognized.
Just because you may not want to hear about it, does not mean that the issue which is very important to someone is something to "get over."
"Neo-Naxi Supremacist Convicted In WMD Case" (Democracy Now!):
In Tennessee, a white supremacist with Neo-Nazi ties has been convicted of attempting to acquire Sarin nerve and C-4 explosives in order to blow up government buildings. The man, Demetrius Van Crocker, once told an FBI informant that he dreamed of riding a motorcycle to Washington D.C. and setting off a dirty nuclear bomb while the House and Senate were in session. Crocker also said he wanted to get a helicopter license so he could bomb or spray poison gas on the African-American neighborhoods in Jackson Tennessee. Crocker was arrested after he bought nerve gas from an undercover agent. His attorney argued Crocker was prone to exaggeration and was a victim of entrapment. Despite the serious charges, the national press has ignored the story. The New York Times, Washington Post or Los Angeles Times have yet to report on Crocker’s arrest or conviction. A recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that the radical right has attempted to carry out at least 60 terrorist plots since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.
I have nothing to add to that one. But we both wanted to include it since it hasn't gotten attention.
Today, thanks to Sunny who taped it since I was in a session (I need to get an iPod), I listened to KPFA's Women's Magazine:
Women correspondents who covered the war in Iraq will join us by phone. May Ying Welch, freelancing with Al-Jezeera, Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times London, Hannah Allam with Knight Ridder and others will talk about the perspective that women bring to the coverage of the war. Marking the 57th anniversary of KPFA we host former programmers from KPFA Women's Department in the 1970's through the 1990's.
This was a very interesting broadcast. The second half contained women discussing how the Women's Department was built up and the accomplishments. One woman spoke of learning at the station that you had to fight to get your story on air and that if, after a long discussion/debate, you couldn't persuade people to see it your way, it probably wasn't a story worth telling. From that experience, when she switched to commercial broadcasting, she felt she was prepared to fight for her stories while some others weren't. She described them as "namby pamby." So she saw that as one of the benefits of her time at the station.
The first half was the foreign correspondents and it was very interesting to hear their stories. Marie Colvin spoke of how a boyfriend told her she had to leave an area or else. (Other reporters had left as had some UN forces.) She spoke of how it mattered for her to be there due to the thousands of children and women who needed someone reporting to the world what was happening. I believe it was Hannah Allen who spoke of being engaged when she went to Iraq and how the engagment ended when he couldn't live with her assignment.
It was a strong program and I believe (believe) you can hear it via the KPFA archives. It reminded me of Ava and C.I.'s commentary this Sunday in some ways.
"TV: Katie Was a Cheerleader" (Third Estate Sunday Review):
If women learned anything from the trashing of Katie Couric last week, it was that today, we're all cheerleaders. In their eyes, we're all cheerleaders. Our own work isn't addressed and there's no desire to familiarize themselves with it before weighing in. Call us when it's our turn to stand trial at the war crimes tribunal.
This week, I noted special programming ( WBAI's special broadcast of Beckett's Waiting for Godot which aired Monday night -- if you missed it, you can use the archives to hear it).
Tammy was kind enough to e-mail and tell me that what you get from the archive is only the introduction to the play and one of the first scenes. I apologize for my error and thank Tammy for catching it.
Mike and I were on the phone and we were laughing and being quite silly. Which caused him to wonder what sort of posts we'd end up with? I have no idea. I know that we finished the edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review early (for Third) Sunday morning. (Four a.m.) (Third proper, which includes C.I., did do a polish on the editorial we'd all worked and Ava and C.I. never stopped polishing their TV commentary, but the rest of us were done by four a.m. That is late, but since there are times when it is 9:00 am or later, this was early and probably the earliest of any edition I've participated on.)
So, I was able to get some sleep and not wake up around three in the afternoon having lost half the day. I woke up at nine which gave me six additional hours in my Sunday so I was able to relax. I think that's why we were both in a silly mood. Usually, we're still recovering from Sunday. (If you wake up at three p.m., it can be very difficult to go to sleep at a reasonable time on Sunday night.)
So please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's commentary.
"Cindy Sheehan Returns to Camp Casey" (Democracy Now!):
And Cindy Sheehan and others returned to Crawford Texas to protest outside President Bush's estate. At a sunrise service on Easter Sunday the Rev. Joseph Lowery urged the protesters to keep working for peace.
I heard Cindy Sheehan saying that she would be at Camp Casey every time the Bully Boy goes on holiday. (It was on one of the Pacifica news shows but I was listening to several programs yesterday and don't remember which station I heard it on.) She said that it didn't matter that Bully Boy wasn't there (he was vacationing up north). I agree with that and agree with her about the rumors she's heard that he may be avoiding his ranchette (my term, not Sheehan's) because he doesn't want to face her.
That actually reminds me of a joke we did on April 9th in The Third Estate Sunday Review's
"'What I Didn't Find In Iraq' by Bully Boy:"
I found out this country needs something like unlisted addresses. You know, like unlisted phone numbers? Everytime I went down to my ranch to get a little rest that Cindy Sheehan would be out there. I asked Dick if I could have his undisclosed location and he got all hard ass and goes, "It's not a time-share."
"120,000 Mark 90th Anniversary of Easter Rising in Ireland" (Democracy Now!):
In Ireland, 120,000 people gathered in Dublin Sunday to mark the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising -- a short-lived 1916 rebellion against British rule. During the uprising, Irish rebels seized parts of Dublin from the British and declared an Irish Republic. The rebellion failed and the British executed 15 leaders. But the uprising inspired the Irish independence movement. Five years later 26 of Ireland's 32 counties became free of British rule.
If you know much about Mike, you know he is Irish-American. If you know The Common Ills community, you know that a number are as well and that there are also Irish members. They've gotten very tired of the attacks from the mainstream press on Ireland. Five years later 26 of the 32 counties did become free, but some are still occupied territories and the anger, from both sides, spills over into violence. There is a tendency in the mainstream to pin the blame on Sinn Fein (a political party currently) and that's very interesting considering that we're still talking about occupied land.
With modern day Israel, I often hear people say, of Palestinians, "They just need to get over it."
That would be the occupation they live under. (That's a simplification of what they live under but I'm rushing.) When I've followed that up with "What makes you feel that way?" -- the reply has usually been, "Well, I'm just tired of the fighting." (Sometimes, it's "I'm just tired of hearing about the fighting.")
But what would we do if we were a nation occupied by another government? If someone's tired of the violence in the occupied territories, they might want to think about how it is to live there. I'm sure the people are tired of it as well. (In fact, many press accounts note that.)
I'm not a violent person (although verbally these days I do assualt my TV if I make the mistake of attempting to watch coporate news). But I haven't lived under an occupation. The American Revolution (which led to the creation of this nation-state) was a revolt for self-rule.
That gets forgotten and here's another thing that gets forgotten. People will say that Native Americans need to "get over" the loss of their land (which is what our current nation-state sits on). I must be missing something because I've yet to see an effort to reclaim the land. I have seen legal efforts to get the monies owed from the IMB. I have read of a judge stating that the government has mismanged the funds. But the other thing I think of is the civil war in this country and how some from certain states haven't "gotten over" it. They're not attempting to fight a war, except for some fringe groups, against the country. But they put their flags up in their cars and trucks, in their windows and elsewhere and there's not a cry of, "Get over it!" Instead, there are movies, miniseries, documentaries and more maade on that time period over and over.
I find that interesting due to the fact that often times, when I've heard that statement from a person who is from the "Deep South" (not every person I know from that area has made remarks similar to that), I will ask what they think of the Civil War and, often times, they will speak of that period with great passion. So it would appear that those who have to "get over it" are always the people who are not like ourselves. I think we need to make an effort to be open when we hear of pain or hear someone speaking in pain because we won't understand where the pain is coming from otherwise.
In the eighties, TNT or TBS aired Funny Girl and I taped it for Rebecca because it wasn't just the movie, it was Sandra Bernhard hosting it and providing commentary throughout. Rebecca loves Barbra Streisand and loves Bernhard. The broadcast was starting in ten minutes and I attempted to call Rebecca but just got her machine.
I was living with a boyfriend at the time and he let his cousin borrow the tape. I came in on the end of that and saw her put it in her purse. I said, "Sure, watch it, but I need it back by the weekend because I taped it for a friend and I'm sending it to her." No problem replied the cousin.
That weekend, it wasn't returned so I called her. She denied having it. She said she'd never borrowed a tape. I told my boyfriend we were going over to his cousin's house. We went, he was reluctant to go, and I asked for the tape. She again denied borrowing it. I told her, "I saw you put it in your purse. I told you then that I had to send it this weekend." She lied to my face.
At which point, I turned to my boyfriend and said, "You better back me up."
She never would give me the tape. I told her I didn't know if she'd lost it or if she wanted it for herself but I knew she had taken it.
Rebecca was disappointed but handled it well. Now if someone wants to tell me to "get over it," I have no problem with that. It's a minor thing. But there are issues and events that people cannot just stuff inside because someone tells them to get over it. That needs to be recognized.
Just because you may not want to hear about it, does not mean that the issue which is very important to someone is something to "get over."
"Neo-Naxi Supremacist Convicted In WMD Case" (Democracy Now!):
In Tennessee, a white supremacist with Neo-Nazi ties has been convicted of attempting to acquire Sarin nerve and C-4 explosives in order to blow up government buildings. The man, Demetrius Van Crocker, once told an FBI informant that he dreamed of riding a motorcycle to Washington D.C. and setting off a dirty nuclear bomb while the House and Senate were in session. Crocker also said he wanted to get a helicopter license so he could bomb or spray poison gas on the African-American neighborhoods in Jackson Tennessee. Crocker was arrested after he bought nerve gas from an undercover agent. His attorney argued Crocker was prone to exaggeration and was a victim of entrapment. Despite the serious charges, the national press has ignored the story. The New York Times, Washington Post or Los Angeles Times have yet to report on Crocker’s arrest or conviction. A recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that the radical right has attempted to carry out at least 60 terrorist plots since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.
I have nothing to add to that one. But we both wanted to include it since it hasn't gotten attention.
Today, thanks to Sunny who taped it since I was in a session (I need to get an iPod), I listened to KPFA's Women's Magazine:
Women correspondents who covered the war in Iraq will join us by phone. May Ying Welch, freelancing with Al-Jezeera, Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times London, Hannah Allam with Knight Ridder and others will talk about the perspective that women bring to the coverage of the war. Marking the 57th anniversary of KPFA we host former programmers from KPFA Women's Department in the 1970's through the 1990's.
This was a very interesting broadcast. The second half contained women discussing how the Women's Department was built up and the accomplishments. One woman spoke of learning at the station that you had to fight to get your story on air and that if, after a long discussion/debate, you couldn't persuade people to see it your way, it probably wasn't a story worth telling. From that experience, when she switched to commercial broadcasting, she felt she was prepared to fight for her stories while some others weren't. She described them as "namby pamby." So she saw that as one of the benefits of her time at the station.
The first half was the foreign correspondents and it was very interesting to hear their stories. Marie Colvin spoke of how a boyfriend told her she had to leave an area or else. (Other reporters had left as had some UN forces.) She spoke of how it mattered for her to be there due to the thousands of children and women who needed someone reporting to the world what was happening. I believe it was Hannah Allen who spoke of being engaged when she went to Iraq and how the engagment ended when he couldn't live with her assignment.
It was a strong program and I believe (believe) you can hear it via the KPFA archives. It reminded me of Ava and C.I.'s commentary this Sunday in some ways.
"TV: Katie Was a Cheerleader" (Third Estate Sunday Review):
If women learned anything from the trashing of Katie Couric last week, it was that today, we're all cheerleaders. In their eyes, we're all cheerleaders. Our own work isn't addressed and there's no desire to familiarize themselves with it before weighing in. Call us when it's our turn to stand trial at the war crimes tribunal.
Friday, April 14, 2006
"Never underestimate the power of your own voice"
Mike and I have picked three items to note from Democracy Now! instead of our usual two. We'll probably only be commenting on two but the third item is an announcement. I was asked why sometimes the items are in the same order on both our sites and sometimes they aren't? That's our 'editorial' call. If, after deciding on the items, we don't agree on which should be the lead item, we have a different order. There are no hard feelings when that happens. In addition, if we're each commenting on only one headline (with the other picking up the other) we'll lead with whichever headline we're individually covering. Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's commentary.
"RAF Doctor Jailed For Refusing Iraq Service" (Democracy Now!):
In Britain, a doctor in the Royal Air Force has been sentenced to eight months in jail for refusing to go to Iraq. Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith maintained he is refusing his assignment in order to not take part in an illegal war. "Now more so than ever he feels that his actions were totally justified and he would not if placed in the same circumstances seek to do anything differently," Justin Hugheston-Roberts, the lawyer representing Kendall-Smith, said after the sentencing.
"And the war drags on . . . (Indymedia Roundup)" went up late (which is usual due to the number of e-mails C.I. has to read to pull that entry together) and I missed it last night, but Sunny hit me with the news of Dr. Kendall-Smith as soon as I walked into the office. When we listened to Democracy Now! during lunch and heard it, it still floored me. The presiding officer/judge of the court martial refused to allow the issue of the war to be raised.
How can you explain why you refused to serve without addressing your beliefs regarding the war itself? You can't. The moment that was disallowed, he was convicted. We didn't need to wait for the verdict. I knew that.
But hearing of the verdict from Sunny and then during the broadcast, I was still floored. On some level, I must have been hoping that it could turn out differently (no matter how practical I thought I was being). Friday's are usually a bright day for me due to the fact that the week is over (I'm just as glad to have a week behind me and a weekend facing me as anyone else). But this was a topic that Sunny and I returned to between patients throughout the day. At one point, I asked how things were going with the delivery man she's seeing and we spoke of that but it didn't manage to lift either of our moods. (Things are going well between them.)
I might have started the weekend off on a foul note were it not for the fact that Sunny printed up C.I.'s Democracy Now! entry which included news from members outside the United States noting how the verdict has actually started discussions that were not going on (for some people) prior and that it had upped the level of discussion among people who were already discussing it.
While that does nothing to help the doctor, it does help the dialogue and, hopefully, the next resister. His attempted legal stance was a brave one and, in the end, the fact that he was not allowed to argue it didn't silence it. It's being discussed and debated without being sanctioned by the court martial.
"California TV Station To Stop Using VNRs" (Democracy Now!):
In an update on a story we have been tracking, a major California television station has announced it will no longer use material from video news releases in any news reports. Last week the Center for Media and Democracy revealed at least 77 TV stations around the country have been caught airing corporate-sponsored propaganda disguised as news releases in the past 10 months. One of these stations was KCBS, Channel 2 in Los Angeles. On January 27 the station aired an edited video news release promoting the child-safe Internet search engine for the company NetTrekker. The station used part of the script and video provided by the company without revealing its source. On Wednesday the management at KCBS announced it was barring the use of video news releases.
The glass is at the half-way mark. The "half empty" argument is that only one channel has bothered to publicly state that they will no longer air them. The "half-full" argument is that one station has stepped up to the plate (and possibly more will do so later on). I'll leave to you to figure out where you stand on it.
"Immigrant Rights Coalition Calls for One Day Boycott, Walk-Out" (Democracy Now!):
A coalition of groups advocating for immigrant rights are calling for a massive one-day job and economic boycott to take place May 1st. Some are calling the event "A Day Without Immigrants." Organizers are calling on immigrants to refuse to work or spend any money on May Day to protest moves in Congress to criminalize undocumented workers. In recent weeks millions of immigrants and their supporters have taken to the streets in an unprecedented wave of protests.
This is the item we wanted to note. Consider it an announcement and something you should particpate in if you have the chance. Thanks to C.I. for giving me the heads up last weekend so I could clear my calendar. I will be participating and encourage everyone else who is able to do so as well. If you don't feel that immigrant rights apply to you, then do it show solidarity.
I'm just going to answer a few questions that have popped up in the e-mails. One guy who wants to make it clear that he's not part of the community and that he supports the Bully Boy wrote to say that Rebecca "and others" are covering Pacifica but that C.I. doesn't. Democracy Now! is covered every Monday through Friday at The Common Ills at least once. In addition, C.I. works it into more than one entry a day. Ruth writes a weekly report on Pacifica at The Common Ills. If members note programming highlights that will air that day, they are noted at the site as well.
C.I. added Democracy Now! to get away from the worship of the mainstream that is so common. The problem, however, is that one station is listened to by C.I. (over the airwaves). To note individual programming on that station would be seen by some as an endorsement and they'd wonder why their favorite station wasn't noted? When Pacifica offers special live coverage of Congress or whatever, C.I. will also note that. There is no question that The Common Ills gets the word out on Pacifica. (And in the "And the war drags on . . ." entries, you'll frequently see a Pacifica newscast noted.) C.I.'s trying to get the word out on Pacifica and occupies a different position in the community then the rest of us do. To put it in Pacifica terms, C.I. is the community's Amy Goodman. To say, "Listen to ___" would be seen as an endorsement of one over the other. C.I.'s made it clear that your first choice in Pacifica should always be a station that broadcasts in your area (if you're lucky enough to live in an area that has a broadcast station -- either one of the five stations or an affeliate). Even leaving out Ruth's wonderful reports, if you went through and counted links and mentions, you would find more at The Common Ills than you would at any other site. I'm a "floater." This week, I noted special programming ( WBAI's special broadcast of Beckett's Waiting for Godot which aired Monday night -- if you missed it, you can use the archives to hear it). Rebecca's respected in the community as a take-no-prisoners, call it the way she sees it voice. She's a great voice. (She's also one of my best friends.) But she occupies a different place within the community and she uses her position very effectively. Rebecca deserves praise for what she does.
But it's a mistake to state that C.I.'s not covering or to look at the move to increase coverage at other sites as reflecting poorly on The Common Ills because C.I. 's the one who raised this issue with us. Both to try to help Ruth out so she's not stuck covering everything and also because if we support indymedia, we need to get behind it and show support. The community is welcoming to the hearing impaired and visually imparied members. When two couples, each have a legally blind partner, asked about audio (so that they weren't just reading the commentary C.I. makes and the excerpts at the site), C.I. began adding additional audio links besides Democracy Now! An audio program is something that the couples can listen to together. NPR is even on the audio links and that's due to the fact that, regardless of what C.I. thinks of it, it does provide an option for members where one partner is visually impaired. C.I. does not link to audio links that require someone pay a fee to listen. That's to factor in the members on fixed incomes.
The visitor and I will never agree on the Bully Boy. (I am impressed that despite the fact that he disagrees with close to everything that goes up at any of the community sites, he continues to read them.) But I hope that we can agree that there's a misunderstanding of what The Common Ills does and how C.I. makes decisions. Also remember that Kat covers KPFA's Guns and Butter and that Cedric and Mike WBAI's Law and Disorder?
Lucy, a community member, asks if I could pick one show to note? I don't want to do that. For various reasons. One reason is that listening live during the day is something that pops up when I have a cancellation. Otherwise, I only hear Democracy Now! (which Sunny and I listen to during the lunch hour). I'd prefer not to pin myself down to one program. I also think that by floating, I can grab more than one show over time. Lucy suggested a show and I will try to catch it next week and note it. If I was covering only one show, I'd have to say, "I'm sorry, but I cover ___."
I'll note a moment of panic today during Democracy Now! that Sunny and I both had. Amy Goodman was coughing and had to take a break. Before she came back, Sunny and I were both pointing out that the show broadcasts not far from ground zero in NYC and remembering this item from Thursday:
"Report: 15,000 Suffer From Medical Problems in NYC Post 9/11" (Democracy Now!):
In other news, the BBC is reporting the number of victims suffering medical problems in connection to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center has risen to at least 15,000 people. The US government has been hit with a class-action lawsuit that alleges it offered false assurances to Manhattan residents and workers that the air was safe in the aftermath of the attacks. In a landmark ruling, a New Jersey coroner said this week that a police officer's death was "directly linked" to his work at Ground Zero after 9/11. The officer, James Zadroga, died in January.
When she came back, she explained that she had a spring cold. (I think that probably comes from the fact that she's all over the country, getting the word out, covering news and doing outreach work for community media.) We both sighed in relief when she said that. Amy Goodman, who celebrated a birthday Thursday, does so much for indymedia and, if you found yourself worried in that moment, do your part to get the word out or do your part to get the word out because she had a birthday. But get the word out. Twenty years from now, due to further media consolidation (I think it will happen short of a major citizen revolution), the media landscape will have changed. I also think it's true that, twenty years from now, we'll see hundreds of Amy Goodmans because she's made a difference and she's demonstrated the role that journalists can and should play. She's altered the landscape and become a role model.
The visitor who disagrees with everything he finds at community sites continues to read. He's also started watching Democracy Now! on his local cable access channel -- a direct result, he states, of the emphasis this community has placed upon the program. If you think getting the word out doesn't matter, you're underestimating the power of your own voice. Let's make that the peace quote. (By the way, the visitor noted I mistyped the peace quote Wednesday in the heading. He's correct.)
"Peace Quote"
Never underestimate the power of your own voice.
democracy now
the common ills
immigration
cedrics big mix
law and disorder
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
ruths public radio report
pacifca
pacifica radio
radio
wbai
guns and butter
kpfa
"RAF Doctor Jailed For Refusing Iraq Service" (Democracy Now!):
In Britain, a doctor in the Royal Air Force has been sentenced to eight months in jail for refusing to go to Iraq. Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith maintained he is refusing his assignment in order to not take part in an illegal war. "Now more so than ever he feels that his actions were totally justified and he would not if placed in the same circumstances seek to do anything differently," Justin Hugheston-Roberts, the lawyer representing Kendall-Smith, said after the sentencing.
"And the war drags on . . . (Indymedia Roundup)" went up late (which is usual due to the number of e-mails C.I. has to read to pull that entry together) and I missed it last night, but Sunny hit me with the news of Dr. Kendall-Smith as soon as I walked into the office. When we listened to Democracy Now! during lunch and heard it, it still floored me. The presiding officer/judge of the court martial refused to allow the issue of the war to be raised.
How can you explain why you refused to serve without addressing your beliefs regarding the war itself? You can't. The moment that was disallowed, he was convicted. We didn't need to wait for the verdict. I knew that.
But hearing of the verdict from Sunny and then during the broadcast, I was still floored. On some level, I must have been hoping that it could turn out differently (no matter how practical I thought I was being). Friday's are usually a bright day for me due to the fact that the week is over (I'm just as glad to have a week behind me and a weekend facing me as anyone else). But this was a topic that Sunny and I returned to between patients throughout the day. At one point, I asked how things were going with the delivery man she's seeing and we spoke of that but it didn't manage to lift either of our moods. (Things are going well between them.)
I might have started the weekend off on a foul note were it not for the fact that Sunny printed up C.I.'s Democracy Now! entry which included news from members outside the United States noting how the verdict has actually started discussions that were not going on (for some people) prior and that it had upped the level of discussion among people who were already discussing it.
While that does nothing to help the doctor, it does help the dialogue and, hopefully, the next resister. His attempted legal stance was a brave one and, in the end, the fact that he was not allowed to argue it didn't silence it. It's being discussed and debated without being sanctioned by the court martial.
"California TV Station To Stop Using VNRs" (Democracy Now!):
In an update on a story we have been tracking, a major California television station has announced it will no longer use material from video news releases in any news reports. Last week the Center for Media and Democracy revealed at least 77 TV stations around the country have been caught airing corporate-sponsored propaganda disguised as news releases in the past 10 months. One of these stations was KCBS, Channel 2 in Los Angeles. On January 27 the station aired an edited video news release promoting the child-safe Internet search engine for the company NetTrekker. The station used part of the script and video provided by the company without revealing its source. On Wednesday the management at KCBS announced it was barring the use of video news releases.
The glass is at the half-way mark. The "half empty" argument is that only one channel has bothered to publicly state that they will no longer air them. The "half-full" argument is that one station has stepped up to the plate (and possibly more will do so later on). I'll leave to you to figure out where you stand on it.
"Immigrant Rights Coalition Calls for One Day Boycott, Walk-Out" (Democracy Now!):
A coalition of groups advocating for immigrant rights are calling for a massive one-day job and economic boycott to take place May 1st. Some are calling the event "A Day Without Immigrants." Organizers are calling on immigrants to refuse to work or spend any money on May Day to protest moves in Congress to criminalize undocumented workers. In recent weeks millions of immigrants and their supporters have taken to the streets in an unprecedented wave of protests.
This is the item we wanted to note. Consider it an announcement and something you should particpate in if you have the chance. Thanks to C.I. for giving me the heads up last weekend so I could clear my calendar. I will be participating and encourage everyone else who is able to do so as well. If you don't feel that immigrant rights apply to you, then do it show solidarity.
I'm just going to answer a few questions that have popped up in the e-mails. One guy who wants to make it clear that he's not part of the community and that he supports the Bully Boy wrote to say that Rebecca "and others" are covering Pacifica but that C.I. doesn't. Democracy Now! is covered every Monday through Friday at The Common Ills at least once. In addition, C.I. works it into more than one entry a day. Ruth writes a weekly report on Pacifica at The Common Ills. If members note programming highlights that will air that day, they are noted at the site as well.
C.I. added Democracy Now! to get away from the worship of the mainstream that is so common. The problem, however, is that one station is listened to by C.I. (over the airwaves). To note individual programming on that station would be seen by some as an endorsement and they'd wonder why their favorite station wasn't noted? When Pacifica offers special live coverage of Congress or whatever, C.I. will also note that. There is no question that The Common Ills gets the word out on Pacifica. (And in the "And the war drags on . . ." entries, you'll frequently see a Pacifica newscast noted.) C.I.'s trying to get the word out on Pacifica and occupies a different position in the community then the rest of us do. To put it in Pacifica terms, C.I. is the community's Amy Goodman. To say, "Listen to ___" would be seen as an endorsement of one over the other. C.I.'s made it clear that your first choice in Pacifica should always be a station that broadcasts in your area (if you're lucky enough to live in an area that has a broadcast station -- either one of the five stations or an affeliate). Even leaving out Ruth's wonderful reports, if you went through and counted links and mentions, you would find more at The Common Ills than you would at any other site. I'm a "floater." This week, I noted special programming ( WBAI's special broadcast of Beckett's Waiting for Godot which aired Monday night -- if you missed it, you can use the archives to hear it). Rebecca's respected in the community as a take-no-prisoners, call it the way she sees it voice. She's a great voice. (She's also one of my best friends.) But she occupies a different place within the community and she uses her position very effectively. Rebecca deserves praise for what she does.
But it's a mistake to state that C.I.'s not covering or to look at the move to increase coverage at other sites as reflecting poorly on The Common Ills because C.I. 's the one who raised this issue with us. Both to try to help Ruth out so she's not stuck covering everything and also because if we support indymedia, we need to get behind it and show support. The community is welcoming to the hearing impaired and visually imparied members. When two couples, each have a legally blind partner, asked about audio (so that they weren't just reading the commentary C.I. makes and the excerpts at the site), C.I. began adding additional audio links besides Democracy Now! An audio program is something that the couples can listen to together. NPR is even on the audio links and that's due to the fact that, regardless of what C.I. thinks of it, it does provide an option for members where one partner is visually impaired. C.I. does not link to audio links that require someone pay a fee to listen. That's to factor in the members on fixed incomes.
The visitor and I will never agree on the Bully Boy. (I am impressed that despite the fact that he disagrees with close to everything that goes up at any of the community sites, he continues to read them.) But I hope that we can agree that there's a misunderstanding of what The Common Ills does and how C.I. makes decisions. Also remember that Kat covers KPFA's Guns and Butter and that Cedric and Mike WBAI's Law and Disorder?
Lucy, a community member, asks if I could pick one show to note? I don't want to do that. For various reasons. One reason is that listening live during the day is something that pops up when I have a cancellation. Otherwise, I only hear Democracy Now! (which Sunny and I listen to during the lunch hour). I'd prefer not to pin myself down to one program. I also think that by floating, I can grab more than one show over time. Lucy suggested a show and I will try to catch it next week and note it. If I was covering only one show, I'd have to say, "I'm sorry, but I cover ___."
I'll note a moment of panic today during Democracy Now! that Sunny and I both had. Amy Goodman was coughing and had to take a break. Before she came back, Sunny and I were both pointing out that the show broadcasts not far from ground zero in NYC and remembering this item from Thursday:
"Report: 15,000 Suffer From Medical Problems in NYC Post 9/11" (Democracy Now!):
In other news, the BBC is reporting the number of victims suffering medical problems in connection to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center has risen to at least 15,000 people. The US government has been hit with a class-action lawsuit that alleges it offered false assurances to Manhattan residents and workers that the air was safe in the aftermath of the attacks. In a landmark ruling, a New Jersey coroner said this week that a police officer's death was "directly linked" to his work at Ground Zero after 9/11. The officer, James Zadroga, died in January.
When she came back, she explained that she had a spring cold. (I think that probably comes from the fact that she's all over the country, getting the word out, covering news and doing outreach work for community media.) We both sighed in relief when she said that. Amy Goodman, who celebrated a birthday Thursday, does so much for indymedia and, if you found yourself worried in that moment, do your part to get the word out or do your part to get the word out because she had a birthday. But get the word out. Twenty years from now, due to further media consolidation (I think it will happen short of a major citizen revolution), the media landscape will have changed. I also think it's true that, twenty years from now, we'll see hundreds of Amy Goodmans because she's made a difference and she's demonstrated the role that journalists can and should play. She's altered the landscape and become a role model.
The visitor who disagrees with everything he finds at community sites continues to read. He's also started watching Democracy Now! on his local cable access channel -- a direct result, he states, of the emphasis this community has placed upon the program. If you think getting the word out doesn't matter, you're underestimating the power of your own voice. Let's make that the peace quote. (By the way, the visitor noted I mistyped the peace quote Wednesday in the heading. He's correct.)
"Peace Quote"
Never underestimate the power of your own voice.
democracy now
the common ills
immigration
cedrics big mix
law and disorder
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
ruths public radio report
pacifca
pacifica radio
radio
wbai
guns and butter
kpfa
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
"Sentiment without action is the ruin of the school"
Mike called early (for the time zone he's in, but what would be our regular time normally) to make sure I wasn't waiting to figure out items. Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's commentary. Let me add that Rebecca will be blogging earlier tomorrow night or that's her plan. The reason? I'm off on Thursdays and people will either still be out West or making their way back tomorrow night. So go to her site and you'll have something up. "And the war drags on (indymedia roundup)" will go up at The Common Ills but that's a four to five hour thing to assemble each week and, in my time zone, it's usually up after I've gone to sleep. Rebecca will be discussing Flashpoints so you won't want to miss that. (That's a regular Thursday planned topic for her site Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude.)
Even before I spoke to Mike, I had already decided to stay silent on the topic of Katie Couric. I've read some of the criticism and they're really going to town on her. Ava and C.I. will tackle it on Sunday. When the "it's a girl!" b.s. started up, I figured it was only a matter of time before they tackled the topic. I don't know if this will be in place of their usual commentary or in addition to but I do know it will be worth reading.
"Report: Bush Admin. Suppressed Evidence Refuting Iraq WMD Claim" (Democracy Now!):
The Washington Post is reporting the Bush administration claimed to have found mobile weapons labs in Iraq after the invasion despite the explicit conclusions of a Pentagon-sponsored mission the claim was untrue. On May 29, 2003, President Bush cited the discovery of the trailers in an attempt to justify his decision to go war two months earlier. Bush said: "We have found the weapons of mass destruction." But just two days before, a Pentagon team sent to Iraq had concluded that the trailers were in fact "the biggest sand toilets in the world." One team member said: "Within the first four hours, it was clear to everyone that these were not biological labs." The Bush administration failed to make the findings public and continued with its faulty claim for more than one year.
You lied. You lied. You li-i-i-i-ed. I'm swiping from Aretha Franklin's "Baby I Love You."
But the press won't say that. If we've learned one thing from the last six years it's that the corporate press refuses to use "lied" when it comes to the Bully Boy. They also have a "no lie" clause with regards to Colin The Blot Powell. Bill Clinton? Al Gore? "Liar" can be used "liberally" but with regards to Republicans, they are much more "conservative."
That comes not from "journalistic standards" but as a result of the right-wing echo chamber and the right-wing working the refs for decades. That's why I firmly agree that the "tone" argument is nonsense. It's upset the corporate press, the way people call them out. They've gotten used to it from the right and, as they've demonstrated in 2000 and 2004, they'll walk lightly around Republicans. They'll save their "fun" to Democrats. For instance, if the below happened to a Democratic vice-president, I'm sure it would be front page news.
"Cheney Booed At Washington Baseball Game" (Democracy Now!):
And in Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney was greeted with loud boos Tuesday when he threw out the ceremonial pitch at the opener for Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals. This wasn't the first time Cheney has gotten a hostile reception at a baseball game -- in June 2004, Cheney was booed at a Yankees game here in New York.
But aren't Cheney and Bully Boy beloved by the nation? No, they aren't. As Mike noted last night "World's waking up" and that includes this country. But waking up is just like admitting you have a problem. It's a start and nothing more if you don't follow it up.
We really need to be following up. That's demonstrating, that's making our Congress reps hear us, that's making the war an issue.
There is a great deal to make an issue of in the illegal war. There is the issue of an administration that treats veterans as though they're invisible while they serve and disposable when they return.
"Letters from Fort Lewis" (Kevin Benderman, Kevin Benderman Defense Committee):
Americans are going to have to break out of their apathy and start helping ensure that our government does the right thing by these veterans and active duty people who have done and continue to do what so many of the privileged among us refuse to do. If you are a person in America who has benefited from the sacrifice of a person who has served in this country's military with honor, then it is your responsibility to give back to the veterans and their families, because if it weren't for those veterans, you probably would not have been able to achieve the success in your businesses that you now enjoy, watch the movies that now entertain you, or run on the fields of the games you participate in.
So if you're someone late in waking up, someone who went along with Bully Boy because you thought you were helping the enlisted, you can make up for the error in judgement by focusing on the issue of the enlisted. You can remember that the best way to stand with the troops is to bring them back home and work towards that goal.
"Peace Quotes" (Peace Center):
Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.
Edward Abbey
Even before I spoke to Mike, I had already decided to stay silent on the topic of Katie Couric. I've read some of the criticism and they're really going to town on her. Ava and C.I. will tackle it on Sunday. When the "it's a girl!" b.s. started up, I figured it was only a matter of time before they tackled the topic. I don't know if this will be in place of their usual commentary or in addition to but I do know it will be worth reading.
"Report: Bush Admin. Suppressed Evidence Refuting Iraq WMD Claim" (Democracy Now!):
The Washington Post is reporting the Bush administration claimed to have found mobile weapons labs in Iraq after the invasion despite the explicit conclusions of a Pentagon-sponsored mission the claim was untrue. On May 29, 2003, President Bush cited the discovery of the trailers in an attempt to justify his decision to go war two months earlier. Bush said: "We have found the weapons of mass destruction." But just two days before, a Pentagon team sent to Iraq had concluded that the trailers were in fact "the biggest sand toilets in the world." One team member said: "Within the first four hours, it was clear to everyone that these were not biological labs." The Bush administration failed to make the findings public and continued with its faulty claim for more than one year.
You lied. You lied. You li-i-i-i-ed. I'm swiping from Aretha Franklin's "Baby I Love You."
But the press won't say that. If we've learned one thing from the last six years it's that the corporate press refuses to use "lied" when it comes to the Bully Boy. They also have a "no lie" clause with regards to Colin The Blot Powell. Bill Clinton? Al Gore? "Liar" can be used "liberally" but with regards to Republicans, they are much more "conservative."
That comes not from "journalistic standards" but as a result of the right-wing echo chamber and the right-wing working the refs for decades. That's why I firmly agree that the "tone" argument is nonsense. It's upset the corporate press, the way people call them out. They've gotten used to it from the right and, as they've demonstrated in 2000 and 2004, they'll walk lightly around Republicans. They'll save their "fun" to Democrats. For instance, if the below happened to a Democratic vice-president, I'm sure it would be front page news.
"Cheney Booed At Washington Baseball Game" (Democracy Now!):
And in Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney was greeted with loud boos Tuesday when he threw out the ceremonial pitch at the opener for Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals. This wasn't the first time Cheney has gotten a hostile reception at a baseball game -- in June 2004, Cheney was booed at a Yankees game here in New York.
But aren't Cheney and Bully Boy beloved by the nation? No, they aren't. As Mike noted last night "World's waking up" and that includes this country. But waking up is just like admitting you have a problem. It's a start and nothing more if you don't follow it up.
We really need to be following up. That's demonstrating, that's making our Congress reps hear us, that's making the war an issue.
There is a great deal to make an issue of in the illegal war. There is the issue of an administration that treats veterans as though they're invisible while they serve and disposable when they return.
"Letters from Fort Lewis" (Kevin Benderman, Kevin Benderman Defense Committee):
Americans are going to have to break out of their apathy and start helping ensure that our government does the right thing by these veterans and active duty people who have done and continue to do what so many of the privileged among us refuse to do. If you are a person in America who has benefited from the sacrifice of a person who has served in this country's military with honor, then it is your responsibility to give back to the veterans and their families, because if it weren't for those veterans, you probably would not have been able to achieve the success in your businesses that you now enjoy, watch the movies that now entertain you, or run on the fields of the games you participate in.
So if you're someone late in waking up, someone who went along with Bully Boy because you thought you were helping the enlisted, you can make up for the error in judgement by focusing on the issue of the enlisted. You can remember that the best way to stand with the troops is to bring them back home and work towards that goal.
"Peace Quotes" (Peace Center):
Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.
Edward Abbey
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Demonstrations and movies
C.I. doesn't have the Democracy Now! entry up yet and my guess is that either there was too much activism or members are really weighing in about one guest on Democracy Now! Sunny hated him. We were listening at lunch and she had the most intense reaction. She did not like what he had to say. She felt he "sucked up air time" with his "pompous blowhardness" and she asked that I quote her on that.
Mike finally called. I've been staring at the screen and staring at it while I wondered if I should just grab two headlines and post something. He missed everything but the headlines at the beginning and Reverand Lawton Higgs at the end. He said Ava, Jess and C.I. grabbed the laptops at lunch with the goal of going through the members e-mails for highlights, noting developments in Iraq and thinking it would take a half hour at most. But the guest that irked Sunny also bothered a lot of members, especially ones from Dallas. His name is Gilbert Bailon and he is the editor and publisher of Al Dia which, I didn't realize this, is part of the Belo corporation. They own so many TV stations nationwide that they reach something like 14% of the population. That may not seem a lot to some but considering that we're not talking about ABC, CBS, etc., it is a great deal.
I think it was the slamming of the students that probably ticked off members. It really bothered Sunny -- who was sputtering she was so upset. The point where he probably lost a number of people was when he felt the need to offer 'tips' on protests. It's not his protest to offer tips on. The students who walked out last week around the country did a wonderful thing and that was their activism. They took charge and they did a wonderful job. They don't need some middle aged person (including me) telling them which flags they should carry and which they shouldn't.
Student walkouts.
How long has it been since we've seen that? They didn't do that by going to a publisher and asking, "What should we do?" They did it on their own and they did a wonderful job. Bailon's opinion is useless and unneeded. Just the fact that the "establishment" (which he is) is still talking about it demonstrates that the students were heard and seen.
Someone who is obsessing, a week after the fact, over a Mexican flag is probably someone who would never join a protest today. I praise the students for what they did last week (and what they are doing this week, they are still staging in walk outs). Carry whatever flag you're comfortable carrying. C.I. said something to the effect of (last week), "Where do these complainers think many of the targeted are from?"
The Mexican flag caused Bailon to panic. He was preaching assimilation throughout. Which also bothered Sunny because he seems to think the key is to life is being just a little different, not too much. It's a bleached out notion of diversity.
There was a story on the broadcast, one that actually mattered. I heard it on a Pacifica newscast last night. I'm not the publisher of a newspaper so if I've heard about it, one would guess that Bailon should have heard of it. But he wants to gripe about a Mexican flag instead of addressing a very real issue.
Here's a link (and their summary) to that story.
"Eighth Grader Commits Suicide After Being Threatened by School Official With Jail Time for Organizing Walkouts" (Democracy Now!):
An eighth grader in California killed himself two weeks ago after being threatened by a school official for participating in the student immigrant rights walkouts. Anthony Soltero, 14, died after he shot himself in the head on March 30th. We speak with the attorney representing Soltero's mother.
Do you understand why Sunny was so offended? A child is dead. But Bailon wants to whine about flags? Maybe it's generational? Maybe we're on the verge of another generation gap?
"Up to 2 Million March in National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice" (Democracy Now!):
As many as two million people took to the streets in more than 100 cities and towns across the country on Monday to march for immigrants' rights. Undocumented workers, legal immigrants, labor unions, immigrant rights advocates and their supporters demonstrated in what was billed as the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. In New York, more than one thousand demonstrators crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and packed the streets in lower Manhattan for a rally near City Hall. In Atlanta, as many as 80,000 people flooded the streets. In Phoenix, an estimated 100,000 rallied at the Arizona Capitol. 25,000 marched in Madison, Wisconsin. 10,000 in Boston. 8,000 in Omaha, Nebraska. The rallies Monday followed a day of demonstrations in San Diego, Miami, Birmingham, Alabama, Utah, Idaho and Iowa. A rally in Dallas drew half a million people, the largest protest in the city's history. In Washington DC, hundreds of thousands streamed past the White House to a rally on the National Mall. The demonstration took place just yards from the Capitol, where Senators last week failed to reach agreement on wide-ranging immigration reform that would allow the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in this country a chance to work here legally and eventually become U.S. citizens. We'll spend the hour looking at the growing immigrant rights movement after headlines.
Why have the results been so astounding? I'd argue because you don't have party machinary calling the shots. This is people, of all races, saying, "No, the government is not going to attack a people." So those who will be under attack and those who care or can identify, band together to be heard. As C.I. pointed out in the column in Friday's round-robin, this isn't a top-down activity. This is people pulling together, doing what they know needs to be done. Possibly, that's what's upset the likes of Bailon so much that they become fixated on a flag. Instead of one voice (or rallying behind one voice like at a party convention), this is a multitude of voices and it's quite amazing. Possibly only after so many years of oppression under Bully Boy could people again find their voices and use them for something other than a candidate.
"French Government Backs Down on Unpopular Job Law" (Democracy Now!):
In other news, France has scrapped a widely unpopular job law that would have made it easier for employers to fire young workers. French President Jacques Chirac announced the decision following two months of protests attended by millions of people. Student groups and unions hailed the decision as a major victory over a measure they claimed would have only worsened job security in France. Chirac said the measure would be replaced by a new initiative to help disadvantaged young people find work.
I wonder how much this impacted actions in this country? I think it has. I think, C.I. would say "buttefly wings," that whenever a group in one area stands up for itself, it does impact other areas. It's like when you see a movie where someone, say Goldie Hawn, goes up against the system and wins. You may leave that movie thinking, "I could do that. I can take control of my life."
I like Goldie Hawn movies. Since Rebecca wrote about the type of films I watch, I've gotten so many e-mails asking me why I don't care for this type or that type. I like many types of movies and that includes comedies. The Apartment is one of my all time favorite films. However, I'm not too keen on most of the movies that come out today. They just seem to be geared towards a younger demographic. Add in that the "I've got to get my life together and move out of my mother's/grandmother's basement" genre never excited me.
But I like Goldie Hawn movies. Even The Banger Sisters. I think Shampoo is my favorite film that she's done and, after that, probably . . . I don't know which one I would put right below it.
Let me depress everyone with a story. My brother is basically retired now and that came from making enough to live on and from the fact that doing that gave him a heart attack before he was thirty-five. He really is the only family (blood relation) that I have. (Our parents died in a car accident.) That was the most depressing time in my adult life, when he had the heart attack. I pushed my patients off on a friend and spent every minute I could at the hospital. I would come home, put on Private Benjamin and fall to sleep. My friends and that movie are the only things that kept me going during that period.
I haven't watched the film in years but I can still quote it. "I mean the army can't afford drapes? I'll be up at the crack of dawn." During that period, the smartest thing anyone could do, and my friends knew this, was ask, "What do you need me to do?" I needed a great deal of small things taken care of. Rebecca and C.I. were so supportive, keeping the fridge stocked, watering my plants, the little things that there really wasn't time for. That was a trying and scary time and I didn't need to process (who had the time?), I needed to stay focused on my brother so the friends who picked up the slack for me by doing the daily errands really helped out.
On C.I., it was pointed out to me that when I complained about Noam Chomsky's book, how I was told I could reserve it, that it wasn't out yet. No one told me that at the bookstores. If they had, I would have been far more understanding. C.I. already had the book and was talking about it. I assumed, since Chomsky was also on Democracy Now!, that the book was already out. I took it to California with me but only had time to read on the flight out. On the flight back, I was tired and ended up sleeping. But the title is Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy. I'm only on page fifty-eight but after I post this, I intend to read for a bit and then go to sleep.
Last night, I wasn't reading. I was listening to Waiting for Godot on WBAI and if you enjoy Beckett, I hope you were as well. (If you missed it, go to WBAI and click on their archives.)
Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts later tonight. They were about to eat dinner when he got off the phone so I have no idea when he'll post.
Mike finally called. I've been staring at the screen and staring at it while I wondered if I should just grab two headlines and post something. He missed everything but the headlines at the beginning and Reverand Lawton Higgs at the end. He said Ava, Jess and C.I. grabbed the laptops at lunch with the goal of going through the members e-mails for highlights, noting developments in Iraq and thinking it would take a half hour at most. But the guest that irked Sunny also bothered a lot of members, especially ones from Dallas. His name is Gilbert Bailon and he is the editor and publisher of Al Dia which, I didn't realize this, is part of the Belo corporation. They own so many TV stations nationwide that they reach something like 14% of the population. That may not seem a lot to some but considering that we're not talking about ABC, CBS, etc., it is a great deal.
I think it was the slamming of the students that probably ticked off members. It really bothered Sunny -- who was sputtering she was so upset. The point where he probably lost a number of people was when he felt the need to offer 'tips' on protests. It's not his protest to offer tips on. The students who walked out last week around the country did a wonderful thing and that was their activism. They took charge and they did a wonderful job. They don't need some middle aged person (including me) telling them which flags they should carry and which they shouldn't.
Student walkouts.
How long has it been since we've seen that? They didn't do that by going to a publisher and asking, "What should we do?" They did it on their own and they did a wonderful job. Bailon's opinion is useless and unneeded. Just the fact that the "establishment" (which he is) is still talking about it demonstrates that the students were heard and seen.
Someone who is obsessing, a week after the fact, over a Mexican flag is probably someone who would never join a protest today. I praise the students for what they did last week (and what they are doing this week, they are still staging in walk outs). Carry whatever flag you're comfortable carrying. C.I. said something to the effect of (last week), "Where do these complainers think many of the targeted are from?"
The Mexican flag caused Bailon to panic. He was preaching assimilation throughout. Which also bothered Sunny because he seems to think the key is to life is being just a little different, not too much. It's a bleached out notion of diversity.
There was a story on the broadcast, one that actually mattered. I heard it on a Pacifica newscast last night. I'm not the publisher of a newspaper so if I've heard about it, one would guess that Bailon should have heard of it. But he wants to gripe about a Mexican flag instead of addressing a very real issue.
Here's a link (and their summary) to that story.
"Eighth Grader Commits Suicide After Being Threatened by School Official With Jail Time for Organizing Walkouts" (Democracy Now!):
An eighth grader in California killed himself two weeks ago after being threatened by a school official for participating in the student immigrant rights walkouts. Anthony Soltero, 14, died after he shot himself in the head on March 30th. We speak with the attorney representing Soltero's mother.
Do you understand why Sunny was so offended? A child is dead. But Bailon wants to whine about flags? Maybe it's generational? Maybe we're on the verge of another generation gap?
"Up to 2 Million March in National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice" (Democracy Now!):
As many as two million people took to the streets in more than 100 cities and towns across the country on Monday to march for immigrants' rights. Undocumented workers, legal immigrants, labor unions, immigrant rights advocates and their supporters demonstrated in what was billed as the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. In New York, more than one thousand demonstrators crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and packed the streets in lower Manhattan for a rally near City Hall. In Atlanta, as many as 80,000 people flooded the streets. In Phoenix, an estimated 100,000 rallied at the Arizona Capitol. 25,000 marched in Madison, Wisconsin. 10,000 in Boston. 8,000 in Omaha, Nebraska. The rallies Monday followed a day of demonstrations in San Diego, Miami, Birmingham, Alabama, Utah, Idaho and Iowa. A rally in Dallas drew half a million people, the largest protest in the city's history. In Washington DC, hundreds of thousands streamed past the White House to a rally on the National Mall. The demonstration took place just yards from the Capitol, where Senators last week failed to reach agreement on wide-ranging immigration reform that would allow the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in this country a chance to work here legally and eventually become U.S. citizens. We'll spend the hour looking at the growing immigrant rights movement after headlines.
Why have the results been so astounding? I'd argue because you don't have party machinary calling the shots. This is people, of all races, saying, "No, the government is not going to attack a people." So those who will be under attack and those who care or can identify, band together to be heard. As C.I. pointed out in the column in Friday's round-robin, this isn't a top-down activity. This is people pulling together, doing what they know needs to be done. Possibly, that's what's upset the likes of Bailon so much that they become fixated on a flag. Instead of one voice (or rallying behind one voice like at a party convention), this is a multitude of voices and it's quite amazing. Possibly only after so many years of oppression under Bully Boy could people again find their voices and use them for something other than a candidate.
"French Government Backs Down on Unpopular Job Law" (Democracy Now!):
In other news, France has scrapped a widely unpopular job law that would have made it easier for employers to fire young workers. French President Jacques Chirac announced the decision following two months of protests attended by millions of people. Student groups and unions hailed the decision as a major victory over a measure they claimed would have only worsened job security in France. Chirac said the measure would be replaced by a new initiative to help disadvantaged young people find work.
I wonder how much this impacted actions in this country? I think it has. I think, C.I. would say "buttefly wings," that whenever a group in one area stands up for itself, it does impact other areas. It's like when you see a movie where someone, say Goldie Hawn, goes up against the system and wins. You may leave that movie thinking, "I could do that. I can take control of my life."
I like Goldie Hawn movies. Since Rebecca wrote about the type of films I watch, I've gotten so many e-mails asking me why I don't care for this type or that type. I like many types of movies and that includes comedies. The Apartment is one of my all time favorite films. However, I'm not too keen on most of the movies that come out today. They just seem to be geared towards a younger demographic. Add in that the "I've got to get my life together and move out of my mother's/grandmother's basement" genre never excited me.
But I like Goldie Hawn movies. Even The Banger Sisters. I think Shampoo is my favorite film that she's done and, after that, probably . . . I don't know which one I would put right below it.
Let me depress everyone with a story. My brother is basically retired now and that came from making enough to live on and from the fact that doing that gave him a heart attack before he was thirty-five. He really is the only family (blood relation) that I have. (Our parents died in a car accident.) That was the most depressing time in my adult life, when he had the heart attack. I pushed my patients off on a friend and spent every minute I could at the hospital. I would come home, put on Private Benjamin and fall to sleep. My friends and that movie are the only things that kept me going during that period.
I haven't watched the film in years but I can still quote it. "I mean the army can't afford drapes? I'll be up at the crack of dawn." During that period, the smartest thing anyone could do, and my friends knew this, was ask, "What do you need me to do?" I needed a great deal of small things taken care of. Rebecca and C.I. were so supportive, keeping the fridge stocked, watering my plants, the little things that there really wasn't time for. That was a trying and scary time and I didn't need to process (who had the time?), I needed to stay focused on my brother so the friends who picked up the slack for me by doing the daily errands really helped out.
On C.I., it was pointed out to me that when I complained about Noam Chomsky's book, how I was told I could reserve it, that it wasn't out yet. No one told me that at the bookstores. If they had, I would have been far more understanding. C.I. already had the book and was talking about it. I assumed, since Chomsky was also on Democracy Now!, that the book was already out. I took it to California with me but only had time to read on the flight out. On the flight back, I was tired and ended up sleeping. But the title is Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy. I'm only on page fifty-eight but after I post this, I intend to read for a bit and then go to sleep.
Last night, I wasn't reading. I was listening to Waiting for Godot on WBAI and if you enjoy Beckett, I hope you were as well. (If you missed it, go to WBAI and click on their archives.)
Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts later tonight. They were about to eat dinner when he got off the phone so I have no idea when he'll post.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Waiting for Godot broadcasts on WBAI public radio tonight
SAMUEL BECKETT 100:
A Special Presentation [on WBAI]
Monday, April 10, from 9:00-11:00 pm:
Commemorate Beckett's centenary and the 50th anniversary of the American premiere of his masterpiece, Waiting for Godot, by listening to a special broadcast of the play featuring the original Broadway cast: Burt Lahr, E.G. Marshall, Alvin Epstein and Kurt Kasner. Hosted and with an introduction by Simon Loekle.
Heads up to the above. On WBAI which you can listen to for free online.
Questions came in about the laptop. When it finally would start to boot back up there was a message about "allocated space" being used when not needed and it went through some process before it was operating again. Though a number are still in California, I did have to return (or risk cancelling appointments which I do not like to do at the last minute). Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts and criticisms.
"White House Defends Bush Intelligence Disclosure" (Democracy Now!):
The White House has publicly admitted President Bush authorized the disclosure of pre-war intelligence on Iraq. But White House spokesperson Scott McLellan said the disclosure wasn't illegal because information disclosed by the President is considered declassified. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, has testified that President Bush authorized him to leak a highly classified intelligence document on Iraq to the press in an effort to defend the administration's decision to go to war.
I have no idea what lie Bully Boy will finally tell on this but it's obvious that he's going to have to say something, offer some sort of remark. He'll probably make it in front of a carefully chosen group. It will be heavily reported and that the "faithful" applauded will also be heavily reported. Dick Cheney will announce "the people have spoken" because a few people who were handpicked by the White House to attend the event applauded. Then the mainstream press will take the attitude of "He has spoken, we need to move on."
Because that is how they've operated in the last few years. People wonder why, in the rare times when Bully Boy holds a press conference, there are no follow up questions? Where are the follow up stories?
There are no follow up questions because there are no follow up stories. All the press needs is some sort of a quote and they announce that the story is closed. "Bully Boy, what was the White House involvement with Enron?" "Ken Lay eats green cheese." They would report the green cheese remark and then "move on" to some other story. If questioned, they'd argue, "We reported on that!" When note taking becomes reporting, we're all in trouble.
"Mass Protests Continue Around the US For Immigrant Rights" (Democracy Now!):
Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across the country Sunday urging Congress to pass legislation that would legalize the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the US. An estimated 500,000 people took to the streets in Dallas. The marchers filled the downtown streets with chants of "Si Se Puede!" -- Spanish for "Yes, we can!". In St. Paul, Minnesota, 30,000 people rallied at the state capitol. In Birmingham, Alabama, demonstrators marched along the same streets where activists clashed with police in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. Other protests were held in New Mexico, Michigan, Iowa, Alabama, Utah, Oregon, Idaho and California. Michael Martinez, who attended a rally in San Diego, said: "It's not about flags, it's not really about race. It's about just equal opportunities for everybody and nobody being above or below the law and nobody being exploited by the law. It's that simple." More protests are planned for today in nearly 100 cities across the country.
That is so wonderful. If you think about it, certain lawmakers in Congress were under the impression that they could do exactly as they wanted without any input. That's been the process for some time now. So to see this massive surge of democracy is really amazing and a lesson in what can be done.
"Want More Bush? Elect McCain" (Helen Thomas, Common Dreams):
He is against abortion rights and gun-control laws and believes students should be taught the religion-oriented "intelligent design" theory of creation as well as the theory of scientific evolution.
His painful experience as a POW during the Vietnam War led him to buck the White House on the question of using torture to interrogate detainees and prisoners of war. Despite White House opposition, he triumphed with a 90-9 Senate vote on his anti-torture amendment to the defense appropriations bill.
Well, almost.
In signing the bill, the president issued a statement that under his constitutional authority as commander in chief, he did not have to abide by the anti-torture amendment. This is a dubious claim of presidential power that should be challenged.
McCain's political record is not entirely pristine. He was a member of the so-called Keating Five -- five senators linked to Charles Keating in the savings and loan scandals in 1991. But a special investigator found that McCain had not been substantially involved in influence peddling but criticized him and three others for "questionable conduct."
That searing experience may explain why McCain has been an avid advocate of campaign finance reform.
With his "hail fellow well met" persona and tendency to jaw with the media and pundits in the back of the campaign bus, he has created the impression in some quarters that he is a "moderate."
Forget it. His voting record speaks for itself.
I do like Helen Thomas. I do not like John McCain. For that reason, I'm noting the above. I assume, now that he's cozying up to Jerry Fallwell, that he'll shortly issue a press statement for attending the funeral of Mark Bingham.
Today, I caught Cat Radio Cafe on WBAI (airs from two p.m. to three p.m.) had a really interesting discussion about art and artists. I came in late to the show. Probably ten minutes after Janet Coleman began conductin the interview. But among the ones discussed were Brecht, Lillian Hellman, Norman Mailer and George Eliot. I had no idea, for instance, that Bertolt Brecht had been involved in Hollywood movies. He came up with the story for Hangmen Also Die which I looked up at IMDB. Here's a summary of the film:
On May 27, 1942 the Nazi Reichsprotector of Bohemia/Moravia, the "Hangman" Reinhard Heydrich, died from the bullets of unidentified resistance fighters. Hangmen Also Die is the story of Heydrich's assassination in fictionalized form. It was Bertolt Brecht's only comparitively successful Hollywood project; the money he received allowed him to write "The Visions of Simone Marchand", "Schwyk in the Second World War" and his adaptation of Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi". Hanns Eisler won an Academy Award for his musical score.
That was written by J. Arnold Free. There's also a summary by Jim Beaver. Somone else might recognize other names in the cast but I recognized three. The first was Anna Lee, who died in May 2004. She was famous as Lila Quartermaine on General Hospital to many but I'm sure to many (including me) she was famous for playing Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music. Walter Brennan was in the film as well and the first movie that comes to mind for me there is To Have and Have Not with Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. (Second film? Meet John Doe starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper.) The film was directed by Frtiz Lang famous for M, Metropolis, Fury and more.
Brecht had a habit of taking credit for the work of women in his life. I wasn't aware of that but I only know some of his work and not a great deal of his life. Rebecca probably already knew about that. George Eliot came off better in the artist's eyes (I believe Edward Sorel was the artist interviewed). The discussion of the authors was the chief portion of the broadcast but it was also followed by a discussion on improvisation.
Kat is covering KPFA's Guns and Butter each week and Rebecca's covering Flashpoints. All of us are attempting to get the word out on Pacifica and, equally important, to help Ruth out so each Saturday she's not thinking, "Okay, seven days and twenty-four hours each day, I can cover this." There's no way she can. So we're all attempting to note Pacifica at least once a week at our sites.
I'm a "floater" meaning that I haven't adopted one show. It will probably depend upon what is going on that week and what I know is on. I'd mentioned to Ruth this weekend, when we were all together in California, that I had a Monday hour free due to a cancellation (no problem, dentist trumps all). I was hoping for some suggestions of programs she enjoyed or something you hadn't been able to get to that members of the community were requesting. She recommended Cat Radio Cafe because she enjoys it and it is a community favorite. Janet Coleman was the host I heard but David Dozier is also a host. Both are part of the The Christmas Coup Players.
Pacifica is popular within the community and I hope everyone works hard to get the word out. I noticed that C.I. worked in a mention of Law and Disorder during "Book Discussion: 2 Books, Don't Count the Minutes" and we really should be able to do that, to offer those kind of references. Not, "Oh, I was watching CNN" or "Oh, I was listening to NPR" but to note the sources that matter because they believe the world matters (as opposed to believing the world is a teeter-totter and "balance" is a religion). So my committment online is that I will try to note, in addition to Democracy Now!, at least one Pacifica program a week. Because that should be the ideal, what C.I. did. We're discussing Arundhati Roy's An Ordinary Person's Guide To Empire and she addresses the issue of torture. C.I. wanted to make a point about the Guantanamo prisoners and, in the middle of that point, works in Law and Disorder as a point of reference. (By the way, "I don't know that they are doing it" by C.I. refers to combining the practice of loud volume with no volume. I've added "[doing the next part]" to the transcript because I had an e-mail asking if C.I. was refuting torture by sound at Guantanamo and, no, that wasn't the case. C.I. spoke hesitantly on it and afterwards it was asked, "If they aren't doing it already, did I just advise them a way to improve torture?" I don't think so. I think it was a good point and that it's probably already being used but the connection outside of Guantanamo hadn't been made. I followed it but in case anyone else was confused, I've added that clarifcation.)
If we really worked at that, their would be an awareness, a very real awareness, of exactly what was out there on the media landscape beyond the consolidated, heavily referenced media we hear too much from and too much of. With that and the limitations of big media in mind, I've composed the peace quote for this evening.
Peace Quote (from me):
Peace requires many voices and the awareness of them.
democracy now
pacifca
pacifica radio
radio
law and disorder
wbai
kats korner
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
ruths public radio report
the common ills
A Special Presentation [on WBAI]
Monday, April 10, from 9:00-11:00 pm:
Commemorate Beckett's centenary and the 50th anniversary of the American premiere of his masterpiece, Waiting for Godot, by listening to a special broadcast of the play featuring the original Broadway cast: Burt Lahr, E.G. Marshall, Alvin Epstein and Kurt Kasner. Hosted and with an introduction by Simon Loekle.
Heads up to the above. On WBAI which you can listen to for free online.
Questions came in about the laptop. When it finally would start to boot back up there was a message about "allocated space" being used when not needed and it went through some process before it was operating again. Though a number are still in California, I did have to return (or risk cancelling appointments which I do not like to do at the last minute). Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts and criticisms.
"White House Defends Bush Intelligence Disclosure" (Democracy Now!):
The White House has publicly admitted President Bush authorized the disclosure of pre-war intelligence on Iraq. But White House spokesperson Scott McLellan said the disclosure wasn't illegal because information disclosed by the President is considered declassified. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, has testified that President Bush authorized him to leak a highly classified intelligence document on Iraq to the press in an effort to defend the administration's decision to go to war.
I have no idea what lie Bully Boy will finally tell on this but it's obvious that he's going to have to say something, offer some sort of remark. He'll probably make it in front of a carefully chosen group. It will be heavily reported and that the "faithful" applauded will also be heavily reported. Dick Cheney will announce "the people have spoken" because a few people who were handpicked by the White House to attend the event applauded. Then the mainstream press will take the attitude of "He has spoken, we need to move on."
Because that is how they've operated in the last few years. People wonder why, in the rare times when Bully Boy holds a press conference, there are no follow up questions? Where are the follow up stories?
There are no follow up questions because there are no follow up stories. All the press needs is some sort of a quote and they announce that the story is closed. "Bully Boy, what was the White House involvement with Enron?" "Ken Lay eats green cheese." They would report the green cheese remark and then "move on" to some other story. If questioned, they'd argue, "We reported on that!" When note taking becomes reporting, we're all in trouble.
"Mass Protests Continue Around the US For Immigrant Rights" (Democracy Now!):
Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across the country Sunday urging Congress to pass legislation that would legalize the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the US. An estimated 500,000 people took to the streets in Dallas. The marchers filled the downtown streets with chants of "Si Se Puede!" -- Spanish for "Yes, we can!". In St. Paul, Minnesota, 30,000 people rallied at the state capitol. In Birmingham, Alabama, demonstrators marched along the same streets where activists clashed with police in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. Other protests were held in New Mexico, Michigan, Iowa, Alabama, Utah, Oregon, Idaho and California. Michael Martinez, who attended a rally in San Diego, said: "It's not about flags, it's not really about race. It's about just equal opportunities for everybody and nobody being above or below the law and nobody being exploited by the law. It's that simple." More protests are planned for today in nearly 100 cities across the country.
That is so wonderful. If you think about it, certain lawmakers in Congress were under the impression that they could do exactly as they wanted without any input. That's been the process for some time now. So to see this massive surge of democracy is really amazing and a lesson in what can be done.
"Want More Bush? Elect McCain" (Helen Thomas, Common Dreams):
He is against abortion rights and gun-control laws and believes students should be taught the religion-oriented "intelligent design" theory of creation as well as the theory of scientific evolution.
His painful experience as a POW during the Vietnam War led him to buck the White House on the question of using torture to interrogate detainees and prisoners of war. Despite White House opposition, he triumphed with a 90-9 Senate vote on his anti-torture amendment to the defense appropriations bill.
Well, almost.
In signing the bill, the president issued a statement that under his constitutional authority as commander in chief, he did not have to abide by the anti-torture amendment. This is a dubious claim of presidential power that should be challenged.
McCain's political record is not entirely pristine. He was a member of the so-called Keating Five -- five senators linked to Charles Keating in the savings and loan scandals in 1991. But a special investigator found that McCain had not been substantially involved in influence peddling but criticized him and three others for "questionable conduct."
That searing experience may explain why McCain has been an avid advocate of campaign finance reform.
With his "hail fellow well met" persona and tendency to jaw with the media and pundits in the back of the campaign bus, he has created the impression in some quarters that he is a "moderate."
Forget it. His voting record speaks for itself.
I do like Helen Thomas. I do not like John McCain. For that reason, I'm noting the above. I assume, now that he's cozying up to Jerry Fallwell, that he'll shortly issue a press statement for attending the funeral of Mark Bingham.
Today, I caught Cat Radio Cafe on WBAI (airs from two p.m. to three p.m.) had a really interesting discussion about art and artists. I came in late to the show. Probably ten minutes after Janet Coleman began conductin the interview. But among the ones discussed were Brecht, Lillian Hellman, Norman Mailer and George Eliot. I had no idea, for instance, that Bertolt Brecht had been involved in Hollywood movies. He came up with the story for Hangmen Also Die which I looked up at IMDB. Here's a summary of the film:
On May 27, 1942 the Nazi Reichsprotector of Bohemia/Moravia, the "Hangman" Reinhard Heydrich, died from the bullets of unidentified resistance fighters. Hangmen Also Die is the story of Heydrich's assassination in fictionalized form. It was Bertolt Brecht's only comparitively successful Hollywood project; the money he received allowed him to write "The Visions of Simone Marchand", "Schwyk in the Second World War" and his adaptation of Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi". Hanns Eisler won an Academy Award for his musical score.
That was written by J. Arnold Free. There's also a summary by Jim Beaver. Somone else might recognize other names in the cast but I recognized three. The first was Anna Lee, who died in May 2004. She was famous as Lila Quartermaine on General Hospital to many but I'm sure to many (including me) she was famous for playing Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music. Walter Brennan was in the film as well and the first movie that comes to mind for me there is To Have and Have Not with Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. (Second film? Meet John Doe starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper.) The film was directed by Frtiz Lang famous for M, Metropolis, Fury and more.
Brecht had a habit of taking credit for the work of women in his life. I wasn't aware of that but I only know some of his work and not a great deal of his life. Rebecca probably already knew about that. George Eliot came off better in the artist's eyes (I believe Edward Sorel was the artist interviewed). The discussion of the authors was the chief portion of the broadcast but it was also followed by a discussion on improvisation.
Kat is covering KPFA's Guns and Butter each week and Rebecca's covering Flashpoints. All of us are attempting to get the word out on Pacifica and, equally important, to help Ruth out so each Saturday she's not thinking, "Okay, seven days and twenty-four hours each day, I can cover this." There's no way she can. So we're all attempting to note Pacifica at least once a week at our sites.
I'm a "floater" meaning that I haven't adopted one show. It will probably depend upon what is going on that week and what I know is on. I'd mentioned to Ruth this weekend, when we were all together in California, that I had a Monday hour free due to a cancellation (no problem, dentist trumps all). I was hoping for some suggestions of programs she enjoyed or something you hadn't been able to get to that members of the community were requesting. She recommended Cat Radio Cafe because she enjoys it and it is a community favorite. Janet Coleman was the host I heard but David Dozier is also a host. Both are part of the The Christmas Coup Players.
Pacifica is popular within the community and I hope everyone works hard to get the word out. I noticed that C.I. worked in a mention of Law and Disorder during "Book Discussion: 2 Books, Don't Count the Minutes" and we really should be able to do that, to offer those kind of references. Not, "Oh, I was watching CNN" or "Oh, I was listening to NPR" but to note the sources that matter because they believe the world matters (as opposed to believing the world is a teeter-totter and "balance" is a religion). So my committment online is that I will try to note, in addition to Democracy Now!, at least one Pacifica program a week. Because that should be the ideal, what C.I. did. We're discussing Arundhati Roy's An Ordinary Person's Guide To Empire and she addresses the issue of torture. C.I. wanted to make a point about the Guantanamo prisoners and, in the middle of that point, works in Law and Disorder as a point of reference. (By the way, "I don't know that they are doing it" by C.I. refers to combining the practice of loud volume with no volume. I've added "[doing the next part]" to the transcript because I had an e-mail asking if C.I. was refuting torture by sound at Guantanamo and, no, that wasn't the case. C.I. spoke hesitantly on it and afterwards it was asked, "If they aren't doing it already, did I just advise them a way to improve torture?" I don't think so. I think it was a good point and that it's probably already being used but the connection outside of Guantanamo hadn't been made. I followed it but in case anyone else was confused, I've added that clarifcation.)
If we really worked at that, their would be an awareness, a very real awareness, of exactly what was out there on the media landscape beyond the consolidated, heavily referenced media we hear too much from and too much of. With that and the limitations of big media in mind, I've composed the peace quote for this evening.
Peace Quote (from me):
Peace requires many voices and the awareness of them.
democracy now
pacifca
pacifica radio
radio
law and disorder
wbai
kats korner
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
ruths public radio report
the common ills
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