"Letters from our readers" (World Socialist Web Site):
On “Media Reform conference in Minneapolis: criticism of the media, but a movement still in the orbit of the Democratic Party”
Wonderful article! It’s good to get a socialist perspective on this conference. I thought I smelled a rat, and it was good to have my senses confirmed from reading this article.
A couple days before the conference, Robert McChesney, the founder of Free Press and long-time editor of Monthly Review, made a swing through Madison to promote his book at a radical bookstore, Rainbow Books. He spoke at Rainbow Books for about an hour before fielding questions.
In the first few minutes he spoke, he encapsulated in a few words everything he needed to say about the media, calling it a “capitalist” media. He then acknowledge all that that entailed before he went into the minutiae of the latest FCC rulings, the fight to save Internet neutrality, and the demise of a local newspaper, the Capital Times. He called John Nichols “his close friend.” I wonder if Bob McChesney’s socialist friends are so few in number that he has had to lower his standards and embrace this erstwhile Democratic apparatchik.
KK
13 June 2008
* * *
Your observation that media reform is “a movement still in the orbit of the Democratic Party” also seems true with Pacifica radio KPFK in Los Angeles. I have sent links to your article to several at the station and their “Program Comments” page.
“Democracy Now!” with Amy Goodman is perhaps the most listened-to current affairs program on KPFK. Every program highlights another specific economic or political crisis. There is no critical discussion as to why these events are happening, the underlying economic forces that connect “single-issue” problems. Political discourse is so “framed” at KPFK that listeners never hear about any alternative analysis outside the “status quo” box of electing a few “progressives” to reform the Democratic Party.
KPFK and Pacifica forever seem to exclude critical discussion of US and global capitalism as a root cause of the global crises that humanity now faces. Thus war, economic decline, starvation, environmental collapse, appear as an unending series of irresolvable “natural” catastrophes, or just a series of unrelated problems that will be fixed by replacing Bush with Obama or Nader!
JW
14 June 2008
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You have a superb, valuable site. I follow it daily and find it invaluable. I fully agree with your comments about less than true-blue reformers showing up in Minneapolis. I’ve long taken issue with Amy Goodman, Moyers and others. McChesney is another matter by his dedication to real media reform and important writing.
The Nation appalls me often, and I cancelled my subscription after it supported the Afghan war at first. We agree. We’re either true blue or fake. I try to be the former in my writing and radio program. I wrote about Obama and denounced him. Article called “Nader v. Twiddle Dee or Twiddle Dum.” Much else as well.
SL
Chicago, Illinois, USA
13 June 2008
I was flipping around online, trying to figure out what to write about tonight, when I found the letters. Those are not all of them. I just offered up the first ones.
Once upon a time, Ms. magazine ran letters. These days, it offers snippets. Generally, the 'editors' at Ms. also feel the need to sound off to the letters -- sometimes embarrassingly so. If you glance at the letters above (or the ones on the other topics, use the link), you may think, "Oh, they're all saying the same thing." They are not.
Sunday nights, I'm generally flipping through the assorted magazines I buy (less and less, since they all do the same dance). The letters section is what I start with. Nothing to be impressed with was found last night.
The letters were too short and had been edited. Which only reminded me of how so many magazines have become nothing but a jar of Cheese Whiz. I enjoyed magazine writing because it was different. It might be the fabled 'new journalism,' it might have the life of Patti Smith's pre-rock goddess days (I'm referring to when Smith, before she was a performer, wrote album reviews), but whatever it was, it had life. 'Professional' really became a codeword for 'pasturized.' You can read a sentence of a magazine article to C.I. who will then either narrow it down to five and ask for another sentence or be able to immediately tell you who wrote it. I don't have that ability to do the text equivalent of "Name That Tune."
Plus, I'm really getting down on magazines these days. I do still read Harper's magazine regularly. (I also agree with C.I.'s take on the ridiculous roundtable they run this month.) That may be one of the few 'big' magazines where everyone's not being put through a processor before their words hit the page.
I like to think that people find exciting writing online (not here, this is my journal, typos and all) because it is really depressing to think that writing that breathes and lives has disappeared. But if you flip through, for example, The Nation, lots of luck finding many writers. There are people who can type on the keyboard, no question. But the bulk really aren't writers.
With newspapers reducing the length of stories, you'd think magazines would make a play for increased readership by really offering so vivid. I can't read The New Yorker these days. I see a lot of posing and a lot of boredom. I see little I couldn't find elsewhere.
I think, my only little hunch, that part of the editing of lettes today in so many publications, is part of their dislike of voices. With few exceptions (I'm hard pressed to think of a 'big' magazine other than Harper's right now, but I'm sure there's some), it's all one voice.
Sometimes the one voice all say the same things. Sometimes they say the same thing about different topics. I really don't encounter writers. Maybe I was spoiled by 'new journalism'? Maybe being able to pick up magazines and find Ellen Willis, or Joan Didion, or Norman Mailer, or Hunter S. Thompson, or Nora Ephron, or whomever, spoiled me?
I enjoyed the letters at the top (and all the letters at the link) because there wasn't one voice or an effort to make everyone sound alike. It's not 'dumbing down,' it's bad writing.
I can remember 16 magazine. Gloria knew what she was doing. She wasn't 'dumbing down'. As articles get shorter (and perspective flies out the window), it needs to be noted that most of the 'writers' in magazines today couldn't have been farmed out by 16 to cover what ever the 'happening' group of the day was all those years ago. Jazz & Pop was a more mature magazine but another great one.
"Land of quick decision, land of short attention spans," sings Joni Mitchell and that probably comes into play but it's more than that, it's a desire to put everything through the mill so it all sounds alike and doesn't rock the boat. It's bad writing, they might admit, but it's just like everyone else!
So that's my gripe for tonight and I've mitigated it somewhat by including some strong letters.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Monday, June 30, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, attempts to assassinate five Iraqi judges take place, four Abu Ghraib prisoners sue, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Henry Aubin's "Canada is wrong not to give asylum to U.S. war resisters" (Montreal Gazette) ran earlier this month. Today The Montreal Gazette notes the column was very popular with readers explaining "most writers supported Aubin's contention that welcoming U.S. war resisters would be the right thing to do" and quotes Nadia Alexan writing that "if there was ever a case made against an unjust immoral, manufactured war, the agression against Iraq should take the cake."
May 21st was when Corey Glass was told he would be deported. Corey Glass is an Iraq War veteran and a US war resister. He went to Canada seeking asylum -- the kind of welcoming Canada provided to war resisters ("draft dodgers" and "deserters") during Vietnam. After being told he was being deported, he's been 'extended' through July 10th. June 3rd Canada's House of Commons voted (non-binding motion) in favor of Canada being a safe harbor for war resisters. Douglas Glynn (The Barrie Examiner) quotes Corey stating, "The motion is not legally binding, though the majority of Parliament voted for it. I realized innocent people were being killed. I tried to quit the military while in Iraq," he said, "but my commander told me I was just stressed out and needed some R and R (rest and relaxation), because I was doing a job I was not trained to do. I went home on leave and said I was not coming back." So that's where it stands currently.Courage to Resist is planning "July 9th actions at Canadian Consulates nationwide:"Join a vigil and delegation to a Canadian consulate near you on Wednesday, July 9th to support war resisters! On the eve of Corey Glass' possible deportation, we will demand, "Dear Canada: Abide by the June 3rd resolution - Let U.S. war resisters stay!" More details and cities to be confirmed soon!
Washington DC - Time TBA - 501 Pennsylvania Ave NW (map). Sponsored by Veterans for Peace. Info: TBA San Francisco - Noon to 1pm - 580 California St (map). Sponsored by Courage to Resist. Info: 510-488-3559; courage(at)riseup.net Seattle - Time TBA - 1501 4th Ave (map). Sponsored by Project Safe Haven. Info: 206-499-1220; projectsafehaven(at)hotmail.com Dallas - Time TBA - 750 North St Paul St (map). Sponsored by North Texas for Justice and Peace. Info: 214-718-6362; hftomlinson(at)riseup.net New York City - Noon to 1pm - 1251 Avenue of the Americas (map). Sponsored by War Resisters' League. Info: 212-228-0450; wrl(at)warresisters.org Philadelphia - Time TBA - 1650 Market St (map). Sponsored by Payday Network. Info: 215-848-1120; payday(at)paydaynet.org Minneapolis - Time TBA - 701 Fourth Ave S (map). Info: TBA Los Angeles - Noon to 1pm - 550 South Hope St (map). Sponsored by Progressive Democrats LA. Info: pdlavote(at)aol.com Help organize a vigil at one of these other Canadian Consulates: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Anchorage, Houston, Raleigh, Phoenix, or San Diego. Please contact Courage to Resist at 510-488-3559. Veterans for Peace issued a joint call with Courage to Resist and Project Safe Haven for July 9th vigils at Canadian Consulates: "Dear Canada: Do Not Deport U.S. War Resisters!" Contact us if you can help organize a vigil, or can otherwise get involved. Locations of the 22 Canadian Consulates in the United States.Recently on June 3rd the Canadian Parliament passed an historic motion to officially welcome war resisters! It now appears, however, that the Conservative government may disregard the motion. Iraq combat veteran turned courageous war resister, 25-year-old Sgt. Corey Glass of the Indiana National Guard is still scheduled to be deported July 10th.We will ask that the Canadian government respect the democratic decision of Parliament, the demonstrated opinion of the Canadian citizenry, the view of the United Nations, and millions of Americans by immediately implementing the motion and cease deportation proceedings against Corey Glass and other current and future war resisters. Join Courage to Resist, Veterans for Peace, and Project Safe Haven at Canadian Consulates across the United States (Washington DC, San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles confirmed--more to be announced).We mailed and delivered over 10,000 of the original letters to Canadian officials. Please sign the new letter, "Dear Canada: Abide by resolution - Let U.S. war resisters stay!" http://www.couragetoresist.org/canada
Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign will hold a "Rally to Stop the Deportation of Parkdale Resident Corey Glass" July 3rd, begins at 7:00 p.m. (with doors opening at six p.m.) at the May Robinson Building, 20 West Lodge, Toronto: "In 2002, Corey joined the Indiana National Guard. He was told he would not have to fight on foreign shores. But in 2005 he was sent to Iraq. What he saw there caused him to become a conscientious objector and he came to Canada. On May 21, 2008, he got his final order to leave Canada by July 10, 2008. Then on June 3 Parliament passed a motion for all the war resisters to stay in Canada. However the Harper government says it will ignore this motion." They are also asking for a July 2nd call-in. Diane Finley is the Immigration and Citizenship Minister and her phone numbers are (613) 996-4974 and (519) 426-3400 -- they also provide her e-mail addresses minister@cic.gc.ca ("minister" at "cic.gc.ca") and finled1@parl.gc.ca ("finled1" at "parl.gc.ca").
To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/mc/compose?to=finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/mc/compose?to=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
Over the weekend, Joseph G. Cote filed "Marine is arrested, turned over" (Nashua Telegraph) which addressed the arrest of Marine Lance Cpl Jose Flores in Hudson, New Hampshire." Citing Police Capt Donald Breault, Cote reported that "[a] Marine representative had contacted Hudson police and asked them to arrest Flores because he was deemed a deserter". Saturday AP's nonsense brief was filed and Sunday AP filed more nonsense. Read the original article by Cote (which the first AP brief credits) and then the AP stories which maintain Flores was arrested at a traffic stop when there's not only no mention of that, what Cote reports is that the marines contacted the local police and told the police to pick up Flores. It does matter. When the military has told the police to go to a parents' home in Colorado and search, when the military was calling police stations up and down California to alert them to Kyle Snyder, when 'traffic stops' turn out to be searching homes (one war resister picked up at a 'traffic stop') was actually picked up at his brother's home and discovered during the search. The military wants to lie and pretend all they do is enter a name in a data base after thirty days. The reality is an entire unit is patrolling the web looking for tidbits, checking out MySpace pages, phoning in tips to local police. It's time for the lying to stop and the AP has now made the same mistake two days in a row. At this point, it is no longer a mistake, it is a lie.
Turning to Iraq. Nothing to note. Didn't you hear? The 'surge' worked. What's that? It didn't? It was nothing but whack-a-mole on a larger scale? Well someone forgot to tell Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel who declared the 'surge' a "success" yesterday on ABC's This Week. In the real world (your visa is revoked, Katrina), the targeting of officials only increases in Iraq with today seeing an apparent record number of assassination attempts on judges in Baghdad. Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing "targeting the house of judge Suliaman Abdallah," " a Baghdad bombing "targeting judge Ali Hameed al Allaq," a Baghdad bombing apparently targeting "Judge Ghanim Abdallah al Shimmari, his wife and his daughter" (all three were wounded), a Baghdad car bombing targeting Judge Hasan Fouad and a Baghdad bombing that targeted Judge Alaa al Timimi. Other than al Shimmari, no judge was noted to be injured in the bombing. Five bombings today in Baghdad targeting judges. Friday, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) was reporting on Judge Kamal al-Showaili being shot-dead while "driving home" in Baghdad. Today Tawfeeq notes, "Hundreds of members of the Mehdi Army militia have been imprisoned in recent months in the wake of an Iraqi-led military crackdown to stamp out Shiite militants and establish authority in Shiite-dominated areas of Iraq." Reuters quotes High Judicial Council spokesperson Abdul Satar Birqadr declaring, "These attacks were organised. ALl happened on the same day, in the same way and the same part of Baghdad." (Reuters also states that the only person injured in the bombings was wounded except for "[t]he wife of Ali al-Alaq.") Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reported last week that, since the start of the illegal war (March, 2003), "40 judges have been assassinated" according to the High Judiciary Council.
Before we go into other news emerging today, let's drop back to the weekend. Hannah Allem (McClatchy Newspapers) reported Saturday on a Friday US raid in Karbala that resulted in at least one civilian death, a relative of Nouri al-Maliki's. Allem continued covering the story over the weekend. She noted, "Outrage over the mysterious operation has spread to the highest levels of the Iraqi government, which is demanding an explanation for how such a raid occured in a province ostensibly under full Iraq command." And, citing Iraqi sources, noted the raid was conducted by US special forces and that this put the treaty (passed off as a Status of Forces Agreement) in jeopardy. Allam and Qassim Zein reported that the man's name was Ali Abdulhussein al-Maliki and he "was killed at his guard post outside the villa belonging to Maliki's sister" and the brother of the late al-Maliki, Abdulhussein al-Maliki, told McClatchy US helicopters arrived before dawn and "about 50 American ground troops in camoflage then stormed into Janaja". The death of al-Maliki's relative follows last week's other known civilian deaths: 3 bank employees shot dead by US forces while returning to work and 4 members of a family killed in a US air bombing. Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports that the central government in Baghdad issued a "statement [which] demanded that the [US] soldiers be held accountable in Iraq." Doug Smith (Los Angeles Times) reports that the rumbles in Baghdad are that al-Maliki will announce "[t]he appointmen tof a judge to hear evidence against U.S. soldiers" and quotes Iraqi MP Haider Abadi (from al-Maliki's Dawa Party) stating, "It's not acceptable, Iraqis getting killed without even knowing if it is the result of a tragic incident or this is negligence on the part of the U.S. military."
On the theft of Iraqi oil, Andrew E. Kramer (New York Times) reported today that the US State Department took part in the awarding of no-bid contracts to Big Oil despite previous claims that the Iraqis had made the decision with help from Big Oil that the US paried them with (click here for Kramer's June 19th report). Kramer notes that "any perception of American meddling in Iraq's oil policies threaten to inflame opinion against the United States, particularly in Arab nations that are skeptical of American intentions in Iraq, which has the third-largest oil reserves in the world." Andy Rowell (Price of Oil) quotes Greg Muttitt stating that "the contracts start to look very strange. For a start, the deals are with the wrong companies. The companies which usually carry out TSCs [technical service contracts] are specialist providers, like Schlumberger, Sapem or Baker Hughes. They are often hired in for geological, construction or drilling expertise, or to install a piece of technology. In no other country are the likes of BP or ExxonMobil carrying out such TSCs."
Though the contracts were supposed to be signed today, AFP reports that they haven't been and that "Iraq is still negotiating with Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total" as well as Small Oil and quotes Hussein al-Shahristani, the country's Oil Mister, declaring, "We did not finalise any agreement with them because they refused to offer consultancy based on fees as they wanted a share of the oil." This as CBS and AP report that the price of a barrel of oil hit $143 today.
In other news Daren Butler (Reuters) reports that four Iraqis have announced they "are suing U.S. military contractors CACI International Inc, CACI Premier Techonology and L-3 Services Inc (formerly Titan Corp) as well as three people who they say tortured them while they were detained in Abu Ghraib prison." The Center for Constitutional Rights (Katherine Gallagher), Burke O'Neil LLC (Susan L. Burke and William F. Gould) and Akeel & Valentine (Shereef Akeel) are representing the four who are:
• Mohammed Abdwaihed Towfek Al-Taee, a 39-year-old taxi driver who was detained and horrifically abused for nine months before his May 2004 release. He later learned that he likely was the victim of a customer who presumably turned him over in exchange for American money for intelligence "tips." • Wissam Abdullateef Sa'eed Al-Quraishi, a 37-year-old married father of three, who was hung on a pole for seven days at the infamous Abu Ghraib "hard site" and subjected to beatings, forced nudity, electrical shocks, humiliating treatment, mock executions and other forms of torture during his incarceration at the prison. • Sa'adoon Ali Hameed Al-Ogaidi, a 36-year-old Arabic teacher and shopkeeper and father of four, who was held for a year, caged, brutally abused at the prison "hard site," stripped and kept naked, and was a "ghost" detainee hidden for a time from the International Committee of the Red Cross. • Suhail Najim Abdullah Al-Shimari, a farmer who was held for more than four years, including at the prison "hard site," was caged, threatened with dogs, and subjected to beatings and electrical shocks, and threatened with death and being sent to a "far away" place.
The three people being sued are contractors for the companies: Adel Nakhla, Timothy Dugan and Daniel E. Johnson.
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Mosul car bombing that claimed 1 life and left thirteen people wounded and a Baghdad car bombing that involved "an unidentified" corpse.
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Mosul that claimed the lives of 2 Iraqi soldiers.
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad and the corpse of 1 Iraqi soldier discovered in Mosul.
Moving to US politics. "It's political bigotry," independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader explained to George Stephanopoulos ABC's This Week yesterday when asked about (unfounded) anger at him for his 2000 run being taken out against organizations he is no longer a part of. "Why are all these people who agree with us on the issues behaving this way? Because they believe that the two parties own the voters in this country and you go for the least-worst party. And if you go for that least worst-party, you don't make demands on that least-worst party, your votes are going to be taken for granted and the corporate interests are going to pull both parties in their direction. They can't seem to figure that out. The Nation magazine for example and The Progressive magazine have all these recommendations and reforms and they're hostile or indifferent to the Nader-Gonzalez campaign which is the only one that comes up 6%, 4% sometimes 8 and 10% in Michigan in the polls is pushing their vergy agenda. They have no breaking point, George. There's no moral imperative. They will forever put the ring in their nose and provide the tether for the least worst Democrat." We'll address Nader's appearance later in the section on the presidential race; however, let's focus on the bigotry first. In the roundtable, George would declare Katrina vanden Heuvel's "name was invoked in the last" segment" (George invoked it, Ralph never mentioned her by name). Katrina declared, "First of all let me say that Ralph Nader, great citizen number one, but his great crusade against corporate power and for consumer rights has come from outside the electoral system. The Nation in 2004, again 2008 again said 'Ralph, don't run.' But the key thing, and I think Ralph understand this, and he mentioned another name, Bill Fletcher, Barack Obama is running for president, he is not running for the messiah. I'm shocked that he's moving to the center. I'm shocked. But we don't whine." If we did, we might whine, "Who told her to wear that ugly eye shadow?" Should we stay with this issue because Katrina didn't. She was asked about Nader's critique and she instead bragged that the magazine she is editor and publisher of ran a "Ralph, Don't Run" campaign in 2004 and again in 2008. That's something to be proud of? If she can tear herself away from whatever Russian bodice ripper she's currently thumbing through for a second, could Katrina refer to the Constitution and examine Article II? Could she try explaining how Ralph's criticism of her magazine and The Progressive was wrong? It wasn't wrong. Barack's caved on illegal spying and caved on public financing so far this month. Where's the feet to the fire? If The Nation will not support third-parties, will they even bother to hold Barack's feet to the fire? No. Nader's criticism was that he's shut out by 'independent' media (The Nation and The Progressive) whose stated beliefs and opinions are the ones his campaign is built on while they go with the least-worst choice from the Democratic Party. He is correct. Katrina refused to have that discussion. Not only is he correct on that, it's equally true that having decided to go with the least-worst of the two major parties, they betray their own beliefs. You saw it in all of Katrina's excuses (usually prefaced with "I'm not apologizing for" him as she went on to do just that). There was no attempt to hold him accountable. But Katrina doesn't dislike all third parties, she revealed. "The one who I think is going to gain real traction in this country," she said grinning like a demented fool, "is Bob Barr." So Bob Barr, whom Katrina sees as not 'winning' votes but 'stripping them away' from McCain is her kind of third party candidate. For Katrina, the 'good' third party is the one who does 'damage' to the candidate she dislikes. That's really more frightening than her pride over The Nation's undemocratic "Don't Run!" nonsense.
Turning to the US race for president. The so-called 'unity' campaign keeps floundering. Yesterday on CBS' Face The Nation (link has text and video), Barack Obama surrogate Wesley Clark was vouching for Barack's "good judgment" and other ridiculous things that Clark can see with some sort of decoder ring apparently. While the recordless Barack got a tongue bath from Clark, fur balls seems to be coughed up as Clark turned his fire on US Senator John McCain (the presumed GOP presidential nominee). While claiming "I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war," mere minutes later, 'honor' turned to 'trashing' as Clark declared, "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." CNN reports that McCain surrogate Rick Davis appeared on the cable network's American Morning today and declared, "Sending Wesley Clark out as a surrogate for your campaign and attacking John McCain and his war record and his military experience and his service is, I think, just the lowest form of politics." In the ongoing, illegal Iraq War, Byron W. Fouty, Alex R. Jimenez and Ahmed Quasai al-Taeli are classified by the Defense Department as "Missing or Captured." Rick Klein (ABC News) instructs, "Please, find me a single Democrat who thinks it's good politics to call into question the military credentials of a man who spent five-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war." Brian Montopoli (CBS News) reports the McCain camp assembled the following for a Monday morning conference call with the press: "Sen. John Warner, POWs Col. Bud Day and Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, McCain foreign policy advisor Bud McFarland, and Carl Smith a retired Navy pilot who served with McCain". Indpendent presidential candidate Ralph Nader was among the guests on ABC's This Week. The appearance preceded a Connecticut fundraiser which the AP reports raised $2000. AP also reported last week that 5% of Hillary Clinton supporters were now supporting Nader in the general election.
"If you really want to cover everybody in health insurance and save hundreds of lives and . . . hundreds of thousands of illnesses," Nader declared to Stephanopoulos, "you would go for single-payer which the majority of American people want and the majority of doctors want. . . . The HMOS are opposed to single-payer, the big health insurance compaines are opposed to single-payer. If you want to give a hundred million Americans a break in terms of their livelihood and wages, you would go for labor law reform. You'd repeal Taft-Hartley and give them the opportunity -- low-income workers -- to organize and collectively bargain. . . . If you want more jobs in the innercity, you know, public works, schools, clinics, libraries, sewage treatment systems, you've got to reduce the bloated, wasteful military budget, George."
"I think the two parties are hurting our country," said Nader of the Democratic and Republican Parties, "and they need more competition. As we see on our website VoteNader.org, you will see the issues we have on the table are majoritarian issues: single-payer health care, do something about the wasteful military budget, labor law reform, consumer protection . . . living wage, etc. . . . The problem is, George, there's too much political bigotry against small parties and candidates. You see it in these huge ballot access laws which we're trying to overcome now with our roadtrippers, very, very costly. We're excluded from the debates. Why do we ration debates? We ought to have staggered debates. You've got Wimbledon, the sixtieth seed gets a chance, you've got the NCAA, the sixtieth team gets a chance. You have a huge roll of wealth on it. We're appealing to the people in this country. . . . We're appealing to the people in this country who want more choices on the ballot and Nader-Gonzalez provides those choices." Team Nader states:
We need $10 from you to get Nader/Gonzalez on ten state ballots in ten days.
So, if you haven't donated to Nader/Gonzalez yet, now is the time - please give ten dollars now.
Our goal - $40,000 by July 6.
We have more than fifty young, energetic roadtrippers busting it on the ground all around the country for Nader/Gonzalez - the only candidacy that will shift the power from the corporations back to the people.
(If you think Obama is that guy, think again. Obama is moving in the other direction - running away from the people into the arms of the corporations. Check out Obama's most recent flip-flop on giving immunity to telecom corporations under the government surveillance and wiretapping bill. And then watch Ralph Nader say no to wiretapping here.)
In Illinois we've collected and turned in more than twice the signatures we need.
In Arizona, we've collected and turned in more than three times the signatures we need.
In Nevada, we will turn in more than twice the signatures we need.
By July 6, with your help, we'll be penciled in for ten states - Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Utah.
And we're targeting 40 states by the end of the summer.
There is a reason the corporate Democrats and corporate Republicans are concerned about Nader/Gonzalez.
We're at six percent in the most recent CNN poll.
And we plan to be on 45 state ballots come November (up from 34 in 2004.)
So, drop a ten spot on Nader/Gonzalez now.
Of course, the more the merrier.
But $10 is what we're asking from each and every one of you - our loyal supporters.
So do it now.
iraqthe new york timesandrew e. kramerandy rowellqassim zeinmcclatchy newspapershannah allemdoug smiththe los angeles timesalissa j. rubin
the center for constitutional rights
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Congress, Ralph Nader
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "A Flunky Scorned"
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday, June 27, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the deporation clock ticks down for Corey Glass, another Iraqi judge is assassinated, MTV accepts political advertisements . . . or at least some, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Iraq Veterans Against the War Matthis Chiroux remains in the news. Chiroux announced June 15th that he would not report to duty (as he'd stated he wouldn't on May 15th). South Carolina's WIS News 10 reported on some reactions yesterday (link has text and video):
David Stanton: Being called to deploy? It is a possibility that all of South Carolina's bravest face but the refusal of one soldier to go to Iraq has many military members talking. Sgt. Mathhis Chiroux was honorably discharged about a year ago. He served in Germany, Japan, Afghanistan and the Phillipines. Chiroux was then called back to duty for service in Iraq. But Chiroux says he will not report to Fort Jackson as ordered. As Trey Paul found out some have a hard time supporting the decision.
Mst. Sgt. Gary Villanueva: My father always taught me that a handshake was a man's honor. And signing on the dotted line is equivalent to a handshake. And s-s-so if they made that comitment I believe they should honor it and if they didn't, quite frankly, I question them as a man.
Trey Paul: We asked and Mst. Sgt. Gary Villanueva did not hold back.
Gary Villanueva: Maybe it's best if they don't come into the military because that type of person I would really question my . . . uh . . . back half of my life. And then protecting me or any other individuals I fight with.
Trey Paul: When it comes to a soldier who doesn't complete a military contract lets just say Villanueva doesn't agree
Gary Villanueva: I-I-I uh really think that uh there subject to the punishment that the military law stipulates because they signed a contract.
Trey Paul: Villanueva is one of several soldiers here at Fort Jackson taking part in the IRR -- that's the Individual Ready Reserve. It's the same type of program that Sgt. Matthis Chiroux was required to attend. Other reservists like Sgt. Nolze don't agree with Chiroux either but he thinks he understands where Chiroux's coming from.
Specialist Joshua Nolze: Up until a couple of years ago the military never really used IRR and they told you when you signed the contract, 'Don't really worry about it. You're not going to get called up.' Now days, it's a different story, different world. You're getting called up so it's something you've got to think about before you sign up.
Trey Paul: The IRR works like this: As a soldier you always sign at least an eight-year contract. Most spend at least two of those years serving active duty. The remainder of the contract is spent in some form of the reserves. Mostly the IRR. First Sgt. Reid is helping train these reservists.
1st Sgt. Michael Reid: I also have mixed feelings because some of these young fellows have already been two or three times and probably don't want to go back.
Trey Paul: Since 9-11 a spokesman for the national IRR says Chiroux is just one of seven-hundred who have been a no-show
Gary Villanueva: Whether I agree or disagree with this war is im-imaterial. But one thing I'm soli- I'm sure of, that there are servicemen overseas that need support and that's why I'm coming back to support them.
Trey Paul: At Fort Jackson, Trey Paul, WIS News 10.
IVAW notes:
How you can help:
Contact your congressional representatives and ask them to publicly support Matthis.
Contribute to IVAW's legal defense fund to help Matthis and other resisters.
Send a message of support to Sgt Matthis Chiroux at thankyoumatthis@ivaw.org.
Find out more about Matthis Chiroux.
Moving to Canada, "I'm refusing to kill innocent people and I'm the one waiting to go to prison and they're the ones setting us up to commit war crimes and they go free," US war resister Ryan Johnson explains to Bill Kaufmann in "Writing on wall for deserters" (The Calgary Sun). Ryan and his wife Jenna Johnson moved to Canada in June 2005. Johnson notes that if a war resister is deported in July, he would most likely be the next one. May 21st was when Corey Glass was told he would be deported. Corey Glass is an Iraq War veteran and a US war resister. He went to Canada seeking asylum -- the kind of welcoming Canada provided to war resisters ("draft dodgers" and "deserters") during Vietnam. After being told he was being deported, he's been 'extended' through July 10th. June 3rd Canada's House of Commons voted (non-binding motion) in favor of Canada being a safe harbor for war resisters. Douglas Glynn (The Barrie Examiner) quotes Corey stating, "The motion is not legally binding, though the majority of Parliament voted for it. I realized innocent people were being killed. I tried to quit the military while in Iraq," he said, "but my commander told me I was just stressed out and needed some R and R (rest and relaxation), because I was doing a job I was not trained to do. I went home on leave and said I was not coming back." Ryan also notes the motion and points to the apparent dismissal of it by Stephan Harper (prime minister of Canada) wondering, "He ran on a platform of democratic reform -- he should take some advice of his own."
Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign will hold a "Rally to Stop the Deportation of Parkdale Resident Corey Glass" July 3rd, begins at 7:00 p.m. (with doors opening at six p.m.) at the May Robinson Building, 20 West Lodge, Toronto: "In 2002, Corey joined the Indiana National Guard. He was told he would not have to fight on foreign shores. But in 2005 he was sent to Iraq. What he saw there caused him to become a conscientious objector and he came to Canada. On May 21, 2008, he got his final order to leave Canada by July 10, 2008. Then on June 3 Parliament passed a motion for all the war resisters to stay in Canada. However the Harper government says it will ignore this motion." They are also asking for a July 2nd call-in. Diane Finley is the Immigration and Citizenship Minister and her phone numbers are (613) 996-4974 and (519) 426-3400 -- they also provide her e-mail addresses minister@cic.gc.ca ("minister" at "cic.gc.ca") and finled1@parl.gc.ca ("finled1" at "parl.gc.ca").
To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/mc/compose?to=finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/mc/compose?to=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
"Ultimately, the way I look at it is," McClatchy Newspaper's Leila Fadel offered to Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) yesterday, "there were 23 death certificates, 24 people died. Among them were toddlers and women, and Sergeant Wuterich has said this is what his training told him to do--go into the houses, throw grenades, and apparently shoot children and women. And it did happen, no one disputes that these women and children were killed. And that is what is angering the people of Haditha, that somehow, even with all of these bodies, that no one is being held accountable. And from what I understand, the case against Sergeant Wuterich is particularly strong and he's given eight--I think seven Marines immunity in order to have testimony against the sergeant. And he says, 'I did the right thing.' But toddlers--three-year-olds--and women died." Fadel was on to discuss the realities she reported in "Hadith victims' kin outraged as Marines go free" (McClatchy Newspapers, and link has text and video):"Khadija Hassan still shrouds her body in black, nearly three years after the deaths of her four sons. They were killed on Nov. 19, 2005, along with 20 other people in the deadliest documented case of U.S. troops killing civilians since the Vietnam War. Eight Marines were charged in the case, but in the intervening years, criminal charges have been dismissed against six. A seventh Marine was acquitted. The residents of Haditha, after being told they could depend on U.S. justice, feel betrayed." With Gonzalez and Goodman, Fadel shared, "We took a drive back to Haditha last week, trying to get a reaction to the dismissals and the one acquittal regarding this case of 24 people being killed on November 19, 2005. And the ultimate feeling I came away with: people felt betrayed. They felt betrayed that journalists told them if they told their story, somebody would be held accountable. They felt betrayed investigators told them that U.S. justice--that they could depend on that, and nobody is being held accountable. Many of them said, 'How many bodies does there have to be for someone to be punished for this?'"
This as Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports a US military raid in Karbala today resulted in 1 civilian being killed. On the heels of three bank employees being shot to death by the US military while on their way to work and a family air bombed by the US military. Earlier this week at Inside Iraq, an Iraqi correspondent remembered "Yasser Salihee, a physician and a father of one lovely girl" who had worked for McClatchy until being shot dead by a US soldier "Friday June 24, 2005". "Your friends and colleagues never forgot you and will not," writes the correspondent, "[. . .] I've been in so many places Yasser, I saw many die. I saw children, women and men were killed by terrorists or troops and we will keep trying to tell their stories. If we die my friend we will be dying telling the truth, telling the people what really happens here."
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province roadside bombing last night that claimed the life of 1 shepherd and left two more wounded. Reuters notes a Shirqat roadside bombing that claimed the lives of 2 "Awakening" Council members and left three more wounded.
Shootings?
Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports 1 "senior city appeals judge" was shot dead in Baghdad Thursday. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) identifies the judge of "Kamil al-Swaili, Head of Appeal Court" and quotes a High Judiciary Council spokesperson explaining over "40 judges have been assassinated since March 2003". Reuters explains, "Assailants using two vehicles blocked the judge's way, a police source said. They shot the judge, who was alone in his vehicle, before driving away, he said." Iran's Press TV states, "The assassination of al-Shewaili -- head of one of Baghdad's two appeals courts -- is the latest in a series of judges, academics and other professionals to be targeted by militants." Reuters notes a police officer was injured in a Jurf al-Sakhar shooting.
Corpses?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 1 corpse discovered in Mahaweel.
Meanwhile at the same the US military calls back service members who have been discharged, they kick out those who want to serve. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network explains:
Decorated Army Sergeant Darren Manzella has been discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law banning lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans from military service, effective June 10. The Iraq war veteran was one of the first openly gay active duty service members to speak with the media while serving inside a war zone. In December 2007, Manzella was profiled by the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes. He told correspondent Lesley Stahl that he served openly during much of his time in the Army, with the full support of his colleagues and command.
"The discharge of battle-tested, talented service members like Sergeant Manzella weakens our military in a time of war. National security requires that Congress lift the ban on gays in the military and allow commanders to judge troops on their qualifications, not their sexuality," said Adam Ebbin, Communications Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).
SLDN reports that a growing number of service members are also serving openly without incident. The organization is aware of more than 500 troops who are 'out' to their colleagues and, in some cases, their commands.
Sergeant Manzella said, "My sexual orientation certainly didn't make a difference when I treated injuries and saved lives in the streets of Baghdad. It shouldn't be a factor in allowing me to continue to serve."
Manzella, 30, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2002 and was twice deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While under fire on the streets of Baghdad, he provided medical care to his fellow soldiers, Iraqi National Guardsmen and civilians. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge, and also received several other awards recognizing his courage and service.For more information on Sergeant Manzella, SLDN and the campaign to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," visit http://www.sldn.org/.
In December of last year, Leslie Stahl spoke with Manzella for CBS' 60 Minutes (link has video and text)
Turning to the US political race for president, Josie Swindler (Radar) reports MTV had decided to take political advertising. Wait? Madonna, naked with the flag around her wasn't political speech? (Well, it sure wasn't art.) But, Swindler reports, there's a catch. They will allow the GOP and the Democratic nominees -- whomever they might be -- to buy ads. And other candidates? MTV v.p. of communion (I'm being sarcastic) Jeannie Kedas states, "We would consider and accept third-party advertisements on a case by case basis." Which is a good time to note that Bill Coleman shares his thoughts on the presidential race in a letter to the Bennington Banner:In reality, candidates such as Ralph Nader are disregarded from the outset because the election of someone such as Mr. Nader would bring about a true day of reckoning for American corporations. As long as these corporations are permitted to on the one hand have the same or greater rights than individual citizens, and on the other hand to never face the death penalty or anything more than self regulation or slap on the wrist fines, they can continue to wreak havoc everywhere they go and drain average people of every last cent of economic vitality they can muster. Yes, Ralph Nader supports an end to corporate personhood, in contrast to Barack Obama or John McCain, whose campaigns are awash in contributions from corporate America. The differences between Mr. Nader and the candidates that you are permitted to read about or see on television each day are very far reaching and vast.
The candidates you are allowed to see . . . To MTV, according to today's news, or not to MTV.
Two upcoming events for the Nader campaign: (1) "Private Conversation and Fresh Summer Buffet on the River" fundraiser in Litchfield, Conn. Sunday at 2:00 pm and (2) a Honolulu Nader for President 2008 Rally Thursday (July 3) at 8:00 pm at the Univeristy of Hawiaii. For more information on the events, click here. Team Nader notes:
Ralph Nader will be a guest on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Sunday June 29, 2008. (Check here for broadcast times in your area).
By the way, there are many definitions of "talking white."
Here's our definition, from the Nader/Gonzalez dictionary:
Talking white means telling the white corporate power structure what they want to hear, rather than calling them out and telling them what they need to hear.
Onward
And please note, whether George Steph plays it straight or goes into attack mode, don't turn off your television after -- you'll miss out on the unintentionally hilarious roundtable to follow featuring two Punches and two Judys. In other TV news, US Senator Barbara Boxer will be among the guests on this week's Bill Moyers Journal. Moyers broadcasts Friday nights on most PBS stations (and may repeat in some markets so check local listings). The Journal features online transcripts, online audio, online video and a blog to leave comments. In addition, Bill Moyers and Michael Winship often post commentaries there, either a Moyers commentary or a Winship commentary, or this week, a commentary by both. From the opening of "It Was Oil, All Along:"
Oh, no, they told us, Iraq isn't a war about oil. That's cynical and simplistic, they said. It's about terror and al Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire, and ashes. And now the bottom line turns out to be....the bottom line. It is about oil.Alan Greenspan said so last fall. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve, safely out of office, confessed in his memoir, "....Everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." He elaborated in an interview with the Washington Post's Bob Woodward, "If Saddam Hussein had been head of Iraq and there was no oil under those sands, our response to him would not have been as strong as it was in the first gulf war."Remember, also, that soon after the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld.s deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, told the press that war was our only strategic choice. "...We had virtually no economic options with Iraq," he explained, "because the country floats on a sea of oil."Shades of Daniel Plainview, the monstrous petroleum tycoon in the movie There Will Be Blood. Half-mad, he exclaims, "There's a whole ocean of oil under our feet!" then adds, "No one can get at it except for me!"
as does NOW on PBS which asks, "Is there a way to keep desperate homeowners in their houses? One enterprising entrepreneur has come up with a creative and self-sustaining way to prevent foreclosures and protect individuals from predatory subprime lenders, but not everyone agrees with his approach. Is this another cautionary tale in the making?" PBS' Washington Week will find Gwyn speaking with the New York Times' Linda Greenhouse and NBC's Pete Williams about the Court's latest rulings; Peter Baker (New York Times) and Shailagh Murray (Washington Post) will round out the roundtable. And independent journalist and artist David Bacon continues to cover the immigration experiences and his latest photos from Mixteca are amazing. Click here for his photos of documenting the experiences of immigrants. This fall (September) Bacon's Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants us released by Beacon Press.
iraq
corey glassryan johnsonmatthis chiroux
douglas glynn
bill kaufmanntrey paul
mcclatchy newspapersleila fadel
juan gonzalez
bill moyers journallinda greenhousedavid baconwashington weekpbsnow on pbs
peter bakershailagh murraythe washington post
I had mentioned Tuesday that I would repost Isaiah's comic but, Wednesday, I was focused on Barack's attack on Ralph Nader. It's good that I waited.
In that comic, Isaiah has Harriet Miers declare that since they didn't want her on the Supreme Court, she's not going to testify before Congress. While that is a joke, it became true in that Miers has never been forced to testify to Congress about her part in Attorney-Gate. All this time later, she has still not been forced to testify.
When a White House flunkie gets to ignore Congress, we don't have a working Congress. If you doubt that, read C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" from Thursday for the comments about what happened when Yoo and Addignton showed up to disrespect Congress and how Congress, unprepared, just took it.
There's no excuse for that, not at this late date. They should have been prepared and they damn sure should have cited Yoo and Addington with contempt. But we don't have a functioning Congress. We have a bunch of scared bunnies, desperate to be re-elected. Desperate to do nothing. Over and over.
Which is why they didn't end the illegal war in 2007 or 2008. They had the power. They could have filibustered. 'Leadership' could have enforced votes. But it wasn't important to them so the illegal war drags on. Get used to that because until they're forced to do something, the illegal war will continue to drag on.
Equally amazing is how we have allowed them to do this.
When they make promises they don't keep and our behavior signals that we are okay with that, we're asking for "Nothing But Heartaches," to cite an old Diana Ross & the Supremes song. ("He makes promises he doesn't keep, sometimes I don't see him all week . . .")
Which is another strong reason to vote for Ralph Nader.
Along with what Nader stands for, which most of us agree with, there's the fact that a vote for Nader makes it clear to the Democratic Party that they are not the only game in town and that they need to move further to the left. (Or even to the left.)
I honestly think Ralph Nader can get elected to the White House. I think that for a number of reasons that I will outline in a moment. But it is also true that a vote for Ralph sends a message -- it's a stronger message than any e-mail or phone call to your members of Congress.
Here's why I think Nader has a shot.
1) Barack was already running to the right and will only go more so to the right.
2) Don't believe the hype, Hillary supporters are not lining up behind Barack. If only 5% refuse to do so (and currently the figure is much higher), Barack will lose. The Dems can convince themselves that swing voters can help! But the reality is that they have pissed off the base. Swing voters are the "one" to the "guest plus one" invite. You have to have the "guest" (the base) to add onto, to build onto. Without them, you're in danger.
3) Ralph Nader will bring out voters who wouldn't vote otherwise. You have two War Parties. You have a nation opposed to the illegal war. Ralph Nader provides many who might otherwise not vote with a reason to show up.
4) Don't understimate that number. Critiques about our two War Parties are much stronger now than they were in 2000. Remember all Democrats except Barack wanted the Iraq War. What's that? Well, that's the lie he ran on, wasn't it? Didn't he trash Democrats in every debate saying they had been wrong and only he, the Christ-child, was right. So Barack's hideous campaign actually supported some points (to build himself up) that were being made in 2000.
5) With a GOP nominee, a Democratic nominee, Bob Barr, Ralph Nader and presumably Cynthia McKinney in the race, it's going to be interesting. There will be other campaigns across the country and surely some write-ins. But there will be five high profile candidates. To win, the winner will have to secure a lower percentage than in past years.
6) There is a Nader outrage building. "Nader outrage" is my term for this nonsense about Barack. Young people in 2000 worked their butts off for Nader, a candidate who stood for something and took positions. They are dismayed to see the Mickey Mouse Club pretend Barack's got anything to offer and to see these e-activists passing themselves off as genuine ones. Where I get coffee each morning (a non-chain), this has become a very big issue with the Generation X crowd that goes there. Their talks tend to gather a really loud crowd. Friday morning, I was actually early enough (yes, I resorted to a pony tail to get out the door, I wasn't in the mood to spend time fixing my hair) to get my coffee and to speak with them. I asked, "Are you campaigning for Nader?" I quickly explained I was supporting Nader. But I pointed out that for the last two weeks, I have heard them discussing "the Obama kiddie patrol." Their offense seemed to be growing with every day as well as their numbers. The response was a blank stare for a few seconds and then one of them said, "You know what, that's what I'm going to do." (Others said the same.) The difference was that they were no longer in college (where free time is greater than when you are in the work force) and it was eight years ago that they were hitting the streets for Nader. So they were doing what we all do, which is grouse and complain (and it is our right to do that) but now they're going to put some action behind that. I don't believe that I stumbled upon an isolated pocket of civilization at my local coffee house. I think the Nader supporters of 2000 have had enough crap. I think they've had it with 8 years of blame and I think they've had it with what C.I.'s labeled the "hope-ium" of Barack and this so-called 'youth-driven' campaign he has.
So for those and other reasons, I feel very comfortable about Ralph Nader's chances. But I won't regret my vote should he lose. I'll also be very kind and not blame the Barack voters for Nader's loss if it happens.
But Nader's the real change agent. Not Barack.
Barack, on CNN June 5th, reveled that his Iraq 'plan' if he becomes president is to get into the White House and then decide what to do. So all of this 'We want to end the war!' shouts he does to cheers and applause is nonsense. His 'promise' to end the illegal war is b.s. He's not opposed to the illegal war. He just wants to get into office. Barack's campaign is based on fan club membership. Raph Nader's asking people to participate and promising what he'd do if elected.
There's a world of difference between Ralph Nader and Barack Obama. Barack and John McCain? Not a lot of difference except that McCain has a record (which can be used in favor of him or used against him).
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday, June 27, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the deporation clock ticks down for Corey Glass, another Iraqi judge is assassinated, MTV accepts political advertisements . . . or at least some, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Iraq Veterans Against the War Matthis Chiroux remains in the news. Chiroux announced June 15th that he would not report to duty (as he'd stated he wouldn't on May 15th). South Carolina's WIS News 10 reported on some reactions yesterday (link has text and video):
David Stanton: Being called to deploy? It is a possibility that all of South Carolina's bravest face but the refusal of one soldier to go to Iraq has many military members talking. Sgt. Mathhis Chiroux was honorably discharged about a year ago. He served in Germany, Japan, Afghanistan and the Phillipines. Chiroux was then called back to duty for service in Iraq. But Chiroux says he will not report to Fort Jackson as ordered. As Trey Paul found out some have a hard time supporting the decision.
Mst. Sgt. Gary Villanueva: My father always taught me that a handshake was a man's honor. And signing on the dotted line is equivalent to a handshake. And s-s-so if they made that comitment I believe they should honor it and if they didn't, quite frankly, I question them as a man.
Trey Paul: We asked and Mst. Sgt. Gary Villanueva did not hold back.
Gary Villanueva: Maybe it's best if they don't come into the military because that type of person I would really question my . . . uh . . . back half of my life. And then protecting me or any other individuals I fight with.
Trey Paul: When it comes to a soldier who doesn't complete a military contract lets just say Villanueva doesn't agree
Gary Villanueva: I-I-I uh really think that uh there subject to the punishment that the military law stipulates because they signed a contract.
Trey Paul: Villanueva is one of several soldiers here at Fort Jackson taking part in the IRR -- that's the Individual Ready Reserve. It's the same type of program that Sgt. Matthis Chiroux was required to attend. Other reservists like Sgt. Nolze don't agree with Chiroux either but he thinks he understands where Chiroux's coming from.
Specialist Joshua Nolze: Up until a couple of years ago the military never really used IRR and they told you when you signed the contract, 'Don't really worry about it. You're not going to get called up.' Now days, it's a different story, different world. You're getting called up so it's something you've got to think about before you sign up.
Trey Paul: The IRR works like this: As a soldier you always sign at least an eight-year contract. Most spend at least two of those years serving active duty. The remainder of the contract is spent in some form of the reserves. Mostly the IRR. First Sgt. Reid is helping train these reservists.
1st Sgt. Michael Reid: I also have mixed feelings because some of these young fellows have already been two or three times and probably don't want to go back.
Trey Paul: Since 9-11 a spokesman for the national IRR says Chiroux is just one of seven-hundred who have been a no-show
Gary Villanueva: Whether I agree or disagree with this war is im-imaterial. But one thing I'm soli- I'm sure of, that there are servicemen overseas that need support and that's why I'm coming back to support them.
Trey Paul: At Fort Jackson, Trey Paul, WIS News 10.
IVAW notes:
How you can help:
Contact your congressional representatives and ask them to publicly support Matthis.
Contribute to IVAW's legal defense fund to help Matthis and other resisters.
Send a message of support to Sgt Matthis Chiroux at thankyoumatthis@ivaw.org.
Find out more about Matthis Chiroux.
Moving to Canada, "I'm refusing to kill innocent people and I'm the one waiting to go to prison and they're the ones setting us up to commit war crimes and they go free," US war resister Ryan Johnson explains to Bill Kaufmann in "Writing on wall for deserters" (The Calgary Sun). Ryan and his wife Jenna Johnson moved to Canada in June 2005. Johnson notes that if a war resister is deported in July, he would most likely be the next one. May 21st was when Corey Glass was told he would be deported. Corey Glass is an Iraq War veteran and a US war resister. He went to Canada seeking asylum -- the kind of welcoming Canada provided to war resisters ("draft dodgers" and "deserters") during Vietnam. After being told he was being deported, he's been 'extended' through July 10th. June 3rd Canada's House of Commons voted (non-binding motion) in favor of Canada being a safe harbor for war resisters. Douglas Glynn (The Barrie Examiner) quotes Corey stating, "The motion is not legally binding, though the majority of Parliament voted for it. I realized innocent people were being killed. I tried to quit the military while in Iraq," he said, "but my commander told me I was just stressed out and needed some R and R (rest and relaxation), because I was doing a job I was not trained to do. I went home on leave and said I was not coming back." Ryan also notes the motion and points to the apparent dismissal of it by Stephan Harper (prime minister of Canada) wondering, "He ran on a platform of democratic reform -- he should take some advice of his own."
Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign will hold a "Rally to Stop the Deportation of Parkdale Resident Corey Glass" July 3rd, begins at 7:00 p.m. (with doors opening at six p.m.) at the May Robinson Building, 20 West Lodge, Toronto: "In 2002, Corey joined the Indiana National Guard. He was told he would not have to fight on foreign shores. But in 2005 he was sent to Iraq. What he saw there caused him to become a conscientious objector and he came to Canada. On May 21, 2008, he got his final order to leave Canada by July 10, 2008. Then on June 3 Parliament passed a motion for all the war resisters to stay in Canada. However the Harper government says it will ignore this motion." They are also asking for a July 2nd call-in. Diane Finley is the Immigration and Citizenship Minister and her phone numbers are (613) 996-4974 and (519) 426-3400 -- they also provide her e-mail addresses minister@cic.gc.ca ("minister" at "cic.gc.ca") and finled1@parl.gc.ca ("finled1" at "parl.gc.ca").
To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/mc/compose?to=finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/mc/compose?to=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
"Ultimately, the way I look at it is," McClatchy Newspaper's Leila Fadel offered to Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!) yesterday, "there were 23 death certificates, 24 people died. Among them were toddlers and women, and Sergeant Wuterich has said this is what his training told him to do--go into the houses, throw grenades, and apparently shoot children and women. And it did happen, no one disputes that these women and children were killed. And that is what is angering the people of Haditha, that somehow, even with all of these bodies, that no one is being held accountable. And from what I understand, the case against Sergeant Wuterich is particularly strong and he's given eight--I think seven Marines immunity in order to have testimony against the sergeant. And he says, 'I did the right thing.' But toddlers--three-year-olds--and women died." Fadel was on to discuss the realities she reported in "Hadith victims' kin outraged as Marines go free" (McClatchy Newspapers, and link has text and video):"Khadija Hassan still shrouds her body in black, nearly three years after the deaths of her four sons. They were killed on Nov. 19, 2005, along with 20 other people in the deadliest documented case of U.S. troops killing civilians since the Vietnam War. Eight Marines were charged in the case, but in the intervening years, criminal charges have been dismissed against six. A seventh Marine was acquitted. The residents of Haditha, after being told they could depend on U.S. justice, feel betrayed." With Gonzalez and Goodman, Fadel shared, "We took a drive back to Haditha last week, trying to get a reaction to the dismissals and the one acquittal regarding this case of 24 people being killed on November 19, 2005. And the ultimate feeling I came away with: people felt betrayed. They felt betrayed that journalists told them if they told their story, somebody would be held accountable. They felt betrayed investigators told them that U.S. justice--that they could depend on that, and nobody is being held accountable. Many of them said, 'How many bodies does there have to be for someone to be punished for this?'"
This as Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports a US military raid in Karbala today resulted in 1 civilian being killed. On the heels of three bank employees being shot to death by the US military while on their way to work and a family air bombed by the US military. Earlier this week at Inside Iraq, an Iraqi correspondent remembered "Yasser Salihee, a physician and a father of one lovely girl" who had worked for McClatchy until being shot dead by a US soldier "Friday June 24, 2005". "Your friends and colleagues never forgot you and will not," writes the correspondent, "[. . .] I've been in so many places Yasser, I saw many die. I saw children, women and men were killed by terrorists or troops and we will keep trying to tell their stories. If we die my friend we will be dying telling the truth, telling the people what really happens here."
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province roadside bombing last night that claimed the life of 1 shepherd and left two more wounded. Reuters notes a Shirqat roadside bombing that claimed the lives of 2 "Awakening" Council members and left three more wounded.
Shootings?
Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports 1 "senior city appeals judge" was shot dead in Baghdad Thursday. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) identifies the judge of "Kamil al-Swaili, Head of Appeal Court" and quotes a High Judiciary Council spokesperson explaining over "40 judges have been assassinated since March 2003". Reuters explains, "Assailants using two vehicles blocked the judge's way, a police source said. They shot the judge, who was alone in his vehicle, before driving away, he said." Iran's Press TV states, "The assassination of al-Shewaili -- head of one of Baghdad's two appeals courts -- is the latest in a series of judges, academics and other professionals to be targeted by militants." Reuters notes a police officer was injured in a Jurf al-Sakhar shooting.
Corpses?
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 1 corpse discovered in Mahaweel.
Meanwhile at the same the US military calls back service members who have been discharged, they kick out those who want to serve. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network explains:
Decorated Army Sergeant Darren Manzella has been discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law banning lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans from military service, effective June 10. The Iraq war veteran was one of the first openly gay active duty service members to speak with the media while serving inside a war zone. In December 2007, Manzella was profiled by the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes. He told correspondent Lesley Stahl that he served openly during much of his time in the Army, with the full support of his colleagues and command.
"The discharge of battle-tested, talented service members like Sergeant Manzella weakens our military in a time of war. National security requires that Congress lift the ban on gays in the military and allow commanders to judge troops on their qualifications, not their sexuality," said Adam Ebbin, Communications Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).
SLDN reports that a growing number of service members are also serving openly without incident. The organization is aware of more than 500 troops who are 'out' to their colleagues and, in some cases, their commands.
Sergeant Manzella said, "My sexual orientation certainly didn't make a difference when I treated injuries and saved lives in the streets of Baghdad. It shouldn't be a factor in allowing me to continue to serve."
Manzella, 30, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2002 and was twice deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While under fire on the streets of Baghdad, he provided medical care to his fellow soldiers, Iraqi National Guardsmen and civilians. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge, and also received several other awards recognizing his courage and service.For more information on Sergeant Manzella, SLDN and the campaign to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," visit http://www.sldn.org/.
In December of last year, Leslie Stahl spoke with Manzella for CBS' 60 Minutes (link has video and text)
Turning to the US political race for president, Josie Swindler (Radar) reports MTV had decided to take political advertising. Wait? Madonna, naked with the flag around her wasn't political speech? (Well, it sure wasn't art.) But, Swindler reports, there's a catch. They will allow the GOP and the Democratic nominees -- whomever they might be -- to buy ads. And other candidates? MTV v.p. of communion (I'm being sarcastic) Jeannie Kedas states, "We would consider and accept third-party advertisements on a case by case basis." Which is a good time to note that Bill Coleman shares his thoughts on the presidential race in a letter to the Bennington Banner:In reality, candidates such as Ralph Nader are disregarded from the outset because the election of someone such as Mr. Nader would bring about a true day of reckoning for American corporations. As long as these corporations are permitted to on the one hand have the same or greater rights than individual citizens, and on the other hand to never face the death penalty or anything more than self regulation or slap on the wrist fines, they can continue to wreak havoc everywhere they go and drain average people of every last cent of economic vitality they can muster. Yes, Ralph Nader supports an end to corporate personhood, in contrast to Barack Obama or John McCain, whose campaigns are awash in contributions from corporate America. The differences between Mr. Nader and the candidates that you are permitted to read about or see on television each day are very far reaching and vast.
The candidates you are allowed to see . . . To MTV, according to today's news, or not to MTV.
Two upcoming events for the Nader campaign: (1) "Private Conversation and Fresh Summer Buffet on the River" fundraiser in Litchfield, Conn. Sunday at 2:00 pm and (2) a Honolulu Nader for President 2008 Rally Thursday (July 3) at 8:00 pm at the Univeristy of Hawiaii. For more information on the events, click here. Team Nader notes:
Ralph Nader will be a guest on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Sunday June 29, 2008. (Check here for broadcast times in your area).
By the way, there are many definitions of "talking white."
Here's our definition, from the Nader/Gonzalez dictionary:
Talking white means telling the white corporate power structure what they want to hear, rather than calling them out and telling them what they need to hear.
Onward
And please note, whether George Steph plays it straight or goes into attack mode, don't turn off your television after -- you'll miss out on the unintentionally hilarious roundtable to follow featuring two Punches and two Judys. In other TV news, US Senator Barbara Boxer will be among the guests on this week's Bill Moyers Journal. Moyers broadcasts Friday nights on most PBS stations (and may repeat in some markets so check local listings). The Journal features online transcripts, online audio, online video and a blog to leave comments. In addition, Bill Moyers and Michael Winship often post commentaries there, either a Moyers commentary or a Winship commentary, or this week, a commentary by both. From the opening of "It Was Oil, All Along:"
Oh, no, they told us, Iraq isn't a war about oil. That's cynical and simplistic, they said. It's about terror and al Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire, and ashes. And now the bottom line turns out to be....the bottom line. It is about oil.Alan Greenspan said so last fall. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve, safely out of office, confessed in his memoir, "....Everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." He elaborated in an interview with the Washington Post's Bob Woodward, "If Saddam Hussein had been head of Iraq and there was no oil under those sands, our response to him would not have been as strong as it was in the first gulf war."Remember, also, that soon after the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld.s deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, told the press that war was our only strategic choice. "...We had virtually no economic options with Iraq," he explained, "because the country floats on a sea of oil."Shades of Daniel Plainview, the monstrous petroleum tycoon in the movie There Will Be Blood. Half-mad, he exclaims, "There's a whole ocean of oil under our feet!" then adds, "No one can get at it except for me!"
as does NOW on PBS which asks, "Is there a way to keep desperate homeowners in their houses? One enterprising entrepreneur has come up with a creative and self-sustaining way to prevent foreclosures and protect individuals from predatory subprime lenders, but not everyone agrees with his approach. Is this another cautionary tale in the making?" PBS' Washington Week will find Gwyn speaking with the New York Times' Linda Greenhouse and NBC's Pete Williams about the Court's latest rulings; Peter Baker (New York Times) and Shailagh Murray (Washington Post) will round out the roundtable. And independent journalist and artist David Bacon continues to cover the immigration experiences and his latest photos from Mixteca are amazing. Click here for his photos of documenting the experiences of immigrants. This fall (September) Bacon's Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants us released by Beacon Press.
iraq
corey glassryan johnsonmatthis chiroux
douglas glynn
bill kaufmanntrey paul
mcclatchy newspapersleila fadel
juan gonzalez
bill moyers journallinda greenhousedavid baconwashington weekpbsnow on pbs
peter bakershailagh murraythe washington post
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Barack (falsely) screams racism (again)
"Obama using 'white guilt,' Nader says" (Alexander Mooney, CNN):
Ralph Nader's presidential candidacy has received little media attention, but his latest critique of Sen. Barack Obama has come under fire for its seemingly racial overtones.
[. . .]
Obama's presidential campaign earlier had called Nader's comments disappointing, and his communication's director, Robert Gibbs, said Tuesday that they were "reprehensible and basically delusional."
"I don't think he's spent a lot of time looking at the record of Barack Obama," Gibbs said on MSNBC.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, over 34 reported deaths in Iraq today, the US military announces more deaths, Ralph Nader is called "White" (he's not) by Saint Barack's Holler Monkeys, the Los Angeles Times continues to make life difficult for every other mainstream media outlet, and more.
Starting with war resistance. The War Resisters Support Campaign notes:
With less than 16 days remaining until U.S. warresister Corey Glass' scheduled deportation, three parliamentary parties andAmnesty International are urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Citizenshipand Immigration Minister Diane Finley to cease deportation and removalproceedings against Glass and U.S. war resisters seeking refuge in Canada.The federal government's July 10 deportation order against Glass is stillin effect, creating enormous stress, anxiety and turmoil for him and all warresisters and their families who are hoping the government will be guided bythe expressed will of Parliament. The successful passage of a June 3 landmark parliamentary motion calledon the Conservative government to allow U.S. war resisters who have refused orleft military service related to the illegal invasion of Iraq, and theirimmediate family members, to stay in Canada and be able to become permanentresidents, and to immediately cease any removal or deportation actions thatmay have already commenced against such individuals. A poll carried out in June 2007 by Stratcom Ltd., showed that 64.6% ofOntarians agreed that the war resisters should be allowed to stay in Canada.
They will be holding a "Rally to Stop the Deportation of Parkdale Resident Corey Glass" July 3rd, begins at 7:00 p.m. (with doors opening at six p.m.) at the May Robinson Building, 20 West Lodge, Toronto: "In 2002, Corey joined the Indiana National Guard. He was told he would not have to fight on foreign shores. But in 2005 he was sent to Iraq. What he saw there caused him to become a conscientious objector and he came to Canada. On May 21, 2008, he got his final order to leave Canada by July 10, 2008. Then on June 3 Parliament passed a motion for all the war resisters to stay in Canada. However the Harper government says it will ignore this motion." To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
At the White House today, Bully Boy met with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani (in the US to again visit the Mayo Clinic) and Bully Boy noted of the illegal war he started, "There's still a lot of work to be done, we recognize that. We talked of a variety of subjects. We talked about a strategic framework agreement that suits the Iraq government. We talked about elections and different laws that have been passed. I did compliment the President on working hard to see to it that the legislative session this year has been very successful. We talked about the fact that the economy is improving, and that the attitude of the people there has improved immeasurably over the years." After Bully Boy stopped repeating "we talked" and completed his summer vacation report, Talabani noted, "We improved our relation with our neighbors -- with Turkey, with Egypt, with Jordan, with Kuwait. We normalized our relation with Iran and with Syria, also. So Iraqi government is now going to play its role in the Arab world as one -- a founder of the Arab League. And there is no -- I think no more, any kind of isolation of our government." In other White House news, press flack Dana Perino was badgered for war with Zimbabwe today ("Why is military action not an option!") -- never assume the press merely takes dictation. Perino noted on the Talabani meet-up and talk of a treaty ("agreement") that she "couldn't put odds on it either way."
Today the US military announced: "Three Multi-National Division – North Soldiers and an interpreter were killed in an improvised explosive device attack in Ninewah Province at 10:45 p.m., June 24." This brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4109 with 25 for the month thus far. And that's 7 announced dead this week so far. Two US soldiers were killed in Iraq yesterday in a bombing and Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports, "The explosion occured hours before a vote to replace Abdul Hassan Jbara as chairman of the Sadr City District Advisory Council." The US State Dept's Stephen Farley was also killed in the bombing and CBS and AP report that Brett Farley (his son) stated that his father was nervous about the vote, "It was today that they were scheduled to vote on electing a new chairman, a pro-democracy chairman, and he told me pointedly that it was the biggest moment that they had faced over there. He fully understood what the risk was, but he was willing to bear it." Zavis explains, "The bomb was planted outside the office of his [Abdul Hassan Jbara's] deputy and would-be successor, Hassan Shamma" according to "council members who were there" and the police. Alissa J. Rubin and Mudhafer al-Husaini (New York Times) quote council member Qasim Abdul Zahra stating, "The explosion happened just outside the room, near the Americans . . . They were the ones that received the most shrapnel and that's why we are still alive." At the State Dept yesterday, Casey stated of Farley and others, "They're there to help support the development of local government institutions, help them in providing services for the people in developing Baghdad and developing Iraq's democratic institutions and practices." Casey descirbed Stephen Farley as "a expert in local governance issues and was -- of course, understandably, one of the reasons why he would be visiting the town council was to talk to them as they're working on setting up some of their practices and systems there. But basically, part of his function, or his main function, was to help assist in the development of local government institutions" and Farley was "one of the many other people who the State Department has employed and worked with over time who have expertise in some of these areas that, again, as the Secretary has testified to, aren't nomrally the kinds of things that either regular duty, active duty military officers, or regular Foreign Service Officers generally have as part of their experience." Casey was asked if Farley "was some sort of contractor" and replied, "Yeah. I mean, that would – I think that would probably pretty much adequately describe his employment status. But he was a direct hire of the State Department, he's part of our diplomatic and part of our State Department family, and certainly we are – you know, we're very privileged to have him working with us on this, and it's an important component of our staffing in Iraq to have these kinds of people with these kinds of specialties and expertise who can really help assist us in doing the work."
In some of today's reported violence . . .
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing claimed 3 lives and wounded ten people, a Diyala Province home bombing that claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and wounded three more, and a Karbala car bombing that claimed the lives of 2 people and left fifteen more wounded. Reuters notes a Kirkuk car bombing that claimed 1 life and a Tikrit US air assault "on a house killed a family, including four children aged between four and and 11".
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Diyala Province that claimed the life of 1 "Awakening" Council member, Khalid Mahmoud ("Mosul municipality director") and the man driving him were shot dead in Mosul and an armed clash in Nasiriyah City that involved the Iraqi military and "US helicopters to control" that resulted in seven people being wounded. Reuters notes the US military shot dead 2 'suspects' in Samara and they shot dead 3 people in a car "near Baghdad airport". On the 3 in Baghdad, Doug Smith (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Officials at Yarmouk Hospital identified the dead as a manager and two female employees of a bank at the airport. Iraqi police also reported that two bodyguards were injured" while the US military maintains they were attacked by the bank employees.
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
As Rebecca noted last night, CNN reports that there have now been 20 female "suicide bombers" since the start of the year. Which is CNN's jumping off point to launch into talk of the female "Awakening" Council members and either CNN didn't get the facts correct or the women have gotten a bump in pay since they will now be paid (by the US government) $300 a month, the same amount that the males make.
Turning to the US presidential race, Paul Farhi (Washington Post) profiles independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader: "Joan Claybrook, who has known Nader since 1966 and worked with him on his pioneering auto-safety crusade against General Moters, says he reads 10 books a week and speaks seven languages (Chinese, Portugese, Italian and Arabic among them) well enough to converse with native speakers. . . . 'Ralph is really a charming guy,' says Claybrook, who heads the advocacy group Public Citizen. 'He has a great sense of humor. If the public knew him really well, they would be enthralled with him'."
Meanwhile Margaret Kimberley (Black Agenda Report) scores Barack: "Give AIPAC everything they want and then some. Check. Slander black men. Check. Continue illegal government surveillance. Check. Endorse conservative white Congressman against black progressive challenger. Check. . . . Obama is held to no standard at all. He is free to do exactly as he pleases to black people, who are all too happy to go along with any treatement that he chooses to mete out. This sorry state of affairs is the result of years of black political inaction and misleadership. The Congressional Black Caucus long ago gave up the fight, the movement tat gave black Americans full citizenship has been derided as a relic from a past age, instead of being seen as a blueprint for present da action. It is little wonder that the Obama campaign 'come-to-Jesus' meeting is consider a substitute for true political organizing." Slander Black men? As Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report via ZNet) explained, "The Democratic presidential nominee-apparent seldom speaks directly to Black people, but when he does it is usually to denounce individuals once close to him or to criticize The Race in general for some moral failing. Thus it was no surprise that Barack Obama used the occassion of Father's Day to give Black males the back of his hand, no doubt to the delight of millions of potential white supporters. Black males have 'abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men,' said Obama, citing statistics on female-headed households. 'You and I know how true this is in the African-American community.' Even the New York Times could see through Obam's transparent bid for white approval at Black people's expense. Reporter Julie Bosman noted that Obama 'laid out his case in start terms that would be difficult for a white candidate to make' -- terms (such as boy?) that 'his campaign hopes [will] resonate among white soical conservatives in a race where these voters may be up for grabs'." And see Cedric and Wally's "Bambi attacks" and "THIS JUST IN! BARACK ATTACKS AGAIN!". That's something to keep in mind because something true was said about Saint Obama and it's time for The Cult of Saint Obama to start screaming.
Rocky Mountain News' M.E. Sprengelmeyer asked Ralph Nader if he thought there was a difference between Barack Obama and the 2000 candidate Al Gore (or any other Democratic candidates in the recent past)? Here for audio of the first half, here for full transcript.
Ralph Nader: No. I mean, he's deceiving people. He takes, he takes -- in this very building he would take money from corporate lawyers who are not registered lobbyists but whose desks are across the aisle from corporate lawyers who are register lobbyists in the same law firm -- that's been reported more than once in the mainstream press. Six out of seven industrties as of a month ago have given more money to Obama than they have to McCain. Only transportation industry was more equal opportunity corruption . Look at the health care industry which has poured money into his campaign. The Secuirty industry. Defense industry. No. There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comees to being a Democratic presidential candidate he's half African-American. Wheter that will make any difference, I don't know. I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk White? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We'll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards. I think his main problem is that he censors himself he knows exactly who has power, who has too much, who has too little what needs to be done right down the community level but he has bought the advice that if you want to win the election you better take it easy on the coproation abuses and do XYZ and when I hear that I say Oh I see. So he's doing all this to win the eleciton and then he'll be diferent? Well let's see if it worked. Did it work for Mondale? Did it work for Dukakis? Did it work for Clinton? Yes, but only because of Perot? Did it work for Gore? Did it work for Kerry?
M.E. Sprengelmeyer: Do you think he's trying to, what was your term, 'talk white'?
Ralph Nader: Of course. I mean, first of all, the number one thing that a Black American politician aspiring to the presidency should be is to candidly describe the plight of the poor, especially in the inner cities and the rural areas, and have a very detailed platform about how the poor is going to be defended by the law, is going to be protected by the law, and is going to be liberated by the law. Haven't heard a thing. I mean, the amount of economic exploitation in the ghettos is shocking. You'd think he'd propose a task force to at least study it. I mean, these people are eroded every day. The kids, bodies are asbestos and lead, municipal services discriminate against them because it's the poor area, including fire and police protection and building code enforcement. And then the lenders, the loan sharks get at them, and the dirty food ends up in the ghettos, like the contaminated meat. It's a dumping ground for shoddy merchandise. You don't see many credit unions there. You don't see many libraries there. You dont's ee many health clinics there. This is, we're talking 40-50 million Americans who are predominatly African-Americans and Latinos. Anybody see that kind of campaigning? Have yous ee him campaign in real poor areas of the city very frequently? No, he doesn't campaign there.
M.E. Sprengelmeyer: What do you think the purpose of that is?
Ralph Nader: He wants to show that he is not a threatening, a political threatening, another politically-threatening African-American politician. He wants to appeal to White guilt. You appeal to White guilt not by coming on as a Black is beautiful, Black is powerful. Basically he's coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the White power structure, whether it's corporate or whether it's simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up.
And the response? Muted from the Obama campaign . . . at first. They set out their Holler Monkeys to yet again scream "RACISM!" All the usual crew was there yet again. Latoya Peterson (Racialicious) needs someone to explain to her that Nader is not White. Not that facts matter to her. At Josh Michah Marsh's Hairy Crack, Eric Kleefeld at least has more sense than Peterson (he doesn't call Nader "White"). Kathy (LeftField) plays dumb -- it's playing right? -- and stresses Barack is a "black presidential candidate." Barack Obama is bi-racial. The Christ-child's lineage must not be questioned. See, there was never the conversation on race that the press told you was talking place. It never could take place because it would mean facing the fact that Barack was bi-racial, not "Black." And look, there's Ben Wyskida of The Nation, the arm pit sniffing Benny-boy, making cracks about Nader's race ("deeply black"). Does Ben think saying that to someone of Arab descent is 'funny' because that sounds pretty RACIST.
Isn't it cute that the publicity director for The Nation should blog at PINKOMAG.COM -- it's only natural, right? Pinko? Oh, it's a joke? Like Sam Graham-Felsen 'pretending' to be a Marxist? (And Ben, that's not a hint for you to bother/bore me again.)The push back's really important because the Christ-child has to be seen as Black. Even though he isn't. (It's the White guilt vote that Nader gets at.) So all the usual Holler Monkeys are recruited into service of the lie. Including 'plays mainstream journalist' Don Frederick whose ass should be fired from the Los Angeles Times -- in fact they should all be fired, all their 'political bloggers.' Having stated that John McCain was having a "hissy fit" over campaign finance should have made it clear how in the tank for Obama the paper is and, guess what, that's exactly what a MSM outlet CAN NEVER BE SEEN AS.
If the paper won't police their own, it may be time for others in Real Media to point out the problems. This is how the charges of bias get started (and they are true in LAT's case) and it these charges amplify and grow and soon all MSM outlets are tarred and feathered due to the actions of one outlet. It's unacceptable.
Sunday at Third, interesting feature that will be a docu-drama piece on the Christ-child's miracle birth and other things. Noting that allows me to pull six paragraphs and get the snapshot reduced to a reasonable size. Julie Bosman (New York Times) reports Nader's spokesperson Chris Driscoll said there would be no apology. Nor should their be. Bosman quotes Driscoll reading a statement attributed to Ralph Nader, "Obama's abstract campaign has been delusional and irresponsible when it comes to avoiding concrete policies that truly defend and empower the 100 million Americans living in poverty or near poverty." Sugar (Sugar N Spice) notes that Barack's made clear that he doesn't "care about inner-city crime and poverty" and notes his 'joke' "in Philadelphia last week. A city so plagued with murders and mayhem it is now commonly called Killadelphia. He stated, 'If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun . . . Because from what I understand, folks in Philly like a good brawl. I've seen Eagles fans.' He thought it was cute. I think it akin to telling folks in a Cancer ward, 'I guess we better not take any of you guys on a tour of Chernobyl site anytime soon, huh? Heehee."
iraq
corey glass
the los angeles timesalexandra zavisthe new york timesalissa j. rubinmudhafer al-husainimcclatchy newspapers
margaret kimberley
glen fordpaul farhi
the washington post
julie bosman
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
Ralph Nader's presidential candidacy has received little media attention, but his latest critique of Sen. Barack Obama has come under fire for its seemingly racial overtones.
[. . .]
Obama's presidential campaign earlier had called Nader's comments disappointing, and his communication's director, Robert Gibbs, said Tuesday that they were "reprehensible and basically delusional."
"I don't think he's spent a lot of time looking at the record of Barack Obama," Gibbs said on MSNBC.
Ralph Nader points out the elephant in the room and it's time for Barack's campaign to do their one-trick-pony yet again and falsely yell "racism" in the crowded, public square.
Will he get away with it again?
He just might. You've had idiots like Sharon Smith back up all the bi-racial man's false charges. So is Ralph about to be tossed under the bus? Or are we finally going to have that long overdue reality check regarding Barack?
He's bi-racial. He is not Black.
Ralph critized Barack for his failure to discuss issues effecting the inner cities. He criticized him for refusing to go to the poor areas of town. If you missed it, John Edwards did that early in his campaign and Hillary, of course, thrived on those areas (regardless of race). Barack?
He sent Michelle to some poor Black churches in South Carolina and that was about as close as he came to it. It must be hard for Mr. Arugala to connect with poor people. He lived a little in Indonesia. Indonesia is a poor country but, for that country, Barack was not living in poverty, his step-father saw to that. Mainly, he lived in a Hawaiin paradise. Such a paradise that at ten-years-old, he was willing to abandon his mother (maybe that made him feel 'in touch' with his father?) and demand that he be raised by his (White) grandparents. Grandmother was a banker. They weren't hurting for money. He went to a posh prep school that his grandmother pulled strings to get him into. (His grades were very poor.)
Since he got his first whiff of Chicago, he's decided he was Black. That had to do with a little lesson that he was taught while interning about how he would have a built-in constituency if he made that move. It came from a non-praciting Jew who explained how playing up the Jewish angle allowed ___ to make some of the most anti-Semitic statements imagineable. Offensive statements. Appalling statements. But ___ couldn't be called out too loudly, ____ was a "Jew."
That was a life lesson for Barack and one that carried him far.
As he's admitted when he was a 'community organizer' (get-out-the-vote), he was told he should court the Black churches in Chicago and that's how he and Jeremiah Wright become tight.
Barack is bi-racial, he is mixed. But you don't get that rousing speech because, as ____ long ago pointed out to him, identify Black and you'll be untouchable.
It is his body armor and he uses it to silence all criticism. He's gotten away with it so far and been helped by loons like Sharon Smith. (Smith is really too bright to have written the hogwash she did. That was so disappointing coming from her especially.)
If he gets away with it, you shouldn't worry. He's already created his own backlash from falsely crying "racism." This will only put it further in the open and make the backlash all the stronger. Rev. Jesse Jackson couldn't be allowed to campaign for Barack, he would hurt Barack. That was the thinking or 'thinking.' Is that not racism?
A few people have started to notice that, with Hillary out of the race, women aren't really on campaign staffs now. Has anyone noticed how many Whites and how few African-Americans are on staff for Barack?
He wants the good press for being 'Black' and yet he doesn't want to allow any African-Americans to move up. That's really scary if you think about in terms of what does that say about a Barack presidency?
It really takes audacity to go after Ralph so soon after the news of his campaign barring two Muslim women from a photograph. (Ralph Nader isn't Muslim; however, he is Arab-American.)
It'll be interesting to see if he gets away with this. The likes of Sharon Smith have allowed him to throw the LGBT community under the bus, the Asian-American community under the bus, the Latino community under the bus . . . At this point, he doesn't need tires, he's riding on everyone's bodies.
He may get away with it. But, if he does, he'll still have to live with the backlash because his screaming "racism!" falsely -- over and over -- has gotten old. As Betty likes to say of him, "You went to the well once too often with that, Little Mister." She is correct. Marcia called me a second ago to say she was having to pull half of her post. She'd used some of Ava and C.I.'s research and that'll be turned into a docu-drama (not a documentary) on Sunday. Be sure to watch for that at Third.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, over 34 reported deaths in Iraq today, the US military announces more deaths, Ralph Nader is called "White" (he's not) by Saint Barack's Holler Monkeys, the Los Angeles Times continues to make life difficult for every other mainstream media outlet, and more.
Starting with war resistance. The War Resisters Support Campaign notes:
With less than 16 days remaining until U.S. warresister Corey Glass' scheduled deportation, three parliamentary parties andAmnesty International are urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Citizenshipand Immigration Minister Diane Finley to cease deportation and removalproceedings against Glass and U.S. war resisters seeking refuge in Canada.The federal government's July 10 deportation order against Glass is stillin effect, creating enormous stress, anxiety and turmoil for him and all warresisters and their families who are hoping the government will be guided bythe expressed will of Parliament. The successful passage of a June 3 landmark parliamentary motion calledon the Conservative government to allow U.S. war resisters who have refused orleft military service related to the illegal invasion of Iraq, and theirimmediate family members, to stay in Canada and be able to become permanentresidents, and to immediately cease any removal or deportation actions thatmay have already commenced against such individuals. A poll carried out in June 2007 by Stratcom Ltd., showed that 64.6% ofOntarians agreed that the war resisters should be allowed to stay in Canada.
They will be holding a "Rally to Stop the Deportation of Parkdale Resident Corey Glass" July 3rd, begins at 7:00 p.m. (with doors opening at six p.m.) at the May Robinson Building, 20 West Lodge, Toronto: "In 2002, Corey joined the Indiana National Guard. He was told he would not have to fight on foreign shores. But in 2005 he was sent to Iraq. What he saw there caused him to become a conscientious objector and he came to Canada. On May 21, 2008, he got his final order to leave Canada by July 10, 2008. Then on June 3 Parliament passed a motion for all the war resisters to stay in Canada. However the Harper government says it will ignore this motion." To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
At the White House today, Bully Boy met with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani (in the US to again visit the Mayo Clinic) and Bully Boy noted of the illegal war he started, "There's still a lot of work to be done, we recognize that. We talked of a variety of subjects. We talked about a strategic framework agreement that suits the Iraq government. We talked about elections and different laws that have been passed. I did compliment the President on working hard to see to it that the legislative session this year has been very successful. We talked about the fact that the economy is improving, and that the attitude of the people there has improved immeasurably over the years." After Bully Boy stopped repeating "we talked" and completed his summer vacation report, Talabani noted, "We improved our relation with our neighbors -- with Turkey, with Egypt, with Jordan, with Kuwait. We normalized our relation with Iran and with Syria, also. So Iraqi government is now going to play its role in the Arab world as one -- a founder of the Arab League. And there is no -- I think no more, any kind of isolation of our government." In other White House news, press flack Dana Perino was badgered for war with Zimbabwe today ("Why is military action not an option!") -- never assume the press merely takes dictation. Perino noted on the Talabani meet-up and talk of a treaty ("agreement") that she "couldn't put odds on it either way."
Today the US military announced: "Three Multi-National Division – North Soldiers and an interpreter were killed in an improvised explosive device attack in Ninewah Province at 10:45 p.m., June 24." This brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4109 with 25 for the month thus far. And that's 7 announced dead this week so far. Two US soldiers were killed in Iraq yesterday in a bombing and Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports, "The explosion occured hours before a vote to replace Abdul Hassan Jbara as chairman of the Sadr City District Advisory Council." The US State Dept's Stephen Farley was also killed in the bombing and CBS and AP report that Brett Farley (his son) stated that his father was nervous about the vote, "It was today that they were scheduled to vote on electing a new chairman, a pro-democracy chairman, and he told me pointedly that it was the biggest moment that they had faced over there. He fully understood what the risk was, but he was willing to bear it." Zavis explains, "The bomb was planted outside the office of his [Abdul Hassan Jbara's] deputy and would-be successor, Hassan Shamma" according to "council members who were there" and the police. Alissa J. Rubin and Mudhafer al-Husaini (New York Times) quote council member Qasim Abdul Zahra stating, "The explosion happened just outside the room, near the Americans . . . They were the ones that received the most shrapnel and that's why we are still alive." At the State Dept yesterday, Casey stated of Farley and others, "They're there to help support the development of local government institutions, help them in providing services for the people in developing Baghdad and developing Iraq's democratic institutions and practices." Casey descirbed Stephen Farley as "a expert in local governance issues and was -- of course, understandably, one of the reasons why he would be visiting the town council was to talk to them as they're working on setting up some of their practices and systems there. But basically, part of his function, or his main function, was to help assist in the development of local government institutions" and Farley was "one of the many other people who the State Department has employed and worked with over time who have expertise in some of these areas that, again, as the Secretary has testified to, aren't nomrally the kinds of things that either regular duty, active duty military officers, or regular Foreign Service Officers generally have as part of their experience." Casey was asked if Farley "was some sort of contractor" and replied, "Yeah. I mean, that would – I think that would probably pretty much adequately describe his employment status. But he was a direct hire of the State Department, he's part of our diplomatic and part of our State Department family, and certainly we are – you know, we're very privileged to have him working with us on this, and it's an important component of our staffing in Iraq to have these kinds of people with these kinds of specialties and expertise who can really help assist us in doing the work."
In some of today's reported violence . . .
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing claimed 3 lives and wounded ten people, a Diyala Province home bombing that claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and wounded three more, and a Karbala car bombing that claimed the lives of 2 people and left fifteen more wounded. Reuters notes a Kirkuk car bombing that claimed 1 life and a Tikrit US air assault "on a house killed a family, including four children aged between four and and 11".
Shootings?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Diyala Province that claimed the life of 1 "Awakening" Council member, Khalid Mahmoud ("Mosul municipality director") and the man driving him were shot dead in Mosul and an armed clash in Nasiriyah City that involved the Iraqi military and "US helicopters to control" that resulted in seven people being wounded. Reuters notes the US military shot dead 2 'suspects' in Samara and they shot dead 3 people in a car "near Baghdad airport". On the 3 in Baghdad, Doug Smith (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Officials at Yarmouk Hospital identified the dead as a manager and two female employees of a bank at the airport. Iraqi police also reported that two bodyguards were injured" while the US military maintains they were attacked by the bank employees.
Corpses?
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
As Rebecca noted last night, CNN reports that there have now been 20 female "suicide bombers" since the start of the year. Which is CNN's jumping off point to launch into talk of the female "Awakening" Council members and either CNN didn't get the facts correct or the women have gotten a bump in pay since they will now be paid (by the US government) $300 a month, the same amount that the males make.
Turning to the US presidential race, Paul Farhi (Washington Post) profiles independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader: "Joan Claybrook, who has known Nader since 1966 and worked with him on his pioneering auto-safety crusade against General Moters, says he reads 10 books a week and speaks seven languages (Chinese, Portugese, Italian and Arabic among them) well enough to converse with native speakers. . . . 'Ralph is really a charming guy,' says Claybrook, who heads the advocacy group Public Citizen. 'He has a great sense of humor. If the public knew him really well, they would be enthralled with him'."
Meanwhile Margaret Kimberley (Black Agenda Report) scores Barack: "Give AIPAC everything they want and then some. Check. Slander black men. Check. Continue illegal government surveillance. Check. Endorse conservative white Congressman against black progressive challenger. Check. . . . Obama is held to no standard at all. He is free to do exactly as he pleases to black people, who are all too happy to go along with any treatement that he chooses to mete out. This sorry state of affairs is the result of years of black political inaction and misleadership. The Congressional Black Caucus long ago gave up the fight, the movement tat gave black Americans full citizenship has been derided as a relic from a past age, instead of being seen as a blueprint for present da action. It is little wonder that the Obama campaign 'come-to-Jesus' meeting is consider a substitute for true political organizing." Slander Black men? As Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report via ZNet) explained, "The Democratic presidential nominee-apparent seldom speaks directly to Black people, but when he does it is usually to denounce individuals once close to him or to criticize The Race in general for some moral failing. Thus it was no surprise that Barack Obama used the occassion of Father's Day to give Black males the back of his hand, no doubt to the delight of millions of potential white supporters. Black males have 'abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men,' said Obama, citing statistics on female-headed households. 'You and I know how true this is in the African-American community.' Even the New York Times could see through Obam's transparent bid for white approval at Black people's expense. Reporter Julie Bosman noted that Obama 'laid out his case in start terms that would be difficult for a white candidate to make' -- terms (such as boy?) that 'his campaign hopes [will] resonate among white soical conservatives in a race where these voters may be up for grabs'." And see Cedric and Wally's "Bambi attacks" and "THIS JUST IN! BARACK ATTACKS AGAIN!". That's something to keep in mind because something true was said about Saint Obama and it's time for The Cult of Saint Obama to start screaming.
Rocky Mountain News' M.E. Sprengelmeyer asked Ralph Nader if he thought there was a difference between Barack Obama and the 2000 candidate Al Gore (or any other Democratic candidates in the recent past)? Here for audio of the first half, here for full transcript.
Ralph Nader: No. I mean, he's deceiving people. He takes, he takes -- in this very building he would take money from corporate lawyers who are not registered lobbyists but whose desks are across the aisle from corporate lawyers who are register lobbyists in the same law firm -- that's been reported more than once in the mainstream press. Six out of seven industrties as of a month ago have given more money to Obama than they have to McCain. Only transportation industry was more equal opportunity corruption . Look at the health care industry which has poured money into his campaign. The Secuirty industry. Defense industry. No. There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comees to being a Democratic presidential candidate he's half African-American. Wheter that will make any difference, I don't know. I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk White? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We'll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards. I think his main problem is that he censors himself he knows exactly who has power, who has too much, who has too little what needs to be done right down the community level but he has bought the advice that if you want to win the election you better take it easy on the coproation abuses and do XYZ and when I hear that I say Oh I see. So he's doing all this to win the eleciton and then he'll be diferent? Well let's see if it worked. Did it work for Mondale? Did it work for Dukakis? Did it work for Clinton? Yes, but only because of Perot? Did it work for Gore? Did it work for Kerry?
M.E. Sprengelmeyer: Do you think he's trying to, what was your term, 'talk white'?
Ralph Nader: Of course. I mean, first of all, the number one thing that a Black American politician aspiring to the presidency should be is to candidly describe the plight of the poor, especially in the inner cities and the rural areas, and have a very detailed platform about how the poor is going to be defended by the law, is going to be protected by the law, and is going to be liberated by the law. Haven't heard a thing. I mean, the amount of economic exploitation in the ghettos is shocking. You'd think he'd propose a task force to at least study it. I mean, these people are eroded every day. The kids, bodies are asbestos and lead, municipal services discriminate against them because it's the poor area, including fire and police protection and building code enforcement. And then the lenders, the loan sharks get at them, and the dirty food ends up in the ghettos, like the contaminated meat. It's a dumping ground for shoddy merchandise. You don't see many credit unions there. You don't see many libraries there. You dont's ee many health clinics there. This is, we're talking 40-50 million Americans who are predominatly African-Americans and Latinos. Anybody see that kind of campaigning? Have yous ee him campaign in real poor areas of the city very frequently? No, he doesn't campaign there.
M.E. Sprengelmeyer: What do you think the purpose of that is?
Ralph Nader: He wants to show that he is not a threatening, a political threatening, another politically-threatening African-American politician. He wants to appeal to White guilt. You appeal to White guilt not by coming on as a Black is beautiful, Black is powerful. Basically he's coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the White power structure, whether it's corporate or whether it's simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up.
And the response? Muted from the Obama campaign . . . at first. They set out their Holler Monkeys to yet again scream "RACISM!" All the usual crew was there yet again. Latoya Peterson (Racialicious) needs someone to explain to her that Nader is not White. Not that facts matter to her. At Josh Michah Marsh's Hairy Crack, Eric Kleefeld at least has more sense than Peterson (he doesn't call Nader "White"). Kathy (LeftField) plays dumb -- it's playing right? -- and stresses Barack is a "black presidential candidate." Barack Obama is bi-racial. The Christ-child's lineage must not be questioned. See, there was never the conversation on race that the press told you was talking place. It never could take place because it would mean facing the fact that Barack was bi-racial, not "Black." And look, there's Ben Wyskida of The Nation, the arm pit sniffing Benny-boy, making cracks about Nader's race ("deeply black"). Does Ben think saying that to someone of Arab descent is 'funny' because that sounds pretty RACIST.
Isn't it cute that the publicity director for The Nation should blog at PINKOMAG.COM -- it's only natural, right? Pinko? Oh, it's a joke? Like Sam Graham-Felsen 'pretending' to be a Marxist? (And Ben, that's not a hint for you to bother/bore me again.)The push back's really important because the Christ-child has to be seen as Black. Even though he isn't. (It's the White guilt vote that Nader gets at.) So all the usual Holler Monkeys are recruited into service of the lie. Including 'plays mainstream journalist' Don Frederick whose ass should be fired from the Los Angeles Times -- in fact they should all be fired, all their 'political bloggers.' Having stated that John McCain was having a "hissy fit" over campaign finance should have made it clear how in the tank for Obama the paper is and, guess what, that's exactly what a MSM outlet CAN NEVER BE SEEN AS.
If the paper won't police their own, it may be time for others in Real Media to point out the problems. This is how the charges of bias get started (and they are true in LAT's case) and it these charges amplify and grow and soon all MSM outlets are tarred and feathered due to the actions of one outlet. It's unacceptable.
Sunday at Third, interesting feature that will be a docu-drama piece on the Christ-child's miracle birth and other things. Noting that allows me to pull six paragraphs and get the snapshot reduced to a reasonable size. Julie Bosman (New York Times) reports Nader's spokesperson Chris Driscoll said there would be no apology. Nor should their be. Bosman quotes Driscoll reading a statement attributed to Ralph Nader, "Obama's abstract campaign has been delusional and irresponsible when it comes to avoiding concrete policies that truly defend and empower the 100 million Americans living in poverty or near poverty." Sugar (Sugar N Spice) notes that Barack's made clear that he doesn't "care about inner-city crime and poverty" and notes his 'joke' "in Philadelphia last week. A city so plagued with murders and mayhem it is now commonly called Killadelphia. He stated, 'If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun . . . Because from what I understand, folks in Philly like a good brawl. I've seen Eagles fans.' He thought it was cute. I think it akin to telling folks in a Cancer ward, 'I guess we better not take any of you guys on a tour of Chernobyl site anytime soon, huh? Heehee."
iraq
corey glass
the los angeles timesalexandra zavisthe new york timesalissa j. rubinmudhafer al-husainimcclatchy newspapers
margaret kimberley
glen fordpaul farhi
the washington post
julie bosman
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
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