Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Short post

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Take Two"



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That's the second of Isaiah's three comics on Sunday responding to the faux controvery over The New Yorker cover (actually, it's the first, I highlighted the second one yesterday). In this one, Michelle Obama is Mary Todd Lincoln and Barack is Jesus.



From the intentionally funny to the unintentionally funny . . .

"McCain's Unhappy Warrior" (John Dickerson, Slate):
McCain is attacking too much and indiscriminately. The barrage undermines his brand, takes time away from telling voters what he might do for them, and looks awfully old-timey in a year when voters want a new brand. He should go on the offensive, yes, but in targeted forays.


John Dickerson is a Barack Boy Toy. McCainers should grasp that this is the same crap the press tried to 'counsel' Hillary with. They're in the tank for Barack. I'm voting Nader but hope John McCain rejects the 'advice.'

Another Barack Boy Toy, Air Berman, pens the laughable "As World Embraces Obama, McCain Attacks." Air's still wet behind the ears and hoping to graduate to big-boy pants soon but the reality is we elect an American president. Barack's little world tour is already having fall out. This isn't Angelina Jolie on the carpet at Canes, it's an election for this country's president.

It's also very insulting that we think Iraqis give a damn. That the most important thing on their mind is who will be in charge of continuing the illegal war and the occupation of Iraq? How vain are people like Air Berman?

Iraqis want the illegal war over and the US gone. Not partially gone (like Barack's so-called 'promise'), they want the US out. They're right to want that. Now they're being used as props in a US election. (See the excerpt in the snapshot at the end.)

Barack Obama is bi-racial. The San Francisco Chronicle does a very dumb article claiming (and they trot out a lot of embarrasing, desperate characters) that it's progress for bi-racial people. First, SanFran, there are also multi-racial people. Second, your 2000 census 'news' has been well covered by Ava and C.I. repeatedly, over and over since January if not December. That's because they are aware of the bi- and multi-racial movement and are fully aware that Barack (like a number of others) buried bi- and multi-racial persons. They were the first ones tossed under the bus.



"Military Budget" (Nader-Gonzalez '08):
Nader/Gonzalez would cut the bloated, wasteful military budget.
Earlier this year, President Bush announced a military budget of over $600 billion.
And that's not counting the full cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The proposed military budget represents 58 cents out of every dollar spent by the U.S. government on discretionary programs - the items that Congress gets to vote up or down on an annual basis.
The Democrats and Republicans have been silent about this rapid escalation in military expenditures, despite many critical reports by the Government Accountability Office and Pentagon auditors.
In fact, they want to increase them.
Barack Obama, for example, has said that he wants to "bump up" the military budget.
Hillary Clinton and Obama have committed themselves to increasing the armed forces by tens of thousands of troops.
John McCain would outdo them both.
As budget analyst William Hartung points out "the United States is already spending more for defense than all the other nations in the world combined."
Hartung points out that tens of billions of dollars are being wasted on systems like the F-22 fighter plane, the V-22 Osprey (a helicopter that can be transformed into a conventional aircraft), the Virginia class submarine, and an unworkable and unnecessary missile defense system.
Right now, the military budget is being used to fuel wasteful, reckless, destabilizing foreign interventions that violate constitutional and international law.
Nader/Gonzalez would cut the military budget to a level needed to protect the country.
References:
Center for Defense Information
Project on Government Oversight
How Much Money Did You Make on the War, Daddy? by William Hartung

Who's going to end the illegal war? It won't be Barack. That's it for me. Blogger was down this evening and now it's acting up.

"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, another journalist is announced dead, Barack sucks up all the time with his Gidget Goes To Europe and the MidEast, John McCain calls it out, and more.

Starting with war resistance, July 15th Robin Long's case was noted on
CNN's The Situation Room (here for transcript):

Wolf Blitzer: Americans seeking to dodge the Vietnam War have found a have in Canada. Many began new lives there. But, now, right now, times have changed. Brian Todd is working the story for us. Brian, it's a different situation for what we're calling the Iraq War generation.

Brian Todd: It certainly is, Wolf. This one case of an American deserter being handed over turning this theory on its ear, the idea that Canada is an unqualified haven for American deserters. It's the kind of history Robin Long probably wishes he wasn't making. He is believed to be the first American deserter during the Iraq War handed back to the U.S. military by the Canadian government. During the Vietnam War, Canada was haven for US draft dodgers and deserters. In this case, a Canadian judge ruled that Long didn't adequately prove he would suffer irreparable harm if he returned to the United States. The leader of a Canadian war resisters group that had supported Long is frustrated.

Unidentified Male: I don't think there's any doubt that someone who has been up in Canada and a vocal opponent of the war will be treated harsly by the American military.

Brian Todd: Long, who had trained as a tank commander, took off from Fort Carson, Colorado, to avoid serving in Iraq. Even though he had volunteered for the army, his attorney told the court that Long became disillusioned over the mistratment of Iraqi detainees and by the fact that no weapons of mass destruction had been found. In nearly three years in Canada, he fathered a child, was turned down for refugee status last year, and was arrested recently for not checking in as required with border officials. Commanders at Fort Carson will now decide his fate. They can court-martial him, give him a less than honorable discharge, or even reassign him. A former military lawyer who has defended and prosecuted deserters says the first option is the most likely.

Unidentified male: I do believe that he is going to be most likely court-martialed in this instance. The fact that he has been vocal, not to say that they would infringe on his First Amendment right to state his case or his objections, but rather his stated reason for leaving, to avoid service in Iraq, is going to be sort of the threshold issue for the legal authorities.

Brian Todd: But experts say US military officials may also be thinking about deterrence here, sending a signal to others thinking of deserting that prison time could await them and Canada may not be so receptive to harboring them in the future. If he's court-martialed and convicted, Robin Long could get up to five years in prison. Wolf?

Wolf Blitzer: Do we have any idea how many deserters are in Canada?

Brian Todd: The leader of this war resistance group in Canada who we talked to today about this says that there are about 50 who they know of. But they say there are hundreds more they think who are living underground in Canada. You can believe this case is probably going to keep them underground.

Wolf Blitzer: I believe it. Brian, thank you.

Hasan Arif (Telegraph Journal) notes the above report and it's a shame more in Canada didn't catch it because they might have learned something. Take the laughable editorial board of Kamplops This Week: "Every one of these American citizens voluntarily joined the military. Not one was drafted. . . . These are not the draft dodgers of the Vietnam War era, the young men who had no choice in whether they wished to fight the Vietcong." Happy to flaunt their ignorance of Canadian history. The draft wasn't an issue in the decision during Vietnam and Canada welcomed dodgers and deserters. Deserters were not required to swear they had been drafted and not enlisted on their own. It wasn't an issue. And little Billy Bulter is eager to flaunt his ignorance to The Orillia Packet & Times insisting that (a) the term "war resister" (a historical and well used in the last century by the MSM) is not accurate, that anyone can become a CO very easily (Willie Boy, tell them your stupidity is here) and that the war resisters "joined the military"! We don't normally provide links to trash but the 'movement' needs to take some damn accountablity. These are the arguments that should never have been made but too many in the 'movement' didn't know their own facts or didn't want to tell it. They have created this straw-man argument that has no basis in today's reality by refusing to point out that deserters were welcomed in Canada during Vietnam. There was never a need for any of this nonsense.

No one in the world needed to hear Tom Hayden yack on and on endlessly in interviews about his 'invasive' physical. (Tom Hayden never served in the US military. He was not a draft dodger. He was not a deserter. He had no 'war story' so he went to town on a physical and, as Rebecca noted, Tom needs to put his feet in some stirrups before he next whines about 'invasive' physicals.) Tom-Tom couldn't shut up about the draft. Even though it has nothing to do with today's illegal war. He was 'helping' war resisters today . . . by throwing out crap from his past that had no bearing on reality. No one needed it. All it did was let some who barely pay attention fixate on "Draft Dodgers! You hear him, Ma! But there's no draft today!" Tom-Tom, the patron saint of the yokels. Across the border a number need to take accountability and start working on addressing reality. Unless they're goal is for the 'movement' to repeatedly be undermined with meaningless cries of "There is no draft!" Someone in Canada speaking truth is University of British Columbia's Canadian Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law,
Dr. Michael Byers, who explains to Am Johal (IPS), "Canada also extradited Robin Long, a U.S. war resister, who did not want to take part in possible war crimes. This is a very different role than Canada played during Vietnam." Extradition is the only term to describe what Judge Anne Mctavish oversaw and ordered for Robin Long.


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. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do."

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Andrei Hurancyk, 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).

Puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki was in Berlin today where he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Deutsche Welle reports al-Maliki declared, "Iraq is able to take the security situation into its own hands. We have achieved great success." It's an assertion that Patrick Donahue (Bloomberg News) notes and quotes him futher stating in the press conference with Merkel, "Iraq has the foundation and is capable of taking the security situation into its own hands. We can say with some pride that we're in the position and capable -- with our police and army and with our professional level -- to achieve that." However, Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that, in Baghdad Monday, Ali Dabbagh, al-Maliki's spokesperson, "announced that Iraq wants American combat troops to leave by the end of 2010." That would be 24 months after the next US president takes office. 24 months? Did al-Maliki say they were ready to takeover or not? AFP ignores the nonsense claims to focus on what the meeting was really about quoting Merkel declaring, "We are pleased that the security situation in Iraq has improved little by little and that is of course a pre-condition for economic and political reconstruction to move forward. Iraq is a country rich in raw materials and Germany has broad technological and industrial know-how. We are pleased that some German companies have already expressed interested in helping to rebuild Iraq."

Meanwhile there were dueling Nancy Youssefs over the weekend. First
she filed on the simmering tensions among supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr and quoted residents such as Nadhil al Sudani stating, "There is anger inside our people. There is a volcano that wants to erupts. But we are obedient to Sayed Muqtada." Implication being that al-Sadr is the only thing that's keeping a volcano from erupting. One day later, Youssef was offering: "In a shift toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism, Iraq's largest Sunni bloc ended a nearly yearlong boycott Saturday and rejoined the cabinet, retaking six ministry spots." Well one boycott ends and another begins. Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) reports today on "a walkout by Kurdish lawmakers over how to deal with the disputed oil city of Kirkuk" with regards to the supposedly upcoming provincial elections and quotes Khalid al-Attiya (Deputy Parliamentary Speaker) stating, "We cannot have a vote with an absence of a whole faction. The vote is useless. It will be rejected by the represenatives of this bloc and by the presidency council." CNN notes the makeup of the presidency council: Jalal Talabani (President, Kurd), Tariq al-Hsahimi (Vice President, Sunni) and Adel Abdul Mahdi (Vice President, Shi'ite) and adds, "Many observers believe Talabani would stand with his Kurdish compatriots and vote against the measure, bringing it back to square one." Kurdish MP Mahmoud Othman is quoted by AP stating, "The draft of the provinical elections law will be referred to the presidential council, which will definitely not approve it. So the elections will be postponed until next year."

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Kirkuk roadside bombing Monday night in which 2 police officers were killed with five more wounded. Reuters notes a Mosul roadside bombing that left eleven people wounded.
Reuters notes "an Iraqi journalist working for a Kudrish magazine" was shot dead in Kirkuk Monday and 5 people wounded in shootings in Haswa while Tirkit was the site of an attack today "on the convoy of Khalid Burhan, head of health office of Salahudding province" that left his guards wounded. The journalist was Soran Mamhama. He was 23-years-old and AP states he worked for the "magazine Leven and often covered government corruption." Reporters Without Borders issued a statement condeming the murder and stated, "We call on the Kudristan authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Hama's murder. He wrote hard-hitting articles about local politicians and security officials and had received threats from people telling him to stop his investigative reporting. The authorities should therefore give priority to the theory that he was killed because of his work." Xinhua notes Soran was shot dead outside his home and quotes Journalist Freedoms Observatory's Ziyad al-Ajili stating, "The first step to halt the assassinations against journalists is to capture those culprits." Iran's Press TV quotes Latif Satih Faraj (Kurdish Journalists Union in Kirkuk) stating, "If the government can't protect Kurdish journalists in Kirkuk, we might adviste them to withdraw from this city." Iraq's The Window reports Leveen is calling for an investigation and that "Leveen, which is an independent Kurdish magazine founded 6 years ago in Sulaimani, is known as a muckraking journal in Kurdistan and Iraq."

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 1 corpse discovered in Dibis.


Not much Iraq news? Of course, not Barack's sucking up all the limited coverage with his photo-ops passed off as news. It's like he's gone to Europe and the MidEast to FaceBook in real.
Said Rifai and Saif Rasheed (Los Angeles Times) were among the few brave enough to report the realities:

During his brief visit to Iraq, Barack Obama has been greeted by busloads of Iraqi cameramen vying for shots of his arrivals and departures at meetings with government officials.
But on government-sponsored Al Iraqiya television Monday, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee received second billing to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's departure for Europe. Only Al Hurra, the U.S.-sponsored channel, led with the story.
The situation has been similar on the streets of Baghdad, where Obama's visit has been duly noted but is not the No. 1 thing on people's minds.Iraqis tend to be jaundiced about American politics and skeptical that the differences between the presidential candidates have anything to do with them.
"If either McCain or Obama visits Iraq, it would be for campaign purposes, and therefore at this point in time it won't have any effect on the situation in Iraq," said Khalil Ibrahim, 34, a perfume shop owner.

We're now on the US race for president.
Susan (Random Notes) observes of self-loathing lesbian (which would make her a Barack supporter) Donna Brazile: "It was people like you who created the situation in the first place by not fully seating or stripping Clinton delegates from Florida and Michigan, by not apologizing for the filthy, race-baiting campaign 'Obama' ran, for not admitting 'Obama' didn't have the majority of the popular vote, for not allowing Clinton to take the contest all the way to the convention, and for not condemning the smears by the attack dogs from the media and the 'progressive' blogosphere for creating the rift." Susan's referring to closet case Donna's attempt to do a reach-around on female Hillary supporters. Back off Donna Brazile, you Bob Packwood-wanna-be, no one wants your greasy, filthy, corporatists hands on them. She really thinks after her infamous e-mail regarding Hillary supporters ("Message to the base: stay home") that any Hillary supporter gives a damn what she says? Donna, the loudmouth trash she was born as and will die as, is now penning such tough-talk as, "How many ways do these Hillary delegates, voters and supporters need to hear it before they get it?" LSekhmet (Alegre's Corner) calls out Donna's latest lies, "We're angry because the nomination was stolen from the rightful winner -- we're angry because the winner of the popular vote has been hindered, not helped -- we're angry that a man who truly isn't read to be President at this time has been propped up by the DNC and the Democratic Party as a whole. And most especially, we're angry at the supposition that we only have two choices in the fall election -- Obama or McCain, neither of whom are acceptable." That is offensive and someone might try explaining that to Philip Maldari who declared on KPFA's The Morning Show today of the next president, "whether it's McCain or Obama" . . . This was when KPFA brought on a Democratic Congress member to schill for Barack. That was really cute -- and so fair! It's really not Philip's role to decide who will be president. His role is co-host of a morning chat show. This was followed by a roundtable for the next segment where you had two Barack supporters and one that you didn't know. Didn't know because Aimee Allison (hopefully unintentionally) cut him off just as he started to reject the notion of voting "the lesser of two evils." Kevin Zeese thinks petitions will get Barack to change his views. He thinks if there's a mass exodus of support for Barack to Cynthia McKinney or Ralph Nader that it will force Barack to change. At which point, what? By Zeese's 'logic,' people go running back to Barack. Kevin Zeese is the perfect example of why third parties struggle. Zeese supports them and has done tremendous work on campaigns in the past. However, when it's time to talk, third party and independent candidates do not exist for their own qualifications and merits. In Zeese's world -- as stated on The Morning Show today -- they exist solely to blackmail the Democratic Party within the midst of an election. When you 'cast' them as supporting characters, it is very hard for third party and independent candidates to assume lead roles. People like Zeese need to start demonstrating some awareness that they keep the two-party system going. And KPFA needs to grasp that bringing on a Democratic member of Congress to try to assure the Bay Area that Barack's-plenty-liberal-not-everyone's-as-liberal-as-we-are is not only nonsense it's the sort of garbage we'd expect from Rush Limbaugh. And if that point is not clear, we then got the Barack delegate to the DNC, Norman Solomon. That is what he is now. He is not a media critic. And he does not belong on KPFA as an 'objective' observer. It was shameful that, well into the roundtable, Norman told listeners he was a Barack delegate ("like Barbara Lee!" he insisted hiding behind Lee's skirts). That disclosure was required to be made at the top of the roundtable and Aimee Allison should have made it. In no way did The Morning Show offer anything that justified their free use of the public airwaves. (While begging yet again for more money.)

If you're not grasping, that nonsense on KPFA (or take the crap Democracy Now! squeezed out this morning) is exactly why people see the media as in the tank for Barack.
Gary Chapel Hill (The Confluence) writes of the recent Rasmussen poll which found that the number of voters who "believe most reporters will try to help Obama with their coverage" rose 5% since June to reach 49%. 49%? That figure is appalling. Journalists are not supposed to be seen as biased. That the figure has climbed to 49% should be a wake up call for those working in Real Media (there's no hope for Panhandle Media -- they're all in that because they couldn't get work in Real Media). Only 24% believe they can expect unbiased coverage. That is APPALLING and it is an indictment of the media. (14% belived the media "will try to help" McCain). Don't dismiss that 49% with, "That's all Republicans!" 27% of Democrats feel the media is attempting to put Barack into the White House. Those respondents not self-identifying with either of the two major parties? 50% of swing voters "see a pro-Obama bias". This is an indictment of the media. With Congress and the White House already polling so low, you'd think the usual gatekeepers would come out loudly insisting that the media at least pretend independence.

This takes place as they're lead around by their rings in their noses.
Campsunk (Alegre's Corner) posts the video of NBC News's Andrea Mitchell on Hardball explaining of Barack's for-show campaign stops outside the US, "He didn't have reporters with him, he didn't have a press pool, he didn't have a press conference while he was on the ground in either Afghanistan or Iraq. What you're seeing is not reporters brought in, you're seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questions by the military, and what some would call fake interviews, because they're not interviews by a journalist. So there's a real press issue here." Indeed. AlwaysforHillary (which is now supporting McCain in the general) exclaims, "It seems practically every news person flew to be with 'the Holly One' to get interviews with the Messiah! Maybe Obama will replace LOURDES and people with disabilities and illnesses can get blessed and have their problems disappear by touching the ANOINTED ONE!! DISGUSTING!!" It truly is and Jeremy Pelofsky's little jabs at McCain's calling it out ("Is the media in love with Obama?" -- Reuters) don't make the media look independent. Elizabeth Rauber (San Francisco Business Times) reports that not only is McCain calling it out, the campaign has created a video entitled "Obama Love." Click here to see the videos at the McCain site -- two with different songs and you can vote for which you enjoy best. The one set to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is currently leading over "My Eyes Adored You."


Back to the Idiot Brazile with her "It's Barack or John!" nonsense. "The central issue of this election is not Barack Obama versus John McCain. The central issue is the future of the Democratic Party,"
Democrat Violet Socks (Reclusive Leftist) explains, "Young feminists, for example: they say things like, "but don't you know that Republicans are anti-choice?" Yes, dears; that's the point. Republicans are anti-choice, which is exactly why it's so important that Democrats continue be pro-choice -- and pro-women's rights, pro-Fourth Amendment, pro-separation of church and state, pro-health care, pro everything that the Republicans are against. That's why we're trying to keep Barack Obama from taking over the party. I'm willing to lose one election if it means ejecting him and getting our party back to its values."

Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate, his running mate is Matt Gonzalez. They are adding events to their busy schedule. Times given are the times in those areas. Friday at noon, Nader will be in Columbia, South Carolina for a lunch, at 5:30 on Friday (25th) a Nader for President rally will be held at the University of Georgia, at 8:00 p.m. (still Friday), in Atlanta there will be an "Evening with Ralph Nader." Saturday (26th) Ralph will be at Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson, MS for a book signing and speech, two hours later (still in Jackson) he'll be do another "Evening with Ralph Nader." Sunday (27th) he and Matt Gonzalez hit Texas. First up, Hilton University of Houston where they will speak at 2:00 p.m. Then they head to Austin for an event at the Trinity United Methodist Church. Information about those events and others can be found
here. W. Gardner Selby (Postcards From The Ledge) reports on the upcoming Austin event. Meanwhile Richard Winger (Ballot Access News) reports that the Sixth Circuit hear arguments today in Nader v. Blackwell about the efforts of the then-Ohio state secretary Kenneth Blackwell to limit ballot access in 2004 and Winger points out, "Ralph Nader is unique in the history of U.S. ballot access, for trying to redress wrongs that were done to him and his voters. Other presidential candidates who were kept off ballots, such as Henry Wallace in 1948, Eugene McCarthy in 1976, and John Anderson in 1980, were content to fight to keep themselves on various ballots. But they never took legal action of their own after the election to redress harms they had suffered. Only Nader has done that, most notably in his lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee, plus his complaint against the DNC filed with the Federal Election Commission, and also this particular Ohio lawsuit." Meanwhile Dandelion Salad has posted video of Matt Gonzalez speaking to the National Lation Congresso on July 18th. Among the issues addressed at the national meetup was starting a five-million-dollar, non-partisan voting effort: "Bolstered by a recent study conducted by the William C. Velasquez Institute that found more than one million new Latino voters registered to vote during this primary season, convening organizations of the National Latino Congreso will use the third annual gathering to launch a massive voter registration and get-out-the-vote effort geared at adding an additional 1-2 million new Latino voters to the rolls in time to vote in November's election." Southwest Voter Registration Education Project president Antonio Gonzalez explained, "Latino leaders will use this gathering to organize and fund-raise to launch a massive nonpartisan voter mobilization campaign. Already more than 10 million Latinos are registered to vote in America, and our efforts will help drive that number up to between 11 and 12 million."

iraq
robin longnancy a. youssef
said rifaisaif rasheedthe los angeles times

MSM video critique

I hate posting videos. I never know what I'm doing.

If I'm following C.I.'s directions correctly, below you will see the John McCain campaign's video about the MSM love for Barack Obama set to the tune of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You."

Monday, July 21, 2008

Isaiah, Beach Party movies and more

We are all supposed to choose our favorite of Isaiah's three comics that went up Sunday to post.

Below is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Take Three"



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He is taking on the lynchmob attacking The New Yorker for their cover last week. We all try to highlight Isaiah's comics and, knowing that, he sent out an e-mail that if we were going to do that, just pick one. I'll ignore that e-mail and highlight the other two -- one each -- on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"A girl needs a boy she can count on, A girl needs a boy she can love . . . " Annette Funicello sings that in one of the beach movies she did with Frankie Avalon. (Who then repeats it back -- from another location, on the beach I think -- with, "A boy needs a girl he can count on, A bory needs a girl he can love.") Rebecca may not want me to reveal this but when those movies came on TV in the afternoons, she was all over them.

Back in the long ago and old days, broadcast TV used to offer a movie in the afternoon. Nearly every city or town had one station that would. They would usually have a theme each week. Sometimes it would be gangsters or westerns, or the theme would be the same actor or actress in all the week's films. The beach party movies was a theme on year.

You could not pull Rebecca away from the TV.

She didn't care for Frankie but she could tell you all about the minor males (in trunks). That shouldn't surprise anyone. But she really was into those movies (at least the week they aired). She cut classes, she took the phone off the hook (not caring that a call might be for C.I. or myself), nothing could disturb her that week while those movies were on.

"Beach Blanket Bingo, Beach Blanket Bingo, That's the name of the, That's the name of the game." She sang the songs from those films over and over for several months after they aired. There was some song (maybe the first one I quoted) where Frankie sang, "A lad needs a lassie . . ." These were not good pop songs. But Rebecca knew every one of them. (As did C.I. as a result of her singing them constantly.)

I remember Muscle Beach Party had Willie from Mission Impossible in it.

I always love Isaiah's comics and I loved that one for many reasons but mainly because it brought back memories of years ago living with Rebecca (and C.I.). I had almost forgotten how much Rebecca loved those movies.

(Rebecca may blog tomorrow night, "Elaine is insane. I nev-uh watched those movies." If she does, feel free to believe her; however, I am telling the truth.)

"TV: Gossip Girls and Barack's Bitches" (Ava and C.I., The Third Estate Sunday Review):
An entire segment (not a headline) on a Broadway musical that's closing. (We're reminded of Daniel Okrent's criticism of The New York Times' efforts to treat Broadway like front page news.) It's 'news' because Spike Lee's going to direct it. Which, no doubt, means more sexist stereotypes of women are coming to the big screen in yet another Lee film that ends about fifteen minutes before the credits roll -- translation, it will end about ten minutes before the credits roll -- when the audience walks out. In a year or so, you can purchase a ticket to it at your local multi-plex and that's 'news you can use,' in Goody's book. She also provided another 'hard-hitting segment' on that broadcast, the big news . . . of birthdays. "Nelson Mandela Turns 90." Apparently, with Willard Scott having retired from the Today show, Goody feels it's her job to note the birthdays of the elderly. Mandela's been honest news before but, no, the fact that he turned 90 is not news. It was all a bit like the inflated drama on Gossip Girl where someone may be expelled for a pool party -- lot of attention to a minor detail that left viewers wondering who thought this was a story?
Birthdays and Broadway musicals, what a great day for Democracy Now! and democracy. Finger-point again at big media, Goody, everyone's finding it very amusing.


I loved every section of Ava and C.I.'s commentary but that was the one that really had me laughing. Jim reads them outloud to the rest of us when Ava and C.I. finish writing them in longhand. I was laughing so loud during this. Today, Spike Lee, all of it. I believe it was Mo's Better Blues which felt the way to spend the last minutes of the film was with a quickly added year's worth of scenes. Oh, look, someone's having a baby! Oh, look . . . As C.I. will tell you, Spike Lee does not know how to end a film. The musical (School Daze?) was like Do The Right Thing. He had no ending. So he had the characters, in the last minutes, start talking to the phone because, apparently, who doesn't pay good money to be lectured to by a fictional character? Leaving aside his sexist view of women on display in film after film (and beginning with She's Got To Have It), his inability to deliver a real ending is one of the reasons his big-studio films remain 'independent' ones. Hard to get big box office when everyone in the audience knows how the film should end but the director has no clue.

Along with the humor and the observations, what I really love about that section is how they mix about four different topics and areas into the section. Even pulling out Daniel Okrent's 2005 criticism (when he was ombudsperson of the New York Times) for the paper putting Tony nominations on the front page.

I'm with Dona on this, long after the sites go dark, I'll still be going back to Ava and C.I.'s old reviews and re-reading to enjoy them all over again. I really don't think anyone online has built up the body of work those two have.



"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Monday, July 21, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Amy Goodman can't stop lying, Barack blusters like a Bush, and more.

Starting with war resistance.
Oregon Public Radio (OPB) has been reporting on US war resisters. Two reports they filed on Friday include this by Rachael McDonald (link has text and audio):

Rachel McDonald: James Burmeister was injured by a roadside bomb. He went AWOL while recuperating in Germany. Besides being given six months in jail, Burmeister was denied pay, reduced in rank to private and given a bad conduct discharge that will deny him veterans' benefits. Burmeister's mother Helen says the sentence was unfair.

Helen Burmeister: I'm very disappointed in the way they feel they can treat veterans of war. I think the reason that my son went AWOL was for a good reason and I don't think he deserves the punishment that he got.

Rachel McDonald: Helen Burmeister says she's unsure whether to appeal the ruling because it could prolong James' stay in jail. James Burmeister says he left because of military bait and switch tactics. Soldiers would plant equipment to lure Iraqis whom American snipers would then kill. I'm Rachel McDonald in Eugene.

Dee Knight (Workers World) clearly grasped what was done to Burmeister and why, hence the title "
Army court-martials resister for blowing whistle on 'bait-and-kill'." Knight speaks to Erich Burmeister (James' father) who reveals the military attempted an deal where a guilty plea by Burmeister would result in 1 "year in military prison and a dishonorable discharge" which means -- looking at the sentence Burmeister received last week -- it was very smart to turn down that proffer. Knight also reports, "His parents have waged an unceasing struggle for the Army to release him. They called on their representative, Peter DeFazio, to launch a congressional inquiry into James's case, but have so far heard nothing." No surprise there. US House Rep DeFazio doesn't do a damn thing. Suzanne Swift was the victim of rape, abuse and harassment. DeFazio grabbed a lot of feel-good headlines before the 2006 elections and then refused to do a damn thing. As Sara Rich, Swift's mother, explained of DeFazio to Jennifer Zahn Spieler (Women's eNews) in December 2006, "His office gave us a lot of red tape. And he basically laughed at our petition. I walked away feeling rather humiliated by him."

Retired army Col and US diplomat
Ann Wright (reposted at Securing America Community) reports, "The prosecution brought up the public statements and interviews Burmeister gave on 'bait and kill.' . . . He was taken from the court directly to jail."

Turning to US war resister Robin Long,
Tom Banse (OPB, link has text and audio) filed this report on Friday:

Tom Banse: A spokesman for the army's Desertion Information Center says the punishment for the Boise native could fall within a wide ranger. At the light end: reprimand and return to duty; at the severe end: court-martial and jail time -- according to the army's Ryan Bruce.

Ryan Bruce: It would be treated more seriously if a soldier did desert his or her unit during a time of war, especially if that unit was at war or going to war, as opposed to a soldier who just deserted from initial entry training, for instance.

Tom Banse: Private Long fled to Canada to avoid deployment to Iraq. His unit went to war and has since returned to Fort Carson, Colorado. Instructive perhaps is the sentence handed down this week to a soldier from Eugene. Private 1st Class James Burmeister fled to Canada while on leave from his unit in Iraq. He got six months in jail after returning voluntarily to face punishment. I'm Tom Banse in Olympia.

Citing Fort Carson spokespersons Gregory Dorman and Karen Linne, the
Colorado Springs Gazette reported Robin was in El Paso County Jail as of Friday night and "is being held on a military confinement order, jail records show." (The Denver Channel credited the paper for breaking the news, AP 'forgot' to give credit.) Jim Fox (St. Petersburg Times) 'reported' on Long Sunday without mentioning his name ("A U.S. Army deserter who fled to Canada was ordered deported from British Columbia . . .") and without getting his facts right (he was not "returned to his unit in Fort Knox, Ky." -- his unit at Fort Carson, CO). KBS Radio notes, "According to Bob Ages who is the chairman of the Vancouver war resisters campaign Robin Long was in Buckley which is South East of Seattle as of Friday, and was moved once again to a location that is unknown to the group." Ann Wright observes, "Ironically, war resister Long was handed over to US officials at the Peace Arch on the US-Canadian border, just north of Seattle, Washington." As noted here Saturday and at Third on Sunday, Robin Long was not deported, he was extradited. Deportation would be expelling him from the country, turning him over to the US government is extradition. Judge Anne Mctavish will have a lot of questions to answer if anyone's paying attention. W.E. (Bill) Belliveau (Times and Transcript) points out that Robin being expelled was "the first time a resister to the U.S. war effort in Iraq has been removed from this country by Canadian authorities." Workers World quotes Gerry Condon explaining, "This is a gift from [Canadian Prime Minister] Stephen Harper to George Bush. And it is a gift to the headline writers, who will trumpet that Canada is no longer a safe haven for AWOL GIs. But it is an illusion because this is not the first of many deportations. It may be the first and the last. A minority government that ignores the will of its people and its Parliament will not be allowed to rule much longer." Vietnam war resister Michael Hendricks informs the Toronto Star that the Haper government's decision to ignore the motion passed by Parliament and the huge support for war resisters means Canadians have to ask themselves a few things: "The questions we have to ask before the next federal election are: What is the government doing to the Canada that we treasure? Do we really want to live in a Canada built in the image of the present government?" Harris MacLeed (Hill Times) quotes War Resister Support Campaign's Lee Zaslofsky stating, "We've been trying to get a meeting with [Immigration Minister] Diane Finley and we've basically been told she'll be busy until she dies." Meanwhile apparent bar fly Karin Wilson (Kelowna Capital News) explains "one of those bar conversations I'll probably remember for a lifetime" and declares that the expulsion of Robin should have everyone "hanging our heads in shame. Here was someone willing to stand up for what he believed in and leave his country rather than fight in a war he believed was illegal." Wilson goes on to repeat the myth that leaves deserters out of the group Canada received during Vietnam hinting that it's best not to confine your research to bar room coversations.

Harris MacLeed (Hill Times) tells the story of Canadian citizen Andrei Hurancyk who decided (2005) to become an American citizen and enlist in the Iraq War. He began serving in Iraq in March 2007, then self-checked out and returned to Canada. He states "I just realized we're not fighting terrorists there, it's just the occupation of the country and a lot things go unreported there, things that are not supposed to be happening in a war zone, things being covered up." July 4th, Judge Robert Barnes' decision in US war resister Joshua Key's case was released. Tamam Ahmed Jama (Al-Ahram Weekly) quotes Josh's attorney Jeffry House explaining, "It's a huge victory for numerous soldiers who are here and maybe others who are thinking of coming here" and quotes Joshua remembering his time in Iraq, "Children cry, women scream at you; we were tormenting these people. We never found anything -- no potential terrorists, no cache of weapons, nothing. After a while, you start to ask yourself: 'Why are we continuing to do this?' . . . You're not supposed to have sympathy, you're not supposed to have a conscience. You're supposed to be the 'perfect' American soldier -- a killing machine who does as he is told. But I realised that it was my concern and it was my business, that I did have my conscience." Key tells his story in The Deserter's Tale (written with Lawrence Hill).

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. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do."

We've focused largely on US war resisters in Canada of late due to so much news in that region. There are a number of things that have been held. One was about
IVAW's chair and US war resister Camilo Mejia. Earlier this month, Federico Martinez (The Muskegon Chronicle) reported on the popularity of State Radio and "Camilo" at Michigan's music festival and noted, "State Radio's song is about Sgt. Camilo Mejia, who in 2003 spent six months in combat in Iraq, but then refused to return from a two-week furlough because he objected to a war that was 'illegal' and 'immoral.' Chad Stokes, lead guitarist and vocalist for State Radio, tried to explain the song's popularity during a pre-festival interview. 'It's just a human story,' said Stokes. 'It's about a human connection. It's symbolic, but it's still his individual story. I think that's why people connect to it." The video can be found on YouTube here. A portion of the lyrics directed to the White House:

Your words just a bloody fallacy
A house of cards you painted white
You tried to recreate Normandy
But you made up the reason to fight
And now red oil is spillin' down on the street
And your eyes so big for the belly is weak
Will you not refuse this currency
Or is blood money just money to you
Is blood money just money to you

News of an event that Camilo Mejia will be appearing at, "A faith-based nonprofit organization hopes to inspire attendees at the annual convention of a major religious denomination to make ending the war in Iraq their major focus for the rest of the 2008 political year. The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), an international human rights organization based in Cambridge, Mass., will be hosting a series of training sessions and workshops at the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association to be held from Wednesday, June 24 to Sunday, June 29, at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida." Mejia will be a speaker on June 25th as well as on June 28th. More information can be found here.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Andrei Hurancyk, 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).

Turning to Iraq,
Sabrina Tavernise and Jeff Zeleny (New York Times) report on puppet of the occupation Nouria al-Maliki attempting to play a 'do-over' as he "tried to step back Sunday from comments in an interview" with Der Spiegel published on Saturday where al-Maliki appeared to voice support for Barack Obama's limited non-promise that he might withdraw US combat troops (only combat troops -- leaving behind an estimated 50,000 other US troops) in 16 months were he to be elected president. Tavernise and Zeleny tell you that al-Maliki's surrogates insist he was misquoted; however "the interpreter for the interview works for Mr. Maliki's office, not the magazine." From Der Spiegel's interview:

SPIEGEL: Would you hazard a prediction as to when most of the US troops will finally leave Iraq? Maliki: As soon as possible, as far as we're concerned. U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes. SPIEGEL: Is this an endorsement for the US presidential election in November? Does Obama, who has no military background, ultimately have a better understanding of Iraq than war hero John McCain? Maliki: Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems. Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business. But it's the business of Iraqis to say what they want. And that's where the people and the government are in general agreement: The tenure of the coalition troops in Iraq should be limited.

The New York Times listened to tape of the interview and had it translated:Nouri al-Maliki: Obama's remarks that -- if he takes office -- in 16 months he would withdraw the forces, we think that this period could increase or decrease a little, but that it could be suitable to end the presence of the forces in Iraq. . . . Who wants to exit in a quicker way has a better assessment of the situation in Iraq.
Der Spiegel notes the controversy over the story and that "SPIEGEL stands by its version of the conversation." Nobody bothers to note that al-Maliki is either more stupid than anyone thought or joining in the lie passed off as truth that Barack's talking withdrawal. Combat troops only. And his 'promise' isn't a promise -- he told CNN on June 5th he'd decide what to do after he became president (such an ego) which echoes what War Hawk Sammy Power told the BBC in March. Bambi spoke to CBS' Lara Logan (Face The Nation) yesterday -- transcript here, video here -- and declared, "There's starting to be a broad consensus that it's time for us to withdraw some of our combat troops out of Iraq, deploy them here in Afghanistan. And I think we have to seize that opportunity. Now's the time for us to do it." Barack wants to fight a war that should never have started and will be seven years shortly. He wants to "withdraw some of our combat troops out of Iraq" and send them to Bully Boy's other misbegotten war. He's not a dove, he's not a peacenik and he's not anti-war. Despite the false claims by Katrina vanden Heuvel, Tom Hayden, Laura Flanders, Jeremey Scahill and oh-so-many others, Barack again demonstrated that he has no respect for any other country's national soveriegnty: "What I've said is that if we had actionable intelligence against high-value al-Qaeda targets, and the Pakistani government was unwilling to go after those targets, that we should. My hope is that it doesn't come to that - that in fact, the Pakistan government would recognize that if we had Osama bin Laden in our sights that we should fire or we should capture him." Translation, if Pakistan doesn't act on US intelligence (whether it's valid or not or -- remember the start of the Afghanistan War -- whether or not it's shared with Pakistan), Barack's happy to bully his fat belly to the bar and go-it-alone. (For those who do not remember, the US asked the Taliban -- then in control of Afghanistan -- to turn over Osama bin Laden. The Taliban asked for proof. Then US Secretary of State Colin Powell stated they would get the proof after they turned over bin Laden. They refused to, the bombing began.) Check the interview and wonder if the real reason Barack Obama won't produce his birth certificate is because, under father, it reads "George W. Bush"? He sounds exaclty like the Bully Boy when Logan asks him to define what would be 'success' for him in Afghanistan: "Well, a 'mission accomplished' would be that we had stabilized Afghanistan, that the Afghan people are experiencing rising standards of living, that we have made sure that we are disabling al-Qaeda and the Taliban so that they can longer attack Afghanistan, they can no longer engage in attacks against targets of Pakistan, and they can't target the United States or its allies." Terrorism is a crime and best addressed through the courts. Everything else our once-again-lip-glossed Senator is speaking of (sounding just like the current White House occupant) is not why the military exits and has nothing to do with a legal war.

Yesterday
Hala Jaber (Times of London link has text and video) reported that the 5 contractors kidnapped in May 29, 2007 was allegedy down to four according to a videotape released by those holding the five men which asserts that "Jason" killed himself -- the group holding the men have called themselves The Shi'ite Islamic Resistance in Iraq and they state: "This proscrastination and foot-dragging and lack of seriousness on the part of the British government has prolonged their psychological deterioration, pushing one of them, Jason, to commit suicide on 15/5/2008. He surprised our brethren, who were taking care of him, with his suicide." AFP reports UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown used the opportunity to grandstand by declaring, "This abhorrent film will only add to the anguish of families who have suffered a great deal over a year for their loved ones who have been kept in captivity."

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad house bombing (the home belonged to "the mother of Mithal al Alosi, a lawmaking in the Iraqi parliament"), a Baghdad car bombing that left five people wounded, a Diyala Province tractor bombing that claimed 5 lives and left eight more wounded, a Falluja residential bombing at the home "of the father of Falluja police deputy chief Lieutenant Colonel Esa Sayer" which left five wounded and another Falljua residential bombing at the home of "Asif Ghazi, an officerin Falljua police" with no reported wounded or dead but an addition two bombs were discovered "near the house and . . . detonated under control." Reuters notes a Mosul car bombing that killed the driver of the car and 2 bodyguards outside of the car.

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 "Awakening" Council member shot dead in Diyala Province, sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Abdullah shot dead in Diyala Province. Reuters notes 2 people shot dead as they traveled in the car in Mosul and 2 brothers and 1 cousin shot dead while driving in their car in Mosul.

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 1 corpses discovered in Mosul.

Turning to the US race for president. Presumptive GOP nominee John McCain has been turned down by the New York Times.
Reuters reports McCain wrote a column and the Times (which just published Barack's ditherings last week) turned it down and turned it down with this nonsense "that a new draft should articulate how McCain defines victory in Iraq." Excuse me, McCain delcared victory in Iraq last week. Considering the bulk of the garbage that stinks up the NYT op-ed pages, it's never been apparent that anyone was turned down for any reasons other than political (such as when Alice Walker's column against the impending Iraq War was rejected). McCain's the presumptive GOP nominee. That means you run his column. In a real democracy, that would also mean you run columns by Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader. The paper appears to think it's not well written. If so, let him embarrass himself but, again, the paper's only real reason for turning down columns is political. McCain should post the rejected column at his website, I'm sure many sites would be happy to repost it in full. And the New York Times should be called out loudly for that nonsense. (Before any drive-by e-mails, I have said since this site started in 2004, I will not vote for John McCain. This is not about my vote, this is about an informed society needed for a real democracy.) Meanwhile, in his addition to this morning's entry, Jim steered everyone to the July 14th snapshot for this point: "Leave it to Aileen Alfandary to bring in 'uninformed' which, for the record, she did on the first news break of KPFA's The Morning Show where she declared of the Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente ticket, 'This year's Green ticket marks the first time a US has nominated women of color for both president and vice-president.' Uh, no, Alfandary, it's not. From Friday's snapshot: "What About Our Daughters? explains that, if McKinney is the nominee, this is the third time two women of color would be on the ticket with the first being Lenora Fulani and Maria Elizabeth Munoz in 1992 (New Alliance Party) and Monica Moorehead and Gloria La Riva (Workers World Party) in 1996." Dumb ass Amy Goodman (or maybe just liar) declared today that McKinney and Clemente (aka "Don't call me a Latina!") were "the first all-women-of-color presidential ticket in US history." During the interview, Goody couldn't stop lying: "What do you make of Senator Obama's trip to Iraq and Afghanistan to talking about a timetable for pullout, Nouri al-Maliki saying he shares his view, though he was castigated, it looks like, by the President, and Senator McCain saying Barack Obama has the most extreme record in the Senate, suggesting perhaps he's a socialist?" Amy Goodman needs to meet the truth one day. The recap of Dave Helling (Kansas City Star) interviewing McCain via Jake Tapper (ABC News):

At a town hall meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that rival Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, had the "most extreme" record in the Senate.
Kansas City Star reporter Dave Helling later asked McCain about that comment.
"Extreme?" Helling asked. "You really think he's an extremist? I mean, he's clearly a liberal."
"That's his voting record," responded McCain. "All I said was his voting record, and that is more to the left than the announced Socialist in the United States Senate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont."
Asked Helling: "Do you think he's a socialist, Barack Obama?"
"I don't know," McCain said with a shrug. "All I know is his voting record, and that's what people usually judge their elected representatives by.'"

No, LIAR Amy Goodman, McCain didn't suggest Barack was a socialist. He was asked it by Helling (who brought the issue up) and McCain said he didn't know. "Most extreme voting record"? McCain's referring to the
National Journal labeling "Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007" at the end of January based on their examination of his record.
February 8th on
CounterSpin, Janine Jackson demolished the claim. However, that was the same February 8th that Goodman allowed Robert Kuttner to cite that same study as reason to support Barack: ""I think it was National Journal recently came out with a rating that showed that Obama has the most left-of-center record." So when Kuttner cites it, Goodman raises no objection. McCain cites it and she's ripping him apart with lies. Get your act together. What a disgrace. [Jackson's demolishing of the National Journal and Kuttner's idiocy on Democracy Now! were covered Feb. 10th at Third.] Repeating, McCain referred to the National Journal 'finding' that Goody accepted on her show from Kuttner. He was then asked if he thought Barack was a Socialist. He didn't raise that issue, he was asked. When asked, he stated he didn't know. This is exactly the garbage Ava and I were talking about Sunday: gossip -- uninformed gossip -- passed off as news intended to make you enraged. In headlines today, Goodman pimped the same gossip: "In campaign news, Senator John McCain has accused Barack Obama of having the most extreme record in the Senate and suggested Obama might be a socialist. McCain was asked about his views in an interview with the Kansas City Star." No, McCain didn't ACCUSE Barack of having the most exterme record, he was referring to the National Journal study -- one Goody allowed to be cited Feb. 8th on her show without objection or question. And McCain NEVER suggested Barack was a Socialist. Get your damn facts right, Pravda on the Hudson.

Ralph Nader is running for president and Team Nader notes:

Well, you did it.
We needed to raise $60,000 by midnight yesterday.
And you blew by that early in the weekend and almost hit $70,000 by last night.
Thank you.
Your generous support helped fund stage two of our ballot access drive – fifteen states by July 20.
As promised, we have now collected enough signatures to put Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot in 15 states.
Click here to see our current ballot access map.
Last month, we laid out our ambitious ballot access timetable:
Ten states by July 6.
Fifteen states by July 20.
Thirty states by August 8.
Forty states by September 1.
Forty-five states by September 15.
Thanks to you, we have met the goals of stage one and stage two on time.
In Arkasas, our road trip team along with many volunteers collected more than 2,000 signatures, more than double what was needed.
In New Jersey, a dedicated group of volunteers helped us collect more than 2,000 signatures, more than double what was needed.
And in Massachusetts, we've collected more than 19,000 signatures--10,000 valid are required--and are now in the midst of turning in our petitions to
hundreds of towns across the state to get them verified.
We are now entering our most difficult phase--the third phase, where we are facing deadlines in an additional 15 states by August 10.
If you have been thinking of dropping what you're doing this summer and hitting the road for Nader/Gonzalez, the next three weeks are when we need you most.
Please contact
mark@votenader.org today to find out what states you can help in now.
And
click here to see our day-by-day live interactive map of how our road teams are doing.
Tomorrow we will be launching a contest to build our e-mail list.
There will be a whole lot of prizes -- including the grand prize of dinner with Ralph Nader.
Keep an eye on tomorrow's e-mail for all the details.
And finally, when people ask you -- why is Ralph Nader running for President?
Here's one way to answer:
Just show them the new Democratic Party Convention bag.
And Glenn Greenwald's most recent article -- The AT&T Convention in Denver --
here.
The two parties have been taken over by the corporations.
And the people need a candidacy to counter that of the two corporate parties.
That candidacy is Nader/Gonzalez.
Once again, thank you for your generous donations this week.
You helped power us over the finish line for stage two.
Onward to stage three.
The Nader Team
PS: Last week, we offered the DVD An Unreasonable Man--autographed by Ralph Nader--to anyone who donated $100 or more by yesterday midnight. Well, 242 of you came through. That offer is now closed. We will be shipping those DVDs out later this week.

iraqjames burmeister
tom banseedee knight
robin longopbworkers worldw.e. (bill)belliveau
jim fox
andrei hurancykharris macleed
joshua key
the new york timessabrina tavernise
jeff zeleny
jake tapper

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Patty Murray, Hillary Clinton, Ralph Nader

"Senators Murray and Clinton Call On HHS To Stop Plans To Obstruct Family Planning Services" (Patty Murray and Hillary Clinton):
For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) today called on the Secretary of Health and Human Services to stop misguided plans to put in place new obstacles for women accessing family planning services. This proposed rule change is a poorly-veiled attempt to roll-back women's health care options before the current Administration leaves office.
In a letter to Secretary Michael Leavitt, Senators Clinton and Murray underscored that new planned regulations will increase barriers to obtaining health care services, while weakening health care providers’ ability to obtain funding and provide services.
“It is outrageous that the Bush administration is once again putting ideology over women’s health. Instead of undercutting access to contraception and family planning services, the Bush Administration should put prevention first,” said Senator Clinton.
"On the first day of his administration, the President reinstated the Mexico City global gag clause, a harsh, anti-family planning policy that hurt the world's poorest women and children. Now, on his way out the door it appears that he is trying to limit women's health care options here at home," Murray said. "This misguided attempt to restrict health care services and limit access to contraceptives defeats our common goal of reducing the number of abortions in this country."
Senators Murray and Clinton have worked tirelessly to stop efforts by the Bush Administration to put in place ideological barriers to contraception. Senators Murray and Clinton successfully led the fight to secure an administration decision on the over-the-counter sale of Plan B emergency contraception after more than three years of Administration delay.
The text of the Senators' letter follows:
Secretary Michael O. LeavittThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services200 Independence Avenue, S.W.Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Mr. Secretary:
It has come to our attention that the Department of Health and Human Services may be preparing draft regulations that would create new obstacles for women seeking contraceptive services.One of the most troubling aspects of the proposed rules is the overly-broad definition of “abortion.” This definition would allow health-care corporations or individuals to classify many common forms of contraception – including the birth control pill, emergency contraception and IUDs – “abortions” and therefore to refuse to provide contraception to women who need it.
As a consequence, these draft regulations could disrupt state laws securing women's access to birth control. They could jeopardize federal programs like Medicaid and Title X that provide family-planning services to millions of women. They could even undermine state laws that ensure survivors of sexual assault and rape receive emergency contraception in hospital emergency rooms.
We strongly urge you to reconsider these regulations before they are released. We are extremely concerned by this proposal’s potential to affect millions of women’s reproductive health.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Senator Patty Murray Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)

You know, if Hillary was the nominee, she'd still be addressing this issue. That's because she doesn't need for-show travel to make herself look ready for the job. She is ready for the job. I'm reminded of the line Debra Winger says in Black Widow, "Thing is, this isn't over."

It really isn't. Barack's struggling in the polls. He's caving everytime you turn around.

Hillary's doing what she always does, rolling up her sleeves and getting down to work. It would have been great to have someone like that in the White House.

Oh well, maybe Barack will pick a good babysitter. I bet Dick Cheney's available or willing to recommend someone.

But it's probably not a good idea, when you've pissed off a number of voters by using sexism in the primary over and over, to skip being present for this issue.



"Nader makes presidential ballot in Nevada" (Las Vegan Sun):

Matt Griffin, deputy secretary of state for elections, said Friday that he has received information from the counties that Nader has nearly 5,000 signatures of registered voters on a petition to qualify for the presidential ballot. He said about 4,700 are needed to qualify for the ballot.
Nader supporters said they had 12,000 signatures. Griffin said he should receive the official numbers next week.
Nader hopes to be on the presidential ballot in 45 states by Sept. 20.
His vice presidential candidate is Matt Gonzalez, and his Nevada electors are Richard Murakami and Frank Kunovic, both of Las Vegas, and Michele Patterson, Miranda Humphrey and Thomas Farrell, all of Reno.



The Ralph Nader campaign is another worker campaign. It's not flash and sizzle. It's not hype and empty slogans. I see my support for Nader as support for someone who shares most of my beliefs and for someone who wants to work. I don't see Ralph Nader needing a 'nanny' for a vice-president. He chose someone qualified, Matt Gonzalez, who can work on issues. Barack's going to need a Cheney. A Scary Poppins. He tires so easily. Especially for such a young man.

We have had seven years of immaturity in the White House. I won't vote for four more.

Nader's making strides and his campaign is progressing. In a world with a real independent media, they'd do being cartwheels. But they can find no happiness in Ralph's success. They can only see a threat.

45 states is his goal and I think he's going to reach it. It is the true grassroots campaign. It's the one that those who support real change can get on board with.



"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):


Friday, July 18, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, who is harrassing IVAW co-chair Adam Kokesh, the White House issues a statement the State Dept doesn't want to touch, the US military announces another death, and more.

Starting with war resistance -- because Amy Goodman never can -- this was a busy week. Monday US war resister in Canada Robin Long was the subject of deportation of hearing. Which he lost. (Mainly because Judge Anne Mctavish doesn't know her job.) He was deported Tuesday from Canada with the Canadian government keeping everything hush-hush to try to clamp down on public shows of support for Robin. On Wednesday, US war resister James Burmeister faced a court-martial: "
The court-martial of the kill-team whistle blower." He was busted in rank, given six months of time and stripped of his rights and benefits. The latter is especially shocking when you realize he has Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The government gladly shipped him to a war zone where he was injured and then they spat him this week by refusing to pay for the injuries their illegal war caused James -- life-long injuries. Amy Goodman (Democracy Sometimes!) continued the silence she's long maintained on James -- she never mentioned his name. James is the one who blew the whistle on the kill teams -- groups of US soldiers assigned to leave US property (such as cameras) out in the open in Iraq while snipers then wait for an unsuspecting Iraqi to touch them at which point, living up to the team name, they kill the Iraqis. It was big news and and Mark Larabee (The Oregonian) broke the news domestically July 16, 2007. That wasn't something to amplify. Apparently no one in Panhandle Media had slept with James or wanted to. If so, we could have seen the kind of embarrassing moment that had the 'left' recruiting talk show hosts not all that long ago. Call it The Critic and the Young Chippie or -- as they prepared to play it -- The Greatest All Time Threat to Democracy. Nothing gets a fire burning for our 'fearless' 'leaders' as much as the thought that one of their old 'lions' might finally get laid. So James, who was actual news, got ignored in 2007 and, if you missed it, got ignored Wednesday, Thursday and today. Free Speech isn't worth a damn when it's also Meaningless Speech -- and didn't so many prove just how meaningless they could be.

AP (Real Media) filed a better version of their earlier story, one that noted, "He said he was disturbed by a military tactic of planting equipment to lure Iraqis that American snipers could then kill. Burmeister said he complained to superior officers that the snipers couldn't know for sure whether the people they shot were actually insurgents, or presented any threat to U.S. forces." The Oregonian did a brief that noted, "Burmeister said he complained to superior officers that the snipers couldn't know for sure whether the people they shot were actually insurgents or presented any threat to U.S. forces. Eventually, the soldier from Cheshire, near Eugene, was injured by a roadside bomb and sent to Germany to recuperate. While there, he left his unit and went to Canada, where he campaigned against the use of the small kill teams." Kill teams. War crimes. But Panhandle Media had something else to cover. While whining about the silence from Real Media on some stories, they censored themselves. Call it Learned Pathetic. The only maturity in the story came from James himself. Ten months ago, Mina Al-Oraibi (Asharq Alawsat) quoted the then-in-Canada James Burmeister stating he did not regret self-checking out, "Because I feel it's the right thing to do -- even if I face prison or a dishonorable discharge from the army. I can't go back to the killing."

On Robin Long,
Stefanie Fisher (Party for Socialsim and Liberation) provides a run-through, "On July 15, Robin Long became the first Iraq war resister to be deported from Canada back to the United States. In 2005, Long went to Canada because he would not fight in an 'illegal war of aggression.' Like thousands of young recruits, Long discovered that the Iraq war was based on lies only after he had joined the military. The court denied Long sanctuary based on a so-called 'lack of evidence' that he would face harsh treatment if he were sent back to the United States. The court was fully aware that Long would be unjustly tried as a deserter, could face prison time and be deployed to Iraq against his will. As an example to others, on July 16, James Burmeister, a resister who turned himself over to the U.S. government was sentenced to 9 months in jail and dishonorably discharged. Protests in the U.S. and Canada have demanded sanctuary for Iraq war resisters. Two-thirds of Canadians believe that war resisters should be allowed to stay in Canada." Jeremy Deutsch (Kamloops This Week) reports on NDP's Michael Crawford's reaction to the deportation and quoted him stating, "We have a government in Canada hell-bent on pleasing the American administration. . . . If we believe it's an illegal war, why should we not give some form of sancturary to people who are refusing to fight that war?" This follows NDP's Bill Siksay's earlier statements this week, prior to the deportation of Robin, "Stockwell Day, Diane Finley and Stephen Harper should respect the will of Parliament and the Canadian people and stop this deportation immediately. The House of Commons has passed a motion supporting a special programme that would allow conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in the war in Iraq to remain in Canada. The government must respect this action by the House and stop deportation action against Robin Long and other Iraq war resisters. The Canadian government and the Canadian people do not support George Bush's illegal war in Iraq. We must have the courage of those convictions and back them up by ensuring that Americans who take a stand against that war receive a welcome in Canada. Robin Long must be allowed to stay." Meanwhile Keith Jones (WSWS) examines the situation and concludes:

As for the Canadian government, in 2005 when the Liberals held office, it took the highly unusual step of intervening at [Jeremy] Hinzman's refugee hearing--the first for an Iraq war resister--to successfully urge the Immigration and Refugee Board to exclude any arguments concerning the legality of the US's invasion of Iraq. The pretext invoked by the government was that only the International Court of Justice at the Hague has the authority and jurisdiction to adjudicate on the legality of a war. (See
"Canada denies asylum to US soldier who refused to serve in Iraq")
During the Vietnam War more than 50,000 US draft-dodgers and "deserters" found refuge in Canada. Today, however, the Canadian judiciary, immigration board, and government are determined to ensure that the country not become a safe haven for those in the US military who refuse to be party to the US's wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is not just because Canada's elite does not want to rile the Bush administration and US military. The Canadian ruling class is determined to jettison the myth of Canada as a peace-keeping nation--a myth closely bound up with Pearson and Trudeau Liberal governments' attitude toward the Vietnam War and decision to allow Vietnam war resisters to apply for landed immigrant status in Canada--because they see it as cutting across their efforts to revive Canadian militarism and use the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a means to assert their predatory interests on the world stage.

Today,
Canadian Christianity notes: "Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Canada held a public prayer vigil July 10 on behalf of Robin Long, a US war resister who was scheduled to be deported from Canada July 15. Long joined the US military in 2003, but became disillusioned with the US war in Iraq, deserted and fled to Canada in 2005. He applied for refugee status in 2006, but his final court appeal was turned down July 14. There are about 200 US resisters of the Iraq War currently in Canada. The CPT Canada vigil, which took place in Winnipeg, drew participants from the 'People's Summit for Faithful Living,' a joint meeting of delegates from Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA."

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).

IVAW's co-chair, Adam Kokesh, has been regularly targeted by the US government for speaking out. Wednesday he wrote (Revolutionary Patriot) "The Cops Are Everywhere -- Especially Where I Am." Thursday he posted a video of one encounter. Friday, his report also included a police report (pages of the police report are clickable to make them larger to read) which reveals that one of the people who have been hassling/harassing him is an FBI agent. So what's going on? I have no idea. But Adam has been targeted before and there's no denying that an FBI agent is going out of his way to target Adam now.

Staying on
IVAW, they've posted a copy members of Congress sent to the White House. The letter is signed by House Reps Yvette D. Clarke, John Conyers, Lynn Woosley, Barbara Lee, Jan Schakowsky, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Dennis Kucinich, James McGovern, Pete Stark, Edolphus Towns, Tammy Baldwin, William Jefferson, and Eleanor Holmes Norton. The letter [PDF format warning] reads:

We, the below signed Members of Congress, voice our support for current, present, and future members of the United States Armed Forces who oppose the War in Iraq and who are working to bring it to a speedy and safe conclusion. These brave men and women, who have served our nation so honorably, represent the best aspects of our democratic tradition. While we cannot condone the actions of any service members who translates their personal opposition to the war into a deliberate decision to go Absent Without Leave (AWOL), we offer our most sincere support to every service member affected by the War in Iraq. This war has placed many of armed service members, like Sergeant Matthis Chiroux, in an untenable dilemma. Sgt. Chiroux has served as an active duty service member for the last 5 years -- serving tours of duty in Afghanistan and the Philippines. In July of 2007, having served his country with distinction, the Sergeant was discharged to the Individiual Ready Reserves. As the civil war raging inside Iraq intensified, Sgt. Chiroux was moving on with his life and leaving behind a war with which he disagreed. Unfortunately for the Sergeant, the war's unpopularity has taken a heavy toll on the Army's recruitment efforts. As such, in February of this year, he was recalled to active duty and received his deployment orders for Iraq. We in the Congress oppose this type of forced redeployment, as well as the military's so-called 'stop-loss' policy. As such, we in the Congress reaffirm our support for ending the War in Iraq by all means available to us. We also reaffirm our support for all military members who speak out, advocate, and otherwise support efforts to bring the troops home.

If the letter seems a little weak, let's go to
Howard Zinn who isn't campaigning for any office and, even if he was, could probably still tell the hard truths. From his "Memo to Obama, McCain: No one wins in a war" (Boston Globe):


For someone like myself, who fought in World War II, and since then has protested against war, I must ask: Have our political leaders gone mad? Have they learned nothing from recent history? Have they not learned that no one "wins" in a war, but that hundreds of thousands of humans die, most of them civilians, many of them children?
Did we "win" by going to war in Korea? The result was a stalemate, leaving things as they were before with a dictatorship in South Korea and a dictatorship in North Korea. Still, more than 2 million people - mostly civilians -- died, the United States dropped napalm on children, and 50,000 American soldiers lost their lives.
Did we "win" in Vietnam? We were forced to withdraw, but only after 2 million Vietnamese died, again mostly civilians, again leaving children burned or armless or legless, and 58,000 American soldiers dead.

This morning in Tucson, Arizona, the traveling White House press corps heard from Scott Stanzel, Deputy Press Secretary, regarding the continued treaty negotiations between the White House and its puppet in Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki. Stanzel stated, "And as the statement says, we have reached a point in Iraq where we can have these discussions about continuing to transition more control of the security situation to the Iraqi forces. . . . But these are aspirational goals, not arbitrary time lines based on political expediency. So we want to get to a point where we have sustainable security in the country, and our forces are able to come home and transition into a role there of more overwatch and training." What was Stanzel referring to? This statement issued by the White House Press Secretary:

President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki spoke yesterday in their regularly scheduled secure video conference, about a range of matters including the improving security situation and the performance of Iraqi Security Forces across Iraq, from Basra, to Maysan, Baghdad and Sadr City, and Mosul. The two leaders welcomed the recent visit of Prime Minister Erdogan to Baghdad and the successful visit of Prime Minister Maliki to the UAE. They also discussed ongoing initiatives to follow security gains with Iraqi investment in its people, infrastructure, cities, and towns, which will be aided by a $21 billion supplemental budget now before the Iraqi parliament.
In the context of these improving political, economic, and security conditions, the President and the Prime Minister discussed the ongoing negotiations to establish a normalized bilateral relationship between Iraq and the United States. The leaders agreed on a common way forward to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible, and noted in particular the progress made toward completing a broad strategic framework agreement that will build on the Declaration of Principles signed last November, and include areas of cooperation across many fields, including economics, diplomacy, health, culture, education, and security.
In the area of security cooperation, the President and the Prime Minister agreed that improving conditions should allow for the agreements now under negotiation to include a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals -- such as the resumption of Iraqi security control in their cities and provinces and the further reduction of U.S. combat forces from Iraq. The President and Prime Minister agreed that the goals would be based on continued improving conditions on the ground and not an arbitrary date for withdrawal. The two leaders welcomed in this regard the return of the final surge brigade to the United States this month, and the ongoing transition from a primary combat role for U.S. forces to an overwatch role, which focuses on training and advising Iraqi forces, and conducting counter-terror operations in support of those forces.
This transition and the subsequent reduction in U.S. forces from Iraq is a testament to the improving capacity of Iraq's Security Forces and the success of joint operations that were initiated under the new strategy put in place by the President and the Prime Minister in January 2007.

What's it mean? Nothing.
BBC may come closest to that reality when they note: "The BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington says the announcement is designed to encourage the idea that US troops are coming home, without committing to any dates." In which case, the hope would be to lull the American people into a sense that the illegal war is drawing to a close, so everybody calm down. Who is 'everybody'? Our pathetic 'peace' organizations who are focused on Iran and have forgotten Iraq? Roger Runningen and Ken Fireman (Bloomberg News) note that "White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said the new statement doesn't reflect a shift in the U.S. position." At the State Dept today, spokesperson Sean McCormack attempted to play dumb. Responding to questions about the discussions between the puppet and the White House, McCormak first declared, "I think the -- well, the White House issued a statement about this." The next question was answered with, "And they -- the Iraqis -- also put out language." And then, "What am I going to add to the statement that has been issued?"

It's all very Nixonian, this 'plan' that no one can know about but everyone should know that peace is just around the corner.
It echoes US Senator John McCain (presumptive GOP presidential nominee) claiming yesterday that the Iraq War could now be considered a 'win.' And, as with Nixon and his secret 'peace plan,' no one appears eager to probe McCain to explain what happens after a 'win'? Mitt Romney took to NBC's Today show this morning to speak vaugely of John McCain's 'goals' to end the illegal war to Matt Lauer but Matt was more interested in cracking resume jokes and asking about polls. Didn't even appear to note Romney's "sweet talk" jab at Barack ("I think in the final analysis that sweet talk is going to give into straight talk."). Maybe because Matt Lauer was too busy laying on the "sweet talk" ("Can I just recite your resume here?").

Today,
James Risen (New York Times) reports that KBR's electrical work is even worse than thought -- and this was with it thought that only 13 US service members had died from being electrocuted in the showers due to cheap and shoddy work -- with people receiving daily shocks and Risen notes, "During just one six-month period -- August 2006 through January 2007 -- at least 283 electrical fires destroyed or damaged American military facilities in Iraq, including the military's largest dining hall in the country, documents obtained by The New York Times show. Two soldiers died in an electrical fire at their base near Tikrit in 2006, the records note, while another was injured while jumping from a burning guard tower in May 2007." Meanwhile Hurriyet reports that northern Iraq was bombed today by Turkish warplanes.


Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?


Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Nineveh Province car bombing that killed the driver and 3 members of the Iraqi military with seven more left wounded, an apparent assassination attempt on Laith Salih in Diyala Province -- Salih ("Awakening" Council) wasn't wounded but his brother was.

Shootings?

Reuters drops back to Thursday to note 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul with three more injured.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad.

Monsters and Critics reports, " The Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency quoted a statement by the US Department of Defense saying a US soldier died of injuries after a car accident in Nineveh's capital some 400 kilometres north of Baghdad."



"Decades ago it was full of victories in the sixties and seventies," said
Ralph Nader when asked about the changes in consumer advocacy. "Full of victories. You know, regulated the lack of safety in motor vehicles, flamable fabrics, Product Safety Commission, all kinds of -- going after usary interest rates for the poor and many other pieces of legislation. But now it's purely defensive. It's trying to hold the gains of the sixties and seventies and that's become a losing fight because the Democrats are not going after the Republicans on this issue, even in this campaign. The Republicans are terrible on consumer protection and the Democrats are not fighting back." Hold the line? You could apply the comments to reproductive rights (except Barack's now attacked them with his demeaning of Doe v. ). Nader was speaking to John Bachir and about the 2004 campaign (video here). But what about the consumer aspect? Yesterday the US Food and Drug Administration issued an announcement noting: "FDA is updating its warning to consumers nationwide concerning the outbreak of Salmonella serotype Saintpaul. As of today, FDA officials believe that consumers may enjoy all types of fresh tomatoes available on the domestic market, without concern of becoming infected with Salmonella Saintpaul. The agency is removing the warning that has been in place since June 7, which states that consumers should avoid certain types of fresh tomatoes due to a potential connection to the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak. Consumers may resume enjoying any type of fresh tomato, including raw red plum, raw red Roma, and raw red round tomatoes. While we are changing our consumer guidance about tomatoes, we reiterate our guidance to consumers that those in vulnerable populations (infants, the elderly, and immune-compromised people) should avoid eating jalapeno and serrano peppers as the investigation continues." In what world is that acceptable? For those who remember the earlier e-coli outbreak in spinach, in March of this year Consumer Reports' blog noted "a report recently released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called 'FDA and Fresh Spinach Safety.'
The findings paint a most unappetizing picture of food safety and once again underscore the need to give the Food and Drug Administration more resources to oversee the safety of the nation's food supply. The committee's investigation was prompted by the
September 2006 outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 that caused hundreds of reported injuries and several deaths—an outbreak that was ultimately traced to packaged fresh spinach. So where is the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform? June 7th was when the FDA issued their warning on tomatoes. A working Congress, a working committee would have called for public hearings immediately. But apparently the public safety takes backseat to showboating for elections so everyone has to wait until the end of July for any hearings. Jim Downing (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that "Americans have continued to get sick -- at a rate of about 20 people per day -- even after" the FDA issued their alert, even after they studied the spinach outbreak. US House Rep Diana DeGette issued a statement yesterday: "It is absolutely outrageous that we are 90 days into the salmonella outbreak and the FDA and CDC still cannot determine the source of contamination. Currently, over 1200 cases of salmonella have been reported, hundreds have been hospitalized, while the outbreak has affected 41 states, including Washington, DC and even Canada. The salmonella outbreak continues to spread, with nearly 30 cases a day, because we do not have a national, comprehensive food traceability system that would quickly track our foods from the field to the fork. . . . Now the FDA is saying that tomatoes are safe, but only because they have a short shelf life. We still don't know the source of the contamination and that is inexcusable." And it's inexcusable that Congress has done nothing but issue press statements while this has taken place. Stephen J. Hedges (Chicago Tribune) quotes a letter Senator Tom Harkin sent to Michael Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services, "It seems highly unlikely that tomatoes harvested in April would still be consumed fresh by consumers in late June." And it seems highly unlikely that an effective Congress 'addresses' this issue by sending letters instead of immediately calling hearings.

On a possibly related note, Bill Moyers and Michael Winship (PBS'
Bill Moyers Journal ) point out:

But we also get into these terrible dilemmas -- where the big guys step all over everyone else and the victims are required to pay the hospital bills -- because we refuse to recognize the connection between money and politics. This is the great denial in democracy that may ultimately mean our ruin. We just don't seem able to see or accept the fact that money drives policy. It's no wonder that Congress and the White House have been looking the other way as the predators picked the pockets of unsuspecting debtors. Mega banking and investment firms have been some of the biggest providers of the cash vital to keeping incumbents in office. There isn't much appetite for biting -- or regulating -- the manicured hand that feeds them. Guess who gave the most money to candidates in this 2007-08 federal election cycle? That's right, the financial services and real estate industries. They stuffed nearly $250 million dollars into the candidate coffers. The about-to-be-bailed-out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together are responsible for about half the country's $12 trillion mortgage debt. Lisa Lerer of Politico.com reports that over the past decade, the two financial giants with the down home names have spent nearly $200 million on campaign contributions and lobbying. According to Lerer, "They've stacked their payrolls with top Washington power brokers of all political stripes, including Republican John McCain's presidential campaign manager, Rick Davis; Democrat Barack Obama's original vice presidential vetter, Jim Johnson; and scores of others now working for the two rivals for the White House." Last Sunday's New York Times put it as bluntly as anyone ever has: "In Washington, Fannie and Freddie's sprawling lobbying machine hired family and friends of politicians in their efforts to quickly sideline any regulations that might slow their growth or invite greater oversight of their business practices. Indeed, their rapid expansion was, at least in part, the result of such artful lobbying over the years." What a beautiful term: "artful lobbying." It means honest graft.

Meanwhile
Team Nader notes:

Last week, we set a fundraising goal of $60,000 by Sunday July 20 midnight - to put Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot in a total of 15 states.
In one week, we have raised $44,000.
Now, we need your help to raise the remaining $16,000 over the next three days - by Sunday midnight.
If only 8,000 of you, our loyal supporters,
donate $2 now, we will meet this goal.
Why is it important to have Ralph Nader on the ballot in November?
Without him, the plight of the Palestinian people will not be an issue in this year's election.
How do we know?
Because Obama/McCain stand with the militaristic right wing AIPAC lobby in the United States.
Nader/Gonzalez stand with the Israeli/Palestinian peace movements.
You will be hearing a lot this weekend about Obama's upcoming trip to the Middle East.
To keep Obama's trip in perspective, check out our new video -
Nader on Obama/Israel - here.
Pass it around to friends and family this weekend.
It is also important to keep in mind that Obama is to the right of some Mossad Israeli hawks. (
See recent Mother Jones article here.)
Even these Mossad Israeli hawks - along with the majority of the Israeli people - would open talks with Hamas.
Obama/McCain would not.
Nader/Gonzalez would reverse U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Obama/McCain would not.
We stand with the courageous Israeli and Palestinian peace movements.
We stand against the AIPAC militarists.
So, if you care about peace in the Middle East.
Please
help us out today.
To
meet our goal by Sunday night.
Together, we are making a difference.
Onward

TV:
NOW on PBS will focus on "the forgotten war' Afghanistan (begins airing Friday on most PBS stations). Bill Moyers Journal (check your local listings, begins airing on PBS in most markets tonight, it also streams online -- transcript, video, audio) looks at the housing crisis and spotlights the continued decline of a once strong voice who guests on the program to talk about the 'up' of the housing crisis (for Democrats!). Gwen's fronting polls as a 'draw' for viewers of this week's Washington Week which should give everyone pause. Dan Balz is among the scheduled guests and the only one who might be able to penetrate the spin. And independent journalist David Bacon continues to explore the issue of immigration, his latest is "THE RIGHT TO STAY HOME" (New American Media). Bacon's latest book is set for release in September, Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press).

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