"Hey Hill: Love Your Hair, Now Iron My Shirt: Did Hillary Clinton Get Torpedoed by Sexist Media Coverage?" (Claire Shipman, Susan Rucci and Jonann Brady, ABC News):
They point to a number of examples: Detractors can buy a Hillary Nutcracker with stainless-steel thighs online, or join the Facebook group called Hillary Clinton: Stop Running for President and Make Me a Sandwich.
When two men shouted "Iron my shirts!" at a Clinton campaign rally in New Hampshire, she shrugged it off, saying, "Ah, the remnants of sexism, alive and well."
On the other side, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan calls the sexism charge "sissy, blame-gaming."
The Women's Media Center, which doesn't endorse a specific candidate, has put together a "greatest hits" video called Sexism Sells.
Press reports have frequently focused on Clinton's appearance, from her figure to her hair to her wide array of pantsuits. Many people have pointed out that male candidates don't face the same kind of scrutiny when it comes to their looks.
Does sexism exist? Absolutely. Has the media coverage of Hillary been sexist? Absolutely.
Peggy Noonan doesn't think so. Well that's Peggy. But there's another person, a woman, with a pointy chin and frizzy hair who better roll herself a joint (I'm told she partakes to be 'mellow') because Ava and C.I. have her in their crossfires and the only question is whether they will just focus on that piece of trash or not?
They were going to do a sampler review and had hoped to construct it around films. They're not sure they can use that framework now and are considering chucking everything but the appalling TV show. They were Fed-Exed a copy of the show today and gave up lunch to watch the episode. The waiter (we were at lunch) came back to the table with a notepad ("Tony Stewart 20" -- some NASCAR racer, I don't follow sports) and they have 121 pages of notes, front and back. I love the "that's cute!" note they've written by the refusal to address the sexism aimed at Hillary but claiming John Edwards was a victim of sexism. I also love the Nico reference they've made in the margins. I assume those things will be included because they have stars by them but going through these notes, I can picture the commentary Ava and C.I. are planning to write. You do not want to miss Third this weekend. Take my word for it.
Trina and I both said, "Help!" because we're trying to blog quickly (everyone's blogging right now except Betty who's getting her kids down for the night) and C.I. checked messages and said, "Oh, this is good." So we're both grabbing the above article but I'm going to steer you to Trina because she's probably going to really tackle the above passage.
To save time, in this post I will probably be mentioning the following:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
and Marcia SICKOFITRDLZ.
Most of us are in Puerto Rico and those who are not are in South Dakota. Everyone's attempting to turn out the vote. Jim, Dona and Ty are in South Dakota. Everyone else is here in Puerto Rico. Because the primary is this weekend. We're hitting hard.
"Campaign question-5: Obama's latest racial problem" (Andrew Ross, The Ross Report, San Francisco Chronicle):
Apart from the appallingly racist nature of Father Michael Pfleger's remarks about Hillary Clinton, what is one to make of the congregation who seemed to lap it all up?
Thank you to Kat who just said, "Elaine, use this!" I agree with Ross' point. (If I remember correctly, that's Andrew S. Ross but I don't have time to look it up.) What did that video say about the people at Trinity? I heard woops of joy, applause, I saw people standing. I didn't see anyone call him out, I didn't see anyone walk out.
That's Barack's church of choice. For twenty years. That video is frightening and Ava and C.I. will probably address that so I'll leave it to them. (If they don't, I will on Monday.)
It goes to the crowd Barack hangs around with and they are a disgusting crowd. I'm referring to the White crowd which Wright's outrageous statements deflected attention to. I won't be voting for Barack. Sell it to someone who doesn't know his Hyde Park base.
They've only served to remind me why I have kept them at a distance all these years. (That and the fact that they are beggars always trying to hit you up for money for their latest 'transformation' of society scheme.)
"HUBdate: 'Top Candidate for Dems'" (Howard Wolfson, HillaryClinton.com):
Argus Leader Endorses Hillary: South Dakota’s Argus Leader today endorsed Hillary, calling her the "Top Candidate for Dems...Clinton is the strongest Democratic candidate for South Dakota. Her mastery of complex policy detail is broad and deep, and her experience as a senator and former first lady matches that…Her resilience and determination never should be questioned. She has met or overcome every challenge or roadblock in her way, and there have been many." Read more.
Automatic Delegate Watch: Washington State Democratic Party Chair Eileen Macoll endorsed Hillary yesterday: "On the issues that matter most -- from establishing universal health care to improving our schools to ending the war in Iraq--she has never backed down and never wavered. Hillary has what it takes to beat John McCain this Fall and win back the White House." Read more.
Endorsement Watch: Puerto Rican music artist Ricky Martin yesterday endorsed Hillary: "These elections will have historic repercussions both in the United States and the world. Senator Clinton has always been consistent in her commitment with the needs of the Latino community…she has always fought for what is most important for our families." Read more.
"She's Going to Pull It Off" Hillary had "one of the best turnouts of her South Dakota campaign" yesterday at a stop in Huron, where supporters waited to see her "in a line stretching down the block." One supporter said, "She's what we're for. She's against the war in Iraq…Hillary doesn't crack under pressure." Another supporter remarked, "We really think she’s going to pull it off in the end." Read more.
On the Air in Montana: Hillary began airing her first television ad "Only One" in Montana: "She's the only one in this campaign who voted against the Bush energy bill against six billion dollars to the oil companies, the only one taking on the insurance companies to guarantee health coverage for every American and she's the one who'll end fifty five billion dollars in giveaways to corporate special interests and cut taxes for the middle class instead." Watch here.
Previewing Today: Hillary travels to Puerto Rico to host a rally in Old San Juan.
The race isn't over. Don't believe the nonsense. Don't believe Nancy Pelosi's attempt to end it. It only ends if Hillary or Barack drop out. It can, and should, go all the way to the convention.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday, May 30, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, did the demonstrations take place as planned?, the media looks at their own pre-war behaviors, and more.
Late yesterday Canada's Liberal Party issue "Liberals Call on Government to Show Compassion for War Resisters."
The Liberal Opposition is calling on the Conservative government to support a motion that would allow conscientious objectors to apply for permanent resident status in Canada, said Liberal Citizenship and Immigration Critic Maurizio Bevilacqua. "Five years ago, the Liberal government made a principled decision not to participate in a war that wasn't sanctioned by the United Nations (U.N.). We should not now punish individuals and their families for making the same decision based on their personal principles," said Mr. Bevilacqua. The motion, which was passed by the Immigration Commmittee and is being debated in the House today, calls on the government to allow conscientious objectors, and their immediate family members, who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the U.N. and who do not have a criminal record to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada. The motion also stipulates that the government should not proceed with any action agains any war resister who currently faces deportation. "The government has a choice: it is not compelled to force these people to go back to a country where they may face prosecution under military law, or may be permanently branded for making a principled decision," said Mr. Bevilacqua. "Stephen Harper has indicated that, had he been Prime Minister in 2003, Canada would have participated in the Iraq war. I hope that the fact that Mr. Harper got it wrong at the time will not prevent him from showing compassion for those who made the right decision."
Kristen Thompson (Vancouver's Metro) reports that retired US Col and former US diplomat Ann Wright will be speaking in Vancouver Sunday "at an event honouring women war resisters". While Wright speaks up, many stay silent and war resisters in Canada today need support as they wait to see if the motion for safe harbor is going to come to the Parliament floor. You can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Lahey quotes NDP's Oliva Chow, who steered the motion, explaining, "If (Liberal leader) Stephane Dion were to say tomorrow that he supports this motion . . . we will then debate it. So we need people to call Mr. Dion . . . 'whose side you on Mr. Dion'?" The number to call is (613) 996-5789.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes 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).
Dropping back to this from the November 16, 2007 snapshot:Another reality that some (the press) has a hard time acknowledging is the number of service members electing to check out of the military on their own. AP reports that this year the desertion rate has jumped to "the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase" since the start of the illegal war. AP continues to deny reality by offering the claim that the US military does little to track down those who go AWOL or desert -- despite the mountain of public evidence to the contrary.As to the figure cited, September 21st, Nick Watt (ABC's Nighline) examined war resisters and noted the number of people being processed for desertion at Fort Knox "jumped 60% last year" (to 1,414 for Fort Knox -- US military figures) while concluding his report with, "If the total for the first six months of 2007 doubles by year end, it will become the highest annual total in twenty-six years." At 80% the total has more than doubled and not only is there another full month left in the year, it's also true that you have to be gone at least 30 days to be declared a deserter (unless you're Agustin Aguayo and the military wants to screw you over) and, in addition, the military figures have been 'lower' than they should be before (NPR caught that earlier this year) and the rolls aren't up to date for AWOL let alone desertion.
So last year saw the largest number of army desertions. What else did last year see? Australia's ABC notes that the deaths of 115 members of the US army were classified as suicides "in 2007, the most in one year since the service began keeping records in 1980."
Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "The study found a 'significant relationship' between the risk of suicide to the number of days a soldier serves in Iraq and Afghanistan. About one-quarter died while serving in Iraq of Afghanistan, the report found. The largest percentage of suicides occurred during the first three months of a deployment to Iraq or Afghnistan, the report found. The largest percentage of suicide attempts came during the second quarter of deployment." Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic (ICH) observes, "These traumas return home with us and we carry them, sometimes hidden, for agonizing decades. They deeply impact our daily lives, and the lives closest to us. To kill another human being, to take another life out of this world with one pull of a trigger, is something that never leaves you. It is as if a part of you dies with that person. If you choose to keep on living, there may be a healing, and even hope and happiness again, but that scar and memory and sorrow will be with you forever. Why did the recruiters never mention these things? This was never in the slick pamphlets they gave us."
Turning to Iraq where the big question today was regarding cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who had called a demonstration to protest the treaty puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki and Bully Boy are attempting to work out (on al-Maliki's side it may or may be presented to the Parliament for approval; however, the White House made clear that the Constitutional provisions on treaties will be ignored). With speculation over al-Sadr's base (eroding or not), would his call for a protest be met or ignored? Thousands turned out today in Baghdad and throughout Iraq; however Khalid al-Ansary (Reuters) states the "turnout on Friday was lower than past marches" in Baghdad which al-Sadr's spokespeople said resulted from "the protests . . . [being] widely spread through the country . . . [and] security forces prevented marches in some areas." AP reports, "The outcry could sharply heighten tensions over the proposal. The deal is supposed to be finished by July and replace the current U.N. mandate overseeing U.S.-led troops in Iraq." Robert H. Reid (AP) quotes sheik Assad al-Nassiri declaring in Kufa, "We denounce the government's intention to sign a long-term agreement with the occupying forces. Our army will be under their control in this agreement, and this will lead to them having permanent bases in Iraq." Nicholas Schifrin (ABC News) describes the scene in Baghdad: "As American helicopters hovered overhead, young and old men and even children flowed out of their weekly Friday prayers and began burning American flags and chanting 'no, no to America' and 'yes, yes to independence.' The residents carried posters of Moqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric whose Mahdi Army has fought against U.S. soldiers and who is accused of carrying out much of the violence here." Shifrin notes that Baghdad, Kufa, Basra, Amarah and Nasarriah are known to have demonstrations. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) observes, "In Sadr City, followers set fire to an American flag and an image of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in Saddam Hussein's green military uniform" while chanting, "A curse upon him who agrees! We are with you Sayyed Muqtada for liberating Iraq from the aggressors." The New York Times' Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Stephen Farrell (IHT, some version should be in tomorrow's Times) quote a Baghdad particpant who declares, "This isn't an Iraqi government, it's an American government. The Americans keep pressuring Maliki to carry out what they want. The agreement will only serve the Americans' interests" and they quote Parliamentarian Mahmoud Othman who feels the UN mandate should be allowed to run out (end of the year) and only then should any talks take place: "The negotiations now are not equal, and the results will be more for the benefit of America. To have a long term agreement with the Bush administration, which has five months to go, is wrong. The Iraqi government should wait fo rthe new American administration and then have an agreement with it." [Here it is at NYT but you know they vanish things so don't e-mail a day from now saying "It's not there!" if it's gone.] James Denselow (Guardian of London) observes, "Despite more than five years of state collapse, civil war and chaos the US still seems to believe that it is in a position to dictate what is best for Iraq. The deadline for the UN security council resolution 'allowing' US troops to be in the country expires at the end this year. US diplomats are today desperately trying to create a bilateral SOFA by the end of July in the face of wide-ranging opposition."
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province mortar attack that claimed the lives of 3 women and left two men wounded, while a Buhrz roadside bombing claimed 1 life. Reuters notes a Baquba bombing that claimed the life of 1 child and left two more injured during a soccer game.
Shootings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports police Col Ali Kadhim Salman was shot dead in Basra and an "Awakening" Council member was shot dead in Hibhib. Reuters notes the US military states they shot dead 1 man in Tarmiya and 1 man in Tikrit -- both were 'suspects.'
Turning to the media and Iraq. Earlier this week, CNN's Jessica Yellin -- while discussing the Scott McClellan book on Anderson Cooper's program -- spoke of the pressure she was under as a reporter from higher ups. Yesterday afternoon, she posted at CNN to explain all those leaping to the conclusion that she was referring to ABC were wrong, she was referring to "my time on MSNBC where I worked during the lead up to the war. I worked as a segment producer, overnight anchor, field reporter, and briefly covered the White House, the Pentagon, and general Washington stories." Media Matters notes that on NBC's Today show, guest (and former host) Katie Couric and Matt Lauer disagreed about pressure from the administration during that period.
Katie Couric: Well, we have different points of view, and I'll start by saying I think he's fairly accurate. Matt, I know when we were covering it -- and granted, the spirit of 9-11, people were unified and upset and angry and frustrated -- but I do think we were remiss in not asking some of the right questions. There was a lot pressure from the Bush White House. I remember doing an interview and the press secretary called our executive producer and said, "We didn't like the tone of that interview." And we said, "Well, tough. We had to ask some of these questions." They said, "Well, if you keep it up, we're going to block access to you during the war." I mean, those kind of strong-arm tactics were ... really inappropriate.
Who's right and who's wrong? Try who's truthful on top of that. Couric is telling the truth. Lauer (Poppy Bush's golfing partner and so much more) is lying. Ava and I covered the reality of Today during the lead up to the war in 2006 ("TV: Katie Was a Cheerleader"). And to add that, while Couric and others pressed for more to be done (Today's staff fought like hell to present a wide ranging picture), Lauer didn't give a damn. You didn't get that story from Michael Moore and why the hell aren't we surprised?
Less noted was another telling moment. Todd Purdum (Vanity Fair) examines his own various reactions to the book and concludes: "I do know one thing: even the slightest distance from an all-powerful institution like the White House (or a big corporation, or The New York Times) can produce a sudden, even stunning, clarity of feeling about all that was wrong with the place, and a terrific sense of liberation at being freed from it."
Turning to US political races. Panhandle Media is a complete utter failure and they damaged not only themselves, they damaged the work of the few truly independent journalists who actually work. John Pilger is one of the few and you can view the hatred in the comments (some of which may be deleted when this goes up) his article (New Statesman) has received. Pilger's not doing anything different than what he has always done, be a journalist. But those who pretend to be his peers have so debased 'independent' media that the real independent journalists have to put up with nonsense from the Cult Panhandle Media built. From Pilger's article (and, note, Pilger would be just as harsh on Hillary and has been before):
On the war in Iraq, Obama the dove and McCain the hawk are almost united. McCain now says he wants US troops to leave in five years (instead of "100 years", his earlier option). Obama has now "reserved the right" to change his pledge to get troops out next year. "I will listen to our commanders on the ground," he now says, echoing Bush. His adviser on Iraq, Colin Kahl, says the US should maintain up to 80,000 troops in Iraq until 2010. Like McCain, Obama has voted repeatedly in the Senate to support Bush's demands for funding of the occupation of Iraq; and he has called for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan. His senior advisers embrace McCain's proposal for an aggressive "league of democracies", led by the United States, to circumvent the United Nations.
[ . . .]
Despite claiming that his campaign wealth comes from small individual donors, Obama is backed by the biggest Wall Street firms: Goldman Sachs, UBS AG, Lehman Brothers, J P Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, as well as the huge hedge fund Citadel Investment Group. "Seven of the Obama campaign's top 14 donors," wrote the investigator Pam Martens, "consisted of officers and employees of the same Wall Street firms charged time and again with looting the public and newly implicated in originating and/or bundling fraudulently made mortgages." A report by United for a Fair Economy, a non-profit group, estimates the total loss to poor Americans of colour who took out sub-prime loans as being between $164bn and $213bn: the greatest loss of wealth ever recorded for people of colour in the United States. "Washington lobbyists haven't funded my campaign," said Obama in January, "they won't run my White House and they will not drown out the voices of working Americans when I am president." According to files held by the Centre for Responsive Politics, the top five contributors to the Obama campaign are registered corporate lobbysits.
What is Obama's attraction to big business? Precisely the same as Robert Kennedy's. By offering a "new", young and apparently progressive face of the Democratic Party -- with the bonus of being a member of the black elite -- he can blunt and divert real opposition. That was Colin Powell's role as Bush's secretary of state. An Obama victory will bring intense pressure on the US anti-war and social justice movements to accept a Democratic administration for all its faults. If that happens, domestic resistance to rapacious America will fall silent.
Meanwhile Barack is in trouble despite the efforts of John McCormick and Manya A. Brachear (Chicago Tribune) to rescue him. Another crackpot Barack friend, mentor and supporter (as noted in yesterday's snapshot) showed their ass: Michael Pfleger. Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite maintains that she spoke at Trinity (Barack's church) Sunday as well (different services -- Trinity has mutliple services each Sunday) and writes: "We in the United Church of Christ are trying to have what we call 'A Sacred Conversation on Race' and I did not find Pfleger's sermon to represent what we in the UCC are trying to do in having a sacred conversation. Instead, Pfleger's sermon was a bullying rant that was disrespectufl of the members of Trinity United Church of Christ, disrespectful of Senator Hillary Clinton and really also disrepectful of Senator Obama" blah blah. SBT, you lost it. You were making sense and then you had to toss out poor Barack. Poor Barack's been friends with Pfleger since Barack first breezed into Chicago over a decade ago. Also, the members you are offended for, the video shows no booing. Clapping, yes. If SBT is not the most embarrassing person in all of this named Barack or Pfleger, that's only because Senator Dick Durbin had to butt into it. He told the Chicago Tribune, "I like Mike. He's my friend." You need to find some better friends, Durbin. He almost outs himself in his vast wordage. What's the difference between Jeremiah Wright and Pfleger? Pfleger's White and that's it. They both 'preached' hate speech. But Wright, according to Durbin, allowed for 'marvelous' opportunities because Barack dould say, 'What's he so angry about?' And a race conversation, according to Durbin, could begin. That conversation never took place. But here's where Durbin clams up -- obviously when you ask, "What's he so angry about?" regarding Pfleger, you can't point to this and that and everything else that was trotted out for Wright's crackpot theories such as the US government created AIDS to wipe out African-Americans. Pfleger's just a hate monger.
Jake Tapper (ABC News) quotes Cardinal Francis George of the Archidoces of Chicago in this statement: "The Catholic Church does not endorse political candidates. Consequently, while a priest must speak to political issues that are also moral, he may not endorse candidates nor engage in partisan campaigning. Racial issues are both political and moral and are also highly charged. Words can be differently interpreted, but Fr. Pfleger's remarks about Senator Clinton are both partisan and amount to a personal attack. I regret that deeply." All the links contain text (and most video) of Pfleger's hate speech yesterday. This was Barack's response: "As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that unites us. That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-thinking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause." That's not an apology.
Here's an apology Barack: "This will be the second time in two weeks I have apologized to someone over the actions of a Roman Catholic Priest. It is not a pleasant thing but it is the right thing. Rev. Michael Pfleger had no business giving any kind of sermon like the one he did ridiculing Hillary Clinton let alone giving a sermon anywhere else than in his own Parish at a Mass. This kind of grandstanding mockery of another human being is totally against the Catholic faith and the spirit of inclusivity and respect for all human beings that Catholics hold dear. He has sinned against God, Hillary, and his priesthood for which an apology is not enough. I hope he has scheduled a confession and a retreat to rethink his role as Priest would not hurt either. To Mrs. Clinton I apologize as a Roman Catholic and am embarassed by this priests words and actions. I have no idea his motivations but please do not take this man's view nor his words as that reflecting Catholics, or the Catholic Church." That's Catherine J. writing at Gather. She didn't do anything requiring an apology. She and Pfleger are the same faith. But she wanted to apologize and she offered a real and heartfelt one. That's an apology. What Barack offered was sop and insulting. His friend for over twenty years, his patron, his mentor, a part of his campaing (until weeks ago -- as all the media rushes to insist) trashed Hillary Clinton and others in despicable terms, in outrageous sexist slander and did so at Barack's church of 20 years -- to the applause and shouts of encouragement from Barack's church. He owes an apology. But he's never been forced by the press to apologize once. He's never apologized to anyone. "I regret . . ." That's not an apology, it's a declined invitation. That's Barack's buddy offering that hate speech. Barack steered $100,000 of tax-payer money to the crackpot's church. Yeah, he owes a big apology.
Pfleger thinks he can get away with this crap as well. CNN notes his 'apology': "I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Sen. Obama's life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Sen. Clinton or anyone else who saw them." He doesn't regret anything. He thought he was cute as he minced around and did his little parody of women on stage. You can watch the video and see him grinning. (Liars at the Chicago Tribune tell you he was rushed off stage by organ music -- that's a lie. Watch the video. There is a time lapse and no organ music is played to tell him to wrap it up.) Foon Rhee (Boston Globe) reports the Clinton campaign's Ann Lewis declared on MSNBC, "I'm not sure what the 'if' was about" -- Pfleger's statements are "simply appalling."
John Bentley (CBS News) notes Senator John McCain (presumed GOP presidential nominee) stating, "I have known Sen. Clinton for a long time. I respect her, and I think that kind of language and that kind of treatment of Sen. Clinton is unwarranted, uncalled for, and disgraceful." Barack could have said that but chose not to. If it's a race between McCain and Obama in November, McCain's ahead currently because spoiled little princes aren't generally embraced by America. As Ken Dilanian (USA Today) points out, "Obama has not specifically addressed what Pfleger said about Clinton."
Hillary's still in the race and she's winning the popular vote. Fabien Levy (HillaryClinton.com) observes, "Wild weather did not stop residents of Huron from coming out to see Hillary on Thursday. Droves of voters turned out to see Hillary at Campbell Park, but due to inclement weather the event was moved into the Huron Events Center. Once inside, a packed house heard Hillary speak directly about the issues including our broken economy, the war in Iraq, veteran's affairs and universal health care." Huron, South Dakota, bit of trivia, is where Cheryl Ladd was born. So there's the trivia and now for the important take-away. The primaries will end with neither Hillary or Barack having enough delegates awarded (through primaries and caucuses) to calim the nomination. The race should continue to the convention in August. Some are trying to stop democracy, some don't trust the voters, some don't trust Democrats. Apparently, Democrats gathering together in Colorado this August is a frightening thought to Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean and Harry Reid. Oh goodness, the trio worries, what might they do! They might ensure that the people are heard. Shame on anyone who attempts to end this historic race before the finish line is reached. Michael P. Forbes (Austin-American Stateman) tells you what Pelosi, Reid and Dean can't and won't:
As the last primary votes are cast on Tuesday, some will want a coronation before the will of the Democratic Convention has been adjudicated.There will be very loud and very determined illegitimate calls for Clinton to bow out. They will cry of suspect pleas to party unity and ill-conceived suggestions that a prolonged nominating process -- one that rightfully should go to decisive balloting for president at the Democratic Convention from August 25-28 -- is harmful to the party. That's baloney. The excitement of this Democratic primary season as attested to by burgeoning party coffers and unprecedented levels of voter participation serve to reinvigorate the national Democratic Party after 12 years of Republican reign in Congress and eight years of a very unpopular Republican president. With daily reminders at the gas pump and in the grocery store of an ailing economy and two wars abroad, Americans are more than ready to put Democrats back in the White House. A national dialogue that continues all the way to the Democratic Convention on the attributes and abilities of Clinton and Obama and who is the Democrat most competent to be president is healthy for the political process and advantageous to the nation.
iraq
john pilger
the new york timesrichard a. oppel jr.stephen farrell
todd s. purdum
leila fadel
mcclatchy newspapers
nancy a. youssef
john mccormickmanya a. brachear
jake tapper
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
E-mails should not be enigmas
Why do people e-mail?
Really, I have never understood that.
With C.I., I do. C.I.'s this strong voice and people like the strength and I can understand it. This is an online journal here. I'm not talking about community members (who I love to hear from -- although Sunny reads the bulk of the e-mails), I'm talking about visitors.
Some guy's e-mailing me asking if he can come watch.
Come watch what?
Me shower? No, not happening.
Apparently, watch something I've written about here.
Presumably the get out the vote work for Hillary. Is he in Puerto Rico?
I have no idea.
Maybe he wants to come watch me speak about the illegal war?
I don't know.
Nora Ephron, I believe, wrote an essay about e-mails once. If she did (maybe I'm remembering wrong), I agree with her. It's like a number of them (not all) have never written a letter before.
They write, "I disagree with what you wrote."
All of it? Every day?
Okay. Well thanks for sharing.
Something specific?
In that case, you'd need to let me know exactly what it was.
Something I just wrote? Something I wrote in 2007? In 2006? In 2005? Help me out because I have no idea.
If you're testing the waters and trying to learn how to e-mail, by all means do it here. I won't read most of it and I won't reply privately (too many passed on e-mails) so let me be your test case.
But a suggestion if you e-mail someone less patient/amused.
If something speaks to you or pisses you off, specifiy what it was.
If it's something like Iraq (which I write about quite often), specify the date or title of the piece.
Forget manners, I see those things as communication basics.
What you just read may not be what I just read. (I don't read my site.)
What stood out to you might have been a throw-away sentence to me.
If you are really angry about something and you're taking the time to write, I would assume you would want me to know what has upset you.
But the bulk of them never offer anything beyond their "I feel" statements and, sorry, I do therapy at the office, I don't do it at my home.
I'm trying to keep this light but Sunny told me at lunch today that she'd spent forever trying to figure out what four of you were writing about. Sunny is my assistant at the office. Her job is not to read my e-mails. She enjoys doing that (and replies to community members) so that's fine. But I told her not to give a second thought to anyone who is unable to go beyond "I feel" statements. If you're not communicating what these "feelings" are about, you're wasting your own time.
Whether it's praise or scorn (I do get a bit of praise from time to time), I don't take it seriously. This is just an online journal. Two weeks ago, someone named Roy e-mailed me to tell me how upset he was and I did read the e-mail because Sunny saw that he was specific about why he was upset. "On May ___, you wrote ___ . . ." Then he let me have it. I don't agree with him or disagree with him (I think someone's taking the journal approach too seriously) but I did read it. E-mails are not supposed to be enimgas.
"HUBdate: A Strong Partner With Indian Country" (Howard Wolfson, HillaryClinton.com):
"A Strong Partner With Indian Country" Yesterday, during a stop at the Flathead Reservation, Hillary "reaffirm[ed] her support for tribal sovereignty…[and her commitment to] partner with the Montana Tribes to expand economic opportunity and improve health care, education and housing on all seven Montana Reservations." Hillary "told several hundred people yesterday at Salish Kootenai College that she wants to be a 'strong partner with Indian country.'" Read more and more.
Automatic Delegate Watch: Virgin Islands automatic delegate Kevin Rodriquez announced his support for Hillary yesterday. Rodriquez is a member of the Democratic National Committee.
On the Air: A new television ad hit the airwaves in South Dakota yesterday: "George Bush's spending has sent the economy into a tailspin and put social security in jeopardy…Hillary Clinton will stop spending money America doesn't have. She'll end fifty five billion dollars in giveaways to corporate special interests, reduce the deficit and protect Social Security." Watch here.
Crowd Gives Hillary "A Raucous Welcome" "It took a Clinton to repair America after the first Bush presidency and it will take a Clinton to fix the mistakes of the second President Bush," Hillary told supporters in Billings, MT yesterday. Many of those supporters waited in line to see Hillary throughout the afternoon. One 16-year-old supporter said she "was thrilled that the candidate was coming to Billings. 'It's just an amazing thing to get to see her,' she said…The crowd started cheering about 7 p.m., and the chants gained momentum when campaign staffers started tossing t-shirts into the bleachers. The crowd spelled out, 'H-i-l-l-a-r-y' and shouted, 'Madame President!'" Read more and more.
Previewing Today: Hillary attends a campaign event in Kyle, SD and hosts a "Solutions for South Dakota’s Future" rally in Rapid City, SD.
On Tap: Tomorrow, Hillary will continue to campaign throughout South Dakota, making stops in Huron and Watertown.
On Hillary. I will be removing links tonight because someone's outraged Mike (Mikey Likes It!). That's part of being in a relationship. If someone's outraged your loved one enough that he's pulling links, you back him up. I read the piece in question and thought, "Excuse me, Marjorie Cohn, but you do not hold my degree. I wouldn't attempt to practice law so how about you stop pretending you're able to analyze the inner-workings of someone's mind?"
So I'll be pulling her link and all NLG links. I feel bad for C.I. because I know how this goes. C.I. and Ava are speaking right now. C.I.'s going to get done with that, get back to the hotel and find out about the problem Cohn's dumped.
It's really not fair and, thing is, it wasn't needed. It is beyond Marjorie Cohn's area of expertise and a sure sign that she's now suffering from the know-it-all-ism that Ellen Goodman diagnosed back in the 90s and led Goodman to refuse to do anymore gas bag shows because everyone had to be an 'expert' on everything.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Wednesday, May 28, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, war resisters are ignored by most media outlets (including pathetic Amy Goodman), Bully Boy gives a speech, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Camilla Mortensen (Eugene Weekly) reports on US war resister and Iraq War veteran James Burmeister who self-checked out and went to Canada only to return this year, turn himself in and wonder what comes next: "His father fears the Army wants to keep Burmeister quiet about the 'bait-and-kill' teams the he alleges have been used to kill Iraqi civilians. While James Burmeister awaits the Army's decision, his father [Erich Burmeister] is fighting to bring him home. From the article:
Burmeister was also distrurbed by the "small kill teams" for which he was asked to provide cover. On Sept. 24, 2007, the Washington Post investigated the story of the classified program of using "bait and kill" tactics in which sniper teams would scatter "bait" such as ammunition and detonation cords to attract Iraqi insurgents who would then be shot by snipers. But Burmeister, who had deserted from the Army five months before the story broke, had been telling that story to the media for months.
In a July 2007 article in The Oregonian, Burmeister said he had participated in a team that placed fake cameras on poles and labeled them U.S. property to give the team the rights to shoot anyone who to tried to move or takes the equipment.
Kill teams? September 26, 2007, Josh White and Ann Scott Tyson's "Charges Against Snipers Stir Debate on 'Baiting'" (Washington Post) was published. From the July 16, 2007 snapshot:
James Burmeister is a war resister who went to Canada after serving in Iraq. He, his wife, Angelique, and their son, Cornell, now live in Ottawa. Mark Larabee (The Oregonian) reports on Burmeister and notes the "traps" were an issue -- setting out the fake carmera or other equipment so that someone would go for it and then shooting them for touching US property -- with James Burmeister declaring, "As soon as anyone would mess with it, you were supposed to lay waste to them. I completely disagreed with that tactic. I can't see how that's helping anyone whatsoever"; and on Iraq, "I though people needed to be free there. But when I went there it was all about captures and kills and it felt like we messed things up over there." For some reason, J.E. McNeil is quoted in the story and really doesn't know the first thing about the topic. I'll call out McNeil the same way I would a right winger. McNeil's area of expertise and area of interest is C.O.s and that's the topic McNeil should stick to. I find McNeil's remarks (and ingorance) damaging. It takes only a few seconds to say, "C.O.s is my focus. Have you considered calling the War Resisters Support Campaign?" A voice who does know something on the subject, Helen Burmeister, mother of James, whom Larabee reports is proud of her son and declares, "I don't support the war. I don't know anybody who supports what's going on in Iraq. . . . It took guts for him to do what he did."
Click here for the CBC interview and here's a transcript from the Sept. 25, 2007 snapshot:
James Burmeister: Myself, I was a Calvary scout. We do a lot of reconnaissance, mapping out, a lot of raids. Our platoon in particular would set up small groups called "Platoon Kill Teams" -- maybe a group of four, five people, some snipers and we would set up fake cameras, we would put "Property of US government" in English and Arabic and we would wait for an Iraqi to come up and touch it because that gives the US the right to kill them -- so they say. That would be the typical thing we would do.
Rob Benzie: You called this baiting. Is that right?
James Burmeister: Definitely.
Meanwhile Courage to Resist notes this on US war resister Ryan Jackson:
Join the vigil outside Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia Thursday, May 29th, 7:30pm at Gate 1 to demand "Free Ryan Now!" Ryan will be court martialed Friday, May 30th for resisting war.
Ryan was formally charged with multiple counts of AWOL stemming from his attempt to be released from the Army prior to Iraq deployment. He will face a Special Court Martial--with a maximum one year prison sentence--on Friday, May 30. Since voluntarily returning to Fort Gordon on April 14 and formally applying for a conscientious objector discharge, Ryan has been held in pre-trial confinement at the Charleston Navel Brig.
Write to Ryan Donate to Ryan's defense Attend Ryan's court martial
Following his arraignment, Ryan was able to call friends for a couple of hours. Primarily, he wanted to express his gratitude for everyone's support, and making him feel that his stand against war, and his time already spent in the brig, meant something. In addition to Courage to Resist members, he was also able to talk to Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace representatives prior to returning to the brig.
War resisters in Canada today need support as they wait to see if the motion for safe harbor is going to come to the Parliament floor. You can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Lahey quotes NDP's Oliva Chow, who steered the motion, explaining, "If (Liberal leader) Stephane Dion were to say tomorrow that he supports this motion . . . we will then debate it. So we need people to call Mr. Dion . . . 'whose side you on Mr. Dion'?" The number to call is (613) 996-5789.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes 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).
Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Qais Mizher (New York Times) report, "Iraq's largest Sunni political bloc suspended its return to the Shiite-dominated government on Tuesday, saying Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had refused to give it the cabinet ministries it wanted." The bloc is the Accordance Front and Al Jazeera reminds, "The Accordance Front pulled out of the national unity government in August, seeking the release of mainly Sunni Arab detainees in Iraq's jails." Leila Fadel (Baghdad Observer, McClatchy Newspapers) explains that the group "was supposed to return to the government three weeks ago" instead of continuing "the nearly year-long boycott to the government". Sinan Salaheddin (AP) observes, "The decision was a setback to Prime Minister Nori al-Maliki's efforts to bring the Sunnis back into the political fold to shore up recent security gains." CNN notes: "Reidar Visser, a scholar of Iraq who is editor of the Iraq-oriented Web site historiae.org, said Sunni Arab states are unhappy with al-Maliki's leadership because he seems to favor a tripartite Iraq comprised of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish regions. Among Sunni Arabs' qualms with this philosophy is that there is no oil wealth in the Sunni heartland. The Kurds have a semi-autonomous region, many Shiites want their own and both want areas where there is abundant oil production."
While al-Maliki's latest public embarrassment (he's like Bully Boy without the carrier to parade around on) garners attention, Moqtada al-Sadr calls on action. As noted in yesterday's snapshot, cleric al-Sadr is calling on weekly Friday demonstrations protesting a treaty Bully Boy and the puppet are attempting to hammer out. Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reported Tuesday that the al-Sadr "has since emerged as an ardent nationalist who commands the support of hundreds of thousands of devotees and the scorn of those who see him as a thuggish militia leader of limited intellect. He has lartely sought to reposition himself as a more mainstream figure, even in the face of increasing pressure from Iraq's Shiite-led government. His decision last week to allow the Iraqi army to enter the capital's Sadr City district, his base of power, was the latest in a series of calming edicts that began last summer." On Sunday, Mark Kukis (Time magazine) reported on al-Maliki and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker visiting Najaf to meet with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and noted: "It raised questions whether Sistani is making a comeback as a voice in political decision-making in Iraq. For years Sistani and Muqtada al-Sadr have seesawed with each other as Iraq's two main Shi'ite power players. In the early days of the occupation, Sistani's call for calm undoubtedly allowed American troops to avoid fierce resistance to their presence in southern Iraq. But Sistani's repeated appeals for peace lost their weight as sectarian violence rose in Iraq, with Sadr leading the Mahdi Army militia in an inexorable year-long quest for Shi'ite revenge following the bombing of a revered shrine in Samarra in early 2006." Last week Hamza Hendawi and Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) noted, "Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible -- a potentially significant shifty by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad." Yesterday, UPI declared al-Sistani might be angling for "a comeback" and asserts, "Crocker was in Najaf amid reports that Sistani was losing patience with the U.S. pace of reconstruction in Iraq, while Maliki emerged from his meeting with Sistani Thursday with vague pledges of support, signaling a possible political play by the reclusive cleric." Egypt's Middle East Times editorializes that Senators John McCain and Barack Obama should visit Iraq because things are 'changing': "The U.S. George W. Bush administration has already suffered two new serious blows to its policies this week. First, Iraq's Sunni Muslims have pulled out of talks to enter the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. And second, Mahdi Army leader Moqtada Sadr has called for nationwide protests against the proposed Status of Force Agreement that U.S. diplomats are pressuring Maliki to sign. . . . Maliki's officials have been leaking hints and claims of his opposition to SOFA for weeks and even the ulta-cautious Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most eminent religious leader of Iraq's Shiites, has been reported by his aides as favoring non-violent resistance to the agreement." Meanwhile CNN notes al-Sadr's demonstration are referred to "an organized media action"
"Hey now we're bleeding for nothing/ It's hard to breathe when you standing on your own/ We'll kill ourself to find freedom/ You'll kill yourself to find anything" (Agustana's "Hey Now," Can't Love, Can't Hurt, Epic Records)
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left eight people wounded (two were police officers), a Baghdad mortar attack on an Iraqi government buildment, a Diyala Province roadside bombing that claimed 2 lives ("father and his son") with another son injured and a Kirkuk bombing that may have been an attack on Col Fo'ad Shwani ("deputy of emergency police in Kirkuk") that resulted in one of his body guards being wounded.
Shootings?
Reuters notes an armed clash in Baghdad that began yesterday and ended today with 7 'suspects' killed and three police officers wounded while also noting "A mob stormed the house of a member of a U.S.-backed neighbourhood patrol and stabbed him to death in the town of Garma".
Corpses?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 8 corpses discovered in Baghdad
In other news, the puppet government is stating it will hold a census at the end of next year -- yes, they've promised a census before. Don't get your hopes up.
"I said, hell is so close, and heaven's out of reach/I ain't givin' up quite yet/ I've got too much to lose" (Augustana's "Sweet and Low," Can't Love, Can't Hurt, Epic Records). Bully Boy gave a speech in Colorado Springs today. Michael Abramowitz (Washington Post) observes, "President Bush acknowledged to 'learngin as we go' in building democracy in Iraq, as he used a commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy Wednesday to counsel patience and resolve in America's wars of the 21st century." For laughs, full speech here and note how he's confused about which people ("a new mission: Protect the American people -- Iraqi people") and here's Bully Boy defining 'success' and 'victory': "So in Iraq and Afghanistan, we set a clear definition of success: Success will come when al Qaida has no safe haven in those countries and the people can protect themselves from terror. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are economically viable. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are democracies that govern themselves effectively and respond to the will of their people. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are strong and capable allies on the war on terror. Men and women of the Air Force: These successes will come -- and when they do, our nation will have achieved victory, and the American people will be more secure." Barack Obama would like to be president -- first he'd need to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination -- and certainly anyone idiotic enough to think the US has 57 states is Bully Boy's undeclared son. Yesterday he was caught in yet another lie: His uncle rescued people in Auschwitz. Only it wasn't his uncle. Maybe it was his "great uncle". Oh, and maybe it was Buchenwald. Here for Jeralyn (TalkLeft), here for Elaine, here for Mike and Wally and Cedric's did a joint-post on it.
Today Amy Goodman demonstrate she is filth, human trash and so much more than just living in a political closet. Long after the nonsense over Friday's remarks by Hillary were over, Trash Goody had to 'cover' them today. The same piece of trash that has NEVER mentioned James Burmeister's name, has NEVER told her audience that Corey Glass was informed last Wednesday that he was being deported from Canada on June 12th, go down the list. She's not but human filth. Bob Somerby (Daily Howler) explains how trash came to make the non-story a story: "Obama's campaign told the 'press corps' to jump. The 'press corps' barked and then wondered: How high?" There was nothing wrong with what Hillary Clinton said and it wasn't news in March but Obama's campaign e-mailed and faxed it and got all the WHORES of the 'press' (include Red Amy Goodman right next to Keith Olbermann) to swing their tired, flabby asses under the streetlamp for another night -- may they call contract a social disease. In the real world (translation, where propagandist Amy Goodman could never work), Jake Tapper (ABC News) reports Gallup's latest poll "seems to re-affirm Sen. Hillary Clinton's argument that she is likelier to beat Sen. John McCain than is Sen. Barack Obama." Maureen Dowd (no link to trash) produced more trash for today's New York Times and, at some point, maybe someone should ask the obvious: Why would Bill Clinton tell Hillary to drop out and why would she follow that?
As someone who has known the Clintons for over 15 years, yes, Bill listens to Hillary, yes, Hillary listens to Bill. But they both make up their own minds. It sure is interesting that no man's wife was ever instructed by the press to tell him to drop out but the press feels more than comfortable insisting Bill should tell Hillary to drop out. It's sexism and let's not pretend it's anything else. Caryl Rivers (WeNews) notes the very real backlash Hillary is confronting:
Put these disparate items together and you see the clear message: Women have gone too far, and they shouldn't be running for president. They belong at home, and in fact are choosing to stay home. So why shouldn't males get the college spots, and who cares about workplace discrimination?
As president Hillary Clinton could change at least some of this. That's why it's so hard to listen to the delegate-counters say her prospects are fading.
Some women are fighting back.
On May 20, the Women's Media Center launched a "Sexism Sells, But We're Not Buying It" campaign against the pervasive sexism in the media's election coverage. The group's Web site offers a petition for you to sign, chiding media outlets for their performance. "Sexism isn't a partisan issue," it says. "We're not going to let anyone hit the snooze button on this important issue!"
To which I say, "Amen!"
Meanwhile Shamus Cooke (Socialist Appeal) observes, "As Barack Obama's anti-war rhetoric is blasted around the country in his attempt to seal the Democratic nomination, his real position on U.S. militarism is being revealed discretely to his political, military, and corporate colleagues. Two recent examples prove beyond any doubt that Obama is in total conformity with the U.S. ruling class on the issue of maintaining -- or even expanding -- the role of the military in the Middle East. This of course is the complete opposite of what he tells those who fill stadiums to hear him speak." Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report) explores Obama at length but we'll note this section:
It is fair to say that Somalia is the first African war to be tackled by the new American military command, Africom. So widespread is public opposition on the continent, fearing an attempt to re-colonize the region, no country has agreed to host the Africom. But Barack Obama fully supports the robust U.S. military presence. "There will be situations that require the United States to work with its partners in Africa to fight terrorism with lethal force," said Obama. "Having a unified command operating in Africa will facilitate this action."
Obama's enthusiasm for swamping Africa in an ever-expanding "war on terror," is obvious.
On the western shores of the continent, Obama was rumored in early May to have proposed a cease fire in the guerilla war over oil resources in Nigeria's Niger River delta. The insurgents, who claim the central government excludes delta residents from the benefits of oil production, have also asked former President Jimmy Carter to mediate the dispute. Whether anything comes of either request, it is certain that Nigeria, Africa's number one oil producer, will always be a leading candidate for Africom intervention. The presence of guerillas in the delta is all the Americans - including, based on his own words, Obama - will need to invoke the terror threat.
For more on the topic, see The Third Estate Sunday Review's "Idiots:"
As we've long noted, Barack also promotes war in Africa and, as others seem to forget, the whole point of abandoning Europe and setting up bases in Africa was that the US wants to stage new wars in that region. Bully Boy, attempting to secure land for bases, was rebuffed by African leaders. Do you really think "Son of Kenya" is going to be rebuffed? Do you really think some of the hype about Barack on the part of the same media that sold you the illegal war isn't over the fact that US imperialism can expand?
Hillary trying to get US bases is just another White impearilist to rebuff. (She's made no statements indicating she wants the US to take part in wars in Africa. By contrast, Samantha Power got on board Bambi's Senate work to sell him war on Darfur and he still echoes Power's opinion.) "Son of Kenya" could get those bases. And it's amazing that so many allegedly 'anti-war' types are silent on that fact. The Iraq War has taken place. It is ongoing. It's laughable to see 'peace' 'leaders' refuse to call out what's set to come in Africa. It's laughable to watch them avoid using the term "AFRICOM."AFRICOM was supposed to be up and running by now. It is up and running . . . in Germany but the failure to secure land deals for bases has stymied it somewhat. May 23, 2002, Mike Crawley's article in The Christian Science Monitor opened with the following:In the search for alternative sources of oil outside the politically volatile Middle East, the US is increasingly turning toward a place not normally seen as a major energy producer: sub-Saharan Africa. The region's crude oil production surpassed 4 million barrels a day in 2000 – more than Iran, Venezuela, or Mexico. The US currently gets 16 percent of its oil imports from sub-Saharan Africa -- almost as much as from Saudi Arabia. And, according to projections by the National Intelligence Council, that proportion will reach 25 percent by 2015, surpassing the entire Persian Gulf. The vast majority of it will come from a stretch of coastline between Nigeria and Angola called the Gulf of Guinea.
Samantha Power, for those who've forgotten, is Our Modern Day Carrie Nations and The Nation magazine (the 'anti-war' Nation magazine) has been happy to run her garbage. Those in the peace movement stupid enough to listen to 'leaders' saying Barack will end the illegal war damn well better be willing to own what's planned for Africa.
iraq
james burmeistermark larabee
josh white
ann scott tyson
amit r. paley
michael abramowitzthe washington post
qais mizherrichard a. oppel jr.the new york times
cnn
womens media center
mark kukis
mcclatchy newspapersleila fadel
glen ford
augustana
talkleftlike maria said pazmikey likes itthe daily jotcedrics big mix
Really, I have never understood that.
With C.I., I do. C.I.'s this strong voice and people like the strength and I can understand it. This is an online journal here. I'm not talking about community members (who I love to hear from -- although Sunny reads the bulk of the e-mails), I'm talking about visitors.
Some guy's e-mailing me asking if he can come watch.
Come watch what?
Me shower? No, not happening.
Apparently, watch something I've written about here.
Presumably the get out the vote work for Hillary. Is he in Puerto Rico?
I have no idea.
Maybe he wants to come watch me speak about the illegal war?
I don't know.
Nora Ephron, I believe, wrote an essay about e-mails once. If she did (maybe I'm remembering wrong), I agree with her. It's like a number of them (not all) have never written a letter before.
They write, "I disagree with what you wrote."
All of it? Every day?
Okay. Well thanks for sharing.
Something specific?
In that case, you'd need to let me know exactly what it was.
Something I just wrote? Something I wrote in 2007? In 2006? In 2005? Help me out because I have no idea.
If you're testing the waters and trying to learn how to e-mail, by all means do it here. I won't read most of it and I won't reply privately (too many passed on e-mails) so let me be your test case.
But a suggestion if you e-mail someone less patient/amused.
If something speaks to you or pisses you off, specifiy what it was.
If it's something like Iraq (which I write about quite often), specify the date or title of the piece.
Forget manners, I see those things as communication basics.
What you just read may not be what I just read. (I don't read my site.)
What stood out to you might have been a throw-away sentence to me.
If you are really angry about something and you're taking the time to write, I would assume you would want me to know what has upset you.
But the bulk of them never offer anything beyond their "I feel" statements and, sorry, I do therapy at the office, I don't do it at my home.
I'm trying to keep this light but Sunny told me at lunch today that she'd spent forever trying to figure out what four of you were writing about. Sunny is my assistant at the office. Her job is not to read my e-mails. She enjoys doing that (and replies to community members) so that's fine. But I told her not to give a second thought to anyone who is unable to go beyond "I feel" statements. If you're not communicating what these "feelings" are about, you're wasting your own time.
Whether it's praise or scorn (I do get a bit of praise from time to time), I don't take it seriously. This is just an online journal. Two weeks ago, someone named Roy e-mailed me to tell me how upset he was and I did read the e-mail because Sunny saw that he was specific about why he was upset. "On May ___, you wrote ___ . . ." Then he let me have it. I don't agree with him or disagree with him (I think someone's taking the journal approach too seriously) but I did read it. E-mails are not supposed to be enimgas.
"HUBdate: A Strong Partner With Indian Country" (Howard Wolfson, HillaryClinton.com):
"A Strong Partner With Indian Country" Yesterday, during a stop at the Flathead Reservation, Hillary "reaffirm[ed] her support for tribal sovereignty…[and her commitment to] partner with the Montana Tribes to expand economic opportunity and improve health care, education and housing on all seven Montana Reservations." Hillary "told several hundred people yesterday at Salish Kootenai College that she wants to be a 'strong partner with Indian country.'" Read more and more.
Automatic Delegate Watch: Virgin Islands automatic delegate Kevin Rodriquez announced his support for Hillary yesterday. Rodriquez is a member of the Democratic National Committee.
On the Air: A new television ad hit the airwaves in South Dakota yesterday: "George Bush's spending has sent the economy into a tailspin and put social security in jeopardy…Hillary Clinton will stop spending money America doesn't have. She'll end fifty five billion dollars in giveaways to corporate special interests, reduce the deficit and protect Social Security." Watch here.
Crowd Gives Hillary "A Raucous Welcome" "It took a Clinton to repair America after the first Bush presidency and it will take a Clinton to fix the mistakes of the second President Bush," Hillary told supporters in Billings, MT yesterday. Many of those supporters waited in line to see Hillary throughout the afternoon. One 16-year-old supporter said she "was thrilled that the candidate was coming to Billings. 'It's just an amazing thing to get to see her,' she said…The crowd started cheering about 7 p.m., and the chants gained momentum when campaign staffers started tossing t-shirts into the bleachers. The crowd spelled out, 'H-i-l-l-a-r-y' and shouted, 'Madame President!'" Read more and more.
Previewing Today: Hillary attends a campaign event in Kyle, SD and hosts a "Solutions for South Dakota’s Future" rally in Rapid City, SD.
On Tap: Tomorrow, Hillary will continue to campaign throughout South Dakota, making stops in Huron and Watertown.
On Hillary. I will be removing links tonight because someone's outraged Mike (Mikey Likes It!). That's part of being in a relationship. If someone's outraged your loved one enough that he's pulling links, you back him up. I read the piece in question and thought, "Excuse me, Marjorie Cohn, but you do not hold my degree. I wouldn't attempt to practice law so how about you stop pretending you're able to analyze the inner-workings of someone's mind?"
So I'll be pulling her link and all NLG links. I feel bad for C.I. because I know how this goes. C.I. and Ava are speaking right now. C.I.'s going to get done with that, get back to the hotel and find out about the problem Cohn's dumped.
It's really not fair and, thing is, it wasn't needed. It is beyond Marjorie Cohn's area of expertise and a sure sign that she's now suffering from the know-it-all-ism that Ellen Goodman diagnosed back in the 90s and led Goodman to refuse to do anymore gas bag shows because everyone had to be an 'expert' on everything.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Wednesday, May 28, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, war resisters are ignored by most media outlets (including pathetic Amy Goodman), Bully Boy gives a speech, and more.
Starting with war resistance. Camilla Mortensen (Eugene Weekly) reports on US war resister and Iraq War veteran James Burmeister who self-checked out and went to Canada only to return this year, turn himself in and wonder what comes next: "His father fears the Army wants to keep Burmeister quiet about the 'bait-and-kill' teams the he alleges have been used to kill Iraqi civilians. While James Burmeister awaits the Army's decision, his father [Erich Burmeister] is fighting to bring him home. From the article:
Burmeister was also distrurbed by the "small kill teams" for which he was asked to provide cover. On Sept. 24, 2007, the Washington Post investigated the story of the classified program of using "bait and kill" tactics in which sniper teams would scatter "bait" such as ammunition and detonation cords to attract Iraqi insurgents who would then be shot by snipers. But Burmeister, who had deserted from the Army five months before the story broke, had been telling that story to the media for months.
In a July 2007 article in The Oregonian, Burmeister said he had participated in a team that placed fake cameras on poles and labeled them U.S. property to give the team the rights to shoot anyone who to tried to move or takes the equipment.
Kill teams? September 26, 2007, Josh White and Ann Scott Tyson's "Charges Against Snipers Stir Debate on 'Baiting'" (Washington Post) was published. From the July 16, 2007 snapshot:
James Burmeister is a war resister who went to Canada after serving in Iraq. He, his wife, Angelique, and their son, Cornell, now live in Ottawa. Mark Larabee (The Oregonian) reports on Burmeister and notes the "traps" were an issue -- setting out the fake carmera or other equipment so that someone would go for it and then shooting them for touching US property -- with James Burmeister declaring, "As soon as anyone would mess with it, you were supposed to lay waste to them. I completely disagreed with that tactic. I can't see how that's helping anyone whatsoever"; and on Iraq, "I though people needed to be free there. But when I went there it was all about captures and kills and it felt like we messed things up over there." For some reason, J.E. McNeil is quoted in the story and really doesn't know the first thing about the topic. I'll call out McNeil the same way I would a right winger. McNeil's area of expertise and area of interest is C.O.s and that's the topic McNeil should stick to. I find McNeil's remarks (and ingorance) damaging. It takes only a few seconds to say, "C.O.s is my focus. Have you considered calling the War Resisters Support Campaign?" A voice who does know something on the subject, Helen Burmeister, mother of James, whom Larabee reports is proud of her son and declares, "I don't support the war. I don't know anybody who supports what's going on in Iraq. . . . It took guts for him to do what he did."
Click here for the CBC interview and here's a transcript from the Sept. 25, 2007 snapshot:
James Burmeister: Myself, I was a Calvary scout. We do a lot of reconnaissance, mapping out, a lot of raids. Our platoon in particular would set up small groups called "Platoon Kill Teams" -- maybe a group of four, five people, some snipers and we would set up fake cameras, we would put "Property of US government" in English and Arabic and we would wait for an Iraqi to come up and touch it because that gives the US the right to kill them -- so they say. That would be the typical thing we would do.
Rob Benzie: You called this baiting. Is that right?
James Burmeister: Definitely.
Meanwhile Courage to Resist notes this on US war resister Ryan Jackson:
Join the vigil outside Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia Thursday, May 29th, 7:30pm at Gate 1 to demand "Free Ryan Now!" Ryan will be court martialed Friday, May 30th for resisting war.
Ryan was formally charged with multiple counts of AWOL stemming from his attempt to be released from the Army prior to Iraq deployment. He will face a Special Court Martial--with a maximum one year prison sentence--on Friday, May 30. Since voluntarily returning to Fort Gordon on April 14 and formally applying for a conscientious objector discharge, Ryan has been held in pre-trial confinement at the Charleston Navel Brig.
Write to Ryan Donate to Ryan's defense Attend Ryan's court martial
Following his arraignment, Ryan was able to call friends for a couple of hours. Primarily, he wanted to express his gratitude for everyone's support, and making him feel that his stand against war, and his time already spent in the brig, meant something. In addition to Courage to Resist members, he was also able to talk to Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace representatives prior to returning to the brig.
War resisters in Canada today need support as they wait to see if the motion for safe harbor is going to come to the Parliament floor. You can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Lahey quotes NDP's Oliva Chow, who steered the motion, explaining, "If (Liberal leader) Stephane Dion were to say tomorrow that he supports this motion . . . we will then debate it. So we need people to call Mr. Dion . . . 'whose side you on Mr. Dion'?" The number to call is (613) 996-5789.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes 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).
Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Qais Mizher (New York Times) report, "Iraq's largest Sunni political bloc suspended its return to the Shiite-dominated government on Tuesday, saying Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had refused to give it the cabinet ministries it wanted." The bloc is the Accordance Front and Al Jazeera reminds, "The Accordance Front pulled out of the national unity government in August, seeking the release of mainly Sunni Arab detainees in Iraq's jails." Leila Fadel (Baghdad Observer, McClatchy Newspapers) explains that the group "was supposed to return to the government three weeks ago" instead of continuing "the nearly year-long boycott to the government". Sinan Salaheddin (AP) observes, "The decision was a setback to Prime Minister Nori al-Maliki's efforts to bring the Sunnis back into the political fold to shore up recent security gains." CNN notes: "Reidar Visser, a scholar of Iraq who is editor of the Iraq-oriented Web site historiae.org, said Sunni Arab states are unhappy with al-Maliki's leadership because he seems to favor a tripartite Iraq comprised of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish regions. Among Sunni Arabs' qualms with this philosophy is that there is no oil wealth in the Sunni heartland. The Kurds have a semi-autonomous region, many Shiites want their own and both want areas where there is abundant oil production."
While al-Maliki's latest public embarrassment (he's like Bully Boy without the carrier to parade around on) garners attention, Moqtada al-Sadr calls on action. As noted in yesterday's snapshot, cleric al-Sadr is calling on weekly Friday demonstrations protesting a treaty Bully Boy and the puppet are attempting to hammer out. Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reported Tuesday that the al-Sadr "has since emerged as an ardent nationalist who commands the support of hundreds of thousands of devotees and the scorn of those who see him as a thuggish militia leader of limited intellect. He has lartely sought to reposition himself as a more mainstream figure, even in the face of increasing pressure from Iraq's Shiite-led government. His decision last week to allow the Iraqi army to enter the capital's Sadr City district, his base of power, was the latest in a series of calming edicts that began last summer." On Sunday, Mark Kukis (Time magazine) reported on al-Maliki and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker visiting Najaf to meet with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and noted: "It raised questions whether Sistani is making a comeback as a voice in political decision-making in Iraq. For years Sistani and Muqtada al-Sadr have seesawed with each other as Iraq's two main Shi'ite power players. In the early days of the occupation, Sistani's call for calm undoubtedly allowed American troops to avoid fierce resistance to their presence in southern Iraq. But Sistani's repeated appeals for peace lost their weight as sectarian violence rose in Iraq, with Sadr leading the Mahdi Army militia in an inexorable year-long quest for Shi'ite revenge following the bombing of a revered shrine in Samarra in early 2006." Last week Hamza Hendawi and Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) noted, "Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible -- a potentially significant shifty by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad." Yesterday, UPI declared al-Sistani might be angling for "a comeback" and asserts, "Crocker was in Najaf amid reports that Sistani was losing patience with the U.S. pace of reconstruction in Iraq, while Maliki emerged from his meeting with Sistani Thursday with vague pledges of support, signaling a possible political play by the reclusive cleric." Egypt's Middle East Times editorializes that Senators John McCain and Barack Obama should visit Iraq because things are 'changing': "The U.S. George W. Bush administration has already suffered two new serious blows to its policies this week. First, Iraq's Sunni Muslims have pulled out of talks to enter the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. And second, Mahdi Army leader Moqtada Sadr has called for nationwide protests against the proposed Status of Force Agreement that U.S. diplomats are pressuring Maliki to sign. . . . Maliki's officials have been leaking hints and claims of his opposition to SOFA for weeks and even the ulta-cautious Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most eminent religious leader of Iraq's Shiites, has been reported by his aides as favoring non-violent resistance to the agreement." Meanwhile CNN notes al-Sadr's demonstration are referred to "an organized media action"
"Hey now we're bleeding for nothing/ It's hard to breathe when you standing on your own/ We'll kill ourself to find freedom/ You'll kill yourself to find anything" (Agustana's "Hey Now," Can't Love, Can't Hurt, Epic Records)
Bombings?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left eight people wounded (two were police officers), a Baghdad mortar attack on an Iraqi government buildment, a Diyala Province roadside bombing that claimed 2 lives ("father and his son") with another son injured and a Kirkuk bombing that may have been an attack on Col Fo'ad Shwani ("deputy of emergency police in Kirkuk") that resulted in one of his body guards being wounded.
Shootings?
Reuters notes an armed clash in Baghdad that began yesterday and ended today with 7 'suspects' killed and three police officers wounded while also noting "A mob stormed the house of a member of a U.S.-backed neighbourhood patrol and stabbed him to death in the town of Garma".
Corpses?
Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 8 corpses discovered in Baghdad
In other news, the puppet government is stating it will hold a census at the end of next year -- yes, they've promised a census before. Don't get your hopes up.
"I said, hell is so close, and heaven's out of reach/I ain't givin' up quite yet/ I've got too much to lose" (Augustana's "Sweet and Low," Can't Love, Can't Hurt, Epic Records). Bully Boy gave a speech in Colorado Springs today. Michael Abramowitz (Washington Post) observes, "President Bush acknowledged to 'learngin as we go' in building democracy in Iraq, as he used a commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy Wednesday to counsel patience and resolve in America's wars of the 21st century." For laughs, full speech here and note how he's confused about which people ("a new mission: Protect the American people -- Iraqi people") and here's Bully Boy defining 'success' and 'victory': "So in Iraq and Afghanistan, we set a clear definition of success: Success will come when al Qaida has no safe haven in those countries and the people can protect themselves from terror. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are economically viable. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are democracies that govern themselves effectively and respond to the will of their people. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are strong and capable allies on the war on terror. Men and women of the Air Force: These successes will come -- and when they do, our nation will have achieved victory, and the American people will be more secure." Barack Obama would like to be president -- first he'd need to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination -- and certainly anyone idiotic enough to think the US has 57 states is Bully Boy's undeclared son. Yesterday he was caught in yet another lie: His uncle rescued people in Auschwitz. Only it wasn't his uncle. Maybe it was his "great uncle". Oh, and maybe it was Buchenwald. Here for Jeralyn (TalkLeft), here for Elaine, here for Mike and Wally and Cedric's did a joint-post on it.
Today Amy Goodman demonstrate she is filth, human trash and so much more than just living in a political closet. Long after the nonsense over Friday's remarks by Hillary were over, Trash Goody had to 'cover' them today. The same piece of trash that has NEVER mentioned James Burmeister's name, has NEVER told her audience that Corey Glass was informed last Wednesday that he was being deported from Canada on June 12th, go down the list. She's not but human filth. Bob Somerby (Daily Howler) explains how trash came to make the non-story a story: "Obama's campaign told the 'press corps' to jump. The 'press corps' barked and then wondered: How high?" There was nothing wrong with what Hillary Clinton said and it wasn't news in March but Obama's campaign e-mailed and faxed it and got all the WHORES of the 'press' (include Red Amy Goodman right next to Keith Olbermann) to swing their tired, flabby asses under the streetlamp for another night -- may they call contract a social disease. In the real world (translation, where propagandist Amy Goodman could never work), Jake Tapper (ABC News) reports Gallup's latest poll "seems to re-affirm Sen. Hillary Clinton's argument that she is likelier to beat Sen. John McCain than is Sen. Barack Obama." Maureen Dowd (no link to trash) produced more trash for today's New York Times and, at some point, maybe someone should ask the obvious: Why would Bill Clinton tell Hillary to drop out and why would she follow that?
As someone who has known the Clintons for over 15 years, yes, Bill listens to Hillary, yes, Hillary listens to Bill. But they both make up their own minds. It sure is interesting that no man's wife was ever instructed by the press to tell him to drop out but the press feels more than comfortable insisting Bill should tell Hillary to drop out. It's sexism and let's not pretend it's anything else. Caryl Rivers (WeNews) notes the very real backlash Hillary is confronting:
Put these disparate items together and you see the clear message: Women have gone too far, and they shouldn't be running for president. They belong at home, and in fact are choosing to stay home. So why shouldn't males get the college spots, and who cares about workplace discrimination?
As president Hillary Clinton could change at least some of this. That's why it's so hard to listen to the delegate-counters say her prospects are fading.
Some women are fighting back.
On May 20, the Women's Media Center launched a "Sexism Sells, But We're Not Buying It" campaign against the pervasive sexism in the media's election coverage. The group's Web site offers a petition for you to sign, chiding media outlets for their performance. "Sexism isn't a partisan issue," it says. "We're not going to let anyone hit the snooze button on this important issue!"
To which I say, "Amen!"
Meanwhile Shamus Cooke (Socialist Appeal) observes, "As Barack Obama's anti-war rhetoric is blasted around the country in his attempt to seal the Democratic nomination, his real position on U.S. militarism is being revealed discretely to his political, military, and corporate colleagues. Two recent examples prove beyond any doubt that Obama is in total conformity with the U.S. ruling class on the issue of maintaining -- or even expanding -- the role of the military in the Middle East. This of course is the complete opposite of what he tells those who fill stadiums to hear him speak." Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report) explores Obama at length but we'll note this section:
It is fair to say that Somalia is the first African war to be tackled by the new American military command, Africom. So widespread is public opposition on the continent, fearing an attempt to re-colonize the region, no country has agreed to host the Africom. But Barack Obama fully supports the robust U.S. military presence. "There will be situations that require the United States to work with its partners in Africa to fight terrorism with lethal force," said Obama. "Having a unified command operating in Africa will facilitate this action."
Obama's enthusiasm for swamping Africa in an ever-expanding "war on terror," is obvious.
On the western shores of the continent, Obama was rumored in early May to have proposed a cease fire in the guerilla war over oil resources in Nigeria's Niger River delta. The insurgents, who claim the central government excludes delta residents from the benefits of oil production, have also asked former President Jimmy Carter to mediate the dispute. Whether anything comes of either request, it is certain that Nigeria, Africa's number one oil producer, will always be a leading candidate for Africom intervention. The presence of guerillas in the delta is all the Americans - including, based on his own words, Obama - will need to invoke the terror threat.
For more on the topic, see The Third Estate Sunday Review's "Idiots:"
As we've long noted, Barack also promotes war in Africa and, as others seem to forget, the whole point of abandoning Europe and setting up bases in Africa was that the US wants to stage new wars in that region. Bully Boy, attempting to secure land for bases, was rebuffed by African leaders. Do you really think "Son of Kenya" is going to be rebuffed? Do you really think some of the hype about Barack on the part of the same media that sold you the illegal war isn't over the fact that US imperialism can expand?
Hillary trying to get US bases is just another White impearilist to rebuff. (She's made no statements indicating she wants the US to take part in wars in Africa. By contrast, Samantha Power got on board Bambi's Senate work to sell him war on Darfur and he still echoes Power's opinion.) "Son of Kenya" could get those bases. And it's amazing that so many allegedly 'anti-war' types are silent on that fact. The Iraq War has taken place. It is ongoing. It's laughable to see 'peace' 'leaders' refuse to call out what's set to come in Africa. It's laughable to watch them avoid using the term "AFRICOM."AFRICOM was supposed to be up and running by now. It is up and running . . . in Germany but the failure to secure land deals for bases has stymied it somewhat. May 23, 2002, Mike Crawley's article in The Christian Science Monitor opened with the following:In the search for alternative sources of oil outside the politically volatile Middle East, the US is increasingly turning toward a place not normally seen as a major energy producer: sub-Saharan Africa. The region's crude oil production surpassed 4 million barrels a day in 2000 – more than Iran, Venezuela, or Mexico. The US currently gets 16 percent of its oil imports from sub-Saharan Africa -- almost as much as from Saudi Arabia. And, according to projections by the National Intelligence Council, that proportion will reach 25 percent by 2015, surpassing the entire Persian Gulf. The vast majority of it will come from a stretch of coastline between Nigeria and Angola called the Gulf of Guinea.
Samantha Power, for those who've forgotten, is Our Modern Day Carrie Nations and The Nation magazine (the 'anti-war' Nation magazine) has been happy to run her garbage. Those in the peace movement stupid enough to listen to 'leaders' saying Barack will end the illegal war damn well better be willing to own what's planned for Africa.
iraq
james burmeistermark larabee
josh white
ann scott tyson
amit r. paley
michael abramowitzthe washington post
qais mizherrichard a. oppel jr.the new york times
cnn
womens media center
mark kukis
mcclatchy newspapersleila fadel
glen ford
augustana
talkleftlike maria said pazmikey likes itthe daily jotcedrics big mix
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Barack screws up again and Katty's p.o.ed
Did you hear the news on Barack? From Reuters:
Democrat Barack Obama admitted on Tuesday he was wrong to say his uncle helped liberate the Nazis' Auschwitz concentration camp after Republicans said Soviet troops freed the camp.
Obama's campaign said the candidate meant to say that his great-uncle, Charlie Payne, had helped liberate a part of the Buchenwald camp, not Auschwitz.
"Yesterday he mistakenly referred to Auschwitz instead of Buchenwald in telling of his personal experience of a soldier in his family who served heroically," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
Let's all be really honest, that wasn't mis-speaking. Barack didn't know the difference between Auschwitz and Buchenwald. For some people, that may seem like no big deal but don't forget this is Barack's maternal side of the family -- the one he didn't write a book about. Which most likely indicates it was not caring about the stories until he decided Monday to use it in a speech. It's really insulting and it's also very telling.
Katrina vanden Heuvel is calling Hillary to leave the race with dignity. Hilarious when you consider The Nation has spent the last two years ripping Hillary apart. Hilarious when I think back to the little snot-nosed brat Katrina and how the little ___ kicked me in the shin (I still have a scar) when I asked, "Katrina, you had an accident, didn't you?" Her grandfather was (rightly) appalled by the odor. (Maybe the child ate asparagus nonstop, I don't know.) So I attempted to help. She was a liar then as well. Insisting she didn't wet her panties. I said, "The smell is coming from somewhere. Are you sure it's not you?" The little brat hauled off and kicked me in the shin.
C.I. saved Katty's ass then. C.I.'s far less apt to save her ass today. Much more crap like Katty churned out today and I think C.I. will chop her off at the knees.
The thing about Katrina was that she was always so ugly because of a number things but mainly her spoiled, scowling nature. The hair didn't help. I've never known such a hairy child. I notice she wears long sleeves today and I'll take that to mean she never had electrolosis.
She really was like Cousin It. From The Adams' Family. That's truly what she reminded people of. Although I doubt Cousin It reeked of urine.
"HUBdate: Fighting For Puerto Rico's Soldiers and Veterans" (Howard Wolfson, HillaryClinton.com):
Fighting For Puerto Rico's Soldiers and Veterans: During a conversation with the family of a Puerto Rican soldier who had fought in Iraq, Hillary promised that "[w]hen I'm president, we will begin ending the war in Iraq, and you won’t have to worry about [your son] going back…Our veterans deserve a commander in chief who will take care of them, and I will." Read more.
Memorial Day Statement: Hillary issued a statement yesterday reflecting on Memorial Day: "Memorial Day is a solemn day for every American; a day to express our profound gratitude to the men and women who have given their lives in military service. A day to join in our thoughts and prayers with the families mourning loved ones. A day to cherish the freedoms and opportunities that so many have served, sacrificed, and died to defend." Read more.
Today In Montana: Hillary hosts a "Solutions for America" town hall in Pablo and a "Solutions for America" rally in Billings, MT.
In Case You Missed It: "Number Crunching With Past Five Elections as a Guide" Read more.
On Tap in South Dakota: Hillary will campaign in Kyle and Rapid City on Wednesday, May 28, and in Huron and Watertown on Thursday, May 29.
Bill Clinton is exactly right. People like Katty vanden Heuvel are trying to force Hillary out the race. It's because Hillary is running. They can't stand that. They've pinned all their Socialist (and, for some, Communist) dreams on Barack. He will be the man to lead them to the Socialist utopia. (For Communist to take hold, Socialism has to be the first step according to the theory, just FYI.)
She stands in their way and that's what the attacks from Panhandle Media have been all about. It was never about democracy (obviously, democracy doesn't dictate that you call on a candidate to drop out) and it was never about the Democratic Party having the strongest nominee. It's always been out rejects like Katrina trying to inflitrate the Democratic Party, trying to take it over.
I would be very scared for the country if that happened because I remember very well Katty's imaginary friends and how they were required because her urine smell didn't allow for other kids to play with her. Katty's got a lot of built up hate in her.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Chaos and violence continues, Dana Perino reveals how little oversight Bully Boy's giving to the Iraq War, Joan Walsh insults Latinos and the working class of Kentucky, Katrina vanden Heuvel reveals she hasn't changed a bit (and that's not a good thing) and more.
Starting with war resistance. Last Wednesday, US war resister and Iraq War vet Corey Glass was informed by the Canadian government that he had until June 12th to leave on his own and, after that, he would be deported. The government is refusing to grant him asylum. Attorney Jeffrey House explains to The Real News Network (link has text and audio), "A soldier discovers the war is illegal, and then he or she doesn't want to participate in it. If they go back to the United States, they're treated as deserters, and they can't argue, 'Oh, this is an illegal war.' The courts have said you're not able to raise such a complicated question. And so a main argument and a main reason why these soldiers have refused to fight on honorable grounds is being kept out of the court system -- it tears the heart out of the argument."
Yesterday Sandra Cason (Marshall News Messenger) reported on the family of James Grady Johnson who died while serving in Vietnam (February 26, 1968). Cason spoke with his siblings and oldest sister Linda Ford stated that her half-brother went AWOL for a brief period (three days) and is quoted by Cason stating, "'I bear a great burden of guilt. I'm the one who talked him into' going back 'and I took him to the plane in Longview. It is something I will always regret. I had the money to send him to Canada, which is what a lot of others did'."
War resisters in Canada today need support as they wait to see if the motion for safe harbor is going to come to the Parliament floor. You can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Lahey quotes NDP's Oliva Chow, who steered the motion, explaining, "If (Liberal leader) Stephane Dion were to say tomorrow that he supports this motion . . . we will then debate it. So we need people to call Mr. Dion . . . 'whose side you on Mr. Dion'?" The number to call is (613) 996-5789.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes 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).
On Sunday, a press conference was staged in Baghdad, presided over by US Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll and Major Mohammed al-Askari (spokesman for Iraq's Ministry of Defense) was trotted out for show, but, uh-oh, he went off script when pressed about weapons that must be, simply must be, coming from Iran. His response:Well, this topic is the responsibility of the Iraqi government. We are an executive side. Those weapons could be smuggled and passed in an illegal way. And the Multi-Nation Forces have information and talked about this several times. At the Ministry of Defense, we do not interfere with the external policy of the Iraqi government. We just detain the wanted personnel and we present to the court. And if we captured different kinds of weapons, regardless of their background, and most of them are coming from outside the country like western, coming from western countries. This topic, of course, we do not interfere in it. And...but we'd like to also, what we do is give those reports and evidence to the Iraqi government. And I think the government will have procedures and may not talk about it, but I'm sure there will be some procedures by the government, like committees or stuff like that. Actually, what we have, any kind of weapon that we capture, we present it to the Iraqi government. And I think the government has the responsibility for that.
That would be real news so don't look for it in Panhandle Media. (Amy Goodman was too busy trying to erase Fidel Castro's critism of Barack. First she played Barack's statement then she reduced Castro's criticism to half a line. It's so very hard when Red Poster Boys come out against Goodman's candidate.) The US government continues to try to portray the Iranian government as a supplier of weapons to Iraq. And yet al-Askari stated very clearly that the bulk of the "weapons that we capture" are from the "West." Meanwhile AFP reports that The Political Council for National Security is telling puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki he better "ensure that a pact under discussion to extend the US troop presence beyond 2008 will not harm the national interest. Washington and Baghdad are holding negotiations on a Status of Forces Agreement aimed at giving a legal basis to the US troops after December 31, when a UN mandate defining the current status of foreign forces expires." On the US end, the Status of Forces Agreement (a treaty being called something else) has met with strong objections from Congress. From the April 8th snapshot, Senator Hillary Clinton questioning US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker:
With Crocker, she brought up the treaty the White House wants to make with the puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, "With respect to our long term challenge, Ambassador Crocker, the administration" is planning to make an agreement with Iraq and "will it be submitted to the Iraqi Parliament for ratification?" Crocker replied that it had been "indicated that" it would be brought "to the council of representatives." Well then, Clinton wanted to know, "does the administration plan to submit the agreement to our Congress?" No, Crocker replied, "at this point . . . we don't" because they don't believe it "would require the advice and consent" of the Congress. That "seems odd to Americans," Clinton noted, that "the Iraqi Parliament may have a chance to consider this aggreement" while "the United States Congress does not." She noted the legislation she introduced (December 6, 2007) calling for the Bully Boy "to seek Congressional approval for any agreement that would extend the US military commitment to Iraq." And it is very odd that the White House thinks they can make a treaty without the consent of Congress and that the Iraqi Parliament will be weighing in (their Constitution guarantees them that right -- the US Constitution guarantees that Congress also has that right).
April 9th, US House Rep Susan Davis would echo Clinton's points and point out that allowing the Iraqi Parliament a say while the US Congress gets none (under the White House plan) "strikes people in our districts as strange." Davis also wanted to know whether the proposal would be used as "a vehicle for leverage that would actually bring about a result that would not occur without the agreement?" Davis was required to repeat the question to Crocker three times before getting some sort of 'answer' : "I think that like other agreements, this is a geustion of mutal agreements uh uh we both have interests in uh uh . . . it's not a question of uh uh having something to give to them uh uh . . ." April 10th, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations would address it with US State Dept's David Satterfield and US Defense Dept's Mary Beth Long:
Senator Joe Biden: We will hear today about the two agreements that the Administration is negotiating with Iraq which were anticipated in the November Declaration. On Tuesday, Ambassador Crocker told us that these agreements would set forth the "vision" -- his phrase -- of our bilateral relationship with Iraq. One agreement is a "strategic framework agreement" that will include the economic, political and security issues outlined in the Declaration of Principles. The document might be better titled "What the United States will do for Iraq," because it consists mostly of a series of promises that flow in one direction -- promises by the United States to a sectarian government that has thus far failed to reach the political compromises necessary to have a stable country. We're told that the reason why we're not continuing under the UN umbrella is because the Iraqis say they have a sovereign country. But they don't want a Status of Forces Agreement because that flows two ways. The Administration tells us it's not binding, but the Iraqi parliament is going to think it is. The second agreement is what Administration officials call a "standard" Status of Forces Agreement, which will govern the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq, including their entry into the country and the immunities to be granted to them under Iraqi law. Unlike most SOFAs, however, it would permit U.S. forces -- for the purposes of Iraqi law -- to engage in combat operations and detain insurgents. In other words, to detain people that we think are bad guys. I don't know any of the other nearly 90 Status of Forces Agreements that would allow a U.S. commander to arrest anyone he believes is a bad guy.
The key statement on the treaty (which does need Senate approval, regardless of what the White House claims) was probably when committee chair Biden explained, "Just understand my frustration. We want to normalize a government that really doesn't exist." And possibly when Senator Russ Feingold told Satterfiled, "I would suggest your difficulties are with the nature of our Constitution." Even Republican Seantors Norm Coleman and Johnny Isakson expressed objections. Meanwhile, there are objections in Iraq as well. Reuters reports that Moqtada al-Sadr is calling for a demonstration this "Friday against negotiations between Washington and Baghdad on keeping U.S. troops in the country beyond 2008" and quotes him stating: "We invite Iraqis to join us for a mass demonstration after Friday prayers unless the government cancels this agreement." CBS and AP say the protest would be a "weekly protests."
Martin Sieff (UPI) reviews recent news from Iraq: "On Monday, reports said violence had dropped to a four-year low in Iraq. That was obviously good news. The same day, reports announced that two more U.S. troops had been killed in yet another bomb attack. That was obviously bad news." He also notes that Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani "opposes the current terms of the Status of Forces Agreement that U.S. diplomats are seeking to conclude with the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad."
The US is engaged in the Iraq War and that is, apparently, news to the White House. For seven long years, Bully Boy has tried to pose as commander-in-chief (which only applies to the military, not the civilian population) yet on Friday, at a White House press conference, Dana Pernio stated of Bully Boy and Gen David Petraeus (the top commander in Iraq), "Well, they talk regularly -- at least once a week, if not twice a week -- and they were able to see each other this week." The US is engaged in an war and the best the Bully Boy can do is 'talk' with Petreaus "at least once a week"? Exactly what does the commander-in-chief do with all his time? Counsel Stephen Harper on Canada's ladybird beetle?
While the spin is that things are getting better -- and weren't they already fine and dandy? -- in Iraq, Raviya H. Ismail and Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) report on students like Murtada Abdul Zahara who could be going to college next year; however "he hasn't been to school since March 23, because it's been closed due to violence between Shiite Muslim militants and U.S. and Iraqi security forces in the Sadr City neighborhood where he lives." School teacher Juhaina Mahmoud Ahmed states that only one-half of students enrolled now attend classes in New Baghdad due to the violence.
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing wounded one member of an "Awakening" council, a Diyala Province home bombing claimed the life of 1 "Awakening" council member while six more people were wounded and a Tal Afar car bombing claimed 5 lives and left forty-five people wounded. Reuters notes a Baghdad pipe bombing which wounded one person.
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province shooting that wounded "two men and a child" and one person was wounded by gunfire in Kirkuk. Reuters notes "three Iraqi oil technicians" were shot dead "as they tried to fix an oil pipeling in the town of Baiji," 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul and a woman shot dead in a Mosul suburb.
Corpses?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad Monday (he also reported 18 deaths and thirty-two wounded), McClatchy's Hussein Kadhim reported 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad Sunday (and 5 deaths and thirty-three wounded) and Saturday Al Dulaimy reported 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad and 2 in Kirkuk (4 killed and nine wounded).
Due to a DoD announcement today of a May 22nd death (DoD is suppose to identify the dead, not make the announcement, that's MNF's job) the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war currently stands at 4083.
Yesterday, Memorial Day, Chris Vaughn (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reported on the death of Jeffrey McKinney who "killed himself" in Baghdad: "Finally, around 2 p.m., 12 hours after he reported for duty that day, Jeff yelled 'F--- this!' He stepped out of the Humvee and fired two rounds into a vacant building. Then he pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger.
'APACHE 7 IS DOWN!' his driver screamed into the radio. 'HE SHOT HIMSELF. I NEED HELP NOW!'" McKinney was taking "antidepressants, antibiotics and prescriptions for heartburn and diarrhea." Sunday Halimah Abdullah (McClatchy Newspapers) wrote about Brian Rand's 2007 suicide "just a few months after being discharged from his second tour of duty in Iraq, Rand smoked half of a cigarette as he wrote a suicide note, grabbed a gun and went to Cumberland River Center Pavilion in Clarksville, Tenn. As the predawn dark pressed in, he breathed in the wintry air and stared at the park where he and his wife, Dena, had married. Then he placed the gun to his head and silenced his inner ghosts." Today, David Morgan (Reuters) reports that PTSD rates in the US army "surged 46.4 percent in 2007" and Morgan states, "Experts also say PTSD symptoms increase as soldiers return to combat for multiple tours of duty." Experts as in outside experts? Just asking because though the bulk of the country missed it, that was confirmed by the army in April. "One of the issues with multiple deployments and the dwell time for soldiers when they've come back, we've learned from the research that we've done, [is] that 12 months is not enough time for soldiers to reset and go back for another deployment," declared US Amry Director (Divisions of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research) Col Charles W. Hoge to the House Subcommitte on Health April 1st. US House Rep Shelley Berkely followed up on his statements. "Not enough time between tours of duty, did I hear you correctly?" Hoge replied, "Yes . . . What we've found . . . Yes. That's what I said . . . The 12 months is insuf- . . . appears to be insufficient." [". . ." in Hoge's statements indicate pauses. That is his complete response, without any editing.]
Turning to the political races in the US. Where there are lies, there lies Katrina vanden Heuvel who writes, "The women of The Nation are the first to deplore the sexism in media commentary this primary season, but a 'cover up'?" We'll get back to "cover up" but let's be really clear that "the women of The Nation" -- she makes it sound like a special issue of Playboy, doesn't she? -- didn't do crap. Stab Barbara Ehrenreich? Her idiotic nonsense about Hillary's 'scary' religion? (While refusing to note Barack's ties to the same prayer group.) Betsy Reed? Self-loathing lesbian Laura Flanders staying silent on Barack's use of homophobia but making time to slime Robin Morgan? How about this simple and undeniable fact: The Nation magazine publishing 491 men, 149 women in 2007. Want to fix sexism, Katrina, fix your own damn magazine. Funny, you dispatched Ben to e-mail this site in the summer of 2007 claiming that you were going to do just that. And you never did a damn thing. True, Katrina did call out David Schuster's outrageous remark on MSNBC that Hillary was 'pimping' Chelsea. She deserves credit for that -- no sarcasm. You didn't see anyone at The Progressive call it out, did you? Amy Goodman played dumb. So Katrina does get credit for that but that credit is off-set by the fact that she allowed longterm sexist (so sexist it got him kicked out of the Berkeley commune) Tom Hayden to hide behind his wife for his sexist rant which The Nation was happy to publish online. No, Katrina, the women of The Nation have done damn little. Over and over. "Cover up"? Bill Clinton (video here) was speaking of the push to force Hillary out of the race when she is in fact winning the popular vote. Bill's not a crackpot, his remarks were not 'shocking'. He called it like it was. It's cute of Katrina to pretend like she's been pro-Bill Clinton until now. She's written and okayed the publishing of the sort of crap one's more used to seeing in The Weekly Standard but fascists in love with authoritarian regimes stick together, now don't the? Katrina, you're not a feminist. (You also didn't win an award from Planned Parenthood -- The Nation was awarded, not you -- try correcting that lie.) For the record, a feminist calls out homophobia but no one at your crap-ass magazine (with declining circulation that can no longer be hidden by including trial subscriptions in the count) ever called out Barack's homophobia. Sell your lies elsewhere.
Katrina also feels the need to offer this version of the rules and 'democray': "when the polls close on June 3, superdelegates should move, expeditiously, to make their decision . . ." Uh, no, they shouldn't. The rules don't allow for that. By the rules, it now goes to the convention floor unless Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama decides to drop out. Democracy is a difficult concept for the school girl spending her days dreaming of the Soviet Union but that's what we've got in the US, accept it. "Cover up" frightens Katty-van-van because she's been all up in the campaign since 2006. She's been behind the scenes, using the Roosevelt Institution to conduct 'meet ups'. If anyone ever checks out how the Institution played it this election season, it won't be pretty for Katty. She brought on FaceBook to the campaign, she orchestrated coverage, she did a great deal. She doesn't believe in democracy and it's no surprise that she's scared now. There's a push back and it's so huge, Katrina has to put aside the planning and aftermath time for the seventeenth birthday party to scribble some garbage quickly. For more on how Panhandle Media has schemed to deceive the people, see "Realities in the Democratic presidential nomination contest," "The Democratic Race for the presidential nomination," "hillary, hillary and only hillary," "Only Hillary can win in November," "Hillary can win in November," "Want to win the White House?," "Realities in the Democratic presidential nomination contest," "Realities in the Democratic presidential nomination contest," "There's only one choice for Democrats,""The cruelest and most vile word you can call a Democrat," "Is the DNC paying attention?" and "Hillary's the only choice" As Elaine's noted, Katty-van-van is no friend to women. The women of The Nation have done damn little other than encourage it and waive it through (in one of three pieces -- columns and blog posts -- Katha Pollitt did call out Tom Hayden -- but how did he get published to begin with? The same way that filth of a 'book review' sliming two women authors and extolling the virtues of a bordello was published in The Nation's first issue for 2007. Take responsibility for that, Katrina.) As Linda Hirshman (Slate) noted of Pig Hayden's nonsense:
In a recent Nation column, Tom Hayden (the '60s guy, now in his 60s) deployed a full arsenal of insults, comparing Clinton to Lady Macbeth and then going on to liken her appearance to a "screech" on the blackboard.
Hayden, apparently fearing some criticism, hid behind the voice of his never-before-heard third wife, Barbara, a "meditative practitioner of everything peaceful and organic," never previously given to offering hostile political pronouncements. But Clinton's appearance on TV apparently makes Tom's wife "scream." Poor Tom Hayden, still looking for a sufficiently submissive female. Everyone remembers Jane Fonda, Hayden's second wife. But probably few Nation readers remember the first Mrs. Hayden, one Casey Hayden. In 1965, right around the time she divorced Tom, Casey Hayden wrote the screed that helped launch the women's liberation movement, "Sex and Caste." Her ex-husband's most recent unleashing of the hysteria rocket shows how little distance we have covered since Casey Hayden picked up her pen.
That garbarge of Hayden's was brought to you by Betsy Reed and Katrina vanden Heuvel. They need to own it and they need to apologize for it. (Don't hold your breath waiting.) They could have done a roundtable on the issue but weren't interested. Instead CNN's Reliable Sources, anchored by Howard Kurtz, did that. Susan (Random Notes) has posted the video of the discussion and notes "Marie Cocco really hits the 'liberal' or 'progressive' blogs and their commentators for their filth."
Carol Costello: It does bother me personally. It does bother me deeply. And you know I've done many stories on The Situation Room on this. One thing I would like to say, you know, we sit around and we blame males for sexist comments but women are guilty as well. I remember Jane Fonda came out and called Hillary Clinton what? "A patriarch with a vagina." Laura Ingraham, the conservative radio talk show host played the Wicked Witch of the West music everytime she talked about Hillary Clinton. Randi Rhodes, a liberal woman talker, she called Hillary a term I cannot say on television. But at least she was fired on it. But women play into this sexist culture as well. You know, explain to me, ladies, why women play into this when they have been in the same position as Hillary Clinton, fighting to get to the top, they know what it's like and yet they play into it. And they get away with it because the media doesn't cover that part of it."
Transcript here. It should be noted Jane Fonda has denied that she made the statement everyone heard her make but, after saying the "c" word on NBC what do you expect? While Katty-van-van issues dispatches from her Harlem mansion, her crush Barack puts his foot in his mouth again. Not content to claim there were 57 states in the United States, Jeralyn (TalkLeft) points out Barack's now claiming to see dead people: "On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of . . ." Barack Obama, thinking he's fit to be president, doesn't even know what a "fallen hero" is. Apparently, they didn't teach that Indonesia (or Barack couldn't follow it) and skipped it in his posh prep school as well. (Jeralyn also reviews the primaries and the caucuses here.) It's a hard knocks life, that elite life Barack's lived. Rachael Jolley (New Statesman) speaks with Sidney Blumenthal about how he sees it as part of the Hillary campaign:
"She has a tangible connection with them that she didn't have before. She has very definite connections with these voters."
Blumenthal, who has written extensively about the consequences of a Republican-dominated America and been an outspoken critic of Bush the younger, believes that the Democrats' key failure in the latter part of the 20th century was an inability to reach and represent working people: "This is a central factor for the regeneration of the Democratic party," adding they had come to be seen as "elitist".
The Democrats were further stigmatised, particularly through the Reagan years, as less patriotic than the Republicans, and less competent with the economy - similar to the picture the Tories painted of the UK Labour Party in the 1970s and 1980s. "The Clinton period was an effort to deal with these inherited problems and to reconstruct the centre left," says Blumenthal.
The strength of Blumenthal's conviction that Hillary should be the next Democratic candidate matches the strength -- and waspishness -- of his opinion that Barack Obama should not. For example, he dismisses Obama's foreign experience as "I think he stopped in Britain once for a day".
"Obama's problem is, as a candidate he hasn't really extended his support beyond his base as a state senator." These supporters hail from liberal academia, the well-off young and African Americans, believes Blumenthal, who is not afraid to point the finger at Obama's attitude to working class as "insulting", plainly referring to comments during the Pennsylvania primary.
Meanwhile Joan Walsh makes an idiot (and racist) out of herself at Salon where she posited on Monday that those White and Latino voters not supporting Barack may not be racist, they just may have a "lack of familiarity with Obama." Quoting Ava: "How dare you write about people you know nothing about and how dare your Anglo publication try to talk about my community. Kiss my Latina ass, Joan Walsh. Latinos and Latinas know who Obama is -- I imagine so do most White voters regardless of income unless they're returning from a mission to Mars -- the reality is WE DO NOT LIKE HIM. It has nothing to do with race, it has everything to do with his empty rhetoric and the fact that he's a light-weight. Hillary's the fighter and has earned that title. But Barack couldn't take that title away from her with both her hands tied behind her back. He is weak. The Latino community does not look to weaklings to lead. Dolores Huerta is no cream puff. Either leave your desk and speak to the people you think you 'know' or write about what you do know. I doubt you know a damn thing about the White working class in Kentucky but I damn well know you don't know a thing about the Latino community. Clue to Joan: Instead of you writing about my community, how 'bout you get off your Anglo ass and hire some Latinos and Latinas to write and, no, that's not a a request for a job. Tu no eres nadaien importante loca vieja. If that confuses you, it just demostrates my point. Let me throw it back to you: You may not be racist, you just may be stupid. How does that feel on your end?"
Lastly, Womens Media Center notes (link has petition and video): "On May 23, The Women's Media Center, along with our partners at Media Matters, launched, "Sexism Sells, But We're Not Buying It," a new video and online petition campaign illustrating the pervasive nature of sexism in the media's coverage. While Hillary Clinton's campaign has cast a spotlight on the issue of sexism, this isn't a partisan issue: it's about making sure that women's voices are present and powerful in our national dialogue. If you haven't already, please click on the image at right to watch the video. You can also read a statement about the video from WMC president Carol Jenkins. Then sign on below to join our petition campaign."
iraq
womens media center
amit r. paleythe washington post
mcclatchy newspapers
corey glasssandra cason
the common ills
the third estate sunday review
like maria said pazkats kornersex and politics and screeds and attitudetrinas kitchenthe daily jotcedrics big mixmikey likes itthomas friedman is a great manruths reportsickofitradlz
Democrat Barack Obama admitted on Tuesday he was wrong to say his uncle helped liberate the Nazis' Auschwitz concentration camp after Republicans said Soviet troops freed the camp.
Obama's campaign said the candidate meant to say that his great-uncle, Charlie Payne, had helped liberate a part of the Buchenwald camp, not Auschwitz.
"Yesterday he mistakenly referred to Auschwitz instead of Buchenwald in telling of his personal experience of a soldier in his family who served heroically," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
Let's all be really honest, that wasn't mis-speaking. Barack didn't know the difference between Auschwitz and Buchenwald. For some people, that may seem like no big deal but don't forget this is Barack's maternal side of the family -- the one he didn't write a book about. Which most likely indicates it was not caring about the stories until he decided Monday to use it in a speech. It's really insulting and it's also very telling.
Katrina vanden Heuvel is calling Hillary to leave the race with dignity. Hilarious when you consider The Nation has spent the last two years ripping Hillary apart. Hilarious when I think back to the little snot-nosed brat Katrina and how the little ___ kicked me in the shin (I still have a scar) when I asked, "Katrina, you had an accident, didn't you?" Her grandfather was (rightly) appalled by the odor. (Maybe the child ate asparagus nonstop, I don't know.) So I attempted to help. She was a liar then as well. Insisting she didn't wet her panties. I said, "The smell is coming from somewhere. Are you sure it's not you?" The little brat hauled off and kicked me in the shin.
C.I. saved Katty's ass then. C.I.'s far less apt to save her ass today. Much more crap like Katty churned out today and I think C.I. will chop her off at the knees.
The thing about Katrina was that she was always so ugly because of a number things but mainly her spoiled, scowling nature. The hair didn't help. I've never known such a hairy child. I notice she wears long sleeves today and I'll take that to mean she never had electrolosis.
She really was like Cousin It. From The Adams' Family. That's truly what she reminded people of. Although I doubt Cousin It reeked of urine.
"HUBdate: Fighting For Puerto Rico's Soldiers and Veterans" (Howard Wolfson, HillaryClinton.com):
Fighting For Puerto Rico's Soldiers and Veterans: During a conversation with the family of a Puerto Rican soldier who had fought in Iraq, Hillary promised that "[w]hen I'm president, we will begin ending the war in Iraq, and you won’t have to worry about [your son] going back…Our veterans deserve a commander in chief who will take care of them, and I will." Read more.
Memorial Day Statement: Hillary issued a statement yesterday reflecting on Memorial Day: "Memorial Day is a solemn day for every American; a day to express our profound gratitude to the men and women who have given their lives in military service. A day to join in our thoughts and prayers with the families mourning loved ones. A day to cherish the freedoms and opportunities that so many have served, sacrificed, and died to defend." Read more.
Today In Montana: Hillary hosts a "Solutions for America" town hall in Pablo and a "Solutions for America" rally in Billings, MT.
In Case You Missed It: "Number Crunching With Past Five Elections as a Guide" Read more.
On Tap in South Dakota: Hillary will campaign in Kyle and Rapid City on Wednesday, May 28, and in Huron and Watertown on Thursday, May 29.
Bill Clinton is exactly right. People like Katty vanden Heuvel are trying to force Hillary out the race. It's because Hillary is running. They can't stand that. They've pinned all their Socialist (and, for some, Communist) dreams on Barack. He will be the man to lead them to the Socialist utopia. (For Communist to take hold, Socialism has to be the first step according to the theory, just FYI.)
She stands in their way and that's what the attacks from Panhandle Media have been all about. It was never about democracy (obviously, democracy doesn't dictate that you call on a candidate to drop out) and it was never about the Democratic Party having the strongest nominee. It's always been out rejects like Katrina trying to inflitrate the Democratic Party, trying to take it over.
I would be very scared for the country if that happened because I remember very well Katty's imaginary friends and how they were required because her urine smell didn't allow for other kids to play with her. Katty's got a lot of built up hate in her.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Chaos and violence continues, Dana Perino reveals how little oversight Bully Boy's giving to the Iraq War, Joan Walsh insults Latinos and the working class of Kentucky, Katrina vanden Heuvel reveals she hasn't changed a bit (and that's not a good thing) and more.
Starting with war resistance. Last Wednesday, US war resister and Iraq War vet Corey Glass was informed by the Canadian government that he had until June 12th to leave on his own and, after that, he would be deported. The government is refusing to grant him asylum. Attorney Jeffrey House explains to The Real News Network (link has text and audio), "A soldier discovers the war is illegal, and then he or she doesn't want to participate in it. If they go back to the United States, they're treated as deserters, and they can't argue, 'Oh, this is an illegal war.' The courts have said you're not able to raise such a complicated question. And so a main argument and a main reason why these soldiers have refused to fight on honorable grounds is being kept out of the court system -- it tears the heart out of the argument."
Yesterday Sandra Cason (Marshall News Messenger) reported on the family of James Grady Johnson who died while serving in Vietnam (February 26, 1968). Cason spoke with his siblings and oldest sister Linda Ford stated that her half-brother went AWOL for a brief period (three days) and is quoted by Cason stating, "'I bear a great burden of guilt. I'm the one who talked him into' going back 'and I took him to the plane in Longview. It is something I will always regret. I had the money to send him to Canada, which is what a lot of others did'."
War resisters in Canada today need support as they wait to see if the motion for safe harbor is going to come to the Parliament floor. You can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Lahey quotes NDP's Oliva Chow, who steered the motion, explaining, "If (Liberal leader) Stephane Dion were to say tomorrow that he supports this motion . . . we will then debate it. So we need people to call Mr. Dion . . . 'whose side you on Mr. Dion'?" The number to call is (613) 996-5789.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes 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).
On Sunday, a press conference was staged in Baghdad, presided over by US Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll and Major Mohammed al-Askari (spokesman for Iraq's Ministry of Defense) was trotted out for show, but, uh-oh, he went off script when pressed about weapons that must be, simply must be, coming from Iran. His response:Well, this topic is the responsibility of the Iraqi government. We are an executive side. Those weapons could be smuggled and passed in an illegal way. And the Multi-Nation Forces have information and talked about this several times. At the Ministry of Defense, we do not interfere with the external policy of the Iraqi government. We just detain the wanted personnel and we present to the court. And if we captured different kinds of weapons, regardless of their background, and most of them are coming from outside the country like western, coming from western countries. This topic, of course, we do not interfere in it. And...but we'd like to also, what we do is give those reports and evidence to the Iraqi government. And I think the government will have procedures and may not talk about it, but I'm sure there will be some procedures by the government, like committees or stuff like that. Actually, what we have, any kind of weapon that we capture, we present it to the Iraqi government. And I think the government has the responsibility for that.
That would be real news so don't look for it in Panhandle Media. (Amy Goodman was too busy trying to erase Fidel Castro's critism of Barack. First she played Barack's statement then she reduced Castro's criticism to half a line. It's so very hard when Red Poster Boys come out against Goodman's candidate.) The US government continues to try to portray the Iranian government as a supplier of weapons to Iraq. And yet al-Askari stated very clearly that the bulk of the "weapons that we capture" are from the "West." Meanwhile AFP reports that The Political Council for National Security is telling puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki he better "ensure that a pact under discussion to extend the US troop presence beyond 2008 will not harm the national interest. Washington and Baghdad are holding negotiations on a Status of Forces Agreement aimed at giving a legal basis to the US troops after December 31, when a UN mandate defining the current status of foreign forces expires." On the US end, the Status of Forces Agreement (a treaty being called something else) has met with strong objections from Congress. From the April 8th snapshot, Senator Hillary Clinton questioning US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker:
With Crocker, she brought up the treaty the White House wants to make with the puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, "With respect to our long term challenge, Ambassador Crocker, the administration" is planning to make an agreement with Iraq and "will it be submitted to the Iraqi Parliament for ratification?" Crocker replied that it had been "indicated that" it would be brought "to the council of representatives." Well then, Clinton wanted to know, "does the administration plan to submit the agreement to our Congress?" No, Crocker replied, "at this point . . . we don't" because they don't believe it "would require the advice and consent" of the Congress. That "seems odd to Americans," Clinton noted, that "the Iraqi Parliament may have a chance to consider this aggreement" while "the United States Congress does not." She noted the legislation she introduced (December 6, 2007) calling for the Bully Boy "to seek Congressional approval for any agreement that would extend the US military commitment to Iraq." And it is very odd that the White House thinks they can make a treaty without the consent of Congress and that the Iraqi Parliament will be weighing in (their Constitution guarantees them that right -- the US Constitution guarantees that Congress also has that right).
April 9th, US House Rep Susan Davis would echo Clinton's points and point out that allowing the Iraqi Parliament a say while the US Congress gets none (under the White House plan) "strikes people in our districts as strange." Davis also wanted to know whether the proposal would be used as "a vehicle for leverage that would actually bring about a result that would not occur without the agreement?" Davis was required to repeat the question to Crocker three times before getting some sort of 'answer' : "I think that like other agreements, this is a geustion of mutal agreements uh uh we both have interests in uh uh . . . it's not a question of uh uh having something to give to them uh uh . . ." April 10th, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations would address it with US State Dept's David Satterfield and US Defense Dept's Mary Beth Long:
Senator Joe Biden: We will hear today about the two agreements that the Administration is negotiating with Iraq which were anticipated in the November Declaration. On Tuesday, Ambassador Crocker told us that these agreements would set forth the "vision" -- his phrase -- of our bilateral relationship with Iraq. One agreement is a "strategic framework agreement" that will include the economic, political and security issues outlined in the Declaration of Principles. The document might be better titled "What the United States will do for Iraq," because it consists mostly of a series of promises that flow in one direction -- promises by the United States to a sectarian government that has thus far failed to reach the political compromises necessary to have a stable country. We're told that the reason why we're not continuing under the UN umbrella is because the Iraqis say they have a sovereign country. But they don't want a Status of Forces Agreement because that flows two ways. The Administration tells us it's not binding, but the Iraqi parliament is going to think it is. The second agreement is what Administration officials call a "standard" Status of Forces Agreement, which will govern the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq, including their entry into the country and the immunities to be granted to them under Iraqi law. Unlike most SOFAs, however, it would permit U.S. forces -- for the purposes of Iraqi law -- to engage in combat operations and detain insurgents. In other words, to detain people that we think are bad guys. I don't know any of the other nearly 90 Status of Forces Agreements that would allow a U.S. commander to arrest anyone he believes is a bad guy.
The key statement on the treaty (which does need Senate approval, regardless of what the White House claims) was probably when committee chair Biden explained, "Just understand my frustration. We want to normalize a government that really doesn't exist." And possibly when Senator Russ Feingold told Satterfiled, "I would suggest your difficulties are with the nature of our Constitution." Even Republican Seantors Norm Coleman and Johnny Isakson expressed objections. Meanwhile, there are objections in Iraq as well. Reuters reports that Moqtada al-Sadr is calling for a demonstration this "Friday against negotiations between Washington and Baghdad on keeping U.S. troops in the country beyond 2008" and quotes him stating: "We invite Iraqis to join us for a mass demonstration after Friday prayers unless the government cancels this agreement." CBS and AP say the protest would be a "weekly protests."
Martin Sieff (UPI) reviews recent news from Iraq: "On Monday, reports said violence had dropped to a four-year low in Iraq. That was obviously good news. The same day, reports announced that two more U.S. troops had been killed in yet another bomb attack. That was obviously bad news." He also notes that Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani "opposes the current terms of the Status of Forces Agreement that U.S. diplomats are seeking to conclude with the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad."
The US is engaged in the Iraq War and that is, apparently, news to the White House. For seven long years, Bully Boy has tried to pose as commander-in-chief (which only applies to the military, not the civilian population) yet on Friday, at a White House press conference, Dana Pernio stated of Bully Boy and Gen David Petraeus (the top commander in Iraq), "Well, they talk regularly -- at least once a week, if not twice a week -- and they were able to see each other this week." The US is engaged in an war and the best the Bully Boy can do is 'talk' with Petreaus "at least once a week"? Exactly what does the commander-in-chief do with all his time? Counsel Stephen Harper on Canada's ladybird beetle?
While the spin is that things are getting better -- and weren't they already fine and dandy? -- in Iraq, Raviya H. Ismail and Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) report on students like Murtada Abdul Zahara who could be going to college next year; however "he hasn't been to school since March 23, because it's been closed due to violence between Shiite Muslim militants and U.S. and Iraqi security forces in the Sadr City neighborhood where he lives." School teacher Juhaina Mahmoud Ahmed states that only one-half of students enrolled now attend classes in New Baghdad due to the violence.
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing wounded one member of an "Awakening" council, a Diyala Province home bombing claimed the life of 1 "Awakening" council member while six more people were wounded and a Tal Afar car bombing claimed 5 lives and left forty-five people wounded. Reuters notes a Baghdad pipe bombing which wounded one person.
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province shooting that wounded "two men and a child" and one person was wounded by gunfire in Kirkuk. Reuters notes "three Iraqi oil technicians" were shot dead "as they tried to fix an oil pipeling in the town of Baiji," 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul and a woman shot dead in a Mosul suburb.
Corpses?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad Monday (he also reported 18 deaths and thirty-two wounded), McClatchy's Hussein Kadhim reported 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad Sunday (and 5 deaths and thirty-three wounded) and Saturday Al Dulaimy reported 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad and 2 in Kirkuk (4 killed and nine wounded).
Due to a DoD announcement today of a May 22nd death (DoD is suppose to identify the dead, not make the announcement, that's MNF's job) the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war currently stands at 4083.
Yesterday, Memorial Day, Chris Vaughn (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reported on the death of Jeffrey McKinney who "killed himself" in Baghdad: "Finally, around 2 p.m., 12 hours after he reported for duty that day, Jeff yelled 'F--- this!' He stepped out of the Humvee and fired two rounds into a vacant building. Then he pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger.
'APACHE 7 IS DOWN!' his driver screamed into the radio. 'HE SHOT HIMSELF. I NEED HELP NOW!'" McKinney was taking "antidepressants, antibiotics and prescriptions for heartburn and diarrhea." Sunday Halimah Abdullah (McClatchy Newspapers) wrote about Brian Rand's 2007 suicide "just a few months after being discharged from his second tour of duty in Iraq, Rand smoked half of a cigarette as he wrote a suicide note, grabbed a gun and went to Cumberland River Center Pavilion in Clarksville, Tenn. As the predawn dark pressed in, he breathed in the wintry air and stared at the park where he and his wife, Dena, had married. Then he placed the gun to his head and silenced his inner ghosts." Today, David Morgan (Reuters) reports that PTSD rates in the US army "surged 46.4 percent in 2007" and Morgan states, "Experts also say PTSD symptoms increase as soldiers return to combat for multiple tours of duty." Experts as in outside experts? Just asking because though the bulk of the country missed it, that was confirmed by the army in April. "One of the issues with multiple deployments and the dwell time for soldiers when they've come back, we've learned from the research that we've done, [is] that 12 months is not enough time for soldiers to reset and go back for another deployment," declared US Amry Director (Divisions of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research) Col Charles W. Hoge to the House Subcommitte on Health April 1st. US House Rep Shelley Berkely followed up on his statements. "Not enough time between tours of duty, did I hear you correctly?" Hoge replied, "Yes . . . What we've found . . . Yes. That's what I said . . . The 12 months is insuf- . . . appears to be insufficient." [". . ." in Hoge's statements indicate pauses. That is his complete response, without any editing.]
Turning to the political races in the US. Where there are lies, there lies Katrina vanden Heuvel who writes, "The women of The Nation are the first to deplore the sexism in media commentary this primary season, but a 'cover up'?" We'll get back to "cover up" but let's be really clear that "the women of The Nation" -- she makes it sound like a special issue of Playboy, doesn't she? -- didn't do crap. Stab Barbara Ehrenreich? Her idiotic nonsense about Hillary's 'scary' religion? (While refusing to note Barack's ties to the same prayer group.) Betsy Reed? Self-loathing lesbian Laura Flanders staying silent on Barack's use of homophobia but making time to slime Robin Morgan? How about this simple and undeniable fact: The Nation magazine publishing 491 men, 149 women in 2007. Want to fix sexism, Katrina, fix your own damn magazine. Funny, you dispatched Ben to e-mail this site in the summer of 2007 claiming that you were going to do just that. And you never did a damn thing. True, Katrina did call out David Schuster's outrageous remark on MSNBC that Hillary was 'pimping' Chelsea. She deserves credit for that -- no sarcasm. You didn't see anyone at The Progressive call it out, did you? Amy Goodman played dumb. So Katrina does get credit for that but that credit is off-set by the fact that she allowed longterm sexist (so sexist it got him kicked out of the Berkeley commune) Tom Hayden to hide behind his wife for his sexist rant which The Nation was happy to publish online. No, Katrina, the women of The Nation have done damn little. Over and over. "Cover up"? Bill Clinton (video here) was speaking of the push to force Hillary out of the race when she is in fact winning the popular vote. Bill's not a crackpot, his remarks were not 'shocking'. He called it like it was. It's cute of Katrina to pretend like she's been pro-Bill Clinton until now. She's written and okayed the publishing of the sort of crap one's more used to seeing in The Weekly Standard but fascists in love with authoritarian regimes stick together, now don't the? Katrina, you're not a feminist. (You also didn't win an award from Planned Parenthood -- The Nation was awarded, not you -- try correcting that lie.) For the record, a feminist calls out homophobia but no one at your crap-ass magazine (with declining circulation that can no longer be hidden by including trial subscriptions in the count) ever called out Barack's homophobia. Sell your lies elsewhere.
Katrina also feels the need to offer this version of the rules and 'democray': "when the polls close on June 3, superdelegates should move, expeditiously, to make their decision . . ." Uh, no, they shouldn't. The rules don't allow for that. By the rules, it now goes to the convention floor unless Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama decides to drop out. Democracy is a difficult concept for the school girl spending her days dreaming of the Soviet Union but that's what we've got in the US, accept it. "Cover up" frightens Katty-van-van because she's been all up in the campaign since 2006. She's been behind the scenes, using the Roosevelt Institution to conduct 'meet ups'. If anyone ever checks out how the Institution played it this election season, it won't be pretty for Katty. She brought on FaceBook to the campaign, she orchestrated coverage, she did a great deal. She doesn't believe in democracy and it's no surprise that she's scared now. There's a push back and it's so huge, Katrina has to put aside the planning and aftermath time for the seventeenth birthday party to scribble some garbage quickly. For more on how Panhandle Media has schemed to deceive the people, see "Realities in the Democratic presidential nomination contest," "The Democratic Race for the presidential nomination," "hillary, hillary and only hillary," "Only Hillary can win in November," "Hillary can win in November," "Want to win the White House?," "Realities in the Democratic presidential nomination contest," "Realities in the Democratic presidential nomination contest," "There's only one choice for Democrats,""The cruelest and most vile word you can call a Democrat," "Is the DNC paying attention?" and "Hillary's the only choice" As Elaine's noted, Katty-van-van is no friend to women. The women of The Nation have done damn little other than encourage it and waive it through (in one of three pieces -- columns and blog posts -- Katha Pollitt did call out Tom Hayden -- but how did he get published to begin with? The same way that filth of a 'book review' sliming two women authors and extolling the virtues of a bordello was published in The Nation's first issue for 2007. Take responsibility for that, Katrina.) As Linda Hirshman (Slate) noted of Pig Hayden's nonsense:
In a recent Nation column, Tom Hayden (the '60s guy, now in his 60s) deployed a full arsenal of insults, comparing Clinton to Lady Macbeth and then going on to liken her appearance to a "screech" on the blackboard.
Hayden, apparently fearing some criticism, hid behind the voice of his never-before-heard third wife, Barbara, a "meditative practitioner of everything peaceful and organic," never previously given to offering hostile political pronouncements. But Clinton's appearance on TV apparently makes Tom's wife "scream." Poor Tom Hayden, still looking for a sufficiently submissive female. Everyone remembers Jane Fonda, Hayden's second wife. But probably few Nation readers remember the first Mrs. Hayden, one Casey Hayden. In 1965, right around the time she divorced Tom, Casey Hayden wrote the screed that helped launch the women's liberation movement, "Sex and Caste." Her ex-husband's most recent unleashing of the hysteria rocket shows how little distance we have covered since Casey Hayden picked up her pen.
That garbarge of Hayden's was brought to you by Betsy Reed and Katrina vanden Heuvel. They need to own it and they need to apologize for it. (Don't hold your breath waiting.) They could have done a roundtable on the issue but weren't interested. Instead CNN's Reliable Sources, anchored by Howard Kurtz, did that. Susan (Random Notes) has posted the video of the discussion and notes "Marie Cocco really hits the 'liberal' or 'progressive' blogs and their commentators for their filth."
Carol Costello: It does bother me personally. It does bother me deeply. And you know I've done many stories on The Situation Room on this. One thing I would like to say, you know, we sit around and we blame males for sexist comments but women are guilty as well. I remember Jane Fonda came out and called Hillary Clinton what? "A patriarch with a vagina." Laura Ingraham, the conservative radio talk show host played the Wicked Witch of the West music everytime she talked about Hillary Clinton. Randi Rhodes, a liberal woman talker, she called Hillary a term I cannot say on television. But at least she was fired on it. But women play into this sexist culture as well. You know, explain to me, ladies, why women play into this when they have been in the same position as Hillary Clinton, fighting to get to the top, they know what it's like and yet they play into it. And they get away with it because the media doesn't cover that part of it."
Transcript here. It should be noted Jane Fonda has denied that she made the statement everyone heard her make but, after saying the "c" word on NBC what do you expect? While Katty-van-van issues dispatches from her Harlem mansion, her crush Barack puts his foot in his mouth again. Not content to claim there were 57 states in the United States, Jeralyn (TalkLeft) points out Barack's now claiming to see dead people: "On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of . . ." Barack Obama, thinking he's fit to be president, doesn't even know what a "fallen hero" is. Apparently, they didn't teach that Indonesia (or Barack couldn't follow it) and skipped it in his posh prep school as well. (Jeralyn also reviews the primaries and the caucuses here.) It's a hard knocks life, that elite life Barack's lived. Rachael Jolley (New Statesman) speaks with Sidney Blumenthal about how he sees it as part of the Hillary campaign:
"She has a tangible connection with them that she didn't have before. She has very definite connections with these voters."
Blumenthal, who has written extensively about the consequences of a Republican-dominated America and been an outspoken critic of Bush the younger, believes that the Democrats' key failure in the latter part of the 20th century was an inability to reach and represent working people: "This is a central factor for the regeneration of the Democratic party," adding they had come to be seen as "elitist".
The Democrats were further stigmatised, particularly through the Reagan years, as less patriotic than the Republicans, and less competent with the economy - similar to the picture the Tories painted of the UK Labour Party in the 1970s and 1980s. "The Clinton period was an effort to deal with these inherited problems and to reconstruct the centre left," says Blumenthal.
The strength of Blumenthal's conviction that Hillary should be the next Democratic candidate matches the strength -- and waspishness -- of his opinion that Barack Obama should not. For example, he dismisses Obama's foreign experience as "I think he stopped in Britain once for a day".
"Obama's problem is, as a candidate he hasn't really extended his support beyond his base as a state senator." These supporters hail from liberal academia, the well-off young and African Americans, believes Blumenthal, who is not afraid to point the finger at Obama's attitude to working class as "insulting", plainly referring to comments during the Pennsylvania primary.
Meanwhile Joan Walsh makes an idiot (and racist) out of herself at Salon where she posited on Monday that those White and Latino voters not supporting Barack may not be racist, they just may have a "lack of familiarity with Obama." Quoting Ava: "How dare you write about people you know nothing about and how dare your Anglo publication try to talk about my community. Kiss my Latina ass, Joan Walsh. Latinos and Latinas know who Obama is -- I imagine so do most White voters regardless of income unless they're returning from a mission to Mars -- the reality is WE DO NOT LIKE HIM. It has nothing to do with race, it has everything to do with his empty rhetoric and the fact that he's a light-weight. Hillary's the fighter and has earned that title. But Barack couldn't take that title away from her with both her hands tied behind her back. He is weak. The Latino community does not look to weaklings to lead. Dolores Huerta is no cream puff. Either leave your desk and speak to the people you think you 'know' or write about what you do know. I doubt you know a damn thing about the White working class in Kentucky but I damn well know you don't know a thing about the Latino community. Clue to Joan: Instead of you writing about my community, how 'bout you get off your Anglo ass and hire some Latinos and Latinas to write and, no, that's not a a request for a job. Tu no eres nadaien importante loca vieja. If that confuses you, it just demostrates my point. Let me throw it back to you: You may not be racist, you just may be stupid. How does that feel on your end?"
Lastly, Womens Media Center notes (link has petition and video): "On May 23, The Women's Media Center, along with our partners at Media Matters, launched, "Sexism Sells, But We're Not Buying It," a new video and online petition campaign illustrating the pervasive nature of sexism in the media's coverage. While Hillary Clinton's campaign has cast a spotlight on the issue of sexism, this isn't a partisan issue: it's about making sure that women's voices are present and powerful in our national dialogue. If you haven't already, please click on the image at right to watch the video. You can also read a statement about the video from WMC president Carol Jenkins. Then sign on below to join our petition campaign."
iraq
womens media center
amit r. paleythe washington post
mcclatchy newspapers
corey glasssandra cason
the common ills
the third estate sunday review
like maria said pazkats kornersex and politics and screeds and attitudetrinas kitchenthe daily jotcedrics big mixmikey likes itthomas friedman is a great manruths reportsickofitradlz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)