I want to start by noting three things from last week, Trina's "Turkey in the Kitchen," Betty's "Thomas Friedman, trained in gas baggery, not economics" and C.I.'s "Ellen Willis." Two went up Saturday and the other late Friday night, so I want to be sure everyone is aware of them. Let me note three more things: TV: Saturday Night Dead" (Ava and C.I. review Saturday Night Live, this is a really strong commentary and considering how strong they generally write, you know that's saying something), "The Full Brobeck" (we all worked on this and it's about when independent media can't find the time to note war resistance), and "Remember Ehren Watada?" (hopefully, you heard the news about Ehren Watada, but I doubt you heard it via independent media). Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts and he and I will be taking Friday off to see a movie before the Iraq group gets together. If possible, I will post on Saturday.
"She Survived Iraq -- Then Shot Herself at Home" (Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher):
Her name doesn't show on any official list of American military deaths in the Iraq war, by hostile or non-hostile fire, who died in that country or in hospitals in Europe or back home in the USA. But Iraq killed her just as certainly.
She is Jeanne "Linda" Michel, a Navy medic. She came home last month to her husband and three kids (ages 11, 5, and 4), delighted to be back in her suburban home of Clifton Park in upstate New York. Michel, 33, would be discharged from the Navy in a few weeks, finishing her five years of duty. Two weeks after she got home, she shot and killed herself. "She had come through a lot and she had always risen to challenges," her husband, Frantz Michel, who has also served in Iraq, lamented last week. Now he asks why the Navy didn't do more to help her.
You know what? I don't just blame the Bully Boy, or the War Cheerleaders, or the Navy for the above. Factcheck.org. Know the name? During the 2004 presidential campaign, this supposedly 'objective,' non-partisan site leaned right at every turn. It was a joke to read, especially if you're in the health care field. If you're in that filed, you were fully aware, in 2004 if not before, that the Bully Boy administration was not providing the needed funds to cover returning troops. That's why I don't charge my Thursday night group -- or anyone in it who needs individual sessions. They're all vets. That's not, "Look at how wonderful I am." I'm not wonderful. But anyone in any form of healthcare knew by 2004, if not sooner, that there was not sufficent funding for returning vets. But Factcheck.org said there was. Of course they know so much better then those of working with vets. From their desks, far from the people who served, they know just what the 'truth' is.
Up until that moment, when they were addressing that item, I was one of the people taken in by the organization. I often disagreed with a level of interpretation but was willing to put it off as just interpretation. There was no reality when they disagreed with John Kerry's statement about the administration not providing funding. They were wrong. Why they were wrong everyone can decide for themselves.
For me, I started paying closer attention when they'd pop up on, for instance, The NewsHour. They leaned over backwards to see the Bully Boy's side repeatedly. I don't think they're balanced, I don't think they're fair and I don't think they're factual. Seeing a very real issue, a very real failing of the administration, dismissed by them while they claimed Kerry's claim didn't hold up, I saw something really ugly because this wasn't pie-in-the-sky or something (like the debt) that future generations would have to deal with -- this was something happening right now. But they closed their eyes and acted as though it wasn't happening. I have no respect for them. They gave cover to the Bully Boy and, on this issue, they allowed a debate to be silenced and people to go without needed assistance.
For me, the way it happened, was that C.I. would call me anytime a vet was encourtered in my area. Always with, "Elaine, I'll pay for it . . ." Which is nonsense because we all need to do our part. By the second month of 2004, there was enough for group sessions. C.I. still bumps into people and always checks with me first. My attitude is always, "Send them to me." Some are able to get the tools they need more quickly than others, some aren't. I had tried doing the group on Saturday, moving it to that, but it didn't work out. There are people who reach a point where they're comfortable and, they've already finished individual sessions, they leave the group. Then something happens and they want to check back in. It's just easier, because there have been so many, if I keep the group on Thursdays. By keeping it on Thursdays, if someone needs the support of the group (or doesn't want to pick up the phone and ask if they can come in for a session), they can just drop in. I've talked about that before (talked about it here). When we were moving it to a week night, I put it to the then current group and explained my own preference (Thursdays) and why. Many from that group have now found their tools and don't need to come to the group regularly but 6 from that group that voted to go back to Thursdays have come back. Each of them has said that when they needed to check in, it helped to know the group was there each Thursday. So, for newcomers or visitors, that's why I never blog on Thursday. Next week, we'll do a meeting on Wednesday, a small group. That's due to the fact that it's Thanksgiving. Holidays can be stressful and I'm on the fence about this. But the current group won't be coming in on Thursday (due to the holiday). (I'll be checking for messages throughout Thursday.) Last year, I went out to visit C.I. and it wasn't a problem. But I am concerned about a few right now. Probably I'm nervous for no reason.
"We The People?" (Chip Pitts, Common Dreams):
Last Tuesday's election results reasserted popular sovereignty over an administration that ignored checks and balances to lead us to an unpopular and counterproductive war in Iraq and reduced civil liberties and human rights at home and abroad. It’s an unambiguous victory for democracy which will undo the damage and usher in a new era of peace, prosperity, and responsibility -- right?
Not so fast. While elimination of one-party rule certainly offers prospects for enhanced congressional oversight and attention to the common good, major obstacles continue to block broader intelligent action.
First, President Bush and the lame-duck 109th Congress that remains in office until January seem not to have heard the people's voice. Despite the brief, shining moment of bipartisanship that lasted for a nanosecond on Wednesday, the president announced Thursday that his top legislative priority for this period is authorization for his secret, deceptive, and evidently illegal program of warrantless domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency. President Bush cares not that the new 110th Congress starting in January would be unlikely to approve this program or immunize the telecommunications companies and others who participated, or that the American people rejected the campaign platform of fear that insisted on ever-expanding "tools" supposedly needed to fight terrorism but actually used primarily for domestic law enforcement and to consolidate executive power in ways that threaten civil liberties. The administration's stubborn persistence in the face of a possible Democratic filibuster isn't a good sign.
Second, as we move from campaign slogans to concrete choices for Iraq, it becomes clearer that there are no good options. The widespread sentiment for change within the respective publics and politicians in the United States and Iraq masks widely divergent views about what should be done -- with chatter continuing about trying to somehow find more troops to send, or resorting to even more counterproductive force -- making it more likely (as in Vietnam for years) that nothing productive will happen. The president's intent to push through the lame-duck session approval of his undiplomatic, recess-appointee as U.N. Ambassador, John Bolton, augers ill for more diplomatic policies -- including attempting to work with Syria, Iran, and other Muslim countries -- that will be required for lasting progress in Iraq.
I liked this piece but I only read it because I recognized the name. (C.I. knows Chip Pitts. I've never met him. I have heard of him from C.I.) Pitts has been very active on the issue of the Patriot Act. The way C.I. gives all to stopping the war, Pitts gives to waking up the nation about the Patriot Act. Pitts is all over the place speaking out and organizing and has been for years. When most of America was too scared to question the Patriot Act, he was out there, all over the country, questioning it, creating a space for a discussion, a safe space that our media didn't create. Need another reason to use the link and read in full (or just note the name)? Pitts is a huge fan of Lewis Lapham's writing.
There's an event in C.I.'s snapshot that I wished I'd known about. A rally in Chicago that Kyle Snyder was at. I think that's amazing that Snyder's not only underground, but surfacing to speak out.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Monday, November 13, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, Bully Boy meets with tutors (we didn't say they were good tutors), the US military starts the day announcing the deaths of more US troops, the decision to court-martial Ehren Watada continues to receive The Full Brobeck from independent media, and Nouri al-Maliki continues to go on about a "Cabinet Shuffle."
Last week (Thursday), the US military announced they were moving to a court-martial of Ehren Watada -- the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. The court-martial is expected to be held early next year. Sunday, Teresa Watanabe (Los Angeles Times) reported that Eric Seitz, Watada's attorney, is predicting the court-martial will "be a spectacle. It's going to raise a lot of issues that frankly I don't understand why the Army wants to raise." Ehren Watada refused to deploy to Iraq because his studies, encouraged by his superior, led him to realize the Iraq war is illegal. Courage to Resist quotes Ehren Watada explaining, "The reason I spoke out, I saw that what was being in terms of this war was so illegal and so immoral and not being checked. It was a danger to our troops and a danger to our country. So, I think what needs to be done is some kind of accountability in Washington, D.C. and also investigations into how this war started in the first place."
In the first place? The fact that many would rather talk fine-tuning, the reality that the war is illegal and built on lies is too little examined. Speaking with Joshua Scheer (Truthdig) last week, Congress member Dennis Kucinich declared, "We need to have hearings on Iraq again. We need to go over again why we went there. We need to review the statements and all the errors that were made, and from that we bring the country together to take a new direction. It's all fact-based. And then we start to heal our nation. But we cannot heal America if we continue with policies that are based on lies. We'll never be able to bring closure to this Iraq matter unless we tell the truth about what happened. So America needs a new approach of truth and reconcialiation." [Micah noted that yesterday.] In March of this year, Kucinich declared "Not One more Dime" noting: "After three years arrogance and incompetence, contempt and lies, death and destruction, Congress should say enough is enough and provide not one more dime for this Administration's ill-conceived, ill-advised, misguided and failed Iraq policy." Quite a bit more than many asked by Aaron Glantz on Countdown 2006 were willing to state. Writing for IPS, Glantz notes Pratap Chatterjee on the issue of stopping the war via the Congressional purse: "The main control Congress has is financial. Congress can refuse to pay for the war, which is what they did in Vietnam, but they can't really dictate how it's waged." For the article, Glantz also speaks with Tom Hayden who sees some hope in the public stance Democrats offered against the war but "[w]here they aren't so good yet is what to do about it, and they don't have that obligation yet because they aren't to take back the presidency -- if they ever do -- for two years. There will be an attempt by both parties to keep the war going and get rid of Iraq as a public issue, but that seems to me to be impossible." Writing at The Huffington Post, Hayden advises: "The peace movement needs to gear up for the 2008 elections, by establishing anti-war coalitions that no candidate can avoid in the primary states. The first four states -- Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina -- have large peace-and-justice constituencies."
Mobilizing took place Saturday in Chicago. Ofelia Casillas and Charles Sheehan (Chicago Tribune) report that Vietnam Veterans Against the War held a ceremony that brought out at least fifty and the closer was US war resister Kyle Snyder who stated: "I followed my conscience. And I'm being persecuted for that." Kyle Snyder self-checked out and moved to Canada after serving in Iraq. He returned to the United States last month and, on October 31st, turning himself in at Fort Knox only to self-check out again after discovering the military had lied yet again. As Courage to Resist notes, "At the risk of arrest, he is speaking out bravely on behalf of war resisters and active duty GI's." They are asking that you: "Call Ft. Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood Office of the Commanding General Major General William McCoy, Jr., 573-596-0131 and the Public Affairs Office, 573-563-4013 email: alleym@wood.army.mil -- Demand that the Army 'Discharge Kyle Snyder with No Punishment'."
Obscuring the reality of the illegal war's basis provides the coverage for the continuation of it. And all the deaths that come with it. Sunday, the US military announced the Saturday deaths of three troops in Al Anbar Province. Also Sunday, the British military reports that four of their troops have died and three are injured while they were on boat patrol in Basra which brings the total number of British troops killed in Iraq to 125. The four deaths came on the same day that "UK Forces personnel at home and overseas have been united in paying their respects to the fallen of past and current conflicts" in their annual day of Rememberance.
Today, the US military announced: "Two Task Force Lightning Soldiers assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, were killed Sunday when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle while conducting operations in Salah ad Din Province. Two other Soldiers were wounded in the blast and were transported to a Coalition forces medical treatment facility." They also announced today: "Two Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldiers were killed during combat operations when an improvised-explosive device detonated at approximately 10:20 a.m. in Baghdad Nov. 13. Two additional Soldiers were wounded in the same incident." That makes four announced deaths of US troops today. (Seven deaths announced so far this week.)
In other violence . . .
Bombings?
CBS and AP report the mini-bus bomb in Baghdad which took the lives of 20 and left 18 wounded when it exploded "at a major intersection in the northeast Baghdad neighborhood."
Reuters notes that a mortar attck in Baghdad left two injured; a roadside bomb in Baghdad left two people wounded; and a roadside bomb outside Kirkuk wounded three guards of General Anwar Amin. Al Jazeera reports a bomb attack on the "outskirts of the Green Zone" using a car bomb which destroyed 13 cars in the garage but only one person was injured. CNN notes that the bombing was "near the Iranian Embassy and the Green Zone."
Shootings?
CNN reports that Mohammed al-Ban of al-Sharqiya TV and al-Massar newspaper was shot dead in Mosul while, in Baghdad, an attack on an adviser to one of Iraq's vice president resulted in the shooting deaths of "two of his bodyguards". AFP reports that a "Brigadier General of Iraq's traffic police and his driver were shot dead by gunmen as he was driving to work" in Baghdad. CBS and AP report the shooting death of a "civilian" in Baquba,the shooting death of Sunni Sheik Namis Karim in Baquba and the shooting death of Assim Mahmoud Abbas in Diyala. Reuters notes a police officer shot dead in Kut, "[f]our male primary school teachers" shot dead in Kirkuk and five people "ambushed and killed" just outside Baghdad.
Corpses?
Al Jazeera reports that 46 corpses have been discovered in Baghdad today. CBS and AP report that the corpses "of two women who had been shot to death" were discovered. Reuters notes that the man with the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Yildirim Tek, kidnapped July 23 was "found dead near Baghdad's airport". Reuters also notes that five corpses were discovered in Yusufiya.
In addition to the above, there were kidnappings. Reuters notes ten people kidnapped in Latifiya on Saturday, Muhammed Salim (a major in the police force) kidnapped in Baghdad and discovered dead; while another major with the police force, Maher Moussa was kidnapped (from his own home) and hasn't been discovered.
As the chaos and violence continue to rage, al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, continues to make noises about a "Cabinet Shuffle" -- all the while very aware that just as likely as that happening is "The al-Maliki Shuffle" which would leave the puppet on the outside (possibly running the streets of London with 'rolldog' Chalabi). Kirk Semple (New York Times) reports that al-Maliki is now whining that he didn't get to pick his cabinet and that some posts were filled by names handed to him right before he announced them.
CBS and AP report that he is also "blaming Sunni Muslims for the country's raging sectarian conflict". On Sunday, Richard A. Oppel Jr. (New York Times) reported on the observations of American army Col. Brian D. Jones who speaks of Iraqi Brig. Gen. Shakir Hulail Hussein al-Kaabi showing up with a list (reportedly composed in Baghdad by Shi'ite leaders) of people who wanted arrested -- Sunni politicians.
Possibly setting himself up to be the next puppet, Iraq's Defense Minister Abdul-Qadir al-Obaidi is making soothing noises for the US administration (the bosses of the illegal occupation). CBS and AP report that al-Obaidi is stating that he doesn't want "to speed transfer of security operations throughout the country to the Iraqi army, saying his men were too porrly equipped and trained to do the job." AFP reminds: "On Wednesday, the main Sunni bloc threatened to quit the national unity government -- cobbled together after December 2005 elections -- warning that they would take up arms if rampaging Shiite militias were not quickly dismantled." Sabrina Tavernise (New York Times) reports on Moktada al-Sadr and notes that "parties loyal to him control the single larest protion of seats in Parliament and elevated the prime minister to power. They control five government ministeries"; however, "the more settled he becomes in the establishment, the looser his grip is over his fighters on the streets and those increasingly infiltrating the security forces."
While the above goes on, Bully Boy plays like he's Rodney Dangerfield and he's living out Back to School. Ben Feller (AP) reports Bully Boy met with the tutors his father endorsed, the Iraqi Study Group led by Lee Hamiliton and James Baker and that, afterwards, Bully Boy stated: "I was impressed by the questions they asked." It's rather sad that over three years after he started an illegal war, there are questions that can be asked which surprise the Bully Boy. Not just anyone can meet with the Bully Boy to discuss Iraq, he refused to meet religious leaders before launching his illegal war. For all his supposed piety, he couldn't make time for them. Ahmed Amr dubs them "the fabulous Baker boys" (let's all hope Cheney doesn't put on something slinky and attempt to warble "Making Whoopeee"), notes that it's a dog-and-pony show "to save Bush's face" and concludes: "We should openly declare that we intend to leave ASAP and dismantle each and every American garrison. Immediately cut troop strength by half. The enduring bases will not and should not survive this plan. We should retreat humbly and in sorrow -- for their losses and ours."
Steve Holland (Reuters) reports that the meeting went over the one-hour-and-fifteen minutes scheduled. No confirmation to the rumors that Bully Boy refused to take his fingers out of his ears until Condi gave him a juice box. What is confirmed, as Alieen Alfandary noted today on KPFA's The Morning Show, is Bully Boy's enduring unpopularity which "has plunged to 31% [approval ratings] in the lowest poll by Newsweek."
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq and, as of Thursday, facing a court-martial in 2007. The speaking tour winds down on the 17th, a full schedule can be found here and upcoming dates include:
Nov 13 , TBA, Ann Arbor, MI, "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada,Location: University of Michigan, Angel Hall, Auditorium B,Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org/,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, work - 734-761-5922, home - 734-662-0818, cell- 734-660-489, philliseng@yahoo.com
Nov 14, TBA St. Louis, Mo. Location: Friends Meeting House, 1001 Park Avenue Sponsors: Veterans for Peace Chapter 161, 314-754-2651Contact: Chuc Smith, 314-721-1814, vfpch61@riseup.netiraq
Nov. 15, Norfolk, VA, Location: Norfolk/Virginia Beach, 40th Street Stage, 809 W 40th St (corner 40th St and Colley Ave -- across from Felini's), Sponsors: Veterans For Peace National In Affiliation with the Norfolk Catholic Worker, Local members of VFP, Military Families Speak Out, and the Active Duty Military Project, Contacts: Tom Palumbo, DissentingSoldier@Yahoo.Com, 757-470-9797, Ann Williams, 703-867-2174
Nov 16, Noon, Asheville, NC, Location: TBA -- Media Conference, Sponsor: Veterans For Peace Chapter 99, Contact: Tim Pluta, 828-645-1717, timpluta@hotmail.com
Nov 16, 2PM, Asheville, NC, Location: Mars Hill College -- Class Presentation
Sponsor: Veterans For Peace Chapter 99, Contact: Tim Pluta, 828-645-1717, timpluta@hotmail.com
Nov 16, 7PM, Asheville, NC, Location: University of North Carolina -- Public Presentation, Sponsor: Veterans For Peace Chapter 99, Contact: Tim Pluta, 828-645-1717, timpluta@hotmail.com , Lyle Peterson, 828-206-0245, Ahmad Daniels, War Resister Vietnam Era (appears in "Sir, No Sir!"), Mark Gibney Human Rights, International & Constitutional Law, Law, Ethics and Public Policy
Nov 17, 11:00AM, Asheville, NC, Location: Warren Wilson College, Sponsor: Veterans For Peace Chapter 99, Contact: Tim Pluta, 828-645-1717, timpluta@hotmail.com, Lyle Peterson, 828-206-0245, Professor Paul Magnarella (Peace Studies, Warren Wilson College)
Nov 17, 7PM, Atlanta, GA, Location: The First Iconium Baptist Church, Sponsor: Veterans For Peace Chapter 125, The Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition/Atlanta, Atlanta WAND, Contact: Debra Clark, 770-855-6163, dclark@antiwar.com
ehren watada
kyle snyder
alice gomstyn
the new york times
kirk semple
bob watada
teresa watanabe
richard a. oppel jr.
the third estate sunday review
kpfa
the morning show
aileen alfandary
joshua scheer
Monday, November 13, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
Iraq, CounterPunch, Ruth
I am rushing tonight and sent out feelers for what to write about. Rebecca's "remember the ladies? forgotten at the democracy now round-table" went over a number of left outlets that weren't noting the court-martial of Ehren Watada (far too many). She got an e-mail about CounterPunch and passed that topic to me to help me have something to write about. CounterPunch, as anyone in the community or, in fact, anyone who reads it can tell you, is not a 'breaking' site. It's not updated throughout the day. I don't believe I have ever seen 'breaking news' at the site. I have, however, at the site and in the magazine, seen pieces covering the anti-war movement in many ways. Usually, that's as a movement. That includes war resistance within the military. Peter Laufer was interviewed on just that topic not long ago. In addition, the voices writing exclusively for the magazine, as well as though highlighted on the website, do not hide behind generals. Alexander Cockburn's column before last read like it could have been written by a community member disgusted with so many on the left's attempt to sell the anti-war movement on the backs of generals who aren't, in fact, anti-war.
CounterPunch isn't without its own problems, no magazine is. For me, the biggest problem is the publication. I would prefer it be out much more often. Otherwise, it generally goes where no one else will on the left. There are pieces that irritate the hell out of me and there are pieces that I think, "Thank God someone is covering this." It never plays Tasteful Lady (a character Lily Tomlin used to do). It's passionate and alive. Having repeatedly covered the peace movement in terms of music, war resistance, prominent voices and other avenues, it has been a publication that's stood up while many have slouched or tried to sneak by.
Rebecca didn't list it because of the reasons I just identified. It's not doing 'breaking news.' Nor does it have a 'feed' or a link-fest. I prefer the print version because I enjoy something I can hold in my hands and I enjoy reading on the couch, in the bathtub or while laying on the bed. But since I've started this site, I've found myself visiting the site more often (usually in search of something to write about but it's also true that when I'm done posting many nights, I'll see something I wanted to read but couldn't include in a post, so I'll stay online a bit more to check that out) and I think the site is a must-visit.
If you don't, as C.I. would say, the voice doesn't speak to you so find one that does. But CounterPunch's coverage of the war has not been wanting. Nor has it ever gone a month without noting it. Not a lot of other publications can make that claim. Well, they could, but it would be greeted with laughter.
Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts which will include an update on who is still not providing coverage of or links to coverage of the news that Ehren Watada is being court-martialed.
"Ruth's Report" is written by Ruth and, with her permission, I wanted to note a few things. Ruth and her family are very politically aware though she would argue she had grown "complacent" (her word). Her husband of many years (they married in college) died not all that long ago. When it happened, she felt numb and very distanced from everything around her. The world, her family, everything. What brought her back to the world was her grandson Jayson's announcement that he is gay. He made that announcement at a Sunday lunch and no one saw it coming except for Ruth's granddaughter Tracey -- the only one Jayson had confined in. Both because of the bravery it took to declare that and because of the fact that an issue she had always supported, gay rights, was now even closer to home, Ruth snapped out of "my lethargy and came back to the world."
As she re-entered the world, she began using the computer that she'd only used prior as a typewriter for letters. Her husband had been very computer savy and she always depended upon him to hunt down something for her ("a recipe or news"). The 2004 elections were over and Iraq was not an issue the left and the 'left' had much interest in addressing. They, like the Democratic Party, were in retreat over the myth of the 'vangical voters and more interested in diluting support for abortion and upping their public-God-status. She was attempting to find a site that would speak to her and Tracey recommended her favorite site, The Common Ills.
Ruth credits the site with helping her rediscover her own voice. "C.I. didn't shy from Iraq," she told me. "While everyone was looking away or ignoring reality, including what was happening in Iraq, while MoveOn was moving on, C.I. was there addressing the war and steering me and others towards other outlets. Pacifica is something I couldn't get through a day without now but I wasn't listening before C.I. kept stressing it. I was in NPR world, part of the numbness, where it was 'Oh gee, the war is still on but now let's visit with a fisherman and learn his funny tale.' There was no bravery in their coverage, there was no questioning of it. Listening to Pacifica, I was reminded so strongly of what NPR could do in its early days."
Treva, one of Ruth's oldest friends, attempted to help her reconnect with the world earlier but "it didn't take, I wasn't ready." Now that she was, she found that she and Treva had a great deal to discuss. "We can start a call noting we really only have five minutes to talk and end up on the phone for an hour."
Ruth's youngest grandson was still an infant and his mother needed to return to work. Ruth says she's fully aware that they both needed her and needed to help her "emerge from my ghost days." That's why she was asked to watch him. "Which did and does provide many wonderful moments each day, but it also drove home how important it was that this illegal war ends. My generation wanted to stop the war in Vietnam, yes, but we also wanted to put an end to wars of lies that kill so many."
She finds that what she once settled for in terms of 'coverage' is "no longer good enough" and wonders "Have I become a radical?"
Ruth remembers the day when 'liberal' wasn't a compliment on the left. "You were a dabbler if you were a 'liberal.' Phil Ochs captured that mood perfectly in 'Love Me, I'm a Liberal.' Many of us began using the term 'radical.' I'm not sure that it applied to many of us, including me, but I can understand why we used it -- especially today. The outrage I felt during Vietnam is back and all the stronger now because there's the added point that we do know better but we appear to have learned nothing from our not-so-long-ao history."
Ruth may touch on some of these topics in her next report. I want to thank her because I called her this evening as I was booting up my laptop and reminded, "You said it was okay to write about. Could I get some quotes?"
I would not have a post tonight if it weren't for Ruth, so thank you, Ruth. But her process, of waking up to the world (a reawakening for her -- and from a numbness caused by the loss of her husband) is mirrored in many members' stories. It's also, I believe, a story of many people today. We're not settling for a shout or a one day thing. We want the war addressed. The elections appear to indicate that. While it's not a surprise that elected leaders don't lead, it does shock me that so many in so-called independent media fail to offer coverage that leads or steers.
Those are my thoughts for tonight. Ruth and I both enjoyed the snapshot (below) and we also discussed that -- specifically C.I.'s nod to Lewis Carroll's White Queen. We wonder how many people will catch "a-dress" as opposed to assuming it's a typo?
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday, November 10th. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, the US military announces they will court-martial Lt. Ehren Watada, the US military also announces the death of five more US troops in Iraq, John Howard makes Australians and the rest of the world glad that there's only one of him, and David Swanson explains what really happened in DC.Starting with news on US war resister Ehren Watada. In June, Watada went public with his refusal to deploy to Iraq because the war is illegal and deploying would subject both himself and those serving under him to war crimes. In standing up, Watada became the first US commissioned officer to publicly refuse to serve in the illegal war. On August 17th, Article 32 hearing was held. [For details on Ann Wright's testimony, click here, Dennis Halliday click here, and here for Francis A. Boyle.] Following the hearing on the 17th, the US military announced August 24th that the presiding officer of the hearing, Lt. Colonel Mark Keith, had made a recommendation, court-martial. Yesterday, The KPFA Evening News reported that the US military had decided to court-martial Watada. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that "Lt. Gen. James Dubik, agreed with the recommended charges of missing a military movement and conduct unbecoming an officer." Gregg Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) reports that conviction during the court-martial ("held next year") could result in "six years in jail and a dishonorable discharge." Honolulu's KITV spoke with Eric Seitz, attorney for Watada, who stated, "Unfortunately the army does want to make a martyr out of him. They have told us they will not enter into any agreement that doesn't include at least a year of incarceration, and that's just simply something we are unable to agree to." Rod Ohira (Honolulu Advertiser) notes the following statements by Watada after learning of the recommendation to court-martial him:"I feel the referral of the charges was not unexpected and at this time, I'm moving forward as I always have with resilience and fortitude to face the challenges ahead. . . . I think as the recent elections show more and more Americans are opening their eyes, but we aren't there yet. It is my hope that actions such as my own continue to call for the truth behind the fundamental illegality and immorality of those who perpetrated this war."
Coverage of war resisters in the US independent media has been embarrassing and shameful. Rebecca checks in on several independent outlets only to find that none have anything on Watada this morning. He appears to getting the full-Brobeck from independent media. (CBS notes Watada here.) War resister Ivan Brobeck returned to the US from Canada to turn himself in Tuesday and he didn't even make the indy headlines. (Nora Barrows Friedman did interview him on Monday's Flashpoints.) It's not cutting it. Not for Brobeck, not for Kyle Snyder who's also been ignored after returning to the US and, on October 31st, turning himself in at Fort Knox only to self-check out again after discovering the military had lied yet again. Not for Joshua Key who learned that the Canadian government was denying him refugee status.
A list of war resisters within the military would include Watada, Key, Snyder, and Brobeck. It would also include many other names such as Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Agustin Aguayo, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, and Kevin Benderman. That's just the ones who have gone public. (Over thirty US war resisters are currently in Canada attempting to be legally recognized.) It is a movement and should be covered as such. Ehren Watada's father and step-mother are currently on a speaking tour (tonight they're in NYC) and details on that will be at the end of the snapshot.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Appeal for Redress is collecting signatures of active duty service members calling on Congress to bring the troops home -- the petition will be delivered to Congress in January.
Grabbing headlines is Ali al-Shemari. The Iraqi Health minister announced a number for the death toll of Iraqis due to the illegal war. AP notes that he places the death toll at 150,000. The KPFA Evening News pointed out on Thursday that is he was actually basing his 'count' on the United Nations estimate of at least 100 Iraqis dying each day "that calculation would be closer to 130,000." CBS and AP note that he rejects the number of approximately 655,000 in the Lancet Study but thinks his own number is "OK." Sabrina Tavernise (New York Times) calls the number "an off-the-cuff estimate". Puppets can't go off-the-cuff or off-script which may be why AFP is reporting that the estimates being watered down (the Health Ministry is now saying between 100,000 and 150,000).
Meanwhile the US military has announced today "One Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 died Thursday from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province" and also "Two 89th Military Police Brigade Soldiers were killed and one Soldier was wounded Thursday after their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device at 12:48 p.m. Thursday in west Baghdad." Later in the day would come more announcements. This: "One Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died today from non-hostile causes while operating in Al Anbar Province," and this: "One Soldier assigned to the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) was killed and another wounded Nov. 10 during a combat logistics patrol when their truck was hit by an improvised explosive device west of Hadithah" for a total of five deaths announced today. ICCC currently lists 24 as the number of US troop deaths in Iraq for the month, thus far (2842 since the start of the illegal war). As the numbers continue to climb, Michael Luo and Michael Wilson (New York Times) report that funerals have become so common for the First Battalion, 22nd Infantry in Iraq that planning time for services have been cut from 45 minutes to five minutes.
While the numbers (on all sides) continue to mount, AP notes Donald Rumsfled stated (yesterday), "I will say this -- it is very clear that the major combat operations were an enormous success." Oh White Queen, get someone to help you a-dress quickly. Forgetting the illegal nature of the war for a moment, that's a bit like a drunk driver who plows into a car and kills an entire family stating, "I will say this -- I pulled away from the curb nicely."In some of the reported violence today . . .
Bombings?
AFP reports: "In violence on the ground, a powerful blast killed an Iraqi army colonel and his five bodyguards in the northern town of Tall Afar. Reuters notes it was a car bombing and that 17 people were wounded while, in Kirkuk, a roadside bombing injured two Iraqi soldiers.
Shootings?
Reuters notes that, in Yusufiya, 14 people were kidnapped (by "gunmen") and then found dead and a man was shot dead in Diwaniya. Christopher Bodeen (AP) reports that three family members were shot dead in Baghdad (home invasion).
Corpses?
Reuters reports, "Police fished the body of a woman, bearing signs of torture and bullet wounds, from the Tigris river in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said." In addition, Christopher Bodeen (AP) informs that 33 corpses were discovered "in Baghdad and several nearby cities."
In Australia, War Hawk and prime minister John Howard's laughable comments yesterday have resulted in more punch lines. Gillian Bradford observered to Eleanor Hall (ABC's PM) that "Whatever the opinion polls here may say here about Australians' desire to get out of Iraq, the Prime Minister isn't swayed" and he intended to ring Tony Blair up just as soon as he (Howard) finished his cricket match. Give 'em Flair, Howie. AAP reports that: "Prime Minister John Howard should tell George W Bush that he's pulling Australian troops out of Iraq when the two leaders meet next week, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says. Mr Howard will have lunch with the US president during next week's APEC meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam - their first meeting since Mr Bush's Republican party was thumped in US mid-term elections." Bully Boy gets to Vietnam a lot more today than when he 'served,' doesn't he? Meanwhile Xinhau reports: "Howard said he will commiserate with Bush in person at the APEC meeting in the second half of next week.Howard said he had always accepted that the majority of the Australian public had been against the military commitment to Iraq." Howard 'accepts' the majority opinion, he just doesn't 'respect' it.
In peace news, yesterday's snapshot noted Cindy Sheehan was arrested outside the White House while attempting to deliver a petition (with over 80,000 signatures) calling for the US troops to be brought home. Not quite. David Swanson (Let's Try Democracy) reports she was arrested outside the White House long after the petition: "Late Wednesday afternoon Cindy decided to lead a sit-in right in front of the White House, and then -- finally -- the Park Service arrested her. The Associated Press changed the lede to its article to read as follows: 'Activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Wednesday as she led about 50 protesters to a White House gate to deliver anti-war petitions.' Not quite accurate. The petitions had been delivered several hours before the arrest. But what the heck, it probably got more editors to pick up the story. Thanks, again, Cindy!" Swasnon outlines the events as being stalled at the gates of the White House when attempting to deliver the petition leading activists to place pages in the fence and to send pages over the fence. Hours later, Cindy Sheehan staged the sit-down.
In other news of activists who refuse to hit the snooze button, Wendell Harper reported on yesterday's The KPFA Evening News and today on KPFA's The Morning Show that Medea Benjamin was among those activists participating in a rally outside the soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco office calling for troops home now.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Due to increased interest there have been some date changes and a full schedule can be found here. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 10, Early PM, New York City, NY., Press ConferenceLocation: UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, First Avenue and E. 44th StreetSponsors: Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM, New York City, NY.Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church -- West End Avenue and West 86th Streets,Sponsors: Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34Contacts: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 11, 10AM-2:30PM, New York City, NY.,Veterans Day ParadeSponsor: Veterans For Peace Chapters 34 & 138, IVAW, MFSOContacts: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 3-5 PM, Flushing, NY.,Location: Macedonia AME Church (718) 353-587037-22 Union St.Sponsors: "United for Lt. Watada"Contact: Gloria Lum 646-824-2710, lumgloria@yahoo.com
Nov 11, 7 PM, New York City, NY., Manhattan,Location: Columbia University, Broadway and W 116 St., Bldg- Mathematics Rm 312Sponsors: Asian American Alliance, "United for Lt. Watada",Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34Contact: Gloria Lum 646-824-2710
Nov 12, 11AM-1PM, Providence, RI., Location: Brown University, The John Nicholas Brown Center, 357 Benefit Street at WilliamsSponsor: Veterans For Peace NationalContact: Naoko Shibusawa, 401-286-1908, Naoko_Shibusawa@brown.edu
Nov 12, 7PM, Rockland County, NY., Location: TBASponsor: Rockland Coalition for Peace and Justice, Veterans For Peace National and Veterans For Peace Chapter /Rockland CountyContact: Nancy Tsou, LYTHRN@aol.comBarbara Greenhut
Nov 13 , TBA, Ann Arbor, MI, "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada,Location: University of Michigan, Angel Hall, Auditorium B,Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org/,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, work - 734-761-5922, home - 734-662-0818, cell- 734-660-489, philliseng@yahoo.com
Nov 14, TBA St. Louis, Mo. Location: Friends Meeting House, 1001 Park Avenue Sponsors: Veterans for Peace Chapter 161, 314-754-2651Contact: Chuc Smith, 314-721-1814, vfpch61@riseup.net
iraqkyle snyderivan brobeckflashpointsnora barrows friedmanjoshua keycindy sheehanehren watadabob watadakpfathe morning showmedea benjamincodepinkthe kpfa evening newswendell harperthe new york timesmichael luomichael wilsonsabrina tavernisesex and politics and screeds and attitude
CounterPunch isn't without its own problems, no magazine is. For me, the biggest problem is the publication. I would prefer it be out much more often. Otherwise, it generally goes where no one else will on the left. There are pieces that irritate the hell out of me and there are pieces that I think, "Thank God someone is covering this." It never plays Tasteful Lady (a character Lily Tomlin used to do). It's passionate and alive. Having repeatedly covered the peace movement in terms of music, war resistance, prominent voices and other avenues, it has been a publication that's stood up while many have slouched or tried to sneak by.
Rebecca didn't list it because of the reasons I just identified. It's not doing 'breaking news.' Nor does it have a 'feed' or a link-fest. I prefer the print version because I enjoy something I can hold in my hands and I enjoy reading on the couch, in the bathtub or while laying on the bed. But since I've started this site, I've found myself visiting the site more often (usually in search of something to write about but it's also true that when I'm done posting many nights, I'll see something I wanted to read but couldn't include in a post, so I'll stay online a bit more to check that out) and I think the site is a must-visit.
If you don't, as C.I. would say, the voice doesn't speak to you so find one that does. But CounterPunch's coverage of the war has not been wanting. Nor has it ever gone a month without noting it. Not a lot of other publications can make that claim. Well, they could, but it would be greeted with laughter.
Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts which will include an update on who is still not providing coverage of or links to coverage of the news that Ehren Watada is being court-martialed.
"Ruth's Report" is written by Ruth and, with her permission, I wanted to note a few things. Ruth and her family are very politically aware though she would argue she had grown "complacent" (her word). Her husband of many years (they married in college) died not all that long ago. When it happened, she felt numb and very distanced from everything around her. The world, her family, everything. What brought her back to the world was her grandson Jayson's announcement that he is gay. He made that announcement at a Sunday lunch and no one saw it coming except for Ruth's granddaughter Tracey -- the only one Jayson had confined in. Both because of the bravery it took to declare that and because of the fact that an issue she had always supported, gay rights, was now even closer to home, Ruth snapped out of "my lethargy and came back to the world."
As she re-entered the world, she began using the computer that she'd only used prior as a typewriter for letters. Her husband had been very computer savy and she always depended upon him to hunt down something for her ("a recipe or news"). The 2004 elections were over and Iraq was not an issue the left and the 'left' had much interest in addressing. They, like the Democratic Party, were in retreat over the myth of the 'vangical voters and more interested in diluting support for abortion and upping their public-God-status. She was attempting to find a site that would speak to her and Tracey recommended her favorite site, The Common Ills.
Ruth credits the site with helping her rediscover her own voice. "C.I. didn't shy from Iraq," she told me. "While everyone was looking away or ignoring reality, including what was happening in Iraq, while MoveOn was moving on, C.I. was there addressing the war and steering me and others towards other outlets. Pacifica is something I couldn't get through a day without now but I wasn't listening before C.I. kept stressing it. I was in NPR world, part of the numbness, where it was 'Oh gee, the war is still on but now let's visit with a fisherman and learn his funny tale.' There was no bravery in their coverage, there was no questioning of it. Listening to Pacifica, I was reminded so strongly of what NPR could do in its early days."
Treva, one of Ruth's oldest friends, attempted to help her reconnect with the world earlier but "it didn't take, I wasn't ready." Now that she was, she found that she and Treva had a great deal to discuss. "We can start a call noting we really only have five minutes to talk and end up on the phone for an hour."
Ruth's youngest grandson was still an infant and his mother needed to return to work. Ruth says she's fully aware that they both needed her and needed to help her "emerge from my ghost days." That's why she was asked to watch him. "Which did and does provide many wonderful moments each day, but it also drove home how important it was that this illegal war ends. My generation wanted to stop the war in Vietnam, yes, but we also wanted to put an end to wars of lies that kill so many."
She finds that what she once settled for in terms of 'coverage' is "no longer good enough" and wonders "Have I become a radical?"
Ruth remembers the day when 'liberal' wasn't a compliment on the left. "You were a dabbler if you were a 'liberal.' Phil Ochs captured that mood perfectly in 'Love Me, I'm a Liberal.' Many of us began using the term 'radical.' I'm not sure that it applied to many of us, including me, but I can understand why we used it -- especially today. The outrage I felt during Vietnam is back and all the stronger now because there's the added point that we do know better but we appear to have learned nothing from our not-so-long-ao history."
Ruth may touch on some of these topics in her next report. I want to thank her because I called her this evening as I was booting up my laptop and reminded, "You said it was okay to write about. Could I get some quotes?"
I would not have a post tonight if it weren't for Ruth, so thank you, Ruth. But her process, of waking up to the world (a reawakening for her -- and from a numbness caused by the loss of her husband) is mirrored in many members' stories. It's also, I believe, a story of many people today. We're not settling for a shout or a one day thing. We want the war addressed. The elections appear to indicate that. While it's not a surprise that elected leaders don't lead, it does shock me that so many in so-called independent media fail to offer coverage that leads or steers.
Those are my thoughts for tonight. Ruth and I both enjoyed the snapshot (below) and we also discussed that -- specifically C.I.'s nod to Lewis Carroll's White Queen. We wonder how many people will catch "a-dress" as opposed to assuming it's a typo?
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday, November 10th. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, the US military announces they will court-martial Lt. Ehren Watada, the US military also announces the death of five more US troops in Iraq, John Howard makes Australians and the rest of the world glad that there's only one of him, and David Swanson explains what really happened in DC.Starting with news on US war resister Ehren Watada. In June, Watada went public with his refusal to deploy to Iraq because the war is illegal and deploying would subject both himself and those serving under him to war crimes. In standing up, Watada became the first US commissioned officer to publicly refuse to serve in the illegal war. On August 17th, Article 32 hearing was held. [For details on Ann Wright's testimony, click here, Dennis Halliday click here, and here for Francis A. Boyle.] Following the hearing on the 17th, the US military announced August 24th that the presiding officer of the hearing, Lt. Colonel Mark Keith, had made a recommendation, court-martial. Yesterday, The KPFA Evening News reported that the US military had decided to court-martial Watada. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that "Lt. Gen. James Dubik, agreed with the recommended charges of missing a military movement and conduct unbecoming an officer." Gregg Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) reports that conviction during the court-martial ("held next year") could result in "six years in jail and a dishonorable discharge." Honolulu's KITV spoke with Eric Seitz, attorney for Watada, who stated, "Unfortunately the army does want to make a martyr out of him. They have told us they will not enter into any agreement that doesn't include at least a year of incarceration, and that's just simply something we are unable to agree to." Rod Ohira (Honolulu Advertiser) notes the following statements by Watada after learning of the recommendation to court-martial him:"I feel the referral of the charges was not unexpected and at this time, I'm moving forward as I always have with resilience and fortitude to face the challenges ahead. . . . I think as the recent elections show more and more Americans are opening their eyes, but we aren't there yet. It is my hope that actions such as my own continue to call for the truth behind the fundamental illegality and immorality of those who perpetrated this war."
Coverage of war resisters in the US independent media has been embarrassing and shameful. Rebecca checks in on several independent outlets only to find that none have anything on Watada this morning. He appears to getting the full-Brobeck from independent media. (CBS notes Watada here.) War resister Ivan Brobeck returned to the US from Canada to turn himself in Tuesday and he didn't even make the indy headlines. (Nora Barrows Friedman did interview him on Monday's Flashpoints.) It's not cutting it. Not for Brobeck, not for Kyle Snyder who's also been ignored after returning to the US and, on October 31st, turning himself in at Fort Knox only to self-check out again after discovering the military had lied yet again. Not for Joshua Key who learned that the Canadian government was denying him refugee status.
A list of war resisters within the military would include Watada, Key, Snyder, and Brobeck. It would also include many other names such as Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Agustin Aguayo, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, and Kevin Benderman. That's just the ones who have gone public. (Over thirty US war resisters are currently in Canada attempting to be legally recognized.) It is a movement and should be covered as such. Ehren Watada's father and step-mother are currently on a speaking tour (tonight they're in NYC) and details on that will be at the end of the snapshot.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Appeal for Redress is collecting signatures of active duty service members calling on Congress to bring the troops home -- the petition will be delivered to Congress in January.
Grabbing headlines is Ali al-Shemari. The Iraqi Health minister announced a number for the death toll of Iraqis due to the illegal war. AP notes that he places the death toll at 150,000. The KPFA Evening News pointed out on Thursday that is he was actually basing his 'count' on the United Nations estimate of at least 100 Iraqis dying each day "that calculation would be closer to 130,000." CBS and AP note that he rejects the number of approximately 655,000 in the Lancet Study but thinks his own number is "OK." Sabrina Tavernise (New York Times) calls the number "an off-the-cuff estimate". Puppets can't go off-the-cuff or off-script which may be why AFP is reporting that the estimates being watered down (the Health Ministry is now saying between 100,000 and 150,000).
Meanwhile the US military has announced today "One Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 died Thursday from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province" and also "Two 89th Military Police Brigade Soldiers were killed and one Soldier was wounded Thursday after their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device at 12:48 p.m. Thursday in west Baghdad." Later in the day would come more announcements. This: "One Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died today from non-hostile causes while operating in Al Anbar Province," and this: "One Soldier assigned to the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) was killed and another wounded Nov. 10 during a combat logistics patrol when their truck was hit by an improvised explosive device west of Hadithah" for a total of five deaths announced today. ICCC currently lists 24 as the number of US troop deaths in Iraq for the month, thus far (2842 since the start of the illegal war). As the numbers continue to climb, Michael Luo and Michael Wilson (New York Times) report that funerals have become so common for the First Battalion, 22nd Infantry in Iraq that planning time for services have been cut from 45 minutes to five minutes.
While the numbers (on all sides) continue to mount, AP notes Donald Rumsfled stated (yesterday), "I will say this -- it is very clear that the major combat operations were an enormous success." Oh White Queen, get someone to help you a-dress quickly. Forgetting the illegal nature of the war for a moment, that's a bit like a drunk driver who plows into a car and kills an entire family stating, "I will say this -- I pulled away from the curb nicely."In some of the reported violence today . . .
Bombings?
AFP reports: "In violence on the ground, a powerful blast killed an Iraqi army colonel and his five bodyguards in the northern town of Tall Afar. Reuters notes it was a car bombing and that 17 people were wounded while, in Kirkuk, a roadside bombing injured two Iraqi soldiers.
Shootings?
Reuters notes that, in Yusufiya, 14 people were kidnapped (by "gunmen") and then found dead and a man was shot dead in Diwaniya. Christopher Bodeen (AP) reports that three family members were shot dead in Baghdad (home invasion).
Corpses?
Reuters reports, "Police fished the body of a woman, bearing signs of torture and bullet wounds, from the Tigris river in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said." In addition, Christopher Bodeen (AP) informs that 33 corpses were discovered "in Baghdad and several nearby cities."
In Australia, War Hawk and prime minister John Howard's laughable comments yesterday have resulted in more punch lines. Gillian Bradford observered to Eleanor Hall (ABC's PM) that "Whatever the opinion polls here may say here about Australians' desire to get out of Iraq, the Prime Minister isn't swayed" and he intended to ring Tony Blair up just as soon as he (Howard) finished his cricket match. Give 'em Flair, Howie. AAP reports that: "Prime Minister John Howard should tell George W Bush that he's pulling Australian troops out of Iraq when the two leaders meet next week, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says. Mr Howard will have lunch with the US president during next week's APEC meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam - their first meeting since Mr Bush's Republican party was thumped in US mid-term elections." Bully Boy gets to Vietnam a lot more today than when he 'served,' doesn't he? Meanwhile Xinhau reports: "Howard said he will commiserate with Bush in person at the APEC meeting in the second half of next week.Howard said he had always accepted that the majority of the Australian public had been against the military commitment to Iraq." Howard 'accepts' the majority opinion, he just doesn't 'respect' it.
In peace news, yesterday's snapshot noted Cindy Sheehan was arrested outside the White House while attempting to deliver a petition (with over 80,000 signatures) calling for the US troops to be brought home. Not quite. David Swanson (Let's Try Democracy) reports she was arrested outside the White House long after the petition: "Late Wednesday afternoon Cindy decided to lead a sit-in right in front of the White House, and then -- finally -- the Park Service arrested her. The Associated Press changed the lede to its article to read as follows: 'Activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Wednesday as she led about 50 protesters to a White House gate to deliver anti-war petitions.' Not quite accurate. The petitions had been delivered several hours before the arrest. But what the heck, it probably got more editors to pick up the story. Thanks, again, Cindy!" Swasnon outlines the events as being stalled at the gates of the White House when attempting to deliver the petition leading activists to place pages in the fence and to send pages over the fence. Hours later, Cindy Sheehan staged the sit-down.
In other news of activists who refuse to hit the snooze button, Wendell Harper reported on yesterday's The KPFA Evening News and today on KPFA's The Morning Show that Medea Benjamin was among those activists participating in a rally outside the soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco office calling for troops home now.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Due to increased interest there have been some date changes and a full schedule can be found here. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 10, Early PM, New York City, NY., Press ConferenceLocation: UN, 777 United Nations Plaza, First Avenue and E. 44th StreetSponsors: Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM, New York City, NY.Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church -- West End Avenue and West 86th Streets,Sponsors: Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34Contacts: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 11, 10AM-2:30PM, New York City, NY.,Veterans Day ParadeSponsor: Veterans For Peace Chapters 34 & 138, IVAW, MFSOContacts: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 3-5 PM, Flushing, NY.,Location: Macedonia AME Church (718) 353-587037-22 Union St.Sponsors: "United for Lt. Watada"Contact: Gloria Lum 646-824-2710, lumgloria@yahoo.com
Nov 11, 7 PM, New York City, NY., Manhattan,Location: Columbia University, Broadway and W 116 St., Bldg- Mathematics Rm 312Sponsors: Asian American Alliance, "United for Lt. Watada",Veterans For Peace Chapters 138 & 34Contact: Gloria Lum 646-824-2710
Nov 12, 11AM-1PM, Providence, RI., Location: Brown University, The John Nicholas Brown Center, 357 Benefit Street at WilliamsSponsor: Veterans For Peace NationalContact: Naoko Shibusawa, 401-286-1908, Naoko_Shibusawa@brown.edu
Nov 12, 7PM, Rockland County, NY., Location: TBASponsor: Rockland Coalition for Peace and Justice, Veterans For Peace National and Veterans For Peace Chapter /Rockland CountyContact: Nancy Tsou, LYTHRN@aol.comBarbara Greenhut
Nov 13 , TBA, Ann Arbor, MI, "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada,Location: University of Michigan, Angel Hall, Auditorium B,Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org/,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, work - 734-761-5922, home - 734-662-0818, cell- 734-660-489, philliseng@yahoo.com
Nov 14, TBA St. Louis, Mo. Location: Friends Meeting House, 1001 Park Avenue Sponsors: Veterans for Peace Chapter 161, 314-754-2651Contact: Chuc Smith, 314-721-1814, vfpch61@riseup.net
iraqkyle snyderivan brobeckflashpointsnora barrows friedmanjoshua keycindy sheehanehren watadabob watadakpfathe morning showmedea benjamincodepinkthe kpfa evening newswendell harperthe new york timesmichael luomichael wilsonsabrina tavernisesex and politics and screeds and attitude
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Feminist Majority, Hayden, Gagnon and Joni Mitchell
I'm starting tonight's post with a puzzle: How many women will be serving in Congress in January -- CORRECTION BY SUNNY FOR ELAINE, THIS IN THE CONGRESS, NOT JUST 1 HOUSE OF IT. At least 82. I actually think the Feminist Majority can up that figure because some of the races (Penn & Ohio) are between two women. Though the results haven't come in yet, short of some major upset by a third party, the seat's going to a woman. In fact, I'm seeing four races where it's between two women and only one where it's between a woman and a man. So, if I understand their chart currectly, five seats are still undecided.
While an improvement, there are 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 100 seats in the Senate. Were women to garner 87 seats, they still wouldn't account for one-fourth of the membership. An equally troubling fact is that not all females are pro-women. Jean Schmidt (Ohio) is not someone I consider pro-woman or helpful to any cause I believe in (her race hasn't been called according to the chart).
From a purely number-crunch perspective it's an advance. There's still a long way to go since there are more women in the United States than there are men. It's also true that we need pro-women representatives and not just Double-X chromes filling seats. C.I. provided the link in the snapshot and I wanted to note it here. C.I. held the tongue (not about Feminist Majority) because we're going to be tackling something at The Third Estate Sunday Review. Until that feature's written, I'll just urge you to check out the Feminist Majority and note that there aren't a lot worth visiting; however, Feminist Majority is one. (Have I promoted them enough? They deserve to be and the point of why will be made this weekend at The Third Estate Sunday Review.)
Something else worth clicking on is "Ruth's Report" which is Ruth's latest and hard hitting as always. I actually want to write about Ruth but let me check with her first in order to be sure it's okay. There are at least four things at CounterPunch that I'd like to highlight (it's one of my favorite sites) but I'm passing those around so this isn't "The CounterPunch post." Let me note something C.I. passed on first.
"Iraq Wins the Election, What Now?" (Tom Hayden, Common Dreams)
But the Iraq War will not end.
The Administration will continue the conflict into the 2008 election year. The Democrats refuse to end it. The national security elites believe America's image as a superpower is at stake. We've heard it all before. No one is willing to lose a war even when they know the war is unwinnable.
It is possible, of course, that the bottom will drop out of the military effort, resulting in a military defeat and debacle. But the Administration will avoid that outcome at all costs.
The anti-war movement, and their supporters in Congress, therefore will need to pursue an "inside-outside" strategy. On the inside they will have to mobilize the "Out of Iraq" caucus around an exit strategy alternative, including such proposals as:
the appointment of a peace envoy to begin a process of conflict resolution instead of military occupation.
setting a deadline for bringing our troops home within one year.
at the same time, ending the formal occupation and requesting the United Nations to appoint an international consortium to work with the Iraqis on security, economics and reconciliation.
The White House may wish to lure the Democrats into a "bipartisan", or no-fault, approach to Iraq in order to extend the war while defusing it as an issue with voters. They may even have to sacrifice Donald Rumsfeld as a gesture to gain time for "new leadership." It is almost certain that they will replace the current Iraqi regime with a strongman to go after the Madhi army of Moktada al-Sadr, the main Shiite leader who wants the US to withdraw its troops. Finally, both parties will hide behind the recommendations of the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton study group, which is likely to propose a partial "redeployment." The Democrats' successful House campaign strategist Rahm Emanuel, who never wanted to make Iraq an issue, already is suggesting such a new bipartisanship even as the polls show that tonight's new American majority believes the Democratic Party will end the war sooner than the Republicans.
These are steps in the right direction, but only baby steps. The Vietnam War continued for seven senseless years after the Paris peace talks began. While scaling back its original victory plans, the US still wants to station tens of thousands of troops in a subdued, and perhaps partitioned, Iraq, and it wants the issue neutralized by the 2008 elections.
The peace movement therefore needs to gear up for the 2008 elections, by establishing anti-war coalitions that no candidate can avoid in the primary states. The first four states - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina - have large peace-and-justice constituencies.
That actually fits in nicely with the next highlight.
"What's Next for the Peace Movement?" (Bruce K. Gagnon, CounterPunch):
The Washington Post reported this morning that the Democratic Party's "foreign policy establishment sees a precipitous withdrawal [from Iraq] as potentially damaging to both the country's and the party's interests."
The battle is on.
The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is saying that the Dems will govern "from the middle." Impeachment is not on the table she recently said.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), who led the effort on behalf of Democratic Party House candidates, is saying that they can't allow the party's liberal wing to dominate the agenda.
The changes in Congress are largely due to huge opposition (62%) to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Again, quoting today's Washington Post, "The passion of the antiwar movement helped propel party activists in this election year."
How will the peace movement in America, that just turned itself nearly completely over to the Democratic Party, be rewarded for its loyalty?
"Many Democratic lawmakers have signed on to a vague plan for a phased withdrawal from Iraq, but the party remains divided between a base eager to get out soon and a foreign policy establishment that sees a precipitous withdrawal as potentially damaging to both the country's and the party's interests," the Washington Post concludes.
Pelosi is already pointing to a "Bi-partisan study group" on Iraq that is co-chaired by Texas oilman, and former Republican secretary of state, James Baker. Don,t expect any surprises here. Most of the new Democratic Party gains in the House were conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats who do not support immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Instead these new Dems, controlled by Bill Clinton's Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), will steer the country on a basic status quo course. Their excuse will be - - hey we have a national election in two years and we want to take back the White House. So we have to go slow now so we don't alienate the public.
My translation - the corporations will control the new Democratic Party Congress and we will see no real basic change.
So what does the peace movement do now?
Fat Head was on Pacifica last night flaunting his ignorance yet again. I saw Rebecca's "gas bagging about the elections" and called her about it today. She said he was enthralled with his "Blue Dog"s. Is anyone surprised? Why Fat Head is given air time as an 'expert' is beyond anyone's guess unless it's that he's considered 'respectable' even if he did stab Pacifica in the back to get that 'respectable' bonafide. While Hayden and Gagnon are sounding alarms, Fat Head's tripping through the daisies (or maybe the frozen food section of the supermarket).
We should be alarmed because everything I've heard thus far from the mouths of 'leaders' since the election is frightening. I'm trying to tell myself that they'll find spines at some point but I'm not overly optimistic of that. I'm also not upset that some Dems lost. I honestly think a few more needed to lose. Instead of running leaders, they allowed mushy, GOP-pleasers to get the party backing and we'll be stuck with those for two or six years depending upon which house they got elected to. I see no joy in the fact that Bob Casey Jr. got elected. He's a Democrat in name only and it demonstrates, that the Party ran a real candidate out of that race, how little respect they have for women. They've got a few months to show they'll do one damn thing. If they don't, they won't be able to say, "If only we had power . . ." The sob-story they've used for the last six years. As they pat themselves on the back, I don't think they get that people want results and want them right now. Not 'results' in the "We all have to compromise" (which translates as Dems, forget liberals -- just Dems, have to bend over backwards to appease the G.O.P. as the press always advises), but serious change. I honestly doubt that the Dems are going to provide that.
I've been burned too many times to get my hopes up. If I don't see some major shake ups, I'll support a third party candidate for president in 2008. That would be the first time for me but I'm tired of this, over and over. There's always an excuse. "Oh we didn't have the White House" (for why Clarence Thomas became a Supreme Court judge -- when Dems controlled the Senate). "Oh, the GOP controls Congress" (for every destructive policy Bill Clinton signed). "Oh, we're not in the majority" (for the last six years where they were, in fact, in the majority of Congressional members passing hideous legislation like the Patriot Act and renewing it as well). I'm not giving them a year to make waves. If they don't hit the road in action after everyone's sworn in (January), then I'm done with their whiney excuses.
Snapshot's below and let me just say, I love Joni Mitchell. That made my day that C.I. opened with Joni Mitchell instead of a bunch of gas bag nonsense. I have more faith in art than I do in politics and I'm very excited about Joni Mitchell's new album. I really didn't care of Taming the Tiger when it came out. It was only in the last year, when C.I. suggested that I give it another listen, that I really got the power of that album. If you're someone with Taming the Tiger and, like me, you didn't think much of it, please listen again. There are levels that either I didn't comprehend or that were noting things not readily obvious (to me) at the time. I really enjoy that album now.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Wednesday, November 8, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq with at least 60 reported dead today, Steven D. Green enters a plea, gas bags toss out the word "Iraq" and pretend they've somehow addressed anything, War Hawk Down! -- Rumsfled resigns, "a defector in the petty wars that shell shock love away" ("Hejira") prepares a new release, and the Mennonite church -- not independent media -- discusses conscientious objectors.
Starting with news not coming out of Iraq, the current issue of Rolling Stone (Jon Stewart cover) notes that Joni Mitchell is recording another album of her own compositions. Uncut reports on the upcoming album and quotes Mitchell stating "when the world becomes a massive mess with nobody at the helm, it's time for artists to make their mark" and noting that the albums is an attempt to provide "courage through tough times." Mitchell's official website notes one song on the upcoming album entitled "Holy War" which includes these lyrics:
There's nothing on earth
As unholy as war,
The rich sacrifice the poor.
If I had a heart I'd cry.
In fairy tales the good go to heaven
And the evil go to hell,
Ring the funeral bell.
If I had a heart I'd cry.
Holy earth, religion has failed us,
It failed to make us kind,
It spoke of light but kept us blind.
The album will be Mitchell's first recording of her own compositions since 1998's Taming the Tiger. And if that doesn't seem important to you, remember that Mitchell's Dog Eat Dog, and not gas baggery, captured the Reagan de-Revolution. Between art and gas baggery, this community will always go with art. Also, it was Mitchell's birthday Tuesday.
The day prior to that, Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) reported that the White House had conveyed through Zalmay Khalilzad that yesterday's elections were meaningless -- conveyed to Iraqi puppet leaders. Bully Boy is currently attempting to push that notion right now. On screen, CNN offers a "knowable" -- War Hawk Donald Rumsfeld has resigned as US Secretary of the Defense. Bully Boy has evened out his streaks and his hair now looks much darker but look the other way as the media has for the last six years. Hair dye doesn't make for the 'manly' image the Bully Boy cultivates. (What's he saying? Who knows? I'm having lunch and there are too many people at other tables booing the Bully Boy to hear him and no link at CNN yet.)
For those looking for attempts to make sense of the election (something that really won't happen until all the votes are in and data crunched -- as opposed to skimmed) should refer to Amy Goodman's interview with Ralph Nader (Democracy Now!) and the Feminist Majority blog on the elections. [Feminist Wire addresses the failed abortion ban in South Dakota.] While the White House's message may have been lost on the puppet leaders, Nancy A. Yousseff (McClatchey Newspapers) reports that "Iraqis outside the world of politics saw no change, regardless of the results" as Matthew Schofield (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the reaction was far different for Europeans who are now "a bit more comfortable with their partners across the Atlantic after five years of unease with Americans under the Bush administration." What is known is that the Democratic Party now holds the most seats in the US House of Representatives and may control the Senate provided the candidates in Montana and Virginia (Jon Tester, Jim Webb) hold their leads.
In Iraq today, Zalmay Khalilzad rushed to spin telling a reception in the heavily fortified Green Zone (reception made up of reporters, the puppet government, "American colleagues from the embassy," etc) that "Americans understand that Iraq is import. They understand that this region is important" blah, blah, blah. When even Zalmay-Take-Me-Away grew tired of his own voice, he signed off with "Thank you again for coming and my God bless the people of Iraq" which may not be the best way for American officials, supposedly wanting a secetarian government in Iraq, to conclude their 'official' messages. Reality absent in the rumored to be departing soon Zalmay's pontificating can be found in Missy Comley Beattie's latest (CounterPunch): "This historic smackdown of an arrogant president and his administration will not bring back my nephew, Marine Lance Cpl. Chase Comley, his fellow servicemen and women who have died during the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, other dead coalition troops, and so many Iraqis. . . . Nothing can reverse the effects of madmen. The hearts of our dead cannot restart. Limbs can't be restored. Devastating brain damage won't heal."
Absent from the gas baggery by conventional-wisdom loveing pundits and the spin of the White House flacks is the reality on Iraq. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reports that "at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded in Baghdad and in Diyala province" on Tuesday. Chaos and violence continues today in Iraq.
Bombings?
AFP reports that a car bombing in Mahmudiyah has resulted in six dead and twenty-six wounded. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reported on a Tuesday bombing in Baghdad that left 17 dead and 20 wounded. IOL reports that four more have died today from Tuesday's coffee shop bombing bring the total number who have died to 21. CBS and AP note that: "A pair of mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field while young men were playing a game in a Shiite district of Baghdad, killing at least eight people." AFX notes 15 people were also wounded in thos mortar attacks. AFP notes a bombing in Iskandriyah that killed two (a father "and his 13-year-old son) and a mortar attack, in Baghdad, "near the health ministry" that killed three and left five wounded. Reuters notes a car bomb in Baghdad that killed three and wounded three more, a car bombing that killed one person, and a car bombing in Ramadi that killed five people.
Shootings?
The BBC notes that four people were shot dead in Baquba. AFP notes five were shot dead "in the village of Dhida near Muqdadiyah," two police officers were shot dead in Tikrit. Reuters notes that that a police officer was shot dead in Samawa.
Corpses?
IOL notes that three corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes that six corpses were discovered in Mosul.
In addition, the US military today announced: "One Marine assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died Wednesday from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province.The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense." ICCC counts 2839 US troops dead since the start of the illegal war and 21 dead for the month.
In other Iraq news, Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) examine the realities of Iraq's Facilities Protection Services and note the belief "that the FPS consists mainly of criminals who looted banks and government offices at the beginning of the U.S. invasion in April 2003."
In legal news, Reuters reports that Steven D. Green pleaded not guilty today "in federal court to charges he participated in a gang rape of an Iraqi girl and murdered her and her family in March." That would be Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi who was murdered on March 12, 2006 in the town of Mahmoudiyah along with her parents Oassim Hamza Raheem and Fakhriya Taha Muhasen as well as her five-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza. Green was discharged from the US military before events became public. On Friday, June 30th, he was arrested in Asheville, North Carolina and charged with rape. Five members still in the US military have also been charged. Anthony W. Yribe has been charged with dereliction of duty for not reporting the incident and the other four (Paul Cortez, Jesse Spielman, Bryan Howard and James Barker) have been charged with murder, rape and arson. At the Article 32 hearing for the four, prosecutor Captain Alex Pickands stated: "They gathered over cards and booze to come up with a plan to rape and murder that little girl. She was young and attractive. They knew where she was because they had seen her on a previous patrol. She was close. She was vulnerable." Green, who is being tried in a civilian court, could face the death penalty if convicted as could Speilman and Cortez if found guilty in a court-martial.
In peace news, Chris Arsenault (The Dominion) takes a look at US war resister Corey Glass currently in Canada, at the War Resisters Support Campaign and notes that depite the petition with 35,000 signatures "demanding Canada treat Iraq War objectors the same way we treated Vietnam War resisters . . . the immigration and refugee board, whose mandate is different from the courts, has" refused to rule in favor of asylum for war resisters. Glass tells Arsenault: "I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work filling sandbags if there was a hurricane; I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq." Three other war resisters who went to Canada include Kyle Snyder who turned himself in at Fort Knox on October 31st only to self-check out again after the US military lied to him again, Joshua Key who was denied refugee status by the Canadian government and Ivan Brobeck who returned to the US yesterday to turn himself in.
Meanwhile, Gladys Tericho (Mennoite Central Committee) reports on the conference on conscientious objection held October 20-21 and bringing together groups "including Mennoite, Doukhobor, Quaker and Jehovah's Witnesses." She notes Harry Loewen (Professor Emeritus of Mennonite History and Studies at the University of Winnipeg") stating: "It is important that we deal with these issues now. . . . This principle must not be abandoned, it must be strengthened."
CNN reports that Bully Boy announced "Don Rumsfeld . . . superb leader" has resigned and that Bully Boy also stated, "The timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon." Now it's time? Only now? No wonder Condi Rice keeps getting promoted. Rums-fled is out. Zalmay soon will be.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliottadams@juno.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, http://us.f507.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBA
Nov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org/,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, philliseng@yahoo.com
iraqkyle snyderamy goodmandemocracy nowivan brobeck
joshua key
corey glassthe new york timeskirk semplemissy comley beattie
ehren watadabob watada
dahr jamailali al-fadhilynancy a. youssef
joni mitchell
While an improvement, there are 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 100 seats in the Senate. Were women to garner 87 seats, they still wouldn't account for one-fourth of the membership. An equally troubling fact is that not all females are pro-women. Jean Schmidt (Ohio) is not someone I consider pro-woman or helpful to any cause I believe in (her race hasn't been called according to the chart).
From a purely number-crunch perspective it's an advance. There's still a long way to go since there are more women in the United States than there are men. It's also true that we need pro-women representatives and not just Double-X chromes filling seats. C.I. provided the link in the snapshot and I wanted to note it here. C.I. held the tongue (not about Feminist Majority) because we're going to be tackling something at The Third Estate Sunday Review. Until that feature's written, I'll just urge you to check out the Feminist Majority and note that there aren't a lot worth visiting; however, Feminist Majority is one. (Have I promoted them enough? They deserve to be and the point of why will be made this weekend at The Third Estate Sunday Review.)
Something else worth clicking on is "Ruth's Report" which is Ruth's latest and hard hitting as always. I actually want to write about Ruth but let me check with her first in order to be sure it's okay. There are at least four things at CounterPunch that I'd like to highlight (it's one of my favorite sites) but I'm passing those around so this isn't "The CounterPunch post." Let me note something C.I. passed on first.
"Iraq Wins the Election, What Now?" (Tom Hayden, Common Dreams)
But the Iraq War will not end.
The Administration will continue the conflict into the 2008 election year. The Democrats refuse to end it. The national security elites believe America's image as a superpower is at stake. We've heard it all before. No one is willing to lose a war even when they know the war is unwinnable.
It is possible, of course, that the bottom will drop out of the military effort, resulting in a military defeat and debacle. But the Administration will avoid that outcome at all costs.
The anti-war movement, and their supporters in Congress, therefore will need to pursue an "inside-outside" strategy. On the inside they will have to mobilize the "Out of Iraq" caucus around an exit strategy alternative, including such proposals as:
the appointment of a peace envoy to begin a process of conflict resolution instead of military occupation.
setting a deadline for bringing our troops home within one year.
at the same time, ending the formal occupation and requesting the United Nations to appoint an international consortium to work with the Iraqis on security, economics and reconciliation.
The White House may wish to lure the Democrats into a "bipartisan", or no-fault, approach to Iraq in order to extend the war while defusing it as an issue with voters. They may even have to sacrifice Donald Rumsfeld as a gesture to gain time for "new leadership." It is almost certain that they will replace the current Iraqi regime with a strongman to go after the Madhi army of Moktada al-Sadr, the main Shiite leader who wants the US to withdraw its troops. Finally, both parties will hide behind the recommendations of the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton study group, which is likely to propose a partial "redeployment." The Democrats' successful House campaign strategist Rahm Emanuel, who never wanted to make Iraq an issue, already is suggesting such a new bipartisanship even as the polls show that tonight's new American majority believes the Democratic Party will end the war sooner than the Republicans.
These are steps in the right direction, but only baby steps. The Vietnam War continued for seven senseless years after the Paris peace talks began. While scaling back its original victory plans, the US still wants to station tens of thousands of troops in a subdued, and perhaps partitioned, Iraq, and it wants the issue neutralized by the 2008 elections.
The peace movement therefore needs to gear up for the 2008 elections, by establishing anti-war coalitions that no candidate can avoid in the primary states. The first four states - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina - have large peace-and-justice constituencies.
That actually fits in nicely with the next highlight.
"What's Next for the Peace Movement?" (Bruce K. Gagnon, CounterPunch):
The Washington Post reported this morning that the Democratic Party's "foreign policy establishment sees a precipitous withdrawal [from Iraq] as potentially damaging to both the country's and the party's interests."
The battle is on.
The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is saying that the Dems will govern "from the middle." Impeachment is not on the table she recently said.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), who led the effort on behalf of Democratic Party House candidates, is saying that they can't allow the party's liberal wing to dominate the agenda.
The changes in Congress are largely due to huge opposition (62%) to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Again, quoting today's Washington Post, "The passion of the antiwar movement helped propel party activists in this election year."
How will the peace movement in America, that just turned itself nearly completely over to the Democratic Party, be rewarded for its loyalty?
"Many Democratic lawmakers have signed on to a vague plan for a phased withdrawal from Iraq, but the party remains divided between a base eager to get out soon and a foreign policy establishment that sees a precipitous withdrawal as potentially damaging to both the country's and the party's interests," the Washington Post concludes.
Pelosi is already pointing to a "Bi-partisan study group" on Iraq that is co-chaired by Texas oilman, and former Republican secretary of state, James Baker. Don,t expect any surprises here. Most of the new Democratic Party gains in the House were conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats who do not support immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Instead these new Dems, controlled by Bill Clinton's Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), will steer the country on a basic status quo course. Their excuse will be - - hey we have a national election in two years and we want to take back the White House. So we have to go slow now so we don't alienate the public.
My translation - the corporations will control the new Democratic Party Congress and we will see no real basic change.
So what does the peace movement do now?
Fat Head was on Pacifica last night flaunting his ignorance yet again. I saw Rebecca's "gas bagging about the elections" and called her about it today. She said he was enthralled with his "Blue Dog"s. Is anyone surprised? Why Fat Head is given air time as an 'expert' is beyond anyone's guess unless it's that he's considered 'respectable' even if he did stab Pacifica in the back to get that 'respectable' bonafide. While Hayden and Gagnon are sounding alarms, Fat Head's tripping through the daisies (or maybe the frozen food section of the supermarket).
We should be alarmed because everything I've heard thus far from the mouths of 'leaders' since the election is frightening. I'm trying to tell myself that they'll find spines at some point but I'm not overly optimistic of that. I'm also not upset that some Dems lost. I honestly think a few more needed to lose. Instead of running leaders, they allowed mushy, GOP-pleasers to get the party backing and we'll be stuck with those for two or six years depending upon which house they got elected to. I see no joy in the fact that Bob Casey Jr. got elected. He's a Democrat in name only and it demonstrates, that the Party ran a real candidate out of that race, how little respect they have for women. They've got a few months to show they'll do one damn thing. If they don't, they won't be able to say, "If only we had power . . ." The sob-story they've used for the last six years. As they pat themselves on the back, I don't think they get that people want results and want them right now. Not 'results' in the "We all have to compromise" (which translates as Dems, forget liberals -- just Dems, have to bend over backwards to appease the G.O.P. as the press always advises), but serious change. I honestly doubt that the Dems are going to provide that.
I've been burned too many times to get my hopes up. If I don't see some major shake ups, I'll support a third party candidate for president in 2008. That would be the first time for me but I'm tired of this, over and over. There's always an excuse. "Oh we didn't have the White House" (for why Clarence Thomas became a Supreme Court judge -- when Dems controlled the Senate). "Oh, the GOP controls Congress" (for every destructive policy Bill Clinton signed). "Oh, we're not in the majority" (for the last six years where they were, in fact, in the majority of Congressional members passing hideous legislation like the Patriot Act and renewing it as well). I'm not giving them a year to make waves. If they don't hit the road in action after everyone's sworn in (January), then I'm done with their whiney excuses.
Snapshot's below and let me just say, I love Joni Mitchell. That made my day that C.I. opened with Joni Mitchell instead of a bunch of gas bag nonsense. I have more faith in art than I do in politics and I'm very excited about Joni Mitchell's new album. I really didn't care of Taming the Tiger when it came out. It was only in the last year, when C.I. suggested that I give it another listen, that I really got the power of that album. If you're someone with Taming the Tiger and, like me, you didn't think much of it, please listen again. There are levels that either I didn't comprehend or that were noting things not readily obvious (to me) at the time. I really enjoy that album now.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Wednesday, November 8, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq with at least 60 reported dead today, Steven D. Green enters a plea, gas bags toss out the word "Iraq" and pretend they've somehow addressed anything, War Hawk Down! -- Rumsfled resigns, "a defector in the petty wars that shell shock love away" ("Hejira") prepares a new release, and the Mennonite church -- not independent media -- discusses conscientious objectors.
Starting with news not coming out of Iraq, the current issue of Rolling Stone (Jon Stewart cover) notes that Joni Mitchell is recording another album of her own compositions. Uncut reports on the upcoming album and quotes Mitchell stating "when the world becomes a massive mess with nobody at the helm, it's time for artists to make their mark" and noting that the albums is an attempt to provide "courage through tough times." Mitchell's official website notes one song on the upcoming album entitled "Holy War" which includes these lyrics:
There's nothing on earth
As unholy as war,
The rich sacrifice the poor.
If I had a heart I'd cry.
In fairy tales the good go to heaven
And the evil go to hell,
Ring the funeral bell.
If I had a heart I'd cry.
Holy earth, religion has failed us,
It failed to make us kind,
It spoke of light but kept us blind.
The album will be Mitchell's first recording of her own compositions since 1998's Taming the Tiger. And if that doesn't seem important to you, remember that Mitchell's Dog Eat Dog, and not gas baggery, captured the Reagan de-Revolution. Between art and gas baggery, this community will always go with art. Also, it was Mitchell's birthday Tuesday.
The day prior to that, Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) reported that the White House had conveyed through Zalmay Khalilzad that yesterday's elections were meaningless -- conveyed to Iraqi puppet leaders. Bully Boy is currently attempting to push that notion right now. On screen, CNN offers a "knowable" -- War Hawk Donald Rumsfeld has resigned as US Secretary of the Defense. Bully Boy has evened out his streaks and his hair now looks much darker but look the other way as the media has for the last six years. Hair dye doesn't make for the 'manly' image the Bully Boy cultivates. (What's he saying? Who knows? I'm having lunch and there are too many people at other tables booing the Bully Boy to hear him and no link at CNN yet.)
For those looking for attempts to make sense of the election (something that really won't happen until all the votes are in and data crunched -- as opposed to skimmed) should refer to Amy Goodman's interview with Ralph Nader (Democracy Now!) and the Feminist Majority blog on the elections. [Feminist Wire addresses the failed abortion ban in South Dakota.] While the White House's message may have been lost on the puppet leaders, Nancy A. Yousseff (McClatchey Newspapers) reports that "Iraqis outside the world of politics saw no change, regardless of the results" as Matthew Schofield (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the reaction was far different for Europeans who are now "a bit more comfortable with their partners across the Atlantic after five years of unease with Americans under the Bush administration." What is known is that the Democratic Party now holds the most seats in the US House of Representatives and may control the Senate provided the candidates in Montana and Virginia (Jon Tester, Jim Webb) hold their leads.
In Iraq today, Zalmay Khalilzad rushed to spin telling a reception in the heavily fortified Green Zone (reception made up of reporters, the puppet government, "American colleagues from the embassy," etc) that "Americans understand that Iraq is import. They understand that this region is important" blah, blah, blah. When even Zalmay-Take-Me-Away grew tired of his own voice, he signed off with "Thank you again for coming and my God bless the people of Iraq" which may not be the best way for American officials, supposedly wanting a secetarian government in Iraq, to conclude their 'official' messages. Reality absent in the rumored to be departing soon Zalmay's pontificating can be found in Missy Comley Beattie's latest (CounterPunch): "This historic smackdown of an arrogant president and his administration will not bring back my nephew, Marine Lance Cpl. Chase Comley, his fellow servicemen and women who have died during the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, other dead coalition troops, and so many Iraqis. . . . Nothing can reverse the effects of madmen. The hearts of our dead cannot restart. Limbs can't be restored. Devastating brain damage won't heal."
Absent from the gas baggery by conventional-wisdom loveing pundits and the spin of the White House flacks is the reality on Iraq. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reports that "at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded in Baghdad and in Diyala province" on Tuesday. Chaos and violence continues today in Iraq.
Bombings?
AFP reports that a car bombing in Mahmudiyah has resulted in six dead and twenty-six wounded. Kirk Semple (New York Times) reported on a Tuesday bombing in Baghdad that left 17 dead and 20 wounded. IOL reports that four more have died today from Tuesday's coffee shop bombing bring the total number who have died to 21. CBS and AP note that: "A pair of mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field while young men were playing a game in a Shiite district of Baghdad, killing at least eight people." AFX notes 15 people were also wounded in thos mortar attacks. AFP notes a bombing in Iskandriyah that killed two (a father "and his 13-year-old son) and a mortar attack, in Baghdad, "near the health ministry" that killed three and left five wounded. Reuters notes a car bomb in Baghdad that killed three and wounded three more, a car bombing that killed one person, and a car bombing in Ramadi that killed five people.
Shootings?
The BBC notes that four people were shot dead in Baquba. AFP notes five were shot dead "in the village of Dhida near Muqdadiyah," two police officers were shot dead in Tikrit. Reuters notes that that a police officer was shot dead in Samawa.
Corpses?
IOL notes that three corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes that six corpses were discovered in Mosul.
In addition, the US military today announced: "One Marine assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died Wednesday from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province.The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense." ICCC counts 2839 US troops dead since the start of the illegal war and 21 dead for the month.
In other Iraq news, Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily (IPS) examine the realities of Iraq's Facilities Protection Services and note the belief "that the FPS consists mainly of criminals who looted banks and government offices at the beginning of the U.S. invasion in April 2003."
In legal news, Reuters reports that Steven D. Green pleaded not guilty today "in federal court to charges he participated in a gang rape of an Iraqi girl and murdered her and her family in March." That would be Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi who was murdered on March 12, 2006 in the town of Mahmoudiyah along with her parents Oassim Hamza Raheem and Fakhriya Taha Muhasen as well as her five-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza. Green was discharged from the US military before events became public. On Friday, June 30th, he was arrested in Asheville, North Carolina and charged with rape. Five members still in the US military have also been charged. Anthony W. Yribe has been charged with dereliction of duty for not reporting the incident and the other four (Paul Cortez, Jesse Spielman, Bryan Howard and James Barker) have been charged with murder, rape and arson. At the Article 32 hearing for the four, prosecutor Captain Alex Pickands stated: "They gathered over cards and booze to come up with a plan to rape and murder that little girl. She was young and attractive. They knew where she was because they had seen her on a previous patrol. She was close. She was vulnerable." Green, who is being tried in a civilian court, could face the death penalty if convicted as could Speilman and Cortez if found guilty in a court-martial.
In peace news, Chris Arsenault (The Dominion) takes a look at US war resister Corey Glass currently in Canada, at the War Resisters Support Campaign and notes that depite the petition with 35,000 signatures "demanding Canada treat Iraq War objectors the same way we treated Vietnam War resisters . . . the immigration and refugee board, whose mandate is different from the courts, has" refused to rule in favor of asylum for war resisters. Glass tells Arsenault: "I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work filling sandbags if there was a hurricane; I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq." Three other war resisters who went to Canada include Kyle Snyder who turned himself in at Fort Knox on October 31st only to self-check out again after the US military lied to him again, Joshua Key who was denied refugee status by the Canadian government and Ivan Brobeck who returned to the US yesterday to turn himself in.
Meanwhile, Gladys Tericho (Mennoite Central Committee) reports on the conference on conscientious objection held October 20-21 and bringing together groups "including Mennoite, Doukhobor, Quaker and Jehovah's Witnesses." She notes Harry Loewen (Professor Emeritus of Mennonite History and Studies at the University of Winnipeg") stating: "It is important that we deal with these issues now. . . . This principle must not be abandoned, it must be strengthened."
CNN reports that Bully Boy announced "Don Rumsfeld . . . superb leader" has resigned and that Bully Boy also stated, "The timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon." Now it's time? Only now? No wonder Condi Rice keeps getting promoted. Rums-fled is out. Zalmay soon will be.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliottadams@juno.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, http://us.f507.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=ltbrin@earthlink.netGeorge McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBA
Nov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org/,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, philliseng@yahoo.com
iraqkyle snyderamy goodmandemocracy nowivan brobeck
joshua key
corey glassthe new york timeskirk semplemissy comley beattie
ehren watadabob watada
dahr jamailali al-fadhilynancy a. youssef
joni mitchell
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Ivan Brobeck, Rolling Stones and a rip-off pig
I called Mike to vent. I'd just read this wonderful post by C.I. It was kind of a greatest hits, in a way. There was the commentary C.I. made about when the mainstream media turned on Bully Boy (but C.I. made it in real time) and all the other strong points. But it didn't have C.I.'s name on it because it was rip-off artist. It's also true that C.I. doesn't need to 'force' comparisons where there are none. Nor would C.I. ever be STUPID enough to slam someone as having been silent when they weren't silent. (They just weren't listened to.) I was so furious because I hate pigs. Not the cute little animals that populate animated films, children's stories and farms, but the priggish pigs of the male gender who never met an idea they couldn't steal and pass off as their own.
I really was furious. I knew C.I. wouldn't give a damn and that actually made me more furious. But then Mike reminded me of the story Rebecca had shared with him about C.I. in college when a lover attempted to rip off a creative writing piece. C.I. was mad for about two minutes. Rebecca and I both walked into the living room (we'd been in our rooms) to see what had C.I. so upset. C.I. was pacing around the room telling the piece of crap off. Then, just as suddenly as it began, it ended. C.I. laughed. C.I. told piece of crap, basically, "You can take the details of something and craft it into something else with your name. But you can't be me and what you think you have ripped off is actually lost to anyone who reads your plagiarism." When Mike reminded me of that, I actually felt better because it's true. Priggish Pig has tried to manufacture outrage and it reads hollow. He's done a good job streaming together about twelve commentaries by C.I. but it doesn't add up to anything for Priggish. It just makes you realize how weak and ineffectual Priggish is.
How hilarious and how sad that this 'writer' wasn't able to produce -- even after he'd done on a clip-job on C.I.'s writing. He's getting some shout outs for his bad writing. That's how I came across it, it was linked at another site. I guess they were hoping people would be bored and not read all the way through because, if the linker had read all the way through, it wouldn't have been linked. It was a partisan site (Democratic) and the piece isn't partisan. It's not non-partisan. It's about a million thoughts that never get developed. Probably that's bound to happen when you try to build your own 'thought' around a cut and paste cutting of someone else's work.
After I got off the phone with Mike, I turned down the lights and turned up the stereo. I blasted the Stones Let It Bleed and, stealing a page from Bruce Springsteen, was dancing in the dark. Only then did I feel like blogging. Let It Bleed is my favorite Stones' album. For the 'hits lovers,' it has "Gimmie Shelter," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Country Honk" (which is "Honky Tonk Woman" rearranged) and, one of their most controversial songs, "Midnight Rambler." For those not old enough to remember, there was a big debate among feminists about "Midnight Rambler." Ellen Willis came out in favor of the song but a great many opposed it. I always saw it as Mick trying to be Jim Morrison which requires taking it to the physical (some would say sex, I would say rape) and was less bothered by the song. That's not an attempt to say that those who objected were "wrong." I understood their points and was glad that a debate could take place on the topic. But for me, it was Mick trying to ape Morrison but able to handle only the carnal element. Between that and Mick's stage persona, I saw it as a put-on so I've always been able to listen to it. But I respect the feelings of those who were violently opposed to it. (Younger readers are asking what I'm talking about because today there's hardly any debate on songs. We all just zone out and allow the critical skills to weather and fray.) My favorite song on the album is "Love In Vain" and then "Let It Bleed."
But as the album went off and my mood was lifted immensely, I thought I might suggest this to readers who are disappointed with the results of the election. Hopefully, you'll have some trade offs but I know this election has been hyped through the roof so I wouldn't be surprised if a great many suffer a traumatic come down. (That's not a "prediction" of the races. There are many races beyond Congress and, law of averages, even if things turn out 'wonderfully' for you, there's likely to be some office on your ballot that you're unhappy with the results on -- or possibly unhappy with the outcome of a ballot resolution.)
Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts. My hope for Wednesday? That we can get some serious coverage of Iraq. For instance, Ivan Brobeck's supposed to have turned himself in today. Did he? I go through my morning paper and it's still stuck on the Saddam trial and has no room to discuss what happened in Iraq on Monday. As for independent media, hopefully they'll do their elections wrap ups quickly and we'll see some focus on news as opposed to predictions or hype. On Sunday, the news was that Joshua Key's refugee application was denied in Canada. But no one seemed to grasp that it was news. Kyle Snyder is off the radar. The violence in Ramadi is off the radar. It's election and it's the Saddam Hussein verdict. Since the election's only taking place today, you could argue the 'news' factor comes in on Wednesday but that's all we've really gotten from our media.
You should be taking a hard look at your media choices, mainstream and independent, and figuring out if you're wasting your time as a news consumer because I think I've wasted a great deal of mine this week attempting to follow Iraq and getting nothing on it.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, another US war resister returns to the US from Canada, Halliburton puts on Cher's Livng Proof CD and plays dumb, and prison abuse back in the headlines.
"In Iraq, I found myself being the problem instead of the solution" -- Ivan Brobeck quoted by Alison Bodine (Fire This Time). Today, he became the latest US war resister to return from Canada to the United States. Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, VA is where he expects to be processed. Brobeck enlisted in the Marines and, as Jim Fennerty explained to Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) last Friday, there are different processes for different branches and Fennerty believes that Brobeck will "be placed in the brig" and very likely face a court-martial -- which wasn't the case for Darrell Anderson whom Fennerty also represented. Courage to Resist has posted the twenty-year-old war resister's open letter to the Bully Boy. Speaking with Nora Barrows Friedman on yesterday's Flashpoints Brobeck shared: "I'm sort of trying to teach them to open their eyes. It's easy to forget basic stuff in Iraq."
Ivan Brobeck in is own words via Pacific News Service:
I was in the Marines. I joined in June 2003, and after boot camp in March of 2004 I was sent directly to Iraq. This wasn't at all unsettling to me. You see, I went into the Army because I wanted to fight the bad guys. In school during history classes I learned that the Army and Marines had done all these wonderful things, and it all sounded so patriotic and I wanted to do the same. I wanted to fight for freedom.
I didn't care, and I still don't care, if I died fighting for a good and noble cause which is what I wanted to do.
In Iraq, I found myself being the problem instead of the solution. A problem in a normal town, in the life of normal people, like the people here in Toronto, trying to go about their life and risking getting shot at by me. Innocent people getting killed for misunderstandings, and for even more trivial things. I found myself in situations with my partners where we had to shoot at speeding cars, at people that probably were just trying to get out of our way.
All these insurgents, as they call them, they're not. They're people who have nothing left. There was this guy who was mad at us because we had killed his family. Wife, children, everybody but him had been killed. He was seeking some kind of retribution. That is not an insurgent, that's a desperate man.
My ethnic background is Salvadoran; my mom is from El Salvador. So the fight against tyranny is something that is dear to me, considering the history of El Salvador. I believed that the war in Iraq was a just war, and it was not. Now, before I get involved again, I really have to see somebody overcoming my country with weapons in hand.
Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Ehren Watada Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Joshua Key, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Agustin Aguayo, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, and Kevin Benderman are among those who have been part of a movement of war resistance within the military.
Focusing on one US war resister mentioned above (also a Fennerty client), Kyle Snyder returned from Canada last week only to discover that the same military that lied to sign up, was still lying. Noting the ABC News investigation that found the lies of recruiters continue, Elaine commented: "Will anyone get in trouble for the above? No. But kids will be lied to. Young adults and peole who aren't even 18 yet will be lied to over and over. They'll believe the lies. They'll assume no one in uniform would say something if it wasn't true. My friend, who's back from Iraq and speaking to students so that they don't end up over there, has so many stories like this. He's speaking about twice a week now and there is never just a handful of students who are able to share the kind of lies they've been told, it's always a large number."
Why do recruiters lie? Because they can get away with it. Because they won't be punished. They can sign up someone, someone who is not even able to legally purchase a beer, to a 'contract' that could result in the loss of life and they can do so with any lie that can tumble out of their mouths because there is no accountability.
Information on recruiters and protecting schools can be found at Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools, Counter-Recruitment and Alternatives to the Military Program and Campus Anti-War Network. Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Appeal for Redress is collecting signatures of active duty service members calling on Congress to bring the troops home.
"When the money's gone/ Will you be my friend?" asks Cher in "When The Money's Gone" (Living Proof) and it's a question Halliburton may be wondering about the White House. James Glanz (New York Times) reports that a new scandal has emerged over their 2003 no-bid contract "to deliver gasoline to Iraq" which might seem simple easy enough but KRB [Kellogg Brown & Root] were charging "as much as $25,000 per month for each of as many as 1,8000 fuel trucks". Al Jazeera reports: "The audit of 15 noncompetitive contracts paid for by US government agencies with Iraqi oil money was unable to account for $22.4 million in funds, a UN-led watchdog said on Monday."
The report for the IAMB [International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq] is available online, PDF format, and the auditing was done by KPMG.
Within Iraq, Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports on the charges, brought by the Interior Ministry, "of 57 employees, including high-ranking officers, with human rights crime for their role in the torture of hundreds of detainees once jailed in a notorius eastern Baghdad prison known as Site 4". Kirk Semple (New York Times) notes that Site 4 is not the only Interior Ministry run prison that's been found to be a source of abuse. As they day has progressed the number charged has increased. Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) reports that those now charged include "[a] general and nearly 100 other members of Iraq's police force". The BBC reminds that Site Four was a "secret prison" until May when "Iraqi and US officials found the jail at a building in east Baghdad belonging to the Shia-Muslim dominated ministry." Discovered in May and dealt with in . . . November. On top of that, CBS and AP note:
"CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick reports that the Iraqis plan eventually to retrain all of their police batallions." Retrain all.
Crackdown, shake-up, country break up . . . But outside the press eye. The show trial still provides gas bags to pretend they're reporting. The US election allows people to shout out "IRAQ!" and act like they've offered coverage on it. Once again, it's time to treat the Iraq war as an after thought apparently.
A few of the events that actually got some coverage.
Bombings?
Christopher Bodeen (AP) reports that mortar attacks left 22 wounded in Baghdad. Reuters notes a bombing in Basra took one life and left seven wounded while three were killed and eight wonded from a roadside bomb in Falluja.
Shootings?
Reuters reports that a police officer was shot dead in Kirkuk. AP notes that "sniper attacks and a roadside bombing in Karmah" claimed the lives of six Iraqi soldiers.
Corpses?
Sky News reports that 15 corpses were discovered in Suwayrah. AP reports that they were all found "blindfolded and bound at the wrists and ankles, before being shot in the head and chest." Reuters notes that two corpses "and a decapitated head" were discovered in Falluja.
And the Whack-a-mole goes on. Having attempted to seize the city of Falluja in April of 2004 and the slaughter that followed in November 2004, the checkpoints requiring bio-metric i.d.s to enter, et al., it may come as a surprise to learn, via Jay Price and Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers), that there is 'concern' over resistance in Falluja yet again.
While the US military and White House attempt to ignore the fact that it's the same fight over and over (and that the war is lost), the deaths continue to pile up on all sides. Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier died at approximately 10:40 p.m. Monday from wounds he received after the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised-explosive device in northwest Baghdad." The announcement brought to 19 the number of US troops killed in Iraq this month. Meanwhile, in England, Lee Glendinning (Times of London) reports on the British military announcing a Monday death: "The soldier, from the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died after the army base came under small arms fire, the Ministry of Defence said." The death brought to 121 the number of British soldiers who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and comes a day after mothers of two soldiers who died in Iraq took their case to the Court of Appeal.
Michael Evans (Times of London) reports that Beverley Clarke and Rose Gentle pressed their case yesterday as to the legality of the illegal war. Both women lost their songs (Trooper David Clarke and Fusilier Gordon Gentle) in Iraq. The BBC reports that outside the court, Rose Gentle stated: "Why can't Tony Blair be man enough to stand up and say he will give an inquiry and stop a lot of court cases going ahead? Ehat has he got to hide? Our boys are being killed day-by-bya. It we dod succeed in this case it will be a bonus. If we don't, we can say we tried and we fought for the boys and have got more backbone than the MPS who didn't stand up for them in last week's vote."
Another mother for peace, Cindy Sheehan is taking part in the Gold Star Families for Peace sit-in at the White House in DC. Today's actions including organizing exit poll teams (for the day's election) and the plan to hold an event this evening in Lafayette Square Park while tomorrow will include the delivery of a petition opposing an attack on Iraq. Other DC actions this week include Military Families Speak Out's plan to deliver a petition to Congress and Rummy demanding troops home now and an end to the backdoor draft.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 7, 4:30PM Portland, ME Location: Meditation Center Sponsor: Veterans for Peace, Chapter 1 Contact: Doug Rawlings, 207-293-2580, ralwings @maine.edu
Nov. 7, 6-9PM Brunswick, ME Location: Morrill Room, Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant Street Pot luck supper and speaking engagement Time: 6 - 7:30pm
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliotadams@junio.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, George McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBA
Nov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org/,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, phillipseng@yahoo.com
iraq
kyle snyder
amy goodman
juan gonzalez
democracy now
ivan brobeck
flashpoints
nora barrows friedman
the new york times
kirk semple
the washington post
sudarsan raghavan
james glanz
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
I really was furious. I knew C.I. wouldn't give a damn and that actually made me more furious. But then Mike reminded me of the story Rebecca had shared with him about C.I. in college when a lover attempted to rip off a creative writing piece. C.I. was mad for about two minutes. Rebecca and I both walked into the living room (we'd been in our rooms) to see what had C.I. so upset. C.I. was pacing around the room telling the piece of crap off. Then, just as suddenly as it began, it ended. C.I. laughed. C.I. told piece of crap, basically, "You can take the details of something and craft it into something else with your name. But you can't be me and what you think you have ripped off is actually lost to anyone who reads your plagiarism." When Mike reminded me of that, I actually felt better because it's true. Priggish Pig has tried to manufacture outrage and it reads hollow. He's done a good job streaming together about twelve commentaries by C.I. but it doesn't add up to anything for Priggish. It just makes you realize how weak and ineffectual Priggish is.
How hilarious and how sad that this 'writer' wasn't able to produce -- even after he'd done on a clip-job on C.I.'s writing. He's getting some shout outs for his bad writing. That's how I came across it, it was linked at another site. I guess they were hoping people would be bored and not read all the way through because, if the linker had read all the way through, it wouldn't have been linked. It was a partisan site (Democratic) and the piece isn't partisan. It's not non-partisan. It's about a million thoughts that never get developed. Probably that's bound to happen when you try to build your own 'thought' around a cut and paste cutting of someone else's work.
After I got off the phone with Mike, I turned down the lights and turned up the stereo. I blasted the Stones Let It Bleed and, stealing a page from Bruce Springsteen, was dancing in the dark. Only then did I feel like blogging. Let It Bleed is my favorite Stones' album. For the 'hits lovers,' it has "Gimmie Shelter," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Country Honk" (which is "Honky Tonk Woman" rearranged) and, one of their most controversial songs, "Midnight Rambler." For those not old enough to remember, there was a big debate among feminists about "Midnight Rambler." Ellen Willis came out in favor of the song but a great many opposed it. I always saw it as Mick trying to be Jim Morrison which requires taking it to the physical (some would say sex, I would say rape) and was less bothered by the song. That's not an attempt to say that those who objected were "wrong." I understood their points and was glad that a debate could take place on the topic. But for me, it was Mick trying to ape Morrison but able to handle only the carnal element. Between that and Mick's stage persona, I saw it as a put-on so I've always been able to listen to it. But I respect the feelings of those who were violently opposed to it. (Younger readers are asking what I'm talking about because today there's hardly any debate on songs. We all just zone out and allow the critical skills to weather and fray.) My favorite song on the album is "Love In Vain" and then "Let It Bleed."
But as the album went off and my mood was lifted immensely, I thought I might suggest this to readers who are disappointed with the results of the election. Hopefully, you'll have some trade offs but I know this election has been hyped through the roof so I wouldn't be surprised if a great many suffer a traumatic come down. (That's not a "prediction" of the races. There are many races beyond Congress and, law of averages, even if things turn out 'wonderfully' for you, there's likely to be some office on your ballot that you're unhappy with the results on -- or possibly unhappy with the outcome of a ballot resolution.)
Please visit Mikey Likes It! for Mike's thoughts. My hope for Wednesday? That we can get some serious coverage of Iraq. For instance, Ivan Brobeck's supposed to have turned himself in today. Did he? I go through my morning paper and it's still stuck on the Saddam trial and has no room to discuss what happened in Iraq on Monday. As for independent media, hopefully they'll do their elections wrap ups quickly and we'll see some focus on news as opposed to predictions or hype. On Sunday, the news was that Joshua Key's refugee application was denied in Canada. But no one seemed to grasp that it was news. Kyle Snyder is off the radar. The violence in Ramadi is off the radar. It's election and it's the Saddam Hussein verdict. Since the election's only taking place today, you could argue the 'news' factor comes in on Wednesday but that's all we've really gotten from our media.
You should be taking a hard look at your media choices, mainstream and independent, and figuring out if you're wasting your time as a news consumer because I think I've wasted a great deal of mine this week attempting to follow Iraq and getting nothing on it.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, another US war resister returns to the US from Canada, Halliburton puts on Cher's Livng Proof CD and plays dumb, and prison abuse back in the headlines.
"In Iraq, I found myself being the problem instead of the solution" -- Ivan Brobeck quoted by Alison Bodine (Fire This Time). Today, he became the latest US war resister to return from Canada to the United States. Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, VA is where he expects to be processed. Brobeck enlisted in the Marines and, as Jim Fennerty explained to Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) last Friday, there are different processes for different branches and Fennerty believes that Brobeck will "be placed in the brig" and very likely face a court-martial -- which wasn't the case for Darrell Anderson whom Fennerty also represented. Courage to Resist has posted the twenty-year-old war resister's open letter to the Bully Boy. Speaking with Nora Barrows Friedman on yesterday's Flashpoints Brobeck shared: "I'm sort of trying to teach them to open their eyes. It's easy to forget basic stuff in Iraq."
Ivan Brobeck in is own words via Pacific News Service:
I was in the Marines. I joined in June 2003, and after boot camp in March of 2004 I was sent directly to Iraq. This wasn't at all unsettling to me. You see, I went into the Army because I wanted to fight the bad guys. In school during history classes I learned that the Army and Marines had done all these wonderful things, and it all sounded so patriotic and I wanted to do the same. I wanted to fight for freedom.
I didn't care, and I still don't care, if I died fighting for a good and noble cause which is what I wanted to do.
In Iraq, I found myself being the problem instead of the solution. A problem in a normal town, in the life of normal people, like the people here in Toronto, trying to go about their life and risking getting shot at by me. Innocent people getting killed for misunderstandings, and for even more trivial things. I found myself in situations with my partners where we had to shoot at speeding cars, at people that probably were just trying to get out of our way.
All these insurgents, as they call them, they're not. They're people who have nothing left. There was this guy who was mad at us because we had killed his family. Wife, children, everybody but him had been killed. He was seeking some kind of retribution. That is not an insurgent, that's a desperate man.
My ethnic background is Salvadoran; my mom is from El Salvador. So the fight against tyranny is something that is dear to me, considering the history of El Salvador. I believed that the war in Iraq was a just war, and it was not. Now, before I get involved again, I really have to see somebody overcoming my country with weapons in hand.
Ivan Brobeck, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Ehren Watada Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Joshua Key, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Agustin Aguayo, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, and Kevin Benderman are among those who have been part of a movement of war resistance within the military.
Focusing on one US war resister mentioned above (also a Fennerty client), Kyle Snyder returned from Canada last week only to discover that the same military that lied to sign up, was still lying. Noting the ABC News investigation that found the lies of recruiters continue, Elaine commented: "Will anyone get in trouble for the above? No. But kids will be lied to. Young adults and peole who aren't even 18 yet will be lied to over and over. They'll believe the lies. They'll assume no one in uniform would say something if it wasn't true. My friend, who's back from Iraq and speaking to students so that they don't end up over there, has so many stories like this. He's speaking about twice a week now and there is never just a handful of students who are able to share the kind of lies they've been told, it's always a large number."
Why do recruiters lie? Because they can get away with it. Because they won't be punished. They can sign up someone, someone who is not even able to legally purchase a beer, to a 'contract' that could result in the loss of life and they can do so with any lie that can tumble out of their mouths because there is no accountability.
Information on recruiters and protecting schools can be found at Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools, Counter-Recruitment and Alternatives to the Military Program and Campus Anti-War Network. Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Appeal for Redress is collecting signatures of active duty service members calling on Congress to bring the troops home.
"When the money's gone/ Will you be my friend?" asks Cher in "When The Money's Gone" (Living Proof) and it's a question Halliburton may be wondering about the White House. James Glanz (New York Times) reports that a new scandal has emerged over their 2003 no-bid contract "to deliver gasoline to Iraq" which might seem simple easy enough but KRB [Kellogg Brown & Root] were charging "as much as $25,000 per month for each of as many as 1,8000 fuel trucks". Al Jazeera reports: "The audit of 15 noncompetitive contracts paid for by US government agencies with Iraqi oil money was unable to account for $22.4 million in funds, a UN-led watchdog said on Monday."
The report for the IAMB [International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq] is available online, PDF format, and the auditing was done by KPMG.
Within Iraq, Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports on the charges, brought by the Interior Ministry, "of 57 employees, including high-ranking officers, with human rights crime for their role in the torture of hundreds of detainees once jailed in a notorius eastern Baghdad prison known as Site 4". Kirk Semple (New York Times) notes that Site 4 is not the only Interior Ministry run prison that's been found to be a source of abuse. As they day has progressed the number charged has increased. Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) reports that those now charged include "[a] general and nearly 100 other members of Iraq's police force". The BBC reminds that Site Four was a "secret prison" until May when "Iraqi and US officials found the jail at a building in east Baghdad belonging to the Shia-Muslim dominated ministry." Discovered in May and dealt with in . . . November. On top of that, CBS and AP note:
"CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick reports that the Iraqis plan eventually to retrain all of their police batallions." Retrain all.
Crackdown, shake-up, country break up . . . But outside the press eye. The show trial still provides gas bags to pretend they're reporting. The US election allows people to shout out "IRAQ!" and act like they've offered coverage on it. Once again, it's time to treat the Iraq war as an after thought apparently.
A few of the events that actually got some coverage.
Bombings?
Christopher Bodeen (AP) reports that mortar attacks left 22 wounded in Baghdad. Reuters notes a bombing in Basra took one life and left seven wounded while three were killed and eight wonded from a roadside bomb in Falluja.
Shootings?
Reuters reports that a police officer was shot dead in Kirkuk. AP notes that "sniper attacks and a roadside bombing in Karmah" claimed the lives of six Iraqi soldiers.
Corpses?
Sky News reports that 15 corpses were discovered in Suwayrah. AP reports that they were all found "blindfolded and bound at the wrists and ankles, before being shot in the head and chest." Reuters notes that two corpses "and a decapitated head" were discovered in Falluja.
And the Whack-a-mole goes on. Having attempted to seize the city of Falluja in April of 2004 and the slaughter that followed in November 2004, the checkpoints requiring bio-metric i.d.s to enter, et al., it may come as a surprise to learn, via Jay Price and Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers), that there is 'concern' over resistance in Falluja yet again.
While the US military and White House attempt to ignore the fact that it's the same fight over and over (and that the war is lost), the deaths continue to pile up on all sides. Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier died at approximately 10:40 p.m. Monday from wounds he received after the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised-explosive device in northwest Baghdad." The announcement brought to 19 the number of US troops killed in Iraq this month. Meanwhile, in England, Lee Glendinning (Times of London) reports on the British military announcing a Monday death: "The soldier, from the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died after the army base came under small arms fire, the Ministry of Defence said." The death brought to 121 the number of British soldiers who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and comes a day after mothers of two soldiers who died in Iraq took their case to the Court of Appeal.
Michael Evans (Times of London) reports that Beverley Clarke and Rose Gentle pressed their case yesterday as to the legality of the illegal war. Both women lost their songs (Trooper David Clarke and Fusilier Gordon Gentle) in Iraq. The BBC reports that outside the court, Rose Gentle stated: "Why can't Tony Blair be man enough to stand up and say he will give an inquiry and stop a lot of court cases going ahead? Ehat has he got to hide? Our boys are being killed day-by-bya. It we dod succeed in this case it will be a bonus. If we don't, we can say we tried and we fought for the boys and have got more backbone than the MPS who didn't stand up for them in last week's vote."
Another mother for peace, Cindy Sheehan is taking part in the Gold Star Families for Peace sit-in at the White House in DC. Today's actions including organizing exit poll teams (for the day's election) and the plan to hold an event this evening in Lafayette Square Park while tomorrow will include the delivery of a petition opposing an attack on Iraq. Other DC actions this week include Military Families Speak Out's plan to deliver a petition to Congress and Rummy demanding troops home now and an end to the backdoor draft.
Finally, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, and his step-mother, Rosa Sakanishi, continue their speaking tour to raise awareness on Ehren -- the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Upcoming dates include:
Nov 7, 4:30PM Portland, ME Location: Meditation Center Sponsor: Veterans for Peace, Chapter 1 Contact: Doug Rawlings, 207-293-2580, ralwings @maine.edu
Nov. 7, 6-9PM Brunswick, ME Location: Morrill Room, Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant Street Pot luck supper and speaking engagement Time: 6 - 7:30pm
Nov 8, 7PM Albany, NY Sponsor: VFP National Location: TBAContact: Elliot Adams, 518-441-2697, elliotadams@junio.com
Nov 9, TBA Philadelphia, PA. Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Penn University, Room 109 Sponsors: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star MothersContact: Bill Perry, 215-945-3350, BpVetforPeace@aol.com
Nov 10, 7:30PM New York City, NY Location: St. Paul/St. Andrews Methodist Church West End Avenue and West 86th Streets, Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, George McAnanama, gmacan@aol.com
Nov 11, 11AM-5PM New York City, NY Veterans Day Parade Sponsor: NYC Area Chapters of VFP & IVAW Contact: Thomas Brinson, 631-889-0203, ltbrin@earthlink.net
Nov 12, TBA Long Island, NY TBA
Nov 13, 7PM Ann Arbor, MI "The Ground Truth" and Bob Watada Location: TBA Sponsors: Michigan Peace Works http://michiganpeaceworks.org/,Contact: Phillis Engelbert, 734-761-5922, phillipseng@yahoo.com
iraq
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