"Iraq Snapshot" (The Common Ills)
The Operation Happy Talk goes on.
Sean McFarland becomes the biggest doofus outside the administration by delcaring, "I think we have turned a corner her in Ramadi." MacFarland is both an Army Col. and a Happy Talker.
In news that's a little harder to Happy Talk, Antonio Castaneda (AP) reports that of the 1000 Sunni soldiers who made up the May 2006 graduating class "only about 300 of them have reported for duty".
In other news from the real world, Reuters reports that the US Congressional Budget Office predicts: "The Iraq war could cost U.S. taxpayers between $202 billion and $406 billion more over the next 10 years".
These projections come at a time when, as Martha Burk has pointed out (Ms.), the US government has cut "[d]omestic-violence prevention by $35 million, Medicaid by $17 billion over five years and child care programs by 1.03 billion over five years."
In other costs paid, Reuters reports 12 corpses were discovered in Tal Afar. CBS and the AP note a corpse ("shot in the chest . . . signs of torture") discovered in Azizyah".
Bombings?
As noted earlier this morning, seven people were killed ("after Friday prayers") when a Sunni mosque in Baghdad was bombed. Meanwhile Reuters reports that a mosque in Balad Ruz was hit by mortar rounds leaving at least two dead and four wounded while a car bomber in Mosul who killed himself and five others. The AFP covers a mortar attack in Baghdad that left one person dead and nine wounded.
Shooting deaths?
Reuters notes that two policeman were killed by a sniper in Tal Afar while a minibus near Kut was attacked "with machine gun fire" resulting in five dead ("including a wwoman and a child"). Meanwhile, the AFP reports attacks in two cities: a car was "ambushed" in Tikrit by assailants who shot the father dead and wounded the son; and, in Mosul, two different attacks left a police officer dead as well as the bodyguard of a judge. And the Associated Press reports a drive-by in Baghdad that killed a taxi driver.
The BBC noted the death of several Iraqi soldiers (12 at that point) in Kirkuk when they were attacked with "rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns". AFX raised the number dead to 13 (citing "colonel Mahmud Abdulla").
Meanwhile, following yesterday's kidnapping attempt that left wrestling coach Mohammed Karim Abid Sahib dead, the AP reports that: "Iraq's national wrestling team [has] pulled out of a tournament in the United Arab Emirates".
In the United States, Saturday July 15th is a day of action calling for Suzanne Swift to receive an honorable discharge including a protest, "at the gates of Ft. Lewis (exit 119) beginning at 12 pm with a press converence at 3 pm" in Washington state -- while in Eugen, Oregon there will be a demonstration outside the Federal Building at noon.
In DC (and across the globe -- over 22 countries), the fast led by CODEPINK and others continues. As Thursday's The KPFA Evening News reported some Congressional members, including Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, Dennis Kucinich, Cynthia McKinney and Lynne Woolsey took part in a one-day fast on Thursday. Ann Wright, who ressigned from the State Department on May 19, 2003 and is taking part in the actions stated: "The only reason we fast is to force us to remember what's going on here. That innocent Iraqis are dying every day, Americans are dying every day. We need to get this war ended. So, yeah, we're going to up the ante".
Lastly, Wednesday July 19th, San Antonio, TX will be the location for a "public hearing held by the the independent Commission on the National Guard and Reserves" -- "in the Iberia Ballroom of the La Mansion Del Rio Hotel, 112 College Street, San Antonio."
There will be two panels with the first lasting from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and focused on "roles and missions to funding requirements" and the second, lasting from 2:00 pm to 4 pm, focusing on how reserves were "involuntarily mobilized after September 11, 2001".
I started this thing a lot earlier but was wondering around checking out sites. I have to say Betty's doing a wonderful job filling in for Rebecca at Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude. I enjoy hearing her talk. She'll always apologize and say, "I'm going on too much." But she really doesn't. I think she's pretty wonderful. Tonight, among other things, she wrote about Wally. I wished I'd thought to do that because we do those joint posts pretty regularly and I should have written to explain that, if nothing else.
I think Betty's captured Wally perfectly so I won't talk about that but I will say that he usually calls up and asks if I want to post. I'm always up for it if I've got the time. (I had to turn him down once due to a church thing.) It's fun working with him. When I'm not working with him, he'll run his posts by C.I. and ask, "Where am I losing it?" He really does work on those things. They're funny and sometimes you might think, "Oh, he dashed that off." That was what he hoped to do but sometimes, he'll work on that for an hour when he's working on them by himself. Then he'll read it to a friend or go straight to C.I. and say, "Help!" C.I. will tell you he doesn't need help, but Wally's not the best judge of his humor. Fridays are usually the worst for Wally because he really would like to be done with it fairly early but on Fridays, big news tend to come later in the day.
I should add that when Wally and I are doing a joint post and have "Must credit . . ." -- that's not serious. We're making fun of Wonkette when the Cox woman was doing it. She seemed to use that all the time. She'd write about some news she'd just read at the AP or something and it would seem like she'd even tag those "Must credit Wonkette." So that's just a joke.
Something else I can add is that Wally and Mike are like C.I.'s kids. I'm serious, C.I. is very protective of them. C.I.'s protective of all of us but those two, and they know it (you can ask them), C.I. is just super protective of them. That's true of anyone who starts up a site but it's also because they are the youngest. I'll leave it at that but Mike's written about it and he knows just what I'm talking about. With the rest of us, to give an example, if someone told C.I. they didn't care for our sites, the response would be, "Well that's your problem." But if they said that about Mike or Wally, C.I. would get ticked off. "They are young college students! Who are you?" (I've actually heard C.I. say to that someone and it should be noted that C.I.'s very protective of college activists period.)
Kat's "My thoughts" is a really good post and one I strongly recommend. She spoke to me about and I believe she did that with everyone. I wish I could say I was thinking, "Hmmm. Someone's on a fast right now. Is this the best time for this?" But I didn't. She makes some strong points and her biggest point is that that's over, it can't be changed. But if something similar happens next time, maybe we could all think (me included, I don't exempt myself) is this really the best time for this?
My cousin showed up tonight with about four friends. I had just fixed a pizza (Trina gave me a recipe, seriously, I did the whole thing myself) and was thinking, "Great. One pizza, six people."
(I put out some pretzels while the pizza was cooking and also opened up a can of black eyed peas, that's really all I had in the apartment. I haven't had time for grocery shopping this week and plan to go in the morning.)
But he reads Mikey Likes It! and was thinking about Mike's group and he thought that we could do something like that. (Mike and his friends put together a group that meets every Friday night to talk about Iraq. That group started off bigger than they planned and has just gotten huge.) Great idea and my only complaint is, next time let me know ahead of time.
So we were talking about Iraq and one point we made that I want to make here is that we don't think you'd be seeing what's going on right now, with Israel bombing this and striking that, if it wasn't for the Bully Boy.
If the Bully Boy hadn't illegally invaded Iraq and started a 'pre-emptive' war, Israel wouldn't have the cover to do what it's doing. There would be a lot of outrage over it. (There is outrage but I don't think it's enough outrage myself.)
When one player in the system disregards the rules, no one else has to follow them. I think we'll see more of this. I think we already have seen it in other ways.
Take Bully Boy's so-called 'war on terror' and the way it's played out in other countries which is basically, if you're a brutal regime and you want to take out some people, you call them 'terrorists.' Maybe they're drug dealers or runners (or maybe you just say they were), well that's a 'terrorist' so kill them.
We are going to be paying for the Bully Boy's actions for years. In this country, we're going to have to deal with all the hatred he's brought on our country. But in terms of conflicts where people might have been encouraged to talk, they don't need to now. If Bully Boy can act alone and do what he wants just because he wants to, if he doesn't have to justify a war (just grab one because he wants one), then none of the other players are going to feel that they have to justify it. They can do what they want as well.
I know a lot of people worry about North Korea, but I'm more worried Israel will use a nuclear bomb. If they did, that's it. There is no hope of peace in the Middle East, in my opinion. If they use one of their nuclear weapons, there will be so much outrage (even if our journalists bend over backwards to justify it -- which is what they do with Israel in every other situation), Egypt, Jordan, you're just going to see a never ending war.
I feel sorry for the Israeli people because I can imagine how they're about to be tarred and feathered world wide for the actions of the idiot in charge of their country. I can relate to that. They've got their own Bully Boy and he's out to do as much damage as he can.
Actions have consequences but they also influence other actions and Bully Boy's war on Iraq has given every other bully the excuse they need to destroy whoever and whatever they want. (I think Michael Ratner's talked about how that would happen on Law and Disorder, to give credit. I don't mean just once. I think he's warned about it repeatedly.)
That's it for me, but be sure to read Betty's "The War Paint Council" (that's her latest Betinna chapter).
iraq
martha burk
ms.
ms. magazine
suzanne swift
ann wright
codepink
the kpfa evening news
Friday, July 14, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
CHENEY SWEARS AGAIN
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX - DC.
THIS JUST IN!
HE'S A 'SPECIAL' KIND OF FLAG WAVER.
MUST CREDIT CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & BULLY BOY PRESS.
MUSIC AND GLOBAL GANGSTA AND THE ORIGINAL O.D.B., BEFORE RUSSELL T. JONES EVEN THOUGHT OF THE NAME, VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY LOVES HIS SOME RED, WHITE AND BLUE.
IT'S A SPECIAL KIND OF LOVE, A GREEDY KIND OF LOVE.
IN FACT, BULLY BOY PRESS AND CEDRIC'S BIG MIX HAVE LEARNED THAT THE O.D.B. IN D.C. ESCHEWED THE NORMAL OATH OF OFFICE WHEN SWORN IN TO, IN THE WORDS OF CHENEY, "KEEP IT REAL, KEEP IT DOWN LOW AND KEEP DA BLING-BLING."
MUST CREDIT CEDRIC'S BIG MIX AND BULLY BOY PRESS!
HERE IS THE OATH THE DIRTY V.P. LAID DOWN, FREE STYLE:
I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR
YOU MOTHER F**KERS,
YOU DIRTY DAMN F**KERS,
THAT I WILL SUPPORT
AND DEFEND
ME
AND ONLY ME --
YOU BETTER GET OUT MY WAY
YOU BETTER GET OUT MY WAY.
THAT I WILL PUT ME FIRST
AND FOREMOST
AND THAT ANY PEEP
WHO DON'T GIVE ME MY PROPS
IS AN ENEMY
FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC
THAT I WILL TAKE OUT
WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE
BE THEY A CRITIC
OR THE WIFE OF A CRITIC
NAMED OR UNNAMED
MESS WITH MEA
ND THEY GET PLAMED.
AIN'T NOBODY
NOT DA JOHNNY FED
NOT DA PO-PO
BETTER GET IN MY WAY
'LESS THEY WANT DA BOLO
UPSIDE DA' HEAD.
NO DISRESPEZZY
GOT DA FO-FOS
AND THE YAK YAK
ON MY RIDE
ON DA SIDE
AS I PULL UPAND DO DA' BRINX
I'LL DO WHAT I WANNA
COZ DA REAL SCORE
IS I THINK THAT
THIS COUNTRY STINKS.
WORD!
Related: "Former CIA officer sues Cheney over leak"
Recommended: "Paying attention?"
"Community note"
"Iraq snapshot"
"NYT: 'More Troops May Be Needed in Baghdad, U.S. General Says' (von Zielbauer and Cloud)"
"Yeah, that site's gone. "
"Return from vacation "
"is there a price tag on your ass?"
THIS JUST IN!
HE'S A 'SPECIAL' KIND OF FLAG WAVER.
MUST CREDIT CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & BULLY BOY PRESS.
MUSIC AND GLOBAL GANGSTA AND THE ORIGINAL O.D.B., BEFORE RUSSELL T. JONES EVEN THOUGHT OF THE NAME, VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY LOVES HIS SOME RED, WHITE AND BLUE.
IT'S A SPECIAL KIND OF LOVE, A GREEDY KIND OF LOVE.
IN FACT, BULLY BOY PRESS AND CEDRIC'S BIG MIX HAVE LEARNED THAT THE O.D.B. IN D.C. ESCHEWED THE NORMAL OATH OF OFFICE WHEN SWORN IN TO, IN THE WORDS OF CHENEY, "KEEP IT REAL, KEEP IT DOWN LOW AND KEEP DA BLING-BLING."
MUST CREDIT CEDRIC'S BIG MIX AND BULLY BOY PRESS!
HERE IS THE OATH THE DIRTY V.P. LAID DOWN, FREE STYLE:
I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR
YOU MOTHER F**KERS,
YOU DIRTY DAMN F**KERS,
THAT I WILL SUPPORT
AND DEFEND
ME
AND ONLY ME --
YOU BETTER GET OUT MY WAY
YOU BETTER GET OUT MY WAY.
THAT I WILL PUT ME FIRST
AND FOREMOST
AND THAT ANY PEEP
WHO DON'T GIVE ME MY PROPS
IS AN ENEMY
FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC
THAT I WILL TAKE OUT
WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE
BE THEY A CRITIC
OR THE WIFE OF A CRITIC
NAMED OR UNNAMED
MESS WITH MEA
ND THEY GET PLAMED.
AIN'T NOBODY
NOT DA JOHNNY FED
NOT DA PO-PO
BETTER GET IN MY WAY
'LESS THEY WANT DA BOLO
UPSIDE DA' HEAD.
NO DISRESPEZZY
GOT DA FO-FOS
AND THE YAK YAK
ON MY RIDE
ON DA SIDE
AS I PULL UPAND DO DA' BRINX
I'LL DO WHAT I WANNA
COZ DA REAL SCORE
IS I THINK THAT
THIS COUNTRY STINKS.
WORD!
Related: "Former CIA officer sues Cheney over leak"
Recommended: "Paying attention?"
"Community note"
"Iraq snapshot"
"NYT: 'More Troops May Be Needed in Baghdad, U.S. General Says' (von Zielbauer and Cloud)"
"Yeah, that site's gone. "
"Return from vacation "
"is there a price tag on your ass?"
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Quick thoughts
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Iraq snapshot.
Chaos and violence continue . . . to continue.
And are we surprised? The usual Hawsk strut and pander while the violence claims more lives.Bombings?
As Sandra Lupien noted on today's KPFA's The Morning Show, 2 bombers blew themselves up "outside the so-called Geen Zone." Along with being home to various embedded reporters and their bodygaurds, the Green Zone also houses Iraq's parliament, Defense Ministry, High Criminal Court and the US embassy -- a huge complex, as the AP noted in April, with "21 buildings on 103 acres" which makes it "six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York, and two-thirds the acreage of Washington's National Mall."
The 'grandness' of it all suggests to some that the United States has no intent of handing over power or leaving. On the latter, Robert MacPherson (Mail & Guardian) reports that today, in England, Tony Blair announced England wasn't withdrawing anytime soon and that his wife, Cherie Booth, explained that he wasn't ready to step down. England's prime minister demonstrated what long ago led to him being dubbed the Bully Boy's poodle as he took slams at two nations in a single sentence: "Not for us the malaise of France or the angst of Germany."
In other nonsense, Gulf Times reports the William McCoy (US Army Corps of Engineers, "Major General") believes that, by the end of summer, electricity in Baghdad might be available for eleven hours. That's apparently "eleven hours" on some sort of Operation Happy Talk Clock since McCoy notes that right now electricity is available for six to eight hours -- a claim most media reports dismiss and note the figure is closer to between two and four hours a day.More nonsense comes from Angel Ortiz (the Army Corps seems to have hacks and flacks all over today issuing press releases) who maintains that by the end of the year Falluja will have "clean water" in 80 percent of all homes as well as "an $8 million wireless telecommunications project". Falluja was reduced to rubble in November 2004 (the article notes the need to more "laborers to haul away seemingly endless piles of rubble) and there's been little done to assist or help with many residents of Falluja who fled as the US forces began their attacks nearly two years ago, still homeless. Expect both inflated predictions to be forgotten as the deadlines draw near.
Meanwhile back in the real word, Sunni parliamentarian Ayad al-Samaraie has asked that the United Nations supply peace keepers immediately due to the fact that: "the occupation forces cannot protect the people." This as the Associated Press estimates the chaos and the violence in Iraq today claimed the lives of "at least 47 people nationwide." (Look for the New York Times to pooh-pah that number as they've done with press reports for the last two days -- today with Edward Wong, yesterday with Kirk Semple. If you thought it was hard work selling an illegal war, step back and watch the paper of no record really get down to the business of selling the illegal occupation.)
Early on, the BBC estimated that the bombings in the Green Zone resulted in five deaths and ten injured. Reuters woud place the fatalities at 15 as the day wore on. Al Jazeera notes that in addition to the two bombers who blew themselves up, there was also a car bomb. The BBC notes that police assume the target was "a restaurant frequented by police" while the AP reports that Gufran al-Saadi (female Shi'ite parliamentarian) states that she believes she was the target. The car bomb went of near the restaurant, according to Al Jazeera, while "[a]n Aljazeera witness" place one of the bombers "in front of the governmental compound in the Green Zone".
The BBC reports the kidnapping of Wissam Jabr in Baghdad "an Iraqi foreign ministry official who had been serving as a diplomat in neighbouring Iran." Reuters reports his name as Wissam Abdulla al-Awadi.
Also in Baghdad, Reuters notes that "eight employees of an Iarqge contracting company" were killed when their office was stormed by "gunmen" while the Associated Press notes two bakery workers were shot dead while on the job. CBS and the AP report two more bombs in Baghdad (one under a fuel tanker, the other a car bomb) that resulted in the death of at least four and and twenty-four wounded).
Outside of Baghdad, CBS and the AP report that "an engineer with Iraq's North Oil Co. and his driver" were ambushed and killed in Kirkuk. Reuters reports the shooting deaths of 19 in Baquba and of nine (Iraq soldiers) in Al-Shirqat. And the AP reports that, in Tikrit, three people were wounded when a bomb went off near a "private clinic." Later the three wounded would become two wounded and one dead. Dr. Amira Qassim al-Rubaie died, "the wife of the governor of the dangerous Salahuddin province".
Reuters notes the end of the Sunni boycott of parliament following the kidnapping of Taiseer Najah al-Mashhadani. (No, al-Mashhadani has not been released.) The Associated Press quotes Adnan al-Dulaimi: "We have decied to attend the meetings as of tomorrow in response to the call Muqtada al-Sadr." Various reports note that those holding al-Mashhadani have stated they are treating her as "a guest" and that she will be released in the next few days. Reuters notes that the Iraqi Accordance Front (the Sunni bloc in parliament with 44 seats) has been in contact with the kidnappers.
[. . .]
On July 15th, a rally will be held "at the gates of Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, WA." Courage to Resist is getting the word on that event [and on Suzanne Swift]. Kevin Zeese recently spoke with Max Diorio who explained "resisters need to feel that they are being upheld and supported by people in their communities. To take such a large step into the unknown, it is invaluable for resisters to feel that they'll have people to rely on when they are being persecuted by the US military."
I'm following Mike's lead as many of you may note. I told Mike, leave me my Law and Disorder with real radicals and I'm fine. Anything else I can lose.
I'll operate under the assumption everyone knows what I'm talking about. If not, oh well.
As an African-American male, I have no use for the site noted in the now infamous e-mail. I got a call from Keesha, Martha, Brenda, Charlie and then I lost track. By the time Mike called me, I said, "People are outraged."
He replied with something I won't post here.
He said it was his Irish temper but, hey, call it my "African-American temper" if you want but I'm offended as well. I don't know what the hell that e-mail was about and I really don't think sites should be plugged it in to begin with and certainly not that whole Las Vegas crowd.
Like Keesha said, "If they want to play Whiter Than White, play on homey." That's just so insulting on a whole other level (I had to explain it to Mike) to African-Americans. It's like giving a shout out to a Nazi group or something. African-Americans aren't welcome there and there's no a brother or sister I know who doesn't know that.
Sorry to bust any bubbles but the "Deaniacs" was largely a White crowd and that's their claim to fame, creating the "Deaniacs." There's a reason they can't get African-Americans to visit, we're not included, we're not welcome. It's not a surprise to anyone I know. They've all had their horror stories of deleted comments and being told they're a "troll" or something else for raising issues of race. And I'm talking two years ago.
So this isn't going to cause me to lose any sweat if we're not noting it anymore. Leave me my Law & Disorder and I'm fine. I feel bad for C.I. because I'm sure C.I.'s catching all the ___ on this. I'll also be real honest and say I think it's especially a slap in the face to C.I. I'll say it because no one else will. But come on, not even Mike, who really supported that show, gave it the kind of links C.I. did.
When people were griping last week, C.I. had to beg to get the weekend highlight because the attitude of the three who usually do it was, "I'm not doing it." Then Francisco finally did because C.I. called and asked personally.
So I'm sure some anger from the community is over that. The Common Ills Google Rank is 6/10. I wonder what that site's rank is. It's 8/10.
And The Common Ills mirror site is 4/10. So, if we add the two together, by Google rank, C.I.'s got a ten. That's not counting the copy and paste e-mails for those who can't access it directly outside the US.
So it's nonsense on that level and I'll be the only one to say it but that's fine.
I can live with that.
I wouldn't have known about the show if it weren't for C.I. I'll take a breather from the show now that may end up a permanent vacation. (I'll go with what C.I. decides. I'd call but I'm sure C.I.'s dealt with enough ___ tonight.)
But like I was telling Mike, "You're mad but you really need to talk some members who are African-American." That's who's really mad. Billie is furious and she sent me a blistering e-mail about how once again we're supposed to do, "What's right for White and treat ourselves like second class citizens."
That's what it feels like and, thing is, they probably don't even grasp that (e-mail senders). They never do. "It's big! Everyone must love it!"
But there's no African-American presence and the biggest person of any color is a corporate attorney, come on. Use your brains, people.
If you're left, you're left. If they'd linked to a left site, I wouldn't have cared. But to link to a non-left site that's not welcoming to people with my skin color? Yeah, it bothers me.
What really bothers me is how C.I. will handle it. I know last week was a ___-storm of e-mails and C.I. kept linking and taking ___ for it.
Well, we've got other things to focus on and like we realized the hard way at Third, we're not here to cheerlead. You think someone's worth listening because they're anti-war then they toss on two propagandist for a full hour and trash the caller who complains (rightly) that the whole thing is biased. That was my wake up call.
Give me the radicals who don't hide it or try to act all "Miss Daisy, I's uh so sorry."
But I am offended for C.I. I know how much time C.I. put into promoting that show and how many people did pick it up. So just because someone rights, "Hey guys, why don't we note ___ more" at a dopey website, they decide they're going to link to it?
C.I.'s not going to care on that level because The Common Ills isn't "a life." If I had C.I.'s money, I wouldn't care either. (Rebecca calls it the "F-you money.") But Gina wrote about that nasty trashing C.I. got and that seemed pretty obvious. (C.I. didn't hear it. The one time C.I.'s not listening! That still makes me laugh. I picture the guy planning that out and thinking, "I'll offer my two-cents worth.") C.I.'s attitude was, "Well, I guess they don't want my money anymore. No problem." (The issue was a lot more complicated than it was made out to be on that interview. Rebecca was planning to post on the fifth before she left but I ended up going, "Hey, Gina called me, what's going on?" and I got the 411 and then some.)
But on another level, and this is why I say it's part of the anger, we are all The Common Ills. It really isn't "what I want to write about" there. So consider it a gob of spit on all of us. (Mike kept calling it a gob of a spit on the phone.)
The fact of that matter is that on most issues, it's C.I.'s calling it out and putting it out there. The left (not the radicals) wants to be liked and mainstreamed. So they avoid Dexter Filkins day after day. They avoid that he lied about Falluja. They don't take him on.
It's easy to beat up on Judy Miller and some people are still doing that. But reality is that there's no excuse for Filkins and after Falluja, he should be called to the carpet. If we had a real left, he would be. People would say, "Forget Judy Miller, let's talk Filkins."
So that's my attitude on it. Send me to a place that basically says "Whites Only" says to me you're not too concerned about me. (If C.I. reads this: I know they do good work. I know that everyone makes a mistake. I'm being nice by not naming them. Let me just call this "a Black thing." You don't have to be fair to everyone.)
But after last week, I'm pretty much 'disenchanted' already.
Then you had that pro-war thing on another program and then last week's kiss my ass (because that's what it was) to C.I. and I'm really not interested in 'helping' a lot of people these days.
On that kiss my ass, maybe the guy should consider that it's C.I.'s money so it's C.I.'s decision how to spend it, how to contribute it and no one else's?
I know he got his digs in but I think he came off like a begger. And I mean, I do give to the homeless. Not a lot, I don't have a lot. But if I give a buck, the man or woman I'm giving it to is grateful for it. They don't say, "A buck? I can't live on a buck." That guy just came off like an idiot who seems to think it's C.I.'s job to be a bankroll.
So my attitude is screw 'em all.
C.I.'s only comment on that was, "Well that's one more way I can use my donations for causes and not organizations."
I really did think that guy came off like a greedy jerk. It's not my place to tell C.I. who to donate to and who not to but I hope a lot of stuff that's going down means some strong re-evaluating.
Nobody should say, "Thank you, let me kiss your ass." But they shouldn't be disrespectful either. That's just basic. I have to wonder how that guy was raised.
The really sad thing, and Ty was talking about this, is that this should be a time for the left but instead of trying to get their ideas across, they water them down and try to get weak ideas across. They then accuse the Democrats of doing that (which they are) but they're doing the same thing. It's like they don't really believe in their ideas (shades of Fraudan). All you hear is how unfair the media is and you can't get a free exchange of ideas then they get a spot and they do the same thing.
Screw 'em all. If I was C.I., I'd never mention any of those cowards again. Hell, if I was C.I., I probably wouldn't do anything but sit out by the pool day after day. Which C.I. won't do so it goes therefore that the first thing won't be done either.
But they hurt themselves. Not just because of money but because when they pull that sort of nonsense, they show that they're not really any better than the people they criticize. They'll do anything for a little attention. It's like the Democratic Party. They're not interested in inspiring new voters, they want the swing voters.
That's why the left can't get off the ground still, even after six years of the Bully Boy. They'll sell out their beliefs in a minute. And tell themselves it's just this one time and they'll still be the same and then they end up just like the people they criticize.
Mike asked me what I thought and all I could think was, "Thank God that Rebecca's on vacation." She was already furious before she left.
Iraq snapshot.
Chaos and violence continue . . . to continue.
And are we surprised? The usual Hawsk strut and pander while the violence claims more lives.Bombings?
As Sandra Lupien noted on today's KPFA's The Morning Show, 2 bombers blew themselves up "outside the so-called Geen Zone." Along with being home to various embedded reporters and their bodygaurds, the Green Zone also houses Iraq's parliament, Defense Ministry, High Criminal Court and the US embassy -- a huge complex, as the AP noted in April, with "21 buildings on 103 acres" which makes it "six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York, and two-thirds the acreage of Washington's National Mall."
The 'grandness' of it all suggests to some that the United States has no intent of handing over power or leaving. On the latter, Robert MacPherson (Mail & Guardian) reports that today, in England, Tony Blair announced England wasn't withdrawing anytime soon and that his wife, Cherie Booth, explained that he wasn't ready to step down. England's prime minister demonstrated what long ago led to him being dubbed the Bully Boy's poodle as he took slams at two nations in a single sentence: "Not for us the malaise of France or the angst of Germany."
In other nonsense, Gulf Times reports the William McCoy (US Army Corps of Engineers, "Major General") believes that, by the end of summer, electricity in Baghdad might be available for eleven hours. That's apparently "eleven hours" on some sort of Operation Happy Talk Clock since McCoy notes that right now electricity is available for six to eight hours -- a claim most media reports dismiss and note the figure is closer to between two and four hours a day.More nonsense comes from Angel Ortiz (the Army Corps seems to have hacks and flacks all over today issuing press releases) who maintains that by the end of the year Falluja will have "clean water" in 80 percent of all homes as well as "an $8 million wireless telecommunications project". Falluja was reduced to rubble in November 2004 (the article notes the need to more "laborers to haul away seemingly endless piles of rubble) and there's been little done to assist or help with many residents of Falluja who fled as the US forces began their attacks nearly two years ago, still homeless. Expect both inflated predictions to be forgotten as the deadlines draw near.
Meanwhile back in the real word, Sunni parliamentarian Ayad al-Samaraie has asked that the United Nations supply peace keepers immediately due to the fact that: "the occupation forces cannot protect the people." This as the Associated Press estimates the chaos and the violence in Iraq today claimed the lives of "at least 47 people nationwide." (Look for the New York Times to pooh-pah that number as they've done with press reports for the last two days -- today with Edward Wong, yesterday with Kirk Semple. If you thought it was hard work selling an illegal war, step back and watch the paper of no record really get down to the business of selling the illegal occupation.)
Early on, the BBC estimated that the bombings in the Green Zone resulted in five deaths and ten injured. Reuters woud place the fatalities at 15 as the day wore on. Al Jazeera notes that in addition to the two bombers who blew themselves up, there was also a car bomb. The BBC notes that police assume the target was "a restaurant frequented by police" while the AP reports that Gufran al-Saadi (female Shi'ite parliamentarian) states that she believes she was the target. The car bomb went of near the restaurant, according to Al Jazeera, while "[a]n Aljazeera witness" place one of the bombers "in front of the governmental compound in the Green Zone".
The BBC reports the kidnapping of Wissam Jabr in Baghdad "an Iraqi foreign ministry official who had been serving as a diplomat in neighbouring Iran." Reuters reports his name as Wissam Abdulla al-Awadi.
Also in Baghdad, Reuters notes that "eight employees of an Iarqge contracting company" were killed when their office was stormed by "gunmen" while the Associated Press notes two bakery workers were shot dead while on the job. CBS and the AP report two more bombs in Baghdad (one under a fuel tanker, the other a car bomb) that resulted in the death of at least four and and twenty-four wounded).
Outside of Baghdad, CBS and the AP report that "an engineer with Iraq's North Oil Co. and his driver" were ambushed and killed in Kirkuk. Reuters reports the shooting deaths of 19 in Baquba and of nine (Iraq soldiers) in Al-Shirqat. And the AP reports that, in Tikrit, three people were wounded when a bomb went off near a "private clinic." Later the three wounded would become two wounded and one dead. Dr. Amira Qassim al-Rubaie died, "the wife of the governor of the dangerous Salahuddin province".
Reuters notes the end of the Sunni boycott of parliament following the kidnapping of Taiseer Najah al-Mashhadani. (No, al-Mashhadani has not been released.) The Associated Press quotes Adnan al-Dulaimi: "We have decied to attend the meetings as of tomorrow in response to the call Muqtada al-Sadr." Various reports note that those holding al-Mashhadani have stated they are treating her as "a guest" and that she will be released in the next few days. Reuters notes that the Iraqi Accordance Front (the Sunni bloc in parliament with 44 seats) has been in contact with the kidnappers.
[. . .]
On July 15th, a rally will be held "at the gates of Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, WA." Courage to Resist is getting the word on that event [and on Suzanne Swift]. Kevin Zeese recently spoke with Max Diorio who explained "resisters need to feel that they are being upheld and supported by people in their communities. To take such a large step into the unknown, it is invaluable for resisters to feel that they'll have people to rely on when they are being persecuted by the US military."
I'm following Mike's lead as many of you may note. I told Mike, leave me my Law and Disorder with real radicals and I'm fine. Anything else I can lose.
I'll operate under the assumption everyone knows what I'm talking about. If not, oh well.
As an African-American male, I have no use for the site noted in the now infamous e-mail. I got a call from Keesha, Martha, Brenda, Charlie and then I lost track. By the time Mike called me, I said, "People are outraged."
He replied with something I won't post here.
He said it was his Irish temper but, hey, call it my "African-American temper" if you want but I'm offended as well. I don't know what the hell that e-mail was about and I really don't think sites should be plugged it in to begin with and certainly not that whole Las Vegas crowd.
Like Keesha said, "If they want to play Whiter Than White, play on homey." That's just so insulting on a whole other level (I had to explain it to Mike) to African-Americans. It's like giving a shout out to a Nazi group or something. African-Americans aren't welcome there and there's no a brother or sister I know who doesn't know that.
Sorry to bust any bubbles but the "Deaniacs" was largely a White crowd and that's their claim to fame, creating the "Deaniacs." There's a reason they can't get African-Americans to visit, we're not included, we're not welcome. It's not a surprise to anyone I know. They've all had their horror stories of deleted comments and being told they're a "troll" or something else for raising issues of race. And I'm talking two years ago.
So this isn't going to cause me to lose any sweat if we're not noting it anymore. Leave me my Law & Disorder and I'm fine. I feel bad for C.I. because I'm sure C.I.'s catching all the ___ on this. I'll also be real honest and say I think it's especially a slap in the face to C.I. I'll say it because no one else will. But come on, not even Mike, who really supported that show, gave it the kind of links C.I. did.
When people were griping last week, C.I. had to beg to get the weekend highlight because the attitude of the three who usually do it was, "I'm not doing it." Then Francisco finally did because C.I. called and asked personally.
So I'm sure some anger from the community is over that. The Common Ills Google Rank is 6/10. I wonder what that site's rank is. It's 8/10.
And The Common Ills mirror site is 4/10. So, if we add the two together, by Google rank, C.I.'s got a ten. That's not counting the copy and paste e-mails for those who can't access it directly outside the US.
So it's nonsense on that level and I'll be the only one to say it but that's fine.
I can live with that.
I wouldn't have known about the show if it weren't for C.I. I'll take a breather from the show now that may end up a permanent vacation. (I'll go with what C.I. decides. I'd call but I'm sure C.I.'s dealt with enough ___ tonight.)
But like I was telling Mike, "You're mad but you really need to talk some members who are African-American." That's who's really mad. Billie is furious and she sent me a blistering e-mail about how once again we're supposed to do, "What's right for White and treat ourselves like second class citizens."
That's what it feels like and, thing is, they probably don't even grasp that (e-mail senders). They never do. "It's big! Everyone must love it!"
But there's no African-American presence and the biggest person of any color is a corporate attorney, come on. Use your brains, people.
If you're left, you're left. If they'd linked to a left site, I wouldn't have cared. But to link to a non-left site that's not welcoming to people with my skin color? Yeah, it bothers me.
What really bothers me is how C.I. will handle it. I know last week was a ___-storm of e-mails and C.I. kept linking and taking ___ for it.
Well, we've got other things to focus on and like we realized the hard way at Third, we're not here to cheerlead. You think someone's worth listening because they're anti-war then they toss on two propagandist for a full hour and trash the caller who complains (rightly) that the whole thing is biased. That was my wake up call.
Give me the radicals who don't hide it or try to act all "Miss Daisy, I's uh so sorry."
But I am offended for C.I. I know how much time C.I. put into promoting that show and how many people did pick it up. So just because someone rights, "Hey guys, why don't we note ___ more" at a dopey website, they decide they're going to link to it?
C.I.'s not going to care on that level because The Common Ills isn't "a life." If I had C.I.'s money, I wouldn't care either. (Rebecca calls it the "F-you money.") But Gina wrote about that nasty trashing C.I. got and that seemed pretty obvious. (C.I. didn't hear it. The one time C.I.'s not listening! That still makes me laugh. I picture the guy planning that out and thinking, "I'll offer my two-cents worth.") C.I.'s attitude was, "Well, I guess they don't want my money anymore. No problem." (The issue was a lot more complicated than it was made out to be on that interview. Rebecca was planning to post on the fifth before she left but I ended up going, "Hey, Gina called me, what's going on?" and I got the 411 and then some.)
But on another level, and this is why I say it's part of the anger, we are all The Common Ills. It really isn't "what I want to write about" there. So consider it a gob of spit on all of us. (Mike kept calling it a gob of a spit on the phone.)
The fact of that matter is that on most issues, it's C.I.'s calling it out and putting it out there. The left (not the radicals) wants to be liked and mainstreamed. So they avoid Dexter Filkins day after day. They avoid that he lied about Falluja. They don't take him on.
It's easy to beat up on Judy Miller and some people are still doing that. But reality is that there's no excuse for Filkins and after Falluja, he should be called to the carpet. If we had a real left, he would be. People would say, "Forget Judy Miller, let's talk Filkins."
So that's my attitude on it. Send me to a place that basically says "Whites Only" says to me you're not too concerned about me. (If C.I. reads this: I know they do good work. I know that everyone makes a mistake. I'm being nice by not naming them. Let me just call this "a Black thing." You don't have to be fair to everyone.)
But after last week, I'm pretty much 'disenchanted' already.
Then you had that pro-war thing on another program and then last week's kiss my ass (because that's what it was) to C.I. and I'm really not interested in 'helping' a lot of people these days.
On that kiss my ass, maybe the guy should consider that it's C.I.'s money so it's C.I.'s decision how to spend it, how to contribute it and no one else's?
I know he got his digs in but I think he came off like a begger. And I mean, I do give to the homeless. Not a lot, I don't have a lot. But if I give a buck, the man or woman I'm giving it to is grateful for it. They don't say, "A buck? I can't live on a buck." That guy just came off like an idiot who seems to think it's C.I.'s job to be a bankroll.
So my attitude is screw 'em all.
C.I.'s only comment on that was, "Well that's one more way I can use my donations for causes and not organizations."
I really did think that guy came off like a greedy jerk. It's not my place to tell C.I. who to donate to and who not to but I hope a lot of stuff that's going down means some strong re-evaluating.
Nobody should say, "Thank you, let me kiss your ass." But they shouldn't be disrespectful either. That's just basic. I have to wonder how that guy was raised.
The really sad thing, and Ty was talking about this, is that this should be a time for the left but instead of trying to get their ideas across, they water them down and try to get weak ideas across. They then accuse the Democrats of doing that (which they are) but they're doing the same thing. It's like they don't really believe in their ideas (shades of Fraudan). All you hear is how unfair the media is and you can't get a free exchange of ideas then they get a spot and they do the same thing.
Screw 'em all. If I was C.I., I'd never mention any of those cowards again. Hell, if I was C.I., I probably wouldn't do anything but sit out by the pool day after day. Which C.I. won't do so it goes therefore that the first thing won't be done either.
But they hurt themselves. Not just because of money but because when they pull that sort of nonsense, they show that they're not really any better than the people they criticize. They'll do anything for a little attention. It's like the Democratic Party. They're not interested in inspiring new voters, they want the swing voters.
That's why the left can't get off the ground still, even after six years of the Bully Boy. They'll sell out their beliefs in a minute. And tell themselves it's just this one time and they'll still be the same and then they end up just like the people they criticize.
Mike asked me what I thought and all I could think was, "Thank God that Rebecca's on vacation." She was already furious before she left.
Monday, July 10, 2006
ANOTHER BULLY BOY PRESS & BIG MIX (HUMOROUS) EXCLUSIVE
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX - DC.
THIS JUST IN!
ASSOCIATED PRESS BREAKS CHILD LABOR LAW!
MUST CREDIT CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & BULLY BOY PRESS!
REMINDER:
The minimum age for employment is 14 years old. There are some exceptions such as newspaper delivery; performing in radio, television, movie, or theatrical productions; and work for parents in their solely-owned nonfarm business (except in manufacturing or in hazardous jobs).
THAT IS THE LAW. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS IN VIOLATION.
MUST CREDIT CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & BULLY BOY PRESS!
A CHILD UNDER 10 IS WRITING FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS!
THE LITTLE BOY'S NAME IS GEORGE GEDDA.
TODAY HE ACCIDENTALLY OUTS HIS AGE WHEN HE WRITES:
There are still disagreements over such issues as global warming, the death penalty and the U.S.-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, but it is still hard to remember a time when U.S.-German relations were on a sounder footing.
PROVING THAT HE HAS NO MEMORY OF U.S. AND GERMAN RELATIONS PRIOR TO THE BULLY BOY'S OCCUPATION OF THE OVAL OFFICE, GEORGE GEDDA OUTS HIMSELF AS UNDER 10 SINCE ANYONE OLDER WOULD BE ABLE TO REMEMBER A TIME WHEN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES "WERE ON A SOUNDER FOOTING."
MOST RECENTLY THAT TIME WAS CALLED "THE CLINTON ERA."
Recommended: "And the war drags on . . ."
"Democracy Now: Medea Benjamin, Robert Scheer"
"NYT: Worth reports, Dexy role plays"
"War as an after thought"
"About Rebecca"
"Music, movies and Andrea Lewis"
"Law and Disorder on the Green Scare"
"NYT: 'Baghdad Erupts in Mob Violence' (Kirk Semple)"
"Ruth's Public Radio Report Pt. I""Ruth's Public Radio Report Pt. II"
"NYT: What's covered, what's not"
"Other Items (Robert Scheer on Democracy Now! today)"
"RadioNation with Laura Flanders: Sat. Ann Wright, Kris Delmhorst; Sunday: Robert Scheer, Dr. Mona"
"Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts 'Freudian Slip the World's Waiting On'"
A Note to Our Readers
Editorial: American wants the war over now
TV: Supernatural -- a tale of bad TV
Things to Ponder This Summer
Ehren Watada
Ehren Watada in song form
Thoughts on a Saturday Times column
Little Liars Lie Dirt Cheap
The Damage Done?
Iraq coverage for today through last Monday
THIS JUST IN!
ASSOCIATED PRESS BREAKS CHILD LABOR LAW!
MUST CREDIT CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & BULLY BOY PRESS!
REMINDER:
The minimum age for employment is 14 years old. There are some exceptions such as newspaper delivery; performing in radio, television, movie, or theatrical productions; and work for parents in their solely-owned nonfarm business (except in manufacturing or in hazardous jobs).
THAT IS THE LAW. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS IN VIOLATION.
MUST CREDIT CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & BULLY BOY PRESS!
A CHILD UNDER 10 IS WRITING FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS!
THE LITTLE BOY'S NAME IS GEORGE GEDDA.
TODAY HE ACCIDENTALLY OUTS HIS AGE WHEN HE WRITES:
There are still disagreements over such issues as global warming, the death penalty and the U.S.-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, but it is still hard to remember a time when U.S.-German relations were on a sounder footing.
PROVING THAT HE HAS NO MEMORY OF U.S. AND GERMAN RELATIONS PRIOR TO THE BULLY BOY'S OCCUPATION OF THE OVAL OFFICE, GEORGE GEDDA OUTS HIMSELF AS UNDER 10 SINCE ANYONE OLDER WOULD BE ABLE TO REMEMBER A TIME WHEN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES "WERE ON A SOUNDER FOOTING."
MOST RECENTLY THAT TIME WAS CALLED "THE CLINTON ERA."
Recommended: "And the war drags on . . ."
"Democracy Now: Medea Benjamin, Robert Scheer"
"NYT: Worth reports, Dexy role plays"
"War as an after thought"
"About Rebecca"
"Music, movies and Andrea Lewis"
"Law and Disorder on the Green Scare"
"NYT: 'Baghdad Erupts in Mob Violence' (Kirk Semple)"
"Ruth's Public Radio Report Pt. I""Ruth's Public Radio Report Pt. II"
"NYT: What's covered, what's not"
"Other Items (Robert Scheer on Democracy Now! today)"
"RadioNation with Laura Flanders: Sat. Ann Wright, Kris Delmhorst; Sunday: Robert Scheer, Dr. Mona"
"Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts 'Freudian Slip the World's Waiting On'"
A Note to Our Readers
Editorial: American wants the war over now
TV: Supernatural -- a tale of bad TV
Things to Ponder This Summer
Ehren Watada
Ehren Watada in song form
Thoughts on a Saturday Times column
Little Liars Lie Dirt Cheap
The Damage Done?
Iraq coverage for today through last Monday
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