BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX - Boston & NYC
THIS JUST IN!
ERIC ALTERMAN GETS A REWRITE!
THIS WEEK PROFESSIONAL FOP AND ETERNAL JOKE ERIC ALTERMAN TOOK TIME OUT FROM ARGUING WITH SLATE LONG ENOUGH TO DASH OFF AN E-MAIL PROVING WHAT A "MANLY MAN" HE IS.
AS WITH MOST ATTEMPTS BY ERIC ALTERMAN TO PROVE HIS "MANHOOD" THIS ONE CAME UP SHORT.
WHAT IT DID ACCOMPLISH WAS ALLOW HIM TO YET AGAIN GIVE A WAR WEARY COUNTRY MUCH LAUGHTER.
SHAKES THE CLOWN ALTERMAN WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN AS HE RUSHED TO CLAIM CREDIT (SINGLE-HANDEDLY HE ALL BUT GUSHED -- ERIC WHERE WAS THAT OTHER HAND! WAIT -- DON'T TELL US!) FOR A CORRECTION IN THE ECONOMIST AND FALSELY CLAIMED TO HAVE DEFENDED "SUSAN [SONTAG] UP AND DOWN" WHILE APPARENTLY FORGETTING PAGE 201 OF HIS OWN LOUSY BOOK WHERE HE CALLED THE ESSAY SUSAN SONTAG WAS TRASHED FOR WRITING QUOTE: "OBJECTIONABLE."
"OBJECTIONABLE"? FOR GOD'S SAKE, ERIC ALTERMAN, WEREN'T YOU FRIENDS WITH HER?
IN HONOR OF FRIENDS WHO TURN OUT NOT TO BE REAL FRIENDS,
WORD IS THAT A FAMOUS TUNE WRITTEN BY CAROLE KING AND RECORDED BY ARTISTS INCLUDING ROBERTA FLACK & DONNY HATHAWAY, AS WELL AS JAMES TAYLOR, HAS BEEN REWRITTEN IN ALTERMAN'S HONOR.
IN A BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX EXCLUSIVE, WE PROVIDE YOU WITH THE ALTERMAN-ED LYRICS TO THE NEWLY DUBBED "YOU'VE GOT AN ALTERMAN."
MUST CREDIT -BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX!
WHEN YOU'RE DOWN AND TROUBLED
AND YOU NEED SOME LOVING CARE
I WILL, I WILL TAKE DELIGHT
CLOSE YOUR EYES ON THE FIRING SQUAD
AND SOON I WILL BE THERE
TO DARKEN UP EVEN YOUR BRIGHTEST NIGHTS
YOU JUST CALL OUT MY NAME
I MAY PLAY THE SILENT GAME
OR I MAY START BURNING
BURNING YOU AGAIN
WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER AND ALL
I LOVE TO SEE YOU FALL
YES, I'LL BE THERE, YES I WILL
YOU'VE GOT NO FRIEND
YEAH, YOU'VE GOT NO FRIEND
YOU'VE GOT AN ALTERMAN
YOU'VE GOT AN ALTERMAN
THE TRACK WAS DUE TO BE RELEASED TUESDAY; HOWEVER, IT FEATURES A GUEST RAP THAT NO ONE CAN DECIPHER THAT FEATURES LOUD EXPLOSIVE SOUNDS -- APPARENTLY THE GUEST RAPPER WAS LISPING AND THE EXPLOSIONS COME FROM SPIT HITTING THE MICROPHONE.
THE ARTISTS ARE CURRENTLY IN TALKS WITH THE LABEL TO GET A REAL RAPPER TO RECORD A NEW RAP FOR THE SURE TO BE NUMBER ONE SINGLE.
TCI PRESS:
Chaos and violence continue. And, as Peter Spiegel and Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) observe: "Bush's decision to increase the number of U.S. troops in violence-racked Baghdad has forced commanders to extend the tours of 3,500 soldiers and appears to eliminate prospects for significant withdrawals of American forces this year."
And as the US administration prepares to extend the tours of duty of 3,5000 soldiers (who were due to leave Iraq), Hassan Abdul Zahra (AFP) reports that Abdel Azia Hakim (Shi'ite leader; head of Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) declared in a speech today that the security of Iraq should be left to Iraqis. Zahra also quotes Mahmud Mahdi al-Sumaidaie (iman and Sunni Muslim Scholars Association member) saying: "The US occupiers are responsible for what is going on with the violence and destruction -- they are the ones controlling the security file." This as John Tully (Colonel, commander of the 4th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade) informs reporters that in the Shi'ite section "south of Baghdad" attacks on US troops have incresed "by about 25 percent".
In another sign of how bad things are on the ground in Iraq, new "security" measures are being taken by individuals. At the start of this month, Terry McCarthy (ABC -- America) reported on how fake identification sells for the US equivalent of ten and fifteen dollars and many Iraqis are puchasing them to reduce risk to their lives at checkpoints and noted: "Now many Iraqis carry two IDs in their pockets and will produce one or the other, depending on who is asking for it." Now Antonio Castaneda (AP) reports a swap greater than IDs: "Fearing sectarian death squads, Iraqis are trading homes with trusted friends from the other sect, surrounding themselves with those who share their faith but creating segregated neighborhoods increasingly wary of one other." Castaneda is reporting from Nasser Wa Salaam but notes the problem is not confined to that one location.
Bombings?
AFP reports the bombing of a Shia shrine "to Imam Askar between the towns of Balad Ruz and Mandalay". This as Reuters notes four are dead in Baghdad from a mortar attack on a Sunni mosque while a roadside bom wounded two police officers in Baquba. AP notes that the Sunni mosque bombing in Baghdad has left nine wounded.
And KUNA reports: "Iraqi police source added an improvised bomb exploded in one of the patrolling police vehicles on the main street of Kirkuk, while a similar attack targeted Multi-National Force (MNF) vehicle on the way to Kirkuk."
If the police source is correct, that's a new development -- bombs planted in cars of unsuspecting drivers.
Shootings?
In Kirkuk, KUNA reports the shooting death of an Iraqi soldier. In addition to that shooting, AFP also notes the Kirkuk shooting deaths ofa police officer "and a bystander"; two shot dead in Tikrit; and "a train station official" shot in Baiji.
In addition, KUNA notes that "a security personnel from the Al-Qadisya area close to Kirkuk power statiion" was kidnapped.
In Australia, the inquiry into the April 21st death of Jake Kovco in Baghdad continues. Australia's ABC reports that "a Lance Corporal" has informed the inquriy that Kovco was "reprimanded twice for misuing his pistol during his deployment in Iraq." Whether or not the witness can affirm to two times should be in doubt because the second incident finds the "Lance Corporal" saying he's 'aware' of it as opposed to knowing it or witnessing. At any rate, the "Lance Corporal" has offered that Jake Kovco was reprimanded for "pointing his pistol at the torso of another soldier" which would probably be pertinent if Jake Kovco were accues of killing one of his roommates. As
"Lance Corporal" (or "Soldier Four") makes the news with his statements, Tracy Ong (News.com) covers what everyone else seems to have missed: "But other statements tendered yesterday were at odds with Soldier 4's recollection, many saying they had never seen Kovco playing 'quick draw' -- pulling a pistol out of its holster as quickly as possible -- or mishandling his weapons. One corporal from 3RAR said he had never had to 'pull Private Kovco up on his weapon handling'."
On April 29th, Damien Murphy, Phillip Coorey, Ed O'Loughlin, Tom Allard and Cynthia Banaham (Sydney Morning Herald) reported: "Private Jacob Kovco grew up with guns. They were part of everyday life in his small home town of Briagolong in the Victorian high country. Come April each year, the four-wheel-drive vehicles from Melbourne would roar through the hamlet late on a Friday night on their way to bush camps in the nearby foothills for the start of the deer hunting season."
In peace news, Honolulu's KITV reports that a demonstration of support was held last night at Kalani High School for Ehren Watada -- the first commissioned military officer known to refuse deployment to Iraq. Showing their support for Watada (who faces an Article 32 hearing August 17th to determine whether or not a court martial is in order) were the Japanese American Citizen's League of Hawaii, the American Friends Service Committee "and others at the Nagasaki Peace Bell near City Hall" -- including: "Hawaii People's Fund, Code Pink Hawaii, Progressive Democrats of Hawaii, Veterans for Peace, World Can't Wait and Not in Our Name." Gregg K. Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) reports that "Watada has again offer to resign his commisson from the Army and is willing to accept any type of administrative punishment in place of court martial" including "a reprimand, fine and reduction in rank". Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, tells Kakesako that this is the third time the offer has been made (it was refused twice prior). Courage to Resist and ThankYouLt.org are calling for a "National Day of Education" August 16th, the day before Ehren Watada is due to "face a pre-trial hearing for refusing to deploy to Iraq." ThankYouLt.Org notes: "On August 16, the day prior to the hearing, The Friends and Family of Lt. Ehren Watada are calling for a 'National Day of Education' to pose the question, 'Is the war illegal?' This day can also serve to anchor a 'week of outreach' leading up to the pre-trial hearing."
In The Fifth Book of Peace, Maxine Hong Kingston writes: "During war, mothers dream this dream: she -- mother -- is winged, and flies, swooping down upon the son, the brother, soldier, criminal in danger, and picks him up by the straps of his overalls or by his belt, or catches him up in her arms, and flies him high and away. Unable to fly, she would go to the war in her son's place. She would go ahead of him, walk point herself."
With news of the September events in DC, David Swanson (American Chronicle) reports that Camp Democracy sets up September 5th with many activities and, among many worthy goals, the intent to build "toward the International Day of Peace on September 21". Swanson notes that Cindy Sheehan "will come to Camp Democracy following Camp Casey (Aug. 16 - Sept. 2 in Crawford Texas)".
Sheehan is currently participating in CODEPINK's Troops Home Fast. It is day 25 of the Troops Home Fast action with over 4,350 people fasting to the end the war all over the world. The AP reports that Diane Wilson has thus far lost "20 pounds from her 170-pound frame" while taking part in the fast. Of fasting, Wilson states: "Ghandi always called it 'soul power' because it's got a real spiritual component to it."
Recommended: "From the Mixed-up Mind of Eric Alterman"
"'From the Mixed-up Mind of Eric Alterman' (Elaine, Like Maria Said Paz)"
"Iraq Snapshot"
"And the war drags on . . ."
"NYT: 'Sergeant Tells of Plot to Kill Iraqi Detainees' (Robert F. Worth)"
"Iraq and the Middle East"
"Iraq and I'm reading Gloria Steinem's Outrageous Acts & Everyday Rebellion"
"Pick your own title"
"THIS JUST IN! BURNS BURNS FIREFIGHERS! "
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Iraq and I'm reading Gloria Steinem's Outrageous Acts & Everyday Rebellion
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills)
Chaos and violence continue.
And yes, it's "continue "even if a mass kidnapping of 17 yesterday didn't make it into the New York Times this morning.
Bombings?
Al Jazeera notes "a car bombing and mortar attack" in Baghdad today that's left "[a]t least 101 people" wounded. That's wounded. The death toll has climbed repeatedly and the AP now reports it at least "31" and raises the wounded to "153." How many bombs? AFP notes that "some witnesses spoke of more" than one car bomb. Of the area in Baghdad where the attacks took place, the BBC notes their correspondent Jane Peel's description of the area as "well protected with a heavy presence of Iraqi troops and several checkpoints". Of course, the entire city of Baghdad is under the supposed 'security crackdown' and has been for over six weeks. The AFP describes the area as one where the "bustling shops still attract customers from both the city's rival religious groups" and they also note a witness who feels there was "more than one car bomb." Jenny Booth "and agencies" (Times of London) state the area is "religiously mixed neighborhood which is home to several leading politicians from the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the country's biggest Shia party."
On the issue of witnesses feeling they heard more than one bomb, Borzou Daraghi (Los Angeles Times) notes: "Police said four of the five blasts were caused by rockets or mortars. But officials have often attributed such explosions to indirect fire, hoping to stave off blame for allowing drivers to maneuver explosives-packed vehicles past checkpoints that dot the city." (The fatality toll is raised to "at least 32" beginning with Daraghi's report.)
Michael Georgy (Reuters) reports one man who died, Hassan Kufi, "was hours away from getting married on Thursday. There were no festivities, just his funerals." He also notes "[a] boy of about 10 with a bloodied head" laying "on the floor." Borzou Daragahi (Los Angels Times) notes hardware store owner Zuhair Ali Hussein Zaidi, "who left his shop to investigate one blast only to return and find his shop was completely destroyed" saying: "I saw children completely burnt and many injured. People were evacuating the dead and injured by carrying them out." Daragahi reports that many people are still missing ("including one 11-year-old girl on a shopping errand") and that the dead are still be found in the rubble and debris.
Might Iraq grab some serious press attention? Don't count on it. In other bombings, Reuters reports two police officers are dead and two more wounded "near Tikrit" from a roadside bomb while one person died and four were wounded in Ishaqee from a roadside bomb. AFP notes a bomb in Baquba which killed "at least five people." That bombing (guessing from the fatality toll) is described by Reuters as one that exploded near "an ambulance headed to Baquba hospital, killing five" and wounding four; in addition, Reuters notes a car bomb (also in Baquba) that left three wounded.
Shootings?
Reuters reports that in Baghdad, an armed clash led to six Georgian troops being wounded (the US military claims five but six is the figure "the office of the Georgian president" is using); in Kirkuk a police patrol and an Iraqi military patrol exchanged gun fire resulting in the death of one soldier and one police officer.
Also in Baghdad, AFP reports that "three people were shot dead by unidentified gunmen" and Al Jazeera notes that "four security guards outside a Sunni mosque" were killed "in a drive-by shooting."
Corpses?
Micheal Georgy (Reuters) reports that, in Baghdad today, nineteen corpses were discovered ("bullet holes . . . signs of torture").
In England, William Patey ("outgoing British ambassador in Iraq") spoke on the BBC Radio program Today and shared this impression: "There is some evidence that some members of the police are actively engaged with death squads and with militias, and taking orders. And clearly they need to be identified, weeded out, prosecuted. Undoubtedly, the Iraqi people have lost confidence in the police." Quite a bit different than the sort of thing Michael Gordon churns out at the New York Times. Also in the reality news department, Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) reports: "Many of the reconstruction projects that were built in the first years of the Iraq war failed to make a difference in regular Iraqis' lives. Much of the building has focused on large waterpurification plants, sewage-treatment plants or electrical generators. But the U.S. has failed to do enough to make sure its reconstruction projects provided jobs for unskilled Iraqis, and the lack of a steady supply of electricity three years after the U.S.-led invasion rankles here." Kate Zernike should take notes.
In Australia, the inquiry into the April 21st death of Jake Kovco continues. Ben Doherty (The Age) reports that Professor Philip Mitchell has testified to the inquiry with a similar opinion as that expressed by Professor Alexander McFarlane: it is "highly unlikely Private Kovco would have deliberately shot himself while his room-mates were present, especially as he knew they were about to leave." However, Mitchell also offered the opinion that Jake Kovco might have been attempting to "re-enact" a nightmare of death he'd had a month prior. The continued assumption in the inquiry appears to be that Jake Kovco fired the gun. In April, Judy Kovco (Jake Kovco's mother) stated to Jane Holroyd (The Age): ""He didn't shoot himself. The gun went off. It was near him. It was nearby. (So) what did Jake do? Put his head down near the table so it could shoot him in the head, did he?"
Belinda Tasker (Townsville Bulletin) notes that Mitchell dubbed his theory "highly speculative."
In peace news, Bill Metcalfe (The Tyee) reports on the recent Our Way Home Reunion in Canada which brought together war resisters from Vietnam and today and featured a showing of David Zeiger's documentary Sir, No Sir, which chronicles G.I. resistance during the Vietnam era. As noted yesterday, CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin took truth to Congress. Refusing to stay silent in the face of one lie after another as occupation puppet Nouri al-Maliki talked the war talk, Benjamin protested, chanting, "Bring them home now!" On yesterday's The KPFA Evening News, Darby Hicky reported on this and more can be found at CODEPINK. Jonathan Weisman (Washington Post) reported: "Veteran San Francisco activist Medea Benjamin, wearing a 'Troops Home Now' T-shirt, chimed in, standing in the House gallery to interrupt Maliki's address with repeated shouts of: 'Iraqis want the troops to leave. Bring them home now.' She was promptly removed and arrested."
It is day 24 of the Troops Home Fast and over 4,350 people are participating around the world. Along with Medea Benjamin, Diane Wilson, Cindy Sheehan and Ann Wright, Mike De Souza (CanWest News Service) reports that: "Libby Davies, the NDP House leader and MP for Vancouver East, made the trip to Washington D.C." to show her support. De Souza quotes Medea Benjamin stating, of those participating in the fast, "We're in an emergency crisis, and they're putting their bodies on the line."
The fast is ongoing. Those wanting to participate, for one day or more than one day, can join the fast at any point. It began on July 4th and some have fasted every day. Others have fasted one day and some have chosen one day to fast each week. More information can be found at Troops Home Fast. The fast will continue in August as Cindy Sheehan and others return to Crawford, TX -- home of last year's Camp Casey demonstrations. Though there has been concern of where the camp would be set up, Jack Douglas Jr. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reports that land has been purchased by Cindy Sheehan to put an end to the issue and quotes Sheehan stating, "I can't think of a better way to use Casey's insurance money than for peace, and I am sure that Casey approves." Douglas reports the gatherings in Crawford will take place from August 16th to September 2nd.
How about Medea Benjamin? She just doesn't stop. She's got so much strength and maybe you're like me? You read that and you just think, "I could never do that." But the second thing you need to think is, "Well, what can I do?"
I'm reading a book from C.I.'s latest book drop. I picked this one first because I knew of Gloria Steinem but I really don't know her books. This one is called Outrageous Acts & Everyday Rebellion. This is really a great book. If you need more than my word to pick it up, on the back of the book, it's got Jane Fonda, Walter Cronkite, Coretta Scott King, Bill Moyers, Judy Collins and Alan Alda singing the book's praises.
There's a lot in there and C.I. made a list of which ones I could read by jumping around. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to go A-B-C-D . . . Chapter 1-2-3-4 . . . And I saw the book, it may have been on top, and thought, "I'm reading this one first." Then I found the note as I was digging around the box and was glad to see it was one I could hop around. It's a series of essays with an overall theme but you can start where ever you wants. The first thing I read was the essay on Alice Walker (which I really enjoyed). But I've enjoyed all of it so far. And one point Steinem makes in words and that is implied throughout (I think anyway) is that you see someone doing something and you ask what can you do?
So when you see Medea Benjamin do something amazing and think how incredible and strong she is, don't end it with, "I could never do that." Ask yourself, "Well what can I do?"
We can't all be Medea Benjamin anymore than we can all be MLK or Frederick Douglass or Harry Belafonte or Ida B. Wells-Barnett or Rosa Parks or . . . Put your own heroes on the list. (And make a place for Cindy Sheehan.) But we can take a stand. Our stand may be smaller but that's how we start.
The community knows my story but maybe there's something in here that will help someone if I repeat it. Like a lot of African-Americans, I was burned out by the White web that thought it was inclusive and thought it wanted you around until you had an opinion or didn't want to play House Negro. Some on the left are just as bad about wanting that as the right is. They want you to agree with them and trash Cynthia McKinney or something like that. (I like Cynthia McKinney. And that was a big breaking point in 2002 for some websites.)
So I gave up on that and I just focused on my church and my own life. Then came the war and I tried some more sites and felt like there was time for every issue and every topic in the world until it got around to race. So I was kind of surprised when my cousin started saying, "Have you read The Common Ills?" She is one of the original community members and she's the reason I checked it out. But I was nervous about highlights. (I should note here that C.I.'s focus for the site is now Iraq. That's at the community's request. If other people were doing their job, C.I. would be covering other things. There are other issues. But you've got so many blowing off their responsibilities online and in the press, that the community vote was for C.I. to just focus on Iraq.) I'd see something and think about doing an e-mail but thought, "Well, if it doesn't get highlighted that'll mean it's like every other site." That didn't happen, but it was a big step for me.
Then I wrote something for the year-end thing in 2004. Then I started getting more active. It was only online, but each time let me see I could do more. Then I went to my first protest/rally in March of 2005. That was a big deal for me. Now? I've got a site and I'm not afraid to speak out at work, at home and surely not at church where we are all against the war. I go to rallies and a lot more. Back in 2004, when I did that first e-mailed highlight to C.I., I thought about not sending it. Each time you take a step, it's that much easier to take the next one.
So when you see something "outrageous act" or "everyday rebellion," don't just think, "They are so strong." Ask yourself what you can do? You probably aren't to a place yet where you can do what Medea Benjamin does (I'm certainly not) but you can do something and, once you do that one thing, it will be a lot easier to do the next thing.
You can find out more about this by reading Steinem's book. You may be where I was in 2004, you may be where I am now or you may be far ahead of me -- but I think you'll enjoy the book.
Now, C.I. passed something on to me. Tomorrow (Friday) on KPFA:
Michael Parenti Special
Friday, July 28th, 1:00p.m.
A speech by Michael Parenti, author of "The Culture Struggle."
That's Pacific time. I just finished a book by Parenti and am looking forward to more. But I didn't even know of him (I did know his son's writing, Christian Parenti) until KPFA played a speech by him in May. This may be the same speech or it may be a different one. But if you've never heard him (or if you want to hear him again), make a point to listen. If you can't catch it live, go to the station after and you can hear it in the archives. (I don't know how long they keep the archives up but it's at least two weeks, I think.) I was really excited when I heard him last time, the way you get when you discover something new that you didn't know was out there.
Congratulations to Rebecca & Flyboy! If you wonder why, check out Betty's "Travel and other talk" and let me add that Betty is very pretty. I think she was feeling tired when we were in Mexico and I can understand that, she's got three kids. But she's pretty and either down playing her looks or else in need of a compliment (an overdue compliment).
Chaos and violence continue.
And yes, it's "continue "even if a mass kidnapping of 17 yesterday didn't make it into the New York Times this morning.
Bombings?
Al Jazeera notes "a car bombing and mortar attack" in Baghdad today that's left "[a]t least 101 people" wounded. That's wounded. The death toll has climbed repeatedly and the AP now reports it at least "31" and raises the wounded to "153." How many bombs? AFP notes that "some witnesses spoke of more" than one car bomb. Of the area in Baghdad where the attacks took place, the BBC notes their correspondent Jane Peel's description of the area as "well protected with a heavy presence of Iraqi troops and several checkpoints". Of course, the entire city of Baghdad is under the supposed 'security crackdown' and has been for over six weeks. The AFP describes the area as one where the "bustling shops still attract customers from both the city's rival religious groups" and they also note a witness who feels there was "more than one car bomb." Jenny Booth "and agencies" (Times of London) state the area is "religiously mixed neighborhood which is home to several leading politicians from the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the country's biggest Shia party."
On the issue of witnesses feeling they heard more than one bomb, Borzou Daraghi (Los Angeles Times) notes: "Police said four of the five blasts were caused by rockets or mortars. But officials have often attributed such explosions to indirect fire, hoping to stave off blame for allowing drivers to maneuver explosives-packed vehicles past checkpoints that dot the city." (The fatality toll is raised to "at least 32" beginning with Daraghi's report.)
Michael Georgy (Reuters) reports one man who died, Hassan Kufi, "was hours away from getting married on Thursday. There were no festivities, just his funerals." He also notes "[a] boy of about 10 with a bloodied head" laying "on the floor." Borzou Daragahi (Los Angels Times) notes hardware store owner Zuhair Ali Hussein Zaidi, "who left his shop to investigate one blast only to return and find his shop was completely destroyed" saying: "I saw children completely burnt and many injured. People were evacuating the dead and injured by carrying them out." Daragahi reports that many people are still missing ("including one 11-year-old girl on a shopping errand") and that the dead are still be found in the rubble and debris.
Might Iraq grab some serious press attention? Don't count on it. In other bombings, Reuters reports two police officers are dead and two more wounded "near Tikrit" from a roadside bomb while one person died and four were wounded in Ishaqee from a roadside bomb. AFP notes a bomb in Baquba which killed "at least five people." That bombing (guessing from the fatality toll) is described by Reuters as one that exploded near "an ambulance headed to Baquba hospital, killing five" and wounding four; in addition, Reuters notes a car bomb (also in Baquba) that left three wounded.
Shootings?
Reuters reports that in Baghdad, an armed clash led to six Georgian troops being wounded (the US military claims five but six is the figure "the office of the Georgian president" is using); in Kirkuk a police patrol and an Iraqi military patrol exchanged gun fire resulting in the death of one soldier and one police officer.
Also in Baghdad, AFP reports that "three people were shot dead by unidentified gunmen" and Al Jazeera notes that "four security guards outside a Sunni mosque" were killed "in a drive-by shooting."
Corpses?
Micheal Georgy (Reuters) reports that, in Baghdad today, nineteen corpses were discovered ("bullet holes . . . signs of torture").
In England, William Patey ("outgoing British ambassador in Iraq") spoke on the BBC Radio program Today and shared this impression: "There is some evidence that some members of the police are actively engaged with death squads and with militias, and taking orders. And clearly they need to be identified, weeded out, prosecuted. Undoubtedly, the Iraqi people have lost confidence in the police." Quite a bit different than the sort of thing Michael Gordon churns out at the New York Times. Also in the reality news department, Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) reports: "Many of the reconstruction projects that were built in the first years of the Iraq war failed to make a difference in regular Iraqis' lives. Much of the building has focused on large waterpurification plants, sewage-treatment plants or electrical generators. But the U.S. has failed to do enough to make sure its reconstruction projects provided jobs for unskilled Iraqis, and the lack of a steady supply of electricity three years after the U.S.-led invasion rankles here." Kate Zernike should take notes.
In Australia, the inquiry into the April 21st death of Jake Kovco continues. Ben Doherty (The Age) reports that Professor Philip Mitchell has testified to the inquiry with a similar opinion as that expressed by Professor Alexander McFarlane: it is "highly unlikely Private Kovco would have deliberately shot himself while his room-mates were present, especially as he knew they were about to leave." However, Mitchell also offered the opinion that Jake Kovco might have been attempting to "re-enact" a nightmare of death he'd had a month prior. The continued assumption in the inquiry appears to be that Jake Kovco fired the gun. In April, Judy Kovco (Jake Kovco's mother) stated to Jane Holroyd (The Age): ""He didn't shoot himself. The gun went off. It was near him. It was nearby. (So) what did Jake do? Put his head down near the table so it could shoot him in the head, did he?"
Belinda Tasker (Townsville Bulletin) notes that Mitchell dubbed his theory "highly speculative."
In peace news, Bill Metcalfe (The Tyee) reports on the recent Our Way Home Reunion in Canada which brought together war resisters from Vietnam and today and featured a showing of David Zeiger's documentary Sir, No Sir, which chronicles G.I. resistance during the Vietnam era. As noted yesterday, CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin took truth to Congress. Refusing to stay silent in the face of one lie after another as occupation puppet Nouri al-Maliki talked the war talk, Benjamin protested, chanting, "Bring them home now!" On yesterday's The KPFA Evening News, Darby Hicky reported on this and more can be found at CODEPINK. Jonathan Weisman (Washington Post) reported: "Veteran San Francisco activist Medea Benjamin, wearing a 'Troops Home Now' T-shirt, chimed in, standing in the House gallery to interrupt Maliki's address with repeated shouts of: 'Iraqis want the troops to leave. Bring them home now.' She was promptly removed and arrested."
It is day 24 of the Troops Home Fast and over 4,350 people are participating around the world. Along with Medea Benjamin, Diane Wilson, Cindy Sheehan and Ann Wright, Mike De Souza (CanWest News Service) reports that: "Libby Davies, the NDP House leader and MP for Vancouver East, made the trip to Washington D.C." to show her support. De Souza quotes Medea Benjamin stating, of those participating in the fast, "We're in an emergency crisis, and they're putting their bodies on the line."
The fast is ongoing. Those wanting to participate, for one day or more than one day, can join the fast at any point. It began on July 4th and some have fasted every day. Others have fasted one day and some have chosen one day to fast each week. More information can be found at Troops Home Fast. The fast will continue in August as Cindy Sheehan and others return to Crawford, TX -- home of last year's Camp Casey demonstrations. Though there has been concern of where the camp would be set up, Jack Douglas Jr. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) reports that land has been purchased by Cindy Sheehan to put an end to the issue and quotes Sheehan stating, "I can't think of a better way to use Casey's insurance money than for peace, and I am sure that Casey approves." Douglas reports the gatherings in Crawford will take place from August 16th to September 2nd.
How about Medea Benjamin? She just doesn't stop. She's got so much strength and maybe you're like me? You read that and you just think, "I could never do that." But the second thing you need to think is, "Well, what can I do?"
I'm reading a book from C.I.'s latest book drop. I picked this one first because I knew of Gloria Steinem but I really don't know her books. This one is called Outrageous Acts & Everyday Rebellion. This is really a great book. If you need more than my word to pick it up, on the back of the book, it's got Jane Fonda, Walter Cronkite, Coretta Scott King, Bill Moyers, Judy Collins and Alan Alda singing the book's praises.
There's a lot in there and C.I. made a list of which ones I could read by jumping around. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to go A-B-C-D . . . Chapter 1-2-3-4 . . . And I saw the book, it may have been on top, and thought, "I'm reading this one first." Then I found the note as I was digging around the box and was glad to see it was one I could hop around. It's a series of essays with an overall theme but you can start where ever you wants. The first thing I read was the essay on Alice Walker (which I really enjoyed). But I've enjoyed all of it so far. And one point Steinem makes in words and that is implied throughout (I think anyway) is that you see someone doing something and you ask what can you do?
So when you see Medea Benjamin do something amazing and think how incredible and strong she is, don't end it with, "I could never do that." Ask yourself, "Well what can I do?"
We can't all be Medea Benjamin anymore than we can all be MLK or Frederick Douglass or Harry Belafonte or Ida B. Wells-Barnett or Rosa Parks or . . . Put your own heroes on the list. (And make a place for Cindy Sheehan.) But we can take a stand. Our stand may be smaller but that's how we start.
The community knows my story but maybe there's something in here that will help someone if I repeat it. Like a lot of African-Americans, I was burned out by the White web that thought it was inclusive and thought it wanted you around until you had an opinion or didn't want to play House Negro. Some on the left are just as bad about wanting that as the right is. They want you to agree with them and trash Cynthia McKinney or something like that. (I like Cynthia McKinney. And that was a big breaking point in 2002 for some websites.)
So I gave up on that and I just focused on my church and my own life. Then came the war and I tried some more sites and felt like there was time for every issue and every topic in the world until it got around to race. So I was kind of surprised when my cousin started saying, "Have you read The Common Ills?" She is one of the original community members and she's the reason I checked it out. But I was nervous about highlights. (I should note here that C.I.'s focus for the site is now Iraq. That's at the community's request. If other people were doing their job, C.I. would be covering other things. There are other issues. But you've got so many blowing off their responsibilities online and in the press, that the community vote was for C.I. to just focus on Iraq.) I'd see something and think about doing an e-mail but thought, "Well, if it doesn't get highlighted that'll mean it's like every other site." That didn't happen, but it was a big step for me.
Then I wrote something for the year-end thing in 2004. Then I started getting more active. It was only online, but each time let me see I could do more. Then I went to my first protest/rally in March of 2005. That was a big deal for me. Now? I've got a site and I'm not afraid to speak out at work, at home and surely not at church where we are all against the war. I go to rallies and a lot more. Back in 2004, when I did that first e-mailed highlight to C.I., I thought about not sending it. Each time you take a step, it's that much easier to take the next one.
So when you see something "outrageous act" or "everyday rebellion," don't just think, "They are so strong." Ask yourself what you can do? You probably aren't to a place yet where you can do what Medea Benjamin does (I'm certainly not) but you can do something and, once you do that one thing, it will be a lot easier to do the next thing.
You can find out more about this by reading Steinem's book. You may be where I was in 2004, you may be where I am now or you may be far ahead of me -- but I think you'll enjoy the book.
Now, C.I. passed something on to me. Tomorrow (Friday) on KPFA:
Michael Parenti Special
Friday, July 28th, 1:00p.m.
A speech by Michael Parenti, author of "The Culture Struggle."
That's Pacific time. I just finished a book by Parenti and am looking forward to more. But I didn't even know of him (I did know his son's writing, Christian Parenti) until KPFA played a speech by him in May. This may be the same speech or it may be a different one. But if you've never heard him (or if you want to hear him again), make a point to listen. If you can't catch it live, go to the station after and you can hear it in the archives. (I don't know how long they keep the archives up but it's at least two weeks, I think.) I was really excited when I heard him last time, the way you get when you discover something new that you didn't know was out there.
Congratulations to Rebecca & Flyboy! If you wonder why, check out Betty's "Travel and other talk" and let me add that Betty is very pretty. I think she was feeling tired when we were in Mexico and I can understand that, she's got three kids. But she's pretty and either down playing her looks or else in need of a compliment (an overdue compliment).
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Thoughts on the Bully Boy
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills)
Chaos and violence continues but the media's more interested in seeing if al-Maliki will give Bully Boy class and if Bully Boy will give al-Maliki . . .
Bombs?
Reuters reports a bomb ("car driven") in Mosul left eleven wounded, "rocket-propelled grenades" fired "on the main road between Kirkuk and Baghdad" at "two fuel trucks" killed two drivers -- a third was kidnapped; a roadside bomb in Mosul wounded three Iraqi soldiers; and, in Baghdad, a road side bomb took the life of one police officer and left three wounded. AFP reports three bombs going off in Baghdad "killing two civilians and a policeman wnd wounding many bystanders." Allowing for the police officer in Baghdad noted by AFP and Reuters to be the same person, that leaves five dead.
Shootings?
Reuters reports a shooting death in Ishaqi which took the life of a police officer, a drive-by that killed a police officer in Baghdad, four wounded in Daquq ("working for a private Iraqi company which deals with the U.S. military") and two dead ("gunned down inside their car") in Baghdad. The "inside their car" noted by Reuters appears to be "a family of Shiite civilians" who had been threatened and were attempting to flee but were killed with another family members wounded (AFP).
Corpses?
Reuters reports six corpses were discovered in Baghdad, seven in Suwayra ("shot dead . . . blindfolded), and two near Falluja ("gunshot wounds").
That's all the media has to spare for events in Iraq as the rush is to DC to note the new romantic comedy When Bully Met Puppet . . .
Here's the set up. An obnoxious, paunchy post-middle-age male decides to invade Iraq. He and his flunkies make a lot of false claims and assertions that are generally known to be false in real time. For example, Michael Ratner, Jennie Green and Barbara Olshanksy will write in 2002: "Despite the pervasive use of the phrase 'weapons of mass destruction' in many of the Bush Administration's speeches discussing Saddam Hussein throughout 2002, there is no evidence of a developed nuclear weapon program in Iraq. Indeed, all reliable, detailed evidence from independent experts reveals that the current weapons capacity in Iraq is small -- smaller and far less advanced than that of other counries around the world that are actively threatening peace in their respective regions" (Against War With Iraq). But out of some desire to let the lifelong loser make yet another stab at 'success' in some form, in any forum, the mainstream media largely either stays silent or cheerleads.
The spoiled playboy gets his hobby (and many die). He toys with and discards Ibrahim al-Jaafari (the cad!) and along comes Nouri al-Maliki. Cue love theme on the soundtrack. Puppet is Bully Boy's favorite kind of Iraqi -- one that's spent over two decades out of the country.
Now after long distance exchanges and one brief (shining) moment, they're face to face and the question for the audience is: "Are their sparks?"
Don't expect sparks to fly but expect the Puppet to get a lesson in who pulls the strings.
The BBC offers this recap: "When the two leaders met in Baghdad last month . . . The mood then was unusually positive, reports the BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington -- but this latest meeting comes on the back of a failed security operation in Baghdad." The AFP reminds: "Baghdad's descent into chaos has claimed more victims as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Washington under pressure to restore order and pave the way for the departure of US forces. As gunshots and bomb blasts echoed around the capital, the Iraqi leader went into talks with US President George W. Bush knowing that both the Americans and his own supporters are disappointed with his handling of the situation."
A meeting of two leaders? Sounds more like a performance review.
Getting far less attention is the reconciliation meetings going on Cairo with (AP): "Some 30 delegates representing Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and other smaller minorities are participating in the discussions sponsored by the Cario-based Arab League."
In peace news, the Latin American News Agency reported Friday: "Costa Rican filmmaker Daniel Ross . . . won the prize of the screenplay contest called by the Program for the Promotion of Production and TV Coverage of the Ibero American Documentary (DOCTV-IB)." Ross will now have $100,000 for the budget of his film, Dear Camilo, which "will portray the story of [Camilo] Mejias, from the perspective of two Costa Rican friends, former classmates he meets after 10 years." On the subject of activist and war resister Camilo Mejia, he is not 24 years-old. Those who've noted coverage of an accident in Florida involving a 24 year-old Camilo Mejia and wondered, it's not the same Camilo Mejia (the activist Mejia was born in 1976).
After serving in Iraq, Mejia returned to the US and went AWOL, surfacing in March of 2004 at a news conference held at the Sherborn Peace Abbey Alison O'Leary Murray (Boston Globe) reports that Sherborn Peace Abbey, "founded in 1988," is in need of funding. Along with being the setting for Meija's news conference, the abbey also "was involved in a protest by a group calling itself the Peace Chain 18, who chained themselves togeter at Natick's Army Labs to protest military intervention in Iraq."
Writing for The Huffington Post, Michael Brune notes that he and others with the Rainforest Action Network "are joining Code Pink and thousands of others around the world who are fasting to end the war in Iraq and to bring our troops home now." Brune writes: "Each day we wake up, rush to work, get together with friends, get caught in traffic, get caught in office politics, get caught in emails . . . and each day so many time zones away, another family is terrorized at gunpoint, another young soldier is killed, a home is destroyed, a child is killed while her sister is raped. And if you live in America, it's being done in your name."
YubaNet notes: "hunger strikers who started fasting against the war on July 4 will set up 'Camp Al-Maliki' across from the Iraqi Embassy to await response to a letter sent by the group to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki." Today is DAY 22 of the Troops Home Fast action -- at least 4,350 people from around the world are participating. The fast is ongoing and people wishing to grab a one-day fast to show their support can do so at any point. If you missed the July 4th start, you haven't missed out on the protest. Information can be found online at CODEPINK.
Finally, in Australia, the inquiry into the April 21st death in Baghdad of Jake Kovco continues with "Soldier Two" (Kovco's platoon sergeant by most accounts) testifying. Malcom Brown (Sydney Morning Herald) reports that Soldier Two testified that he "had heard the commotion in Private Kovco's room on the night of April 21 and found the private's room-mates, Soldiers 17 and 19, kneeling beside the body. He saw the nine-millimetre pistol on the floor and shifted it aside with his hands in case someone accidentally discharged it." Ben Doherty (The Age) reports that "Kovco's platoon sergeant did not want to look again" at Kovco's body. This is presented as the reason why the body of Bosnian Juso Sinanovic ended up arriving in Melbourne and not the body of Jake Kovco. Soldier Two is quoted saying: "I was devastated and am still upset by the mix-up." Australia's ABC notes that Soldier Two was flown in from Baghdad to testify and that he "said he was not given detailed instructions of his role as escort, and was not told that he had sole responsibility for identifying the body during the repatriation process." Doherty notes that Soldier Two's DNA was tested and "neither Soldier 2 nor three military police officers involved in the initial investigation" match the DNA found on the gun ("its slide, handgrip and trigger"). Doherty concludes with: "The two soldiers who were in barracks room eight with Private Kovco when he died will be DNA-tested when they arrive back in Australia later this week."
Note that this is the inquiry's stated goal/action today and that another turnaround wouldn't be surprising at this point considering its past history.
What can you add to that? I found one thing in the paper.
"Military towns giving rise to Iraq war critics" (Kathy Kiely, USA Today):
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- Cupped in a dark green hollow of the Allegheny Mountains, this hard-luck city is far more familiar with floods than the desert. Yet, in a way, it's a crucial battleground of the Iraq war.
Southwestern Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District is a fiercely patriotic area, where storeowners still decorate their windows for Memorial Day and hang banners to welcome home returning soldiers. Military veterans account for more than 15% of the population.
So it has come as something of a shock, both to his neighbors here and colleagues in Washington, that Rep. John Murtha is leading the charge for a pullout from Iraq. A plain-spoken former Marine who has represented this district for 32 years, Murtha says it's his closeness to the troops that motivated him.
"I felt like I had to speak out," he says. "I go to the hospitals every week and see kids blown apart. ... There's times you've got to realize it isn't getting any better."
Some of the most pointed critiques of the administration's policy in Iraq are coming from lawmakers who represent constituencies with close ties to the military. Their criticism underscores how widespread concerns about the war have become, even in areas where support has been strong for President Bush or the troops.
To me, what's great about this article is that it demonstrates how wide the opposition is. You know it, I know it, but most of the time the press acts like it's not happening or hasn't happened. America wants this war over now. That's the only thing that probably worried Bully Boy. He can't have Iran as easy as he had Iraq. He's the little boy who cried WMD wolf and it's not going to be as easy to fool people this time. Like he says, "Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice . . . uh, Won't get fooled again!"
You hear that and it's hard not to think, "What an idiot." He's not someone who didn't have every break. When you realize he went to good schools it just underscores how he has always refused to apply himself. He never wanted to be "better." If he'd been checked at any point before this, he might not be such as bully.
But if he got through school talking like that, you know he was never held to any academic standards. He didn't get checked in the Guard or he would have been sent to Vietnam after he stopped doing his agreed to hours. He didn't get checked in business because Daddy's buddies always rushed in to fix things for him. So we all suffer today from someone who never grasped that you can't always have your way, that everything can't be "fixed" for you.
(Though he got the 2000 election fixed for him.)
So that's what we're dealing with and what we're looking at now -- someone's who's lived without emotional gravity who is convinced he can make something happen just by saying it will and that, if it doesn't, someone will come along and save his butt.
I don't think he gives a damn about the soldiers who die. I don't think he gave a damn about Carla Faye Tucker. The only thing that matters in his world is him. Everything else can wait or can be forgotten.
So the body count doesn't bother him. The fact that the country wants out of Iraq doesn't bother him.
He may be getting a little nervous, wondering where Daddy's friends are to bail him out on this? He's going to be left owning this one. He can't push it off on anyone else and it happened in front of the whole world so everyone knows. He can pretend like they don't, or that he doesn't care, but he's humilated himself in front of the whole world.
And that's a reality he'll have to face. He may just do it by himself, one on one, but it's reality and no one can smooth it over for him.
iraq
jacob bruce kovco
jake kovco
michael ratner
the center for constitutional rights
barbara olshansky
codepink
troops home fast
camilo mejia
Chaos and violence continues but the media's more interested in seeing if al-Maliki will give Bully Boy class and if Bully Boy will give al-Maliki . . .
Bombs?
Reuters reports a bomb ("car driven") in Mosul left eleven wounded, "rocket-propelled grenades" fired "on the main road between Kirkuk and Baghdad" at "two fuel trucks" killed two drivers -- a third was kidnapped; a roadside bomb in Mosul wounded three Iraqi soldiers; and, in Baghdad, a road side bomb took the life of one police officer and left three wounded. AFP reports three bombs going off in Baghdad "killing two civilians and a policeman wnd wounding many bystanders." Allowing for the police officer in Baghdad noted by AFP and Reuters to be the same person, that leaves five dead.
Shootings?
Reuters reports a shooting death in Ishaqi which took the life of a police officer, a drive-by that killed a police officer in Baghdad, four wounded in Daquq ("working for a private Iraqi company which deals with the U.S. military") and two dead ("gunned down inside their car") in Baghdad. The "inside their car" noted by Reuters appears to be "a family of Shiite civilians" who had been threatened and were attempting to flee but were killed with another family members wounded (AFP).
Corpses?
Reuters reports six corpses were discovered in Baghdad, seven in Suwayra ("shot dead . . . blindfolded), and two near Falluja ("gunshot wounds").
That's all the media has to spare for events in Iraq as the rush is to DC to note the new romantic comedy When Bully Met Puppet . . .
Here's the set up. An obnoxious, paunchy post-middle-age male decides to invade Iraq. He and his flunkies make a lot of false claims and assertions that are generally known to be false in real time. For example, Michael Ratner, Jennie Green and Barbara Olshanksy will write in 2002: "Despite the pervasive use of the phrase 'weapons of mass destruction' in many of the Bush Administration's speeches discussing Saddam Hussein throughout 2002, there is no evidence of a developed nuclear weapon program in Iraq. Indeed, all reliable, detailed evidence from independent experts reveals that the current weapons capacity in Iraq is small -- smaller and far less advanced than that of other counries around the world that are actively threatening peace in their respective regions" (Against War With Iraq). But out of some desire to let the lifelong loser make yet another stab at 'success' in some form, in any forum, the mainstream media largely either stays silent or cheerleads.
The spoiled playboy gets his hobby (and many die). He toys with and discards Ibrahim al-Jaafari (the cad!) and along comes Nouri al-Maliki. Cue love theme on the soundtrack. Puppet is Bully Boy's favorite kind of Iraqi -- one that's spent over two decades out of the country.
Now after long distance exchanges and one brief (shining) moment, they're face to face and the question for the audience is: "Are their sparks?"
Don't expect sparks to fly but expect the Puppet to get a lesson in who pulls the strings.
The BBC offers this recap: "When the two leaders met in Baghdad last month . . . The mood then was unusually positive, reports the BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington -- but this latest meeting comes on the back of a failed security operation in Baghdad." The AFP reminds: "Baghdad's descent into chaos has claimed more victims as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Washington under pressure to restore order and pave the way for the departure of US forces. As gunshots and bomb blasts echoed around the capital, the Iraqi leader went into talks with US President George W. Bush knowing that both the Americans and his own supporters are disappointed with his handling of the situation."
A meeting of two leaders? Sounds more like a performance review.
Getting far less attention is the reconciliation meetings going on Cairo with (AP): "Some 30 delegates representing Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and other smaller minorities are participating in the discussions sponsored by the Cario-based Arab League."
In peace news, the Latin American News Agency reported Friday: "Costa Rican filmmaker Daniel Ross . . . won the prize of the screenplay contest called by the Program for the Promotion of Production and TV Coverage of the Ibero American Documentary (DOCTV-IB)." Ross will now have $100,000 for the budget of his film, Dear Camilo, which "will portray the story of [Camilo] Mejias, from the perspective of two Costa Rican friends, former classmates he meets after 10 years." On the subject of activist and war resister Camilo Mejia, he is not 24 years-old. Those who've noted coverage of an accident in Florida involving a 24 year-old Camilo Mejia and wondered, it's not the same Camilo Mejia (the activist Mejia was born in 1976).
After serving in Iraq, Mejia returned to the US and went AWOL, surfacing in March of 2004 at a news conference held at the Sherborn Peace Abbey Alison O'Leary Murray (Boston Globe) reports that Sherborn Peace Abbey, "founded in 1988," is in need of funding. Along with being the setting for Meija's news conference, the abbey also "was involved in a protest by a group calling itself the Peace Chain 18, who chained themselves togeter at Natick's Army Labs to protest military intervention in Iraq."
Writing for The Huffington Post, Michael Brune notes that he and others with the Rainforest Action Network "are joining Code Pink and thousands of others around the world who are fasting to end the war in Iraq and to bring our troops home now." Brune writes: "Each day we wake up, rush to work, get together with friends, get caught in traffic, get caught in office politics, get caught in emails . . . and each day so many time zones away, another family is terrorized at gunpoint, another young soldier is killed, a home is destroyed, a child is killed while her sister is raped. And if you live in America, it's being done in your name."
YubaNet notes: "hunger strikers who started fasting against the war on July 4 will set up 'Camp Al-Maliki' across from the Iraqi Embassy to await response to a letter sent by the group to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki." Today is DAY 22 of the Troops Home Fast action -- at least 4,350 people from around the world are participating. The fast is ongoing and people wishing to grab a one-day fast to show their support can do so at any point. If you missed the July 4th start, you haven't missed out on the protest. Information can be found online at CODEPINK.
Finally, in Australia, the inquiry into the April 21st death in Baghdad of Jake Kovco continues with "Soldier Two" (Kovco's platoon sergeant by most accounts) testifying. Malcom Brown (Sydney Morning Herald) reports that Soldier Two testified that he "had heard the commotion in Private Kovco's room on the night of April 21 and found the private's room-mates, Soldiers 17 and 19, kneeling beside the body. He saw the nine-millimetre pistol on the floor and shifted it aside with his hands in case someone accidentally discharged it." Ben Doherty (The Age) reports that "Kovco's platoon sergeant did not want to look again" at Kovco's body. This is presented as the reason why the body of Bosnian Juso Sinanovic ended up arriving in Melbourne and not the body of Jake Kovco. Soldier Two is quoted saying: "I was devastated and am still upset by the mix-up." Australia's ABC notes that Soldier Two was flown in from Baghdad to testify and that he "said he was not given detailed instructions of his role as escort, and was not told that he had sole responsibility for identifying the body during the repatriation process." Doherty notes that Soldier Two's DNA was tested and "neither Soldier 2 nor three military police officers involved in the initial investigation" match the DNA found on the gun ("its slide, handgrip and trigger"). Doherty concludes with: "The two soldiers who were in barracks room eight with Private Kovco when he died will be DNA-tested when they arrive back in Australia later this week."
Note that this is the inquiry's stated goal/action today and that another turnaround wouldn't be surprising at this point considering its past history.
What can you add to that? I found one thing in the paper.
"Military towns giving rise to Iraq war critics" (Kathy Kiely, USA Today):
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- Cupped in a dark green hollow of the Allegheny Mountains, this hard-luck city is far more familiar with floods than the desert. Yet, in a way, it's a crucial battleground of the Iraq war.
Southwestern Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District is a fiercely patriotic area, where storeowners still decorate their windows for Memorial Day and hang banners to welcome home returning soldiers. Military veterans account for more than 15% of the population.
So it has come as something of a shock, both to his neighbors here and colleagues in Washington, that Rep. John Murtha is leading the charge for a pullout from Iraq. A plain-spoken former Marine who has represented this district for 32 years, Murtha says it's his closeness to the troops that motivated him.
"I felt like I had to speak out," he says. "I go to the hospitals every week and see kids blown apart. ... There's times you've got to realize it isn't getting any better."
Some of the most pointed critiques of the administration's policy in Iraq are coming from lawmakers who represent constituencies with close ties to the military. Their criticism underscores how widespread concerns about the war have become, even in areas where support has been strong for President Bush or the troops.
To me, what's great about this article is that it demonstrates how wide the opposition is. You know it, I know it, but most of the time the press acts like it's not happening or hasn't happened. America wants this war over now. That's the only thing that probably worried Bully Boy. He can't have Iran as easy as he had Iraq. He's the little boy who cried WMD wolf and it's not going to be as easy to fool people this time. Like he says, "Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice . . . uh, Won't get fooled again!"
You hear that and it's hard not to think, "What an idiot." He's not someone who didn't have every break. When you realize he went to good schools it just underscores how he has always refused to apply himself. He never wanted to be "better." If he'd been checked at any point before this, he might not be such as bully.
But if he got through school talking like that, you know he was never held to any academic standards. He didn't get checked in the Guard or he would have been sent to Vietnam after he stopped doing his agreed to hours. He didn't get checked in business because Daddy's buddies always rushed in to fix things for him. So we all suffer today from someone who never grasped that you can't always have your way, that everything can't be "fixed" for you.
(Though he got the 2000 election fixed for him.)
So that's what we're dealing with and what we're looking at now -- someone's who's lived without emotional gravity who is convinced he can make something happen just by saying it will and that, if it doesn't, someone will come along and save his butt.
I don't think he gives a damn about the soldiers who die. I don't think he gave a damn about Carla Faye Tucker. The only thing that matters in his world is him. Everything else can wait or can be forgotten.
So the body count doesn't bother him. The fact that the country wants out of Iraq doesn't bother him.
He may be getting a little nervous, wondering where Daddy's friends are to bail him out on this? He's going to be left owning this one. He can't push it off on anyone else and it happened in front of the whole world so everyone knows. He can pretend like they don't, or that he doesn't care, but he's humilated himself in front of the whole world.
And that's a reality he'll have to face. He may just do it by himself, one on one, but it's reality and no one can smooth it over for him.
iraq
jacob bruce kovco
jake kovco
michael ratner
the center for constitutional rights
barbara olshansky
codepink
troops home fast
camilo mejia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)