Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Barack shows his 'warmer' side

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.
 
DESPITE RUMORS THAT SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON CLEANED HIS CLOCK IN THE ABC DEBATE, SENATOR BAMBI OBAMA SEES IT DIFFERENTLY.
 
"I BELIEVE.  I SHOWED.  RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES," BAMBI EXPLAINED.  "THAT I AM.  NOT DISIMILAR TO THEMSELVES.  I GRASP THAT THEY.  CAN CONVERGE WITH. ME.  THAT WE CAN ALL.  CONVERGE AMONGST.  ONE ANOTHER.  IT WAS A RISKY GAMBIT BUT.  I BELIEVE AMERICANS HAVE.  A RIGHT TO SEE.  MY WARMER SIDE.  MY LIGHTER DISPOSITION.  IF YOU PER CHANCE WILL."
 
"LOSER!" CRIED A MAN PASSING BY.
 
"I SEE," BAMBI DECLARED IN HIS MONOTONE, "THAT MAN SUPPORTS ME BECAUSE.  SUPPORTING ME.  IS SUPPORTING HIM.  IT IS.  A SMALL.  WORLD.  AFTER ALL."
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Courage to Resist has compiled a page providing names of war resisters and we'll note Jose Vasquez's sketch: "Staff. Sgt. Jose Vasquez served fourteen years in the Army and Army Reserve.  In January 2005, he applied for conscientious objector status requesting immediate discharge from the military which was approved.  He was honorably discharged in May 2007.  Jose is an active member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) serving as Co-chiar of the Borad and President of the New York City chapter.  He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the City University of New York." Vasquez helped verify all witnesses testifying at Winter Soldier Investigation last month and also chaired the March 14th's first panel.  Vasquez also organized the successful Operation First Casualty II last May (Memorial Day) in NYC.
 
That's the US.  In Canada, US war resisters are waiting to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor. The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.         

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!           
April 22 from 10am-1pm      
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.

 
That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast. If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage.
 
 
Bilal is free.  The Committee to Protect Journalists notes, "Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was freed today from U.S custody in Iraq, ending a two-year ordeal in which he fended off unsubstantiated accusations from the U.S. military that he collaborated with Iraq insurgents." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reminds, "The military never made public its evidence against Hussein" and that they announced their decision on Monday when they "released a statement with a slightly gruding tone". "Two years and four days" of imprisonment, Daryl Lang (Photo District News) calculates, also noting the "five-month judicial process" that ended last week.  Robert H. Reid (AP) explains, "Hussein, 36, was freed at a checkpoint in Baghdad, where he was taken by the military aboard a prisoner bus.  He left U.S. custody wearing a traditional Iraqi robe and appeared in good health."  Dean Yates (Reuters) quotes Bilal stating, "I want to thank all the people working in AP . . . I have spent two years in prison even though I was innocent.  I thank everybody."  Editorial Photographers United Kingdom & Ireland describes the scene, "The photographer was embraced by sobbing family members, including his brother and mother, and spoke to other well-wishers on a mobile phone as he was showered with flowers and sweets.  He later was honored with a traditional feast." They also quote professor Yassir Hussein (Bilal's brother) explaining, "I cannot describe my happiness at seeing him again.  The family has been going through a hard time over the past two years, but now we thank God that we will have some rest."  AFP notes Bilal's Pulitzer Prize win and that he was released at "an entry checkpoint near Camp Victory near the Baghdad airport" according to US Maj Matt Morgan. Paul Colford, Associated Press' Director of Media Relations, announced Monday, "After two years in detention, Bilal Hussein needs time to spend with his family, to rest and to catch up with the rest of the world."
 
 
"We need to trust" declared Jim Nussle at the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing today on tossing away more American dollars on funding the illegal war.  Nussle is the budget director for the White House so his credentials on "trust" remain murky.  US Senator Robert Byrd is the chair (despite attempts by US Senator Patrick Leahy to oust him) and, appearing robust, he opened the haring by noting first US Senator Arlen Specter's "health has hit a small bump in the road.  While many of us know what it's like to face a health challenge, I know this man.  His strong fighting spirit will quickly lead him on the path to recovery."  Byrd then moved the topic of the hearing:
 
Eleven months ago, Congress sent the president a war funding supplemental that included clear direction to bring our troops home by December of 2007.  The president chose to veto that bill.  If he had signed that bill, most of our troops would already be home.  But instead of bring our troops home, the president decided to increase our commitment of US troops and treasure to a war that has now entered its sixth year.  Over 4,000 US service members have died.  Over 30,000 US service members have been wounded.  By the end of 2008, the war in Iraq will have cost a whopping $600 billion.  In the next few weeks, the Appropriations Committee will consider the president's request for Congress to approve another $108 billion of emergency funding, most for this endless war in Iraq.  We will be considering the president's request at a time when the US ecnomy is, by most accounts, in serious trouble. Under the president's fiscal leadership, the US government will have piled up the five largest deficits in the history of our Republic.  It took 212 years and 42 US presidents to accumulate one-trillion-dollars of foreign-held debt.  But in only seven years, President George W. Bush has more than doubled the debt our country owes to China, Japan, and other foreign entities.
 
As he concluded his opening remarks, Byrd also noted, "This year, we will once again take good care of our troops.  But we must also invest in our own economy and take care of our people here at home.  To fail to do so will only further dampen our economy, work a hardship on our our citizens, and deplete our ability to pay these endless, every-climbing requests for more money to fund this war in Iraq.  The well is running dry, and it is time to prime the pump."  The senators worthy of note include Patty Murray who pointed out that the White House repeatedly underfunds in the US (infastructure, etc) and that when Congress attempts to address the underfunding, the White House threatens a veto.  She stated that Congress was attempting to fund the needed programs "in a responsible way" but there's no effort on the part of the White House to reach out to the Congress and that can stop.  "If that means," Murray declared, "we're going to to have to wait until we get" the next president, "then that's what we're going to do."   Senator Byron Dorgan echoed Murray's point and noted that "the game is over."  He referenced the New York Times story (C.J. Chivers' "Washington Blocks Exports of Munitions Firm Suspected of Fraud") on the 'businessmen' providing ammo to Afghanistan (emphasing "massage therapist" repeatedly) as well as the fact that Halliburton gets US tax payer funds and then "runs the payroll through the Cayman Islands" in order to avoid paying the US payroll taxes.  He stated that everyone -- Congress, the administration -- bears responsibility for the lack of oversight but that "there comes a time when you have to say enough."  Senator Ben Nelson noted the "blank check policy" the administration has attempted to utilize repeatedly.
 
The big surprise may have been Senator Dianne Feinstein who may have done her best job in a Senate hearing period.  She was to the point, she knew what you wanted to say.  She noted the frustrations everyone on the committee felt and maybe that's what it took but Feinstein, repeatedly holding her forehead as she held the administration accountable, Feinstein was professional and focused. "Never before in history has a war been funded on the debt," Feinstein pointed out.  "I think it's a . . . problem for the survival of the nation."  She was referring to the climbing debt and the White House's request for yet another 'emergency' funding bill.  Feinstein noted what wasn't getting funded, she noted the failing infrastructure across America, and the lack of funding to prevent wildfires or the leveys in Califonria that need to be fixed.  "My problem is," she explained, "I've got a part of a state that might well burn over the summer again and we can't provide" the needed funding.  She noted the tax cuts for the wealthy throughout the years of the illegal war and the domestic programs cut and re-cut during this emphasizing, "It's rather cyncial what happens: You fund the war off budget, on the debt, and you press for further tax reduction."  Regarding the latest 'emergency' request, Feinstein declared, "I think maybe the time has come when we do have to put our foot down" to make clear that "we're not going to do" this "and I'm going to have a very hard time for $108 billion knowing what's happening in the United States, . . knowing we need to do some things just to protect our own people. . . . It's not right and it's not why we" came to Congress.
 
"The legacy that this president will leave," Senator Mary Landrieu pointed out, "is that he drove the country into a war and for the next six years . . . refused to submit a plan to pay for it. There's nothing, Director, clean about this bill -- it's either a cover-up . . . or a sloppy sales job."
 
At the conclusion of the hearing, the chair, Robert Byrd, spoke noting in "the next few weeks the committee will mark up a supplemental that meets the needs" of the military and the civilians.  A lively hearing and a CODEPINK activist chanted "Fund them home! Fund the home!" repeatedly at the end; however, it needs to be noted that some of the life in the hearing may have had less to do with the illegal war (and the drain its placed on the US economy -- present and future) and more to do with the White House's threat to veto what Congress sends up if they add any additional spending to it (which is their right, they control the purse and the White House does not have line-item veto).  Senator Ben Nelson hit especially hard on the issue of the money going to the Iraq War and reminded that he and Senator Evan Bayh had, early on, requested that the monies for reconstruction, et al in Iraq be given in the form of a loan.  Nussle apparently missed last week's hearings because this was a new concept to him.  He spoke of taking the idea back to the White House and begged off additional questions noting he was not the Secretary of State.  In terms of the waste Dorgan emphasized, he also acted as if this was news to him.  He suggested Congress explore that.  That's what they were attempting . . . while he played dumb.
 
 
 

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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The low standards for the child candidate

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.
 
"THAT'S MY HUSBAND!" BRAGGED THE SUPPOSEDLY EDUCATED MICHELLE OBAMA POINTING TO SENATOR BAMBI TAPING HIS COMMERICAL A FEW DAYS AGO.  "HE'S SO GOOD!"
 
 
"NEXT WEEK," MICHELLE GUSHED, "HE'S GOING TO BRAG ABOUT NOT BEING A SERIAL KILLER!"
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Richard Marcus (BlogCritics) reviews the new DVD Deserter which offers a a 30 minute look at "a deserting soldier and his young wife as they flee across the country to seek refugee status over the Canadian border.  As they move from safe house to safe house, we get to know Ryan and Jen -- two shy, small-town kids from the Central Valley who joined the military because there were no jobs, and find they must make a heroic stand in order to escape an illegal and immoral war.  'Deserter' is a political movie with one of the few happy endings that this war has given us." Ryan and Jen are Ryan and Jen Johnson and they entered Canada in June 2005. Marcus writes, "All the way across America there operates a new Underground Railway, but now instead of helping runaway slaves they are helping young Americans escape from having to serve in what they consider an unjust war.  Ryan and Jen are passed from having to serve in what they consider an unjust war.  Ryan and Jen are passed from safe house to safe house until just before the border they phone the contact they have for Toronto.  They've already been coached on how to get through the border corssing, but that doesn't stop them from being nervous; there is the risk that they could check Ryan for outstanding warrants and find out that he is a deserter."
 
Meanwhile war resisters in Canada wait to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor.  The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue.  You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum. 

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).  
 
Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!            
April 22 from 10am-1pm                    
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.              
 
That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast.  If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage. 
 
Moving to the US Congress.  Today the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held hearings on proposed legislation.  Committee chair Michael Michaud noted, "The six bills before us cover a wide range of topics that are germane to veterans' healthcare.  Issues addressed in today's bills include Spina Bifida, epilepsy research centers, substance use disorder treament and prevention, expansion of dental care, timely access to care, and a bill of rights."
 
The first panel offered testimony from members of Congress. Committee chair Michaud offered testmony on substance use noting, "Our legislation will require the VA to provide the full continuum of care for substance use disorder, and it will require this full spectrum of care to be available at every VA medical center.   Our legislation will also direct the VA to conduct a pilot program for internet-based substance use disorder treatment for veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.  This will enable our newest generation of veterans to overcome the stigma associated with seeking treatment and receive the necessary care in a comfortable and secure setting."  US House Rep Christopher Carney focused on the issue of the dental care and, in his opening statement, provided reasons why this area should not be dismissed including: "The cost of this bill is a cost of war; it is an investment in our way of life and our future. As every member of this subcommittee knows, to ensure a ready fighting force tomorrow we need to take care of our veterans today. I would also like to point out that conditions such as missing teeth and cavities can be barriers in seeking employment and I believe every effort must be made to ensure that there is a smooth transition for our military members who are entering the civilian work force. We must also ensure that disabled veterans from wars past are also given every tool to keep a meaningful job and this includes dental care."  US House Rep Ginny Brown-Waite was concerned with the issue of wait time and noted "if a veteran can't see a physician in 30 days she or he should be allowed to see a private doctor." She later pointed that "healthcare delayed is healthcare denied." Rep Phil Hare noted that it's not a "how can we afford" issue with veterans healthcare, "If we make a promise to our veterans . . . we have to keep that promise or we have no business making it."  US House Rep Shelley Berkley agreed with that, explaining "For me the cost of the war" includes the "cost of taking care of our veterans" and if that's considered incorrect "then you ought not send them over" to begin with. 
 
Berkley also noted the issue of costs in terms of funding, "If we're going to continue to pile more responsibilities on the VA . . . we better provide the VA with the necessary amount of money that they're going to need to carry out our will and so far I haven't seen that happen. . . . We're playing catch up now. . . .  Unless we have a national recognition" of this priority "then we better just forget the whole thing.  And thank you for listening to my soapbox."  Berkley also noted that the US spends $3,919 a second in Iraq "and if we're going to spend that kind of money" there, Congress ought to be able to fund veterans healthcare.  She noted doctors in Nevada who contracted to perform veterans healthcare and "they have not been paid in over a year."  If this continues, she noted, "You're not going to get any doctors" who'll be willing to go through this process and take on patients.  On the issue of substance abuse, she thought (most will agree) that the idea of treating it via the internet was a bit off the mark and was informed that the internet aspect is just a pilot program. Considering the rural areas that will not benefit why the pilot program is even being started might need to be questioned.  (That's me, not Berkley).  She noted the son of two of her constituents who served in Iraq.  After returning home, he developed a sustance abuse program and was addicted to "five medications".  Going for treatment at the VA resulted in him being put on a sixth medication "and he o.d.ed in the facility and he died in the VA."  She cautioned, "We better make sure the VA has the tools" and that when someone "checks into a VA, there should be an expectation there" that they those conducting the treatment know what they are doing. 
 
US House Rep Bob Filner focused on the need for an Epilepsy Center for Excellence.  US House Rep Ed Perlmutter noted that he has a daughter with epilepsy and the need for the VA "to provide the military veterans coming back that will develop seizures and that develop epilepsy . . . with the best service possible."  He reminded the committee of the large number of head injuries in combat and that "some of them are goign to have seizures." (Also offering testimony were US House Reps Brad Ellsworth and Ed Perlmutter.)  The second panel offered five witnesses.  Disabled American Veterans' Joy J. Illem spoke on the Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (HR 2818) and noted, "The bill would establish a peer review panel, consisting of experts on epilepsy and complex multi-trauma associated with combat injuries, including post-traumatic epilepsy, to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals submitted by VA facilities for consideration to be designated as Epilepsy Centers of Excellence under this bill.  The peer review panel would be required to report its assessment of such proposals to the Under Secretary for Health, presumably to strengthen the Secretary's decision to designate Centers on the basis of merit -- but the bill does not specify this peer review as a precursor to the Secretary's designations.  The Subcommittee may wish to make that minor modification to the bill to ensure the best proposals are considered by the Secretary as determined by the peer review panel. "  Ilem felt it should be paired with a TBI center.  Veterans of Foreign Wars' Christopher Needham stated "we need an emphasis on this."  Chair Michaud asked the five witnesses at the second panel to name the two things the legislature should focus on fixing currently.  Ilem stated substance abuse was the issue.  Needham stated the same and added "hand in hand is funding issues."  American Legion's Joseph L. Wilson stated TBI and blind eye issues. While Vietnam Veterans of America's Bernie Edelman noted "a lot of these health issues are interwoven" and also spoke of the "stigma associated with seeking help".  Vietnam Veterans of America's Richard F. Weidman spoke of the diseases today (throughout the second panel) and the impacts on the future.  He noted the issue of children of veterans developing diseases and the concerns many veterans had over this issue.  Agent Orange was a frequent topic (brought up by many) and an important issue to keep in mind is that Agent Orange (it's effects on future generations) could have been dealt with during Vietnam (it never should have been used to begin with).  It wasn't.  Veterans of Vietnam have had to fight and fight and fight some more year after year.  In terms of the current illegal war,  funding, research, etc. needs to take place now.  After the Iraq War ends it will be very, very difficult to get the interest of the bulk of Congress or the bulk of the American people on this issue.  Vietnam veterans can talk at length about their struggles for basic healthcare and how they're still fighting. 
 
Last week, in the midst of The Petraeus and Crocker Variety Hour, the House Veterans Armed Service committee held a hearing on April 9th and Trina wrote about it. Read her post, she did an excellent job covering it.  Pressed for time, but veteran Michelle Saunders needs to be noted because she advocated very well in that hearing.  She knew her facts, she was confident and presented very well.   Boiling her points down to the briefiest, veterans can help veterans.  She's pursuing that now and attempting an organization that will provide the training/preparation needed for post-military life.  She noted that you get weeks of boot camp when you enlist, but when you discharge, it's bye.  From her opening statement:
 
 
When I left the conference, I was so eager to get in the trenches and start figuring the best strategic approach on how to stop the bleeding, but little did I know it was like trying to put a band-aid on a sucking chest wound. I soon started to see the blackness of bureaucracy from the inside as opposed to being the victim on the outside. I started to see how a "success" was measured by a number, how a problem would disappear when it was time to report to the higher chain of command, how the "collaborating" agencies would point fingers at each other of all the pitfalls and the hic-ups, but would leverage each other for the "successes". After reading that, one may ask or presume I am bitter. The answer is, I am not bitter, I am disappointed and I am embarrassed. I am disappointed because I stand next to people every day who are in the positions to make effective change, who make six plus figure salaries a year and are able to go home at night and provide for their families just to start over the next day. I am embarrassed because I can't financially afford to bite the hand that feeds me. For me, it's a little different, I go home at night and I am in pain because I know that my brothers and sisters who once stood by my side at arms and always covered me, are gasping for air because they're worried about where the next pocket of money is coming from, their VA appeal claims, their lack of credentials, because of what their families may think of their, once proud American soldier. These are the parts of the transition that holds the needed healing of the broken soul, how do you heal when you can't stop firing squad?

We are still repeating history in a sense that during the 1970's and 1980s, our streets were crawling with Vietnam War veterans with the same issues. The only difference today is our veterans are not being ignored by society and the government is being held accountable. For the first time Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are being recognized as issues and they are abnormal conditions caused by combat trauma and combat stress. We live in a society that does not accept murder as something "normal". We live in a society that is spiritual and compassionate by nature regardless of religious beliefs. When these horrific acts are witnessed or are performed by an American soldier in a time of war, it breaks the spirit in a way that can't be defined. However, we are expected to act "normal" when we arrive back to our home soil. In addition our peers are forced to look at us different and weak because of the mentality of our senior military leadership, we are "STRONG" warriors that aren't supposed to feel, yet we must follow the rules of the Geneva Convention because our morals and beliefs as a nation dictate. Yes there are services in place for those who "need it" but there is a silent voice that is extremely loud that puts those who "need it" in a corner. Fortunately, the American population as a whole is finally pushing back because they understand what our eyes see across the water is not "normal" however; there is still an uncomfortable stigma that is associated with this. Society as a whole wants to help, but that help must happen away from their children and their neighborhoods. We are making a difference however, the flood gates have been opened and an enormous amount of water has fractured the backbone of our infrastructure. It is up to those who can speak for the ones who can not. WE MUST INFORM, EDUCATE AND PROMOTE AWARENESS. The blind eye approach is NOT working; it is MUCH bigger than us, so we must take a different approach.
 
Turning to Iraq.  Refugee International released a study, authored by Kristele Younes and Nir Rosen, entitled "Uprooted and Unstable: Meeting Urgent Humanitarian Needs in Iraq" [PDF format warning, click here]. In the opening, the report notes, "Five years after the US-led invasion, Iraq remains a deeply violent and divided society.  Faced with one of the largest displacement and humanitarian crises in the world, Iraqi civilians are in urgent need of assistance.  Particularly vulnerable are the 2.7 million internally displaced Iraqis who have fled their homes for safe locations inside Iraq.  Unable to access their food rations and often unemployed, they live in squalid conditions, have run out of resources and find it extremely difficult to access essential services."
 
On the issue of returning the report notes the fact that abandoned homes have been taken over and that when there has been a conflict with a family returning, the local militias have sometimes been the ones 'hearing' the dispute.  Those who are 're-settled' face the realities of the rations program which does not serve many of the internal refugees (often due to paperwork or lack of it, often due to the the fact that the internal refugees are not in their original home neighborhoods).  The report clearly warns: "All relevant actors should discourage returns until the violence subsides and people can receive adequate assistance and protection."  That warning echoes the United Nations and Red Crescent's warnings. 
 
On the issue of the militias, the report notes how they are actually weakening the govenrment and how this is with US cooperation (whether US agents/actors are aware of it or not).  Control of electric plants is one way in which the militias can determine who gets power and who does not.  Control of aid also strengthens the militias while weakening the central government.  The report notes Refugees International workers seeing the Baghdad based offices of the Sadr Movement dispensing "clothing, milk, oil, rice, sugar, clothes and fuel for heating and cooking when supplies are available."  The NGOs would be one means to counter the weakening of the government but the US and Iraqi governments are little concerned with and little aware of these organizations.  A visit by Refugees International to Baghdad's region where Palestinians currently reside led to the discovery that "the community" of 15,000 residents "has not had an international visitor since 2005."  The Haifa Club provides assistance to that area.  Ethar Associates provides assistance to 5,000 families in Amriya (a section of Baghdad where internally displaced Sunnis have moved) as well as to 4,000 families in Taji and 1,500 in Rashdiye.  "When Refugees International mentioned the groups to UN agencies and international NGOS," the study notes, "it became clear that nobody knew of them, despite the important role they play."  
 
In terms of the 'central-government,' Refugees International "observed close cooperation between the Mahdi Army and the Iraqi Police, Iraqi National Police and the Facility Protection Services that often protect ministries and are notorious for their lawlessness.  Visiting Iraqi ministries and government offices in January and February of 2008, during the Shiite holy month of Muharam, there were overt symbols of Shiite tradition, such as flags and banners, hanging on buildings and walls, as well as television and radio stations playing Shiite religious prayers and songs.  The lack of separation between the state and the Shiite denomination intimidates Sunnis and creates the impression of Shiite ownership of government institutions."
 
On the subject of militias, the report notes that the "Awakening" Council is abosrbing males who have relocated from other areas of Iraq.  Leaving the report, Nouri al-Maliki (puppet of the occupation) has questioned the loyalty of the "Awakening" Councils (Sunni militias).  US Senator Barbara Boxer raised that issue last week during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing when she pointed out that the US is paying the "Awakenings" $182 million a year, $18 million month, and that now the White House, via US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, "are asking us for millions more to pay off the militias and, by the way, I have an article here that says Maliki recently told a London paper that he was concerned about half of them".  So the questions about their loyalties/ties to the central government in Baghdad is in question.  But Refugees International's study raises another issue.  Due to the fact that these are displaced Sunni males from other areas, their loyalties/ties are also not to the local government.  The organization spoke with members in mutliple areas and "found that displaced men have joined armed groups.  In some cases locals complain that the displaced are more aggressive and radical than local men who have joined the same groups."  In Dora, they're informed by two members of "Awakening" Councils that they came on board for two reasons "money and the desire to take action against Shiites." So (leaving the report)  the US government is arming and training these militias and not only are they not loyal to the central government in Baghdad (few Iraqis see al-Maliki as a legitimate leader) they aren't even loyal to their regions and one of the selling points from the Bully Boy and the US military brass is that these militias are "local" forms, "local" bonds.  That argument tries to state that the "Awakening" Council is a strengthening force for the Iraqi government and that, being local, it strengthens the local government and that travels upward. But that's not at all what Refugees International found.  The "local" militias aren't exclusively "local" and there are little tes to the local government or to the neighborhood.  The report notes: "Like the Mahdi army, these Sunni militias also have political goals and are attempting to unite to become a larger movement that will be able to regain Sunni terriotry and effectively fight the Shiite militias and the Shiite dominated government, which they call and 'Iranian Occupation.' In some ways their attitude is, 'The Americans did not buy us, we bought them'." The central government in Baghdad is an installed government.  As US Senator Joe Biden noted last Thursday in the Senate Foreign Relations Comittee hearing, the White House wants to negotiate a treaty (Status of Forces Agreement) with the central government but "there is no Iraqi government that we know of that will be place a year from now -- half the government has walked out."  Refugees International's study notes that the Shi'ite versus Shi'ite struggles currently going on take place as Sunnis who feel disenfranchised plan what to do when the US does pull out. 
 
In the meantime, the Iraqi refugees are being denied entry.  That may make you think of the US government's refusal to accept Iraqis or of the borders being closed in countries bordering Iraq.  However, Refugees International explains that of Iraq's eighteen provinces, eleven have shut their borders to Iraqi refugees from other provinces.  As the report notes "eleven Governoates inside Iraq, as well as neighboring countries Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt no longer admit displaced Iraqis.  In the event of an increase in violence, vulnerable Iraqi civilians will have nowhere left to go.  One imperative for the international community is to consider such a scenario, and start planning for it."
 
The report demolishes the Myth of the Great Return.  Throughout November the lie was repeated in media outlet after outlet (credit to Damien Cave and Cara Buckley of the New York Times who were among the first American reporters to report the reality -- among the first and among the only).  "Iraq is safer!" went the lie.  "Iraqis are returning by the busloads!"  The figures didn't grow naturally.  You had CBS News repeat a figure on the weekend that, by Monday afternoon, had more zeroes added to it.  It was a publicity campaign by the puppet government and the White House.  It was wrong and it was deadly.  Before we get to the report on that, we need to all grasp how wrong that myth was.  Iraqis seeking shelter outside of Iraq were being lied to, told it was safer and that they should come back.  The Iraqi refugee crisis is already a crisis of global proportion but lying to refugees outside the country to trick them into coming back to Iraq is inhumane and criminal.  That point needs to be stressed because Refugees International's study includes this: "According to a UN official, the Bush administration is also putting enormous pressure on the UNHCR to conduct a viability survey and declare Iraq safe for returns."  Point, The Myth of the Great Return could strike again.  Panhandle Media sat it out in November (and December and January).  Real media didn't include many stepping up to the plate (even after Buckley and Cave had reported realities).  The report notes that "the Ministry of Migration's return strategy document from late 2007 clearly states that returns, should they occur, would demonstrate the success of the current US-Government of Iraq overall security strategy in Iraq.  The return strategy also underlines the necessity for the Government of Iraq to engage in an active media campaign to counter warnings that the potential for returns will adversely impact a security situation already extremely fragile."  The Myth of the Great Return existed solely as a p.r. move.  After Syria was asked to close their border to Iraqi refugees, a few returned, those whose funds had run out.  The report documents this. 
 
 
 

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Monday, April 14, 2008

THIS JUST IN! KATTY VAN-VAN TALKS!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.
 
 
SHE NIXED A PHOTOGRAPHER "FOR OBVIOUS REASONS."
 
BUT SHE AGREED TO A FREE WHEELING INTERVIEW AND THESE REPORTERS SHOWED UP EXPECTING JUST THAT.
 
WE ASKED HER FIRST OF ALL WHERE SHE GOT OFF WRITING "FIGHTING FOR THE FRANCHISE" WHEN SHE AND HER LOUSY MAGAZINE REFUSED TO DEFEND THE DEMOCRATIC VOTERS IN MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA WHO ARE BEING DISENFRANCHISED.
 
"DO YOU THINK I'M PRETTY?" SHE ASKED.  "I THINK I'M PRETTY.  A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T THINK I'M PRETTY.  BUT I THINK I'M PRETTY.  AREN'T I PRETTY?"
 
THEN WE ASKED HOW PROUD DOES SHE FEEL, AS A DEMOCRAT, WHEN SHE LETS "JUST A SMALL TOWN GIRL" ARI BERMAN REPEAT THE G.O.P. LIES ABOUT THE LINCOLN BEDROOM WAS SOLD "OFF TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER" DURING THE YEARS OF BILL CLINTON'S PRESIDENCY?
 
"OH, THAT'S A MISTAKE," SHE INFORMED US AND WE THOUGHT SHE MEANT BERMAN HAD MADE A TYPO IN HIS SMUTTY LITTLE SCRIBBLE FOR THE NATION MAGAZINE.
 
"WHAT DO I CARE ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY?" ASKED KATTY-VAN-VAN.  "I'M A LOSER AND I'M CHANNELING ALL MY MONEY -- WELL GRANDDADDY'S MONEY, I CAN'T MAKE ANY ON MY OWN AND NEITHER COULD MY FATHER -- INTO FRONT ORGANIZATIONS TO DESTROY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.  I WANT THE DEMOCRATS TO LOSE UNTIL THEY'RE AS AWFUL AS ME.  I'M REALLY AWFUL, YOU KNOW.  I KEEP LYING THAT I WON AN AWARD FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD BUT, TRUTH IS, THE AWARD WENT TO THE MAGAZINE.  BUT NO ONE EVER CHECKS ANYTHING SO I KEEP LYING.  I LIE A LOT.  AND I HAVE MY ASSISTANTS SCRUB UNFLATTERING TRUTHS FROM MY WIKIPEDIA PROFILE.  WE HAD AN INTERN RECENTLY AND I TOLD HER 'SCRUB EVERYTHING ON MY FATHER!' AND SHE DID."
 
AS THESE REPORTERS WAITED IN THE LENGTHY SILENCE THAT FOLLOWED, KATTY-VAN-VAN FINALLY SPOKE, "WILL YOU PLEASE WRITE THAT I'M PRETTY?  I REALLY AM, YOU KNOW.  IN SOME CULTURES ANYWAY.  DADDY USED TO TELL ME THAT GROWING UP.  I USED TO SEARCH FOR THOSE CULTURES BUT FINALLY GREW BORED.  BUT SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD, I AM CONSIDERED PRETTY."
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Writing earlier this month about a protest for the 4,000 mark (US service members killed), the Catalyst Project's Clare Bayard (Indybay IMC) notes, "Every day, people act to resist the U.S. military, from around the world, from within its ranks.  And how do we know how many of those names read out last night belong to resisters?  How many were carrying an unloaded weapon, like Agustin Aguayo did for a year while the Army denied his conscientious objector status?  How many were considering going AWOL?  How many were pursuing, if they knew the option existed, a conscientious objector status?  How many had done something recently to stand up to racism, misogyny, or some random violence within their unit?  Mostly we'll never know because now their mouths are filled with dirt and their stories will be carried only by those suriving them."  Last month, Joanne Tucker (Daily 49er) reported on a rally Aguayo attended noting he "spent almost seven months in jail after going absent without official leave (AWOL) before his second deployment to Iraq as an Army medic" and quotes Aguayo declaring to the crowd, "We came back and we feel lucky. I have my limbs.  I have my family, but still, it's hard to function.  I'm glad you're here and you do want change." Aguayo served in Iraq on one of tour of duty.  When he arrived, he wasn't prepared for what he saw and he had a spiritual transformation/awakening.  He grasped immediately that what was taking place was against his moral beliefs and took to not loading his weapon.  He applied for CO status and the military rejected it.  The thrust of their argument is offensive which is that you are who you  are -- in terms of spirituality and religious belief -- when you sign up.  They argued against what almost every religion practiced in the US maintains, that your spirituality in, your commitment to, the religion can deepen and increase. The reason they got away with that is that so few people know Aguayo's story.  If most people knew the US military was rejecting a claim for CO status (or for anything) based on the argument that a religion has a fixed point, they would be offended and outraged.  (Especially considering the basic issue of who is the US military to weigh in on religion?) Aguayo took the issue to the civilian courts which had agreed to hear it.  That alone should have made the US military back off long enough to let the court system weigh in.  They didn't back off, Aguayo got across how serious he was about not being able to ethically, religiously and morally deploy to Iraq.  Though gone less than 30 days -- the usual yardstick for whether someone is prosecuted for being AWOL -- and though he had turned himself in, the US military decided to court-martial him for desertion.  The court-martial took place March 6, 2007 at which he declared, "I respect everyone's views and your decision.  I understand that people don't understand me.  I tried my best, but I couldn't bear weapons and I could never point weapons at someone. . . . The words of Martin Luther come to mind, 'Here I stand, I can do no more'."
 
Two years prior (May 10, 2005), Pablo Paredes was court-martialed.  Pablo Paredes was schedule dto deploy in 2004, but he refused to board the ship.  Rick Rogers (San Diego Union-Tribune) reported on it in real time noting December 7, 2004, "Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes followed through on his plan: He refused to board his Navy ship yesterday morning when it sailed for Iraq with thousands of Camp Penleton Marines. . . . Paredes might be the first local sailor to refuse deployment on the grounds of being philosophically opposed to the Iraq war, said Sam Samuelson, spokesman for the San Diego Naval Station." National Lawyers Guild president Marjorie Cohn testified at Paredes court-martial.  As she observed in May of 2005:
 
In a stunning blow to the Bush administration, a Navy judge gave Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes no jail time for refusing orders to board the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard before it left San Diego with 3,000 sailors and Marines bound for the Persian Gulf on December 6th.  Lt. Cmdr. Robert Klant found Pablo guilty of missing his ship's movement by design, but dismissed the charge of unauthorized absence.  Although Pablo faced one year in the brig, the judge sentenced him to two months' restriction and three months of hard labor, and reduced his rank to seaman recruit.  
"This is a huge victory," said Jeremy Warren, Pablo's lawyer.  "A sailor can show up on a Navy base, refuse in good conscience to board a ship bound for Iraq, and receive no time in jail.  Warren added.  Although Pablo is delighted he will not have to go to jail, he still regrets that he was convicted of a crime.  He told the judge at sentencing: "I am guilty of believing this war is illegal.  I am guilty of believing war in all forms is immoral and useless, and I am guilty of believing that as a service member I have a duty to refuse to participate in this War because it is illegal."
 
Scripps News noted Pablo Paredes at the end of last month when addressing Pew Hispanic Center's polling which found only 24% of Latinos were in favor of the the Iraq War and noting that Paredes "now works as a peace educator with the American Friends Service Committee."  At the same time, Parades and Jess Quintero contributed a piece for Scripps Howard News Service with Quinteror providing reasons Latinos should enlist and with Parades offering reasons why Latinos should be opposed to US involvement in Iraq.  Parades reasons are below:
 
1. Hispanics are overrepresented in the most dangerous roles of the military and sorely underrepresented in the officer ranks and elite jobs.         
2. Recruitment programs that target Hispanics make false promises of education, a better economic status and citizenship.             
3. Hispanics who have served honorably come home to face inequality and discrimination; they aren't provided access to adequate veterans' benefits.           
4. Hispanics' historical ties to the U.S. military have been destructive to their ancestors. "Marines are taught to sing about the pillaging of the 'Halls of Montezuma.' "             
5. The war has propelled the rise of vigilante groups such as the Minutemen who in their propaganda messages stereotype and scapegoat all Hispanics as national-security risks.          
 
Meanwhile war resisters in Canada wait to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor.  The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue.  You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum. 

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).  
 
Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!            
April 22 from 10am-1pm                    
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.              
 
That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast.  If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage. 
 
 
Turning to Iraq,  Free Bilal. Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Bilal Hussein.  For the 'crime' of being a reporter, he has been imprisoned by the US military since April 12, 2006. As last year drew to a close the US military stated Bilal would be tried by the Iraqi legal system.  Last week, Reporters Without Borders noted that the "Iraqi appeal court panel of judges to dismiss the charges brought by the US defence department".  But the US military refused to release him.  As the Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorialized last week: "To recap: U.S. forces detain a man for 20 months without any charges. They hamstring his lawyers by not allowing them proper access to the evidence against him. When he finally gets his day in court and is exonerated, the U.S. military can still refuse to free him. How's that for justice?"  At AP's Bilal folder, Robert H. Reid (AP) reports, "The U.S. military said Monday it will release Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, more than two years after he was detained by U.S. Marines on suspicions of links to insurgents.  The military said it has determined Hussein is not a threat and plans to free him Wednesday."  Tom Curley, the CEO and president of AP states, "In time, we will celebrate Bilal's release.  For now, we want him safe and united with his family.  While we may never see eye to eye with the U.S. military over this case, it is time for all of us to move on." Hopefully, the news of Bilal's release will get a great deal of coverage (although some will probably breathe easier when Wednesday arrives and he's actually released). 
 
[. . .]
 
Turning to the US presidential race.  All the news is about Senator Barack Obama.  Which might be a good thing for him . . . were it not for the news.  As noted in Friday's snapshot, he declared, "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. It's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."  Instead of immediately apologizing, he tried to play it off (as his surrogates continue to).  He was offensive.  He can't garner votes and offend. Eloise Harper (ABC News) reports Hillary stated Barack should have been "owning up to his remarks" which he should have been. It's really basic. And it's not helpful to the Democratic Party.  As Fernando Suarez (CBS News) notes, Hillary explained that Sunday, "The Democratic Party has been unfortunately viewed by many people over the last decades as being elitist and out of touch."  And that killed the John Kerry momentum (which did briefly exist -- go back to the days of the young Edwards children, John and Elizabeth Edwards and John Kerry and Teresa Heinz-Kerry on the front page of the New York Times -- that period briefly existed).  Melinda Henneberger (Slate) dubs it Bambi's "worst" mistake and notes, "Sure, many Americans in places like my hometown are angry and they do 'cling'' to guns and God, though not in that order. It's connecting the two that's belittling in the extreme to the 'typical white person'-- to cite a phrase I chose to overlook at the time. Now, if Obama is sticking by the essence of what he said out of stubbornness or arrogance, that's one kind of problem. But if he really doesn't see why this could be a game-changer, that's worse. And though I've been pretty unrelievedly positive about the guy, it's the first thing he's said that's made me question his ability to win."  Jay Newton-Small (Time magazine) notes that both Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain called out Barack's remarks and that his elitist remarks "dominated" "campaign news" over the weekend and quotes Duke University's poli sci professor Michael Munger explaining the problems when gaffes "play to an underlying stereotype," ". . . the Obama stereotype is a wealthy ivy-league elitist.  He's a little too well-spoken; his suits are a little too expensive.  From him, the comment comes off as condescending." Mike Dorning (Chicago Tribune) reports it dominated the Sunday chat & chews and quotes the GOP's Mary Matalin stating, "The damage here is that what he said accurately reflects the current Democratic Party" which isn't reality but is how the GOP would use it in a general election because, as Matlin notes, his comments are "a general election nightmare."  US News & World Report explains that the weekend didn't vanish the controversy and headlines their round-up with "Obama's 'Bitter' Comment Halts His Momentum."  Anante Higgins (CBS News) reports John McCain stated today, "I think those comments are elitist."
 

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Obama explains how he feels

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.
 
APPARENTLY CAMPAINING FOR THE VOTE OF MONOPOLY'S MR. TOP HAT, SENATOR BAMBI OBAMA DECLARED THIS WEEK:
 
YOU GO INTO THESE SMALL TOWNS IN PENNSYLVANIA AND, LIKE A LOT OF SMALL TOWNS IN THE MIDWEST, THE JOBS HAVE BEEN GONE NOW FOR 25 YEARS AND NOTHING'S REPLACED THEM.  IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT THEY GET BITTER, THEY CLING TO GUNS OR RELIGION OR ANTIPATHY TO PEOPLE WHO AREN'T LIKE THEM OR ANTI-IMMIGRANT SENTIMENT OR ANTI-TRADE SENTIMENT AS A WAY TO EXPLAIN THEIR FRUSTRATIONS.
 
HAVING INSULTED SMALL TOWN AMERICA, ACTIVISTS AGAINST GLOBAL IMPERIALISM, RELIGIOUS PEOPLE AND JUST ABOUT EVERY OTHER GROUP IN ONE STATEMENT, THESE REPORTERS WERE AT A LOSS TO FIGURE OU HOW THERE WAS ANY ROOM LEFT UNDER THE BUS FOR BAMBI TO THROW THE NEXT GROUP UNDER?
 
INSTEAD OF APOLOGIZING FOR HIS OFFENSIVE REMARKS, SENATOR OBAMA'S DEFENSE TODAY IS "I SAID SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS IS TRUE."  HE ASKED THESE REPORTERS TO ADD "SAID WITH MY TONGUE STICKING OUT AT THE COUNTRY."
 
IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THESE REPORTERS, MUST CREDIT BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX, BAMBI EXPLAINED,  "ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?  I DON'T LIKE AMERICA OR AMERICANS.  I HAVE NEVER PRETENDED OTHERWISE.  I DON'T WEAR FLAG LAPEL PINS, I DON'T PUT MY HAND OVER MY HEART WHEN THE NATIONAL ANTHEM IS SUNG, MY WIFE POINTED OUT THAT IN ALL HER YEARS -- AND SHE'S OLD, LOOK AT HER -- SHE ONLY FOUND A REASON TO BE PROUD OF THE UNITED STATES THIS YEAR: ME.  SCREW SMALL TOWN AMERICANS, THEY'RE IDIOTS.  THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS.  WHEN I'M KING, I WILL MAKE SURE THAT MY SUBJECTS KNOW JUST HOW LOWLY THEY ARE."
 
WHEN ASKED WHY HE EVEN WANTED TO BE RULE THE UNITED STATES, BAMBI EXPLAINED, "WELL, I AIN'T GOING BACK TO INDONESIA!  AND HAVE YOU MET MY KENYAN RELATIVES?  THEY GOT LIKE 100 WIVES EACH AND LIVE IN HUTS!  I AIN'T GIVING UP MY MANSION AND MOVING TO NO HUT!  I'VE PLAYED THIS COUNTRY LIKE A SUCKER AND INTEND TO KEEP ON DOING IT."
 
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  "As the Vietnam War fades into the past, the struggle for reinterpretation continues.  One area that has received insufficient attention is war resistance.  The script offered in public circles often reads like this: the war has ended for resisters; isolated numbers of people resisted military service, most of them 'draft dodgers'; all of the legal issues surrounding military resisters were resolved -- they eventually 'got off' and people only refuse military service when they face a draft.  These myths, like most others about the war, are designed to influence future generations of potential warriors," reminds Harold Jordan (AFSC) in an essay reviewing the realities now fogged and ignored.  Reality does make a difference and reality has been torn apart by those who continue to falsely insist that war resisters who went to Canada during Vietnam were just those avoiding the draft.  Some had already been inducted into the service, some had deployed to Vietnam.  There was never a procedure in Canada, during this period, where you had to state, "I left the service but I was drafted in!"  It did not matter.  In fact, it was assumed those going to Canada after serving in Vietnam were not only taking a courageous stand but were also bearing witness.  Those who repeat the lies that it was just draft evaders have made the current climate in Canada more difficult as everyone latches on to the pot-hazed memories (of people who did not resist) as proof that the Vietnam era war resisters were only granted safe haven because there was a draft.  The draft was not the issue, the illegal war was.  As it is today. 
 
James Burmeister is a class of 2007 war resister -- tranlation, Panhandle Media ignored him.  While serving in Iraq, he saw the Bait and Kill teams -- US materials being planted (not just weapons, as the MSM reported when they picked up on the story in the fall of 2007) so that Iraqis could be shot when they touched US property.  Burmeister returned to the US last winter, turned himself in at Fort Knox waiting to hear what happens next.  Courage to Resist posts an interview (audio) with him and his father Erich Burmeister.  Asked whether or not Canada had placed "pressure on you to leave," James Burmeister explained, " Of course.  You know, they kind of drag out the decision on whether or not they will let us stay.  They make it hard for us to get jobs or financial assistance.  We're kind of in the middle up here and that's how they pressure us, they don't really give us the status.  They make it hard to live up here."   Erich Burmeister spoke of the help Ann Wright and Anita Anderson Dennis (Darrell Anderson's mother) have provided.  He also noted the kill teams.
 
Erich Burmeister: It was more what he was involved in there.  Particularly what really bothered him was the bait and kill thing which now is a pretty infamous subject which has come up in some of the trials of some of the soldiers that have been put on trial for murder.  This sniper, you know, putting out pieces of equipment and waiting for someone to touch it and they shoot him.  And that really, really bothered him.  Plus the fact that when they would go through these neighborhoods and, you know, kick in people's doors and raid their houses and just loot their houses, and the terror that he saw on people's faces.  He told me these things had really bothered him.  And the devestation he saw around him.  It was -- it was really hard for him to deal with that.  He told me times that he would see people digging through garbage, women digging through garbage, and he couldn't believe the conditions that the Iraqis were forced to live under and he felt like he was somewhat responsible for this. 
 
While Burmeister waits to find out what the military will do, war resisters in Canada wait to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor.  The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue.  You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum. 

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).  
 
The week's biggest story is the death of 19 soldiers this week. Should have been but few seem aware of it (and, in fact, one news program yesterday evening said there were 16 deaths for the month so far, no, there have been 20 for the month thus far).  ICCC has had problems (hacking their server) and possibly that's left some outlets confused.  But yesterday's deaths resulted in 19.  There are 20 for the month.  The only death prior to this week was Travis L. Griffin who died in Baghdad from hostile fire on April 3rd.  Clicking here will show you the 20 and the days they died.  Starting Sunday (April 6th -- when 8 died), there have been 19 deaths.  The deaths, little noticed and incorrectly counted when noted, came as The Petraeus & Crocker Variety Hour got some attention.  But what would the reaction have been to the dog and pony show this week had most Americans read on the front page of their newspapers or heard at the start of their news broadcasts that 19 US service members were killed in Iraq this week thus far?  Due to the media snoozing on the job, we can only guess.
 
On today's second hour of NPR's The Diane Rehm Show, Rehm spoke with Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers), Demetri Sevastopulo (Finacial Times of London) and Michael Hirsh (Newsweek) about the week's events in the US and Iraq.
 
Diane Rehm: And this week, Moqtada al-Sadr threatened to call of the cease-fire.  What is weighing, Nancy?  And what does it mean for the security situation in Iraq?
 
Nancy A. Youssef: Well it's critical to the current, current political situation, because even the US conceeds that that cease-fire has been a key reason behind the recent drop in violence.  This week Nouri al-Maliki threatened that anyone with any sort of militia behind them would not be able to participate in the elections and I think that's one reason Sadr is considering his actions this week.  If he lifts it, it would substantially change the security situation and I think it would also raise questions about the directions he's headed in.  When he declared the cease-fire, many interpreted Sadr as trying to rebrand himself as a Shia nationalist.  He spent a lot of time in Iran building up his religious credentials if you will and if he lifts the cease-fire, I think that will put all of that into question.  It would also say that he's pretty confident that he can control those forces which I think many people question right now whether he can.
 
Diane Rehm: The other question that arises, Demetri, is to what extent did the diminishment in violence that occurred in Iraq come about because of the surge or because Moqtada al-Sadr declared a cease-fire?
 
Demetri Sevastopulo: Well I think depending on when you asked the US military and the commanders this question, the answer had been different.  For example, when President Bush went to Al Anbar Province last fall, as we were traveling out there, some officials said that the decline in violence there, the so-called Sunni "Awakening" where the shieks who had previously been fighting the Americans, allied themselves with Americans to take on al Qaeda.  And we were told that that was in some ways serendipity and that surge was now going to have to build on that. Other officials said no, it wasn't serendipity, the surge created the situation or the platform for that to happen.  I think it's very difficult to say.  What you see at the moment is that the cease-fire is in danger of unraveling.  Formally it's still in place.  But the violence in Basra, the violence in Basra that has also spread to Baghdad is showing that it's very volatile.  So I think, really, it's too early to tell and we're just going to have to wait and see.  And General Petraeus  yesterday warned that he was concerned the cease-fire could break.
 
Diane Rehm: So how did that upsurge in violence effect General Petraeus' comments,  Ambassador Ryan Crocker's outlook?
 
Demetri Sevastopulo: It's been a difficult one for them to address because when it started in Basra, when Nouri al-Maliki launched his offensive, President Bush said this was a defining moment -- the Iraqi Prime Minister was showing the Iraqi people that the Iraqi troops were standing up on their own two feet, they were fighting for their country. On the other hand, Genereal Petraeus, he welcomed that, but he also pointed out that the operation was poorly planned that Mr. Maliki did not take his military advice and I've been told by some of my sources that Mr. Maliki also rejected offers of support from British forces who've been in Basra albiet pulled back at the airport. 
 
[. . .]
 
Diane Rehm: Here's an e-mail from Josh in Athens, Ohio, Nancy, he says "What happened to the benchmarks that President Bush shared last year?  Has anyone forgotten what he said about marked progress?  How will we end this war?"  Nancy?
 
Nancy A. Youssef: You know, it's funny, the benchmark question came up during testimony on Capitol Hill this week from some legislators asking that very thing. The administration says that the Iraqis have met three of the eighteen benchmarks.  But Ryan Crocker, the Ambassador, was quick to point out that if the Iraqis meet the benchmarks that doesn't necessarily mean that the security situation will improve or that it will lead to political reconciliation -- which was very interesting.  And he, essentially, in saying that, really questioned what the benchmarks were for?  Was it for the Iraqis?  Or was it for the US to say here's tangiable proof that the Iraqi government is working on something?
 
Diane Rehm: So how much of what we're seeing in this upsurge is political and how much of it is military, Michael?
 
Michael Hirsh: You mean in terms of the politics here?
 
Diane Rehm: Yes, exactly.  Politics here and the politics there as well.
 
Michael Hirsh: I think it's equal parts both.  Clearly Petreaus is very serious about pursuing the surge and believes that Iraq would fail, come apart, if US troops were not there in current strength.  But at the same time Bush came out yesterday, essentially embraced Petraeus' recommendations, said there had been a strategic shift in Iraq and that we now had the initiative -- is how he put it -- and that's obviously a political message for the fall campaign for those who might be or might not be voting for McCain.  John McCain's candidacy, and the Republican ascendancy, and, I think,  Bush's legacy as he sees it is very much wrapped up in McCain being seen and Iraq being seen in a positive light as McCain goes into November.
 
Meanwhile Petreaus spoke with Katie Couric (CBS Evening News -- link has audio and text) for Thursday's broadcast and among the questions Couric put to him, "In our latest poll, 54 percent of Americans think the war is going badly.  More than half obviously.  How can you sustain this effort without more popular support here at home?"  He replied with a denial statement insisting there was progress while acknowledging that "you have to leave that to the American people, who have to be the judge ultimately, who have to weigh all the different consequences along with of course our leaders."  At the end of that segment, Couric notes, "General Petraeus also revealed for the first time that he's been engaged in secret diplomatic efforts.  In recent months, he's quietly visited several Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan, Kuwait and Turkey, hoping to convince those governments to stop the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq." And of course Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, US Ambassador to Iraq, plan to visit Saudi Arabia to discuss Iraq.  Which leads one to wonder exactly what is the US Secretary of State doing? As US Senator Chuck Hagel noted Tuesday during the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting Condi Rice doesn't appear to be doing anything "Kissinger-esque".  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday hearing was reported on by Paul Richter (Los Angeles Times), "Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Biden Jr. (D-Del) noted that at least two of the presidential candidates disagreed with President Bush on overall Iraq policy.  He warned David Satterfield, the State Department's top Iraq advisor, that 'if the president persists in this course, the Congress will insist on a role in approving or disapproving' the agreements.  'This is folly!' Biden said."  The agreements sought by the White House are the Status of Forces Agreement and what's seen as a strategic framework agreement. 
 
 
Bully Boy's bad speech yesterday dominated the bulk of the press.  It was nothing new.  As US Senator Joe Biden noted of it, "The President confirmed what I've been saying for some time -- he has no plan to end this war.  His plan is to muddle through and then to hand the problem off to his successor.  So the result of the surge is that we're right back where we started before it began 15 months ago: with 140,000 troops in Iraq, spending $3 billion every week, losing 30 to 40 American lives every month -- and still no end in sight."  After week long wave of Operation Happy Talk from the administration and its surrogates, what really happened?  Peter Schmitz (Der Spiegel) observes, "Bush, in short, is changing nothing -- unless one counts the reduction in a tour of duty from 15 months to 12 months."  And that change doesn't kick in until August 1st of this year.  Anyone sent over prior to that date will be sent over on a 15 month term.  Ann McFeatters (Scripps Howard News Service) pointed to the happiness of some, "[US Senator John] McCain exulted that progress has been made, even though Petraeus stressed it is 'fragile' and reversible.'  . . . [McCain] and his buddy, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, are among few optimists left in Washington." While those two got happy in the Land of Denial, Frank James (Baltimore Sun) notes John McCain's former National Security Assistant Anthony Cordsman declared this week, "The Congress, our military, and the American people deserve more than inarticulate Presidential bluster that seems to thinly camoflage a leadership vacuum."
 
 

 

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