The Daily Jot: 2007-06-10

Saturday, June 16, 2007

THIS JUST IN! BARACK LOST HIS GROOVE!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- lLA.

SMARTING FROM GETTING HIS PRISTINE (SOME SAY PRISSY) IMAGE MUDDIED IN HIS USUAL ATTEMPT TO DESTROY HIS OPPONENTS, BARACK OBAMA, U.S. SENATOR OF 2 YEARS, TOOK TO LOS ANGELES YESTERDAY TO PRESENT A . . .

WELL, IT'S NOT A "PLAN." SOME REPORTERS IN OUR PRESS POOL OUR BILLING IT AS SUCH.

IT IS AN ATTACK ON AFRICAN-AMERICANS SO IT'S POPULAR WITH SOME OF THE WHITE CROWD AND THEY CAN'T VERY WELL BILL IT AS "BARACK PUTS BLACKS IN THEIR PLACE!" OR "BARACK, ONLY HALF-BLACK AND BAILING ON THAT!"

IN A SPEECH THAT SUPPOSEDLY ADDRESSED POVERTY, BARACK OBAMA INSTEAD CHOOSE TO MAKE LIKE A LITTLE BABY WHINING ABOUT WHAT HIS OWN (BLACK) FATHER DIDN'T DO FOR HIM. LEFT OUT OF THE WHINING, RUNT NOSED CRITIQUE WAS THE FACT THAT HIS MOTHER RAISED HIM AROUND THE WORLD AND HIS FATHER LIVED IN AFRICA.

BUT HE WAS DETERMINED TO SLAM BLACK FATHERS AND REVEAL ALL THE RAGE HE HAS TOWARDS HIS OWN AND, APPARENTLY, AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN GENERAL AS HE BLAMED FATHERS FOR POVERTY AND NOT THE VERY REAL ISSUE THAT THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR IN URBAN CITIES TOOK A HIT IN THE LAST CENTURY AND THEN PACKED UP AND MOVED OVERSEAS.

LIKE ANY "SELF-MADE" LIGHTER THAN AIR BOY-CHILD, BARACK STOMPED HIS FEET REPEATEDLY OVER THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF BLACK FATHERS BUT NEVER ADDRESSED THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNMENT INCLUDING THE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT REAL JOBS EXIST IN A COUNTRY.

NEVER ONCE IN THE MIDST OF HIS CRY BABY RAMBLINGS DID HE NOTE THE VERY REAL FACT THAT A PARENT COULD WORK FULL TIME AT MCDONALS OR WAL-MART (THOUGH ON THE LATTER, ANYTHING OVER 32 HOURS WOULD HAVE TO BE OFF THE CLOCK IN MOST CASES -- CASES THE COURTS ARE HEARING) AND NOT EARN ENOUGH TO FEED A FAMILY, HOUSE A FAMILY OR EVEN TAKE A VACATION.

THOSE FAMILIAR WITH THIS "THE PROBLEM WITH THE COUNTRY TODAY IS BLACK MEN NOT LIVING UP TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES" MANTRA ARE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH HOW THIS FILM ENDS: THE ANGRY MOUTHER ENDS UP ON A GET AWAY VACATION WITH SOME JAMACIAN MALE APPLYING SUN TAN LOTION. WE EAGERLY AWAIT BARACK'S FOLLOWING IN THE STEPS OF MANY AND "GETTING HIS GROOVE BACK ON" WHEN HE DISCOVERS THE MANLY DELIGHTS OF THE TROPICS IN THE FORM OF SOME YOUNG BUCK.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Turning to war resistance. In June of 2006, Ehren Watada became the first US officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq and in February of 2007 his kangaroo court-martial ended in a mistrial over the objections of the defense when Judge Toilet sensed (rightly) things weren't going well for the prosecution. As noted Tuesday, Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) reports the second court-martial is set to start July 23rd. Barbara Kelly (Juneau Empire) covers the issue of war resistance in a recent column (June 12th) and notes "those who take such a stand are execrcising a certain kind of moral courage . . . In speaking of Lt. Ehren Watada's refusal to deploy to Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Batiste who has been outspoken in his criticism of the president's Iraq policy, recentlyl stated that Watada followed his conscience. Batiste says he respects Watada even though he does not agree with what the lieutenant did. Batiste does not consider Watada a coward." But he has become a cultural touchstone. Zbignew Zingh (Dissident Voice) uses Watada as one of his examples of how we have now arrived at "Cola Crime." Also today, Megan Kung (Asian Week) writing about an exhibit of Tezuka Osaumu's artwork notes: "With Guantanamo Bay, Karl Rove, Iraq and 9/11, it does seem like we're living an anime. Too bad fighting those 'shadowy' forces in real life is not that easy -- remember Ehren Watada?" A lot do. His story has traveled far and wide and, if the military does attempt another court-martial, even more people will be paying attention than in February.

The movement of resistance within the US military grows and includes Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.

This week, Iraq Veterans Against the War Adam Kokesh learned that the kangaroo 'court' on him had rendered a verdict: the honorably discharged marine was informed he'd received a general discharge from the IRR. Earlier, Geoffrey Millard (Truthout) reported on Kokesh and the compilation tells the story up through the news that came out Wednesday -- this is a video report. Kokesh states at the end, "I think what they were hoping to achieve with this decision is that because it won't effect my benefits the way an other-than-honorable-discharge would that I would go away quietly but that's not but that's not the case and I don't think they understood or any of the things that I've written or bothered to read the e-mail responses to the plea bargain but I'm standing on principle and we're going to contest this on principle and it's not going to go away."

Liam Madden and Cloy Richards are also targeted for speaking out against the illegal war.

Cloy's mother, Tina Richards wrote (at Grassroots America) about their recent Memorial Day march, "He [Cloy] could have chosen to march with the Marines and received numerous cheers. For him, it's not a choice. He has a moral imperative to speak out to end this war, and for this he is booed. It is not an easy route to take, but the one our family has chosen. Our children are being killed and maimed as others celeberate and we will not let them forget it. That Memorial Day was one of distress; I waited to see if my son was going to make it through another tough day. Another memory of what Iraq wrough him. Would I walk in and find him with a gun in his mouth, or even worse, I didn't come in time. Every day I fear my son will not survive this war." The US military has no such concerns. They've been happy to launch a witch hunt and a campaign of intimidation and silence at Cloy Richards despite knowing full well that he suffers from PTSD. That was the US military's own 'special thank you' to Cloy Richards.

In different ways, it's a thank you they hand out to many as Aaron Glantz (IPS) demonstrates as he explores the realities for today's returning Iraq veterans which already includes at least 400 homeless while Vietnam homeless veterans "did not usually become homelss until nine to 12 years after their discharge." Today, the Pentagon announces more money is needed for veterans. Kristin Roberts (Reuters) reports that the Pentagon announced today that America's "military's mental health system fails to meet the needs of troops and is too short of funds and staff to help service members sent to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan . . . Repeated and extended deployments to those war zones over the past five years have driven the need for mental health services higher, but resources have not climbed in response, members of a Defense Department task force said." Are you shocked and suprised? Then you must work for the alleged FactCheck.org which made a point of denying this issue in 2004. Aaron Glantz notes, "A recent study by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government found that by the time the Iraq and Afghanistan wars end, there will be at least two and a half million vets. Because of that, the Harvard study concluded, Congress will have to double the VA's budget simply to avoid cutting services."

"Betty filling in for Rebecca"

"fair, (mama) michelle phillips, katie couric"
"Torch Songs Between Dust and Bad Delivery"
"Green Beans and Jess in the Kitchen"
"Glen Ford, Dem nominees (Cedric)"
"Laura Flanders"

"Michelle Phillips, Stanley Aronowitz, Laura Flande..."
"Ari Hest and other thoughts"
"THIS JUST IN! RECREATING SEPTEMBER 14TH!"
"Bully Boy still going to the 9-11 well"

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Thursday, June 14, 2007

THIS JUST IN! RECREATING SEPTEMBER 14TH!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC

"I CAN'T DO THIS," SECRETARY OF STATE AND ANGER CONDI RICE CONFIDED TO THESE REPORTERS LATE TODAY.

YESTERDAY IN SAMARRA, A MOSQUE WAS ATTACKED. TODAY, BULLY BOY URGED CALM.

"BUT HE REFUSED TO GET IN A PLANE YESTERDAY," SECRETARY RICE EXPLAINED. "I TOLD HIM IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT, AND EVEN KARL ROVE AGREED WITHE ME, THAT WE DUPLICATE THE EVENTS OF 9-11 TO GET SOME BOUNCE OUT OF THIS. BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO HOP-SCOTCH AROUND THE COUNTRY AND LOOK LIKE A SCARED LITTLE KID THE WAY HE DID ON 9-11. I TOLD HIM THAT WOMEN WANT TO MOMMY A WEAKLING AND EVEN POINTED OUT THAT HIS OWN MOTHER HAD ALWAYS PREFERRED HIM TO HIS STRONGER BROTHERS. BUT HE REFUSED TO GET ON THE PLANE. SO NOW WE'RE PREPARING FOR HIS BIG SPEECH LIKE HE GAVE AFTER 9-11."

HOW SO?

"WELL, HE NEEDS TO STRUT AND, TO DO IT JUST LIKE AFTER 9-11, WE'LL NEED A BULLHORN AND THREE DAYS TIME. REMEMBER HIS BIG '9-11 SPEECH' DID NOT COME UNTIL SEPTEMBER 14TH IN NEW YORK CITY. YOU HAVE TO BUILD ANTICIPATION FOR THESE THINGS. HE'LL BE WEARING A FLAP JACKET AND WE'RE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT 'REGULAR' GUY ATTIRE IS IN SAMARRA. OUR BULLY BOY HAS SAID HE WILL NOT WEAR A TOGA NO MATTER WHAT AND I EXPLAINED THIS WASN'T ANCIENT GREECE BUT THAT JUST LED TO HIM SINGING 'SUMMER NIGHTS' SO I DROPPED IT."

THE REALLY HARD PART, SECRETARY RICE EXPLAINED, WAS IN SELECTING A BANNER. KARL ROVE WAS PUSHING FOR "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" AND KEPT TELLING SECRETARY RICE THAT "PEOPLE STILL TALK ABOUT THAT BANNER." SECRETARY RICE STATED SHE REPLIED, "YES, AND FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS."

EXPLAINING THINGS WERE GETTIING "NASTY" SECRETARY RICE SIGHED THAT IF SHE COULD EVER HAVE TIME TO DO HER ACTUAL JOB "I MIGHT ACTUALLY BE GOOD AT IT. IT'S SO HARD TO HAVE HIM FOR A HUS -- FOR A BULLY BOY."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with Iraq Veterans Against the War Adam Kokesh who has been the subject of witch hunt by the US military that 'ended' (it's not over yet) yesterday with Kokesh receiving a general discharge from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Normally, service members are not discharged from the IRR. They are discharged from service (as Kokesh was, honorably, in November). Now the military prepares to set their sights on Liam Madden and Cloy Richards. (You can sign the petition to support of Madden.) Veterans for Common Sense (in a letter posted at Kokesh's website) demonstrate they are far wiser than the press by noting: "Neither marine wore a full uniform. They wore camouflage fatigues without the
marine insignia, a right they have earned in blood. There is no law, or regulation
against wearing camo. A camo shirt, pants, and hat is not a uniform. You can
see people wearing camo everyday all around America. The corps claims that is against regulations to wear a uniform, or apparently a part of a uniform, at political events. If that is correct, the regulation is selectively enforced by the Department of Defense. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other politicians often have soldiers in full dress uniform
standing behind them for the cameras at political events. In short, the Marine Corps is attempting to stifle legitimate pro-American speech, which should not be tolerated. Are we fighting in Iraq to lose our freedoms at home?" That's still too much for the press to grasp.

And Heather Hollingsworth (AP) appears to be competing for prize pig in this county fair judging by a hideous article where she states Kokesh has been "kicked out of the Marines" (he was discharged in November) and pretending to not grasp that Kokesh was participating in street theater, among other things.

Turning to the Pentagon's report [PDF format, click here]. Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) informs that the report "acknowledges that violence in Iraq has not diminished, despite the arrival of thousands of additional U.S. and Iraqi troops in Baghdad," that McClatchy Newspaper figures show a "70 percent increase in sectarian murders in Baghdad from April to May," and that the Pentagon report places the average daily death figure in Iraq (from February through May) at 100 a day. Also filing on the report was Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) who observed that the Congressionally mandate report "tempers the early optimism about the new strategy voiced by senior U.S. officials. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, for instance, in March described progress in Iraq as 'so far, so good.' Instead, it depicts limited gains and setbacks and states that it is too soon to judge whether the new approach is working." The Pentagon report has many sections and one of interest considering one of the 2007 developments may be this: "There are currently more than 900 personnel in the Iraqi Air Force. . . . The fielding of rotary-wing aircraft continued with the delivery to Taji of five modified UH II (Iroquois) helicopters, bringing the total delivered to ten. The final six are scheduled to arrive in June. Aircrews are currently conducting initial qualifications and tactics training. The Iroquois fleet is expected to reach initial operation capability by the end of June 2007." By the end of June 2007? One of the developments of 2007 was the (admission of) helicopter crashes. US helicopters. British helicopters. Some may find comfort in the fact that evacuations and mobility will be handled by Iraqis . . . whenever they are fully staffed and trained. Four years plus to deliver the equipment, training should be done in ten or twenty years, right?

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Wednesday, June 13, 2007

THIS JUST IN! JOHN MCCAIN'S KNOCKED UP!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- BERKELEY

CRAZY JOHN MCCAIN UP AGAINST SHIFTY MITT ROMNEY AND WHERE WILL THE CHIPS LAND?

TODAY SENATOR CRAZY LAUNCHED "MITT VS. FACT" WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT MITT ROMNEY HAS CHANGED HIS TUNE ON ABORTION.

SHAKING HIS HEAD SADLY TODAY, MITT ROMNEY DECLARED THAT MCCAIN WAS SPEAKING FROM "DESPERATION".

DESPERATION?

WHO IS THE FATHER OF SENATOR CRAZY'S BABY? WILL JOHN MCCAIN BE FORCED TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO HAVE AN ABORTION?

CLEARLY SENATOR CRAZY'S PREVIOUSLY UKNOWN PREGNANCY EXPLAINS HIS OBSESSION WITH ABORTION.

THESE REPORTERS WISH SENATOR CRAZY THE BEST ON THE BIRTH BUT STRONGLY SUGGEST HE GO FOR A C-SECTION AND NOT NATURAL CHILD BIRTH.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with news of war resistance, Kim Johnson, Duluth's WDIO, reports on Luke Kamunen who, like his two twin brothers Leo and Leif, self-checked out of the US military on the Christmas break and notes, "The brothers' story is not an isolated one. In fact, the Department of Defense reports desertions have risen 35 percent in the past two years -- from more than 2,400 in 2004 to about 3,300 in 2006" and notes that Luke Kamunen "was surprised" to encounter many others who had done the same "when he was detained by the military". (As noted here before, Luke is now discharged, his brothers state they will turn themselves into the US military at some point.)

Resistance to the illegal war isn't limited to one segment of the population. Amy Goodman (writing at Truthdig) reports on the off broadway production Voices in Conflict -- a high school production that Wilton High School (in Connecticut) decided wasn't fit for the school's theater. As disturbing as the attempted censorship of the play was, Goodman reports on equally alarming detail -- in the high schol clases, these students are not allowed to discuss Iraq even in US history whether they each have "to bring in a current-event news item" -- Jimmy Presson explains, "We are not allowed to talk about the war while discussing current events." Who teaches that class? And do they also work at The Nation? (Democracy Now!, by the way, spends the hour today with Vanessa Redgrave discussing art, politics and more.)

Turning to Iraq . . .

This morning Damien Cave (New York Times) reported on the latest ravings of the madman installed by the US as puppet of the occupation -- al-Maliki declaring that, "We have eliminated the danger of sectarian war." Sounds like someone needs to check their Desoxyn dosage. But reality can sometimes break through even the thickest drug induced fog even if it can be processed correctely. Look at Nouri al-Maliki's statements today. AP reports he's now likening events into Iraq to the American Civil War which would seem indicate that Iraq has not "elimated the danger of sectarian war" as al-Maliki claimed yesterday.

What semi-snapped out of his drugged stupor? A bombing in Samara. BBC calls the site "one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, the al-Askari shrine in Samarra." The Scotsman notes that bombing "was a repeat of last year's bombing that shattered the Askariya shrine's dome" while Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) explains that bombing "destroyed the minarets of the Askariya shrine." Minarets? Those are the two towers or columns that previously stod on either side of the mosque. Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports, "It wasn't clear how the attackers evaded the shrine's guards to mount the stunning operation, detonating the blasts aound 9 a.m., and bringing down the two slender golden minarets that flanked the dome's ruins at the century-old mosque." Sam Knight (Times of London) notes two reactions -- the puppet "declared a curfew in Baghdad and asked for American reinforcements to be sent to the mainly Sunni town, which has been under a military blockade in recent weeks, to contain any violence" and Moqtadr al-Sadr "called for restraint, declaring three days of mourning and peacful demonstrations." Deborah Haynes (Times of London) notes the reaction of some Iraqis in Baghdad -- shop keeper Shiras Assem decalres, "We are preparing for any attack by the Mahdi Army. We closed the street and we expect to be attacked. Maybe they will hit the local Sunni mosque. We have set up a night watch until this morning. We will not sleep tonight."; and broker Marwan Faled who declares, "We have gather together the young me[n] in our street, each one has a weapon. We told them to be ready if anyone attacks us we will all open fire. We expect an attack during the curfew because we don't trust the checkpoint at end of our road. I plan to stay at home over the next few days because I believe more people will be killed." Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) notes that the Iraqi police have stated the columns were brought down by "mortar rounds fired by unknown fighters" while "witnesses said the explosions seems to have come from inside the church" and that despite appeals "for calm" already "five Sunni mosques in the southern port city of Basra were attacked, apparently in reprisal, and Sunni mosques were also struck in Zaiyuna and south of Baghdad." AFP reports that yesterday "there had been a row between the security forces" with two different groups (one from Baghdad, the other from Tikrit) present and saying they were in charge of security as well "some exchange of [gun] fire too" before the Baghdad contingent assumed security responsibilities and they quote an eye witness who states, "I was near the shrine when I heard big explosions that sent a thick cloud of dust in the sky covering the entire area. I quickly ran to the street from where I could see the shrine clearly. I saw one of the minarets was down. Seven minutes later as I was watching the shrine, another explosion occured and the second minaret came crumbling down." Al Jazeera notes that al-Maliki announced that the security team guarding the mosque (that would be the forces sent from Baghdad) would be arrested. Along with the curfew, ban on public demonstrations and driving in Samarra that has been imposed, Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times and the link also contains an AP Television clip) adds that Moqtada al-Sadr's 30 member parliament bloc has walked out in protest and this "could present a major challenge to Maliki, who is under intense pressure to deliver political and economic reforms aimed at appeasing the Sunni Arab minority". In addition to the Samarra curfew and bans, Mariam Karouny (Reuters) details the "three-day curfew in Baghdad" that has resulted from the Samarra attack though how a capital under crackdown for over a year can be further 'cracked down' may be open to question. Since Moqtada al-Sadr is calling for public, peaceful demonstrations, al-Maliki's "three-day curfew" may be an attempt to circumvent al-Sadr.

Zavis noted the "intense pressure" al-Maliki was facing from non-Iraqis. War Pornographer Michael Gordon (New York Times) noted yesterday that he accompanied US ambassador Ryan Crocker and Admiral William J. Fallon to a face-to-face with puppet Nouri al-Maliki and the point of the meeting was to pressure on the 'benchmark' of getting the oil legislation privatized (turning over as much as 70% of the profits to foreign corporations) passed in July.

Today, Damien Cave (New York Times) reported that the deputy US Secretary of State John D. Negroponte showed up out of the blue in Baghdad yesterday to pressure al-Maliki who released a statement following the meeting attesting that he would use all of his limited power "to persuade Parliament to approve several proposals that the Americans had identified as benchmarks, including an oil law". The law, like 'liberation' has always been just around the corner and you can drop back a year ago when al-Maliki was first 'rolling up the sleeves' to push through the US written oil law that would then be imposed upon the allegedly soveign nation of Iraq. Andy Rowell (Oil Change) observes that the privatization "seems to be in real trouble" and notes Tariq Shaif telling "a news conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank" some unpleasant realities while Rowell notes that al-Maliki's cabinet's Happy Talk of 'give us one month' is vaguely familiar: "If my memory serves me right, that's what he said about three months ago." Which is true and, again, al-Maliki was installed claiming the theft of Iraqi oil was top of his list but he's still 'trying', all this time later.

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THIS JUST IN! YOU DON'T MEAN SH*T TO A TREE, INDYMEDIA!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- BERKELEY

THESE REPORTERS AREN'T IN THE MOOD FOR FUNNY TONIGHT.

WE ARE APPALLED BY WHAT HAPPENED TONIGHT AND WE'RE NOT IN THE MOOD TO PLAY IT CUTE OR FUNNY.

AT A CONFIRMATION HEARING FOR ONE OF THE 2 NEW JUSTICES, WE FORGET WHICH NOW, PROBABLY ALITO, WE WERE EATING LUNCH WITH C.I. IN D.C. WHEN MARY MATALIN CAME UP TO THE TABLE TO SAY HELLO TO C.I..

WE WERE EXCHANGING LOOKS AND TRYING NOT TO LAUGH, IMAGINING WHAT A NIGHTMARE THIS WAS ABOUT TO BE.

IT WASN'T. MARY MATALIN ACTUALLY HAS MANNERS.

SHE WAS ACTUALLY A VERY SWEET AND WARM PERSON, WHO REPEATED OUR NAMES TWICE IN THE BRIEF TIME SHE VISITED THE TABLE INDICATING THAT SHE CARED ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN HERSELF.

FROM TIME TO TIME, PEOPLE E-MAIL US TO SUGGEST TARGETS AND MS. MATILIN'S NAME HAS COME UP. WE WOULD NEVER GIVE HER THE HUMOR TREATMENT BECAUSE, WHATEVER THE POLITICS, SHE BEHAVED DECENTLY AND WAS A VERY KIND PERSON IN OUR BRIEF EXCHANGE WITH HER.

WE MENTION THAT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY AMAZING THAT SOMEONE THAT WE DISAGREE WITH ON EVERY POLITICAL ISSUE IN THE WORLD HAS BETTER MANNERS THAN PEOPLE ALLEGEDLY/SUPPOSEDLY ON THE SAME SIDE AS US (LEFT).

THIS HAS BEEN COVERED AT OTHER SITES ALREADY. WE DOUBT C.I. WILL NOTE THE ISSUE. BUT WE WENT BACK AND FORTH OVER IT AND DECIDED WE WOULD.

WE WILL ALSO AGREE WITH BETTY (FILLING IN FOR REBECCA) THAT ELAINE SAID IT BEST: "BUT WHEN YOU'RE DISCUSSING SOMETHING C.I.'S COVERED FROM THE BEGINNING AND YOU'RE NOT GIVING CREDIT, YOU REALLY AREN'T HURTING C.I.

YOU'RE JUST DEMONSTRATING THAT, LIKE MOST OF THE GREAT UNWASHED INDYMEDIA CROWD, YOU WERE RAISED IN A BARN WHERE MANNERS MEANT YOU SNORTED BEFORE NUDGING YOUR WAY TO THE TROUGH."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with Iraq Veterans Against the War Adam Kokesh who was interviewed by Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) today and explained some issues that the press has misreported:

That is a very good question because a lot of the coverage has grossly simplified the issue and said that I wore my uniform to a protest, which isn't really accurate at all. What we were doing was conducting something called Operation First Casualty. And it's called that because it has long been said that the first casualty of war is the truth. So what we did was conduct a mock combat patrol through the streets of Washington, DC, in order to bring a small part of the truth of the occupation home to the American people and give them a small sense of what it's like to have squads of men in uniform, with rifles, although we were simulating them of course, running around the streets of their city. And we also had civilians playing affected peoples. They weren't playing Iraqis or pretending to speak Arabic or anything like that, but we treated them as we would treat Iraqi civilians on a daily basis. So it was more street theater than general protest, and I do not need to show up to a protest in a uniform to represent myself as a veteran. But for this particular demonstration we were simulating a combat patrol, and so that is what we did, that's why it was appropriate in that setting. Now, normally, as I did -- or as I am doing today, I should say, I wear this Marine Corps boonie cover, and that is how I choose to represent myself as a veteran.

Kokesh, along with Liam Madden and Cloy Richards, is being targeted by the US military for speaking out. Last week, a (kangaroo) hearing was held regarding his discharge from the Interactive Ready Reserves. Kokesh addressed the status there noting "you may recieve multiple discharges throughout your military career. But it's your last one that is revelant in terms of your benefits" which is why the US military is now attempting to override the honorable discharge he received from the marine corps in November with an other-than-honorable discharge. He also addressed how this issue effects more than just himself, Richards and Madden and the reception he's receiving:

Adam Kokesh: Well, actually it's been quite surprising to see a lot of people from my old unit contacting me and supporting me in my efforts in trying to get, to ensure that the Uniform Code of Military Justice is not applied beyond it's jurisdiction into the inactive reserve. They appreciate that, and I think a lot of people in the military appreciate what I am doing and why am trying to fight this case so hard. Even though the board recommended me for a general discharge last week, which wouldn't affect my benefits if it's approved, it does not do anything to establish a precedent and the next guy facing the same charges might receive an OTH or something worse potentially. And everyone in active duty is going to be in the IRR at some point, if they're not past their eight-year contract when they get out of the military, most are on four-year contracts, and they spend -- they stand to spend about four years in the inactive reserve. And, if it's not safe for these combat vets coming home to speak their minds, then it's not safe for anyone.

Evan Knappenberger also appeared on today's Democracy Now! and discussed his actions last Thursday in Washington state, "I decided a couple of weeks ago that I needed to do something to affect a positive change in all these kind of negative things going on. I figured the best way to do that would be to draw some attention to these policies that the military is using to fight this war without actually -- you know, a war without conscription, basically. So in the middle of the night I had this great idea, just as a symbol of something kind of similar to what Operation First Casualty is, you know, to bring the war to the American people, because there is a big disconnect between the civilian population and those of us who were in Iraq. We can see -- as veterans of Iraq -- we understand kind of the way that these policies get perpetrated, and the American people need to be made aware of that. So I had this great idea to bring that home and ended up on a tower for eight days."

Amy Goodman: Ended up what?

Evan Knappenberger: I ended up sitting up on this tower for eight days, wearing my uniform, kind of like I did in Iraq, when I was guarding these fields in Iraq.

Knappenberger also spoke of the study he did while serving in Iraq which "concluded that there were close to 3/4 of a million civilian deaths over the course of the Iraq war. Now I would guess it is probably upwards of a million."

Amy Goodman: Well that actually coincides with the two studies done most recent, a million, and before that The Lancet, the British medical journal published that study from Johns Hopkins University, saying around 655,000 soldiers -- rather, civilians, had died in Iraq.

Evan Knappenberger also spoke of suicide and noted he questions the official US military figure of 122 suicides by service members while serving in Iraq noting that his unit "had 45 combat casualties and 15 suicides" and explaining that these are suicides taking place in Iraq and that suicides of vets taking place in the US "are not counted . . . The army does not want to admit to taking any more losses than they possibly can." Yesterday, CNN reported on a study for the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health led by Dr. Mark S. Kaplan which found "The risk of suicide among male U.S. veterans is double that of the general population." This study did not include any veterans who have served in Afghanistan or the current illegal war in Iraq and, presumably, no women. Meanwhile, the Kavkaz Center noted a recent US army survey which "showed that 20% of soldiers and 15% of marines suffered from acute depression, anxiety or stress."

Meanwhile, Joel Bleifuss (In These Times) writes about the topic of war resistance, noting the brothers Kamunen -- Leo, Leif and Luke -- who self-checked out January 2nd of this year. Bliefuss is the editor of In These Times. For those needing a scorecard, two of the big three independent print magazines are weighing in -- The Progressive and now In These Times -- which leaves Katrina vanden Heuvel (editor and publisher of The Nation) as the only 'voice' of a magazine that elects to be silent on the issue of war resistance. Katrina vanden Heuvel, now more than ever, The Peace Resister. (And before anyone writes in on those Ehren Watada articles -- the 2006 ones were all "online exclusives" and Editor's Cut, her blog, can't be bothered with war resistance -- though there was time for American Idol.) Speaking of Ehren Watada, he remains the first US officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq. In February he faced a kangaroo court in which Judge Toilet (John Head) declared a mistrial over the objections of the defense. Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) reports that Charles H. Jacoby Jr. (Lt. Gen.) is now in charge of Fort Lewis and this means, "He inherits the court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, who refused last year to go to Iraq with a Stryker Brigade, saying the war is illegal. Earlier this year, Watada's first trial ended in a mistrial. The start of the second trial July 23 was stayed by the Army Court of Appeals; pretrial motions are to be heard July 6."

Turning to Iraq. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspaper) noted of Monday's bombing over the Tigris River (Diyala province) that this was "at least the seventh attack on Iraqi bridges in the past two months," beginning "with the destruction of the Sarafiya bridge in Baghdad," that the May 11th bombing in Taji involved three car bombings focused on two bridges, that the June 2nd bombings "severely damaged a bridge that links a highway from Baghdad with the northern city of Kirkuk, forcing traffic headed to Baghdad to pass through Diyala province." To repeat, Diyala province is where yesterday's bombing took place. First, traffic is forced through Diyala and then the bridge in Diyala is attacked -- but the US military wants to pretend there's no pattern or planning going on here. CBS and AP note that, as a result of that bombing, "vehicles were being forced to detour to a road running through al Qaeda-controlled territory to reach important nearby cities." Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) observed, "The bridge linked towns on the eastern side of the bridge, which are Shiite, with those on the western side of to the bridge, which are Sunni Arab. . . . Bridges are crucial in central Iraq, where the broad Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries wind through the countryside. Each attack has hampered commerce and made daily life more difficult for Iraqis." But Lt. Col. Chris Garver declares, "Willie, my love, a new Gabor sister is in town."

Garver tells Rubin that "knocking down the bridge may or may not have significance, because we have other resources" blah blah blah. Translation, Zza Zza just joined big sister Ava to make for two Gabor sisters living it up in the Green Zone.

In the real world, CBS and AP report today: "Suspected Sunni insurgents bombed and badly damaged a span over the main north-south highway leading from Baghdad on Tuesday -- the third bridge attack in as many days in an apparent campaign against key transportation arteries. . . . About 60 percent of the bridge was damaged, and cars could still pass over it via one lane, police said."

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"THIS JUST IN! THE MAN AMERICANS LOATHE!"
"Go away, Joe, just go away"

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Monday, June 11, 2007

THIS JUST IN! THE MAN AMERICANS LOATHE!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.

IF THERE IS ONE THING THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS CAN AGREE IN TO IN THESE CHARGED TIMES IT'S THAT ONE EVER WANTS TO SEE "PRESIDENT JOE LIEBERMAN."

THE INCUMBENT SENATOR WHO COULD NOT EVEN WIN HIS OWN PARTY'S PRIMARY LAST YEAR, CONTINUES TO EMBARRASS AMERICANS REGARDLESS OF PARTY IDENTIFICATION.

APPEARING YESTERDAY ON CBS' FACE THE NATION, THE SENATOR (WHO WAS ONCE KNOWN AS "LIE-BERMAN") WHO CHEERED ON THE IRAQ WAR DEMONSTRATED THAT HIS WAR LUST HAS NO BOUNDS AS HE DECLARED "I THINK WE'VE GOT TO BE PREPARED" TO STRIKE IRAN.

"WE"?

CLUCK-CLUCK-CLUCK, THERE'S A CHICKEN HAWK IN THE YARD.

SENATOR COWARD RECEIVED REPEATED STUDENT DEFERMENTS DURING VIETNAM ONLY TO REPLACE THEM WITH "FAMILY DEFERRMENTS." TRANSLATION, WHEN HIS COUNTRY NEEDED WAR HAWKS, LITTLE JOEY PROTECTED HIS OWN LILLY WHITE ASS BUT NOW WANTS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT "WE" NEED TO DO EVEN THOUGH, YET AGAIN, IT WON'T BE HIS FAT ASS ON THE LINE.

SENATOR COWARD DECRIES VIOLENCE IN VIDEO GAMES AND FILMS AND HIS ACTIONS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT IS ONLY BECAUSE HE LUSTS FOR THE REAL THING. SPEAKING TO THESE REPORTERS TODAY, THE SENATOR DECLARED, "WAR IS GOOD. WAR IS FUN. FROM A DISTANCE."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resistance. "In the current environment have you seen a lot of resistance to this war among enlisted men, among officers, among young people?" Michael Ratner asked on WBAI's Law and Disorder today (the program streams online and also airs on other radio stations across the country). "It's interesting," Tod Ensign answered, "This is a good time to talk about it. Because until about a year ago, the Pentagon was claiming that there was not an uptake, there was not an increase in desertions, for example. If you accept their figures as, you know, somewhat accurate, that seemed to be the case -- that the three years before . . . we invaded Iraq had higher desertion rates than the three years after. However, this last year, there's been a pretty substantial increase in the number of desertions and I would say it's increased by at least fifty percent. So that would suggest that, you know, soldiers, to some extent, are voting with their feet. Now, of course, the military always says, 'You know a lot of deserters are driven by family problems or financial issues or they just can't stomach the military" which of course is true, in some cases. But I do think there is an increase in the attitude among soldiers, especially guys that have already served over there that this is an endless war and there's nothing to be gained by them going back again."

And demonstrating how right Ensign is, Nancy Montgomery filed two stories on this subject yesterday for Star and Stripes. In her first article, Montgomery noted that the US army states 3,300 is the desertion figure for the last year and that "a news report in April citing Army statistics said more deserters were facing courts-martial than in previous years. But [Maj. Anne] Edgecomb said that of deserters outprocessed at Fort Knox, Ky., where many U.S. Army Europse soldiers who desert end up, 70 percent are administratively discharged."

In both articles, Montgomery notes the Military Counseling Network in Germany which notes the following conditions usually prevent criminal charges: "they must not be on a deployment list; they must not have pending actions against them under the Uniform Code of Military Justice; they have to make it back to the U.S. before 30 days, when an arrest warrant is issued; and they should turn themselves in after 30 days when they've been dropped from their unit's rolls to one of two personnel control centers, Fort Knox or Fort Sill, Okla." In both article, Montgomery reports on 23-year-old Chris Capps who made the decision to self-checkout, "flew to the States and stayed in New York City until he knew he had been dropped from his unit's rolls. After that, Capps said, his commander had no authority over him. Capps turned himself in at Fort Sill. In fewer than four days, he was out of the Army, with an other-than-honorable discharge." Capps explains to Montgomery that he didn't try for Conscientious Objector status because he isn't opposed to all wars and because he "knew a soldier in his battalion who sought and won CO status and didn't want to go through the process. 'The chain of command treated him like [crap],' Capps said." Montogmery's second article focuses more on CO status and includes Vincent La Volpa who was awarded CO status and discharged honorably "in 2005 with a Purple Heart earned during his Iraq tour" whose statements on his CO decision include: "I contemplated the cause and its value. Feeling that the means was not worth the sacrifice for the uncertain end. I felt that I had to make a decision. Am I for this or am I against it? I decided I am against it." In the second article, Montgomery notes MCN's Michael Sharp whoe explains that in 2006, they were dealing with "eight to 10 nes cases monthly" of enlisted needing advice about discharges and that has gone up to "15 to 20" a month.

Also covering the topic yesterday was Heather Wokusch (OpEdNews) who covers the cases of Kyle D. Huwer, Clifton F. Hicks and "John" (a psuedonym). John self-checked out and is back in the US avoiding his family ("avid Bush-supporters; his uncle works for a weapons manufacturer and his stepfather, for an oil company") but has some contact with his girlfriend "Sarah" who notes the difference between media in Germany and in the US, "Watching the news here [US] really makes me angry, people are so detached from reality. They increse the troop deployments from 12 to 15 months, and no one besides the military families recognizes it. They are sending back national guard people for multiple deployments, no one recognizes it. You hardly hear anything about what that puts on the families, emotionally and financially. I'm deeply mad and sad about that at the same time."

John explains to Wokusch the transformation he had while serving in Iraq and notes, "It was not what I was expecting at all. There are people in Iraq making HUGE sums of money profiting over poorly supervised and ill-run government contracts. When you hear about the cost of the war in Iraq, it's this kind of thing that's doing it, not the body armor, having to pay the soliders a couple of meager extra bucks, or armoring the humvees. It's paying KBP $90 for every time I turn in my laundry while paying poor Pakistani and Filipino workers who work long hours with no days off for years at a time (and handling thousands of bags of laundry) $15 a day." [Note: Heather Wokusch's article also contains an audio-visual stream option.]

Clifton Hicks is now discharged and some may remember his story from Peter Laufer's

Mission Rejected: U.S. Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq. In the book Laufer recounts how Hicks father posted one his son's letters home (from Iraq) online and the military's response was "a Field Grade Article 15" (p. 185) which Hicks learned after his woke him up one morning kicking his cot and, pay attention easily shocked Heather Hollingsworth-types, cursing at him. "They were going to throw me in jail for treason." After he was demoted to private and fined $800, Hicks applied for CO status. Hicks told Laufer, "If I don't get it? I have other avenues of approach to get home. I've told them I am not going back to Iraq" and would rather go to prison but "[i]t won't come to that, though, because I think I'm too smart for that to happen to me. Civil disobedience is an option -- just refuse to put the uniform on. Maybe a hunger strike. There's all kinds of things you can do. It's looking like they'll approve it. But if they don't, I have Plan B, Plan C, all the way up to desertion" (p. 187). Laufer's chapter on Hicks ends with Hicks being told he will receive CO status and a discharge. [Reminder, Laufer now hosts a two hour program each Sunday morning on KPFA from 9:00 to 11:00 am PST. The program is not yet named -- though it is airing -- and Laufer's program airs in Larry Bensky's old time slot.]

On today's Law and Disorder, Todd Ensign noted that Iraq Veterans Against the War has "a chapter up at Fort Drum which is where we have our coffee house [Different Drumer Cafe] and that's the first on base chapter of IVAW that I'm aware of." Dalia Hashad asked him where Fort Drum was and Ensign responded "about sixty miles straight north of Syracuse, almost to the Canadian border and most New Yorkers know it as a reserve base; however, under Reagan it was turned into an active infantry base. Now it's the most heavily deployed division in the US army. It's a very active combat infantry base."

Dalia Hashad: Can you explain for people who don't know what the coffee house is? Or how it came about?

Todd Ensign: Good question. During the Vietnam war, those of us who are older -- in the older generation recall there were over 20 coffee houses that were formed mostly by civilians initially at or near US military bases -- army and marine bases and navy and airforce too. And these were very important in building the GI movement and building the opposition to the war within the ranks. They had an enormous impact. There's a very fine documentary called Sir! No Sir! that some of your listeners have probably seen that tells that story and it's really pretty amazing to realize that those coffeehouses were often largely run and staffed by soldiers, active duty soldiers".

[Mike notes Law and Disorder each week at his site and, here, we'll also probably pick up more from the interview later in the week. Attorneys (and activists) Dalia Hashad, Michael Ratner, Heidi Boghosian and Michael Smith host the one hour radio program.]

The attempts to silence Iraq Veterans Against the War's Adam Kokesh, Cloy Richards and Liam Madden (as well as others) from speaking out continues. War resister Stephen Funk (who announced his refusal to deploy to Iraq in April 2003) writes (The Huffington Post) about Kokesh and observes, "If Sgt. Kokesh wanted to play it safe, he would have waited to protest until after June 18th, when he was scheduled to be discharged from the Individual Ready Reserve. At that point he would no longer be held accountable to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. But the anniversary of the war happened to fall earlier in the year, and true patriots do not wait until it is convenient or safe to act upon their beliefs. That the military would charge someone so close to discharge with misconduct for such a minor indiscretion shows how desperate they are to contain the emerging antiwar voices among their ranks as discontent with the war continues to rise." Kokesh is specifically targeted for engaging in street theater, Operation First Casualty. [Language warning] Jeff Mullins (The Brooklyn Rail) takes a look at Operation First Casualty and notes that it "is modeled after the Vietnam-era protest action Operation Rapid American Withdrawal that took place in Pennsylvania during the summer of 1970. This variation came out of a brainstorming session among the Washington D.C. chapter of IVAW earlier this year. The vets felt 'tired of just being part of other people's protest,' explained Adam Kokesh, a member of the D.C. chapter. IVAW, a national veterans organization founded in July of 2004, performed the first Operation First Casualty in D.C. this past March." Michael Borkson (Boston IMC) has posted video and photos from Liam Madden's press conference last Thursday (covered in Friday's snapshot, text can also be found in this write up we did at The Third Estate Sunday Review).