The Daily Jot: 2008-03-09

Saturday, March 15, 2008

THIS JUST IN! INTERVIEW IN THE OVAL OFFICE!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- WHITE HOUSE.

"REMEMBER, GUYS, BE NICE," SAID SECRETARY OF STATE AND ANGER CONDI RICE AS SHE LED US INTO THE OVAL OFFICE.

THERE WE WERE FACE TO FACE WITH THE BULLY BOY OF THE UNITED STATES IN WHAT WAS PROMISED TO BE IN AN EXCLUSIVE AND HARD-HITTING INTERVIEW.

WE KNEW WE'D BE DISAPPOINTED.

ASKED ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR, BULLY BOY SWORE, "WE'RE WINNING IT, BOYS. ALL THE GIRLS ARE GOING TO LOVE US!"

"MISTER BULLY BOY," WE SAID, "ALREADY 12 US SOLDIERS HAVE DIED IN IRAQ THIS WEEK."

BULLY BOY SNARLED AND BEGAN JUMPING UP AND DOWN WHILE WHINING, "ARE YOU TRYING TO SPOIL MY BUZZ! CONDI SAID YOU WANTED TO DO A FUN INTERVIEW! FUN! FUN IS FUN. I KNOW FUN. FUN'S MY WHOLE LIFE."

BULLY BOY JUMPING UP AND DOWN SHOOK THE FLOOR AND CAUSED A FRAMED PHOTO ON HIS DESK TO CRASH TO THE FLOOR.

HE COVERED HIS MOUTH WITH BOTH HANDS AND LOOKED NERVOUS.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TELL BIG DICK ARE YOU?" HE WANTED TO KNOW. "JUST CAUSE HE'S PRESIDENT OF VICE DOESN'T MEAN HE'S THE BOSS OF ME! DON'T TELL HIM! DON'T TELL HIM!"

WE ATTEMPTED TO CALM BULLY BOY DOWN WITH WORDS BUT HE WAS HYSTERICAL SO FINALLY ONE OF US SLAPPED HIM ACROSS THE FACE CAUSING HIM TO PULL IT TOGETHER.

SINCE IT LOOKED LIKE IT HAD BEEN SO MUCH FUN, THE OTHER ONE OF US WENT AHEAD AND SLAPPED THE NOW CALMED BULLY BOY AS WELL.

HE GLARED BUT JUST RUBBED THE SIDES OF HIS FACE.

"HEY, KNOW WHAT WE NEED?" ASKED BULLY BOY, LOOKING EXCITED. "TUNES! TUNES TO ROCK OUT ON. WE CAN DO SOME AIR GUITAR AND HAVE SOME KEWL FUN!"

BULLY BOY RUSHED OVER TO THE RADIO.

"I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU GUYS BUT I LIKE MY MUSIC BAD -- BAD COMPANY, BAD FINGER, REBA MCENTIRE -- SHE'S JUST BAD."

HE CHUCKLED AT HIS OWN JOKE AS HE FLIPPED ON THE RADIO.

"THE UNITED STATES INVASION OF IRAQ WAS AN ILLEGAL ACT OF WAR. IT WAS UNSUPPORTED BY [. . .] INTERNATIONAL LAW, THE U.S. LAW, THE U.S. MILITARY CODE OF CONDUCT NOR BASIC MORALITY. WITH THE EXCUTION OF THE WAR AND THE ONGOING OCCUPATION A CLEAR PATTERN OF WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY HAVE AND ARE BEING COMMITTED. SOLDIERS THEREFORE WHO REFUSE TO FIGHT, TO STAND UP TO THE WAR, WHO SPEAK OUT AND ACT OUT AGAINST THE WAR ARE NOT ONLY MORALLY RIGHT IN THEIR RESPONSE BUT LEGALLY REQUIRED TO TAKE SUCH MEASURES. THEY'RE UPHOLDING THEIR OBLIGATION TO REJECT ILLEGAL ORDERS AND TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES."

WE RECOGNIZED THE VOICE. IT WAS ANTONIA JUHASZ, AUTHOR OF THE BU$H AGENDA. SHE WAS SPEAKING ABOUT CORRUPTION ON A PANEL FOR IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR'S WINTER SOLDIERS INVESTIGATION.

"CONSTITUTION -SCHMANSTITUTION!" HOLLERED BULLY BOY AT THE RADIO SPEAKERS. "IT DON'T EXIST NO MORE! I KILLED IT! SHOT IT DEAD AND WIPED MY ASS WITH IT!"

BULLY BOY GIGGLED AND TURNED TO US EXPECTING, WE'RE ASSUMING, HIGH-FIVES. WE LEFT HIM HANGING.

"THERE ARE TWO AREAS I'M GOING TO TESTIFY TO THE ILEGALITY OF THE WAR. THE FIRST IS THE WAR'S OBJECTIVE," ANTONIA JUHASZ EXPLAINED OVER THE AIR WAVES.

"ILLEGAL! I MAKE THE LAW! I MAKE THE LAW!" BULLY BOY SHOUTED AT THE RADIO.

TURNING TO US, HE ASKED, "WHO DOES THAT ARAB THINK SHE IS?"

ACTUALLY, WE INFORMED HIM, HER NAME BEING ANTONIA JUHASZ, WE WOULD SUSPECT SHE IS LATINA.

"WELL I'LL PUT HER IN GUANTANAMO! I WILL!" HE INSISTED. "CONDI! CONDI! GET YOUR NO-ONE-COULD-HAVE-GUESSED ASS IN HERE!"

CONDI CAME DARTING INTO THE ROOM AS BULLY BOY BEGAN INSISTING THAT HE WANTED TO PUT "ANTONIO BANDERAS" INTO JAIL.

CONDI TURNED TO US AND ASKED US ACCUSINGLY, "DID YOU LET HIM WATCH SPY KIDS 3? YOU KNOW THAT'S TOO ADVANCED FOR HIM."

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME, CONDI! I WANT ANTONIO BANDERAS' BUTT IN GUANTANAMO BAY NOW!"

"BULLY BOY, CALM DOWN," CONDI ADVISED, "DICK IS SOMEWHERE IN THE BUILDING. YOU DON'T WANT HIM TO HAUL YOU OVER HIS LAP AGAIN."

BULLY BOY SNARLED BUT CALMED DOWN SOME WHAT.

CONDI PATTED HIM ON THE HEAD AND TRIED TO CALM HIM DECLARING, "NOW WE CAN'T PUT IN ANYONE IN GUANTANAMO. WE'VE GONE OVER THIS. YOU ARE OUT OF OFFICE IN JANUARY AND NO ONE LISTENS TO YOU ANYMORE."

"THE WAR'S OBJECTIVE -- THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS, AND I'M SURE MANY OF YOU COULD ARTICULATE THESE EVEN BETTER THAN I CAN," ANTONIA JUHASZ WAS SAYING. "THE INTERNATIONAL LAW DOES SUBSTANTUATE FOR ONE COUNTRY INITIATING A WAR AGAINST ANOTHER COUNTRY. THAT LIST DOES NOT INCLUDE SEIZURE OF ANOTHER COUNTRY'S NATURAL RESOURCES NOR DOES IT INCLUDE THE HOPED FOR POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND HEDGEMONIC GAIN THAT GAINING THOSE RESOURCES WOULD GRANT. A NATION. I CERTIANLY DO NOT STAND AS A MINORITY PERSON AT THIS POINT IN STATING QUITE AN OBVIOUS FACT, QUIT OBVIOUS AT THIS POINT BY MORE PRESTIGIOUS PEOPLE THAN MYSELF THAT THE WAR IN IRAQ WAS CLEARLY A WAR LAUNCHED AND FOUGHT FOR AND CONTINUED TO BE FOUGHT FOR: OIL."

"MAKE IT STOP, CONDI," BLUBBERED BULLY BOY POINTING AT THE RADIO, "MAKE IT STOP."

CONDI SAT DOWN AND BULLY BOY CRAWLED INTO HER LAP AS SHE ATTEMPTED TO SOOTHE HIM WHILE SHOOTING US DIRTY LOOKS.

FEELING THAT THE INTERVIEW HAD ENDED, WE LEFT THE OVAL OFFICE.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resisters. Judith Scherr (Berkeley Daily Planet) reports the Berkeley's City Council was set to adopt the measure of sending Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper a letter in support of war resisters; however, Council member Gordon Wozniak demanded a full discussion (in what was a big whiney move on Wozniak's part). The discussion took place Wednesday night. Kriss Worthington and Max Anderson recommended the letter to Harper, Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) and Stephane Dion (Liberal Party leader). The [PDF format warning] text of the recommendation notes the request would be "that the government of Canada establish provisions to provide sanctuary for U.S. military service members who are living in Canada to resist fighting in the Iraq War." [PDF format warning] The proposal notes:

Throughout the Vietnam War era, Canada provided a place of refuge for United States citizens seeking to resist the war. Because of Canada's rich tradition of being a refuge from militarism, approximately 200 U.S. military service people have moved to Canada to resist fighting in the Iraq War.

However, it has become more difficult to immigrate to Canada and these war resisters are seeking refugee status in accord with United Nations guidelins. Unfortunately, their requests for refugee status have been rejected by the Canadian Refugee Board. Several resisters have appealed the Refugee Board decisions to the Supreme Court of Canada. While a court decision is pending these resisters are vulnerable to deportation back to the United States where they may face years of incarceration or even worst penalties.

In November the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. 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. That is the sort of thing that should receive attention but instead it's ignored.

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, 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).

Iraq Veterans Against the War Winter Soldiers Investigation which began last night and continues through Sunday and the hearings will be broadcast at the Iraq Veterans Against the War home page an on KPFA with Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz hosting and the KPFA live stream will also be available at Glantz' War Comes Home as well as on KPFK, WBAI and at the Pacifica Radio homepage which notes its live coverage will be from (EST times) 10 in the morning to seven at night on Friday, nine in the morning until seven at night on Saturday and ten in the morning until four in the afternoon on Sunday that should apply to all Pacifica stations that are broadcasting the hearings. Viewing options and meet ups can be found at Iraq Veterans Against the War. (Dish Network is airing it on satellite TV -- today and Saturday). Today's testimonies will cover rules of engagment, healthcare, contractors and war profiteering and the aims of the wars (Iraq and Afghanistan). Tomorrow will kick off with discussions on gender and sexuality, racism and the 'other' to dehumanize the enemy and various costs of the illegal war. Sunday will cover how the US military is breaking under the strain of the wars and GI resistance. (Click here for a schedule.)

The IVAW website was overwhelmed with visitors today so, should you have trouble streaming, remember the other streaming alternatives. The first panel was moderated by Jose Vasquez who explained the rules which included that after someone testified, they would then have a decomposing support session and should not be approached by the press or anyone else until that was taken care of. In addition, unlike the VA, they have set up support groups and systems to ensure that all witnesses offering testimony had support for the next few days. The basic pattern was that each veteran would give their name, explain when they served (in either Iraq or Afghanistan) and then share their testimony. Some non-veterans testified as well on areas of corruption and war profiteering.

There were many strong highlights. This is not an exhaustive list. Other community sites will be posting (Trina's called dibs on Adam Kokesh) and we'll be covering this at The Third Estate Sunday Review (Sunday's hearings will be covered in Monday's snapshot). Hart Viges spoke of his time serving in Iraq and how he would go on round-ups and think the guilty and innocent were sorted quickly. Only later did he find out that "people being detained are being detained for years -- their parents don't even know where they are." Jason Washburn discussed how you could shoot an Iraqi civilian and get away with it -- by his third tour he noticed that they were unofficially (wink-nod) allowed by the command to have shovels and "if we accidentally did kill a civilian we could just drop a shovel" which would indicate -- under the US military command's screwed up understanding -- that the person shot must have been digging a hole to plant a roadside bomb, in which case, the killing was a-okay. John Michael Turner began his testimony by tossing his dog tags to the audience (IVAW members were in the front rows, so they caught them and can return to them to him if he wants them back) declaring, "F.U. I don't work for you no more." He spoke of the damage done in Iraq and spoke so clearly that the damage the illegal war had done to him was audible. He declared, "I am sorry for the hate and destruction that I have inflicted on innocent people" and noted that "until people hear the truth about what is going on in this war, people will continue to die." That really is the point of the hearings and various witnesses made it very clear that they were not attacking those they had served with, that this was not about finger-pointing at US service members, this was about the policies in place and the orders being given by higher ups through the chain of command.

The healthcare issue was addressed as well. Eli Wright spoke of how "military healthcare doesn't get enough attention" and advised service members struggling to get the medical care they have been promised, "Don't keep it quiet and, unfortunately, in many cases you can't rely on your command" to do the job for you. He noted how difficult it could be, while you serving, to speak out for your healthcare needs but that it's often the only way to receive treatment. In Monday's snapshot, we will note the veteran by name but I didn't know him and if we wait to find out who he was the snapshot will never go up. A veteran discussed how he was told repeatedly about the benefits he would have. How it would apply to his family. Reality was the military provided nothing. (His last name may have been Peterson.) He was serving in Iraq and his wife began to miscarry. She phoned and was told that she was probably miscarrying. Could she get an ambulance? Did she have $1500? The wife ended up hunting down a friend to take her to the facitilities. They arrived at 4:00 pm. She was miscarrying but they closed at 4:30 and couldn't see her. The woman was miscarrying and the US military was refusing treatment. They wouldn't even request an ambulance. Her friend drove her over 20 miles to another facility where she miscarried. Eric Estenzo spoke of injuring his back in Iraq and getting wonderful care -- while enlisted. As soon as he was discharged, he found a different life. He suffered from PTSD, he had trouble readjusting which made keeping a civilian job very difficult. He felt on top of the world, with $17,000 in cash, and quickly found himself homeless though he didn't realize it then and was, in fact, "house surfing" before he realized what was happening. He was in Hollywood, attempting to stay with a friend, and saw some people giving out food to the homeless. He was hungry and thought it would be fine to grab some food. Eating it, he realized he was homeless. It took a support network of other veterans and his own courage and strength to fight the VA system and demand the care he needed.

Corruption and war profiteering was another panel. KBR was the focus of Kelly Dougherty's testimony. She discussed how she and others serving in Iraq assigned to protect convoys were repeatedly put at risk when a KBR vehicle broke down, how they were told it was an asset to be protected even if that meant killing someone and then they would be told to forget it, to destroy the vehicle and move out. Iraqis desperate for fuel or the contents of the truck were not a concern and, if pressed, the US military command would instruct service members that distributing something in the trucks (before destroying them) could cause a riot. All of which goes to Doughtery's statement of Iraqis, "I'm looking at people I can't even look in the eye." Moving to Kuwait after serving in Iraq and while waiting to be sent back homes, service members were living in a KBR tent city. Doughtery explained, "When we were leaving . . . we were put in these tent cities. Our tents were completely covered with mold on the inside." The tents had bunk beds and not cots so service members were not allowed to (as some wanted) sleep outside the tents to avoid what appeared to be Black Mold. Instead, they suffered from respitory infections. Dougherty noted "this living condition where we couldn't even be in the place were we were supposed to live without getting sick." KBR made a big profit of the illegal war. KBR provided the troops with tents that made them sick. Where's the audit on that? Non-veteran Antonia Juhasz spoke about the realities that some (including some in the peace movement) forget, "the very extensive pre-planning." [Me: Because of that really bad 'documentary' (No End In Sight) some have yet again forgotten reality and claim that there should have been planning or better planning. What's taking place in Iraq was planned.] Juhasz went over how this was planned in depth, how Paul Bremer continued to the plan with his Bremer laws and how the Iraqi people are the ones suffering and there is no 'win' to be found. The only answer is for foreign troops to leave Iraq and allow "Iraqis to sort it out." Juhasz has documented this at length in her writing (including her book The BU$H Agenda).

Veteran Adrienne Kinne, speaking on healthcare, offered this reality, "The best preventative healthcare for our soldiers in uniform is to not use them to fight illegal wars." The hearings continue Saturday and Sunday. [Again, that is not everyone who poke and today and early tomorrow you will find more at the community sites -- Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude; Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix; Kat's Kat's Korner; Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man; Mike's Mikey Likes It!; Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot; Trina's Trina's Kitchen; Ruth's Ruth's Report; and Marcia's SICKOFITRADLZ.]

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Thursday, March 13, 2008

THIS JUST IN! BAMBI SAYS 'THEY'RE JUST WORDS!'

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- CAMPAIGN TRAIL.

SENATOR BAMBI OBAMA'S RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE JUST GOT A LOT MORE IFFY.

GOOD MORNING AMERICA IS REPORTING ON BAMBI'S MENTOR REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT AND WRIGHT'S CONTROVERSIAL AND OFFENSIVE REMARKS.

THE REMARKS INCLUDE BLAMING AMERICA AND AMERICANS FOR 9-11. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FORGOTTEN IT, WHEN PREACHERS ATTEMPTED TO DO THAT AFTER 9-11, EVEN THE BULLY BOY OF THE UNITED STATES CALLED THEM OUT.

BAMBI SAYS HE WASN'T IN CHURCH THE DAY OF THAT SERMON WHICH IS RATHER ODD SINCE THE REMARKS WERE DELIVERED THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER 9-11 AND SINCE SOMEONE WHO WAS RELIGIOUS WOULD BE EXPECTED TO BE IN CHURCH ON THAT DAY.

BUT BAMBI WAS IN CHURCH PLENTY OF OTHER TIMES.

WE ASKED HIM IF HE WAS IN CHURCH WHEN REV. WRIGHT WAS DAMING AMERICA?

"I'M NOT SURE," HE RESPONDED LOOKING AROUND NERVOUSLY.

WE ASKED HIM HOW OFTEN HIS PASTOR HAD DAMNED THE UNITED STATES?

"I'M NOT SURE," HE SPUTTERED. "HEY, DID YOU HEAR WHAT RACIST THING I SAID THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN DID TODAY OR TRIED TO DO TODAY?"

WE ASKED SENATOR BAMBI HOW ANY MAN OR WOMAN WHO WAS A MEMBER OF A CHURCH THAT CALLED FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO BE DAMNED WAS QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT OF SAID COUNTRY.

"THEY'RE JUST WORDS," HE SAID WITH A WEAK LAUGH BEFORE PRETENDING TO SEE SOMEONE AND RUSHING OFF.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resistance. March 17, 2007 -- as the 4th anniversary of the illegal war was days away -- the War Resisters Support Campaign's Michelle Robidoux spoke outside the US Embassy in Canada. Snowshoe Documentary Films captured the Toronto speech.

Michelle Robidoux: Good afternoon, sisters and brothers. I think people in this city who have been out on the streets marching against war over the past few years are familiar with the war resisters who have come up to Canada. I want to introduce some of them to you today. Jeremy Hinzman, Nga Nguyen and Liam, their son, who were the first to come up here -- first US soldier to refusing to fight in Iraq, to seek refuge in Canada and since Jermey arrived in January 2004. We have seen an influx of people from every branch of the US military -- from the marines, the navy, the US army, national guardsman. And I want to introduce other resisters you may not have met yet Phil MacDowell and Jamine Aponte. They arrived here in October and are making their life here in Toronto and Steve Yoczik who arrived in December from Florida We have also some Vietnam resisters up here. Tom Riley and Lee Zaslofsky who is the cooridnator of the War Resisters Support Campaign, who have been the backbone, the Vietnam resisters, the people who came up 35 years ago opposing another illegal and immoral war. We are at a crucial point in the battle to win asylum for war resisters because this isn't just a legal battle. We learned a lesson when we marched in our tens of thousands before the beginning of the invasion and occupation of Iraq we actually achieved something that many of us thought might not be possible the Canadian government made a decision in the teeth of the opposition on the streets to not send Canadian troops to Iraq and now we need to use that political pressure to make sure that we follow through.

That was a year ago. Since then war resisters in Canada have been dealt a serious set-back when the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. 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. That is the sort of thing that should receive attention but instead it's ignored.

Meanwhile IVAW has a DC action this month:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it." The hearings will be broadcast throughout at the Iraq Veterans Against the War home page an on KPFA March 14th and 16th with Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz hosting and the KPFA live stream will also be available at Glantz' War Comes Home.

Mark Benjamin (Salon) writes today, "It is unclear whether Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will gain wider attention from the media and the public, but its organizers say that today's technology could make a difference. 'The modern soldier carries a digital camera almost as a sidearm,' explained O'Brien. The group says that potentially explosive photos and video from Iraq displayed at this Winter Soldier investigation will help 'expose the human consequences of failed policy' in the war zones. The searing images from Abu Ghraib, of course came to light because soldiers working inside the prison made use of their personal digital cameras." Norman Solomon's IPA has put out a news release on the action and quotes Adam Kokesh declaring, "There are too many veterans returning from futile occupations with heads full of lies and hearts full of sorrow. Minds full of bad memories and bodies full of shrapnel. Fists full of anger and families full of confusion. It's not a strong place from which to make yourself politically relevant. But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if we weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible."

The action starts this evening (7:00 to 9:00 pm EST) and will stream at IVAW online and the hearings will close Sunday afternoon. Kelly Dougherty explained in a press release last month, "We've heard from the politicians, we've heard from the generals, we've heard from the media -- not it's our turn. It's not going to be easy to hear what we have to say. It's not going to be easy for us to tell it. But we believe that the only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name."

Staying with veterans, this morning the US House Committee on Veterans' Affairs' subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing entitled "Care of Seriously Wounded After In-Patient Care" attempting to address what happens to the wounded veterans after their immediate wounds are treated. US House Rep Harry Mitchell is the chair of the committee and he explained in his opening remarks, "We are here today to hear from veterans, their families, and the Department of Veterans Affairs about the long-term care of our most severely wounded Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. We know that DoD and VA provide the excellent inpatient healthcare for these warriors. But many of the most seriously injured require extensive outpatient care, some of them for life. Their families need care and assistance as well. Unfortunately, once these veterans leave the hospital, the care they receive does not seem to be on par with what they received directly following their injury. I think we can do better." US House Rep Nick Lampson introduced Casey Owens and noted, "Care for veterans such as Edward Wade and Casey Owens was by trial and error, as there was no system of care in place for these new types of injuries -- both external and internal. Casey expressed to me his worry that there are still issues with care for polytrauma patients today. And I was most impress with his concern for those who will come after them and his hope that they will not come to Congress with the same exact issues, complications, and frustrations as we are hearing today."

Among those testifying were Casey Owens who served in Iraq (Marine Corporal) and was wounded while serving his second tour of duty. Both of his legs were amputated. Ted (Edward) Wade lost his arm from a roadside bombing while serving in Iraq (Army Sgt.) and his wife Sarah Wade testified to the subcommittee. Sarah was advised by 'experts' at Walter Reed Army Medical that her husband would be a 'vegetable' (which he is not) and the couple had to fight the military just for him to obtain the medical care he was owed.

Casey Owens: While some of the problems I have encountered have been resolved, many have not. The learning curve of VA's system is steep and its bureaucratic maze is hard to understand. It has been thirty years since the last major war and what lessons has the VA learned since then? Did no one expect another war or learn anything from Viet Nam? What have the educated and highly paid personnel who have been appointed to correct the system been focusing their attention on? While the system continues to be broken, where is all the government funding going that is supposed to be fixing the system and what are they doing with? A tremendous problem that I have encountered is the double standard of the VA and the Department of Defense's claims and rating for veterans. It took me three to five months of agonizing appointments and addendums to finalize my Medical Board, which was performed by competent and qualified military and civilian personnel. After I had completed my medical boards, I thought I was finished with that process only to find out I was not. When I enrolled in the VA, it took almost another year and a half to finalize those claims. It is actions like that make veterans avoid the VA. My qualms is not that the VA does not have nough programs in place to benefit veterans or the adequacy of it, rather, it is the bureaucracy and red tape that are the problems. While many problems have been addressed, it is time for SOLUTIONS.

Sarah Wade followed Casey Owens.

Sarah Wade: As an above elbow amputee with a severe TBI [traumatic brain Injury], Ted was one of the first major explosive blast "polytrauma" cases from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Walter Reed Army Medical Center or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had to rehabilitate. Much of his treatement was by trial and error, as there was no model system of care for a patient like Ted, and there still is no long-term model today. His situation was an enormous challegne, as Walter Reed was only able to rehabilitate an amputee, not a TBI, the VA was able to nominally treat a TBI, but not an above elbow amputee, and neither were staffed to provide appropriate bheavioral health care for a patient with a severe TBI. Because Ted could not access the necessary services, where and and when he needed them, he suffered a signficant setback in 2005, that put him in the hospital for two weeks, and would take a year to rebound from. Ted has made a remarkable recovery by any standard, because we have strayed from standardized treatment, and developed a patient-centered path. I had to educate myself about, and coordinate, additional outside care. Often, access to the necessary services required intervention from the highest levels of government, or for us to personally finance them ourselves. But despite our best efforts, Ted is still unable to easily receive comprehensive care for all of his major health issues, due to shortcomings in the current system, and because of the time his needs demand of me, I have been unable to return to regular work or school. We have been blessed to have family, with the means to see us through these difficult times, and help with the expenses. I was fortunate to have the education, of growing up in Washington, D.C. and learning about the workings of the various Federal agencies. Our situation is not typical though.

Wounded War Project's Meredith Beck addressed the issue of how active duty and retired veterans have different benefits, noting "an active duty patient can be seen at a VA Polytrauma Center to treat his Traumatic Brain Injury. However, while at the VA facility, the servicemember, due to his duty status, cannot enoy VA benefits such as Vocational Rehabilitation or Independent Living Services that can he helpful in his recovery. Alternately, as mentioned previously and unbeknownst to most families, a medically retired servicemember cannot use his/her TRICARE benefits to access private care as TRICARE does not cover cognitive therapy once retired." Using Sgt. Eric Edmundson's story as an exmpale (he suffers from "a severe brain injury in Iraq"), Beck explained the need for more research on veterans (Eric Edmundson is making progress that many did not believe would be possible) . She advocate for the VA to "initiate a pilot program partnering with local universities to provide such a care/respite initiative for those with brain injury" and to have graduate students be matched with veterans in their own communities "so than an individualized program can be developed." Beck made the case for compensating the primary caregiver noting pointing out that often "the spouse or parent" of a wounded veteran "is forced to leave his/her job to provide the necessary care for their loved one, leaving the entire family to suffer from an adverse economic situation. In these cases the VA relies on the family member to assist in the servicemember's care, but has been denied financial compensation."

The administration provided Madhulika Agarwal (Chief Patient Care Services Officer of the Veterans Health Administration in the government's VA), Lucille Beck (Rehabiliation Services) and Kristin Day (Veterans Health Administration) and Argawal mainly wanted to throw out a lot of words that really meant nothing. Wow! Another phone line set up! can the administration do anything besides set up these phone lines? Online! They've set up some online stuff. Harry Mitchell may have shocked the adminstration by pointing out that there are "people who don't access the website, people who can't access the website." The questioning of the the government provided witnesses was best done by Reps Mitchell and Shelley Berkley.

At the end of Sarah Wade's testimony, she referenced a young mother who was caught in the maze of attempting to get her husband the care he needed and having no resources. The marriage ended, it was all just too much. Mitchell noted this example and stated that the need for "total care." He also seemed to grasp the urgency of addressing this problem -- putting him far ahead of many members of Congress as well as the trio testifying on behalf of the administration who had a lot of plans of someday improvements causing Mitchell to point out, "These people are living right now . . . It's great to have long term vision but they need help right now." He spoke of the need to "have a trust in government" and what sort of impression was being created by those struggling in the current system of veterans healthcare. "It's not just soldiers," he reminded, "they are recruiting families, not just the soldiers" and the families are part of the total care.

Mitchell: There was an office, the Office of Seamless Transition. . . . It was supposed to be a point of contact. . . . This office was disbanded almost immediately after it was created and yet we continue to talk about a seamless transition from DoD to VA. Do you know why this office was disbanded?

Agarwal: Sir, we do have seamless transition in our office --

Mitchell: So it exists still?

Dr. Madhulikia Agarwal, sent by the administration to testify, had no idea. In fact, she rarely was able to answer any question. She could mouth words but rarely did they address what she had been asked. For example, problems were repeatedly pointed out, things not being done, things being done slowly. When these various details were pointed out, repeatedly there was no answer. Rep Shelley Berkley asked, "Doctor, why . . . just now is a comprehensive list of seriously injured veterans being developed? Isn't this something that should have been done all along, that the department should have been tracking?" Agarwal maintained that it was been tracked "and there's a list." Follow this exchange:

Berkeley: When did the list start to be created?

Agarwal: In fact, very soon. We have . . . [blah, blah, blah]

Berkley: Let me make sure I understand what you say because I don't think you understood me question: How long ago did you start the list?

Madhulikia: I have to take that back and get back to you. I don't know when we started the list.

Berkley: In the last year? In the last two years?

Agarwal didn't know and tossed the question to Kristin Day who believes it was "approximately 2005" but Day apparently had trouble following as well because the list she was referring to was not a systematic list to keep track of the wounded (and types of wounds). "So it's a refund list is what I think I am hearing you say," commented Berkley.

The three witnesses sent by the administration appeared to require a fourth because none of them knew anything. Berkley moved on to the issue of foster homes and how "we have unfortunately found that many times when we have volunteers that their attention isn't always what we'd hope they would be. What kind of screening procedure do you have or plan on having? What kind of background cehcks will you be doing on these volunteers?" The answer was a hem and a haw topped of with a huge portion of disappointment leading Berkley to state, "I want to make sure I fully understand . . . Doctor, if you don't do criminal checks, that's criminal."

The point appeared lost on Dr. Madhulika Agarwal.

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

THIS JUST IN! TALKING WITH WHITE-WHITE MATT ROTHSCHILD

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- WHITE CITY.

THE PROGRESSIVE'S MATT ROTHSCHILD IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT RACISM SO THESE REPORTERS REQUESTED AN INTERVIEW.

WHEN ONE OF US WALKED INTO HIS OFFICE (WALLY) HE WAS ALL SMILES, WHEN THE OTHER (CEDRIC) WALKED IN, HE SAID, "LOOK, MAN, I DON'T GIVE HAND-OUTS TO BUMS." WHEN WE EXPLAINED WE WERE BOTH REPORTERS, MATT ROTHSCHILD SAID, "COOL. I THINK THERE WAS A COLORED PERSON IN A COLLEGE CLASS I TOOK. HAVE A SEAT. HEY, HOW'S THAT ALICIA KEYS?"

AS ROTHSCHILD WENT ON TO NAME CHECK EVERY FAMOUS AFRICAN-AMERICAN EVEN HE HAD HEARD OF IN HIS WHITE, WHITE WORLD, WE PREPARED FOR OUR FIRST QUESTION.

15 MINUTES LATER, AFTER ASSURING US THAT HE REALLY LOVED THE JEFFERSONS AND GOOD TIMES, WE FINALLY GOT OUR CHANCE.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HIRING AT THE MAGAZINE?

MR: I AM.

SO YOU PICK AND CHOOSE WHOMEVER YOU WANT WITHOUT ANSWERING TO ANYONE?

MR: THAT IS CORRECT. YOU COULD CALL ME THE BIG CHEESE.

AND HOW MANY COLUMNISTS DOES YOUR MAGAZINE HAVE?

MR: COUNTING ME . . . LET'S SEE NINE!

AND HOW MANY OF THOSE COLUMNISTS ARE AFRICAN-AMERICANS?

MR: WHAT?

HOW MANY ARE AFRICAN-AMERICANS?

MR: WELL . . . NONE. BUT . . . MOST OF OUR COLUMNISTS HAVE BEEN WITH THE MAGAZINE FOR YEARS.

SO IT'S BEEN A RACIST MAGAZINE FOR SOME TIME. DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT JUST HIRE JIM HIGHTOWER AND DAVE ZIRIN AS COLUMNISTS?

MR: WELL . . .

YOU HAD NO AFRICAN-AMERICAN COLUMNISTS AND YOU JUST HIRED TWO WHITE MEN?

MR: WELL . . .

WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT SAYS?

MR: I'M NO RACIST! I SAW ALL THE HOUSE PARTY MOVIES!

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resistance. Kenneth Theisen (OpEdNews) writes, "We need to oppose the recruitment of men and women into the military. We need to support resisters within the military who have realized what they are doing and now choose to resist the role of the U.S. military. This includes people such as Lt. Ehren Watada who refused to deploy to Iraq. Watada stated, 'Never did I imagine my president would lie to go to war, condone torture, spy on Americans . . ." He was the first officer to refuse to go to Iraq and he was court-martialed. Another resister is Camilo Mejia. In 2004 Sergeant Mejia was sentenced to one year in prison when he was court-martialed for refusing to assist the military in Iraq. Mejia said, 'I am only a regular person that got tired of being afraid to follow his own conscience. For far too long I allowed others to direct my actions even when I knew that they were wrong . . .' [. . .] James Circello, who joined the Army after September 11 2001, and was sent to Iraq in March 2003 described his experience there: 'We were told that we were giving these people Democracy. Unfortunately what I saw would best be described as martial law, or what we called "The Old West". Soldiers joked that "anything goes", which was true and still is . . . I never forgot what I did while in Iraq and what I saw happening: other kids turning into animals. Some as young as 17, brutalizing, bullying and humiliating individuals sometimes old enough to be their grandparents, and sometimes young enough to be their children. And it wasn't just the men on the receiving end, suffering through illegal and tiresome searches of their homes and vehicles, simply for being brown skinned, but the same methods were applied to women and children as well. No one was innocenct.' James Circello reached a point where he could no longer be part of this killing machine."

With just three examples, Theisen finds the common bond: courage. Each war resister has a unique story but what they share is the courage to say no more, no mas, enough. Some resistance includes self-checking out and moving to Canada. You can help US war resisters in that country -- help online as well. They were dealt a serious set-back when the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. 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. That is the sort of thing that should receive attention but instead it's ignored.

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, 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).

Meanwhile IVAW has a DC action this month:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it." The hearings will be broadcast throughout at the Iraq Veterans Against the War home page an on KPFA March 14th and 16th with Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz hosting and the KPFA live stream will also be available at Glantz' War Comes Home.

Staying on the topic of veterans, Barbara Barrett (McClatchy Newspapers) reports on the Senate Committe on Veterans Affairs hearing yesterday and the reaction to Jackie McMichael's testimony quoting Senator Patty Murray declaring, "It's so overwhelming to listen to you. This is a reminder that we're still not where we need to be" and Senator Richard Burr declaring, "My assessment is the VA doesn't see the human face behind the patients they're treating." Jackie McMichael's opening statements can be found here and she discusses how her husband Michael was Lt. Michael McMichael, National Guard from 2003 to the start of 2005: "He walked off the plane. He smiled. He was a little skinny, but otherwise healthy looking. He looked happy. After the euphoria of Mike being home began to wear off, the changes in him were noticeable and dramatic." She discussed her husband's difficulty sleeping through the night, his requiring a cane to walk due to injuries from a bombing in Iraq, his migraines, hallucinations, poor memory and "hand and body tremors." He has PTSD and is unable to manage money and has difficulty with employment. From her opening statements:

None of these events happened to Mike alone. They happened to me, to my 6 year old son, my 4 year old son, Mike's mom and to my parents and my brothers. We were left to watch as Mike self destructed not knowing what to do to help him or ourselves. We had no clue what was wrong with him and he was, at time, completely uninterested in finding out himself. He said over and over again, "I know guys who lost limbs and they are OK."

[. . .]

There is a great need for "Whole Family" Education and resources. Educating the Vets on the importance of a Collaborative Rehabilitaion is critical. I believe many Vets see their transition as their issue alone. Mike was very resistant to me talking to his Doctors or telling me anything about what he was working on. This is understandable as I am very aware of HIPAA regulations and confidentiality. But I was losing my husband and I was seeing things I knew they could not have been aware of. I called his doctors and told them "You don't have to say anything about Mike, just listen to me. This is what I am seeing at home." All I wanted was to know what to look for, what to expect, what to do, how to help. [. . .]

I would have benefitted from earlier awareness of resources for both active duty and citizen soldier families. (Being the wife of a National Guard officer, I was not immersed in the military culture and at times was, again, lost). The Raleigh Vet Center's "8 Habits of Highly Effective Marriages" and couples counseling resources are examples of invaluable offerings we have gladly taken advantage of, but I want more. Education on PTSD, TBI, legal issues, coping skills, transitioning the family back to a 2 or single parent household, setting boundaries, relationship counseling, personal counseling and navigating the benefits labyrinth (on top of all the emotional and psychological concerns we have to deal with, the financial impact is a crushing blow. I can not express this enough). These are just a few topics with sustainable benefits to the Vet and the family. I'd like to see this information advertised. It may already exist, but how do families find out about them? Often the Vet must initiate first contact.

I'd like to see doors open to families even though their Vet may not be ready to cope emotionally with their injuries yet. This may require a re-education of our medical community on how to do this effectively without jeopardizing the regulations they must follow while still meeting the needs of the Veteran. I'd like to see the VA leverage the relationship and love we have for our wounded warriors to help us all heal and teach us how to be a family again.

Robert Verbeke spoke about his son Daniel Verbeke who was wounded December 5, 2005 in the Iraq War and how he did not receive the treatment he needed and all the struggles for the basics including after-care as well as modifications needed for the family home due to Daniel's condition:

My experiences with the treatment at the Richmond VAMC can be characterized as not good - not good at all. For the most part, the people who treated Dan were nice and caring people. What I learned immediately after leaving there, however, was they didn't know what they didn't know. That is, their skills, capabilities, resources, staffing, treatments, therapies and therapy techniques all fell extremely short of what we immediately experienced at the Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital. The Richmond VAMC was not accomplished in coma emergence and severe TBI and did not have the cutting-edge experience with a case as severe as Dan's.

The VA therapists and physicians had little or no experience with patients of the condition of Dan. The level of therapy and the techniques cannot be compared to the therapy Dan received while at the Bryn Mawr Rehab. The Bryn Mawr Rehab therapists are much higher skilled; they focused on stimulation constantly while performing therapy. The techniques in each of the disciplines of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy are far more advanced. Although the Speech and Physical Therapists at Richmond tried, they just did not have the expertise and they were very lacking in the techniques and resources that Dan received immediately upon transfer to Bryn Mawr Rehab. The Richmond Occupational Therapist is another story. Recovery from a TBI is about therapy and stimulation. While this therapist treated Dan she very rarely spoke to him, I continually witnessed sessions that would last longer than 45 minutes where she would not say more than a few words to him. When I commented on this, the VA reaction was to shift Dan's therapy sessions to a time when I could not be present. They didn't fix the problem -- they ignored it! I escalated the issue to the attending physician and but were no changes.

After we returned to Pennsylvania I learned that while at Richmond VAMC, Dan was mis-diagnosed on a medical condition that resulted in receiving medications that masked a very serious condition. He was ignored while in significant pain with the explanation that it was 'tone'. He was unable to get blood work done over a weekend to properly treat him following a seizure and we were told they could not have the results analyzed over the weekend as people were "off'". Private care hospitals across this country perform these routine tests 24x7 and within minutes. He had an open wound that penetrated all the way to the bone on his right foot the entire time at Richmond (4-5mo) where the condition worsened and was only treated by a nurse. Immediately after being placed in private care, he was treated by a doctor specializing in wound care and under his treatment the wound closed in one month. Dan was in pain the entire time at Richmond.

There was a report on the Sunday evening news (most likely CBS but it may have been local news and not national) about rah-rah, look what private healthcare can do for veterans! It was a load of crap. Robert Verbeke details the problems he had with the system getting care for his son. There are many wounded who do not have someone to advocate for them the way Daniel Verbeke did. That's why the answer isn't 'out-source the care!' The answer is training and workshops and futher training for those staffing the VA hospitals. Otherwise, you'll have some like Daniel Verbeke who will benefit because there is someone fighting for them but you'll have others left alone (the way the VA's 'answer' was to put Daniel in a psych ward where he'd be locked away -- that was the 'assisted-living' care they were going to provide him for the rest of his life).

Daniel Verbeke wasn't off on some pleasure cruise of choice. He was sent into an illegal war by the US government and there are many other men and women who have been sent to Iraq by the government and any injuries are injuries the US government needs to provide care for, the government more than owes the returning that.

Today the US House Armed Services Committee's Military Personnel Subcommittee met. Kind-of, sort-of. Many members didn't show for this hearing allegedly on "the Future of the Miliary Healthcare System." The subcommittee broke repeatedly for votes and the whole thing can be seen as an embarrassment and an insult.

Chief among them, the only medical doctor present as a witness, S. Ward Casscells (Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs) who is too damn old and too damn out of touch for his post as he demonstrated repeatedly but most famously when being asked about the future for veterans who are "medical retirees" by House Rep Niki Tsongas and replying with a condescending don't-worry-about-it response that included referring to those wounded for life as "lost sheep." It was a lousy speech attempting to pass for an aswer and Tsongas then moved on to researcher Ron Goetzel who proved that shame was all around by insisting that his interests really aren't about the military's wounded (including, apparently, the veteran Tsongas spoke of who required a cane to walk), what really, really interest him is the health damange in the military done by smoking, drinking, excessive eating, "the silent burden on the military that's not as apparent as someone who's injured in battle." If you didn't find both men's remarks insulting, you weren't paying attention.

Rep Nancy Boyda zoomed in on pharmacies and wondered why the US military was pushing online prescriptions? Boyda referred to the rural areas in her home state (Kansas) and the best answer she was given was that it was cheaper to have a big warehouse where medicines are pulled down and shipped off. The question she never asked but should have was what about the pharmicists interaction with the veteran? In a rural area especially there may not be a VA hospital and the pharmicist (who is trained) is one face-to-face resource. When that's removed and all that's left is ONE MORE toll free phone number, who's really being helped? It's an area Boyda should have gone to but didn't. In fairness to her, time was brief. But not so brief that Rep Walter Jones couldn't gas bag and waste everyone's time. For example, there may be a point to this: "When you have to borrow money from governments to keep your doors open it won't last long." No, it may not. But what does the US borrowing money from other governments have to do with veterans' care?

Jones went on to kvetch about US monies (aid) being sent to Switzerland in 2005. "Why are we sending money to a country with a surplus when we have a deficit?" he wanted to know. And it might be a question worth pursuing but is the subcommittee on military care really the place for his remarks? Then he tried to shift the blame for the problem stating, "But we're in the minority" meaning Republicans in the House and "can't do anything about it, maybe my colleagues can." Walter Jones, Republicans were in control of the House of Represenatives in 2005 and in 2006. The November 2006 elections meant that in January 2007 the 110th Congress would have a Democratically controlled House. Aid sent to Switzerland in 2005 -- if a problem -- was clearly a Republican problem because that was the party in control. Having never addressed the topic, Jones wrapped up by declaring, "Thanks for letting me preach for about five minutes." No one commented but, then, the only response to that is, "That was only five minutes? It felt sooooo much longer."

It was time for yet another break and this may have been when chair Susan Davis asked the witnesses to wait again and promised that, after they bot back, if there was a need to break again, they'd wouldn't ask them to stick around. But, please do stick around -- Davis stated -- and if you need help with a phone call or something, ask the staffers.

Carol Shea-Porter had the strongest section when the committee resumed. She wanted to know "how much of our costs are we shiftin on to other tax payers" when veterans have to leave the veterans health care system and/or the state. She explained about a veteran from her home state, New Hampshire, who had to travel out of state for treatment which meant finding childcare, meant her husband needing to travel with her, "everything involved is too much to ask, I think, for someone who has cancer." Which brings us back to the point about solutions. The veterans system needs to be upgraded. The answer isn't outsourcing, it's not counting on individual veterans to have a support system (family or friends) who will fight for treatement. The system is out of date and all doctors, nurses and therapists working in it need further training. Not because they're not smart or not trained but because there are 'state of the art' injuries among the wounded returning and advances going on in private medical care need to be part of the training and knowledge base within the veterans healthcare system. The system is being allowed to rot and it was never up-to-date to begin with. If it's not taken care of now, it most likely will not be for some time to come.

"Should FAIR fire Peter Hart?"

"Hillary and Carly"
"He is lying again "
"Closet case "
"Barack just can't tell the truth"
"Hillary "
"Hillary will attend Irish-American presidential forum"
"The gifted Orlando Patterson"
"THIS JUST IN! ORLANDO PATTERSON'S GIFT! "

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

THIS JUST IN! ORLANDO PATTERSON'S GIFT!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- HARVARD.

THESE REPORTERS GASPED AT THIS MORNING NEW YORK TIMES, SPECIFICALLY AT A COLUMN BY ORLANDO PATTERSON WHERE HE SAW RACISM IN A TV AD HILLARY CLINTON RAN BECAUSE . . . IT FEATURED A LITTLE BLONDE GIRL.

IN OUR CONTINUED EFFORTS TO PROBE OUR FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE PRESS CORPS WE INTERVIEWED ORLANDO PATTERSON AT HIS OFFICE TODAY.

"YES, I SAW IT AS RACISM," ORLANDO EXPLAINED. "I'M LIKE THE LITTLE KID IN THE SIXTH SENSE."

AS THESE REPORTERS LOOKED AT ONE ANOTHER CONFUSED, ORLANDO WHISPERED, "I SEE RACIST PEOPLE."

"ONCE," HE WENT ON, "I WAS TRAPPED AT A DOUBLE FEATURE SHOWING HILLARY DUFF AND DAKOTA FANNING. IT WAS LIKE A LYNCHING! AND WHEN THAT LITTLE GIRL USED TO DO THE WELCH'S COMMERCIAL? I FELT LIKE SOMEONE WAS BURNING A CROSS IN MY HOUSE."

DOES THAT FEELING ARISE WHENEVER HE SEES LITTLE WHITE GIRLS.

"WELL," HE PAUSED. "NOT ALWAYS. THEY HAVE TO BE BLONDES. IT'S A VERY FRIGHTENING TIME FOR ME EACH YEAR ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF JON-BENET RAMSEY'S DEATH WHEN ALL THE CABLE CHANNELS START SHOWING HER PICTURES."

BUT HIS 'EVIDENCE' IS NOT BASED ON ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE TERMED 'REAL.'

"TRUE," ORLANDO AGREED. "BUT DID YOU EVER SEE THAT MOVIE GHOST? WHEN WHOOPI SAID HER MOTHER'S MOTHER HAD THE GIFT, I FELT A TINGLE AND KNEW I HAD A GIFT TOO. AND THERE'S THE FACT THAT THERE'S A WOMAN WHO WANTS TO CONTACT HER DEAD HUSBAND AND WHAT'S HIS NAME? ORLANDO! I KNEW THEN THAT GOD AND PARAMOUNT PICTURES WERE TELLING ME I HAD THE GIFT."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resistance. In June 2006, Ehren Watada, became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the Iraq War. He has stated it is an illegal war. He finished his service contract in December of 2006; however, the US military refuses to discharge him hoping that they can circumvent the US Constitution's ban on double-jeopardy and court-martial him again (the first court-martial ended in a mistrial -- over defense objections). UCLA's Asian American Studies Center Press's Amerasia Journal has a special edition entitled "World, War, Watada." From the AASC's press release:

"Amerasia Journal is the first and only national scholarly journal to gather, interpret, and present, from varying perspectives, the ideas and voices of Asian Americans themselves on the case of Lt. Ehren Watada and the war," writes editor and UCLA professor Russell C. Leong. In this issue, Asian Americans and South Asian Americans take stands against racial, ethnic, and religious profiling and the curtailment of their civil, cultural, and political rights. Scholars and researchers also contribute pieces that bridge the "ivory tower" of the university with the realities of war, globalization, and national identity in the twenty-first century.

This volume examines the multiple dimensions of the Lieutenant Watada case, connecting Watada to the history of Asian American resistance to injustice. From a legal perspective, Prof. Eric K. Yamamoto and Ashley Kaho'omino'aka Kaiao Obrey of the University of Hawai'i law school view Lieutenant Watada's stand as part of a "long line of resistance" within the broader context of World War II Japanese American internee draft resistance and executive branch abuses of American civil liberties in the name of national security. They also discuss the applications of the Nuremberg Principles to the Watada case.

This issue also includes letters by Mits Koshiyama, Paul Tsuneishi, and testimony prepared for the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians in July 30, 1981 by his father, Satoru Tsuneishi. Koshiyama, a Heart Mountain World War II draft resister, ends his personal letter to Lt. Ehren Watada, as follows: "Do what your conscience tells you what to do. We got punished by a prejudiced court but in the end, we prevailed."

Other contributors include writer Frank Chin, constitutional lawyer Mari Matsuda, and the Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress September 11 Committee.

You can order it online by clicking here.

And turning to Canada, you can help US war resisters in that country -- help online as well. They were dealt a serious set-back when the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey. Today, Canada's Parliament remaining the best hope for safe harbor war resisters have, you can make your voice heard by the Canadian parliament which has the ability to pass legislation to grant war resisters the right to remain in Canada. 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. That is the sort of thing that should receive attention but instead it's ignored.

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, 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).

Meanwhile IVAW has a DC action this month:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'." IVAW's co-chair Adam Kokesh will, of course, be participating and he explains why at his site, "But out of a strong sense of duty, some of us are trying to put our experiences to use for a good cause. Some of us couldn't live with ourselves if weren't doing everything we could to bring our brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. The environment may be unking, but that is why I will be testifying to shooting at civilians as a result of changing Rules of Engagement, abuse of detainees, and desecration of Iraqi bodies. It won't be easy but it must be done. Some of the stories are things that are difficult to admit that I was a part of, but if one more veteran realizes that they are not alone because of my testimony it will be worth it." The hearings will be broadcast throughout at the Iraq Veterans Against the War home page an on KPFA March 14th and 16th with Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz hosting and the KPFA live stream will also be available at Glantz' War Comes Home.

The message has been sent in Iraq, US Senator Patrick Leahy explained, that "anything goes -- just put it on the American tax payers' credit card." Leahy was speaking this morning at the Senate Appropriations Committee in their hearing to "Examine Waste, Fraud, and Abuse of American Tax Dollars in Iraq" -- a hearing that Senator Byron Dorgan declared was "the tip of the iceberg" and "ought to be the first of a dozen or two dozen hearings."

Appearing before the committee were David Walker (Comptroller General of the US), Claude Kicklighter (Defense Department Inspector General) and Stuart Bowen (Special Inspector General for Iraq reconstruction).

Citing the US infrastructure that needs rebuilding, repair, etc., Leahy stated that $44 billion had been spent in the "five years after we invaded Iraq" and he wanted to know of the witnesses whether they believed "there are effective" tools "in place today to prevent the loss and theft of American funds and Iraqi funds?" David Walker declared "no" and immediately moved the conversation to the topic of "we have a deficit" but Iraq is making money from their oil revenues. Leahy stated that $50 billion is what Iraq is expected to take in this year in oil revenues. Walker didn't dispute the estimate but instead explained that money the puppet government in Iraq budgets for reconstruction is not spend (Walker cited only 10% of it had been spent in the most recent examination) and that "it's not being spent for various reasons." Leahy asked Kicklighter, "Could they be doing more?" Kicklighter replied, "I think they are beginning to do more." Stuart Bowen's opinion was that the means to prevent the loss and theft of monies has gotten better but his "biggest concern on the control front is the issue of direct contracting with Iraqi firms. Those are Iraqi firms executing projects involving US funds so I continue to raise questions on that."

Bowen feels its gotten better "My biggest concern on the control front is the issue of direct contracting" with Iraqis. "Those are Iraqi firms executing projects involving US funds so I continue to raise questions on that." His concerns on that, he'd explain under later questioning from Senator Dianne Feinstein, is that the the money goes to Iraqi companies: "These are US dollars and they're paying a company that we have limited input into and oversight of" and, as Feinstein noted, there are rumors that a healthy chunk of the money is paid to militias. With both Leahy and Feinstein, Bowen felt more was happening. Feinstein wanted something more concrete and asked, "Is is sufficient today? You're sort of skirting around my question. So is the answer you don't know? Is it no? What is the answer?" He didn't know but promised "our reviews that will be out this spring will provide specific details."

Has anyone been accountable for the theft or loss of US funds, Lehy wanted to know? Bowen answered, "There haven't been any to speak of." Leahy pinned him down that this was about prosecution, not incidents and Bowen clarified he was speaking of "no prosecutions" and went on to explain a case that was dismissed last week because witnesses did not show up leading Leahy to state that "they won't police their own corruption."

After a brief discussion of the Iraqi oil revenue (which Bowen placed at "closer to sixty" billion dollars for this year), Senator Patty Murray yieled her time to Senator Byron Dorgan who promised that when the officials were done answering the Senate, the second panel would have a great deal to say. It didn't really work out that way, but we'll get back to it.

Senator Dianne Feinstein mentioned the reports that US troops in Iraq have become ill from unsafe water supplied by KBR and that KBR was offshroing to avoid paying taxes, into Medicaid and into the Social Security trust. Feinstein wanted to know, "Is that true or false? Whoever wants to answer it."

Kicklighter grabbed "the water question" and stated that issue had been "brought to our attention by Senator Dorgan" but that he didn't "know the answer to the other question." Bowen offered words but no answer. Feinstein noted that is what was reported and that the "true or false is the answer". Bowen stated he didn't know. Feinstein responded, "Well it seems to me that is something you ought to look at. . . . It seems to me the very least they can do is pay taxes. . . . It's believed that the Pentagon knew KBR has exploited this loophole since at least 2004 -- is this true or false?"

No one knew the answer. There were promises of getting back later with the information. Bowen returned to the oil program (which wasn't any part of Feinstein's question) and stayed with that, "The fact is corruption has afflicted the oil program. It continues to be a problem."

David Walker wanted to add that there were "two posts of money -- there's US tax payer money and there's Iraqi money." He stated that Iraqi money had disappeared, "That was Iraqi money. Those funds were the responsibility of US citizens and so, even though they were Iraqi funds," the US should have had the responsibility of protecting the money, "we were responsible" for that duty.

What about right now, Feinstein wanted to know, what about today? No answer was supplied to her as to whether the protections are there. "Is it sufficient today? You're sort of skirting around my question. So is the answer you don't know? Is it 'no'? What is the answer?" Bowen stated that they didn't know but that "our reviews that will be out this wpring will provide specific details."

That was the first half of the hearing (Bowen agreed with Leahy that a law against War profiteering was needed). The second half was supposed to be mind blowing.

Indeed, it started strongly. "Corruption in Iraq today is rampant," Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi (former member of the Iraqi commission on public integrity) in his opening statement. He went on to explain that while he was in Iraq investigating corruption "my staff and their relatives have been kidnapped" and worse. He gave an example of how one of his staffers lost their eighty-year-old father who was kidnapped and his corpse discovered after a power drill had been used on him "to drill" holes. Flashing a photo of another victim of violence at the committee, al-Radhi declared of it, "Justice loses and corruption wins!"

Dorgan had explained to the first panel that al-Rahdi would be detailing how corruption was allowing US tax dollars to pay for the killing of US soldiers by being channeled to resistance fighters.

That would have been interesting. al-Radhi offered nothing on that. With the build up Dorgan gave him and al-Radhi's outrage during the opening statements, it seemed like there was promise but there wasn't and as soon as Leahy grasped that, he quickly bailed on the hearing turning it over to Dorgan.

What was the problem? There are several. First, al-Radhi cannot return to Iraq and is attempting to be granted status by the US State Department so how much he was ever going to testify to in an open hearing was always in question. Second, he delivered his own opening statement but then hid behind a translator for questions. It was hiding. Third, lousy translator.

Slumped over, looking bored, the translator wasn't 'visually exciting' so rule out the TV industry having any interest in what was said regardless. In terms of print media? The woman's skills were bad. They were really, really bad.

She will interject that she mistranslated at one point and state al-Radhi was referring to "the Ministry of Defense in Iraq actually." Was he? Defense Department would be the source of US funds. Substituting "Ministry of Defense" changes the answer (and Dorgan's question was if it was true that this was $18 billion of US monies). The woman seemed to have a problem with Arabic. Dorgan's talk about the revelations that would be forthcoming when al-Radhi testified went up in smoke the moment al-Radhi stopped speaking in English and everyone became dependent upon this really bad translator. In the midst of a line of questioning (by Dorgan) about US officials' knowledge of the corruption, al-Radhi's translation will go off into how he received a check (a story he'd already testified to) that had nothing to do with US officials or US knowledge.

As the hearing wound down, Dorgan would note two things. First, that he "hopes that one day the US State Dept will do what it should do for a man of your integrity" and grant asylum. However, I do believe Dorgan could sponsor an amendment just on al-Radhi if he was concerned about this issue. Second, he noted, "This committee room is full when apportion money but there seems to be less concern for oversight on how it is spent."

RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"

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