Saturday, January 27, 2007

NYT: "Suicide Bomb Erases a Fading Vestige of Joy in Baghdad" (Marc Santora)

There used to be two great joys on Fridays for Iraqis in Baghdad: browsing the ancient bookshops, and exploring the Ghazil animal market, home to an extraordinary array of creatures.
One by one, though, the storied booksellers on Mutanabi Street have seen business fade away, the customers fearful of crowded places.
The animal market, too, has suffered, having been reduced to a shell of its lively former self. When a bomb exploded there on Friday, killing 15 people and wounding 50, it was the third such attack since June.
In the chaos after the blast, snakes slithered through bloody streets where animal carcasses were jumbled with human remains. Exotic birds flew off as rescue workers tried to aid the wounded.
"We were standing in the middle of the market, looking at the birds, and suddenly there was a massive explosion," said a man who gave his name as Qusay, and who liked to scout for rare pigeons to breed. Both his legs were broken by the explosion. He said he was taken to the hospital, where he found doctors with no supplies trying to treat ghastly wounds.

The above is from Marc Santora's "Suicide Bomb Erases a Fading Vestige of Joy in Baghdad" in this morning's New York Times. Not without faults (read the skimming of the slaughter of Haifa Street) but the best thing he's written for the paper since he got on the Iraq beat. (He also notes the number of corpses discovered in the capital yesterday, 27.) It's nice to see him drop the gossip pose for at least one day.

Turning to the topic of Ehren Watada, we'll note Joe Copeland's "Watada points out our responsibilities" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer):

If Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada has some extra hope this morning about ending the Iraq war, Americans can take a little credit. Toward the end of last week, the 28-year-old officer who courageously refused orders to go to Iraq was hoping for good turnouts in anti-war events planned for Saturday in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.
After four years of quiescence in the face of a wrongly launched war that has gone from "Mission Accomplished" to what a top commander finally confessed is a "dire" situation, Americans ought to demand a change of course. Change requires more public involvement than voting out a few congressional incumbents. National protest organizers hoped for up to 300,000 people to march Saturday.
Watada has had the courage to point out citizens' responsibilities. As he awaits a court-martial beginning Feb. 5 for acting responsibly and refusing to serve in what he regards as an illegal war (he volunteered to go to Afghanistan instead), Watada is allowed to travel up to 250 miles from Fort Lewis. He has been telling groups in Seattle, Tacoma and elsewhere that citizens have the power to end the war.
His honesty isn't surprising, and asking people to take responsibility doesn't at all go beyond what Watada expects of himself. When most of the country was still following President Bush's post-Sept. 11 admonitions to go shopping, Watada decided to enlist in a delayed-entry program while he wrapped up studies at Hawaii Pacific University.
As we went to war, Watada believed the false talk about imminent danger to the United States and weapons of mass destruction. His views changed as he read up on Iraq in preparation, as he put it, to be a better leader of troops under his command. Instead, the growing knowledge led him to become the only commissioned officer known to refuse Iraq duty, acknowledging from the start that he might have to carry the imprisonment that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other practitioners of civil disobedience felt was their responsibility to accept in calling attention to wrongful government policy. In Watada's case, the prison time could be as much as six years.

Iraq today? Reuters reports 5 dead from a car bomb in Baghdad (10 wounded), mortar attacks wounded 2 in Baghdad and a car bomb in Kirkuk resulted in 2 deaths. They also report eight people were kidnapped from a store in Baghdad today.

Demonstrations, rallies and marches are going on around the country today. Hopefully, you're taking part in these activities. Erika wanted to be sure we noted something to remind again what today is and also "to give credit to those who earn it." From NOW's "NOW Calls for End to War in Iraq, Ready to March on Saturday:"

Statement of NOW Executive Vice President Olga Vives
January 24, 2007
The National Organization for Women is proud to be a part of this powerful coalition calling for an end to the war in Iraq. Saturday's mobilization of people coming to our nation's capital from all over the country will demonstrate one more time to the Bush-Cheney administration and to Congress the level of disapproval at the continuation of the disaster this war has brought to Iraq, to the Middle East, to the United States, and to the world.
On Nov. 7, 2006, voters went to the polls with a very clear message: end the war. Congress switched hands to the Democratic leadership when voters elected candidates who pledged to bring a resolution to the conflict in Iraq. Women in particular expressed their displeasure with their votes -- electing 10 new women to the House of Representatives, 8 of them Democrats, and 2 to the Senate, both Democrats as well. The gender gap in some races, like Jim Webb's in Virginia and Jon Tester's in Montana, was the margin of victory, and that margin decided the fate of the U.S. Senate. These candidates expressed their opposition to the continuing U.S. military actions in Iraq.
Women voted for change -- not more of the same. Surveys after the election show that the war in Iraq topped the list of women's concerns. This was followed by health care, Social Security, and the economy. And now, as if the voters hadn't spoken, we are confronted with the Bush administration's defiance of the people's clear message with a planned escalation of troops in Iraq, in spite of what appears to be a bipartisan consensus that this latest plan for the war will not be successful either. President Bush has chosen not to listen to his generals, bipartisan commissions and members of Congress, and instead has chosen to further his own failed plan. Past troop "surges" have met with little success.
The human cost of the war in Iraq is enormous. Over 3,000 U.S. military men and women and an estimated 55,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. Countless more have suffered serious injuries and most Iraqis live in constant fear. It seems that the only beneficiaries of the U.S. action in Iraq are Halliburton, Bechtel and other disaster profiteers. And now, our president is ready to send even more troops into this carnage, into the middle of what we have created in Iraq: a civil war.
The monetary cost is depleting our treasury and saddling future generations with a mountain of debt; domestic programs that help the most vulnerable are set aside while the benefits of building the military complex to sustain the war enrich a few individuals and corporations.
NOW's stance against the Iraq war dates back to 2002, when on the eve of the Iraq invasion and occupation we expressed our opposition to military action. We knew then as we know now, as stated in a resolutions approved by our membership, that women bear additional personal costs in patriarchal wars that ruin their country's physical infrastructure, destabilize their economy, destroy their homes and kill and maim children and families. Eighty percent of the world's refugees and displaced persons are women and children. Women are victims of increased sexual abuse in areas of conflict and in the military, as we have seen here at home at military bases and recruitment centers, and in Iraq. Sexual violence and abduction of women and girls increase significantly under military occupation; perpetrators are rarely appreheded and prosecuted in such violent and hostile environments.
The National Organization for Women encourages its members and supporters to come to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Jan. 27. The Bush-Cheney administration apparently did not hear the voters' message; they are doing exactly the opposite of what the voters called for. So we are coming to visit them, right here on their doorstep, knocking on their door, voicing our opposition to their plan to escalate and continue to occupy Iraq. There was an opinion poll this week about the president's leadership. People said that he was decisive and stubborn; and I would add to that: wrong! The incompetence of this administration, the mistakes in the planning and execution of the war, is mind-boggling. How could we allow them to continue to lead us in this reckless direction?
And to our friends in Congress we say: We will work with you and support you in your efforts to end the war. We want our women and men deployed in Iraq to come home now. We call for withdrawal of all U.S. troops immediately and a plan to help the region find political and diplomatic solutions, not military ones, to an end to what has become a national tragedy not only for the Iraqi people but for the people of the United States. And we call for a plan to reconstruct Iraq with funding for the victims of war, namely women and children -- providing them with housing, health care, education and safety.
One man alone cannot impose his will on the people of a nation. Our democratic system relies on the balance of power. The United States Congress must exercise their oversight and appropriation authority to effectively end this war and to investigate this administration's conduct in leading us to war with what now appears to have been false information. Congress now has a mission to accomplish to fulfill the wishes of the people who sent them there. That mission is to bring an end to the war in Iraq effectively and over the objections of Bush and Cheney.
To the members of the National Organization for Women, our supporters and our allies: come to Washington, D.C., this weekend and let your voice be heard for peace, for freedom, for justice!


Those looking for coverage of today's events have at least three resources:
KPFA which will broadcast live from the DC demonstrations from 10:00 am to noon PST. (At which point it will begin covering demonstrations in the Bay Area.), Laura Flanders who will cover the days demonstration Saturday night (7:00 to 10:00 pm EST) on her program RadioNation with Laura Flanders (heard on Air America Radio and other outlets) and WBAI will broadcast live coverage of the demonstrations from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EST. All three can be listened to over the airwaves and online.


The following community sites have updated since yesterday morning:

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;
and Trina's Trina's Kitchen

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.



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Friday, January 26, 2007

Iraq snapshot

Friday, January 26, 2007.  Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, ten days to go until Ehren Watada's February 5th court-martial begins, groups mobolize to end the war in the United States, Bully Boy issues death threats to Iranians in Iraq and a death threat to American democracy, the privatization of Iraq's assets is boldly expressed but we're all supposed to look the other way and the US military gets caught in a lie.
 
 
Starting with Ehren Watada, he, his father (Bob Watada) and his mother (Carolyn Ho) will be out in full force tomorrow.  Susan Paynter (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) reports  will be taking part in Seattle's events to end the war: "1 p.m. at the Center for Social Justice, 2111 E. Union St., moving to the Military Recruitment Center at 2301 S. Jackson St., then to the Langston Hughes Center at 104 17th Ave. S. at 3, where speakers will include Lt. Ehren Watada." Watada, who will be part of a panel discussion, is the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq and he is facing a Februarty 5th court-martial in which he will not be able to present any real defense because 'Judge' Head has a really sick sense of what "justice" is.
Michael E. Ruane (Washington Post) reports that Bob Watada will be speaking at the DC rally tomorrow and Bob Watada tells Ruane: "There is no doubt in my mind that the invasion and occupation of Iraq is wholly unwarranted. The Iraqi people have done absolutely nothing to the United States. They've done nothing to deserve the massacre and the pummeling they're getting . . . the plunder, the torture, the rape, the murder of innocent people. It's got to stop."  Meredith May (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that, in San Francisco, things kick off with  "a noon rally at Powell and Market streets. Carolyn Ho, the mother of Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada of Hawaii, who is refusing orders to deploy to Iraq, will speak to the crowd."
 
Three different cities tomorrow where they will be attempting to get the message that the illegal war needs to end and that what will take place in the February 5th court-martial won't be justice because the 'judge' has refused to allow Ehren Watada to present his reasons for refusing to deploy, the studies he did as part of his command that led him to the conclusion that the war was illegal and immoral.  Marilyn Bechtel (People's Weekly World) spoke with Marti Hiken (National Lawyers Guild) who noted that "people do not surrender all their constional rights when they enter the military" and that "Regardless of whether the military wins this court martial, they lose for silencing an individual who has so much integrity that is evident to people across the country."
 
 
Saying "no" to an illegal war is hard.  It takes courage.  (Note the Cowards Silence plauging the left if you doubt that, but I'm actually talking about those in the military who have said "no.")  Watada is a part of a movement of resistance with the military that includes others such as Agustin Aguayo (whose court-martial is currently set to begin on March
6th),  Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight 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, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
In the United States, tomorrow sees protests, rallies and marches around the country.  As  CODEPINK notes: "Join us on January 27 to say No More Funding for War! Bring Our Troops Home Now! We will use our feet and our lungs and our signs and our outrage to let Bush and our new Congress know that we are serious about ending this war.
If you can't make it to DC, see if there is a solidarity event being planned in your area. If not, create your own, even if that means standing alone on a street corner with a sign! In lieu of lobbying, you can call your Congressperson to demand they cut the funding for George Bush's War. Our voices are powerful, wherever we may be geographically. We know peace is the only real path to hope and opportunity for this country. Together we will make it happen."
 
If you can't make it to DC, you can still be heard.  If there's not an event in your area, start one. Avaaz.org (formely Ceasefire Campaign Team) is attempting to get the word out on a way you can be heard in DC if you're not able to attend:
 
Join Saturday's global peace march... without Leaving Your House!
This Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Americans will march on Washington DC to demand peace and justice in Iraq and the Middle East. We can be there too, raising a global voice of solidarity -- through our own worldwide virtual march. Time is short, so add your voice and join the march today!  
http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_peace_march/   
This could signal the rebirth of the US peace movement. We need to show them the world is on their side. Let's bring our call for peace to the streets of power in Washington. Join the global peace march and tell your friends today! 
 
Events will be covered by some media.  Known coverage will include: KPFA which will broadcast live from the DC demonstrations from 10:00 am to noon PST.  (At which point it will begin covering demonstrations in the Bay Area.) and Laura Flanders who will cover the days demonstration Saturday night (7:00 to 10:00 pm EST) on her program  RadioNation with Laura Flanders (heard on Air America Radio and other outlets).  (Both KPFA and Air America Radio offer online streaming.)  (KPFA also offers their achived broadcasts for free, so if you miss the live coverage and would like to hear it later, check out the KPFA Archives).  Rachel notes that WBAI will broadcast live coverage of the demonstrations from
11:00 am to 1:00 pm EST.  In addition, she notes that tonight (Friday) on WBAI, David Occhiuto will host a special which will feature anti-war films, interviews and will include coverage of Ehren Watada including sections of  the speech he gave in Seattle that the the Article 32 hearing in August included and the court-martial next month plans to include in their prosecution of him.  Tune in to hear the message that so frightened the military brass that 'Judge' Head has gagged Watada's defense from presenting. That's tonight, WBAI,
7:00 pm to 11:00 pm EST (over the airwaves in NYC and surrounding areas as well as online).
 
As people mobilize to get the truth out, the US military finds some cover-ups implode faster than others.  New details emerge regarding Saturday's reported violence.  Saturday, five US troops were killed in Karbala when resistance fighters reportedly wearing US uniforms were waived through checkpoints and made it to a meeting in Karbala.  Five US troops were reported as dying during the attack that followed.  The AP is reporting (based on US and Iraqi military sources) that four of the five were kidnapped and the four were then killed with bodies being discovered as far away as 25 miles. There was a lot of Happy Talk this week.  There was the lie that corpses discovered in Baghdad were tapering off (42 discovered yesterday), there was the lie that what's happening on Haifa Street is normal and not an attack that's killing civilians, there were showy moments in the US Congress and there were the lies of Bully Boy's State of the Union address.  When we're neck-deep in lies, it's really easy for the US military to lie (that is what happened) and misinform the public. 
 
Without the lies, the escalation couldn't be sold and a lot of people are vested in selling the escalation.  And note that when the AP asked about it, the US military played dumb.  As Steven R. Hurst and Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reported later, the US military has now confirmed that four were kidnapped and killed later (1 of the 4 was apparently discovered "mortally wounded").
 
 
Bombings?
 
CBS and AP report a bombing of a pet market utilizing a bomb hidden among pigeons that has resulted in the death of at least 14 people in Baghdad.  Stephen Farrell (Times of London) reports: "Police said insurgents concealed the explosives inside a cardboard box punched with holes to make it appear a container for pigeons, parrots or other birds which are prime attractions at the market. The blast, which also wounded 55, hit the Ghazel market on the eastern banks of the Tigris just before the weekly curfew intended to protect crowds attending mosques during noon prayers on the Islamic day of prayer."  Farrell notes that the explosion allowed some caged pets to be let loose but many died.  Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports: "Two civilians were injured when an IED exploded in Milhaniya, a part of Amil neighborhood at 1 pm."  Reuters notes: "On Friday, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a Shi'ite mosque on the outskirts of Mosul, killing seven and wounding 17 more after prayers, a police source said."
 
Shootings?
 
Reuters notes: "Gunmen opened fire on a crowd in Baghdad's Bayaa district, killing one person and wounding two, a police source said."
 
Corpses?
 
CBS and AP report: "Seven tortured bodies of people who had been blindfolded and had their hands and legs bound before they were shot in the head were found in the capital Friday, according to police."  Reuters notes that number of corpses discovered in Baghdad today has risen to 27 while one corpse was discovered in Kirkuk and a headless corpse was discovered in Hawija.  Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports: "The body of the Iraqi boxer Hussein Hadi was found in Haifa street. Police said that Hadi was kidnapped three days ago and he found hanged today."
 
Also today, the US military announced: "One Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 6 died today from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province."
 
Meanwhile, CNN reports that  the Iranian government is calling "terrorism" on Bully Boy's recent order (backed up by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates) for US troops to kill (on the spot) Iranians they suspect of plotting terrorism.  These execution orders by the Bully Boy come with no jury or defense, just an instant passing of judgement. 
 
In financial news, AFP reports that one of Iraq's two vice presidents, Shi'ite Adel Abdul Mahdi, has called the illegal occupation of Iraq "idiotic" but is pushing the 'we will be safe if we have to raid and terrorize school children, residents of homes, etc' that was so popular with the puppet of the occupation yesterday.  Those confused by the both-sides-talking Mahdi can refer to a commentary by Antonia Juhasz (Huffington Post) last May: "The re-appointment of Mahdi may yet provide the Bush Administration with its most important victory in the Iraq war since Saddam Hussein was pulled out of a rabbit hole in Tikrit. However, Mahdi's Vice Presidency may also ultimately generate at least as much hostility towards the United States as the invasion itself. Over the course of the war, Mahdi emerged as one of the most aggressive proponents of the Bush administration's economic agenda for Iraq, including the implementation of controversial corporate globalization rules and greater U.S. corporate access to Iraq's oil."  Mahdi earlier served in the Bremer 'government' and will probably serve in a great many other puppet governments to follow.
 
MarketWatch reports: "Over the next several years, the minister [Mahdi] said Iraq would look to privatize all of state-owned industry, which number around 60 companies. He also said Asian companies were keen to enter discussions with the Iraqi government over industrial contracts.  Hariri said Iraq was also in discussions with San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp over engineering contracts, without elaborating."
 
The privatization.  Antonia Juhasz (author of  The BU$H Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time) attempted to address the realities of the oil law on KPFA's Living Room
January 11th.  But a (male) guest, of course, new better and felt that whatever laws were passed, Iraqis could undue the damage many years on down the line.  That's confronting the problem!  For those who didn't grasp the importance of what Juhasz was addressing, The San Jose Mercury News reports "Iraq is in negotiations with San Ramon-based Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. to build a new $3 billion petrochemical facility, and is in talks with several other Western companies over industrial projects. In an interview Thursday, Iraq's minister for industry and minerals Fowzi Hariri said the discussions with Chevron and Exxon began this week in Washington and are at an early stage."  The New York Times fluffed their coverage of the law last Saturday. Apparently, we're all supposed to pretend it doesn't matter or take the attitude of, "Hey, they can fix in 20 years!" 
 
 
For those who've forgotten, in polling where Iraqis side with the resistance on the topic of attacking foreign fighters (including American troops), they also note the belief that the continued war is nothing but an attempt for foreigners to get their hands on Iraqi assets.  Prvatization laws and multi-billion dollar deals by outsiders tend to convey that impression.
 
In political news, CNN reports that that the Democratic leadership in the US Congress may push for a revamping of the 2002 act that the Bully Boy cited as his authorization for starting a pre-emptive, illegal war of agression on Iraq.  Of course, with Democrat leadership, "maybe" means basically what "We'll see" means when said by a parent.
 
In news of dictators, CNN reports on Bully Boy of the United States latest string of I statements: "I am the decider . . .  I've picked the plan . . . I know . . ."  Though his love affair with self continues unabated, as the recent poll by CBS News found on Bully Boy's desired escalation: "More than 70 percent of Americans think he should have to get congressional approval before he commits those troops."  (68% of poll respondents stated they were "uneasy" with Bully Boy's ability to make decisions regarding Iraq.)  Though Bully Boy appears to have forgotten this basic fact, in a democracy, the people are "the deciders."
 
 
Reminder:  Those in DC Saturday should check out Anthony Arnove, author most recently of IRAQ: The Logic of Withdrawal, who will be speaking at Busboys and Poets at 5:00 pm and those in the NYC area on Sunday should check out Joan Mellen speech at 7:30 p.m.  at the 92nd Street Y (92nd Street and Lesington Avenue). Mellan, a professor at Temple University and the author of seventeen books, will be presenting a lecture on the JFK assasination . . . and beyond. Tickets are $25. Mellen's latest book is A Farewell to Justice which probes the assasination of JFK. She was a guest on Law and Disorder November 7, 2005. And the March 15, 2006 broadcast of KPFA's Guns and Butter featured her speech "How the Failure to Identify, Prosecute and Convict President Kennedy's Assassins Has Led to Today's Crisis of Democracy." You can also read a transcript of that speech here.
 

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Community reactions to the silence on Watada

Brandon notes that GNN posts about the reporter and not Ehren Watada -- "they don't even include a link to his name but there's one for Olson so we can sign a petition to save her. This is pathetic." It is pathetic. We've already got art work for a planned feature on this nonsense at The Third Estate Sunday Review. And Phil Donahue's rushing in with the 'big story' as well. You know that the nonsense has reached critical mass when Donahue has to weigh in.

There was a time when Donahue (the others, who knows) could have taken the time to weigh in on Ehren Watada. Those days are gone. It's all naval gazing. As Rebecca's noted, it's very interesting, especially, to see some of the same voices once screaming: "Judith Miller must testify!" now showing up to say, "This reporter shouldn't have to confirm that her reporting is accurate!"

I think we're all tired of the useless. Isaiah's in DC and has already prepared his comic for Sunday. This one aims at independent media and he may or may not continue that. He's inked it and still has to do the colors but he was concerned that I wouldn't care for it, so he insisted I look at it. (I like the person who's the focus of his upcoming The World Today Just Nuts.) That's his space, he doesn't have to clear it with me. It's always been his space and it always will be.

Keesha's copied and pasted Donahue's article. I'll note this from it:

The Watada case is about to become front page, his court-martial at Fort Lewis, Washington is sure to be covered by the networks, the wire services, the major dailies and all the grandees of big journalism.

So it's not necessary to cover Watada? You'll note Donahue's list (networks, the wire services, the major dailies and all the grandees of big journalism) doesn't include independent media. And let's correct him because "the wire services" -- they have covered Watada. AP's been on the story, filing updates repeatedly. The New York Times covered him during the summer (when independent media couldn't make time for Iraq). The Washington Post ran a story on Carolyn Ho this month. CNN interviewed Watada. It's not big media that's the problem here, it's independent media.

And the ignoring of Watada, the failure to address his story and then suddenly wanting to rush in to cover Olson, is a huge indictment of independent media. True or not, the message being sent is that the stories don't matter, just the ones covering the stories. That's all the non-stop Olson nonsense is sending.

John Nichols, Norman Solomon, Phil Donahue, Matthew Rothschild, go down the list. All these people who couldn't be bothered (month after month after month) to write one damn word about Ehren Watada now rush in to cover a reporter. It sends a message and maybe this will effect how some of these people are seen? Watada himself has not been an issue to them. The Nation's printed no article on him (they had a sidebar to an article -- an article in which he was called a coward), The Progressive hasn't. There's been no editorial in support of him.

And it's really interesting to watch how Dahr Jamail has conducted himself. He talks about Watada. He doesn't make the story about himself. He's not doing one interview after another of "What will I do? What will I do?"

But for many that's their only way 'into' the story, what will Olson do. We know what Watada will do, what he's been doing for months, with no coverage from Nichols, Solomon, Doanhue, Rothschild, et al.

It is navel gazing. And as they rush in to cover Olson, they find themselves in a pickle -- how much space must they spend on Watada? Will a single sentence ("first officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq") do? There are countless stories in Watada's stand and independent media has largely elected to ignore them all. When Olson's big day comes will some of them feel as foolish as the New York Times?

I don't know.

But as the yammering goes on about free speech two things to consider:

1) Watada's statements, out of uniform and on his own time, beg free speech questions and we went through this during Vietnam

2) How important is free speech if independent media won't use it? They sat on their collective asses for how many months, six? They showed no interest in covering Watada.

It's a shame that Ehren Watada didn't think to work in independent media before taking his stand. If he did, I'm sure he could have Solomon and others marshalling support for him right now. Instead, he's still fighting a battle with little attention.

Independent media has soiled itself and I don't know anyone that wants to clean them up. They'll have to do it themselves. There are easily over 200 e-mails this morning on this topic, on this disgust with independent media. Like Brandon and Keesha, most are providing examples. Liang writes that she'd call the silence racism "if it weren't for the fact that independent media won't cover war resisters of any race." And if a Donahue, Solomon, et al, had covered Watada at any point before they made Olson their pet cause this month, I don't think anyone would mind the current coverage. But they all ignored him. And they continue to do so. He's facing a court-martial on February 5th. That's ten days from now. He went public in June. They've had six months to cover him, if they were interested. They didn't bother.

Reading the Donahue article, you wonder if he even knows Ehren Watada's story? He gives no indication that he does in his writing. He brings up AWOL and Watada didn't self-check out. He calls Watada's story "a great story" but it's not one he's interested in recounting or sharing. And, again, you have to wonder if he even knows what it is? (I'll hear about for that remark but I'm not going to sit here and act like that glaring detail isn't obvious for all to see.) Maybe he should have spoken to Ann Wright (to name another person who gets why Watada's stand is important)?

Marcia notes that The Nation has "just sent out an e-mail alert on tomorrow's rallies and, they add, check out our site. Why bother? They're not going to cover tomorrow's rallies anymore than they have in the past."

Durham Gal got the same e-mail and she went to the site and reports that, "The cover is insulting. [She's referring to the cover of the latest, not yet in stores or mailboxes.] Christopher Hayes just got in another jab at southern states and now there's an article that might be okay [Bob Moser wrote the article] but the cover is so insulting. I'm not sorry that I don't live on the east coast. I am sorry that bigots at The Nation do." The cover is supposed to depict the south via a blue pickup truck with the word "DIXIE" on the tailgate. That's all I can say on that because, when I heard about the cover mid-week, we already agreed we'd address it at The Third Estate Sunday Review. It is insulting. Stereotypes frequently are. But that's independent media for you, willing to reach out to southern audiences (including their own subscribers and listeners) just long enough to insult them. (Before someone alerts that a UT prof gets an article in the same issue -- that article is a joke and even some of the staff think so -- and it helps to appear in the mag if you do visiting stints at Eastern colleges.) (If I'm biting my tongue on any of the above, it's because I've heard about it, I haven't read the issue -- which will no doubt arrive in two to three weeks.)

On the last parenthetical, we will be doing The Nation stats and noting their continued disgraceful practice of under representation of women. Two issues arrived this week and we'll be grabbing both on Sunday. When last we checked in, for every four males published, one female could be published. The situation hasn't improved.

When independent media wants to slam big media for not presenting enough people of color and women, they don't have to hard sell me on it. I'm in complete agreement. But it is interesting that with all the carping about big media, the power that they themselves have in independent media is rarely used.

The entries went up late today, partly because we're trying to figure out why Mike can't log in (why anyone using the beta version of Blogger/Blogspot can't) and also because (a) there roundtable was early this morning and (b) I'm hitting the e-mail accounts because I may not get back into them until Sunday night. I'm not any highlights (ones members are praising) so let's wrap up this entry by noting Paul von Zielbauer's "G.I. Gets 18-Year Prison Term For Killing 2 Captive Iraqis" in this morning's New York Times. If the sentence doesn't strike you as underwhelming for someone who's confessed to two murders, note that "Private Clagett will be eligble for parole afer roughly five years". Corey Claggest, von Zielbauer notes, is the third of four to plead guilty to . . . There's not even a date given for the crime.

Carl's forwarded an e-mail and will note that in full:

Help The Declaration of Peace at the January 27th "End the War" Mobilization
Meet us at the National Museum of the American Indian to distribute Declaration of Peace cards.
**********
The Declaration of Peace will be in full force in Washington, D.C. this weekend for the "End the War" Mobilization, January 27 - 29, 2007.
We are excited that many of you will be in D.C. with us, to raise your voices to deliver a bold message to the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress:"Defund the War ~ Declare Peace!"
We look forward to meeting fellow organizers and activists from across the country!
We are also eagerly anticipating recruiting newcomers to our crucial campaign to cut all funding for the U.S. occupation of Iraq, implement the safe, rapid withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq, and establish a comprehensive Peace plan for Iraq.
To that end, The Declaration of Peace seeks your help in promoting our national grassroots-driven campaign.
We will be distributing thousands of cards promoting The Declaration of Peace, and particularly our meeting on January 28th to plan nationwide nonviolent civil disobedience to end the U.S. quagmire in Iraq.
Please help us spread the word about The Declaration of Peace by passing out our cards at the Rally on Saturday.
Pass out 40 or pass out 400 cards.
Come and meet us in front of the National Museum of the American Indian between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m., Saturday.
The National Museum of the American Indian is located on the National Mall between the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum and the U.S. Capitol Building. (See information below.)
Location:4th Street and Independence Ave., S.W.Washington, D.C. 20560
Metro:L'Enfant Plaza Station (all lines except Red); exit Maryland Avenue/ Smithsonian Museums
Bus:Lines 30, 32, 34, 36 Friendship Heights/Southern Avenue
See the map of the Rally at the National Mall: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/downloads/J27_General_Assembly_Map.pdf
**********
The Declaration of Peace will also have a literature table near the corner of 4th Street NW and Madison Avenue NW.
Meet us at our table anytime after 9:00 a.m. to get the promotional cards, the 2007 Congressional Declaration, and other literature.
Meet Declaration of Peace organizers and sign the Declaration of Peace Pledge!
We will see you in D.C.
More information about The Declaration of Peace and downloadable material can be seen at: http://DeclarationofPeace.org
The Goal of The Declaration of Peace:
http://www.declarationofpeace.org/goal

Carl writes: "I'm making 2007 about organizations working to the end the war, not an independent media that doesn't seem to care." Which seems the perfect note to go out on. Saturday, in the gina & krista round-robin, I'll pull together more from today's e-mails on this topic. Krista asked me to pass on that all roundtables are now full (and then some, I'm sure) but if you would like to write something for Sunday or Monday's round-robin or you have photos please e-mail her or Gina. (They're working on tomorrow's already. And I'll start working on my column for it as soon as this goes up.) The roundtable for tomorrow's round-robin was done early this morning. Mike, Elaine, Charlie, Kayla, Keesha, Shirley, Zach, Marci, Eli, Ruth, Kevin, Gareth, Polly, Dominick, Francisco, Ava and myself participated along with two guests (and of course Gina and Krista moderated it). Eli addresses the topic we're covering in this entry so be sure to check that out Saturday morning for his thoughts.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.



mikey likes it


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NYT: With all the campus gossip, Marc Santora!

The New York Times has a war to sell. So Marc Santora wastes everyone's time with "Iraq Leader and Sunni Officials in Sectarian Clash on Security." It really is a wealth of embarrassment Santora provides. The puppet faces criticism and threatens to "turn over the documents" on one person questioning him (Sunni legislator Abdul Nasir al-Janabi). Then, not content to rely on the edited version that aired on Iraqi TV (and it did air edited -- Santora seems to forget that by maybe he was playing a video game), Santora turns the article over to a legislator . . . from Nouri al-Maliki's party. Naturally, Nouri was all things wonderful and good, praise be the puppet.

It's such nonsense.

For instance, a real reporter, whether the puppet was willing to talk to the press or not, would probably noted that "turn over the documents" on a person also calls to mind the number of arrest warrants Paul Bremer kept at the ready so he could just pull those out whenever someone was less than agreeable. As usual, in the Times, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani is held up to ridicule -- through second hand news (how very Fleetwood Mac of Santora). Hey, everyone remember when he was out? Remember the Times selling that in August when all the press was elsewhere. He wasn't out. He's still the speaker. But they had a run there, didn't they? The paper did a story where they spoke to his father who explained his son was unable to talk and the paper played it that not only was he about to be kicked out by parliament but al-Mashhadani was so dejected that he couldn't even come to the phone. It was over.

But it wasn't. He couldn't come to the phone, as anyone following the international coverage knew, because he wasn't in Iraq. He was in Jordan on official business, on a trip planned and announced weeks prior. But someone either didn't know how to do their job or the paper wanted you to get this impression that he was about to be drummed out of the parliament.

So, when you read a report today in the paper and with all the parliamentarians present, a Times reporter can only find one to speak with and it's one who doesn't care for al-Masshadani, you should know your reading garbage (at best). So busy is Santora with the second hand news
(that should be his theme song, truly, "I'm just second hand news, I'm just second hand news . . ." -- his favorite CD must be Rumors) that he mentions, in passing, 25 dead in Thursday's worst bombing in Baghdad when it had risen to 26 in more than enough time for the paper to get that right.

He doesn't say a word about the 42 corpses discovered in Baghdad either. Remember the paper's for escalation and they're trying to present the view that things are looking up. Maybe tomorrow they can offer a comical look at the brief detention of Adnan al-Dulaimi?

One thing the paper doesn't tell you is about the rockets that hit the Green Zone yeterday.

There's one other Iraq related article and we'll grab that in the next entry.

But if you want to see how a reporter could have handled the issues in parliament (which Santora never even bothers to address -- the actual conflict, he's more interested in: "Oh my God, you should have been there, it was soooo nasty. First, like, this one guy, says this one thing and the other guy is all, 'Oh, no, you didn't!' And the first guy, he's like all, 'Oh, yes, I did!' and then . . .") you can turn to Alexandra Zavis' "Iraqi premier and Sunni lawmaker face off in parliament: Maliki and a critic argue heatedly over his new security plan" (Los Angeles Times) which can tell you about the Green Zone attack, can tell you that the figure dead from the one bombing rose to "at least 27," can tell you something other than name calling -- for instance, what the conflict was over -- the new 'security' plan. From Zavis' article:

Janabi demanded that security forces lift their cordon around the area, insisting to loud protests from the Shiite-dominated chamber that "there are no terrorists in Haifa Street."
"Aren't there terrorists in Sadr City or Shula?" he said, referring to two Shiite militia strongholds.
Janabi accused Maliki's administration of purging Sunni Arabs from the government, arresting pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia and imposing politically motivated death sentences, a possible reference to the execution last month of former President Saddam Hussein.
"We cannot trust this premiership," Janabi said, as the shouting escalated around him.

The last sentence is, more or less, where Santora wants to come in. It's interesting how the Times of New York doesn't appear to want their readers to know about al-Maliki's much reported speech yesterday that schools, houses, you name it, all would be subject to raids and armed battle 'if needed.' (Zavis covers it.) We'll note that Zavis isn't interested in rushing through the school cafeteria to recount a blow by blow exchange but does manage to note this:

Mahmoud Mashadani, parliament speaker and a Sunni, interrupted the exchange, chiding Maliki for making "unacceptable" accusations and adding with heavy sarcasm that "the security plan will be very successful because you people are divided from this moment."
He then called for an adjournment to avoid inflaming sectarian tensions. The session resumed soon after, but Al Iraqiya, the state-run television station, stopped airing it. The station later put out an edited version of events.

Quite a bit different than the way the Times of New York portrays it but there is reality and then there is the New York Times.


Last night, we noted that Ehren Watada will be speaking in Seattle tomorrow, Bob Watada (his father) will be speaking in DC on Saturday. Mia notes Meredith May's "Anti-war activists will take to streets Saturday Local and national politicians expected to speak at rally" (San Francisco Chronicle) which informs that Ehren Watada's mother, Carolyn Ho, will be attending and speaking at a demonstration in San Francisco:


Anti-war activists will march down Market Street on Saturday to call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Although the event was in the planning stages last fall, before President Bush announced he would send an additional 21,500 troops to the region, organizers hope to capitalize on growing resentment with Bush's decision.
Saturday's event will begin with a noon rally at Powell and Market streets. Carolyn Ho, the mother of Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada of Hawaii, who is refusing orders to deploy to Iraq, will speak to the crowd.
San Francisco Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and Chris Daly have been invited to speak, and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, has expressed interest in being on the podium, said event organizer Snehal Shingavi, a member of the International Socialist Organization and a graduate student at UC Berkeley. Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 1187 Franklin St. about the Bush administration's plan to send more troops to Iraq.
"We started planning this event in response to the new Congress coming in, and already we are noticing more politicians are taking an interest in what the activists are doing," Shingavi said.

Mia notes, "The family's going all out but our left commentators still seem to think the big story is not Ehren's court-martial but whether or not Sarah Olson will testify. It is interesting the way this is playing out, all these voices being silent about Ehren, but filing all these pieces on a reporter. It's like watching the morning infomericals on CBS, ABC and NBC and seeing them ignore violence and chaos around the world to rush to cover some young, missing, blonde woman." It is interesting and it actually rather sad. Bob Watada went around the country on three speaking tours trying to raise awareness of his son, Carolyn Ho put herself out there for the same reason and certainly Ehren Watada has made himself accessible but few on the left can be bothered. Give them a report on the edges of the story and that they'll cover. With the exceptions of a few (Laura Flanders, Amy Goodman, Philip Maldari, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Dennis Bernstein, Margaret Prescod, etc.), they all ought to be sent to their rooms for some corner time.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.





meredith may
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Thursday, January 25, 2007

And the war drags on . . .

MARCHING ON THE MEDIA?
Unfortunately, the anti-war groups still seem afraid of alienating the media and so won’t bring anti-war demands and criticisms of their coverage to their doorsteps, Instead, and this is also worth considering, they are appealing to their supporters to write and call media outlets:

The above, noted by Billie, is from Danny Schechter "Your Daily Forum And More" (News Dissector). Using a highlight of Brad's, I was in the middle of this entry and junked it. It's a Third Estate Sunday Review feature (and will be noted there, I copied before junking it so we have a skeleton to build upon). But you know what? It's past time to start demanding media covers the peace movement. And, you know this is coming, I'm not even talking about big media. I'm talking about all of our 'friends' in little media who won't do a damn thing. Just like they refuse to write an editorial in support of Ehren Watada who's court-martial is February 5th. At what point do they grasp how angry people are at them? I don't think it's coming anytime soon. I think they'll have to do more bail outs (or try to, that well is drying up because of the ___ poor job they did in 2006 and little efforts to do better thus far this year) shortly. "Help us! Subscriptions are down!"

At least when they come begging, no one expects much out of them -- just for them to go on floundering -- day after day. Reporter? They can write about her. They can come out swinging for her (we'll have a feature on that at Third Sunday as well), but the war resister who is actually on trial? They just don't have a word to say, do they? So it will be interesting to see them come begging again. (Though some small media types, who have the money, might better prepare themselves for the question of, "And how much money are you putting in?" as well as the declines to donate.)

The Cowards Silence. That's the bulk of independent media today. And you may stflood the mainstream with requests and some may cover the peace movement but the fact remains that little media, especially print, won't. They're too interested in wasting everyone's time. As one independent media journalist (journalist, not play actor) said to me today, "Useless lives produce useless copy." I'd rush to copyright that but I seriously doubt it will replace, for instance, "Nobody owns The Nation" as a slogan.

Micah notes Edwin Fruit and Cecelia Moriarity's "U.S. soldier fights court-martialfor refusing to deploy to Iraq" (The Militant):

The U.S. Army will begin a court-martial February 5 against Lt. Ehren Watada for his outspoken opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Defenders of the rights of citizen-soldiers have been organizing public events in his defense. Watada, 28, faces dishonorable discharge and up to six years in military prison. He is the first commissioned officer to refuse to be deployed to Iraq. Some 340 people turned out here January 20-21 for a "Citizens Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq: The Case of Lt. Ehren Watada." It was held at Evergreen State College, which hosted the event.
Watada, who enlisted in 2003, has been stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, as part of the army’s 4,000-member Stryker Brigade. In January of last year he asked to resign his commission, writing, "It is my conclusion as an officer of the Armed Forces that the war in Iraq is not only morally wrong but a horrible breach of American law." Watada's request was denied. On June 7 he publicly announced he would refuse any order to participate in the Iraq war.
The army has charged Watada with "missing movement" to Iraq and "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman." The latter charge is based on his public statements against the war.
On January 16, Army judge Lt. Col. John Head denied Watada's motion to defend himself on grounds that the Iraq war is illegal and that his speech against it is constitutionally protected.
Watada’s attorney, Eric Seitz, said, "The import of his ruling is that the military services may prosecute and punish everyone who merely expresses criticism or disagreement with official policy."

They're trying to shut down Watada. They're preventing him from making his argument in court. If you're against the war, chances are his argument is your argument. You may have come to the opinion that the war was illegal or immoral after him or before or at the same time, but what he's doing, very brave, is standing up.

They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
-- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)

Last Thursday, we noted AP's number for the US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 3028. Currently? 3067 ("at least"). 39 more. Today the US military announced: "An improvised explosive device detonated near a Multi-National Division - Baghdad patrol, killing one Soldier northwest of the Iraqi capital Jan 25." 39. Can you even tell it from the coverage? Bully Boy gave a Sate of the Union address and it was Oh-My-We-Must-Weigh-In. I mean, note it fine, but it's just a speech. ("More of the same," as Elizabeth de la Vega noted.) 30 dead. And where's the coverage?

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times was pushing the notion that corpses being found in Baghdad were on the decline. They aren't. It's just the reporting of them that is. (See the snapshots.) For the number found in Baghdad today, we'll note Laith Hammoudi's "Roundup of Violence in Iraq -- 25 January 2007" (McClatchy Newspapers):

42 anonymous bodies were found in Baghdad today.32 bodies were found in Karkh, the western part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (5 bodies each in Kadhimiya, Baiyaa and Mamoon. 4 bodies each in Dora, Hay Al Amil and Al Khadraa. 2 bodies in Hurriya. 1 body each in Ghazaliya, Salhiya and Jeifer.) 10 bodies were found in Rosafa, the eastern part of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (3 bodies in Sadr city. 2 bodies each in Shaab, Husainiya and Baghdad Al Jadida. 1 body in Selikh.)

42. One day it was 50 (after the push from LA Times that the corpses had just dropped in numbers in Baghdad). There's always a pleasing tale to tell. Maybe you toss in "sniper alley" as a nickname for a residential area that's being slaughtered? Or maybe you just bore everyone with something that makes the progandists at least look like they're working at it.

I have no idea who the disc jockey was. We were trapped in a cab earlier today (no, not really trapped, but it felt that way) and some right-wing host was after Barbara Boxer and after this person and that, and lying about a private medical system, lying that the plan Hillary Clinton proposed way back when was socialized medicine, and lying about taxation (in this country), screeching about undocumented workers (no, he didn't use that term) taking over the country (the dee jay didn't sound Native American to me but apparently he did not descend from any immigrants) and then he got to what he really wanted to talk about. (Seriously, that was about a minute and a half, all the things listed before.) Which was?

"Our boys." And his callers echoed it. Women are being deployed right now for the escalation -- leaving children -- but he and his caller couldn't shut up about "our boys." Women have died serving over ther, but it was "our boys, our boys, our boys." He was selling the war and he had to leave out the facts to do so. The "our boys" (that he repeated over and over) finally got him to a (fractured) history of past wars and how this wasn't Vietnam, this was nothing like Vietnam, "Our boys . . . our boys . . . our boys . . ." So as he invited his listeners to whatever planet he was living on, he kept repeating that (maybe he thought he could hypnotize with that phrase) and began expanding to the "silent majority."

Tricky Dick land. The "silent majority," according to the dee jay, was for this war. And the protests this weekend didn't matter because "the silent majority has spoken for our boys." The "silent majority" can't get invited to speak to Congress, he said, the silent majority can't get invited to speak on TV, he claimed, and the pollsters even avoid calling the silent majority. Apparently, instead of a zip code, they are designated with "SILENT MAJORITY" to tip of pollsters not to call them. As he continued repeating "our boys," he explained to his listeners that the Democrats have been in power long enough (they haven't even had control of Congress for a month yet but he told his listeners they've controlled everything for years) and, for "our boys," the mythical "silent majority" was going to rise up and make themselves heard.

His callers agreed with him. He said no more than 100 people would be in DC. (I'm sure when he 'reports' the event on Monday, he'll say only that number was there.) His callers went even lower.

So why do you need to turn out this weekend? Because you need to show listeners of people like that that they are being lied to. They're being lied to and the country has turned against the war. The peace movement (certianly not the print media of small media) created the space for the shift. We need to continue to do that.

So what can you do? You're not powerless and you can make your voice heard. Around the country Saturday, there will be events. DC is only one location. If you can make DC that's wonderful. But every event is important. And if there's nothing in your area, organize your own event. That's the only thing that's going to demonstrate that we're serious about ending the war.


Clark notes Adam Schreck and Valerie Reitman's "Peace protests are on tap" (Los Angeles Times):

Emboldened by the Democratic takeover of Congress and shrinking public support for the Iraq war, antiwar groups are planning what they hope will be a massive protest Saturday on the National Mall.
Similar events are planned in dozens of cities around the United States, with some of the largest expected in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Organizers said they aim to put pressure on both the White House and Congress to end the war.
"The message will be 'Mr. President, bring our troops home,' " said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., one of several politicians, activists and actors scheduled to speak in Washington.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, director of PUSH/Rainbow Coalition, one of the rally sponsors, is also scheduled to appear on the Mall, organizers said, as are Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Ohio, a longshot candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, and actors Jane Fonda, Danny Glover, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.
"We're predicting this will be one of the largest demonstrations since the war began," said Leslie Cagan, national coordinator for United for Peace and Justice, the umbrella group organizing the Washington protest.

Again, events will be taking place all over and you may be surprised by some of the people participating. Kyle notes Susan Paynter's "It won't be just grayheads at Saturday's peace rally" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer):

Some of those who are convinced that we can change our destructive direction again -- who believe it strongly enough to get up off their glutes to march -- are the same indefatigable souls who protested that other war, bless 'em.
But a greener crop of objectors is being watered by the blood spilled since March of '03. Along with the gray hairs, they are the organizers of Saturday's march rallied by the January 27th Coalition to Bring the Troops Home Now.
It starts at 1 p.m. at the Center for Social Justice, 2111 E. Union St., moving to the Military Recruitment Center at 2301 S. Jackson St., then to the Langston Hughes Center at 104 17th Ave. S. at 3, where speakers will include Lt. Ehren Watada. He'll face a court-martial Feb. 5 for his refusal to deploy to Iraq based on his claim that it is an illegal war.
Teen Peace and Youth Against War and Racism will be there along with Green Party members and Iraq Veterans Against the War. So will Hagopian, a middle school teacher recently graduated from the University of Washington. And, if his last name sounds familiar, he's the son of Amy Hagopian, the former school board member and activist who fiercely pushed against the presence of military recruiters in the halls of Seattle's high schools, including Garfield, where her son graduated in '97.
"My mom is my hero," Jesse Hagopian said -- something you don't hear every day.
True story: His mom was off to try to shut down the Trident submarine installation the day she found out she was pregnant with him. Just that once, she didn't go.

That's right, Ehren Watada. Gearing up for his court-martial and he's still standing and still standing up. Jesse Hagopian had his mother to set an example. Did you? If so or if not, don't you think you need to set an example as well? Where did Ehren Watada learn about standing up? From his parents Carolyn Ho and Bob Watada. Bob Watada's participating in events. From Michael E. Ruane's "Large Rally Planned Saturday on Mall" (Washington Post):

[Leslie] Cagan, the protest organizer, said Fonda was traveling yesterday and was unavailable for an interview, but "Jane Fonda is definitely coming. She is speaking at the rally and marching in the lead contingent."
Fonda is scheduled to be joined at the rally podium by Bob Watada, 67, of Honolulu, a retired executive with the state of Hawaii whose Army officer son, Ehren, is to be court-martialed next month for refusing to deploy to Iraq.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the invasion and occupation of Iraq is wholly unwarranted," Bob Watada said in a telephone interview. "The Iraqi people have done absolutely nothing to the United States. They've done nothing to deserve the massacre and the pummeling they're getting . . . the plunder, the torture, the rape, the murder of innocent people. It's got to stop."
Watada's son, a 28-year-old Army lieutenant based at Fort Lewis, Wash., "refused to deploy to Iraq after he found out that the president had lied to the country, lied to the military, about there being weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," the elder Watada said.
Watada said his son refused to get on a deployment plane in June and spoke out against the war. The younger Watada has been charged with "missing a movement" and conduct unbecoming an officer, his father said.
Watada said he plans to participate fully in Saturday's rally and march. "I got my plane tickets and hotel reservations, and I'll be there," he said.


And on the DC rally and march, Sabina forwarded this e-mail from CODEPINK:

We are packing our bags, jumping onto buses and trains and planes, flinging our pink boas around our necks, ready and excited to bring our Women Say No to War campaign to the streets of Washington, DC!
Women will be a powerful force at the massive Mandate for Peace mobilization this Saturday, January 27-before the march, too, when we will join with Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Eve Ensler, Q'orianka Kilcher, Rhea Perlman, Mimi Kennedy, Congresswomen Lynn Woolsey and Maxine Waters, and other amazing women for a colorful and rowdy Women Say Pull Out convergence. We hope you'll join us!
"I have been walking the halls of Congress this week with Iraq veterans to help get them the health care and benefits they need and deserve. And I'll be back on Saturday to join the anti-war march and encourage all Americans to come out and engage. Let's show we really care about our troops by bringing them home now and taking care of them when they get here."
-- Susan Sarandon
President Bush's State of the Union address only drives home why we need to take to the streets this Saturday. As much as he spoke of "hope and opportunity" for America's future Tuesday night, Bush is squandering our truest hopes and opportunities by funneling so much money into an unnecessary war.
This recent graphic in the NY Times highlights how recklessly our tax dollars are being used. We are pouring $200 billion dollars into the war in Iraq, while universal health care for everyone in the country without insurance would cost just half that amount. Universal preschool would only cost our country $35 billion. Immunizing the entire world's children against diseases such as measles and diphtheria would cost $0.6 billion.
We can't let this madness continue.
Join us on January 27 to say No More Funding for War! Bring Our Troops Home Now! We will use our feet and our lungs and our signs and our outrage to let Bush and our new Congress know that we are serious about ending this war.
If you can't make it to DC, see if there is a solidarity event being planned in your area. If not, create your own, even if that means standing alone on a street corner with a sign! In lieu of lobbying, you can call your Congressperson to demand they cut the funding for George Bush's War. Our voices are powerful, wherever we may be geographically. We know peace is the only real path to hope and opportunity for this country. Together we will make it happen.
With peace and excitement,
Dana, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Liz, Medea, Nancy, Patricia, Rae, Samantha, and Sonia


Now some people can't make it to DC. Hopefully, you can attend an event in your area. If not, you can create one. Rebecca obviously can't travel (due to her pregnancy) so she'll have friends and family over to watch and discuss The Ground Truth. Your situation may be similar. But if you can't make it to DC, even if you're doing an event in your own area, there's one more thing you can do. I wasn't aware of this event at all until I was reading the e-mail:

Dear friends,
I just joined a global virtual peace march demanding that the new US Congress stop President Bush's escalation in Iraq and demand a real peace plan, and I thought you might be interested. Please see the email below.
Subject: Join Saturday's global peace march... without Leaving Your House!
This Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Americans will march on Washington DC to demand peace and justice in Iraq and the Middle East. We can be there too, raising a global voice of solidarity -- through our own worldwide virtual march. Time is short, so add your voice and join the march today!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_peace_march/
This could signal the rebirth of the US peace movement. We need to show them the world is on their side. Let's bring our call for peace to the streets of power in Washington. Join the global peace march and tell your friends today!
With hope,
Ricken, Paul, Tom, Rachel, Galit, Lee-Sean and the rest of the Ceasefire Campaign (now Avaaz.org! ) Team

FYI, Rebecca couldn't log into Blogger/Blogspot. She posted at Elaine's site. Click here to read her post tonight. (She hopes to cross-post if she can ever log into her account.)

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.











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Iraq snapshot

Thursday, January 25, 2007.  Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, the Green Zone comes under attack, more people with courage speak out for Ehren Watada, US war resister Agustin Aguayo recevies a court-martial date, Nouri al-Maliki prepares to target schools and homes, and the delusional Dick Cheney makes like a Starship cover band as he sings "Nothing's Going to Stop Us Now."
 
Starting with news of war resistance.  Bobbie Morgan (Bainbridge Buzz) observes, "Sometimes it takes a travesty to create a hearo.  We have a hero close by, awaiting a court martial for refusing to participate in the Iraq war because he feels it was never a lawful war."
Morgan is writing of Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the Iraq war.  Next month, February 5th, Watada faces a court-martial. 
 
Speaking recently with Ken Mochizuki (International Examiner), Watada stated: "I've said publicly that I'm willing to face the consequences for my action. But, I would ask that I be given a fair trial. So, there's no desertion there. And, when it comes to dissension, I have dissented, obviously, against the orders I've been given. Watada's referring to the ruling by 'Judge' Head which strips him of the ability to mount a defense or even offer his reasons for refusing to deploy.  Stanley Campbell (Rock River Times) notes Watada's reasons that Watada will not be allowed to uttered in court: "It's my conclusion as an officer of the armed forces that the Iraq war is not only morally wrong but a horrible breach of American law. Although I have tried to resign out of protest, I am forced to participate in a war that is manifestly illegal. As the order to take part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well, I must, as an officer of honor and integrity, refuse that order."  Again, the court-martial is scheduled for February 5th, Fort Lewis, Washington.
 
 
Meanwhile, in Germany, a court-martial date has been set for US war resister Agustin Aguayo.  Kevin Dougherty (Stars & Stripes) reports that at today's arrinment hearing, the judge decided ("barring any delays") that the court-martial will start on March 6th.  Aguayo
served in Iraq and, based on what he witnessed, decided serving in Iraq was against his religious beliefs.  He then applied for conscientious objector status but was denied that status and expected to deploy to Iraq for a second tour.  From September 2nd through September 26th of last year, Aguayo was absent from the military.  He turned himself on the 26th.  He has appealed his denial of C.O. status and, although the US Court of Appeals heard arguments on November 21, 2006, they have yet to issue a ruling.
 
 
Agustin Aguayo, Ehren Watada  are part of a movement of resistance within the military that also includes Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ivan Brobeck, Ricky Clousing, Aidan Delgado, Mark Wilkerson, Joshua Key, Camilo Meija, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Jeremy Hinzman, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight 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, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
 
In the United States, many demonstrations will be held on Saturday including a rally and march in DC.  For information on that, you can check out CODEPINK's Bring the Peace Mandate to D.C. on J27!   KPFA will be broadcasting live from the DC demonstrations from 10:00 am to noon PST.  (At which point it will begin covering demonstrations in the Bay Area.)  Saturday night (7:00 to 10:00 pm EST), Laura Flanders will cover the days demonstrations and more on RadioNation with Laura Flanders. 
 
CODEPINK,  United for Peace & Justice and many other groups are taking part in Saturday's DC demonstration and march and in activites around the United States (at least fifty cities in the US have activities scheduled -- fifty in addition to DC -- at this time and more are expected to be added to the lists).
 
 
As the mobilizations gear up, shades of Tricky Dick, Bully Boy is spying on peace groups.  Aaron Glantz (OneWorld) reports on US Defense Department documents obtained by the ACLU which reveal that 186 demonstrations have been spied on and recorded by the Defense Department: "The internal Defense Department documents show it is monitoring the activities of a wide swath of peace groups, including Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, Code Pink, the American Friends Service Committee, the War Resisters League, and the umbrella group United for Peace and Justice, which is spearheading what organizers hope will be a massive march on Washington this Saturday."
 
In Iraq today, CNN reports that occupation puppet Nouri al-Maliki declared, "I ask everyone to excuse us as we do the job.  No school, house, mosque or husseiniya [Shiite mosques] will be out of reach of our forces if they are harboring outlaws. The same for political party headquarters."  If that doesn't trouble you, imagine it as the school in your neighborhood, your house.  Civilians are being targeted and al-Maliki wants "everyone" to "excuse us" while the BBC reports that the the Iraqi parliament has voted in favor of this death wish.
 
Not unlike the continued slaughter on Haifa Street which the Muslim Scholars Association has termed "a campaign of  genocide."  Richard Mauer (McClatchy Newspapers) reports on eye witness Omar Abu Khatab who stated, "We have many people wounded and badly injured and we have also people killed.  We want someone to help us bury them but we cannot get any help.  We don't have any food or water.  Until now, 16 days under this curfew and we cannot go out."  Another resident, Abu Ali, explains to Mauer how the slaughter continued even after most media lost interest, "The Americans left; only the Iraqi forces stayed in Haifa.  There were snipers on the buildings, Iraqi Army snipers.  It kep people home because they shot two people that tried to go out to the street.  They burned four buildings.  They closed the area, which left the families with no food -- we had to whare with others what we had."
 
This 'fine' Iraqi military that al-Maliki intends to turn loose on homes and schools includes some real thugs as evidenced by incident reported this morning by Damien Cave and James Glanz (New York Times): "One Iraqi soldier in the alley pointed his rifle at an American reporter and pulled the trigger. There was only a click, the weapon had no ammunition. The soldier laughed at his joke."  Hate to break it to Cave and Glanz, it's not a joke.  Any fool knows you don't aim guns at people for a joke.  That applies if you're cleaning it or at target practice and you better believe it applies in a war zone. 

 
Reporters Without Borders counted 146 journalists killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war through January 18, 2007.  Does someone really think it's funny that an Iraqi soldier is aiming a gun at journalists and squeezing the trigger?  Had a journalist been hit (or, worse, killed), you better believe the excuse would be "I didn't know it was loaded."  Guns aren't toys and anyone who isn't smart enough to grasp that, who thinks a gun is a prop for a joke, needs to have his butt kicked out of the Iraqi military right away.  Instead, he (and no doubt others like him) will be doing house raids, school raids.  Maybe he can be 'funny' by aiming the gun at children and squeezing the trigger when that happens?
 
Journalists have died in Iraq and for the Times to report it as a "joke" is an insult to all journalists, those in Iraq and outside of it.  It also insults the memory of the journalists killed in Iraq or any other conflict.  It's a "joke" to them.  Just a "joke."  The New York Times needs to get their priiorities straight and if the slaughter on Haifa Street doesn't trouble you, maybe when they target school children it will bother you.
 
Bombings?

 
Reuters reports that a car bomb in a central Baghdad market killed 20 and left 18 wounded.
Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports the death toll from the bombing climed to 26 and the number wounded to 54. AFP reports "that the explosion set a bus loaded with passengers ablaze, and destroyed half the front of a nearby building."
 
In addition, Reuters notes one person died and 13 were wounded in a Sadr City market in Baghad while three died and 10 were wounded from a roadside bomb in west Baghdad, a motorcycle bomb "killed a boy and an elderly woman in the city of Falluja" not far from a school, and four civilians were wounded in a bombing in Tal Afar.
 
In addition to the motorcycle bomb in Falluja, AFP reports one struck a central Baghdad market killing 4 and wounding 2o while destroying "stalls and carts" and quotes an official stating, "The bomb was strapped to a morotocycle which was parked on one side of the road that runs through the market."
 
 
Most important in terms of the press the Green Zone was attacked today.  In June, when the Green Zone was almost breached, Nouri al-Maliki began the 'crackdown' that long ago cracked up.  Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports that two or three rockets hit the Green Zone and six people were wounded.  The Green Zone is the heavily fortified bunker area of Baghdad where the US is building its embassy, where the Iraqi government meets and where many reporters are stationed.  AP notes that during the attack a voice came blaring over the PA system insisting that "This is not a drill" in English.
 
 
Shootings?
 
Reuters notes that two people were wounded near Haswa and that Hussein Abdul Aziz ("a member of the city council of al-Gayara") was shot dead near Mosul.
 
 
Corpses?
 
Reuters reports two corpses were discovered in Mosul and two in Dujail.
 
 
In political news, a toothless, symbolic measure passed through a Senate committee yesterday and now awaits a vote in the full Senate.  CBS and AP report that Dick Cheney (second to the Bully Boy) has responded that, even if the resolution passes the full Senate, "It won't stop us."  Margaret Taliv (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that US Senator Dick Durbin has called Cheney "delusional."  Though Cheney, no doubt, is delusional, it should be remembered that he shot his own friend.  Delusional, crazed and a (hopefully) bad shot.
 
Hopefully a bad shot? Otherwise that incident was intentional which would result in charges of assault or attempted murder and Cheney might be confessing today.  Which brings us to legal news, Beth Rucker (AP) reports that Corey R. Clagett "pleaded guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice."  Earlier this month, Juston Graber did the same (to charges of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon) for his actions in the same May 9, 2006 incident where three Iraqis were detained near Tikrit, then released and killed after the relase with the claim that they had been 'escaping.'  Corey Clagett was asked his intentions when he shot at the three men and he told the court, "To kill them, your honor,"
 
Thos in DC Saturday should check out Anthony Arnove, author most recently of IRAQ: The Logic of Withdrawal, who will be speaking at Busboys and Poets at 5:00 pm and those in the NYC area on Sunday should check out Joan Mellen speech at 7:30 p.m.  at the 92nd Street Y (92nd Street and Lesington Avenue). Mellan, a professor at Temple University and the author of seventeen books, will be presenting a lecture on the JFK assasination . . . and beyond. Tickets are $25. Mellen's latest book is A Farewell to Justice which probes the assasination of JFK. She was a guest on Law and Disorder November 7, 2005. And the March 15, 2006 broadcast of KPFA's Guns and Butter featured her speech "How the Failure to Identify, Prosecute and Convict President Kennedy's Assassins Has Led to Today's Crisis of Democracy." You can also read a transcript of that speech here.
 
 

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