Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The cabinet that's never full

Iraq's largest Sunni political bloc suspended its return to the Shiite-dominated government on Tuesday, saying Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had refused to give it the cabinet ministries it wanted.
The move raised the possibility that the Sunni bloc, known as Tawafiq, could extend what has already been a yearlong boycott of the government, despite Sunni praise of Mr. Maliki's recent military crackdown on Shiite militiamen in Basra and Baghdad.


That's the opening of Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Qais Mizher's "A Sunni Bloc Pulls Back on Rejoining Iraqi Cabinet" (New York Times). Yes, the puppet was installed in the spring of 2006. No, it has never worked out well or even efficiently. That's what happens with illegitimate, puppet governments. They're not of the people and by the people and they scramble and teeter along while everyone waits for the foreign power (in this case, the US) to lose interest so they can take back their country. That message should have been clear when the Green Zone was almost breached in the summer of 2006 -- the reason for al-Maliki's first crackdown, for those who forgot (or, more likely, never paid attention). When Congress calls out al-Maliki for his non-leadership, some on the left start feeling sorry for him. Poor little puppet! There's no reason to feel sorry for him. He fully intended to lead the slaughter in Mosul and his blood lust is so great that he had to hurry over to Mosul. The US installed him. He is bought and paid for and foreign owned. And while Iraqis suffer, while malnutrition hits record rates throughout Iraq, he sits on a stockpile of millions. al-Maliki's no hero figure. But some elements of the left need a Daddy figure. In the real world, David Lightman's "Bush wants $600 million for Iraq police, but cuts aid to U.S. cops" (McClatchy Newspapers) covers more money wasted on the illegal war:



At the same time the Bush administration has been pushing for deep cuts in a popular crime-fighting program for states and cities, the White House has been fighting for approval of $603 million for the Iraqi police.
The White House earlier this year proposed slashing the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, which helps local law enforcement officials deal with violent crime and serious offenders, to $200 million in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
In 2002, the year before the Iraq war, the program received $900 million.
The administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress are headed for a showdown over the domestic money, probably next month. When the Senate last week passed the emergency Iraq war funding bill, it allotted an immediate $490 million for the domestic grants while keeping the Iraqi police funds intact.
The House is expected to consider the package when it returns from its Memorial Day recess next week. But the domestic grants are the kind of spending that's causing Bush to threaten a veto.

The CEO presidency . . . wasn't that how Bully Boy was sold? There's no accountability in Corporation AMerica apparently. How many reports -- including the government's own -- have to be released on the Iraqi police before the funding gets cut off? (US funding. If al-Maliki wanted to keep them on, he controls the money to do so.)

From the public account:
Since Roberts Dziekanski tasering at Vancouver International Airport,
light has been recently spilled on how the police conduct internal
investigations in BC. When an inquiry against a police officer is called the
investigation is conducted by officers from the same department.
Naturally this creates a bias in our current police internal investigation
system which was set up to maintain the people's confidence in our
police services. B.C is also the only province to have this system; Quebec,
Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan all have independent civilian
review boards set up so as to remove any bias in internal police
investigations.

For more information and to sign our petition requesting an independent
review board in BC visit
http://www.petitiononline.com/BCPolice/petition.html

Keelan notes Howard Wolfson's "HUBdate: A Strong Partner With Indian Country" (HillaryClinton.com):

"A Strong Partner With Indian Country" Yesterday, during a stop at the Flathead Reservation, Hillary "reaffirm[ed] her support for tribal sovereignty…[and her commitment to] partner with the Montana Tribes to expand economic opportunity and improve health care, education and housing on all seven Montana Reservations." Hillary "told several hundred people yesterday at Salish Kootenai College that she wants to be a 'strong partner with Indian country.'" Read more and more.

Automatic Delegate Watch: Virgin Islands automatic delegate Kevin Rodriquez announced his support for Hillary yesterday. Rodriquez is a member of the Democratic National Committee.

On the Air: A new television ad hit the airwaves in South Dakota yesterday: "George Bush's spending has sent the economy into a tailspin and put social security in jeopardy…Hillary Clinton will stop spending money America doesn't have. She'll end fifty five billion dollars in giveaways to corporate special interests, reduce the deficit and protect Social Security." Watch here.

Crowd Gives Hillary "A Raucous Welcome" "It took a Clinton to repair America after the first Bush presidency and it will take a Clinton to fix the mistakes of the second President Bush," Hillary told supporters in Billings, MT yesterday. Many of those supporters waited in line to see Hillary throughout the afternoon. One 16-year-old supporter said she "was thrilled that the candidate was coming to Billings. 'It's just an amazing thing to get to see her,' she said…The crowd started cheering about 7 p.m., and the chants gained momentum when campaign staffers started tossing t-shirts into the bleachers. The crowd spelled out, 'H-i-l-l-a-r-y' and shouted, 'Madame President!'" Read more and more.

Previewing Today: Hillary attends a campaign event in Kyle, SD and hosts a "Solutions for South Dakota’s Future" rally in Rapid City, SD.

On Tap: Tomorrow, Hillary will continue to campaign throughout South Dakota, making stops in Huron and Watertown.


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