Inside the New York Times today, Erica Goode offers "U.S. Military Will Hand Over Control of Sunni Citizen Patrols to Iraqi Government" (A12) which would be the "Awakening" Councils. They are the thugs on the US payroll (men are paid $300 a month, women are paid far less -- and on one lodged an objection to that). They are the thugs who sold their allegience for coin. al-Maliki has surrounded himself with Shi'ite thugs and has always been threatened by the prospect of their Sunni counter-parts. He's made clear that the bulk of them will not be absorbed into any Iraqi body (police or military) and, in fact, has launched attacks on the Diyala Province.
The bulk of that sort of gets left out in Goode's report. She does remember to give figures (54,000 -- which is not all the members and we're not told what happens the rest), she forgets to tell what they were before they were "Awakend" (by coin), she notes the al-Maliki government says it will begin issuing payment at the first of October and she quotes "Awakening" commander in Baghdad Ali Bahjet dismissing all the Happy Talk by noting that he has been "assured" by the US military "that 'our contracts will be renewed for the next six months, beginning Sept. 1'" and quotes him adding, "We are sure that the American will continue financing our program because this program . . ."
Doesn't read like "handover" but neither did Al Anbar Province.
Stacey notes this from Ralph Nader's independent presidential campaign:
Wisconsin Joins Growing List of Nader/Gonzalez Ballot Qualified States
Media Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org;
(WI) Justin Richardson, 608-215-1342
WISCONSIN JOINS GROWING LIST OF NADER/GONZALEZ BALLOT QUALIFIED STATES
Supporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader will submit ballot qualifying materials to the Wisconsin Secretary of State's office on Tuesday Sept. 2, at 1:30 p.m., to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 election ballot.
Mr. Nader announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." To qualify to appear on Wisconsin's ballot, state law requires submission of the signatures of 2,000 qualified voters. The campaign intends to file 3,500 signatures.
The Nader/Gonzalez Campaign is on schedule for securing ballots spots in 45 states, and qualifying for write-in votes in 4 others.
Justin Richardson, Dustin Underwood, and Mark Phillip, the three Nader/Gonzalez Wisconsin State Coordinators, will hold a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Entrance, 2 East Main St., Madison , WI 53702.
Labor issues remain an ongoing problem in Wisconsin, which has lost 12,000 non-farm jobs and construction employment over the past twelve months, with paper plants slated for more layoffs and GE scheduled to halt production entirely. Race relations also continue to be strained, with high racial disparities in prison sentencing, particularly in Dane County.
The Nader/Gonzalez campaign offers a Marshall Plan for cities which would create jobs and repair crumbling infrastructures, and advocates fair and equal legal treatment of all citizens.
WHO: Wisconsin Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Campaign
WHAT: News Conference and ballot qualification submission
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 2, 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: steps of the State Capitol, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Entrance, 2 East Main St., Madison , WI 53702.
About Ralph Nader
Attorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.
About Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.
About the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign
According to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan--whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee--an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.
For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
the new york times
erica goode
