9 US service members have died in Iraq so far this month.
Late Friday an announcement was made by M-NF: "Two Multi-National Force – West Marines died as the result of a non-combat related incident near Karmah Aug 7. The Marines names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense."
Considering all the headlines and gas bagging the 13 deaths for July received, all the hog wash about a turned corner, you'd think the press would bother to note that in less than two weeks, over half as many US service members have died as died in the month of July. But that doesn't help continue to sell the illegal war, now does it? A splash of cold water in the face doesn't help out Operation Happy Talk. So watch all play dumb.
Ralph Nader to speak on Monday August 11, on the trading floor of old Toronto Stock Exchange building.
Please circulate and post widely.
Event also features partial screening of the biographical documentary, An Unreasonable Man.
Now at over 5 percent in national polls, Nader is on his third run for President of the United States.
Find out why he runs and what's at stake for Canada this election.
Ralph Nader is the only major candidate for President of the United States standing up to implement Canadian-style universal healthcare, a Dion-style Carbon Tax, and ending the war in Iraq with a full 6-month withdrawal. Over ten million Americans say they will vote for him, and another 20 million say they would if they thought he had a chance of winning. He's on track to be on the ballot in 45 states, and has a shot at getting in the Google Presidential Debates to be held in New Orleans this September. Come see him this Monday August 11 at the Design Exchange in Downtown Toronto.
Event Program:
Screening of a portion of An Unreasonable Man, the acclaimed documentary on Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader Remarks on the US Presidential Election: What's at stake for Canada?
Q and A with Ralph Nader
Where: Design Exchange, 234 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5K 1B2.
Time: 7:00 to 9:30 pm
Ticket Price: Free, donations appreciated, RSVP to ensure seating.
To RSVP, email toronto@votenader.org or call Rashi Khilnani at 647 286 0396 for more details.
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader will be in Canada on Monday. Turning to Iraq, this is the opening of Leila Fadel's "Looking for suicide bombers in Iraq is no easy task" (McClatchy Newspapers):
The Iraqi National Police came in the middle of the night and roused the three women from their sleep.
For 14 days, they were held, suspected of preparing to carry out deadly suicide attacks and recruit other women to do the same. On Thursday, they were sent home.
Were they future bombers? Maybe. Maybe not.
The three were among 22 women who were detained during an ongoing security operation in Diyala province for alleged links to the al Qaida in Iraq group, which dominated this mostly Sunni Muslim area for years.
In Diyala, women are feared now. In the last eight months, 12 have blown themselves up in suicide attacks. Police are working to ferret out such bombers.
Three innocent women detained/imprisoned, wow, who could have seen that happen? Drop back to July 5th, "New abuses for Iraqi women" when the 'strategy' was first discussed publicly.
As the article continues, she pushes the notion of profiling women and laments that they can't be "detained" (imprisoned) only from a profile. But if she can't imprison them, she can create "homes" and "shelters" to "put them in". Consider them pretty prisons. And by not calling them prisons, Qaduir may be able to circumvent the remnants of a legal system in Iraq. "It's for your own good," they could tell these 'sick' women -- when the only sickness is the occupation itself.Qaduir is a quack who wants to use her psuedo 'understanding' to crack down on women. If there's anything worse than your husband being imprisoned in the illegal maze or being killed, it has to be dealing with that while you're farmed out to a detention center posing as 'care'.
The reality is that the response of Iraqis to resist the occupation is a normal response and all the more so when someone they have loved is killed. Want to end 'sucide bombings'? End the illegal war. A condition that's developed from the sickness of the Iraq War will be 'treated,' if Qaduir gets her way, by divorcing it from the very cause and treating the women's response as abnormal when what happened to their husbands was the abnormal thing. Instead, Qaduir's accepting as 'normal' the illegal war, the occupation that goes along with it and all the violence involved. The only 'abnormal' thing to her is that some women might respond in violence. Imagine what she would have recommended for American woman participating in the Revolutionary War.
Qaduir is not the 'fixer,' she is part of the problem. (And apparently the Jane Harman of the Iraqi Parliament.) With all the women and children in Iraq who are homeless, the fact that she wants to create detention centers (posing as 'shelters') to imprison women who fit her profile while ignoring those very much in need of an actual shelter says a great deal.
And she can try to cut off debate with all her claims of 'different' societies until she's blue in the face but she's targeting a group for imprisonment out of her own fear. That's not all that 'different' than the round ups Bully Boy launched of Arab-Americans after 9-11.
The problem is not women whose lives are destroyed resisting the ongoing occupation, the problem is the Iraq War. If "Dr." Qaduri wants to 'treat' something, she might try addressing that instead of attempting to round up widows due to Qaduri's own fear and derangement. Her profile not only reflects the 'US military analysis,' it appears to have been handed her to her by the US military.
It's really amazing how little criticism the 'strategy' Alissa J. Rubin documented in "Despair Drives Suicide Attacks by Iraqi Women" (New York Times) received until you grasp how little attention is ever paid to Iraqi women (well why should the women in Iraq be any different from the women in the rest of the world!). You can see it in the refusal to call out the US government for paying female "Awakening" Council members 20% less than their male cohorts. We don't approve of the "Awakening" Councils in this community but if you're going to pay people for a job, you pay them equal. Equal pay for equal work. In fact, with the focus now being on female bombers, you could, in fact, argue that female "Awakening" Council members need to be paid more because they are currently more needed.
Iraqi women suffer every day. There's no concern. There's no outcry. And when someone does raise the issue, they get no credit for it. Take Hillary Clinton who has raised the issue repeatedly as far back as 2003. But you saw LIARS like Betsy Reed and Laura Flanders (both of the worthless Nation magazine) LIE that Hillary hadn't done anything on women's issues since giving a speech in the 90s. Both of those liars, those useless pathetic girls, should be ashamed of themselves because they didn't just LIE, they lied knowing they could get away with it because the larger society pays so damn little attention to women.
Zach notes this from Team Nader:
Ralph's Weekend Audio Message
Posted by Ralph Nader on Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 11:16:00 AM
ShareThis
Click here for Ralph's Saturday audio message.
This is Ralph Nader.
I'm very proud of the millions of Americans who are standing with me and my running mate Matt Gonzalez in this momentous election year.
To the scores of signature gatherers around the country who have beared bad weather -- thank you.
To those of you who have written letters to your local newspapers and defended our candidacy to friends and neighbors -- thank you too.
To the thousands of you who have fueled the Nader/Gonzalez campaign with your generous donations -- our gratitude.
We have polled over five percent in a number of national polls -- most recently six percent in the CNN poll last week.
Nader/Gonzalez is projected to be on the ballot in 45 states come election day.
I was at a breakfast meeting with reporters this week in Washington, D.C.
And a reporter asked me if I thought Nader/Gonzalez had a chance to win.
Well, I said, if we get into the debates, before tens of millions of voters, it would be a three way race.
But before we get into the debates, we have to get on the ballots.
And as you know, we're in the stretch run of our ballot drive.
We're very close to hitting our target of $100,000 by tomorrow night.
We're closing in.
So, help push us over the top.
After this weekend, we move from the primary to the general election period.
That means that this is the last weekend where your online contributions will be matched by the federal government.
More specifically, every dollar you give online this weekend, up to $250, will be matched or doubled by the government.
After this weekend, no match for online contributions.
Help push us over the top on our current ballot access fundraising drive.
Go to votenader.org and hit the contribute button.
You can give to your heart's content---up to $4,600 that is---that's the legal limit.
You will be fueling a campaign that will shift the power in specific ways from the giant corporations back into the hands of the American people---whether as voters, consumers or taxpayers.
Thank you again for your support and your considered dedication.
Onward to November.
ShareThis
The following community sites have updated since Friday morning:
Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Betty's Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;
Kat's Kat's Korner;
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
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
leila fadel
mcclatchy newspapers
the new york times
alissa j. rubin
like maria said paz
kats korner
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
thomas friedman is a great man
trinas kitchen
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
mikey likes it
ruths report
sickofitradlz
Saturday, August 09, 2008
'Withdrawal'
Muqtada al Sadr, the Shiite Muslim cleric who made his reputation by opposing the American presence in Iraq, will disband the armed wing of his militia if a new Iraq-U.S. security agreement includes a date for an American withdrawal, a key Sadr aide said Friday.
Salah al Obaidi, a spokesman for the cleric, said Sadr's Mahdi Army would review the security agreement closely to see how precisely it spelled out when the U.S. troop presence would end.
"It depends on what this agreement brings us," he said. "When there is no more occupation, there will be no need for these cells."
The pronouncement could give Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki a potent incentive to press the United States for a specific withdrawal date.
Iraqi officials told McClatchy earlier this week that the negotiations on a security agreement are nearing a close and that the current draft of the agreement includes a date of June 30, 2009, for American troops to withdraw from Iraq's cities. U.S. combat forces would be gone "by 2011," said a senior Iraqi official who's been participating in the talks.
The above is from Leila Fadel's "Sadr promises to disband militia if U.S. sets Iraq withdrawal date" (McClatchy Newspapers) and the question to ask is: "Is Moqtada al-Sadr as big a dupe as so many Americans?" If he is, Fadel's summary may excite and delight him. But he represents a movement that wants NO US forces on Iraqi soil. So either he or the movement may grasp that what's being discussed is not withdrawal at all.
Nor is what's being included in the Democratic Party plank. Calvin Woodward (AP) notes, "On Iraq, the draft states that Democrats "expect to complete redeployment within 16 months," reflecting Obama's time frame but not the tone of certainty he brought to it when he was running in the primaries." I see, that clock upon the wall . . . Well it don't bother me at all . . . It's an ever changing time, as Aretha sings. Siedah Garrett recorded it first, for the film Baby Boom, "Ever Changing Times" written by Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Bill Conti. Another movie theme probably best described the mood in The Cult of Obama as they continue to justify one cave after another: "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?" (written by Alan and Marilyn Berman and Michel Legrand -- Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds' Best Friends).
There is no withdrawal planned by the Democratic 'leadership.' A lot of the Cultists who are semi-known try to lie that Barack, if elected, will be pressured to do more. They couldn't even pressure him to keep his word on FISA. Keep dreaming.
In fact, let's just finish out this movie music thread. Barack's groupies old enough to know better make like a girl group -- day after day. Larry Klein and Gerry Goffin's "Born To Love That Boy" (from Allison Anderson's amazing Grace Of My Heart) probably sums them up best:
He doesn't love me
But I love him so
Always thinking of that boy
But he never thinks of me.
My heart's a toy
And, like a little boy,
He breaks it when he's through.
He fools around
And puts me down.
But there's nothing I can do.
I just live for the moments with him.
(Be careful)
His touch is soft
And the lights are dim.
(Watch out)
Oh what a trance he puts me in.
I guess that I was born to love that boy.
It's a real shame Tom Hayden, Laura Flanders, et al had to inflict their late-life adolescence on the nation.
Lewis notes Glen Ford's "Obama Won't Address Specific Black Concerns" (Black Agenda Report):
"What about the Black community, Obama?" read the banner held aloft by three young African American men at what was supposed to be the usual campaign pep-rally (nominally a town hall meeting), in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Not far away, in Orlando, National Urban League President Marc Morial, preparing for the organization's annual convention last weekend, vowed that the candidate would be quizzed on "what steps should we take as a nation to alleviate the effects of racial exclusion and racial discrimination?"
Barack Obama has hard-wired himself to avoid answering such questions. His responses, when offered, range from skillful shadings of the truth to outright lies about his own statements on how he would confront the living legacy of American slavery and apartheid - if at all. And, although there is little reason to believe that masses of Blacks are reconsidering their overwhelming support for Obama, there is evidence of growing anxiety at the Illinois senator's determined "race neutrality."
Spouting the same line that endeared him to "centrist" whites and corporate contributors in 2004, Barack Obama steadfastly refuses to put forward any program to address specific historical and contemporary grievances of African Americans. The catechism is always some variation of his "There is no Black America, there is no white America..." speech at the Democratic National Convention, in Boston. He seldom acknowledges, and then only grudgingly, that African Americans continue to be subjected to institutionalized harms that are qualitatively different than those endured by whites of any social strata. He is willing to curb certain racist behaviors, such as racial profiling, but will do nothing to systematically reverse the accumulated assaults that are particular to the African American experience and condition.
In other words, Blacks have no special gripe, as far as Barack Obama is concerned - which is the source of his attraction to unprecedented numbers of white voters seeking, if not absolution for past crimes, at least a muting of Black complaints. That's the kind of "change" they're anticipating, race-wise.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
leila fadel
mcclatchy newspapers
glen ford
Salah al Obaidi, a spokesman for the cleric, said Sadr's Mahdi Army would review the security agreement closely to see how precisely it spelled out when the U.S. troop presence would end.
"It depends on what this agreement brings us," he said. "When there is no more occupation, there will be no need for these cells."
The pronouncement could give Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki a potent incentive to press the United States for a specific withdrawal date.
Iraqi officials told McClatchy earlier this week that the negotiations on a security agreement are nearing a close and that the current draft of the agreement includes a date of June 30, 2009, for American troops to withdraw from Iraq's cities. U.S. combat forces would be gone "by 2011," said a senior Iraqi official who's been participating in the talks.
The above is from Leila Fadel's "Sadr promises to disband militia if U.S. sets Iraq withdrawal date" (McClatchy Newspapers) and the question to ask is: "Is Moqtada al-Sadr as big a dupe as so many Americans?" If he is, Fadel's summary may excite and delight him. But he represents a movement that wants NO US forces on Iraqi soil. So either he or the movement may grasp that what's being discussed is not withdrawal at all.
Nor is what's being included in the Democratic Party plank. Calvin Woodward (AP) notes, "On Iraq, the draft states that Democrats "expect to complete redeployment within 16 months," reflecting Obama's time frame but not the tone of certainty he brought to it when he was running in the primaries." I see, that clock upon the wall . . . Well it don't bother me at all . . . It's an ever changing time, as Aretha sings. Siedah Garrett recorded it first, for the film Baby Boom, "Ever Changing Times" written by Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Bill Conti. Another movie theme probably best described the mood in The Cult of Obama as they continue to justify one cave after another: "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?" (written by Alan and Marilyn Berman and Michel Legrand -- Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds' Best Friends).
There is no withdrawal planned by the Democratic 'leadership.' A lot of the Cultists who are semi-known try to lie that Barack, if elected, will be pressured to do more. They couldn't even pressure him to keep his word on FISA. Keep dreaming.
In fact, let's just finish out this movie music thread. Barack's groupies old enough to know better make like a girl group -- day after day. Larry Klein and Gerry Goffin's "Born To Love That Boy" (from Allison Anderson's amazing Grace Of My Heart) probably sums them up best:
He doesn't love me
But I love him so
Always thinking of that boy
But he never thinks of me.
My heart's a toy
And, like a little boy,
He breaks it when he's through.
He fools around
And puts me down.
But there's nothing I can do.
I just live for the moments with him.
(Be careful)
His touch is soft
And the lights are dim.
(Watch out)
Oh what a trance he puts me in.
I guess that I was born to love that boy.
It's a real shame Tom Hayden, Laura Flanders, et al had to inflict their late-life adolescence on the nation.
Lewis notes Glen Ford's "Obama Won't Address Specific Black Concerns" (Black Agenda Report):
"What about the Black community, Obama?" read the banner held aloft by three young African American men at what was supposed to be the usual campaign pep-rally (nominally a town hall meeting), in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Not far away, in Orlando, National Urban League President Marc Morial, preparing for the organization's annual convention last weekend, vowed that the candidate would be quizzed on "what steps should we take as a nation to alleviate the effects of racial exclusion and racial discrimination?"
Barack Obama has hard-wired himself to avoid answering such questions. His responses, when offered, range from skillful shadings of the truth to outright lies about his own statements on how he would confront the living legacy of American slavery and apartheid - if at all. And, although there is little reason to believe that masses of Blacks are reconsidering their overwhelming support for Obama, there is evidence of growing anxiety at the Illinois senator's determined "race neutrality."
Spouting the same line that endeared him to "centrist" whites and corporate contributors in 2004, Barack Obama steadfastly refuses to put forward any program to address specific historical and contemporary grievances of African Americans. The catechism is always some variation of his "There is no Black America, there is no white America..." speech at the Democratic National Convention, in Boston. He seldom acknowledges, and then only grudgingly, that African Americans continue to be subjected to institutionalized harms that are qualitatively different than those endured by whites of any social strata. He is willing to curb certain racist behaviors, such as racial profiling, but will do nothing to systematically reverse the accumulated assaults that are particular to the African American experience and condition.
In other words, Blacks have no special gripe, as far as Barack Obama is concerned - which is the source of his attraction to unprecedented numbers of white voters seeking, if not absolution for past crimes, at least a muting of Black complaints. That's the kind of "change" they're anticipating, race-wise.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
leila fadel
mcclatchy newspapers
glen ford
Friday, August 08, 2008
Iraq snapshot
Friday, August 8, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Moqtada al-Sadr floats an offer for disbanding, US presidential candidate Ralph Nader prepares to visit Canada, and more. Starting with war resistance. Last month US war resister Robin Long was extradited from Canada. Courage to Resist notes that Robin is "being held in the El Paso County Jail, near Colorado Springs, Colorado, awaiting a military court martial for resisting the unjust and illegal war against and occupation of Iraq. Robin will be court martialed for desertion 'with intent to remain away permanently' -- Article 85 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice -- in early September. The maximum allowable penalty for a guilty verdict on this charge is three years confinement, forfeiture of pay, and a dishonorably discharge from the Army. In order to expedite Robin's trial, it appears that his unit command, the Fourth Brigade Combat Team, Fourth Infantry Division is option to not charge Robin with speech-related violations of military discipline; opting to try and convict Robin as fast as possible." They note the public support that Garrett Reppenhagan (IVAW) and others have shown in Colorado for Robin. A protest held at Fort Carson (see July 28th snapshot) was noted here last month and Lee Zaslofsky declared at the protest: "Robin Long did what he did because of his conscience and because he believed that the war was wrong, that he was simply running away or hiding out. . . . I think most Americans now realize that the war in Iraq is a complete mistake." James Branum is Robin's civilian attorney and he discussed Robin's case in this video (transcript of which is in the August 5th snapshot) noting, "So they had a hearing late at night. Robin was put into jail. And since that point, he has been held here in Colarado Springs in the Criminal Justice Center in El Paso County -- basically just a regular old county jail with all kinds of people, dangerous criminals many of them, and it's a difficult place to be. But Robin's in good spirits and we're now dealing with the consequences of his action in the military courts here."
By mail: Make checks out to "Courage to Resist / IHC" and note "Robin Long" in the memo field. Mail to: Courage to Resist 484 Lake Park Ave #41 Oakland CA 94610 Courage to Resist is committed to covering Robin's legal and related defense expenses. Thank you for helping make that possible. Also: You are also welcome to contribute directly to Robin's legal expenses via his civilian lawyer James Branum. Visit girightslawyer.com, select "Pay Online via PayPal" (lower left), and in the comments field note "Robin Long". Note that this type of donation is not tax-deductible. 2. Send letters of support to Robin Robin Long, CJC 2739 East Las Vegas Colorado Springs, CO 80906 Robin's pre-trial confinement has been outsourced by Fort Carson military authorities to the local county jail. Robin is allowed to receive hand-written or typed letters only. Do NOT include postage stamps, drawings, stickers, copied photos or print articles. Robin cannot receive packages of any type (with the book exception as described below). 3. Send Robin a money order for commissary items Anything Robin gets (postage stamps, toothbrush, shirts, paper, snacks, supplements, etc.) must be ordered through the commissary. Each inmate has an account to which friends may make deposits. To do so, a money order in U.S. funds must be sent to the address above made out to "Robin Long, EPSO". The sender's name must be written on the money order. 4. Send Robin a book Robin is allowed to receive books which are ordered online and sent directly to him at the county jail from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. These two companies know the procedure to follow for delivering books for inmates. War resisters in Canada also need support and to pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do." There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, 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, Jose Vasquez, 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, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, 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. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma). Anna Badkhen files from Iraq for Salon. This week she's been reporting on the realities of the "Awakening" Council (aka "Sons Of Iraq," aka "Turncoats For Coins"). On Tuesday, Badkhen reported on an Iraqi who discovered grenades in Baghdad but didn't feel he could say anything: "If I tell the Iraqi police or the Sons of Iraq they will tell the wrong people, and I will be killed. I don't trust them. If I tell the Americans, they'll tell no one how they found about the grenades." Wednesday she reported on the "Awakening" Council members quoting US Lt Justin Chabalko explaining, "When the SOIs [Sons of Iraq] stood up, we were basically hiring terrorists." Badkhen observes: The Sons of Iraq was formed in 2007, when Sunni tribal leaders, tired of violence and disillusioned with Islamic fundamentalists such as al-Qaida in Iraq, encouraged tribal members -- including some former militia members -- to guard Sunni and mixed neighborhoods against takeover by sectarian gangs. The Americans touted the creation of the Sons of Iraq as a major diplomatic success and agreed to finance the organization, paying each member a monthly salary of $300, despite the protests from the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government, which never liked the idea of legitimizing the Sunni-dominated fighting force. The force helped quell the Sunni insurgency in Baghdad and in Iraq's tribal heartlands, such as the restive Anbar province. But what a year ago looked like a brilliant solution to sectarian violence is now looking like a time bomb. Many of the force's members once fought alongside al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni insurgency organizations against American troops and the predominantly Shiite Iraqi security forces. And now, a joint U.S.-Iraqi government plan to disband the force could put up to 80,000 men out of work -- and leave them armed and disgruntled. April 8th, as The Crocker and Petraeus Variety Hour performed before Congress, US Senator Barbara Boxer pointed to reports that Nouri al-Maliki wouldn't put "half of them" onto the Iraqi security forces out of concerns about their loyalty and Boxer pointed out the US was buying their loyalty at $182 million a year, $18 million a month and wondered "Why don't you ask the Iraqis to pay the entire costs of that program?" A question worth asking then and now. Yochi J. Dreazen (Wall St. Journal) reports today that, "The U.S. military was supposed to be out of the employment business by now. When it introduced the Sons of Iraq initiative last year, senior commanders expected the local security personnel to be hired gradually into the ranks of the Iraqi army and police. But Iraq's Shiite-dominated central government has balked at the idea of bringing so many young Sunni men -- including many onetime militants -- into the country's fledging security forces. Less than 20% of the roughly 103,000 Sons of Iraq had been given government jobs as of early June. That has left U.S. forces responsible for employing -- and paying -- the Iraqis." Sudarsan Raghavan and Ernesto Londono (Washington Post) report on the "Awakening" Councils today and notes the tensions escalating as people think of elections: "The National Front and other onetime insurgent groups will join a bitter struggle for power between established Sunni politicians of the Iraqi Islamic Party and upstart leaders of the Sahwa, or 'Awakening' council, a U.S.-backed tribal alliance whose popularity has grown following its success in combating the group al-Qaeda in Iraq. 'Entering the elections is to change the current reality in our area, the domination of the Sunni spectrum by the Iraqi Islamic party,' said Effan al-Issawi, the top Awakening commander in Falluja. 'They are unworthy of leading the Sunnis'." No, it doesn't sound like 'peace,' now does it? That's what you get when you put thugs on the payroll and that was the intent, as US Secretary of State Condi Rice made clear in an interview this week where she referred to "Sons of Iraq in Anbar" as part of Gen Petraues' "smart counterinsurgency strategy". This week the Iraqi Parliament adjourned their special session with no agreement on provincial elections which most analysts believe make it impossible for the elections to be held in October and others state it is impossible to hold elections this year period. Yesterday, the US State Dept was asked for comment on the development. Acting Deputy Spokesperson Gonazlo R. Gallegos replied as follow: "I believe I have something. Okay. We continue to urge the Council of Representatives to seek a compromise that can be adopted promptly. We regret that the Iraqi Parliament adjourned yesterday without finishing its work on a local elections law. The parliamentarians have made great strides towards finishing the closing agreement on most of the more difficult issues. We recognize that the election law brought to the floor important questions regarding the status of Kirkuk. The status of Kirkuk is, indeed a sensitive issue that needs to be addressed in a serious fashion, but it is an issue that cannot be solved through the legislative mechanism of the eleciton law. The election law should not be held hostage to that problem." Gallegos was also asked by the treaties the White House is attempting to negotiate with the puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki -- popularly and wrongly called SOFA. "Updates on the SOFA," Gallegos stalled. "My understanding is that they're continuing. I don't have anything particular to say about the process right now. We haven't discussed those publicly before. I'm not going to here. As we said, we'll provide you with details when we get through with this." Asked for an estimate of when such an agreement might be reached, Gallegos replied, "I would not be prepared to provide a timeline for that." Actually, the White House provided a timeline -- they stated the negotiations would be completed July 31st. [Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports on rumors of a deal being reached.] Meanwhile Mark Kukis (Time magazine) explains, "Shi'ite militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr stepped back into Iraq's political fray Friday with an offer that (if genuine) Washington would be hard-pressed to refuse: Set a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and the Mahdi Army will begin to disband. 'The main reason for the armed resistance is the American miltiary presence,' said Sadr emissary Salah al-Ubaidi, who spoke to reporters in Najaf Friday. 'If the American military begins to withdrawal, there will be no need for these armed groups'." Ali al-Mashakheel and Nick Schifrin (ABC News) point out that al-Sadr's cease-fire/freeze "was one of the main reasons that violence in Iraq has dropped to the lowest levels in four years for both civilians and trooops." Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Tal Afar car bombing that claimed 18 lives and left twenty people wounded. Reuters notes the number wounded has already risen to twenty-five. Turning to the United States presidential campaign. Ralph Nader visist Canada Monday: Ralph Nader to speak on Monday August 11, on the trading floor of old Toronto Stock Exchange building. Please circulate and post widely. Event also features partial screening of the biographical documentary, An Unreasonable Man. Now at over 5 percent in national polls, Nader is on his third run for President of the United States. Find out why he runs and what's at stake for Canada this election. Ralph Nader is the only major candidate for President of the United States standing up to implement Canadian-style universal healthcare, a Dion-style Carbon Tax, and ending the war in Iraq with a full 6-month withdrawal. Over ten million Americans say they will vote for him, and another 20 million say they would if they thought he had a chance of winning. He's on track to be on the ballot in 45 states, and has a shot at getting in the Google Presidential Debates to be held in New Orleans this September. Come see him this Monday August 11 at the Design Exchange in Downtown Toronto. Event Program:
Where: Design Exchange, 234 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5K 1B2. Time: 7:00 to 9:30 pm Ticket Price: Free, donations appreciated, RSVP to ensure seating. To RSVP, email toronto@votenader.org or call Rashi Khilnani at 647 286 0396 for more details. A huge section (regarding NPR) just got pulled because the snapshot's way too long. That will be carried over to Third for Sunday but the transition is now lost so just pretend that Nader, Bob Barr and Cynthia McKinney were just discussed. Adam Kokesh participated in last month's farce of an impeachment hearing and wrote about it at his site, "I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Bob Barr would be testifying. He didn't disappoint. He made a great opening statement about 'Preserving Constitutional Liberty through Checks and Balances and the Separation of Powers,' but the best part of his testimony was in the second round before questioning. 'What we are facing now is a Constitutional clock, and it is countind own what remains of the Constitution of this great land. I might ask then to introduce for the record the disappearing Bill of Rights. This is the Bill of Rights that we as members of the Judiciary Committee know [he holds up a copy of the Bill of Rights] as adopted in 1791. [he flips it over to reveal a copy of the Bill of Rights that is largely redacted] This is what it is fast becoming.' You know it's a sad day when a former Congressman has to submit the Bill of Rights for the record in a Congressional hearing!" Kokesh shares many of his observations in the post and also includes Barr's written statement to the committee. The hearing was a farce. As Kokesh points out the Democrats "seemed to be really trying to make case for their won party's reelection. They failed. As petulant and petty as the Republicans were throughout the hearing, Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican, hit the nail on the head: 'It seems that we are hosting an anger management class. This hearing will not cause us to impeach the president; it will only serve to impeach Congress's credibility.' The Democrats have become a sorry excuse for an opposition party. I don't think any of the many potentially deserving members of the Bush Administration will ever be impeached for the same reason that we didn't have impeachment hearings today or even months ago. The Democrats are just as corrupt, and complicit. Spineless Democrats are Neocon Appeasers and the blood is on their hands too." He goes on to predict that voters will be driven to the Libertarian Party (Bob Barr is the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee). The entire post is worth reading in full. Adam Kokesh is, of course, an Iraq War veteran and the co-chair of IVAW. His remarks are him writing for himself. IVAW is a diverse and growing group committed to ending the illegal war but it does not require that members belong to one political party (or any). Nor do they confuse their organization with a get-out-the-vote movement; instead, they are bringing an end to the illegal war. Matt Gonzalez is Ralph Nader's running mate. He and Ralph spoke at Sebastopol on Sunday and NPR didn't consider that 'news' apparently. A real broadcast journalist did. Which is why Bonnie Faulkner devoted the hour of her KPFA Wednesday show to providing the voices shut out by the media. Yesterday we noted some of Ralph's speech and we'll note some of Matt's speech today. Bonnie Faulkner hosts Guns and Butter, [Here for KPFA archive.] Matt is speaking of how he and Ralph recently held a campaign event in Austin, Texas. Matt Gonzalez: It was vey interesting to see that the weekly newspaper sort of put an ad about our appearance and they wrote something like, "Maybe Ralph will apologize for the last eight years?" And, you know, I thought -- I thought it was amusing sort-of, but then I started getting angry about it and i thought to myself, "Well wait a second, who should be apologizing? Who's voted for this war? Who voted for the Patriot Act? Who supports all these appropriations? Who supports the FISA bill?" I mean at some point there has to be responsibility taken for these positions. And this idea that it all belongs at the feet of Ralph Nader is just so absurd that it's insulting to our intelligence. The war in Iraq is probably one of the ugliest things we've ever engaged in. Nancy Pelosi told us, 'Elect me the Speaker [of the House of Representatives] and I'll get you out of the war.' Well I want you to know when she was not the speaker we put $116 billion into the war. She became the Speaker January of 2007, that amount went up by $50 billion. $50 billion more. From $116 to $165. This year, it went up to $189 -- so another $20 billion on top of that. What's wrong with our country? What's wrong with our opposition party that they can -- with a straight face -- tell you that the problem with this country is that candidates who hold views different than the ones that they hold are somehow not allowed to engage in the democratic process and not allowed to get out there and try to get our ideas out? Ralph Nader and I are fighting to end the war in Iraq. We want single-payer health care. We want to reform the Taft-Hartley law that has really taken the strength out of labor -- that's essentially outlawed general strikes, jurisdictional strikes, secondary boycotts, all kinds of things the labor movement can't do anymore. Now when I think about what was the problem in 2000 I'm just awestruck that so little has been done to cure the problem that we have in this democracy. Two things happened. We let somebody get announced and declared the president of the United States who got less votes than one of the other candidates. And we let someone be declared the winner who didn't even have the majority of the vote. Now we're all intelligent people, we can figure out how we would fix this problem: We would mandate that the winner would have to get over 50% of the vote. That would be that. How complicated is that? How is it that all the brain power in the Democratic and Republican Parties can't figure that out? Well first off for the Democrats, let me say this: "You like to invoke the name Ralph Nader but you never invoke the name Ross Perot who won 19% of the vote and 'elected' Bill Clinton president in 1992 with 43% or less of the vote. Clinton got less percentage of the vote than our current president did in 2000. But you never hear about." So the first thing I want to say is the antiquated line, you know, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. There is a reason why these political parties don't want to change the system. It's not because they don't know how. It's that if they were to change the system, the political spectrum would widen. What's possible in this country would widen. And they would whether have arbitrary outcomes and be in power roughly half the time than to fix the problem and really change American democracy. So if they're not willing to change the problem then aren't we rewarding them when we attack Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez and all the other candidates out there that are trying to talk about the real issues? Now it's astounding to me that Barack Obama likes to say 'Well . . .' -- for his explanation why he can't do the things that need to be done and take the positions that he should take, he likes to say -- 'super heroes don't get elected in politics.' Well, you know, there are no super heroes in the Canadian legislature that passed health care for their citizens. The [US] legislatures that vote against the Patriot Act are not super heroes. They're human beings like we are who believe in due process and equal protection and want a citizenry that isn't at the whim of governmental invasion of privacy. That's -- that's -- it's fundamental. There's a whole group of people out there that are trying to make apologies for the Democratic nominee, saying, 'Well he's only moving to the right now that he's secured the nomination.' It's not true. It's not true. Barack Obama supported the Republican Class Action Reform Law. This was something that David Sirota wrote for The Nation -- and many of their columnists made fun of -- they said 'This is a big business bonaza.' John Kerry voted against it, Hillary Clinton voted against it. The Democratic nominee has always supported limiting pain and suffering damages and medical malpractice cases -- favoring the wealthy in effect, those with good jobs over those with poor ones. He's opposed getting any kind of royalties from the mining of public lands -- the hard rock minerals on public lands. He voted for the Energy Policy Act in 2005 -- a vote that [John] McCain even opposed in 2005 Mobil Exxon, as we all know, has record profits now of over $40 billion a year. In 2005 they had record profits of over $35 billion a year and one of the Chicago newspapers -- in response to Obama's vote for this thing -- pointed out that it was an odd time to be dishing out oil-welfare. You know? Because we were giving tax breaks and subsidies in greater amounts than we were investing money in alternative energy. This is a candidate that opposes gay marriage. He has come out in response to progressives saying 'What are you doing -- what are you talking about with this faith-based initiative stuff?' And you know what he does? He scoffs at progressives and says, 'You have not been listening to me.' Well listen, we are listening to you now. We have listened to you with your FISA vote, with your 'change' on off-shore drilling, with your condemnation of a Supreme Court opinion related to the death penalty and you don't deserve our vote. You're not going to get it. And if you give these candidates your vote, you're guaranteeing that the system stays in place. You're guaranteeing that they can just say one thing to you and change their mind afterwards. One of the most notorious recent things that Obama said that just is astounding relates NAFTA. First off, he's campaigning in the primary and he's saying to everybody, he says 'I don't think NAFTA has been good for Americans and I never have." Well it turns out that an AP writer goes back and look at his -- a guy named Calvin Woodward -- goes back and looks at his Senate campaign in 2004 and guess what? At the time Obama said the US should pursue more deals such as NAFTA and argued that his opponent's calls for tarrifs would spark a trade war. Okay? So now he's against NAFTA, okay? He's in a tight race with Hillary Clinton, he's against NAFTA now, maybe he's figured out that NAFTA has created a scenario where we have displaced millions of Mexican workers, caused the migration to the north because we're subsidizing corn, for instance, dumping it in Mexican markets and ruining their agricultural system. What would you do in that situation? So now he tells -- he's in a fight with Clinton over who's against NAFTA more. He wins the nomination in effect and he gets interviewed by a writer for Fortune magazine, June 18th, Nina Easton, Washington editor, asking him, 'What about NAFTA, you said you would invoke the six month clause to unilaterally get out of it?' He says, 'Well, you know, sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified." So he went from calling it devastating and a big mistake to it's just rhetoric. And that's what we're supposed to buy into? We're supposed to buy into political rhetoric because we're not allowed to have better candidates? We're not allowed to have candidates that are saying, "Come on, we can have a better country. We can change this around"? The Democrats . .. You know, if voting for complacency and capitulation and appeasement worked, I would advocate it. It's not working. It's just not working. And notice they tell us 'If we can just have this, we'll win. If we can just have this next thing, we'll change everything.' I love how these US Senators run around and say, "Well if I were president the home morgate crisis wouldn't have happened and the oil prices wouldn't be what they are." You've been in the United States Senate, what the hell have you been doing there? Why do we have to elect -- give you a promotion, when you're asleep on the job. Right? Now you counter that, you counter that with Ralph Nader's history of achieving legislative accomplishments as an outsider. How does his record match up against Senator McCain's and Senator Obama's? Right? I mean Freedom of Information Act, Clean Air, Clean Water, all the automotive work, all the consumer protection work. a lifetime of trying to wake up the American public to stand up and fight back and not to take this anymore. Right? Imagine what it is to go into a progressive town and have a progressive publication say "Maybe they'll apologize for the last eight years?" It's really gross. It's not the way to treat Americans participating in a democracy trying to tell people, 'Come on, let's try to fix this.' I want to just close by making reference to the historical examples I think are important to keep in mind. There were candidates in the past that people said, "Don't vote for them. You're throwing your vote away if you vote for them. You know people like Eugene Debbs who ran for president a number of times and, you know, he thought we should have the forty-hour work week, you know? He thought women should be allowed to vote. Imagine that? The radical concept that women were 'advanced enough' intellectually and 'mature enough' that they could vote. This was actually a discussion in our society and it was Eugene Debbs that was saying "Yes." And maybe he got 6% of the vote, the best he ever did was 6%. So if you had lived in that time and somebody had said, "Don't vote for Eugene Debbs, you're throwing your vote away" -- what would you have said to them? Now with this historical lens to look back. How do we break through things? And you go even further back, you go to the Liberty Party of the 1840s James Birney advocating abolition of slavery. He can get 1% of the vote. You're throwing your vote away if you vote for him apparently. Well I don't believe that and I hope that you don't. I think it takes a lot of courage to be someone like Ralph Nader who is being attacked for standing up in a democracy and trying to articulate views that the other candidates are essentially throwing away, rejecting, you know? And I think we are at that historical moment are we going to vote for what we believe in or are we just going to keep buying into rhetoric about "hope" and "change" that it's already been proven to us is false? Thank you. This is it. Our accounting team has decided to cut off our primary season online donations this Monday. This means no more matching funds from the federal government after this weekend. If you've already contributed, but have yet to donate up to $250, then this is your last chance to bump it up to $250 and have it matched. If you haven't donated at all this is your last chance to have your contribution -- up to $250 -- doubled. If you give $50, the government will give us $50. If you give $100, the government will give us $100. If you give us $250, the government will give us $250. But we are running out of time. We need you to do two things now: One -- forward this urgent matching funds call to action to everyone you know. And two -- make your donations double by giving up to $250 right now. Our green eye shade people tell us it's time to shift to the general campaign. It's time for Ralph to mount his 50 state campaign. It's time to mount an effort to get Ralph in the debates. And whatever our green eye shade people tell us to do, we do. So, here we go. Time is running out. And double your money, double our possibilities. And after you hit contribute, sit back and watch Ralph Nader later today on C-Span. Ralph will be discussing his plan to empty the prisons of non-violent drug offenders and fill them with corporate criminals at a 10am EST press conference. (Click here for C-span daily TV schedule.) And remember, for a contribution of $100 or more to our campaign between now and Sunday night, we will send to you an autographed copy of Ralph's rousing call to arms -- Civic Arousal and a copy of No Debate -- the classic expose of the corporate control of the Presidential debates. So, donate now. We'll ship you the books. And sit back and watch Ralph on C-Span. Together, we are making a difference. Onward |
anna badkhen
ali al-mashakheel
nick schifrin
Other Items
From Courage to Resist:
War resister Robin Long was extradited from Canada. Many US war resisters remain in Canada and the message can be sent that the world is watching. To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do." The Robin items mentions Garrett Reppenhagen and Lee Zaslofsky and you can refer to the July 28th snapshot for some coverage of their actions to show support for Robin. There's a transcript of James Branum discussing Robin's case (and a link to this video) in the August 5th snapshot.
Since we're on the topic of Canada, let's again note this upcoming event for the Ralph Nader campaign:
That is this Monday. Let's move to Iraq and we'll note Sudarsan Raghavan and Ernesto Londono's "In Iraq, Regional Politics Heats Up" (Washington Post) which is a lengthy article and apparently other US reporters stationed in Iraq tired themselves out just watching the two produce the article. That would explain yet another day of no article filed from Iraq in the New York Times today. McClatchy Newspapers is always working -- Sahar Issa, Laith Hammoudi, and all the other Iraqi and US reporters stationed in Iraq. Leila Fadel's "U.S. agrees to set withdrawal date with Iraq" offers a look at what's being said about the upcoming treaty:
The United States and Iraq are nearing completion of negotiations on a security agreement that would pull American troops out of Iraqi cities by next July and foresees all U.S. combat troops gone from Iraq by 2011, according to two Iraqi officials who are familiar with the negotiations.
If you're e-mailing about the garbage on Democracy Now! this morning, Ava and I will address that nonsense Sunday at Third. Preview? An Embarrassment of Democratic Cheerleading and Artistic Ignorance.
And we're expecting to include Bill Moyers Journal in it -- not the segment worth watching ("the business of poverty") but the stand-up routine a columnist will offer. You won't want to miss it.
NOW on PBS features Pakistani documentarian Sabiha Sumar discussing her film Dinner With the President -- her documentary on Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan. On PBS' Washington Week, it's just Gwen and the fellows. AP's Charles Babington and Wall St. Journal's David Wessel are among the guests. All three PBS shows begin airing tonight in most markets but check your local listings because local stations may air at different times and on different days -- especially true last week for Billie who e-mailed she just wanted to catch Moyers last Friday but instead got a really bad (badly lit, badly shot) oldies concert (for some PBS stations, it's pledge drive time again).
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
robin long
leila fadel
mcclatchy newspapers
the washington post
sudarsan raghavan
erensto londono
washington week
charles babington
david wessel
bill moyers journal
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War resister Robin Long was extradited from Canada. Many US war resisters remain in Canada and the message can be sent that the world is watching. To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do." The Robin items mentions Garrett Reppenhagen and Lee Zaslofsky and you can refer to the July 28th snapshot for some coverage of their actions to show support for Robin. There's a transcript of James Branum discussing Robin's case (and a link to this video) in the August 5th snapshot.
Since we're on the topic of Canada, let's again note this upcoming event for the Ralph Nader campaign:
Ralph Nader to speak on Monday August 11, on the trading floor of old Toronto Stock Exchange building.
Please circulate and post widely.
Event also features partial screening of the biographical documentary, An Unreasonable Man.
Now at over 5 percent in national polls, Nader is on his third run for President of the United States.
Find out why he runs and what's at stake for Canada this election.
Ralph Nader is the only major candidate for President of the United States standing up to implement Canadian-style universal healthcare, a Dion-style Carbon Tax, and ending the war in Iraq with a full 6-month withdrawal. Over ten million Americans say they will vote for him, and another 20 million say they would if they thought he had a chance of winning. He's on track to be on the ballot in 45 states, and has a shot at getting in the Google Presidential Debates to be held in New Orleans this September. Come see him this Monday August 11 at the Design Exchange in Downtown Toronto.
Event Program:
- Screening of a portion of An Unreasonable Man, the acclaimed documentary on Ralph Nader
- Ralph Nader Remarks on the US Presidential Election: What's at stake for Canada?
- Q and A with Ralph Nader
Where: Design Exchange, 234 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5K 1B2.
Time: 7:00 to 9:30 pm
Ticket Price: Free, donations appreciated, RSVP to ensure seating.
To RSVP, email toronto@votenader.org or call Rashi Khilnani at 647 286 0396 for more details.
Please circulate and post widely.
The United States and Iraq are nearing completion of negotiations on a security agreement that would pull American troops out of Iraqi cities by next July and foresees all U.S. combat troops gone from Iraq by 2011, according to two Iraqi officials who are familiar with the negotiations.
"The tactical team is finished and it's a closed deal, but remember that we've been through this before and every time we close a deal it's reopened," said a senior official who's been participating in the talks.
The official said that the deal, once completed, would be perhaps the most restrictive agreement the United States had with a country where it had troops.
"We've seen all the status of forces agreements with other countries," the official said. "This is the best that the Americans have conceded."
The official asked not to be identified because the deal is still being negotiated.
Another official, Ali al Adeeb, a senior member of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's Dawa party, said he'd been briefed on the negotiations and he confirmed the details.
Last Chance to Have Your Contribution Doubled
This is it.
Our accounting team has decided to cut off our primary season online donations this Monday.
This means no more matching funds from the federal government after this weekend.
If you've already contributed, but have yet to donate up to $250, then this is your last chance to bump it up to $250 and have it matched.
If you haven't donated at all this is your last chance to have your contribution -- up to $250 -- doubled.
If you give $50, the government will give us $50.
If you give $100, the government will give us $100.
If you give us $250, the government will give us $250.
But we are running out of time.
We need you to do two things now:
One -- forward this urgent matching funds call to action to everyone you know.
And two -- make your donations double by giving up to $250 right now.
Our green eye shade people tell us it's time to shift to the general campaign.
It's time for Ralph to mount his 50 state campaign. It's time to mount an effort to get Ralph in the debates.
And whatever our green eye shade people tell us to do, we do.
So, here we go.
Time is running out.
And double your money, double our possibilities.
And after you hit contribute, sit back and watch Ralph Nader later today on C-Span.
Ralph will be discussing his plan to empty the prisons of non-violent drug offenders and fill them with corporate criminals at a 10am EST press conference. (Click here for C-span daily TV schedule.)
And remember, for a contribution of $100 or more to our campaign between now and Sunday night, we will send to you an autographed copy of Ralph's rousing call to arms -- Civic Arousal and a copy of No Debate -- the classic expose of the corporate control of the Presidential debates.
So, donate now.
We'll ship you the books.
And sit back and watch Ralph on C-Span.
Together, we are making a difference.
Onward
The Nader Team
PS: What you did yesterday was nothing short of remarkable. We raised close to $15,000 yesterday on our way to our $100,000 goal by Sunday night. We're only $25,000 away. Thank you. Now, we're real close. Let's push it over the top.
Your contribution could be doubled. Public campaign financing may match your contribution total up to $250.
If you're e-mailing about the garbage on Democracy Now! this morning, Ava and I will address that nonsense Sunday at Third. Preview? An Embarrassment of Democratic Cheerleading and Artistic Ignorance.
And we're expecting to include Bill Moyers Journal in it -- not the segment worth watching ("the business of poverty") but the stand-up routine a columnist will offer. You won't want to miss it.
NOW on PBS features Pakistani documentarian Sabiha Sumar discussing her film Dinner With the President -- her documentary on Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan. On PBS' Washington Week, it's just Gwen and the fellows. AP's Charles Babington and Wall St. Journal's David Wessel are among the guests. All three PBS shows begin airing tonight in most markets but check your local listings because local stations may air at different times and on different days -- especially true last week for Billie who e-mailed she just wanted to catch Moyers last Friday but instead got a really bad (badly lit, badly shot) oldies concert (for some PBS stations, it's pledge drive time again).
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
robin longleila fadelmcclatchy newspapersthe washington postsudarsan raghavanerensto londono
now on pbs
pbswashington weekcharles babingtondavid wesselbill moyers journal
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