Pesh merga

AFP reports that Jalawla today was the site of a raid by the Iraqi police on the Kuridsh pesh merga and, citing Salah Koikha ("spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan"), 1 pesh merga member was killed during the raid. Reuters adds that 1 Iraqi police office officer died.





The raid took place in Diyala Province where the pesh merga has prevented Iraqi forces from enterting certain areas such as Khanaquin (see Monday's snapshot). From India's Economic Times' "Oil wealth fans ethnic flames in Iraqi town:"





In a mirror image of Kirkuk, the Kurdish town of Khanaqin near the border with Iran that holds sizeable oil reserves is being exposed to ethnic tensions and rival territorial claims. The local Kurdish political leadership warns that the area could see an ethnic explosion, as they call for Khanaqin to join the adjoining autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq.


They want to rebuild the town through the international oil boom. "What we are telling the government is simple. Implement the constitutional provision for a referendum for people in Khanaqin to decide their future," said Mala Bakhtyar, a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdish political party of Iraq's President Jalal Talabani.


"If they don't do that, then there will be political trouble and military trouble. Yes, there will be an explosion of violence," he told a journalist touring the town in Diyala province. Along the 170-kilometre (110-mile) road from Baghdad to Khanaqin are grim reminders of trouble.

The New York Times takes the second day in print off from Iraq. Which is all the more hilarious when you consider the never-writes-about-Iraq Gail Collins shows up with an insufferable column today where she briefly marvels over how Iraq has fallen off the radar.

In some of today's violence, Reuters notes a Mosul car bombing that claimed 1 life, a Baghdad roadside bombing that injured one police officer, Iraqi soldiers shot dead 2 suspects in Mosul and a shooting attack on "a member of Baaj local council and his wife" in which the man wounded.

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Iraq snapshot

Friday, September 26, 2008.  Chaos and violence continue, the US military announced another death, did the Obama-Biden plan for Iraq slip out accidentally, and more.   Starting in Iraq.  The Parliament passed a bill for provincial elections that now awaits approval (or rejection) by the presidency council.  This afternoon, the New York Times' Eric Owles posted at Baghdad Bureau an audio conversation between the paper's Iraq-based correspondents Alissa J. Rubin and Stephen Farrell discussing the bill.  Excerpt:   Alissa J. Rubin: Well they were under pressure to pass a law actually three or four months ago.  The idea had originally been -- and the requirement was that they would hold provincial  elections by Oct. 1st.  That was in one of the previous laws they passed and I'm not, I cannot remember in which one.  And that, obviously, that deadline was missed when they were unable to agree pretty much in May to an election law.  And  then as the summer wore on it became clear that they may not even be able to have them this year.  But there was a gathering upset, some anger, frustration from political groups that were not represented or are not represented now in the provincial councils and there was a strong feeling that if they wanted to maintain stability they needed to give those people a place at the table -- at least, although perhaps not the size place that they wanted but at least they have to include them in some way.   Stephen Farrell: So it's not just a technical question, it actually matters for the future stability of the country is that what you're --   Alissa J. Rubin: Yes, it matters a great deal.  And there are two levels on which it matters.  First, it matters because in some areas, notably Anbar Province to some extent and in Salahuddin and in several of the other northen provinces where there are large numbers of Sunnis there is this new movement, the "Awakening" Councils which are more tribal, local people, which are beginning to really represent a lot of the interests of the people living in those areas but the provincial councils which are the centers of power in these largely Sunni provinces are dominated by one political party -- the Iraqi Islamic Party -- and a few other smaller parties but that is the dominant one and  those people don't necessarily represent or don't, in some cases, don't at all represent the people in the region. And so the "Awakeing" Councils and the "Awakening" leaders would like to have a chance to be elected and to weild power there.  So that's very important and if they don't weild power they will -- or if they aren't allowed to weild power, there's a real risk that they will return to violence.  Many of them were insurgents, not all, but certainly some of them. And it would not be a very representative situation. The same to some extent is true in the south as well which is predominately Shia. You have a large numbers of  people loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shi'ite cleric, and they're very much -- in some provinces they are absolutely the majority and they don't have any place on the provincial councils or they have just one or two seats and the council?  Say thirty, thirty-five members . So they are not able to influence how the council is governed.  So it's important for stability to have those people also have their voices heard and be able to sort of plot the course of events.   Stephen Farrell: The provincial election laws sounds incredibly technical but what it seemed to me when I was thinking about it is that we hear all the time out on the street out in the provinces that it's a bit like a game of musical chairs.  That the last time the music stopped four years ago some people weren't sitting on a chair, some people weren't in the room, some people weren't even in the country -- in those blunt terms.  Broadly speaking, is that roughly what we're talking about?  People demanding that the new reality on the ground be recognized.   Alissa J. Rubin: Absolutely that's what's happening and it's very important not just for the provincial elections.  But these provincial elections are going to be something of a dress rehearsal for the national elections -- the Parliamentary elections that will be held at the end of 2009.  And so it's quite important that more people be included before those elections are held so that those elections also, or that body, Parliament, begins to represent a bit better the country as a whole.  At the moment, there's still quite a few people left out.  Many of them didn't vote in the last election because they didn't want to vote in the country that they viewed as an occupied nation -- occupied by the Americans.  So they abstained but the result is that they didn't end up with any power and yet they are here and there more and more influential for a variety of reasons depending upon which part of the country you're in.   Stephen Farrell: So boiling it down, what we have is that the Sunnis would argue the Kurds are very over represented in areas such as Mosul where the Sunnis did not take part in the last round of elections and I think that certain Sunni parties in Anbar who didn't even exist four years ago would now be saying, "Well we are the Awakening.  We are the ones who brought peace to Anbar.  It's time for the old guard to move aside and for our contribution to the country to be recognized."  I mean, in effect, people crying out for recognition of realities of achievements made over the last four years.   Before moving on further with the various factions in Iraq, last Friday's snapshot mentioned an article by Leila Fadel. As noted Saturday, "U.S. strike kills civilians, Iraqis say" was written by Leila Fadel and Laith Hammoudi.  That was my mistake.  My apologies.  This is in the Friday snapshot because Trina and Betty post that one and it saves them having to copy and paste from another snapshot during the week.   Back to factions.  Kurdish friend Peter W. Galbraith makes a series of hypothesis in "Is This a 'Victory'?" (New York Review of Books) but what should raise eye brows is a declaration he makes.  (Someone get Tom Hayden a chair.  He'll need to sit down. We'll get to it.)  Galbraith sketches out a scenario where all the factions are in direct competition and opposition.  That's in part to his own desire to represent the desires of the Kurdish region by advocating that Iraq not be a nation but a federation.  Tom-Tom's long had a problem with Senator Joe Biden's support for a fedeartion.  The popular term for that, which Biden rejects, is "partition."  Galbraith has long favored a partition.  This is not the Iraqis making that decision but it being imposed upon them.  (The Kurds have long favored partition.)  Near the end of the article, Galbraith -- an Obama inner-circle accolade of many years -- makse some critiques of Sentator John McCain including: "He has denounced the Obama-Biden plan for a decentralized state but has said nothing about how he would protect Iraq's Kurds, the only committed American allies in the country."    What?    The Obama-Biden plan?  That was once Biden's proposal, long before he was on the Democratic Party's presidential ticket in the v.p. slot.  But Obama supports partitioning Iraq?  Again, Galbraith is part of Barack's inner circle.  It's not fair to call him an "advisor" because he goes so very far back.  (He is the one who, in fact, introduced Barack to  Samantha Power in a kind of War Hawk mixer.  Power, who, for the record, also supports partition.) What was once the Biden plan, Galbraith inadvertantly alerts, is now the Obama-Biden plan.    Tuesday's snapshot noted the Defense Dept press briefing by Lt Gen Lloyd Austin III where he attempted to sell the October 1st 'inclusion' of (some of) the "Awakening" Councils into the central government. NPR's JJ Sutherland attempted to figure out what the 54,000 members being moved over means and what their duties will be in Baghdad since, at present, they run checkpoints.  Repeatedly, Austin demonstrated no awareness of what Sutherland was asking:   JJ Sutherland: Sir, I understand that but I'[m saying, "What happens in October?  I understand eventually you want to have them be plumbers or electricians.  But in October, there are a lot of checkpoints that have been manned by the Sons of Iraq.  Are those checkpoints all going to go away?  Are they only going to be staffed by Iraqi police now?  That's my question.  It's not eventually, it's next month.   Lt Gen Lloyd Austin: Yeah.  Next month the Iraqi government will begin to work their way through this.  And there's no question that some of them, some of the checkpoints, many of the checkpoints, will be -- will be manned by Iraqi security forces.  In some cases, there may be Sons of Iraq that will be taksed to help with that work.  But in most cases, I think the Iraqi government will be looking to transition people into different types of jobs.   Tim Cocks (Reuters) quotes Maj Gen Jeffrey Hammond declaring in Baghdad today, "This cannot be something that's allowed to fail. If the programme were to fail, obviously these guys would be back out on the street, angry, al Qaeda out recruiting them ... We don't need that."   An Iraqi correspondent for McClatchy raises the issue of the checkpoints noting, "The Iraqi people and especially Baghdad is fed up with promises by officials and security commanders of the improving of the security situation. Millions of students in schools and universities started their new studying year this week which will add more traffic in Baghdad and more targets for the car bombs.  If the check points lessen the car bombs, we are happy with them. Instead, we have soldiers and policemen who wave for the cars to move like traffic policemen who are useless."  Meanwhile Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports on a new questionnaire being distributed by Iraqi soldiers which asks a home's occupant for the a copy of their house deed, the names of their children and the name of the family's tribe "which identifies his religion and ethnicity.  In Iraq, such a request has often been the first step toward death."     Back to the topic of elections, Iraqi elections, Alsumaria's "What's after approving Iraq elections law?"  offers an overview of the steps for approval as well as the basics on the legislation: "The law stipulates to use an open list electoral system where voters can choose specific candidates while the old law refers to a closed list system where they could only select political parties.  The new law does not cover the three provinces of Kurdistand.  Polls there will be conducted according to a separate law that the region's parliament needs to write and pass."  Tom A. Peter (Christian Science Monitor) observes that if the provisional elections are scheduled, they "will stir debate over the lack of central services, such as electricity and water.  Many suspect that incumbents will have a hard time getting voter support because of an ongoing lack of basic utilities" and quotes Baghdad Univeristy poli sci professor Abdul Jabbar Ahmad stating, "Democracy does not only mean having an election or passing a law in the legislature. A real government provides services."  And a government that doesn't puts the citizens in jeopardy.  From yesterday's snapshot: "Meanwhile AP reports 327 case -- confirmed cases -- of cholera in Iraq."  Leila Fadel (McClatchy's Baghdad Observer) notes the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction most recent report which found "only 20 percent of families outside of Baghdad province have access to sewage facitlities.  Driving through Iraq's province is all the proof one needs.  In many southern provinces the sewage runs like rivers through the towns while children play nearby and young kids swim through the dirty river water."  Remember what professor Abdul Jabbar Ahmad stated?  "A real government provides services"?  Cholera's outbreak in Iraq is now an annual summer event.  It is completely expected and little is done to prevent it.  The UN's WHO pushes societal obligations off as individual ones as if individuals are the ones at fault for the lack of electricity nad the lack of potatable water?  There has been no improvement in providing potable water, electricity continues to falter in Iraq and purchasing fuel to heat water (and make it safe) is problematic as fuel prices continue to rise. But the 'answer' is to repeat what they repeat every year and pretend that the central government in Iraq is not failing and that Nouri al-Maliki isn't sitting on billions that should have long ago been used for reconstruction. The UN is working on one water project in Iraq.  Jiro Sakaki (The Daily Yomiuri) reports that the UN's Environment Program's International Enivornmental Technology Center is attempting to save the marshlands.   In diplomatic news, Xinhua reports today a reception took place in China "to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Iraq diplomatic relations."  In other diplomatic news, at the end of this year, the UN mandate that the US has been operating under in Iraq (a mandate put in place after the start of the illegal war) expires December 31st. Puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki has twice extended it (circumventing Parliament). The White House is attempting to push through treaties (and, to circumvent the Senate, is calling them SOFAs). Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports that US Ambassador Ryan Crocker is stating Iran is attempting to prevent the puppet and the White House from reaching an agreement and that "Crocker also speculated that Iran may be tightening its ties to Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq and co-opting them from anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr, who for the last year has ordered his followers to largely refrain from violence.  He said Iran has a history of using members of political or other opposition groups in other countries to its advantage."   Damien McElroy (Telegraph of London) adds, "Iran has condemned leaked drafts of the bilateral agreement to replace the mandate. Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, replaced professional diplomats on the negotiating team with members of his private office in August, a development that has pro-Iranian politicians at the heart of the negotiations.  Baghdad maintains that US efforts to secure immunity from prosecution in Iraq for troops and contractors is an unacceptible demand. David Satterfield, the top US negotiator, travelled to Baghdad with a counter proposal but Mr Crocker admitted Mr Maliki was unwilling to concede the principle when popular opinion in Iraq was overwhelmingly opposed."  Yesterday Michel Ghandour (Al-Hurra) interviewed US Secretary of State Condi Rice at the Women Leaders Working Group in NYC:   Michel Ghandour: Madame Secretary, why do you think there's no agreement yet with the Iraqis regarding the American presence in Iraq, and what role do you think Iran is playing in this regard?   Condi Rice: Well, I don't know what role Iran is playing, but it's not for Iran to determine.  It's for the Iraqi Government and the represenatives of the Iraqi people to determine.  And it's a negotiation that's continuing that I think has actually got a good spirit of cooperation.  People do understand that without an agreement -- American forces can only operate on a legal basis, and so we need a legal basis.  But we're working very well with the Iraqis on this.  They're not easy issues, and so it takes time.  But we are working very well and we're working toward agreement.   The take-away is a question: If the US Ambassador to Iraq is telling the truth, why didn't Rice also grab the talking point yesterday?  (The question offered it to her.)   In a readily established conflict between Iraq and another country, Hurriyet reports that Turkish military planes bombed northern Iraq Thursday night "and hit 16 locations" thought to belong to the PKK.  Al Jazeera states 10 military planes were used in the bombing.  BBC quotes an unnamded PKK spokesperson saying three people were wounded in the bombings. It's a Friday.  Very little violence gets reported on Fridays.   Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 Iraqi soldier shot dead in Anbar Province (four more wounded) and 1 police officer shot dead in Anbar province (one more wounded).  Reuters notes 2 "Awakening" Council members shot dead outside Samarra and 1 person killed in Mosul.     Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division - Center Soldier was killed Sep. 25 when a roadside bomb struck a vehicle that was part of a combat patrol near Iskandariyah. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and official release by the Department of Defense. The incident is under investigation." The announcement brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq to 4173 since the start of the illegal war with 22 for the month thus far.   Turning to TV, check your local listings.  NOW on PBS explores the bailout and attempts to answer for "Americans: How will this affect me?  This week, NOW on PBS goes inside the round-the-clock efforts in Washington to craft a bailout plan of monumental proportions."  Meanwhile, tonight's debate is on -- for both of the corporatist candidates at any rate.  PBS'  Washington Week is going to do two live broadcasts on Friday.  One before the debate and one after.  Gwen's guests will include Michele Norris (NPR), Michael Duffy (Time), David Wessel (Wall St. Journal) Dan Balz (Washington Post), and a scribe for the New York Times.   Four presidential candidates are shut out of tonight's debate.  Two are Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin.  The other two?   Cynthia McKinney is the Green presidential candidate and she notes on the economic meltdown:   Last week, I posted ten points (that were by no means exhaustive) for Congressional action immediately in the wake of the financial crisis now gripping our country. At that time, the Democratic leadership of Congress was prepared to adjourn the current legislative Session to campaign, without taking any action at all to put policies in place that protect U.S. taxpayers and the global community that has accepted U.S. financial leadership. Those ten points, to be taken in conjunction with the Power to the People Committee's platform available on the campaign website at (http://votetruth08.com/index.php/resources/campaignplatform), are as follows: 1. Enactment of a foreclosure moratorium now before the next phase of ARM interest rate increases take effect; 2. elimination of all ARM mortgages and their renegotiation into 30- or 40-year loans; 3. establishment of new mortgage lending practices to end predatory and discriminatory practices; 4. establishment of criteria and construction goals for affordable housing; 5. redefinition of credit and regulation of the credit industry so that discriminatory practices are completely eliminated; 6. full funding for initiatives that eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in home ownership; 7. recognition of shelter as a right according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights to which the U.S. is a signatory so that no one sleeps on U.S. streets; 8. full funding of a fund designed to cushion the job loss and provide for retraining of those at the bottom of the income scale as the economy transitions; 9. close all tax loopholes and repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the top 1% of income earners; and 10. fairly tax corporations, denying federal subsidies to those who relocate jobs overseas repeal NAFTA. In addition to these ten points, I now add four more: 11. Appointment of former Comptroller General David Walker to fully audit all recipients of taxpayer cash infusions, including JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG, and to monitor their trading activities into the future; 12. elimination of all derivatives trading; 13. nationalization of the Federal Reserve and the establishment of a federally-owned, public banking system that makes credit available for small businesses, homeowners, manufacturing operations, renewable energy and infrastructure investments; and 14. criminal prosecution of any activities that violated the law, including conflicts of interest that led to the current crisis. Ellen Brown, author of "The Web of Debt" writes at http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/, "Such a public bank today could solve not only the housing crisis but a number of other pressing problems, including the infrastructure crisis and the energy crisis. Once bankrupt businesses have been restored to solvency, the usual practice is to return them to private hands; but a better plan for Fannie and Freddie might be to simply keep them as public institutions." Too many times politicians have told us to support the "free market." The unfolding news informs us in a most costly manner that free markets don't work. This is a financial system of their making. It's now past time for the people to have an economic system of their own. A reading of the full text on the Congressional "Agreement on Principles" for the proposed $700 billion bailout reveals the sham that this so-called agreement truly is. Today our country faces an economic 9/11. The problem that is unfolding is truly systemic and no stop-gap measures that maintain the current bankrupt structure will be sufficient to resolve this crisis of the U.S. economic engine. Today is my son's birthday. What a gift to the young people of this country if we were to present to them a clean break from the policies that produced this economic disaster, the "financial tsunami" that former Comptroller General David Walker warned us of so many months ago and instead offered them a U.S. economic superstructure that truly was their own. Power to the People! McKinney's running mate Rosa Clemente will be speaking at the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) Saturday, September 27th. Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate and he is also shut out of tonight's debate.  Nader notes that, more than any cash infusion, the country needs leadership with spine:     Congress needs to show some backbone before the federal government pours more money on the financial bonfire started by the arsonists on Wall Street. 1.Congress should hold a series of hearings and invite broad public comment on any proposed bailout. Congress is supposed to be a co-equal branch of our federal government. It needs to stop the stampede to give Bush a $700 billion check. Public hearings should be held to determine what alternatives might exist to the four-page proposal advanced by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson. 2.Whatever is ultimately done, the bailout plan should not be insulated from judicial review. Remember there is a third co-equal branch of government: the judiciary. The judiciary does not need to review each buy-and-sell decision by the Treasury Department, but there should be some boundaries established to the Treasury Department's discretion.  Judicial review is needed to ensure that unbridled discretion is not abused. 3.Sunlight is a good disinfectant. The bailout that is ultimately approved must provide for full and timely disclosure of all bailout details. This will discourage conflicts of interest and limit the potential of sweetheart deals. 4.Firms that accept government bailout monies must agree to disclose their transactions and be more honest in their accounting. They should agree to end off-the-books accounting maneuvers, for example. 5.Taxpayers must be protected by having a stake in any recovery. The bailout plan should provide opportunities for taxpayers to recoup funds that are made available to problem financial institutions, or to benefit from the financial institutions' rising stock price and increased profitability after being bailed out. 6.The current so-called "regulators" cannot be trusted. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog," must regularly review the bailout. We cannot trust the financial "regulators," who allowed the slide into financial disaster, to manage the bailout without outside monitoring. 7.It is time to put the federal cop back on the financial services beat. Strong financial regulations and independent regulators are necessary to rebuild trust in our financial institutions and to prevent further squandering of our tax dollars. The Justice Department and the SEC also need to scrutinize the expanding mess with an eye to uncovering corporate crime and misdeeds. Major news outlets are reporting that the FBI is investigating American International Group, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers. 8.Cap executive compensation and stop giving the Wall Street gamblers golden parachutes. The CEOs who have created the financial disaster should not be allowed to leave with millions in hand when so many pensioners and small shareholders are seeing their investments evaporate. The taxpayers are bailing out Wall Street so that the financial system continues to function, not to further enrich the CEOs and executives who created this mess. 9.Congress should pass the Financial Consumers' Information and Representation Act, to permit citizens to form a federally-chartered nonprofit membership organization to strengthen consumer representation in government proceedings that concern the financial services industry. As the savings and loan disasters of the 1980s and the Wall Street debacles of the last few years have demonstrated, there is an overriding need for consumers and taxpayers to have the organized means to enhance their influence on financial issues. 10.The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, separating traditional banks from investment banks, helped pave the way for the current disaster. It is time to re-regulate the financial sector. The current crisis is also leading to even further conglomeration and concentration in the financial sector. We must revive and apply antitrust principles, so that banking consumers can benefit from competition and taxpayers are less vulnerable to too-big-to-fail institutions, which merge with each other to further concentration. 11.Congress should impose a securities and derivatives speculation tax. A tax on financial trading would slow down the churning of stocks and financial instruments, and could raise substantial monies to pay for the bailout. 12.Regulators should impose greater margin requirements, making speculators use more of their own money and diminishing reckless casino capitalism. Ask your representative a few questions: "What should be done to limit banking institutions from investing in high-risk activities?" "What should be done to ensure banks are meeting proper capital standards given the financial quicksand that has spread as a result of the former Senator Phil Gramm's deregulation efforts?" And, "What is being done to protect small investors?"  P.S. Shareholders also have some work to do. They should have listened when Warren Buffett called securities derivatives a "time bomb" and "financial weapons of mass destruction." The Wall Street crooks and unscrupulous speculators use and draining of "other people's money" out of pension funds and mutual funds should motivate painfully passive shareholders to organize to gain greater authority to control the companies they own. Where is the shareholder uprising?   We've highlighted some of Jo Freeman's outstanding reporting on the 1976 political conventions recently.  Freeman also covered this year's Democratic and Republican convention for Senior Women Web and you can find her articles here.   We'll note this from her "Sarah Palin: A Risky Move and A Gift to the Women's Movement" (Senior Women Web):    Like Hillary's 2008 run for President, Ferraro's 1984 run for the second spot brought all sorts of sexism out of the closet.  It was an eye-opener for everyone. In the end, this bold, risky choice didn't seem to affect the outcome.  The exit polls showed that having a woman on the ticket was a prime concern for only a few. These voters about equally divided between those who told pollsters that they voted for a woman and those who said they voted against one.   Ferraro's candidacy had a bigger effect on those who answered the annual polling question (in a different poll):  Would you vote for "a well-qualified woman of your own party for President"? After Ferraro a party gap appeared. Republicans were 50 percent more likely than Democrats to answer "No."   Republicans have continued to say they would not vote for a well-qualified (but unnamed) woman for President at a much higher rate than Democrats.   Wonder what they will tell the pollsters this year?   Governor Sarah Palin is the v.p. nominee on the Republican ticket.  Yesterday The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric aired the second part of Couric's interview with Palin.  Excerpt:   Katie Couric: As we stand before this august building and institution, what do you see as the role of the United States in the world? Sarah Palin: I see the United States as being a force for good in the world. And as Ronald Reagan used to talk about, America being the beacon of light and hope for those who are seeking democratic values and tolerance and freedom. I see our country being able to represent those things that can be looked to … as that leadership, that light needed across the world. Couric: In preparing for this conversation, a lot of our viewers … and Internet users wanted to know why you did not get a passport until last year. And they wondered if that indicated a lack of interest and curiosity in the world. Palin: I'm not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and say go off and travel the world.  No, I've worked all my life. In fact, I usually had two jobs all my life until I had kids. I was not a part of, I guess, that culture. The way that I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world.   Part one aired Wednesday evening and both links have text and video.  As Jo Freeman noted, Palin is following in Ferraro's footsteps (Palin has publicly acknowledged that and that she follows in Hillary Clinton's footsteps as well).  Genevieve Roth (Glamour) spoke with Ferraro to get her tips for Palin and Ferraro offers many worthwhile reflections and suggestions but probably sums it up the best with this: "The bottom line is, Sarah Palin doesn't need advice from me or anyone. She wouldn't be in the position she's in if she wasn't able to deal with the campaign."     iraq alissa j. rubin the new york times stephen farrell mcclatchy newspapers leila fadel laith hammoudi the los angeles times tina susman the washington post joby warrick derek kravitz now on pbs pbs washington week michele norris dan balz david wessel damien mcelroy katie couric the cbs evening news jo freeman thomas friedman is a great man trinas kitchen

The US military announces another death

Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division - Center Soldier was killed Sep. 25 when a roadside bomb struck a vehicle that was part of a combat patrol near Iskandariyah. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and official release by the Department of Defense. The incident is under investigation." The announcement brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq to 4173 since the start of the illegal war with 22 for the month thus far.

Meanwhile Derek Kravitz offered "Army Probes Possible Toxic Exposure in Iraq" (Washington Post) Wednesday afternoon:

Senior Army officials are investigating claims that National Guardsmen were exposed to a toxin in 2003 while protecting a water pumping plant in Iraq.
Two employees with the firm Kellogg, Brown and Root told Senate Democrats in June that members of the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry division of the Indiana National Guard were exposed to sodium dichromate, despite promises from company officials that the Qarmat Ali facility in Basra, Iraq, was safe.
One employee reported seeing the plant covered in a "layer of bright orange dust" that was carried by the wind, Gannett News Service reports.

Staying with safety issues, alarms are being raised re: the security of Baghdad. An Iraqi correspondent for McClatchy contributes "Traffic Jam Again" (Inside Iraq):

People keep asking of the real benefits of having so many check points all over Baghdad with the violence starts again to show up these days after a period of freezing which didn't last long. Is this a kind of pressure message to the government? Or is something bigger than that? Is it related to the military operations in Diyala and Mosul?
The Iraqi people and especially Baghdad is fed up with promises by officials and security commanders of the improving of the security situation. Millions of students in schools and universities started their new studying year this week which will add more traffic in Baghdad and more targets for the car bombs.
If the check points lessen the car bombs, we are happy with them. Instead, we have soldiers and policemen who wave for the cars to move like traffic policemen who are useless.

The concern has been expressed directly to the US military. We'll drop back to Tuesday's snapshot to note a Monday press briefing:

Staying with the Defense Dept, Lt Gen Lloyd Austin III briefed reporters yesterday from Iraq and used "positive" and "progress" repeatedly. For what doesn't matter, check out the write up by Adam Levine (CNN). The press briefing was so much more interesting. Austin did a hard sell on the "Awakening" Council members declaring, "One of our primary focus areas as we move foward is transitioning the Sons of Iraq program to the Iraqi government. The volunteer movement that started in Anbar and spread across the rest of the country significantly contributed to the security successes that we are now taking advantage of. The Sons of Iraq have paid a heavy price fight al Qaeda and other insurgent groups, and it's important that the government of Iraq responsibly transition them into meaningful employment. Prime Minister Maliki has assured me that the government will help those who help the people of Iraq. And so next week in Baghdad the government will accept responsibility for approximately 54,000 Sons of Iraq, and we will be there to assist in the transfer. We spent the last few weeks working hand in hand with our Iraqi partners on this transition, and I'm confident that this will go well. And you should know that we will not abandon the Sons of Iraq." In response to a question from Bill McMichael of Military Times, Austin stated that there were 99,000 "Awakening" Council members and 54,000 are in Baghdad "so we will start with the Baghdad province next month and transition that element first, and then we will begin to move to other parts of the country and transition those elements." The most interesting exchange took place when JJ Sutherland (NPR) attempted to pin down Austin on what happens when the 54,000 transfer over in terms of what they do now and what they will do? Sutherland had to repeatedly bring up the issue of "Awakening" Council members currently staffing checkpoints in Baghdad and ask what happens to those checkpoints? Austin's repeated replies indicated he hadn't understood the question because no one in the US military had thought about that. Best exchange.

JJ Sutherland: Sir, I understand that but I'[m saying, "What happens in October? I understand eventually you want to have them be plumbers or electricians. But in October, there are a lot of checkpoints that have been manned by the Sons of Iraq. Are those checkpoints all going to go away? Are they only going to be staffed by Iraqi police now? That's my question. It's not eventually, it's next month.

Lt Gen Lloyd Austin: Yeah. Next month the Iraqi government will begin to work their way through this. And there's no question that some of them, some of the checkpoints, many of the checkpoints, will be -- will be manned by Iraqi security forces. In some cases, there may be Sons of Iraq that will be taksed to help with that work. But in most cases, I think the Iraqi government will be looking to transition people into different types of jobs.

At which point the Pentagon's spokesperson (DOD press office director) Gary Keck jumped in with the cry of one more question.

While the military ignores what the shift re: checkpoints in Baghdad might mean for the capitol, tensions continue on Iraq's border with Turkey. Hurriyet offers "Turkish warplanes hit 16 PKK positions in northern Iraq, army says" which explains Turkish military planes bombed northern Iraq Thursday night "and hit 16 locations" thought to belong to the PKK:

The military has not revealed any casualty figures. It said all warplanes returned safely to bases in Turkey.
Previous media reports suggest Thursday's air strikes began after 1900 GMT in two separate regions in northern Iraq. "Last night two separate regions were bombed where the PKK was believed to be taking shelter," a high-ranking Turkish security official told Reuters.
The mayor of the town of Jarawa in Iraq, Azad Wassu, said there were Turkish air strikes on the Qandil Mountains from 10 p.m. on Thursday until 12:30 a.m. The PKK confirmed the attack and said one of its members was wounded, Reuters added.

TV notes, PBS and check local listings. In many markets, the programs begin airing tonight. NOW on PBS explores the bailout:

The government's historic proposal to bail out the U.S. banking system is raising as many questions as it is offering solutions. Some in Congress are warning against reacting too quickly; others want conditions that protect homeowners, increase oversight, and limit the compensation of corporate executives.
But the number one question on the minds of Americans: How will this affect me? This week, NOW on PBS goes inside the round-the-clock efforts in Washington to craft a bailout plan of monumental proportions.
NOW's cameras follow Damon Silvers, an associate general counsel at the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest federation of labor unions, as he works to get help for working Americans in addition to bailing out financial firms in distress. Silvers, an architect of the major provisions Congressional Democrats are pushing for in the bill, provides key insight on the stake ordinary working Americans have in the fate of this proposal, and on what comes next.

Washington Week plans for . . . anything because tonight's scheduled debate remains iffy:

The nation’s financial crisis ramped up partisan and presidential politics this week putting both a rescue plan for Wall Street and the first presidential debate up in the air.
Late today [Thursday], Barack Obama and John McCain met with President Bush and Congressional Leaders at the White House to discuss the nation’s economic crisis and possible solutions but reports are that the meeting went very badly. At this hour, it’s still unclear how this will play out and whether or not there will be a presidential debate on Friday.
WASHINGTON WEEK is tracking developments and is planning two LIVE broadcasts Friday night. Gwen Ifill and our panel will have the most up-to-date details on the economic bailout plan as well as a preview of the presidential debate LIVE on WASHINGTON WEEK at 8pm (ET) on most PBS stations in the Eastern and Central time zones.
WASHINGTON WEEK is tracking developments and is planning two LIVE broadcasts Friday night -- one before and the other after PBS coverage of the debate moderated by Jim Lehrer of the NewsHour. Gwen Ifill and our panel will have the most up-to-date details on the economic bailout plan as well as a preview of the presidential debate LIVE on WASHINGTON WEEK at 8pm (ET) on most PBS stations in the Eastern and Central time zones.

Joining Gwen around the WASHINGTON WEEK table:

Michele Norris of NPR
Michael Duffy of TIME Magazine
David Wessel of The Wall Street Journal
Dan Balz of The Washington Post
John Harwood of CNBC and The New York Times

You won’t want to miss a minute of WASHINGTON WEEK on this historic week of news.

NOW on PBS will have video streaming of the latest program beginning Saturday. Washington Week will offer video and audio streaming (with a transcript to follow on Monday).

On the meltdown, Micah notes this from Team Nader:

Nader Responds to McCain/Obama/Bush White House Meeting

Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM

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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Toby Heaps, 202-441-6795

Nader Statement on Bailout, Mcain/Obama Meeting With Bush

Bailout is Big Mistake. Crackdown on Corporate Crime. Protect Homeowners.

Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez vigorously oppose Bush's $700 billion taxpayer bailout of Wall Street.

"This is not just a bailout of Wall Street" says Nader, "It's a bailing out of the bankrupt Republican and Democratic policies that have led us to where we are today with Senators John "Deregulation" McCain and Joe "MBNA" Biden leading the way.

Full Statement from Ralph Nader:

Today at 4 p.m., Senators John McCain and Barack Obama will meet with other Congressional leaders and President Bush to join the stampede to bail out Wall Street with Main Street and Elm Street's money.

Unfortunately, their rhetorical flourishes to crackdown on Wall Street and protect Main Street will not be met with substance.

The bailout ignores the needs of millions of swindled families facing foreclosure, and it squanders an opportunity to bring about real regulatory change, shareholder power and taxpayer equity that would prevent economic crises like this from happening again. Wall Street's wildly overpaid bosses are addicted to speculative gambling with other people's money. When a drug addict is facing overdose, you don't give them more needles.

We need to protect homeowners and our neighborhoods first. That's why Nader/Gonzalez support introducing a law with a 5-year sunset clause that would provide homeowners facing foreclosure the right to rent to own their homes at fair market value.

Wall Street is out of control. We need to bring some sense of accountability, transparency, and law and order back to Wall Street's crooks and speculators, or they will desperately seek socialism to bail out their criminal corporate capitalism, going to the taxpayer trough in Washington DC each time. That's why Nader/Gonzalez support a Wall Street speculation tax, starting on derivatives, which would make Wall Street less like Las Vegas, and generate enough funds to eliminate the tax burden on the first $50,000 of income for every working American.

-End-

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Meanwhile, Amy Goodman continues her long history of lying today which is only a surprise if you haven't been paying attention. Today she cozies up to homophobia (yet again -- see Marcia's "Amy Goodman and other homophobes" from last night). Goody cozies up to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian president, and refuses to challenge him. Now Bill Clinton (her most famous interview) in 2000, she can challenge. But the Red Diaper Baby is happy to let Ahmadinejad not only LIE but to smear the dead? Of course, because Goodman is a homophobe. For the reality Goody won't pursue, you can read Robert Verkaik's "A life or death decision" (Independent of London, March 6, 2008):

A gay teenager who sought sanctuary in Britain when his boyfriend was executed by the Iranian authorities now faces the same fate after losing his legal battle for asylum.
Mehdi Kazemi, 19, came to London to study English in 2004 but later discovered that his boyfriend had been arrested by the Iranian police, charged with sodomy and hanged.
In a telephone conversation with his father in Tehran, Mr Kazemi was told that before the execution in April 2006, his boyfriend had been questioned about sexual relations he had with other men and under interrogation had named Mr Kazemi as his partner.
Fearing for his own life if he returned to Iran, Mr Kazemi claimed asylum in Britain. But late in 2007 his case was refused. Terror-stricken at the prospect of deportation the young Iranian made a desperate attempt to evade deportation and fled Britain for Holland where he is now being detained amid a growing outcry from campaigners.

Back to the US presidential race, Cynthia McKinney is the Green presidential candidate:

A Gift for a Generation: A U.S. Financial System of Our Own
Thursday, 25 September 2008 20:20
A Gift for a Generation: A U.S. Financial System of Our Own

by Cynthia McKinney
September 25, 2008

Last week, I posted ten points (that were by no means exhaustive) for Congressional action immediately in the wake of the financial crisis now gripping our country. At that time, the Democratic leadership of Congress was prepared to adjourn the current legislative Session to campaign, without taking any action at all to put policies in place that protect U.S. taxpayers and the global community that has accepted U.S. financial leadership. Those ten points, to be taken in conjunction with the Power to the People Committee's platform available on the campaign website at (http://votetruth08.com/index.php/resources/campaignplatform), are as follows:

1. Enactment of a foreclosure moratorium now before the next phase of ARM interest rate increases take effect;
2. elimination of all ARM mortgages and their renegotiation into 30- or 40-year loans;
3. establishment of new mortgage lending practices to end predatory and discriminatory practices;
4. establishment of criteria and construction goals for affordable housing;
5. redefinition of credit and regulation of the credit industry so that discriminatory practices are completely eliminated;
6. full funding for initiatives that eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in home ownership;
7. recognition of shelter as a right according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights to which the U.S. is a signatory so that no one sleeps on U.S. streets;
8. full funding of a fund designed to cushion the job loss and provide for retraining of those at the bottom of the income scale as the economy transitions;
9. close all tax loopholes and repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the top 1% of income earners; and
10. fairly tax corporations, denying federal subsidies to those who relocate jobs overseas repeal NAFTA.

In addition to these ten points, I now add four more:

11. Appointment of former Comptroller General David Walker to fully audit all recipients of taxpayer cash infusions, including JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG, and to monitor their trading activities into the future;
12. elimination of all derivatives trading;
13. nationalization of the Federal Reserve and the establishment of a federally-owned, public banking system that makes credit available for small businesses, homeowners, manufacturing operations, renewable energy and infrastructure investments; and
14. criminal prosecution of any activities that violated the law, including conflicts of interest that led to the current crisis.

Ellen Brown, author of "The Web of Debt" writes at http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/, "Such a public bank today could solve not only the housing crisis but a number of other pressing problems, including the infrastructure crisis and the energy crisis. Once bankrupt businesses have been restored to solvency, the usual practice is to return them to private hands; but a better plan for Fannie and Freddie might be to simply keep them as public institutions."

Too many times politicians have told us to support the "free market." The unfolding news informs us in a most costly manner that free markets don't work. This is a financial system of their making. It's now past time for the people to have an economic system of their own. A reading of the full text on the Congressional "Agreement on Principles" for the proposed $700 billion bailout reveals the sham that this so-called agreement truly is. Today our country faces an economic 9/11. The problem that is unfolding is truly systemic and no stop-gap measures that maintain the current bankrupt structure will be sufficient to resolve this crisis of the U.S. economic engine.

Today is my son's birthday. What a gift to the young people of this country if we were to present to them a clean break from the policies that produced this economic disaster, the "financial tsunami" that former Comptroller General David Walker warned us of so many months ago and instead offered them a U.S. economic superstructure that truly was their own.

Power to the People!


Click here to read Cynthia's previous column (link goes to Black Agenda Report). McKinney's running mate Rosa Clemente will be speaking at the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) Saturday, September 27th. Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate and Tori notes this from Team Nader:

Nader Demands to be Included in Debates

Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM

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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Washington) Toby Heaps, 202-471-5833, toby@votenader.org

NADER TO OBAMA/MCCAIN: LET ME IN!

For the economy's sake, there is no choice but to end war and make peace.

On the eve of the first Presidential debate on foreign policy and in the midst of the biggest economic meltdown since 1929, Ralph Nader presents a simple solution for fixing the biggest hole in the taxpayer's pocket and challenges McCain/Obama to debate him on it.

"My campaign is on the ballot in 45 states and is polling at around 5 percent nationally, higher in several key swing states. I have earned a podium in the debates, and, unlike McCain and Obama, my foreign policy brings our soldiers back from Iraq and Afghanistan. This will save us a few hundred billion dollars in direct and deferred costs each year."

Mr. Nader elaborated: "The fact that a candidate can call for changing the date of the debate only two days before it is scheduled indicates how easy it would be for the candidates to also call for the inclusion of the leading third party and independent candidates, which would bring fresh ideas to the table on how our country can most effectively tackle this heavy economic challenge, starting with curbing our imperialist foreign policy."

Please see Ralph Nader's case to open up the debates in today's edition of USA Today


Nader and Obama Girl join forces to open up debates
(check Youtube for this video after 2pm)

See blog in favor of giving voice to the third of voters not with two parties


-END-

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'Progress' in Iraq

According to the July quarterly report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction only 20 percent of families outside of Baghdad province have access to sewage facilities.
Driving through Iraq's province is all the proof one needs. In many southern provinces the sewage runs like rivers through the towns while children play nearby and young kids swim through the dirty river water.
Some 66 percent of the cholera cases broke out in the southern province of Babel which is a concern, the United Nations statement said. The WHO is monitoring 950 surveillance sites in Iraq that watch for suspected cases and UNICEF is working with partners to "provide water, hygiene supplies and information for over 45,000 people and schools."
The cholera outbreak has been the talk of Iraqi newspapers over the past few weeks.

The above is from Leila Fadel's "Cholera" (Baghdad Observer, McClatchy Newspapers). The cholera outbreak was totally expected and, yet again, the UN's WHO is pushing a societal issue off on people. There has been no improvement in providing potable water, electricity continues to falter in Iraq and purchasing fuel to heat water (and make it safe) is problematic as fuel prices continue to rise. But the 'answer' is to repeat what they repeat every year and pretend that the central government in Iraq is not failing and that Nouri al-Maliki isn't sitting on billions that should have long ago been used for reconstruction.

In other 'progress,' Alsumaria's "What's after approving Iraq elections law?" explores the recent passage by the Iraqi Parliament of legislation for provincial elections:

First, the parliament needs to submit the law to presidency council, headed by President Jalal Talabani, for approval. The Electoral Commission will then set a date for the polls. Despite that the Parliament has urged the vote to take place before January 31, the commission’s head said it might need four to five months before completing the organizing work.
Why has been the law controversial?
The elections were due on October 1, but were delayed on account of months of bickering over how to conduct polls in the northern city of Kirkuk disputed between Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen. In result, a compromise was reached stipulating to delay elections in Kirkuk and form a committee of representatives of all parties to follow up the issue and present recommendations for resolving the dispute to parliament by March 31.
What are the key points of the new law?
The law stipulates to use an open list electoral system where voters can choose specific candidates while the old law refers to a closed list system where they could only select political parties. The new law does not cover the three provinces of Kurdistan. Polls there will be conducted according to a separate law that the region's parliament needs to write and pass.

Provincial elections, if the law is signed off by the council, are not expected to take place until next year. At the end of this year, the UN mandate that the US has been operating under in Iraq (a mandate put in place after the start of the illegal war) expires December 31st. Puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki has twice extended it (circumventing Parliament). The White House is attempting to push through treaties (and, to circumvent the Senate, is calling them SOFAs). Tina Susman's "U.S. blames Iran for delay in Iraq pact" (Los Angeles Times) reports that US Ambassador Ryan Crocker is stating Iran is attempting to prevent the puppet and the White House from reaching an agreement:

Crocker also speculated that Iran may be tightening its ties to Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq and co-opting them from anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr, who for the last year has ordered his followers to largely refrain from violence. He said Iran has a history of using members of political or other opposition groups in other countries to its advantage.
"I think what we may be seeing is a situation in which these groups or their successors are far more tightly linked to Tehran and perhaps less linked to Sadr," Crocker said in an interview.
That could mean a resurgence of militia activity if fighters decide the time is right. Coming at a time of increasing Iraqi government sovereignty and declining American power here, and with provincial elections planned by Jan. 31 and national elections next year, there is plenty at stake, particularly in the oil-rich south where Shiite parties with strong Iranian links will vie for power.
A United Nations mandate authorizing the U.S. troop presence in Iraq expires at the end of this year. Crocker said he was convinced the Iraqi government and people would not put up with Iranian meddling after the bloodshed of March and April, when hundreds died in clashes between Shiite militias and Iraqi and U.S. forces in a government crackdown.

No 'progress' unless you redefine the term. Lloyd notes Joby Warrick's "Air Force Instructor Details Harsh Interrogations" (Washington Post):

The techniques themselves -- forced nudity, sleep deprivation, painful shackling -- had been used for years to prepare U.S. fighter pilots for possible capture by an enemy. But Col. Steven Kleinman, an Air Force instructor, said he was shocked in 2003 to see the same harsh methods used haphazardly on Iraqis in a U.S. prison camp.
"It had morphed into a form of punishment for those who wouldn't cooperate," said Kleinman, a career intelligence officer and survival-school instructor.
In dramatic testimony before a Senate panel yesterday, he gave a rare account of how the Pentagon adapted an Air Force training program to squeeze information from captured Iraqis.

In presidential politics, Miguel notes this from Team Nader:

Pass It On: Our Own Agenda- 10 Policies For a Better America

Posted by Ashley Sanders on Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 07:40:00 PM

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You’ve heard it before: Ralph Nader is too radical to be president. But is he too radical for the 73% of Americans who say corporations don’t pay enough taxes? Too radical for the 80% who want to increase the minimum wage? Too radical for the 64% who favor a national health care program, or the 56% calling for a renegotiation of NAFTA?

A recent Yes! article suggests that Ralph Nader may just be mainstream America’s dream candidate.

Onward!

Ashley Sanders
The Nader Team

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Also from Team Nader, Emily notes this:

The Odd Couple: Ralph Nader and Obama Girl Share Office Space and Ideas about the Presidential Debate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4nIpvhlgpo

Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM

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News Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For interviews with Obama Girl, Melissa Klein, LaunchSquad for Barely Political, 415 625 8555


For interviews with Ralph Nader, Toby Heaps, 202-441-6795

Who: Ralph Nader, Obama Girl, and Jesse Ventura

What: First episode of new online sitcom: /Ralph Nader and Obama Girl Show (Special Guest Appearance by Jesse Ventura)/

Where: Washington, DC, Nader for President 2008 HQ

Why: The economic crisis has resulted in some odd political couples over the past few days. Now we have Ralph Nader and Obama Girl sharing office space in the new sitcom "The Obama Girl and Ralph Nader Show", with a special appearance from Jesse Ventura. Both Obama Girl and Nader agree, this is precisely the time when the candidates should be appearing before the nation.


*Short Description of First Episode*: Despite the troubles with our nation's economy Obama Girl whole heartedly agrees with her man that this is precisely the time when the presidential candidates should be appearing before the nation. But if McCain does back out, fear not...Obama Girl has a new officemate who is most definitely willing to participate. None other than independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader.

Commenting on the launch of the first episode, /Let Ralph Debate/, Ralph Nader said: "I still use an Underwood typewriter to communicate but I realize in this political day and age the internet is a little faster means of getting our message out."



View the first episode here:-End-

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I Hate The War

2008, the gift that keeps on giving. The biggest gift of the year is awareness or exposure, depending upon how you look at it.

FAIR claims:

FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information.

High-minded though it may sound, it's hogwash and either awareness informed us of that or FAIR exposed itself. (If it was the latter, swear out a complaint and get them off the streets.) If you're not getting it, they've started "Election Watch 2008" because, goodness knows, they can't be distracted by actual stories. Nor can they report or even opine. "Election Watch 2008" is just the same link-fest they've long offered. And, naturally, it exists to lift up Barack (like a bra?) and to spit on John McCain. All other candidates are left out, hence, their revelation that they aren't high-minded let alone, in fact, "fair."

Just another sell-out who had a tag sale on beliefs. For reference, this is FAIR:

The Task Force commends the private Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) for helping to foster a continuing debate ethic in presidential campaigns, and for creating a political climate in which general election presidential debates are considered an essential part of the political process. However, the CPD's January 6 announcement that it will require presidential candidates to post a level of support of at least 15 percent in national public opinion polls before they may join the debates is deeply problematic. For the following reasons, we object to the CPD's participation criteria:
* The CPD places the cart before the horse by basing the exclusion of outsider candidates on the preferences of a public that has not yet seen or heard from these candidates in a debate. At the time of the debates many Americans remain uncommitted to a single candidate.
* The 15 percent rule is both arbitrary and too high. There is no basis in law for the 15 percent threshold.
* The American people do not agree with the CPD. A recent poll revealed that a majority of Americans believe that the CPD's 15 percent threshold is inappropriate.
* Polls often underestimate the role of Independents. Polling firms regularly base their opinion surveys on "likely voters" as determined by past voting practice. Such determinations ignore the possibility that the debate may, in fact, create new likely voters.
The CPD bases its decision on the belief that the purpose of the general election debates is to contrast for the voters the two candidates who stand the best chance of winning the presidency. We believe formal debates serve greater purposes. When done well, formal debates can advance and crystallize the ideas and issues that are important to the American public. They can provide meaningful political discourse, and can force the candidates to address the issues about which Americans care most deeply.

You may be nodding and saying, "Good for FAIR."

Stop. That's from 2000's "THE APPLESEED CITIZENS' TASK FORCE ON FAIR DEBATES:
A BLUEPRINT FOR FAIR AND OPEN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES IN 2000." In 2000, they believed in open debates where all candidates could compete. In 2008? Not a peep.

Not a word. Not an action alert. Nothing.

Zilch.

Because there's nothing fair about FAIR and because FAIR has whored themselves out for Obama's campaign.

Back in 2000, they could (and did) finger point. Here's BIG SELLOUT Jeffy Cohen from his "Nader, Buchanan and the Debates:"

A revealing national poll of likely voters, released on April 10, found Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in third place behind George W. Bush and Al Gore -- and ahead of prospective Reform candidate Pat Buchanan. So which alternative-party aspirant appeared all over national TV the next night? It wasn't Nader.
Asked to give his views as a candidate on issues from trade to economics to Elian, Buchanan held forth at length on "Decision 2000 with Andrea Mitchell" (MSNBC), "News with Brian Williams" (CNBC/MSNBC) and "Special Report with Brit Hume" (Fox News Channel). Hume referred to "all three presidential candidates," meaning Bush, Gore and Buchanan-- no mention of Nader.
Despite his extreme right-wing views, Buchanan has long been well treated by the supposedly "liberal media." The first pundit with a perch on national television seven days a week, he's been propelled into presidential politics by CNN for three different campaigns. Although he's been running for over a year this time, he received only 3.6 percent support in the new Zogby poll.
Nader, who announced his full-throttle presidential campaign less than two months ago, received 5.7 percent in the poll. In Western states, Nader received 13 percent support, compared to Gore's 30 percent. Yet public citizen Nader, a widely respected figure in American life for decades, is generally ignored by the same national media outlets and pundits that regularly include Buchanan in their coverage of the presidential race.
Imagine what Nader's poll numbers would be if his candidacy weren't so ignored by national media.

See, in 2000, fairness mattered to FAIR. Today? Not so much.

Some might wrongly point to more recent examples. For example, August 4, 2006, FAIR sent out an action alert demanding that debates be 'opened.' That wasn't about any ethical belief, just more of their Hillary Hatred on display (the same hatred that explains why the organization's weekly radio show CounterSpin called out sexism once -- in a single sentence -- the entire primary campaign). See, Jonathan Tasini was their boy and they wanted Hillary to debate him. That's all they cared about. They didn't care about fairness. (They proved it by refusing to demand that Howie Hawkins, Green candidate for the same Senate seat, be invited to debates.)

So 2006 was really when they began playing favorites and gave up all pretense of being fair.

Again, you can see it as awareness (of how unethical they are) or you can see it as them exposing themselves.

But 2008 has been the gift that just keeps giving. Over and over.

One after another, every left outlet rushes for their turn at the plate where they demonstrate that they actually don't give a damn about democracy or fairness. They, not unlike Rush Limbaugh, just want their way and they will use any tactic to try to get their way.

FAIR is now Rush Limbaugh. About as factual and about as honest.

2008 is the year 'independent' media decided to do breast strokes in a toilet bowl. And no one's proven to be more adapt at dabbing sewer water behind their ears than FAIR.

MSNBC resorts to rank sexism? Can't call 'em out! Jeffy has friends there! And he knows he's getting back in! And, yeah, it's nothing but a propaganda mill, but hey, it can be FAIR's propaganda mill!

It was never about honesty, it was never about fairness. It was always a bunch of rejects stamping their feet and insisting, "My way!"

So they covered for Davy S and Keithie O and everyone else. They ignored sexism, they blacked out Barack's use of homophobia in South Carolina (and won't call out the homophobia going on in California as part of his campaign).

They care about homophobia . . . when Republicans use it. And they care about sexism . . . when Republicans are using it.

If it weren't for situational ethics, FAIR wouldn't have any ethics left.

Again, call it your own awareness or their own desire to expose themselves.

And that's why they avoid realities about the Iraq War especially with regards to what Barack's (ever-changing) position on it is.

If they gave a damn about ending the illegal war, they could demand that Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney (two candidates dedicated to ending the illegal war) be included in the debates. But, oh no, Cynthia and Ralph might do what Mike Gravel did in 2007 -- point out some harsh truths about Barack.

That really was Mike Gravel's 'crime' that got him kicked out of the debates. He was spoiling the high on Barack. Which is why he wasn't allowed to respond in debates, why he wasn't allowed to expand (in his limited time) on a question (no other candidate was ever told no, you must answer just what we asked) and why, in the middle of answering a question, a 'moderator' talked over him. (On the last, Gravel was explaining how, yes, Barack took big money.)

FAIR looked the other way throughout all of that. They never said a word.

Mike Gravel's 'crime' was not being John Edwards -- acting like he was pining for a Date With Barack.

It was never about ending the illegal war, it was never about democracy, it was never about journalistic standards. It was about spoiled kids stomping their feet trying to get their way. This year they think they have and exist as a 'media check' only when their wet dream gets called out.

No one could have damaged their reputations more than they themselves did.

By their actions, you will know them as they really are. Some might call them hypocrites but the truth is they're probably more like "Napoleans" in the sense of Ani DiFranco's "Napolean."

In a little while, they'll try to rush to a high ground but no one will believe them because they sold out everything they allegedly believed in. And they sold out to a corporatist, big-money-backed, War Hawk.

The illegal war will drag on even longer as a result of their actions and, years from now, when people look back, FAIR will be lumped in with the New York Times as an outlet that created the space for that illegal war. They have no respect left and they'd grasp that looking in the mirror if they hadn't covered their mirrors with Barack stickers.

It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)

Last Thursday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4168. Tonight? 4172. Just Foreign Policy lists 1,267,401 as the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal the same number as last Thursday. Funny, I remember many, many Iraqi deaths being reported in the last seven days.

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

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