Saturday, September 17, 2011

Government in crisis

Reuters notes a Mosul attack which left one Iraqi soldier injured, a Mosul home bombing which claimed the lives of 3 brothers and, dropping back to Friday, a Mosul attack left two Iraqi service members "and a bodyguard of Mosul Governor Atheel al-Nujaifi" were wounded."

The Iraqi government is currently wounded. Whether it's a fatal wound or not may be up to Nouri al-Maliki.

This week, Nouri's been attacking his political rival Ayad Allawi whose Iraqiya bested Nouri's State of Law in the March 7, 2010 elections. Nouri's insisted that Allawi has no place in the government.

Other participants in the government begged to differ before Nouri made those remarks and since then it does not appear Nouri's incendiary speech has scared anyone away from Allawi. Hossam Acommok (Al Mada) reports that Allawi and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani have agreed that the country needs a national partnership and to move away from one monopoly of power. The two met and discussed various issues including the refusal by Nouri al-Maliki to implement the Erbil Agreement agreed to last November (and the partnership agreement signed off on by all political blocs to end Political Stalemate I). Acommok reports on the ruors that the Kurds will push for a no-confidence vote in Parliament -- rumors which result in warnings from State of Law. What happens next is said to wait until Talabani returns from the US. (The article notes he's going to the US. It doesn't note it but the primary purpose for his visit is a speech he'll give to the UN.)

Before he departed for the US, Al Sabaah notes, Talabani also met with Nouri al-Maliki and the discussions included the Kurds demands (Talabani is a Kurd) which include a return to the Erbil Agreement and opposition to Nouri's gas and oil bill. It's noted that when Kurdish representatives meet Nouri in the near future, they will be bringing along copies of the Erbil Agreement as a reminder of what was agreed to by all parties. (The Kurds have also threatened to make this document public.) In yet another blow to Nouri, Ehsan al-Awadi, an MP with the National Alliance, has declared that they support the Erbil AGreement and call for it to be implemented as soon as possible. (However, 'new agreements' appears to be about the oil & gas bill and, if so, that means the National Alliance is not joining with the Kurds in decrying that proposal.)


Al Saabah also notes Nouri gave a speech to Iraq's Lawyers Association (its their 78th anniversary) and that he spoke of the need for the Constitution to recognize the role of the courts.

If that puzzles you, it's because US media ignored what that's in reference to. They haven't even reported on Allawi and Nouri's feud.

From Tuesday's snapshot:

Asharq al-Awsat interviews Ayad Allawi (Iraiqya leader who's been meeting with the Kurdish leaders -- Iraqiya won the March 7, 2010 elections) and their first question for him is about his recent comments that there was a need for early elections and a need for a vote of no confidence on Nouri al-Maliki, has his opinion changed? He replies that nothing has changed and unless the Erbil Agreement is followed, as KRG President Barzani is insisting, then early elections need to be held. He states that they should be transparent and follow the election laws. (They put it is either/or. Allawi rejects that in his first answer and again near the end of the interview when he explains that first you do the vote of no-confidence in the current government and then you move to early elections.) Asked if he doesn't find it strange that 8 years after the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraqi decisions are still spoken of in light of what the US wants or what Iran wants, Allawi replies that it is clear the government (Nouri) was negotiating with Iran on how to form a government -- down to the smallest details. He states that when he met with Bashar al-Assad, president of Syria [presumably in 2010], al-Assad stated he would be speaking with Iranian officials and what was the response to Adel Abdul al-Mahdi being prime minister. The point is to indicate that Iran was being catered to. (I'm sure the US was as well, however, Allawi focuses on Iran.) Adel Abdul al-Mahdi was, until recently, one of Iraq's two vice presidents. He's a member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. Big Oil supported him in 2006 for prime minister and they also wanted him in 2010. His announcement that he was resigning as vice president earlier this year may have been setting up another run for prime minister.
Allawi states that the Erbil Agreement needs to be implemented, that the meet-up in Erbil and the agreement itself took place in a spirit to work together for Iraq and build something sincere but now "the other party" [the unnamed is Nouri] repeatedly finds excuses not to implement. Asked if the problem is the agreement, Allawi clearly states that the problem is "the other party" and that the agreement is clear. He rejects the notion of one-party rule and specifically names Nouri when rejecting it, stating that this is a private scheme of "Maliki" and not something with wide support even within Dawa (Dawa is Nouri's political party, State of Law is the slate Nouri ran with).


It's that interview that enrages Nouri and leads him to declare that Allawi has no place in the Iraqi government. And it's in that interview that Allawi offers the legal opinion that Nouri's use of the courts to advance his agenda is problematic due to the fact that Constitutional issues cannot be changed by the courts because, according to Allawi, the Constitution came before the Courts. Nouri controls the country's Supreme Court and has repeatedly used it to reinterpret the Constitution in his favor especially as he battled to remain the prime minister. Allawi argues that this is illegal and unconstitutional because the Constitution is the basis for all so, therefore, the Courts can't alter the Constitution. (If you carry this legal argument out, only Parliament could alter the Constitution as represenatives of the people and any alteration, like any law, would require the presidency council -- Iraq's president and vice presidents -- to agree to the change.)

That was probably the main thing that ticked Nouri off about the article. Dar Addustour has the Kurds echoing the point about the Constitution being supreme. They have to support that position because if it's not supreme than an act by the Nouri-controlled courts could render Article 140 (which promises how the issue of disputed Kirkuk will be resolved) obsolete. The article also notes that the political situation is seen as "a crisis" (where are the US reports on this, it has been building all week) and notes the Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi is traveling to the KRG tomorrow to talk with leaders there about the Erbil Agreement and other issues.

Al Rafidayn covers what may be read as a step back by Nouri (I don't think it is), his agreeing with al-Nujaifi that his oil & gas bill is only a draft and that Parliament can change it. He uses the term "amend." That's why I don't see it as a step back. Nouri has insisted that Parliament does not have the power to right laws, that it can only accept proposals from Nouri's Cabinet and vote up or down on them. This move strikes me as more of Nouri backing up his belief that laws cannot originate within the Parliament and I base that call on the language Nouri uses.

While the governmental crisis continues, Fadhel al-Badrani (Reuters) reports on the brewing crisis. 22 Shi'ites were killed his week, pilgrims taken off a bus. al-Badrani misses what created the original tension or resentment following the killings. As we've noted Arab social media was inflamed over the response of a huge sum of money offered to find the killers (offered by Sunni Sawha leaders -- that didn't change the anger or resenment in Arab social media -- possibly because Sawha were already seen as turncoats) and Nouri sent in the military to investigate. It was repeatedly pointed out that the killing of Iraqi Christians and other minorities didn't result in that and, after that point had been made repeatedly, the next point emerging (primary point) was that no one could recall that sort of effort being made when Sunnis in Iraq were killed.

8 Sunnis were quickly arrested, al-Badrani notes, and public outcry forced Nouri to release four of them. (Click here for Al Rafidayn's report on the decision to release four.) Without that missing step, the one documenting the reaction to the reactions to the killings, you really can't grasp why resentments built. Al Rafidayn is currently reporting that four more -- which would be all eight -- are being released because there is no evidence against any of the eight.

If you're not familiar with Iraqi 'justice,' this doesn't happen. (And let's stay with four released until other outlets say all eight have been.) If you're arrested, you disappear into a hole and maybe a year or so later you are able to climb out or maybe you stay disappeared.

Nouri's hand was forced and it was forced because this quickly became a major incident.

There was an effort among the press (international, not Iraqi press) to turn the killings into a huge issue. And this fed the resentment expressed. Because there are mass killings in Iraq every week. None got the kind of US attention that the 22 pilgrims did. (Which is why we treated it here as a 'days' violence incident' with one line about it. By that time it was already obvious it was going to be glommed on.)

So now divisions within Iraq along sectarian lines just got firmer and the government is in crisis.


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How to spread war fever

Throughout the Iraq War, the Turkish military has bombed northern Iraq. The latest wave of assaults began August 17th. As Iraq's air space was repeatedly violated, this week, rumors began circulating that Turkey was planning to enter Iraq by land. Aswat al-Iraq reports, "Northern Iraq’s border areas are witnessing military tension, along with Turkish air flights over the area, a Kurdistan Border Command's source reported on Saturday." The source states, "In the event of entrance by the Turkish forces into the Iraqi borders under justification of chasing their opposition forces, belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), we shall wait for instructions from the Supreme Command in Kurdistan Region to face those forces. The biggest loser from such tensions are the inhabitants of these areas, who lost their lands and cattle."


Turkish warplanes have bombed northern Iraq for a month now. They've forced farmers and shepherds to flee the region creating new Iraqi refugees and they've also killed civilians in their bombings.

How do you sell a war to a people?

With lies and more lies. One way is taking a country and linking it to another. Remember Bully Boy Bush's "Axis of Evil"? Lying to sell illegal war is not solely an American pattern, there is no copyright on that approach. To start the Iraq War, the British and Australian governments also lied to their citizens. And lies from the government work best when the press -- intentionally or not -- works hand-in-hand with the government. And, of course, in all territories, there will always be those willing to do the bidding of a foreign government -- whether it's a pompous Brit repeating Bush's lies as truth or what have you. And that's how we get Dr. Othman Ali.

Oh, look, who crawled back to Iraq. It's everyone's favorite Canadian educated coward Othman Ali. I guess if I were going to fake my way through a doctorate on the issue of Kurds, I'd go to the University of Toronto as well -- I mean, who's going to question you too hard in Canada about the Kurdish issue? So he stayed around and he taught there (in Canada, not at the University of Toronto -- he was much smaller at Woodbridge College where he was a lecturer and not actually a professor). But all that was before the start of the war. Like many a cowardly exile, he slinked back to Iraq after the US invaded and now, when not fielding calls from foreign governments, he operates out of a college in Erbil.

If you want to sway Turkish opinion, what do you do?

This issue really isn't being covered in the US press -- the assault on northern Iraq. And so we should probably back up and explain that Turkey has seen several strong demonstrations against continued assaults on northern Iraq. There is a vibrant peace movement in Turkey. To get the kind of assault that the Turkish government wants, they're going to need to silence that movement. They're going to need to confuse people. Probably 30% in any population can be easily swayed because they don't follow the news (usually due to being too busy and overworked). So they're the ones that a Dick Cheney can fool with the help of the press. (I'm thinking of NBC and the New York Times enlisting to sell the Iraq War providing Dick Cheney with the perfect media movement, he goes on NBC's Meet The Press and waves around the front page of the New York Times at the cameras while insisting it's not just Bully Boy Bush's claims, it's also the New York Times.)

To silence that movement in Turkey, they need to further demonize northern Iraq. PKK isn't really enough for them to sell a ground incursion. PKK and Turkey is an issue that's gone on for years and, truly, the recent assaults by the PKK are neither 'epic' or 'grand' when compared to previous years. Equally true, questions are being raised about how the Turkish government made promises regarding the Kurds in Turkey and failed to keep them but does continue to jail Kurdish politicians.

Facts and movements have to be overwhelmed with hysteria to reach that 30% and bring them (or some of them) over to the side of war.

So along comes Othman Ali and his hysterical piece for Zaman linking the PKK with . . .

Think about it. Whose Turkey's biggest opponent these days?

Did you say Israel?

You won the door prize.

In his really bad "Israel's out to get us and backing the PKK" article, Othman's proof or 'proof' is laughable if anyone examines the claims -- but this hysteria rarely allows anyone to examine.

As proof of his assertion, he basically offers two things. First up, Seymour Hersh wrote about it in The New Yorker!!!!! Sy also told us the US was going to war with Iran. That was when Bully Boy Bush occupied the White House and it never happened. It's kind of what he's most famous for in the '00s. In the '90s what he was most famous for, now forgotten, was writing that trashy book about JFK and how, he claimed, JFK liked to choke women he was having sex with or hold their heads under water because it intensified the sexual experience allegedly for JFK. Now I'm not a worshiper of JFK but I'm not a fan of tawdry either and, most importantly, his book included quotes from Gore Vidal that didn't sound like Gore Vidal and, no surprise, Gore publicly rebuked the book and those quotes. I know Sy was flying high in the '00s and everybody wanted to ignore his past which did include rumors of being linked to the US intelligence in the early 70s and did include rumors that he was actively working to stop a protest around the White House. But, hey, kid bloggers, you all know best, right? History be damned, right? The world didn't begin until the moment you paid attention to it, right?

Point being Sy Hersh is a questionable source. (And I kept that on public terms. I could have gone personal very easily. I know Sy and I know his history.)

And yet even citing a questionable source, Othman Ali's unable to back up his claim. Because what Sy Hersh wrote about in 2006 were rumors that the US and Israel were helping PJAK. PJAK and the PKK are not the same things. Again, Ali had to get his doctorate at the University of Toronto. Anywhere with a sizable Kurdish population and/or knowledge would never have signed off on his thesis because it was so implausible.

So rumors that the US and Israel (rumors in one single article five years ago) are helping PJAK are turned into 'truth' that Israel (and the US -- I'm aside-ing that intentionally) is in league with the PKK.

Having 'proved' his point by distorting and linkage, Ali Othman now offers up his second attempt at 'proof':

Hersh's account of Mossad involvement with the PKK was corroborated by the accounts published by WikiLeaks in November 2010. The documents show that the US and Israel have been helping the PKK. A US military document referred to the PKK as "warriors for freedom and Turkish citizens" and said the US had freed arrested PKK members.

That does seem damning. And the 30% easily swayed is made up of people with limited time, none of whom are going to dig around to find a WikiLeak document from a year ago. (Othman Ali provides no hyperlinks. But when you're lying, you really can't back up your claims.)

So since most poeple won't go to the WikiLeak document, let's not either.

There's no reason to. When these whores and liars of war invent their charges, you can footnote until you're blue in the face, that doesn't sway and, honestly, it only confuses the 30% more because, again, they've got limited time to follow anything.

But you don't need to know the WikiLeak document to refute Ali.

Let's refute Ali's writing that we just quoted.

"Hersh's account of Mossad involvement with the PKK was corroborated by the accounts published by WikiLeaks in November 2010."


But Hersh wrote nothing about Mossad and the PKK, he wrote about Mossad and PJAK -- as even Ali had to admit earlier in his article.

"The documents show that the US and Israel have been helping the PKK."

If the US and Israel are helping the PKK according to the WikiLeak documents, why is your article linking the PKK to Israel and not also to the US? Why do you keep ignoring alleged US involvement and never decry that?

"A US military document referred to the PKK as 'warriors for freedom and Turkish citizens' and said the US had freed arrested PKK members."

A document, US military, said that the US had freed the PKK "warriors" they had arrested? Didn't the US turn over those prisons to Iraq and didn't they free prisoners? Who is the US still holding as prisoner in Iraq? In what prison? But if the US did bad by freeing one group of prisoners, why aren't you decrying the US? And how is the US freeing a prisoner or prisoners implicating Israel in some grand plan?


"For this reason, US and Israeli officials were apprehensive about the WikiLeaks materials."


How inflated is your ego?

Do you really think the biggest concern over the WikiLeaks documents -- documents that detail UN concern with a US military assault on civilians in Iraq who were handcuffed and then shot in the head -- was that one page noted that a few PKK members were released from prison?

No, he doesn't think that. But he's spinning and lying to enrage the 30% of the Turkish population that might be swayable. If he can get even 8% of that 30%, he can get the opinion ball rolling.

Qassim Khidhir (Kurdish Globe) reports that some family members of victims of the Turkish bombings are planning to take legal action:

Sherwan Hussein Mustafa had seven family members killed, including his mother and father, last month "in a massive raid by Turkish warplanes" against the hideouts of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerillas inside Iraqi Kurdistan Region territory. Mustafa told The Kurdish Globe he will do anything, "no matter how many years it takes", to get justice for his family.
[. . .]
Mustafa's family was working on the farm in the mountainous area of Qandil. As they heard Turkish warplanes bombing the Qandil Mountains, the family decided to leave the farm to go to their second house in Ranya city, near the Qandil Mountains. On the way to Ranya in their pickup truck, "Turkish warplanes targeted them and turned their bodies into many small pieces." Their deaths created a furious anger across the Region and led to tens of demonstrations. A mass funeral was held for the family in Ranya.

And Wally and Cedric updated today and we'll note them and non-community sites On The Wilder Side, Jane Fonda and the ACLU:


Due to Blogger/Blogspot problems, not all permalinks are reading when they are updated. For that reason we'll note today, yesterday and Thursday's community posts:



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Friday, September 16, 2011

Iraq snapshot

Friday, September 16, 2011.  Chaos and violence continue, Nouri still can't play nice with others, a boom in housing construction doesn't lead to lower prices (hmm), peace efforts gear up for next month, and more.
 
We'll start with an excerpt from Scott Horton (Antiwar Radio) interviewing Kevin Zeese about Come Home America: 
 
Scott Horton: I think that Come Home America is the most important thing in the whole world, why don't you tell everyone about it.
 
Kevin Zeese: Well Come Home America is an effort to bring people across the political spectrum together if they oppose war, militarism and empire. We don't care what your political views are on other issues, whether you're a Libertarian or a progressive, a liberal or a conservative, a Republican or a Democrat, or an independent or a third party member.  We just want to bring people together who oppose war and militarism.  We look at the power of the military industrial complex, the control of the Congress and we see that in order for us to be successful in challenging that military machine, we need to unite and put aside our other differences and unite to really work to reduce the political power of the military industrial complex and their minions in Congress.
 
Scott Horton: It occurs to me that you could probably use millions and millions of dollars, am I right?
 
Kevin Zeese:  I think that's very true. You know the military industrial complex certainly spends hundreds of millions of dollars to control the political process.  And we can't compete with them dollar for dollar but I think we can compete with them person for person. I think the more we get out the message about US empire and its negative impact on our national security, on people's lives around the world and on our economy, the more people who will support our views and the stronger we'll -- the quicker we'll end this militarism of our foreign policy.
 
 
Let's stay with peace for a bit more. DC Blogger (at Corrente) has justified one hundred one useless politicians over the years, had a real struggle coming to grips with the realities of Barack Obam (Corporatist War Hawk) and is most infamous for useless, "Call this 1-800 number and tell them . . ." I've never said a word about DC Blogger here (or elsewhere).  I consider DC Blogger highly inept but that's my opinion and it wasn't necessary to share it.  Unless and until DC Blogger becomes the problem.  Such as Tuesday when DC Blogger did an offensive post at Corrente where he or she whined and stomped their feet over the actions of real activists. And what appears to have bothered DC Blogger the most was skin color.  White was offensive, to DC Blogger who hated the activists because of their skin color.  In 2011, if you have to bring in skin color to explain why you don't like someone, I'd argue you have some issues. DC Blogger's attack was joined by trashing from Twig and Lex in the comments.  What the hell's going on at Corrente?
 
 
The video is street theater.  And it has a point and purpose which is to make people think about the Iraq War.  They were never rude, the activists, to anyone.  They were polite and they smiled. (They could have been rude and it still would have been street theater.  I'm sorry but Miss Manners doesn't rule in a movement.  A movement is a group of people from all walks of life who will rarely agree 100% on anything other than core statements.)  Watch the video here.
 
Activist: Remember when Barack Obama was a candidate and he inspired so much hope for change by saying things like this?
 
Barack Obama October, 2007: If we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do.  I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.
 
Screen shot of a check 'from' Barack Obama for payment of "Priceless" to be made to "Citizens of the World." 
 
INT. BANK OF AMERICA - DAY
 
Activist: Congratulations Bank of America, Cambridge branch. We come in peace to let you know that you are the winners of a promotion -- a promotion being held by the president of these United States of America who said on the campaign trail --
 
Barack Obama: We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.
 
Activist: Today we are at the Bank of America taking this to the bank.  Is there any manager available who's like to pose for a photo op?  We just want to know who we should give this to --
 
Bank employee: Come upstairs, I'm the banking center manager. I'd be happy to take it for you.  So take all the pictures you'd like.
 
Activist: Is the Bank of America not the place to redeem this check?  Bring the troops and the money home.  Who should I --
 
Bank employee: Sir, could you please stop disturbing our customers?
 
Activist:  So you're not willing -- you're not willing to bring -- the customer here all have the same check in their hands.
 
EXT. CITIZENS BANK - DAY
 
Activist: We went to Bank of America and they could not cash this check.  We'd could establish an account here at Citizens Bank, the poetry of that for this priceless amount paid to Citizens of the World, bring the troops hom and redirect money towards human and environmental needs and could I have some popcorn?
 
Woman's voice: Yes, you can.
 
Activist: Alright!
 
INT. CITIZENS BANK - DAY
 
Bank employee2: We cannot have this.
 
Camera Operator: Yeah, yeah, we'll just be a minute.
 
Activist: So who should I give this check to?  Who wants to bring the troops home and redirect that money towards human and environmental needs?  Is there a local community bank we could go to?
 
Bank employee2: No, we cannot suggest anything.  But you cannot stay in here.
 
Bank employee 1: Can you please? [He covers camera with his hand.]
 
INT. CITIBANK - DAY
 
Bank employee: We could not allow that in the branch.
 
Activist: We've been to several banks.  We've been trying to make a deposit but now we realize that we need to make a withdrawal.
 
He signs the check on the back.
 
Activist: Listen the only reason I'm doing this today is because I know there are people out there who know, who feel in their bones that the representative democracy is not working the way it's supposed to.  A majority of people want to tax the rich.  A majority of the people want the wars to end bring those troops and those dollars home, spend them on environmental and human needs.  That's not happening by who you vote for. So that's why I'm trying to redeem Barack Obama's promise and take it to the bank.  Now imagine, just think, if one person a day did that, they would just think that that person was crazy and they would ignore him.  Imagine if two people a day did that, they might think that they were lovers on a lark and they would have a little laugh.  Imagine three -- no, imagine 50 people a day walking to a bank with that check and trying to withdraw all those troops based on Barack Obama, they might think it's a movement.  That's what it is. The homecoming October 2011 movement Bring The Troops Home, bring the dollar home, spend it on human needs.  Take care of the poor, tax the rich.  All you have to do to join me is send me your e-mail [at TheHomecoming 2011@Gmail.com], join me in Freedom Plaza starting October 6th for the protests that will not go home, for the protests that will not go away
 
 
The video is both prompoting the October 2011 actions in DC and it's putting the war out there.
 
It's not any different from what CODEPINK does with regards to the war, the FCC or any number of issues.  So I'm not grasping the offense.  But I am grasping that the Iraq War doesn't exist at Corrente.  They've got someone doing recipes, they've got someone doing plants, they've got someone doing books from time to time, they've got someone singing the praises of the state-owned (and subdued -- see WikiLeaks as well as criticism of the Libyan War coverage) Al Jazeera, they've got lots of stuff.  They just don't cover the wars and they specifically refuse to acknowledge the Iraq War.  When 15 lives were lost in the Iraq War in the month of June, Corrente didn't lead on the coverage or even do a single post on that topic.  And I notice that DC Blogger refuses to tell people what the video is about -- ending the wars.  There are a lot of people, please pay attention, who have hearing issues.  They will never be able to enjoy a video that is not closed captioned.  So all you blogger who think you're so wonderful by posting a link to a video or posting a video, please grasp that we all get that you live in a world where you are supreme and no one you know is challenged or disabled.  We get it.  How very lucky for you that realities never touched your circle.  But that's not how it is for everyone.
 
So when you post a video, how about grasping that you NEED TO SAY WHAT HAPPENS IN THE VIDEO.  Or you need to put a message that says: "If you're deaf or hearing challenged, this site doesn't welcome you and will not include you."
 
In addition to the deaf and hearing challenged (which does include a huge number of veterans of today's wars) there are people in rural areas who do not have DSL, there are people all over the country who cannot afford DSL, there are people who are still using computers with Windows 98 -- and some of those people are glad to have those computers.  I realize that in the world of DC Blogger, no one's ever sick or ill or has any condition and they buy any laptop as soon as it rolls off the assembly line.  But considering how often Corrente looks down on the "creative class" and tries to self-present as "of the people," I can't believe I'm having to offer this remedial in human abilities and disabilities, in computers and economics, in rural disadvantages, etc.
 
Repeating: If you post a video you presumably want people to know what's going on in it.  Failure to explain what goes on it cuts you off from a significant part of the audience and that's an audience that does not come back to you once the message is clear that only the well to do and non-disabled are welcome.
 
It's not a minor point with me.  I learned to sign years ago and, as I've noted before, if someone's at a Congressional hearing I attend and I know they can't hear and there's no one there signing, I will sign throughout the entire hearing (while I take notes, yes).  [The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will provide services for challenged and disabled attendees if they are informed the services are needed 3 business days prior to the hearing -- this includes making space for wheel chairs, as well as providing translators/signers, etc. And for those e-mailing, we haven't covered the hearings in the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees because there haven't been any.  They resume later this month.] 
 
And when we speak to groups about the wars, that includes groups where I sign and speak and groups where I just sign. And while the bulk of the country didn't watch, refused to watch, the strongest campus protest of the last decade was at Gallaudet.  How dare anyone not grasp that, regardless of physical abilities, everyone in this country can make a difference and that, around the country, so many are making a difference but because they don't you fit your filter of 'normal' or 'accepted' or 'just like me!,'  you ignore them.  I do not believe in forced community service but I do believe a lot of people, particularly those online, would do well to do some community service that put them into contact with people who don't have all the breaks they do.
 
Were that to happen, they might realize how stupid they looked slamming people because of their skin color.  [And before someone e-mails that Betty, Stan or Marcia did it --  Ann or Cedric are more likely to use that technique in roundtables at Third than at their own sites due to what they cover at their sites -- when they call out a White person and make a note of the skin color, it is because that White person has decided they know more about African-Americans than, in fact, African-Americans do.  That's the point of Betty, Stan and Marcia calling those people out.  It's not "They're white!"  It's "that fool is saying this is what it's like to be Black and that fool is White and we don't anyone to speak for us, we can speak for ourselves thank you very much."]
 
The video was street theater.
 
It is supposed to attract attention as a video to get the word out on the October protests.  Did it succeed?  I really wasn't planning to note them.  I'm at a distance from a number of people who I feel have not taken accountability for their past misdirections.  But I noted the actions today and that's entirely due to that video.  Which was funny and to the point.  And which brought the issue of the Iraq War into three different banks, forcing it on the employees and the customers in those banks.
 
Good. The United States government continues the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.  If you are a US citizen I don't know where the hell you get off thinking you've earned a pass from having to care or think about the wars your elected government continues.
 
The video's not the problem.
 
 
Colleen Flaherty (Killeen Daily Herald) reports, "Black Hawks hummed over North Fort Hood Thursday as Kansas National Guardsmen rehearsed personnel recovery ahead of their upcoming deployment to Iraq." And some may wonder why are we still deploying US forces to Iraq? But then again, in this country, the reason troops were ever deployed to Iraq wasn't honestly answered. Not by the Bush administration and not by the current one which replaced it. Chris Hinyub (California Independent Voter Network) reports on the US military spending and observes, "Finally, the cost for the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars crossed the $1.25 trillion mark."  Matt L. Miller is currently serving in Iraq and he shares his thoughts on the US remaining in Iraq with the Baltimore Sun:
 
Now I'm no diplomat, but from my foxhole it appears that the U.S. is negotiating with the government of Iraq from a position of weakness. We are deferring to every Iraqi government whim at the expense of our own safety. We literally are permitted only to sit on our enclosed bases and hope that the IRAMs -- improvised rocket-assisted mortars -- don't hit their mark. In other words, we are sitting ducks.
[. . ]
I urge President Obama to take charge of this upside-down situation. He should simply tell the Iraqi government that we are going to operate the way we know how and that they are welcome to participate, or that we are leaving tomorrow. Continuing to serve up Americans as targets while the Iraqis play favorites between us and Iran is not an acceptable course of action.

Let's stay on Iran for a moment. Iranian dissendents welcomed into Iraq during Saddam Hussein's reign are currently residents of Camp Ashraf.  They are protected persons under the Geneva Conventions.  The Tehran Times reports that Ammar Hakim, Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq leader, has declared "that the members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) based in Iraq must leave the country by the end of 2011. Hakim, who travelled to Iran to attend the fifth meeting of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly, made the remarks during a meeting with Grand Ayatollah Abdul Karim Mousavi Ardebill in the holy city of Qom on Friday." Is he serious? One would assume so except Press TV reports that he also declared he would "not allow any of them [US troops] to stay in the country" beyond 2011 and "The occupiers must leave before the deadline under the security pact."  The US Embassy will have troops in as do all US embassies.  (The Marines guard the embassies.)  In addition, the militarization of diplomacy means that some troops (maybe 300, maybe more) will remain in Iraq under State Dept control.  There will of course be "security contractors" (mercenaries) as well.  And the US may keep troops in Iraq under the Defense Dept as well if Nouri and the White House can reach an agreement.  In other words, it's very hard to see Hakim's second state as remotely true or even across the street from true.  So that calls into question his statement about the Camp Ashraf residents.
 
Dan Froomkin (Huffington Post) writes about the US Embassy in Baghdad -- the biggest US embassy in the world and 108 acres:
 
 
Yet the embassy is turning out to be too small for the swelling retinue of gunmen, gardeners and other workers the State Department considers necessary to provide security and "life support" for the sizable group of diplomats, military advisers and other executive branch officials who will be taking shelter there once the troops withdraw from the country.
The number of personnel under the authority of the U.S. ambassador to Iraq will swell from 8,000 to about 16,000 as the troop presence is drawn down, a State Department official told The Huffington Post. "About 10 percent would be core programmatic staff, 10 percent management and aviation, 30 percent life support contractors -- and 50 percent security," he said.
As part of that increase, the State Department will double its complement of security contractors -- fielding a private army of over 5,000 to guard the embassy and other diplomatic outposts and protect personnel as they travel beyond the fortifications, the official said. Another 3,000 armed guards will protect Office of Security Cooperation personnel, who are responsible for sales and training related to an estimated $13 billion in pending U.S. arms sales, including tanks, squadrons of attack helicopters and 36 F-16s.
 
In yesterday's snapshot, noted a column by "Peter Van Burn" -- that was my mistake.  I said "Burn" while dicating the snapshot.  It's Buren.  My error and my apologies.  We'll again note this from Peter Van Buren (Huffington Post):
 
In Iraq today, diplomats, military officials, and Washington busybodies are involved in a complex game of maneuvering into place American troops meant to remain in Iraq long past the previously 12/31/2011 negotiated deadline for full withdrawal. Iraq will eventually agree, probably in some semi-passive way, such as calling them trainers, or visiting students, or temps. There will be endless argument over numbers -- should it be 3000 soldiers or 10,000? The debate over whether troops should stay on, or how many should stay, begs the real question: What will all those soldiers do in Iraq?

Iraq has its own governmental issues, to put it mildly. New Sabbah reviews the Kurdish issues with Nouri's government (the failure of Nouri to implement the Erbil Agreement, the proposed oil and gas law, etc.) and notes Nouri's raging that Ayad Allawi (leader of Iraqiya) and Nouri's insistence that Allawi has no place in the current government. Iraqiya's spokesperson tells Al Mada that Allawi is speaking not for himself but for Iraqiya and has the political slate's support. She also notes that the tensions between the blocs have always been present and that current tensions have resulted from the failure to implement the Erbil Agreement. (Iraqiya is a political slate made up of various groups -- primarily Sunni and Shia.)

Meanwhile Aswat al-Iraq speaks with State of Law MP Ali Al-Shalah who deems Allawi "a trouble maker" and insists Allawi is plotting with Saudi Arabia. Aswat al-Iraq notes, "Vice-Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq called on the Iraqi to adopt a national spirit and not follow the rumors that destabilize the country among different Iraqi provinces." This as Aswat al-Iraq also reports, "Ex- Basra Governor Mohammed Musabih al-Wa'ili announced today that the signatures of 20% of Basra population shall be gathered, following Premier Nouri al-Maliki's rejection to establish a region there, pointing out that such rejection is 'constitutional violation'."
 
Reuters reports "hundreds" protested throughout "Iraq's Sunni Muslim province of Anbar" today as  aresult of the arrests of 8 men accused of the Monday killings of 22 Shia pilgrims. Nouri expressed his dismay over the protestors and apparently was most offended by their chant of "We will cut the hand of whoever reaches (across) our borders." Moqtada al-Sadr's protests took place as well.  His admirers called it "a huge demonstration."  Of course, Prashant Rao (AFP) reports it was "thousands" and that alone would be disappointing since we're talking about Sadr City in Baghdad.  Where allegedly 2 million Moqtada supporters live.  That's where the protest took place. A couple of thousand out of 2 million-plus isn't significant at all. The Reuters photo with the AFP article demonstrates it was Moqtada's armed militia marching through the streets.  Did the people watching the march get (again) counted as protestors?  In downtown Baghdad, Tahir Square saw NGOs demonstrating and calling out the attacks and perceived attacks on Iraq from Iran and Kuwait, Aswat al-Iraq reports.
 
Turning to violence, Reuters notes a Haditha military raid resulted in the death of two suspects and 1 Iraiq military officer (three Iraqi soldiers and one police officer were wounded), a Garma drive by resulted in the death of a police officer "in front of his home," a Jbela car bombing left three people injured and a bomb that immediately followed (after help arrived) left seven peopl injured and, dropping back to last night for the rest, 2 corpses were discovered in Baghdad, a Baghdad attack on police resulted in 2 being killed and two more police officers left injured, two Mosul roadside bombings left nine police officers injured, a Mosul roadside bombing left one Iraqi soldier wounded and 1 corpse was discovered in Mosul.
 
The violence has made Iraq the source of the largest Middle East displacement since the 1940s.  Trudy Rubin (Philadelphia Inquirer via Sacrament Bee) reports:
 
In July, I wrote about the plight of Iraqis who worked with U.S. soldiers and civilians but face death as "collaborators" when we leave. Their situation remains unresolved.
Congress set up a special program in 2008 to grant these Iraqis 25,000 special immigrant visas (SIVs) over five years. Only 3,629 have been issued thus far; at least 1,500 are pending.
Yet, some Iraqis who have virtually completed the process have been told they must wait an additional eight months while more security checks are conducted.


Iraq's in its second consecutive month of inflation and Mayada Al Askari (Gulf News) interviews Iraq's Undersecretary of the Iraqi Ministry of Housing and Construction to talk about the construction boom in Iraq. (When you bomb a country repeatedly, you do create the need for a construction boom.) Excerpt:

GULF NEWS: How can you be so ambitious about building housing when the infrastructure's main element, electricity, is not available? Buildings  -- as an example -- require lifts, electric water pumps, etc. How can communities live without electricity?

Faleh Al Ammiri: Certainly, the implementation of these projects requires time during which infrastructure and providing the community with electricity will be completed. As for major investment projects, electric power stations will be built to provide such projects with electricity as well as water and sewage systems.

What about paving roads in Iraq, why are there so many projects in this area?

Road networks in Iraq were previously neglected and the whole system is out-of-date as it was overused by the army, but we now have plans to refurbish the system. A renovation of the roads network is currently underway. Weigh stations across the country's provinces were officially announced lately, as overloads are the main reasons behind the recent road damages. There is also the intent to carry out a highway connecting Umm Qasr with the Turkish border, along with other roads connecting the Iraqi cities. Construction of bridges is also part of the plan, however maintaining roads and bridges require users to abide by load limits, and the provinces need to carry out their commitments in this regard.

The minister's not interested in housing people. It's a corruption scam waiting to be turned over as he confesses that "the ministry-run corporation has dozens of factorizes specialising in the production of concrete products including pipes, bridge pillars as well as asphalt, stone breakers and ready-mix factories". That quote right there also answers the question about why the ministry has placed so much emphasis on building roads at a time when Iraqis continue to lack not just reliable electricity but also potable water.

It's a lot easier to keep approving projects that enrich your own budget.

If you doubt it, why is South Korea winning a construction bid in Iraq? Why is any foreigner? Iraq's never suffered from lack of construction workers.

Iraq also suffers not from a lack of concrete. In fact it's a big mob industry in Iraq. But the Ministry's in it too. Hmm. Al Sabaah reports on how Iraq's got all these new houses and housing areas being built and yet the glut hasn't depressed market prices and the homes are so expensive why? Due to the high cost of the construction materials. Seems like that cost could be somewhat controlled if Iraq's Ministry of Housing and Construction were doing it's job -- and that's before you factor in the fact that the Ministry owns many of those construction material producing businesses.

And all of this comes as the Integrity Commission's finding on Iraqi real estate has embarrassed Nouri and forced him to make a move. Al Rafidayn reminds that he's stopped the sale of Iraqi property as a result of the Commission finding fraud and price manipulation by government employees in the real estate market. Nouri's quoted calling out the "corruption and abuse" in his government on this issue. The Commission has also located over a hundred million smuggled out prior to the start of the Iraq War, this would be under Saddam Hussein.


In related news, the Great Iraqi Revolution has released "a document leaked from the Prime Minister's office which orders the recruitment of 1000 nurses and 150 doctors from India and Bengaladesh . . . while there are tens of thousands of unemployed Iraqis who are well qualified for these jobs!!!"
 
ItalicTurning to the US, Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. We'll close with this from her office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Murray Press Office - (202) 224-2834
Thursday, September 15, 2011 Burr Press Office – (202) 224-3154


Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr Call on VA to Provide Answers about Department's Budget Projections

(Washington, D.C.) -- Today, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Patty Murray and Ranking Member Richard Burr sent a joint letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki expressing their concern that VA may not have sufficient resources to adequately address increasing demand for veterans' health care in FY 2012. Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr's letter asks VA for specific assurances that VA remains ready and able to provide the health care upon which more and more veterans depend.
The full text of the Senators' letter is below:


The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20420

Dear Secretary Shinseki:

In this time of economic uncertainty, with an increasing number of our servicemembers returning home, the demand for medical care at VA medical centers is certain to grow. This demand, coupled with the lower than expected Medical Care Collections Fund (MCCF) collection rate, and recent reports regarding staffing reductions and emergency budget cuts at certain medical centers, underscores the critical need to ensure resources are being maximized and Department appropriations requests are accurately projected.
We are therefore writing today to confirm that VHA appropriations and carry-over for FY 2012 are on-track to meet the needs of our nation's veterans, so that the care provided to our veterans remains the highest quality.
We understand from your July 21, 2011, sufficiency review of advance appropriations for FY 2012 medical care that the Department's appropriations request was based, in part, upon projected carryover funds and revenues from the MCCF. MCCF collections, along with operational improvements, and cost savings in acquisitions, fee care, and other programs, are key components of budget and operations planning and must be accurately projected.

We also understand that for the first quarter of FY 2011, VHA reported a 12.3 percent variance between its planned and actual collections, in the amount of nearly $100 million. As of second quarter FY 2011, MCCF collections were 8.5 percent below plan and 5.2 percent below the same period last year. Similarly, for third quarter FY 2011, collections remain 5.7 percent below plan. In your July report, you stated that "there remains an element of risk to the sufficiency of the FY 2012 budget" and quoted a June 14, 2011, GAO report:



If the estimated savings for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 do not materialize and VA receives appropriations in the amount requested by the President, VA may have to make difficult trade-offs to manage within the resources provided.



Such difficult trade-offs are evident throughout the VA health care system. We understand, for example, that the Indianapolis VAMC faced an $18 million budget shortfall at the start of FY 2011. Against this backdrop, and challenged by an unprecedented demand for services from veterans, the medical center reduced expenditures and slowed the hiring of additional and replacement staff. Similarly, the Tampa VAMC continues to take steps to address a budget deficit that is currently near $17 million and has been as high as $47.5 million this fiscal year. Such steps have included a reduction in staffing through attrition by 111 positions, and cuts from lab services, mental health programs and education funds. Each of these actions, while fiscally sound, could have an adverse impact on patient care quality.

As we enter into FY 2012, it is imperative that VHA remains ready and able to provide the quality medical care upon which our veterans depend. Accordingly, we ask that you detail for us your plan to increase MCCF collections, so that collections goals in FY 2012 are met. Additionally, please address whether there are budgetary shortfall risks at VISNs or medical centers for FY 2012. Are VHA appropriations and carryover on-track to meet VHA needs? Finally, do you anticipate that VISNs and medical centers will be able to meet budgetary obligations without having to significantly draw upon reserve funds?

Thank you for providing this information to us. Ours is a shared mission to safeguard the health and well-being of our nation's veterans and we look forward to working with you to this end.

Sincerely,

Patty Murray
Chairman


Richard Burr
Ranking Member

###

Meghan Roh

Deputy Press Secretary

Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray

@SenMurrayPress

202-224-2834

Get Updates from Senator Murray

 
 
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The unraveling?

Colleen Flaherty (Killeen Daily Herald) reports, "Black Hawks hummed over North Fort Hood Thursday as Kansas National Guardsmen rehearsed personnel recovery ahead of their upcoming deployment to Iraq." And some may wonder why are we still deploying US forces to Iraq? But then again, in this country, the reason troops were ever deployed to Iraq wasn't honestly answered. Not by the Bush administration and not by the current one which replaced it. Chris Hinyub (California Independent Voter Network) reports on the US military spending and observes, "Finally, the cost for the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars crossed the $1.25 trillion mark."

Iraq has its own governmental issues, to put it mildly. New Sabbah reviews the Kurdish issues with Nouri's government (the failure of Nouri to implement the Erbil Agreement, the proposed oil and gas law, etc.) and notes Nouri's raging that Ayad Allawi (leader of Iraqiya) and Nouri's insistence that Allawi has no place in the current government. Iraqiya's spokesperson tells Al Mada that Allawi is speaking not for himself but for Iraqiya and has the political slate's support. She also notes that the tensions between the blocs have always been present and that current tensions have resulted from the failure to implement the Erbil Agreement. (Iraqiya is a political slate made up of various groups -- primarily Sunni and Shia.)

Meanwhile Aswat al-Iraq speaks with State of Law MP Ali Al-Shalah who deems Allawi "a trouble maker" and insists Allawi is plotting with Saudi Arabia. Aswat al-Iraq notes, "Vice-Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq called on the Iraqi to adopt a national spirit and not follow the rumors that destabilize the country among different Iraqi provinces." This as Aswat al-Iraq also reports, "Ex- Basra Governor Mohammed Musabih al-Wa'ili announced today that the signatures of 20% of Basra population shall be gathered, following Premier Nouri al-Maliki's rejection to establish a region there, pointing out that such rejection is 'constitutional violation'."


Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. We'll close with this from her office:




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Murray Press Office - (202) 224-2834

Thursday, September 15, 2011 Burr Press Office – (202) 224-3154


Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr Call on VA to Provide Answers about Department’s Budget Projections



(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Patty Murray and Ranking Member Richard Burr sent a joint letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki expressing their concern that VA may not have sufficient resources to adequately address increasing demand for veterans’ health care in FY 2012. Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr’s letter asks VA for specific assurances that VA remains ready and able to provide the health care upon which more and more veterans depend.



The full text of the Senators’ letter is below:



The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20420



Dear Secretary Shinseki:



In this time of economic uncertainty, with an increasing number of our servicemembers returning home, the demand for medical care at VA medical centers is certain to grow. This demand, coupled with the lower than expected Medical Care Collections Fund (MCCF) collection rate, and recent reports regarding staffing reductions and emergency budget cuts at certain medical centers, underscores the critical need to ensure resources are being maximized and Department appropriations requests are accurately projected.



We are therefore writing today to confirm that VHA appropriations and carry-over for FY 2012 are on-track to meet the needs of our nation’s veterans, so that the care provided to our veterans remains the highest quality.



We understand from your July 21, 2011, sufficiency review of advance appropriations for FY 2012 medical care that the Department’s appropriations request was based, in part, upon projected carryover funds and revenues from the MCCF. MCCF collections, along with operational improvements, and cost savings in acquisitions, fee care, and other programs, are key components of budget and operations planning and must be accurately projected.



We also understand that for the first quarter of FY 2011, VHA reported a 12.3 percent variance between its planned and actual collections, in the amount of nearly $100 million. As of second quarter FY 2011, MCCF collections were 8.5 percent below plan and 5.2 percent below the same period last year. Similarly, for third quarter FY 2011, collections remain 5.7 percent below plan. In your July report, you stated that “there remains an element of risk to the sufficiency of the FY 2012 budget” and quoted a June 14, 2011, GAO report:



If the estimated savings for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 do not materialize and VA receives appropriations in the amount requested by the President, VA may have to make difficult trade-offs to manage within the resources provided.



Such difficult trade-offs are evident throughout the VA health care system. We understand, for example, that the Indianapolis VAMC faced an $18 million budget shortfall at the start of FY 2011. Against this backdrop, and challenged by an unprecedented demand for services from veterans, the medical center reduced expenditures and slowed the hiring of additional and replacement staff. Similarly, the Tampa VAMC continues to take steps to address a budget deficit that is currently near $17 million and has been as high as $47.5 million this fiscal year. Such steps have included a reduction in staffing through attrition by 111 positions, and cuts from lab services, mental health programs and education funds. Each of these actions, while fiscally sound, could have an adverse impact on patient care quality.



As we enter into FY 2012, it is imperative that VHA remains ready and able to provide the quality medical care upon which our veterans depend. Accordingly, we ask that you detail for us your plan to increase MCCF collections, so that collections goals in FY 2012 are met. Additionally, please address whether there are budgetary shortfall risks at VISNs or medical centers for FY 2012. Are VHA appropriations and carryover on-track to meet VHA needs? Finally, do you anticipate that VISNs and medical centers will be able to meet budgetary obligations without having to significantly draw upon reserve funds?



Thank you for providing this information to us. Ours is a shared mission to safeguard the health and well-being of our nation’s veterans and we look forward to working with you to this end.





Sincerely,





Patty Murray

Chairman





Richard Burr

Ranking Member



###

Meghan Roh

Deputy Press Secretary

Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray

@SenMurrayPress

202-224-2834

Get Updates from Senator Murray





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






















Posted by at

Iraq's housing boom or scam

So Iraq's in its second consecutive month of inflation and Mayada Al Askari (Gulf News) interviews Iraq's Undersecretary of the Iraqi Ministry of Housing and Construction to talk about the construction boom in Iraq. (When you bomb a country repeatedly, you do create the need for a construction boom.) Excerpt:

GULF NEWS: How can you be so ambitious about building housing when the infrastructure's main element, electricity, is not available? Buildings — as an example — require lifts, electric water pumps, etc. How can communities live without electricity?

Faleh Al Ammiri: Certainly, the implementation of these projects requires time during which infrastructure and providing the community with electricity will be completed. As for major investment projects, electric power stations will be built to provide such projects with electricity as well as water and sewage systems.

What about paving roads in Iraq, why are there so many projects in this area?

Road networks in Iraq were previously neglected and the whole system is out-of-date as it was overused by the army, but we now have plans to refurbish the system. A renovation of the roads network is currently underway. Weigh stations across the country's provinces were officially announced lately, as overloads are the main reasons behind the recent road damages. There is also the intent to carry out a highway connecting Umm Qasr with the Turkish border, along with other roads connecting the Iraqi cities. Construction of bridges is also part of the plan, however maintaining roads and bridges require users to abide by load limits, and the provinces need to carry out their commitments in this regard.

The minister's not interested in housing people. It's a corruption scam waiting to be turned over as he confesses that "the ministry-run corporation has dozens of factorizes specialising in the production of concrete products including pipes, bridge pillars as well as asphalt, stone breakers and ready-mix factories". That quote right there also answers the question about why the ministry has placed so much emphasis on building roads at a time when Iraqis continue to lack not just reliable electricity but Italicalso potable water.

It's a lot easier to keep approving projects that enrich your own budget.

If you doubt it, why is South Korea winning a construction bid in Iraq? Why is any foreigner? Iraq's never suffered from lack of construction workers.

Iraq also suffers not from a lack of concrete. In fact it's a big mob industry in Iraq. But the Ministry's in it too. Hmm. Al Sabaah reports on how Iraq's got all these new houses and housing areas being built and yet the glut hasn't depressed market prices and the homes are so expensive why? Due to the high cost of the construction materials. Seems like that cost could be somewhat controlled if Iraq's Ministry of Housing and Construction were doing it's job -- and that's before you factor in the fact that the Ministry owns many of those construction material producing businesses.

And all of this comes as the Integrity Commission's finding on Iraqi real estate has embarrassed Nouri and forced him to make a move. Al Rafidayn reminds that he's stopped the sale of Iraqi property as a result of the Commission finding fraud and price manipulation by government employees in the real estate market. Nouri's quoted calling out the "corruption and abuse" in his government on this issue. The Commission has also located over a hundred million smuggled out prior to the start of the Iraq War, this would be under Saddam Hussein.


In related news, the Great Iraqi Revolution has released "a document leaked from the Prime Minister's office which orders the recruitment of 1000 nurses and 150 doctors from India and Bengaladesh . . . while there are tens of thousands of unemployed Iraqis who are well qualified for these jobs!!!"

Community sites updated last night and this morning. Blogger/Blogspot isn't showing them all. I'm swiping from Stan's site and everything listed except for Third and Elaine's site updated last night or this morning:


Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. We'll close with this from her office:




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Murray Press Office - (202) 224-2834

Thursday, September 15, 2011 Burr Press Office – (202) 224-3154


Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr Call on VA to Provide Answers about Department’s Budget Projections



(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Patty Murray and Ranking Member Richard Burr sent a joint letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki expressing their concern that VA may not have sufficient resources to adequately address increasing demand for veterans’ health care in FY 2012. Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr’s letter asks VA for specific assurances that VA remains ready and able to provide the health care upon which more and more veterans depend.



The full text of the Senators’ letter is below:



The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20420



Dear Secretary Shinseki:



In this time of economic uncertainty, with an increasing number of our servicemembers returning home, the demand for medical care at VA medical centers is certain to grow. This demand, coupled with the lower than expected Medical Care Collections Fund (MCCF) collection rate, and recent reports regarding staffing reductions and emergency budget cuts at certain medical centers, underscores the critical need to ensure resources are being maximized and Department appropriations requests are accurately projected.



We are therefore writing today to confirm that VHA appropriations and carry-over for FY 2012 are on-track to meet the needs of our nation’s veterans, so that the care provided to our veterans remains the highest quality.



We understand from your July 21, 2011, sufficiency review of advance appropriations for FY 2012 medical care that the Department’s appropriations request was based, in part, upon projected carryover funds and revenues from the MCCF. MCCF collections, along with operational improvements, and cost savings in acquisitions, fee care, and other programs, are key components of budget and operations planning and must be accurately projected.



We also understand that for the first quarter of FY 2011, VHA reported a 12.3 percent variance between its planned and actual collections, in the amount of nearly $100 million. As of second quarter FY 2011, MCCF collections were 8.5 percent below plan and 5.2 percent below the same period last year. Similarly, for third quarter FY 2011, collections remain 5.7 percent below plan. In your July report, you stated that “there remains an element of risk to the sufficiency of the FY 2012 budget” and quoted a June 14, 2011, GAO report:



If the estimated savings for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 do not materialize and VA receives appropriations in the amount requested by the President, VA may have to make difficult trade-offs to manage within the resources provided.



Such difficult trade-offs are evident throughout the VA health care system. We understand, for example, that the Indianapolis VAMC faced an $18 million budget shortfall at the start of FY 2011. Against this backdrop, and challenged by an unprecedented demand for services from veterans, the medical center reduced expenditures and slowed the hiring of additional and replacement staff. Similarly, the Tampa VAMC continues to take steps to address a budget deficit that is currently near $17 million and has been as high as $47.5 million this fiscal year. Such steps have included a reduction in staffing through attrition by 111 positions, and cuts from lab services, mental health programs and education funds. Each of these actions, while fiscally sound, could have an adverse impact on patient care quality.



As we enter into FY 2012, it is imperative that VHA remains ready and able to provide the quality medical care upon which our veterans depend. Accordingly, we ask that you detail for us your plan to increase MCCF collections, so that collections goals in FY 2012 are met. Additionally, please address whether there are budgetary shortfall risks at VISNs or medical centers for FY 2012. Are VHA appropriations and carryover on-track to meet VHA needs? Finally, do you anticipate that VISNs and medical centers will be able to meet budgetary obligations without having to significantly draw upon reserve funds?



Thank you for providing this information to us. Ours is a shared mission to safeguard the health and well-being of our nation’s veterans and we look forward to working with you to this end.





Sincerely,





Patty Murray

Chairman





Richard Burr

Ranking Member



###

Meghan Roh

Deputy Press Secretary

Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray

@SenMurrayPress

202-224-2834

Get Updates from Senator Murray




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






















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