Saturday, September 29, 2012

A break with Nouri or is State of Law floating a trial balloon


In Iraq where the violence never ends, All Iraq News reports a Baghdad armed attack resulted in 1 soldier being killed and two more injured.  The news outlet also reports that 2 young boys, brothers 8 and 6-years-old, were killed and it appears they were killed with some sort of poison or gas that was sprayed.  Still on children, Al Rafidayn notes that a six-year-old girl was raped and killed in Baghdad.  Alsumaria adds that 1 Iman was shot dead in southeast Baghdad, 1 civilian was shot dead in northwest Baghdad, a Baghdad grenade attack claimed the lives of 2 soldiers with a third left injured, a Mosul bombing injured six factory workers, an Arbil attack left one person injured and a Baquba car bombing left 1 person dead and ine more injured.

Through Friday, Iraq Body Count counts 314 people killed in Iraqi violence so far this month.

 A former governor of Basra was assassinated on Thursday, Mohammed Misbah Waili.  Al Mada reports Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq has called this a "heinous crime" and blames the security forces for the murder.  Al Mada also notes that at Friday's funeral, hundreds of citizens and politicians turned out to pay their respects.  But the violence getting the most attention is the Thursday prison assault.

The prison assault has resulted in many escapees.  And they're not being caught.  Mohammed Lazim (CNN) has  a report on the many still not recaptured.   Why could that be?  Because people are sympathetic to them, because the mass arrests that never end (today alone, Alsumaria reports 18 people arrested.)?  Because people disappear into the Iraqi 'justice' system where families can't find them?  Because Iraq has already executed 96 people this year with plans for another 200?  Because Nouri is seen as targeting Sunnis?  Because there's no amensty law despite promises and talk going back to 2008?

For all those reasons and many more.

If it was the Islamic State of Iraq carrying out the attack, it was Nouri who fueled the response of the people.  With so many prisoners still on the run, clearly people are not aiding the police.  This might end up being a major turning point in the story of  Iraq.


AP reports today, "The Interior Ministry said there had been 'clear collusion' between some guards and inmates in the Tasfirat prison. Weapons were brought in during family visits, and wardens left locks inside the facility open."  Seems like a lot of people could sympathize with the plight of the imprisoned.  A smart leader of Iraq right now would be addressing the issues that led to the event.

All Iraq News reports that State of Law MP Yassin Majeed declared today that the prison assault was proof of the need for an amnesty law.  Not noted in the article is that State of Law has been the biggest obstacle to the passage of an amnesty law.  Also not noted is that Majeed is very tight with Nouri al-Maliki.  It is doubtful he would have made today's statement without a go-ahead from Nouri.  If Nouri did okay the statements, it may indicate that State of Law's about to support the amnesty bill they've kept from passing for some time now.  If Nouri did give the go-ahead, it may be the first intelligent move he's made in over three years.



 In Iraq the political stalemate continues.  Some have pinned their hopes for ending the stalemate on Jalal Talabani, the president of Iraq who fled to Germany and stayed there until two weeks ago when he finally returned to Iraq.  All Iraq News reports he arrived in Baghdad Saturday afternoon.  Al Mada adds that he is talking to the leaders of political blocs about a national conference to resolve the ongoing political crisis.

Nouri al-Maliki was a lousy prime minister in his first term.  The Bush White House installed him as prime minister thinking he would act quickly on their desires.  He didn't.  Nor did he act quickly -- or otherwise -- on the needs of the Iraqi people.  He's an incompetent who can't accomplish anything.  This became obvious to more and more Iraqis and is why Iraqiya, not Nouri's State of Law, came in first in the 2010 parliamentary elections.  That meant Ayad Allawi, head of Iraqiya, or some other member of Iraqiya should have had first shot at forming the government.  This isn't "C.I. says so," this is outlined in the Constitution.  You can also refer to John Barry's "'The Engame' Is A Well Researched, Highly Critical Look at U.S. Policy in Iraq" (Daily Beast):
Washington has little political and no military influence over these developments. As Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor charge in their ambitious new history of the Iraq war, The Endgame, Obama's administration sacrificed political influence by failing in 2010 to insist that the results of Iraq’s first proper election be honored: "When the Obama administration acquiesced in the questionable judicial opinion that prevented Ayad Allawi's bloc, after it had won the most seats in 2010, from the first attempt at forming a new government, it undermined the prospects, however slim, for a compromise that might have led to a genuinely inclusive and cross-sectarian government."


The following community sites -- plus Pacifica Evening News, Chocolate City, NPR, Jody Watley, and Cindy Sheehan,  updated last night and today:




Jill Stein is the Green Party's presidential candidate.  Her campaign notes an online event taking place tomorrow:


Join us online this Sunday, September 30th at 4pmPST/7pmEST to hear how Jill Stein’s Green New Deal would curb climate change and transition the United States to a sustainable economy. 
 Who: 
  • Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein
  • Colin Beavan, aka No Impact Man, Green Party Candidate for Congress, will moderate the event
  • Bill McKibben, author and climate change expert, will offer scientific, non-partisan background on the issue
Where: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
RSVP Here
Here’s how to participate in the event:
  • Click here on Sunday 9/30 at 4pmPST/7pmEST. (Yes, it’s that easy!)
  • Host a house party! (Of course, this is optional, but we’d be grateful if you chose to!) Have a little BBQ with neighbors and friends and watch the event together. If you and your guests are impressed with what you learn about the vision of the campaign, collect donations to help that dream become reality!
  • Join the conversation online! Use the hashtag #ClimateTownHall to share your thoughts and questions with us on Twitter. Post comments on our Facebook wall, as well as your own (be sure to tag our page).
Have a question you’d like Jill to answer? You can submit questions both before and during the event in the following ways:
  • Tweet your question using the hashtag #ClimateTownHall
  • Post your question on our Facebook wall. (Please still tag it #ClimateTownHall, so we know it’s related to this event.)
  • Share your question with us on Google+ (again, using the hashtag above).
  • Submit your question during the event on LiveStream.
And, here’s how to help us demand action now!
This event is just one part of an entire day of action. The Green Party is urging local supporters to organize events (or issue a release) in your community to highlight our demand that the US take action now on climate change. The Green Party of NY has drafted a Green Climate Change Model Media Release and Green Climate Change Action Plan you can use for local releases, news conferences, and media events.

The Republicans are climate change deniers, the Democrats are climate change evaders. Contact dunleamark@aol.com or visit the Green Party of New York State website for more information.

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





iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq
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I Hate The War



In a week of big news on Iraq, it was natural the US press might overlook some but, it can be argued, they overlooked pretty much everything.


They did manage to cover the Tikrit prison assualt.  But, unless their names were  Ali A. Nabhan and Sam Dagher (Wall St. Journal), there's really not much that can be pointed to with pride as they all avoided the issue of the death penalty and the amnesty bill despite the fact that the escapees are said to be death row inmates.  

The New York Times and Tim Arango can puff their chests with pride for reporting that the White House is negotiating with Nouri's government to send US troops back into Iraq.   That does pass for pride these days, reporting that in the 15th paragraph of a story.


Once upon a time, say during the Clinton era, they'd be savaged for that.  But we're now in an era where the press is more in the bag than they were immediately after 9-11 so Tim gets credit for it.  Especially when compared to Tom.  Tom Hayden wrote six paragraphs about Tim Arango's 15th paragraph. 


Or rather about one sentence.  The sentence after the one explaining negotiations were taking place.  Tom apparently missed that sentence.  Which is why Nation readers have no idea that there are negotiations taking place to send US troops back into Iraq even as Nouri barnstorms the country insisting he removed all US troops from Iraq.


Then there was Michael R. Gordon and Bernard Trinor's new book The Endgame.  Has a book co-written by Gordon ever been so sparsely covered?


Those foreign policy and national security types who did manage to find the book had high praise for it.   But somehow the media overall wasn't.


How does that happen?  Oh, that's right. Gordon and Trinor mistakenly believed that when writing about foreign policy choices, you could evaluate them, critique them.  Not in the La La Land the media's decided to live in to protect Barack Obama. 


No criticism must ever crease the brow of the Christ-child.  So it was decreed in 2008, so it remains. 


The spinning and whoring for Barack means that Iraq must never be discussed honestly, in that there is US media agreement.




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!)


The number of US service members the Dept of Defense states died in the Iraq War is [PDF format warning] 4488.



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










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Odds and Ends of Iraq

It's pretty sad that Nouri's Iraq can't even provide food security.  This week it's been one story after another of food issues, food that someone paid for but was spoiled or bad.


On top of that, there is the issue Al Mada reported Thursday, the poultry sector in Iraq is suffering from lack of funds, lack of vaccines, lack of everything.  If you could eat oil, this wouldn't be a problem, but you can't eat oil.  All Iraq News notes 25 tons of rottem meet has been seized in Anbar -- this meat will at least be returned and not sold to the Iraqi people.

And September winds down and October gears up which means what in Iraq?  The yearly cholera outbreak.  Alsumaria reports 15 recorded cases in the last few days.  You probably haven't seen any US reports on that either.

It's as though US news consumers get a completely different view of Iraq.


Goodwill's not being built up currently in/for Iraq.  Not because some don't try.  For example,  AKnews notes Miss Kurdistan Shene Aziz Ako took place in the World Tourism Day.  World Touris Day is a UN sponsored event and the theme this year (the event was Thursday) was "Tourism & Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Developement." However, that sort of goodwill ambassador gesture falls apart in a country where the leader would snub their northern neighbor.   Thursday AKnews reported Nouri al-Malik had refused the invitation from Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Turkey.  Ayad al-Tamimi (Al Mada) reports that State of Law MP Yassin Mahjeed is stating Nouri refused the invite because Turkey's granted asylum to Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.  (Nouri heads the State of Law political slate).


It's really amazing to grasp that these things are covered by the Iraqi press but ignored by the American press when Iraqis face so much difficulty and danger in reporting.  For example,  Sunday Al Rafidayn reported two Diyala TV journalists finally released after they had been imprisoned by Nouri's federal police. 

This is an odds & ends entry.  Two more entries are planned but there was a ton of stuff in the public e-mail account that I have tried to work in (including the earlier entries today).   (And there will be a long break between this entry and the next two -- I'm at a charity function right now -- non-political -- and am about to speak.)  Finally, David Bacon's latest book is Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press) which won the CLR James Award.We'll close with this from Bacon's "The Bloody Price of Colombia's Free Trade Agreement" (Truthout):
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has restarted talks with the country's main guerilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), for which he's received laudatory press outside of the country, and a more cautious response inside it. The government and FARC representatives hold their first meeting October 8 in Oslo. London's Financial Times called Santos "a strategic thinker with canny political antennas"' and praised him for establishing "business friendly policies" leading to economic growth fueled by rising foreign investment.
Colombia's key business friendly policy has been the negotiation of a free trade agreement with the United States, begun by Santos' predecessor, Alvaro Uribe. In May, U.S. President Barack Obama gave Colombia a clean bill of health, and allowed the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to go into effect. Opening Colombia to foreign corporations and investment, however, has had a bloody price, paid by its union leaders, farmers and social movement activists. Uribe and Santos promised the treaty signalled an end to the killings, but attacks on movement leaders continue nonetheless.
Before it was signed, businesses operating in Colombia (including such U.S. corporations as Exxon and Drummond Coal) already had duty-free access to the U.S. market for most goods. When the agreement went into effect, U.S. exporters of manufactured goods and agricultural products gained duty-free access to the market in Colombia. U.S. miners lost jobs when Drummond Coal began supplying the generating stations of Alabama Power with Colombian coal. Now Colombian farmers and workers are suffering the same displacing fate as U.S. exports flood Colombia. In addition to opening the Colombian market, the agreement also facilitates investment in large mines and other mega projects, leading to the uprooting of rural communities, and the privatization of public services.
The consequences of these neoliberal policies have been devastating for many sections of Colombian society, from AfroColombian communities to trade unionists. In January three Afro-Colombian organizations joined with the Washington Office on Latin America to write to the U.S. Congress, outlining the dangers their communities face in the province of Cauca.



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





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Didhard Mparo explains the mineworkers issues

This is another item on the Mineworkers in South Africa.  Click here for the repost of the Miners Demands.



Mineworkers Declaration, issued on the 22nd September 2012 at the 1st Conference- Forward to Socialist Action, Windhoek

The Namibian working class, especially us mineworkers, have been following the events at Marikana over the past few weeks, with undivided attention.

We noted the workers’ struggle for better wages and conditions; the arrogant rejection of their demands by the mine bosses; the treacherous reluctance of the trade union leaders to really fight for the workers; the severe brutality of the police (SAP) against the workers; the silence od the socalled democratically elected government; the false labelling and attempts to criminalise the striking workers; the terrible hardship and poverty of the producers of the wealth of South Africa (namely, the workers) and the stinking riches of the parasites, the mine bosses, who live from the labour of the workers.

Further, we also take note of our own trade union leaders who have up to now, not uttered even a single word about the Marikana massacre; the absence of the trade union (leaders) from the protest at the SA embassy which was held in solidarity with the Marikana workers on the 23rd August 2012.

Further, we want to express our admiration of the Marikana workers who, despite the death of their comrades, the intimidation of the police and the state, persevered and continued with the strike and today have achieved a victory over the parasites, the mine bosses.
Therefore, we declare in Windhoek today, at this historic first Socialist conference, that we as the Namibian mineworkers will embark on a determined fight to strengthen the links between all mineworkers across Southern Africa. We declare here in Windhoek today that ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’.

We declare here in Windhoek today, the 22nd Sept 2012, at this first Socialist Conference, organised by the Marxist Study Group, that the demands of the Marikana mineworkers are now no longer only that of the workers in Marikana, but they have become the demands of each and every mineworker across Southern Africa.

Didhard Mparo
For workers at Weatherly Copper Smelter, Ojihase and Matchless mines, Namibia






----------------------------------------------------------------

Deklarasie van mynwerkers, uitgereik te Windhoek op die 22September 2012, by die 1ste Konferensie, - Voorts met Sosialism-, die volgende.
Die werkersklas van Namibië , veral ons die mynwerkers, het die afgelope paar weke met ʼn onverdeelde aandag die gebeure wat op Marikana plaasgevind het , gevolg.
Ons het kennis geneem van die werkers se stryd om beter lone en werksomstangighede; die arrogante verwerping van hul eise deur die mynbase; die verraadelike huiwering van die vakbondleiers om daadwerklik vir die werkers te veg; die brutale geweld van die SAP teen die werkers; die stilswye van die “demokratiese verkose regering “; die naamskending en poging om die stakende werkers te kriminiseer; die naakte ellende en armoede van die produseerders van die rykdom van Suid-Afrika (die werkers) en die stinkende weelde van die parasiete van die arbeid van die werkers, die myn base.
Voorts, het ons ook kennis geneem van ons eie vakbondleiers wat tot op hede nog nie n word gerep het oor die Marikana geweld; die afwesigheid van die vakbonde by die solidariteit-demonstrasie by die Suid Afrikaanse ambassade in solidariteit met die Marikana werkers op 23 Augustus 2012.
Voorts, wil ons hiermee ons bewondering uitspreek teenoor die Marikana werkers wat ten spyte van die dood van hul kamarade, die intimidasie van die polisie en staat deurgedruk het met die staking en vandag met n oorwinning spog teen die parasitiese mynbase.
Derhalwe, verklaar ons vandag hier in Windhoek by hierdie historiese eerste Sosialistiese konferensie dat ons as namibiese mynwerkers onverpoosd sal veg vir die versterking van bande van mynwerkers regoor die suider afrikaanse sub-kontinent. Ons verklaar vandag hier in Windoek dat “n injury to one is an injury to all”.
Ons verklaar hier in Windhoek, op 22 September 2012, by hierdie eerste Sosialistiese Konferensie gereel deur die Marxistiese Studie Groep, dat die eise van die Marikana werkers nie net die eise van die Marikana werkers is nie maar het nou die eise geword van ieder en elke mynwerker regoor die suider afrikaanse subkomtinent.
Voorts met Werkers Solidariteit!!
Didhard Mparo
Verteenwoordiger van 3 myne se werkers
 
 
 
 
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Mineworkers Declaration

What's going on in South Africa?  Among other things attacks on mine workers by governments.  You can hear about that in this weeks Heart of Africa broadcast (click here) and the mineworkers have issued a declaration.


MINEWORKERS DECLARATION


19th September 2012 Marikana

We, the striking mineworkers, delegates from various Platinum, gold and other mines and mineworker communities, gathered here today, declare the following:



1. We stand in solidarity with the mineworkers, ex-mineworkers and their families in the rest of South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, DRC, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, in West Africa, in Chile, in China, in India, in Italy, Spain and the rest of the world;
2. We remember the hundreds of thousands of mineworkers who have died on the mines all over the world; we remember those who have died because of mine sickness such as silicosis. We remember all who face a daily death who still work in the mines. The capitalist mine owners become rich at our expense.
3. We remember the dead, the injured, shot down by the police on the 16th August 2012
4. The ANC government is not our government; it is the government of the mining bosses, of the capitalists. This is the same in every country in the world- the government is the government of the rich.
5. The police are not there to protect us and our families but to keep us as slaves to the mining bosses and their cruel system of exploitation.
6. Our children have no future, we live shacks, the water is polluted, sewage runs in the streets, the few who work earn slave wages, because the mine bosses steal trillions of Rands and dollars worth of wealth from South Africa and the rest of Africa, every year. The migrant labour system is still there, it is just run by new bossboys, the ANC government;
7. The mines, factories and commercial farms should therefore be taken over, without compensation to the capitalists, and run by the workers,
8. Parliament is a talkshop, covering the dictatorship of the owners of the mines and the international banks; the government and parliament are their local managers;
9. Black Economic Empowerment or Indigenization is a tool to by the international mining bosses and banks to bribe a section of the local middle class to manage this slavery system for them;
10. No worker representative or official should get more than the average wage that skilled workers have achieved; all representatives and officials must be subject to instant recall by the workers;
11. The striking mineworkers general meetings will decide as a collective when the strike is stopped, suspended or when we take a step forward or a temporary step back;
12. We stand in solidarity with the striking mineworkers at KDC Goldfields and any other mine that is on strike; we warn the bosses to meet their demands or face a full scale general strike on the mines; we call for a war committee of workers delegates from all mines to be strengthened and to continue to co-ordinate our struggles;
13. We stand in solidarity with the striking coal mine workers in Italy and Spain
14. We thank all the working class and activists around the world who came out in protest in support of us- you have shown the real meaning of ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’.
15. We call for all workers to immediately remove all their shopstewards and leaders who sides with the ANC government and the bosses. Workers’ take control of your unions
16. At the same time we also call on all workplaces and working class communities to elect worker’s representatives, irrespective if they are in a union or not, permanent or casual, local or immigrant and in the community, the delegates should include the youth and unemployed. All representatives should be subject to instant recall by the constituency that elected them.

Our demands remain:
· The families of the workers massacred by the police and the mine bosses must receive the wage and full benefits of that worker, as if he was alive;
• A minimum of R12500 for all mineworkers in Africa. Workers are free to fight for more, such as R16070. All wages must rise when prices rise and not be bound by any agreement to wait for a year or years.
• Arrest the police and their commanders who perpetrated the massacre.
· Arrest the Lonmin bosses for their complicity in the Marikana massacre
• An end to stealing by the mine bosses through transfer pricing; bring back the wealth that the mine bosses have stolen- here are the funds for jobs for all at a living wage, decent houses and services for all, free, quality health care for all, for free, liberatory education for all; equal pay for equal work- an end to casualization and labour broking.
• Arrest all the mine bosses for theft .Stop the plunder of the wealth in Africa by Anglo American and other imperialist monopolies
· Nationalize all the land, mines, banks, commercial farms, Sasol, Petro-SA, without compensation to the capitalists, place these under workers’ control. This creates the basis for sharing all work among all who can work, for ending all unemployment and low wages, for disbanding the ghettoes and building integrated decent housing and service for all, for free, quality health care for all, for free, liberatory education for all.
· Disband the police and the army; for the general arming of the masses
The above programme sets the basis for the setting up of a working class party, that unites the working class fighters in South Africa, Southern Africa, Africa and around the globe. It is this new party that will lead the struggle for working class power and a Socialist workers’ state, indeed a federation of Southern African Socialist states and a Socialist Africa. The pace at which the workers’ states are integrated to become a unity will be determined by the respective working classes themselves, although we realize that the Anglo American and other mining monopolies keep us divided in different slave camps but for their sole benefit.
No struggle for workers’ power in Africa can succeed if the workers in the USA, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and in other countries do not also embark on the struggle for working class power on their own home soil.
Our mothers were kitchen slaves, our fathers were mineworkers, we want the current and future generations to be free. That is why we are Socialist; that is why we are Communist; that is why we are Trotskyist.



-------------------------------------------------------------

Deklarasie van mynwerkers, uitgereik te Windhoek op die 22September 2012, by die 1ste Konferensie, - Voorts met Sosialism-, die volgende.
Die werkersklas van Namibië , veral ons die mynwerkers, het die afgelope paar weke met ʼn onverdeelde aandag die gebeure wat op Marikana plaasgevind het , gevolg.
Ons het kennis geneem van die werkers se stryd om beter lone en werksomstangighede; die arrogante verwerping van hul eise deur die mynbase; die verraadelike huiwering van die vakbondleiers om daadwerklik vir die werkers te veg; die brutale geweld van die SAP teen die werkers; die stilswye van die “demokratiese verkose regering “; die naamskending en poging om die stakende werkers te kriminiseer; die naakte ellende en armoede van die produseerders van die rykdom van Suid-Afrika (die werkers) en die stinkende weelde van die parasiete van die arbeid van die werkers, die myn base.



Voorts, het ons ook kennis geneem van ons eie vakbondleiers wat tot op hede nog nie n word gerep het oor die Marikana geweld; die afwesigheid van die vakbonde by die solidariteit-demonstrasie by die Suid Afrikaanse ambassade in solidariteit met die Marikana werkers op 23 Augustus 2012.
Voorts, wil ons hiermee ons bewondering uitspreek teenoor die Marikana werkers wat ten spyte van die dood van hul kamarade, die intimidasie van die polisie en staat deurgedruk het met die staking en vandag met n oorwinning spog teen die parasitiese mynbase.
Derhalwe, verklaar ons vandag hier in Windhoek by hierdie historiese eerste Sosialistiese konferensie dat ons as namibiese mynwerkers onverpoosd sal veg vir die versterking van bande van mynwerkers regoor die suider afrikaanse sub-kontinent. Ons verklaar vandag hier in Windoek dat “n injury to one is an injury to all”.
Ons verklaar hier in Windhoek, op 22 September 2012, by hierdie eerste Sosialistiese Konferensie gereel deur die Marxistiese Studie Groep, dat die eise van die Marikana werkers nie net die eise van die Marikana werkers is nie maar het nou die eise geword van ieder en elke mynwerker regoor die suider afrikaanse subkomtinent.
Voorts met Werkers Solidariteit!!
Verteenwoordiger van 3 myne se werkers



heart of africa mineworkers iraq





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Ore. Dr. Sentenced 23 years for rape and abuse

This is a repost of  a Salem-New article (by Bonnie King) and a video also made by Salem-News.




Oregon Doctor Sentenced to 23 Years After Pleading Guilty to Rape and Sex Abuse

Bonnie King Salem-News.com

Dr. Frederick Field is off to prison for the ultimate breach of trust~ what's next for his victims?
Dr Fred Field
Dr Fred Field pleaded guilty to rape and sex abuse in Wasco County court on Sept 18.
Still Photography by Willie Hayward, Salem-News.com
(THE DALLES, Ore) - Dr. Frederick Field now will be known as one of Oregon’s most notorious serial sex offenders. The bad doctor pleaded guilty to 11 counts of first-degree sex abuse and one count of first-degree rape in the Wasco County court last Tuesday.
This was a change in plea which came after lengthy negotiations between the district attorney and Field's lawyer. 47-year old Frederick George Field was sentenced to 276 months in prison (23 years), based on Measure 11 guidelines.
For five years, Field, an anesthesiologist, worked at the main hospital in The Dalles, the Mid-Columbia Medical Center (MCMC).
Frederick George Field obtained his license to practice in Oregon in 2005. He earned his medical degree at Tulane University School of Medicine in 1998 and completed residency training in internal medicine and anesthesiology at Brown University in Providence, R.I.; he is currently married, and has two young children.
He was first indicted by a Wasco County grand jury and accused of abusing two patients. He was arrested July 28, 2011, and charged in August with rape and felony sexual abuse. He was held on more than $1 million bond.

Field's mugshot taken within hours of court.
The allegations began with two victims but quickly became more. Soon he was charged with sexually abusing seven women; six patients and one hospital employee, revealing that they were incapacitated by drugs when they were assaulted.
Then, the Oregon Medical Board suspended his license while the investigation was underway. The OMB had no record of disciplinary actions or malpractice claims against Dr Field prior to these sexual assault charges.

Whistleblower Victims Speak Out

A 66-year-old woman filed suit against Mid-Columbia Medical Center in August 2011 shedding more light on the sordid situation. She had undergone surgery in February 2011, conducted by Field.
"As soon as she was able to speak, she told her surgeon that Dr. Field had forced her to touch him sexually during the surgery. Dr. Field denied the allegations, and said that [she] had been hallucinating under the effect of the anesthetic," stated Kafoury & McDougal, the Portland law firm that represented the woman, on their website.
The woman said she took her concerns to hospital management but they did not take her seriously. Hospital officials disagree. They say when the patient first told them about the sexual abuse in May, they immediately notified The Dalles Police Department.
Richard Baltus, spokesman for Mid-Columbia Medical Center, said the hospital "took every precaution to ensure Dr. Field was not in a position to compromise patient safety and was never in a room alone with a patient."
The last known case of sexual abuse took place on July 24, over two months later. It wasn’t against a patient this time; instead he abused a female employee.
And what of the Oregon Health Authority? Were they apprised of the imminent risk to patients? The OHA is "the organization at the forefront of lowering and containing costs, improving quality and increasing access to health care in order to improve the lifelong health of Oregonians". This case is an example of when their guidance would have been especially helpful to patients in Oregon.
MCMC reportedly reaps $100 million a year from their vast healthcare empire; that is a lot to protect, but at what cost?
By sentencing last Tuesday, twelve victims had come forward, including co-workers, who said they were abused by Field between 2007 – 2011, and joined the cause to find justice.
According to reports, some of the victims said they awoke as Field touched them, and some had convinced themselves that their memories were dreams until the doctor was arrested.
Wasco County Chief Deputy District Attorney Leslie Wolf said the victims who were sedated by Field for surgery or other medical problems and then touched inappropriately. Six of Field's accusers say he touched their genitals or breasts, or forced them to touch his genitals, and one woman said Field forced her to have sexual intercourse in 2008.
In the cases involving co-workers, Field “asked if they wanted medication to ease a headache or some other ailment. He then took them into a room and administered medication that incapacitated them before they were abused,” Prosecutors said.
There are several drugs that would have been accessible to Field. Versed, a common drug by Anesthesiologists, is well known to induce amnesia, especially retrograde amnesia. It's very useful especially for painful procedures as the patient might be conscious at the time of the pain but not remember anything later.
As an Anesthesiologist, Fred Field had not only access to this drug and others, but also the expertise to use it to his advantage.

Who Knew and When? Adding Insult to Injury.

All of the crimes did not take place at the hospital itself. The admitted rapist allegedly took at least one of his victims to a house owned by the hospital foundation, used by visiting doctors and those on call. In Afghanistan, the Taliban and Russian soldiers were well known to use “rape rooms” as part of their torture of the locals. Being drugged and trapped with a rapist behind closed doors in The Dalles, Oregon, is no less torture.
809 Union Street in The Dalles is leased to MCMC for use as a "call house", and may be an integral piece of the puzzle as the investigation into the possible cover up of Dr Field's crimes continues.
The one rape victim in this case so far was a nurse working at Mid-Columbia Medical Center and lived about an hour away. She thought their anesthesiologist and her co-worker, Dr Field, was a trusted friend when she asked him for something to relieve her of a bad headache. When she "came to", Fred Field was on top of her - raping her on a couch in that MCMC leased call house on Union Street. Oregon State police DNA tested semen found on the MCMC "rape house" couch and it was identified as that of Dr. Field, likely contributing to his change in plea to guilty.
Field did not speak in court except to admit guilt to the charges against him at the hearing presided over by Judge Paul Crowley, but several of his victims did. Field stared forward, not reacting to their pleas for his remorse, not showing any sign that he even cared what they had to say.
"How could this happen?” One victim asked. “How could this man damage other women's lives ... how is it possible that this was allowed to happen?"
“You will be as powerless as I was once,” another victim said. “Your crimes can only have come from an unimaginable void within the moral fabric that exists within the rest of us; you have none. I hope I can someday find a way to forgive you; not because you deserve it but because I do.”
“What was really disappointing is that the doctor made no statement, and he made no effort to acknowledge what he had done to the women that had not been the subject of indictments and it shows what an unregenerate man he is,” said attorney Greg Kafoury.
“I think they were all offended at the fact that the man wouldn’t speak, they wanted to hear something.
“He is a coward. He wouldn’t stand up and say it, he talked through his lawyer. If there was ever a time for someone to stand up and say they were sorry, and to acknowledge what they had done, this would be the time to do it,” Kafoury said.
Whether or not there are additional victims remains to be seen. Kafoury is convinced there are more.
“I think there are women out there who have a story to tell, who are reluctant to step forward. If there are women who believe he should serve even longer, and they know what he did to them, they need to search their consciences and find the courage to do what these other women have done."
The civil trial is expected to begin in about a year, and Kafoury’s law team is seeking $14 million or more in damages from the hospital for pain and suffering on behalf of his clients.
Hospital administrators were allegedly advised of Field’s criminal behavior in 2008, but failed to act. The next three years put many other women in the position of being victimized by Dr Field. The Oregon Medical Board waited until after his arrest to take action. Why?
Dr Field had access to unconscious female patients every single day. It is possible that in the years he was at MCMC he committed far more sex abuse crimes than the 20 or so times described in this case.
In this rural Oregon town of 16,000 on the banks of the Columbia River famous for its fruits, wheat and wines, people in the know have been afraid to speak up, even when their wives, mothers or even grandmothers are being raped and sexually assaulted. Intimidation comes in many forms, and it must be removed as a factor once and for all in Wasco County.

Motherly Love

Joan Field, the convicted doctor’s mother, told Salem-News.com that her son “didn’t rape anyone”, and that the charges have more to do with money than truth.
“It was a consensual affair, it occurred twice in two different places; once in her apartment and once in the hospital. It was a consensual affair, it was not rape. She is a very good actress.”
When asked if she had anything to say to the many women victimized by her son, Ms Field shook her head and said, “I don’t think there were many. I think there was only one, I think it was Allen. I think all the rest were...otherwise.”
“There is a lot of money involved here, and I think a lot of people are in it for the money. I’m sorry.”
She also does not believe it was possible for him to get a fair trial in Wasco County. According to Joan Field, a survey was conducted to determine what percentage of citizens in the county were aware of the proceedings against Frederick Field. Of the 1000 people polled, 80% were aware of the case, and 65% believed him to be guilty before the trial.
Frederick Field did not receive a change of venue to another county based on that information.

Complicity Can Be Criminal

By most accounts, The Dalles is an unpretentious, unsuspecting, “salt of the earth” rural community. The people that call The Dalles “home” have a good quality of life. They trust their friends, neighbors, and especially their doctors. In many cases, for generations.
This case is a serious affront to all area citizens that work to keep their city an honorable place to live. That may be the reason that this story has been kept strangely quiet.
A Letter to the Editor signed by several The Dalles community members expressed outrage at the lack of public outcry. “Our community has its own Penn State scandal going on,” they wrote.
“Why is the Hospital Board sitting on its hands? This scandal is a blight on our whole community. It makes us all look bad. Let’s put our support behind the victims, not those who allegedly let it happen.
“It seems to us that having the CEO of the hospital being a member of the board is an exercise in futility if the board’s true purpose is to police the hospital. How can they possibly be objective?” The letter asked.
Greg Kafoury said, “The hospital is in a bunker. All of its administrators are in a bunker, they talk through counsel and we’re going to pry the lid off the bunker and we’re going to make them all talk under oath and produce every document. We promised today, to this community, that they would have a trial and those who knew about what this man was doing, all those who concealed it will have to face the community under oath in a courtroom.”
Duane Francis, chief executive officer for the medical center, did not attend the court proceedings and he opted to have a spokesperson answer our questions. Richard Baltus, Director of Public Relations and Marketing spoke to Salem-News.com via telephone exclusively after the sentencing.
He said, “In general we are pleased that the criminal proceedings against Dr Field have come to an end with the result appropriate for the despicable nature of his crimes, but also spares his victims from having to relive them in court.”
When asked if he expected more victims to come forward, he said, “We certainly have not heard of any. It appears to be the end of it, from the criminal standpoint.”
I asked him what he would say to the women of Wasco County to give them the confidence that the Medical Center is a safe place to be, and is watching out for their best interests?
“We have reviewed every single one of our policies in regard to patient safety to ensure that we are continuing to provide the safest possible environment for our patients and I’m confident that we are.
“This was a single individual determined to do harm, and certainly our hearts go out to his victims but his despicable actions don’t define our organization or what we’re all about. We are confident we’ve always had the right safety measures in place; he was just determined to do harm. (taps table) Sometimes there’s not anything you can do about that.”
“Have all the cases that Dr Field has worked on been reviewed?” I asked.
“No. I can’t answer that,” Baltus said.
Regarding the timeliness of the hospital’s report to the police when they knew of the accusations, Baltus said, “As soon as we had the information we could to go to the police, we immediately went to the police with that. I really can’t elaborate on that, but it’s certainly not a case of us ignoring accusations, ever.
“We have been providing care at the main hospital since 1959, and this is the first incident of anything like this ever happening.
“MCMC is not some giant, faceless corporation. It’s the largest employer in town, and as such it’s a microcosm of this community so we’re confident when people put a face on MCMC it’s the face of their neighbor or friend or family member, it’s not going to be the face of Fred Field.”

Oregon State Prison for Twenty-Three Years

Field will not be eligible for early parole, and when he leaves prison in over twenty years, he will have to register as a sex offender according to Wasco County Chief Deputy District Attorney Leslie Wolf.
She said that Field will also pay fines and assessments, and restitution of $5,308.02 for counseling expenses for five of his victims. A request to give Field's posted bail money to victims was denied by the judge.

Field is led away in cuffs.
"He's on Measure 11 time, so he's not eligible for any early release programs. He will have to register as a sex offender, and will have no contact with any of the victims and their families."
“I think the guilty plea was important to the victims to hear that he was accepting accountability and responsibility for the acts that he did to them.
“This is the time this community needs to start healing. Fred Field is the one that did these actions to these women, these women were completely vulnerable, they did nothing wrong. We ask the community to remember that, and to start respecting and having compassion for them and their families at this time,” Wolf said.
There are many more victims who may be suffering in silence and some whose memory of the abuse may have been wiped out by the sexual predator, using his knowledge, expertise and socioeconomic status to prey on his victims.
The victims of these crimes are not limited to those who physically had hands put upon them, as these events have changed the lives of everyone involved forever, including the families, friends and coworkers of every victim. The impact is like a pebble in a pond, the ripples go on and on.
When all was said and done, Stephen Houze, the Portland attorney representing Field made a plea to the victims, community members, the judge and prosecutor.
“He’s a human being; he’s not a monster,” said Houze, in court. “He’s a man who has contributed significantly in his life to the welfare of others. He is a husband and the loving father of two children with elderly parents who will live out their lives before he is free. I think it’s important to bear in mind that criminal cases, criminal justice, involves a number of victims.”
Dr Frederick Field put his hands behind his back and the Wasco County Deputies placed him in handcuffs and led him from the courtroom. He was then transported to the regional jail and then he was readied to go to prison for the next two decades.
Stay tuned to Salem-News.com as this investigation continues. The Dr Fred Field story is not nearly finished.
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Bonnie King has been with Salem-News.com since August '04, when she became Publisher. Bonnie has served in a number of positions in the broadcast industry; TV Production Manager at KVWB (Las Vegas WB) and Producer/Director for the TV series "Hot Wheels in Las Vegas", posts as TV Promotion Director for KYMA (NBC), and KFBT (Ind.), Asst. Marketing Director (SUPERSHOPPER MAGAZINE), Director/Co-Host (Coast Entertainment Show), Radio Promotion Director (KBCH/KCRF), and Newspapers In Education/Circulation Sales Manager (STATESMAN JOURNAL NEWSPAPER). Bonnie has a depth of understanding that reaches further than just behind the scenes, and that thoroughness is demonstrated in the perseverance to correctly present each story with the wit and wisdom necessary to compel and captivate viewers.
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Friday, September 28, 2012

Iraq snapshot

Friday, September 28, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, Iraq War veteran Brian Kinsella begins motoring across America to raise awareness of soldier suicide, the Defense Dept releases their latest monthly suicide figures, the State Dept reclassifies a group, the Wall St. Journal does the best Western-English language report on the prison assault in Tikrit, Bradley Manning's attorney calls for charges against Bradley to be dropped, and more.
 
Iraq War veteran Brian Kinsella is among many who enjoy motorcycles (he rides a Harley Davidson Street Glide).  Today, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, he begins a two-week, 5,000 Ride For Life as part of the mission of Stop Soldier Suicide:

During the journey, Kinsella will talk with soldiers, veterans, and senior military leaders at 12 military installations while spreading a word about military suicide prevention and existing civilian sources of aid for US troops.
 

Click here to see a map of the route at the Stop Solider Suicide website.  Online, you can follow the journey via the Ride For Life Twitter page, the Stop Soldier Suicide Twitter page and via the Stop Soldier Suicide Facebook page as well as the Stop Soldier Suicide blog.  Alyssa Newcomb (ABC News) reports Brian Kinsella was the platoon leader in 2006 when an 18-year-old soldier in his platoon attempted to take her own life.  He tells Newcomb, "She moved into a male dominated unit, trying to figure out what the hell she was doing to go to war.  We as a command could have done more to make sure this person had better acclimated to our unit."  Julie La Roche (Business Insider) explains:
 
During the two-week ride, Kinsella will make stops at 12 military installations where he plans to promote SSS's mission, raise awareness about soldier suicide and form partnerships. 
He's also encouraging people to join him on different lengths of the ride to show their support.
"Our desire is for people to join the ride as I pass through towns. It will really show how much people care and support our brave veterans," Kinsella said over coffee last week on September 11th in the Flatiron District. 
 
The Ride For Life comes as the suicide rate is such that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has rightly termed it a crisis. July 25th, he appeared before the House Veterans Affairs Committee. From that day's snapshot:
 

US House Rep Mike Michaud:  Quick question, and I want to read from a Veterans Service Organization letter that they actually sent to Senator [Jim] Webb just last week.  And just part of it says, "The only branch of the military to show a marked improvement decreasing the number of persons taking their own life is the United States Marines.  They should also be praised for their active leadership from the very top in addressing the problem and implementing the solutions.  The remaining services have yet to be motivated to  take any substanative action. "  Secretary Panetta, I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan several times and I've looked the generals in the eye and I've asked them what are they doing personally to help the stigmatized TBI, PTSD?  And the second question is: Do they need any help?  I get the same answer over there as I do over here in DC: 'Everything's okay.  We've got all the resources we need.  We don't need any help.'  But the interesting thing is someone much lesser ranked came up to me, after I asked the general that question, outside and said, "We need a lot more help."  And he suggested  that I talk to the clergy to find out what they are seeing happening.  And I did that trip and every trip since then.  And I'm finding that our service members are not getting the help that they need.  And my question, particularly after looking at this letter that was sent to Senator Webb, it appears the Marines are doing a good job so why is it so different between the Marines, the Army and other branches?  And can you address that?
 

 
Secretary Leon Panetta: You know -- Obviously, there's no silver bullet here.  I wish there were to try to deal with suicide prevention.  We-we have a new suicide prevention office that's trying to look at programs  to try to address this terrible epedemic. I  mean, we are looking.  If you look at just the numbers, recent total are you've got about 104  confirmed and 102 pending investigation in 2012.  The total of this is high, almost 206.  That's nearly one a day.  That is an epedemic.  Something is wrong.  Part of this is people are inhibited because they don't want to get the care that they probably need. So that's part of the problem, trying to get the help that's necessary.  Two, to give them access to the kind of care that they need.  But three -- and, again, I stress this because I see this in a number of other areas, dealing with good discipline and good order and, uh, trying to make sure that our troops are responding to the challenges -- it is the leadership in the field.  It's the platoon commander.  It's the platoon sergeant.  It's the company commander. It's the company sergeant.  The ability to look at their people, to see these problems.  To get ahead of it and to be able to ensure that when you spot the problems, you're moving that individual to the kind of-of assistance that they need in order to prevent it.  The Marines stay in close touch with their people.  That's probably one of the reasons that the Marines are doing a good job.  But what we're stressing in the other services is to try to develop that-that training of the command.  So that they two are able to respond to these kinds of challenges. 
 
 
 
Yesterday the Defense Dept released the latest suicide data: "During August, among active-duty soldiers, there were 16 potential suicides:  three have been confirmed as suicides and 13 remain under investigation.  For July, the Army reported 26 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers: 13 have been confirmed as suicides and 13 remain under investigation.  For 2012, there have been 131 potential active-duty suicides:  80 have been confirmed as suicides and 51 remain under investigation.  Active-duty suicide number for 2011: 165 confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.  During August, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were nine potential suicides (five Army National Guard and four Army Reserve):  none have been confirmed as suicide and nine remain under investigation.  For July, among that same group, the Army reported 12 potential suicides (nine Army National Guard and three Army Reserve); four have been confirmed as suicides and eight remain under investigation.  For 2012, there have been 80 potential not on active-duty suicides (49 Army National Guard and 31 Army Reserve):  59 have been confirmed as suicides and 21 remain under investigation.  Not on active-duty suicide numbers for 2011:  118 (82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve) confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation."  The Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK, 1-800-273-8255.  (FYI, Cell phones have different lettering than landlines. That's a fact that seems to escape people giving out letters for phone numbers currently.)
  
Moving from government department to another, today the US State Dept released the following:
 
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 28, 2012
The Secretary of State has decided, consistent with the law, to revoke the designation of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and its aliases as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act and to delist the MEK as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224. These actions are effective today. Property and interests in property in the United States or within the possession or control of U.S. persons will no longer be blocked, and U.S. entities may engage in transactions with the MEK without obtaining a license. These actions will be published in the Federal Register.
With today's actions, the Department does not overlook or forget the MEK's past acts of terrorism, including its involvement in the killing of U.S. citizens in Iran in the 1970s and an attack on U.S. soil in 1992. The Department also has serious concerns about the MEK as an organization, particularly with regard to allegations of abuse committed against its own members.
The Secretary's decision today took into account the MEK's public renunciation of violence, the absence of confirmed acts of terrorism by the MEK for more than a decade, and their cooperation in the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf, their historic paramilitary base.
The United States has consistently maintained a humanitarian interest in seeking the safe, secure, and humane resolution of the situation at Camp Ashraf, as well as in supporting the United Nations-led efforts to relocate eligible former Ashraf residents outside of Iraq.
 
 
Some would be seers have insisted all week that the move was a mistake and that the MEK deserved to be labeled terrorists (in 1997 by the Clinton administration) yet they never found an argument to make on behalf of the Camp Ashraf residents.  If Glen Glen and the other Three Faces of Eve are unhappy with the way things were headed, they should have factored in that there was a legal obligation to the Camp Ashraf residents on the part of the US government and then they should have come up with a suggestion of how to honor that obligation without taking the MEK off the list.  As Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed earlier this year that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions." 
 
Paul Richter (Los Angeles Times) observes, "The Iranian government condemned the decision and blamed the group for an incident in which a senior Iranian diplomat in New York for the U.N. General Assembly was assaulted on the street."  CNN notes today that "since 2004 the United States has considered the group, which has lived for more than 25 years at a refugee camp in Iraq, 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions."  So if the Three Faces of Eve had objections to changing the status of the MEK, they should have made time to propose how to address the issues of the Camp Ashraf residents.  It's not as though, for example, Antiwar.com hasn't spent years savaging the MEK.  If they had a way to address the legal obligations to Camp Ashraf, they should have proposed it. 
 
 
Today was another deadly day in Iraq.  Alsumaria reports  Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ahmed was shot dead south of Kirkuk.  All Iraq News reporting 1 police officer shot dead in Falluja and that a Tikrit car bombing left two people injured.
 
Yesterday's violence included the assault on the Tirkit prison which left prisoners and guards dead and wounded.  Mohammed Lazim (CNN) notes, "The attackers wore police uniforms and used cars similar to those driven by police, a police source told the National Iraqi News Agency."  BBC offers, "The raid appeared to be well co-ordinated between the gunmen and some of the inmates, the BBC's Rami Ruhayem in Baghdad reports."  Possibly well coordinated with others?  Ayad al-Tamimi (Al Mada) reports that accusations are flying insisting that the police chief of the province received warnings -- "warnings," three -- ahead of the attack but that the warnings were ignored. The Saudi Gazette adds, "And a traffic police lieutenant colonel who was near the scene of the attack said militants blew up part of the prison fence, and between 30 and 40 inmates were able to escape. A police colonel said a riot broke out in the prison, while witnesses said inmates seized the guards' weapons, and that more than 100 of them escaped and fought security forces in the surrounding area." Not only did a number of prisoners escape but Radio New Zealand and Alsumaria report that they were smart enough to grab their own files and, as a result, there are no records on them.   Apparently Iraq is an oil-rich country that's not worried about going green or paperless since all files are apparently paper.  
 
Those reporting this morning on the violence were hard pressed to nail down the numbres as various officials gave various figures.   Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) cited Raed Ibrahim ("health official") for a death toll of 10 prison guards and 2 prisoners with thirty-two injured and cites politician Qutaiba al-Jubouri as the source of 81 prisoners escaping with 36 of them being captured after escape. UPI stated that 14 died in the assault and, citing Salaheddin Province Governor Ahmed Abdallah al-Jabouri said 33 escaped prisoners had been captured.  Tang Danlu (Xinhua) offered 15 dead and forty-five injured and the source is the police who also state 200 prisoners escaped and that 81 remain at large.  Hassan Obeidi (AFP) noted, "A hospital official in Tikrit, the ancesestral home of now-executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, said 13 police were killed and 34 wounded in the violence."  And Duraid Adnan and an unnamed stringer in Tikrit (New York Times) were the only ones this morning to note  the death penalty aspect by quoting Tikrit's head of security, Muhammad Hassan, stating, "They were sentenced to death, so they were ready to do anything to escape." Kuwait's KUNA notes, "The mass breakout started as the security services began transferring 40 convicts on the death roll fromt he jail to a Baghdad jail."

The death penalty aspect is not a minor issue.  It's what fuels support for the attacks on prisons in Iraq.  Ali A. Nabhan and Sam Dagher (Wall St. Journal) reported this afternoon:
 
Frustration among Iraqi Sunnis with what they regard as the government's sectarian bias has colored parliamentary deliberations over a controversial amnesty law, which if passed could see thousands of prisoners freed for the sake of furthering national reconciliation.
On Thursday, a Shiite parliamentary bloc that had adopted the bill withdrew it from voting after failing to agree on whether those convicted under a terrorism law known as Article Four should be considered for amnesty as advocated by Sunni lawmakers.
[. . .]
Many of those held at the Tikrit prison were on death row and were scheduled for transfer to Baghdad to carry out their sentences, said Mr. [Mishaan al-]Jubouri [, former MP],  and other officials in the province.
 
Good for the Wall St. Journal for being the only English language publication to address what's going on.  The Iraqi press can and does address it.  By English language outlets refusing to do the same they're encouraging the confusion many Americans encounter when they learn of the armed conflict between the PKK and the Turkish government today. 
 
As the numbers make clear, it's not a surprising issue.  The US Census Bureaus says the US population is 311.5 million.  Iraq's population is about one-tenth of that.  (28 to 31 million is the usual estimate -- they haven't had a census since the middle-stages of Saddam Hussein's rule; the CIA estimates its 31.1. million while the World Bank goes for 32.9 million).  So with Iraq being one-tenth of the population, let's now look at the execution rates because both countries ignorantly continue to use the death penalty.

Doug Craig (Redding.com) reported at the start of this month that there were 27 executions in the US so far this year.  That's 27 too many and you can be sure the number will be much greater by the end of the year.  Iraq, by contrast, has executed at least 96 people so far this year with another 200 scheduled for execution.

With one-tenth of the population the US has, they've already executed over three times as many people this year.  At the end of last month, Human Rights Watch noted of Iraq's executions:

Authorities said that all had been convicted on charges "related to terrorism," but provided little information about what crimes they had committed. Human Rights Watch has previously documented the prevalence of unfair trials and torture in detention, particularly in national security and terrorism-related cases. "There is no doubt that Iraq still has a serious terrorism problem, but it also has a huge problem with torture and unfair trials," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The lack of transparency around these convictions and executions, in a country where confessions that may have been coerced are often the only evidence against a person, makes it crucial for Iraq to declare an immediate moratorium on all executions."

This comes as mass arrests continue -- yesterday there were 78 mass arrests (that does not count recaptured prisoners).  In a country where mass arrests take place daily, where the arrested (some innocent, some guilty) disappear into a system that makes it impossible for most families to find their loved ones, where the judicial system is a joke, where even get a trial make take years, you've created an environment where people can feel sympathetic to the Islamic State of Iraq's actions.  They can imagine it's them and not the person down the street, especially since the mass arrests have not only taken place for years now in Iraq but they continue.   
 
Alsumaria reports the spokesperson for the Sadr bloc in Parliament, Mushriq Naji, is pointing out that yesterday's assault and escape is what happens when corruption reigns and the institutions of reform fail and he specifically notes the faliure of the Parliament to pass the amnesty law.  All Iraq News adds that there is a demand to reform state institutions immediately.  The National Alliance line comes from one of their MPs who insists that political parlies helped with the prison break and this is an attempt to provide pressure to pass the amnesty law.  Al Mada notes Ahmed Chalabi is calling for MPs to propose amendments to the amnesty law to address whatever concerns they have.  This is most likely aimed at State of Law since they've been the biggest obstacle to the passage of an amnesty law.

The prison assault was part of yesterday's violence, it was not the only violence.  A number of Iraqi outlets are focusing on the assassination of former Basra Governor (2005 - 2009)  Hussein al-Asadi.  Alsumaria reports that MP Hussein al-Asadi, from Basra, states that the assassination is proof of how weak the security remains in Iraq.   He notes an increase in recent bombings and called on Nouri al-Maliki and the Ministry of the Interior to make changes immediately.  Dar Addustour covers the assassination here.  Alsumaria notes the Ministry of the Interior has announced the formation of three committees to examine the assassination.  Prior to that announcement, the Islamic Virtue Party (political party) was calling for an investigation to be started.  All Iraq News notes that MP Hussein al-Asadi is insisting that the fault for the assassination lies with the Barra police. Alsumaria adds that MP Shawn Mohammed Taha is calling for the security leaders in the Iraqi government to be changed.  What he should bbe noting is that Nouri al-Maliki has refused to nominate heads of the security ministries making him the de facto head of the Ministry of the Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of National Security. 


Yesterday, Parliament was in session.  They were to vote on bills regarding a line of credit, infrastructure and amnesty.  Over infrastructure,  members of Iraqiya and the Kurdish Alliance walked out.  Deprived of a quorum, the session ended.  Al Mada notes that State of Law is now accusing Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi of blocking the infrastructure law.  While al-Nujaifi is a member of Iraqiya, he has not taken part in any of their walk-outs, including the first day of the current Parliament back in 2010.  Since he didn't walk out and since he's scheduled the infrastructure bill for a Monday vote, State of Law's latest attempt to uncork the crazy falls flat and then some.  In the meantime, Al Mada notes, Parliament is denying that they have a draft law for compulsory service in the Iraqi military.
 
Iraq has had two political stalemates since the March 2010 elections.  Immediately after the elections, when Nouri al-Maliki's political slate State of Law came in second to Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya, Nouri caused the first stalemate by refusing to allow the Constitution to be followed (the results meant that Allawi's group should get named prime minister-designate and be given 30 days to form a Cabinet or someone else would be named prime minister-designate).  Nouri refused to allow the process to take place.  This created an eight month political stalemate.  Nouri was able to create this because he had the backing of the US White House.  In November 2010, the stalemate was finally ended as a result of a contract the US government brokered.  This contract, the Erbil Agreement, found the political blocs agreeing that Nouri could have a second term as prime minister provided he meet certain agreements -- implement Article 140 of the Constitution, create an independent national security council, etc.  Nouri used the agreement to become prime minister and then trashed the agreement  Since the summer of 2011, the Kurds, Iraqiya and Moqtada al-Sadr have been publicly calling for the Erbil Agreement to be followed.  This is the beginning of political stalemate II which is ongoing. 
 
Right now, hopes are pinned on a national conference.  Supposedly, it will be able to resolve the political stalemate that has transitioned into a political crisis.  Al Mada reports that Iraqiya would be represented in the talks by Allawi; however, 'would be.'  The paper notes many are starting to doubt a national conference will actually take place.  Nouri has opposed it from the start, it was first proposed December 21st -- by Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
 
On the topic of Nouri and politics, Joel Wing (AKnews) examines Iraq and Nouri's Dawa political party:
 

In 2011, the Women's Affairs Ministry attempted to institute a dress code for female public workers. The order came from the Higher National Committee for the Advancement of Iraqi Women who demanded that women working for the government wear "moderate dress" in September 2011. The committee was under the Women's Affairs Minister Ibtihal al-Zaidi of the Dawa Party. One committee member said that the ruling came as a result of public workers not dressing according to Islamic traditions. The Planning and the Higher Education Ministries, which were run by the Sadrists and State of Law respectively read the rules to all their female employees. Other ministries run by other parties did not comply. Again, this was an instance where Dawa members were acting against what they saw as violations of their interpretation of religion. Iraqi public workers wear all types of dress from traditional to Western. Some members of the Women's Affairs Ministry were getting offended by the latter, and attempted to put an end to it. The fact that Iraq has a divided government with different parties controlling different ministries also showed the limited power the Dawa actually had over the matter. Those ministers with Islamist leanings attempted to enforce the ruling, but others who were either non-religious or opposed to Maliki, ignored it. That highlighted the unwillingness of Maliki and Dawa to go beyond those jurisdictions that they had direct control over.

The latest example of Islamist inspired action was far more violent. In 2012, there were reports that anywhere from six to forty emos and gays were murdered in Baghdad. This came after the Interior Ministry posted a statement on its website calling emos Devil worshippers in February. The Ministry then called for a police crackdown, while at the same time claiming that any deaths were being made up by the media. Stories emerged that Shiite militants were handing out lists of people they were going to kill. In March, Human Rights Watch blamed the government for the attacks, which was later substantiated by a BBC investigation. The BBC found that the Interior Ministry statement about emos being Satanists led to a concerted and covert campaign to murder gays and emos in the capital by members of the security forces. While Adnan Asadi is the deputy Interior Minister, he was appointed by Prime Minister Maliki in 2011, who is still the acting Interior Minister. Like the alcohol banning, this appears to be an instance where the premier has used the security forces to go after those he feels are in violation of his image of what an Islamic society should be like. Unlike those earlier events however, this one has led to several deaths, which will go unpunished since they are at the behest of the central government. At the same time, this again shows that Maliki and Dawa have only felt comfortable imposing their views on a limited scale, only going after emos and homosexuals in certain districts of Baghdad, rather than the whole city, other provinces or the entire country.

 
 
Via videolink from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, WikiLeaks' Julian Assange spoke to the United Nations General Assembly.  The Voice of Russia has the video.
 
 
Julian Assange:  Today I want to tell you an American story. I want to tell you the story of a young American soldier in Iraq. The soldier was born in Crescent, Oklahoma, to a Welsh mother and to a U.S. Navy father. His parents fell in love. His father was stationed at the U.S. military base in Wales. The soldier showed early promise as a boy, winning top prizes at science fairs three years in a row. He believed in the truth, and like all of us, he hated hypocrisy. He believed in liberty and the right for all of us to pursue it and happiness. He believed in the values that founded an independent United States. He believed in Madison, he believed in Jefferson, and he believed in Paine. Like many teenagers, he was unsure what to do with his life, but he knew he wanted to defend his country, and he knew he wanted to learn about the world. He entered the U.S. military and, like his father, trained as an intelligence analyst. In late 2009, age 21, he was deployed to Iraq. There, it is alleged, he saw a U.S. military that did not often follow the rule of law and, in fact, engaged in murder and supported political corruption. It is alleged it was there, in Baghdad, in 2010 that he gave to WikiLeaks, he gave to me, and, it is alleged, he gave to the world, details that exposed the torture of Iraqis, the murder of journalists and the detailed records of over 120,000 civilian killings in Iraq and in Afghanistan. He is also alleged to have given WikiLeaks 251,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, which then went on to help trigger the Arab Spring. This young soldier's name is Bradley Manning.
 

Monday April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released US military video of a July 12, 2007 assault in Iraq. 12 people were killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists Namie Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. Monday June 7, 2010, the US military announced that they had arrested Bradley Manning and he stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Leila Fadel (Washington Post) reported in August 2010 that Manning had been charged -- "two charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The first encompasses four counts of violating Army regulations by transferring classified information to his personal computer between November and May and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system. The second comprises eight counts of violating federal laws governing the handling of classified information." In March, 2011, David S. Cloud (Los Angeles Times) reported that the military has added 22 additional counts to the charges including one that could be seen as "aiding the enemy" which could result in the death penalty if convicted. The Article 32 hearing took place in December.  At the start of this year, there was an Article 32 hearing and, February 3rd, it was announced that the government would be moving forward with a court-martial.  Bradley has yet to enter a plea and has neither affirmed that he is the leaker nor denied it.  The court-martial was supposed to begin this month has been postponed until after the election . 
 
 
 
On 19 September 2012, the Defense filed its Motion to Dismiss All Charges and Specifications With Prejudice for Lack of a Speedy Trial.
PFC Manning has been in pretrial confinement since 29 May 2010. As of the date of the filing of this motion, PFC Manning had been in pretrial confinement for 845 days. To put this amount of time into perspecive, it took only 410 days to construct the Empire State Building.   By the time the Government actually brings PFC Manning to trial in February of 2013 (983 days after he was placed into pretrial confinement), the Empire State Building could have been constructed almost three times over.
On 29 October 2012, the Defense will argue that the military judge should dismiss this case with prejudice due to the Government's abject failure to honor PFC Manning's fundamental speedy trial rights.
During August, among active-duty soldiers, there were 16 potential suicides: three have been confirmed as suicides and 13 remain under investigation.  For July, the Army reported 26 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers:
 
 
The Green Party presidential candidate is Jill Stein.  Her campaign notes:
Despite the Democrat and Republican candidates' near silence on the issue, climate change is happening, the impacts are getting more severe, and it's not something we can choose to ignore. 

Join us online this Sunday, September 30th at 4pmPST/7pmEST to hear how Jill Stein's Green New Deal would curb climate change and transition the United States to a sustainable economy. 
Who: 
  • Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein
  • Colin Beavan, aka No Impact Man, Green Party Candidate for Congress, will moderate the event
  • Bill McKibben, author and climate change expert, will offer scientific, non-partisan background on the issue
RSVP Here
Here's how to participate in the event:
  • Click here on Sunday 9/30 at 4pmPST/7pmEST. (Yes, it's that easy!)
  • Host a house party! (Of course, this is optional, but we'd be grateful if you chose to!) Have a little BBQ with neighbors and friends and watch the event together. If you and your guests are impressed with what you learn about the vision of the campaign, collect donations to help that dream become reality!
  • Join the conversation online! Use the hashtag #ClimateTownHall to share your thoughts and questions with us on Twitter. Post comments on our Facebook wall, as well as your own (be sure to tag our page).
Have a question you'd like Jill to answer? You can submit questions both before and during the event in the following ways:
  • Tweet your question using the hashtag #ClimateTownHall
  • Post your question on our Facebook wall. (Please still tag it #ClimateTownHall, so we know it's related to this event.)
  • Share your question with us on Google+ (again, using the hashtag above).
  • Submit your question during the event on LiveStream.
And, here's how to help us demand action now!

This event is just one part of an entire day of action. The Green Party is urging local supporters to organize events (or issue a release) in your community to highlight our demand that the US take action now on climate change. The Green Party of NY has drafted a Green Climate Change Model Media Release and Green Climate Change Action Plan you can use for local releases, news conferences, and media events.

The Republicans are climate change deniers, the Democrats are climate change evaders. Contact dunleamark@aol.com or visit the Green Party of New York State website for more information.
 
 
 
 
 
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