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The above is a video from the War Resisters Support Campaign and it is Jeremy Hinzman, with his wife Nga Nguyen and their children Liam and Meghan, delivering a request to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Last Wednesday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed he had to leave Canada by September 32rd. Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where "[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada."

In Iraq today, violence is already registering. Reuters notes a Baghdad roadside bombing which left four people (three are police officers) wounded, a Baghdad roadside bombing that left five people injured (three are police officers), a third Baghdad roadside bomb that left nine injured, a Mosul roadside bomb that left injured "three prison guards," 2 people shot dead outside Abul Khasib, 3 "militants" killed by Iraqi forces in Baghdad, and 1 Shi'ite cleric shot dead in Baghdad (his wife was left injured in the shooting).

Lynda e-mailed to note Ralph's Daily Audio, one that went up Saturday.



Good morning, this is Ralph Nader. As you know, Nader/Gonzalez is being blocked from the presidential debates. The corporate controlled so-called Commission on Presidential Debates will not let any independent candidate in unless they show 15% in a series of polls in September. That's no surprise. What is surprising is the failure of other debates to fill the vacuum. Part of this is due to Senator Obama's reluctance to engage his opponents.
On May 4th, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet The Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great." But earlier this month, Obama's campaign manager backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain and only in the three rigged debates that's sponsored by the two parties and paid for by corporations.
Senator Obama's also refused to participate in a number of other debates including the Google debate in New Orleans, the Texas Ft. Hood debate that is being organized by veterans groups and the series of ten townhall meetings proposed by Senator McCain. Senator Obama's refusal to participate is a mistake and is costing him in the polls. Just yesterday, the Gallup tracking polls put McCain and Obama tied at 44% each. If Obama doesn't agree to more debates he could end up at the end of a sentence that starts out "Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry.
With only McCain and Obama on the stage , there will be no debate of key issues and redirections important to the American people . Just go down the partial list. Single-payer Medicare for all healthcare, supported by the majority of the American people, the majority of doctors and nurses, and just recently, unanimously, by the US conference of mayors? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Reversing US policy in the Middle East? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Cut the bloated, wasteful, redundant military budget? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." They want a bigger military budget. Empty the prisons of drug possessors and fill 'em up with corporate criminals? Obama says "no," McCain says "no." Nader-Gonzalez says "yes" to each.
The only way to change this systemic exclusion is for millions of Americans to become engaged now. If you can, please join with us at our two Super Rallies-- on August 27th in Denver at the University of Denver Magness Arena or September 4th in Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall. And help us raise the banner for all to see: "OPEN THE DEBATES."
If you are not able to attend, please go to VoteNader.org and donate now whatever you can up to the legal maximum of $4,600 to help fund our Open The Debates Campaign. Our goal is to raise $50,000 by Wednesday night. Last night, we were close to $14,000 in less than three days, but we have a ways to go. So join with us in Denver and Minneapolis if you can. We're planning to have some prominent activists and musicians with us. Stay tuned for more information on that. And we have some surprise, giant, inflatable visuals that should be a lot of fun, that will travel with us as we move from Denver to Minneapolis and then, hopefully, will bring attention to our Super Rallies from the press.
Thank you for your ongoing and considered support to our campaign. Together we are making a difference. Onward to November. I'm Ralph Nader.

Lynda had a few questions and they're good ones so let me answer quickly. 1) What's covered each week at Third and in Hilda's Mix in terms of the daily audio? In both, I will do transcripts through Friday and Friday only. Anything after, I'm happy to grab the following week. And anyone else can transcribe it (members without sites or members with websites) and it can go up on the weekend. Saturday's flying back home and then comes the nightmare writing edition for Third. For me, Friday's the cut-off date. 2) Jess spoke with Nader's Denver campaign office and nothing on that went up at Third? News to me. (Lynda's right.) That was included in every draft. I don't know who typed it up and don't need to because I know no one objected to that section. What most likely happened is that whomever got stuck typing that was tired and missed that section. I'll see if Jim can take a look at it, find that passage and add it today. [How tired was everyone? When I was doing "And the war drags on" last night and going through the e-mails, I saw Jonah's suggesting I "take a look at 'Truest statement of the Week I' and 'Truest statement of the Week II'" and I saw why he suggested that: they were the same statement. We'd posted John Walsh twice and not even noticed.] 3) Lynda thought it was strange we didn't include Ralph's commentary above in "Open Up The Debates!" yesterday. I don't know that anyone saw it/heard it. Ava, Kat, Wally and I hadn't. "Open Up The Debates!" is three features cobbled together (which may explain why Jess' section got dropped). The first is about John Edwards' 'advanced' views. Marcia especially wanted that as an article. The second was about opening the debates. The third was Ralph's audio commentaries. Everyone was tired and the three were forced together from various drafts. Opening the debates contained several paragraphs and I believe that's where the section on what Jess learned from calling the Denver headquarters was. The thing on Edwards' 'advanced' and 'evolving' views just wasn't working. Marcia worked like crazy (she wasn't the only one but she was the only one with the persistence to rally everyone for another try). Dona's the one who said, "_____ is the strongest point in this and it's about the debates, so how about we pair it with the open the debates feature." Everyone was fine with that and then Ty suggested we bring the week's audio commentaries in so that they were part of that article and not a stand-alone. Again, I'll let Jim know that the section on the Denver headquarters isn't in the article and he'll try to locate those paragraphs. Thank you, Lynda. (And thank you, Jonah.)

Friday morning, this was noted: "Kimberly Wilder encourages people to check out this video of Asa Gordon 'explaining his electoral college lawsuits' which is about 'proportional apportionment of presidential electors'." Fridays until Monday morning, we avoid videos here because it takes the site longer to load for many (who aren't checking in on work computers the way they do during the week). If you saw the link and were interested Friday but forgot to check it out, the video is below.



And the following press release is from July. Jenny noted it and wondered if it was too late to note it here? Probably but it's from Jason Wallace's campaign. He's the Green candidate for the US Congress out of Illinois' 11th district and he's also an IVAW member.

Veterans issues personal for Wallace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Contacts:
Tanya Austin, Campaign Manager, 309-532-3446, tanya.austin@electwallace.us

Brandon Punke, Media Relations Coordinator, 309-826-6605, media@electwallace.us

Normal, IL - Veterans issues are of key importance to 11^th Congressional district Green Party candidate Jason Wallace. Wallace, the only veteran in the race, is calling for several key changes in the government's approach to caring for those who have served in the United States military. These include changes in funding and coverage as well as his support for the idea of replacing Silver Cross in Joliet with a VA hospital.

Jason Wallace personally recognizes the frustrations that can be encountered by veterans when trying to obtain benefits. As a member of the Air National Guard, Jason was activated twice to serve in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for a total of seventeen months. While serving in Kuwait, Jason volunteered for the base Honor Guard and earned the Air Force Meritorious Unit Award, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with valor, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Wallace feels that his personal experience in the military gives him an advantage over his opponents in understanding the problems veterans encounter. Wallace commented that "while I appreciate the service of Debbie Halvorson's stepson in the armed forces, my own military career of six years has allowed me to personally experience the realities of the VA."

Wallace calls for complete, mandatory funding for the VA. This is an idea that is supported by voters in the district. According to a question posed on the February 5^th 2008 primary ballot in 23 counties, 1.14 million people voted yes when asked if the federal government should fully fund the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide care to those who were honorably discharged. Over ninety percent of voters in Lasalle and Grundy counties approved the referendum. Wallace added, "I will provide all of our veterans with free health care so that they can seek the medical care they need anywhere in the district, state, or country. Furthermore, while I support the idea of turning Silver Cross into a VA hospital, it would be useless if the system continues to be chronically under funded."

For more information on Jason Wallace, please visit http://www.electwallace.com/

I'll repeat my opinion (for however little that's worth), Jason Wallace should be supported and elected. Congress would be improved with his service and the 11th district would have a representative who truly wanted to work for and with them.

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

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Baghdad's (confusing) bombings

The plaza in front of Baghdad’s famous Abu Hanifa mosque in the Adhamiya district has lately been a place of joyous celebration and worship. On Sunday evening it was a scene of terror, as a suicide bomber struck a crowded street in front of the mosque.
The police and witnesses said the blast killed 15 people and wounded 29 others. Among the dead was Faruq Abdul Sattar, a deputy commander of Adhamiya’s Sunni Awakening council, the American-backed local force that guards the neighborhood, which is a Sunni stronghold.

The above is from Erica Goode and Ali Hameed's "Suicide Bomber Kills 15 at a Sunni Mosque in Baghdad" in this morning's New York Times (A10). Sudarsan Raghavan files a brief for the Washington Post which notes:

A suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked a checkpoint in northern Baghdad on Sunday, killing seven and wounding 13, police said. Among the dead was a well-known leader of a U.S.-backed program to protect neighborhoods.

Last night's entry included this: "They do have an article by Erica Goode and Ali Hameed ('Suicide Bomber Kills 15 at a Sunni Mosque in Baghdad') on violence that's not covered elsewhere -- violence today unless the motor cyclist they describe is the bicyclist described by McClatchy. In which case the death count has risen from 6 to 15 (with 29 more wounded)." Is it the same incident? Ned Parker and Saif Hameed's "Iraq bombing kills 15" (Los Angeles Times) attempts to clarify:

There were contradictory accounts of the incident. One police officer said the bomber was disguised as a woman and arrived on foot; another said the attacker was not disguised and arrived on a bike.

Last Wednesday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed he had to leave Canada by September 32rd. Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where "[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada." Below is a video from the War Resisters Support Campaign.



Moving over to the US presidential race, Seth notes this from Team Nader:

Join Our Super Rallies for Open Debates!

Posted by Ralph Nader on Friday, August 15, 2008 at 08:03:00 PM

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Click here to listen to Ralph's Saturday morning audio blog.

Good morning.

This is Ralph Nader.

As you know, Nader/Gonzalez is being blocked from the Presidential debates.

The corporate controlled, so-called Commission on Presidential Debates will not let any independent candidate in unless they show 15 percent in a series of polls in September.

That's no surprise.

What is surprising is the failure of other debates to fill the vacuum.

Part of this is due to Senator Obama's reluctance to engage his opponents.

On May 4, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet the Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great."

But earlier this month, Obama's campaign manager backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain, and only in the three rigged debates sponsored by the two parties and paid for by major corporations.

Senator Obama has also refused to participate in a number of other debates -- including the Google debate in New Orleans, the Ft. Hood, Texas debate that is being organized by veterans groups, and the series of ten town hall meetings proposed by Senator McCain.

Senator Obama's refusal to participate is a mistake and is costing him in the polls.

Just yesterday, the Gallup tracking polls put McCain and Obama tied at 44 percent each.

If Obama doesn't agree to more debates, he could end up at the end of a sentence that starts with Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry.

With only McCain and Obama on the stage, there will be no debate of key issues and re-directions important to the majority of the American people.

Just go down the partial list:

Single payer Medicare for all health care -- supported by the majority of the American people, the majority of doctors and nurses, and just recently, unanimously, by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Obama says no. McCain says no.

Reversing U.S. policy in the Middle East -- Obama says no. McCain says no.

Cut the bloated, wasteful, redundant military budget -- Obama says no, McCain says no. They want a bigger military budget.

Empty the prisons of drug possessors and fill them up with corporate criminals -- Obama says no, McCain says no.

Nader/Gonzalez says yes -- to each.

The only way to change this systemic exclusion is for millions of Americans to become engaged now.

If you can, please join with us at our two Super Rallies -- on August 27th in Denver at the University of Denver's Magness Arena or September 4th in Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall.

And help us raise the banner for all to see -- Open the Debates.

If you are not able attend, please go to votenader.org and donate now whatever you can -- up to the legal maximum of $4,600 -- to help fund our Open the Debates campaign.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 by Wednesday night.

Last night, we were close to $15,000 in less than three days.

But we have a ways to go.

So, join with us in Denver and Minneapolis, if you can.

We're planning to have some prominent activists and musicians with us -- stay tuned for more information on that.

And we have some surprise giant inflatable visuals that should will be a lot of fun, that will travel with us as we move from Denver to Minneapolis -- and that hopefully will bring attention to our Super Rallies from the press.

Thank you for your ongoing and considered support to our campaign.

Together we are making a difference.

Onward to November.

Ralph Nader

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

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And the war drags on . . .

Last Wednesday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed he had to leave Canada by September 32rd. Careful readers of Jay Price's "Deserter may fare worse because of flight" (News Observer) will grasp why we ignored the bulk of Price's Iraqi 'reporting' when he was there. Those not paying attention will think Price did his job. They'll probably the include the visitors who used whine over and over that we're not this or that by Price. He knows how to take dictation (especially from the US military -- check out the last section but it's true of the entire article) very well. He just doesn't care about the details. (Does the name Agustin Aguayo mean anything? Not to Price. Which is how you get such a useless article.) Courage to Resist alerts, "Supporters are calling on Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene. Phone 613.996.4974 or email finley.d@parl.gc.ca,"Iraq Veterans Against the War also encourages people to take action, "To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca." In addition to that, Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign is staging an emergency meeting this week (August 20th, Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Steelworkers Hall at 25 Cecil St.) and planning a day of action (September 13th) where "[a]ctions, demonstrations and pickets will take place in cities and towns all across Canada." Irwin Loy (24 Hours Vancouver) reports:

An outspoken university professor who hopes to flip years in academia into a career in politics says he will push to protect deserting U.S. soldiers in Canada if elected with the left-of-centre NDP.
“I believe in a Canada that grants asylum to principled young Americans that said no to an illegal war,” UBC political science professor Michael Byers said yesterday after being acclaimed as the federal NDP candidate in the Vancouver-Centre riding.
U.S. soldier Jeremy Hinzman is believed to be the first Iraq war deserter to have sought sanctuary in Canada. He was ordered to leave the country last week after three years of court battles appealing an unsuccessful refugee claim.

Michael Byers has created a blog, click here.

They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
-- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)

Last Sunday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war hit the 4,138 mark. And tonight? ICCC reads: "Site Under Maintenance." I'm seeing no announcements by M-NF at their site, there were no annoucments yesterday so we will assume the death toll is what it was after Friday's announcements, 4143 since the start of the illegal war (16 for the month). Just Foreign Policy's counter estimates the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war to be 1,252,595 . . . the same number they were using last week. No, they haven't updated. Yes, they are apparently off today as well.

Meanwhile today at Aging Socialite's Cat Litter Box, Greg Mitchell types, "When the U.S. military death toll in Iraq dropped to 13 last month it received wide attention. But now, midway through August, the toll this month has already topped the July rate." Thanks Greggy, welcome to the room, Sara. From Wednesday's "Iraq snapshot:"

Wednesday, August 13, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Miss Iraq calls out the sex trade, Jeremy Hinzman is told he's leaving, the US military announces another death leading August's death toll so far to surpass July's, and more.
[. . .]
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier and an Iraqi interpreter were killed when the vehicle they were riding in was struck by an improvised-explosive device in northwest Baghdad at approximately 10:10 a.m. Aug. 13." With that announced death, the month of August (not even half over) has already passed the month of July for most US fatalities. The monthly toll thus far is 14 with 4141 the number killed since the start of the illegal war.

From Thursday morning's "14 US service members dead in Iraq so far this month:"

As July wound down and August began, you couldn't get away from the waves of Operation Happy Talk: Only 13 US service members killed in Iraq! August isn't at the half-way point. It is now August 14th and, not only have 14 US service members been announced dead thus far, it has now surpassed July's death toll. But no one's got time to cover that or to notice it apparently. It's really embarrassing and pathetic. So is the absence of coverage on Iraq in today's papers.


Not everyone is on some unnannounced vacation. Turning to some of the reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McCatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad grenade attack on a TV crew that wounded "[a] reporter, cameraman and driver," a Baghdad bomber on bicylce that claimed his/her own life as well as 5 other people (thirteen wounded) and a Salahuddin Province roadside bombing that left six people wounded. Saturday Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy) reported a Baghdad car bombing that claimed 6 lives and left ten people wounded and a Baghdad roadside bombing that wounded five people.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 man shot dead in Basra.

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad.


A10 of today's New York Times is where Stephen Farrell's "6 Die in Bombing in Iraq, Third in 3 Days on Shiites" on Saturday. Farrell notes:

Three hours after the early-morning blast, shopkeepers, resident and survivors were still pulling charred goods and debris from damaged roadside stores, and sweeping ashes and wreckage into the gutter.
The attack followed a suicide bombing by a woman in Iskandariya on Thursday in which at least 18 were killed, and a car bombing that killed pilgrims at a bus garage in the northern city of Balad on Friday.


If you can find that online, great. I can't and I've looked around the site forever. It's 15 paragraphs long and Marko Georgiev's photo runs with it ("People tried to salvage goods from a store that was destroyed Saturday by a bombing in the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad.") They do have an article by Erica Goode and Ali Hameed ("Suicide Bomber Kills 15 at a Sunni Mosque in Baghdad") on violence that's not covered elsewhere -- violence today unless the motor cyclist they describe is the bicyclist described by McClatchy. In which case the death count has risen from 6 to 15 (with 29 more wounded).

But the US military has good news! "Attacks down except roadside bombs, rigged houses"! So attacks are down . . . if you eliminate some of the attacks. The opening sentence: "The numbers of houses rigged with explosives and roadside bombs have increased since the beginning of the Iraqi offensive in Diyala, while other attack trends have been decreasing." Guess this wave of Operation Happy Talk should be dubbed "win some, lose some." M-NF also announces 37 women "attended the first day of a four-week course at the Kirkuk Police Academy outside of Kirkuk city" Saturday. Reuters reports the Turkish military says they bombed northern Iraq on Sunday ("no details of casualties"). Reuters also notes that six Blackwater mercenaries have been informed that their actions are under investigation. And that "police fired on demonstrators" today in Arbil killing one.

New content at Third:

Truest statement of the Week I
Truest statement of the Week II
A note to our readers
Editorial: Withdrawal can be done in 100 days
TV: Transformations
Jeremy Hinzman ordered to leave Canada
Open Up The Debates!
What If Feminists Were Swing Voters?
The race card, what's not feminism, and more
Catching on to the Peace Resister
Roundtable
Highlights
Where it stands

Isaiah had today off and Kat hoped to finish her CD review (just needs editing, she finished writing it on the plane Saturday) but Third took forever. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

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and the war drags on
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