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Today the US military announces: "Multi-National Division -- Center reported a non-combat related death in Baghdad Sept. 2." It's the first death M-NF has announced for Septemeber (which doesn't mean it's the first death, especially considering how often they forget to do their job of announcing) and it brings the total number of US service members who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4152.

Inside the New York Times today, Erica Goode offers "U.S. Military Will Hand Over Control of Sunni Citizen Patrols to Iraqi Government" (A12) which would be the "Awakening" Councils. They are the thugs on the US payroll (men are paid $300 a month, women are paid far less -- and on one lodged an objection to that). They are the thugs who sold their allegience for coin. al-Maliki has surrounded himself with Shi'ite thugs and has always been threatened by the prospect of their Sunni counter-parts. He's made clear that the bulk of them will not be absorbed into any Iraqi body (police or military) and, in fact, has launched attacks on the Diyala Province.

The bulk of that sort of gets left out in Goode's report. She does remember to give figures (54,000 -- which is not all the members and we're not told what happens the rest), she forgets to tell what they were before they were "Awakend" (by coin), she notes the al-Maliki government says it will begin issuing payment at the first of October and she quotes "Awakening" commander in Baghdad Ali Bahjet dismissing all the Happy Talk by noting that he has been "assured" by the US military "that 'our contracts will be renewed for the next six months, beginning Sept. 1'" and quotes him adding, "We are sure that the American will continue financing our program because this program . . ."

Doesn't read like "handover" but neither did Al Anbar Province.

Stacey notes this from Ralph Nader's independent presidential campaign:

Wisconsin Joins Growing List of Nader/Gonzalez Ballot Qualified States

Monday, September 1, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM

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Media Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org;
(WI) Justin Richardson, 608-215-1342

WISCONSIN JOINS GROWING LIST OF NADER/GONZALEZ BALLOT QUALIFIED STATES

Supporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader will submit ballot qualifying materials to the Wisconsin Secretary of State's office on Tuesday Sept. 2, at 1:30 p.m., to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 election ballot.

Mr. Nader announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." To qualify to appear on Wisconsin's ballot, state law requires submission of the signatures of 2,000 qualified voters. The campaign intends to file 3,500 signatures.

The Nader/Gonzalez Campaign is on schedule for securing ballots spots in 45 states, and qualifying for write-in votes in 4 others.

Justin Richardson, Dustin Underwood, and Mark Phillip, the three Nader/Gonzalez Wisconsin State Coordinators, will hold a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Entrance, 2 East Main St., Madison , WI 53702.

Labor issues remain an ongoing problem in Wisconsin, which has lost 12,000 non-farm jobs and construction employment over the past twelve months, with paper plants slated for more layoffs and GE scheduled to halt production entirely. Race relations also continue to be strained, with high racial disparities in prison sentencing, particularly in Dane County.

The Nader/Gonzalez campaign offers a Marshall Plan for cities which would create jobs and repair crumbling infrastructures, and advocates fair and equal legal treatment of all citizens.

WHO: Wisconsin Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Campaign
WHAT: News Conference and ballot qualification submission
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 2, 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: steps of the State Capitol, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Entrance, 2 East Main St., Madison , WI 53702.

About Ralph Nader

Attorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.

About Matt Gonzalez

Matt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.

About the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign

According to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan--whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee--an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.

For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.

-End-

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the new york times
erica goode

Dexy, still working it for the military

Not surprisingly, M-NF (Multi-National Forces) issued a press release on the 'handover' of Al Anbar Province that glossed over reality and left out numerous details. They managed to do that in five paragraphs. The Real Judy Miller gets 23 paragraphs in the New York Times (and starts on the front page) and manages to gloss over all realities throughout. That's because the Real Judy Miller was always Dexy Filkins, the 'reporter' whose work never stood up (if anyone bothered to examine it -- but why bother, he was a man) including his 'award winning' 'reporting' which no one ever thought to count the days on -- count the days it took to be written before it could be published (military vetting is a very slow process). Dexy's back in Iraq and there's no indication that we're not about to see exactly what he did before which should trouble the few that bothered to pay attention in real time.

On the plus, when Dexy does another US speaking tour, we will (if pattern holds) learn all the things (facts and opinions) he left out of his reporting and his 'analysis' (analysis requires opinion) and he will get applause from college audiences -- ones unfamiliar with his work and believing the man telling them the illegal war is lost is also bringing that reality to his own reporting and 'analysis' for the paper.

The reality, as Christian Parenti long ago noted in early 2005, is that Dexy of the paper and Dexy in person bear no recognizable relationship to one another. Parenti gave Dexy the benefit of the doubt. We won't. We're not concerned with the person, we're concerned with the byline that was the most damaging throughout the illegal war, the one that sold the illegal war day after day. Judy Miller (along with others) may have helped sell the start of the illegal war. Once it started, it required a lot of selling to keep the realities from the American people and on-the-gound and under-US-military-control Dexy did more to repeatedly sell the ongoing, illegal war to the American people than anyone else.

His latest nonsense is entitled "U.S. Hands Off Pacified Anbar, Once Heart of Iraq Insurgency." Nowher in that overly long article does he even acknowledge that the 'handover' was repeatedly announced and repeatedly postponed. It's all rah-rah from Dexy. Reality, the US military long ago realized that they couldn't have any impact on Anbar. Which is why the "Awakening" Councils (Sunni thugs placed on the US payroll) were originally created. If the US couldn't scare the hell of out of the inhabitants, lets put thugs on the payroll, put them in charge and let that scare the hell out of the inhabitants.

It's not a 'success' strategy but, hey, Dexy got to attend a parade and who knows how much praise he'll get from the US military for his 'reporting' this go-round. He certainly got plenty last time and, as Thomas E. Ricks revealed in the Washington Post (after Dexy left Iraq the first time), the US military considered Dexy to be their go-to-guy.

An election will change the presidency in November, but Dexy will continue selling the illegal war on the pages of the New York Times.

Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate who is calling for a real end to the illegal war, not after a first term, not "combat" troops only. Jonah notes this from Team Nader:

Gustav, Iraq and New Orleans

Posted by Jason Kafoury on Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 04:12:00 PM

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We, like the rest of the country, are glued to the developments of Hurricane Gustav.

On August 27, 2005 I had just completed my initial week as a first year law student at Tulane in New Orleans. I woke up that morning to my roommate telling me she was evacuating due to Katrina.

Without a car and not knowing many people, I tried to buy either a plane, bus or train ticket to evacuate, but nothing was available. I ended up waiting four hours at a Hertz counter and getting one of the last few dozen rental cars in the city just before midnight. I left thinking I would be gone for days and ended up not returning for five months.

Like everyone who evacuated, I knew nothing for months on the fate of everything I had left behind.

Watching Gustav coverage on the cable news networks has given me a sick sense of deja vu over the last few hours. Countless talking heads from both political parties keep saying that the evacuation is "going well" and how prepared the state and federal governments are as they safely sit on the floor of the Minneapolis RNC convention floor.

Talking with friends in New Orleans and Nader/Gonzalez Louisiana State Coordinator Ramy Mousa, I'm left with a growing sense that New Orleans is not prepared for this storm.

The Army Corps of engineers say levees are at "pre-Katrina strength" but if there is a 12-15 foot storm surge as New Orleans Mayor Nagin is predicting, 10 foot levees equal massive flooding.

Nagin is once again calling for a mandatory evacuation, but it's not being physically enforced and 25% of the city's residents don't own a vehicle. As of this morning only 30,000 had requested evacuation assistance. Nagin is telling people who stay to "make sure they have an ax" to cut holes in their roofs if the water rises.

Meanwhile, three years after Katrina, the $15 billion hurricane protection system designed to protect New Orleans has only barely started, and serious vulnerabilities remain, particularly in the eastern part of the city. We spend $15 billion in Iraq every three weeks, and we haven't been able to muster this amount to protect one of Americas historic cities.

As I watch Gustav coverage, it's clear to me that the fall campaign needs Ralph Nader's voice to be part of the debate.

More than 14,000 Army National Guard troops have been alerted for deployment to Iraq in 2009, and just a little over two weeks ago, another 140 engineers from the Louisiana National Guard were assigned to deploy to Iraq.

We need a voice calling for our soldiers and National Guard troops to immediately start returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to protect Americans from natural disasters like Gustav.

We need a strong voice calling for alternative energy development and against offshore oil drilling in the Gulf.

We need a voice calling for a Marshall-like Plan to rebuild our clinics, our schools, and our cities.

Let's take a moment today to hope that the federal government really has prepared for what Nagin described as "the storm of the century" hitting New Orleans. Let's hope the levees really are higher and stronger, and that people will safely evacuate.

While we wait, let's keep pushing our message of opening up the debates and demanding that Ralph Nader be included. This is even more reason for Google to support the local Women of the Storm organizers who wanted to hold a Presidential Debate on these issues in New Orleans on September 18th.

Let's demand that Obama and McCain agree to participate in this debate.

Jason Kafoury
National Campaign Coordinator

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

the new york times

dexter filkins

Iraq

This August marks the 61st anniversary of the Taft-Hartley Act, one of the great blows to American democracy, going into effect.

The Act, which was drafted by employers, fundamentally infringed on workers' human rights.

Legally, Taft-Hartley:
impeded employees' right to join together in labor unions;
undermined the ability of unions to represent workers' interests effectively; and
authorized an array of anti-union activities by employers.

Among its key provisions, Taft-Hartley:

Authorized states to enact so-called right-to-work laws. These laws undermine the ability to build effective unions by creating a free-rider problem -- workers can enjoy the benefits of union membership in a workplace without actually joining the union or paying union dues. Right-to-work laws thus increase employer leverage to resist unions by undermining individual workers' incentives to join a union; and thereby vastly decrease union membership, thus dramatically diminishing unions' bargaining power.

Outlawed the closed shop, which required that persons join the union before being eligible for employment with the unionized employer. (Still permitted are provisions that require any member of a bargaining unit to pay a portion of dues to that union, though not to join the union.)

Defined "employee" for purposes of the Act as excluding supervisors and independent contractors. This diminished the pool of workers eligible to be unionized, and has become an increasingly serious problem as courts and the National Labor Relations Board have authorized ever-expanding employer definitions of what constitutes a supervisor. The exclusion of supervisors from union organizing activity meant they would be used as management's "front line" in anti-organizing efforts.

Permitted employers to petition for a union certification election, thus undermining the ability of workers and unions to control the timing of an election during the sensitive organizing stage, forcing an election before the union is ready.

Required that the employer be able to demand hearings on key matters of dispute -- such as what constitutes an appropriate bargaining unit -- before a union recognition election, thus delaying the election. Delay generally benefits management, giving the employer time to coerce workers.

Established the "right" of management to campaign against a union organizing drive, thereby scuttling the principle of employer neutrality.

Prohibited secondary boycotts -- boycotts directed to encourage neutral employers to pressure the employer with which the union has a dispute. Prior to 1947, secondary boycotts had been one of organized labor's most potent tools, for organizing, negotiating and dispute settlement.

The political damage of Taft-Hartley was just as severe. In addition to starting an era of red-baiting with the American labor movement which led to harmful internal division (a now-invalidated provision of Taft-Hartley required union leaders to sign anti-communist affidavits), the Act sent a message to employers: It was OK to bust unions and deny workers their rights to collectively bargain.

In short, Taft-Hartley entrenched significant executive tyranny in the corporate workplace, with ramifications that are more severe today than ever. Union membership is at historic 60-year lows, with only 8 percent of the private economy's workforce unionized. Employer violations of labor rights are routine, and illegal firings of union supporters in labor organizing drives are at epidemic levels.

Major unions in the United States have rallied around the Employee Free Choice Act, which would begin to repair some of the damage caused by Taft-Hartley and the anti-union culture it engendered. They should also speak out for abolition of Taft-Hartley, and not concede this monumental employer usurpation, during this period of giant multinational corporate power.

Once again, neither the AFL-CIO nor other major unions have rallied against what they believe to be the most anti-labor law ever enacted by the federal government. Such chronic resignation would never be the case within the business community were there a similar law on the books stifling their organizational powers for so many years.

It is past time for the repeal of Taft-Hartley. That would be one important step in restoring workers right to organize into unions, achieve a living wage in the Wal-Marts, McDonald's and other workplaces, and in revitalizing American democracy.

Will any members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus introduce long overdue repeal legislation?

That's independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader from "Nader Slams 1947 Anti-Union Law" (Nader-Gonzalez '08). Nader is now on the ballot in Wisconsin and geared up from Louisiana. Nader is for troops out of Iraq. All troops, not some semantic word-game of "combat troops."

Iraq? Saturday the New York Times ignored it. Sunday they punished it -- assigning Michael Gordon to cover it is punishment -- we can skip his garbage, he filed from DC. Two days in a row with not one story filed from Iraq. That's pretty damn awful, isn't it? Know what's worse? Monday's paper? Nothing filed from Iraq.

"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has been on a roll, and American officials are getting worried," Leila Fadel reports in "Maliki's growing defiance of U.S. worries allies and critics" (McClatchy Newspapers). Fadel continues:

Once perceived as a sectarian Shiite Muslim leader, the U.S.-backed Maliki has won over Sunni constituents in recent months with offensives to curb Shiite militias in southern cities such as Basra and Amara and in the Baghdad Shiite slum of Sadr City.

That's only surprising if you're unaware of how, for the bulk of the 20th cenutry, certain authoritarian regimes in Latin America successfully played the US off the USSR and vice-versa. I'm thinking of one country in particular that gave Time magazine fits from the 1920s to the 1930s because Time supported authoritarian regimes and it was one thing after another each year. Reading over it today, you can only laugh as then-right-wing Time bent over backwards to minimize USSR involvement and gushed breathlessly whenever it looked like that country and the US really were best friends forever! (Time today is a centrist magazine. It's roots are in right-wing and authoritarian.)

al-Maliki is the White House puppet. He wasn't the choice of Iraq. (He wasn't even the first-round pick in the puppet pageant.) But most puppets have some form of brain. Bully Boy's on the way out. Bully Boy can't protect him. Whomever the next president of the US is, it won't be Bully Boy. All you're seeing is a puppet realize he can pull on his own strings a little harder.

Like that country's leader, al-Maliki's playing the game for himself, not for the citizens of Iraq. And with BBC reporting that "Awakening" Council members are now "securing Baghdad," he better hope he's a better player than puppet.

McClatchy reported on Iraq all weekend.

Bombings?


Mohammed Al Dulaimy reported Saturday a Baghdad roadisde bomb wounded two Iraqi service members and a Baghdad car bomb wounded two people. Hussein Kadhim reported Sunday on a Baghdad car bombing that wounded three, a Mosul roadside bombing wounded two. Laith Hammoudi reports a Monday Baghdad car bombing that wounded three people, a Baghdad assassination attempt via bombing on Emad Sa'id Jasim al Mish'hadani ("Awakening" Council) that wounded him, a Kirkuk roadside bombing that claimed the life of 1 child and left two more wounded, a car bombing outside of Kirkuk that targeted "Abudl Ameer Mahdi, the judge of Tuz Khurmatu court" and left five of his bodyguards wounded as well as five civilians and a Diyala Province bombing (in a farm's water pump) that claimed 3 lives ("two brothers and their nephew").

Shootings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy reported a Saturday home invasion in Diyala Province which 4 people were killed (an "Awakening" Council member, his wife and two children). Hussein Kadhim reported Saturday on the shooting death of a male "empolyee of Baghdad municipality," 2 Iraqi military service members shot dead in Baghdad and an armed attack in Diyala Province which "destroyed dozens of houses and displaced 46 families from their own houses".

Corpses?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy reported 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad Saturday. Hussein Kadhim reports 2 corpses were discovered in Baghdad, the corpse of Dr. Tariq Muaeen was discovered in Mosul (following his kidnapping), and two more corpses were discovered in Mosul. Today Laith Hammoudi reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad

Charles Levinson (AP) reports that Al Anbar Province has been handed over to the puppet government (in reality, nothing's been handed over -- hey, when do the British leave Basra for real, not in yet another for-show handover, but actually leave?). No US service member has yet been reported dead over the weekend; however M-NF refused to make an announcement of a death so the death toll increased by one when the Defense Dept named a service member who had died (repeating, a death M-NF never announced). This death increased August's death toll to 23 which is not only an increase of July's, it's ten more. It is highly unlikely that will be front page news that way Operation Happy Talk splashed July's death toll everywhere (and splashed it as 'good news'). 4151 is the current number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war.

New content at Third:


Truest statement of the week
Truest statement of the Week II
Truest statement of the Week III
A note to our readers
Editorial: Ignoring the only news out of Denver
TV: The endless non-news
Sexism
MSNBC's Weiner Dog
The overview of Gutter Trash's attack
How it started and who started it
A rare moment when John Edwards told the truth
Highlights

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

iraq
the new york times
mcclatchy newspapers
leila+fadel
mohammed al dulaimy
hussein kadhim
the third estate sunday review