Monday, June 14, 2010

The Beat of Black Wings

Danny Fitzsimons continues to await trial in Iraq. He served in the British military for eight years and was stationed in Afghanistan and Kosovo as well as Iraq. He returned to Iraq last fall as a British contractor, or mercenary, accused of being the shooter in a Sunday, August 9th Green Zone incident in which 1 British contractor, Paul McGuigan, and 1 Australian contractor, Darren Hoare, died and one Iraqi, Arkhan Madhi, was injured. His family has explained that he suffers from PTSD and have asked that the trial be moved to England. Eric and Liz Fitzsimons (his father and step-mother) spoke to the BBC (link has video):

Liz Fitzsimons: You see, when he came out of the army because the army had always been his life, it was then at a real crossroads in his life and where some people might be able to cope, unfortunately, Daniel didn't cope well because he did enjoy army life. It was all he ever wanted, he loved it. And you come out and you live Middleton, which is where he ended up, and he couldn't find a path that suited him, he couldn't find a job although he tried very hard. And a testament to Daniel is that he joined a gym and kept himself -- Daniel likes routine. Daniel goes to the gym every day almost, I would suggest, every day, goes jogging he's a very clean young man. You know, he's not sort of gone wayward and just gone to the dogs kind of thing. And he met a girl, like you want your children to do, but then he wanted the normal life and he wanted the money that would go with a normal life. How does he do that when he can't find a job? And unfortunately becoming a security --
Eric Fitzsimons: He went back into doing security.
Liz Fitzimons: -- person in Iraq. [. . .] Oh, awful. Awful. The situation in Iraq isn't good, is it? We all know it's not good. But he would be out in convoys I believe their main job is to escort to --
Eric Fitzsimons: Oil [workers? Second word isn't clear.]
Liz Fitzsimons : Yes but they do escort people to jobs. And they do ride shotgun basically. They ride around --
Eric Fitzsimons: He's told us quite a lot of --
Liz Fitzsimons: Yeah.
Eric Fitsimons: -- tales
Liz Fitzsimons: He saw some awful things. The person in the cab next to him was blown up.
Eric Fitzsimons: Yeah.
Liz Fitzsimons: Next to him. At the same he had a bullet in his foot.
Eric Fitzsimons: Bullet in his foot, yeah, he's seen all sorts of IEDs you know, sorts of explosions at the side of the road. Loads and loads of them. And seen lots and lots of his friends killed.

In an article published today by Fleetwood Weekly News, Liz Fitzsimons states, "It's a nightmare. By August it will be virtually a year since the incident happened. We are quite worried about Danny now. It's a struggle for him. We already know that he's suffering from PTSD. He's on medication but it must be very difficult for him. The case has been adjourned so many times now but we hope on August 4 they'll actually start the trial. Even when it starts, it'll still be a long time..." He was supposed to go on trial last January. It was pushed back. Today it was pushed back again. BBC News reports the trial is now set for August 4th. Richard Spencer (Telegraph of London) adds that this is true barring any "further medical reports which contradict the assessment" that Danny's fit to stand trial.

"They gave me a gun" he said
"They gave me a mission
For the power and the glory --
Propaganda -- piss on 'em.
There's a war zone inside me --
I can feel things exploding --
I can't even hear the f**king music playing
For the beat of -- the beat of black wings."
[. . .]
"They want you -- they need you --
They train you to kill --
To be a pin on some map --
Some vicarious thrill --
The old hate the young
That's the whole heartless thing
The old pick the wars
We die in 'em
To the beat of -- the beat of black wings."
-- "The Beat of Black Wings," words and music by Joni Mitchell, first appears on her Chalk Mark In A Rainstorm.


Iraq War veteran and police officer Timothy E. Carson faces charges in the US for a January 6th bank robbery attempt. Sarah Lemagie (Minneapolis Star Tribune) reports his attorney, Andrea George, told the court Friday that Carson "was under severe stress from financial problems, a deceptive wife, a sick child and nightmares about his military service in Iraq". Hart Van Denburg (Minneapolis City Pages) adds he "was evidently hoping for a suicide-by-cop confrontation the day he robbed a bank". AP notes that Carson entered a plea of guilty back in March and that current court proceedings are over the sentencing with the prosecution wanting at least nine years prison time and George arguing for less prison time for her client (seven years) and for psychological treatment.

Meanwhile Hal Bernton (Seattle Times)reports, "Seattle researchers, with the aid of sophisticated scanning technology, have found long-term changes in brain functions of Iraq veterans exposed to blast shock waves."

Monday April 5th, 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 7th, the US military announced that they had arrested Bradley Manning and he stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Philip Shenon (Daily Beast) reported Friday that the US government is attempting to track down WikiLeaks' Julian Assange. Mike Gogulski has started a website entitled Help Bradley Manning. Dave Lindorff (This Can't Be Happening) notes the US government's dragnet for Julian Assange:

How is it (mainstream journalists ought to be asking but aren't), that the Pentagon can unleash its vast intelligence resources to hunt down the Australian-born Assange, but cannot bring itself to devote those same resources and commitment to hunting down Osama Bin Laden, the man they claim is behind not only the attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon itself, but also the resistance to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan?
I'm not sure which is the bigger scandal here: the Pentagon's grotesque misallocation of resources, or the media’s unwillingness to point it out.
There is no indication or claim by the government that Wikileaks has paid anyone anything to reveal US secrets -- in fact the government claims it isn’t even interested in arresting Asange, just in "trying to convince him" not to release those cables. (Yeah, sure. I believe that like I believe the government wants fair hearings at its secret military tribunals in Guantanamo.) The secrets he has disclosed have been volunteered to Wikileaks by government and military whistleblowers, one of whom, Army intelligence specialist Bradley Manning, is now under arrest in Kuwait, a US client state where there are no protections against torture. Note that even what Manning did should not be considered a crime in any just, open society. He didn't endanger US security as claimed; rather, he revealed a possible crime -- the killing of civilians by US forces -- that the government itself was covering up and refusing to investigate. (He says he tried to pursue justice within the military chain of command and was ignored, which is why he turned to Wikileaks.) The man is not criminal or traitor. He's a hero.


We note Dave DeGraw (Amped Status) from time to time and he has a new site here. Bonnie reminds that Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Not A Clue" went up last night.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.



















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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Not A Clue"

not a clue

Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts "Not A Clue." Barack makes his third trip to the Gulf Disaster and declares to a bird he sees in the water, "That's right little bird, you just rest. I'm about to give one of my magical speeches that fixes everything!" A woman asks, "Does he know the bird is dead?" A man replies, "Not a clue." Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.






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And the war drags on . . .

At Lez Get Real, Bridgette P. LaVictorie continues her ridiculous war against GetEQUAL. Being mentally and emotionally stunted, BP floats a trial balloon of racism. What has her tiny mind in a frenzy? GetEQUAL didn't heckle Mike Mullen. Forget why should they for just a moment and grasp that "GetEQUAL Fails To Heckle Admiral Michael Mullen" mainly exists to demonstrate how stupid and uninformed BP actually is. She insists on repeatedly referring him to him as "Admiral" and never once notes he's the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. BP doesn't know that. She never mentions it but she does work in "Admiral" four times in her brief post. We don't link to Lez Get Real anymore. We're not big on homophobia and that's really all Bridgette has to offer having decided that a lesbian being anti-gay male was the sure-winner for a brand strategy. (GetEQUAL is an LGBT group but Bridgette repeatedly attacks the gay males in it and renders the others invisible because it lets her grind another axe.)

GetEQUAL didn't boo Mullen -- which to Bridgette means they're racists since they booed Barack. Barack promised he was a "fierce advocate" for LGBT rights and promised ont he campaign trail he would repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. He followed that with repeated inaction and Congress only began the push for what they're offering recently because the White House wouldn't lead. Credit Nancy Pelosi with whatever's coming down the pike and Carl Levin and a few others but don't pretend the White House offered leadership or pressure. (And many point out that Nancy only got active when she realized how much it would hurt Dems in the upcoming midterms -- in terms of votes and in terms of donations -- if Congress wasn't working on this issue.)

Mullen and US Secretay of Defense Robert Gates appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee February 2nd. Gates and Mullen offered -- as they have to -- support for repeal. But, as Trina noted, Mullen did go further:

Mr. Chairman, speaking for myself only, it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is the right thing to do. No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy that forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity -- their's as individuals and our's as an institution. I also believe that the great young men and women of our military can and would accomodate such a change. I never understimate their ability to adapt. But I do not know this for a fact. Nor do I know for a fact how we would best implement a major policy change in a time of two wars. That there will be some disruption in the force, I cannot deny. That there will be legal, social and perhaps even infrastructure changes to be made, certainly seem plausible. We'd all like to have a better handle on these concerns and this is what our review will offer. We would also do well to remember that this is not an issue for the military leadership to decide. The American people have spoken on this subject through you, their elected officials and the result is the law and the policy that we currently have. We will continue to obey that law and we will obey whatever legislative and executive decisions come out of this debate. The American people may yet have a different view, you may have a different view. I think that's important and it's important to have that discussion.

Gates offered no personal opinion and anyone attending the hearing (we did) could tell he appeared under duress. Mullen, by contrast, not only did what he had to, he went beyond that. There's no need for GetEQUAL to protest Mullen. He's done more than any Chair of the Joint Chiefs has ever done -- far more than Colin Powell who was in that position when Bill Clinton attempted to allows gays and lesbians to serve openly in the media and Collie went out of his way to not only object but to sew dissent.

Those are facts and they're too damn much for angry little girls who hate gay men and have pathetic lives. Pathetic lives, for example, lead to hero worship. Adults who can't deal with their own lives go looking for heroes to worship. The angry and, yes, homophobic little girl throws yet another hissy online and huffs, "Stating that they are unwilling to heckle Admiral Mullen, who is only in his job at the grace and favor of President Obama while being willing to heckle President Obama sounds either hypocritical or racist." Worship your false god, Bridgette. But at some point, please explain why, if you believe Mullen only serves "at the grace and favor" of your beloved Barry O, that he should be booed? If he has no power, in your mind, why should they boo him?

Oh, that's right, because you attack the powerless, you attack the people, you defend the powerful, so you assume everyone else should as well. Lez Get Real used to have a lot of things to offer. These days anything they might offer is rendered obsolete by Bridgette P. LaVictoire's tired Tammy Bruce impression. There's something very strange about a lesbian with a penis fixation but it takes all kinds . . . to hold the people back.

And to continue the illegal war and, make no mistake, hero worshippers like Bridgette who equate criticism of their War Hawk Christ-child with racism ensure that the Iraq War drags on.


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 was 4402. Tonight? 4405.

Tomorrow Iraq's Parliament is supposed to sit. This will be the members elected in March. Suadad al-Salhy and Muhanad Mohammed (Reuters) observe that "Monday's parliamentary session will be largely protocol, and could drag on for weeks as the factions haggle over the posts of president, prime minister and speaker of parliament, as well as more than 30 cabinet posts." Meanwhile Martin Chulov (Guardian) reports, "Militants wearing Iraqi military uniforms stormed Baghdad's Central Bank today after using a suicide bomber and at least four other bombs to blast their way into one of the city's most heavily-fortified buildings." Counting 15 dead and "dozens wounded," Suadad al-Salhy and Muhanad Mohammed (Reuters) explain, "The attack occurred as bank employees were leaving work, sending a thick plume of smoke over Baghdad after the bank's generator was set ablaze." Anthony Shadid (New York Times) reports more specifics of the scene of the attack:

The scene itself was reminiscent of the strife that the country experienced during the worst sectarian bloodshed in 2006 and 2007, when Iraq teetered on the edge of anarchy.
In the pandemonium, bystanders, employees and shoppers ran for cover. Witnesses said many were killed or wounded in the crossfire between attackers and the police. For hours, ambulances ferried the wounded from the neighborhood.

Liz Sly and Nadeem Hamid (Los Angeles Times) count 24 dead and add, "According to Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta Moussawi, spokesman for security forces in Baghdad, no apparent attempt was made to steal money, but several floors of the building were set ablaze after the gunmen entered." Before Sly and Hamid filed, Jinan Hussein and Leila Fadel (Washington Post) were already noting, "Despite his assertion, it was unclear whether al-Qaeda in Iraq was responsible or whether the robbery was simply a criminal attack. The Central Bank houses sensitive documents. "

In other violence, Reuters notes 2 police officers shot dead in Mosul, 1 woman shot dead in Mosul and a Kirku roadside bombing which injured a military officer.

New content at Third:



Isaiah's latest goes up after this. Pru notes "Baha Mousa: Minister 'forgot' torture memo" (Great Britian's Socialist Worker):

A former Labour minister “failed to recollect” a memo confirming that British soldiers tortured Iraqi hotel worker Baha Mousa.

In 2004 Adam Ingram, armed forces minister at the time, claimed he was “not aware of any incidents in which UK interrogators are alleged to have used hooding as an interrogation technique”.

But a public inquiry was told last week that Ingram was sent a memo marked “Secret: UK Eyes Only”.

It showed that Mousa was in custody for 36 hours and “spent 23 hours and 40 minutes of this hooded, albeit not continually”.

Baha was beaten to death by British soldiers. He had 93 separate injuries, including a broken nose and fractured ribs, and died from asphyxia.

Ingram claimed, “It certainly would not have been within my power to remember everything that I had been informed in writing or verbally.”


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A few quick things. Dave Lindorff covers the hunt for WikiLeaks here, Politico covers the gender imablance on the Sunday morning chat & chews here and congratulations to Vanessa Vadim and Paul Van Waggoner on their marriage and to the proud mother of the bride Jane Fonda who blogs about it here. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.













the los angeles times
liz sly






the socialist worker

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