so, if you missed, the latest barack scandal is that he's making deals with the teamsters to win an endorsement from them, promising to stop the justice department's legal oversight of the teamsters. not at all surprising from a trashy chicago politician, is it?


let me talk a bit about the gas tax holiday that hillary's proposing. (john mccain is proposing it as well but he isn't supporting a windfall tax on big oil.) i'm getting really tired of this nonsense that the 'smarties' know best. they don't know what the hell they're talking about.

in many states, there is a sales tax. and yet most of areas do a sales tax holiday when it's back to school time. does that holiday save the economy? no, it's not meant to. what it does is provide working class americas, already maxed out to their limits, to be able to afford needed clothes for their children at a little bit less cost.

it's the same thing with what hillary's talking about.

it does not hurt working class americans, it helps them. and there's no big 'ouch' for the government on it because if we can spend trillions on iraq, we can certainly afford to help out americans here at home make it through the summer a little bit easier.

i have heard people on t.v. put it down and act like idiots.

this isn't about X dollars more being 'given' to people. this is about working class americans - already stretched to the limit - having to pay X number less for the gas they have to have.

hillary is not selling this as 'economic stimulus.' she knows it is a temporary measure, she knows the purpose is to provide a little relief for those struggling.

somehow that point keeps getting missed.

i guess if you're on big oil's payroll or you get a lot of money from them for your campaign, your attitude is 'screw working americans.'

barack, working americans 'cling' to their checks because they are living pay check to pay check. working class americans are not saying, 'yea! i can buy a cup of coffee.' he made that stupid remark (that it's the price of a coffee a day) on meet the press. they don't have the money for that cup of coffee a day, for that latte on the hour that barack does. they're struggling, they're barely keeping afloat. this would ease their burden a little.

and it doesn't hurt any 1. so you have to be really stupid not to support this temporary measure.

really stupid or some 1 who hates working class americans.

he's so out of touch and so stupid.

here's howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Fighting For Every Vote' (hillaryclinton.com):


By the Numbers: A new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows Hillary "lead[ing] Obama among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents by 7 percentage points... Obama led by 10 points" only two weeks ago. Read more.
State of the Race: Howard Wolfson and Phil Singer assess the state of the race on a call this morning at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Endorsement Watch: "Groundbreaking IndyCar Series driver and team owner, Sarah Fisher" endorsed Hillary today... Fisher said: "[w]e need a president who will stand up for us and be a fighter for Hoosiers and all Americans." Read more.
In Case You Missed It: Today's NYT explores how yesterday, "Clinton Steals One Show, While Obama Endures Another: Television interviews provide snapshots, not full portraits, but that does not make them any less telling. Mr. Obama revealed that he was not impervious to pressure, while Mrs. Clinton once again proved that it takes more than a village to make her sweat." Read more.
Click here to read the transcript and watch the video of Hillary on ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."On the Gas Tax: Yesterday in South Bend, IN, Hillary "scolded both Sen. Barack Obama (D) and 'elite opinion'...for opposing her proposals to fix the ailing economy...[she said on the race:] 'There's a big difference between us, and the question is: Who understands what you’re going through, and who do you count on being on your side…I believe I have what it takes to stand up and fight for you when you need a president on your side.'" Read more.
A Critical Distinction: Communications Director Howard Wolfson described "a critical distinction in this race between, in Senator Clinton, someone who understands the pain that middle class and working class families are feeling, who wants to help bring immediate relief to them...and Senator Obama, somebody who just doesn’t seem to understand that middle class families are hurting, working class families are hurting and that they need relief." Read the transcript here and listen here.
Ready to Deliver: In a Charlotte Observer op-ed, Hillary Clinton writes to voters in North Carolina: "It has been an honor and privilege to travel across North Carolina and talk to you about the issues that matter most to you and your families. I know how hard you're working, how much you love this country, and how big you dream for your children. But I also know that you're feeling squeezed from every direction…I don't back down from a challenge -- and neither do the American people. It's up to all of us to keep the promise of America for the next generation, and together, that's exactly what we'll do." Read more.
Previewing Today: Hillary hosts "Get Out The Vote" events in Greenville and High Point, NC. She also hosts "Get Out The Vote" events in Merrillville, New Albany, and Evansville, IN. Hillary's stop in Evansville will mark her 100th campaign stop in the Hoosier State.
Recapping Yesterday: Hillary spoke before a crowd of 2,300 at the Indiana Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner, offering her pledge to continue to fight for every American from the moment she becomes president: "There's one thing you know about me. I am no shrinking violet. I may get knocked down. But I will always get right back up, and I will never quit until the job is finished." Read more.

so that's hillary, let's check in on barack who is doing some last minute prep of his own.



that's Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Sunset Campaign" and, as you can say, mr. pretty words is making himself pretty. he's such a male model, isn't he? just a g.q. cover boy. excuse me, a vogue cover boy, men's vogue. no wonder he can't relate to working class americans.

we are in oregon with kat, ava and c.i. i really wanted to take part in all the speaking gigs but i'm just too tired. so, along with kat, we let ava and c.i. solo on the last 2 tonight. it is a lot of fun but you really have to have to have a ton of energy. the baby's not been a problem because the baby either wants me or c.i. and c.i.'s happy to hold and rock. c.i. will do so while speaking. (i can't because i will lose my focus, trust me.) ava and kat are more than willing to help out (and i thank them for that) but there's a bond with c.i. that i'm more than happy to foster because it means i'm only apologizing to 1 person over and over 'you don't have to, i'm really, really sorry.'

c.i. says it's not an imposition and points out 'you certainly were there for all of my kids.' so that's why i don't feel as guilty. but i really do feel guilty. i don't know if that's a new mother thing or what? maybe i feel like it has to be me or flyboy watching our baby or we're failing? as guilty as i feel, it was great to see the baby get plenty of attention - to watch it from over there. i'm laughing but i'm serious.

speaking of kat, her brilliant review of carly simon's this kind of love went up sunday morning and it's 'Kat's Korner: This Kind Of Art.' and brilliant writing was also done by ava and c.i. on sunday, check out 'TV: The Beauty & The Grump' where they take on the jeremiah wright apologist bill moyers, 'Dear Betsy Reed' where they take on the enemy of women betsy reed (also check out elaine's 'Little Red Betsy Reed Lies in The Nation' from friday) and 'TV: The candidates quick take' on hillary's this week and barack's meet the press.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Monday, May 5, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the assault on Sadr City continues, Iraq's First Lady surives a bombing, others are less fortunate, and more.

Starting with war resistance. David Giuliano and Jane Orion Smith (Canada's The Hill Times) [click here for Google cache if you don't subscribe to The Hill Times] note, "In the comming weeks, the House of Commons will consider a recommendation from the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that would allow conscientious objectors to be able to stay in Canada with their spouses and immediate families. U.S. soldiers who are in Canada have been largely responsible for the focus on this issue in this country. Globally, however, it is important for many who face even more harsh circumstances. If today's U.S. soldiers are a part of an 'all-volunteer army,' should they have any rights of asylum? The UNCHR Handbook on Refugees, the standard-bearer for such questions, say 'yes.' To qualify for asylum, a soldier must 'show that the performance of military service would have required his participation in military action contrary to his genuine political, religious or moral convictions, or to valid reasons of conscience.' . . . The findings of the Nuremberg Tribunals after World War II remind us that following orders is not an excuse for committing crimes in war. Once you are in the field, it is ever the more difficult to refuse an order, even if illegal. Many of the U.S. 'war resisters' in Canada already saw a tour of duty in Iraq and were under pressure to commit acts that violated basic rules of human conduct. Joshua Key is currently having his day in Federal Court seeking refugee status."

With other issues occupying the debate in Canada's Parliament last month, the war resisters motion has not yet been debated. Currently, you can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Turning to Iraq where yesterday saw an attack on Hiro Abrahim Ahmed. Who is she? India's Economic Times noted a Baghdad bombing targeting here, the First Lady of Iraq, which wounded "four of her body guards but . . . [left] her unharmed." BBC reported she "was travelling to a cultural festival at the city's National Theatre at the time. . . . Ms Hiro Ibrahim is a daughter of Ibrahim Ahmed, one of the founders of the Kurdish Democratic Party, and married Mr Talabani in 1970. She owns a media group and is a children's rights activist." Sunday also saw the US military announce the deaths of 4 US service members. Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) observed, "The death of the marines in Anbar, in an attack on Friday that the military reported Sunday was one of the deadliest in months on American troops in the province. For much of the past 18 months, Anbar, once one of the most violet place in Iraq, has been mostly quiet." The announcement put the Sunday April 27th to Sunday May 4th period's death toll at 19. The US military's announcement notes that the four died "when their vehicle was attacked by an enemy force with an improvised explosive device". Sunday also saw the murder of journalist Sarwa Abdul Wahab in Mosul. Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reported that the "journalist, lawyer and member of the Mosul Branch of the Independent Electoral Commission in Iraq" was shot dead outside her home in Mosul. Canada's CBC reported she had received threatening text messages demanding she stop reporting and that she was apparently in a taxi and pulled from it in what may have been an attempted kidnapping before "she was shot twice in the head." CBS and AP report the following details, she was 36-years-old, she and her mother, Umm Mohammed, were returning home from the market (on foot), she worked in print and broadcasting and Yasir al-Hamadani explains, "Besides her work as a journalist, she was activist working with non-governmental organizations as well as being a lawyer. We are very sorry to lose her. She was very active and very passionate about her work." She was murdered one day after World Press Freedom Day. Reporters Without Borders states of her death: "This is yet another case to add to the long list of Iraqi journalists who have been targeted by armed groups operating with complete impunity. We urge the Iraqi authorities to carry out a thorough investigation in order to identify those responsible and to discourage similar murders in the future. . . . As has happened so often in the past, Wahab was caught in an ambush from which she no chance of escaping. Our thoughts are with her family and colleagues to whom we offer our sincerest condolences." At the end of last month, the Committee to Protect Journalist issued a report entitled "Getting Away With Murder" which charted "the worst countries in the world at prosecuting journalists' killers" and found that "[t]he countries with the worst records for impunity -- Iraq, Sierra Leone and Somalia -- have been mired in conflict." Iraq topped the list with CPJ noting: "Iraq became the world's most dangerous country for the press after the 2003 U.S. invasion led to armed conflict and sectarian strife. Journalists have generally not died in combat, however. Most are targeted for professional reasons and murdered. Most of the victims, such as Al-Arabiya correspondent Atwar Bahjat, are Iraqis. Seventy-nine cases are unsolved." Saturday (World Press Freedom Day) found a McClatchy Iraqi correspondent sharing thoughts (at Inside Iraq) on the Journalistic Freedom Observatory in Iraq's findings that "between March 3, 2007 and March 3, 2008 violations against journalists marked a 60% increase over the last year. This means one violation every 43 hours" and also noted that "the report didn't mention . . . the provoking attempt against some media institution by religious pulpits and mosques that air the agendas of their political parties which may represent a threat against Iraqi independent media, that one well known Iraqi cleric and MP used his Friday speech to urge worshipers against certain Iraqi media TV channels or newspapers that oppose the government's agendas."

Meanwhile US journalist Anna Badkhen has returned to Iraq where she will be filing reports for Salon. Her first one can be read here where she notes, "This is my 10th reporting trip to Iraq since the war began, and my fifth trip as an embedded reporter. My last trip was in 2006." The Los Angeles Times' Borzou Daragahi completed his reporting on Iraq in early 2007 but has also returned to Iraq. On Sunday he and Raheem Salman reported on the mercenary company Blackwater Worldwide which is responsible for the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians from last September 2007 Blackwater shoot-em-up in Baghdad: "Blackwater officials have said their workers feared they were under attack; Iraqi officials and witnesses called it a massacre. U.S. officials say the investigation of the shooting continues, though they have been tight-lipped about details. An FBI report is due this year. In April, the State Department renewed Blackwater's contract for another year, a move that enraged many Iraqis affected by the killings." This as Frontera Norte Sur reports on Blackwater's project to create a viligante camp "in the rural San Diego County community of Potero" . . . US Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA), a leading Blackwater critic, said in a radio interview late last week that the presence of a 'private mercenary army' on the border, where it is hard to tell who is a citizen and who is not, was a 'recipe for disaster'." Douglas Turner (Buffalo News) notes Blackwater "may have evaded up to $50 million in income taxes." Turners listing various corruptions in the White House contracting 'system' and notes, among other problems, electrocutions. On Sunday, James Risen (New York Times) reported on KBR's we-built-it-no-one-said-it-had-to-safe-for-people defense. Risen explained "at least a dozen American military personnel have been electrocuted in Iraq" as a result of faulty wiring (failure to ground the electrical wires) and that KBR's attitude for these projects they were over is that the blame goes to "poorly trained Iraqis and Afghans paid just a few dollars a day" (which KBR hired) and feel the failures are no big deal because they explained there might be problems. Carmen Nolasco Duran lost her brother who was serving in Iraq and wasn't killed in battle, wasn't killed by a bombing, but made the 'error' of thinking he could shower. As a result of corners cut, Marcos O. Nolasco died in Baiji (May 2004) by electrocution while taking a shower. His sister tells Risen, "I don't feel like they did their job. They hired these contractors and yet they didn't go and double-check that the work was fine."

Switching from contractors to civilian empoyees, last week the US House Armed Services Committee subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations released a report [PDF format warning] entitled "Deploying Federal Civilians to the Battlefield: Incentives, Benefits, and Medical Care." The report states:

Reconstruction and stabilzation operations require a "whole government" approach with the deployment of both uniformed and civilian personnel from the Department of Defense (DOD) and other departments and agencies. To support these stabilization and reconstruction missions, the President has requested $249.0 million in the fiscal year 2009 budget to build an Active and Standby Response Corps of over 2,000 federal civilian personnel from all 15 civilian agencies and to build a Civilian Reserve Corps comprised of about 2,000 experts from state and local governments and from the private sector. H.R. 1084, which passed in the House on March 5, 2008, authorizes funds and responsibilities for the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization within the Department of State (DOS) to establish and manage these corps.

[. . .]

The United States has deployed a large part of our volunteer military to support the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we have also called on an army of federal civilian volunteers from the Department of Defense and other departments and agencies to serve. Over the course of more than seven years of war, nearly 10,000 federal civilian employees have been deplored to Iraq or Afghanistan to support security, political, and economic development. While certainly unique in scale and complexity, the stability and reconstruction missions in Iraq and Afghanistan are also unprecedented in their risk to our deployed citizens. Some claim these posts are exposed to such a high level of threat that most civilian personnel would have been evactued from them in the pre-9/11 era. There are few safe places in countries where terrorists, militia, insurgents, and criminals are seeking power and attempting to undermine efforts to establish legitimate governments. Even in 'secure' areas such as military bases or the Baghdad 'Green Zone,' personnel are at risk of attack by mortars, rockets, and the possibility that a suicide bomber could infiltrate defenses. Notwithstanding these risks, federal civilian personnel working in these war zones have been deemed essential to the success of the stabilization and reconstruction efforts.

The report identifies "Ares of Concern" including that "the committee heard directly from two DOD civilians who faced challenges in receiving: proper medical treatment for their wounds, approval for admission to Military Treatment Facilities (MTF), help with OWCP claims process from the Department of Labor, and support from their parent organization to be put back to work." The Office of Workers' Compesnation Programs (OCWP) was also cited as an error of concern:


The subcommittee heard about problems with: (1) claims officers not recognizing unique aspects of combat injuries; (2) an antiquated and inefficient paper system and inadequate automated system software for handling claims filed by those in sensitive assignments; and (3) the lack of support provided to those who have to negotiate the system for approval of claims. Considering the importance of encouraging civilians to volunteer to serve in combat zones,the burden of negotiating the OWCP paperwork and bureaucracy should not fall solely on the wounded civilian. They should be assured that they will receive informed and educated help with this process.

These issues come at a time when the State Dept is threatening to 'draft' employees and station them in Iraq. The report notes, "Despite assurances from federal agency witnesses who testified before the committee that the relevant agencies can meet the current demand for civilian assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of State met with strong opposition from some of its FSOs [Foreign Service Officers] when it announced in October, 2007 that directed assignements might be required to fill positions in Iraq. There was significant concern among FSOs, including the AFSA President and Vice President, about how FSOs were informed of these assignments. Soon after, the Department of State stated that the use of directed assignments would not be necessary since they expected all of their current FSO positions in Iraq to be filled by 'volunteers'." In April, another change emerged. CBS and AP reported: "The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats they may be forced to serve in Iraq next year and says it will soon start identifying prime candidates for jobs at the Baghdad embassy and outlying provinces, according to a cable obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. A similar call-up notice last year caused an uproar among foreign service officers, some of whom objected to compulsory work in a war zone, although in the end the State Department found enough volunteers to fill the jobs. Now, the State Department anticipates another staffing crisis." By September of 2007, 1500 State Dept employees had worked in Iraq and, in terms of the 2007 attempt to 'draft' employees, after forced to back down the State Dept only filled 94% of the jobs in Iraq.

Staying with the topic of civilians but turning to Iraqi civilians, the assault on Sadr City continues and civilians continue to die and be injured. Shashank Bengali (McClatchy Newspapers) reported that Saturday the US military conducted an assault which damaged "[a] major hospital in Baghdad's Sadr City". Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) explained that 3 "precision-guided munitions" hit "a small mosque," that children were wounded (a total of 28 people were wounded) and ambulances damaged, while the hospital's windows were blown out. Rubin noted, "Haider Abbas, 10, was brought to the hospital with what appeared to be a gaping hole in his back and shrapnel injuries across his stomach. The boy screamed in pain, barely able to answer a doctor's questions." Peter Symonds (World Socialist Web Site) offers, "The incident provides a glimpse of the hellish conditions created for residents of the huge working class slum through the month-long siege by American and Iraqi government forces. Prensa Latina leads with, "The US air force bombed a hospital in Sadr City district in the capital, wounding about twenty people, among them women and children" and quotes Ali Bistan ("chief of health department") stating, "They [the US] will say it is a hidden weapons store but they really want to destroy the country's infrastructure, to prevent staff and doctors from arriving to the hospital." As the assault continues, barriers continue to be erected (by the US military) in Sadr City, walling the area off. The Los Angeles Times runs a photo by Petr David Josek (AP) showing one such walling. Gina Chon (Wall St. Journal) notes of her return "to Baghdad after a monthlog break," "The fighting that began against the Mahdi Army (or what the U.S. calls 'criminal elements' disobeying Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr) before I left is ongoing. As a result, the humanitarian situation in the Sadr City area of Baghdad has worsened. Sadr City was already a poor area of the capital, but the recent clashes have made it difficult to get aid to the people. And many families have been displaced. . . . At a press conference today, Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said the government recognizes the need to rebuild and provide economic aid to Sadr City. But he said the government has been unable to spend all of the $100 million in reconstruction money pledged for Sadr City because of the bad security situation. As the weather grows increaingly hotter, the importance of providing adequate supplies of electricity and clean water becomes even more crucial." CBS and AP note: "Iraqi health officials on Monday said that 41 people, including women and children, have been wounded since Sunday" in Sadr City. Hala Jaber (Times of London) reports from Sadr City. Among the many noted are Amira Zaydan:

"Ya'mma, Ya'ba" ("Oh mother, oh father"), cried Amira Zaydan, a 45-year-old spinsiter, slapping her face and chest as she grieved for her parents Jaleel, 65, and Hanounah, 60, whose house had exploded after apparently being hit by an American rocket.
"Where are you, my brothers?" she sobbed, lamenting Samir, 32, and Amir, 29, who had also perished along with their wives, one of whom was nine months pregnant.
"What wrong have you done, my children?" she howled to the spirits of four nephews and nieces who completed a toll of 10 family members in the disaster that struck last Tuesday. "Mothers, children, babies; all obliterated for nothing."

AFP reports, "The Iraqi government, meanwhile, said Sunday that it had no evidence to link Iranian support for militiamen leading attacks in Sadr City and called for better relations with Tehran. On US accusations that weapons captured from Shiite fighters bore 2008 markings suggesting Iranian involvement, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said: 'We don't have that kind of evidence.'" Considering last week's non-stop press coverage trying to bolster/enable the White House in their claims, the denial has interested very few US outlets. Leila Fadel and Shashank Bengali (McClatchy Newspapers) did report on it: "The Iraqi Government seemed to distance itself from U.S. accusations towards Iran Sunday saying it would not be forced into conflict with its Shiite neighbor" and quoted alDabbagh stating, "We don't want to be pushed into any conflict with any neighboring countries, especially Iran." Meanwhile Walter Pincus (Washington Post) reports, "The United States is moving south in Iraq, planning to upgrade facilities at Camp Delta and the Al Kut Air Base, which is about 140 miles southeast of Baghdad and just 35 miles from the Iranian border. . . . There has been no public announcement. But two weeks ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers posted modifications to an earlier notice tha disclosed it is seeking construction companies or joint ventures interested in bidding to design and build two 'life support areas' at Camp Delta".

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports US air strikes in Sadr City claimed 6 lives with thrity-one more left injured, another US bombing in Baghdad (in Amil) claimed 5 lives ["including three members of one family (parents and their child")] with an additional eight injured, a Baghdad bombing left two people wounded, a Diyala Province roadside bombing that injured seven members of the Iraqi military, two other Diyala Province roadside bombing that injured three police officers and three people belonging to "Kurdish security forces known as Bashmarga" and a Kirkuk roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer (seven more injured).

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Diyala Province that left one person wounded and one person wounded in Nineveh Province shooting. Reuters reports an attack on an Iraqi checkpoint that claimed the lives of 10 Iraqi soldiers with thirteen more wounded. Reuters also notes 3 women shot dead in Mosul in an apartment invasion,

Kidnappings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province kidnapping of 3 truck drivers.

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad and 1 in Mosul.

Turning to the US presidential race. It wasn't enough for Barack Obama to embarrass himself by thinking the Great Lakes were in Oregon [which PaganPower (No Quarter) demonstrates the Obama campaign is trying to make disappear], now he shows even more geographical stupidity. Jeralyn (TalkLeft) highlights his new ad attacking Hillary Clinton -- both are running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination -- and he says "I approved this message" at the end. So he's responsible for its accuracy. The New York Times, a national paper, is published in NYC. The ad calls the Times Hillary's "hometown paper." Hillary and Bill Clinton live in Chappaqua, NY. That's over a half-hour (with no traffic -- there's always traffic -- and going at least 60 mph) from the edge of NYC. The Times really isn't Hillary's "hometown paper" (Gannett's The Journal News would be the local daily) but any idiot who thought the Great Lakes were in Oregon isn't going to be teaching geography anytime soon. Meanwhile Big Tent Democrat (TalkLeft) educates on counting (which, as he points out, is apparently harder than might be thought). Joe Wilson (Raleigh News and Observer via TaylorMarsh.com) explains Barack's inexperience and lack of judgement and points out, "Obama repeats the incorrect and politically irresponsible mantra that Sen. Hillary Clinton voted for the war and that therefore he is more qualified to be president. Unlike Obama, as the last acting U.S. ambassador to Iraq during the first Gulf War, I was deeply involved in that debate from the beginning. . . . The betrayal occurred not when the president was given the tools he needed to secure international support for inspections, but rather when Bush refused to allow the inspectors to complete their work and decided preemptively to invade, conquer and occupy Iraq. That decision and power was his alone -- not the Congress' and certainly not Hillary Clinton's. Obama is wrong to turn Bush's war into Clinton's responsibility. And Obama is dangerously naive in failing to understand the need in international crises to blend tough diplomacy with the other foreign policy tools at our disposal to achieve a strong national security posture." Meanwhile Susan UnPC (No Quarter) has been covering the realities of Weather Underground victims. Noting a Fox interview with John M. Murtagh (whose home was bombed when he was an 8-year-old child -- with him in it -- in an attack on his father, NY State Supreme Court Justice John Murtagh ), Susan UnPC wonders today, "Where the hell is the media?" She's posted the videos of the interviews and also refers you "here and here" for two pieces John M. Murtagh wrote last week. Why the bombing? This February 16, 1970 Time magazine piece provides some more details.

The candidates took part in the Sunday chat and chews, Hillary appearing for the hour on ABC's This Week and Barack appearing for the hour on NBC's Meet The Press. Alessandra Stanley (New York Times) offers the following critique:


Senator Barack Obama sat hunched on Sunday across the desk from Tim Russert on "Meet The Press" on NBC and wearily endured question after question about his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton stood up from her armchair on Sunday to tower over George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" on ABC and merrily took on all critics, even the king of the Clinton-bashers, the talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh."He's always had a crush on me," Mrs. Clinton said with a sly smile.

Ava and I noted:

In other words, while Barack was locked in the gas bag bunker, Hillary was mixing it up with the people and looking very of the people. (George noted that both Barack and John McCain had a standing invitation to appear on This Week in the same format.) Some questions were warm, some were pointed and Hillary showed grace and leadership throughout. It was a winning format, true, but it was also the difference between a candidate who was prepared and one who stumbled throughout. Barack mainly talked about . . . well himself. When all you have to sell is your increasingly tired personality, you come off like Ann Turkel alternately trying to convince the people that Humanoids From The Deep was a work of art and that your bathing suits really will allow people to darken without tan lines. It was really that pathetic.

We'll close with Lori Bernardini's "My '88 Years' House Party for Hillary" (HillaryClinton.com):

On a typical springtime Saturday morning in Portland (partly cloudy with a chance of rain) several women gathered in an Irvington neighborhood bungalow to rally for Hillary Clinton. Most of the guests arrived in anticipation, donning campaign buttons or carrying banners.
The party was held to commemorate the fact that it had been 88 years since women were given the right to vote -- and we wanted to celebrate the first opportunity for citizens to vote for a woman for president. This house party was one of 88 parties planned for the weekend statewide.
The bungalow was decorated with official Hillary Clinton campaign signs along with some homemade versions made by the children of the party's hosts. Good smells wafted from the kitchen as one of the hosts produced an assortment of delicious homemade, freshly baked bagels and pastries.
The discussion about campaign topics was lively. Blogging soon became a topic of interest, including whether this relatively new online communication significantly impacts voter preferences. Finally, the group settled in to focus on the key task of the morning -- making calls to Oregonians to get out the vote in support for Hillary Clinton. The guests had varying amounts of experience making campaign calls -- many had never made calls before and were a little anxious; a few were seasoned callers. One guest said she made calls while grocery shopping!
As the party ended, the guests shuffled out the door with more campaign materials than they arrived with including calling instructions, Clinton campaign information, bumper stickers, and a dose of optimism about Hillary Clinton's chances of winning Oregon -- and the general election.

shirley j. wilcher shows up in a glad trash bag today at common dreams to flaunt how ignorant she still is. she trashes hillary in a piece called 'the devil wears pantsuits.'

oh, how clever, shirl.

you haven't been so clever since you sold out your department in 1995. remember that?

remember when she was assistant dept. secretary of labor and declared:

"I started out with enforcement to get their attention, and I think I've gotten it," Ms. Wilcher said. "But now I'm interested in focusing on the other side: congratulating and complimenting and encouraging contractors who are truly out there doing good things."

she hopes you don't. she hopes you don't remember her sell-out then. you can relive it by reading stephen a. holmes' 'Once-Tough Chief of Affirmative-Action Agency Is Forced to Change Tack' from the new york times' august 6, 1995 edition.

at common dreams, shirley semi-confesses that all the rumors about her were true and that every curse word used against her by those serving under her were accurate. so now shirl wants to show up and give a hillary a lecture? maybe shirl should try working on herself.

but trash never cleans itself, it only pollutes the landscape.

shirl, you're trash.

you sold out long ago and you're not going to redeam yourself by trashing another woman. just sit there on the curb and wait for the trash pickup.

yea, hillary! this is from ap: "Clinton's campaign also announced a superdelegate endorsement Friday, by Jaime Gonzalez Jr., a member of the Democratic National Committee from Texas."

here's howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: A Star Endorsement:'

A Star Endorsement: The Indianapolis Star today endorsed Hillary: Hillary “offers nuanced positions on how to address the war in Iraq, trade with China and economic expansion. Her depth of knowledge is remarkable…[she] is well prepared for the rigors of the White House. She is tough, experienced and realistic about what can and cannot be accomplished on the world stage…Hillary Clinton is the better choice.” Read more.
HRC Strongest v. McCain: “A spate of new public polls out this week confirms what we have been arguing for some time: Hillary Clinton is the strongest candidate to beat John McCain in November. The data shows that Clinton not only outperforms Obama in head-to-head matchups, but is also stronger in the all important subcategories that serve as bellwethers for a candidate’s overall strength. In addition, new data out [yesterday] in three swing states vital to Democratic prospects in November show Clinton beating McCain.” Read more and more.
Superdelegate Watch: Five superdelegates announced their support for Hillary yesterday. Read more and more.
Relief for Millions of Americans: In Indiana yesterday, Hillary talked up the gas tax holiday and went after those who are out of touch with millions of Americans: “I find it, frankly, a little offensive that people who don't have to worry about filling up their gas tank or what they buy when they go to the supermarket think it’s somehow illegitimate to provide relief for...millions and millions of Americans.” Chief Strategist Geoff Garin had this to say: “There’s a real gap here in how some people see this from 30,000 feet and how real people in places like North Carolina and Indiana experience it every day, and they really want somebody who will say, ‘You know what, we get that you’re facing a very difficult economic situation here - we're going to stand by you.’” Read more.
If You Watch One Thing Today: A senior takes Obama to task over his gas tax position. Watch here.
Three Generations in Brownsburg, IN: Hillary, joined by Chelsea and her mother Dorothy, spoke to supporters and their children yesterday in Brownsburg, IN. Read more.
Energy in Terre Haute, IN: Today’s front page of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star features Hillary’s latest visit...Hillary told the crowd: “There’s another source of energy we’re going to harness…the people of Terre Haute.” Read more.
Derby Picks: Yesterday, Hillary visited the Kentucky headquarters and “revealed her sentimental choice for Saturday's Run for the Roses -- the filly Eight Belles.” Read more.
On Tap: Tomorrow, Hoosier singer and songwriter John Mellencamp performs at an event with Hillary in Indianapolis, IN.

she never stops working for america, does she? hillary's the candidate who can win and the candidate who can fix the current mess we're living in. but the media doesn't care about that as u.s. world & news reports points out in 'Obama Wins The Media While Clinton Moves Up In The Polls:'

There is an odd dichotomy emerging in the media coverage of the Democratic presidential race emerging this morning. On one hand, the media is seeing former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew's defection to Barack Obama's camp as a sign that superdelegates are beginning to move towards his candidacy, and give the move extensive coverage. On the other, there are a number of items of good news for Hillary Clinton polls showing her in a dead heat in Indiana and one showing her competitive in North Carolina, which was expected to be an Obama stronghold. In addition, she picked up the endorsement of the Indianapolis Star, and a group of swing state polls show her far stronger in the general election in key states than Obama.

bill moyers is a tool. we're all laughing at him right now on tv. he's a sick, disgusting pervert if you ask me. he's trying to defend himself and there's no defense for his interview last week. ava and c.i. called his lying ass out last week ('TV: Mission Impossible') and i have a feeling that they'll be calling out crazy ass bill moyers again. he really is disgusting. he's at pbs because cbs finally got tired of him.


let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Friday, May 2, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Sadr City sounds off against the puppet, Turkey and northern Iraq continue to be in conflict, and more.

Starting with war resistance. Courage to Resist notes war resister Ryan Jackson is currently at Fort Sill having turned himself at the start of the month after being "absent without leave since December when a local commander vetoed his pending discharge from the 35th Signal Brigade at Fort Gordon, Georgia." They note that there is a defense fund here, that he can be e-mailed via ryanjackson@couragetoresist.org and that you can find an audio interview they did with him here.

US war resisters in Canada who are hoping to be granted safe harbor status. What's the status on the motion?

Community member Dallas passed on the following. "Citizenship and immigration" issues have taken the forefront and the war resister motion, "it's kind of taken the wayside." (All quotes from Canada's NDP's spokesperson.) For now, the best thing to do would be continuing utilizing the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Meanwhile, northern Iraq was assaulted again. Hurriyet reports, "Turkey's General Staff confirmed on Friday its warplanes had bombed outlawed separatist PKK bases in nothern Iraq late on Thursday in a 'comprehensive and effective' air operation. The White House on Friday endorsed Turkey's air strikes against the PKK targets in N. Iraq." Speaking at and for the White House today, Gordon Johndroe emphasized that Turkey, Iraq and the US "are all committed to dealing with this problem" and declared the air assaults to be part of "ongoing operations". Mark Bentley (Bloomberg News) notes that the Turkish military is claiming responsibility for "many" deaths and labeling all dead as "terrorists" while BBC points to local television, "A television station run by the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said several villages in the Pishdar district were bombed by Turkish jets on Thursday night. It said there were no casualties in the villages." C. Onur Ant (AP) explains, "Turkish warplanes bombed a key Kurdish rebel base deep inside Iraq for three hours overnight, Turkey's military and a rebel spokesman said Friday. A Kurdish Iraqi official said four rebels were killed." CNN states that the bombing began at 11:00 pm ("local time") which would mean it ended at 1:00 a.m. this morning. Turkey, the United States and the European Union label the PKK as a terrorist organization.

On Wednesday, the US State Department provided their annual "Country Reports on Terrorism" to the US Congress and included in the section on Turkey was the following:

Domestic and transnational terrorist groups have targeted Turkish nationals and foreigners, including, on occasion, USG personnel, in Turkey, for more than 40 years. Terrorist groups that operated in Turkey included Kurdish separatist, Marxist-Leninist, radical Islamist, and pro-Chechen groups. Terrorism in Turkey is defined in the Anti-Terror Law #3713 (TMK, 1991). "Terrorist" activities are composed primarily of crimes outlined in the Penal Code committed within the context of terrorist group activities, which target the structure of the state, changing or destroying the principles of the state, and aiming to create panic and terror in society. Thus, Turkish law defines terrorism as attacks against Turkish citizens and the Turkish state, and hampers Turkey's ability to interdict those who would target non-combatants globally.
Most prominent among terrorist groups in Turkey is the Kongra-Gel/Kurdistan Worker's Party (KGK/PKK). Composed primarily of Kurds with a separatist agenda, the KGK/PKK operated from bases in northern Iraq and directed its forces to target mainly Turkish security forces. In 2005 and 2006, KGK/PKK violence claimed hundreds of Turkish lives. This persisted in 2007, when the KGK/PKK continued its terrorist tactics. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a group designated under E.O. 13224, is affiliated with the KGK/PKK and has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks on Turkish and foreign citizens in Turkish cities in recent years. KGK/PKK and TAK-linked individuals were discovered in late May in Istanbul, Adana, Konya, and Mardin with explosive materials designed to carry out suicide attacks. On May 25, the KGK/PKK claimed responsibility for the bombing of a cargo train in Bingol Province.
In the midst of weeks of violence, during which KGK/PKK attacks claimed scores of killed or wounded Turkish soldiers and citizens, the Turkish parliament on October 17 overwhelmingly passed a motion authorizing cross-border military operations against KGK/PKK targets in northern Iraq. Turkish forces carried out extensive operations along the Turkey-Iraq border in the latter part of the year. On November 5th, President Bush committed to provide Turkey "real-time, actionable intelligence" to counter the KGK/PKK in northern Iraq.

In the section on Iraq, with regards to Turkey, the report noted the following:

Iraqi government officials continued to strongly condemn terrorists. On September 28, Iraq and Turkey concluded a counterterrorism agreement between its interior ministers to increase cooperation in countering the militant Kurdish separatist group, Kongra Gel/Kurdistan Workers' Party (KGK/PKK). Following an October 7 attack by the KGK/PKK that killed 13 Turkish soldiers in Southern Turkey, Prime Minister Maliki publicly stated that the KGK/PKK was a terrorist organization and would not be tolerated in Iraq. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials in northern Iraq also took concrete actions against the KGK/PKK presence there by closing off re-supply routes via additional checkpoints, increasing airport screening for KGK/PKK members, and directing the closure of KGK/PKK-affiliated offices.

Today's Zaman notes the report maintains that support comes from Europe (are they the next 'axis of evil'?) where "the group maintains a large extortion, fundraising and propaganda network" and the paper adds, "Turkey has frequently criticized European countries for tolerating PKK fundraising and propaganda activities in their territory, although the European Union, like the US, recognizes the PKK as a terrorist organization." James Orr (Guardian of London) states, "The PKK leadership is thought to be hidng in the Mt Qandil area, which straddles the Iraq-Iran border and is 60 miles from the border between Iraq and Turkey. In recent months, Turkey has launched several air assualts on PKK targets in northern Iraq. In February, it staged a major ground offensive which lasted eight days."

Thursday night's assault was preceeded by Turkish officials visiting the central (puppet) government in Baghdad. Hurriyet explains, "A Turkish delegation arrived in Baghdad on Thursday to meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, PM Nuri Al Maliki and Kurdish administration PM Nechirvan Barzani. . . . The delegation, consisting of a senior Prime Ministry official Ahmet Davutoglu and Turkey's Special Representative to Iraq Murat Ozcelik, arrived in Baghdad on Thursday." Wisam Mohammed (Reuters) quoted the Kurdish regional government's foreign policy chief, Falah Mustafa, stating, "This is the first time a meeting has taken place between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan goverment" and, when asked about the issue of the PKK, Mustafa stated, "Of course we discussed it, but only in general terms, not in specifics. And we agreed to find a peaceful solution." But Today's Zaman quotes Turkey's foreign minister Ali Babacan stating PKK remains an issue for relations between the government and Turkey and of the Kurdish region of Iraq, "The manner and stance that will be displayed by the local administration in northern Iraq regarding their discourse and activities concerning the PKK will by all means influence our dialogue -- postively or negatively. . . . The extent to which they can put distance between themselves and the organization and the extent to which they can strongly display their intent to do so with concrete steps will certainly influence the characteristic and frequency of our dialogue with the local administration in northern Iraq." AFP explains, "Ankara is under pressure from Washington and at home to back up military action against the PKK with political and economic gestures to the sizeable Kurdish community and erode popular support for the rebels."

As with every assault, the usual economic response took place. Thomson Financial reports, "Oil prices have jumped higher as a result of the attacks, due to concerns, supplies from nothern Iraqi oil fields could be disrupted." Moming Zhou and Polya Lesova (MarketWatch) observe that the rise in prices was "the first day in four" for a rise and that the increase was "more than $3 to near $116 a barrel, boosed by news reports that Turkish planes bombed bases of separatist Kurds in nothern Iraq." Grant Smith (Bloomberg News) quotes Nordea Bank AB analyst Thina Saltvedt declaring, "Even though this Turkish invasion hasn't done anything to the supply side, there is the risk premium that violence will spread to southern Iraq, which is more important for oil."

Meanwhile Sadr City was in very vocal opposition to the puppet of the occuaption Nouri al-Malik today. Hassan Jouini (AFP) reports that "crowds" took part in "a tirade" agains the puppet as they demanded he "end a stalement with their leader Moqtada al-Sadr and quotes spokesperson Salman al-Fraiji declaring, "Nuri al-Maliki has compounded misunderstandings and false accusations. He seeks to cover the failure of his domestic policy. You are trying to cover up the crimes of your protectors in Sadr City. Heinous crimes have been perpetrated by the occupiers in our area. Why are you hiding them? You have failed to convince Arab countries to open embassies in Iraq." Salah Hemeid (Al-Ahram Weekly) explains, "At issue are the coming provincial elections scheduled in October which both the Iraqi government and the American administration eye as vital in stabilising the war-wrecked nation. Both fear that Al-Sadr's supporters will fare better than the US-favoured Islamic Supreme Council and Al-Maliki's Daawa Party, thus excluding them from most of the southern provinces, so despite having grassroots support they were not represented in local governments."

An important documentary that takes a look at the resistance in Iraq is th, Meeting Resistance by Molly Bingham and Steve Connors. It's been playing to raves across the country and will be out on DVD this month (May 20th is the DVD release):


MEETING RESISTANCE An "Astonishing" Journey into the Heart of the Iraqi Resistance Available on DVD May 20, 2008 MEETING RESISTANCE is a daring, eye-opening film that raises the veil of anonymity surrounding the Iraqi insurgency by meeting face to face with individuals who are passionately engaged in the struggle against coalition forces. It documents for the first time the sentiments experienced and actions taken by a nation's citizens when their homeland is occupied. With unique insight into the people involved in the resistance, this acclaimed film explodes myth after myth about the war in Iraq and the Iraqis who participate. Voices which have been previously unheard -- both male and female -- speak candidly about their motivations, hopes and goals, revealing a kaleidoscope of human perspectives. Through its unprecedented access to insurgents and clandestine groups, MEETING RESISTANCE is the missing puzzle piece in understanding the Iraq war -- not only the toll of the occupation but the mindset behind those who resist. MEETING RESISTANCE was directed by Steve Connors and Molly Bingham. Connors was born in Sheffield, England. He began taking photographs while serving as a British soldier in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s. Connors has worked for most of the worlds' newspapers and magazines including Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times and spent fifteen months from November 2001 on in Afghanistan. During the invasion, he went to Iraq and spent fourteen months there working on MEETING RESISTANCE. The film is Connors' directorial debut. Molly Bingham was born in Kentucky and graduated from Harvard College in 1990. She began working as a photojournalist in earnest in 1994, traveling to Rwanda in the wake of the genocide. She has worked as a photojournalist for many different publications and has also completed projects for Human Rights Watch. Bingham teamed up with Connors in August of 2003 to begin a film about who was behind the emerging post-war violence in Iraq. DVD Bonus Features:
Directors' Audio Commentary • Film Notes • Biographies • Theatrical TrailerFeatured on Good Morning America, National Public Radio, ABC World News, Anderson Cooper 360, This Week with George Stephanopolous, CNN, Vanity Fair, and more!
SCREENED BY THE U.S. MILITARY
Shown to Iraq-based and Iraq-bound troops "I spent several years studying and fighting the insurgency at the tactical and operational levels, and I strongly recommend MEETING RESISTANCE. It provides the best view into the minds and motivations of Iraqi insurgents I have found in years of research." - MAJOR DAN FICKEL (RES)
"The single most astonishing documentary yet on the Iraq war. A breakthrough film!" -- SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL, SALON.COM "Powerful and fascinating!" -- SHAUNA LYON, THE NEW YORKER "A remarkable piece of war reporting." -- RICHARD LEIBY, WASHINGTON POST "DARING...COURAGEOUS...ENLIGHTENING! Sometimes a film serves as a potent weapon of endangered truth, dispelling official lies and giving voice to those whose collective pain has been silenced. MEETING RESISTANCE is that film and more, an act of resistance in its own right to the US war on Iraq." -- PRAIRIE MILLER -- WBAI RADIO "A rare glimpse into the hearts and minds of those who have dedicated themselves to ridding Iraq of its invaders." -- RONNIE SCHEIB, VARIETY "he documentary equivalent of a Seymour Hersh investigative story in The New Yorker. REQUIRED VIEWING!" -- JOE GARFOLI, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE"EYE-OPENING!" -- PETER MARTIN, CINEMATICAL More information about the film can be found at meetingresistance.comMEETING RESISTANCE
85 minutes, color, 2007, Arabic w/English subtitles UPC: 7-20229-91324-9 Catalog #: FRF 913249D Retail Price: $24.95 Canadian Retail Price: $29.95 Pre-book: April 15 Street Date: May 20


Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .


Bombing?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, a Diyala Province bombing that wounded one person.

Shooting?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Awakening members were shot dead in an attack in Baquba and five wounded before their building was blown up. Reuters notes that US forces state they killed 4 people (suspected 'gunmen') in Mosul yesterday and today and 2 people in Baghdad's Sadr City (suspected 'gunmen' -- and via ariel bombings on the Sadr City) as well as 7 people in armed clashes in Baghdad.

Kidnapping?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mass kidnapping (7 people) in Diyala Province today.


Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

In US presidential political news. Senator Barack Obama wants to be president . . . of some of the people. Apparently not of the people hurting economically over rising gas prices. He's shot down both Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain's plans for a gas tax holiday. But Delilah Boyd (A Scriverner's Lament) points out that "Obama voted for it multiple times in Illinois in 2000 ... The Obama-based moral of this and all other Obama stories: If it doesn't help Obama, it's not a good thing. Period." Meanwhile Ralph Nader and his running mate Matt Gonzalez are gearing up for a West Coast Tour next week where they will be working on ballot access in California, Oregon and Washington.

Returning to the topic of Barack, he received another endorsement from another loser today. Paul G. Kirk Jr. who has long been Ted Kennedy's biggest suck-up came out for Barack today. Kirk Jr.'s 'expertise' and 'wisdom' were probably on 'best' display when he was the head on DNC during . . . Michael Dukakis failed presidential campaign. We're sure Junior will bring all the 'help' to Barack that he did to Dukakis. Dan Baltz (Washington Post) points out that Junior actually came out for Barack in February. Well, when your life means so little, you probably have to grab all the headlines you can. Ask the Loud family. But whatever you do, don't ask Barack basic geographic questions. Pagan Power (No Quarter) explains that Barack has a 'plan' for Oregon and it includes "the Great Lakes" which, pay attention, are in the MidWest, not the North West. Hillary's plan is entitled "Oregon Compact." Barack apparently rushed his last-minute homework. Which explains both his errors as well as other portions appearing to be lifted from Hillary's plan. Maybe he can claim she's his best friend just like Deval and that makes it okay?

Barack keeps claiming Jeremiah Wright is preventing a discussion of the issues. Apparently, Wright prevented Barack from discussing issues for 20 years? Reid J. Epstein (Newsday) reports that academics watching polls in North Carolina see the Wright friendship as hurting Barack at the polls. People do wonder why it took him 20-years and how stupid he thinks Americans are that we're all supposed to believe that Jeremiah Wright transformed/shape-shifted over the weekend into someone Barack had enver seen before? In the real world, Eloise Harper (ABC News) reports Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared in Indiani yesterday, ""Part of our family is divided and our Party is divided and the reason we are divided is because we have two extraordinary candidates both running for president both who will make unbelievable presidents of this country. . . . but let me tell you why they're wrong and I'm right, because I know Hillary Clinton better than they know Barack Obama."
Meanwhile, Hillary picked up an important endorsement today. From The Indianapolis Star's editorial entitled "Experience makes Clinton better choice in primary:"As impressive as Obama appears, he is still in his first term in the U.S. Senate, and only four years ago was serving as an Illinois state senator. His inexperience in high office is a liability. Clinton, in contrast, is well prepared for the rigors of the White House. She is tough, experienced and realistic about what can and cannot be accomplished on the world stage.


Independent journalist, photo-journalist and artist David Bacon examines and explores the issues of immigrant rights frequently. Last week, Bacon (Political Affairs Magazine) sounded the alarms over Hayley Barbour, governor of Mississippi, having "signed into law the fartherest-reaching employer sanctions law of any on the books in the U.S. Employer sanctions is a shorthand name for laws that prohibit employers from hiring immigrants who don't have legal immigration status in the U.S. That provision was part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, passed by Congress in 1986, which for the first time in U.S. history required employers to verify the immigration status of employees. The Mississippi bill, SB 2988, requires employers to use an electronic system to verify immigration status, called E-Verify. That system has only recently been developed by the Department of Homeland Security, and by the department's own admission, is not a complete record." This week, he writes (Political Affairs Magazine):

In the big immigrant marches that swept the country on May Day in 2006 and 2007, one sign said it all: "We are Workers, not Criminals!" Often it was held in the calloused hands of men and women who looked as though they'd just come from work in a factory, cleaning an office building, or picking grapes. The sign stated an obvious truth. Millions of people have come to this country to work, not to break its laws. Some have come with visas, and others without them. But they are all contributors to the society they've found here, not people who mean it harm. Again this May Day, immigrant workers are filling the streets, making the same point. Yet today the Federal government is taking actions that make holding a job a criminal act. Some states and local communities, seeing a green light from the Department of Homeland Security, are passing measures that go even further. These actions need a reality check.

Tonight (in most markets) NOW on PBS explores the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns with guests Willie Brown and Dan Schnur. The campaign will also be part of the topics addressed on PBS' Washington Week (check local listings) and Gwen's guests will include AP's Charles Babington, Wall St. Journal's David Wessel, NBC's Pete Williams and the New York Times' John Harwood. From TV to radio, Sunday on WBAI (11:00 a.m. EST), The Next Hour is hosted by Reno and, on Monday, Cat Radio Cafe (2:00 p.m. EST):

A celebration of the life and art of Michael Goldberg, American painter (1924-2007) who gained first acclaim as a Second Generation Abstract Expressionist of the New York School. With art critici Jeremy Gilbert-Rolf, curator Klaus Kertess, painter Ellen Phelan, Bomb Magazine editor Betsy Sussler, Goldberg's stepson Luke Matheissen, and his wife sculptor Lynn Umlauf. Hosted by Janet Coleman and David Dozier.

And we'll close with Chelsea Clinton:
One of the most fun things about meeting people who support my mom's campaign is seeing all the creative ways they show their support. I've seen a lot of homemade signs, buttons, and shirts on the campaign trail, and I think we need to harness that great creative energy for our campaign.
So today, I'd like to announce the launch of Project T-Shirt, a contest to design the next great t-shirt for my mom's campaign.
I know you agree with me that my mom is the strongest, most progressive, and most prepared candidate, and that she would be the best president! This is a great way for you to show exactly what her historic campaign means to you.
Maybe you've got a slogan that you've been dying to share. Or maybe you want to share your design talents. Whatever your ideas are, I can't wait to see them -- and we'll offer the best shirt for sale in the official campaign store, raising money to help my mom win! I'll also make sure to get a picture of me AND my mom wearing the shirt, which we will post on the website.
So please put on your thinking caps, get those creative juices flowing, and visit our Project T-Shirt website to learn more and submit your design.
Please click here to get started.
I'm so excited to see all the great ideas you have. Thank you so much for all you're doing to help my mom win!
Go Hillary!


iraq
david baconwbaithe next hourcat radio cafe
now on pbs
pbswashington week
meeting resistancemolly binghamsteve connors
the indianapolis star
the washington post

Princeton Professor Sean Wilentz, a Clinton supporter, noted that the Obama campaign advisers have tried to have it both ways on the race question. On the one hand, they present their candidate as a figure who transcends racial divisions and "brings us together"; on the other hand, they exhort us that we should support his candidacy because of the opportunity to "make history" (presumably by nominating and maybe electing a black candidate). Increasingly, Obama supporters have been disposed to cry foul and charge racism at nearly any criticism of him, in steadily more extravagant rhetoric.
The campaign's accusation that the Clinton team made Obama look darker in a photo or video clip than he actually is--and what exactly are we to make of that as an accusation?--and the hysterically indignant reaction to Geraldine Ferraro's statement that much of Obama's success stems from the fact that "the country is caught up in the concept" of a black candidacy are no different from the campaign's touting its "historic" character. Obama supporters fulsomely attacked even Clinton's attempts to portray him as inexperienced, which is standard fare in political campaigns. They also charged that she was playing to racism. See most recently Harvard sociologist Lawrence Bobo's characterization that she was "disrespecting" black people, a leftover canard from Jesse Jackson's campaigns (which, lest amnesia overtake us, were also extolled as historic firsts).
The Jackson comparison points to one of Obama’s key contradictions: Like Jackson, he wants to appeal to blacks with the "it's our time now" line, and to white liberals with that, as well as with the "I'm black in a different way from Jesse" qualifier and the religious conversion rhetoric. A friend said that Obama’s campaign, in stressing his appeal to rapturous children and liberal, glamorous yuppies, offers vicarious identification with these groups, as well as the chance to become sort of black in that ultra-safe and familiar theme park way.

that's from adolph reed jr.'s 'Obama No' (the progressive) and i wanted to open with it. it'll probably be the only truth we get from the progressive between now and the election.

e-mail question: have i seen juno?

no. we've got the dvd but haven't had time to watch it yet. hannah writes that she loves the movie. if possible, i'll watch it this weekend. i've only heard good things about it. we grabbed it
at starbucks this week when we got carly simon's new cd this kind of love.

okay back to the campaign. this is from newsday on the latest polling:

At the same time, a bevy of new polls seemed to show Obama is suffering from the "Wright Effect."
Clinton has widened her lead in Indiana, cut Obama's edge in North Carolina down to 7 points and lurched ahead in a major national poll, following a week of wall-to-wall coverage of controversial remarks by Obama's ex-pastor.A Gallup national daily tracking poll showed Clinton jumping to a 49 to 45 lead over Obama, her biggest lead nationally since mid-March. Obama led Clinton by 10 points in the poll on the eve of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Thursday showed Obama and Clinton in a statistical dead heat nationally, with Obama surrendering a 7-point lead in the last six weeks.Tom Bevan, founder of Realclearpolitics.com, which tracks poll data, termed the shift a "rather dramatic tightening" of a Democratic presidential race many had considered finished prior to Clinton's Pennsylvania victory, Wright's resurfacing and Obama's belated denunciation of the pastor.

barack make boom-boom in diaper and stink up the room.

okay ruth and c.i. have both been talking about the need for the gas tax holiday and i'll jump in as well. this is from fernando suarez (cbs news):

In her harshest comments directed to oil companies to date, Clinton said she thinks the federal government should "go after the oil companies."
"I have advocated for a federal gas-tax holiday paid for by imposing an excess profits tax on the oil companies. Let the oil companies pay the federal gas tax for the next months!" said Clinton to thunderous applause. She also said she wanted to poll Congress to see where they stand on the gas-tax holiday.
"Do they stand with hard pressed Americans who are trying to pay their gas bills at the gas stations, or do they, once again, stand with the oil companies?" she asked. "I want them to tell us, are they with us or against us when it comes to taking on the oil companies."
Clinton has faced harsh criticism from economists and politicians since supporting the gas-tax holiday, a plan that would suspend the federal tax on gas from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Critics say the fuel relief plan will do little to help Americans save any money, since the federal gas tax is 18 cents a gallon. Clinton argues that truck drivers and the trucking industry will benefit the most from the savings, which in turn will lower the cost of food and other good affected by the record high price of fuel.

let's say you put in 11 gallons a week (i have no idea, i have a baby and haven't pumped gas in forever) -- that $1.98 a month. that's nearly $8.00 a month. some people use more gasoline than that. in terms of truck drivers as well as people who drive to work on the highways at length, this really does make a real difference and it shows up quickly. i agree with hillary, people should have to go on the record with it, they should have to admit whether they stand with americans or not. this is necessary and important to working americans. i am sure if john edwards was in the race, he wouldn't have a problem arguing for this (and maybe this and something more). but barack's never been in touch with working americans and never will be. even john mccain is for a gas tax holiday. but not mr. arugala.

this is howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Strongest v. Sen. McCain' (hillaryclinton.com):

Strongest v. Sen. McCain: A spate of new polls out in the last two days confirm that Hillary is the strongest general candidate vs. Sen. McCain. Sen. Clinton beats Sen. McCain handily (50-41) while Sen. Obama is virtually tied with Sen. McCain (46-44), according to the AP-Ipsos poll released Monday. A new poll from CBS/NYT shows Sen. Clinton beating Sen. McCain by five points (48-43), while Sen. Obama ties Sen. McCain (45-45). The new Fox poll has Sen. Clinton beating Sen. McCain by 1 (45-44), while Sen. Obama trails Sen. McCain by three points (43-46). And in Gallup’s daily tracking poll, Sen. Clinton leads Sen. McCain by one point (46-45) while Sen. Obama trails Sen. McCain by two points (44-46).Today In The Hoosier State: Joined by Chelsea, Hillary hosts a Conversation With Families in Brownsburg, IN. She also hosts "Standing Up For Jobs" events in Jeffersonville, IN and Terre Haute, IN.
Superdelegate Watch: Two more superdelegates endorsed Hillary yesterday: PA State AFL-CIO President Bill George and Puerto Rico Democratic Vice Chair Luisette Cabaña. Said AFL-CIO President George, "I feel that she is our strongest candidate to carry Pennsylvania in November and win back the White House." Read more and more.
By the Numbers: Yesterday’s daily Gallup poll showed Hillary once again leading Sen. Obama nationally (47-46). "This marks the fifth consecutive Gallup Poll Daily tracking report in which the two Democratic candidates have been within a point of one another" and the second consecutive day Hillary has led. Read more.
New Ads In NC: In two new 60-second ads airing statewide in North Carolina, author and activist Dr. Maya Angelou and Gov. Mike Easley describe why they support Hillary. Watch Dr. Maya Angelou's ad here. Watch Gov. Easley's ad here.
Clinton Commutes To Work: Hillary commuted to work yesterday with sheet metal worker Jason Wifling in a "white Ford F-250 truck. For half a tank of regular unleaded gasoline, they paid $63.67." Hillary has a plan to address soaring gas prices at the pump, including suspending the federal gas tax and enforcing a "gas tax holiday." Read More.
Making Trade Work For Indiana: Hillary highlighted her trade agenda yesterday in Indiana. "With working families squeezed by soaring gas prices, stagnant wages and an economy sliding into recession, Hoosiers need a President who will fight for their economic interests from day one. Americans need a President who will fight for fair, pro-American trade policies that will not trap them in a race to the bottom." Read details here.
"Hold Her To It" The Lafayette Journal Courier reports on Hillary's "Standing Up For Jobs" town hall yesterday in Lafayette, IN: "'I want you to remember that we were here in Lafayette on the last day of April, and I told you what I wanted to do with the tax code, the trade policy, with new investments to create jobs,' Clinton said. 'So that as I move toward the White House, you can say, ‘I remember when she said that, and I can hold her to it.'" Read more.
No Shortage of Enthusiasm: Hillary hosted an event in Portage, IN: "Long Lines, But No Shortage Of Enthusiasm" Read More
If You Watch One Thing Today: Hillary was on Bill O'Reilly's "The O’Reilly Factor" last night. Watch here and here.

tell me that woman's not ready to go to work for america right now. hillary's ready. she's not stumbling all over the campaign trail the way obama is. she's not stupid enough to dismiss outrage over jeremiah wright with a flowery speech in march and then, finally, this week, denoune wright and his statements. hillary's not a fool. and she's not afraid to make the difficult decision.

that was obama's test back in march and he failed. he gave a flowery speech instead of cutting off the problem immediately. he has no judgement. his current mess is his own fault because he allowed himself to get caught in this. it was a trap he could have side-stepped back in march but he didn't want to make a choice. he thought he could have it both ways.

the man is afraid to take action.

he's not ready to be president, he's not ready to lead. he's like a kid in high school that wants a credit for the year book and has no real plans other than getting the title.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Thursday, May 1, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, the VA scandals continue, 5 years since "Mission Accomplished," and more.

Starting with war resistance. Kyle Snyder is an Iraq War resister living in Canada. He is one of many. A variation in Snyder's story is that he self-checked out twice, going to Canada both times. At YouTube, a video is posted of him explaining that (March 17, 2007):


Kyle Snyder: I just recently traveled back to the United States, on October 31st. I had to drop my refugee claim. If any of you have been following my story, I was a refugee claimant in 2005 after deserting the Iraq War. I believe the Iraq War to be illegal and immoral on many fronts and I'm currently writing a report on that and why I think that is illegal and immoral. I witnessed what I believe to be war crimes and I witnessed what I believed to be a true occupation for oil resources and not a liberation or a bringing of democracy to the people of Iraq. And I refused to take part in that war. So I basically want to tell you my story about that trip to the United States. Like I said, I dropped my refugee claim meaning I had to go to the Canadian government, CBSA -- Canada Border Services Agency, and sign pieces of paper saying that I was returning to my home country to receive a discharge from the United States military. I worked for two months just west of here in Wetaskiwn, Alberta trying to receive a discharge from a major at Fort Knox, Major Bryan Patterson -- who somehow doesn't exist to the media now. When I turned myself in, I was very, very scared. I was very scared because I had dropped my life here in Canada, I had left my job, I had left my family. I left my friends. All on the chance that I would be discharged when I turned myself in. The lieutenant walked in and said "Don't worry, we'll discharge you within three to five days." That never happened. They put me in a room with a mirror and a phone that was not connected to any wall. There was no phone connection. They denied me access to my lawyer and said they wanted me to -- they ordered me after two years of not serving in their military to return to my unit. Which is now based in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. My unit wanted to re-integrate me into the military and send me back to Iraq a second time. The 94th engineers are deploying for a third time to Iraq. They're one of five units that are deploying to Iraq a third time -- since the surge that Bush ordered while I was in the country. I did the only thing that made sense to me at that point: I refused to sign the orders. I have documents saying the soldier refused to sign. And I went AWOL a second time. I did not catch the Greyhound Bus, instead I went out to eat and enjoy Halloween. And I did the only thing that made sense, again, and I pointed out the atrocities of the Bush administration in New Orleans, where we rebuilt a veterans' home, a Vietnam veteran's home. And I was almost arrested in New Orleans shortly after rebuilding this home with Iraq Veterans Against the War. Anyway, I spoke at 20 different high schools in Chicago, primarily African-American and Latino community schools that were going to be shut down by the American government because there was no funding to them. Recruiters feed off of schools in America like this. And I did anti-recruitment work in these schools. Basically pointing out to the government again that if a recruiter can walk onto a campus legally, why is there not a steel worker standing next to him, why is there not a carpenter standing next to them, why is there not any of these? My plan was to receive a discharge, come back to Canada in time to spend Christmas with my family. I couldn't do that. Instead, I bought my fiancee a ticket back to Wetaskiwin, Alberta so she could spend Christmas with her family and I stayed in the United States and I didn't know what was going to happen. I decided to come back to Canada just this January and I can no longer apply for refugee status even though I was only gone for five weeks. I know people that go on vacation for longer than five weeks and come back to the life that they had. So now I don't know what I'm going to do other than apply for permanent residence status and I don't know how I'm going to be able to stay in Canada. And I really, really need you guys' help to support me in my staying in Canada. And I really want to thank all of you for being here today and calling for the Canadian troops out of Afghanistan especially and calling for the United States out of Iraq. It means so much to me that you guys are doing that. I have one more announcement to make. I'm really pleased to announce that there are enough war resisters in Canada that we can start a chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War in Canada. So we'll be doing that very shortly and we'll putting up a website for donations and for anything, just events that Iraq Veterans Against the War will be doing here in Canada in the near future. So I just wanted to announce that. Thanks.

US war resisters in Canada who are hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

As Paul Reynolds (BBC) observes, today's a fifth anniversary, "President Bush did not say "Mission Accomplished" on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln off San Diego on 1 May five years ago. But the banner above him did." CBS and AP remind, "Five years after that speech, after the meaning of the phrase "mission accomplished" and when is a job truly 'done' has been endlessly parsed, and after responsibility for creating and hanging the sign was first denied and later accepted, the White House said Wednesday that President Bush has paid a price for the banner, with its affirmative message becoming a target of mockery and a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes in the long and costly war -- a war in which major combat operations are still being waged. While the White House distanced itself from the message soon after the event, Mr. Bush was not averse to repeating it. Speaking to troops in Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar the following month, Mr. Bush said, 'America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished'." Dan Froomkin (Washington Post) breaks it down -- when Bully Boy gave his speech, the US troops death toll was 139 and the number wounded was 542 while today 4,064 are dead and 29,395 are wounded. US Senator and presumed GOP presidential nominee John McCain made the news today with John Whitesides (Reuters) reports that "McCain said the administration mishandled the war's early stages and raised public hopes by calling the remaining insurgents in Iraq 'dead-enders' in their 'last throes'." Helen Thomas noted the anniversary yesterday in Dana Perino's White House press briefing.

Helen Thomas: How does the President intend to commemorate "Mission accomplished" after five years of death and destruction?

Dana Pernio: What you're referring to is the banner that ran -- that was aborad the ship five years ago. President Bush --

Helen Thomas: I'm talking about the anniversary tomorrow.

Dana Perino: Yes, I get -- no, I understand. That's the anniversary of when that banner flew on that ship. President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said "mission accomplished for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission." And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year. I think what's important is what the President would -- how the President would describe the fight today. It's been a very tough month in Iraq, but we are taking the fight to the enemy. The President, you heard him say yesterday, believes that fighting terrorists, jihadists, al Qaeda, and the Iranian-backed militias --

Helen Thomas: Is every Iraqi a terrorist?

Dana Perino: -- and the Iranian-backed militias --

Helen Thomas: We're fighting the Iraqis, we're bombing their homes. What do mean?

Dana Perino: Helen, we are going after terrorists and al Qaeda and Iranian-backed Shia militia who are killing not only innocent Iraqis but our soldiers as well, and we're doing so in --

Helen Thomas: We're bombing homes with children.

Perino would continue spinning and Helen Thomas' final comment would be, "We're going after Iraqis who are fighting for their own country."

Maybe this will pass for 'success'? Iraq made the top of a list. It's The Committee to Project Journalist's "Getting Away With Murder" list where Iraq comes in number one for deaths of journalists that go unprosecuted: "Iraq became the world's most dangerous country for the press after the 2003 U.S. invasion led to armed conflict and sectarian strife. Journalists have generally not died in combat, however. Most are targeted for professional reasons and murdered. Most of the victims, such as Al-Arabiya correspondent Atwar Bahjat, are Iraqis. Seventy-nine cases are unsolved."

'Success' also can't be found in the VA. Bob Egelko (San Francisco Chronicle) reports of the lawsuit filed against the VA by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, with Arturo Gonzalez as the attorney, "The plaintiffs want [U.S. District Judge Samuel] Conti to order the VA to carry out its own plan to improve suicide prevention and overall mental health care -- issued in 2004, but still mostly at the pilot-program stage -- and to direct the agency to set timetables for benefits and allow veterans to be represented by lawyers. Gonzalez said the judge should appoint a representative, known as a special master, to make sure the agency complies." AP quotes Gonzalez declaring, "The system, your honor, has crashed. It's been overwhelmed. And the pattern of neglect continues." This comes as AP reports the VA's inspector general released a report today finding that "Significant needs remain unmet" and "It found that 10 of the 41 veterans who agreed to be interviewed said they weren't getting needed help for health care, vocational rehabilitation, family support or housing. At least four patients specifically cited trouble in getting primary or specialty eye care, while others reported gaps with family counseling for problems such as depression and anger."

On this anniversary, it might be worth examing The Makings of a War Hawk. Fortunately US Secretary of State Condi Rice explained the process on Monday speaking at the Peace Corps 2008 Worldwide Country Director Conference:

Condi Rice: I was very fortunate. I started out life as a piano major -- as a pianist. I was three years old when I learned to play the piano. I could read music before I could read. And I was absolutely going to be a great concert pianist. And it was the end of my sophomore year, and I went to the Apsen Music Festival, which is a great school for prodigies, and I met 11-year-olds who could play from sight what it had taken me all year to learn. And I though, "Okay, I'm about to end up at Nordstrom playing or maybe a piano bar someplace. But, you know, not Carnegie Hall.

Not since Ernestine's hopes to be a ballerina were dashed by the dropping of a six pack on her feet has one taken so much inner bitterness and inflicted outward. [Ernestine is one of Lily Tomlin's classic characters and Tomlin will be appearing at the Olympia, Washington Friday at 8:00 p.m. -- at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts (512 Washington Street S.E.; 306-753-8586).] While Condi laments her piano car and ignores diplomacy, Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports, "A delegation from Iraq's governing Shiite alliance traveled to Iran on Wednesday to meet with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other ranking Iranian officials, said a senior advisor and two other politicians with close ties to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki" and quotes Nouri al-Maliki's aide Haider Abadi stating, "We are looking for good, neighborly relations with Iran, but it cannot go on like this." AFP quotes Moqtada al-Sadr's spokesperson Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi explaining, "Moqtada al-Sadr did not permit his leaders to meet the Iraqi delegation. Sadr insists that the crisis can be solved only through a parliamentary initiative backed by President Jalal Talabani and speaker Mahmud Mashhadani."

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing that claimed the lives of 8 Iraqis and wounded 21 more (there's another death and we'll get to that shortly), 3 Baghdad roadside bombings that wounded thirteen people, a Baghdad mortar attack that wounded three people, a US airstrike on Baghdad that claimed 4 lives and left twelve people injured, a Diyala Province roadside bombing that claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left four more wounded, a Diyala Province bombing involving two bombers (one male and one female) that resulted in 36 deaths (plus the bombers) and sixty-five people wounded and a Mosul roadside bombing that claimed the lives of 2 members of the Iraqi military. On the last bombing, Nico Hines (Times of London) notes, "Police said the attacks occurred in the busy market town of Balad Ruz in the restive Diyala province. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack bore hallmarks associated with al Qaeda in Iraq. A second bomber was said to have struck as crowds rushed to evacuate the wounded from the first attack, a common tactic used to maximise casualties." AFP quotes eye witness Ibrahim Hassan stating, "The first blast happened in front of an ice cream shop. A lot of people ran to help the wounded, but two minutes later another bomber blew himself up in the crowd." Selcan Hacaglu (AP) reports, "In the suicide assault, a woman bomber blew herself up as people were dancing and clapping while members of the passing wedding party played music in Balad Ruz, a predominantly Shiite town 45 miles northeast of Baghdad. A male bomber attacked minutes later as police and ambulances arrived at the scene, said Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim al-Rubaie, head of the Diyala provincial operations center that oversees Balad Ruz. The two explosions tore through the stalls and stores that lined the area, and al-Rubaie said at least 35 people were killed and 65 suffered wounds, including the bride and groom."


Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports one person wounded by a Baghdad shooting,

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses were discovered in Baghdad.


Today [PDF format warning] the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad soldier was killed from wounds sustained when a vehicle-borne improvised exposive device struck the soldier's vehicle during a combat patrol in central Baghdad at approximately 9:15 a.m. May 1."

Turning to the US,today is May Day and Kelly Kearsley (The News Tribune) reminds it "is traditionally a day to celebrate labor and workers' rights." John Holusha (New York Times) reports that over 25,000 dock workers went on strike today on the West Coast. The workers are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union whose official statement (PDF format warning) notes:

More than 25,000 longshore workers at 29 west coast ports are excercising their First Amendment rights today by taking a day off work and calling for an end to the war in Iraq.
"Longshore workers are standing-down on the job and standing up for America," said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath. "We're supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq."
McEllrath says rank-and-file members made their own democratic decision in early February when Longshore Caucus delegates voted to take action on May 1. Employers were notified of the plan, but refused to accomodate the union's request despite plenty of advance notice. The employer group, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) consists of large carriers and port operators, most of which are foreign-owned.
"Big foreign corporations that control global shipping aren't loyal or accountable to any country," said McEllrath. "For them it's a all about making money. But longshore workers are different. We're loyal to America, and we won't stand by while our country, our troops, and our economy are destroyed by a war that's bankrupting us to the tune of 3 trillion dollars. It's time to stand up, and we're doing our part today."

Ronald W. Powell (San Diego Union-Tribune) explains, "The work stoppage was . . . not the first such protest. Last year, the union called for workers to take off to protest U.S. immigration policy." KNBC reports, "Art Wong of the Port of Long Beach said the action was affecting that facility. Arley Baker, a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles, said none of the cargo terminals at that facility were operating." The Central Valley Business Times states that the action "struck 29 West Coast ports from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest, including the Port of Stockton in the Central Valley." Kristopher Hanson (Long Beach Press-Telegram) informs, "Trucks and trains ferrying cargo from the nation's busiest seaport in Long Beach and Los Angeles were backing up during the morning and early afternoon, but port authorities didn't expect any long-term effects." Louis Sahagun (Los Angeles Times) offers this perspective: "The show of force by the union came two months before the contract expires between the dockworkers, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and the Pacific Maritime Assn., which respresents port operators and large shippers, many of them foreign-owned." The Iraqi General Union of Dock Workers released a statement:

Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU in California
The courageous decision you made to carry out a strike on May Day to protest against the war and occupation of Iraq advances our struggle against occupation to bring a better future for us and for the rest of the world as well.
We are certain that a better world will only be created by the workers and what you are doing is an example and proof of what we say. The labor movement is the only element in the society that is able to change the political equations for the benefit of mankind. We in Iraq are looking up to you and support you until the victory over the US administration's barbarism is achieved.
Over the past five years the sectarian gans who are the product of the occupation, have been trying to transfer their conflicts into our ranks. Targeting workers, including their residential and shopping areas, indiscriminately using all sorts of explosive devices, mortar shells, and random shooting, were part of a bigger scheme that was aiming to tear up the society but they miserably failed to achieve their hellish goal.
We are struggling today to defeat both the occupation and sectarian militia's agenda. The pro-occupation government has been attempting to intervene into the workers affairs by imposing a single government-certified labor union. Furthermore it has been promoting privatization and an oil and gas law to use the occupation against the interests of the workers.
We the port workers view that our interests are inseparable from the interests of workers in Iraq and the world; therefore we are determined to continue our struggle to improve the living conditions of the workers and overpower all plots of the occupation, its economic and political projects.
Labour Movement released a statement of thanks


Turning to the US presidential race. This morning on NBC's Today Show, Meredith Vieira interviewed Barack and Michelle Obama. (Click here for audio and video available today and for podcasting available throughout.) Meredith's interview will also air (in extended form) on MSNBC Saturday. Michelle Obama tried to steer the interview and schill for her husband stating that her husband was "trying to move us as a nation beyond these conversations" -- these conversations? About the crackpot mentor, pastor, inspiration, friend, et al Jeremiah Wright. Michelle's part of the co-interview because, clearly, Barack can't handle it alone. She really took control during the interview (in most instances that was a good thing or the campaign's talking point would never have gotten out -- as defocused and meandering as he is, she's like a laser beam). However, Michelle Obama is not running to become president and the question is about the nominee's judgement skills. Equally true, if the country wanted to 'move on,' Michelle and Barack would not be guests on Today's first hour to talk about the subject. She refused to answer Meredith's question about Wright ("Do you feel that Rev. Wright has betrayed your husband?") even when Meredith repeated it. Barack lied about his own and Michelle's life and should have just kept his mouth shut because the question was to Michelle and she was the smarter of the two. "I should have said angry and frustrated instead of bitter . . . I should have said people rely on their religion instead of cling to . . ." Can he please stop lying? (No, he can't. Listen to his I-Can-Big-State lies. It's embarrassing. He's either lying or completely stupid.)

Transcript is available at Time. Word substitution does not change what he said. Key passage: "And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Point, anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-trade sentiment are not seen by Barack as 'good' things so let's all stop pretending that anything changes with a word substitution. He was spitting on Small Town Americans. He stated that they cling to God, guns and racism. That's the reality of the insult.

Adolph Reed Jr. (The Progressive) weighs in on why he's not supporting Barack and notes:

It may be instructive to look at the outfit where he did his "community organizing," the invocation of which makes so many lefties go weak in the knees. My understanding of the group, Developing Communities Project, at the time was that it was simply a church-based social service agency. What he pushed as his main political credential then, to an audience generally familiar with that organization, was his role in a youth-oriented voter registration drive.
The Obama campaign has even put out a misleading bio of Michelle Obama, representing her as having grown up in poverty on the South Side, when, in fact, her parents were city workers, and her father was a Daley machine precinct captain. This fabrication, along with those embroideries of the candidate's own biography, may be standard fare, the typical log cabin narrative. However, in Obama's case, the license taken not only underscores Obama's more complex relationship to insider politics in Daley's Chicago; it also underscores how much this campaign depends on selling an image rather than substance.

And note, the piece got more comments (a lot of them positive) than most of what The Progressive posts during any given week. Hillary Clinton is also attempting to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and 12-year-old Alec Noland Huffman writes at her site about what the campaign means for him: "I started volunteering for Hillary Clinton because she is very educated in politics because she has 30 years experience and that's a lot. My family is a middle class family. We are the working class. Middle class families work 2, 3 sometimes even 4 jobs for some of them. It is not easy for them; they have to work a lot with no time to spend with family or friends. In the 90s we were thriving in America and now we live paycheck to paycheck and it's not good. When I started volunteering it was a little boring but as I did it more I got better and it got fun and now it is something I like to do. I believe she will win. Amonther thing that Hillary is for is veterans. My grandfathers are veterans and they aren't treated well. I would vote for Hillary because she will bring our troops home and take care of them physically and mentally."

We'll close with Hillary's statement regarding the fifth anniversary of Bully Boy's "Mission Accomplished" photo-stunt:

"The fifth anniversary of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech comes the same week as a chief architect of the Bush administration's war in Iraq conceded "We were clueless on counterinsurgency." That statement confirms what we have all known: the planning and strategy was flawed. Our troops deserved and deserve better.
"All Americans honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States in Iraq. We are grateful for the tremendous burden they have carried. Our troops have done their job.
"The path forward is to use American diplomacy and our allies to allow U.S. forces to come home, and turn responsibility back to Iraq and its people.
"That is the plan I have laid out to the American people as a Senator and as a candidate, and that is the plan that I will carry out as President."

iraq
kyle snyder
mcclatchy newspapers
helen thomas
nbcthe today show
bob egelkothe san francisco chronicle
alexandra zavisthe los angeles times

it was not a good day for bambi. you can always tell it was a really bad day for bambi when michelle obama makes headlines. today she was insisting that every 1 needed to shut up about jeremiah wright so that 'issues' could be addressed. barack never addresses issues. he just offers those empty bumper sticker slogans over and over.

they're empty, they're phony, they're are fraudlent. and you have to wonder how stupid is the campaign that they honestly thought they could make it into a general election on nothing but a lot of chants about 'hope' - meaningless, unspecified hope.

his act is tired.

and the scandals are hurting him as the new york times reports. the polls coming out are before barack's little stunt yesterday. a lot of people are not taken in by barack's sudden change of heart. we all remember full well how he could smear his grandmother as a racist (his grandmother was acosted by a man at a bus stop and didn't want to take the bus the next day which barack has turned into racism this year although in his own book he didn't see it that way.) 'aching slow steps' is how david broder words barack's 'denouncement' of jeremiah wright. and look how long barack allowed it to fester. look how he refused to address it (except by minimizing it repeatedly). this is some 1 who can withstand the gop smear machine? no.

that'll be it for tonight. it's late and i keep getting a message about some adobe script that's running. i hit 'abort' (and have no idea what adobe script is running) but my computer is moving so slow. so let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Wednesday, April 30, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, figures for April refute claims of a slow-down in violence, Robert Gates tries to happy talk it, and more.


Starting with war resistance. Iraq War resister Ehren Watada will be the topic Friday at Carleton College (1 North College Street, Northfield, MN). Esther Pak (Carleton News) reports:

Dr. Vijay Prashad will present a convocation entitled "Watada's Election: Asian Americans and These Asian Wars" on Friday, May 2 at 10:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. Prashad's presentation will examine Asian Americans, the Iraq War, and the upcoming election, with reference to Hawaii-born First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, who was the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to the Iraq War and occupation. Following the convocation, Prashad will sign copies of his books, which will also be available for purchase at the event at a 15% discount. Prashad's appearance is free and open to the public.

The presentation is scheduled to last one hour. In February 2007, Watada was court-martialed and Judge Toilet (aka John Head) ruled a mistrial over defense objection as the defense was about to present their side (Watada was taking the stand and suddenly Head felt a stipulation both the defense and the prosecution had agreed to, one Head has not only signed off on but explained to the jury, was 'prolbematic,' Watada was prepared to testify, Head stopped the trial). Due to Judge Toilet's ruling, the Constitution's provision against double-jeopardy should have kicked in. Judge Toilet immediately announced a new court-martial would take place in March (2007) but, of course, it didn't. A civilian court found (in November) the double-jeopardy argument compelling and Watada's legal status is currently in limbo. He continues to report for duty on base despite the fact that his service contract expired in December 2006. It's long past time for the military to stop their persecution of Watada and discharge him.

While he waits, so do US war resisters in Canada who are hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


In Iraq, the assault on Sadr City, a Baghdad neighborhood, continues. AFP reports that the central (puppet) government in Baghdad is pleased: "'There were 925 martyrs in Sadr City and 2,605 others have been wounded,' in the firefights that began on March 25 and are still continuing, said Tehseen Sheikhly, a spokesman for the government's Baghdad security plan." Prior to the press conference, outlets, such as the BBC, were going with 400 for the death toll. CBS and AP note: "Previous Interior Ministry casualty figures for the past month had indicated that less than 400 people had perished. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting figures. Officials at the Baghdad military operations center said they could not confirm al-Sheikhly's count." Al Jazeera notees Sadr City residents testimonies that they were attacked by an air assault today and the US military's claim that "only rockets" were used because "a sandstorm had grounded US helicopters." For those who've forgotten the assault on Sadr City was supposed to be the sideshow. The main story was supposed to be the assault on Basra and the world was supposed to watch in awe of the awesome powers of Nouri al-Maliki -- the puppet installed by the US as prime minister in the spring of 2006 who has done nothing to ease tensions (let alone violence) in Iraq. al-Maliki was seen as puppet and an ineffective one at that having failed to offer up anything save for the never-ending "crackdowns" that began in June of 2006 when the Green Zone was almost breached. As two years of 'leadership' was being reached, the assault on Basra was supposed to be a for-show measure that would instill global faith in al-Maliki.

It was Easter Weekend -- Bully Boy declared in March 22nd radio address that it was a "special and holy time" -- and what better way to 'celebrate' than beef up the assault on civilians? Monday, March 24th, at the White House, Dana Perino, White House flack, was insisting that the "vast majority" of relatives who'd lost loved ones were insisting that the White House continue the Iraq War and, with the 4,000 mark having been passed, that wasn't going down as easy with the press as it had before. Helen Thomas had questioned that assertion and asked how Perino could make that claim "with certainty?" Perino's answer was that the Bully Boy had "said that repeatedly" so, apparently, it must be true.Thomas then asked if "he takes responsibility for a war that he started without provocation that led to 4,000 deaths and 30,000 dramatically injured for life?" Perinos shoved that question aside and, pressed by Thomas, stated, "I think that he knew that the war was going to require sacrifices and that --"


Helen Thomas: By who?

Dana Perino: Well, of course by our soldiers.

Helen Thomas: There's nobody in his family or this administration in this war.

Dana Perino: Helen, these are all questions we have dealt with before. I've given you an answer in the President's reaction to the 4,000 and I'm going to move on.

While Perino was 'moving on,' al-Maliki was making headlines for going to Basra in a for-show role that was supposed to convince the world that he was leading the assault on Basra. Basra, like Sadr City, is seen as a strong-hold of support for cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and many believe that the assaults were also intended to prevent al-Sadr's bloc from coming to power in the (currently) scheduled elections on October 1st. As al-Maliki has seen his support within the Iraqi Parliament crumble, al-Sadr's support has appeared to increase. If it wasn't increasing, the assault certainly made sure it did as al-Sadr became the public voice in Iraq against the assault on Iraqi civilians. It was a disaster in every way for the US puppet, it was a disaster in lives lost, it was a disaster in the attempts to build up al-Maliki's image and it made al-Sadr (who had been laying low and had renewed a cease-fire/truce with the US) even more popular.

On April 8th, The Petraeus and Crocker Variety Hour began their two days of testimony to the US Congress. They opened at the US Armed Services Committee where chair Carl Levin was asking serious questions about Basra, including whether it was correct that US was not informed ahead of time about the planned assault on Basra (which led to uprising in Sadr City, hence the assault on Sadr City)? "It is, Senator," Petraeus had declared, "We had a Friday night heads up." That would be Friday, March 21st. Petraeus went on to state that they were informed more of the assault (that would begin Sunday) at a meeting on Saturday. Levin: "It was not something that you recommended?" "No," Petraeus had replied. He went on to speak of concerns he stated he had about utilizing resources and appeared to indicate that there was a US plan for Basra but that al-Maliki had jumped the gun.

US Senator Hillary Clinton noted, "In response to a question by Senator Levin regarding when you knew of Prime Minister Maliki's plan to go into Basra, and I was struck by it so I wrote it down." Clinton was referring to the fact that Basra had been under British control until recently and that Petraeus' comments were vague. "What did you mean," she asked, "by the resources you were planning to deploy and over what length of time?" Petraeus' remarks cleared up any ambiguity on the subject. "A plan was being developed," he admitted, but instead of waiting to develop it, al-Malik was "moving up the time table and compressing . . . the resources."

This was April 8th and already the illusion that al-Maliki was leading the assault and that Iraqi troops were on the front lines had falled apart. Senator Susan Collins questioned "why should America combat troops continue to take the lead" considering all the time and money already provided since March of 2003? Petraeus tried to manuever his response by noting that the "US didn't take the lead in Basra." No, al-Maliki did. And al-Maliki failed. And Iraqi troops defected and deserted (two different categories) so US troops who were supposed to be present in only a supportive role were now on the front lines. The same was true of Sadr City and has only become more true.

Taking Petraeus at his guarded word, al-Maliki basically grabbed a US plan, ignored the timeline, rushed it into operation, did so when Iraqi troops were far from ready, hustled down to Basra for what he hoped would be his defining photo-ops and all this was done to shore up his weak image as an ineffective puppet. As a result of al-Maliki's actions, the US is now on the front lines backing up what his big mouth couldn't. Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reported today that US forces and Sadr City residents engaged in "[a] four-hour battle" yesterday that resulted in the deaths of "28 Iraqis" leading to "one of the bloodiest days in a month of sustained street fighting. The clashes underscored how deeply U.S. forces have been drawn into heavy combat in the huge Shiite district since Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki unexpectedly launched an offensive in southern Iraq last month against Shiite militias, primarily the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Until Maliki's push into the southern city of Basra, U.S. troops were not intensely engaged in Sadr City, a Baghdad neighborhood of roughly 3 million people that was among the most treacherous areas for U.S. forces early in the war." Today's assault on Sadr City, risking the lives of so many Iraqis and so many US service members, is nothing but the result of al-Maliki's photo-op that backfired. His attempts to prove he wasn't 'weak' is why the dying in Sadr City continues. In the April 8th hearing, Clinton noted that among al-Maliki's critics were General David Petraeus himself and referenced Cameron W. Barr's "Petraeus: Iraqi Leaders Not Making 'Sufficient Progress'" (Washington Post). In the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the same day (April 8th), chair Joe Biden would note that the 'surge' was not working and had not been working (a point that many senators and representatives would make throughout the two days of testimony from Petraeus and Crocker) and he raised the issue of how there was no government and what was happening was the US was 'taking sides' -- supporting the 'leadership' of al-Maliki. That's a lot of deaths for one person's 'leadership' --- consider the puppet to be just like his puppet master in the White House. As Howard La Franchi (Christian Science Monitor) observes, "The American military's participation in the war declared by Iraqi authorities on Moqtada al-Sadr's Shiite militia -- a fight that in recent weeks has been carried out through intense street battles -- has led to an uptick in US deaths." Along with shoring up the puppet, the assault was also supposed to shore up the Bully Boy and his plans for continued war. The assault was timed to take place before the for-show testimonies to Congress by Petraeus and Crocker that were supposed to convince the American public that the so-called 'surge' was working and deserved more time. Mark Kukis and Abigail Hauslohner (Time magazine) report, "The shell-shocked Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City in east Baghdad epitomizes the tragedy and terror that continue to grip Iraq five years after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Around 2 million people cluster in homes often shared by as many as six families, caught in the crossfire of an ongoing confrontation between the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr and U.S. and Iraqi forces, streets cluttered with garbage and the rubble of recent battles." They also note that people are fleeing their homes (which will increase the number of Iraqis who are internally and externally displaced).

It's the end of the month and a number of outlets will be looking back. CNN notes: "The number of Iraqi civilians killed and wounded nationwide continued to increase during April. According to Iraq's Interior Ministry, 969 civilians died and 1,750 were wounded during April. In March, the total was 923 civilians killed and 1,358 wounded -- a sharp increase over February, when 633 died and 701 were wounded." Those are the puppet government's official figures and the actual figures are probably much higher. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is in spin mode. Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Tuesday acknowledged that a seven-month lull in U.S. troops deaths in Iraq has come to an end and blamed the bloodshed on Shiite Muslim militiamen who have bombarded the Green Zone and key parts of Baghdad with rockets and mortar rounds." Gates was speaking in Mexico, transcript here. Gates rejected the notion that things were "getting worse" in Iraq. He claimed that the "spectacular act" always catches attention. Apparently nothing -- including losing an illegal war -- catches the White House's attention. Asked about the US being drawn into the middle of a war of "two Shi'a factions," Gates responded that the conflict was "between the Iraqi government and lawless elements" -- echoing al-Maliki's line -- and further claimed that the 'elements' did not want to be "part of the political process." That would be "part of the puppet process." He stated that it has been "made clear" that al-Sadr's supporters are welcome in the political process and that's a falsehood because al-Maliki has threatened them with being barred from participating in the October elections. Further spinning, Gates claimed al-Maliki had "the vocal support of virtually all elements of the government." While he has the support of those on his payroll, his own cabinet is not full and members of the Iraqi Parliament participated in Sunday demonstratrations against the continued assault in Sadr City. Gates ignored that in his reply. He claimed that assaulting Iraqi civilians (that's what's happening in Sadr City) was creating "an Iraqi government more unified". He claimed al Qaeda in Iraq and the Sadrists were the enemies and it was pointed out to him that the White House continues to say that al Qaeda in Iraq is weaker. [al Qaeda in Iraq is largely non-existant.] Gates noted al-Sadr's cease-fire but avoided noting that al-Maliki's actions had overturned it. He began gas bagging at length -- and couldn't get his dates correct ("you will probably recall in either early March or late February, sometime in there") -- and stayed with the issue of al-Sadr. He never addressed the issue of why the White House continues to say al Qaeda in Iraq is a threat and responsible for the violence while also stating that al Qaeda in Iraq is on the decrease. Confronted with that inconsistency, Gates elected to ignore it. He did state that al-Maliki would make decisions regarding Sadr City which is suprising since it is US forces patrolling -- US troops held hostage by policy was a point senators made throughout Crocker and Petraeus' testimonies earlier this month and Gates, unwittingly, appears to be validating their point.

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mortar attack on the Green Zone, a Baghdad mortar attacks that wounded eight people, a Diyala Province roadside bombing wounded six women and a Hawija roadside bombing claimed 2 lives and left two more wounded (all Iraqi security forces).

Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports the "[p]ronounced presence of gunmen in al-Amin and al-Mashtal . . . forced the schools to send the students home." Reuters notes a home invasion in Kut that claimed the life of 1 woman.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad today (2 found in Tikrit last night).


Today the US military announces: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier was killed from wounds sustained when he was attacked with small-arms fire by insurgents at approximately 8:50 p.m. April 29 in northwestern Baghdad." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier was killed after the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised explosive device at approximately 10:15 p.m. in northwestern Baghdad April 29." And, PDF format warning, they announced: "A Multi-National Division - North Soldier was killed as a result of an explosion occurring near the Soldier's patrol in Ninewah Province, April 30." And they announced: "Two Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers were killed when their patrol was struck by an improvised explosive device in southern Baghdad at approximately 4:15 p.m. April 30." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldier was killed from wounds sustained by an improvised explosive device during a dismounted patrol in northern Baghdad at approximately 1 a.m. April 30."
The number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war is 4063, the number of deaths announced this month so far is 51 which makes April the deadliest month since September when 65 deaths were announced. More deaths for April may or may not be noted over the next few days.

Turning to the US presidential race, this morning on NBC's Today Show, Andrea Mitchell reported on Barack Obama's speech and remarks yesterday on his mentor, friend, and pastor of 20 years Jeremiah Wright. Mitchell noted the changes in tone throughout Obama's remarks on Wright since Barack declared his intent to run for the Democratic presidential nomination and noted, "Critis say he should known better" regarding Wright. On CBS' The Early Show, Bob Schieffer explained, "The question now is will people him?" Him is Barack. Schieffer listed the questions people would be asking such as, "Why didn't he know about all this before? Why didn't he stop going to the church?"; and wondered, "Will this be enough?" Meanwhile Carol Marin (Chicago Sun-Times) noted of Barack, "And he still had nothing new to say, just what he'd said before, that some of Wright's comments 'offended me, and I understand why they have offended the American people'." Marin observed:This isn't the first time the campaign has waited out a problem, declining to take a controversy by the horns. It took a relentless chorus of Chicago media almost a year to finally get Obama and his people to deliver long-asked-for documents and answer what were, at best, incompletely answered questions about his former friend and now-indicted fund-raiser, Tony Rezko. He finally did so in March. There are judgment questions, fair ones, to be asked about Obama's past dealings with controversial people. Barack spoke out against Wright only because he was tanking in the polls over Wright and because he was offended by what Wright said of him:

What I had heard was that he had given a performance. And I thought at the time that it would be sufficient simply to reiterate what I had said in Philadelphia. Upon watching it, what became clear to me was that it was more than just a -- it was more than just him defending himself. What became clear to me was that he was presenting a world view that -- that -- that contradicts who I am and what I stand for. And what I think particularly angered me was his suggestion somehow that my previous denunciation of his remarks were somehow political posturing. Anybody who knows me and anybody who knows what I'm about knows that -- that I am about trying to bridge gaps and that I see the -- the commonality in all people.

Desperado (Houston Chronicle) notes that unanswered questions and the "many different versions of answer" that Barack has provided, before declaring: "A focal point is Wright being "uninvited" to the announcement of Obama's presidential candidacy. In an interview with the New York Times, Wright had this recollection of the disinvitation, from RealClearPolitics:
'Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an article in Rolling Stone, "The Radical Roots of Barack Obama." According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, 'You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we've decided is that it's best for you not to be out there in public'." The Rolling Stone article was from the February 22. 2007 issue and was entitled 'The Radical Roots of Barack Obama', a title later changed to 'Destiny's Child'". Dan Balz (Washington Post, link has text and video) notes that US Senator Evan Bayh (Hillary supporter) has warned that the Republicans would try to make an issue of Wright in the general election. Of course they will. Last week North Carolina's GOP began running ads on Wright. John McCain, the presumed GOP nominee, may or may not call for the ads to cease but North Carolina ignored him (as is their right) and others will as well. The damage isn't just to the top of the ticket if Obama is the Democratic nominee. The North Carolina GOP targeted Obama supporters. That will take place across the country in a general election should Obama be the nominee. The people he has brought in from outside the Democratic Party have proven repeatedly that at least 30% of them are unwilling to vote in other Democratic races -- they show up, vote for him and leave the rest of the ballot blank. That's bad news for every Democratic race in November 2008. That's before others are smeared for Barack's lack of proper judgement. (To put it mildly.) He is a drag on the entire ticket, he runs off the base and his nomination risks the Democratic control of Congress and Democratic state and local offices across the country. A new CBS News - New York Times poll finds Obama's negatives on the rise and Hillary faring better in a match-up against John McCain. In 2004, Dems just knew they'd reclaim the White House. They didn't. Having reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in 2006, they party needs to smarten up and realize what a drag on the ticket Barack will be. Wright is not going away, not during the Democratic primary and not, were Barack the nominee, during the primary. The only way to put the matter to rest is to back the candidate Democrats are overwhelming backing, Hillary Clinton. CBS and AP report (text and video):

Clinton also reiterated her previous remarks about Wright that she would not have stayed in the church after hearing the comments. She said it was up to voters to decide how the controversy over Wright impacts the campaign. O'Reilly asked Clinton to describe how she felt "when you hear a fellow American citizen say that kind of stuff about America." "Well, I take offense," Clinton said. "I think it's offensive and outrageous. I'm going to express my opinion, others can express theirs. It is part of just, you know, an atmosphere we're in today." Meanwhile, Obama was scrambling on Wednesday to put his presidential bid back on track a day after a public denouncing of Wright and both Democratic candidates pushed onward in a nomination struggle that appears to be dividing the party.
Here's Howard Wolfson's "HUBdate: Making Trade Work" (HillaryClinton.com):

Previewing Today: This morning, Hillary commuted to work with a sheet metal worker, stopping to fill up at a South Bend gas station. Later today, she highlights her trade agenda at events throughout Indiana.
Easley for Hillary: Yesterday, "North Carolina Gov. [Mike] Easley endorse[d] Clinton for president"...."'There's a lot of 'yes, we can' and 'yes, we should' going around' Easley said. 'Hillary Clinton is ready to deliver. That's the difference. She's ready to deliver today. Immediately.'" Read more and more.
Superdelegate Watch: Superdelegate and Representative Ike Skelton of Missouri endorsed Hillary yesterday "because of her support in rural America, her commitment to national security, and her dedication to U.S. troops." Read more.
By the Numbers: A new Gallup poll shows Hillary now leading Sen. Obama nationally (47-46). "This situation marks a loss for Obama, who had generally been in the lead over [Hillary] for the last month." Read more.
Real Solutions for Fort Bragg: The front page of the Fayetteville Observer reports that Hillary is calling for a congressional hearing into reports of poor living conditions at Fort Bragg. "Something went terribly wrong here…We've asked these young soldiers to risk their lives and bear brutal living conditions... and when they return home, the least we can do is offer them decent, clean living conditions." Read more.
Gas Tax Holiday: Yesterday, Hillary "toured the Miller Veneers wood manufacturing company in Indianapolis and said a lot of people in Indiana would benefit from a gas tax holiday...Clinton said it may not mean much to Obama, but it means a lot to people who are struggling." Read more.
On the Air: In a new Indiana ad, Hillary tells viewers, "My father served in the Navy and ran a small business. My mother taught Sunday school and took care of us... I carry with me not just their dreams but the dreams of people like them all across our county, people who embrace hard work and opportunity... who never stop believing in the promise of America. It's a promise I intend to keep." Watch here and Read more.
"Hillary Thrills Hobart" Last night, Hillary met with Johnnie Parker, "an organizer with the Sheetmetal Workers Union Local 20, and his family for a hourlong kitchen table discussion on the economy." Parker called Hillary "down-to-earth and upfront about economic issues facing Americans." Read more.
"Where's Our Debate?" In the past five days, over 5,000 Oregonians have signed an online petition calling on Sen. Obama to join Hillary in Oregon for a debate. "Sen. Obama is currently spending millions of television ads across our state. Certainly he can spare a day or two to let Oregonians know what he believes beyond his 30-second ads." 6,200 North Carolinians have signed a similar petition for a debate in their state. Read more.
On Tap: Tomorrow, Hillary holds a town hall in Jeffersonville, IN and a rally in Terre Haute, IN.
If You Watch One Thing Today: Clinton appears on Bill O'Reilly's "The O'Reilly Factor" tonight.

okay, let's start with howard wolfson's "HUBdate: NC Gov. Mike Easley Endorses Hillary" (hillaryclinton.com):

NC Gov. Mike Easley Endorses Hillary: This morning, Hillary received the endorsement of North Carolina Governor and superdelegate Mike Easley. Read more.
Stronger Against McCain: In a new poll released by AP-Ipsos, Hillary leads Sen. McCain by 9 points (50-41) while Sens. Obama and McCain are statistically tied (46-44). The poll also shows Hillary faring better than Sen. Obama against McCain among independents (50-39) and has sizeable leads among seniors and Catholic voters. Clinton also pulls 2/3 of voters under 30 versus McCain, which is better than Obama does with that group. Read more.
Addressing Soaring Prices at the Pump: Hillary unveiled an aggressive plan yesterday to address the problem of skyrocketing gas prices. "Record oil prices are contributing to higher energy prices, food prices and a squeeze that is making many middle class families feel like they are falling further behind. American families are hurting now. They need a President who will focus every day on ensuring that they can make ends meet." Read more and more.
If You Read One Thing Today: "As Clinton Seeks Gas Tax Break for Summer, Obama Says No." "'At the heart of my approach is a simple belief,' Mrs. Clinton said. ‘Middle-class families are paying too much and oil companies aren’t paying their fair share to help us solve the problems at the pump.'" Read More.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: "Hillary Clinton's economic leadership has been key to her victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania and will be the focus of her campaign in the run-up to the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. As [yesterday's] New York Times reports, Senator Clinton is demonstrating her leadership on core economic issues by laying out the boldest and most specific plan to help create jobs of any candidate in this race - and she is the only candidate with comprehensive proposals to reduce our dependence on foreign fuels in the long run and provide relief for consumers in the short term." Read more..
"Clinton Accepts Missoula Debate Offer" Meanwhile, "Obama [is] still mulling [the] offer." Read more.
Charming Charlotte: In Charlotte, Hillary "got a star's welcome" from "more than 4,000 supporters" at the Time Warner Cable Arena yesterday "as she entered to a darkened arena with spotlights dancing over a crowd cheering and waving signs." Read More.
Mellencamp in Indiana: Hoosiers for Hillary announced yesterday that legendary Hoosier singer and songwriter John Mellencamp will perform on stage at an event with Hillary in Indianapolis on Saturday, May 3.

okay. 1st up, Meeting Resistance is a great documentary and comes out on dvd next month. i will note that at some point this week but it was cranky baby day today. i don't know if there was a bad dream during nap-time or what but it was be-on-top-of-mommy all day. (i mean that literally. crawling out of my arms to climb around on my shoulders.) i'm not griping. i'm just noting i am worn out. and the big new thing is crying - when it's time to go to sleep - unless mommy's hair can be held. this is apparently not that uncommon and my sister, who called today, said she had a doll made with her hair for her youngest kid.

(if you're new, i don't give out my baby's name here. i use 'bejing,' suggest by my readers. and i don't give out my baby's gender. i am a fairly open person - i've talked about many of marriages and divorces here, for example - but i don't want to post specifics on my baby.)

but meeting resistance is a great documentary. i'll post a press release on it later in the week.

tonight, i couldn't even follow reading it. no reflection on them. they had it lined out very well - in terms of form & style. i am just too drained from the day. and was so tempted, when the baby was finally asleep, to just lie in the bed and go to sleep.

on monday's i've really gotten hooked on Medium (NBC) and that link will allow you to visit the show's website and even watch episodes (for free). monday was the beginning of another multi-arc storyline. in terms of allison's husband joe, his partner has the hots for him. he doesn't know. in terms of allison, she had a nightmare at the start which featured some narration and if you've never seen the show and wondered why patricia arquette won an emmy for this role, check out the opening scene. she ended up with a new (used) car and it turned out that a woman had died in the car (not spoiling it for you, i promise). so that was her case for this episode.

i really do like that show. so does flyboy. a good monday is we have the baby down and are able to watch the show. we've tried tivo-ing but it just piles up. so if we don't watch it 'live,' we don't catch it. for the record, we do take turns with the baby. (not tonight. tonight was his night but the baby just wanted mommy. again, i assume there was a nightmare or maybe a tooth is coming in or something, i don't know.)

and that's going to be it, i really am tired. let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Tuesday, April 29, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the refugee crisis continues, guess who got tossed under the bus, and more.


Starting with war resistance. Iraq War veteran Agustin Aguayo is a war resister whom the US military resisted/refused to give CO status to although he clearly met the conditions for it. Aguayo took his case to the civilian courts and it was winding through them when he was informed he was being sent back for another tour of Iraq. Aguayo self-checked out to demonstrate how serious he was. Though he turned himself in and did so in less than thirty days, the US military elected to court-martial him for desertion. Aguayo is cureently appealing to the Supreme Court on his CO status. He and his wife Helga Aguayo spoke with the International Socialist Review (no writer credited by the magazine for the article in the March/April Issue).

In it, Agustin Aguayo explains, "When I first went to prison, people started to know who I was because they had read the newspapers, but I didn't want to give myself too much importance at the time. I was really focused on getting out. I got a few letters from active-duty soldiers being very supportive. One person in my unit who was recovering from health problems contacted me. He said that he was told that he would be redeployed again soon and that he wasn't ready, so he decided to go to Canada. I'm not going to say that I completely inspired him to make his decision, but I think he thought about what I went through." Helga Aguayo shares, "It reached outside the peace movement. We got letters from lieutenants saying that they too were fighting -- but they were doing it quietly. There are a lot of soldiers, lieutenants, and captains fighting across the board. I think the most touching one was from a wife. She said that her husband had just had a heart attack and that they still wanted to deploy him. And she said, 'We didn't know it was possible to resist'." It's a very strong interview (and Helga's response to a question right after the section we excerpted is a must-read).


Meanwhile, in Canada, many US war resisters are currently hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Ann Wright, with Susan Dixon, is the author of DISSENT: Voices of Conscience. She is also retired US State Dept (she resigned over the illegal war) and retired military (Army Col.) At ZNet, Wright explores the realities for many women in the service: "The Department of Defense statistics are alarming -- one in three women who join the US military will be sexually assaulted or raped by men in the military. The warnings to women should begin above the doors of the military recruiting stations, as that is where assaults on women in the military begin -- before they are even recruited. But, now, even more alarming, are deaths of women soldiers in Iraq and in the United States following rape. The military has characterized each death of women who were first sexually assaulted as deaths from 'noncombat related injuries,' and then added 'suicide.' Yet, the families of the women whom the military has declared to have committed suicide strongly dispute the findings and are calling for further investigations into the deaths of their daughters. Specific US Army units and certain US military bases in Iraq have an inordinate number of women soldiers who have died of 'noncombat related injuries,' with several identified as 'suicides.' Ninety-four US military women have died in Iraq or during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Twelve US civilian women have been killed in OIF. . . . Of the 94 US military women who died in Iraq or in OIF, the military says 36 died from noncombat related injuries, which included vehicle accidents, illness, death by 'natural causes' and self-inflicted gunshot wounds, or suicide."

Turning to the subject of Iraqi refugees. In Geneva today, Jennifer Pagonis, the spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, explained the UNHCR's latest survey of Iraqi refugees living in Syria found "that 95 percent had fled their homeland because of direct threats or general insecurity and that only 4 percent currently had plans to return to Iraq. . . . The survey revealed that of all those interviewed, only 39 out of 994 people -- or four percent -- are planning to return to Iraq. Of the 39 people, 31 percent plan to return with the next 12 months and the remainder have not set a date." That's Syria. IRIN notes, "A study published in March by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the mental state of Iraqis in Jordan and Lebanon has pointed to mounting social and economic problems as the cause of increased domestic violence." IRIN makes clear tha the half a million in Jordan are facing few job prospects which is a problem since "middle class" Iraqis were more apt to settle in Jordan and the money is gone or going. This comes over a week after the UNCHR pointed out that Bulgaria appears to be making it more difficult for Iraqi refugees to receive status. AAP reports a problem for being granted citizenship in Australia is a fear of "failing Australian's citizenship test test is stopping refugees from applying to become citizens" and "the fail rates" for Iraqis have been "up to 20 per cent, compared to 5 per cent fail rates overall." The UNHCR notes there are 4.7 million Iraqi refugees -- 2 million living outside of Iraq and 2.7 million living within Iraq." Of those outside of the country, the UN notes that 44% of them left "between 2003 and 2006, while 54 per cent left after 2006." It should also be noted that puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, has gone out of his way to avoid paying assistance to the neighboring countries that have taken in Iraqi refugees. With Serbia writing off $3 billion in Iraqi debt, it'll be interesting to watch al-Maliki come up with his next excuse for not giving aid to those neighboring countries taking in Iraqi refugees. Meanwhile England's Banner Theatre stages a multi-media musical entitled "The get free mobiles . . . don't they?" Keith McKenna (Great Britain's Socialist Worker) reviews the musical and explains, "It is a story of refugees fleeing communities disrupted by the West, told in a series of exciting songs and humorous sketches. These frame filmed interviews with people who have arrived in Brimingham from Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Iraq. The show systematically demolishes the myths about asylum seekers."

In Iraq, the assault on Sadr City continues. Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reports, "A four-hour firefight between U.S. forces and militiamen today near the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City left at least 28 people dead, bringing to 73 the number of gunment the U.S. military said it had killed in three days." AFP puts the Sadr City death toll at 37 for today and notes the armed clash Susman describes, adding that four US service members were injured "in the fighting." BBC notes, "Doctors in the area's two hospitals said on Tuesday that they had received a stream of casualties throughout the day, the BBC's Patrick Howse reported from Baghdad. More than 50 people had been injured in the fighting, the doctors said." CBS and AP explain, "AP Television News footage showed men helping women cross the street and children running for cover behind blast walls amid gunshots. Men helped carry several blood-soaked injured people onto stretchers to a local emergency hospital. Outside the hospital, the dead were placed inside plain wooden coffins." Raviya H. Ismail and Shashank Bengali (McClatchy Newspapers) report: "Residents said that the American rocket attacks leveled three houses. Eyewitnesses reported seeing body parts scattered atop the smoldering rubble. Officials at Al Sadr Hospital, one of the main hospitals in the slum, said that 43 injured victims were brought in Tuesday afternoon, including six children and four women. 'In addition (there are) many victims we cannot reach because of the bad security situation,' said a hospital emergency worker who identified himself only as Mohammed. Another hospital official, who asked not to be identified because of security concerns, said that 1,190 injured victims have arrived at the hospital since March 25."

In some of today's other reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Baghdad mortar and rocket attacks claimed 2 lives and left ten people wounded, a Baquba bombing attack on the "Awakening" Council in which a woman detonated a bomb killing herself and claiming the live of 1 "Awakening" Council member and wounded five others, a Baquba roadside bombing that wounded three Iraqi soldiers, a Sadiyah bombing that wounded Samir Al Sadi ("director of Sadiyah town"), claiming the life of 1 of his bodyguards and wounded two more people, a Mosul truck bombing that claimed the life of the trucker and left and Iraqi solider wounded and a Mosul car bombing that claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left five more wounded. AFP notes two Kirkuk bombings -- one in an Iraqi military equipment store calimed 3 lives and left seven people wounded while another claimed the life of 1 person as well as leaving eight injured.

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Dheya al Jodi ("director of the projects in the ministry of labour and social affairs") was shot dead in Baghdad (3 people shot dead in Baquba). (Reuters states he did in a Baghdad roadside bombing.)

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 6 corpses discovered in to the "east of Baquba". Reuters notes 2 corpses discovered "just outside Kirkuk".

Yesterday's snapshot included this: "Zachary Coile (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that House Democrats are tacking on items to the Iraq war spending bill which would indicate there's not going to be an effort to cut off funding. Colie notes it 'is expected to fund the war through the end of the Bush presidency and for nearly six months into the next president's term'." Today Deidre Walsh (CNN) reports that in addition to adding to the war spending bill, a timeline for withdrawal may be added: "Another Democratic aide said the House could probably pass a bill with a timeline and funding for the other domestic items, but the Senate would likely strip out most of them." So, at best, a wash is what's being described. Gordon Trowbridge (The Detroit News) reports on the war budget in terms of the other house of Congress, "The Pentagon will rescind part of a $610 million request for Iraq reconstruction spending that Sen. Carl Levin had described as "unacceptable," Levin's office announced Tuesday. In a letter to Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the department would withdraw a request to spend $171 million of the money on construction of Iraqi police stations. Gates said he would ask the Iraqi government to pay for the police stations."

Turning to US presidential politics. Jeremiah Wright's publicity tour continues to draw attention. Alessandra Stanley (New York Times) observes, "Mr. Wright's demystification process began on PBS on Friday. Bill Moyers, the host who knows and obviously admires Mr. Wright, gave the pastor every chance to elaborate on his bona fides . . . Mostly, he gave his guest a chance to show his softer side". Howard Kurtz (Washington Post) points out, "Moyers's question after this diatribe: 'When people saw the sound bites from it this year, they thought you were blaming America. Did you somehow fail to communicate?' Thought he was blaming America? Where did anyone get that idea? 'You cannot do terrorism on other people and not expect it to come back on you,' Wright said yesterday. For good measure, he also defended Louis Farrakhan. I sure wish Moyers had found time during his hour to ask Wright why he's pushing the lie that the government created the AID virus to kill blacks." [Ava and I address the nonsense of Wright & Moyers here.] Dana Milbank (Washington Post) covers Wright's speech to the National Press Club yesterday (link has text and video):

From the moment he entered the room, Wright seemed to be looking to stir controversy; he was escorted by Jamil Muhammad, a leader of the Nation of Islam, which contributed to the minister's prominent security detail. Speaking before an audience that included Marion Barry, Cornel West, the New Black Panther Party's Malik Zulu Shabazz and Nation of Islam protocol director Claudette Muhammad, Wright praised Louis Farrakhan, defended the view that Zionism is racism, accused the United States of terrorism, repeated his belief that the government created AIDS to extinguish racial minorities, and stood by his suggestion that "G** damn America."

Deliah Boyd (A Scriverner's Lament) traces the Sunday-Monday evolution of Barack Obama from some of the comments by Wright have offended him to Barack's refusal to "look reporters in the eye and defend" Wright while he spoke. Andrea Mitchell's report on NBC's Today this morning (link is just video) demonstrates how Barack refused to make contact and spent the bulk of the time while speaking staring at the ground. Frank James (Baltimore Sun) reminds, "The problem for Obama is that he has already said that he can't or won't disown Wright. In his race speech in Philadelphia, he essentially said he could no more break with Wright than he could African-Americans generally" -- or his own 'White grandmother' -- "After such declarative statements, Obama is pretty much stuck with a Wright who has already absolved himself of any further damage he may do to his former congregant. Wright basically was announcing his conscience will be clear." ABC News' Jake Tapper noted this morning, "Democratic sources tell ABC News that Wright is unquestionably worrying superdelegates about Obama's electability." And CNN's Eliott C. McLaughling explained this morning, "Wright, who performed Obama's marriage and baptized both of his children, appears unremorseful about the fiery sermons that made their way on to YouTube and led to his ouster from an advisory committee the Obama campaign."

This morning? Barack Obama, eye on the White House, held a press conference today where he declared that was "outraged" by Wright's remarks and attempted to claim, "The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive" blah blah blah. His comments yesterday (what Milbank covered) were no different than his comments in the clips ABC's Good Morning America aired last month. The ones that led Mr. Pretty Words to give his big speech in Philadelphia about love-love-hope-hope. And yet now they're offensive? He sat through those remarks for 20 years. How stupid does he think (hope?) voters are? Larry Johnson (No Quarter) is terming it "Barack's triple back flip". Taylor Marsh breaks it down: "So today, Obama in a press conference stated he was "shocked" about Rev. Wright's statements yesterday. Is Senator Obama really saying that he didn't realize that Wright was spewing anti-American sentiments all this time? That he was unaware of Wright's political leanings from the pulpit? It defies credibility." VastLeft (Corrente) keeps it simple, "Welcome, Reverend Wright!" (implying Wright should join all the others Barack's thrown under the bus).

The other Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton is in the news as well. Fernando Suarez (CBS News) notes that North Carolina Governor Mike Easley endorsed her today and stated, "I never, never thought the United States of America could get in as much trouble as we have over the last seven or eight years. It's going to take someobdy special. Somebody smart, somebody who understands it, somebody who has experience to get in there, turn it around immediately and she can do that." Meanwhile Jo Mannies (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) reports that "U.S. Rep Ike Skelton, D-Lexington" has endorsed Hillary as well. Skelton is the chair of the House Armed Services Committee. Meanwhile Mike Glover and Beth Fouhy (AP) report:

Democrat Barack Obama dismissed his rivals' calls for national gas tax holiday as a political ploy that won't help struggling consumers. Hillary Rodham Clinton said his stance shows he's out of touch with the economic realities faced by ordinary citizens.
[. . .]
Clinton, who toured the Miller Veneers wood manufacturing company in Indianapolis, said "there are a lot of people in Indiana who would really benefit from a gas tax holiday.
"That might not mean much to my opponent, but I think it means a lot to people who are struggling here, people who commute a long way to work, farmers and truckers," Clinton said. She has called for a windfall tax on oil companies to pay for a gas tax holiday.
"Senator Obama won't provide relief, while Senator McCain won't pay for it," Clinton said. "I'm the only candidate who will provide immediate relief at the pump, with a plan."

Clinton's exactly right and it's one more sign of how Barack doesn't get rural or Small Town voters -- the bulk of whom have to drive elsewhere to work (or drive elsewhere as part of their work -- whether taking cattle to auction, driving a truck, what have you). Hillary details her plan here. At her campaign site, Jamie Radice interviews Jim Stammerman to find out why he's supporting Hillary:

Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I'm from Louisville, born and raised. I grew up in a blue-collar family where politics was always discussed. I went to Bellarmine College and then University of Kentucky for graduate school. I actually ended up being Vice President of the Jefferson County Young Democratic club. One of my most prized possessions is an autograph from JFK.
Q: So is everyone in your family interested in politics:
A: I'm actually a third generation precinct captain. My older brother Bill was the County Co-Chairman for Hillary in Dallas County, Iowa. I actually went out to Iowa in January and helped him volunteer. My other brother Ken served 27 years in the U.S. Foreign Service.
Q: What's the first campaign you volunteered on?
A: Kennedy. We actually chased the Kennedy caravan down Forth Street (laughter). There was a big parade and he spoke in front of the County Courthouse to about 25,000 people. We made signs, wore JFK hats and buttons, it was exciting.
Q: Why are you a Democratic?
A: I think the Democratic Party does more for the common good. I think a lot of the things that are really great about America came out of the Democratic Party leadership: social security, medicare, wage protection.
Q: Why are you supporting Hillary?
A: I think she's a very intelligent person, a very experienced person. There is no doubt in my mind that she'll make a great leader.
Q: What's a typical day like volunteering?
A: There really isn't a typical day. I like meeting people so this works well for me. However, we have all sorts of things for volunteers to do, make signs, call voters, there really is something for everyone.
Q: Why do you think the people of Kentucky should vote for Hillary?
A: Hillary shares the same values as most of the people of Kentucky. For example, Hillary is very involved in education and Kentucky needs a good education President. I worked in higher education for more than 30 years so this has always been an important issue for me.

opening with howard wolfson's 'MEMO: Economic Leadership = Jobs, Jobs, Jobs' (hillaryclinton.com):

Hillary Clinton's economic leadership has been key to her victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania and will be the focus of her campaign in the run-up to the Indiana and North Carolina primaries.
As today's New York Times reports, Senator Clinton is demonstrating her leadership on core economic issues by laying out the boldest and most specific plan to help create jobs of any candidate in this race -- and she is the only candidate with comprehensive proposals to reduce our dependence on foreign fuels in the long run and provide relief for consumers in the short term.
Today, she will unveil a plan to suspend the gas tax paid for out of oil company profits in order to give drivers price relief during the upcoming peak driving months of summer. Unlike Senator McCain, Senator Clinton's plan is paid for and will not raid the highway trust fund. Senator Clinton also has the most detailed, comprehensive trade agenda to ensure that trade is not a race to the bottom and has a bold housing agenda that would freeze foreclosures and create a moratorium on subprime resets. And she would take away $55 billion in special interest tax breaks and put that money back in the pockets of middle class Americans.
While Senator Obama retools his stump speech to reach middle and working class voters, Senator Clinton is going to continue doing what she has successfully done in Ohio and Pennsylvania -- reach out to those Americans who work hard for a living and need a champion in the White House to help them in this difficult economy.
In Pennsylvania, 55% of voters identified the economy as their number one issue -- Senator Clinton won that group 59-41. In Ohio, 40% of voters said the economy was poor -- Senator Clinton won that group by 16 points. Senator Clinton's specific economic plans -- on green collar jobs, on tax relief, on reducing fuel costs for consumers and taking on the oil industry -- has clearly resonated with the voters most concerned about the state of the economy.
By contrast, Senator Obama continues to perform poorly with blue collar voters, raising serious concerns about his ability to successfully compete in key industrial swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. He does do well with those voters who say the economy is good (7% of the electorate in Pennsylvania) or those who are not at all worried about the state of the economy (12% in Texas), but as the economy worsens that group will likely continue to diminish.
Indeed, it is the leadership that Senator Clinton demonstrates on this critical issue that accounts in part for her consistent success in winning over those voters who decided in the last 3 days of the campaign (18 point margins with those voters in both Pennsylvania and Texas). As voters consider the serious challenges facing the nation and the next President in the closing days of these contests, they are choosing the candidate they believe can best be the steward of our economy in rocky times.
As this campaign continues, Senator Clinton will continue to stress the economy in her stump speech and will make clear that, unlike Senator Obama, she knows consumers need relief from gas taxes and deserve a President who has consistently been willing to take on big oil as opposed to awarding it billions in giveaways -- as Senator Obama did when he voted for the Bush-Cheney energy bill.

that's the smart candidate, let's turn to the loser. this is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Working Class Barack"



poor bambi. what a loser.

dana milbank at the washington post has been all over jeremiah wright's 'victory' tour and i think this may be milbank's best piece on the topic. here's a bit of it:

Most problematic for the Democratic presidential front-runner was Wright's suggestion that Obama was insincere in distancing himself from his former pastor. "He didn't distance himself," Wright announced. "He had to distance himself, because he's a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was anti-American." Wright spoke of friends who told him that "we both know that if Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected," and he said of his past parishioner: "Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls."
And that apparent decision by Obama to exclude Wright from his presidential kickoff announcement? Didn't happen. "I started it off downstairs with him, his wife and children, in prayer."

has any 1 thought about this? in terms of obama, i mean. jeremiah wright is repugnant and wallowing in that. (bill moyers must feel like a real idiot right now - and should. read ava and c.i.'s 'TV: Mission Impossible') he has to denounce wright. he has to say wright does not speak for him. and he has. but the question is why it's taken so long. wright is being wright. and barack obama was more than okay with it for 20 years.

that's the wall he's going to slam into with voters. jeremiah wright is disgusting. he's enjoying being disgusting. it has to be called out. but it's who jeremiah wright was and is. and barack was a-okay with that for 20 years. he was happy to have that man educating his children. he was happy with jeremiah wright.

it's the same jeremiah wright. barack's planned run for the presidency should have included picking a new church. he should have left that church a long time ago, no question. but once he was planning his run (long before he announced), he should have gone shopping for a new church. then he could say, 'i left that church.' instead, he's the man who stayed and the excuse that wright was retiring this year is no excuse at all, not after 20 years.

now north carolina's governor endorsed hillary today.

it may or may not be related. i think hillary's the best person for the presidency.

but it is true that the republicans put an ad online (that the cable and broadcast 'news' couldn't stop running for free) that makes it clear that those standing with barack are not standing with america.

that's an important point whether you agree with it or not. that charge is going to be made repeatedly in the coming weeks and, remember c.i.'s point back in january? super delegates are not 'pledged.' they can change their votes at any time. that's what really happens at real party conventions. deal making, trading, etc. there is no 'counting' of the super delegates before the final vote. forget it. it can all change.

and as people find themselves having to explain to their constituents, people who are super delegates and holding elected office, they may start flipping.

wright is out of the mainstream. wright is tied to barack.

if i lived in a state where this could hurt my own election, i'd be thinking about withdrawing my support for barack. be honest, not many are going to go down for the good of barack. those with their own elections to worry about are looking at the press and wondering exactly when this is blowing over? it's not blowing over. and if barack gets the nomination, it will be in the general election. it won't just be used to smear barack.

____ wants to be our ___ and yet s/he supports barack obama, the man whose preacher damned america, the man who .... roll clips. it's a nightmare.

and if they stay with him, they will be risking their own elections.

this is a nightmare for barack's campaign.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Monday, April 28, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, the assault on Sadr City continues, and more.

Starting with war resisters. On Friday Leif Kamunen was arrested. Who? The Kamunen brothers first show in the June 4th 2007 snapshot. Randy Furst (Minneapolis Star Tribune) reported on Luke Kamunen who "began to wonder if he'd made a mistake the moment he arrived for basic training" as did his brother Leif and "Jan. 2, the twins, age 21, and their brother Leo, 20, went AWOL from the Army. All three failed to return to basic training after Christmas break in northern Minnesota." Luke had been arrested, "jailed in Carlton Country for a week and then flown to Fort Knox, KY., where he was given an 'other than honorable discharge'." Joel Bleifuss (In These Times) observed then, "For the Kamunens, blood is thicker than oil. And they are not alone in knowing that living at home beats dying in Iraq." From the June 13th snapshot:

Kim Johnson, Duluth's WDIO, reports on Luke Kamunen who, like his two twin brothers Leo and Leif, self-checked out of the US military on the Christmas break and notes, "The brothers' story is not an isolated one. In fact, the Department of Defense reports desertions have risen 35 percent in the past two years -- from more than 2,400 in 2004 to about 3,300 in 2006" and notes that Luke Kamunen "was surprised" to encounter many others who had done the same "when he was detained by the military".

Now you may be noting MSM outlets plus Joel Bleifuss and that's correct. Dropping back to the November 9, 2007 snapshot:

It's also worth noting that many other resisters went public in the wake of Watada: Darrell Anderson, Agustin Augyo, Kyle Snyder, Mark Wilcox, Ricky Clousing and . . . stop there. Stop there and don't continue because that's how All Things Media Big and Small, with every few exceptions, have treated 2007's crop of war resisters. Despite the fact that 2007 is set to be a record year -- according to the military's own official numbers -- for war resistance, emerging war resisters fell off the media map. James Burmeister was the strongest example. Either you followed Canadian media or you caught NOW with David Brancaccio or you didn't have a clue. Too bad for everyone because the last week of September "kill teams" (US service members setting out equpiment as traps to shoot Iraqis) would become a huge story but Burmeister was telling the story when he went public in June of 2007. Eli Israel would remain "Eli Who?" to All Things Media Big and Small despite the fact that he became the first war resister resisting publicly while stationed in Iraq. The Kamunen brothers? In These Times could find them when no one else in independent media could or would. The mainstream media showed some interest because three brothers -- Leo, Leif and Luke -- all electing to self-checkout over the same Christmas 2006 holiday was news . . . to some.

That was true then and it's true now. War resisters going public in 2007 (Class of 2007) were completely ignored by Panhandle Media and that hasn't changed a bit -- not even when they try to sell a really bad 'book' (just out this month, and already stinking up shelves) that claims how much they care about "standing up" and covering war resisters. Yeah, we're talking Amy Goodman and today's program continues her long, long silence on the Kamunen brothers. Will the silence be unbroken, Amy, will the silence be unbroken? It takes a lot of nerve to hype your cut and paste 'book' on the backs of war resisters when you refused to cover anyone emerging in months. (It starts with Ivan Brobeck -- see "The Full Brobeck" -- who turned himself in on election day 2006 and Goody had no time for her. She would later interview Kyle Snyder -- on the run at the time -- but Snyder had already been discussed on the program, by an attorney, before The Full Brobeck.) Since November 2006, Amy Goodman has not introduced any new war resister to her audience (and, let's be clear, that's not due to the fact that she's been chatting non-stop with Ehren Watada -- she's not been. In fact, she 'covered' Watada's Feb. 2007 court-martial by broadcasting a video report made by Truthout and posted at Truthout. Goody's had other things to do. So she misses Eli Israel (the first service member to publicly resist while stationed in Iraq), James Burmeister (who remember has turned himself in), Skylar James, Ross Spears, Brad McCall . . . It's a long, long list. War resistance didn't stop -- only the coverage did.

Over the weekend (Friday, 11:29 p.m.), Randy Furst (Minnesota Star Tribune) reported that
Leif was arrested "when he and his girlfriend pulled out of the Cartlon driveway on Friday morning in her grandfather's red Tacoma pickup truck. His girlfriend, Angela Martini, said that Leif, 22, had gotten wind the military was after him and was planning to turn himself in to an Army office in Duluth after being AWOL for nearly 16 months." AP notes: "Leif Kamunen's girlfriend, Angela Martini, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis on Friday that Leif had assumed that the Army would not have him arrested. She said he had spoken with someone in the Army last year who told him there was nothing in the Army computer about him and he should just go about living his life."

Meanwhile, in Canada, many US war resisters are currently hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

In Iraq, the assault on Sadr City continues. CNN notes 8 deaths and twenty-eight injured from Friday night to Saturday morning. CNN notes the US military claims 7 Iraqis killed from Saturday night to Sunday morning. Today Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that the US military states ("since Sunday") they have killed 38 people in Sadr city while officials in Sadr City state "they have received 24 dead and more than 100 wounded since 8 a.m. Sunday. The victims included women and children, they said." AFP notes the number dead has risen to 45. CNN notes that Sadiq al-Rikabi ("adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki") has stated the assault on Sadr City will continue: "the militias must hand in all heavy and medium weapons; hand over people wanted for arrest; and keep out of the affairs of Iraqi security forces, government institutions and reconstruction projects." Alissa J. Rubin and Erica Goode (New York Times) report that Qassim Atta ("an aide to Mr. Sadr in Najaf") stated the central government in Baghdad was attempting "to resolve political differences by force." Sunday saw people power and natural forces. On the latter, Sholnn Freeman (Washington Post) reported "a sandstorm blanketed Baghdad on Sunday" and, despite US claims that attacks on the Green Zone were "nearly eliminated," the cover of the sandstorm allowed mulitple mortar attacks to be launched on the Green Zone while Slobodan Lekic (AP) observes, "The near-daily shelling of the Green Zone has become acutely embarrassing for both Iraqi authorities and the U.S. military." . On the former, Hussein Kadhim and Raviya H. Ismail (McClatchy Newspapers) reported, "About 50 leaders representing a variety of Iraqi political blocs took to Baghdad's Sadr City on Sunday, a stronghold of firey religious leader Muqtada al Sadr, to protest the U.S.-led siege of that area" and quoted Nassar al Rubaie explaining, "We have a delegation meeting with Maliki to let him know the real situation going on in the city. We have lawmakers from different blocs and parties to come and watch the situation on the ground." Rubin and Goode quote Azzad Barbani ("a member of Parliament from the Kurdistan Democratic Party") explaining, "What is different about this delegation is that it is composed of all kinds of Iraqis" and the reporters note, "At stake is the outcome of October provincial elections in which other Shiite parties in the government stand to lose seats to Mr. Sadr's supporters." And that wasn't the only gathering taking place on Sunday. Farah Stockman (Boston Globe) reports that, in Helsinki, behind closed doors, "a group of rival members of Iraq's parliament and tribale leaders" met throughout the weekend "for the first time for a futher round of talks that they hope will lay the foundation for peace in their troubled country." Reuters notes the following participants at the Helsinki meeting: "Minister of Dialogue and National Reconciliation Akram al-Hakim, chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee Sheikh Humam Hamoudi, Fouad Maasoom of the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK), Shi'ite Dawa Party parliamentary leader Ali al-Adeeb and Osama al-Tikriti from the Sunni Arab Iraqi Islamic Party". Colin O'Carroll (Belfast News Letter) explains that the group was "advised on peace-making by former sworn enemies Jeffrey Donaldson and Martin McGuinness."

Another continue action is the fighting between the PKK in northern Iraq and the Turkish military. Reuters notes, "Turkish air strikes on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq are 'unfortunate' and will do little to address Ankara's concerns about security, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said on Monday." Hurriyet reports, "Turkey expects an increase in the contacts with the Kurdish administration of northern Iraq in the coming days, Turkey's foreign minister said on Monday. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan added such contacts could occur at various diplomatic levels and are important for fighting terrorists and for Iraq as a whole. Babacan's remarks signalled a softening of the Turkish stance towards Iraqi Kurds." AFP points out how long the Turkish military's attacks have been going on and notes tensions lowered following Jalal Talabani (Iraq's President) visiting Ankara and stating he would join Turkey in rooting out the PKK, "But Turkey's ties with the administration of northern Iraq, led by Massud Barzamo, remain chilly and the United States has often called on both sides to mend fences. The PKK has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives." In the midst of this ("amid Iraq's highest mountains between the Iranian and Turkish borders"), Sam Dagher (Christian Science Monitor) reports on Kurdish Taha Barwari ["minister of sports and youth for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)"] who hopes the creation of "33 recreational centers around the region" will ease some of the tensions within the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Ghassan Charbel (Dar Al Hayat) offers this analysis of Turkey's interests: "Turkey looks at the region and becomes anxious. Its Iraqi neighbor wallows in the midst of a bloody storm; occupation, terrorism, resistance and sectarian conflict. Any permanent disintegration in Iraq would carry the Kurdish fires into the Turkish house. Iraq's unity controls the liminits of federalism and curbs Iran's ability to pull the strings in Iraq. This is why Turkey has an interest in a united and democratic Iraq with no room on its territories for a small independent Kurdish state or for the tiny state of al-Zawahiri."

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Baghdad mortar attacks wounded ten people today, a US air bombing in Baghdad that wounded two people, a Baghdad motor cycle bombing that claimed 1 life and left three people wounded, 3 Baghdad raodside bombings that wounded ten people.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Diyala Province that claimed the lives of 5 "Awakening" Council members while "a Sadrist leader" was shot dead in Basra and his wife was wounded.

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 6 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
is no longer available online. Today the US military notes that the corpses of 2 Iraqi police officers "were discovered in Tikrit, April 27. The two policemen were reportedly off-duty traveling in a privately-owned vehicle when they were fired upon by another vehicle." Aseel Kami (The Scotscman) reports 50 corpses were discovered in Diyala Province Sunday.

CBS and AP report: "The U.S. military says three American soldiers have been killed in a rocket or mortar attack in eastern Baghdad." AP adds, "A fourth U.S. soldier was killed by a shell in western Baghdad, the military said." That brings the total number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4056 with 44 for the month so far making it the deadiest month for US service members since last September.


Turning to the US, Zachary Coile (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that House Democrats are tacking on items to the Iraq war spending bill which would indicate there's not going to be an effort to cut off funding. Colie notes it "is expected to fund the war through the end of the Bush presidency and for nearly six months into the next president's term." Noting press reports, Team Nader writes, "Nader-Gonzalez would set a six-month deadline to get out of Iraq. McCain/Clinton/Obama would not. This past weekend, Ralph Nader toured Hillary Clinton's home state of New York. From Buffalo to Syracuse to the north country, Nader made the point -- time to get out of Iraq. Nader is in Connecticut today, and then on to Vermont. As Ralph Nader continues his 50-state peace campaign, our supporters are working to get Nader-Gonzalez on ballots all across this country. From Maine to California, and Florida to Alaska. Come November, we hope to give the citizens of the United States a choice." At the end of March, Team Nader took on independent media. They have also taken to task others including Medea Benjamin who chose to respond and Nader's 2004 running mate Peter Camejo has responded to Benjamin:

I was stunned to see Medea Benjamin complaining to the Nader/Gonzalez campaign because the campaign had used the word "shameful" in referring to "progressive" Democrats who had supported the pro-war, pro-Patriot Act, anti-labor, and anti-environmental candidate John Kerry in 2004.
I have great personal admiration for Medea Benjamin for many of the stands and actions she has taken through the years. But her capitulation to the Democratic Party has been truly disappointing.
Medea Benjamin eventually joined the "progressive" Democrats and has become an active supporter of the Democratic Party.
Without the Democratic Party's support, Bush's war policies could never have been implemented. The Democrats voted in Congress a resolution that included the phrase, "unequivocal support for George Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq."

Turning to an idiot. Natalee Holloway (not the idiot) is a young woman who disappeared in Aruba and has never been found. Her parents are hopeful that she'll be found. Keep that in mind while you read this: "One 18-year-old white girl from Alabama gets drunk on a graduation trip to Aruba, goess off and 'gives it up' while in a foreign country, and that stays in the news for months! Maybe I am missing something!" The brains to butt the hell out of a tragedy instead of using it for your own cheap gain, instead of talking smutty and thinking you're cute. That trash being quoted? Jeremiah Wright. He is trash and he owes the Holloway family a public apology. And Barack Obama needs to condemn very loudly this nonsense. But he won't. He never does. It's why he keeps being asked about Wright. Bill Moyers was happy to gloss over facts while sitting down with Wright last week. As Ava and I noted, Natalee's name wasn't once raised by Bill Moyers. "Garlic noses" wasn't raised by Bill either. Nor did Moyers explore Wright's claim that AIDS was a government plot to destroy African-Americans. We did get to find out that Wright and Moyers are both idiots who believe the Jewish faith includes the New Testament. We did get to hear Wright express disgust of sodomy. We got to hear the allegedly 'educated' man reject a slogan that doesn't exist ("My government right or wrong" -- he meant "My country right or wrong"), It was all a lot of nonsense. Joan Walsh (Salon) addresses the damning of America here as well as Wright's comparing the attacks on 9-11 to a slave rebellion. On the program and in the near constant press since, Wright's described himself as lynched, crucified, and just about everything you can think of. To buy any of that, you'd have to believe the greatest victim of Wright's trashy and hateful mouth is Jeremiah Wright. William Branigin (Washington Post) reports that Wright appears to now be questioning Dick Cheney's patriotism. While the president of vice is greedy, questioning his patriotism hardly seems the way to win people over to your side. Dana Milbank (Washington Post) evaluates today's performance at the National Press Club, "It seemed as if Wright, jokingly offering himself as Obama's vice president, was actually trying to doom Obama; a member of the head table, American Urban Radio's April Ryan, confirmed that Wright's security was provided by bodyguards from Farrakhan's Nation of Islam" and Milbank picks that performance as the one people may point back to "months from now" if Obama's campaign tanks. Milbank also notes that Wright "renewed his belief that the government created AIDS as a means of genocide against people of color". Larry Johnson (No Quarter) weighs in on Wright here. Obama has his other problems including stabbing every supporter in the back on Fox "News" yesterday. The best take on that is also the funniest, VastLeft (Corrente) has transcribed the conversation with editorial comments.

Former President Bill Clinton is on the campaign trail of Senator Hillary Clinton. Scott Zumwalt (HillaryClinton.com) notes Bill Clinton's trip to Oregon resulted in over 10,000 Oregonians turning out. Toby Harnden (Telegraph of London) quotes Bill Clinton on why Barack Obama refuses to debate her, "I think I know the answer to the question why only one candidate wants to debate, because I saw the debate in Pennsylvania. And afterwards, 41 per cent of the voters watched it, and by 52 per cent to 22 per cent they said Hillary won." Lexi Cribbs has a photo essay of Hillary campaigning in Jacksonville, North Carolina. We'll close with this from Howard Wolfson's "MEMO: Economic Leadership = Jobs, Jobs, Jobs:"

Hillary Clinton's economic leadership has been key to her victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania and will be the focus of her campaign in the run-up to the Indiana and North Carolina primaries.
As today's New York Times reports, Senator Clinton is demonstrating her leadership on core economic issues by laying out the boldest and most specific plan to help create jobs of any candidate in this race -- and she is the only candidate with comprehensive proposals to reduce our dependence on foreign fuels in the long run and provide relief for consumers in the short term.
Today, she will unveil a plan to suspend the gas tax paid for out of oil company profits in order to give drivers price relief during the upcoming peak driving months of summer. Unlike Senator McCain, Senator Clinton's plan is paid for and will not raid the highway trust fund. Senator Clinton also has the most detailed, comprehensive trade agenda to ensure that trade is not a race to the bottom and has a bold housing agenda that would freeze foreclosures and create a moratorium on subprime resets. And she would take away $55 billion in special interest tax breaks and put that money back in the pockets of middle class Americans.
While Senator Obama retools his stump speech to reach middle and working class voters, Senator Clinton is going to continue doing what she has successfully done in Ohio and Pennsylvania -- reach out to those Americans who work hard for a living and need a champion in the White House to help them in this difficult economy.

Actually, one more thing. NOW on PBS has won the 3008 Edward R. Murrow Award for Best TV Documentary for their investigative report "Child Brides: Stolen Lives" which was reported by Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa. The episode can be viewed online here. So congratulations to NOW on PBS, Hinojosa and everyone else working on the half-hour program which airs on Friday nights on most PBS stations (check local listings).

The Miami Herald reports:
Rallies are planned Saturday in seven Florida cities, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale, to demand that the national party count Florida's delegates. Hundreds of activists are also expected to ride buses to Washington to rally Wednesday. .
"This has to do with our civil rights," said Millie Herrera, a potential Clinton convention delegate and the president of the Hispanic Democratic Caucus of Florida. "No one has the right to invalidate our votes."

that's from tennessee guerilla women's 'Count Our Votes: Florida Protests Begin this Week' and florida is fighting for what they deserve. after 2000, no democrat should attempt to deprive florida or disenfranchise them.

i was forwarded the piece of crap laura santina wrote about hillary. santina's not a democrat and she's also an idiot. i've linked to her before when she's had something to say. but she has nothing to say today. she wants to play 'i know now so this was wrong then!' she's 1 more useless piece of trash and goodness knows panhandle media is nothing but a toilet these days. laura santina's the thing you need to flush down. though, no doubt, she would argue that flushing is bad and oppressive and imperalistic. she embraces crap.

i guess it's a case of like attracting like.

i was talking to others trying to post tonight and we're all having the same problem which is we'd really love to let it rip but jim thinks we've got a strong edition coming at third. c.i. and ava are sick as dogs, they are coughing, they are sneezing. i hope jim's not thinking there's going to be a miracle cure between now and tomorrow night.

but i'll pull my punches here because if they are still sick, we're going to need to really focus. ava and c.i. do so much. they are heavy hitters. jim and dona are as well. and every 1 is strong but we all do say, 'oh well, ava and c.i. will fix it.' or 'ava and c.i.'s tv commentary will save the edition.'

they were speaking about iraq tonight to the study group and they did a great job but then they were asked to talk about hillary's win this week. and they did a great job of that but i could tell they were about to fall over. c.i.'s already said, 'if it's not iraq, it's not going up at the common ills tomorrow. i'm too tired.'

that doesn't refer to the hubdate but it does refer to other things that usually get noted.

speaking of crackpots, dave lindorff has a hideous piece of trash article (trash writes trash) at common dreams. i'm tempted to link to it for the comments (dave gets louder and more shrill in his comments) but i'll just repost some to demonstrate that it's people like dave lindorff who are destroying their christ-child with their non-stop lies and, in the process, destroying panhandle media.

Jacob Freeze April 24th, 2008 1:11 am
Dave Lindorff keeps talking about how Obama’s “supporters” are going to make him more progressive after he gets elected, but it’s “supporters” like Dave Lindorff with his ludicrous hate speech about Hillary Clinton that turned a lot of us against the Obama campaign.
“She’s also a crook and a greedhead.”
Where does Mr. Lindorff get off with his miserable hate speech about a Democratic Senator from New York and the first viable woman candidate for President?

yeah, that's davy. here's some 1 calling lindorff out for his hypocrisy:

common_cracker April 23rd, 2008 5:29 pm
i find it somewhat ironic that the guy who wrote a book entitled “the case for impeachment” supports a candidate who has done nothing to impeach bush. oh, that’s right, it’s “off the table.” why are you giving BHO (or HRC) your vote for free?

yeah people are waking up.

Kernel April 23rd, 2008 4:27 pm
So Hillary beats Obama by 10% in Pennsylvania and his supporters never think of blaming him for a poor campaign.Instead, it is Hillary`s fault that she won. Maybe Obama should have realized that just wasting enormous sums of money on ads can be overdone. People want some real ideas in a candidate, not just talk.

true that.

COMarc April 23rd, 2008 3:20 pm
I’m still amazed at this con the Dems are trying to run of trying to get people to support Obama not on the basis of what he’ll say he’ll do, but instead on the complete fiction that he’ll be a secret revolutionary who’ll reform everything if only we have the faith to elect him.
I know this. Wall St has poured millions into his campaign. I rather doubt that they are giving away millions to put a secret revolutionary into the White House.
Have we really sunk so low that the con the Dems are running is to try to get people to vote for their Wall St backed candidate on the mythical belief that he’s really someone completely different than anything he’s shown as a candidate or a senator? Absolutely amazing.

comarc, you don't know how low dave lindorff has sunk. here he is explaining why he's for barack and how barack's different:

the more so a black candidate who has risked jail by doing drugs, and who has relatives TODAY living in the Third World (Kenya).

yeah, dave lindorff is for barack because he 'risked jail by doing drugs'! go davey, show your stupidity. it's the death of your career. go davey, bury yourself.

Rich Griffin April 23rd, 2008 12:21 pm
He outspent her 3-to-1; he had 10,000 t.v. ads; he gets away with being unspecific as to what he would actually DO; the media loves him; she allegedly can’t catch up delegates-wise; she’s evil and he’s a hero!; he’s a man and she’s an evil woman… and he still LOST! By 10 points!
He is pro-military spending, pro-war, pro-corporate politics as usual, has shown ZERO leadership as a U.S. Senator; has, by his own admission, no real passion; he IS elitist; he’s a MALE and she’s an evil FEMALE; he wants “civility” (read: tilt rightward) - oh, yes, we MUST vote for him.
Say “NO” to the cult of Barack Obama!

it really is a cult and dave lindorff is a lowly peon trying out for high priest.

this is howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Fair is Fair' (hillaryclinton.com):

Fair is Fair: In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Clinton campaign strategist Geoff Garin writes: "The bottom line is that one campaign really has engaged in a mean-spirited, unfair character attack on the other candidate -- but it has been Obama’s campaign, not ours. You would be hard-pressed to find significant analogues from our candidate, our senior campaign officials or our advertising to the direct personal statements that the Obama campaign has made about Clinton." Read More.
$$$: "Hillary Clinton raised $10 million in the 24 hours after winning the Pennsylvania primary, aided by contributions from 80,000 new donors." Read more and keep it going at http://www.hillaryclinton.com/.
An Open Letter From Dr. Maya Angelou: Poet and activist Dr. Maya Angelou wrote an open letter about her commitment to Hillary’s candidacy. "Hillary does not waver in standing up for those who need a champion.... I am supporting Hillary Clinton because I know that she will make the most positive difference in people's lives and she will help our country become what it can be." Read More.
In Case You Missed It: Paul Krugman writes in today's NYT: "From the beginning, I wondered what Mr. Obama's soaring rhetoric, his talk of a new politics and declarations that 'we are the ones we’ve been waiting for' (waiting for to do what, exactly?) would mean to families troubled by lagging wages, insecure jobs and fear of losing health coverage. The answer, from Ohio and Pennsylvania, seems pretty clear: not much. Mrs. Clinton has been able to stay in the race, against heavy odds, largely because her no-nonsense style, her obvious interest in the wonkish details of policy, resonate with many voters in a way that Mr. Obama’s eloquence does not." Read more.
Bringing Troops Home with Honor: Yesterday, Hillary highlighted policies for veterans at "Solutions for America" events in Fayetteville and Asheville, NC. It's rare for a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to endorse a candidate but General Hugh Shelton is backing HRC. In NC yesterday, he said: "Unlike any other candidate, [Hillary] understands that maintaining a well-prepared armed forces goes beyond providing dollars....She is the only candidate who has offered a responsible plan for bringing our troops home with honor." Read more.
Electable…Without FL or OH? The Obama campaign released a memo yesterday on electability, but as Chris Cilizza highlights, "two states that are not mentioned in the Obama memo are Florida, the key battleground in the 2000 presidential race, and Ohio, the Florida of the 2004 contest." Read more.
Debate Watch: Hillary is willing to debate Sen. Obama in North Carolina, Oregon, and Indiana while Sen. Obama continues to resist. His excuse today: "It’' not clear that another debate is going to be the best use of our time." Meanwhile Sen. Evan Bayh said this yesterday: “We have thousands of people in Indiana who...deserve an opportunity to see both candidates stand side by side...We in Indiana don’t want to be treated as second-class citizens." Read more and more.
Today on the Trail: In North Carolina, Hillary hosts a "Solutions for America" event in Jacksonville, NC. In Indiana, she hosts "Solutions for the American Economy" events in Bloomington, East Chicago, and Fort Wayne. She also meets with steelworkers to discuss creating and protecting jobs in Gary.

so that's going to be it tonight. hope every 1 has a great weekend. remember hillary won. and it's driving the crackpots even more nutty!

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Friday, April 25, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, an oversight exploration announces Iraqi Forces figures are wrong, the VA scandals continue and more.

Starting with war resistance. Claudia Feldman (Houston Chronicle) reported a week ago on consientious objector Hart Vines and his participation at Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier (IVAW's Ronn Cantu who started the first IVAW chapter in Texas, at Fort Hood, is also covered in the article). Feldman reports:

One of his jobs in Iraq was to stand guard with a .50-caliber machine gun while his buddies searched houses supposedly inhabited by insurgents and enemy combatants. At the conference, searches of that kind were described vividly. Sometimes soldiers kicked in the front doors. Sometimes they upended refrigerators and ripped stoves out of walls. Sometimes they turned drawers upside down and broke furniture.
One day Viges was instructed to search a suspicious house, a hut, really, but he couldn't find pictures of Saddam Hussein, piles of money, AK-47s or roadside bombs.
"The only thing I found was a little .22 pistol," Viges said, " ... but we ended up taking the two young men, regardless."
An older woman, probably the mother of the young men, watched and wailed nearby.
"She was crying in my face, trying to kiss my feet," Viges said. "And, you know, I can't speak Arabic, but I can speak human. She was saying, 'Please, why are you taking my sons? They have done nothing wrong.' "

And, dropping back to a September 2005 speech he gave, here's what happened once he returned to the US:

And after I came home I've come to realise that we've got to make better choices, I applied for Conscientious Objector [status]. I was able to remember the Sermon on the Mount. I'm a Christian, what was I doing holding a gun to another human being? Love thy neighbour. Do good for him. Pray for those who persecute you, don't shoot them. I get my Conscientious Objector packet approved. I'm alone. I'm free, I'm done. It's all gone now, right? No! I still swerve at trash bagsfireworks. I'm looking at everyone's hands and faces [tonight] to see who's going to want to shoot me. I can't express anything, I can't express love. All my relationships are falling apart because they can't f**king understand me. How do they know the pain that I've gone through or the sights that I've seen, the dead bodies? The innocence gone, stripped, dead? I couldn't do it myself. I couldn't stand the pain. People were leaving me. I was alone. I couldn't cut my wrists. So I called the police. They come stomping through my door. I have my knife in my hand. "Shoot me. Shoot me". All of a sudden I was the man with the RPG, with all the guns pointed at him. Misled, miseducated, thinking that "Yes, we can solve all the world's problems by killing each other". How insane is that? Lucky enough I lived through that episode as well. See, you can't wash your hands when they're covered in blood with more blood. It's impossible; the wounds carry on. Families are destroyed.

Meanwhile, in Canada, many US war resisters are currently hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Turning to the Dept of Veteran Affairs. Pia Malbran (CBS News) reports that, "While on the stand in California federal court" yesterday, "where the VA is facing a lawsuit filed by veteran advocates who are demanding better health care, Dr. Michael Kussman, the VA's Under Secretary for Health, said, 'I Disagree with the premise that there was some effort to cover up something.' On March 10 of this year, Everett Chasen, the chief communications officer for the VA's Veterans Health Administration (VHA) sent an e-mail message to several top agency officials including Kussman. At the time, CBS News was preparing a report about attempted suicides among VA patients. Chasen wrote, 'I don't want to give CBS any more numbers on veteran suicides or attempts than they already have -- it will only lead to more questions'." CBS News has been covering this story for some time. Today Peter Hart (FAIR's CounterSpin) explained:

Sadly, there's no end of examples of US journalists accepting and parroting official government statistics without challenge so when we find a case of an outlet actually questioning an official source and bringing that challenge to the public it seems worth taking note of. Last year CBS Evening News reported what they and others have called an "epidemic of suicides" among those who have served in the US military. The network noted that there were more than 6,200 such suicides in the year 2005. Those numbers were challenged however by the Department of Veterans Affairs head of mental health Dr. Ira Katz who insisted that CBS had it wrong, the suicide rate for vets was actually no higher than normal. In a distrubing April 21st follow-up, however, CBS provided evidence that those numbers were not wrong and evidently that's why the VA didn't want the public to know them. CBS reporter Armen Keteyian noted that the VA recently provided date indicating just 790 attempted suicides by vets in all of 2007; however, Keteyian had access to an e-mail Katz sent to his top media advisor in which the VA official said something dramatically different acknowledging that "our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities." That's pretty far removed from the 790 a year the VA had reported to CBS and consequently to the public. Even more disturbing is the evidence that Katz knows he's actively misinforming the public on this critical issue. His e-mail was titled "Not for the CBS News interview request" and the opening line was "Sh!" The note closed with Katz' concern: "Is this something we should carefully address before someone stumbles on it?" Clearly this is a story that will require further follow-up to find out what else the VA would like to hide from the public about yet another of the devastating impacts of the war on Iraq. We certainly hope CBS will continue in the way they've started out and that they won't be alone.

Note on the above, all links in Peter Hart's commentary go to CBS News which has text and video for each link and the e-mail itself, PDF format warning, is here. Bob Egelko (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that Kussman stated on the stand yesterday, "The number of patients who have adjustment reactions to the experience that they have in Afghanistan or Iraq is very important, but we don't believe that's mental illness. It would be unfair and inappropriate to stigmatize people with a mental health diagnosis when they are having what most people believe are normal reactions to abnormal situations." There is no care or concern, just a desire to cut down on expenses. Diagnosis the mental health disorder requires that it be treated. Dropping back to IVAW's Winter Soldier Investigation last month:

Adrienne Kinne: And then they went to go to the next step, to actually make this happen. And I was actually on a conference call when someone said, "Wait a second. We can't start this screening process. Do you know that if we start screening for TBI there will be tens of thousands of soldiers who will screen positive and we do not have the resources available that would allow us to take care of these people so we cannot do the screening." And their rationale was that medically, medical ethics say if you know someone has a problem, you have to treat them. So since they didn't have the resources to treat them, they didn't want to know about the problem.
That's the reality for refusing to diagnose, Kinne's point that the VA would then be ethically bound to treat. If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage. Kinne testified Friday afternoon. Wednesday saw the VA's deputy chief Gordon Mansfield facing questions from the Senate's Veterans Affairs Committee. Armen Keteyian and Pia Malbran (CBS News, link has text and video) reported that Senator Patty Murray questioned him about how anyone could have faith in statements from the VA since "every time we trun around we find out that what you're saying publicly is different from what you're saying privately?" Les Blumenthal (Seattle Times) quotes Murray stating, "I used to teach preschool, and when you bring up a 3-year-old and tell them they have to stop lying, they understand the consequences. The VA doesn't. They needed to stop hiding the fact this war is costing us in so many ways." Murray also noted, "I am very angry upset that we find out this week that several inernal VA e-mails that were made public -- not becuase you wanted them to, but because of a lawsuit that ws ongoing -- showed that the VA downplayed significantly the number of suicides and suicide attempts by veterans in the last several years. Just a few months ago in November the VA was confronted with an analysis that said there were 6,250 veterans who had committed suicide in 2005 an average of 17 a day. VA officials said that number was inaccurate, it was much lower. These e-mails that were uncovered this week show that Dr. Katz, who is the VA's top mental health official, not only backed up those alleged numbers but he acknowledged that the numbers were much higher than that. So what they were telling us in November and December was that the number was lower but inside the VA everyone knew it was higher. And there are e-mails saying that and showing that". Thursday on the Senate floor, during a vote on the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act, Murray stated the following:


And just this week, we got more evidence that the Administration has been covering up the extent of the toll this war has taken on our troops. Internal e-mails that became public in a court hearing show that the VA has vastly downplayed the number of suicides and suicide attempts by veterans in the last several years. Last November, an analysis by CBS News found that over 6,200 veterans had committed suicide in 2005 -- an average of 17 a day.
When confronted, VA officials said the numbers were much lower. But according to the internal e-mails from the VA's head of Mental Health -- Dr. Ira Katz -- 6,570 veterans committed suicide in 2005 -- an average of 18 a day. The e-mails also revealed that VA officials know that another 1,000 veterans -- who are receiving care at VA medical facilities -- attempt suicide each month.
Mr. President, these numbers offer tragic evidence that our nation is failing thousands of veterans a year. And they reflect an Administration that has failed to own up to its responsibilities, and failed even to own up to the true impact of the war on its veterans.
What is most appalling to me is that this is not the first time the VA has covered up the problems facing veterans who sacrificed for our country. Time and again, the VA has told us one thing in public -- while saying something completely different in private. It is outrageous to me that VA officials would put public appearance ahead of people's lives. Yet, Mr. President, it appears that is what has happened again.
When we -- as members of Congress -- sit down to determine the resources to give the VA, we must have a true picture of the needs. And if there's a problem, we have to act. It's our duty -- and the duty of the Administration -- to care for veterans. By covering up the true extent of that problem, the VA has hindered our ability to get those resources to the veterans who need them. That is irresponsible, and it's wrong.

Senator Daniel K. Akaka has joined Murray in calling for Ira Katz' resignation. Meanwhile C.W. Nevius (San Francisco Chronicle) reports on the attorney handling the lawsuit against the VA, Gordon Erspamer: "He's a rainmaker attorney for a major firm in the city who has set aside time to take legal action that doesn't earn a penny. And besides that, he's got a compelling and personal back story and a chip on his shoulder to prove it. Erspamer's cause since the late '70s has been the rights of armed forces veterans, and this week's trial has the VA squirming over a shocking rate of suicides among vets and has captured the national spotlight." Aimee Allison and Aaron Glantz hosted a live report on KPFA about the trial Tuesday and Gordon Erspamer was interviewed in the first hour.

Yesterday, the Office of the Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction released a report entitled [PDF format warning] "Intermim Analysis of Iraqi Security Force Information Provided By The Department Of Defense Report, Measuring Stability And Security In Iraq." Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) reports, "The U.S. military does not have an accurate tally of the number of Iraqi security forces who have been trained or who are present for duty . . . The study says some Iraqi soldiers and police who were killed or wounded in action remain on the payroll so their families can receive financial compensation, skewing the statistics. . . . Reinforcing earlier findings, Special Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen Jr. and other officials said the data being provided to the U.S. military were inaccurate." William H. McMichael (Army Times) adds that "thousands of others counted as present for duty are not showing up for work because they're injured, on leave or absent without leave . . ." The 21-page report (13 of text and then additional notes) also states, "Evolving changes in reporting methodology make it difficult to compare information from one report to earlier reports." Page five notes of the Defense Dept's most recent report, "Although the March 2008 Section 9010 report, as well as earlier ones, presents an array of numbers, other information in the 9010 reports and elsewhere indicates (1) uncertainty about the number of Iraqi personnel who are present for duty at any one time; and (2) uncertainty about the capabilities of the police force because the police have greater capacity to recruit that to train -- this limits the number of police on the rolls who have been trained. In addition, shortages of officers and/or non-commissioned officers in both the police and defense forces remain a significant long-term challenge that could take a decade to address."

Which fits in with Demetri Sevastopulo (Financial Times of London) observation that Nouri al "Maliki's campaign" assault on Basra "has resulted in US troops deploying to Basra and left the UK with no choice but to provide additional support to the operation. One person familiar with US military planning in Iraq said the 'fiasco' started by Mr Maliki had 'forced the hand of the British' to support the Iraqi government, in addition to the current core mission of training Iraqi forces." And the strain comes as Daniel Bentley (The Scotsman) reports, "British troop numbers in Iraq will only be futher reducded 'if conditions allow', Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, said yesterday." The numbers also matter in terms of The Petraeus & Crocker Variety Hour earlier this month. Repeatedly the numbers now known to be non-reliable were cited as 'proof' of 'advances'. Gen David Petraeus' seven-page prepared remarks always cited the numbers of Iraqi Forces:

A number of factors have contributed to the progress that has been made. First, of course, has been the impact of increased numbers of Coalition and Iraqi Forces. You are well aware of the U.S. surge. Less recognized is that Iraq has also conducted a surge, adding well over 100,000 additional soldiers and police to the ranks of its security forces in 2007 and slowly increasing its capability to deploy and employ these forces.[. . .] A second factor has been the employment of Coalition and Iraqi Forces have grown significantly since September, and over 540,000 individuals now servein the Iraqi Security Forces. The number of combat battalions capable of taking the lead in operations, albeit with some Coalition support, has grown to well over 100 [Slide 10]. These units are bearing an increasing share of the burden, as evidenced by the fact that Iraqi Security Force losses have recently been three times our own. We will, of course, conduct careful after action reviews with our Iraqi partners in the wake of recent operations, as there were units andleaders found wanting in some cases, and some of our assessments may be downgraded as a result. Nonetheless, the performance of many units was solid, especially once they got their footing and gained a degree of confidence, and certain Iraqi elements proved quite capable.Underpinning the advances of the past year have been improvements in Iraq's security institutions. An increasingly robust Iraqi-run training base enabled the Iraqi Security Forces to grow by over 133,000 soldiers and police over the past 16 months. And the still-expanding training base is expected to generate an additional 50,000 Iraqi soldiers and 16 Army and Special Operations battalions throughout the rest of 2008, along with over 23,000 police and 8 National Police battalions.

Meanwhile AFP reports, "Iraq's hardline Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Friday called upon his followers and security forces to stop the bloodshed a week after he warned of 'open war' against the government." Deborah Haynes (Times of London) quotes him stating, "I call upon my brothers in the army, police and al-Mahdi Army to stop the bloodshed. When we threatend an open war, it was meant against the occupation and not against our people. There will be no war between Sadrists and Iraqi brothers from any groups." And the UN human rights envoy, Radhika Coomaraswamy declared today of Iraqi children, "Many of them are no longer go to school, many are recruited for violent activitis or detained in custody, they lack access to the most basic services and manifest a wide range of psychological symptoms from the violence in their everyday lives."

In some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Tikrit car bombing that claimed the life of 1 police officer, a Falluja mosque bombing that claimed 1 life and left four people wounded and notes two US air bombings of Baghdad after night fall yesterday that claimed the lives of 13 people and wounded forty (those numbers are US military numbers).

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Baghdad with three Iraqi soldiers wounded and 5 "gunmen" killed. CBS and AP report: "Assailants on Friday gunned down an Iraqi journalist who had been working for a local radio station run by a Shiite political party that is the chief rival of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the station and police said. Jassim al-Batat was killed by gunmen in a speeding car as he left his house in the town of Qurna in his own car, said Adnan al-Asadi, the head of the local al-Nakhil radio station based in the southern city of Basra. Qurna is 55 miles north of Basra." Reuters quotes al-Asadi explaining, "His only concerns were his work and his family. He was liked by all his colleagues, and we don't know any reason why he should be killed." Reuters also notes 1 adult male shot dead outside his Iskandariya home, 1 fisherman shot dead in Mosul (another injured), 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul and 2 people shot dead in Iskandariya.

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

The US military announced today: "A Multi-National Division -- Center Soldier was killed in an improvised explosive device attack south of Baghdad, April 24." The announcement brings to 4052 the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war.

Turning to US politics. First up, Wednesday's snapshot referenced Big Tent Democrat's post (TalkLeft) on the nonsense of Tom Hayden -- the latest nonsense from a lifetime of nonsense but the link was wrong. My apologies. The correct link is here. Wednesday night, Elaine provided the letter Hayden needs to write -- the public letter -- and why no woman need listen to him until he does. (Not that they need to listen to him after, for that matter.) Wednesday night, Taylor Marsh also weighed in on Tom's nonsense and, let me repeat something here, Tom invents things. He invents conversations that allegedly happened years ago when he needs them for modern times. We've avoided commenting on his current wife here because who knows what the woman did or didn't know. Tom loves to embellish a tale. But the point is that he's a longterm sexist and no women needs him speaking for her. On the topic of sexists, Keith Olberman of MSNBC, as Jeralyn (TalkLeft) points out, made a comment on air that has some wondering if he was calling for Hillary Clinton to be assaulted or murdered: "Hyperbole? A figure of speech? Sexist? Or a call to snuff her out?" Joan Walsh (Salon) explains Olberman has 'apologized' -- he still doesn't get how offensive his statement was and how his add-on only more so. He gets that it sounded to some like murder but he still doesn't get (and Walsh doesn't appear to either) that the "apology" is still stating a woman needs to be taken into a room and forced "politically" out of the race. It's undemocratic and, with his pattern, it's sexist. Susan UnPC (No Quarter), writing before the 'apology,' gets it very clearly, "Take notice of his use of the pronoun 'he'." Meanwhile Paul Krugman (New York Times) examines the working class support for Hillary Clinton and how Obama still -- all these months later -- can't connect with those voters? Jonathan Mann (CNN) explains, "Hillary is back. Until now, Hillary Clinton's campaign hd one consistent quality -- it kept coming up short. . . . The biggest question about her campaign was when it would finally succumb to being so second-place. This week that changed. She won the Pennsylvania primary by 10 percentage points, a margin that convinced contributors to flood her Internet site with $10 million."

Seth Bringman (HillaryClinton.com) explains "Hillary Clinton's Plan to Address the Student Loan Crisis:"

Over a year ago, Hillary Clinton called on the Bush Administration to address the growing problems in the subprime mortgage market. Instead of listening, President Bush stood by as the subprime crisis spiraled into a larger housing and credit crisis that is driving our economy downward. This economic crisis now threatens to claim another victim: student loans. As the result of the credit crunch, more than 50 student lenders, accounting for almost 14% of private student-loan volume, have already withdrawn from the guaranteed student loan program [Wall Street Journal, A3, 4/24/08]. Hundreds of thousands of students who are actively considering how to finance their college educations could be left in the lurch, without the ability to pay for college. And when those students are not able to college, that is not only tragic for them but a loss for our economy as a college graduate earns $1 million more over the course of their lifetime than someone with a high school diploma.
Now is the time to act to prevent a student lending crisis. In Indiana, where six of every ten students graduate with debt, and that debt averages $21,000, it is vital that we ensure that every Hoosier student can count on the loans they need to attend school in the fall [Project on Student Debt]. Today, Hillary laid out her plan for addressing the student loan crisis. She urged the Bush Administration to support her plan, and act swiftly to head-off this growing crisis.

That's the opening use the link for the itemized list. Marlon Marshall offers a photo essay of Hillary at the "Solutions for the American Economy" in Indianapolis. And we'll go out with this from Geoff Garin's "Fair Is Fair" (Washington Post):

What's wrong with this picture? Our campaign runs a TV ad Monday saying that the presidency is the toughest job in the world and giving examples of challenges presidents have faced and challenges the next president will face -- including terrorism, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, mounting economic dislocation, and soaring gas prices. The ad makes no reference -- verbal, visual or otherwise -- to our opponent; it simply asks voters to think about who they believe is best able to stand the heat. And we are accused, by some in the media, of running a fear-mongering, negative ad.The day before this ad went on the air, David Axelrod, Barack Obama's chief strategist, appeared with me on "Meet the Press." He was asked whether Hillary Clinton would bring "the changes necessary" to Washington, and his answer was "no." This was in keeping with the direct, personal character attacks that the Obama campaign has leveled against Clinton from the beginning of this race -- including mailings in Pennsylvania that describe her as "the master of a broken system."So let me get this straight.On the one hand, it's perfectly decent for Obama to argue that only he has the virtue to bring change to Washington and that Clinton lacks the character and the commitment to do so. On the other hand, we are somehow hitting below the belt when we say that Clinton is the candidate best able to withstand the pressures of the presidency and do what's right for the American people, while leaving the decisions about Obama's preparedness to the voters.Who made up those rules? And who would ever think they are fair?

iraq
bob egelkogeoff garinadrienne kinne
kpfa
iraq veterans against the war
aimeee allisondavid solnit
aaron glantz
armen keteyianpia malbranles blumenthal
c.w. nevius
julian e. barnesthe los angeles timeswilliam h. mcmichael
paul krugmanthe new york times

let's open it with howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: The Tide is Turning' (hillaryclinton.com):

Today on the Trail: Hillary highlights policies for veterans at "Solutions For America" events in Fayetteville and Asheville, NC. Hillary will be joined on the campaign trail by American hero and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Hugh Shelton, Ret.
$$$: USA Today reports "One day makes $10 million difference for Clinton." Keep going to www.hillaryclinton.com. Read more.
Superdelegate Watch: Congressman John Tanner announced his support of Hillary: "in my opinion, the best person to lead this critical effort is Hillary Clinton...Hillary is a smart, pragmatic leader who understands the grave situation our country faces" Read more.
"No Brainer" OH Gov. Ted Strickland said on a conference call yesterday: "This is for me a no-brainer...If we're going to plan to win in November, we need to choose the candidate that has the greatest strength in the states that are necessary to get us the electoral votes we need...I hope the superdelegates are paying attention." On the same call, NY Gov. David Paterson said "I don't think the tide is turning, I think the tide has turned." Read more and more.
Sen. Obama Calls Debates a "Game:" The Indianapolis Star is calling on Sen. Obama to accept an invitation to debate Hillary in the Hoosier State....In OR, Clinton "proposed two debates, including one on the challenges facing rural Oregonians." Sen. Obama responded "call[ing] Clinton's challenge 'an old, Washington game.'" Since when did debating the issues and giving voters a choice become a "game?" Read more and more. Watch the challenge here.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Yesterday in Indianapolis, Hillary said: "This campaign for me in Indiana is about jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs...This is not about speeches. It is about solutions." Read more.
Oregon Compact: Yesterday, Hillary "issued the most detailed, on-paper description to date from any of the presidential candidates on their intentions for Oregon. The 13-page document gave specific descriptions of how she intended to deal with each issue." Read more.
Montana Momentum: "Montana for Hillary announced the endorsements of seven more Montana legislators, leaders and Democratic activists, demonstrating [Hillary’s] growing support throughout Montana.'"Read more.

okay, now how about the snapshot today? yes, there's important stuff in it as usual (and i'm sure c.i. will be 1 of 10 in the entire country that will note the senate committee meeting on the national security state) but what about that section on the man accusing hillary of being vain?

jesse jackson jr. couldn't stop lying about hillary. she cried! (she didn't cry.) she cried about her appearance! (she didn't cry about her appearance.) and the reality was jesse jackson jr. is a fat ass who had surgery to drop 50 pounds.

fat boy went under the knife to lose weight and wants to call any 1 else vain?

i mean, come on.

how ridiculous.

jesse jackson was trying to find something to smear hillary with and the only thing he could think of was his own deepest secret: he's vain so he accused her of it.

think about it, by the way, 50 pounds.

we're not talking 100 pounds. we're not talking life threatening obesity. a doctor (a real 1, not a quack) would have told him, 'cut back on the sweets and get some exercise.' but that was too much work for fat boy. instead, he goes under the knife to lose 50 pounds.

the vanity on that man.

i have no idea how long c.i.'s been sitting on that 1. but i know the attitude now is that all these liars about hillary need to be cut off at the knees.

an attitude i fully support.

but i was laughing so hard. i had no idea that jesse jackson jr. was so vain he had surgery to lose weight. i noticed the weight loss and assumed he'd been working out or something. he wasn't fat to begin with. (i actually think he looked better before the surgery. he had a nice healthy glow back then. and he seemed to have a body that fit him. his face looked real.) how much vanity does some 1 have to have to go under the knife to lose 50 pounds?

seriously.

you don't take surgery lightly if you're a smart person.

and you have to wonder how much self-loathing there was prior to the surgery that he could make such a drastic decision for 50 pounds?

then fat boy wants to falsely accuse hillary of vanity?

that's hilarious.

i saw something that reminded me of points we all try to make but that ruth and marcia make most strongly: hillary will fight for all americans. this is 'Montana for Hillary Announces Lena Belcourt as Indian Affairs Coordinator: Belcourt hails from Rocky Boy Reservation' (hillaryclinton.com):

Billings, MT -- The Clinton campaign today announced that Lena Belcourt, a Chippewa Cree Tribal member, is the new Indian Affairs Coordinator for Hillary Clinton's campaign in Montana. Belcourt is a health policy analyst and consultant who advises elected Tribal Leadership on local, state and national policymaking.
Belcourt makes her home on the Rocky Boy Reservation in north central Montana.
"Indian people need a candidate who will hit the ground running, who has links to Indian Country and has supported legislation important to Indian Country. We need someone who knows who we are. That's Hillary Clinton."
In 2004 Belcourt served on then Governor-Elect Schweitzer's transition team as a policy advisor, and in 2005 she was detailed by the Chippewa Cree Tribe to the Office of the Governor of Montana, serving as the Governor Schweitzer's Policy Advisor on Health and Disability. Belcourt also staffed Alvin Winy Boy, Sr., former Chairman of the Chippewa Cree Tribe, on his health policy agenda.
Belcourt intends to make Indian healthcare a focus of her work for Montana for Hillary.
"We as Indian people have been left out of the American dream by our lack of access to accessible, affordable healthcare. I believe in accessible, quality healthcare for Montana Tribes and I know that Hillary Clinton will work her hardest to make it a reality."
Belcourt assisted the Northern Arapaho Tribe in the planning and development of their SAMHSA Indian Country Methamphetamine Initiative in 2006-2007. She has also worked on the development of the Chippewa Cree Tribe's Medicaid Eligibility Determination contract, the CCT Medicaid Administrative Match Cost Allocation Plan and the CCT's SAMHSA Indian Country Methamphetamine Initiative.
Belcourt attended the University of Montana and the University of North Dakota.

barack talks about his 'unity' campaign but it really seems to translate as deluded & weak leftists and republicans who love him. hillary's got the real unity campaign. latinos, native americans, working class americans, women, the lgbt community. she's running to be the president of america, not just the president of the elites.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Thursday, April 24, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, the National Security State is addressed in the Senate, whose the man calling a woman vain when he's had surgery to reduce his weight, and more.

Starting with war resistance. In June 2006, Ehren Watada became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the Iraq War. He cited the war was illegal and his duty to the Constitution. For his bravery, the US military brass attempted to railroad and an embarrassing court-martial was staged in February 2007. Judge Toilet (aka John Head) called a mistrial (over defense objection) and then tried to railroad through another one. The Constitutional provision against double-jeopardy should prevent another court-martial. While that matter is settled, Watada waits and continues reporting on base every day even though he was supposed to discharge out of the military in December 2006. Watada has made history. As such, he is often cited. "I'm not another Watada," Sabrina M. Wiener tells Mike Barber (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) and she isn't. She isn't against the war. She was ordered to go to Iraq but didn't feel her Navy training prepared her so she refused. She's already been discharaged. Meanwhile, Robert L. Jamieson Jr. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) feels required to state school teacher Carl Chew "just pulled 'a Watada'" for refusing to give a standardized test (one mandated by the hideous No Child Left Behind aka No Child Left Time To Learn). Becoming a cultural reference is a sure sign of just how much you have permeated a society.

In Canada, many US war resisters are currently hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Apparently breaking news. This is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's statement from yesterday:

The next CENTCOM commander and field commander in Iraq will have to help the next President with a number of critically important challenges: making America more secure, restoring America's power and influence in the world, fixing our costly strategy in Iraq, and articulating a more effective strategy for winning in Afghanistan and defeating Al Qaeda in Pakistan.
Our ground forces' readiness and the battles in Afghanistan and against al Qaeda in Pakistan have suffered as a result of the current costly Iraq strategy. These challenges will require fresh, independent and creative thinking and, if directed to by a new President, a commitment to implementing major changes in strategy.
The Senate will carefully examine these nominations and I will be looking for credible assurances of a strong commitment to implementing a more effective national security strategy.


Harry Reid is the US Senate Majority Leader. His statement is neither a power grab nor an attempted coup; however, reading today's press you might wonder. William M. Arkin (Washington Post) actually knows the beat he covers and a thing or two about American democracy which is why he grasps that Gen David Petraeus has been nominated. But it's far too much for many to grasp. We'll be kind and not note all the Brits who get it wrong (US democracy may not be their natural area expertise) but let's point out that Australia's ABC understood what many did not -- including many US reporters for US outlets. Ann Scott Tyson and Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) also grasped the difference between nomination and confirmation. Gordon Lubold and Howard LaFranchi (Christian Science Monitor) don't grasp it. They also miss that news reporting is documenting what happened and seeing into the future is left for the likes of a psychic and a 'life coach.' (Petraeus, they write, "will now be promoted to command the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan). It's, sadly, a very long, long list of reporters who don't grasp US democracy. (We noted Nancy A. Youssef's article this morning.) The even sadder thing is some outlets report that US Secretary of Defense Gates has promoted them. US Senator Joe Biden also issued a statement on Petraues' nomination:

I have great respect for General Petraeus and the job he has done in Iraq. But if confirmed, Gen. Petraeus' mission will no longer be just Iraq -- it will be the entire region, including the Afghnistan-Pakistan border area where those who actually attacked us on 9-11 have regrouped, where our Ambassador to Iraq [Ryan Crocker] acknowledged to me that Al Qaeda is a bigger threat, and where we do not have enough troops because of Iraq. Congress must ensure that Gen. Petraeus does not bring an Iraq bias to his new job, at the expense of America's broader security needs.

US Senator Hillary Clinton's statement on the nomination:General Petraeus has been an able and respected leader in Iraq under incredibly difficult circumstances. In this new role, General Petraeus will face responsibility broader than Iraq. It will be critical that he takes a wide view of the serious challenges facing the Central Command area of operations, including the threat posed by Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I look foward to considering his nomination and hearing from General Petraeus how he will meet these important changes.

Senator Barack Obama does not serve on the Armed Services Committee and maybe that's why he's issued no statement? Senator John McCain does serve on the committe and, like Barack, he has issued no statement. Senator Russ Feingold did issue a statement yesterday:

During his testimony before Congress, General Petraeus stated that since his focus has been on Iraq, he was unable to comment on why the threat from al Qaeda has increased, specifically in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As CENTCOM Commander, General Petraeus will be responsible for assessing the entire region, including the impact our presence in Iraq is having on our ability to combat al Qaeda and its affiliates throughout that region. The truth is our perceived occupation of Iraq is destabilizing the region while the administration's myopic focus on Iraq has overlooked the rising threat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. General Petraeus's predecessor, Admiral Fallon, understood the need for a comprehensive strategy for the Middle East which extended beyond Iraq. As he begins the confirmation process to become the next commander of CENTCOM, General Petraeus must answer the most important question we face, which is not whether we are winning in Iraq, but why we are not defeating al Qaeda.

Senator Ted Kennedy also issued a statement:

In his new position, General Petraeus will have a much larger regional and strategic responsibility especially as to how our mission in Iraq affects Afghanistan and our role in the Middle East as a whole. For too long, President Bush has pursued an open-ended commitment of our troops in Iraq, with no regard for the impact it has on them, their families or other critical national security challenges. That's not a plan for success. It's simply a delaying tactic to hand off the problem to the next President. I look forward to hearing the views General Petraeus has on these and other important questions during his confirmation hearing.

Hopefully, the process is now grasped by all. No "promotion" has taken place unless the nominee is confirmed (or unless Petraeus were to be a recess-appointment). What has many curious (to use the mildest term) is that the White House is doing this with a goal of confirmation by the end of May. Bully Boy is a Lame Duck and why he would want to tie the future president's hands to Petraeus is seen as curious (mildest term possible). While he focuses on personalities, real problems are ignored. And Petraeus is an interesting choice considering the April 9th Congressional performance:

US House Rep Ellen Tauscher noted the opposition to the Iraq War, that more people are saying (in polls) that the Iraq war was "not worth it) and how "my constituents repeatedly tell me that we can't sustain" the costs (human and monetary). Tauscher noted that a new president would be elected in November and sworn in at the start of 2009. "If you report to a commander-in-chief . . . that wants a plan" for withdrawal "what would you advise?" Petraeus stated, "My response would be dialogue again on what the risk would be." He then tried to take the curtness off his response by noting the US military is under civilian control: "we are not self-employed, we take orders and we obey."

[. . .]

He [Brad Sherman] asked Petraeus, "Will you begin on November 5th . . . to prepare plans to execute the policies of the incoming president or alternatively, will the incoming president . . . find a dilemma where if they order immediate withdrawal it will be an unplanned withdrawal" which would lead to more of the same currently going on (stuck in a quagmire).

Petraeus: Congressman, I can only serve one boss at a time.

"As a transition approaches," he continued, "obviously there is going to be back and forth to facilitate and not me, this will be the Secretary of Defense, the chair of the Joint Chiefs and, at some point, there will be contingency plans directed."

Brad Sherman asked, "So you would expect to get contingency plans?" And David Petraeus replied, "I'm very uncomfortable candidly describing" this. He spooks so easy.

That's whom Bully Boy wants to put in charge of Centcom, a post he would begin in the fall -- the same fall that the 2008 elections will be held in.

Today the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing that should receive a great deal of attention but may not. The title was "Implementing Smart Power: Setting an Agenda For National Security Reform." Committee chair Joe Biden explained the importance in his opening remarks:

Today the Committee on Foreign Relations holds the second in a series of hearings on smart power. It is part of a larger effort to reexamine our nation's foreign policy and present a new vision for policy makers. As the current administration ends, we face a multitude of new challenges. The emergence of China and India as major economic powers. The resurgence of Russia floating on a sea of oil revenue. A unifying Europe. The spread of dangerous weapons and leathal diseases. The shortage of secure sources of energy, water and -- as witnessed by rioting in several countries -- even food. The impact of climate change. Rising wealth and persistent poverty. A technological revolution that sends people, ideas and money hurling around the planet at ever faster speeds. The challenge to nation states from ethnic and sectarian strife. The struggle between modernity and extremism. That's a short list of forces shaping the 21st century. These challenges raise the question: Do we have the right non-military instruments, the right institutions and the right relationships among those institutions to deal with new threats and opportunities?

Senator Richard Lugar is the ranking Republican on the committee and he noted in his opening statements:

It is clear that the US government is paying insufficient attention to fundamental questions about whether we are building national security capabilities that can address the threats and challenges we are likely to encounter in the future. Although our defense, foreign affairs, homeland security, intelligence, and energy budgets are carefully examined from the incremental perspective of where they were in the previous year, our budget process gives neither Congress nor the Executive Branch the ability to adequately evaluate whether the money flowing to these areas represents the proper mix for the 21st Century. In the process, funding for diplomacy and foreign assistance persisently falls short.

Richard L. Armitage and Joseph S. Nye Jr. appeared on the first panel and anything Armitage has to say judged of interest (ask Valerie Plame) usually leaks to the press. Note that the hearing is archived online. The issue Lugar was raising about funding was an issue that the second panel addressed and it was the more informative of the two.

Due to a vote about to take place on the Senate floor, many senators had to leave during the second panel so it was mainly Biden and the two witnesses -- James R. Locher III and Gordon Adams -- involved in an exchange. Locher noted in his opening statement a concern, "the lack of prepardeness of civilian departments and agencies to rapidly deploy their expertise overseas. The problem of the underfunding and under-preparedness of civilian departments and agencies stem in part from our outdated concept of national security." Adams' concerns included:

First, our civilian national security tools -- primarily diplomacy and foreign assistance -- are weak, poorly focused, and dispersed. Diplomacy is not adequately linked to foreign assistance, and the foreign assistance agencies are scattered and poorly coordinated. Strategic planning is not used, and both strategy and budget planning are not pulled together. And, they are woefully understaffed and underfunded.

"The National Security State" is a phrase many writers have long used (long before 9-11) and there seems to be some idea on the part of some that, were a renewal of that 1947 Act to take place, we'd play closer attention this time. That time has come and -- like Petraeus' nomination -- this could have huge implications for the future.

To tie it into Iraq, Biden spoke of the raw sewage he saw in Sadr City and how the US government has a half-billion dollar contract to fix it and that may happen -- years on down the line. But there are people on the ground who think they could fix it right now. He spoke of the issue of potable water in Iraq and noted he was told, "Senator we produce and built the biggest water fountain in the world." He was told that because "it's not hooked up to anything. Not a joke. Not hooked up." Which means the people of Sadr City who need potable water are required to go out with a bucket. Biden spoke of how "Iraq used to be the breadbasket of the Middle East in the fifties" and how some on the ground feel that investing strongly in farming right now would mean that the militias would shrink. He spoke of how the best diplomats he sees in the field tend to have stars on their shoulders (meaning military) and he feels their hands are too often tied. "Is there a need for a change," he asked, "in the culture at the State Dept? Is there also a need for us to go out and attract something other than -- and we haven't even been attracting them -- the typical foreign service mentality?" He wanted to exploring changign the curriculum, changing the training, for the foreign diplomatic staff.

Locher noted, "There is no intergancy culture" at the Dept of Defense and Biden wondered, "What do we do change that? . . . It goes back to the president -- the next president choosing the Secretary of State and Defense." Biden was running for the Democratic presidential nomination until recently and he noted that if he were president, "The single most important task" he'd have "would be to make sure my Secretary of State and Defense were on the same page."


Adams felt that the recruiting process was key and how those recruited for the foreign diplomatic service were rearded and moved up but "the problem here is developing that capacity both near term and long term" and that the job is "develop program, budget program, implement program and evaluate program." All those steps, Adams argued, must be taken while looking at today's needs as well as tomorrow's. He also explained that while he was at OMB he used to budget first for State and then Defense and, though he says it was a minor tool, it was an important one becuase "you need to take some of the key purposes" and ensure that they are focused on. Biden asked him to conceptualize these needs into a document and noted that "they" -- Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama -- "all think of this . . . they all get a sense of this" and how important it is to the future of the United States.

Biden noted that earlier reforms "didn't contemplate then that we might be deploying for xis and up to twelve months our national reserves. . . . They are breaking. . . . We're a hundred billion dollars short now in equipment for the states in terms of them responding to national emergencies -- you saw what happened to the town in Kansas that had that tornado that just devasted the town. They didn't have the trucks. They're in Iraq." Across the US, "you're talking about these governors being over a hundred million dollars short just to handle national disasters or, God forbid, another terrorist attack."

The discussion should be of interest to everyone because it does have to do with what future is being charted for the US and, again, many writers have warned of the National Security State. So this is something to follow. What was agreed upon -- Biden was the sole committee member attending the hearing in full -- was that the two witnesses would visit with him and other senators "to get much deeper into the weeds" as they continued to explore the topic.

Turning to some of today's reported violence in Iraq . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing injured three members of the Iraqi military, a Baghdad roadside bombing wounded two Iraqis, a Baghdad bombing claimed 3 lives and left fifteen wouned, a Baghdad car bombing claimed 1 life and left six injured, another Baghdad car bombing claimed 1 life and wounded three and a Baghdad mortar attack left two people wounded. Reuters notes that the US military called in an airstrike at "the al-Rashad mental hospital near Sadr City" and that at least 4 'fighters' were killed and that US airstrikes (by the US military's own statements) claimed 6 other lives throughout Baghdad and that a Baghdad rocket attack "hit Poland's embassy inside the Green Zone" resulting in at least one guard being wounded.

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 police officer was shot dead in Mosul and a drive by shooting in Diyala province left District Commissioner Wayis Mohammed Zaidan and his driver injured.

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

Today the US military announced: "Two Multi-National Division -- North Soldiers were killed when their vehicle rolled onto its side during movement to a combat outpost in Salah ad Din Province, April 23. Another Soldier and one interpreter were injured in the incident and taken to Coalition force medical facilities for treatment." The deaths bring the total for the month to 38 and the total number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4050.

Turning to US presidential politics and the always chatty independent Douglas Wilder. Let's repeat that because he keeps being credited as "a former Democratic governor" when he is in fact a former Democrat. There's no lie to big for Wilder (who executed 14 people and feels damn good about that). When Bill Clinton rightly noted Barack Obama was telling a fairytale about his Iraq stand, independent -- read, not part of the Democratic Party, he left the Democratic Party -- started insisting that Bill Clinton had called Barack a fairytale and that fairytale was racist. Give it a rest, tired and old, give it a rest. He left the Democratic Party so what does or does not happen in a Democratic primary really should be none of his damn business. But that hasn't stopped him.

On CBS' Face The Nation in February (link has text and video) Wilder declared that if Barack was not given the nomination there would be "chaos" -- "there will be chaos at the convention. And if you think 1968 was bad, you watch; in 2008, it will be worse." For those who can't grasp what Wilder was doing (PDF format warning: click here for full transcript), the last guest, Roger Simon clarified: "My impression is that Doug Wilder came close to predicting riots in the streets, literally if Barck Obama is not -- enters the convention with the most elected delgates but that decision is overturned by superdelegates." Doug Wilder's not a super delegate and he's not one because he left the party. So he really needs to butt the hell out of what the Democratic Party does or does not do while THEY select their candidate. Like anyone else, he's welcome to support in a general election. But, having left the party, what the party itself does is really none of his damn business and when the press interviews him these days, they need to make it very clear that he's not a super delegate and clear as to why he is not one. He left the party in 1994 -- 14 years ago. Old and tired, non-Democratic Party member Wilder is race baiting yet again. Heidi Przybyla (Bloomberg News) quotes tired and old saying Barack experiences more "ingrained difficulty" than Hillary Clinton in the race and Wilder goes on to offer stereotypes and distortions which is all the old fool has left to offer: "hissy firts," "the crying and the weeping". There was no reason for Bloomber or any other outlet to run the garbage. Wilder's a sexist and has long been one (born in 1931). Hillary did not "cry" or "weep". She did tear up -- not, as Jesse Jackson Jr. has repeatedly lied, over her appearance. Let's review that because it wasn't something we covered in the snapshot but since LIARS are going to repeat it, let's clear it up. Hillary didn't cry and she didn't cry about her appearance but guess what Vain Male Peacock (never afraid to parade) smeared her with those lies?

Hillary Clinton: And I couldn't do if it I just didn't passionately believe it was the right thing to do. You know I have so many opportunities from this country [the eyes tear] I just don't want to see us fall backwards. You know? So. This is very personal for me. It's not just political, it's not just public. I see what's happening and we have to reverse it. And some people think elections are a game, it's like, who's up and who's down. It's about our country, it's about our kid's futures, and it's really about all of us together. You know some of us put ourselves and do this against some [sardonoic voice] difficult odds, and we do it, each one of us because we care about our country. But some of us are right and some of us are wrong. Some of us are ready and some of us are not. Some of us know what we will do on day one and some of us haven't really thought that through enough. And so when we look at the array of problems we have and the potential for really spinning out of control, this is one of the most important elections America has ever faced. So [smiling] as tired as I am, and I am, and as difficult as it is to keep up what I try to do on the road like occassionally exercise, and try to eat right, it's tough when the easiest food is pizza, I just believe so strongly in who we are as a nation. So I'm going to do everything I can to make my case and then the voters get to decide.

That's the reality of what happened and there were no tears streaming down her face ever. No tear even spilled over the eye lid. Her eyes moistened. Doug Wilder should not be allowed to repeat his lies but no one stopped Jesse Jackson Jr. Junior refuses to call Hillary "Senator Clinton" -- then again, he struggles with "Clinton," and stumbles out "Crinton". But he managed to go on MSNBC and LIE to Norah O'Donnell. Here's kind of what he said -- he lacks his father's speaking ability --

Not in response to voters resp-, uh, not-not in response to Katrina, not in response to uh-uh other issues that have devastated the American people, the war in Iraq, we saw tears in response to her apprearance. So her appearnance brought her to tears --

No, Jesse Jackson Jr., that never happened and your lies and attacks were and are embarrassing. Hillary wasn't worried about appearances but, of course, Jesse Jr. was.

Junior's the former fatty who had surgery to lose weight while serving in the US Congress. Originally he claimed he "got shots in the butt once a week for three months to boost my metabolism" and apparently that claim fell by the wayside as concerns about "juice"ed athletes became a big deal. Ebony reported he had "undergone bariatric surgery in 2004 . . . He began to tell me about the procedure he went through, something called a DS or duodenal switch." For those not up on the surgery, you're getting rid of two-thirds of your stomach because you're unable to STOP PIGGING OUT and they then rearrange your small intestine. So Mr. Vanity Jesse Jackson Jr. -- who didn't want to be a fatty but couldn't put the fork down or get off the couch -- had a costly operation to lose weight quickly. And Mr. Vanity then wants to LIE and claim Hillary cried about her appearence? Waist Deep in a Big Fatty looked in the mirror, found his greatest fear and then attempted to smear Hillary with it. (The proper term is "projection.")

We were going to note Cynthia McKinney today. I would be happy too. It's on hold and will be decided tonight (in the roundtable for the gina & krista round-robin). What happened? A man went on a program yesterday and stated McKinney knew she couldn't be elected president, that she's only running to get 5% of the national vote. That wasn't an issue yesterday because, who cares what a supporter says? But now her campaign has posted a link to that interview with the headline that he "speaks for Cynthia McKinney." Most likely we are done with Cynthia McKinney presidential coverage because we are covering candidates who are trying their hardest to win. When Dennis Kucinich gave his supporters away (or tried to) in Iowa (to Barack), he lost all community support. Those who aren't running to win aren't going to be covered. Life is too short and we all have better things to do.

Ralph Nader's running for president. (Tip, Ralph, curb Matt Gonzalez before he ticks off more potential voters by weighing in on topics that have already caused offense.) Team Nader documents the rise in the polls Nader's experiencing including one in March that found "one in seven voters (14 percent) would seriously consider voting for Ralph Nader for President in November" (that would be less than a month after he declared his intent to run) while a new poll finds 4% of Pennsylvania voters cite Nader as their choice and it "could potentially quadruple, as 17 percent of Democratic respondents said that if their first choice does not get the Democratic nomination, they may vote for Nader." Ralph Nader's campaign has also just opened their Nader Store where you can purchase buttons, etc. Nader is a independent run so I have no problem noting his store. In fairness, we'll also note that Hillary's store is here. John McCain's is here. Cynthia McKinney doesn't appear to have one (I couldn't find it and the friend I'm dictating this too can't) and Obama says any orders may take two to three weeks to fill -- they're low on stock. That was a one-time only where everyone could have had their stores noted. Yet again, the Obama campaign appeared to be on vacation. Dr. Maya Angelou gets the last word. From her piece at the Clinton campaign:


I am writing to tell you about my friend, Hillary Clinton, and why I am standing with her in her campaign for the presidency. I know the kind of president Hillary Clinton will be because I know the person she is.
I am inspired by her courage and her honesty. She is a reliable and trustworthy person. She is someone I not only admire but one for whom I have profound affection.
Hillary does not waver in standing up for those who need a champion. She has always been a passionate protector of families. As a child, she was taught that all God's children are equal, and as a mother, she understood that her child wasn't safe unless all children were safe. As I wrote about Hillary recently in a praise song: "She is the prayer of every woman, and every man who longs for fair play, healthy families, good schools and a balanced economy."
It may be easy to view Hillary Clinton through the narrow lens of those who would write her off or grind her down. Hillary sees us as we are, black and brown and white and yellow and pink and relishes our differences knowing that fundamentally we are all more alike than we are unalike. She is able to look through complexion and see community.
She has endured great scrutiny, and still she dares greatly. Hillary Clinton will not give up on you, and all she asks is that you do not give up on her. She is a long-distance runner. I am honored to say I am with her for the long run.
I am supporting Hillary Clinton because I know that she will make the most positive difference in people's lives and she will help our country become what it can be. Whether you are her supporter, leaning towards her, undecided, or supporting someone else, I believe Hillary Clinton will represent you -- she will be a president for all Americans. It is no small thing that along the way we will make history together.
Vote for Hillary Clinton and show your support at www.hillaryclinton.com. I know she will make us proud.

that's Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Big Cry Baby" and it is hysterical because it's sooooooooooo true! the cry baby bambi. can't win a big state and he refuses to do another debate. he's a scared little baby. oooh, poor baby, poor wee little baracka.





hillary won. she won by 10%. she is the fighter we have been waiting for.





this is 'HUBdate: The Tide is Turning - More People Have Voted For Hillary Than Any Other Candidate:'





More People Have Voted For Hillary Than Any Other Candidate: "After last night's decisive victory in Pennsylvania, more people have voted for Hillary than any other candidate, including Sen. Obama. Estimates vary slightly, but according to Real Clear Politics, Hillary has received 15,095,663 votes to Sen. Obama's 14,973,720, a margin of more than 120,000 votes. ABC News reported this morning that 'Clinton has pulled ahead of Obama' in the popular vote. This count includes certified vote totals in Florida and Michigan." Read more.


The Tide is Turning: "The voters in Pennsylvania have spoken. America is listening. And the tide is turning…Despite making an unprecedented financial investment in his Pennsylvania campaign, including millions on negative ads ...Sen. Obama again failed to win a state that will be vital to a Democratic victory in November."


Read more.$$$: The campaign has raised more than $3.5 million since PA polls closed last night...last night's fundraising total the was the strongest ever.Fighting for You: In last night's victory speech, Hillary told voters, "I'm in this race to fight for you, to fight for everyone who has ever been counted out ...I need your help to continue this journey. This is your campaign and this is your victory tonight. Your support has meant the difference between winning and losing." Watch here and read it here.


In Case You Missed It: The Washington Post reports that "unable once again to score a knockout, Sen. Barack Obama is likely to make his new negative tone even more negative." Read more.


Closing the Deal? The AP asks: "Why can't Barack Obama close the deal? ...Unfortunately for Obama…it's a question that bears repeating... The loss, despite a massive cash infusion and robust campaign presence in the state, underscores the persistent problems he’s had winning over many of the voters who form the traditional Democratic party base." Read more.


On Tap: Hillary attends an event in Indianapolis, IN today...Tomorrow -- joined by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Hugh Shelton - she returns to North Carolina for stops in Jacksonville, Fayetteville, and Asheville. On Friday and Saturday, Hillary campaigns in Indiana.On the Air: In a new NC Ask Me ad, Hillary responds to veteran David Eichhorn from Hickory, NC: "It is one of the highest obligations of our president and Commander-in- Chief to take care of our veterans. We owe everything to those who have served us." Watch it here... "Jobs," airing in IN, emphasizes that "the next president has to begin putting the American people first. Your jobs, your health care, your futures." Watch it here.

i was supposed to be on the road this week but ava and c.i. have a nasty cold and advised me to join next week (with flyboy and the baby). which ended up being good because my mother-in-law came by today. she wanted to talk face-to-face.

it was politics. she said, 'c.i.'s an untouchable, but make sure every 1 else knows what they're facing.' she means, due to family & money & history, no 1 can go after c.i. that's in the 'club' of insiders (old money) but make sure that every 1 else grasps how dirty the non-democrats (the closeted 1s pretending to be democrats) can play. i mean, c.i.'s relatives are big money, congress, etc. go after c.i. and you'll find out just how much old money sticks together. (and my mother-in-law, who was very tight with c.i.'s mother, will be 1 of the 1st to destroy you.) but she's thrilled with the way c.i.'s hitting hard. she said no 1 else could call them out and they need to be called out - these 'i'm a democrat and i'm supporting barack' types giving endorsements that are nothing but closeted communists.

she said it's all any 1 who follows politics is talking about and the old guard of established democratic power makers think c.i. has drawn the line very well.

1) be who you want but stay out of the democratic primary if you're not a democrat

2) or get your ass outed.

she said the tying it to the democratic party, in 2004, outing ralph nader's republican supporters underscores the point that this isn't 'beat up on the commies.' it's not. it's about fakes and frauds trying to hijack the party. and they've tried it before many times but old money is really offended (and offended at the new rich that are either closeted communists or assisting them in their lies) by how much the closet cases have upped the ante.

c.i. can schmooze super delegates already. but my mother-in-law said she doesn't even think c.i. realizes how grateful so many are for the steps c.i.'s taking right now.

that closeted faction really is trying to subvert the democratic process. they've destroyed their own party into multiple factions and splinter groups because they don't play nice and now they're trying to take over the democratic party through deception and they think obama's going to owe them for their work and they'll be able to call in favors.

she said she was so proud of c.i. i am as well. but my mother-in-law is like the dowager of the moneyed set.

anyway, she listed people who had attempted this in the past and how they failed and how the way c.i.'s set it up this isn't going to fail. she'd been on the phone with the head of a network who wanted to know what obama was doing hiring sam graham-felsen?

that's a huge story right now. and if it goes public, it will influence others but the set that matters is already recoiling. (by 'set that matters' i'm referring to the 1s obama would need for support in a super delegate battle.)

it's really funny because c.i. doesn't give a damn if some 1's communist, republican, whatever. and c.i. didn't plan to even weigh in this election cycle in any manner. but the little liars set out to destroy hillary. c.i. thought they were just focusing on her because she was the front runner and that they'd get to obama at some point and then people would see how lousy he was. but that didn't happen and when it became obvious that wasn't happening, they'd succeeded in pissing off c.i. you don't want c.i. pissed off.

there's a little red right now who thinks he can hide behind 'college professor' who's taking to use the term 'high tech lynching' to distort the fact that barack's not getting fawning press. i know for a fact the struggling at work professor's is the subject of much discussion with the dean of the university. lie in public, pay a price.

all they had to do was play fair. they didn't.

and it's hilarious to hear someone (a communist pretending to be a democrat, naturally) whine 'this is red-baiting!' uh, no, it's noting where the support is coming from. the same way obama wants to scream 'rush is influencing the primaries!' rush isn't but if we're going to talk about who's influencing, at least rush is trying to do so openly. if the reds are scared, they have no 1 to blame but themselves for thinking they could trick people into believing they were democrats. there was no reason for them to hide who they were. and they're not get away with it.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Wednesday, April 23, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Turkey apparently bombs Iraq, Hillary wins Pennsylvania, Petraeus gets a non-acting nomination, and more.

Starting with war resistance, war resister Camilo Mejia will join Shontina Vernon, Viggo Mortensen, Staceyann Chin, Sarah Levy and others for a May 5th reading of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States at the First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave in Portlan Oregon. Kristi Turnquist (The Oregonian) notes that tickets are $20 (ten dollars for students) and posts a video of Mortensen providing a voice over to illustrations of Howard Zinn's life. Camilo is among the first known war resisters. Along with being the first known Iraq War veteran to resist and being the chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War, he documented his story in Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia.

In Canada, many US war resisters are currently hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Turning to Iraq, AFP reports that Lt Gen Lloyd Austin ("number two commander of US forces in Iraq") wants Moqtada al-Sadr's help in the ongoing assault on the Sadr City section of Baghdad, "We hope that Moqtada al-Sadr will influence his elements to stop violence and that he will work in favour of peace." The only problem with that request is that US Secretary of State Condi Rice stood in Baghdad Sunday calling Moqtada al-Sadr a coward. Did anyone think about that before she made that talking point? It was an effective one for the White House to make if they were completely turning their back on al-Sadr but if Austin's now publicly asking for al-Sadr's help, there is a problem. And it's a problem Crispin Thorold (BBC News) explains: "It is now clear that although the initial military planning was Iraqi, US and British forces are deeply involved. In the capital's neighbourhood of Sadr City, US infantry troops are fighting alongside Iraqi soldiers, to try to secure areas that were once firmly under the hold of the Mehdi Army, which is loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr. Reports suggest that US combat units have also been deployed at short notice to Basra from elsewhere in Iraq and the Middle East." It would appear the puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki has yet again been exposed as inept. Damien McElroy (Telegraph of London) quoted Moqtada al-Sadr's statement over the weekend: "I am giving my last warning and my word to the Iraqi government to the Iraqi government to take the path of peace and stop violence against its own people, otherwise it will be a government of destruction. If it does not stop the militias that have infiltrated the government, then we will declare a war until liberation." The assault on Basra last month turned Moqtada al-Sadr from possible waning influence to the face of Iraqi pride. On the assault on civilians that al-Maliki thought would increase his (and the Iraqi military's) own standing, Sean Rayment (Telegraph of London) reported Monday that unnamed "British commanders" were scathing in their critique: "incompetent officers and unattrained troops . . . sent into battle with inadequate supplies of food, water and ammunition," "unmitigated disaster at every level," Iraqi General Mohan Furayji is characterized "as a 'dangerous lunatic' who 'ignored' advice" and al-Maliki was responsible for the "disaster which felt as though an amateur was in charge." William S. Lind (UPI) observes, "When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent his 'army' to fight the Mahdi Army in Basra, U.S. President Bush called it 'a defining moment.' It turned out instead to be a confirming moment. It confirmed that there is no state in Mesopotamia -- the geographical territory known as the nation of Iraq." Pakistan's The Post notes, "Since Sadr issued his threat, which could unravel months of security gains in Iraq, on Saturday the US military says it has killed around 65 militiamen in Sadr City and other Shi'ite parts of Baghdad." The International Committee of the Red Cross issued a field report today on Sadr City noting that "several hospitals have exhausted their stocks of medical supplies as a result of the ongoing fighting. The ICRC has had difficulty transporting food and medicines where they are needed because of the ongoing fighting. Earlier today the ICRC managed to distribute some three tonnes of medical items to Sadr City General Hospital, Al Imam Ali General Hospital and Ibn Al Baldi Paediatric Hospital in Sadr City. The items included equipment for intravenous infusion, injection and dressing materials, and anaesthetics."

Meanwhile the continuing assaults on Basra and Sadr City aren't the only continued operations. Turkey and PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) continue to have ongoing tensions. AFP reports that Ahmed Danis (PKK spokesperson) states that northern Iraq was bombed by Turkish airplanes today: "The bombing began at 4:30 pm (1330 GMT) and continued for an hour. The bombardment targeted old rear bases in the district of Kharkurk near the Turkish border." AP notes that Turkey has not confirmed the bombings. Reuters cites an unnamed "Turkish military source" declaring that there were four war planes taking part in the bombing which lasted for about a half hour. Hurriyet notes that yesterday US Secretary of State Condi Rice termed the PKK "an enemy of stability and therefore an enemy of Iraq, Turkey and the United States."

In other reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing wounded two people this morning and two Baghdad roadside bombings wounded nine people in the afternoon and five were wounded in the evening by a Baghdad roadside bombing, a Mosul bomber killed himself right before a car bombing and 2 other people were killed with nine wounded, a Mosul car bombing wounded seven people, a Mosul roadside bombing wounded four people and a Mosul mortar attack wounded four people and a Kirkuk roadside bombing wounded two police officers. Reuters notes a US drone killed 2 Iraqis with a Hellfire missile.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Jalal Khorsheed (a teacher) was wounded by gunfire in Salahuddin Province today. Reuters notes the US military killed 6 Iraqis suspected of being "gunmen" and 7 suspected of being "militants," and 2 man shot dead in Mosul (his wife injured), 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul.

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses were discovered in Baghdad today, 4 in Muqdadiyah and 38 were discovered in Kirkuk. Reuters notes 5 corpses received by Baghdad's Al Imam Ali hospital (Sadr City -- twenty-two people were also treated for injuries), 3 corpses discovered in Mosul and 2 "close to Tirkrit."

Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier was killed when he was attacked by small-arms fire while his patrol was conducting operations in eastern Baghdad at approximately 2:20 p.m. April 23."

Turning to the US, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been receiving a great deal of attention for statements made this week. William M. Arkin (Washington Post) evaluates the statements and evaluates Gates tenure in his post finding, "Gates' problem in the end is not just a military institution that resents being held to task for the sins of the civilian ideologues and amateurs. It is that, if the military were doing all of what he and others wanted, we still would not be 'winning' in Iraq. If the military smartly saluted and aggressively implemented all of the civilian plans, the world would not be transformed back in either a pre-9/11 state of contentment or an immediate-post-9/11 age of solidarity. . . . When Gates is gone, too little progress will have been made in resolving these problems." Today Gates also announced that Gen David Petraeus (currently in charge of US operations in Iraq) would become the nominee to head of Centcom. Demetri Sevastopulo (Financial Times of London) explains, "Gen Petraeus who has been praised for his oversight of the military 'surge' that has helped reduce violence in Iraq, will replace William Fallon, who resigned abruptly last month after a magazine article that portrayed the navy officer as publicly opposing President George W. Bush over Iran policy. Admiral Fallon rejected the charge, but said the perception had made it impossible to do his job." At the Pentagon today, Gates declared, "I do not anticipate General Petraeus leaving Iraq until late summer or early fall" and that Lt Gen Ray Odierno (who has schilled so hard to bring about war on Iran) will be the nominee to replace Petraeus in Iraq. Despite the fact that Petraeus would not be leaving "until late summer," Gates also attempted to strong arm Congress on both nominations by declaring, "I respectfully ask the Senate to move on them expeditiously, hopefully by Memorial Day, so their families and we can plan appropriately." Asked in the conference by AP about Senate support, Gates maintained he has kept Senators Carl Levin, John McCain and Senator John Warner in the loop. Other Senators were apparently unimportant. Gates was also asked whether or not he expected to serve out his term (which would appear to mean "Do you think the White House might replace you") through January 20, 2009 and he replied, "I certainly expect to. Hope so." [Reuters appears to think the question was about whether Gates would serve in the next administration. They're off their rocker. The original question to Gates was: "Speaking of continuity and staying the course, do you anticipate continuing to serve as Defense secretary through January 20th of next year?"] Petraeus statement released today on the nomination is (in full): "I am honored to be nominated for this position and to have an opportunity to serve with America's Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coastguardsmen, and Civilians." At the White House today, White House spokesperson Dana Perino echoed Gates by declaring, "We ask that the Senate move as expeditiously as possible and ask that they act by Memorial Day." She also cited the "families" but "expeditiously" appears to be the talking point they want in all media coverage since both stressed it. Perino was also asked if the nomination of Petraeus meant (if confirmed by the Senate) that the July assessment delivered to Congress would be done by someone other than Petraeus and she responded "I understand that Secretary Gates believes that will be General Petraeus. . . . And so that assassment will take -- will be done by General Petraeus."

Levin made no public mention of knowing the nomination was coming; however, AP states he intends "to use a major defense policy bill to expand federal hate crimes laws to protect gays and bring troops home from Iraq. The Michigan Democrat says he also wants to use the bill to force the Iraqi government to pay more toward reconstruction costs." Pauline Jelinek (AP) reports that, as oil prices are close to $120 per barrel, Stuart Bowen ("special inspetor general for Iraq reconstruction") has informed the AP that Iraq's oil revenues for the year could be as high as $70 billion. Gordon Lubold and Howard LaFranchi (Christian Science Monitor) report that US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "appeared to reserve judgment" on the nominations announced by Gates and quotes Reid declaring, "Our ground forces' readiness and battles in Afghanistan and against al-Qaida in Pakistan have suffered as a result of the current costly Iraq strategy. These challenges will require fresh, independent, and creative thinking and, if directed by a new president, a commitment to implementing major changes in strategy."

Turning to US presidental politics. Pressed for time, we're only focusing on Democrats today. Cynthia McKinney has a lot of new content up at her site and she'll be noted in tomorrow's snapshot (McKinney is running for the Green Party's presidential nomination).
Yesterday in Pennsylvania, primaries were held. There was big news on the Republican side and on the Democratic side. Let's start with the GOP (all Penn. results are with 9,219 ouf of the 9,264 districts reporting). 215,812 voters went for Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul (Paul has 125,810). That is almost half the number who voted for John McCain (576,088). Not a strong endorsement for McCain -- the presumed GOP nominee barring death or scandal -- from Pennsylvania. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama. Clinton leads by 10% of the vote. The percentage is 45.4% for Barack (rounded down to 45%) and 54.6% for Hillary (rounds up to 55%). Click here for totals. Jake Tapper, George Stephanopoulos and Emily Friedman (ABC News) report, "Basking in her 10-point victory in yesterday's Pennsylvania Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton told ABC's Good Morning America today that her win gave her a great 'vote of confidence' moving forward." With yesterday's vote, Hillary Clinton now leads Barack Obama in the popular vote by 120,000. Big cry baby Barack says that's not fair to count Florida and Michigan. The press HAS to count them because THEY VOTED. This isn't about delegates, it's about the popular vote. The DNC may not know what to do about Florida and Michigan in terms of delegates but those states held primaries. In Michigan, Barack took his own name off the ballot (others -- Clinton, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich) did not. In Florida, he had the same chance to win as Hillary. He may not like the results but he's the one who refused a revote. The press HAS TO COUNT those results. They took place. The press isn't the DNC and their job IS TO REPORT WHAT HAPPENED. Barack may not like it but, guess what, it's not about what he wants, it's about what happened. (Taylor Marsh explains it here.) The only way the results don't count is if new primaries are held and the one preventing that is Barack Obama. Wasn't Hillary supposed to drop out? Wasn't Barack the Democratic choice (yeah, laugh at that one, we'll come back to it)? He couldn't win Penn and he's got a million and one excuses but if you are the choice, if you are the candidate, if you are all the hype said you were, you would have won. You didn't. Susan UnPC (No Quarter) breaks it down here. Following her victory, the Clinton campaign experienced record donations with $3 million raised by this morning and ten million currently.

Meanwhile Tom Hayden never tires of embarrassing himself (what else is honestly left for him?). Big Tent Democrat (TalkLeft) notes that Tom-Tom wants Hillary out of the race and is pinning it off on his wife -- that's the current wife and (me speaking) don't expect that to last any longer than usual. Tom-Tom tells you his wife is screaming these days -- well who wouldn't if they had to stare at that pockmarked face in the morning? Seriously, Tom Hayden needs to watch himself when it comes to writing about women. When you went through a marriage treating your step-daughter like crap, destroying her self-image, making her feel unwanted, the only thing you ever need to write about women is a piece entitled "Vanessa, This Is My Public Apology To You." Until that piece gets written and published, he really needs to find a topic other than women to write about.

On the issue of the pathetic males, yeah, we caught it. Ava and I never laughed so hard. Add "community" to "movement." Nine times out of ten, someone claiming they decided to support Barack for either is a Communist hiding in their closet. "Red baiting"? Ava and I never laughed so hard. We can't link to it, we can't comment on it because we're really not in the mood for Communist Party members who pose as Democrats today. But let's be really clear, the CP and the DNC are two different parties. When you are CP and you interject yourself into a DNC primary, calling you out is not out of bounds. The general election is open to all. The Democratic Primary is not supposed to be influenced by Communists or, for that matter, Socialists or Greens or anyone not of the Democratic Party. If you're not a Democrat and you're deciding to endorse Barack, it's not "red baiting" to clarify that an outsider is attempting to hijack a political party. As a comedy reel, it was wonderful to listen to. As anything resembling journalism? Not so much. (No surprise.) Funniest line: "Senator Clinton can't have it both ways!" Uh, she's not the Communist going on a broadcast today pretending to be a Democrat. It takes a lot of nerve for a Communist pretending to be a Democrat to accuse Hillary of trying to have it both ways. Again, it's a Democratic Party primary. If you're not a Democrat, butt out. If you don't, closet doors can come down and you brought it on yourself by lying. You and you alone. (And it's not "red baiting" anymore than the Democratic Party, in 2004, noting that Ralph Nader was getting support from some Republicans was "conservative baiting". Get real. It's about frauds trying to trick people.) You can endorse whomever you want in a general election but a Democratic Primary is for Democrats and, of course, the Closeted know that which is one reason they pretend to be Democrats. Not playing that game here.


Carolyn Lochhead (San Francisco Chronicle) observes:Yet the campaign has exposed Obama's glaring weakness among the working-class whites Democrats need to win the presidency."If I told you somebody was winning California, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan and Florida and was not winning the nomination, you'd say something was wrong," said Democratic consultant Doug Schoen, who is unaligned in the race. "And something arguably is not right."

And Mike will address the claims of some others quoted in the article tonight. Meanwhile Hillary picked up an endorsement from US House Rep John Tanner, "I do not remember a time when our nation has faced the financial peril that confronts all Americans. To me, this election is not about politics as usual. I believe nothing less than our financial liberty and economic freedom are at stake."


iraq
camilo mejia
iraq veterans against the war
anthony arnovehoward zinn
kristi turnquistviggo mortensen
mcclatchy newspapers
william m. arkinthe washington post
carolyn lochheadthe san francisco chronicle
damien mcelroy
mikey likes it

Yet the campaign has exposed Obama's glaring weakness among the working-class whites Democrats need to win the presidency.
"If I told you somebody was winning California, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan and Florida and was not winning the nomination, you'd say something was wrong," said Democratic consultant Doug Schoen, who is unaligned in the race. "And something arguably is not right."
If Democrats had the same winner-take-all process that catapulted McCain toward the GOP nomination despite close victories in a fractured field, Clinton would have all but wrapped up the Democratic nomination on Feb. 5., when she took four of the six largest states, including California by a nine-point margin.
The Electoral College is a similar winner-take-all system that would seem to play to Clinton's strengths and prey on Obama's weaknesses.

that's from carolyn lochhead's article in the san francisco chronicle and kat passed it on. democratic party needs to grasp there won't be any caucuses in november. there won't be any special goose for the nominee. they'll be on a winner-takes-all for a vote in each state, a private vote. remember that latina on cnn during iowa? the 1 that said she wasn't switching to obama (she was for bill richardson) each time the precinct capt. came by and tried to make her switch? they won't be able to use those pressure tactics in a general election. and dennis kucinich and others won't be on the ballot and saying at the last minute 'don't vote for me, vote for ___.'

barack can't win. that's obvious. you need x from the electoral college to win and bambi can't deliver that. this really is like 1972 when the idiot george mcgovern got the nomination. like bambi, he was throwing people under the bus (though people forget that now) and he had the 'youth' appeal. didn't do a damn thing for him at the ballot box.

oh that's cute. tom hayden thinks any 1 cares what he or his unfamous wife have to say. i just told kat and she's showing c.i. who i can hear yelling. tom may find out soon (tomorrow?) what it's like when no 1 feels the need to cover for his treachery anymore.

he really is a piece of scum. i'm not talking about his bad writing (or his bad skin - yuck!), i'm talking about him. i've known that trash casually and he is scum, SCUM in all caps.

speaking of trash, katrina vanden heuvel writes: ' I hate the sexism that has been a factor in this historic primary campaign; yet I also resent a spouse who sometimes, sadly, seems more eager to defend his own legacy of Clintonism than be a valuable campaigner for his partner.' no link to trash, especially not faux democratic trash. katrina when's the last time you called out sexism?

you posted tom hayden's nonsense and i have a strong feeling that c.i. will be addressing the sexism and how tom is the last person in the world to hide behind what 'women think'. she's all upset, we're supposed to believe her red mouth (and, yes, my mother-in-law says she's a red, i know c.i. says she's not, but i'll go with my mother-in-law on this), that bill said something. but when is she ever upset when michelle obama says anything? how about when michelle obama said - before texas & ohio - that she didn't know if she could vote democratic if hillary got the nomination?

red katrina's an idiot. she probably still pisses her panties. she was not a little kid when she was still doing that. it was really embarrassing as was her hair problem. (if you don't know about the hair issue, check out her forearms, she was like a little gorilla.)

this is howard wolfson's "HUBdate: Election Day in Pennsylvania" (hillaryclinton.com):

Previewing Today: This morning, Hillary visits Pennsylvanians as they go to the polls. Tonight, Hillary will celebrate Election Day in Philadelphia, PA at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia."Who Do You Think Has What it Takes?" An ad released yesterday offers Hillary's closing argument to Pennsylvania: "It's the toughest job in the world. You need to be ready for anything – especially now, with two wars, oil prices skyrocketing and an economy in crisis. Harry Truman said it best -- if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Who do you think has what it takes?" Watch here.Who is Hillary Clinton? From the Huffington Post: "If you want to know what Hillary believes in, what she stands for, and what’s in her heart, then look at what she’s been fighting for her whole life: she’s been fighting for people who need help... And Hillary's supporters are standing up for her, because they know she will stand up for them as President, as their advocate abroad and their champion at home. They are standing up for her, because they know she will work her heart out for them. And they know that, because that's what she's been doing her whole life." Read more.
If You Watch One Thing Today: Hillary tells Larry King, "I think it's important that we have an election that asks people who they would hire for the toughest job in the world." Watch here and here.
Madame President: "Joined by her husband and daughter,...Hillary...wrapped up her final Pennsylvania campaign push last night at a passionate rally at the packed and sweltering Palestra. [Hillary said:] 'This has been an extraordinary campaign, and it has been for all the right reasons,' Clinton told the audience...who frequently drowned her out by stomping on the old bleachers of the University of Pennsylvania's arena." Read more.
Hoosiers for Hillary: Across Indiana, Hillary supporters will participate in phone banks today to reach out to Pennsylvania voters during the final hours of the primary there.Oregon for Hillary: 20 prominent Oregonians have joined Hillary's state steering committee. These supporters know Hillary "understands Oregon's needs and who has the experience to work with our state to get things done," said Steering Committee Chair Josh Kardon. Read more.
On Tap: Tomorrow, Hillary returns to Indiana. She will make stops across the Hoosier state through Saturday, sharing her plans to jumpstart the economy, create jobs, and strengthen the middle class.

hillary won another big state. barack doesn't appear to be able to do that, does he? good thing that big states don't have more electoral votes, right? what's that? oh, yeah, they do.

barack's a loser, the democratic party needs to tell him to get lost. he outspent hillary 4 to 1 and he still couldn't buy the victory. tell the loser bye-bye.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Tuesday, April 22, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, the VA gets sued, Patty Murray calls for a resignation, Condi Rice continues to fail at diplomacy and more.


Starting with war resistance. All who self-checkout of the military are not war resisters; however, in reporting on a husband and wife who self-checkedout and have now returned,
Rick Rogers (San Diego Union-Tribune) notes, "For a variety of reasons, at least 640 Marines based in California -- most of them from Camp Pendleton -- have landed in military court since June 2005 because they went AWOL, according to an analysis of Marine dockets by The San Diego Union-Tribune. Those records showed at least 30 AWOL proceedings in the past month." That is significant in and of itself (and Rogers notes that most do not end up in court so they aren't included in the public count). It's all the more significant when you grasp that the figures given to the public repeatedly have been of the US Army. Repeatedly the public has been told that this is just a problem for the army and that the marines don't have any problem with AWOLs or desertions.

Let's turn to known war resisters. The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place -- you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage. Today Allison and Glantz hosted a live report on KPFA about the trial where veterans are being represented by Gordon Erspamer in their lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dropping back to yesterday's snapshot:


This morning Paul Elias (AP) reported on the lawsuit against the US Department of Veterans Affairs alleging that they were not "doing enough to prevent suicide and provide adequate medical care for the Americans who have served in the armed forces" -- a charge the government, naturally, denies. CBS News' Armen Keteyian reports (link has text and text and video to past reports) that despite the government's denials in court today of problems and a rise in suicide risks, an e-mail exists, written earlier this year by the Veterans Affairs' head of Mental Health, Dr. Iraq Katz, which states "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities." Keteyian explains, "Katz's email was written shortly after the VA provided CBS News data showing there were only 790 attemped suicides in all 2007 -- a fraction of Katz's estimate" and that when US House Rep and chair of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Bob Filner was shown Katz' e-mail by CBS, Filner stated, "This is disgraceful. This is a crime against our nation, our nation's veterans. They do not want to come to grips with reality, with the truth."


Allison and Glantz began the broadcast with some highlights from Winter Soldier and then began speaking with Gordon Erspamer who sketched out how few cases ever make it as far as this one has because the VA moves to dismiss. An 86-year-old Nixon appointee agreed to hear this case despite the VA's efforts to dismiss the case. The VA showed up with seven attorneys and a press flack. Glantz revealed that while Erspamer was making points, the flack was repeatedly whispering into the ear of the New York Times reporter assigned to cover the case. The VA was invited on the broadcast but they refused to send anyone, including their flack. The flack was played via a taped interview where, when asked about the fact that approximately 18 veterans are attempting suicide every day, she insisted "We care very, very much" while also saying that's only about 21% of the rate for the entire US. The most amusing moment in the first hour of the broadcast came from a reporter for a weekly explaining how important this was. That was all the funnier when testimony was played from Winter Soldier and he dubbed it "tragic." Tragic was his outlet's refusal to print a story on Winter Soldier. Why was he there? He said it was an important issue. The reality is that CBS is all over this story so everyone else is rushing to get onboard as well. The reality is that it's follow the leader as opposed to any bravery. The reality is it's an easier story to cover because it can be turned into "Oooooh" and clucking as opposed to something that really challenges.

Reality is also that pathetic job the Veterans Affairs Dept has done. They were happy to trot out their suicide prevention work on The Diane Rehm Show and others late last year. And one of their big things, their big improvements, was their new toll free number to provide assistance for veterans contemplating suicide! They didn't do crap. The number is 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) and, guess what, that's the National Suicide Prevention Hot Line. That's the number that's always been in existance for ALL US citizens. The VA's total contribution to the crisis is that the National Suicide Prevention Hotline now allows you, at approximately 20 seconds into the automate message, to press "one" and identify yourself as a veteran. That's the sum total of what the VA has done -- they've hopped on board the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.

One person who is calling the Veterans Affairs Department out, Pia Malbran (CBS News) reports. is US Senator Patty Murray who is calling for the resignation of the VA's Dr. Ira Katz. Senator Murray released the following statement today:

"It is imperative that the individual responsible for providing top notch mental health services to our veterans be open and honest about the VA's needs.
"Doctor Katz's irresponsible actions have been a disservice to our veterans and it is time for him to go. The number one priority of the VA should be caring for our veterans, not covering up the truth.
"I have spoken with Secretary Peake and I have asked him to take immediate action to restore the faith of our veterans in the mental health care provided by the VA.
"The epidemic of veterans' suicide is horrifying but it should also be preventable. In order to ensure that it is, the VA must be honest about the numbers and the needs. It is time for the VA to own up to the true cost of the war and ensure our heroes aren't lost when they come home."




Turning to the 'diplomatic front,' US Secretary Condi Rice's trip to the Middle East has producded no photo-ops and no results. AFP reports: "Rice failed to clinch any firm Arab pledges on debt relief or diplomatic presence at talks in Bahrain earlier on Monday but took her campaign to Kuwait for a meeting Tuesday with Iraq, Arab states, Turkey, Iran and world powers. Speaking after a meeting in Bahrain with counterparts from six Gulf monarchies, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, Rice said the talks covered relieving Iraq debt and sending ambassadors to the war-torn nation. But she did not report any decision on either score." Why has Rice's charm-assault failed so badly? It probably doesn't help you make your case when you rely on lies that the US press might bite their tongues but foreign governments have to reaspon to. Today in Kuwait, she included this following in her speech, "I would just note that violence in Iraq has decreased. Iraq's leaders have certainly made progress in passing legislation on the budget, provincial powers, de-Baathification reform, pensions and amnesty. They have significantly improved Iraq's budget execution and they are now allocating more of Iraq's own budget to build the infrastructure and provide the services that the Iraqi people expect from their elected government." Neighboring countries don't have oceans between themselves and Iraq, they are fully aware of what the puppet government in Baghdad hasn't done and probably find it insulting when Rice thinks she can spin them as if they were the press corps.. The de-de-Baathifciation (actual de-Baathification was started by Paul Bremer, overturning that would be de-de-Baathification) 'reform'? Nothing's happened on that. A laughable piece of legislation was passed, never implemented and considered by most, impossible to do so. "Provincial powers" translates as the issue of Kirkuk and Iraq's neighbors pay a lot closer attention to that struggle over who get claim to Kirkuk than the US does. The puppet-government sits on millions of dollars for reconstruction, none of which it is spending and neighboring countries are as aware of that as they are of the number of Iraqi refugees trying to enter their countries. Despite the fact that puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki became a worldwide joke for his attempts at 'commanding' the assault on Basra, Rice not only wanted to cite that as 'success,' she wanted to imply that those attending were too stupid to grasp that with remarks such as, "And here, I want just to underscore that we need to really understand what happened in Basra." Everyone understood what happened. Not content selling failure as a success, she then wanted to encourage Iraqi's neighbors to back failure, "This is something that the Iraqi Government needed to do, and we all need to support what has been done there." On the subject of Iraqi refugees her remarks were just insulting. The US government has not met their (tiny) stated goals for admitting Iraqi refugees and the Iraqi government has not paid neighboring countries any reasonable amount of money so the last thing Iraq's neighbors needed to hear was Rice babbling on about 'success' on that front and all the money Iraq is investing to aid its citizens.. In fact, on Monday, Tom Casey, US State Dept' spokesperson, was asked about the puppet government not spending the oil revenues on the Iraqi people ("they're investing in US treasuries") and the best that Casey could respond was to state he didn't have the information in front of him and then the standard talking point of how "Iraq is investing in its own people." Casey ignored the reference to January's GAO report. James Glanz (New York Times) reporting on that report at the start of this year noted the White House claimed in September 2007 (when asking for more war funding) that Iraq had increased their spending on infrastructure, "The Iraqi government had been severely criticized for failing to spend billions of dollars of its oil revenues in 2006 to finance its own reconstruction, but last September the administration said Iraq had greatly accelerated such spending. By July 2007, the administration said, Iraq had spent some 24 percent of $10 billion set aside for reconstruction that year. As Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Iraq, prepared in September to report to Congress on the state of the war, the economic figures were a rare sign of progress within Iraq's often dysfunctional government. But in its report on Tuesday, the accountability office said official Iraqi Finance Ministry records showed that Iraq had spent only 4.4 percent of the reconstruction budget by August 2007. It also said that the rate of spending had substantially slowed from the previous year." Despite that reality, Casey in the US and Rice in Kuwait, were eager to spin. Rice's most laughable claim -- in the midst of the continued assault on Sadr City -- may have been maintaining "that the Iraqi government is working now to establish the trust of all of its citizens". Earlier this month, US Senator Chuck Hagel asked US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker about the alleged diplomatic 'surge,' what they were doing and how Rice was not looking "Kissinger-esque." Nothing from her current trip abroad would suggest any reason to stop questioning those claims.



"At the southern entrance to Sadr City several Iraqi men on the US military's payroll are sweeping the street in the latest attempt to stop al-Mahdi Army militia from recruiting new fighters," explains Deborah Haynes (Times of London) of the realities in the Baghdad neighborhood loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr. Just to repeat "Iraqi men on the US military's payroll". That would be the turncoats who turned with coin was tossed at them. As US Senator Barbara Boxer noted in the April 8th US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, "You are asking us for millions more to pay off the militias and, by the way, I have an article here that says Maliki recently told a London paper that he was concerned about half of them" out of doubts about their loyalty --- loyalty that the US pays $18 million a month, $182 milliion a year for.

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing that left five people injured, a Baghdad car bombing claimed the lives of 2 Iraqi soldiers and left eighteen civilians and two soldiers wounded, a Baghdad bombing wounded two Iraqi police officers, a Baghdad mortar attack claimed 5 lives and left eight more people injured, a Ramadi truck bombing claimed the lives of 4 people and left twenty-one injured, a Kirkuk bombing wounded a PUK party member "and three of his guards," a Mosul car bombing claimed 1 life and left ten more injured, a Mosul roadside bombing wounded a father and his daughter and a Baquba bomber killed herself "near the police station of Jalawlaa" as well as 8 others ("including five policemen") while wounding seventeen more. AFP notes, "The attack was the second by a woman in as many days in Diyala". Reuters notes a Baghdad rocket attack that claimed 6 lives and left ten injured, ups the Mosul car bombing by 1 to two killed and the injured count to twenty. And CBS and AP note: "In Basra, a senior aide to Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani died on Tuesday, a week after being seriously injured in an assassination attempt. Two other al-Sistani representatives were injured in separate ambushes. The attacks came just days after a top aide of al-Sadr was killed in Najaf, suggesting the violence could be part of an internal Shiite power struggle."

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports "an employee of Baghdad municipality" was shot dead in Baghdad, a Baghdad shooting left one Iraqi soldier wounded. Reuters reports today that "Gunmen wounded a reporter and cameramn from local television station Biladi and their driver on Monday in a drive-by shooting" in Baghdad.

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses were discovered in Baghdad.


Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Force -- West Marine was killed by an improvised explosive device in Basra, Iraq, April 21. Additionally, one Marine was injured in the attack." On that death, AFP notes, "This is the first US military loss in Basra since Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown against Shiite militiamen there on March 25." CBS and AP add: "AP Television News footage from Basra on Monday showed thick smoke rising from a military vehicle burning on a highway overpass." And the US military announced: "Two Multi-National Force -- West Marines were killed when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at an entry control point in the vicinity of Ramadi, Iraq, at approximately 7:30 a.m. April 22. The SVBIED attack wounded three other Marines. Two Iraqi Police and 24 local Iraqis were also wounded in the attack." The announced deaths bring to 4044 the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war.

In other US military news, Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) reports in the increased used of moral waivers by the US army to meet recruiting goals, the increase of approximately 1/4 in the number now admitted under the waivers ("8,129 in fascal 2006 to 10,258 in fiscal 2007" for the army), "In particular, the Army accepted more than double the number of applicants with convictions for felony crimes such as burglary, grand larceny and aggravated assault, rising from 249 to 511, while the corresponding number for the Marines increased by two-thirds, from 208 to 350. The vast majority of such convictions stem from juvenile offenses. Most involved theft, but a handful involved sexual assault and terrorist threats, and there were three cases of involuntary manslaughter."

In US presidinatila campaign news, the state of Pennsylvania is voting today. Though John McCain is considered the GOP presidential nominee, the race continues for the Democratic nomination with US Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama the last two standing and tied in a dead heat. Fernando Suarez (CBS News) reports Hillary raised the obvious question about the media favorite Barack, if after outspending her (3 to 1 or 4 to 1) in Penn, he can't win the primary, the question on everyone's minds should be: "Why can't he close the deal?" Meanwhile CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic reports that Barack is upset that some question his patriotism and that he doesn't understand why they would? Being close to two members of the Weather Underground -- Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dorhn -- who declared war on the US and have refused to renounce their past acts of violence might be one reason. Another might be the online face of his campaign: Sam Graham-Felsen who is the Obama's campaign official blogger and who, less than a year prior to taking that post, was publishing in a periodical that explained: "The Socialist Workers Organization was formed to advance the revolutionary Marxist political program in the United States. . . . The capitalist ruling class of the United States exercises a virtual dictatorship not only over American society, but also over the entire world. This capitalist class rule is the basic cause of the poverty, wars, and the degradation of the natural environment." What was the vetting process in that hire? Is it a lack of judgement? Is Barack endorsing that point of view? What's going on there? Susan UnPC (No Quarter) previews how the Bambi Groupies will attempt to spin a Bambi loss. And the Clinton campaign released this statement:

The Obama campaign is attempting to pre-spin the results from tonight's Pennsylvania primary by suggesting that Sen. Clinton should -- and will -- win.
But after the Obama campaign's "go-for-broke" Pennsylvania strategy, after their avalanche of negative ads, negative mailers and negative attacks against Sen. Clinton, after their record-breaking spending in the state, a fundamental question must be asked: Why shouldn't Sen. Obama win?
Sen. Obama's supporters -- and many pundits -- have argued that the delegate "math" makes him the prohibitive frontrunner. They have argued that Sen. Clinton's chances are slim to none. So if he's already the frontrunner, if he's had six weeks of unlimited resources to get his message out, shouldn't he be the one expected to win tonight? If not, why not?
As the phrase goes, watch what they do not what they say.
There's a reason Sen. Obama and his campaign have ratcheted up their year-long assault on Sen. Clinton's character and ended the Pennsylvania campaign with a flurry of harsh negative attacks. It's because they know that a loss in Pennsylvania will raise troubling questions about his candidacy and his ability to take on John McCain in the general election. And it's because they know that the race is neck and neck and tonight's contest is a measure of where the campaign stands.
The reality is this: both candidates need a combination of pledged and super delegates to secure the nomination -- and either candidate can reach the required number. The press and the pundits have repeatedly counted Sen. Clinton out and she has repeatedly proved them wrong. The vote in the bellwether state of Pennsylvania is another head to head measure of the two candidates and of the coalition they will put together to compete and win in November.
No amount of spin from the Obama campaign will change that -- nor will it explain away anything less than a victory by Sen. Obama.