After
the provincial elections law passed last month, thousands of Kurds
protested in Kirkuk, and the demonstration turned bloody when a bomb
killed at least 25 people. Kurdish
lawmakers and their allies stormed out of the session when the law
passed, calling it unconstitutional. Arabs have long been weary of
Kurdish desires to annex oil-rich Tamim province, which is home to
Kirkuk, into the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north. The presidency council rejected the law after President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, criticized it. Then
the United States and United Nations got involved, scurrying for a
solution so that the elections could proceed. After a plethora of
United Nations proposals to amend the article in question, they finally
suggested that legislators pass the law while postponing elections in
Tamim province until December 2009. During the delay, the parliament
would pass a separate elections law for Tamim. Even
that couldn't be agreed on, however. First the Kurds opposed it, and
when they later agreed, the Turkomen and some Arab parties -- including
the opposition Sadr movement -- flipped their positions. "We
haven't taken one step forward, not one step," said Bassem Sharif al
Hajeemi, a Shiite Muslim legislator from the Fadhila party who opposed
the recent U.N. proposal. Some
legislators charged that the Kirkuk issue was being used to mask
political blocs' opposition to the bill, because new elections might
dethrone them in the provinces.
The above is from Leila Fadel's "Iraqi parliament adjourns without setting elections" (McClatchy Newspapers) and we noted it in yesterday's snapshot
but it's really the place to start this morning because it digs much
deeper than "Law not pass." A great deal of coverage has reduced the
story to just that, a headline which provides no understanding or
meaning. We'll note this from Ned Parker and Said Rifai's "Iraq parliament fails to pass elections bill" (Los Angeles Times):
Iraq's
electoral commission had said the measure needed to be passed before
lawmakers adjourned for the month in order to hold elections by the end
of December. Lawmakers had
been set to adjourn last week when they scheduled the special session.
But differences between Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens over Kirkuk
ultimately could not be resolved. Iraqi
politicians, officials and Western diplomats have speculated that the
political parties in government were never invested in holding a vote
this year out of fear they would lose seats and influence at the
provincial level. Senior politicians -- including President Jalal
Talabani, a Kurd, and Vice President Tariq Hashimi, a Sunni Arab --
have been absent from Baghdad during the round-the-clock negotiations,
citing medical reasons.
Not yesterday but Wednesday last
week, Iraq's Parliament did adjourn. Special sessions are not regular
sessions. It appears a number of reporters feel the need to work
overtime in order to twist reality for the benefit of the White House.
Why bother? Mainly because who pays attention to Iraq in the US these
days? Not a whole lot of people. The Parliament adjourned. That
happened last week. Think of your own state assembly and most likely it
has held special sessions. Those are "special sessions" and not the
regular legislative cycle. Pretending that the Parliament didn't
adjourn (and wasn't in special session) did allow it to appear
something might happen. Nothing did. There's a budget issue as well
that most work overtime to avoid mentioning was left hanging as well.
Campbell Robertson and Richard A. Oppel Jr.'s "Iraqis Fail to Agree on Provincial Election Law" (New York Times)
notes that US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker was heavily involved over
the weekend attempting to help/force some resolution. From their
article:
The decision to go on
vacation rather than settle the issue underscored how little progress
had been made on the most important recent political question to
confront Iraqi leaders, in contrast to the military strides in making
Iraq safer than it had been in years. The law was seen as so important
to prevent new outbreaks of violence that President Bush, eager to
leave office claiming lasting progress in Iraq, had called several
Iraqi lawmakers urging them to pass it. The elections would be the first provincial balloting in almost four years.
At Inside Iraq, one of McClatchy's Iraqi journalists shares her/his feelings in "Thank You, Kirkuk:"
I
listened to many of them. I noticed that most of them talk about Kirkuk
in a way as if its a prey for the greed and ambitions of their parties.
They never talk about it as a part of Iraq because they dont care about
Iraq. They care only about their limited personal interests. I
remember the first year when the same politicians were fighting on TV
showing when their high patriotism trying to convince us that the
united happy Iraq is their only aim. They could deceive us. We went to
the election not for their sake but for the sake of Iraq.
Doug Henwood will be on KPFA's The Morning Show today (7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. PST, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Central, 10:00 a.m. to noon EST).
Michigan Greens Nominate Rev. Pinkney at State Convention ========================================================= Benton Harbor Activist, Jailed for Quoting Bible at Judge, Among 10 Congressional Candidates Picked in Marshall July 26-27
Mentioned in Presidential Candidate McKinney's Acceptance Speech at National Green Convention July 12 in Chicago
Also: First office for McKinney-Clemente Green Party presidential campaign to be located in Detroit
The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) evoked the memory of Eugene V. Debs by nominating jailed Benton Harbor community activist Rev. Edward Pinkney for Congress at the party's 2008 Nominating Convention last weekend in Marshall.
Pinkney is one of ten GPMI candidates so far who will run for Congress, and seventeen in total nominated at the convention. They will all join the Green Presidential ticket of former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, founder of the National Hip-Hop Convention, on the November 4 general-election ballot. And more Green candidates will be nominated at local caucuses this weekend.
McKinney has met with Pinkney and the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO) in Benton Harbor in the past. And she mentioned Pinkney and Benton Harbor in her Chicago acceptance speech July 12.
McKinney-Clemente campaign manager SKCM Curry attended the GPMI convention, rousing the members to join her in a chant of "Paint the White House Green!" Curry also announced that the McKinney-Clemente campaign will soon be opening its first office -- in Detroit.
Pinkney Paying a Heavy Price for His Beliefs; Will Now Get to Express Them by Running for Office -------------------------------------------------- Pinkney will run for the 6th District seat now held by Fred Upton, scion of the family that founded Whirlpool. Pinkney has opposed the corporation's influence on local government and the plans of Whirlpool-led institutions to take Jean Klock Park away from the people of Benton Harbor for a golf course priced for the wealthy.
He is now sitting in state prison in Jackson awaiting appeal on a 3- to 10-year sentence for alleged mishandling of four absent-voter ballots in a 2005 recall election of a city commissioner who supported Whirlpool's plans. That verdict came after one mistrial with a deadlocked jury, and despite an affidavit by one former prosecution witness saying the recalled commissioner had offered him $10 to say Pinkney had paid $5 for his vote.
The Berrien County courts also overturned the recall, even though it had passed by over 50 votes.
Pinkney's sentence was imposed last month, and a pre-sentence probation order which came with an elaborate set of prohibitions (including bans on any kind of political involvement -- and making him pay the rental on his own electronic tether) was revoked last month, because of an article he wrote last fall.
In the article, he used a slightly paraphrased quote from Deuteronomy that a Berrien County judge ruled was not protected by the First Amendment because it constituted a believable threat of the wrath of God against a fellow judge and the judge's family.
The article appeared last November in _The People's Tribune_, a political newspaper published in Chicago.
-end Pinkney information
More news and background from the Green Party of Michigan:
More Greens at All Levels Will Be On the Michigan Ballot November 4 --------------------------------- Greens will have at least nine other Congressional candidates joining McKinney, Clemente, and Pinkney on Michigan's general election ballot November 4.
The convention also nominated one candidate for the State Board of Education and one for each of the three state university boards (U of M, MSU, and Wayne State).
And candidates for county and local office include Korine Bachleda, who won election in 2006 as a write-in for clerk of Newberg Township. Soon after, Bachleda asked the county clerk to officially list her as a Green -- and this year she will be running for re-election in the Green Party's column on the ballot.
A list showing all the candidates nominated in Marshall is presented below, along with information on how to contact the campaigns for more details.
Caucuses Will Nominate More Green Candidates for November General Election ---------------------------------------- The list also includes Matt Erard, who was nominated July 14 by Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor City Greens for the 53rd District seat in Michigan's State House.
Greens from Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties will hold a joint caucus 2-4pm this Saturday, August 2 at the International Institute; 111 E. Kirby (between John R. and Woodward, across the street from the Detroit Institute of Arts); Detroit, MI 48202. For more information, contact
The Four Pillars of the Green Party are: Ecological Wisdom; Social Justice; Grassroots Democracy and Non-Violence.
Green Party of Michigan 548 South Main Street Ann Arbor, MI 48104 734-663-3555
GPMI
was formed in 1987 to address environmental issues in Michigan
politics. Greens are organized in all 50 states and the District of
Columbia. Each state Green Party sets its own goals and creates its own
structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values:
Ecological Wisdom Grassroots Democracy Social Justice Non-Violence Community Economics Decentralization Feminism Respect for Diversity Personal/Global Responsibility Future Focus/Sustainability
======================================================= list of GPMI candidates nominated to date =======================================================
Green Party of Michigan ======================= 2008 Candidates Contact Information (as of 7/31/08)
Ken Mathenia -- US House/5th Congressional District 232 High Street Grand Blanc, MI 48439 KMatheni@gfn.org
Rev. Edward Pinkney -- US House/6th Congressional District 1940 Union Street Benton Harbor, MI 49022 BANCO9342@sbcglobal.net alternate address: Rev. Edward Pinkney #294671 Charles E. Egeler Reception & Guidance Center 3855 Cooper Street Jackson, MI 49201-7517
Lynn Meadows -- US House/7th Congressional District 150 Island Lake Road Chelsea, MI 48118 LynnMeadows@provide.net
Erik Shelley -- US House/11th Congressional District 19311 Seminole Redford, MI 48240 eol1@aol.com
Bill Opalicky -- US House/12th Congressional District 23631 Philip Southfield, MI 48075 urizen2355@aol.com
Aimee Smith -- US House/15th Congressional District 1321 Wisteria Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48104 ALSmith@HVGreens.org
Matt Erard -- MI House/53rd District * Committee to Elect Matt Erard for State Representative 641 Prentis Street #G3 Detroit, MI 48204 http://www.erard2008.org/ VoteErard@yahoo.com
said rifai
the los angeles times
ned parker
campbell robertson
the new york times
kimberly wilder
doug henwood
richard a. oppel jr.
kpfa
the morning show
