Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts "Court-Ordered." Barack whines, "The ACLU is calling me out, some lawyer named Branum wishes he didn't vote for me, the UN, World Can't Wait, Adam Kokesh . . . everyone is against me. I thought I'd be a hero right now." Nelson replies, "Yeah, sucks the way we get no credit for doing court-ordered stuff."



the world today just nuts
comic
court-ordered
barack obama
aclu
jim branum
world cant wait
adam kokesh
the third estate sunday review
the common ills

The New York Times proves how out of touch and embarrassin git is with a story on Iraq which makes the front page of the news section today, Rod Nordland's "Feeling Secure Engouh to Sin, Baghdad Returns to Its Old Ways." The headline is insulting and rather frightening when you consider what the 'old ways' included (gassing the Kurds, for example) but Nordland's not responsible for the headline. He is responsible for the text of his report. And here's the opening sentence: "Vice is making a comeback in this city once famous for 1,001 varieties of it." What a little prig and how embarrassing for the paper. Vice. Vice?

Apparently the paper's gearing up for the editorials calling for vice raids to be brought back in NYC. I understand women smoke cigarettes at Time Square . . . in the open! And they serve booze . . . openly!!!!! Oh my goodness. Bring back the vice raids! Bring them back!

If you're not getting how insulting, patronizing and, for the matter, stereotypically right-wing Christian fundamentalist the article and it's approach is (from a Jewish owned paper, no less), it gets worse. Are they going to mention it? You know they are. You know they can't not mention it because they're being moralistic prigs. So the question is how far in?

Four paragraphs, opening sentence. Sodom and Gomorrah. And, no, there's no indication that anyone knows anything beyond the really bad movie made on it. (Again, though, Jewish owned paper.) This is such a disgusting and insulting article and you really have to wonder how the papers intends to out-do it because you know they're planning that.

As a reporter at another paper (equally offended by this article) said on the phone tonight, "Well I guess they're trying to ease back in the notion of prostitution . . . for personal reasons." Indeed.

So on the front page, the vice is prostituion -- listed second. Sandwiched in the second paragraph between night clubs and booze. And while prostitution might be back in the open, as the New York Times knows so very well, it never left Baghdad, not once. As the paper knows so very, very well. (Did an Iraqi refugee in Syria really pitch a book this month about her adventures in the Green Zone with certain journalists? Did she really? You'll Never Give Byline In This Town Again.) Considering everything that went down in the Green Zone over the last six years, for the Times of all papers to hop a high horse on the front page is ridiculous.

While the Times clucks and makes a fool of itself, Jim Muir (BBC News, link has text and video) reports on the real crimes going on, such as the attacks on the LGBT community:

Grainy footage taken on a mobile phone and widely distributed around Baghdad shows a terrified young Iraqi boy cowering and whimpering as men with a stick force him to strip, revealing women's underwear beneath his dishdasha (Arab robe).
"Why are you dressed as a girl?" roars one of the men, brandishing his stick as the youth removes his brassiere.
The sobbing boy, who appears to be about 12, tries to explain that his family made him do it to earn money, as they have no other source of income.
The scene, apparently filmed in a police post, reinforced reports of a campaign against gay men in Iraq which activists say has claimed the lives of more than 60 since December.

BBC is offering real news and NYT is longing for the day when Cecil de Mille managed to fill seats. How very sad and how very telling.

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

Last Sunday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4272 and tonight? 4274. In some of the violence reported over the weekend . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reported Saturday a Baghdad bombing that left two injured, a Baghdad roadside bombing which wounded four, and a Baghdad missile attack on the Green Zone. AP's Brian Murphy states this is the first attack on the Green Zone in approximately three months. Today Kadhim and Sahar Issa report a Baghdad roadside bombing which injured five people, a Mosul car bombing which injured seven (including a small child) and a Mosul roadside bombing which injured one person. Reuters notes a Baghdad mortar attack which left two people injured.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reported Saturday that Ministry of Interior Intelligence's Haider Hadi Mahdi was assassinated in Baghdad and the "owner of exchange currency business" and one employee were shot dead in Basra. Today Kadhim and Sahar Issa report three people were wounded in a shooting assault on Baghdad jewelry shops and Police Lt Col Abdul Rahman Ibrahim was shot dead in Baghdad. Reuters notes 2 police officer shot dead in Mosul in an attack on a checkpoint, 1 Iraqi soldier shot dead at a Mosul military checkpoint, 7 people shot dead in Baghdad in an attack "using silencers at a gold shop" (this is an update on the gewlry shops McCllatchy noted). Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports that the murders of hte 7 "gangland style" has already led al-Maliki to create his own "gangland style" police unit. No word on whether the creation came so easy (less than 24 hours!) because so many "gangland style" -- possibly even the robbers-murders -- already work for al-Maliki.

Corpses?

Reuters notes 2 corpses discovered in Hilla ("Sunni Arab militiamen").

December 23rd, the Iraqi Parliament Speaker was ousted. Mahmoud Mashadani had been the speaker. Four days shy of four months, they finally have a Speaker. Liz Sly (Los Angeles Times) reports Iyad Al Samirrai was elected today. Sly glosses over the ouster. Mashadani was ousted. Even the US State Dept admits that. See their report released last week [PDF format warning] "Iraq Status Report." It doesn't get much clearer than, "The COR has yet to reach a consensus on appointing a new Speaker since Mahmoud Mashadani was ousted on December 23, 2008." His political party had to sue to prove he was eligible to run. Why? Liz Sly mentions the rumors that the Parliament has been planning a no-confidence vote in al-Maliki for months. (Ahmed Chalabi has spoken publicly of that and noted that such a vote, if taken, would be procedural and Constitutional and not, as al-Maliki has insisted, a "coup.") To no one's surprise, al-Samarrai is another Iraqi who fled the country ("spent nearly a decade in exile in Britian"). Wonder why so many see the puppet government as just that? How would you like to be ruled by a ton of cowards who only came back in the country after the US invaded? BBC reports the vote was 153 votes in favor (out of 232 votes cast). UPI quotes MP Izzat Shahbandar stating, "This is a strong challenge to the prime minister because he didn't want this party to take the office. It shows that the prime minister derives his power from the people, not from Parliament."



New content at Third:

Truest statement of the week
Truest statement of the week II
A note to our readers
Editorial: Media Whores and Medea Whore
TV: Broken or fixed?
Tea Parties
Papers and David Carr Stuck In The Box
Civil Rights history including 'Now!'
The Shirley goes to . . .
Greta Garbo
Lt. Muthana Shaad's Gay Boy Chronicles
Yesterday's Morning Glory Naomi Klein
Matthis Stands Tall April 21st
Highlights

Isaiah's latest goes up after this. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

iraq
and the war drags on
donovan
the new york times
rod nordland
the los angeles times
liz sly
jim muir
mcclatchy newspapers
hussein kadhim
sahar issa
the world today just nuts
the third estate sunday review

File is under, "Will they try to make him dance too?" The top US commander in Iraq, Gen Ray Odierno, was yet again trotted out by the administration in an attempt to force him to say what they wanted him to. It took place last night on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric (link has video and transcript). In yesterday's snapshot, we were noting how the US State Dept was attempting to reassamble Odierno's words (take answers to one question and match them with another) in [PDF format warning] "Iraq Status Report." Odierno does not believe that the US will withdraw from all Iraqi cities by the end of June (as the treaty masquerading as a Status Of Forces Agreement 'promises' will happen). The State Dept grabbed an answer to a 2011 question John King asked and attempted to pass it off as though Odierno was replying to a question about the June removal from Iraqi cities. Couric's first question was about the June deadline.

Odierno: I believe we'll make that timeline in every city probably except for, probably, Mosul. There'll be a decision that will be made. We'll provide a joint assessment between Iraqis and the U.S. We'll provide that assessment to the Prime Minister Maliki who will make a final decision.


They (the administration, I'm not referring to the press) try to make him dance, don't they? It's becoming embarrassing. Not for Odierno but for the administration and their strong-arm tactics. No, the answer is "no." It does not appear that US forces will be out of Iraqi cities by the end of June. Mosul is an Iraqi city -- what you thought it was next to Dayton?

The answer's no. And Odierno further tanked the administration's talking points when Katie asked her next question.

Couric: Can you describe circumstances in which the current timetable would be rendered null and void?

Odierno: Well, first off, we have an agreement between us and the government of Iraq. And that means that all U.S. forces will leave Iraq by the end of 2011. We can never predict what might happen in the future. But I would tell you the chances of that happening are much less today than they were a year ago.

He won't leave that "we can never predict" out. The administration has been on his case to do so. They're finding out he's very stubborn. Good for Odierno. It's not his job to sell policy and shame on the administration for attempting to repeatedly force him to do so. And if I'm applauding him, you better believe those at his level are as well (which is how I first heard about it, this is fastly becoming a scandal and the administration would be smart to back off of Odierno real quick if they're hoping to push forward any other policies regarding the military -- the whole thing is leaving a sour taste in the mouths of many).

It's an interview worth watching (or reading) and we'll note one more section because it's really not covered by the US media.

Couric: Thousands of Iraqis protested in the streets of Baghdad last week, wanting U.S. troops out of Iraq. What do you think the feeling is by most Iraqi citizens toward U.S. forces there?

Odierno: Well, it's hard to gauge. I would say, though, they were calling for a million man march in Sadr City called by Muqtada Al Sadr. And they had a turnout of about 7,000. Extremely low turnout. So I think many people voted by not turning out for that demonstration. I would just say that of course Iraqis want the U.S. to leave. They want to be a sovereign country. But they don't want us to leave until they are positive that they can take over and maintain the security and stability.

So the protests finally got some air time.

In other news, UNHCR has assisted some Palestinian refugees from leaving Iraq. This press release notes that 59 Palestinians who had been trapped at Al Waleed encampment (a tent city set up at the border of Iraq and Syria, on the Iraqi side) have been transported to the "Evacuation Transit Centre" where they are supposed to remain for no more than three months as their paperwork is processed and they're resettled in other countries. UNHCR has previously noted that the Al Waleed encampment had 942 residents, so the 59 is a very minor number. Meanwhile Alsumaria reports that Kurdistan presdient Massoud Barazni met with Steffan De Mistura, UN Chief Envoy to Iraq, and US, British and EU reps: "De Mistura displayed UN proposals to solve the issue of disputed areas. These proposals will be submitted in a report to be handed to Kurdistan leader. For his part, Barazani promised to study the report and present remarks thereto. " Disputed areas refers to the oil-rich Kirkuk and other areas that the KRG and the central government in Baghdad are at odds over.

Meanwhile Azad Aslan (Kurdish Globe) reports:

The growing tension in Ninewa province between the Kurds and Arabs following the local provincial elections this year once again indicate the difficulties of reconciling the two main nations of the country that constitute Iraq.
Since the formation of Iraq after the First World War by British Empire the main conflict has always been the clash between Iraqi Kurds and Arab dominated Iraqi central government. Decades of struggle and war of the Kurds against central governments were to gain their national rights and end oppression and humiliation at the hands of Iraqi central state. This is still true even today despite the fact that the Kurds have taken serious role in setting up a new Iraqi state following the demise of Baathist regime after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. In spite of the fact that the Kurds played constructive role in forming a new federal Iraq and a new federal constitution the Iraqi Arabs (both Shiite and Sunni) continue to see the Kurds as a minority to be dominated and not as a main constitutive political element in the so-called new Iraq. Iraqi state slackness in solving outstanding issues such as Kirkuk, sharing sovereignty and carbon law according to the Iraqi constitution and its explicit intention to alter the constitution's federal structure at the expense of the Kurdish rights explains clearly that the mentality of the Iraqi Arabs of all sides, the mentality of being dominant, superior, and unchallengeable, have not changed a bit. It indicates that there is no room for the Kurds in this so-called new federal Iraq to enjoy freedom, national rights and prosperity. The grim reality is that whatever the Kurds have today in Iraq can be secured with the power of force not with the power of constitution and democracy.

Meanwhile, December 23rd, the Speaker was ousted. By Parliament. Mahmoud Mashadani had been the speaker. The Iraqi Parliament remains without a speaker all this time later. Alsumaria reports today that it is possible tomorrow's Parliamentary session will resolve the issue -- maybe through "secret ballot" or repeated election rounds. There are six candidates
Mostapha Al Laithi, Taha Al Luhaibi and Mohammed Tamim (all with the National Dialogue Front) and Iyad Al Samirrai, Hajem Al Husni and Adnan Al Bajaji (Accordance Front). The Accordance Front favors Iyad Al Samirrai (back in March, they sued to ensure that he could be a candidate). Alsumaria explains the process for voting rounds: "During the first stage, candidates compete among each others. The candidate to win should rally 138 votes out of 275 lawmakers plus one. The statement added if these votes were not reached, a second round will be carried out with the participation of candidates who got most votes in the first round. Yet, if during the second stage, candidates fail to rally 138 votes, a third round is carried out during which the candidate who obtains the majority of votes wins."

The following community sites have updated since yesterday morning:


Cedric's Big Mix
He taught college, right? Right?
6 minutes ago

The Daily Jot
THIS JUST IN! WHO PASSED THIS FOOL?
6 minutes ago

Thomas Friedman is a Great Man
Tim Howe -- ugly name for ugly man
18 hours ago

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18 hours ago

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18 hours ago

SICKOFITRADLZ
Whora Flanders needs to shut her ass
18 hours ago

Trina's Kitchen
Lemon Pepper Noodles in the Kitchen
18 hours ago

Ruth's Report
Iraq
18 hours ago

Oh Boy It Never Ends
Movie night
18 hours ago

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Kenneth J. Theisen and I won't change things
18 hours ago

Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)
How I've grown to HATE Naomi Klein
18 hours ago


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

iraq
the cbs evening news with katie couric
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kats korner

sex and politics and screeds and attitude

thomas friedman is a great man

trinas kitchen

the daily jot

cedrics big mix

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oh boy it never ends

In something of a political shocker, Alsumaria is reporting that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has decided to run for the office again (his term is set to expire in December). Talabani had previously announced that he would not run again.

In other news, Kristoffer Walker is the US Specialist who was home in Wisconsin on leave from Iraq and declared that the Iraq War was illegal and immoral and refused to return. A few weeks after that, with very little assistance, Walker stated he would return to Iraq but refused to recant his statements about the war. WLUK (Fox 11) has an update and the link has video and text. We'll do a transcript of the video:

Moica Landeros: Well, Laura [Smith], a spokesperson with the U.S. Army tells me Kristoffer Walker has been demoted several ranks from Specialist to Private, but that's just part of his punishment. The Army also said Walker will be fined in the form of docked pay. For two months he will get half of his usual paycheck. In addition, he will also be fined for a -- confined to an Army base for 45 days. That means he can't leave the base and might even have additional duties during that time. Though Army officials do not know when that confinement will actually start. That's because right now, Walker is on medical leave from Iraq though officials won't give details on his medical condition. Once he is healthy, Army officials said he will begin the base confinement. Now we were unable to speak to Kristoffer Walker today though his mother tells us her son was aware of the severity of his absence and that he was ready for any consequences handed down.

Tony Walter (Green Bay Press Gazette) adds:

Walker's wife, Sierra, said her husband is not being confined to the base. He will be released upon the completion of medical paperwork and he will continue treatment at home, she said. "The doctors are pushing for him to be medically discharged from the military," she said Friday evening. Sierra Walker only would say her husband's condition is "bad enough that he was sent out of Iraq in the first place. He was dealing with doctors who said he needed to be out."

Contrary to a really bad AP report (we're not linking), Kristoffer Walker did not make a stand in January and announce he was not returning. That was in February and you can see this Feb. 23rd snapshot for more.

In this morning's New York Times, Campbell Robertson and Stephen Farrell offer "Sunnis Turn To Politics And Renew Strength" which runs on A4 of the national edition. They're covering northern Iraq, not central or southern and the article has nothing to do with the attacks on the Sahwa; however, it does have to do with the intense power struggle going on in the northern region. From the article:

In the first years after the invasion, Sunni Arabs, the minority that long ran Iraq and who make up the majority in the northwest, mostly stayed away from politics. Many joined or supported the insurgency as the American-allied Kurds took power by default, giving them a political and military ascendance out of all proportion to their numbers in Nineveh Province.
But in the prelude to Nineveh's provincial council elections in January, the tribes of the countryside led by the nationally ambitious Sheik Abdullah, and the urban Sunni Arab elite led by a polished businessman from Mosul whose brother already sits in Parliament, came back with a vengeance.
Riding a wave of resentment against the Kurds -- and openly trumpeting influence with insurgents -- they came to control Iraq's second most populous province, thus overseeing not only regional decision-making, but also the coffers and patronage that go with it.



Daniel Graeber (UPI) covers a variety of topics in a roundup and we'll note this section:

Delays from the Iraqi Parliament on implementing a comprehensive oil law limit the national economy and investment potential, officials said.
Ali Hussein Balo, a Kurdish lawmaker who sits on the regional government's oil and gas committee, told the Iraqi political Web site Niqash.org that Iraq faces a looming budget crisis due to stagnating oil prices.
"If the oil price remains the same, $50 per barrel, the Iraqi budget will be cut by about 50 percent next year," he said.
The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq had moved to pass its own regional oil and gas laws, much to the ire of Baghdad, which claims any deals under those terms are illegal.
Balo said, however, that Baghdad will have to accept the KRG contracts. But Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloom, the former Iraqi oil minister, said the dispute is hurting the bottom line.
"Foreign oil companies are not investing in (Iraq) because of the bad security situation, but the fact is that foreign companies do not see a legal framework," he said.


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

iraq
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monica landeros
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stephen farrell
 

Today the US military announced: "AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq – A Multi National Force – West Marine died as the result of a non-combat related incident here April 16. The Marine’s name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification and release by the Department of Defense. The incident is under investigation." This brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4274.

Turning to yesterday's attack in Anbar Province on the Tamouz Air Base, Liz Sly and
Usama Redha (Los Angeles Times) observe:


It is common in Iraq to receive contradictory information about casualties in the initial hours after an attack, though such a major discrepancy is unusual. A spokesman for U.S. Marines in Anbar declined to comment.
An Iraqi soldier who said he witnessed the attack said at least 16 of his comrades were killed and many more injured about noon in the packed cafeteria of the Taqaddum base near the town of Habbaniya, 40 miles west of Baghdad.
The soldier, who refused to be named, accused high-level officers of "trying to cover this up in order to avoid giving an image of underachievement."

"Confusion often clouds accounts of attacks here, but rarely have senior officials offered such divergent reports about a death toll," explains Steven Lee Myers in this morning's New York Times. But the key note by Myers is this one: "Journalists were prohibited from entering the base and the hospital, which Iraqi and American officers visited after the wounded arrived." That's what this is, an attack on a free press. A bombing took place. A death toll is known and should not be in dispute. The puppet government (and possibly the US as well) is worried about 'embarrassment' and that apparently trumps facts and the right-to-know. This is appalling and would be similar to the US hiding an attack (example, 9-11) and barring the press from the area and from hospitals. It is an attack on the press and it is an attack on the historical record.

Iraq's puppet government has been staging Operation Happy Talk events for some time. In "Taken for a ride in Baghdad...," Deborah Haynes (Times of London) blew the lid off the attempts to trick reporters into believing Baghdad had a commuter class taking the train:

Sceptical but playing along, I board one of the carriages with my interpreter and start asking the well turned out passengers about their journey.

Me to passenger 1: Hello there. I am a journalist from England, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?
Passenger 1 (looking a bit flustered): Um, no.
Me: Why are you on this train?
Passenger 1: Because I want to go to Basra.
Me: But this is a commuter train to Dora.
Passenger 1 (turning red): Um, er, sorry yes, I meant Dora…

I move on to another group and try again.

Me to passenger 2: Why are you on this train?
Passenger 2: I catch this service every day. It is much cheaper than a taxi.
Me: But why are you travelling out of the centre to Dora?
Passenger 2: Er because I need to go home.
Me: Come on, admit it. You work for the station.
Passenger 2 (looking embarrassed): Yes.

Adding to the snazzy show, a food and drinks trolley is on display, while a video about the Transport Ministry plays from a brand new television set hanging off one of the walls.

Add the above to a large number of reports the Times of London can be proud of coming out of Iraq and, as noted before, when Haynes leaves Iraq, her skill and talent will be sorely missed.
TV notes. NOW on PBS begins airing Fridays on most PBS stations (check local listings) and this week:

Americans are addicted to coal--it powers half of all our electricity, and is both plentiful and cheap. In fact, some call America the "Saudi Arabia of Coal." But are we paying too high an environmental price for all this cheap energy?
With carbon emissions caps high on the Obama Administration's agenda, coal is in the crosshairs of the energy debate. This week, NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels to Wyoming to take a hard look at the coal industry there and its case that it can produce "clean coal"--coal that can be burned without releasing carbon into the atmosphere. President Obama has been outspoken in his support for "clean coal" technology, but some say the whole concept is more of a public relations campaign than an energy solution.
As part of the report, Hinojosa talks with Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal and Jeff Goodell, the author of "Big Coal," who says that carbon dioxide emissions generated from coal contribute to global warming.
Our investigation is part of a PBS-wide series on the country's infrastructure called "Blueprint America."

Washington Week also begins airing tonight on most PBS stations and sitting down with Gwen this week are Tom Gjelten (NPR), Spencer Hsu (Washington Post), Eamon Javers (publication which shall not be named) and Martha Raddatz (ABC News). Also on PBS (and begins airing tonight, check local listings) Bonnie Erbe sits down with Eleanor Holmes Norton, Genevieve Wood, Linda Chavez and Melinda Henneberger to discuss this week's news on To The Contrary. And turning to broadcast TV, Sunday CBS' 60 Minutes offers:

401K Recession
Never created to be a mainstay of workers' retirement funds, 401ks became just that to millions of Americans who are now facing uncertain futures because of the devastating losses in the stock market. Steve Kroft reports.

---

Cold Fusion Is Hot Again
Presented in 1989 as a revolutionary new source of energy, cold fusion was quickly dismissed as junk science. But today, the buzz among scientists is that these experiments produce a real physical effect that could lead to monumental breakthroughs in energy production. Scott Pelley reports. | Watch Video

---

Blood Brothers
Matador Cayetano Ordonez nearly dies during this segment when he’s battered by a bull in a Bob Simon report about him and his brother Francisco – Spain's remarkable bullfighting family – who these days are creating just as much drama outside the ring as in it. | Watch Video

---

60 Minutes, Sunday, April 19, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

One of those topics will also be touched on at Third so we'll try to provide a heads up to 60 Minutes there as well.


And because an NPR friend pointed out this morning that "after you two ripped Diane [Rehm] apart" ("you two" is Ava and I, click here) "she is making an effort." Meaning, mark the calendars, Diane Rehm's six guests on Friday will actually include three women. Usually it's zero. Sometimes it's one. This week Diane allows women to account for half the guests. Anytime I'm notified of that by NPR friends, we will note it here. On her news roundup today, Diane's panel for the first hour will be Tony Blankey (Heritage Foundation), Eleanor Clift (Newsweek), Margaret Talev (McClatchy Newspapers). Diane's panel for the second hour will be Kevin Whitelaw (US News & World Report), Barbara Slavin (Washington Times) and Warren Strobel (McClatchy Newspapers). The Diane Rehm Show begins airing today at 10:00 am EST. In addition to listening to it on NPR stations, you can listen live at The Diane Rehm Show and, shortly after the second hour is broadcast (live, they take calls, e-mails and you can Twitter them), the program is archived and you can stream it at any point after that.

The same NPR friend asks that we note this:

WXPN, April 16, 2009 -- The work of a six-man collective fusing hip-hop, funk and gritty soul, The Revelations' seven-song Deep Soul EP blends the sounds of the bluesy rural South and gritty urban streets. Led by Tre Williams, the group crafts a sound that's timeless and undeniably energetic. Return to this space at noon ET Friday to hear The Revelations perform live in concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

Styled after a modern-day Otis Redding, Williams has used his church-choir and R&B background -- not to mention his four-octave range -- in high-profile contributions to records by the likes of Petey Pablo and Nas. His band's other five members are similarly experienced, with ties to names such as Mary J. Blige, Kanye West and Raphael Saadiq.

Related NPR Stories

Click here for The Reveleations featuring Tre Williams' MySpace page. This should be a very interesting live broadcast (that's noon EST) and I waiver between "Sorry's Not Enough" and "Stay Free" as my favorite track on their debut. Listen to the broadcast to pick your own favorite performance.

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

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the los angeles times
caesar ahmed
liz sly
usama redha
the new york times
steven lee myers
deborah haynes

npr
the diane rehm show
the revelations
tre williams
iraq

The following is an excerpt from Stephen Dohnberg's interview with Matthis Chiroux, "Matthis Chiroux Interviewed: Rise up, People!" (Digital Journal via World Can't Wait):

SD: Your initial court date was changed - why?

Chiroux: My former JAG attorney volunteered for Iraq service and was deployed a number of weeks ago. Thus, I had to get a new lawyer and a new court date. I think the Army may have been hoping I'd already bought tickets for people to be in attendance and it would have wiped out my finances. Lucky for me, I'm a last minute kinda guy. My replacement is a JAG attorney. Thomas M. Roughneen

SD: It's not on a military base - is there a meaning to that?

Chiroux: No. No meaning, I don't think. This is the home of the U.S. Army's Individual Ready Reserve, though, so any other Army IRRers who refuse to deploy and demand hearings will have them in the same place. We're going to try to demonstrate to the military how foolish prosecuting folks and bringing activists to their doorstep over and over again would be.

SD: What is the official charge you face?

Chiroux: "Misconduct." They're trying to throw me out of the Army for it. I'm happy to be discharged from the Army, but will not submit to my refusal to deploy being characterized as misconduct.

SD: Are you confident about your prospects?

Chiroux: I'm pretty confident I won't go to jail, as they'd have to upgrade this hearing from administrative to judicial, but I highly doubt the military will tell me I'm right and send me home to celebrate. That's why GI Resistance is so important to ending U.S. Imperialism. The forces that be refuse to do what's right, so we need to make them do right by leaving them no other choice.

SD: What kind of punishment do you face ? What is the maximum and minimum?

Chiroux: Well, this isn't a court-martial, so the worst thing I face right now is something other than an honorable discharge. That could change though if the Army get's a bug up their ass and decides to Court Martial me.

More information is in "Resistance to an Abhorrent Occupation: Press Release of Matthis Chiroux" (World Can't Wait):

(ST. LOUIS, MO) The U.S. Army will hear the case of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, an Individual Ready Reservist who last summer publicly refused activation and deployment orders to Iraq, on April 21 at 1 Reserve Way in Overland, St. Louis, MO, at 9 a.m.
Chiroux, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, refused to participate in what he described as "an illegal and immoral occupation" May 15th, 2008, in Washington D.C., after nine other veterans testified to Members of the U.S. Congress about atrocities they experienced during deployments to Iraq. Chiroux also vowed to remain public in the U.S. to defend himself from any charges brought against him by the military. (see matthisresists.us for a record of that speech and others by Chiroux)
"My resistance as a noncommissioned officer to this abhorrent occupation is just as legitimate now as it was last year," said Chiroux, adding, "Soldiers have a duty to adhere to the international laws of war described as supreme in Art. 6 Para. 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which we swear to abide by before the orders of any superior, including our former or current president."
Following Chiroux's refusal to deploy, the military did not contact him until after he and 10 other IVAW members marched on the final presidential debate Oct. 15, 2008, in Hempstead, N.Y. demanding to question then Senators Obama and McCain regarding their war policies and plans to care for returning veterans. After the veterans were brutalized and arrested by police, (one suffered a fractured skull and is currently suing the police for damages) the Army charged Chiroux with "misconduct" for refusing to deploy, announcing their intentions to discharge him from the reserves as a result.
"I go now to St. Louis to honor my promises and convictions," said Chiroux. "Obama or No-Bama, the military must cease prosecuting Soldiers of conscience, and we will demonstrate to them why."
Following the hearing, Chiroux and other IVAW members will testify about their military experiences which led them all to resist in different capacities the U.S.'s Overseas Contingency Operation (formerly the Global War on Terror).
For more information, see matthisresists.us and ivaw.org.

That'll be next week. In England, two call out the Guardian of Manchester's 'reporting:


President, National Gulf War Veterans and Families Association, and chief scientific adviser to UK Gulf war veterans
Iraq did not lose an opportunity to capitalise on high oil prices in 2008 as your reporters claim (Basra's failed oil bonanza, 16 April). Except for the contentious initialisation of a Shell gas deal, the people have so far marshalled enough opposition to ward off multinational oil vultures' attempts to stake out 25-year rights to Iraq's resources on the back of shock and awe.
Your reporters derive some of their wisdom from one Andy Bearpark, who was private secretary to Thatcher, then "diplomat" in charge of the "reconstruction" of Iraq in 2003, and now director general of the British Association of Private Security Companies.
The convergence of gunboat diplomacy, neoliberal debris, mercenaries acting under the mantra of "security companies", and voracious resource-hungry multinationals is the last blend to benefit Iraq.
Iraq's reconstruction will get under way in earnest when the mercenaries and the American troops follow the British out.
Kamil Mahdi Sami Ramadani
Exeter


The letter is paired with garbage. Malcolm Hooper wants to piggy back his pet cause onto the current war. That's really disgusting. In England, an inquiry of some sort has been promised by Gordon Brown's government into the Iraq War and it will not begin prior to the end of July (and Brown and company will probably attempt to delay it even after British troops leave Iraq -- all but approximately 400 are set to leave by the end of July). Hooper wants to hop onto that inquiry and make it all about his pet cause, the first Gulf War. Grow the hell up, you pathetic piece of trash. The inquiry is into the lies that led up to the illegal war. You want to deal with the injuries and other issues from the first Gulf War, you do that, but not at the expense of the current and ongoing illegal war. It really is disgusting when people attempt to utilize an ongoing, illegal war to advance their own pet causes.

In the US we saw the Democratic Party and their mouthpieces (John Nichols, Katrina vanden Heuvel, et al) push Iraq War as if it mattered but really just trying to create a rage that would allow the Democratic Party to notch up some election wins. The Iraq War is an illegal war, it's past time people stopped treating it as a boat for them to cross the river with, dragging their cause a long the way.


It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)

Last Thursday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4266. Tonight? 4273.



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

iraq
i hate the war
the ballet

Thursday, April 16, 2009.  Chaos and violence continue, Iraq tries to firm up a deal with Total oil, the LGBT community remains targeted, New York Times runs state propaganda passed off as 'reporting,' Deborah Haynes exposes state propaganda (demonstrating what actual reporting is), and much more.      Today a bombing attack on a US and Iraqi military base in Al Anbar Province took place and the results are in disputes. BBC maintains that there were no deaths but twenty-six people were wounded. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) explains Iraqi Maj Gen Mrdhi Mishhen Al Mahalawi and others are insisting that no one died.  Aseel Kami (Reuters) states 16 are dead with at least fifty injured, that a suicide bomber in Iraqi military garb took his own life and the lives of others by detonating "at the base's cafeteria". At the New York Times website, Steven Lee Myers reports the confusion, offers reports of  "at least 15 Iraqi soldiers" dead and identifies the location as Tamouz Air Base while noting that all journalists have been banned from the base and from the hospital where the wounded and/or dead were taken.  As stated several times already this month, Nouri al-Maliki has no respect for the press, has no interest in a free press and the idea that 'democracy' will ever come to Iraq while US puppet Nouri sits in the catbird seat is laughable.  AP spoke to two Iraqi officers and allowed them to remain nameless, one confirmed deaths but would not give a number, the other told AP 16 Iraqi soldiers had died.  Iran's Press TV also states 16 killed and says fifty were wounded.   While the puppet government attempts to control the reporting on today's bombing, Kim Sengupta (Indpendent of London) reports on a new study by Iraqi Body Count which finds that "[a]ir strikes and artillery barrages have taken a heavy toll among the most vulnerable of the Iraqi people, with children and women forming a disproportionate number of the dead."  The report, entitled "The Weapons That Kill Civilians -- Deaths of Children and Noncombatants in Iraq, 2003-2008," is co-authored by Iraqi Body Count and King's College London and Royal Holloway, University of London in the UK and it is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  IBC notes:   For Iraqi females, and children, events involving air attacks and mortar fire were the most dangerous. In air attacks causing civilian deaths, 46% of victims of known gender were female, and 39% of victims of known age were children. Mortar attacks claimed similarly high proportions of victims in these two demographic groups (44% and 42%). By comparison, 11% of victims across all weapons types were Iraqi females, and 9% were children. The authors argue that their findings showing that air attacks (whether involving bombs or missiles) and mortars killed relatively high proportions of females and children is further evidence that these weapons should not be directed at civilian areas by parties to conflict because of their indiscriminate nature. As co-author Professor John Sloboda of Royal Holloway, University of London, who is also a co-founder of IBC, notes, "Our weapon-specific findings have implications for a wide range of conflicts, because the patterns found in this study are likely to be replicated for these weapons whenever they are used."   Alsumaria notes the report finds that for all Iraqis, "abudctions of people who are later executed" results in the bulk of deaths.  "Relatives of the dead, most of them women and some quietly wiping away tears, sit in a room trying to spot the missing among the photos of men and boys, many mutilated or severely decayed, cycled on a bank of screens," reports Mohammed Abbas (Reuters) on the unclaimed and unidentied corpses that continue, year after year, at Baghdad's central morgue.   Meanwhile Martin Chulov (Guardian of Manchester) plays 'ignore the violence there, look over here!'  Chulov is all giddy about a reconstructed shrine in Samarra which will allegedly soon re-open.  It's more garbage from a piece of trash outlet and if you're wondering where little Chulov got his 'idea,' Dallas Morning News religious reporter Bruce Tomaso noted Monday an article in the Smithosian (by Joshua Hammer with photos by Max Becherer) which explores the rebuilding of the shrine.  Chulov buries the lede which is that Sunnis and Shi'ites were working on the rebuilding together -- the only point of interest to the story that took beyond the Smithsonian for most people.  Chulov 'forgets' to mention the brief by Tomaso or the article in the Smithsonian and wants you to believe he's reporting on something he witnessed (he's reporting from Baghdad, he didn't go to Samarra) -- that actually is funny.  But the Guardian's nothing but a laugh these days anyway as it attempts to battle Google and whine about profits -- for those not in the know, the Guardian is set up in the non-profit mode.  In reality, it's nothing but a party organ (and therefore apologist) for the neo-liberal New Labour Party.  Any article not pushing/pimping/excusing neo-liberal policies exists in the hope that it will attract readers it might otherwise miss and hopefully bring them over to neo-liberalism during their stop-over.  Joshua Hammer opens his article with:   I'm standing on a street corner in the center of Samarra--a strife-scarred Sunni city of 120,000 people on the Tigris River in Iraq--surrounded by a squad of American troops. The crackle of two-way radios and boots crunching shards of glass are the only sounds in this deserted neighborhood, once the center of public life, now a rubble-filled wasteland. I pass the ruins of police headquarters, blown up by an Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide truck bomber in May 2007, and enter a corridor lined by eight-foot-high slabs of concrete--"Texas barriers" or "T-walls," in U.S. military parlance. A heavily guarded checkpoint controls access to the most sensitive edifice in the country: the Askariya Shrine, or Mosque of the Golden Dome, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. Here, in February 2006, Al Qaeda militants blew up the delicate gold-tile dome atop the thousand-year-old Shiite shrine, igniting a spasm of sectarian killing that brought the country to the edge of civil war. For the past year and a half, a committee led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has been working with United Nations consultants to clear debris from the site and to begin rebuilding the Golden Dome--a $16 million project that aims to restore the shrine sufficiently to receive Shiite pilgrims by this summer. I've been trying for three days to get close to the shrine, stymied by an order from al-Maliki's office barring journalists from the site--an indication of how sensitive the bombing remains in this country. U.S. military officers in Samarra have pulled strings on my behalf with the mayor, Iraqi police officials and the Ministry of Planning in Baghdad. This time, after I reach the checkpoint, a friendly commander of the Askariya Brigade, a predominantly Shiite police force dispatched from Baghdad last year to guard the site, makes a call to his superiors in the Iraqi capital, then escorts me through.   Joshua Hammer wrote a very good article, we don't, however, buy into the belief that it was the moment that changed everything.  The bombing provided photos and the press ran with those.  The bombing was only one of a long series of incidents that cemented the sectarian conflict.   On the political front, Iraq remains in disarray.  Yesterday Corinne Reilly and Ali Abbas offer "Kurdish-Arab tensions continue to grow in northern Iraq" (McClatchy Newspapers) and Liz Sly and Caesar Ahmed's "Establishment of Iraq provincial councils drags" (Los Angeles Times) documented many of the problems and today Steven Lee Myers (New York Times) reports:   Two and a half months after the elections, the 14 provinces that voted have only now begun forming provincial councils, the equivalent of state legislatures in the United States. Five provinces, including Babil, Najaf and Basra, still have no functioning governments, despite a deadline that passed last week, as party leaders squabble over the selection of governors, council chairmen and their deputies.           Elections that were supposed to strengthen Iraq's democracy, unite its ethnic and sectarian factions, and begin to improve sorely needed basic services -- water, electricity, roads -- have instead exposed the fault lines that still threaten the country's stability.   In an update, Alsumaria reports a president and a vice president for Najaf's provincial council has been elected today. Myers refers to the economic 'problems' of Iraq -- other countries have economic problems, the puppet government in Baghdad is rolling in the cash.  Provincial governments should not be effected by the decrease in price per barrel of oil unless there has been major theft within a province. The reason for that is none of them spent all their previous yearly budgets. They stockpiled that money. So were their budgets slashed, they'd still have the excess from previous years which they didn't spend. If they don't have that money, it's because someone or somones stole it.  We'll return to the issue of the money 'troubles' shortly.   This morning the Daily Coverup (aka New York Times), found Alissa J. Rubin joining with Rod Nordland for more please-love-us-and-don't-kick-us-out-of-the-country efforts. This follows yesterday's  garbage (Rubin's "Iraq Tries to Prove Autonomy, and Makes Inroads") made it into print for anyone who didn't grasp what was what yesterday. Today's article never goes deeper than the headline ("U.S. Military Expresses Concern About Perception of an Iraqi Crackdown on Sunnis"). It's not an article, it's a damn press release and your first clue is the fact that the headline expresses a point of view which Rubin and Nordland carry through in their article.  Reporters do not do that. If one person has a point of view and they present that point of view in their article, they also present other points of view. So X is saying there is no problem. A reporter then goes to Z, goes to Y, etc. to find out whether or not the claim is true. Various points of view are presented -- especially when a claim cannot be independently verified. Rubin and Nordland don't do that. They're not interested in evaluating the claim, they're only interested in making sure they were good little stenographers who dotted every "i" and crossed every "t" in what the US military told them to write down. It's shameful and it's embarrassing. The New York Times is never supposed to be part of the US military's counter-insurgency operations but that's what they do this morning and it's shameful and it needs to be called out. There is no excuse for it at all. For the record, the press didn't create the tensions between Sahwa and Nouri. Those tensions were always present and you can go back to 2007 reports and find that. In terms of the Baghdad armed conflict which took place last month, BBC and Reuters were the only ones filing early reports (when the conflict had just started) and those were innocuous reports nothing like what would come out by the end of the day about US forces joining with Iraqi forces to battle Sahwa in the Fadhil section of Baghdad. The press didn't create that armed struggle, didn't encourage it and, honestly, was caught by surprise when those tensions flared up so dramatically.   Yesterday Rubin served up propaganda that rivaled the garbage Eason Jordan attoned for in a Times' column (he admitted CNN regularly covered up stories of abuse in Iraq to curry favor with Saddam Hussein). Today, Rubin and Nordland enlist in the US military in order to pull a fast one on the public in the US and in Iraq. Today they set journalism aside because they've been told they need to serve a 'higher purpose.' Any journalist who has so little pride in their field that they'd do this sort of stenography needs to take a good hard look at themselves and whether they belong in journalism. What Rubin and Nordland have written is an embarrassment and it's an embarrassment for their paper which indicates just how awful their article is. Check "Rudith Miller" for how the paper works. It always cowtows to what the US government wants. But even Judith, even Judith Miller, knew you just bury the contrary opinions when presenting government assertions as fact. Rubin and Nordland present US government assertions as fact but they're worse than Judith Miller. Take a moment to grasp that. While Miller would wait until paragraph 13 to briefly note a voice that called into question a government claim, Rubin and Nordland just eliminate those voices, they refuse to cover them, they refuse to include them.  The US military is doing cartwheels this morning because they dictated an article to the Times and the Times ran it without any efforts to verify it and without any efforts to include any other opinions. This is propaganda pure and simple and, no, that is not how an allegedly free press works.  And for those who wish to play as dumb as Rubin and Nordland, among the people real reporters could have interviewed to round out and evaluate a claim were: Iraqi police officers, Sahwa, academics who follow the situation (especially academics in Baghdad and Dubai) and NGOs. By refusing to do so, by printing 18 paragraphs that's nothing but an attempt at perception management on the part of the US military, the reporters disgrace themselves and their profession. And we return to the  money issue by noting one of the most laughable US military assertions that made it into print this morning, that Sahwa's not being paid due to money shortages. Nouri's got money problems because of falling oil prices, the US military insists and Rubin and Nordland spit back at American readers without question. From yesterday's snapshot, "AFP reports reality, 'Iraq has signed a contract with British engineering and construction company Foster Wheeler to build the country's largest-ever oil refinery, an Iraqi official said on Wednesday'." The cost of the plant? $128,000,000. That deal was announced yesterday. And Rubin and Nordland want to repeat (without question) US military tales of Nouri having to count and watch his pennies.  Remember Nouri always says "only boys who save their pennies make my rainy day."  Alsumaria reports Iraq's Shi'ite vice president Adel Abdul Mehdi met with French president Nicolas Sarkozy today and delcared that oil conglomerate Total was very likely to win a contract in Iraq -- that would mean, pay attention, more money forked over to Iraq.  Meanwhile Simon Webb and Amena Bakr (Reuters) interview Iraqi MP Jabir Khalifa who states that the Parliament is seeking to revoke the contract Royal Dutch Shell made with the country's Oil Ministry because it is "unconstitutional and detrimental to Iraq's economic interests".   While Rubin and Nordland serve up propaganda, independent journalist Dahr Jamail offers some reality at ZNet:      While the US military maintains 138,000 soldiers in Iraq, and there are over 200,000 private contractors enabling the occupation, and the president intends on keeping at least 50,000 US troops in Iraq indefinitely, Obama managed to keep a straight face whilst pressuring the Iraqi government to "take responsibility for their country" and adding that the United States has "no claim on Iraqi territory and resources."           All of this nice talk from President Obama, which he articulated just hours after a spate of bombings across Baghdad killed 15 Iraqis and wounded 27, was complimented by his and Bush's Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who claimed that al-Qaeda in Iraq appeared to be making a "last gasp" attempt to foment sectarian violence in Baghdad. Those who have been following the news about the US occupation of Iraq closely over the last six years know all too well how many "last gasps" and "turning the corners" there have been - of which there are too many to count. This one is no different, and the fallacy of the statement was punctuated on April 10 in Mosul, when a suicide car bomb attack killed five US soldiers, along with two Iraqi troops.                Taking another page out of the Bush playbook for the occupation of Iraq, while speaking at Baghdad's airport, Obama also said the next 18 months are "going to be a critical period." Again, there have been more "critical periods" in Iraq throughout the occupation than I care to remember.               Two days after Obama's visit to Baghdad's airport, Gen. Ray Odierno told The Times that US combat troops may remain in Iraq's cities beyond the June 30 deadline mandated by the Status of Forces Agreement.            Of course, throughout all of this rhetoric, the glaring omission is any discussion about the massive "enduring" US military bases in Iraq and the US "embassy" that is the size of the Vatican City.             Meanwhile, the bloodletting and destruction of Iraq continues.   Surprisingly, Dahr Jamail isn't the only one taking on propaganda.  Peter Baker (New York Times) observes, "For all the perception of a major course correction, Mr. Obama so far appears to be presiding over a foreign policy that may seem more different than it really is.  As Mr. Obama heads to Mexico on Thursday for his second foreign trip of the month, he is bringing with him many of the same American interests as his predecessor, even if they are wrapped in a different package."  On Iraq, Baker explains, "Mr. Obama's decision to withdraw from Iraq is not as sharp a change as it once seemed during the presidential campaign.  Mr. Obama deferred to military commanders in agreeing to leave the vast bulk of American forces in place until next year, when a phased pullout would begin, leaving 50,000 troops in place after August 2010."  The third term of George W. Bush is more than underway as is obvious by this headline at CBS News "CIA Off The Hook For Past Waterboarding"-- no punishment for those crimes against humanity.  Barack prefers to instead just walk on by, don't stop, just walk on by.  How very Bully Boy Bush of him.  The policies of the previous administration also continue when it comes to the silence on the targeting of Iraq's LGBT community as Doug Ireland reports at GayCityNews noting State Dept staffer Felming (who spent a year in Iraq under Bully Boy Bush) dismissing concerns for LGBT Iraqis recently.  Ireland reports:     Hili told this reporter, "There is an intensive media campaign against homosexuals in Iraq at this time which we believe is inspired by the Ministry of the Interior, both in the daily newspapers and on nearly all the television stations. Their reports brand all gays as 'perverts' and try to portray us as terrorists who are undermining the moral fiber of Iraqi youth." Hili said the current homo-hating media campaign appears to have been sparked as an unfortunate reaction to an April 4 Reuters dispatch that reported: "Two gay men were killed in Baghdad's Sadr City slum, a local official said, and police said they had found the bodies of four more after clerics urged a crackdown on a perceived spread of homosexuality... The police source said the bodies of four gay men were unearthed in Sadr City on March 25, each bearing a sign reading 'pervert' in Arabic on their chests." Amnesty International has called out the targeting -- publicly called out the targeting which puts them way ahead of the United Nations, the US White House and the US State Department.  We'll note this section of Ireland's report:   Dalia Hashad of Amnesty International told Gay City News, "Amnesty has been unable to get from the Iraqi government any confirmation that the men are in custody or that they are facing execution, but from what we have heard from individuals in Iraq, they were sentenced to die for belonging to a 'banned group.' We are protesting to the Iraqi government and are continuing to try to investigate, but it is very difficult to get any information about such prisoners in Iraq."   Dalia Hashad is an attorney and, along with Michael Ratner, Heidi Boghosian and Michael Smith, she co-hosts WBAI's Law and Disorder.  Rex Wockner (PrideSource) adds that there is a lack of clarity over whether or not Iraq re-instated (in 2003) a law making same-sex relations illegal.  He quotes  Iraqi LGBT's Ali Hili explaining, "That's what they have been told by a judge in a brief court hearing. I don't think this is in the Iraqi constitution as a death penalty (crime). The court is ... kangaroo-style. It was brief and people weren't able to present legal representation or defend themselves in that kind of court. Our information is that these five members have been convicted to death for running activities of a forbidden organization on Iraqi soil."   In the most shocking refusal to report propaganda, Deborah Haynes (Times of London) takes a train ride in Baghdad and quickly grasps that it is proganada and -- pay attention Alissa J. Rubin and Rod Nordland -- reports examples of that.  An alleged commuter train, supposedly to transport workers, "leaves at 8am -- rather late in the morning for Baghdad's only commuter service" and that's far from the only puzzling moment.  She asks a 'commuter' where he is going and he gets the destination wrong.  And then there is this:   The picture-perfect scene looks too good to be true. There is also the mystery of why commuters are so eagerly commuting in reverse, from the centre of the city to the outskirts. Further fuelling our suspicion, a local television crew is conveniently on hand to film the hustle and bustle.    A press officer at the station tells us upon arrival that the train has been laid on especially for the media. He then changes his story, after seeing our crestfallen expressions, to explain it is a later service that sometimes follows the earlier train at 6.30am. This is really an amazing report and praise for Deborah Haynes for reporting it. Meanwhile Alsumaria reports, "Iraq Army units supported by US air forces launched a wide scale operation in southern Kirkuk after a suicide bombing killed 10 policemen and wounded around 20 others. Second Brigade Commander Abdul Amir Al Zaidi affirmed that two senior officials of Ansar Al Sunna were killed and two others were wounded in the operation after Iraq Army received intelligence about their involvement in yesterday's bombing." They report it and only they report it, why is that?  A major operation, an assault, and where is the press coverage from US outlets?     In some of today's reported violence . . .   Bombings?   Laith Hammoudi and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Mosul grenade attack which left three injured, a Mosul car bombing which injured three prison guards and a Baquba sticky bombing which claimed the life of 1 Sahwa leader.   Shootings?   Laith Hammoudi and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul and another injured.  KUNA reports a border clash between the Turkish military and the PKK resulted in 1 Turkish soldier being killed.   Yesteday's snapshot noted the conviction of US Master Sgt John E. Hatley in Germany. In today's New York Times, Paul von Zielbauer quotes James D. Culp ("former Army trial defense lawyer"), "When the first sergeant of a company snaps, taking a sergeant first class and a senior medic with him, it's a sign that they've just had too much." AP reminds, "Military cases go through an automatic appeal process, and his sentence also could be reduced in a clemency proceeding."      iraq the new york times steven lee myers alissa j. rubin rod nordland mcclatchy newspapers corinne reilly ali abbas the los angeles times caesar ahmed liz sly aseel kami paul von zielbauer kim sengupta laith hammoudi mcclatchy newspapers leila fadel hussein kadhim peter baker mohammed abbas dahr jamail doug ireland law and disorder michael ratner michael smith dalia hashad heidi boghosian deborah haynes

Today there's been an an attack on a US and Iraqi military base in Al Anbar Province. BBC maintains that there were no deaths but twenty-six people were wounded. Aseel Kami (Reuters) states 16 are dead with at least fifty injured, that a suicide bomber in Iraqi military garb took his own life and the lives of others by detonating "at the base's cafeteria". At the New York Times website, Steven Lee Myers reports "at least 15 Iraqi soldiers" dead and identifies the location as Tamouz Air Base.



In today's New York Times, Steven Lee Myers offers "Iraq Provinces Try to Overcome Political Disarray" which can be paired with Corinne Reilly and Ali Abbas offer "Kurdish-Arab tensions continue to grow in northern Iraq" (McClatchy Newspapers) and Liz Sly and Caesar Ahmed's "Establishment of Iraq provincial councils drags" (Los Angeles Times). Myers notes this morning:

Two and a half months after the elections, the 14 provinces that voted have only now begun forming provincial councils, the equivalent of state legislatures in the United States. Five provinces, including Babil, Najaf and Basra, still have no functioning governments, despite a deadline that passed last week, as party leaders squabble over the selection of governors, council chairmen and their deputies.
Elections that were supposed to strengthen Iraq’s democracy, unite its ethnic and sectarian factions, and begin to improve sorely needed basic services -- water, electricity, roads -- have instead exposed the fault lines that still threaten the country's stability.

The only thing I would strongly disagree with in the article is Myers notes the economic 'problems' of Iraq -- other countries have economic problems, the puppet government in Baghdad is rolling in the cash -- because the reality is the provincial governments aren't effected by that unless there has been major theft. The reason for that is none of them spent all their previous yearly budgets. They stockpiled that money. So were their budgets slashed, they'd still have the excess from previous years which they didn't spend. If they don't have that money, it's because someone or somones stole it.



Yesteday's snapshot noted the conviction of US Master Sgt John E. Hatley in Germany. In today's New York Times, Paul von Zielbauer covers the court-martial ("American Soldier Is Found Guilty In Iraqi Killings") and about the only thing I'm seeing of interest is this quote by James D. Culp ("former Army trial defense lawyer"), "When the first sergeant of a company snaps, taking a sergeant first class and a senior medic with him, it's a sign that they've just had too much." AP reminds, "Military cases go through an automatic appeal process, and his sentence also could be reduced in a clemency proceeding."

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the new york times
steven lee myers
mcclatchy newspapers
corinne reilly
ali abbas
the los angeles times
caesar ahmed
liz sly
paul von zielbauer