Iraq snapshot

Tuesday, August 5, 2008.  Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, the stalemate in Parliament continues, Turkey continues to be worried, the Guardian of London continues to reveal that a political party's newsletter (New Labour) doesn't make for journalism, news of Robin Long, Ralph Nader and -- gasp -- the Undead Speaks -- meaning we should all keep a close eye on Yorba Linda.    Starting with war resistance.  US war resister Robin Long's civilian attorney James Branum has a YouTube video where he explains some of the basics of Long's case.  Branum is a member of the National Lawyers Guild (and co-chair -- with Kathleen Gilberd -- of their Military Law Task Force).   James Branum: What's happening in Robin's case, Robin Long was an American soldier.  And when he was recruited to join the US military, his recruiter and him were talking and Robin told the recruiter, said, "I'm okay with being in the army but I don't want to go to Iraq. I don't believe in it."  Recruiter said, "Don't worry about it. You won't have to go to Iraq.  I can make sure you won't.  In fact, you'll be stationed at Fort Knox here in Kentucky.  So Robin thought, "Okay, I can live with that."  So he did that, he joined.  Turned out the recruiter was honest about one point.   Yes, he was stationed at Fort Knox [. . .] however he was told very quickly, "Yes, you're going to Iraq and you're going to be sent to Fort Carson, trained to go to Iraq and then, after that, you're going to be sent there."  So Robin, what he ended up doing was, he ended up going to Canada and there's a lot there that I can't go into about his story but to make a real long story short it was an issue of conscience at the end of the day.  He had to do what he felt was right.  He couldn't do something that he felt wasn't right.  And he couldn't go.  That's what it comes down to.  So when he got to Canada, he was living his life.  He applied for aslyum status so he could stay there.  And he was working.  And as an asylum seeker, he was able to get a work permit and what-not.  He also had a son while he was there who's now about two-years-old.  And he had his life very well established.  He did a lot of different jobs.  All kinds of different stuff.  For awhile, he was a fruit picker.  He worked in different orchards.  In fact, that's kind of what got him into trouble cause when he was working as a fruit picker, he was a seasonal migrant worker, you know?  And so he was, for awhile, out in British Columbia.  And he was previously in Ontario and there was a misunderstanding [. . .] from Canadian immigration about where he was supposed to check in to.  And Robin thought he had checked in like he was supposed to.  The immigration authorities say he didn't.  There's a misunderstanding there.  But to make a really long story short, even though Robin was fighting this in the Canadian courts, the Canadian officials pulled a sneaky manuever -- basically, they were able to fast-track him through deportation within four days so that he or his lawyer did not have time to respond appropriately in the Canadian system.  And so he was trapped and he was sent to the US.  And what happened was he was held in jail for a few days in Canada and then he was handed over to US officials at the border.  And actually, the Canadian officials even told the US officials, "Here's your deserter."  Handed him off.  And so from there, the immigration officials transferred him to a local jail and he was held in two different local jails for awhile before the military came and picked him up and transferred him to Fort Carson, Colorado.  And at that point, at 11:30 at night, they had a hearing to decide whether he would remain in what is called pre-trial confinement.  Because in the military, you don't get bail.    Basically, you either are released before your trial or you wait in pre-trial confinement.  So they had a hearing late at night.  Robin was put into jail. And since that point, he has been held here in Colarado Springs in the Criminal Justice Center in El Paso County -- basically just a regular old county jail with all kinds of people, dangerous criminals many of them, and it's a difficult place to be.  But Robin's in good spirits and we're now dealing with the consequences of his action in the military courts here.   Robin Long was extradited.  He was not deported.  If that wasn't obvious before, it should be from the description above.  Judge Anne Mctavish needs to be held accountable for her actions.  The extradition process in Canada would have immediately opened up other avenues of appeal for Robin.  That's why she didn't want to call it "extradition."  Calling it "deportation" allowed her to act with NO OVERSIGHT.  It wasn't deportation and -- repeating again -- as the father of a young Canadian child, the immigration laws in Canada are very clear about Robin's rights to stay in the country.  It would be politically beneficial to the New Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and Bloc Quebecois to call for Parliament to hold an investigation into how Haper's government and Mctavish allowed Long to be extradited while telling the people of Canada he was being deported.   Steve Clarke, Federal Liberal candidate for Simcoe North and, last month, he wrote "Gov't can't keep ignoring motion concerning war objectors: Clarke" -- a letter to the editor (Orilla Packet & Times) which resulted in Ralph Moore's letter.  Saturday, the paper ran his is "Re: Ralph Moore letter to the editor, 'Candidate's letter challenged by reader':"   I would like to thank Mr. Moore for his letter of July 18 in response to my earlier letter on conscientious objectors. Although I disagree with Moore's opinion on the legality of the Iraq war, I truly welcome honest public debate on important matters such as this one.  The unsanctioned invasion of Iraq occurred March 18, 2003, a full seven months before the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1511 to ensure the "restoration of stability and security" in response to the chaos caused by the invasion. The resolution does not and could not provide retroactive exoneration. The fact remains, Stephen Harper would have committed Canada to this illegal war if he were Prime Minister at the time.   As for Afghanistan, I would much prefer that Canada was there with our original intention of peace-keeping and reconstruction. However, our troops deserve our full support in this new, combative role, which is sanctioned by the UN.  The point of my letter was that the Conservative government must respect the motion on conscientious objectors passed by Parliament. Harper himself said the government has a moral responsibility to respect such motions. This motion is based on an issue of fundamental human rights, and it is downright callous to ignore it.   According to an Angus Reid poll conducted June 6 and 7, 2008, after Parliament passed the motion calling on the government to make a provision to allow war resisters to stay in Canada and to cease all deportation and removal proceedings, two-thirds of Canadians want Canada to grant permanent residence status to U. S. Iraq war resisters.   The Harper Conservatives are afraid of raising the ire of their ideological cousins in the Republican administration but, ignoring the democratic will of Parliament and the views of the large majority of Canadians will only raise the fury of Canadian voters who want a more progressive government that reflects Canadian values.   Steve Clarke, Federal Liberal candidate for Simcoe North   War resisters in Canada need your help. To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do."   There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, 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. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).   Yesterday at the US State Dept, Gonzalo R. Gallegos (the department's "acting deputy" spokesperson) declared, "My understanding -- that the Iraiq parliament did not convene on Sunday.  However, it has not yet recessed and lawmakers remain ready to reconvene once a new bill is ready for them to consider.  The Iraqi political leaders are continuing to discuss the elections law.  Ambassador Crocker and [US] Embassy officials continue to encourage Iraqis to work towards compromise and consensus, and to develop an elections law that will allow for provincial elections this year."  Provincial elections.  Long postponed.  Long said to take place in 2008.  Said for most of the year to take place in October.  Fell apart last month as the Kirkuk issue split Parliament and led the Kurdish bloc to walk out.  Campbell Robertson (New York Times) notes the United Nations is yet again proposing that the issue of oil-rich Kirkuk be tabled.  As Robertson appears to explain it, not only would the issue of whether Kirkuk remained with the central government or split off into the Kurdish region be tabled, also tabled would be Kirkuk participating in provincial elections.  Conspiracy!  That's what AFP reports the Kurdish region's president, Massud Barzani, has called some efforts and quotes him stating, "After the long talks we held it was clear for us that what happened on July 22 was a big conspiracy and very dangerous for the democratic and constitutional process of Iraq, in particular against the Kurds."  From the July 22nd snapshot:   Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) reports today on "a walkout by Kurdish lawmakers over how to deal with the disputed oil city of Kirkuk" with regards to the supposedly upcoming provincial elections and quotes Khalid al-Attiya (Deputy Parliamentary Speaker) stating, "We cannot have a vote with an absence of a whole faction.  The vote is useless.  It will be rejected by the represenatives of this bloc and by the presidency council."  CNN notes the makeup of the presidency council: Jalal Talabani (President, Kurd), Tariq al-Hsahimi (Vice President, Sunni) and Adel Abdul Mahdi (Vice President, Shi'ite) and adds, "Many observers believe Talabani would stand with his Kurdish compatriots and vote against the measure, bringing it back to square one."  Kurdish MP Mahmoud Othman is quoted by AP stating, "The draft of the provinical elections law will be referred to the presidential council, which will definitely not approve it.  So the elections will be postponed until next year."   If the president of the Kurdish region is upset, you can take that to mean the issue is far from resolved. So it should come as no surprise that today's meeting resulted in nothing.  The Iraqi Parliament closed session for the summer last Wednesday (yes, they did Campbell Roberston).  They scheduled one special session for Sunday.  At that session, nothing was accomplished.  Nothing was accomplished yesterday and nothing was accomplished today.  Hurriyet notes of Sunday: "A vote had been planned for Sunday but it was scrapped when lawmakers failed to agree on how the elections would affect Kirkuk, which minority Kurds want to make part of their semi-autonomous northern region.  Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli called on the country's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in a written statement to warn Iraqi Kurdish groups in Kirkuk more openly and take the necessary measures in order to protect Turkmen's rights.  Turkey, who has historical ties with Kirkuk, has been monitoring the situation very closely and calls on all parties to reach consensus for a solution."  At the US State Dept yesterday, Gallegos was asked about Recep Erdogan (Turkey's Prime Minister) speaking to Jalal Talabani (Iraq's President) to express concern over Kirkuk being annexed into the Kurdish region and Gallegos responded, "I think we said something about that last week, I believe.  And our position is that we believe that this -- now is not the time to be making such a decision.  We believe that the parties need to leave themselves open to all appropriate or -- all options in order to come to an understanding so that they can proceed with provincial elections this fall."   Strange wasn't it?  How the United Nations pitched to Iraq just what the US favored?  As Hurriyet noted, "Iraqi political leaders reached a tentative compromise on Monday" and were due to debate it again today.  UPI explains, "The Iraqi Parliament adjourned its Tuesday session without reaching an agreement on provisions in the election law regarding the status of the city of Kirkuk.  Shahied al-Jaberi with the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance said lawmakers opted to postpone the issue until the Wednesday session because lawmakers could not agree on the Kirkuk issue, Voices of Iraq reported."  They also note Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, Parliamentary Speaker, even arranged for the time alloted for debate to be extended but that resulted in nothing as well.  Iran's Press TV reveals that, should the measure pass, "Elections in Kirkuk would also be postponed until no later than December 2009."  BBC reports that "a Turkmen representative, said a delay [in Kirkuk voting] was unacceptable."  China's Xinhua quotes Parliament's Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Attiyah, "The parliament session to approve the provincial election law has been delayed until tomorrow."  Ned Parker Said Riifai (Los Angeles Times) point out, "The deadlock also prevented a vote by parliament on a $21-billion supplemental budget.  The crisis has marked the first time that elements of one of the most prominent Shiite Muslim parties, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, have broken with the Kurds, their traditional allies."   Meanwhile Bully Boy faces a fresh onslaught of charges that he lied the world into an illegal war.  Tim Reid and Sam Coates (Times of London) report that Ron Suskind's latest book (The Way of the World) includes details such as   * British intelligence (specifically M16) was informed that Iraq had no WMD in January 2003, that then Prime Minister Tony Blair was informed of that and that Poodle Blair passed it on to Bully Boy.   *That the CIA was ordered by the White House to create a forgery "from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Huseein" in order to falsely tie Iraq to 9-11.   Bill Plante (CBS News -- link has text and video) reports: "The book alleges that Habbush, Saddam's intelligence chief, was in CIA protective custody after the 2003 invasion, that the White House ordered CIA officials to have [Tahir Jalil] Habbush  [al-Tikriti] write and backdate the letter, and paid him $5 million. The author quotes two former CIA officials who claim to have seen a draft of the letter on White House stationery."  Interestingly (but not surprisingly) the Guardian of London is AVOIDING this story.  That's only a surprise for anyone that confuses that RAT-TRAP with actual journalism.  The Guardian sold the illegal war in England.  When the Times of London exposed the Downing Street Memos, the Guardian refused to cover it. The Guardian is the DLC party organ in England.  It is not journalism, it is not a newspaper.  You have MPs in England saying that there needs to be an investigation and you have . . . silence from the Guardian.  Never confuse that outlet with journalism.   Ali al-Mashhadani is a real journalist practicing real journalism.  As noted in the July 31st snapshot, he is being imprisoned by the US military with no charges against him.  The Committee to Protect Journalists has released a statement: U.S. military authorities should present charges against a Reuters cameraman detained since last Tuesday, or they should release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.   [. . .]   A spokeswoman for the Multi-National Forces-Iraq told CPJ that al-Mashhadani was detained because he posed a security risk and that his case would be reviewed within a seven-day period that began on July 29.   "This is the third time U.S. forces have detained Ali al-Mashhadani without charge," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. "The military has never substantiated any wrongdoing by him. The authorities must make evidence against him public or release him immediately."    Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .   Bombings?   Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Baghdad roadside bombings that left five people wounded.   Shootings?   Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an attack on "Awakening" Council members in Kirkuk that left 3 of them dead.   Corpses?   Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes a corpse was found in Mosul today.   For those keeping score (and you should be) the deaths of 2 US soldiers from a Baghdad bombing Monday was covered in print by Ned Parker and Said Rifai's "Roadside bomb kills 2 U.S. soldiers in Baghdad" (Los Angeles Times) and Sudarsan Raghavan's "Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Baghdad Bombings" (Washington Post).  The New York Times did not think it was news. That's five since Saturday according to ICCC.   Turning to the Undead -- it's got to be the only reason he's still around.  Aging  boy-toy Hank Kissinger shows up in the Khaleej Times to dish -- and with nary a starlet around.  Kissinger who sold and re-sold an earlier illegal war sometimes makes sense -- sometimes that's insane sense, sometimes . . .  Today he declares of withdrawals from Iraq, "Under the fixed withdrawal scheme, combat troops are to be withdrawn, but sufficient forces are to remain to protect the American Embassy, fight a resumption of Al Qaeda and contribute to the defence against outside intervention. But such tasks require combat, not support forces, and the foreseeable controversy about the elusive distinction will distract from the overall diplomatic goal."  Yes, he has noted the problem.  Those are combat troops whether you call them "combat" or something else.  Where he's wrong is when he claims that there's no need for a fixed withdrawal.  (Mass killings are and have always been Viagra for Hank.)  But that's the reality of Barack's plan that supposed 'peace' 'leaders' don't want to face.  It's not withdrawal.  It was never withdrawal.  Maybe with Kissinger pointing it out, it will finally register.  In other news of presumed Democratic presidential nominee and presumed narcissist Barack Obama, US News & World Reports offers an exhuastive round-up of the reaction to his latest cave    A widely-distributed AP story also says Obama's proposal "includes two significant reversals of positions he has taken in the past," noting that "as recently as last month" he "argued against tapping into the petroleum reserve," while USA Today reports Obama's proposals include "two reversals of positions he has taken in the past." A widely-syndicated McClatchy pieces is titled, "In Another Switch, Obama Calls For Tapping U.S. Oil Reserve," and says "Obama's revised position on a key energy issue was his second shift in three days." Likewise, the New York Times titles its piece, "Obama, In Shift, Urges Tapping Oil From U.S. Reserve." However, the Wall Street Journal reports that Obama aides defended the move, saying Obama "had met with economic advisers and business leaders in Washington last week, and they had advised him to call for tapping the government reserve." The New York Daily News adds, "Team Obama cast the proposal as a 'refinement,' rather than a flip-flop, on Obama's previous opposition to tapping the 770-million barrel reserve." In an editorial, the San Francisco Chronicle says that Sen. Obama's "energy policy is offering more flip flops than a Lake Tahoe souvenir stand." The New York Post editorializes, "One more week, one more Barack Obama reversal on a key issue. Actually, make that two reversals. ... So much for principles."   Turning to independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader.  As Ruth pointed out yesterday, "AP reports today that Mr. Nader's campaign will turn in signatures tomorrow to qualify for South Dakota's ballot. Lebanon Daily News reports that Mr. Nader should be on Pennsylvania's ballot because the campaign has collected 24,666 signatures (the deadline is Friday). Jesse A. Hamilton (Hartford Courant) reports that the Nader-Gonzalez ticket picked up the nomination of California's Peace and Freedom Party ('carrying with it an automatic slot on the California election ballot') and contains this statement from the Nader campaign, 'There can no longer be any justification -- if there ever was -- for Ralph Nader not being included in every national poll'."  Foon Rhee (Boston Globe) noted the Nader campaign's plans for the week includes garnering "the November ballots of seven states".  Tim Carpenter (Capitol-Journal) reports that "Kansas is the 22nd state in which Nader's forces filed papers since his campaign began in February."  Richard Winger (Ballot Access News) reports Nader is now on the ballot in Michigan. AP notes the campaign plans to file for the ballot today in South Dakota. Meanwhile John Geluardi (San Francisco Weekly) covers the College of Marin campaign stop Sunday by Nader and running mate Matt Gonzalez with Gonzalez asking the large crowd assembled, "How is he [Barack] going to 'change' the culture of Washington if he can't stand up to those corporations?"  Nader's remarks included, "We now grow up corporate.  When you start looking at ads when you're two, three, four years old, pretty soon the world is Madison Avenue.  Then in college it's computer skills, computer skill, computer skills.  What about civic skills?  Young people think they live in a Democracy because they can vote for American Idol."   Finally, from Team Nader:   Only two days left in our Win Dinner with Ralph E-mail Contest. Many thousands of you have signed on. And a select few of you are competing for the grand prize of a dinner with Ralph. This morning, Ramy Mousa from Baton Rouge, Louisiana tops the leader board with 263 friends that have joined our network. But many more thousands of you haven't even played. So, we'd like you to try it. You bring us the e-mails of your friends, neighbors and countrymen. We feed them up-to-the minute breaking news about the two corporate candidates - Obama and McCain - and the growing challenge by Nader and Gonzalez. Nader/Gonzalez is an unconventional campaign, in many ways. One, there is no national convention. We're running as independents. Two, we have a broad range of support. Take Iggy Pup here, for example. We asked Iggy. Iggy, who ya going vote for? Iggy, being on our e-mail list, knew that Nader/Gonzalez would shift the power from the corporations back into the hands of the people. Check out Iggy's answer in this just released Nader/Gonzalez video. But it's not enough for Iggy to be plugged in. Or for you to be plugged in. We have to spread the word far and wide. And one way to do it is to build our network of supporters. Just bring us five new e-mails, and you can be part of a special invite-only conference phone call with Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez. But you have to get going. The contest ends the day after tomorrow - Thursday August 7 - at 11:59 PM on the West coast. There are other great prizes. But most importantly, you'll be helping us spread the word. About the candidacy that will stand up to the two corporate parties in November. So, help us out - find five people right now that will join our network of supporters. Click here to get started. If you are already in the game, thank you. You can track your ranking on our leader board. Find more friends and family and colleagues, and watch yourself move on up. We'll be announcing the winners in a week or so. Thank you for joining. Together, we are making a difference. Onward.    iraq robin long the washington post sudarsan raghavan said rifai the los angeles times ned parker campbell robertson the new york times tim carpenter john geluardi richard winger u.s. news & world reports

Other Items

A widely-distributed AP story also says Obama's proposal "includes two significant reversals of positions he has taken in the past," noting that "as recently as last month" he "argued against tapping into the petroleum reserve," while USA Today reports Obama's proposals include "two reversals of positions he has taken in the past." A widely-syndicated McClatchy pieces is titled, "In Another Switch, Obama Calls For Tapping U.S. Oil Reserve," and says "Obama's revised position on a key energy issue was his second shift in three days." Likewise, the New York Times titles its piece, "Obama, In Shift, Urges Tapping Oil From U.S. Reserve."
However, the Wall Street Journal reports that Obama aides defended the move, saying Obama "had met with economic advisers and business leaders in Washington last week, and they had advised him to call for tapping the government reserve." The New York Daily News adds, "Team Obama cast the proposal as a 'refinement,' rather than a flip-flop, on Obama's previous opposition to tapping the 770-million barrel reserve."
In an editorial, the San Francisco Chronicle says that Sen. Obama's "energy policy is offering more flip flops than a Lake Tahoe souvenir stand." The New York Post editorializes, "One more week, one more Barack Obama reversal on a key issue. Actually, make that two reversals. ... So much for principles."

Free Speech Radio News had an audio report on the issue (don't go by their text which makes the story seem much weaker than it actually was). Turning to independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, Tim Carpenter (Capitol-Journal) reports on Nader's filing to be on the ballot in Kansas:

Kansas is the 22nd state in which Nader's forces filed papers since his campaign began in February.
"Today's turn-in takes the campaign one step closer to reaching its goal," said Matthew Bruenig, a University of Oklahoma student who helped coordinate the signature drive.
To qualify for Kansas' ballot, state law mandates signatures from 5,000 registered voters. About 10,050 signatures were submitted to the Kansas secretary of state's office, said David Peyton, a Milwaukee high school teacher and Nader volunteer.

John Geluardi (San Francisco Weekly) covers the Nader and running mate Matt Gonzalez' campaign stop Sunday night:


At a Sunday night campaign rally at the College of Marin, Gonzalez warmed up the crowd of 200, which included actor Sean Penn, by bashing Barrack Obama's voting record on the re-authorization of the Patriot Act, immunity for telecommunications companies that spy on American citizens and class action reform that has made it harder for workers to bring wage-an-hour suits against mega companies like Wal-Mart.
Gonzalez challenged Obama's vote to turn over public lands to multinational mining companies who make millions while paying next to nothing for mineral rights. "How is he going to 'change' the culture of Washington if he can’t stand up to these corporations," Gonzalez says taking a jab at Obama's campaign theme.
Nader took the podium to a standing applause and broadened out the attack to include the entire Democratic Party, media pundits and, of course, corporations. He took aim at pervasive corporate influence that is spread through advertising and the American education system.
"We now grow up corporate. When you start looking at ads when you're two, three, four years old, pretty soon the world is Madison Avenue," Nader says. "Then in college it's computer skills, computer skill, computer skills. What about civic skills? Young people think they live in a Democracy because they can vote for American Idol."

Richard Winger (Ballot Access News) reports Nader is now on the ballot in Michigan. AP notes the campaign plans to file for the ballot today in South Dakota. And the Nader campaign notes Alaska ballot access is sought today:

News Advisory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202,360,3273, chris@votenader.org
(Alaska) Sam Dunham, Alaska Campaign Chair, 907-720-6446

WHO: Alaska Supporters of Ralph Nader
WHAT: Turn in of ballot petitions
WHEN: 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, August 5
WHERE: Alaska Division of Elections, 2525 Gambell St. Suite 100, Anchorage, AK 99503 (across from the Fireweed Theater). A news conference will follow the petition turn-in.

Alaskan supporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader will turn in more than 5,000 petition signatures to the Division of Elections Tuesday. The required number of signatures is 3,128.

In 2000 the celebrated consumer advocate won three precincts in Alaska (Haines, Girdwood, and Talkeetna) and earned over 10 percent the vote. In this historic and pivotal election, Alaskans can now vote for a candidate who continues to fight against the special interest groups and multi-national corporations.

Mr. Nader is at 6 percent in the latest CNN poll. There can no longer be any justification -- if there ever was -- for Mr. Nader not being included in every national poll.

For more information, visit: VoteNader.org

ShareThisShareThis

Lewis notes this from Team Nader:

Biggest Ballot Week for Nader/Gonzalez

This is a biggest ballot access week of the campaign to date for Nader/Gonzalez.

With the addition of California on Saturday, we're currently at 23 states with seven to go to meet our goal of 30 states by the end of the week -- on our way to 45 states by September 20.

This is what we need today:

We need more roadtrippers to collect signatures to put Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot.

Optimum profile for a Roadtripper for Ralph -- energetic, youthful spirit, personable, fun loving, adventure seeking, democracy warrior.

If you can commit a week or more to get Ralph on the ballot in the Mountain West, the South, the Midwest, and the East Coast, contact mark@votenader.org.

This week, we'll be turning in signatures in Maryland, Kansas, South Dakota, Alaska, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Iowa -- to put us at 30 by the end of the week.

We're halfway to our goal of $100,000 by August 10 to fund this 30 state drive.

So, please, donate now whatever you can afford $20, $50, $100 -- let's get it done this week.

Finally, two more installments to the Obama Flip Flop Watch:

Number one:

On May 4, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet the Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great."

But on Saturday, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain and only in the three rigged debates sponsored by the two parties and paid for by major corporations.

Number two:

Prior to last week, Obama said he was opposed to offshore oil drilling.

Last week, he said he was okay with it.

As we move toward November, and as Obama reveals himself to be the corporate candidate that he is, a significant portion of the American electorate will demand an alternative.

That's why it is so important to put Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot in as many states as possible.

And that is the important ground work we are completing now.

Come September, we will be in a position to demand open debates.

And present the American people with a viable candidacy that will shift the power from the corporations back into the hands of the American people.

If we meet our goal.

So, please, donate now, whatever you can.

And help push us toward our goal of $100,000 by the end of the week.

Together, we will make a difference.

Onward to November.

The Nader Team

ShareThisShareThis

u.s. news & world reports

tim carpenter

john geluardi

richard winger

free speech radio news

Iraq

News Flash: Nader/Gonzalez on the Ballot in California

Drop a two dollar bill on a winner.

That would be Nader/Gonzalez.

The Nader Team

ShareThisShareThis

the washington post

sudarsan raghavan

said rifai

the los angeles times

ned parker

campbell robertson

the new york times

patricia cohen

Iraq snapshot

Monday, August 4, 2008.  Chaos and violence continue, provincial elections do not appear likely in October, the US military announces multiple deaths, a Sunday Baghdad press conference reveals several Iraqi medical crisis, Nader gets on the ballot in California and more.   Starting with war resistance.  26-year-old Darrell Anderson, of Lexinton, Kenutcky, is an Iraq War veteran -- and a decorated one with a Purple Heart. Serving in the Iraq War drove hom that it was an illegal war, he decided to self-checkout. He went to Canada. He married in Canada. He went through the process of attempting to receive refugee status as so many have.  Then he decided to return to the US and turn himself in at Fort Knox. He stated that his work opposing the illegal war was a way to "make up for things I did in Iraq; I feel I made up for the sins I committed in this war." Due to the fact that the process largely followed what had been outlined ahead of time, other war resisters in Canada were considering it until Kyle Snyder attempted to return shortly after and found out he was yet again lied to. After being discharged, Anderson has continued to speak out and is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. (He was present to show support for Lt. Ehren Watada in the court-martial that wasn't. Watada, all this time later, has still not been released from the service even though his service contract expired in December 2006, two months prior to his court-martial.) Anita Anderson, his mother, has also remained active and, most recently, was giving support to Helen Burmeister, mother of US war resister James Burmeister who exposed the kill-teams in Iraq. As noted in the Julsy 17th snapshot, Darrell Anderson continues speaking up and supporting other war resisers: Chris Kenning (Courier-Journal) reported on Helen Burmeister's efforts and spoke with US war resister Darrell Anderson who also went to Canada. Anderson returned September 30, 2006 to turn himself in October 3rd. Like Burmeister, he suffers from PTSD and he also lost his benefits. He told Kenning, "It wasn't the easy choice, it was the hard choice. I lost my GI Bill, my veteran's benefits . . . but I did what's right, and I've still got my pride."   Anderson has gone through it all and continues to give and share with other war resisters.  The illegal war hasn't ended and Darrell hasn't stopped fighting it.  His story would not have ended in 2006 even if he had decided to pretend the illegal war wasn't taking place.  He was already a part of history -- a high point of history -- and he's taken his experiences and his knowledge to share with others in the need.  On Saturday Freeople noted a speech he gave last year:   I joined in '03," 'cause I was broke, I needed money, but I was a young American kid, I wanted to fight in a war. I joined up. [A] month out of training I arrived in Baghdad, Iraq, January '04. Saddam's been captured. And I get there and the guys I'm serving with have been there for six months already; they were there in '03. And I go, "Well, you know what, I think it's come out that, you know, these people had nothing to do with 9/11, there was no Iraqi on those planes. We can see around here there's no Al Qaida, there's no terrorist syndicates in Baghdad, or Iraq. Saddam had stamped 'em out." And I asked my buddies, "Well, you know, we're here to find 'weapons of mass destruction'." And they laughed at me. And I said, "Well, you know, we're here to 'help the people.'" And they laughed at me. And I said, "What's our mission? What's our goal?"...They're like, "All we're trying to do is make it home alive..." [. . .]  In April, they told us, "In a crowded area, if one person shoots at you, kill everybody." [. . .] They [members of the crowd of people] are letting them [the person or persons firing at the U.S. military] attack you. They're no longer innocent if they're there at the time of the crime . . .     War resisters are doing their part to end the illegal war and war resisters in Canada need your help. To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do."   There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Yovany Rivero, William Shearer, Michael Thurman, Andrei Hurancyk, Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, 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. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).     Sunday in Baghdad a press conference took place on the state of health care in Iraq. Iraqis participating were Dr. Essan Namiq (Deputy Minister of Health for Grants and Loans) and Dr. Kahmees al-Sa'ad (Administrative Deputy Minister of Health). For some reason, a medical press conference required the participation of two American generals. We learned that, unlike the United States, Iraq has some form of universal health care (Dr. Essame: "Frankly, Ministry of Health has a heavy weight on the budget of the state for offering free treatment inside Iraq, for sending the patients outside Iraq. Very heavy budget that's affecting the budget of the state. There is no neighboring countries, or all over the world any country . . . there is not country like us that offers free treatment." ). Diyala Province has a shortage of medications (Dr. Essam: ". . . yeah, maybe we are facing a shortage") and there is a serious issue with the limited medications in Baghdad being smuggled out of the medical environments onto the black market (Dr. Essam stated that "we expect to see such problems" and "hope" that a plan to address the problem will emerge at some point by "the end of 2008 to 2009"). In addition there have been problems with "spoiled blood" -- which Maj Gen Mohammed al-Askari (press spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense) intentionally avoided in his response. This was pinned on the people coming into Iraq. Though Iraq's borders are porous, Dr. Essam put forward the laughable claim that anyone crossing the border into Iraq is "going to be tested. This is especially in HIV. The . . . once the passport has been stamped, the person is being tested." Not only did al-Askari avoid that specific issue, he grabbed that question that was tossed to Dr. Essam. July ended and the press gave rah-rah coverage in their end of the month reports when the reality is that the medical conditions in Iraq are a nightmare. For example, Dr. Essam admitted that they did not have the necessary prosthetics for patients who have limbs amputated. Shortages of medication, shortages of prosthetics, shortage of beds and, yes, shortage of medical staff. Dr. Essam floated the laughable claim that "many" Iraqi doctors were about to return to the country -- any day now! -- and when pressed on it, put foward the dubious claim that "more than 80% of the Iraqi doctors, and even in the deterioration of the security situation, they were here in Iraq and working. It is a fact." No, it is not. They were among the first to flee, long before there was a refugee crisis. It was part of the 'brain drain' that first hit Iraq. The number fleeing only increased when they became kidnapping targets and were also targeted with violence. Any doctors that do return will neither be housed in the Green Zone, according to Dr. Essam, nor provided with government protection because, he explained, 2008 is not like 2007. It was revealed that nurses were selling medications and Dr. Essam wanted to remind everyone that "it is not within their job description." Asked about the huge increase in cancer rates in Basra and Najaf since the start of the illegal war, Dr. Essam claimed that was true "all over the world, the number of people afflicted with cancer is increasing." The issue of improving the hosptials (beyond exterior work) was raised (and it was noted that Shahad Adnan Hospital has over 13 floors and only two elevators as well as a bed shortage). Dr. Essam responded that, "It is good for their psychological health . . . it is good to take care of the appearance, to see the building a new, clean." Though that's of no comfort to someone climbing over 13 floors of stairs or doing without a hospital bed, Dr. Essan wanted the reporters to know, "We ourselves face problems with elevators."  CBS and AP offer an embarrassing (mis)report but they may be the only outlet that covered the press conference.  To read their (mis)report is to grasp that the talking point about "doctors returning!" can be teased into several paragraphs with nothing to back it up and that all the very real and serious problems (brought up by reporters at the press conference) can easily be ignored.   From health to homeless, a number of Iraqis are squatters.  This situation was encouraged/endorsed by the US government with the White House wanting to privatize everything and willing to endorse state buildings being taken over by squatters.  In addition, the Iraqi refugee situation (internal and external) has led to squatting. Today Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports on this issue and zooms in Ghania Jassim whose family became squatters after the start of the illegal war and rents soared so they ended up "in the former Iraqi air force headquarters.  The family set up a makeshift home in the former Iraqi air force headquarters. There were no government services, sewage ran through the streets and the children's toys were scraps of metal, rubble and garbage. Times seemed grim, but now Jassim looks back on those days as carefree.  About four years ago, bandits stopped her husband and demanded his car, his most valuable possession. He refused, and he paid with his life."  She is now the sole support for her family and makes her living off the black market -- makes her living as in: barely survives.  New troubles have emerged because she and her family were "ordered" to leave.  The family now goes house to house between family and friends and Ghania "and her five children sleep in a different place almost every night."  Ghania and the many others see no improvement in their lives . . . and Nouri al-Maliki sits on millions.  Day after day.     Staying with the political front, Iraq's Parliament ended their session Wednesday. They are now on summer break. Sunday they scheduled a special session that was to address provincial elections which were supposed to take place in October. The always postponed provincial elections ended up postponed yet again when a vote was pushed through (the Kurdish bloc walked out) that brought issues regarding oil-rich Kirkuk into the mix. The bill passed; however, it was shot down by the presidential council (made up of Iraq's president and two vice-presidents).  Leila Fadel and Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) report that the special session resulted in no actions: Despite intense U.S. pressure, Iraqi legislators Sunday failed to reach an agreement to solve an increasingly bitter dispute over the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk. . . .  The parliament's inability to resolve the dispute over the city mirrors Iraqi political leaders' inability to make progress on other fronts, including constitutional amendments and the passage of a law governing the distribution of the country's oil revenues, despite the recent improvements in security."  Sudarsan Raghavan and Qais Mizher (Washington Post) note the special session was "to vote for the second time on the elections bill, which must be approved before elections can be held in the country's 18 provinces.  But the session never convened, because Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on Kirkuk, where their respective ethnic groups are locked in a struggle for land and resources."  They also note that Bully Boy of the US got on the phone yesterday to Mahmoud al-Mashhadani (Speaker of Parliament) and Adel Abdul Mahdi (one of Iraq's two vice-presidents).  Ned Parker and Caesar Ahmed (Los Angeles Times) point out, "U.S. officials believe the elections, initially scheduled for October, are necessary for Iraq's long-term stability.  Sunni Arabs, formerly the country's elite, boycotted the last such elections, in January 2005, leading to the creation of provincial councils dominated by Shiite Muslims and Kurds.  The absence of Sunni Muslims from local government helped strengthen the Sunni-led insurgency across central and northern Iraq.  . . . The stalemate emphasized the fissurges and entrenched positions among Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds in northern Iraq, which often threatens to spill over into violence." Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .   Bombings?   Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) notes a Baghdad roadside bombing claimed 2 lives and left fifteen wounded, another Baghdad roadside bombing left two police officers wounded, a Mosual car bombing that left four police officers wounded and a Mosul bombing that was "targeting the convoy of Khisro Koran, the deputy of Mosul governor" which claimed the life of 1 bodyguard and left six more injured. Reuters notes one Baghdad car bombing claimed 10 lives ("including three policemen") and left thirty-eight injured while another claimed 4 lives and left six more wounded while a Baghdad minibus bombing claimed 1 life and left seven injured, a Hilla bombing that claimed 1 life and left two people (family members of the deceased) injured.   Shooting?   Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) notes an armed clash in Nineveh Province that left 2 people dead. Reuters notes 1 person shot dead in Hawija, 1 attorney was shot dead outside of Hillar and, dropping back to Sunday, 1 police officer was shot dead in Iskandariya, while 1 civilian was shot dead in Iskandariya in a separate incident which also left his wife injured..   Corpses?   Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) notes 2 corpses were discovered in Baghdad and 1 corpse discovered in Mosul ("female employee in the governorate office").   Sunday the US military announced: "A Coalition force Soldier was killed and one was injured a result of a vehicle accident southwest of Baghdad Aug. 2. The injured Soldier was transported to a nearby combat support hospital in Baghdad." And they made this announcement: "A Coalition force Soldier died in the vicinity of Forward Operating Base Grizzly as a result of a non-battle death incident August 2. Two Soldiers were also injured as a result of the non-battle death incident."  Today the US military announced: "Two U.S. Soldiers were killed and another wounded after an improvised explosive device struck their patrol in eastern Baghdad at approximately 9:30 a.m. Aug. 4."   Turning to the US presidential race.  Barack Obama, presumed Democratic presidential nominee, has caved again.  Now he likes off-shore drilling and sings the joys of compromise.  His latest cave made it a busy day for Amy Goodman who returned to her duties as Chief Cover-Up Artist For Barack. Remember she only plays like she's a journalist.  Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate and he is now on the California ballot.  Sharat G. Lin (Bay Area Indymedia) reports he won the Peace and Freedom Party's nomination on Saturday by "a majority of the delegate votes on the first ballot in a four-way contest . . .  Nader and Gonzalez promised at the convention to use their national campaign to boost the Peace and Freedom Party in qualifying for ballots in many other states.  Nader is already said to be polling the support of 6 per cent of the nationwide electorate." Peter Hecht (The Sacramento Bee) reports that the nomination took place "in a packed, sweaty room at the Hawthorn Suites" and that Nader's speech included criticism of the "Democrats and Republicans alike for condoning sustained war, abusing workers and neglecting families. . . .  He prevailed after firing up the crowd with an indictment of the Democratic and Republican parties for supporting 'a state of perpetual war.'  He vowed to fight for a workers' bill of rights and stand up against 'systems of cruel and brutal globalization'."  John Lyon's "Nader Campaign Submits Signatures For Ballot Spot" (Arkansas' Times Record) reports that 2,000 signatures were turned into the Arkansas Secretary of State's office Friday which should get Ralph Nader's name on the ballot and quotes the Nader Team's "regional coordinator for the South," David Peyton declaring, "The people of Arkansas were exceptionally willing to participate in the Democratic process and welcomed our petitioners into their communities from Little Rock to Fayetteville."   The Nader Team notes:     This is a biggest ballot access week of the campaign to date for Nader/Gonzalez. With the addition of California on Saturday, we're currently at 23 states with seven to go to meet our goal of 30 states by the end of the week -- on our way to 45 states by September 20. This is what we need today: We need more roadtrippers to collect signatures to put Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot. Optimum profile for a Roadtripper for Ralph -- energetic, youthful spirit, personable, fun loving, adventure seeking, democracy warrior. If you can commit a week or more to get Ralph on the ballot in the Mountain West, the South, the Midwest, and the East Coast, contact mark@votenader.org. This week, we'll be turning in signatures in Maryland, Kansas, South Dakota, Alaska, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Iowa -- to put us at 30 by the end of the week. We're halfway to our goal of $100,000 by August 10 to fund this 30 state drive. So, please, donate now whatever you can afford $20, $50, $100 -- let's get it done this week. Finally, two more installments to the Obama Flip Flop Watch: Number one: On May 4, Obama told Tim Russert on Meet the Press that he was willing to debate with "any of my opponents about what this country means, what makes it great." But on Saturday, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe backed off, saying that Obama would debate only Senator McCain and only in the three rigged debates sponsored by the two parties and paid for by major corporations. Number two: Prior to last week, Obama said he was opposed to offshore oil drilling. Last week, he said he was okay with it. As we move toward November, and as Obama reveals himself to be the corporate candidate that he is, a significant portion of the American electorate will demand an alternative. That's why it is so important to put Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot in as many states as possible. And that is the important ground work we are completing now. Come September, we will be in a position to demand open debates. And present the American people with a viable candidacy that will shift the power from the corporations back into the hands of the American people. If we meet our goal. So, please, donate now, whatever you can. And help push us toward our goal of $100,000 by the end of the week. Together, we will make a difference. Onward to November. iraq darrell anderson ehren watada james burmeister chris kenning mcclatchy newspapers leila fadel sahar issa laith hammoudi the washington post sudarsan raghavan qais mizher the los angeles times caesar ahmed ned parker peter hecht sharat g. lin john lyon

Nader campaigns in Las Vegas this morning

Nader to Campaign in Nevada, Mon. Aug. 4

NADER TO CAMPAIGN IN NEVADA, MON., AUG. 4

Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader will campaign in Las Vegas Monday, hosting a news conference at 11:45 a.m. in The Centennial Room at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, The Row at Hughes Center, 335 Hughes Center Drive, Las Vegas, Nev. 89169 (off Flamingo).

Mr. Nader will be joined by Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Campaign supporters in a celebration of the campaign's successful drive for ballot status that culminated July 3 with the submission of 12,000 signatures to the Nevada Secretary of State, putting the independent candidates on the Nevada ballot in the November presidential election.

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

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

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

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

ShareThisShareThis

joan russow

peter hecht

sharat g. lin

john lyon

4 US soldiers announced since Saturday morning

It's Monday -- also known as day two with no article filed from Iraq offered by the New York Times. Rather amazing when you consider the Baghdad bombings yesterday, the special session the Iraqi Parliament held, the US military announcements of deaths and the health care issues acknowledged in a Baghdad press conference staged by the US military. From the opening of Sudarsan Raghavan and Qais Mizher's "Elections Bill in Iraq Stalls On Kirkuk" (Washington Post):

Iraqi lawmakers on Sunday failed to settle a dispute over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and pass a provincial elections bill viewed as vital for national reconciliation, despite intense pressure from the United States and the United Nations.
The political stalemate came as a car exploded in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of northern Baghdad, killing 12 and wounding 22, according to police. Later Sunday, a car bombing in front of a coffee shop in the southern city of Hilla killed one person and injured 12, police said.

Ned Parker and Caesar Ahmed's "Iraq lawmakers again fail to approve election law" (Los Angeles Times) provides the backstory on the apparently (yet again) postponed provincial elections:

U.S. officials believe the elections, initially scheduled for October, are necessary for Iraq's long-term stability.
Sunni Arabs, formerly the country's elite, boycotted the last such elections, in January 2005, leading to the creation of provincial councils dominated by Shiite Muslims and Kurds. The absence of Sunni Muslims from local government helped strengthen the Sunni-led insurgency across central and northern Iraq.
A similar dynamic played out in Iraq's Shiite south, where anti-Western cleric Muqtada Sadr's populist Shiite movement skipped the 2005 vote and then grew angry over its political rivals' dominance in the southern provinces.
The stalemate emphasized the fissures and entrenched positions among Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds in northern Iraq, which often threaten to spill over into violence. Last week, a suicide bomber struck a Kurdish demonstration in Kirkuk and sparked ethnic riots that along with the bombing left 25 people dead.

We noted Leila Fadel and Sahar Issa's "Battle over oil-rich city threatens to derail Iraqi elections" (McClatchy Newspapers) on this topic yesterday. Let's move to the US deaths. ICCC's count is off. There were two deaths we noted last night (and linked to the US military's announcement). AP reports: "The U.S. military also said two American soldiers were killed in non-combat incidents Saturday — one southwest of Baghdad and another north of the capital. A total of three soldiers were injured in the two incidents, the U.S. said." And AP reports this morning that 2 more are dead from a Baghdad roadside bombing (which tooks places today) with a third injured. That would be four announced deaths so far this month and ICCC says three. One Sunday death resulted in two press releases from MN-F so that may be where the confusion stems from. From last night's entry, this is the death they don't seem to be counting currently:

The number should be 4129 because ICC does not currently include this announcement (and show one death for the month of the August): "A Coalition force Soldier died in the vicinity of Forward Operating Base Grizzly as a result of a non-battle death incident August 2. Two Soldiers were also injured as a result of the non-battle death incident. "

From Team Nader, Jill notes this:

News Flash: Nader/Gonzalez on the Ballot in California

Posted by The Nader Team on Saturday, August 2, 2008 at 09:25:00 PM

ShareThisShareThis

Drop a two dollar bill on a winner.

That would be Nader/Gonzalez.

Why?

We're celebrating again.

Just now - on Saturday, August 2, today, at 5:10 p.m. PST.

In Sacramento, California.

The statewide convention of the Peace and Freedom Party chose Ralph Nader to be its candidate for President.

And Matt Gonzalez to be its candidate for Vice President.

Nader/Gonzalez is on the ballot in California.

Thank you Peace and Freedom delegates.

With California, we're now on 21 state ballots.

On our way to 30 states by August 10.

And 45 states by September 20.

The Peace and Freedom ballot line ensures that the Nader/Gonzalez campaign will be a national one.

Securing the California ballot line is a huge victory for Nader/Gonzalez and will give millions of Californians the opportunity to vote for a candidacy that will shift the power from the corporations back into the hands of the people. (In 2000, 418,707 Californians voted for Nader/LaDuke--representing nearly 15 percent of our national vote total that year.)

Blocked out by the mainstream media, we've still polled five percent and above in four separate polls this year - including the most recent CNN poll this week putting Nader at six percent.

Again, thank you Peace and Freedom delegates.

Together, we will make a difference.

Onward to November.

The Nader Team

P.S. Remember, only one day left on the Chris Hedges three book offer. For a donation of $200 or more to Nader/Gonzalez by Sunday August 3 at midnight, we'll ship to you three anti-war books by former New York Times reporter and current Nader supporter Chris Hedges - Collateral Damage, What Every Person Should Know About War, and War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning.

ShareThisShareThis

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

iraq
the washington post
sudarsan raghavan
qais mizher
the los angeles times
caesar ahmed
ned parker
mcclatchy newspapers
leila fadel
sahar issa

And the war drags on . . .

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels"

Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels." Barack carries a club and declares, "I decided I don't mind offshore drilling. I love compromise!" Teen Angels Matthew Rothschild, Peace Resister Katrina vanden Heuvel and Betsy Reed say, "We love you, Captain Caveman!"

the world today just nuts
barack obama
captain caveman and the teen angels
betsy reed
katrina vanden heuvel
matthew rothschild
comic
the common ills

Other Items

Iraq