Left I on the News  

Staying on message

The amazing thing about this is that it comes on a day when one of the largest battles of the entire war was fought, involving two simultaneous attacks on U.S. military convoys and the subsequent deaths of 46 Iraqis and the wounding of five American soldiers, and comes one day after six Spanish intelligence officers were killed, which might seem to prove the Administration thesis, except for one detail:

People at the site said they believed that the Spanish soldiers, who were dressed in civilian clothes, were CIA agents or members of the Israeli intelligence service.

On the subject of media dutifully reporting what they're told, CBS News reporter Mark Knoller, on the "White House beat" reported tonight (in a piece entitled "Clueless in Crawford") on being "fooled" by being handed, and then reading on the air, false reports that George Bush was making holiday phone calls to U.S. troops overseas, when in fact he was in Iraq at the time. Knoller closed his piece with this observation: "From now on, when I report that the President is at his ranch, neither you nor I will be sure of it." Now one might ask this: if Knoller isn't sure of it, why is he reporting it as fact? If he is just going to read White House press releases, why exactly do we need him anyway? Can't the White House just email its press releases in to CBS Evening News?

Followup: In another bizarre "message," Master Sgt. Robert Cargie of the Army's 4th Infantry Division is quoted as saying "This is a true indication that we are bringing the fight to the enemy." Really? Wasn't it the enemy who launched three ambushes on U.S. convoys (the third was launched a few minutes after the two where Iraqis were killed, but didn't involve fatalities and received less publicity) within a short period of time, and who just a short time later launched yet another ambush elsewhere in the country and killed two South Korean contractors? Is being ambushed a new way of "bringing the fight to the enemy?"

Reagan and AIDS

"The one thing that has been changed was the film's most controversial bit of dialogue, in which Reagan reacts to the AIDS crisis by saying, 'They who live in sin, will die in sin.' While still defending the line as reflective of Reagan's response to the AIDS epidemic, the creators acknowledged Reagan never actually said that line."

Compassionate babysitters

Army Lt. Col. Pam Hart confirmed that the three boys undergo interrogation. She would not say how long the sessions last, although prison commanders say no captive's session can go longer than 16 hours.

Support the troops - Bring them home now!

Flying shrapnel from the explosion had breached the soldier's skull and spattered blood on the right side of his face. Hilliard checked the extent of the injury. The soldier's helmet lay a few inches from his head, covered in blood on the right side. The crisp, hurried movements of the trauma team slowed. Boardman, the general surgeon, ripped off his white latex gloves and walked away, muttering expletives. Drops of dark red blood pooled on the white marble floor. The remaining staff peeled away from the soldier's bedside. Pvt. Kurt R. Frosheiser, 22, of Des Moines, was dead.

"My buddy Frosh, he was fresh out of basic," VanBuren said. "He got to the unit about a week ago, from Des Moines." He started to cry.

By 1 a.m., the ER was quiet. VanBuren was upstairs having orthopedic surgery to remove a shrapnel fragment embedded in his right leg. A corporal who had arrived with Williams and who had lost two inches of bone in his arm from the roadside blast was sleeping off his surgery. A soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division was in the ER operating room, while his commander sat outside, blank-faced and nervous. The ER staff settled back into the nurses' station and began to play cards.

"This is an average night; this is not even a busy night," said Simmons, the ER nurse.

And yesterday, within "hours after the top U.S. military official in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, gave reporters an upbeat assessment," seven Spanish intelligence officers , two Japanese diplomats, and two U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq. By the way, despite claims by Sanchez that the killing of the Spaniards was "part of an effort to drive a wedge between the Iraqi people and the coalition", news reports say that people at the site thought the Spanish soldiers, dressed in civilian clothes, were "CIA agents or members of the Israeli intelligence service."

John Lennon said "War is over if you want it." Left I only wishes it were so, but doing something as a result of wanting it to be over (like demonstrating against it, writing letters and speaking out) is certainly a part of ending this carnage and demonstrating real support for the troops (and not support for the troops' mission, which is what people like George Bush really means when he tells us to "support the troops."

Followup: An article in the Orlando Sentinel notes that the number of U.S. casualties in the war on Iraq was nearing 10,000 through the end of October, before the start of the "worst" month since the invasion. The article also calls into question the figures released by the military, noting, along the lines of what Left I wrote just above:

For example, critics said, the figures released by the Army do not include men and women whose injuries or illnesses were treated in Iraq, but only those who required transfer to medical facilities outside Iraq.

Those caring capitalists

A mob of shoppers rushing for a sale on DVD players trampled the first woman in line and knocked her unconscious as they scrambled for the shelves at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The store apologized and offered to put a DVD player on hold for her.

Bush in Baghdad?

Bush was in Iraq on the 27th. He made a fleeting visit to Baghdad International Airport. Don't let the name fool you- Baghdad Airport is about 20 minutes outside of Baghdad. It's in this empty, desert-like area that no one is allowed to go near.

Bush must be proud today- two more 'insurgents' were shot dead in Ba'aquba: two terrorist sisters, one 12 years old and the other 15. They were shot by troops while gathering wood from a field… but nobody bothers to cover that. They are only two Iraqi girls in their teens who were brutally killed by occupation troops- so what? Bush's covert two-hour visit to Baghdad International Airport is infinitely more important…

Intelligent Iraqis

Many Iraqis on Friday angrily dismissed President Bush's brief cloak-and-dagger Thanksgiving Day visit as a political stunt to boost his ratings at home, and others said he squandered an opportunity to meet with Iraqis and see first hand the problems they face.

"He came for only two hours. He didn't see how the Iraqis are living and suffering," said Fatima Star, 38, a housewife. "He doesn't care about the Iraqi people. He only cares about his troops."

"He wants to gain political favor from people in the United States before the elections," said Mathil Aziz, 26, a teacher. "He cares more about his own personal interest than the Iraqi people."

When he heard the news, Khatam Sadun, 35, was reminded of all his problems since U.S. troops occupied Baghdad. The former Iraqi army sergeant lost his job when the U.S.-led coalition disbanded Iraq's army. Today he's unemployed. He hasn't had electricity in his home for two days.

"Bush's visit to Iraq was a big illusion," he said, sitting at an outdoor cafe with his wife. "No Iraqi should welcome him because there's no improvement in our society. Whether he came or not, we're still in a bad situation."

Innumeracy - Left I's favorite topic

A few days ago, the 50th casualty of the U.S. First Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Campbell, Ky., arrived home and was honoured with a funeral procession estimated to be 80 kilometres long.

Sick of Bush

Quote of the Day - Ralph Nader

"If Sam's Club can negotiate for lower pharmaceutical prices, why can't Uncle Sam?"

Democracy in the Middle East

After denouncing Cuba, which has had elections since 1959 (and before), as an enemy of freedom, Bush has nothing but gentle words for his friends: "The Saudi government is taking first steps toward reform, including a plan for gradual introduction of elections." Well, we wouldn't want to rush these things.

Saudi Arabia is a U.S.-created theocratic family dictatorship. Even the mildest dissent is punishable by torture and execution. There has never been an election in Saudi Arabia. Women are deprived of even the right to drive a car. It is also the number-one oil producer in the world. Bush's praise for the Saudi government's "first steps toward reform" referred to a recent announcement that the regime is considering holding restricted municipal elections. (emphasis added)

Another "investigation" under way

A former Iraqi general died while under American interrogation, the U.S. military said Thursday...The cause of death and interrogation techniques are under investigation. (Source)

Some don't come home from Iraq on Air Force One

Mortuary workers recall only one day since the Iraqi campaign began in March that no war casualties were in the funeral parlor or the morgue.

Mortuary services started at Dover in 1955, in a chilly warehouse on the edge of the base. It was temporarily expanded for emergencies over the years, most recently for the 188 people killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.

Now the work is done in a gleaming 70,000-square-foot building that opened Oct. 27. The new building was funded by a $30 million item in a special budget to fund the war on terrorism.

Followup: Robert Jensen and Sam Husseini raise the question - "Was that really Bush visiting the troops in Iraq?"

More followup: Commenter morph on the Kos website suggests that this episode merits Bush the nickname "Fly by Night President," which I love. Although one might question the "President" part.

Capitalist spending priorities

An arson fire destroyed the $4.5 million renovation at Gardner Academy in San Jose on Saturday. An additional $166,000 invested in a sprinkler system might have saved the building.

State legislators and fire officials have tried since 1997 to require sprinklers, along with automatic smoke detectors and fire alarms in schools, only to be defeated by installation costs.

"The Department of Finance said it was too expensive," said former San Carlos Assemblyman Ted Lempert, who authored four school fire safety bills before term limits ended his tenure. Three were vetoed -- two by Gov. Pete Wilson, one by Gov. Gray Davis -- and one died in committee. "The arguments that led to the vetoes were unbelievable," Lempert said. "Wilson pointed out that no child had died in a school fire. Davis said it's too expensive but we'll do a report."

Meanwhile last week, 37 students died in a fire in a Russian university. "It was the third deadly fire at an educational institution in Russia this year. A blaze in April killed 28 children at a boarding school for the deaf." News reports have it that not a penny had been spent on safety measures at the school since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the "flowering" of "capitalism" in that country.

Propaganda - appearing soon in a theater near you

Really? Well, for starters, there's this: "the military camera operators, directed by American Rogue personnel, could go places where the civilian media could not. 'We were under no restraints. We could go anywhere and shoot anything. The result is that there are scenes of real war here that no one has ever seen.'" But then we read this: "No dead bodies -- Iraqi or American -- are seen." Apparently the filmmakers have a different idea about what "real war" consists of than I do.

Then this:

President Bush is not seen in the film, but he is heard announcing to the world on March 19 that an offensive has been launched "to defend the world against grave danger." No mention is made of weapons of mass destruction.

The Times reviewer recognizes the contentious nature of the "non-political" claim, but still misses the central point:

As much as the filmmakers might want it to be non-political, a point of view is inevitable. A Marine officer says that what the Marines have done in Iraq is noble, and the final scene displays the motto, "the global war on terrorism continues." The open-ended ending was intentional.

One may wonder about the entire framework of this project. How exactly does the military expect to get this film shown in theaters before feature films? Do you suppose if your local peace group made your own 6-minute film on the subject, that your local theater operator would show it? Give it a try. "Freedom of the press (or the movie screen) belongs to those who own the press"...or to those who share the same class interests as those who do.

Another lesson in questioning authority

On BBC Radio 4, defending Bush and Washington's doctrine of "preventive war", Straw told the interviewer: "Article 51 [of the United Nations Charter], to which you referred earlier - you said it only allows for self-defence. It actually goes more widely than that because it talks about the right of states to take what is called 'preventive action'."

Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defense shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Tariq Aziz watch

Nazem Baji watch

Remember this the next time the Government accuses someone of something

An Army Islamic chaplain [James Yee], who counseled al Qaeda prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base, has been charged with espionage, aiding the enemy and spying.

The military said on Tuesday that it was releasing Capt. James J. Yee, the former Muslim chaplain at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, after confining him for nearly three months on suspicion of espionage activities.

At the same time, though, the United States Southern Command, based in Miami, which administers the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, said it was investigating other possible violations of military code by Captain Yee, including contentions that he had kept pornography on his government computer and had an affair.

Needless to say, the first story was front-page news, and all over the TV news and talk shows, for days. So far, at least, the followup story has been buried on the inside pages of the newspaper, and not mentioned at all on TV news shows I've heard.

Moral: never, ever, believe what the U.S. government has to say. Unless corroborated by an independent source of information, their words are quite literally worthless. Or worse. Because there is almost always an ulterior motive behind them.

The war that keeps on giving

"Some 696,778 individuals served in the Persian Gulf as elements of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Of these 148 were killed in battle, 467 were wounded in action, and 145 were killed in accidents, producing a total of 760 casualties, quite a low number given the scale of the operations.

"However, as of May 2002, the Veterans Administration (VA) reported that an additional 8,306 soldiers had died and 159,705 were injured or ill as a result of service-connected "exposures" suffered during the war. Even more alarmingly, the VA revealed that 206,861 veterans, almost a third of General Schwarzkopf's entire army, had filed claims for medical care, compensation, and pension benefits based on injuries and illnesses caused by combat in 1991. After reviewing the cases, the agency has classified 168,011 applicants as "disabled veterans." In light of these deaths and disabilities, the casualty rate for the first Gulf War is actually a staggering 29.3%." (emphasis added)

Bourgeois democracy

By contrast, the new Medicare/prescription drug bill may well have a profound effect on health care in this country for decades to come and affect the lives of tens of millions of people. According to radio reports (can't find reference to this in print), this 681-page bill was written by a small group of people and given to the Congress to "read" just 24-48 hours before it was to be voted on. There was no time either for public feedback nor for even serious Congressional debate on this important issue, and any public feedback wouldn't be meaningful anyway, since it couldn't be based on real knowledge of the contents of the bill, only on how the P.R. people spun the bill to the public.

Democracy in America.

War crimes and media crimes

Followup: This subsequent article finally raises the issues that should have been raised in the initial article, quite possibly because the media director of Amnesty International USA, who is quoted in the article, contacted AP and called them on their omission.

Remember Elian Gonzalez?

In the present, the denial of human rights of these five men continues unabated. Yet again, the United States has denied visas to the wives of Rene Gonzalez and Gerardo Hernandez to visit their husbands in prison. These women have not been able to see their husbands in five years, a completely intolerable situation, but, as with the detentions without rights of foreign citizens in Guantanamo and elsewhere, and even U.S. citizens (Jose Padilla) right here in the U.S., you'll have to turn your hearing aid up awfully high to be able to hear any politicians speaking out on their behalf, and take out a microscope to find any coverage of this outrageous situation in the U.S. press.

Frontier justice followup

Headline inoperative

• The Scotsman: Iraqi Insurgents Aim for Soft Targets
• Washington Post: U.S. Says Attacks on Soldiers Decreasing; Bremer Says Insugents Now Are Targeting Iraqis
• Reuters: Blasts hit Baghdad - Loud blasts have echoed across Baghdad after dark and loudspeakers at the headquarters of the U.S.-led administration ordered personnel to take cover as an attack was under way.

Frontier "justice"

The government has freed 20 prisoners from its high-security prison for foreign terror suspects in Cuba, bringing the total released to more than 80.

The prisoners have been held without charges and without access to lawyers, some for nearly two years.

In Iraq, meanwhile, thousands more languish under similar circumstances - imprisoned with no charges, no rights, and in most cases, no evidence either. Well, maybe "languish" isn't the right word:

Also Monday, American military police officers trying to quell a prison riot in Baghdad killed three Iraqis and wounded eight. The riot broke out at the Baghdad Correctional Center when a group of Iraqis began throwing rocks at the guards. A military official said that when the riot began to spread, the American military police were given permission to use lethal force.

Followup: I wrote above that no prominent U.S. politician has spoken out against the outrageous denial of human rights to the prisoners at Guantanamo (and, I should note, elsewhere, like Afghanistan and Iraq). Nor has any prominent U.S. jurist to my knowledge. But as of today, at least one prominent British jurist has broken ranks, reported by BBC:

One of Britain's top judges - Lord Justice Steyn - has condemned the detentions at Guantanamo Bay as "a monstrous failure of justice".

The judge said in a speech in London that al-Qaeda and Taleban suspects were being deliberately held beyond the rule of law and the protection of any courts.

Lord Steyn - in a speech released to Channel 4 News - said that prisoners were being held without rights and quoted officials as saying: "It's not quite torture but at close as you can get".

"The purpose of holding the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay was and is to put them beyond the rule of law, beyond the protection of any courts and at the mercy of victors," he said.

"The procedural rules do not prohibit the use of force to coerce the prisoners to confess."

"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me."

When Time magazine used the quotation, they moved the Jews to the first place and dropped both the communists and the social democrats. American Vice-President Al Gore likes the to quote the lines, but drops the trade unionists for good measure. Gore and Time also added Roman Catholics, who weren't on Niemoller's list at all. In the heavily Catholic city of Boston, Catholics were added to the quotation inscribed on its Holocaust memorial. The US Holocaust Museum drops the Communists but not the Social Democrats; other versions have added homosexuals.

Reading between the lines

"This is the birth of a new Georgia,'' said fiery politician Mikhail Shaakashvili as he tossed roses to demonstrators in downtown Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. "Your children and grandchildren will be forever proud of this day. The revolution we promised you has been accomplished without bloodshed."

The 36-year-old lawyer once served as justice minister under Shevardnadze, but he resigned, he said, when the president stymied his attempts to battle official corruption. He has since run for municipal office in Tbilisi, campaigning under the slogan, "A Georgia Without Shevardnadze."

Shaakashvili attended Columbia University. He is a frequent visitor to Washington and boasts of numerous contacts in Congress, the White House and the National Security Agency.

For more insight on what's happening, there's this from The Globe and Mail:

It looked like a popular, bloodless revolution on the streets. Behind the scenes, it smells more like another victory for the United States over Russia in the post-Cold War international chess game.

Delicate sensibilities

Attacks erode progress in Mosul
MOSUL, Iraq - After months of being celebrated as the model city of postwar Iraq, this ancient citadel on the Tigris is enduring a wave of attacks targeting U.S. forces and their allies -- an alarming trend that intensified Sunday with the brazen slaying of two U.S. soldiers as they drove through town in daylight.

Asked at a Baghdad news briefing about reports that the soldiers' throats had been slit, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the U.S. military deputy director for operations, replied, "We're not going to get ghoulish about this."

Followup: The Boston Globe evidently shares Left I's feelings; here's their headline on the events in Mosul: "Brutal deaths of U.S. soldiers reveal simmering resentment among some in northern city."

Lies and the lying liars who get elected Governor

"...an immigrant like me, who, as a boy, saw Soviet tanks rolling through the streets of Austria"

"Growing up, I saw Communism with my own eyes. When I was a boy, the Soviets occupied Austria, I saw their tanks in the streets."

"Schwarzenegger's hometown of Thal, as a suburb of Graz, was at the heart of the British zone.

"'It is very, very unlikely he saw Soviet tanks rolling in the British zone where he lived,' said historian James Jay Carafano, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., and author of the recent book 'Waltzing into the Cold War: The Struggle for Occupied Austria.'"

"'In all likelihood, he saw British or American tanks.'"

Big (ugly) brother is watching

F.B.I. Scrutinizes Antiwar Rallies
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected extensive information on the tactics, training and organization of antiwar demonstrators and has advised local law enforcement officials to report any suspicious activity at protests to its counterterrorism squads, according to interviews and a confidential bureau memorandum.

"The memorandum, which the bureau sent to local law enforcement agencies last month in advance of antiwar demonstrations in Washington and San Francisco, detailed how protesters have sometimes used "training camps" to rehearse for demonstrations, the Internet to raise money and gas masks to defend against tear gas. The memorandum analyzed lawful activities like recruiting demonstrators, as well as illegal activities like using fake documentation to get into a secured site.

"F.B.I. officials said in interviews that the intelligence-gathering effort was aimed at identifying anarchists and "extremist elements" plotting violence, not at monitoring the political speech of law-abiding protesters.

If the F.B.I. is not concerned with "monitoring the political speech of law-abiding protestors," then why does its memorandum describe lawful activities like "recruiting demonstrators" and "raising money on the Internet"? Are they investigating that suspicious Howard Dean character? I hear he's raising a lot of money on the Internet.

Followup: A very interesting column today on this subject by Justin Raimondo on Antiwar.com with a title I should have beat him to, darn it: FBI Eye on the Antiwar Guy.

Now tell us something we don't know

U.S. Seeks Advice From Israel on Iraq
"Facing a bloody insurgency by guerrillas who label it an 'occupier,' the U.S. military has quietly turned to an ally experienced with occupation and uprisings: Israel.

"In the last six months, U.S. Army commanders, Pentagon officials and military trainers have sought advice from Israeli intelligence and security officials on everything from how to set up roadblocks to the best way to bomb suspected guerrilla hide-outs in an urban area.

"Many of the tactics recently adopted by the U.S. in Iraq — increased use of airpower, aerial surveillance by unmanned aircraft of suspected sites, increased use of pinpoint search and seizure operations, the leveling of buildings used by suspected insurgents — bear striking similarities to those regularly employed by Israel.

"Two Israeli officials — one from the Jerusalem police force and a second from the Israel Defense Forces — confirmed on condition of anonymity that U.S. officials had visited Israel to gain insight into police and military tactics. They also said Israeli officials have visited Washington to discuss the issues."

"U.S. officials were particularly interested in the 'balancing act' that Israeli officials say they have tried to pursue between fighting armed groups and trying to spare civilians during decades of patrolling the occupied territories."

Quote of the Day

"I am only going to make cuts to a certain point. I'm not going to cut dog food for blind people." -- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Source)

Press briefing inoperative

Does the "R" in AARP stand for "Republican"?

Terrorist livestock

"The man, who introduced himself as Hamza, headed off with long and purposeful strides toward the middle of his furrowed cabbage patch. He talked over his shoulder, gesturing with one arm and holding his gun against his side with the other. Amjad and I struggled to keep up. 'He is saying the Americans killed three of his cows last night with their helicopters,' Amjad said. 'And they injured another. He's saying, 'Did they think they were terrorist cows?''"

By the way, since no one in their right mind actually thought these attacks were "militarily significant," the fact that the U.S. military chose to emphasize that fact strongly suggests that they realize that these attacks were politically significant, coming as they did on some of the most well-protected locations in Baghdad.

The other thick-as-a-brick Bush

"Speaking after the shows by children from the Shakespeare Schools Festival, [Laura Bush] said: 'We haven't seen that many protests. But we have seen many American flags and people welcoming us.'

"'I don't think the protests have been as large as predicted.'"

You ought to get out of the "bubble" some time, Laura, instead of getting your information about the world from George who gets it from Condi instead of from the newspapers. You might actually learn something.

Left I in the News

"Cutting and running", part II

Tony Blair then chimed in: "We stand absolutely firm until this job is done - done in Iraq, done elsewhere in the world." Well, maybe not absolutely firm. British troop strength in Iraq has declined from 45,000 at the start of the war, to something like 11,000 now. Exact numbers are hard to come by, but what is "absolutely firm" is the fact that the British have already pulled a large majority of their troops out of Iraq.

Come again?

CIA will examine raw data on Iraq

"Cutting and running"?

"We're not going to stay any longer than we have to in charge of the country."

"We are not going to cut and run. We are going to stay there with military forces, as well as the new Iraqi forces that are being built up right now. So, the end of the authority of the coalition provisional authority doesn t mean the coalition military forces are going to leave the country."

U.S. troops were sent to Korea in 1950, more than 50 years ago. There are currently 37,000 U.S. military personnel in South Korea.

George Bush - War Criminal

"International lawyers and anti-war campaigners reacted with astonishment yesterday after the influential Pentagon hawk Richard Perle conceded that the invasion of Iraq had been illegal.

"Mr. Perle, a key member of the defence policy board, which advises the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said that 'international law ... would have required us to leave Saddam Hussein alone', and this would have been morally unacceptable.

The unspoken words

Still more Bushit

"I've been here only a short time, but I've noticed that the tradition of free speech -- exercised with enthusiasm -- is alive and well here in London."

No doubt Bush's comments on Iraq and terror and so on will be well analyzed elsewhere. But it's important that this paragraph doesn't go unnoticed:

"Achieving peace in the Holy Land is not just a matter of the shape of a border. As we work on the details of peace, we must look to the heart of the matter, which is the need for a viable Palestinian democracy. Peace will not be achieved by Palestinian rulers who intimidate opposition, who tolerate and profit from corruption and maintain their ties to terrorist groups. These are the methods of the old elites, who time and again had put their own self-interest above the interest of the people they claim to serve. The long-suffering Palestinian people deserve better. They deserve true leaders, capable of creating and governing a Palestinian state."

Pundits claim that the "concession" that Tony Blair extracted from George Bush in exchange for support for the invasion of Iraq was Bush's active support for the "road map." Nothing in Bush's speech today gives the slightest credence to that theory.

Followup: To my surprise (since nothing like this was shown on American TV, nor would it be permitted here in the "land of the free") Bush did actually get to hear some free speech today:

"Anti-war protesters did manage to make their voices heard. As Mr. Bush was introduced to dignitaries, demonstrator Joe Gittings produced a loudhailer and heckled him until he was drowned out by the band playing the US national anthem.

"Mr. Gittings, 32, a physics PhD student, said: 'This is a completely immoral and unjustified war that is already having disastrous consequences.'"

More Bushit

"Americans have, on occasion, been called moralists who often speak in terms of right and wrong. That zeal has been inspired by examples on this island, by the tireless compassion of Lord Shaftesbury, the righteous courage of Wilberforce, and the firm determination of the Royal Navy over the decades to fight and end the trade in slaves.

"It's rightly said that Americans are a religious people. That's, in part, because the 'Good News' was translated by Tyndale, preached by Wesley, lived out in the example of William Booth."

The "special relationship"

Washington, twice, asked for British soldiers, paratroopers to be sent to Baghdad, and twice has been refused.

One young British soldier said yesterday: "Look, we are not here to fight a war now, I thought that was finished. The Yanks are fighting a war again, but we should not go down that path. I am very, very sorry for the kids getting killed, but we don't have to get involved." (Source)

Quote of the Day

"We're going to use a sledgehammer to crush a walnut." -- Maj. Gen Charles Swannack Jr., commander of the 82nd Airborne Division (Source)

Close second for Quote of the Day:

"Never, never, in no way, would we treat Mexico like our back yard or a second-class nation." -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. (Source)

Or maybe this should be Quote of the Day:

"Duty sometimes requires the violent restraint of violent men." -- George Bush, giving new meaning every day to the word "irony" (Source)

Bad timing

One of the people interviewed on the BBC report was a jeweler who made gold jewelry, and who talked about how thankful he was to the coalition to bringing "security" to Mosul so he could make his jewelry without fear of being robbed. Was this a big problem before the invasion? Somehow I seriously doubt it, but the reporter didn't ask that obvious question.

Capitalism kills

So what's the problem? Well, it's two-fold. First, only "one in five hospitals has the necessary cath lab." Of course, the money can't be found in the richest country in the world, since that country (that's us, the U.S.) spends trillions on war and militarism, and even of the billions spent on health care, a significant portion goes to profit rather than to actual health care (like building cath labs or staffing 24-hour stroke teams). But the second problem is the focus of the new legislation. Why aren't patients taken straight to the hospitals which do have the available treatment? Because smaller hospitals are "hurting financially" and "might have to shut down" if they were deprived of these patients. Never mind that the health of the patient will suffer by being taken to the smaller hospital, the problem is the financial health of the hospitals.

How many situations like this does it take to open people's eyes to that time-honored socialist slogan - "People before profits"?

When the going gets tough...

"White House aides were still locked in dispute over which relatives of dead British troops will meet the president amid fears he may be met with hostility.

"Downing Street admitted the president would meet relatives, and soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, on Thursday. But asked if that included relatives of troops killed in this year's Iraq conflict, Mr Blair's spokesman replied: 'The precise composition is still being worked on.' It implied Mr Bush will not meet those bereaved families who believe the public was misled into conflict."

Followup: BBC World tonight showed Bush's schedule for the visit, which included a visit with families of the September 11 victims (naturally!), and a visit with soldiers who have served in Iraq. No visit at all with families of dead soldiers. Looks like Bush's handlers may have decided they couldn't be absolutely certain of their ability to select only non-confrontational families, and chucked the whole thing.

The evil empire

Mass graves in Iraq

"Saddam Hussein's government is believed to have buried as many as 300,000 opponents in 263 mass graves that dot the Iraqi landscape, the top human rights official in the U.S.-led occupation administration said Saturday."

Back in May, there were reports in the press about a mass grave in the town of Mahaweel containing approximately 3000 bodies, and another in the village of Muhammad Sakran containing 1000 bodies. Six months have now passed, and during that period I cannot find a single mention in the press of any further significant discoveries. Since the U.S. chose to make this a story again earlier this month, it is certain that if there had been any, they would have been reported, and even if the U.S. had some kind of count of bodies which have actually been found, you would have heard about that too. Those facts were curiously absent from the stories earlier this month, which almost certainly means there are no such "facts." Note that even if the alleged 263 "mass grave sites" contained 100 bodies each (which is doubtful, based on the known facts), that would amount to 26,000 people (plus another 4000 or so already uncovered), an order of magnitude below the claims of 300,000 (or 350,000) dead bodies in mass graves.

For further reading, an analysis of the source of the bodies (in short, the U.S.-encouraged uprisings against the Hussein regime) which have been discovered can be found here. An earlier analysis of this subject on Left I on the News can be found here; as noted there: "Time after time, as in Kosovo, claims of genocide or hundreds of thousands killed have turned out to be wildly exxagerated." With the passage of more and more time, just as with the claims of Iraqi WMD it would appear that the claims of 300,000 dead in mass graves are less and less credible.

Knight-Ridder states the obvious - Iraq has become Palestine

Expect to see the Americans bulldozing the homes of the families of "suspected insurgents" next. It's the least the Israeli military has taught them.

"In a tactic reminiscent of Israeli crackdowns in the West Bank and Gaza, the U.S. military has begun destroying the homes of suspected guerrilla fighters in Iraq's Sunni Triangle, evacuating women and children, then leveling their houses with heavy weaponry.

"At least 15 homes have been destroyed in Tikrit as part of what has been dubbed Operation Ivy Cyclone II, including four leveled on Sunday by tanks and Apache helicopters that allegedly belonged to suspects in the Nov. 7 downing of a Black Hawk helicopter that killed six Americans.

"Family members at one of the houses, in the village of al Haweda, said they were given five minutes to evacuate before soldiers opened fire.

"Hickey said the four homes were destroyed on Sunday because enemy fighters lived and met there. Leveling the homes will force the fighters to find other meeting places, he said.

"'We're going to turn the heat up and complicate their battlefield,' driving them into the desert, he said. 'There they will be exposed and we will have them.'"

Note also the illogical nature of the claims of the American military. If they really knew that "enemy fighters lived and met" in these houses, why didn't they just surround the houses with troops and arrest these "enemy fighters," instead of destroying the house and forcing them to "find other meeting places." A rather strange way to win a war, I'd say. And "drive them into the desert"? Are they planning on knocking down every house in the country?

But if that was strange, another incident reported in the story is even stranger:

"For example, Sunday night's action included the launching of a missile from Baghdad, 55 miles away, at the abandoned home of former Saddam henchman Izzat Ibrahim al Duri, who is No. 6 on the coalition's most-wanted list. A reporter and photographer from Knight Ridder were allowed to witness the destruction, which was completed by laser-guided artillery fire.

"[Col. James Hickey, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division.] said al Duri's house was destroyed to deny guerrillas a meeting place, though it was unclear that such high-tech weaponry was needed to destroy the structure, which appeared completely looted.

"Hickey said soldiers had been instructed to make sure to evacuate innocent civilians nearby. Near al Duri's house, two men, four children and two babies were shivering in near-freezing temperatures in the back of a truck, given just a few minutes to flee their neighboring farm."

The milestones are coming more quickly

Howard Dean, Imperialist

"Dean would impose a 'hybrid' constitution, 'American with Iraqi, Arab characteristics. Iraqis have to play a major role in drafting this, but the Americans have to have the final say.'" [Emphasis added]

"To permit our troops to remain in Iraq now is to reward these militarists and war profiteers. To reward them is to encourage them to lie to us again and to invade again. They hijacked the American presidency and American foreign policy and now they want the American People to ratify their theft and their lies by agreeing to keep US troops in Iraq. Don't do it. Don't let them have a single drop of Iraqi oil. Don't let them keep a single military base in Iraq. They should not gain from their duplicity.

"Don't buy their cynical argument that 'We' have a responsibility because 'We' started this, or as Senator John McCain says, 'We broke the dishes, now we have to fix them.' Their 'We' is not the American people. Their 'We' is the Neo-conservative clique who lied to the American people every which way so that WE, the American People, didn’t know forwards from backwards and so that WE would support THEIR war."

Face the British people? Bush can't even face the British Parliament!

"George Bush was last night branded chicken for scrapping his speech to Parliament because he feared being heckled by anti-war MPs.

"The decision to abandon the speech came as extraordinary security measures costing £19million placed London under a state of virtual siege ahead of Mr Bush's arrival tomorrow.

"Roads in Whitehall were closed with concrete blockades. Overhead, a no-fly zone has been established with the RAF on standby to shoot down unidentified planes. All police leave is cancelled.

"The only speech Mr Bush, who will stay with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, is now due to give will be to an 'invited audience' at the Banqueting House in Whitehall."

"Well, freedom is a beautiful thing, I would first say, and it's, aren't you lucky to be in a country that encourages people to speak their mind? And I value going to a country where people are free to say anything they want to say."

Quote of the Day - George Bush

"I believed a lot of things." -- responding to a question from David Frost on whether he believed the claim that Iraq could unleash weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes.

I could spend an entire page deconstructing the interview, but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. However, I will close with Bush's vision for a Palestinian state, which is telling:

"However, to achieve a peaceful Palestinian state, the emergence of a peaceful Palestinian state, a state where people are willing to risk capital, a place where people are willing to develop an economy, there must be a focused effort to defeat terror." [Emphasis added]

Inauguration Day

Sung to the tune of "When I Was a Lad" from HMS Pinafore:

When I was a lad in Austria
I saw Johnny Weismuller the movie star.
I swore one day I would reach that peak,
And the key to my success would be a great physique.
I was so dedicated to the oath I swore,
That now I am the California Gov-er-nor!

I worked so hard on my muscled frame
That a Mister Universe I soon became.
I packed up my trophies and my belts and weights
For a one-way trip to the United States.
And the U.S.A. offered so much more
That now I am the California Gov-er-nor!

My first movie role I obtained with ease
In a low-budget picture playing Hercules.
I flexed my muscles and I mouthed each word
But they overdubbed my lines and so I wasn't heard.
I got such practice being spoken for
That now I am the California Gov-er-nor!

I made "Stay Hungry" and "Pumping Iron"
And a Golden Globe award was shortly mine.
I proved a great disciplinarian
When I hit the screen as Conan the Barbarian.
I gave those bad guys such what-for
That now I am the California Gov-er-nor!

My next big role on the silver screen
Was a big strong psycho-killer man-machine.
I died a nasty death, that's true,
But it didn't stop me coming back to make T2!
I was such a tenacious ter-min-a-tor,
That now I am the California Gov-er-nor!

By then I was such a famous man
That they took me into the Kennedy clan.
I wore clean collars and a brand-new suit
'Cept for Terminator 3, when I was in the nude.
So low I'll sink and so high I'll soar,
That now I am the California Gov-er-nor!

Now actors all, whoever you may be,
If you want to take advantage of democracy,
If you rooted for Ronald, if you cheered for Clint,
If your money was on Sonny in the Government.
It's three thousand dollars - and a little bit more -
And you all may run for California Gov-er-nor!

Unintended humor

"US President George W. Bush on Sunday mourned American troops killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq and vowed the US troops would leave Iraq until the country's security situation is stabilized."

What the U.S. is doing in Iraq

Again, I'm not denying there is "rebuilding" of a sort going on in Iraq. But 15,000 projects? With only 130,000 soldiers, most of whom are doing other things? Not really credible. Needless to say, Fox interviewers Brit Hume and Tony Snow didn't ask any kind of followup question to ask Bremer what he was including in the 15,000 figure.

What are the U.S. soldiers doing in Iraq? Well, here's how the latest incident which ended in the downing of two Blackhawk helicopters and the death of 17 American soldiers started:

"Someone in a sedan had fired at the Industrial Bank in the Sinjar Gate neighborhood of Mosul early Saturday evening. U.S. troops were guarding the bank and one soldier was wounded in the leg. Troops called in a roving, rapid reaction UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to pursue the attackers."

130,000 Iraqis under arms?

"Five weeks ago, civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer III estimated that about 60,000 Iraqis were enrolled in the police and other security forces. This month, various Bush administration officials continually raised their estimate of recruits until it reached the 130,000 figure, a surprisingly rapid intake.

"But that total suggests a far more formidable force than the one that exists. In fact, only about 1,500 men have been inducted into the new Iraqi army and are receiving a full boot-camp training — eight weeks under the tutelage of coalition troops and private contractors.

"The rest are police officers — who get three weeks of training that emphasizes courtesy and respect of human rights. The other services — the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, the Fixed-Site Protection Service and the Border Guards — receive training that ranges from a day to a week."

"Many of the recruits say they have joined up primarily out of economic need and acknowledge that many among their comrades sympathize with the insurgents fighting to rid Iraq of U.S. troops."

Followup: Brian Cloughley at CounterPunch examines the 130,000 claim in detail.

Does the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs read Left I on the News?

The Senate passed a bill ending restrictions on travel to Cuba. The House passed a bill ending restrictions on travel to Cuba. The conference committee? They're going to "reconcile the differences" (of which there are none) by dropping the provision entirely.

Democracy, U.S.-style.

MINREX STATEMENT
A lesson in "democracy" from the United States
In the evening of November 12 it was announced that the House-Senate conference committee studying the Treasury-Transportation Appropriations bill had decided to eliminate from that legal draft the amendment advocating a relaxation of the existing ban on U.S. citizens visiting Cuba, despite the fact that both the U.S. House and Senate had approved the amendment by a substantial majority.

Bush in the U.K.

'Shoot-to-kill' demand by US
"Home Secretary David Blunkett has refused to grant diplomatic immunity to armed American special agents and snipers travelling to Britain as part of President Bush's entourage this week.

"In the case of the accidental shooting of a protester, the Americans in Bush's protection squad will face justice in a British court as would any other visitor, the Home Office has confirmed.

"The issue of immunity is one of a series of extraordinary US demands turned down by Ministers and Downing Street during preparations for the Bush visit.

"These included the closure of the Tube network, the use of US air force planes and helicopters and the shipping in of battlefield weaponry to use against rioters.

"In return, the British authorities agreed numerous concessions, including the creation of a 'sterile zone' around the President with a series of road closures in central London and a security cordon keeping the public away from his cavalcade.

"The White House initially demanded the closure of all Tube lines under parts of London to be visited during the trip. But British officials dismissed the idea that a suicide bomber could kill the President by blowing up a Tube train. Ministers are also believed to have dismissed suggestions that a 'sterile zone' around the President should be policed entirely by American special agents and military.

"Demands for the US air force to patrol above London with fighter aircraft and Black Hawk helicopters have also been turned down.

"The Americans had also wanted to travel with a piece of military hardware called a 'mini-gun', which usually forms part of the mobile armoury in the presidential cavalcade. It is fired from a tank and can kill dozens of people. One manufacturer's description reads: 'Due to the small calibre of the round, the mini-gun can be used practically anywhere. This is especially helpful during peacekeeping deployments.'

Ministers have made clear to Washington that the firepower of the mini-gun will not be available during the state visit to Britain. In return, the Government has agreed to close off much of Whitehall during the visit - the usual practice in Britain is to use police outriders to close roads as the cavalcade passes to cause minimal disruption to traffic."

Followup: Well, I may have spoken too soon on that last point. This from the The Independent:

"President George Bush will be accused this week of lying about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in a face-to-face meeting with the families of British soldiers killed in the war, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

"Mr Bush announced last week he was prepared to meet a small group of families of the British war dead. The names have not been officially revealed but two of the invited families have come forward to talk exclusively to the IoS, saying they will challenge the US President to explain why he went to war without a United Nations mandate and why no chemical and biological weapons have been found.

"Lianne Seymour, whose husband, Commando Ian Seymour, was killed in a helicopter crash at the outbreak of the war, welcomed the chance to meet Mr Bush. But she dismissed his claim that the 53 Britons killed so far in Iraq had died in a good cause. She said: 'Bush has been suggesting that he's going to put our minds at rest. He suggests our husbands' lives weren't lost in vain. However, I'm going to challenge him on it.'"

A turning point

Those unsophisticated Italians

Tomorrow, yesterday

For Bay Area residents and visitors, I note that the Museum is also featuring, through February 1, an excellent special exhibit entitled "Too Hot to Handle: Creating Controversy Through Political Cartoons." The exhibit features dozens of cartoons, some from cartoonists you'll know (like Tom Tomorrow), some from cartoonists you won't know, most of it published, but some of it literally "too hot to handle" and never published because weak-kneed editors were too frightened by potential reader reaction. Well worth seeing.

Political joke of the day

"The U.S.-led occupation will end by June after selection of transitional government, the Iraqi Governing Council said Saturday." (Source)

Followup: From the print edition of the San Jose Mercury News, not (yet?) online, this "clarification" of the above comment, from Ahmad Chalabi: "We will have the U.S. forces here, but they will change from occupiers to a force that is here at the invitation of the Iraqi government." Well, that's much better. No doubt Chalabi considers it a minor point that the Iraqi "government" he is referring to is one that was appointed by the self-same U.S. occupiers.

More followup: All the media are treating this story as factual news - power will be transferred, etc., rather than as a plan or a prediction. CNN Headline News says that, after the transition, the "U.S. troops will be viewed as a security force, and not as occupiers." Really? Sez who? Have they asked the insurgents, or even the Iraqi people as a whole, about that? It is safe to say they'll be described in that way by the American media as they read their Administration press releases.

Still more followup: The New York Times says this "transfer of power" will occur "as early as June." But CNN reports that "Iraqis will assume power from the U.S.-led provisional authority within six months," i.e., no later than June. Is June the earliest possible date, or the latest possible date? The answer from Left I is: "None of the above."

400 dead. Some notice. Others don't.

The New York Times actually provided complete totals for one of the first times ever:

The dead soldier was the 400th U.S. serviceman to die in Iraq since hostilities started March 20. The British military has reported 52 deaths so far in Iraq. Sixteen Italian service members also have died, along with one soldier each from Denmark, Spain, Ukraine and Poland.

The fatalities brought to 159 the number of Americans to die from guerrilla strikes since May 1, when President Bush declared major combat operations to be over.

But my favorite formulation was from the print edition of the San Jose Mercury News in a story which does not appear to be online at the moment. In a long article entitled "U.S. says Iraqis planned resistance before war; power shift hastened", paragraph 16 (out of 20) finally mentions the latest death of a U.S. soldier in Iraq, and not only notes that this was the 400th death, but also includes the totals for soldiers from other countries too, in again what is probably the first time those totals have ever appeared in the paper. But my favorite part is the lead-in sentence to the paragraph in question: "Iraq's growing lawlessness claimed more victims." "Lawlessness"? Those darned Iraqis. Running red lights, robbing convenience stores, and setting roadside bombs to kill American soldiers. There's a war on, folks! "He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword" and all that.

And also yesterday, the Pentagon admitted there have now been more than 9,000 American casualties resulting from this lawless invasion (OK, they didn't say "lawless," or "invasion" for that matter, I added that part ;-))

Followup: Sadly, this milestone didn't last long, as the fatality count has already risen to 414 419 after two Blackhawk helicopters crashed due to ground fire of some type in Mosul.

He just can't help himself

Quote of the Day

"George Bush killed my son." -- Rosemary Dietz Slavenas, mother of Army 1st Lt. Brian Slavenas, killed when his Chinook helicopter was shot down in Iraq, as reported on the Genoa, Illinois radio station WBBM

Innumeracy

Actually, the media isn't even as bad as the source of the material, the National Retail Federation, who actually predicts holiday spending of $671.89! An unbelievable precision of 0.001%! Just how ludicrous this is can be told not just from their future predictions, but from their past "facts" - the NRF press release tells us that "[In] 2002 consumers spent an average of $648.85." I'll let this "fact" speak for itself, other than to say to my readers: do you know to the penny how much you spent on gifts last year?

What this is proof of, aside from widespread innumeracy, is that the media will pretty much read any press release given to them (at least by certain sources; don't count on your peace group's press release being read on the air!), without giving it a moment's thought. Only the fact that they would stumble over the number $671.89 causes them to simplify it to $671, and even that isn't right, because if they are actually going to report the number given to them, they really should be rounding it off to $672. What they should be saying is that "industry sources predict consumers will spend nearly $700 each on gifts this holiday season," but rewriting the press release to that extent appears to be beyond them, it seems. I think also that by saying $671, they think they sound like they know what they're talking about, whereas if they just said "nearly $700" it would sound a lot more like a guess, which of course it is (albeit an educated guess).

The revolution will not be televised...but it will be filmed, and given a great review by Roger Ebert

"It is of course impossible to prove that the coup was sponsored by the CIA or any other U.S. agency. But what was the White House thinking when it welcomed two anti-government leaders who soon after were instrumental in the coup? Not long ago, reviewing another film, I wrote about the CIA-sponsored overthrow of Chile's democratically elected president Salvador Allende. I got a lot of e-mail telling me the CIA had nothing to do with it. For anyone who believes that, I have a bridge I'd like to sell them."

Define "a While"

"U.S. Troops to Stay in Iraq for a While."

U.S. troops were sent to Korea in 1950, more than 50 years ago. There are currently 37,000 U.S. military personnel in South Korea.

Americans wounded in Iraq

Operation Snow Job, Part II

I suspect, though, that aside from its PR aspect, "Operation Iron Hammer" signifies something else as well - that the threshhold for "actionability" has been dramatically lowered (as if it could be lowered any further than the standards for starting the war in the first place!). One can guess that now, instead of being "reasonably sure" that insurgents are hiding in some building (rather than, say, civilians), now a mere "hunch" will do. Expect to see the Americans bulldozing the homes of the families of "suspected insurgents" next. It's the least the Israeli military has taught them.

Transferring Power

"President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said Thursday it was necessary to give Iraqis control more quickly because 'they are clamoring for it; they are, we believe, ready for it.'"

Civics 101, Part III

"The conference committee, which was evenly divided on the Cuba issue, took no formal vote. 'There is something out of whack with how the Cuba language was removed,' complained Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. 'It was stripped by staffers even before members of the committee formally met. There was no vote taken. Poof, it just disappeared into the congressional ether.'"

Bush lied. Surprise!

This is journalism?

There's a reason why Dennis Bernstein on Pacifica's Flashpoints refers to NPR as "National Pentagon Radio." This show was a classic example.

The "huh?" moment from Abizaid's speech - this is an exact quote, with no ellipsis or abridgement of any kind; if you listen to the tape, there isn't even a pause between the sentences:

"The truth of the matter is that most of Iraq is fairly safe. It's a dangerous place, no doubt about it." -- Gen. John Abizaid

Operation Snow Job

"On the southern edge of the capital, a large building that American commanders said was a 'meeting, planning, storage and rendezvous point' for the insurgents still stood, despite the military's claim that it had been destroyed in an airstrike the night before.

"American soldiers came to the neighborhood several hours before the attack, local residents said, warning of the impending strike and making sure that everyone in the area was evacuated. Then an American AC-130 gunship strafed the building, knocking holes in the walls and wrecking much of the textile machinery arrayed inside.

"After the strike, the Americans came back but detained no suspects, not even the owner of the building, and found no weapons.

"The owner, Waad Dakhil Bolane, who said the Americans had warned his guards of the impending air raid, shook his head in befuddlement.

"'Does this look like a military base to you?' he asked, standing inside his factory, which was still filled with textile machinery. 'The Americans came here, told the guards to leave and then attacked. I don't understand.'"

In search of a constitution

Stage-managed politics

"After Republicans walked into the Senate chamber together to begin the extraordinary session, Democrats argued that their move was not a show of unity but rather a television stunt orchestrated for Fox News. They pointed to a memo from Manuel Miranda, a staffer for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), which said:

"'It is important to double efforts to get your boss to S-230 on time ... Fox News Channel is really excited about this marathon and Brit Hume at 6 would love to open with all our 51 senators walking onto the floor -- the producer wants to know will we walk in exactly at 6:02 when the show starts so they get it live to open Brit Hume's show? Or if not, can we give them an exact time for the walk-in start?'"

Patriots

In Left I's view, it takes an extraordinary amount of courage for people such as actors, singers, etc., who make their living as a result of public approval, to speak out publicly and forcefully; as the blacklist period demonstrated quite clearly (with echoes in more recent events like the banning by certain stations of the music of the Dixie Chicks or Jethro Tull), their livelihood can be taken away from them in an instant. Those who do, whether their positions exactly match our own or not, deserve our praise and our support. Read the list of "boycotted" artists, go to their movies, buy their books or albums, and speak out in their defense. They are heroes.

Incidentally, I am not unmindful of the fact that, unknown to most people, the blacklist period (as well as the current period!) also targeted "ordinary" people like teachers, longshoremen, etc., as well as actors and writers, but I do think it's true that then, and now, those who are more "in the public eye" (like actors and musicians) are more susceptible to pressures, and hence more courageous for speaking out. [I've been searching for the title of an excellent book I once read on the blacklist, which had chapters on various professions and the affect of the blacklist on them; when and if I find it I'll add it here. Help from readers most welcome!]

Civics 101, Part II

Today, the rumor became news:

"Top White House officials had told House and Senate negotiators meeting in a conference committee the bill would be vetoed if it contained the language relating to the Cuba travel ban.

"'Under these circumstances (we) have no alternative but dropping the language from the conference report,' said Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican."

Followup: By the way, should you think things will be different under a President Dean, think again:

"Dean said he supports rolling back the embargo in order to encourage human-rights advancements -- but citing Fidel Castro's recent crackdowns on dissidents, says that in recent months he has become convinced that 'we can't do it right now.'

"Dean called Cuba a 'political question,'' and said that recent developments on the island would prevent him from his goal of 'constructive engagement of Cuba.' 'If you would have asked me six months ago, I would have said we should begin to ease the embargo in return for human-rights concessions', Dean said."

Political joke of the day

"President Bush has blamed the problems [in Iraq] on foreign groups that have arrived with the goal of setting up their own style of government. To which Dick Cheney replied...'Pssst. That's us!'" -- Jay Leno

Dignity in the White House

Daniel McAdams, foreign policy scholar, writes: "We went to the celebration at Arlington Cemetery yesterday. Initial impressions were disturbing: President Bush was physically unable to stand still as the Colors were being presented -- he kept bopping his head to the march music and talking and laughing to a very still and stiff Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Anthony Principi, who was doing his best to stand at attention and ignore the president's repeated attempts to strike up a conversation during that solemn procession. All of the others on the dais were utterly still and at attention as the Colors were being presented, with either a salute or a hand on heart. Only the president was acting like a kid with ADD during a Ritalin shortage..."

Iraqi intelligence

"Only 5 percent of those [Baghdad residents] polled said they believed the United States invaded Iraq 'to assist the Iraqi people,' and only 1 percent believed it was to establish democracy there.

"Forty-three percent of the respondents said they believed that U.S. and British forces invaded in March primarily 'to rob Iraq's oil.' While 37 percent believed the United States acted to get rid of the Hussein regime, only 5 percent thought it did so 'to assist the Iraq people,' the poll found.

"An additional 6 percent believed the motive was to 'change the Middle East 'map' as the U.S. and Israel want.' Four percent believed the purpose was to destroy weapons of mass destruction, the primary reason given by the Bush administration."

See no evil

Most of the American press took a pass on it. The BBC noticed. The Guardian got it. Reuters was there.

The only American paper I can find that thought Americans might have some interest in Iraqi casualties was the Boston Globe. None of the larger papers ran a line.

War on Syria

The bill that the House voted for "states that Syria must end its support for terrorism, end its military occupation of Lebanon, abandon efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction and long range ballistic missiles and stop the illegal shipments of weapons to Iraq or oil from Iraq." Having agreed with all these premises, it's pretty much a certainty that when Bush decides on launching the next war against Syria, the Democrats will be reduced to saying that their only objection is that the U.N. hasn't approved, or that the U.S. doesn't have multilateral support.

"[Byrd] feared the vote 'could later be used to build a case for a military intervention against Syria.' 'The bill speaks of 'hostile actions' by Syria against US-led forces in Iraq,' said Byrd. 'I have not seen any evidence that would lead me to believe that it is the government of Syria that is responsible for the attacks against our troops in Iraq. Such insinuations can only build the case for military action against Syria, which, unfortunately, is a very real possibility because of the dangerous doctrine of pre-emption created by the (George W.) Bush administration."

News watch

Fox News told its viewers that "two enemy fighters" were killed in this action. Tomorrow we'll probably learn they were night watchmen in the warehouse.

Meanwhile, Fox also reports on the FBI's arrest in Miami of a man who was plotting to bomb abortion clinics across the country. Despite having told us just a few minutes before that they were "America's channel in the war on terror," and having used the term "war on terror" multiple times in describing today's news from Iraq, the word "terrorist" wasn't used at all in the news item about plans to bomb abortion clinics. This isn't limited to Fox, of course; a random sampling of news articles like AP also shows no use of the word "terrorist," even though the arrest was made by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. This man was allegedly "perilously close to carrying out his plans," quite a contrast to Jose Padilla, who was labelled a terrorist and locked up indefinitely without rights, merely for allegedly having thought about "dirty bombs."

The disappearing dead

"General Vows to Intensify U.S. Response to Attackers."

"U.S. soldiers opened fire on a truck [filled with live chickens per TV reports] coming back from a chicken farm near the tense Iraqi town of Falluja, killing five people [including a father and his two children] and wounding three, relatives and hospital officials said Wednesday."

As usual, this story ends with the all-too-common disclaimer: "The U.S. army says it does not keep a tally of civilian casualties." Note to Reuters (and all other news organizations): The U.S. army is not the only source of news in Iraq. The deaths that happened during the "combat phrase" of the war may be at obscured in history, but even you could keep track of deaths that have happened since that time. If you cared.

No, neither Reuters nor any other Western media will be keeping track of that dead Iraqi family, just five more additions to the "disappearing dead." And, shocking as it may be, neither will today's dead in Nasiriya: 14 Italian military personnel, one Italian civilian, and eight Iraqis killed in a suicide bombing. The Italian military personnel were, of course part of the "coalition," and, if the Iraqis were not just innocent passersby but part of the newly reconsistituted Iraqi army, then they too (at least according to Donald Rumsfeld) were part of the "second largest part of the coalition" so that would make them coalition forces as well. The Italians will be added to the toll at the useful Lunaville site, but after today will otherwise disappear from the U.S. media, never to be heard of or counted again. The Iraqis will disappear entirely.

As the total U.S. military death toll from the war approaches 400, the media are actually starting to occasionally mention that total toll (although the much lower "killed in combat since May 1" figure still predominates). But I have yet to read or hear once the total of all coalition soldiers who have died in the war (468 as of this writing). The dead soldiers who had the "misfortune" of not being Americans, along with the Iraqi dead, simply vanish into the ether - the disappearing dead.

On Veteran's Day...

Noon News Notes

From Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, this interesting revelation today, when discussing the number of Iraqis still being held "in custody" by American forces: "At one time we had up to 20 suspected al Qaeda members in custody. After more extensive interrogation, we now have [drum roll, please] none - no confirmed members of al Qaeda in custody."

And then this fascinating story - an "American contractor" is missing on the road from Baghdad to Tikrit. His car was found abandoned with [another drum roll] his satellite phone, his laptop, and a briefcase with $40,000 in cash, but the report claims that it is suspected he was "abducted." Either Iraqi criminals aren't very bright, or the resistance in Iraq is better funded than we think, or there's more to this story than meets the eye. How many "American contractors" travel around Iraq alone in a car carrying $40,000 cash? Too bad his car didn't have "CIA" written on the door so the reporters wouldn't have to struggle so hard to understand what's going on.

A rare glimpse at Cuban success

Cuba at biotech's cutting edge

Since 1990, the socialist nation has developed many new treatments. U.S. allegations that it is a cover for bioweapons are met with skepticism.
HAVANA - It was Cuba's $1 billion gamble - to train an army of scientists, develop a sprawling biotech industry and tackle every disease from cancer to AIDS.

The bet paid off, Cuban officials say. Since 1990, Cuban scientists have developed dozens of treatments and drugs, including the world's only vaccine against meningitis B. And its products and technologies are now available in at least 40 countries, including Mexico, Iran, India and China.

Today, about 10,000 Cuban scientists and other specialists work in the industry. One of their crown jewels is the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, a 753,474-square-foot complex in western Havana. It employs 1,245 people and researches how to use molecular biology, including recombinant DNA techniques, to devise drugs and treatments.

The center and others on the island have filed for patents on at least 150 medicines and technologies to be used to treat cancer, AIDS and other diseases.

Cuban drugs are now sold in 50 countries but aren't available in the United States because of the U.S. ban on trade with Cuba.

One example is PPG, or polycosanol, made from sugarcane wax. Cuba markets the drug worldwide, saying it reduces unhealthy fats and promotes a healthy heart. Cuban scientists also market epidermal growth factor, or EGF, used to treat burn patients, and melagenina, used to treat vitiligo, a skin disorder [Attention Michael Jackson!].

Tony Blair's intellectual dishonesty

Yesterday Blair delivered a major speech. Most of it was a pretty standard exposition of the US/UK "line" on the war on Iraq. It even deserves praise (well, only in comparison with Bush) in that, in a 2500-word speech, he doesn't once mention 9/11 (by contrast, when Bush visited the site of Southern California fires last week, and gave an impromptu press conference, he mentioned 9/11 at least four times!).

But although I disagree with much of the speech, several points must be singled out. The first is the repeated slur of "anti-Americanism" which pops up several times in the speech. It cannot be said too many times: Opposition to American foreign policy is not "anti-Americanism." The truth is, as everyone knows, that even in countries which have good reasons to hate what America is doing, like Iraq or Cuba, the people of the countries are perfectly friendly toward the people of America, and even admire aspects of American culture (movies, fast food outlets, etc.) which aren't necessarily all that admirable. Claims of "anti-Americanism" are simply an intellectually dishonest way to avoid debate over the real issues, just as cries of "patriotism" or "support the troops" (or "treason", for that matter) serve the same purpose within the United States.

More interesting bits: "I believe this is exactly the right time for him [George Bush] to come [to the UK]" Typical Blair, this strong, absolutely certain assertion that, when examined, has no substance whatsoever. Why is it "exactly the right time"? Was last month too soon? Next month too late?

"Not a penny piece of Iraq's oil money has gone anywhere but into an account under the supervision of the IMF and UN." And hardly a "penny piece" of all the money being spent by the U.S. in Iraq has gone anywhere but into the pockets of Halliburton, Bechtel, et al., a fact Blair conveniently neglects to mention. And with the proposed privatization of all Iraqi resources except oil, we can expect the money to continue to flow out of Iraq into the same pockets in the future.

"It is true also that there is an antipathy in parts of the French political establishment to America," and "...if we in Britain can ask that France overcome its traditional hesitation toward America..." What is he talking about? The "traditional hestitation" with which the French helped the Americans free themselves from British rule in the Revolutionary War? The "traditional hesitation" with which the French greeted the Americans when they landed in Normandy in WWII?

But I saved the best for last: "Dismiss the illusion that somehow there is an old and a new Europe." I'm not quoting the whole speech, but you can read it yourself and see that this phrase was not directed at Donald Rumsfeld, who originated the phrase (at least in the current context), nor at the U.S., but at Europeans who are "try[ing] to pull Europe apart from the US." Truly bizarre. And, once again, intellectually dishonest. A phrase we never have to worry about applying to George Bush.

The Iraqi toll from the American invasion - past, present, and future

"The war on Iraq and its aftermath exacted a heavy toll on combatants and civilians, who paid and continue to pay the price in death, injury and mental and physical ill health. Between 21,700 and 55,000 people died between March 20 and October 20, 2003 (the date on which this report went to press), while the health and environmental consequences of the conflict will be felt for many years to come."

Political jokes of the day

"CBS denies they cancelled the 'Reagans' miniseries due to pressure from conservatives. Now we know what the "B.S." stands for." -- Jay Leno

"NBC preceded the 'Jessica Lynch Story' with a disclaimer stating that the movie was based on a true story, but that some things had been changed. Like...the facts!" -- Jay Leno

Police Military brutality in Iraq

Followup: It's common to hear people say that the problem now in Iraq is that "soldiers aren't trained to be policemen." Tonight, Oakland's KTVU aired a news item on the latest incident of police brutality there. A home video (it wouldn't be news if it weren't for those ever-present neighbors with their video cameras) shows the police viciously beating a man who had left his car running while he ran back into a friend's house to retrieve his cell phone, only to return and find police searching his car. This beating was every bit as brutal as the one in Baghdad shown on the BBC tape. Iraq doesn't need American soldiers with "sensitivity training." It needs the American soldiers to get out.

"The U.S. military and residents of Baghdad's largest neighborhood differ on the circumstances of Muhannad Kaabi's death. Did he reach for a gun? Did he try to wrestle a U.S. soldier to the ground? Was he killed in cold blood?"

Is it a gun?
Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet?
This is your life
It ain't no secret
It ain't no secret
Ain't no secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American Iraqi skin

Lynch again

The final paragraph of the article pretty much sums up the "evidence" for the charge:

"'A doctor who treated Lynch (at a U.S. military base) and who was privy to all her medical records has reported that some of her injuries are consistent with an assault. What more verification do you need?' a spokesman [for the book's publisher] said."

"Rebuilding" Iraqi schools - Part II

Now dig a little further, as I've been doing. So far I have yet to find evidence that a single school has been "rebuilt." Refurbished, yes, no doubt. But "rebuilt"?

Here is a selection of what you can find on this subject:

"The American company Bechtel junked the old desks when they refurbished 100 schools - they called it Operation Quick Fix. Basic repairs to the electrics and water system." (Source) "Refurbishing 100 schools" is a far cry from "rebuilding" 1,600. Incidentally, if you think this may be only the tip of the iceberg, see the list of contracts awarded by the U.S. government. Bechtel is the only one listed as having received a contract to rebuild schools.

"Bush said...over 1,500 schools have been refurbished so far." (Source) No explanation of what "refurbished" means, but amazingly, Bush doesn't use the word "rebuilding." He appears to be alone in that.

"We are rebuilding more than a thousand schools." -- Dick Cheney (Source) Again, no actual evidence.

"It is anticipated that nearly 1,000 schools will be rehabilitated." -- State Department (Source) No word on what "rehabilitation" involves, nor whether these "anticipations" have anything to do with reality.

And, as quoted yesterday, "Coalition helps rebuild more than 800 schools in northern Iraq," -- CentCom (Source) In this case, we are told that a school where a few broken windows were fixed may be listed as "rebuilt."

The media is falling all over itself following the Administration's lead to tell us about the "good news" from Iraq. "Reopening" or "rebuilding" schools is one of the major talking points. With all that, wouldn't you anticipate that I could find one story somewhere talking about an actual school which had been "rebuilt"? Surely Paul Bremer's P.R. staff would be rushing the camera crews to the site and we would have seen it on every channel and in every paper.

The truth is that "rebuilt" schools in Iraq seem as elusive as weapons of mass destruction. They exist in the pages and reports of the American media in order to condition the minds of the American public, but in reality they're as scarce as hen's teeth.

We do know that Iraqi textbooks have been revised. Here was an excerpt from the previous textbooks that I found in a journal called Privatization Watch:

Math texts include a question that asks what you get when you add three rocket-propelled grenades to four Kalashnikov assault rifles. The answer: "Seven ways to kill the infidel enemy."

The price Israelis pay

Now if only these thousands of young people will return from their hallucinogenic haze and get organized to fight for changes in Israeli policies, like the brave refuseniks who have refused to obey "immoral and illegal" orders.

Two wonderful quotes

"[Iraqi dictator Paul Bremer] insisted that before leaving, the region's best democracy would be established in Iraq." (quoted in the New York Times)

"Irresponsible behavior such as explosions and strikes against coalition forces are prohibited." -- Gen. John Abizaid, quoted in the Washington Post

Who ya' gonna' believe?

But the funnier point was Arnot's mention about how good security was for most people. Because not two minutes before listening to him, I watched a CNN piece filed by Matthew Chance from the emergency ward of an Iraqi hospital, where he interviewed doctors and patients who talked about the skyrocketing rates of murder, stabbings, etc. in Baghdad.

CNN's piece was hardly perfect, however. After first mentioning (to my surprise!) that total American fatalities from this war were nearing 400, the anchor noted that the American military refuses to keep an "official" count of Iraqi casualties, and then segued to Chance's piece. Two things wrong with that. First, even if the American military refuses to keep such a count, that doesn't prevent CNN from reporting on the independent attempts to do so, and quoting those numbers. They didn't. And then the piece which followed was entirely focussed on "Iraqi-on-Iraqi" crime; no mention of a single Iraqi killed or wounded by the American invaders, even with the American military in the process of "showing its teeth" in Tikrit and Fallujah, and presumably killing or injuring Iraqis in the process. Not that CNN or any other American media would mention that fact.

Guerrilla warfare...in the United States

Quote of the Day

"No President has lied so baldly and so often and so demonstrably" -- Ray McGovern, retired CIA analyst

Rebuilding Iraqi schools

And now, "rebuilding schools." USA Today, in an editorial, talks about "positive developments, such as the rebuilding of 1,600 schools." I don't know where that figure comes from, but I find it highly implausible. Here's a US Embassy statement from October, which is headlined "Coalition Helps Rebuild More Than 800 Schools in Northern Iraq." But when you read the article, you learn that "rebuilding" schools might involve "simple supplies and new windows." Indeed, the article claims the U.S. "has to date spent $2,040,513 on 330 completed school projects." Rebuilding 800 schools with only 330 projects? Neat trick.

I'd be personally surprised if the U.S. has actually "rebuilt" more than a dozen schools in Iraq, if that.

Followup: I should add, with unemployment in Iraq running at 60%, what on earth is the U.S. military doing rebuilding schools anyway? Aren't there Iraqis who could be doing this job?

The geniuses at the helm

Subtle lies

The Kay Report

Far from being a whitewash, Kay's report has turned out to be one of the most devastating and unflinching exposs of war crimes in world history. In damning detail, Kay has revealed the torturous machinations and evil practices of a ruthless tyrant seeking to thwart the clear will of the UN Security Council and the international community, using false declarations and crude propaganda to mask his secret plans to abet terrorism, wage aggressive war and threaten the entire world with weapons of mass destruction. Those apologists for tyranny, who for months doubted the veracity of these charges, have now been shown to be nothing more than knaves, fools, lickspittles and dupes.

Given the success of Kay's mission, you'd think the Bush Administration would be trumpeting the results of his investigation from every marble pillar and post in Washington. Instead, the report got only the most cursory airing, then was promptly deep-sixed into the shadowlands of "secret hearings" and "restricted access." Strange behavior, you say? Not when you consider that the perfidy which Kay so thoroughly unmasked was, of course, perpetrated by the Bushists themselves.

Step by step, Kay and his investigators dismantled--inadvertently, one presumes--the public case for war laid out by Liar-in-Chief George W. Bush, Head Bagman Dick "Deep Pockets" Cheney, Warlord Don Rumsfeld and that lifelong toter of Establishment whitewash, Colin "First My Lai and Now This" Powell. Their relentless claims of the hell that Saddam could unleash against the Homeland "on any given day" (as Bush himself put it)--500 tons of chemical weapons, some already mounted in missile warheads, primed and ready for use; "mobile labs" cooking up deadly poisons on the run; eyewitness reports from Iraqi defectors providing irrefutable evidence of banned weapons production; and most ominous of all, an "active" and expanding nuclear arms program that could soon produce "a mushroom cloud" in America's cities--were all completely debunked by Kay's investigation, Newsday and the Washington Post reported this week.

Down is up

Armitage also "described Iraq as a 'war zone,' and I just heard a Republican Congressman recently returned from an Iraqi visit use the same term on Fox News. Do you suppose we will now see the end of the phrase "post-war casualties"?

WWJD

Soon the troops will swoop down on a house in Fallujah's northern outskirts, where a Baathist named Taha and 30 comrades are holding a meeting, allegedly to plan roadside bombings. "Go out and grab Taha," says the company commander, Capt. Matthew Mobley. "He's gonna have a helluva treat for Halloween." Then the battalion's chaplain asks the men to join him in a short prayer. "Lord, there are bad guys out there," he says, bowing his head. "Just help us kill 'em."

Settling up old bets

Sadly, no bets were placed, or Left I would have raked in the chips. This hit the press just two days later:

"The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee [Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.] said Tuesday he spoke too hastily when he said the White House would provide his panel with the documents and interviews it is seeking for its inquiry on prewar intelligence on Iraq."

Education in Iraq, past and present

Strange headline

"To U.S. relief, Turkey withdraws offer for Iraq troops"

Quote of the Day (Belated)

"I believe this is a desperate, losing enemy and they're down to their last act in Tikrit" -- Lt. Col. Steven Russell, commander of the division's 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, on July 29 of this year

By the way this is the second Blackhawk shot town over Tikrit since Russell's premature comment on July 29; the first one received less publicity since only one soldier was injured, and none killed.

American "debate"

Answer: "No."

"Jessica Lynch was raped" - the followup

"Dr. Mahdi Khafazji [previously named in the press as "Khafaji"; correct spelling unknown], an orthopedic surgeon at Nasiriyah's main hospital performed surgery on Lynch to repair a fractured femur and said he found no signs that she was raped or sodomized.

"Khafazji, speaking at his private clinic in Nasiriyah, said he examined her extensively and would have detected signs of sexual assault. He said the examination turned up no trace of semen.

"[Dr. Jamal al-Saeidi, a brigadier general and head of the orthopedic department at the now disbanded Military Hospital] said Lynch was fully clothed with her field jacket buttoned up. 'Her clothes were not torn, buttons had not come off, her pants were zipped up,' al-Saeidi said.

"Al-Saeidi said he found no signs of rape during an examination although he acknowledged he was not looking for signs of sexual assault."

Followup: A tidbit from a review of the docudrama about Lynch:

"Private Lynch is shown mostly in flashbacks in her hometown, Palestine, W.Va., where she explains to friends that she cannot find even a part-time job at the local Wal-Mart and is joining the military so that she can someday become a teacher."

Just wondering...

Do you suppose that, "off-camera," the Government has the fingers of its other hand crossed? I mean, are they kidding with this? Even Americans with absolutely no knowledge of history at all know that the Indians got the shaft, not the "hand of friendship," from the U.S. Government.

More Iraq freedom - the freedom to be ignorant of history

"US officials say teachers [in Iraq] will finally be free to teach a more factual account of historical events. But the question is: Whose account will that be?

"The first indicator of what a Saddam-free education will look like is arriving this month, as millions of newly revised textbooks roll off the printing presses to be distributed to Iraq's 5.5 million schoolchildren in 16,000 schools. All 563 texts were heavily edited and revised over the summer by a team of US-appointed Iraqi educators. Every image of Saddam and the Baath Party has been removed.

"But so has much more - including most of modern history. Pressured for time, and hoping to avoid political controversy, the Ministry of Education under the US-led coalition government removed any content considered 'controversial,' including the 1991 Gulf War; the Iran-Iraq war; and all references to Israelis, Americans, or Kurds."

A headline comparison

Washington Post: "New Biography Indicates Lynch Was Raped by Captors"

San Jose Mercury News: "Rescued soldier feels used as propaganda"

CNN: "Lynch: Military played up rescue too much"

Voice of America: "Former US Prisoner of War Lynch Bothered by Portrayal as Hero"

BBC: "Jessica Lynch condemns Pentagon"

Lest you think the Post was writing about something else, the Dianne Sawyer interview which forms the basis for all the other headlines is indeed discussed in that article as well; they simply chose to headline (and lead the story with) the lurid unproven charges from third parties, rather than the direct statements from Lynch herself.

It wasn't the tax cut, it was the strike!

But the most curious thing in the news reports was this line: "The Labor Department said a grocery strike and lockout affecting 70,000 workers in Southern California had a net positive impact on employment." Hmmm. The article doesn't elaborate on this curious statement, unfortunately.

Followup: This article from CNN Money suggests that 150,000 new jobs per month are needed just to keep up with population growth (thanks to Josh Marshall for the link).

American fatalities in Iraq

And just a reminder that as of this writing there have been 59 deaths of soldiers from other coalition countries, bringing the total number of "coalition" deaths to 449, a number the media does not want you thinking about. It was only two weeks ago that the 400th coalition soldier died in Iraq, an event which passed unnoticed in the media.

Note also that the "linear phase" of this graph extends back to early April, not long after the invasion, and not to the much-ballyhooed May 1 date.

Too bad we can't see a graph like this of Iraqi fatalities.

Iraqi law and international law

"So far, most of the controversy surrounding Iraq's reconstruction has focused on the waste and corruption in the awarding of contracts. This badly misses the scope of the violation: even if the sell-off of Iraq were conducted with full transparency and open bidding, it would still be illegal for the simple reason that Iraq is not America's to sell."

Freedom?

Powell's central thesis? "[The] good news stems from a single irreversible and critical truth: The Iraqi people are free." He fails to explain how a people can be "free" when they are ruled by a dictator, and a foreign dictator at that, able to promulgate new laws (like the 15% flat tax law) or imprison thousands of Iraqis without any authority from the Iraqi people. In the colleges, new rules require that the authorities approve of any poster put up on the bulletin boards, lest they be critical of the Americans (just read this yesterday but can't find the citation at the moment). The Iraqi people are "free," alright, as long as they don't question American rule.

A wall by any other name

And for those who can't imagine that Israel would actually be forcing another people into ghettos, you might read this article, from which this small excerpt is taken:

Qalqiliya, a city of 45,000, has been surrounded by a concrete wall and only those who are granted permits by the Civil Administration can enter and exit the city's single gate.

Followup: Perhaps it's a small point, but telling. On Democracy Now! this morning, Mustafa Barghouti tells of speaking to someone in Qalqiliya who says that, because their entire town is now surrounded by a 30-foot wall, no one in the town can see the sunset any more. One of life's small pleasures, no long available to the Palestinians of Qalqiliya.

Reporters with memories

"There is a certain ironic sense of payback in the scandal. As a new mayor, Street sat back and allowed his police department to do extensive bugging and spying and planting of provocateurs among groups planning to protest the 2000 Republican National Convention. His protestations over the fishing expedition being conducted now by the FBI into his administration's actions ring kind of hollow in light of the mayor's acquiescence in such civil liberties outrages by the city's law enforcement establishment."

Delusional American soldiers

The three wounded soldiers are united not only in their good humor but also their unequivocal support for the war. Wyatt doesn't much care for those who think Bush fudged the intelligence on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. "That makes you feel like you fought for nothing or you fought for a liar," he says. "They're telling me I went out there and I got my leg blown off for a liar, and I know that's just not true."

U.S. presence in Iraq - shrinking or expanding?

"The Pentagon began alerting 43,000 Reserve and National Guard troops late Wednesday for the possibility of yearlong duty in Iraq or Kuwait as part of a force-rotation plan that would reduce the overall American military presence in Iraq by next spring, senior Pentagon officials said."

"The Pentagon has decided to dispatch thousands of Marines to Iraq early next year as part of a revised troop rotation that will swell the size of the US occupation by up to 50,000 troops during critical months when the United States hopes to hand off greater security responsibilities to Iraqis, senior defense officials said yesterday.

"Pentagon officials say the new plan is aimed at adding manpower to improve security in the short term -- when troop numbers will increase from the current 130,000 to as many as 180,000 -- but also meeting President Bush's goal of shrinking the force to 100,000 by the middle of next year."

Writing history

Now I have no idea of Jessica Lynch was raped; maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. Considering that she was severely injured in a vehicle accident, however, I find it very hard to believe that any scars on her body prove or even suggest that she was raped, and I find it even harder to believe that Iraqi doctors swabbed her vagina for semen, found positive traces, verified that it wasn't from any of the men in Lynch's platoon, and put that fact in her medical records. Given all these obvious facts, and even if it were likely that Lynch was raped, wouldn't the appropriate headline be "Jessica Lynch biography alleges rape by Iraqis"? You don't "reveal" lies, you "reveal" facts, so by using that word, the Mercury News lends its imprimateur to the author's allegations.

As I said, I have no idea if Jessica Lynch was raped or not, but the value of the author's allegations can be inferred from his additional sensationalized claims: "The records do not tell whether her captors assaulted her almost-lifeless, broken body after she was lifted from the wreckage, or if they assaulted her and then broke her bones into splinters until she was almost dead." They "broke her bones into splinters" after assaulting her? I'm surprised the author doesn't have the Iraqis frying up her brains and dining on Chianti. No doubt if he did, the American press would have no trouble printing that nonsense either. When it comes to standard of proof for allegations made against "our enemies," no standard is too minimal for the American media.

What we know is that Jessica Lynch was cared for in an Iraqi hospital in extraordinary fashion, given food and attention above and beyond that of other patients, and that her allegedly "almost-lifeless body" was nursed back to health by Iraqi medical personnel. As for the sensational charges made by author Rick Bragg, rest assured that despite their highly improbable nature, you'll be hearing about them ad nauseum on your cable TV news channel.

Followup: MSNBC reports this story as "Lynch reveals that she was raped by her Iraqi captors," an even more outrageous rendering of the story.

More followup: On "fair and balanced" Fox News, anchor Shepard Smith and his guest simply report the story as "the truth" that Lynch was raped, no question about it. No surprise there. What was curious was the guest, Mike Paul, the president of MGP & Associates PR, a public relations company. As far as I could tell he had no special knowledge about this issue whatsoever. Don't PR companies specialize is not being "balanced," but in simply presenting one side of a story?

Rewriting History

I'm sure there was (and is, he's still speaking as I write this) a lot more similar nonsense in the speech, but you can only take so much of this at one time.

Followup: The transcript, for those who are gluttons for punishment. After denouncing Cuba, which has had elections since 1959 (and before), as an enemy of freedom, Bush has nothing but gentle words for his friends: "The Saudi government is taking first steps toward reform, including a plan for gradual introduction of elections." Well, we wouldn't want to rush these things.

The other thing that amuses me no end about this speech is that it is littered with phrases like "the dialectic of history." Now I know every President has speechwriters, there's nothing wrong with that. But when you hear or read this speech, the contrast with the "real Bush" is just too jarring. You just know that the phrase "dialectic of history" has not only never rattled around Bush's head, but that he probably doesn't have a clue what it means. Can't he find speechwriters who can write in words of two syllables or fewer, so we could at least pretend these were actually Bush's thoughts?

And in another corner

Political joke of the day - Jay Leno

"A frightened CBS has decided to drop their Ronald Reagan miniseries after complaints by Republicans that it was historically inaccurate. That's what I love about Washington. It's ok to make up stories about weapons of mass destruction, but lie about dialog on a TV show...that's over the edge!"

The tip of the iceberg

"On Wednesday, the total of National Guard and Reserve members called to active duty worldwide stood at 154,603. About 60,000 of those are now serving in Iraq or Kuwait."

Blockbuster story reveals American thirst for blood

"As American soldiers massed on the Iraqi border in March and diplomats argued about war, an influential adviser to the Pentagon received a secret message from a Lebanese-American businessman: Saddam Hussein wanted to make a deal.

"Iraqi officials, including the chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, had told the businessman that they wanted Washington to know that Iraq no longer had weapons of mass destruction, and they offered to allow American troops and experts to conduct an independent search. They also offered to hand over a man accused of being involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing who was being held in Baghdad. At one point, the intermediary said in an interview, the Iraqis pledged to hold elections.

"The efforts were portrayed by Iraqi officials as having the approval of Saddam Hussein, according to interviews and documents.

"The overtures...were ultimately rebuffed."

War crimes past

The town was stymied in trying to bring war crimes charges against NATO, and was reduced to this suit in Germany, even though no German planes were involved in the raid, because of favorable German laws. A suit against Wesley Clark, who directed the NATO bombing campaign, or Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright, who ordered it, would have been a lot more appropriate, but quixotic at best; success would have been about as likely as the chances of seeing this story broadcast on an American network or reported in the New York Times or Washington Post.

Truth in Journalism

Every story [based on leaks or anonymous sources] would come with a graphic icon of a leaking water tap, and would include a legend to define other key symbols that would be inserted to flag leakers' self-serving motives:

Knife -- Warning: The purpose of this leak is to hurt or destroy the source's political enemy.

Pointing finger -- Warning: The source is attempting to shift blame to someone else.

Blowfish -- Warning: The anonymous source is puffing up himself or his boss. Be skeptical.

Balloon -- Warning: trial balloon. If the proposed change in policy described in this story draws boos, it will be disowned by the administration as a figment of the reporter's imagination.

The U.N. resolution on the U.S. blockade of Cuba, part II

Non Sequitur on today's reporting

Flexible definitions

With that in mind, watch out for the latest story:

"New evidence has emerged which shows that deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had links with several international companies to produce weapons of mass destruction.

"US findings could implicate people, firms and countries paid to help Iraq produce long-range missiles."

So when you start hearing George Bush talking about how "we have found the proof that Iraq was actively seeking weapons of mass destruction," remember that he said the same thing about two hydrogen-producing trailers too. Unfortunately, history suggests that 63% of the American public (and 93% of Fox-TV viewers) will believe him.

The unreported news

Don't expect to hear about this on CNN tonight or to read it in your local paper tomorrow.

Followup: Well, as far as I could see the story didn't make it to televised news from which most Americans get their news. There was apparently quite a "dust-up" at the U.N., though, which did make the story interesting enough for the New York Times and others. This part is worth noting:

"Speaker after speaker in the General Assembly debate opposed the embargo, and Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque departed from his prepared text to denounce the 'low-grade' attack and 'crude tone bereft of respect' used by [the U.S. representative, who, 'trailed by other U.S. officials,' walked out of the General Assembly following his own speech, just as his President had done several weeks earlier.]

"'Cuba does not emulate such methods,' Perez Roque said, adding that the General Assembly 'deserves that representatives of countries behave in this chamber in accordance with a minimum of rules of respect and good upbringing.'"

More followup: The Los Angeles Times, as other papers, reported that the U.S. representative closed his speech by saying that the Cuban people were going to say "Hasta la vista, baby!" to Fidel Castro. Only the LA Times noted Perez Roque's response: "The people of Cuba will say 'hasta la vista' to the United States and the blockade. We will say homeland or death. We shall win."

Fair and balanced Left I on the News

• Communist - 13 (11%)
• Socialist - 12 (10%)
• Progressive - 27 (22%)
• Radical - 3 (2%)
• One of the above four, depending on circumstances - 22 (18%)
• Liberal - 20 (16%)
• Moderate - 12 (10%)
• Conservative - 3 (2%)
• Libertarian - 5 (4%)
• Anarchist - 6 (5%)

Jon Stewart, analyzed

George Bush and the truth - strangers in a strange land

Further illustrating his estrangement from the truth, Bush responded to a question about the recent downing of a helicopter (and the accompanying deaths) in Iraq by saying that (I'm paraphrasing slightly; no transcript available) "every parent, even though they have received a harsh blow, should know their sons and daughters - sons in this case - died fighting against terrorism." Well, to begin with, there was at least one, and I believe two, female soldier(s) who died on that helicopter, so I have no idea why Bush inserted "sons in this case," but it certainly wasn't "the truth." And, of course, even accepting the preposterous idea that the U.S. armed forces are in Iraq "fighting terrorism," these particular soldiers were not fighting anything when they were killed; they were in the process of leaving the country for R&R.

Capitalism clarified

A belated quote from Thursday's Democratic Presidential debate:

"Greed and selfishness can kill this great democracy and ruin capitalism." -- Dick Gephardt

Gee, that's funny, in my dictionary under "capitalism" it says "an economic system based on greed and selfishness." OK, I admit you have to read between the lines. :-)

Story #1: Ex-Chief of HealthSouth Is Indicted on 85 Counts of Fraud

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Former HealthSouth Corp. head Richard Scrushy was indicted on 85 counts alleging he was the mastermind of an enormous corporate fraud scheme that allowed him to personally pocket more than a quarter-billion dollars, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Story #2: S.E.C. Brings Charges Against Prudential

BOSTON (AP) -- The growing mutual fund scandal struck Prudential Securities Inc. on Tuesday as state and federal regulators filed civil charges against former brokers and branch managers at Prudential's Boston office alleging improper trading.

The complaints by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Massachusetts Securities Division allege that former brokers took a variety of steps, including using false identities, to disguise market timing to enrich themselves and the hedge funds whose money they were investing.

Story #3: Extensive Flaws at Mutual Funds Cited at Hearing

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 — The mutual fund industry, plagued by a series of recent scandals, was battered on Monday by new details of widespread trading abuses, the removal of the top executive at a big fund company and the disclosure by federal regulators that the industry faced an imminent wave of government lawsuits.

Putnam, the nation's fifth-largest fund company, said on Monday that its chief executive, Lawrence J. Lasser, would be leaving in the wake of recent accusations by federal and state prosecutors of civil fraud by the company.

Story #3: Wal-Mart Receives Target Letter From U.S.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Tuesday it has received a "target letter" from the U.S. Attorney's Office saying the world's largest retailer allegedly violated federal immigration laws.

Donald Rumsfeld, in his own words

NOW: "Every time someone has answered those questions [about troop deployments and time commitments], they've been wrong. They've been embarrassingly wrong. I'll use another word. They have misinformed. By believing they knew the answers to those questions, they've misinformed and misled the American people." - Donald Rumsfeld, 11/2/03

THEN: "What is, I think, reasonably certain is the idea that it would take several hundred thousand U.S. forces I think is far from the mark." - Donald Rumsfeld, 2/27/03

THEN: "[The war] could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." - Donald Rumsfeld, 2/7/03

Newspeak Quote of the Day

"Very often, the points he makes have some truth to them, but he simply goes beyond where the facts tell intelligent people they should go." - Carl W. Ford Jr., recently retired head of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, speaking about Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton and his claims about the "threats" to the U.S. posed by Syria, Libya, North Korea, and Cuba, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times

"Three current and former State Department officials say Bolton tried to bully the intelligence bureau into endorsing his view that Cuba has a bioweapons program. 'Bolton wanted to go far beyond what the intelligence community would support,' said Greg Thielmann, who retired in September as head of the Strategic, Proliferation and Military Affairs Office in the State Department's intelligence bureau. His assertions about Cuba's bioweapons were 'pure surmise as far as I know,' Thielmann said."

And, for those conspiracy theorists out there, there's this little tidbit:

"After the 2000 presidential election, Bolton helped wage the legal battle over the recount for George W. Bush and succeeded in stopping the recount of Miami-Dade County ballots."

Tom Tomorrow heads west

Here's my review of his wonderful new book, The Great Big Book of Tomorrow. If you haven't got a copy already, come to one of his appearances and get yourself a signed copy. Or buy ten - Christmas is coming!

$87 billion for war? No problem. Feed the homeless? Get out your tin cup.

It's been a long time since I read it, but the best analysis of the role of charity in a capitalist society, which has stuck with me for all these years, is found in a classic but now out-of-print work, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, written by Robert Tressell in 1914 and actually available in full online. Here's just one passage I found in a quick search on the subject of charity:

"An evil-minded, worldly or unconverted person might possibly sum up the matter thus: these people required this work done: they employed this woman to do it, taking advantage of her poverty to impose upon her conditions of price and labour that they would not have liked to endure themselves. Although she worked very hard, early and late, the money they paid her as wages was insufficient to enable her to provide herself with the bare necessaries of life. Then her employers, being good, kind, generous, Christian people, came to the rescue and bestowed charity, in the form of cast-off clothing and broken victuals."

This genius is getting his own political talk show

Question: "You've joked with Leno about how you used to be liberal, and your views have certainly moved more to the right. What sparked the change?

Miller: "Just put down 9/11. Look, they blew up the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Are we not supposed to do anything about it? You can only let so many things get blown up before you put you foot down."

Question: "Explain why you think approve of the war in Iraq as the correct response to Sept. 11."

Miller: "The only other options, as I see it, were China, where there's a billion people; North Korea, which puts nuclear weapons 100 miles from Seoul; and Iran, which is like Iraq, but they've got a nuclear program, too. And quite frankly, there wasn't a kingpin there like Saddam Hussein in Iraq that we could really focus on.

"I think there's a lot of reasons to go there. It was never about weapons of mass destruction for me. That's what they said. That's their business. I didn't even think they had weapons of mass destruction. So I always thought it was just about flicking the first domino down.

"I do think there are connections between Al-Qaida and the secular state of Iraq, and I know some people think there isn't, but the simple fact is that (Palestinian terrorist) Abu Nidal was found killed in his Baghdad apartment, shot 54 times. I think police said they suspected fair play. But the fact is I think Iraq was the place to start. I don't think they buried the 30-foot nuclear jump shot themselves, but I do think they could disperse the ball going down the lane. So I like what we did there.

"You can take only so much. They blow up an embassy. We hold back; we try to be reserved. They blow up the U.S.S. Cole, it gets heated up even more. They blow up the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Listen, I'm telling you, this country wouldn't have been America if somebody didn't get its ass kicked."

Overstated understatement

War crimes, media crimes

But most critics of the Bush administration, who will take delight in reading the article, will skip right over this passage:

"In contrast to their strategy in the first gulf war, American war planners had been careful not to attack Iraqi infrastructure. This was partly because of their understanding of the laws of war and partly because of their desire to get Iraq back up and running as quickly and smoothly as possible."

In Britain, Tony Blair is facing a formal complaint to the international war-crimes tribunal by a panel of senior international legal experts for unlawfully waging war in Iraq, and the news is actually being reported in the British press, which informs us that "the allegations centre on Iraqi civilian deaths caused by British cluster bombs, the targeting of power stations and the use of toxic depleted uranium shells against tanks." Not only won't the U.S. media ever suggest that George Bush and the American government have committed war crimes, they won't even inform the American public about these charges against Tony Blair.

No need to bother Sherlock Holmes

Here's a clue courtesy of Left I, no charge - YOU'RE NOT WANTED! GET THE HELL OUT!

Polling

What do you think is the principal cause of U.S. unemployment?
o High productivity
o Record trade deficits
o Illegal aliens
o Outsourcing

Lou's next poll: When did you stop beating your wife - last week, last month, or last year?

I really shouldn't pick on Dobbs, of course. Today, MSNBC has a poll which asks: "Is it time to send more troops to Iraq?" and allows you to answer "Yes" or "No." Left I's answer is certainly "no," but even answering the question implies that perhaps next week will be the time to send more troops. Needless to say, it won't be. I mean, is it that hard to have a poll with even three answers like "increase troop levels," "maintain troop levels," and "decrease troop levels"? Of course it isn't, but if you don't ask certain questions, you'll never get answers you don't want to hear.

Tariq Aziz resurfaces!

"Among the interrogators' questions: If Hussein did not have chemical or biological weapons, why did he fail to disabuse U.S. and other intelligence services of their convictions that he did?"

And then this:

"Once the war began, Hussein fulfilled few of his threats. The CIA warned that Hussein might use chemical weapons. Instead, after initial resistance, the regime and army melted away."

The facts are stubborn things, but U.S. interrogators and the Washington Post won't let them get in the way.

Followup: CNN, reporting this story today, touts it as "Tariq Aziz is talking." Please. Tariq Aziz has been in custody for months. The accurate lead for the story would be "U.S. officials have decided to leak information about Tariq Aziz's interrogation." The anchor and her interviewee Ken Pollack referred several times to Aziz's "capture"; of course, the truth is that, like many of the Iraqi senior officials, Tariq Aziz turned himself in, he was not "captured." And, in a final note on the story, one of the several subheads flashing under the interview was the assertion "Iraq had sizable arsenal of contraband weapons." Just in case you were beginning to think it was all in George Bush's imagination, CNN wants to make sure you get rid of your foolish doubts. I'm not even delving into the interview itself, which can be summarized as saying "well, Tariq Aziz might be telling the truth, or he might not." I'm so glad we have "analysts" who can help us understand the world.

George Bush, king of the Vandals

"When Genseric, king of the Vandals, invaded northern Africa in 428 A.D., he probably didn't declare that his intention was to plunder and pillage. It's no accident that the name of his people has ended up, some 16 centuries later, as an enduring word in our vocabulary, synonymous with thuggery and hooliganism.

"Invading armies are often coy when it comes to admitting their true motives. Certainly a desire to seize territory and resources are rarely among the motives modern invading armies tend to highlight.

"One can understand the preference for looking like a liberator rather than a pillaging bully. What's harder to understand is how willingly members of the media step forward to make the invaders' case for them. Iraq pops to mind."

The war continues

Will the administration and the media take this opportunity to scrap the bogus division of deaths in the war against Iraq before and after May 1? Definitely not; the value of constantly repeating lower numbers is far too great. Incidentally, the point made here just the other day about "privatizing the war" was illustrated again yesterday. Two American "contractors" working for the military, doing work that the military itself would have been doing in the past, were killed yesterday in Iraq. That fact was mentioned in the media yesterday, but now that it has, those two people will effectively disappear. Their deaths will not appear in any published totals of the deaths resulting from the invasion of Iraq, and once again the American public will get a false picture of the price their country is paying for this war.

Followup: I just heard (on Democracy Now!) an excerpt of Tim Russert interviewing Donald Rumsfeld, and heard Rumsfeld talking, as he always does, about "fighting the war on terror until we have won." Not once have I heard a reporter such as Russert followup such a ludicrous statement with the obvious question - How will we know when we have won? Or, to use Rumsfeld's language, what "metric" should we use to determine that the "war on terror" is over?

More followup: Watching CNN report on the latest bombing in Karbala just now, their reporter Matthew Chance delivered the report wearing a flak jacket. Yes, the war continues.

Adam @ Home

Non Sequitur

Only their hairdresser knows for sure

Headline: Bush Agrees to Furnish Iraq Intelligence
First paragraph: The White House reversed itself and promised the Senate Intelligence Committee access to all materials requested for its inquiry into prewar intelligence on Iraq, the committee chairman said Sunday.

Second paragraph: A White House spokesman remained noncommittal, promising "a spirit of cooperation" but no specifics. Spokesman Trent Duffy reiterated administration doubts about the committee's jurisdiction over the White House.

Supporting the troops

Lies of omission

The Israel-9/11 Connection

As far as I know, not a word of this has reached the mainstream media, but now, in a major piece in the (Scottish) Sunday Herald (definitely not the "mainstream media," but a lot closer than Antiwar.com), comes a very interesting article that provides a nice introduction to the whole subject. Here's just a brief excerpt to whet your appetite:

"There was ruin and terror in Manhattan, but, over the Hudson River in New Jersey, a handful of men were dancing. As the World Trade Centre burned and crumpled, the five men celebrated and filmed the worst atrocity ever committed on American soil as it played out before their eyes.

"Who do you think they were? Palestinians? Saudis? Iraqis, even? Al-Qaeda, surely? Wrong on all counts. They were Israelis – and at least two of them were Israeli intelligence agents, working for Mossad, the equivalent of MI6 or the CIA.

"Their discovery and arrest that morning is a matter of indisputable fact. To those who have investigated just what the Israelis were up to that day, the case raises one dreadful possibility: that Israeli intelligence had been shadowing the al-Qaeda hijackers as they moved from the Middle East through Europe and into America where they trained as pilots and prepared to suicide-bomb the symbolic heart of the United States. And the motive? To bind America in blood and mutual suffering to the Israeli cause.

"After the attacks on New York and Washington, the former Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was asked what the terrorist strikes would mean for US-Israeli relations. He said: 'It's very good.' Then he corrected himself, adding: 'Well, it's not good, but it will generate immediate sympathy [for Israel from Americans].'

"If Israel's closest ally felt the collective pain of mass civilian deaths at the hands of terrorists, then Israel would have an unbreakable bond with the world’s only hyperpower and an effective free hand in dealing with the Palestinian terrorists who had been murdering its innocent civilians as the second intifada dragged on throughout 2001."

"What we are left with, then, is fact sullied by innuendo. Certainly, it seems, Israel was spying within the borders of the United States and it is equally certain that the targets were Islamic extremists probably linked to September 11. But did Israel know in advance that the Twin Towers would be hit and the world plunged into a war without end; a war which would give Israel the power to strike its enemies almost without limit? That’s a conspiracy theory too far, perhaps. But the unpleasant feeling that, in this age of spin and secrets, we do not know the full and unadulterated truth won't go away. Maybe we can guess, but it’s for the history books to discover and decide."

Followup: To my surprise ABC News did cover this story in June, 2002.

Is this the "good news" the media hasn't been reporting?

"FALLUJAH, Iraq -- Insurgents shot down a U.S. Chinook helicopter over western Iraq on Sunday as it carried troops headed for R&R, killing 15 soldiers and wounding 21 in the deadliest single strike against American troops since the start of war.

Other [Iraqi villagers] celebrated word of the helicopter downing, as well as a fresh attack on U.S. soldiers in Fallujah itself, where witnesses said an explosion struck one vehicle in a U.S. Army convoy at about 9 a.m. Sunday. They claimed four soldiers died, but U.S. military sources said they couldn't confirm the report."

Followup: Does Iraq=Vietnam? For a bit of an insight that relates directly to stories like the one above, read the lyrics to Pete Seeger's Waist Deep in the Big Muddy. Here's the last verse:

Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!

Iraq in search of a role model

"The Bush administration, still disturbed by much higher tax rates here, has said it admires Russia's flat tax. Russia 'understands the importance of getting the tax structure right in your economy,' Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans told the conservative Heritage Foundation last year."

A reminder to our readers that, according to Tony Blair's top legal adviser, actions like this one are almost certainly illegal. Not that anyone cares. Worrying about this being illegal after the invasion itself is kind of like charging someone driving 100 miles per hour and running red lights with having a broken tail light.

It's a slippery slope...

"Bicyclists are demanding that the nation's largest radio group be punished because disc jockeys at three stations made on-air comments they say encouraged drivers to throw bottles at bike riders or hit them with open car doors.

"They say the morning show hosts at Clear Channel Communications stations in Cleveland, Houston and Raleigh, N.C., also suggested motorists blast horns at cyclists, and speed past them and slam on their brakes in front of them.

"'We deeply regret that comments made by on-air personalities were misinterpreted,' chief executive John Hogan said in a statement."

The economic "recovery"

The whole purpose of "the economy," of course, is to contribute to people's well-being. At least, you might like to hope that was the purpose, even though you know that the real purpose under capitalism is purely and simply to create corporate profits, and then to hope that benefits like jobs, food, and health care come out of that drive for profits.

Today's headlines, then, should be a sobering reminder of the failure of that system: "Families experiencing hunger [in the U.S.] rises for 3rd year." In the article, we learn that "about 12 million American families last year worried that they couldn't afford to buy food, and 32 percent of them experienced someone going hungry at one time or another, the Agriculture Department said Friday." Will we see this story all over the talk shows this weekend? Don't count on it.

The best line in the AP article is this: "It doesn't seem as if hunger would be a problem in this country since food is abundant." Perhaps it doesn't to some. But for those of us who understand how capitalism works, a better wording would be: "It doesn't seem as if hunger should be a problem in this country since food is abundant."