Sunday, June 11, 2006

Times critique by C.I.

No intro.  Entry says it all. 
 

NYT: Everybody wants to be a war pornographer

When 27-year-old US Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada announced his refusal to deploy to Iraq yesterday, he did so surrounded by veterans, military family members, and members of the religious and anti-war communities. News of Watada's intent to refuse his orders to deploy to Iraq has galvanized anti-war communities around the country, many of which are already calling for a series of demonstrations in support of Watada's actions. And others they hope will be inspired to refuse deployment to Iraq as well.
At a press conference in Tacoma, Washington, Watada announced his view that the war in Iraq is immoral and illegal, and his intent was to refuse to deploy to fight that war. Watada said, "It is my duty as a commissioned officer of the United States Army to speak out against grave injustices. I stand before you today because it is my job to serve and protect soldiers, the American people and innocent Iraqis with no voice." Watada went on to say that his participation in the Iraq war would make him party to grave moral injustice and war crimes.
While Watada may face a court martial for his decision to refuse to deploy to Iraq, he has also received significant support from veterans' organizations. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, the War Resisters League, and many chapters of Veterans for Peace have all come to Watada's defense.
Ann Wright is a retired US Army colonel and US diplomat who resigned her position in 2003 in protest of the war in Iraq. She says that after spending 29 years in the military she understands how significant it is for an officer to disobey not just his direct orders, but also everything he has been trained to do. Wright says the entire military establishment is based on order and discipline, and for an officer to defy this system based on his personal beliefs takes an enormous amount of bravery. But she also says it's important for Watada, as a Lieutenant, to speak publicly. "People need to know there are these brave young men and women who are standing up and who are willing to go to jail because of what they believe." She says people in the US must understand that the military isn't united in its support for the war in Iraq.
Camilo Mejia is an Iraq war veteran who spent more than 7 years in the Army. When his conscientious objector status was denied in 2004, he spent nearly a year in prison rather than return to Iraq. He says Watada's public stand is admirable and should be commended. "The Pentagon recently reported 8,000 cases of desertion. These are people in the military who are saying 'no' to their units and the war, but where are they? It takes a special kind of individual to break the silence and risk all for a bigger cause."

The above is from Sarah Olson's "First Officer Publicly Resisting War Gains National Support" (Truthout) and we're leading with it and James' other highlight as well Marjorie Cohn's "First Officer Publicly Resists War" (Truthout):

Yesterday, US Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada became the first officer to publicly state his refusal to obey an order to deploy to Iraq. Lieutenant Watada said at a press conference in Tacoma, Washington, "The war in Iraq is in fact illegal. It is my obligation and my duty to refuse any orders to participate in this war." He stated, "An order to take part in an illegal war is unlawful in itself. So my obligation is not to follow the order to go to Iraq."
Citing "deception and manipulation … and willful misconduct by the highest levels of my chain of command," Lt. Watada declared there is "no greater betrayal to the American people" than the Iraq war.
The "turning point" for Lt. Watada came when he "saw the pain and suffering of so many soldiers and their families, and innocent Iraqis." He said, "I best serve my soldiers by speaking out against unlawful orders of the highest levels of my chain of command, and making sure our leaders are held accountable." Lt. Watada felt he "had the obligation to step up and do whatever it takes," even if that means facing court-martial and imprisonment.
Lt. Watada asked me to speak about the legality of the war at his press conference.
I cited the Nuremberg Charter, which set forth the three most serious crimes: crimes against the peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The US Army Field Manual 27-10, art. 28, incorporates the prohibition against these three crimes. The United States is committing a crime against the peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Iraq.

Again, it's important to start by emphasizing what matters.

In the category of "Has No Value"?

"Alex, the question is 'What is John F. Burns?'"

Burnsie makes it into print, in this morning's New York Times, with all his excess spilling out over his print-waistline and it's not pretty. "Al Leader Qaeda in Iraq Killed by U.S. Bombs" is the title and we dealt with it yesterday ("NYT: Angels in the outfield? No, idiots in the Green Zone"). The only thing we'll note for today is this:

But the American officials themselves offered an immediate warning against overstating the impact that the death of Mr. Zarqawi, the most wanted insurgent in Iraq, would have on prospects that American and Iraqi forces can gain the upper hand in the conflict.

Warned against overstating the impact? A warning Burnsie has failed to heed (two days in a row now). Burnsie's far from alone. Pistol packing Dexy Filkins (I'd suggest Angie Dickinson play him in a send up film except for two things: 1) no one can send him up any better than he already does himself and 2) Dickinson's far too nice to wish such a harsh fate upon) shows up twice.

Once to sing, in nasal whines that even Sonny Bono never dreamed of,: "And the insurgency goes on/ Yes, the insurgency goes on/ And the insurgency goes on . . ." (obviously Burnsie hopes to play the Cher to Dexy's Sonny and will -- just as soon as someone starts shipping Slimfast to the Green Zone); and also to team with Mark Mazzetti (whom Dexy deserves) and Richard A. Oppel Jr. (who is so obviously slumming -- didn't the Oppels ever give him a speech about picking your friends carefully?). The threesome contribute "Surveillance and Betrayal Ended Hunt" which is a form of war porn that must be giving Michael Gordon a severe case of war-on envy.

They write that the US military decided which house to bomb by tracking "'spiritual adviser,' Sheik Abd al-Rahman." It's cute the way they sneer at spiritual adviser by putting it in quotes. But, if you think about it too much (and there's no indication that any of the three writers did), it's a bit like trying to locate Oprah by tracking Gayle King.

The thing to note is that the Times gives you not one, not two, but three stories kind-of, sort-of from Iraq. And all it takes is a designated fall guy -- suddenly they almost remember that the country is at war. Their 'manly' priorities are showing. Never more so than in their refusal to address (in any way) the fact that the attack with two five-hundred pounds was not "precision" and that other lives were lost. In paragraph thirty-eight (check my math), the trio declares "Five others died in the airstrike: Mr. Rahman, one woman, one child and two other men, General Caldwell said. The identities of the four were not known." and, with that single sentence, they're back on the blood lust hunt.

What if they gave a war and only the cheerleaders showed up?

So three stories where little boys gets gleeful over GMCs and largely forget that they are in public (translation, get your hands out of your pants -- truly, did none of them grow up with parents?) and then Sabrina Tavernise contributes "Zarqawi Is Dead, but Weary Iraqis Fear the Violence Won't Subside" which may be the shortest of the four stories this morning. (I'm counting twenty-five paragraphs -- as always, check my math.)

Tavernise covers what Reuters did yesterday -- the town's opinion re: Zarqawi -- but strangely, Tavernise encounters none of the people (or more likely fails to quote them) who were so willing to state that they didn't believe Zarqawi was there. Mustn't dampen the cheerleaders' reporting. Which is probably why, when confronted with the very real reality that people died from those two five-hundred bombs, she trots out nonsense about kidnappings and killings.

"Nonsense"? There's a place for this story. No question. But it could have been reported on any day (check the daily news on Iraq on any day). It's offered today to mitigate the fact that US forces killed civilians yesterday. The topic the Times doesn't want to address. It's nonsense because while the 'boys' are raving over the 'kills,' Tavernise is pimping a "Oh look what the Iraqis do to themselves!" story. It's nonsense and it's really sad.

Brenda notes Rebecca's "flashpoints (dahr jamail was a guest)" which I wish I'd seen so we could have included it in last night's entry. Dahr Jamail was on Flashpoints and Rebecca's covering the interview (and other things). Jamail's comments are a perfect response to that "hard not to cheer" nonsense. Here's one section:

the displaying of zarqawi's photos reminded him of the person put up on the screen (in 1984) for the 'hate time.' he wondered, 'who will we blame the catastrophe of iraq on now?'


Rod passes on today's scheduled topic for Democracy Now!:

Psychiatrist and author Robert Jay Lifton on the Iraq War, war crimes and torture.

Martha notes Charles R. Babcock and Alice Crites's "Stepdaughter Of Lawmaker Got Money From PAC" (Washington Post):

A stepdaughter of Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has been paid more than $40,000 since early last year by a political action committee funded substantially by donations from a lobbyist close to the congressman and from her firm's clients.
Lewis's stepdaughter, Julia Willis-Leon of Las Vegas, is listed as director of the Small Biz Tech PAC. She received $44,474 of the approximately $115,000 the committee has collected since it was set up in February 2005, federal election records show.
The lobbyist, Letitia White -- a former longtime Lewis aide -- is the largest donor to Small Biz Tech. She is also part owner of the $1 million Capitol Hill house that initially served as PAC headquarters.
Her firm -- Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White -- has come under scrutiny for its relationship with Lewis, according to sources close to the investigation. The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles has been sending subpoenas to some of the firm's clients.

No, it doesn't really fit with the rest of the entry but I'm not sure I've got a second entry this morning. War pornography tends to tax the heart and soul. I'll try to pull something together but if you don't see another entry, this is it until we note Democracy Now! later this morning.

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



















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Humor Spotlight: Thomas Friedman is the Jayne Mansfield of NYT

Betty's latest and it's hilarious as we've come to expect in her online comic novel.  She asked one thing, that we note this chapter wouldn't have been completed without the help of
Kat and C.I.
 
 
This morning, I'm eating my grapefruit, reviewing my notes for class in my head and trying to get Thomas Friedman off my back.

"Read my column, Betinna!" he's screaming in a voice far too loud for five-thirty in the morning.

Truth be told, I hadn't been reading his column.

His wearing my pantyhose was a godsend. Yes, the elastic was shot to hell, yes, his toe "claws" left runners, and, yes, he looked ridiculous them.

However, it's also true that we all need a good laugh and the joke is always my husband Thomas Friedman. Another benefit from his nylon fetish was the fact that I didn't have to read his drippy columns.

"Thomas Friedman, get out of my pantyhose and I'll read your column," I offered early on.

He didn't and I just let it ride -- enjoying the ride. Which sadly came to an end all too soon. Pin it on his love for the "golden age of Hollywood." One night, he woke me up screaming and slapping my shoulder.

I opened an eye to see what the fuss was while thinking, "I am not running to the store for gummy bears or canned cheese. Fat ass better just make do with the beef jerkey and corn nuts he screamed for all last week."

Meanwhile he's pointing at the TV screen and screaming, "Look! Look!"

Black & white movie. I squint, try to focus and finally make out someone.

"Barbara Stanwyck," I say, rolling over and wondering why he felt the need to wake me for his pop quiz?

"No, Betinna!" he said punching my shoulder. "On her leg."

Rolling over, I glared at him.

"No, you didn't," I said rubbing my shoulder.

"It was just a love tap," snapped Thomas Friedman. "Don't try to play Tina Turner."

"Why?" I asked. "Do you already have that wig too?"

He ignored me and pointed again at the TV screen.

There was Stanwyck with an anklette.

"Isn't that pretty?"

I grunted and went back to sleep.

I knew this was not a case of my husband Thomas Friedman spotting something "pretty" that he planned to give to me as a gift. As always, it was all about Thomas Friedman.

The next day was Tuesday.

He was gone half the day. When he returned, carrying many shopping bags, he'd purchased himself an anklette.

Actually, it was a gold necklace. But he has very thick ankles.

What's more, he had bought his own hose and garters. He didn't care for my pantyhose, he told me. The hose were much "silkier" and helped with his alleged lower back pain.

Whatever. That a grown man can conduct himself thusly while a war wages is truly sad. It's all just faceless victims to him. Not surprising, of course. He read a TV review in the paper about "CSI" and laughed along.

"Oh those stocky middle-aged men," he chuckled. "When will they learn the world belongs to the young studs like me."

Like him?

Regardless, his decision to purchase hose meant that he was out of my pantyhose.

So this morning at breakfast, he informed me, I had no excuse to avoid reading his latest -- "A Well of Smiths and Xias."

Possibly the most racist thing he's created yet. I say "created" because we do not have a daughter named "Natalie" or, for that matter, any daughter at all. Nor had he attended any high school graduation. However, they did rerun the episode of "Saved By The Bell" Monday where everyone graduates and sings that dopey song about "Our moments here have all become unraveled, and so our high school story finally ends, we'll go on with our lives once we have parted, but how can we say farewell to our friends." Thomas Friedman was blubbering by the time they repeated the last line, "But how can we say farewell to our friends."

So it shouldn't be a surprise that he ended up creating a high school graduation for a column this week. Listing various surnames of hypothetical graduates, Thomas Friedman wrote: "I went to a high school graduation Monday and a United Nations meeting broke out."

Written like the middle-aged, fat, White man he is. I acted like I continued reading but mainly just glanced at it. His racist remark was in keeping with him in so many ways. For instance, if we had a daughter, which we don't, it would be just like Thomas Friedman to never know any of her classmates' names until he breezed in for a high school graduation. That is just the type of father Thomas Friedman would be. Of course, if we had a daughter, she would be bi-racial -- a detail Thomas Friedman left out of his little invention this morning.

Finishing my grapefruit, I made to leave. I've been leaving before six each morning, claiming it took that long to get to The New School but mainly just wanting to get away from him as soon as possible.

On the way through the living room, I happened to look at him sitting smartly on the sofa. He was wearing his white hose with red garters, his shorty robe, a pair of flip flops and what had to be, I swear, the Judy Miller wig bleached blonde.

"Well aren't you all dolled up," I remarked still a little stunned.

"I'm going to be on TV," he giggled. "Sh. Don't tell anyone."

"Holy mother of God," I thought, "if he goes on TV like this, Bill Keller and Gail Collins will fire his fat ass."

"Thomas Friedman, you are not leaving the apartment like that!"

"Jealous?" Thomas Friedman asked, dangling his leg to draw attention to his anklette.

Seeing my college dreams go up in smoke, us out on the street homeless and standing in the unemployment line with a Thomas Friedman dolled up like Bette Davis in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane", I jumped on him and wresteled him to the floor.

There was a knocking at the door.

"Mr. Friedman," the voice said. "It's your driver. Ready to go?"

"He's not going with you!" I yelled through the closed door as I covered his mouth. "He's arranged other transportation. No tip! Go away!"

I could hear the driver walking away from the door and feel Thomas Friedman biting into my hand.

Looking at my hand, my first thought was that I was bleeding. Then I realized that it was just Thomas Friedman's heavy lipstick.

"Ha!" I told him. "Now you won't be on TV!"

Angry, Thomas Friedman rose to his feet, fixed his wig and checked the seams of his hose before glaring at me.

"But ch AAH, Blance, ya AAH in that chair," he hissed.

It took me a minute to realize he was quoting Bette Davis.

"Whatever," I said leaving the room to wash his heavy lipstick off my hand.

When I came back in he was on the phone.

"I would still love to talk to Amy," he said into the phone before covering it and whispering to me, "Amy Goodman."

Amy Goodman?

Yes, Thomas Friedman was still smarting over Arundhati Roy's critique of him.

He'd whined to his former mentor Robert Fisk, begged and pleaded, until finally, probably just to get rid of him, Fisk had phoned Amy Goodman to see if she'd do him a favor and book Thomas Friedman for her show? She probably heard the weary desperation in his voice and agreed.

I waited, wishing I could turn away, but unable to. Filled with that feeling of "It's going to happen!" that you get when you see someone about to trip and fall.

Thomas Friedman winked at me and twirled a finger through a ringlet of his wig.

I have no idea how it went on Amy Goodman's end. I'm honestly afraid to watch the show. I know how it went from his end of the phone call. He gave two minute replies that never appeared to possess a coherent thought though they were all heavy with corn pone phrases and plugs for his book. At one point, the exchange must have gotten testy.

Either Amy Goodman confronted him with some of his past remarks or else she brought up his weight because his whole face turned red. Redder than the lipstick he'd smeared across his lips. He huffed that he couldn't be expected to remember something he'd said in the 1980s because he'd said "Hundreds of thousands of words since then."

I hope Goodman responded, "Yeah, just in your replies on this show alone!"

At one point, he started talking about how I am against Bully Boy's illegal war.

I hissed, "Don't you dare mention my name!"

He rolled his eyes but didn't mention my name. Thankfully. Like I need to become a joke at my new school -- ironically called "The New School."

By the end of the interview, he wasn't crying. Just spitting mad.

I left to head for campus. Checking my e-mail at the library, I see he's already sent out a "press release" (apparently my being married to him puts me on his list of recipients)

In his press release, he writes: "As I argued before, we must invade independent media to educate them. I feel that I did that today. I will go anywhere, to any location, regardless of whether or not they have a Starbucks -- but they better have a Dunkin Doughnuts -- to get my message out. I think that the lively exchange I and Amy Goodman had will help her, help independent media and help the world which, as you know, is flat. I am glad to do my part in this global battle."

Moment later, my cell phone rang. It was Thomas Friedman.

"Betinna," he began, "I'm worried about how I may have come off on 'Democracy Now!' today."

"You came off very blonde," I replied. "In fact, like a natural blonde."

"Thank you, dear. You always say just the right thing. Hey, on the way home this afternoon, I need more jerkey and probably two cans of NAIR. Thanks."

With that he was gone. The blonde starlet had listed demands and had nothing else to say. Thomas Friedman, the Jayne Mansfield of the "Times."
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Humor Spotlight: Wally explaining Nouri al-Maliki

Bully Boy Press breaks another exclusive! Wally always provides the sorely needed laugh.


THIS JUST IN! IRAQ PRIME MINISTER NOURI AL-MALIKI FLIES JETS!
BULLY BOY PRESS - DC.

THIS JUST IN!

IRAQ PRIME MINISTER NOURI AL-MALIKI FLIES JETS!

THE OCCUPATION PUPPET GOT HIS STRINGS PULLED AS BULLY BOY FARMED OUT MORE DUTIES.

ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT, 2 500-POUND BOMBS WERE DROPPED ON OR NEAR OR A FEW HOPS AND A SKIP FROM A HOUSE BELIEVED TO BE HOUSING THE MYTHIC ZARQAWI.

IT HAS NOW EMERGED THAT ZARQAWI OR "ZARQAWI" DID NOT DIE IMMEDIATELY IN THE BLAST.

BULLY BOY PRESS BREAKS THE EXCLUSIVE SHOCKER. THURSDAY NIGHT TONY BLAIR, POODLE AND BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, AND BULLY BOY PHONED NOURI AL-MALIKI "CONGRATULATING HIM ON AL-ZARQAWI'S DEATH."
AL-MALIKI WAS FLYING THE PLANE THAT DROPPED THE TWO BOMBS.

NEXT UP, BULLY BOY INTENDS TO HAVE HIM RESURFACING THE ROADS IN BASRA.






Recommended: "NYT: Everybody wants to be a war pornographer"
"Other Items (Robert Jay Lifton on Democracy Now)"
"Democracy Now: Michael Berg, Arun Gupta (Robert Parry/Ruth Conniff on KFPA's Living Room)"
"Propaganda and Haditha"
"Zarqawi's Death "Another Step in the Endless Cycle of Violence" -- Father of Beheaded Iraq Hostage"
"House Passes Controversial COPE Telecom Bill, Rejects Amendment to Protect Net Neutrality"
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Blog Spotlight: Elaine on tuna and Cat Radio Cafe

Blogger/Blogspot was a pain in the ass last week. Elaine got hit with the problems more than the rest in the community.  Prompting a morning post, a rare morning post as she notes in the title.
 

Rare morning post

I'm not redoing the lost post. But this is a rare morning post in case anyone feels cheated that Blogger "ate" my post last night.


"Consumer group warns pregnant women on tuna use" (Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune):
The chance that canned tuna will contain high levels of mercury is great enough that pregnant women should never eat it, according to new recommendations from a leading consumer group.
Officials at Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, said they decided to recommend a tuna-free diet for pregnant women based on a Tribune investigative series on mercury in fish and the latest testing by the Food and Drug Administration.
The newspaper reported late last year that about 15 percent of canned light tuna--the kind of tuna touted by the FDA as a low-mercury option--is made with a species that often contains high amounts of the toxic metal.
FDA officials later revealed that 6 percent of canned light tuna sampled between 2001 and 2005 had mercury levels that exceeded the average in canned albacore tuna, which the federal government tells pregnant women and young children to limit eating because it tends to have high levels of mercury.
In a two-page article in the July issue of Consumer Reports, the consumer group also urged pregnant women to shun four other kinds of seafood because of mercury concerns--Chilean sea bass, halibut, American lobster and Spanish mackerel.

I love tuna salad and have often existed on it when nothing else seemed worth eating. Then either C.I. passed me the In These Times cover story on the mercury in fish or I saw the Now with Bill Moyers' report (I don't remember which happened first) and I've pretty much given up one of my favorite dishes (and something quick and easy to make). Am I pregnant? No. But although it is dangerous for pregnant women, it's dangerous for many women. I remember Moyers' report containing a woman (who was not pregnant) plauged by headaches and a doctor who finally diagnosed the problem (after many others failed): mercury poisoning. I also believed it was explained in one of the two that the Mad Hatter (of Alice in Wonderland fame) was probably "mad" because mercury was once used in the making of hats -- he was suffering from mercury poisoning.

"Kidnappings in Iraq point to lawlessness" (Liz Sly, The Chicago Tribune):
Men wearing police uniforms descended on a Baghdad street Monday morning and abducted about 50 people, hauling them off buses, dragging them out of shops and snatching them off the sidewalk in one of the most dramatic illustrations yet of the lawlessness into which Iraq is sliding.
The mysterious abductions coincide with an increasingly worrying vacuum of leadership at the Interior and Defense ministries, responsible for bringing security to the country. The ministerial posts have remained unfilled because the Shiite and Sunni factions in Iraq's new government have been unable to reach an agreement on suitable candidates for the jobs, in just one indicator of the deep divide.
The lightning raid by men in uniforms was disavowed by Iraq's Interior Ministry, but questions persisted nonetheless as to how dozens of armed men were able to carry off such a daring operation in broad daylight in the center of the city.
The abductions took place less than a mile from the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy and many U.S. military operations are based.

For more on that read C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" (always, it runs Monday through Friday each week). Also please read Mike's " Law and Disorder and more."

On WBAI's Cat Radio Cafe yesterday, Janet Coleman interviewed writer Bel Kaufman. Kaufman wrote a book that is always fresh and alive to me no matter how many times I reread it, Up the Down Staircase. If you've never read the book, a college student has graduated with honors and with hopes and dreams. She joins the public school system eager to impart her knowledge and love for Chaucer only to come up against an entrenched system and that's all the summary I'll provide you with. I will warn you that this isn't a Touchstone film (so don't expect a rousing, feel good ending).

Cat Radio Cafe airs on WBAI each Monday from two to three p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It's an on air "salon" (as Coleman pointed out yesterday) and explores the arts, politics and the world. Kaufman wasn't the only guest but she's is the reason I'm writing this. I woke up three times last night and, each time as I got a glass of water, I would find myself thinking, "She wrote one of your favorite books! You really need to note her!"

German born Kaufman came to this country from Russia when she was twelve (the ship journey is a story in itself and you can hear her tell it by going to WBAI and listening to an archived version of the broadcast). She is the granddaughter of the writer Sholom Aleichem (whose stories were used for the musical Fiddler On the Roof).

She has a new book planned out . . . in her head. Coleman urged her to begin writing it which, as an incredible fan of Up the Down Staircase, is advice I hope she will follow.

"25 Years Ago Today: The Discovery of HIV" (Democracy Now!):
Meanwhile it was 25 years ago today, June 5th 1981, when a California doctor named Michael Gottleib published a brief report about the first diagnosis of the HIV virus. Since then 25 million people have died of AIDS. An average of 8,000 continue to die each day.
Dr. Michael Gottlieb: "In the first few years after I reported my cases of AIDS I felt like the people on the rooftops during Katrina waving, shouting, screaming, begging for help and it did not come. When it came eventually it came with all these strings attached. You must have abstinence instead of condoms. You don't get enough medication to treat the people you need to treat who are indigent. Our government has had a colossal failure in responding to the AIDS epidemic."

That item is from yesteday but worth noting. AIDS changed the landscape in a way that few events (or diseases) ever do. The government response was to ignore it originally. That was under Ronald Reagan. Though Bully Boy is more comfortable saying the name, he's no more comfortable approaching the issues honestly and, I belive, we will look back on his two terms and realize that they not only wasted money but harmed many people by devoting talk and monies to junk science. I've lost all respect for Bono as a result of his inability to call out the nonsense of the Bully Boy and, as a gay friend pointed out, his reluctance to address AIDS seriously himself. (Highlighting pediatric AIDS was the easiest way to note the disease in the eighties. Bono appears determined to go that route again. It may get the right-wing churches on his side but it ignores a huge portion of the affected population and, intentionally or not, sets up the implication that there are 'noble' victims and there are those who get 'what they deserve.')

"Wife of Marine Says Troops At Haditha Were Likely On Speed" (Democracy Now!):
However the wife of one of the staff sergeants involved in the Haditha killings has told Newsweek that there was a total breakdown in discipline including drug and alcohol abuse within the Marine unit. She said "I think it's more than possible that these guys were totally tweaked out on speed or something when they shot those civilians in Haditha."

No time left to review that item. Hopefully, it speaks for itself.

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Blog Spotlight: Kat covers the California elections and Guns and Butter

Kat covering a show that couldn't sell out if it wanted to.  (That's meant as praise.) Kat also covers the California elections (and much better than some -- community members understand, others scratch their heads). 
 

Guns and Butter, Betty's latest chapter and more

Several things. First, a number of e-mails asked about posts? We just had a primary yesterday. (And a very low turnout.) I was trying to get the word out on the propositions so that even people who didn't give a damn about the candidates and, sorry, American Democrats, but most of us didn't give a damn about the Democratic nominee for governor. They weren't that different and no one felt like voting was going to make that big of difference.

Since that was top of the ticket, that might have depressed turnout.

I can't believe that we've got another boring candidate. We had it with Bustamante as well. But the national media wanted to act like there was really a race there between him and Ahnuld. There wasn't.

Ahnuld looks far less than 'good guy' that some uninformed voters thought he was last time; however, I'm not looking forward to the general election with any expectations.

There may be a lesson here. The lesson everyone's pushing is that because Marcy Winograd lost to Jane Harmon, the stay silent on the war and everything else is a good solution. The truth that the national media seems unaware of is that Harmon put out a last minute commercial talking about the need to hold people accountable. A friend saw it and called me excitedly, "She will go for impeachment!" She won't. But there was no talking my friend out of the mistaken belief.

Here's what I see. Take for what you think it's worth.

The lesson from Marcy is that she got basically a third of the vote, running against a powerful incumbent. If Marcy had more time, she probably could have gotten even more. So the lesson here is that Dems shouldn't be so damn complacent.

I think that carries to the top of the ticket this race. We saw two boring candidates vie for the Dem nomination for governor and our reaction was not just too yawn, it was too stay home.
That's a lesson Dems might want to consider nationally.

Ahnuld's unpopular. So is the Bully Boy. But if you don't run campaigns that speak to people, people may not show up. So we could very easily be spending December thinking, "What happened? The Democrats seemed to have a lock on it."

I also, dropping back to lack of posts, had my nieces visiting last week.

I almost didn't finish the album review. C.I. said not to worry about but I said I'd have it done on Saturday and I made it just barely. ("Kat's Korner: Janis Ian blows in on a gentle breeze")

This week? Now that the election's over, I'm moving a little slower. I did make Trina's latest
"Potatoes Anna in the Kitchen" and they turned out pretty well.

By the way three members are bothered that in Mike's "My interview with Kat" I came out in favor of dropping highlights to keep the "Iraq snapshot" at The Common Ills. That interview was done on Wednesday ("while voting was still going on!" wrote one) but I already knew it wouldn't post until Thursday evening. Voting ended Thursday at noon (EST) on that issue. By the time my remarks went up, the voting was over. So the "influencing" I was accused of attempting really only means influencing Mike and I'll go ahead and break it to the three, everyone doing a site had already discussed this and all felt that the "Iraq snapshot" was more important than highlights.

Rebecca, in "todd chretien, music and wmd," voiced her opinion while the vote was going on. We agreed but even if we hadn't, she can voice her opinion anytime she wants. That's her right.

What I did feel bad about was talking about Isaiah's illustrations. I meant what I said but I know it makes him nervous when he feels there are expectations to be met. I did wonder, "Was there really a wedding he had to attend or was that an excuse because I'd made him nervous with all my praise?" (There was no comic Sunday.)

Other than that, I don't regret anything in the interview.

KPFA broadcasts Guns and Butter and it aired it's latest today. I hope you were listening. William Pepper's speech was this week's show. William Pepper. Say it with me, "William Pepper." Why? The New York Times wrote another one of their silly pieces (this one on the 9/11 truth movement convention) and worked real hard to avoid mentioning him by name. It was a very curious article. The New York Times was mentioned by Pepper on today's show. He talked about how James Earl Ray was supposedly a part of a bank robbery -- that's where he supposedly got his money. The Times broke that story on their front page.

But Pepper spoke to the police, he spoke to the bank president. Ray wasn't involved and they hadn't talked to the paper. It was just disinformation. He talked about how, in the fifties, twelve (I believe it was twelve) positions were created at the paper for the CIA and that those slots continue to this day.

Is that why the paper avoided mentioning him by name this week? Who knows?

(To give credit where it's due, he noted that Carl Bernstein had broken that story in the seventies.)

KPFA's Guns and Butter airs every Wednesday and if you missed it or if you didn't know about it and are thinking, "I'm curious" -- you can use either link to access an archived broadcast which you can listen to at no charge.

Now a correction to something at The Common Ills today. I did help Betty today. I called her at work this morning to say, "You're 'husband' is on TV!" Amy Goodman interviewed him (Thomas Friedman on "Petropolitics", Iraq, Israel-Palestine and the "Excuse Makers"). But someone else helped as well. What I did was type up some things she dictated. Betty sends drafts to C.I. in e-mails. C.I.'s the one who went through the three "scraps" (Betty's word) looking for useable pieces. C.I. assembled them, e-mailed them to me and I read them to Betty who made changes in her original versions and created the new section about the interview. That's just how C.I. is, always the first to give credit and always the last to accept any.

But Betty saw that and asked me if I could note here that there was another helper.

I wasn't trying to urge her to write, by the way. I know she's busy. But it blew me away that Thomas Friedman was a guest and Betty listens in the evening, driving to the daycare after work, then driving home with kids. I could just picture her going off the road without a heads up to who was on. When she found out, she said, "I have to write something today."

But it's a church night for her. So there's really no time. When we got off the phone, she was going to try to think of something. Then I called C.I. and suggested if it was mentioned, the interview, with a few comments, at The Common Ills then Betty might not feel so much pressure to try to make time to write. C.I. said, she had three pieces already that she was working on and maybe something could be pulled from each?

Then a few minutes later (I think 15) C.I. called me and asked if I was calling her. I'd planned to because she's got a promotion a work and those can be stressful. So I generally do call at least once a day right now just to give her a pep talk. So it was no problem to call again (maybe it was a problem for her -- to get another call for me!) C.I. told me about the "montage." So I called
Betty and read it to her. She made a few changes (it was a montage of three pieces she was working on, to be clear, all writing was Betty's) and I posted it for her.

Don't expect that happen to again. (Not my helping her but morning posts from her.) But this was a rare thing. She covers Thomas Friedman and he was on the community's favorite program. So she felt she had to write something about it. So she did. And just before noon (EST) you had "Thomas Friedman, the Jayne Mansfield of the New York Times." Be sure to check it out.

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Blog Spotlight: Rebecca takes a pass on the overpriced coffee mugs

Rebecca on why she doesn't need an NPR totebag, thank you very much.
 

did you get the memo?

did you get the memo?

time to rally the troops to once again save npr/pbs.

save npr?

wasn't the mc-millions supposed to do that?

and on those mc-millions, in a decade or 2 will people look at that money the way people now see donations from big tobacco?

regardless, the seasons are changing, the dems are telling us, again, they'll save us. funny how they couldn't talk that talk during the alito confirmation hearings.

but now they'll save us.

thanks, i'll save myself.

how about dems just try to do your damn job?

that would be wonderful.

but it's time to save pbs and npr.

i'm looking at countless e-mails on that and wondering why they bother to send this to me?

i'm all for serious issues.

npr?

pbs?

pbs. i have satellite tv. i don't need public television.

before you say 'well you rude, rich bitch," who does need pbs?

people who can't afford cable and satellite could have a few more viewing options with pbs.

but pbs doesn't give a damn about those people. it's still not moved to digital (how much money have they wasted on that move anyway?) but that is the plan. get out of broadcast, move to digital.

take the 'public' (even more so) out of public television.

i'm supposed to save a corporation that doesn't give a damn about the people who need them the most?

i've got sundance. i've got a million channels. i did watch the barbra streisand special. (fly boy also bought me the boxed set of all the specials.) that's about the only thing i've HAD to see on pbs in years.

so i'll take a pass (again) on pbs.

i'll take a pass on npr which is possibly more useless than pbs. national petroleum radio is what dennis bernstein likes to dub them (and did so friday on ). it's a wonderful point.

there is no public in npr or pbs.

but we're all supposed to rally around and save them again so they can stab the people in the back again.

gina & krista did a poll of the community (noted here with permission) and if this effects pacifica, we'll care. it probably doesn't. (if it does, we'll hear about it and join the fight.) pacifica doesn't get the funds that npr does from the government because pacifica won't agree to the censorship that npr regularly does.

want to save public radio? don't e-mail your congress members about npr or pbs. use the time to grab a person, sit them down and get them to listen to pacifica. they'll end up aware that there is an alaternative. get the word out.

1 out of 10 listeners contribute, i believe that's the figure. it would be wonderful if every 1 could contribute (fly boy and i did in the latest round) but every 1 can't. that's reality. those who can need to do so for their own listening pleasure and because others can't. increasing the number of listeners around the world increases the chances that more people can contribute.

so do something useful, get the word out on pacifica.

the not so fresh air of terry gross won't be missed. boo hoo for terry 'all i did was ask.' yes dear, but whom did you ask, whom? not any 1 that could talk about the war in a realistic manner. terry thinks realism comes via dexter filkins of the new york times. three years into the war and the anti-war movement remains invisible on what is supposed to be national public radio with the exception of a report or two or three on cindy sheehan. terry gross can probe in mind numbing detail how a craftsman (and they're usually always 'men') came to see driftwood as the perfect medium to express himself in, she just can't address anything that effects our lives.

steve and renee might have to get real jobs. cokie might have to do a few more corporate convention speeches. every 1 will live. if times get hard for them, good. they might be forced to reconsider their own actions when they pushed the stock market as a way of covering labor issues. they might have to think, 'i wouldn't be existing on ramen noodles right now if only i'd said "this is crap, people are having hard times, we need to report it!" ' they never would. they can't.

they try to sell the idea that they have an upscale audience. brings in the corporate underwriting. (never raising unplesant issues keeps the corporate underwriting.)

we've got 2 wars waging right now. i really don't have time to try to fish crap out of a toilet yet again which is how i see npr and pbs.

let 'em die if they can't survive on their own.

how many millions did they give newt? bill bennett?

they always have money for that. they always have money for everything but the people.

they can kiss my ass.

they're crap and we kid ourselves each cycle that we'll save them and they'll appreciate it.

they don't.

i advocate that every 1 sit this 1 out.

let pbs and npr realize what happens when the natural audience they have betrayed sits it out.
let them work to get us back.

they were never 'left.' they were attempting to provide a better job representing the public. those days are gone.

i think it's past time people quit kidding themselves that any of their efforts to save funding in the past were appreciated.

nothing changes.

they won't even fire mara liar liason even though she regularly breaks every ethic and code of her profession. if that was a leftist going on about republicans, she would have been told 'you are a reporter, not a columnist - you can't work here and do that pundit gig anymore.' but she's a right winger, who reportedly assured roger ailes she was a republican before she started appearing on fox 'news' - so every 1 looks the other way when she all but calls for the heads of congress members on charges of treason.

you want to fight to save that, you go right ahead.

but there are serious battles to be fought.

this isn't 1 of them.

let them fight to save their own damn ass for a change.

let them see how far that gets them.

when they finally face a real cut, a deep 1, that can't be restored, maybe they'll learn to appreciate the audience?

until that happens, screw them.

maybe you can use the time to protest the war, protest the war on women, protest any number of REAL issues. or maybe you can just use the time to take a moment to relax?

zoing out in front of the tv is more productive than attempting to 'save' a so-called friend.

npr and pbs are a spouse that you repeatedly catch cheating.

now hillary would forgive that.

but is hillary clinton now the standard for the left?

i hope not.

be sure to read c.i.'s "NYT: Everybody wants to be a war pornographer" and "Other Items (Robert Jay Lifton on Democracy Now)" - they are amazing.

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Blog Spotlight: Cedric discussing Law and Disorder

Cedric with thoughts on WBAI's Law and Disorder.
 

Law and Disorder on Ahmed Omar Abu Ali

Yesterday, Mike wrote about one aspect of WBAI's Law and Disorder (which airs each Monday morning at ten). I am focusing on the first guest, Tasneem Abu Ali. She is the sister of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali. Do you know either of their names?

You should. The segment was set up by noting that you should picture yourself a college student winning a scholarship and then have everything go horribly wrong.

What went wrong? Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was convicted and sented to thirty years in federal prison. He is an American citizen who went abroad to study. In the War OF Terror, he became one of the victims. He was abducted by the Saudi Arabia government and tortured. This was with the knowledge of the American government. An American citizen was abducted and tortured by another government with the knowledge (I'd argue with the permission) of the American government.

Under over forty-days of torture, Ahmed finally confessed. During that time he was beaten, he was deprived of contact with others, he was interrogated over and over. Near the end, they presented him with a "confession" and asked him to copy it on paper (to have it in his own handwriting). Then they made him sign it.

It was pointed out by Dalia Hashad that Amnesty (she's over an American branch of Amnesty and I forget the exact title, sorry) has noted Saudia Arabia's policies of torture to coerce confessions.

But when Ahmed was brought back to this country, even with physical proof of torture, the court ignored it. They went with a confession obtained under torture. (Of a kid. No offense to any young readers or to Wally and Mike who might take offense because they're around Ahmed's age but this was a kid. Yes, an adult, but just barely.) In this country's it's still illegal to torture someone into confessing. (And torture doesn't lead to reliable confessions. People will say anything to avoid more torture.) But the court allowed the confession to be seen as legal.

If you don't care for Ahmed's sake or for the sake of his sister Tasneem (who's really standing by her brother), you should care for this country and for yourself. In fact, you should be frightened. When we start accepting confessions from torture into our court systems, the next step is not caring if it happened in another country or not. The next step is accepting torture as a feature of American life.

That's not what a democracy is supposed to believe in.

Ahmed needs to be released. Not in a few years with time off for good behavior. He needs to be released right now. If you can't make a case without something gained through torture, you don't have a case.

I think the kid's innocent. But it really doesn't matter under our legal system. Our legal system finds you not guilty if the evidence can't stand up. A confession under torture shouldn't stand up in a court of a law.

If you've never listened to Law and Disorder you should make a point to. Yes, they're talking about important issues. But also because it's four attornies who know the law talking about important issues. This is a really great show. Mike covered one segment ("Law and Disorder and more") and I'm covering this one. That way when Ruth writes her report this weekend, she can grab the third segment (which we assume is the one she wanted to grab). She can note anything she wants on the segments we covered but hopefully won't have to. What she's been doing takes a lot of work and way too much for anyone person. So we're trying to help her out by easing the burden. (And the show we're covering is never a 'burden' to listen to or write about.)

Now yesterday Elaine attempted to do a long post about the last edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review and lost it. I spoke with her for that and I think she probably wrote an amazing thing. She's not redoing it (Blogger/Blogspot lost her post in the posting stage). I don't blame her for that. She spent around four hours on it. Who has that kind of time? The thing I want to note here is that I'm not mad but, that said, I was really glad C.I. pointed out that while the short story that was never written was worked on and worked on for hours, my idea was forgotten. C.I. made a point of that. I appreciated that. I know people were focused on other things and it just got forgotten. I understand that. But I almost put it up here earlier. I didn't because they wanted to use it for the fiction edition.

Of course, I knew it was being overlooked. I should have said something but didn't want to come off whiney. (I also stayed silent about the four plus hours spent on the short story that never came -- and I stayed silent because I didn't want anyone thinking, "Well he just wants us to work on his short story.") Everyone else was focusing on the edition. And they were thinking this could be a great short story (the one that never resulted in anything). Ty also got overlooked and he had a great idea (a better one than I did).

When Ava and C.I. rejoined everyone after writing their TV commentary ("TV: TESR Investigates"), they were shocked that this non-story was still being worked on. They made their disgust very obvious. And that's really what it took to get us all to face that this thing wouldn't be written because there was no story there. But I noted to Elaine that I apreciated the fact that C.I. not only remembered my idea but pointed out to everyone that I'd held off writing it at this site because I'd been asked to save it for their site.

That jogged everyone's memory. And everyone was very apologetic about it. (Which I also appreciate.) But I got an e-mail about noting (in "news via Democracy Now and a conversation in three parts") the fact that C.I. had been supportive when I was worried about writing something and the e-mailer asked if that was usually the case. It's always been the case. Everyone is encouraging. I don't want to imply that they aren't. And they all listen. But C.I.'s got an elephant's memory or something. And C.I., who's never said, "Wait a minute, what about me?", is always the first to point it out when someone else is being forgotten. I was asked in the same e-mail if C.I. had ever griped about anything I'd done? Yes, about the point I made of thanking in "news via Democracy Now and a conversation in three parts." That's about the only thing I've ever done that's upset C.I. (that I know of).

This Sunday, we may or may not pick up with some more short stories. As for other people's thoughts on last Sunday, Elaine tried to cover it. (And she bailed on that short story. She was very vocal that it wouldn't work as a short story because it had no plot, no characters and no one knew what it was supposed to be about. The one that never ran because it never could be written.) I've covered my part of it. But no one was mad at anyone (that's the reason she wrote it, she had e-mails about that). We were all irritated that the edition was moving so slowly -- and we were irritated for a number of reasons.

That's it for me tonight. Betty's not blogging tonight. Kat called me and passed it on. Betty just started a new job (a promotion) at work last Tuesday. She's still trying to get used to the new demands of that. Kat and I are both going to offer her the chance do some joint posts with us this week if she wants to. But she's got no time right now to enter the world of Betinna (the lead character in her comic online novel).

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Blog Spotlight: Mike on Iraq

Mike with some good news (study group).
 

Violence continues in Iraq

C.I. called and asked if I was posting? :D C.I.'s been waiting for me (and Elaine to post) so that we could be highlighted in this morning's entry. I had a long night. (In fact, the earlier post is what I posted when I finally got home.) So let's kick things off with Democracy Now!

31 Killed in Violence; Vehicle Traffic Banned in Baghdad
Meanwhile, at least 31 people were killed Thursday in three separate bombings across Iraq. In the day’s worst violence, 13 people were killed in an attack at a Baghdad fruit market. The Iraqi government has imposed a daytime vehicle ban in Baghdad in anticipation of violent retaliation for Zarqawi’s death.

The war drags on. But you know what? The study group that we have for a class? Two of the people in it who are against the war came up to Nina and me wondering if we could have a study group on Iraq? Where we just got together once a week to talk about what's going on and to figure out ways to get the word out, ways to protest and other stuff.

You know we were up for that and Tony said, "Count me in too!" So there were five of us and one more in the study group as well as three or four others that were supposed to be coming along. It ended up being thirty-six people. Dad had been interested when I told him about it and I'd told him he should come. He felt like he'd be the only person his age. He wouldn't have been. I was really amazed but it shows you how many people are interested in this issue, how much opposition there is to the war. Next week, it will meet here so Dad can hang around and see for himself that people his age are there and then he'll join in. But the thing is, people do want this war to end and they are looking for places where they can discuss it -- big media doesn't care.

Nina's so much more prepared than me. (On everything.) She printed up C.I.'s "NYT: Everybody wants to be a war pornographer" and "Other Items (Robert Jay Lifton on Democracy Now)". You want to talk conversation starters?

Next time, we'll just read stuff out loud. But we had to haul in chairs (we were at Tony's) and stuff because so many people showed up. So Nina passed out those two print outs and people read them while everyone was waiting. As soon as we got the discussion started, it never stopped.

What I had done was print up one copy of C.I.'s "Democracy Now: Michael Berg, Arun Gupta (Robert Parry/Ruth Conniff on KFPA's Living Room)" so I could read the Iraq snapshot. That led to a lot of talk as well because people felt like what they were getting was "He's Dead! Happy Talk! Everything's Perfect! Now!" and that's not reality.

It also let me plug Democracy Now! which you know I loved doing. Nina gets irritated when someone our age doesn't know about the program. I always get excited and think, "Okay, how can I interest them in this show?" :D

Senate, House Leaders Agree on $65B for Iraq, Afghanistan Wars
Meanwhile, lawmakers have finalized a budget agreement that will provide $65.8 billion dollars for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The budget agreement comes as a new poll shows a record 59 percent of Americans believe going to war against Iraq was a "mistake."

Always money for that. We don't have health care, we can't fund our schools, but there's always money to waste on war.

Elaine always beats me to posting. Not this morning! :D I'm calling to wake her up in a bit. She had a date last night and a really rought week so she wasn planning on sleeping in (hope with her date!). When we were talking yesterday, she asked me wake her if I didn't see a post by eleven in the morning. Unless she's still working on that post, she's sleeping. :D Check out Like Maria Said Paz later for Elaine's thoughts.

Check out Wally's "THIS JUST IN! IRAQ PRIME MINISTER NOURI AL-MALIKI FLIES JETS!" (Bully Boy Press breaks another exclusive!) , Dahr Jamail and Jeff Pflueger's "Propaganda and Haditha," Danny Schechter's "Dissecting the Zargawi Spectacle" and Rebecca's "did you get the memo?".

Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Guess what? Chaos and violence continue.
As Amy Goodman noted, Baghdad had a traffic curfew Friday. The AFP notes that traffic curfew applies "from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm local time" and that the curfew also applies to Baquba. China's People's Daily notes "[a] night curfew for traffic and people movement was also imposed in Diyala province from 8:00 p.m. (1600 GMT) to 6:00 a.m.(0200 GMT) for three days".
Yesterday, on KPFA's Flashpoints, Robert Knight noted the "bruised but remarkably presevrved corpse" of what is alleged to be al-Zarqawi. (Those without audio options can read Rebecca's summary.) Did someone panic as people started noticing?
Who knows but today's spin is that al-Zarqawi lived through the bombing and died on the stretcher. That's the spin and it's all over. No one, apparently, can write of it without noting it. Here's what few are noting: Bully Boy was "smiling and joking with aides" before he put on his let-me-look-constipated-so-people-think-I'm-concerned face (Julian Borger, Guardian of London). KUNA reports it might not have been as fun today for Bully Boy's father -- Poppy Bush "arrived at the Yorkshire Events Centre, northern England" where he was greeted by peace activist Lindis Percy who "unfurled a United States flag and accused Bush Senior's son of doing terrible things in the world."
While Bully Boy got his chuckles on Thursday and Poppy got the "boo"s on Friday,Muthana al-Badri was kidnapped. Reuters notes of Badri that he is, "in his 60s, has always worked for SCOP." (SCOP is "Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects".) In other oil related news, the AFP reports that three oil engineers and two other people were killed "on the road between the refinery town of Baiji and the northern city of Tikrit," while in Kirkuk "gunmen attacked soldiers guarding a piepline" (one civilian dead, three soldiers wounded). This as the AFP reports: "World oil prices climbed as concerns resurfaced over tensions in crude-producing countries Iran and Iraq".
Australia's ABC reports the death of "34-year-old Australian" from a roadside bomb -- also dead were three people traveling with him all dead. The man has not been identified but, in a later ABC report, they identify him as a "security worker" and he hailed from Queenslander and Australia's prime minister John Howard states, "We do recommend that Australians stay away from Iraq for very obvious reason."
CBS and the AP note CBS journalist Elizabeth Palmer's report of a "firefight" in Ghalibiya that led to at least five civilian deaths and "five houses . . . demolished." Meanwhile Reuters reports that the Iraqi police announced today the Thursday death of Zuhair Muhammad Kshmola who was "the brother of the governor of Mosul province." The Associated Press provides the update: "Gunmen opened fire on Friday's funeral procession for the brother of the governor of the northern city of Mosul." Reuters notes that "two civilian trucks" headed "for the U.S. base in Ramadi" was attacked and the drivers kidnapped. And just as kidnappings are a regular event in Iraq now, so the discovery of corpses. The AFP reports that "five corpses, including one of a woman" were discovered in Baghdad.
So much for what, as Sandra Lupien noted on KPFA's The Morning Show today, Iraq's brand-new interior minister (Jawad al-Bolani) termed, only yesterday, "a new beginning for Iraq."
Finally, CNN reports that the body of Hashim Ibrahim Awad's body is in the United States. Awad died in the April 26th incident that his family described to Knight Ridder's Nancy A. Youssef as: ""U.S. Marines took him from his home in the middle of the night and killed him. The Marines then used an AK-47 assault rifle and a shovel taken from another home to make him look like a terrorist." CNN reports that the body was exhumed, with the family's permission, "for forensic analysis."















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