Chummyness You Can Believe In

Last week Barack lunched with Bully Boy, Poppy Bully, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.



Strangely, at photo time, Barack wanted to be flanked by the Bushes.



Alleged Democrat Barack felt most comfortable standing between two Republicans.



No wonder he quickly declared war on Social Security last week.

Ms. Pathetic, fold tent please

The useless and pathetic Ms. magazine decided to remind America that the Feminist Majority Foundation's take-over of Ms. ensured that Gloria's "Sex, Lies and Advertising" would be rendered useless. Why worry about what advertisers try to force magazines into doing when you become nothing but a tool for the Democratic Pary.





That's what happened.





It's a useless magazine -- one badly written, badly edited and that remains an eye sore despite the glossy pages.





Now it's pulled a stunt that's outraged a number of people (the number will grow as people hear about it -- not "see it" because NO ONE reads Ms. magazine anymore).





The stunt?





What's a whore need to do? Sell it, sweetie, sell it.











So they've splashed Barack on the cover and that's offensive enough and as desperate as when GQ made Julia Roberts their first cover woman. But hey, GQ's nothing but a fashion spread with a few words tossed in, Ms. was supposed to stand for something, right?





At Corrente, Shainzona shares these thoughts:





It's time for Ms. Magazine to fold its tent and slink silently into the night. If they pretend to represent women and their issues, I fear for my daughter, granddaughter and all women of the world.
Shame on them. Really. Shame on them.





It is time for them to close shop. We noted that months ago and we'd be as outraged but we were prepared for it and you should have been as well. Ava and C.I. documented it. They wrote about the inner-office e-mails Ms. magazine circulated -- during the Democratic Party primary -- calling Hillary a "bitch," a "c**t" and so much worse -- yes, Virginia, there is worse than the c-word.





Ava and C.I. told you about how Ms./Feminist Majority Foundation's Feminist Wire (sometimes Feminist Wire Daily) did nothing to call out the sexism during the Democratic Party primary. After little Davy Shoo-shoo got suspended by MSNBC, Feminist Wire finally had a write-up. After. (For saying Hillary was apparently pimping out Chelsea.)





Ava and C.I. told you repeatedly how Ms. refused to call out the sexism and how Ms. was staffed with liars like Michele Kort who were destroying the magazine.





Ava and C.I. told you all about how, after ignoring the sexism Hillary faced day-after-day, the magazine suddenly wanted to let someone weigh in on the Barack and Hillary campaigns. Who wrote that piece? If we said "self-loathing lesbian, fatty division," could you guess?





If you guessed Donna Brazile, you are correct. The Barack supporting Brazile -- busted on CNN by Campbell Brown and getting snipping with Campbell after. Big Momma's Mouth, Donna Brazile.





So it's no surprise now that Ms. put a man on the cover or that the man is the sexist pig Barack.





They put him in a t-shirt that reads, "This is what feminism looks like."





Well, what? You expected them to put Michelle Obama on the cover?





The same trashy Michelle who declared in November 2007, on the campaign trail in South Carolina, that if someone couldn't keep their 'home' in order, they couldn't be president. The term for what Michelle did is: bitchy.





The same Michelle who, when asked if she was a feminist, ran with these comments, "You know, I’m not that into labels. So probably, if you laid out a feminist agenda, I would probably agree with a large portion of it. I wouldn't identify as a feminist just like I probably wouldn’t identify as a liberal or a progressive."





Don't fret it, Michelle, we'd never mistake you for a feminist.





We'd never mistake your husband for one either. And for so many reasons not limited to his repeated use of the word "sweetie" to refer to women. Let's go to the woman who emerged as one of the bravest of 2008, Marie Cocco. From her "Obama's Abortion Stance When 'Feeling Blue'" (Washington Post Writers Group):





Obama says that these women should not be able to obtain a late-term abortion, because just "feeling blue" isn't the same as suffering "serious clinical mental health diseases." True enough. And totally infuriating.


During the recent Obama pander tour -- the one in which he spent about a week trying to win over conservative religious voters -- the presumptive Democratic nominee unnecessarily endorsed President Bush's faith-based initiative, a sort of patronage program that rewards religious activists for their political support with public grants. Then in a St. Louis speech, Obama declared that "I let Jesus Christ into my life." That's fine, but we already have a president who believes this was a qualification for the Oval Office, and look where that's gotten us.


Obama's verbal meanderings on the issue of late-term abortion go further. He has muddied his position. Whether this is a mistake or deliberate triangulation, only Obama knows for sure.


One thing is certain: Obama has backhandedly given credibility to the right-wing narrative that women who have abortions -- even those who go through the physically and mentally wrenching experience of a late-term abortion -- are frivolous and selfish creatures who might perhaps undergo this ordeal because they are "feeling blue."





Ms. chooses to ignore the above. Ms. chooses to ignore that George W. Bush appointed more women to his cabinet than Barack Obama has currently (his cabinet is unofficial until the Senate confirms the nominees).





"That's what feminism looks like!" gushes Ms. Really? You mean like this:





Seen but not heard?


Michelle Obama joined Senator Barack Obama at a rally Sunday, but she did not speak. That was hardly unusual, particularly because Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. was on hand to intorduce the man at the top of the Democratic ticket.


But Mr. Obama went on to offer an explanation anyway.


"Michelle decided she wasn't going to speak today," Mr. Obama told a crowd in Detroit. "She just wanted to sit there and look cute. That's O.K. It's O.K. with me!"


Mrs. Obama smiled, but it was unclear if it was O.K. with her.





You go, Sister Baracka!



Barack makes the girls at Ms. feel so good about themselves, they just feel like frolicking and, let's be honest, they feel like marketing hatred.





Closet-case Donna Brazile gets a column. Where's the out-proud lesbian in the pages of Ms. writing about that? Search in vain for that woman.





Good thing because no proud lesbian could work for Ms. these days. Rick Warren, the homophobe, will be the religious authority at Barack's inauguration and Ricky hates the gays -- male and female. He hates the women period.





As Reclusive Leftist explains:





When Rick Warren was invited to preside at Obama's Inauguration, I wrote that his selection was an insult to women everywhere. Warren is an antediluvian sexist who believes that women were put on earth to obey their husbands. His Christianity is a front for male supremacy; his biblical "literalism" a patchwork of cherry-picked verses. If his noxious doctrine were merely an intellectual exercise, it would be offensive.
But it's not an intellectual exercise. There are real-world consequences.
As Nina M. points out, Warren doesn't believe battered women have the right to seek a divorce. "God hates divorce," says Warren, with the confident affability of a 250-pound man who's never cowered in fear for his life:
It's not like you can escape the pain… You don't -- you don't escape the pain. And I'd always rather choose a short term pain and find God's solution for a long term gain, than try and find a short term solution that's going to involve a long term pain in life.
Actually, you can escape the pain -- and the fists and the knives and the drunken rages and the loaded guns. But somehow I don’t think that’s what Warren is talking about. I suspect none of those things are quite real to him, just as women aren't quite real to him -- not as full human beings, that is.





That's right, Ms. magazine supports homophobia and domestic abuse now. That's what their brand of 'feminism' looks like. What a proud, proud moment for them.



[For more on this topic, see Heidi Li's "This is just incredible."]
[Ty note: Link to Heidi Li fixed 1-12-09. Thanks to Debra for e-mailing to say it wasn't working.]

The New Ms. magazine! (Parody)

Our hot, hot cover will have all the girls in your steno pool seeing red as you walk into the office flashing the latest issue! Hot-hot-hot Barack removing clothes! It's enough to make any and every woman think she's having a heat flash! We got very lucky with this issue because our first choice for the face of today's feminism, Frank Hart, told us he was too busy working on a new musical set to hit Broadway later this year. At which point, we thought of Barack. He called us all sweeties, pinched our fannies and suggested if it would get us home sooner so we could get busy fixing our husbands' dinner, he'd do it. What a prince!!!!!

-- Michie Kort, Head Girl in Charge . . . Until A Man Walks In The Room



Saying Yes To Get What You Want: Empowering Your Way Into A New Mink Stole

by Robin Gurley Morgan

Empowerment doesn't have to be a 100% thing. That can be taxing. It's so much easier to be empowered on your terms. And if you're really smart, like I or my friend Dorothy Shaw, you'll quickly grasp that putting out should be done on an installment plan. You give a little, he gives a little.

And if you play it just right, you end up with a lovely mink stole. No, it can't tell you "I love you." But it's dead. So it has an excuse. And it looks so lovely around your shoulders. Remember gals, Fur Is Murder . . . on the pocketbook. That's where a gentleman caller can really come in handy.



For 10 Seconds I Thought I Was A Lesbian, Then I Realilzed I Was Just Ugly

by Donna Brazile

Sometimes when I'm down on the swamp back home, I'd get to thinking, "Now Donna Brazile, I don't want to shock you,, but child, I think you one of those lesbians." And I would immediately shoot back, "No, I'm not." Then I would point out how I haven't had a date with a man in . . . well never. Then I would raise my voice and tell myself I didn't appreciate being spied upon!

Pretty soon I was yelling at myself and cursing myself and my mama was running out on the front porch hollering, "Donna, get your ass inside the house. The neighbors already think you're plumb loco and all the kids in the neighborhood run from you like you're Michael Jackson." And I'd say, "I'll come in when I've finished my discussion, Mama." And so I'd be trying to wrap up real quick and, I gotta tell you, that ain't easy because, this may surprise you, but I've learned that I fight dirty. I'd just make up any old lie and shout it at myself.

But after another hour or so, it hit me like all the ugly sticks on a tree I was shimmying up but ended up falling down: Donna Brazile, I said, you is ugly. You is the ugliest thing I ever did see. You're fat. You've got bad skin. Even Al Sharpton wouldn't want your hair.

And that's when it hit me: I'm no lesbian, I'm just ugly.

I started thanking Jesus right then and there because I know all lesbians go to hell. That's what my preacher used to say and Mama would slap me on the knee and say, "Donna, you pay attention to that. Donna, you especially pay attention to that."

So now when I get into arguments with myself and I start accusing myself of being a lesbian, I just shoot back, "Hell no, Donna Brazile's just ugly. She's just about the ugliest woman you ever did see. In fact, there are animals in the zoo that look prettier than Donna Brazile!" And that always makes me feel better. Like I did back when I was a teenager and I'd study the photos of Janet Jackson in Right On!



He Won't Sleep On The Wet Spot, What Do You Do?

by Michie Kort

It is one of the oldest dilemmas in human civilization. I bet if we were to look at those funny drawings on cave walls, we'd find that ancient cave men, after they tossed a woman over their shoulders and rode their dinosaurs home, would argue with their women about who was sleeping in the wet spot that night.

Instead of making it a big hassle, just sleep in it.

It can be a real thrill if you think about it. All night long, the small of your back will have the dampness and you can tell yourself, "There it is, the proof that he loves me. He won't say the words and I know that's because he's just scared to share his emotions. But right now, if I press my back into the mattress, I can feel his squishy and total love."

It can be such a blessing that I can get lost in it and not hear him leave at 4:30 in the morning. At other times, when I'm paying attention, I'll grab his right leg and beg him to stay long enough for me to make him breakfast and maybe iron his clothes.



The Purpose Driven Life: Making His Dreams Your Own

guest column by New Face Of Feminism runner-up Rick Warren

A strong woman is a woman who knows how to be meek, a woman who knows how to shut up and, most of all, a woman whose jaw can take a solid upper-cut.

Time and again, I hear from girls today that they just can't meet any men when, in fact, the reality is that they just couldn't keep the men they met.

Remember, ladies, divorce is the two-way street, marriage is a dead-end one.

And if you want to land a man before your chances to be fruitful and multiply dry up completely, you better learn to give a little.

Maybe that means accepting the fact that he's got a little hair on his lower back, or that he's unemployed, or that he likes to drink, or that he's got seven kids by five mothers already. But if you can learn not to try to change him and to accept him for who he is, you can find happiness or at least a husband.

Submit rhymes government. Well if you say it 'gov-ment' it does. And like government, someone needs to be a ruler and someone needs to be the ruled. Submit also rhymes with Thin Mints and those are my favorite Girl Scout Cookies. What was I saying?



Closing Thoughts From An Empty Mind . . .

by Michie Kort

Wow. Huh? Huh? Do you like our new direction? And how about that Rick Warren? Hubba-hubba, am I right? I haven't been this excited since I begged for help on my Laura Nyro book and just copied and pasted everything people gave me, word for word, into the text and called it all my writing.

I hope you enjoy our new direction as much as I do. We're already hard at work on the next issue and our cover story will probably be, "Don't Let It Make Those Brown Eyes Blue: Domestic Abuse Can Provide You With Ample Opportunities To Wear Ray-Bans Indoors!" Rick Warren really likes that idea and told me that I looked like a girl who needed a good sluggin'. He such a stud, isn't he?

Be sure to check out our new corporate sponsor: Mary Jane. Like the new Ms. magazine, its name promises so much but then just turns out to be tired candy.

How safe is the US Embassy in Baghdad?

Last Monday, the US Embassy in Baghdad had its grand opening ceremony after cost-overruns and repeated building problems. US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker attended the ceremonies as did the former US Ambassador to Iraq and now Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.







The US State Dept gave press briefings last week. Somehow, in all five, neither spokesperson Sean McCormack nor Robert Wood managed to address that. They never even gave it a single-sentence shout-out.



Maybe they were afraid of questions? While the official press release from the US Embassy insisted the cost for "the largest American Embassy structure to date" [!] was $592 million the reality was that the price was most likely close to $150 million more than that.



Though a ton of tax payer money was being spent to establish a US fortress in Iraq, there still appeared to be some security concerns. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) noted that those snagging invites were informed, "No firearms, cameras, cell phones or other electronics". Excepting firearms (maybe they were afraid Jalal would show up with a six-shooter and, in a festive mood, fire a few rounds skyward) what those conditionals really speak of is insecurity.



All that money spent for the embassy, located in the relative safety of the Green Zone, and still the fear. And people wonder why the US diplomatic corps avoids assignments to Iraq.

Barack's fan club poses as journalists

Panhandle Media. So-dubbed by Ava and C.I. -- and with good reason.



The social rejects that make up Panhandle Media are throwing a little ball. Somehow FAIR hasn't found time to call it out.



It's the so-called peace ball. And it's journalists (and a few wife beaters tossed in -- no, we don't refer to the t-shirt). Now if The New York Times had thrown an inaugural ball to celebrate the swearing of Bully Boy in 2001 or 2005, you damn well better believe the misfits at FAIR would be telling you how wrong that is. But with the "peace" ball?



Not a damn word.



Here are the basics:



Inaugural Peace Ball
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Smithsonian National Postal Museum

Next to Union StationWashington, D.C.
Doors open 6:00pm (NEW OPENING TIME)

Program Begins at 7:00pm
Valet Parking Available: $20.00 paid directly to attendant

Valet Location: First St. and Mass. Ave., NE, near Union Station
Invitations: $165.00 (includes tax) Sold out

Special Guest Host Harry Belafonte

Special Performances By:

Joan Baez

Bernice Johnson Reagon & Toshi Reagon

Michael Franti & Spearhead

Angelique Kidjo

Fertile Ground

Holly Near & Emma's Revolution

Ayanna Gregory

Sekou da Misfit and Steve Connell
Special Appearances by:

Dick Gregory

Jody Williams, Nobel Prize Laureate

Alice Walker, author, Color Purple

Eve Ensler, playwright, Vagina Monologues

Amy Goodman

Laura Flanders, Air America

Kim Crenshaw, Law Professor and Activist
Mistresses of Ceremonies: Verna Avery Brown and Kate Clinton
We are completely sold out! Tickets were mailed on January 5.


No, they're not sold out. If you thought $165 was an outrageous price for what should be a people's party, hold you hats. Queen of All the Beggars Amy Goodman isn't content hosting, she also sees it as a fundraiser. ("Fundraiser?" You know, like when you walk down the street and you're hassled for a buck.) So Beggar Amy sent out "Last Tickets for 1/20 Inaugural Peace Ball & VIP Reception" Thursday afternoon and it informed: "A limited number of tickets for this sold-out event are available for a $1000 donation!Your donation will help Democracy Now! build a new home!"

Goody's attending and making money off Barack's inauguration -- how critical do you think she's going to be of him? Could you imagine the uproar if Chris Matthews was pulling this stunt?



Well, you may argue, it's a "peace" ball. It really doesn't have anything to do with Barack. The 'peace' ball explains:





History was made November 4, 2008 when Illinois Senator Barack Obama was elected as the 44th and first African-American President of the United States of America. In honor of his election, we will gather in Washington DC on Inauguration Day to celebrate change and "yes we did" at the premiere Inaugural Peace Ball sponsored by Busboys and Poets and the Smithsonian Postal Museum.




Want to pretend again that it has nothing to do with Barack?





They also note:



Our phenomenal hosts include to date: Historian Howard Zinn, Comedian Dick Gregory, Mayor Adrian Fenty, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, Katrina Vanden Heuvel of The Nation Magazine, Laura Flanders, Barbara Ehrenreich, Anthony Arnove, and many more.



Wow, what wonderful 'independents', huh? Coward Zinn. Anthony who wishes he was Howard.
*****JIM NOTE ADDED 1-13-09: IN AN E-MAIL, ANTHONY ARNOVE STATES TO US THAT HE'S NOT ATTENDING THE 'PEACE' BALL -- NOR IS HOWARD ZINN. THE BALL LISTS THEM NOT AS AN ATTENDEES BUT A HOSTS. ARNOVE STATES HE HAS ATTEMPTED TO HAVE THAT CORRECTED.******* Big nosed ,ugly girl Katrina hoping to finally be belle of the ball. Self-loathing lesbian Laura Flanders (who will no doubt insist -- when not drunkenly coming on to various lasses -- that she'll hold Barack's feet to the fire any day now!). What a bunch of losers.



What a sorry excuse for an independent media.



They should all be ashamed.



Hop-on-the-high-horse Amy Goodman once had the gall to castigate Lesley Stahl for offering Richard Holbrooke a ride (so he could avoid the insane Amy) and said that journalists should maintain a distance. What the hell kind of distance does Liar Goodman believe she's maintaining hosting a ball for Barack?



Answer: None at all.



And what kind of independent media does the United States have?



Answer: None at all.



You may be looking at the list of entertainers and thinking, "I want hit tunes! Where are the hits!" Well fear not! They've added Jackson Browne and his last hit was 20 years ago!!!! No word on whether his act will include beating up a woman or not but remember what Joni sang:



The story hit the news

From coast to coast

They said you beat the girl

You loved the most

Your charitable acts

Seemed out of place,

With the beauty

With your fist marks on her face.

Your buddies all stood by;

They bet their fortunes

And their fame

That she was out of line

And you were not to blame.

-- "Not To Blame," written by Joni Mitchell, from her Grammy winning Turbulent Indigo.

The hosts

The 2009 Inaugural Peace Ball notes:

Hosted By

• Home
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About Us

History was made November 4, 2008 when Illinois Senator Barack Obama was elected as the 44th and first African-American President of the United States of America. In honor of his election, we will gather in Washington DC on Inauguration Day to celebrate change and “yes we did” at the premiere Inaugural Peace Ball sponsored by Busboys and Poets and the Smithsonian Postal Museum.

This unprecedented event will take place on Tuesday evening January 20, 2009 at the Smithsonian Institution National Postal Museum at Massachusetts Avenue and First Street N.E. next door to Union Station. This will be a time to celebrate this extraordinary moment in history with food, laughter, music and dance.

We have invited peacemakers from all over the globe to join us for this special experience. You will be united with hundreds of friends and allies who believe in, support and work tirelessly for peace and social justice. Our phenomenal hosts include to date: Historian Howard Zinn, Comedian Dick Gregory, Mayor Adrian Fenty, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, Katrina Vanden Heuvel of The Nation Magazine, Laura Flanders, Barbara Ehrenreich, Anthony Arnove, and many more.

We look forward to seeing you at the Inaugural Peace Ball and thank you for your participation and support of this most memorable evening as we embark on a new era of peace, hope and possibilities.

Copyright © 2009 Inaugural Peace Ball. All Rights Reserved. Site Credits

Thank You to Our Sponsors

ETAN: Blair Poor Choice for NI Director

From ETAN:





Adm. Blair Poor Choice as Director of National Intelligence, Says Rights Group

Blair's History with Indonesia and East Timor Raises Questions about Likely Nominee

Contact: John M. Miller, +1-718-596-7668, +1-917-690-4391

Ed McWilliams, +1-703-899-5285



January 7 - The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) called Adm. Dennis Blair "a poor choice for intelligence director." The group urged President-elect Obama to reconsider the nomination, and make a break from past policies that have undermined human rights worldwide.

"During his years as Pacific Commander, Blair downplayed human rights concerns. He actively worked to reinstate military assistance and deepen ties with Indonesia's military despite its ongoing rights violations in East Timor and consistent record of impunity," said John M. Miller, National Coordinator of ETAN.

"Admiral Blair undermined U.S. policy in the months preceding the U.S.-supported and UN-sponsored referendum in East Timor in 1999," said Ed McWilliams, a senior U.S. embassy official in Jakarta at the time. "While senior State Department officials were pressing the Indonesian military to end the escalating violence and its support for militia intimidation of voters, Blair took a distinctly different line with his military counterparts. As Pacific Commander, his influence could have caused the military to rein in its militias. Instead, his virtual silence on the issue in meetings with the Indonesian generals led them and their militias to escalate their attacks on the Timorese."

"Blair's actions in 1999 demonstrated the failure of engagement to temper the Indonesian military's behavior; his actions helped to reinforce impunity for senior Indonesian officials that continues to this day," added Miller.

"The extraordinarily brutal Indonesian retaliation against the East Timorese and the UN teams in East Timor following the Timorese vote for independence from Indonesia transpired in part because of Blair's failure to press U.S. Government concerns in meetings with the Indonesian general," said McWilliams.

In April 1999, just days after Indonesian security forces and their militia proxies carried out a brutal churchyard massacre, Adm. Blair delivered a message of 'business-as-usual' to Indonesian General Wiranto, then Commander of the Indonesian armed forces. Following East Timor's pro-independence vote, Blair sought the quickest possible restoration of military assistance, despite Indonesia's highly destructive exit from the territory. Background

As Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command from February 1999 to May 2002, Blair was the highest ranking U.S. military official in the region during the final period of Indonesia's violent occupation of East Timor. During that time he undermined the Clinton administration's belated efforts to support human rights and self-determination in the Indonesian-occupied territory and opposed congressional efforts to limit military assistance.

In April 1999, Blair met in Jakarta with General Wiranto, then the Defense Minister and the commander of Indonesian forces, just two day after dozens of refugees in a Catholic church in the town of Liquica, East Timor were hacked to death with machetes by militia members backed by the military (including Kopassus) and Brimob troops.

Instead of pressuring Wiranto to shut down the militias, Blair promised new military assistance, which the Indonesian military "took as a green light to proceed with the militia operation," according to Allan Nairn, writing in the Nation magazine. In fact just weeks later, refugees from the attack in Liquicia were again attacked and killed in the capital in Dili.

Nairn reported that a classified cable summarizing the meeting said that Admiral Blair "told the armed forces chief that he looks forward to the time when [the army will] resume its proper role as a leader in the region. He invited General Wiranto to come to Hawaii as his guest... [Blair] expects that approval will be granted to send a small team to provide technical assistance to... selected TNI [Indonesian military] personnel on crowd control measures." Nairn writes that the last offer was "quite significant, because it would be the first new U.S. training program for the Indonesian military since 1992."

Princeton University's Bradley Simpson writes "According to top secret CIA intelligence summary issued after the [Liquica] massacre, however (and recently declassified by the author through a Freedom of Information Act request), 'Indonesian military had colluded with pro-Jakarta militia forces in events preceding the attack and were present in some numbers at the time of the killings.'"

In the bloody aftermath of East Timor's independence vote, "Blair and other U.S. military officials took a forgiving view of the violence surrounding the referendum in East Timor. Given the country's history, they argued, it could have been worse," reported the Washington Post's Dana Priest.

U.S.-trained Indonesian military officers were among those allegedly involved in crimes against humanity in East Timor. "But at no point, Blair acknowledges, did he or his subordinates reach out to the Indonesian contacts trained through IMET or JCET [U.S.-funded programs] to try to stop the brewing crisis," wrote Priest. "It is fairly rare that the personal relations made through an IMET course can come into play in resolving a future crisis," he told her.

Despite Blair's repeated overtures and forgiving attitude to Indonesia's military elite, they were of no help in his post-military role as chair of the Indonesia Commission at the influential Council on Foreign Relations. In 2002, Blair headed a delegation of observers who intended to visit West Papua. The government refused to let them in, with the Foreign Minister declaring that "there is no need for them to come to Papua."

The reason was clear: West Papua has become the new focus of Indonesian military and militia brutality and outside observers are not welcome. Though Blair's dream of renewed military engagement with Indonesia has been realized under the Bush administration, the Indonesian military's human rights violations continue, as does impunity for its senior officers.

General Wiranto was indicted in February 2003 by a UN-backed court in East Timor for his command role in the 1999 violence. The attack on the Liquica church is among the crimes against humanity cited in the indictment. He is currently a leading candidate for President of Indonesia in elections to take place next year.



ETAN was formed in 1991. The U.S.-based organization advocates for democracy, justice and human rights for Timor-Leste and Indonesia. ETAN was a major participant in the International Federation for East Timor's (IFET) observer mission for the 1999 referendum. For more information see ETAN's web site.

Highlights

This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.





"I Hate The War" -- C.I.'s post is the most requested highlight by readers e-mailing Ty. A number are saying C.I.'s been on fire non-stop for three weeks now. Wally says, "C.I. was dead tired when this was written. We'd just finished the roundtable for the gina & krista round-robin. We were all in a hotel, around a TV and Kat and Ava said that was it for them and they were going to sleep. Cedric and I hadn't done our joint-post so I stayed up. This was written after C.I. wrote the column for the gina & krista round-robin. So my point would be, I agree C.I.'s been writing these powerful pieces non-stop but I think they're fueled by what's going on in the world. It's not like she's getting any additional rest or sleep." Kat adds, "With so many shirking their responsibilities on Iraq, I think it's also true C.I. feels the pressure to up her committment."



"Egg Drop Soup in the Kitchen" -- Trina and the economy and Barack's tiny measures.





"Senator Burris and moving" -- Yes, Betty's moving. Everyone's moving out to California! For those trying to keep track, that's Ty, Dona, Jim, Ava, Jess, Wally and now Betty who will all be living at C.I.'s. Add in that Kat has her own place in the Bay Area and the whole gang's off California Dreamin'! Kat is with Betty this weekend, helping her with some packing and flying out with her (and Betty's kids) on Monday.



"Marilyn Monroe," "gaza, bette davis," "Gary Cooper," "Charlie Chaplin," "Clark Gable, Roland Burris," "Ingrid Bergman," "John Wayne" and "Audrey Hepburn"-- the Wednesday community theme posts. Last week's theme was films.





"gaza," "u.n. votes for cease-fire," "today the israeli military attacked the u.n." and "the assault continues" -- Rebecca's Gaza coverage. Marcia suggested we note that because she had one e-mailer a while back (three or four weeks ago) whining that Marcia didn't give a damn about the Palestinians because of who she voted for. Marcia's response, "I didn't vote for Barack. Don't blame me. I voted for Ralph Nader." And she pointed out that Rebecca covers this topic.



"The Pentagon further stigmatizes PTSD" -- This is a highlight because Wally just mentioned it. You need to read this to be ready for Monday at TCI. How come? Wally explained a big cry baby quoted in The New York Times whined and whined about distortions by the paper. C.I.'s response, "What the f**k am I supposed to do?" (C.I. put it kinder.) So the whiner has a response about how he's not anti-PTSD and C.I.'s posting it on Monday. (If you read this, you'll be able to tell which whiner. And no, the paper didn't misquote him, nor did C.I.)



"THIS JUST IN! SON OF A NEWT GINGRICH!" & "Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon's love child" -- Wally and Cedric cover Barack and his desire to privatize Social Security.







"Gaza" -- Ruth had been speaking Friday with C.I., Ava, Kat, Wally and Rebecca. And she brought along her grandson and Rebecca brought along her daughter. Ruth was tired Friday night and she honestly is surprised that this got requested in e-mails as a highlight. Just goes to show you, you never know what will reach out to someone. (That's not an insult to Ruth's post. We all agree it's a strong one. But she doesn't think it is.)



Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Debutante Barack" -- Isaiah's comic is hilarious and we're hoping to use it in some way this edition; however, we're almost done (and all tired) so that might not happen. :(





"Elvis and Princess Brat Caroline" -- On Elvis' birthday, Kat reminds the world what a piece of trash Caroline Kennedy is.





"Homophobe Tim Kaine" & "Tim Kaine, World Ultimate Homophobe" -- Marcia and Stan on the homophobe. Did they both plan to write about it? They really hadn't talked about it. The thing they both linked to was e-mailed to them by Stan's mother. Marcia, "So, if I'd known we were both planning to link, I would've said, 'Hey, she's just my aunt, so you link'." They did however work things out before blogging "I see a pattern of racism" and "They refused to seat Roland Burris."







"Pez and Flinstone's vitamins" -- This was popular, no surprise. It's Mike's and he also got some griping e-mails about how this isn't really a topic worth exploring. It's not? You try blogging then and do it for several years. You'll find that you sometimes blog about whatever's in your head at that time. And you'll also grasp, as all of us do, that a topic like Pez can attract outsiders who will drop by and see the Iraq snapshot for that day.



"7 singers (6 songwriters)" -- Elaine's post on songwriters and singers was also popular and she says, "No one better expect an apology from me. I'm sick of doing a site. I enjoyed writing that and will write about music anytime I feel like it." Seriously, Elaine, C.I. and Ava are ready to pack it in. (Rebecca says, "They'll feel differently in the spring.")



"Barack, like Bully Boy, fakes press conferences" -- Barack's faking press conferences. When does the press intend to call that out?



"Harry Reid flashes his true colors" & "THIS JUST IN! HARRY REID AND HIS WHITE SHEET!" -- Cedric & Wally's joint-post on racist Harry Reid.





"Death of the alleged peace queen" -- Kat wraps up a topic begun in last week's "Roundtable."