We all have a whole lot of things we do on any given day. There is not a community member that has it easy. But on the second of April I had the worst time getting ahold of C.I. about something and finally learned she was at a benefit. I did not ask what it was for (I really am not a person who pries; however, I readily cop to being a Jewish mother). I heard something on TV today and went looking for something on that topic. I found this at Senator Bob Casey Junior's website:
ON WORLD AUTISM DAY, DURBIN, CASEY, MENENDEZ INTRODUCE BILL TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE AUTISM STRATEGY
Legislation would require insurers to cover autism diagnosis and treatment
April 2, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC- On a day designated by the United Nations to highlight the growing global health crisis of autism, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Robert Menendez (D- NJ) today introduced legislation that would create a comprehensive strategy to address the needs of families affected by autism spectrum disorder. The Autism Treatment Acceleration Act requires health insurers to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism and authorizes federal funding for a wide range of service, treatment, support and research initiatives.
“Almost 26,000 families in Illinois struggle with autism,” said Durbin. “Because the cost of autism-related services is so overwhelming for these families, Illinois passed legislation last year requiring health plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism. It’s time now for the federal government to renew and build upon the commitments it has already made in helping the millions of families across the nation struggling with autism. Our legislation would do that.”
“Children and adults with autism spectrum disorders and their families have long struggled to get the services and treatment they need to lead rich and productive lives,” said Casey. “Today, we launch a momentous effort to change an unacceptable status quo for the 18,500 children who are diagnosed in Pennsylvania each year with autism spectrum disorders and the hundreds of thousands of additional individuals across the country. This bill will help children get the services and treatment they need for the most positive life outcomes, for young adults and adults to have the support they need for satisfying and independent lives, and for families to have the peace of mind to provide and afford the proven treatments that will allow their children and loved ones to reach their fullest potential.”
“With the growing reach of this disorder, millions of families are personally affected by autism and millions more new families are wondering if they will be too. Nowhere is this felt more than in my home state of New Jersey, where we have the highest rate of autism in the country at an astounding one in every 94 children. We badly need a national strategy that will ensure families affected by autism not only have a strong support structure but also are not left to drown in the financial costs of caring for their loved ones. From services to insurance coverage to public awareness, this legislation would make a real difference in the lives of these families, and we are hopeful that we can get it passed into law,” said Menendez.
Today’s legislation builds on the Combating Autism Act, signed into law in December 2006. That bill called on the federal government to increase research into the causes and treatment of autism, and to improve training and support for individuals with autism and their caretakers. This bill demonstrated the commitment of Congress to begin to delve deeper into this critically important issue for millions of families.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that approximately 1 in 150 people in the United States has autism or autism spectrum disorder. Individuals with autism often need assistance in the areas of comprehensive early intervention, health, recreation, job training, employment, housing, transportation, and early, primary, and secondary education. Greater coordination within these service delivery systems will enable individuals with autism and their families to access the best and most current treatment, services and research for their individualized needs – and to do so throughout the lifespan of individuals.
The Autism Treatment Acceleration Act aims to meet the comprehensive needs of, and improve the quality of life for, individuals with autism and their families by:
· Requiring that insurers provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism including Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy and assistive communication devices;
· Creating a demonstration project to develop Autism Care Centers. These centers would provide a full array of medical, behavioral, mental health, educational and family care services to individuals and families in a single location. These comprehensive treatment facilities would increase access to quality health care services and communication among health care providers, educator and other providers of services;
· Creating a demonstration project to provide a full array of services to adults with autism to improve their quality of life and enable them to live as independently as possible;
· Establishing a voluntary population-based autism case registry to help understand the root causes, rates, and trends of autism;
· Developing a national multimedia campaign to increase public education and awareness about healthy developmental milestones and autism throughout the lifespan;
· Establishing an Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee – consisting of representatives from relevant governmental agencies, researchers and the public – to coordinate government activities relating to autism;
· Establishing a national autism network to strengthen linkages between research and service initiatives at the federal, regional, state and local levels and facilitate the translation of research on autism into services and treatments that will improve the quality of life for individuals with autism and their families;
· Creating a national training initiative on autism and a technical assistance center to develop and expand interdisciplinary training and continuing education on autism.
“Autism Speaks is proud to have worked with Senators Durbin, Casey and Menendez on this legislation, which represents a remarkable leap forward in the federal government’s commitment to addressing the challenges faced by individuals with autism and their families,” said Elizabeth Emken, Autism Speaks vice president of Government Relations. “The insurance reform section of the bill, in particular, will have an enormous impact by finally requiring insurers to cover therapies that are literally causing families across the country to go broke as they try to provide their children with the services they need and deserve.”
“This is the bill we have been waiting for for generations,” said Lee Grossman, President and CEO of the Autism Society of America. “The adult services focus, care centers, national teacher training, and insurance components of this bill will complement and strengthen the important research currently underway. Moreover, this bill creates opportunities for states to develop solutions that are locally driven and relevant. As an advocate, and as a father, my heartfelt thanks to Senators Durbin, Casey, and Menendez for their efforts to help the millions of Americans affected by autism today.”
Children and adults with autism spectrum disorders can show difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication, social interactions, and sensory processing. Symptoms and behaviors may range from mild to significant, and require varying degrees of support from friends, families, service providers, and communities. There is strong consensus within the research community that intensive treatment as soon as possible following diagnosis not only can reduce the cost of lifelong care by two-thirds, but also yields the most positive life outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorders. These individuals have a right to live lives that are as full, productive and independent as possible – and with the right services, support, and treatments, they can do just that.
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Press ContactLarry Smar - (202) 228-6367
So that was Thursday, August 2nd. And I could not figure out (not that it was my business) what had C.I. flying off in the middle of the day and then turning around and rejoining everyone on the road. They were in the middle of speaking and C.I. had to fly out for a benefit. I was sure it was for a good cause. And it was. But I did not realize there was a national autism day. Maybe you did not know that either and we can both have learned something today.
I know C.I. was exhausted Friday and when Rebecca started talking about a roundtable C.I. politely but clearly stated she would not be taking notes and she would not be participating. Trina kept apologizing because it was so unusually cool (we were all at Trina's) and I noticed C.I. was flushed which is a sure sign that she is worn out and then some.
I called Rebecca to confirm and she explained it was a charity dinner (ball?) for autism. You are thinking, "You just said you did not pry!" Yes, but I would hate to write an entire post and have to come back the next day and say, "Woops. It was also Save the Whales day and C.I. had actually flown to a fundraiser for that cause."
I know C.I. works on a number of childrens causes. Pretty much anything and everything that Jerry Lewis is not connected with. (Which means other illnesses, St. Jude's and more.) It is so weird to realize how you know someone and talk to someone and they have these other sides -- which are not even hidden -- that you really never discuss.
(To be clear, I said "which are not even hidden." Had I raised the issue of autisim this weekend, C.I. would have filled me in. I am not saying, "I was not told!" I am making the point that everyone does so much and we frequently have little idea how much any of us are doing.)
I found a video featuring Yoko Ono and I will post that. She is another example of a woman working very, very hard on so much and, I would argue, with little recognition.
So that is it for me tonight. This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for today:
Monday, April 6, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the US miltiary announces deaths over the weekend, violence sweeps Baghdad today, jury pool selection for USA v. Steven D. Green began today, and more.
Cindy Sheehan's latest Soapbox (her weekly internet radio program) went up Sunday. Her guests were Sara Rich (sexual assault activist, peace activist and mother of Suzanne Swift) and retired Army Col and retired State Dept diplomat Ann Wright. Cindy's son Casey Sheehan died at age 24 in Iraq April 4, 2004. During this show she spoke about counter-recruitment and she and her guests spoke about a number of other topics including Janis Karpinski being the fall person for Abu Ghraib. From the broadcast, we'll note intros in case anyone doesn't know Cindy's guests and then focus on sexual assaults and traumas.
Cindy Sheehan: And you were concerned with -- in your career, being in the military and being in the diplomatic corps -- you were concerned with US foreign policy a lot but there was one thing that finally pushed you over the edge, wasn't there?
Ann Wright: Well indeed. It was the decision of the Bush administration to invade and occupy an oil rich Arab Muslim country that had not attacked the United States and had nothing to do with 9-11. And that was the decision to invade and occupy Iraq. And I ended up resigning in March of 2003 in opposition to that war and ever since then I've been working with people like yourself and Sara Rich on stopping wars and proper treatment of our veterans when they return.
Cindy Sheehan: And Ann actually is one of the hardest working people in the peace movement. She helped me at Camp Casey every single time we went to Crawford [Texas}. She helped coordinate the volunteers and coordinate activities and she just is very admirable.
[. . .]
Sara Rich: Well I've always been a human rights activist -- even before she [her daughter Suzanne Swift] joined the military. And when she joined the military she was told by the recruiter that she -- if she signed up for five years, that she wouldn't be deployed to a combat zone.
Cindy Sheehan: Right.
Sara Rich: And basically she was sent to a combat zone. Neither of us had any idea about military sexual assault or that there was a term called military sexual trauma -- MST -- or anything about command rape. Suzanne was more than just harassed, she was actually raped by her commanding officer in Iraq and we didn't understand quite what was going on but it was she was harassed by one of her commanding officers, raped by another and then harassed by another. So it was three different men, all who had direct authority over her in a combat zone because she did see combat. It wasn't that she was stationed somewhere safe. She was shot at, she was doing combat patrol. She was the driver of a Humvee doing combat patrol in Karbala '04 - '05. And the whole time she was there I kept thinking this isn't right, something's wrong, what can I do and then finally when she got out of Iraq I said "Now can we say something? Can we do something?" Because she was too scared for me to say something while she was in Iraq because you know we have cases like LaVena Johnson.
Cindy: Absolutely
Sara Rich: Where, you know, women speak out and their murdered. So she was too scared to say anything and finally she was being redeployed to Iraq for a second time and her PTSD and Military Sexual Trauma just exploded and she went AWOL instead of returning which was a huge turning point in our whole family. She refused to go back. She went AWOL. We got an attorney and a psychologist and that's when we finally started coming out about the sexual assault and the rape and all of the trauma that she experienced while in Iraq because up until that point it was just too raw for her to talk about. So she was seeing a psychologist, we had an attorney, we were trying to work with the army to get her so that she could turn herself in and get the help she needed but nobody would work with us so finally the AWOL Apprehension Team called their good buddies down here in Eugene [Oregon] at Eugene police department and they sent people to our home at ten-thirty on a Sunday night and took her in handcuffs. You know here we have this -- by then she's how old was she about 22 by then. A 22-year-old who had been raped, who had Combat Trauma and they put her in handcuffs and threw her in jail.
Cindy Sheehan: She had been raped, she had been the victim of a crime actually while she was stationed in another profound crime -- a crime against humanity, an international crime, the occupation of Iraq. Were her assaulters, were her rapists and harassers, were they hauled off in handcuffs at any time?
Sara Rich: No. [. . .] They just stripped of her rank and sent her to prison.
Cindy Sheehan: And ultimately nothing has happened to the people who raped her?
Sara Rich: No. No. The one, the man who raped her, his wife ended up calling us about a year ago saying she was divorcing him. I always called him the molester because his name is Mark Lester
Cindy Sheehan: Uh-huh
Sara Rich: And she told me that he had been hired as a police officer in Kent, Washington and so I put a blast to my friends saying, you know, call the mayor, call the police chief and by the end of the week he was fired.
Cindy Sheehan: Well at least he had a little bit of accountability but you know there was Mark Lester that raped Suzanne but actually the entire system raped Suzanne.
Sara Rich: You better believe it.
Cindy Sheehan: And this is an absolute tragedy. I have read statistics where at least 30% of females are sexually harassed or raped in the military and of course that's probably a much higher number and we read and are still hearing about cases where female soldiers have died of dehydration in Iraq because they don't drink water because they don't want to get up to use the latrine in the middle of the night because they don't want to be raped so here Suzanne was in a war zone battling the resistance -- the Iraqi resistance -- but she also had to battle her own, her fellow soldiers -- her colleagues. You know, to me, if this isn't a reason to not join the military, I don't know what could be the reason. So thank you, Sara, we'll come back to you in a second. Ann, Sara talked about the case of LaVena Johnson and I know you have worked with the family and you know about the case. Can you tell my listeners about the case of LaVena Johnson?
Ann Wright: Sure I -- I will tell them about it. Let me just mention though that on the statistics on sexual harassment well over 90% of the women who are in the military say that they have been sexually harassed. Sexual assault and rape, the crimes of sexual assault and rape, that's where one-in-three soliders, service members, are saying that they have been sexually assaulted or raped while they've been in the military and these are figures, statistics, that are given by the Veterans Administration
Cindy Sheehan: So but sexual harassment -- sexual harassment is almost 100%?
Ann Wright: That's right. That's right. Yes, it is. The case of LaVena Johnson, a young woman, twenty-one-years-old who had -- or pardon me, nineteen-years-old. Nineteen-years-old who had gone to Iraq. Within two weeks of her having been there, she ended up being found in a tent, a burning tent, she had been shot in the head and uh when her parents uh were notified of her uh death uhm they were told she was dead of a noncombat related incident. [. . .] 104 have been killed in Iraq and 43 have been killed in what they call noncombat related incidents and of that 43, there are 15 of them that when you look at the cases you think, "Mmm, there's something really strange." And one of them is LaVena Johnson who was found shot in a tent. When her body came back to her home in Missouri and they had the body at the funeral home, her mom and dad touched their daughter's body. The mother tried to rub her [LaVena's} hand and the gloves the military had put on her hands would not move and they looked at the gloves and they had been glued on. And so they went to the morturary guy and said, "What's going on here? We want to see why these things were glued on." And when they cut those off they saw that her hand had been burned and indeed her whole body, one side of her body, had been burned. So how was this noncombat related incident? Why was she burned? Well over a period of two and a half years as the family kept begging the military for information -- first to get the autoposy, then, later on, to try to find documetns about the death. Try to get information that is held by the military but they won't give it to the families unless you file a Freedom of Information Act on it. Well ultimately, after two and a half years they finally got the CD that contained the photographs of her body as her body was undressed in Iraq before it was shipped back to the United States and the -- the body showed that she had been beaten in the face that her nose had been broken, that there were -- the father says that it appears that there were bite marks on her body, that one of her arms had been distended and dislocated that there were -- that her vaginal area looked as though she had been sexually assaulted and then a caustic acid poured in her genital area. So, um, the Johnson family has been demanding that the US military review thsi case. That they do not believe that um, well, the military has said that she comitted suicide. that on one killed her, that she comited suicide. With all of those injuries, she committed suicide. So I've been assisting the family to try to get a hearing before the army to make the army reopen that case. And we've gone to Congress to try to get Congress men and women involved in this and it's a real slow process of making the army reopen cases. You know, the Pat Tillman case, here after three Congressional hearings on his death in Afghansitan we now know that he was shot by friendly fire, he was shot in the head, it looks like he was assassinated and yet after three Congressional hearings, the parents of Pat Tillman don't know who among that small unit that Pat Tilman was a part of, who killed Pat Tillman and why? So for a family like LaVena Johnson's who have no political pull, there daughter was not an NFL star, she was just one of hundreds of thousands of young men and women who decide to join the military and then terrible things happen to them. The family is still pushing very, very hard on the military to try to get more answers on what happened to their daughter. But one thing for sure, they do not believe that she comitted suicide nor do I.
[. . .]
Sara Rich: It's interesting when I -- when I found out about LaVena's case, it just sent absolute shivers up my spine, thinking this is what would have happened to my daughter if she had told about what was going on to her to her superior officers in Iraq. This is what would have happened, she would have been murdered, they would have said it was a suicide. Their birthdays are very close to each other, there a few years apart, but their birthdays are within a couple of days of each other. And it just, it made me feel so -- so thankful for my -- that my daughter was -- you know, still with us.
Cindy Sheehan: Right.
Sara Rich: LaVena is not. And it made me feel the Johnsons and I have a real heart connection. They're very protective of Suzanne and I think about LaVena every day. It's just, we have a very deep, very deep connection about that. And when Ann and the Johnsons and I were going to Congress men and Congress women and senators, trying to talk to them about reopening LaVena's case and showing them that it was not a suicide, it was a murder, they were treated in a way that just infurated me. I mean here they have a fallen soldier who is obviously raped and murdered and they were seeing -- taken to these little teeny rooms with junior staffers and weren't even given the respect and care that we as military parents of combat veterans should be absolutely demanding from people that say that they run our country.
Sara Rich is holding a retreat this weekend in Portland, Oregon, "It's going to be in the Applegate Valley which is in southern Oregon. This is actually a pilot program. We're really trying to find a way that we can take this on the road and start providing healing retreats in every state because the need is so great in women veterans, the need to connect, the need to heal and I'm one of three trauma informed therapists that's going to be helping facilitate this weekend and we're going to come together and really take care of each other and take care of our veterans because that's what needs to happen. We're trying to offer it as low-cost as possible so that it's available and accessible for everybody and just create a place that's safe." To get in touch with Sara Rich you can e-mail her through the Suzanne Swift website.
Today jury selection began in Paducah, Kentucky for USA v Steven D. Green. Green's trial is set to start April 27, 2009. Who is Steven D. Green? Who is Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi -- or rather, who was Abeer. March 12, 2006 Abeer's parents -- Qassim Hamza Raheem and Fakhriya Taha Muhasen -- were murdered as was Abeer's five-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza. Abeer was gang-raped during the murders. After the murders, the gang-rape continued and then she was murdered. Remember how LaVena Johnson had acid or lye poured on her to destroy evidence? Abeer's attackers attempted to set her body on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence. The crime was blamed on 'insurgents.' As Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reported, Justin Watt came forward (Watt was not involved in the rape, murder or conspiracy to commit the War Crimes) with some troubling things he was hearing, the 'incident' was looked into anew. The military immediately went into major spin control as it became obvious that US soldiers were responsible. In an attempt to 'lessen' the gang-rape and murder of Abeer, they insisted she was 26-years-old. She wasn't. She was fourteen-years-old but if she had been twenty-six, it wouldn't have made the events any less horrible or any less criminal.
Friday, June 20, 2006, Steven D. Green was arrested in the US (Asheville, North Carolina) having already been discharged in May. He was charged with murder and with rape. Green appeared in a Kentucky federal court November 8, 2006 and entered a plea of not guilty. Green was out of the US military, Paul Cortez, Jesse Spielman, Bryan Howard and James P. Barker were still in. An Article 32 hearing was scheduled for August (2006) and, strangely, Robert F. Worth and Carolyn Marshall (New York Times), ahead of the Article 32 hearing, presented the defense's argument. That was strange not only because the defense hadn't presented their argument yet but also because the defense argument was a strange one. After the defense had made the argument, Andy Mosher (Washington Post) would quote the go-to-military law expert for the press, Eugene Fidell stating, "This is not a defense known to the law. But this kind of evidence could come in during the court-martial, and it might be pertinent to the sentence. They could be setting the stage to avoid a death penalty." Wow. So will Robert F. Worth and Carolyn Marshall ever be asked to explain how they offered the defense -- excuse me, how they made the defense argument in an alleged article of reporting? They didn't quote the defense. They didn't have to. They didn't present this as an argument, they presented it as what happened. It sure is good to know that the New York Times will work it, whore it out, when they feel the need. This is, remember, the same paper that has REFUSED to ever print Abeer's name. They have rendered her invisible and victimized her all over again. But by rendering her invisible, by refusing to print her name, they have made her a non-entity and that was their point.
At the Article 23 hearing, Captain Alex Pickands, for the prosecution, responded to the defense's argument: "Murder, not war. Rape, not war. That's what we're here talking about today. Not all that business about cold food, checkpoints, personnel assignments. Cold food didn't kill that family. Personnel assignments didn't rape and murder that 14-year-old little girl."
During the hearing, Pickands would explain, "They gathered over cards and booze to come up with a plan to rape and murder that little girl. She was young and attractive. They knew where she was because they had seen her on a previous patrol. She was close. She was vulnerable." Though the New York Times was happy to carry propaganda for the US military and to render Abeer invisible, they weren't interested in the actual Article 32 hearing. Which is why you'd have to go elsewhere for that coverage. Elsa McLaren (Times of London) reported:
Special Agent Benjamin Bierce recalled how Specialist James Barker described how the couple and their youngest child were put in another room, while the teenager was kept in the living room. Barker said that he held the girl's hands while Sergeant Paul Cortez raped her or tried to rape her. Barker then switched positions with Cortez and attempted to rape the girl, but said he was not sure if he had done so, Special Agent Bierce told the hearing. Some shots were fired in the other room and Private Steven Green emerged, saying "They're all dead. I just killed them." Green put down an AK-47 assault rifle and raped the girl while Cortez held her down, the hearing heard. Special Agent Bierce said Green then picked up the weapon and shot the girl once, paused, and shot her several more times. Kerosene from a lamp was poured over the girl and someone - it was not clear who - set her alight.
Back then, we had to say "alleged" when speaking of the soldiers. Alleged murder or alleged rapist or alleged co-conspirator. We don't have to do that now with anyone except Green. The others have all either been convicted or entered a plea of guilty. Cortez and Barker offered confessions in court when they entered their plea. Some found the confessions emotionally compelling. Others of us noted the weasel words such as "kind of". In his confession, he admited that while "Cortzed pushed her to the ground. I went towards the top of her and kind of held her hands down while Cortez proceeded to lift her dress up." Kind of. He kind of held her hands down. Her parents are being shot and killed in the next room, her sister is being shot and killed in the next room, these Americans dressed in black are in her home, they are lifting up her dress and Barker wants the world to know he "kind of" held her hands. Kind of. Well he "kind of" took repsonsibility when he admitted to his guilt. Kind of.
They plotted it. They have fingered Steven D. Green as the ringleader. They said he plotted it, he came up with the conspiracy. Iraqis have spoken of how Green made Abeer uncomfortable (had she lived, her parents had already arranged to get her out of the area), how, at the US checkpoint he supervised, he would stop her, he would touch her face, he would intimidate her. AFP reminded yesterday, "Cortez testified that he raped Abeer Kassem Hamza al-Janabi while Barker pinned the sobbing girl to the floor. The men switched positions and then heard about four or five shots from a bedroom where Green had taken the girl's father, mother and six-year-old sister, Cortez said. Green shot the girl when he was finished raping her and the soldiers set the home on fire by tossing a lighter onto a Kerosene-soaked blanket covering her naked body, the other soldiers said." Today Brett Barrouquere (AP) reports, "Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford, who is prosecuting the case, said at least three of those soldiers as well as members of the slain girl's suriving family may be called as witnesses in the case." Darren Wolff, one of Green's attorneys and apparently insane, wants to ask of the prospective jury, "How can they accurately get the impression of a battelfield in Paducah?" Yeah, it was real torture for Green -- grilling chicken breasts and downing booze after the gang-rape and murders. And of course, "battlefield" excuses rape, right Wolff? That's what you're saying. And not just any rape, mind you, but the rape of a young girl. They were better off flirting with the insanity plea. If this is where they're headed and this is the sort of defense they intend to mount, they're just inviting outrage. Brett Barrouquere, by the way, always included Abeer's name in his reports. As did other AP reporters. Gregg Zoroya at USA Today (already noted) also didn't shy from reporting the victims' names nor did Ellen Knickmeyer (Washington Post) who did one of the most intensive reports when the crimes were revealed. Mentioning the victims names was never a problem for foreign outlets and it wasn't a real problem in the US except for one outlet, the alleged paper of record, the New York Times.
Today violence sweeps through Iraq at the sort of levels the Operation Happy Talkers had told us was long gone. Thomas E. Ricks (Foreign Policy) explains, "former secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thinks that Iraq is 'on its way to becoming a strategic asset' of the United States. Someone in Baghdad who didn't get that memo set off a bunch of car bombs that killed about three dozen people today." Ricks is the author of the new bestseller The Gamble. Leila Fadel and Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) report there were at least 7 bombings in Baghdad resulting in multiple deaths and multiple wounded, "All but one explosion had detonated by 9 a.m. in markets and other gathering places in Baghdad. The bloody morning was a reminder of how fragile the country's security gains are, after a series of fatal bombings in March." Deborah Haynes (Times of London) reports the bombings "tore through Baghdad . . . as [UK Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform"] Peter Mandelson passed through with a delegation of British businessmen to spread the message that it is safe to invest in Iraq." Steven Lee Myers (New York Times) reveals, "Most of the bombs struck largely Shiite neighborhood, but there did not appear to be any obvious pattern to the attacks. There were no claims of responsibility, and Iraqis disagreed on whom to blame." Myers quotes MP Abbas al-Bayati blaming the "Awakening" Council members for the violence. Abbas al-Bayati does a lot of public blather for Nouri al-Maliki so when he speaks, he's usually repeating what he's been told. (As when the news broke about the US spying on Nouri al-Maliki.) Usama Redha, Caesar Ahmed and Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) add, "The string of explosions came just three months before U.S. combat troops are expected to withdraw to bases outside cities and a week after Iraqi forces put down an insurrection by Sunni paramilitary fighters in eastern Baghdad, which has raised fear that Sunnis, who had turned on groups such as Al Qaeda in Iraq, could return to fighting the Shiite-led government." Anthony Shadid (Washington Post) observes, "The strikes called into question statements by Iraqi military officials that insurgents had lost their ability to attack in the heart of the capital with ease and reflected a sense by many in Baghdad and elsewhere that violence may be worsening, as the American military begins a withdrawal of combat troops slated to end by August 2010." Sahar Issa and Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) break down the Baghdad bombings as follows Baghdad car bombing at seven in the morning 4 dead, fifteen wounded, Baghdad car bombing "targeted the motorcade of Brigadier General Sadoun" at eight in the morning 2 dead and four wounded, Baghdad car bombing at eight-thirty this morning 10 dead sixty-five wounded, another Baghdad car bombing at eight-thirty 4 dead and twenty wounded, a Baghdad sticky bombing which wounded two, two Baghdad car bombings at one this afternoon killing 12 and leaving twenty-five wounded and a five o'clock this evening Baghdad roadside bombing which left three wounded. They note that the tolls were expected to rise. Aseel Kami, Mohammed Abbas, Hadir Abbas, Tim Cox, Wisam Mohammed, Tim Cocks and Charles Dick (Reuters) count at least 37 dead and (check my math) one-hundred and fourteen people injured. They also note speculation that Sahwa, "Awakening" or "Sons of Iraq" (all the same group, different names) might have been involved but quote the US military going with their catch-all: al Qaeda in Iraq. Golly, I thought Baghdad was said to be protected from them and they'd all been driven out of that area. Weren't they allegedly just hanging around in and outside Mosul? The official story changes so frequently you can never pin it down. Independent journalist Dahr Jamail contributes "The Growing Storm" (Dissident Voice) and notes the fall out from the attacks on Sahwa and the fears from the response in Baghdad two weekends ago: "This distrubing event is the realization of what most Iraqis have long feared -- that the relative calm in Iraq today would eventually be broken when fighting erupts between these two entities." Sahwa was under attack over the weekend and while today's violence is garnering press attention, yesterday's violence was an increase as well and saw a variety of groupings targeted.
Reuters noted two Baghdad home bombings which claimed the life of 1 man and left two women injured -- one home was of a Sahwa leader and "It was not clear if the target was the 'Sahwa' leader's house." Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reported Dr. Yasir Khdaiyir ("well known surgeon") was assassinated Saturday night in Baghdad, the Ministry of the Interior's Brig Gen Ahmed Kathum Breesem was shot dead in Baghdad tonight, a Sahwa ("Awakening") was shot dead in Baquba (in the latest of continual attacks on Sahwa) and 1 Peshmerga (Kurdish security forces) was shot dead in Kirkuk City, 1 person shot dead in Mosul. In addition, Issa noted 1 police officer killed in Samarra by either "a thermal charge or an armour-penetraing grenade" (four more were wounded), a Falluja roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 police officer and left another wounded, a second Falluja roadside bombing resulted in one police officer being injured, a Kirkuk roadside bombing which wounded seven people, a Mosul roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 "small boy" and left his mother wounded, one al Jazair (Ninevah Province) grenade attack which injured one Iraqi soldier and one Mailyah (Ninevah Province) grenade attack which injured another Iraqi soldier and 1 corpse discovered Saturday night in Mosul with signs of torture. Today's violence didn't spring out in total surprise. Also today Sahar Issa and Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) report a Kirkuk suicide bombing which left seven Iraqi soldiers wounded and that Iraqi police state the US military shot dead an innocent civilian by mistake in Nineveh Province.
Over the weekend, the US military had announcements. Saturday the US military announced: "AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq -- A Multi National Force -- West Marine died as the result of a non-combat related incident in Al Anbar Province April 3. The Marine's name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification and release by the Department of Defense. The incident is under investigation." Sunday the US military announced: "TIKRIT, Iraq – A U.S. Coalition forces Soldier died as a result of operations in Diyala province, Iraq, April 5. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin and release by the Department of Defense." The announcements brought to 4266 the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war.
In other violence noted over the weekend, Wisam Mohammed and Khalid al-Ansary (Reuters) reported Saturday that gays are being targeted in Baghdad, with four corpses discovered March 25th and 2 gay men murdered Thursday 'after clerics urged a crackdown'." Sunday Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reported the two were first "disowned" (by their homophobic and hateful families) and "The shootings came after a tribal meeting was held and the members decided to go after the victims." Tawfeeq reports the other were also disowned (and gives the date of their deaths as March 26th) and states a cafe in Sadr City was torched when it was said to be an LGBT hangout in Baghdad. The Dallas Morning News wrote a brief on the topic and UPI summarized Tawfeeq's report. AFP reported Sunday that the two corpses discovered Thursday "had pieces of paper attached on which was written the word 'Pervert" and that the two men were aged sixteen and eighteen and had also had "their arms and legs broken". In addition, AFP reports another man presumed to be gay was found on Friday -- which would bring the toll to seven -- and this follows Sheikh Jassem al-Muatairi's 'inspiring' sermon denouncing "new private practices by some men who dress like women, who are effeminate. I call on families to prevent their children from following such a lifestyle."
Meanwhile in the US,independent journalist David Bacon, author of (most recently) Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalize Immigrants (Beacon Press), writes (at ZNet) of what's coming up on May Day:
In a little over a month, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of people will fill the streets in city after city, town after town, across the US. This year these May Day marches of immigrant workers will make an important demand on the Obama administration: End the draconian enforcement policies of the Bush administration. Establish a new immigration policy based on human rights and recognition of the crucial economic and social contributions of immigrants to US society.
This year's marches will continue the recovery in the US of the celebration of May Day, recognized in the rest of the world as the day recognizing the contributions and achievements of working people. That recovery started on Monday, May 1, 2006, when over a million people filled the streets of Los Angeles, with hundreds of thousands more in Chicago, New York and cities and towns throughout the United States. Again on May Day in 2007 and 2008, immigrants and their supporters demonstrated and marched, from coast to coast.
One sign found in almost every march said it all: "We are Workers, not Criminals!" Often it was held in the calloused hands of men and women who looked as though they'd just come from work in a factory, cleaning an office building or picking grapes. The sign stated an obvious truth. Millions of people have come to the United States to work, not to break its laws. Some have come with visas, and others without them. But they are all contributors to the society they've found here.
The protests have seemed spontaneous, but they come as a result of years of organizing, educating and agitating - activities that have given immigrants confidence, and at least some organizations the credibility needed to mobilize direct mass action. This movement is the legacy of Bert Corona, immigrant rights pioneer and founder of many national Latino organizations. He trained thousands of immigrant activists, taught the value of political independence, and believed that immigrants themselves must conduct the fight for immigrant rights. Most of the leaders of the radical wing of today's immigrant rights movement were students or disciples of Corona.
Immigrants, however, feel their backs are against the wall, and they came out of their homes and workplaces to show it. In part, their protests respond to a wave of draconian proposals to criminalize immigration status, and work itself for undocumented people. But the protests do more than react to a particular congressional or legislative agenda. They are the cumulative response to years of bashing and denigrating immigrants generally, and Mexicans and Latinos in particular.
In other news, Bob Somerby takes on Rachel Maddow's 'strength' and other nonsense here.
iraq
cindy sheehanann wrightsara rich
brett barrouquere
the new york timesrobert f. worthcarolyn marshall
the washington postellen knickmeyer
the new york timessteven lee myerscampbell robertsonthe washington postanthony shadid
thomas e. ricks
mcclatchy newspapersleila fadel
deborah haynes
usama redhathe los angeles timesned parker
caeser ahmed
dahr jamail
mohammed tawfeeqaseel kami
wisam mohammedsami al-jumailiwaleed ibrahimkhalid al-ansarymohammed abbas
david bacon
