ThinkFast: April 23, 2008
ThinkFast: April 23, 2008
The Bush administration is scrapping a $20-million prototype of its “virtual” border fence along the Arizona-Mexico border “because the system is failing to adequately alert Border Patrol agents to illegal crossings. … The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his approval of the fence built by The Boeing Co.”
News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch “is moving to tighten his already-imposing grip on American news media, striking a tentative deal to buy his third New York-based paper, Newsday,” for $580 million. The deal would put him in charge of three of the nation’s 10 largest-circulation papers (including the Wall Street Journal and The New York Post).
Steve Yount, president of the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees said the resignation of Managing Editor Marcus Brauchli at the Wall Street Journal “has drawn concern among members who believed he helped keep some newsroom independence under the new News Corp. ownership.” Yount said members see it as a “loss of ‘a buffer who would maintain editorial independence.’”
Just months after leaving office, former Mississippi Republican senator Trent Lott is already cashing in as a lobbyist. “The firm he founded with former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) earned at least $945,000 during its first quarter in business, according to House filings.” That number is likely to grow as the firm “continues to ink new contracts” as Lott and Breaux trade on the “valuable access” they earned as senators.
With “2.3 million criminals behind bars,” the United States has more prisoners “than any other nation” in the world. In fact, though the U.S. “has less than 5 percent of the world’s population,” “it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.” “Criminologists and legal scholars in other industrialized nations say they are mystified and appalled by the number and length of American prison sentences.”
“The conflict in Darfur is deteriorating, with full deployment of a new peacekeeping force delayed until 2009 and no prospect of a political settlement,” United Nations officials said yesterday. Estimates say perhaps 300,000 have died and some 4.27 million are “seriously affected by the conflict.”
Italy’s major electricity producer, Enel, is converting its massive power plant from oil to coal, “generally the dirtiest fuel on earth.” European countries are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years. “[T]his plan is like barging into a war without having a plan for how it should be conducted,” said NASA climatologist James Hansen.
This week, the CIA “is expected to begin briefing members of the Senate and House intelligence committees” on new information indicating that “North Korea was helping Syria build a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor before Israel bombed the site last September.”
“A day after the Bush administration urged India to step up pressure on Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on his coming visit to New Delhi, India tartly said it did not need ‘any guidance on the future conduct of bilateral relations,’” making clear that “no saber rattling from its friends in Washington would impair its relationship with a vital energy supplier.”
And finally: Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the “millionaires’ amendment” of the McCain–Feingold campaign finance law. Addressing whether his client had an advantage because he was wealthy enough to fund his own campaigns, the plaintiff’s counsel, Andrew Herman, said, “[T]he public was not particularly interested in Mitt Romney, who spent a significant amount of money on his own behalf, and many other spectacular flameouts.” After some laughter, Chief Justice John Roberts said, “I’m not sure we need characterizations of the political candidates.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
MSNBC Reports No Problems with Pennsylvania’s Primary Voting Yesterday, FOX Disagrees
from Bradblog dot com
Problem reports from polling places in PA, including voting machine malfunctions and long lines, began coming in early this morning. That could be an ominous sign, given that on most Election Days, the real extent of problems aren’t fully revealed until later, and often in the days after the election.
Just after the polls closed tonight, as the Exit Polls were “too close to call,” and too important to share with us mere mortals, the cable news nets were beside themselves with the prospect of having to actually wait for votes to be “counted.” In truth, very few of them can actually be counted because, as we explained yesterday, most of PA uses e-voting machines on which it’s strictly impossible to determine if even a single vote was recorded as any voter actually intended.
It was Fox then, which confirmed some of the problems we’ve been reporting all day here.
“Those machines weren’t ready, weren’t going, and they did have to resort to the paper,” before adding with a big roll of the eyes, “the old way.” This comes from an emailer, via NYU media professor, election integrity advocate, and author Mark Crispin Miller…
Full report and timeline of voting problems at:
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:01 amhttp://www.bradblog.com/?p=5918
Machines Malfunctioning - PA
Readers and Inquirer reporters attempting to cast ballots this morning found long lines across the region created by broken machines.
One of two machines was down at a busy Delaware County polling site. About 50 people already had voted by 9:15 a.m. at the Temple Israel on Spruce and Bywood Avenue in Upper Darby, which is heavily populated by immigrant and first time voters. Many of those freshly-minted voters had difficulties using the one machine that still functioned. “Hell of a day for one of the machines to be down,” said one poll worker.
In South Philadelphia, both voting machines were broken at 4th and Ritner, smack dab in the middle of a John Dougherty strong hold. “The dirty tricks have begun,” said Frank Keel, spokesman for the Dougherty campaign, who sees a conspiracy. “Democratic State Rep. candidate Christian DiCicco is the poll watcher,” Keel said. “Coincidence? We don’t think so.”
One reader wrote: I got to my polling place before 7 a.m.; 2nd ward, 27th division: as the polls were opening, one of two machines for my division was malfunctioning: electrical problem. Hmmmm….isn’t Dougherty an electrician?
In the city’s Spring Garden section, home to State Sen. Vincent Fumo, both machines were down at St. Andrews Lithuananian Church at 19th and Wallace. Voters grumbled when they learned their provisional ballots would not be counted tonight.
Some people reported that Obama’s name was not on the ballots. The new registered voters were sent to wrong polling locations. They were found wandering around not sure where to go to vote. Many of the regular registered voters were sent to wrong polling locations also. Last I heard there were over a 100 complaints of major problems. Only one or two voting machines at locations that weren’t working, votes had to be put on paper ballots, and many people were reporting problems that they have never experienced in the past.
Electricians were sent to different locations to fix outdated voting machines. So much for the DOJ ensuring compliance with federal voting rights laws. One person witnessed 50 people walking away because the wait was too long. Those voting machines should have been double checked and overhauled before even sending them out. The government is making a mockery of our voting process. No wonder so many people have become disenchanted and have lost faith. Democracy Republican Style.
They are counting on us giving up. It must be the Taurus in me; but that is never going to happen. If people give up where would we be then? I have championed for many causes over time; I have not always succeeded. Those little victories are so much sweeter when we do. My father always said “you appreciate the things you have to work hardest for”. Truer words could not be spoken.
JMOHR, I missed your post yesterday and found it this morning. I’m asking you also don’t quit posting. You have no idea how many lives you have touched. I haven’t been on this site for very long compared to most. But, I look forward to reading what you have to say. I truly hope you reconsider.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:05 amPantsuit One won.
I, for one, am quite tired of hearing that raspy, screeching voice claiming she’s everything she’s not.
I’ll give her credit for taking the racist vote, but, Hill-Dog, face it, you’re not ‘the one’.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 amOver time the goal is to get a backback and supplies to each student.
Too bad they can’t come home and do that here. Or do you think American school kids don’t deserve it?
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:10 amYou are free…To go directly to jail.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:10 amFollow the money: Olympic protest movement turns its sights on to sponsors
The linked rings on every Chinese Coke bottle and the leaping athletes on each McDonald’s paper bag testify to the power the world’s biggest corporations believe this summer’s Olympics wields.
But having spent huge sums, the companies sponsoring the Beijing games are about to find themselves the targets of a new, more vigorous war on China’s human rights record by campaigners boosted by the success of protests along the torch relay route.
Yesterday a coalition of Tibetan groups warned Coca-Cola that it would be “complicit in a humanitarian disaster” unless it used its influence to ensure Tibet was dropped from the torch route. And tomorrow, Dream for Darfur will launch a critical “report card” on sponsors of the games.
Campaigners are urging companies to press the International Olympic Committee and Beijing itself for change - or risk damaging their brands. “Companies [who do not act] will get physical protests; they will get letters; we will ask people to turn off their adverts,” said Ellen Freudenheim, director of corporate outreach at Dream for Darfur, which argues that they should press China to put pressure on Sudan as its major oil buyer.
“Sponsors don’t make policy and we understand that. But combined they have about the equivalent of the GDP of Canada, the world’s eighth largest economy; they have government affairs offices; they have lobbying firms; they have international presences - and they all do engage in politics.”.
Each of the 12 global partners for this year’s event have paid £30-40m for a four-year deal. An IOC spokeswoman said yesterday: “A number of companies engage in partnerships with the IOC and the Olympic Movement to help us fund the work we do and spread the Olympic values. Their support is key not only to the success of the Olympic Games but also to the sustainability of the Olympic Movement.
Activists believe their protests are already having an effect. The angry reception afforded the Beijing torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco earlier this month caused acute discomfort to the relay sponsors Coca-Cola, Lenovo and Samsung. Last week, Human Rights Watch accused “cowardly” partners of “remaining “largely silent” in the face of abuses; just a few days earlier the media freedom body Reporters Without Borders disrupted Coca-Cola’s annual general meeting.
I said this from the beginning; you have to go after the sponsors, I’m glad to see they have. Money talks and that is the way you get their attention. Keep putting pressure on every single sponsor of the Olympic Games. Adidas says that “Sponsors should not have to solve political problems”. That is true to a certain point; but corporations wield considerable influence. All the major sponsors should in turn put the squeeze on the International Olympic Committee or risk damaging their reputations. What needs to happen is for all them to publicly campaign for Human Rights to be respected.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:11 amArtesian Well Pumps Clean Water for Zambraniya, Bayjia
And yet the people of New Orleans still suffer without drinking water in some areas. Too bad we can’t do that here.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:12 amAnother taxpayer rip off, the big fence. $20 million down the toilet. We can’t get enough funding for taking care of our Iraq veterans’ physical and mental health needs or children’s health care, but we can blow $20 million down our leg for an unproven fence.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:13 amFlowers Have Lost Their Scent…and the consequences are enormous.
Pollution is dulling the scent of flowers and impeding some of the most basic processes of nature, disrupting insect life and imperilling food supplies, a new study suggests.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/20/8404/
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:13 amWow, the US has a quarter of all prisoners in the world?
Shameful!
I bet that doesn’t even include the prisoners at Guantanamo and the secret prisons run by the CIA in Eastern Europe!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:13 am#1 2MillionLightYearsToAndromeda Says:
MSNBC Reports No Problems with Pennsylvania’s Primary Voting Yesterday, FOX Disagrees
Good Morning 2Million, I see we are on the same wavelength. Great Post…as always
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 amIf Newsday goes down, it will be a huge blow to the health of NYC and especially Long Island.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 amDave Says:Wow, the US has a quarter of all prisoners in the world?
Shameful!
I bet that doesn’t even include the prisoners at Guantanamo and the secret prisons run by the CIA in Eastern Europe!
Yeah, Dave, ‘Freedom’s on the March’…just not in the USA.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 amWe still have people doing time from 20+ years ago for having a joint on them. Not only is this ridiculous, it swells prison numbers to a point that rehabilitation is a fantasy.
Most of incarcerated inmates are minorities, and ‘Red’ States have the highest inmate counts.
Senators Debate Future of Web
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday his agency has all the authority it needs to prevent Internet service providers from discriminating against Web surfers and that new legislation is unnecessary.
“I do not believe any additional regulations are needed at this time,” Martin said at a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. “But I also believe that the commission has a responsibility to enforce the principles that it has already adopted.”
The FCC has conducted two hearings on “network management” following admissions by Comcast Corp. that it sometimes delayed file-sharing traffic for subscribers as a way to keep Web traffic flowing.
The hearing was called at a time when the issue of “network neutrality”—the principle that people should be able to go where they choose on the Internet without interference from network owners—has heated up.
The network neutrality debate has divided Congress, with Democrats largely in favor and Republicans mostly opposed, a point that became clearer at Tuesday’s committee meeting.
“It is a political division now and it’s getting more so,” said Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. “It is unfortunate.” He said a return to “intense regulation” of the Internet is “entirely unwarranted.”
“The idea of your site succeeding or failing based upon whether or not you paid the telecom companies enough to carry your material or allow quick access is appalling,” she told the committee.
I agree that a websites success should not rest with how much you pay a telecom company. There are telecom companies that are not allowing quick access all the time “to help web-flow”. Give me a break what a lame excuse; we are not asking for your help.
When I read about Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska, feeling that is was unfortunate and entirely unwarranted the issue of “Intense Regulation” of the Internet. I knew right away there was something to worry about. Trustworthy and honest are not two words I would use to describe Ted. Whatever he thinks, the opposite is true.
I figured between the FBI and the IRS raid, they would have had Ted behinds bars by now. Wishful thinking on my part, there is always tomorrow.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 amGrants help rebuild Iraqi street
Too bad we can’t use the money to rebuild our own infrastructure.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:20 am#10 Doc Rock Says:
Another taxpayer rip off, the big fence. $20 million down the toilet. We can’t get enough funding for taking care of our Iraq veterans’ physical and mental health needs or children’s health care, but we can blow $20 million down our leg for an unproven fence.
It ranks right up there with the $500.00 toilet seats for the government. I want to know what they were made of??? Gold Maybe…
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:21 amThe media seems to be ignoring the fact that in yesterday’s Pennsylvania Republican Primary 27% of the Republicans who voted voted against John McCain, “the presumptive Republican nominee”!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:22 amSo, it looks like the PA vote is the precursor to what we can expect in November. Go to http://bradblog.com/ to read about all the irregularities in the PA election. Not just voting machines that didn’t work or could have been hacked (with no paper trail), but there were also numerous instances of people who have been registered as Democrats for years mysteriously not showing up on the voter roles or showing up as unaffiliated. Many of them were not given provisional ballots. And then there is the problem with the provisional ballots that didn’t even have Obama’s name on them. Sounds like the Republican party was hard at work for Hillary in PA, or maybe even an unholy alliance between the Republicans and Hillary’s campaign.
The day we privatized our voting system is the day democracy died in this country.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:27 ama repost from the primary thread:
i was reading an opinion piece in my local paper this morning…
about the huffpo blogger, mayhill fowler, who “broke” the obama “bitter” story…
this factoid stuck out for me:
“… Fowler has been an open Obama supporter, contributing $2,300 to his campaign. She also gave $100 to the presidential efforts of Hillary Clinton and $500 to a fellow Tennesseean, former GOP candidate Fred Thompson.“
doesn’t pass the smell test… sorry…
if nothing else, NO one, i don’t care if it IS a “fellow Tennesseean”, who would give $500 to fred thompson would also give $2300 to OBAMA… and only $100 to hillary… that $2300 is probably a lie…
just like those who say they will vote for john mcMOREWARS (i like that, jb) if
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:27 amtheir particular dem candidate isn’t nominated… doesn’t make a bit of sense…
stop the lies…
Last night, in concurrent sentences, Cris Matthews said that “regular people” turned out for Hillary and that “black people” turned out for Obama. Yes, on the surface he is using regular as a stand in for working class, but the implication is that “black people” aren’t part of the working class, however you define that term. It’s simplistic, condesending, and borderline racist.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:28 amIt pisses me off that an Australian Neocon owns so much American media.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:30 amOver time the goal is to get a backback and supplies to each student.
It’s too bad they can’t get them reliable electricity, clean drinking water, enough food and a secure place to live. But, those kids did get a backpack so that must mean that we have won. So, let’s bring our troops home NOW!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:30 amZimzone Says
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 am
Pantsuit One won.
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Both Obama fans and Clinton fans need to keep things in perspective. While we were treated to a lot of use of the word “won” last night, we must remember just what it is that was “won” — a few delegates.
Clinton got more votes than Obama in Pennsylvania. As a result, she picked up 78 delegates to Obama’s 63. This is a gain of 15 for Hillary, but hardly enough to make much of a dent in Obama’s lead. Especially since Obama will likely make up those 15 in two weeks when North Carolina has their primary.
Another point — we hear a lot about “winning” states during primaries, as in “Clinton wins Pennsylvania”, “Obama won eleven states in a row”, etc. This isn’t the Electoral College. The candidates are winning delegates, not states. Only the Republicans have a winner-take-all system in their primaries.
We are going to hear a lot of spin on this. Clinton is going to use her Pennsylvania victory to bolster her claim that she can “win the big states” — which is essentially meaningless. For the purpose of the primaries, this is just a distraction from the fact that her opponent has more of the popular vote and more of the delegates — and that’s what’s going to count for the nomination, not the size of the states. For the purpose of the general election (where the Electoral College IS an issue), winning a big state in the primary doesn’t guarantee a win over the Republicans in November.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:32 ammnf_iraq Says:
How about posting what is happening with the wounded that are being systematically denied coverage for their disabilities by the VA, since you “care” about the troops so much. How about those bonuses the wounded are denied, because they dared to get disabled in war before they finish their tours?
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:32 amLarry Sabato still believes Hillary’s shot at the nomination isn’t good.
The big states are done. Odly enough, Hillary has won just about all of them, yet she trails Obama in elected delegates. Obama took a hold of her though a series of wins in smaller states. At best, Hillary gaining her own series of wins in remaining states will narrow Obama’s lead and lead some superdelgates to question the Obama hype. And what is going to happen with Florida and Michigan?
What if Hillary won Indiana and every other remaining state except North Carolina? Would she still be pressured to exit?
Hillary’s campain is in debt and she’s lagging in fundraising. Unless she can find a significant boost in fundraising and excitement for her campaign, I believe she should drop out after the Indiana/North Carolina primaries — even if she narrowly wins those states. Narrow wins aren’t cutting it anymore. Why do we need a surefire reason to watch this (exciting) brawl go to the August convention?
(Of note, it’s not about any discomfort of watching two quality candidats compete, though I prefer Obama, it’s about avoiding the empowerment of neocon McCain.)
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:32 amBobwurst,
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:33 amLasnight on FOX Shepard Smith basically said Hillary is going to have to be “very specific” in convincing delegates she’s the right choice. I believe he was referring to race. This whole Penn race was about the “working-class racist white guy” and who he would vote for.
Murdoch is clinching the deal - right out of 1984 (Orwell) - of “controlling the message”. Wake up and smell the morning coffee with that newspaper. It’s all propaganda and very little fact with the fascist networks and fascist newspapers.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:35 amkaty Says: if nothing else, NO one, i don’t care if it IS a “fellow Tennesseean”, who would give $500 to fred thompson would also give $2300 to OBAMA… and only $100 to hillary… that $2300 is probably a lie…
Flower’s husband contributed the max, $2300 to Hillary. This woman contributed to Obama’s campaign because she was trying to get access to Obama’s private events so she could record what he says. Her tactic worked. And you know what? Obama has said that he won’t ban her from attending any future events. He believes in free and open access. What a concept!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:35 amI find it fascinating how covertly the media whores have inserted their stats in Pa…using divisive terms like “white men” and “blue collar workers”. This insidious labeling then resonates in a negative way supporting the bigotry which still exists in this country.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:37 amThe reason Pa is being touted as a “big state” is because the GOP is already figuring out how to make Penna. the next Ohio (another hacked election)! Keep eyes open and connect the dots.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:39 amWith “2.3 million criminals behind bars,” the United States has more prisoners “than any other nation” in the world. In fact, though the U.S. “has less than 5 percent of the world’s population,” “it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”
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Then we should have the lowest crime rate in the world, right? Just as Texas should have the lowest murder rate in the country because they execute more people for capital crimes than any other state.
Neither is true, as everybody knows. We really need to look at our “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” approach to crime and ask ourselves if this is the best way of dealing with the problem. While those who are a danger to society will always need to be separated from it (which means we will always have prisons), we need to focus on crime prevention programs as well as incarceration as a way to reduce crime. They’re less expensive in the long run, too.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:39 amTo be fair the Chinese would hang millions of Republicans in their own country allowing for fewer prisoners…so
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:39 amBobwurst Says:
Last night, in concurrent sentences, Cris Matthews said that “regular people” turned out for Hillary and that “black people” turned out for Obama. Yes, on the surface he is using regular as a stand in for working class, but the implication is that “black people” aren’t part of the working class, however you define that term. It’s simplistic, condesending, and borderline racist.
There’s nothing “borderline” about it. The real subtext is that “regular people” are White. Black people are some dubious special interest group. But why should we be surprised that another White male elitist should view non-whites as separate from the norm?
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:39 amRemember: Hillary began her political career as a Repuke. We know from experience that those fundamental beliefs die hard. This is why she’s faltering. She’s centrist to Republican in that she’s an “establishment Pony” and will continue the destruction of the middle class by corporate america.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 amIt seems pretty clear that conservatives are intent on gaining as much control over major news sources in the USA as possible before Bush/Cheney leave office. Their role in “reporting” the Democratic presidental battle has been slanted while avoiding any reporting on McCain’s numerous conflicting statements. Conservatives, even if not in major elected offices, will continue to control the news. Given the current make up of the Supreme Court mega corporations will continue to have the support of the highest court when it comes to any challenge of the policies or practices which give them control or favorable treatment.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:41 amJust months after leaving office, former Mississippi Republican senator Trent Lott is already cashing in as a lobbyist. “The firm he founded with former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) earned at least $945,000 during its first quarter in business, according to House filings.”
______________________________________________
I would think that Lott can afford to buy lunch now and can quit whining about that…
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 amhey - speaking of “backpacks” - i’ve been wondering this since MLK day:
remember when hillary stated the when she heard the news that KING was assassinated, she went into her dorm room and threw her backpack onto her bed? um… serious question: did coeds in the 60s even carry backbacks???
i have 2 older sisters who were in nursing school, in st.louis… so i didn’t get to
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 amsee them much… and the dorm was attached to the hospital… so they didn’t
need backpacks… it just struck me as very curious… that hillary would have a
“backpack” in 1968… not?
gummitch: The polarization immediately implanted by the media in separating these groups and affixing divisive labels is a concerted tactic of the GOP. They’re playing on words to try to polarize the races further. It’s what they did with god, guns, and gays in 2004.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 amFor the purpose of the primaries, this is just a distraction from the fact that her opponent has more of the popular vote and more of the delegates — and that’s what’s going to count for the nomination, not the size of the states.
Hillary is going to continue to harp on the popular vote. She takes her popular vote and then combines it with the uncounted states MI and FL and says that she is very close to Obama’s popular vote. But, putting the problems of MI (where Obama’s name wasn’t even on the ballot) and FL, that still leaves the problem of the caucus states. In here world they don’t count.
I read recently that someone did a calculation based on the polling data in the caucus states and the average turnout in the states, and awarded popular votes based on that calculation. When all was said and done, if that happened, it gave Obama a popular vote lead of over a million votes.
Hillary can only win on fuzzy math and rovian tactics.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 amand since we know that most of the networks are owned by fascist republicans, how can we believe or trust anything they say. After all, they firmly believe that they, the mainstream media, will be the “king makers” in November.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 ammnf_iraq - One well is nice, but:
BAGHDAD, Iraq, 19 March 2008 – Iraq has a large water and sanitation network, but it is in a critical state of disrepair. System failures are a daily fact of life.
Efforts to fix the country’s municipal pipes and treatment plants – damaged by the impact of a decade of sanctions and war – have been seriously undermined by chronic under-investment, frequent power shortages, lack of qualified personnel, illegal water tapping and acts of sabotage.
As a result, less than half of Iraq’s population can claim reliable access to potable water.
Sanitation is also a persistent problem. Less than 10 per cent of urban households outside Baghdad are connected to sanitary sewage systems, and where they do exist, there are frequent failures. Operating on limited electricity, idle sewage-pumping stations and treatment plants flood neighbourhood sites and discharge raw wastewater into Iraq’s rivers.
Only 17 per cent of Iraq’s sewage is treated before being discharged into the country’s rivers and waterways. Untreated wastewater from Baghdad alone is enough to fill 370 Olympic swimming pools every day.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 amThe situation is creating widespread health and hygiene hazards for children. Iraq’s 2007 cholera outbreak, the worst in recent memory, underlines the dire state of water and sanitation across the country.
From the fence link:
The Border Patrol had little input in designing the prototype but will have more say in the final version, officials said.
Exactly how did these designers test their “fence?”
Did they go to some Home Depots, and hire day laboreres to test it?
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 amkaty: Bookbags were de rigeur back then. Backpacks were only used by hikers and mountain climbers. I’d say that this is a bogus description by Hillary. Maybe she threw her backpack due to sniper fire??
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:45 amSoldiers from 3rd BCT, 4th Inf., Div., were attacked with an IED by criminals while they were conducting a mounted patrol in eastern Baghdad at approximately 9:45 p.m.
So now they’re being called criminals? I guess the jingoist rhetoric finally died.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:47 amThanks for passing along the reports of voting problems, 2mil.
DoJ was monitoring things alright..
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:48 am#28 McWars Says:
(Of note, it’s not about any discomfort of watching two quality candidats compete, though I prefer Obama, it’s about avoiding the empowerment of neocon McCain.)
I agree. I think is has split the democratic party. It doesn’t help our cause if she stays in til the bitter end. The media will have less to pick at and exaggerate.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 ammnf_iraq - Schools supplies are nice, but:
BAGHDAD, April 22 (Reuters)
The education system in Iraq, once the envy of the Middle East, is now in tatters.
Violence, a collapse of school infrastructure and the mass displacement of both pupils and teachers have turned many of Iraq’s schools into fetid overcrowded ruins, jeopardising the futures of millions of children like Saadoun.
At the end of the 1980s, after pouring oil money into schools, Iraq had virtually eliminated illiteracy.
But after two decades of economic sanctions and war, one third of Iraqi adults now cannot read, Education Minister Khodhair al-Khozaei told Reuters.
“It is a problem that cannot be fixed by a magic wand. We need more than 4,300 new schools, existing schools are in bad condition and the population is growing,” he said.
No part of Iraq shows the severity of the crisis more than Thamir’s neighbourhood, Sadr City, a vast east Baghdad slum with an estimated 2 million people and more than 500,000 school pupils but just 260 school buildings, many barely usable.
……….
On a recent visit to the al-Khaldiya Primary School in Sadr City, raw sewage was seeping onto the ground from blocked and leaky pipes, filling classrooms with an oppressive stench.
Three separate “schools” share the same 12-classroom building — about 1,600 pupils in total — arriving in morning, afternoon and evening shifts.
“The school is crowded and in constant need of repairs,” said headmaster Ali Abid Sulaibi. “The most important thing is the plumbing. The pupils’ toilets are closed because of the bad sewage, and there is no running water.”
At the al-Fadhila secondary girls’ school nearby, 50-70 teenage girls are packed into each classroom, with three at each desk that is supposed to seat two.
“How can they understand and cooperate with the teacher inside the classroom?” said English teacher Maani al-Yassiri.
………..
After years of violence and upheaval, 2.7 million Iraqis are displaced within the country and 2.4 million have fled abroad, according to the International Organisation of Migration.
Schools in violent areas have shut, while schools in safer areas have been overwhelmed with children from displaced families.
“We are left with a simple choice. Abandon these children in the streets to be victims of illiteracy and ignorance, or open our hearts and classrooms despite their being crowded,” said Education Minister Khozaei.
………..
Yet despite all the risks and hardship, parents say their children still beg them to let them go to school: often it is the only opportunity children have to leave the oppressive confinement of homes in a battle-zone.
Thamir Saadoun’s father said the boy wouldn’t step pestering him to take him to school, even though it was closed because of the fighting in Sadr City.
“We are afraid of snipers but he insists and going to school. He says ‘I love school’.”
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:51 amBobwurst Says
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:28 am
Last night, in concurrent sentences, Cris Matthews said that “regular people” turned out for Hillary and that “black people” turned out for Obama. Yes, on the surface he is using regular as a stand in for working class, but the implication is that “black people” aren’t part of the working class, however you define that term. It’s simplistic, condesending, and borderline racist.
_____________________________________________
Not only does Matthews’ terminology imply that black Americans aren’t part of the working class, it implies that they aren’t “regular people” — which is even more alarming.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:53 amI’d suggest folks start flagging this mnf_iraq creep.
The leads are coming directly from a website titled “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, the “official website of Multi-National force, Iraq”.
It would appear to be a outrageously blatant attempt to co-opt TP and use it as a platform to endlessly catapult propaganda.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:58 amWhat, no wingnut welfare for THE BOEING CO.?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 amWe could heat the US this winter with all the DEAD WOOD at THE BOEING CO.
Can anyone tell me why Rupert Murdoch needs more of ANYTHING? Shouldn’t we be telling this megalomaniac he has enough shit and doesn’t NEED anything MORE?
Can anyone tell me why Hillary is carpet-bombing her own party to get the nomination over and above her own ego?
Can anyone tell me why precisely we have so many ‘criminals’ behind bars other than enriching the people that put others behind bars - and keep them there?
Can anyone tell me if there is anything left in the ethos of American life other than win-win-win money-money-money? Trent Lott and the other ‘valuable access winners’ make me sick.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 amWhilst the delegate math is relevant to the wonkiest and most impassioned I note that once again the MSM (sampling from FOX, CNN. MSN. Washington Post, NY Times) still chooses to ignore the ratio of Democrat to Republican turnout–2.9 to 1 in PA–which seems to have been the case in every other state.
Dems beat the Republicans 2 or 3 or even 4 to 1 and the MSM doesn’t notice–quite willfully.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 amHow do they know those rockets were Iranian made? Did they say ‘Made in Iran’ in English?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:03 amOh, huh? They WEREN’T part of the 250K munitions Betrayus “lost”?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:04 amSome things, MissMolly, never change. Equal rights and fair representation is simply too much to ask out of some people. The only solution is for them to be declared incompetent and replaced with someone with who’s serious about going by the book.
The stigmas, the systematic screw ups (voting booths), the stereotypes pushed upon disadvantaged citizens don’t take a backseat, unfortunately, to the saying, “Controversy creates cash.” Because of that, people, including Matthews, are in good shape. They have too much time on their hands and they get paid for it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 amAd now, for some bizarre reason, the link mnf_iraq is putting in its posts just form an endless loop w/ this thread.
WTF_usa?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 am“Circular sourcing”? Classic.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 amhey, i’m all for the “good news” that mnf_iraq posts…
even if it IS blatant propaganda…
as long as posters like Bcre8ve post the relevant pushbacks…
that’s how it’s done, folks…
good job, Bcre8ve.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:09 ammnf_iraq - One well is nice, but:
FALLUJAH, Mar 31 (IPS) - Iraqi doctors in al-Anbar province warn of the spread of Blackwater fever, a complication of malaria. Many Iraqis see that name as ominously one with Blackwater Worldwide, the U.S. mercenary company operating in Iraq.
“This disease is a severe form of malarial infection caused by the parasite plasmodium falciparum, which is considered the worst type of malarial infection,” Dr. Ali Hakki from Fallujah told IPS. “It is one of the complications of that infection, and not the ordinary picture of the disease. Because of its frequent and severe complications, such as Blackwater fever, and its resistance to treatment, P. falciparum can cause death within 24 hours.”
Blackwater fever is a well-known medical condition, and while it has nothing to do with Blackwater Worldwide, Iraqis in al-Anbar province have decided to make the connection between the disease and the lethal U.S.-based company which has been responsible for the death of countless Iraqis.
……….
The deadly disease, never before seen in Iraq on at least this scale, seems to be spreading across the country. And Iraq lacks medicines, hospitals, and doctors to lead a campaign to fight the disease.
“We informed the ministry of the disease, but it seems that they are not in a mood to listen,” a doctor from the al-Anbar Health Office in Ramadi told IPS, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We are making personal contacts with NGOs in an attempt to get the necessary medicines.”
……….
Patients seem unaware of the seriousness of the disease, though doctors tell them it is essential to buy medicines from private pharmacies because they are not available at general hospitals.
“Many have died within the past two weeks in my town,” Mahmood Nassir, a schoolteacher from Saqlawiya, north of Fallujah, told IPS. “We know it is a deadly disease, but what can we do about it? We have no government to refer to, and everyone in the Green Zone (the government district of Baghdad) is too busy preparing to escape with their share of the money they stole from us.”
……….
The disease seems too sensitive for journalists to talk about.
“There was a great deal of anger when we wrote about cholera in Iraq last summer,” a journalist in Fallujah told IPS. “Neither the government nor the occupation forces would accept our covering such a story.”
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 amIPS was not allowed to take pictures at the Fallujah General Hospital. A doctor refused to disclose how many may have been infected or how many may have died.
The Republic of Stupidity Says
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:58 am
I’d suggest folks start flagging this mnf_iraq creep.
The leads are coming directly from a website titled “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, the “official website of Multi-National force, Iraq”.
It would appear to be a outrageously blatant attempt to co-opt TP and use it as a platform to endlessly catapult propaganda.
_______________________________________________
Done. I flagged every one of this guy’s posts. I probably would have allowed them to stay unflagged (this IS an open thread after all), IF mnf_iraq had 1) merely linked to his articles instead of pasting them verbatim, and 2) offered some original thought to make intelligent points about the news items, thus inviting some worthwhile discussion.
Spam such as this has no place on TP — not even on the “open” thread. I will flag it wherever I see it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 amUm…why are we in Iraq again?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 amFreedom Rebel — I agree. I think is has split the democratic party. It doesn’t help our cause if she stays in til the bitter end. The media will have less to pick at and exaggerate.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 am.
Good morning, FR. Yes, I don’t mind a healthy dose of competition, but now isn’t the time for a prolonged battle. We’ve seen the negative affects of this administration going unopposed for the last 7 years, and we don’t need those “benefits” extending to McCain. Enough is enough. In 12 days I want a democratic nominee-in-waiting.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:13 ammnf_iraq is producing mindless propaganda while our occupation of a sovereign country continues. Death, chaos and anarchy = the Bush debacle, their puppet government survives because of us, the 104 acre American Embassy in Baghdad serves as a daily symbol to every Iraqi that President Bush intends for the United States to occupy their country indefinitely. Just a reminder to mnf_iraq, that 4,044 American soldiers have died, untold thousands and thousands maimed for life which we will never hear about because of medical privacy, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have perished all for the lies, deceit, arrogance, and incompetence of one Administration. Yes, the whole world can see what this Occupation has accomplished and produced.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 amThank you missmolly.
That was my original point. What mnf_iraq is doing is spamming.
Katy, and missmolly, good news out of iraq should be posted, especiallly for debate, but this? It look like, again, like a pretty blatant attempt to co-opt TP and use it to catapult propaganda, and that’s all it is, open thread or not.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 am> Over time the goal is to get a backback
> and supplies to each student.
How many more trillions of our tax dollars before all iraqis get a backpack and supplies? and why do we refuse to provide them for our own children? are our own children less important than iraqis?
go away troll, i think i hear the sound of school being painted somewhere in iraq, you better go find it, instead of pussing out and pretend your doing your part by spewing your laughable electronic propoganda on the motherland..
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 amromney is a handsome man, everybody can see roberts is a gleaming closet case, im sure Chief Roberts has a little Romney man crush..
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:17 am>mnf_iraq is doing is spamming.
any speculation about what the MNF stands for? my best is “mostly neutered female”
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 amThis country will never overcome its racism as long as pundits, politicians and panderers can command cameras, microphones and newspaper headlines.
They give the ignorant minority of bigots too much importance when they should be marginalized.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 amIt stands for multi-national force.
The articles are coming from the website.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 ammnf_iraq
If you’re experiencing a burning sensation to post, could you simply post the link to the news release section of the MNF-I website?
When did we demand links to this information anyway? Next time, give us the update that the U.S. is out of Iraq and their people have access to basic logistical needs — clean water, medical care, education, jobs, etc.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 amAnyone see Boston Legal last night when Alan went to the SCOTUS — totally unrealistic scenario, but extremely good to watch. He really laid it all out.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 ammnf_iraq - One health clinic is nice, but:
Doctors for Iraq Newsletter, Issue No. 1 Mar 2008
Five years of crises
Four years on, and commentators are in agreement that Iraq’s healthcare situation is worse now than it was before the invasion. Reconstruction of Iraq’s health sector has failed, whilst demands on the health services increase as the sectarian violence continues to rise. Damage to public health support services such as the supply of water and electricity and acute shortages of personnel, equipment and medicines have proven to be just as deadly as roadside bombs and attacks on civilian areas.
Aside from the long term damage to the health of Iraqi civilians caused by multiple wars since the 1980s and the effects of depleted uranium from the first and second Gulf wars, the immediate concern facing Iraq today is the absence of a strong leadership to halt the sectarian violence. Those who can flee, leave, taking with them their expertise and leaving behind an increasingly hopeless vacuum.
Hospitals destroyed, physicians gone: Iraqi doctors face dire situation AMNews staff. Sept. 24, 2007.
Kidnappings and assassinations have claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqi physicians and prompted thousands of doctors to leave the country to avoid similar fates. For those few who remain, daily violent attacks bring in scores of severely wounded Iraqi civilians and military personnel who must be treated with insufficient supplies in whatever facilities have survived the fighting so far.
On top of all of that, a board-certified general surgeon who is dedicated enough to stay can expect to make only about $300 per month working in an Iraqi hospital under the country’s Ministry of Health.
Fleeing doctors threaten Iraq’s health
AARON HARRIS/TORONTO STAR Mar 16, 2008 04:30 AM
…Some 70 per cent of Iraq’s most qualified doctors have left since 2003, according to estimates of the Iraqi medical establishment. Among the highest qualified “consultant” doctors, 80 per cent are gone.
In their wake, the medical system is teetering on the brink of collapse, with not enough qualified staff, equipment or drugs. Patients are often forced to buy their own medicine on the black market.
THE EXODUS has happened in part because of the general security problem there. For example, al-Nassar says he and his brother were the targets of a machine-gun attack while driving, a year before the kidnapping attempt, by men shouting their people should be killed.
They belong to the Mandean ethnic minority in Iraq.
But militias also have specifically targeted doctors and other professionals in an effort to destabilize the country.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 amThe Iraqi Health Ministry earlier this year said that 628 medical personnel have been killed since 2003. Those who have fled believe that’s an underestimate that says nothing of the scores that have been kidnapped and tortured.
Hey, mnf_iraq, too good to answer a real veteran’s question at 27?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 amYou are good at propaganda posting, lets discuss how veterans are treated freakball.
Anyone else hear that Tony Snow is in the hospital?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 ammnf_iraq Says:
There is no good news to report because we shouldn’t be there. I don’t care if you’re posting this on orders from Petraeus, your posts need to be deleted. We didn’t request a news feed from the MNF page.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:32 amThe Republic of Stupidity Says
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 am
It stands for multi-national force.
_____________________________________
Or Monday Night Football (nah — not the season).
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:34 amOr Many Nettlesome Factoids.
Or Moronic Nuisance Forthcoming.
p.s. MissMolly, it is unfortunate that you are somehow offended that there is actually good news to report regarding the good works of our troops. If you have questions or comments, please call IRAQNA 011-964-890-192-4674.
_____________
of course, this would be the logical result.
I’m the one who posted the original comment about this, dim watt, not missmolly
Boy oh boy, are the freaks over at Orally’s gonna froth at the mouth over this.
“Somehow offended”… actually, what we’re offended by is such a blatant attempt to hijack TP amd turn it into a platform for Pro-Iraq Propaganda™.
There’s not enough lipstick in the universe to make that pig look good.
And that “Good work, Soldier” routine? Talk about condescending…
Gee… I can almost hear a chorus of whistlers knocking out “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” in the background.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:34 amHI MARIE!
Unfortunately I don’t have cable, I pick up the basic news channels, ion and My20. I’m assuming that Boston Legal would require premium cable.
Hmm…I better check the headlines on Google News and check what’s up with Tony..
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:36 amOne wonders, how much of these captured munitions actually came from the weapons caches that we allowed to stand unguarded during the initial weeks or our occupation?
So we didn’t really capture the munitions… just took them back.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 amraynman Says:
So we didn’t really capture the munitions… just took them back.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 am
_____________
Now if we could only find those 190,000 AK-47s we “lost”.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 amOh, congratulations, Think Progress, on getting the OIF/MNF’s attention (I think the regulars here probably deserve a nod too).
The MNF press releases at #2, #5, #15, #45 and #52 are all great news, as long one reads them without context. However that’s not what we do here (see #51 Bcre8ve.)
Note also the language used in the #45 post:
MND-B Soldiers kill 15 criminals:
Baghdad soldiers discovered and seized a weapons cache while patrolling their sector in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad April 22.
Baghdad soliders?!
Let’s try that again:
“US soldiers discovered and seized a weapons cache while patrolling their sector in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad April 22.”
The MNF paragraph on its own insuinuates that Iraqi soldiers took action against the “criminals”. Repeat that snippet exclusively enough times and people might belivee the ISF is taking charge.
“The 1st BCT ‘Raider’ Brigade continues to conduct daily combat patrols with Iraqi Security Forces to minimize violence in Baghdad and remains committed to the welfare of the Iraqi people,” said Maj. Dave Olson, 1st BCT spokesman
“With Iraqi forces” combines with “Baghdad soldiers” to develop the impression that Iraqis are in the lead.
Would these sudden contributions from the OIF/MNF be a reaction to the recent Pentagon Propoganda story broken by the NYT?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 amIs this the beginning of a backdoor strategy to dissemniate “good news” on the down low that McCain might then use as soon as the Dem candidacy is settled? It’s a trick that Cheney in particular has used before–plant a story, have it picked up and then once it is reported, quote it as an “indpendent” source.
mnf_iraq Says
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:27 am
p.s. MissMolly, it is unfortunate that you are somehow offended that there is actually good news to report regarding the good works of our troops. If you have questions or comments, please call IRAQNA 011-964-890-192-4674.
________________________________
I am not at all offended at good news regarding the work of our troops. I only wish that was the norm, instead of the exception.
No, what offends me is your way of bringing this “good news” to us. If you wanted to share this information with us, an acceptable way to do it would have been to post something along the lines of “We hear a great deal about how much awful stuff is going on in Iraq — here’s a website that focuses on the good works our troops are doing over there. (then post the website link). I urge people to keep this in mind when they read the information the MSM puts out on the subject.”
This would have accomplished three things — 1) It wouldn’t have wasted nearly as much space as you have taken up this morning, 2) it would have allowed interested TP readers to access the information you wanted them to see (we ARE intelligent enough to click on links, you know), 3) it would have had the potential to spark some intelligent dialog on the subjects of Iraq and the MSM treatment of it, and 4) it wouldn’t have annoyed anyone.
What you did was a lot of cut and paste of material we could have looked up on a link, wasting thread space. You also didn’t post any comment of your own, except “Good work, troops!” on every single one of your threads. This does NOT stimulate thoughtful dialog — it just promotes flagging. Your little p.s. to me was the most words you strung together out of your own head all morning.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 amWith “2.3 million criminals behind bars,” the United States has more prisoners “than any other nation” in the world.
With the burgeoning “privatized” prison industry, the count will trend upward long before it drops.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 amJust in case it didn’t get mentioned anywhere in the other posts….please read the article. Thank you.
Minnesota veterans tell House Speaker Pelosi that too many vets fall through cracks in the system April 21, 2008
http://www.startribune.com/local/17972549.html
“I pretty much stayed in my father-in-law’s basement for a few months” after getting out of the Army, he said, having no idea what kind of help was out there.”
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:51 ammnf_iraq - Good news is all well and good, but:
VA confirms 18 vets attempt suicide every day
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
…Katz’s response is startling. He said the VA has identified nearly 1,000 suicide attempts per month among war veterans treated by the VA. His response to Chasen indicates that he did not want the VA to immediately release any statistical data confirming that number, but rather suggested that the agency quietly slip the information into a news release.
“Shh!” Katz wrote in his response to Chasen. “Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?”
The February email was sent shortly after the VA gave CBS News data that showed only a total of 790 attempted suicides in 2007 among veterans treated by the VA. In an email sent to the network Monday after Katz’s email was disclosed in court, he denied a “cover-up” and said he did not disclose the true figures of attempted suicides because he was unsure if it was accurate.
In a December email Katz sent to Brig. Gen. Michael J. Kussman, the undersecretary for health at the Veterans Health Administration within the VA, that roughly 126 veterans of all wars commit suicide per week. He added that data the agency obtained from the Center for Disease Control showed that 20 percent of the suicides in the country are identified as war veterans.
The “VA’s own data demonstrate 4-5 suicides per day among those who receive care from us,” Katz said in the email he sent to Kussman.
Pehaps underscoring just how underprepared the VA was for the number of PTSD cases to emerge from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, documents released to support the plaintiffs’ allegations show that prior to the U.S. Invasion of Iraq the VA believed it would likely see a maximum of 8,000 cases where veterans showed signs of PTSD.
Last week, the RAND Corporation released a study that said about 300,000 U.S. troops sent to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from major depression or PTSD, and 320,000 received traumatic brain injuries. Since October 2001, about 1.6 million U.S. troops have deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many soldiers have completed more than two tours of duty meaning they are exposed to prolonged periods of combat-related stress or traumatic events.
“There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Terri Tanielian, a researcher at RAND who worked on the study. “Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation. Unfortunately, we found there are many barriers preventing them from getting the high-quality treatment they need.”
I posit that if everything in Iraq was going as well as you would have us believe, we wouldn’t be seeing 18+ veterans each day not just attempting, but actually committing, suicide.
Go spread your propaganda elsewhere!
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:52 ammnf_iraq Says:
But when our bothers come home from service just to hear all of this talk that “the war is lost” and that their sacrifices have been for “nothing,” and that they are accused of “rape” and “murder,” I’m sure you can understand why they get depressed.
Yeah. Some people can’t handle the truth.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 am>there is actually good news to report.
Can you give us an update about how many billions of our tax dollars, per month, this good news is costing us?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 amFlagged mnf_iraq as spam and government propaganda.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 am5th Estate Says:
Would these sudden contributions from the OIF/MNF be a reaction to the recent Pentagon Propoganda story broken by the NYT?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 am
Gee, that was my immediate reaction once I figured out where the articles were coming form. Silly me… just an alarmist.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 am>that their sacrifices have been for “nothing,”
no, thier sacrifices allowed the iraqi people the freedom to invite the president of iran over for tea and give him a royal welcome. isnt that great progress in the region?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:00 amMNF, do you feel that bush’s “surge” strategy of paying iraqis not to shoot our troops can “unbake” the proverbial “microwaved baby” that is iraq?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:03 ammnf_iraq Says:
93. I agree that government run healthcare (VA) is failing us.
But… but… the VA is run by the same people who gave us The Iraq War™ and according to you, it’s a rousing success… how could they fail?
______________
But when our bothers come home…
“Our brothters come home”???????
Oh, puke. Talk about condescending… BTW, did you forget “Our sisters”???
______________
I’m sure you can understand why they get depressed.
Oh, puke, again. It’s more hypocritical, condescending scum bags like you that depress ‘em. 4 and 5 tours of duty. Lied to about benefits. And they come home to pompous wind bags like you spewing more lies?
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 amChocolate Jesus Says:
>that their sacrifices have been for “nothing,”
no, their sacrifices allowed the iraqi people the freedom to invite the president of iran over for tea and give him a royal welcome. isnt that great progress in the region?
Well, actually, that isn’t bad at all, if it will avoid another useless Iraq-Iran war. But I don’t think that was included in the Administration’s war plan (if there was such a thing).
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:08 amMNF Iraq - we ALREADY appease dictators. Think of our masters in China. Think of our ‘friends’ in Saudi Arabia.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:12 amMarie Says:
Anyone see Boston Legal last night when Alan went to the SCOTUS — totally unrealistic scenario, but extremely good to watch. He really laid it all out.
Unrealistic indeed. However it was a lot of fun to watch. James Spader’s character was at his best last night. It was fun to pretend he was really sticking it to the “stick-up-ass” right wing judges.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:17 ammnf_iraq - appease dictators? Why, then, are several of our “best allies” ruled by dictators? Saudi Arabia and Pakistan just to name two. You need to get out of your office in the Green Zone and check out reality in the rest of Iraq. Isolated instances of “good news” do NOT a victory make.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:18 ammnf_iraq Says:
Chocolate Jesus: Do you think we should follow the example of Neville Chamberlain in the 1930’s and seek to appease dictators? Think of how many millions of lives that policy cost.
_________________
Riiiiight… Phase 2 of “The Debate”…
The Nvill Chamberlain/Appeaser accusations start to fly.
Totally irrational comment.
As far as “lives cost” routine… what about the estimated MILLION dead Iraqis, the 2 million internally displaced, and the 2 million refugees?
No… no… wait… I know the answer…
It’s the Price of Freedom™!!!
Or…
If You Want To Make An Omelet, You’ve Got To Break Some Eggs™!!!!
Or…
Saddam Had It Coming™!!!
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 amMethinks MNF needs a link to his local recruiting office. Delivering backpacks may not be to demanding for him.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:23 amGood Morning, McWars (and everyone)
Boston Legal is on ABC — I broke my own command to not watch ABC since the debate, but I couldn’t watch the election returns any more and I needed a break from reading my book.
There isn’t much on network TV worth wasting my time.
Anyway, what’s up with the mnf posts today — there are so many — it has taken over.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:24 ammnf_iraq Says:
107. That “MILLION” number has no basis in reality.
Still ignoring my question on the treatment of veterans. Just like a neocon…..
Just flag this spammer.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:27 amBoston Legal is on ABC — I broke my own command to not watch ABC since the debate, but I couldn’t watch the election returns any more and I needed a break from reading my book.
Besides being very entertaining, Boston Legal (despite being on ABC) makes social and political points during every episode that basically aren’t heard anywhere else, on any network.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 ammnf_iraq Says:
111. I answered your question “Wayne,” but you failed to read.
sure you did, which post…..
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 amliar.
actually I really enjoy the speed at which mnf-iraq’s press releases are put into context and when he/she finally makes some actual arguments (as opposed to copied press releases) those arguments are quickly demonstrated to be ridiculous (at least to me)
good news is great but doesn’t change the overwhelming bad news. more importantly, good news doesn’t affect the fact that this occupation must end.
ps impeach
pps. with so many prisons in the US, there has to be some room in there for this administration, don’t you think? Filling prisons with real criminals, there’s an idea!
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:36 ammnf_iraq Says:
Do you really want us to leave before these reconstruction efforts are done, leaving the door open for Iran to fill the void?
And why not?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:46 ammnf_iraq Says:
107. That “MILLION” number has no basis in reality.
What’s the number, then? What’s the total number of iraqi civilian casualties? How many have died of cholera and malaria thanks to the US bombing water supplies in the First and Second Gulf Wars?
The US Government has said it won’t do body counts. So… how can you KNOW that the million number has no basis in reality?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:46 am“Criminologists and legal scholars in other industrialized nations say they are mystified and appalled by the number and length of American prison sentences.”
And yet the two biggest WAR CRIMINALS are still loose and about to bring about more destruction.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 amWhat did we miss? Tony Snow is in the hospital.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:49 amIt’s so weird… the Neo-cons constant harp is “Do you want Iran to fill the void”?
I’m not saying the Iranians are always nice guys or totally devoid of any blame in this mess, but seeing a they LIVE RIGHT NEXT DOOR to Iraq, and we (the US) came half away around the world to attack, invade and occupy the country under false pretenses, I hafta wonder WHY the cons always IMMEDIATELY claim we’re only “protecting our interests in the region” whilst those that actually LIVE THERE are always portrayed as “outside interests causing trouble in the region”.
Just pointing it out.
Also, for a war that would only cost $60BB or so, and a reconstruction that would pay for itself out of oil revenues, this whole affair is dragging on and on and on and on and on… again, just… pointing it out.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:56 am#80 Marie Says:
——————————————————————————–
Anyone else hear that Tony Snow is in the hospital?
I did but they don’t seem to have any details. I have checked everywhere. Last I heard he was doing extremely well. Even when he was going through Chemo, he had a very upbeat attitude.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:13 pmCoalition forces in Wasit province consist of military forces from the U.S., El Salvador, Poland, Romania, Georgia, Lithuania and Kazakhstan.
Do you really want us to leave before these reconstruction efforts are done, leaving the door open for Iran to fill the void?
Just how many of Kazakhstan’s 29 troops are in Wasit province? And last time I looked, Lithuania had withdrawn all their troops (peaked at 12) back in Aug. 2007.
As for Iran, we created that vacuum due to our preventative invasion and only momentarily occupy it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:24 pmIs mnf_iraq actually good_golly?
They both behave the same way… endlessly spam the threads w/ pro-Bush propaganda?
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:32 pmThe Republic of Stupidity Says
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Is mnf_iraq actually good_golly?
They both behave the same way… endlessly spam the threads w/ pro-Bush propaganda?
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I admit the two are eerily similar when it comes to M.O. Both do a lot of cut and paste from other sites, and both catapult the Bushco propaganda. But you have to give good_golly a little credit — he varied his sources, whereas mnf_iraq is a one-trick pony.
Furthermore, GG was better at writing his own words from time to time. Not all of his posts were cut and paste.
I doubt the two are the same.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 pmLook! It’s a bird! It’s a plane!
No, just another squirrel…
Blam!
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 pmWe shouldn’t leave Iraq ‘until our reconstruction efforts are done’?
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:22 pmI vote we give them the money and the phone number of a good contractor.
mnf_iraq Says:
TIME FOR WAPNER!
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:23 pmTIME FOR WAPNER!
TIME FOR WAPNER!
JMOHR, I missed your post yesterday and found it this morning. I’m asking you also don’t quit posting. You have no idea how many lives you have touched. I haven’t been on this site for very long compared to most. But, I look forward to reading what you have to say. I truly hope you reconsider.
What happened to JMOHR, did he say he was leaving? If so, that will be a shame. I will miss his snark.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:31 pmDid any one else think of AT&T after they saw the headline picture. Haha.
“More bars in more places, AT&T … proud sponsor of the border fence”
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:21 pmIndia tartly said it did not need ‘any guidance on the future conduct of bilateral relations,’
Which in plain, ordinary English translates into “piss off”.
I’d like to see this administration throw a hissy fit with India like they did with France. I would even pay to see it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 pm