The Scallion

Disclaimer: this online political & social satire webzine is not suitable for the decerebrate (translation: our illustrious bonehead, his benighted administration, neo-ultraconservative Republicans, rabid Catholics, sheep, or their sympathizers) or for readers under age 18. As satirists, we take no responsibility if what we say is dangerously close to the truth. If you're under 18, stop reading this NOW & go turn yourself in to your Mommy for a well-deserved spanking, you no-good little whelp.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Greetings, fellow Freedom Fighters™ and Defenders of Democracy™!

Today, we bring you news to use from our information clearinghouse.

Read all about it:

-- Ever wonder why prisoners are being treated so brutally by U.S. troops? Because the same people responsible for abusing prisoners in American prisons are running, and training our military to run, the prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and secret locations across Europe. Read about the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition’s protest against burgeoning mistreatment of American prisoners in the domestic prison-industrial complex being paid for by our tax dollars.

-- Say no to the U.S.-South Korea “free” trade agreement with the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition. “Free” trade agreements drive wages downward, destroy the environment, and redistribute the wealth created by the workers up to the wealthiest people in participating nations’ governments and industries. Free trade ain’t free!

-- CACI is infamous for torturing detainees captured in Afghanistan and Iraq; according to AlterNet, CACI is branching out ... into intimidating Americans here on our own soil.

-- Bush’s stifling of the EPA is tantamount to book-burning, according to AlterNet.

-- Thanksgiving can be all about food as long as it’s also all about compassion. When giving thanks, we must never forget the continuing oppression and struggles of our Native American brothers and sisters. And, while we’re at it, why not have a little compassion for turkeys by not eating them, as AlterNet suggests?

-- AlterNet and “Democracy Now!” both feature ex-General Karpinski as she prepares to testify in Germany against Rumsfeld for ordering the torture of prisoners in Iraq.

-- The Center for American Progress and “Democracy Now!” both report on an American citizen being persecuted for displaying a peace-sign holiday wreath.

-- The Center for American Progress has a report on how the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) refused 500,000 free DVD copies of An Inconvenient Truth, which scientists gave "five stars for accuracy." Why? Because the NSTA, which receives funding from Exxon-Mobil, would rather not teach American students how to save the planet and strengthen America’s national security by eliminating our dependence on polluting, non-renewable foreign oil. Nice guys, eh?

-- Senator Feingold outlines why Bush is the most dangerous lame duck in American history.

-- Dems’ big wins at the polls will have no effect on Chimpco’s plans to bomb Iran, according to “Democracy Now!”

-- So Poppy Bush is "shocked" that the world hates his destructive idiot son? He should have thought of that when he and Babs were bringing up the brat. If they had been better parents, they could have had a son we all could have been proud of.

We of The Scallion beg each of our Readers to make and keep the pledge to hold our newly-elected Democratic leadership accountable for holding Bush and the neocons accountable. We must hold the Democrats' feet to the fire: we elected them to office with the mandate to carry out our will for the benefit of the nation and the world.

Keep the faith and keep fighting: together, we WILL win our nation back!

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From our mailbag

Reader S.G. sent in this link to the Free Hug movie. Friends and gentle Readers, this uplifting little piece will make your day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= vr3x_RRJdd4

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Reader D.F. sent in this important, informative piece:

A-Letter: What to Do Before the Government Takes Your Laptop. 11.27.06
Monday, November 27, 2006
Vol. 8 No. 235
In Today's Letter:
Comment: What to Do Before the Government Takes Your Laptop
Wealth: The Last Bull Market Still Awaits
Sovereignty: Advice from an Adventure Capitalist
What Will You Do When the Government Demands Your Laptop?

Today's comment is by Mark Nestmann, our Privacy Expert and President of The Nestmann Group.

Dear A-Letter Reader:

Thanks to a decision from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Customs officials can now seize and copy the contents of any laptop carried across a U.S. border. There's no arrest, warrant or probable cause required-just a "gimme."

If you're a defense attorney, your most confidential client files may wind up in the hands of government prosecutors. If you're a political opponent of the Bush administration, your correspondence and the names and addresses of everyone you've contacted can now be used against you to support a "terror" investigation.

The ways that this new authority can be misused are too numerous to count. Basically whatever information you carry with you on your laptop including banking records, client data, you name it, now, in effect, must be shared with the U.S. government.

There is one glimmer of hope. A U.S. district judge in California recently issued a contradictory ruling on this issue, concluding that Customs has to have "reasonable suspicion" of wrongdoing in order to search your laptop. That's still a lower burden of causality than "probable cause," but a big improvement over "gimme."

The "reasonable suspicion" standard is now required before Customs agents can conduct a body cavity search, X-rays, or other invasive examinations. This ruling is only binding in Los Angeles, so if you're crossing the border anywhere else Customs officials can presumably still apply the "gimme" standard. I suspect that the matter won't be resolved until competing appeals reach the U.S. Supreme Court in a few years.

In the meantime, what can you do to protect yourself? One suggestion is to encrypt all the data on your laptop, or even the hard disk itself, using a program like PGP Desktop 9.5 (www.pgp.com ). Just hand the encrypted laptop to the Customs official, smile, and wait.

Unfortunately, that may not be an ideal solution, because border officials are also demanding that travelers decrypt any information on their laptop before they're permitted to cross the border. And even if they don't detain you, they just might hold on to the laptop and try to decrypt it themselves.

A better idea might be to copy everything on your hard drive to a USB stick and send it via a courier service to your international destination. (Encrypt the data, of course, before you send it.) Then securely "wipe" any confidential information off your hard drive, along with the "free space," again using a program like PGP Desktop 9.5. You could also send the entire laptop via a courier service, but that could be expensive and laptops are easily damaged in transit. Plus, there's no assurance that it wouldn't be covertly inspected.

If you carry your laptop through Customs, be sure to sanitize it. The ideal solution would be to encrypt and copy your data, send it to your destination and then use a utility like Killdisk (www.killdisk.com) to securely wipe everything on your hard drive. Then reinstall the operating system according to the instructions in Killdisk or whatever utility you use for this purpose. (There are other possible "sanitation" solutions but none as good as this one.) If Customs asks you to inspect your laptop, let them-they won't find anything but the operating system and standard system files.

Yes, it's a hassle, but that's what life has come to here in the "land of the free."

MARK NESTMANN, Privacy Expert
On behalf of The Sovereign Society
assetpro@nestmann.com
www.nestmann.com

P.S. Click here for more ways to protect your files and your assets.

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Recommended Links

Russ Feingold: Bush is the most dangerous lame duck ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-russ-feingold/
the-dangerous-lame-duck_b_34076.html

Jared Ball: Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson flout MLK Jr.’s life and message
http://www.voxunion.com/coup/jball008.html

At Checkpoints in Baghdad, Disguise Is a Lifesaving Ritual
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2006/09/28/AR2006092801996.html

Depressing, but the cartoons are good ...
http://www.warprofiteers.com/article.php?list=type&type=176

Rummy shows how a chickenhawk cuts and runs. So, the little wuss can dish out torture to the innocent civilians of Iraq, but he can’t take the burden of facing up to his responsibilities, eh? How very Republican of him.
http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v76/
__show_article/_a000076-000170.htm

And poor Poppy Bush is "shocked" that the world hates his destructive idiot son and isn't afraid to say so. Sorry, Poppy, but we of The Scallion have no sympathy for you. You should have thought of this when you were bringing up that brat. If you and Babs had been better parents, you could have had a son you could have been proud of. And we could have been proud of him, too.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/
2003441595_webelderbush21.html

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From our information clearinghouse

These are items we receive from the countless mailing lists to which The Scallion collectively subscribes. They are worth the effort of at least a good skim.

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From the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition

Benefits for victims of police brutality to be held across the country
*See below for a list of events*
Help the campaign against racism and for free speech rights


See the video

**Please circulate widely**

The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition will be hosting and supporting events taking place across the country in November and December to raise money for the struggle against police brutality, racism and for free speech. See below for a list of events.

On July 8, 2006, the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) viciously attacked immigrant rights activists who were protesting against the anti-immigrant Minuteman Project in Hollywood. The protest of 300 people was called by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition to counter a Minuteman hate march down Hollywood Boulevard, a traditional route for anti-war and other progressive demonstrations.

The police launched a coordinated attack on the protesters, striking people with clubs and pushing them to the ground. The protesters were simply exercising their free speech rights.

A.N.S.W.E.R. activists Jose Villa and Christen Westberry were two of the protesters badly beaten. They were pushed to the ground and clubbed repeatedly by cops as they tried to photograph the police falsely arresting another protester. All of this was captured on video.

Support!
Please take a moment to support this struggle and make a donation by clicking here.
Villa was then falsely arrested and outrageous felony charges carrying the possibility of a long jail sentence were slapped on him. Villa was held in jail for nearly two days on $50,000 bail. He was released after paying an unrecoverable $5,000 bond. Westberry was hospitalized.

In response to the police riot against the protesters, A.N.S.W.E.R. held a press conference and waged a prolonged political struggle against the LAPD, showing the video of the incident on media outlets and at political gatherings. More than 300,000 people have viewed the video online.

Now, in a major victory, the charges against Villa have been dropped. This comes on the heels of additional videos of LAPD brutality surfacing on the internet.

A.N.S.W.E.R. is hosting and supporting fundraising benefits to defray the costs of the bond paid to free Villa.

Video of the police attack on the demonstration and the subsequent press conference will be shown at the events.

Click here to view some of the video from the protest.

Make a financial contribution to support this campaign

If you cannot attend any of the events but would like to make a much needed contribution, click here.

Events across the U.S.
(listed in chronological order)

San Francisco, California
Tuesday, November 28
7:00 pm
2489 Mission St., #28
For more information: Call 415-821-6545 or email answer@actionsf.org

Miami, Florida
Wednesday, November 29
7:00 pm
Florida International University - Biscayne Bay Campus
3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami, Library Room 155
For more information: Call 954-707-0155 or 305-954-0855, or email answerflorida@gmail.com

New Haven, Connecticut
Thursday, November 30
7:00 9:00 pm
New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm St., second floor program room
For more information: Call 203-404-9965 or email connecticut@answercoalition.org

Seattle, Washington
Friday, December 1
7:30 pm (refreshments at 7:00 pm)
1423 10th Ave.
For more information: Call 206-568-1661 or email answer@answerseattle.org

Washington, DC
Wednesday, December 6
7:00 pm
1247 E St. SE
For more information: Call 202-544-3389 or email dc@internationalanswer.org

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Thursday, December 7
7:30 pm
GLCC, 1717 NE Andrews
For more information: Call 954-707-0155 or email answerflorida@gmail.com

Los Angeles, California
Saturday, December 9
Contact for details
For more information: Call 323-464-1636, email answerla@answerla.org, or check out http://www.answerla.org/

Chicago, Illinois
Saturday, December 16
Contact for details
For more information: Call 773-463-0311, email ANSWER@ChicagoANSWER.net, or check out http://www.chicagoanswer.net/

New York City, New York
Date TBD
Contact for details
For more information: Call 212-694-8720 or email nyc@internationalanswer.org

New Paltz, New York
Date TBD
Contact newpaltz@answercoalition.org for details
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
http://www.answercoalition.org/
dc@internationalanswer.org
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389


"Resist Imperialism"
t-shirts


"End Occupation" t-shirt


"Resist Imperialism"
Che hoodie

-----
Demonstrate at the White House during the
5th round of KorUS FTA negotiations to say:

NO to the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement!

Thursday, December 7
5:00 pm
White House sidewalk
(1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW)

From December 4 to 8, representatives of the U.S. and South Korean governments will meet at the Big Sky Ski Resort in Big Sky, Montana for the fifth round of negotiations for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KorUS FTA). Peasant, labor and community leaders will be traveling from South Korea to take part in rallies, vigils, marches, direct actions and solidarity events in Big Sky, which will also be attended by activists from across the U.S.

Washington DC area activists will take the fight against the KorUS FTA directly to George W. Bush's doorstep on Thursday, December 7 at 5:00 pm (gathering on the White House sidewalk). We will make it clear to the U.S. government that we stand in solidarity with the Korean and U.S. activists protesting outside of the negotiations site, and with the majority of the people of South Korea who oppose this free trade agreement.

The week of protest in Big Sky, Montana is sponsored by the Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA (KoA), a South Korean coalition of 280 organizations, and Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN), a U.S. coalition of progressive U.S.-based Korean organizations endorsed by closed to 100 immigrant, people of color, LGBT, farmers', workers', women's, national liberation, anti-war and anti-globalization groups from around the country.

The Washington DC solidarity action is initiated by KAWAN and the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition.

For more information, to endorse or to get involved, contact:
Why is this protest so important?

The U.S. and South Korean governments began FTA negotiations in June 2006 in Washington DC. Local activists joined in demonstrations that took place throughout the week of the negotiations. In July, over 100,000 workers, peasants and others protested in Seoul, South Korea during the second round of negotiations. Protests continued during the third round in Seattle in September and the fourth round on the South Korean island of Jae Ju Island in October.

Since U.S. and South Korean negotiators have not been able to reach an agreement on many issues central to the FTA, a fifth round of negotiations was scheduled for December 4-8 in Montana, and a sixth round is set for January in South Korea.

With each round of negotiations, the U.S. and South Korean governments are working harder and harder to seclude themselves from the voices of the people as they race to finish this agreement in time to submit the deal to Congress for approval before Bush's authority to "fast track" a deal expires. Fast-track authority allows U.S. envoys to negotiate an agreement that can be submitted to Congress for a yes-or-no vote without amendments.

Progressive people in both South Korea and the U.S are outraged at the deliberate attempt to silence the voices of those who will be most negatively impacted by the KorUS FTA by holding the December negotiations behind closed doors in an upscale ski resort in the mountains of Montana.

Free trade policies such as this have had devastating effects on the lives of working and poor people in the U.S. as well as workers and farmers in the country in which the U.S. government is demanding freetrade. Politicians and big corporations claim Free Trade Agreements will encourage foreign direct investment, create jobs and jump-start economies, but in fact they only support elite classes and the governments they back. NAFTA sent formerly high paying manufacturing jobs to Mexico, forced Mexican subsistence farmers to the cities, drove wages and working conditions, leading many to risk their lives immigrating to the U.S. South Koreans and U.S. farmers and workers will suffer the same results if the KorUS FTA passes.

If you cannot travel to Big Sky, Montana to take part in the week of protests, join the demonstration on the White House sidewalk (1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) on Thursday, December 7 at 5:00 pm.

The Washington DC solidarity action is initiated by KAWAN (Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism) and the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism). For more information, to endorse or to get involved, contact:
To take part in the actions in Big Sky, Montana, call (718) 335-0419.

-----
From AlterNet

CACI: Torture in Iraq, Intimidation at Home
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
Dogged by serious allegations of human rights abuses in Iraq, a leading profiteer from the Iraq war engages in intimidation campaigns against journalists in America who seek to expose its practices.

A Way Out of Iraq
By Sen. Russ Feingold, TomPaine.com
Setting a target date for redeploying American troops is critical not just for the future of Iraq but for our national security.

Media Miss the Point on Pelosi's Endorsement
By Arianna Huffington, HuffingtonPost.com
Pelosi's support of John Murtha for House speaker was based on principle, but you wouldn't know it from the mainstream media's accounts.

Turns Out, Seattle Isn't So Green: How About Your City?
By Erica Barnett, AlterNet
Seattle's mayor is dubbed an environmental hero but other cities are making real progress toward addressing climate change.

Ring Tones: The End of Music As We Know It?
By Christopher Tignor, PopMatters
When the technology that delivers pop music changes, our notions of what music is changes as well. Songs have already devolved into ring tones. How much farther can they fall?

Was the CIA Involved in Bobby Kennedy's Assassination?
By Shane O'Sullivan, The Guardian
The story goes that Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 6, 1968 by a lone gunman, but an author has compiled evidence implicating three CIA agents in the murder.

Fox cancels O.J. Simpson murder porn [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
Book cancellation is "virtually unheard of"...

UPDATE: Striking janitors trampled in Houston [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
Victory?

Kill Bill - Neutering Bush's torture law
By Bob Geiger
Dem Chris Dodd seeks to kill Bush's "torture bill"

Support the troops: leave Iraq
By Evan Derkacz
A Feb. poll showed that 72% of troops wanted out within a year. We're most of the way... to a year, that is...

Fox is right: Iraqi insurgents are "thrilled" Dems won
By Joshua Holland
Joshua Holland: Most of the world is.

-----
The Draft: No Solution to Social Inequality
By Steve Gilliard, AlterNet
Progressives are drawn to Charlie Rangel's call for a draft, but a draft only inducts people. Class determines what job they will be assigned once they are in the military and, often, how happy they will be.

Buying Local Doesn't Hurt the Developing World
By Francis Moore Lappe, YES! Magazine
Critics of "go local" movements warn that buying local deprives people in developing countries of jobs that could lift them out of poverty. But the global economy isn't that simple.

Dying to Be Thin
By Sophie Goodchild, The Independent UK
Confused by conflicting messages about diet and health, vulnerable young women are turning to lifestyle anorexia websites for 'thin-spiration.'

Will Papa Bush's Old Pals Prolong the Iraq Occupation?
By Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com
While everyone in Washington is treating Bush Senior's ally Robert Gates' Pentagon arrival and James Baker's Iraq Study Group report as godsends that will end the war in Iraq, it's quite likely that they will deploy more troops and stay there indefinitely.

CBS Owes Ed Bradley an Apology
By Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America
The network may have paid ample tribute when the newsman recently passed away, but that doesn't make up for shelving his hard-hitting report in 2004 about how the country was misled into war.

Olbermann: Lessons for Bush on Vietnam [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
Bush proves he has "no clue" what they are...

Michael Richards apologizes for 'Nigger' comments [VIDEO]
By Melissa McEwan
"I'm not a racist."

Alcohol/rape study reignites the 'short skirt' theory
By Melissa McEwan
Same old song; different day

Happiness Science
By Annalee Newitz, AlterNet
There's a scientific basis to the truism that money can't buy happiness.

Justice Department Quashes Wiretapping Inquiries
By Onnesha Roychoudhuri, In These Times
The Department of Justice's response to inquiries sent by Maine, Connecticut, Vermont and New Jersey about possible illegal wiretapping has been to sue.

Headline of the Year!
By Evan Derkacz
Straight Outta Vatican City...

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No Thanks to Thanksgiving
By Robert Jensen, AlterNet
Instead, we should atone for the genocide that was incited -- and condoned -- by the very men we idolize as our 'heroic' founding fathers.

Turkeys Are Our Friends
By Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, AlterNet
One vegetarian shares the bond developed with turkeys after finding alternatives to this traditional Thanksgiving comfort food.

Justice Department Quashes Wiretapping Inquiries
By Onnesha Roychoudhuri, In These Times
The Department of Justice's response to inquiries sent by Maine, Connecticut, Vermont and New Jersey about possible illegal wiretapping has been to sue.

A Step Shy of Book-Burning
By Kelpie Wilson, TruthOut.org
The White House has begun closing the Enviromental Protection Agency's research libraries to the public and to its own staff, cementing Bush's reputation as usher of a new dark age.

Dems Must End Legalized Bribery of Campaign Finance
By David Sirota, TomPaine.com
D.C.'s "culture of corruption" has very little to do with lobbyist gifts and everything to do with the Big Money bribery that is today's campaign finance system.

Conservative Christian group: CBS has "dirt" in its eye [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
Group has racism in its mouth.

Was Robert F. Kennedy Killed by the CIA? [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
A short BBC documentary re-opens the files...

'Victory' in Iraq leaves scary options on the table
By Jan Frel
US forces are obsolete in the face of Iraq's insurgency, and a list of the alternatives prove that there's nothing to do but suck it up and admit we lost.

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Young Borrowers Face A Life of Debt
By G. Pascal Zachary, AlterNet
Veteran TV journalist and media critic Danny Schechter's new film, "In Debt We Trust," shows us how financial insecurity has become a staple of American life.

The Perils of Escalation in Iraq: A Grim History Lesson
By G. Pascal Zachary, AlterNet
The gruesome lesson from the Korean War and Vietnam show that nothing will be accomplished by sending more troops to Iraq, other than adding to the 2,876 soldiers killed and leaving more dead civilians.

Quitting Iraq Is the Only Brave Thing to Do
By Michael Moore, MichaelMoore.com
We should demand to the Democrats that we get out of Iraq now and ask the Iraqi people for their forgiveness.

Was Former Russian KGB Agent Litvinenko Assassinated for Knowing Too Much?
By Larisa Alexandrovna, Raw Story
Intelligence sources indicate that ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko was likely the victim of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service for alleged false-flag bombings that were carried out in Russia starting in 1999.

The Wage Gap for Women
By Debra Katz, Justine F. Andronici, Ms. Magazine
It's time to abolish the "she-didn't-ask" defense for wage discrimination.

Palestine's Struggle Can Teach America About the Middle East
By Liv Leader, AlterNet
Historian Rashid Khalidi discusses what the history of the Palestinian struggle for statehood can teach Americans about our wrong-headed approach to conflicts in the Middle East.

Smoking Gun: Rumsfeld ordered torture [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
Former head of Abu Ghraib, Karpinski, willing to testify

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From the Center for American Progress

GOOD NEWS

The California Supreme Court yesterday ruled in favor of free speech on the internet.

STATE WATCH

FLORIDA: Results in congressional race spur lawsuit.

MISSOURI: Attorney General urges state legislature to pass a law protecting voters from automated political calls.

IOWA: School superintendent yanks "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" from high school literature classes over concerns of inappropriate sexual content.

BLOG WATCH

THINK PROGRESS: Rice was against Iraq group before she was for it.

MEDIA MATTERS: Bill O'Reilly and CNN's Glenn Beck want to remove Vermont from the Union.

MATTHEW YGLESIAS: Another poll shows majority of Iraqis want the U.S. out.

CARPETBAGGER REPORT: Putting 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' to the test.

DAILY GRILL

"Pentagon leaders are considering reducing the U.S. force in Iraq by a few thousand troops in the coming months, defense officials said Thursday."
-- Reuters, 6/22/06

VERSUS

"Pentagon officials conducting a review of Iraq strategy are considering a substantial but temporary increase in American troop levels and the addition of several thousand more trainers to work with Iraqi forces, a senior Defense Department official said Monday."
-- New York Times, 11/21/06

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GOOD NEWS

America the charitable: "Charitable giving plays an even larger role in the economy than is suggested by some $260 billion in annual contributions. Each dollar of giving appears to create $19 of extra national income, according to a book released this past weekend."

STATE WATCH

CONNECTICUT: Last week, "Connecticut handed out $20 million to scientists working on groundbreaking research into the use of embryonic stem cells."

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Small window of opportunity in lame-duck session of Congress to give D.C. residents voting rights.

LOUISIANA: Crime cases set back by Katrina.

BLOG WATCH

THINK PROGRESS: Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) attacks Rove, says "I've had problems with some of his conduct."

GRISTMILL: Supreme Court takes up landmark global warming case.

WASHINGTON MONTHLY: Straight talk about "Straight Talk."

TPM MUCKRAKER: In '80s, defense nominee Bob Gates pushed to bomb Nicaragua to "bring down" the government.

DAILY GRILL

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel "repeated the administration's insistence that Iraq was not in a civil war."
-- New York Times, 11/25/06

VERSUS

"[M]any scholars say the bloodshed here already puts Iraq in the top ranks of the civil wars of the last half-century."
-- New York Times, 11/26/06

by Judd Legum, Faiz Shakir, Nico Pitney
Amanda Terkel and Payson Schwin
November 27, 2006
 Stay the Course v.2.0.
Go Beyond The Headlines
Coffee and Donuts Not Included
For news and updates throughout the day, check out our blog at ThinkProgress.org.
Sign up | Contact us | Permalinks/Archive | Mobile | RSS | Print

IRAQ
Stay the Course v.2.0.

The blue-ribbon Iraq Study Group (ISG) headed by James Baker and Lee Hamilton will meet today in Washington to discuss the first draft of its review of Iraq policy. According to the New York Times, the current draft does not include a proposal for the phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. It is the latest sign that U.S. policy in Iraq is unlikely to undergo a significant shift despite the midterm election results, which were viewed as a decisive national rebuke of the Iraq war. NBC News correspondent Norah O'Donnell noted yesterday that the Pentagon is "already developing an alternative" review of Iraq policy "to give the President an out if he doesn't like the recommendations" of the ISG. According to media reports, that review is likely to recommend a "stay-the-course-plus" strategy, combining a temporary increase of 20,000-30,000 troops with a long-term effort to train and advise Iraqi forces. Also, the White House this weekend repeated its "insistence that Iraq was not in a civil war," days after one of the worst spasms of sectarian violence since the war began, intensifying the bloodshed that scholars say "already puts Iraq in the top ranks of the civil wars of the last half-century." Just before the recent elections, Vice President Dick Cheney announced that the White House would go "full speed ahead" with its current Iraq policy regardless of the election results. "We've got the basic strategy right," Cheney said. He was not bluffing.

STUDY GROUP NO CURE-ALL: As the Iraq Study Group meets today, media reports suggest there is likely to be "a potentially divisive debate about timetables for beginning an American withdrawal." Though "several officials said announcing a major withdrawal was the only way to persuade the government of Iraq's prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to focus on creating an effective Iraqi military force," some conservatives on the panel are resisting that recommendation. One ISG member warned, "It's not at all clear that we can reach consensus on the military questions." Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski issued a sharp preemptive criticism of the study group yesterday, saying that while the commission "will probably come out with some sound advice on dealing with the neighborhood," it essentially "will offer some procrastination ideas for dealing with the crisis." Division within the Iraq Study Group contrasts to a rare point of unity in Iraq: in recent interviews and sermons, Sunni and Shiite clerics have "articulated one message that appears to be gaining traction on both sides of Iraq's civil war: The U.S. presence is making matters worse, and the Americans should go home."

THE LONG WAR: As of Saturday, the war in Iraq has lasted longer than the U.S. involvement in World War II, which destroyed Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire. At three years and over eight months, "only the Vietnam War (eight years, five months), the Revolutionary War (six years, nine months), and the Civil War (four years), have engaged America longer." More troubling is that multiple factors suggest the Iraq conflict will continue on indefinitely if U.S. troops remain. A classified U.S. government report made public this weekend concludes that the insurgency in Iraq "is now self-sustaining financially, raising tens of millions of dollars a year from oil smuggling, kidnapping, counterfeiting, connivance by corrupt Islamic charities and other crimes that the Iraqi government and its American patrons have been largely unable to prevent." Alarmingly, the report concludes that "if recent revenue and expense estimates are correct, terrorist and insurgent groups in Iraq may have surplus funds with which to support other terrorist organizations outside of Iraq."

A REGION IN CRISIS: Yesterday, Jordan's King Abdullah warned that the Middle East is on the verge of three simultaneous civil wars -- in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories -- and that it is critical to "make sure we avert the Middle East from a tremendous crisis that I fear, and I see could possibly happen in 2007." To address this confluence of crises, the Iraq Study Group is set to endorse "an aggressive regional diplomatic initiative that includes direct talks with Iran and Syria," a strategy proposed by progressives over a year ago in American Progress's Strategic Redeployment plan. The Bush administration has recently taken baby steps in this direction: Vice President Cheney met with Saudi Crown Prince Sultan for two hours on Saturday, and President Bush will travel to Jordan this week for "what is shaping up to be a crisis summit" with regional allies, as well as a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. But there are two key problems with the Bush approach: first, limiting our regional efforts to bilateral meetings and summits with friends will prove inadequate. The current situation requires a bold multilateral initiative that brings all of the neighbors together, including Iran and Syria, whose engagement is vital to regional stability. Second, regional diplomatic efforts will do little to change the dynamics in Iraq unless the U.S. sends a clear signal that our troops are leaving. These two policies work in tandem, telling Iraq's leaders as well as its neighbors that the U.S. is not staying forever with our military, but intensifying our political and diplomatic efforts to help Iraq stand on its own. As Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) advised in an op-ed this weekend, "Militaries are built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations. We are once again learning a very hard lesson in foreign affairs: America cannot impose a democracy on any nation -- regardless of our noble purpose."

Under the Radar

HUMAN RIGHTS -- RUMSFELD MEMO CONDONED DETAINEE MISTREATMENT AT ABU GHRAIB: Spain's El Pais newspaper reported over the weekend that former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski said she "saw a memorandum signed by Rumsfeld detailing the use of harsh interrogation methods" at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The memo "allowed civilian contractors to use techniques such as sleep deprivation during interrogation." "The handwritten signature was above his printed name and in the same handwriting in the margin was written: 'Make sure this is accomplished,'" Karpinski told El Pais. "The methods consisted of making prisoners stand for long periods, sleep deprivation...playing music at full volume, having to sit in uncomfortably. ... Rumsfeld authorized these specific techniques." According to the Geneva Conventions, interrogators can use "no physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion" to gain information from prisoners. The memo "doesn't appear to have covered the most shocking forms of abuse that have been revealed -- attack dogs, forced nudity, faked electrocutions." News reports previously revealed Rumsfeld's role in approving harsh interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay that were later used at Abu Ghraib.

ENVIRONMENT -- BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES UNDER FIRE IN COURT: The Supreme Court has decided to hear two cases "that could determine whether the Bush administration must change course in how it deals with the threat of global warming." The first, Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corp., "could determine the fate of an Environmental Protection Agency initiative targeting some of the biggest utilities in the nation." Duke Energy Corp. is resisting government enforcement action "requiring aging coal-fired plants to install state-of-the-art pollution-control equipment." Attorneys of the electric power industry claim that the government "changed course in regulating emissions from coal-fired power plants" and the industry "didn't know until 1999." Industry documents released Nov. 2 by the Natural Resources Defense Council revealed that "since the early 1980s, industry officials have been fully aware of the EPA requirements." The court's decision is due next summer along with a decision for the case Massachusetts v. the Environmental Protection Agency, in which opening arguments will begin Wednesday. Twelve states, led by California, and the District of Columbia are calling for the "Supreme Court to order the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobile tailpipes." The Bush administration is standing by its policy of relying on industry to reduce emissions voluntarily and arguing that "it has no power over an entire category of potential pollutants -- or that if it had the power, it wouldn't use it." Despite the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community, the EPA maintains that "greenhouse gases are not air pollutants, and therefore are not subject to government regulation." The agency argues that, if they were pollutants, "nationwide regulation would be premature at best and might cause more harm than good."

GLOBAL WARMING -- SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION REFUSES COPIES OF 'INCONVENIENT TRUTH': Global warming activist Laurie David reported in the Washington Post that the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) refused 500,000 free DVD copies of An Inconvenient Truth, which scientists gave "five stars for accuracy." David wrote, "In their e-mail rejection, they expressed concern that other 'special interests' might ask to distribute materials, too; they said they didn't want to offer 'political' endorsement of the film; and they saw 'little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members' in accepting the free DVDs." The NSTA also expressed concern that accepting the DVDs would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." But those supporters already include "special interests," including Exxon-Mobil, Shell Oil, and the American Petroleum Institute, which have given millions in funding to the NSTA. The NSTA has freely distributed oil industry-funded "educational" content like "Fuel-less: You Can't Be Cool Without Fuel," produced by the American Petroleum Institute (API). The film features the opening line: "You're absolutely not going to believe this, but everything I have that's really cool comes from oil!" An API memo leaked to the media in 1998 explains the motivation behind such videos: "Informing teachers/students about uncertainties in climate science will begin to erect barriers against further efforts to impose Kyoto-like measures in the future."

Think Fast

CNN's John Roberts called the situation in Iraq an "absolute mess" and said the media has "sanitized" their coverage of the violence. "The amount of death that's on the streets of Baghdad for U.S. forces and for the Iraqi people is at an astronomical level," Roberts said.

Yesterday on Fox News, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) "accused a Fox News anchor of conducting a skewed interview designed to make Democrats look bad." Frank told Chris Wallace, "Everything [you say] is aimed at trying to put us in a kind of a bad light." Asked how fair Fox is when compared to other news outlets, Frank said the network is "substantially worse."

A draft of the Iraq Study Group's report "urges an aggressive regional diplomatic initiative that includes direct talks with Iran and Syria but sets no timetables for a military withdrawal, according to officials who have seen all or parts of the document."

Britain's Defense Secretary said that U.K. troop levels in Iraq will be "significantly lower by a matter of thousands" at the end of next year. Britain currently has approximately 7,000 troops in Iraq.

Conservative congressional leaders are expected to punt the issue of completing spending bills to next year's Congress rather than take the time to piece together the legislation, potentially the final act of the Do-Nothing Congress. "It could mean we would adjourn much earlier than most pundits think," said one conservative Senate aide.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), one of the foremost social conservatives in the Senate, "is considering whether to stop blocking a judicial nominee over concerns her appearance at a lesbian commitment ceremony betrayed her legal views on gay marriage." Judge Janet Neff has said she attended the wedding as a friend of one of the two women, a longtime neighbor.

This week, President Bush visits Estonia and attends a two-day NATO summit in Latvia, where he will press "alliance members to increase defense spending." From Latvia, Bush "heads to Amman, Jordan, for two days of talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki."

The Washington Times reviews Defense Secretary nominee Robert Gates's writings and reports him to "be more cautious and pragmatic than his predecessor, Mr. Rumsfeld, who has transformed the military and aggressively hunted al Qaeda members."

And finally: The War on Peace Wreaths heats up. "A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan." "The peace sign has a lot of negativity associated with it," said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. The homeowner said she won't take the wreath down until after the holidays.

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From "Democracy Now!"

The Next Act: Will the Republicans¹ Mid-Term Loss Hurt Chances of a War on
Iran?

In a new article for the New Yorker, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh
reports Vice President Dick Cheney told a White House meeting one month
before the mid-term elections that a Democratic victory would have little
effect on the administration¹s decision to go to war. But plans for a
military option were made ³far more complicated² by a secret CIA report
which has found no conclusive evidence that Iran is developing nuclear
weapons. Hersh joins us from Washington.

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/21/1518247


Justice for Janitors: Houston Janitors Claim Victory in Landmark Strike

In Houston, janitors have ended a month-long strike and have agreed to a
contract that could double their salary within two years. On Monday, an
agreement was reached between five major cleaning contractors and fifty
three hundred janitors who are represented by the Service Employees
International Union or SEIU. The striking janitors were mostly female and
mostly Latino.

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/21/1518257


* Headlines for November 21, 2006 *

- Pentagon Considering 20,000 More US Troops for Iraq
- Iran to Hold Summit Meeting with Iraq, Syria
- 40% of Israeli Settlements Built on Private Palestinian Land
- Lopez Obrador Forms "Parallel Government" in Mexico
- Italy Fires Intelligence Chief Linked to CIA Rendition
- Pentagon Extends Deadline to Destroy Chemical Weapons
- Leading Dems Reject Call to Re-instate Draft

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/21/1518240=

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DN!: Amy Goodman Column: Rumsfeld and a mountain of misery

What do famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass and shamed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have in common?

Find out in this week's column by Amy Goodman, readable online thanks to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Check out it out:
"Rumsfeld and a mountain of misery"

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/293201_amy22.html

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**Tom Hayden: Documents Reveal Secret Talks Between U.S. and Armed Iraqi
Resistance

Former California state senator Tom Hayden is reporting that U.S. officials
have secretly been involved in direct contacts with the Sunni armed
resistance to explore a ceasefire in Iraq and even the possible replacement
of the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government with an interim one

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/27/1447210



**Anatomy of a Civil War: Writer Nir Rosen on Iraq's Descent Into Chaos

Freelance journalist and author Nir Rosen joins us to discuss the latest
developments in Iraq and the Middle East. Rosen says, "[The U.S.] destroyed
Iraq. There was no civil war in Iraq until we got there and took certain
steps to pit Sunni against Shia. We need to know that we are responsible."
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/27/1447216


**Hundreds Face Eviction in New Orleans

Over 100 families living in an apartment complex in the Algiers neighborhood
of New Orleans are facing eviction. Tenants in the complex recently received
notices telling them they had to vacate the premises because the new owners
of the building were planning massive renovations. We go to New Orleans to
speak with Malik Rahim on the Common Ground collective

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/27/1447222

**Police Detain 160 Uprising Leaders in Oaxaca, Tens of Thousands Protest
Governor Ruiz

In the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the police have detained at least 160
members of APPO, the Popular Assembly of the Peoples' of Oaxaca. On
Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Oaxaca to call on the
state's governor, Ulises Ruiz., to resign. We go to Oaxaca to get a report.

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/27/1447228

* Headlines for November 27, 2006 *

- Israel-Palestinian Ceasefire Enters Second Day
- Olmert Calls on Palestinians to Give Up Right of Return
- Jordan's King Abdullah: Region Could Face Three Civil Wars
- 215 Die in Sadr City In Deadliest Attack of War
- Baghdad Residents: "The Situation is Terrible. No One is Safe"
- James Baker To Urge Talks w/ Iran & Syria
- NYPD Shoot Dead Unarmed Man Hours Before His Wedding
- Leftist Economist Rafael Correa Elected President of Ecuador
- 160 Protesters Arrested In Mexican State of Oaxaca
- Report: Robert Gates Advocated for Bombing of Nicaragua in 1984
- Former Russian Spy Dies From Radioactive Poisoning
- Colorado Homeowner Fined For Christmas Wreath With Peace Signal

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/27/1447202

-----
From HuffPo

Nora Ephron: I Can't Believe Rupert Murdoch Axed The OJ Simpson Book...

AP

From Nora Ephron's Blog:

He pulled it? Rupert Murdoch pulled the O.J. book and the O.J. Special? And Rupert Murdoch personally issued a statement of apology for causing pain to the families of the victims? Is this possible? When you live in New York City, when you read Murdoch's New York Post every day, it's hard to imagine that there's anything that could possibly make Rupert Murdoch lose his tabloid nerve or apologize for causing pain to anyone...
Click here to discuss it on HuffPost.

ON THE BLOG TODAY

Arianna Huffington: Early Advice for '08 Hopefuls: Beware the Consultants!

John Ryan: Sherrod Brown: Middle-Class Message Man

John Ridley: Hypocrites Al and Jesse Give a Killer a Pass

Bob Cesca: Let's Go, Chickenhawks! Preempt Rangel's Draft

-----

Lawrence O'Donnell On Charles Rangel, Henry Kissinger, And Reinstating The Draft...

AP

From Lawrence O'Donnell's Blog:

...Advocating war is easier when you and your family are not endangered by it. I've reached a breaking point with my TV pundit colleagues who championed the Iraq war and now say we can't leave even if we went there for the wrong reasons. For every one of them, I have a simple question: Why aren't you in Iraq? Or why did you avoid combat in your generation's war? The one unifying characteristic that all of us men in make-up on political chat shows share is fear of combat. We're combat cowards -- and it takes a very special kind of combat coward to advocate combat for others.
Click here to read more.

ON THE BLOG TODAY

Tom Hayden: U.S. Retreat from Iraq? The Secret Story

John Ridley: A Couple of "N Words" Walk into a Comedy Club

Steve Clemons: The Pelosi-Harman Fault Line

Zainab Salbi: Will Saddam Trial Bring Justice to the Women of Iraq?

-----

Marty Kaplan: Pardoning The Turkeys...

AP

Excerpted From Marty Kaplan's Blog:

What do President Bush and the national turkey have in common? They both received Thanksgiving pardons from President Bush.

As Flyboy pardoned "Flyer" at the White House, half a world away, in the United Arab Emirates, 41 pardoned 43...

The incumbent President won his pardon at a "leadership conference" (is that code for "speaking fee"?) where a staged speech by George H. W. Bush unleashed the opposite of cheers from his audience...

The AP reported that 41 "appeared stunned"...Poppy was expecting what -- Kennebunkport holiday gentility?...
Click here to read more.

ON THE BLOG TODAY

Arianna Huffington: Thanksgiving 2006: Much to be Thankful For

Bob Cesca: Thanking The Shit Out Of Stuff, 2006

Jane Smiley: Don't Forget the Mashed Potatoes

Alec Baldwin: Giving Thanks to Those Who Serve

-----

Alec Baldwin: Giving Thanks To Those Who Serve...

From yahoo.com

Excerpted From Alec Baldwin's Blog:

I know it sounds corny, but this Thanksgiving, I want to remember the troops in Iraq. And around the world, for that matter. These are men and women who have answered a call and sacrificed for their country, even in the worst of political times...

...There will be other wars, right and wrong, in our future. We owe thanks to those who serve, even though we would all be better off if they came home.
Click here to read more.

ON THE BLOG TODAY

Jeralyn Merritt: I Wish Thanksgiving Were For All of Us

Matt Neuman: Thanksgiving at Camp David

John Ridley: I'm Thankful for The Political Center

Tony Hendra: A Thanksgiving Prayer for Dick Cheney's Heart -- and a Few Other Favorite Things

-----

Nora Ephron: Melancholy Babies...

From news.yahoo.com

Excerpted From Nora Ephron's Blog:

So according to Robert Novak, Donald Rumsfeld received a standing ovation at the American Spectator dinner last week - not because of his performance as Defense Secretary but because the audience wanted to make Rummy feel better because they knew that President Bush had hurt his feelings...

Good gracious me. Donald Rumsfeld, who to the best of my knowledge has not lost a wink of sleep since he helped lead us into this sorry war, spent a whole day on the verge of tears because of the way he was fired? Because no one had the courtesy to tell him in advance? Because he believed it when Bush told the press that Rumsfeld would serve until the end of his Presidency?

I love this.

People actually think that there's a good way to be fired...
Click here to read more.

ON THE BLOG TODAY

Arianna Huffington: Four Take-Aways from the Michael Richards Story

Tom Hayden: Documents Reveal Secret Talks Between U.S. and Armed Iraqi
Resistance

Rep. Linda Sanchez: With America's Economy at a Crossroads, the
Colombia FTA is the Wrong

Etan Thomas: Apology Not Accepted

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So ... you made it all the way down here? Then here's something you'll really like!

A man wanted to get rid of his old fridge, so he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it that said, "Free to good home. You want it, you take it."

For three days, the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it. Did his neighbors think that a free fridge was too good of a deal to be true?

Out of curiosity, the man changed the sign to read: "Fridge for sale: $50."

The next day, someone stole it.

posted by The Scallion @ 5:21 PM