McCain Campaign No. 1 at Self-Parody; McCain support for Mujahideen Papered Over

Sarah Palin's jab at Barack Obama on Sunday attempting to tie him to terrorism (!) is another in a long line of gaffes that will hurt her ticket tremendously.

You always suspected that McCain, if he got in trouble with the electorate, really would stoop to calling his rival a terrorist.

Saturday Night Live writers don't even have to create parodies any more. They've just been quoting Palin verbatim.

The comedy writers have another wild statement from Palin/McCain to work with now.

As for the real terrorism, someone should please ask McCain about his support in the 1980s for the mujahideen (Muslim holy warriors) blowing up things in Afghanistan, which ultimately led some of the mujahideen to form al-Qaeda. Or about McCain's friendship and support for Gen.Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, who refused to help capture Bin Laden in 1999 and who continued to support and use the Taliban.

Oh, I forgot, if you declare yourself right wing, it is all right to foment terrorism and the corporate media will never question you about it because, well, because it is the corporate media.

Saudi Arabia mediates between Karzai Gov't, Taliban

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah recently hosted talks in Mecca, between Taliban and the Karzai government.

And that's the good news!

11 Family Members killed in US Raid; GI likely torured in Iraq;

A US raid on a suspected guerrilla safe house left 11 members of a family dead on Sunday, including three women and three children. The US military insists that the dead men were members of "al-Qaeda" and that the house was full of arms, and that, indeed, some of the destruction was caused by a secondary explosion. Iraqis seem to be denying the US charges.

The main political significance of the dead women and children is that they certainly will be thought relevant by at least the Sunni Arabs in parliament to the status of forces agreement being hammered out between Prime Minister al-Maliki and the Bush administration.

A bomb attack on a British convoy in Basra on Sunday wounded an Iraqi civilian.

One of the reasons the US military prefers to follow the Geneva Conventions, which forbid torture, is that when America tortures it encourages its enemies who capture GIs to torture them. It is therefore sad to know that Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld ordered that prisoners be tortured and that "the parents of Spc. Byron Wayne Fouty believe he was tortured by his captors . . ." Fouty was from Texas.

Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Aoul Gheit made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Sunday and talked about reopening the Egyptian embassy. The last Egyptian diplomat sent there was killed. For his part, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak roiled relations with Iraq by saying that Arab Shiites are more loyal to Iran than to their own countries. But Egypt needs energy and Iraq has a lot of oil, and Cairo is inching back toward a correct relationship with Baghdad.

Turkey, facing a terrorism threat from radical Kurdish separatists based in Iraq, asks the US and Iraq to control Iraqi borders.

Internally displaced Iraqis are being pressured to return to the former domiciles, with aid being withdrawn and tents taken down by the government. This despite the changed political geography of Iraq in the wake of the 2006-2007 massive ethnic cleansing, which has left many Sunni areas without Shiites and vice versa. Shiites cannot return to towns such as Habbaniya because they would stand out like a sore thumb. Anyway, many of them have been personally threatened by name by militias of the other sect, and will not go back as long as they think those militiamen who menaced them are still active and armed.There is no more effective threat than one backed up by thousands of previous murders.

Tina Susman of the LAT reports that more Iraqis are still fleeing the country than are returning, and that the brain drain of professionals is still extensive..

Iraq is rebuilding the Askariya Shrine in Samarra, the destruction of which kicked off the Shiite campaign of ethnic cleasning of Sunnis. Some hope the rebuilt shrine will improve Sunni-Shiite relations.

McClatchy reports other political violence in Iraq on Sunday:

' Nineveh

. . .Gunmen killed four men and injured six in a drive by shooting that targeted a funeral in Al Zinjili area in Mosul. One of the deceased was Iraqi army officer.

- Police found three bodies in Wahda neighborhood in Mosul. The three men were kidnapped yesterday.

- Gunmen attacked a police patrol in central Mosul injuring two policemen.

Diyala

- Gunmen attacked Hussein Al Hamad village near Khan Bani Saad area, about 18 miles south of Baquba, killing three citizens and destroying five houses.

Kirkuk

- Police found one dead body of a Kurd young man near a bridge one day after his kidnapping.'

Is Karzai's Brother a Drug Lord?

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's brother may be involved in the drug trade.

Actually, a majority of Afghans are involved in raising poppies or making and exporting heroin. A good third of the country's gross domestic product derives from the drug trade and 85% of Europe's heroin comes from Afghanistan.

Some of the Pushtuns the US and NATO call "Taliban" seem to me actually to just be villagers angry that US or Afghan troops forcibly eradicated their poppy crops.

A British commander has expressed doubts that an "absolute military victory" can be won in Afghanistan and suggested negotiating with the Taliban.

President Karzai is way ahead of him, and has asked the Saudis to help mediate the conflict.

Meanwhile, NATO and the US continued their search and destroy missions, killing 12 "Taliban" in Jalai, it was announced on Saturday.

15 Turkish Soldiers Dead in Fighting with Kurds; 2 GIs wounded in Helicopter Crash; Sadrists Denounce Negroponte Visit

Fighting between Turkish government troops and Kurdish guerrillas in eastern Turkey and northern Iraq left 15 Turkish soldiers and 23 Kurdish fighters dead. Sounds like a big deal to me-- countries that lose 15 men in one day are always tempted to send in more troops.

Two US blackhawk helicopters crashed in Baghdad. One Iraq soldier was killed and four people were wounded, including 2 US soldiers.

Sawt al-Iraq reports in Arabic that the Basra police claim to have arrested 8 wanted men (probably militiamen of the Mahdi Army with which the army clashed in the city late last March).

The Sadr movement in the Iraqi parliament rejected the visit to Iraq of State Department envoy John Negroponte. MP Uqayl Abdul Husain said that Negroponte was pressuring Iraq to accept quickly a status of forces agreement with the US. He said that the envoy was also attempting to add paragraphs to the agreement that would detract from Iraq's sovereignty. He maintained that given the recent successes of the Iraqi army in subduing local militias, Iraq did not even need US troops any more and thus the agreement is superfluous. (That is rich; the successes of the Iraqi army were against the Mahdi Army, the paramilitary of the Sadr Movement!)

The United Arab Emirates is developing the natural gas in Kurdistan over the objections of the Iraqi federal government. Kurdistan on such matters acts like an independent country and does not seek permission from Baghdad.

Poland is ending its role as a member of the coalition of the willing, which in general is coming to look like a coalition of the unwilling.

Sectarian warfare in Iraq has spilled over onto Lebanon, argues Nir Rosen.

Reuters reports political violence in Iraq the last couple of days:

' . . . MOSUL - A roadside bomb killed two policemen and wounded another on Friday in central Mosul, police said...

MOSUL - Gunmen entered a Christian-owned shop in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, and shot the owner dead, police said. . . .

MOSUL - The bodies of two people who had been kidnapped were found on Friday, bearing gunshot wounds, in southeastern Mosul, police said. Another body was found in western Mosul. . .

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces killed a senior al Qaeda militant, along with one woman, on Friday in the Adhamiya district of northern Baghdad, the U.S. military said.'

Gaza's Tunnels Are Lifeline for Territory under Siege

Aljazeera English reports on the tunnels that Gazans use to blunt the impact of the siege imposed on them by Israel (and Egypt).



The smugglers are sometimes killed in tunnel collapses or by demolitions by the Egyptian government.

Human rights protesters against Israel's virtual siege of the civilian population have sailed from Cyprus to Gaza, bringing aid.

Israeli journalist Gideon Levy lays out a case against Israeli policy in Gaza.

A Scottish human rights activist filmed Israeli sailors shooting at unarmed civilian Gazan fishermen.

Tuvalu Threatened by Rising Sea Water

As global warming melts land ice and causes ocean levels to rise, islands like Tuvalu are in danger of being inundated. The 10,000 people in the island nation are pleading with Australia to take them in when the waters rise further.

Internet devotees will remember Tuvalu as the nation licensed to give out the .tv domain name. Ironically, the domain name and an internet connection may be the only thing left of the country soon. Tuvalu may become the first virtual nation.

Kiribatu and the Maldives are in a similar plight.

If Tuvalu is a problem, what will the world do about Bangladesh,which could have 30 million climate refugees this century . . . That would be sort of like New York and Pennsylvania combined.

You Betcha, Get out Those Snorkels, *Wink*

The bad news is that 250 million years ago, global warming almost killed the planet.

'Through the darkest days, the planet was a barren wasteland. Ocean circulation, so vital to our modern climate, had shut off. Huge algal blooms sucked the seas dry of oxygen. Poisonous hydrogen sulfide built up to lethal concentrations in the water and may have even been belched into the atmosphere, suffocating organisms on shore.'

The good news is that the 160 feet along the shoreline where the waves come in aerated the water and created a narrow band where crustaceans and other forms of life could survive until the planet cooled down again.

So if humans do unalterably again poison the planet by digging oil and coal up out of the ground and pumping carbon dioxide into our atmosphere, apparently it will be we who get boiled and the lobsters that laze about all day snapping their pincers.

US Soldier Killed in South; Provincial Elections Bill Passes Presidential Council

Shiite guerrillas deploying a roadside bomb killed a US soldier in Amara.

Iraq's presidency council approved the enabling legislation for provincial elections scheduled early next year. The council had shot down the first such bill, in part over the question of how the disputed oil province Kirkuk would be dealt with.

Aljazeera English interviews former British foreign secretary Lord David Owen on the Iraq War. Owen had supported the war but says he did so in part because Tony Blair lied to him about Saddam's nuclear and biological weapons programs. He admits that the war, which he had supported, has been an unimitigated disaster.

The Non-Debate

It was not a debate. Just as television in prime time has been largely emptied of drama and innovative comedy, with a few exceptions, in favor of empty-headed "reality shows," so the political debates have mostly been gutted.

Judging "how the candidates did" is rather like weighing in on the wittiness of the libretto of "Big Brother" or the pace of character development in the latest episode of "Keeping up with the Kardashians." The genre of the political review assumes that both candidates are credible in their roles. It becomes self-parody when one candidate is a ditzy nonentity cynically foisted on the public in the same way a 'reality show' is, based on a targeted demographic and without regard to quality.

It reminded me of the excruciating first episodes every season of "American Idol," when a single candidate is found who has the voice of an angel and then everyone else auditioned sounds like fingernails on a blackboard.

The news organizations and civic groups that sponsor political debates have allowed the campaigns to push them around so vigorously that nothing like a debate is any longer possible. The Bushies even tried to force the networks to hide the fact that John Kerry was taller than his rival in 2004. It is not about debating but about how your candidate looks on television.

Not only was there no debate but Sarah Palin was not required actually to answer any of the questions put to her, and she announced before she began that she was just going to throw up on us all the talking points that she had binged on in Arizona for the past few days.

She mugged for the camera, winked like a bar fly, and just went on talking and talking and talking, oblivious to whatever anyone else said. Not only did she ignore most of Gwen Ifill's questions,she paid no attention to what Joe Biden said. When he choked up over the loss of his family, she did not have the decency to express any kind of condolences. It is almost as though she is narcissistic and unable to connect with human beings.

Not only was it not a debate and not only did Palin answer virtually none of the questions put to her, but the whole idea of such an event was ridiculous.

Joe Biden has been either the chairman or the ranking minority member on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee for many years, and is one of our foremost foreign affairs experts and legislators. His acumen and expertise are wide-ranging.

Palin has revealed her real self in the Gibson and Couric interviews, and clearly knows nothing and offers only rubbery expressions and glib repetition, for all the world like a rasping myna bird, of a stream of memorized slogans that sound as though they were disinterred from a time capsule originally buried in William F. Buckley Jr.'s back yard several decades ago.

It was not a debate, and pretending that it was and judging "performance" is to fall into the trap set by the campaign spinmeisters and talking point pimps.

Iraqis Blame lack of Political Progress for Bombings

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic on the aftermath of the horrific bombings on Thursday at Shiite mosques in Baghdad that left 26 persons dead and dozens wounded.

Wa'il Abd al-Latif, an independent member of parliament saw a relationship between the bombings and the sources of the recent political tension that have not been resolved. One of these contentious issues is the security agreement being negotiated by PM al-Maliki with the Bush administration. He said that there is a crisis of confidence over the ability and willingness of the (Shiite-dominted) government and the Awakening Councils (Sunni Arab Iraqis willing to take a US salary to fight the Muslim radical vigilantes).

Murtada al-Qazwini, the Friday prayers sermonizer at the al-Husayn shrine complex in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, requested the government during his Eid or holy day sermon to refuse to sign the security agreement being worked out with the Bush administration, because, he said, the current draft allows US troops in Iraq to commit crimes against Iraqis and the things they hold sacred without recourse for the victims to Iraqi courts.

Muhammad Ismail al-Khazraji of the Fadhila (Islamic Virtue) Party blamed the Iraqi government for the escalation of violence, saying it had failed to implement a plan for national reconciliation. He said the bombings were done by political actors who sought concrete goals.


McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Thursday:

' Baghdad

A suicide bomber wearing a suicide vest targeted a Shiite mosque in Baghdad al-Jadeeda, eastern Baghdad after Eid prayers, at 7.45 a.m. Thursday, killing at least twelve civilians, injuring twenty five.

A suicide car bomb targeted a Shiite mosque in Zafaraniyah, southeastern Baghdad at 7.45 a.m. Thursday killing eight people including four Iraqi Army members, injuring ten including one soldier.

A suicide car bomb targeted a U.S. military convoy in Ameriyah, west Baghdad at noon. A U.S. army vehicle was destroyed and two Iraqi civilians were injured according to Iraqi police. The U.S. military confirmed the incident, adding that the investigation was ongoing.

One mortar round slammed into the Green Zone near the Ministry of Defence, said Iraqi Police. No casualties were reported.

One unidentified body was found in Nidhal Street, central Baghdad by Iraqi Police today.

Nineveh

Gunmen attempted to assassinate Radhwan Izuddin, religious sheikh of al-Furqan Mosque in al-Zuhur neighbourhood, eastern Mosul. Izuddin survived the attack that took place in front of the mosque with superficial injuries.

Diyala

Gunmen opened fire upon a Kia minibus from a speeding car in Wajihiyah, 20 km to the east of Baquba killing three women, one man and two children ages five and six, injuring two people: a woman and a man.'

Palin Pads Resume Again: Didn't Actually Meet British Ambassador

Sarah Palin BUSTED!! Forced to apologize to British ambassador for lying about participating in "talks" with him that never actually took place!

"In an answer to questions about her foreign policy experience ahead of tonight's make-or-break vice presidential TV debate, her aides listed numerous contacts with foreign officials - including Britain's ambassador to Washington, Sir Nigel Sheinwald. However the meeting never occurred. Officials at the embassy swiftly contacted the McCain-Palin campaign to inform them of the discrepancy. A British Embassy spokesman said the error arose after Sir Nigel's name was listed among those who had attended a US Governor's meeting in July."

22 Killed in Iraq Attacks; Bombings at Shiite Mosques Kill 12, Wound 40;

Guerrillas detonated two big bombs in Shiite areas of Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing 12 and wounding 40.They were striking at Shiite worshipers celebrating the end of the month-long Ramadan fast. Many Iraqi Shiites observed the Eid al-Fitr on Thursday in accordance with the ruling of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.

There were also 6 persons killed when guerrillas shot up a minibus near Baquba.

McClatchy also reports that in Diyala Province to the east of the capital, "In the early morning there were clashes between the emergency police and gunmen in Tahaniyah village of Mandli ( about 52 miles east of Baquba). Two gunmen were killed and three others were arrested. From their side police had four policemen injured."

Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports in Arabic that Iraqi Shiites split into 3 groups with regard to observing the Eid al-Fitr or the breaking of the Ramadan fast. Followers of Muhammad Husain Fadlallah of Lebanon commemorated the Eid on Tuesday, as did the the Sunnis. The Da'wa (Islamic Call or Islamic Mission) Party tends to follow Fadlallah as their legal counselor (faqih) but not as an unchallegeable source of religious authority (marja`iyyah). Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is a leader of the Da`wa.

Wednesday was favored by Ayatollah Kadhim al-Ha'iri, who resides in Qom and is followed by members of the Sadr Movement and Mahdi Army of Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sharq al-Awsat said most Iraqi Shiites commemorated Eid al-Fitr on Wednesday. That day was also favored by Ali Khamenei,the theocratic leader of Iran.

Followers of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani observed the holy day on Thursday in accordance with a legal ruling of Sistani, who insist that the moon must be seen with the naked eye.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat is convinced that many more Iraqi Shiites followed Kadhem al-Ha'iri than the others. If so, that datum may mark a turn of Iraqi public opinion toward the Sadr Movement. Unlike Sistani,it has been consistently demanding a US withdrawal.



The LAT reports that the Iraqi government, dominated by fundamentalist Shiites, on Wednesday took control of the Sunni Arab Awakening Councils or "Sons of Iraq" that had previously reported to the US military. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has long opposed the program and has brought vanishingly few into the Iraqi security forces. Only about 11,000 of the 56,000 such fighters in Baghdad will be admitted to the police or army, while the other 80% will be retrained, disarmed,and given civilian jobs. One big problem with this plan is that as soon as they are no longer in the Awakening Council, they are open to being assassinated by the fundamentalist vigilantes whom they fought on behalf of the US. Al-Maliki also plans to charge and arrest some of these Awakening Council members for the crimes they committed when they were part of the guerrilla resistance to the new government.

In a further sign that the US war in Iraq is winding down, the US military released 2400 prisoners during Ramadan. AFP remarks: "With the latest releases, the number of detainees in US custody has dropped to 17,900, the statement said. Since the start of 2008, some 14,200 detainees have been freed. . . Most detainees spend an average of one year behind bars, generally without being formally charged."

Palin: Raped Women must bear Child

Palin explains that she thinks women raped, even by their fathers, should be "encouraged" to bear the child.



Although Palin says she doesn't want to send anyone to jail for having an abortion, the policies she advocates would do just that. She has already admitted that she wants justices and judges to be appointed on the litmus test of being against abortion. If Roe v.Wade is overturned,then likely each state will have its own abortion law, and certainly women would be going to jail in Alabama for violating that state's prohibition of it.

The irrationality of the American religious right is demonstrated by their attempt, in Louisiana, to make rape a capital crime. So let me get this straight. Respect for "life" means a raped woman can't have an abortion and must bear her attacker's child for nine months of her life and then risk being responsible for it for a lifetime.

But the religious right wants to kill the child's father (that is absolute respect for life?) and make sure that the child has no one who could be made to provide child support and ensure the child gets a proper education.

I wrote on a different occasion:

'Anti-abortion activism is essentially patriarchal. It insists that the woman's egg, once fertilized, is immediately a person and that the woman loses control over her body by virtue of being impregnated by her husband's sperm. It is men who dictate to the woman that she must carry the fertilized egg to term, must be a mother once impregnated by a man. For extreme anti-abortionists, even a woman who has been raped or is in danger of losing her life if she tries to give birth must be forced to bear the child. A rapist can make a woman be a mother whether she likes it or not, because his maleness gives him prerogatives not withdrawn by his mere criminality.'