Got the foggy, election day, blues November 2, 2010
Posted by walterknitty in Politics.add a comment
It’s November 2nd. Dont forget to vote! It’s your civic duty as a citizen of this country to get off your sofa and get your duff to your local polling place. If you live in Oregon dont forget to drop off your ballot!
It’s nearly noon and so foggy I cant see across the river from my desk. It’s so foggy, I can barely even see the river and it’s less than 200 feet away from the building I work in. Well, maybe a little more than 200 feet. Usually on even the rainiest winter day I can at least see the river.
I’m afraid I have no real election predictions for you. My hope is that Measure 74 will pass here in Oregon and allow dispensaries to open for medical marijuana patients. While Oregon has medical marijuana you either have to grow it yourself or find someone to grow for you. This is not an option for a lot of people. Other than that it looks like the Dem’s will get their asses handed to them. While I do not take joy in the thought of someone like Sharron Angle getting elected (or some of the other people with the crazy getting elected) if Democratic voters are going to sit on their asses rather than vote then they only have themselves to blame if Republicans shut down government early next year as some have promised to do. And Dem’s really only have themselves to blame for being a bunch of limp dick weenies. They stand for nothing. They couldnt even properly dismiss the whole “Death Panel” fiasco with health care reform. If they get trounced maybe some of them will finally start to show a freaking spine.
I’m not hype up about returns or anything like that. Actually, today, I’m more interested in knitting a sock, doing my job, going to yoga, and reading a ton of international news and economic news.
Not Out of The Woods Yet April 14, 2010
Posted by walterknitty in Economy, Politics.add a comment
The Dow went above 11,000 earlier this week for the first time since 2008. Today we find out that consumer spending rose in March. Unemployment is holding steady. Last month the we actually gained jobs. Not enough to bring down the unemployment rate but enough so the unemployment rate held steady. The Commercial Real Estate market didnt tank as was feared about 6 months to a year ago. And this article from the NY Times last week sounds like it’s arguing for a “V shaped” recovery.
This is all good news. I’m not going to argue that. But, we’re not out of the woods and the likelihood of a V Shaped recovery is very slim. The Great Recession is not over. We may not be in for an “L Shaped” recovery but we’re not going to hit a major rebound any time soon.
FYI, an L Shaped recovery is like what happened to Japan in the 90′s. Basically, this happens when the economy tanks, then stays flat over a long period of time. A V-Shaped recovery is when there is a sharp dive then a sharp uptick in economic activity and a U-Shaped recovery is more like what we’re experiencing right now. A dive, bottoming out, then a long, slow recovery. Then there is the dreaded W-Shaped recovery. This is what I’m most concerned about. A W-Shaped recovery is when there is a dive, then the economy begins to recover, then takes another dive. This happened in 1937 (as you can see in this lovely graph from Wikipedia) and it could happen again now.
As you can see in this lovely graph
We have a hell of a lot of ground to make up. Millions of jobs have been lost, household debt is at 94%, and with productivity having gone up 5% last year, employment may not come down any time soon. The other thing about unemployment is that it might go up before coming back down. That’s because unemployment as a statistic measures job seekers. It does not measure the number of people who have stopped looking. As the economy improves more people who had stopped looking for work will start looking agin. They will be counted in the unemployment numbers causing unemployment to go up. To keep up with population growth the US economy has to add over 100,000 jobs a month. When the economy tanked, we lost 8 million jobs. In order to even come close to breaking even the economy would have to add more than 500,000 a month. That clearly is not going to happen. To break even in 3 years the economy would have to add more than 300,000 a month. That isnt going to happen either. Ezra Klein had a good interview with a liberal economist yesterday about whether or not the recession is over.
It’s a lot of gloom and doom for such a lovely April day. It’s lovely here in Oregon at least. If it were up to me I’d put people to work in a WPA style program. The WPA didnt just employ people for manual labour but employed artists too. Timberline Lodge in Oregon is a beautiful example of artists contributions to the WPA. I’d put people to work building typical infrastructure projects, roads, bridges, national parks, that kind of thing. In the UK they are using tidal energy to make electricity. It’s kind of like taking a wind turbine, turning it upside down, and plunking it into the Ocean. We could put people to work building solar energy plants and why in the world do we need China to come to the US to build high speed rail?
Unfortunately, it isnt up to me. But we have a long slog before this country is out of the woods economically.
Letter from Iran June 16, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Politics.1 comment so far
I read this today. The guy who wrote it requested wide publication. I’m putting it here, in full. It’s about the march in Iran yesterday (Monday) from Revolution Square to Freedom Square.
“I left my home in Tajrish along with my family at 3 p.m. We went down Valiast Street which is the main northern-southern avenue in Tehran and entered the Evin Exp’way which leads to Enghelab Street. We knew that people are supposed to gather in Enghelab Sq. (Revolution Sq.) at 4 and march toward Azadi Sq. (Freedom Sq.). From Gisha Bridge onwards, we saw people walking down. Cars were blowing their horns and people were showing victory sign. We went to Navvab Street and parked our car at the end of the street. Then we took a taxi to bring us back to the Enghelab Street. On our way, near Jomhouri Sq. (Republic Sq.), I saw a group of about 20 militia with long beards and batons on motorbikes. My hand was out of the car window with a little green ribbon (the sign of reformists) around my finger. One of the militia told me to throw that ribbon away. I showed him a finger. All of a sudden, about 15 people attacked me inside the car. They beat me with their batons and wanted to pull me out. My wife and my daughter who were sitting in the back seat cried and hold me tight. I also hold myself tight on the chair. They wanted to shatter the car windows. The driver went out and explained that he is a taxi and we are his passengers and he has no fault. After about 5 minutes,they left. My elbow hurts severely. Then, a young man from their group came and kissed my elbow! I told him: You know, I don’t hate you. I am like you with the only difference that I know more and you are ignorant. He apologized and left. We joined the crowd in Enghelab Street.
“Read carefully: What I saw today was the most elegant scene I had ever witnessed in my life. The huge number of people were marching hand in hand in full peace. Silence. Silence was everywhere. There was no slogan. No violence. Hands were up in victory sign with green ribbons. People carried placards which read: Silence. Old and young, man and woman of all social groups were marching cheerfully. This was a magnificent show of solidarity. Enghelab Street which is the widest avenue in Tehran was full of people. I was told that the march has begun in Ferdowsi Sq. and the end of the march was now in Imam Hossein Sq. to the further east of Tehran while on the other end people had already gathered in Azadi Sq. The length of this street is about 6 kilometers. The estimate is about 2 million people. On the way, we passed a police department and a militia (Baseej) base. In both places, the doors were closed and we could see fully-armed riot police and militia watching the people from behind the fences. Near Sharif University of Technology where the students had chased away Ahmadinejad a few days ago, Mirhossein Mousavi (the reformist elect president) and Karrubi (the other reformist candidate spoke to people for a few minutes which was received by cries of praise and applause. I felt proud to find myself among such a huge number of passionate people who were showing the most reasonable act of protest. Frankly, I didn’t expect such a political maturity from emotional Iranians who easily get excited. My family and I had put stickers on our mouths to represent the suppression. Placards that people carried were different; from poems by the national poet Ahmad Shamlu to light-hearted slogans against Ahmadinejad. Examples include: ‘To slaughter us/ why did you need to invite us / to such an elegant party” (Poem by Shamlu).’ ‘Hello! Hello! 999? / Our votes were stolen’ or ‘The Miracle of the Third Millenium: 2 x 2 = 24 millions’ (alluding to the claim by Government that Ahmadinejad obtained 24 million votes) , ‘Where is my vote?’, ‘Give me back my vote’ and many other. We arrived in Azadi Square where the entire square was full of population. It is said that around 500,000 people can be accommodated in this huge square and it was full. Suddenly we saw smoke from Jenah Freeway and heard the gunshot. People were scared at first but then went forward. I just heard the gunshots but my sister who had been on the scene at that part told me later that she saw 4 militia came out from a house and shot a girl. Then they shot a young boy in his eye and the bullet came out of his ear. She said that 4 people were shot. At least one person dead has been confirmed. People arrested one of the Baseeji militia but the three others ran away when they ran out of bullet. At around 8 we went back on foot. On the way back people were still in the street and were chanting Allah Akbar (God is Great). I was coming home at around 2 a.m. In parkway, I saw about ten buses full of armed riot police parked on the side of the street. Then I saw scattered militia in civil clothes with clubs in hand patroling the empty streets. In Tajrish Square, I saw a very young boy (around 16) with a club who was looking at the cars to see if he can find something to attack. I don’t know how and under what teachings can young boys change into militia. I came home. Tomorrow, people will gather again in Valiasr Square for another peaceful march toward the IRIB building which controls all the media and which spreads filthy lies. The day before Yesterday, Ahmadinejad had hold his victory ceremony. Government buses had transported all his supporters from nearby cities. There was full coverage of that ceremony where fruit juice and cake was plenty. A maximum of 100,000 had gathered to hear his speech. These included all the militia and the soldiers and all supporters he could gather by the use of free TV publicity. Today, at least 2 million came only relying on word of mouth while reformists have no newspaper, no radio, no TV. All their internet sites are filtered as well as social networks such as facebook. Text messaging and mobile communication was also cut off during the demonstration. Since yesterday, the Iranian TV was announcing that there is no license for any gathering and riot police will severely punish anybody who may demonstrates. Ahmadinejad called the opposition as a bunch of insignificant dirt who try to make the taste of victory bitter to the nation. He also called the western leaders as a bunch of ‘filthy homosexuals’. All these disgusting remarks was today answered by that largest demonstration ever. Older people compared the demonstration of today with the Ashura Demonstration of 1979 which marks the downfall of the Shah regime and even said that it outnumbered that event. The militia burnt a house themselves to find the excuse to commit violence. People neutralized their tactic to a large degree by their solidarity, their wisdom and their denial to enage in any violent act. I feel sad for the loss of those young girls and boys. It is said that they also killed 3 students last night in their attack at Tehran University residence halls. I heard that a number of professors of Sharif University and AmirKabir University (Tehran Polytechnic) have resigned. Democracy is a long way ahead. I may not be alive to see that day. With eyes full of tear in these early hours of Tuesday 16th June 2009, I glorify the courage and bravery of those martyrs and I hope that their blood will make every one of us more committed to freedom, to democracy and to human rights. Viva Freedom, Viva Democracy, Viva Iran.
One More Thing June 11, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Politics.add a comment
With the shooting at the Holocaust Museum yesterday in DC, the continuing stupidity of people like Randall Terry and his comments on Dr. Tiller’s murder, and the sensational talk around the services his clinic performed I thought I’d put something out to give more perspective.
Kansas Stories are stories of women and families who sought services at Dr. Tiller’s clinic. Contrary to some of the more inflammatory rhetoric floating around right now, these are not women who decided in their 8th month of pregnancy they no longer wanted to have a child. Dr. Tiller was not a man who charged 5000$ to perform late term abortions just because he could. These stories are difficult reading. These are not women who took their decision lightly. One of the women was 34 weeks pregnant when she found out her child had a serious heart defect (the only options were a complete transplant or 3-4 open heart surgeries with little chance for survival) and Down Syndrome. She found out it was highly unlikely for her child to survive birth:
“The doctors said if the amnio revealed Down syndrome, the likelihood of surviving surgery would be minimal to none, and without surgery the baby had 100% chance of fatality. However, not one doctor would promise us that if we opted not to have surgery and let nature take its course, that our wishes would be abided by. This was disturbing to us. Nor did they tell us that Down syndrome babies don’t get heart transplants. If the doctors felt they could give the baby a quality of life, they would take matters into their hands even without our consent.”
Not easy reading. Dr. Tiller performed an unfortunate but necessary, legal, medical procedure for women and families in need. For women whose babies were so severely deformed they would not survive birth, be a vegetable, or only survive a few years that were full of painful surgeries. From the reading I’ve done, this man performed this service with a great amount of compassion and the women who sought treatment at his clinic were treated with compassion, caring, and respect. Could the same be said of the protesters outside the clinic?
Topical Rant June 9, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Politics.2 comments
I ran across this comic this morning and thought I’d share. I’ve been a regular reader of “This Modern World” for more than 10 years. Sad, but true. With the murder of Dr. Tiller and the Obama administration bringing back Clinton era programs to target this kind of violence, it seemed very appropriate.
I’ve been in a position where I had to make that choice. I was 19, unemployed, not emotionally mature or emotionally capable enough to have a child, and knew that the person I was with (sorry Hawkeye, I hope this doesnt sound mean.) was not emotionally mature enough, or emotionally capable enough to help care for a baby. I found out I was pregnant when I missed my period. Even though it was one of the most difficult and emotionally fraught decisions I’ve made in my life, I knew I was making the right decision for me.
I found the name of a clinic in town that offered abortion information. What neither of us knew was that the clinic was run by a group of Christian fundamentalists who used anatomically incorrect plastic dolls to show fetal development. I was 5 weeks along. There is absolutely no way developmentally a 5 week old fetus has fully formed eyes, arms, and legs. The woman wanted to shame me into going through with the pregnancy and when I said I was still going to get an abortion she got angry and said the Planned Parenthood in Waterloo did not offer abortion services. I told her I would go to the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City. She got more angry and upset but Hawkeye and I left, went home, and called the clinic.
I called the clinic to make my appointment. The woman on the other end of the line was kind, patient, and asked me a bunch of questions like when was my last period etc. She said they did occasionally have protesters but hadnt had any in a while. I made my appointment for a week later and Hawkeye and I went to the clinic one hot and sunny morning. Iowa City was an hour away from where we were living at the time.
Because RU-486 was not yet legal in the US, I had a suction-aspiration procedure. Yes, this is as uncomfortable, painful, and intrusive procedure as the Wikipedia page describes. First the nurse swabs your cervix with lidocaine at the end of a long q-tip then you get a shot of lidocainedirectly into the cervix with a frighteningly long needle. Then the Dr. opens your cervix slowly (from what I remember hearing it sounded like someone was cranking it open) then once it’s open far enough the Dr. basically vacuums out your uterus. Yes, this is incredibly unpleasant. Yes, even with the lidocaine, it is uncomfortable. Unfortunately for me, the Dr. performing the procedure didnt get much tissue which raised the issue of a possible ectopic pregnancy.
A week and a half, several blood tests (I looked like I started doing heroin because of all needle marks on my arms), and an ultrasound later, showed there was no ectopic pregnancy just that the Dr. did not perform the procedure correctly.
The male tech tried telling me that it was a sign from God and I should reconsider my decision. He’s a fucking lab tech at a hospital. Where the fuck does he get the idea telling me that is okay.
A few days later I was back at the clinic to go through the whole thing all over again. I forgot to mention that this whole time, nearly 7 weeks, I was so sick with morning sickness I couldnt keep anything down. Not even water. Anything that went in my mouth came right back up. I’m fairly thin anyway and lost nearly 10 lbs.
Even though I had to go through this painful procedure twice, the women at the clinic couldnt have been more kind. I was treated with more kindness and respect than I felt I deserved. Before having the procedure I talked to a counselor. Even with all the follow up appointments I never once felt shamed or judged. Those were feelings I carried inside me for years afterward. Shame, guilt, and fear of being judged.
After the procedure, there was a lot of cramping and bleeding. It’s not a gentle thing for the body to go through. A or two later, I could finally keep food down, in my stomach, where it belonged. Hawkeye had me take some of his Ultram for the pain.
I’m a 31 year old woman. I’m grateful I live in an area of the country where if I needed to make this decision again, I would have access to the services I need.
It drives me bug fuck crazy that people who will never be faced with this choice decide to shame women who have been faced with this decision. This applies to men directly. Sorry, on this issue, I have a lot of judgement about men in general. I know not all men are this way. Men dont have vagina’s and they dont have wombs. Men will never be able to carry a baby or face the choice of having to terminate a pregnancy. Men (and yes, I worked with a man who held this belief) who think women get pregnant on purpose just to have an abortion, drive me to no end of frustration. Honestly, it really fucking pisses me off. Anyone who thinks that women have abortions just to have them, are so blind to what women actually face when making this difficult decision, it’s actually pathetic. Honestly, I dont believe men have any say in a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. Ultimately, it’s the woman’s responsibility to carry and most likely to care for her child for the span of it’s life. Men, on this issue, should really keep their mouths shut.
I’ve had this same talk with M. Even though M. is gay and a guy, he would want to have some say or talk with his girlfriend on this issue. M. has always wanted a kid, but M. would ultimately respect any decision his girlfriend/wife made. He’s kind and compassionate. I understand M.’s position, and to some extent, I do agree with him. Not all men are like M. Some men are real assholes. Men walk away from pregnant women/girlfriends every day.
Yes, I have a lot of anger around this issue. I’m now, finally, at peace with the choice I made. I knew adoption wouldnt be an option for me. I knew in my heart that once I gave birth I would never be able to give my children away. I can have a discussion with someone who believes abortion is wrong. I’ve had that discussion with friends. It’s the judgment that can come that riles my anger, that makes me see red and says “Listen you fucking jackass . . .” No man has the right to judge me for that or any choice I make.
I do occasionally have pangs of guilt when I read about women who desperately want children and are unable to have them. To them, I want to say that I’m sorry. I made the best decision for myself and my well being at the time. If faced with the same situation, I’d make the same choice.
That’s the topical rant for today. Please, I hope no one has pity for me. I didnt post this to look for pity. Whether you agree or not abortion is legal. It’s one of the most common procedures performed in the US. It does not destroy the lives of women who choose abortion over adoption or carrying the pregnancy to term and raising the kid. Making abortion illegal would not stop women from seeking this service. It’s a procedure that in one way or another has been performed, whether with sticks or herbs to induce miscarriage, for a few thousand years. Ancient Egyptians performed abortion. At the least, legal abortion makes it safe. No back alley’s, no coat hangers, no coke bottles.
Seen This? May 15, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Music, Politics.add a comment
This is something I saw on Rachel Maddow (one of the smartest women on TV. Rhodes Scholar, got her PhD in Political Science from Oxford), it’s so interesting, I thought I’d include it here. It’s called Auto-Tune the News. Human creativity never ceases to amaze.
That was rather surprising April 6, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Politics.3 comments
By now I’m assuming you’ve heard about Friday’s unanimous decision from Iowa’s Supreme Court overturning the ban on same-sex marriage on the grounds that the ban violated the state’s equal protection clause. I wanted to give myself time to read the decision and reflect before I spouted off at the mouth. The decision to overturn the ban was a unanimous decision by the 7 judges on the court. All of whom but one (I think) were appointed by Republican governors. The decision is well written and the text shows the humanity of the judges. In the text, the judges talk about small things people dont even think about when they think about the benefits of marriage. Things like spousal membership at a gym. Or that because homosexual couples cannot get married it makes adoption much more difficult. That the couples who petitioned the court are contributing members of society and their community. Here is an excerpt from the text:
And this:
Our responsibility, however, is to protect constitutional rights of
individuals from legislative enactments that have denied those rights, even
when the rights have not yet been broadly accepted, were at one time
unimagined, or challenge a deeply ingrained practice or law viewed to be
impervious to the passage of time. The framers of the Iowa Constitution
knew, as did the drafters of the United States Constitution, that “times can
blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once
thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress,” and as our
constitution “endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles
in their own search for greater freedom” and equality.
For anyone who argues that homosexuality is against the constitution or against the principals on which this nation was founded the last statement is one I would go back to. Our Constitution is a living document. It wasnt long ago when the definition of equality only applied to white, land owning, men. As our society has grown more diverse our definition of equality has also grown. Not that this has always happened quickly. To those who would argue that this was a decision of the court that does not reflect the will of the voters (my own Mother is included in this) Equal protection also means protecting a minority from the tyranny of the majority and there are times, this being one of them, when that role is in the hands of our courts. To give equal protection, equal rights under the law. How much longer would segregated schooling have lasted if was voted on instead of the US Supreme Court ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education? What about slavery or Roe? It’s not to say that our courts are always perfect. But, there are times when it is the role of the court to advance liberty and protect us from our own stupidity.
I talked to my parents about this over the weekend. Both of them were surprised and both think the majority of Iowans are surprised. Hell, I’m surprised. The town I come from, the town where my parents still live, is fairly conservative. When I was a kid there was a young Catholic priest who came to one of the parishes. He had an earring and was forced to leave the parish over it. No. I am not joking. When African-Americans started moving into the community it was “Oh, they’re moving here from Chicago because Iowa has more generous welfare benefits” It’s not okay to be openly gay. You’re asking to get beaten up.
Anyway, we talked about it. My Dad was surprised. He said he didnt know Iowa was so progressive. His overall attitude was “whatever”. My Mom said it was a decision by the court and not the voters. To which I responded by asking how long would slavery or Jim Crowe have lasted if it was put up for a vote. The three of us wonder the same. Whether my cousin and his partner of 7+ years will get married. The state will be able to start issuing licenses in 3 weeks.
I’m still surprised. Even today, Monday, 3 days later. This is the state where Pat Robertson came in second in the 1988 Republican Caucus. I dont know if it’ll last, I dont know that, in the end, it wont end up being overturned by a constitutional amendment, but constitutional amendments are harder to get passed in Iowa. It’s not like Oregon. Any push for a constitutional amendment on marriage would have to wait until the 2011 legislative session. Maybe (and this is my hope) that by then, two years from now, people will be more used to this decision and it wont be a big deal. That people who would use religion to excuse their prejudice and bigotry wont get any traction.
That being said, I was proud of Iowa Friday, and I’m still proud of Iowa and proud to be from Iowa today.
Friday Morning Doom and Gloom March 13, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Politics.1 comment so far
This headline from the NY Times has me a little worried this morning. The Chinese Government owns a lot of US debt and we are going to be borrowing a hell of a lot of money from them to pay for the much needed stimulus package, bank bailout, and new budget. Not including the more than likely need for another stimulus package in the near future. The Peoples Bank of China and one their Soverign Wealth Funds own a lot of US Treasury bonds, we financed our over consumption and debt spending with Chinese money over the last 8-10 years. The fact that their government is nervous about the stability of the dollar makes me nervous. While I agree that it would not be a wise decision for the Chinese Government to start selling their pool of US Treasury bonds now, it would flood the market causing the worth of those Treasury bonds to collapse, it doesnt mean they couldnt start selling them slowly in the near future and invest their money elsewhere (say in the Euro).
I dont trust the Chinese government. I am suspicous of them for a whole host of reasons (doctored weather reports, Tibet, all the corruption surrounding the Three Gorges Dam project etc) I feel very uneasy that the US Government is so beholden to them to finance our debt and finance our own government. We’d be so incredibly screwed if all of a sudden they stopped buying our debt or decided to sell their US Treasury bonds. They could easily have the US Government, pants down, over a barrel.
Coming Cluster-you-know-what? August 26, 2008
Posted by walterknitty in Iraq, Politics.add a comment
I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) in Iraq as well as what is going on with the Sunni Awakings and SOI (Sons of Iraq). If the 3 people who read this blog are at all interested please check out
http://abuaardvark.typepad.com/ , http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/, and http://www.asharq-e.com/default.asp
It can be a little on the wonky side but the information is well worth the effort. From what I understand De-Baathification and the disbanding of the Iraqi Army left thousands of Sunni men out of work which led them to begin attacking US Soldiers during the Sunni Insurgency. This gave Al-Qadea a foothold in Iraq and a chance for this Sunni dominated group to use violence to effect policy and the political process. The Sunni Tribal leaders turned against Al-Qadea and this was the beginning of the “Sunni Awaking” that led to a drop in violence in the region before “Still President (thanks John Stewart) Bush rolled out the “surge policy” in 2007. These men are paid 300$ a month by the US to not fight us and to provide security to their neighbourhoods, towns, cities, etc. Oh, and lets not forget, they are being paid in part to not shoot at us.
During negotiations with the US Maliki agreed to take 20% of these men into the Iraqi Army and Police force. Right now the estimate is that there are 100,000 Sons of Iraq. Maliki has been dragging his feet on this and is now openly engaged in a crackdown against the SOI in Diyala and are arresting many, many men. With some of the bombing that has been going on in Diyala it could be argued that they are engaging in terrorism ahead of the upcoming elections to prevent Sunni’s from voting. (gritty details can be found here with an addendum here) Whether or not Maliki and his advisers actually believe the SOI are pretending to not be Al-Qaeda or whether or not the Shi’a dominated government doesnt want to integrate a bunch of heathen Sunni’s is beyond the point. The surge was supposed to buy time for political reconciliation. Bringing the members of SOI is part of that process. The Malikigovernment can say they are willing to give these men jobs picking up garbage, working in sewage plants, government desk jobs etc till the cows come home. Because of the nature of the culture there is a lot of prestige in being able to carry a gun, to work for the Army/Security Forces, and protect your country and home. Besides that, these men and our commanding officers in the area were promised that 20% of them would be taken in by the Army/Security Forces and now Maliki is going back on that promise.
If the Maliki government does not keep it’s end of the bargin it is quite likely that these men will go back to fighting and we here in the US remember all too well the violence in 2006/2007. Is Maliki so filled with hubris after his success in Basra, Sadar City, and Mosul that he believes he can take on the Sunni tribes in Diyala? The US provided heavy air support in the 3 conflicts listed above and General David Petraus may be reluctant to attack the men our soldiers have done so much to bring around peacefully.
I’m not saying that the Sunni Tribes in Diyala are innocent of any wrongdoing, nor do I feel the same way about the Shi’a dominated Maliki government. Lets not forget that there were and possibly still are active Shi’a militia inside the Maliki government and controlled by high ranking officials inside the government. Lets not forget these militia were going into hospitals and removing wounded men for slaughter. Lets also not forget that some of these Sunni men were allied with Al-Qaeda in Iraq and were carrying out bombings against the Shi’a government, US Soldiers, and Shi’a civilians, the latter with the intent of clearing out any Shi’a from ethnically mixed areas. There is plenty of blood on everyoneshands to go around and then some. No one in this situation is innocent. But if Maliki goes back on his promise to integrate these people (the only political solution and way forward for Iraq) then these men could very well go back to fighting. One-hundred-thousand-men, armed, with guns, fighting. This could be a coming clusterfuck and would make any talk of US Soldiers leaving null and void and leave us stuck in an unwinnable and untenable situation, much like the ethnic conflict of 2005,2006, and 2007.
On his last visit to Iraq “Still President” Bush promised the Sunni Awakening groups that the US would not abandon them. Let us remember the last time a President Bush said the US would not abandon an ethnic group in Iraq. This was after the first Gulf War when our government under President George H.W. Bush encouraged the Shi’a in southern Iraq to rebel against the Saddam regime in Baghdad promising US military support if they were to do so. The Shi’a in southern Iraq did just that. The help and assistance they were promised never came through and they were slaughtered.
(PS this is what happens when I take time to do lots of reading instead of being completely focused on knitting. I’ve actually read 2 whole novels too and am now on a third “East of Eden”)
It’s Old News But . . . August 20, 2008
Posted by walterknitty in Politics.add a comment
I know this has floated around the internet for a couple of weeks now but, with as busy as I was with knitting I didnt take the time to say anything. I love campaign ads. Some of them are more creative than others (the “Viva Obama” ad is still one of my favourites) For the most part, McCain’s ads are tired and old. I mean, come on, how many times can you expect people to hear the words: celebrity, grand, oil, “he’d rather win an election and loose a war”, before they loose their impact. Americans reward entertainment and creativity!
I really dont like Paris Hilton but I love this ad. For context I’m including the McCain ad as well.
It’s nice to be able to talk about politics here rather than just knitting all the time. And go Rachel Maddow!
