REMEMBERING “OUR” DEAD
GRAND JURY MAY HEAR INDICTMENTS TODAY
NEWS BIAS PANEL TONIGHT

I was thinking of standing on a windswept Calton hill looking down on Edinburgh Scotland last June. It was a long climb and a tense one because the area was surrounded by police vans assembled as part of the defense of the G8 meeting slated to begin not far away the next day. Also assembled on the slope was a multi-cultural mix of hardy souls there to read the names of British soldiers and Iraqi civilians whose lives had been snatched away in the fighting in Iraq. The actress Julie Christie was on hand along with the leaders of the campaign that had drawn a million people into the streets to try to stop a war that was not at the time stoppable.

It was moving to hear the accents—the Scottish brogue, mixed in with the sounds of Londoners and regional dialects from all over the UK reading names aloud, with their ages (many were children), some in Arabic, others in English. It was solemn. It was sad. No speeches. No ego trips.

I was with Paul O’Hanlon who filed this report on IndyMedia:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/07/317824.html

I thought then of how moving it was to hear concerns for ALL the victims there as today we mark the US military death toll in Iraq rising to 2000. MoveOn is mobilizing to support the slain along with Operation Truth and some in the anti-war movement. John Bikus of a website called Legacy.com sent in a story idea for me to do: “2,000 soldiers, 2,000 obituaries.”

”I want to let you know that my firm, Legacy.com, is offering a free service to friends and families of military troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.legacy.com/Soldiers.asp?Page=FSMovingTributes

“Tributes lets loved ones create multimedia memorials that share a more personal view of the soldier’s life through photographs, text and audio. Currently, there are 60 Moving Tributes on the site.”

The New York Times offers a more graphic representation online:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/national/IRAQDEATHS_GRAPHIC.html

THE BUSH 2000

And so as we mark the Bush 2,000, some on the right downplay the number as “negligible.” FAIR criticizes Fox’s Brit Hume for his characterization:
.

”On the October 13 broadcast of Special Report, the show he regularly hosts, Hume said of U.S deaths in Iraq, “by historic standards, these casualties are negligible.”

What history is Hume referring to….when compared to other conflicts in its category–wars and counterinsurgency operations against comparatively weak, isolated nations and guerrilla movements–the death toll in Iraq is strikingly high…”

VETERANS APPEAL

Veterans of the war are appealing to the public to remember their sacrifice.

”As Veterans of this war, we are asking you to please write to your local newspaper now, and urge them to honor the sacrifice of America’s Troops by publishing daily casualty reports on Page One.”

.

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=47814536&url_num=1&url=http://operationtruth.com/honorthefallen

ALL ABOUT US

Is this all that we should be focusing on? Already the coverage of the war has an AAU quality to it—All About US. We mourn our dead and largely ignore the far greater tally of the wounded in VA hellholes, and then forget about the l00,000 plus Iraqis who have perished in a war fought in the name of their freedom. Can’t we at least also reference all the dead today, and try to name them and hear their stories too? How about some universal humanity and solidarity! Don’t we have it in us to shed a tear as well for the people of Iraq and how this brutal war has savaged their country?

It is this type of media negligence and indifference that MediaChannel’s “SHOW THE WAR, TELL THE TRUTH” campaign is challenging. After posting our appeal yesterday, San Francisco’s Media Alliance and former Fair Director Jeff Cohen expressed their support. Please have a look and see how you can help. Share your ideas and energy.

http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/1555

Fighting for real news coverage represents one way to respect the sacrifices of US (and coalition) soldiers and also honor the far greater number of innocent civilians and others who have perished in, and become the victims in this war.

ALSO SEE THIS NEW VIDEO:
http://www.speakeasypro.com/meaningful.html

AND READ THIS POWERFUL NEW BOOK FOR UNEMBEDDED PHOTOS
www.chelseagreen.com/2005/items/unembeddedcloth

AND SEE THE BODIES COMING HOME

Bitter Fruit, Photographs and comments by Paul Fusco
http://www.magnuminmotion.com/bitterfruit/player.html

WASHINGTON NOT LEAVING

And, as we express concern with the fallen, bear in mind that the policy that led to the war is still in effect.

TROOPS TO STAY: MORE CASUALTIES CERTAIN

Group: U.S. troops not leaving Iraq soon:

“This is a long-term proposition, and I would expect the next U.S. administation to have forces inside Iraq at a fairly large number for some years to come.”
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Britain_Iraq_Forecast.html

Bush: Iraq war will require more sacrifice:

President George W. Bush, bracing for the fallout when the U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000, said on Tuesday the Iraq war will require more sacrifice and rejected critics calling for a U.S. pullout.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051025/pl_nm/iraq_bush_dc

KARL ROVE IN THE CROSS HAIRS

So reports the New York Times last night:

Leak Counsel Is Said to Press on Rove’s Role

Three days before the grand jury is set to expire, Patrick Fitzgerald appeared to be trying to determine Karl Rove’s role in the outing of a C.I.A.’s officer’s identity.

Yesterday Nicholas Kristof and John Tierney of the NY Times editorial page argued that what happened in Plamegate does not rise violations of law. Kristof misrepresented the Prosecutors brief charges Media Mattters for America. Shouldn’t we wait and see what the propsecutor has?

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports:

Bush Aides Brace for Charges

”The prosecutor in the CIA leak case was preparing to outline possible charges before the federal grand jury as early as today, even as the FBI conducted last-minute interviews in the high-profile investigation, according to people familiar with the case.

See Tim Karr’s MediaCitizen blog for an assessment:
http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/10/will-rove-and-libby-walk-perp.html

BUSH WOULD LOSE SAYS POLL

CNN reports:

”(CNN) — A majority would vote for a Democrat over President Bush if an election were held this year, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Tuesday.

“In the latest poll, 55 percent of the respondents said that they would vote for the Democratic candidate if Bush were again running for the presidency this year.”

OCCUPATION AT HOME

Human Rights activist Loretta Ross speaks out about an occupation that took place closer to home in New Orleans:

”One of the ways in which the occupation was achieved was by controlling terminology through language coups. Did you notice that some news media reported that white people “find” food while black people “loot?” Control of communications became
control of self-validation as the prejudices of the powerful constructed meanings that rendered any countervailing notion ineffective.

“There were reports of massive arrests, police brutality and even deaths at the hands of the police and military during this crisis, yet these reports were not featured in the mainstream news, just over alternative sources such as the Internet…

“Unfortunately, actions like these also denigrate the undoubtedly heroic actions many people in law enforcement and the military demonstrated as they risked their lives in contaminated water to rescue survivors…. While the news media focused on the black/white conflicts during the crisis, little or no mention was made of the Native American, Asian American or Latino communities also devastated by the storm. Erasing these communities from the public’s consciousness became another form of structural violence.

“What we need are expanded definitions and understanding of what is meant by military occupation. Occupation is about space, land, and resources. There is little consciousness in the minds of the American public that we live in occupied land or that we are occupiers. I don’t believe the term only applies to Palestine, Afghanistan or Iraq. Communities of color, particularly Indigenous Nations, have always experienced law enforcement and the military as occupiers, but the Katrina crisis exposes how we must expand the concept of military occupation way beyond the narrow and limited definitions of the United Nations.”

www.sistersong.net via Speak Out

FOR MORE ON NEW ORLEANS AND A GREAT STORY
See Stuart Sender’s piece on Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stuart-sender/in-a-fuhrer-about-new-orl_b_9501.html

SAY GOODBYE TO THE ALTERNATIVES?

Jeff Chang writes:

”At just after midnight this morning, The Village Voice announced that its parent company, Village Voice Media, will merge with the New Times.

“That means that competition in the “alternative weekly” sector has been all but eliminated. The New Times is adding magazines like the Los Angeles Weekly, City Pages, and Seattle Weekly to its list, and will command 25% of the market.

“It is now the Clear Channel of alt-weeklies.

“There is no longer anything “alternative” about the alternative. The long goodbye to an oppositional politics and aesthetics begins now.”

http://ezinedirector.com/subscriber/member_profile/?skid=27266137