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Two More British Soldiers died in IraqDeath toll for British soldiers reached 113 in the war against Iraq started by President Bush and Prime Minister Blair. "Lieutenant Tom Mildinhall, 26, and Lance Corporal Paul Farrelly, 27, from the Queen's Dragoon Guards, (Welsh Cavalry) died on patrol in Basra on Sunday."It is ironic that Britain's Tony Blair is described by some as Bush's poodle. An eloquent speaker and intellectually far above the American president, Blair decided to throw in his lot with George W. Bush. And, like President Bush, Tony Blair is paying a price for his role in the misadventure. Interesting to think about how history will judge them. A report in the Post stated that Tony Blair substantially revised a speech he gave on May 26th to appease his friend (master?) G.W. Bush. "LONDON, May 29 -- Prime Minister Tony Blair caved in to White House pressure by sharpening language on Iran and softening it on global warming in a speech he delivered Friday at Georgetown University, according to a British press report Sunday that Blair's office immediately denied."According to the Sunday Telegraph, Blair made "significant" last-minute changes to his major foreign policy address and "objections by President George W. Bush's inner circle played a key role in the alterations." An official at Blair's 10 Downing Street office, speaking on condition of anonymity as is standard practice here, said it was "categorically untrue that any White House objective played any part" in the speech.Blair is frequently criticized in Britain for his close relationship with Bush, who is extremely unpopular among Britons. The prime minister is particularly faulted for his alliance with Bush in the Iraq war. Critics have complained that Blair seems too eager to please Bush in what many here view as a lopsided relationship that has benefited Bush far more than Britain.

The Cost in Human Terms - Bare FactsAmerican SoldiersDead in May : 60Total since the war began March 20, 2003: 2,464Injured: 8,344Source: Iraq Coalition Casualties Robbie Glen Light, 21, Army Corporal, May 01, 2006 Robert L. Moscillo, 21, Marine Lance Corporal, May 01, 2006 Christopher M. Eckhardt, 19, Army Private 1st Class, May 03, 2006 Benjamin T. Zieske, 20, Army Private 1st Class, May 03, 2006 Joseph E. Proctor, 38, Army National Guard Sergeant, May 03, 2006 Brian S. Letendre, 27, Marine Reserve Captain, May 03, 2006 Bryan L. Quinton, 24, Army Specialist, May 04, 2006 Gavin B. Reinke, 32, Army Staff Sergeant, May 04, 2006 Stephen R. Bixler, 20, Marine Corporal, May 04, 2006 Elisha R. Parker, 21, Marine Sergeant, May 04, 2006 Alva L. Gaylord, 25, Army Private, May 05, 2006 Carlos N. Saenz, 46, Army Sergeant, May 05, 2006 Teodoro Torres, 29, Army 1st Sergeant, May 05, 2006 Nathan J. Vacho, 29, Army Sergeant, May 05, 2006 Dale James Kelly Jr., 48, Army National Guard Staff Sergeant, May 06, 2006 David Michael Veverka, 25, Army National Guard Staff Sergeant, May 06, 2006 Leon Deraps, 19, Marine Lance Corporal, May 06, 2006 Matthew J. Fenton, 24, Marine Sergeant, May 06, 2006 Cory L. Palmer, 21, Marine Corporal, May 06, 2006 Emmanuel L. Legaspi, 38, Army Staff Sergeant, May 07, 2006 Gregory A. Wagner, 35, Army Staff Sergeant, May 08, 2006 Aaron P. Latimer, 26, Army Specialist, May 09, 2006 Alessandro Carbonaro, 28, Marine Sergeant, May 10, 2006 Armer N. Burkart, 26, Army Specialist, May 11, 2006 Eric D. Clark, 22, Army Specialist, May 11, 2006 Stephen P. Snowberger III, 18, Army Private, May 11, 2006 Jason K. Burnett, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, May 11, 2006 David J. GramesSanchez, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, May 11, 2006 Michael L. Licalzi, 24, Marine 2nd Lieutenant, May 11, 2006 Steve Vahaviolos, 21, Marine Corporal, May 11, 2006 Brandon L. Teeters, 21, Army Specialist, May 12, 2006 Adam C. Conboy, 21, Marine Lance Corporal, May 12, 2006 Ron Gebur, 23, Army National Guard Specialist, May 13, 2006 Richard Z. James, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, May 13, 2006 John W. Engeman, 45, Army Chief Warrant Officer 4, May 14, 2006 Jamie D. Weeks, 47, Army Chief Warrant Officer 5, May 14, 2006 Robert H. West, 37, Army Master Sergeant, May 14, 2006 Matthew W. Worrel, 34, Army Major, May 14, 2006 Shane Mahaffee, 36, Army Reserve Captain, May 14, 2006 Jose S. Marin Dominguez Jr., 22, Marine Lance Corporal, May 14, 2006 Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby, 21, Marine Lance Corporal, May 14, 2006 Grant Allen Dampier, 25, Army Private 1st Class, May 15, 2006 Marion Flint Jr., 29, Army Staff Sergeant, May 15, 2006 Santiago M. Halsel, 32, Army Staff Sergeant, May 16, 2006 Lonnie Calvin Allen Jr., 26, Army Sergeant, May 18, 2006 Nicholas Cournoyer, 25, Army Private 1st Class, May 18, 2006 Daniel E. Holland, 43, Army Lieutenant Colonel, May 18, 2006 Robert Seidel III, 23, Army Lieutenant, May 18, 2006 William B. Fulks, 23, Marine Corporal, May 18, 2006Benito A. Ramirez, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, May 21, 2006David Christoff Jr., 25, Marine Sergeant, May 22, 2006William J. Leusink, 21, Marine Lance Corporal, May 22, 2006Michael L. Hermanson, 21, Army National Guard Specialist, May 23, 2006Steven Freund, 20, Marine Private, May 23, 2006Robert G. Posivio III, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, May 23, 2006Doug DiCenzo, 30, Army Captain, May 25, 2006Caleb Lufkin, 23, Army Private 1st Class, May 25, 2006Adam Lucas, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, May 26, 2006 *Iraqi civiliansDead 37,813 (Min.) 42,180 (Max.)Source: Iraq Body Count *The Bush Administration went through many spins to justify the war. The current version is that we are there to bring freedom and democracy to the Iraqis. *Haditha - A Coverup ?Congressman John Murtha (D, PA), a former marine, continues to speak out about the killing of civilians that took place in Haditha, Iraq."A powerful member of Congress alleged yesterday that there has been a conscious effort by Marine commanders to cover up the facts of a November incident in which rampaging Marines allegedly killed 24 Iraqi civilians.""There has to have been a coverup of this thing," Rep. John P. Murtha (Pa.), ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, charged in an interview on ABC's "This Week." "No question about it."John W. Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also raised the issue of whether the military chain of command reacted properly and legally. Comments musafir — 2006-05-29 Thanks for the DailyKos post. In the past I,too, mentioned the warriors who managed to stay away from military duties. There is a deafening silence about their role. Perhaps it is a form of denial but the military families that have been affected by deaths and injuries continue to look the other way. How can they, with all that is now known about the lies and deceptions to take the nation to war !

Fear is the Key - How to turn the miserable poll ratings * The Wild Parrots of Telegraph HillThe desperation shows. Earlier in the year, the president tried a series of speeches to justify his war and they fell with a thud. So he tried a new tack, compared the elusive Islamic terrorists with the evil Communists of Cold War era. Would he get a rise out of it ? "WEST POINT, N.Y., May 27 -- President Bush, likening the war against Islamic radicals to the Cold War threat of communism, told U.S. Military Academy graduates on Saturday that America's safety depends on an aggressive push for democracy, especially in the Middle East."The Wild Parrots of Telegraph HillIt was Herb Caen, late columnist of the San Francisco Chronicle, who described his beloved City as Baghdad By the Bay. Yesterday, a few of us drove to San Francisco to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was a beautiful spring day. The bay sparklingly blue; the Golden Gate Bridge clearly visible. We watched massive container ships heading for the Port of Oakland and hundreds of pleasure boats that dotted the bay. We had brunch at Green's, Fort Mason Center, and then walked to Coit Tower (built in 1933) on Telegraph Hill. After looking at the murals about old California, we walked down to Filbert and saw the famous parrots. It was my first time and I was impressed.© claudesplace.com©reelingreviews.comJudy Irving made a great film, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003), and it is available on video. Recommend the article by Robin Clifford and Judy Clifford about the making of the film.

Haditha, Iraq, November 19, 2005 It was not the only incident in which unarmed, innocent civilians were killed but it could not be covered up because of the scale of the massacre and witnesses who came forward. Although findings of the investigation have not been not yet been released by the Pentagon, reports leave no doubt that deliberate killing of Iraqi civilians did take place in Haditha. The action of a few marines will leave a blot on the corps. Ellen Knickmeyer in the Post: "BAGHDAD, May 26 -- Witnesses to the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines in the western town of Haditha say the Americans shot men, women and children at close range in retaliation for the death of a Marine lance corporal in a roadside bombing."Aws Fahmi, a Haditha resident who said he watched and listened from his home as Marines went from house to house killing members of three families, recalled hearing his neighbor across the street, Younis Salim Khafif, plead in English for his life and the lives of his family members. "I heard Younis speaking to the Americans, saying: 'I am a friend. I am good,' " Fahmi said. "But they killed him, and his wife and daughters."The 24 Iraqi civilians killed on Nov. 19 included children and the women who were trying to shield them, witnesses told a Washington Post special correspondent in Haditha this week and U.S. investigators said in Washington. The girls killed inside Khafif's house were ages 14, 10, 5, 3 and 1, according to death certificates. * "Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." ---John Donne, Meditation XVII, No man is an island.

Lay, Skillings, Ebbers, Kozlowski, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan et al. Another trial of corporate fraudsters ended with guilty verdicts. Except for the families of Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skillings no one will shed tears for them.There are more, many more. John Schoen's article in MSNBC sums it up well. "“The imbalance between the incentive to cheat and the cost for cheating were so great that you got away with scandals,” he said. “That balance is closer (today), but it doesn’t mean we'’re going to eliminate scandal.” In one mushrooming current scandal, federal authorities are investigating stock options granted to top executives at several companies to determine whether those options were backdated to increase the value of those options."Worldwide, losses from fraud rose 50 percent from 2003, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.“Globally, the trend is toward an increase in economic crime, not a decrease,” the firm found in its 2005 Global Economic Crime Study.The report found that, since 2003, the number of companies reporting cases of corruption and bribery rose 71 percent; those reporting cases of money laundering were up 133 percent and reports of financial misrepresentation were up 140 percent.A few other big names who were found guilty of corporate fraud.Bernard Ebbers, Worldcom Corp.Dennis Kozlowski, Tyco International Sanjay Kumar, Computer AssociatesGiants of banking and brokerage industries penalized for helping Enron to manipulate earnings:CitigroupCanadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, JPMorgan Chase & Co.Settlement negotiations continuing with:Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.Barclays P.L.C.Toronto-Dominion BankRoyal Bank of CanadaDeutsche Bank AGRoyal Bank of Scotland Group P.L.C.

"The Elephant in the Room" It came as no suprise that Hillary Clinton gave an almost hour-long speech about energy policy at the National Press Club on May 25th and did so with impressive command of the subject. David Broder's column in The Washington Post covered her speech and more. He brought up the the state of relationship that exists between Bill and Hillary Clinton. "The two sides of Hillary Rodham Clinton -- the opposites that make her potential presidential candidacy such a gamble -- came into sharp focus Tuesday morning at the National Press Club. For the better part of an hour, the senator from New York held forth in a disquisition on energy policy that was as overwhelming in its detail as it was ambitious in its reach. " Broder concluded his column with ".........the elephant in the room went unmentioned."But the buzz in the room was not about her speech -- or her striking appearance in a lemon-yellow pantsuit -- but about the lengthy analysis of the state of her marriage to Bill Clinton that was on the front page of that morning's New York Times.The article, by Patrick Healy, was anything but unsympathetic. It touched only lightly on the former president's friendship with Canadian politician Belinda Stronach. It documented that despite their busy separate schedules, the Clintons had managed to spend two-thirds of their weekends together during the past 18 months.As contenders for the presidential race in 2008 are making themselves known, Hillary Clinton is at the head of the pack among the Democrats. Politics is all about cutting deals, compromising. The question is how far right Mrs Clinton would go to make her candidacy viable. There are issues other than energy policy that matter to rank and file Democrats. The current trend is ominous. There is a rush among Democratic leadership to adopt distatsteful Republicans policies to court voters. Comments Anonymous — 2006-05-25 It's certainly unfortunate that potential candidates have to reach out and appear more to the right than their base. Howevever, it is inevitable and wise under the circumstances and certainly goes a long way towards declawing the right and preventing the type of attach which might render any Presidential campaign completely ineffective. Swift boat anyone? Pragmatism may not be pretty but it is necessary. Anonymous — 2006-05-25 type of "attack" rather... Here's to Hillary '08 after forty three men it's about time. musafir — 2006-05-25 I have nothing against a woman president. It is not only time for a woman to occupy the White House, it would probably do the nation good. But man or woman, I have fear about how far the candidate would bend to win. Yes, one has to be pragmatic but where does pragmatism end and cynical catering to interest groups begin. Senator McCain is another one with the "fire in the belly", ready to dance to any music to win the Republican nomination for 2008. When such people win they just cannot walk away from supporters who made it possible. Remember the title of the book by Molly Ivins--- "You've got to dance with them what brung you".

The disaster that is Iraq * In Afghanistan, More "Collateral damage"Paul Wolfowitz moved away to a cushy job as chief of the World Bank but most of the other architects of the failed policy about Iraq are still around. And despite all the evidence to the contrary, the president and his aides continue to try to justify taking the nation to war. They go through contortions to make their point but humility is a word they don't know the meaning of. Harold Meyerson writes in the Post: "The sharpest irony was their stunning indifference to the need for civic order. When the Army chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki, said that the occupation would require many hundreds of thousands of troops to establish and maintain the peace, he was publicly rebuked by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, the administration's foremost neocon, and quickly put out to pasture. When the first U.S. official to take charge in post-invasion-Iraq, Jay Garner, called for a massive effort to train Iraq's police and restore order, he was summarily dismissed. When looting far more widespread than anything the United States had ever known swept Iraq's cities after Hussein's fall, Don Rumsfeld shrugged and said, "Stuff happens" -- a two-word death sentence for the possibility of a livable Iraq."And now, just as middle-class Americans fled the cities in the wake of urban disorder, so middle-class Iraqis are fleeing, too -- not just the cities but the nation. In a signally important and devastating dispatch from Baghdad that ran in last Friday's New York Times, correspondent Sabrina Tavernise reports that fully 7 percent of the country's population, and an estimated quarter of the nation's middle class, has been issued passports in the past 10 months alone. Tavernise documents the sectarian savagery that is directed at the world of Iraqi professionals -- the murders in their offices, their neighborhood stores, their children's schools, their homes -- and that has already turned a number of Baghdad's once-thriving upscale neighborhoods into ghost towns.Slaughter is the order of the day, and the police are nowhere to be found. "I have no protection from my government," Monkath Abdul Razzaq, a middle-class Sunni who has decided to emigrate, told Tavernise. "Anyone can come into my house, take me, kill me, and throw me into the trash." * Deaths of Innocent CiviliansClaims and counterclaims about dead Afghans are not going to bring them back. Neither will demand for investigation by President Karzai going to put a stop to such incidents. "Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to summon the head of US-led coalition forces for a "full explanation" of a raid officials say killed 16 civilians. " The numbers of civilian casualties keep climbing both in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is quite clear that we don't give a damn. So what if a few civilians die in our military actions against the evil doers. Women and children among the dead....too bad. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. President Bush is carrying on a mission to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan and they ought to be happy. Instead, the Iraqis and Afghans are complaining about dead civilians. Ungrateful lot.

A Page out of Karl Rove's Game PlanVotes, votes, we need votes. If that requires kneeling down and speaking in tongues, so be it. A sign of the times or just old-fashioned politics of expediency ? It is becoming obvious that Democratic leaders have decided to turn right. Where then is the difference between them and the Republicans? Just when the tide against the pious hypocrites was turning the Democrats decided to drape themselves in scriptures like those who sit across the aisle. It made me sick to read The New Temptation of Democrats, Ruth Marcus' column in the Post. "When mega-pastor Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church opened last year in its new Houston home, the city's former professional basketball arena, a most unlikely guest was on hand for the celebration: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), a minister's son who chairs the House Democrats' Faith Working Group, headed to Dallas a few months later to worship with Bishop T.D. Jakes, an African American Pentecostal minister who's been called "the next Billy Graham."This month, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean -- yes, that would be the Howard Dean who dismissed Republicans last year as "pretty much a white, Christian Party" -- went on Pat Robertson's "700 Club," asserting that Democrats "have an enormous amount in common with the Christian community, and particularly with the evangelical Christian community." Randy Brinson, founder of Redeem the Vote (think Rock the Vote meets Jesus), met last week with the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.Democrats these days are a party on a mission that might sound impossible: to persuade evangelical Christian voters to consider converting -- to the Democratic Party.So, it comes down to a cynical courtship of evangelical Christian voters. If that is the path my party is going to follow to defeat the Republicans I shall not be proud of being a Democrat. Comments Anonymous — 2006-05-31 the values of fairness,unity, love, equal treatment of individuals, fair wages, ending hunger, having safety nets, protecting the downtrodden from the oppressor are all traditional Christian values(as well as most world religions). The Democratic Party and true Christians have shared values since i was old enough to read at least (I only go back as far as 1960.) The republican party has always stood for the opposite but was able to market themselves to "religious" groups esp since the onset of the Abortion debate. They further ingratiated themselves to the worse elements in churches by attacking outsiders like Homosexuals etc just as Hitler had united the religios right under his banner.The political right is as far from true Christian values as you can get. If George Bush were to sprout horns and have 666 suddenly emblazoned on his forehead many true Christians would say, "Saw that coming a mile away" It is certainly good that the Democratic party get back to its roots.

Euphoria in Finland * A Mother Grieves in IraqThe Finnish hard rock group Lordi, named after the lead singer, caused a sensation at the Eurovision Song Festival in Athens, Greece. The mask-wearing heavy metal band won the top prize.©Eurovision TV - http://www.eurovision.tvAs expected, there were comments about satan worship and such weird stuff. One can discount them. Lordi and his group make music....music that is not quite my cup of tea but I am glad for the Finns and Lordi. The competition was fierce and they deserve their place in the sun. * Mothers and Sons. There are many parents here in America and in Iraq who worry about their sons in the combat zone. Some will not come home. Ellen Knickmeyer's article, An Iraqi Mother's Most Dreaded Mission, is a must read. It depicts the anxiety and the suffering of all parents. "Searching for missing loved ones has become a common mission -- especially for Sunni families -- in Baghdad in recent months as sectarian violence has surged. Fahdriya and family members agreed to let a reporter accompany them for parts of their search. Other events were recounted in interviews."*Listening to: Gothic Voices, Sequences and hymns by Abbess Hildegarde of Bingen (1170)Emma Kirkby directed by Christopher PageHyperion CDA66039

G.W. Bush and Conservatives * Saudi Arabia and "Unbelievers"When all is said and done what are the conservative Republicans going to do about their dissatisfaction with President Bush and his policies? The honeymoon lasted a long time but seems to be over. Richard Viguerie writes about Bush's Base Betrayal. Bush and his handlers are doing what they have always done. Principle has nothing to do with it. It is to be seen whether the Republicans will, at the end, forgive Bush and come to the aid of the party. "Republicans were desperate to retake the White House, conservatives were desperate to get the Clinton liberals out and there was no direct heir to Reagan running for president. So most conservatives supported Bush as the strongest candidate -- some enthusiastically and some, like me, reluctantly. After the disastrous presidency of his father, our support for the son was a triumph of hope over experience."Once he took office, conservatives were willing to grant this Bush a honeymoon. We were happy when he proposed tax cuts (small, but tax cuts nonetheless) and when he pushed for a missile defense system. Then came the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and conservatives came to see support for the president as an act of patriotism.Conservatives tolerated the No Child Left Behind Act, an extensive intrusion into state and local education, and the budget-busting Medicare prescription drug benefit. They tolerated the greatest increase in spending since Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society. They tolerated Bush's failure to veto a single bill, and his refusal to enforce immigration laws. They even tolerated his signing of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance overhaul, even though Bush's opposition to that measure was a key reason they backed him over Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in the 2000 primaries. *The Wahabi Kingdom Tries a Makeover of Text BooksIt does not matter what the Saudis do---how backward the country is about women's rights and its treatment of those who do not practise Wahabism---it has vast reserves of oil and it enjoys a cozy relationship with the president and his father, former President George H.W. Bush. The Clinton Administration,too, did its best to remain friendly with the Saudis. Nina Shea in the Post: "Saudi Arabia's public schools have long been cited for demonizing the West as well as Christians, Jews and other "unbelievers." But after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis -- that was all supposed to change."A year ago, an embassy spokesman declared: "We have reviewed our educational curriculums. We have removed materials that are inciteful or intolerant towards people of other faiths." The embassy is also distributing a 74-page review on curriculum reform to show that the textbooks have been moderated.The problem is: These claims are not true.A review of a sample of official Saudi textbooks for Islamic studies used during the current academic year reveals that, despite the Saudi government's statements to the contrary, an ideology of hatred toward Christians and Jews and Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system. The texts teach a dualistic vision, dividing the world into true believers of Islam (the "monotheists") and unbelievers (the "polytheists" and "infidels").This indoctrination begins in a first-grade text and is reinforced and expanded each year, culminating in a 12th-grade text instructing students that their religious obligation includes waging jihad against the infidel to "spread the faith."The Saudis might mount a PR blitz to polish up their image but don't expect meaningful reform. Comments Nancy Tyrrel — 2006-05-21 A very insightful blog. It's too bad November is just a congressional election, George can still do a lot of damage.... and the GOP handlers will certainly mount a full "liberal-horror show" campaign on the base between now and 2008. Hopefully the Dems can wrest the party's voice from bull-horn liberal Kennedy to more moderate leaders.